Pokemon Go Team Rocket battle limit leads to player bans

Fighting Team Rocket and their evil boss Giovanni is a good thing in the mainline Pokemon games, but beating up too many of them in Pokemon Go can potentially lead to account bans, as has been reported online.

Team Rocket Go Grunts and their leaders are necessary to seek out if you want to acquire Shadow Pokemon. Luckily, they spawn readily in the overworld, either at PokeStops or hanging out in their famous black balloons, and the current event called Adventure Week Taken Over also boosts spawns.

As the rotation of Shadow Pokemon and their Shiny variants switches out over time, fans like to farm the Team Rocket Go Grunts to maximize their chance of acquiring a Shundo. This means lots of battles with Giovanni’s crew.

Unfortunately, too many Team Rocket encounters can result in a ban, as reported by ZoeTwoDots on Twitter/X. They reported account bans from simply talking to lots of Team Rocket Go Grunts and spinning their PokeStops, with Niantic flagging it as suspicious activity.

This isn’t an isolated incident, as other users have replied to the post, reporting that they have also been banned following a Team Rocket Go Grunt hunt. It’s unclear whether the bans are happening when the number of encounters hits 100 or less.

It’s possible that the issue has been addressed, as ZoeTwoDots reported in an update on Twitter/X that other people are not experiencing the ban, suggesting that the developers have increased the limit that raises flags.

Players should still exert caution when hunting Team Rocket Go Grunts for Shiny Shadow Pokemon during Pokemon Go Adventure Week: Taken Over. It’s difficult to know what causes issues with Pokemon Go sometimes, especially when reports are inconsistent.

For the time being, it’s best to spread out your Team Rocket Go encounters, as the Pokemon Go Adventure Week: Taken Over event lasts until August 12, giving players time to do everything they need without the risk of facing a ban.