In the latest July update for Pokemon Go, Niantic has recently added Team Rocket into the mix to follow players around in a hot air balloon. Inside of that hot air balloon are classic Pokemon antagonists Jessie, James, and Meowth. All players have to do in order to engage the trio in a Pokemon battle is to tap on the Meowth balloon as it floats by on the screen. As said in the newest blog post on Niantic’s website,

As Team GO Rocket’s balloons prowl the skies, we’ve been investigating them further. The. grunts poiling the balloons are just as perplexed as we are as to where these characters came from. From what we understand, Team GO Rocket has assigned Shadow Pokemon to protect Jessie and James as htey seek to create more Shadow Pokemon

Along with the ability to fight Team Rocket, players will also have the opportunity to find shiny shadow Pokemon such as Ekans and Koffing (much like the ones Jessie and James have themselves). As the lineup for the duo goes, Jessie has the Pokemon Ekans, Scyther, and Bagon while James has Koffind, Sneasle, and Beldum. Shadow Suicune will also be available for capture when fighting the Team Rocket boss Giovanni as he descends from his own hot air balloon. Each time Team Rocket is defeated, players will gain double Stardust along with the TM to replace the Shadow move Frustration for any of their own Pokemon. 

To some players and fans, this update came as no surprise. In the update before this, data miners had found dialogue for Jessie and James in one of the game’s updates, along with avatar clothing and accessories based on the duo that is available in the Pokemon Go shop. Although Niantic says that Team Rocket will not be around for long in the mobile game, there is no definite date as to when this will end.