Cassie Gardner 
The Raging Battles event in Pokemon GO’s Timeless Travels season includes the long-awaited arrival of Annihilape, and players will be able to get one by evolving their Primeape.
Annihilape was added to Pokemon in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet as a new evolution for the gen-one Pokemon Primeape. The introduction of this rage demon is players’ first chance to get a ghost-fighting type Pokemon in Pokemon GO. Alongside Annihilape’s debut is the opportunity to catch region-exclusive fighting Pokemon Sawk and Throh across the globe.
With its addition to Pokemon GO, it gives players a strong fighting and ghost option for raids, gyms, and possibly PvP battles. Other Paldean Pokemon have already been added including all three starters and the hard-to-evolve Gholdengo. Just like its fellow ghost-type Paldean Pokemon, Annihilape has specific conditions before players can evolve their own in Pokemon GO.
How to get Annihilape in Pokemon GO
Annihilape can be evolved from Primeape after 30 ghost or psychic Pokemon are defeated in battle with a Primeape as the player’s buddy Pokemon. Primeape does not need to participate in the battle itself.
Taking advantage of the buddy system, players will need to grind battles to evolve the Pokemon. Luckily, Primeape doesn’t have to participate in the battles itself. It only needs to be the buddy Pokemon when these Pokemon are defeated. Annihilape’s release coincides with Mankey being more common in the wild during the Raging Battles event.
Additionally, Mankey will be the reward for event-specific Field Research tasks, and Primeape will be appearing in three-star raids. All this gives players abundant opportunity to add Annihilape to their Pokedex.
Annihilape will become available in Pokemon GO on January 19, 2024. It will remain available indefinitely after.
Can you get shiny Annihilape in Pokemon GO?
Players can get a shiny Annihilape in Pokemon GO by evolving a shiny Mankey or Primeape.
Shiny Mankey and Primeape have long been available in Pokemon GO, so getting a shiny Annihilape is as easy as evolving one. The Raging Battle event also includes an increased rate of shiny Mankeys, meaning players have even more chances to encounter their own shiny in the wild.
Once caught, the shiny Mankey or Primeape needs to be evolved by batting ghost and psychic Pokemon with Primeape as the player’s buddy Pokemon. Once the requirement has been met, the player simply needs to select the option to evolve the Primeape into Annihilape.
Shiny Annihilape has a more purple and blue undertone to its limbs compared to the gray normal coloration. This isn’t a drastic difference compared to the green-brown arms and legs for Primeape or the mint-green fur for Mankey. Players will still get bragging rights for having a shiny Annihilape so soon after its Pokemon GO debut.
Is Annihilape good in Pokemon GO?
Annihilape ranks among the strongest ghost and fighting-type Pokemon in all of Pokemon GO.
Annihilape is positioned to have one of the highest maximum CP ceilings among fighting-types, not counting shadows or mega evolutions. It’s also set to have access to standard fighting-type moves, which will make it particularly good for melting through those pesky Blisseys and Slakings in gyms. It faces stiffer competition from ghost types where there are mega evolutions in Gengar and Banette, but even then it’s reasonably powerful.
