Shadow Triad

|}
The Shadow Triad (Japanese: ダークトリニティ Dark Trinity), each referred to individually as Shadow (Japanese: ダーク Dark), are three faithful servants of Ghetsis and N and are high-ranking members of Team Plasma.
The Shadow Triad are completely loyal to Ghetsis because he once saved their lives.
==In the core series games==
They appear many times in , first being seen in Chargestone Cave, mostly to escort the to either N or Ghetsis. They make very sudden ninja-like appearances, appearing seemingly out of thin air.
The Shadow Triad are the ones who enabled Ghetsis to evade arrest, creating an opening in which Ghetsis was able to escape Cheren's confinement. After Team Plasma has been defeated, they appear at Marvelous Bridge and on the orders of Ghetsis, give the player the Adamant Orb, Lustrous Orb, and Griseous Orb—the three orbs of the Pokémon of Myth. However, on Ghetsis's orders, they make no attempt to find him. They vanish from the bridge and are not seen again for the rest of the game.
At some point after Black and White's events, they appear in front of Striaton Gym Leaders at Striaton Restaurant, challenge and easily defeat the trio, before disappearing.
In , the Shadow Triad are first seen with Zinzolin on the Plasma Frigate. After the player, Cheren, and Hugh finish off the remainder of the s, Zinzolin has the Shadow Triad escort the player off the ship.
The Shadow Triad are later seen in Opelucid City after it has been frozen by the Plasma Frigate. They steal the DNA Splicers so that Ghetsis can use it on , but are chased by the player and Drayden. After finally being caught, a Shadow challenges the player to a battle, and even though he loses, they still get away.
The Shadow Triad are seen again on the Plasma Frigate after talking to Ghetsis about Kyurem. Each Shadow battles the player after they give Hugh back his sister's , which has evolved into since it was stolen. After defeating them, they allow the player to leave but warn them about Ghetsis and Kyurem, and end up staying behind with Hugh and Liepard. After Ghetsis has been defeated and suffers a mental breakdown, a Shadow comes to take him away.
After entering the Hall of Fame, they remain in Icirrus City and challenge the player once per . Still loyal to Ghetsis, they attempt to regain his lost heart by defeating the player.
===Pokémon===
====Pokémon Black 2 and White 2====
=====Opelucid City=====
|
|
|
=====Plasma Frigate=====
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
=====Icirrus City=====
They are all fought individually, in a Single Battle, Triple Battle, and Rotation Battle, respectively. If the player has fewer than three Pokémon remaining, or declines battle, the remaining opponents will vanish until the changes.
======Single Battle======
|
|
|
======Triple Battle======
|
|
|
======Rotation Battle======
|
|
|
=====Returned=====
The stolen from Hugh's sister is revealed to have evolved into a , and is returned to Hugh by the Shadow Triad when they are encountered in .
==In spin-off games==
===Pokémon Masters EX===
The Shadow Triad appears during the Villain Arc in Pokémon Masters EX. Each of them uses a .
==Gallery==
===Artwork===
 	
Early concept art from	Concept art from
===Sprites and models===
====In the core series====
 	
Sprite from	Overworld sprite from
====In other games====
 	
Model from	VS model from
==Quotes==
==In animation==
===Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 Animated Trailer===
The Shadow Triad appeared in the Pokémon Black Version 2 and Pokémon White Version 2 Animated Trailer. was first seen chasing one of the Shadows through the frozen Opelucid City. He had his attack the Shadow with , but the attack was blocked by the Shadow Triad's , allowing the trio to get away with the item they had stolen.
====Pokémon====
====Voice actors====
==In the manga==
===Pokémon Adventures===
==========
The Shadow Triad debuted in Letting Go. They were first seen reporting to Ghetsis after observing 's battle with in Accumula Town. In Defeating Stoutland, the Triad were seen spying on Clay, who had unearthed the Dark Stone. 
In The Battle Within, they arrived in Nacrene City, where they began their operation to steal the Dark Stone. While they battled Lenora, several s infiltrated the to find the Dark Stone's holding place. Initially, they held the advantage until Lenora was joined by five other Gym Leaders, who had been planning to ambush the villains after learning of their plans. Despite their teamwork, the Gym Leaders eventually fell to the Shadow Triad's trump card, the . Though they were unable to find the Dark Stone, the Shadow Triad took the defeated Gym Leaders to N's Castle, though Brycen managed to escape.
In The Shadow Triad, the Triad tried and failed to capture the . Later at the P2 Laboratory, they tested Team Plasma's newest creation, , before being interrupted by the Striaton City Gym Leaders, Cilan, Cress, and Chili. Despite their combined strength, the Striaton Gym Leaders were unable to defeat their opponents, even after evolving their Pokémon. They were eventually rescued by Keldeo, who had been watching the battle and determined the Gym Leaders to be the better humans. The Shadow Triad took that opportunity to try and capture Keldeo, forcing its mentors to step in and rescue it, using their swords to send both the Shadow Triad and the flying. Refusing to give up, one of the Triad had Genesect fire a at Keldeo, forcing its masters to step in and protect it. The beam froze Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion solid, causing them to sink into the water.
==========
The Shadow Triad returned as members of Team Plasma. In Therian Forme III, the Shadow Triad appeared to prevent from arresting Ghetsis. Kelden, remembering its previous encounter with them, proceeded to attack them on its own, giving Ghetsis the chance to escape. Blake managed to sneak aboard the Plasma Frigate, but was forced to leave his Pokémon behind while they fought the Shadow Triad and the Forces of Nature without him. In Pink Slip, the three were revealed to have defeated Blake's Pokémon. They then left to regroup with the Plasma Frigate.
In Deduction Time, the Shadow Triad were sent to battle the Swords of Justice and Kelden on the outskirts of Lacunosa Town. Later, Kelden tried to strike Colress down, only to end up shattering the Reveal Glass instead, reverting the Forces of Nature back to the Incarnate Formes. Kelden's mentors took this opportunity to defeat the Forces of Nature. Their attempts to beg for mercy were ignored by Cobalion, who promptly struck the Shadow Triad down as the Forces of Nature fled. 
In their first appearance, they all were wearing identical black masks. In all later appearances, they are seen wearing different masks which resemble the elemental monkeys' facial patterns, but are much darker in color.
====Pokémon====
=====On hand=====
=====Used=====
==In the TCG==
Shadow Triad was introduced as a in the Pokémon Trading Card Game during the English Black & White Series (the Japanese BW Era). First released in the expansion, it later debuted in English in the expansion, with both prints featuring an illustration by Yusuke Ohmura. Shadow Triad allows the player to take a Team Plasma card from their discard pile and put it in their hand.
==Trivia==
* The Shadow Triad are the only notable members of Team Plasma who have not appeared in the .
==In other languages==
==References==
==Related articles==
* Images on the Bulbagarden Archives
Category:Black and White characters
Category:Black 2 and White 2 characters
Category:Members of Team Plasma
Category:Pokémon Adventures characters
Category:Masters EX characters
Category:Ninjas
de:Finstrio
es:Trío Sombrío
fr:Trio des Ombres
it:Trio Oscuro
ja:ダークトリニティ
zh:黑暗鐵三角