Research offers great rewards for everyone, though, including Pokémon encounters, XP, Stardust, incubators and more. There are two types of research: Field and Special. We cover the latter here: How to catch Mew in Pokémon Go.
How do I do Field Research in Pokémon Go?
To get stared, tap the new binoculars icon near the bottom right corner, but it will be Professor Willow to begin with. You’ll be taken to the Research screen which is divided into two tabs, one for each type.
Field Research needs to be gathered by spinning PokéStops. You can get one task per day from each PokéStop, and gyms don’t count. There’s no limit to how many you can complete, but you’ll have to go to other PokéStops to get those tasks.
Tasks can vary from battling in a gym to catching a Pokémon of a certain type, and reward you with some berries or a Pokémon encounter. That’s pretty easy, but harder challenges yield better rewards. You might get some rare candy, otherwise only available to Trainers who successfully defeat a raid boss. Similarly, win three raids, you’re guaranteed a Technical Machine. Another of the tasks is to land three Great throws in a row, a challenge even for experienced players.
The system means you can take on the challenges you want to get the rewards you want. That’s right: you don’t have to complete challenges in order, nor do you have to do every single one you receive from a PokéStop (unlike the frustrating egg-hatching system). A little bin icon at the top-right of each challenge is there so you can discard those you don’t want.
You can have up to three Field Research tasks in the list, and progress through them at your own pace: there’s no need to win those three gym battles on the same day. Equally, there’s no limit to how many challenges you can complete each day. Some quests have specific requirements, so you may have to reach a certain level in the game, or have a specific medal for that type of Pokémon.
How do I collect stamps and get a Research Breakthrough?
At the top of the Field Research screen is your Research Progress bar. This relates to Field Research and is nothing to do with Special Research: the interface is a little less confusing here. So long as you complete one challenge on a particular day and tap on ‘Claim Reward’ you’ll receive a stamp. Get seven stamps and you’ll make a ‘Research Breakthrough’, which brings more rewards including Stardust, items (berries and more) and the appearance of a Pokémon which you have the chance to catch, and it could be a Legendary. Word has it that it’s Moltres. Unlike the daily and weekly bonus streaks, you don’t have to collect a stamp every day. If you miss a day, your progress is not reset as it is with the catching and spinning PokéStops streaks. The timer resets at midnight, so you can collect one stamp at 11.50pm and another at 00.01am the next day.
Once you’ve collected all seven stamps, you’ll be able to tap Claim Reward! The first time you do this, you’ll be awarded:
3000XP2000 StardustEncounter with Moltres (100% catch rate)
Pokémon Go Research tips & tricks
Here are some tips for completing research tasks:
You can spin the same PokéStop and it will count towards ‘Spin x PokéStops’If you receive the same task from multiple PokéStops, completing it once lets you claim the reward on all.You can’t get research tasks from gymsOnly Field Research tasks award daily stamps, not Special ResearchIf you must battle in multiple raids, you can lose the fight (wait until time runs out) and then battle again to increment the number of battlesYou can delay claiming a reward (field research) in order to get a stamp on a subsequent dayTasks are not awarded if your bag is full If you have to land a ‘nice’ throw, a ‘great’ or ‘excellent’ throw will also countPokémon Go+ / Gotcha catches will count towards relevant catch tasks
Also check out these pro tips for using the search facility in your Pokémon box. There are currently 16 types of Research which include:
Catching a PokémonUsing a berry when catchingSpinning unique PokéStopsHatching an eggFavouriting a PokémonTransferring a PokémonWalking with your buddy and getting a buddy candyWinning gym battlesLevelling up a badgeCompleting raid battlesEvolving PokémonLanding Great throwsLevelling up your trainer
Reward for completing quests can include:
XPRare candyStardustItems (berries, potions, incubators)Technical MachinesPokémon encounters
Jim has been testing and reviewing products for over 20 years. His main beats include VPN services and antivirus. He also covers smart home tech, mesh Wi-Fi and electric bikes.
