Catch Even More, Even a Mew, With Pokemon Go’s Research Tasks

It’s that time again: time for Niantic to announce new features for Pokemon GO that are bound to bring players back for more. No, they aren’t trainer battles or trading, but at least players will be able to bag a Mew without looking under every truck.

Research missions are coming to Pokemon GO. According to the site, trainers will be tasked with different tasks they can complete for various rewards. Research will fall into two categories: Field Research and Special Research. Field Research missions will be acquired by spinning PokeStops. These tasks will focus on goals such as catching specific Pokemon and winning gym battles, and they will reward players with special items.

Special Research, on the other hand, will be provided by Professor Willow. You know, the character who greets every new player but is completely absent from the rest of the game? His research requests will be made up of checklists, such as spinning “x” Pokestops or catching “y” Pokemon. Moreover, Special Research will grant players experience instead of items.

Each time a player completes a Field Research task, they earn a stamp. While players can complete as many research tasks as they want each day, they can only earn one stamp per day. But, dedicated trainers will quickly earn these stamps, and after seven stamps, they will be rewarded with a “Research Breakthrough” chest that will contain stardust, random items, and a special Pokemon encounter. The announcement implies lucky players will find themselves face to face with Legendary Pokemon, and since Mew is name-dropped in the first paragraph, there’s a good chance players can encounter this Pokemon via breakthroughs. With luck, trainers who could never find parties for raid battles can use breakthrough rewards to finally catch these sought-after powerhouses.

While the announcement page doesn’t give a specific date, it states trainers can participate in research tasks later this week.