Pokemon GO made a substantial change to its style of gameplay when it introduced players to Field Research. Finally allowing Pokemon Trainers to take part in more goal-oriented pursuits was received well by most if not all.
Still, Niantic hasn't always managed a flawless execution when rolling out its new Research tasks, with some of the quests presenting surprisingly difficult challenges to even the game's most devout players. While many Pokemon GO Research Tasks tend to be simple like "Evolve a Pokemon," some challenges have gained notoriety for eluding players for weeks at a time.
Though Trainers can make it through much of the game without completing some of these difficult instances of Pokemon GO Research, it's these very tricky quests that often hold the key to accessing rare or unique Pokemon encounters. That is to say, most of them are worth the challenge. Now that being said, some of the game's toughest Research is also particularly noteworthy because of the completely lackluster rewards offered, so players are encouraged to be aware of their potential rewards before investing in a challenge.
Players have been treated to new Pokemon arrivals in 2020, alongside entirely new gameplay mechanics, and near non-stop passive bonuses (courtesy of the ongoing pandemic). Some of the game's existing difficult Research continues to haunt Trainers in-game, but needless to say, 2020 has also added some new frustrating Research Tasks to the Pokemon GO mix.
While some of the Research that Trainers reportedly find challenging involves technical skill- like the ability to land consistent Excellent Throws- other challenges simply require sheer luck and timing. Nonetheless, below are some of the most aggravating Pokemon GO challenges players had to face this past year.
Make 3 Excellent Throws in a row
This is the classic Pokemon GO nail-biter. Most players have grown accustomed to this Field Research, in that they either fiercely seek it out for its chance at a valuable pseudo-Legendary encounter, or they adamantly avoid it for its silly degree of difficulty.
"Make 3 Excellent Throws in a row" is a generally rare Field Research, normally available throughout the year, which is known for rewarding encounters with rarities like Dratini, Larvitar, and the like. The challenge, as it clearly implies, requires players to land 3 consecutive Excellent Throws. Players can exit a Pokemon encounter in between throws, and they do not have to capture the Pokemon in question. However, they do have to land 3 separate Excellent Throws on a Pokemon without dropping the ball or missing the Pokemon.
Regardless of time spent playing the game, this challenge is notorious because of the repetition it necessitates. Veteran Trainers will gladly admit they can score an Excellent Throw more times than not, yet even the most Elite Pokemon Trainers would probably admit that scoring those Excellent Throws more than twice in a row is a particularly daunting feat.
Visit a new place
One of the first manifestations of this challenge was as a "Spin 8 PokeStops you've never visited before" Research Task in 2018. Since then, it has resurfaced wearing many different masks, angering Trainers across the globe each time it does.
In 2020, the task has been most prominently featured as one of the challenges that allow Trainers to earn "Hearts" with their Buddy Pokemon. Bluntly, most Pokemon Trainers are out of new places to explore. Not to say Trainers have all scoured the Earth, but rather, most Trainers have thoroughly inspected their neighborhood/local Pokemon GO sites by now, so finding "new" PokeStops generally translates to "literally take a trip somewhere 2+ hours away." This was even true back in 2018 with the "Spin 8 PokeStops..." challenge. Given that this challenge is rarely presented as a "Find a single place a single time" sort of deal, most players have opted to simply avoid exerting themselves for this challenge.
Defeat a Team GO Rocket Leader 3 times
This Research Task generally acts as gatekeeper between stages of Team GO Rocket-themed events in Pokemon GO. Whether it's a big finale challenge for Special or Timed Research, players have learned to expect that they'll be pushed to locate and challenge Team GO Rocket Leaders periodically throughout the year.
This task is difficult partially because of what was mentioned above: Trainers must locate and challenge the Leaders. Team GO Rocket Leaders basically only show their faces once a Trainer has defeated 6 different Team GO Rocket Grunts. The Grunts reward pieces of a "Rocket Radar," which when fully assembled, can be used to locate and challenge a Team GO Rocket Leader, but Rocket Radars expire upon use though. So, players hoping to even challenge (let alone defeat) a Team GO Rocket Leader 3 times are actually signing up to challenge approximately 18 Team GO Rocket Grunts minimum. Otherwise, Pokemon Trainers will have to shell out valuable PokeCoins in exchange for Rocket Radars. Either way, this challenge calls for some serious legwork.
Level 40+ Level-up Challenges
Admittedly, there are so many daunting ones that it's difficult to pick a singular highlight. At the same time though, Level 40+ Pokemon Trainers will be much more generally well-equipped to combat these challenges, which makes them relatively less formidable. For example, players will eventually have to defeat 50 Team GO Rocket Leaders as a single challenge, so players who thought fighting three would be unbearable should buckle up. That said, at Level 44, when the challenge presents itself, Trainers will have likely already fought upwards of 30 Rocket Leaders.
Some of the tasks that players must complete to exceed the previous Level 40 cap include Catch 200 Pokemon in a single day, Win 30 Trainer Battles in each of the GO Battle Leagues (Great, Ultra, Master), Catch 5 Legendary Pokemon, and Purify 100 Shadow Pokemon. So in short, these Level 40+ Tasks are meant to challenge every aspect of a Pokemon Trainers skillset. Not only that, but players will have to invest all sorts of resources, like Raid Passes and priceless Stardust, in order to complete these challenges.
Catch 5 Shadow Pokemon
This one makes the cut despite being a more benign version of the Team GO Rocket Leader Research Task. In fact, most Trainers would appreciate being able to stack the two challenges, but unfortunately, that's rarely possible. Catching 5 Shadow Pokemon requires Pokemon Trainers to locate and defeat 5 Team GO Rocket Grunts.
Again, arguably more than half the challenge here lies in locating the Grunts. Whereas Leaders will only start appearing at their respective bases when a player equips the powerful Rocket Radar, Grunts simply appear across the world's PokeStops randomly. Thankfully, the new Team GO Rocket balloons make this a bit easier on homebound players, but still, finding Grunts to challenge is effectively a luck-based event tied to players' ability to physically travel. Once found, some of these Grunts also present quite challenging fights, so players may also find themselves confronting a particularly tough Pokemon challenger.
Catch a Froakie
Last but absolutely not least is the now-infamous "Catch a Froakie" challenge, as the hyper popular Pokemon ninja frog was recently added to the game alongside other Kalos Pokemon. While all three Kalos Starters featured low spawn rates, Froakie was indisputably the most difficult to find of all. To boot, Niantic made "Catch a Froakie" one of the Timed Research Challenges tied to the release event, which effectively prevented large groups of players from completing the Timed Research. It's not simply that Froakie is/was an incredibly elusive Pokemon, but rather that players also had to hope their chance-encounter with a Froakie happened to align itself with their Timed Research progress.
Find a Froakie too early, and it doesn't count towards the future quest. Find a Froakie too late, and there's no quest to complete.
Pokemon GO is available now on the App Store and Google Play.