Culver City, May 5, 2026, 11:02 PDT
- Pokémon GO has begun testing a weekly “Choose Your Path” Timed Research format for quieter event weeks.
- Players must pick Explore, Catch or Battle, with different XP bonuses but broadly similar item rewards.
- The test fits a wider shift toward steadier weekly play during the Memories in Motion season.
Pokémon GO started a new “Choose Your Path” Timed Research test on Tuesday, giving players a one-week choice between Explore, Catch and Battle paths rather than a standard event quest. The research runs from May 5 at 10:00 a.m. local time until May 12 at 8:00 p.m. local time, Leek Duck listed. Leek Duck
The change matters because it gives the game a light weekly structure during “evergreen weeks,” a term being used for stretches without a major new event. Pokémon GO Hub’s Zeroghan wrote that the format appears designed to give players focused goals when the game is leaning more on regular seasonal play than on a new headline event. Pokémon GO Hub
It also lands during Pokémon GO’s Memories in Motion season, which runs from March 3 to June 2, 2026. The official season page says Pokémon GO event pacing is being adjusted to a more regular schedule, with daily discovery experiences and weekend events moving to Saturdays.
The three paths split the week by play style. Explore gives 5x XP — experience points used to level up a player account — for spinning PokéStops, the map locations that provide items. Catch gives 1.5x XP for catching Pokémon with Nice Throws or better. Battle gives an extra 5,000 XP for completing raids, Leek Duck said.
The first version keeps the item payouts close. The Explore path asks players to walk 5 km and spin 50 PokéStops or Gyms; Catch asks for 15 Excellent Throws and 50 Curveball Throws; Battle requires five raid wins and 25 supereffective Charged Attacks, meaning charged battle moves that hit a Pokémon weakness. MeinMMO listed 10 Great Balls, 10 Ultra Balls, three Pinap Berries and five Rare Candies as rewards across the paths.
That makes the real decision the bonus, not the prize box. Players in dense city areas may get more from Explore; players planning a raid week may prefer Battle; players grinding catches may lean Catch. Pokémon GO Hub said the exact tasks and bonuses may change from week to week, but the structure is expected to remain Explore, Catch or Battle.
There is a catch. Once a path is selected, it cannot be changed, and Timed Research expires if players do not finish the tasks and claim rewards before the deadline. That makes Battle the riskier pick for players short on raid passes, raid groups or time, while Explore may be poor value in areas with few PokéStops.
The test comes less than a year after Scopely closed its acquisition of Niantic’s games business, including Pokémon GO, Pikmin Bloom and Monster Hunter Now. Scopely said the Niantic games business had more than 30 million monthly active players and generated more than $1 billion in revenue in 2024, giving the company a large live-service portfolio alongside titles such as MONOPOLY GO!.
Ed Wu, senior vice president of Pokémon GO, said when the Scopely deal was announced that the game’s mission remained “to inspire people to discover Pokémon in the real world together.” The weekly path test is a small mechanic, but it points in that same direction: pushing players to walk, catch or raid even when there is no major event banner carrying the week. Scopely
