I started this entry back in May around the time of the Regionals and never got back to it in time to publish at the time. There are research quests that I just wish would not be for one reason or another. Some have resolved themselves. Others, not so much.
In the Kanto Timed Research, we had to complete a raid in order to get past step #2. With the Remote Raid Passes (which is a misnomer I covered at least somewhat here), the powers that be thought that everyone could very easily participate in a raid. Not so fast… I know I can since I have 1 gym in my home screen. However, it was a Darkrai and a 4* the first couple of days. If that was all I was getting, I would have to pretty much waste a pass on a battle I could not win on my own in order to move on. I do know a couple of other players who may have access to that gym, but I only know them as in-game friends and not as friends I can contact. I don’t know anyone else who would go to that gym… it’s the one of the side of the highway I mentioned previously and is a pain to get to. It’s not in a good location to play at on a regular basis (as least in my experience). I was fortunate enough to see an easy 3* (Scyther… and I have an All-Star Rhyperior army) where I could remote raid and win easily. The more rural of my fellow players or someone who lives in a planned neighborhood where there are no gyms in site would have an even harder time, especially at that time where many were under travel restrictions. At least for the other Regionals did not have the requirement to play in a raid. Hopefully none of these types of researches will be required until we are clear of this situation.
Something else that has been on my mind in the past and at least so far has been kept away from the non-new player quests is the “make x” new friends quest. Especially after the newbie quests where these were front and center, I thought these would make a comeback in some other quest lines. Fortunately, this has not come up and hopefully never will come up again. I have made in-game friends with the majority of the people I play with on a regular basis, either on Wednesday Night Raids or random meets on the weekends. I do occasionally add people through groups or playing in different areas. I try to find a community if I will be in an area for some reason that is not a home base. If nothing else, 5* Raids are great no matter where they are. For those in more rural areas than mine, there is a lower pool of people. Sure there are ways to make friends through some places where we can trade codes, but I would rather not have to stoop to this.
There are a few Daily Researches that I find annoying… I doubt that these will change, but I don’t like them. Yes, I know to trash them, but with limited Pokestops that I can get to on a normal basis, even one trash is a significant amount. These are not in any particular order
- Trade a Pokemon – If I see other players on a weekday, that is a minor miracle. This does not count Wednesday, but that is more for raid night and sometimes I trade… sometimes I don’t that day. Weekends it’s rare to trade. So getting this done is a pain.
- Evolve/Power Up a Pokemon – Look, I get that it’s a part of the game. However, this is something I want to do on my own time at my own pace. I am walking 20k/candy characters now… and with the lack of raids I have been doing recently, it’s not easy getting rare candies. That and I don’t want to power up/evolve any random character. It’s just annoying as all get out to have to do something I don’t want to so I can do a daily research.
- Win a raid. Especially before the Remote Raid Passes, this was very difficult in the current situation. I can’t imagine for the more rural players who don’t have a gym in site. Until the remote raid passes become truly remote, these should not be a part of the line up.
- Catch a dragon type. Unless dragon types come out more than once in a long while in the wild, this is more frustrating than it is worth. I have been playing 13 months and am still 62 from the Dragon Tamer Gold Badge if that tells you anything. A lot of that is helped by raids. Otherwise, I would be 100+ to go.
- Catch a Ditto. Likewise, way too random for my taste. What’s left that CAN become Ditto anyway?
What are some of your least favorite researches? Let me know in the comments section. Thanks for reading and please do sign up to get updates on my postings via email. Sometimes I make entries that I do not mention on Social Media for whatever reason, like one from earlier today.
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