Pokémon Go: A Drive to Investigate

As noted in my event rollup for this month, Pokémon Go held another paid event in the style of the previous one for its "Mysterious Weekend". I had dropped a few clues yesterday in terms of what the general overarching event entails, and now it's time to unveil the mystery: the event, titled "A Drive to Investigate", is for the in-game debut of Genesect, a Mythical Pokémon of the Bug and Steel types that can use the move Techno Blast, which may be of the other five types I mentioned there thanks to various Drives, which the title alludes to. Likewise with Regigigas, the debut event is an "early access" before the Pokémon enters EX Raids (replacing the former), though with EX Raids canceled for the foreseeable future, it seems uncertain how one would be able to capture one until they return. That became one of the considerations for me opting to pay and partake in this one.

Another consideration was the cost-effectiveness of the benefits I would receive based on a simple cost analysis. After performing one based on the revealed bonuses, I determined that the bonuses plus what would be the trips to qualify for and battle in an EX Raid was well worth the money, making its purchase to be rather attractive. This Special Research would also give something to do while my mobility is limited, certainly with current circumstances and most likely from home, as it had been billed that the Special Research can be played from home. Even so, it would seem that one would still have had to go out (but not far) in order to complete some parts, which can be and may have been an issue. One would still have to heed the "primary warning" regardless in order to complete the objectives viably.

Like the previous Special Research, the content of this one is also significant and substantial. The Special Research spans five pages, which can all be described in a "thematic" manner. Each page contains an "action" task, a "catching" task, and an "interactive" task; the "action" tasks deal with mostly battling or Pokémon enhancement and award 1000 Stardust, the "catching" tasks demand catching 25 Pokémon corresponding to one of the possible types for Techno Blast and award 3 Rare Candies, and the "interactive" tasks mostly deal with Buddy Pokémon or social tasks and award a Pokémon encounter. Completing a page awards two item bonuses and another Pokémon encounter, with Genesect being on the fourth page (except for the last page, which awards Genesect Candies instead). Altogether, this was a pretty significant bundle, but the rewards were just as significant.

The "action" and "interactive" tasks should have been straightforward to complete, as the requirements are not too great. The most strenuous part of the Special Research would have to be the "catching" tasks, which require no less than 25 of the specified Pokémon type. This is a number that may be difficult to come upon, particularly if one doesn't move about or activate a Lure Module or Incense, the latter of which may or should have come from the practically free bundle. My experience is that even with an Incense and the right weather, the Pokémon of the right types seem hard to come by, which make it hard as well to complete the respective task. As a result, at this point, I'm still on the crucial fourth page of tasks, the one which contains the all-important Genesect encounter, while most others have gotten past this page or completed the Special Research altogether. Other than that, this Special Research remains as something neatly doable.

As it has been said the current form of the Special Research had been changed from its planned form in order to accommodate localized play, it is hard to expect that the form will be changed further. This is unlike the previous Regigigas Special Research, which did become simpler or more generalized in some aspects. The only exception could be for the "catching" tasks above, which could be toned down to 15 Pokémon each as an example to account for harder times. However, 25 seems to be quite sufficient to keep people occupied with this Special Research if they haven't completed it, though it might still be hard (especially now with the Psychic Spectacular still in effect). It may be that the Special Research is still attractive in any case.

As a final thought, much of the things that I concluded for the Regigigas Special Research (A Colossal Discovery) can be concluded for the Genesect one as well. Commitment and helpful resources do help, and the multiple benefits and accomplished objectives make the Special Research worth its price. At present, it also provided another outlet for keeping Trainers occupied until such time that Genesect can be obtained as normally intended, through EX Raids. It's a hard time for everything, and the Special Research had to take into account for that. But if anything, good results may still be achievable even within those times, as with the things that this Special Research had to offer.

One year ago: Pokémon Go Event Rollup, 3/29/2019
Two years ago: Takara Tomy Pokémon MonCollé Friends: Pikachu
Three years ago: Pokémon Mechanical Fan