Choose Your Path Timed Research
Branching Timed Research running May 19-24. Pick Battle, Catch, or Explore — the choice locks until the event closes. Here's the EV math for each branch and a decision matrix for who should pick what.
- · Defeat 5 Team GO Rocket Grunts
- · Use 25 super-effective Charged Attacks
- · Make 15 Excellent Throws
- · Make 50 Curveball Throws
- · Explore 5 km
- · Spin 50 PokéStops or Gyms
| Scenario | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Shadow Cresselia / Giovanni / Shadow legendary prep | Battle | Rocket Radars are the rate-limiter. Shadow Cresselia is available in Shadow Raids until June 3, so the radars cash out immediately. |
| Farming a specific Community Day evolution | Catch | +1 candy per Nice+ throw multiplies fastest when you are chain-catching the same species. Great after the Deino CD or before any upcoming CD. |
| XL candy grind for a L50 build | Catch | The bonus candy extends to XL drops over time. Especially good if you Pinap berry chain-catches. |
| Stockpiled eggs (10 km / 12 km) waiting to hatch | Explore | ½ distance applies to ANY egg incubated during the window — including ones already in incubators. Roughly doubles your throughput. |
| Rural area, 1-2 grunts/day on average | Catch | Battle EV collapses if you cannot find 3-5 grunts per day. Catch still works because catching scales with anywhere you have spawns. |
| PvP / GBL grinding | Catch | Charged Attack tasks count, and the candy compounds for second-charge unlocks on your PvP team. |
Battle has the most concrete and immediately-spendable payoff: 3-4 extra Rocket Radars, perfectly timed with the Shadow Cresselia Shadow Raid window (until June 3). Catch overtakes Battle if you have a clear evolution farm (Community Day prep, XL grind, second- charge unlocks). Explore wins narrowly if you have already stockpiled eggs and incubators going into the event.
Whatever you pick, commit early — the longer you wait, the fewer event days remain to realize the bonus.
▸When does Choose Your Path Timed Research run?
The current iteration runs from Tuesday, May 19, 2026 at 10:00 AM local time through Sunday, May 24, 2026 at 8:00 PM local time. Niantic has called this format "evergreen weeks" — expect it to recur during quiet periods between major events.
▸Can I switch paths after choosing?
No. Once you select a branch, you are locked in until the Timed Research expires. Choose carefully — the math above ranks them under different player scenarios.
▸Which Choose Your Path branch is best overall?
For the median player with active Rocket grunts and at least one Shadow legendary they want to farm, Battle wins by EV (3-4 extra Rocket Radars over 5 days, immediately spendable on Shadow Cresselia until June 3). Catch wins for evolution farmers or rural players. Explore wins if you already have eggs stockpiled.
▸How many Mysterious Components does the Battle path actually add?
Default grunt drop is 1 Mysterious Component per grunt. The Battle bonus doubles this to 2. For a player averaging 3-5 grunts per day across 5 days, that is +15-25 components on top of the +15-25 baseline. At 6 components per Rocket Radar, that converts to 3-4 extra radars charged compared to a path that does not pick Battle.
▸Does the Catch bonus stack with Excellent Throw XP bonuses?
Yes. The extra candy is independent from XP. So an Excellent + Curveball + First Throw on a new species can still hit the high-XP combo, and you get +1 bonus candy on top.
▸Does the Explore ½ Hatch bonus apply to eggs already in incubators?
Yes. Any egg in an incubator during the event window benefits from the halved distance. There is no need to re-incubate.
▸Will Choose Your Path return?
Niantic explicitly labeled this an "evergreen weeks" format — it is designed to fill weeks without major events. Expect the same branching structure to recur with potentially different bonuses each time.