Week two of Pokémon GO’s GO Fest-build timed research starts today, and it requires trainers to do battle with Team GO Rocket.
Prepare for trouble, make it double! Team Rocket has landed in Pokémon GO. Yes, Team GO Rocket has been ever-present in the game for a while now, but not like this. Earlier this week, Team Rocket hot air balloons began to appear in the air. Not just in the game, but in real life too. Trainers spotted one flying high in the sky over Munich earlier this week.
Rather than hang around at PokéStops, Rocket Grunts are creeping up on trainers using hot air balloons. Most exciting of all, those Grunts include Team Rocket stalwarts, Jessie and James. The iconic duo is traversing the skies above Pokémon GO in a Meowth balloon, just like in the anime, and trainers can do battle with the pair should they happen upon them.
The arrival of Team Rocket and their balloons has been designed to coincide with the start of today’s timed research. There are three weeks of research building to this year’s GO Fest. Week one was all about skill, and this week is based on battling, hence the re-debut of Team GO Rocket. Trainers will be tasked with battling and defeating Grunts in order to complete all three stages of research.
The three sets of tasks put forward this week look a little easier to complete than week one, which required trainers to catch 50 Pokémon during stage three. That’s providing trainers have a strong enough team of Pokémon at their disposal to take down grunts, of course. Stage one includes a challenge that asks trainers to defeat one grunt, stage two includes a two grunt challenge, and then three grunts during stage three.
As for Jessie and James, should a trainer happen upon them, we’re assuming defeating the two of them counts towards the timed research. There’s also a chance that trainers will encounter a shiny Koffing or Ekans should they find them and their Meowth balloon. The timed research also requires trainers to purify one, two, and then three shadow Pokémon, which should go hand-in-hand with defeating grunts.