Pokémon Go May Field Research tasks and rewards

All Field Research tasks and Research Breakthroughs listed.

Guide by Matthew Reynolds Former Guides Editor

Additional contributions by Jessica Orr, Lottie Lynn, and Marie Pritchard

Updated on April 30, 2026

Pokémon Go Field Research was a major addition for the game in 2018, introducing new Pokémon Go tasks for players to accomplish.

The tasks refresh each season and the first task you complete every day will earn you a stamp. Seven stamps unlocks a Research Breakthrough, which is a unique encounter with a rare Pokémon. In the past, these encounters were often legendary Pokémon, but now you'll be rewarded with a hard-to-find Pokémon from a list which rotates seasonally. Special Research quests were also released alongside these tasks and now there's a whole range for you to complete. One particular quest will lead you to an encounter with the Mythical Pokémon Mew.

Start date: Tuesday 3rd March at 10am (local time)

End date: Tuesday 2nd June at 10am (local time)

On this page:

Pokémon Go Current Research Breakthrough Pokémon

Upon earning seven Field Research stamps by completing one task every day for seven days in total (though these days do not need to occur consecutively), you'll unlock a Research Breakthrough. This Season, the following are up for grabs and, remember, said Pokémon is selected randomly:

Gyarados
Honedge
Dhelmise
Sinistea
Duraludon
Dreepy

Pokémon Go May Field Research tasks

Here are all of the May Field Research tasks and their rewards:

Catching Tasks

Task	Reward
Catch 7 Pokemon	Magikarp, Stufful or Wimpod
Catch 7 Fire-type Pokémon	Charmander, Charmeleon or Charizard
Catch 7 Grass-type Pokémon	Bulbasaur, Ivysaur or Venusaur
Catch 7 Water-type Pokémon	Squirtle, Wartortle or Blastoise
Catch 10 Fire-type Pokémon	10 Charizard or Blaziken Mega Energy
Catch 10 Grass-type Pokémon	10 Venusaur or Sceptile Mega Energy
Catch 10 Normal-type Pokémon	10 Pidgeot Mega Energy
Catch 10 Water-type Pokémon	10 Blastoise Mega Energy or 10 Swampert Mega Energy
Catch a Dragon-type Pokémon	Dratini, Bagon or Axew
Catch 5 Pokémon with Weather Boost	Vulpix, Poliwag, Wingull, Hippopotas, Snover, Roggenrola or Vanillite

Throwing tasks

Task	Reward
Make 5 Nice Throws	Diglett, Alolan Diglett or Sudowoodo
Make 10 Nice Throws	Alolan Sandshrew, Machop, Magmar, Magikarp, Sunkern, Nuzleaf, Stunfisk, Trumbeak, Mareanie or Nymble
Make 3 Great Throws	Omanyte, Kabuto, Clamperl, Elgyem or Binacle
Make 3 Great Throws in a row	Lileep or Anorith
Make 2 Excellent Throws	Jangmo-o
Make 3 Excellent Throws in a row	Larvitar, Beldum or Gible
Make 10 Curveball Throws	Alolan Geodude, Electabuzz, Makuhita, Swablu, Baltoy, Dusclops, Staravia, Emolga, Ferroseed or Lechonk
Make 5 Great Curveball Throws in a row	Spinda 1 or Spinda 8

Buddy tasks

Task	Reward
Earn 2 Candies walking with your buddy	Jigglypuff, Glameow, Buneary, Bunnelby, Litleo or Dedenne
Earn 3 Candies walking with your buddy	Stunfisk or Galarian Stunfisk
Send 3 Gifts and add a Sticker to each	Clefairy, Jigglypuff, Eevee or Togetic
Trade a Pokémon	Herdier, Tranquill, Boldore, Gurdurr or Palpitoad

Exploration tasks

Task	Reward
Hatch an Egg	Alolan Marowak, Scyther, Noctowl, Sudowoodo, Nincada, Bagon, Combee, Audino, Trubbish, Cubchoo, Tyrunt, Amaura, Stufful or Wimpod
Hatch 2 Eggs	Sneasel, Mawile or Feebas
Explore 2km	Pidgeot, Nidorina, Nidorino, Paras, Mankey, Mantine, Houndour, Wailmer, Yamper, Pawmi or Fidough
Spin 3 PokéStops or Gym	Doduo, Remoraid, Ralts or Aron
Spin 5 PokéStops or Gyms	Sandshrew, Growlithe, Hisuian Growlithe, Slowpoke, Galarian Slowpoke, Tangela, Dunsparce, Sneasel, Numel, Snorunt, Bidoof, Hippopotas, Minccino, Ducklett, Skrelp, Phantump, Dewpider, Bounsweet, Nickit, Wooloo, Tarountunla or Nacli

Training tasks

Task	Reward
Power up Pokémon 3 times	Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle
Power up Pokémon 5 times	Snivy, Tepig or Oshawott or 10 Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise, Beedrill, Pidgeot, Aggron or Manectric Mega Energies
Power up Pokémon 7 time	Rowlet, Litten or Popplio
Evolve a Pokémon	Seadra, Starmie, Eevee, Magcargo, Grumpig, Whirlipede, Eelektrik or Diggersby

Raid tasks

Task	Reward
Win a Raid	Onix, Vaporeon, Jolteon, Flareon, Snorlax, Piloswine, Sealeo, Metang, Luxio, Gabite, Lampent or Fletchinder
Win a Three-Star Raid or higher	Archen or Tirtouga
Win 5 Raids	Alolan Marowak, Alolan Exeggutor or Aerodactyl

Team Go Rocket tasks

Task	Reward
Defeat 3 Team GO Rocket Grunts	Arbok, Meowth or Weezing

Pokémon Go Field Research tasks explained

Field Research are missions collected one at a time by spinning a PokéStop, and will involve finding certain creatures, engaging in battles and other activities.

Every day PokéStops will give you a new quest, and each type of quest can have one of many different rewards, from previously Raid-exclusive consumables such as TMs and Rare Candy and common items such as Poké Balls.

Examples of quest types include:

Catch one or two specific Pokemon (such as 3x Pidgey or Murkrow)
Catch specific Types (such as catch 10x Normal Type Pokemon)
Catch Weather-boosted Types
Hatch a certain number of Eggs
Battle in a Gym a certain number of times
Battle in a Raid a certain number of times
Evolve a certain number of Pokemon
Make a certain number of specific throws (such as Nice, Great or Excellent)
Spin a certain number of PokeStops

As well as from a PokéStop, one additional research quest will also be added to your list at midnight local time. If you have a full roster of research, then you'll receive a fourth regardless - though if you still have four the following evening, no more will be added.

After you've earned seven Field Research tasks, you'll earn a Research Breakthrough. You'll earn one stamp for completing at least one Field Research task per day. Helpfully, this steak can not be broken and that means you can take a break from finishing Field Research tasks if you want. It also allows you to bank a near-completed Research Breakthrough if you want to try your luck getting one of the upcoming Pokémon.

A Research Breakthrough itself is an encounter with a Pokémon from a pool of rare spawns, which changes on a seasonal basis. This Pokémon is selected randomly, so you may have to complete a Research Breakthrough multiple times to get the Pokémon you want.

If you're curious, here is all the Research Breakthrough rewards so far:

Research Breakthrough rewards from 2018 to 2026:

April 2018: Moltres reward and Fire-themed Field Research
May 2018: Zapdos reward and Electric-themed Field Research
June 2018: Articuno reward and Ice / Water-themed Field Research
July 2018: Snorlax reward and Kanto-themed Field Research
August 2018: Raikou reward and Electric-themed Field Research
September 2018: Entei reward and Fire-themed Field Research
October 2018: Suicune reward and Water-themed Field Research
November 2018: Shedinja reward and Bug-themed Field Research
December 2018: Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Entei, Raikou and Suicune reward
January to February 2019: Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Entei, Raikou, Suicune, Ho-Oh and Lugia reward
March to April 2019: Entei, Raikou, Suicune, Ho-Oh, Lugia, Regirock, Regice and Registeel reward
May to June 2019: Ho-Oh, Lugia, Latios and Latias reward
July to August 2019: Latios, Latias, Kyogre and Groudon reward
September to October 2019: Flower crown Eevee reward
November to December 2019: Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Kyogre and Groundon reward
January 2020: Lapras that knows Ice Shard and Ice Beam
February 2020: Woobat
March 2020: Ferroseed
April 2020: Alolan Exeggutor
May 2020: Shinx
June 2020: Trapinch
July 2020: Larvitar
August 2020: Scraggy
September 2020: Alolan Raichu
October 2020: Shedinja
November 2020: Togetic
December 2020: Lapras and Darumaka
January 2021: Chansey
February 2021: Snorlax
March 2021: Gible
April 2021: Frillish
May 2021: Galarian Ponyta
June 2021: Clamperl
July 2021: Rufflet
August 2021: Chimecho
September 2021: Ditto
October 2021: Yamask
November 2021: Vullaby
December 2021: Deino
January 2022: Onix
February 2022: Espurr
March 2022: Alolan Vulpix
April 2022: Alolan Marowak
May 2022: Alolan Grimer
June 2022: Klink
July 2022: Lickitung
August 2022: Galarian Stunfisk
September 2022: Medicham and a Premium Raid Pass
October 2022: Shedinja
November 2022: Starmie
December 2022, January and February 2023: Galarian Mr. Mime, Delibird, Bagon, Deino, Furfrou or Goomy
March, April and May 2023: Parasect, Pinsir, Snorlax, Gible, Furfrou or Goomy
June, July and August 2023: Sableye, Beldum, Audino, Furfrou, Goomy or Noibat
September, October and November 2023: Galarian Farfetch'd, Larvitar, Sableye, Bagon, Furfrou or Goomy
December 2023, January and February 2024: Lapras, Galarian Weezing, Galarian Mr. Mime, Furfrou, Goomy or Jangmo-O
March, April and May 2024: Hisuian Sneasel, Furfrou, Goomy, Sandygast, Jangmo-o or Dubwool
June, July and August 2024: Hisuian Growlithe, Larvitar, Audino, Axew, Furfrou or Jangmo-o
September, October and November 2024: Galarian Weezing, Galarian Mr. Mime, Excadrill, Scraggy, Furfrou or Jangm-o
December 2024, January and February 2025: Alolan Raichu, Pancham, Furfrou, Hisuian Avalugg, Jangmo-o or Frigibax
March, April and May 2025: Alolan Marowak, Mawile, Druddigon, Jangmo-o, Charcadet or Frigibax
June, July and August 2025: Aerodactyl, Galarian Corsola, Gible, Sinistea, Charcadet or Frigibax
September, October and November 2025: Alakazam, Aggron, Sinistea, Morpeko, Dreepy or Frigibax
December 2025, January and February 2026: Galarian Mr. Mime, Lapras, Snorlax, Honedge, Sinistea or Dreepy
March, April and May 2026: Gyarados, Honedge, Dhelmise, Sinistea, Duraludon and Dreepy

The Steeled Resolve event is currently running and has seen the release of Orthworm! There's a lot to do in Pokémon Go outside of the current event! From the Go Battle League, Remote Trading, PokéStop Showcase, Routes and Max Battles. Don't forget to catch rare Pokémon while you're at it.

What are Special Research quests?

Special Research quests, meanwhile, are story-based questlines with unique rewards. Unlike Field Research quests, these are fixed objectives that every player will face, and appear in the game infrequently.

The first available is 'A Mythical Discovery', with the arrival of the game's first Mythical creature - Mew - as the end reward.

Since then we've seen more special research quests arrive for other mythical Pokémon, like Celebi and Meloetta, and ones themed around battling Team Go Rocket or investigating the Ultra Beasts. Ocassionally, you can even purchase a special research from the in-game Pokémon Go store, like Wish Granted, which will allow you to earn additional Pokémon, items or avatar clothing.

Make sure you're playing Pokémon Go regularly to ensure you're keeping up with all of the special research quests! Remember - since they don't have deadlines, you can complete these quests at your own pace.

Everything else you need to know

Though the quest features are well explained in the game, there's some nuance that will help you get the most out of each Field Research task you undertake:

You can cancel and complete as many Field Research tasks as you want per day.
As long as you have space for it, you will recieve one Field Research task automatically every day.
It's possible to have multiple of the same Field Quest at once, and complete them all at the same time.
Pokémon encounters from Research quests always feature Level 15 Pokémon, with the 66 per cent to 100 per cent IV spreads you also find in Raid or Egg encounters, and are unaffected by the weather.
Certain Special Research quests (also known as Mew steps) will be automatically completed if you complete their requirements since they are impossible to 'repeat', such as reaching a certain Trainer or medal level.
Pokémon Go Plus can be used to collect quests from PokéStops and complete objectives.
The Pokémon you can catch after completing certain Field Research tasks have the same high-end IV range as Egg and Gym Pokémon.
Throwing better-tierd throws than required in ball-throwing quests counts too. So throwing a Great or Excellent Throw will count towards 'Make 5 Nice Throws'.
You can miss days and not lose your streak of Stamps - it's just a cap of one Stamp that can be earned per day, not a 'streak' that can be lost by missing a day, like the ones for spinning a Pokéstop or catching a Pokémon every day.
Dittos count towards the types they're disguised as too - so a Ditto disguised as a Pidgey will count towards 'Catch 3 Pidgey' quests.
You can indeed work towards two quests at once - so landing a Great Throw on a Pidgey will both count towards 'Catch 3 Pidgey' and "Make 3 Great Throws" quests.
You can delay claiming rewards for both Field and Special Research, although they'll need to be cleared before you get new ones. Delaying the rewards for you Special Research in particular is a good idea, as some of the later requests reward thousands of XP - it might be worth popping a Lucky Egg before claiming them all together.

Best of luck with the Field Research tasks!