The Snubbull Research Event Is How All Research Events Should Be

On May 9th, Pokemon Go had a research event featuring the weird clown dog Pokemon Snubbull. In the past, research events have always been very hit and miss. But I think Niantic have finally hit the nail on the head with the Snubbull research event.

All you need to do is (mostly) catch Pokemon.

Unlike previous research events, research for Snubbull is given to you directly, with a set of 3 tasks and a reward. Once you have done those 3 tasks and collected your rewards, then move on to 3 more tasks. Each task rewards you with a Snubbull, which has a chance to be shiny and is guaranteed to have at least 2 stars. Tasks include catching Pokemon and things to do with Snubbull.

This was a simple, easy, fun event that almost anyone can do.

Seriously. The tasks are all easy to do, they seem to repeat and they give plenty of Snubbulls. Each task you complete gives you 3 Snubbulls and finishing the three tasks has a chance to give you one extra Snubbull, or some Pokeballs or berries.

What makes these tasks easier is that they loop in to each other. Complete 2 of the tasks and you’re already at 2/3 for the Catch 3 Pokemon task. Some of the tasks are incredibly simple, like “take 3 snapshots of your buddy” simple. The only difficult tasks are the 3 Great Throws in a Row, Evolve 3 Pokemon and Battle Another Trainer tasks, and even those are pretty easy to do.

The great thing is, there’s no rush at all!

With previous research events, the biggest limiting factor has always been time. Making sure you can get as many tasks done as possible, especially since normal research is limited to 3 maximum. Most of the tasks for the Snubbull event can be done at a pretty leisurely pace, totaling out at 40 research tasks (20 “steps” which loop once). The whole event lasted for 10 hours, giving up to over Snubbull encounters.

You don’t need to spin any Pokestops either. All the tasks are right there in the Today section of your journal. This is amazing for pretty much everyone! The other biggest limiting factor was always the number of available Pokestops, but the Snubbull event completely bypasses that. You don’t need ANY Pokestops for this event. Except maybe to get some extra Pokeballs.

In fact, I only have two complaints about this event.

The first is that the Battle Another Trainer task is a bit of an oddball. Every other task is about catching Pokemon or dealing with Pokemon in general, so this task sticks out. Battle Another Trainer is not a hard task to do. If you are playing with someone else, you can do it then and there. If you are alone though, your options are to try and see if any of your friends are online or use the Go Battle League and play one match there.

Those aren’t really problems, but I’m just never a fan of only having 1/5 matches done. I prefer having complete sets, and some people don’t like battling at all. Then again, you don’t need to win a battle, just battle another person, whoever that may be.

The second is that this event is about Snubbull. Snubbull is a cute Pokemon but it seems like a really weird choice. There are LOADS of one-stage Pokemon with shinies that could have been picked. I assume it’s because Snubbull is a generation 2 Pokemon, which makes sense due to this event. But normally these research events are to unveil a new shiny or something.

Either way, I hope future research events are like this.

Seriously, this Snubbull event was great. It was relaxing and easy and stress-free. Like all Pokemon Go events should be.