If you want to be the very best, you’ll need to stay on top of the Pokemon Go Field Research missions – constantly changing quests and activities that players can pick up and complete for bonuses and rewards. Here’s all the current missions for February 2021.
When we talk about research in Pokemon Go, there are two types to understand. Field Research tasks are quests picked up at random, with quests and rewards changing depending on the month, season, and current events. Completing these can lead to Research Breakthroughs which provide further unique rewards that also change over time. Special Research, meanwhile, are pre-set story-based strings of missions handed over by Professor Willow from time to time.
On this page:
How Pokemon Go Field Research missions & their rewards work
Field Research missions are essentially little mini-quests given to you by the game when you spin Pokestops, and sometimes every now and then at random. Each PokeStop gets one specific field research mission assigned to it each day, and though you can complete a quest more than once per day you’ll only ever pick up the same mission from any given PokeStop. The rewards vary, depending on the quest, and are listed below.
You can complete as many or as few field research quests as you’d like, but you’ll want to aim to complete at least one mission per day in order to work towards your research breakthrough. Quests range across all aspects of Pokemon Go and in a sense exist to get players to experience all aspects of the game. Field research quests might ask you to battle in a raid, battle in a gym, hatch Pokemon eggs, catch certain Pokemon types or even spin Pokestops – and these are just a few examples.
Sometimes a task will reward you with the items, but other times you’ll be rewarded with a rare Pokemon encounter – field research tasks are the only way to encounter and catch Spinda, for instance. These encounters are also really useful since Pokemon encountered in this way can’t flee.
The quests and rewards on offer rotate in a monthly manner for the most part, meaning at the end of one month Niantic will retire quests and rewards and replace them with new ones. Here’s the current quests & rewards:
Pokemon Go Field Research List: April 2021 rewards and missions
As we previously explained, everything around the field research mission system is on rotation. Every month brings around a different set of events with different goals, and we’re going to keep this page up-to-date with whatever the current mission set is. Here’s the quests that you’ll find in your Field Research list during April 2021 – but remember these quests are given out at random, so which you see is entirely down to chance.
Field research missions have an element of the random to their rewards – so there’s a chance that you’ll get more basic rewards like Pokeballs, Stardust and other items. Every quest has a Pokemon encounter it has a chance of rewarding you with, however, and this is a list of those missions and encounters:
Catch Field Research Missions & Rewards
| Field Mission | Reward |
|---|---|
| Catch 5 Pokemon | Nidoran♀ (shiny chance) Nidoran♂ (shiny chance) |
| Catch 10 Pokemon | Magikarp (shiny chance) |
| Catch 5 Pokemon with Weather Boost | Vulpix (shiny chance) Poliwag (shiny chance) |
| Use 5 Berries to help Catch Pokemon | Loudred |
| Catch a Dragon-type Pokemon | Dratini (shiny chance) |
| Catch 5 Grass-type Pokemon | Chikorita (shiny chance) |
Throw Field Research Missions & Rewards
| Field Mission | Reward |
|---|---|
| Make 5 Great Curveball Throws in a row | Spinda pattern #3 (shiny chance) |
| Make 5 Nice Throws | Voltorb (shiny chance) |
| Make 3 Great Throws | Gastly (shiny chance) Lileep (shiny chance) Anorith (all shiny chance) |
| Make 3 Great Throws in a row | Onix encounter (shiny chance) |
| Make 3 Excellent Throws in a row | Gible encounter (shiny chance) |
Battle Field Research Missions & Rewards
| Field Mission | Reward |
|---|---|
| Win a Raid | Ferroseed (shiny chance) |
| Win 5 Raids | Aerodactyl (shiny chance) |
| Win a level 3 or higher raid | Omanyte (shiny chance) Kabuto (shiny chance) |
| Defeat a Team GO Rocket Grunt | Stunky |
| Battle in the GO Battle League | Oddish (shiny chance) Bellsprout (shiny chance) |
Management & Evolution Field Research Missions & Rewards
| Field Mission | Reward |
|---|---|
| Evolve a Pokemon | Eevee (shiny chance) |
| Power up a Pokemon 5 times | Bulbasaur (shiny chance) Charmander (shiny chance) Squirtle (shiny chance) |
| Earn 5 Hearts with your Buddy | Cubone (shiny chance) |
| Send 3 Gifts to Friends | Bunnelby (shiny chance) |
| Trade a Pokemon | Wurmple (shiny chance) |
| Take a Snapshot of an Grass-type Pokemon | Bulbasaur (shiny chance) |
| Use an Incense | Onix (shiny chance) |
Field Research Breakthroughs & Stamps explained
As you can see in the field mission screen inside Pokemon Go, there are a series of stamps adding up to seven stamps. You can only earn one stamp per day even if you complete multiple missions – so basically, this series of stamps is designed to last a week. When you reach the seventh stamped day you’ll unlock a Research Breakthrough, represented on the screen by the big wrapped-up parcel from Professor Willow.
Exactly what will be inside these packages varies from month to month alongside the other research bonuses and rewards including the potential for a Sinnoh or Unova Stone evolution item to drop. In addition to that, every month this ‘research breakthrough’ features a Pokemon encounter. You also have an unlimited amount of tries to catch them, as Pokemon encountered in this way can’t run away. So long as you have patience and Pokeballs, you can keep trying until they’re caught.
This is a great place to practice how to make excellent throws and curveball throws in Pokemon Go, too. Pokemon caught this way will also have naturally high stats – the same sort of stats that you might find on Pokemon encountered as part of raid battles. All in all, this is a great way to catch rare Pokemon.
The April 2021 reward is an encounter with Frillish, including the chance to get a shiny Frillish. As well as the Pokemon encounter, each research breakthrough will net you Stardust, XP, and a random smattering of other items, including a chance at a Sinnoh Stone or Unova Stone evolution item.
Past Research Breakthrough Rewards
For posterity’s sake, here are the past field research breakthrough rewards as featured in Pokemon Go – just so you know what you’ve missed.
2018 Research Breakthrough rewards in Pokemon Go:
- April 2018: Moltres (fire-themed research)
- May 2018: Zapdos (electric-themed research)
- June 2018: Articuno (ice-themed research)
- July 2018: Snorlax (Kanto research)
- August 2018: Raikou (electric-themed research)
- September 2018:Entei (fire-themed research)
- October 2018: Suicune (water-themed research)
- November 2018: Shedinja (bug-themed research)
- December 2018: Best of 2018 (all previous Pokemon)
- January & February 2019: Legendary Birds
- March & April 2019: Raikou, Entei, Suicune, Lugia, Ho-oh, Regice, Registeel, Regirock
- May & June 2019: Ho-oh, Lugia, Latias, Latios
- July & August 2019: Kyogre, Groudon, Latias, Latios
- September & October 2019: Flower Crown Eevee
- November & December 2019: Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Kyogre, Groudon
- January 2020: Lapras (with Ice Shard & 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 or Unovan Darumaka
- January & February 2021: Chansey
- March 2021: Gible
- April 2021: Frillish
