Posted in: Games, Mobile Games, Niantic, Pokémon GO | Tagged: Mew, Niantic, Niantic Labs, pokemon, pokemon go

Shiny Mew Debuts In New Pokémon GO Feature: Masterwork Research

We have known now for months that Shiny Mew is arriving in Pokémon GO this year. It will be a guaranteed encounter at the end of a research questline given to those who complete the Pokémon GO Tour: Kanto Special Research. There was a bit of a misinterpretation of this, with some believing that Shiny Mew is the reward at the end of the Pokémon GO Tour: Kanto Special Research, but it is not. Shiny Ditto is. Instead, Shiny Mew will come from that second research which is meant to be completed over a long period of time. In fact, this is going to be such a longterm, intensive research that it is getting an entirely new classification from Pokémon GO: Masterwork Research.

On the official Pokémon GO blog, Niantic wrote:

After completing the Pokémon GO Tour: Kanto Special Research, you'll unlock a new kind of research called Masterwork Research, which will take determination and skill to complete. Just completing the first page will require that you receive your platinum Kanto medal. From there, you'll have to reach level 40, catch 30 Pokémon of each type, spin 151 unique PokéStops, walk 151 km, and more—an incredibly special encounter with Shiny Mew lies at the end of this adventure!

Personally, I think this is great for Pokémon GO. A project like this gives something to long-time players at a time when it seems the game isn't doing much to lure them in. It also invests in the creation of longtime players, as these kinds of tasks will make players try out new things in their gameplay and dedicate time and energy to making Pokémon GO a lasting hobby.

What I wonder now is if Masterwork Research will become the standard way to earn encounters with Shiny Mythicals. We already have Shiny Celebi through the relatively easy Special Research but, when it's time for Shiny Jirachi and Victini, perhaps we will see something more along the lines of this.

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