Posted in: Games, Mobile Games, Niantic, Pokémon GO | Tagged: Keldeo, Niantic, pokemon, pokemon go, Season of Mythical Wishes

Was The Keldeo Ticketed Research In Pokémon GO Unfair?

Whenever Niantic released a new Pokémon GO Ticketed Research, the backlash is immediate. It happened again this month when the Mythical Pokémon Keldeo was released to those who paid for an in-shop ticket to unlock Special Research. Only through this paid Special Research could Keldeo be encountered. Let's take a look at this situation as well as the history of Niantic and Pokémon GO to determine if this was fair.

First, there is something that isn't often addressed when looking at Ticketed Research. In Niantic's defense and in interest of bringing nuance to the conversation, the model of Niantic's Ticketed Research has not been "Pay and be the only Trainer to get this Pokémon." It has been, in every situation, "Pay and get this Pokémon first." It happened with Regigigas through the A Colossal Discovery event, and Regigigas was later released in EX Raids and then standard Tier Five raids. It happened with Genesect who was also Ticketed Research exclusive before becoming a common Tier Five raid boss. It has happened with every Pokémon GO Fest Mythical and will certainly continue to happen with Keldeo.

The problem, though, is that Niantic is losing touch with what Pokémon GO Trainers consider a fair purchase. The problem we're seeing with Ticketed Research this month isn't the Keldeo Ticketed Research and we would be missing the bigger problem if we focus on that. The problem is the egregiously uneventful Ticketed Research that Niantic just put out this week as part of the Winter Holiday Event Part 1.

Right now, there is a $4.99 ticket in the shop for a Timed Research (not even a Special Research!) that offers the following:

• Encounters: Snover, Spheal, Seel, Swinub, Delibird, Cubchoo, Galarian Mr. Mime x2, Vanillite, Stantler, Snowy Form Castform, Alolan Vulpix, Alolan Sandshrew, Lapras, Galarian Darumaka, and Sneasel.
• Items: Incense, Egg Incubator x1
• Other: 150 Abomasnow Mega Energy, an Avatar Pose

Come on. This is every bit of what the Keldeo research isn't, in a negative way. The Keldeo Ticketed Research offered an early shot at a Mythical that will almost certainly be widely available later. This? It's a repeat of 2020's Galarian Mr. Mime Ticketed Research only it doesn't even offer anything new or unusual. This would be a borderline decent free Research questline. For $5? How could there be enough people working at Niantic who think this is a fair deal that it went through? That, not the Keldeo Ticketed Research, should be the problem the community addresses.

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