Pokemon GO is still going strong, more than half a decade after its initial release! New players join the fun every day, from fans of the franchise who are aging into their first cellphone to people who have heard good things about it from friends or partners.

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Over time, Niantic has released lots of new content for the game and its players but that, unfortunately, means that understanding the systems is a bit more complicated than it was when Pokemon GO first came out. Thankfully, we're here to help. This article is your guide to the Field Research aspect of the game, a method of earning special rewards and catching rare Pokemon.

Accessing The Field Research Menu

To get to your Field Research Menu, tap on the circular icon with binoculars in the bottom right corner of the screen. You'll automatically be brought to the Field Research and you can swipe to the right-hand menu to see special, long research quests or swipe to the left-hand menu to see event-related research, your Pokemon in Gyms, and special boosts.

Earning Field Research Stamps

Field Research Tasks

In the Field Research Menu, you'll find that there are particular goals for you to accomplish. To get tasks to work towards if you don't have any, you just need to spin a PokeStop. When you've finished whatever the task has asked of you, you can tap on it to claim the reward displayed on the left-hand side of each task.

You'll always be able to have at least three of these tasks at a time. There are some cases where you may have an extra few; event tasks and AR scanning tasks can be added in addition to the base three.

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If you have a task that you don't want to bother completing — perhaps you don't go walking very much and don't want to wait to hatch 5 eggs — there's a way to get rid of them. Just tap on the top-right of the task and click the very faint garbage can icon that you might not notice if you weren't looking for it.

There are a few different kinds of tasks you may acquire, though Niantic is adding more all the time.

You could encounter tasks that involve catching Pokemon somehow, such as:

• Catch Seven Pokemon
• Catch Five Different Species Of Pokemon
• Use Five Berries To Help Catch Pokemon
• Catch Ten Water-Type Pokemon
• Catch A Ditto

Or, you might see tasks that ask you to make a certain type and/or a number of throws, such as:

• Make Three Great Thows
• Make An Excellent Throw
• Make Five Curveball Throws In A Row
• Make Two Nice Curveball Throws In A Row
• Make Three Great Curveball Throws

Some tasks are battle- or raid-related, such as:

• Defeat A Team GO Rocket Leader
• Win A Raid In Under 60 Seconds
• Win A Level Three Or Higher Raid
• Win Five Raids
• Battle In The GO Battle League

Finally, there are a bunch of miscellaneous tasks related to other activities you can do in the game, such as:

• Hatch An Egg
• Spin Five PokeStops Or Gyms
• Trade A Pokemon
• Power Up Pokemon Three Times
• Take A Snapshot Of A Wild Pokemon
• Take Five Snapshots Of Wild Normal-Type Pokemon
• Evolve A Pokemon
• Send Three Gifts To Friends
• Earn Five Hearts With Your Buddy
• Earn Two Candies Walking With Your Buddy

Field Research Progress

The first time that you complete a Field Research Task each day, you'll earn a stamp that you can see above the tasks. Unlike the "Streaks" of catching Pokemon and spinning PokeStops, you don't need to do it for seven days straight without fail. Seven times over the course of two weeks, a month, or a year would still provide the rewards.

TIP: A task will never go away without you telling it to! That means that if you complete more than one research task in a day, you can simply opt not to tap on it and "Claim Reward!" Since you can only earn one stamp per day, research tasks after the first one can only give you the item rewards. If you save them and claim them in subsequent days, you won't need to bother completing a task every single day.

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Field Research Breakthroughs

Once you've earned seven stamps, you'll land on that last circle that has a package tied up with string on it — the Research Breakthrough.

The exact rewards you get from a Field Research Breakthrough changes each month, so it's impossible to predict. However, you'll always get 2,000 Stardust and 3,000 XP.

You're also guaranteed a few items (often Pokeballs, Pinap Berries, Rare Candies, and Evolution Stones but, as we mentioned, it changes each month) and an encounter with a pre-determined Pokemon. Some months, that Pokemon is more interesting than in others:

• August 2021 - Chimecho
• March 2021 - Gible
• October 2020 - Flower Crown Eevee
• July 2019 - Legendary (Latias, Latios, Kyogre, or Groudon)
• February 2019 - Legendary (Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Raikou, Entei, Suicune, Lugia, or Ho-Oh)
• July 2018 - Snorlax

NEXT: Pokemon GO: A Complete Guide to Buddy Pokemon and Hearts