Pokemon Go Adds Raid-Exclusive Pokemon as New Field Research Reward

Pokemon Go players now have a chance to capture another previously raid-exclusive Pokemon as a reward for completing Field Research.

Yesterday, Pokemon Go added a new wave of Field Research tasks and rewards to mark the beginning of June. The biggest change was the addition of Articuno as a Research Breakthrough prize, but players noticed that another Raid-Exclusive Pokemon had also gotten added a Field Research reward.

Absol, a Dark-Type Pokemon that could previously only be encountered as a Raid Boss, is now appearing as a reward for completing daily Field Research tasks. The player who first reported Absol's addition as a Field Research reward noted that it appeared as an encounter for completing the "Throw an Excellent Curveball" Field Research task.

As of right now, we don't know if Absol will appear as a reward for other Field Research tasks or if it's limited to just this one task. Throwing an excellent curveball isn't easy, so Pokemon Go seems to be giving out this otherwise rare Pokemon as a reward for a particularly difficult task.

Absol's inclusion as a Field Research reward shows that the game developers are committed to using their new Field Research mechanic as an alternative for players that can't regularly participate in Raids. While Pokemon Go continues to emphasize Raids as an important mechanic in their game, giving players chances to catch Pokemon like Articuno or Absol indicates that they acknowledge the Raid mechanic's shortcomings, namely that players have to be in an area that has other active players and has gyms located nearby.

Pokemon Go players currently also have access to a variety of different Field Research tasks as part of the ongoing Adventure Week event, which ends on June 5th. Players also get extra XP for spinning PokeStops and receive four times as much Buddy candy as usual. Rock-Type Pokemon are also appearing in great abundance during the event. Pokemon Go also has a Community Day featuring Larvitar on June 16th, with Tyranitar learning some sort of exclusive move if evolved during the event.

Players who don't have Absol in their PokeDex should start completing more Field Research tasks, as they might be able to navigate around participating in a raid entirely. Let us know if you find any Absol as a Field Research reward in the comment section!