Pokemon Go Will Finally Make These Very Rare Pokemon Easier to Find, but for a Steep Price

Pokemon Go has added a lot of rare Pokemon over the years, but few are tougher to obtain than the Galarian Legendary Birds. Thus far, Galarian Articuno, Galarian Zapdos, and Galarian Moltres have only been obtainable in the wild when using Daily Adventure Incense. Even then, it’s pretty rare to find them, and that’s not factoring in that they have a tendency to run away quickly. For those still desperate to find the Galarian Birds, Niantic has announced a new option that will be available in the game next month for a limited time. However, it will come with a price attached.

On June 23rd, Pokemon Go will be adding the Ancients Recovered Timed Research: Fleeting Legends ticket. Players can purchase the ticket in the Shop for $7.99, granting them Timed Research resulting in a guaranteed encounter with the Galarian Legendary Bird of their choosing: Galarian Articuno, Galarian Zapdos, or Galarian Moltres. The Timed Research will only be available through June 29th at 6 p.m. local time.

It will be interesting to see how fans feel about this option. The monetization of Pokemon Go has been a touchy subject for years now, and people have very strong opinions about it. On one hand, the Galarian Birds are still available to everyone through Daily Adventure Incense, so this isn’t technically exclusive to paying players. On the other hand, some people might consider this a paywall. Of course, we have seen Mythical Pokemon locked behind event tickets in the past, so this isn’t all that different.

The Galarian Legendary Birds were first introduced in the DLC for Pokemon Sword and Shield. The regional variants feature some unique takes on the trio that first appeared in Pokemon Red and Green. In addition to having fairly different designs, the Galarian Birds also have different types: Galarian Articuno is a Psychic and Flying, Galarian Zapdos is a Fighting and Flying, and Galarian Moltres is a Dark and Flying. Last year, Pokemon Go added the Shiny versions of the trio, which all feature the original color patterns from the Kanto region. At this time, we don’t know what the Shiny encounter odds will be for those that purchase one of these tickets.

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As is usually the case with Timed Research tickets, there will be some limits placed on how Pokemon Go players can purchase them. For one thing, PokeCoins cannot be used; tickets can only be purchased using actual money. However, players will be able to purchase and gift the tickets to friends, as long as they’ve achieved a level of Great Friends or higher. Presumably, Niantic will not allow players to purchase multiple tickets for themselves for the event, but that has not been confirmed, as of this writing.

Are you planning to purchase a Special Research ticket for this event? Have you had any luck catching any of the Galarian Legendary Birds yet? Share your thoughts with me directly on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!