Something a little odd has been happening in Pokémon GO, that a certain subset of fans have noticed, while others have no idea. Professor Willow seems to be going a little AWOL. He hasn’t popped up for some of the research we’ve had lately when he usually would, so have Niantic given up on poor old Professor Willow?
One of those fans reached out to me, and I have to agree, it seems a little odd that Willow seems to be appearing less and less over time. EspeonWillow keeps track of Willow’s appearances, and during 2024 some major research lines that typically involved him haven’t happened:
- October 2023 – Halloween story removed (had been a regular feature since 2018)
- April 2024 – April Fools story removed (stories in 2022/2023)
- May 2024 – First special research without a story (Rediscover Kanto)
- May 2024 – Masterwork story removed (Catching Wonders)
- August 2024 – Team GO Rocket story removed (August 2024)
- August 2024 – Beldum Comm Day Classic story
- September 2024 – Ponyta Community Day story
- October 2024 – Sew Far So Good (Sewaddle Community Day)
She also noted that the GO Fest 2024 storylines contained very little lore about Marshadow. In previous years Willow and Rhi have shared information about the featured Mythical Pokémon, educating us on their lore. Many Pokémon GO trainers haven’t played all the main series games, and these stories are one of the ways that the game educates us about Pokémon that we might not otherwise know about. While he has featured for the Dynamax launch, he has been missing from other research he would usually be a part of.
Professor Willow is our introduction to the world in Pokémon GO, our constant companion, our mentor, our guide, and our assistance along our journey. He’s featured in the anime, on TCG cards, and in several animated shorts on YouTube. We’ve celebrated his birthday in previous years, and even had #ProfessorWillowWeek on social media, specifically designed to teach us more about Willow himself.
In the world of Pokémon, your Professor is a huge part of your journey, and key to your education, and Willow has been that person for us in GO. Whether he has been neglected because of time constraints, or a lack of writers, we aren’t sure, but we hope he isn’t being abandoned completely, because after 8 years of playing this game with him as our companion, it would be a real shame.
Niantic has been testing out some new quality of life updates, one of which is the ability to skip research story lines. You may be surprised that Willow fans are completely OK with this as an update, because it allows those with no interest to just skip on through quickly, whereas those who want to learn more can. It is the best of both worlds, and hopefully signals that the stories with Professor Willow will be making a comeback properly.
Lore and history is an important part of Pokémon GO, and while we know it isn’t for everyone, keeping the stories, but making them skippable keeps everybody happy. The October Community Day was a particularly odd choice for Willow to be missing from, because this special research even had the ‘punny’ sort of name we usually associate with a Willow research. A brand new shiny and a Pokémon we could all have learnt about? What a shame for him to be missing.
Interestingly the most recent announcement for Sprigatito Community Day confirmed that Professor Willow wouldn’t be included in the special research line ahead of the event, with ‘Please note that this Special Research will not include an in-game medal and will not feature a story.’ This is a real shame, as Willow has been a part of so many Community Day events since they first began. We hope this decision will be reconsidered, and that future Community Day events will include a story from Willow.
Here’s to more Professor Willow, and everything we still have to learn from him!
