Trainers, Pokémon GO appears to be testing a new weekly research format called Choose Your Path, designed to give players something focused to do during quieter weeks with no major events. These weeks are being referred to as “evergreen weeks”, weeks where no new Pokémon GO event begins on Tuesday, leaving more room for regular seasonal gameplay, exploration, catching, battling, and personal goals.
The new format is expected to arrive during May 2026, as part of the Season of Memories in Motion. Scopely has already highlighted that this Season includes changes to Pokémon GO’s event pacing and structure, with a more regular schedule and new weekly gameplay experiences.
During these quieter weeks, Trainers will receive branching Timed Research that lets them choose how they want to play Pokémon GO that week.
The three paths are:
- Explore: focused on walking and spinning PokéStops or Gyms
- Catch: focused on throws and catching Pokémon
- Battle: focused on raids, Max Battles, and battle-related tasks
Once you pick a branch, you’ll receive tasks and bonuses based on that play style. The exact tasks and bonuses may change from week to week, but the overall structure is expected to remain the same: Explore, Catch, or Battle.
In addition you can encounter only seasonal spawns during these weeks.
Depending on the path you choose, you may receive a gameplay bonus for the week. Reported examples include:
- Explore: 5× XP for spinning PokéStops
- Catch: 1.5× XP for catching Pokémon with Nice Throws or better
- Battle: 5,000 additional XP for completing raids
These bonuses are tied to the chosen branch, so your best option will depend on how you plan to play that week. If you’re raiding heavily, Battle may be the obvious pick. If you’re walking a lot or visiting a dense PokéStop area, Explore could be more valuable.
The first reported version of the Timed Research includes three branches. This is Timed Research, meaning it will not stay in your account forever. The research is expected to expire before the following Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. local time, so make sure to complete your chosen path before the weekly reset.
| Task | Reward |
|---|---|
| Explore 5 km |
10×
Great Ball
|
| Spin 50 PokéStops or Gyms |
|
| Rewards |
|
| Task | Reward |
|---|---|
| Make 15 Excellent Throws |
10×
Great Ball
|
| Make 50 Curveball Throws |
|
| Rewards |
|
| Task | Reward |
|---|---|
| Win 5 raids |
10×
Great Ball
|
| Use 25 supereffective Charged Attacks |
|
| Rewards |
|




