“Galar Calling” is the season-long Special Research for the “Max Out” season in Pokémon Go.
Focusing on Galar starters Grookey, Scorbunny, and Scobble, it opens with a “choose a path” choice between the three Pokémon.
The “Galar Calling” Special Research will be available until the end of the season, meaning you have until Dec. 3 to claim. Once you log in and begin, it’ll stick around forever in your Special quest tab, so there is no urgency in finishing every step — and with 19 in total, there’s quite a lot to get through.
The quest debuted alongside the “Go All Out” event and the debut of various Galar Pokémon, a new UK regional exclusive, the Daily PokéCoin Bounty ticket, and a new set of Go Battle League rewards.
‘Galar Calling’ Special Research quest steps
Available from Sept. 3, you have until Dec. 1, 2024, to begin the “Galar Calling” research. Once you have it in your Special Research tab, it will not expire — meaning you can take your time in completing the following steps. Thanks to LeekDuck with helping fill in the gaps with the following.
‘Galar Calling’ step 1 of 19
- Catch 8 Pokémon (3 Charged TM)
Rewards: 800 XP, 800 Stardust
‘Galar Calling’ step 2 of 19
At this point, you will choose a path between which starter — Grookey, Scorbunny, or Sobble — you want to adventure with.
Image: Niantic via Polygon
You can read our thoughts on which to pick in the next section, otherwise, the steps that follow are:
‘Galar Calling’ step 3 of 19
- Catch 3 Pokémon (3 Poké Balls)
- Take a snapshot of a wild Pokémon (5 Pinap Berry)
Rewards: Grookey, Scorbunny, or Sobble encounter, 1,000 XP
‘Galar Calling’ step 4 of 19
- Catch 88 Pokémon (1,000 XP)
- Spin 25 PokéStops or Gyms (500 Stardust)
- Explore 8 km (20 Grookey, Scorbunny, or Sobble candy)
- Evolve a Grookey, Scorbunny, or Sobble (15 PokéBalls)
Rewards: 10 Great Balls, 1,500 XP
‘Galar Calling’ step 5 of 19
- Catch 88 Pokémon (2,000 XP)
- Send 8 Gifts to friends (1,000 Stardust)
- Hatch 8 Eggs (50 Grookey, Scorbunny, or Sobble candy)
- Evolve a Thwackey, Raboot, or Drizzile (3 Rare Candy)
Rewards: Wooloo encounter, 2,000 XP
‘Galar Calling’ step 6 of 19
Coming soon! Step 6 (and beyond) is expected on Sept. 10 at 10 a.m. local time.
Choose a path outcomes: Which Galar starter out of Grookey, Scorbunny, or Sobble should you adventure with?
Whereas the mainline entries often have starters harder to come by in the wild, this isn’t the case with the “Go All Out” event — meaning choosing Grookey, Scorbunny, or Sobble in Pokémon Go is simply a case of whichever you prefer.
The quest choice not only dictates which starter you’ll receive in an encounter at the end of step 2, but which you need to evolve in steps 4 and 5, and who you will receive candy for in steps 4 and 5.
Image: Niantic / The Pokémon Company
The other consideration beyond the above is that whichever you choose in this research step will have a higher-than-average set of stats, with an “IV floor” of 10/10/10 (out of a possible max of 15/15/15). This means you are guaranteed to get a moderately powerful version of that Pokémon, so if you plan to have one as part of your battle party, then opt for that.
That said, you catch more starters easily through Field Research and eggs with similar IV floors as part of the “Go All Out” event, not to mention the possibility of getting good stats through wild catches and a dose of luck. In other words — this is by far not your only chance to get a Galar starter with good IVs.
To summarize, the “choose a path” quest won’t offer anything exclusive, so opt for your favorite out of the three. (For us, it’s the grass starter. Always the grass starter.)
