Step into the Max Out Season of Pokémon Go with the thrilling “Galar Calling” Special Research, where your first big decision shapes your adventure: will you choose the playful Grookey, the fiery Scorbunny, or the clever Sobble? Each path offers unique challenges, rewards, and a chance to evolve your starter into a powerful companion, but once chosen, the path is locked in-so choose wisely to maximize your journey through the Galar region!
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. Later in the season, we’ve seen the addition of Dynamax Pokémon and Power Spots.
’Galar Calling’ Special Research quest steps
The “Galar Calling” Special Research quest in Pokémon Go begins with a simple task of catching eight Pokémon, after which players must choose one of three paths featuring the Generation 8 starters: Grookey, Scorbunny, or Sobble. This choice influences the subsequent tasks and rewards, such as evolving the chosen starter and collecting candies specific to that Pokémon. Each path offers unique encounters and items, with Grookey often recommended for its strong evolution, Rillaboom, which has good potential in the Battle League. The quest progresses through multiple steps involving catching Pokémon, spinning PokéStops, evolving starters, and exploring distances, culminating in a rewarding and personalized adventure based on the selected starter.
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.
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
- Collect MP from 10 Power Spots (5 Razz Berries)
- Spin 25 PokéStops or Gyms (15 Poké Balls)
- Explore 5km (5 Pinap Berries)
Rewards: Skwovet encounter, 2,500 XP
’Galar Calling’ step 7 of 19
- Catch 88 Pokémon (10 Ultra Balls)
- Earn 8,888 XP (10 Revives)
- Earn 8,888 Stardust (20 Super Potions)
Rewards: 2,500 XP, 1,500 Stardust, 1 Star Piece
’Galar Calling’ step 8 of 19
- Catch 3 Pokémon (1,000 XP)
Rewards: 2,500 XP, 1,500 Stardust
’Galar Calling’ step 9 of 19
- Catch 15 Pokémon (5 Pinap Berries)
- Spin 5 PokéStops or gyms (10 Poké Balls)
- Defeat 3 Team Go Rocket grunts (2 Charged TMs)
Rewards: 1,000 XP, 1,000 Stardust, Pancham encounter
’Galar Calling’ step 10 of 19
- Catch 15 Pokémon (5 Pinap Berries)
- Transfer 10 Pokémon (10 Great Ball)
- Defeat 6 Team Go Rocket grunts (3 Mysterious Components)
Rewards: 1,000 XP, 1,000 Stardust, 1 Rocket Radar
’Galar Calling’ step 11 of 19
- Defeat Team Go Rocket leader Arlo (2,500 XP)
- Defeat Team Go Rocket leader Cliff (2,500 XP)
- Defeat Team Go Rocket leader Sierra (2,500 XP)
Rewards: 2,500 XP, 2,500 Stardust, 1 Super Rocket Radar
’Galar Calling’ step 12 of 19
- Find the Team Go Rocket Boss (10 Hyper Potions)
- Battle the Team Go Rocket Boss (10 Ultra Balls)
- Defeat the Team Go Rocket Boss (6 Max Revives)
Rewards: 3,000 XP, 3,000 Stardust
’Galar Calling’ step 13 of 19
- Catch 10 Pokémon (10 Max Potions)
- Spin 10 PokéStops or gyms (1 Sinnoh Stone)
- Defeat 3 Team Go Rocket grunts (3 Charged TMs)
Rewards: 4,000 XP, 4,000 Stardust
’Galar Calling’ step 14 of 19
- Claim reward! (5 Golden Razz Berries)
- Claim reward! (5,000 XP)
- Claim reward! (1 Lucky Egg)
Rewards: 5,000 XP, 5,000 Stardust, Absol encounter
’Galar Calling’ step 15 of 19
- Hatch 3 eggs (20 Ultra Balls)
- Power up Pokémon 10 times (15 Poké Balls)
- Win 1 Max Battle (1 Silver Pinap Berry)
Rewards: 3,000 XP, Falinks encounter
’Galar Calling’ step 16 of 19
- Complete 25 Field Research Tasks (2,500 XP)
- Battle in 5 raids (10 revives)
- Win 5 Max Battles (2,500 Stardust)
Rewards: 3,000 XP, 1,750 Stardust, 1 Lucky Egg
’Galar Calling’ step 17 of 19
- Catch 3 Pokémon (1,000 XP)
Rewards: 3,000 XP, 2,000 Stardust
’Galar Calling’ step 18 of 19
- Play with your buddy 5 times (15 Poké Balls)
- Take 5 snapshots of your buddy (15 Great Balls)
- Earn 25 hearts with your buddy (15 Ultra Balls)
Rewards: 4,000 XP, 2,000 Stardust, 1 Incubator
’Galar Calling’ step 19 of 19
- Claim reward! (50 Grookey Candy)
- Claim reward! (50 Scorbunny Candy)
- Claim reward! (50 Sobble Candy)
Rewards: 5,000 XP, 2,500 Stardust, Galarian Meowth encounter
Choose a path outcomes: Which Galar starter out of Grookey, Scorbunny, or Sobble should you adventure with?
When choosing which Galar starter to adventure with in Pokémon Go’s “Galar Calling” Special Research-Grookey, Scorbunny, or Sobble-your decision shapes your quest experience, rewards, and the background theme of your Postcard Book for the Season of Max Out. Grookey, the Grass-type, is often recommended as the best choice due to its final evolution Rillaboom’s strong stats and potential future value in the Pokémon Go Battle League. Scorbunny offers a Fire-type path with fiery-themed tasks and rewards, while Sobble provides a Water-type journey with its own unique challenges. Ultimately, the choice depends on your preferred type, playstyle, and which Pokémon you feel most connected to, as you cannot change your path once selected.
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.
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.
Which Galar starter path unlocks the most exclusive rewards in Pokémon Go
The Grookey path in the Galar Calling Special Research quest unlocks the most exclusive rewards in Pokémon Go. Choosing Grookey offers not only adorable Grass-type Pokémon encounters but also valuable rewards such as large amounts of XP, Ultra Balls, Revives, Stardust, Super Potions, Pinap Berries, and special encounters including Team GO Rocket Leader battles. Additionally, Grookey’s final evolution, Rillaboom, is highly regarded for use in the Pokémon Go Battle League, making this path particularly rewarding for trainers seeking both exclusive items and competitive advantages.
Which Galar starter path offers the most unique rewards in Pokémon Go
The Galar Calling Special Research in Pokémon Go offers three distinct paths-Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble-with largely similar rewards in terms of experience points, Stardust, and items across all paths. However, the uniqueness of rewards mainly comes from the Pokémon encounters and candies specific to each starter. Each path provides encounters and candies for the chosen starter and related Pokémon, but no path offers significantly more unique or exclusive rewards than the others. The choice is more about the type preference and the Pokémon you want to focus on rather than one path offering notably more unique rewards.
