Step into the epic clash of legends in Pokémon Go’s latest event, “Legendary Heroes,” where trainers face a thrilling choice: will you wield the power of the Sword Path or defend with the Shield Path? Each path offers unique Pokémon encounters, exclusive rewards, and distinct challenges-making your decision a game-changing moment in your quest for glory. Choose wisely, as your path shapes the very adventure you’ll experience until the event’s close on October 1, 2024.
This Timed Research is part of the “Max Out” season, which has seen the debut of various Galar Pokémon, Dynamax Pokémon, and Power Spots.
’Legendary Heroes’ Timed Research quest steps
The “Legendary Heroes” Timed Research quest in Pokémon Go is a branching event quest where players must choose between the Sword Path or the Shield Path, each offering unique tasks, rewards, and Pokémon encounters. The quest begins with catching 8 Pokémon, then players select their path which determines the subsequent challenges such as using berries to catch Pokémon, powering up Pokémon, exploring kilometers, and using Incense. Rewards include XP, Stardust, Poké Balls, and encounters with Pokémon like Galarian Darumaka and Rufflet on the Sword Path, or Galarian Ponyta and Vullaby on the Shield Path. This choice also influences the Collection Challenges and Incense encounters available during the event, making it important to decide based on preferred Pokémon and rewards before starting, as the choice is final.
Available from Sept. 26, you have until Oct. 1, 2024, to start and complete the “Legendary Heroes” Timed Research. Thanks to LeekDuck with helping fill in the gaps with the following.
’Legendary Heroes’ step 1 of 2
- Catch 8 Pokémon (Skwovet encounter)
Rewards: 8 Poké Balls, 800 XP, 800 Stardust
’Legendary Heroes’ step 2 of 2
At this point, you will choose between the Sword Path and Shield Path.
You can read our thoughts on which to pick in the next section – otherwise, the steps that follow for both choices are:
’Legendary Heroes: Sword Path’ (step 1 of 2)
- Use 8 Berries to help catch Pokemon (1 Incense)
- Power up Pokemon 8 times (Koffing encounter)
- Catch 8 Pokemon (8 Great Balls)
Rewards: Galarian Darumaka encounter, 800 XP, 800 Stardust
’Legendary Heroes: Sword Path’ (step 2 of 2)
- Explore 3 km (8 Razz Berry)
- Use an Incense (Deino encounter)
- Catch 8 Pokemon (8 Ultra Balls)
Rewards: Rufflet encounter, 800 XP, 800 Stardust
’Legendary Heroes: Shield Path’ (step 1 of 2)
- Use 8 Berries to help catch Pokemon (1 Incense)
- Power up Pokemon 8 times (Koffing encounter)
- Catch 8 Pokemon (8 Great Balls)
Rewards: Galarian Ponyta encounter, 800 XP, 800 Stardust
’Legendary Heroes: Shield Path’ (step 2 of 2)
- Explore 3 km (8 Razz Berry)
- Use an Incense (Larvitar encounter)
- Catch 8 Pokemon (8 Ultra Balls)
Rewards: Vullaby encounter, 800 XP, 800 Stardust
Choose a path outcomes: Should you choose the Sword Path or Shield Path?
When choosing between the Sword Path and Shield Path in Pokémon Go’s Legendary Heroes Timed Research, your decision will shape the Pokémon you encounter, the Collection Challenges you face, and the rewards you earn. The Sword Path features Incense encounters with Pokémon like Deino and Passimian, while the Shield Path offers encounters with Larvitar and Oranguru, among others. Both paths provide unique Timed Research tasks and rewards, including XP, Stardust, and special Pokémon encounters such as Galarian Darumaka on the Sword Path and Galarian Ponyta on the Shield Path. Since you cannot change your choice once made, consider which Pokémon and challenges appeal most to you, and coordinating with friends who choose the opposite path can help complete all Collection Challenges. Ultimately, the Shield Path is often favored for its strong meta-relevant Pokémon, but both paths offer valuable and enjoyable experiences.
Not only does this “choose a path” branching research result in different encounters and rewards as part of the quest, but the Sword Path and Shield Path choice also changes the Collection Challenges and Incense encounters you’ll receive.
The ’Catch’ Collection Challenge is based on Pokémon you’ll encounter when you use Incense. However, the ’Trade’ Collection Challenge requires Pokémon only found using Incense on the other path, meaning you need to trade with someone who will catch the Pokémon that you cannot. As such, it’s a good idea to choose a different path than a friend, so you can help one another complete the Collection Challenge.
Note that, if you don’t do this – say if you and a friend have chosen the same path – the “Trade” Collection Challenge can still be completed if you already have these Pokémon in your collection. Only the “Catch” portion of the Collection Challenges are dependent on collecting those specific Pokemon as part of the event, whereas the ’Trade’ one will work for Pokémon whenever they were caught.
Otherwise, if you aren’t interested in completing the Collection Challenges, the choice simply comes down to the Pokémon you can encounter from Incense and the Timed Research rewards (the specifics of which you can read elsewhere on this page), as the level of difficulty and length of the quest steps remains the same for both the Sword Path and Shield Path.
Legendary Heroes Collection Challenges
The Legendary Heroes Collection Challenges in Pokémon Go offer trainers a choice between two distinct paths: the Sword Path and the Shield Path. Each path features unique Catch and Trade Collection Challenges that require capturing specific Pokémon, many of which appear via Incense or wild spawns, and trading with players who chose the opposite path. Completing these challenges rewards players with experience points and encounters with Pokémon like Skwovet, Larvitar, or Deino. The path chosen also affects the Pokémon encountered during the event and the rewards available, making it essential to select based on preferred Pokémon and trading opportunities. Coordination with friends can help complete both sets of challenges efficiently.
Collection Challenges will appear once you have completed the first step of the branching research, and what you receive is dependant on your Sword or Shield choice.
Sword Path Catch Challenge
- Galarian Darumaka
- Gothita
- Grookey
- Scorbunny
- Scraggy
- Seedot
- Sobble
- Swirlix
Rewards: 1,000 XP, Skwovet encounter
Sword Path Trade Challenge
- Croagunk
- Lotad
- Solosis
- Spritzee
Rewards: 5,000 XP, Larvitar encounter
Shield Path Catch Challenge
- Croagunk
- Galarian Ponyta
- Grookey
- Lotad
- Scorbunny
- Sobble
- Solosis
- Spritzee
Rewards: 1,000 XP, Skwovet encounter
Shield Path Trade Challenge
- Gothita
- Scraggy
- Seedot
- Swirlix
Rewards: 5,000 XP, Deino encounter
Legendary Heroes Incense encounters
During the Pokémon Go Legendary Heroes event, your choice between the Sword Path and Shield Path directly affects which Pokémon will be attracted to Incense. If you select the Sword Path, Incense will attract Pokémon such as Seedot, Scraggy, Gothita, Deino, Swirlix, and Passimian. Conversely, choosing the Shield Path will bring Larvitar, Lotad, Croagunk, Solosis, Spritzee, and Oranguru to your Incense encounters. This choice not only influences your Incense spawns but also shapes the Collection Challenges and rewards you receive throughout the event, making it a strategic decision based on the Pokémon you prefer to catch.
The following Incense encounters is dependent on your Sword Path or Shield Path choice in the Timed Research, and all have the chance to be shiny.
Sword Path Incense encounters
- Deino
- Gothita
- Passimian
- Scraggy
- Seedot
- Swirlix
Shield Path Incense encounters
- Croagunk
- Larvitar
- Lotad
- Oranguru
- Solosis
- Spritzee
Which path offers the rarest Pokémon in Pokémon Go’s Legendary Heroes event
The Shield Path in Pokémon Go’s Legendary Heroes event offers some of the rarest Pokémon, including Oranguru and Larvitar, making it a strong choice for trainers seeking uncommon encounters. While the Sword Path features notable Pokémon like Passimian and Deino, the Shield Path slightly edges it out in rarity due to the inclusion of Oranguru and Larvitar, which have been less commonly available recently.
Which Pokémon is considered the rarest in the Legendary Heroes event
The rarest Pokémon in the Pokémon Go Legendary Heroes event is the shiny Zacian, which makes its debut in the game during this event and is described as an “incredible, super rare, shiny”. This marks the first time shiny Zacian is available in Pokémon Go, making it a highly sought-after and rare encounter for trainers participating in the event.
