Choose Your Path Timed Research is the new way to play Pokémon GO during non‑event weeks: each week trainers will pick one of three paths — Explore, Catch, or Battle — and that choice will determine their Timed Research tasks and in‑game bonuses for the week.
The change is part of the current Season and is intended to fill weeks when there are no special events, giving players a predictable activity slot and a reason to log in even on quieter weeks. The format runs week‑to‑week; different trainers may face different research opportunities in the same week depending on the path they choose.
Mechanically, a trainer begins a Choose Your Path week by selecting one path. That single selection shapes the set of Timed Research tasks offered and the associated bonuses across the seven‑day period: Explore favors movement and discovery‑style objectives, Catch emphasizes encounters and capture counts, and Battle focuses on combat performance. The design intentionally ties tasks and rewards to playstyle rather than a single global checklist, so two players in the same neighborhood who pick different paths can receive different task lines and bonuses.
Why this matters now: non‑event weeks have previously been lighter on structured content, and the new Timed Research promises consistent weekly objectives. For trainers, that means a predictable rhythm — pick a path, work the tasks, collect the week’s bonuses — rather than waiting for scattered community days or seasonal events. The feature is also meant to slot into the existing Daily Discoveries framework that has run various day‑specific perks Sunday through Friday in past seasons.
There are scheduling contrasts to keep in mind. During the Season of Memories in Motion, Daily Discoveries ran Sunday through Friday and did not list the long‑running Tuesday Spotlight Hour, even though Showcase Tuesday later took that slot. Showcase Tuesday itself has seen timing and format changes: PokéStop Showcases moved from an all‑day 12 a.m.–11:59 a.m. local time window to a 10 a.m.–8 p.m. local time window on March 10, 2026, and Showcase Tuesday was active on June 9, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time. Showcase Tuesday was expected to return on June 16, 2026.
Some elements of Showcase Tuesday carry over as context for Choose Your Path. Past Showcase mechanics allowed trainers to enter up to five PokéStop Showcases and to choose from five featured categories out of a 20‑category pool; submitted Pokémon were scored using size, IVs and other metrics, with height accounting for 80% of the calculation. Those details matter because they show how Niantic has been reshaping weekly, repeatable content — moving from Spotlight Hour toward multi‑hour showcases and now toward weeklong, path‑based research.
The practical consequence for players is immediate: on any non‑event week that hosts Choose Your Path, trainers must decide whether they want exploration rewards, capture‑focused tasks, or battle objectives, and they should expect their tasks and bonuses for the week to follow that choice. Because different trainers can receive different tasks in the same week, collaboration and comparison among friends may feel less straightforward: one player’s short list could be another’s marathon.
The clear unresolved question is scheduling. The Season will include Choose Your Path Timed Research during listed non‑event weeks, but a public calendar identifying which specific non‑event weeks will feature the format has not been published. Trainers looking for immediate examples of how seasonal daily features can change — and who turn up for larger gatherings — can read coverage of recent events such as Pokemon Go Fest Chicago Opens in Grant Park as Crowds Line Up for Weekend for on‑the‑ground context.
What happens next is simple to state and consequential to players: the feature is in place for this Season, and trainers should expect the Choose Your Path option to appear on some non‑event weeks, but they will need to watch official channels for the exact weekly schedule; until that list is published, which non‑event weeks will run the format remains the single most important unanswered item for planning play.
