Niantic finally did it. After years of gatekeeping one of the rarest Mythical Pokémon in the entire franchise, Shiny Zarude made its debut through the Catching Wonders Masterwork Research. It wasn't cheap. It wasn't easy.
Honestly, it shouldn't be.
Masterwork Research is designed to be a marathon, not a sprint. If you’re looking for instant gratification, you’re playing the wrong game. This specific quest line, which first hit the shop during the Verdant Wonders event, follows the tradition of Shiny Mew, Shiny Celebi, and Shiny Jiraiya. It’s a grueling series of tasks that tests your patience, your storage space, and probably your data plan. But let’s get real for a second—is a pink monkey really worth the $7.99 USD price tag and months of manual labor?
What Catching Wonders Masterwork Research Actually Demands
You can't just throw a few Poke Balls and call it a day. The Catching Wonders Masterwork Research is notorious for its "time-gate" mechanics. We’re talking about tasks that literally force you to wait. Catching 250 Pokémon from specific regions? That’s the easy part. The real kicker is the requirement to catch Pokémon on several different days or complete a massive number of Field Research tasks.
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Niantic knows what they’re doing. They want you logging in every single day.
If you look at the structure of the five-stage quest, Stage 1 is basically a warm-up. You’re catching 250 Pokémon and using 150 berries. It’s tedious, but manageable during a Comm Day. But then you hit the wall. Stages 2 and 3 usually involve things like "Catch a Pokémon 21 days in a row" or "Spin stops 7 days in a row." If you miss one day? You start over. It’s brutal. It’s also where most players give up.
The Zarude Problem
Zarude is a Dark/Grass type. In the current GO Battle League meta, it’s a niche pick but a powerful one, especially in Master League. Its signature move, Power Whip, combined with Dark Pulse, makes it a nightmare for Mewtwo and Kyogre. But here’s the thing: most players aren't buying this for the stats. They’re buying it because Shiny Zarude is a "status symbol" in the Pokémon HOME community.
Before this research, a legitimate Shiny Zarude was almost impossible to find outside of very specific Japanese movie ticket distributions. Now, anyone with eight bucks and a lot of free time can own one.
The Grind: A Breakdown of the Hardest Tasks
Let’s talk about the 1,000 catches. Yes, one thousand.
For a casual player who opens the app twice a week while waiting for a bus, this is a year-long project. For the hardcore "grinders" in NYC or Tokyo, it’s a weekend. This disparity is what makes the Catching Wonders Masterwork Research so divisive. You’ve got people on Reddit complaining that it’s too hard, while others are complaining that they finished it too fast and now they’re bored.
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The task that usually breaks people is the "Excellent Throws" requirement.
You need to land a specific number of Excellent Throws—often 50 or 100—to progress. If you’re not good at "circle locking" or timing your flick, you’re going to be stuck on Stage 3 for a long time. Pro tip: aim for larger targets like Slowpoke, Ponyta, or Wailmer. Don't even bother trying to get an Excellent on a Zubat unless you’re some kind of wizard.
Why the Rewards Feel Different This Time
Usually, Masterwork Research gives you a bunch of fluff—stardust, some Ultra Balls, maybe a Lure Module. Catching Wonders actually packs in some decent secondary rewards. We’re talking about 20,000 Stardust, massive XP drops, and Candy XL for Zarude.
Candy XL is the real bottleneck in Pokémon GO.
To get a Mythical to level 50, you need 296 XL candies. Walking a Zarude as a buddy takes 20km just for a chance at one candy. By giving out XL candy in the research, Niantic is throwing a bone to the Master League players. It still isn't enough to max it out, but it’s a start.
The "Pay-to-Win" Controversy
Is it pay-to-win? Sorta.
You can’t get Shiny Zarude without paying. That is a fact. However, paying doesn't give you the Pokémon immediately. You still have to do the work. Unlike the "Web Store" bundles that just hand you items, this is a ticket for the opportunity to work. It’s a weird business model when you think about it. "Pay us $8 so we can give you chores."
But for the completionist, it's a no-brainer.
The value of a Shiny Mythical in the secondary market (not that we condone that) is significantly higher than the cost of the ticket. More importantly, the Catching Wonders Masterwork Research provides a sense of long-term progression that the game often lacks. Most events last 48 hours and then they're gone. This stays in your "Special" tab forever. Or at least until you finish it.
Glitches, Bugs, and the "Niantic Way"
We have to talk about the technical side.
When Catching Wonders first launched, there were reports of the "days in a row" counter resetting randomly. Imagine being on day 19 of 20 and waking up to see "0/20." It happened. It was a mess. Niantic eventually patched it, but the trauma remains for those early adopters.
There’s also the issue of the "Catch 100 different species" task. This is highly dependent on your local biome and whatever seasonal event is currently running. If you’re playing during a "Kanto Only" event, good luck finding 100 different species. You’re basically stuck until the spawns rotate. This is why I always tell people: Do not rush. The research doesn't expire. There is no ticking clock.
How to Actually Finish This Without Losing Your Mind
If you’re staring at a screen that says "Catch 492 Pokémon" (a nod to Shaymin's Pokedex number often used in these quests), don't panic. Break it down.
- Get an Auto-Catcher. Seriously. If you’re serious about Masterwork Research, a Go-Plus+ or a 3rd party device is your best friend. It handles the "boring" catches while you’re driving or working, allowing you to focus your manual energy on the Excellent Throws.
- Stack your encounters. When you finish a Field Research task that rewards a Pokémon, don't catch it immediately. "Stack" it by running away. You can hold up to 100 encounters in this "stack." Save them for when you need to catch specific types or hit a high volume of catches for the Masterwork tasks.
- Use your Daily Adventure Incense. It’s 15 minutes of free spawns. More importantly, it’s the only way to find the Galarian Birds. While you’re hunting for a Shiny Zarude, you might as well try to snag a Galarian Moltres.
- Tag your trade fodder. You’ll often need to trade Pokémon as part of these quests. Keep a tag for "Trade" and fill it with high-level, low-IV trash. Find a local friend and swap them all at once.
The Verdict on Catching Wonders
Is it the best Masterwork Research we’ve seen? No. That title probably still belongs to the Shiny Mew "All-in-One #151" research because of the sheer iconic nature of Mew.
However, Catching Wonders Masterwork Research is a solid entry. It targets a very specific Mythical that hasn't been over-distributed. It provides a genuine challenge. It forces you to engage with mechanics you might usually ignore, like specific berry usage or AR scanning (though, let's be honest, we all hate AR scanning).
If you missed the initial window to buy the ticket, keep an eye on the shop during future "Recap" events. Niantic has a habit of bringing these back a year or two later for a slightly higher price.
The "Catching Wonders" journey is ultimately about the flex. When you put that pink Zarude in a gym (wait, you can't, it's a Mythical)—when you set that pink Zarude as your Buddy, people know you put in the work. You survived the 21-day streaks. You survived the 1,000 catches. You’re a Master. Or at least, you have a lot of patience.
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Your Immediate Next Steps
If you are currently working through the quest, check your progress on the "Seven Days in a Row" tasks right now. If you haven't spun a stop today, do it. Don't let the streak die.
Also, start saving your Silver Pinap Berries. Stage 4 often requires catching a large number of Pokémon with berries, and Silver Pinaps give you the best bang for your buck by increasing catch rate and candy output simultaneously. If you're low on items, head to a local park with a high density of PokeStops and clear out your inventory of red balls to make room for Ultras. You'll need the catch rate boost for the final stages when the quest starts throwing evolved forms at you.
Don't rush the "Excellent Throws." They'll come naturally as you work on the 1,000 catches. If you try to force them, you'll just get frustrated and waste Poke Balls. Just play the game, and the Masterwork will eventually finish itself.