The latest Special Research has arrived and that meansPokemon GOplayers are powering through a new list of tasks in order to unlock some exciting rewards, including a shiny Celebi encounter! The new special research, Distracted by Something Shiny, is a part of theSecrets of the Jungle tie-in event and featuresthe iconic Team Rocket duo, Jessie and James, as the quest givers instead of the usual Professor.
Most ofthe tasks required for the new Special Researchare very simple and just including catching certain types of Pokemon or transferring a certain number of Pokemon. A lot of players are liking going to power right through it until they get to the phase that requires defeating Jessie or James four times. This is one of the rarePokemon GOresearch tasks that requires players to wait around for a specific spawn (or specific Rocket appearance in this case) before they can progress through the tasks at hand.
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Luckily, battling Jessie and James is fairly easy and the duo definitely stand out on the map once players know what they should be looking for. Once again, Jessie and James are appearing in theirMeowth-shaped hot air balloonto help players easily spot them on the map and not confuse them with the regular Team GO Rocket grunts who appear in the black hot air balloons.
Players should be able to encounter Jessie and James already, but anyone who gets stuck this week can rely on a specific window of time in the near future when Jessie and James will be appearing more frequently. Unfortunately, players will need to commit to playing on Christmas day to take advantage of that opportunity…
Jessie and James Mini-Event
Date and Time
Friday, August 10, 2025, from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. local time
Features
Jessie and James’s Meowth balloon will be appearing more frequently! Be sure to use this opportunity to challenge the duo.
The chance to encounter and catch a shiny Mythical is incredibly rare, so players should definitely take this opportunity to complete the Special Research and add that rare Pokemon to their collection (and shiny dex!). That said, the research is not timed, which means it is ok if players don’t finish it during the event window.
As trainers continue working through these amazing events and enjoying the early days of the GO Beyond update, they may want to keep hunting downthe best Unova Pokemon in the gameif improving their Battle Raid rosters and completing their Pokedex is their primary goal. Be sure to check back in the near future for morePokemon GOstrategy guides, news, and updates. Until then, good luck out there, trainers!
Pokemon GOis available on Android and iOS.
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