Pokémon Go‘s Wild Area 2025 event features another branching Special Research, “A Grim Beginning,” forcing you to pick between dark- and fairy-type. Each branching option has its own bonuses and rewards, so you’ll want to make sure you choose one that suits your fancy before you lock in your decision.

Unlike last year, the rewards from this research won’t induce too much FOMO. There won’t be any costumed Pikachu or rewards that you wouldn’t be able to get elsewhere. That being said, you’ll still want to know what perks you’re getting based on the type you pick.

Below, we list the steps for Pokémon Go’s Wild Area 2025 “A Grim Beginning” Special Research, as well as some guidance on if you should pick dark- or fairy-type.

‘A Grim Beginning’ Special Research quest steps

This quest can be activated starting on Nov. 15 at 10 a.m. until Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. in your local time, so long as you bought the event pass. Once you start it, it will never expire, so you can take your time completing these steps.

Step 1 of 6

  • Catch 10 Pokémon (2,000 XP)
  • Spin 5 PokéStops or gyms (1 Poffin)
  • Take snapshots of 3 different wild Pokémon (Dynamax Ralts encounter)

Rewards: Impidimp encounter, 1 Lucky Egg, 1 Incense

After this step, you’ll be prompted to pick between dark- or fairy-type. You can see our guidance on which one to pick in the section below.

Step 2 of 6

  • Catch 30 Pokémon (1,000 Stardust)
  • Make 5 nice throws (10 Ultra Balls)
  • Use an Incense (10 Impidimp Candy)
  • Take snapshots of 3 different wild Pokémon (Cacnea/Dedenne encounter)

Rewards: 1 Star Piece, 1 Poffin, 1 Lucky Egg

You’ll get the Cacnea if you picked dark and the Dedenne if you picked fairy.

Step 3 of 6

  • Evolve 3 dark-/fairy-type Pokémon (3 Pinap Berries)
  • Earn a candy exploring with a dark-/fairy-type as your buddy (10 Ultra Balls)
  • Earn 3 hearts with a dark-/fairy-type buddy (1 Fast TM)

Rewards: 1,000 Stardust, 3 Rare Candy, 3 Nanab Berries

Step 4 of 6

  • Catch 6 different species of dark-/fairy-type Pokémon (3 Pinap Berries)
  • Power up dark-/fairy-type Pokémon 15 times (10 Ultra Balls)
  • Use a dark-/fairy-type charged attack in 3 battles (1 Fast TM)

Rewards: Dark/Fairy medal, mighty Obstagoon/Gardevoir encounter, 2 Premium Battle Passes

You’ll get the Obstagoon if you pick the dark path and Gardevoir if you pick the fairy path.

Step 5 of 6

  • Win a Gigantamax Battle (3 Silver Pinap Berries)
  • Win 2 shadow Raids (3 Golden Razz Berries)
  • Level Up a Max Move (800 Max Particles)

Rewards: Bewear (wilderness cape) encounter, 1 Lucky Egg, 1 Star Piece

Step 6 of 6

  • Claim reward! (1,000 XP)
  • Claim reward! (1 Super Incubator)
  • Claim reward! (1 Poffin)

Rewards: Go Wild Area 2025 pose, 3 Candy XL, Gigantamax Grimmsnarl

Thanks to Leek Duck for confirming the information above.

Choose a path outcome: Should you pick Dark Detective or Fairy Fanatic?

The Go Wild Area 2025 key art, with Grimmsnarl, and other fairy- and dark-type Pokémon in the woods.
Image: Niantic

The main bonus that differs here is whether you get a boost from mighty dark- or fairy-type Pokémon.

If you pick dark, then each dark-type mighty Pokémon you catch will give you a Candy XL and an additional 1,000 Stardust. The same goes for fairy-type mighty Pokémon, if you pick fairy.

If you are going for pure meta-relevance, you’ll want to pick dark.

While the fairy-type side would boost the candy gains for Gardevoir, there aren’t really any other fairy-type Pokémon outside of it that serves too much meta relevance. Meowscarada is good, but… comparatively to the list of dark-types you can use, it’s not good enough to make up the gap.

The dark-type mighty Pokémon are all vastly stronger than the fairy-type options, with Tyranitar (and its Mega Evolution) being one of the strongest Pokémon in the game. Mega Houndoom and Mega Absol are also pretty good.

The mighty Gardevoir you get from the fairy path is probably going to be more useful than the mighty Obstagoon, but if you’re playing throughout the event, you should run into quite a few of these anyway.

If you’re going for Gigantamax future-proofing, then consider picking fairy.

We know that Hatterene does get a Gigantamax form down the line, and if you want to start stocking up on Hatenna Candy XL, now wouldn’t be a terrible time to do so. Gigantamax Hatterene is the definitively fairy-type Max Battle attacker, if you’re into Max Battles.

That being said, you don’t have to pick based on any type of meta. If you love fairy-type Pokémon, pick fairy to get the cute pink badge! If you really relate to Karen from the Johto Elite Four, then get the dark-type badge!

For more on Pokémon Go’s Wild Area 2025 event, check out our event hub page listing the schedule, spawns, and bonuses, as well as our explainers on Go Safari Balls and mighty Pokémon.