Pokémon Go Choose Your Path Fairy Trail Timed Research (July 28th, 2026)

What's the best path choice: Explore, Catch or Battle?

‘Fairy Trail’ is a version of the ‘Choose Your Path’ Timed Research quests, which now run during quiet weeks in Pokémon Go. Since this feature is still being tested, there’s actually two versions of this quest — one where you’ll choose daily between six different bonuses and another where you’ll choose one bonus out of three for the whole quest period. Boot up Pokémon Go to learn which version of ‘Fairy Trail’ you’ve received!

Don’t forget that ‘Fairy Trail’ is a branching quest, offering you three paths to choose from: Explore, Catch or Battle. Your choice determines which challenges and, of course, the bonus you’ll unlock. Just remember that you can’t change your path choice after it’s been made.

Quest End Time: Monday 3rd August at 8pm (local time)

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‘Fairy Trail Timed Research’ rewards and quest steps

Before I get into the exact rewards and quest steps for ‘Fairy Trail’, there are some important facts which are worth knowing.

💡Lottie’s Pro Tip

For the daily bonus version, I recommend picking the ‘Catch (XP)’ path. For the week-long bonus version, I recommend selecting the ‘Explore’ path.

Firstly, there’s two versions of the quest — the one where you’ll select a new bonus every day (helpfully called ‘Daily Bonus’) and a second where you’ll pick a single bonus for the entire event period. Which quest version you receive is seemingly decided at random. Both versions, however, are branching quests and once you’ve made your path choice, whether it’s for a day or the full event, it can not be changed.

To help you pick the right path for you, I’ve gone through all of the different bonuses, challenges and rewards for each path. Here’s a quick contents to take you to each individual path:

With that out of the way, let’s take a look at the first step of ‘Fairy Trail’ for both versions of the quest:

‘Fairy Trail Timed Research’ Step 1 of 2

• Claim reward — 500 Stardust

Rewards: Five Poké Balls.

The Choose Your Path: Fairy Trail quest is currently running. Check out the August schedule to learn what next month holds. There’s a lot to do in Pokémon Go outside of the current event! From the Go Battle League, Remote Trading, PokéStop Showcase, Routes and Max Battles. Don’t forget to catch rare Pokémon while you’re at it.

‘Explore’ path for ‘Fairy Trail Timed Research’

This path is for the version of ‘Fairy Trail’ where you’ll select one bonus for the whole event. The bonus this path unlocks is halved hatch distance for eggs placed in Incubators during the event.

‘Fairy Trail Timed Research: Explore’ Step 2 of 2

• Explore 3km — Impidimp encounter
• Spin 25 PokéStops or Gyms — Impidimp encounter
• Hatch 2 Eggs — Impidimp encounter
• Follow 2 Routes — Impidimp encounter
• Explore 3km — Morelull encounter
• Spin 25 PokéStops or Gyms — Morelull encounter
• Hatch 2 Eggs — Morelull encounter
• Follow 2 Routes — Morelull encounter

Rewards: Three Golden Razz Berries and five Rare Candies.

‘Catch’ path for ‘Fairy Trail Timed Research’

This path is for the version of ‘Fairy Trail’ where you’ll select one bonus for the whole event. The bonus this path unlocks is earning an extra Candy for catching Pokémon with Nice Throws or better during the event.

‘Fairy Trail Timed Research: Catch’ Step 2 of 2

• Make 15 Nice Throws — Impidimp encounter
• Make 15 Curveball Throws — Impidimp encounter
• Make 3 Excellent Throws — Impidimp encounter
• Make 15 Great Curveball Throws — Impidimp encounter
• Make 15 Nice Throws — Morelull encounter
• Make 15 Curveball Throws — Morelull encounter
• Make 3 Excellent Throws — Morelull encounter
• Make 15 Great Curveball Throws — Morelull encounter

Rewards: Three Golden Razz Berries and five Rare Candies.

‘Battle’ path for ‘Fairy Trail Timed Research’

This path is for the version of ‘Fairy Trail’ where you’ll select one bonus for the whole event. The bonus this path unlocks is earning an extra Mysterious Component from Team Go Rocket Grunts during this event.

‘Fairy Trail Timed Research: Battle’ Step 2 of 2

• Win a raid — Impidimp encounter
• Win 2 raids — Impidimp encounter
• Defeat 8 Team Go Rocket Grunts — Impidimp encounter
• Use 10 supereffective Charged Attacks — Impidimp encounter
• Win a raid — Morelull encounter
• Win 2 raids — Morelull encounter
• Defeat 8 Team Go Rocket Grunts — Morelull encounter
• Use 10 supereffective Charged Attacks — Morelull encounter

Rewards: Three Golden Razz Berries and five Rare Candies.

‘Explore (Hatch)’ path for ‘Fairy Trail Timed Research’

This path is for the version of ‘Fairy Trail’ where you’ll pick a new bonus every day. The bonus for this path is hatch distance halved for eggs placed in Incubators during the event.

‘Fairy Trail Timed Research: Explore (Hatch)’ Step 2 of 2

• Explore 1km — Impidimp encounter
• Hatch an Egg — Impidimp encounter
• Follow a Route — Impidimp encounter
• Explore 1km — Morelull encounter
• Hatch an Egg — Morelull encounter
• Follow a Route — Morelull encounter

Rewards: Three Golden Razz Berries and five Rare Candies.

‘Explore (PokéStops)’ path for ‘Fairy Trail Timed Research’

This path is for the version of ‘Fairy Trail’ where you’ll pick a new bonus every day. The bonus for this path is x5 XP for spinning PokéStops.

‘Fairy Trail Timed Research: Explore (PokéStops)’ Step 2 of 2

• Explore 1km — Impidimp encounter
• Spin 5 PokéStops or Gyms — Impidimp encounter
• Follow a Route — Impidimp encounter
• Explore 1km — Morelull encounter
• Spin 5 PokéStops or Gyms — Morelull encounter
• Follow a Route — Morelull encounter

Rewards: Three Golden Razz Berries and five Rare Candies.

‘Catch (XP)’ path for ‘Fairy Trail Timed Research’

This path is for the version of ‘Fairy Trail’ where you’ll pick a new bonus every day. The bonus for this path is x1.5 XP for catching Pokémon with Nice Throws or better.

‘Fairy Trail Timed Research: Catch (XP)’ Step 2 of 2

• Make 20 Curveball Throws — Impidimp encounter
• Make 3 Excellent Throws — Impidimp encounter
• Make 20 Great Curveball Throws — Impidimp encounter
• Make 20 Curveball Throws — Morelull encounter
• Make 3 Excellent Throws — Morelull encounter
• Make 20 Great Curveball Throws — Morelull encounter

Rewards: Three Golden Razz Berries and five Rare Candies.

‘Catch (Candy)’ path for ‘Fairy Trail Timed Research’

This path is for the version of ‘Fairy Trail’ where you’ll pick a new bonus every day. The bonus for this path is to earn an extra Candy for catching Pokémon with Nice Throws or better.

‘Fairy Trail Timed Research: Catch (Candy)’ Step 2 of 2

• Make 20 Curveball Throws — Impidimp encounter
• Make 3 Excellent Throws — Impidimp encounter
• Make 20 Great Curveball Throws — Impidimp encounter
• Make 20 Curveball Throws — Morelull encounter
• Make 3 Excellent Throws — Morelull encounter
• Make 20 Great Curveball Throws — Morelull encounter

Rewards: Three Golden Razz Berries and five Rare Candies.

‘Battle (Raids)’ path for ‘Fairy Trail Timed Research’

This path is for the version of ‘Fairy Trail’ where you’ll pick a new bonus every day. The bonus for this path is earning an extra 5,000 XP for completing raids.

‘Fairy Trail Timed Research: Battle (Raids)’ Step 2 of 2

• Win a raid — Impidimp encounter
• Power up Pokémon 3 times — Impidimp encounter
• Use 3 supereffective Charged Attacks — Impidimp encounter
• Win a raid — Morelull encounter
• Power up Pokémon 3 times — Morelull encounter
• Use 3 supereffective Charged Attacks — Morelull encounter

Rewards: Three Golden Razz Berries and five Rare Candies.

‘Battle (Team Go Rocket)’ path for ‘Fairy Trail Timed Research’

This path is for the version of ‘Fairy Trail’ where you’ll pick a new bonus every day. The bonus for this path is earning an extra Mysterious Component from Team Go Rocket Grunts.

‘Fairy Trail Timed Research: Battle (Team Go Rocket)’ Step 2 of 2

• Power up Pokémon 3 times — Impidimp encounter
• Defeat 1 Team Go Rocket Grunt — Impidimp encounter
• Use 3 supereffective Charged Attacks — Impidimp encounter
• Power up Pokémon 3 times — Morelull encounter
• Defeat 1 Team Go Rocket Grunt — Morelull encounter
• Use 3 supereffective Charged Attacks — Morelull encounter

Rewards: Three Golden Razz Berries and five Rare Candies.

Best path choice for ‘Fairy Trail: Explore, Catch or Battle?

Since there’s two different versions of ‘Fairy Trail’, I’ve got two different best path recommendations for you!

The Explore path is best if you get the version of ‘Fairy Trail’ where you only ever pick one bonus. The reduced hatch distance will allow you to cut through your egg backlog, earning a significant amount of XP and Hatch Candy as you do so. Considering you’ll have access to this bonus for the entire event period, it’s the one you’ll be able to make the most out of too!

When it comes to picking a new bonus every day, Catch (XP) is obviously the best path. After all, the main thing you do in Pokémon Go is catch Pokémon so, like my recommendation above, this is the bonus you’ll be able to make the most of. Using a Lucky Egg alongside this will also further increase the amount of XP you earn too. Just remember that, since you can change your bonus every day, it might be worth tailoring your selection if you know you’re going to focus on one specific Pokémon Go activity, such as raiding, on that day. Still, a Catch XP bonus is always the way to go.

Pokémon Go Fairy Trail field research tasks

Fairy Trail also offers three event-exclusive field research tasks:

Hope you enjoy the Fairy Trail Choose Your Path quest!