Walking or Exploring: Pokemon GO player left confused by Research task wording

With Pokemon GO's 2024 rendition of its traditional Adventure Week event taking place, many players have noticed some of the changes the event has brought to the game. While many are focused on the wild creatures that inhabit the encounter tables or the upcoming Team Rocket invasion, some players have their sights set on the tasks presented for the event.

Reddit User Gandalfo_L_Gringo has pointed out a small detail on the new set of tasks for the event that has led to a bit of confusion. In their post, they ask whether the new "Explore 2 km" task requires players to do anything different from the standard "walk a set distance" tasks. Answering the user's question, the community weighed in.

Is there any difference between “Exploring” and “Walking”? byu/Gandalfo_L_Gringo inTheSilphRoad

In the post, it can be seen that the quest clearly asks the player to explore, without much elaboration on what this means. For users who are accustomed to the standard wording of this quest, this change can definitely spark a few thoughts. This is nothing more than a minor detail change to fit the theme of Adventure Week.

Looking closer at the task, it can be seen that the task in question is tagged with an "Event" marker. This indicates that the research task is tied to Adventure Week. Since Adventure Week is all about going out and discovering ancient Pokemon, Niantic changed some of the quests to fit the theme, resulting in this change in wording.

Comment byu/Gandalfo_L_Gringo from discussion inTheSilphRoad

Many players echo this sentiment, but some users claim to have differing experiences with the "Explore" tasks. These users in the forum are claiming that these tasks require the player to have their game open for the entire duration of the distance traveled, or they have to interact with the game in some way while they walk.

Many players have been claiming that the Explore tasks require more interaction

It is possible that users discussing this requirement were either interacting with another version of the "Explore" tasks, or they were affected by a glitch. Pokemon GO is known to have the occasional bug or glitch that can impede progress or gameplay for some players, but another user shares a more detailed experience with a prior version of these tasks.

Comment byu/Gandalfo_L_Gringo from discussion inTheSilphRoad

User squidysquidysquidy shares their experience with this past version of the task, detailing that a lot of players in their community were confused by the vague wording of the quest. However, they do acknowledge that this was an old version of the task.

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What encounters can be found from completing Adventure Week research tasks in Pokemon GO?

Fossil Pokemon from the third, fourth, and fifth generations can be found through research tasks (Image via Niantic)

Here is a list of every reward monster that can be found after completing a task that grants an encounter for Pokemon GO's Adventure Week 2024:

• Dunsparce
• Lileep
• Anorith
• Cranidos
• Shieldon
• Roggenrola
• Drilbur
• Tirtouga
• Archen
• Bunnelby
• Tyrunt
• Amaura

Every creature found through these methods has a chance at being shiny as well, so collectors are encouraged to grind out these missions.

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For more information on Pokemon GO's Adventure Week content, check out our other articles:

• 5 Shadow Pokemon to find during Pokemon GO Adventure Week: Taken Over
• Adventure Week timed research guide
• Adventure Week collection challenge guide
• Adventure Week field research guide