Rural Pokemon Go players claim Niantic is ‘bullying’ them with Masterwork Research

Pokemon Go players who live in rural areas think Niantic may be ‘bullying’ them with the recent Masterwork Research rerun.

For those Pokemon Go fans who may have missed the news, Niantic is offering players the chance to partake in the #151 Masterwork Research originally from Go Fest 2021.

This Masterwork Research is a paid event that, upon completion, offers trainers the chance to encounter a Shiny Mew. However, the tasks involved with completing it are far from easy.

As such, some rural and casual Pokemon players have started to wonder whether or not Niantic is ‘bullying’ them, thanks to the need to find rare and foreign Pokemon to complete the Research.

Pokemon Go players vent frustration with Masterwork Research

A post on the Pokemon Go subreddit, titled, “I’m pretty sure Niantic just loves to bully rural/casual players,” caught fans’ attention thanks to the meme image attached to it.

The meme essentially showed that many players purchased the Masterwork Research for $5 to get the Shiny Mew, but it was locked behind the Platinum Kanto Medal. This Medal can only be earned by catching all original 151 Pokemon from the Kanto region.

I’m pretty sure Niantic just loves to bully rural/casual players
by u/Luxynx in pokemongo

This is easier said than done thanks to Pokemon who spawn in foreign countries like Kangaskhan, Farfetch’d, and Mr. Mime along with rare Pokemon like the Legendary Birds and Mewtwo.

Additionally, some were frustrated with the layout of the tasks, as getting the Platinum Kanto Medal is the very first task in the Research. As such, players who are stuck trying to complete it are essentially barred from moving on to Step 2 and beyond.

The OP said, “Feels extra scummy that not only was there no clear indication such a tall order was required for completion before purchase, but it’s literally the very first task too, locking players who can’t get these Pokémon out of every other task in the whole thing.”

Still, there was plenty of pushback in the comments, with some arguing that this specific Research is meant to take a long time and that hard-to-obtain Pokemon may appear more frequently in future events.

While it remains to be seen if those rare Pokemon will become easier to catch in 2023, it seems some rural fans aren’t holding out hope.