Pokemon Go Masterwork Research Apex tasks & rewards

Daniel Megarry

Masterwork Research: Apex is a long-running quest in Pokemon Go, with Apex Shadow Lugia & Ho-Oh encounters offered up as a reward for completing every task.

The second Masterwork Research quest in Pokemon Go, Masterwork Research: Apex, is now live for players who previously purchased a Tour Johto ticket and have since completed the event-exclusive Special Research quest.

Masterwork Research quests are meant to be completed over a long period of time, so don’t be surprised if it takes you months to finish. Along the way, you’ll unlock encounters with Apex Shadow Lugia and Apex Shadow Ho-Oh.

Below, you’ll find all the information we have on the tasks you’ll need to complete during the Masterwork Research: Apex quest, as well as the rewards on offer.


Contents


Apex Shadow Lugia and Ho-Oh appearing in Pokemon Go Masterwork Research
These powerful Shadow Legendaries can be yours… eventually.

Pokemon Go Masterwork Research Apex tasks & rewards

Here are all of the steps, tasks, and rewards for the Masterwork Research Apex quest in Pokemon Go:

Step 1 of 4

  • Earn 100,000 XP – 10 Hyper Potions
  • Complete 100 Field Research tasks – 1,000 XP
  • Catch 100 different species of Pokemon – Apex Shadow Ho-oh encounter

Rewards: 1,000 XP, 1,000 Stardust, and 20 Ho-Oh Candy

Step 2 of 4

  • Earn a heart with your buddy 30 days in a row – 1 Poffin
  • Send 50 Gifts to Friends – 1 Lure Module
  • Open 10 Gifts – 1 Lucky Egg

Rewards: 2,000 XP, 3 Rare Candy, and 2,000 Stardust

Step 3 of 4

  • Hatch 10 Eggs – 3,000 Stardust
  • Defeat 30 Team Go Rocket members – 1 Rocket Radar
  • Defeat the Team Go Rocket Boss – 3 Silver Pinap Berries

Rewards: 3,000 XP, Apex Shadow Lugia encounter, and 3,000 Stardust

Step 4 of 4

  • Claim Reward! – 3,000 XP
  • Claim Reward! – 4,000 Stardust
  • Claim Reward! – 5,000 XP

Rewards: 5,000 XP, 20 Lugia Candy, and 5,000 Stardust

Those are all of the steps and tasks for the Masterwork Research Apex quest. Once you’ve finished them all, you’ll have an Apex Shadow Ho-Oh and an Apex Shadow Lugia in your collection!

Pokemon Go Masterwork Research Apex quest explained

A notebook for the Pokemon GO Masterwork Research Apex quest
The latest Masterwork Research quest could take months to complete.

The Masterwork Research: Apex quest is only available to players who purchased a ticket to Pokemon Go Tour Johto, which took place on February 26, and logged in at least once during the event to claim the event-exclusive Special Research quest.

Once the Pokemon Go Tour Johto Special Research quest has been completed, the Masterwork Research: Apex quest will unlock automatically. This is a huge challenge with no deadline, so it’s meant to be completed over a long period of time.

For example, one of the challenges in Step 2 requires you to earn a heart with your buddy for 30 days in a row, which puts an unavoidable month-long block on progressing further. Also, if you miss a single heart, your 30 days will start over again.

While it’s important to keep an eye on your tasks and make sure you’re making progress on them, it’s a good idea to view this Masterwork Research: Apex quest as a side challenge while you do other things in Pokemon Go.

Apex Shadow Lugia & Ho-Oh rewards explained

Apex Shadow Lugia appearing in the Pokemon Go Masterwork Research
Apex Shadow Lugia could be a huge threat in Raids and Gyms.

The two big rewards for completing the Masterwork Research: Apex quest are encounters with Apex Shadow Ho-Oh and Apex Shadow Lugia, which are the first Apex Shadow Legendaries to ever appear in Pokemon Go.

So what are Apex Shadows? Well, to put it simply, they’re more powerful variations of normal Shadow Pokemon. Each one has a boosted special move that can be boosted even more when purified. These are as follows:

  • Apex Shadow Lugia: Aeroblast+ (200 power) to Aeroblast ++ (225 power)
  • Apex Shadow Ho-Oh: Sacred Fire+ (135 power) to Sacred Fire++ (155 power)

These power increases are only applicable to Raids and Gyms, not battles in the Go Battle League.

Remember, you can only catch Apex Shadow Lugia and Apex Shadow Ho-Oh in Pokemon Go by completing the Masterwork Research: Apex quest – time to start working on those tasks!


That’s everything you need to know about the Masterwork Research: Apex quest so far. Check out some of our other Pokemon Go guides below:

Best Pokemon in Pokemon Go | Pokemon Go type chart | Arlo counters guide | Cliff counters guide | Giovanni counters guide | Sierra counters guide | How to catch Ditto | Field research rewards and tasks | How to get Pinap Berries | Spotlight Hour schedule | Pokemon Go current Raid bosses

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