Pokémon GO’s quickest cash grab: the ‘I’ve Got Your Back’ Research
Trainers, let’s talk about the “I’ve Got Your Back” paid Timed Research in Pokémon Go. Recently, Niantic rolled out the second wave of Palde Pokémon, accompanied by this particular research as part of their Ultra Unlock Paldea event. And let’s just say it was less “I’ve got your back” and more like “I’ve got your wallet.”
To access this one-step Timed Research, trainers had to purchase a ticket costing $5. Sounds fine, right? Until you find out that all the rewards, including encounters with Pawmi, are readily available in the wild.
Here’s the breakdown of what the Timed Research offered:
- Egg Incubator
- Two Pawmi encounters
- 10 Silver Pinap Berries
- 3 Rare Candies
- 921 Stardust
- 9210 XP
And to add insult to injury, Pawmi backup is currently available in the in-game shop for 250 PokéCoins.
The rewards are lackluster, to say the least. Why spend $5 for a couple of Pawmi encounters when they’re already spawning in the wild? Or for a smattering of Stardust that you could accumulate in 20 minutes of gameplay?
So, did you buy into the “I’ve Got Your Back” Timed Research? What are your thoughts? Do you agree that this was perhaps the fastest cash grab in the history of Pokémon Go? Share your opinions below and let’s get a conversation started.
I purchased the ‘I’ve got your back’ research without even noticing it was a timed research. I know it might seem stupid but I thought it was just a limited time cosmetic and I loved pawmi. Due to the way the research was designed to end the moment the sale ended I only had 3 days left on the research and I was incredibly sick so I couldn’t do the 3k walk it asked of me. I couldn’t get a refund and ended up not getting the backpack at all. Needless to say I was angry and only became more angry when the backpack showed up in the store a few days later for a couple of in game currancy. I continuously asked support to unlock the backpack or refund my purchase but they were rather cold in telling me that what I payed for was the research and if I wanted the backpack I should have done the quests.
There was no reason why the research had to end the moment the sale ended, in my opinion it was designed so people had the ability to spend money and lose everything they payed for then feel like it was their fault. I’m not blaming myself though, after being rejected for a refund for the 5th time I packed up and uninstalled pokemon go. I’ve been a pokemon fan all my life, played pokemon red as a child, watched the original pokemon series and installed pokemon go when it was brand new with an excited glee. Now I feel betrayed and remember the reality that companies like this don’t care about me or any of their fans. Despite only losing $8 AUD to this money sceme it left me feeling bitter that I was taken advantage of with the promise of a cute backpack of my new favourite pokemon. Now pawmi makes me feel sad and I hope the people who planned this event are happy with their $8 because they aren’t getting anything else from me.