Niantic is giving every Pokémon Go player a way to encounter the Mythical Pokémon Diancie for free in May as long as they complete a set of Special Research, though there is also one big exception.
Diancie was originally released as part of Pokémon Go Fest 2023’s featured Special Research last year and has not been available to obtain since then. Now, the Rock/Fairy-type Mythical Pokémon will be free to claim via Pokémon Go Special Research Story: Glitz and Glam which will go live on May 1 for all players—though there is one big caveat for players who already caught a Diancie during Go Fest 2023.
While the Special Research Story: Glitz and Glam will be free for everyone starting on May 1 at 10am local time, only players who have not encountered Diancie before will be able to catch the Mythical Pokémon. If you previously purchased and completed the Go Fest 2023–exclusive Special Research, you will get Diancie Candy instead of another Diancie encounter.
This is a big downside that Niantic has done multiple times when it comes to Mythical Pokémon being made obtainable after originally being locked behind an event paywall. Additionally, it is unlikely Diancie will be available again for quite some time once access to this Special Research story goes away. However, Niantic has confirmed that the Special Research will never expire once claimed, so you can finish it at your own pace.
Field Research will be available from May 1 at 12am local time to May 3 at 11:59pm local time that will let you collect Diancie Mega Energy and stack up encounters with Carbink, however, which you will want to do since you need 300 Diancie Mega Energy to access Mega Diancie. “NO Shiny Carbink. NO second Diancie if you played Go Fest last year. Major L,” Twitter user Duke1782 said, summing up some of the player frustrations with these restrictions.
