Niantic has fully revealed the upcoming Verdant Wonders event, which will see the return of Zarude to Pokémon Go for the first time since it debuted back in October 2021. But players are already fed up with this Mythical content because it includes yet another paid ticket.
The Verdant Wonders event will run from March 21 to 25 and features several Pokémon themed around jungle biomes, such as Panpour, Pansage, Pansear, Cutiefly, and Zorua. This will also debut a special Cottonee wearing a flower crown and Shiny Flabébé—with all of its different flower colored-variants. But those encounters aren’t what is drawing eyes.
Zarude, a Mythical Grass/Dark-type that debuted as part of a movie tie-in event in October 2021, is a powerful Pokémon that has not been available for over two years. Now, instead of appearing as a Special Research reward that is available for all players, it’s locked behind a $7.99 research ticket that serves the same purpose—speaking to a continued change in Niantic’s approach to events over the years.
Sure, that $7.99 price tag includes Special Research with plenty of rewards like a Zarude encounter along with increased Incense encounters for featured event Pokémon. But some fans feel charging for a previously free Pokémon that hasn’t been available in years is not a good look. It also doesn’t help that this is more expensive than recent Masterwork Research, which costs $5, includes better rewards, and guaranteed encounters with Mythical Shiny Pokémon like Shaymin. “$5 For shiny Mew, $5 for shiny Shaymin, $8 for a non-shiny Zarude. Those ticket prices make no sense,” Reddit user Byotan said.
While the price isn’t anything new since Keldeo’s own Mythical debut in December 2022 was also locked to a $7.99 ticket, it has still killed the hype for Verdant Wonders for plenty of players. “I was super excited when I heard Zarude was coming back but this is straight up insulting. Boring event, overpriced ticket and I would probably get stuck with bad IVs. Nobody should be paying for this trash,” Reddit user Negative_Climate1735 said.
Regardless of whether you decide to participate in this event and purchase a Special Research ticket to encounter Zarude, you should be aware that the Rogue Monkey Pokémon likely won’t be obtainable again for quite some time once the Verdant Wonders event ends on March 25.
