So I jumped into the Scorching Steps event totally unprepared yesterday. Grabbed my phone around lunchtime when the pop-up showed up, didn’t even read the tasks properly. Just tapped through everything like an idiot.
First Attempt Disaster
Started grinding incense challenges first because they looked easy. Massive mistake. Spent two full hours catching grass Pokémon near parks when I should’ve been doing desert zones. Ended up with only three sandshrew encounters by 4PM. Could literally feel the event timer burning my fingers.
- Wasted incense walking downtown instead of dry areas
- Totally ignored “throw 5 nice curveballs” task till last minute
- Forgot snapshots – missed a larvitar spawn
Switching Gears
After wasting three incense sticks and half an ice coffee, finally checked ranger tasks section. Saw “send 3 gifts” was stackable with “hatch 2 eggs”. Slapped my forehead so hard. Immediately:
- Stuck incubators on 2km eggs
- Spammed opened gifts while walking
- Timed gift sends with egg hatches
Got four field research clears in fifteen minutes! That panic when eggs hatched during spotlight hour… nearly dropped phone running to finish “transfer 10 pokémon” task.
Last-Minute Hail Mary
With 90 minutes left, focused purely on raid section. Zero patience for mega raids. Just searched for one-star slugma raids like crazy. Jumped into every nearby lobby while simultaneously catching rock-types for collection page. Saw timer hit 00:07:32 when claiming final rewards – sweat dripping on screen.
Ended up grabbing everything except that damn exclusive pose. Lesson learned? Always raid trash-tier bosses during timed research. Five one-stars get rewards faster than waiting for single big raid teams.
Bonus tip: Keep throwaway pokémon for transfer tasks. Transfer stuff instead of evolving unless it’s necessary. Dried all my hyper potions reviving raid casualties though… ah well.
