Neither path was universally better. In Pokémon GO’s Steeled Resolve event, Blanche’s branch listed Marill and Steelix encounters, while Cliff’s branch listed Shadow Machop and Marowak. Pick based on which pair you wanted. However, this is now an archived choice: the event ran January 21–26, 2025, and the Timed Research deadline was January 26 at 11:59 p.m. local time, so players can no longer start it or claim its rewards.
What was the Blanche-versus-Cliff research?
The free branching Timed Research was part of Pokémon GO’s Steeled Resolve event. Everyone began with the same opening page, then selected either Blanche or Cliff. That selection determined two listed encounter rewards on the branch pages; the task structure and most item, Stardust and XP rewards were otherwise the same.
Steeled Resolve was scheduled from Tuesday, January 21, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. through Sunday, January 26, 2025, at 8:00 p.m., using each player’s local time. Niantic’s event announcement also set a later research cutoff: all Timed Research tasks had to be completed and their rewards claimed by Sunday, January 26, at 11:59 p.m. local time. The announcement warned that Timed Research expires, so unfinished pages did not remain available after that deadline.
Can you still choose Blanche or Cliff?
No. The event and its free branch expired in January 2025. A player who did not select a path, finish the tasks or claim the rewards by the stated deadline cannot open this research now. Current players may encounter other events with different branching choices, but those are separate offers and do not restore Steeled Resolve access.
This guide is therefore an archive of the decision rather than a live walkthrough. It is useful for identifying what the two paths contained, checking old screenshots or account records, and understanding why a historical reward screen may show one branch instead of the other.
What did both paths share before the choice?
The first page was identical for every participant. You had to complete three objectives:
- Catch 15 Pokémon.
- Spin five PokéStops or Gyms.
- Explore 2 km.
The listed reward pool for that opening page included Ultra Balls, Bunnelby and Paldean Wooper encounters, Stardust and XP. The available event record does not specify quantities for every item or the amount of Stardust and XP on this page, so those values should not be inferred from later steps.
Because these objectives were shared, they did not influence the Blanche-versus-Cliff decision. The practical requirement was simply to finish the common page before selecting a branch, then work through the branch pages before the final deadline.
What did Blanche’s path contain?
Blanche’s route kept the same general task pattern as Cliff’s route but listed Marill and Steelix as its branch-specific encounters.
Blanche branch tasks and rewards
| Research page | Tasks | Listed rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Shared opening page | Catch 15 Pokémon; spin five PokéStops or Gyms; explore 2 km | Ultra Balls; Bunnelby encounter; Paldean Wooper encounter; Stardust; XP. Exact quantities not stated in the event guide. |
| Branch page | Use five supereffective Charged Attacks; power up Pokémon five times; battle in the GO Battle League five times | Stardust; two Fast TMs; two Charged TMs; 2,000 XP; Marill encounter |
| Final page | Catch 25 Pokémon; power up Pokémon 10 times; win a Trainer Battle in the GO Battle League | Ultra Balls; Silver Pinap Berry; 3,000 XP; 2,000 Stardust; Steelix encounter |
The guide records Marill and Steelix as the encounters tied to Blanche’s branch. It does not establish their individual IVs, appraisal ranges, shiny odds, or any special move, so those details should not be added to the reward description.
What did Cliff’s path contain?
Cliff’s route used the same listed branch and final objectives. Its distinct encounter listings were Shadow Machop on the middle page and Marowak on the final page.
Cliff branch tasks and rewards
| Research page | Tasks | Listed rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Shared opening page | Catch 15 Pokémon; spin five PokéStops or Gyms; explore 2 km | Ultra Balls; Bunnelby encounter; Paldean Wooper encounter; Stardust; XP. Exact quantities not stated in the event guide. |
| Branch page | Use five supereffective Charged Attacks; power up Pokémon five times; battle in the GO Battle League five times | Stardust; two Fast TMs; two Charged TMs; 2,000 XP; Shadow Machop encounter |
| Final page | Catch 25 Pokémon; power up Pokémon 10 times; win a Trainer Battle in the GO Battle League | Ultra Balls; Silver Pinap Berry; 3,000 XP; 2,000 Stardust; Marowak encounter |
“Shadow Machop” is how the listed encounter was identified in the event guide. The available record does not provide an appraisal, move-set or battle-performance comparison for that encounter, and it does not label the Marowak encounter as Shadow.
Which path was the better choice?
The evidence supports a preference-based answer, not a universal winner. Choose Blanche when the listed Marill and Steelix encounters were the rewards you preferred; choose Cliff when Shadow Machop and Marowak were more appealing. Both branches provided the same listed objectives and the same major item and XP rewards on their corresponding pages.
| If your priority was… | The matching branch was… | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Adding the listed Marill and Steelix encounters to your event rewards | Blanche | Those were the two encounters unique to Blanche’s pages. |
| Receiving the listed Shadow Machop and Marowak encounters | Cliff | Those were the two encounters unique to Cliff’s pages. |
| Fast TMs, Charged TMs, XP, Stardust and the final item bundle | Either | The branch pages list the same quantities of these shared reward types. |
| A guaranteed stronger, rarer or more valuable path | Neither established | The available event records do not compare strength, rarity, IV quality or long-term value. |
Do not treat the branch names as a ranking system. Blanche and Cliff are the framing for the choice; the documented difference is the encounter pair, not a published difficulty tier or reward multiplier.
Could you change your selection after choosing?
Pokémon GO’s general research guidance says a path selection of this kind cannot be reversed or updated after it is made. That rule is general rather than an event-specific statement about Steeled Resolve, but it is the relevant guidance for a branching research choice. Selecting a branch was therefore a commitment: you could not switch to the other encounter pair later from the same research ticket.
If you were deciding while the event was live, the safest approach was to inspect the two encounter lists first, choose the pair you actually wanted, and only then confirm the in-game prompt. The archive cannot recreate a missed branch or transfer its encounters between accounts.
How should players have planned the tasks?
The objectives were straightforward but time-limited. A sensible order during the live event was:
- Complete the shared catch, spin and walking requirements while playing normally, rather than selecting a branch before checking the reward lists.
- For the branch page, build progress toward five supereffective Charged Attacks, five power-ups and five GO Battle League battles. The research required all three categories, so completing one category did not substitute for another.
- On the final page, catch 25 Pokémon, perform 10 additional power-ups and win a Trainer Battle in the GO Battle League.
- Claim every page’s rewards before 11:59 p.m. local time on January 26, even though the broader event activity ended at 8:00 p.m. The later research deadline was the cutoff for completing and claiming Timed Research.
These steps describe the listed requirements, not a promise that any particular Pokémon, opponent or encounter quality would appear. The event guide does not document alternate completion methods, bonus progress rules or a grace period after expiration.
Was this the same as the paid Steeled Resolve ticket?
No. The Blanche-versus-Cliff branch was the free event Timed Research. Niantic separately advertised a paid event ticket priced at US$5, or the local-equivalent pricing tier, with its own event-exclusive Timed Research.
| Offer | Status | Documented contents |
|---|---|---|
| Free Blanche-versus-Cliff research | Historical; expired January 26, 2025 | Shared catch, spin, walking, battle and power-up tasks, with branch encounters of Marill and Steelix or Shadow Machop and Marowak. |
| Separate paid event ticket | Historical; not a current purchase recommendation | 5,000 XP, 20,000 Stardust, one Elite Charged TM, and encounters including Galarian Weezing, Azumarill, Diggersby and Clodsire. |
Buying or owning information about the paid ticket would not have unlocked the free branch retroactively. The two offers had different reward lists and should not be combined when comparing old screenshots or guides.
What is the useful takeaway from this archived choice?
For historical accounts, the deciding fact is simple: the path changed the two listed encounters, while the core tasks and principal item, XP and Stardust rewards remained aligned. Blanche corresponded to Marill and Steelix; Cliff corresponded to Shadow Machop and Marowak. No source for this event establishes that one pair was objectively stronger, rarer or more useful in every battle format.
For future Pokémon GO branching research, the same decision method still works: read both reward lists, separate branch-exclusive rewards from shared rewards, verify the local expiration time, and assume the selection is permanent unless Niantic explicitly says otherwise. That approach prevents a preference decision from being mistaken for a power ranking.
FAQ
Can I buy the Steeled Resolve research after the event?
No. The event dates and Timed Research deadline have passed, and the paid ticket described for Steeled Resolve was also a historical offer. A later ticket or event with a similar name would be a separate promotion, not a way to reopen this research.
What happened if a player finished tasks but forgot to claim a reward?
The deadline covered both completing the tasks and claiming the rewards. After 11:59 p.m. local time on January 26, 2025, the Timed Research was expired, so an unclaimed reward could not be assumed to remain available.
Did every player receive the same Pokémon from an encounter reward?
The event guide identifies the species associated with each branch, but it does not document encounter IVs, appraisal results or guaranteed individual traits. Species names in the reward list should not be read as a promise of identical Pokémon quality.
Was Marowak a Shadow encounter in Cliff’s path?
The listed Cliff rewards distinguish “Shadow Machop” on the branch page from “Marowak” on the final page. Because the record does not label Marowak as Shadow, it is safer not to apply that descriptor to the final encounter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I buy the Steeled Resolve research after the event?
No. The event dates and Timed Research deadline have passed, and the paid ticket described for Steeled Resolve was also a historical offer. A later ticket or event with a similar name would be a separate promotion, not a way to reopen this research.
What happened if a player finished tasks but forgot to claim a reward?
The deadline covered both completing the tasks and claiming the rewards. After 11:59 p.m. local time on January 26, 2025, the Timed Research was expired, so an unclaimed reward could not be assumed to remain available.
Did every player receive the same Pokémon from an encounter reward?
The event guide identifies the species associated with each branch, but it does not document encounter IVs, appraisal results or guaranteed individual traits. Species names in the reward list should not be read as a promise of identical Pokémon quality.
Was Marowak a Shadow encounter in Cliff’s path?
The listed Cliff rewards distinguish “Shadow Machop” on the branch page from “Marowak” on the final page. Because the record does not label Marowak as Shadow, it is safer not to apply that descriptor to the final encounter.