When Pokémon Legends: Z‑A launched, one of its quiet endurance tests lived inside Mable’s Research: hit Research Level 50 and you got the Shiny Charm, a small golden ticket that measurably improves your odds of finding alternate‑colored Pokémon. Trouble was, the final stretch required one task that read like a dare: win 1,000 battles. Players called it tedious. Some grinded through it. Many didn’t.
Then the Mega Dimension DLC arrived on Dec. 10, 2025 and changed the math.
New quests, same reward — behind a paywall
The Mega Dimension expansion adds a wave of fresh Research Requests early in its story, letting players unlock enough Research XP to reach Level 50 without being forced into that 1,000‑victory slog. That’s a relief for anyone who hadn’t started the grind; for players who already burned hours chasing that single task, it’s understandably bittersweet — and yes, it’s part of DLC content that costs about $30.
If this sounds familiar, that’s because the new tasks effectively rebalance a late‑game bottleneck. They ask you to explore Hyperspace Lumiose, catch new additions to the roster, nab Mega Evolutions and poke around Hyperspace pockets — objectives that feel more like normal play than a grind treadmill. Still: the shortcut to the Shiny Charm now sits behind paid DLC, and some fans see that as poor timing on Nintendo and the Pokémon Company’s part.
You can read the Mega Dimension announcement and details in our coverage of the DLC landing Dec. 10. And while Nintendo’s overall momentum has been strong lately — the company even revised Switch 2 forecasts upward — that doesn’t make a paywall for convenience any easier to swallow for longtime fans Nintendo raises Switch 2 forecast as console sales soar.
Why the 1,000‑battle requirement felt so bad
A few numbers help explain the frustration. The base shiny encounter rate in Legends: Z‑A is the series standard 1 in 4,096, meaning hunters rely on odds and persistence. Mable’s Research was designed to reward long‑term completion, but the 1,000 wins task was an outlier: it demanded repetitive victories — many players estimated it would take dozens of hours just to close that last gap. One reviewer reported about 570 battles after roughly 60 hours of play, and still being short.
That kind of time sink turns a completionist route into a grind. For fans who only wanted the Shiny Charm to boost rare spawns and enjoy shiny hunting more comfortably, the choice became binary: spend dozens of extra hours, or pay for DLC that offers an easier path.
Practical shiny hunting tips (if you still want to solo the grind)
If you opt not to pay — or you’ve already earned the Charm the old way — some tactics still help:
- The Shiny Charm raises the odds but doesn’t make encounters frequent; patience remains key.
- Use a Pokémon with False Swipe to avoid accidentally knocking a shiny into the void with a critical hit.
- Listen and look: shinies sometimes have a faint twinkling sound and emit sparkles when nearby.
- Special Poké Balls like Ultra Balls or Dusk Balls (at night) can meaningfully improve catch rates.
Those basics never go out of style. The expansion simply offers a less soul‑crushing route to the same end.
The DLC adds more than convenience
Mega Dimension brings more than Research Requests. It opens Hyperspace Wild Zone Distortions where new critters — including Toxel and its evolution Toxtricity — can spawn early in the run, and it layers in new Mega Evolutions to chase. For players who enjoy new monsters and mechanical toys, the content itself will be worthwhile, independent of the Shiny Charm shortcut.
For example, Toxel’s spawn behavior in Hyperspace zones and the method to evolve it into either Amped or Low‑Key Toxtricity are small, satisfying additions for collectors and competitive builders alike. Those who like to hunt shinies can reset spawns in distortions to look for Alphas or Shiny variants without trekking across the base game map.
Where this sits in the community
The reaction is mixed but predictable. New players or those who dislike repetitive chores will welcome the change — they can enjoy hunting shinies sooner and with less tedium. Veterans who already stuffed their Research log with 1,000 wins understandably resent paying for a fix that comes after they burned hours to get the same result. Both perspectives have merit.
Ultimately, the Mega Dimension DLC reframes a design choice that felt arbitrary to many: why gate a broadly desired quality‑of‑life reward behind a grind that isn’t fun for everyone? The DLC answers that by offering an alternative — at a price. Whether that price is fair depends on where you sit in the player base.
If you’re curious about the expansion itself — how to start it, what new Mega Evolutions arrive, and where Hyperspace takes you — our Mega Dimension landing piece has the rundown Mega Dimension DLC lands Dec. 10.