Pokemon Go Crowned Collection Challenge – Kingambit & Female Combee Tips

The Crowned Collection Challenge in Pokemon Go just kicked off yesterday as part of the Crown Clash event, and trainers everywhere are scrambling to figure out the best approach. This royal-themed challenge looks pretty stacked compared to previous collection tasks, so I wanted to break down exactly what we’re dealing with.

What’s the Crown Clash Event All About?

The Crown Clash event started on May 10th and runs until May 18th, 2025 (8:00 p.m. local time). The Crowned Collection Challenge is the main attraction here.

From what’s been officially announced, this event brings some pretty hype content:

• First appearance of Kingambit in Pokemon Go (that Gen 9 “Big Blade Pokemon” everyone’s been waiting for)
• New crowned costume versions of Nidoqueen and Nidoking with shiny potential
• Double XP for all evolutions throughout the event
• Special bonuses and themed raid battles

The collection challenge itself is no joke. Half the required Pokemon need to be evolved rather than just caught, and some have special requirements like needing a female Combee or a King’s Rock for evolution.

All the Pokemon You Need for the Crowned Collection Challenge

According to the official event details, you’ll need to snag these twelve Pokemon:

Pokemon to Catch (6):

• Snivy – Spawning in the wild or from “Evolve 2 Pokemon” Field Research and “Power up Pokemon 5 times” Seasonal Research
• Piplup – Wild spawns and “Catch 10 Pokemon” Field Research
• Slakoth – In the wild and from “Catch 10 Pokemon” Field Research
• Combee – Wild spawns and “Evolve 2 Pokemon” Field Research
• Slowpoke – Wild catches, “Evolve 2 Pokemon” Field Research, or “Spin 5 PokéStops or Gyms” Seasonal Research
• Litleo – Wild spawns, “Catch 10 Pokemon” Field Research, or “Earn 2 Candies walking with your buddy” Seasonal Research

Pokemon to Evolve (6):

• Serperior – Evolve all the way from Snivy using 100 total Snivy Candy
• Empoleon – Full evolution chain from Piplup requires 100 total Piplup Candy
• Slaking – Evolve through to final form with 100 total Slakoth Candy
• Vespiquen – Need to evolve a female Combee (which are pretty rare) with 50 Combee Candy
• Slowking – Evolve Slowpoke using 50 Slowpoke Candy plus 1 King’s Rock
• Pyroar – Evolve Litleo using 50 Litleo Candy

The official Pokemon Go event page confirms these requirements. Trading for already-evolved forms won’t count toward the challenge, so you’ve got to do the evolutions yourself during the event period.

What You’ll Get for Completing the Challenge

If you manage to tick off all twelve Pokemon before the May 18th deadline, you’ll score:

• 10,000 XP
• 5,000 Stardust
• Guaranteed Pawniard encounter (crucial if you’re gunning for Kingambit)
• Bonus for Level 31+ trainers: One guaranteed Candy XL for each Pokemon you evolve after completing the challenge

Early reports from players on Reddit suggest these rewards are better than what we’ve seen for recent collection challenges.

The Toughest Parts of This Challenge (And How to Tackle Them)

1. The Female Combee Hunt

This is looking like the biggest headache. Female Combee are super rare (only about 12.5% of all Combee). You can spot females by the small red triangle on their bottom honeycomb segment.

Potential strategy:

• Focus on the “Evolve 2 Pokemon” Field Research task which can reward Combee
• Use incense during peak playing hours to increase spawn chances
• Check local Pokemon Go communities for female Combee sightings
• Catch every Combee you see to maximize your chances

2. Getting That King’s Rock for Slowking

Even with the boosted chance from catching Slowpoke during the event, King’s Rocks aren’t guaranteed.

Potential strategy:

• Catch every Slowpoke you encounter
• Time your 7-day PokéStop streak during the event for another chance
• Remember they can also drop (rarely) from regular PokéStop spins
• Prioritize this early in case RNG isn’t in your favor

3. Gathering Enough Candy for Evolutions

Some evolutions need a ton of candy, especially the 100-candy final forms.

Smart approach:

• Use Pinap Berries on everything relevant
• Set your candy-hungry Pokemon as buddy (Slakoth might be the best choice)
• Use Mega Pokemon of matching types when catching for the bonus candy
• Prioritize tasks that reward the Pokemon you need most
• Trade with friends for the extra candy

How to Get Your Hands on Kingambit

While separate from the Collection Challenge itself, getting Kingambit is a major event goal. Here’s the process:

1. Get a Pawniard – From the wild (rare), One-Star Raids, or from completing the Collection Challenge
2. Evolve to Bisharp – Standard evolution with Pawniard candy
3. Special evolution method – Set Bisharp as your buddy and defeat 15 Dark-type or Steel-type Pokemon in Raid Battles

According to official info, Bisharp just needs to be your buddy when you win the raid. It doesn’t need to actually battle, so you can still use your best counters.

One-Star Raids with Sneasel and Klink are perfect targets for this evolution requirement.

Event Bonuses That’ll Help You Complete the Challenge

The event includes several bonuses that should make challenge completion easier:

• Double Evolution XP – Perfect timing for all the evolutions you need
• Increased shiny chance for event Pokemon (a nice bonus while you grind)
• Boosted spawns for all the Pokemon required in the challenge
• King’s Rock drop chance when catching Slowpoke

“Crown Clash: Taken Over” Sub-Event Coming Soon

Starting May 14th, a Team GO Rocket “Taken Over” sub-event will begin, running until May 18th. This will bring:

• Special Research leading to a Shadow Dialga encounter (battling Giovanni)
• New Shadow Pokemon including Shadow Slakoth and Shadow Inkay
• Chance to TM away Frustration from Shadow Pokemon

This might actually help with collection challenge progress as it could bring more relevant Pokemon into the spawn mix.

Field Research Tasks Worth Hunting

Based on initial reports, these Field Research tasks are gold for challenge progress:

• “Catch 10 Pokemon” – Can reward Slakoth, Piplup, or Litleo
• “Evolve 2 Pokemon” – Critical for Combee hunting
• “Win a raid” – Offers chances at Pawniard
• “Win 2 raids” – Potential Crown Nidoqueen or Crown Nidoking encounters

Try to spin lots of different PokéStops to find these specific tasks.

Impact on Your Elite Collector Medal

Every Collection Challenge you complete adds to your Elite Collector medal count on your trainer profile. Unlike other medals with tiers, this one just keeps counting up.

While it doesn’t help with level progression like platinum medals do, it’s a cool record of your participation in limited-time events.

Smart Strategy for Tackling This Challenge

Based on what we know about this challenge and past ones, here’s a solid game plan:

• Start now rather than waiting until later in the event
• Prioritize the RNG elements like female Combee and King’s Rock first
• Stockpile candy but wait to evolve until you have everything lined up
• Hunt for specific Field Research tasks that reward challenge Pokemon
• Connect with local players if possible to share spawn info (especially for female Combee)
• Use the Pokemon Go Alert feature for rare spawns

FAQs About the Crowned Collection Challenge

The Royal Road Ahead

The Crowned Collection Challenge in Pokemon Go is just getting started, but it’s already shaping up to be more involved than typical collection tasks. The combination of evolutions, special requirements, and the Kingambit debut makes this a pretty sweet challenge for collectors.

The clock is ticking until May 18th, so grab your Poke Balls and get hunting! If you’re stuck on any part of the challenge, check back with your local Pokemon Go community for the latest tips.

Whether you’re a hardcore collector or just want that guaranteed Pawniard encounter, good luck out there, trainers. The crown awaits!