Pokemon GO’s Sinnoh Tour is going global February 24th-25th. We’ve been heavily updating our Los Angeles guide as, Niantic’s poor communication and history of bugs struck hard – it wasn’t all bad, and hopefully it’s not a sign of how Sinnoh Tour will go, but either way we’ll talk about that in another article. Instead, today in Massively On the Go, we’ll use the Los Angeles Tour to help refine a guide for global players to prep with and hit the ground running. And that’ll actually be one of the starting points!
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First, choosing Diamond or Pearl probably already happened for you, but in short, Diamond badges leads to Origin Dialga, whose new “Adventure Effect” is the one that stops premium timers (Star Pieces, Lucky Eggs, and both regular and Daily Incense) if it has Roar of Time, which you’re guaranteed to get. Oh, and spinning stops gives sometimes awards Mega Tyranitar energy. Origin Dialga isn’t the best for anything right now, but it’s still a strong pokemon nearly equal with Origin Palkia with few exceptions (like against the Lati-twins).
The Pearl badge is mostly about Origin Palkia with Spacial Rend (which will increase spin/catch distance), plus you get extra Mega Salamence energy sometimes for spinning stops. It’s a good choice for people who don’t walk and play actively. Origin Palkia is mostly seen as better than Origin Dialga but also better than most non-Mega and even some Shadow Dragons. That’s for raiding, but even in PvP it’s considered a smidge better than Origin Dialga at the moment.
Next is a big one: meeting up at a familiar place. There are two features to really consider for the Sinnoh Tour; the first is Routes. While not able to evolve yet, White Stripe Basculin eventually will be able to be Basculegion, a pokemon that’s roughly as strong as each generation’s starters. Depending on the moveset it gets, it could be quite strong. Even better is that its shiny version will be available and it gets a different look for each gender. However, it’s only on Routes, and during the first ticketed day, auto-catchers were trying to catch them. That is not a normal activity, which means not only will you have to be doing Routes during the event, but you’ll have to pay close attention to the screen and how fast you’re going. As someone who walks a track to do Routes and Daily Incense, I found this mechanic to feel somewhat between the two, as the Basculin spawns were plentiful but will disappear behind you if you walk too far from their spawns, so walk in a place where you know you can stand to the side.
This is the other issue: There are also party quests for the Regis. This means you need at least one other person. If you’re a solo player, yeah, that’s a problem. Even worse is if you were thinking of going someplace new, as some communities are very clannish and may not exactly want to talk to new players.
Next is the egg situation. If you can afford tons of incubators, do what you want. For the rest of us, especially since right now everything hatches twice as fast and we have event eggs, work on those 2k eggs first, followed by the 5ks and so forth. Remember, as per this month’s event round-up, we have event 2k eggs already live. That means the best stuff has been front-loaded, but you may want to consider what else we’ll have this weekend.
For those who forgot, egg contents are locked in when acquired, so you can get an event egg with a perfect shiny Riolu from a 2k egg but not hatch it until 2025 if that’s how long it takes you to walk it. That being said, 2k eggs really have the best and most useful content, which is why you want to hatch those fast and often, especially now in the prep stage. 5ks will have Gible, which are good, but also the trophy shinies. 10ks will be all trophies, but that’s basically it, with Pachirisu barely being useable in Great League PvP and only if perfect and maxed out, so don’t worry about that one so much.
Similarly, this is where in-game supplies come in – not just premium items, but balls. I think most folks will be fine with potions and revives unless you’re rural and relying on Remote players, but balls can be tricky. You may also want to consider getting the Raid event ticket if you didn’t already buy it, as it works all this week and this weekend, as noted in this month’s event round-up.
While most of the raid pokemon aren’t great, some are nice collector’s items, and it means you’ll have an extra four passes plus other perks for the Origin pokemon this weekend. If you care only about the new ‘mon, though, I’d say stick with raw Raid Passes, as those will be a better buy in a bundle. While technically this deal is 14 passes for $5, remember that two of those passes are for the largely useless Lake Trio, so you’ll want to use your passes on maybe a lower-level raid unless you really like your regional (because they’re regional still – no Azelf in Asia, sorry!). Side note, Rotom can be caught by entering the code 0HY0UF0UNDM3 here, if you missed that detail. No idea if it’ll come back as it did in LA, so don’t miss out!
Storage is always an issue, but make sure you toss the ‘mon you can part with. Dress/plan for local weather, have those spare batteries, make sure you’ll have access to food, water, snacks, etc. And since it came up in the comments for the LA guide, get a buddy to level 2 (Great Buddies) for the bounceback feature. Raids are still buggy, so it’s best if you catch your pokemon before a raid ends. The problem, though, is that raids were only lasting 10 minutes the ticketed days of the event. I had raid problems every day of the Sinnoh event, and I kept my premium pass use to the single digits.
Mega ‘mon are a bit odd for this, as the event feels like a bit of a Community Day roundup so tldr: Go with whatever gives you candy for what you’re hunting unless you’re gonna raid a lot, then choose Rayquaza, Charizard X, Ampharos, the Latis, Garchomp, Sceptile, or Altaria. I say this because all of them are part Dragon, meaning you’ll get extra XL candy from whichever Origin form you raid. Rayquaza is a good choice since putting it on raid team will increase all damage by 10%, even if it’s not currently battling or fainted. Garchomp is both useful in raids and boosts some good pokemon (Rhy-family, if you missed their CDs and/or round-ups).
Now, to be clear, we don’t know if it’ll be the same as in LA, but as a surprise twist, Community Day moves were available for some pokemon! Torterra, Infernape, Empoleon, Staraptor, Luxray, Roserade, Rhyperior, Electivire, Magmortar, Togekiss, Glaceon, Leafeon, Mamoswine, Porygon-Z, Gallade, Dusknoir, Typhlosion, Samurott, and Decidueye all got their moves. Lickilicky does not get Body Slam when evolved, so don’t bother. For Eevee lovers, Leafeon and Glaceon learn their Last Resort CD move, not their second ones. To note, these pokemon also have their CD moves when caught in the wild! 2/23 Update: The moves confirmed.
Early reports from the first time zones indicate that we will get special moves during GO Tour Global. Here's a list of moves that were available in LA. I got confirmation on some already available in NZ from friends so rest should be available too! #PokemonGO #GOTour pic.twitter.com/fpGWdE9JYU
— G47IX | Pokémon GO (@g47ix) February 23, 2024
But let’s go over the overall catching options: Roselia no longer needs its CD move, Togetic as well (though the CD move makes it better for PvP), both of Ralts‘ evolutions (if not Shadow) are fine, Cranidos is great, Rhyhorn’s line is still useful for new players who need Ground (or save it for whenever it’s Rock CD move comes back), as is Sneasel for Dark/Ice, though Swinub for Ice/Ground is also great. While Eevee can benefit in some of its form from some of its CD moves, it’s always for PvP, so don’t hold back if you’re a new player in need of one of its element types. Sadly, Glaceon and Leafeon, who got their CD moves during the LA Tour, aren’t great for League play.
Gible, however, had its CD move before the event, so it’s nearly moot, but Rhyhorn for Rock Wrecker is good and should be prioritized, same with Starly in general. All three are high-end picks outside of Legendaries and Megas, while their Shadow forms are some of the best, so it’d be a real shame if Niantic won’t allow global players to evolve for CD moves.
This is why you may to have an evolution tag in general, especially for this event. I got Hardest Hitter awarded several times at the event proper without being in a raid with friends or partymates, partially thanks to some of the Shadow ‘mon I evolved for their CD moves. Similarly, have some tagged for new or casual friends, or if you’re traveling to a more popular area, have some stuff ready to trade in general.
Finally, for raid prep, the recent Therian Landorus is great for countering Origin Dialga, as is the recent Conkeldurr without needing the Community Day move. Countering Origin Palkia is even easier, as the Lunar New Year dragon event, recent Haxorus Community Day, and recent Origin Dragon raids have given us plenty of Dragon options to counter it.
Naturally, any and all of this can change. Check back often for updates, even Friday and Saturday of the event, as Niantic is sadly adept at last-minute changes, bugs, and “miscommunications.” And as always, stay safe out there, trainers!
Massively OP’s Andrew Ross is an admitted Pokemon geek and expert ARG-watcher. Nobody knows Niantic and Nintendo like he does! His Massively on the Go column covers Pokemon Go as well as other mobile MMOs and augmented reality titles!
