During the weekend, the Sinnoh Tour took place in Pokémon GO. What worked, what didn’t? At MeinMMO author Max Handwerk, a mixed conclusion emerged.
For me, the Sinnoh Tour was fundamentally a positive experience. The free event did a lot right from my perspective and provided a framework in which one could utilize most of the event’s content, even if one couldn’t use 16 hours of the weekend for it.
Honestly, the event might have been even better if you didn’t plan for 16 hours. But let’s take it step by step.
What was good about the Sinnoh Tour?
For me, there were three standout positive points, but also a major issue. I will summarize them here for you.
Point 1: Plenty to do – but not too much
From my perspective, the Sinnoh Tour had a lot to offer for an event without a paid ticket. On the one hand, there were plenty of Sinnoh and many Hisui Pokémon to catch. For a player like me, who primarily enjoys collecting, that’s ideal.
A highlight for me was the surprise of being able to collect the Lake Trio. This finally filled a gap in my Pokédex that had been open for years.
I also found it positive that there was a half-distance bonus for eggs. This was a major criticism during the Hoenn Tour last year, which was improved this year. It helped in the search for the regional Pokémon that were in the 10 km eggs.
Additionally, there was the code for Rotom, which emerged during the events surrounding the Sinnoh Tour, and of course the legendary primal forms in the raids. I could also encounter some Hisui monsters in raids and research that I still needed; the white-striped Barschuft on routes and Regigigas in the party play tasks were also motivating.
Kudos also to the idea of integrating Team GO Rocket so thoroughly into the special research and executing it, for example, by having the Rocket leaders evaluate the Pokémon. I also liked the visual changes to the map during the space-time anomalies in the game.
It’s the little things that can distinguish events from the everyday – and that worked here.
My main point, however, is as follows: At MeinMMO, you are logically also engaged in work during the Sinnoh Tour. Nevertheless, I was able to take a lot away from the event during the times I had. I don’t feel like I missed out on much. On the contrary: The times I could play were well filled, and I actually would have liked to play even more.
This is the advantage of offering the event over a total of 16 hours on two weekend days: You have enough time to choose when to play. The counterexample to this are stories like the Cupid raid during the week or other events that don’t fit in time.
At the same time, I can imagine that the second day with no new features was somewhat uneventful for players who played through the first day. Those aiming for a full 16 hours of gameplay probably saw everything at least halfway through. If that was the case with you: Please share in the comments how you perceived the event.
Another criticism in this regard would be that there was little to catch in the wild if you largely already had the Sinnoh monsters. This, however, is due to the nature of the event. But: An increased shiny rate for more monsters would probably have provided an extra layer of motivation here.
But: Back to the positive things.
Point 2: Meaningful integration of new features that motivated
Here, I would like to briefly address the topic of “routes” and “party play.” Both features debuted in 2023, but I rarely use them in everyday life due to a lack of motivation. Zygarde cells on routes are simply too rare, Mateo only offers limited worthwhile rewards, and I usually have no reason for party play.
This weekend was different. The white-striped Barschuft on the routes was a quick motivation for me to seek out a route or two and walk them. Party play brought candy for the Regis and an encounter with Regigigas, as well as an important attack bonus in the raids against primal Palkia and primal Dialga.
I have to say: Both were quite enjoyable once you used them. It felt rewarding to use the features – and it didn’t take much to do so. Maybe this is an approach that Niantic could pursue more often to make both features generally more interesting?
Point 3: The event works – at least in the city
This was the most positive point for me: When I was out today on Sunday, I came across several groups playing the event. The raids against primal Palkia and primal Dialga filled themselves almost effortlessly, and there were constantly seeing trainers with their phones in hand.
We nodded to each other, exchanged a word or two, and were pleased if someone won a raid or caught something cool. It was really nice and probably what Niantic always envisions when they talk about playing together outside.
This allowed me to walk from gym to gym, do raids, and collect the monsters I still needed. I really enjoyed that.
However: This whole experience is also tied to my biggest criticism of the event. Because, in this form, it worked only on Sunday and is also influenced by circumstances that may not be the same for everyone.
Where was the Sinnoh Tour problematic?
My circumstances on Sunday looked like this: I had a bit more time, the weather was good, and I also had a few on-site raid passes from the past that I could use. On top of that, I live in a densely populated part of a larger city where there are many gyms, stops, and apparently playing trainers.
Under these circumstances, the principle of “go out, play, raid” works great, no question. On Sunday, I was able to collect some primal forms without any issue.
But Saturday was different. I had little time, the weather was worse, and there weren’t many fellow players around when I could quickly head out to do a raid.
In such circumstances, the event functions noticeably less. And especially if you live in smaller places with fewer stops and gyms nearby – then it becomes a nuisance.
The most frustrating part for me was this: On Saturday, I participated in two remote raids to at least secure Dialga and Palkia with their moves. With Dialga, everything just barely worked out; it had a time limit – I had also chosen diamond.
However, the Palkia fled coldly after the raid. That was frustrating because it had already been challenging enough to gather a raid that could defeat it. Not getting the Pokémon afterward is annoying.
Moreover, the first Palkia I caught on Sunday did not know the “Spatial Rend” move – and yes, it was designed so that there’s only a “chance” that the monster has the move, but that was also frustrating.
I was ultimately able to recover from that on Sunday, as I had good raid conditions and was able to trade with my girlfriend to get the variants we were missing.
But: If I hadn’t had on-site passes, I would have needed to buy them or remote raid passes. Had I not had so many nearby gyms, I would have had to figure out how to get into suitable raids. And if I had had a bit less time, those fleeing Palkia and the one without Spatial Rend might have been the only ones.
That the most exciting feature of the event is tied to raid passes, which you may first have to buy, is difficult, but expected. But then not guaranteeing the move is annoying, and if the Pokémon even flees after all that effort, it’s the wrong approach for me.
So much for the critical point. But: Overall, I found the Sinnoh Tour to be very positive and hope that the larger events will work just as well in the future.
How did you experience the Sinnoh Tour? Let us know in the comments! And what is coming up in the rest of February can be seen in the event overview of February 2024 for Pokémon GO.
