In the announcement for the Hoenn Tour 2023 in Pokémon GO, two Pokémon were not marked as Shiny. Trainers expressed their anger and disappointment. Now there has been an update to the announcement.
What kind of event is this? On November 29, Niantic officially announced the Hoenn Tour in Pokémon GO. It starts in February and is split into two events: One on-site in Las Vegas (USA) and a worldwide event for all players the following weekend.
This is now the third tour of this kind. In 2021, the Kanto Tour took place, and this year, the Johto Tour occurred. Highlights of these events are Shinys that appear in the game.
So now: Shiny Proto-Groudon and Shiny Proto-Kyogre
What was the problem? In the announcement of the Hoenn Tour, the Niantic team also presented the spawns and raids. As usual, Pokémon that can be caught as Shiny are marked with Shiny stars in the official graphic.
However, the new Proto-Raid battles that are active during the event lacked the marking. In the Hoenn Tour, you will encounter the Primal forms of Groudon and Kyogre for the first time worldwide. What the Proto forms of Groudon and Kyogre are about.
The absence of the markings for Groudon and Kyogre disappointed trainers. It was assumed that Niantic might be withholding the Shinys, as trainers would rush into the new raids to catch the new Pokémon (via reddit)
What’s new now: A few hours after the official announcement, trainers noticed a change on Niantic’s website (via reddit). If you now look at the official raid graphic, you will see the Shiny marking for the Proto-Raids:
Trainers are pleased that Niantic has confirmed the Shiny forms after all. However, at the same time, they criticize the team for allowing such mistakes to happen in such an important announcement.
What remains is a certain uncertainty. Because it is unclear whether the Protos will “revert” to the normal Groudon and Kyogre after being caught, similar to Mega Pokémon. Or, whether Proto-Kyogre and Proto-Groudon are “new” Pokémon that will remain as Shiny in the collection.
In the coming weeks, Niantic plans to announce more information regarding the Hoenn Tour. Gameplay changes are also expected and announcements about items are still pending.
It is likely that the team will also reveal more about how the Proto forms of Groudon and Kyogre work. And a similarly important question: What about Kecleon – is it finally coming?
