On February 26, the Pokémon GO Tour: Johto begins. Our guide shows you everything you need to know. Shinys, attacks, raids, habitats, bonuses, and tips. This way, you can make the most of the event.
What kind of event is this? The Pokémon GO Tour: Johto, or Johto tour, is a worldwide event in Pokémon GO. You can buy a ticket for €12, or participate without a ticket. Buyers have some additional content to look forward to.
During the tour, you’ll encounter all Pokémon from the Johto region and have the chance to find each of them in their shiny form. There will also be special raids, research, attacks, and even the opportunity to catch the brand new forms Apex-Crypto-Ho-Oh and Apex-Crypto-Lugia.
The Johto Tour at a Glance
When does it run? On February 26 from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM local time
How much does the ticket cost? Those who buy a ticket will have to pay around €11.99. Each ticket buyer can choose between the Silver or Golden Edition.
What bonuses are there?
With Ticket
– All Pokémon from the Johto region will appear in the wild, in raids, and as rewards from research. They will be attracted by incense and hatch from eggs.
– All Johto Pokémon will also appear as Shiny
– There will be a special research featuring Celebi, followed by a Masterwork research.
– Incognito in the letters G, O, T, U, R, and J are available – even as Shiny
– Special collector medals
– Free bundle in the shop
– Eggs hatch four times faster
– Double candy from hatching eggs
– Additional candies for catching Johto Pokémon
– Up to nine free raid passes by spinning photo discs at gyms
– Exclusive in-game medal
– Surprise in snapshots
– Special stickers
Without Ticket
– Some Pokémon from the Johto region will appear in the wild, in raids, and hatch from 7km eggs – also as Shiny
– Pokémon like Pichu, Pii, Fluffeluff, and Togepi will hatch from 2km eggs
– A timed research related to trainer battles
Date and Times
When does the Johto Tour start? On Saturday, February 26, the Johto Tour kicks off. The starting signal will be at 9:00 AM. The event will run for twelve hours and end at 9:00 PM on February 26.
Choose Edition (Gold or Silver)
What you need to do: Those who purchase a ticket must decide whether to play the golden or silver edition. This affects the Pokémon that will spawn for you from incense. Additionally, you will have higher shiny chances for certain Pokémon depending on the edition.
Are you still undecided about which ticket to choose? Then check here on MeinMMO for the differences between Gold and Silver in the Johto Tour.
Which Pokémon should be kept an eye on?
New Shinys: There are a few new Shinys that will be released during the event:
- Corasonn
- Donphan
- Girafarig
- Remoraid
- Mantax
- Octillery
- Phanpy
- Rabauz
- Kapoera
These strong Pokémon should be caught:
- Chaneira – As a strong defender in gyms, to earn coins
- Corasonn – Because it is regional and a new shiny
- Evoli – In combination with the Evoli bonus a good choice
- Endivie, Feurigel and Karnimani – All become really strong with the special attacks of their evolutions
- Hunduster – For candy and as a strong mega evolution
- Larvitar – Really strong due to its special catapult attack
- Panzaeron – If you like to play PvP, you have a strong attacker
- Quiekel – Evolves into a strong Ice Attacker
- Skaraborn – Because it is a regional Pokémon
- Snubbull– as a useful fairy attacker for your collection
- Sniebel – Evolves into a strong Dark/Ice attacker
- Togetic – as a strong fairy attacker for your collection
- Entei – Strong legendary fire attacker
- Ho-Oh – As a strong fire attacker for raids and PvP
- Lugia – Especially interesting for PvP players
- Raikou – Strong legendary electric attacker
Choose Starter Pokémon
What does it bring? Besides choosing the edition, you should also select a starter Pokémon at the beginning of the Johto Tour. Just like you know from the handheld versions. You can choose between
- Endivie
- Feurigel
- Karnimani
The Pokémon you choose will then be part of your research. There are no “must-have Pokémon”. Choose your favorite Pokémon.
Special Research: Get Celebi with a Special Attack
How to get Celebi? All ticket buyers will receive a special research that will reward you with the mysterious Pokémon Celebi. If you catch Celebi during the event, it will know the special attack Leaf Tornado.
Masterwork Research with Apex-Crypto-Ho-Oh and Apex-Crypto-Lugia
What you need to know: Your choice of edition does not affect whether you receive Apex-Crypto-Ho-Oh or Apex-Crypto-Lugia. Whether you play Silver or Gold – you will receive both Apex-Crypto Pokémon as long as you purchased a ticket.
Keep in mind that this Masterwork Research is designed to keep you engaged for a long time. This is not research that you can complete quickly. You will receive it after you complete the special research for the Johto Tour.
What is special about these Pokémon? The first big difference from the regular Crypto forms can already be seen in their appearance:
They both radiate a special aura that changes when they are freed from their Crypto form.
Additionally, they learn exclusive attacks.
- Apex-Crypto-Ho-Oh knows the attack “Purifying Fire+” after catching it, which is even stronger than the normal “Purifying Fire”. If you then free Ho-Oh, it learns “Purifying Fire++”, which is even stronger
- Apex-Crypto-Lugia knows the attack “Aerial Ace+” after catching it, which is even stronger than the normal “Aerial Ace”. If you then free Lugia, it learns “Aerial Ace++”, which is even stronger
Habitats – When does what spawn?
What is known: During the event, five habitats will change hourly. This applies to all players, even those without a ticket. In different habitats, the spawns of Pokémon in the wild will alternate. You need to participate in all of them to complete your collector challenge.
- Neuborkia: 9 AM to 10 AM and 2 PM to 3 PM
- Viola City: 10 AM to 11 AM and 3 PM to 4 PM
- National Park: 11 AM to 12 PM and 4 PM to 5 PM
- Dukatia City: 12 PM to 1 PM and 5 PM to 6 PM
- Silver Mountain: 1 PM to 2 PM and 6 PM to 7 PM
In the last hours, from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM, all habitats will be active simultaneously. You can catch Pokémon that you missed during the day and complete your collector challenge.
Raids for the Johto Tour
Which bosses are there? It is known that there will be raids featuring Raikou, Entei, Suicune, Lugia, and Ho-Oh on Saturday, February 26.
Additionally, you will receive XL special candy bonuses throughout the weekend. This applies to raids where you are physically present.
- At least 1 XL special candy is guaranteed from 5-star raids
- The general chance of XL special candies is increased in 1-star raids and 3-star raids
Our Counter Guides:
- The best counters against Lugia
- The best counters against Ho-Oh
- The best counters against Suicune
- The best counters against Raikou
- The best counters against Entei
With or without ticket? The differences
This is how the player experience differs: Those who do not want to spend money and prefer to save the €12 can also participate in the Johto Tour completely for free.
You will still see the special trainer NPCs on the map, gain access to special attacks, can perform up to 6 special trades, and benefit from the habitat changes.
All content you receive without a ticket at the Johto Tour has been listed here for you on MeinMMO.
Special Attacks During Evolving
What is this bonus? If you evolve certain Pokémon during the Johto Tour, they will learn special attacks that you know from their community days. These include:
- Espeon with Last Resort
- Umbreon with Last Resort
- Meganium with Flora Statue
- Tyranitar with Flamethrower
- Feraligatr with Hydro Cannon
- Ampharos with Dragon Pulse
- Shuckle with Acrobatics
- Walrein with Ancient Power
- Tyranitar with Catapult
We have analyzed how strong the Pokémon with their exclusive attacks are on MeinMMO. This way you can easily decide which evolution you definitely cannot miss during the Johto Tour. The special attacks are, by the way, available for trainers with and without tickets.
Quick Tips for Your Johto Tour
You need incense: If you want to play a lot and catch as many Pokémon as possible, you should have an incense in your inventory for each habitat. This increases your chances of catching (good) Pokémon and makes the event even better.
In line with this, you will currently find a Hyperbox in the Pokémon GO shop containing 5x incense, 18 raid passes, 25 ultra balls, and 5 super incubators for 1480 coins. It’s especially worth it if you want to participate in many raids.
A good route: Keep in mind that the event runs for twelve hours. It’s practical if you have a route that takes you past many stops and gyms, so you can gather lots of balls and participate in raids.
It’s best to think about where you want to go in advance and whether the spots will be open during the weekend due to current restrictions. And don’t forget about the corona rules if you’re outside.
Powerbanks: Charge your powerbanks early enough so you don’t run into issues while on the go. It’s also advisable to bring an extra cable to possibly help other players.
Balls: Collect as many balls as possible so that you can catch many Pokémon during the Johto Tour. This works particularly well during the ball event. You should also open gifts from friends and send new ones.
Clean out your collection: Sort out your Pokémon and make room in your collection. Depending on how much you play on Saturday, you could have several hundred new catches. If you want to use the time effectively, clean up beforehand.
Here on MeinMMO, you will also find a live ticker during the event, where we will inform you directly about all the event’s content. This way, you won’t miss any announcements from Niantic or other information.
Trainers believe they have found the next mysterious Pokémon for Pokémon GO.
