Sinnoh Tour Guide

It's finally time! Go Tour is Pokemon Go's biggest yearly event after Go Fest, and has traditionally been a source of rare Pokemon and new Pokemon/moves, and our visit to Sinnoh this year is no exception. And while some of the goals of the day are pretty obvious, it can also be pretty easy to get lost with all that's going on and miss something that may have value later. For that reason, we've put together this little guide highlighting all of the bonuses and Pokemon confirmed to be available for this event, and pointing out some of the more note-worthy options on offer. Note that we can only really talk about current/past utility, as we have no idea if a random moveset update will make any of these Pokemon more viable for various game modes in the future, but it's our hope that this basic outline at least makes the current high-profile goals a bit easier to pick out during the event.

As outlined above, this event will be broken up into 4 different Habitats, Bustling Boardwalk, Ancient Grove, Toxic Digs, and Geothermal Lagoon, each one showing up twice per day of the event. These periods will change up our Wild Spawns and Five Star Raid Bosses, so focusing efforts on specific time periods is definitely an option. Players will also have access to the following bonuses throughout the event:

• 1/2 Hatch Distance for Eggs Incubated During the Event
• Up to 6 Special Trades for each day
• 1/2 Stardust cost for Trades
• No Limits on Remote Raids

Five-Star Raids

The Five-Star offerings on display are genuinely attractive for this event, as the two cover Legendaries of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl are taking center-stage as the crown-jewels of the entire event. The stand-outs here are the two Origin formes, which will appear during the Ancient Grove and Geothermal Lagoon habitat hours. The Origin Formes of Dialga and Palkia are important for both PvP and PvE metas, and they come complete with their brand new Signature Moves, meaning they're definitely important Pokemon to prioritize.

But what about the non-Origin Formes of these dragons? They show up during the Bustling Boardwalk and Toxic Digs habitat hours and, in general, they're now out-classed in terms of performance. Still, they're still a good source of candy if getting high IV Origin Formes are no longer a priority. But that's not quite the end of the story, as while Palkia is basically destined to largely remain as second-fiddle to its Origin Forme outside of getting new and unique moves in the future, Dialga actually has some potential if it gets Roar of Time due to its higher Attack stat when compared to its Origin forme. And while we definitely recommend going for the Origins first, farming for a good normal Dialga may not be the worst idea for this reason.

Three-Star Raids

Three-Star raids don't really have much going on this time around. It's a shot at the Hisuian starters if you happened to miss them earlier in the season, but that's about it. None of these Pokemon have a whole lot of utility in any meta, and the Hisuian starters still don't have their Starter-exclusive Elite Moves. Honestly, the only reason to hit up these raids is if you need dex fills and/or don't have a raid group to take down Dialga and Palkia and want to just run solo raids.

One-Star Raids

All of the above points apply here, but we currently have no way to evolve Rowlet, Cyndaquil, and Oshawott to their Hisuian starter final-forms, so there's really even less reason to really push through here.

As highlighted above, Go Tour: Sinnoh's hours will be broken into four different habitats, each with their own unique set of Pokemon spawns:

Bustling Boardwalk Habitat

the Bustling Boardwalk is... not the best. Most of the Pokemon on offer during this habitat are a bit middling. Arguably, the most important Pokemon to pick up are the two Shellos formes, and that's mainly because of their regional status. We also have a few of the Sinnoh evolution Pokemon on offer as well, but they've all really dropped in terms of utiliy. Beyond them, we have Wormadam - Trash Cloak showing up in some limited cups, while Drifblim and Empoleon occasionally see fringe utility.

Oh, and pick up the Dawn/Lucas hat Pikachu variants if you're collecting mascot hats.

Ancient Grove Habitat

The Ancient Grove habitat doesn't really have much to offer either. Tangrowth/Tangela have a bit of utility in pvp, but they're not exactly a high priority most of the time. Eevee can evolve into Umbreon, which still holds some utility in the Great League to this day, though it's still a common enough Pokemon that it's generally not a huge priority for this event. Probopass and Bronzong are two of the old-fashioned Steel Type tanks for the Great League, but they've since fallen off. That said, Bronzor is still a staple whenever the Little Cup makes a comeback!

If you're after PvE options instead, then a few Eeveelutions such as Sylveon and Glaceon are still worthwhile if you're still building a raid group, while Roserade is an okay Grass/Poison attacker. Honestly, there aren't many huge stand-out options for this hour by way of raiders.

Don't forget Pikachu wearing Rei and Akari's hats if you're still collecting.

Toxic Digs Habitat

Toxic Digs actually isn't a bad habitat, as it highlights a few powerful Pokemon, some of which are traditionally a bit hard to farm. Gliscor has some real utility in the Great Ultra Leagues alike, making it arguably the premier goal here for anyone trying to flesh out their PvP team. Bastiodon also remains a great Pokemon in the Great League thanks in part to its tremendous bulk, and is very worth hunting down. It also takes XL Candy to get one with good IVs to its maximum potential, so farming candy while also farming for good PvP IVs is definitely a worthwhile endeavor. Toxicroak also has some use in the Ultra League despite its frailty. 

For PvE, then go for Gible and Cranidos first, with Sneasel as a secondary option. Garchomp and Rampardos are still very much worth using despite being out-classed by their Shadow formes, while Weavile's more a filler.

Geothermal Lagoon Habitat

The Geothermal Lagoon habitat may have the best spawns for this event, generally speaking. Lickitung is among the best Pokemon in the Great League, and it needs XL Candy to really shine, so any chance to farm it down is definitely worth taking. Sneasler isn't the worst Pokemon in the Ultra/Great leagues, though it's actually Shadow Sneasler that has deeper utility in most cases. Togekiss remains a good option in the Master League in particular, though it's fallen off in recent years. Mamoswine is another Pokemon with solid Master League performance, so it's worth considering in its own right. Overqwil and Skuntank are also decent options as well that might be worth farming for, while Rhyperior is currently considered a decent option in the Master League. Finally, Abomasnow and Froslass have some utility in the Great League, while Abomasnow in particular also poses a threat in the Ultra League.

For those building a Raiding group, then we have Swinub for Mamoswine and Rhyhorn for Rhyperior as arguably the best overall options, while Buneary and Snover are also worth considering for the sake of Mega Lopunny and Mega Abomasnow, respectively. They're not the best in their types, but they can work as backups.

Incense Spawns

Unown... basically is worthless beyond its collector's value. During the Bustling Boardwalk and Toxic Digs habitats, it will spawn in its "H", "I", "N", "O", and "S" variants to spell out "Sinnoh". Ancient Grove and Geothermal Lagoon will have "H", "I", "S", and "U" to spell out "Hisui".
 

Other Gameplay Options

In conjunction with the Pokemon available above, we've got a few other options worth considering. Players will be able to take on Party Play for a chance to encounter Regigigas, and Routes will give encounters with White-Striped Basculin, the basis for Basculegion in the future.

Admittedly, it's a bit hard to try for any individual Pokemon from eggs, but it's still worth looking at what's on offer, if only to determine if it's worth using incubators.

2 km Eggs

5 km Eggs

10 km Eggs

Many of the Pokemon on offer here are a bit underwhelming. The stand-outs here are Riolu, Munchlax, Mantyke, and Gible, with several others worth picking up in their own right. However, the real winners here may be the 10 km hatches, as they're all regional Pokemon alongside Mime Jr. in 2 km eggs.

Again; it's far more difficult to get a specific hatch when compared to wild spawns, but if something on this list looks like something that you want added to your team/Pokedex, then it's probably best to keep active during the event to hatch as many eggs as possible. Fortunately, we also have 1/2 Hatch Distance for the event!

Thus far, we currently have confirmed appearances for just about all of the Pokemon that originated in Sinnoh, but not all of them. And this is a bit odd, as every Go Tour event thus far has seen the complete release of the entire Pokedex for the regions that they're based on. However, Manaphy, Phione, and especially Arceus are all missing.

The lack of any sort of a reference to these Pokemon has left many players wondering if Niantic has plans to drop them mid-event as a non-advertised bonus. However, Niantic has been cited saying that they will not be released during Go Tour: Sinnoh due to their high-profile nature. And while the release of Manaphy, and especially Phione, likely wouldn't have made many great waves for the event, Arceus is definitely a big-name worthy of its own spotlight.

And while this is somewhat disappointing news for many fans, at least it won't leave players rushing to buy more Remote Raid passes after spending them all raiding for Dialga and Palkia's Origin Formes... though let's be honest; these Pokemon probably won't drop as Raid Bosses, at least at first. Still, with all of the hype surrounding this event and the entire season putting a heavy emphasis on Hisui and Sinnoh, I wouldn't be surprised if we see Arceus making its grand debut soon... though that's been speculation dropped by many players up to this point at various times in Pokemon Go's history, to be fair.

While there aren't a tremendous number of major targets here, but that's actually good, as it allows players to focus their efforts. And while the majority of the Pokemon on offer are more pvp-focused (with the obvious exception of the Origins), there's bound to be something for everyone here. So, for now, best of luck for everyone visiting Sinnoh/Hisui this weekend, and here's hoping that next year's inevitable trip to Unova is great as well!