Pokémon GO Tour: Unova – Global is just around the corner, taking place on March 1, 2025, and March 2, 2025, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. local time each day, and there’s plenty of excitement ahead during this ode to the region originally introduced in Pokémon Black and Pokémon White. With a little planning in the days leading up to the event, you can maximize your two-day tour experience. From identifying which Pokémon you want to catch during the hourly rotating habitats to preparing for the big Black Kyurem and White Kyurem raids to remembering snacks and hydration, we’ve got you covered.
Sort Out Your Storage
If all goes well, you’ll be catching a lot of Pokémon during this event. The last thing you want to do is stop in the middle of your fun to transfer Pokémon to Professor Willow because your storage is full. Transferring Pokémon now will save time and stress later, especially with the risk of being in such a hurry that you accidentally transfer a Pokémon you meant to keep.
This applies to item storage as well. While you’ll need lots of Poké Balls, Revives, Potions, Egg Incubators, and the like over the course of the event, you’ll also acquire new items by completing research tasks and participating in raids. This means you’ll need to be thoughtful about what you keep and what you discard. These are decisions you probably don’t want to make while also getting ready for your next Black Kyurem or White Kyurem raid, so clean your item storage now to do your future self a favor.
To Ticket or Not to Ticket
The Tour Pass is a new feature this year, providing Trainers an opportunity to earn Tour Points to unlock rewards and improve event bonuses. The Tour Pass is free, and Trainers will automatically receive their Tour Pass on February 24, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. local time. Trainers who want better rewards can purchase the Tour Pass Deluxe in the in-game shop for US$14.99 (or the equivalent pricing in your local currency). The Tour Pass Deluxe offers additional rewards to Trainers, including an encounter with Victini, encounters with event-themed Pokémon, a new item called a Lucky Trinket, and more. The Lucky Trinket allows Trainers to turn one friend from your Friend List into a Lucky Friend. After the next trade with that Lucky Friend, the Lucky Friend status disappears.
You don’t need a ticket to participate in the global Pokémon GO Tour: Unova event, but Masterwork Research tickets for this event are available in the in-game shop. Tickets cost US$4.99 (or the equivalent pricing in your local currency), and they will be available for purchase through March 2, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. local time. Trainers who complete the Masterwork Research will receive an encounter with Shiny Meloetta, which is appearing in Pokémon GO for the very first time in this research. Masterwork Research does not expire, so Trainers can take their time to complete the necessary tasks.
Chill Out with Black Kyurem and White Kyurem
Black Kyurem and White Kyurem are making their Pokémon GO debuts in five-star raids during this year’s Pokémon GO Tour events. This is an exciting opportunity to catch powerful Pokémon, and Trainers will likely want to participate in as many raids as possible. Choosing a dozen or so Pokémon to challenge Black Kyurem and White Kyurem and powering your teams up before the event kicks off would be an excellent use of your time and resources. While you only start with six Pokémon per raid, having others waiting in the wings will ensure that you don’t have to stop to revive your Pokémon before diving into another raid. If you need to, though, stocking up on Revives, Max Revives, and Potions will help your Pokémon recover quickly between raids.
Take Time for Trades
A Special Trade allows Trainers to swap Pokémon that can’t be traded normally—including Pokémon and Pokémon forms not currently registered to your Pokédex, Legendary Pokémon, and Shiny Pokémon—and you’ll have the opportunity to make up to six Special Trades each day during the event. But considering how much there is to do, it may be a good idea to coordinate your Special Trades ahead of time. Trades made during the event will cost half the usual Stardust, but you would do well to save up some extra Stardust for this event.
Stock Up on Useful Items
You’ll want to catch a wide variety of Pokémon, and Incense is a good way to boost that number—for instance, several different Unown will be attracted to Incense during the event. Start collecting Incense now so you won’t run out! Plus, Eggs placed in Incubators during the event will hatch at one-half of the normal Hatch Distance, so make sure to have Incubators at the ready. In addition to Incense and Incubators, gather Star Pieces and Lucky Eggs to maximize the Stardust and XP you gain by catching Pokémon and participating in raids.
Search for Shiny Pokémon
Several Shiny Pokémon are making their Pokémon GO debuts during this event. In addition to Shiny Meloetta’s dazzling debut in the Masterwork Research, Shiny Deerling is also appearing for the first time in Pokémon GO. The good news is that, thanks to season-themed habitats, you may be able to encounter the Season Pokémon in each of its four forms, and possibly a Shiny one. Last but certainly not least, Shiny Maractus, Shiny Sigilyph, and Shiny Bouffalant will be available globally for the first time in Pokémon GO. Maractus, Sigilyph, and Bouffalant can hatch from 10 km Eggs . Shiny Larvesta will be hatching from Eggs of multiple distances, providing additional motivation to hatch as many Eggs as possible.
Start Strategizing
Research tasks often involve evolving Pokémon, so if you have some Pokémon that you know you want to evolve, hold off on Evolution until the event. Consider adding a tag so you can easily find (and evolve) these Pokémon when the time comes, and make sure you have all the items and Candy you’ll need.
Practice your Nice, Great, and Excellent Throws. Research tasks often challenge you to make these types of throws in succession, so you’ll want to be in good throwing form when the event begins.
Powering up Pokémon is another common research task. Create a tag for Pokémon that you’d like to power up so you can complete any such tasks quickly and efficiently.
Prioritize Self-Care
Plan your snacks and meals in advance. There’s a lot to do during the event, and you don’t want to play hungry or dehydrated! Consider preparing all the meals, drinks, and snacks you could possibly need ahead of time to avoid any unscheduled breaks in your GO Tour adventure. If you’re planning on being outside during the event, don’t forget your sunscreen. And remember to take occasional breaks! It might be hard to step away from the action for even a few minutes, but you’ll probably enjoy yourself more if you do.
Build Your GO Battle League Team
During Pokémon GO Tour: Unova – Global, you’ll mainly be catching Pokémon originally discovered in the Unova region. While you’ll want to catch as many different species of Pokémon as possible, there are some that may prove particularly helpful on your quest to master the GO Battle League. If you’re interested in adding any of these Pokémon to your GO Battle League lineup, try to catch a lot of them to collect the Candy you’ll need to power them up and teach them a second Charged Attack.
Pokémon discovered in Unova that perform well in the Great League include Samurott (Winter Caverns ), Serperior (Spring Soiree habitat), Stunfisk (Summer Vacation habitat), and Emolga (Summer Vacation habitat). These Pokémon’s earliest Evolution will appear in various habitats over the course of the tour, so keep an eye out for the Pokémon you’re looking for during that habitat hour.
In the Ultra League, Ferrothorn (Spring Soiree) is a decent choice, although it requires a lot of Candy and Stardust to power up sufficiently to reach the 2,500 CP cap. And Excadrill (Winter Caverns) is a solid contender in the Master League. With an unlimited CP cap for Master League, Excadrill with a maxed out CP requires a lot of Stardust, Drilbur Candy, and Drilbur Candy XL. We don’t yet know how Black Kyurem and White Kyurem will perform in the Master League, but there’s a reasonable chance they’ll be competitive. This provides added incentive to challenge Black Kyurem and White Kyurem in raids, earning Kyurem Candy to power your Pokémon up, and Volt Fusion Energy or Blaze Fusion Energy to fuse Kyurem with either Zekrom or Reshiram.
In addition to the Great, Ultra, and Master Leagues, the GO Battle League features a number of other leagues where many of the Pokémon featured in the event can shine. In particular, Joltik (Winter Caverns), Cottonee (Spring Soiree), Ducklett (Spring Soiree), and Ferroseed (Spring Soiree) have all performed well in various leagues in the past.
Check out the official Niantic Pokémon GO Tour: Unova blog for additional information about the event. Enjoy making the most of your Unova experience, Trainers!
