5 highlights from in-person Pokemon GO Tour Unova events

The in-person renditions of Pokemon GO's yearly GO Tour event in Los Angeles and New Taipei City have recently concluded. While these events serve as sneak peeks for the global rendition of the yearly GO Tour celebration, they have their own share of exclusive benefits for participants as well.

With these events being fairly consistent, users may want to know what to expect from these experiences if they were to take a trip to one of these locations themselves. Here are the five best things from Pokemon GO's GO Tour Unova in-person events.

---

5 best parts of Pokemon GO's GO Tour Unova in-person celebration

1) New Fusion Pokemon

Black and White Kyurem debuted in Pokemon GO during this event (Image via Niantic)

GO Tour Unova's in-person celebrations brought the first glimpse into the new Black and White Kyurem forms now officially implemented into Pokemon GO. These two creatures are popular alternate forms of Kyurem from the main series, introduced in Pokemon Black and White 2 for the Nintendo DS.

These new forms of Kyurem come with their own Fusion Energy, exclusive moves, and Adventure Effects. The forms have access to their signature attacks from the main series, Ice Burn and Freeze Shock, respectively. These creatures are some of the strongest Legendaries in the game, so fans still waiting for the global event should be excited for their widespread arrival.

---

2) Meloetta Masterwork Research

A Shiny Meloetta could be obtained for participants at no extra cost (Image via The Pokemon Company)

During the in-person rendition of 2025's GO Tour event, ticket holders were given access to a special Masterwork Research path at no additional cost. This is something that typically costs players a bit of a hefty fee. That said, this ticket is making a return for the global rendition of the event, which is set to go live on March 1, 2025.

This special research path rewards players with an encounter with the Mythical Pokemon, Meloetta. This particular instance of the creature is guaranteed to be shiny as well. Shiny Meloetta is one of the rarest Mythical Pokemon in the franchise, only recently being made available legitimately.

---

3) New Shiny Pokemon

Many new Shiny Pokemon were introduced during the GO Tour event (Image via Niantic)

The recent GO Tour celebration also brought some new Shiny Pokemon into Pokemon GO for the very first time, with some receiving a boost in their shiny odds. Deerling was one of the most advertised of these new Shiny Pokemon, thanks to the addition of each of its four forms and their shiny variants to the game.

Bouffalant, Sigilyph, and Maractus also had their shiny forms introduced to the game for this event. Kyurem's new Black and White forms can also be acquired in their shiny varieties by fusing a Shiny Kyurem with a Shiny or standard Zekrom or Reshiram, respectively. Luckily, Shiny Kyurem had a 1 in 20 chance of appearing in its shiny form during this event, so finding one was very possible.

---

4) New special backgrounds

Pokemon GO's 2025 GO Tour brought new special backgrounds to the game (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Special backgrounds have become a big focus in Pokemon GO since the debut of the Dual Destiny season. While most of the released background variants of monsters have had a similar themed background revolving around the Dual Destiny season, Kyurem, Zekrom, and Reshiram each had a chance to appear with more unique backdrops.

A total of three new backgrounds have been released, with Zekrom having one themed around Pokemon White, Reshiram having one themed around Pokemon Black, and Kyurem being able to sport either. However, players can unlock the hidden third theme by fusing a Kyurem with one background and a Unova Legend with the other.

---

5) 1/2-off hatch distance

Eggs received a massive decrease in their hatch distance during the event (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Eggs were one of the best ways for players to get their hands on rare creatures during Pokemon GO's GO Tour 2025. Hatching eggs was much easier to do during the recent in-person celebrations thanks to most players walking around the venue, and the event's passive bonus to hatch distance.

Through hatching eggs, players can easily find rare creatures like Larvesta. 10-kilometer eggs also hosted creatures that are normally region-exclusive, so hatching eggs was one of the most valuable things players could do during this event, which is why the benefit of halving the walking distance required to hatch them is so helpful.

---

For more information on the game, check out the articles below:

• Ditto disguises
• Sierra counters
• Cliff counters
• Arlo counters
• Giovanni counters
• Team GO Rocket Grunts