Los Angeles is currently hell on earth, with a series of wildfires destroying countless homes. The fires have delayed events ranging from Oscar nominations to sports games, and Pokémon Go players worldwide are expected to arrive in the city next month to participate in the in-person Unova Tour.
With the ongoing fires in LA, Dot Esports reached out to Niantic about the Pokémon Go Unova Tour in LA—set to take place from Feb. 21 to 23 in Pasadena and the surrounding city—to see if the company planned to cancel the event or has any alternative plans should Rose Bowl Stadium be damaged, or the event be deemed too dangerous to continue.
When asked about the current plan, Mark Van Lommel, director of communications, games, and influencer relations at Niantic, gave us the following statement:
“Our team has been carefully observing the situation in Los Angeles with the well-being of Pasadena, greater Los Angeles, and of course our Niantic community in mind. While we are currently continuing our preparations, any updates regarding the event will be shared as they become available.”
From the statement, it appears that Niantic is continuing with its plans to host the LA Unova Tour as expected next month with no changes in plans. But should anything impact Niantic’s ability to host the event in Pasadena and the surrounding LA area, Niantic is asking fans to watch for future updates.
Many Pokémon Go players have been wondering how the fires might impact the event—especially those who have booked hotels and flights ahead of time. But it appears that Niantic plans to go ahead with the LA in-person event unless something drastic happens.
Pokémon Go Unova Tour is the fifth Go Tour from Niantic and follows the Sinnoh tour from last year. The event spawns every Unova Pokémon and is set to introduce Black Kyurem and White Kyurem for the first time. In addition to LA, another in-person event is being held at the same time in Taipei before the Global Tour begins on March 1.
The event is a great chance to catch a host of shiny Pokémon from the Unova region and is debuting new Shiny Pokémon for the first time, including regional variants like Maractus and the four different Shiny Deerling forms.
Published: Jan 10, 2025 09:32 am