The Pokémon GO Tour: Sinnoh event, held in Los Angeles from Feb. 17 to 18, was the first big in-person event of the year, and aimed to kick off another year of excitement for Pokémon GO.
As someone traveling from the UK to Los Angeles specifically for the event, I was excited to take part in something outside of Pokémon GO Fest. After all, Sinnoh is my favorite region in Pokémon, and with Hisuian Pokémon also making their debut, I was geared up for a great time.
Sadly, though, I left the event with mixed feelings. While I can’t deny I had a good time, much of the event didn’t meet my expectations or those of the fans I spoke to. Was it fun? Sure. But it could’ve been a lot better.
A confusing start
Pokémon GO Tour: Sinnoh was held in-person at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, and I have to admit, the venue did feel like a good fit when it was originally announced. It’s an iconic stadium that’s easy to get to in bustling Los Angeles. What more could we want?
For those attending on Saturday like myself, though, the event began as one might expect from a Niantic event—with a whole host of delays. Some fans were left waiting outside for hours after it started, which led to Niantic expanding the event by three hours on Saturday to make up for those who couldn’t get in on time. Fans attending on Sunday had no such issues, but it still left a sour taste in our mouths at the start of the festivities.
The event’s layout was also an issue. For the most part, the Rose Bowl event was split into four areas, starting with the Rose Bowl Stadium and expanding further north toward Brookside Golf Course. These four areas all had distinct spawns, with Seaside Metropolis in the south having Pokémon like Hisuian Qwilfish, and Bubbling Mire in the north having Hisuian Growlithe.
This led to my first major gripe. I wanted both of these Pokémon, but had to devote time to walking at least 30 minutes between the locations because of how far apart they were. Getting a Shiny also felt impossible, and these problems could have easily been solved by having all four areas closer together, in a square, instead of spread out over a vast stretch of land. To add insult to injury, Hisuian Pokémon would only spawn for 30 minutes every hour, so you were effectively locking yourself to one section of the event to get the one you wanted. If you tried to walk between the northernmost and southernmost areas, you wouldn’t be able to hit everything in time.
On top of this, there were no Routes between the areas, which could have made the trip more worthwhile due to the White-Striped Basculin exclusively spawning on Routes. The whole event constantly seemed like a missed opportunity, with the limitations of the venue making it feel frustrating and lackluster. It might sound like I’m nitpicking all the layout issues, but they were a significant cause for concern that severely hampered the event’s appeal.
Not all doom and gloom
When I talked to a few players there, many also voiced their concerns about the layout, as well as the frustratingly low Shiny rates over the weekend. While I understand their gripes about Shinies, Shiny Pokémon aren’t everything at these events, despite most people claiming it was the only reason they attended.
For me, what’s more important is the community that attends them, and Pokémon GO Tour: Sinnoh – LA had one of the biggest gatherings of passionate Pokémon GO fans I’ve ever seen. I heard from some folks that over 30,000 tickets were sold for the weekend, and it was clear how popular it was when you looked around at the crowds of passionate fans.
There was a constant sea of Pokémon GO players in every direction you looked, and this wasn’t limited to the Rose Bowl experience. After leaving the stadium and venturing into Downtown LA, you couldn’t walk anywhere without seeing raids packed, players grouped up, and everyone coming together to have fun and enjoy the game with friends or strangers, trying to catch ’em all.
The aura of the event was infectious. I met tons of people who linked up for Party Play, traded regional exclusives I needed to complete my Pokédex, and just hung out for a few hours to explore LA and share taxi fares. I’ll probably never see or talk to any of these people again, but they made the whole event much more enjoyable than I could ever have hoped for.
Not only that, but I must admit the city event was by far the better experience compared to the Rose Bowl portion. All Pokémon spawned no matter where you were, leading to a satisfying variety. I do enjoy the idea of an arena event having specific zones with individual spawns, which could work if you only want to hunt one Shiny Pokémon for the entire day, but in practice, it just didn’t work out.
It also felt like the city event had more Shiny Pokémon on offer and more things to do. Players finally found Routes, caught Shiny White-Striped Basculin and Hisuian Pokémon, and completed tasks. If I could go back in time, I’d tell my past self to skip the Rose Bowl and just go straight into town, as that was the most enjoyable place to be.
The city portion of the event made up for the arena’s frustrations and saved not only my weekend but my experience as a whole, making me realize once again that the power of Pokémon GO is in its community.
