Pokémon Go Tour: Sinnoh will feature the strangest Spiritomb Timed Research yet

Pokémon Go Tour: Sinnoh is officially locked in with a Los Angeles and Global event running in February 2024 featuring Pokémon from the Gen IV games. Some of the content will be familiar, but a set of Spiritomb Timed Research has one of the strangest formats Niantic has ever used. 

Spiritomb has only ever been available through various pieces of Timed or Special Research tied to Pokémon Go’s Halloween content over the years. Go Tour: Sinnoh will change that on Feb. 17 and 18 with a new set of research, but it is still going to include one of the oddest completion requirements used in the game. 

Instead of having to catch 108 Pokémon or do other tasks tied to the number of spirits within the Forbidden Pokémon, Niantic will designate 108 “special PokéStops” around Los Angeles County and Orange County for the duration of Go Tour: Sinnoh. To complete the Timed Research, players will need to spin 10 of the 108 event PokéStops. It is currently unclear if that will be the only requirement, but that is the main thing Niantic included with the initial details. No mention of how these PokéStops can be identified, if there will be any, has been shared either.

Making players spin PokéStops or Gym Photo Disks to complete research is nothing new, even for Spiritomb content. However, actively mapping out 108 different PokéStops across two counties in California around where a physical event is taking place and then tying it to said research is nuts. If something in this style is enjoyable, it might become a staple of future big events—though it might be hard to replicate without specific odd encounters such as Spiritomb. 

Regardless of how out of left field this inclusion is, all players who attend Go Tour: Sinnoh and purchase a ticket will automatically have access to this Spiritomb Timed Research. It won’t be the only research available either, as a new set of Masterwork Research featuring a guaranteed encounter with a Shiny Shaymin is included too. The Masterwork Research will be offered as a $5 ticket during the Global version of the event on Feb. 24 and 25, though the Spiritomb content likely won’t make the leap.