Pokémon GO’s Road to Sinnoh event rewards players with free Legendary encounters

Pokémon Go: Tour Sinnoh is just a few short weeks away, and Niantic is ready to hype players up with yet another step towards the grand celebration.

The Road to Sinnoh event will be taking place in Pokémon Go from Feb. 19 at 10am local time to Feb. 23 at 8pm local time, giving all players a taste of the Sinnoh region before Go Tour: Sinnoh gets underway. Throughout the event duration, players can look forward to seeing familiar Pokémon from the Sinnoh region in nearly all aspects of the game and even obtain a handful of Legendary Pokémon without having to fight in Raids.

All players will be able to indulge in free Timed Research that eventually leads to encounters with the Legendary Pokémon Heatran, Giritina, and Cresselia, as well as the Mythical Pokémon Darkrai—all of which have a chance of appearing in their Shiny forms. As Timed Research, once the Road to Sinnoh event ends, the research will disappear, meaning players will have to complete the research tasks as fast as possible to get their hands on these staple Sinnoh Pokémon.

This is the first time in quite a while that Niantic has given players the chance to catch Legendary Pokémon without the need to complete Special Research or partake in Raids. Though these rare Pokémon can occasionally be found by competing in the Go Battle League or defeating Giovanni of Team Go Rocket, the process often requires a significant grind before players can reach that point, making Raids the most streamlined way to go about adding these Pokémon to players’ Pokédexes.

Various Legendary Pokémon will also be appearing as five-star Raid bosses, including Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf, Heatran, and Giratina Origin Forme, each getting its own spotlight hour at one point during the event from 6pm to 7pm local time. Darkrai and Cresselia will also join their own spotlight hours, giving players yet another chance to catch these Pokémon that are often not made available outside of very specific events.

Other event bonuses include the Sinnoh starters appearing as both overworld spawns and Raid bosses, as well as the baby Pokémon first discovered in the Sinnoh region—Budew, Chingling, Bonsly, Happiny, Munchlax, Riolu, and Mantyke—briefly joining the two-kilometer Egg pool. To help with hatching Eggs faster, the incubation time will be halved for the duration of the event.

Two different Timed Research passes will incentivize different ways to enjoy the event, whether that be battling in Raids or hatching Eggs. Those that purchase the Raid research will also earn an Eevee Fan Mask, while the hatch research will give players a Pikachu Fan Mask.

The Road to Sinnoh event will culminate just a day before the start of Pokémon Go Tour: Sinnoh, celebrating all the region has to offer from the days during which it was known as the Hisui region up until now. This will include the debut of Palkia and Dialga in their Origin Formes, complete with new Adventure Effects that change the way certain aspects of Pokémon Go function for a small period of time, including pausing the duration of items like Incenses and expanding the overworld Pokémon discovery boundaries—features that the community has expressed concerns about.