Pokemon GO Tour: Unova Could Be a Taste of the Mainline Series’ Future

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As a long-time Pokemon enthusiast, I am thrilled about the upcoming Pokemon GO Tour: Unova event next year! Growing up with the fifth-generation games, Black and White, holds a special place in my heart. The New York-inspired region was a breath of fresh air for the franchise, and I can’t wait to see how Niantic brings it to life in the game.

Each year, Niantic organizes an event known as the “Pokemon GO Tour” to celebrate the anniversary of the initial releases of “Pokemon Red and Blue”, the founding games in the Pokemon series. These events, which occur primarily in February, can appear in various forms. Some Pokemon GO Tours are limited to specific cities across the globe, while others are open to players worldwide. Those who wish to participate in person need to purchase a ticket to gain access to all the rewards available to attendees, including new Pokemon, Pokemon Eggs, Raid Passes, unique medals, Catch Candies, and additional benefits.

Next year, the theme for each Pokemon GO Tour will center around the Pokemon regions from the main Pokemon games. In 2023, players visited Hoenn, and in 2024, they explored Sinnoh. The exciting news is that in 2025, the Pokemon GO Tours are taking us to Unova, the New York-inspired region from the fifth-generation Pokemon games, Black and White, and their sequels, Black 2 and White 2. Since Niantic often selects regions for the Pokemon GO Tours based on their order of appearance in the core Pokemon games, it’s not too surprising that Unova is next up. However, given that this region hasn’t received much attention from The Pokemon Company lately, there might be plans for a remake of the Pokemon Black and White games.

Between February 21st and 23rd, 2025, residents of Los Angeles and New Taipei City can take part in the Pokemon Go Tour: Unova. A week later, from March 1st to 2nd, fans of Pokemon GO worldwide will have their chance to join this event.

Pokemon Go’s Unova Tour Could Be a Sign of Things to Come for the Franchise

Remakes Are a Staple of the Pokemon Series

In the world of Pokémon, the primary series games often undergo a remake about every few years. The first to receive this treatment were the original Pokémon Red and Blue, which were essentially rebuilt as Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen on the Game Boy Advance. After these releases, each subsequent Nintendo handheld system saw some form of Pokémon remake. For instance, the Nintendo DS gave us Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, which were remakes of the 1999 titles, Pokémon Gold and Silver, and the Nintendo 3DS got Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, being remakes of the 2002 games, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire.

Among Nintendo’s handheld consoles, The Switch stands out as it’s the only one to have two mainline Pokemon games remade by The Pokemon Company. In 2018, Game Freak and TPC released Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee, which were fresh takes on Pokemon Yellow. Later in 2021, The Pokemon Company unveiled Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl on the Switch, these games being remakes of the fourth-generation Pokemon games, Diamond and Pearl.

Pokemon Yellow itself was an enhanced re-release of Pokemon Red and Blue for the Game Boy Color.

A Pokemon Black and White Remake for the Switch 2 Makes Perfect Sense

As a dedicated Pokémon gamer, I’ve been through the first four generations of mainline games and marveled at their 3D remakes. It’s only natural to expect that the next in line would be Pokémon Black and White. However, there’s a twist – these are the only mainline Pokémon games with direct sequels, which could make things interesting. If The Pokémon Company decides to remake Black and White, they’d also have to tackle Black 2 and White 2, as leaving out half the storyline of the fifth-generation games would feel quite unusual.

Considering the upcoming announcement of Nintendo Switch 2 within the next three months, it’s highly improbable that a hypothetical remake of Pokemon Black and White will be released as an exclusive for the new Switch. Instead, it seems more likely that The Pokemon Company will focus on developing for Nintendo’s next console due to its rumored superior power compared to the current Switch. If a Pokemon Black and White remake is tailored for the Switch 2, it could boast graphics comparable to those found on PS4, making Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl appear outdated in comparison.

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2024-12-12 22:23