The content of Pokémon in the wild was organized in rotating habitats from 10 AM to 6 PM, much like editions of past years. This time, the habitats took on the theme of seasons and "outings" - Winter Caverns, Spring Soirée, Summer Vacation, and Autumn Masquerade in that order - in the same vein as the original main series games, including their numbered sequels. Deerling family forms of the seasons were the characteristic Pokémon species of the habitats along with exemplary species of the region, with the inclusion of Pikachu wearing the caps of the main player Trainer characters (plus Unown letters that make up the region's name, by Incense) across all habitats.
Also like last year, Collection Challenges were not present, allowing great freedom of capture - although some particular species were still needed to be captured, to be explained shortly. Field Research as well continued to have power-up tasks, though these were to encounter Deerling and Pikachu as above. Timed Research had three capture sets for the Incarnate forms of the "Forces of Nature" species and one set to encounter a chosen starter with special backgrounds, obtained in the time between the live edition and the Global edition. Special Research had two sets: the usual and customary Masterwork Research that will eventually lead to a Shiny Meloetta encounter, and the thematic one for the event with tasks for certain "truths", "ideals", and their "mediation", the former being paid and the latter involving the version selection according to the original game versions.
That "mediation" was primarily carried out through raids, for which the two Legendary Pokémon as above were joined by Kyurem... which fused itself with one of the two and appeared as Black Kyurem or White Kyurem, alternating with each hour. Much like the proceedings of last year's Pokémon Go Fest, raiding these Fusion forms rewarded not only Kyurem itself but also specific Fusion Energy needed for one to make the Fusion forms with the two Legendary Pokémon (Blaze for Reshiram, Volt for Zekrom), with similar methods, practices, benefits, and caveats as the earlier introduced Fusion forms - and now the Fusion forms are legit, unlike their earlier mistaken release. Side raids involved the Pikachu with special caps as above and a few other unique Pokémon from the region, though the ultimate side raid could be considered the unfused Legendary.
New this year is something called the "Tour Pass", which looks a lot like the "Battle Pass" of certain contemporary mobile games (cf. Pokémon Unite) and is the other paid element. Two tracks - the free track and Deluxe track - are available and leveled up by earning points through certain actions such as timed tasks for capturing specific Pokémon, with each level containing rewards as encounters or items. The latter needs payment (more to get 10 levels ahead) to access while the former is open for all, with the cap being 500 levels, though only the first 100 were key to this weekend and the rest rewarded bonus Stardust for hardcore Trainers who can take the "Tour Pass" to the absolute extreme.
Other elements of this year's festivities were 10 km Eggs with regional Pokémon and halved hatch distance, appearances of Basculin in Routes (with red and blue stripes, not white like last year), and a unique overworld music composed of a mashup of themes from the game as well as that of Pokémon Go itself, with encounters receiving the battle theme. Along with February's Road to Unova event becoming a prelude to the Global edition (or an interlude between the two editions), essentially, most parts of the event have been "standardized".
Now, as for how I did, I bought both the Masterwork Research and Tour Pass Deluxe (the latter somewhat last-minute) and I got to level 195 on my Tour Pass; at the least, being able to go through the first 100 levels is an accomplishment. I also got sufficient Fusion Energy to make both of the Fusion forms for Kyurem, with a few exceptional ones waiting for that purpose. At some point, if and when the Black Kyurem and White Kyurem raids appear again - as with Necrozma last year - I'll have to take advantage of them to make more of the Fusion forms. I also got all the special costumed Pikachu and the remaining Unown (V) I hadn't got.
Out of all the Pokémon Go Tour editions so far, this one has to be one of the important ones because of its content and innovations. The "truth" is that it makes for even more stuff to deal with for Trainers, but the "ideal" is to take advantage of everything as much as one possibly can for them to be able to be used in the future, as the Fusion forms of Kyurem and the "Tour Pass" concept for later editions. That said, it seems there will be lasting marks of "truth" and "ideals" even long after this edition has ended.
One year ago: Cosplay+Pokémon Go: Pikachu's Indonesia Journey in Bali
Two years ago: Pokémon Go Tour: Hoenn
Three years ago: Pokémon Go Tour: Johto
Four years ago: Make It Make...: Pokémon Presents, 2/26/2021
Five years ago: Making Game Journeys... Literally
Six years ago: Winds of Changing Teams
Seven years ago: Pikachu Cable Holder
Eight years ago: Love My Life - Pokémon Too
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