Pokémon Go to experiment with new strategy on the Road to Kalos

• The global Pokémon Go Tour: Kalos event will begin on February 28th, 2026, the franchise's 30th anniversary.
• In the five days leading up to the event, a "rewind" of previous Go Tours will take place for the first time.

Pokémon Go is changing tack with its live ops event strategy this February with the Road to Kalos revisiting five previous Pokémon regions.

Since 2021, every year Go Tour has celebrated a specific region of the Pokémon world, beginning with Kanto, then Johto in 2022 and continuing in release order ever since.

This year marks the sixth Go Tour, centred around Pokémon’s sixth generation, set in Kalos. The global event will begin on the franchise’s 30th anniversary, February 28th, but for the first time, it will be predated by a reprise of previous Tours.

The Pokémon Go team described this as a "week-long rewind of previous Go Tour events". It's likely to incentivise players to log in daily leading up to the new Kalos event and Scopely is also monetising that build-up directly by selling a Go Pass Deluxe, offering extra rewards.

Gotta catch ‘em all

According to AppMagic estimates, Pokémon Go Tour has traditionally been among the game’s most lucrative events each year. With each focusing on a generation of Pokémon, slowly working through the series’ long history, Go Tour has never before revisited the same generation for a second time.

This year will be different. Starting on February 23rd, each day Pokémon Go will focus on creatures from a different generation beginning with Kanto, giving Go players the chance to find shiny Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle and others. Raids will feature Kanto legendaries Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres.

Then, on February 24th, the game will echo 2022’s Go Tour: Johto, with Totodile, Ho-Oh, Lugia and others.

February 25th will proceed to Hoenn, again featuring starters like Treecko and Mudkip, with legendary raids for Primal Groudon and Kyogre. The original Go Tour: Hoenn was especially noteworthy for having generated $11.5 million on February 25th, 2023, Go’s most lucrative day that year. It marked a 104% rise in spending over the day prior.

February 26th, 2026 will feature Sinnoh’s Turtwig, Chimchar, Piplup and raids for Origin Forme Dialga and Palkia - who gave players unique control over in-game timers and spawn distances during their 2024 event.

Lastly, February 27th will revisit Unova, the subject of last year’s Go Tour. It was 2025’s third-most lucrative event, having generated $19.8m over the course of one weekend. Snivy, Oshawott, Kyurem and others will be centre stage during the one-day reprisal.

Pokémon Go Tour: Kalos - Global will follow on the 28th with shiny Diancie and new Mega Evolutions from Nintendo Switch game Pokémon Legends: Z-A.

To be a master

Pokémon Go’s new strategy to feature five days of events prior to Go Tour: Kalos comes under a number of new circumstances. Firstly, this Go Tour will coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Pokémon franchise.

It also marks the fifth anniversary of Go Tour, which began during the global pandemic. Go is also just months away from its own 10th anniversary, having first launched in July 2016.

Notably, this Go Tour is also the first under Scopely’s ownership, after the Monopoly Go giant bought Niantic’s licenced games portfolio for $3.5 billion in 2025.

Since their inception, Pokémon Go Tours have always been among the game’s three most lucrative events of the year, and by revisiting prior regions in the build-up to Go Tour: Kalos, it’s likely this latest event is aspiring for even greater heights.