Pokemon Go Tour Hoenn: Should you choose Ruby or Sapphire?

Pokemon Go Tour Hoenn art showing Primal Reversion

(Image credit: Niantic)

Pokemon Go Tour Hoenn is upon us and trainers will have to make a choice. Just like when the Gen 3 games came out, players had to choose the Ruby or Sapphire version to play, and the same will happen when the latest tour begins. The two-day event will feature Pokemon from the Hoenn region, and depending on which version trainers choose they’ll see varying wild encounters.

On Saturday, February 25 and Sunday, February 26 trainers will only experience the Pokemon Go Tour Hoenn between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. local time. Being prepared for when the event begins will benefit trainers looking for specific Pokemon, and coming up with plans to conquer Raids and complete quests. Without further ado, this guide will explain all the aspects of the Pokemon Go Tour Hoenn event.

Should Pokemon Go Trainers Choose Ruby or Sapphire?

First and foremost, the big decision. Should you select the Ruby (Primal Surge: Groudon) or Sapphire (Primal Surge: Kyogre) path for the Pokemon Go Tour Hoenn event?

Teams will compete in the Ruby vs. Sapphire Challenge, and as they do so certain Pokemon – aside from the usual wild encounters, which we’ll explain in a bit – will appear in the wild based on hourly results. As with every Hoenn-region Pokemon appearing in this event, they all have a chance to appear as a Shiny.

Complete Field Research on behalf of your team to increase your chance of encountering the version-exclusive Pokemon.

Primal Surge: Groudon (Ruby) Pokemon - Plusle, Volbeat, Trapinch, Solrock, Castform Sunny Form
Primal Surge: Kyogre (Sapphire) Pokemon - Minun, Illumise, Wailmer, Lunatone, Castform Rainy Form

Trainers looking for an answer to the question of which version to choose, it’s really up to them. If you’re lacking one or more of these Pokemon you should go for that version. Or if you’re looking for a specific Shiny of those listed above, go for that.

Pokemon Go Tour Hoenn New Shinies, Raids and Wild Encounters

Key art for Pokemon Go Tour Hoenn — (Image credit: Niantic)

As the name suggests, the Pokemon Go Hoenn tour will feature Pokemon from the Gen 3 region. During the two-day event, the habitats in Pokemon Go will change and with it comes different Pokemon. Each hour, the habitat will change. Here’s the list of habitats and the Pokemon that will appear more frequently in the wild.

Blistering Sands: Torchic, Poochyena, Lotad, Nincada, Makuhita, Nosepass, Aron, Cacnea, Numel, Baltoy, Bagon
Eerie Mists: Ralts, Surskit, Whismur, Meditite, Spoink, Zangoose, Seviper, Chimecho, Absol, Snorunt, Luvdisc, Beldum
Verdant Earth: Treecko, Zigzagoone, Wurmple, Seedot, Shroomish, Slakoth, Skitty, Mawile, Electrike, Roselia, Gulpin, Swablu
Ancient Shores: Mudkip, Taillow, Wingull, Carvanha, Barboach, Corphish, Lileep, Anorith, Feebas, Spheal, Clamperl

As for the debuting shinies, trainers will be able to catch a Shiny Unown H, Surskit, Gulpin, Torkoal, Cacnea, Tropius and Relicanth for the first time.

Regarding the Raids, trainers will have plenty of chances to catch some of the most iconic Pokemon from the Hoenn region. In One-Star Raids, Treecko, Torchic and Mudkip will appear. In Five-Star Raids, all formes of Deoxys will appear, giving trainers another chance to catch the Normal, Attack, Defense, and Speed formes of this Mythical Pokemon.

And then we have the new Primal Raids. These Raids will act similarly to Mega Raids in that a group of trainers will need to take down powerful Pokemon to earn enough Primal Energy to transform Kyogre or Groudon into their Primal forms. As such, trainers will have to take down Primal Groudon or Primal Kyogre to earn this new currency.

In addition, catching the Groudon or Kyogre afterward will award trainers with a Legendary with an exclusive move. Kyogre caught during this time will know the move Origin Pulse while Groudons will know the move, Precipice Blades.

Eggs will also have the pool of Pokemon that can hatch from them change during the event. Pokemon that can be hatched from 2km Eggs during the Hoenn tour include Pichu, Igglybuff, Treecko, Torchic, Mudkip, Azurill and Wynaut. Surskit, Gulpin and Cacnea can be hatched from 5km Eggs while Trapinch, Feebas, Bagon and Beldum are found in 7km Eggs. The region-exclusive Pokemon, Torkoal, Tropius and Relicanth can be hatched from 10km Eggs, so be sure to pick up as many as you can before the event ends.