Is The Elite Four Really Coming To Pokémon GO This Week?

For quite a while, I have written that the key to Pokémon GO‘s longevity is to embrace narrative more than they have. Part of that includes adapting elements from the original games that have not yet appeared. They began this with the non-Team GO Rocket trainers available to battle at PokéStops during Pokémon GO Tour: Kanto last year, and those are indeed set to return for this weekend’s Pokémon GO Tour: Johto. However, outside of Fashion Week, this feature was absent for the entire rest of the year. Other elements such as villains from the other games have yet to arrive. However, it has been leaked that the Elite Four are indeed coming to Pokémon GO… but that they may not be available for all trainers. Let’s get into the details.

The information comes from a Pokémon GO datamine by the PokéMiners and is in reference to Pokémon GO Tour: Live, the in-person-only event happening one day after the digital Johto Tour. They uncovered the following information:

You can battle the Elite Four during the In-Person event, with each one appearing at a different habitat. The four trainers are Mesa Trainer, Cave Trainer, Ocean Trainer, and Savannah Trainer. The In-Person Kanto special research is 6 steps, the timed research is 7 steps, and the Elite Four timed research is 4 steps.

So the Elite Four will indeed be for in-person players only. However, that doesn’t mean they won’t ever arrive for all players. Generally, content given at ticketed events later debuts in the game for other players at a later date. It happened with Genesect, Regigigas, every GO Fest Mythical, Shiny Ditto, and more.

That isn’t all that has been uncovered about Pokémon GO Tour: Live. It has also been confirmed that attendees will receive a guaranteed Shiny Mewtwo through Special Research. This was posted on Niantic’s official Taiwan page, which was translated by Silph Road to say:

This is the first time that Taiwan host “Pokémon GO Tour: Live” event. Let’s play together! Ticket holders will get special research at the venue. Finish the special research and you will encounter shiny Mewtwo.