In an unexpected error, Pokémon GO Kanto Tour ticket holder bonuses were briefly made available to people who hadn't paid for them. The Kanto Tour officially started back on February 20. The event provides players with the opportunity to catch Pokémon from the Kanto region during raids. It features shiny forms of 151 wild Pokémon as well, giving a boost to Shiny hunters.
The Kanto Tour is one event out of several others Niantic has planned for the rest of the year. The Kanto Tour was first announced last November as the first Tour in the Pokémon GO Tour series. With 2021 marking the 25th anniversary of the Pokémon franchise, it only made sense that the Kanto region would be the ideal setting to kick off things. The Pokémon GO Kanto Tour was better in many ways than the previous year's Pokémon GO Fest 2020. Many trainers preferred the Kanto Tour because they were awarded better prizes for completing special research challenges, the event was more fairly priced, and the emphasis on bonuses for ticket holders.
However, Pokémon GO has run into some issues with its Kanto Tour ticket holders. Eurogamer reports that players in New Zealand and Australia who did not pay had free access to bonuses like the research questline and box of free remote raid passes. In a twist of irony, Pokémon GO's Kanto Tour bonuses were intended exclusively for ticket holders in an effort to make up for an earlier mistake in which the ticketed event was made available to people who hadn't bought any tickets. It seems there are reproductions of Pokémon GO bonuses just like Dittos.
Reddit user OgS314 posted on the popular Pokémon GO subreddit TheSilphRoad, "I just opened the game and I have the research on the today tab. I thought it's for ticket holders only. NZ player here and didn't buy the ticket but received it as a free from the previous error." Errors that emerge during any Pokémon GO event are typically first spotted by New Zealand and Australian players because they are the first timezones that can view changes. Any revisions that are made are only done after the problems are first reported by players living in these countries and are then promptly fixed before going live in North America and across Europe.
Just like any other game, Pokémon GO has been made to adapt to the rigors of the coronavirus pandemic. The game is intended to be played outside as players attempt to locate and capture various Pokémon. Although it is still relatively early into 2021, Pokémon GO is already looking as if it is perfectly primed to respond to each challenge the pandemic throws its way.
Many hope Pokémon GO will offer more Tour events in the near future. Shiny hunting has recently become a much more popular pastime for many players and Pokémon GO Kanto Tour also added legendaries to help satisfy this interest. It will be interesting to see how much significance will be placed on Shiny hunters in future Tours.
Pokémon GO is available on iOS and Android.
Source: Eurogamer, OgS314/Reddit