Pokemon Go’s Unova Tour In LA Will Go On, But Niantic Is Monitoring Wildfires

Earlier this week, Los Angeles and surrounding cities in California were struck by multiple wildfires and intense Santa Ana winds that caused catastrophic damage to Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and other areas. Major Hollywood events and pro sports games were canceled in the wake of the fires. However, Niantic has announced that it still plans to go forward with next month’s Pokemon Go Tour: Unova – Los Angeles event in Pasadena’s Rose Bowl stadium.

“Our team has been carefully observing the situation in Los Angeles with the well-being of Pasadena, greater Los Angeles, and of course our Niantic community,” said Niantic’s director of communications, Mark Van Lommel, in a statement to Dos Esports. “While we are currently continuing our preparations, any updates regarding the event will be shared as they become available.”

The Los Angeles fires are still ongoing and have been hugely devastating to the community and the people who live there. Information about how to help the affected victims can be found here.

Although the wildfires have also struck Pasadena, the Rose Bowl is currently undamaged and available for the Pokemon Go Tour: Unova – Los Angeles on February 21-23. Prior to the fires, Niantic announced that the event will mark the Pokemon Go debut of Black Kyurem and White Kyurem ahead of their global rollout on March 1.

Late last year, Niantic revealed that it has used the activities of Pokemon Go players to create a real-world AI navigation model. While Niantic subsequently said it doesn’t want its AI model used for war, the company didn’t rule out selling the data to governments. In other Pokemon news, the Japanese mob is reportedly using Pokemon cards to launder money. Additionally, Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket, one of the franchise’s other mobile games, attracted 30 million downloads in its first week alone. One of the next games in the series, Pokemon Legends Z-A, will be released later this year.