[Ad- gifted experience] It’s not the first year that I have attended the Pokemon Europe International Championships, which is a huge, overwhelmingly Pokemon focused event that happens at the Excel each year. As this year is the 30th anniversary of Pokemon, there was an even bigger buzz than usual as the event was coming up. I am very much into Pokemon, running a local Pokemon Go community (that’s officially partnered with Niantic) and I’ve written about Pokemon events as a member of the press for quite some time – so I wasn’t going to miss this event which was a stone’s throw away from my town!
Inside the Main Hall
The Excel is HUGE and the way that Pokemon EUIC fills up the whole places is immense. The hall is organised in a way that you enter towards the back, where there are a bunch of activities, then move towards the massive stage at the other end of the hall, divided into three sections. This stage is where the tournaments are held. They’ve got a PVP battle in Pokemon Go, card battles, and battles on Scarlet / Violet. These three different stages are often active, with people battling, but sometimes there are bands playing, like at the opening. It’s some of the best of the best in Pokemon. Before the stage is some of the starting stages of battling, people fighting to qualify and get on the big stage. Being a part of these tournaments start well ahead of the event, but even if you aren’t interested in watching, there really is plenty to do in the main hall.
I don’t really do any of the battling or competitions, as I am not a very competitive person, but I find it fantastic to see other people competing! A few of our friends were qualified in the Pokemon Go PVP challenges, which is extremely impressive, so we did meet up with them and hang out for a bit between their matches.
Carnival Games
At the very start, they had more carnival games at Pokemon EUIC this year than ever before. There is a memory game that has you facing off against another person, a ring toss with a bunch of Pokemon you can toss at, some skiiball, a giant Spinarak pulling game just to name a few. Everything is very Pokemon themed and very fun. Along with these little free to play games, there are photo areas, a photo booth, and of course face painting. Last year, there were only three starts in the face painting zone but this year there were tons. I got my face painted with a Umbreon. There were also Pokemon meet and greets (I met Pikachu and Mimikyu). There’s probably so much more that I didn’t even notice, to be honest.
Casual Crafts
There are some mindfulness crafting areas around here too, like origami and a bunch of worksheets or coloring sheets that are all Pokemon themed. Some of the worksheets were coloring sheets, while others were cross words. They did limit these to three per person, just as a warning, but it meant that there were plenty to go around. We also had These are great for waiting in between events or just needing a bit of space to sit down and relax as the hall itself can be very overwhelming.
Mini-Events
You can enter mini-events, that can net you ticket cards (for prizes), by registering for PVP battles, card battles, etc. These do fill up fast, so you need to book them as soon as you come in. Often there are more casual players in these types of events. There are also sign ups for an autograph sessions, which can be enquired at the start of the day. These on-site events are quite fun, and often the side events have less competition to them then the main event as everyone is doing it for fun.
Pokemon Go and Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket
When it comes to Pokemon Go, there are plenty of new stops and gyms added to the Excel in game, but there is also a good-sized section of the event dedicated to Go. This is the same design as previous years, with an area to battle against another player, some charging stations, and photo places. There isn’t anything to win here, but if you go outside the venue (which you can get to without a ticket) you can check out the big battle bus that toured Europe last year. There isn’t a lot of the extra items, like when it was fully built, but the bus is there and there is a wheel that can be spun to win some little Pokemon Go themed prizes.
As Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket has been the sort of newest, and biggest, mobile Pokemon game, they’ve got a stand inside the venue as well. This area is sort of closed off, with more carnival games inside. There is a knock-down-balloons area, an area where you can knock down cans, and a fish bowl toss. Once you’ve done all three, you’ll be able to claim prizes; a bag, some stickers, and a pin. You can open a pack of cards in-game on a big screen, getting an in-game code for hour glasses depending on how well you do. There is a trading area dedicated here, but it’s hard to stay inside this section as it’s one in, one out, so people had written their requests and usernames down and stuck them to the board.
Pin Trading
Another new feature for Pokemon EUIC; the pin trading happens in the main hall of the Excel, so doesn’t need a ticket. This area has a selection of pins you can purchase, and an area of boards where staff are trading. It’s a bit awkward in layout, with people from the “pin shop” area coming in from one end of the boards, and others who just want to trade are funnelled in against them, but it’s a neat feature. Everyone there was full of life, trying to trade and show off their pins, but when I went I didn’t see many fun or rare looking pins, with many people just purchasing the pins at the back and instantly trading. But, it’s a very fun start!
Pokemon Center
The Pokemon Center is also a seperate ticket from Pokemon EUIC, but of course we went along. This year, the sort of walk to the centre is massive. There were tons of photo points, lots of showing off of new items, and just a vast feeling of celebration. Everything is well organised, with plenty of time to hang out in the photo area before you are called, by your time slot, to stand in a line. When it’s time for your time slot to enter, you can go into a queue to get an EBT (while stock lasts) before entering the shop. There were some EBTs sold in the shop, but this was absolutely chaos with crowds of people pushing and shoving – it really didn’t make sense and we were glad when they were all out. Otherwise, there is tons of merch; pins, t-shirts, playmats, backpacks, so many plushies. It’s fantastic! We picked out a bunch cards, a pin and a plushie. I do think that the layout this year was very good, with exclusive stuff all in one section to easily look at. They also had some card packs sort of raffled off to buy, and a window to collect them, which is nice too.
Conclusion
I always love my time at Pokemon EUIC, and this year it just felt like so much more. More to do, more to see, better layout. Maybe it’s because of the anniversary or maybe it’s just what is expected going forward. Either way, it’s a really fun, family-friendly event full of Pokemon fans! There were also showcases; one that showed off cards, one that showed off Pokemon games over the years (and their devices) – it’s just an event with something for everyone.
You can check out our other Days Out to see what else we’ve been up too!