I am not someone who likes battling other people, in any sense of any game. It’s just not my thing. However I am a Pokemon fan, so I wanted to attend Pokemon EUIC in London, although every year I wonder if it’s worth attending.
Pokemon EUIC is smaller than Pokemon Worlds, which happened last year. This championship is very PVP focused, with competitors playing PVP in Pokemon Go, battling in Unite, taking on TGC Card matches and more. You can register for these tournaments before the event itself, but it’s not something I’ve ever done.
Instead, I went along to see Pokemon stuff, shop at the Pokemon Center (you do need a separate ticket for this), and just generally explore! You can easily get everything done in a day if you aren’t interested in watching the various matches going on. These events are definitely the main draw, with the majority of the hallspace taken up by PVP-in-progress and building up to a massive, multi-section stage for each battle type.
The entrance of the venue had tons of photo points, and then towards the back of one side, there was a lot going on! A small carnival was set up, with ring toss, fishing, and catching Pokemon. Each of these carnival games were set up and themed like Pokemon, which was fun! The last booth had a different research task each day — the day I went it was a giant scavenger hunt throughout the venue, that did keep us busy!
Another area nearby had a bunch of Pokemon Switch games set up, that you could play freely. Every so often a small group would gather here as costumed entertainers would come out dressed as the most recent starter Pokemon: Fuecoco, Sprigatito and Quaxley. There were a few booths that were selling various Pokemon things like trading cards, as well as a giant crafting table where you could color or do origami, with a bunch of provided materials. There was also a little photo booth that gave you a free printed photo on a Pokemon background, and a face painting booth where you could get a free face painting of one of the original starter Pokemon.
Most of the hall in the Pokemon EUIC, I am not going to lie, is primarily players competing in the various competitions that are going on. You can watch them and cheer for those you want to win, which can be interesting! There are also mini-games that you can sign up for, that allow you to win points to use on a prize wall. I sadly didn’t have time for this, but it sounded interesting for those that did try out the mini-games!
In another, separate hall, there were TGC matches that you could join, both digitally and with cards, in a more casual and training sense. This was a part of the Battle area, which we completely missed due to it being in a different area!
Even without the big pull to want to battle other people, there are plenty of fun areas to take pictures and little activities to explore that make for a full day out. I love the giant Pikachu in the sky! If you are someone that plays Pokemon Go, there were also some special spawns related to PVP, along with a bunch of extra gyms and stops!
I did enjoy Pokemon EUIC, and found it a fun way to hang out with people who enjoy Pokemon. There is always enough to do, even if you aren’t the biggest PVP fan. Will I go next time around? Yes.
