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The biggest Pokémon event in the world arrives in Anaheim, bringing generations of players together
Serena Riccardi and her son Rith live in El Monte. She loves Charmander's feisty personality and he loves that Pikachu is cute.
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Mariana Dale
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This weekend, the Anaheim Convention Center is a battleground for top Pokémon trainers from around the world and an exhibition for thousands of fans.
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The biggest Pokémon event in the world arrives in Anaheim, bringing generations of players together
The annual Pokémon World Championships is the top tier of competition for video and card game players and an exhibition, shopping extravaganza and reunion for fans.
The nearly 30-year-old Japanese franchise spans video games, manga, anime, trading cards, and so — much — merch. The now-more than 1,000 “pocket monsters” are the foundation of one of the most lucrative media franchises ever. The Pokémon Company made nearly $11 billion last year in licensing alone.
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And in the Anaheim Convention Center, that translates to thousands of excited and happy people — as many as 25,000 are expected through Sunday, according to the event organizers. (And a controversial secondary market for all things Pokémon merch.)
The Pokémon World Championships drew 2,500 competitors from around the world.
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Mariana Dale
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Logan Romero, 14, competes in the Pokémon Trading Card Gam seniors division at Worlds in Anaheim. "I'm pretty calm," he said. "Whatever happens, just happens. If I play my best, I'm sure I'll do pretty good."
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Mariana Dale
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LAist
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“[Pokémon ] just brings a lot of different people together, all with the same love and joy and excitement with it,” said Serena Riccardi.
Her fandom is intergenerational. The El Monte mom came to Worlds with her son.
“It's kind of for me, but mostly seeing it through his eyes is the best experience,” Riccardi said.
Multi-generational monsters
Jesus Romero started collecting the cards as a kid in Wilmington. The canon-clad turtle Blastoise was his favorite Pokémon for its resemblance to a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.
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He saved his cards, but hadn’t thought much about the cards until his son Logan started playing in second grade, often at Del Amo Mall.
What you need to know about Pokémon Worlds
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- Access: You need a ticket, called a spectator badge, to attend the vast majority of the event. Those are largely sold out, but Pokémon has intermittently released some single day passes here.
- But, there is one attraction that doesn’t require a ticket. The Pokémon Play Lab provides an opportunity to learn how to play the card and video-games from expert coaches.
- Location: Anaheim Convention Center.
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Catch the action online: Stream the competition.
“ I wasn't very good,” Logan said. “I just played 'cause my friends played and it was really fun.”
Now at 14-years-old, he’s one of the top-ranked players in North America for his age group and competing this weekend.
“ When he first started, he was really shy,” Jesus said. “Now it's like he's the light of the party.”
Jesus also plays alongside his son at local tournaments.
“I was expecting when he was a teenager, it's like, ‘Oh, I don't want to hang out with my parent anymore… bye dad,’” Jesus said. “But that hasn't happened yet. Thanks to Pokémon.”
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Ben Nackman is the manager of Crossing Collectible, a Culver City cardshop that hosts local tournaments and sponsors competitors, including Logan.
Nayomi, 11, came from South Carolina to compete dressed as Captain Pikachu from the show
Pokémon Horizons. "It's my first day of playing and I don't know if I'll be able to get into the day two, but at least I'll be able to cosplay in day one," she said.
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James Chow
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Joshua Diaz lives in Los Angeles and says this is his first time cosplaying as Ash. His costume features 3D printed Pokéballs and of course, Pikachu.
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Mariana Dale
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“ They're gonna do great,” Nackman said. “I have no doubt. I was literally having dreams about them doing well last night.”
Nackman, 22, has played Pokémon competitively since he was six, but didn’t qualify for this year’s World Championship.
“ There are only very few people that can say that ‘I am the best,’” Nackman said. “I know I'm not there yet… I know what it feels like to lose and it sucks … But in general, losing means you've learned something and losing means that you can adapt and get better and get stronger.”
Finding their people
When Dani Sanchez was in middle school, they started a YouTube channel, in part to document their growing Pokémon card collection.
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“ I just started doing that, just like to see if anybody was out there basically to see if I could like find my people,” Sanchez said. “And I did like they were all there.”
Sanchez is now a full-time Pokémon content creator under the name SuperDuperDani.
”I now have friends that are based all around the world, but we all just have a common interest in that we love Pokémon,” Sanchez said. “I've met some of the most genuine and some of the best people through this community.”
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