Attending the Pokemon TCG Pocket Pop-up in London

• We attended the recent Pokemon TCG Pocket Popup in London, UK
• It featured fun, large scale interactive screens
• Small tie-ins were also made for Pokemon GO players

To celebrate the release of Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket, there was a pop-up event happening in London, in the Outernet building, right outside of Tottnem Court Station. As this is extremely close to my house and I absolutely love Pokemon, I was 100 percent down to going on the first day!

Outernet

Outernet is a interactive building - it's got a ceiling and two walls that are giant monitors, working like a series of connected TV Screens. In the past, I have attended their digital butterfly event where we could wave to mae butterflies form and their interactive soccer event where children could run up and wave their hand to play soccer. I was interested in how this would be for Pokemon! 

Pokemon TCG Pocket 

When we arrived, there was quite a queue to get to the front of the Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket pop-up experience. There were several QR codes at the back, which allowed you to download the game. The instructions on the side of the wall said that each person would be able to open a pack on the wall, see if they can spy the EX Pikachu in the wave of cards, and then get some Pokemon and Pokemon GO merch. 

Once you get to the front of the queue, you are told to stand on a giant PokeBall. There, you can wave to open one of the three packs (it's random), which reveals all the cards covering all the walls. You can then point to the EX Pikachu - the first 2000 people to do this get a discount code for the Pokemon Store that gives you a sitting plush Pikachu on a qualifying order. We were within this number so each got one! Then, you swipe your arm out in the air to get rid of all these cards and start seeing your pulls.

Everyone was cheering and making noise as EX Pokemon were revealed or Pokemon with interactive cards. The buzz was fantastic! I did not get a great pull but Dann got an EX Bulbasaur, which was fun to see! After your cards are done, you can then move to the door where you can grab prizes; Pokemon GO stickers, Pokemon GO keychain of your Team, a Captain Pikachu hat and your discount code if you made it in time. Just as a warning, the pack that you open on the wall doens't appear on your account or anything! Some people were confused by that.

We then went  out the exit, which leads you right into a Pokemon Horizon's pop-up in the other building. If you are curious, here you can take a picture that will have a Pokemon background and be showcased on the wall. You can also check out some of the Christmas Pokemon Center goodies, in display, before they go live in the store. Both of these pop-ups are completely free of charge.

Pokemon GO

If there is a pop-up for Pokemon then there is likely something in the area for Pokemon GO. In this particular event, you could see sponsored Outernet London stops, which have post cards containing the three Gigiantamx Starters. There was one which was a gym and at least four which were regular stops. These postcards are extremely fun to collect, so I stocked up. 

There were also different spawns off of lures in this area, including Unowns, which is always fun to see. If you open Pokemon GO in the area, you get a time limited quest for Pikachu with a Red Spotted Birthday Hat. This questline is extremely easy, being you just need to trade a Pokemon, make a Friend, and then catch some Pokemon on the second page. It's pretty easy to quickly get done! 

It was a pretty fun experience, especially for a free one that you don't need to pre-book.