The pop-up Pokémon Center was always going to be one of the biggest attractions at this week’s Pokémon World Championships, but despite a seemingly organized pre-booking system, it seems the store has already succumbed to the huge queues.
London last hosted a Pokémon Center in 2019, producing a similar result of queues around the block; however, the attention gained by the World Championships made us suspect that a firmer level of organization would be implemented this time.
A Twitter user, @Jimray3mtashared a video of the long line, arriving outside the ExCeL venue and stretching along a nearby road:
Looking at the tweets collected by our friends at Eurogamer, it appears that even those who had previously reserved a slot to enter the Pokémon Center were subject to the same long wait times. It is not yet clear whether this is due to a system failure on the part of the reservation system or simply due to a large influx of visitors on the day of the store’s opening.
Here is a selection of tweets to give an idea of the length of the queue on opening day on August 17:
With the World Championships officially starting tomorrow and running through the weekend until August 21st, we can only assume that these queues will be longer, unless a more comprehensive reservation system is put in place to prevent a wave of guests go down to the entrance. suddenly.
Those eager to enter the store do not do so without reason. The pop-up Pokémon Center is currently the only place you can pick up the World Championship-exclusive Beefeater Pikachu and Roserade plushies, as well as the official London Coin Set.
It’s not all bad news though, as Twitter has also seen examples of those customers who were lucky enough to get past the queue and live to tell the tale. Looking at some of the hauls below, we’re almost tempted to say that the ridiculous wait times are worth it. Aalmost.
The Pokémon Center opened today and will be at the World Championships in the ExCeL arena until August 21.
Are you going to attend the World Championship this year? Maybe you got caught in the queues today? Tell us in the comments!
