So I went to the Pokémon Center
Yesterday me and my bestie @runeandmoon made the journey to the pop-up Pokémon Center in London. It was one heck of an emotional journey, but it was so worth it in the end. Because of how far away we live from London, and the horror stories about the queues, we had to set off at 5AM!
Blurry car selfie because I couldn’t hold the phone straight when we were moving, but hey. I don’t think we look bad for that time of the morning!
The time was 8:48 AM. We joined the queue, absolutely stunned that we’d got there before it had started snaking outside the shopping centre. But since the shop didn’t open till 12 PM, were in for a long wait.
Tragedy! Somewhere on the Tube, the Z-Crystal on my Mimikyu ita bag had got broken. How annoying! I had to bring my ita bag, though. I am the Mimikyu Superfan. I only really wanted the giant Mimikyu plush from the Pokémon Center. Would I get my prize? Only time would tell!
Queuing was boring, but we had some great conversations with cool people in the line in front of us. These two dudes were awesome people. Thanks for making the unbearable wait less unbearable, guys!
The girl and guy here were also pretty awesome. Especially when we started to edge forward ever so slightly and it got more and more busy. The queue was closed off at 11:31 AM, a full half hour before the shop even opened. I was glad we got in before that happened!
It was around here that some guy got caught queue-jumping and was thrown out by security. Wild. All in all, the security were all pretty cool, even though they were very keen to pack us in as tightly as possible. Every time the tiniest gap opened up in front, they’d hurry us forward. One guy was like ‘c’mon, move up. Don’t you want to get into the shop?’ Too soon.
The first appearance of Dapper Pikachu! I wasn’t near enough to get a proper photo. :(
There it is! The legends were true. The first glimpse of the Pokémon Center. It’s there, waaaaay in the back of the photo, You have to squint to see it, but it’s there!
Dapper Pikachu came out again. I still wasn’t in the right place to film or photograph him properly. But check out the guy desperate for a hug! As we were getting closer to the Pokémon Center itself, we needed all the joy we could get. The tweets were coming in thick and fast of everything that they were selling out of. London Pikachu crest pins sold out within the first 20 minutes of trade. Keeping my hopes up for my Mimikyu...
Playing Pogo kept me entertained for the majority of the queuing. During the wait, I got enough coins to buy the new Mimikyu backpack which I had to own.
@runeandmoon was playing Pogo to pass the time, too, and got this cutie for her trouble. Lucky!
The final furlong! 3:19 PM. Just shy of seven hours later, we’d made it.
We did it! We got inside! There was still a lot of stock, but the lion’s share of the exclusive stuff had already gone. No Londonchu hoodies, socks, plushies or pins. Shelves and shelves of Ludicolo, though. Who even wants Ludicolo? We did overhear a small boy being absolutely thrilled they had Alakazam plushies, though, which was really sweet. Every Pokémon must be someone’s fav.
But to my absolute dismay, there were no giant Mimikyu plushes left on the shelf. The only ones were already in other peoples’ baskets, waiting to be purchased. The staff said they had no more. I was devastated.
I’m smiling, but I’m about to cry here. It’s crazy, but I’d been up since 4:30 AM, queued for an ungodly amount of time and seeing other people with the one thing I wanted and couldn’t have was just too much.
But then. A miracle happened. Just as I was queuing to pay, a member of staff came out of a side door. They’d just had a delivery...
MY CHILD.
I absolutely bolted out of the till queue, elbowed past the people standing around the shelf that was being re-stocked and was like ‘I’M SORRY I NEED this’. I took one from the staff member and marched back to the till with my prize held high, shouting ‘WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER’ because I was so sleep-deprived and a little bit insane at this point. But look how happy I am!
The staff in the store were all really friendly and doing their absolute best to make people happy. When I initially asked about Mimikyu stock, the guy who said they had none seemed genuinely gutted I’d missed out on my chosen item. The lady who eventually served me on the till was particularly sweet and clearly loved her job. Everyone was clearly trying their best and I’m not sure how they could have done anything better with the way things have been set up. The people working there can’t control the stock deliveries or do much more to deal with the huge, huge demand. The only thing they could do is put a time limit on how long you’re allowed to browse in the store, but I suppose that would be hard to police.
The rest of my swag! Since a lot of the Dapper Pikachu stuff had sold out I had to get other things from what I initially wanted. I did want a crest pin for myself and a plush for a friend who had missed out on when he went, but neither were there. The only had one size left of these shirts, too. I hope it fits!
#TeamScorbunny.
How could I not? Scorbunny is super duper cute.
Was it worth it? Yes. It’s really weird how I don’t feel frustrated or upset about how long I queued. I did get a little bored, but not as much as I thought I would. I’m super happy I got my Mimikyu, so I guess that made it all worth it. Would do it again? Not this particular shop during the rest of its run, but a similar one in the future, sure. Because I’m apparently insane. I’d probably book a hotel the night before so I could go queue extra-extra early.
For anyone planning on going, I have some tips:
Get there as early as you can. The queue closes off well before the shop’s official closing time, often even before the shop opens. Unless you’re starting to queue at like 1 AM and you’re first in line, you’re generally looking at at least a six hour wait to get in. Basically, if you can’t get there early to mid-morning, don’t even bother.
Go with a friend. Company makes the wait so much better. Also, chat with the people in the queue around you. They’re stuck in the same situation, they’re Pokémon fans too and are probably cool people with interesting stories.
If you need the toilet, there ones near the queuing area. If you let security know, you’re able to leave the line to use the facilities. It’s even easier if you have the aforementioned friend to more easily keep your spot in line.
Bring snacks and drinks. It’s a long wait. You can slip out of the line to buy things, but the less you have to leave the line, the better. If it moves forward when you’re not in it, it’s easy to lose track of where you were.
Bring something to keep you entertained. Games console, phone, book, whatever. Again, it’s a long wait.
Watch the Twitter feed for the shop - they give a running update on stock levels, whether the queue is still open, etc.
And that was my crazy PokéCen adventure! Now I’m going to sleep for the next 3000 years.