Pokémon has a rich history and spans across several mediums like video games, trading cards, merchandise, and more. So it would, in theory, be a perfect fit for fan conventions. The Pokémon Company hosts plenty of its own events like Go Fest for Pokémon Go fans and its World Championship tournaments for competitive players, but fans who live in places that don’t often get those official events are out of luck—unless they put on their own events.
This is what happened with Pokéverse, a fan-run convention in the Philippines meant to bring Pokémon fans together (while bearing a strikingly similar tagline to another event called Pokécon run by the Pokemon Philippines community) which on paper, seems like an exciting event. It promised big guests, activities, and “officially licensed” merchandise (though not specifically from The Pokémon Company). While some attendees have expressed satisfaction with the event on its official social media accounts, others have complained about poor organization, communication, and feeling underwhelmed by the event.
Is it as bad as the Wonka Experience that went viral in February or the legendary Dashcon ? That’s in the eye of the beholder. But it did sound like a rough time for several people who attended. Pokéverse took place from May 31 to June 2 at the SM Megamall, Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong.
Its big draw was that Veronica Taylor , the actor who played Pokémon anime protagonist Ash Ketchum for the first eight seas.