The Pokémon World Championships transformed the city of San Francisco. Genesis and development of a curious socio-cultural phenomenon
A colorful tsunami floods the streets of San Francisco. Hats, backpacks, bags, t-shirts and any item of clothing or accessory you can think of: cute little animals sewn onto them steal the show, offering a cheerful and playful atmosphere to what was once called the “City of Gold”.
The traffic, which in itself is not particularly smooth, is worsening due to the large colorful invasion and the closure of some streets. But what’s happening in San Francisco? Those aren’t rainbow flags waving. It is not a woke demonstration, nor a large crowd of fans who came to support the famous Golden State Warriors basketball team. No, it’s the Pokémon World Championships.
The home of the Pokémon World Championships
Thousands of fans flock to the Moscone CenterSan Francisco’s largest convention and exhibition complex. This is the venue where, on Friday 28 and Saturday 29 August, the best players in the world compete, before the epilogue at Chase Theatre Sunday 30th, when the new world champion will be decided. The competition has its roots in 2004, when the first edition took place in Orlando, Florida. Indeed, to tell the truth, the roots are much older and deeper, and date back to 1996, the year in which Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version debuted, the two video games that gave life to one of the most successful popular sagas on a global level.
Thirty years later, however, the phenomenon tells something more than the longevity of a video game. Pokémon has become a kind of generational language. Those who were children in the nineties are now adults, but retain with surprising fidelity an imagination born in front of the screen of a Game Boy. The Pikachu that then appeared on a cartridge is now printed on t-shirts, transformed into plush toys, reproduced in video games, trading cards and objects that crowd the streets of San Francisco.
And here in 2026, for the thirty-year anniversary, the edition presents itself in all its splendor, nostalgic and futuristic at the same time. The horde that invaded the streets of San Francisco therefore converges on the Moscone Center, which for the occasion has been transformed into a sort of “Pokémon temple”, full of attractions for anyone who wants to visit it, with numerous gadgets dedicated to pocket monsterssome of which were designed expressly for the occasion. The event also hosted Pokemon XP (a fan convention hosted by The Pokémon Company International), featuring dozens of exhibits including LEGO creations, artwork, meet-and-greets with game developers, and even a library.
The numbers of the Pokémon phenomenon
Around 2,500 people compete to win the tournament: participants come from all over the world after having passed the selections in their respective countries of origin. Up for grabs, there is a total prize pool of 2 million dollars.
As evidence of the enormous success of the event and the global growth of the Pokémon phenomenon, the mayor of San Francisco, Daniel Lurie, declared that the city awaits over 54,000 fans over the course of the weekend: almost double the number of 30,000 people who attended the previous year’s competition in Anaheim (just a stone’s throw from Los Angeles).
Reportage esclusivo dal nostro inviato a San Francisco
