Start of the Pokémon Go Fest Madrid adventure, in the Juan Carlos I Park – EUROPA PRESS
Pokémon Go It continues to have followers, some of whom are also willing to travel to other cities and countries to meet people and new places and, of course, hunt lots of Pokémon, as the Go Fest’s visit to Madrid has shown.
He festival Pokémon has brought together coaches of all ages in the main location of its celebration, the Juan Carlos I Park, where already from the early hours of Friday, June 14 – the first of three days – groups of friends, families and people have attended who, even going alone, have not needed to miss the opportunity to experience this event that is coming to Spain for the first time.
At Go Fest you have the opportunity to hunt many pokémonsome wild and others after defeating them in raids, something that was undoubtedly helped by the large influx of people who, sheltered under the shadows of the olive trees that populate the park, united in groups to reduce these powerful opponents.
The attraction of this meeting is in the possibility of get new, unusual or different pokémon, such as the unown and Klefki, the variocolor versions (with a different color than usual) and those that have a special characteristic, such as Lapras with a scarf, or that debut in the game, as has been the case of Marshadow with a special investigation.
It has also been possible capture Pikachu and Eevee with crowns with motifs of the moon and the sun, because the event itself has also been dedicated to the arrival of fusions to Pokémon Go, with Necrozma as protagonist. This, which could be obtained in raids, can be fused with Solgaleo to create a Twilight’s Mane Necrozma or with Lunala to create a Dawnwing Necrozma.
A battle field has also been installed that has allowed trainers to measure the strength of their Pokémon teams in one-on-one battles, and earn rewards.
NOT EVERYTHING IS THE MOBILE SCREEN
As I find in person that is the Go Fest, not everything can be done or achieved while keeping an eye on the mobile screen. The park has become a pokemon mini world, that encourages explore it practically entirely to discover its secrets.
For example, Pokémon y Eevee They had passes throughout the three days so that the coaches could take a photo with themand in different parts of the park inflatables of some Pokémon have been installed, such as Pichu, Snorlax or Blastoise, with which it was also possible to take photographs, and, in fact, there were event staff strategically located for this.
In some points contests have been prepared, that for correctly answering a question or participating in an activity, prizes were awarded, such as pins or keychains exclusive to this Go Fest. In the Niantic Neighborhood area they had also prepared the space for the trainers to take a short video and a photo that included two Pokémon.
It has also been encouraged physical activity -in case walking up and down the park wasn’t enough- with an area dedicated to football, in which you could shoot on goal and win a prize. This space has also allowed us to meet Gaizka Mendieta, Fernando Morientes and Vicky Losada in person.
SUN, HEAT AND SHADOW
The sun and heat have accompanied the trainers in the three days of the Pokémon Go Fest, so a bottle of water, sunscreen, comfortable clothing and a hat or umbrella They have been the best allies to successfully complete this adventure.
Niantic has been farsighted and to help the coaches has installed several tents throughout the venue with tables and benches to regain strength and points for refilling bottles with very cold water, which were joined to the park fountains so that anyone could cool off. when I needed it.
Also battery charging points, in the form of pokéstops, with different types of charger for the clueless who had not taken their own cable or prepared one or more external batteries. Because the game, although it doesn’t use a lot of mobile data, does consume a lot of energy, and between the intensive use and the heat, it was easy to end up with the phone turned off. Of course, for next time, it wouldn’t be bad if they were installed under an umbrella, so as not to burn in the sun while trying to revive the battery.
There has also been a ‘food truck’ area – although you could bring food from outside – and several portable toilet stalls have been installed and a tent to buy promotional material of this franchise, where you could buy stuffed animals, socks, pins, t-shirts and sweatshirts, among other products – with rather high prices -, some exclusive to the Go Fest in Madrid.
IMPRESSIONS
After eight years, there will be those who think that Pokémon Go is behind us, but events like this show that There are still people who play, even if only occasionally, and there is a desire to participate in in-person meetings.. At Portaltic we have had the opportunity to join this festival and participate as one more.
Something to highlight is that the park has not closed for Go Fest; Anyone could go for a walk through this green space, and in fact there were areas, such as the one close to the entrance from Avda. Logroño, that did not have much activity related to the game and you could see birthday celebrations and people walking or running or just sitting on the grass.
The festival was only activated in the Pokémon Go account of whoever had purchased the ticket, which means that a curious person without the ticket has not seen anything of the event even if they have the game, apart from the decoration installed by Niantic. But he could participate in the celebration, taking photos or going to the promotional products store, if he wanted.
Initially, It is an expensive event. The entrance fee to participate in the Park was 32 euros, and You could only choose morning or afternoon shift, within the three days it lasted. When changing from one to the other, which was great for eating and resting a bit in the shade, the game was left empty, showing only the map of the park and little else.
Despite this, many people everywhere, families, couples, groups of friends and the occasional solitary adventurer from Madrid, Spain and abroad, all of them watching their screens in the turn they had chosen.
Perhaps the experience requires the entire day, because between the heat, the raids, the promise of getting Shiny and the distances, a single shift is not enough to get the most out of it. Nevertheless, The festival continued in Madrid, where several routes were prepared with which, in addition to hunting Pokémon, you could visit the city a little better.
It has also caught our attention that, despite the large number of people gathered there, especially on the central street of the park, there have been no problems with queues to access the parallel activities, no more dramas than complaints about running out of battery or no space to continue storing Pokémonbeing, in general, a calm experience.
In short, Pokémon Go Fest has passed through Madrid demonstrating No one can resist taking a photo with Pikachu or Eevee, and that video games are not limited to a screen in a dark, messy room, but can be the driver of an outdoor experience and physical activity.