Goddamn my last blog post was in July!! To be fair I was having a whole summer plus being super busy at the dayjob (which I have now since left- more on that later :) ), but that's not what this blog post is about, this is about...
POKEMON WORLDS!!!!!
At the end of August I had the chance to attend Pokemon Worlds 2026 that took place in San Francisco, California, and it was AMAZINGGGGGG
To explain, Pokemon Worlds is a championship for the TCG, the recent mainline games, and a handful of other side games: Go, Unite, Champions...etc. My history with Worlds is that I remember seeing photos of Worlds 2006 as a kid on Pokemon.com and that I've taken a peek at the competitive streams that happen around Worlds or Regionals. Other than that, not much history! :9
I've been a long time Pokemon fan (20+ years!) but a little more than just a casual fan, so getting the offer to get a ticket was extremely exciting to me!!!! Funny thing, which I can understand, is Worlds has a interest list system where you gotta add your name to a pool and you're randomly selected to buy a ticket. It confused me at first, but with how ravenous some fans can be /especially now/...well, it makes sense. sbfjahlfjlfd I don't like it BUT I UNDERSTAND... so I added my name to the list!
To my surprise I got the email to buy a ticket! And I did. :) I knew I'd regret my decision if I DIDN'T buy my ticket, so I jumped on the multi-day pass. Whiiiich means I was attending all three days!
The first day was like a whirlwind. It was my first time being semi-solo on a multi day convention and I was lowkey nervous, but excited. I got there pretty late into the day so I happened to miss a giant portion of the first day of the event. Which sucks, but I'm hoping there's archives of the panels so I could watch what I missed. (Hotel prices in SF were fucking wild) So most of the first day was just spent getting to SF, grabbing my badge, and walking around the venue!!
Second day was ABSOLUTELY WILDDDDDDDDD
If you use social media you may have heard of the chaotic pin rally situation that got shut down. I uh saw that first hand and yeah it was wild!!!! Saturday for conventions is always gonna be busy, but I don't think I've seen this many people at an event..
Amidst all of that chaos I was able to snag three pins before pins ran out and the entire activity was shut down. I really just wanted to get Jirachi and Greninja; I got Jirachi but Greninja ran out before I got a chance to get in line for it lol. So I settled for Elekid and Hydreigon and Pawmi.
After the massive pin rally rush, things began to quiet down super fast. I got to meet up with a friend and we hung out for most of the day as we tried out different activities! We also cut away to head to Japantown and I happened to find the first two volumes of A Witch in Mongolia. Hellll yessssss. Also watch Jaadugar IT'S REALLY REALLY GOOD
Saturday was a jam packed day and it was so awesome. I had so much fun that I happened to get a little sick at the end of the day asfhas but after taking care of myself I recovered.
And Sunday- the last day of the event! Since the pin rally was cancelled I had less of an incentive to get to the venue at 8am on the dot so I kinda slept in for a bit. Since it's the end of the event, it's super chill. We attended a panel on Pokemon Horizons and I cut away to head over to the Pokemon Center! I had put in a reservation to visit and chose the earliest time I could get lol- so, when I arrived, there wasn't much left over in terms of what I was looking for. There was a ton of exclusive merch left over, but the really popular ones, like the Greninja pin, Pikachu pin, and (almost) the astronaut hoodie were basically sold out. I did manage to get a couple Pikachu plushes, one for me and one for my friend, a Charizard pin, and I got lucky and found an astronaut hoodie! I also happened to find the fabled PC Greninja pin online and bought it, which is the first and last time I'll do that sdkfgjks
Overall, my first Pokemon Worlds was a ton of fun! 11/10 would experience again! I would love to go back the next time it's on the west coast, or even in NA. They weren't lying that really was an unforgettable experience. I also took so many photos with my film camera that I'm looking forward to getting developed the moment I can!!! Here's some photos I took with my phone!
