Pokémon GO has shown remarkable resilience over the years. Yes, that word that was on everyone’s lips during the Covid-19 pandemic. This is because the strange experiment born from the collaboration of Google, Pokémon and Nintendo managed to survive one of the most sensational successes of recent years, an inevitable decline and, indeed, a pandemic that severely limited its key feature , or the fact that it is played outdoors.
Now, however, the time has come for Niantic and its social game to capitalize on all the good work done over the years, returning to push on one of the key elements of the whole experience: the community. Because it is true that Pokémon are the alpha and omega of the game, that is, they are the reason that allowed Niantic to have all this success and the thing that pushes players out of their refuges, but the glue is people who met in the shadow of a pokéstop or during a raid and who decided to use this app as an excuse to go for a walk and meet up with friends.
And this seems to work both with fans of pocket monsters, and with complete strangers, both with young people who have only known the green hills of Galar or the beauties of Paldea and with the “hardened veterans” of Kanto. And if this worked just outside Milan during a simple event, imagine what we saw in Madrid, during the Pokémon GO Fest 2024.
What is a Pokémon GO Fest
The Pokémon GO Fest is a live event that Niantic, the development studio of the game and all its reincarnations (Monster Hunter Now, Pikmin Bloom), organizes in a city in the world in order to gather all the fans of that continent in one placeso as to give them the opportunity to get to know each other, compare, battle, trade Pokémon and much more.
It is a real Pokémon themed party, perhaps not as sumptuous as the world championships can be, but no less successful: there is the inevitable shop where you can find memorabilia of the event and plush toys of various sizes, there are special Pokémon to find, paths to follow, themed activities to try, special missions to tackle, but above all lots of people gathered together who will make even the toughest raids a pleasure walk.
Madrid was chosen as this year’s venue partly because Paldea, the latest region discovered in the Pokémon universe, is inspired by Spain, partly because the Juan Carlos I park (a huge green area two steps from the airport) is truly wonderful and was perfect for hosting the three-day celebration.
The Pokémon GO Fest 2024
On 14, 15 and 16 June 2024, in fact, the capital of Spain is not “only” Madrid, but has become the center of the Pokémon GO universe. The Pokémon GO Fest 2024, in fact, has its heart in the park, but it extends over the entire citygiven that the many visitors from abroad will in the meantime benefit from the attractions offered by the metropolis, which has made itself available to the organization for a series of events.
The Juan Carlos I park, for example, has been divided into regions, one of the novelties of recent months, each characterized by different Pokémon similar to the geography of the place: near the body of water there were a greater number of aquatic monsters, in a inland and drier zone, dinosaurs and Pokémon land, and so on. Obviously it was not possible to recreate jungles and deserts, but it was easy to move between the various areas of the park chasing missions, some route designed for the occasion or yet another raid. And this, finally, being able to carry out those group missions that have been present for too long among the things to do that a solitary but regular player like me had never managed to complete.
All surrounded by people of all ages and social classes, from the nerd who seems to have stepped out of an 80s parodistic film to the well-groomed and fashionable teenagers, from the couple of super sporty parents who bring their children with them (a little disoriented, to be honest) to the group of ladies you wouldn’t expect hunting digital pets.
Luckily the park has several shaded places, fountains and the day was windy: the Spanish summer is unforgiving and the afternoon siesta was a must. Apart from this, the organization is excellent and the event is something to try at least once to breathe that air of joviality and peace that permeates the gatherings of Pokémon players. Maybe a little “outlaw”, given that everyone walks with their noses on their phones and not looking around as warned by the game loading screen, but beautiful. When does something like this happen in Italy?
