Pokémon Fans Attend Pokéverse Event Only To Find It Was Similar To The Failed Willy Wonka Experience And Fyre Festival
Pokemon fans were disappointed by an event advertising itself as a "premier Pokemon-themed expo."
Remember "Glasgow's Fyre Festival"?
The Philippines is experiencing its own failed event after a convention titled the "Pokéverse" was "extremely downsized" from what was initially promised. The website claimed it was a “premier Pokémon-themed expo in the Philippines made by fans for fans,” promising official collectibles, quests, cosplay contests, Pokémon tournaments, and live music, per IGN.
Fans were also told they'd meet their idols, including Veronica Taylor, Ash Ketchum's voice actress, and the singer of the Pokémon anime theme song, Jason Paige.
But when the attendees arrived at the event in SM Megamall, Mandaluyong, last Friday, they were disappointed to find a large and barren room. One eventgoer, @BintuRita on X, detailed her experience and wrote that there were collections of plushies, a booth selling lucky charms of the Chinese zodiac, a Pokémon-themed baking activity that turned out to be a promotion for a cake and drink printing service, and the "Ravioli Man" who walked around eating a jar of ravioli with his bare hands.
Luckily, fans could take selfies and get autographs from Taylor and Paige, which were not included in the VIP tickets. On the Pokéverse website, a 1-Day Pass was listed for ₱1,000 (about $17 USD), while a 3-Day Pass cost ₱3,000 ($50). A VIP 3-Day Pass was sold for ₱19,500 (around $330).
According to @BintuRita, the event's second day featured an open space filled with inflatable activities that were not even related to Pokémon.
@BintuRita later sang on stage with Paige, but the event recorded and uploaded a video without her permission. Pokéverse reached out to her to apologize.
According to the message she received, that was Pokéverse's "first event," and they had "very little time to prepare."
"But we really appreciate you for being part of the event and we hope to excite better for another one," they added.
From Fyre Festival to the Willy Wonka Experience and now the Pokéverse, maybe it's time we all stop purchasing tickets from seemingly too-good-to-be-true events.
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