A look inside Hawaii’s Worlds Pokemon Center for those who couldn’t attend

The Pokémon World Championships 2024 is underway in Honolulu, Hawaii, and like previous years, it sports an exclusive pop-up Pokémon Center store filled to the brim with items that can only be bought for attendees and locals.

Hawaii isn’t exactly a local or affordable place for many people to head to, so not many folks will ever see inside this particular Pokémon Center, let alone enjoy many of the experiences on offer from Aug. 16. So, we thought we’d give you a sneak peek.

Thanks to The Pokémon Company International, which sent Dot Esports to the World Championships this year, we got a chance to explore the center at our leisure, spend far too much money, and showcase the things on offer this time around.

Entering Pokémon Centers is always an experience. The anticipation builds in a sea of people snapping up all the exclusives, the odd scalper trying to make back their Hawaii vacation money, and the odd family all having a nice time together.

Then, as you walk around, you’re immediately flash-bombed with tons of items you want but might not be able to afford. Plushies, TCG stuff, and shirts are all the usual offerings, including the odd Hawaii-exclusive item like a Ukelele or another Bear Walker skateboard.

For those unable to fit everything into their homeward-bound luggage, some handy postal services are there to ship your collected items back, for a fee. This is a much-needed improvement over Tokyo last year when I bought way too much and had to decide what I was taking with me and what I needed to leave behind. (The horror.)

In all, the Pokémon Centers at the World Championships are a fantastic experience I hope everyone gets to attend in the future. But with the Pokémon Center out of the way, it’s finally time to get down to the main reason people are in Hawaii in the first place—to watch Pokémon pros battle for a shot at becoming world champ.