Pikachu has been spotted at major landmarks in London ahead of the 2022 Pokémon World Championships, which open tomorrow. For the first time in history, the pinnacle of Pokémon tournaments will be held in Europe as London hosts the event. The capital is raring to welcome players and Pokémon alike for the big event taking place this week, Aug. 18–21, 2022, at ExCeL London.
To ensure travellers don’t miss the action, Transport for London (TfL) has also received a makeover, with the London Cable Car cabins over the Thames between Greenwich Peninsula and Royal Docks rebranded specifically to represent the 18 different Pokémon types: Normal, Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Ice, Fighting, Poison, Ground, Flying, Psychic, Bug, Rock, Ghost, Dragon, Dark, Steel and Fairy. Fans can get a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be transported over the River Thames with their favourite Pokémon. The makeover extends to both Cable Car terminals — with lots of Pokémon surprises and photo opportunities — which will be in place for passengers to enjoy Aug. 17–23.
Top Pokémon players are set to play the Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield video games, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, Pokkén Tournament DX, Pokémon UNITE and Pokémon GO for the title of World Champion. Players will compete for more than $1,000,000 (over £800,000) in prizes, the title of Pokémon World Champion and return invitations for the following year’s World’s Championships.
