Lori McCue
Tomorrow marks the start of the Pokémon World Championships in D.C., a weekend where professional players (some as young as 13) will compete in tournaments of the Pokemon card game and video games. Professional gamers and others will be descending on D.C. for the next few days to take part.
More pressingly: There’s a giant Pikachu wandering around D.C.
Detective Pikachu is taking in D.C.’s cultural offerings, starting with the National Gallery of Art.
The 2019 Pokémon World Championships are being held in Washington, D.C. this year! Pikachu got to town a little early, and decided to do some exploring at The National Gallery of Art (@ngadc).
Follow this thread to see what Pikachu discovers inside! ?️⚡️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/HuN5GbL8fi
— Pokémon @ #PokemonWorlds (@Pokemon) August 15, 2019
He got his steps in!
What’s this? It seems Pikachu’s discovered a beautiful, lavish courtyard. ?? pic.twitter.com/fxyrfvmoNY
— Pokémon @ #PokemonWorlds (@Pokemon) August 15, 2019
He met a toddler!
Don’t look now, but it looks like someone’s made a friend! pic.twitter.com/8tgI9dIxbi
— Pokémon @ #PokemonWorlds (@Pokemon) August 15, 2019
He traversed the endlessly Instagrammable passageway!
Nothing to see here…
…or is there? ⚡ pic.twitter.com/X9mv1L3kZ9
— Pokémon @ #PokemonWorlds (@Pokemon) August 15, 2019
Appropriately, he checked out the National Gallery of Art’s exhibit on the history of animals in Japanese art. (Is a Pokemon an animal?) Here, he peruses figures by Yayoi Kusama.
The décor in here is so colorful that someone couldn’t contain their excitement!
Bet you can’t guess who… ? pic.twitter.com/OdmX9NQbrp
— Pokémon @ #PokemonWorlds (@Pokemon) August 15, 2019
The Pokémon World Championships run Friday-Sunday at the Washington Convention Center. Though most of the competitions are for professional players only, and spectator tickets have sold out, registration for the open competitions are still open.
