Pikachu is just the tip of the adorable iceberg as dozens of Pokémon come out to play in Yokohama.
There was some bad news for Pokémon fans on Monday. August 14 was the last day of the Pokémon World Championships celebration. That meant it was also the last day for the Pikachu Gathering, a meet-and-greet mini-parade with around a dozen Pikachus.
Unfortunately, with rain falling on Yokohama, host city for the World Championships, an announcement was made that Monday’s 1 p.m. Pikachu Greeting was being cancelled, and would not be rescheduled.
At the 2023 Pokémon Worlds Celebration Events in Yokohama, "Pikachu Gathering!!（Pokémon Fantastic Live Show）" event scheduled for today from 13:00 has been cancelled due to rain. The event will not be rescheduled. We apologize for the inconvenience to those who were looking…
— ポケモン公式ツイッター (@Pokemon_cojp) August 14, 2023
That didn’t bode well for the larger parade, Let’s Celebrate! The Pokémon Parade, a one-time-only event scheduled for just three hours later that same day. But between 1 and 4 p.m. something wonderful happened. The rain stopped, and that in turn let another wonderful thing happen at 4 when the giant Pokémon parade got underway after all!
The parade was held in Minato Mirai, Yokohama’s harbor district, with the performing Pokémon filing out of the Pacifico Yokohama convention center, where the championship tournaments took place. In the lead group, there’s a pair of Pikachus, naturally, who’re joined by Fuecoco, Quaxly, and Sprigatito, since Pokémon events frequently feature the newest generation’s starter trio.
But it turns out there were a lot more than four species waiting in the wings, and you can see them all in this amazing video of the parade.
As Pikachu and the Scarlet and Violet starters make their way up the street, Snorlax, Psyduck, and others fall in behind them. By the time everyone is marching, there are dozens of different Pocket Monster species walking and waving to fans!
A lot of the Pokémon are ones who serve as regional representatives of different parts of Japan, such as Chansey, Lapras, and Sandshrew (goodwill ambassadors for Fukushima, Miyagi, and Tottori prefectures), as well as Slowpoke (who once served as governor of Kagawa Prefecture). Packs of Eevees and Piplups, both of which have a connection to Yokohama also appear, as do some of the less soft and cuddly Pokémon, like Greninja, Lucario, and Zeraora.
And since this is Yokohama, the city of multiple Pikachu Outbreaks, obviously just two Pikachus isn’t enough, so a whole lot more hop in.
Watching the parade video, we spotted Alolan Sandshrew, Alolan Vulpix, Banette, Bewear, Chansey, Cinderace, Eevee, Exeggutor (but not the life-size Alolan Exeggutor), Fuecoco, Gengar, Geodude, Greninja, Lapras, Lucario, Makuhita, Mimikyu, Misdreavus, Morpeko, Munchlax, Obstagoon, Oshawott, Pikachu, Piplup, Psyduck, Quaxly, Sandshrew, Slowpoke, Snorlax, Sprigatito, Sudowoodo, Vulpix, and Zeraora, so that’s at least 32 different Pokémon species.
The parade is a luxuriously long 45 minutes, and even after the Pokémon turn around to head back to their starting point, it’s an opportunity to appreciate just how cute all those Pikachu tails are moving in unison. And while it’s hard not have a bittersweet feeling as both the parade and the World Championships come to a close, the good news is that Yokohama’s Pokémon Card public art displays will be going on for another month and a half.
Source, images: YouTube/ポケモン公式YouTubeチャンネル
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