In what was supposed to be a celebration of the Pokemon franchise for fans, the Pokeverse Expo instead became a Wonka-Fyre Festival type of experience for its attendees.
Organized by Dubai-based NFT-focused company Kaloscope and Feng Shui jeweler Frigga Charmed Life by Marites Allen, the Pokeverse Expo was an unofficial convention that catered to Pokemon fans in the Philippines. The three-day convention took place from May 31 to June 2 at SM Megamall's Megatrade Hall in Metro Manila, Philippines.
Unfortunately for attendees, they were met with what some would call a disappointing excuse of an expo, one that much of the internet compares to the likes of the Willy Wonka Experience in Glasgow, Scotland or the infamous Fyre Festival.
Premier Pokemon-Themed Expo Made By Fans for Fans?
Kaloscope's Pokemon-themed expo in Manila describes itself as the “Premier Pokemon-Themed Expo in the Philippines made by fans for fans.”
On their official website, the expo promised officially licensed collectibles, daily cosplay contests, live musical performances, Pokemon tournaments, and many more. The event also featured local celebrities and figureheads from the Pokemon community in Manila.
However, Veronica Taylor—the original English voice actor for Ash Ketchum from the original Pokemon anime—and Jason Paige—the singer behind the iconic Pokemon theme song of the original anime series—were the biggest headliners for the event.
In one of their press releases, Kirck Allen, one of the lead producers of the Pokeverse Expo, described the unofficial Pokemon expo as the “first Pokémon-themed expo of its kind”.
This was despite similar themed conventions, such as PokeConPH—a convention organized by the Philippines' largest Facebook Pokemon community group Pokemon Philippines, already happened in the country in previous years, even in the same venue.
Negative Pokeverse Expo Experiences Go Viral
With a lot of Pokemon fans excited to see two icons from Pokemon's history, and also to just bump elbows and have fun with other fellow fans, the Pokeverse Expo turned out to be much of a disappointment. Just as the event ended, the expo went viral for all the wrong reasons.
A Very Expensive Event for Fans
To start things off, the entry to the Pokeverse Expo was steeper than the usual price of convention tickets in the Philippines.
Although there have been other massive, more expensive gaming and hobby conventions in Manila, Pokeverse's standard tickets ranged from $17 to $256, which were mostly out of reach for the average person especially considering usual convention ticket prices in Manila start from just $8 and the minimum wage is just under $10.
According to Pokeverse itself, the fees collected for the expo were “essential to cover the substantial costs associated with organizing the event.” These organizing costs included venue rental, international headliner fees, flights, hotels, transport, setup, and logistics.
They also pointed out that all the freebies, gifts, and perks that come along with the tickets “far exceeds” the cost of the tickets.
Given how the event concluded, a lot of fans felt ripped off for paying for an expo that didn't really deliver well. However, Pokeverse's sins do not stop there. In fact, a lot of problems mired the event from start to finish.
A Pokeverse Mega Thread Goes Viral
In what was the most comprehensive post-event experience post, Twitter/X user @BintuRita shared their own experience from the Pokeverse Expo. As of this article's writing, their Pokeverse mega thread on Twitter/X has reached 6.8 million views, 43K shares, and 7.6K reposts.
In the said mega thread, they detailed how Pokeverse was filled with problems starting from day one down to the third and last day.
Pokeverse had it all: confusing ticketing systems, shameless sponsor plugs, a pretty empty and downsized event space, a Ravioli man that disturbed some attendees, mistreated indie artists, and more.
Allegedly, the documentation crew of the Pokeverse Expo even hounded its attendees without a care for their personal spaces. BintuRitaallegedly states that the camera crew tried to film everything, even unattended minors whose parents were allegedly away to get food.
Pokeverse's Initial Response
With Pokeverse blunder posts going viral, Pokeverse initially responded to their event woes by commenting on one of BintuRita's posts on Facebook.
Pokeverse's statement on one of BintuRita's posts reads:
HiBintuRitawe apologise for the oversight we are investigating the matters with the production the team.
The organisers have been very busy with post production but have said will reach out to you personally to make sure your concerns are addressed.
It’s our first event with very little time to prepare but we do agree that better that a lot of things need to be improved for another season but we appreciate your participation and will continue take your feedback to do better next time.
Please DM us privately as we did have your prize bags available on the day and was suppose to be given to you after the performance and we will have it delivered to you this week.
We have taken down the PokeSinger video as well for the time being to investigate further.
But we really appreciate you for being part of the event and we hope to excite better for another one.
BintuRita themself has responded to Pokeverse's comments with another post.
As for Pokeverse itself, neither their pages nor their organizers have yet to release an official statement regarding the fiasco. Furthermore, as of this article's writing, ClutchPoints has reached out to Pokeverse and their organizers for a comment on the expo but has yet to hear from them.
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