The Pokemon Black Version and White Version Tour rolled into Strongsville, Ohio on February 5 – 6, 2011 and we were there to cover the event live. Below is a recap of our adventure at the mall tour with additional photos and information that were not included in our live Twitter and Facebook feeds from the event.
Pokemon Tour Semi Truck
Heading into the mall for the Pokemon Black Version and White Version Tour we saw two of the above trucks parked outside the mall to carry everything that awaited inside.
Pokemon Center Store
As we entered the mall we were greeted by the Pokemon Center. This store had exclusive t-shirts, plushes, and figures you could only get at the Pokemon Black Version and White Version Tour locations.
Video Game Experience
This was located at the heart of the Westfield SouthPark Shopping Mall and is the main focus of the tour. Inside these walls we were treated to a short video preview of the game stretched across four HDTVs. Once the preview was over we were allowed into the booth to play a demo of Pokemon Black Version and Pokemon White Version for Nintendo DS. As a bonus, when we left the Video Game Experience we received a special Pokemon pin just for trying the demo.
Activity Zone - Center Stage
We were able to sit down and take a break for a little while and watch previews of the new Pokemon movie and episodes from the new Pokemon Black & White TV series.
Activity Zone - Spin the Wheel Line
Waiting in line to spin the wheel to try to win a Pokemon plush, stylus, phone charm or patches.
Activity Zone - Spin the Wheel
My wife, son, and I spun the wheel and won a Tepig stylus for Nintendo DS, a phone charm with Tepig, Snivy, and Oshawott on it, and three patches of the characters mentioned previously.
Reshiram and Zekrom Blowups
These guys were available for photo opportunities at another location in the mall.
Pokemon Center from Above
Another angle of the store that caused my wallet to be thinner by the time we left. Taking two kids to one of these events can get expensive even though the tour is technically free.
Inside the Video Game Experience
They had 50 Nintendo DS Lite systems located around the booth to allow you to play the Pokemon Black Version and Pokemon White Version demos.
Playing Pokemon Black Version for Nintendo DS
We finally got our hands on Pokemon Black Version and White Version for Nintendo DS. The graphics are better than the previous Pokemon games and the game feels new, but it also still feels familiar.
Celebi Character Distribution
While we were at the mall tour we also picked up the special Celebi character distribution for our existing Nintendo DS Pokemon games.
Activity Zone - Character Meet and Greet – Tepig
Activity Zone - Character Meet and Greet – Oshawott
Activity Zone - Character Meet and Greet – Snivy
At the Activity Zone they had character meet and greets throughout the day. Above are the three new starting characters in the new Pokemon games for Nintendo DS that were available for photo opportunities.
They also had a “Pictures with Pokemon†green screen area where they were taking pictures of people and giving them a credit card to take home. At home you could go online and email, download or print the photos with Pokemon backgrounds.
Pokemon-Zoroark: Master of Illusions Movie Tickets
We were able to score three free tickets to the new Pokemon movie shown on the big screen at the Cinemark movie theater located in the mall.
If you want to see the movie I recommend getting to the tour early and asking at the Information Booth as soon as possible. The tickets are free but also first-come, first-serve.
We were lucky that they had three tickets left for the 7:00pm showing when I asked while waiting in line for the 4:45pm tickets. I am not sure why they already handed out the 7:00pm tickets before handing out the 4:45pm tickets, but I was happy we got them.
I recommend going to get in line about an hour before they start handing out tickets. We went 40 minutes before they started giving out tickets to the 4:45pm show and we were already almost 100 people deep in line. They only had 100 tickets, since the movie was being shown in the small theater at the Cinemark.
Oversized Zorua and Celebi Pokemon TCG Card
Everyone who attended the movie received the exclusive oversized card on the right above. On the left is the advertisement for the movie we saw, “Pokemon-Zoroark: Master of Illusionsâ€, and the middle ad is for the new Pokemon Black & White TV series coming to Cartoon Network in February 2011.
These ads were in the Pokemon Tour book, which included the Stamp Rally page allowing you to collect five stamps to have a chance to spin the prize wheel mentioned above. The tour book also included information about some of the new characters and features that are going to be in Pokemon Black Version and White Version for Nintendo DS.
Final Verdict
It was a long day at the mall and I never thought we would be there that long, but it was a lot of fun. We got there around 10:30am and didn’t leave until around 9:00pm. My sons (7-year old and a 1-year old) got a bunch of souvenirs and a day they probably won’t soon forget.
If the Pokemon Black Version and White Version Tour is coming to your area over the next month or two I definitely recommend checking it out. I guarantee you will not be disappointed if you are a Pokemon fan or have kids that enjoy the video games, trading card game, TV series, and movies.
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Great show and well worth the time to go.