The Pokémon European International Championship - or EUIC - in London is one of several legs in Pokémon's juggernaut competitive scene ahead of the World Championships finale in the summer. I've never been before, despite the event being held regularly in the UK - a downside to becoming increasingly senior at publications and struggling to justify a reason to go - but with the impending launch of my own Pokémon site, I saw my chance.
There's been plenty of articles of what it's like to attend the EUIC over the years, and instead of re-treading similar ground, I decided to attend with a specific mindset: what is there for Pokémon Go players, and is it worth attending to play this game alone? I will touch upon other aspects of the event of course - it really is a celebration of whatever stand of Pokémon you're into - but if you're primarily a Go player, or simply curious as to what happens if you decide to pull your phone and spin up the app on the show floor, this post is for you.
For Pokémon Go players, the EUIC experience can probably be best divided into three categories: spawns, stops and gyms; the Pokémon Go Truck; and the Pokémon Go area on the show floor. Let's go through them one by one.
EUIC 2026 spawns, PokéStops and Gyms
As you'd hope for a Pokémon event (and a convention centre in a major city), EUIC boasted a significant number of PokéStops and Gyms. A healthy number were clustered throughout the central concourse of the Excel in London, though most were lured by players to the point where it was often hard to accurately tap any Stops or Gyms around them. Signal issues aside, which I'll get to, this was a good problem to have. This meant I was at no loss for things to catch, or PokéStops to help replenish my item bag as I walked.
Whether on the show floor or in the central concourse, Pokémon branding was everywhere. Image credits: One More Catch
Much of this activity extended from the entrance of the Excel to the row of hotels going down the wharf, meaning you could easily keep catching and spinning after event hours. (I may or may not have had my Go Plus + device buzzing away into the evening, likely to the chagrin of those close by.)
Raids during the event, meanwhile, almost always had a handful of people waiting in the lobby, making it easy to take down challenging Shadow Pokémon and five-star encounters. Two new Raid and Max Battle arrivals over the weekend - Therian Forme Enamorus and Gigantamax Meowth - were particularly well timed, with my experience of battling Enamorus a doddle with the amount of players playing around the Pokémon Go Truck.
