KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 — Pokémon fans turned out in droves for both the 30th anniversary of Pokémon celebration at KLCC Park as well as the opening of Malaysia’s first Pokémon Centre Pop-up Store, alongside the Nintendo Pop-up at nearby Ombak KLCC.

Despite queues for the pop-up only opening at 6am, fans had already been lingering near the Ombak KLCC site since the night before.

Malay Mail sighted a long queue snaking around the building by 7.30am roughly 70-80 strong.

According to the organisers, the queue was not to enter the store but to receive tickets for specific slots for entry

Each ticket allows the holder to stay a maximum of 20 minutes with some items such as the exclusive Malaysia turquoise-haired Pikachu mascot plushie limited to one per person.

Before 9.30am, slots for the entire morning and afternoon session had been fully booked with slots for the night sessions only opening at 7 or 8pm.

Staff confirmed that fans would not be allowed to queue earlier than the stipulated hours, no matter how early they arrived. 

Fun for the family

While events such as the parade and stage shows will only begin from 1pm, Pokémon Go activities started from 10am with long lines for game-exclusive freebies and the photobooth.

Fans turned up with Pokémon plushies and outfits celebrating the media franchise.

Speaking to some fans who were waiting around for Ombak KLCC to officially open, they were mainly excited to come to the store as it was Malaysia’s first in the country.

Student Yap, 20, from Kajang, arrived at 7.30am to already see a long queue forming to enter the store.

As to why he came all the way to the store though he was not quite a hardcore fan, more like “middling” in his words, “I think it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to come here.”

Fellow student Shi Lin, 16, shared the sentiment. Pikachu is her favourite Pokémon alongside the also very popular Kanto starter Charizard.

Interestingly she said she wasn’t so much keen on buying merch, more that she just wanted to “have a look” at the store and what it had to offer. 

Debbie, 26, from Petaling Jaya, when asked about her favourite Pokémon, would only commit to “many, many” but happily showed off three of her favourites.

A big plush collector she was looking forward to seeing what was available for purchase. 

Not everyone I spoke to were lucky enough to get tickets for the pop-up store. Qiqi and Zenki, who arrived from Petaling Jaya, came in matching Pokémon shirts that they proudly declared “came from Shopee.”

While they didn’t manage to get tickets for the morning session, they still were excited to see what the pop-up store had to offer.

Still plenty of time

Speaking with one of the event organisers, I was told that the ticket queue system was not necessarily a permanent fixture.

Visitor numbers would be monitored closely and policies for entry would be adjusted accordingly. 

As the pop-up store would be open from today, September 12 until December 31 this year, there will still be opportunities for visitors to come once the fervour dies down.

Meanwhile the KLCC Park celebration activities are free of charge, with shows, Pokémon Go special events and goodies and a drone show happening at KLCC Park at 9pm tonight.