Recent development in the world of Pokemon has everyone talking, and the buzz is good! Inside Games reported early this week, on October 21st, that the world is being blessed with real-live Pokemon Gym, and while, no, you won’t be able to earn any badges or battle leaders, fans will be treated to many fantastic, interactive surprises. Sanoyas Interaction has kindly brought our childhood dreams to life with the Pokemon EXPO Gym, being described as “an interactive, educational facility” and is scheduled to open its doors on Nov 19th in Osaka, Japan. This marks the first ever Pokemon Gym of its kind in the country. With amusement parks centered around iconic characters such as Mickey Mouse and The Boy Who Lived, one would think Nintendo would have acted on Pokemon‘s rampant popularity, especially in the late 90s/early 2000s when the flagship franchise made the vast majority of their fortune. Pokemon EXPO Gym, however, might be an effort to reach a new generation of fans, according to Sankei.com.
[Courtesy of Sankei]
The Gym launched its official website, stating the focus of the facility is to offer children fun, Pokemon related scenarios to help them develop decent communication skills while “enjoying conversations with Pokemon.” Members can look forward to thrilling hands-on activities such as Charzard Battle Coliseum–which, really, when said out loud, had us at “Charzard”– or others such as: Pokemon Battle Bowling, Machamp’s First Aid Center, and Gardevoir’s Control Score. As if this wasn’t enough, Sanoyas it seems is enticing fans by offering unique Pokemon for games such as: X, Y, Alpha Sapphire, and Omega Ruby.
Additionally, because this is truly the gift that keeps on giving, Sanoyas announced they are releasing a phone app to correspond with members’ gym rank and stats on the go. The app is estimated available for download in early November.
Fans, fanatics, and families can pre-order their Pokemon EXPO Gym membership card and pass case exclusively in Osaka’s own Pokemon Center Shop beginning Oct 31st. Membership sells for 500 yen (approx. $4USD). Western fans, meanwhile, will have to continue patiently biding our time until Pokemon Go in 2016.