Talking Pokémon: On TCG's explosive popularity and how The Pokémon Company is putting sustainability, and the 30th anniversary party, first

With Kuala Lumpur being the first city in the region to kick off the upcoming PokéXciting celebration for Pokémon’s 30th anniversary, it’s a great time to be a Malaysian Pokémon fan. Malay Mail spoke to representatives from The Pokémon Company’s Asia business division, Asia business development director Ray Kagami and Mandy Tee, from the Switch2 sales support side about the recent anniversary announcements, and their approach to the Malaysian market. Ombak KLCC and that Pokémon pop-up One of the most exciting announcements for many Malaysians fans was the Pokémon Centre pop-up that will open at the upcoming new mall under KLCC Holdings, Ombak KLCC. On how that came about, again, Kagami said that it just happened to come up as part of talks with KLCC Group in discussing the events The Pokémon Company was planning. “It just came together,” he said. He explained that tt was basically a matter of fortuitous timing or what you’d call serendipity, and not a particular retail strategy what with the 30th anniversary celebrations happening right around the time the new mall would be opening. Directly connected to the Persiaran KLCC MRT, Ombak KLCC’s opening date was only known to be some time in 2026 but with the announcement of the Pokémon pop-up store on September 12, the mall looks to be open by that date, if not earlier. So, why Kuala Lumpur? Kagami said that the selection of Kuala Lumpur as a venue was something that came about as part of The Pokémon Company’s many discussions with partners in the region. The company appreciated the very smooth communication process with KLCC group, one of the factors, along with other criteria such as the timing, practicality and planned activities, which aligned enough for Kuala Lumpur to be the starting point for the regional celebrations. When asked to comment on the Pokémon Go event that will also be happening at KLCC Park during the PokéXciting celebrations on September 12 and 13, Kagami said: “We, as in The Pokémon Company, see KLCC as a good place for people to gather, share, communicate. So, from that perspective, Pokémon Go is a very good game to play together with your friends and family.” As to how specifically The Pokémon Company sees Malaysia as a market, Kagami said there wasn’t a specific pillar or focus of emphasis, preferring to emphasise the brand in general. Including of course videogames, trading card games that have grown into a very important product for the company, as well as the various licensing deals Kagami said, “They’re all important to us.” TCG’s booming popularity Kagami also acknowledged the burgeoning growth of popularity in recent times of the Pokémon Trading Card Game in Malaysia. “Fandom-wise, and speed of growth-wise, I think it’s very significant. At the recent Master Bowl League in April, we witnessed more than 4,000 players there, the largest in Malaysian history,” he said. He noted that in the past the community was small in number but has now grown in what called a “very, very enormous speed”, being one of the fastest growing pillars of the business. As to videogames, The Pokémon Company had a campaign to promote their latest game Pokémon Pokopia via their Pokémon Trucks, an endeavour led by Tee. It was evident from their observations that Malaysians spent a lot of time on the road so advertising the game via a specially decorated truck was tailored to Malaysian markets, and a good way to create visibility. On the competitive scene, Kagami said that the company wasn’t particularly focused on pushing that aspect of Pokémon, but as the player base grew, the company would, in turn, respond. Instead, it was about nurturing beginner TCG players to help them along to mature into the competitive scene, building what termed a “fandom pyramid.” “What we want to achieve in market growth for the Pokémon business in general is not a temporary trend, but rather we want a sustainable growth, and that is why we place so much importance on grassroots,” Tee said. One example of that, according to Tee, is the company’s partnership with local stores in promoting the card game with a new Trainer Journey activity that helps guide new players and then help connect them to the player community. As to whether the company would be having any promotional events tied to Pokopia’s latest DLC, Kagami said only to “stay tuned” for more announcements. Guess Pokémon fans will still have more to anticipate, hopefully but at very least, the PokéXiting celebrations and the drone show will be something to light up Kuala Lumpur this September.