9.3 C
New York
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Buy now

Pokémon: Art Through the Ages turns Manchester's Trafford Centre into a trip down memory lane


Pokémon: Art Through the Ages The Orient

Yesterday, I popped over to The Trafford Centre to check out Pokémon: Art Through the Ages.

The event, which was announced last month, is styled as a treasure hunt and requires you to look around The Trafford Centre for pictures and paintings of Pokémon. It features all 151 species from the Kanto Pokédex, with some small activities dotted around to get you exploring.

For anyone whos not aware of The Trafford Centre (TTC), its a big shopping and leisure complex in Manchester. As well as shops, theres also an Odeon, a Namco Funscape, and even a Sea Life aquarium and Legoland Discovery Centre.


Watch on YouTube

Pokémon: Art Through the Ages at Trafford Centre Reveal.

On the way into TTC, theres tons of banners advertising the event and plenty of signs to help you find your way to the starting point.


Pokémon: Art Through the Ages sign with Eevee showing directions to The Orient
Eevee signs like this are set up to direct you towards The Orient.

I headed over to The Orient main stage, where I was handed my activity booklet and pencil. I was offered a cardboard hat from a selection of Pikachu, Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly – the upcoming Scarlet and Violet’s fresh crop of Starter creatures. I ultimately chose Pikachu. The entire time I was there I dont think I saw anyone plump for anything else. Sorry pals.

Before I headed off, I was able to meet Pikachu just before he went for a nap. I got a hug from the big boi, and then started to look around for these paintings.


Pokémon: Art Through the Ages - Pikachu hugging me :o
The face of one very happy Pokémon fan.

At first, I was confused. I decided to focus solely on the oil paintings rather than finding everything in the Pokédex, and I made the assumption that the hints in the activity booklet would help me find them. I was wrong. What it did do was help me fill in more of my Pokédex, which was frustrating! At least I got to appreciate the banners and installations that have been set up around TTC which I might have not bothered going out of my way to search for previously.


The Trafford Centre dolphin fountain during Pokémon: Art Through the Ages
Plenty of water Pokémon can be found hanging out at the dolphin fountain.

The oil paintings are very easy to spot once you realise where theyve been placed. I snapped some pictures of a few of them (I even contemplated writing this like an ironic completionist guide, but then realised I didnt have the patience to write down the location of all 151 Pokémon…) so you can get an idea of what the paintings actually look like. Theyre a bit smaller than I had expected beforehand, but they include some of the series most iconic Pokémon, including Snorlax, Gengar, and Jigglypuff.


Pokémon: Art Through the Ages Bulbasaur painting
The oil paintings are less obvious than you might think!

You may notice something amiss in that photo. Pikachu has censored it?! Thats because the oil paintings each have a letter or number on them. Once youve found all 10 paintings, the letters and numbers youve found can be rearranged to make a phrase. Once completed, you can take your booklet down to the GAME store on TTC’s ground floor, where theyll stamp your booklet. I also received a limited edition Pokémon: Art Through the Ages poster, which has Pikachu on one side and Charizard on the other, as a prize for solving the scrambled phrase.


Pokémon: Art Through the Ages activity booklet
Pikachu on the cover of the activity booklet.

Unfortunately, the Pokémon bus was no longer at TTC. It was only there for the events launch on Monday, and I would have loved to get some pictures of it.

There werent many people taking part in the treasure hunt when I first began in the morning, but after lunch I saw lots of people in their Pikachu hats setting off from The Orient main stage.


Heres me looking very stylish in my Pikachu hat!

All in all, I had a good time. Once I got past my initial confusion around six paintings in, it was fun walking around keeping my eyes peeled for the Pokémon. I wish I had taken the time to complete my Pokédex and photograph all of them now. I had a strange sense of nostalgia, seeing the Kanto Pokémon and thinking “ah, theres Poliwhirl!” or “yup, thats Mew,” as I walked around and spotted them. Even though the Pokédex of the series has greatly expanded since Pokémon Red/Blue, theres still this great fondness for the original 151 Pokémon.

Its a shame there werent more Pokémon-related activities or decorations, but TTC is still open like it usually is, so I can understand if Pokémon: Art Through the Ages had to be a little more reserved in its presence.

I definitely think this is something best enjoyed with a group of friends, and if youre looking for a chilled day out, it’s something I would definitely recommend! My advice would be to explore TTC like you would a building in a video game and to not pay too much attention to the activity hints written in the booklet. That guide does does at least come with a map of TTC though, so you dont have to worry if youre prone to getting lost (like me).

In front of The Orient main stage, there are also some tables set up for kids to take part in a special art class, and they air episodes of Pokémon the Series you can watch whilst you take a break. The main draw is probably Pikachu (evidenced by the sea of yellow hats I mentioned). At one point, as I stood overlooking The Orient on the first floor, a group of lads walked past me and I heard them noting that Pikachu was not out on stage at the time.


Pokémon the series being aired at The Orient during Pokémon: Art Through the Ages

Pokémon: Art Through the Ages will continue to run until 13th November, and there’s more details on The Trafford Centres website if youre thinking of going. I reckon it took me about an hour and a half to get my poster, so see if you can beat my time! (You probably can.)

Related Articles

Latest Articles