Early last month on December 4th, the Dr. Phillips Center was taken through a journey to Victory Road. The Pokémon Symphonic Evolutions tour made a stop at downtown Orlando to bring orchestral arrangements of music that Pokémon fans all know and love! 🎶 We were fortunate enough to be able to go to the show and enjoy a night filled with familiar melodies played in a style that I never thought I would hear.
Once we arrived, the sea of Pokémon fans could be seen in the streets with vibrant cosplay of their favorite Pokémon and Pokémon trainers!
When we made it inside the venue, you could line up to purchase some merchandise before the show began. The items included a $20 poster, a $30 shirt and a $40 Pikachu plush.
Inside the auditorium, the large screen in the front displayed several bits of trivia that fans answered in unison.
As we were making our way to our seats, I took note of the audience: kids who are ardent Pokémon fans and their parents, some who were Pokémon fans themselves, and some who were curious how a game could get an orchestral concert. Parents who didn’t know much of the Pokémon games their kids played were completely amazed at the turnout to the concert and how passionate everyone was. They would soon find themselves swept along with the emotion that was born in the auditorium. Of course, there were teenage and adult fans with their 3DS out collecting streeetpasses or even battling each other out in a Pokémon battle! You could definitely tell by the people attending the performance that Pokémon is a well-loved series.
The concert soon began, and the audience was eager to see which one of their favorite tunes would get played! The format of the concert was interesting: as the song from a particular game in the series was played, the corresponding gameplay video from the game would be shown. What I found disappointing is that no pieces from Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 were included. Perhaps they could include some as part of a new setlist for a future concert? Let’s hope so! 🙏
The music began to fill the auditorium starting the Pokémon Red and Blue’s opening theme and title screen music, and fans were cheering in excitement! As theme played, every handheld Pokémon game scrolled through the visuals and fans were encouraged to cheer for their favorite game in the series. The cheers seemed to be loudest for Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow along with Pokémon X and Y.
Each Pokémon game had three arrangements each, except for Pokémon X and Y, which had five arrangements. The conductor, Susie Seiter was incredibly energetic and passionate onstage as she directed the orchestra. The orchestra members were also really into it and fed off the energy from the crowd’s cheers and applause. It was magical how everyone was just so into the performance! ✨
While I loved the entirety of the performance, I did have several favorite moments. On the Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow segment, before the Trainer Battle theme was played, the Youngster trainer was shown as he said “Hi! I like shorts! They’re comfy and easy to wear!” The audience just roared with laughter and the conductor looked back and laughed as well. In the same segment, when the Team Rocket Hideout theme was played, the Team Rocket member aggressively guarding a poster was shown, we all remembered how silly that scene was!
In the Pokémon Gold and Silver segment, when the piece titled “…” was played and led into the battle with Red, everyone went nuts and kept cheering as the battled played on the screen along with the music being played!
In the Pokémon X and Y segment, as the Eternal Prison theme played, you could almost feel the intensity and emotion of the scene being showed on the screen. How they played that piece was really powerful and moving. Also, when the professor Sycamore theme played, everyone was cheering like crazy! Understandable, because professor Sycamore is ✨awesome✨!
And of course, there was an encore! Everyone stayed while cheering loudly for an encore, which we were all rewarded with. The orchestra played the English Pokémon anime theme “Gotta Catch ‘Em All!”, which we all sang to while it was played. It was easily one of the best parts of the show.
The Kiseki ending theme to Pokemon X and Y was also played, and we were encouraged to sing along. Singing along with both songs was pretty emotional for everyone; after the songs ended, there was a standing ovation with lots of cheering that lasted for awhile. That’s just how great and magical that evening was at the Dr. Phillips Center.
If Pokemon Symphonic Evolutions happens to be touring nearby, it’s a MUST for anyone who has played any Pokemon games. Fans that have been playing since Pokemon Red and Blue will immensely enjoy every bit of it while remembering the first time they played the games. Newcomers who have only played the last few games will take an interest in what they haven’t played, and will want to pursue the other games. Simply put, everyone will enjoy the performance! Seeing how successful the event was (the event was one of the most full the Dr. Phillips Center has ever been!), it wouldn’t be unthinkable that a newer tour with other songs would happen in the future, especially given how many songs the Pokemon series has!
Here’s the setlist for the performance:
- Overture
~Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow~
- Pallet Town
- Prepare For Trouble (Rocket Hideout)
- Born to Be a Champion
– Battle! (Trainer)
– Victory! (Wild Pokémon)
– Battle! (Gym Leader Battle)
– Final Battle! (Rival)
– Hall of Fame
~Pokémon Gold and Silver~
- Ecruteak City
- Songs of the Towers
– The Dance of Ecruteak
– Bell Tower
– Burned Tower - …
– Dragon’s Den
– Battle! (Champion)
~Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire~
- Ancients of Hoenn
– Cave of Origin
– Battle! (Regirock/Regice/Registeel) - Falling Ashes (Route 113)
- End of the Road
– Victory Road
– Ending Theme
~Pokémon Diamond and Pearl~
- Dreams and Adventures (Introduction)
- Routes of Sinnoh
– Route 201 (Day)
– Route 206 (Day)
– Route 209 (Day) - The Lake Guardians (Battle! Azelf/Mesprit/Uxie)
~Intermission~
- Pokémon Center
~Pokémon Black and White~
- The Day I Became King
– Coronation Day
– Title Screen
– The Pokémon League
– Route 10 - N-Counter
– N’s Castle
– Decisive Battle! - Farewell
~Pokémon X and Y~
- An Eternal Prison
- Welcome to Kalos
– Kalos Region Theme
– Vaniville Town - Professor Sycamore
- Friends, Fights & Finales
– Friends Forever
– Battle! (Gym Leader)
– I’ll Go With You
~Encore~
- Gotta Catch ‘Em All (Pokémon anime TV series)
- Kiseki (Pokémon X and Y)
Speaking of Pokémon…I made an interesting little discovery not too long ago. It turns out that select Toys ‘R Us stores are now carrying a small number of Pokémon Center plushies!
I’m pretty sure that the US Pokémon Center online store opening up most likely contributed to these Pokémon Center plushies being more easily available in the US both online and in select stores now. I picked up an Eevee and an Umbreon!
Make sure to check your nearest Toys ‘R Us store to see if they’re carrying any Pokémon Center plushies! I sure hope they carry Flareon soon! 🙏 Also, make sure to check the pricing, because I went to two different stores and neither of them really knew what the accurate price was; the price marked on the shelf was $14.99 and the price the scanner had was $19.99.
Until next time, happy gaming and happy collecting! 💖
Omake:
For those who didn’t luck out getting the N Nendoroid on Amazon.jp, the US Pokemon Center online store has the N Nendoroid for sale. They’ve had him for awhile now, which means that they have a healthy stock of him, so if you want him, you’re in luck!
Also, if you missed out on the super adorable intern Pikachu plush, it’s now back in stock! I’m thinking of ordering one soon…because he’s just so darn cute! Seriously, just look at that little suit and briefcase! 💖
Figuratively Speaking 
This whole post is just drowning me in cuteness starting with the pikachu VW, to the eevee and umbreon plushies, and finishing with intern pikachu.
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Haha, glad you liked the immense cuteness! 💖 Pretty sure if there was a pool of Pokemon Center plushies, I’d dive into that pool like Scrooge McDuck dives into his money pool, LOL! They just have so many cute plushies! *A*
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