Hey Bill, do you know any really good Pokémon conventions for avid Poke Maniacs such as myself to bring my wife and child to as well?

Well, for those of you in Unova, there’s the Nimbasa City Pokémon Con (NCPC), which is a general pokémon convention for enthusiasts from practically every facet of pokémon handling, from training to collecting to coordinating.

Unova is also home to the Castelia City Pokéxpo, which is less about the different professions involving pokémon and more about the pokémon themselves. It’s thus considered a fan convention and happens to be one of the largest in the world.

For those of you in Kanto, you’re likely familiar with PIX, or Pokémon International Expo, which is hosted in Celadon City. To put it in short, while PIX originally began as an industry convention much like NCPC, it slowly evolved—forgive the pun—into a general fan convention, where pokémaniacs can gather to connect with others like them while learning about the cutting-edge developments of pokémon training and trends. (I might be biased in saying this one is the most fun, seeing as I attend either this or Dragonite Con every year.)

Goldenrod City’s Dragonite Con, meanwhile, is purely a pokémaniac convention, much like Pokéxpo. The difference between it and Pokéxpo is that there’s a strong lean towards pokémon-centered media there. It’s not unusual to see merchandise for leading pokémon performers, panels about pokémon trends in YA literature, or people cosplaying as Gligarman and other pokémon-themed fictional characters there.

Then you have Lumiose’s Pokéxpo EU, which is, contrary to popular belief, not an offshoot of the Castelia City Pokéxpo, although they cover the same general areas. Additionally, Lumiose hosts a second convention called Wonder Trade Con, which is, put simply, a convention for pokémaniacs interested in trading. (It’s famous for its randomized trading events, hence its name.)

If you’re looking for smaller or more specialized conventions, Gym Con, hosted in Jubilife City, is a convention for pokémaniacs who either aspire to be or are fans of gym leaders. (There is plenty of gym leader merchandise here, incidentally.) Alternatively, you could try Lilycove City’s Pokémon Festival Hoenn, a convention aimed at collectors of pokémon, pokémon-related merchandise, and pokémon-themed media. (It’s said that Steven Stone frequents Pokémon Festival Hoenn, but I’ve never seen him there.)

Alola, unfortunately, has no large convention of its own yet, although it does host RainbowCon, a relatively small fan convention in Hau’oli City.

Good luck, and have fun!