When Pokémon Picks the Destination

Planning a family trip around kids' interests-like their love of anime characters-may be the most joyful way to spark a lifelong love of travel.

- by MARISA LASCALA

On a hot day in July, my then 8-year-old daughter and I were on an island between Manhattan and Queens at the Pokémon Go Fest, an event held in multiple cities all over the world where fans gather to play en masse.

The stakes were high.

A rare Pokémon had appeared on the scene and my daughter was intent on catching it. Hundreds of others—adults and kids alike—were equally engrossed in their devices, trying to catch Pokémon of their own. She threw her Poké Ball. It hit—and stayed. The Pokémon she was after, a Shiny Necrozma, was hers.

Her triumph occurred during a marathon session of Pokémon Go, a game played on phones and other mobile devices that has elements of the real world mixed into it. As they’re walking around, players can catch digital Pokémon, get special items from PokéStops (often tied to real landmarks), and battle for control of what the game calls Gyms.

Only after I’d been watching the crowd at Go Fest for a while did I start remembering details from the night before. I had just so happened to have tickets to see Back to the Future on Broadway. Waiting in line to get into the theater, I’d noticed that lots of people were decked out in Pokémon gear: I’d seen Loungefly backpacks, team shirts, Pikachu hats, and tons of plush bag charms. For these families, Go Fest wasn’t just a one-off event—it was a vacation to New York City with Go Fest as a centerpiece.