The 10 Best Moments From Pokémon Night Out LA

Pokémon Night Out LA, Pokémon’s biggest 30th anniversary event in the US, was held at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood last night. This year, the celebration fused electronic dance music (EDM) with the world of Pokémon. It was the ultimate dance party. Pokémon Night Out UK is set for November 10.

The pentennial event was last celebrated in 2021 for its 25th Anniversary, with a virtual concert (due to the global COVID-19 pandemic), which Post Malone headlined – in digital animation form. Now, for its 30th anniversary, the team behind the world’s highest-grossing franchise is bringing a live global concert to both the US and the UK.

​American DJ and record producer Marshmello headlined the event, with Australian music producer and DJ Alison Wonderland serving as the opener for the show. The two EDM experts did not disappoint. The crowd was living it up on the floor and in the stands, all dressed and ready to dance while celebrating Pokémon.

Here were the best moments of the sold-out night:

The costumes were ELECTRIC-fying.

There were so many Pikachus and other electric Pokémon throughout the event. So many fans came out in style dressed as popular characters and Pokémon. There were so many great, unique outfit iterations—from straight cosplay to Pokémon-bounding—and several merged rave-style looks to match Pokémon. Marshmello called out to the crowd all the Pikachus in the house.

All the photo-ops

The Intuit Dome is one of the prettiest stadiums, filled with neon lights and large screens that matched the Pokémon Night Out theme perfectly. Photo opportunities were available inside and outside the venue. Outside the venue, giant rare Pokémon card stands and a large screen with the Pokémon Night Out art design were on display. Inside, several pillars were decorated, and there were statues around the stadium, including Mew and Mewtwo in the main lobby.

Pokémon isn’t going to let those at home miss out too. They have a digital frame online featuring the Pokémon 30 celebration.

A lot of customizable merchandise was available. Each ticket also came with merch.

All attendees received a tote bag that came with a poster, wrist light, and program book. Pokémon Night Out was smart about merchandise: they didn’t offer special cards or exclusive items, and everything was also available online. This would limit the number of scalpers trying to attend rather than fans who wanted to celebrate Pokémon. Attendees also got discount offers in the program book, so they could buy merchandise online at a later time.

Alison Wonderland nailed it with the Pokémon references.

As the supporting act, Alison Wonderland didn’t get a large screen to do much, but she used the space, music, and motion graphics well to celebrate Pokémon beautifully. Her graphics stayed consistently Pokémon-focused and hit the beat perfectly. She also incorporated more of her sound and mixing with the original Pokémon music, including the English theme song “Gotta Catch Em’ All” from the Pokémon cartoon series and “Lavender Town” from Red, Blue, and Yellow. She even included a clip from the 1996 game on the screen. Throughout her set, she never strayed from the theme. She also had a moment with all the Eeveelutions, showing all on the screen as they formed with the light show.

Pikachu with rave lights showed up.

While Alison Wonderland was performing, Pikachu in a little rave outfit and lights came on stage – which caused the crowd to go wild. In the giant mascot outfit, Pikachu lit up the stage, walking and dancing behind the DJ booth with Alison Wonderland. His appearance excited everyone, as most costumes were dedicated to the electric mouse. He also looked adorable as he waved his little arms around.

Alison Wonderland dropped new music during her set.

The Australian DJ is full of surprises. During her time when Pikachu popped by, she released her new song with fellow Aussie artist Ninjajirachi tonight.

Marshmello had really cool graphics.

As the headliner, Marshmello had the entire dome to play with, including the main lights, top lights, top video monitors, smoke, confetti, pyrotechnics, and more – and he used them. Though Marshmello didn’t really remix any Pokémon themes, he mainly played various popular songs, including his own (maybe a small sample of “Lavender Town”). There were a lot of cool Pokémon moments, including one with Lavender Town’s ghost Pokémon like Gengar (which drew a lot of cheers), Marowak, and Gastly, and the appearance of the original Pokémon starter trio – Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur.

Marshmello had all the elements.

The popular DJ included all the Pokémon elements in his set, including the ice-cold ones. As his set shifted to the ice age, “snow” (foam) began to release from the arena, bringing the appearance of the snow element. When it came to the fire Pokémon, he had the pyrotechnics on blast, especially for those below to fully immerse themselves in the world.

Marshmello included many new and older Pokémon in his set.

Pokémon Night Out showed a lot of newer Pokémon, especially from the different versions, including Pokémon Sun and Moon, Ruby and Sapphire, and X and Y. For the most part, the show mainly stuck with the original Pokémon.

Marshmello fused himself into the Pokémon world.

As Marshmello was performing, Mewtwo visuals were stunning as he floated around the DJ set. As Mewtwo was levitating all the rocks around Marshmello’s set, a flash of light blinded the audience for a bit. Then, Marshmello was seen levitating on the screen, being lifted by Mewtwo. This moment was so epic.

Pokémon Night Out continues its party at the O2 Arena in London on November 10. Alison Wonderland will open, with Marshmello as the headliner. For more information, click here.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com