Summer Carnival in Tokyo Tower (サマーカーニバル in 東京タワー) was an official Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) event held in Tokyo during summer 2011. It was organized by the Pokémon Company and targeted both new and veteran players, offering tournaments, teaching workshops, exclusive merchandise, and promotional card giveaways.
- Location: FootTown 1F special venue, at Tokyo Tower, Tokyo, Japan.
- Dates: July 23, 2011 – August 28, 2011, daily.
- Hours: 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with reception for events closing at about 16:30 each day.
The event had multiple activities, aimed at a variety of attendees — from first-time players to skilled competitors.
First Battle & Deck Building Class
This activity was meant to teach participants how to play the TCG, and was available every day throughout the whole event. Each participant received a jumbo Pikachu card.
Parent-child Tag Battle
Parents and their children formed pairs and battled with 30-card decks. On some days there were also tournaments held exclusively for girls. Each participating pair received one Jumbo Pikachu card, with winners receiving a random foil energy card stamped with the event logo.
Winning Battle / Rotation Battle
This event ran on specific weekends: Jul 23–24 and Aug 6–7, plus girls-only days Jul 29 / Aug 12 / Aug 26. Separate Elementary School League and Open League tracks.
The event featured a walk-up queue (“gunslinger” style). Players would play a single game; if you win, you immediately queue for the next match to try for a consecutive-win streak (“kachi-nuki”). Up to three straight wins counted toward prize tiers.
- 1 win: 1 set of Mirror Holo Basic Energy with event logo (one at random) + 1 Bisharp sleeve
- 2 wins: 3 sets (3 energies + 3 sleeves)
- 3 wins: 6 sets (6 energies + 6 sleeves)
All participants also received a mirror holofoil Emolga promo card with the event stamp.
On alternating weekends, “Rotation Battles” were scheduled that featured a similar “gunslinger” style queue, but games were played with 3 active Pokemon on the field per player at a time. Players could rotate positions without consuming the turn. Both players may rotate and attack the same turn.
Summer Carnival Cup
This event was held over the final 2 weekends of the carnival.
- Elementary School League on August 20 & 27, 2011
- Open League on August 21 & 28, 2011
The tournament had 2 phases:
- Challenge Stage: players attempted to achieve three straight wins to qualify.
- Premier Stage: qualifiers faced off; final standings were determined by each player’s consecutive-win count at ~16:30 (with tie-breakers such as rock-paper-scissors if needed). Matches had no time limit listed on the event brief.
All participants received a holofoil PlusPower card with the event stamp.
Winners received sealed product of the most recent sets.
- 1st: one sealed box each of Black Collection, White Collection, and Red Collection
- 2nd: 10 packs each of the same three sets
- 3rd: 5 packs each of the same three sets.
Challenge a Special Guest
On August 5, 2011, it was announced that Imakuni? would be making a special appearance at the event to challenge players on August 6-7. Players who played against him would receive special merchandise and have the opportunity to get signatures.
