Hunting for Pokémon at Nuori Espoo summer camp

In summer 2022, the Nuori Espoo Pokémon Go summer camp brought together a group of eager young Pokémon fans. The campers went all over Espoo and Helsinki looking for Pokémon and participated in various competitions within the game.

The Pokémon world has its own set of rules and vocabulary and, above all else, there is a permanent sense of excitement. Everyone is on the same wavelength at the Pokémon Go camp. The game brings together young people of different ages as the campers and their instructors, equally excited about the game, share top tips. 

Last summer was Alpo Saleva’s second summer working on the Pokémon Go camp. Before that, he attended as a camper for five summers, so he probably knows the camp better than anyone else. According to him, the camp is slightly different every year. Locations change, but there are also certain places the campers visit every year.

Last summer, the campers visited a number of different places, such as Leppävaara, Suomenlinna, Lauttasaari and Helsinki city centre.

The campers’ daily routes are planned according to the game. To earn points and catch new Pokémon, players must navigate along paths and roads in the real world. PokéStops are marked on the game map. Most of them are in public places. In order to be successful in the game, you need to be able to read the game map and navigate in the real world. Indeed, Pokémon Go can be viewed as a new form of orienteering.

Alpo Saleva says the game is highly beneficial for children. “The game is centred around outdoor exercise. This week, I have already walked 40 kilometres. Playing Pokémon Go also teaches you groupwork skills as it involves a lot of cooperation with your friends.”

On the last day of the camp, the campers headed to Helsinki city centre and Hietaniemi beach. The game includes different types of Pokémon that can only be found in certain places, for example, fish on the seashore, and in the city centre – rats. The young campers were tasked with catching as many of them as possible. The days flew past, catching and raiding Pokémon, battling it out in tournaments and collecting different points and resources.

However, the campers did not just play Pokémon Go all day long. In between games, they had lunch at a restaurant, enjoyed ice cream on the beach and went for a swim.

At the end of each camp day, the instructors counted points to find out who were the strongest players of the day and the whole camp week. The best Pokémon trainers were awarded with gift cards to the candy shop, and the winner of the week was presented with a special Go-tcha wristband that allows you to catch Pokémon and Pokéballs automatically.

One of last summer’s campers came all the way from Seattle. Siiri has relatives and lots of friends in Finland. Siiri and her cousin Aaron had been looking forward to the camp. They had not seen each other for a long time, and the camp was an excellent opportunity for them to have fun together – not to mention they are both really into Pokémon.

“The camp week went swimmingly and was such good fun,” Aaron says.

Like many of the other young campers, Siiri and Aaron really enjoyed the camp. When the campers were asked if they have any ideas or requests for improving the camp, they all replied that nothing should be changed.

“I have such good memories from here. Nothing at all needs to be changed. I think it’s a great camp just as it is,” Aaron said.

In summer 2023, Pokémon Go camps will be held on three different dates: 5–9 June, 26–30 June and 31 July–4 August. The camp registration will open on 13 March at 9.00. As the most popular camps tend to fill up quickly, we recommend being quick with your registration. Read more about Nuori Espoo summer camps and courses.