Pokemon Center

As of January 2015, this location did not have a Pokemon Center. Apparently it has been gone for months. The closest Pokemon Center is 20 minutes south at Northgate mall.

So it’s finally open, the Pokemon Center at Alderwood Mall. However, unlike it’s Northgate archetype, this Center is exponentially bigger.
The Center consists of 3 kiosks. These kiosks are 4-​sided each, and two of them house the following on each of their sides: a TV playing the latest Pokemon movie, a demo of whatever the latest and greatest Wii Pokemon game is (in this case, it seemed to be running Rumble), an interactive PokeDex, and finally, the coup de gras, a vending machine which houses one shelf of Pokemon DS games, one shelf of Pokemon TCG decks, one shelf of Pokemon TCG boosters, two shelves of PokeDolls, and one shelf of miniature, almost gashapon-​like, figures. The third kiosk has a number of other Pokemon-​related products for sale as well, albeit set up in a more traditional fashion than the two kiosks I mentioned before (kind of hard to explain, but the items are pretty simply set up on shelves and pegs).
Another thing this Pokemon Center has that the Northgate one lacks is two pyramid-​like displays of PokeDolls open to the public to directly pick-​and-​choose whatever they want. This makes for an easier way to purchase your Pokemon crack, as it were, if you’re like me and buying in bulk. Faster than buying multiple things in the vending machines, though the downside is that not all the items are available outside said machines and on the displays.
One other thing that’s great about this location is that the Center has anywhere from one to two attendants available at all times to help you if you have any questions, wish to make a purchase, or even if you just need a bag (a cool bag to have, might I add).
All-​in-​all, this place is great. I love coming to these Pokemon centers. The prices are reasonable and I can hardly ever keep myself from buying something anytime I happen to walk on by. On that note, one of the attendants tells me they switch out some of their stuff once every couple of weeks, so suffice it to say that I have a new routine to work into my life.
But yeah, if you’re into Pokemon then this place is like a dream come true. There’s something oh so very cool about having access to these places, places which are quickly becoming one of my favorite visits in my free time. 5 out of 5.

It’s the Northgate Pokémon Center times three! That’s right — three awesome Pokémon themed vending machines with even more assortment, particularly on the PokéDoll side of things. There are also a few different larger Pokémon plushies you can buy that are not in machines, as well as larger card sets.
This one is even staffed with PokéAmbassadors to answer questions [note: when I went only one of them was helpful with answering my questions, one was checking stock and the two others were just sort of standing around as they were swarmed with a sea of nerdy girls — you have the most badass jobs ever, why the confused looks, boys?]
More games, more variety, more travel time from my apartment but I will definitely have to add a weekly passthrough to the Alderwood Pokémon Center location to my «to-​do» list =)