I don’t think it’s really necessary to make a comment about what Pokémon Go is. At this point the game has been downloaded by millions of people in the US alone, and it’s sweeping the nation like wildfire as kids and adults are all getting out and playing the handheld game. I tried my hardest not to download the game – but even my mom was playing it, I had to do it. I thought for sure that I would get bored, that it would be lame, and I’d just end up going out for an hour and coming back home never to touch the app again.

First, let me say that I am a girl who will play video games. I wouldn’t classify myself as a ‘gamer girl,' but I do play video games. So by no means, was I ever against going outside and catching fake creatures. Secondly, I am a pretty active girl. My job requires me to move around and walk for six hours straight, I usually travel around four miles a day. With Pokémon go, I’ve upped my distances to a daily seven miles or higher! I’ve been playing the game for almost two weeks now, and I am already seeing the changes in my body. So if you’re skeptical about playing it because you think it’s lame – think of it as a way to get more cardio in. Players can get eggs from Poké-Stops, and the only way to hatch them is to walk. If you get a 10 kilometer egg, you will be rewarded with a high level, rare Pokémon once you’ve walked the 10KM. My mother, a woman in her fifties, who bore five children, and generally doesn’t get out to exercise, is out walking around every day trying to catch these Pokémon. She will get home from an eight to nine hour work day, and lace up her sneakers and get out. This game is helping her get active, and that is wonderful.

I’m lucky enough to have a Poké-Gym right down the street from my house. I will often run (and I mean that literally) down the block and take over the gym, when I’m home of course. Not only do I get experience for taking over the gym, but I get to showcase my coolest Pokémon too.

The awesome thing is that even if Antonio (my Hypno), or La Chalupa (My Lapras) don’t last in the gym, there is still a chance they will be strong enough to take it back, and I get to see other cool Pokémon that someone else caught, trained, and are proud of too. There are so many people out playing at all times, that sometimes they will only be holding the gym for five minutes before someone on a different team walks by and takes it back.

That’s part of the game, and it’s fun. The gyms show team pride, strength, and unity. This might sound silly to anyone who doesn’t play, but the best feeling I get while playing this game, is when I’m just out walking and collecting, and I see a gym owned by my team, and I can put my Pokémon into that gym to help protect it. Why do I feel so good when I do that? Because some stranger I never met chose the same color as me, and they took over the gym by themselves, and now we are working as a team to try to protect it. Even though it’s a game, that thought is beautiful.

Last night, I was out hunting Pokémon with my friend’s brother and my brother. My friend’s brother is shy, and my brother doesn’t really leave the house anymore since he graduated from high school. We’re all working together to find new Pokémon, and evolve the ones that we have. But while we are walking, something magical happens. We stop just talking about the game, and we are all actually talking. No complaining, just laughing and having a good time. A misunderstood eighteen year old boy, a shy and awkward man, and an outgoing bookworm – a team, and a friendship growing stronger, brought together by the game. I guess that’s a part of what makes it so magical, forming real bonds over fake creatures.

So, for all the skeptics out there, it is not just a game for kids, and it’s not just some lame waste of time. I have met and interacted with so many different people I would never talk to, I have seen influxes of people out walking around, I have become a part of a team, and I’m so happy about all of that. There will always be someone who is going to be irresponsible and play while driving, or walk out into an intersection while playing, but those cases are few and far between, and the bulk of us are responsible. If you haven’t downloaded it, do it. The only difference between letting yourself get lost in a TV show, and getting lost in this game, is that for one you’re sitting on a couch (probably snacking), and the other you’re out interacting with the community, getting exercise, and making new friends.