The newest game release, Pokemon GO, has been one of the biggest yet. It's original game/trading card franchise was incredibly popular and the app is following in it's footsteps. According to Forbes, "Pokemon GO" is projected to surpass Twitter with it's total number of users. The game has already climbed past Tinder in it's total number of users! That's a lot of people, all out there trying to "catch 'em all."

I was never into Pokemon as a kid, but since hearing the hullabaloo about the new app, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and download it. (to my surprise, it's free!)

That first night, I went walking around my extremely small town (population ~1,300) in an attempt to catch some "Pokemon" and stop at the "pokestops." To my surprise, it seemed everyone in my town was doing the same! People who I hadn't seen since graduating high school were waving and asking for my colors (to represent the Pokemon GO teams, of which there are 3). Someone who I didn't even know told me he was setting up a "lure module" in 8 minutes, in case I wanted to hang around and catch some of the gathering "Pokemon." Groups of kids on bikes as well as on foot were roaming the usually deserted 4 corners of town, all looking for "Pokemon."

Everyone seemed to be connecting, entirely peacefully, over this one game. I've never seen so many kids and young adults outside at once. For myself, I can say I have gotten a lot of exercise running around and chasing the "Pokemon", and I haven't even been going too wild with it! Others, who are more invested than I, must be getting some serious exercise.

"Pokemon GO" seems to have made the dream of the original "Pokemon" come to life for every kid who played. The app is an actual adventure, that takes you out and about to live your favorite fantasy. There are downfalls, of course, in that in some places, the app could lead younger kids into dangerous parts of town. However, my town is very small and very friendly, and the app has gotten many people off their feet and outside, connecting and communicating and sharing the dream with every other player on the street.