For those of you that have not heard, "Pokemon Go" has taken the world by storm. Released on July 6, it set a record with over 12 million mobile downloads in its first week of existence. Now, with the app currently sitting at a little over 30 million downloads, it has become the most popular mobile game in U.S. history. "Pokémon Go" is a free-to-play location-based augmented reality mobile game developed by Niantic, Inc. for iOS and Android devices.
With growing popularity in Japan in the 80s and early 90s, Pokemon was quickly formed into an American vision as the U.S. Pokemon came to the U.S. in 1996, the year I was born. In that year, two different games called "Pokemon Red" and "Pokemon Green" for Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance system were released to the public. A year later, the TV show called "Pokemon" came on TV, further growing its popularity. Fast forward to 2016, and the wild popularity of "Pokemon Go" has cemented Pokemon’s legacy in the U.S. forever.
By now, there have been dozens of different stories in the news about how unsafe it can be to play this game. People are getting robbed, pets are getting run over and car accidents are happening. Hell, someone was even dumb enough to hit a parked police car while playing the game. While these things do give the game a bad name, it does not mean the game is bad in every way. Simply staying alert and remaining aware of surroundings at all times can prevent negative consequences.
The game is an excellent way to go outside, get exercise and meet new people. The game offers eggs that can hold potentially rare Pokémon in them, and they only way to get them to hatch is to walk around. These eggs are labeled as how many kilometers, or km, you walk. One kilometer is around .62 miles, and the best Pokémon tend to come out of an egg that takes 10 kilometers to hatch. That is a distance of a rather long distance of over 6.2 miles! Additionally, a large part of the American population has a poor reputation of being obese and lazy. While this game cannot cure America’s obesity rate on its own, it is doing its part to get people out of their house for a little exercise and vitamin D-infused sunshine!
The unique attribute this game has is that it does not have to be time consuming. In the game, you can stop by what are called Pokestops to pick up much needed supplies for free. Just simply get close enough to stop, click on it and swipe it and it will give you items. It replenishes every five minutes, so it is okay to stay in one place to get work done and be productive. One cannot simply work all done nonstop, so it is good to be able to quickly look at your phone, get item for the Pokestop again and continue your work. It is possible to walk around the Pokestop to try and find Pokemon, as Pokemon are most commonly found close to Pokestops, especially when there is a lure module hooked up to the stop. A lure does exactly what you might think it does. It lures Pokemon to the stop. To no surprise, it is used commonly amongst higher level players.
Without a doubt, my favorite part of this game is socializing with fellow Pokémon trainers. Meeting new people with a common interest in the game is nice, but, in the game, there are three different teams trainers can choose from in the beginning. These teams are most commonly used to fight for and take over what is called Pokemon gyms. It is yet to be determined by the game developers if there will be any perks for each team, such as the ability to fight these battles easier or hatch eggs more quickly. If you have not already played the game (where have you been?!) or simply do not like it, do not bash others for enjoying it. We do not judge you on your life choices. To all the fellow trainers out there, make sure to be aware of your surroundings, stay alert and have fun!
