It has been over three months since Pokémon Go was first released. The mobile app created a frenzy all over the world in the same way the first set of video games did twenty years earlier in the late 1990s. While the general hype for the app has died down, I, among many, am still playing the game for a number of different reasons.
1. Exercise
Pokémon Go has motivated and continues to motivate me to remain active. Whether I want to search for Pokémon to capture, hit PokéStops, or battle at a Gym, Pokémon Go never fails to make me move, go outside, and walk, sometimes for hours at a time. This keeps me not only active but also fit.
2. Adventure & Discovery
While I may be staring at my phone for a good majority of the time I am out and about, I still try to enjoy my surroundings. In search of rare Pokémon, I have visited a number of different parks and areas that I never would have visited or known existed prior to the release of the game. I spent a number of days a while back in a small, gorgeous park where Magikarp spawned like wildfire and, even though Magikarp spawn far less frequently there now, I still love the park and I am always up to go back, even just to sit and relax in the shade.
3. Completing My Pokédex
Some people are very obsessed with battling and maintaining gyms for their teams, but I find myself more so obsessed with filling my Pokédex and it is one of the main reasons that I find myself opening the app each day, asking myself, "Will I grow one step closer to having a complete Pokédex today?"
4. Relationship Bonding
The game also has allowed for me to grow closer to my boyfriend. While he is on Team Instinct and I am on Team Mystic, we still have a great deal of fun together and we have had a friendly competition in seeing who can catch and hatch more rare Pokémon, take the most gyms, and level up the fastest.
5. Update Potential
Pokémon Go also has a ton of potential in terms of future updates. While the creators of the app, Niantic Labs, have deviated from the traditional structure of the main series Pokémon games, they still may eventually add traditional elements like trading, player versus player battling, and later generations of Pokémon, all of which excite me very much just thinking about them.
6. Apple Watch App
I also am especially excited about the Apple Watch app which looks like it is going to be amazing, possibly even superior to the rather basic Pokémon Go Plus wristband that was released last month. The app for the Apple Watch will make playing at work much easier, allowing me to be less reliant on my phone and being able to glance at my wrist for any important activity related to Pokémon Go.
7. Funny Glitches
No description needed.
8. It's Pokémon, Duh!
And, lastly, I have not abandoned Pokémon Go because I consider myself a huge Pokémon fan—a stan even, and I am in love with the brand and all of its creations from the main series games, side games, anime, toys, and so on. This game was just further proof to me that Pokémon would spend countless more years bringing me joy and happiness.
