I’m not a huge Pokemon fan. This doesn’t mean I’m completely clueless—I know what a Pikachu is, I know the more common Pokemon (think Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbosaur), and I watched a few episodes of the show when I was a kid. Have I religiously played every single Pokemon game that’s come out since the dawn of time, like a lot of fans have? No.
So when I heard about the Pokemon Go app before it came out, I mostly shrugged it off. Sure, I thought it sounded kind of cool, but I wasn’t really into Pokemon, so I wasn’t anxiously anticipating its release, or planning on downloading it. At the most, I figured it would be fun to read about people going completely overboard for the game. I figured once it was released, it was only a matter of time until the whole world went absolutely bananas over it (and I haven’t been disappointed, having heard about the girl who discovered a dead body while playing).
But I planned on staying out the fray—until one of my friends (and a fellow Odyssey writer!), who’s a bit more of a super fan than me, told me about how entertaining it was, and convinced me to give it a try. So I downloaded the app. I figured, worst-case scenario, I could try it out, maybe laugh at it, and then delete it.
Unfortunately for me, Pokemon Go turned out to be a lot more fun than I was expecting it to be. Sure, I don’t know what most of the Pokemon are and my primary focus is on catching the cute ones (aka Squirtle and Jigglypuff), but it’s still been a fun experience. I even discovered that my apartment is basically on top of a Poke Stop, so I can watch Netflix and collect Pokeballs for days.
It’s not the best game I’ve ever played in my life, but I like the premise of it. The whole point is to get people up and moving, to go outside and walk around and explore. In an age where basically everyone is consumed by smartphones and Netflix, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with playing a game that encourages you to move around and visit parks—even if it does still involve paying a bit of attention to your phone.
The one problem with the game is that it encourages obsession. Sure, it’s great to get people out and about and looking for Pokemon—but it’s not so great when people are so obsessed that they’re trying to play while driving (sidenote: I definitely haven’t done this, and you definitely should not do this) or forget to look both ways when crossing the street because they’re hot on the trail of a Pikachu. And then there’s the fact that different Pokemon are out at night, encouraging people to walk around in the dark with their faces glued to their iPhones—not good. There’s a reason the game’s opening screen warns you to stay alert and aware of your surroundings.
The game hasn’t given me any sudden desire to go back and play the old Pokemon games, or even to look that much into the rabbit hole that is the rest of the Pokemon world—but I am enjoying playing Pokemon Go, even as a non-fan. So to everyone like me who was wondering what all the hype is about—it’s a pretty great game! Just remember to stay safe while playing.
