Since its release on July 6, "Pokémon Go" has swept the nation. And Grand Rapids, MI is no exception.
At first I was hesitant to download the app. My brothers were freaking out about it and I thought, Wow, you look stupid. A day later I was playing too. How embarrassing.
A few friends of mine got into it as well. Now these friends are much more "into" the game than I am so when the day of the Grand Rapids meet up rolled around, they were much more excited than me. But I was dragged along.
We went to Target and got shirts to match our chosen teams. To my friends' disappointment, I had chosen Team Mystic. And I suffered the consequences. While my friends wore Valor Red, I wore Mystic Blue and we ventured to Downtown GR.
My friend's phone wasn't working so I made the ultimate sacrifice and let her use mine, which was fine by me because I didn't actually care to play. *GASP* Instead, I had the privilege of people watching at this strange event.
There must have been thousands of people there, some dressed as Pokémon, others proudly wearing their team colors. It was a claustrophobic's nightmare and a people watcher's dream. Ironically, I am both of those things.
My friends proceeded to joke with me and mock my Mystic allegiance all while joining in the cheers of the "Valors" around them. Of course, Team Instinct was being mocked left and right but apparently that's normal. Valor was definitely the loudest of the three teams although Mystic had strong representation as well. But I can't hate on Instinct too much...the yellow was cute.
It was so entertaining to watch people interact and bond over their mutual love for Pokémon and their mutual hate for the fact that about three "Drowzees" were around every corner. There were giant clusters of people all looking down at their phones on every street and sidewalk.
But the streets were filled with more than just Pokemon fans. Some street performers took advantage of the free publicity and were out playing instruments and singing at least until midnight. I couldn't help but pity the people who live in Downtown GR, the ones that simply wanted to take their dogs on a walk that night.
Altogether, the scene was overwhelming and refreshing. Over five thousand people (according to Facebook) gathered in one place to play a game. The only shouts were sarcastic jokes, lighthearted humor, and prideful cheers (at least that's all I heard).
I actually learned a few things that night:
1. A giant group of people can gather peacefully for a cause.
2. The people of Grand Rapids are so fun!
And...
3. I'm not leaving Team Mystic (I can handle the all the trash talk).
The next time there's a "Pokémon Go" event in Grand Rapids, you can probably find me there. But next time, I'm not sharing my phone.
