It's here. It's finally here. "Pokémon GO" is finally here. We are holding it in the palms of our hands and it is glorious. When I first heard the announcement for a mobile, real-time, multiplayer Pokémon trainer simulator app back in 2015, I was floored. I was beyond elated. Anyone who knows me or follows me on Odyssey knows that for me, "Pokemon" is a huge nostalgic symbol of childhood, optimism, adventure and whimsy.
So you can imagine what this innovative and totally immersive announcement meant to me. It meant that I, along with millions of other "Pokémon" fans across the globe, would be given the chance to experience real life as an actual "Pokémon" trainer for the first time in the 20 years of "Pokémon" history. I may have cried a little bit. It's no big deal.
One year later and I have started my "Pokémon" adventure with a trusty Charmander named Fiyero by my side, as a proud member of Team Mystic. I couldn't be happier.
There's something really beautiful about watching the whole world come together to share our tales of adventure. Strangers from faraway countries are tweeting about the funny places they've found wild Pokémon. I can laugh along with them and share my own stories. We can trade Pokémon with one another and fight battles as a team or as enemies.
Each and every one of us shares a common nostalgia for the fantasy universe where we used to play as children. Now, we get to finally meet and interact with one another in that same universe as adults. Even better, we get to witness those who are experiencing the beautiful world of "Pokémon" for the first time. It is simultaneously nostalgic and invigorating, like new life has been breathed into my childhood memories.
I can hunt for wild Pokémon on my daily commute to class. I can hunt for wild Pokémon while walking through the Chelsea galleries. I can hunt for wild Pokémon every day and make every new location I visit a new place for adventure.
For the first time in over a decade that I've been playing "Pokémon," I finally feel like I'm truly walking through the world as the character I so desperately wanted to be when I was a child. Nintendo has given me something I never thought I would live to see and I am so eternally grateful.
Of course, the app, having been released less than a week ago, has its bugs and shortcomings. But the flaws only make me more excited to see how "Pokémon GO" will develop as time progresses. I can't wait to continue growing up alongside the nostalgic fantasy world contained in my smartphone and see some of my burning questions answered: Will the background graphics ever improve? Will more multiplayer communication develop? Will it reach larger, more long-lasting success than its 15-minutes-of-fame precursor, "Miitomo?" Will I ever be permitted to change my avatar's clothing and, if so, will I be provided with less-hideous clothing options? These questions, and more, will hopefully be answered one day.
But, for today, I will continue getting to know "Pokémon GO" in its initial stage. I love it. I love what it represents. I love what it's given the Nintendo community. I love how it makes me feel.
I love "Pokémon."
