For many, Pokemon was at the absolute epicenter of our childhoods. It starts with the television show, which usually played both before and after school, and then graduated to cards and games. We had Pokemon in our Gameboys that were stashed away in Ninja Turtle or Lisa Frank backpacks. In all honesty, it's hard to think of the 90's and not immediately associate with the cute little creatures.
Right now, most 90's kids are in their 20's. I'm personally riding in on the very back end of that wave, and even still, my childhood memories are rife with trading cards and literal fights over those cards. I remember going over to a friend's sleepover and going through their cards while hunched rather conspicuously in a corner to steal the ones I did not have and coveted most. I'm sad to say I don't even know where those cards are anymore. Probably some forbidden part of the attic.
Point being, Pokemon was everything to my friends and me; it was freaking cool. You could catch, hatch, care for, evolve, and (rather humanely) battle with these colorfully cartoonish and creative creatures. Horse lovers had Ponyta with its mane made out of flames. Flames, dude! There's a reason that this franchise has not only survived but also thrived through the decades.
And then emerges the groundbreaking Pokemon Go! Your phone uses a combination of your GPS and steps to put you in a virtual version of the real world powered, in part, by Google Maps. You have a little creative leeway on a character loadout where you can make yourself all the Pokemon trainer your seven-year-old self willed you to be. In the simplest of descriptions, you walk around the real world while searching for Pokemon to reveal themselves to you on your phone screen.
Yeah, yeah-I get that there are hazards associated with the game. I've seen the Facebook posts made by police departments in which they try to be hip and cool by using our lingo and even including some names of certain popular Pokemon to disguise the warning of being too absorbed in the game and the phone. It is common sense not to hunt for Pokemon while driving your car down the street. But people are going to be dumb and do it regardless. Anything as huge and all-consuming as Pokemon Go will have excess before it has moderation. But the developers of the game are pretty crafty, really. I can honestly say that I haven't gone outside in search for imaginary creatures since I was still wearing jelly shoes Lipsmackers. They deserve the credit for getting hundreds of thousands of people up off their butts and outside into (gasp!) nature!
As a 20-year-old playing Pokemon, I'll testify to the fact that I am not ashamed. Excuse the heck out of me for reliving a piece of my childhood that we all dreamed about being a reality since Polly Pocket was still a thing. My sister made fun of me, and mom rolled her eyes. Fine! Do it! But I know that my sister has that app downloaded in the back corner of an inconspicuous folder on the third page of her iPhone. You can't hide crap from me, Courtney.
Why do we have to dissect everything that becomes popular? Why do people flock to social media to write huge dissertations on why the people that take part in the new fad are idiots? And why do people like me feel the need to defend ourselves from the public eye when something that we find pretty cool comes around?
Dang it, people, just let something be cool! Just let me catch my invisible creatures and cherish a once-lost part of my childhood that has remarkably and delightfully resurfaced. Why is Pokemon Go so awesome? It allows me to be nostalgic. So just let me- and all my trainer friends- chase invisible cartoon creatures in peace.
Catch 'em all!
