Pokemon Go is an amazing creation, I think few people can deny that much. People are playing the video games they love or loved as kids and instead of sitting in a house, they’re moving around. There have been stories of veterans with PTSD using the app as a way to leave the house and start to really interact with people again. There have been stories of kids stuck in hospitals moving around and becoming active and social with their doctors and nurses using the app as an incentive. It’s incentivized me, personally, into going on more walks and exercising. (My hometown is chock full of PokeStops and Pokemon alike.) But I think the question all of us have is, will Pokemon Go eventually falter?

The answer? Well, we really can’t tell yet.

Pokemon Go was initially announced in September of 2015. People were excited for this game all over the world. I mean, what Pokemon fan wouldn’t want to be able to catch Pokemon in augmented reality from their phone? A Squirtle in my bathtub? I have to catch that! (Though, I have yet to find one in my bathtub.) The thing is, though, it was mainly just Pokemon fans that were excited. The ones who play the main series games like Red, Gold, Ruby, Diamond, X, Alpha Sapphire, etc. just to name a few. From what I remember, others could really care less about the game. They saw Pokemon as lame.

Flash forward to July 6th, 2016 where Pokemon Go was released in Australia, New Zealand, and the USA with little to no fanfare. I had been checking my phone all day after I heard of its release in Australia and then when I was leaving work I saw it pop up in my App Store. No huge excitement or video to announce its release, just a release. Within days, everyone and their brother were downloading the app. Suddenly, for the first time since the late ‘90s and early 2000s, it was cool again to be playing Pokemon, regardless of age.

That’s the thing, though, it’s apparently only cool to play it again because the “cool crowd” and celebrities and businesses everywhere are playing it. The Pokemon Go hype train has taken off and is going full speed with people hopping on every day. This will continue for a few months at least for sure, but who really knows after that? Niantic has announced that they will be adding in the other generations of Pokemon strategically to keep the game continually fresh and to try and keep it popular, but will it? Or is everyone just playing it now because the only Pokemon able to be caught are the most recognizable ones?

A similar thing has also happened in the past few years with comic book superheroes. As the Marvel and DC cinematic universes have taken off, it has gotten people excited for superheroes and has made some superheroes more popular because of it. But some of those people are really into these shows and movies because they’re popular and that’s what everyone’s doing. 10 years ago, if you saw someone reading a "Doctor Strange" comic book, but today you’re overly excited for the movie coming out this fall, that’s not cool. Reading an "Ant-Man" comic in middle school could’ve made you a target for bullies, but now, reading a comic isn’t that weird because of these shows and movies.

Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing everyone geek out on Pokemon, on superheroes, on pretty much anything under the sun that is seen as stereotypically nerdy. We all like it, actually, those of us who have had to keep our strong like for these things kept hidden in the past can now share them freely. Just please don’t give up on Pokemon Go just because they start adding Pokemon you don’t know. I actually love to see people walking around and playing. Whenever I go on walks I always see groups of kids walking around together and I can almost guarantee they’re playing. If years from now you’re playing and catch a Finneon, learn to like it and just keep on playing!

Don’t let Pokemon Go die.