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Why I’m wild for Pokémon Go. (Sorry, real animals. I’ve got fake pets now) Why I’m wild for Pokémon Go. (Sorry, real animals. I’ve got fake pets now)
(about 1 month later)
This morning, my husband and I conquered the post office. We’d planned our attack just before bed and so dreamed of battle, assured of our imminent success. We dressed without showering and I prepared our weapons (charged our smartphones) while my husband provided us with fuel (coffees in our portable mugs). We walked 50 metres up our street, stood under a bus shelter to protect us from rain and readied ourselves. This was our time … to take control of our local Pokémon gym.This morning, my husband and I conquered the post office. We’d planned our attack just before bed and so dreamed of battle, assured of our imminent success. We dressed without showering and I prepared our weapons (charged our smartphones) while my husband provided us with fuel (coffees in our portable mugs). We walked 50 metres up our street, stood under a bus shelter to protect us from rain and readied ourselves. This was our time … to take control of our local Pokémon gym.
Pokémon Go was released in the US last week (there are work-arounds to get it now in the UK). If you had only ever been vaguely aware of the world of Pokémon (a franchise centred on fictional creatures created in Japan in 1995), you’re surely getting better acquainted by the minute. Social media feeds have been flooded with Pokémon Go screenshots and in-jokes. It has already been downloaded to about 5% of Android devices in the US (for scale, the popular dating app Tinder is on only 2%) and its active daily user numbers are approaching those of apps such as Twitter.Pokémon Go was released in the US last week (there are work-arounds to get it now in the UK). If you had only ever been vaguely aware of the world of Pokémon (a franchise centred on fictional creatures created in Japan in 1995), you’re surely getting better acquainted by the minute. Social media feeds have been flooded with Pokémon Go screenshots and in-jokes. It has already been downloaded to about 5% of Android devices in the US (for scale, the popular dating app Tinder is on only 2%) and its active daily user numbers are approaching those of apps such as Twitter.
Related: From Pokéstops to Pikachu: everything you need to know about Pokémon Go
The game itself is simple. Each user plays as a Pokémon “trainer” and, as you walk through the world, Pokémon appear. The user then must “catch” them using Pokéballs and then, eventually, use them to take control of certain landmarks in the area (called gyms).The game itself is simple. Each user plays as a Pokémon “trainer” and, as you walk through the world, Pokémon appear. The user then must “catch” them using Pokéballs and then, eventually, use them to take control of certain landmarks in the area (called gyms).
I’ve never been particularly engaged with the Pokémon franchise. The card game passed me by. I dabbled in Pokémon Snap on my university shared house’s Nintendo 64 and often choose Jigglypuff – an adorable pink singing Pokémon – as my avatar in Super Smash Bros. However, my knowledge of the Poké-world was fairly limited, and I didn’t plan to download Pokémon Go. My husband Tobi, a Pokémon obsessive of many years standing, had other ideas.I’ve never been particularly engaged with the Pokémon franchise. The card game passed me by. I dabbled in Pokémon Snap on my university shared house’s Nintendo 64 and often choose Jigglypuff – an adorable pink singing Pokémon – as my avatar in Super Smash Bros. However, my knowledge of the Poké-world was fairly limited, and I didn’t plan to download Pokémon Go. My husband Tobi, a Pokémon obsessive of many years standing, had other ideas.
I was suspicious on Saturday when he suggested a walk in the park. I like to visit most days to spy on other people’s dogs and imagine they are mine, but he’s not usually interested in joining me (more of a cat person). My suspicions were confirmed when he spent the entire walk staring at his phone. I would have been annoyed at this intrusion on my sacred, canine-creeping park time if Tobi hadn’t suggested I try it for myself. A Drowzee appeared, I trapped it and I was hooked. Sorry, real animals. I’ve got fake pets now.I was suspicious on Saturday when he suggested a walk in the park. I like to visit most days to spy on other people’s dogs and imagine they are mine, but he’s not usually interested in joining me (more of a cat person). My suspicions were confirmed when he spent the entire walk staring at his phone. I would have been annoyed at this intrusion on my sacred, canine-creeping park time if Tobi hadn’t suggested I try it for myself. A Drowzee appeared, I trapped it and I was hooked. Sorry, real animals. I’ve got fake pets now.
Since downloading the app, I’ve traversed the city, capturing Pokémon and collecting items. And the best bit is? I’m not doing it alone. Tobi and I have finally found a way to marry my love of long walks and fresh air to his aversion to reality. We’ve often discussed the fact that I was an outdoor kid who needed to be persuaded to come in for meals while he preferred to hunker down with his books and video games. If Pokémon Go is making my adult partner spend more time outdoors then it’s sure to do the same for kids.Since downloading the app, I’ve traversed the city, capturing Pokémon and collecting items. And the best bit is? I’m not doing it alone. Tobi and I have finally found a way to marry my love of long walks and fresh air to his aversion to reality. We’ve often discussed the fact that I was an outdoor kid who needed to be persuaded to come in for meals while he preferred to hunker down with his books and video games. If Pokémon Go is making my adult partner spend more time outdoors then it’s sure to do the same for kids.
Tobi and I both joined the yellow team, one of three teams you can choose for your trainer, and have begun persuading all our friends who live nearby to do the same. We’re planning a park trip this weekend with some of those mates and another is going to swing by the gym we control tonight to leave one of her Pokémon there for extra protection.Tobi and I both joined the yellow team, one of three teams you can choose for your trainer, and have begun persuading all our friends who live nearby to do the same. We’re planning a park trip this weekend with some of those mates and another is going to swing by the gym we control tonight to leave one of her Pokémon there for extra protection.
It’s not just friends and loved ones this game can bring together. On that first walk we noticed several other couples and groups of friends also running through the grass, pursuing invisible creatures. We all nodded and smiled to each other, enjoying the shared delusion. When I wandered to the shops on Sunday, a teenage boy walked past me and said, conspiratorially, “There’s a Pidgeotto over by the gate. Good luck!” In my four years’ living in London, this is the most friendly interaction I’ve ever had with a stranger.It’s not just friends and loved ones this game can bring together. On that first walk we noticed several other couples and groups of friends also running through the grass, pursuing invisible creatures. We all nodded and smiled to each other, enjoying the shared delusion. When I wandered to the shops on Sunday, a teenage boy walked past me and said, conspiratorially, “There’s a Pidgeotto over by the gate. Good luck!” In my four years’ living in London, this is the most friendly interaction I’ve ever had with a stranger.
I’ve just glanced at the app and noticed that another player has joined the gym my partner and I took for yellow team this morning, his Hypno nestled in next to my Tentacruel and Tobi’s Haunter. The think pieces will come about the game’s in-app purchasing system or safety concerns or, I don’t know, maybe something about Pokémon hunts creating bloodlust in our youth. But these cute little monsters are one small way of encouraging community and in big cities, that’s no small feat. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a Poliwag to evolve.I’ve just glanced at the app and noticed that another player has joined the gym my partner and I took for yellow team this morning, his Hypno nestled in next to my Tentacruel and Tobi’s Haunter. The think pieces will come about the game’s in-app purchasing system or safety concerns or, I don’t know, maybe something about Pokémon hunts creating bloodlust in our youth. But these cute little monsters are one small way of encouraging community and in big cities, that’s no small feat. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a Poliwag to evolve.