Pokemon Go

I had another post planned for this spot but I have been preparing for my classes starting today and I have been caught up in the power of positivity. The power of positivity is a huge thing for me lately. It started as a catchphrase for the WWE Tag Team Champions, The New Day. Lately, I have been trying to incorporate that motto into my life more. I seek the joy in things and I avoid getting into situations that I do not want to be in if I can help it. If I cannot avoid it then I eat shit and grin and move on. So how does that apply to today’s post? Well, lately my friends and I have gotten into the new popular altered reality game Pokemon Go. So, I will be spending today shilling for their project even though they are not paying me to do so. Of course, I have spent much of my life shilling for Nintendo projects and have never received any benefit for doing so.

I downloaded Pokemon Go on July 8, 2016 as I was waiting for a party to get started. It was the third crab dinner within two weeks. This is not out of the ordinary when you come from Maryland. So I loaded the game up and struggled to log in despite the horrible strain on the servers. I have experienced this during a lot of game launches so I was not too discouraged. Once the game loaded up, I saw that there were three Pokemon right there in the bedroom I was staying in. Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur bounced happily very close to my position. It took me a minute to catch Bulbasaur because I was confused on the mechanics of the game. However, when I figured it out, a surge of happiness rose up in my stomach. This was exactly how I imagined hunting pokemon would be like if they were real. Unfortunately, I was in a rural area so there were no more pokemon around to catch. I took a few trips into civilization to start catching pokemon and it was such a thrill.

The game seems to use the first 150 pokemon so far. I am no genwunner but those pokemon cause a more distinct nostalgic feeling for me than the rest of them. I played Pokemon Red, Yellow and Gold and more recently I played Pokemon Omicron (a fan game). The originals are the most recognizable and having that many to start is complicated enough and provides enough variety. To see a Pidgey flying over The Avenue in Hampden or to catch a Gloom behind a Giant in Columbia is amazing. If you told little Steven that he would be doing this, you would have blown my tiny little mind. I watched the anime when I was younger and I actually still watch it from time to time. I still play the games when I have a little time too. I used to imagine all of their moves as I played the game and it really boosted my enjoyment. I still remember the team I usually beat the Elite Four with. Unfortunately, with it being the original 150 for now I will not get to catch my current favorite pokemon Hawlucha but that is a very minor complaint.

Until this past weekend, my pokemon hunting has been confined to only when I was going out to do errands. In the middle of nowhere West Virginia, there is no casual pokemon hunting. I would catch some in the Walmart parking lot or waiting for them to bring out my order at Lowes. I also kept it on when I was a passenger in the car because if I timed things right I could hit pokestops and pokemon in a drive by manner. I would never do it while I was driving although I have caught pokemon from the air-conditioned comfort of my car in parking lots. As days went by, I started to understand the game a little more. I still have a perfect record on my pokedex. 41 types seen and 41 types caught. I have visited a lot of interesting pokestops, including a lot of the historical ones at Antietam and the commercial and artistic ones in Baltimore. This weekend I specifically went on two hour long trips to hunt pokemon and I came back extremely tired but excited. I am currently level 8 but climbing fast.

Now, most of the internet is exploding with positivity over the game. It is really cool to share in something that gets video game people out of their houses for a bit. Both hardcore and casual gamers can share something and smile at each other in public knowing that we are all out there to catch little digital creatures. Every time I have been out hunting, I see other people with their phones out and we smile a little at each other. I overhear people talking about it and I talk to my friends on Facebook about it. There are eggs in the game which only hatch when you have walked anywhere from 2 to 5 kilometers. I have hatched a few and it has been the most walking I have done in months. To get the benefit of exercise but also be entertained while doing it is a blessing to me and a lot of people have caught on to that spirit. There are naysayers who do not understand and are either apathetic or critical of this new fad. They wonder why people like me might want to go outside and catch pokemon when we could just enjoy nature “normally”. Why? I’ll let Charlie Crews answer that.

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