Wildcard: Pokémon Go: Distractions with Friends

     Flash back to 2016, the closest we've ever come to world peace. Niantic, a company that specializes in GPS based AR games, launched Pokémon Go that summer. Pokémon had already been one of the most successful franchises in the world since it's release in in 1997. There are currently  122+ games that make use of the world of Pokémon and it's run on television has been even more extensive. From trading cards to merchandise there's all sorts of things related to Pokémon for sale. Pokémon Go was a bit different than the product releases that fans were used to. Yes, Pokémon released a majority or their games on handheld gaming systems (Gameboy, GBA, DS, etc.) but the content hadn't done much to utilize the mobile phones that nearly everyone owns. Not everyone has a game system but it's a safe bet that most folks you see on the streets will have a smartphone in their pocket. 

    Pokémon Go is an app that is compatible with most smartphones and makes use of GPS tracking on maps as well as artificial reality to create an interactive experience. The basis of the game revolves around catching Pokémon that appear on these digital maps. Different types appear on different days, during events, and various weather conditions. Much like with the original games you collect, battle, and trade these creatures. The systems for these activities vary a bit from the traditional games. It's fairly easy to pick up and was widely popular among all ages upon it's release. The game amassed tons of players and you could almost always see people out walking with their heads stuck in their phones hunting Pokémon. For something that seems to have been a fad in years past why am I bringing it up? I've recently found out that the game still has a large and dedicated fanbase even on SAU campus.

    It all started when my friend Sam woke up one morning with an app downloaded on his phone. He has no recollection of downloading it and he's still not sure how it got there. That app turned out to be Pokémon Go. He booted it up just to try and get some insight into just how it got onto his device. He, like many people, had played the game back when it first released. He had no intention of starting to play the game again but his curiosity got the better of him. He caught a couple Pokémon just for laughs and he was instantly hooked all over again. My friends and I often participate in the same sort of activities so this led to my roommate Nathan redownloading the game as well. Due to our competitive nature it wasn't long before myself and our friend Scott reobtained the app as well. Next thing you know we're going absolutely silly trying to catch them all. I have always had a strong love for the Pokémon franchise so it was nice to have people participate again. 

    The last Pokémon related shenanigans we had were when a group of us played the Nintendo Switch game Pokémon Sword and Shield for a brief time. After we all beat the game it wasn't long before we got bored and set it to the side. Some people in the dorm who were less than social even joined in during the time we played, it was a really nice way for us to connect. My hopes was that we could replicate this again with Go. Sure enough we were able to recruit about 8 different people in our dorm and friend group to play. Luckily all of us but one just happened to be on the same team, Team Valor. This meant things would be easier for us when we teamed up to fight strong Pokémon together. Of course by this point finals were only around a month away so it was a welcome distraction for most of our team who was comprised of mainly engineering students. Sam usually isn't the kind to waste time on trivial things but he was one of the most avid about going out on Pokewalks at night. It wasn't long before we held all of the Pokémon Gyms on campus regularly.

    Initially we thought our team was the only one on campus but we quickly found out we had competition. The teams are Red (Valor), Blue (Mystic), and Yellow (Instinct). Blue didn't ever put up much resistance unless we were taking the day off. We would go to and from lunch or classes and snag the gyms at hotspots on campus like the fountain and the bell tower. We'd leave our Pokémon to defend then Yellow team would try to come and knock them out. Controlling gyms is the main way to obtain currency in the game so it was fairly important to our cause to maintain dominance. Sometimes we would catch other players standing about and trying to secure our gyms, at first we would feed our Pokémon to try and maintain their health so they could defeat the invaders. After a while I suggested we quietly wait until they beat out gym and leave so we could retake it, they would be gone and none the wiser until the next time they came by.

    I made a rival one day when returning  from workout with my friends. A Yellow team player by the name of ProfessorRedneck was somewhere unseen by us trying to take down our gym. I had battled his Pokémon out of gyms a few times before but his activity was becoming more frequent. We went back and forth taking the bell tower gym from each other for about an hour. Finally he conceded and left my Pokémon alone. That was until the next day when he came with backup. Yellow team placed their strongest Pokémon in the gym so I assembled my entire team to take them out. We took every gym on campus and saved theirs for last. It was a hard fought battle but proved who the superior team was.

    It's odd hour much time we ended up putting into Pokémon Go this semester. We were all stressed and needed something to take our minds off it and this helped. Nathan and I love to play basketball but many of my friends don't participate very much when it comes to sports. Nathan and I are overly competitive when it comes to basketball which makes us tough to play with. This game gave us a way to get our other friends a little extra exercise by walking to meet our Pokémon goals and a common activity to share with us. As silly as it sounds it was nice to be part of a team again. We operated smoothly and efficiently. We would attach a sense of urgency to tasks that made the game so much more fun. "ProfessorRedneck and Yellow team took the bell tower, let's rally the troops and get 'em guys!", we would exclaim at 12:30 at night. I wouldn't call our playing a waste of time, in all honesty it's been an extremely tough semester and it was just what I needed. It's funny to think about how something so insignificant could be that impactful. As we said goodbye for the summer it was bitter sweet. We know we have more adventures to come but for now we must wait. Until next time team, Leader Jonah Rathburn- Pokémon master, gotta catch 'em all.