The summer of 2016 was probably the closest the world will ever get to world peace. Pokémon GO was everywhere. All of my coworkers and classmates were playing and asking me for advice.
It was an odd sort of catharsis. I had been playing Pokémon since I was young, but I usually caught flack for it. All of a sudden, people who were nasty and rude to me in the past wanted something from me.
Which team was the best to join? What types beat this type? How do these guys evolve? Are there really more than 151?
Alas, my counsel was only sought temporarily, and by the fall of 2016, the global phenomenon caused by the pocket monsters crossing into the real world had died down. Once again, I was sitting on a mountain of Pokémon-related knowledg, but had nobody to share it with.
None of these trials and tribulations stopped me from playing the game, though. I had been with the series since before I was in school. The launch of Pokémon GO was much more than a fad to me.
I played Pokémon GO everywhere. I caught monsters after school while I waited for the parking lot to clear out. My weekends usually involved hopping on my bike and poking around town. And yes, I did even Pokémon GO to the polls.
My parents noticed the change as well, and even encouraged it. They soon purchased an unlimited data plan for my cell phone. In fairness, the market was shifting towards that being the norm at the time, so things worked out, but they also wanted to encourage me to be more active.
I would come home very late at night, as late as midnight sometimes. I would tell my mom I was playing Pokémon, and she would usually make some joking remark about how if I were doing drugs instead, that would be easier to explain to her friends.
Nearly nine years after the game’s launch, I still play it religiously. I don’t spend as much time exploring property that I debatably shouldn’t be on, but I still find plenty of time for catching ‘em all.
Every time I leave my apartment, I boot up the game. I’m lucky enough to be able to reach a PokéStop from my front door, so I never have to worry about running out of items. There are a few stops and a gym on my walk to campus.
There are Pokémon all over most college campuses, and UW-Eau Claire is no exception. Every time I come to campus, I am overwhelmed with how many creatures I can attempt to capture. Luckily, my secret weapon does most of the work for me: my Pokémon GO Plus +.
The Pokémon GO Plus + is a toy that automatically catches monsters and spin stops. This is extremely helpful, as not only is UW-Eau Claire dense with Pokémon and PokéStops, but I always have more I want to do at the same time.
Sometimes, I am taking one of the many gyms on campus. At others, I’m going through my plethora of Pokémon and deciding who gets turned into candy. On a rare occasion, I may even battle a random player from somewhere else in the world.
Pokémon GO is not only a game that I’ve been playing consistently since it launched, but it’s also one of the only consistent forms of physical activity I’ve gotten for the last nine years.
Is that embarrassing to admit? Maybe. But, for what it’s worth, I think being motivated to exercise by a children’s game is certainly better than not exercising at all. Plus, I have autism, so I have a diagnosed excuse to be obsessed with pocket monsters.
Tolbert can be contacted at [email protected]. Tell him where all the rare Pokémon are hiding.
