Pokemon Go is a hot topic among young adults and businesses. For 20-somethings, this is a throwback to childhoods filled with Ash Ketchum and the Indigo League, to Gameboy’s Pokemon Green and Red, released in Japan in 1996, or Pokemon Red and Blue released in North America in 1998. And even more so than that, there is a throwback to the original pocket monster trading card game.
As a child, my elder brother and I collected cards. Not the silly eX cards that could be used with a Gameboy or something, either. No, we collected the originals. I still have some of them, even some Japanese ones, in a card sleeve at my parents’ house.
From Bulbasaur to Larvitar, Evee to Espeon, I have a spattering of first and second generation cards. We even used to have the counter tokens and a Lugia coin for when we would duel each other. My brother and I sold packs of extra cards at craft fairs like the farmers’ market.
This newest installation in the Pokemon universe is something fans have desperately wanted since the dawn of time. Albeit, anyone could have easily taken their Gameboy Color, deck of cards or 3DS outside and made an event out of it. However, something that Pokemon Go does that is often underappreciated by critics, is show players sights they might have never seen otherwise.
Here in Moscow people who play can challenge a gym at the University of Idaho’s Idaho Commons, or deep within the Shattuck Arboretum, while going for a workout at the Student Rec Center or waiting for a performance to start at the Hartung Theatre. And that is just campus.
Pokestops decorate downtown. One World is a place to pick up a cup of coffee and a few pokeballs or maybe even an egg on the way to downtown or to campus. Players can take a break on a bench on either side of friendship square and not only catch a few wild Pokemon but also pick up more pokeballs.
The biggest thing players need to remember is to stay aware. Sure it is really cool that Last Frontier Pizza has a pokestop, but if the plan is to stay a while, visit the store. Maybe grab a cup of coffee or a slice of pizza. Pick up a book on indigenous or exotic animals from BookPeople. It is nice to simply share a little common courtesy in the midst of trying to catch that elusive Vulpix.
The dream of every ‘90s fan of Pokemon was to go on an adventure with Pikachu. And while this may be a step back detaching millennials from their smart phones, at least they are getting outside and walking around to play their video games.
Ten kilometers a day keeps the doctor away, and hatches a Charizard if you’re lucky.
Claire Whitley
can be reached at
or on Twitter @Cewhitley24