Ready, steady…. Pokémon Go!

Photo Credits: PG1. LEAD_6

It’s all over the place. People across Goa are tweeting, posting and talking about it. People are even writing about it. This is a phenomenon known as Pokémon Go. If you’re in your mid to late 20s, or perhaps younger, chances are that you will have watched Pokémon as a child. You may have played the games then. Now they’re rejuvenated in the form of an unusual game.

If you see someone staring intently at their phone while walking around the streets of Goa, chances are he or she is playing Pokémon Go. If you’re on the game, once you find a Pokémon, you have to hit them with a ball (on the game) and then you capture them. You can make them compete with one another in the gyms or hit the Poké Stops for some goodies. Interestingly, in Panaji, the Bal Bhavan area is a gym, while in Margao you’ll find one at the Kadamba bus stand.

So go ahead, download Pokémon Go and start playing. It will be fun, that’s for sure.

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Staying active

Whether it was intentional or just a great by-product of the game, people are now spending more time outdoors and being active. Unlike most games, which engage only your thumbs, Pokémon Go requires you to walk, run, and even jump — all great forms of exercise. There are even people complaining about sore legs from having walked a kilometre or two to hatch an egg or catch an elusive Pokémon. In America, hundreds of people practically ran through Central Park when many ‘spotted’ a rare Pokémon. This is the case in many places. Down under in Australia, there are Pokémon walks, where a large group of people hunt together. It’s become a popular group game and group exercise too. Perhaps there’s a lot in it for everyone to start playing Pokémon Go.

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What is Pokémon Go?

Well, after a few years lying relatively low, the Nintendo-owned Pokémon, which exploded in popularity in the late 1990s, is again taking the world by storm. This time, through Pokémon Go: the series’s biggest entry into the mobile space, now available for a free download on Android and iOS. In simple terms, Pokémon Go is a game that uses your phone’s GPS and clock to detect where and when you are in the game and make Pokémon "appear" around you (on your phone screen) so you can go and catch them. The idea is to encourage you to travel around the real world to catch Pokémon in the game. (This mix of a game and the real world interacting is known as "augmented reality.")

The game does a lot to make you explore your real-world environment at different times. For example, if you go out to a park, you’ll probably see more grass- or bug-type Pokémon. If you go near a lake or ocean, you’ll be able to pick up more water types. And if you go out at night, you'll see more nocturnal fairy and ghost types.

This is further enhanced by PokéStops, which are essentially notable locations in the real world marked on your in-game map. You can go to these to nab items, including Poké Balls and eggs that can hatch into full Pokémon. It’s also possible to install special items at PokéStops that lure extra Pokémon, which also make the stops glow pink on the map so players know that hanging around will attract extra Pokémon.

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Watch this interesting video titled ‘How Pokemon Took Over The World’ here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXZ7guchLCQ or scan the QR code

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I watched Pokemon with my siblings and although I wasn’t a huge fan, I had a few favourites. When people started talking about the game, I was curious and downloaded it because of that and also because it is something from my childhood. I don’t get out of my house especially for it. I have the game running when I’m going for a walk, when I'm waiting for the bus. Sometimes when I’m at the mall waiting for friends. I think it's a nice game and makes a regular walk fun. When I go for an evening walk or while walking to the grocery store or bus stop, I have my game running and sometimes take new routes instead of the regular ones. I’ve got to know really pretty parks and got to see cool artwork that I have usually just walked past almost every day.

Siobhan Mendes, Lisbon

For a 90s kid, Pokémon was where it all started. It was the first card game we ever played, it was our first obsession. Pokémon cards were the first thing I stole, so I have a pretty deep connection to the game. It's pretty much reliving your favorite childhood game, but this time, we actually get to live it. It's the perfect post-work stress buster. When the servers are down, we lose our minds. It's extremely addictive and competitive.

Keith D’Souza, Abu Dhabi

Pokémon Go is fun and reminds me a lot of my childhood. It brings your childhood fantasies of being a Pokémon trainer to life. I remember when we were kids we'd buy pokeballs and throw them around and then act like Pokémon came out. And now we're actually doing it!

Declan Da Silva Pereira, architecture student