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Pokemon Go catches attention of adults and kids alike

Tyler Sundt and Scott Labrie were some of a handful of locals who simply could not wait to reconnect with their childhood, and try out the new Pokémon Go game.
Pokemon Go has grabbed the attention of many people across the world.
Pokemon Go has grabbed the attention of many people across the world.

Tyler Sundt and Scott Labrie were some of a handful of locals who simply could not wait to reconnect with their childhood, and try out the new Pokémon Go game. The pair accessed the game before it was more widely available in Canada, and began playing it immediately, last week, searching the real world for squirtle, ghastly, pidgey, and about 150 other fictional characters.

Pokémon’s routes go back to the late 1990s, when the TV show and video games became widely popular for a number of years, along with the trading cards. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the release of the original Pokémon games, making the new game not only lucrative to young kids, but the generation that grew up with the franchise.

“I had a ton of friends who played Pokémon with the cards and that whole craze, but I was more appealed to the video games that were part of the franchise, such as the Gameboy versions,” says Sundt. “So yah, I guess I grew up with it, but it wasn't all that addictive to me.”

But, Sundt was hooked to the new Pokémon Go game right from the start.

“What's appealing is it seems to be aimed at getting people outside and hunting for them and walking to gyms to compete, almost as though you are in that real ‘Pokémon’ world we grew up with.”

The game acts as a sort of mix of the original Pokémon storyline, where trainers catch Pokémon and battle them, and geocaching, which involves finding hidden treasures with the use of GPS. To play Pokémon Go, users need a device, such as a smart phone, with data, so they can search the world outside their home to find fictional creatures hidden in yards, at popular monuments and landmarks, and even cemeteries at night.

“The fact you can walk your pets, walk home from work, or even take your kids to the park and search for them together is probably the most appealing to me,” says Sundt. As of last week, he felt that the majority of people playing the game were adults between 25 and into their 30s, which is the generation that loved Pokémon 20 years ago.

But, Sundt admits that he is slightly embarrassed by the fact that he’s enjoying the game so much.

“I step out at a night because I'm kind of embarrassed to be out in broad daylight looking at my phone and playing in parks or from sidewalks or beside a graveyard to catch Pokémon.”

And as for the numerous stories circulating about people stumbling across crime scenes, or getting hit by vehicles while out searching for Pokémon, Sundt says he has yet to come across anything too exciting.

“I was tempted to walking into main street to catch one, I think it was a ghastly, but I used what my parents taught me, and that’s common sense.”

Sundt’s roommate, Labrie, says he was a “ginormous Pokémon fan” when he was a kid.

“My first video game console I ever owned was the Pikachu special edition Game Boy Colour with Pokémon Yellow, and I played through yellow, red and silver multiple times,” he says. Labrie adds that because the game uses the first generation of Pokémon, it is a bit more nostalgic for the people who grew up with the game 20 years ago.

Labrie says he’s found quite a few Pokémon in the area, but says it seems like the larger, more populated areas, such as Edmonton, have a wider variety of Pokémon to catch, and he is certainly planning on making a trip to the city soon to do some Pokémon hunting.

And although some people may shake their heads at Labrie or Sundt, Labrie says while he and another friend were out Pokemon hunting at 1 a.m. the other day, stopping at Pokestops and Pokémon gyms, they found “a lot of other people out walking.”

“We would pull over and chat about which team they were on and what Pokémon they have caught or seen, and we also have a Facebook group that people have been talking on nonstop, so there is a nice sense of community.”

And much like his roommate, Labrie agrees that if people are going to be out playing the game, they need to make sure they have a designated driver if using a vehicle. Labrie says he also had an incident when he and a couple friends were at a park in town trying to take over a gym, and a concerned parent did ask what they were doing.

“We had to explain we weren’t kidnappers, just a bunch of nerds playing Pokémon,” says Labrie.

Shannon Quinney is another local who accessed the game earlier than its nation-wide release in Canada. She and her 12-year-old son have been playing the game, spending time outdoors in the evenings hunting for Pokémon.

“He’s at an age where he hates me most of the time, but we do this together,” says Quinney, somewhat jokingly. “We are also in competition with each other.”

Although the game is now available in Canada, Quinney and her son downloaded it by creating an American account on iTunes. She says she was impressed with the game and how it incorporates “all your surroundings.”

“The one place to look by our house is the church, and it shows an actual picture of the church. I was never a Pokémon fan, but this is actually really fun,” she adds, nothing, her son was much more excited for the game than she was. “He is a super fan.”

Pokémon Go was officially released in Canada on Sunday, resulting in the game’s servers being knocked down for some time due to a high amount of people wanting to play the game.


Janice Huser

About the Author: Janice Huser

Janice Huser has been with the St. Paul Journal since 2006. She is a graduate of the SAIT print media journalism program, is originally from St. Paul and has a passion for photography.
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