July 20, 2016
The Tribune 9
www.trilakestribune.com
Pokémon Continued from Page 1
tures usually hang out in environments that suit them best: fire types can be found out in the sun or near gas stations, water types near lakes or streams or emerge when it’s raining, grass types in parks or fields, and ghost types only come out at night. The gameplay itself is simple and fairly passive. Players can catch and evolve Pokémon, train them at “gyms” or use them to battle. They can also collect in-game supplies at digital landmarks called Pokéstops. Pokéstops and gyms are usually aligned to real-world locations, like parks, historical markers, statues, or other public places like churches or cafés. They can only be accessed when the player comes within a certain radius of that real-world location. Players can also get rewards in the game for traveling certain distances, but the app tracks players’ speed, so they only get advantages when walking, jogging, running, or biking. Driving won’t count. Pokémon Go has only been out for two weeks, but it’s the number one downloaded free app for either Apple or Android, and has already been installed on more Android devices than the dating app, Tinder. The app has surpassed Twitter in the number of daily users, and Nintendo saw its stock skyrocket 36 percent in the first two days of trading after the game’s release. That’s added about $7.5 billion to Nintendo’s value, which has been suffering in recent years as its other platforms have declined in use. With millions of people across the globe tracking, catching and training Pokémon around the clock, the game has been a massive success. Even its spotty servers, which have made the
Farrow and Sweet tipped off other players using the lures to the presence of a rarer Pokémon loitering nearby, which a few people managed to catch.
Photos and screencaps by Avalon A. Manly. All proprietary content displayed is courtesy of Niantic Labs, The Pokémon Co., and Nintendo.
Pokémon Go overlays characters from the game with real-life landmarks, usually artistic or historical markers or public places like churches or parks. Visiting these locations earns the player in-game supplies.
app intermittently difficult to access, haven’t slowed its use. The real-world repercussions of the game have been unexpectedly far-reaching. Shayla Wiggins, 19, was searching for Pokémon along the Wind River, in Lander, Wyo., when she stumbled across a human body. Other players have reported mishaps via social media, from bike crashes to ankle injuries to fender benders to sunburns acquired from so many hours outside trying to catch ‘em all. Other organizations have been taking advantage of players in their area, as well. The Muncie Animal Shelter in Indiana is asking players to grab an adoptable dog and take it for a Pokéwalk while they track their steps. In Missouri, on a less altruistic note, four young men used the app to trap players at an isolated Pokéstop late at night, robbing them at gunpoint. Po-
Jun Gomez, Kierstyn Bennett and Angelica Gomez took a break from their nearby workplace to track down some Pokémon missing from their collections near the New Santa Fe Trail in Monument.
lice stations across the country, in tandem with the game’s developers, are urging players to be safe and aware of their surroundings. Pokémon Go is also facing very real concerns regarding data privacy, since the game is able to track players’ movements and locations and many players log in using their Google accounts. The response to the game, though, has been mostly positive, with Pokémon Go meetups and events popping up around the world. While residential areas are typically less game-friendly, due to the high volume of private property and fewer public spaces, downtown areas and parks across the country are all aflutter with Pokémon and Pokémon Go users. Even the White House lawn is a gym in the app. Historic downtown Monument area is no different. With about 20 Pokéstops and two gyms in the downtown area alone – a third gym is located at the pavilion in Dirty Woman Creek Park – local players have no shortage of opportunity. “At first I thought this was stupid,” said Angelica Gomez, while she played during a break from work near the new Santa Fe Trail, “and now I can’t stop.” Jun Gomez and Kierstyn Bennett were there, too, taking advantage of a lure – an in-game device that attracts Pokémon to a certain location for a limited time – that another player had placed nearby. “There was a Jolteon in my apartment,” said Bennett, referring to a spiky, electric-yellow cat-like Pokémon. “My fiance woke me up and told me to open the app right now, so I could catch it.” “We caught a Pikachu the other night,” Jun said. Pikachu is one of the franchise’s most famous creatures, a little yellow rodent-like Pokémon. “And I hate them for it,” Bennett said. Pikachus haven’t been the easiest
Pokémon to come by in the game. The three traded tips and stories for a few minutes before returning to their office. But they’d be back. “Every day, right around our 3 o’clock break,” Angelica said, “someone drops lures at all three of these Pokéstops, and it’s like, I guess I know what I’ll be doing.” Ben Sweatman, a local teen, is one of those dropping lures for other players to take advantage of. He was wandering the trailhead area, where four Pokéstops exist in close proximity, when he ran into Colin Farrow and Caleb Sweet, who were waiting inside the radius of the lures for wild Pokémon to wander past. “I had the gym at Dirty Woman for a few hours,” said Farrow, referring to the way gyms in the game can change hands based on who wins battles there, “but then I lost it.” Sweet lives in Palmer Lake, which he says hasn’t been overlooked in gameplay. “There’s a ton in Palmer Lake,” he said, and, since traffic through the downtown area is usually slow, there’s lots of opportunity to stop and catch nearby Pokémon. There’s a gym near the post office there, too, currently controlled by a rival team to Sweatman, Farrow and Sweet, who all belong to the game’s Team Mystic. “There’s a wild Jolteon just up there,” Farrow advised the other players, pointing to the corner of the nearby JJ Track’s parking lot. There, player Chris Zamora, also of Team Mystic, was looking for it. He traded tips and information about game mechanics for a minute, and though the Jolteon got away, he mentioned how much fun the game has been. “I’m loving this thing,” he said. “It’s awesome.”
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