“You still play that game?” – Pokémon GO in 2024
It was all the rage, in 2016, to leave your house to go hunting for Pokémon. I remember scouting through the woods with my brother, going on car rides with my parents, and getting gameplay advice from my sister. As I’m sure you’ve already guessed, this is no traditional game of Pokémon – in fact, I used to be very outspoken about just how much better core Pokémon games are than Niantic’s mobile app, Pokémon GO. And the public seemed to agree with me; the Pokémon GO phase barely lasted one year before it was forgotten by many, including myself.
It took a year or two for me to pick the game back up, and honestly, I’m glad that I did. Niantic never stopped updating the app, giving it new features that I got to explore for the first time. And even the old features had a charm that hadn’t left the game in my absence.
One of the game’s main selling points is inspiring exercise in its players, and I can safely say it succeeds. If I find myself having a bit of a lazy day, I can hop onto the app and have a goal in mind as I take a walk around campus, battling gyms and catching new Pokémon. Not just me, but my family members who still play, leave the house more often than before thanks to the app giving a reason to do so. A simple walk to the corner of our block to spin a Pokéstop does wonders.
Being on campus, Pokémon GO has also helped me find a sense of community. There is an entire Arcadia group chat dedicated to the game. All the players who had never put it down reached levels and achievements I hadn’t seen before. As player Francis Tamesis ’23 put it, “Pokémon GO has motivated me to go outside, take more steps between campus and Oak [Summit], and explore the whole campus with new friends.”
Even at home, my family found ourselves making unlikely friends. My mother and father trade Pokémon, gifts, and fight battles together with our mailman, Mark, who happened to be invested in the game as well. Especially in the 2020s, when the number of Pokémon GO players has dwindled, it’s a pleasant surprise to find others who still play.
Though it may sound odd to someone who’s never played Pokémon, the sense of achievement that the game brings is also a highlight. Each Pokémon creature comes with a variant called a shiny, which is just a different colored version of the original that is extremely rare. Discovering shinies brings a huge sense of accomplishment to my day, especially catching one with a (roughly) 1 in 600 chance of finding the shiny in the first place. Now take into account catching 2 or more in one day – you forget how silly it seems and just feel excited about finding something with such low odds.
I was amazed to find a community of players here at Arcadia University, especially since those who do not play are often surprised that I still do. After all, it’s 2024, 8 years after the game’s release. Many people my age consider the game something that they only did as a kid, and being almost a decade since, that makes total sense. However, the comments of “Is that Pokémon GO?” and “You still play that game?” aren’t malicious, just curious. I think this game is a forgotten gem that has so many reasons to pick it right back up again, and I encourage you to do so! Arcadia’s campus is full of Pokéstops, gyms, trail routes, and other marks made by experienced players. It’s like the time I met up with two other players, just to do a quick gym battle at Landman Library; right after, I went back to my dorm to start some homework, making that time to get some steps in and meet new people! And if Pokémon isn’t your thing, Niantic also has similar games for Pikmin and Monster Hunter. No matter what app, if you choose to partake: happy hunting!
