How I started my Office on Pokémon Go

Picture from Inverse.com

We’ve joked on our blog before about how I’m the youngest in the office, the baby, and the millennial. That fact came in handy when the newest viral sensation, Pokémon Go, came out for smartphones. I was the first in the office to get the game and have since addicted my boyfriend and coworkers to the game.

That is because Pokémon was a staple in my childhood. I remember hanging out with my cousins playing the cards, the Nintendo games, and art-nerdishly drawing the Pokémon characters. I have a terrible memory, to be honest, but one of the things I do remember is hunting down cards with my favorite cousins and failing at all the video games. I should clarify that I wasn’t obsessed with the game like many children of my generation; my enjoyment came from a rather different place. Now I can see that I enjoyed playing it because my favorite cousin thought it was cool, and I wanted him to think I was cool. How silly the things we remember are.

I didn’t get that excited when Twitch Plays Pokémon came out because I wasn’t interested in watching someone else play Pokémon. I appreciated the premise and the cult following it garnered. When Pokémon, Go came out I downloaded it right away. I’m now one of the thousands of grown adults playing this game. I admit to thinking all the young children clogging up the server didn’t deserve to be playing a game that I had been dreaming of for the last decade, but I think that animosity might go away when they get the server issues fixed, and it quits crashing all of the time.

Since I downloaded the app, I’ve been reminiscing about being 10 and catching all the Pokémon I can, trying to beat my boyfriend. I love that the game gets people off of their computer and out into the real world, kinda. The game has also refreshed my zeal for the Fitbit I got for my birthday six months ago. It has given me a fun incentive for my walks to get my steps. My boyfriend and I even walked/drove around our town finding all of the Pokémon we could. What a date night, right? Being big kids has been fun. He has an iPhone 4s which isn’t supported by the game makers, so it rarely works on his phone. This was the final straw, and he ALMOST upgraded his phone. He doesn’t get an upgrade until October unfortunately, but I found it endlessly hilarious that THIS would be his final straw. He was going to upgrade to one of the “cookie sheets” as he calls them.

This millennial has been stoked to catch all the Eevees my heart desires. I caught two while sitting at my local winery thanks to incense and good company.

The only things I would say I don’t like about the game are that it isn’t readily explained well on how to play, and of course, the server issues are a real bummer. I found a few tutorials that better explained the game, but this one is my favorite. They have tutorials on many different aspects of the game. If you’re curious on how something works, give it a read.

Jen already downloaded the game and since become addicted. What started as a vague interest the game’s marketing potential has turned into a full-fledged game addiction. Now who’s laughing about not catching Pokémon in the office! She even wrote an article for her marketing company on the subject. After 36 hours she was already a level 8.

Johnna hasn’t quite jumped on the bandwagon. She wants me to show her the game. Her technological prowess isn’t up to playing by herself yet. After growing up under a rock, Johnna didn’t even really know what Pokémon was. She thought it was an offshoot of Yugioh in response to that comment I gave her the death glare. Don’t worry, I’ll bring her around and she’ll be catching Pokémon with the rest of us.

What does this augmented reality mean for how the rest of our games are played? Does it really even matter what games come out after this? Pokemon Go is our lives now. Gotta catch ‘em all!