‘Gotta catch ’em all’: Pokémon Go takes Rome
‘Gotta catch ’em all’: Pokémon Go takes Rome
Shouts of “Defend the gym!” and “What team?” “Yellow!” may be confusing to some, but for Romans of all ages immersed in the world of Pokémon Go, they mean real-life connections with complete strangers.
The location- based app, released a week ago, is the next evolution of the Pokémon video game franchise. Using smartphone cameras, players can find and capture “pocket monsters” projected into their surroundings using Google Maps’ navigation technology.
Historical landmarks and businesses are marked on a Google Maps-like screen with “Poké Stops” and “Gyms.” Poké Stops reward visiting players with supplies to catch more Pokémon, and gyms are contested battlegrounds that players can win for their team (Red/Valor, Blue/ Mystic or Yellow/Instinct).
The app quickly became a global phenomenon.
“It’s cool to see so many different people out doing the same thing,” Starr Stansell said.
“With a smile on their face,” her wife, Crystal Stansell, quickly added.
The couple and their children scoured Broad Street for Pokémon over the weekend, and on Tuesday came to Ridge Ferry Park, a prime gathering spot for Pokémon trainers.
Local businesses have been capitalizing on the trend as well. Harvest Moon is offering cookies decorated with Pokéballs. A sign outside of The Partridge restaurant on Broad Street advertises two nearby Poké Stops.
Angelle Thornton, owner of The Partridge and an avid Pokémon Go trainer, said she will offer free dessert to players who have caught a Snorlax, a semi-rare sleepy blue-and-white Pokémon.
Her husband, Joel Thornton, said he has noticed an increase in customers of about three to four tables since they put up the Poké Stop sign outside.
The Forum is a gym. The statue of Romulus and Remus outside of Rome City Hall is a Poké Stop. Las Palmas is a gym — one Jonathan Lewis was able to claim as leader for a few seconds.
He and Cardie McClure are students at Berry College and are working this summer on Berry’s grounds crew. Because she works near the school’s Frost Chapel, McClure was able to defend her title of Frost Chapel gym leader for nine hours.
Elizabeth Doss and her son Dalton Vasquez downloaded the game on Tuesday and were hooked.
“We just got off a job, we went and ate, and we came over here and I was like ‘Oh, there’s Pokémon everywhere — let’s go play,’” Doss said.
Brandy and Michael Parker said their daughter loves playing the game with them.
“She gets so excited when we tell her ‘Oh, we’ve got Pokémon coming,’” Brandy said. “She’s like ‘ I want to help! I want to help!’”
The Stansells appreciate the chance to get active together.
“Instead of sitting in the house playing video games, we’re able to get outside,” Starr said.
“And play video games,” daughter Chloe Greer, 14, added, laughing.
“The fact that (Chloe) is so into Pokémon still blows my mind, because that’s what I did when I was a kid,” Starr said. “That show came out when I was a child.”
The television show that branched off of the video games, and introduced famous characters like Ash Ketchum and Team Rocket, premiered in the U.S. in 1998.
Erich, Miranda and Ericka Curtis also play as a family. Within the game, players can collect eggs that will only hatch after walking a certain distance. Miranda has been amazed at how much the app motivates her to exercise.
“I walked like 30 kilometers in two days,” Miranda said.
Payton Campbell, costume designer for Rome Little Theatre and life-long Pokémon enthu- siast, downloaded the app the night it was released. He said he likes to set up shop in the downtown coffeehouse Swift & Finch, do some work, and then take a Pokémon Go break.
“I’ll walk Broad Street up and down,” he said. “It gives you more energy. I come back and keep sketching and then I repeat.”
First Methodist Church, at 202 E. Third Ave., has been offering water and a charging station to players needing refuge from the heat and their quickly-draining phone batteries.
At its core the app lets users become Pokémon trainers in their own backyards. It’s topping download charts and consuming the media. Some players say it’s doing so well because it’s the manifestation of the Pokémon games they played when they were younger.
“I have a hunch that most kids who played Pokémon as kids, that’s what they wanted to do,” McClure said. “They wanted the adventure of going out and catching these creatures themselves.”
What are Pokémon?
Pokémon or “pocket monsters” are fantastic creatures that inhabit the world of Nintendo’s Pokémon franchise. Players capture, train and battle them.
What is a Poké Stop?
These supply stations are located at real-life businesses and historical monuments. Here players can restock on Poké Balls (devices used to capture the creatures), healing potions, Pokémon eggs and other items.
What is the goal of the game?
As the game’s English slogan says: “Gotta catch ’em all!” Players work to capture the 151 different Pokémon and vie for control of gyms by battling highly-ranked players.