With the recent release of the new Pokémon Go game, many Tarleton State University students are taking to campus to catch them all. In this game, the purpose is to catch and train as many Pokémon as possible. Pokémon are small creatures with varying types of abilities and powers, they are caught by throwing a Poke ball at them. The application will use smartphones built in camera to make it appear like a Pokémon is right in front of the player.

In order to obtain poke balls the trainer (player) must walk around and use their smartphone to check in at various PokeStops, these stops are national landmarks or places of interest. Locations on campus can be found at the Science building, the Military memorial, the Trogdon house, the Library, the Ultra and the Grass Knoll. The game has been integrated with Google Maps to provide a variety of places on campus and around town to procure Poke Balls.

With Tarleton having a large amount of Poke stops, the game is bringing many students and others from the community together to play the game. Throughout the day people will often be seen walking around in groups playing the game together.

Once the user has Poke Balls, they must walk around in order to discover Pokémon wandering around.  After engaging the Pokémon, they are caught by throwing Poke balls at them, however, it might take several attempts to capture one, as they can “escape” the poke ball. After catching Pokémon, users can virtually battle each other’s Pokémon in order to take over Pokémon Gyms.

The constant use of poke balls causes the user to continue walking around and checking in at Poke stops in order to continue playing the game.

“I enjoy several things about it, how random it is in finding Pokémon. It makes you appreciate the somewhat less popular Pokémon like Psyduck. the amount of extra walking you do to get better in the game. It really shows you what cool places are in your community.” Said Johnhenry Brownstead, a recent graduate of Tarleton. “Lastly, the lack of judgment between the people who do play the game. All the gamers care about is which team you play for. Pokémon Go is more of a Pro than a Con, hands down.”

Pokémon was originally a Television show that aired in 1995, after the show gained fame it was not long before Nintendo created a game to model after the show. The game and show has remained widely popular in the following years, among children and adults alike.

When Niantic, Inc. released the game in the United States, many downloaded the application to relive their childhood and the nostalgia attached to the Pokémon series. Since the launch of the game an estimated Niantic has had an estimated 7.5 million downloads since the launch the game continues to grow and expand the player base.