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In 1995 the world changed. It would never be the same after the hit game Pokémon: Pocket Monsters became a commonplace conversation. Most kids who played fell in love with catching creatures with skills and mystical powers as unique as their imaginations.
Their goal: ‘to catch them all’ and become the Pokémon master of all the worlds of Nintendo’s Gameboy and Gameboy Advanced versions.
Now it’s real. Or as real as your digital identity on your cell phone is to you.
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Your Pokémon GO! app links to the world around you through GPS to create a digital, parallel universe within your grasp. And, with the camera your phone becomes a portal for Pokemon to enter into your world for you to catch, train, and gym battle them all.
Goosebumps spread down my arms like a wave of a Pikachu thunderbolt when I learned my childhood dreams were becoming reality. No, having dogs just isn’t the same. I need a Charmander to make me happy.
It is a chance for kids and adults to weave together their daydreams and their actual experiences without being stuck inside a gaming console. This is the brilliance of the app. It isn’t that it just pops up a Pokemon near you from time to time. It is that dreams and wishes of having a friend who you found, caught/earned, and live intentionally alongside finally become real.
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How the game grows: personality. What we all longed for was a Pokémon who would be our friend. They would listen and share in our hardships, fight for our affection, and give us meaningful memories that sustain and grow us. That’s what a partnership with a Pokemon is and does.
So, give life to the Pokémon. Give the capacity of love to a Squirtle who, through through interacting with active news sources, social media apps, and a personal journal for kids, bring to life a relationship.
So then what do we do with our excitement while we wait with great anticipation? Be patient and keep trying. The app is not going away. Though it must be said that servers are being slammed, so expect a little downtime here and there.
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Lastly, a few tips for you. Explore! You never know where a rare Pokémon might be lurking. Don’t be afraid to explore new areas of your town. Adventure is what it’s all about!
Buy 12 phones. Pokémon GO! Will literally chew up your battery and spit it back out on you. When one phone dies, just throw it away and turn on another.
I have to say, please be safe. Don’t drive and try to catch Pokémon. Don’t miss life because you are stuck in your phone. Don’t lose yourself and everyone around you to your digital identity. Don’t forget there are 6 billion people in the world who need hugs and real friends to do what Pokémon was designed to do.
This is a guest post by Kevin Crawford. He’d write a bio but he’s too busy riding around town right now.
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