Of course, I’m talking about Pokémon. Pokémon Go to be more precise.
But Sera, is that still a thing? Of course it is! Just because it’s out of your radar doesn’t mean it’s no longer within other people’s.
I grew up playing Pokémon on the tiny screen of a Game Boy color which I do not own. Poor gamers like me had to borrow it from people who have parents giving them whatever they want. They didn’t have the power adapter so I had to salvage any AA batteries around the house. And the old versions didn’t have any backlight so playing under the covers is out of the question.
There was so much excitement with the announcement of an IRL Pokémon game. Well, as close to real life it could get.
This time around, I no longer need to borrow another person’s Game Boy. All I needed was a phone and some decent mobile data.
I was there even before the game was launched in our region, when the first costumed Pikachu was released, and when the Mega Mewtwo X and Y were released in Japan. I can finally afford to splurge on myself.
Not a lot of people know how much this game mean to a lot of people. Some use the platform to make friends or build connections. There’s a very large community in the country that often meet at overseas Pokémon events.
Majority of those in our community are highly-respected professionals in their own fields. But not all see that. Other people just see a bunch of “nerds” getting excited about some silly game or worse, a cult.
Just last week, as our Community Ambassador was shouting out the categories for the end-of-day games, a couple literally pushed their way to the front and made some mocking comments. It really made me ask myself why people would go out of their way and make the effort to put somebody down.
You know what the community did? They ignored and continued with their activities. Even after 10 years of playing–And 30 years of Pokémon–you still get the occasional snide remarks. That never stopped the players.
Last week, Pokémon Go had their annual Global Go Fest event. And because it’s their 10th year anniversary, they had the event totally free. Not a ticketed event this time. It’s the perfect time for veterans to just play without the added pressure of making what they spent count, and a chance for those who are curious about the game to start playing it with a big community.
We had a couple of trainers play with us that were from outside the city and some are from out of the country. Returning players came and did some catching up with friends. Everyone was welcomed (back) into the fold.
The event ended at 7pm which honestly was a bit late but everyone had fun with the after-event awarding of prizes. You really have to give it to the Community Ambasadors–They give it their all and they’re not getting paid to do it. Just pure passion.
See you all in the next event!