It was July of 2016 when game developer Niantic released a phone app called “Pokemon GO.“ You might assume it’s for children but it is extremely popular with adults, including some right here in Washtenaw County. Many are “on the go” to attend massive Pokémon events around the country. Count WEMU’s John Stockwell among them.
And my wife and I are not alone in traveling to chase down the little “Pocket Monsters”, as they’re called.
Nick and Rachel are 20-somethings from Ann Arbor and have traveled the world trying to "catch ‘em all!" I caught up with them at Gallup Park in Ann Arbor.
NICK: "So, recently, we went to Spain, Milan, in Italy, Japan, Indonesia, Hawaii, China, Russia, a lot of places just to play Pokémon Go."
STOCKWELL: "Tell me about China and Russia. What's it like there?"
NICK: "So now, it's actually not that good to go because they banned Pokémon GO in most of the places in China and Russia. So, you can actually catch Pokémon, but we went there before that happened. So, it's kind of cool to have Pokémon that were caught there, like people can no longer catch Pokémon there in general."
This seems like a good time to better explain the game. The premise is simple: Download the app, open it, and as little creatures appear on your screen, use your finger to flick different colored balls at them. If you are on target, the critter is captured and added to your Pokémon collection.
In other areas of the game, you can battle large Pokémon with groups of friends, activate special “stops” to earn items and trade Pokémon from your collection with other players or, as they are more commonly known, "trainers.”
The game also encouraged people to get out and enjoy the fresh air, meet new friends, form groups, and even travel the world.
And after all of his globetrotting, where is Nick’s favorite spot to play the game?
NICK: "And I have the most fun going to events in Japan. But it's just a really interesting experience because there's more people that play in Japan, as well as just the general culture. Like, it's just cool to kind of be like more immersed in like a Pokémon environment where there's like statues of Pikachu. There are like flyers, posters and everything like that."
What’s fascinating is that the game seems to cut across all ages and demographics. Kids play the game. Parents play the game. Grandparents play the game. You even see entire families out playing together.
Rachel says the Pokémon GO trips are also educational.
RACHEL: "Probably either Japan or Indonesia was like the biggest culture shock for us. Just completely different. With one individual in Indonesia, we ended up just going to different temples and like walking like the paths and trails, and they're telling us about these Buddhist temples. And you just learn really random interesting things about the areas you're in."
STOCKWELL: "You never would have known that otherwise."
RACHEL: "No, I've never even heard of that. It was a city called Yogyakarta. I've never even heard of it until I saw there's a Pikachu with an exclusive Baltic t-shirt. And I was like, 'Oh my gosh! I want it!' So, book a plane, and then we're off."
STOCKWELL: "You’re in a city. Can you spot a Pokémon player? How do you know they're playing?"
NICK: "Yeah, I think it's pretty easy to spot them. If they have cords coming out of their backpack into their phone, they're definitely playing Pokémon. If they're not super aware of their surroundings and almost walking into like a light post or something, they're probably playing Pokémon. Just generally looking down at their phone. You can kind of tell."
And if someone is just getting into the game as a novice, what is essential to have a successful adventure as a Pokémon trainer at a big event?
NICK: Comfortable shoes, water, sunscreen, a battery to charge your phone. And one thing that we've started bringing recently is a printed-out trade list, which some people really enjoy that and appreciate it because they'll see, 'Oh, we have this Pokémon for trade,' so it'll make them more comfortable to come up to us and talk to us about what they have for trade. And it's just a really fun experience to kind of have people approach us and just approach people with trade lists and stuff like that.
My conversation with Nick and Rachel was fun and informative. It also made me wonder. Who else would travel long distances in order to catch Pokémon?
I’m on board a Delta Airlines flight to New York City right now to attend the Pokémon GO Fest in Jersey City, where people from around the world will gather to play the game, hang out, and have fun.
Truth be told, I am a casual player of the game and have traveled to places such as Chicago, Los Angeles and Las Vegas to attend Pokémon events. As a news reporter, I love observing people, talking to them and just taking in the atmosphere of a major gathering of humans.
My wife, on the other hand, is a true Pokémon expert. She knows all the critters, their various incarnations, where to get special items and more.
It is a gorgeous day at Liberty State Park in New Jersey. I look across the water, and in front of me is the majestic Freedom Tower and some of the New York City Skyline. As I turn to the right, I spot the Statue of Liberty welcoming people from around the world. And it is from behind an angle of the statue I have never seen before. For once, I see what the statue sees.
As I continue to scan the horizon, I see thousands of people from all corners of the globe of all different ages. I hear different languages. I see different clothing. But the one thing everyone has in common is that they are all here to play Pokémon GO. So, I decided to wade into the crowd and meet fellow trainers.
Daniel is here with a group of friends and told me he had to rely on his older brother to help him play Pokémon hooky.
BROTHER: "He skipped class to come here."
DANIEL: "Yeah, I skipped class."
STOCKWELL: "Oh, you did?"
BROTHER: "I’m his older brother. I had to go to his school and tell them he’s going to a dentist appointment to come here."
I made a couple of attempts to talk to some trainers from Japan, but a language barrier got in the way or they were just alarmed at the sight of me— a strange old man wearing a Yankees jersey, safari hat, and carrying a microphone. However, being the award-winning news reporter that I am, if I couldn’t get Japan, I would go to the next best place: Saskatchewan!
Young Canadian couple Austin and Dylan made a run for the border to play Pokémon GO in the Big Apple.
DYLAN: "Yeah, it's kind of cool just seeing like how many different like types of people and everyone just like coming together, especially since we're from Canada. So, we just can kind of like be like, 'Oh yeah. We're not from here at all.'"
STOCKWELL: "Yeah, what kind of reaction do you get when people say like, 'You're not from the area. Uou've come from Canada to play?'"
AUSTIN: It's actually not that crazy. Like, people are usually pretty just...I don't know. It's a quick like, 'Hey, that's cool. You know, what did you catch?'"
As I walked further into the park, I came to a clearing with a small grandstand and dozens of trainers facing off in head-to-head phone battles. I didn’t know it yet, but I was about to enter the “Pokémon Battle Arena!”
The process is simple. Two trainers select Pokémon for battle, and whomever inflicts the most damage and knocks out the other Pokémon by tapping on their phone wins.
STOCKWELL: "Tell me what you're doing right now."
BRANDON: "We're recording our friend in his Pokémon battle right now."
STOCKWELL: "And what's your name?"
BRANDON: "My name is Brandon."
STOCKWELL: "Where are you from?"
BRANDON: "I'm from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania."
STOCKWELL: "This is pretty exciting!"
BRANDON: "I know! I know!"
After the battle, I was able to land an exclusive interview with Ryan from Philadelphia and the winner, Alennia from Connecticut.
STOCKWELL: "What just happened here? How was your battle?"
RYAN: "It was very exciting. I unfortunately lost. She just had a better team than me, had better moves, everything."
STOCKWELL: What do you think was the key to your victory? How did you do it?
ALENNIA: "I mean, I prepped what I thought would maybe be a good team, but it was just kind of luck of the draw to an extent. Because it depends on what he put against me, and you can't really tell that ahead of time."
An event like the Pokémon GO Fest just doesn’t pop up on a whim. It takes a great deal of planning and a dedicated team to pull it off.
Divya Erram is the Global GO Fest Marketing Lead and Live Events Manager.
STOCKWELL: "How many people are here this weekend?"
DIVYA: "In this park alone, we have tens of thousands and out in the city, which is Jersey City and New York's five boroughs, we have hundreds of thousands playing over the course of this weekend."
STOCKWELL: "There's people from everywhere. It's still going strong. Why is that?"
DIVYA: "I think that is one of the reasons. You meet and connect with people from every walk of life, from every country possible, and you have this universal love for a wholesome experience and catching these Pokémon in the real world. But also, once you're on site, you can see, like, every walk of life, every age, like, is represented. And I think that proves how this game can be something that you start out with in your childhood, but it can help grow you as a human as you age too."
The GO Fest was not just limited to a few hours at a park. This year’s version also had a city-wide feature where trainers could play all weekend throughout New York.
Right now, I am in Manhattan’s Central Park on a gorgeous Saturday. The sun is out along with some wind-swept clouds, and the park is buzzing with activity. There are joggers, bicyclers, musicians, wedding parties and an endless sea of Pokémon trainers.
It’s here where I meet up once again with the couple who started this story—Nick and Rachel from Ann Arbor.
STOCKWELL: "Where are we right now?"
NICK: "Central Park in New York City."
STOCKWELL: "Now, how has the event been? You've been all around the world. How does this one compare?"
NICK: "This one's really awesome. We just got back from Osaka last weekend, and that was a lot of fun also. But New York is just really cool, seeing like Central Park and like just being in New Jersey and seeing the Statue of Liberty. That was really cool, too!"
STOCKWELL: "And, Rachel, tell me. You were trapped by people looking at your trade list. What does that mean?"
RACHEL: "It means trying to get regionals from other people that we might have something that they were looking for and trading some really cool ones. Like, Nick traded for a shiny Stitched Gengar, which was his number one find for the whole event. So, that was really fun to see!"
STOCKWELL: "What's next after today? Is there another event coming?"
NICK: "Yeah. So, on Wednesday, I'm going to be leaving for the GO Fest in Paris. So, that'll be a lot of fun also. It's just the last one of the year, so super excited about that, too."
STOCKWELL: "And just tell me about some of the people you've met, some of the people you talked to. Like, here's my wife, Michelle. Michelle, it's Nick and Rachel."
NICK: Yeah. So, we've met people from all over. We've actually met a couple people that we saw last week in Osaka also that we recognized here, and they kind of recognized us and started talking to us as well. Some other people that are going to Paris as well. I think the furthest people that we've met probably were from Alaska, I think. So, it's kind of crazy that people just come from just everywhere for this!"
As Nick and Rachel head off, I find a bench in the shade to take this all in—trying to "catch ‘em all" in New York City.
Non-commercial, fact based reporting is made possible by your financial support. Make your donation to WEMU today to keep your community NPR station thriving.
Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on X (Twitter)
Contact WEMU News at 734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org
