If you followed Ash, Misty, and Brock on their journey to become Pokémon Masters, then at some point you probably wanted to be like them. You probably had to beg your parents to buy you both versions of the first game; they did not understand that you just HAD TO have both games to complete your Pokedex. You probably woke up early every Saturday morning to catch a new episode of the show. Regardless of whether or not you played the card game, you owned several stacks of Pokemon cards. The series has been out for twenty years now. Some of us have moved on from it and look back on our time as Pokemon trainers with nostalgia. Some of us have kept up with the series since the beginning. Still others are just now being drawn to the series.

Regardless of how we came to love the Pokemon franchise, we are being pulled together in the newest installment to the series. On July 6, 2016 Pokémon GO was released live in the United States. With this app, we are able to catch and train Pokemon in real time. While you are on your own journey to becoming a Pokémon Master, you also get to explore your surroundings, as the Pokémon are virtual but the settings are real. The game utilizes your smart phone’s camera to put the Pokemon right in front of you. This game makes you want to get up, go outside, and explore. My FitBit steps are proof of that!

You could find a Pokémon out in the park...

or even in your kitchen.

This game is a new spin on the Pokemon franchise that is very different to anything we have seen before, while still feeling familiar. Within the handheld games, you can find random items scattered on the ground. With Pokemon GO, you get to travel to real world places, such as churches and monuments, to collect items and Pokemon eggs. Like in the handheld games, the eggs hatch based on steps taken. It’s easy in the handheld game to hop on a mach bike to get your distance, but that won’t work this time around! This game uses your phone’s pedometer and GPS to keep track of how far you travel on foot. If you would rather take your bike make sure you go slow because the game uses a speed cap to calculate your distance traveled.

A new aspect of the game are medals that track your achievements. The medals come in bronze, silver, and gold. These medals are unlocked by meeting specific criteria. Can you catch enough of the highest percentage Rattata to get the Youngster Medal?

Because all of the battles take place in a gym and not in the wild, you need a way to power up and evolve your Pokémon. Pokemon GO has created a new way to train your Pokemon. Stardust and Pokémon Candy are items that you can obtain in many different ways in order to increase your Combat Power (CP). Neither of these items can be bought in the shop. To earn Stardust, you can catch and hatch Pokémon or defend a gym. You will receive 100 Stardust every time you catch a Pokémon. To earn Pokémon Candy, you can catch, hatch, and transfer Pokémon. Each Pokémon has a candy specific to its species. To evolve your Pokemon you will need a specific amount of candy based on its evolutionary family. For example, it takes 12 Weedle candies to evolve a Weedle into a Kakuna. It then takes 50 Weedle candies to evolve that Kakuna into a Beedrill. Do you have a Magikard you’re hoping to evolve into the much stronger Gyarados? That will cost you 400 Magikarp candies. Hopefully you hatch a few Magikarp; hatching eggs produces much more candy than capturing the Pokemon outright.

A very helpful feature is a panel that shows you which Pokémon are nearby. If there is just a grey silhouette and you have to ask yourself “Who’s that Pokemon?” then that means that you have not caught that Pokémon yet. The number of prints underneath each Pokémon tells you how close they are to you. One print means that they are very close and three means they are far away.

Do you find it difficult to constantly have your phone out and the app open to catch Pokémon or even know if they are there? Don't worry! Later this month, Pokémon GO Plus will be released. This is a wearable device that will notify you if a Pokémon is near you, if you are near a PokéStop, and so much more. It uses Bluetooth technology to connect to your phone and the game. This will be a way to enjoy your journey without staring at your phone.

Pokémon GO is the game we have been waiting for. While there are some glitches that need to be fixed and adjustments need to be made, this game is so exciting and addicting. I am looking forward to future software updates, but until then, I will be on my way to becoming a Pokémon Master. Won't you join me?

For more information on Pokémon GO and Pokémon GO Plus, check out the websites below.

http://www.pokemongo.com/en-us/

http://www.ign.com/wikis/pokemon-go