In the mid 90s, Pokémon was a popular anime that swept the nation. With a successful TV show, trading cards, video games and merchandise, kids from all over had a new type of cartoon to obsess about.
If you have absolutely no knowledge whatsoever on the topic, the storyline of the TV show followed an amateur Pokémon trainer on his journey "to be the very best like no one ever was" as he caught Pokémon and trained them to fight.
Well, now it's back and taking playing video games to new heights with "Pokémon GO," an app designed to let it's users "catch" Pokémon in "real life."
Many users have found themselves walking a lot more than normal, since the app forces it's players to go outside to find where the Pokémon are hiding.
App users David Sanchez, 20, and Juan Villaseñor, 22, used the Disneyland Resort as one of their playing grounds to catch Pokémon. The other being within their own neighborhood.
"No one was walking around the first night [that it launched], but the next time we met like 15 people walking because of it," said Sanchez.
Both Sanchez and Villaseñor have made new friends by playing the game by to bumping into others playing within their area.
The app has a layout of a map linked to the user's current location. There are destination points where hidden items are found as well as gyms to battle and train Pokémon. Disneyland has a plethora of these stops, so it has been a popular training ground. Neighborhoods have few "Pokéstops", so it takes a bit of walking around to get from one to the other.
Much more people than usual have been spotted walking around local parks, walking aimlessly until they suddenly stop to catch a Pokémon that appears in the app. Teens will even yell across the field to their friends when they find one so that everyone can catch that same Pokémon.
However, not everyone is openly proud of playing the game, even though it's a hit that's sweeping the nation.
Courtney Dawson, 24, recently downloaded the game to play with friends, but when she's alone, she doesn't want others to know what she's doing.
"I fake finger tap to make it look like I'm texting," said Dawson. She once walked out of her way to catch a Pokémon that was nearby while on her work break. It was a lot farther than expected.
Other people like Chris Means, 26, have been able to easily spot those who are playing, even in a crowd of people who are on their phones.
"The ones who aren't playing are looking at their phones normally. The ones that are [playing] are trying to look inconspicuous," said Means.
Overall, the game seems to be successful at getting people to walk more and enjoy the company of other people who have this nerd addiction in common. Despite a few kinks such as the servers crashing and the game freezing every now and then, people are still talking about it all over social media.
Who knew that Pokémon would still be something taking over the world after 20 years? Perhaps it's because in this day and age, nostalgia always wins people over. It takes us back to our childhood and allows us to relive in what were simpler times.
Pokémon is back and is better than ever.
