Pokémon Go is the newest game storming the nation, and while I normally hesitate to jump on game-related bandwagons, this was one I felt the need to download immediately. So far, ignoring some technical issues, the game has been absolutely fantastic and more addicting than I’d like to admit. I’ve been a Pokémon fan since I can remember. I used to watch an episode or two every morning before school and was always quick to get merchandise that showed off my favorite Pokémon (or my love of Team Rocket). That being said, I’m not really one to follow news stories or listen to anything that game companies have to say regarding games that are going to be released. So for me, Pokémon Go was a thing I heard about in my friend’s basement and installed that day. Since my initial installation, I’ve probably played every single day. Most of the time that I have my phone on me, the game is open. I will admit to spending real money on this game, but I can justify spending a few dollars on something that has benefited me so much. It’s brought friends and I closer together, introduced me to new people, and has even reintroduced me to exercise, and I think that’s worth $10.

Once I understood the game and started talking to my friends about it, we quickly realized that it was something we should absolutely be doing as a group. One week I was out every single night with a different group of friends walking around and catching Pokémon. Some of these friends I hadn’t spent time with in months, some even years. People were going from being someone who sometimes likes my statuses on Facebook to being someone I was spending hours with just walking around and talking about life while catching Pokémon. There’s something extremely magical about catching a rare Pokémon and just dancing and dramatically hugging in the middle of the street (we are always conscious of oncoming traffic) and it just brings you all closer together. It’s also encouraged me to spend more time with my closest friends in a way that we aren’t used to.

One of the most advertised aspects of the game prior to its release was its ability to introduce you to new people. I watched these advertisements after I had been playing for a while and just assumed that my town was too small for me to meet anyone new from a game. I was 50 shades of wrong. For anyone who plays this game, if you see a lure module, go to it. Sometimes it will just be a variety of cars parked around with people sitting in it and playing, and other times there will be actual people sitting on the grass who you can go up to and start talking about the game and sharing stories with. I’ve met some really awesome people who I didn’t even know lived in my tiny town this way. There’s also something extremely satisfying about hearing a kid talk about your username, and then being able to walk over and introduce yourself to them.

One of the main aspects of the game is having to walk around to hatch eggs and find wild Pokémon. As someone who has arthritis in her knees, I’ve avoided walking long distances as much as I could since about 7th grade. While the fact is that it probably would help my knees if I did this, the pain was always never worth the boring walk around town. Well, this game went and changed all of that for me. Going out with my friends and having all of these fun experiences has managed to distract me from my knee pain. I’m so busy looking around to see what’s going on that I don’t realize how many miles I’ve walked or how my knee feels. After about two weeks, I’ve started coming home with less and less pain. I never really believed that pain was such a mental thing until I became an active Pokémon trainer (there’s a sentence I never thought I’d get to say). It’s definitely not curing the arthritis but it seems to be helping me cope with it a lot more, which is something I really needed.

Pokémon Go has been a success worldwide, and it’s clear to see why. Not only do people get to re-experience their childhood, but they get added lifelong benefits from it. I can’t wait to see how this game evolves over time, and what more I can achieve in my own life from it.