How do I know this? Well, I’m a proud member of Pokémon Go: Victoria B.C., a Facebook group for devotees of the smartphone game. Getting in was easy. I applied and was instantly accepted.
Victoria’s Pokémon Go page is chockfull of interesting intel. For instance, one person asks if anyone knows where to find Vulpix near Langford. She is informed the only “reliable Vulpix” are found at the University of Victoria.
I did not know that.
Another Pokémon Go member writes: “When I’m surrounded by Zubats, I figure I’m pretty much Batman.” Someone else tells the group: “Eevee is the Pidgey of Beacon Hill. Spotted a number in Colwood and Sooke as well!”
Although I thoroughly enjoy being a member of Pokémon Go: Victoria B.C., there’s one drawback. I’ve never played Pokémon Go. Therefore, I have zero idea of what’s going on. So I can’t really join in the banter. I mean, what if I mistook a Bulbasaur for a Vulpix?
You see my dilemma.
Not everyone loves Pokémon Go. Tellingly, one member of Victoria’s Pokémon Go group has a message for the haters.
“I’m so sick of seeing bitchy posts from mostly middle-age people talking about ‘whilst everyone else had their heads buried in their Pokémons I enjoyed this beautiful sunset.’ Ever heard of multi-tasking? … Just because I’m catching that Meowth over there one minute doesn’t mean I’m completely blinded by the game.”
As a middle-age person, I’d like to say: “Right on, fellow Pokémon Go fan!” (although I did have to look up Meowth: It is a small, cat-like Pokémon with cream-coloured fur).
Even though I’m middle-age and watch Inspector Morse a lot, I fully support people playing Pokémon as much as possible. This despite the objections of some. The naysayers are mostly the baby boomers, a.k.a. the Generation of Geezers, the people who get all excited because Mick Jagger’s about to have a baby.
I like to call them the technologically challenged or “tech-chals.” Tech-chals are infuriated by the sight of gamers walking around with their heads down gazing at screens. And they gripe about players strolling into moving buses or funeral services.
Some tech-chals cite news reports of Pokémoners hunting for Bulbasaurs at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Poland. Apparently the museum, a former Nazi death camp, has asked that the site be removed from the game. Ditto for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and Arlington National Cemetery.
To this I say, holy Zubats, Batman — have you tech-chals never been young and totally interested in gaming?
Also, I suspect some of those Pokémoners — say, the ones who play in the Arlington cemetery — are getting a small, but potent, dose of history they wouldn’t experience otherwise. They’re like: “Dude, I think my Pokémon egg is ready to hatch. Hey, isn’t that the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier?”
The real beauty of Pokémon Go is that it gets people out of their basement suites into the real world. This is a bona-fide cultural revolution, and should not be ignored. After all, the benefits could be manifold.
For instance, I hear symphony orchestras are having a tough time getting new audiences to replace the oldsters who like classical music.
Well, why not make each concert venue a Pokestop?
You would have to let the gamers wander around during the Mozart or Haydn or whatever. But hey, would you rather have an empty concert hall or the occasional sound of someone yelling: “Oh wow, that Kakuna just evolved into a Beedrill!”
Ditto for dating. I imagine most Pokémon Go fans don’t date that much, because they spend too much time playing Pokémon Go or watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Well, why not combine dating and Pokémon Go? Why not install a Pokestop on your club’s dance floor. Soon you’ll have throngs of gamers inadvertently getting down to Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop the Feeling.
Of course, the tricky part will be getting them to lift their gaze from the screen to make eye contact with other dancers. Is there an app for that?