Catch ‘em all on campus: Pokémon GO craze hits OCU

Pokémon GO, a smartphone game released in July, sparked the interest of students who are grouping together to play.

During its first week in the App Store, Apple confirmed the app had become the most downloaded in history, surpassing even Twitter with 500 million downloads.

The game uses GPS capabilities to find virtual Pokémon characters that show up in the app’s camera, as if they truly exist in the real world. Players advance by capturing and training Pokémon, as well as battling other players to control gyms and increase their Pokémon’s strength, which is determined by Combat Power.

Teams and gyms

A gym is a battle arena where players can fight each other’s Pokémon for control. Teams work together to keep control of their gyms or battle rival teams to take over their gym.

There are four gyms on campus:

– Jim Wade Baseball Stadium,

– Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel,

– The Rev. Price Beauregard Hicks Statue, and

– OCU Centennial Bench.

When players encounter their first gym, they must join a team identified by a color. The team choices are Instinct as yellow, Mystic as blue or Valor as red.

Gage Rancich, acting junior, is a member of team Instinct.

“We’re all about following the first impulses we get,” he said. “Team Instinct is interested in using Pokémon for friends and companionship. Battling is just an extra option.”

Team Valor’s goal is to discover the full power of Pokémon, so battling is at the forefront, Rancich said. Team Mystic focuses on the evolution and growth of Pokémon, he said.

Other features

In addition to gyms, the game includes PokéStops, real world locations that provide resources like eggs, potions and Poké Balls to help players capture more Pokémon.

PokéStops also allow players to place lure modules, which activate as pink flower petals that envelop the stop and increase Pokémon spawning. For 30 minutes straight, Pokémon will appear every two to five minutes. Any player can capture these Pokémon.

One key feature in the original Pokémon games allowed players to trade Pokémon with each other. That ability was advertised in the Pokémon GO trailer, but is not yet possible with the app.

Evolution is another feature that separates Pokémon GO from the older games. Pokémon GO players try to catch several of the same species of Pokémon, accumulating candy. The candy can be fed to the characters to make them power up or evolve.

In previous games, Pokémon leveled up through battles. Each character had four moves that they took turns using. The battling was simplified for Pokémon GO, giving each Pokémon two moves: one quicker attack and one powerful charge move.

“They don’t take turns in battles anymore,” said Jeffrey Laughrun, music theater sophomore. “Now, it’s just Pokémon smacking each other with water and fire and shit.”

Upcoming updates

Niantic, the company Nintendo partnered with to create the app, recently announced an upcoming update for the game.

The update will introduce Buddy Pokémon, allowing players to pick their favorite Pokémon to become their buddy, “opening up unique in-game rewards,” according to pokemongolive.com.

Pokémon GO Plus, a wearable device that lets people play the game without being on their phones constantly, will be released Sept. 16.

“As you pass by a PokéStop, the device will light up and vibrate to alert you to the location. You’ll be able to collect new items with a push of a button! If there’s a Pokémon hiding nearby, lights and vibrations will alert you of the chance to catch it,” according to the official Pokémon GO website, pokemongo.com.

Safety concerns

Laughrun frequently plays the game on campus and recently had his phone stolen while playing, which resulted in an injury.

Accidents connected to people playing Pokémon GO have been a common subject in news across the country since the game’s release.

“I think it is strange that we assign risks to Pokémon Go specifically,” Laughrun said. “In my case, I happened to be playing the game, but the real problem was that I was outside in a sketchy neighborhood alone. Pokémon GO is not inherently dangerous.”

Pokémon on campus
Wesley Yang, psychology and youth ministry senior, created a Facebook group to find other students who wanted to hunt Pokémon together. The group is “Official Pokemon Go: OCU.”

“The group is a place where we can share information on tips and tricks, as well as inform others if a rare Pokémon appears on campus,” Yang said. “It’s nice to be able to easily find friends to hunt with. A few members were talking about having Pokémon teams of bigs and littles.”

Yang organized an initial Pokémon GO gathering on Aug. 25 where players hunted and ate pizza.

“The event went very well, and there was a decent amount of Pokémon,” Yang said. “I think about 100 people attended. I love the friendship and rivalry the app creates.”

Poké–phenomenon

Laughrun heard about the game last fall and downloaded it immediately upon release.

“I’ve been a Pokémon fan my entire life,” he said. “The game became instantly popular because it made people like me who stayed inside playing go out into the world. People saw other people playing and word got out.”

Older Pokémon games were reserved for specific Nintendo systems like Gameboys or the Nintendo DS.

Bringing a free version of the game to phones, a device that virtually everyone already owns, made Pokémon GO extremely accessible, Laughrun said.