By MARIA PREKEGES
If you haven’t heard about the Pokémon GO craze, then perhaps you might literally be living under a rock, as the craze has been all over the news and social media. Pokémon is short for ‘Pocket Monsters,’ which was the original Japanese name.
Since it debuted in early July, Pokémon GO shot to the top of Apple’s free apps, with a record-setting 75 million downloads. The “Poké-effect” carries over into associated downloads. The third most download-free app is Poké Radar, which helps GO users find nearby Pokémon.
A type of geocaching game, Pokémon GO uses real locations to encourage players to search in the real world to discover Pokémon characters. Pokémon GO allows you to find and catch more than a hundred species of Pokémon as you explore your surroundings.
Sun Valley resident Ethan Hunt, 13, explained how the game is played.
“You start out as a character in the digital world of Pokémon. The game is powered by Google Maps. When you walk around, a Pokémon can spawn randomly on your map based on the time of day and the type of terrain you are on. If you tap on the Pokémon, you can try to catch it. Every time you catch a Pokémon, the game rewards you. When you earn a certain number of points, you move up a level. Once you reach level five, you choose between three teams: red, blue, and yellow. After you choose your team, you can go to places scattered across the map and enter what are called gyms. In gyms, you battle against other Pokémon to win the title of gym leader and to determine which team leads the gym.”
While a person is playing, they might come near a piece of art registered to the Google Maps database, Hunt explained. At that point “Poké STOP icons pop up. When you click on a Poke Stop, it will reveal various game features, such as Poké balls to catch Pokémon, potions to lure Pokémon to you, and more.”
“I heard about Pokémon GO months before its official U.S. release,” Hunt said. “I decided to play about two days after the release because a ton of my friends were playing.”
Harley Pullen, 11, started playing Pokémon GO in the Valley the day it was released.
“The game takes us all over town, like Atkinsons’, Irving’s, Despo’s, the movie theater, Sun Valley and more,” Pullen said. “It’s really fun to play.”
Brothers Toby, 15, and Leo Molter, 11, of Ketchum, were also bit by the craze.
They explained that they play on different teams so they can battle each other.
“We went to Sun Valley, where we don’t go very often, and we also rode our bikes all over playing it,” Toby said. “It gets you moving around and you get to interact with new people. It’s really fun and it keeps you active.”
Their mother, Carey Molter, said that despite safety concerns, she likes the game for her boys.
“I think at their ages it’s a fun new way to get them out and about,” she said. “They’re riding their bikes more than they have all summer. I do have a rule that they have to stop and get off their bike before using the game, though.”
Pokémon GO is available on the iTunes Store and Google Play. For more information on the game, visit www.pokemongo.com.