Gotta Catch ‘Em All
- Shane Walker
- 19 hours ago
- 3 min read
On September 8, 2016, my buddy Ben called me up and told me that a new video game was released. It was a phone game called Pokemon Go. When you open the game, a virtual map of your area is created using GPS technologies. As you walk in real life, your avatar walks in the game and Pokemon (a popular ‘90s franchise) appear around you. In this game, you could collect these creatures, take actual pictures where these fake monsters appear in the real environment, and use your Pokemon to fight other players to control landmarks around the city. It was revolutionary, exciting, and free to play.
We loved Pokemon as kids. The Laurel Toys ‘R Us used to host Pokemon card trading and battling events where we could get free cards and gym badges for attending and completing tasks. Sports Card Heroes on Main Street used to give out Pokemon cards at Trick or Treat on Main Street. Kids would gather at bus stops and at the school playground to show off their collection and trade cards. I told Ben I’d download the game, and we’d meet up to try it out together.
It is first and foremost a walking game. It was designed to get players exercising; the Pokemon were like rewards for taking walks and visiting new areas. Over the years, they have added new content to keep the game fun—I’m still playing it. My mom downloaded it (she was, and still is, the Pokemom): her avatar name is LaurelWalker. She’s actually a higher level than me. Since she downloaded the game (a day or two after I did), my mom has walked 7767 miles. I’m telling you her stats because they’re more impressive than mine, but I’ve got about 5000 miles myself!
Ben still plays, but quickly this became something my mom and I did together. I remember when they introduced Pokemon raids. Groups of players would need to meet in real life to visit a landmark where you could battle a rare Pokemon together and get a chance to catch it. I remember my mom and I were driving somewhere, and we saw a massive group of maybe 40-50 diverse people by Carol’s Western Wear (now the Wawa) and we stopped by. People from all over had gathered to organize together into groups to fight the Pokemon raid. It was a very exciting event; the energy was similar to the crowd waiting to go into a football game. The people who tried to group others ended up taking on leadership roles in the Pokemon community for the next few years.
Laurel was extraordinary for Pokemon. Players from Columbia and Beltsville and Greenbelt would drive to Laurel because the game was designed to visit historic landmarks and reward interesting walks. Laurel has a certain pride in its history that just made the game more exciting and playable than other areas. The truth is that I learned more about Laurel parks and history by playing Pokemon than I did just living here.
As the years have passed, I have come to know more of the Laurel residents simply by meeting them at these sort of events. I could almost always count on seeing Grandma and Grandpa Johnson at Discovery Park. Collin, with his solar panel charger hanging off his backpack, could be seen all along Rt. 1 or 198 playing on his way back and forth from work. HisRedThunder and my mom had a rivalry for a while to see who could keep their Pokemon in the Ivy Hill Cemetery Pokemon gym longer. Laurel is truly the very best, “like no one ever was.”
We don’t meet up like we used to, and not everyone still plays, but whenever I see a group of people walking down Main Street together, I still assume they’re playing the game. It seems silly that a video game might improve a city, but I believe Pokemon Go did. Go Team Instinct!
Shane Walker is the Media Specialist at Laurel Elementary School. More than a lifetime resident in Laurel, he is a lifetime member of its greater community. As a writer, he focuses on inspiring harmony through diversity of thought.
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