Poké Update

We're a little over halfway through the month and firmly over halfway through the year. Whew! I'd ask where the time has gone but grief and stupor are obvious.

The stress is getting to everyone. Death in the family here, terminal illness there, public shock when you wake up. A friend's husband recently had a stroke. I'm talking, someone I've known since high school. When did I get to be the age where this kind of thing starts happening? Luckily, her husband is on the road to recovery. But we could all use a little stress relief. And release. 

So I'm not part of the ranks rolling their eyes at the Pokémon Go explosion. I was a teenager when the cartoon first aired, so I have a basic handle on some of the little critters and the idea behind catching & battling. Very basic, but enough. And ignoring the screams of big brother using it to track us (because if you think 'big brother' waited until just now with this particular game to keep tabs, well, go ahead and try your hand at foil hats - we're way beyond that now and I've got other worries I'd rather focus on), I decided to try it out. 

Anything to have a topic for a blog post. Which really means anything to write a blog post to avoid staring at a screen trying to make a scene work. It is what it is, folks. 

I downloaded the game and in my one concession to privacy, I created an account and skipped registering with my Google. Just because I'm not too concerned doesn't mean I didn't do a little light research. I was too impatient to attempt to score Mr/s. Pika Pika right away and settled on one of the three offerings for newbies. I expected to be busy testing it out because we were headed to Disney Springs later in the weekend.

Massive Fail.

That day the game servers were taken down by a denial of service attack - so hackers. After watching Ghostbusters from the comfort of reclining chairs with servers refilling drinks, we did a quick exploration of the new Coke store and left. No strange and potentially rare pokémon for me. My Charmander was all alone in the world.

I was ready to uninstall the game (in a hissyfit of rage), but decided to wait and give it a fair shake. I didn't expect much given I live in a fairly rural area. People I know are complaining (some bitterly - those would be the younger ones) about the lack of pokémon living in the 'burbs or further out. Apparently, Pokémon Go is a city dweller's game. 

Yesterday my hubby and I ventured out into our neighborhood on unrelated business. Just before we headed home, I tried out the app. It logged in right away and a pokémon bird I was familiar with from the original cartoon series appeared before me. Nifty. I kept the app open on the way home and scored three more creatures, one of them I knew. Nice. Still no Mr/s. Pika Pika. (If you don't hear "peeka peeka" in a shrill yet adorable battle cry when you read that, the reference makes no sense.)

Pika?

This morning I opened the app when I stopped at the library. My local library is (apparently) a pokéstop, basically a goodie reload station. My dad rolled his eyes. Or he would have if they weren't freshly dilated from a surgical follow-up. I scored a couple more pokémon. The screen was lit up in total contrast to the random lone blip I'd see from my house. I also discovered that the entrance to my neighborhood is another pokéstop, though I hope that doesn't become a traffic issue if a passenger screams out to stop to grab a few new pokéballs (how you 'catch' the digital critters). I don't really know if you have to stop when you have the app open while driving because, well, safety. And I don't have a passenger to check for me. Yet. I should probably check with my niblings about this.

My dad, his voice full of disdain, asked me what the point was of the whole thing. Yeah, he remembered the cartoon and the card game from when I was younger. (Not that I played, but I'm sure he rolled his eyes as it swept the country at the time.) I explained it's a chance to live out, so to speak, what the idea behind the whole thing was without having to imagine as much. With the bonus of exercise and helping people socialize. "Ah," he said. That made a little more sense, but it's very evident my not joining in or participating gene is firmly from him. As is my "I'm curious anyway but don't want to let on" gene. I've got his number. He's not that mysterious. 

At a lack of anything more to do with the game in the meantime (all 3 levels along that I am) I put out some incense, of which you start the game with 2. I'm sure there is more for purchase or perhaps at some pokéstops. The virtual incense is supposed to lure wild pokémon to your location for 30 minutes. I had seen people complain about this not working well either, but I snagged at least 3 little critters from the comfort of my home. 

There is a bit of finesse/coordination involved in the catching. You've got to 'throw' a pokéball to catch the beasts, aiming to release when a green circle is at just the right spot. And for every one you catch you accrue points. More for a type you didn't have before, less for one you've already caught before. And you can trade those in within the game for bits and baubles to use, so far for me just treats to help other pokémon improve.

At some point you can battle others at a gym. I'll be honest. I'm not really interested. But I can understand why plenty of people would be. There are also eggs to be found and incubated to hatch. I got my first (and only so far) this morning.

This afternoon as I stopped at the pharmacy for the bazillionith time this month, I whipped out my phone before I got out of my vehicle. The game seemed oddly empty and then the app stopped working. I haven't been able to login since. So out of 3 or 4 times going into town/civilization, only 1 time has the app worked.

So to all my friends who lament about not being able to get the app on their phone, to those struggling to find more than a caterpillar-thingie (I said I had some basic info, I never said I was well-versed.) in their neighborhood: you really aren't that far off from the rest of us. And by the rest of us, I mean the ones who won't spend any money in-game and live out in the boonies. Of the 10 or so I've caught in the last 24 hours, 5 have been the same bird.

There are plenty of strategy sites popping up with the best ways to level up, so on and so forth. I'm not invested enough during my give-it-a-week trial period to read any of them.

So is it worth it? Clearly, the answer varies. Expectations vs your frequent locations vs game server consistency.