Do you remember back in 2016 when GameFreak shattered the capabilities of mobile gaming through their revolutionary title, “Pokémon Go?” You may have noticed how it became the talk of the town for adults and children alike. The truth is, the game is very much still alive to this day, even here on Wilkes campus.

If you are not familiar with “Pokémon Go,” it is a mobile game in which players are tracked in real-time by GPS so their avatar in-game can travel among the world of the Pokémon. Every so often there are Pokémon that appear and can be caught with pokéballs. All is done through augmented reality, an advanced camera software that combines the digital world with real life. Places in real life play an important role in the game. Significant areas are labeled as Pokéstops, where players can harvest items like fruits, gifts and more catching equipment. Some places which are even more important are gyms.

Here, players can station a chosen Pokémon to defend a gym claimed by their team. There are
three teams: Instinct (Yellow), Valor (Red) and Mystic (Blue). If a gym is not claimed by your team, you have the option of running a 6-team against the Pokémon stationed at the gym in order to defeat and conquer it,
reaping many gym-specific rewards and enabling your teammates around the area to help defend the newly claimed
gym.

Now, how exactly can one show Wilkes spirit through such a game? It’s quite simple, really. First of all, many students on campus are likely to check- in through “Pokémon Go” at least once per day. During this time, they are very likely to participate in gym battles. Normally, you can get a good idea of the dominating team per area by seeing the color of each gym in proximity.

When I check the gyms that are on campus, they are never the same color. This means that there are plenty of competitors somewhere on campus who are always ready to play. It gets even more interesting than just competing over gym locations. Players who friend each other are able to trade gifts and send each other postcards of places they have visited through the game.

A group of players can organize a physical meeting in which they are all able to trade and showcase their
Pokémon. It would be very interesting to have people on campus be able to bond over this game by setting up meetings on campus. In a way, we can encourage everyone that likes to play the game to connect with one another and create a Wilkes-wide program, perhaps even setting up adventures together. It would even be beneficial in the healthy sense in that it provides means of getting fresh air, physical exercise and even relieving some stress.

Finally, the biggest reason to connect with others in “Pokémon Go” is the Shadow Raids, courtesy of Team
Rocket. The Shadow Raids are an attempt for Team Rocket to take over gyms by placement of eggs. These eggs
have a timer to let players nearby know when the raid will begin. Basically, a gigantic, shadow and often mega-evolved Pokémon hatches from the egg and takes over the gym. The raid only lasts for a limited time, but it
is important that a player participates.

When the raid begins, players who wish to participate can queue into a team, each with their own six Pokémon. The raid boss is supposed to be extremely difficult, so it will take all of the players working together to defeat it. The more people in the raid, the easier it will be to defeat the boss, free the gym and reap the rewards.

Once the boss is defeated, it shrinks back to normal size and players have the opportunity to catch it before it flees.
The Pokémon will be in shadow form, meaning it needs to be purified before it can evolve or be powered up. The boss is usually a very powerful and rare Pokémon, so defeating them is quite rewarding.

There you have it, plenty of reasons to connect with your friends through this wonderful game and to make new friends on campus. Perhaps you forgot about how amazing “Pokémon Go” is and now you will log back in after many
a year.

In any case, I think this is a great way to create some unity and competition among the Colonels.

At the very least, we can do better than our rivals across
the Square.