Three times during the holidays, as we were out and about in town, I was directed to stop in specific locations on the hunt for Pokemon.
“Hurry, this guy disappears after like 10 minutes, we need to get to the library now!”
I don’t play. And neither do my kids. But the Man in My Life (MML) is not only an avid Pokémon Go fan on the quest to catch’em all, he’s also involved in a very serious rivalry – with our publisher, Matt Rockley.
The two of them send photos to each other, bragging about what they catch. When Matt sent a screenshot of a Pikachu wearing a Santa hat in mid-December, the battle escalated to new heights.
I’m growing accustomed to hearing grumbling or the occasional “Noooo!” when the MML receives a text from the boss man. It usually means he’s caught a Raichu with a Santa hat – or most recently, a Blastoise, which drives jealousy through the roof and raises the stakes.
It goes both ways. Apparently the MML has an Aerodactyl that has Matt green with envy.
Neither of them have a Charizard or Gyarados, so the challenge is on to see who can get them first (don’t ask me what these are, I had to go straight to the source to get the names and have no idea what they look like or what they do).
Personally, I never jumped on the Pokémon Go bandwagon. I assumed it would be a fad that died by the end of summer, but apparently I was wrong. The game has recently added updates to keep its devoted players happy and reignite interest in those that put down the Poké Balls in the fall.
I’ll probably never see the appeal in the game myself, or know the difference between a Bulbasaur and a Charmander, but I’m happy to stand by and watch these two fight it out. Their competition is pretty entertaining from an outsider’s perspective.
I don’t understand much about Pokémon and I don’t care to – but I do enjoy watching them try to outdo one another, racing to achieve the next level, get the best Pokémon, take over each other’s gyms (whatever that means).
