Pokémon GO Will Make Geocachers of Us All

Pokémon GO Niantic, Inc

The first time I heard about geocaching was when my middle school crush’s father went on what I thought was a treasure hunt. He explained to me, while I sweated over sitting so close to my beloved in the back of a Toyota, that it was so much more than treasure hunting. It was building a community of like-minded modern adventurers who would not be content to sit at home and waste away in front of their televisions. I listened as the apple of my eye captured another useless Magikarp in my Pokémon game. Now, years later, these two worlds have collided again in the upcoming game from The Pokémon Company and Niantic, Inc. called Pokémon GO.

Geocaching, or GPS stash hunting, is the real life game of using coordinates to find prizes. Sometimes it’s a simple one-stop shop, other times it leads to riddles, maps, or dead ends. There are communities that are more active than others and not a lot of publicity about this recreation. Pokémon GO seems to be attempting to make geocaching a mainstream hobby. Players will use their mobile phones to “catch” Pokémon or eggs in the “wild” and then train them to fight other Pokémon. Or people can purchase Bluetooth enabled devices to wear on their wrists and look like the giant Pokénerds we all secretly are.

I’m a fan of digital geocaching. That is, I enjoy going on treasure hunts using maps in open world sandbox games like Oblivion or Far Cry, but as the solitary houseplant I like to be, it would take a lot to get me to venture outside for a game. I don’t play sports for a reason, y’all. Yet, the logistics of Pokémon GO are exciting, and maybe enough to get me playing games in the real world. A lot of other people seem to be wondering this too, as it was one of the most searched games last year.

Recent announcements shared that players will ask to join one of three teams, or gyms, and battle for collective glory. What do you think Pokéfans? Is this new mobile venture enough to get you into the world of GPS stash Pokémon hunting?

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Al Rosenberg

Al Rosenberg

Gay weirdo. Talk to them about tiny games, big books, trash, and all things illness.

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