Florine Roche
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Jul 13: Pokémon Go is the new rage among people worldwide ever since this augmented reality game was released this month in America, Australia and New Zealand and a few other countries. It is a role-playing adventure game using the augmented reality. Though not released in our country it can be easily downloaded here through third party websites and the game has created quite a sensation catching the imagination of the young and the vivacious. Not to be left behind in Mangaluru too it has caught the fancy of people who are going crazy at the very mention of the game. So don’t be surprised if you find children, teenagers and youngsters crowded near parks, malls, places of worship, monuments, theatres, crowded streets and other public places in Mangaluru with their mobile sets in hand in their pursuit to capture Pokemons.

Pokémon is the acronym for Pocket Monsters which are based on the creatures in the actual world like plants and animals. But what is that attracts children and youngsters to this new sensation in the gaming world? What is this game all about? How can they capture Pokemons in these places? What will they do with the captured Pokemons? Ask these questions to the kids, youngsters or whoever is hooked to it and they are too willing and excited to give you a barrage of information, which sometimes may go beyond your head if you know nothing about the game.

18-year-old college student Sujith who is quite thrilled about these games says that Pokemon is like a dream to the kids of 90’s onward who grew up watching the anime on their televisions. “We watched it on television during our growing up days. We dreamt of capturing all Pokemons and becoming a “Pokemon master” And now it is like a dream comes true as the new game enables the capturing of Pokemons and to challenge our friends or other players in places called as “Pokemon gyms”, he explains. If an interested player has a smart phone with internet connection he can roam around with the game in different parts of the city. The indicator in the phone shows one or more Pokemons pointing out their distance of availability with footprints. They tap on the Pockemon on the list on the phone which they want to capture by selecting it to capture Pokemons. When the Pokemon comes within the range, the phone vibrates and Pockemon pops on the map which can be clicked on to capture it. Capturing is not an easy job as it used to be in earlier games. The catcher has to swipe the Poke ball with the right power and right direction to hit the Pockemon in order to capture it. Some refuse to be captured and concerted efforts are required to capture them after a compelling and gruelling chase. Some Pokemons even escape and run away.

After catching Pokemons the players go these gyms to battle other players who have conquered the gym to defeat them. It is about taking control of the gyms and keeping it under the control to get benefits such as poke-coins and various other goodies. With these Poke coins the players can buy items such as Poke-balls, egg incubators, back packs, lure models and incense which helps in capturing more Pokemons to become stronger.

Pokemon was launched way back in the mid 90s and has ever since been a huge success. But until now the excitement and thrill of going on an adventure in the real world was missing, says Sampath Kumar, a B.Com graduate working for an electronic store in the city. “The game is quite thrilling and exciting and we get hooked to it. It is free and is like a hobby that requires energy, talent, knowledge of Pokemons and lot of time. But it is worth it”, he says excitedly.

There are various types of Pokemons based on the elements of nature like fire, water, rock, poison, fairy, normal, grass, electric, ice etc., and these Pokemons are found in places which match their type. For example water Pokemons are found near water bodies. At present there are 151 pokemons which can be caught and after capturing these Pokemons the player battles it out with other trainers in the vicinity and becomes the gym leader. The game has other future attractions like offers of trading facilities wherein players can exchange their Pokemons with others.

Pokemon Go lovers are going gaga over this new exciting and adventurous game because it is much more affordable hobby as the players don’t need to spend money on it. However, there is always the danger of getting too excited because the game requires the chaser to keep looking at the phone for signs of Pokeman and other pop ups in public places and streets. This might prove fatal in Mangaluru and Indian roads.

In US the game has already created enough troubles to the law enforcers. Considering that the game might result in accidents and might get the youngsters addicted during the most fruitful years of their lives there is also the possibility of government mulling banning it in India. To do that the game has to be officially launched. Till then go and be a Pokemon master. Gotta catch em all.