Confessions of a Fake Pokemon Fan

So I, like most of the population, have been playing "Pokemon Go" pretty much non-stop since I downloaded it.

Look at this smug fucker I found in the stables at work

Here's the thing, though. I was never a Pokemon kid. I was very stubbornly a Sailor Moon kid, I was never interested in Pokemon. I wasn't even going to download the game until one of my friends pointed out that most of the Pokestops are areas of historical interest and sometimes have interesting little educational blurbs. And yet, despite my initial skepticism... I love it.

I am a 'fake pokemon fan' having the time of my life with a game that I know none of the backstory of.


The game has already led me to places I didn't know about before. For example, in the trailer park behind my work one of the Pokestops is actually of a statue called 'The Garden Lady' that was dedicated to Sarah Winchester. No one, including my boss, knew the statue existed until the game led us to her. And, uh... she's certainly something...

Check out the pokeballs on her.

I also was led to a field near my house that I always thought was nothing but a barren field. But it turns out... 'Ancestors of Mowekma Ohlone Indians used this area as a large permanent cemetery and village site as long ago as 3000 years' and that later on it was 'believed to contain one of the great oaks to which bears would be tethered prior to Bear-Bull fights'. How's that for an interesting local historical tidbit?

The other great thing about the game is how it's enabled me to connect with people. To bond with coworkers, to go on adventures with Sarah and my little brother (I've never had anything in common with my brother before but now we're going on walks together and bonding over this), to meet people like the woman walking two corgis the other day. I think that's so pure and great.

For me, the game isn't so much about catching them all, it's about that. Learning your way around interesting historical spots and meeting/bonding with other humans. I think that's going to be really great when I move.

And, okay, it's a little bit about catching all the pokemon.

(And for the record? I'm Team Mystic. As is Sarah and my brother. MYSTIC ALL THE WAY.)

-Nym-