By ANGELINA,
the Hype Hunter

They’re everywhere, and their life mission is to catch ’em all.

Pokémon Go players who want to be the very best at this game have been swarming places such as the State Library, Southbank and Lilydale Lake. For these avid players, Pokémon Go is not just a game — it is becoming a lifestyle.

If you did not know it already, Pokémon Go is an augmented reality (AR) game in which players channel their inner Ash Ketchum by catching Pokémons in the real world. The game connects to your smartphone’s camera and GPS, so cute little monsters can appear in your lecture hall, the nearby 7-Eleven store or even in your bedroom.

The scale of its success is hard to take in. It took just five days from its launch on July 6 for it to move ahead of Angry Birds and Candy Crush to become the most popular mobile game in history, and sales are still in the millions every day.

Why is it so popular? A big part of its addictiveness is the sense of adventure it creates in the mission to catch all 151 Pokémons. 

But perhaps the best part of Pokémon Go is that it encourages you to get out of the house, which is a far cry away from sitting in front of your computer to play League of Legends or Overwatch. Who says you cannot exercise while playing digital games now?

Whether it is travelling all the way to Lilydale Lake to catch Dratini, or jogging in the neighbourhood to get your eggs hatched, the entire game revolves around physical movement.

People have taken to roaming the streets, exploring new places and interacting with invisible beings that now inhabit our city.

“Pokémon hunting” is now a legitimate pastime you can do with your family, friends, or even a stranger in Flagstaff Gardens who became a friend while playing the game.

And that is another wonderful aspect of the game — seeing and socialising with so many people while playing Pokémon Go. It makes you feel like you are part of a big and vibrant community.

However, there are several technical problems that could curtail your enjoyment of the Pokémon experience. Freezes, lags and crashes are daily occurences.

Pokémon Go is also known to use up a lot of your phone’s battery and the game is without any useful tutorials (Still not sure what Stardusts are for? You’re not alone!). 

WORTH THE HYPE? Yes, yes it is. Sure, the GPS is buggy, and sometimes the screen freezes right when you are trying to catch a rare Pokémon. And yet, all this does not matter when the game has turned the dreams of those who had watched the show and collected the cards a reality. Although flawed, Pokémon Go has captured the heart of the Pokémon universe, whereby every corner can spawn a new Pokémon, and your only goal in life is to catch ’em all.