Let it never be said I am not one to get on a Hype Train. Because, well, I did grow up with Pokémon in my heart, and now the idea of catching some in the wild appeals to me way too much to not do so.

I lasted a while. I went a whole five days or so before I began playing. But now, like everyone in the world it seems: I’m a Pokémon fucking Trainor.

And let me tell you how quickly this game rewires your brain—and why I’d recommend it to those of us in the writing profession.

Because, I don’t think I need to tell you your day is full of a lot of sitting. I mean, a lot of jobs are like that, but we writers do tend to spend a lot of time in our chairs. Writing and reading are not typically movement-based activities.

And since getting this game I’ve been all around on foot. I already walk a lot, but this added sometimes 2-3 kilometers to my daily exercise, just in search of a Pokémon.

It turns the world into a more exciting and open place. Everyone I see with a phone I assume is playing the same game as me, and I feel a sense of community.

Every random squirrel and bird flying by turns into a Pokémon in your head. I’m not even kidding. Something moved nearby me, and I assumed it was a Pidgey until a split-second later when I realized how dumb a thought that was.

It’s changing the world. Which is not a new statement, but it really is doing so. I cannot wait to see what this brings. I also think augmented reality is just a cool concept. We writers tend to see the world through an alternate lens of stories anyway—so this just enhances it.

And for those of you who are not writers reading this, you get to have some of that experience as well.

So, if you haven’t already—I implore you to give the game a try. Because it will turn you into an explorer of the world and make exercise into the most fun shit ever…yo.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go. I think I saw a Lapras nearby.

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Special thanks to: Bob Gerkin, Collin Pearman, Dylan Alexander, Jerry Banfield, Michael The Comic Nerd,  and Pulsatilla Pratensis. 

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