Gotta catch ’em all!

All this time I have been at West Wales Chronicle, I have always wanted to write in the “Geekly Weekly” column but have always felt that the guys here will outshine my geek, and to be honest since I found out there was no Amazing Spiderman 3 I guess you could say I gave up on geek. It has been an amazing year for geek in general but I have the honours (sorry guys!) of telling all of our readers about POKEMON GO!

As a 90’s kid a few things stapled us like the Spice Girls, Fresh prince of Bel Air, Goosebumps and Beanie Babies. Although nothing could ever compare to the worldwide craze of Pokemon. I was a proud owner of a Shiny Charizard, Ninetails and Blastiose plus many more. I have fond memories of begging my mum to take me to Reading to get the shiny Ancient Mew card and getting in from school, excited to see the new episode of Pokemon whilst singing the themetune. Since those days I have had moments where Pokemon has come back into my life which makes me reminisce, like my 20th birthday present of a Pikachu cuddly toy and the release of ALL THE ORIGINAL EPISODES on Netflix. All of these things made me scream and ecstatic like my younger self but none of this had me ready for the release of Pokemon GO! A thesaurus would struggle finding words to describe the excitement! Unfortunately being in the UK meant we had to wait a little while longer than other parts of the world but alas it is now here! AND I’VE GOT TO CATCH THEM ALL!

Since I’ve downloaded this app I have been more motivated to go outside and have even engaged in conversation with strangers (fellow trainers of course) about this game. As someone who suffers from depression and anxiety this game has been a real blessing. It has awoken my inner child, bringing back happy memories of battles with my older brother, instantly brightening my mood and giving me that motivation to “just go for a walk”. I have heard of Pokemon meets and intend to arrange a massive one through our website, updates to follow! Even if you were “too young” or “too old” (there is no specific age!)to join the craze back then, do so now! Especially if you lack the encouragement to go outside. It is never too late to get involved in an activity!

There is also a helper app for Pokemon GO which can tell you where the rarer Pokemon are;

there is a Pikachu in Llanelli!

I give this game a 9/10. I take one point off for the crashes however I fully understand that it’s not the app’s fault millions of users are online at the same time although it’s still annoying. A lot of points are there for the interactive skills but also for the amount of detail gone into this! I’ve been around Cardiff looking for Pokestops and have learnt a lot about the iconic places and other information. On another note if you’re into hippy and fair trade goodies check out a shop called Ganeesha that is a Pokestop- best shop I’ve found in Wales! Personally the best feature of the app is that it only has the original 150 Pokemon, which is brilliant for all of us that gave up because there was too much to keep up with!

If you are part of the population who refuse to join in because you think you’re too old or have outgrown it; let go and blow of steam! Everyone knows exercise is a great way to get your endorphins running and you may as well make the walk more interesting! You might even find a gem like your new favourite pub, shop or beach! Plus the app is free!

Before I head off to catch Pokemon I had better bring some sensible advice, please remember safety! If you are parent know that there are Pokestops all around the area so if there are some areas that should be avoided by themselves please be aware and remind them of safety. There has been a few articles I’ve read about drunken teens catching Pokemon at 2am getting attacked, so please be sensible and don’t go Pokemon hunting in dangerous places especially if drunk and/or alone!

Please leave comments to help others out and let’s let this town outrun my hometown with fellow pokegeeks! Remember; you need me and I need you!

(Also if anyone knows where a Vulpix anywhere between Llanelli and Cardiff and around the area please contact us to let me know)