Pokémon Go for Families

Pokémon Go

Technology is an ever-changing aspect of life. That’s the truth about life in this day and age. Some people love technology and some people despise it. We, however, consider ourselves a pretty tech-savvy family! My husband is a Computer Programmer, and I am the Technical Assistant at Noble Crossing Elementary.

We have found an app that we can all do as a family. The app is called Pokémon Go. This app gets us out and active as a family and is all-around good fun. The concept: Catch as many Pokémon as you can, upgrade them, power them up, battle them at gyms, and make friends from potentially around the world.

The game has become a thing for our family. Since its inception in 2016, it has become a worldwide phenomenon and has taken the world by surprise. YouTubers, TikTokers, Instagramers, and everyone alike posts about the game daily. I can say that we as a family, follow a few YouTubers and like seeing what they catch. During Covid, it got people outside and “away from others” when they could go on trails to stay active.

The game is GPS location-based where Pokémon spawn on your device. This gives you the opportunity to catch what you can. There are events that happen periodically that introduce new Pokémon which is pretty cool. The gamer can trade with other trainers when nearby one another, and can battle with others online (but not chat which is another good feature). My son usually asks us if we can trade in the morning before we got to work and of course we oblige.

Traveling family

As a traveling family, we are able to take our devices with us and catch Pokémon from all around the world which makes it super fun. Certain Pokémon spawn in different areas of the world so it’s pretty exciting when you can catch one in a certain area. Locally, there are many Pokestops and Gyms and sometimes local Meetups to become friends with fellow Trainers.

In my opinion, the game has made us closer as a family. It makes it a little competition to see how high you can level up, how high you can get your Pokémon, which ones you catch, and what gifts you get from your Pokémon Buddy.

As a tech-savvy person, I would highly recommend this app to you and your family. Who knows, maybe you’ll become one of the GOAT Pokémon Trainers.

Mandy Hensley

Technical Assistant

What are your family's favorite games -- online or offline? Tell us in the blog post comments.