Four year after its release, the hit mobile game has changed, and is making a resurgence as people find things to do in quarantine.

There are few things in my life that have remained constant throughout the four years that I have been in high school. Sure, some are obvious: vaping in the bathrooms and continuously wondering how anyone expects me to make it from the P-wing to the A-wing in under four minutes.

There is another factor of life that has remained constant: I still play Pokémon Go. 

Pokémon Go is an augmented reality game, meaning the game interacts with our world to create a more interactive experience. Pokémon Go tracks your location with GPS and puts Pokémon in your general area.

To restock on supplies to catch all the Pokemon in the game, you can stop by Pokéstops or gyms.

In fact, there is a gym right here at the school, which has allowed Pokémon Go players at GlenOak to get a serious edge on players in other school districts.

“I wish Perry [High School] had a gym,” Perry junior Ryan George said. 

Over the course of quarantine, people have had to come up with ways to entertain themselves. One of them happened to be Pokémon Go. 

“[I play] when I’m out and about,” GlenOak junior Daniel Herttna said. “It gives me something to do.”

While some people play it to pass time, others are in it to find and catch some neat Pokémon.

“I love catching the special ones that are like different colors and stuff,” junior Abby Podis said.

Podis is referring to shiny Pokémon. Shiny Pokémon are Pokémon of the same species that have a different color compared to the rest of the species. They are rare and cause for major bragging rights in the Pokémon Go community. 

However, people can like something for more than just appearances. These catches can have sentimental value to players as well.

“My favorite catch is my shiny Gyarados because I caught it at West Branch State Park, which is one of my favorite places we go to every year,” George said.

Pokémon Go can be played anywhere at any time. It is no wonder that the game has seen a resurgence in the past few months. 

However, the game has changed drastically to try and keep people hooked on it. For instance, Pokémon Go has started giving away daily gifts. These gifts contain supplies so people do not have to leave the house as much due to COVID-19.

Along with giving away supplies, the game has expanded its roster of interesting creatures to catch. It started out with the original 151 Pokémon, but has now expanded to over 640. That is over four times the amount of Pokémon to catch since the game first started.    

This year has seen tragedies emerge in all forms, whether it be a pandemic that has ravaged the world, the numerous deaths from the virus or other cause, the loss of jobs or the loss of sanity. However, Pokémon Go allows all people to have a distraction from the chaos, and those who play are one step closer to being able to catch ’em all!