Pokémon Go craze takes over West Orange, world

Since the release of the new Pokémon Go app, the cartoon creatures have been taking the world — including West Orange — by storm. Pokémon, short for “pocket monsters,” initially became popular in the 1990s but is making an exploding comeback in the form of Pokémon Go.

The free app — developed by Niantic and published by The Pokémon Company — released for iPhone- and Android-operating systems at the beginning of July. Since then, it has been able to garner 21 million daily active users — besting even Twitter — according to TechCrunch. 

CATCH THEM ALL

With Pokémon, the monsters roam freely and the objective is to find, catch and train them. 

What sets Pokémon Go apart from the traditional Pokémon-franchise games is its use of augmented reality — a technology that uses a device’s GPS and time to detect a player’s location in the game. Depending on time and location, different types of Pokémon will “pop up” around the player on his or her screen.

With the augmented-reality aspect of the game, users are encouraged to walk and travel around with the game.

Also along the way are “PokeStops,” set physical locations that players can travel to in order to get more PokeBalls and other supplies within the game. Then there are gyms, in which players can train and battle Pokémon.

In the Winter Garden area, there are dozens of such PokeStops and two gyms. Paul Tang, a Winter Garden resident who runs the Central Florida Pokémon GO Facebook group, suggested Pokémon trainers head to downtown Winter Garden.

“A great place to capture Pokémon there is between the fountains and swing sets, and the heritage museum,” Tang said. “Fowler Groves has several PokeStops, usually with lures. Nighttime is best time to capture Pokémon.”

In Ocoee, House Blend Cafe is a PokeStop and is offering an incentive for customers: Show them you collected PokeBalls there and you can get a free iced tea with a $5 purchase.

For Horizon West and Windermere residents, Pokémon hot spots include The Grove Orlando, as well as Summerport Village, which held a “PokeMeet” July 17.

A COMMUNITY AFFAIR

Many users have enjoyed the way the game encourages players to get out of the house and get active, with the incentive of catching Pokémon anywhere and everywhere.

Chris Buker, a Winter Garden resident and owner of The Bronzing Palace Tanning Salon on Marsh and Avalon roads, said his salon sits between two PokeStops.

“We have recently been seeing an uptick in the number of rare Pokémon in front of our salon,” Buker said. “We have had Pikachus and Charmanders. This has driven incredible business to our plaza. Not only is it fun for the kids, it’s a great way to connect with the local community.”

David Crader, a Winter Garden resident and father of four, said he got into the app after his 17- and 19-year-olds downloaded it and talked him into it. In the span of a couple of days, Crader said he walked 13-and-one-half miles.

“I’m a little on the heavy side and a smoker,” Crader said. “I don’t usually do much after I get off of work other than veg out on the couch … until this app came out. My 19-year-old son is just like me, only instead of the couch, he’s at his PC on Skype and YouTube for hours on end with his friends. Those same friends that he usually plays games with online have all been out in groups literally nonstop except to sleep, out hunting Pokémon.”

PsychCentral reported recently many players have taken to all forms of social media to share how Pokémon Go “has helped their mental health, mood, social anxiety and depression,” largely in part for giving them a fun reason to get outside and socialize.

“It truly has brought my family closer together,” Crader said. “At Jessie Brock and in downtown, it is surreal to see the throngs of people of all races, creeds, colors and socioeconomic backgrounds out socializing in the Florida heat — and all to play this game.”

SAFETY CONCERNS

Although there have been many positives to the app, safety concerns still exist when players get too into the game and stop paying attention to their surroundings. 

In Wyoming earlier this month, a 19-year-old girl stumbled upon a man’s dead body in a river while attempting to catch a water Pokémon. Other reports have said that a group of teenagers used the app’s “lure” feature, which attracts Pokémon to a specific area, to draw people close by and rob them.

Oakland and Windermere police already have released statements to citizens regarding the app and encouraging safe practices while playing it.

“We received a call about a possible prowler in someone’s yard, and upon our arrival, we discovered it was someone using the Pokémon Go app and searching for tokens in the neighborhood,” Oakland Police said in a release. 

Windermere Police Chief David Ogden added one of his officers witnessed a person abruptly pull a car to the side of the road, jump out and run toward some bushes to catch a Pokémon.

“We have seen an increase in people hanging out in certain areas of our town and recently late at night, which is not really common for us,” Ogden said. “Parents need to be advised that there have been some inappropriate location for stops identified. Graveyards, nightclubs (and) abandoned areas outside are quite honestly no places for our youth to be hanging out. Like anything else in life, we want to exercise a good balance with our technology and our safety.”

Contact Danielle Hendrix at [email protected].