Jigglypuff In Prospect Park, Gastly In The Gowanus: ‘Pokémon Go’ Takes Over The Neighborhood

What in the world is a Jigglypuff? That was my first thought Sunday morning when I checked Facebook. A friend of mine in Chicago wrote about running out with her son in pajamas to catch one. Another friend said they saw a Rattata in their bathroom. Actually, I read more than one story of creatures appearing in the bathroom.

For those of you who haven’t heard about it yet — and it’d be almost impossible not to at this point — Pokémon Go was released in the beta format on Wednesday, July 6. And an obsession has exploded in that short period of time.

I decided to check out what was going on in our neighborhoods. After I downloaded the free app, well let’s just say that I’m having a hard time thinking about the Gowanus Canal without the Doduo hanging out on the Union Street Bridge.

“What are your thoughts about the controversial rebuilding of the bridge? Would you prefer the fixed bridge or drawbridge option?” I asked.

“Drawbridge, no question. It’s a no-brainer. And that’s not my preliminary vote, either,” said Doduo.

The game combines well-known Pokémon characters with AR, or Augmented Reality. Think about it as a scavenger hunt for characters which pop up as you walk on the street, in a cafe, or even on your pillow in your bedroom.

The concept may sound a bit hard to grasp until you download the app. I took the opportunity to do just that so I could see where in the world these little characters were hiding throughout the neighborhood. I traversed Gowanus, Park Slope, South Slope, and Windsor Terrace to find out.

So where exactly are they located? Seemingly everywhere.

A Pidgey was hovering just outside of Community Bookstore. “I need to get a copy of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle,” the bird said. “That’s an intense summer read,” I responded. “Yeah, but I love reading about people with weird ears, people who eat spaghetti, and hallucinatory vortexes,” responded Pidgey.

I’m not sure if I feel bad about it, but I threw a lot of balls at Pidgey. That’s what you do during Pokémon Go. Once you locate your critter, well, you have to “catch them.” Pidgey fought hard, but I won.

That said, I bought the book for the captured birdie.

I saw a Goldeen swimming down 5th Avenue. Goldeen didn’t have much to say, besides that it spent the morning running through the kid fountains at J.J. Byrne Playground. “I just needed some breathing space,” said Goldeen.

For those who wander by The Old Stone House, keep in mind you’ll find at least five PokéStops there.

Eevee was spotted pouring Sriracha on his dumplings at East Wind Snack Shop (471 16th Street near Prospect Park West). “I need an extra kick on my Pan-Fried Juicy Pork Dumplings,” said Eevee. “Is it kosher to pour this much on my dumplings?”

Now as exciting as this game can be, there are some things you should keep in mind.

“It’s easy to forget about your surroundings as you throw balls at us,” said Jigglypuff, who was traversing Prospect Park. “We’re still living in a primarily non-Augmented Reality city. Watch where you’re going. And please, please put your phone down when crossing the street!”

“Did you know that our game added $7.5 billion to Nintendo Stock in 48 hours?” asked Rattata, who was enjoying Vanderbilt Playground. “According to the New York Times, the app now appears on more Android phones than Tinder. Woah.”

Will it fizzle in a few months? Will it change the world? Of course, we don’t know. Having said that, be safe. Police in Missouri said armed robberies used the game to lure unsuspecting players into an isolated area.

CNN reported comments from the O’Fallon, MO police department: “Using the geolocation feature of the ‘Pokemon Go’ app the robbers were able to anticipate the location and level of seclusion of unwitting victims.”

And there are other concerns as well. Buzzfeed reports that Niantic, the developers of the game, could be catching a lot of players’ personal information:

“Like most apps that work with the GPS in your smartphone, Pokémon Go can tell a lot of things about you based on your movement as you play: where you go, when you went there, how you got there, how long you stayed, and who else was there. And, like many developers who build those apps, Niantic keeps that information.”

For now, the craze is on. But not exactly with everyone.

A 12-year-old M.S. 51 student rolled his eyes when we asked if he had downloaded the app. “No,” he said, visibly annoyed. “But my dad has. I just can’t believe him.”