Introducing: Pokémon Club
This summer, I learned a bit about Discord from a group playing Pokémon Go near my hometown. I joined, played all summer, and felt oddly bereft when I returned to campus. So I thought I would give it a try by creating my own Discord server for campus. The main response I get when I tell strangers that I run a server dedicated to Pokémon in Monmouth is, “People still play that?” My response is that we never really stopped! The game is a fun way to interact with the campus and it keeps track of how much I walk during the day. Some days, I can climb 18 flights of stairs, thanks to Wallace. In addition, having a reason to be active is always a good thing in my opinion. Though there are some days when I don’t feel particularly overjoyed to walk to class, having this game is a reminder that we can always find bits of joy in the mundane.
I have met new people through the Discord, some of whom I don’t think I would have met otherwise. It’s incredibly fun to play, even if you’re not well-versed in the world of Pokémon and being on campus makes gameplay so much easier. If you live in certain dorm buildings, a Pokéstop could be in your building, which means you’ll never run out of potions. And because the campus is relatively small, players don’t have to walk that far to find what they’re looking for. Our campus has a few gyms – that is, special locations where you can put a Pokémon to “defend” the gym from the other teams’ Pokémon. This campus is especially quick to kick players out, and the more people you meet from the same team, the more likely you are to be able to claim half the campus as your team’s territory. If you ever see someone running towards the Monmouth College sign, it could most definitely be one of the Discord players running to participate in a raid battle. And if you look out your window at night and see us walking around campus, we’re probably trying to be sneaky and claim the gyms at midnight. More people than you think are playing this game and for good reason. Consider joining the PokéScots!
Caroline King - Staff Writer