Pokémon fever raging in Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE — They’re out there – invisible to the naked eye, but they’re there. In the parks, around city hall, around the post office, at the end of the block. The creatures are everywhere.

And those guys (and girls) – the ones walking slowly along the street, eyes glued to their phones? They’re looking for the creatures.

Who knew a video game could fill the streets?

It’s called Pokémon Go, based on the children’s game featuring a happy little yellow creature that vaguely resembles a bunny. Some Pokémon experts at the Moses Lake Boys and Girls Club were kind enough to explain how it works.

It’s not just Pokémon. “It’s a whole bunch of characters,” said Deonte Fuller. “They all have names, but if you grab all of them, you say Pokémon,” said Jayson Pankratz.

They’re running free all over town, all over the world actually. And the Pokémon hunters are out there looking for them. Really they’re called Pokémon trainers, said Olivia Rodriguez.

“You create a player, like, its clothes and stuff, and then you name it,” said Andon Horner. To find Pokémon “you walk around,” Andon said. When there's one in the vicinity, "they’ll, like, buzz your phone.”

Pokémon trainers are armed with Pokeballs, said Kaycin Park. Hit a Pokémon character with a Pokeball, and it’s captured. But “if you keep missing it (the character) goes away,” Deonte said.

And when a trainer captures a character, “you can use them for battle, you can go against gyms,” Olivia said. A gym is “where you battle a gym leader,” Jayson said.

There’s more, of course. There are different levels (that’s where the gym battles come in), and players can find tools to help them capture more Pokémon.

From a technical standpoint, the game overlays the virtual Pokémon world onto real-world locations. “There’s Pokémon all over the place,” said John Morris, Moses Lake, as he watched his phone Tuesday afternoon. Morris was standing on Third Avenue, at its intersection with Division Street. “Right there – there’s a Pokémon just sitting there,” he said, pointing to the statue of a softball player on the corner.

Sinkiuse Square had about 20 Pokémon hunters – trainers – hanging out Tuesday night, but that was nothing compared to Monday. “There were, like, 70 people out,” said Saul Macieo, Ephrata. Ricardo Sampedro, Moses Lake, said he’s been hunting Pokémon after work, until the battery in his phone runs out, and sometimes in the morning before work. Carlos Lopez, Moses Lake, said he would’ve been home watching TV if not for Pokémon Go. “It takes you back to your childhood,” he said. And it’s fun.

Eric Kask, Moses Lake, agreed; part of the appeal of Pokémon is “childhood. They brought some (characters) back from when I was a kid,” Eric said.

“I’m against cellphones, and I bought it so I could play,” he said.

“I catch Pokémon every day when I get off work,” Saul said. In conversation he got a little confused about the relative value of some of the characters; Eric explained it and Saul was impressed. “You’ve got to watch all the shows, bro,” Eric said. He was a big Pokémon fan back in the day, he said.

Conneach West had a cellphone in each hand as he walked the parking lot next to the Moses Lake Civic Center. (He borrowed one from his dad William.) “It’s fun. It’s quite fun, and it gets very addicting,” he said. Conneach was trying to “level up – or evolve,” making his characters stronger to improve his odds against other players in town.

“It’s pretty fun. Gives exercise and all that too,” Morris said.