Pokémon Go club catches on among students

Pokémon Go is a mobile game that follows a player’s real-time location and spawns virtual Pokémon. Though it was launched in 2016,  the app maintains a following at Lehigh through a GroupMe with over 150 members.

 “Lehigh PoGo” isn’t an official club, but it has been impactful for its members. 

The founder of the group, Ryan Sullivan, ‘23, said he made a few of his first friends on campus through Pokémon Go. 

He said he made the GroupMe because he wanted to connect more people through the application. 

“The main reason we started making it a big group is the game really does encourage camaraderie and working together,” Sullivan said. “The more people you have doing stuff, the more fun it is.”

During the pandemic, Adam Mazarul, ‘23, found it challenging to connect with others, so he said he used Pokémon Go as a platform to foster friendships and gain a sense of community. 

“It was really comforting to have this sort of small group of people that I got to know and I still get to keep in touch with,” Mazarul said. 

Group administrator Jonathan Cranley, ‘25, said the club has considered becoming official but faced challenges in coordinating the process for a club status. 

Cranley said students only discover the group through word of mouth or being added to the GroupMe channel. 

“I hope that there is a way to unify this fun community of people who can just enjoy a shared hobby with no greater ambitions than that,” Cranley said. 

Mazarul said  meeting new people can be daunting, but interested students should know joining the club doesn’t require constant conversations. 

“You don’t have to be talking with somebody, but at least there’s other people around and you’re doing something together,” Mazarul said. 

Sullivan said group sizes can range between three and 20 players depending on the type of event. 

Mazarul said although there can be some competition among the three teams — Mystic, Valor and Instinct — the community has been friendly. Recently, club members started a tradition of eating together following community events. 

During excursions, Sullivan said he has made fond memories catching Pokémon with friends. He said his favorite catches are shiny Pokémon which the Pokémon Go Help Center describes as “rare versions with distinct color variations from others of the same species.” 

“I have one shiny named Sayre because I found it up in the dorms there,” Sullivan said. “I have another one named Typhoon, because it was pouring rain while we were running around looking for it.”

Sullivan said the abundance of Pokémon Gyms and PokéStops makes Lehigh a great place to play the game. 

Interested students don’t need to be ranked to join the club, as it accepts players within all skill ranges. 

“Whether you grew up playing Pokémon and you know every single thing about the game by heart, or you look and you’re like, ‘Oh, that blue turtle is adorable, I want to get it,’ we welcome people from any level,” Sullivan said.