The Diehard Tryhards take on Pokemon Go

By Web Editor Carolyn Ge, Editor-in-Chief Rishab Ramapriyan & Sports Editor Cindy Yuan

Three eager Smokies decided to venture into the exciting world of Pokémon, determined to catch them all and conquer gyms with their might. Each trainer represented a different team and competed to take over a local gym. Who will rise above to become the true Pokémon master? Read on to find out!   

 

Background

Carolyn

I’ve been a loyal Pokémon fan since the ripe age of six. I’ve played nearly all the Nintendo DS games, collected the cards, watched all the movies, you name it. So naturally, I downloaded Pokémon Go the moment it was released, and I’ve been hooked ever since. My extensive background knowledge and dedication to this game will surely give me a decent advantage against my competitors.

Rishab

Pokémon was pretty much a foreign subject to me until I ventured to download the game over the past summer. It was more out of curiosity than anything else. Needless to say, it’s been quite exhilarating, running around Fremont day and night for those prized catches. I’ve had my share of video games as a child, and I’m confident that I’ll bring my excellent hand-eye coordination skills to the challenge.

Cindy

Ever since I was a small child, I was an enthusiastic fan of the Pokémon anime. Sadly, my interaction with the game itself was limited to staring wistfully at my friends, each of whom possessed their very own Nintendo DS while I was left lonely and empty-handed. But ever since the release of Pokémon Go, I’ve been eager to make up for that lost part of my childhood, and I’ve finally started the journey to become the very best.

 

The Competition

Carolyn

Although I can’t reveal all my trade secrets to the world, I will say that my motto is: gotta catch ’em all! Even seemingly-useless Pokémon such as Pidgey will be crucial to my success because evolutions bring valuable experience points. My strategy involves leveling up as quickly as possible in order to catch Pokémon with high combat power to take that gym for Team Valor.

Rishab

My strategy is simple: capture and evolve as many gym-ready combatants as possible. I plan to literally put in the “extra mile” to craft my dynamic team of Pokémon, however physically demanding that may be. Patience will be the key to victory, as I amass stardust, candies, and items. My methods may be a bit old-fashioned, but I’m sure victory awaits Team Instinct and me.

Cindy

Casting all temptations aside of solely catching the cutest little pocket monsters, I plan on focusing all of my week one efforts into leveling up and building a sizeable amount of stardust in order to compete with the gyms around Fremont. Once I’m as strong as possible, I’ll power up my best Pokémon with the stardust and be well prepared to take down that gym.

 

Thoughts After

Carolyn

Catching every Pokémon in my sight (except for the Rattatas who simply refused to stay in their Poké Balls) was no easy feat! At first I thought I wasted my Eevee-nings by scrambling back and forth between Pokéstops, but now I Bayleef that it was all worth it. I watched my experience points shoot up faster than I could say “Pikachu.” With powerful companions such as Bubbles the Vaporeon and Bzzt the Electabuzz, I managed to control the gym for the majority of the competition and secured myself an Onix-pected victory!

Rishab

As ambitious as my plans were, my team of underpowered Pokémon was practically eliminated during my vain efforts to battle the gym. I scrambled to treat my Pokémon with revives and potions, only to be decimated again. I may have taken the first week of the challenge just a bit too slow, compared to my enthusiastic competitors. Well, I guess this is a sign that I need more preparation before my next attempt to enter the cutthroat Pokemon realm. It won’t be long before I return stronger to claim my victory; Pokémon trainers beware.

Cindy

I was eager to hunt Pokémon and become the Pokémon master, but my eagerness proved insufficient in the face of tough competition. I leveled up quite rapidly, but compared to my competition, I was a Slowpoke! I was much too lazy to frequently walk to the gym, despite my Pokémon being strong enough to take it down. Despite the loss, I think my collection of the most adorable Pokémon was a satisfying consolation. Next time, I won’t be so easily deterred from traveling the extra distance, so watch out trainers!

Photo by Feature Editor Kevin Li