Jordan L. McBride

The News Journal

"If you lure it, they will come."

So says Steve Mullen, who lives at the Wilmington Riverfront, as he looks around at the 30 people standing at the door of the Delaware Children's Museum at midnight Tuesday, all playing a game on their smartphones.

Nighttime in Wilmington is typically reserved for silence, desolate streets and, sometimes, tragic violence. Many people refrain from going out, concerned for their safety.

The release of Pokémon Go, a new smartphone game, seems to be changing that. Based on the Pokémon franchise of the 1990s, the game merges the Pokémon universe with the physical world so that players can walk around outside, see cartoon characters projected into the real environment via their phone's camera and then catch the pocket monsters as if they were real.

The game, profiting off deep-rooted 1990s nostalgia, soared to the tops of download charts after it was released July 7. And now, players says they see lots of other players in parks, neighborhoods and downtown Wilmington, especially at night when the most valuable characters come out.

“It’s the best time to go because you don’t have to worry about the heat and there’s no competition really," says La’Motte Howard, who has been spending his nights traversing the city searching for the rarest of Pokémon. The 26-year-old typically stays out from midnight to 3 a.m. playing the game with friends and strangers he meets on the hunt.

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He knows exactly where to go, because the game will guide him to sites called Pokéstops, where lures set by players attract Pokémon.

Market Street, which has a least five Pokéstops, draws its fair share of players, or trainers as some prefer to be called. (The baby Pokémon that the players "catch" grow up, or evolve, into adult monsters).

Howard was on Market Street early Tuesday night with his friend Samantha Gubitosi, who lives in Greenville but likes to hunt downtown because of its active Pokémon Go scene. The two were hanging out in front of Chelsea Tavern, catching Pokémon that were being attracted to the stop outside of the Grand Opera House across the street.

The desire to catch rare Pokemon is what motivated Jeremy Smith and Jack Veasey of Bear to head to the Riverfront around 11 p.m. Tuesday to search for the cartoon creatures.

“You get bigger, more powerful ones late at night,” said Smith, 17.

In comparison to where Smith and Veasey live in suburban Bear, the Riverfront is an extremely Pokémon Go-friendly area. With more than 15 Pokéstops and a wide variety of both grass- and water-type Pokémon, the area attracts hunters to the banks of the Christina River.

The smartphone app has a little help from others, too. On Monday, Frawley Stadium announced it would put lures on the three Pokéstops in their parking lot every half hour from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. to draw Pokemon – and Pokemon fans – to the stadium before the night's game, and then again for half an hour after the game. The stadium offered buy-one-get-one free tickets that night as well.

Jason Estes, marketing assistant for the Blue Rocks, said that the promotion was a success and that they are considering offering Pokésmon Go BOGO nights every Monday for home games.

The increase in foot traffic at the Riverfront gets enthusiastic responses from the Riverfront Development Corp. which oversees the development and growth of the area.

“We definitely like it,” said Marketing Manager Joe Valenti. “Anything that raises awareness for the different things we offer is always good.”

The level of security along the Riverfront, which includes cameras and patrols, means residents are safe playing at night, Valenti said. In coming weeks, the development group will roll out Pokemon Go-related events and activities so that they can cater to the new clientele.

Repeated efforts to reach the Wilmington Police Department for comment about the increasing foot traffic at night were unsuccessful.

Laura Flack and Andrew Dougherty were playing the game late Tuesday night at the Riverfront boardwalk. They headed there after grabbing dinner at a restaurant there. Coworkers at Capital One, the pair said that the game has taken over their office.

“Ping-Pong used to be the thing at Capital One,” Flack, 29, said as she balanced her phone perfectly on top of her leftover pizza box so that she could continue to play. “But right now, no one is playing ping-pong. Everyone’s outside playing Pokémon.”

Flack and Dougherty both played the original Pokémon games as kids, and said that they loved the fact that the new app was bringing together fans of all ages and forcing people to be active.

“It’s like FitBit, but more fun,” said Dougherty, 24.

One of the most popular spots along the river is the Delaware Children’s Museum, where there are three Pokéstops surrounding the entrance, all with lures installed by players that go off constantly throughout the day.

This creates a Pokémon hotbed, attracting trainers at all hours. At 11 p.m. Tuesday night, about 30 people were gathered in front of the museum, boasting about their most impressive catches and handing out advice as they searched for more.

For Steve Mullen, who lives nearby, the museum is a convenient stop. He keeps tabs on the Pokéstops at the museum from his apartment, watching to see what Pokémon are showing up.

“I’ll see the lures going off,” said Mullen, 29, “so I figure I’ll come down for half an hour or so, and then half an hour turns into two or three hours.”

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Pokémon Go Bar Crawl

WHEN: Saturday, July 20 at 2 pm

WHERE: Trolley Square

COST: $10 until July 16, prices increase afterwards

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit their Eventbrite page here

PokéDictionary

Pokémon: Creatures you can capture. There are 151 types featured in the game.

Pokémon trainer: You, the player!

Pokéball: What you throw at Pokémon to catch them. You are given some when you start, but you can restock by visitng Pokéstops or by buying them through in-app purchasing.

Pokéstop: Geotagged locations, i.e. a landmark or destination, where you can get Pokéballs, potions and other helpful items.

Pokémon gyms: Where you go to battle your Pokémon against other Pokémon. If you beat them, you earn control over different gyms. These are located in a similar fashion to Pokéstops.

Eggs: Unhatched Pokémon, which you can hatch by placing them in an incubator and walking around.

Evolve: You can evolve your Pokémon into a more powerful Pokémon by feeding them candy.

Candies, potions, stardust, incense: Helpful items that you can pick up at Pokéstops or earn by leveling up. They can help you during battles or can be used to catch more Pokemon.

Lure Module: A potion-like item that can be used to attract Pokémon to a Pokéstop. Businesses have also been using them to attract Pokémon Go players to their establishments.