2016 Throwback — Pokemon Go 5K

When hunter graduates to Pokemon hunter, charity wins

By JIMMIE TRAMEL World Scene Writer Jul 25, 2016



Kelsey Quick is a veteran hunter.

Photos of her with wild game have appeared in the outdoors section of the Tulsa World more than once. When she was a 10-year-old fourth grader at Briarglen Elementary, she made news by bagging a 21-pound gobbler.

Quick doesn’t do much “real” hunting now.

“The last time I went was probably last winter,” she said. “But I tend to go now just to hang out with my dad while he hunts. It’s not like I grew into disliking hunting, but I try not to do it too much for sport anymore.”

Quick is still on the prowl. It’s just that she graduated from turkey hunter to Pidgey hunter.

Pidgey?

It’s a Pokemon critter — one of many; gotta catch ’em all — that Pokemon Go players have been trying to “capture” with mobile phones since the wildly popular augmented reality game was released earlier this month. Some Pokemon creatures are more rare than others.

“I was super excited to finally get a Vaporeon!” Quick said. “She was my favorite of the Eevee evolutions and I ended up getting four Flareons and one Jolteon before getting her.”

Quick said Pokemon hunting can feel like real hunting, especially when it comes to the frustration of “animals” suddenly vanishing. Poof! — all that hard work for nothing.

Props to Quick for getting Pokemon hunting to count for something. She came up with a Pokemon Go-related idea that will benefit a charity, the James Mission.

The backstory: Quick described herself as a 90s kid who played Pokemon video games, watched Pokemon episodes and collected Pokemon cards. Now 24 years old, she learned that Pokemon Go was “out” when she saw Facebook chatter about someone catching a Bulbasaur. Quick gasped and downloaded the app.

Quick has been a runner since the eighth grade. She runs between four and 10 miles per week. Tired, she considered not running the day Pokemon Go was released, but, mobile phone in hand, she knocked out three miles — and hatched a plan.

“I mean, with things like eggs in the game that hatch at 5k and 10k walked by the gamer, it’s almost impossible to not think of a race centered around the game,” she said.

Quick is the organizer of the Pokemon Go 5k, which will take place 7 p.m. July 30 at LaFortune Park.

Like the game itself, the race was instantly embraced.

More than 500 people committed to the 5k (and a Pokemon hunt afterward) within three days after a heads-up was posted on a Tulsa Pokemon Go Facebook page. Quick had to shut down registration at 1,000 (40 timed runners, 960 walkers/joggers) a week and a half before the event. Latecomers were disappointed to be excluded, but — consolation prize — Quick intends to stage a sequel in the near future.

Quick chose James Mission as the beneficiary of the inaugural Pokemon Go 5k because it is dedicated to adoption and foster services for children.

“I guess you can say that ever since I was little I pictured adopting kids, not having them,” she said. “And so my heart has always been set on children without families. I actually met Lyndsey (Reyes), the organizer of James Mission, a couple months ago by happenstance of the location of my Bible study, and I’m very confident that she does right by the money that’s given to her organization.”

Quick is surprised so many people wanted to jump on her bandwagon so quickly. Considering that legions of Pokemon Go players are walking around everywhere, maybe she shouldn’t be.

“Every Pokemon-obsessed ’90s kid knows that, at some point, they wanted to be a Pokemon trainer for a living,” she said. “And now that we are older and living in the real world ... the thought of being able to do that is not only nostalgic, but refreshing.”

The meteoric rise of Pokemon Go of course spawned backlash.

“It’s perfectly acceptable for you not to ‘get it,’ and it’s perfectly acceptable for you to not like seeing it everywhere,” Quick said.

“But just remember that all of these people who are of different age, race, religion, sexuality and status are finding common ground in Pokemon and becoming friends. They are nice to each other, they talk without insecurity or reservation to each other, and they are helping each other with the game. Complete strangers. If you ask me, society needs that right now. Who cares if it’s Pokemon?”