On October 20, 2017, a crowd gathered in front of the Performing Arts Center to battle in a Pokemon Gym using the Pokemon Go app.

“This isn’t out of the ordinary,” Dwayne Bundy said. “We’re playing Pokemon and raided a gym for a Mewtwo.”

In July of 2016, the game was released to the public. It allows players to virtually capture Pokemon and use them to battle each other at gyms. These gyms are located all across town.

“It definitely brings the community together,” Eldon Hansen said. “We might be enemies. We might be friends. So, I guess we’re frenemies.”

Many players travel from far and wide to make sure they are able to catch their Pokemon.

“I’ll go wherever, whenever to catch them,” Hanson said.

For Tawyna Penland, it is something that brings her family together.

“[We are] the family that plays together,” Penland said.

The release of the game was a huge commercial success for Nintendo – their market value increased by $9 billion dollars within five days of the game’s release. And even a year after its release, it’s still a very popular game.

“We’re all just here to have fun,” Hanson said.