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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Devyn and Ed Jackson have been doing a quite a bit of traveling together lately.</p><p>The 16-year-old and her father&#8217;s travels took them to Public Square Friday night for a &#8220;Pokemon Go&#8221; event sponsored by radio station KRZ.</p><p>The two joined more than 100 other people attempting to catch imaginary creatures with a mobile app on their cellphones.</p><p>&#8220;I travel for work, so I brought her with me&#8221; said Ed Jackson. &#8220;We got to play in Maryland and at the Jersey shore.&#8221;</p><p>The game has seemingly bridged the generation gap between the two since it began in early July.</p><p>Ed Jackson said the two especially enjoy playing in parks and near historical landmarks.</p><p>Sean Medek, from KRZ, said the staff thought it would be a neat idea to create an event that would bring out area residents on a summer night.</p><p>&#8220;The radio station purchased lures that brought Pokemon creatures to the square,&#8221; said Medek. &#8220;We thought it was going to be big, but it&#8217;s even bigger than we thought it was going to be.&#8221;</p><p>Medek said he played the original game using playing cards when he was young.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m a nerd, so I love it,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Connor Dawes, 10, has been playing the game since it started.</p><p>His favorite character is &#8220;Meoweth.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t have to capture him or fight him,&#8221; said Dawes. &#8220;He hatched from an egg.&#8221;</p><p>Dawes mother, Wendy Williams, said the game has gotten Dawes and his two sisters out of the house more often than usual.</p><p>&#8220;The other day they walked four miles while playing the game,&#8221; she said. &#8220;They&#8217;ve been getting a lot more exercise.&#8221;</p><p>Alex McManus, of Plymouth, said she&#8217;s been playing Pokemon games since she was four and players were using cards, not phones.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s still on a screen, but now it&#8217;s connecting people to people,&#8221; she said.</p><p>&#8220;This is like real life colliding with childhood memories,&#8221; said Izzy Chew, of Lehighton.</p><p>Chew said she captured a lot of creatures on Friday, but she was most happy to nab a &#8220;weepinbell,&#8221; a yellow, bell-shaped beast with a single green leaf on either side of its body.</p><p>Chew, a senior at East Stroudsburg University, said the event rivaled similar ones in larger cities.</p><p>&#8220;This couldn&#8217;t have been better,&#8221; she said. &#8220;It&#8217;s awesome.&#8221;</p><p>Marlene Zagata, of Plymouth, said her family has been playing the game &#8220;constantly since it started.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;The game isn&#8217;t hard to figure out once you start playing,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Zagata said she has heard some people voice safety concerns about the game, but she feels her children are safe when they play.</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t worry because I&#8217;m always right with them,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Adrienne French, of Wilkes-Barre, said this is her second go around for both children and Pokemon.</p><p>&#8220;My son, Chris, is 25 and he played,&#8221; she said. &#8220;And now my daughter Emily is playing.&#8221;</p><p>As participants made their way through the square, phone in hand, they took time to chat with other players, gathered in groups and explained rules with others.</p><p>&#8220;This is an amazing chance to get to know all kinds of people,&#8221; said McManus. &#8220;I&#8217;m loving it.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Lauren Nee and her 5-year-old son, Gavin, celebrate finding a Pokemon on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre during an event Friday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TTL071716Pokemon1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Lauren Nee and her 5-year-old son, Gavin, celebrate finding a Pokemon on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre during an event Friday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TTL071716Pokemon3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Jeff Li and David Rudalalvage talk to other &#8216;Pokemon Go&#8217; players on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre Friday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TTL071716Pokemon3.jpg</photo1><caption1>Jeff Li and David Rudalalvage talk to other &#8216;Pokemon Go&#8217; players on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre Friday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Geri Gibbons</p><p>ggibbons@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Geri Gibbons at 570-991-6117 or on Twitter @TLGGibbons</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Crowd turns out of Pokemon event on Public Square