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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Hundreds of people lined the streets of downtown Wilkes-Barre Sunday afternoon to capture one of Pokemon&#8217;s most iconic characters, Squirtle, on the Pokemon Go app.</p><p>The app just celebrated the two-year anniversary of its release on July 6. It allows users to use their cellphones to create an augmented reality on their devices&#8217; screens. In that reality, they can capture characters from the popular animated television show.</p><p>After seeing a dip in users, app developers installed a new feature to garner more users, create buzz and return the gaming application to its former glory.</p><p>&#8220;Every month the app makes an event called Community Day,&#8221; said Vito Picozzo, 30, of Moscow. &#8220;They create a crazy amount of spawn locations of a specific Pokemon. This month happens to be Squirtle.&#8221;</p><p>Community Day has been around since January, but it hasn&#8217;t been as popular in Northeastern Pennsylvania because of the winter.</p><p>&#8220;I think there are more people out and about because it&#8217;s a beautiful summer day,&#8221; Picozzo mentioned. &#8220;I still participated in the winter months, but you didn&#8217;t see this type of crowd.&#8221;</p><p>Asides from the Squirtle hunt, the app threw an extra incentive at Pokemon Go users.</p><p>If users look at the Poke-stop locations, which are real places, they can find a field research icon. By capturing five research icons, the person will receive a Squirtle wearing sunglasses.</p><p>Christina Thomas, 22, of Drums, completed the Squirtle with sunglasses quest just half an hour into the event.</p><p>&#8220;I was so happy to catch the Squirtle with sunglasses so quickly,&#8221; Thomas said.</p><p>The reason why the Squirtle with sunglasses is so significant is because that&#8217;s how the character debuted in the 1997 animated series when he encountered Ash Ketchum.</p><p>People walked around solo, in pairs or in giant flocks to capture as many Squirtles as they can.</p><p>Among the flock was Christian Skrepenak, 23, of Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>&#8220;Community Day is very exciting. I&#8217;ve caught about 30 Squirtles so far,&#8221; Skrepenak said. &#8220;I think people are inclined to go catch Squirtle because it reminds them of their childhood.&#8221;</p><p>While many have disputed Pokemon Go&#8217;s benefits, the app has gotten people to exercise without them knowing it.</p><p>&#8220;Pokemon Go is actually a good thing,&#8221; Skrepenak said. &#8220;I know we are still using technology, but when you use the app you don&#8217;t realize how much you actually are walking and burning calories.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;The app has also allowed me to meet a lot of great people,&#8221; Skrepenak added.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Vito Picozzo, 30, of Moscow, (right) poses with Christina Thomas, 22, of Drums, wearing their Pokemon T-shirts in downtown Wilkes-Barre while trying to hunt for Squirtle on the Pokemon Go app. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/web1_download-8.jpg</photo0><caption0>Vito Picozzo, 30, of Moscow, (right) poses with Christina Thomas, 22, of Drums, wearing their Pokemon T-shirts in downtown Wilkes-Barre while trying to hunt for Squirtle on the Pokemon Go app. </caption0><photoCredit0>Dan Stokes | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Dan Stokes</p><p>dstokes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Dan Stokes at 570-991-5537 or on Twitter @ByDanStokes</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Area residents flock to Wilkes-Barre’s Public Square for Pokemon Go event