At the UAB Pokemon Go event, Blaze helped catch em' all. Photo by Sarah FaulknerJared Chesnut - Staff Writerredc@uab.edu
At this point, Pokemon Go has gone viral to near epidemic levels. There’s a Pokemon gym at the White House (whose champion is a Flying type, naturally), past popular memes are adopting the app into the common vernacular and everyone from your little nephew to Vince McMahon are throwing around Pokeballs and incubating eggs in the never-ending quest for higher combat powers and team pride (Mystic 4 Lyfe). Birmingham itself is no stranger to this sudden phenomenon of people looking down at their phones cackling in glee, and, should you too decide to throw your hat in the arena, we’ve got you covered with some great places in the area to catch a squad that would put Golden State to shame.
1. Birmingham Museum of Art
The museum on Abraham Woods Jr. Boulevard isn’t just a great place for art galleries, historical potteries and sculptures, it’s also a prime spot to catch some high-Combat Power flying-type Pokemon like Fearow. No word on if a Smeargle has appeared just yet but a check of employment records is forthcoming.
2. Birmingham Zoo
You know, this spot seems so obvious the more you think about it. There’s a hodgepodge of different types, particularly the dragon-type Dratini and other, rarer types of Pokemon.
3. Birmingham Botanical Gardens
For all the beauty and nature, there’s a fair amount of bug, grass and flying types to be found here. This can be a good place to hunker down and find Parasects and Pidgeots.
4. UAB Campus – Blazer Hall, Hill Student Center & Mini Park
With Friday’s “Go on the Green” Pokemon Go event drawing in a large crowd, it felt like a good moment to exchange tips and get an idea for the best spots on campus. Altough there’s still a pile of scrub tier Pokemon such as Pidgey and Rattata to sort through, there’s still potential here. UAB student Carolyn Byrd cited Blazer Hall as a good location, catching a high CP Eevee in the parking lot.
Hill Student Center Operations Manager Phillip Booker, a past regional tournament champion of the Pokemon Trading Card Game, has caught some 700+ CP Pokemon around his home in Hoover as well as on campus, raising his own Eevees in order to get the full evolved set. “I have a Flareon and a Jolteon. I’m working on catching a few more Eevees so I can get a Vaporeon”, Booker said, noting that the Student Center was a legitimately good location to find those during the afternoons. There’s also been talk of Scythers and Lickitungs being found at Blazer Hall as well as the Mini Park in front of the Education Building.
5. Railroad Park
As the park is not too far from campus, it seems like an ideal opportunity for a relaxing hunting trip over the weekend. Bug types such as Pinsir are pretty common here, and the lake tends to draw more water-types such as Golduck. Hopping on a bike to help speed up the Pokemon farming is an option, but as of now there’s still no medical disclaimer in place, so pedal with caution.
There you have it, five areas around Birmingham where you can get your ball throwing, Poke candy munching scavenger hunt on. If there’s any spots that we’ve missed or tips you’d like to share, feel free to hit us up on Twitter @UABKscope. Don’t be a Gary Oak.
5. Railroad Park
As the park is not too far from campus, it seems like an ideal opportunity for a relaxing hunting trip over the weekend. Bug types such as Pinsir are pretty common here, and the lake tends to draw more water-types such as Golduck. Hopping on a bike to help speed up the Pokemon farming is an option, but as of now there’s still no medical disclaimer in place, so pedal with caution.
There you have it, five areas around Birmingham where you can get your ball throwing, Poke candy munching scavenger hunt on. If there’s any spots that we’ve missed or tips you’d like to share, feel free to hit us up on Twitter @UABKscope. Don’t be a Gary Oak.
