Pokémon ignited my imagination when I was younger in a way I never would have expected. Hell, it does now, too! I haven’t played a new Pokémon game in several years (and am grateful I haven’t gotten a Switch because the new games look like they would ruin my life). But I will still fire up an old Nintendo DS on occasion and explore the worlds of Kanto and Sinnoh, catching and training those pocket monsters with the help of my trusty Ninetales. But there is more to the games (and the anime) than simply catching Pokémon.

The world of Pokémon is rich with lore and history. The stories about legendary Pokémon, which the games are often centered around, tell magical tales about ancient beings that shaped the world. There are cults and criminal organizations built around worshiping these giant (or tiny) monsters. It’s a lot of fun and turns the games and shows into exhilarating and awe-inspiring adventure stories (that also involve cute lil monsters fighting with their powers). It rules, I love it, and I wholly expected to love Pokémon Go when it dropped in 2016. I did not.

The mobile game, which uses AR technology to populate our world with catchable Pokémon, took off like a rocket. I was as swept up as everyone else, but it also helped that when it dropped, I had been fired from a job I had had for seven years. Your boy was as unemployed as unemployed could be, and had plenty of time to explore Washington Heights, catching Pokémon on my phone. But I grew tired of it pretty quickly. It drained my phone’s battery like crazy and used up a lot of data (and I didn’t have an unlimited plan at the time). But, most importantly, the story elements were missing.

Maybe some of my complaints have been addressed in the last eight years. I’m sure there have been advancements, but I moved on pretty quickly and never looked back. Mobile games for your phone lost appeal to me as well, as they are mostly bird feeders that you have to attend to constantly unless you feel like spending money on something you don’t really own. While I may not be the only person who thinks this way, I am likely in the minority because Pokémon Go is still going strong, so much so that it may disrupt my life this weekend.

I live in Jersey City and have been here for about a year and a half. Yesterday was the first day I told my wife that it was starting to feel like home. That doesn’t mean it is without its issues, though. For instance, Jersey City transit gobbles big ole salty goat balls, uncooked and slathered with puss (sorry, but it really is that bad). I spent 16 years riding the NYC subways, and those aren’t perfect, but NJ Transit makes them look golden chariots powered by happy thoughts and positive vibes. Jersey will host the final match of the 2026 World Cup at MetLife Stadium, and I honestly think it will break the buses. They couldn’t even handle Shakira.

So, I was more than worried when I saw an article on Patch about NJ hosting the Pokémon Go Fest this weekend, and basically admitting that they aren’t prepared for it. “Liberty State Park will host Pokémon GO Fest from Friday, June 6 through Sunday, June 8,” a statement from the state said. “This large-scale event is expected to attract thousands of attendees each day. Motorists and park visitors are advised to expect heavy traffic in and around Liberty State Park during this period, especially along Freedom Way, Phillip Street, Morris Pesin Drive, and Audrey Zapp Drive.” New Jersey is one of the most densely populated states, and the Fest will bring around 90,000 people to one location to look at their phones. Fun!

Jersey goes on to pitch public transportation as an alternative for travelers, but again, their public transportation is bad. The apps for tracking buses and trains are confusing (and often don’t work). Scheduled buses and trains will arrive much later or earlier than stated on the apps without any warning, and that’s if they show up at all. If you miss your 4:15 bus, you could be f***ed, as the next might not come for an hour. The only consistent train I’ve ridden in Jersey is the PATH, but it doesn’t go far, and I’m sure if I rode it more regularly, I would have complaints.

I am not blaming Pokémon Go players for enjoying the event or the game. Everything sucks. Find your happiness. But it was incredibly jarring to discover that something I once dabbled in was still very popular and possibly going to disrupt my life this weekend. But I’ll look at the good side as well. We are in Primary Election season in NJ. If inefficiencies in transit are highlighted this weekend, maybe people will want change and Pokémon Go to the polls! Hey, that was pretty good. Someone should say that on a national stage!

From Camden and Cherry Hill to Trenton and the Jersey Shore, what about life in New Jersey do you want WHYY News to cover? Let us know.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill into law late Monday that upgrades penalties for some disorderly conduct and establishes penalties for inciting a public brawl. The move comes amid growing concern over large gatherings of young people that have at times devolved into chaos along the state’s shore towns.

Several New Jersey towns in recent years have been overrun by unruly individuals in their teens and twenties who caused disruptions, overwhelming local police departments.

South Jersey Assemblyman Dan Hutchison, a prime sponsor of the measure in the lower house, said the law is intended to make New Jersey families feel safe.

“When you send your kids up to the boardwalk, you don’t want to feel that they could potentially be stabbed or shot or beaten to a pulp,” he said.

According to the new statute, inciting a public brawl is a fourth-degree crime if the person organizes or promotes a group of four or more individuals to engage in a course of disorderly conduct. A fourth-degree crime is punishable by up to 18 months in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.

Individuals who participate in a pop-up party that causes a disruption or a disturbance can be charged with a disorderly persons offense, punishable by six months in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.

He said the new law will hopefully act as a deterrent and give law enforcement officers the tools they need to maintain order in their towns.

“When they do make these arrests and young people see their friends going to prison, it’s going to make them think twice before they do these things,” Hutchison said.

President Donald Trump on Monday implored voters in New Jersey’s primary for governor to support Republican Jack Ciattarelli when early in-person voting begins Tuesday and said the state was ready for a change after years of Democratic control.

The president, who has golf clubs around the state and frequently stays at his Bedminster property, announced his endorsement for Ciattarelli last month.

On Monday, Trump held a telephone rally for the candidate, a former state lawmaker who transformed from a critic to vocal backer of the president.

The phone call lasted about 10 minutes, with the president saying that voters will decide whether New Jersey remains a “high-tax, high-crime sanctuary state.”

“New Jersey is ready to pop out of that blue horror show and really get in there and vote for somebody that’s going to make things happen,” the president said.

Trump’s call for early voting echoed the pitch he made to voters in the 2024 presidential election.

Ciattarelli said his first executive order if elected would be to end any sanctuary policies for immigrants in the country illegally. Currently, the state attorney general has directed local law enforcement not to assist federal agents in civil immigration matters.

There is no legal definition for sanctuary city policies, but they generally limit cooperation by local law enforcement with federal immigration officers.

Ciattarelli also said the attorney general he appoints if he wins won’t be bringing lawsuits against the White House.

New Jersey’s current attorney general has pursued several high-profile challenges to the president’s agenda, including a case challenging Trump’s order calling for the end of birthright citizenship.

Ciattarelli is running against former radio talk host Bill Spadea, state Sen. Jon Bramnick, former Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac and a southern New Jersey contractor named Justin Barbera.

Early in-person voting begins Tuesday and goes through Sunday. Primary day is June 10, though voters have been sending mail-in ballots in since late April.

Though the primary isn’t over, Ciattarelli hinted at what attacks against his eventual Democratic challenger in the general election might be, saying the party’s eight years in the governorship and more than two decades of power in the legislature have been a failure.

The Democratic field isn’t set. There’s a six-way contest between Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Mikie Sherrill; Mayors Ras Baraka of Newark and Steven Fulop of Jersey City; former state Senate President Steve Sweeney; and teacher’s union president Sean Spiller.

New Jersey tilts Democratic in presidential and Senate elections in particular, and the party has a roughly 800,000 voter registration advantage over Republicans.

But independents make up a significant bloc as well, and voters have tended to alternate between Democratic and Republican administrations for governor.