Catching ‘em All in Bayou Country: Pokémon Go in Houma!
Creatures with sharp teeth and amazing strength. Creatures that live all around us and can be difficult to catch. We’re not talking about gators this time, folks. Pokémon Go has hit Bayou Country and Houma is ready to catch em all!
To learn more about this craze, I caught up with chef and local Pokémon chaser Brandon Doucet. Brandon spends his days cooking up delicious twists on Cajun classics for his business The Daily Chef, but between stirring the roux and finishing the jambalaya, he has to take a moment to check his surroundings for a Horsea.
Bayou Side: How did you begin playing Pokémon Go?
Brandon: I’ve never really been a fan of the games in the past, actually not at all. I was more the person who thought it to be a very useless game. However, while delivering some lunches to some good friends of mine at the Black Pearl Tattoo shop, my friend Erica starts explaining Pokemon Go to me… an interactive game that requires you to get out and move around, basically a global scavenger hunt… I had to check it out! So that afternoon after I finished up work for the day I decided to download the app and see what the fuss was about. I was hooked from the start.
Bayou Side: So, now that you’re hooked, what are the hotspots in the Houma area to catch Pokémon?
Brandon: There are several hotspots around Houma, the epicenter being the courthouse of downtown Houma. There are dozens of Pokéstops. Also, the parking lots on the strip of Mlk (Martin Luther King) Boulevard are really good places to locate Pokémon.
Bayou Side: I know you aren’t supposed to have favorites… but who’s your favorite Pokémon that you’ve caught?
Brandon: The best Pokémon I have captured I’d say would be my Gyarados, a water power-wielding Leviathan. I already evolved him by catching A Lot of Magikarp, but I saw the Gyarados one day in downtown Houma, along the bayou, so I snatched him up. I consider him to be my rarest because of the lengths you have to go to to evolve him and how sought after he is to battle.
Bayou Side: When you capture something like a Gyarados, there has to be some celebration happening. What’s that like?
Brandon: To celebrate immediately, I use all available resources to power him up to maximum level and start using him to take down all of the gyms downtown… sorry teams Mystic and Instinct. (Obviously, Brandon’s a devoted Team Valor.)
Bayou Side: So, what’s a typical day like playing Pokémon Go in the Houma area?
Brandon: A typical day for me playing Pokemon Go… I start cooking around 7:00 AM everyday. Every 30 minutes or so I open the Pokémon app and see what’s nearby. I’m next to the bayou, so it’s usually Magicarp. I start my deliveries at 10:30, so once I’m near the Courthouse in Downtown Houma, I’ll pull the app up again and check the area and collect from the Pokéstops. Then, occasionally we’ll go Pokéhunting at night… whether it be around Houma or in nearby areas like Nicholls State University’s campus or New Orleans.
Brandon’s daughter holding a Pikachu. A real Pikachu, y’all!
Bayou Side: Thanks for your time, Brandon. Best of luck catching em all.
Brandon: Thanks!
Pokémon Go is an excellent addition to your visit to Houma, Louisiana’s Bayou Country. Our beautiful, unique environment will offer you great scenery while you chase down that Charmander. Since we are located along the Louisiana coast and have five major bayous running through our area, expect to collect a lot of water Pokémon. Also, the game is a great way to get your family outside and active.
Come on down to Houma and pass a good time with some Pokémon.
