Safety is a big concern for Pokemon Go players. Since the launch of the extremely popular mobile game, there have already been stories of real world Team Rockets using the game mechanics to rob unsuspecting players and other people just stealing phones from innocent GO players wandering around with their devices out.
While these stories can be terrifying, they’re actually pretty rare. However, there is another big concern that parents have about the game in general — night safety. As most Pokemon hunters are likely aware by now, some Pokemon only appear at night. This means that if you really want to “catch ’em all,” you’re going to have to head out during the twilight hours at some point in your hunting career.
Even if you’re not a child, wandering around in the dark can have some serious consequences — especially if you’re in more rural places that aren’t well lit. It’s very possible that some driver may not see you walking down the road. And well… the results can be deadly.
Enter Athen, who overheard his mom and dad talking about this particular issue. Being what sounds like a pretty nice kid, the boy was on the case and came up with the idea of light up buttons that players can wear while hunting. These buttons are cleverly titled Poke Glo Safety Buttons.
Athen — being stuck at home with an injury at the moment — got to work with minor assistance from his parents (who bought the materials) and started prototyping the buttons. He came up with the idea of having buttons of varying sizes — currently ranging in price from .50 cents to $4.00. According to Athen’s mom, these prices are based primarily on covering the materials. Athen is less interested in making a big profit than he is in making sure everyone can play Pokemon Go as safely as possible.
The buttons are made out of reflective material rather than lights, but Athen is offering a light up wrist band as well. His mom also says they’re well aware the design will have to be changed from the standard Pokeball, but that some other ideas are in the works.
To get his project rolling, Athen (with the help of his parents), started a GoFundMe project asking for $500. After one day he’s already sitting at over $1,500 in donations. He’s also taking the project to the streets and selling buttons from a real world Poke Glo stand where he’s accepting donations as well.
Those interested in seeing a loose breakdown of cost on creating the Poke Glos can find them in the updates section of Athen’s Poke Glo GoFundMe page. And of course, if you want to help support him, there’s still plenty of time to donate as well.
