By Marissa Castro and Cassandra Nicole Angeles

Evolving into a fever pitch, the renowned reality game Pokémon GO took mobile gaming into a global phenomenon as it caught the attention of millions.

The fusion of its innovative features and the wide range of fetching characters boosted the excitement of countless hooked players. Combining the virtual world with reality, these computer-generated creatures also reflect the attitudes and personalities of various Tamaraws.

1. Caterpie: The Local Foodie

With its ravenous appetite, Caterpie lives on devouring huge leaves. And in the green and gold community, finding students like Caterpie is a piece of cake. From the long lines in the cafeteria to the blockbuster food stalls around the campus, food lovers can be catch almost anywhere.

“Maraming students ‘yung mahilig kumain especially kapag stress, kasi para sa iba ‘yun ‘yung nagiging stress reliever nila. Parang break nila from school stuff (Many students are coping with their stress through eating their comfort food. It’s like a break from school stuff),” shared Faye Camacho, 5th year Architecture student.

Finding comfort in food to survive a stressful week, these students have visited almost all the diners around the lair and they still have a long list of must try dishes waiting to be crossed-out.

2. Zubat: The Freeloader

Unlike Caterpie, Zubat feeds off health from its foe. Likewise, a great number of students miraculously survive a semester without any school must-haves through leeching on their classmates.

“Siguro (Maybe) there are some students like Zubat using Leech Seed because they want to be on top of the class na kahit (even if) they know na ‘di nila pinaghirapan ‘yung mga meron sila (that they were not the ones who did what they have) is proud pa rin sila (and they are still proud) for that. And that’s so sad kasi ‘yung recognition napupunta sa kanila imbis na sa original owner (because they are the ones who receive the recognition instead of the original owner.) Sana lang magbago na ‘yung mga Zubat-kind of students (I just wish that Zubat-kind of students will soon change).” Rommel Ramos, 3rd year Communication student stated.

As Leech seed is being used to its maximum limit, more and more Tamaraws are getting pestered by Zubats who roam around the purlieu of FEU. Always keep your headlights focused and be careful from campus Zubats, Tams!

3. Squirtle: The Flood Ranger

Equipped with a shell that is not just made for protection, Squirtle uses its grooved housing to swim and decrease water resistance whenever the situation requires it to. To develop this skill, Tamaraws evolve into something similar to Squirtle during this season of the year, and wade successfully through the murky waters of España.

“Like Squirtle, his shell is one of the resemblances why an FEU student is like this type of Pokémon. They bring their school stuff for classes (weapons for battle) despite the extreme heat or heavy rain,” said Zoe Candace Salazar, 3rd year, Business Administration, major in Business Management student.

Getting used to simultaneous knee-deep floods and dry weather, living it like Squirtle is totally a Tamaraw’s mastery. So the next time you brave the “rivers” of Morayta, you’ll know that it’s time to summon the inner Squirtle within you.

4. Psyduck: The Headache Warrior

Suffering from a hundred and one headaches is a part of a student’s struggle towards the finish line of their college life. Similarly, the cute and yellow Psyduck known for its fair share of skull-rupturing headaches, students may find themselves lost in the middle of nowhere and stuck with tons of nerve-wracking school works, wondering if they can still make it.

Just like how a Psyduck’s headache interferes most of the time but is fairly compensated afterwards, Alexandrea Balan, 3rd year Interdisciplinary Studies student, also shared a similar fate with Psyduck once.

She shared, “Last sem [semester] lang, sabay-sabay pasahan ng requirements na research paper ng 2 subjects tapos exam week din, walang tulog, gawa ng mga revisions. Sulit kasi ang taas ng grades ko. Sulit talaga ‘yung puyat kasi maganda ‘yung kinalabasan. (Last semester was a challenge because all the requirements are given at the same time. A lot of paper works are to be submitted and revised that we don’t have time to sleep. But all the hard work paid off when the result of my efforts are fulfilling).”

After all the multifold, brain throbbing school works, keep in mind that once the Psyduck successfully overcomes its entire headache; it can prodigiously use it as something much more powerful. And as for the Tamaraws, there's no other better reward after all the stress and headaches, but to triumphantly pass the whole semester.

5. Spearow: The Whining Wee

Whilst some Tamaraws are like Psyduck- suffering from tremendous headache- there are students who are the culprit of others’ pain, destructively oozing negativity. Complaining about everything and ranting through other platforms such as social media, some students are like Spearow- emitting high pitch noise.

“No task is hard if it's broken down into smaller pieces. You should realize that the time you consume from complaining is enough to finish that small chunk of task. One should always try before saying something is complicated,” uttered Robbie Anne R. Javelosa, 3rd Year BS in Tourism Management student.

Having a grumbler in a class is indeed annoying and infectious. Expressing thoughts can be done in a countless numbers of ways without being a loud bothersome Spearow.

6. Slowpoke: The Laggard Tamaraw

Having a pair of eyes staring blankly into nowhere, plus the fact that it takes five seconds to process and respond to pain, Slowpoke is the perfect emblem of some Tamaraws especially during examination week.

Jel Tanes, 3rd Year Psychology student recalled a ‘slowpoke moment’, “’Yung time na buong week puro kami quizzes, tapos every subject puro kami quizzes. Feeling ko sa sobrang stress, sobrang bagal ng pag-pasok ng information sa utak ko (There was a time where the whole week was hell-like. We have quizzes on every subject. The stress was overwhelming and my brain can’t handle the overload of information).”

Busting the headaches away might be a bit of a problem for some Tamaraws whose focus alternates from one subject to another. So in order to prevent headaches from coming, be sure to drink plenty of water and strive to get enough rest through proper time management. Stay focused!

7. Magikarp: The Softy Stout

Flopping around and easily carried away by the currents of water stream, the reddish-orange fish Pokémon is perceived by Trainers as weak and incompetent. Likewise, camouflaging with the mainstream or staying in their comfort zones, some students are comparable to Magikarp giving the impression of timidity.

As observed by Marc Rembrandt Guirao Santiago, 3rd year BS Psychology student, Magikarp is weak type Pokémon that takes a lot of candies to evolve but after all the effort but it will turn into something powerful and undefeatable. “Siguro pwede natin i-relate si Magikarp sa mga students na may hidden talent. ‘Yung tipong ‘di nila alam sa sarili nila na kaya pala nila ma-achieve ang isang bagay na akala nila’y impossible. (Magikarp is alike with students who have hidden talents. Initially, they don’t know they can do something they supposed as impossible but eventually they have the ability,)” he added.

Discovering abilities might be a long dreadful process that seems hopeless. But with enough patience and hard work, Magikarp-like students can achieve greatness- evolving from a wimp into a great beast in its destined field.

8. Haunter: The Night Crawler

As a nocturnal creature living in dark, abandoned caves, Haunter spends most of its nights licking the life force out of Pokémons who happen to stray near its territory. Whilst being a college student, Tamaraws transform themselves into a ghost-like creature, staying up all night to finish their reviews and readings.

Bryan Elijah Trajano, 4th year International Studies, stated that, “Siguro, halos pareho lang naman si Haunter sa mga FEU Students dahil maraming Tamaraws na night owls lalo na pagdating sa pag-aaral and sa pag-gawa na requirements sa school.(Maybe FEU students are similar to Haunter because most of them are night owls especially when it comes to studying and complying with school requirements).”

Sometimes it is okay for Tamaraws to get lost through their train of thoughts, but it’s a good thing that most of them always keep in mind that taking enough rest and sleep is one of the keys in being a successful person someday. So Tams, leave the Haunter life, and sleep the stress away!

9. Snorlax: The Sleepyhead

Whilst Haunters are pulling an all-nighter, Snorlax are never ditching their sleep. In the middle of a long mind-numbing lecture, the wheeze of the crowd of Snorlax is filling the atmosphere as this type of students wander in their wildest dreams. While the sleeping Pokémon slips into its serene reverie after its hunger is more than satisfied, this type of students fall into deep slumber when their brain are like a soaked sponge that can’t absorb stuffs anymore.

“It can’t be avoided that many students fell asleep during class but there are few who can’t let a day pass without daydreaming or snoozing. Having enough sleep the night before even though there are a lot of things to do is important to the health of the students,” stated Joe Marie Peralta, 4th year BSBA Internal Auditing student.

Travelling in your desired fantasy might be a good escape from overloaded dose of stress but sleeping like Snorlax might lose you a good lesson or funny joke from your serious professor.

10. Hypno: The Persuasive Pal

On the verge of deciding whether to attend a certain class or to prepare for an upcoming exam, these students greatly influence their fellow with their dumbfounding convincing powers. Resembling Hypno’s pendulum, reassuring words and company might cause deep state of hypnosis to students.

“As students, making sound decision is really hard. Most of the time, peer pressure affects us the most. Thinking we’re not alone in the bottom or our classmates are finding some topics hard as well is somehow comforting but of course it’s not healthy to let others influence and completely change us,” said AJ Vergara, 2nd year BSBA Business Management student.

Whilst the humanoid Pokémon lull its foe to eat their dreams, students with immense talent of swaying others have their options- to become a contagious disease or a radiating sunshine.

11. Alakazam: The Brainiac

Having infinitely increasing brain cells, Alakazam can be the life peg of every student who wants to excel in class. With its high IQ (intelligent quotient) and thorough memory, it can maximize its abilities to the extreme. Lucky they are, there are students who are truly gifted to have superior intellectual capacity.

“I think we all know that one or few students who are really smart. During exams, we review all night yet we still find some questions hard but they can even have a perfect score without even putting so much effort,” said Koala Padilla, 3rd year BSBA Internal Auditing.

With their great minds, these students are fortunate to possess some of the necessary weapons to pursue their dreams but making the most out of their superior skill is a must. Without hard work, their gifts might go to waste.

Whilst Pokemons endure rigorous evolution, Tamaraws also undergo developments, which enable them to adapt and identify what Pokemon-like qualities to disregard and retain. As they take part in this era where the virtual and real world collide, they must embrace their own uniqueness and accept the fact that as participants, they all play a special part to make the game of life all worthwhile.