WheredidallthePokemonGogo?

They camefrom inner space, virtually stealing our hearts with their cuteness and mischief — a Bulbasaur napping in the sun here, a Squirtle swimminginapondthere. Sure, to the naked eye, there was nothingthereatall. But with the Pokemon Go game app and GPS,smartphone screens became magic lenses and ... whaddya know,there’sasmelly little Caterpie munching on leaves right nextto you on a park bench. Quick, throw a PokeBall and catch it!

Pokemon Go amazed us all. Thevirtual scavenger hunt for cartoon critters — designed by Niantic Labs — quickly became aglobal phenom, attracting more than 65 million users within aweek of its July release and has since been downloaded more than 500 million times. It came justwhen we needed it, the perfect frivolous distraction from terrorist attacks, mass shootings, election stress.

And it wasn’tjust the cool kidsplaying.It was everybody. Hipsters, moms, kids, techies. Because the augmented-reality game takes players into real-life locations,people who typically hunch overcomputers found themselvessuddenly outdoors adjusting tothe light, their eyes mere slits likenewborn puppies. People were getting more exercise, making friends. There were Pokemon Go-themed meetups and pubcrawls.Oh,and also muggings, car crashes and evenafew deaths.

But the game’sglory days are over.As with allfads, it peaked and faded, and now Pokémon Gohas fallen down the App Store charts. Lots of people still play,new features have been added and there’stalk of a Gen II edition coming out. Yetsome wonder if an activitybased on wanderingaround outside will winter well.

Still, its astounding popularitybodes wellfor future augmented-realitygames. In 2017who knowswhat we’llsee?Is the “Star Trek” holodeck just around the corner?