For years scholars have debated whether it was possible to pull video gamers out of their screen-lit seclusion and into the harsh light of day.
As it turns out, you can, so long as you mash together mobile gaming with one of the most successful franchises in modern history.
Pokémon Go is the latest in a long string of games centered around a collection of 151 fictional monsters unveiled to the world by Nintendo in 1996. Millions of ravenous fans purchased the games, initially released for Gameboy play.
Over the next two decades, the franchise grew to mammoth proportions, with dozens of video games, a successful trading card game, and even a few feature-length movies.
And with Pokémon Go looking like a clear home-run, Nintendo isn't slowing down any time soon.
The free app, available for download on iPhone and Android, is an augmented reality game built around the same thing that made the franchise so loved and infectious in the first place - "catching 'em all" and becoming a Pokémon master.
Players are encouraged to travel the world in real life, phones out, in their search for Pokémon, which jump out as players stumble across them on sidewalks, in parks and in their neighbor's yards.
When a monster pops up on screen, the phone's camera is used to show whatever the player is facing, giving the appearance that the Pokémon is really standing, or flying, in front of them.
"It's all about nostalgia and living vicariously through the game for me. I used to pretend to find Pokémon at recess during elementary school," said Amanda Langston in a Chattanooga Facebook page dedicated to the game.
"Booting up Pokémon GO is like instantly being transported back to childhood. I got goosebumps at the loading screen, just the same as I did 20 years ago with Pokémon Red."
In the game, "Pokéstops" are also marked and scattered across the globe at areas including public artworks and significant buildings. When players approach these sites, they receive experience points and in-game items as a reward for making the journey.
Local physicians are getting behind the phenomenon in support of all that walking, saying the game could offer serious health benefits.
The Chattanooga and Hamilton County Medical Society sent out a release highlighting what gamers stood to gain from wandering around the county.
"Walking can be the single best form of exercise a person can do," said Dr. Nita Shumaker, a Chattanooga pediatrician with Galen North Pediatrics and director of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society.
"On average, a kilometer equals about 1,250 steps. As players reach their goals, those steps can add up quickly. This is a great way to exercise and explore your environment."
There is also a competitive element to the game, as Pokémon trainers must choose between one of three factions to join - red, blue and yellow.
After joining a team, players compete with one another by pitting their monsters in battle against opposing teams to claim certain real-world sites that are designated as gyms, thereby marking out territory for their team.
Since the game's limited release on Thursday to the U.S., Australia and New Zealand, the public's reception has been record-shattering, with millions of users taking to the outdoors in hordes, phones in hand.
It's still too early for most metrics of commercial success, but according to one estimation by SensorTower, an analytics company, the app had been downloaded 7.5 million times on Monday and was pulling in $1.6 million a day through in-app purchases.
Another analysis, this time by SimilarWeb, said on Wednesday the app had officially become the most viral application in U.S. history, surpassing Twitter's daily users and crushing the next leading app, Facebook, in overall engagement time with an average of 33 minutes per person a day.
The game's release also has spurred an enormous surge in Nintendo stock, which has climbed more than 50 percent since last week, adding $7 billion to the value of the company.
As the dollar value is climbing, so too are the numbers of miles being walked daily by aspiring Pokémon masters. Social media is ablaze with reports of discoveries and friendships being made as people pound the pavement.
"I think this game has brought people together like never before," said Judd Crane, a local player. "It's weird, in a good way, when you run into dozens of people on their phones at a place like Renaissance Park, and you know exactly what they're doing."
Certain locations with multiple points of interest in close proximity are hotspots for players, who often come to an area independently and are surprised to find themselves part of an unplanned mob.
Players say these locations are the perfect way to meet people with common interests and make connections in a community that would have otherwise stayed indoors. For some, that's a life-changing experience.
One woman who asked to remain nameless said, "I'm a survivor of domestic violence, and as a result, I struggle with PTSD, anxiety and agoraphobia.
"It was becoming difficult for me to live a normal life, because I would feel overwhelming anxiety and fear when leaving the house if I wasn't going to what I considered 'safe places.'"
But with Pokémon Go, that's all beginning to change for her.
"It has helped me to push my boundaries safely, and has improved my mental health so much. I'm sleeping better, I have a happier demeanor, and I feel more at ease. It's been like exposure therapy for me."
Still, with so many people walking around with their faces buried in their phones, authorities are concerned about public safety, and there have been a number of incidents since the release of the game.
Four suspects were charged with robbing a man at gunpoint in Auburn, Ala., while he was wandering in search of Pokémon, and three more players in Dunmore, Pa., had to call police to let them out when they were accidentally locked in a cemetery.
Some citizens and businesses also are taking steps to prevent users from playing the game in places deemed inappropriate spots to catch virtual monsters.
The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and Arlington National Cemetery both asked people to refrain from playing the game while visiting, although the museum is a Pokéstop that officials are trying to have removed from the game.
Museum communications director Andrew Hollinger said playing the game inside a memorial to victims of the Nazis is "extremely inappropriate," according to the Associated Press.
Matt Lea, spokesman for the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, said there haven't been any traffic incidents or assaults tied to the game in Hamilton County yet, but he did encourage people to stay aware of their surroundings.
"Obviously, they should never trespass on private property to collect a game icon, nor should they participate in any game activity while driving a motor vehicle," he said.
On Monday, the Chattanooga Police Department also put out a public service announcement encouraging players to look up from their phones and ensure children stay within designated boundaries. They also strongly discouraged people from playing while driving.
"DON'T DRIVE & POKEMON GO!: No Pidgey or Pikachu is worth getting in an accident over," the release states.
Contact staff writer Emmett Gienapp at egienapp@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6731.