Pokémon Go was a surprise hit that single-handedly reinvigorated people's interest in the franchise and created a whole new way of gaming. Lately, it seems we hear about a crazy story related to the game every day. Whether it's a woman finding a dead body to people selling their accounts for large sums of money, Pokémon Go is the ultimate source for unbelievable stories and trends.
The app's nature has made people do a lot of strange things, which, ironically, keep the game in the news more than the game itself. Thanks to that, we have a considerable amount of material to work with. So, here are the weirdest things Pokémon Go has inspired:
1. A Pokémon Go Physical Education Class
Pokémon Go in itself is designed to get people outside and exercise. This is why it's even more puzzling to me why Fresno City College, a community college in California, has created a Pokémon Go physical education class. Yes, that's a thing now. The flyer states that it will "use the Pokémon Go!App to promote fitness through walking and finding Pokemons on the FCC campus."
By finishing the course, which starts on October 27 and ends on December 8, students earn one credit that can be transferred to other schools. FCC's women's soccer coach, Oliver Germond, who is tasked with teaching the course, admitted that when the dean presented the project to him, he thought it was a joke. Either way, Germond says he's making a fitness course for the app that involves other exercises other than walking and running.
I'm curious... was this college previously called "Greendale" and is the dean's last name Pelton?
2. PokéPorn
Porn is a regular tool in a lot of people's lives, proven by millions of users going to different websites every month to fulfill their fantasies. Because of this, porn parodies exist for pretty much every famous video game and cartoon out there, including Overwatch and TMNT.
Now, the popularity of Pokémon Go has inspired its very own porn version. That's right, it's titled Pornstars Go! and...ok, I don't watch porn, so I have no idea what it's about but just Google the trailer and stare in disbelief at what you're watching.
Just like with Minecraft porn lurking around the dark corners of the internet, I ask myself, "People watch that?!" I don't know about you, but I find it disturbing to think people actually want to see Pokémon porn. Anyway, if you want to probably traumatize yourself by watching it, the "movie" is out now so... go catch it.
3. PokeMatch (Tinder For Pokémon GoPlayers)
Some solo trainers can, understandably, feel a little lonely when catching creatures all by themselves. The answer to this? A Tinder-style Pokémon Go dating app called PokeMatch created by Pim de Witte and Troy Osinoff.
That's right, people are replacing Tinder with an unofficial Pokémon app (that was created in three days, by the way) as their go-to date-finder. And apparently, a lot of people are, too, since it's created over 10,000 matches.
The app - with a swipe-left-right mechanic to accept or reject matches - starts by asking trainers their age and whether they're interested in men, women or just want a companion to hunt Pokémon with. Do you dislike a particular faction in the game? No worries, you can filter your matches for members of the Instinct, Mystic and Valor factions.
How did such an app came to be? Here's what de Witte revealed:
“My friend needed a date and wanted to go Pokémon hunting, so we made this.”
See Also:
- 'Pokemon Go' Is Resulting In Some Wild Finds Including A Dead Body
- One Fan Has Collected EVERY Pokemon In 'Pokemon Go' And Here's What He Won
- The 10 Most Hilarious 'Pokemon Go' Memes
Are you shocked at the fact that a Pokémon-inspired dating app has that many users? You're not alone: de Witte had this to say about its success:
"Something I've never seen before is happening to us, and it is feeling kind of surrealPeople are using our app all over the world. With the launch of our new iOS app, we hope to connect every single Pokémon Go player. It's not just a hook-up app, PokeMatch and Pokémon Go create actual connections between people, completely for free."
If you too want to catch your possible future partner that shares your love for Pokémon Go, the app is available for free on both iOS and Android.
4. Virtual Fights For Equality
LGBTQ rights have finally seen progress as we break the stigmas and focus on treating everyone — no matter their sexual orientations — equally. Unfortunately, some, like the Westboro Baptist Church, refuse to accept that. Fortunately, Pokémon Go unknowingly gave people the platform to fight this association without anyone getting arrested for assault charges.
Ironically, the Westboro Baptist Church, located in Kansas, was chosen as a Gym in the game. Once a user noticed this, he claimed the location with a Pokémon named Clefairy and named it "Loveislove."
an unstoppable clefairy named Loveislove has apparently seized control of the Westboro Baptist Church #PokemonGOgym
The organization, realizing this (as hilarious as it was), created their own account to take back the church in the game and tweeted the message: "We recruited Jigglypuff to deal with the sodomite loveislove Clefairy for us.”
There you have it: We are now tackling real-world issues and solving our differences through Pokémon Go.
5. People Forgetting What Boundaries Are
Pokémon Go instills a feeling of adventure in its players by allowing them to explore their environment. Unfortunately, the fact that you can find Pokémon literally anywhere has made people completely lose their sense of boundaries.
Such as Jonathan Theriot, who caught a Pokémon on his wife's hospital bed...while she was giving birth. Granted, you can't deny his effort paid off as he caught a Pidgey and his wife wasn't mad, so there you go.
Louis Park, a U.S. soldier, snagged a Squirtle while literally on the front lines. Sharing the discovery through Facebook, Park wrote: "Just caught my first Pokémon on the Mosul front line by Teleskuf." New Jersey resident,Jeffrey Marder, even filed a lawsuit against Niantic Labs because of trainers always going to his house and asking him for access to his backyard to catch the Pokémon that were there.
The strange actions don't stop there though, as many players haveentered graveyards, trespassed their neighbor's homes and famously gone into Auschwitz and the Holocaust Museum to catch 'em all. Is this a sign that we shouldn't be taking things so far when it comes to a video game that lets us catch digital monsters?
6. A Paid "Professional Trainer"
What I find curious is that a game like Pokémon Go - which is meant as a fun outdoors activity for people - is taken completely out of context by some who prefer to have others do the gaming for them because... reasons?
This is proven by a "professional Pokémon trainer" listing on Craigslist. A 24-year-old woman going by the name of Ivy St. Ive, posted an ad on Craigslist offering her services as a professional trainer for $20 dollars per hour. What will she be doing? Here's what she said:
"My services are simple: I will walk around in 1-4 hour shifts signed into your account capturing every single Pokémon I come into contact with, activating every Poke Stop I pass and walking nonstop to help hatch your eggs. I'll even send you hourly updates while you're at work/class/on a hot date informing you of any really exciting things I've come across for you. Pokémon training help, gym battles and strategy tips are also included, if requested."
Under "skills" (please note my sarcastic tone), she states having played "Pokémon (both cards and Gameboy/DS) since 1997 and Pokémon Gosince opening day." Unfortunately, if you were planning to hire her, you can't anymore as this violates Niantic's terms of service, therefore, she had to take down her add.
7. Pokémon - Go Pin-ups
Have you ever seen something so weird that you never expected to see but one way or another you end up seeing it, and it scars you for life? That's exactly what happened to me with Pokémon Go pin-ups by artist Andrew Tarusov, by which you too, can be traumatized.
Like I said before, I don't know what it is with people wanting to see sexy, naked versions of fictional animals. Some people do, but I'm not one of them. Either way, Pokémon pin-ups exist. Thank you Pokémon Go!
Conclusion: Amusing Or Strange?
There you have it: The weirdest things inspired by Pokémon Go. Some of these are pretty amusing, like catching a Pokémon while your child is entering this world or the community college that's offering a class to do what you could do on your spare time any way.
It's also evident how we can take a fun video game meant to emulate the experience of catching the Pokémon we all wanted to hang out with in our younger years and turn it into something either weird, dangerous, or (like with Pokémon pin-ups), disturbing. However, we can't deny the fun there's to be had with these quirky, almost unbelievable-stories and, whether you enjoy them or not, they will most likely keep coming as Pokémon Gogrows every day.
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