Not everybody is a huge fan of April Fool’s Day. I count myself among the “terribly gullible and thus un-trusting” on the first of April—you could say just about anything and I’ll side-eye it for at least a couple of seconds. This year, however, April Fool’s Day brought a pleasant surprise.
April 1, 2014, Pokemon teamed up with Google Maps for the best April Fool’s joke ever. Just go to your Google Maps app on your phone and try to search for a location—you’ll see an option under the Search box to “Press Start.” You should definitely press start, because it will take you to a world where you can catch Pokemon right there on the map. I found Bulbasaur first, but I quickly located a few other cuties around the area. The Pokemon you catch are collected in a “Pokedex,” like in the original games, so you can savor the experience and view the collection of Pokemon you’ve caught.
The joke part of the game is that Google also promised a whole augmented reality game where you’d be able to “see” Pokemon through your phone’s camera in real life; this part isn’t true. (Someday, someday.) Google has also promised that the person who manages to catch all 150 original Pokemon will be promoted to the position of Pokemon Master in the company. No word on whether that’s real or not. I choose to believe it until proven wrong. Regardless, the Pokedex in your Google Maps app is fantastic, and I’m excited to see where this kind of game goes in the future!
For once, happy April Fool’s Day everyone!
