Can we put the "Monsters" back in PokeMon please?

I had some cosplay in my future world, I should probably add some creative version of flash mobs.

This is what my neighborhood looks like:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akzInsiqflE

http://xilfy.com/v/p-XnTDcQZjY

What's a Pokémon?

Well, some people have done art of what these things would actually look like if they were real...

Also, some of the pokemon's descriptions are pretty horrifying as well.

It is whispered that any child who mistakes Drifloon for a balloon and holds on to it could wind up missing.

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According to old tales, these Pokémon are stumps possessed by the spirits of children who died while lost in the forest.

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Jamesaritchie said:

What's a Pokémon?

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Google is your friend. Learn to use it.

MaeZe said:

This is what my neighborhood looks like:

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It's almost criminal in nature that no one photo shopped Waldo into this picture.

So far, my only gripe is that I'm not playing the game, yet.

But for me, playing real life pokemon is just one of the many fantasy-based things I would gleefully jump on if the option were presented to me. Recently scratched from that list was actually going to Hogwarts and living in the Star Wars universe, because there's no guarantee my life would be any better in those universes.

It's scary enough that some pokemons can actually kill you without effort... And kids are catching them to force those animals to fight each other. In retrospect, the idea of the pokemon is actually quite dark, dystopian and rather sci-fi.

Williebee said:

See? Over time we (royal historically we) took Grimm's fairy tales and softened them down to offhand warnings. We should be taking these Poke critters and turning them into something Clive Barker would be proud to call a pet.

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We could, but our next achievement would be a lawsuit from the creators of Pokemon.

Only storyline I can think of that takes inspiration from Pokemon is to have adults working in the military/government capturing monsters instead in an attempt to use them against other military/government. Of course, it'd either fail horribly or work too well Plus, these 'Pokemons' are probably from outer space. Yeah. Probably sent crashing to Earth because the Old Ones got bored of them.

Kawaiiagon - a large eyed beast who on its very first (few) appearances is irresistably cute. But after a few passes would lull the already-adoring into the same transformation it goes into, with the bleeding eyes, the tearing skin, the collapsing skeleton, the haemorrhaging internal organs. The Kawaiiagon then returns to form while the fawning ones can't and from there it lauches its mocking attacks.

xbriannova said:

We could, but our next achievement would be a lawsuit from the creators of Pokemon.

Only storyline I can think of that takes inspiration from Pokemon is to have adults working in the military/government capturing monsters instead in an attempt to use them against other military/government. Of course, it'd either fail horribly or work too well Plus, these 'Pokemons' are probably from outer space. Yeah. Probably sent crashing to Earth because the Old Ones got bored of them.

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It's been a long time since I played a Pokemon game, but I'm pretty sure both the government surveillance plot and the space origins plot have figured in at least one.

For handheld games, they can get a bit creepy when you dig into the subtext. It's usually covered over by some Team Rocket-esque superficiality meant to appeal to kids (which it generally does--Pokemon is remarkably effectively constructed as a story) but the games haven't shied away from big issues.

Another Pokemon Go mob goes nuts.

Pokémon Go, the ultra-popular augmented reality game, was released in Taiwan three weeks ago. Only a couple days after its debut, 349 Taiwanese drivers were fined for playing and driving. While nobody has fallen into a river (yet), huge mobs of gamers have been spotted in northern Taipei, obstructing traffic and blocking streets.

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You'd think these people might be just a tad embarrassed.

i finally caught Pikachu last weekend (saturday). then the next day...I caught a porygon near my house. i really wish the game would give me more awesome moments than one or two every 3 weeks....

My 15 year old son plays Pokemon. I wear a fitbit. We now go on walks together (which has not happened for a long time). He collects ... whatever it is that people playing Pokemon collect. I collect steps on my fitbit chart for the day. We're both happy.

My daughter has gone out with a group of friends a number of times now to go on pokemon hunting expeditions. I'm out at a coworking lunch and we've all caught several while sitting here. It can be really fun and social.

I don't know about you guys, but seeing hordes of Pokemon Go players at the park or something just reminds me of zombies. They weren't talking, weren't laughing or something. They were just there... Their fingers dancing on their phone screens. It's hardly social, or even healthy, compared to a normal walk in the park or a run on the tracks.

I don't know how the crowds in other countries are like, but there you go.

It's a little scary when you think about it. You know, I think I might have good idea for a horror story based on this Pokemon Go thing. Now that's something to be thrilled about.

How do you know it's not social if you haven't played it?

I'm sure plenty of people manage to ignore the interactive aspects. But in my experience, I've chatted briefly with people at my local park while we were playing, my daughter has a group of friends that goes out to play together, and someone else I know went on a Pokemon Go tour deal, like a party bus going to different locations.

If people aren't using it in a healthy way, it's not the game's fault. The possibilities are there.

And I really don't get why so many people are eager to vilify a game that makes you get out of your house and walk around. Isn't that resolving one of the things people complained was a problem with video games?

xbriannova said:

I don't know about you guys, but seeing hordes of Pokemon Go players at the park or something just reminds me of zombies. They weren't talking, weren't laughing or something. They were just there... Their fingers dancing on their phone screens. It's hardly social, or even healthy, compared to a normal walk in the park or a run on the tracks.

I don't know how the crowds in other countries are like, but there you go.

It's a little scary when you think about it. You know, I think I might have good idea for a horror story based on this Pokemon Go thing. Now that's something to be thrilled about.

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I dunno, I go to a place called the Riverwalk where tons of Pokemon Go people play, and they are all talking to each other and having a good time. I've even talked to a few people. It's fun when everyone's like "OMG A DRATINI" and runs to the same spot, even helping those who are like "WHAT HAPPENED"?

*shrugs*

I see more social interactivity.

JJ Litke said:

How do you know it's not social if you haven't played it?

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I observed it being played. I used to be a huge gamer when I was a student, and now I'm doing it like one or two hours a day in my free time. I even have my own pet phone game - Bloons TD Battles. I couldn't help but be curious. But so far, I haven't liked Pokemon Go enough to play it myself.

JJ Litke said:

I'm sure plenty of people manage to ignore the interactive aspects. But in my experience, I've chatted briefly with people at my local park while we were playing, my daughter has a group of friends that goes out to play together, and someone else I know went on a Pokemon Go tour deal, like a party bus going to different locations.

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Good for your daughter and friends that they're in cliques that are more social.

JJ Litke said:

If people aren't using it in a healthy way, it's not the game's fault. The possibilities are there.

And I really don't get why so many people are eager to vilify a game that makes you get out of your house and walk around. Isn't that resolving one of the things people complained was a problem with video games?

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I wasn't aware that the game was vilified. At the worse, it's only getting as much flak as Doom and Grand Theft Auto, if not less.

I guess it's a geographical thing. Where I come from, there are many groups I encountered that are like zombies - They move in hordes, and occupy an area en masse. I saw giant groups that are just silent, including ones that stumble around in parks at night. Then there are groups that shamble into places that aren't very... Well, convenient when blocked. Sound familiar? I'm sure there are herds of them in your area too that are like that. It's all the worse in a less humorous way when some of those zombies managed to find their way into someone else's backyards or off cliffs.

I have nothing against Pokemon Go players, or the game. I just found some of their behaviors amusing and/or disturbing. And inspiring hahahaha... Hey, can't blame my muse, right?

EDIT: Maybe I should go in for a closer look for my anthropological interest. I do know of a horde of zomb- I mean players, who would swarm a park close to my tuition client's home. I would walk by the herd, just metres away whenever I walk to the train station close by. I'll try going into the heart of the herd to check out the conversations going on in there. My research could go into the story inspired by the Pokemon Go phenomenon.

Well bless your heart. Good luck with your alien species study.

JJ Litke said:

Well bless your heart. Good luck with your alien species study.

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Thanks! And likewise for you as well. As writers, it's one of the more important things that we conduct 'anthropological research' heh Hope the wind takes you to a very interesting place.

EDIT: And what you said just gave me another idea for a story. Thanks! Holy cow, my muse must be on overdrive these past few days! Too bad I'm too busy editing rather than writing.

My son tells me cheating with GPS is all the rage at his workplace (tech job).

MaeZe said:

My son tells me cheating with GPS is all the rage at his workplace (tech job).

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LOL I heard about the GPS cheat from my colleague. Heard that you can actually get permanently banned for all eternity for it.