Pokemon and... Google Maps?!

Started by JP March 31st, 2014 9:43 AM
  • 10109 views
  • 44 replies

JP

wut?

Age 32
Male
USA
Seen December 13th, 2019
Posted February 27th, 2019
2,163 posts
14.8 Years
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2014/03/31/become-a-pokemon-master-using-google-maps.aspx

"In what is obviously an early April Fools Joke (and possibly the best one ever), Google has announced a competition: to work at Google as a Pokémon Master. All you have to do to secure this legendary position is use your smartphone to explore Google Maps and capture as many Pokémon as you can. The best part about this joke though is that it's actually real. Kind of. You can start capturing Pokemon right now, just be sure to update your Google Maps app on your phone and then click into the search bar to start."

This is the greatest thing ever. I've given it a go, and it's not the funnest thing ever, but it sure is worth trying out for the sake of it. Such an interesting idea, hope we see this kind of thing develop some more in the future!

Cherrim

Age 34
she / her
Toronto
Seen 7 Hours Ago
Posted 6 Days Ago
33,049 posts
20.4 Years

I searched around and didn't see a thread about this yet. Google Maps's April Fools joke this year is Pokémon-related! You can open the app in any iOS/Android phone and wander around the map catching Pokémon (which, coincidentally, seem to all be around Google HQs which show up as Pokémon Labs).

The Pokédex looks like it has a cap of 150 but I haven't played around with it enough to know yet.

edit: ahh looks like someone beat me to it while I was typing this, whoops.


paired with professor plum.

moon

they/them
Seen 11 Hours Ago
Posted 22 Hours Ago
37,443 posts
15.5 Years
THIS IS LEGIT THE COOLEST THING SINCE PHISH FOOD BEN & JERRYS. Except I somehow don't think it'll look as cool as it does in that clip :p
paired with Ivysaur

Meganium

memento mori

she/her
Houston, TX
Seen February 1st, 2023
Posted February 1st, 2023
I am literally SCREAMING THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER SINCE GOOGLE, KANSAS.

Because screw this I'm dropping out of college to become a Pokemon Master!

Cherrim

Age 34
she / her
Toronto
Seen 7 Hours Ago
Posted 6 Days Ago
33,049 posts
20.4 Years
I'm at 80. All the cool Pokémon seem to be in Japan, so searching "Google Japan" and wandering around that area is a pretty good idea.

Where did everyone start? I go their lab in San Francisco, I think. The writer of the first news article I read seemed to start somewhere else. There seem to be a lot of Pokémon around the main Google HQs that actually get lab icons.


paired with professor plum.

JP

wut?

Age 32
Male
USA
Seen December 13th, 2019
Posted February 27th, 2019
2,163 posts
14.8 Years
Did anyone else have a pokemon near their house?
I had a metang right across the street.
I looked outside but it wasn't there, someone must have got it before me xD
Nice! I looked but saw nothing for my house. :( Should check all my past residences for something.

Synerjee

Atra du evarinya ono varda.

Everywhere and anywhere.
Seen May 28th, 2016
Posted February 25th, 2016
2,901 posts
10.6 Years
I purposely downloaded Google Maps for this gem. My Pokemon Lab is in Japan! <3 Right now I have caught 21 Pokemon and counting. IMMA BE THE BEST POKEMON MASTER.

JP

wut?

Age 32
Male
USA
Seen December 13th, 2019
Posted February 27th, 2019
2,163 posts
14.8 Years
http://kotaku.com/how-to-find-pokemon-on-google-maps-1555465846

Here's a short list of some of the ones you can find at major landmarks. I found a Garchomp near the Great Wall of China too!

Cherrim

Age 34
she / her
Toronto
Seen 7 Hours Ago
Posted 6 Days Ago
33,049 posts
20.4 Years
- Search "Google Tokyo". There are a TON in Tokyo if you follow along the rail lines and large roads from there.

- Charles Darwin Research Station in the Galapagos islands has a lot of Pokemon. (They are all over that island and near the airport to it, too. An excellent touch, I thought!)

- CERN research lab had a few around it that I hadn't seen elsewhere.

- If you look up the Pokemon Centre stores in Japan, a fair few of them had Pokemon nearby iirc.

- I found a few scrolling around London, England

- Google's HQ in San Francisco have a few. (That was the lab where I started.)

(edit: omg JP keeps beating me to these posts hahaha.)


paired with professor plum.

Sorbet

sυᴘᴇʀɪᴏʀвᴇт

Age 27
Male
The Netherlands
Seen November 25th, 2014
Posted October 11th, 2014
21 posts
10.2 Years
114 Pokémon and counting. Kinda interesting that you get a Pichu when you've caught x5 Pokémon, a Pikachu when you've caught x25 and a Raichu when you've caught x75. The x150 spot is still empty for me, so MAYBE ITS A ZOMG MEGALUTION or a Mewtwo or something.

JP

wut?

Age 32
Male
USA
Seen December 13th, 2019
Posted February 27th, 2019
2,163 posts
14.8 Years
114 Pokémon and counting. Kinda interesting that you get a Pichu when you've caught x5 Pokémon, a Pikachu when you've caught x25 and a Raichu when you've caught x75. The x150 spot is still empty for me, so MAYBE ITS A ZOMG MEGALUTION or a Mewtwo or something.
I'd be willing to bet money it's either Mew or Mewtwo for nostalgia sake.

Sorbet

sυᴘᴇʀɪᴏʀвᴇт

Age 27
Male
The Netherlands
Seen November 25th, 2014
Posted October 11th, 2014
21 posts
10.2 Years
I'd be willing to bet money it's either Mew or Mewtwo for nostalgia sake.
Yeah probably, but it would be an awesome way to announce new games or at least some DLC or something. Even though the announcement would still be on April 1st...

JP

wut?

Age 32
Male
USA
Seen December 13th, 2019
Posted February 27th, 2019
2,163 posts
14.8 Years
Yeah probably, but it would be an awesome way to announce new games or at least some DLC or something. Even though the announcement would still be on April 1st...
Ha, yeah. I doubt we'd see a major announcement on April 1st haha. What would crack me up is if the x150 ended up being a Digimon haha. That'd be great.

Cherrim

Age 34
she / her
Toronto
Seen 7 Hours Ago
Posted 6 Days Ago
33,049 posts
20.4 Years
Did you know there is a road named Pokemon Drive in Jackson, Kentucky, no joke
...I am immensely disappointed that there isn't anything there. :(


paired with professor plum.

TheFattestSnorlax

New year, new possibilities

Age 25
Male
Australia
Seen January 19th, 2017
Posted January 15th, 2017
2,382 posts
12.2 Years
I heard the news before both of you posted this. Time to download on my Nexus 7 and catch some Pokémon!
Ask a question, or make a suggestion of what I can do on http://thefattestsnorlax.tumblr.com/

KidCarter93

PokéTech Guy

Age 29
Male
England
Seen August 9th, 2022
Posted October 3rd, 2017
132 posts
10 Years
Every year, Google do some kind of prank or some kind of game to celebrate AFD. This year is of course no exception.
However, this year's Google AFD is more relevant than normal as it's Pokémon related.

POKÉMON IN GOOGLE MAPS!
Check out the following link for full details of this awesome game - http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/03/31/google-wants-this-april-fools-to-be-the-very-best-kicks-things-off-with-a-google-maps-pokmon-challenge/

Happy hunting :)
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