5 viral moments that epitomised Pokemon GO 2016 launch

The Pokemon GO 2016 launch was one of the most memorable incidents in pop culture history. Comparable to the original Pokemania of the 90s, the launch of the app saw peopleunaware of what a Pokemon was, enthusiastically trying to catch these cute and cool creatures. There hasn't been a moment like that in videogame history since.

This article will go over some of the most viral moments from the Pokemon GO 2016 launch.

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5 viral moments which epitomised the launch of Pokemon GO in 2016

1) Vaporeon causing a stampede in Central Park

Vaporeon in the anime (Image via TPC)

In the announcement trailer for Pokemon GO, one of the scenes shows a crowd in the streets coming together to catch a Mewtwo. Well, something similar happened in real life in 2016, when a Vaporeon spawned in Central Park.

People could be seen running through the park, even crossing traffic while doing so. There was even a recorded instance of a man leaving his running car from the driver's seat in pursuit of the Eeveelution. Someone was even heard yelling,

"Look at this! There's a Vaporeon that spawned right there so everyone's running,"

At the time of the incident, the game was around a week old, and Vapoeaon was one of the rarer spawns, which led to this high level of excitement among players.

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2) Snorlax causing a traffic jam in Taipei

Snorlax in the anime (Image via TPC)

The Pokemon GO phenomenon would not be just limited to the US, as Taiwan also experienced a similar incident soon after. A Snorlax spawned near Beitou Park in Taipei, which led players of the then-new app to rush and catch it. This led to a massive traffic congestion for some time until players successfully caught the sleeping beast.

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3) Syrian artist places Pokemon characters in destroyed streets

Pokemon GO in Syria (Image by Khaled Akil)

Khaled Akil, an artist and photographer from Syria, noticed the massive buzz around Pokemon GO at the same time the Syrian War was going on. He felt mystified at how a game had attracted more attention than real-world atrocities.

"I wondered what it would be like to hunt for a Pokémon character among the rubble in Syria, and how a virtual game attracts more attention than the atrocities committed daily in real-life Syria."

So he used the game as a means to spread awareness. He placed different Pokemon characters side by side with real-world images of what was happening in Syria, similar to how the game itself lets players catch Pokemon in the real world. His project, "Pokemon GO in Syria", raised a lot of awareness about the happenings in Syria at the time.

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4) Players catch criminals and find dead bodies while playing Pokemon GO

Pokemon Go Craze Hits New York City (Image via Getty)

Pokemon GO players had to interact with the real world to play the game. However, some real-world incidents were extremely gruesome. Almost from the game's inception, players would encounter dead bodies while searching for Pokemon. In some cases, players would be lured to Pokestops where they would be robbed.

However, players were also able to work with law enforcement to catch criminals as well as Pokemon. This came in the form of receiving tips on seeing shady activities in places that people wouldn't usually go to, but were starting to in search of Pokemon.

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5) Pokemon theme sees an increase in listeners on Spotify

Spotify saw a 630% rise in the Pokemon theme during 2016 (Image via Spotify)

While the games were a huge part of the original 'Pokemania' craze of the 90s, there's no denying that the anime was significant as well. So, with players going out into the world to catch Pokemon like Ash Ketchum, the original theme from the anime "Gotta Catch 'Em All" added to their nostalgia. And they listened to it so much that even Spotify noted a noticeable spike of around 630%.

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Check out our other Pokemon GO-related guides here:

• Ditto disguises
• Buddy Evolution Adventure Together guide
• Best Fast Attacks in the game
• Sierra counters
• Cliff counters
• Arlo counters
• Giovanni counters
• Team GO Rocket Grunts
• Go Evolution Calculator
• Pokemon Type Calculator