Will people start identifying new species through Pokémon Go? If so, we may finally have species with cool names, like the Charizard bee species earlier this year
The idea of dicovering Pokémon Go real species is not that far-fetched. Just a few days ago, a snail species that hadn’t been seen for 100 years was photographed in Vietnam. Last year a 10-year-old girl photographed a bird called the social flycatcher in California, the first time that species had been seen in the state.
Consider the millions of indoor-type people suddenly venturing outside to catch Pokémon, sometimes winding up in very odd places.
As millions of users scour the earth for made-up creatures, many players are stumbling across entirely real ones, too.
For players who come across actual critters during their crusade to catch ‘em all, insect taxonomist Morgan Jackson created the hashtag #PokeBlitz, where scientists help people identify photos of wildlife.
Go on, have a go at finding these Earth Pokémon. You have a good chance. Instead of 150 species, we have 1 million.
Here are some of the real-life discoveries so far :
What type of real Pokémon is this? Oh, it’s a Heron
Starting to think these Pokemon are coming to life bc what the hell is this bird that came to the tennis court today pic.twitter.com/8KGh3p3hra
— Connor (@connorluce) July 11, 2016
Pokémon Go Player dicovers weird “real bird”
Wow, look at this Pokemon I found on Pokemon Go. I think it’s called a real bird pic.twitter.com/yZexGoywJ2
— John Sansalone (@HydrocaneJohn) July 8, 2016
Pokémon Go real bird joins Battle
How to freak out while playing Pokemon Go? Have a real bird swoop in mid-battle… pic.twitter.com/OOTefZuXXm
— KylieSturgess (@kyliesturgess) July 10, 2016
Hunt turned into Pokémon Go real long-leg ass bird hunt
I Pokemon Go to the park but at least I chased after a real fuckin bird to try to get a pic of its long ass legs pic.twitter.com/dOoOTODled
— sara (@hollacatgirl) July 12, 2016
One’s a Brown Pelican! And one’s a Pidgey
Had a bird friend while playing Pokemon Go pic.twitter.com/NQGdTXegaC
— Chris Clicktopher (@ChrisClick15) July 13, 2016
Be careful what Pokémon you look for – you might find the Pokémon Go real version!
I went to go find this Pokemon and found a real snake exactly where the Pokemon was! #PokemonGO pic.twitter.com/4Uopx8t0vO
— TOM (@thomas_cazares) July 10, 2016
Found any real-life monsters? We’d love to know.
