Pokémon Go = nature + games ?
It has been observed zombie-like-humans lurking in disoriented herds, phones in hands, eyes possessed. The Pokémon Go fever has invaded our land and an investigation into its curious nature had to be made.
The team led by entomologist Sean Yap and ornithologist David Tan set forth for the Pokémon investigation in Singapore’s MacRitchie nature reserve. Will nature hold a clue to what drives the trance-like warm bodies? And is it a contradiction we pondered, to be hunting virtual creatures in the presence of sacred nature?
Satoshi Tajiri, creator of Pokémon was born 1965 and grew up in Machida, Tokyo, which at the time still maintained a rural atmosphere. As a child, Tajiri enjoyed insect collecting as a hobby — other children called him “Dr. Bug”, and he wanted to become an entomologist. As the urban areas of Japan spread and more land was paved over, habitats for hunting bugs were lost. Tajiri wanted his games to allow children to have the feeling of catching and collecting creatures as he had. — Source
With such an origin it seems Pokémon is in fact an extension of nature. During the field trip we found a surprising coexistence of augmented reality creatures and those of real life — our pack wove seamlessly between game and nature, uncovering links between the two. We even experienced the thrill of spotting real life Pokémons. But what is the source of this synchronicity between virtual and reality, and how deep does it run?
1 From our studies it seems the integration of Pokémon and nature is entrenched in three levels. Level 1 begins with direct inspiration from individual species such as how the Victreebel is rooted in the pitcher plant.
2 The second level of intersection between Pokémon and nature involves place-based sightings, the way water-based Pokémons appear near water bodies, such as in this case of the Psyduck spotted by the reservoir.
3 Then there is the third level that draws parallels on conceptual dimensions. This exoskeleton outgrown and shed by its cricket master is analogous to the Shedinja exoskeleton Pokémon.
Exoskeleton: The external skeleton that supports and protects an animal’s body, in contrast to the internal skeleton of, for example, a human. — Source
Shedinja: The Pokémon with a hard body that doesn’t move — not even a twitch. In fact, its body appears to be merely a hollow shell. It is believed that this Pokémon will steal the spirit of anyone peering into its hollow body from its back. — Source
Yet another intersection between nature and Pokémon occurs with the invasive species encapsulated by the Yungoos Pokémon of the Alola Region (inspired by Hawaii).
Yungoos: Not a Pokémon that is native to Alola. It was brought to the region to help deal with the explosive population of a certain other Pokémon (the Rattata?), and now Yungoos are commonly seen around Alola. — Source
Mongoose: An invasive species of Hawai’i — native to India and originally introduced to Hawai’i in 1883 by the sugar industry to control rats in sugarcane fields. This attempt was misguided, because while rodents make up a large portion of the mongooses’ diet, their substantial negative impact on other birds, insects, and animals outweighs their minor impact on rats. Mongoose are now widespread on almost all of the main Hawaiian islands — Source
The conceptual roots between Pokémon and nature run deeper still. Also on Pokémon’s Alola region can be deciphered a form of natural selection where a species evolves differently when separated on different islands.
The Galapagos Finches: From 1831 to 1836, on the Galapagos Islands, Charles Darwin observed several species of finches with unique beak shapes. He observed these finches closely resembled another finch species on the mainland of South America and that the group of species in the Galápagos formed a graded series of beak sizes and shapes. Darwin imagined that the island species might be all species modified from one original mainland species. Darwin called this mechanism of change natural selection. — Source
Oricorio: All forms of this Pokémon are bipedal birds with pink legs, feet, and beaks. Oricorio has four different forms — one for each of Alola’s islands. — Source
Pokémon Go = Nature + games
We have discovered that the origins of Pokémon are deeply intertwined with nature, and from an evolutionary perspective Pokémon can be viewed as our new digital gamified existence. Does that mean that Pokémon is, nature gamified? Can we then infer that people’s love (addiction) for Pokémon stems from an intrinsic love for nature? After all doesn’t the experience of both boil down to the same sense of discovery, exploration and adventure?
The fascination for animals and nature is something many are born with as children, but often gets lost as they become increasingly disconnected from the environment. By engaging adults, could Pokémon Go be a means to rediscover one’s inner child and curiosity toward nature?
Pokémon has the effect of planting seeds in one’s consciousness. Imagine falling in love with an entire encyclopaedia of Pokémon, then discovering they are caricatures of actual animals. Imagine stumbling from the story of the invasive Yungoos into the truth of the Mongoose of Hawaii. Might this prompt one to go back and rediscover the origins of all Pokémon? Could this switch on a new zest for exploration, to discover what other interesting animals there are? The trip is as such:
Infatuation with Pokémon world → recognition in real world → throwback to reexamine breadth of Pokémon world → realisation of full immensity of real world
Nature as advanced Pokémon
In that sense Pokémon Go is a bridge to the real world — akin to a child’s book that introduces ABCs as stories, or hugging a shark soft toy in a sea aquarium. But what if Pokémon Go was just a beginner level game and the difficulty was upped a notch? In the intersection of nature and games, what if there were an intermediate level of spotting real plants and animals to chock up points? Instead of a Pokédex, could there be instead a Naturedex, where spotting a roving pigeon or snail earns one points?
And what’s next if one has caught ’em all? With nature offering 8.7 million species and Pokémon 765, could nature then be the ultimate advanced Pokémon Go? In nature, animals can certainly be more difficult to find, and so all the more rewarding to spot. But without the gamification, nature is like an art house movie — where being able to appreciate the nuances and delayed gratification without the over stimuli of the blockbuster, is something that needs to be honed.
Why then nature?
Pokémon Go can be harnessed for benefits toward sustainability, but why the emphasis on nature? In our evolution toward modernity and urban comforts we have forgotten we are part of nature and its entire ecosystem. Why did we stop loving having bugs in our homes? We have a desire to be clean but what does that mean? And why should we even bother reconnecting with nature? Nature holds the truth to our existence and ties us deeply back to our roots, offering clues to the meaning of life and the universe. Without connecting to the whole, how can we feel complete and understand our place in space and time. In nature nothing is ever wasted — like a terrarium on planetary proportions, the ecosystem is self-sustaining and a sustainable future a given.
If Pokémon Go = nature + gamification, then nature = Pokémon Go - gamification. The infatuation over Pokémon Go stems from an intrinsic love for nature, where gamification fills the void of our distance apart. So then is playing Pokémon in a nature reserve a contradiction? Not quite. On the contrary it seems we have come full circle.
Nature → human → Pokémon → Nature
Special thanks to Sean Yap and David Tan for their generosity and extraordinary knowledge of the animal world both virtual and real. As well as #LepakInSG for organising the expedition.
