If you’ve been wondering how far people can go to showcase their love for Pokémon, here’s some evidence.
A recent performance dedicated to Pokémon featured a popular performer named Nikolay Baskov dressed in lurid bright yellow clothing at the New Wave International music competition for "young pop singers" in Russia. The act was replete with giant Pokéballs, huge iPhone props, and several background dancers gyrating to the beats.
The song was apparently an ode to love.
“I will hug you, hard. I will hug you, passionately.
There is no one in the world more beautiful than you.
There is no one in the world more wonderful.”
The audience members are seen going wild in the video, hugging the performer and throwing the giant Pokéballs back at Baskov, briefly playing catch in an increasingly bizarre spectacle.
Russia has taken the popularity of the game with a pinch of salt and opinions have been mixed in the country. A Parliament member was quoted as saying, “It feels like the devil arrived through [Pokémon Go] and is trying to tear our morality apart from the inside.”
In the video, meanwhile, Baskov is felicitated with loud cheers and a bouquet of flowers with plenty of love for Pikachu.
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