A strange – or maybe not – thing happened in the world on Saturday. Hundreds of people rushed at 11pm to Central Park, that beloved part of New York, New York in the US in a state of panic and excitement.

News had spread of a very important event. A Vaporean – one of Pokémon GO's rarest creatures – had appeared. Obviously, it needed to be added to the Pokédex. For the uninitiated, here's what it looks like.

A wild Charizard, another rare, caused mayhem in another park.

None of these stampeders can match the devotion displayed by Tom Currie from New Zealand. He quit his job so he could travel around the country to catch all the pokémon he could. There are 151 unique creatures to catch in the game and he has completed two-thirds of the mission. A US animal shelter is using the craze to its advantage – walk a rescue dog while catching the creatures. Win-win.

Advertisement

Even though it's not yet officially released in India, the craze has taken off in a big way in the country. Thankfully, no stampedes yet.

But the backlash is building.

Sometimes this backlash has become (a little too) real.

And there has also been a backlash to that backlash, although in the form of conversations with oneself.

Some even claim it's a plot to force Americans to learn the metric system.