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Pokémon invade Google Maps for April Fools

Fill out your Pokédex in a map-scanning mini-game.

Wild Pokémon have appeared in Google Maps! This is not a drill!

As Google's follow-up to its epic, functional NES rendition of its map service for April Fools 2012, the tech company is celebrating the holiday (that's already kicked off in Japan) by updating Google Maps to include 150 Pokémon scattered throughout the globe.

Players have until 2nd April to "catch 'em all" by scrolling around the world searching for hidden Pokémon. You need to be zoomed in a fair amount for them to show up, but once you catch them, you can view their stats in Google Maps' functional Pokédex - something that actually exists or the time being.

You need to have the latest version of Google Maps on either iPhone or Android for this mini-game to work. Give it a go and don't be surprised if you find yourself addicted to the hunt.

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caption="Google sadly isn't actually hiring a Pokémon master, nor are there augmented reality Pokémon scattered around, but who knows what the future will bring."
Google HQ has a cute 8-bit representation. It's also crawling with the critters!