Google has started the ball rolling early for this year’s round of April Fools’ Day pranks with their Pokemon Master job search video.
They’ve announced an update for the Android and iPhone versions of Google Maps which will allow users to search out and capture Pokemon, with the person who is able to ‘catch ’em all’ being dubbed an official Google ‘Pokemon Master’, complete with benefits and business card.
The cool thing about this year’s prank is, while the job is fictional, the in-app game is totally real!
You can access the game by updating your Google Maps app, then tap the search bar at the top of the screen. A blue Pokeball icon will appear on the screen, and from there you can tap to start the game.
Your map will zoom onto the nearest ‘PokeCenter’ (I’m in Australia, mine appeared at the Sydney Observatory), and from there you can scroll around the map and catch Pokemon, and view their info in a Pokedex inside the maps app.
Very cool prank from the brains at Google. Now excuse me, I’m off to catch Meowth.