If you have used the internet at any point in the last week or so, you have almost certainly heard about Pokemon GO (if you’re not playing it already). Even though the phenomenally popular smartphone game — which mashes up Nintendo’s famous pocket monsters with real life exploration using augmented reality — hasn’t been officially released in Indonesia yet (though rumors say it is coming soon) tons of people in Jakarta have already found ways to load the game onto their phones and go hunting for Pokemon all over the capital.
Even Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama has jumped on the Pokemon GO bandwagon, telling Jakartans to go out to the capital’s parks and even City Hall to search for their next Pikachu or Blastoise.
“[Nintendo] has put a lot of [Pokemon] in our parks, so actually visiting the parks is also good. If not, we can also find them in City Hall,” Ahok said yesterday as quoted by Detik. The governor noted that he hasn’t actually played the game himself but that he had heard there were many Pokemon in the vicinity of City Hall as well as the National Monument (Monas).
However, Ahok added a warning to players to be careful while they are hunting and to not do anything risky, like driving, while playing the game (a warning that some players in other countries apprarently didn’t heed).
Ahok’s invitation to Pokemon trainers to come to City Hall was reiterated on the official Jakarta Smart City Facebook page, which urged players to come visit Monas and City Hall, and the many Pokestops and Pokegyms located within, every weekend.
Monas and City Hall aren’t the only government sanctioned Pokemon hunting grounds in Jakarta. Earlier this week, the National Museum also tweeted out an invite to Pokemon players to explore the museum.
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