Life now feels defined by pre- and post-Pokémon Go, the smartphone app that has people all over America walking around, all overtaken by the spirit of “Gotta Catch ‘Em All.” Players the world over have been dropping hours and hours of their lives into the game in the less than a week that Pokémon Go has been available, and if you’re only a few steps into your journey with the game, be sure to read our handy starter guide. It’s hard to deny that Pokémon Go feels like an overnight phenomenon, as you can easily see by checking out the best Pokémon Go tweets. And if you head over to the world’s top petitioning website, Change.org, you’ll see that Pokémon Go users have taken that over too.
While the site has been home to prominent crowdsourced campaigns that are directed to social justice or political reform, as well as countless other movements that are a little more frivolous. And if you’re curious enough to check out all the petitions associated with Pokémon Go, you’ll see that the players have some very strange demands. There are a few that make a certain sense, such as:
Increase the Safety of Pokémon Go Users
This one asks for Pokémon Go to remove some of the things that already make the game dangerous in the real world, such as the ability to drive and play the game at the same time. Or even the sensible idea of not allowing Pokémon to appear in cemeteries, thus avoiding any awkward intrusions into funerals.
Better Pokémon Go Servers
Anyone who’s played the game can tell you that the lack of servers that can keep booting you from the game over and over again. So I’d bet most players would likely sign any number of petitions to make that stop. That’s not to say the developers will actually respond to it, as likely they’re already aware the game is prone to crashing.
But then things get a little bit weirder the deeper you got looking on Change.org.
We Want More PokéStops and Gyms in Central Austin!!!
Residents of the Texas town feel overlooked by the app, a feeling shared by people in many towns across the country. Austin, TX in particular feels like too many PokéStops are outside of residential areas, especially near the city’s major University. They could certainly add more PokéStops to areas, it’s weird they want it focused on Central Austin, and not the rest of the city.
Add Harambe the Ape into Pokémon Go
The internet’s favorite memorialized gorilla has moved from tragic zoo resident to meme, and that now includes Pokémon Go. Though it’s hard to tell if the petitioner wants Harambe in the game, or as a Pokémon you can capture, or maybe as just as a PokéStop. Either way, don’t get your hopes up for this one, Harambe fans. It’s only got 17 signatures as of this post.
If you want your voice heard, join in on the Pokémon Go page on Change.org.