Mystery ‘Pokemon Go’ statue proves a hit in the real world

NEW ORLEANS: Amid the craze over virtual characters in the smart phone- based Pokemon Go game, a Pokemon that people can touch in the physical world has mysteriously appeared in this city.

Pokemon fans have been visiting the statue in the city’s Lower Garden District, posing for photos with family and posting selfies with the statue on social media.

“The kids are fans and I’m just kind of amused at how something so heavy can appear so quickly,” said New Orleans resident, Jennifer Curry, who came with her two children to see the statue. A friend who lives around the corner had told them about it.

The statue of Pikachu — described by Curry’s daughter Kylie as similar to a mouse albeit one that can shoot electric lightning balls — stands atop a pedestal with its arms crossed, ears back and looking fiercely out over the park.

Karon Reese, vice-president of the neighbourhood association that oversees the area, said she first heard about the statue on Monday when a friend emailed her a photo. When she walked by that morning with her dog, people were gathering to see it.

She has a neighbour who lives in the street where the park is located who is fairly certain it appeared sometime last Saturday night. Since then a parade of moms with kids, young people and elderly couples have come to see the statute.

“The fun thing was that it was just bringing groups of people together. It was almost like a festival,” Reese said. “It was very much New Orleans.”

Adding another layer of mystery was a man Reese encountered on Monday evening. She spoke to him – he wouldn’t give her his name – and he said he’d been part of the installation, although he hadn’t created the statue.

She told him the statue seemed rather “Banksyesque” – a reference to the elusive street artist famous for his satirical stencils that have appeared on walls. The man replied that he couldn’t confirm or deny that Banksy was involved – and then he left: “He was just very mysterious.”

New Orleans police said they hadn’t received any com- plaints about the statue, didn’t know where it came from and didn’t plan to do anything about it.

That seems to be fine with the tourists and fans.

Lara Viator was on holiday when she and her children heard about the statue.

“A friend of mine does tours and he knew that the boys were into Pokemon,” she said. “They wanted to come see it. It’s funny how it just popped up.” – ANA-AP