16 Fun Facts About Pokémon Go To Know Before Your Next Poké Ball Throw

A few years ago, millions went crazy over the newest hit among gamers and casual players: Pokémon Go.

You’d go around for a walk and see a kid here and there staring at the phone and putting their best efforts at catching a Pokémon. Locate one on the map, throw the Poké Ball, catch, and repeat.

And while the app is just a quick game that you can use to kill time, there are some fun facts about Pokémon Go that are sure to make you do double-take.

We set out to find some of the most interesting and less-known things about the game. Some are purely statistical, others truly captivating. 

Regardless, by reading them, you’ll smash any trivia that features what seemed to have obsessed everyone: Pokémon Go.

Magical Pokémon Go Facts (Editor’s Choice):

• Just a few days after its release, Pokémon Go surpassed Tinder in terms of downloads.
• As of 2022, the game has accumulated more than one billion downloads.
• There are exactly 905 Pokémon to catch.
• And more than 78 million average monthly players trying to catch them.
• There’s a Pokémon Go gym located in the White House.
• Real-life weather affects what Pokémon you’re most likely to find.
• Total revenue from Pokémon Go exceeds $6 billion.
• Two men in California fell off a cliff while searching for Pokémons.

Stats About The Pokémon Go Release

Although it certainly took the world by storm, Pokémon Go didn’t launch in every country at the same time.

In fact, eager enthusiasts had to wait months for Pokémons to begin wandering their streets.

Shockingly enough, the game’s release sparked some serious controversy and resulted in quite interesting measures in some places.

We’ll leave it up to you to decide whether said measures were warranted or simply overkill.

1. July 6, 2016, marked the release of a game that broke five records.

(Source: BBC)

Pokémon Go's release in the USA happened on July 6, 2016. That same day, two other countries also launched the game: New Zealand and Australia.

Not long after that, other countries also made it available in their app stores. The UK, for example, released it a week later, on July 14, 2016.

The game’s success was glaring. It broke several world records across different categories; for instance, most downloaded game, fastest mobile game to generate $100 million, and most money made by a game.

Additionally, it topped two international charts, as it was the most played and the highest-earning game in dozens of countries.

2. Security concerns prompted Iran to ban Pokémon Go.

(Source: BBC)

Telling you where Pokémon Go has been released might require a pretty extensive list, but we could easily tell you where it hasn’t been—or, more accurately, where its release worried the authorities so much that it resulted in a ban.

Just a month after the game’s release (in August 2016), Iran forbade citizens from playing the game. The reason?  Unspecified security concerns.

Now, Iran is certainly not the only country to have reservations regarding the app—Kuwait, China, Russia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and even the US have imposed some restrictions, but they still allow people to play the game.

Some Staggering Pokémon Go Download Statistics

Perhaps not “staggering” in the “you’ll be totally shocked” way (because it’s obvious there are a lot of downloads) but in the “you’ll be totally shocked by how many exactly” because…well, they truly are a lot.

Keep in mind, though, that the app’s release happened six years ago, so the most recent numbers are probably not the most impressive ones.

3. By the end of its first quarter, Pokémon Go boasted 233 million downloads.

(Source: Statista)

Pokémon Go statistics reveal that within three months of release, the game had already accumulated more than 233.56 million downloads worldwide. 

Of course, the number of downloads didn’t keep on adding some 200 million every month. The app’s second quarter (aka Q4 2016) registered only 27.3 million downloads, which is a dizzying 88.3% decrease.

Over the subsequent quarters, the number of downloads has remained fairly steady, bouncing back and forth within the 12-18 million range.

How many Pokémon Go downloads have there been in total?

More than one billion.

Fun fact: What other mobile game could possibly be as popular as Pokémon Go? If you thought of PUBG, then you’re completely right. PlayerUnknown’s Battleground launched in 2018 and quickly topped the charts. The game boasts more than one billion downloads and over $6 billion in revenue.

4. Pokémon Go was more popular than Tinder.

(Source: Junkee)

Who needs to find love when one can find Dragonite instead?

Just a day after its release, nearly 3% of the US population had already downloaded Pokémon Go, making it just as popular as Tinder among Americans.

Fast forward two days and the game had basically doubled Tinder’s user base, reaching 5.16% of the US population.

Fun facts about Pokémon Go: In the wake of the app’s release, 60% of the users were logging in daily and staying for an average of 43 minutes on the app. In other words, back in 2016, people spent more time looking for Pokémons than on social media sites like Instagram or Snapchat.

How Many And Who Are The Pokémon Go Users?

Pokémon Go has a pretty solid fan base who enthusiastically play and collect Pokémon.

Although the craze has gone down, millions of people still log in at least once a month.

Not to mention the smaller (but no less impressive) group of people who take it much further—they attend special events and championships, dedicating a good chunk of their time to their Pokémon evolution. 

5. The game had more than 78 million active monthly players in June 2022.

(Source: Active Player)

For the last few months, the number of Pokémon Go active users has been around the 80 million range. For instance, in June 2022, there were 78,569,985 average monthly players, which is slightly lower than the previous month’s count (80,980,554).

Now, an average of 80 million players a month means less than three million players a day, which is not bad, but some days are way better than just average.

On particularly exceptional days for Pokémon catching, 8.5 million people have been known to log into the app at least once in a 24-hour period.

6. Is it possible to announce who the best player is?

(Source: Toynk)

Well, it might be a bit difficult, but we’ll rely on what most people say for this one.

Many name BrandonTan91 as the best Pokémon Go player for many reasons—900 million reasons, to be exact. After all, he had collected 900 million experience (XP) points by the end of 2019. Now, he’s set to attend the 2022 Pokémon Go World Championship.

However, if you don’t think that’s impressive enough, we have another candidate: tarotirota.

He managed to collect 11,400 Pokémons in 24 hours, which means he is the person who has caught the most Pokémons in a single day.

Becoming one of the top Pokémon Go players was no easy feat. He had to catch an average of eight Pokémons per minute, travel 80 miles, and demonstrate astonishing finger training.

7. The iOS version of Pokémon Go isn’t as popular in the US as in other parts of the world.

(Source: Statista)

You can easily find information about app popularity on iOS devices, but Android keeps its secrets just like Pokémon Go keeps its Pokémons hidden. So, although this piece of information on Pokémon Go isn’t as exhaustive as we’d like, it still gives a good estimate of player distribution.

As of February 2022, Japan has the largest group of iOS Pokémon Go players (333,176), Great Britain ranks second with 264,910 daily players, and France completes the top three with 113,038 enthusiasts on the app every day.

Is There Such a Thing As Pokémon Go’s Revenue?

Of course, there is.

Given how popular the game continues to be, you can hardly be surprised that Pokémon Go brought some decent cash to its developers.

Let’s see how much.

8. Pokémon Go’s total revenue exceeds $6 billion.

(Source: Nintendo Life)

It’s been six years since the game’s launch, and, up to date, the game has generated more than $6 billion—that’s an average of $1 billion per year.

In terms of annual revenue, the game was at the peak of success during the pandemic, recording $917 million in 2020 and $904 million in 2021. 

Where is the money coming from?

Unsurprisingly, from some of the countries with the largest number of Pokémon Go users:

• The US accounts for 36.6% of the total revenue
• Japan comes close behind (32.6%)
• Germany is a distant third (5.2%)

9. Nintendo seriously benefitted from Pokémon Go.

(Source: Companies Market Cap)

Technically speaking, Pokémon Go isn’t a Nintendo game. That is, the Japanese company didn’t develop or produce it—Niantic did. However, that didn’t stop Nintendo from reaping the rewards.

To be fair, though, Nintendo was an official Pokémon Go partner (whatever that means) and has invested millions in Niantic. So it’s not like Nintendo didn’t contribute at all. 

While there isn’t a stock for Pokémon Go, the game certainly increased Nintendo’s share price. Within the first week of release, it had gone up 50%.

Let’s look at it in market cap terms. Before Pokémon Go’s launch, Nintendo’s market cap was at $17.05 billion; by the end of July 2016, that figure had become $24.66 billion. Furthermore, Nintendo (much like Pokémon Go) peaked during the pandemic, closing 2020 with a $76.05 billion market cap.

Fun fact: It wasn’t only companies who profited from Pokémon Go; some people also made money with the game. For example, one person sold their account for £7,000 (about $8,300). 

Interesting Pokémon Facts

We promised to deliver some astonishing facts to you, and we like to keep our promises.

So, now that we are over with the big numbers, let’s move on to the actual fun part.

10. Struggling to find a Pokémon? Take a look at the weather forecast first.

(Source: PCMag)

Pokémon Go is an Augmented Reality (AR) game. Basically, this means that virtual objects seemingly reside in the real world when looked through the screen. So, it would only make sense if real-life circumstances affect the Pokémons, right?

Keep this quiet, though, as this is one of Pokémon Go’s secrets.

For example, on a foggy day, you’re more likely to find Ghost-type Pokémons. Snowy days are great for Ice creatures, windy weather is great for Dragons, and if you’re looking forward to capturing an Electric Pokémon, you better be ready to go out in the rain.

Fun fact: Nearly half of the people in the US have used AR without realizing it is, in fact, augmented reality. The thing is that the transition from “regular” tech to AR is often too seamless for people to notice. You're technically using AR when you use Google’s Translate app or add a filter to your Snapchat photos.

11. The White House has turned into a Pokémon gym.

(Source: GamingonPhone)

Yep, this one probably falls into the “things you didn’t know about Pokémon Go” list.

Gyms are virtual arenas where trainers can gather by joining one of the three teams and putting their Pokémons to the test. Will the US President ever use the gym? We may never know…

The White House isn’t the only bizarre place to find a gym. There’s one in the Pentagon and another in the middle of the ocean.

12. As of June 2022, there are 905 Pokémons to catch.

(Source: WarGamer)

Another one of the more well-known Pokémon Go facts is that the game constantly adds new Pokémons. To date, there are 905 of them and eight generations (each one typically adds 70-150 battlers).

But if you count the Pokémon’s regional variations, Mega evolutions, and Gigantamax forms, then the count would certainly surpass 1,000.

Fun fact: 63 of the 905 Pokémons are legendary—they are incredibly rare to find and extremely powerful.

13. Mewtwo often leads “the best Pokémon” rankings.

(Source: Pocket Tactics)

Though you’re entitled to your own opinion about Pokémons’ qualities, many people agree that Mewtwo is the best Pokémon in Pokémon Go.

Its maximum combat power (CP) points often go over 4,000. Admittedly, Slaking has more CP points (5,010), and Mewtwo is simply a better all-rounder. As a legendary, it’s a bit harder to catch, but it’s well worth it, considering its awesome psychic moves.

Of course, your team would be on the road to success if you had both of them.

What Are Some Pokémon Go Casualties?

It’s unbelievable how many Pokémon-Go-related accidents have happened. In fact, the game has not only led to accidents but to whole criminal investigations.

In theory, Pokémon Go is a cool game that shouldn’t be causing any trouble. Alas, evidence shows there's plenty of trouble to be caused.

14. Two men fell off a cliff in California in an attempt to catch Pokémons.

(Source: Ranker)

Well, the truth behind Pokémon Go is that it can become dangerous when players get too preoccupied with their screens. Such was the case with a man who fell almost 100 feet off a crumbling cliff. Fortunately, he managed to survive. 

Interestingly enough, when firefighters came to rescue the man, they found another one unconscious who had a similar fate. Both men were taken to the hospital.

15. In just 148 days, there were 150,000 traffic accidents related to Pokémon Go.

(Source: ESGN)

Is Pokémon Go safe?

According to these stats…not really.

Between July 6, 2016 (the game’s release date) and 30 November 2016, there were 256 deaths and 150,000 traffic accidents in the US—all somehow linked to Pokémon Go.

Definitely not-fun fact: In Missouri, criminals used Pokémon Go to draw users to certain locations and rob them at gunpoint. The thieves had 11 teenage victims.

16. Players are not only finding Pokémons but dead bodies, too.

(Source: Ranker)

In 2016, hunters of Pokémons found three dead bodies by accident within a week. The first dead-body-Pokémon-finder was Shayla Wiggings, who found a corpse in Wyoming. After that, the uncovered mysteries were piling up along with the weird Pokémon facts.

On July 14, 2016, a woman in Nashua found another corpse. Three other women found a body while playing in San Diego that same day.

Yeah…that certainly wasn’t what they signed up for.

Wrap Up

Pokemon Go certainly goes above and beyond with the fascinating things it hides.

With stats purely numerical and stories quickly shaking the light-hearted, the game is a whole world of numbers, records, and mysteries.

It’s no wonder people were (and are still) playing it.

No matter their nature, there are so many fun facts about Pokémon Go out there—whether you like horror or math, Pokémon Go has it all.