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Illustration by Max Fleishman

You can catch Pokémon on the frontline of the war with ISIS

Pokémon Go just won't quit.

 

Patrick Howell O'Neill

Internet Culture

Posted on Jul 10, 2016   Updated on May 26, 2021, 11:38 am CDT

On the frontline of the war against the Islamic State in Mosul, Iraq, it’s 101 degrees today. Somehow, Squirtle still looks well-hydrated.

Louis Park, an American volunteer fighting the Islamic State, caught his first Pokémon playing Pokémon Go on the heavily contested Iraqi frontline. 

The photo of Squirtle standing downsight of an automatic weapon perfectly illustrates just how ubiquitous these little pocket monsters have become.

Louis Park

If the jihadists of the Islamic State start battling Pokemon against their enemies, there’s yet another layer of the war to look out for: Anyone playing Pokemon GO in Iraq is doing so on an unofficial version, which hackers are now using to attack and take over smartphones.

H/T The Big Pharaoh 

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*First Published: Jul 10, 2016, 3:58 pm CDT