Pokémon and where to find them in Bangladesh

Illustration: Junaid Iqbal Ishmam

The world of Pokémon is expanding and today, it has reached our doorsteps right here in Bangladesh. We are about to enter the eighth generation of Pokémon with over 800 of these pocket monsters to catch! Although we have failed to spot all of them within our borders, we are sure to find them soon once the expedition begins at a much larger scale. But for now, let us see if we can catch the ones that have been spotted.

Be sure to choose a starter Pokémon before you go out into the wild. Also, no riding your bicycle indoors or on the sidewalk. Remember, there is a time and place for everything. Unless you are in Dhaka, Chattogram or any of the other major cities of our country in which case, you are already out of time and place before you have even started your journey.

Snorlax, the sleeping Pokémon

Legend has it that Snorlax made its way down the mountains and somehow managed to make all the busiest roads of Dhaka its sleeping grounds. It can be found sleeping peacefully on the roads of Dhaka, without giving a damn about the gridlocks it causes. Snorlax is a very common Pokémon in Bangladesh, especially at the Bijoy Sarani traffic signal in Dhaka, where you're bound to run into it no matter what time of day it is. If you are thinking of using a Poké Flute to wake up Snorlax, you're just being delusional. The only thing to do is wait patiently for this giant Pokémon to wake up and let you pass.

Illustration: Junaid Iqbal Ishmam

Diglett, the mole Pokémon

Digletts were held responsible for all the potholes in Dhaka, and also the cracks on highways leading out of the capital. Afterwards, construction companies started recruiting them in exchange for fair wages. Digletts became part of the overall development of the country as their hole digging skills began contributing towards mega projects like the metro rail, the elevated expressway, that bridge over that river, and so on. So you see, Digletts were blamed for the damage they caused to our roads. They're still the ones who are being blamed for the condition of our roads, only this time, they're being paid to do so.

Weezing, the toxic Pokémon

Weezing can be found at the waste bins and disposal sites located all over Bangladesh. However, in recent times, this Pokémon has been found loitering around different industrial areas in Narayanganj, Gazipur, etc. Weezing is fond of feasting on the stench released by garbage and waste products. It has thus, made Dhaka one of its favourite food hunting grounds as the capital is full of such waste materials no matter where you look.

Muk, the sludge Pokémon

Muk is perhaps the most dangerous Pokémon that resides in Bangladesh. By dumping excessively large volume of toxic waste into our water bodies, we have invited this grim Pokémon ourselves. Muk made its home on the banks of polluted rivers, ponds, and tanks, and has been terrorising the locals who live near these water bodies. Scientists predict that the number of these unwelcomed guests will only increase as time goes on. It has also been predicted, that we are one nuclear power plant away from making Muk a radioactive sludge bomb. 

Groudon, the continental Pokémon

Groudon's appearance is triggered by the "social orb." The social orb is a collection of rain-related statuses from Facebook users, who wait no longer than ten seconds into the rain, to make a relevant post on social media. Groudon was last seen a couple of weeks ago when Facebook user RJ 6T9 posted the lyrics of November Rain. The temperature level for such days depends on how embarrassing the posts are.  

Giratina, the renegade Pokémon

Giratina was banished into the distortion world by Arceus. The distortion world is a dark realm where the concept of space and time ceases to exist, and reality is whatever Giratina wants it to be. It is a popular belief that the distortion world was created specifically for Giratina in order to keep it as far away as possible from our world. And thus, Uttara came into existence, harbouring Giratina within its many sectors.

Illustration: OISHIK JAWAD

Zubat, the bat Pokémon

When Bruce Wayne ended up in a cave full of bats, he came out of it as Batman. We, on the other hand, would only get annoyed at these noisy flying rats. Nevertheless, Zubats too found their way to Bangladesh. However, due to the unavailability of caves, Zubats had to take shelter under the flyovers and foot over-bridges.People these days are afraid of taking these flyovers and bridges to their destinations, not because they're afraid that these structures would collapse, but because they fear having to face a Zubat and showing up at work or class all confused and dizzy.

Sudowoodo, the imitation Pokémon

Sudowoodo is quite rare these days, as it approaches its very own extinction. Yes, Sudowoodo is going to be extinct. Live with it. What else did you expect? Instead of sprinkling water on the poor things, everyone just decides to HM01 the life out of them. At the current rate, Sudowoodo will soon be found in museums only.

Kyogre, the seabed Pokémon

Kyogre's influence is noticed all over the Bay of Bengal and the coastal areas. At times, Kyogre triggers heavy rainfall all over the country due to the drought and heat waves caused by Groudon's appearance. However, sometimes it overstays its welcome which leads to flooding.

Mewtwo, the rare Pokémon

Mewtwo had initially been brought into Dhaka by Team Rocket. However, it somehow managed to escape from their testing labs and is currently on the run. Mewtwo's whereabouts are unknown at the moment. It was last seen at an Arnob concert after which, it vanished. Ever since then, there have been reports that Mewtwo is doing TikTok videos to get attention from the later generations of Pokémon.

Did you know?

After being thrown out of Kanto and Johto, Team Rocket began to look for a new suitable place to continue their work of stealing Pokémon for all sorts of notorious purposes. They then decided to carry out their work here in Dhaka, establishing their base of operations at Mohammadpur. Even since the arrival of Team Rocket, there have been numerous reports of theft in that region. As a precaution, travellers are asked not to roam around that region after evening.

Faisal wants to be the very best, like no one ever was. To survive university is his real test, to graduate is his cause. Send him memes and motivation at abir.afc@gmail.com