CTV got the scoop: Conservative MP Michelle Rempel plays Pokémon GO. Not on the job, of course. She catches them walking around Parliament Hill.
"Essentially you're trying to catch mythical creatures in a virtual world. And you're ... trying to be the best that anyone ever was," she tells reporter Don Martin in a delightfully nerdy on-camera interview.
In case you're still catching up, Pokémon GO is a "location-based augmented reality mobile game," where players go to real-world locations or "Pokéstops" to find and complete tasks related to specific Pokémon. The rarer the creature they find, the more experience points they get. As they gather more points, users level up. "At level five, the player is able to battle at a Pokémon gym and join one of three teams, which act as larger factions within the Pokémon GO world," describes Wikipedia.
According to the app analytics firm SimilarWeb, the game has more daily users on U.S. Android phones than Twitter, Netflix and Spotify. Fortune reports that, in its first week live, the game got more than six million downloads, surpassing previous records set by Angry Birds (2.2 million) and Candy Crush (about 1.8 million).
Just two days after it launched on July 8, it was installed in more Android devices in the US, Australia and New Zealand than the dating app Tinder. In Canada, CBC reported that some people are actually replacing Tinder and using chat rooms and online forums around Pokémon GO to find suitable mates.
The app is also taking the top spots in rankings related to "games and adventure."
SimilarWeb also says players are using Pokemon GO for an average of 43 minutes a day, overtaking Whatsapp, Instagram or Snapchat usage.
Rempel is pretty big league. "I have caught 75 difference species of Pokémon. I'm level 18th," she said. She also revealed that there's a "great infestation" of Geodudes, Butterfrees, Horseas, and other species on Parliament Hill and that there are rumours that other MPs, such as Peter Kent and Lisa Raitt have become addicted to the game.
She praises the game for pushing people to go outside and walk around the city. "It's essentially a gathering place for people," she added. "A bunch of random people of all ages and backgrounds are sitting there hanging around and catching Pokémon, so I think the social component is kinda compelling and cool."
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