To say that the Pokémon franchise is extremely popular would be an understatement at the very least. It has seen its fair share of titles released across different Nintendo handheld consoles in the past, and Niantic Labs’ effort known as Pokémon Go earlier this year certainly took the mobile gaming world by storm. Gourmet coffee chain Starbucks does not want to miss out on all of the fuss, either, which is why there is now a new drink named after the Pokémon franchise -- the Pokémon Go Frappuccino.
After all, Pokémon trainers too, need to refuel themselves after a long day of walking around trying to complete their Pokémon collection with the “gotta catch ‘em all” mantra embedded deep in their psyches. What better way to wind down with a nice, cold Pokémon Go Frappuccino at the nearest Starbucks? This unique drink was designed in order to keep you going for more virtual training sessions. Approximately 7,800 Starbucks stores that are located in the US will be offering the Pokémon Go Frappuccino, and not only that -- to encourage more people to drop by their stores and try out the new drink, these very same Starbucks outlets will be transformed into bona fide PokéStops and Pokémon Gyms.
Here is the quick lowdown on what a Pokémon Gym is. The Pokémon Gym happens to be a virtual arena that will allow Pokémon trainers to send out what they think is their best line up of caught monsters against those of an opponent. If you emerge as the victor, you can then take over the Pokémon Gym in the vicinity, and it is now your turn to sit at the perch and defend it from other trainers. Of course, to soothe your frazzled nerves, Starbucks would prefer if you had your virtual brawls to be accompanied by a Pokémon Go Frappuccino. This drink is basically a Vanilla Bean Frappuccino complete with raspberry syrup and freeze-dried blackberries, so there is no magic candy or anything mystical inside.
Pokémon Go’s popularity might have waned off a bit from the heady days earlier this year, where there were stampedes at Central Park simply because ordinary folk armed with a smartphone were enamored by the idea of chasing after Pokémon in the real world via the wonders of Augmented Reality (AR) technology. In fact, Pokémon Go also managed to make its own new record on the Apple App store in terms of being the most downloaded app upon its first week of release in the summer launch.
The latest in-game updates for Pokémon Go continue to get the large base of trainers going, and hence it is no surprise if this idea of a specially blended Frappuccino takes off in the US to make its way across the rest of the global Starbucks chains. Despite a diminished popularity, Pokémon Go continues to maintain its grip as one of the top 30 gaming apps on iOS and Android platforms. We do expect to see more tie-ins between big brand names in the real world with virtual franchises in the future, if this is anything to go by.
