Imagine yourself playing Pokémon Go when suddenly, a plump Koffing or an adorable Magikarp grins in front of you.
American Pokémon fan and crafts artist Nichole Dunigan has turned the well-loved virtual game into a real quest to “catch” Pokémons by knitting several Pokémon Go-inspired plushies. Once she wraps up her masterpieces, she drops them on key Pokéstops in several locations for Pokémon Go players to catch.
Dunigan’s initiative is nearly two weeks old, but she has charmed thousands of fans from other countries. As a result, she created a Facebook group called #CrochetGo to encourage the smash-hit game lovers to knit and patch their customized plushies.
Aside from crafting classic Pokéballs, she has mastered crocheting several pocket monsters like Squirtle, Oddish, Poliwag, Jigglypuff and Snorlax.
In an email interview, Dunigan, a full-time mother from Dallas, Texas, confessed that Bulbasaur was indeed the most challenging pocket monster she had stitched. On the other hand, Zubat, a poison-type Pokémon, was the “apple of her eyes.”
Her Facebook page, Nichole’s Nerdy Knots, has a legion of 30,000 followers and snaps of her cuddly Pokémon Go toys.
To many Pokémon lovers’ chagrin, Dunigan repeatedly notes in her social media accounts that she would not sell her creations.
“For those asking, I’m not selling the Pokémon. I am in love with designing them and making them [to] hide. Also, I kinda like that you have to find them in the wild to have one! Anywhere I travel I’ll be dropping them off so keep an eye on my feed for locations,” he wrote on her Facebook on Wednesday. As part of her astounding project, Dunigan also prepared step-by-step pattern instructions on her Ravelry website.
Dunigan mentioned her superb plans to be a “Santa Claus Pokémon” by hiding her crocheted toys in overseas locations.
“I would love to visit other countries. If I ever get the chance to travel outside of the United States I’ll definitely be bringing along a bag or two full of Pokémon to leave around,” she said.
Here are her other alluring designs.
Gianna Francesca Catolico