Twitch Plays Pokémon is an online version of the first Pokémon game, posted on Twitch.tv. It’s multiplayer, so to speak. Basically, it consists of tens of thousands of people entering commands for Red to follow as he braves the world of the first Pokémon game. To watch the stream, click here.
While it’s just as messy as you would assume, weirdly enough, the players of Twitch Plays Pokémon have actually managed to earn several badges, though not without being sent back to the Poké Center multiple times.
The TV Tropes page titled “Epic Fail: Twitch Plays Pokémon” is quite long, and features entries such as:
“The group tried to be smart by fainting all of their Pokémon except Pidgeot in the hopes that they couldn't box their only usable Pokémon, letting them get rid of their cannon fodder and Flareon more easily. All they did was discover that it was possible to black out ''inside of a Pokémon Center'' by boxing their only usable Pokémon.”
Here’s a picture of Red stuck between revival girl and three walls:
Some would credit these discrepancies to the current war between democracy and anarchy. Democracy mode was introduced a few days into the game to combat the chaos of anarchy mode, in which all commands entered must be followed by Red. In democracy, there is a slight delay, and during that delay the most popular command entered is picked and applied to Red. You’d think this would be more popular, but it seems like it’s not meant to be; democracy mode is far less popular than anarchy mode, perhaps because Red walking into walls is part of the game’s appeal.
Twitch Plays Pokémon has become something of an internet sensation, with it’s own mythology and memes. It is commonplace now for players to consult the Helix Fossil during the midst of battle.
Helix has become a sort of God in this strange, lawless world. It’s counterpart, Dome Fossil, seeks to wreck havoc upon Red.
That’s right: Twitch Plays Pokémon has actually become a battle of good versus evil, and we must stay on the true path of the Helix Fossil. People are starting to really get into the mythology of it. Even if the mythology is entirely made up.
There’s also the issue with releasing Pokémon into the wild, completely by accident. This has cost the players their starting Charmander named ABBBBBBK (Abby), a Rattata (JLVWNNOOOO or Jay Leno), a Hitmonlee (CCC or C3KO) and several other Pokémon full of wasted potential.
At one point, the players had an Eevee which they sought to evolve into a Vaporeon; following a catastrophe at the department store and the purchase of a fire stone, the Eevee evolved into a Flareon, earning it the title of The False Prophet. Some say that Eevee is the herald of the Dome Fossil.
This might all seem very silly, and in truth, it is. It’s frustrating, for the most part, and extremely hard to watch for extended periods of time. The thing is, that’s kind of what sells it: the strange passion and pure entertainment value of a bunch of people working together to just get through one game of Pokémon. Plus, the amount of effort put into crafting this mythology is kind of staggering. Seriously, just look at this:
How can you not get swept away into this mess? It was foretold by Helix. It’s fate. All we can do is surf along with it. Or attempt to use surf, and then release another Pokémon by accident. Stuff happens.
