Pokemon Ideas

I have been playing Pokemon Go for the past 4-5 days.

I've seen the support from fellow educators and friends and I have seen the disapproval from fellow educators and friends as well.  I don't necessarily announce it to the world, but I'm kind of enjoying it. I'm also not going out walking trying to track them down.  I look when I'm sitting at my desk or walking to a meeting or walking my dog.  Right now, Pokemon hunting isn't my priority, but it is something fun to do for a brain break...along the lines of checking my Facebook or online shopping.*

*the kind where you put it in your shopping cart and then close the window...who's with me??


However, my brain has been endlessly (or at least it feels that way) processing and trying to figure out how to make use of this game that has so many people obsessed!

My non-educator friends will argue there is no educational purpose in the game.  I won't argue because, much like their profession - I don't understand their goals and focus, and they don't understand mine.  I'm not looking for a way to make throwing the pokeball (is that what it's called?) and catching the creator educational.  Yea...at it's base, this is not an educational game.  So, why not make it one?  Why not?

So I have done some reading and I have been (like I said) doing some thinking.  Here's my very rough list of ideas...no details yet.  It's all still very theoretical and not fleshed out.
*behavior management - think Class Dojo meets Pokemon
*mapping skills - plot of a Google map where and what you catch - collaborative
*animal research - research the animal different Pokemon are based on - where does it live, what does it eat, how has it evolved, etc.  Assign points based on different aspects of animal characteristics...similar to Pokemon.  Create a Global Pokemon map showing where different animals can be caught and how many points they can get by catching them.  Go even further and plan out adventures...think Oregon Trail...what supplies will you need based on the environment and distance you'll travel. (I'm thinking this one out as I'm typing and getting kind of excited!!)
*literature/SS Go style game - students create a game similar to Pokemon Go with different characters in a story/throughout history.  As characters are caught, the designer also provides some interesting facts that are meant to entice students to learn more.  They can learn more by following clues and "capturing" more information about story/history.

Again all of these ideas are super surface with nothing carved in stone but I would love to hear from you.  Can you elaborate on anything?  Do you want to collaborate on anything?