--- title: Pokemon Go: Pikachu Pokemonument appears in New Orleans description: People are loving this guerilla-art statue of Pikachu that popped up overnight in a New Orleans park. So far, no one has claimed the work. canonical: https://time.com/4435332/pokemon-go-pikachu-monument/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-02T17:04:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:34:59.866Z og:title: This Mysterious Pokémon Go 'Pokemonument' Popped Up og:description: The larger-than-life fiberglass statue was installed in a New Orleans park. og:url: https://time.com/4435332/pokemon-go-pikachu-monument/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Mysterious Pokémon Go 'Pokemonument' Popped Up twitter:description: The larger-than-life fiberglass statue was installed in a New Orleans park. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # This Mysterious Pokémon Go 'Pokemonument' to Pikachu Just Popped Up Overnight > Sponsored content. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=9fc20dcb-94f3-41ac-8fa4-a882701c2d63&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Aug 2, 2016 5:04 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Aug 2, 2016 5:04 PM UTC You may have thought [Pokémon Go was a fleeting gaming phenomenon](http://time.com/4400791/pokemon-go-iphone-android-nintendo/?iid=sr-link1). But Pikachu, it turns out, is made to last. At least, one anonymous sculptor believes so. On Sunday, New Orleans residents in the Lower Garden District woke up to a surprise addition to a local square: a larger-than-augmented-reality Pikachu statue. The fiberglass version of the [popular Pokémon creature](http://time.com/4401084/pokemon-go-how-play-guide-tips/?iid=sr-link5) popped up on top of an unused fountain, [reports artnet News](https://news.artnet.com/art-world/pikachu-statue-new-orleans-587408), and is creating “quite a sensation,” according to the neighborhood association’s vice president Karon Reese. People have quickly taken to Instagram to share their selfies with the statue — or “Pokemonument,” as it has been dubbed, and an [initial Reddit post](https://www.reddit.com/r/pokemongo/comments/4vjqvy/pikachu%5Fstatue%5Fillegally%5Ferected%5Fover%5Fnight%5Fin/) on the statue has garnered [more than 2 million views](http://imgur.com/HOqXR5t), drawing visitors to the square. Made to look like aged bronze, the Pikachu statue is a fierce version of the rosy-cheeked yellow character it represents. No creator has yet come forward to claim it as his or her work, and it remains unclear what will be done with it: while technically the guerilla art piece could be considered vandalism, none of the neighborhood association representatives seem to be bothered. (In fact, they’re [enjoying the crowds it’s bringing](http://uptownmessenger.com/2016/08/guerilla-art-pikachu-statue-appears-in-lower-garden-district/).) Ultimately, however, its fate resides with city officials. In the meantime, New Orleans residents are flocking to the square to see what happens when virtual reality becomes, well, actual reality. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4435332/pokemon-go-pikachu-monument/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4435332/pokemon-go-pikachu-monument/"},"headline":"This Mysterious Pokémon Go 'Pokemonument' to Pikachu Just Popped Up Overnight","datePublished":"2016-08-02T17:04:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:34:59.866Z","description":"When augmented reality comes to life","url":"https://time.com/4435332/pokemon-go-pikachu-monument/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","Pokemon"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4435332/pokemon-go-pikachu-monument/","name":"This Mysterious Pokémon Go 'Pokemonument' to Pikachu Just Popped Up Overnight"}}]}] ```