Gotcha! Norwegian Prime Minister Was Caught! … Playing Pokémon GO in Parliament

Pokémon GO has brought us a lot of enjoyment in the few months since its release, from playing the game itself to the effect it’s had on our real lives. In the U.S., a reporter was called out for catching ’em all at a press briefing by a State Department spokesperson, but we’d really have to up our game to compete with Norway: Their prime minister, Erna Solberg, was spied playing the game right in parliament during a debate. Incidentally, that’s probably what most Americans decided to do instead of watch last night’s vice presidential debate, too.

It sounds rude, but Trine Skei Grande, who was speaking at the time, didn’t seem to mind—she’d previously been noticed playing during a national security meeting. Grande also believes in multitasking, tweeting (translation via The Guardian) “She heard what I said. We ladies can do two things at the same time, you know.” Solberg commented to Norway’s TV2 News that she thought Grande would appreciate her desire to check in on the app.

Elsewhere around the globe, Pokémon GO continues its rollout, recently hitting 31 new countries in addition to the places it was already available. The public furor over it may be tapering off into a more manageable, subdued player-base as time goes on, but it’s still brand new to plenty of players worldwide. There are also more new features on the way to keep things fresh after the “Buddy Pokémon” update allowed trainers to pick a Pokémon to walk in exchange for, so expect more stories like this yet to come.

It’s probably good that not too many U.S. politicians are wasting their time playing, though. We don’t need to catch anything useless and orange. Like a Magikarp.

(featured image via The Pokémon Company)

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Dan Van Winkle

Dan Van Winkle (he) is an editor and manager who has been working in digital media since 2013, first at now-defunct Geekosystem (RIP), and then at The Mary Sue starting in 2014, specializing in gaming, science, and technology. Outside of his professional experience, he has been active in video game modding and development as a hobby for many years. He lives in North Carolina with Lisa Brown (his wife) and Liz Lemon (their dog), both of whom are the best, and you will regret challenging him at Smash Bros.

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