Mysterious ‘Pokemon Go’ Pikachu statue installed in New Orleans park

Seeing as how there’s been heated debate in New Orleans of late over what to do with the city’s Civil War monuments, perhaps this offers a potential solution: replace them with monuments to pop culture phenomenons? However, no one believes that the creators of the game had anything to do with it.

No one appears to have come forward taking credit for the statue.

The mysterious fibreglass Pikachu – which actually has #Pokemonument emblazoned on the back of the base – was spotted next to an empty fountain along Terpsichore Street on Sunday morning.

Many see the statues of Robert E. Lee and others as historical landmarks that must be preserved and kept in New Orleans.

Between the massively popular Pokemon GO app and the franchise’s upcoming handheld games, pocket monsters are making a comeback in a big way.

For nearly a year now, there have been debates, bills passed, appeals rendered, and lines drawn for the removal of Confederate monuments in New Orleans.

Pictures show Pikachu with a menacing look and defiant posture standing atop a cement structure with a pokeball on it. The statue is hollow, but made to look like aged-bronze.

Pikachu statue illegally erected over night in New Orleans, La.

You may have thought Pokémon Go was a fleeting gaming phenomenon.