I know this seems like a belated April Fool's joke, but it's not. I've been messing around with Pokétax for a little bit before writing this article and, while the concept is absolutely wild and essentially makes Pokémon feel more like homework than a game, it definitely made learning about tax a little more interesting!
The game comes from accounting startup Open Ledger and is a tax-based adaptation of open-source game Pokémon Showdown. As reported by Tech Crunch, Gym Leaders are replaced by Tax Trainers, and Pokémon have tax-related names like 'Auditmander' and 'Deductoise'. Players can answer tax-related questions to power up their Pokémon, use moves like 'Audit Dodge', defeat the 'Tax Elite Four', and then get their Tax forms at the end.
While you can put any address or name in, it's designed for US citizens to play and then subsequently file their tax returns. Open Ledger's co-founder Pryce Adade-Yebesi has reportedly stated that while the idea started off as a joke, he hoped it would make the tax filing process less 'soul-sucking'. He went on to say that 'This [the game] is real; it works. Tax fraud isn’t funny — and neither is the IRS.'
Head to the Pokétax website for more information and to check it out.
