‘Pokémon Sleep’ Wants to Change the Way You Go to Bed

First, Pokémon reinvented going outside (by encouraging you to just do it virtually). Then, Pokémon reinvented walking (by encouraging you to use your phone while doing it). And now, 27 years in, Pokémon is reinventing sleep.

It may sound either strange, hyperbolic, or both to say it, but it is true: Pokémon Sleep is the most exciting video game of the year. “Video game” should be used lightly, however; Sleep is a gamified sleep tracking aid, combining the franchise’s cutest creatures with metrics to chart a necessary biological function. You already sleep with your smartphone next to your head, most likely. Now, Pokémon is the latest company to mine your biometric data while you do it.

As the Pokémon Company revealed earlier this week in an intently watched livestream in honor of the franchise’s birthday, Sleep makes manifest Pokémon lovers’ dreams. Your length and quality of sleep earn you points as well as opportunities to see more Pokémon. Depending on how well you sleep, you will wake up to find more Pokémon hanging out on the island that serves as Pokémon Sleep’s central interface. If your phone ascertains that you sleep “goofy-style”—on your stomach with your legs spread in opposite directions—you may see a Slowpoke the following morning, lying in a similar position. If you sleep scrunched up in a tiny ball in the fetal position, like me, an Eevee may greet you in the morning.

Read more at The Daily Beast.