Pokémon-catching cars come to Malaysia, although the game isn't there yet
Do these two Malaysian companies know something about Pokémon Go that we don't?
Although the popular augmented reality mobile game hasn't come to the region yet, Malaysian phone company Hotlink and Southeast Asian ride-sharing firm Grab have already prepped four cars to ferry trainers between Poké Stops for free.
The four cars, appropriately named PokéMobiles, will run for the first two days starting when the game launches -- whenever that is.
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The cars will come loaded up with mobile chargers, and existing Hotlink users who book rides will get US$100 worth of in-game credit, although this only applies to Android users, Mashable understands.
Hotlink belongs to Malaysian telecoms operator Maxis, and is its prepaid SIM card brand.
Grab's planning to add a button to its app to call the PokéMobile, but it might be tough hailing one since there will only be four on the roads.
Grab's country manager, Jaygan Fu, said: "We are aware there is a huge Pokémon following in Malaysia and we wanted to join in the thrill of the game."
The marketing campaign has only added to the ongoing speculation that the game is coming to Malaysia soon, after a protracted wait. Pokémon Go was first launched in North America and Australia on July 6, before going to Europe two weeks later.
So far, Japan is the only Asian country to get the Niantic hit and got it on July 22.
Wannabe trainers in Malaysia and neighbouring Singapore have turned to Facebook support groups for comfort while they bide their time before the game launches.
Victoria Ho is Mashable's Asia Editor, based in Singapore. She previously reported on news and tech at The Business Times, TechCrunch and ZDNet. When she isn't writing, she's making music with her band
