“I found myself going out more with the app, which encouraged me to stretch out my walks and from that I realised that I don't have to do that much to start being a little healthier,” he revealed. “I know you hear it all the time, but it really showed me that doing that little bit could help me start losing weight. Then I knew it was possible, so if I doubled down on it, I could keep going towards it and see how far I could go.”

Sharples is far from the only player to have experienced the health benefits of the game. In December 2016, five months after Pokémon Go launched, one fan went viral after losing 65lbs after being inspired to move more thanks to his experiences playing Pokémon Go.

In fact, spend long enough in any Pokémon Go forum and you’ll find the stories of hundreds of people who’ve lost weight simply through playing the game.

Sharples now credits the game with doing much more than improving his physical health. Having been diagnosed with hereditary depression and severe anxiety, there are days where he says that even leaving the house feels like an ordeal. “I used to go outside and feel like all eyes were on me,” he says. “My mental illness convinced me that everyone was staring at me and judging me, but with my phone in front of my face, distracted by the game, you don't notice all that. It kind of takes you out of your own head.

"It's a nice way of getting out on days when you usually couldn't even fathom leaving the house because you were so trapped in your head.”

Pokémon Go may not be the most efficient app for weight-loss or improving health; and yes, there’s something faintly ridiculous about wandering around capturing virtual creatures. But we’re always told that, when it comes to exercise, doing something is better than doing nothing – and if Pokémon Go is encouraging people who’d ordinarily be sitting at home to go for an extra walk once a week, then perhaps this little game has earned its viral status.