That, and there's probably some Pokemon consoomers that are flailing at the fact that some shit-heel developers managed to make a servicable pokemon like game that is going to force The Pokemon Company to fucking innovate.

We've seen plenty of games like this come and go. It's fun for now and will fade after the novelty has worn off. I haven't looked too much into it but it looks like -- as you said -- a Rust clone with Pokemon-like creatures. The novelty is what's driving interests rather anything innovative. Again, I'm unfamiliar with this product but is there actually anything innovative about it or is it really just Pokemon-survival with base building and guns?

Because if that's the case I think the stark lack of good games in the mainstream is likely what's driving interest, but much like Battlebit, after everyone gets their 30+ hours or so out of the game they will move on to the next product and forget that it even existed, sort of like that game that started the Battle Royale craze, The Culling (the original one, not the re-release).