CULTURE
Crazy Shit Happens When You Play Pokemon Go
AD
From finding dead bodies to broken bones, Pokemon Go gets a little too real.
Published on July 9, 2016

They’ve done it again.

Within days of its release, Pokemon mania has swept the world.

On Friday, players lamented on social media after the server went down, leaving them gameless. 

For the uninitiated, users are thrust into catching virtual Pokemon in the real world using their mobile phones. With a simple tap system, players are scrambling outside of their homes and in some cases into trouble .

Over in Australia, police from the Northern Territory station posted the below warning online after its station was featured as a Pokestop, a collection point for an item in the game.

The free-to-play game was released Wednesday and since then has skyrocketed passed the likes of Spotify to the top of the charts in the app store.

In the game, players are allowed to capture, battle, train and trade virtual Pokemon who appear throughout real world locations on their mobile map. By using the map players can also visit destination such as Pokestops, which are located at public art installations and monuments that carry valuable items for their quests.

In the game’s loading screen players are reminded  to pay attention to their surroundings, but I’m not sure this is what they had in mind.

On Friday, a Wyoming teen was in midst of trying to catch a Pokémon "from a natural water resource." Instead, 19-year-old Shayla Wiggins came across a dead body.

"I didn't really know what to do at first, but I called 911 right away and they came really quickly," Wiggins told the website. "I was pretty scared and cried for a while."

Police said the death appears to be accidental in nature and possibly that of a drowning.

Other players were so stoned  immersed in the gameplay, they sustained injuries.

“Pokemon Go put me in the ER last night,” read  one post on the Pokemon Go subreddit. “Not even 30 minutes after the release last night, I slipped and fell down a ditch,” said the Reddit user.

“Fractured the fifth metatarsal bone in my foot, 6-8 weeks for recovery. I told all the doctors I was walking my dog lol... Watch where you're going, folks!”

The game also has a team element to it called the “Gym,” where players can unite and own these gyms’ in various spots in your city by having their Pokemon protect it. Pokemon are also specific to their type region making for a really interactive experience.

The augmented-reality game is developed by Niantic for iOS and Android devices after an April Fool’s joke several years ago. Developers from The Pokemon Company and Google had collaborated on what was called the Pokemon Challenge that had players find Pokemon all over the world via Google Maps mobile apps.

“Due to the incredible number of #PokemonGO downloads, some Trainers may experience sign-up difficulties. Don’t worry, our team is on it!" the company tweeted.

NEWS
THC
VIRAL
SAFETY
MORE...
Michael Geslani
FOLLOW
Share this article with your friends!
AD
By using our site you agree to our use of cookies to deliver a better experience.
Accept
Decline
MORE FROM MERRY JANE