The world was struck by the popularity as Niantic Inc released a game called "Pokemon Go" this summer. It has become a game everyone plays. You don't have to be a fan of the older version of Pokemon to play the game.
To play, all you have to do is "go" outside. Pokemon will spawn in the streets and in the park and sometimes in your house - if you're lucky. It connects to google maps and tracks where you're going. You can collect "pokeballs" to catch these creatures with at designated places called "pokestops". There, you can also receive eggs (that will hatch different kinds of Pokemon after you've walked a certain number of kilometers). You can also search for gyms where you can train your Pokemon and fight against other people playing the game.
It has done wonders for childhood obesity. Kids who usually spend their days inside, playing video games and eating without burning calories, are now traveling outdoors to "catch them all".
Sounds fun right? It is to almost "9.5 million daily players" (according to Kurt Wagner from recode.net). However, there are some odd events that have happened to people playing the games...
1. A woman gets stuck in a tree trying to catch a Pokemon
Gameinformer.com author Elise Favis reported this incident in an article titled "The Most Bizarre Pokemon Go Stories We Have Heard Thus Far". Apparently, a woman from New Jersey was playing the game in a cemetery. This isn't something strange to players. Most gyms and pokestops are set up at cemeteries and churches. Somehow, she ended up climbing and getting stuck in a tree at the cemetery in New Jersey. Unable to get back down, she had to call 911 for help, which she got with a few chuckles when asked how she got stuck.
2. Teens get trapped 100ft underground in caves
In Wiltshire, England, four teenage boys decided it was a great idea to entire the minds to search for rare Pokemon. BBC reported that their journey came to a close when they realized they were stuck inside. They somehow found a cell phone signal from one hundred feet underground. I can't imagine they had very strong gps signal in their game, so they couldn't have caught anything good at all.
3. Reports of finding dead bodies instead of Pokemon
Many stories have been shared about coming across corpses whilst playing Pokemon Go. The app has a way to almost lead you in a certain direction. The silhouette or image of a Pokemon will appear in the bottom right side of a person's screen, alerting them that they are near some. Naturally, people will follow the sightings and walk to gyms and stops as well.
A 19 year old girl named Shayla Wiggins is among the people who have been involved in these crimes scenes. In the state of Wyoming, she discovered the corpse of a man in the river near her house. She reported this to the police, who took care of the body and probably had a lot of questions to ask Wiggins.
4. Pokemon appear in Holocaust Museum
Pokestops and gyms are often planted in places of historical background. Sometimes, they provide facts about the place they are in. They are more than likely to be found in churches, cemeteries, museums, art murals/statues, etc. These places aren't very respectful places to be on your phone. The Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. has had problems with their visitors playing the game instead of paying their respects. They have asked their visitors not to play and have even reached out to Niantic so that the Pokemon, gyms, and pokestops could be removed from the game in their area.
5. Rare Pokemon spawns in Central Park and people lose their minds
When you get enough of a certain pokemon's "candy" you can evolve them into a new form. You can evolve your Pokemon Go Eevee into Flareon, Jolteon, or Vaporeon. If you name your Eevee Pyro, it will turn into a Flareon. Sparky for Jolteon, and Rainer for Vaporean. The name just gives you more luck to get your favored one. It's odd, however, to find a Vaporean in the outside world. Seth G. Macy describes a "sheer amount of people trying to catch their own Vaporeon is staggering, but perhaps even more impressive is the lack of any other incident. All those people, and not one report of a fight or a mugging. Just a sea of humanity, peacefully coexisting to try to catch the coolest of the Eevee evolved forms."
You can watch a video of this incident here:
6. Up close and personal with a zoo tiger
Once again, we have people making odd decisions while playing Pokemon Go. As Jon Victor and Alexandra Mester reported in the Toledo Blade, a man and a woman were arrested in the Toledo after jumping the fence surrounding the tiger exhibit.
Robin Bartholomy and Adrian Crawford (25 and 26 years old) were charged and booked into the Lucas County jail. They were later released what they'd done and how serious it was.
"It wasn't the most responsible thing to do, but hey, gotta catch 'em all," Robin Bartholomy said in an interview.
7. Can pets see your Pokemon?
Many people have began to think that their household dogs and cats can detect if a Pokemon is near. There have been reports of people claiming their dog has barked in the direction of a Pokemon. Some have taken this to the extreme. They bring out their pets' inner Pokemon by dying their fur or hair to look like a certain one as shown below:
Very cute..but is it a little too overboard?
8. Woman claims a Pokemon raped her
Strange right? Dan Clarendon reported an incident of this story on wetpaint. A woman told police officers that she had been sexually assaulted by a giant Pokemon in her apartment in Moscow. The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, had been playing Pokemon GO before she fell asleep and woke up to find a Pokemon lying on top of her body and says it was "raping her". She says it disappeared when she got out of bed to tell her husband what happened. He told the officers that he did not believe her and told her to see a psychiatrist.
Is this highly addictive game making us crazy? Possibly. I wonder what will happen in the winter when it's too cold for people to "Pokemon Go" outside?
