Pokémon Go Players Do the Craziest Things

Pokémon Go mania has turned a corner — it has reached the point of ridiculousness. The game is making people do nutty, dangerous, and even life-threatening things.

The “augmented reality mobile game” is sending players all over the place as they try to catch the crazy creatures. These people might be in a park or on private property — in a church or in your bathroom.

The stories are getting more outrageous and outlandish.

The upside of the game is that it’s getting people moving. They are actually walking around outside. They are running. They are breathing fresh air (except when it’s like a sauna outside). The downside is that the quests to catch Pokémon have been linked to all sorts of mishaps, from criminal incidents to car crashes.

Two recent examples: An Auburn, New York, man was playing the game while driving and ran into a tree. And a Cincinnati woman admitted to climbing the fence at Paul Brown Stadium, home of the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals, to catch Pokémon last week. She was arrested and charged with criminal trespassing.

The stories are getting more outrageous and outlandish by the day.

Here are some more of the recent ones:

Up a Tree
A Clarksboro, New Jersey, woman who was trying to catch Pokémon in a cemetery ended up stuck in a tree and had to call 911 to rescue her. The East Greenwich Township Fire and Rescue arrived to get her down with a ladder. Officials described her as being “a bit embarrassed,” reported CBS New York.

Baby Drama
Jonathan Theriot’s wife was about to give birth in a Texas hospital. But the dad-to-be was busy catching Pidgey. His wife didn’t mind, he told Buzzfeed, as she was waiting to have a C-section. “She just kind of laughed at it,” he said. “It was primarily an eye-roll once she realized what I was doing.”

Related: Say No to Pokémon, Yes to Chardonnay

Some people suggested naming the daughter Pidgey. The couple went instead with Ireland Sage Theriot.

Job Exit (Voluntary)
Tom Currie decided that catching Pokémon was more important than his job as a bartender and barista near Auckland. The 24-year-old is spending two months traveling around New Zealand in complete devotion to the game. He has booked 20 bus trips around the country — and as of earlier this month, had captured 90 of 151 Pokémon. Success?

Job Exit (Not Voluntary) 
Sonny Truyen, an Australian man working in Singapore, was so obsessed with Pokémon Go that he posted a profanity-laced Facebook rant expressing his dismay that the game is not available in that country. The property development firm he worked for came under such fire that they terminated Truyen just one day after his post. He apologized and deactivated his Facebook account.

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Off a Cliff
In San Diego’s North County, players have gone so crazy for Pokémon Go that two men fell off a cliff while playing it. As per NBC in San Diego, one of them was unconscious after falling about 50 feet down the cliff, while another one fell some 80 to 90 feet down the cliff. The conditions for both are still unknown; they were taken to a nearby hospital.

Open Fire
A Canadian woman has been charged after she allegedly fired a pellet gun at Pokémon Go players — and from the rooftop of a Toronto-area home, no less. The players weren’t injured and it’s not clear what prompted her to shoot at them. “There’s nothing to suggest mental health issues,” said a police spokesman. She was arrested without incident and charged with assault with a weapon and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. Each of the charges carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Nearly Radioactive
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings requested this week that Pokémon Go developers stop having Pokémon appearing in and around areas affected by the nuclear reactor meltdown in Fukushima — to stop players from entering dangerous areas.