Even the best of us can become entirely engrossed in our Pokémon GO captures and battling, but this story is a perfect example of things going way too far.
A 40-year-old man has reportedly been arrested after striking a police officer in the face. The incident took place in Matsuyama, the capital city of Japan's Ehime Prefecture, where the man was playing the game on his smartphone.
According to Yahoo! Japan (thanks Kotaku), around fifty Pokémon GO players were gathered near a hotel in the Chifunemachi area of the city. The report suggests that these players were entering the hotel without permission, presumably to get their hands on a Pokémon which had been plonked inside the hotel's location, forcing staff to call the police.
It would appear that the man in question missed out on this seemingly elusive Pokémon thanks to all of the confusion, however, giving this very reason for his alleged violent outburst in a statement to the police. When questioned, the man reportedly said, "Because of you, I didn’t catch [Pokémon]", before threatening the officials further.
Thankfully, the police officer didn't suffer any injuries as a result of the man's actions.
[source kotaku.com]
Comments 46
Please understand Officer, let the man catch his Pokémon, and all will be well.
Nah, he didn’t use Rage, he used Swagger. His attack was raised, but he was confused as a result.
Jeez, though I do want to know what Pokemon it was.
Dont even have words for this.
So much for catching Pokemon... you can't even use them on the Popo.
What was the Pokémon this guy was trying to catch? A Pidgey?
Lapras panic all over again, eh?
This deserves the death sentence!!
For the officer. How dare you get in the way of him catching [pokemon]??
On a more serious note, I'm not surprised at this. People attack officers for all sorts of silly reasons these days from "looking at you funny" to "felt like it". Police deserve a huge amount of respect but this isn't the stupidest reason they've heard I'm sure.
@shonenjump86 'Elusive' doesn't sound like a Pidgey to me. I think something rarer, possibly a Larvitar, Dratini, etc. Gotta be something that doesn't normally appear, otherwise he wouldn't have punched someone over it. Still, he doesn't sound like he has very much control over himself.
Don'tcha know you're not supposed to use Outrage on Steel types?
this is relatable content, tbh
@RevampedSpider People these days and their incomplete thoughts.
"There are allegations of trespass, public nuisance, and assaulting a police officer occasioning actual bodily harm. What do you have to say for yourself?"
"I wish to speak to my rouyā."
@ThatNyteDaez
A Larvitar or Dratini, whilst rare and sought after, wouldn't be enough to cause this sort of response in the current game.
For this sort of response, I'm thinking that the rare Pokémon was most likely an Unown, which is currently absurdly rare.
Amazing devolution of a species that was rude just when they had power to make and take calls on the go. The smart phone game app user, the lowest form yet.
When people lost their humanity because of games addiction.... 🙄
What kind of hotel requires permission to enter the lobby?
@Branovices The kind that doesn't want the lobby crowded with 50 people that aren't paying guests. So, most hotels.
Guys we should be more concerned that he hurt Officer Jenny.
I'm of the firm belief that anyone still playing Pokemon Go in 2019 should be detained
Its just a cop so whatever.
As a 'Murican and New Yorker I'm surprised the title isn't - "Man Strangled, Shot and Tased to Death by Police After Punching Officer in the Face".
Maybe the man can sue the police dept in a $250m lawsuit b/c he didn't catch his Pokemon.
@RupeeClock
Sounds like you are saying this response is OK if the pokemon is rare enough. I take it you don't mean that.
Otakus discovering the outside world. Pokemon Go made them go outside and they can't reload reality (AKA the most boring open world) before hitting a police officer.
@SBandy
You'll get an influx of people showing up to things they feel strongly about, dozens of people showing up outside of a church, a pub, even a carpet shop if there's a popular legendary raid happening.
It can cause problems for public places though if you actually have such a large number of people showing up, and unlike raids which have fixed positions, Pokémon can appear in any number of spawn points including inside of buildings.
What happened if people basically trespassed to catch whatever rare Pokémon this was, which isn't good at all.
The elusive Unown is so sought after however that word of mouth will spread incredibly quickly on local channels and groups, and people will drop what they're doing to rush and get it, because it could disappear in the next few minutes.
@RupeeClock
I think we misunderstood each other. When you said response I thought you meant the man striking the police officer in the face, but you appear to mean response as in a group of people responding to a rare pokemon showing up.
@SBandy Oh, right yeah, I specifically was responding to someone's claim that an elusive thing being a Larvitar or Dratini probably wouldn't have caused this many people to show up to a hotel lobby.
Of course there's no good excuse to punch someone over missing something in a video game, but people often don't have their priorities straight. Of course, this person felt differently because they felt that the police officer actually prevented them from doing something urgent.
@RupeeClock
Yeah this person needs to sort themselves out, there should never be violence over a videogame of all things.
@ThatNyteDaez yeah, I was just messing around. Lol. It would be funny if this mess was all because he wanted to catch a pidgey. Messed up, but funny.
Don't do the crime if you can't do the time
Which Pokémon even was it?
LOL oh well... People sometimes loose contact with reality.
A Pidgey can't be THAT worth it.
Falcon punch that piggy right in the face lol good for him.
and yet another reason of why i will never play Pokemon GO. all this stupidity over these smart phone games just makes me feel sorry for people.
hopefully we will be able to save ourselves and stop Sarah Connor from being killed. the future of human kind depends apon it. its either that or the machines will rise up against us and take over.
unfortunately for us 90% of everything from most science fiction movies has come to pass and it is only a matter of time before it is too late...
Good thing I have zero interest in Pokemon Go
@rjejr As a Brit we hear so many horror stories such as the officer that tazed a 7 year old girl because she refused to go to bed (reported by her mum) and was presenting a threat to the officer. I can only imagine striking an officer would result in a tactical nuke in the US.
That's one way to get a police officer to use Imprison.
@MH4 xD
Living in Japan, I can tell you this guy was probably drunk or at least buzzed. A lot of Japanese office workers drink and play smartphone games on their way home from work. Drinking in public is totally legal and common in Japan. It's usually not a problem because of the pervasive mindset to keep to yourself, even while buzzed. But there are exceptions to any rule.
@DanteSolablood They only break out the nukes if it's a white cop and a minority assailant.
They do like arresting kids though.
https://www.theroot.com/11-year-old-boy-arrested-for-refusing-to-recite-racist-1832685230
@rjejr if it aint black, we wont break its neck. Sincerely the NYPD
@tc-senzei The Sincerely was a nice touch.
@everyone pls add me as friend trainer code
8376 2416 7593
Everyone add me pokemon go Tampa United States trainer code 8376 2416 7593
This why kids never fight a cop and always listen to what he says.
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