Pokemon Go players actually called the cops to stop gym from being taken

A Reddit user claims they were the victim of a false police report made by trolls in order to stop them from taking over a gym in Pokemon Go.

Gyms have been a staple of the Pokemon franchise since its inception in 1996. Players defeat gym leaders to earn badges, and with enough badges, they can challenge the region’s toughest trainers.

But in Pokemon Go, gyms operate a bit differently. Gyms are play points that are associated with important real-world landmarks. Each gym can be taken over by one of the game’s three teams, and players from other teams attempt to take the gym back.

Because all of this happens in real-time, gym battles can sometimes feel like virtual turf wars. All of the violence happens in-game between virtual monsters, but on rare occasions, it can spill over into the real world.

Pokemon Go players call cops during gym battle

Pokemon Go does have one similarity to the animated series that no other game does, and that’s the presence of law enforcement. These non-player characters were fairly active during the game’s launch stopping trespassers and responding to injured players.

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However, Reddit user darthmaclean claims their local police officers arrived at the scene of an ongoing gym battle in response to a false report.

Darthmaclean wrote, “I was fighting a yellow gym. A few people were defending it. They called the cops on me, and then reported my name as offensive.”

The user stated the trolls drove away as soon as the officers arrived on the scene, but they didn’t know anything more about the call. They also shared that their name was reported, presumably by the gym defenders and that they are being forced to change their username to continue playing.

Their former Pokemon Go username was ‘JesusEh’, a name they had since the game was released. Many comments thought it outrageous that Niantic would make him change his name, while others noted it’s potential offensiveness to religious players.

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A number of comments on the post shared similar interactions with the police while playing Pokemon Go. However, after explaining the game to the officers, they were allowed to continue playing.

For more Pokemon Go content, check out the event calendar for April 2022 so you don’t miss any upcoming PoGo content.