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'Somebody Stole My Pokemon:' Pokemon Go Player Calls British Police Over Missing Cartoon Monster

'Somebody Stole My Pokemon:' Pokemon Go Player Calls British Police Over Missing Cartoon Monster

By Melissa Etehad, The Washington Post | Updated: 19 July 2016 19:12 IST

It didn't take long for Pokemon Go to cause a stir in Britain. The augmented reality game, which allows users to catch cartoon-like creatures, has people across the pond hooked -- much like the rest of the world. But perhaps some are taking their search for the game's fictional beasts a bit too literally.

The day after the mobile game was released in Britain, a Pokemon Go player in Gloucestershire placed an emergency call to 999 over a dispute regarding stolen Pokemon.

(Also see: Pokemon Go Review)

"Somebody stole my Pokemon," the gamer told Gloucestershire police. The operator on the other side was not impressed and hung up the phone, but not before chastising the caller, "You do realize you're stopping someone with a life or death emergency because of a Pokemon?"

The emergency call highlights just how crazed fans have become since Pokemon Go was officially released in Britain on Thursday.

It still isn't clear what the caller meant when he said his Pokemon was "stolen." The game allows users who are near one another to catch the same Pokemon, so, technically, it isn't possible to steal the digital animations. And according to local media, police haven't elaborated on the situation.

(Also see: How to Download Pokemon Go APK, Install, and Play on Android)

But Gloucestershire isn't the only place in Britain where Pokemon Go users are getting a bit too obsessed. Last week in Wiltshire, a group of teenage boys had to be rescued from a cave after getting stuck searching for Pokemon, the BBC reported. They were rescued from the 100-feet-below-ground cave after they managed to find an "open-air part of the rock" and got a phone signal to call for help.

And in Hulme, Manchester, police said three students' phones were stolen at knifepoint while they were playing Pokemon Go in a park. Police urged parents to caution their kids, citing similar cases in the United States. "There have already been incidents in America where young people are thought to have been targeted through the app," Detective Superintendent Joanne Rawlinson told the BBC. "I would urge parents to speak to their children about the app and the best ways to make sure they stay safe."

(Also see: Pokemon Go to Launch in Roughly 200 Markets 'Relatively Soon')

But the game, which encourages people to explore the outdoors, has also opened up the possibility of people doing some good. When some gamers were playing Pokemon Go in South Yorkshire on Sunday, they came across a burglary and alerted police.

After the incident in Gloucestershire, police have been using Twitter to provide safety tips to Pokemon Go gamers.

The safety concerns have hardly dented the popularity of the game, though. According to local media, fans in Gloucestershire have set up a Facebook group to discuss tips on where to catch the animated monsters.

© 2016 The Washington Post

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Further reading: AR App, AR Game, Android, Apple, Apps, Augemented Reality Game, Augmented Reality App, Gaming, Niantic, Nintendo, Pokemon, Pokemon Go, iOS