Here's Why the Internet Won't Stop Talking About Pokémon Go—and Why It's So Dangerous

A passion for nostalgia is leading people to injuries, robberies and more

Pokémon is back, everyone, but this time it's in the shape of Pokémon Go, the latest mobile app to take the world by storm.

Released last Wednesday, Pokémon Go has already captured the world's attention in ways we can't even begin to explain. The original Pokémon—game and creatures—debuted in Japan in 1996 and became an instant sensation across the globe. Kids watched the TV show, collected the cards and played the Game Boy games to no end. Now that Pokémon is back, satisfying a nostalgia-crazed generation, it's leading to some scary and weird discoveries.

The concept of Pokémon Go is such: players are trying to find the beloved animated creatures in the real world. Using GPS, the game requires actual physical exploration, unlike the original Nintendo series that was limited to its console. To collect Pokémon, people have to walk around until they find one. Users then use Pokéballs to capture the creature they've spotted while out and about. When players continue to capture the same Pokémon repeatedly, they receive candies, which ultimately cause the Pokémon to grow in power. 

While the game certainly has its perks—making people a tad more active for starters—it also has its downsides. With players constantly glued to their phones, people are running into each other and people's real-world houses have turned into "gyms," or a place where Pokémon can be trained. One unlucky man in Massachusetts found his house surrounded by strangers who had discovered his "gym."

Not only have strangers started popping up on private property, the least of the concerns quite honestly, people have also gotten hurt. One Reddit user confessed he fell down a ditch only 30 minutes into downloading the game. He fractured a bone in his foot. Another player fell off his skateboard and drew blood.

This list of injuries goes on and on.

But what's scarier is one discovery that was made by a 19-year-old woman—and no, it wasn't a rare Pokémon; Wyoming resident Shayla Wiggins hopped a fence to walk by a river in order to capture a Pokémon from a natural water source when she discovered a dead body. In Missouri, police say players were robbed after visiting remote Pokéstops. Four suspects, all teenagers, were charged with armed robbery, as police recovered a handgun from one teen.

None of these dangerous incidents, however, has curbed interest in this game, so I guess all we can say is, be careful playing, everyone!