Nintendo's globally-acclaimed augmented-reality game, Pokemon GO, has captured the millennials' attention by storm as gamers worldwide are running amok in their quest to capture Pokemons at the weirdest and forbidden places across the world. Pokemon GO has become an instant hit in the world of augmented reality with a bunch of Pokestops and Gyms waiting to be explored around unexpected corners of the street.
It is ascertained that several of the historical landmarks for Pokestops and Gyms were borrowed directly from Niantec's previous augmented-reality game, Ingress. Here are some of the weirdest and forbidden places that are earmarked as hot spots for Pokemon GO:
White House, Pentagon
The White House is unsurprisingly one of the weirdest hotspots featuring as a Gym in Pokemon GO. According to one Reddit user, Blastoise was the champion soon after launch and then it was taken over by an eagle-like Pidgeot whose trainer is nicknamed as "Merica".
The newest entry in the champions list for the White House Gym has been nicknamed as "Thanks Obama". Another Gym has been found at the Pentagon and the Pokemon protecting it is aptly known as "pudgy or sleeping Snorlax".
Boston man's home turns into Pokemon Gym
Boon Sheridan and his family recently relocated to their new home in Boston, which is reportedly standing on the same structure that was built as a church in the 1800s. Pokemon GO has a consistent track record for earmarking churches as Gyms and now Sheridan's home is no exception.
To his surprise, the Boston man found his house surrounded by hordes of trainers looking for some elusive Pokemon inside his house.
Here's what Sheridan explained to CBC News on 11 July, Monday:
"I went to bed [on Friday night] and when I woke up on Saturday morning, I was looking out my kitchen window and realizing there were people hanging out in front of my house."
"Thankfully I had been playing the game, so I could put two and two together fairly quickly."
Westboro Baptist Church
The Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas is next in the hit-list of Gyms taken over by Pokemon GO. It is reported that Clefairy, a fairy type Pokemon nicknamed 'LoveisLove', is the reigning champion of the Gym located inside the church.
Quite amusingly, the church has long been known for anti-LGBT publicity stunts and the 'LoveisLove' nickname befittingly suits the location's profile.
The Westboro Baptist Church has retaliated Clefairy's reign at the location via a tweet depicting some short Vine featuring Jigglypuff as its new mascot.
Police Station in Australia
Officers at the police station in Darwin, Australia, have written an amusing yet striking message to budding Pokemon trainers on their Facebook page:
For those budding Pokemon Trainers out there using Pokemon Go— whilst the Darwin Police Station may feature as a Pokestop, please be advised that you don't actually have to step inside in order to gain the Pokeballs. It's also a good idea to look up, away from your phone and both ways before crossing the street. That Sandshrew isn't going anywhere fast."
The message seems to convey the fact that the officers do care about the safety of millenials while they also understand the requirements of the Nintendo's smash-hit augmented-reality game as curious gamers run amok hunting for Pokestops and Gyms in the weirdest of places on the earth.
Holocaust Museum
Although Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. has been identified as one of the Gyms in Pokemon GO, the authorities at the museum are allegedly irked by the fact that it is featured as part of the new augmented-reality game.
The museum's director of communications Andrew Hollinger has asserted that it is "extremely inappropriate" to allow playing Pokemon GO in a memorial dedicated to the victims of Nazism. Hollinger also adds that searching for Pokemon "falls far outside of our educational and memorial mission."
In a recent Washington report, there is a screenshot depicting the game being played in the museum's lobby while attempting to catch a bird-like Pokemon called Doduo.