Pokemon gone wrong? Players risk lives by dashing across road

Pokemon gone wrong? Players risk lives by dashing across road

It looked like a festive gathering, with families and couples sitting around and chatting while glancing at their mobile phones.

Then they suddenly sprang to their feet and most of them dashed across the road, forcing some vehicles to brake to avoid hitting them.

The reason? A rare and powerful Pokemon called Snorlax had just been spotted.

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This was the chaotic scene near Block 401, Hougang Avenue 10, at 9.25pm yesterday as scores of Pokemon Go players risked their lives in their haste to try to catch a prized Pokemon.

As they left the amphitheatre near Block 401 to head to Punggol Park, where the Snorlax had been seen, many of them ran across Hougang Avenue 8 without checking for oncoming traffic first.

SCARY

Ms Jasmine Wee, 30, a property agent who was at the scene, told The New Paper: "It was quite scary how people just dashed across the road with no regard for their own and other people's safety.

"Cars had to brake suddenly to avoid knocking them down. It was crazy."

A player, student Edwin Lim, 24, told TNP: "One group started running (towards Punggol Park), so everyone just followed.

"It was only along the way that I heard it was a Snorlax. When my friends and I got there, it was still there. Some of us caught it in one try, but some missed it."

Hundreds of players had gathered at the amphitheatre daily since Saturday when Pokemon Go was launched in Singapore because four PokeStops equipped with lure modules are located there.

Mr Saiful Rizan, 26, a warehouse assistant who lives at Block 414, about 50m from the amphitheatre, said: "The crowd is just amazing. I've been living here since 1999 and I have never seen such a huge crowd at 1am."

The crowd grew as the night progressed, with one resident estimating that there were about 400 people at 8pm.

The resident, who wanted to be known only as Mr Kwek, 22, said the area was so packed, he had difficulty finding his sister.

"She was playing Pokemon Go, and it took me quite a while before I could spot her," he said.

He also said he had to wait to get a parking space in the carpark near his block, which was unusual.

"I saw cars queueing up just to get a parking lot at around 8pm."

Residents also complained about the rubbish left behind by the players.

Ms Irene Lim, 55, a resident of Block 415, said: "It's usually dirty after the gatherings. But there was this secondary schoolgirl picking up trash at about 5pm on Monday."

Another resident at Block 415, who wanted to be known as Ms Loga, said: "I was shocked when I saw this number of people. It's quite interesting, but there were lots of rubbish the morning after."

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Residents said the crowds managed to keep noise to a minimum.

Mr Saiful, who lives on the second storey of Block 414, said: "The only time people shouted was when a rare Pokemon appeared."

It was good news for shops in the area as sales at nearby businesses have jumped as a result of these daily Pokemon Go gatherings.

Ms Tan Meng Kee, 57, who works at KTM 11 Supermart, which is next to the amphitheatre, told TNP its sales have increased by 20 per cent to 30 per cent since Saturday.

"We now close the shop at 2am instead of the usual 11pm," she added.

The 7-Eleven shop next door has also seen its sales double since Saturday.

Yishun Park, which boasts a Pokemon Go gym and four PokeStops, was also teeming with players at 4.30pm yesterday.

There were also concerns about road safety there.

A 36-year-old resident, who wanted to be known only as Mr Hairul, said: "I was just driving by the park and people were not looking at the traffic lights when they crossed the road."

Another resident, Mr Peter Wang, 50, who was cycling with his two sons, said: "It can be quite dangerous when some of them play their games while riding scooters."

Pokemon players

Fancy adding a Dragonite to your collection on Pokemon Go without the trouble of evolving a Dratini?

Now you can pay someone to do it for you, or just buy one online.

Some enterprising gamers see the launch of Pokemon Go in Singapore last Saturday as an opportunity to make money by offering Pokemon-related services.

Mr Darrell Theseira, 21, is one of them.

He told The New Paper that he went on a 24-hour spree playing Pokemon Go with his friends after the game was released here.

The group of five travelled all over Singapore to catch Pokemon, visiting popular landmarks such as Orchard Road, Mount Faber, Changi Airport, Punggol Waterway and Sentosa.

SPOOFERS

During his hunt for Pokemon, Mr Theseira noticed that a good number of gyms in Singapore had been taken over by spoofers.

Spoofers are those who use other means such as apps to hide their GPS location so they could play the game before its Singapore launch. Their head start of about a month means they have acquired or grown stronger Pokemon.

Mr Theseira, a Nanyang Polytechnic graduate waiting to serve his national service, said: "Spoofers have an unfair advantage, and new players are unable to fight at gyms because spoofers store their strongest Pokemon there."

He is offering to help beginners by catching rare and strong Pokemon for them - for $35 an hour.

Mr Theseira declined to reveal any details about his customers.

But he claimed he has received 40 requests since listing his services on marketplace application Carousell three days ago.

"I just want to help the community grow faster," he said.

Pokemon trainers-for-hire have made headlines in the US, where Pokemon Go has been available since July 6.

Ms Ivy St Ive, editor-in-chief of a Brooklyn-based magazine, advertised her services as a Pokemon trainer for US$20 (S$27) an hour on Craigslist, the New York Observer reported last month.

This is just one of many Pokemon-related services.

Here, there are countless listings on Carousell of people offering car rentals and chauffeur services, and offering to level up your Pokemon Go account.

A single rare Pokemon can cost $3 to $20, and paying someone to level up your account to level 30 can knock you back between $30 and $50.

You can even buy a Pokemon Go account filled with rare and powerful Pokemon for $25 to $80.

Most of the time, these services are not done legitimately - by travelling around physically to catch Pokemon - but through hacks, spoofing, and third-party websites, which is against developer Niantic's terms of usage.

For example, there are websites that can show you the exact locations of specific Pokemon around the world.

A seller on Carousell, who declined to be named, told TNP: "It's not legitimate, but the risk of getting banned is maybe less than 1 per cent."

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Glossary

Poke Balls: Used to catch wild Pokemon. As players level up, they can get stronger balls.

PokeStops: Real world locations where you can get Poke Balls and other items.

Gyms: Teams fight for control over these real world locations.

Lure Modules: Attach them to a PokeStop to lure wild Pokemon to that area. They benefit everyone around the PokeStop.

Incense: To lure wild Pokemon to your location for 30 minutes. This benefits only the player.

Combat Power (CP): Measurement of a Pokemon's attack strength that affects how they perform in battle.

Eggs: Pokemon hatch from them after the required walking distance is fulfilled. The player does not know what type of Pokemon is in the egg.

Lucky Eggs: Activate them to double experience points for 30 minutes.

Egg Incubator: A device required to hatch the egg.

Candy: Acquired by capturing Pokemon, hatching eggs and transferring Pokemon to the Professor. They are used to power-up and evolve Pokemon.

Stardust: Acquired by capturing Pokemon and hatching Eggs, needed to power-up a Pokemon.

Razz Berries: Feeding Razz Berries to wild Pokemon allows players to catch them more easily.

Potions: Used to restore a Pokemon's health.

PokeCoins: In-game currency purchased using real money to buy items such as Poke Balls or Lure Modules.


This article was first published on Aug 11, 2016.
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