Pokemon Go players flame “creepy” task in-game

Pokemon GO players are pushing back on a task that is taking them near a playground.

Pokemon GO can take players to a lot of different locations, but a new task is making players question whether the rewards are worth the risks.

In most towns and cities, landmarks are turned into PokeStops and gyms, where players can gather items, find eggs, and battle for control of the gym. Other locations can be popular locations for Pokemon to spawn, so crowds will often gather to try and catch a Shiny.

But while PokeStops and gyms typically take players to civic monuments or parks, a new task is taking players somewhere else. And it’s making Pokemon GO players a bit uncomfortable.

Pokemon GO task takes players to playgrounds

Niantic, The Pokemon Company

Gyms and PokeStops in Pokemon Go seem to be anything but safe havens, thanks to this glitch.

Pokemon GO is now directing players to head to a playground in order to complete a task. By scanning the kids playground at the designated location, players are rewarded with a TM.

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Despite this incentive, players took to Reddit to discuss whether a TM was really worth the implication that a (presumably) grown person would get when scanning a playground with their phone. Reddit user Kanataku expressed the trepidation quite aptly by saying they would “like to skip prison,” presumably for spying on young children.

No thanks, I would like to skip prison byu/Kanataku inpokemongo

Other Redditors chimed in the comments section, with one even cheekily reminding Kanataku to remember “to ask the kids if they want some rare candy.” Hopefully, they won’t be offering the rare candy from a windowless van.

Although this was likely an oversight by developer Niantic, it does demonstrate a problem that many Pokemon GO players face. Often, important in-game landmarks can be inaccessible or located in awkward locations like local schools. Tying in-game rewards to such locations can cause trouble not only for the players but for bystanders.

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It may have gotten a chuckle from those players on Reddit, but certainly parents in the area would prefer to not have strangers wandering around a playground. Even if they are just trying to collect a TM.