Team Rocket finally becomes threatening in Pokemon Go glitch

Team Rocket is finally leaving its comedic roots behind, becoming a scary foe in Pokemon Go thanks to a bug that’s causing them to gang up on innocent trainers.

In Pokemon Go, most Team Rocket members are found hanging out at PokeStops, challenging any player who comes for a spin. You can also encounter Team Rocket Grunts and Leaders in balloons that fly across the map.

Unlike the Pokemon Go player avatars, which are free to roam the overworld, Team Rocket soldiers don’t move on the map. The exception to this was discovered by a user on the Pokemon Go Reddit, who uploaded a screenshot showing their player character surrounded by grunts.

Team Rocket bug makes them surround Pokemon Go players

Naturally, a freak occurrence like this prompted all kinds of humorous responses from the fanbase.

“You walked into the wrong neighborhood op,” one user wrote, while another joked, “We’re trying to reach you about your car insurance.”

“Your character is for the streets now … it’s best to cut your losses and move on,” another user joked, while one said, “Bro got so mad he lost, he pulled up with the game lol.”

It’s a shame that this Team Rocket activity is the result of a glitch, as roaming Pokemon trainers is a mechanic that would drastically improve Pokemon Go, especially if they had a wider selection of ‘Mons than the regular Team Rocket cycles.

Then again, getting surrounded by Team Rocket is probably a little too threatening to have in a game aimed at kids. The Team Rocket that faced Ash Ketchum in the anime may have been goofs, but they’ve been portrayed as more fearsome foes in other forms of media, and being pursued by them across the Pokemon Go overworld like Nemesis from Resident Evil 3 could make them too scary.