Why It Cost This Man $270 To Play Pokemon Go

Would you play Pokemon Go, even if it meant that you were breaking the law? Well that's exactly what one man in England did. Needless to say, the consequences were definitely not worth it.

According to a report from BBC, a man decided to break England's mandatory quarantine rules in order to find and capture Pokémon. The report states that the man "had driven from his home in Bedworth to look for the characters in Kenilworth." Even though the rule break was in his car, he was still slammed with a £200 (which comes out to roughly $270 USD) fine for violating the current lockdown rules in England. 

"Everyone has a part to play in ensuring the slow the spread of the virus. We would like to remind people they must not leave or be outside their home unless they have a reasonable excuse," a police rep said.

While entertaining, it should be noted that Pokémon Go is not a valid reason to break quarantine rules. Last year, another player in Italy was also punished for violating the country's quarantine restrictions when he went outside to play Pokemon Go with his daughter. Simply stating that he had "to hunt the Pokémon," law enforcement charged the man and sanctioned him for neglecting the lockdown.

In light of the current pandemic, Niantic — the developers behind the mobile app — made a handful of updates and changes to the game to make it accessible for players who are in lockdown. Many of these updates include halving the time it takes for eggs to hatch (which is usually determined by how many steps a player can walk), allowing players to battle from home, and increasing the amount of gifts PokeStops drop. Additionally, Niantic announced that it had plans to keep Pokemon Go's current global bonuses in place through June 2021.

"As always, we encourage you to be aware of your surroundings and follow guidelines from local health authorities when playing Pokemon Go." Niantic wrote in a statement. "As with all of our evolving adjustments this year, we hope that these recent changes will make it that much easier for you to enjoy Pokemon Go during these challenging times."

While these are definitely trying times for Pokemon Go players, if health experts are telling players to stay home, it's for the best. Going out to capture Pokemon during a pandemic is almost never worth the risk or potential fine. Even if it may be a shiny Pokemon.