Wrinkles the Clown, a deranged performer that can be hired to scare people as a prank, is seen stalking unsuspecting Pokemon GO players in southwest Florida.

Over the past couple of years, a creepy performer known as Wrinkles the Clown has become somewhat of an Internet legend. Paid by parents to stalk and scare their unsuspecting children, Wrinkles has become famous for his disturbing antics in southwest Florida. And now thanks to Pokemon GO, Wrinkles is finding additional employment, as he has been spotted stalking players of the popular augmented reality mobile game.

Some Pokemon GO players in Florida have seen Wrinkles the Clown hiding in some foliage attempting to catch wild Pokemon. It's unclear at this point if it is the same individual seeing Wrinkles, or if multiple parents have sent the unnerving clown out to scare their kids. Alternatively, it's possible that Wrinkles is savvy to Pokemon GO's incredible $200 million haul, and is looking to get some free advertising by associating himself with the game.

In any case, Pokemon GO players in the southwestern Florida region should keep an eye out for Wrinkles the Clown. In fact, players in North America are more likely to bump into Wrinkles than they are to find Pokemon's own clown/mime combo, Mr. Mime, as he is one of the four region exclusive Pokemon in the game. Some may find this frustrating, but at least Mr. Mime and the other region exclusive creatures can still be hatched from eggs.

While some may find Wrinkles the Clown to be a funny prank, it's easy to see how it could take a turn for the worse. Some people may try to attack Wrinkles if they become seriously scared for their own well-being, and since Pokemon GO sometimes encourages people to walk into areas of questionable safety to catch Pokemon or battle Pokemon Gyms, that added stress could create a rather toxic situation.

So far, there have been no major issues with Wrinkles the Clown following around Pokemon GO players. If anything bad did happen, though, it would just be yet another controversy for the game, which has been the center of numerous controversies since it launched last month. From players being hit by cars to others being robbed at PokeStops, Pokemon GO is no stranger to potentially dangerous situations, so hopefully Wrinkles and his targets stay safe.

In the meantime, it will be interesting to see how Niantic continues to address the game's safety concerns. It's already allowing people to request PokeStop removal, which could help players stay safe by not giving them incentive to venture into dangerous areas, but it's clear that more can still be done.

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Pokemon GO is available now for iOS and Android mobile devices.

Source: Now Loading