Players Find Pikachu and Empty Gyms While Playing Pokémon GO at Area 51

Some of the people behind the independent gaming site Fraghero traveled to the legendarily secretive military base at Area 51 in Nevada to play Pokémon GO. They played it all along the Extraterrestrial Highway, the road leading to Area 51, which features alien-themed roadside attractions and stops. Many of these stops were actually PokéStops and Gyms. Surprisingly, most of the Gyms were unoccupied. Apparently not everyone is playing Pokémon GO. Or, maybe the government has been keeping those gyms empty for a reason! Makes you think.

Fraghero’s intrepid explorers found plenty of Pokémon near Area 51, including Ponyta, Pikachu, Abra and, of course, Pidgey. They stopped at the famous Little A’Le’Inn, as seen in the films Paul and Independence Day. They once again found empty gyms, which they took over as they passed through.

They drove all the way to the back gate of Area 51, but didn’t find any PokéStops or Gyms there. You can see the rest of the pictures from their journey here. They urge caution to anyone trying to do the same thing.

“Don’t try to do this, we were extremely careful and didn’t break any rules, not to mention our reporter is an ex-military veteran,” they wrote. “We won’t be responsible if you end up being detained or worse.”

Let’s be real: they’ve seen too much. They’re probably on a government watch list now.