A US state trooper came across a car pulled over along a busy highway. Thinking the driver was in distress, the officer approached to investigate, only to discover the motorist was playing Pokemon Go... on eight separate phones.

Washington State Trooper Sergeant Kyle Smith happened upon the odd scene, near Burien, south of Seattle, earlier this week. Upon asking the driver to roll down their window he noticed some eight phones placed in a custom holder made from what appeared to be styrofoam.

#PokemonDistraction Sergeant Kyle Smith contacted a vehicle on the shoulder yesterday evening. This is what was next to the driver! Playing #PokemonGO with EIGHT (8) phones! Driver agreed to put phones in back seat and continued his commute with 8 less distractions. pic.twitter.com/tgOr16CRlm — Trooper Rick Johnson (@wspd2pio) August 14, 2019

“I don’t know anybody to have eight phones so, obviously, he’s pretty serious about the game,” state trooper public information officer Rick Johnson, who shared a photo from the exchange, told USA TODAY.

The comments on Johnson’s tweet fell into roughly two categories: those debatingwhether the driver should have been issued a citation for parking on the shoulder in a non-emergency, and those who decried the driver’s apparently dangerous obsession with the wildly successful and viral game.

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“8 cell phones? How much is this game (obsession) costing this guy every month? Heck of a drain on $$ and productivity I’m sure,”wrote one user, echoing the sentiments of many on the thread.

Others took the opportunity to highlight that this was far from the worst case of Pokemon Go passion.

This is what world domination looks like pic.twitter.com/tOt31DwgGf — MYSTIC7 (@MYSTIC7) March 10, 2019

The trooper decided to show mercy for the parked Pokemon player, as the motorist wasn’t playing while driving, and let them go with a warning.

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