How To Spot A Pokemon Go Player, In Five Easy Steps

Pokemon Go has the potential to bring Poke-nerds from around the world together — IRL. How do I know this for sure? I just chatted to no less than 30 wildly grinning Pokemon Go enthusiasts on my walk to the office. It was wonderful. If you’re wanting to catch up with your fellow Valor buddies (because why would you join any other team?) here’s how to spot them in the wild.

Image: Supplied

Get Yourself To The Gym

No, not your real gym (unless it’s also a Poke-gym — now that would be convenient). There should be one in your local area, and most people are finding they’re at regular “hangout” type places anyway — like McDonalds, major landmarks or the local pub. Walk to your nearest gym and just look around a bit — if you see someone flicking forefinger or thumb against their phone’s touchscreen, it’s probably them.

Look For Lures, Go To Them

This is the easiest way to find Pokemon Go players, guaranteed. Lures can be dropped at Pokestops and will attract wild Pokemon for any player in the area for 30 minutes. We’ve seen a bunch of lures clustered around Pokestops in Sydney’s Circular Quay, for example, and an equally clustered group of individuals standing around or walking around slowly — and stopping without warning — to re-stock with pokeballs and catch Magikarps by the dozen.

It’s All In The Posture

Players are easy to spot based on body language alone. They will be there, huddled in circles or alone, heads down or phones up, flinging Pokeballs. If they’re playing with the augmented reality turned on, you’ll see them moving their phone around like they’re taking a photo, but not trying to frame a photo. Like someone reading a map, a Pokemon Go player walks with their phone in front of them, turning as they go to see that reflected on the map.

It’s 10 Degrees And Raining

What are we doing with our lives? I mean, seriously. This is madness. I went for a lunchtime walk, realised it was raining after leaving the office, but walked anyway and stayed out probably longer than is sensible in horrible cold weather — just to go catch some Pokemon. Inappropriate dress code? That person is probably playing Pokemon Go and just doesn’t realise that they’re slowly dying of hypothermia.

Gang Signs Will Be A Thing

This is where we’re heading. Valor vs Instinct. Instinct vs Mystic. Mystic Vs Valor. Red shirts, yellow shirts, blue shirts, Officer Jenny cosplayers directing us in the street, Nurse Joy cosplayers in our hospitals. This is our future, and it’s everything we ever imagined.

Embrace it. This is your life now. Go, Pokemon, Go.


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