The world seems to have gone Pokemon crazy in recent weeks. You’d have to of been living in an underground cave to have not heard about it. For you cave-dwellers, and those who have been watching people of all ages trying to commute and cross roads without even peering up from their phones – here’s a quick explanation of what Pokemon Go is:

Pokemon GO is an app you can download onto your mobile phone. It uses a GPS signal to locate where you are, and tells you if Pokemon are nearby. Pokemon are fictional Japanese cartoon creatures. The aim is to catch all the creatures by travelling around, staring at your phone. If you want to know more, here is a complete guide.

Great! Now you’re all clued up! Here’s how you can catch Pokemon whilst dating…

1. No more, “Sorry, I’m washing my hair…”

We’ve all heard the classic pick-up lines more times than you can shake a stick at: “Are you tired, because you’ve been running through my mind all day,” or “Do you come here often?”. We’ve heard them, and we’ve all suddenly realised that we definitely have plans for whenever that person is going to arrange a date with us… This is where Pokemon Go comes in. If someone sends you a message asking, “Would you like to catch water Pokemon at the beach with me tonight?” – it’s sure to stand out. Show that you’re not the typical person by using a unique and interesting date suggestion.

2. PokeStop, in the name of love

PokeStops are real life places of interest near you, where you can pick up loads of freebies to use in the game. So if you’re wondering where to meet, don’t go for the nearest restaurant or your local pub, check your phone for a PokeStop that is nearby to both of you. The randomness of the location will make your date unforgettable, plus freebies will be on offer. It’s a no-brainer. But we obviously still advise you meet at a public PokeStop, safe dating rules still apply- even when dating in a reality world.

3. Pika-Who are you?

First dates are all about getting to know your date, and finding out how compatible you are. You can ask the standard -“What do you work as?” and “What do you think of this weather?” and only get so far into knowing what’s going on inside their heads. Pokemon Go involves a lot of decision making. Watching how your date plays the game could actually tell you a lot about the person. Do they favour the scarier Pokemon? Or the cute ones? Are they happy to swap and get rid of the creatures they’ve caught, or are they sentimental? Most importantly – would they let you catch that rare one, or push you into a bush just to get it for themselves? Their PokeDecisions could make or break you…

4. All is fair in love and Pokemon

Even if you’re both running around catching Pokemon together, we can’t guarantee that you’ll be compatible. Eventually your battery will die, or your signal will go, or you’ll run out of Pokemon – and you’ll need to take your eyes off your phone screen and converse with your date. If you don’t really gel, and you never really want to see your date again – you’ve got loads of Pokemon to be your friends until your next date, and you haven’t spent anything – WIN WIN.

So don’t hog all those Pokeballs, or hang round PokeStops alone. Break convention and catch ’em all – together! At least until marbles or some other craze become fashionable again…

Until next time,

The Just Singles Team