First dates are awkward. What the heck are you supposed to talk about when you know only 300 characters about your date? I was tired of meeting for a drink with Internet randos night after night at that same bar down the street, so I decided to see if Pokémon Go could help transform a date.
Pokémon Go uses the GPS and camera in your phone. The pocket monsters pop up anywhere and everywhere. You go to a monster’s location and swipe your screen to catch them.
I theorized that Pokémon Go would be perfect for a first date. People bond better in unconventional situations, and playing is social and active. It’s a unique way to interact with destinations. If you’re new to a city or have lived there for years, Pokémon Go can lead you to discover new places. Plus, activity-based dates keep the “getting to know you” conversation flowing. For example:
Dater 1: “I would have thought this place was just a donut shop and not a pop-up restaurant if it weren’t for Pokémon Go.”
Dater 2: “My kuy teav is so umami. Do you want to see a picture of me at Angkor Wat?”
Dater 1: “The Khmer Rouge sucked.”
Dater 2: “This is the best conversation about genocide I’ve ever had on a Tinder date.”
Dater 1: “Thanks again, Niantic.”
I matched with Ryan on Bumble. He’s an Asian software engineer who went to Pomona College like me and recently arrived from Colorado. We met at a lounge in Japantown to pregame. With Pokémon Go loaded up on my phone, I was ready to meet my dream nerd — as in, the kind of nerd who goes outside.
The ice was broken quickly. It felt like I’d known Ryan for a while and hadn’t just met him. I laughed a lot. We spent most of our time trying to take pictures with Pokémon. Ryan said he liked how focused I was on taking Pokémon pictures because “there was less pressure to entertain, and dudes are really task orientated.” My bossy side came out. We shared a common goal.
We didn’t find a dead body on our date. Nobody asked us to stop playing in a cemetery. We were not almost abducted or lured into a robbery. We didn’t walk into a post. We were not stabbed. We didn’t trespass in a church that’s now a house. We didn’t play while driving and need the National Safety Council to remind us that “[n]o race to capture a cartoon monster is worth a life.” We never made it to level 5, and I still don’t know what takes place in the Pokémon gyms.
I was disappointed that everything in Japantown closes so early because I wanted to play Pokémon Go with the Harajuku Girls at New People. We heard some karaoke and watched people wearing Benihana hats drink Smurf-blue cocktails. Those people were taking a photo of themselves with a Pokémon, and we took a picture of that because it was soooo meta.
Maybe I’ll play Pokémon Go on all my first dates, with my summer intern and my mom. I’ll use all the best Pokémon Go pickup lines to pick up cute guys when I’m out and about. I definitely want to try to take a sneaky photo of my boss with a Pokémon and not get canned. I hope Pokémon Go doesn’t make me a big asshole. Or maybe I’ll regress back to being the only person who plays AlphaBetty.
I found Pokémon — but not love — on the date. Pokémon can’t keep me warm at night. Pokémon Go and chill, anyone?
