Cut for NERD STUFF.

So Pokemon Go just came out. I’ve got it on my phone, finally, after being unable to download it from the Play store right away due to, I guess, some sort of bug (???) telling me my phone was incompatible when actually, the game runs just fine on it (aside from the massive server instability affecting everyone), and the site does say that it SHOULD meet all compatibility requirements.

I am pretty amazed at just how AWFUL the release was, honestly. It seems like they just rushed it out, with no announcement about what they were planning ahead of time. It looked like they were going for a soft release in Australia and New Zealand first, but then, I guess because of the MASSIVE PRESSURE coming from the U.S. and Japan, it was released there the next day. It is still not available in EU regions. Also, anyone who is trying to log in with a Pokemon Trainer Club account will live to regret it, because however bad Niantic’s servers are, TPC’s servers are worse. Let’s not forget the 3,000 years they took to release PokeBank.

The game itself is a great concept, but honestly, the way they implemented it is supremely lazy. It’s still quite buggy, and it needs a serious overhaul to accommodate rural players better. I have a lot of complaints about the way that pokemon spawn, and how it is not even vaguely clear which direction you need to go to find them unless they are already very close to you. That said, even though this game really feels like an early access beta, I’m still having fun with it.

I’m going to test this game out while hiking soon, although so far the only points of interest I’ve found have been located in they city, aside from one church (which I got an egg from). This game REALLY REALLY favors churches (ugh) and graveyards, for some reason. I haven’t gone to a graveyard to look for Ghastly yet, but I probably will. I also caught an Eevee hanging around outside a convenience store today, so that’s cool. Saw some Abra/Kadabra and a Hitmonlee around the city too, but I couldn’t stop to catch them.

I hope this game expands to include all pokemon eventually. Back when I first heard about this game, BECAUSE I AM A HUGE NERD, I actually wrote down all the pokemon I would expect to find in my area. I’ll share this list for your amusement—updated with a few Pokemon revealed from Sun & Moon. I also noted what’s already in Pokemon Go.

Without sharing my actual location, these are the pokemon I would expect to find living wild in my general area:

• Pidove should be the most common bird by far
• Murkrow should also be around, as well as Pidgey (check)
• Cottonee
• Stunky (we have skunks everywhere)
• Zigzagoon
• Meowth, Skitty, Glameow, Purrloin, Espurr, or Litten (pick some) to represent the ridiculously over-abundant feral cat population
• Some dog pokemon I guess, whatever really. There’s no coyote-like pokemon yet. We have Vulpix here already though.
• Venonat’s line, Butterfree’s line, Beedrill’s line (check to all)
• Hoothoot, Zubat (check)
• Maractus, Cacturne
• There are certain kinds of desert plants here that look like SO MUCH like Exeggcutor, even though they aren’t coconuts
• Helioptile, Scraggy, maybe Salandit, maybe even Charmander
• Joltik, Spinarak
• Skorupi
• Venipede
• Ekans (check)
• A roadrunner pokemon that doesn’t exist yet, which should be fairly common
• A hummingbird pokemon that doesn’t exist yet, too
• Sandshrew (check), Rattata (check), Diglett (check)
• Bunnelby, Buneary, or the Nidorans (check)
• Solrock/Lunatone
• Probably several other rock and ground types (check—lots of Geodudes and Cubones)
• We should have LOTS of fossil pokemon, as well as Unown in the more archaeological areas near here—it is something this region is known for. I also think Natu/Xatu and Sigilyph would be appropriate in some of them.
• Ponyta since there are lots of horses around (check), ditto Skiddo/Gogoat, Miltank, and Mareep
• Torchic’s line should be here too, since there are lots of people who keep chickens. (There are also peacocks on nearby farms, but there’s no peacock pokemon yet.)
• There really ought to be a fire/grass pepper pokemon, that would be VERY appropriate to this area
• Psyduck, Ducklett, and Yanma should be found near local duck ponds
• And most unfortunately, Kricketot/tune—which I do not want but surely they will invade my house anyway, and give me the Insomnia ability.

As for pokemon that should NOT be in my region: there should NEVER be any ice types around here, it doesn’t get cold enough—except for maybe Vanillish at restaurants. I expected to have to travel to find most water types (other than the starter Squirtle), but apparently, sometimes Krabby can (most inappropriately) be found near my house. Our sad local river should have some Trubbish in it, and sometimes in the winter, it might be all dried up and have a herd of Gogoat/Skiddo in it (yes, I’ve actually found it like that before).

Anyway, enough of that. Feel free to talk about Go, Sun & Moon, or whatever other Pokemon thing if you want.