Above: “I got a Pidgey!” is overheard in the crowd of Pokémon trainers at the popular Departure Bay Beach Pokéstop.
By contributor Sarah Packwood
Pokémon Go, a mobile game released this past July, seems to have everyone, young and old, playing to be “the very best Pokémon trainer”. Players are required to choose from three teams to play on: Instinct, Valor and Mystic, each represented by their own team colour (yellow, red, and blue, respectively). From there, players carry on to catch and evolve Pokémon, and to battle or train in gyms. 
Pokémon can appear in any setting, so the game has players looking for Pokémon anywhere and everywhere. These are a few snapshots from around town of wild Pokémon and trainers pursuing them.
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- A comprehensive map of all the Pokéstops on campus. (Photo by Spenser Smith)
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- A Drowzee celebrates Pride 2016 in downtown Nanaimo.
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- This Pokémon trainers yellow hat clearly gives away what team she plays on.
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- Father and three sons cash in on the Pokémon lure set up at the Frank Ney statue Pokéstop.
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- When asked if she was playing Pokémon Go, this person replied: “I don’t even know what Pokémons are.”
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- “I got a Pidgey!” is overheard in the crowd of Pokémon trainers gathered at the popular Departure Bay Beach Pokéstop.
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- A little boy keeping a couple paces ahead of his dad in his eagerness to play Pokémon Go.
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- A Krabby waits for his bus home after a long day of studying at VIU.
All photos by Sarah Packwood.
