New Pokemon game dots the Fredericton landscape with virtual creatures

The new mobile game Pokemon Go isn't officially available in Canada yet, but it's easy to spot people in Fredericton with their smartphones searching for the Nintendo video game creatures.

It's thehot, newgaming phenomenon that taps into a smartphone's GPS to create an on-screen augmented reality, where the usercantrackPikachu and other Pokemon charactersaround the city.

Real-world sites, such as libraries and churches,morph intoPokemon gyms on thesmartphones, allowingusers totrain their monsters, a new way to play with the creatures that captivated them as kids.

Some people, frustrated the game is not yet available in Canada,are so determined to play they've risked malware threats by goingonline andcircumventing thegeoblockingtouse the app.

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PokemonGo isn't justdriving people to their phones, it's also sending them outside.Some are at it for hours at a time, including Fredericton'sNathan Blackmore.

There's a very specific look to someone who is playingPokemonGo.- Tyler Lifford

"I'm more or less kind of a shut-in, so this has been getting me out of the apartment and actually outside," he said.

Blackmoresaidheavoided the game on its U.S. release day,July 6, becausehe thought online traffic would be high.

However, since then, he saysthe game has taken over his daily routine.

He starts themorning in his apartment, where he opens the app on his phone and becomes engrossed in tryingto catchPokemon.

Later, he stops by some downtown Fredericton landmarksthat areknown by local Go players asPokemongyms, such as the local library.

Finding and capturing Psyduck or Jigglypuff can make a guy thirsty, so then there's astop for a morningcoffee and more play. All of which takes a toll on his phone's battery.

Blackmoresaidhe has been online looking for extended battery packs to combat the drain on his phone, among other issues.

"The other big problem with it right now is that we're not supposed to have it here, so the servers are a little bit shaky. So every now and then there's crashes and stuff like that," saidBlackmore.

Blackmoreis not the onlyPokemon hunter downtown. Others can be seen wandering around, clutching their phones while battles rage on-screen, at any hour of the day.

"Last night I noticed that there was a space down the road here lit up, like there was a bunch of events going on," he said.

"I went down there and there was a bunch of people just crowded around catchingPokemonand stuff at 2:30 a.m."

They walk thewalk

TylerLiffordworksas a guide at the Soldiers' Barracks in downtown Fredericton. He and his co-workers say they can instantly tell who is playing the game.

"There's a very specific look to someone who is playingPokemonGo and not someone who is checking GPS or answering a text," said Lifford.

"It's walk walk walk, stop, look at your phone, look at it a few times because you're in range of aPokemon."

He and his co-workers say they seem to work in a hotspot, because people walk near their area on their phones, and even inside the barracks to catchPokemon.

"I should probably ask someone so we could put up signs that say something like, 'Hey, tourists.We havePokemon,'" he said.