Pokemon Go has swept the globe, including here in Decatur. And why wouldn’t it?
At it’s core, Pokemon Go is an urban game. One that encourages walking (to hatch eggs and catch pokemon) and density (the more people, the more Pokemon).
And if you don’t play (here’s a tutorial to get you going), you might be surprised that it also subtlety raises the profile of public art in communities. How? Because, more often than not, “Pokestops” are painted murals, statues and monuments around town. So while the Old Courthouse isn’t a Pokestop (a place to collect Pokeballs and Potions), many of the Living Wall murals around town are. Kinda cool, I’d say.
As such, Decatur is a pretty good place to play the game. We may not have the density of downtown Atlanta or Midtown to catch a Dragonite or a Snorlax (I know, non-players are now wondering what the heck I’m babbling on about), but we have great sidewalks, public art galore and plenty of places to put up your feet and battle with your friends. (Not to mention a certain park that’s currently a “nest” for the most popular Pokemon of all.)
That’s a big reason why you see people playing the game all over the city right now.
So, let’s get right down to it. Fellow Pokemon Go trainers, where are the best places to catch Pokemon in and around Decatur? Where are your favorite gyms?
This should be an interesting thread. 🙂
I have no idea what any of the terms mean, but my kids favor Glenlake Park and Mason Mill Park for their Pokemon hunting.
Raging burrito was pretty rocking yesterday.
You can sit at the bar at Universal Join in Oakhurst and hit two Pokestops and a gym without leaving your stool.
Hard to beat that.
The dog park in Oakhurst appears to be an Electabuzz nest. I see them there regularly.
No Electabuzzes for a few days now. It’s all Pinsirs now which are not nearly as cool.
Yeah, I think it flipped from one to the other with the latest update.
On my list of things that seem fun, but I will never get around to do, is mapping all of the Gyms and Poke Stops in Decatur. Then perhaps routes that one could walk/bike that optimize the number of pokestops one encounters. Would also be cool to perhaps re-map/correct some of them and share with Niantic. For example, Big Tex does not need to be a stop any more, but could be moved to something nearby. There is also a Gym that is a little library that is in someones front yard and is also on a deadend street. Not sure I would like that if there where my house. There is also a Gym in that Picnic shelter that you really can not reach from the street, and requires walking up to it on private property. I do not have a specific spot I like, but trolling around the streets where the creeks are – lots of magicarp which can evolve. Ghastly seems to be at Parkwood Park gym often.
Here’s a few of my own observations:
There’s Pikachu nest in Glenlake Park. I think a lot of folks know this already. I’ve caught him by the bridge near the Tennis Center twice, but I know other folks have found him elsewhere around the northside of the park.
There’s a Psyduck nest in Hidden Cove Park near the Harold Byrd Dr entrance. There are also often Magikarp and Slowpokes down there pretty reliably.
There was a Sandshrew in the Toy Park for a while back a few days ago, but I haven’t seen it there recently.
Glenlake? It’s being renamed Pikachu Park.
I find the lunch hour downtown to be a total disappointment. Its only good for loading up at all the pokestops. Rattata and pidgies galore but not the heyday it used to be before recent updates. I am sad.
Are we sure that Pokémon Go isn’t a secret plot by an evil empire to distract us or turn us all into lemmings while they quietly take over the country?
I for one would welcome out new Pokemon overlords.
If they give me Mewtwo, I’ll let them.
I’ve been told the library, the rec center and Decatur Presbyterian are all PokeStops.
Access Atlanta had a story in June with a link to a crowd sourced google map of all the stops and gyms. For awhile the map was also linking to specific “nest” locations if you need a particular Pokemon. Here’s the link to the map:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1hT8h1XPpN4JSPrU6deknPLq3x6g
As for me, the latest update killed the convenient nearby spawn points. Lunch at Willy’s is convenient as a Pokestop and minor catch point, otherwise Emory Village is a decent area to catch stuff.
OMG, your still here! You haven’t commented in over a year PMcG. (I just checked.)
It’s even better than finding a 3000 CP Dragonite in the wild!
Awe, I feel so loved! Thank you!
I’ve been lurking, DM is on my daily read list.
🙂
So DM has been tracking us all! Perhaps this plot to overtake us all belongs to him!
I can’t believe I’m just now seeing this post. I can neither confirm nor deny that this has something to do with Poke-hunting.
In the CoD the most active location is the square. The number of people and lures affects this and if you want the greatest density of stops and ‘mon, that’s it.
If you’re trying to efficiently incubate (aka “walk”) your eggs and pick up items at pokestops, a loop that roughly covers Leon’s, Twain’s, the square, and if you’re really ambitious, TDS and the toy park is a good route.
The cemetery (sorry Mr Billingsley) has 10 stops and gym. PSA: Please take a second to consider the significance of each of those stops though; they all have a story to tell. Not many Pokemon there, though.
Medlock Park has several stops but I’ve not found many interesting pokemon there. Same with Deepdene. Mason Mill is very active. It’s now a Pinsir nest to the point of being annoying, but there’s lot’s of others there too.
Lullwater seems to have nests of Magicarp and Goldeen on the paved road along the lake, but otherwise is quiet.
Kirkwood village is active when it’s busiest with people.
The hands down, absolute craziest place to go (nearby) is Emory Point across from the Clifton CDC. So many will spawn at once (and a few rare-ish ones, too) that it becomes a little stressful ;). And I’ve only been there in the morning when there were no lures active!
There are alot of theories out there about what causes Pokemon to spawn. Some say stop/gym density, others believe it has a relationship to Ingress ( the game that Pgo is based on) portals. My experience is that it’s as simple as trainer (player) density. Go where the people are!