Gotta Catch ‘The One’: Pokémon Go Players Now Have Their Own Dating Service

It’s hard enough to meet someone out there. You might as well make sure they like cute, cartoony animals as much as you do.

On Wednesday, the first dating service revolving around Pokémon Go was launched. Pokédates allows you to meet other single people who share your interests – especially your love of a certain augmented reality mobile game.

Pokédates is part of Project Fixup, a larger, more traditional dating service. Signing up is straightforward: you answer a few questions about yourself and your dating preferences, and let the algorithm work its magic. The difference is that, in addition to going out for coffee or craft beer, you now have the option of going out to catch pokémon together.

The service’s website praises Pokémon Go as “arguably the best idea of the 21st century.” It also states: “While competitive, most users see more upside in collaboration and this game has been breaking societal barriers and making friends left and right.” Given the other examples of pokémon-enabled socialization we’ve been seeing, and the way the game gets you to explore your city, a dating service makes sense.

Signing up is free, but dates cost $20 per person (unless you use the promo code “POKEDATES2016” for a free first date). But considering the price of drinks and dinner these days, a pokédate seems like a pretty good deal – especially if you end up capturing someone’s heart.