Pokemon Go has been adding more and more new features, building on some of those they have previously released. One of these newest features is Mateo, who can appear on Routes. Mateo is an NPC (non-playable character) who can be seen on the map, similar to Team Rocket or those PvP characters we got to take on last year.
How do I find Mateo?
When I first started my search for Mateo, he spent some time avoiding me. It turns out, Mateo only has a chance to appear on your first walked route of the day. If you exit the Route, this will still count as your first and you will not be able to find him. He is specifically located at the very end of the Route, encouraging you to complete the entire thing to find him. If your Route ends with a Gym, you might not see him on the path at all but he might still be there. It’s worth tapping the Gym at the end of your route to see if he appears. If not, then he’s just not around.
What does Mateo give?
Mateo’s favourite thing to do – according to him – is exchange gifts. Someone else has given him a gift, and he is willing to trade it for one that you have! You can only give him gifts from stops on the route you just took, so you will need to spin stops on your Route to have something to give him. You can add a sticker as well. The gift you get back is just like a normal gift, but you might get a new postcard you have never seen before or an egg from far away. You will also get the completion of a route reward.
Mateo currently has a quest line to introduce him to the game, which is one of the reasons why I have been looking for him! With the idea that you can give items from far away, there is a lot of speculation around wonder trading from across the world with Mateo – adding the ability to possibly trade with random Pokemon that others have given to Mateo to pass on. Who knows what the future holds?! But I, personally, am a huge fan of NPCs.
