Trending: Pokémon invade Vox Media

Whether you've spent this week obsessively playing Pokémon Go, or are avoiding the gamers lingering and swiping on your street corner, Pokémon and their trainers are everywhere: at your favorite lunch spot, the mall, and the ballpark, around our Vox Media offices, and at one reporter's recent wedding.

At Vox Media, journalists have dissected the augmented reality-infused game from every angle to help us find these rare creatures among us and consider the broader implications of the Pokémon invasion. Because there's likely a Pokémon loose in your room right now — and we're here to tell you why.

• "What is Pokémon Go? Unlike previous Pokémon games, it's not for Nintendo's handheld consoles; it's a free download for Android and iOS devices. It also doesn't play at all like previous Pokémon games: Although the goal is still to catch 'em all, Pokémon Go is an augmented reality game — it mixes real-world elements with the game." [Vox.com's Pokémon Go, explained in 400 words, German Lopez]

• "This game is helping the idea of AR move mainstream, so you may stumble across references to it in places you didn't expect to. Like when Washington state's Department of Transportation tweeted out a plea so people wouldn't go ‘Pokémoning from behind the wheel.' Plus, Nintendo stock was up 10 percent Friday, thanks to the game's immediate popularity." [Recode's What is Pokémon Go and why is everybody talking about it?, Kurt Wagner]

• "To get to those Pokémon, you'll have to move your real, physical, human body. The avatar on screen will move in accordance with your position within the world itself. To walk in Pokémon Go, you have to walk in real life." [Polygon's Six Pokémon Go tips for the ultimate beginner, Allegra Frank]

• "All these points of interest in the Pokémon world are points of interest in your physical neighborhood, including parks, churches, memorials, post offices, murals, and more. In fact, if you switch on the ‘AR' (Augmented Reality) view, thereby connecting your phone camera, Pokémon will seem to appear right in front of you." [Curbed's Pokémon Go: The new mobile game taking cities by storm, Jenny Xie]

• "It's not hard to imagine a future in which enterprising retailers could pay a sum in exchange for becoming one of these hotspots, a la fashion brands getting in on celebrity mobile games to sell clothes. In the meantime, the lucky stores that are finding themselves overrun with Pokémon are already figuring out how to engage with players." [Racked's Pokémon Go has invaded Forever 21, Sephora, and every mall in America, Rebecca Jennings]

• "The Durham Bulls opened up their downtown ballpark to allow trainers to walk around and catch Pokemon. We could have done it at home, or in our own backyards, but this wasn't about actually catching them — it was about the experience. We were players of the same game, inside a stadium and none of us were athletes." [SB Nation's Pokémon Go helped me meet 100 new friends at a baseball stadium, James Dator]

• "Not everyone is loving it, though: Palmer's Fresh Grill in Lexington, Kentucky posted a ‘No Pokémon Go Players' sign after a number of users wandered into the restaurant in search of Pokémon: ‘We had somebody try to walk in the kitchen.'" [Eater's How restaurants are dealing with Pokémon Go mania, Whitney Filloon]

• "It's an incredibly enticing premise; restaurants, bars, and stores are already paying money to plant lures for players, and the results have so far been incredible. Niantic is well-positioned to unveil a sponsored location feature." [The Verge's Your next Pokémon Go gym battle may be at a sponsored location, Kwame Opam]