By now you know that Pokemon Go is a game designed to have us walking around. This is a great concept that gets people active and out of their houses, but what if you can’t walk?

A little bit of backstory here: I have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, which causes a lot of dislocations (especially when walking) and essentially means that walking long distances is not possible for me. I typically use a wheelchair when I’m going grocery shopping, but I can’t propel it on cement because the hills and extra resistance causes injury to my shoulders. This makes Pokemon Go a constant struggle to me, but I’ve picked up some quick tips.

Catch Them All!
The game is designed to have you walk around your community or town to find Pokemon located there.

• Go for a Sunday afternoon drive. The best (and most obvious way) to catch Pokemon without walking is by driving. Of course, it should go without saying, DO NOT POKEMON GO AND DRIVE. So if you have a partner or friend willing to feed your need to catch them all, then having someone drive (slowly) around a community is your best way to snag some Pokemon. Otherwise, even just driving around like normal can sometimes yield results.
• Wheel around with the help of a friend. If you have access to a wheelchair but struggle to push it outside (like me) the other option is to invite some friendly people to play with you, and ask that one of them push you. This can be better than the driving, cause your helper can also play with you and therefore might be more inclined to help you out.
• Hop on a bus going nowhere. If driving or wheeling isn’t an option because of lack of help, then you could utilize public transportation. Catching pokemon on a faster moving vehicle is a bit more tricky, but not impossible, and you can even get some Pokestops if you’re quick about it. 
• Become a Pokemon magnet. With the help of a Lure, you can turn any Pokestop into a Pokemon magnet, collecting all the creatures nearby. In my experience, this is the best way to get the Pokemon to come to you, as most Pokestops are located in an area where there are plenty of little buggers you can catch. However, you usually don’t get lures until you are further leveled up. Of course, you can always buy some at the shop. If you’re stuck at your house, however, you can use incense for the same effect, and you start off the game with 2 incenses that last 30m each.
• Walk with breaks. If you’re like me, you probably already know this, it’s the oldest trick in the book. If you’re capable of walking short distances, with breaks, then chose an area with lots of benches or areas to sit down, and rest every time you reach a bench. This is another great time to use incense, and the plus side is that you might bump into other people playing too! I’d of course, caution that you only do this if it is not going to have long-term, negative effects on your body. 

Hatch Them All!
Hatching pokemon requires that you walk for a certain length of time, the game counts your steps and considers the speed at which you are going.

• Driving is always an option. Even though the game considers your speed and steps, there are still times that cars go slowly. So if you ever find yourself in the passenger side of a car as it goes through a parking lots or community, be sure to *bounce your phone up and down a little so it thinks you’re walking. It might be a small addition to your total mileage, but a little bit adds up eventually.
• Break out your wheels. This is an excellent opportunity to use that wheelchair we talked about. Same concept, if someone is pushing you, then the app can tell you are walking, bouncing your phone a bit can ensure that the phone thinks you are taking actual steps. If you’re just using your chair on a routine wheel around the store, then just place your phone in a bag or pocket that will get jostled quite a bit, this should also count towards your total steps taken.
  
• Never Turn The Game Off. We might not think about it much, but just walking around the house can help build up some egg-hatching abilities. So another good bet is to keep the game turned on and your phone in your pocket all day, that way those steps don’t go uncounted. If you’re worried about battery life, check out the app’s battery saver mode.

Troubleshooting.

I have unstable hands and throwing Pokeballs is difficult for me.
-You could try turning of AR, which makes it easier to catch the Pokemon on your phone as it keeps the screen more steady. Other than that, asking someone to go out with you and help you throw to catch them could help.

The music/sound effects trigger my anxiety/misophonia.
-I loathe having the music running, but luckily it’s easy enough to turn off those things in the settings menu.

AR makes me nauseas/motion sick/triggers my migraines.
-You can turn off AR for gym battles and catching Pokemon, which should help with these issues.

Let me know if you’d like me to add anymore tips to this list! I hope you have fun playing, and stay safe! 

*i have no definitive proof that bouncing your phone helps count towards your steps, but it’s what I’ve been doing and I have seen results. I know for a fact that the phone pedometer does think you’re bouncing is taking steps.