Mateo is a character and feature introduced as a part pokemon goSeason of Timeless Travel in December 2023.
The Explorer can be found while playing Routes, and it gives players another way to exchange gifts with other people from faraway places – something that can prove useful for adding to your Vivillion collection.
Otherwise, this is an additional incentive to complete the Routes along with the search for the Sigard Cells.
Here how to exchange a gift with Mateo in Pokémon Goand why Mateo might not appear for you.
How to trade a gift with Mateo in Pokémon Go
Mateo is found using the Route feature. Routes introduced in the summer of 2023 can be found in the “Nearby” tab in the lower right corner of the map screen.
To find and exchange a gift with Mateo, you have to go to the end of the route. From there, Mateo will appear at the last PokéStop, just like Rocket Grunts and Leaders.
Image: Niantic / The Pokémon Company via Polygon
Interacting with a PokéStop will allow you to interact with Mateo. From there, you can send a gift found on your route and then choose from several gifts to open one in return from another trainer elsewhere in the world, giving you the ability to pin a postcard from another country.
Image: Niantic / The Pokémon Company via Polygon
While the exact mechanics of gift trading are unclear, it is likely similar to Wonder Trade in the main games, in that trainers who gift Mateo are actually trading gifts with another trainer at random.
Why doesn’t Mateo appear in Pokémon Go?
At the time of writing (Tuesday, December 5, the day of Mateo’s debut), maybe he is spawns only from 10am local time. This is in contrast to this feature’s Path to New Friendships special study (which tasks you with exchanging a gift with Mateo) that went live at midnight the previous day, so it could be a case of Niantic confusing things by not coordinating the two together.
Although it is not confirmed, but also possible Mateo does not spawn on every route. So you may need to go through multiple routes for Mateo to appear. This is similar to collecting Zygarde cells that only have a a chance appearing while walking Routes.
However, as with the Zygarde cells, it is possible that this “forces” Mateo to appear by closing and reopening the Pokémon Go app within a PokéStop radius can help. Give it a try — and if you’re not lucky, try another unique route to see if Mateo shows up.
