Your substitute for not using a phone on public transportation can literally be done on a phone or tablet.
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What about people who read on their phone? E-books are vastly more convenient for me, both buying myself and reading what my family members have purchased (getting a pretty giant library going on our kindle account). I wouldn't assume everyone on their phone on public transportation is playing some mindless game.
Emulator -> Pokemon Lightning Yellow.
Basically it's FireRed/LeafGreen but with only 1st generation of Pokémons. And you can catch them all without needing to trade them to friends in order to get them evolved.
Love "heroes charge", very similar to WoW characters. Give it a try.