Amidst the global craze surrounding the Pokemon Go, a New Zealander has become the first individual to become a full time Pokemon player.

Quitting his job, New Zealander Tom Currie has become a full time hunter of Pokemon.

Describing his now daily routine to The Guardian, Currie said that he packs a rain jacket, fills a flask with coffee and cut lunch in his backpack after which he heads into the wilderness to hunt Pokémon each morning. Since the game was launched, this has become his daily routine come rain, hail, or snow.

With the aim of capturing all of the Pokémon released on smartphone game Pokémon Go last week, the 24-year-old Kiwi quit his job in Auckland last week to embark on a two month tour of New Zealand.

Currie has caught Pokémon at every stop and in less than a week, has already visited six South Island towns. He has already booked 20 bus trips around New Zealand to catch Pokemons. Of the 151 Pokemon released for the game, so far he has captured 90 of the 151.

Currie captured Dragonair, Scyther and Jynx in the Kaikoura Ranges on the east coast of the South Island. He has also managed to seize water-dwelling Goldeen in the rough seas off the wild west coast.

“I wanted to have an adventure. I have been working for six years and I was desperate for a break. And Pokémon gave me the chance to live that dream,” Currie said.

While being exhilarating, Currie’s adventure has also been an exhausting one in the one week that he has been playing the game. He sleeps deeply now because of the “miles and miles” he walks each day, he says and has hunted till 3am for POkemon on occasions.

“I think the most exciting experience so far was in Sumner, Christchurch, which has become a hot spot for Pokémon hunters,” Currie said.

“There were about 100 people there hunting. And some of these people would usually be shut up at home and really reclusive. Hunting for Pokémon is bringing them into the real world. It was such a buzzy atmosphere, when someone spotted a rare Pokémon they would shout out to alert the crowd,” he says describing his experience.

Sleeping on friend’s couches or in crowded backpacker dorms, Currie’s journey so far has been done on the cheap.

Offering to take him to remote parts of the country to hunt for rare Pokémon he has been approached by various transport companies as his Pokemon trip has piqued the nation’s interest.

Including messages from Ireland, India, Canada and the US, Currie has also received support from around the world.

“Tom is a very spur-of-the-moment, independent kid, he always has been. His nana and I don’t understand the game but I remember him loving it in his childhood. I am just glad he is out enjoying his life and seeing so much of New Zealand. I back him 100%.,” said his mother, Tania Dobbs.

(Adapted from The Guardian)

Categories: Creativity, Uncategorized