Side effects
Man loses 25 pounds while chasing Pokemon,
Roberto Vazquez may have to change his business cards to: “Photographer by day, Pokemon Master by night.”
Vazquez, 24, of Toronto is the unofficial North American Pokemon Go champion, having bagged all 142 Pokemon characters in the wildly popular augmented-reality game.
Players have a limited time to capture the mythical creatures once they pop up on their phone screens, and no one apparently was faster than Vazquez.
Vazquez has two more goals in the Pokemonsphere. One is to get his walking and hiking total in the game up to 1,000 kilometres; it’s now at 266.
The other goal is to hunt the rare Farfetch’d bird in a trip this autumn to Asia.
The Farfetch’d is only found in Asia in the Pokemon world. It’s an angry looking wild duck that uses a sprig of green onion as a sword. “I’m planning to travel for work,” Vazquez says. “I’ll try to hit two birds with one stone.” Here are six hunting tips from the GTA’s Pokemon Master:
Get in shape You don’t have to be an Olympian to bag Snorlaxes, Venusaurs, Bulbasaurs and Charmanders, but fitness definitely helps. While chasing the mythical beasts, Vazquez shed 25 lbs. over 3 1⁄ weeks,
2 beginning on July 8.
That’s partly explained by how his hunting carried him over 266 kilometres, sometimes running and hiking for 40 kilometres in a day.
“I’m not in the best shape,” Vazquez says. “Once you do it, you do get a little better.
“You could be running an hour straight without really noticing.”
Avoid lone-wolf tactics If you see a crowd milling about glancing at their phones, pay attention. If they go racing by you, join the pack. Vazquez also spent time on online Pokemon Go forums, and chatting with other virtual hunters on Facebook and Reddit, looking for tips on what characters are likely to appear where when.
“You have to go out there and talk to people,” Vazquez says.
Learn patience One of Vazquez’s virtual hunting expeditions involved camping out at Allan Gardens for close to three hours. Another time, he was at the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal site until 4 a.m. “At nighttime they appear more often,” Vazquez says. “You would have to travel with flashlights. It’s almost like a camp-out.”
Consider your service provider If your smartphone goes stupid, you’re out of the game.
“A great tip is to have a great service provider because certain areas in city will not have coverage,” Vazquez advises. “It definitely sucks when you travel hours to a well-known location to find out there is no service and you cannot play.”
Pack accordingly You could be sitting in the woods with the coyotes for hours, so pack accordingly. That meant water, fruit and vegetables for Vasquez.
Wear something you might wear to the gym. Be sure your shoes are comfortable.
Be a good Pokecitizen That means don’t be a nuisance to a neighbourhood. Some Pokemon Go hunters have been sued, Tasered or even shot. Others have just triggered complaints, such as some enthusiasts who have gathered around the ferry terminal.
Pick up your garbage and be polite to the non-Pokemon community, Vazquez says. “You want to be respectful of the people around you and the city as well.”