Although it’s nearly 18 years old at this point, the Pokémon theme song still captures the spirit of the latest Pokémon craze, Pokémon Go. Most fans know it by heart. Nick Johnson does. The tech worker by day - Pokemaster by night got hooked as a kid, getting his fix from Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue.
“ I caught 'em all in both Red and Blue even though they're basically the same game,” he told iDigitalTimes. “I liked it so much I played it twice.”
Currently, Johnson is among the millions playing Pokémon Go. Unlike the rest of us, though, Johnson has actually caught them all. Well, most of them. There are still legendary Pokémon coming to Pokémon Go as well as specific region-locked types. But of the 142 Pokémon in his current Pokedex, John is 142 for 142. And he isn’t phased by the peanut butter-and-jealous fans looking to “um, actually” his achievement.
“I wrote a book that’s available online so I'm used to ignoring the haters. It didn't bother me, if anything I thought it was funny that people thought what I'd done was impossible,” he said.
Johnson is happy to prove the impossible is possible, provided fans are willing to put in the time, money and effort. It’s certainly not easy to catch ‘em all, but Johnson didn’t do anything superhuman. He spent money on the game, for example. Pokémon Go is free, which is great, but the microtransactions on offer can help you get to Johnson’s level a bit quicker. He estimates putting “a couple hundred dollars” into Pokémon Go which sounds like a lot but he says isn’t uncommon among popular mobile games. He advises aspiring Pokemasters to invest in Lucky Eggs early and then move on to Egg Incubators.
“Lucky eggs help you level up, a good chunk of my money was on Lucky Eggs to level up but once I got into the late 20s leveling slowed down,” he said. “The only real thing that helps after that is Egg Incubators. They cost about a dollar each and work out to about $0.33 a hatch. That would be my recommendation if you're going to spend money. That's the best way to do it, to hatch some of the rarest Pokémon.”
Despite his dominance catching Pokémon, Johnson said his talents don’t translate into competition. He doesn’t bother with gyms, and thinks the combat and player interaction in Pokémon Go still has a long way to go.
“I kind of ignore the gyms right now. The feature doesn't work that well because it's impossible to hold a gym. Even if I put my strongest Pokémon there and a couple other people do it's easy to gang up and take them down.” he said. “A lot more group events or social events built into the game would be cool. I think there's talk about trading which would be awesome, or one-on-one battles or team battles would also be a lot of fun. Raids or group events around the legendary Pokémon that aren't in the game yet with the three teams working together or against each other to get those legendary Pokémon.”
Johnson loves the community around Pokémon Go and is happy to share his advice and his credit. He freely admits he wouldn’t have been able to achieve his goal without talking to fellow players. He cites the theme song when talking about how he’s been so successful.
“ As the original song goes ‘You teach me and I'll teach you,’” he said. “That definitely applies here.”
Want to be the very best? Check out our many helpful guides!
Beginner's Guide
Leveling/Evolution Guide
Gym Guide
Healing Guide
Battery Saver Guide
Price Guide
- As Close To Living Pokémon Fantasy As It Gets
- Active And Engaging Experience
- Lots Of Mon And Events
- Battles Aren't What Fans Expect
- Very Grindy
