You are reading your free article for this month.
Members-only
Last week, Business Insider talked to Brooklyn native Nick Johnson, who is the first man to go public about having caught all 142 Pokémon in Pokémon Go currently available in the U.S. However, we have since been approached by Oahu-based U.S. Army serviceman Robert Wallace, who claims to have one-upped Johnson by catching every Pokémon available worldwide, totaling 145 Pokémon.
While the first generation of Pokémon includes 151 types, only 142 can be found within the U.S., with Farfetch’d, Kangaskhan and Mr. Mime each locked to the geographic regions of Asia, Australia and Europe, respectively. However, an alternate way of catching these three international Pokémon is by hatching eggs, the method by which Wallace was able to complete his Pokédex.
We connected with Wallace to find out more about his labor-intensive journey to becoming the very best, and some tips that you can incorporate into your journey to become more efficient at dominating your corner of the world.
1 of 3
2 of 3
3 of 3
Introduce yourself.
My name is Robert Wallace, I am currently living in Hawaii on the island of Oahu. I am in the U.S. Army and have spent five-and-a-half years of my life serving, with a short seven months left until my contract ends.
What motivated you to complete this impressive feat?
I was born in the ’90s. I have been waiting for this since the day I first held a Game Boy Grey from 1989. I remember playing Pokémon on it with my brothers when I was such a young child.
How much time and effort did you put into Pokémon Go on a daily basis?
Probably over 10 hours a day, from power-leveling Pidgeys to tracking down different Pokémon. So many downtown drives with my best buds. I work a hectic schedule but I find my time. I get up at about 5.30 a.m. and get ready for the day, before going outside and hitting the two PokéStops outside my house. Then I go to work until about 11:30 a.m. and then play during lunch. We have a great place on post that has three PokeStops, so I’ll grab a sandwich and go farm it out. Mostly Pidgeys there, but I have caught a few good ones. After work I cruise downtown and catch some Pokémon with my friend Ben. He is level 27 as well, but he just hasn’t caught them all yet. I do believe he has hatched a regional Pokémon though.
How many days did it take you to catch all 145 Pokémon?
It took me a while, I started playing since the day it came out (July 7) and I caught my last Pokémon two days ago (July 23), which was an Abra that I evolved into an Alakazam.
How many Pokémon did you catch in total?
I caught 2,376 Pokémon. Towards the end I would just go for the ones I needed, because I was tired of spending money on Pokeballs.
How much actual money did you spend on in-app purchases?
I spent a few hundred dollars on incubators but it was well worth it, because that is what allowed me to obtain the regional-locked Pokémon.
How did you get around these restrictions to catch the additional three Pokémon? Did you physically travel to different continents?
I got Tauros (restricted to North America) while visiting my family in Southern California. I was lucky enough to hatch the other three.
How many eggs did you have to hatch to get those three?
I have hatched over 200 eggs since I started and evolved over 350. I suppose I am just lucky. I actually have two Farfetch’d. One of them I got when I was just starting out. I didn’t know it was something special until I learned you could only get them by traveling or hatching them. All of them surprisingly came out of 5km eggs which I find weird. I would imagine they would be linked to the 10km eggs since they are rarer. Literally the only Pokémon I ever get out of 10km eggs are Aerodactyl and Onix. I have over 100 Onix candies.
Which was the hardest Pokémon to catch, and how did you do it?
The hardest Pokémon I have ever caught was a Dragonite. It took over 75 Great Balls to catch it. Boy am I glad I did, because it turned out to be a whopping 2,700 CP Pokémon. By far the most elusive Pokémon in my journey was Abra. Every time I would try to catch one it would run away. I had every Pokémon caught and only 55 Abra candies.
What are your plans now for Pokémon Go?
My plans are to ensure that I keep the word out that ‘yeah, it is a fun game, but it should be played safely.’ I would hate to see more people lose their life. It just isn’t worth the temptation. Other than that, I would really like to become sponsored so that when the second generation comes out, my friends and I can travel. We haven’t had the ability since we have been in the military, but now that we are almost out we can fulfill our own dreams.
Where are some of the best places to catch Pokémon in Hawaii?
The absolute best place to catch Pokémon in Hawaii is Lewers Street in downtown Waikiki. There are six modules near each other and you can catch tons of different types of Pokémon there.
Robert Wallace (Left)
TIPS
Be conscious and safe. Don’t drive and play, don’t cross the street. You can catch them all and do it without hurting anyone. I caught them all on an island for crying out loud! I hope to see more people climb the ranks as I have.
Save, save, save your stardust and candies until you level up. Once you get to level 20, you will catch plenty of Pokémon over 1,000 CP. I think I have over 90 that are that high myself, so it is best to farm out and wait until the big ones come per your level.
Use Pidgeys, Weedles and Caterpies to level up quickly. It only takes 12 candies and then you can toss the evolution and start again.
Make sure to hold onto rare duplicates because trading is coming soon and you never know what you could get for an extra that you have in your inventory.
Two hours before your gym timer runs out, start taking over other gyms. It’s the best time to drive around so that you can rack up 10, clear your timer and get your reward.
