Pokemon Go all go yet again for Auckland man

Auckland man and Pokemon Go trainer Tom Currie has just kicked off another nationwide tour - this time raising money for charity. Photo/Tom Currie

Auckland man Tom Currie this time isn't giving up one job to fulfill his Pokemon Go dream, but four, as he begins another tour of the country.

Currie, 25, last year hit world headlines are quitting his barista job and taking up the job of a lifetime as a Pokemon coach for gaming company Gamer Sensei in the US.

This year he's not only given up his barista job, he's put his own motivational business on hold along with his work in a restaurant and as a drone video marketer.

He spent two months touring New Zealand, capturing all of the Pokemon Go, and now he's doing it all over again.

However, he's now doing it to raise money for mental health charity Live More Awesome.

"It is a game that has huge physical health benefits, leading you to explore your environment and go that extra mile to make a catch or battle a rival gym."

Once again he's sponsored by Inter City - which is taking him from Cape Reinga to Stewart Island "and everywhere in between' - and today landed in Whangarei.

"I've got about 30 different trains, buses, planes, ferries. The transport's all covered .. But I've only got $1000 to last two months."

While he's got transport sorted, he hasn't got any accommodation planned over the next two months - including tonight - so asked anyone who was keen to contact him on social media, or tom@passiton.nz or donate to his online patreon account.

Over the past year he's bought a camera, drone, lap top and wills tart, a videolog on YouTube, to document all his travels.

"Just anybody that's interested in the adventure I've undertaken. If it aligns with something they'd be interested in then get in touch and help out. With the YouTube channel I'd be happy to do shout outs and advertising and all that stuff."

He said despite the slowdown in publicity, Pokemon Go was still popular and had just reached 700 million downloads.

"It's got 65 million monthly players at this stage, worldwide, 700 million downloads they've just hit, the company that made it has made $1.2 billion in revenue the past 12 months, so it's still huge. It's still the number one mobile app of all time."

He believes the app will be even more popular this summer as new features are added, including player vs player battling and trading.

He said Pokemon Go still had its groups of fans in most towns, all of whom he hoped to catch up with during his travels.

As for the future, Currie hopes to one day make a living off his favourite game.

"I'll keep doing the YouTube channel so if that goes well then can source income from that.

"I would love to travel the world with it because there's Pokemon that you can only get in specific countries of the world ...so my dream, as a Pokemon trainer, is to travel overseas and catch all the other Pokemon."