74-year-old Pokemon GO player spends time catching rare pocket monsters using 64 phones

A recent post by the Instagram page @wealth spotlighted a 74-year-old Taiwanese man, Chen San-Yuan, playing Pokemon GO on 64 phones. He roams around the city with phones rigged to his bicycle in search of rare pocket monsters.

Pokemon GO players are dedicated to the collection of rare types. Community members have pledged strict commitment to the cause. So far, several stories globally show trainers beating all odds to catch a shiny or rare monster.

San-Yuan is an example of the seriousness with which franchise fans treat their engagement with the game. Eventually, it becomes a lifestyle.

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Pokemon GO player takes the internet by storm with an unorthodox method of collecting monsters

Chen San-Yuan was introduced to the mobile game by his grandson in 2016 when it was initially released. Since then, his commitment to the game and the cause of catching every rare pocket monster in the game has mushroomed.

In 2018, he upgraded the setup to eight phones and became a local celebrity known as the 'Pokemon GO grandpa.' He has since upgraded to the current 64-phone setup. It is mounted on a bicycle as he rides around town. The local legend has now gone viral.

Some monsters are notoriously hard to catch even in their regular form, which means the shiny versions are even rare. Playing the game on 64 phones simultaneously is an unconventional but effective way of getting around such unfavorable odds.

San-Yuan recognizes the unfair advantage that playing on so many devices gives him when it comes to battles in the game. Therefore, he refrains from participating in any PvP matches. Instead, he focuses exclusively on extending his collection.

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Netizens react to 'Pokemon GO grandpa'

Internet users and Pokemon players globally were stunned by San-Yuan's commitment and ingenious method. While some merely found it adorable, noting that he was 'living his best life,' others had more varied concerns.

Some respondents speculated about his phone bill running the app simultaneously while on the move. Few users hoped his passion wouldn't cause traffic jams and road congestion. Players can sometimes go overboard and overly crowd public places in the exuberance of catching a rare monster. This was more evident in the early days when the title was new.

However, San-Yuan has etched his name in the pop culture books as the grandpa who went out collecting pocket monsters. The reactions pouring into the comments section of the video showed an overwhelmingly positive response from the community, egging him on to go and 'catch 'em all.'