Pokémon Go is not just a game. All over the world, it is uniting strangers, helping police detect crime and aiding single people meet partners. There is one such story right here in Bengaluru, that of Nataraj Narayan, a 17-year old PU student. Pokémon Go has replaced fitness apps for him and he has dropped 11 kg since he started playing on July 7.
Though he did work out even before he started playing, the game helped him go from weighing 100 kg to 89 kg in less than two weeks. The quest to collect more Pokémon has pushed Nataraj to venture out on foot more often than before.
“Since I started playing, I have clocked 61 kilometres on foot and collected over 145 of the 250 Pokémon available,” he said. Much to his mother’s delight, he volunteers to do the grocery shopping as it gives him the chance to add more creatures to his collection. He walks to college and back and then a few more kilometres to his tuition classs, and has reached Level 14 as a result.
“I have not used my legs as much or as much petrol ever before,” he said. Recently, Nataraj and his friends, who are also fans of the game, took a trip to Nandi Hills. “We carried our power banks, water bottles and even food. It was almost like going camping.”
A fascinating feature of the game is that the kind of Pokémon you find depends on your location. Close to water bodies you find water types, in a park you would catch grass types. Nataraj has gone to many different places to get all the types.
After reading about the ghostly Pokémon people found at night, he even walked around his house at 2 am in an attempt to capture them. His hunt even took him to a cemetery in Harishchandra Ghat and to an industry.
Sharing benefits
Nataraj has also found a way to share the benefits of all the exercise he is getting. He is using a US-based app called Charity Miles, which donates money for every mile you run or walk to a charity of a cause you stand for. He has chosen to donate to organisations working against child labour and has raised Rs 3,000 so far.
Surprisingly, the game has also helped him study better. “Earlier, I would spend time playing games on my computer. Now, since there aren’t any interesting Pokémon to find inside the house, I play only when I am out.”
He continued, “It’s not a waste of time at all because the only time I play the game is when I am walking somewhere. Instead of listening to the same old songs, I catch Pokémon.” He is also careful about his safety and makes sure that he is not too absorbed in the game and is aware of his surroundings. Nataraj is a PCMB student and aims to become an aeronautical engineer or an astronaut.
Published 20 July 2016, 20:38 IST