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This Grandpa Rigged His Bike with 11 Phones to Play 'Pokémon Go'

There's at least one person still on a quest to catch 'em all.
Screenshot via EXP.GG.

During the summer of 2016, it seemed like everyone was glued to their phones chasing rare Charizards or whatever on Pokémon Go —the mobile game that sent hapless people roving around their respective cities to catch virtual Pokémon. The craze caused an estimated billions of dollars in damages, serious injuries, and headaches at Holocaust memorial sites before basically dying out, leaving many people wondering: Is anyone still playing Pokémon Go?

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Well, there's at least one person still on a thankless quest to catch 'em all, and it looks like he's using as many phones as possible to get the job done.

Meet 69-year-old Chen San-yuan, a Taiwanese grandpa who's rigged his bike with multiple smartphones, creating himself a diabolical Pokémon-nabbing machine. Chen was first interviewed about his quest by Taiwanese YouTube channel EXP.GG, where he had tied nine phones to his bike to fuel his habit, but according to the BBC, he's now upgraded to 11. He told EXP.GG that he spends more than $1,250 a month to fund his habit, spending up to 20 hours chasing Pokémon until his phones run out of juice.

Chen, who's also apparently known as "Uncle Pokemon," reportedly started playing the game after his grandson introduced him. But despite being incredibly addictive, the game also has some perceived health benefits for Chen.

"There's a lot of fun," Chen told EXP.GG. "I can connect with people, prevent Alzheimer's disease."

With his 11 phones, his tricked out bike, his remarkable ability to multitask, and his quest to keep his head and heart healthy, Chen has shown what it really, truly takes to be—in the words of the Pokémon theme song—"the very best, like no one ever was." Here's to hoping that one day, he finally catches them all so the rest of us can stop falling into lakes or whatever.

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