Tom Currie just wants to be the very best, like no one ever was.

The 24-year-old Aucklander has quit his job at a Hibiscus Coast cafe to travel around the country catching Pokémon on new app craze Pokémon Go.

The smartphone game taps into 20 years of nostalgia associated with the hugely popular cartoon franchise and allows users to find digital Pokémon hiding the real world. A GPS prompts players to walk in certain directions to find the creatures and walk long distances.

"I booked busses from all the way down to Invercargill and all the way back up to Cape Reinga so hopefully I can catch some awesome Pokémon on the way," Mr Currie says.

"It keeps track of how far you've walked and I've done around 50 km so far, and that's with the actual game, walking away, slogging away."

Mr Currie has already been through Westport, Nelson, Blenheim and Kaikoura. He's collected over 700 Pokémon including a 1709 'CP' Vaporeon he's affectionately named 'Salacia'.

"I'm level 20 at the moment, which was the highest I'd seen until I came to Christchurch, there's some better players here," he says.

"I want Mewtwo, it's Pokémon number 150 [out of 151] and that is the end game for most people here."

Christchurch's Sumner Beach was the best location he's found so far with elusive southern Pokémon hiding in Dunedin, Invercargill and even Gore now in his sights.

Newshub.