Pokémon games can be too easy for some. That’s why there are a lot of challenges in the community. And the perhaps toughest one has finally been cracked.
What kind of challenge is this? The challenge is called “Super Kaizo IronMON” and was created by user “iateyourpie”. It is the current, even harder version of the older Kaizo challenge and includes rules that turn a Pokémon run into a real nightmare.
The complete list of rules is very long, a few highlights are:
- One may only use one Pokémon
- About halfway through the game, at the Safari Zone, one must swap the Pokémon for another
- A randomizer is used, mixing the Pokémon you encounter thoroughly. Items and attacks are also distributed randomly.
- Opposing trainers are smarter
- The levels of opposing trainers and Pokémon are raised
- No shops may be used
- Pokémon may not be particularly strong
- Some items are forbidden
- Some abilities are forbidden
- Certain attacks are forbidden, such as those that improve stats
The entire list of rules makes it nearly impossible to complete the task. Many fall behind right at the start of the game when the rival takes out the randomly assigned Pokémon.
Nonetheless, a player has now succeeded.
With Iksbat to victory: Reimi cracks the Super Kaizo Challenge
How did the player achieve this? Over the past few days, streamer Reimi made headlines as he became the (notoriously) first to successfully complete the Super Kaizo Challenge for Pokémon FireRed / LeafGreen. Among others, GamesRadar reports on the run that nobody thought was actually doable.
You can watch Reimi’s stream on Twitch. At the end of the video, you can see how the streamer achieves victory – with his Iksbat.
Iksbat is not necessarily a Pokémon that many would take into an epic run against randomness. But for Reimi, it worked out great, and his lovingly named “Heskey” Iksbat had just the stats he needed. It was, however, close.
In the final battle against Gary, “Heskey” easily took out the first Camerupt with Earthquake, and also defeated the two following Paras. The next Morlord at level 95 fell victim to a critical hit.
As second to last, the champ sent Rayquaza into battle. Here it got more difficult, as firstly, the attacks didn’t hit as well, and the champ also used two Max Potions. Here, Heskey dropped to 56 HP and even needed a Max Potion. Luck also played a role, as Rayquaza sometimes missed its attacks. The last Quappo also fell – Heskey leveled up to level 91. Then it was time for the Hall of Fame.
What does Reimi say about it? The streamer himself could hardly believe that he had actually succeeded: “I can’t believe it. Super Kaizo is over,” he says on the stream. Reimi had previously ended 8,501 attempts with losses, the 8,502nd was to bring victory. The last run took a total of 40 hours and 15 minutes.
Reimi had tried the challenge for months and was still faster than planned: “I really thought we would be trying for years here,” said the streamer. He emphasizes that he was often asked what he would do if he succeeded – and didn’t think he would need an answer yet.
At least he plans to do a live cooking stream to celebrate the victory – with thematically appropriate soup. In general, older Pokémon games are back in trend. Currently, there is a very interesting Nuzlocke challenge for Pokémon going around on Twitch. FireRed and LeafGreen are being played there as well!
