Pokemon Nuzlockes became incredibly popular in the last few years, but there’s an even harder challenge out there, one so difficult it took streamer PointCrow 15 months and almost 4,000 attempts to complete it.
The Kaizo Ironmon challenge is the most difficult test of Pokemon skill out there at the moment. You can read the full list of rules here, but the most important ones you should know about are as follows: Pokemon, movesets, and items are all randomized; you can only use one ‘mon; enemy levels are increased by 50%; you can’t use Pokemon with a base stat total (BST) of 600 or more, and you can’t kill wild Pokemon, so no extra XP. The randomizers also switch all the stats of each Pokemon – its Attack stat may become its Speed, or its HP could turn into Defense.
So, you can see why this is such a tough challenge to beat. It takes a lot of luck, as you need a Pokemon with a BST as close to 600 as possible, but it also needs its highest stat to be in either Attack or Special Attack, as well as decent Speed. It also takes an absurd amount of determination, as runs regularly last thousands of attempts. Fortunately, PointCrow was able to commit.
He won his FireRed/LeafGreen run using a Flareon that had Tri Attack, Brick Break, Aerial Ace, and Bulk Up, the perfect moveset for the Eeveelution as it could raise its Attack with Bulk Up, making all its moves more effective. Aerial Ace also means any ghost types or pesky Shedninja with Wonder Guard could be taken care of.
In the clip of his victory, as he makes the final move, an Aerial Ace against champion Gary’s Dugtrio, he shouts “3,978 resets and a dream! Let’s go!” It’s a triumphant moment, one that not many others can brag about.
SmallAnt completed a Kaizo Ironmon last year and called it “Pokemon’s hardest challenge.” It took him a comparatively low 1,786 attempts, and he won with a Skarmory. Having a Pokemon with any type immunities is incredibly helpful in an Ironmon. He later completed Pokemon Sun with a custom ruleset his chat came up with, which included playing in German (a language he doesn’t speak) and having to do 10 actual push ups every time one of his ‘mons fainted.
If you want to get back into these classic adventures, check out our ranking of the best Pokemon games.