Skip to main content GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love Search GamesRadar+ View Profile Xbox Series X Nintendo Switch Nintendo Switch 2 Tabletop Gaming Toys & Collectibles Retro Gamer Newsletters Total Film Gaming Magazines Why subscribe? Subscribe from just £3 Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love Try a single issue or save on a subscription Issues delivered straight to your door or device From£9.99View Summer Game Fest New games for 2025 Upcoming Switch 2 games Switch 2 stock Recommended reading Ahead of Pokemon Legends: Z-A, speedrunners have discovered a record-breaking new method to blast through X and Y by completely disregarding the strategy that's been in place for the last 10 years Google AI is worse at Pokemon than I was when I was 5 – taking 800 hours to beat the Elite 4 and having a breakdown when its HP got low Roguelike Games Balatro creator can finally enjoy his own roguelike after beating every deck on every difficulty: "All this time playing has killed any negative emotions I had toward it" 2 years ago an MMO player locked himself in a virtual cage of his own making – "after 10,000 hours" he is finally free "Immortal king of speedrunning" can only say "that's a great run, gg" after MMO mad lad beats him in 3-year revenge match with a new world record just minutes ahead In a custom "nightmare mode" where any damage permanently deletes his character, MMO daredevil ends 15-month Old School RuneScape challenge with a 68-minute finale Roguelike Games Fighting his own roguelike monster, Balatro creator says he's "146/150 for completionist++ and getting a taste of my own medicine" Adventure Games Pokemon LeafGreen Pokemon's hardest challenge has finally been completed after 15 months and "easily over 100k" collective attempts, and it took an absolute monster Crobat to do it 30 June 2025 "I legitimately thought we'd be playing this for years" When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: The Pokemon Company) After more than a year and thousands of community attempts, Pokemon's hardest challenge has been beaten. If you're familiar with Pokemon challenge runs, you've probably heard of Kaizo Ironmon. The ruleset was, for a while, considered to be the hardest thing the community could come up with. A fully randomized run in which enemy trainers' Pokemon are far stronger than they would normally be, and the trainers themselves are smarter. You're also only allowed to have one Pokemon at a time. That means none of the switching that's a key part of normal Nuzlocke runs, which dials up the challenge. But then players started beating Kaizo Ironmon, so the rules were made even harder. Super Kaizo Ironmon adds to the challenge by banning any 'setup' moves – those which do no damage and only serve to buff your Pokemon's stats, and are also a key part of many Nuzlocke runs. Similarly, stat-buffing items are banned after the final gym, as are almost all hidden items. You may like Ahead of Pokemon Legends: Z-A, speedrunners have discovered a record-breaking new method to blast through X and Y by completely disregarding the strategy that's been in place for the last 10 years Google AI is worse at Pokemon than I was when I was 5 – taking 800 hours to beat the Elite 4 and having a breakdown when its HP got low Balatro creator can finally enjoy his own roguelike after beating every deck on every difficulty: "All this time playing has killed any negative emotions I had toward it" To make things even more complex, Super Kaizo Ironmon limits your ability to change your Pokemon. While normal rules allow you to 'pivot' to a new champion during every route, in Super, you have to take your (random) pick from Oak, and then you have to change to a new Pokemon mid-way through the game. In FireRed and LeafGreen, this has to be done in the Safari Zone. It's a cruel and unusual ruleset that really only exists to challenge the most patient top-level players. It's so challenging, in fact, that its creator makes sure to point out that "this is not meant for everyone" right at the start of their rulebook. As its first anniversary rolled around – only for no-one to have publicly beaten it – there were concerns that it might be truly unbeatable. While there's no official tally, this is a game mode so difficult that the vast majority of runs don't make it out of Pallet Town, and the community thinks it's "easily" surpassed 100,000 combined attempts without a win. Until now. Over the weekend, streamer Reimi finally took down Gary Oak on his 8,502nd attempt. He did so with a Pokemon that a fellow runner said was "a monster [...] with stats/moves nearly handpicked to do it." That monster was a Crobat with some excellent stats and coverage, and yet the run still came down to the wire – Reimi was forced to use a Full Restore to get through the run's last two Pokemon, and was helped along by some big RNG when Gary's Rayquaza rolled Substitute off Metronome, consigning itself to a slow death by poison before it could get a proper hit on Crobat. For a 'mon this strong to come so close to death at the final hurdle is a reminder as to why some in the community worried that Super could never be beaten. Even Reimi's reaction is disbelief – "there's a reason why every time people ask me 'can this do it?' I'm like, 'I dunno, man' [...] I legitimately thought we'd be playing this for years." Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. The hardest Pokemon challenge isn't a Nuzlocke, it's playing one of the RPGs in a language you don't speak with an absurd list of rules and exercising every time you mess up. See more Nintendo Switch 2 News The Pokemon Company Nintendo Switch 2 Social Links Navigation Managing Editor, News I'm GamesRadar's Managing Editor for news, shaping the news strategy across the team. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I've run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam's latest indie hit. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Ahead of Pokemon Legends: Z-A, speedrunners have discovered a record-breaking new method to blast through X and Y by completely disregarding the strategy that's been in place for the last 10 years Google AI is worse at Pokemon than I was when I was 5 – taking 800 hours to beat the Elite 4 and having a breakdown when its HP got low Balatro creator can finally enjoy his own roguelike after beating every deck on every difficulty: "All this time playing has killed any negative emotions I had toward it" 2 years ago an MMO player locked himself in a virtual cage of his own making – "after 10,000 hours" he is finally free "Immortal king of speedrunning" can only say "that's a great run, gg" after MMO mad lad beats him in 3-year revenge match with a new world record just minutes ahead In a custom "nightmare mode" where any damage permanently deletes his character, MMO daredevil ends 15-month Old School RuneScape challenge with a 68-minute finale Latest in Pokemon Google AI is worse at Pokemon than I was when I was 5 – taking 800 hours to beat the Elite 4 and having a breakdown when its HP got low As Donkey Kong Bananza reveals full-blown voice acting, Pokemon fans are wondering when they will be spared from the awkward silences "Just all gone": Pokemon player loses "20 years worth of data" when transferring Scarlet save file to Switch 2, and they're apparently not the only one Pokemon makes its funniest in-game event even better with a meme reference hidden in its distribution code: "This is quite possibly the best special event code in the history of ever" Shiny Pokemon are absolutely raining in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet after Nintendo Switch 2 upgrades: "I legit couldn't believe this many spawned" Pokemon Scarlet and Violet speedruns are in a different league on Switch 2, with a day-one attempt already coming in around half an hour faster than the old world record Latest in News You'll soon be able to buy Fantastic Four comics off a newsstand, just the way our ancestors once did Hideo Kojima was "so bummed" Death Stranding 2 Easter eggs were "revealed on social media right away," but "I'm retweeting all these things so the blame is on me" Elden Ring's new content and Nintendo Switch 2 release could be coming soon – the Tarnished Edition was just rated by the ESRB Amazon's missing out on that sweet Switch 2 money because Nintendo's mad about "unauthorized sales," new report suggests Hideo Kojima says "I'm happy with the scores, thank you" as Death Stranding 2 settles at 90 on Metacritic, overcoming his fears that it might be too likable The Institute showrunners explain why the new Stephen King dystopian sci-fi TV series is more timely than ever: "Children shall inherit the earth, but first they have to save themselves" GAME REVIEWS MOVIE REVIEWS Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse" Rematch review: "As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic" Tron: Catalyst review: "Disc slinging is a thrill in this gorgeous rendition of the series, but I'm let down by a time-loop story that falls flat" FBC: Firebreak review: "A disappointingly bland multiplayer FPS that's missing far too much of what made Control special" Dune: Awakening review: "Both extremely compelling and extraordinarily boring, sometimes at the same time – yet still a true Dune love letter" Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber" M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion" 28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy” Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation" From the World of John Wick: Ballerina review: "Brilliant action, even if the plot gives you a sense of déjà vu" Squid Game season 3 review: "A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever" Ironheart review: "A relic of Marvel's content-at-all-costs era" Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date" Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling" Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision GamesRadar+ is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. 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