Pokemon games aren’t known for being especially challenging, so one very bored Pokemon trainer decided he would commit to playing through the entirety of Pokemon Platinum without taking any damage. And against all odds, he succeeded.
Youtuber and streamer Smallant1 (opens in new tab) picked Pokemon Platinum for the arduous journey because it’s the Pokemon game he’d logged the most hours into as a kid – little did he know he’d be logging another 140 hours into the same game all these years later. Smallant1 knew it’d take a whole lot more than familiarity to accomplish his goal, and so began the strategizing by trial-and-error.
Beating the first trial Pokemon using Piplup required the enemy Turtwig to use Withdraw six times in a row and miss twice, odds which left Smallant1 weary and in search of a different plan. “As it turns out, Turtwig was the right choice. Fighting against Chimchar, it knows Lear, instead of Withdraw, as its non-attacking move. This means it won’t make our attacks weaker each turn. All that needs to happen is Chimchar Learing four times in a row, which is a 1/16 chance – much better odds.”
It took 40 minutes for Smallant1 to get past Chimchar and begin his mission through the main part of the game. The rest of the very long road ahead required a mixture of careful planning, manipulating the daycare system, and loads of grinding to ensure he could knock out opponents before they could land a hit on him.
I’m not sure if I’ll ever have the determination to beat any game without taking any damage, but I commend Smallant1 for his fortitude.
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