The Pokémon run no one thought was winnable – until now

Twitch streamer Reimi beat Pokémon FireRed’s brutal Super Kaizo Ironmon challenge after 15 months and over 100,000 attempts using only one Pokémon with no healing and smarter AI in a hardcore run.

Remember the “catch ‘em all” vibe of Pokémon of yesterday? There were two eras.

One in the late 90’s around the western release of Pokémon Red and Blue, and then in 2016 with Pokémon Go, as millions hit the streets to capture their favourite digital critters.

Well, nowadays there’s a new challenge. After 15 months, over 100,000 attempts, and a Crobat named Heskey, Pokémon’s most savage challenge has finally been beaten – and the internet is losing it.

What is Super Kaizo Ironmon?

Super Kaizo Ironmon is played on a modified version of Pokémon FireRed – the 2004 Game Boy Advance remake of the original Red and Blue.

“Kaizo” is slang borrowed from Kaizo Mario hacks, meaning super difficult, while “Ironmon” means a ruleset invented by fans to make the game harder.

There, Super Kaizo Ironmon equates to the hardest possible version of Ironmon, combining brutal restrictions, randomness, and smarter AI.

In this challenge, only one Pokémon is allowed, and to make matters worse, no healing is permitted in battle.

There is also a dearth of stat-boosting moves and smarter AI complete with randomized opponents, adding to the unpredictability.

The victorious play

On June 27th, 2025, Twitch streamer Reimi completed a full run of Super Kaizo Ironmon. It took him 8,502 attempts to finally beat the challenge.

His victory ended a 15-month streak during which thousands of players tried and failed to finish the brutal gauntlet.

According to GamesRadar, the Pokémon community estimates that over 100,000 total attempts were made before the first successful run.

Reimi’s run was carried by a powerhouse Crobat, nicknamed Heskey, who survived through the Elite Four and defeated the rival.

Reimi gloriously reflected on his win: “Honestly, I thought we’d be playing this for years. And a Crobat, a friggin’ Crobat, we’re so back!”