PointCrow beats hardest Pokemon Nuzlocke challenge after 15 months with unlikely pick

PointCrow has defied the odds and managed to complete one of the hardest Pokemon Nuzlocke challenges, doing so after 15 months; and with an unexpected pick to boot.

There’s no denying that the Pokemon fanbase is one of the biggest communities across the whole gaming industry. With decades of mainline titles and multiple spinoffs, there’s always something new and exciting for Pokemon players to dive into.

While Pokemon TCG Pocket and Pokemon Go provide more modern experiences for players, the old-school titles are still played consistently. 

As a way to add further replayability to these, the community has created unique challenges and playthroughs, Nuzlocke’s, that make the game feel like a whole new experience.

Popular Nintendo content creator PointCrow, best known for his speedrunning videos and deep dives, finally managed to complete the Kaizo Ironmon Nuzlocke challenge after 15 months of dedication and just under 4000 attempts.

Pokemon Nuzlocke challenges & origins explained 

The Pokemon Company

Pokemon Nuzlocke challenges will push your skills to the limit.

Nuzlocke’s are self-imposed rules that players must stick to when playing Pokemon that enhance the gameplay. There are multiple different types of Nuzlocke’s, all of which vary in difficulty and objectives depending on player preference and what they want to get out of the game.

These challenges have gained more notoriety in recent years but the concept was first created back in 2010, when Webcomic creator Nick Franco shared his “Pokemon: Hard Mode” style.

Since then, Nuzlocke challenges have grown in popularity and are a way for players to flex their skills and gain respect and favor across the larger community.

Pokemon Kaizo Ironmon Nuzlocke rules

The Kaizo Ironmon Nuzlocke challenge is one of the hardest Pokemon experiences in the community. For the unfamiliar, there are multiple limitations players put on themselves when attempting the Kaizo Ironmon, including the following restrictions.

• You must only use one Pokemon throughout the whole playthrough
• You must flee any random encounter and only battle against other trainers
• Pokemon trainers are stronger and have random move sets
• All items you find during the playthrough are completely randomized
• You cannot purchase any items other than repel
• You cannot use any healing moves during battle

PointCrow completes Kaizo Ironmon using Flareon

It’s safe to say the Kaizo Ironmon is not for the weak, but to make the situation even harder for himself, PointCrow chose to attempt the challenge using Flareon.

While Flareon may be a deadly Pokemon in TCG Pocket, they are much less effective in early iterations of the Pokemon games. As a fire-type, they take massive damage from water-type mons and have average health, speed and attack stats.

While live streaming on Twitch, the content creator was finally able to complete the challenge and he was emotional after doing so. 

“3978 resets and a dream,” Pointcrow shouted to his chat after finally completing the Nuzlocke.

Pokemon fans have been wildly impressed by the streamer’s achievement, even more so given his choice of mon. “Considering Flareon is usually claimed to be the weakest of all Eeveelutions, pretty impressive,” wrote one Reddit user.

Another added, “108 days in a row is insanity, well done Crow.”

Now that PointCrow has finally completed the Kaizo Ironmon, it’s unclear what challenges he will take on next.