In the realm of video games, there are many levels of achievement. There are the achievements that are possible yet extremely difficult, like beating Ninja Gaiden on the hardest difficulty. There are the achievemenst that are not hard to accomplish but are extremely time consuming, like getting 100,000 kills in Gears of War multiplayer. And then there are the achievements that not only waste days of your life, but are attempts to attain something that many will not even honor as a significant achievement. In today’s GR Pick, we have one such achievement.

In the video, a diehard fan has set out into the pastures of the Pokemon universe to discover the elusive Pokemon Ponyta. But he isn’t in search of just any breed of Ponyta, he is seeking out Shiny Ponyta. From the Latin Shinifitus Ponyticus, Shiny Ponyta is a creature unlike any other Ponyta found in the Poke-verse. Like the albino animals found in our own nature, Shiny variations are extremely rare and appear different from their traditional counterparts. The randomness of laying eyes on a Shiny Pokemon can make for a repetitive experience akin to multiplication tables, a lot of multiplication tables.

This particular Pokemon enthusiast found his Shiny Ponyta after only 25,968 random encounters. While this feat is impressive, this particular gamer had two things working in his favor, those being his use of three Game Boys running the game simultaneously (a trick known as "Triple Hunting") and the musical stylings of Sum 41's "No Reason" live in Toronto. Not as game changing as steroid use in baseball, but still an added assistance. See for yourself.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AlhaJF5Afw

Most priceless about the video is the kid's reaction. Like some combination of the N64 Kid and the "My Mom Cancelled My WOW account" kid, his reaction comes from an unholy place. But based on the amount of time devoted to finding this particular Pokemon, I guess a little excitement is expected.

For a little bit of extra credit, let’s get a little scientific and  calculate how long it really took him to catch his Shiny Ponyta. Taking the 25,968 random encounters and dividing them by 3 we get 8,656. That means, per Game Boy, 8.656 random encounters occurred. At an average rate of ¾ of a minute per encounter that equates to about 108 hours worth of time spent hunting for this Shiny Ponyta. Just think about the accomplishments this die-hard fan could have achieved in that time. He could have played through Final Fantasy XIII maybe 3 or 4 times, watched Inception 36 times, flown around the globe non-stop with time to spare, or finished Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days some 21 times (okay, who really wants to finish Dog Days? But you get my point).

While I am impressed by the sheer determination that this guy possesses in his attempts to capture a Shiny Pokemon, it wouldn’t be a GR Pick if it didn’t make me laugh. This should serve as an inspiration to any gamers out there who think any feat is too impossible. Go out there and catch your own Shiny Ponyta, whatever it is.

Tell us about your own “Shiny Ponyta” experience, Ranters. Let us know the proudest moment you have had while gaming, similar to what this kid experienced.