Since the first games released in 1996, the Pokemon series has always challenged players to "catch 'em all," with a completed Pokedex serving as a monumental achievement for those willing to put the time into tracking down every new pocket monster introduced with each subsequent game. One YouTuber took that challenge to the next level with the recently released Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl as they were able to complete the games' Regional Pokedex in under 24 hours.
YouTuber and Twitch streamer SmallAnt is no newcomer to Pokemon challenges as they are constantly completing them, showcasing just how wacky the series can be when using different rulesets such as completing a title without ever taking damage or only allowing himself to use shiny Pokemon in battle. SmallAnt's latest challenge saw him complete Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl's Pokedex in less than 24 hours, which he did on his first attempt.
Streamed entirely on Twitch and then condensed and posted to SmallAnt's YouTube channel, the streamer breaks down their strategy and the luck that goes into catching certain rare Pokemon with ease. Although he makes it look easy, no doubt thanks to his countless hours of previous Pokemon challenge runs, SmallAnt's 100% completion run of the game took him just under 21 hours of playing both Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl almost nonstop.
While the video is filled with plenty of interesting strategies on how SmallAnt was able to manipulate the game in his favor to complete the Regional Pokedex so quickly, perhaps his best trick is highlighted when he switches to playing Pokemon Shining Pearl in order to catch all of the game exclusive Pokemon featured in the title. At the start of his run, he traded the remaining two unchosen starters from his copy of Shining Pearl to Brilliant Diamond, the game where he did the bulk of the challenge.
After completing everything required in Diamond, SmallAnt traded his level 63 Empoleon back to Pearl to sweep through the rest of the game. Normally, a high level, traded Pokemon won't listen to an under-experienced trainer with so few badges, however, because the Empoleon started its life as a Piplup in Pokemon Shining Pearl in the early hours of the game before being traded to Diamond, it doesn't count as a traded Pokemon, so it listens to all of SmallAnt's commands, regardless of its high level.
SmallAnt is constantly doing challenge runs of games streamed directly to Twitch while also condensing his runs into thought-provoking YouTube videos where he shares some of the strategies and theories behind each one. It's unclear if he has any other Pokemon Brilliant Diamond or Shining Pearl content coming in the future, however, Pokemon games are frequently in his rotation of franchises that he does challenge runs in, so it's safe to assume that the games might make another appearance sometime soon.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are available now for the Nintendo Switch.