Beating Pokémon SoulSilver takes most players around forty hours, so you can only imagine how long it might take you to finish the game while only using shiny Pokémon. Popular Pokémon streamer, SmallAnt, was up to the challenge though, and as you probably expected, it took him several months.
SoulSilver players have a 1 in 8,000 chance of encountering a single shiny Pokémon, let alone capturing a full team. However, if anyone was going to muster up the patience to do something like this, it was bound to be SmallAnt. The streamer has previously completed a handful of other impressive Pokémon challenges, most famously finishing Pokémon Platinum without taking a single point of damage.
Obtaining only shiny Pokémon can present quite the challenge, even early on. However, SmallAnt had consistently amazing luck throughout his playthrough. To get his hands on a shiny Totodile at the very beginning, SmallAnt only spent four hours, resetting the game 1,352 times. At that point he was able to venture out of Professor Elm’s lab and begin the rest his journey.
The streamer then used his aqua green shiny Totodile to obtain the first four badges, evolving it into Feraligatr. After that, he set his sights on a shiny Eevee from Goldenrod City, and after only 2,633 total resets, the cream-colored Pokémon finally showed up. SmallAnt would go on to evolve it into a blue and black Umbreon.
The easiest part of the challenge for the streamer was capturing a shiny red Gyarados, which spawns in the Lake of Rage as a shiny every single time. He was then able to use this team of three Pokémon to get all the way through Jasmine and Olivine City, but things would quickly take a turn for the worst.
After the chat challenges SmallAnt to capture a shiny Electrode, the streamer agrees. 15,170 total resets in, the blue Electrode finally popped up, but that wasn’t the end of it. SmallAnt was tragically distracted and he ran away from the shiny Pokemon. While something like this would make most people throw in the towel, it somehow didn’t discourage the streamer from finishing his challenge.
Amazingly enough, a blue Electrode popped up again only a few hours later. Given the insanely low odds, it’s safe to say luck was on SmallAnt’s side. After that, he was able to use his team of four shiny Pokémon to get through the eighth badge and the Elite Four.
SmallAnt’s luck would continue, as the streamer was able to obtain a shiny Dratini after 16,132 resets. In an even harder to believe display of luck, he captured both a shiny Lugia and shiny Ho-Oh after only 746 additional resets. Afterwards, he went on to beat Red at Mt. Silver and finished his challenge of beating Pokémon SoulSilver with only shiny Pokémon. He didn’t record how long it took in total to finish this challenge, but he did say it was “several months.”
While some people might joke about streamers getting paid only to play video games, SmallAnt is a great example of why it can be much more than that. Even with the streamer’s incredible luck, his dedication and patience is something most of us couldn’t imagine having, and it provides for some pretty entertaining content at the end of the day.
Source: YouTube/SmallAnt
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