Reflections on 5 years of Pokemon speedrunning

I don't usually write pastes like these, but I can't help but feel sentimental. For five years Pokemon speedrunning has been my main activity -- not just hobby -- and now it's clear I need to move on. I'm looking forward to new challenges, but I'd also like to look back on my career and thank the people who made it possible and enjoyable.

Before discovering Pokemon speedrunning, I'd always had a "can't do" attitude about speedrunning. I thought it was cool, but not worth doing because I wasn't good at hitting frame-perfect tricks. That changed when I watched ExtraTricky's Red glitchless world record run in December 2013. I admired his analytical approach to the run, and I decided to give it a shot myself. I'm very happy I did.

Red was fascinating. Badge boosts. DV correspondence. Experience routes. Item management. Rounding. There was so much math, so much problem solving, so much depth. I love games of all sorts -- board games, card games, sports, video games -- and Red was the game I'd been searching for since childhood.

I spent about 500 hours learning, routing and running Red before I entered the PSR community. The first thing I did was make an in-depth spreadsheet on Route 3 damage ranges. I remember spending weeks worrying if my damage calculator was correct, then feeling tremendously satisfied when I confirmed it was. I remember thinking of crazy strats while walking to work every day -- choosing Bulbasaur to skip catching a Cut slave, fighting the optional in Brock's gym, fighting the Gentleman on the S.S. Anne for the Rare Candy, skipping the first two optionals in Mt. Moon and fighting Misty at Level 24. That last strat turned out to be alright.

I struggled more than I succeeded for the first few months. I needed several hundred attempts to get my first sub-2 run -- which I nearly choked by spending 20 seconds trying to find the Ether in my inventory on the Elite Four -- and when I got it, I was over the moon. I remember running outside into a blizzard and sprinting for two blocks out of sheer excitement. Then I thought, "Maybe I can get world record if I really try."

I really tried, and I nearly gave up. The July 2014 night on which I got my 1:50 WR run was supposed to be my last night. I told myself before that session of attempts that the frustration wasn't worth it. Three hours later, I got a god Nidoran and ran with it. Sometimes lucky. I've thought many times about what would have happened if Champion's Pidgeot had killed me with Wing Attack on the last turn.

The day after that run was my 23rd birthday, and one of the best days of my life. I'd always wanted to be the best at something I cared about, and now I finally was. And the best part was, I'd done it all on my own, without asking for help or sharing it with anyone. That approach was foreign to most people, but it worked for me. I felt personal satisfaction on a level I'd never felt before.

The week after that, I spent about 50 hours making a post-commentary for my WR run. Much of that time was spent waiting for my old MacBook laptop to process an video clip, or waiting for it to restarting after it crashed from the sheer size of the video file. I had no idea the run would blow up on YouTube; I just had this crazy motivation to document the strategies and mechanics of the run, since I loved the game so much and no such commentary existed for Red/Blue.

Despite my efforts, I wasn't sure I wanted to join the PSR community. I had nothing against the people; I just saw the Red grind as a personal endeavor and not one I needed to share with others. But I joined because many people thought my run was cheated, and of course I needed to prove them wrong.

I started streaming Red in August 2014, and Red was my primary game until I got a 1:49 in January 2015. I have so many people to thank from this time period. As a group, we took Red to the next level of optimization, a level that set the bar for many future runs and routes. Most of them were people who joined my stream, asked questions, did some research, and offered routing improvements. I've always said speedrunning, and Pokemon in particular, was primarily about routing, and this was the golden era of routing for me. We weren't just making the first route of the game and reveling in free time saves. We also weren't destroying our souls by grinding for frame-perfect execution and godly RNG. We were pushing the game forward in a healthy way, one that exercised our brains, challenged our problem-solving skills, and was really fun.

The 1:49 run was the culmination of all of this. I will always consider this run to be my best work. Before I entered the community, people thought the best way to get a WR time was to do tons of attempts until you got one with perfect luck. If you got bad luck, you just took huge risks to make up for it. And not surprisingly, this usually failed, and no one except Werster had the motivation to grind this way. So I tried to find routes that had options to reduce risk. And in my 1:49, I opted for several safe strats that ultimately saved the run. I'll always remember an incredible feeling I had during that run. I'd just golded the Erika split and was slightly ahead of world record. Nowadays, if a Red runner is in this spot, they're probably expecting to die to some Elite Four YOLO strat. But on this run, I felt so confident I'd finish. The route had been crafted in a way that limited the risk to just a few fights, and those fights were only 10-15% likely to kill you. I truly enjoyed that.

I'm not going to mention anything after 2015, even though I had many good times and met many awesome people. The truth is, after getting the Red 1:49 and trying some other Pokemon games, I got really egocentric and lost sight of what mattered. I grinded for world records because I wanted to prove I was the best Pokemon runner, better than Werster. I wanted to build my stream so others would acknowledge my successes.

I'm glad I routed more Pokemon games -- especially Crystal, Emerald, Fire Red Round 2, and Colosseum. But I probably should have stopped at some point in 2016, since real life was calling. I went through some pretty bad bouts of depression in 2016 and 2017, and the joy of speedrunning wasn't enough to snap me out of it. I'm better now, although I have a lot of work to do as an adult.

OK, time to shout out some awesome people:

ExtraTricky -- Thanks for all the great work you did with Red in 2013-16. I know I wasn't the only runner you inspired. I really enjoyed meeting you at SGDQ 2015.

Entrpntr -- I remember mispronouncing your name and thinking, "Who is this guy, and does he really know what he's talking about?" Yes, you did. You found the new Celadon Mart order and many more optimizations in the future. And the Squirtorino route, while suboptimal, was a really fun routing exercise. You're a greatly unappreciated community member.

Gifvex -- You've found so many minor optimizations over the years, it's crazy. The "god tile" in Mt. Moon was such a major discovery at the time. It was fun having you in chat, talking strats and learning from you.

Keizaron -- You were the first friend I had in the community, and we shared so many good times. Thank you for that. You always hated Red, and now I see why.

Mountebank -- Co-founder of the Nidoran route, along with ExtraTricky. We didn't talk much about Red, but I'm glad I met you and had so much fun doing Crystal randomizers. And thanks for SpeedyLion, the inspiration for years of Space Jam memes.

Mumpfel77 -- Such an intelligent runner. I loved talking strats with you and seeing your improvement as a runner. And you probably quit at the right time -- before the RNG grind became too much.

Dailyleaf -- I remember the first time I watched your stream. You PB'd, and I was happy to see that. I had no idea you'd become such a valuable contributor to the community. Thanks for all the races, the discussions and the Red Helper program.

Sinstar -- Incredible router and runner. I remember when I was grinding sub-7:55 Lorelei attempts on stream, you said "can't mash that fast," and I thought it was silly for a top runner to think that. And now I'm thinking the same thing, haha. You were good at all the best parts of Pokemon speedrunning.

Shiru666 -- I remember when you came into my stream and started asking tons of questions about speedrunning. The questions didn't stop, and neither did your improvement. And now you have one of the best speedruns in Pokemon history, and the respect of the entire community. Your approach is fantastic, man. Keep it up with whatever you do in life.

LysDesTenbres -- I hope you didn't mind my running against your splits too much, haha. I'll always remember raiding you and watching you PB in Red. Your runs after that were pretty unlucky, but I enjoyed watching your streams and talking to you.

Zeo285 -- Miss ya, buddy. Your support and dedication to Red was truly appreciated. I smiled every time you sent me a kitten GIF. And your drunk '50s stream was maybe the best stream of all time.

k3v227 -- 24 for Starmie finally became a thing (sort of). Maybe EQ-less is next. Thanks for being a part of so many big Red projects, and for being a fun guy. I'm glad I got to meet you at SGDQ this year.

Paperguy27 -- Routing with you was one of the few pleasures I had when I was going through a rough time. Thanks for being so supportive.

G_Heinz -- Just as Red was my baby that I couldn't let go, Sapphire was yours. And it was a pleasure routing it with you. I've still got my eye on Sapphire manipless.

UnderscorePoY -- Thanks for being such an awesome routing guru, and for giving alternate categories the attention they deserve.  :)

WindsSunrise1 -- And then I flinched him! (cc: Jpaintrain) You helped me realize that Yu-Gi-Oh! speedruns are better than Pokemon as of 2016. Loved your FM streams and your attitude.

GoddessMaria15 -- You've helped me so many times with RNG mechanics, emulator issues, and routing problems. And you're a genuinely good person to have as a friend. Thank you.  :)

Gunnermaniac -- Your improvement as a runner has been incredible to watch. Not many people, if any, can do what you do now. More people appreciate that than you think. Thank you for being a great friend.

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Thanks again to everyone. I'll still be streaming/speedrunning occasionally and on social media regularly.  :)