Pokémon games have often been derided as being too easy for veteran players, which is why fan-made challenges such as Nuzlocke have become so popular over the years.

There's one challenge, however, that's been described as the most difficult of them all, and it's taken streamer PointCrow a total of 3,978 resets over the course of 15 months to beat it (thanks, GamesRadar+). Known as the 'Kaizo Ironmon' challenge, it involves completing a playthrough of Pokémon with a set of strict restrictions in place; kind of like Nuzlocke, but just... more.

The full set of rules is a bit too extensive to go over in full here, but in a nutshell, you need to beat the game with just one Pokémon with fully randomised movesets and items enabled, no shops, no healing items outside of battle, and the knowledge that if your Pokémon faints just once, then it's game over. There's a bit more involved, but you can check out the full breakdown over on Github.

PointCrow finally managed to complete the challenge with a Flareon equipped with Tri Attack, Brick Break, Aerial Ace, and Bulk Up. An online clip capturing his victory has been posted in which he loudly exclaims "3,978 resets and a dream! Let's go!", before being on the verge of breaking down in tears.

While he's certainly not the first to complete the Kaizo Ironmon challenge, the sheer number of resets required for this one is utterly ridiculous and worth highlighting alone. It seems like a bit of a steep commitment for us, but we commend PointCrow for eventually achieving victory.

Would you ever try something like this? Nearly 4,000 attempts seems excessive, but who knows! Let us know your thoughts with a comment in the usual place.

[source twitch.tv, via gamesradar.com]