Watch this player beat Pokemon Trainer Red with a level 5 team!

In the second generation of Pokemon games, Pokemon Trainer Red was the ultimate battle. Not only did Red have the most balanced team in the entire game in terms of type advantages, his Pokemon ranged from level 73 to level 81. He was the champion of all champions, and in the endgame of Pokemon Gold, Silver, and Crystal he was the greatest single-player challenge in the game.

While most players come to face Red with a team upwards of level 80, YouTube user DemonicWarden had other plans. Equipped with a 6 member team consisting of nothing but level 5 Pokemon, DemonicWarden shows us how even the weakest Pokemon can take down the world’s greatest Pokemon trainer!

The player’s team which consists of Cubone, Gastly, Miltank, Mr. Mime, Rattata, and Scyther may not seem like much. However, there is method to the madness.

How DemonicWarden wins the battle is actually quite interesting. In early Pokemon games – and arguably still to this day – the AI always aims to do the most damage in the least moves. This means that type advantages will always be used first. By switching out to Pokemon that aren’t affected by the opponent’s moves, DemonicWarden manages to avoid Red’s attacks until he quite literally orders his Pokemon to their own demise.

This is of course mixed in with various other ways of burning Red’s Pokemon’s power points and health, but the end result is the same: victory.

It’s a neat trick, but I think I’ll stick to building a stronger team.