The *WORST* Challenge I've ever done - Can you beat Pokemon Emerald with just a Beldum?

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Someone at GameFreak really thought, "Wouldn't it be funny if a Pseudo Legendary's pre-evolution knows less moves than a Magikarp?"

01:47 “but wait! It gets even worse” *reveals the sponsor for the video* absolutely crazy segue that is 💀

Beldum is one of those pokemon you wouldn't think would suck but then you remember the moveset they work with

I've only now realised he's removed his iconic intro, I don't know how I missed that detail for so long

The legend is true!!! Ever since the Shedinja in Platinum video, jrose talked about a Beldum run that he softlocked in. Glad to finally see it.

Out boy did it. He became a real KRplusr and got a Raid sponsor. I'm so proud of him

Some notes:
- training HP instead of Speed would give you more potential to get through long battles, and if youre grinding to level 100 you probanly outspeed everything you need to? You had ~250 HP at level 100 and said you needed ~300 to win even if you never got hit. 62 HP from EVs would get you over that threshold.
- The Silk Scarf play was an interesting one that payed off at some points, but there might have been other options? I don't know if Leftovers, Choice Band, or Liechi Berry are available pre-E4, but combined with increased HP any of those might give you the damage you need to beat Wallace without having to rig a crit 5 times in a row. Granted, needing to be at low HP for Liechi isn't exactly great, but it means you only need like 3 crits instead of 6.
Leftovers instead of Shell Bell would let you regain significantly more HP during turns where the enemy is in the red, but I guess that's not really relevant for Wallace.
There's admittedly not a lot you can do about having only one move, but that does simplify the strategy greatly.

I'm glad to see this released. The concept from the beginning was "Can you beat?" not "How to beat." Its important to highlight the shortcomings of certain Pokemon as well, and also for people who want to undertake the challenge themselves so they know the limitations.

*Beldum watching JRose mash B on the evolution screen:*
( 👁️. )

Beldum actually gets a much better total move count starting in Platinum. It gets Iron Defense, Iron Head, and Zen Headbutt in Platinum with move tutors, regular Headbutt in HGSS, Tackle, which replaces Take Down, and Steel Beam in Sword and Shield, and Tera Blast in Scarlet and Violet for a total of eight moves across seven generations of its existence. So a Beldum run in any game where it can learn moves other than Take Down might be interesting to see.

Close to a 1 in 10 million chance of winning that last battle

Theoretical optimization:
Adamant nature,
EV-spread: 252 Physical Attack, 148 Speed (to outspeed everything including Salamence), 110 HP (to take the knockback better)

This Beldum run gets the OG Bug Catcher official stamp of approval! 👍

Some ways to improve the beldum might be
1. Put more EVS into HP. Just have enough speed to outspeed everything, but don't dump everything in the speed.
2. Sounds like you did not max out attack Evs. Make sure that is maxed.
3. With the higher hp, see if there is a legit way to get leftovers instead of shell bell
4. If you're willing to trade items, give the Beldum a choice band

For the record, the actual chance of winning that last battle (including the chance that Take Down hits in the first place) is (0.85*0.0625)^5 * 0.85 = about .00000036, or about a 1 in 2,780,266 chance. To put that in perspective, if you were crazy enough to try this battle 100 times a day, on average it would take you 76 years before you'd get a win. So yeah, impossible it is.
On a side note, I now want to see if that shiny Wingull can beat Emerald...

So I have been calculating a theoretical way for Beldum to win. Note that this is theoretical. It would work, but its not realistic to get in a normal playthrough.
First off, you need the right Nature. My calculations assume a Jolly nature, boosting Speed to ensure you go first more easily and dropping Sp Atk because its worthless when all you have is Take Down. You can use Adamant for the extra Atk instead, but that doesn't make enough of a difference, usually. Without crits, you won't be able to one-shot everything even with the Silk Scarf. And with Jolly nature, you'll still one shot all of Wallace's team with crits anyway. So I suggest Jolly.
However, we are manipulating things... Because you'll also want max IVs in at least Attack, Speed, and HP. As for EVs, swap out most of those Wingull and Zigzagoon for Wurmple. You'll want 252 Attack, 158 HP, and 100 Speed EVs. At level 100, that will give you 260 HP, 209 Atk, and 133 Spd. Now, I am assuming Wallace's Tentacruel's nature does not boost its Speed, in which case it will have 132 Spd. As his fastest Pokemon, 133 Speed ensures you always hit first. However, NPC natures in gen 3 are random, so its hard to say for certain. This can also benefit you, though, in other ways.
Like this, you have at least a guaranteed 2HKO on his entire team, with a 6.3 chance of a OHKO on his Tentacruel.
So, what's the win? Obviously, have Shell Bell equipped. But the battle itself is fairly realistic. You can hope to crit everything for guaranteed OHKOs, sure, but you don't need to. You do need good luck though.
Wailord won't do much damage if it hits, but it can also just use Rain Dance or it could miss with Blizzard. I don't think its possible for Wailord to end up in healing range, but I can't find stats for what that range is to be certain. Even if it does hit you, you're still fine, but a Blizzard miss or Take Down crit is the best option.
Tentacruel you have a low chance to just OHKO. Obviously the best bet is to OHKO, whether with a high roll or with a crit. However, it can only hit with Hydro Pump or Ice Beam. Ice Beam won't deal much damage, as long as you don't Freeze. Hydro Pump will deal a lot though, especially if Wailord used Rain Dance, so if you don't one shot, hope Hydro Pump misses. If you don't one shot, it will definitely be put into healing range though, so hope for that OHKO.
Ludicolo is... Iffy. If Wailord set up Rain Dance, then I'd actually hope for Tentacruel to have used up all of those Full Restores. Because with Swift Swim active, you have no chance of going first. Surf will also deal a good amount of damage. Without Rain Dance active, you'll want to hope for a crit to OHKO it. Surf will probably deal too much to handle, Leech Seed will nullify your Shell Bell if you don't crit to OHKO everything else, and Double Team will give it time to kill you with Surf. The only time I'd say a crit OHKO is necessary.
Whiscash can deal a lot of damage with Surf or Earthquake, so hope for Amnesia or a low damage roll.
Gyarados has the same problem, made worse. If it uses Dragon Dance, it will outspeed you. It will also deal decent damage with Earthquake or Surf. You will not survive an Earthquake from Whiscash and from Gyarados, at least not with enough health remaining to beat Milotic. Same thing if it hits you with a Dragon Dance Earthquake. A normal Earthquake might be fine depending on the rest of the battle, assuming a low roll.
Then, Milotic. It does depend on the rest of the battle, but you'll need at least 50 HP to survive if you crit OHKO it. If not, you'll need at most 27 HP at the end of the turn to manage a 2HKO, depending on the previous roll of course. Unless you get it into healing range even with the Sitrus Berry kicking in, which I don't think is possible. You'll probably need a crit OHKO, but it heavily depends on how the rest of the fight went.
Overall, its fully possible to manage to beat Wallace. You might not actually need the very specific Beldum I came up with, that just makes it more likely. It's not easy, but still.
Steven, however, is completely impossible. With the Shell Bell, you'd take around 160 in recoil just defeating them. Which wouldn't be a problem if you could one or two shot everything. But, of course, you won't. Skarmory is a 4 shot if every hit is a crit. 7+ otherwise. Claydol is a 3 shot without crits. Aggron is an 8 shot if they're all crits, around 20 hits to kill. Thats half of his team and they've already had way too much time to finish you off. You'd need insane luck, with Skarmory using only Spikes and missing Steel Wing, Claydol using only Light Screen, Aggron only using and missing with Thunder, Cradily either only using Ingrain or Confuse Ray with you never hitting yourself, Armaldo only ever doing low damage roll Aerial Aces or you getting 6 crits on it using Aerial Aces or Slash (the damage calculator is for some reason giving the same results for crits as non-crits, so maybe only 3?), and Metagross only missing Meteor Mashes. It would be like a one in a million chance to win, if someone dod that legitimately they should play the lottery.

Beldum is clearly a leg. Metang has two and Metagross has four.
Moral of the story: Don’t skip leg day.
Edit: If those aren’t legs, how does Metang move? It doesn’t have Levitate as an ability, that’s Bronzong. They also get hit by Ground-Type moves despite “floating”, so no. They’re legs. Concluded.

I'd rather do the Beldum run than play Raid.
Edit: I don't care how you feel about this. I don't care how he feels about this. I'm not bothered by whom he sponsors. He doesn't care how we feel about this. I will clown on Paid Shady Loot every time I see it because it's hot garbage. I *do* care about transparency. That's why this has been made more simple to read since reading is apparently hard for some. Thank you for the comments. They are funny.

Sometimes the YT hustle is just an awful, awful grind. Props to you for sticking to these even when you just want to quit mang.

Who could had ever suspecting that a run from a pokemon who's move sef consisting of only 1 move could ever be this entertaining ?

I wonder if this story would be different if one RNG manip'd a perfect Beldum and calculated exactly how many speed EVs are necessary to outspeed the E4, then putting the rest into HP. There were a fair amount of enemies which ended up in unfavourable ranges at level 100, which triggered them to heal after an attack.
Possibly a more optimal value for attack can be found by just having less of it.

Imagine advertising "an RPG with lots of customization boss battles and you can play against PC and other players"... on a pokémon emerald video 😂

At the very least, Beldum is probably possible HGSS onwards due to every generation (though not every game) having the means of giving Beldum Iron Head and Zen Headbutt.

My friend when we were younger called Beldum *BEDLUM* once by mistake and for the last 20 years, ive never not thought of *Bedlum* whenever I see a Beldum

That Kingdra fight is why double team is banned in the challenges [as well as comp]

Boys! We did it. We got Jrose to the level of Raid sponsorship!

This might be the BelDUMest thing you’ve ever done, JRose.

Too bad, really. If you were playing Platinum, HH, or SS, you can use the Move Tutor to teach Beldum Zen Heabutt, Iron Head, and Iron Defense. With just those 4, you'd be sitting pretty at the end.

Damn Beldum was a rough one. No Zen Headbutt, no Iron Defense, no Iron Head. Just two recoil moves. And no Leftovers either, just Leftovers Extra Lite.

Jrose11 be like... im Jrose11

OMG, I've been waiting for this for too long since you mentioned a Beldum Solo Run in the Platinum Shedinja one, I can't believe it's so short.

Around Thanksgiving 2021 I was basically dying and my pain level was cardiac arrest inducing high and morphine did just enough to make sure I didn't die (for the most part) jrose and Scott's thoughts were the things I put on to ease my mind. I hear these guys , their voices and I am put to ease. Thank you

Failed runs are important, especially in the "impossible challenge" runs. If ever run is possible, well it ruins the surprise.

I did some calculations, and I've found that, at level 100, you need 132 speed EVs to guarantee an outspeed on Drake's Salamence (assuming it gets a +speed nature; otherwise, it's 120). You could've put the rest into HP to absorb more recoil. Assuming you gave it perfect stats, it already gained approximately 72 HP EVs through normal gameplay.

I've been with JRose since the sun/moon catch tutorials and I never thought we'd get this run. it really does make me so happy to see how his channel has grown and developed over the years.

I'm really glad that I looked up Beldum's learnset before I started grinding one for my Pokédex😅

I’d say that Beldum won this run. I am a huge believer in theory over reality, and the fact that it can be done by savestates definitively proves that it is possible. It might take a freakishly long time, but if somebody mashed the A button for days on end, it would eventually happen. In fact, 5 crits in a row isn’t even out of this universe impossible. Not only that, but you might not even need them. If the beldum was actually maxed out in Attack and HP EVs, the crits might not all be necessary. So I’d submit that, not only did you prove it is possible, but you also even have avenues to make it doable without relying on RNGesus.
While I do disagree with the conclusion of the video, I still have to admire the amount of work you put in and I still appreciate the fact that you proved it with savestates. Good stuff as always 👍

i tried this a few years back and i failed at Drake. So you made it further, congrats :D

To be honest the failed runs are more interesting and entertaining to me than the successful ones.

We don't always need a strategy or a definitive victory....sometimes mindless chaos and tribulation is what we need.

Been waiting for this since you first mentioned failing it all those videos ago

ah yes, this brings back the fond memories of catching one of the worst pokémon ever but with a legendary's catch rate

Jrose knew I needed something to fall asleep tonight

There might be a way, the king rock, an item that has a 10% chance to cause your opponent to flinch, it might just be able to prevent you from taking damage, and coupled with critical hits, it'd take a long time, but it could just work.

I'm reminded of Sulla's Berserker Run in FFV which also had a very very small chance to be won in the final battle and had to be proven by a bot running through the last battle countless times (it was actually counted and calculated but you get the idea)

Bravo for sticking through it!
It's a good thing you went with Emerald, cause Beldum would barely get clear of Steven's Skarmory, much less the Metagross with Earthquake and a sitrus berry XD

Could you use speed ev reducing berries and then ev train HP? Of course you'd have to do it before hitting level 100.
Even then it might not be enough for wallace

Still waiting for kabutops/omastar run =(

JRose Something that would be interesting to try would be to give one of the pickup linoones the exp share so that it could fetch you leftovers, maybe with leftovers you would have a better chance of winning the beldum run in a legitimate manner

Wow, I had absolutely no memory of Beldum being so... the way it is.

Need to do a run with the shiny Wingull now!

Well I'll be damned, I did NOT know that it's only move is Take Down. I can picture a couple of trainers on Colosseum who have one but I don't think I ever noticed.

So it is mathematically possible, just extremely impractical.

I love that you can keep making these videos, and because there’s SOOOO many Pokemon, you don’t have to worry about content or things getting boring because of how different they are. Love the videos man, and I’ll be praying for you ♥️

One of my favorite pseudo legendary evolution line

Beldum only challenge? Let's go!!!

I automatically disbelieve anyone who says Raid: Shadow Legends is something they'd play without being paid to.

Ayyy nice to see a Beldum run. Beldum's evolutionary line was always one of my favorites

You know, it's an interesting strategy to not even think about the final boss before you start playing.
I can't believe J Rose went with ***speed*** instead of HP for a Pokémon that takes recoil every single turn. Insane, absolutely insane.

Sorry, fam, I had to skip your sponsor spot, it just seemed so forced 😕

I think you’re exactly right about how if every Pokémon no matter how weak can win that isn’t as interesting as having some that simply can’t

Every new Hoenn video from this man becomes his new best video. JRose, you are the GOAT Gen 3 content creator 👌
And I’m not even trying to downplay your Gen 1 and 2 videos, because those are stellar too. It just seems that each and every Gen 3 video is even more shocking, well-narrated, edited, paced, and skilled than the last! Keep going bro, cuz this content train is fire!

J Rose, I've been watching your videos every time I find myself in silence. It makes me feel like I have a friend talking to me. Thank you for making me feel a little less lonely in this sick, twisted world. ❤

Forgot this was a pokemon

Jrose11: haha pokemon
the cat in the corner: MEOW!
herbert: MEOW!

Fun run & analysis video! Thanks for uploading!

your videos always help me fall asleep (in a good way!), appreciate it

He's done it. He got the Raid: Shadow Leghands sponsor. I'm legit proud, get that bag!

I was a lil confused at this run because the first thing you said to train it was to increase speed and attack evs. The problem as far as i can see is that speed EVs should mostly be a waste as youre over leveled anyways.
My question for a recoil damage run is why you didnt ev train your hp, the very max hp is 284, which maybe you dont have the IVs to get. but lets then lower it to 270. thats stil 30 higher than your current beldum and may have helped you with ranges you faced.
I also dont know whether you chose a positive attack nature, but I wouldve tried to do that, and I think its reasonable to pick a positive nature for a solo challenge as this is something the casual player could do (and many have done).
I also dont quite buy it that this was the most frustrating. Weedle seems worst with longer battles (thus should surely be more repeitive), and you got like halfway through the gyms, at least takedown finishes off the pokemon
Im writing this as of elite 4 member drake, havent finished the video yet, will do that now. I normally wouldnt be as critical, but you said a few times theres was little that you could do, yet this would be something you could do

Yeah now that you mention it I can see why this challenge would be a struggle to take down 😂

So this run was from 4 years ago? And the ad sponsor is raid shadow legends?? Man this really is an throwback 😂😂 great work jrose! Only you would put yourself through the sheer chaos and horror of these challenge runs for our entertainment and I love you for it ❤ keep up the great work and hopefully you don’t go completely insane soon 😂😂❤

The worst challenge but the video is only 36 minutes long? What kind of witchcraft is this? You have had elite four segments longer than this!

I wouldn't say it's impossible, just improbable. You demonstrated that it is in fact possible through the save states.

Literally my favorite Pokemon! Glad to see you finally use him!!

Did not expect a Beldum run today thanks Jrose!!

There's not many Pokémon who can't finish the game. Other than gen 1 where some physically can't get past ghosts.
I'm curious though. For the pokemon who actually can't finish, you should make a note that they end there, but then continue past that by having a different Pokémon get past that battle. So for Beldam, we know he finishes at Wallace. But even though the only fight left is Steven, it would be fun to see how far it could get before dying to him. For magikarp, just have another pokemon take on the mandatory Ghost types, and then it'll be fun to see if it can actually beat Lance and Blue, despite it's run actually ending in Lavender Tower.

I will never ever play Raid, dont pretend its a good game, its embarrasing

As someone who's favorite pokemon is Metagross I laughed just from seeing the thumbnail.
Yes the little Beldum has the same catch rate as Rayquaza

Wow, never thought I would ever see one where you "lose" lol. Props on making it so damn far. That alone is already impressive enough as is.

Great job Jrose and keep up the amazing work

The funny thing about this video is that right before it dropped, TBSkyen dropped his design review on the Beldum line today.

I have been waiting to see this since you mentioned this in a video ages ago!!

I learned something new, didn't know about how struggle works in a double battle, so that was cool

Been watching since covid and your early releases. Thanks for your hard work ❤

Good video! I've been wanting to see a beldum challenge video!

2:14 im sorry to hear that.

Finally, a reality check video, needed this, since you do impossible looking feats all the time

Absolute vintage Jrose11 content

(4:03) Whoa, nice shiny Wingull find!
(18:41) Oh, wow. I never gave that any thought with Struggle before, how the game will just randomly pick the target for you if you use it in a double battle. (This is probably true of triple battles and maybe rotation battles in the games that have those as well.)
(33:30) I don't blame you for using savestates for this. The odds are so staggeringly low of Beldum succeeding, due to all the required crits.
Would it have changed anything if you rigged a perfect Beldum with all 31s for IVs (except Special Attack, which doesn't matter), and maximum EVs for Attack and perhaps... HP? Yeah, if you used Tomato Berries to reduce your Speed EVs at the end, while still having just enough to outspeed all opponents, and then put all those EVs into more HP instead, would that have meaningfully improved your odds of beating Wallace?

Can this man not have a million subscribers already?

I already know this is going to be FIRE

Jrose will never cease to amaze me

Reading a few of the comments and hearing people talk about bits that they're missing made me think of something MDB said, about his fossil recurring joke. Even if people complain about a certain bit, there are tons of people who most likely love the bit and would miss it if it was removed. however, on the opposite side I definitely understand trying to optimize your content especially when you're trying to make it into a career which I believe j Rose has said he is trying to do. overall man, I want to see you succeed more than I want to have content which perfectly caters to my tastes and so I will continue to watch you regardless of the little bits that I may or may not miss - but I will throw my two cents in and say that the count von count, Hey everyone how's it going, and especially "not ideal"s, are super enjoyable little nods to the longertime fans in my eyes :)

Awesome video as always man! Crazy its competing with Weedle

Beldum: "dude just let me evolve."
Jrose: "Lol, no."

Well I am surprised it is possible at all. Honestly I didn't know that recoil is capped by their health, I thought it counted full damage

Jrose brings light to my day ❤

Ah yes, completely bed ridden at 4am with Covid and a Jrose upload.

Not to tempt you with having to do this again, but I wonder how much more possible that last battle would be with perfect IVs and EVs.