The Japanese YouTube channel, Mutekimaru Channel, has been detailing the adventure of a fish. The programmer has set up a unique way for the fish to play Pokémon Ruby. After thousands of hours, the fish completed the game.
The fish didn’t know what it was doing. The programmer set up a “controller” so that the fish would swim over a square directional board with the AB buttons in the corners. A camera would follow the fish’s movements and input the command into the game.
Since the fish didn’t know it was playing a game, sometimes the fish would make “wrong” decisions, especially when important choices were required to progress. One shocking situation involved raising Blaziken, which the fish named “Nohohohoho,” for 600 hours only to allow it to escape.
The fish also managed to find some interesting details within the game that a normal human player wasn’t able to find. In early October, the fish discovered a bug where rocks were growing in the Seafloor Cavern. Players have to complete a boulder puzzle to move forward. However, in the Japanese version of the game, the fish discovered that one of the boulders is improperly reset, which makes the puzzle unsolvable.
お魚でポケモンクリアは開始から3195時間目にして殿堂入りする事ができました。ここまで続けてこれたのも皆様のご支援のおかげです。本当にありがとうございました。(リプ欄へ続く)
↓ポケモンリーグダイジェスト動画
お魚でポケモンクリア _ Clear the pokemon with fishhttps://t.co/p5gJFVAPzw pic.twitter.com/ENeFJss7IT— むてきまるちゃんねる -Mutekimaru Channel- (@Mutekimaru_ch) November 7, 2020
In early November, the fish finally made it to the end of the game. The fish had to battle the Elite Four to become champion. The team that the fish used included Mightyena, Tentacruel, Manectric, Camerupt, Swellow, and Walrein.
The fish managed to catch 316 Pokémon. Mutekimaru Channel posted a summary of the captured Pokémon, along with their nicknames. Most of their nicknames are single letters or various Japanese katakana combinations.
After Pokémon Ruby was complete, the fish went on to its next challenge, which was battling Rayquaza in the Sky Pillar. This journey, which was over 90 minutes, was uploaded as a bonus for viewers. Unlike the other videos, which used a camera to follow and input the movements, the programmer manually played the game by following the fish’s directions.
Mutekimaru Channel takes great care of its fish by ensuring its health first. Besides updating the channel with new gameplay videos, there is a video of how the owner cares for the fish.
The fish’s gaming adventures aren’t over yet. Mutekimaru Channel has announced the fish will take on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on the Nintendo Switch. The first video, called “Test Delivery,” is currently available.
