Twitch streamers set 26 hour world record with epic Pokemon Sword & Shield speedrun

A pair of Twitch streamers just set the world record for catching all 583 Pokemon in Sword & Shield, including both DLC, and it only took them 26 1/2 hours. 

Speedrunning is the act of completing a game or portion of a game as quickly as possible. Some runs take mere seconds to complete, while others can take minutes or hours. Regardless, speed runs are normally much faster than a regular playthrough.

But for some runs, that isn’t the case. For example, the first two 100% runs of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild were 33 and 45 hours long. This is more time than some players put into the game while playing casually.

The current fastest category for Pokemon Sword & Shield has a record time of just over four hours. Not bad, but a world record has just been set by two streamers in a brand new category, and the run is 26 hours long.

Streamers set epic Pokemon Sword & Shield record

Twitch streamers The4thGenGamer and GalacticElliot teamed up to complete the first Pokemon Sword & Shield 583 Co-Op Catch ‘Em All speedrun. Over the course of two days, with a small break in the middle, the runners were able to catch every Pokemon in Sword & Shield.

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The run began on April 13 on The4thGenGamer’s channel, and after 13 hours and 42 minutes, the streamers took a break to sleep and resume the run the following day. They resumed for another 13 hours session on GallacticElliot’s channel and were able to complete the run in two sittings.

With a final time of 26 hours and 27 minutes, the streamers had completed the first-ever Sword & Shield 583 Pokedex run. But the insanity didn’t stop there.

Immediately after finishing the run, the duo announced an even greater marathon starting on April 29 where they will attempt to catch all 905 Pokemon in existence as fast as possible.

During the 583 run, the streamers conquered the main Galar Dex, the Isle of Armor Dex, and the Crown Tundra Dex. They were also allowed to trade with one another for help with the dex, but opted to catch most of the Pokemon on their own.

The criteria to complete the run was for both runners to collect the three certificates of dex completion. The run ended as soon as the Crown Tundra certificate appeared on both screens.

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For more Pokemon, check out everything we know about the upcoming games Scarlet & Violet, and stay tuned for more news and guides.