Google’s most expensive AI model, Gemini 2.5 Pro, has reportedly achieved a significant accomplishment by completing a 29-year-old video game.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced on X that Gemini 2.5 Pro successfully completed “Pokémon Blue,” expressing excitement over the achievement.
The “Gemini Plays Pokémon” livestream was initiated by Joel Z, a 30-year-old software engineer unaffiliated with Google. However, Google executives have shown support for the project.
Logan Kilpatrick, the product lead for Google AI Studio, previously mentioned on X that Gemini was progressing well in completing Pokémon and had earned its fifth badge. Pichai humorously added that they were developing “API, Artificial Pokémon Intelligence.”
Anthropic earlier noted that its Claude AI models were making strides in “Pokémon Red,” leveraging their “extended thinking and agent training.” Despite this progress, Claude has not yet completed “Pokémon Red.”
Joel Z advised viewers not to use this achievement to benchmark LLMs’ abilities in playing Pokémon, as Gemini and Claude have different methodologies and tools.
Both AI models rely on agent harnesses to play the game, which provide game screenshots with additional information. This aids the model in deciding its actions, sometimes involving specialized agents.
Joel Z admitted that there were other interventions to help Gemini complete the game, but emphasized that it isn’t cheating. These interventions were meant to improve Gemini’s decision-making without specific hints or walkthroughs.
He also stated that “Gemini Plays Pokémon” remains in development, with ongoing improvements to the framework.
