Gotta Catch a Cause: 72-hour Pokémon Marathon Live Now, Benefitting Japan Flood Relief

Watch live video from UTD Zac’s Livestream on Justin.tv

UPDATE 3/27: All done! Original details of the marathon are still available below.

Huge thanks to everyone who participated. Special shout-outs go to the r/pokemon Reddit community and to Serebii.net. Both communities were hugely supportive in the chat.

The final playtimes were:

• Pokémon Blue: 8:30
• Pokémon Gold: 4:39
• Pokémon Sapphire: 11:57
• Pokémon Diamond/Pearl: Roughly 11 hours. Had to be cut short due to an unfortunate software crash during the E4.
• Pokémon Black: 5:57
• Total time: ~42:10

As of the end of the marathon, you all helped raise $385 for Japan. Thank you so much again to everyone who donated, and to everyone who helped spread the word.

The fundraising page will continue to be available for the next few weeks. If you would like to donate, visit http://www.mercycorps.org/fundraising/jasonm3d.

Grats everyone!

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Original post:

>> Participate in the Pokémon Marathon for Charity

Some good friends of mine are currently undergoing a weekend Marathon of all 5 generations of Pokémon games, all in the name of raising money for victims of the Japan Earthquake. @JasonThinks, the generous mastermind behind the event, asked if I would be interested in taking on one of the games, and if they could use Wavedash as a landing spot. Of course I said of course. And so, the great Pokémarathon is underway!

How does a gaming Marathon help the victims?

Charity gaming marathons have been growing in popularity for the last several years, ranging from fan-run to quite extravagant. The goal is to pick popular and/or nostalgia-laden games that gamers would enjoy watching played live. This usually involves a series or genre, such as “all Zelda games.” While watching, viewers have the opportunity to donate to that marathon’s cause. It’s a wonderful grassroots gaming phenomenon that has a real impact on the world.

Sounds nice. What are you marathoning exactly?

We’re attempting to run through the 5 primary Pokémon games by Sunday night.

• Pokémon Blue (Done in 8:30!)
• Pokémon Gold (Done in 4:39!)
• Pokémon Sapphire (Done in 11:57!)
• Pokémon Diamond/Pearl (Done, minus the E4 due to a software crash, in 11 hours)
• Pokémon Black (Done in 5:57!)
  Total time: ~41:30

Who are you donating to?

The Pokémarathon is driving donations to Mercy Corps, a non-profit currently running several online benefits for Japan. It’s easy to set up a donation page, so individual fundraisers don’t need to mess with Paypal, pledges or transactions. Their widgets and share features take care of it for you.

For more information about where donations to MercyCorps go, visit their Japan Earthquake Relief homepage.

How do I watch? And how do I donate?

You can watch, chat and donate at the following page:

http://www.wavedash.net/pokemon-marathon-for-japan/

If you would like to donate directly, you can use the widget currently sitting in the sidebar.

Our heart goes out to the victims and their families. Hopefully we gamers can continue to band together and provide assistance. Thanks to Jason, UTDZac and the rest of the crew for putting this event together, and thank you to everyone participating in the chat.