Games Done Quick (YouTube)

Tap as he might, ZooKetra was unable to coax Korone through the tunnel, an obstacle that’s normally nothing more than a formality. The little black pup would go part-way in and then stop, declining to scamper any further. Now and then a virtual puppy will get stuck briefly, costing runners a second or two of precious time, but Korone flat-out refused to go through, forcing ZooKetra to reboot the game and try again with a fresh course. Korone, being the worst Nintendog ever, got stuck again.

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A SGDQ speedrunner gets their Nintendog stuck in an agility test tube, which almost never happens.
Just go through the tube you little monster!
Screenshot: Nintendo / SGDQ

A Nintendog getting completely stuck in a tunnel is not a common occurrence. As ZooKetra’s commentator Mook put it, “I’ve run an ungodly amount of this game, like a disgusting amount, and I have legitimately never seen that happen.” For it to happen twice in a single speedrun? That’s called “marathon luck,” something that doesn’t happen unless a couple of thousand people are watching you do it live.

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After another reboot, ZooKetra decided to run Korone through the other two competitions, obedience and frisbee catching, before giving the agility course one more try at around the run’s 16:00 mark. Perhaps the frisbee win taught Korone not to fear circular things. Maybe the obedience run taught the puppy an important lesson about listening, dammit. Whichever the case, the third time was the charm for Korone and ZooKetra.

A very bad Nintendog presses his little paws against the screen.
It’s not putting him to sleep if he was never truly awake.
Screenshot: Nintendo / SGDQ
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ZooKetra’s final time for the run was 16 minutes, 56 seconds, a very good time despite various setbacks. But the real reward was being able to obliterate Korone from existence by deleting the save once the run was done. You were a bad, bad dog, Korone, and you shall not be missed.