AI Model Fable 5 Completes 2,000-Decision Pokémon Sapphire Run in 7 Hours

An AI model called Fable 5 (claude-fable-5) played through a Chinese fan translation of Pokémon Sapphire on August 7, 2026, making 2,000 decisions over 7 hours and 11 minutes at a total API cost of $93.87. The run tested three things: how the AI writes its own in-game notes without a template, how it handles button inputs without prescribed advice, and how well it recalls the Hoenn region's game world. Operating under a 'blank page' rule — where the AI freely structured its own notes within a roughly 1,000-token limit — it earned the first gym badge around turn 1,110, significantly faster than a prior FireRed run that needed 1,785 turns for the same milestone. By the time the 2,000-turn cap was reached, the AI had progressed to Dewford Gym, defeated all three regular trainers, and had a detailed battle plan ready for gym leader Brawly, but ran out of turns before the fight. Full logs, the harness code, and a timelapse video of the entire run have been made publicly available in the project repository.