Same Prompt, 21 Replays: Sonnet 5.5 Took the Closest Pokémon 13 Times, Opus 5.5 Never Did

VibeCodyH · reddit · 2026-09-29

In a Pokémon Red benchmark scored via RAM milestones, the author replayed Sonnet 5.5's starter pick 21 times with identical prompts: it chose the nearest Charmander 13 times, Squirtle 8, Bulbasaur 0 — while Opus 5.5 picked Squirtle 18 of 20. Crucially, the Charmander picks weren't blind: the model often knew Squirtle was better but took the "simpler path" around Oak. That cost it — Charmander's attacks were resisted by rock, it blacked out at turn 270, and grinded to a second-attempt win (470 turns, $10.49 vs Opus 5.5's 271 turns, $8.44; Fable 5.1 needed 554 turns and $99.76). Full logs at pokebench.tv.

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