Pokémon Nuzlocke Challenges

[Carl]

I'm going through Nuzlockes recently and a handful of other members showed interest as well, so here's a thread to chronicle our nuzlockes and share in one another's misery. You may use as much or little detail as you like in telling your tale.

For those who don't know what a Nuzlocke is, it's a set of self-imposed rules applied to Pokémon games (sometimes other games too, in altered versions) designed to make the game more challenging and to force players to use Pokémon they might not normally consider training. The rules that always apply are:

1. Any Pokémon that faints is dead, you must release (or box) it
2. All Pokémon must be nicknamed
3. You can only catch the first Pokémon you encounter on any route, city, cave, etc. This applies only after you've got the ability to actually have PokeBalls. If you KO the first Pokémon, your chance for that route is gone.

For my personal Nuzlockes, I also use the following optional rules:

4. Duplicates clause: if the first Pokémon encountered on a route is one you already own, you may skip it and catch the first new Pokémon you encounter.
5. No Legendaries can be caught

You may modify the rules somewhat, and add whichever optional rules you want.

I'm currently doing a run through Pokémon Silver that I started today, and for it, I shall also be operating under a 6th rule: no trades, not even in-game NPC trades.

Carl's Silver Nuzlocke Part 1

I began my journey in New Bark Town, where I picked up a Chikorita, whom I nicknamed Burrito (a name I have given to my Chikoritas since high school) and headed out to Mr. Pokémon's house. On the way Burrito had a little trouble with the wild Pokémon, but he held up. We healed in the Cherrygrove Pokémon Center and took the tour with the old man to get our Map Card for the PokeGear. We then headed to the PokeMart where I bought a handful of Potions and then it was off to Route 30. Immediately on Route 30, we encountered a wild Weedle, who poisoned Burrito. It was a close call, but Burrito defeated the Weedle, and thanks to some of the Potions I'd bought, was able to hold on until I made it back to Cherrygrove's Pokémon Center. We then returned to the Mart and picked up several Antidotes. We made our way back to Route 30.

This time, we had little trouble and picked up a couple of Berries from the tree and the guy in his house. We made it to Mr. Pokémon's house and picked up the Mystery Egg from him and the Pokedex from Prof. Oak. After being called by Elm, we headed back to Cherrygrove, where we bought more stuff. By this point, Burrito was Lvl. 7, and my pack contained Potion x3, Antidote x8, the Mystery Egg, and one Berry. We stopped in the Pokémon Center and then on our way back to New Bark Town, encountered a red-haired trainer with a Cyndaquil. Burrito barely came out on top, and we returned to the Pokémon Center before heading back to New Bark Town. We told the cops that the trainer we battled was called Negan, gave Elm the Mystery Egg, and picked up the PokeBalls from his Aide.

Burrito and I then headed back to Route 29, where we encountered a male Rattata, Lvl. 4. We caught him and SirFratley joined the party. We headed up to Route 46 next, where we met and caught a female Geodude at Lvl. 3. Shale joined the party. The four of us continued on to Cherrygrove, healed at the Pokémon Center, and went on to Route 30 where we met a male Pidgey at Lvl. 4. Skywalker joined the party! Further up the route, Shale pummeled Joey's Rattata, and we got Joey's phone number. Shale kicked some massive Pokémon hind end all along the route. We headed into Dark Cave where we met a female Zubat, Lvl. 2, that SirFratley one-hit KO'd. We headed to Violet City, where I healed and saved.

The party so far:
SirFratley- Rattata, Lvl. 6
Burrito- Chikorita, Lvl. 8
Shale- Geodude, Lvl. 8
Skywalker- Pidgey, Lvl. 4

[Squeely]

Off to a good start, Carl

And now, for my own Nuzlocke. Decided to go with Emerald. Parts will be spoiler tagged, since I'm doing a screenshot run, and all the screenshots will probably make the page slow to load for those with shoddy connections.

Squeely's Emerald Nuzlocke part 1: The Begin
[spoiler]The usual rules:
- If a Pokemon faints, it is considered dead.
- Can only catch the first Pokemon encountered on a route. Only applies once Pokeballs are available.
- Must nickname all Pokemon.

Additional rules:
- Dupes clause.
- Battles must be fought in "set" mode (which means, the game doesn't tell you what each trainer is about to send out, and you don't get the free switch).
- Legendaries must be defeated.
- Shiny clause: If I encounter a shiny, I am allowed to catch and use it.

A note: I used dabomstew's Universal Pokemon Randomizer to fix/change a few things. The changes are as follows:
- Updated the base stats of Pokemon to their gen 6 stats. This isn't a huge change, as most of the gen 6 stat changes were just 10 points added to the base stats of some Pokemon. This has the chance to work both for and against me.
- Updated moves to their gen 5 values. Also not a huge change, mostly means a few moves will have more PP and slightly higher base power. Giga Drain being 75 base power is probably the most notable one here. Also has the chance to work for and against me.
- Running shoes are able to be used indoors. Won't be noticeable as I doubt any screenshots will contain this, and doesn't really effect the run. It's just convenient.
- Proper-case Pokemon names. So, instead of "MARILL", it'll say "Marill". Doesn't effect the run and is just a nice aesthetic change.
- And the big one: Impossible evolutions are now possible. For example, Kadabra would normally have to be traded to be evolved, but with this change, evolves into Alakazam upon level-up instead. I totally would trade to evolve if I could, so this feels pretty fair. Most don't reach their final stage until the late 30's/early 40's, so it's not like we'll jump right into using powerhouses once the middle stage is reached.

And now that all the formalities are out of the way, let's start!


Obligatory title screen shot. Because cool.


Setting the options to my liking. This is the most important and intense part of the game. It's all downhill from here, honestly.


We meet our professor, who tells us all about what Pokemon are, as if I haven't known what Pokemon are since 1998. I appreciate the heck out of the fact that, because I made tweaks with dabomstew's randomizer, a Crobat appeared here instead.


> NO.
But I like May better, so going with girl.


Your Pokemon will be defeated by someone named Squeely.
The crime syndicates that have lorded over you for years will be taken out by someone named Squeely.
Your gods shall be destroyed by someone named Squeely.
Your world shall be owned by someone named Squeely.
All of you, in Hoenn, should take a minute to reflect on this fact.


After riding around in the back of the truck with no seat belt and heavy boxes and furniture that could probably crush me to death, I arrive. Thanks for letting me ride here like that, Mom. A+ parenting.


While I agree that using Pokemon to move stuff is convenient, I am a bit concerned about what that Vigoroth is doing to our TV...


Up in my room, my PC contained a free Potion. I also set the clock. Edge-of-my-seat excitement to be had here.


Must always talk to the fat dude who loves science. Always.


Next door, we meet a dork. Who even wears a hat that looks like white hair? Apparently, this guy does. What even is your fashion sense, Brendan?


"I could go help my dad with his fieldwork, but Becky just posted about how much she loves broccoli. Not cool, Becky. Out of my Top 8 with you!"


Turns out, Brendan's dad really needed help after all. Um, yell at the thing? Spread out your lab coat so you look bigger and more intimidating? It's just a raccoon, they're not hard to chase off... You... You're a field researcher who doesn't know how to ward off animals, aren't you?


He gave me a briefcase full of smaller animals... Well, I doubt an axolotl will be that effective at fighting a raccoon. The gecko would probably just thip at it and scurry off into the bushes. The chick would honestly be food for the raccoon, if anything. For whatever reason, though, Birch insists that this is the solution to his problem. Going with Torchic, since Treecko doesn't have a good level-up movepool (outside of Leaf Blade) and it probably goes without saying that I'm going to catch tons of Water Pokemon even with Nuzlocke rules in place. This is Hoenn, after all.


Oh boy, this thing sure is intimidating enough to make grown men run in fear.


Oh yeah, this is before Gamefreak decided that you would have to finish a fight and scroll through 50 paragraphs' worth of text before checking out your starter's stats, so here are Torchic's. Neutral nature, not bad.


I sure took a lot of damage from that tough battle.


Birch proceeded to talk about how I'm great at befriending Pokemon or something, but more importantly, he let me nickname Torchic! I won't tell you what exactly Cojiro is a reference to, but I will give the hint that it's another Nintendo game. Pride Point to the first person who correctly guesses it.


A bit of walking and a couple wild battles later, I end up in Oldale Town. Free Potion get!


A tiny bit of grinding on Route 103 brought Cojiro up to level 7. He learned Focus Energy. I think we'll be in good enough shape for the rival fight, after a quick heal of course.


Here it go.


Probably the only time in the entire game when I'm actually going to use Focus Energy. Yay.


Was a bit too slow to screenshot the "Critical Hit!" dialogue, but Focus Energy did give me the crit I had hoped for. Hooray for Focus Energy being useful for once.


A winner is me.


And a level-up!


So it begins.


Got Running Shoes. A yay.


My Route 101 catch is (unsurprisingly) a Zigzagoon. "Ziggy" isn't really a reference to anything other than her species name. Rash raises Special Attack and lowers Special Defense, not a very good nature for something as frail as Ziggy is, though at least it'll power up Surf (if she survives).


Forgot to screenshot the "Gotcha!" screen, but Route 103 catch is a Poochyena. Hardy nature is neutral. If you don't know what the name "Shenzi" is a reference to, I don't know what you're even doing on MLK.


Route 102 catch is le Wurmple. I named him Pickle because Wurmple are kinda long and bumpy like pickles are? I really don't know. Rash lowers Special Defense and increases Speed. Not great, because Wurmple and its evolutions really don't need a hit on their already-low defenses, but the Speed increase could come in handy.

NOW FOR GRINDAN.


Pickup is the best ability.


Didn't really need or want to level Cojiro up, but bait-and-switch training of the others made it unavoidable. At least I got Ember.


And here's the team after grinding. Since this screenshot is a little hard to read, we've got Cojiro at level 10, Ziggy and Shenzi at level 8, and Pickle at level 6. Forgot to screenshot Ziggy learning Tail Whip, Shenzi learning Howl, and Pickle learning Poison Sting, though honestly, none of those moves are all that notable anyway. I'll probably only screenshot the more notable moves.

Let me know if there's anything you think I can improve on, or if there's anything you'd like to see. With that, we end Part 1 on a cliffhanger. What will Pickle evolve into?! Read Part 2 for the i̶n̶c̶r̶e̶d̶i̶b̶l̶y̶ ̶m̶u̶n̶d̶a̶n̶e̶ epic conclusion![/spoiler]

[KopsTheTerminator]

I haven't forgotten about this thread. Not sure how I'd go about the narrative as I'm completely new to this sort of thing so I'll need to look at more examples of this but hopefully I'll have something done by next week as I'll have ample of alone time. I'm also kind of wondering if I should use an original game or a hack as I've probably played the original games almost a hundred times by now lol.

[Squeely]

[quote="Kops"]I haven't forgotten about this thread. Not sure how I'd go about the narrative as I'm completely new to this sort of thing so I'll need to look at more examples of this but hopefully I'll have something done by next week as I'll have ample of alone time.[/quote]
Most screenshot Nuzlockes are done the same way I'm doing mine. I've read a lot of them. Screenshot takes a good deal of work, though, deciding when to screenshot the game, then uploading all of them to an image hosting site. It's time-consuming, though the payoff is that you're able to respond to things in the game, as opposed to simple documentation. There are probably other styles out there. I'd check out text let's plays as well. It all depends on what you want to do, how in-depth you want to go, etc.

Anyway...

Squeely's Emerald Nuzlocke part 2: Battling Bugs, Bountiful Berries, and a Bunch of Bubbles
[spoiler]
Time to take on Route 102.


>NO.


Can Pickle hold his own against a Poochyena that is only one level below him?


He can indeed.


Pickle is evolving into an abstract painting of himself.


It's a Cascoon! We gettin' a moth!


Obligatory Harden learn.


Pickle must now defeat a reflection of his former self.


First we buff up, then we attack!


We's is begins! ...I know all the ins and outs of the battling system and know how to strategize, though. Much as you wish we were on equal footing, odds are we aren't, I'm afraid.


You do, however, have a pickle-eating bird. +1 to you.


...But, that's what other team members are for. Shenzi can make your little majordomo bird hippity-hop all the way to the birdie boiler.


OH NO, NOT THE BIRDIE BOILER! AHHHHHH!


Time to drain this land of all its berries and never plant new ones.


The first-ever use of Ember. A yay. Took a second one to defeat the Zigzagoon, though.


But only one to defeat the Shroomish! ...Dangit, I want a Shroomish. I love Shroomish so much.


Finally done with Route 102, I arrive at Petalburg City. Time to look around.


>NO.
You can't just ask random people for their Myspace, ya rude.


I see a person who is only 26 and has already eaten far too many pizzas.

Well, I could go into the gym and say hi to Dad, but I'm eager to head out to Route 104. I'm excited to see who my next team member will be! I'm sure he won't mind if I go out and catch something before I come back and--


Or not, because a crazy person is standing here to halt my progress. Why do you care so much whether I visit the gym or not?


Pfft nope. But I bounced out of there to become a Pokemon trainer the second I got there. Moving our stuff in is Mom's problem.


>NO.
You can't just ask my dad for a Pokemon, ya rude.


You walk into the grass and throw a ball at it. It's not that hard.


DAD NO.
You can't just give people Pokemon, ya polite. That's how Kanto ended up having that whole Team Rocket problem.


...Fine, don't listen to me. I guess a low-level Zigzagoon wouldn't be a huge loss to you.


Why only one, though? Surely you know that it can take a few sometimes? If you're gonna be polite, at least go all the way with it.


>NO.
Dude I got better things to do than watching you catch a Pokemon. I have badges to earn, an entire Pokemon league to beat... Don't give me that look, Dad. Ugh, fine.


How do you not know this? I understand your asthma has made your life difficult, but we live in a world whose entire livelihood depends on Pokemon. Since you have so much interest in Pokemon, how have you never read about this in a book? You're hopeless, Wally.


Oh sure, you find a Ralts as your first encounter on this route. I found a freaking worm.


Wally WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU'RE NOT A POKEMON.


Even though Ralts has a high catch rate, you should still consider yourself lucky that the Pokeball caught it. Go buy a bunch more, kid. Trust when I say that you'll need them.


Good riddance.


You can't just give me your badge? I'm your own daughter. You went to all these lengths to help out Wally, but you don't help me out. You don't even call Mom anymore, not even to ask how I'm doing or how the move is going. I hate to say that you're kind of a jerk, but...


Wh? You can't even battle me with the Zigzagoon you have? Fine. I'm going to be far better-equipped to take you on later anyway. I'm going to have a Blaziken.


Dammit game YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO MAKE A WHERE'S WALLY JOKE BEFORE I EVEN HAD THE CHANCE TO.


You have no idea where your asthmatic, 10-year-old son is. A+ parenting.

Time to finally head over to Route 104 and --


WHAT IS WITH THE CRAZIES WHO DON'T WANT ME TO LEAVE THIS CITY. IT'S NOT EVEN AN INTERESTING CITY.


If questionable fashion sense makes me a trainer, then sure.


I haven't even begun to get dirty, bro. Beaches, the ocean, volcanic ash, rain... I am going to be the filthiest trainer you've ever seen by the end of this.


Good for you, I guess? I really don't care.


Before I go catch more stuff, I'mma by more of these.


Premier Balls are sweet. I'll use it on something epic. Something like... my Route 104 catch... Off I go!


I found a bunch of bubbles that vaguely resemble a mouse.


Gotta use that sweet Premier Ball.


But of course, it failed. Alas, the clump of bubbles was fated to be caught in a mere Pokeball.


Holy crap, a Relaxed nature and Huge Power? Dang, he really would have been Premier Ball worthy. For those wondering, Relaxed raises Defense and lowers Speed. With Azumarill only having base 50 Speed, the Speed stat isn't exactly crucial to Bubbles, while the Defense boost is excellent. Welcome to the team, you tanky little powerhouse ^-^

Skipping the trainers and sliding right on over to Petalburg woods for my next catch. C'mon Shroomish!


You are unfortunately not a Shroomish.


Still, though, Yawn is a great support move.


A Zootopia reference. A yay. Docile is another neutral nature.

Time for a bit of GRINDAN to get Bubbles and Priscilla caught up with the rest of the team.


We have a full team now. It... it sure is a team. Yup.


I caught a pile of bubbles.


Your fish flops about as my pile of bubbles tackle it. Quite the intense battle.


It's pitch-black, freezing, and your lungs will collapse from the pressure.


Oh crap, this thing. It has Bide, which could easily bring death to my Pokemon. Thankfully, I have a way around this. Stat-boosting moves for the win!


You're A.I. YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE A COUNTER-STRATEGY.


Fortunately, after something like 4-5 Howls and 1-2 Hardens, Shenzi's Tackle still does over half.


Potential death avoided. (In before no one dies because of my extensive knowledge of the game and strategy, and you're all disappointed at my lack of losses.)


This Youngster is coming for us.
This Youngster is going to conquer the world.
And upon doing so, he will ensure that every last inch of sand contains his footprints.


Easier said than done when this game puts you right in direct sight of trainers so often.


Freaking rich people. They always use Full Restores on their Pokemon, even this early into the game. Well, you know what? Not today, Cindy. Not today.


First, I'll drop some poison on you.


Then, I'll drop my nuke on you.

She never got the chance to use that Full Restore.


And with that, we bring part 2 to a close. Team at the end of this part is Pickle lv. 8, Cojiro lv. 11, Shenzi lv. 9, Bubbles lv. 9, Priscilla lv. 8, and Ziggy lv. 8. Next time, we take on Petalburg Woods![/spoiler]

[Carl]

[quote="Kops"]I haven't forgotten about this thread. Not sure how I'd go about the narrative as I'm completely new to this sort of thing so I'll need to look at more examples of this but hopefully I'll have something done by next week as I'll have ample of alone time. I'm also kind of wondering if I should use an original game or a hack as I've probably played the original games almost a hundred times by now lol.[/quote]
Most of the ones I've seen are like mine, and honestly I'm too lazy for the screenshot thing Cap'n Squeels is doin' (and I'm on my phone), but the important thing is to have fun with it, however you do it.

[quote]Time to drain this land of all its berries and never plant new ones.[/quote]
Quoted for truth.

Things seem to be going pretty well so far, Squeels. Keep up the Nuzlockin'. My next update may not come until Tuesday. Was out all day yesterday and as for today and tomorrow, work. Bleh. I have done a bit since last time, but not enough for a proper update.

[KopsTheTerminator]

Meh, after approximately 0 hours of looking into this, my inner team of researchers has concluded: I'll just wing this. Yay?

Also lol, were berries even relevant in Gen 3? I swear I rarely used them.

[spoiler]Ooookay after looking into Squeely's mention of Universal Pokemon Randomizer I decided I'd like to have a go with it as well, as it sounds interesting enough without having to use a hack people would be unfamiliar with. Notably I ended up choosing Update Base Stats, Change Impossible Evos, Random Starting Pokemon (Base Pokemon with 2 Evolutions), Random Static Pokemon, Random Requested & Given Pokemon in trades, Update Moves (Legacy), Random Trainer Pokemon (with similar power to the original Pokemon used and no legendaries), Random Wild Pokemon (of similar strengths to original, no legendaries), National Dex at start (don't know if this would even affect anything or not but since encounters would be randomised, just in case?) , Lower Case Pokemon Names.

I guess I'll use the same rules as the first post:

1. Fainted Pokemon are dead.
2. Pokemon must be nicknamed. (Oooh boy.)
3. Can only catch first Pokemon I see on any area.

As well as:

Duplicates clause. (Would this even happen in a randomised run? We just don't know.)
Shiny clause. (Because my soul would not be able to take it ;A;)
No capturing Legendaries (I don't use legendaries in games anyway as they're uninspiring to use, incredibly annoying to level up and they're basically Easy Mode most of the time.)

I get VERY attached to my Pokemon teams during normal runs so this is gonna be a very painful challenge. But I'm rambling now lol.
I entirely forgot to mention I'm gonna be playing Pokemon Fire Red. (REMAKE THIS GAME GAMEFREAK, IT'S THE BEST OF THE LOT.)

Ooookay let's get this started.

Professor Oak brings out a Shellder in the intro. You mean the Randomizer is actually working and didn't make my copy explode? I'm impressed already.



I pick Girl and name myself Kops, and I can almost see Professor Oak scratching his head in confusion.

I name my rival Kaz, because picking a name easier than sitting around for an hour scratching my head over this jerk's name. I'll have plenty of time for that when the run actually starts, hahahaha, haha... ha.

The game starts right after [s]Sabrina[/s] Professor Oak [s]shrinks me to the size of a doll and places me in her dollhouse[/s] sends me off to my new Pokemon adventure.

I will never understand the logic behind my own personal PC having a magic Potion storage and the option of materialising said store Potions at will, but okay. Have I missed some dialogue in this game that explains this or does everyone treat this as the normal and natural state of things??



The TV said so? Do you really base your worldviews on TV, mum? Bloody sheeple conformist. This is why I'm leaving you.

I suddenly remember Game Options are a thing. Good, because I can't live without Fast text speed. Does anyone ever keep the text speed low or is Gamefreak wasting its time implementing this option? I haven't played anything properly after Gen IV so I don't know if it got removed.

I boldly disregard my now sheeple mum's mention of Professor Oak looking for me and suicidally head towards the tall grass conveniently blocking the only entrance and exit in the entire town. Are they intentionally making it impossible for children to leave town without risking serious injury and/or death from dangerous wild creatures or??

Perhaps thankfully, Professor Oak saves my unwitting ass and seemingly drags me to his lab, where the only other child in this entire 'town' seems to be. This guy was my only playmate for years? No wonder I seemingly don't even care about being eaten by wild Pokemon anymore.

After Kaz "Brat" Oak demonstrates his bold "MEMEMEMEME!!" attitude, I'm allowed to pick a starter first. (I wonder why...) My starters have appeared to be... the "Grass Pokemon" Bagon (?!), the "Water Pokemon" Cyndaquil (uh?), and... the "Fire Pokemon" Squirtle. (really...)

I immediately question Professor Oak's status as a Pokemon researcher. I also weep because the only non-starter Pokemon I got is a damn Bagon. Do you have any idea how much of a pain training Dragon Pokemon is, Randomiser?

Knowing it's probably gonna die so very soon, I pick the "Water Pokemon" Cyndaquil. Gee, that's a strange "Water Pokemon", flames on its back and all. But hey, considering he's the one who also sends 10 year olds on dangerous quests where they commonly face certain death, his inaccuracy at identifying Pokemon types is the least of my concerns at the moment.

I almost consider naming the poor Cyndaquil "Squirtle", but figured it'd be too cruel to give the poor creature an existential crisis the moment I obtain it. So now I'm at the hardest part of the challenge... nicknaming.

I decided to name him Spitfire because I don't plan on giving myself an existential crisis, either.

Then I realise my mistake.

Kaz picked the Bagon. I hate my life. Thankfully, Spitfire is fast enough to strike first and the Bagon is too low-leveled to be a nuisance in the tutorial battle.



Cute little guy. Shame he's gonna be dead soon.

I finally start the game properly and head out to Route 1, debating whether I should start trying to level my little guy up or not risk getting him killed before I at least buy a couple Potions. And because I'm likely stupid, I opt to start leveling him up. How bad can it be?



I soon realise the consequences of my actions - with the Randomiser, not even outdoors is safe from Zubats anymore. I'm scared.

I'm one of those Pokemon players that grind like hell in order to have an easier time with actual battles, so I decide to grind until Spitfire is level 13 - then I remember Cyndaquil evolves at level 14, so I opt for evolving him. There it is folks: I've evolved my starter on the first freaking route. (Possible bonus trivia: Did you know that, if I recall correctly, in Pokemon D/P/PT, if by the second time you have to head to Rowan's lab, you've evolved your starter already, he notices? I always found that neat... don't ask how I figured that out. I'm a grindy ass.)

I head to the PokeMart and pick up Oak's parcel. I can't believe I'm doing all this for free. I begin to question the child labour laws of the Pokemon world.

I deliver the parcel, obtain the Dex, and raise my hatred for this spoiled brat of a rival condescending me. I'll have you know I have a team in my SoulSilver cartridge that would wipe your sorry ass AND your stupid dragon out of the planet.

As per tradition in Bizzaroville, I barge into his house uninvited and obtain the Town Map from Daisy, and head out into the field. I finally have the Pokeballs required to properly start this run; I wonder what the Pokemon in this Route will be.



Is it too late to restart?

I decide to not call this a grave as it IS the future I chose and catch this mofo. Except I realise Spitfire is overleveled and I can't weaken the Ledyba anymore. I decide to throw 3 Pokeballs at it, hoping it'll have a high catch rate, to no avail. So... R.I.P Ledyba. Good start.

Of course the second encounter is a Slugma, which makes me question whether I've angered any spiteful gods recently. I'm sorry Zeus, accept Ledyba as my animal sacrifice to you... please bring me better fortune than what this run has thrown at me from the very beginning. Please?

Route 22, let me see if the gods have answered my prayers.



My atheism intensifies as I realise there are no gods and we are all alone in the chaos of the universe. That's two routes wasted. Great...

I REALLY don't want to face my rival with only one Pokemon (as I imagine having an entire party wiped out means Game Over?), so I try to head out to the route to Viridian Forest. Until I'm stopped by some weird old man who's under the false impression I don't know how to catch a Pokemon. Seeing I'm a mute or just think not speaking is edgy or something, of course, I fail to mention this and let him demonstrate.



#(%&@#(&%@&#%@&(&#%&????!!!

After... that, weirdo grandpa decides to give me the Teachy TV, which I graciously accept, knowing it'll never see the light of day again.

Route 2 it is!

Or not, because I realise I only have 2 Pokeballs left and should probably stock up as I can't weaken Pokemon anymore to improve my chances of capture. Grind, they said, it'll pay off, they said.

I mutter unspeakable phrases as I walk back to the PokeMart and buy 10 Pokeballs.

Route 2, it finally is!



Good job, Randomiser. I opt to capture it as Butterfree is surprisingly good in the early game from my experience really, which I manage to do after only 1 Pokeball. Nice, I guess?

I name her Shatterfly. Don't ask.



I'm okay with this. Do I expect her to survive before she evolves into Butterfree? Maybe not, but I'll grind her anyway!

So, after a very painful training montage full of aggravating leeching Zubats, pecking Spearows, poisoning-inducing Nidorans and other annoying critters...



WE DID IT MLK!!!

So I think I'll end it here - Team:
Spitfire Lv 14
Shatterfly Lv 10[/spoiler]

This was... curious. It might not be as hard as I think as far as wild Pokemon encounters are concerned as long as you plan in advance and play it smart. Trainer/Gym battles/The damn Elite Four will be a giant pain though, I imagine. Kudos for Squeely for mentioning the Randomiser as it's a really nice touch that spices the game up a bit without making it ridiculous (so far), though I'm still baffled how it ended up giving 2 starter Pokemon out of all possible choices lol. Also post went through edits so if there's any bizzare writing I haven't fixed I apologise.

[Carl]

Now my vanilla Silver looks boring.
I think I'll use that randomizer with Diamond after this run ends, whether that be in success or failure. (Because yes Kops, you assumed correctly about your whole party dying.)

Carl's Silver Nuzlocke Part 2

We then headed to Sprout Tower, where we met and caught a level 5 male Gastly, whom I named Han. Sprout Tower was easy enough to clear (surprising, I know) and we did so with no casualties. Negan was at the top to tell me how stupid caring about Pokemon is and how it's only strong ones that matter. I took out the elder and got his dumb Flash HM that I will hopefully never use. At this point, I decided that training for the Gym would be a good idea, so my team did some grinding around Route 30 and Sprout Tower, stopping when my entire team had reached level 12. That done, we headed into Violet Gym, Shale at the front of my party in preparation for Falkner's Flying types that would destroy Burrito should he fight them, and... Shale wrecked shop without even breaking a sweat (can rocks even sweat?). Falkner graciously gave me the first badge and the TM for Mudslap.

Having defeated the Gym Leader, I left the Gym, only to be called by Prof. Elm who wanted me to meet his Aide at the Pokemon Center in Violet City. Not caring, I headed down to Route 32, where some guy magically knew my name (creepy) and told me that someone in glasses was looking for me in Violet City. So, I headed back to the Pokemon Center and talked to Elm's Aide, acquiring from him the egg... again. My party now full, I headed back to Route 32, where I was attacked by a Hoppip who apparently only knew Splash... I was out of Pokeballs anyway, so Burrito killed it and we went back to Violet AGAIN, to buy 10 Pokeballs. Then we headed back down Route 32, avoiding a handful of trainers and stopped at the Pokemon Center in front of Union Cave. There we got the Old Rod from the creepy guy who told me to "try using your rod" at any body of water. Not sure people in towns with ponds would appreciate my doing that, but whatever. After healing, we left and headed back towards Violet. SirFratley leveled up and learned Hyper Fang, so I hope my enemies are prepared to die.

At this point, I ran to New Bark Town and back, with the sole purpose of [s]collecting berries[/s] hatching the egg. Along the way, I was called on the phone several times by Joey and Liz, who just thought I should know how absolutely amazing their Rattata and Nidoran♀ are. I gave them the old "smile and wave" treatment and continued on my merry way. Back at Violet City (maybe I should just buy property here, since I can't seem to stay away), the egg still hadn't hatched, so I started running circles, from Violet, to the Ruins of Alph, to Route 32, and repeat until that little Togepi finally came out of his egg. I named him Tobias and immediately taught him Mudslap just so he'd have an offensive attack. I took my team back down Route 32 now, finishing off the trainers I'd skipped over the last time, and when Tobias learned Metronome and was up against a Lvl. 15 Magikarp, I saw no harm in using it. Things went well, that is, until Tobias used Perish Song. I hurriedly switched him out for Han who finished off the Magikarp and swore off ever using Metronome again, remembering that in addition to Perish Song, moves like Selfdestruct and Explosion also exist. That frightening moment over and a death avoided, I took my team back to the Pokemon Center in front of Union Cave where we healed and decided to rest for a while.

Current party:
Tobias- Togepi, Lvl. 7
Han- Gastly, Lvl. 13
Burrito- Chikorita, Lvl. 13
SirFratley- Rattata, Lvl. 13
Shale- Geodude, Lvl. 14
Skywalker- Pidgey, Lvl. 13

[Squeely]

Dabomstew's Randomizer is indeed quite fun. I may do a randomized run at some point. Wanted to start out simple with my second-ever Nuzlocke, and first one I'm doing for more than just myself, though.

Kops, you're not the only one who has wondered whether anyone uses anything other than fast text speed. I always use fast text speed. Set that stuff to fast the very second I'm able to do so.

Man Kops, those were some severely unlucky encounters Getting two Pokemon that are normally starters was a tad unlucky as well... Though at least starters are good Pokes.

I too tend to grind a lot. I'm trying not to get my Emerald team too overleveled, but the next section of game after part 3 is easily one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult. At least by things like the Elite Four, I'll have a lot more Pokemon available to me and far more moveset options. Roxanne has a fairly high-level Nosepass with T-Wave, Brawly has Bulk Up on all of his Pokemon and dual screens (!) on Meditite... Yeah, y'all will have to forgive me if I overlevel my team a bit. Especially since I'm working with 6+ Pokemon, in the earlygame, where trainers and experience are more limited than later on.

Berries are basically free Antidotes and the like. They're always relevant, imo.

Speaking of that whole part 3 thing...

Squeely's Emerald Nuzlocke part 3: Deja Vu and New Stuff Too

[spoiler]
So, let us go into yonder woods. What'll happen? Will we get attacked by a bear? Consume poisonous berries? Or just mosey through relatively unscathed? It's the early-game forest in a Pokemon game, you already know the answer.


Me too thanks.


Boy, that sure was a diverse team you had.


Because all you had was worms. C'mon, dude. Even I have more than that.


Man, I hate it when I'm walking and I trip over invisible ground items.


Bubbles learned how to turn himself into a Super Soaker.


>NO.
Instead, I saw a sloth with a pink butt.


Me too thanks.


Here comes the impatient pirate.


>NO.
Just kidding. I need all the experience and money I can get here.


I highly doubt you have anything that my derpy team can't handle. Bring it.


"We like to beat up children. It makes us look tough."


That is the coolest logo, though.


Pickle is forever doomed to fight Poochyena that are exactly one level higher than he is.


Poisoned and tackled. Wasn't any more difficult than when Pickle did the same as a worm.


They're Grrrr-eat!


A trainer had one of these. A slight upgrade from worm. Still not very threatening, though.





That sure is easy to do when a lot of the routes in the game are designed so you have to walk through grass.


On the other side of the forest, I obtained a Bullet Seed. A yay.


That's gonna make TM use kinda tough. Would hate to give a great move to a Pokemon, only to lose them. I'm gonna have anxiety about using these all game! A yay!


I have a pile of bubbles and a cocoon.


NO FULL RESTORE FOR YOU.


What could Pickle be evolving into? As if you don't know! As if I already didn't say he would become a moth!


It's a moth. Quelle surprise.


Gonna wreck some Fighting types with this.


For everything else, there's PIZZA ON A BAGEL.


Your Lotad can't do anything to Bubbles if he crits you.


Your Shroomish can't touch Bubbles, even with Absorb, if his defenses are just that good.


Oh no! Will he make it out of this situation?


Of course he will. I mean, we all saw how Shroomish only had a sliver of health left. Why do I even do these pointless cliffhangers?


Hate to say I agree with you, but you couldn't even beat me when I was doing an extremely stupid challenge by using Bubbles instead of anyone else...


Lol I has Antidote.


Because twins must do everything together. Also, first double battle of the game. A yay.


Here come dem Grass types.


To commemorate our first doobluh battluh, I'm gonna use my two favorite team members.


Thrilling.


Cool! What Water-types do you have? Tentacool, whose Poison typing means it sheds Water's weakness to Grass? Wooper, whose Ground typing means it's immune to Electric, which Water is usually weak to? Chinchou, who has a really cool Water/Electric typing? Vaporeon, one of the best Eeveelutions? Or are you a real cool dude and have a Marill like me?


...Oh.


Wellp, Bubbles got to beat up some fishies again. At least I showed this guy what an actual Water-type is like.


Sorry, but you kinda can't win a battle when all your Pokemon know a move that does nothing.


Had you evolved them into Gyarados, that battle would have actually been interesting.


>NO.


A Chesto Berry. A yay.


I arrive at a city with a gym I can actually fight. But first...


Box organizing! The first two are for anything I catch that isn't being used on my team. The third one is where great Pokemon of the past will go, should they perish.


We continue our pulse-pounding box adventures with these two getting put away for now. Got a couple new routes I can visit, got a couple new catches I can get.


However, I'm going to use these my first time through the upcoming route. I'll still catch something there, I just want to catch something in the cave connected to it first. I'll explain why later.


Got a humoi from this guy. A yay.


Over on Route 116, it's time to put that Repel to use.


The game agrees that this was a wise decision.


I dunno, I'm kinda doubtful of that claim after so many people have lied to me about their strength.


BUG CATCHER JOSE EXPOSED AS A FRAUD.


Kudos to you for having something slightly better. It's nowhere near enough to back up the claim that your Bugs are tough, though.


And then they get crappy quickly.


Another doobluh battluh using my two favorites. Gee, I wonder what I'll do.


I'll cook a mushroom, throw water onto a rock, and tackle a lilypad before cooking it as well.


>NO.


Hate to break it to you, but honestly, my Pokemon and I are the ones who will rock you.
I mean, have you even stopped to take a look at yourself?
Buddy, you're a boy make a big noise, playin' in the street, gonna be a big man someday!
You got mud on your face, you big disgrace.
Kickin' your can all over the place.

WE WILL WE WILL ROCK YOU!


We rocked him.
Also, gotta love how an NPC considers this very early into the game... And almost every trainer we fight from here on out still isn't going to have much type diversity. If any at all.


And here we are. This area is why I used repels on Route 116. Only one Pokemon appears in Rusturf Tunnel, but it also has a 20% appearance rate outside. If it was my first encounter there, I would essentially lose Rusturf Tunnel as an area in which I can catch Pokemon.

What Pokemon appears in this tunnel, you ask?


IT'S A PUMBLOOM!


Priscilla Pinkbutt helped me catch him by making the letter z dance on his head.


Sassy is +Special Defense, -Speed. Pumbloom could make something of a Special tank with his good HP stat should I decide to use him (which I just may because I'm one of those strange people who really loves the Whismur evolutionary line for some reason). Speed drop is unfortunate, but Exploud has 68 base Speed, so it's not like this line really relies on Speed to get by.

Back onto Route 116 now, for my encounter!


Boy, that sure was worth all the trouble of Repel-scumming and explaining why I was Repel-scumming.


A yay, I guess.


She shall be voiced by Vincent Price in spite of the fact that she's female. Docile is neutral.

With that, we wrap up part 3. Kinda hate to put off the gym, but this part has already gone on forever. Team at the end is as follows:

Priscilla lv. 10, Cojiro lv. 14, Pickle lv. 10, Bubbles lv. 13, Pumbloom lv. 6, Le Fly lv. 6.

Gonna have some massive GRINDAN to do if we want to be anywhere near prepared. Next part of the game is two gyms, with very few trainers in between.[/spoiler]

[Carl]

[quote]Man Kops, those were some severely unlucky encounters [/quote]
Unlucky? I don't really get y'all's reactions, tbh. Shedinja is a beast and Butterfree isn't to be trifled with. Sure Ledyba's not really great and Zubat is Zubat, but Shedinja... that dude is badass.

Also, Squeels, neat idea with the boxes. I just go the whole release route myself though, otherwise I'd be way too tempted to take my deceased party members back out.

Unless they're Tobias. If [s]when[/s] he dies I would not get him back out of the PC. Or anything with no movepool like that.

Anyway I think we're all doing well enough so far--I mean we've still had no casualties so that's good, right?

[KopsTheTerminator]

Oh god Squeely the lack of actual interesting trainer battles is always ridiculous. I really wish they'd spice that up a bit because having areas with more of the same over and over gets tedious. And those Magikarp fishermen... whyyyyyy, the EXP is so minuscule from those battles it's not even worth the PP and effort lol.

Also god, Flash might be the dumbest HM of them all. I was so spiteful over the stupid move that I remember during one of my runs I just decided to go blind on areas that needed it because the thought of wasting a move slot on Flash was more frustrating than trying to navigate dark areas. (You can imagine I'm not too impressed with an idea of an HM slave taking up an entire party slot either... )

I'm pretty okay about the Butterfree personally, it's just that I always use it in my team on FR/LG anyway so having Caterpie pop up again is a bit meh when you're trying to stir things up a bit. Meh, plenty of time for new Pokemon later. As for Shedinja it's because I've never personally known how to use it properly, if I recall correctly it's that gimmicky 1-HP Ghost(?) Pokemon you get from Nincada. Not sure if that'd even last the challenge at all.

And yeah things seem well so far, did struggle a lot with keeping Shatterfly alive through training though. Pesky pecking Spearows and Nidorans poisoning her made for a lot of very close calls.

I'm also gonna need something to counter Rock for the first gym because Fire and Bug/Flying type Pokemon sound like a death sentence on a challenge like this. Arghhhh, my starter decision is biting me in the ass once again.