Pokemon Nuzlocke Runs

[Minibit]

Some of you are familiar with the term, some may need a brief outline, so here ya go!


A Nuzlocke Run is when you play a Pokemon game with a self-enforced set of rules which make it more difficult. The rules being:

1. Rule #1. You can only capture the first Pokémon you encounter in each new area you explore. (some players add a Doubles Clause where if your first encounter is a 'mon you already have, you can catch the next one)
2. Rule #2. If one of your Pokémon faints, you must release it. It is dead.
3. Rule #3 (not technically an official rule, but widely encouraged) You must nickname everything.

Some of the reasons people like Nuzlocke Runs are:

• It promotes a closer personal attachment with your pokemon
• It makes it more challenging
• It slows the game down
• It builds story focus

Some complaints against it are

• It makes dex completion functionally impossible
• It makes the game as a whole too challenging
• The idea of a pokemon being 'dead' is objectionable
• It requires too much level grinding

So there you go! That's a Nuzlocke run.

Have you ever done a Nuzlocke run? How'd it go?
Or, if you haven't; do you want to try one?

 

[Shas'Ui]

It makes the game as a whole too challenging

I tried a Nuzlocke run of Pokémon Black and White when my cousin lent me his DS. I had the bright idea of choosing a grass starter, and proceeded to only get grass pokémon until facing a full party wipe at the hands of a single fire-type.

Rest in Piece Lil J, Sleazy Sheeze, Rattatouie, and Ekans Dilos.

 

[Minibit]

Ekans Dilos.

Nice.

 

[Shas'Ui]

Nice.

He was around for two fights, but those two fights were the greatest displays of Close Quarter Leering that I ever did see.

 

[Kestrel]

I don't mind pokémon games being harder, but the series has a serious case of power creep over the generations. Statistics are very important and there's no way your bidoof will face off a salamence without a significant level advantage, even if you do teach it ice fang. You don't account for the AI being smarter, you account for different numbers. To me, a Nuzlocke run basically means grind harder and pray there's no crit hax. It creates the illusion of difficulty by making you invest more time.

 

[Dekonic]

I did a randomizer nuzlocke run in White 2, started with a Dragonite and caught a Salamence out of sheer dumb luck, went on to destroy everything in the game.
Was excellent fun.

 

[Spammy]

I attempted a Nuzlocke run of Platinum once. The first time I lost a Pokemon was devastating. I made it a decent chunk of the way through the game, and then I got wiped by a mandatory fight in a Team Galactic building where the guy puts an X Special on his Kadabra. After whiting out and losing six friends I couldn't start another Nuzlocke run. So I started a Halflocke (Spamlocke?) run. Which is just:

You may only capture the first wild Pokemon you encounter on each route, unless the Pokemon you encounter is
-a member of an evolutionary family you have a Pokemon from*
-a shiny Pokemon

To me, really, the draw of the Nuzlocke run was to spice up replaying a Pokemon game. I'm no longer needing to capture every Pokemon on the route, and I'm forced out of my comfort zone by having to use Pokemon I wouldn't consider or when my Pokemon pass on. But it turns out I'm a huge softie so I switched to the Halflocke which still serves my purposes, making me consider different Pokemon.

I didn't finish the Halflocke run though, I got analysis paralysys when I was trying to figure out what my E4 team would be and then got distracted by other games.



*I'M PLAYING PLATINUM I'M NOT GOING TO HAVE A TEAM OF MY STARTER AND FIVE BIBARELS I DON'T HATE MYSELF THAT MUCH

 

[Shiri]

I don't think I have the self control to play by Nuzlocke rules, but I do like the comics that people make about their runs.

 

[Dervish]

What the heck is a Nuzlocke, exactly? The creator's user name?

I'd be onboard with everything but the permadeath aspect. Too grindy.

 

[Minibit]

The creator's user name?

That's exactly it if I recall correctly he used a Nuzleaf as his avatar which is the origin of the "Nuzlocke" username

 

[Ser K+]

I tried one on my second run of Diamond.
I lost my entire team to Minato Volkner.

 

[Sidhe]

I love me some Nuzlocke runs. I've done quite a few. I play so much Pokemon that it's a nice way to spice things up. My most recent run was on Pokemon X, and while grinding some levels, I found a shiny Skitty. Was completely unexpected. Stupid fucker was named Julius and was completely useless, but I still kept him the whole run just out of principle. The rules I've seen about shinies during Nuzlocke is that you're allowed to a) catch them even if they're found in an area you've already caught your Pokemon in and b) not consider them dead if they faint. Thankfully, the turd never fainted. Despite being 100% useless.

 

[Fox of Spades]

Did a nuzlocke run with a friend xD I nabbed Heartgold while she nabbed Soulsilver. It was pretty fun, we gave the player characters backstories and everything and were mostly in it for the stories we'd be able to make. We did little fics revolving around certain parts of the game and the Pokemon our OCs would lose. During the 6th or so gym battle, my started died though, so I ended up quitting the nuzlocke and just playing the game normally xD. My friend did the same after she lost her starter sometime after as well.

We gave it another try with Platinum but never finished that run either.