My First Pokémon Nuzlocke Challenge

I’ve been playing the games since they first came out in the UK. However, this is the first time I have ever played a Nuzlocke. Since it was the first time I played and fully gone through with it, I thought it would be nice to do my first Nuzlocke playthrough in a Gen 1 game. I went with my German copy of Blue that I had purchased on them 3DS’s e-shop. I’ve played the first generation of Pokémon in French, English, Japanese and German. I’m only fluent in English, but I liked seeing the Pokémon names in another language.

Red, Green Blue and Yellow are notorious for their insane glitches, broken mechanics and hilariously awful sprites. With the way the game maths worked, critical hits depended on your speed, so quicker Pokémon had more of a chance to give critical hits. The game is also gave psychic Pokémon an unfair advantage. Ghost and bug are meant to be strong against it, but there is no decent move for either of these types in gen one. This is fixed in later generations.

Having not played a generation one game in a while, I went through with the game based on what I knew and followed the basic Nuzlocke rules. People often add their own rules to make it more challengin, but I’m just following the basic rules which are:

• Catch the first Pokémon you encounter on your route.
• If it faints it is considered dead and must be released or placed in the box. It must not be used again.
• All Pokémon must bear nicknamed. I don’t know if this one is official, but I see it used a lot.

The Fallen Ones

I only had four Pokémon die in my game. Two of them were at Brock’s gym and the other two were explosions. Brock’s gym made me wish I had gone with Bulbasaur or Squirtle as I don’t normally go with Charmander. I’m glad that I kept going on and I think if it wasn’t for Nidorina, my challenge would have been over before it had truly started.

Glumanda (Charmander)

My starter died pretty early in the game. It’s a shame because he was the strongest in my party and he was so close to evolving into Charmelon. Just makes me wonder if I had grinded that little bit harder, would Glumanda still be alive?

Taugo (Pidgetto)

A lot of the German Pokémon names seemed cool to me. I’m sad it never got to evolve into a Pidgeot because it’s German name Tauboss makes me think of The Boss. It felt like all my hard work grinding and getting it to a Pidgetto was a complete waste when Onix’s bide wiped it.

Nippel (Diglett)

My boyfriend asked me to name him Nippel because that’s the German name for nipple. He thought it was hilarious. Sadly Nippel’s life was as short-lived as the joke.

Snobilikat (Persian)

Persian’s death was bullshit. Explosion and Self-destruct are the bane of my existence in Gen 1. And its made me hate Weezing with the exception of James’ Weezing in the anime. That one is okay. Snobilikat’s deat really effected me the most because it was my first time using Persian on my team and I thought he was great. I was gutted when he fainted. I almost turned my 3DS off to reset or decide to put an explosion/self-destruct-clause, but my friends said no you can’t do that! He would have been amazing with Slash in the Elite Four.

The Champions

My stragedy in my first Nuzlocke was to reduce the number of casualties as possible. I used types to my advantage and even battled the gym leaders in a different order. I thought of a moveset for each pokemon I caught and used any vitamins and rare candies I got to help with training. Before Brock I got my Pokémon between the levels of 14-16, even though it didn’t work out as well as planned.

I had better luck in other gyms. By battling Koga and Blane before Erika and Sabrina, I was able to get my team to higher levels and also to get the surf HM which was essential for Blane. Sabrina and Koga’s gyms were the ones I feared the most because three of my Pokémon were part-poison. Fortunatly, the gym leaders didn’t leave any lasting harm on my Pokémon.

I dreaded the Elite Four, but I’m pleased to say all my grinding and plans paid off. Everytime I saw an Electrode or Weezing, I shivered in case they learned Explosion/Self-Destruct because I did not want my Pokémon to die from bullshit like that. They should at least go with dignity like Glumander and Taugo did. I am still not over Snobilikat’s death. It’s a real game rage moment for me.

Saffron (Butterfree)

Moveset: Pyschic, Mega-drain, Sleep Poder and Flash

Best Moment: Sweeting all the Pokémon in the fighting Dojo. Saffron did well to survive even when the odds were against her.

Hikari (Nidoqueen)

Moveset: Surf, Earthquake, Body slam & Horn Drill

Best Moment: Being the first Pokémon caught and slaying great trainers even in a pinch. Easily the strongest and highest levelled one on my team.

Sonne (Victreebel)

Moveset: Cut, Solar Beam, Double Edge and Acid.

Best Moment: Defeating Erika’s Pokémon on it’s own.

Apollo (Gengar)

Moveset: Lick, Toxic, Night Shade and Thunderbolt

Best Moment: Causing sweet poisonous havoc at the Elite Four.

Jim Royale (Snorlax)

Moveset: Fire Blast, Pyswave, Strength and Amnesia

Best Moment: Doing everything whilst laying down.

Onmyo-za (Ninetales)

Moveset: Flamethrower, Dig, Bide and Confuse Ray

Best Moment: Causing the last blow to Champion Blue’s Pokémon.

Conclusion

Despite the bullshit moments, I enjoyed my first Nuzlocke. It didn’t feel much different to my regular playthroughs other than the act once they’ve fainted it’s gone. I only four Pokémon, and I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad for a Nuzlocke, but I’m quite pleased I made it all the way to end without dying. It was a nice way to make the game more challenging.