With Pokémon Scarlet & Violet set for November of 2022, many players are looking forward to Nuzlocke the game for the very first time, with some even waiting to make the new game their very first Nuzlocke.
A Nuzlocke challenge is a way to spike the difficulty of the games for more advanced players. The challenge was created in a comic series by Nick Franco, and was named after Franco's Nuzleaf who was drawn with the face of John Locke from Lost. The challenge has two core rules and many clauses that fans can play with.
When Pokémon Faint, They Must Be Released Or Boxed Forever
The most iconic Nuzlocke rule and one of its two core tenets is usually referred to as "permadeath," a single KO means the Pokémon can no longer be used in the run.
The first core rule makes it so players need to be incredibly careful and strategic with their playthroughs, otherwise, they'll end up with one less companion on their team. The rule can be frustrating to deal with if a teammate is hit by a critical move, but playing around the randomness of the game is part of what makes Nuzlockes so challenging.
Players Can Only Catch The First Encounter For Each Location
There are only two core rules of Nuzlockes that must be followed, and the second limits players to one Pokémon per area. This includes routes, caves, cities, and other similar locations.
Players will only have a select number of Pokémon to work with, equal to the number of potential encounter locations. This makes players use companions they otherwise wouldn't. It also means players will want to sculpt their teams carefully, using their early game Pokémon when their stats are actually good while saving their stronger encounters that evolve late for further into that game.
Pokémon Must Be Nicknamed
One of the original rules that has become more of a clause is that Pokémon must be nicknamed. The rule exists to create more attachment so that their demise will make the player even sadder.
Nicknames in Nuzlockes are also very often done with a theme that ties the team together. Some popular nicknaming themes that Nuzlocking YouTubers have done in the past are food, friends, and other video game characters. However, themes aren't mandatory and fans can do whatever they'd like with the nickname clause.
Duplicate Clause
To promote diversity in their playthrough, one of the most common clauses is to skip to the next encounter if a player's first encounter for a route is a partner they've caught in the playthrough already.
There are also subversions of this clause. For Rockruff, who evolves into maybe the strongest mono-Rock Pokémon in Lycanroc - Dusk as well as two weaker forms, there are some players who would catch two Rockruffs but only allow them to evolve into different forms. This is the same for other basic encounters with branch evolutions like Clampearl and Poliwhirl.
Shiny Clause
One of the most potentially exciting things about the series is running into a rare shiny Pokémon. The first encounter rule conflicts with this, so some players allow the capture of shinies regardless.
There are many variations of the shiny clause. A popular one that prevents players from gaining an extra encounter allows the player to trade out their original route encounter for the new shiny. Another allows the player to catch the Pokémon for their own collection, but prevents the player from using the shiny in their actual Nuzlocke.
Set Mode Only
Traditionally, Pokémon games are played on switch mode. Switch mode allows players to change their Pokémon before the enemy sends out their next Pokémon. Set mode removes this feature.
Playing on set mode is the form of the game that introduces a true challenge. Players can't rely on sheer offense to carry them, they need to be aware of their team composition and what can feasibly switch in on an opponent's move if the current matchup is poor. Set mode generally makes players think a lot harder about their strategies.
No Items In Battle
Using X Items and Healing Items in battle can make even Nuzlockes surprisingly easy, and many players ban the use of items in battle to keep up the challenge.
Recover and Swords Dance are two of the best moves in all of competitive Pokémon. Recover is far worse than Full Restore, and Swords Dance is a worse X Attack. Thus, it makes sense to ban them entirely. However, held items are acceptable under this clause and some players will alter the clause to have the same number of healing items as their current opponent.
Level Caps
Nuzlockes were made to make the series more challenging, and one of the easiest ways to make the game easier is being over-leveled. Level caps prevent this and keep the challenge challenging.
The most common implementation of the level cap clause is that players can never have a higher level than the next Gym Leader or Champion's highest level partner Pokémon. For players trying to be even more specific at keeping up with the game's challenge, other boss battles like rival encounters and evil team admins/leaders can be used as further benchmarks.
Banned Encounters
Some Pokémon are so powerful they've been banned on competitive platforms like Pokémon Showdown. To make their challenge harder, some players will skip to the second encounter if their first is one they've put a self-imposed ban on.
Gible in Diamond and Chansey in Fire Red are two common bans for players in terms of regular encounters. Another example of banning encounters is that many Nuzlockers will skip out on the version-exclusive box legendary. In a challenge trying to make the game harder, pulling out a Kyogre will circumvent much of the challenge.
White Out = Run Over
Arguably the most brutal Nuzlocke clause is that if a player should totally wipe a fight, regardless of if they still have Pokémon in their box, their Nuzlocke run is over.
Normally, a wipe in a Nuzlocke just means the player has to train up a new team of six from their reserves and try again. This rule doesn't give them the same courtesy, with a brutal cherry on top of an already difficult challenge. This rule means players have to always be ready for whatever is coming next, regardless of what powerhouses may be in their box.