#also I plan to link back to previous parts once this nuzlocke has reached its conclusion

[annsparksthegmr]

Pokemon Black Nuzlocke - Part 3

Continuing on with my Pokemon Black Nuzlocke for those interested. For a quick summary of my Nuzlocke so far in a nutshell: “I’ve got no Flying-Types and I swear Critical Hits are happening to me every other turn. Also by the way, can I mention how nearly all my Pokemon are females and I’m usually used to getting males?” But there had been progress made if you want to read it below. Because, quite a bit happens as I start off with Route 4.

So back to Pokemon Black Nuzlockes I go and my next encounter in Route 4 as a Darumaka. Never got to use one, let alone a female one. Her nickname is… well… *looks up random names that might fit*. Let’s call her Ramona. Who shall now be replacing Ghost Girl since as Liepard is not really pulling any weight. Also I kicked Cheren’s butt. Thus I fully went onto journeying through Route 4. Quick notes shall follow if anything of interest happened.

Fighting-Type Pokemon are the current bane of my party. I got no Pidove and thus no Flying-Type or anything super effective against them. Which is troubling when it comes to dealing with Timburr.

Went to visit the Desert Resort and get some encounters there. Just in case I suddenly have Pokemon faint during the upcoming battles. And I think giving Pebbles the Quick Claw is worth it, as having a Roggenrola who can outspeed others is fun. Captain finally evolved from a Tympole to a Palpitoad; meaning also I know have a Pokemon who is only super duper weak to Grass. My encounter for the Desert Resort turns out to be a female Sandile. Who I quickly just tossed the Quick Ball. Her nickname shall be Cassandra and she’ll chill in the Box in case I need.

Now considering the fact I could theoretically catch a Volcarona later on during the post game (depending on whether or not I decide to Nuzlocke post-game story.) I just decided to use Repels for the castle. But I managed to find the person with the fossils. And as much as I wanted to get the Tirtouga, I was considering getting Archen in case I could not find a Pokemon capable of using Fly later on. But I decided to screw my luck and took the Cover Fossil. Bias and planning be damned. (I shall revive it when I need the Pokemon and once I can learn Fly.)

I did some more grinding to get everyone up to Level 25 before heading into Nimbasa City. Pebbles evolved into a Boldore. Making her the last main evolution for the journey to Nimbasa City. But upon arriving in the city after getting free Ultra Balls, Team Plasma appeared harassing an old man. Which I had to beat up and got the bike! Hooray for faster travel! Got the Strength HM and decided between going to the Amusement Park and Bianca, I chose to ride with N in the ferris wheel. Because that sounded more exciting and as much as I’m poking fun at things, I really enjoy this game.

The ferris wheel ride ended as I faced off against N. Which could have been a challenge… if I didn’t have Captain. Like he quite literally just swept most of his team. Though I had Zigzapzop finish off the Sigilyph. Then I amused Bianca with the Pokemon Musical stuff. (Look, this was my jam back in the day. I used to be a master of these when I was younger. Too bad it doesn’t do anything in terms of Nuzlocke from my memories.)

Exiting the building is the sweet scene with Bianca, her father and Elesa. Like these moments are what I live for which Sword and Shield did not give me. Which is unfortunate. But in other news I decided to venture into the Big Stadium and Small Court to level my team up just a bit more for the upcoming Gym Battle. I was pretty confident with the current team I had. And getting them just a few more levels and getting some Amulet Coin boosted cash would work for my preparations. As Elesa literally swept my old team as a child. Which, since I mainly had Zipzagzop, Captain and Pebbles on my team, I was feeling pretty better about my odds.

With overconfidence and just now remembering Emolga is a Pokemon which exist, I waltz into the roller coaster Gym leading with Captain and Pebbles to take down Elesa. Which is troublesome considering the damage Volt Switch Emolga do. Though having Power Gem just fling out super effective moves does work out pretty well. Not to mention how Power Gem avoids the Static from Emolgas. Can I just say that the RNG Pokemon loves to toy with my emotions by having a Volt Switch nearly bring down Pebbles to 3 HP from a CRITICAL HIT. Poor Pebbles she did not deserve that. So for the second Emolga, I switched into Captain to prepare for the Zebstrika. He took it down with a Round, since Pebbles weakened both flying squirrels. Which left Captain to face down her ace Pokemon. And thankfully, because of the Water/Ground typing, made it a quick sweep of Captain defeating her Zebstrika. Plus it did help Elesa for some reason decide to waste her Hyper Potion on her Emolga.

Securing the fourth Gym Badge, needless to say I felt so proud of both Pebbles and Captain for cleanly saving my team from losing anyone else. I never got to use either Pokemon in my original run and I can’t help but be proud of them. If only I could say the same for Puppy. Sadly, a policeman on Route 16 decided it would be funny to take out my own Herdier with a CRITICAL HIT Take Down. Poor baby, I didn’t mean for her to take the hit but alas there goes my second death. I personally feel hurt about losing her to a random Trainer battle.

My Route 16 encounter was actually a double-battle one. But one was a Liepard - which I had. The other was a female Trubbish - which I chose as my encounter since I didn’t have one. I gave her the nickname of Trashie because I suck at nicknames at times. Though I don't have any real reason to truly keep Trashie around. Because looking at the moves she learns, she won’t be a decent-enough Pokemon to add for type coverage. All she’s good at is taking out Grass and Bug-Type Pokemon. Which, I have Ramona for. So I’ll deposit her into the Box for safe-keeping. But for HM Cut sake, Ghost Girl is returning to the team to fill that spot. And I don’t want to really teach that to my Starter Pokemon.

But inside of the Lostlorn Forest, I got another encounter. Being that of a Male Cottonee! Catching him, I named him Lowen. He now rests in my box since I already have a Grass-Type. Missed out on getting a Tranquill but I’ve managed so far without a Flying-Type. I just hope to get a Pokemon capable of learning Fly soon enough.

Then I had the match with Cheren on Route 5. Defeated him, chatted with the Champion before we bullied two children on his behalf. Zigzagzop evolved during this process as well. What I once feared as a child is now at my side. And on Route 5, at first I got a dupes Liepard which I chose to skip over. Though in a random trainer battle I lamented how I long my Puppy, as she was my main counter to Psychic and Ghosts. And I still have no plans of using Ghost Girl. Then came the dupes Trubbish. Which I also skipped. And after some more dupes of Liepards and Trubbishes, I got another double encounter. This time with another Liepard and a female Minccino. Who, despite how doubtful I am of being of use, I nicknamed Lady. Lady will be in the PC until I have a need for her. That or she’ll just chill out in there for the rest of the run.

Driftveil Bridge was opened up thanks to Elesa. And thanks to that and a bit of checking, a female Ducklett finally appeared!!! Finally giving me an encounter on the bridge (or at least I think is a proper encounter) which may grant me a Flying-Type to add to the party. I caught her immediately and named her Odette. Who shall be added to my team as soon as I arrive into Driftveil City. Clay was there to meet us and I already remember why I liked him. But I kind of have some fears about facing his team in a Nuzlocke.

And here’s where I’ll end things for this update. Going to probably grind a bit before continuing on with the story. But I will say some of my team is a bit higher than I thought. Considering I have to fight Clay and his Excadrill, though, I got a feeling I’m going to have to be very cautious. Because I have heard Clay is a run ender with his Excadrill. Though hopefully it won’t stop me! Here will be the team updates regarding what has befallen everyone. Next time, I plan to at the very least defeat Clay and depending on how that goes, hopefully reach Chargestone Cave for what I believe is to be the N fight. That is the plan but who knows what will happen.

Until next time, thanks for reading this lovely experiment of a Nuzlocke!

Team Recap:

Queen - Female Servine (Lvl 26)

Pebbles - Female Boldore (Lvl 29)

Zigzagzop - Male Zebrastrika (Lvl 28)

Captain - Male Palpitoad (Lvl 30)

Ramona - Female Darumaka (Lvl 25)

Odette - Female Ducklett (Lvl 22)

In Box/Reserve:

Ghost Girl - Female Liepard (Lvl 20)

Cassandra - Female Sandile (Lvl 21)

Trashie - Female Trubbish (Lvl 22)

Lowen - Male Cottonee (Lvl 20)

Lady - Female Minccino (Lvl 23)

Deaths: 2

Fountain - Male Sampour (Lvl 15)

Puppy - Female Herdier (Lvl 25)

[spinnerlockeplay]

Pokemon FireRed Nuzlocke (Part 2) - To Cerulean

Welcome back! After that exciting run in the previous post, I think it’s time I kick it up a notch! And just in time before the New Year’s Eve! Let’s check out my progress so far.

And BTW, starting this post, I will be posting one or two of my quick artwork regarding the events of the playthrough. So yeah, hope you like them!

Basic Nuzlocke Rules

Species Clause

Gym Level Limit: 21

Lives: 5

Detailed Rules

Current Gym Rule:

Life Reward Rule (Cerulean City Gym) - If defeated before and during the second gym, I can restart my save file. Once the gym is defeated, I gained an extra life if no whiteouts. Otherwise, you gain two lives.

Continuing off after my Pewter City gym, I restocked on some Poke Balls and met up with Professor Oak's aide to grab my Running Shoes, which my Mom was supposed to get earlier, but I guess she forgot. In Route 3, I need to beat all of the trainers there in order to get my encounter. So I decided to use this chance to level Bait and Flora up. Thanks to this, Bait learned Hyper Fang and Flora evolved into Ivysaur. There was one battle against a Lass and her Jigglypuff where she managed to use Disable on his Hyper Fang. But it didn't matter and just used Quick Attack to finish her.

(Oh... Well, this Nuzlocke is much more easier than I thought... Plz don’t jinx it...)

After beating all of the trainers, I finally caught a Pidgey there and named him Birdy. This is a big relief since there is a Grass Gym coming up and I know it's a bit early, but since I hear there are a few Fire-types available despite the Species Clause, I had to get a Pokemon that is super effective against a Grass-type. (Plus, Aggro was dead early. RIP) So getting Birdy is a big deal. I had to go back to Viridian Forest to grind Birdy to my party level. But I had an unlucky encounter with a Pikachu who has Thundershock early on. But it was Level 3 and Flora took care of it.

(Nope.)

Once that's done, I head to Route 4 and bought a Magikarp from a fishy salesman (Get it?). While 500 was a bit too much to spend, I have a reason why I had to it. One, I don't want to waste a route encounter using an Old Rod to grab a Magikarp and not all of the towns and cities has water for me to fish. And second, his evolution, Gyarados is a big Water-type damage dealer and its very useful against some gyms and important trainers soon. So I named him "Nerde", named after a certain crafting Youtuber who has a huge affinity to salt. (If you're curious, I'll leave a link to her Youtube channel over here. Her videos and reviews are great and I wouldn't recommend for nothing.)

(I have no regrets spending 500 for a useless fish.)

Now before I proceed, I have to discuss the Dolphan in the room. Mt. Moon has 3 levels in FireRed and from what I learned when researching on it, there are different encounter tables in each floor. I may encounter many more caves and areas with levels soon, so for this playthrough, I'll treat the Mt. Moon floors as its own area and encounter and it's my Nuzlocke and you can't tell me what to do.

Regarding my encounters here, my hopes were to catch a Zubat and Geodude here. Now I know Zubats are infamous for being annoying encounters who would do nothing but to drain your Pokemon's PP out while traversing here to the point you have to use a Repel to get off your backs. However, Golbat is a big damage dealer as a Poison/Flying-type and a good replacement in case something happens to Birdy (which I pray that it won't happen, please!). Unfortunately, the big downside that I can't evolve it to Crobat until I get the National Pokedex. Which by the way, who the hell even came up with that condition?! I know FireRed is a Red and Blue remake, but come on! Just let me evolve a Golbat early, please!

...

Oh, did I go off the subject there? Never mind what I said, let's move on.

Now the reason why I also want to catch a Geodude is its Rock and Ground typing. Since I don't have any Electric-types with me, Geodude is good against Flying-types including Zubats and its Magnitude and Ground typing will be useful against Lt. Surge later on in the game. And lo and behold, I caught a Geodude in the first floor of Mt. Moon, which I named him "Wreaker". As in wrecking ball. I'll stop now. Of course, I can't access his final form due to a requirement that I need to trade him, which I don't have luxury to do so and I can't use trade Pokemon in a Nuzlocke. But I think his middle evolution should be a good compensation for now.

(I predict this guy will lead me to Nuzlocke victory.)

After getting Wreaker, I decided to train him and Nerde back at Route 3 to get them on par with the others. I did have trouble battling some wild Jigglypuffs since not only they have Cute Charm that can immobilize him with love, but they have an Oran Berry on them, so that's annoying.

(I didn’t know rocks can fall in love with balloons. Please don’t take that seriously.)

I have no problems with training Nerde, but since he only has a useless Splash on his moveset, I had to resort to switch training to grind some EXP. I then moved to Mt. Moon to continue switch training while making my way across there. But I had some trouble against a Super Nerd where he had his Magnemite paralyzed Flora. I managed to beat unscathed, but I had to return to the Pokemon Center to heal up.

Coming up is the first basement floor of Mt. Moon and I wasn't happy about it. The reason why is that Paras is the only Pokemon available there and combined with its poor stats and typing, I have to face an inevitable that I have to capture it soon. And as expected, I captured it, but not before she paralyzed Birdy. I know she's useless, but if I didn't capture her here, then the next encounter will be a waste. With that, I named her Troll after what she did to Birdy.

Once I got to the second basement floor, I encountered a suspicious guy in black who attacked me for intruding. However, he ended up as EXP fodder for Flora and Wreaker. And after running into a bunch of Paras and Geodudes, I caught a Clefairy for my troubles and named her "Moon" before I tossed her into the box. Since the wild Pokemon here messed up my team, I was forced go to back and heal up my party while grabbing a few Paralyze Heals as emergencies. And I boxed Troll because she is useless!

(You’re facing a rock and a large bulb dinosaur. What do you expect?)

After encountering more trainers, Wreaker learned Magnitude and I encountered more guys in black at the basement 2nd floor. Turns out, they belonged to a group called "Team Rocket" and they planned to steal some fossils in Mt. Moon. But I didn't give them the chance and send them packing.

(Should I be scared? No)

Once I beat them, I encountered a Super Nerd and tried to beat me to take the two fossils for himself. But after Wreaker beat all of his Pokemon, we reached a compromise and I got the Helix Fossil.

(I knew you would say yes. 😏)

After I got out, I tried getting another Spearow on Route 4, but Flora ended up killing it with a crit. So thank, Flora. (And I'm writing this after finishing this post, but yes, I know, Spearow doesn't count as an encounter since I still got Aggro in my death box and considering the rules I've made for this playthrough along a chance of revival in future gyms, I'll try catching it again on Route 4 in the next one. I promise.)

(I know this is not my true Route 4 encounter, but this still makes me a bit salty...)

I finally got to Cerulean City and I decided to go to the Nugget Bridge to train her up for the gym battle. But Vann stopped me and started gloated on catching some strong and smart Pokemon. Yeah, I can do that, too. If I'm wasn't stuck on the Nuzlocke rules. After that, he battled me again and while I managed to beat him, he did a number on Wreaker and Birdy. This made me a bit concerned. Vann did try to apologize by giving me a Fame Checker. But I wasn't happy about it.

(See you never... 😠)

Since that last fight, I decided to skip the bridge and headed off to the Cerulean Gym. Like before, I ended the 2nd gym by sweeping through Misty's team with Flora. So I earned the second badge and an extra life.

Now that's done, I have some other issues on my mind. But for now, that's the end for this post. Stay tuned for the next one to see if I can beat the third gym. See ya in the next post!