Chapter 11 - A date with destiny

After I’d finished Mossdeep Gym, I figured I’d track down the submarine Archie had stolen. Where might one find a submarine… At the bottom of the ocean, of course. I wonder if my new HM will help me out here…? Of course it did. I tracked down the submarine in no time and started to work my way through the Underwater Cavern, taking out Aqua Grunts as I went along and catching a new Zubat – named him Taser. A couple of close shaves later – Spice is something of a glass cannon, it seems – I made it to the final room, where a large, orca-shaped beast lay dormant in the middle of the room.

As I approached it, Archie appeared from behind me, and challenged me to a fight! I was slightly nervous given that he was pretty tough the last time we fought, but this time I was a whole lot stronger Archie was no match whatsoever. Major wiped the floor with his team singlehandedly.

When the match finished though, Archie laughed… He had the Red Orb with him, the Orb he’d obtained at Mount Pyre! It started to glow, and the shape in the middle of the room started to stir… It was a Pokemon! A legendary Pokemon! Kyogre, the Pokemon that controls the very seas! It awoke, and vanished from the room…

When I got outside, the weather had taken a turn for the worse, to say the least. Torrential downpours now lashed the entire region of Hoenn; the whole world was flooding! And it was up to me to solve the problem. I Dived again to Sootopolis City on Steven’s advice, where I entered the Cave of Origin to face Kyogre.

My first wild Pokemon in this area was a Sableye, lv.32, female. I caught her after a few wasted Pokeballs – Sableye are unique (until Spiritomb in Gen.IV at least) in that they are Dark/Ghost type, meaning that no moves are super-effective against them. Pretty handy, except that Sableye’s stats are dross, and Spiritomb’s moveset is equally as dross. Ah well, it’s the thought that counts, eh? I named my new Sableye Shade, and moved on. I now wouldn’t be able to catch Kyogre (not that I would anyway, since Legendaries aren’t allowed on a Nuzlocke team), so I headed onwards to kill the beast.

I reached Kyogre, and sent out Major to do battle. Major had a level advantage (only one) and type advantage, with Kyogre being Water-type. I led with Thunderbolt, which took off over half Kyogre’s health, and Kyogre used Ice Beam. I prayed that it wouldn’t freeze Major… it didn’t. But Major had very little health left; while I was throwing unsuccessful Ultra Balls at Shade, he’d taken a few hits. One more Thunderbolt would finish Kyogre and pretty much save the world, but if it missed… I didn’t want to think about it. Major used Thunderbolt… it hit. Kyogre was down.

I’d saved the world.

I Escape Roped out of the cave, to rapturous applause, showers of women and riches and the general adulation of the entire human race. Or, in true Pokemon style, I left the cave and no-one even acknowledged it. Ho hum.

Next up, I’ll challenge Wallace, the last Gym leader, as I edge towards the finish line!


-Samwise

Chapter 10 - Psych-out

Route 120 passed without any particular excitement. I’d already caught my one-Pokemon allowance here, so I just killed everything I came across. Route 121 came around and the first Pokemon I came across was a Zigzagoon… boo. I was hoping for a Shuppet, but I probably used up all my luck when I caught Major. Especially annoying was the fact that after I killed Zigzagoon, the next two Pokemon to show up were both Shuppet… I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: “ARGH”. I reached Lilycove with no further troubles, then flew to Slateport to pick up a Pokeblock case and nipped to the Safari Zone in case I could catch anything interesting. That something interesting turned out to be a Phanpy, which I managed to catch – lv. 29, female, Rash, named Rose. I do like Donphan, but I didn’t need another Ground-type, so sadly Rose was boxed away.

I got quite a long way today while I was away from the computer. After reaching Lilycove I quickly did Mt. Pyre, where the first Pokemon I met was a Shuppet. I took it down to half health but then it used Curse, so it killed itself. Arses. After finished Mt. Pyre I moved onto Route 123, where the first Pokemon I met was another Shuppet, lv.27, female. I threw an Ultra Ball at her straight away just in case she committed suicide with Curse like the last one, and it caught her in one! Good news. Her natures was Relaxed (meh) and I named her Spice.

I went back to Slateport to talk to Capt. Stern, and witnessed Team Aqua stealing his submarine. Shady business indeed. Back to Lilycove – via Rustboro to pick up the Exp. Share – to sort out their Hideout, which didn’t take long (and I picked up a Master Ball in the process). Sadly I was a bit late though, and Archie the Team Aqua Boss escaped in the submarine. Spice was gaining a nice few levels by now.

The Route to the East of Lilycove had opened up now, so I Surfed along it, beating a few trainers and catching my first Tentacool (lv.23, female, Naïve, named Gem). Even though I seem to be getting lucky with Pokemon on this run, I’m not getting too lucky with natures. Tentacool’s biggest strength is its outstanding Special Defence, and my Tentacool’s nature lowers hers by 10%. Terrific.

Onwards and upwards, though; I reached Mossdeep, where Steven gave me HM08 – Dive. I taught this to Bubble (a Marill I caught in the pond in Petalburg City immediately after beating my father’s Gym – forgot to include that in my update), caught and discovered that the Gym was Psychic-type. The Gym leaders here use Rock/Psychic types though, which removes a lot of their weaknesses, but importantly makes them weak to Water. Another Gym in which Crash can excel, then.

I trained up a few levels around the surrounding Routes – in fact I made it all the way down to Pacifidlog Town (one of the more ridiculous town names in Pokemon games) and Spice evolved into a Banette. Good times.

Eventually I headed back to Mossdeep to chance my arm against Liza and Tate, the Gym leaders. And in the end, they were no match for Crash and Major. After an easy win, I taught the Calm Mind TM I had won to Spice, and moved on.


-Samwise

Chapter 9 - Filling in the gaps

I decided, after winning in Fortree, that I’d been chasing badges for too long. I needed a break from chasing after my goal of completing this Nuzlocke challenge, and so I decided to go down a few Routes I’d not been down before, and tie up a few loose ends. There were a lot of trainers I was yet to battle, and there were a lot of Pokemon I could still catch. So I started by Surfing north from Rustboro City to the random little outcrop of rock where a couple of trainers were.

I led with Charlie, thinking that I hadn’t used him much. First trainer threw out a Hariyama. Only lv.28, but I hedged my bets and switched in Crash, who finished him off easily. The second trainer led with Machop… great, another Fighting-type that could be super-effective against Charlie’s Normal-type. Still, Machop’s unevolved, and it was only lv.26, so I gambled, and Strength was a OHKO. Trainer 2’s second Pokemon was a Machoke, lv.26 also. Hmm. An evolved Machop… still, 11 levels should be enough, I though.

Blimey.

Charlie used Strength, which took off 75% of Machoke’s health. Oh dear. Not a OHKO… Machoke used Revenge. A Fighting-type move, super-effective against Charlie, that deals double damage – at a base power of 120 – if the user sustains damage before it attacks. Machoke had just sustained a lot of damage.

I nearly shat myself.

Time slowed down. I watched, powerless, as Charlie’s health went down… and down…

…AND DOWN…

…And stopped. At 9HP. 9 out of a possible 115.

Close call. Never again.

Next I headed down Route 105 towards Dewford Town from Petalburg. A few more trainers awaited me here. The first wild Pokemon I encountered was a Tentacool, male, lv.8. Whoopee. Charlie killed it just for the hell of it; I’m sure I can find another Tentacool should the need arise.

Further down was Route 106, where my first wild Pokemon was another Tentacool, lv.31 this time. Accidentally killed this one too, even though it might have been a plan to catch it just in case something should befall Crash… ah well, plenty more ‘cool in the pool.

I hit Dewford and healed up, then headed East on Route 107 as Charlie was getting pretty close to lv.40 by now, when he’d become an Exploud. The first Pokemon I bumped into was a Pelipper, another male, lv.30. I caught him because… well, I might as well really. I named him Clive. He knew Mist, which would have been good if Pelipper weren’t such a terrible Pokemon. I taught him Surf and Fly though, just in case. Onwards to Route 108, where my first wild encounter was a female Wingull, lv.30. Not interested, so Charlie used Shock Wave and she was no more.

I stopped off at the Abandoned Ship, where I bumped into a few trainers and Charlie hit lv.40, evolving into an Exploud! Hurrah. Exploud rock, what with their big silly mouths and angry little faces and series of weird tubes poking out of their heads. Charlie learned Hyper Beam and all was well. Inside the Abandoned Ship I found TM13, which of course contains Ice Beam. I was a bit miffed seeing as I’d spent 80000 Yen on the very same move earlier in the game, but I got over it. It’s only money, right?! I couldn’t finish the Abandoned Ship mini-quest because I didn’t have Dive yet, so I made a mental note to come back and moved on.

I eventually reached the end of Route 109 having defeated all the trainers and wild Pokemon there. I figured I’d been tying up loose ends for long enough now, so I flew back to Fortree City, healed up and set off down Route 120.


-Samwise

Chapter 8 - A shocking new addition

My entry into New Mauville was celebrated with the newest addition to my team’s ranks – Dash the Voltorb, lv.24, Naïve nature. New Mauville was a piece of cake and I headed onwards.

I Surfed across the little stretch of water on Route 118 hoping not to get Tentacool’d, - I wanted an Electrike in the grass beyond – and was successful. Picked up the Good Rod from the Fisherman and headed further down Route 118. I bumped into Steven for a pointless conversation and delved into the grass. First Pokemon I encountered was… a Manectric! What are the chances?! Oh, 10% according to Bulbapedia… Male, lv.26, Static as his ability (I found this out when Crash was paralysed on contact with him). Named him Major. His nature was Quiet… Ok I guess. Now I can stick Dash the Voltorb in the PC and concentrate on my new, 4^th team member. Bulbapedia told me that Major wouldn’t learn Thunderbolt naturally so I used the TM24 Wattson had rewarded me with for sorting out New Mauville.

Route 119 sucks. It’s long and a Breloom nearly killed Major and you have to sit through the “It is raining” animation every damn turn… At least the Weather Institute was amusingly easy and has a bed to heal in. I obtained a Castform for saving the scientists, which I wasn’t able to nickname for some reason. Female, lv.25, Timid nature. I’m not allowed to use her though, as she’s the second Pokemon I obtained on Route 119 after catching Streaky the Linoone (lv.25, Male, Calm). I released Castform as soon as I could reach a PC and carried on, beating up May to obtain HM02. Swift was the lucky learner of Fly.

I reached Fortree City with little trouble, and looked around. An old lady gave me Hidden Power because I have psychic powers, a stupid girl wants to trade my Pikachu for her Skitty (why would I do that?!) and that’s about it. Bulbapedia told me that Winona, the Gym leader, had an Altaria at level 33. A quick Ice Beam from Crash should sort that out quite nicely, what with Altaria's 4x weakness to Ice attacks, so I figured I was already prepared to take her on… but something invisible was blocking the route to the Gym so I carried on down Route 120.

The first Pokemon I encountered on Route 120 was another Linoone, which I killed instead of capturing. I headed onwards and found Steven, who gave me the Devon Scope. He used it to make a Kecleon appear and attack; Major made short work of the Kecleon, which I couldn’t catch anyway. Something tells me this Devon Scope will get me into Fortree Gym…

It did. I progressed with minimal difficulty past the Gym trainers (and don’t you just love the puzzle in this Gym? I do) and set up a showdown with Winona… which was a complete anti-climax. I absolutely destroyed her, even though she switched in her Altaria a lot sooner than expected. 4 OHKOs later and I was outta there with a new Badge and the TM for Aerial Ace. I decided against teaching it to Swift as she was getting left behind level-wise – she was only lv.32 while Major, Charlie and Crash were at 37, 37 and 39 respectively, and her usefulness was dwindling, much as I loved her for being able to Fly me to any town.

Next up, I’ll head down to Lilycove City and finally help Crash forget Rock Smash!


-Samwise

Chapter 7 - Like father, like son

I did everything there is to do in the Desert (which isn't much), and chose the Claw Fossil, which I could later resurrect into an Anorith (which would evolve at level 40 into an Armaldo). In my view, Generation III’s fossils are by some distance the worst fossils yet, at least until Gen IV when both Armaldo and Cradily figure out how to use a few half decent moves. As it is though, that fossil will probably never be hatched. The first Pokemon I bumped into was a male Sandshrew, lv.20. Another Serious nature, which is ok, but I was hoping for a Trapinch. Digger the Sandshrew was promptly boxed away.

The next thing to do is to beat my dad. This means a big, long grinding session, because if there is one Gym in the entire series of Pokemon games that I loathe, it’s the Petalburg Gym. I just HATE those Slaking. Essentially I’d like to have about a 10 level headstart on Norman, so I’d like all my Pokemon to be level 40 before I start this Gym, as I have no Ghost- or Fighting-type Pokemon (if only Thumper hadn’t died…). I might settle for getting Crash fully evolved and then giving it a go, though.

On with the grind, then.

After getting a few levels, my egg hatched, and to my surprise, it wasn’t a Togepi, but a Wynaut… Interesting. Nicknamed him Rebound. Quirky nature. Rebound may be an inspired addition to my team, if I ever have the patience to raise him. For now, though, the grind was more important.

…or was it?

Dig. I hadn’t taught the Dig TM to any of my Pokemon. Dig, the move that protects a Pokemon from all harm for a turn. I think I may have just stumbled upon the secret of how to beat those damn Slaking… Still, I wanted Crash to evolve just to be sure. I hate training in a sandstorm. The animation does my head in.

After Crash evolved I realised his most powerful Special move was still Water Gun, so I spent every penny I possessed on coins at the Game Corner and taught him Ice Beam. Then I decided to take the plunge against Norman.

And my oh my, what a plunge it was.

Just to teach those who don't know, every Pokemon has an "Ability" (http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Ability). Slaking's ability is called "Truant", and causes Slaking to slack off every other turn. This means that they'll attack one turn, slack off the next, attack the next, slack off the next, and so on.

To counteract this appallingly counter-productive ability, Slaking have absurdly high Base Stats (http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Base_stat) so that they can soak up damage on their "slacking off" turns, and deal out enough damage on their active turns to compensate.

Dig, the move, is a 2-stage attack. The first turn involves the user digging underground, and becoming invulnerable to the foe's attack for the rest of that turn, as they're underground and can't be hit. The second turn involves powering out of the ground and attacking the foe, but then being left open to attack afterwards. I think you can see where I'm going here... Essentially, if Crash is faster than Slaking, then he can move first, dig underground, avoid Slaking's active turn move, then jump out and damage Slaking, and avoid damage that turn too because Slaking is living up to his name and slacking off. Theoretically this could mean I'd be able to get past both Slaking without Crash taking any damage at all. Theoretically.

Crash avoided every attack bar one by Digging when it attacked (I wasn’t sure if Norman using a Hyper Potion counted as one of Slaking’s active turns – as it happens, it did, and Crash took a Façade attack for about 40 damage). Crash then powered past Vigoroth with a Dig and an Ice Beam, before facing the final Slaking.

The second Slaking was faster than Crash, completely destroying the Dig tactic. Vigoroth had taken Crash’s health down to 44/120, and Slaking’s Façade took him down to just 2HP. Another Façade would spell the end for my first Nuzlocke Pokemon… but no! Slaking used Focus Punch! This attack charges up for a turn, and if the user is hit during the charge up, the attack fails and leaves them helpless for a turn! And I’d used Ice Beam, which actually froze Slaking! The match had turned on its head in an instant. Finishing Slaking off was a simple matter of spamming Mud Shot and Ice Beam until he went down, and the Balance Badge was mine, along with Surf, which I taught to Crash as a reward. Charlie got Façade. The whole game can turn on such small margins.

My next stop, after I met Wattson in Mauville, was to head to New Mauville.


-Samwise

Chapter 6 - The casualties pile up

Cheerful title to the chapter, isn’t it. I got a lot of playtime in today, partly due to the fact that I was away from my computer so I wasn’t stopping to type every minute or so. As a result I’ll probably omit a few details here and there but the general theme is still intact.

I headed north from Slateport City on Route 110, battling a few trainers and May, who wasn’t much of a competitor, despite her Wailmer having a lot of HP. I passed straight by the Trick House as I had no Pokemon who could use Cut at this point. First Pokemon I bumped into was a lv.12 Wingull, male, which I caught and named George. Careful nature. Not much use though.

I reached Mauville and healed up and got the Rock Smash HM, which I taught to Crash for lack of better options (Mud Shot and Water Gun still meant that his movepool was good at this point). I decided to get another Pokemon from Route 117, which turned out to be a male Roselia, lv.13. Named him Curly, and he had a Calm nature.

I beat up all the trainers around Route 117 and 118, then got a bike and headed down the Cycle Path and beat all those trainers. I then taught Cut to Curly, headed back to the Trick House, beat it and got a Rare Candy. I gave that to Curly, then regretted it immediately when I realised I’d never use him in battle.

Anyway by the time I challenged the Mauville Gym all my Pokemon were at lv.24 except Crash, who was at lv.27. Wattson was an absolute piece of cake – 3 Mud Shots took care of all his Pokemon, and the only move they even managed to attempt was a Sonicboom from his Magneton, which obligingly missed. Three Gyms down, 5 to go…

Headed north from Mauville on Route 111, beating the Winstrate family with Swift alone. Further north I found an impassable (for now) sandstorm, so I banked left and headed along Route 112, hoping to bump into a Pokemon I could actually use in my team… a Numel! Male, lv.14. Sweet. I love Numel. Caught him and named him Tiny; he had a Relaxed nature. I liked him immediately, and set about grinding him as I headed through the Fiery Path, catching a female Slugma (lv.15, Docile, named Wanda) along the way.

I popped out back onto Route 112 again – so I couldn’t catch any more Pokemon here – and kept going, stopping at a kind old lady’s house to rest. Hit Route 113, the one with all the volcanic ash, and failed to catch a Spinda (what a shame) because Tiny accidentally destroyed him. Went through Fallarbor and into the patch of grass in Route 114, meeting a Swablu! I was really keen to catch this little fella, but Numel critted his second Ember and the chance was gone. Real shame that, a Dragon-type would have come in very handy indeed, especially one with good defences like Altaria.

I headed into Meteor Falls, catching a Zubat, lv.17, male. I named him Laser, then boxed him away.

On a sidenote, I do find it entertaining that it’d taken me about 8 or 9 hours to actually catch a Zubat. I mean, they’re hardly rare… I haven’t even got a Zigzagoon either!

Onwards. I met Team Aqua, Magma and Dr. Cozmo, then continued on my way, after hearing that Aqua were up to some funny business at the volcano. I ploughed back through the Rusturf Tunnel using Rock Smash to clear the way, earning the Strength HM for my troubles, which I promptly taught to Pepper and Charlie. I went back up to Route 112 and up the newly free cable car to the top of the volcano, dispatching a couple of Team Aqua Grunts and setting up a showdown with their Boss, Archie.

Wow, Archie proved a tough battle. He really was a step above any other trainers I’d faced to this point; 3 evolved Pokemon gave my team a bit of a scare, especially his Golbat (which, worryingly, isn’t even fully evolved yet). I just scraped past the Golbat using Shockwave, which I taught Charlie after winning it back at the Mauville Gym.

With Archie dead, I trekked back down to the Jagged Pass, hoping beyond hope that I’d find a Spoink. I love Grumpig. Instead I bumped into another Numel, which Tiny accidentally killed outright with a high powered Magnitude. Given what was to come, this was an irony I’d come to regret.

I decided to stay in the Jagged Pass to get my team up to lv.30 before taking on the Gym leader in Lavaridge. Big mistake, as it turned out. Tiny was making his way happily up to lv.29 when he tried using Magnitude on a wild Numel. I got Magnitude 5, which didn’t kill the wild Pokemon. The wilder got Magnitude 9. Tiny was dead. At this point I seriously considered just healing him and "forgetting" it had happened, until I realised that there was no point Nuzlocking if I wasn’t going to do it properly. Tiny was gone and I had to move on. I released him, and replaced him in my team with Laser, thinking that in the long run, a Crobat would be pretty handy.

Back to the Jagged Pass I went. Laser had nearly hit lv.18 when I decided to take a risk and let him actually take on the wild Pokemon himself, because switching him out was levelling him up painfully slow. First Pokemon he came up against was a Spoink; forgetting Laser was part-Poison for a split second, I led with Supersonic, which missed, and then Laser was OHKO’d by Psybeam. Argh… Another loss. I’d had Laser for such a short time that I didn’t even know his nature.

Shaken from my losses, I got the rest of my dwindling team up to lv.30 and challenged the gym – after picking up the egg from the lady next to the hot springs (Togepi, I seem to recall… if only Togekiss existed in Gen III).

I defeated the Gym trainers with ease, then headed onto Flannery. Crash took out her two Slugmas with ease, but Torkoal was proving a challenge – Crash could easily get her down to red health, but couldn’t quite finish her off before Flannery used a Hyper Potion (cheap trick if you ask me – I’m not using them). Torkoal then used Attract on Crash and I had to switch in Pepper. Big mistake.

Pepper was OHKO’d by Overheat. Pepper, the first Pokemon I caught on this Nuzlocke challenge, my trusted companion, was dead. This loss hit me harder than any of the others so far.

I switched Crash back in and managed to avenge Pepper without any paralysis from repeated Body Slams. I won the Heat Badge and the Overheat TM, which I couldn’t use since Tiny’s demise. Neither seemed like compensation for the loss I’d just suffered. Damn you Flannery, and damn you Torkoal.

May showed up to give me some Goggles to help me through the sandstorm on Route 111; my next stop is to limp that way with the three remaining members of my team, plus Curly my Flash/Cut slave and an unhatched egg.


Mental note - Pokemon I no longer like: Wurmple, Aron, Numel, Spoink, Torkoal.


-Samwise

Chapter 5 - Brawling with Brawly

Beat a few more trainers, then found an old guy at the entrance to Rusturf tunnel whining about losing his “darling” Peeko (something concerning about that… I fear for that Wingull’s safety). Went into the cave and added a new Pokemon to my team – Charlie the Whismur, lv.7, Serious nature. Should be useful when it comes to learning Strength. Assuming he’s still alive, of course. Unlike Jabs… Poor Jabs.

Anyways, beat up the Aqua Grunt using Swift’s Wing Attack. It pleases me to have that move already, considering it’ll probably stay on Swift’s moveset forever. And hooray, Darling Peeko is saved. Well, assuming you consider being forced back into a life of being chased “playfully” around an old pervert’s log cabin as “being saved.” I bet the poor budgie was just trying to escape, and I ruined it all.

The tool who lost his Devon Goods abducted me and took me to his boss, another dubious old man. Oh, I take it back, he gave me a Pokenav. Good bloke. I found a girl wanting to trade my Slakoth for her Makuhita. I was keen, until I realised I didn’t have a Slakoth, and I had no way of getting one just yet. Maybe later young girl.

Got a Quick Claw from the Trainers’ School, gave it to Pepper. Got Cut from “Cutter’s” house – sounds like a self-harmer – but had no-one to teach it to. Discovered I couldn’t proceed any further without Rock Smash, so headed back to Mr. Briney’s house, stopping off to grind a bit with Charlie on Route 104 (yes, I skipped Petalburg Woods. Damn Wurmple).

Sailed to Dewford with Mr. Briney, and obtained a Silk Scarf for Charlie. Got an Old Rod from a fisherman by the Gym, and used it to obtain my newest team member – a Magikarp, lv.9, female, whom I forgot to nickname. Again. Argh. She will be named Marjorie at the first opportunity.

Headed up to the cave in Dewford. A nice Hiker gave me the Flash HM, and I realised I needed a Zubat or I wouldn’t be able to use it. Instead I ran into a Makuhita, lv.9. Caught him and named him Thumper, Hasty nature. ARGH. Hasty?! Awful. Couldn’t it have been… I dunno, Brave? Or Impish? Or ANYTHING other than Hasty? And it’ll be a dark time in this cave when I look for Steven later.

Stuck around in the cave to grind a bit and get Crash ready to face the Gym – didn’t want to take any chances, I’ve read about people failing Nuzlocke runs on Brawly before and I didn’t feel particularly secure that I’d beat him, given that both Charlie and Pepper were weak to Fighting moves. I realised that not being allowed to use Flash without the Dewford Gym Badge meant nothing seeing as I couldn’t teach it to any of my Pokemon anyway, so I headed through the cave to find Steven. On the basement floor I ran into an Aron, and was sorely tempted to break the rules to catch it. I like Aggron. Didn’t break the rules though, and on I went, killing Aron all the while and gaining truckloads of XP from them.

After stumbling in the dark for a while I tracked down Steven and obtained the Steel Wing TM. Sweet. Taught it to Swift. Escape Roped out to heal, then headed back into the cave basement to train where the Aron were.

Then it happened again.

I switched in Thumper to train him up a bit against a wild Aron. Thumper is a Fighting-type, and Aron are Rock/Steel, meaning that Thumper's Arm Thrust attack would do quadruple damage against it. This should have meant Aron's swift demise. But Aron critted Headbutt. Thumper went down in one. First battle, first attack. This Nuzlocke thing is pretty brutal.

Crash finished the Aron off and I scarpered, seeing as Crash had hit lv.20 by this point, Swift had evolved into aSwellow at lv.22 and I felt ready to take on the Gym. It’s lucky in a way that I hadn’t had Thumper for long enough by this point to get attached to him. Still, poor little fella. I mentally added Aron to the list of Pokemon I no longer liked (so far: Wurmple, Aron).

Into the Gym I went, nearly 7 hours playtime on the clock – probably more to do with the time I’ve spent typing this up rather than how long I’ve spent grinding. And in the end, Brawly was a complete non-event; Swift had steamrollered the Gym trainers on the way to evolving, and Crash OHKOd both of Brawly’s Pokemon with critted Mud Shots.

I couldn’t teach Bulk Up to any of my Pokemon, so I moved onto Slateport, trying to bump up Pepper and Charlie’s levels by using them against the beach trainers and those in the lemonade hut, nipping to the Slateport Pokemon Centre every now and then to heal. I decided against fishing for a Route 107 Pokemon until I got a better rod – no sense just getting another Magikarp to not use.

-Samwise

Chapter 4 - Rustboro or bust(boro)

I’ve decided to carry on in prose rather than bullet points. Much nicer on the eye, y’know.

Anyway, I bumped into a Shroomish while grinding Crash for the Gym. Really, really wanted it – a Breloom would be amazing – but I couldn’t catch her, having already picked up Jabs in Petalburg Woods! I realised then the real difficulty of the Nuzlocke challenge; there really is no guarantee I’ll ever catch any of the Pokemon I actually want or need.

Crash hit lv.15 against the Gym trainers, and tried to learn Bide. I decided against learning what is essentially a high-risk suicide move on my Nuzlocke challenge… Imagine if I got Encored… the thought makes me slightly nauseous…

Anyway, Crash carved a Water Gun OHKO (one-hit knock-out) path through the residents of Petalburg Woods and hit lv.16, evolving into a Marshtomp and learning Mud Shot. Hoo-rah. Suddenly I felt a little more confident about taking on Roxane. So that’s where I headed – with Pepper, at lv.11, my only real backup! All or bust…

After all that buildup, Roxane was a cinch. OHKO’d Geodude, then set Nosepass up with a Mud Shot, expecting that A) Water Gun wouldn’t OHKO him, and B) it’d reduce his Speed to counter his inevitable Rock Tomb reducing Crash’s. Water Gun finished him off in style, and Crash hit lv.17. One Gym down, 7 to go!

Got Rock Tomb, didn’t teach it to anyone – only Crash could learn it, and it’s not much use to him, seeing as it sucks against Grass, his only weakness. Left the Gym and saw a Team Aqua member run off with that tool’s “goods.” The same tool that I defended in Petalburg woods. Ho hum. Best follow him…

…Or not. Instead I left the moron to his crying and went back to get Swift some easy levels in the woods. She hit lv.13 and learned… Wing Attack?

Oh yes.

While levelling Jabs, who evolved into a Silcoon at lv.7, I came across a Shroomish. I got the Shroomish down to within one hit of fainting, but Jabs herself was also just 2 hits – or 1 critical hit – away from death. I could have switched Jabs out, or run away, but I decided to gamble and hope that Shroomish didn’t crit me. As I pressed the button, though, on Poison Sting, I realised I wished I hadn’t. I wasn’t just risking fainting, which is usually easily repaired at a Pokemon Centre. I was gambling with Jabs’ very life.

As it happened, Shroomish didn’t crit Jabs, it was fainted by Poison Sting, and Jabs hit lv.8. But I learned me a valuable lesson – not to gamble with my Pokemon’s lives. Not even with Jabs, by some distance my weakest Pokemon.

Then the unthinkable happened. Grinding happily away, 1 level away from a Beautifly… Poisoned by a rogue Wurmple. I didn’t make it to the Pokemon Centre in time (and I’m playing with no healing items at all, in or out of battle). Jabs died.

Wow, that was unexpected. Killed by one of her own. I really have to make sure I keep grinding throughout this challenge, or the same fate may befall any of my other Pokemon. With that in mind, I set to grinding Pepper. First Pokemon she came up against was another Wurmple… was this the same Wurmple that killed Jabs? Probably not. Kicked its ass regardless.

Onto Route 106. First Pokemon was a Taillow. Caught her, and on auto-pilot (I never usually nickname my Pokemon) forgot to give her a name. Boxed her away, will have to remember to name her later.

Phew, this is a time-consuming challenge, what with having to keep running back to the Pokemon Centre every time I want to heal (poisoned by three consecutive Poison Stings… I lost my sense of humour at this point). Finally, Pepper hit lv.13 and learned… Bite?

Oh yes.


-Samwise

Chapter 3 - I am your father...

I carried on past a few more trainers on Route 102, disposed of them easily enough. Hit Petalburg City, Healed up and sold a Potion I picked up, then tried to continue onto Route 104 towards Rustboro City, but was stopped by someone who thought it was very important I saw the Gym. Went into the Gym and bumped into none other than… Dad! Had a chat, helped some frail fellow called Wally catch a Ralts. Dad said I had to get stronger before I challenged him. Finally I got onto Route 104. First wild Pokemon… a female Taillow, lv.4. Caught her, named her Swift. Calm nature… just about the least useful nature for a Taillow ever… Ah well, I’ll make do. I started to grind Taillow, including in a battle against Rich Boy Winstone which nearly got Pepper killed. Back to Petalburg to heal, then I took the plunge into Petalburg Woods… High risk of poisoning here, but hopefully a brand new Pokemon too.

Just to make those of you who don't know Pokemon aware, if a Pokemon gets poisoned they lose a small proportion of their remaining health every turn. Worse still, when the battle ends, they lose 1 hit point (HP) every 5 steps you take. If their health bar reaches 0, they faint (in later Generations there's a chance they'll survive the poisoning, but in Generation III games - like Sapphire - they faint every time). Obviously this is A Bad Thing.

First to attack me was… Wurmple, female, lv.5. Oh good. Even better, it promptly poisoned Pepper. Argh. Switched Pepper out… it poisoned Crash too. ARGH. Considered running for a Pokemon Centre but stuck it out to catch the Bug-type. Called her Jabs because of her ability to infect my poor Pokemon. Naughty nature… too right… Naughty’s my favourite nature though, so good stuff.

Made it to the Pokemon Centre by the skin of my teeth, no casualties. Thank God for that. Back to the Woods! Might be spending as little time here as possible… Soon as I see a Wurmple I’m running for the hills! I made my way through the woods, discovering some tool trying to find a Shroomish. And failing. And then getting ambushed by a Team Aqua drone, who proceeds to attack me instead! The injustice of it all… Lv.9 Poochyena goes down quickly to Crash’s Water Gun. A Great Ball is my reward.

I remembered the first Gym is Rock-type, so any time spent levelling Pepper , Swift and especially Jabs at the moment is a waste because Rock Pokemon resist all those Pokemon's attacks, even if Pepper takes about 3XP to gain a level…I made it through the woods. Got a TM for… Bullet Seed! Oo, that might help against Roxane. Oh wait… None of my Pokemon can learn it. Balls. I Came across a trainer with a Lotad. I feared for Crash… then remembered that Mudkip isn’t Ground-type yet, so is only 2x weak to Grass moves (see http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Type for more details about Pokemon types)

Anyway, dead Lotad. Followed up with a Shroomish, which paralysed poor Crash… switched in lv.6 Swift, and hurrah! Absorb only does 1HP damage! I never said I disliked Calm natures…

I made it to Rustboro! Next up, Gym number 1…

-Samwise

Chapter 2 - Into the big wide world

I headed onto Route 102. First Pokemon I ran across was, thankfully, not a Zigzagoon. Instead it was a lv. 3 female Poochyena, Sassy nature (http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Nature). Promptly caught her and named her Pepper. She was a bit behind Crash so I decided to stay around and level her up a bit before heading any further.

I levelled Crash up to 10, when he learned Water Gun. Nice! Pepper learned Howl at lv. 6. Kept grinding for a while, rushing back to the Oldale Pokemon Centre every now and then with my tail between my legs when I got critted. Realised how much I like the music on Route 102! Also, turns out wild Lotad are a real bonus for Pepper – only damaging attack is Astonish, which is not very effective against Dark types, and give 42 whole XP!

I survived a hairy moment when a rogue crit from a wild Wurmple took Pepper down to just 3HP. Scraped through though and headed back to heal.

Got Pepper to lv.8, had to turn off for now. Next up, I’ll head down Route 102 proper, and brave the Bug Catchers!


-Samwise

Chapter 1 - Leaving Littleroot

Apologies for the broken style of the first 3 Chapters - I originally logged my progress in bullet points. Any moves and Pokemon you'd like to know more about can easily be found using the search bar on the left of Bulbapedia.

So, I started the game, calling myself Locke. I moved into my new place in Littleroot Town, and after the first few introductory conversations, started up Route 101 and found Professor Birch being chased by a Pokemon. Birch called out to me, asking me to save him using a Pokemon from one of the three Pokeballs in his bag. I picked Mudkip out of his bag, a Water-type, and took out the Poochyena with no trouble. I chose Mudkip because even though I like Torchic best of the Gen III starters, I wanted a chance against the first Gym, and I don’t like Treecko much.

Prof Birch gave me the Mudkip, which I named Crash. Serious nature… Good to know, because I have a feeling this game will get pretty serious…

I headed up Route 101, suddenly becoming aware of how nervous the tall grass made me feel (wild Pokemon randomly attack in tall grass, any readers who don't know the games).I took a deep breath, and headed into my first patch of grass in my first ever Nuzlocke challenge… I hoped I’d make it through safely without being attacked as I didn't have any Pokeballs yet, but as I reached the last square of grass, was attacked by a lv.3 Zigzagoon. I beat Zigzagoon after he Growled repeatedly, but was annoyed that I wouldn’t be able to catch a Route 101 Pokemon.

Headed up to Oldale town with no further battles, healed at the Pokemon Centre, sold my only Potion (not gonna be using it!) and headed up to Route 103. I was attacked again by a lv.4 Zigzagoon (damnit, no catching Pokemon on Route 103 either!). Zigzagoon took Crash down to 8/20 health – Growling 6 times made it difficult to finish the bugger off! Crash hit level 6 and learned Mud Slap. Suddenly I remembered that the Physical/Special split didn’t exist in Gen. III. I’ll need to get used to that again… If you don't know what I mean, check out these links: http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Stats and http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Attacks#Characteristics_of_moves.

Next I headed back to Oldale town, healed up, then set off for Route 103, looking for May. I reached her… and she attacked! Her Treecko started off with Leer, which made me nervous. Mudkip used Tackle, scored a Critical hit to put my mind a bit more at ease. Treecko used Pound. My heart was in my mouth – I had no idea how much damage to expect after the Leer earlier… phew, only 5 damage. Another Tackle and Treecko’s down to 1 HP. Another Pound and another Tackle and Crash has beaten Treecko with 12/22 HP remaining! Even better, he’s up to lv.7! Make that 14/24 HP remaining…  Back to Oldale to heal up. May mentioned going back to her dad’s lab for something… maybe I’ll follow her… I meet her by Route 101, she tells me to hurry home. Will do! I jump all the fences and reach Littleroot Town again unscathed.

Straight to the lab to meet May and Birch – he tells me beating May is quite an achievement as she has an extensive history as a trainer. Obviously not that extensive as Treecko, her only Pokemon, is only lv.5…Birch gives me a Pokedex, and May challenges me to finish it before her. Probably not going to happen, that. She gives me some Pokeballs though, which is nice. Off to get some backup for poor lonely Crash! On the way, I chatted to Mum, who gave me running shoes. About time; did she let me walk about barefoot before?!  Back out to Route 101. Can’t catch anything here, so ran straight through, and avoided all wild Pokemon. Straight to the Mart to buy my 10 Pokeball allowance – plus a free Premier Ball. Next stop, Route 102!

-Samwise

Introduction - the Nuzlocke Challenge

My first blog! A momentous occasion to be sure. Anyway, time for an introduction.

The Nuzlocke Challenge is a new way to play Pokemon games, to add an extra bit of challenge to a series of games that Pokemaniacs (first and last time I'll use that word) like myself have completed over and over again for more than 10 years now. The inspiration comes from a random guy who decided to spice things up on a run of Pokemon Ruby, and drew a few funny sketches detailing his experiences. The sketches gained quite a following, taking the author by surprise as much as anyone, and developed into a full-blown series of webcomics. For more details and all the comics, go here --> http://www.nuzlocke.com/?page_id=2

Before I go into the rules, suffice it to say that in order to really understand what the hell I'm on about in this blog, you'll need a basic grasp of Pokemon game mechanics. If you don't have a clue what I'm on about but are interested in finding out more (hell, maybe you just like my style of writing) then head to Bulbapedia, here: http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Main_Page and you'll find literally everything you could ever want to know about the Pokemon games, anime, manga, and the Pokemon themselves and how the game's infinitesimally   nuanced mechanics work.

There are two main rules to Pokemon Nuzlocke challenges, and they are:

1. You may only catch the first Pokemon you encounter on each Route.
2. If any of your Pokemon faint, they are dead. You cannot heal them, and must release them immediately.

Thousands of people have undergone Nuzlocke challenges since the comics were born, and more and more rules are brought to the table every day. The extra rules to which I'll be adhering are as follows:

3. You must nickname every Pokemon you own. This will increase your attachment to your Pokemon, and thus the sorrow should any die.
4. You may not use any healing items. If you wish to heal your Pokemon, you must use a Pokemon Centre.
5. You may only buy up to 10 Pokeballs (of any type - i.e. including Great Balls, Ultra Balls etc.) from any one Poke Mart.
6. You may not switch your Pokemon out while the opponent is switching theirs. If you wish to switch Pokemon, you must switch while the opponent has a Pokemon out.
7. No legendary Pokemon are allowed.

So those are the rules. Should make the game a bit more interesting... I'll be playing on Pokemon Sapphire, for those who know the games, which is a Generation III Pokemon game set in the land of Hoenn. If it's fun, then I'll move on and probably do a Nuzlocke run of Diamond/Pearl and/or HeartGold/SoulSilver afterwards.

I hope you enjoy reading this blog, if anyone's reading it at all, and leave as many comments as you want!

Samwise