Hey folks, and welcome to the first chapter of my Pokémon Sun Nuzlocke Challenge. This is the first instalment of what will become a weekly serial blog here on Giant Bomb, documenting my efforts to play through the brand new generation of Pokémon, completely blind and with the added restrictions and increased difficulty of the self-imposed 'Nuzlocke' ruleset. I've never played a blind Nuzlocke before, so this is sure to be a really interesting experience. On top of playing the game, I'll be writing these weekly updates in the form of diary entries, told from the perspective of my in-game player character. Think of it as being a bit like my old series A Month in Skyrim, combined with my FireRed Nuzlocke Challenge from a couple of years back, and you should have a pretty good idea of what this series is likely to become.
If you're not familiar with the concept of the Nuzlocke challenge, then I'll do my best to explain it. In a nutshell, it's a set of game-limiting rules imposed upon a playthrough of a Pokémon game by the player, with the intention of providing a more challenging and emergent experience. The simplest, purest version of the Nuzlocke challenge incorporates just two main rules:
- The player may only capture the first Pokémon encountered in each new route or area. Failing to do so (making the Pokémon faint, or having it run away, for instance) means the player forefeits their capture for that particular area.
- If any of the player's Pokémon faint, they are considered 'dead' and must either be released or permanently placed in the PC, never to be used again. If all the Pokémon in the player's active party faint, the game is over and the Nuzlocke is lost.
In addition to these two core tenets, I'll be invoking a couple of extra clauses to keep things interesting. These are as follows:
- I'll be giving every Pokémon I capture a nickname. This is to encourage the development of a stronger emotional bond between myself and my Pokémon. This way the playthrough is more likely to lend itself to emergent sub-plots, and every victory (and every loss) will matter more.
- If my first encounter in any area is a duplicate of a Pokémon I already own (or in the same evolutionary line as one), I'll be allowed to disregard it and look for something else. This is known as 'species clause' or 'dupes clause', and a lot of Nuzlockers choose to invoke it to make sure their team stays diverse throughout their playthrough.
- Finally, I'll be treating any 'event Pokémon' (that is to say, Pokémon that are gifted to the player by an NPC, such as the starter Pokémon) as viable for the Nuzlocke, without their acquisition impacting on my captures by area. For instance, if I'm gifted a Pokémon by an NPC in one of the game's cities, I'm still permitted to obtain a regular capture for that city as well. The exception to this is Mystery Gift Pokémon - I won't be using the online-distributed Munchlax for this Nuzlocke.
With those basic rules laid down, let's get on with what you've all actually come for, shall we? My latest Pokémon adventure is about to begin...
Chapter One - Alola To A New Region
Alola, Diary! After months of planning, Mom and I have finally moved to the sunny shores of Melemele Island, here in the Alola region. It's definitely a very different place to the Kanto region, and not just because of the weather. The Pokémon here are something else - even the perennial Kanto mainstays like Rattata and Meowth aren't quite the way I knew them back home. But I'll get back to that later. My first few days in this new region have been a bit of a whirlwind, to say the least. I'm hoping that by committing the events to paper, I might be able to start making sense of what I've got caught up in.
It all started two days ago, on our first full day in Alola. Mom and I were visited at home by the local Pokémon Professor, Kukui. He's very different too, nothing like the bookish Professor Oak back in Kanto - Kukui seems keen to take a more hands-on approach with his research into Pokémon and their moves. Even though we'd barely started unpacking, Professor Kukui was keen to usher me away to the next town over, Iki Town, to meet the Kahuna of Melemele Island. Supposedly the Kahunas are the most powerful trainers in Alola, and they're the ones who present young would-be trainers with their first Pokémon here. I've been itching to get my first Pokémon ever since I turned eleven earlier this year, but Mom said it would be best to wait until after the move so I wouldn't upset my new friend in the upheaval. Mom gave me permission to go with Kukui (to be honest she seemed more excited about the prospect of me receiving a Pokémon than I was!), so I grabbed my hat and bag and set off along Route 1 to Iki Town.
When we arrived in Iki Town, there was no sign of the Kahuna, so Kukui and I split up to search for them. Not knowing the area that well, I wandered off in the direction of the Mahalo Trail, and ended up seeing a girl dressed in white with a bag slung over her shoulder. She seemed to be talking to the bag (or whatever was in it) as she made her way up onto the Trail. Not having a clue who the Kahuna was, and thinking she might be who I was looking for, I went after her. I caught up with her at the wooden bridge at the top of the Trail, arriving just in time to find out what was in the bag - a tiny Pokémon! It had escaped and was now stranded in the middle of the bridge, being attacked by a horde of Spearow. The girl was begging me to help, but I didn't need to be asked - I was already stepping out onto the rickety bridge to meet the helpless Pokémon. As I reached it, a strange aura glowed around us, breaking the bridge and sending both me and the Pokémon plummeting to the waters below. Luckily, we were saved before the reached the bottom of the ravine. Tapu Koko, the guardian deity Pokémon of Melemele Island, swooped down and plucked us out of the air, setting us down on the Trail near the girl in white. Before it left, Tapu Koko dropped a sparkling stone, while the girl picked up and handed to me.
We made our way back down the Mahalo Trail to Iki Town, the girl thanking me for saving her Pokémon, which I learned was a Cosmog nicknamed 'Nebby'. Back in town, Kukui introduced the girl not as the island's Kahuna, but as his assistant, Lillie. It wasn't long before the real Kahuna, Hala, arrived back in Iki Town from a bout of training in the nearby wilderness. Kukui introduced me and Lillie explained what had happened up on the Trail with Nebby and Tapu Koko. The story seemed to please Hala, because he said that he saw great promise in me and wanted to give me a Pokémon! He offered me a choice from three different types - the Grass-type Rowlet, the Fire-type Litten, and the Water-type Popplio. It was a tough choice, but I ended up going with Litten. He took an almost instant liking to me, thankfully! I've decided to name him Scorch, and I'm sure he's going to be a great companion on my journey around Alola's islands. To celebrate my receiving Scorch, Kukui gave me two other gifts - a Trainer Passport, and a Pokédex for the Alola region. It's going to take me a long time to get anywhere near filling this thing up!
Kukui suggested I head home and introduce Scorch to Mom, but as I tried to leave Iki Town, I was confronted by another new face - a local kid, about my age. He'd barely said hello and hadn't even given me his name before he challenged me to a Pokémon battle! I accepted, a little nervous, but Scorch managed to subdue his Rowlet without any problems. It turns out his name is Hau, and he's the grandson of Kahuna Hala. After congratulating me on my first ever victory, Hala noticed the sparkling stone in my bag and asked to see it. I handed it over, and he speculated that Tapu Koko giving me the stone means that the guardian might have big plans for me in the future! I left the stone in Hala's care, then headed back along Route 1 in the direction of home. Mom took to Scorch instantly, she loves his cheeky disposition, although he could do with learning to be a bit more obedient - he wouldn't stay in his Poké Ball overnight, and insisted on sleeping at the foot of my bed instead.
The next day, Mom and I had just started to unpack all of our moving boxes when there was a knock at the door. It was Professor Kukui again, asking me to follow him back up to Iki Town to take part in the festival to honour Tapu Koko. On the way, we stopped in the tall grass on Route 1, and Kukui taught me the basics of catching Pokémon. He tossed me a few Poké Balls and I tried my hand at it, following all his pointers, and managed to catch a Pikipek, a Flying-type Pokémon native to the Alola region. I named him Feathers, and wasted no time in introducing him to Scorch. I think they're going to get on really well and become a pretty inseparable double-act - I've already noticed that Scorch is managing to trick Feathers into doing silly things. Thankfully Feathers seems pretty well built, so he can handle himself in those situations. It's great seeing my first two Pokémon getting on so well.
We continued along Route 1, meeting a few trainers along the way who all seemed eager to battle with their own Pokémon. I fought a few of them and managed to come away victorious in every battle. One trainer in particular caught my attention - a Lass named Audrey, who said that her Caterpie had been caught by her father when she was born, and the two of them had been together ever since. It's a nice story, but I can't help thinking that she must be a pretty terrible trainer. I knew some Bug Catchers back in Kanto, from when I used to hang out in Viridian Forest after school. Most of those were half her age, and even they'd been able to get their Caterpie to evolve into Metapod, and even Butterfree in a couple of cases. Here's hoping she manages to raise that Caterpie with a little more love and care from now on.
It was late evening by the time Kukui and I finally made it to Iki Town. We were met by Kahuna Hala, who told me that I would be participating in the festival battle with his grandson Hau. It's strange how I barely know Hau and have already been pitted against him in battle twice - it's like he's becoming my own personal rival, just like the stories I used to hear about Red and Blue back in Kanto! Hau and I met up at the top end of town and had our ceremonial battle. He'd brought along a Pichu to accompany his Rowlet this time. You don't see many Pichu in Kanto, but I know enough about the species to know that Feathers wouldn't have been able to stand up to its Electric-type attacks. I kept Scorch on the offensive, taking down first Pichu and then Rowlet with a string of powerful Ember attacks. Scorch has a pretty good handle on using special attacks, although I feel like he's more of a physical battler overall. Hopefully he'll start learning some new moves to take advantage of that soon.
After our battle we heard Tapu Koko's cry of approval, and Kahuna Hala returned my sparkling stone to me in the shape of a Z Ring! Apparently it's something that only the Kahunas can craft, and moreover, to take full advantage of the power of the Z Ring, I should be considering taking part in the island challenge. Kukui seemed to think I'd do a pretty good job on the island challenge, and Mom agreed when I told her all about it after arriving home last night. I stayed up pretty late with Scorch and Feathers, trying to gauge what they thought about the whole thing. I'm pretty sure they're both keen to attempt the island challenge, and if my Pokémon believe that they're up to it, then I believe in them too.
This morning we were woken by yet another knock at our door, but it wasn't Professor Kukui this time - it was his assistant, Lillie, and her Pokémon Nebby. She explained that she'd been sent by Kukui to bring me to his lab, and that he couldn't come himself because he was in the middle of some important research. It's not far from our new house to Kukui's lab, so I made the short trip south, practising battling with Scorch and Feathers along the way. Scorch seemed pretty worried about the Water-type attacks of the Wingull and Slowpoke that congregate around Kukui's lab, but Feathers charged in head-on and always came out on top. He's a resilient little fighter, even if he is a bit reckless at times.
When we arrived at the lab, it became clear that Kukui's "research" was a bit more physical than I'd been expecting - he'd been tussling with his Rockruff to learn more about its moves, and the whole lab was in a state of total disarray. He laughed it off though, and finished his sparring to present me with two more gifts. The first was an upgrade to my Pokédex, making it compatible with the Pokémon Rotom - a "Rotom Dex", I think he called it. It's a bit strange having a living Pokédex in my bag, but hopefully I'll get used to it. It certainly comes with some really useful features, including a built-in map of the Alola region that should make getting around the islands much easier than it was to begin with. Second, after I confirmed that I wanted to take part in the island challenge, Kukui gave me a talisman to show my challenger status. Hau has one too, so I guess we'll be setting off on this challenge together.
Before that, though, there was one more place Kukui wanted me to visit - the local Trainers' School on Route 1. I spent most of the day there speaking with teachers and students alike, learning more of the basics and a couple more advanced techniques for battling with my Pokémon. At the end of the day, I was challenged to a battle by the school's head teacher to demonstrate everything that I'd learned. It was a tough battle, particularly against her Meowth, which didn't look or behave in the way that Mom's Meowth from Kanto does. Luckily I was able to stay on top and win the battle. As a reward for passing everything that was asked of me, I was presented with my first Technical Machine for TM01 - Work Up, and five Great Balls for catching stronger wild Pokémon. Having officially graduated from the Trainers' School, I headed back down Route 1 and rested Scorch and Feathers up at the nearby Pokémon Center while I grabbed a drink at the café. In fact, that's where I'm writing this entry right now!
So that's how I've spent my first few days in this incredible new region. I've already met loads of new people and Pokémon, and I'm ready to set out on my own journey to try and complete the island challenge. I'm due to meet Lillie at Hau'oli City soon, so I'd better stop writing, retrieve my Pokémon from the nurse, and get ready to go. Until next time Diary, Alola!
Here ends the first chapter of my Pokémon Sun Nuzlocke Challenge. At this point I'm just under three hours into the game, although I have been taking my time, exploring every nook and cranny of Melemele Island, and checking out all the new features in the game including the Festival Plaza (which I won't be writing about here). From a player's perspective, I really like the set-up for this new generation of Pokémon. It's moving pretty slowly at this early stage, with the lengthy tutorial process, but hopefully once we hit Hau'oli City things will open up a bit and we'll start to get some more captures coming our way. I just hope the random encounters favour the new Pokémon and Alolan variants, since I'd rather use those than end up stuck with the same old critters from previous games. But that's the beauty of the Nuzlocke format - having to take what you can get and make it work for you. Thanks very much for reading guys, I hope you've enjoyed this first instalment of this brand new series as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Take care, and until next week's blog, I'll see you around.
Daniel
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Currently playing - Pokémon Sun (3DS)
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