Nuztai's Dexlocke

What is a Nuzlocke?

​

The Nuzlocke Challenge is a set of self-imposed rules intended to create a higher level of difficulty while playing the Pokémon games.

The basic rules are:

• If your Pokémon faints, it's dead and you have to release it or box it permanently.

• You can only catch the first Pokémon you see on a route, and only one per route.

• Nickname all your Pokémon (optional).

 

What is a Dexlocke?

There are many types of Nuzlocke Challenge that add additional features and rules, in a way creating a new but similar style of challenge. The Dexlocke Challenge is one such type, and was invented to adhere to the famous spirit of Pokémon ("Gotta Catch 'Em All"). While keeping to the main rules of a Nuzlocke, it adds the factor of catching a "Living Pokédex", extending the typical Nuzlocke challenge beyond the Pokémon League and well into the post-game. Legendaries become an incredible challenge as they can no longer simply be defeated, but must be caught, giving the player several one-chance battles that can drag on due to high capture difficulties (that may threaten the lives of Pokémon).

1. You must nickname (or otherwise "mark") all "Battle Pokémon", which are only those caught according to rule 3. Unlike other Nuzlocke variants, this is no longer an option since your collection of "Battle Pokémon" must be kept distinct and separate from your "Dex Pokémon".

2. You must release a Pokémon if it faints. You may choose to permanently box the Pokémon instead. This is helpful to serve as a "graveyard" and for players playing on physical cartridges if you want to retain your Pokémon after your Nuzlocke run. This change has no effect on the difficulty of the game.

3. You may only catch the first wild Pokémon which you encounter in each area. Pokémon encountered prior to receiving Pokéballs are ignored. If you are playing on a physical cartridge you may want to capture shiny Pokémon and legendaries so that they can be retained after the end of your Nuzlocke Run. This is generally considered acceptable, but those Pokémon should not be used unless they would be usable normally under the "first wild Pokémon" rule.

4. Your goal is to complete a Living Pokédex of the generation you are currently playing.

   • "Battle Pokémon" don't count, but may be bred to help accomplish this goal.

   • Determine your completion goal before playing. For example, if playing Alpha Sapphire, you may decide to catch all Gen 3 Pokémon (135 Pokémon), all of the Hoenn region Pokédex (211 Pokémon), OR as much of the National Pokédex as may be possible (something like 485 Pokémon).

   • In-game trades with NPCs are generally considered OK for the purposes of completing the Living Pokédex , but not obtaining "Battle Pokémon". Trades with real people are acceptable only for obtaining "Version Exclusive Pokémon", and then only "Fair Trades" of one version exclusive for another.

   • Breeding is acceptable only if the Pokémon is not otherwise found in the wild. If a Pokémon dies before it can be bred, such a starter, it may not be bred. A new one, however, may be traded for, but as a rule of thumb, should require trading something rare.

   • Since only "Battle Pokémon" may fight, evolving Pokémon for the Living Pokédex will require use of Exp Share/Exp All items. The "Switch Out Method" is acceptable as well, as long as non-"Battle Pokémon" never actually fight.

   • If all "Battle Pokémon" are defeated, but the player is carrying Living Pokédex Pokémon, those Pokémon are automatically considered killed, regardless of the results of the battle, and must be released or boxed permanently (no longer counting towards the Living Pokédex).

   • While generally considered an unspoken rule, saving and restarting at a past save point is forbidden. This is specifically listed here because of Legendary Pokémon and one-time static encounters. If these Pokémon faint or otherwise fail to be caught, you've failed to complete the Living Pokédex and have lost.

   • For an added challenge, try seeking out all boxable forms of available Pokémon. For an even greater challenge, try seeking out all boxable forms, including Pokémon with gender differences.

​

Why do you post rules for each run?

 

Beyond the general types of Nuzlocke Challenges, one can go a step further and add additional rules to either make a challenge easier or harder. Some types of Nuzlocke are really challenging on their own, and one may want to make things easier so it's still fun to them. Others may not be hard enough, and cause players to want to dial up the difficulty. I tweak my rules each run in this way to find a difficulty that I think will be just the right amount of challenging and fun for the particular game I'm playing.

​

Where can I read about the Red Version Dexlocke?

 

Unfortunately, that story was scripted as a comic, one that I never got around to drawing. While it would be faster to convert the script into a story, that will still take some time. For now, the story can only be learned of in the flashbacks in other tales. But that adds a fun air of mystery, right?

​

Where can I learn more?

Check out the sidebar for my recommendations on where to start learning even more about Nuzlockes and their variants!