DB's Pokemon Y Nuzlocke - Day 1&2

Welcome, reader, to my chronicles of my current Pokemon Y Nuzlocke challenge. Now, those unfamiliar may be asking, "What the heck is a Nuzlocke?" Well, Pokemon itself is generally regarded as a very easy game. It is meant for young kids, after all. So the popular way to add challenge to a play through is to add self-imposed restrictions. The Nuzlocke Challenge has two main rules which are played by:

#1 - Only the first Pokemon in any area encountered may be caught. If it faints, flees, or you run out of Poke Balls, you're out of luck. Some may allow themselves to catch one Pokemon per floor of a cave while others will only allow themselves the first thing in the entire cave.

#2 - If a Pokemon in one's party faints for whatever reason, it is considered dead and must be permanently boxed in the PC or released immediately. It is unable to use HM's (Hidden Machines) or TM's (Technical Machines to assist in the overworld.

There are a number of other rules that are popularly followed as well, such as having to nickname every Pokemon one catches to strengthen one's bond with them, and allowing an exception in the capturing rule for shiny Pokemon. (that is, Pokemon that are an alternate color than normal like an orange Pikachu) or allowing to catch something else on a route if the first thing they encounter is the same species as one they've caught before.

So, the rules I'm going by:

- First Pokemon in a given route is the only one I'm allowed to catch, unless it's the same species as one I've already caught that isn't dead in which case I can attempt to catch the next one.
- All Pokemon caught must be nicknamed.
- If a Pokemon faints, and isn't automatically healed after the battle, it's dead and must be boxed ASAP.
- Battle mode is SET. (as opposed to SHIFT) I do not get an opportunity to switch Pokemon before my opponent sends out their next Pokemon.
- Legendary Pokemon WILL be caught, (not like I have a choice with the death bird Yveltal) but NOT used.
- I can't use Pokemon Amie, (unless I catch Eevee for Sylveon as it's required) Super Training, or EXP Share. This is supposed to be a challenge.
- If I run out of useable Pokemon, I lose and must delete the save file. Any legendary Pokemon or shinies caught will first be banked.
- Shiny Clause is active. (if I encounter one I can attempt to catch it even if it's not the first Pokemon I encountered on that route)
- My current Nuzlocke ends successfully once I make it past the final Looker mission.

I think that covers it, so time to go on about my progress so far. The adventure of Sparkplug! (I almost never go by my actual name in a game. I just find it too creepy, personally)

I start the game, choose boy and then go with the blonde haired option. Give Sycamore my hero's name, and then I wake up in Vaniville Town. Fletchling used Peck! It's super effective! Sparkplug woke up! Anyway, I go to the mirror and change out of the PJ's, then head downstairs. Say hi to mom, then go outside to meet Shauna and Serena. I then head out for Aquacorde Town to get myself a starter!

One short trip later, I arrive and meet Trevor and Tierno. (sweet Arceus that doofy face on Tierno! O_O) I settle on the nickname of Sparky, then get to choose my starter. Since I used Fennekin in X, this time I go with Chespin. And when I go to nickname it, lo and behold it's a female! She'll go by Chesna! She's Hasty, and a little quick tempered. I also receive the Pokedex and...a letter that I need to take back home. Yay. However, before I can leave, Shauna challenges me to battle with her newly gained Froakie. A female Froakie, no less! But it avails her not, for Chesna merely spams Vine Whip to bring the bubble frog down. So far so good, I mean it'd be really embarrassing if I lost the first battle in the game...

After coming back from Vaniville Town, with a change of clothes that I'll probably never really look at, I head out onto Avance Trail (Route 2) to learn how to catch Pokemon, and more importantly get some Pokeballs to catch with. Take a few steps and I encounter a Pidgey. Too bad I don't have any balls to catch it, as I would have loved to have nicknamed it Pudgy. So now I can't catch anything on this route, but I watch Serena show off her mad catching skillz, and get 10 Pokeballs I get the feeling may not be used much at all. Into the forest! But first, stop and stomp on a Youngster.

In the Santalune Forest, I hope to catch something interesting, but no, my hopes are dashed because of MONKEY. Crud. Oh well, I catch the female Panpour and nickname her Pan. She's Rash, so might be good for Scald later. She's apparently capable of taking hits...just don't ask her to take special hits. Shauna wants to follow, so I accept her aid to help level up Pan a bit while collecting Potions and Pokeballs. Wait, something is very wrong here. There's a Youngster Joey that isn't going on and on about Rattata! Well now he can go home and think about the wrongness of not using a top-percentage Rattata. Or rot in the forest. Either way. I face a few more trainers, including a Lass with a male Pikachu. Smartly, I switch Pan for Chesna, though all Pikachu ends up doing is spamming Growl. Either way, I'm not risking the loss of Pan just after I caught her even when normally I release a multitude of her kind and the other two elemental monkeys disturbingly often on X.

I make it out of the forest and onto Ouvert Way, (Route 3) and Serena makes the helpful suggestion of challenging the Santalune Gym. I know that's the bug gym lead by Viola and her horrible camera puns, but Chesna's got Rollout by now so I should be okay once I level up a little more to hope to compete with her Vivillon of Meadow pattern. (mine end up being Polar Pattern for those curious) Still, it couldn't hurt to try for another Pokemon on my team, right? BIDOOF. FREAKING BIDOOF. So now I'm going to have two Water types on my team once Bonny evolves, provided she makes it that far... Yes, she. Third Poke, third female. She's a sleepy, Bashful Bidoof who's so dense she's Unaware of the opponent's stat changes. I save in Santalune for now.

Bonny: Lv 3
Pan: Lv 8
Chesna: Lv 9

So I decide to head back onto Ouvert Way to train Bonny. A bit of back and fourth between here and the PC in Santalune, and then challenge a Preschooler. Battle of the Bidoof ensues with both being at Lv 6, and Bonny barely scrapes through with 3 HP remaining. Move on to Detourner Way (Route 22) for some more training, where a trainer spams Leer on their Litleo...only to go into Ember. One Lass and her Flabebe later, and I'm up against a School kid with his Metapod. Easy-peasy with Bonny not even being aware of Metapod desperately fending itself with Harden. And ONE Tackle. Poor kid thinks his Metapod evolving into Butterfree would help him... Not when I just caught Litleo! ...Yet another female, but given Litleo's gender ratio (75% female) I'm not surprised. For now on, this Rivalrous Naive girl who's so keen on sounds shall be known as Sara! I've got to do some training with Sara, and hopefully she'll evolve into a beautiful Pyroar, but that's a long ways off and no guarantee she'll even make it.

Sara: Lv 6
Pan: Lv 10
Bonny: Lv 10
Chesna: Lv 11

Farfetch'd is evil. While training Sara, I encounter Farfetch'd and think this shouldn't be too hard. Switch for Bonny, and spam Tackle like no tomorrow, but the crafty duck uses Sand Attack to screw with her accuracy. Then proceeds to use Fury Attack. Two hits. Then Fury Attack again. Again, two hits. Third time Bonny lands a hit on the Farfetch'd, and Farfetch'd misses with Fury Attack. This is starting to look bad, but I stupidly decide not to use a Potion. I believe the Tackle misses and Fury Attack hits. Once. Twice. Three times.

Bonny fainted!

Pan took it upon herself to Water Gun that blasted duck into oblivion, but it was too late for Bonny...

Sara: Lv 7
Pan: Lv 11
Chesna: lv 11

R.I.P. Bonny... Lv 3 - Lv 10 You will always be remembered as the little Bidoof that could...

So, after that tragedy, I work the team hard while also being careful not to let their health dip too low. Encounter a few Farfetch'd, and summarily slaughter them all. Sara really picks up the levels here to finally catch up with Pan and Chesna. After that, it's time for the gym! First battle is up against a Ledyba with Supersonic. Thankfully, it misses Pan and she drowns it with repeated Water Guns. Then a trainer with Spewpa who thankfully doesn't spam Protect, and one with Kakuna whose Poison Sting thankfully doesn't poison. Eventually, I make it to Viola, who...ugh. Those camera puns... Anyway, I send Pan out first, then switch to Chesna and use Rollout...which misses. Thankfully, Surskit is rather pathetic and its Tackles are more like tickles against Chesna's spiny shell. Then a Rollout hits, and hits again, and one-shots Vivillon who tries Tackle as opposed to Infestation. (not that I blame the AI for not going with the crappy bug move...) So I earn myself the Bug Badge...and the TM for Infestation which I'm never going to touch if my life depended on it.

Pan: Lv 13
Sara: Lv 13
Chesna: Lv 14

Eheh...oops... Overleveled just a bit...I though Vivillon was Lv 14, not 12. ...It's been awhile since I last battle the gyms, okay?!

To be continued...