Ever since I did my Pokémon Moon Nuzlocke back in 2017, I've wanted to try it with other Pokémon games. Pokémon X and Y are generally regarded as the easiest games to Nuzlocke because of their then-newly introduced Experience Share feature. I kept that feature on in my Moon Nuzlocke and still completely wiped out before the halfway point. I wondered what a Y Nuzlocke would be like with the Exp. Share off. Would the game still be as easy as the community suggests, or would it be a more daunting endeavor?
So yes, ladies and gentlemen, my next Nuzlocke log is Pokémon Y with Experience Share turned off.
Most folks know what a Nuzlocke run is, but for those who don't, please refer to the explanation in my Moon log.
The core rules I plan to follow are as follows:
Core Rule 1) I can only capture the first pokémon I encounter in a new route/area. If it faints or flees, that's just too bad. (I also make the assumption that once I've captured a pokémon in that area, I can't capture there again, even if my original pokémon from that area dies in a future battle.)
Core Rule 2) If a pokémon faints in battle, it is considered dead and must be either released or put permanently in a PC box designated as a graveyard box.
Unspoken Core Rule 3) I will nickname every pokémon I catch. (I love this part.)
Optional rules I'm using:
1) The starter pokémon I select will be based on my in-game Trainer ID number. If the last digit of that number is 1-3, I pick the grass starter. If the last digit is 4-6, I pick the fire starter. If the last digit is 7-9, I pick the water starter. If it's 0, I get to choose. And, obviously, I will not soft reset to get a desired temperament for my starter.
2) I plan to use the "Duplication (Dupes) Clause": if the first pokémon I encounter in a new area is one I have already caught (dead or alive) or part of a previously captured pokémon's evolutionary line, then I can catch the first one I encounter that's new to me.
3) I'm not allowed to use Mystery Gift, Giveaway, trade (including those given to me by an NPC in the game), event, etc. pokémon. Only my starter and pokémon I legitimately catch can be used. I generally don't use Legendaries anyway, so I don't plan to use Y's.
4) While I'm aware that the unwritten rule among the Nuzlocke community is that when the entire active party faints the adventure is permanently over, I'd like to exercise the option that if I Game Over but still have alive/usable captured pokémon in my PC, that I can use those as my second string (after releasing/graveyard-ing the starting lineup ones that just fainted). Thus, my Nuzlocke adventure ends when I have no usable pokémon left: active or spare. To me, it's like sports. If my starting quarterback gets injured and is taken out of the game on a stretcher, then my second-string quarterback can fill in and I don't have to forfeit the game.
5) Although I've never once encountered a Shiny, should I encounter one in my Nuzlocke Run and it's not my first new area encounter, I can still catch it but never use it.
6) And, yes, no Experience Share. That's the whole point of this run.
When I first played Y, I created a female avatar and named her Cresta. Those who know me are aware that I always select or create a female character when given a choice. However, in my conventional Pokémon Y playthrough, that caused several cutscenes with an NPC named Shauna to play out very awkwardly. It felt to me as if the scenario writers intended her to be a romantic interest for the boy, but during the eleventh hour realized, "Oh crap, the player could choose to play as a girl. We need to fudge this somehow..." So, once again, I'm Nuzlocke-ing "against type" as a male character to see how certain scenes might play out differently. Since the boy's default garb of a blue tracksuit and red cap immediately made me think of a certain blue-skinned, red crested Guardians of the Galaxy character, I named him Yondu.
So let's begin Yondu's adventures in Kalos.