Nuzunlocke

So I recently restarted Pokemon White and decided to try something new that I've never done before. A Nuzlocke challenge. Now, for those of you who don't know, the basic definition of a nuzlocke challenge is simply to catch the first Pokemon you find on a route and nothing else, and also any Pokemon that feints is considered dead and should be boxed or released. There are different twists you do to it, other rules you can add, etc. But the two I mentioned are kind of a part of every nuzlocke. Anyway, I decided to try it. I apparently suck at them. xD

Now I believe my first mistake was that I wasn't taking the rules seriously and I simply began playing through the game as I normally would. That came back to bite me in the butt later on. I get to the first gym, and my strongest Pokemon is the starter I chose, Tepig. This wouldn't be an issue if I had actually trained the rest of my team, or grinded up my Tepig to a freakishly high level. But of course I didn't do that and I paid the price for it dearly.

You see, normally when I play through a Pokemon game, I have a certain way I go about choosing team members and training Pokemon. Basically, my starter is always my go-to guy for everything. If he can't handle it, then I'm kinda screwed. 'Cause I don't train Pokemon that I don't plan on using until the bitter end. I will fill up every slot on my team and I have this weird need to have a full team at all times, just in case, but I will not train any extras, if I know for a fact that I will just end up boxing them later. But I will test out anyone with me at the time, and I also choose team members by their performance in battle. Anything I come across has a chance to be on the team, BUT they all have to prove themselves first and be able to hold their own in battle. If they can't, they're boxed. If they do good, or help me out in a big way, then I reward them by keeping them on the team until the end of the game. And I refuse to remove this Pokemon, even if a better one, or something I want more, comes along.

So, anyway, here I am at the first gym, with my Tepig, rearing to go. I think I'll do fine, because I normally do, despite the weird way I play. And at first, I'm doing great. My Tepig burns everything in his path, which is mostly just Patrat, and he's racking up levels. I finally get to the end, and I know I'll be facing a Panpour. I have a type disadvantage here. Still, though, I press on. Tepig wipes out any Normal type standing in his way, but once Panpour is on the field, my luck changes. Tepig goes down to a water move, and at this point, I'm kinda sunk, because he was the only one I was training. Determined to not rely on a stupid monkey of my own, I send out everything else first. Everything else was like level 5 or lower, and died instantly. Then all I'm left with is Pansage. As much as I hate to say it, that stupid little monkey saved my butt. If not for him, I wouldn't have gotten the badge on my first try. I screwed up big time.

So, to make up for my big mistake, I decided to revive everyone and start fresh with the rules 'officially' in effect, and take the rest of the game seriously. Because I found out what happens when you don't, and you're not prepared for things, and it sucked. Plus, I wasn't going to go through the game with a stupid Pansage. It wasn't happening. The elemental monkeys are just stupid and useless. I tried out Pansear in my first run of Black, and I was so disappointed in the stupid thing. I replaced it the first chance I got.

Anyway, after the first badge, and the decision to take the rules seriously, I did better. My Tepig got stronger, he evolved, nobody died, everything was great. I was even training other members. All was going well. Then it all started to fall apart once I reached Nimbasa, I think? Uh, the town with Elesa and her electric type gym. Anyway, at that point, my luck turned sour again. Instead of going straight to the gym, I went exploring around in the neighboring routes to see what new team members I could find.

While exploring the desert resort, the Cottonee I traded for DIES to a DOCTOR of all things! A freaking DOCTOR! Stupid critical hits! I immediately considered this total bullcrap and dubbed her not dead on the spot. I mean, come on, there was a doctor right there. And if he has the NERVE to kill my sweet little Cottonee, then he better make darn sure she makes a full recovery! So I forced him to revive her, flipped him off, cussed him out, and went on my merry way with my precious little Cottonee that totally shouldn't have died then. 

To the left of the town, the first thing I came across was Trubbish. >.< Really? Really game? I decided not to catch it. I mean, I wasn't going to use a garbage bag. I'm sorry, but that's a poorly designed Pokemon. I don't mind Muk or Wheezing, but Garbodor? No, thanks. I mean, I think their stats are like all the same, anyway. There's really no point in continuing to make these toxic waste kind of Pokemon, and nobody wants a garbage bag. I mean, come on. No offense, Trubbish, I'm sure you're an okay 'mon, but you're not going on my team.

So anyway, I decide to keep running around in the grass, even though I already blew my chances. Plus, grinding is always good, and I knew there was a trainer and an item in the grass. So I go to retrieve the item in the dark green grass, and I get jumped by two Pokemon. Trubbish and Leipard. My plan was to simply run away and get out of the grass. WRONG! That stupid Leipard used Pursuit on my poor Darumaka, and nearly took out the poor thing! Meanwhile, Trubbish uses Sludge on my newly evolved Watchog and poisons her! So now I'm nearly panicking. I have to get my mons our of there, but I fear another pursuit. Since my poor Darumaka almost died, I give him a Super Potion. So he's fine. My Watchog still had most of her health, but she was poisoned, so I decided to try switching her out into my Pignite to defeat those wild mons and escape 'safely.' WRONG AGAIN! That freaking Leipard used Pursuit on my Watchog and knocked her out! And she just evolved, too! She was getting stronger and then dies prematurely! Ugh! Stupid Leipard! Then Trubbish poisons my Darumaka. So Pignite comes out, and I partly want to destroy that Leipard, but at the same time, I just want to get away with the rest of my team. I somehow managed to flee successfully. 

By this point, I was already mad about my poor little Cottonee, who I still considered to be not dead, and also frustrated with all the Trubbish I had repeatedly run into while hoping to find something better. So losing my newly evolved Watchog to a stupid wild encounter that I was trying to get away from was kinda the last straw for me. I had just had enough of 'losing' perfectly good teammates to stupid reasons like that. I was just done. I just refused to box a bro like that. No. Sorry. Not happening.

That is bullcrap! They shouldn't have died! I was doing good! No one is getting boxed! So I pretty much threw in the towel there and called quits on the whole idea. I just can't do it. I can't box a bro. I don't care what the rules are. If I train a Pokemon, If I get attached, they're a bro. And bros don't get kicked off the team for stupid reasons! I don't even kick bros off the team for a stronger and better Pokemon! No. Just no. Once the bond has been formed and they start getting stronger, they're with me until the end. I can't do it. I just can't do it. That's just the way that I've always played.

Back in the day, while playing Red, I once took a Raticate all the way to the league, because I refused to box him for something better. He was doing good and I bonded with him, so I was keeping him until the end. I do not box bros. It is a personal rule of mine. That's how I play. I choose teammates based on who battles well and works well with the group, and they stay with me until the end. Because I can't just box someone that has been with me for most of the game, for some cool new Pokemon that I just found. I just can't do it. I have to stick with just six, because I feel bad if a bro is not there with me at the league. I do. I feel like I betrayed them if they aren't there from beginning to end. Once a mon is on the a team, they're with me until I beat the game. Because once a bro, always a bro. And bros do not get replaced by anyone. So I rarely ever use late-game Pokemon because of that reason, or I don't train them until after the main story is complete. Because I can't kick someone off the team that's been with me since the beginning. I can't do it. I can't backstab a bro like that. Man, I get way too attached to Pokemon.... I need a life.....

So, anyway, yeah.... I'm never doing a nuzlocke again. The dying rule is stupid, in my opinion. I know that's part of the challenge, but I don't care. I can't box a bro. I won't do it. I've thought of doing a dice locke ruleset with a bunch of different circumstances and outcomes, possibly taking out the dying thing, or tweaking it, or something.... I might try that... But, yeah, my White nuzlocke run is officially terminated. My bros are staying right where they are, on the team, where they belong.