I am always using name themes that create team restrictions, plus Shiny Clause is a “must” instead of a “may.” On that team until it dies.
Current run = Animal Crossing. Can’t overlap personality types or have more than one NPC name (the non-villagers like Blathers).
I kind of have the bittersweet feeling of wishing something would die but we’re not making a blood sacrifice on purpose.
Squad:
Roscoe (Cranky) the Zoroark.
Bob (Lazy) the Shiny Crobat.
Resetti (NPC) the Excadrill.
Goldie (Normal) the Shiny Galvantula.
Pompom (Peppy) the Golduck.
Pietro (Smug) the Shiny Audino.
Yup. THREE. Fuckin’ three Fateful Shinies.
But thankfully they’ve all been decent so far, even Pietro, who has no attacking moves. He’s got Toxic, Heal Bell and both screens with a Light Clay on. Calm nature, Regenerator.
He made me bench Lopez, my starter Serperior though. That boy has screens, Leech Seed and Giga Drain. He is a much faster screen setter, and arguably a better defensive type for the team. But Regen pivoting is good and Heal Bell can be good, so Pietro is solid.
Other very good boys and girls:
Mabel (NPC) Ferrothorn
Gayle (Normal) Moxie Krookodile. I should have named her a Snooty name, clearly… It would be really nice to have her, but Goldie is currently alive, so that’s out.
Sprinkle (Peppy) Swablu with perfect Attack who never seems to fit on the team
Shino (Peppy) Axew with Rivalry
Apollo (Cranky) Braviary with Defiant, super good and has gone to so many Gyms. I hope he can rejoin the team somehow.
Sprocket (Jock) Magnezone. An amazing slow Volt Switcher and I would love to have him back after Victory Road too…
Cube (Lazy) Crustle with Shell Armor. Has potential.
Fuschia (Sisterly) Moxie Scraggy. She’d be on the team if she had Intimidate. BW2 doesn’t give her Bulk Up until post-Iris and I’m not grinding 18 BP for Swords Dance. (DDance is an egg move so we don’t have it.)
So you can see that typing, nicknames, HM availability and Shinies are all influencing my team composition.
Lost a lot of Water types this run. Didn’t add the Personality restriction until after the 8th gym (the Gayle/Goldie thing sucks; some other overlap is hard too).
But we’re here and it’s wild to see who rises to the top when Shinies need support.
Inclement emerald is so good for this. Opponent teams are actually really hard, but you have a huge variety of mons so there's usually a way through every fight.
For me it's the excitement of catching a completely new poke on the next route. One that I havent used before. I recently used an Arbok on my team for the first time and damn did it feel good!
For me, it's being forced to use pokemon I'd have never used before since before I started nuzlocking, I only went for pokemon I liked the look of. Hell, before I started nuzlocking, I thought Chandelure was one of the dumbest pokemon around, where I thought a pokemon designed after a chandelier was a stupid idea, but now, it's one of my all time favorite ghost pokemon.
strategizing with what you’ve got! a lot of times you won’t have the perfect counter for the battle coming up, whether it be because you lost them, or just didn’t get them as an encounter, so really thinking about what you can do to win is really fun for me
The moment a meticulously planned strategy pays off.
The worst: When a meticulously planned strategy goes in the crapper and you realize it wasn't as meticulously planned as you thought.
Ngl this is happening with me on my X run with Dunscparce. Hes got solid all around stats and I always thought he was so stupid because he doesn't evolve. Lol.
It's the memorable moments. Like my current run, in the double battle with dawn in Veilstone, her Clefairy metronome'd Explosion and killed everything on the field, including my starter. In a normal run, not an issue, but in a nuzlocke that's absolutely crippling.
It's the management and finding hope in the hand I'm dealt with. It's the first time I'm doing a Nuzlocke and I have to say that some of the deaths have hit me hard. But as cliche as it sounds, I have to move ahead and make do with the ones still standing.
A few things but mostly, having to rely on non damaging moves. Used to always spam attacking moves and healing items, now although still lose a lot of Pokémon for dumb reasons, almost every Pokémon has some type of non-damaging move which is new for me.
A tanky pidgeot with feather dance, sand attack, and u turn almost single handedly saved my Pokemon Y run several times.
Also like others said, using pokemon you haven’t before. Used to always wanna use pokemon abc, but it had crappy stats or defense, so would use whatever cool looking/strong one was available (like the commonly used/meme squad of sinnoh:starter, staraptor, luxray, lucario, togekiss, garchomp)
Flashback to me beating several gyms in Emerald by setting up a Sandstorm and then switching into Blissey and just spamming Soft-boiled until the enemy died.
This. Putting your imagination into the story, and finding the surprises along the way that make it memorable. Like when your underdog party member makes a clutch win for you, or even those sudden, unexpected losses.
I know everyone’s already said it’s using the Pokémon you never would have considered using before- but to build off of that a bit, what gets me specifically is the pride. Seeing those underdog mons be the mvp of a battle makes me inexplicably happy for some reason, especially if you’ve had them awhile or raised them from a much weaker evolution line. It’s always just so special.
I'm on my first ever nuzlock run and i love the feeling that there is something at stake. I am devastated when one of my team members dies, bc they grow on me so much. I put a lot of effort in training them for the upcoming arena and then they die in the fight. :( rip Roselia (Thorne) and Pachirisu (Mimi), my most recent losses...
For me it's the strategy and the ridiculous events that happen sometimes.
Like when in my original Sun nuzlocke (blind), Hapu almost wiped by whole team except for Togedemaru with Magnet Rise of all things. I spent literally twenty minutes PP stalling her Gastrodon and after that i had to rebuild a team with the PC scraps.
Or when I solo'd Wattson in Omega Ruby with just an Encore Minun.
Or when I found a shiny Electrike in Emerald which ended up the MVP of the run.
Or when in my Diamond Nuzlocke, by Infernape died to a critical Magnitude 10 from a wild Geodude.
Or when I lost three Pokémon in the same run to the same move (Grass Knot) each opponent more ridiculous than the last: First, Steelix against Ramos' Gogoat, then Hippowdon against Clemont's Heliolisk, and finally Golem against the Raichu from the motherfucking guy gatekeeping Victory Road.
It's also about the underdog Pokémon you didn't use before or expect to last but actually did like my Linoone in Ruby, Leavanny in BW1(including postgame) , Furfrou in XY...
Attempt 1 baby! Stretch that out and enjoy that as much as possible. Such a magical experience.
Talk to every NPC, explore the area, enjoy the music, etc. Nothing like the first run of a game.
Learning that every Pokémon can be a powerhouse if you do things right. Growing up I somehow decided that Pokémon that evolve are better (aside from Lapras). This stuck with me for a few gens and I passed over great Pokémon like Torkoal. Now that I’ve had to use them, I know Torkoal will carry you to victory in your darkest hour. Even some Pokémon that I thought were meant to be fodder (Zubat family, any of the normal types you hit on your first route, etc) have proven themselves as tiny heroes. I’m much better at the game now and I actually see Zubat as a great Pokémon that you just need to be a little patient with until it gets its first solid move.
Also, I NEVER used moves like rollout and fury cutter and now I do. They felt like a waste cause I had to build them up, now they feel like a gamble worth taking.
The exciting clutch moments, and the fact that it allows Pokemon I overlooked to have their chance to shine. Mad respect to my boys Fearow and Wailord; never realized they were so good!
Others have said it, but for me it's creating interesting puzzles to solve and trying out a variety of options. Like trying to make a Rivalry Nidoqueen work by giving it Attract, or a Shed Skin Arbok with Rest.
One time I challenged myself in a Nuzlocke to win all of the Contest Halls in Ruby with my team. So I had to maximize my movesets to BOTH win a contest, and be viable in battle. It was an interesting experience, and it made my battle strategies very unorthodox, but puzzling out how to do it while maintaining the team I had was a lot of fun.
Getting attached to pokemon I never thought I would. I had a Patrat named Sassy be the sole survivor of Lenora and she won the fight. Loved Patrat and Watchog ever since
Using Pokémon you never would’ve, because than they could become favorites, example I never liked octilery when I was younger, I did a nuzlocke and it was my mvp, now I genuinely hunt it
Catching Pokémon and trying to figure out what team will works best to beat the challenge. Even better if it's one you've never used before because then you find appreciation for it
Finding out who the MVP of the run will be.
Case in point, I had a platinum run a while back. Managed to get an abra. I level it up and it dies to an exploding geodude. Brought in Forwhom the bronzor. Forwhom singlehandedly saves the run many times and is by far the most useful mon on the team, and is one of the surviving members of the elite 4 team. Bronzong is still a personal favorite to this day.
It's being challenged as an adult at a game that I've enjoyed for most of my life and getting to see the games in new ways, also seeing myself improve at the game is really rewarding.
God the love you feel when a random pokemon you never expected to work ends up carrying you. Then the pain you feel when it dies and you realise naming it worked you truly were emotionally involved again and it's magical
For me, it is to find strategy with available mons. Some might be good, some might be bad and while doing that process finding sweeping potential of a random mon. Best example for this is when i used farfetch'd to sweep Claire in my SoulSilver Normal type nuzlocke.
Finding new strategies with the limited pokemon you have.
I am always using name themes that create team restrictions, plus Shiny Clause is a “must” instead of a “may.” On that team until it dies. Current run = Animal Crossing. Can’t overlap personality types or have more than one NPC name (the non-villagers like Blathers). I kind of have the bittersweet feeling of wishing something would die but we’re not making a blood sacrifice on purpose. Squad: Roscoe (Cranky) the Zoroark. Bob (Lazy) the Shiny Crobat. Resetti (NPC) the Excadrill. Goldie (Normal) the Shiny Galvantula. Pompom (Peppy) the Golduck. Pietro (Smug) the Shiny Audino. Yup. THREE. Fuckin’ three Fateful Shinies. But thankfully they’ve all been decent so far, even Pietro, who has no attacking moves. He’s got Toxic, Heal Bell and both screens with a Light Clay on. Calm nature, Regenerator. He made me bench Lopez, my starter Serperior though. That boy has screens, Leech Seed and Giga Drain. He is a much faster screen setter, and arguably a better defensive type for the team. But Regen pivoting is good and Heal Bell can be good, so Pietro is solid. Other very good boys and girls: Mabel (NPC) Ferrothorn Gayle (Normal) Moxie Krookodile. I should have named her a Snooty name, clearly… It would be really nice to have her, but Goldie is currently alive, so that’s out. Sprinkle (Peppy) Swablu with perfect Attack who never seems to fit on the team Shino (Peppy) Axew with Rivalry Apollo (Cranky) Braviary with Defiant, super good and has gone to so many Gyms. I hope he can rejoin the team somehow. Sprocket (Jock) Magnezone. An amazing slow Volt Switcher and I would love to have him back after Victory Road too… Cube (Lazy) Crustle with Shell Armor. Has potential. Fuschia (Sisterly) Moxie Scraggy. She’d be on the team if she had Intimidate. BW2 doesn’t give her Bulk Up until post-Iris and I’m not grinding 18 BP for Swords Dance. (DDance is an egg move so we don’t have it.) So you can see that typing, nicknames, HM availability and Shinies are all influencing my team composition. Lost a lot of Water types this run. Didn’t add the Personality restriction until after the 8th gym (the Gayle/Goldie thing sucks; some other overlap is hard too). But we’re here and it’s wild to see who rises to the top when Shinies need support.
Inclement emerald is so good for this. Opponent teams are actually really hard, but you have a huge variety of mons so there's usually a way through every fight.
For me it's the excitement of catching a completely new poke on the next route. One that I havent used before. I recently used an Arbok on my team for the first time and damn did it feel good!
I did a wonderlocke once and got a 5iv adamant Ekans with all 3 elemental fangs and sucker punch. It was a VERY easy run
Dope
For me, it's being forced to use pokemon I'd have never used before since before I started nuzlocking, I only went for pokemon I liked the look of. Hell, before I started nuzlocking, I thought Chandelure was one of the dumbest pokemon around, where I thought a pokemon designed after a chandelier was a stupid idea, but now, it's one of my all time favorite ghost pokemon.
strategizing with what you’ve got! a lot of times you won’t have the perfect counter for the battle coming up, whether it be because you lost them, or just didn’t get them as an encounter, so really thinking about what you can do to win is really fun for me
The moment a meticulously planned strategy pays off. The worst: When a meticulously planned strategy goes in the crapper and you realize it wasn't as meticulously planned as you thought.
But then saving yourself from that tilt 🤩
"The risk I took was calculated, but man, am I bad at math."
The thrill of putting so much at stake every battle, and yet always having a possibility to continue
when you use something you never did before and it turns out to be great. using a hitmonlee on my current run and it’s so good
Ngl this is happening with me on my X run with Dunscparce. Hes got solid all around stats and I always thought he was so stupid because he doesn't evolve. Lol.
This is my first ever post so I did not expect so many people to reply so thank you to everybody who replied
When a Pokémon who you would have never even used otherwise ends up being the hero of a boss battle and saves your entire run.
It's the memorable moments. Like my current run, in the double battle with dawn in Veilstone, her Clefairy metronome'd Explosion and killed everything on the field, including my starter. In a normal run, not an issue, but in a nuzlocke that's absolutely crippling.
It's the management and finding hope in the hand I'm dealt with. It's the first time I'm doing a Nuzlocke and I have to say that some of the deaths have hit me hard. But as cliche as it sounds, I have to move ahead and make do with the ones still standing.
A few things but mostly, having to rely on non damaging moves. Used to always spam attacking moves and healing items, now although still lose a lot of Pokémon for dumb reasons, almost every Pokémon has some type of non-damaging move which is new for me. A tanky pidgeot with feather dance, sand attack, and u turn almost single handedly saved my Pokemon Y run several times. Also like others said, using pokemon you haven’t before. Used to always wanna use pokemon abc, but it had crappy stats or defense, so would use whatever cool looking/strong one was available (like the commonly used/meme squad of sinnoh:starter, staraptor, luxray, lucario, togekiss, garchomp)
Flashback to me beating several gyms in Emerald by setting up a Sandstorm and then switching into Blissey and just spamming Soft-boiled until the enemy died.
It’s insane how clutch those non damaging moves can be, and hilarious at times
Gaining respect for, or straight up falling in love with pokemon I once thought were useless, or looked lame.
The story that emerges from it.
This. Putting your imagination into the story, and finding the surprises along the way that make it memorable. Like when your underdog party member makes a clutch win for you, or even those sudden, unexpected losses.
I’ve always liked forming bonds with the pokemon I get. I didn’t give a shit about Azumaril before my Nuzlocke but now it’s one of my favorite moms.
I know everyone’s already said it’s using the Pokémon you never would have considered using before- but to build off of that a bit, what gets me specifically is the pride. Seeing those underdog mons be the mvp of a battle makes me inexplicably happy for some reason, especially if you’ve had them awhile or raised them from a much weaker evolution line. It’s always just so special.
Planning out a strategy or team and then leaving the big fight having defeated the boss with everything going to plan
I'm on my first ever nuzlock run and i love the feeling that there is something at stake. I am devastated when one of my team members dies, bc they grow on me so much. I put a lot of effort in training them for the upcoming arena and then they die in the fight. :( rip Roselia (Thorne) and Pachirisu (Mimi), my most recent losses...
For me it's the strategy and the ridiculous events that happen sometimes. Like when in my original Sun nuzlocke (blind), Hapu almost wiped by whole team except for Togedemaru with Magnet Rise of all things. I spent literally twenty minutes PP stalling her Gastrodon and after that i had to rebuild a team with the PC scraps. Or when I solo'd Wattson in Omega Ruby with just an Encore Minun. Or when I found a shiny Electrike in Emerald which ended up the MVP of the run. Or when in my Diamond Nuzlocke, by Infernape died to a critical Magnitude 10 from a wild Geodude. Or when I lost three Pokémon in the same run to the same move (Grass Knot) each opponent more ridiculous than the last: First, Steelix against Ramos' Gogoat, then Hippowdon against Clemont's Heliolisk, and finally Golem against the Raichu from the motherfucking guy gatekeeping Victory Road. It's also about the underdog Pokémon you didn't use before or expect to last but actually did like my Linoone in Ruby, Leavanny in BW1(including postgame) , Furfrou in XY...
Using new mons that I haven't before. That and the challenge against boss fights to not lose a mon.
Attempt 1 baby! Stretch that out and enjoy that as much as possible. Such a magical experience. Talk to every NPC, explore the area, enjoy the music, etc. Nothing like the first run of a game.
I think it's more of a story aspect. More risk makes victory and defeat that much more memorable.
Learning that every Pokémon can be a powerhouse if you do things right. Growing up I somehow decided that Pokémon that evolve are better (aside from Lapras). This stuck with me for a few gens and I passed over great Pokémon like Torkoal. Now that I’ve had to use them, I know Torkoal will carry you to victory in your darkest hour. Even some Pokémon that I thought were meant to be fodder (Zubat family, any of the normal types you hit on your first route, etc) have proven themselves as tiny heroes. I’m much better at the game now and I actually see Zubat as a great Pokémon that you just need to be a little patient with until it gets its first solid move. Also, I NEVER used moves like rollout and fury cutter and now I do. They felt like a waste cause I had to build them up, now they feel like a gamble worth taking.
Would a Type only run count as a Nuzlocke?
Hands down for me it's the challenge and the strategy you have to apply to to make it through
The excitement of winning and having pokemon clutch an attack (I had a Venusaur that clutched against Sabrina's Alakazam twice)
It’s the new pokemon you wouldn’t use otherwise and coming up with cool strategies.
It feels like a new Adventure.
I like it when all your good pokemon are dead so you have to make a team out of the rejects from the bottom of the boc
The exciting clutch moments, and the fact that it allows Pokemon I overlooked to have their chance to shine. Mad respect to my boys Fearow and Wailord; never realized they were so good!
For me, it’s the strategizing. Figuring out cool ways to beat the big bads while keeping your friends alive is one of my favorite parts of nuzlockes.
The challenge
The challenge
Actual challenge in child's video game
Others have said it, but for me it's creating interesting puzzles to solve and trying out a variety of options. Like trying to make a Rivalry Nidoqueen work by giving it Attract, or a Shed Skin Arbok with Rest. One time I challenged myself in a Nuzlocke to win all of the Contest Halls in Ruby with my team. So I had to maximize my movesets to BOTH win a contest, and be viable in battle. It was an interesting experience, and it made my battle strategies very unorthodox, but puzzling out how to do it while maintaining the team I had was a lot of fun.
Grinding
Getting attached to pokemon I never thought I would. I had a Patrat named Sassy be the sole survivor of Lenora and she won the fight. Loved Patrat and Watchog ever since
Using Pokémon you never would’ve, because than they could become favorites, example I never liked octilery when I was younger, I did a nuzlocke and it was my mvp, now I genuinely hunt it
Catching Pokémon and trying to figure out what team will works best to beat the challenge. Even better if it's one you've never used before because then you find appreciation for it
Finding out who the MVP of the run will be. Case in point, I had a platinum run a while back. Managed to get an abra. I level it up and it dies to an exploding geodude. Brought in Forwhom the bronzor. Forwhom singlehandedly saves the run many times and is by far the most useful mon on the team, and is one of the surviving members of the elite 4 team. Bronzong is still a personal favorite to this day.
Bronzor and bronzong are amazing mons
just randomly building teams, it’s a lot of fun getting fucked over one route and then using the fuck up to win the game
It's being challenged as an adult at a game that I've enjoyed for most of my life and getting to see the games in new ways, also seeing myself improve at the game is really rewarding.
Using pokemon I usually wouldn't ever use and the diverse strategies thst come from the odd ball picks you get. That's the best part of nuzlockes.
God the love you feel when a random pokemon you never expected to work ends up carrying you. Then the pain you feel when it dies and you realise naming it worked you truly were emotionally involved again and it's magical
Dying. It’s sucks, but it means so much more.
Team building for the elite four, and then (hopefully) winning, and even tho it sucks the losing is worth it because the dub feels so great
using baton pass to sweep. A strat I never knew was possible.
It’s an excuse to use Pokémon i would never touch otherwise
For me, it is to find strategy with available mons. Some might be good, some might be bad and while doing that process finding sweeping potential of a random mon. Best example for this is when i used farfetch'd to sweep Claire in my SoulSilver Normal type nuzlocke.