Tobi Nuzlockes: Rules

Perhaps a small introduction is needed for the uninitiated. The 'Nuzlocke challenge' started when one day someone got bored of playing a regular vanilla game of Pokémon, and decided to add house-rules to spice things up. Doing so allowed him to explore and really make good use of the complexer mechanics that the series has to offer. He documented his journey and experiences, and inspired many others to do the same.

Considering I have beaten quite a few Pokémon games already and the fatigue started to settle in, I decided that it may be time I gave this a shot too. With the recent release of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, this was the perfect time for me to jump in. I'll be playing the Alpha Sapphire one because that's the one I saw first in the online store, making it the best version of the two. Arbitrary rules and difficulty may be just the thing I need. I settled on the following list:

Rules

• In Memoriam: Any pokémon that faints will be considered dead. The use of Revives is strictly forbidden, as is raising mons from the dead in a Pokécentre. Should an NPC accidentally heal my party, I have to adhere to the honour system and skill consider it to be dead.
• Gravekeeper: They will be deposited in the last PC box, which shall be considered to be my ‘graveyard’. This method will allow me to keep a neater log of my fallen comrades.
• Game Over: The Nuzlocke challenge will be officially over when I am completely wiped out and have no more Pokémon. At that point, I’ll have to decide whether or not I have to start an entirely new save, or to continue playing Pokémon in the vanilla way using my boxed Pokémon.
• Patriarchy Protest: I shall only catch female or genderless Pokémon. If I get a male Pokemon through trading, he should get boxed. We'll be strong independent women and we won’t need no man. *snaps fingers and bobs head* The reason for this rule is to be pickier with who I can catch (including Legendaries), adding another layer of challenge.
• Highlander:I will only have one Pokémon per species. First one I catch of a species will be the one I stick with. This rule is to prevent catching the same few critters over and over again to avoid having to level or comparing stats.
• Pikachu is “Pizza” in the UK: Any Pokémon I will catch will get a nickname. This little bit of personalisation will make deads hit harder than they already do.
• Dittos Can Be Classy Too: I shall not use a Ditto for breeding Pokémon. Similarly, I can only breed Pokémon when the purpose is to donate an egg to someone else, or to get a pre-evolution form. Breeding for stats or natures is explicitly forbidden.
• Pokénewbie: While I’ve technically already played this game before, in the form of the original, I will still play this version as blind as possible. This means I will not look anything up. This means no checking which Pokémon are available and where they are, no looking up Gym Leaders, no looking up levels of when Pokémon evolve,... nothing. The only thing I'm going on is what I know and what I can figure out through the game itself.

And that's about it! Kind of excited to see how far I'll get, and just how doable it is. I'm usually a pretty lazy Pokémon trainer, so I also wonder what affect it'll have on my play style and enjoyment of the game. I'll be keeping a log of my adventure, which I may occasionally post if I remember to actually do it. Wish me luck!