Screenshot Kanto Written Log Teen GBB's Sixlocke Series - 01. Red [Currently on: Leg 03]

[greenbeanbottle]

Hey there folks, GBB here, long time Nuzlocker, first time poster here on the Nuzlocke forums.

As many of you likely have noticed and will generally agree, 2020 was a trash-tier year. I don't think anyone could have expected 2020 to turn out the way it has, but personally in between work and having existential crises every few days, I got to thinking about the different flaws of Nuzlockes (yeah real productive there GBB), and decided to make my own spin on the Nuzlocke using my somewhat-limited game hacking knowledge. Before I get into the rules, however, I would like to briefly talk about what led me here.

== BACKGROUND ==​

With all the free time I had in the summer of 2020 I took to doing lots of Nuzlocke runs, and one thing that I noticed as I began my run is that most runs would feature the same key Pokémon. When I noticed this, I also came to think of the whole point behind Nuzlockes - taking your encounters as they came, using Pokémon that you got, rather than what you liked. But then, what stops someone from just boxing a Pokémon if you didn't want to use it? Or replacing a Pokémon with another better replacement? One thing that I really wanted to emphasize was being forced with the team you have - whether or not, from a teambuilding sense, it even makes any sense. I also wanted to have Pokémon that are rarely ever used in nuzlockes to have a chance of appearing.

== WHAT THE HECK IS A STRIKESLOCKE SIXLOCKE? ==​

Now, I'm the type who likes to fuss over single details, and I like to make rules consistent between runs, even across generations. I also like to try making things really hard on myself on purpose. Haha. That being said, the main rules of a Sixlocke are rather extensive, but I promise that the rules are important, and I'll reference them when certain decisions that are guided by the ruleset need to be made.

Spoiler: Da Rulez

1. At the beginning of the game, I will randomly generate a team of six Pokémon to make up my team. The generated Pokémon must be unevolved, non-legendary, non-mythical, not an Ultra Beast, not a duplicate of another Pokémon already on the team, and present in the game's regional Dex. (For example, a Charmander is legal in R/B/Y and G/S/C but not in R/S/E.) Like I said, this rule is specifically to allow for less commonly-used Pokémon in the game's regional Dex to be used in a nuzlocke.

2. No Pokémon besides the ones generated at the beginning of the game may be used in battle. Whenever a Pokémon faints, it is considered dead and cannot be used for the rest of the run. This will force me to use whoever I have for the whole game, whether it be trash or treasure, and without any additional encounters, keeping the team safe is paramount. I only have six Pokémon to take with me through the whole game. Yup.

3. Because team members are randomly generated and I cannot swap them out, wild Pokémon can be caught ONLY to use as HM users. These HM users do not occupy any slots, and may not participate in battle unless forced into battle, in which case it must switch or stall until it faints (only if switching is not possible). Basically a failsafe to prevent being unable to continue due to HM compatibility.

4. Battle rules: Set mode, no items in battle (held items are okay), level cannot exceed the highest level Pokémon of the next "boss", and no quality-of-life features that would otherwise be granted outside of link battles (i.e. Affection, Super Training, etc). Level cap increases by 2 for each of my Pokémon that has died. This is so I don't get too overlevelled, and things also stay fair, but so that I can still survive even if I have 1 or 2 Pokémon left.

5. Move rules: The following moves may not be used by any Pokémon during the duration of the run:

• Any move that boosts evasion or is capable of boosting evasion. (Double Team, Acupressure, etc.)
• Any move that deals a one-hit KO. (Guillotine, Horn Drill, etc.)
• Sonicboom and Dragon Rage.

6. Before the game begins, I must randomly decide which starter to select. Naturally, I cannot use this starter Pokémon except as an HM user.

7. No glitches or exploits.

8. The run is completed if all trainers whose defeat causes a credits roll is defeated, including all rematches. For Pokémon Red, this is the Champion battle.

Alright, with that all said and done, let's dive into it. Pokémon Red...start.

Spoiler: Leg 01 - Team Preview

Starter roll: 1, so I must pick Bulbasaur as my starter.
Evolution rolls: None needed, as no Pokémon on my team have split evolutions.

Alright, we've barely begun and there's quite a bit to digest in my first-ever public run of my Sixlocke. Three fully evolved Pokémon right off the bat, as well as a Grass-type to deal with Brock, is obviously great to see going into the early game. But there are a few things that I have to keep in mind as the team makes its way through Red. For starters, Scyther may seem like a really good Pokémon to start with, and yes, the stats are very solid, but Scarlet leaves a lot of concern due to only learning Normal-type attacking moves for the ENTIRE game, which actually makes Scarlet more of a liability than an asset, especially since it faces stiff competition with Auburn as the premier physical attacker out of the team. Still then, this team has rather good coverage. Burgundy and Flame together make up part of the Fire-Water-Grass core, and while I don't have a Water-type and Flame can't evolve until Level 40 for some ungodly reason, Claret can learn lots of Water moves and Flame starts with Ember already, so this should be fine. Finally, Crimson is a little underwhelming, but early evolution is nice and is generally better than Pidgeot, in my opinion.

Spoiler: Leg 01 - Start of game → Boulder Badge

As is tradition, we take the Potion to go. Who knows how badly this may turn out.

I'm not entirely sure how to think about having Charmander be the rival's starter. On the one hand, it does very well against a third of my team...on the other hand, this is Red and it shouldn't be too hard to blast our way through. If worse comes to worse I think Auburn and Flame could probably handle it. But that won't really be too big a factor until midgame, so I'll worry about that later.

Considering the circumstances, Blue, I'd highly suggest you don't take me on. That being said I'll be happy to take the free experience for the slow-levelling Auburn.

​

Naturally it was something of a wipeout. Narrowly missed the 2HKO but only took 6 HP in damage. As expected, Auburn is a total sponge so these early game battles should be relatively easy for Auburn. We'll have to see how it continues to perform later on, though...

Yeah sorry about that Blue, except you're kind of an asshole so I don't feel bad for you.

Anyways with rival #1 out of the way we can quickly get through all the pre-game roadblocks. Honestly with how long the pre-game is in a lot of the newer games, although I am sworn that the later games are better than the earlier games, I can really appreciate how quick the pre-game is.

Picked up some Antidotes for the road ahead...don't want to get poisoned by a Weedle and die to overworld poison damage. I've lost many a Pokémon from not being prepared for that...

And then we went ahead into Viridian Forest right away and beat up on some Bug Catchers. Typically I like to try to get everyone up to Level 10 first before going into the second rival battle, just for safety, and I'll be doing the same here, even if I have 6 Pokémon in tow...

Crimson gets the first new move of the game with...Leer. Well, this is Gen I, so spectacular movepool gains are few and far between. Still, in the very worst case scenario, this could be useful against Brock...but I don't see that being very relevant.

And with a little bit of time, everyone is up to Level 10. Nothing really of note besides that Crimson and Flame were easy to level up on account of their STAB, and that Burgundy had to train on Route 1 because it literally can't hit anything for neutral damage except for Rattata and Pikachu. Obviously finding Pikachu in Viridian Forest is inconsistent, so...but! Fun fact: Burgundy is in the Medium Slow EXP group, which actually takes LESS EXP to level up compared to Pokémon in the Medium Fast EXP group...all the way until Level 46! Pretty cool. As a result, Burgundy was actually not too much of a pain to level up.

To illustrate this point, Burgundy gained 2 levels from fighting two Pokémon from the "light years" trainer in Pewter Gym.

Of course, now we have to take care of rival #2 before Brock. I know this is an optional fight, but honestly it's free real estate EXP and honestly why not take another opportunity to make Blue look bad?

Pidgey is easily dispatched by Auburn, who is looking to make it 2-for-2 against Blue. The 2HKO Tackle was nice; the last thing I need is to give Pidgey an opportunity to start using Sand-Attack.

And of course Auburn bowls over Charmander just as easily. Auburn easily takes a second W over Blue, and one has to wonder if Blue is suspicious of how I came to acquire this force of nature.

Sure.

Before taking on Brock, of course I needed to do a last little bit of training. Obviously Burgundy is my choice to lead, with 4x super effective Vine Whip. In the event that somehow that is not sufficient, Flame can back up with Ember, which may not be super effective but take advantage of Brock's Pokémon's weak Special.

Uh, Brock, I don't think you actually want to fight, trust me...

Yeah...this got out of hand for Brock really fast. Vine Whip OHKO's the Geodude...

...and after an ultimately meaningless Screech, Burgundy OHKO'd the Onix as well. That's about as easy of a Gym Battle as we can get to hope in this run...might as well savor it.

Burgundy even got a level-up and Wrap (complete with broken Gen I mechanics) as a little bonus.

Insert obligatory "I took you for granite" joke here. Also Bide is bad and I'm gonna sell this thing first thing next leg.

Spoiler: Leg 01 - End

Crimson: So far, I haven't really done too much with Crimson just yet. Crimson was able to easily plow its way through thanks to a clear advantage over the Bug-types that infest Viridian Forest, but for the most part Crimson hasn't done anything I haven't been able to expect Crimson to do. It easily cleaned house in Viridian City, gained levels, but was left at Level 10 since it didn't really factor into my plans for Brock, as the best it could realistically do is provide Leer debuffs to help its team in the case that things really went south somehow. I was 99.9% sure that wasn't going to happen, and sure enough...in any case, I expect Crimson to shine a little more in the next leg of the run.

Burgundy: I'm really excited about this guy. Sure, its Defense could use some work, but it absolutely tore through the Pewter Gym like a hot knife through butter. Sure, training it wasn't easy - aside from Rattata, it wasn't able to hit anything even neutrally with Vine Whip. As a result, it was a bit much at times to do damage. However, Burgundy met expectations against Brock with two easy OHKO's against Brock's two Pokémon, pretty much as expected, and got Wrap as a nice little insurance move. Next time Burgundy is slated to be able to do even more, so I'm excited to see just how dominant Burgundy will be able to be once things get rolling towards the next Gym.

Claret: Obviously there's not a lot to get excited about with Claret yet, although considering the circumstances Claret still performed relatively well. Pound doesn't do much but at least Lovely Kiss keeps opposing Pokémon at bay, as 75% accuracy really isn't too bad compared to the alternative in the 60% accurate Hypnosis. Claret is far from being a superstar just yet, but much like with Burgundy, I see Claret starting to shine in the next leg once she nabs the Water Gun TM in Mt. Moon. Until then, however, Claret still has to keep up, and that's going to be tricky with the many trainers coming up in the next route, but as long as Lovely Kiss is accurate enough and her pitiful Defense isn't exploited too much, she should be fine.

Auburn: Definitely has the best stats, and even at the end of leg 01 this is very apparent. And in spite of only having Tackle in its starting moveset, it's a very powerful Tackle that has easily made a dent in the opponents it has had to face so far. That being said, the next leg is looking to be a little tricky; with no major TM's coming up for Auburn to use, it will have to continue using the fairly unreliable Tackle as its sole attacking move. As the opponents get tougher, I can see Auburn struggling a bit. I don't think this is a reason for any long-term concern, but it's going to see just how far this guy can go with only Tackle in its moveset.

Scarlet: I don't really know how to feel about this Scyther just yet. Having a decent crit rate is good and while it gets literally no coverage, its Normal type moves still hit pretty hard. Even with just Quick Attack, Scarlet has made some impressive strides. Still, until it levels up and gets Slash, Double-Edge, and later on even Hyper Beam, it's going to be pretty slow going once we get moving along. Even now, Scarlet is more along for the ride than anything else, not taking up a specific niche. We'll just have to see if the high Attack stat will be enough to keep it relevant. If not...it's going to be a long run for Scarlet.

Flame: Flame was the designated backup just in case a Gen I miss or some other providential act of Arceus kept Burgundy from defeating Brock on their own. Being stuck with only Ember as an attacking move was inconsequential for the first leg, as Viridian Forest bugs were completely helpless against it, and even a not-very-effective Ember would be relatively decent against Brock's Geodude and Onix due to their horrendous Special stat. Of course, that ultimately wasn't needed and Flame was able to sit on the sidelines as Burgundy led the team to victory. Next leg is a bit of a wash for Flame, considering we have a Water gym next, but I don't think they will struggle too much heading into the next leg.

Hey, thanks for reading! I apologize if I tend to go on and on in certain places... On that note, I'd appreciate any feedback or comments on the run! I'll try to update as frequently as possible. Probably at least once a week. Maybe. Anyways, GBB out, see you next time for leg 02, leading up to the Cerulean Gym!

 

[0 Anonymous]

Pretty cool run idea, and the team's already a pretty varied one.

Very solid 'locke criticism. I think you made really good points in the background that are worse a response in and of itself, so I'ma throw the whole big thing in a spoiler tag here.

Spoiler

Sameyness is definitely a massive issue with Nuzlocke runs as a whole, especially when it comes to things like dupes clause in particular, or repelling to get a specific encounter in the case of things like B2/W2's Eevee. There's a very good question as to whether things like that take away from the spirit of the challenge of cobbling together random shit together you probably wouldn't use otherwise along with high stakes and try to get the win with them. If you can pick and choose to a degree what you'll use, inevitably you fall into the trap of "use what works, don't experiment", which is arguably what the challenge intended to try and break free of.
In the same vein though, the inverse issue kind of kicks in without those extra rules, because basic probability will also push teams to end up being incredibly samey just with redundant Pokemon, making the whole thing rather tricky.

Boxing is a mixed blessing instead of a detriment to the spirit of the challenge in my eyes because control over team comp isn't necessarily a bad thing despite it admittedly encouraging "use what works, don't experiment" tactics; it helps break up the major issues of repetitive Pokemon and overall sameyness of runs by allowing player preference and decision-making into the equation, which helps make a run differentiate itself from others. Situations where there's an "objectively" better Pokemon are usually pretty uncommon, because things aren't usually that easy to determine because preference and perception go a long way. You usually don't have a situation where you compare Sentret and Tauros, lol. Most often you're doing something like Spearow or Pidgey, where both have their merits. And if you have both on a team, you're going to end up neglecting one of them because they both are going to want to fight the same things and get countered by the same stuff.

This mild defense of boxing aside, your challenge does a really good job of addressing the weaknesses in the challenge you pointed out and is pretty cool.

In terms of the mons here, absolute treasure trove of the uncommon gen 1s. Tauros, Jynx, Bellsprout & Scyther are practically unseen (Bellsprout isn't even obtainable in RB) and Ponyta & Spearow generally don't see the light of day either due to their more easily obtained alternatives.

Personal guess as to team function / potential issues down the road:

• Crimson is going to struggle immensely until they get through the Geodude and can become a Fearow. Things will still be a little touchy but be much, much better.
• Burgunday is going to have an annoying time because Mt. Moon has delicious geodude but also Zubat. Misty is an XP buffet though.
• Claret will pick up Mega Punch / Kick and Water Gun, which will make the 'mon actually really solid all around.
• Auburn is going to be an absolute monster, doesn't care what you throw against 'em it's all gonna be mulched. The answer to any neutral matchups.
• Scarlet's going to be decent until Mt. Moon, terrible during it, okay again after it.
• If Flame can hit through the Geodude, he'll be in a fine spot. If not, see Crimson but without the payoff of early Fearow.
• Overall, Mt. Moon might be tricky but once you get past there I think you'll be in a good spot. Rock Tunnel also might get a little ugly, I think.

Wish you the best on the run, already is pretty interesting and as the game ramps up I think it'll get even more so.

 

[greenbeanbottle]

Alright, enough lollygagging, let's keep this run moving along. But first, to respond to a comment...

Spoiler: Responding to comments

@0 Anonymous - Thank you so much for the comment! As for your response to my 'locke criticisms, you make some very good points. I think, from a strategy standpoint, that boxing what doesn't work and using what does isn't a bad thing at all, and I have nothing against boxing Pokémon you don't want to use. And I agree that this version of a nuzlocke does lend itself to a different sort of "sameyness" in the sense that I could end up with, like you said, two Pokémon with very similar, if not the same, roles. I think therein lies a new challenge that I find exciting - when forced to deal with that sort of situation, what can I do to differentiate them? Can I run a 'mon in a way that is different from how it's usually run, to avoid that sameyness? That I think could be an exciting venture - even though it's not always possible or practical, to be certain.

Anyways, thank you for your response and I hope to hear more in the future!

Okeydokey, I think it's about time to get started soon, but first, let's do a little team preview, so we know what exactly we have to look forward to as we progress on the next leg of our journey.

Spoiler: Leg 02 - Team Preview

Naturally things kicked off really nicely in our first leg of the run. The team is doing lots of damage, Burgundy totally wrecked Brock. Now begins what I consider the hardest part of the early game, but even then I feel like I'm pretty prepared. Obviously the difficulty ramps up - trainers have significantly tougher Pokémon now, and type coverage is going to start becoming very important. Even then, I have confidence that we'll be able to get through this leg. There is a lot to be excited for - both Crimson and Burgundy are likely going to evolve in this next leg, with the latter being extremely important in its ability to deal with Misty's Water-types. In addition, although we have lots of trainers to fight in this upcoming leg, most of my Pokémon either have good offenses or are generally tanky enough to avoid getting wrecked. Let's get to it!

Spoiler: Leg 02 - Boulder Badge → Cascade Badge

Making good on my promise, first thing I did after beating brock was sell Bide, because Bide sucks. I also went ahead and bought some supplies for the road ahead, since...well, it's going to be a tricky one.

Route 3 is pretty heavy on the trainer battles, and actually introduces some variety to the Pokémon I was fighting. I was feeling reasonably under-levelled for this section of the game, although of course I think that's because it's really hard to grind up to Level 12+ using only wild Pokémon from the Viridian Forest / Route 22. In any case, my Pokémon are mostly reasonably bulky so I'm not too concerned.

Alright, Mt. Moon time. There is one trainer in particular that I'm worried about...but that's near the end of the cave. For now, let's just try and get as much training in as possible.

Hoo boy, this is big. Claret actually needed a Special move, big time, because Pound just isn't it, chief. I'll also be able to take out the Geodude that live in this cave with that, which is a big deal!

Got some more battles in; the trainers at this point don't have anything higher than Level 14 by this point, but that can be pretty difficult with where my Pokémon are at right now. Still, I have the advantage of having a pretty diverse team that's built to take care of most threats pretty well. The team does have a mild Rock type weakness, but with how few Rock types there are and how slow they are, I think I will manage fine.

Mt. Moon is actually chock-full of great items. HP Up goes to Auburn since it's the one with the most natural bulk, and Claret gets the benefit of a second TM in Mega Punch since no one else can learn it anyways. Claret's moveset is actually starting to look pretty solid now, and it'll only get better. Speaking of new moves, Burgundy got Poison Powder, which is good, but is nothing compared to what's coming soon.

Now, I mentioned earlier that there is a trainer that I'm actually somewhat afraid of, and that's one of the Rocket grunts on the bottom floor. He's dangerous because he has a Level 16 Raticate on his team, complete with Hyper Fang for huge damage and Quick Attack for priority. I trained up the team to a more reasonable level to deal with this potential terror.

Well after a Tackle 3HKO supplemented by Raticate's Hyper Fang missing, we got through with no other issues. Glad I prepared! I mean, Auburn is also just a beast, so...

From there, just two more trainers to beat, including the Fossil nerd. I picked up the Helix Fossil, as I always do, not because of memes but because it's conveniently right in front of me. It's not like I can revive it anyways...so in the Box it will rest. Eternally.

Finally, we made it to Cerulean. But we're far from done - we have rival #3 to take on, which is no joke thanks to a Level 18 Pidgeotto. Naturally we're going to need to adequately prepare before we take on Blue.

I figured that Level 16 should be plenty to take on Blue. After all, outside of the Pidgeotto, there actually isn't a lot to worry about, especially with Abra knowing no offensive moves and Blue still having a Rattata and Charmander on his team (that really should be a Charmeleon by this point) this is definitely not the hardest rival battle. But at the very least it's a step up.

Well, at least Blue is slightly more prepared for this matchup. Still a 6 v. 4, and the numbers are heavily in my favor. Honestly, as long as Sand-Attack spam doesn't...

...you know what, that's on me. I really shouldn't have expected anything less.

Ugh, so this is where we're going? At least we got a lucky crit.

After missing once, Auburn did manage to land the second Tackle. The lowered accuracy is a pain though, but at least with the Pidgeotto down I don't feel unsafe switching out..

There's the Abra, and thanks to it, Claret gets to switch in completely stress-free.

As the Abra tries fruitlessly to get away, Claret beats its face in. God, how morbid...

Rattata's in next and it gets completely smacked around while fast asleep. Let me tell you, having a Pokémon as fast as Claret is with a semi-accurate sleep-inducing move is BUSTED.

Uh-oh, a Fire-type! Claret ought to switch...

SIKE GET KISSED

You know, if Blue had, uh, I don't know, EVOLVED HIS CHARMANDER maybe I wouldn't have been able to stay in, but anyways, it's a Water Gun 2HKO.

Get rekt boiiii

So after we healed up it was time for the Nugget Bridge challenge. Naturally, we smash our way through them and collect $5000 for my troubles. Oh, if only it were that easy...

Finally we hit a good grinding spot. This area is chock-full of Oddish, which give out decent EXP. I use this opportunity to level up Crimson and Flame...

Hell yeah, now we're talking. Crimson evolves into Fearow at Level 20, and now 4 out of 6 members of the team are fully evolved. Somehow that feels a little strange, but hey, we won't be all fully evolved until Gym 6...

I often forget how many trainers there are on this route. It's honestly a little overboard...still, this team powered through pretty well.

Okay, but let's talk about these new moves though. Leer is meh, but it's Scarlet's first new move so it gets a pass. But the big news is Burgundy's Sleep Powder - yet another mid-accuracy sleep move. Having sleep-inducing moves that aren't Hypnosis on two Pokémon is going to be big. Finally, Claret's moveset just continues to get even better with Pound getting forgotten for Seismic Toss.

I cannot tell you how many times I've gone through this route in its entirety only to forget the S.S. Ticket. It's honestly embarrassing.

From there, it's just a few more battles remaining. Took out the two trainers in Misty's Gym and the Rocket with the Dig TM. The Gym Trainers were inconsequential, but the Rocket...

...did quite a number to the team. That Drowzee's Hypnosis hit us pretty bad...maybe I shouldn't have badmouthed it when I was comparing it to Lovely Kiss and Sleep Powder... (just kidding Hypnosis is too unreliable except in D/P). Also, it's really too bad that nobody on the team can learn the Dig TM, especially since a 100 BP Ground-type move this early is awesome, and could've been good for the next gym...

Scarlet gets a third move while grinding up for the Misty battle, while Burgundy turns down Stun Spore. It's at Level 21, so that means...

Ladies and gents, our Misty lead.

Alright, our team is ready. Burgundy should be well-equipped for this Gym. Let's see if it's as easy as I think this can be.

Staryu gets a crit right off the bat, but I've got a plan. I haven't used Growth all run, but here's where it'll help. In case of Starmie's Bubblebeam, which can do lots of damage even if it's not very effective, Growth will let us sponge more hits while also powering up our Vine Whips. There's not much Staryu can do to us anyways, so I have time to set up.

Misty is even gracious enough to waste a turn using X Defend. How kind of her.

Naturally, a +3 Special Vine Whip is too much for Staryu to handle.

Oof. Looks like one more Growth would have been perfect.

One more Vine Whip does it though. Burgundy actually took a lot more damage than I expected out of all that; 41 HP of damage is definitely more than I anticipated. Anyways, we still weren't in any real danger and we got another level-up for our trouble. (Being in the Medium Slow EXP group, like I said before, has its immense perks.)

Misty has fallen and we're still deathless. I'm liking how this is going so far, it's a lot of fun using some of these Pokémon that I have never used before. I know we still have a long way to go, and obviously anything can happen, but I'm really confident in this team so far! We do have a really hard challenge in the next leg, however - Lt. Surge is going to be rough as we have no clear advantage. We'll have to see how it goes.

Bubblebeam TM? Dang, Claret's moveset is going to be amazing going into leg 03.

Spoiler: Leg 02 - End

Crimson: We didn't really get a chance to see Crimson as a Fearow in action, but the numbers look promising. Crimson has similar Attack to Auburn and Scarlet who both are pretty well-known for their physical Attack. The moveset is still underwhelming, but let's keep looking at the positives. Crimson has the highest Speed out of the whole team, which definitely counts for something. What I worry about for Crimson is that it'll be a while before we get anything better movepool-wise for quite a while. Trying to be a physically offensive threat while only sporting Peck and Fury Attack is not a recipe for success. Still, I think Crimson has the right stats for it and will manage in the legs ahead.

Burgundy: Burgundy consistently proves its mettle against Gym leaders and it is 2 for 2 on them now. It is very possible that we will need to rely on Burgundy again when it comes time to face Lt. Surge, thanks to its handy Electric resistance, but I hope it doesn't come to that. Still, Burgundy has a movepool that is just great for this stage - Vine Whip is a solid STAB move, Wrap is broken, Growth is nice for boss fights, and Sleep Powder is great for safety. I think Burgundy will be one of the strongest members of the team in the legs to come, for sure. It's going to be a little tougher going from here for the Weepinbell, but I think it will do just fine.

Claret: I think if I had to give a "most improved Pokémon" for this leg, I would easily have to give it to Claret. The moveset has seen a complete overhaul, from having just Pound and Lovely Kiss to having Water Gun, Seismic Toss, AND Mega Punch is amazing. Now, if only Claret had the physical Attack to pull it off...still, Claret will be learning Ice moves sooner or later, and when that happens Claret is going to be a real force to reckon with. Not to mention the utility in Lovely Kiss, allowing for a second decent-accuracy sleep move. I'm thinking that Claret might have to take on the Electric gym, so we'll see then if this moveset is worth all the hype.

Auburn: I'm a little concerned, but only for the moment. Obviously Auburn still only knowing Tackle is a huge concern, but Auburn's stats have been able to cover for that, thankfully. There's hope, though - the Body Slam TM is coming up, and that is going to hit HARD. The other concern, however, that I have is that Auburn is getting concerningly hard to level-up. I know Auburn is in the Slow EXP group, so that's to be expected. Still, Auburn is going to need to fight lots of Trainers to level up at good pace. I'd rather not grind for longer than I have to...this leg took over 5 hours, holy moly, having a Pokémon in the Slow EXP group to level up is just tedious.

Scarlet: If I'm being honest, I think Scarlet is the Pokémon with the lowest damage output per attack. Quick Attack in itself isn't all that strong, especially since it isn't STAB. We got two new moves, but one of them is actively harmful due to a glitch. Even worse, it doesn't get Slash until Level 29, which won't be for a while. I guess I could give it Cut, but that's not that big of an improvement over Quick Attack, and it will be stuck on Scarlet forever since it's an HM move and there's no Move Deleter. But I may just be desperate enough to try it... Still, I will hold on to hope for Scarlet. It has good stats and it just needs to get Slash to really start wreaking havoc.

Flame: Unfortunately Flame was somewhat overshadowed in this leg since we were preparing for a Water Gym. You'll have your moment in the sun in two legs, I promise! Anyways, only having Ember isn't that great, but at least it's an Auburn-like situation where Flame is at least getting STAB. That said, Flame also has a bleak future when it comes to moves, especially since Flame has no level-up moves to speak of until Level 30, at which it learns...Tail Whip. Nice. It does get Stomp at Level 32, but again that's a way off. Still, at least Ember can hit some common types like Bug and Grass for super-effective damage, so honestly there's still hope.

Phew! That was a long leg. The next leg will be much shorter but then thing start ramping up again after that. Like always I'd appreciate any comments or feedback you have to offer. Thanks again for reading everyone!

 

[greenbeanbottle]

Before we begin: After some thought I added a new rule to the Sixlocke ruleset, based on some recommendations that I agreed with. This new rule will not impact this run, as far as I know, but may influence runs in the future. The original ruleset has been updated to reflect these changes, but the new rule will be included in this spoiler in case:

Spoiler: New Rulez

Move rule: The following moves may not be used by any Pokémon during the duration of the run:

• Any move that boosts evasion or is capable of boosting evasion. (Double Team, Acupressure, etc.)
• Any move that deals a one-hit KO. (Guillotine, Horn Drill, etc.)
• Sonicboom and Dragon Rage.

Addendum to the Team Generation rule (Dupes Clause): When generating the team at the beginning of the game, no duplicates of a Pokémon will be considered.

Alright then, let's keep things moving as we get into the next leg of the run. We're nearing the end of the early game, and things will really start ramping up over the next few legs, but I'm pretty pleased with where we are right now. Let's get on with the team preview and head out towards Vermillion City!

Spoiler: Leg 03 - Team Preview

Let's get the obvious out of the way - the team doesn't have a particular advantage over Lt. Surge since no one among the members of the team can learn Dig, which is a huge bummer. At least for now, however, I think this team might be able to bust through on pure power alone. It will likely come down to one of three team members: Burgundy, who can resist Electric-type moves; Claret, who can sponge hits with her massive Special stat; or Auburn, who is getting Stomp by level-up soon. (I totally forgot about this and thought I would need to use the Body Slam TM on Auburn...oops!) In any case, it's pretty evident that Crimson and Scarlet are not going to be particularly helpful this leg, and Flame will be more of a back-up 'mon if anything. But hey, now that the Body Slam TM is available, I think Flame will get a pretty reasonable boost. Alright, let's get on with the show!

Spoiler: Leg 03 - Cascade Badge → Thunder Badge

With Misty beaten, Claret gets yet another huge boost to her movepool. Bubblebeam is a notable boost over Water Gun...though realistically that doesn't really make that much sense. A pressurized water gun should be a lot more effective than a bunch of bubbles...but I digress.

Got some more Trainer battles out of the way as we head south towards Vermillion. Grinding towards Vermillion is not nearly as bad as the grind up to Cerulean, not by a long shot. Plus I still have Route 11 AND the S.S. Anne to clear of trainers, which will be huge.

FINALLY! Tauros is amazing and all but not getting anything by level-up or TM for so long is definitely frustrating. Still, 65 BP, 100% accurate Normal STAB with a 30% to flinch is wayyyy better.

Vermillion City really isn't that far away so it definitely feels off to be here so early. In any case, we have a route and a ship to clear of EXP, so let's not dilly-dally.

Before we do that, though, I gotta clear up some inventory space. I can't say that I ever really do this, but I'm selling the Dig TM since no one can make use of it. It feels so scummy though, even with that in mind. Getting rid of a 100 BP Ground move...that's going to sting until we get the Earthquake TM later on.

Naturally, with all the trainers that I have available to take on, I used the opportunity to train up the Pokémon that are harder to train up, especially Auburn since it's going to likely be our ace for the Gym. Still, even though Scarlet and Crimson won't have much of a role in this Gym, it'll be nice to keep them up to speed anyhow.

Alright, S.S. Anne next. Man, is it just me or is the pacing of this leg wildly faster than the last one? I mean, I know the pacing in Gen I is kinda all over the place...well, anyways, let's get in there and start knocking some heads around for now.

Goodness grace of Arceus, there are wayyyy too many trainers on this boat. Also why are so many of them Sailors? Just cause we're on a boat? It's not even a fishing boat, or a naval boat, it's literally just a luxury liner. YOUR LINE OF REASONING MAKES NO SENSE GAME FREAK

New moves, before we take on...WAIT THER'ES MORE S.S. ANNE TRAINERS!? Ahem...anyways, Flame finally has a move that isn't Ember, and Body Slam is certainly a solid move to have on Flame's semi-decent physical Attack. Meanwhile, Burgundy tried to learn Stun Spore a second time, but again Sleep Powder is vastly superior so there's no need.

And that clears out the rest of the S.S. Anne trainers. Altogether, that's 16 trainers, half of which are sailors. Idk man, seems a bit excessive, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth here. Er, a gift Ponyta in the mouth? Eh...let's move on.

Before taking on the fourth rival fight, I went ahead and did a minor bit of grinding in Diglett Cave. Normally I tend to avoid Diglett Cave since the Digletts are fast and have Dig, and crit super often thanks to their high Speed stat, and the concern of potentially running into a Level 29 Dugtrio, but it works out fine here since both Crimson and Scarlet are immune to Dig. So even if I don't have the benefit of using them against Lt. Surge, they at least help with grinding. Also, just like the previous three fights, Auburn will be our lead since Auburn pretty much owns Blue so...gotta keep up narratives, am I right or am I right?

Va-t'en, Blue.

Pidgeotto opts for Quick Attack first, which is honestly fine. I'll take that over that stupid Sand-Attack spam any day of the week.

Still using Potions? I really don't understand the logic behind that, especially when even a Super Potion probably wouldn't have saved Pidgeotto from this range, but hey, getting out of the fight with Pidgeotto with full accuracy basically means we'll win from here, barring anything dumb.

Bro, it's Leg 03. I no longer fear Level 16 Raticates, get with the program.

No Defense? Let's exploit that.

Ah...well, that's pretty unfortunate for Blue. I'm even starting to kinda feel bad for him at this point.

I mean if I were Blue I'd honestly be pretty salty too. But either way, Blue has been put in his place once again. Which is under the heel (hoof?) of Auburn.

Alright listen we don't have to talk about this part, let's just grab Cut and get outta here. I went ahead and gave it to Scarlet since its moveset is gonna be ass anyways, and only really needs three move slots.

Alright, Gym time already. I'm all for having a short leg, especially considering how long the next two legs are going to be.

Not much of a roadblock. Claret and Auburn were pretty much able to clean up shop here.

Hey, I'm not one to brag or nothing, but this puzzle took me about 15 seconds. Before you ask how I managed to do it, though, know that it takes a certain level of skill and strategy to get through this puzzle.

Here's the team going into the Lt. Surge battle. After seeing how well Stomp just obliterated Blue's team with little issue, I'm feeling pretty confident about my chances with Auburn at the helm. Of course I have Claret and Burgundy as backup in case things go sour, and things very reasonably could go badly with his Raichu. We'll just hope that we don't run into any unforeseen issues.

Woah, Surge, hold your horses. Hold your Ponytas? How many times can I make the same joke before it stops being funny?

Nice critical. Not that Voltorb has the capacity to blow up at this Level, anyway...

Alright, everything is going pretty smoothly so far, but these are hardly the issue. The issue is...

Here's the big boy. Let's hope this goes well.

Well, that's awkward. The Stomp crit from the last turn would have been put to so much better use here, but at least Surge wasted a turn on X Speed. That said, Raichu is likely to outspeed us this turn, so I'd better hope it doesn't...

SHIT. That's what I was really hoping to avoid. This is going to hurt...

Alright, we can breathe. That single move did more damage to us than any other move that's been used so far on us, so that was definitely a bit of a scare, but it looks like even with a crit Auburn would have managed to live it. But with that, we've gotten three badges, and better yet, without a single death to our name!!

Probably the best Gym TM we're going to get all game until Blaine. Auburn is rewarded with coverage, so this is very much welcome.

Spoiler: Leg 03 - End

Overall, I'm feeling pretty good about the team as we pass through the early game and find ourselves on the precipice of the middle stretch of the game. In this middle stretch, a lot is going to happen, but the biggest thing that we will need to focus on going forward is movesets. Auburn and Flame both still have two empty slots, although for the former, this will soon be mitigated as we already have access to the Thunderbolt TM and will soon have access to the Ice Beam TM. In addition, we have an extremely powerful TM move in Psychic also coming up, which Claret will be able to absolutely RAZE opponents with. Other important moves coming up in the next leg include Slash for Scarlet, Acid for Burgundy, and Fly for Crimson. Overall, if the team can get through the next leg with no deaths, I can honestly say with relative confidence that this team will be set for the rest of the run. But I don't want to Jynx it, so for now, let's just say things are going well.

This leg wasn't too long but I suspect that the next leg is going to take quite some time to complete, so it may be a bit of a wait until the next leg. But until then, thanks for reading as always and feel free to leave me feedback / criticism. Thanks again!

 

[redninjapuffle]

Interesting idea, good luck then

 

[greenbeanbottle]

Alright, so, quick update before the next leg, which should be coming out later this week. Big change for the run, nothing that invalidates the game as it has been played so far.

I was thinking about it and I felt like the use of strikes was kind of not in good spirit of the Nuzlocke challenge. So, while I know it drastically reduces my chances of winning this 'locke, I decided to make a big change to the ruleset. No more strikes. Fainting = Death. No takebacks.

I know that with six randomly cobbled-together Pokémon team, this is going to seem insanely difficult. But you know what, if I lose, I lose. No shame. I'm looking for a challenge, so let's do it! Of course, with strikes no longer being a feature, I've decided to change the name from the Strikeslocke to the Sixlocke. Six Pokémon enter, who knows how many will make it, if any?

All other rules will be remaining the same, of course, but now the stakes are high. I hope I don't come to regret this later...

Anyways, Leg 04 should be up later this week. Until then!

EDIT: Additional rule, by suggestion by my friends - level cap increases by 2 for each of my Pokémon that has died...just so that if I only have 1 Pokémon I won't be totally boned.