Johto Written Log General The Atrocity (Chapters 8 ad 9 are up, in which a new poll starts and I make a horrible mistake)

[Trollkitten]

...I may have officially gone too far here.

You all know RubyClaw's Lorelocke and my own bootleg take on it, the Datalocke. And you probably also know Spectacles' run The Monstrosity, which combines not one, not two, but three different nuzlocke rulesets to create the ultimate BDSP challenge. Well, since apparently I don't know when to quit (as if already running three different storylockes, a blog, a daily conspiracy Pokedex, and creating my own nuzlocke ruleset wasn't enough), I have decided to try my hand at doing a Lorelocke and a Datalocke... that are the same locke.

Welcome to Pokemon HeartGold, the very first Pokemon game that I have ever played. And soon to be the very first Pokemon game that I have ever played a dual Lorelocke/Datalocke of! Let's hope the effort doesn't end in tears.

Spoiler: The Rules

The Rules:

1. Catch only the first Pokemon I encounter. Dupes, static, gift, and shiny clauses apply.
2. Before catching my Pokemon, I must randomly generate a lore rule and a data rule for that Pokemon. I may then choose whether or not I wish to catch it.
3. Nickname all catches by use of random name generators. (RNG rules this run.)
4. Fainting = death.
5. If a data rule and a lore rule contradict each other, I must appeal to my readers to determine which rule takes precedent. (Please be kind to me.)
6. If I wipe, the run has failed. (I will probably still continue the playthrough as a non-nuzlocke, but the nuzlocke portion will be considered a failure.)

So now it's time for the ever-so-critical 'chapter zero': the choosing of the starter.

Spoiler: Chapter 0

So naturally, choosing a starter means rolling up their rules first. Always research your new pet's needs before bringing them home/setting out on a life-changing and potentially deadly journey with them to fight the mafia resurgence.

CHIKORITA

Lore rule:
Late Bloomer
Whenever it is supposed to evolve, 80% that it fails. Decrease these chances by 10% next time for every time it has failed to evolve into this current form (to a minimum of 50%), and reset this when it evolves (e.g. Chikorita level 16 wants to evolve, rolls 80% and fails. Level 17 wants to evolve, rolls 70% fails. Level 18 wants to evolve rolls 60% and makes it. Get to be a level 32 and wants to evolve, again 80% to fail and so on).

Data rule:
Drawn to the Light.
Cannot switch out against a Fire or Electric Pokemon. If the weather is Sunny or Electric Terrain is active, you must switch into this Pokemon. Must know Psybeam, Moonblast, Signal Beam, Solar Beam, Solar Blade, Synthesis, Morning Sun, or Moonlight if possible.

CYNDAQUIL

Lore rule:
The Porcupine and the Snakes
This pokemon has no regard for the needs of others and can often physically push them away and harm them. Whenever you add a pokemon to your party 20% that it can’t stand the presence of Cyndaquil/Quilava/Tyhplosion and can’t be in the same party with it for the rest of the game. When you add Cyndaquil/Quilava/Tyhplosion to a party roll the same for each member of your party.

Data rule:
Chosen of Entei.
If this Pokemon is in your party, you may negate the effects of data rules for other Fire-type Pokemon in your party, and for Fire-type Pokemon that you catch. Must know Sunny Day, Eruption, or Lava Plume if possible. If you have any Pokemon with the data rules Chosen of Raikou, Chosen of Suicune, or Chosen of Ho-Oh, you must have at least one of those Pokemon in your party to have this Pokemon in your party.

TOTODILE

Lore rule:
The Tanninim of Tiamat (Chosen of Tiamat)
While this pokemon is in your party you may cancel the lore rule of every other Water pokemon in your party and the effect of lore rules of Water type pokemon as you catch them. Must know a Poison or Dragon type move if possible. Its main type is considered Dragon, and secondary types are Poison and Water for the purpose of lore rules. When Totodile/Croconaw/Feraliagtor dies, choose a Water type pokemon and a Flying type pokemon you have, or had and died due to a lore rule. You may revive each of these pokemon and reroll its lore rule, or just reroll its lore rule if it is alive. If the new lore rule is activated upon catching, it is then activated again.

Data rule:
Descendant of the Drake Fossil.
You must have an Electric or Water type Pokemon in your party to use this Pokemon (unless it is the only Pokemon you own). While this Pokemon is in your party, you may ignore the data rules of Dragon-type Pokemon in your party and of Dragon-type Pokemon that you catch, as well as the data rules of any fossil Pokemon in your party or that you catch (including Genesect).

Okay, this is interesting. Chikorita is at a disadvantage because Fire is dangerous to it and it can't switch out against it, and it's not guaranteed to be able to evolve to keep up either. Cyndaquil is a strong contender with Chosen of Entei, but it has the weakness of The Porcupine and the Snakes in that it pushes away potential catches. And while Totodile does have two Chosen of rules (well, technically a Chosen of and a Descendant of), it does have the weakness that once I catch a new Pokemon I have to box it until I get another Water-type or an Electric-type. I can easily get a Wooper or Mareep egg from Primo if I should so desire (after considering their lore/data rules, of course), and the Old Rod is another way of procuring another Water type.

But while Totodile seems to be the best in the long run, there won't BE a long run if I don't survive the early game, so I'm leaning towards Cyndaquil... although Cyndaquil might not be best in the short run either, if I'm not able to keep it on the same team as some of my catches. And Cyndaquil also has its own issue in that its lore rule and data rule might contradict each other -- what if I get a Chosen of that's supposed to be in the same party as Cyndaquil, but it can't be because of Porcupine and the Snakes?

Which is why... I'm leaving the option up to you, the readers! Vote for which starter YOU want to see me try this crazy ride with!

 

[bhelryss]

hmmmm man this is gonna be fun

terrifying and agonizing, but fun!

my suggestion is going to be totodile (a fave, and honestly i think the kindest option here)

water types aren't super hard to find, and it'll be your best bet for falkner i think? once you get past him things open up a lot. hell, once you beat falkner (probabl solo, which is'nt impossible with rage), you can immediately beeline for 32 for that fishing rod!

 

[theCape]

Right! I ready through most of your post, voted my favorite (Chikorita) and then saw you were specifically considering the other two. This'll be fun to watch but in the end pick whichever you'll have the most fun using. I'm not a fan of avoiding team members based on Cyndaquil's "ability" and while Chikorita's are both negative I trust their defenses.

Whatever you end up with, good luck! Excited to see more!

 

[Ryomu]

And Cyndaquil also has its own issue in that its lore rule and data rule might contradict each other -- what if I get a Chosen of that's supposed to be in the same party as Cyndaquil, but it can't be because of Porcupine and the Snakes?

I'm not seeing a contradiction. It sounds like if you catch one of those other Chosen, both Cyndaquil and the newly-caught 'mon are shelved. When you catch one more in that list of Chosen, the one that was shelved with Cyndaquil is now free to join (barring another rule stopping it). Cyndaquil can also be added, but with the roll as per Porcupine and the Snakes.

 

[RubyClaw]

Well this sounds wild! Always interesting to see the lorelocke being combined with another set of rules, hope you won't get too many deadly combos. I voted for Chikorita just because I like it but I think it's rules combination is also pretty useful long term.

 

[Memento]

Voted Totodile because I'm already doing a Late Bloomer Chikorita for my already-posted Crystal Lorelocke.

Still, I'll be following this with great interest. It's nice to see more than one ruleset combined.

 

[reshishigas]

Kitten, have you succumbed to madness?
Anyway I'm interested in how this is going to turn out! Voted Totodile because best starter + best rules to deal with (in my opinion)

 

[Trollkitten]

Friendly reminder to all involved that the poll is at the top of the thread and if you don't vote in that poll specifically, your vote will not be counted. I'm saying this now because I noticed that a couple of people said they voted Totodile, but the vote count hasn't increased in the poll.

 

[Memento]

Friendly reminder to all involved that the poll is at the top of the thread and if you don't vote in that poll specifically, your vote will not be counted. I'm saying this now because I noticed that a couple of people said they voted Totodile, but the vote count hasn't increased in the poll.

I'm pretty sure I voted Totodile; it says that I voted for it.

 

[Trollkitten]

I'm pretty sure I voted Totodile; it says that I voted for it.

Hmm. I wonder if the poll is broken or something. That could complicate things.

 

[G-Max Trollkitten]

Well, my old computer is kill, I got locked out of my old account because I couldn't remember my password and I never got the e-mail to reset it, and it's gonna be a bit before I officially start this nuzlocke because I'm still getting used to this new computer and that comes with its fair share of stressors. But for the time being, the poll is close but Totodile has a one-vote lead, so unless more Chikorita stans come out of the woodwork, we can probably assume Totodile will win.

 

[GaabrielCooelho]

I got locked out of my old account

Hope you get it back soon.

the poll is close but Totodile has a one-vote lead, so unless more Chikorita stans come out of the woodwork, we can probably assume Totodile will win

Yay :D Totodile is the best xD

 

[Trollkitten]

Good news! I'm back in my original account again, thanks to Bug's help. There's still likely to be a bit of time before The Atrocity really kicks off, but at least I'm fully back.

 

[Green Tea]

None of those rolls are especially kind, but it's a toss-up between totodile and chikorita for me. Chiki's rules aren't kind to it, but they don't harm the rest of the team (like cyndaquil), whereas totodile's rule is only a problem until you can get a wooper/mareep. Of course, if you don't catch anything, you could just stick with totodile until you reach the Primo eggs. You'd probably miss 2-3 captures, but early game Johto does allow you to make a lot of captures from areas that aren't mandatory for progress, so even with a little back-tracking, you could soon have a decent team on the go.

So I voted totodile. I talked myself around to it being the better choice overall.

 

[mewstein]

Late Bloomer has always been a favourite rule of mine, as has Chikorita. Go for the underdog / leaf guinea pig!

 

[Trollkitten]

Well, well, well -- this run got far more attention than I expected, and it technically hasn't even started yet! My plan is to begin the actual run sometime in the first half of the week, health and other RL factors permitting. But because there were so many replies, I've decided to respond to them now to save myself some time later!

Spoiler: Replies!

hmmmm man this is gonna be fun

terrifying and agonizing, but fun!

my suggestion is going to be totodile (a fave, and honestly i think the kindest option here)

water types aren't super hard to find, and it'll be your best bet for falkner i think? once you get past him things open up a lot. hell, once you beat falkner (probabl solo, which is'nt impossible with rage), you can immediately beeline for 32 for that fishing rod!

If I wanted my Pokemon games to be easy, I wouldn't be nuzlocking them!

Right! I ready through most of your post, voted my favorite (Chikorita) and then saw you were specifically considering the other two. This'll be fun to watch but in the end pick whichever you'll have the most fun using. I'm not a fan of avoiding team members based on Cyndaquil's "ability" and while Chikorita's are both negative I trust their defenses.

Whatever you end up with, good luck! Excited to see more!

Chikorita and Totodile have been neck-and-neck for a while, with Totodile currently at a one-vote lead. Anything could happen in this contest!

I'm not seeing a contradiction. It sounds like if you catch one of those other Chosen, both Cyndaquil and the newly-caught 'mon are shelved. When you catch one more in that list of Chosen, the one that was shelved with Cyndaquil is now free to join (barring another rule stopping it). Cyndaquil can also be added, but with the roll as per Porcupine and the Snakes.

Well, Cyndaquil is dead last in the list, so this probably won't come up anyway. But thanks!

Well this sounds wild! Always interesting to see the lorelocke being combined with another set of rules, hope you won't get too many deadly combos. I voted for Chikorita just because I like it but I think it's rules combination is also pretty useful long term.

I also hope I don't get too many deadly combos. Seriously, I just started this run because of how ridiculous the ruleset was and I wanted to see if I could pull it off. While most of my runs have a BS clause in place in case I get in way over my head, this run doesn't -- a TPK is Game Over. And that makes things more interesting!

Voted Totodile because I'm already doing a Late Bloomer Chikorita for my already-posted Crystal Lorelocke.

Still, I'll be following this with great interest. It's nice to see more than one ruleset combined.

It is! Definitely inspired by Specs and her run The Monstrosity (which I named my run in the spirit of).

Kitten, have you succumbed to madness?
Anyway I'm interested in how this is going to turn out! Voted Totodile because best starter + best rules to deal with (in my opinion)

You're in the lead, but by a single vote... will Chikorita turn it around in the final round?

Hope you get it back soon.



Yay :D Totodile is the best xD

Totodile still has to deal with the risk of a sudden upset in the last hour. It's not out of the woods yet!

None of those rolls are especially kind, but it's a toss-up between totodile and chikorita for me. Chiki's rules aren't kind to it, but they don't harm the rest of the team (like cyndaquil), whereas totodile's rule is only a problem until you can get a wooper/mareep. Of course, if you don't catch anything, you could just stick with totodile until you reach the Primo eggs. You'd probably miss 2-3 captures, but early game Johto does allow you to make a lot of captures from areas that aren't mandatory for progress, so even with a little back-tracking, you could soon have a decent team on the go.

So I voted totodile. I talked myself around to it being the better choice overall.

You may have been the deciding vote!

Late Bloomer has always been a favourite rule of mine, as has Chikorita. Go for the underdog / leaf guinea pig!

Chikorita stans, now is your time to step up!

 

[sky_]

Ooooh this is interesting! So I love Chikorita so much, they are such a precious bean. But its ruleset saying it must come in with Sunny Day etc and the vulnerability to Fire and 'mons rules it out for me, as Chikorita in Johto struggles enough without all of this. I am worried about Cyndaquil trying to push away potentially amazing catches, so I think Totodile is a relatively safe choice in comparison to both of these. Picking Totodile also means that the rival gets the not-so-offensive Meganium as its final starter instead of the other two stages, which can hit really hard. So Totodile is my option.

 

[Trollkitten]

Spoiler: Replies!

Ooooh this is interesting! So I love Chikorita so much, they are such a precious bean. But its ruleset saying it must come in with Sunny Day etc and the vulnerability to Fire and 'mons rules it out for me, as Chikorita in Johto struggles enough without all of this. I am worried about Cyndaquil trying to push away potentially amazing catches, so I think Totodile is a relatively safe choice in comparison to both of these. Picking Totodile also means that the rival gets the not-so-offensive Meganium as its final starter instead of the other two stages, which can hit really hard. So Totodile is my option.

A late, last-minute vote! I actually started the nuzlocke before your vote came in, but... well, we'll see if that actually affects things.

Spoiler: Chapter One: The Votes are In!

Before I announce which starter you guys picked for me, I'm going to announce each one's name, which need I remind you was chosen randomly.

So to add an extra layer of randomization to my randomization, I'm not just going to pick nicknames from Fantasynamegenerators.com. I'm going to pick my nicknames from a random random generator from Fantasynamegenerators.com!

Chikorita's random generator was the Nickname Generator, which gave me a list of ten nicknames. Looking over the list -- which had names such as Wiz, Smasher, and Lioness, I decided that the best nickname on the list for a Grass-type dinosaur was... Sage! (Yeah, there's something of a double meaning there.)

Cyndaquil's random generator was the Stormlight Archive name generator. I know absolutely nothing about Stormlight Archive, only that all of these names look like utterly random keyboard mashing. Given that most of them are far too long to fit into a Pokemon naming screen, I'm going with one of the Thaylenah names, which are much shorter (and not much easier to pronounce). Mriln it is!

Finally, Totodile. It gets a Saberon name for the World of Warcraft universe, which at least I have heard of. While the names themselves are too long to enter in full, they come with a first name and a last name, and since Totodile is known for its toothy maw, I select Gror Wickedbiter, or Gror for short.

So there are our three options. Sage the late bloomer who follows the light, Mriln the prickly and standoffish worshiper of Entei, and Gror the toothy Tanninim of ancient heritage. But before we deal with that, we need to look at one more important character that hasn't been named yet... the protagonist!

Since the name of the game is RNG, I decided to choose my protag via Random.org, with 1 being male and 2 being female. I got 2, which means a female player character, and now I'm going to randomize her naming scheme. The random generator gave me Marathi names, which is a language spoken in Maharastra in western India. The problem is that I have no idea what names are male, what names are female, and what names are gender-neutral. Thankfully the generator has an option to choose between generating male names and female names, so I get a list of lady labels and choose the shortest one in hopes that I can fit it on the naming screen: Bela Dande. (She will accept Belle as a nickname, but not Bella. She finds that patronizing.)

We get started, find out that no, we cannot fit Bela's full name on the naming screen, so she's just going as Bela. We get a brief tutorial from our mom on stuff like options and saving, then head over to Professor Elm's lab, where he gives us a brief spiel on how before Poke Balls were invented, people used to walk with their Pokemon. (Clearly this is more a Johto thing than a Sinnoh thing, because there's no following Pokemon in Hisui despite that being a clearly beloved game mechanic that the fanbase won't shut up about.) Then he gets a phone call from the weirdly named Mr. Pokemon, who's apparently always calling him about discoveries or some such. So, Elm being the busy man that he is, he delegates his scholarly duties to a small and impressionable child (me).

And now for the announcement...which disaster child we'll be adopting. As of the start of this nuzlocke, Chikorita has six votes, Cyndaquil has three votes, and Totodile has a full eight votes, meaning that our starter Pokemon is none other than Gror the Totodile! (In the interest of full disclosure, one of the votes for Totodile actually came in after I'd already started the nuzlocke, but it didn't change the end result anyway, so no harm no foul.)

Spoiler: Gror the Totodile

Gror, male Totodile
Rash, highly persistent
Torrent

Lore rule:
The Tanninim of Tiamat (Chosen of Tiamat)
While this pokemon is in your party you may cancel the lore rule of every other Water pokemon in your party and the effect of lore rules of Water type pokemon as you catch them. Must know a Poison or Dragon type move if possible. Its main type is considered Dragon, and secondary types are Poison and Water for the purpose of lore rules. When Totodile/Croconaw/Feraliagtor dies, choose a Water type pokemon and a Flying type pokemon you have, or had and died due to a lore rule. You may revive each of these pokemon and reroll its lore rule, or just reroll its lore rule if it is alive. If the new lore rule is activated upon catching, it is then activated again.

Data rule:
Descendant of the Drake Fossil.
You must have an Electric or Water type Pokemon in your party to use this Pokemon (unless it is the only Pokemon you own). While this Pokemon is in your party, you may ignore the data rules of Dragon-type Pokemon in your party and of Dragon-type Pokemon that you catch, as well as the data rules of any fossil Pokemon in your party or that you catch (including Genesect).

Elm's aide gives us Potions to assist us in our journey, and we set off. There's the usual pre-journey preamble of talking to Mom and having Elm give us his phone number, but that's not exactly important. At least this game has a decently brief introductory period, unlike, say, Alola (I love those games dearly but they are infamously cutscene-heavy). We go on Route 29, fight the local wildlife, Gror learns Water Gun, the usual stuff.

We make it to Cherrygrove City and meet the Guide Gent, who gives us the Running Shoes, which are excellent, even if it's slightly creepy that we just met and he already knows Bela's shoe size. (I like the Adventures manga interpretation of the Running Shoes, where they're basically rocket boots.) At the Poke Mart, I buy five antidotes (can't be too careful), five paralyze heals (which I plan to use with discretion, as paralysis is preferable to poison in this gen where the poisoned take damage as you walk), and five potions (if I have to box my starter after I catch my next Pokemon, I want whoever replaces Gror to be the picture of health). Before leaving Cherrygrove, the Guide Gent hands me the Map Card for my Poke Gear, which makes me wonder why all these NPCs don't just hand me everything at once.

Up on Route 30, I visit a man who gives me the Apricorn Box so I can gather Apricorns. I'm not sure why I can't just keep Apricorns in my bag like they do in Galar; it's not like they spoil like the ones you find in Hisui. (And I just realized that Apricorns have somehow gone extinct in Sinnoh and I have no idea why. Maybe it's because Landorus and Enamorus are no longer present to encourage plant growth? But they're not in Johto or Kanto either, and there are no Apricorns in Unova...)

There is a road sign specifically stating that Mr. Pokemon's house is straight ahead. Wow, this guy must be a big deal to have his own road sign. Or maybe he made that sign himself because he thinks he's a big deal. Maybe he's the one who named himself Mr. Pokemon to stroke his ego. Because, you know, Pokemon are a big deal in this world.

Anyway, Gror learns Rage on the way to Mr. Pokemon's house. I've been told that this is a good move for him to have, especially if I want to solo Falkner with him. And, honestly, I'm not sure whether that's actually what I want. It largely depends on what I roll for encounters and if I can build a decent team before Falkner... but on the other hand, there will be Primo and his offer of a free Wooper/Mareep/Slugma egg, two of which would allow me to use Gror. But that would require some step grinding to actually hatch the egg, but HGSS already necessitates large amounts of grinding, so it's nothing new, really.

So we reach Mr. Pokemon's house, get the Mystery Egg, get Gror healed for free, meet Professor Oak, get the 'latest version' of the Pokedex and Oak's phone number, and now the cutscene is over and I can --

Oh, wait. Phone call from Elm. Disaster approaching, I've gotta backtrack to New Bark Town. Johto may be no Alola when it comes to lengthly cutscenes, but it still has quite a lot of plot to it before you even get Poke Balls, and honestly, I'm not entirely thrilled with the 'before you get Poke Balls' part because it means that your starter gets horribly overleveled and that makes it more difficult to catch early route mon when you finally gain the ability to do so. How ironic that the overleveling doesn't last long and nuzlockers are forced to grind for the entire rest of the game.

So here comes Edgy Boi, ready to wipe the floor with the runner-up Pokemon in our starter poll, the rejected Chikorita Sage. Battle begin!

Spoiler: Battle transcript

Gror (Totodile) vs. Sage (Chikorita)
Gror Leer
Sage Tackle
Gror Rage crit!
Sage Growl
Gror Rage
Sage Growl
Gror Rage
Sage Growl
Gror Rage
Sage Tackle -- Gror's rage is building!
Gror Rage KO!

So, to sum up the battle: Gror goes for the Leer+Rage combo. Sage, true to his name, isn't falling for that Boufmuk, and spams Growl until he realizes that he's dying here and actually puts in a half-hearted Tackle before finally going down.

Edgy Boi then starts talking about how he's going to be the world's greatest Pokemon trainer, then panics when he drops his ID and Bela sees it. Hmm, it's almost as if he doesn't want anyone to know who he is... which could be problematic if he's going to become the world's greatest Pokemon trainer, because usually when someone is the best at something, they want people to know about it. (Personally, I'd rather not be famous, because famous people get scrutinized by pretty much everybody, and I can't take that sort of pressure.)

We make it back to Elm, run into an incompetent cop (because incompetent cops are a trope in works of fiction that center around protagonists that aren't cops because otherwise the cops would have already handled everything), the cop gets reassured by Ethan that Bela is not the bad guy here, and we get the chance to name Edgy Boi.

When it comes to the rival character, I wound up with a Polish name generator (that is, names of people from Poland, not names that have been polished). None of the names I got would fit within HeartGold's naming limits, but the one I liked the most was August Sawa, so we have a redhead named August because he is blisteringly fiery and has worn out his welcome (I live in the American South and summers here are BRUTAL). We'll just put August on his trainer card because it would be needlessly awkward to say his full name every time without the space in it.

After the cop leaves, we hand the Mystery Egg to Elm, who says he'll hang onto it for a while because it's not like his place didn't just get robbed. He tells Bela to talk to her mom before leaving, as if we didn't already spend enough time running back and forth talking to people for little discernible reason. A quick talk with Mom makes it clear that no, Bela does not want her mom saving her money, because that always results in Mom spending it on things that Bela doesn't need. (It's MY money, Mom!)

Finally, our last obstacle before being actually able to catch Pokemon, the dreaded unskippable catching tutorial. Ethan runs us through the basics, we ignore everything he says, and finally, the world is ours!

...at least, it will be next time, because all of that tutorial-ing has given me a headache. Tune in next time for Belle and Tot's Excellent Adventure!

QotD: What are the best and worst early game opening sequences that you have ever played?

 

[bhelryss]

belle and tot!!! oh how precious

im remarkably fond of the naming randomization

can't think of any game openings i have ever considered the worst, but i do get extremely annoyed (unfairly) at new entries in series that i follow that don't allow me to skip the tutorials. i know they do it for new players, but i just want to jump right in

best opening is hands down gris. it's my favorite game ever, and the opening is beautiful. the cutscene is evocative, and the transition from the start/prologue to the first level is actually the smoothest i've ever seen before. you learn the directions/buttons rather organically, and honestly the whole thing is so seamless...

 

[Trollkitten]

Spoiler: Replies!

belle and tot!!! oh how precious

im remarkably fond of the naming randomization

can't think of any game openings i have ever considered the worst, but i do get extremely annoyed (unfairly) at new entries in series that i follow that don't allow me to skip the tutorials. i know they do it for new players, but i just want to jump right in

best opening is hands down gris. it's my favorite game ever, and the opening is beautiful. the cutscene is evocative, and the transition from the start/prologue to the first level is actually the smoothest i've ever seen before. you learn the directions/buttons rather organically, and honestly the whole thing is so seamless...

I like the naming randomization as well... even if it does saddle me with some borderline unpronounceable monikers.

Spoiler: Chapter 2: The Birds, the Bees, and the Top Percentage Rattata

Where we last left our heroine Bela, she had adopted a draconic Totodile, ran a fetch quest for the local professor, encountered the vengeful runner-up to the starter poll and his edgelord trainer, and had a lot of situations where people slowed down her journey to either explain how the game worked or give her stuff. Today we get into the actual fun part of the nuzlocke: the encounters and their insane rulesets!

Now, I know Green Tea suggested that I could skip a few encounters and solo Falkner with Gror the Totodile's Rage attack before I get my Wooper or Mareep egg. To which I say... while that's not a bad strategy imo (aside from the risk of Sand Attack spam), the fun of running a ridiculous challenge like this is to factor in all of the lore rules/data rules, and I can't do that if this is a sololocke. So I'm going to catch myself some more mons, and I am gonna love it. (I hope I hope.)

Route 29 encounter: female Sentret

Lore rule:
Familiar Spirit
This pokemon helps others channel their inner elemental powers. Sentret/
Furret can only use Normal type moves, and moves that share a type with
another pokemon in your party.

Data rule:
Chosen of Calyrex.
As long as this Pokemon is in your party, you may ignore the negative effects of data rules of Grass and Psychic type Pokemon in your party and that you catch. Must know a Grass-type move if possible. Must hold a seed or herb if possible. Must be in the same party as a quadruped Pokemon that can be ridden. This Pokemon becomes Sentret/Furret’s steed and must remain in the same party as Sentret/Furret at all times, and all effects of the steed’s data rule are canceled for as long as it remains Sentret/Furret’s steed. If Sentret/Furret dies, the steed dies (but not the other way around).

Well, I can't exactly catch this one because I do not have a steed for Sentret, and I cannot box it if I catch it because I would have to box Gror if I caught it and I can't use it without a steed, thus softlocking the game as I would have no Pokemon that I could use. Ah well. It was only level two anyway. Sentret dies, and I lose my encounter for Route 29. (If Chikorita had won the starter poll, things would have been different...)

I decide to skip over Route 46 for the time being, waiting to see if I can capture an at least slightly higher leveled Pokemon before going for the small fry. (Remember, Gror is destined to be boxed upon my first catch until I get a Water or Electric type to accompany him, so I want my first catch to be as high a level as feasible.)

Route 30 encounter: male Pidgey

Lore rule:
Peacekeeping Dove
This pokemon can’t have more than 2 damage dealing
moves. You are not allowed to open a trainer battle
using this pokemon.

Data rule:
Descendant of Archeops.
This Pokemon is considered Flying/Rock type for the purpose of data rules. Must know at least one Rock, Ground, or Steel type move if possible. While this Pokemon is in your party, you may ignore the data rules of Rock-type Pokemon in your party, and of Rock-type Pokemon you catch.. You may ignore the data rules of any fossil Pokemon in your party (including Genesect).

Okay, this is somewhat concerning. I'm not allowed to open a trainer battle with this Pidgey, but with Gror's data rule, I can't have Gror in the party until I have a Water or Electric type, and it won't be long at all before I encounter my first trainer battle. I'm just going to assume that the second part of the lore rule doesn't take effect when Pidgey is the only member of the party, because otherwise that could softlock the game.

Pidgey's random name generator is for DnD centaur names, which would make him... a hippogriff? An angel? A hippogriff crossed with an angel? An angelic hippogriff? Anyway, he gets the name An'zeh Summertail, and he has a Hasty nature, sturdy body, and the ability Tangled Feet. Since there's no PC on the fly in HGSS, I move An'zeh to the front and decree that switch training is illegal until Gror gets boxed. Then I stop by Cherrygrove City, box Gror, and buy a Poke Ball and a Heal Ball from the Poke Mart because I definitely want to be able to get my Route 46 encounter if at all possible.

On the way to Route 46, An'zeh learns Sand Attack, an important move because his Descendant of Archeops decrees that he must know at least one Rock/Ground/Steel move if possible. I then enter Route 46 and get...

Route 46 encounter: female Spearow

Lore rule:
Griffin Ancestry
When you catch this pokemon Wedlocke it with
another pokemon of your choice (both pokemon
must stay at your party at the same time, and if one
of the pokemon dies the Wedlocke ends at the end
of battle). It mates for life, and can’t be Wedlocked
ever again. Whenever this pokemon evolves you
must throw away items worth 10,000 pokeyen or a
Nugget - if you can’t pay, box it immediately and its
Wedlocked partner until you choose to pay. As a
Fearow, you may also cancel the negative effects
of the lore rule of the pokemon that is Wedlocked
to Fearow.

Data rule:
Sound the Alarm (High Alert).
If this Pokemon is in your party and a Pokemon’s data rule endangers any of your Pokemon, you may roll to see which Pokemon it would target before deciding whether to capture it or not (rather than before capturing it). Must know a sound-based move if possible and, if it is at the front of the party, open every trainer battle with it.

(Note: there is a typo in Sound the Alarm; it should read "rather than after catching it." I really need to go over those data rules and proofread them, because they need some tightening up. That's part of the point of my doing so many datalockes -- the ruleset needs the testing.)

This is a good combination IMO, even if it does mean I have two married birbs on my team. (For those of you who don't know, a wedlocke means that if one of the two Pokemon is out, it can only switch into the other one. Not a mechanic I particularly care for, but it does make things a bit interesting when planning out battle strategies.) After one Tackle halving its health, I decide to throw my Heal Ball at it, and it catches.

For her random name generator, I get Bionicle names (oh look, my childhood), and am told that there are type one names and type two names for this generator. Random.org decrees that I shall use type one names (which are more 'heroic' names), and the one that seems the most feminine is Vharde, so I go with that. Vharde is Modest, mischievous, and has the Keen Eye ability. She also already knows Growl, so I'm gonna put that move in front to remind me when to use it.

So now we've gone from a dragonborn Totodile to a pair of married birbs that may or may not be hippogriffs. Time to do what any sane (or insane) person would do and grind these birbs up for upcoming trainer battles -- Vharde is only level 2, needs to be in front because of An'zeh's data rule, needs to lead each trainer battle with Growl because of her data rule, and I know Joey is waiting around with that blasted top percentage Rattata. So I train them both up to level 5, during which Vharde learns Leer, which could be useful.

Youngster Joey then gives me quite the scare when his aforementioned 'top percentage Rattata' gets a crit Quick Attack and lowers Vharde all the way to a single point of HP. Not wanting to risk things further, I switch into An'zeh, only to get a Tail Whip. Thankfully that Rattata does not use Quick Attack again, and my Pidgey manages to take it out with Tackle. I leave with Joey's phone number and walk away as if my Pokemon and I have not just lived through a potentially traumatizing experience.

Route 31 encounter: male Metapod

Lore rule:
A Living Soul
Only comes into effect as a Butterfree and when you have
your first dead pokemon. Randomize a pokemon you had
who died. This pokemon is the reincarnation of its soul and
it gains its lore rule (choose only a pokemon with a rule that
can make sense mechanically for this Butterfree). In addition
to that, it must have at least two Psychic/Ghost type moves
if possible

Data rule:
Vulnerable Shell
If this Pokemon is hit with a critical or super-effective hit, it dies. Loses effect when it evolves into Butterfree.

Well, this is going to be interesting. I'll catch it, but can I keep it alive long enough for it to evolve? Given that I'm not going to be keeping in a Metapod that only uses Harden in battle anyway, this data rule seems kind of pointless, so I'll probably cut it out of the next datalocke update. (Also, I should probably clarify that Metapod's data rule doesn't take effect until you catch it, so you can use super-effective moves while catching it without it dying. Although maybe if I want to keep that data rule, I should make it otherwise so it's more of a challenge to catch it? Still, having a random chance to lose your encounter that is entirely out of your control doesn't exactly sound fun to me.)

For Metapod's name, I get a random half-elf name generator for Dungeons and Dragons. Selecting male names, I get a list of unpronounceable monstrosities, and settle on Vanlamir as the one that seems most spellable. He is Quirky nature, somewhat vain, and has the Shed Skin ability. The Flying monotype locke seems to be getting off to a fine start /s.

Since I only have two Poke Balls, next to no money, and a team that's severely weak to Rock-types, I'm going to pass over the Dark Cave encounter for the time being, I do find another Poke Ball as an overworld item on Route 31, but I'm still underprepared for that cave.

I nearly make it to Violet City, but Ethan surprises me from behind to give me the Vs. Recorder, which I didn't want, didn't ask for, and have absolutely zero use for. So that is a thing that happened.

And now... Violet City.

Primo.

The eggs.

It is now time for the second most important decision of the run, which is which egg we're going to get from Primo. As with the starter selection, I'm going to roll up all the lore rules/data rules and let the readers decide!

Wooper:

Lore rule
Chosen of Xolotl
When you catch Wooper lose your next encounter. Considered Dark type in addition to its other
type for lorerule purposes. While this pokemon is in your party you may cancel the lore rule of every
Ghost pokemon and a pokemon who is part of the Monster Egg Group in your party, and the
effect of lore rules of Ghost type pokemon as you catch them.

Data rule
Amphibious.
Must know Surf, Dive, Whirlpool, or Waterfall if possible. Cannot be at the front of the party while on land. Must hold a Fresh Water if possible.

Mareep:

Lore rule
The Golden Fleece of Khrysomallos
When you catch this pokemon choose a male and a female non-starter
pokemon you own. Mareep/Flaaffy can only be in your party if at least
one of these pokemon is in it as well, and loses this effect when it evolves
into Ampharos. When Mareep/Flaaffy dies or evolves into Ampharos
(whatever happens first) you gain an item called “The Golden Fleece”.
You can give this item to one of your other pokemon and it doesn’t take the
held item slot, it can’t be moved to another pokemon or taken away even if
that pokemon dies, and the pokemon holding it is considered Royal, is immune to the effects
of negative lore rules related to money and items, and can sacrifice the Golden Fleece to
prevent its death from a lorerule.

Data rule
Beacon of Hope. Must know at least one Electric-type or Fire-type move, or a move associated with light -- Signal Beam, Dazzling Gleam, etc. Cannot be in the same party as a Pokemon whose data rule only allows it to be used at night.

Slugma:

Lore rule
Chosen of Pele
While this pokemon is in your party you may cancel the
lore rule of every other Fire, Ground and Rock
pokemon in your party and the effect of lore rules of
Fire type pokemon as you catch them.

Data rule
Inferno. You can’t have any Ice or Grass type Pokemon on your team with Slugma/Magcargo, or they will die. If you send Slugma/Magcargo out against an Ice or Grass type Pokemon you want to catch, you cannot catch it and must kill it. Must know at least two Fire-type moves.

Place your vote as a comment!