AZ Platinum Nuzlocke

[AZKnight]

I was originally going to be doing my first Nuzlocke challenge on Emerald and post it here once it was further along and more stable. Toward the end of my run our Ame finally gave in and decided to try it himself. The joy of spreading the word about Hard Mode in Pokemon makes me happy inside. Unfortunately, the same day that Ame announced he was going to be doing his own Nuzlocke run, my Emerald team was...destroyed. It was a difficult night for me. I thought I had trained enough, gotten my Pokemon a safe enough buffer, to be able to get past my Rival. I was most worried about her Combusken since my entire team was pretty much weak to it. I had not had any luck catching Pokemon and has a limited team of four after beating the first two Gyms. Then she just....tore through my team with Critical Hits. Bach (Whismur), Rocky (Mightyena), Spitz (Dustox), even my starter Lance (Grovyle), were all taken out by her Combusken. After that I didn't know if I wanted to try again, not after the pain I had suffered. I was supposed to be a Pokemon Ace, the guys you find on Victory Road, but here I was shattered. Sigh...

BUT! Seeing Ame and several others want to give the Nuzlocke experience a shot gave me a second wind. I decided to try my hand with a game that had more recent game mechanics and that I had enjoyed more. I decided to finally play through Platinum again after years of using it as a transfer and EV training game. I am determined to prove myself as a trainer so that I may someday return to Hoenn and become the Champion! (aka when the Ruby and Sapphire remakes come out). So here we go!

~~~~~ Annoying Friends and Stupid Logic ~~~~~

After heading back to my old stomping grounds in Twinleaf Town, I realize just how weird some of my friends are. One of these 'friends' named Roy barges into my house and tells me to meet up with him outside with the idea that, since Prof. Rowan is back in Sinnoh and research fellows have tons of Pokemon, he'll just give us a bunch of Pokemon for free. My friend: too lazy to catch his own Pokemon. When I do he runs into his house and tells me to follow. The second I reach his bedroom up stairs he goes yoink and runs outside again. Seriously, what is wrong with you Roy?! I finally manage to catch up with him at Route 201 where he has a brilliant plan to run through the grass to avoid Pokemon. Last I checked, running [i]increases [/i]encounter rates. Nub. Thankfully, Prof. Rowan intervenes and talks some sense into Roy about the grass idea. Fortunately for me, he does this by offering us both a Pokemon. What's more, Roy finally recognizes me as his superior and let's me choose first. Score! I look at my selections: While Piplup is good, Water Pokemon aren't that hard to come across. Chimchar is a great Fire type and while they were rare in Sinnoh, the recent colder weather has made more Fire types appear. I decided to go with Turtwig and dub him Bonzai after the sprout on his head, but using a different spelling because I know he's going to be diving into battle. I finally manage to ditch Roy and head back to my place where I am given the Running Shoes. Bless the world! Sadly, Roy quickly returns and drags me off to Verity Lakefront to catch a legendary Pokemon. Then he realizes that he has no Pokeballs. Again, Nub. There was some guy named Cyrus there but he just seemed crazy. At long last I make it to Prof. Rowan's lab and he gives me a Pokedex. Yeeeeah, not like I already have several of those already, but whatever makes him happy. Dawn is equally helpful and shows me around town and while I don't need the lesson, at least she and Rowan are fairly intelligent and competent people. After receiving my Pokeballs I'm all set to start my journey!

~~~~~ First...no wait, Second Pokemon! ~~~~~

I decide that going back to Route 201 would be a good place to catch my first Pokemon on my own in Sinnoh. On my several trips back and forth through the route I had seen Starly and Bidoof and hoped I would encounter the former and not the latter. Imagine my surprise when I come across neither and instead find a Kricketot! Since when are these things found this early? I don't waste any time and quickly catch it, blessing my lucky stars its not a Bidoof. I name him Treble and notice that he is a bit of a Lonely fella, but he should warm up to me eventually. I call up Ame over in Johto since I know he's started on a new journey himself. I'm not that familiar with Kricketot and ask them what moves they learn. "None." "...what?" "They don't learn any moves until the evolve." "But...but all it knows is Growl and Bide!" Oh well, at least since it's a Bug it should evolve early. Just going to be difficult to train safely.

~~~~~ Arceus Hates Me ~~~~~

As great as it was to find Treble, I know that I need another teammate to share the burden of training it with Bonzai. The next stop on my journey is Route 202. Hopefully there are more Pokemon here and I can find a good one. The battle music starts playing in my headsets, the grass shakes, and out pops a...Bidoof. Gsfhdsbfdsfadsfladsfdskfladnf! Fine! I will give you a chance, but you better pull your weight on this team, Chompy. He looks pretty Hardy, but I still have my doubts. Anyway, it's not like I was going to find anything better...around...here....Shinx! I want! But....but I'm not allowed to catch. Damn, why did I vote to pass that new law limiting the number of Pokemon Trainers can catch in order to preserve the environment and Pokemon population. Oh, that's why. Still! I have to let it go due to the new laws. But it's not like I'd find....another one. Damn. Ok, but what are the odds I would see three...in a row...I loathe you already, Chompy. Both Treble and Chompy are pretty weak and I start the grinding montage. Eventually I get everyone up to around level 8 and I push forward to Jubilife City!

~~~~~ Time to School Some Kids ~~~~~

Dawn greets me at the entrance of Jubilife and starts showing me around. Then we see some creepy, stalker guy dashing behind two lampposts. He claims that he is the International Police agent Looker, but I still think he's a weirdo. After that...incident, Dawn shows me to the Trainer School where Roy is. Oh yeah, I was supposed to deliver something to him. Joy. I find him inside reading a chalkboard about status effects, further showing how much of a Nub he still is. He said he was going to challenge the Gym in the next, but before doing the same I decide to explore some more. There isn't anything to see on Route 218 and I decide to head north to Route 204. I hear there are Shinx, Budew and Wurmple on this route and am excited that I might catch one. Instead, I find a Starly I had hoped to have found earlier. I guess not a terrible find, just later than when I wanted to. I name him Capone and find he's rather Bashful. Despite them being a Bug and Flying type, Treble and Capone start sticking together. Maybe in time they'll help make each other more confident. I head back to the Trainer School in order to train Capone and he dispatches both of the kids there. He even learns Quick Attack, marking my first Pokemon that knows something besides Tackle or Bide! Hallelujah! With my boistrous team of 3 1/2 (guess who the half is) I head west to Route 203!

~~~~~ The Spazzy Rival ~~~~~

Roy: Hey! AZ! Tell me you got a little tougher!
AZ: As a matter of fact, I did.
Roy: Me? Do you even need to ask?
AZ: Actually, I think do...
Roy: Of course I got tougher!
AZ: Uh huh, you just tell yourself that.
Roy: Come on! I’ll demonstrate it to you!
AZ: Sigh...if you want to, Roy.

He sends out his Starly and I start with Treble. Not the best of match-ups, but because Capone is a higher level, I know his Starly does not know any Flying moves. Treble starts to Bide his time, but apparently Roy is smarter than he looks because he just uses Growl. Eventually, after doing that 6 times, he decides to attack me. Treble loses about half his HP, but that gets doubled back and easily KOs the Starly. Roy then sends out his Chimchar and I feel ballsy so I send out Bonzai! Tackles and Scratches are exchanged and when Roy lands a Critical Hit, I need to heal Bonzai with a Potion. At the same time he starts using Leer. I begin chipping his damage away and he keeps using Leer. It comes down to the last hit. He's already used three or four leers and I'm afraid of the kind of damage it will deal. But one more Tackle and Bonzai wins. I chance it and...and....Leer again. Woot! Victory goes to Bonzai and Treble!

Roy: Waah! What do you mean I lost?!
AZ: I mean you...lost.
Roy: Well, that’s it! That’s the last time I’ll ever lose!
AZ: *Snrk*
Roy: I’m going to be the world’s toughest Trainer, and you know it!
AZ: Sure thing Roy, and Giovanni is going to become an honest to goodness Gym Leader again.
Roy: The first thing to do is take on the Oreburgh City Pokémon Gym!
AZ: With a Flying and Fire type? Roy, that won't end well for you or your Pokemon.
Roy: I’m gonna toughen up for that, totally!
AZ: You better, for your Pokemon's sake.

~~~~~ Through the (Oreburgh) Gate ~~~~~

Now that I've showed Roy his place, yet again, I explore into Route 203. I manage to make it fairly deep into the grass without encountering anything and it gives me the feeling that when I do find something, it will be special. Perhaps I will finally find something special like Shinx or even Abra! Or, you know...another Bidoof. >_< I dub him Buck and decide he will be my pack mule for HMs. Now I have two of these bastards on my team. Chompy has yet to prove himself, either. Bonzai learned Absorb, Treble evolved from the fight with Roy and learned Fury Cutter, and Capone learned both Quick Attack and Wing Attack. Chompy...learned Defense Curl. Still not earning your keep. I decide to give him one last chance and send him out against a Camper in the cave. He actually manages to defeat a Shinx and her Starly should not be much more difficult. Just one more attack and Chompy will....get hit by a Critical Hit. I look at his lifeless body slumped on the ground as Capone jumps in to finish things off. He was worthless, weak and stupid looking but...he was mine. Then I come to a realization: I'M FREE! I quickly bury Chompy under a pile of rocks and continue through the cave. Evidently, Chompy must have served as a sacrifice as I encounter no Pokemon, meaning I can come back later. I guess you did do something useful eventually, Chompy. And no, Buck, you'll still be an HM whore.

~~~~~ Tripping on Rocks and Hitting my Face ~~~~~

As soon as I enter Oreburgh City a nice citizen notices I do not currently have any badges and directs me to the Gym. Who else do I find but Roy. Even the guy with me calls him twitchy. He tells me that he already has the Badge, which I call bullshit on because there is no way he got much stronger since I just fought him. Either way, he tells me where I can find the Gym Leader, Roark. Before going to look for him, I head north to Route 207 where I heard there are Machop which would make a Rock Gym that much easier. I stumble through the grass and yet again find nothing, giving me hope again at finding something special. So what do I find? Geodude. Ehhh, not bad but not the best. There are plenty of places where I can find Geodude so a little disappointed. Then Treble gets a little too overzealous and lands a Critical Hit and knocking it out. Well, it's not like I had a good chance of finding something else anyway. Then I start finding nothing but Machop and Ponyta. Not a single Geodude is seen again. Always my luck. Makes good training for my other Pokemon and they level up quickly. I decide to head into the Oreburgh Mine to find Roark and find some new Pokemon, maybe an Onix or Zubat. Then with my luck, it's another Geodude. Ok, it's still a worthwhile Pokemon and I should....stop landing Critical Hits. Seriously guys, we want to make new friends! I manage to find Roark and he demonstrakes Rock Smash before heading back to his Gym. I head back to the surface with him but decide to give catching Pokemon one more chance. Treble and Capone won't be much help at the Gym so I want to add to my team. The only place left is Oreburgh Gate since I didn't encounter anything there after sacraficingImean losing Chompy. I might be able to find a Psyduck which would be a decent Water type and easily trained at the Gym. Instead, another Geodude. That's it, this time I shall not fail. I send out Bonzai and start using Tackle to slowly but safely chip at its health. Eventually I catch it, making third time a charm. Slag should make a good addition to the team as he remains very Calm. He might make a good leader for other team members. After some back tracking to train Slag he matches the levels of the other three and learns Rock Throw. Sadly, he still won't be that helpful at the Gym against Roark. I guess everything will rest on Bonzai's shoulders, but I have confidence in him. Tomorrow, I challenge the first Gym in Sinnoh!

~~~~~~~~~~

[color="#008000"]Starter - Bonzai the Sassy Turtwig: Level 14[/color]
Twinleaf Town - N/A
Lake Verity - N/A
[color="#008000"]Route 201 - Treble the Lonely Kricketune: Level 12[/color]
Sandgem Town - N/A
Route 202 - [s]Chompy the Hardy Bidoof (lvl 3 - 9)[/s]
Jubilife City - N/A
Route 203 - Buck the Naive Bidoof (lvl 4)
[color="#008000"]Route 204 - Capone the Bashful Starly: Level 12[/color]
[color="#008000"]Oreburgh Gate - Slag the Calm Geodude: Level 12[/color]
Oreburgh City - N/A
Oreburgh Mine - [s]Geodude[/s]
Route 207 - [s]Geodude[/s]

[AZKnight]

After being just too tired this week from work, I was able to finally start playing again. There are some big successes and crushing defeats. Enjoy!

~~~~~ Roark: Let's Rock! ~~~~~

Roark: Welcome! This is the Oreburgh Pokémon Gym! I'm Roark, the Gym Leader!
AZ: Yes, you told me that back in the mines.
Roark: I'm but one Trainer who decided to walk proudly with Rock-type Pokémon!
AZ: You are one of three trainers. I already beat the other two coming up to take you down.
Roark: As the Gym Leader, I need to see your potential as a trainer.
AZ: And I’m here to test you as a Gym Leader.
Roark: And, I'll need to see the toughness of the Pokémon that battle with you!
AZ: Oh snap! My Pokémon are going to bring it!

Bonzai pretty much swept his team. I meant to write this a long time ago and now it’s lost all the magic. Sigh…

~~~~~ Looker: Blind and Dumb ~~~~~

Having successfully defeated Roark, there was not much else for me to see in Oreburgh. As I headed West to travel through Route 203, Roy popped up again. He tried to run into me, but I successfully held out my fist and he ran his face into it. I live for these simple joys. I could not really tell what he was saying in his twitchy and random gestures. Eventually he ran of, but not before telling me he cannot count. Great, my friend is an idiot outside of Pokemon, too. He ran off, hopefully to get stuck in a hole somewhere, and I continued on. Nothing exciting happened on my way back to Jubilife City until I actually arrive. That creepy, stalker guy called Looker approach me and I hesitated, thinking about running away. He told me that he had finished patrolling the city and there was no suspicious activity. Maybe he is a police officer after all. Or not! Right around the corner I find two weirdos with bowl cuts harassing Prof. Rowan and his assistant, Dawn. Yeah, way to clear the city there Looker. Since Rowan and Dawn had shown themselves pretty cool, I decided to help.

Mystery Man: Now, now, now, now, now! Professor Rowan, you must comply. Hand over all your research findings. For free, naturally. Failure to comply will result in a painful time for your assistant.
Rowan: Ah, AZ. Well? How is the Pokédex progressing?
AZ: Really good, actually. Look what I just earned.
Rowan: Hm! That’s Oreburgh’s Gym Badge, I see. But hadn’t I given your first Pokémon only recently…?
AZ: Hey, I'm practically an Ace trainer.
Rowan: Perhaps being a Trainer is like second nature to you.
Mystery Man: Oh, professor of Pokémon, must you be so difficult?
AZ: No, I think he's just ignoring you. Now shut up.
Mystery Man: We are speaking to you on business. Because this is work for us. What we’re saying is – we demand you comply with our demands.
AZ: You demand he...dude, did you just hear yourself? You are [i]demanding [/i]that he listen to your previous [i]demanding[/i].
Rowan: Quiet, you lot!
AZ: Whoa!
Rowan: Why must you be such a nuisance? Let me list some lessons you still need to learn.
#1: Don’t loiter about for no good reason.
#2: Don’t interrupt others while they are attempting to converse.
#3: If you don’t get your way, don’t raise your voice to be intimidating.
#4: Don’t think you’ve grown strong just because you’re in a group.
#5: What is with those outlandish outfits you have on?
My goodness… You call yourselves adults? You kids, don’t grow up to be like these sorry specimens.
AZ: That. Was. AMAZING! You are the best Professor EVER, Rowan!
Mystery Man: Eeeeeh! You had to make this personal! You have forced our hand into making a show of force! We will make you regret insulting Team Galactic!
Rowan: You kids, give these thugs a lesson in civility, please.
Dawn: AZ! Let’s battle together!
AZ: Let's show these blokes proper etiquette when talking to an esteemed researcher.

The battle went quickly. Dawn brought her A-Game with her Piplup and acted as a meat shield for me. Which was ironic because I was using Slag who is normally the shield in doubles battles. Can't blame these idiots for trying to focus their efforts on the penguin rather than a rock. In the end, we stomped them into the ground.

Grunt 1: You leave us no option. We will retreat for now.
AZ: .....idiot say what?
Grunt 1: We shall do so because Team Galactic is benevolent to all.
AZ: That's not what...ugh! Why is the world full of morons!
Rowan: That lot… They called themselves Team Galactic. When Pokémon evolve, they seem to release some type of energy…
AZ: Yeah, I'll be sure to look out for-...wait, why did we just move onto Pokemon evolution?
Rowan: However, I believe that it’s a mystic power far beyond our control. But Team Galactic seems to be studying that power’s potential. They want to know if it can be used as energy for something…
AZ: That seems like an inefficient energy source, and very limited, too. They'd have better luck creating energy by running on a treadmill.
Dawn: AZ, did you know? The professor studies the evolution of Pokémon, too. According to his research, 90% of all Pokémon are somehow tied to evolution.
AZ: Wow, you seem to study a lot. I thought only Prof. Elm was concerned with Pokemon evolution and origins. You just keep getting more badass!
Dawn: Well, maybe that’s the reason those people tried to take the professor’s research data by force. That’s really unforgivable!
Rowan: It’s all over, so you can relax now. Still, thanks to you two, nothing came of that situation. I appreciate that. Incidentally, AZ. Kudos to you for your battling skill.
AZ: No problem at all. I'm just your average battled hardened, former Pokemon Champion. It's what I do.
Rowan: It got me thinking. Why don’t you collect all the Gym Badges of Sinnoh? Doing so, you will be sure to encounter lots of Pokémon. That, of course, means your Pokédex pages will continuously fill up. In other words, it will be of great help to my research. That said, I’ve given you your first Pokémon and Pokédex as yours to keep. You’re free to do with them as you wish. Take care now.
AZ: Why do I feel like this proposal has undertones of blackmail...

~~~~~ Ravaging and Plundering Trainers ~~~~~

I continued north to Route 204 but decided not to do any training for now. I discovered the Ravaged Path which was surprisingly...short. On the bright side, Buck proved himself useful by Smashing a Rock. Still isn't going to join my team. Did not find any Pokemon in here, but I might return later to see if there is anything worthwhile. Once I emerged outside of the cave, I discovered several trainers. It was time to do some training for Capone, which was also the perfect time. Every trainer was using either Grass or Bug Pokemon. Can you say Wing Attack Preying on his natural food sources did Capone good because he evolved! Now that he's a shiny new Staravia, Capone will be an even bigger powerhouse. Along the way I picked up a few items, clearly dropped by the trainers that were fleeing from Capone. And after that short trip, I arrived in Floaroma Town!

~~~~~ Everything Else that Happened ~~~~~

In short, I meant to write this a loooooong time ago and now the moment is gone. Hopefully I can post more quickly while playing later. Basically I helped out at the Wind Works and beat some more Galactic Grunt butt. Thinking of making a career out of it. In thanks, the game decided to remind me that Drifloon is found outside on Friday. That was an epic find. I also found a Shellos and am currently baiting a tree. Sadly, a Ponyta got a Critical Hit against Capone. I was just about to have a full team before that happened. The loss hit me pretty hard. I promise my future posts will have more to them.

Key: Green = Current Team; Red = Dead Teammate
[scroll]Starter -[color="#008000"] Bonzai the Sassy Turtwig: Level 16[/color]
Twinleaf Town - N/A
Lake Verity - N/A
Route 201 - [color="#008000"]Treble the Lonely Kricketune: Level 14[/color]
Sandgem Town - N/A
Route 202 -[color="#FF0000"][s]Chompy the Hardy Bidoof (lvl 3 - 9)[/s][/color]
Jubilife City - N/A
Route 203 - Buck the Naive Bidoof (lvl 4)
Route 204 - [color="#FF0000"][s]Capone the Bashful Starly: Levels 6 - 15[/s][/color]
Oreburgh Gate - [color="#008000"]Slag the Calm Geodude: Level 16[/color]
Oreburgh City - N/A
Oreburgh Mine - Geodude
Route 207 – Geodude
Ravaged Path – N/A
Floaroma Town – N/A
Floaroma Meadow – N/A
Southern Route 205 – [color="#008000"]Orca the Lonely Shellos: Level 10[/color]
Valley Windworks – [color="#008000"]Amelia the Impish Drifloon: Level 15[/color]
Northern Route 205 – N/A
[/scroll]

[AZKnight]

~~~~~ Thoughts and Reflections ~~~~~

Losing Capone was a tragic and it has made me concerned about the rest of my journey. He was one of my strongest and most capable teammates yet was taken down by the hands of fate. I would have never thought a neutral hit, even if it was a Critical Hit, could deal that much damage. I was able to bury Capone off in Floaroma Meadow which should be a fitting resting place. May the fragrance of flowers keep his spirit company.
Despite my loss, I have gained two new teammates. Amelia was a wonderful find outside the Wind Works and I did not even know that Drifloon could be found there. It was about time that I had some good luck when finding new Pokémon. When I ventured into Route 205 I was hoping for a second chance at finding a Shinx or a fast Water type like Buizel. Instead I came across a Shellos when now I realize was actually a good find. They tend to be bulky and Orca should do very well at surviving the coming journey. She happens to be lonely continuing my trend of finding social awkward Pokémon. Orca appears to have found friendship with Treble, who was the most shaken up about losing Capone. The two had been close battle buddies and had helped each other out in the group. Now it looks like Treble is helping Orca to fit in with everyone and at night has been playing music for the party with his arms.
Before I departed for the next part of our training, I checked back in on man I had saved from some Galactic Goobers. He had given me some Honey in thanks and I had slathered some on a tree nearby a trainer house. When I came back I could see the leaves were rustling, meaning something was hiding in the foliage. I kicked the tree and to my shock a Wurmple fell out of the tree. Treble happened to be yawning next to me with his arms in the air and the poor Wurmple fell right on the point of his arms, instantly being skewered. Uhhh…so much for that.
[img]http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg405/scaled.php?server=405&filename=kricketunekill3.png&res=medium[/img]

~~~~~ Wisdom! Kindness! BUGS! ~~~~~

At long last, it is time to tackle Eterna Forest. Why am I looking forward to this? Because of her!
Cheryl: Hello, my name’s Cheryl. And you are...?
AZ: My name is Jac-…er, you can call me AZ.
Cheryl: OK, so your name is AZ. I'm sincerely glad to meet you. AZ, may I ask a big favor of you?
AZ: Why certainly.
Cheryl: I want to get through this forest, but I'm afraid of doing it alone. I've heard that there is a sinister group of people called Team Galactic about.
AZ: They’re actually not that scary when you get past the bowl cuts.
Cheryl: I think there’d be safety in numbers. Please, may I go through with you?
AZ: If it will make you feel better, I’ll escort you through the forest.
Cheryl: I'll keep your Pokémon in perfect health.
AZ: Hellooooooo nurse!

And thus I find one of the first places on my journey where I can safely and constantly grind now that I have my own personal medic. First thing is first though, I must go forth and discover my newest teammate. I have double the chances since with Cheryl by my side, wild encounters will be double battles. As odd as it might sound, I was hoping to discover a Buneary. I have never bothered to train one, ever, in all of my adventures. I figured this might be a good chance to try as I would be forced to train it well. The world had different plans and gave me two tough choices. There they were, a Budew and Hoothoot. I had not gut instinct on which one to choose and had to think it over quickly in my head. I thought about what my friend Ame would say and his voice whispered in my head, “Buuuudeeeeeeew…” Senses his sagely words across the vastness of the world, I chose to catch…Hoothoot. I was worried about having two Grass types, especially a Roserade as they are fairly frail. Then Hoothoot proved herself in combat. Cheryl had her Chansey launch an Egg Bomb at Hoothoot and with a Critical Hit nearly took it out, which is a feat for a Chansey. But Hoothoot used Hypnosis to incapacitate Chansey, allowing me to get rid of Budew safely and catch her. She proved her wisdom and battle strategy in battle, earning her the name Athena.

With the addition of Athena on our team, we now have a full party. I am intrigued by the mixture of Pokémon with me and wonder what I will do with future catches. I believe in the power of any Pokémon to prove themselves, save Bidoof, and do not necessarily believe in replacing someone for a competitively superior Pokémon. With the connections I am forming with my Pokémon, I wonder if I could bring myself to replace any of them. For now I shall enjoy training in the forest with Cheryl to ensure that I will not be forced to replace anyone because of death any time soon. I get a strange feeling from Cheryl though and wonder what will happen when we exit these enchanted woods…

Key: Green = Current Team; Red = Dead Teammate
[scroll]Starter -[color="#008000"] Bonzai the Sassy Turtwig: Level 18[/color]
Twinleaf Town - N/A
Lake Verity - N/A
Route 201 - [color="#008000"]Treble the Lonely Kricketune: Level 18[/color]
Sandgem Town - N/A
Route 202 -[color="#FF0000"][s]Chompy the Hardy Bidoof (lvl 3 - 9)[/s][/color]
Jubilife City - N/A
Route 203 - Buck the Naive Bidoof (lvl 4)
Route 204 - [color="#FF0000"][s]Capone the Bashful Starly: Levels 6 - 15[/s][/color]
Oreburgh Gate - [color="#008000"]Slag the Calm Geodude: Level 18[/color]
Oreburgh City - N/A
Oreburgh Mine – [s]Geodude[/s]
Route 207 –[s] Geodude[/s]
Ravaged Path – N/A
Floaroma Town – N/A
Floaroma Meadow – [s]Wurmple[/s]
Valley Windworks – [color="#008000"]Amelia the Impish Drifloon: Level 18[/color]
Southern Route 205 – [color="#008000"]Orca the Lonely Shellos: Level 18[/color]
Eterna Forest – [color="#008000"]Athena the Lax Hoothoot: Level 18[/color]
Northern Route 205 – N/A
[/scroll]

[AZKnight]

~~~~~ You Are...The Chosen One! ~~~~~

After a good nights rest, Cheryl and I approach the exit to Eterna Forest. I have enjoyed the time in here as it has been good training for my team and Cheryl was a nice chance of pace. Having someone to keep you company is enjoyable and broke up the relative solitude of my journey. My Pokemon are great teammates, but I cannot exactly talk with them. Well, that's how it used to be anyway.

Cheryl: Oh! There's the exit! I'm so relieved... We finally got here.
AZ: Was there any doubt my team and I couldn't protect you?
Cheryl: I would've never been able to get through this by myself.
AZ: Oh come on. You don't give yourself enough credit. You and your Chansey can hit pretty hard when you want to.
Cheryl: Thank you so much, AZ! This is my token of appreciation. Please accept it!
AZ: That's not really necessary...
*** Obtained the Soothe Bell ***
Cheryl: I'm sure we'll meet again somewhere!
AZ: I hope so, too.
Cheryl: Bye for now!
AZ: Ciao!

As Cheryl turned to exit through an opening in the trees, she paused before turning to face me again. There was a cheerful smile across her face that made me feel calm and relaxed. "You mentioned the other day that you are attempting the Nuzlocke Challenge, right?" I was surprised that she brought this up and had nearly forgotten that I had even brought it up with her. It had come up in casual conversation the other day as we were walking through a clearing in the forest, but I had not thought she would have remembered it or thought it worth mentioning again. Through my jumble of thoughts I confirm her question. She gives me another smile before replying, "You have shown me you truly care about your Pokemon in this forest. I am glad that I found you. I think from now on you'll find your bond with your Pokemon even closer." With that she turned back around and walked out of the forest with her Chansey.

I knelt down beside Bonzai and placed my hand on his head. "I'm going to miss her," I said to Bonzai while scratching his neck, "It was nice to travel with someone else."

"Helped that she was hot, too."

"Heh, yeah I guess you could-...wait, who just said that?"

"Me of course!"

I look down at Bonzai and see him staring back up at me with a stupid grin plastered across his face. My eyes go wide in shock as I just knelt there unable to move. This all had to be some kind of strange dream, perhaps a Wurmple had poisoned me and I was in a delusional state of unconsciousness. "Uh...uh...someone pinch me..." Those were a bad choice of words as a sharp pain shot through my hand as Bonzai chomped down on the hand I had been scratching him with. I shot up into the air in pain as I started to aliviate the pain somehow by waving my hand around like an idiot. "I said pinch, not bite!"

"Sorry..."

"You don't even know Bite."

"I don't know Swallow either but I can still eat just find."

I just glared back at my Pokemon, realizing that he was probably going to be a Sassy, smart-mouth from here on out. After that little discovery I found out that the rest of my Pokemon were able to talk, too. Or that I was able to understand them. I'm still rather confused on that part. Either way, I am able to communicate with my Pokemon. My team tells me it's because I am sharing a closer bond with Pokemon more than ever before on this journey because of the increased risks. I had heard of other people being able to talk with their Pokemon, but had thought maybe that was because the challenge had caused them to go mad. One thing was for sure, this was going to make the rest of my journey interesting to say the least.

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

From here on out I am going to try and include more development for my Pokemon as characters. It's a common aspect of people who chronicle their Nuzlocke runs as the whole point is to bond with your Pokemon for a change. I don't know how much I am going to do it, but I will at least try. Also, I'm going to plug some Nuzlocke Comics that I read every once in a while.

[url="http://pettyartist.deviantart.com/gallery/26843300"]pettyartist[/url]- Oh my god is she fantastic! She was the first comic I ever read about the Nuzlocke challenge and got me into it. She is the standard mark I use to determine if a Nuzlocke comic is not just good, but great. Her art style is great and she does a wonderful job at portraying the characters of her Pokemon. She's about to do a new comic for HG so go! Go read her amazing LeafGreen Nuzlocke Challenge! You won't be disappointed.

[AZKnight]

Welp, I lied last time. I'm probably not going to try to do more indepth story with conversation with my Pokemon. Just because I want to play more than I really want to write about it. Probably going to go a similar route as Ame with just snippets of interesting stuff, Pokemon development, and important battles. I really wanted to try and do more story, but eh. Just don't have the heart to do it.

But you know who does? ~~ [url="http://nonparael.deviantart.com/gallery/26511630"]Nonparael![/url] ~~ He has a fantastic art style that is a pleasure to look at. There are a lot of great jokes, too, about Pokemon in general. Great mix of serious and comedy and a definite recommendation. Before you read his excellent comic, how about indulging me pathetic ego by reading about my journey?

~~~~~ Sweet Success ~~~~~

After escorting the lovely Cheryl through the forest, I found myself on the northern end of Route 205. I checked my Pokétch* for known Pokemon in the area and noticed that, well, there weren't really any worthwhile Pokemon to catch. But what is that in the distance? Yes! A Honey Tree! I slather some honey on the tree and head into town as I have to wait for it to attract a Pokemon. Does not look like there is a lot to do in Eterna City. I try to enter some weird looking building, but there are shrubberies blocking my path. Guy in the bike shop is gone so no [s]free [/s]new bike. And I need a bike to head south onto Route 206. Guess I'll just try and catch some new Pokemon. Still don't know if I want to replace anyone on my team since they are all so awesome, but it's good to have options. Looking at what is available on the western side of Route 211, I see everything is new except for one Pokemon. 4 out of 5 chance to catch something cool and new? Heck yeah! Oh wait, I forgot. This is me playing so I find a BIDOOF! Fuck off! I'm not even going to catch you. I then proceed to never see another Bidoof as I encounter Machop, Meditite and Bronzor mainly. GAH! I head into the upper level of Mt. Coronet and submit myself to probably finding another Geodude. But wait! I find a Chingling! Yaaaaaay! Wait...you're not that great of a Pokemon. Eh, everything has potential so I'm glad I found you. Caught Cathedral the Lonely Chingling! What is with me and catching Lonely Pokemon?!

I do a little training on Route 211 to get ready for the Gym. Pretty good training spot for my physical attackers. Feel ready pretty quickly and enter the Gym. Alright, time to play hide and....seek? Where is the mini forest? Oh right, they got rid of that in Platinum for a flower clock. Right, because that is more fun. After quickly blazing through the underlings, I find the Gym Leader, Gardenia!

Gardenia: You kept me waiting!
AZ: There isn't a specific time I have to fight you you know.
Gardenia: I'm Eterna's Gym Leader, Gardenia, the Grass-type master!
AZ: Which is why you use a clock and water fountains as a trap. Makes perfect sense.
Gardenia: When I first saw you, I was convinced you'd find your way to me.
AZ: Umm... It wasn't that hard. Your little puzzle is pretty much... linear.
Gardenia: My hunch was right on the money. You have a winning aura about you. So, anyway, this will be fun. Let's have our battle.
AZ: Yeah, sure. Can't say I'm all that impressed with you.

She sends out...Turtwig!? What are you, a failed trainer that Rowan sent out? I say failed because you are both the second Gym Leader and a Grass trainer. Sorry, but Grass just isn't the strongest type when you are this low on the Gym food chain. I send out Treble, my Kricketune! Start off with Sing and it actually hits! Not like I was worried if I did miss since I'm pretty sure Turtwig only knows Grass attacks. I never find that out though as Treble starts using Fury Cutter, doing more damage every turn. It takes three hits to take down Turtwig, but that just means the next hit will be a base 80 power STAB, super effective hit. She sends out Cherrim next but one Fury Cutter swiftly takes care of it. Out comes her last Pokemon, Roserade!

Gardenia: It's not the end yet.
AZ: I would beg to differ.

To my surprise, her Roserade actually outspeeds Treble. What horryfying and devestating move will she unleash? Stun Spore. Nice try. Even though he is paralyzed, Treble hits through it and sends Roserade for a loop with a 160 BP Bug move. Can you say "tossed salad"?

Gardenia: I might've said it before, but you're really tough!
AZ: Thanks.
Gardenia: Wasn't it hard for you to raise your Pokémon to be so good?
AZ: You have no idea how hard it is to train these guys with what I'm doing.
Gardenia: I guess that's a measure of how much you love your Pokémon. In recognition of that, I proudly grant you this!
~~ Obtained Forest Badge and TM 86, Grass Knot! ~~
Gardenia: Yup! If there's one thing I can tell about you, it's this! You and your Pokémon are gonna get even tougher, and I mean seriously!
AZ: I already knew that, but thanks for the vote of confidence. By the way, you might want to try evolving your Turtwig. Just saying.

And with that I get my second badge with pretty much no difficulty. I have to say, I was really worried about Treble being useful, but now that he has Sing he can usually safely charge up Fury Cutter. It's taken me a bit between catching new Pokemon, training and defeating Gardenia, so I decide to check on that tree I baited. Probably going to be something not that useful. I'd love a Munchlax, but I know I'll never find one. Now let's see...Combee. Eh, that's not that-....it's female!?!? Jackpot! I'm probably not going to use her so long as Treble is around, but at least it's a damn good Pokemon. Welcome to the team, Victoria the Docile Combee!

~~~~~ Bloody Murder ~~~~~

I heard that the bike shop owner is off trying to stop Team Galactic and I figure I might as well give him a hand. Now that Buck knows Cut, I can get past those pesky shrubberies. I find the creepy Looker inside actually doing a good job at being undercover. Sweet! Wait, you're not going to help me and instead just stand by the door? Then buzz off! Making my way up through the building I find the bike guy confronting some weird chick with purple hair. Turns out she's another Galactic Commander. She sends out Zubat and I send out Slag, who is now a Graveller. This is going to be easy as-...WHAT?! GIGA DRAIN?! Why the hell does a Zubat know that?! Bah, Slag takes it like a beast and retaliates with Rock Blast for the easy KO. Her second and last Pokemon is Skuntank which goes down to a level 9 Magnitude. After that everyone in the building is suddenly gone and I wonder if I can buy this place. Sure it looks really weird, but I can probably get is cheap. I head back to the bike shop and I finally get my free bike! Whee!

I start coasting down Route 206 to train against the cyclists. I send out Athena, who actually evolved during the Gardenia battle because she had an Exp. Share. It's another Ponyta and I am set to avenge the death of Capone from that last Ponyta. I take a bit of damage before putting it to sleep with Hypnosis and then setting up a Light Screen in case it wakes up early. None of that mattered though because on the turn that Athena was going to deliver the finishing blow, not only did the Ponyta wake up, but it hit me with a Critical Stomp. Athena went crashing down into the pavement and never got back up. She had been so clever when I found her, and now another Ponyta had taken a friend from me. As hard as the loss was, at least I still had Amelia who was an equally strong Flying type. First up for Amelia was a Staravia, which is a breeze. It's barely doing anything and doing less as I get up Stockpiles. Then...Critical Wing Attack, which ignores my three Stockpiles. *sob* Why can't I keep alive Flying types?!

I manage to beat the rest of the cyclists with ease, but now my team is severely short players. I have my three veterans: Bonzai, Treble and Slag, along with the sturdy Orca. Some chick named Cynthia gave me an egg and normally I question that, but she seemed really cool. Said she was researching the ancient myths of Sinnoh and I'm down with the History buffs. It my hatch into something useful. In the meantime I head below the bridge and into the grass on Route 206 hoping the nab something useful. And I do but...it is filled with hatred! Blood lust! Pure evil! For it is....PONYTA! I am hesitant to catch it because of its black past with me, but it is a decent Fire type and they are rare enough as it is in Sinnoh. Reluctantly, welcome to the team, Sorrel the Calm Ponyta!

In truth, my true goal was not on the grassy patches below but in the caves hidden at the end. I know there is a mysterious cave tucked away out of site, but I manage to find it. Slowly stepping through I pray to find something useful or just new. Instead, I get a Geodude. Sigh... I guess I'll catch you just for the hell of it. Welcome to your permanent vacation in the PC, San Andrea the Naughty Geodude. And I swear if you cause an earthquake while I'm gone. Oh well, it's not like I was going to find anything that good like.... a..... Gible.... oh just have Mewtwo blow up my head with Psychic already. And to add to the misery there are a bunch of bicycle ramps for me to tackle. While gathering all the scattered items in the cave, Bonzai is getting good training against Geodude and Onix, plus the occasional Gible. One Geodude actually manages to survive a Razor Leaf but wastes it move using Rock Polish. Hate to break it to you, but nothing you can do will OHSHITSELFDESTRUCTFUCKYOOOOOOOOU! Oh god, oh god, oh god, not Bonzai anyone but- FUCK YEAH! Bonzai beasting it with 3 HP left. I really want to leave the cave after that, but I'm really close to the end. Whatever is at the end is probably crappy and useful, like an X battle item or a Revive. Or it could be a flipping awesome Earthquake TM! Booyah!

I head into another cave with the intention of maybe training and manage to come across a Bronzor. Alright, I can work with that. No spot on the team for you right now but welcome, Rorrim the Naughty Bronzor (his name is Mirror backward because his Pokedex entry mentioned it being used as a mirror). I decide against training there when I see two trainers guarding a path aka double battles. Maybe later. I decide to head back to Oreburgh City for a visit because I had payed a visit to the underground and dug up a fossil. While I burn some time looking around the mining museum, some weird Nazi scientist revives me fossil. Welcome to the 21st century, Rook the Jolly Shieldon! As I head out of the museum, my egg starts to hatch! Wow, that was faster than expected. Welcome to the world, Apollo the Timid Togepi. Sweet! Togepi will eventually be a Togekiss. But...but Flying type Pokemon (eventually) and I don't have a stellar track record with them. Well, what do you know? Growl and Charm... fuck. I call up my buddy Ame again looking for advice. He tells me that Togekiss is worth the risk, especially since I can evolve it into one. I hope he's right and strap the Exp. Share onto it's head. Right, you better take notes from my other Pokemon if you want to survive, Apollo.

~~~~~~~~~~

And now I am standing at the food of Mt. Coronet, again. Will I find something new in these lower levels? What awaits me on the other side? Should I change up my team at all? Will another Bidoof piss me off? Hell if I know. Going to try and keep these shorter next time. I promise that every time and try to skip stuff, but then I feel like I need to update what happened since last time. And a lot happened, with me losing two Pokemon and finding some interesting new Pokemon. Hopefully I can do these more frequently or I'll stop losing Flying Pokemon. Remember to read those two Nuzlocke comics I posted! They blow the water out of mine and maybe even Ames! (pssst! Pester Ame into drawing his Nuzlocke! >_>)

*I actually happen to have a Strategy Guide / Walkthrough / Pokedex from when I bought Platinum. It feels nice to have a physical book to look stuff up.

Key: Green = Current Team; Red = Dead Teammate
[scroll]Starter -[color="#008000"] Bonzai the Sassy Grovyle: Level 24[/color]
Twinleaf Town - N/A
Lake Verity - N/A
Route 201 - [color="#008000"]Treble the Lonely Kricketune: Level 22[/color]
Sandgem Town - N/A
Route 202 -[color="#FF0000"][s]Chompy the Hardy Bidoof (lvl 3 - 9)[/s][/color]
Jubilife City - N/A
Route 203 - Buck the Naive Bidoof (lvl 4)
Route 204 - [color="#FF0000"][s]Capone the Bashful Starly: Levels 6 - 15[/s][/color]
Oreburgh Gate - [color="#008000"]Slag the Calm Graveler: Level 25[/color]
Oreburgh City - Rook the Jolly Shieldon: Level 20
Oreburgh Mine – [s]Geodude[/s]
Route 207 –[s] Geodude[/s]
Ravaged Path – N/A
Floaroma Town – N/A
Floaroma Meadow – [s]Wurmple[/s]
Valley Windworks – [color="#FF0000"][s]Amelia the Impish Drifloon (lvl 15 - 22)[/s][/color]
Southern Route 205 – [color="#008000"]Orca the Lonely Shellos: Level 18[/color]
Eterna Forest – [color="#FF0000"][s]Athena the Lax Noctowl (lvl 12 - 20)[/s][/color]
Old Chateau - N/A
Northern Route 205 – Victoria the Docile Combee: Level 14
Eternia City - [color="#008000"]Apollo the Timid Togepi: Level 17[/color]
Route 211 - [s]Bidoof[/s]
Upper Mt. Coronet - Cathedral the Lonely Chingling: Level 13
Route 206 - [color="#008000"]Sorrel the Calm Ponyta: Level 21[/color]
Wayward Cave - Rorrim the Naughty Bronzor: Level 18
Hidden Wayward Cave - San Andrea the Naughty Geodude: Level 20
Lower Mt. Coronet - N/A
Route 208 - N/A
Hearthome City - N/A
Route 209 - N/A
The Lost Tower - N/A
[/scroll]