What is the Pokémon Nuzlocke Challenge in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?

What is the Pokémon Nuzlocke Challenge in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet? Trainers are always looking to make encounters more interesting and their runs more difficult. Thanks to Paldea being an open-world map, it makes running a challenge like this a bit more difficult.

If you plan on undertaking a challenge in this Pokémon game, you should know how to set up a picnic in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. You should also know how to buy vitamins in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet to give your Pokémon some buffs.

Your next run through this Pokemon game should be significantly more difficult if you take on the Nuzlocke challenge. Of course, you are probably wondering, what is the Pokémon Nuzlocke challenge in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?

How to the Pokémon Nuzlocke Challenge in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

The traditional Nuzlocke rules, although rather straightforward, add a sense of luck and skill to the game that normal runs don’t have at all. Although players tend to add their own rules to make the process easier or harder to their liking, every traditional Nuzlocke challenge has a couple of rules in common.

Rule #1: We Can Only Catch the First Pokémon in Every Area

The first and most important thing is that players are only allowed to catch the first Pokemon they come across in every new area. So, say you leave Pallet Town in Pokemon Fire Red after getting your starter. You’ll only be able to catch the very first Pokemon that randomly appears as you step into the tall grass in route 1.

After that, every Pokemon in Route 1 will be blocked off for you, and you won’t be allowed to catch another Pokemon until you reach Route 2, where the same process will repeat.

Unfortunately, this sense of randomness is completely non-existent in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, because we’re able to see wild Pokemon in the overworld, and then simply choose what Pokemon we want to catch.

To get around these restrictions, players have come up with some rather creative ideas, such as:

• Catching the first 6 Pokemon you come across, and then using a die to decide which you keep.
• Closing your eyes or keeping yourself blindfolded until you initiate a battle with a wild Pokemon. This type of random encounter makes things more interesting.
• Only catching the first Pokemon they see in any new area they go to.

To make this even more difficult, the first Pokémon that you come across, should it faint or flee, is lost to you. This means that you miss out on your chance to catch a new Pokémon in this area and must wait until you reach the next new location in your playthrough to catch a Pokémon.

Rule #2: If a Pokémon Faints It’s Permanently Boxed

This rule is what makes a Nuzlocke run so difficult. If a Pokemon from your party faints, regardless of whether it’s against a wild Pokemon, a trainer, a Gym Leader, or because of a status effect like poisoning, that Pokemon is unusable for the entirety of the run and has to be stored in the PC. Consider this Pokémon a ghost.

To make this loss hurt, even more, it’s important to set a nickname for every Pokemon you catch. This way, you’ll have a personal connection with every Pokemon you lose in your run. We understand if you want to make adjustments to this rule.

Rule #3: No Healing Items

The final unconditional rule is that players aren’t allowed to use healing items when in a battle, as it makes it borderline impossible for any Pokemon to faint by normal means this way. This means that potions and status healing items are all off the table. Whether or not you want to include held items that heal such as oran berries, however, is up to you.

That is how you can do a Nuzlocke run in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Unfortunately, another rule that’s usually applied in traditional 2D Nuzlocke runs is that players aren’t allowed to level up past a certain level, but because of the experience-sharing mechanic of these games, we had to sack it.

Of course, the best thing about Nuzlockes is that it’s adaptable according to the player, so if you feel like you want to include some extra rules, such as if you come across a shiny then you’re allowed to catch it, then by all means go for it! Experiment as much as you can.

Now that you know how to do this challenge run, you might also want to know the best ways to get Gimmighoul Coins in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. You might also want to know how to get Herba Mystica in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet if this is your first run.

Is a Nuzlock challenge possible in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?

Yes! With some slight modifications, you can do a Nuzlocke challenge in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

What rules are traditionally in a Nuzlocke challenge?

Traditional Nulocke challenges typically have three rules – Permanently losing a fainted Pokémon, only catching the first Pokémon in each area, and nicknaming all your Pokémon.