A New Nuzlocke! The DexNumber-Locke

The Socially Unbalanced Nuzlocke

(aka the DexNumber-Locke)

Whoo hoo, aren’t I a genius? This set of rules came to me in a dream. And then God told me that it would become the best and most popular set of Nuzlocke rules in history….

Now that you have heard the holy creation story of this locke, here are the rules:

Note: I have no idea if this is already an established nuzlocke, but if it is well…...damn.

Standard Rules:

• If a Pokemon faints, it is dead and must be permanently boxed or released.
• Every Pokemon must be nicknamed.
• You must catch CERTAIN pokemon on each route (dependent on the following rules). The player cannot progress until that/those pokemon is/are caught.

Variation Rules:

• After choosing your starter, you may only catch the next following 5 pokemon (excluding other starters) that are exclusive to that region’s pokedex (dependent on Dex-Number).
• This is where duplicates clause comes into effect. If your starter is (for example) a fire type, and one of the following 5 pokemon in the pokedex shares that fire type, you can choose to skip the pokemon, and move to the next sequential mon with a compatible type. SKIPPED POKEMON CANNOT BE CAUGHT LATER ON.

For example: In X & Y, if you choose Fennekin as your starter, you must catch a Bunnelby (and use it in your party), but you may choose to not catch a Fletching (due to the common Fire typing). However, Fletchling, and its evolutions, cannot be caught later in the game.

• You may not catch anymore pokemon once your party is full.
• Because of the previous rule, sacrificing pokemon in battle is allowed. After all, once a pokemon is dead, it opens up room for more (better) pokemon to be caught.
• If a pokemon dies, the dupes clause for that pokemon’s typing is gone. Not only can you not catch that same pokemon again, but you must keep the next pokemon that does not replicate a CURRENT type in your party.

For example: Let’s say your party consists of Chespin, Bunnelby, Fletchling, Vivilon, Flabebe, and Pancham (assuming you skipped Litleo and Skiddo due to dupes clause). If Bunnelby dies, you HAVE to catch Furfrou.  

• The last rule is about legendary pokemon. You may catch legendary pokemon regardless of when you encounter them, but you have to box them until you have worked your way to their number in the pokedex in order to use them. Still, the use of legendaries at all is frowned upon.

In Summary:

The purpose of the locke is to limit the pokemon that the player can use/catch. Not only are you limited to the pokemon exclusive to that region, but you are limited by number.

Although the game may be easy early on, it becomes more difficult when you have to stop and get a Sylveon before moving forward.

If you have any questions about the locke, or want to suggest alternate rules, leave a comment below.