Board 8 > Nuzlocke Swap Challenge

(+) Yeah! (+)

Does board 8 still like nuzlocke topics? I feel like we haven't had one in awhile. I came up with this idea randomly, but I'm sure someone somewhere has done it before.

Basically I'm going to do a nuzlocke of Heart Gold and Platinum at the same time. The catch? Every Pokemon caught is traded to the other game immediately, including my starter. So basically I will be playing through Heart Gold with all Pokemon from Platinum and vice versa. This also adds an additional challenge of having to account for obedience when leveling my team. Other rules will be pretty standard.

This will serve as a playthrough topic and also a place to call dibs on naming rights.

Sure, I'd follow a Nuzlocke topic!

I love Nuzlockes!

tag

Tag

Sounds fun

Initial setup is complete, now I can start playing. Current teams

Heart Gold:
Skull the Adamant Chimchar - Lv. 6
Zen the Rash Bidoof - Lv. 2

Platinum:
Raka the Jolly Cyndaquil - Lv. 6
Aga the Impish Hoothoot - Lv. 3

Decided to go with the same type so I'd still be weak to my rival's starter and also because I wanted Typhlosion and Infernape anyway!

If any of you didn't want a Pokemon named after you sorry, but you got one!

Also in HG I named my rival Draven but I left Barry as Barry

Woo!

Seems like a cool concept!

ha, chimchar is my least favourite of the ones you started with. i cannot wait to get attached anyway!

I wanna be a Shinx

I wanna be a cute Pokmon that will be the strong guy :)

I am so proud to be Bidoof omg, and a Rash one too

<3

Good to see all the interest, and I knew you'd appreciate being a Bidoof, Zen.

So right away I realized Platinum early game is going to be a big roadblock, as my Pokemon won't listen to me past level 10 until I get the second badge. The first leader is Roark, and I'm currently sporting a team of Cyndaquil and Hoothoot, and after that I need to take on Gardenia and her level 22 Roserade with a bunch of level 10s, or take my chances with higher level Pokemon.

I decided to start by moving through Heart Gold while I thought of a strategy and hopefully get some Pokemon to help with Roark. My journey begins on Route 30, where I encounter... another Hoothoot. I named this one Xeno, but hopefully it won't be seeing much action. I proceed to Route 31, where I encounter... yet another Hoothoot. I shouldn't have done this at night >_> but Hoothoot is only a 10% encounter on this route, so that was some rotten luck. I was hoping for Bellsprout. Next I head into the Dark Cave and catch a Geodude... or Geodudette rather. I named her Lea.

I make it to Violet City, and I need to do the Sprout Tower before facing Faulkner. Skull could steamroll it obviously, but he's already level 8 and dangerously close to ignoring my commands, so I need to get a few Pokemon from Platinum to make sure I don't overlevel. But first, I decide to pop into the tower for a Gastly, as it has good resistances for Gardenia. It's an 85% encounter at night, so I should be *cue wild Rattata*. Well that sucks, but I caught it and named it Kirby. My next stop was Route 32, where I hoped to catch a Wooper (35%) or Bellsprout (20%), or even a Mareep (10%). Nope, got another flipping Rattata. Didn't even bother catching this one >_>

Back in Platinum, I started by backtracking to Lake Verity and catching a Starly, which I named tcaz. I proceeded to Route 202 and caught a Shinx, which I of course named Poka. So far, Platinum is having better luck getting what I want, which is actually bad luck because they are going to the other game!

Team update

Heart Gold:
Skull the Adamant Chimchar - Lv. 8
Zen the Rash Bidoof - Lv. 3
Poka the Quirky Shinx - Lv. 3
tcaz the Hasty Starly - Lv. 2

Platinum:
Raka the Jolly Cyndaquil - Lv. 6
Aga the Impish Hoothoot - Lv. 3
Lea the Rash Geodude - Lv. 2
Kirby the Brave Rattata - Lv. 5

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/5/5078befe.jpg

:weary:

Bad luck on encounters.

Tag

It completely slipped my mind that traded Pokemon get boosted EXP

Alright, name something after me.

I guess people use the species clause for a reason.

Aww yeah hoothoot!

Invoking my Youngster Joey energy to help your chances of finding good Pokmon.

May Kirby the Brave Rattata Super Fang his way to glory

as someone who likes the species clause rule im now in fear of hoothoot

this sounds hard

Oh jeez. But signing up to be a potentially benched Pokemon~

Whats the character limit on nicknames? Will NoPlayMetroid work or should you do CtesTears?

Yeah I probably should have used a species clause!

Currently contemplating if trading the egg before it hatches would be cheating. Technically no rule against it, but managing obedience is part of the challenge so idk

wallmasterz posted...

Whats the character limit on nicknames? Will NoPlayMetroid work or should you do CtesTears?

5 cause my games are Japanese haha

I finished off the Sprout Tower with little difficulty and took on the first gym. These were my levels going in:

tcaz Lv. 10
Skull Lv. 9
Poka Lv. 8
Zen Lv. 6

I start of the Falkner fight with Poka to land intimidate on his Pidgey, then switch into Skull to get rid of the Sand Attack and take it down with ease. Next is his Level 13 Pidgeotto, the real threat. I switch into Poka for intimidate... not considering the fact that Gust is Special. To make matters worse, he hits a critical gust which knocks off about half Poka's health, yikes. I get a Leer off and then switch into Skull to get as much damage on him as I can before switching into tcaz. He Roosts back to full health and we're back at square one. We trade a few Wing Attacks and Roosts until we end up at Pidgeotto with yellow health and tcaz at 4 HP. I didn't have any good switch options and I wasn't confident in Quick Attack finishing the gob, but after contemplating long and hard I took the plunge and knocked it out. First badge down with no casualties!

Beating Falkner raises my level cap for obedience to 20, which gives me some leeway, and also unlocks a few things I can do to help my Platinum run. First, I head to Route 32 to collect the old rod and hopefully find a not Magikarp water type to use against Roark. I start by heading to Cherrygrove City and I fish up... a Magikarp. Oh well, itll be useful eventually! I named it Anagram. Next I head to the Ruins of Alph looking for a Poliwag, but find... another Magikarp, which I named backup Anagram. This is where that species clause would really come in handy, but we push onward. I head to Union Cave and take a shot at a Goldeen. Yet another Magikarp... these are 85% encounters so I cant be too mad, but this kind of luck would have been nice a while ago! This one is named Ana. At least I can lose a few Magikarps and still be okay!

I also collect the egg, which I finally decided to trade over after it hatched. I named it Ermy because it's cute and I have big plans for it.

Moving over to Platinum, I make my way towards Jubilife City, do all the required stuff, and catch some Pokemon; a Magikarp on Route 118 (Maniac), another Bidoof on Route 203, and another Bidoof on Route 204. I think I didn't even catch one of them though. Barry attacks me and I take care of him pretty easily. Lea has been the MVP so far by being bulky and tanking a lot of hits. I finally get something new in Oreburgh Gate, catching a Zubat and naming it Wickle. I also pick up the Rock Smash HM, which should be somewhat useful against Roark.

Team update

Heart Gold:
Skull the Adamant Chimchar - Lv. 12
Zen the Rash Bidoof - Lv. 10
Poka the Quirky Shinx - Lv. 11
tcaz the Hasty Starly - Lv. 13
Maniac the Careful Magikarp - Lv. 6
Wickle the Sassy Zubat - Lv. 6

Platinum:
Raka the Jolly Cyndaquil - Lv. 8
Aga the Impish Hoothoot - Lv. 3
Lea the Rash Geodude - Lv. 8
Kirby the Brave Rattata - Lv. 7
Ermy the Quirk Togepi - Lv. 5
Ana the Serious Magikarp - Lv. 10

Thank Arceus i am still alive

I can't let you die before becoming the ultimate HM slave

Maniac the Careful Gyrados will be a hilarious combination of words.

I don't see Roark going well.

Maybe I'll become a cute Togetic...

There's always hope!

But I have a feeling I'll become a giant airplane instead, if I survive LOL

mnk posted...

I don't see Roark going well.

I find your lack of faith disturbing!

Before taking on Roark, I head up to Route 207 for my encounter, which turns out to be a Ponyta. Didnt really need another Fire type so I was hoping for a Machop (which was my second encounter), but itll work. I name it wallz. Then I head into the mines to find Roark and catch a Geodude for Heart Gold, which I named chey. I head back to the gym and take on one of the trainers for a bit of EXP, getting Lea to a nice even Level 10.

Now its time for the Roark battle. I start with Lea and use Defense Curl six times and a few Rock Polishes, then I go to work with Rock Smash. Lea was able to comfortably solo Roark, but unfortunately leveled up too much during the battle and started ignoring my commands. Luckily, Cranidos was the only thing even remotely threatening, and it only did 4 damage with Pursuit, so I was able to power throw with a defiant Lea and obtain the Coal Badge. Lea will probably not be seeing much action for awhile, but luckily she wouldnt have helped much against Gardenia anyway.

With the first badge in hand, its time to head back to Heart Gold for awhile.

Team update

Platinum:
Raka the Jolly Cyndaquil - Lv. 9
Aga the Impish Hoothoot - Lv. 5
Lea the Rash Geodude - Lv. 14
Kirby the Brave Rattata - Lv. 8
Ermy the Quirky Togepi - Lv. 5
Ana the Serious Magikarp - Lv. 10

Zigzagoon posted...

But I have a feeling I'll become a giant airplane instead, if I survive LOL

you said you wanted to be the strong guy!

I'll admit I forgot about Rock Smash potential.

MZero posted...

Didnt really need another Fire type

Well if this wasn't some foreshadowing...

I make it through Union Cave and to Route 33, where I encounter... another Rattata. Then I head for the Slowpoke Well, where I find a Zubat, but Zen kills it with a critical. Ah well. I take care of Team Rocket and head for the gym. With tcaz evolved to Staravia and Skull evolved to Monferno, this should be a walk in the park. I battle the trainers for some EXP and evolve Zen to Bibarel and Poka to Luxio, knowing I have a Rival fight coming up and I need something to deal with his Croconaw.

Bugsy's Scyther is no joke, nearly killing Poka with a U-Turn. I send in Skull to clean up the Metapod, and Scyther comes back out. We trade Embers, which do surprisingly little damage (I guess I should have known because he's Adamant), and Quick Attacks for a few turns until one of them crits. We've lost our first soldier...

tcaz comes in and finishes the job with a couple Wing Attacks, earning me the Hive Badge in a truly Pyrrhic victory. Poka makes quick work of the Rival fight and it's off to the Ilex Forrest.

Team update

Heart Gold:
Zen the Rash Bibarel - Lv. 15
Poka the Quirky Luxio - Lv. 16
tcaz the Hasty Staravia - Lv. 19
Maniac the Careful Magikarp - Lv. 6
Wickle the Sassy Zubat - Lv. 6

The Fallen:
Skull the Adamant Monferno - Slain by Bugsy's Scyther

MZero posted...

you said you wanted to be the strong guy!

If possible at least let me be a Togetic for a few levels <3

Zigzagoon posted...

If possible at least let me be a Togetic for a few levels <3

Oh don't worry, I plan on having you as Togetic for quite awhile!

MZero posted...

Oh don't worry, I plan on having you as Togetic for quite awhile!

This feels like more foreshadowing.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/4/4b19b37a.png

Oof, Sinnoh's base obedience level is 10 and you don't get a boost until Gardenia. Platinum's going to get really annoying for a while now.

I really am living up to my username.

Oh I didn't post yet

Before heading into Ilex Forest, I level up Zen to 18 so he can learn Headbutt, then I got back and check a few trees in areas I haven't had an encounter yet. Route 46 and Azalea Town both yield an Aipom, and I went all the way back to New Bark Town just to find yet another Hoothoot. I'm counting Togepi as the Violet City encounter, so that's all for now. I named both Aipoms mnk, cause those letters all appear in the word monkey. One of them has Pickup, which might come in handy.

I decided to wait until night time to go into the Forest, as that gives me a 75% of either Oddish or Paras, both of which would be- gosh darn it it's another Zubat. I accidentally killed that last one, so the species clause wouldn't even have saved me here. I catch it and name it Tickle, Wickle's evil twin. I chase some Farfetch'd around, get Cut, and move on to Route 34.

This route has Drowzee at 50%, Abra at 10%, and Ditto at 5%, so of course I get the 35% chance of ANOTHER FREAKING RATTATA I HATE THIS POKEMON

Before doing story stuff in Goldenrod, I pop up to Route 35. No Rattatas or Zubats here, and only a 5% chance of running into Hoothoot, surely my luck isn't that bad! 90% chance of getting either an Abra, Drowzee, or one of the Nidorans. Suffice to say I did not, I got Ditto, which is a 4% encounter. Would Ditto even be useful? I'll never know because it broke out of all my balls and I had to kill it. I don't even know how luck can be this bad.

Now that I have caught exactly nothing to make Platinum easier, I head back to Sinnoh to try and make some progress. Outside the Power Plant I find a wild Buizel, which is level 10 and stronger than most of my team. This is where I made a grave mistake. Buizel doesn't learn Water Gun until around level 14 or 15 in the recent games, but in Gen 4 it's around level 6. I send it Lea to do some damage and get one-shot by Water Gun. Well, that's not good. I end up catching the killer and naming it Flubb the Lea Slayer.

The grunt guarding the door nearly kills my entire team, but I escape without any casualties. I head to the meadow where one of the Grunts has a Stunky that is Bad News. Tickle falls in battle, but at least it wasn't the real Wickle. The other Grunt has two Zubats which are powerless against Aga. I get the key and some honey, but I really don't know how I'm going to beat Mars. I might need to abandon my low level strategy and take the risk with high level Pokemon ignoring me. Platinum is definitely much harder so far, but I think it will be mostly smooth sailing if I can get past Gardenia.

Team update

Heart Gold:
Zen the Rash Bibarel - Lv. 19
Poka the Quirky Luxio - Lv. 19
tcaz the Hasty Staravia - Lv. 19
Maniac the Careful Magikarp - Lv. 7
wallz the Bold Ponyta - Lv. 5
chey the Quiet Geodude - Lv. 11

On Standby:
Wickle the Sassy Zubat - Lv. 6

Platinum:
Raka the Jolly Cyndaquil - Lv. 11
Aga the Impish Hoothoot - Lv. 9
Kirby the Brave Rattata - Lv. 9
Ermy the Quirky Togepi - Lv. 7
Ana the Serious Magikarp - Lv. 10
mnk the Docile Aipom - Lv. 5

The Fallen:
Skull the Adamant Monferno - Slain by Bugsy's Scyther
Lea the Rash Geodude - Slain by Flubb the Bold Buizel
Tickle the Docile Zubat - Slain by a Grunt's Stunky

That Purugly is a menace, don't think anything you have left stands a chance at level 10, especially after taking on the Zubat. Should be fine if you go over the cap, though. Lea could have done it solo!