[Challenge] "Anime"locke

[MilesKoch]

Hi everyone, first post on here, happy to be here:)

I have been playing pokemon on and off for as long as I can remember and for the last year or so it has been a regular thing. However, it has become clear that I don't find the games as challenging as I did when I was 6, so I have been looking for an extra challenge. Nuzlockes never seemed too appealing to me (releasing /boxing pokemon felt a bit harsh) and I still want the games to be pretty easy, so I have been experimenting and this is what I've landed on so far: The "Anime"locke.

The goal is to emulate the anime to some extend, especially the ways the characters in the show have a harder time than us.

The rules I have found to be fun is as follows:

Partner: Choose a partner pokemon like Ash's Pikachu. It has to be somewhat weak, I prefer below 350 base stat total. You are not allowed to evolve this pokemon and it has to be a prominent part of your team. Use it in as many plot-related battles as possible, at least above 50% of gym leader/elite4/evil team battles etc (This does not have to be your starter, but it has to be obtainable pretty early on)​

Pokeballs only: You are not allowed to use any other poke ball than the standard red&white. A possible exception could be Kurt's poke balls as Ash used an apricorn ball to catch totodile.​

No legendaries: Pretty self-explanatory. A twist on this could be mystery gift pokemon a la Meloetta. You get it fairly early on, but you have to box it before the league or something. Haven't done this my self, but it could be fun.​

No items in battle: Also pretty self-explanatory. Held items are still okay though.​

Evolution is special: You are only allowed to evolve pokemon during plot-related battles if they evolve by level-up. If your pokemon evolves through the use of items, you have to find the item or be handed the item. No buying them.​

Gym rules: You have to use at most the same amount of pokemon that gym leaders use, bench the rest of your team for the time being. The same should go for elite 4 members, but that can be tricky before the introduction of portable PC's.​

Be a kind trainer: This is a bit vague, and it is up to interpretation. I typically say that things such as sacrifice switches and catching pokemon you don't intend on using on your team is out. That also means that you can't catch pokemon solely for in-game trades.​

Gifts from friends: Gift pokemon are optional, but plot-related gift pokemon/eggs are mandatory. This is hardly a challenging rule, so of all the rules, this is the most skippable.​

Now the most recent of my rules, and I think it is one of my favourite:.

All new adventure, All new friends: Once you reach the post game, leave all of your team (except your partner) at home, and start over. Any post-game story has to be completed with a new team, with the possible exception of league rematches.​

This last rule has a caveat, to make it more enjoyable.

Come prepared: User-generated eggs and any other way of "designing" pokemon are allowed. You are also allowed to break other rules to design your pokemon.​

While this is not very anime-like, it does make the post-game part a whole lot more enjoyable. Grinding can be a pain, so if your pokemon have desirable abilities and natures, it just makes everything run more smoothly. It also makes it easier to beat battle frontier-esque parts of the post-game with a "play-through" team. You can always up the challenge by not grinding your new team too much, not EV-training them or IV-breed them etc. Also remember that Evolution is special is still in effect. Let me tell you, it is not easy to beat a level 70 Salamance with a level 50-55 team consisting mostly of grass and fire pokemon.

The amount of post-game varies a lot from game to game, so I tend to also leave any sidequests for this part of my playthrough.

My most recent example was a play-through of White 2 (Alongside HeartGold, probably my favourite pokemon game).

My first team was:

Eevee - Partner Eevee has always been my favourite pokemon and this entire challenge is probably just an excuse to not evolve Eevee. It is Jolly with adaptability as well, so that helps a lot.​

Samurott - For some reason I think Serperior fits Hugh.​

Lucario - I have never used one cause I had no idea how to evolve the one you get in Sinnoh when I played those games.​

Braviary - I coincidentally got to route 4 on a monday, so it seemed very anime-like to catch the interactable pokemon. Also this allows me to bypass Evolution is special.​

Zoroark - Gifts from friends You get N's Zorua from the old team plasma.​

Weavile - It's cool and helps a lot with Iris.​

My second team is a sun team, All new adventure, All new friends was implemented because I really wanted a sun team:

Jolly Eevee - Partner​

Timid Ninetales - My sister had a Vulpix with Drought so I got an egg from her.​

Timid Espeon (the Sun Pokemon) - With its hidden ability, the one you get in Castelia City.​

Jolly Sawsbuck - Love my normal types and Chlorophyll is so nice.​

Timid Liligant - Chlorophyll is still nice.​

Modest Volcarona (also the Sun Pokemon) - It was pretty hard to catch the level 65 Volcarona with standard pokeballs, so bred the one I caught in relic castle to get one with a Modest nature.​

I hope you enjoyed and got a few good ideas for your next play-through and I would love to hear if you have any improvements to this "challenge" :)