Chit-Chat: Challenges Ideas & Discussion

[Duck]

Here are some things that came to mind while seeing these rules:

"Masterball can only be used on a legendary"
- There's only one legendary you can catch before the post-game without an Expansion Pass: Eternatus ... which you're guaranteed to catch anyways. And if memory serves me, is obtained just before the Leon battle, where it can't be used.

So you may as well just ban Master Balls altogether. Or even ban Legendaries too, unless you're cool with people lucking out in a Wonder Trade.

"Wonder Trade ever other Pokemon you catch. For example, When I catch Pokemon A, Pokemon B is wonder traded. Starter does not count for this."
- Wonder Trade is locked behind the Nintendo Online subscription, so if you do post this, there are going to be less people capable of doing this challenge.

"Start over at the last gym when you black out."
- This seems like a logistical nightmare, because - as far as I know - there isn't a convenient way to just change save files on the fly in the Switch. So you'd basically need to do a tedious process of backing up saves (assuming you even can, because it looks like Save Data Backup is locked behind Nintendo Online) for every leg of the journey.

It also feels like a bit of a cop-out to me, at least: if you don't like your catches / wonder trades or lost a Pokémon you wanted to keep, you can always force a black out and try again. And I'd say it's against the broader Nuzlocke spirit (it's a challenge in which you can fail and losing a Pokémon is permanent).

"Shinies can be used but still have to be released when they faint."
- Did you mean the standard Shiny Clause here? ("You may catch and use any Shiny Pokémon you see").

"Pokemon that were Wonder traded must be around the same level. So trading a level 21 it has to be 18,19,20,21,22,or 23 or be retraded."
- Why is there a bias towards lower levels (3 levels below) compared to higher levels (2 levels higher) ?
Also, considering Exp Candies are very easy to get and you'll probably be grinding a lot anyways, because Nuzlocke, why do you need to trade underleveled Pokémon (as opposed to it being an option convenience) ?

Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of Nuzlockes but it seems Nuzlocke variants are popular in the broader Challenge community, so it'd probably get some hits, yeah.

 

[AMP017]

Here are some things that came to mind while seeing these rules:

"Masterball can only be used on a legendary"
- There's only one legendary you can catch before the post-game without an Expansion Pass: Eternatus ... which you're guaranteed to catch anyways. And if memory serves me, is obtained just before the Leon battle, where it can't be used.

So you may as well just ban Master Balls altogether. Or even ban Legendaries too, unless you're cool with people lucking out in a Wonder Trade.

"Wonder Trade ever other Pokemon you catch. For example, When I catch Pokemon A, Pokemon B is wonder traded. Starter does not count for this."
- Wonder Trade is locked behind the Nintendo Online subscription, so if you do post this, there are going to be less people capable of doing this challenge.

"Start over at the last gym when you black out."
- This seems like a logistical nightmare, because - as far as I know - there isn't a convenient way to just change save files on the fly in the Switch. So you'd basically need to do a tedious process of backing up saves (assuming you even can, because it looks like Save Data Backup is locked behind Nintendo Online) for every leg of the journey.

It also feels like a bit of a cop-out to me, at least: if you don't like your catches / wonder trades or lost a Pokémon you wanted to keep, you can always force a black out and try again. And I'd say it's against the broader Nuzlocke spirit (it's a challenge in which you can fail and losing a Pokémon is permanent).

"Shinies can be used but still have to be released when they faint."
- Did you mean the standard Shiny Clause here? ("You may catch and use any Shiny Pokémon you see").

"Pokemon that were Wonder traded must be around the same level. So trading a level 21 it has to be 18,19,20,21,22,or 23 or be retraded."
- Why is there a bias towards lower levels (3 levels below) compared to higher levels (2 levels higher) ?
Also, considering Exp Candies are very easy to get and you'll probably be grinding a lot anyways, because Nuzlocke, why do you need to trade underleveled Pokémon (as opposed to it being an option convenience) ?

Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of Nuzlockes but it seems Nuzlocke variants are popular in the broader Challenge community, so it'd probably get some hits, yeah.

This is my first time even attempting something like this but my point for using the master ball on Eternatus was to waste it. The shiny part wasn't a standard shiny clause, but supposed to be similar. You can transfer it out instead of using it but If it faints its dead. I kinda forgot about how stupid switch save files are so Instead its going to be you black out you can either (at the start of the run oc) choose to restart at your last save, or you start over completely. The wonder trade thing was kinda the focal point of the challenge and realized less people might do it but it is kindof the main part. It's basically a modified wonderlocke that I'm planning on doing. The trading a level 21 part was more a guidlinge and I'm an idiot and didn't relise there was a bias.

 

[Duck]

This is my first time even attempting something like this but my point for using the master ball on Eternatus was to waste it.

Oh, OK, crafting more intricate rulesets and seeing how they all interact can be tough without some playtesting. Although if your point is to waste the Master Ball, why not just ban the Master Ball?

Usually you want your ruleset to be as small and concise as possible*, if only because it's easier for everybody involved to make sure they're not breaking any rules.

* There are some exceptions but it's usually a good rule of thumb.

The shiny part wasn't a standard shiny clause, but supposed to be similar. You can transfer it out instead of using it but If it faints its dead.

Sure, it's just that if you can't use any shiny you see or have the shiny replace that route's capture (like you would with the standard-ish versions of the shiny clauses) then shinies just behave like any other Pokémon. The extra rule doesn't really change anything, now does it?

Or maybe this is a communication problem. The standard shiny clauses (at least none of the common versions as far as I'm aware) don't supersede "If it faints it's dead", they just supersede "You may only catch the first Pokémon in each route". That's why they usually come as addendum to the catching rule, alongside Dupes and First Ball / Static First Encounter clauses when applicable.

(Also, was the lack of Dupes Clause intentional?)

I kinda forgot about how stupid switch save files are so Instead its going to be you black out you can either (at the start of the run oc) choose to restart at your last save, or you start over completely.

"Black out = game over" is a perfectly valid and somewhat common rule, yes. Although I'd personally suggest either making that a hard and fast rule or just not even mentioning the restart.

Traditionally, a wipeout in Nuzlockes mean all the Pokémon in the party are dead and must be permaboxed / released, and you gotta make do with whatever you have laying around in the box. Restarting at your last save is essentially a get out of jail free card - just force a wipe out whenever you want and voilà.

Maybe that escape valve is what you wanted?

 

[AMP017]

Ok so your helping me a lot here
The shiny clause I saw made it so that it was transferred when dead. I was saying that it had to be released, so maybe a standard is what I was looking for all along

The escape valve was not what I wanted but the only saves should probably be forced saves so maybe a restart but I wanted it to be slightly easier because it's gonna be my first nuzlocke.

And yes, the lack of dupes clause was intentional.

 

[AMP017]

How well do you think it would work in pokemon Y? With the rules modified to be more general I think it could work.

 

[Duck]

The core of the challenge seems to be:
- half Wonderlocke + half normal Nuzlocke
- Notepad Clause-ish
- Shiny Clause-ish

Which are all transferrable concepts, yes.

 

[AMP017]

With this info soon I am probably starting a Pokemon Y modified Nuzlocke. I post what happens in a travel journel thread right?

 

[Poke fan number 489]

A modded run were you get a legendary for a starter, but only that legendary (and a hm slave but they don't get to fight)

 

[Duck]

With this info soon I am probably starting a Pokemon Y modified Nuzlocke. I post what happens in a travel journel thread right?

If you want to document it, yes. I think we have a Nuzlocke and/or Wonderlocke threads around here somewhere but I'm not sure how friendly they would be to your modded clauses.

If you want to write whole stories about it, I think you could also post on FF&W but I'm not completely sure. Probably a good idea to check with a mod there because posting if you want to go the prose route.

A modded run were you get a legendary for a starter, but only that legendary (and a hm slave but they don't get to fight)

That seems like a Solo challenge. Which I just realized was last posted almost 9 months ago :o
Still, you could probably revive it (or make a new thread) if you want.

 

[Poke fan number 489]

If you want to document it, yes. I think we have a Nuzlocke and/or Wonderlocke threads around here somewhere but I'm not sure how friendly they would be to your modded clauses.

If you want to write whole stories about it, I think you could also post on FF&W but I'm not completely sure. Probably a good idea to check with a mod there because posting if you want to go the prose route.



That seems like a Solo challenge. Which I just realized was last posted almost 9 months ago :o
Still, you could probably revive it (or make a new thread) if you want.

Thanks I make one

 

[Poke fan number 489]

An Idea I had while taking a shower.
Pokemon Fire Dead, play though a pokemon game only using the least popular ones like simisear(aka the dead mons).
Doesn't have to be fire red, I only did it for the pun.

 

[Eleanor]

An Idea I had while taking a shower.
Pokemon Fire Dead, play though a pokemon game only using the least popular ones like simisear(aka the dead mons).
Doesn't have to be fire red, I only did it for the pun.

This kinda sounds like the Ones that got away challenge! Maybe that is close enough to your idea.
Nevertheless, good job with the pun, I suppose

 

[Poke fan number 489]

This kinda sounds like the Ones that got away challenge! Maybe that is close enough to your idea.
Nevertheless, good job with the pun, I suppose

Thanks, I'll check it out

 

[Duck]

A bit early, but ... with the impending release of P:LA I've been thinking of what to do it in the challenge threads I'm hosting.

Do I consider it not core series, do I consider Hisui it's own region (and if yes, should it be optional for Ultimates?), do I consider it as a Sinnoh stand-in for Ultimate challenges?

What do you guys think and if you're into leaks and already have a better idea of the gameplay, what would you guys do?

 

[GrassN]

Im interested in doing some more challenges, but outside of a few (random, monotype, solo), Im not sure which are fun. I wanted to see which challenges you all would recommend/enjoy!

 

[Eleanor]

Im interested in doing some more challenges, but outside of a few (random, monotype, solo), Im not sure which are fun. I wanted to see which challenges you all would recommend/enjoy!

Hello!
I'd personally suggest the Ones that Got Away challenge or the Lampent Challenge, which are great for using Pokémon you may have overlooked in a normal playthrough or you may have just skipped. Of course, there's also the evergreen Nuzlocke challenge and variations thereof (like the Apocalocke or the Randomlocke), and some other variations on monotypes such as the Time Warp Challenge ♥ Hope that makes for a nice selection to choose from!

 

[Adam's IQ]

I have an idea for a challenge I wanted to share, a Triple Starter run. Basically you complete the game using all three of the starters from the region, and you can't let any of them get more than two levels higher than the others. I tried doing this on my X game, but I still haven't pinned down some of the rules I want to enforce, so do anyone have suggestions? (No, this is NOT supposed to be a nuzlocke.)

 

[Janp]

I have an idea for a challenge I wanted to share, a Triple Starter run. Basically you complete the game using all three of the starters from the region, and you can't let any of them get more than two levels higher than the others. I tried doing this on my X game, but I still haven't pinned down some of the rules I want to enforce, so do anyone have suggestions? (No, this is NOT supposed to be a nuzlocke.)

I don't think there are any special rules needed for such challenge. Maybe specify if other starters can be hacked in for older gens, where trading is hard to acomplish nowadays. I personally like the detail of not letting starters have big level difference. On the other hand, I feel like allowing only starters is limiting the teambuilding, preparations and executions of the run. I feel like no matter what, each player will face the same obstacles and most likely will solve them in a same way, because there simply won't be room for different solutions.

If you would like, I can try and test your challenge in different gens.

 

[Adam's IQ]

I don't think there are any special rules needed for such challenge. Maybe specify if other starters can be hacked in for older gens, where trading is hard to accomplish nowadays. I personally like the detail of not letting starters have big level difference. On the other hand, I feel like allowing only starters is limiting the teambuilding, preparations and executions of the run. I feel like no matter what, each player will face the same obstacles and most likely will solve them in a same way, because there simply won't be room for different solutions.

If you would like, I can try and test your challenge in different gens.

Thank you for your interest. I did want to mention you don't have to use only the three starters, although if you want to you can to challenge yourself. While I was off I did drafts some rules I wanted to use and modifiers to make it more challenging. Here's what I have so far:

Rule 1: No starter may exceed another by more than one level. Breaking this means you must immediately sell all your Pokeballs sparing up to five normal ones and the Master ball, if applicable, and can not buy more or catch another Pokemon until this is fixed.

Rule 2: All starters must stay in the party at all times. Breaking this means you must immediately sell all TMs (and TRs for Gen 8) you have.

Rule 3: Other party Pokemon, even if used for battling, are allowed.

Rule 4: In games with HMs you must have the same amount of them on your Pokemon. Breaking this means you must immediately sell all healing items sparing one Potion, berries included, and can not buy more until this is fixed.

Rule 5: In games with triple battles you must complete one starting with your three starters once possible to before entering your next gym/facing the Elite Four.

Rule 6: In games that are randomizers the starter you receive in the cutscene must abide to Rule 2, but doesn't have to follow the others.

Rule 7: None of the starters can be used for Mega Evolution, Z-Moves or Dynamaxing in the games where this is possible.

Modifiers:
- Until the first (up to the fourth) gym you can only use Grass, Fire, Water and Normal type Pokemon.
- An applicable penalty of benching all your current non-starter Pokemon, unable to use them until facing your next gym/defeating the champion.
- Aside from Sword and Shield due to the mechanics of the Exp. Share you must rotate which starter you use to battle until it levels up, in a fixed order.
- Tightening certain rules such as 3 or 6.
- All three starters must evolve to their final evolution after the same battle.

About the hacking thing, I do approve of it for those games as a viable option as long as they're legal and at the level you would get them as a starter. Free feel to test it out and tell me what game you want to do first, I personally recommend the Gen 5 and 6 games since most of the rules can be applied there, and feel free to recommend other rules/modifiers I could tack on as well.

 

[Citra La Magicienne]

So, this seems like a pretty simple idea so I wouldn't be surprised if its already a challenge or wouldn't even count as a challenge, but a sort of cross game living national dex challenge? Essentially you'd go through every generation filling out a living dex of only that generation's Pokemon so that you end up with a dex of all the new Pokemon in a generation(IE, you have Bulbasaur to Mew in any gen 1 game, Chikorita to Celebi in any gen 2 game, so on so forth).

So a simple rule list would be something like this
1. This challenge goes from Gen 1 to Gen 7, with optionally adding Gen 8 or PLA. PLA counts as a Gen 4 game. You must catch and store all new Pokemon in every region, including regional forms(Store them in their region, IE store Alolan Sandslash in your Gen 7 save.), variants(4 Oricorios), and gender variants(male/female Combee).

2. Remakes count as their original generation, and you may catch a Pokemon outside of its home region if it meets these conditions;

A. It is not obtainable in any of its original generation games without an event(events that are item-triggered do not count). Example, Mew is not available in R/B/Y/FR/LG and meets this condition.
B. It can be traded to a game in its original generation by official means(PokeTransporter, PokeBank, direct trade). Again, Mew meets this condition since while you cannot get it in a game that can trade to R/B/Y, it is obtainable in Pokemon Emerald via the Old Sea Map event and can be traded to FR/LG.​

Since the only Pokemon that don't meet those conditions are mythical Pokemon which all had an event at some point, editing in a duplicate of an event Pokemon is allowed for the following:
Jirachi, Manaphy*, Phione*, Keldeo, Meloetta, Genesect, Diancie, Hoopa, Volcanion, Marshadow, Zeroara, Zarude**
*Only if you do not play PLA.
**Since Gen 8 is on Switch, Zarude may be left out from the challenge if you decide to include Gen 8.

3. Emulation is allowed, and using means such as PkHex to "simulate" trading or moving a Pokemon is allowed, as long as said trade would be again be possible by official means(I can't "trade" a Pokemon from Sapphire directly to Red)

4. Cheating event items in to trigger events like the previously mentioned Old Sea Map is allowed, otherwise no cheating, glitches, or hacking.

5. Trading with anyone other than yourself is not allowed.

6. The challenge ends immediately when you have all of the new Pokemon in a generation stored in one game for every generation(IE, all of my Gen 1 Pokemon have to be on Red, not half on Red and half on Blue.)

I might have missed something simple, but basically the idea is that you end up with every Pokemon available in a generation in one of those games.

Some afterthought notes:
The fact that you can only obtain Mew in FR/LG means that you have to choose one of them as the "Storage" save for Gen 1.
I'm worried I might have made it sound a little confusing, and I'm not even sure if this is a good idea.


Anyway, thank you for reading and any input you may give! I'm more than willing to do this challenge myself but I'm just not sure if this is an already existing challenge idea or if it is even a good challenge idea at all.