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- Seen Apr 27, 2022
Hi there people, (WARNING: This post got kinda long, sorry!!)
EDIT: The full playthrough of my Pokemon Crystal EVOLocke challenge can be found here if you're interested :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUzdtCF2ZpI&list=PLCpRzBB8fuxfGnnOLY2RybLXFMhcawR6x&index=1)
I love to try different challenges when playing the Pokémon series. They force you to adapt the way you play, and they really help to mix it up a bit so each journey is different from the last. The Pokémon community is great a creating all sorts of different challenges, varying on the original Pokémon Hard Mode / Nuzlocke challenge.
One such challenge I'm really interested in at the moment is an EvoLocke, or an Evolution-Locke. However, since the rules and form of the challenge haven't really been established, and it's often referred to by different names, I thought it'd be worthwhile to create a set of guidelines outlining this challenge type.
So to be clear, the purpose of this post is not in any way to claim to have made up a new form of Nuzlocke variant, but rather to try and unite all the different EvoLocke / Unevolved Nuzlocke / KetchumLocke challenges into one, conclusive Pokémon EvoLocke.
The reason I like the idea of an EvoLocke so much is really because of the TV show. Ever since I re-watched the very first season a year ago, I've been thinking about the way Ash trains / works with his Pokémon throughout the show. Although many of his tactics are questionable, I love the bond he has with his Pokémon and how he doesn't force them to evolve to become more powerful. He manages to get the best out of them as they are. So I see that's the real challenge behind an EvoLocke: getting the best out of your Pokémon as they are, without just relying on them getting their stats boosted through evolution.
Another part of the show I appreciate a lot is that when Ash's (or anyone's) Pokémon do evolve, it is normally through facing some real adversity, and overcoming it. Whether its Ash's Charmeleon evolving when it defeats Aerodactyl, or when his Pidgeotto evolves defending him from Fearow and Spearow, it always means something. In the games, this can most easily be translated as beating one of the Gyms and attaining a Gym Badge. These are the two main themes I put at the centre of the Pokémon EvoLocke.
So, given all this, my GENERAL GUIDELINES for the Pokémon EvoLocke are that:
Normal Nuzlocke Rules
1. You can only catch the very first Pokémon you encounter in each area
2. If one of your Pokémon faints, it is considered dead (standard)
3. All Pokémon must receive nicknames.
4. Once a Pokémon enters your party, they must stay there until the very end or until they faint.
(all other basic/optional nuzlocke rules can be applied)
Additional EvoLocke Rules
5. Pokémon DO NOT evolve - If a Pokémon tries to evolve through levelling up, you must cancel it.
6. When you successfully defeat a Gym Leader and obtain a Gym Badge, you can EVOLVE ONE of the Pokémon who took part in the battle by ONE STAGE.
Example – If you defeated Brock in Generation I, and you used a Squirtle and a Caterpie to win the battle, you can choose to EITHER evolve the Squirtle into a Wartortle OR to evolve the Caterpie into a Metapod. You cannot evolve any more Pokémon until you obtain the next Gym Badge (Example – when you defeat Misty)
7. Evolved Pokémon can be caught
It isn't ideal to be cancelling the Pokémon's evolution - I think it'd be better in general if you were pressing a button when a Pokémon passed a certain level to make them evolve, rather than having the evolution forced upon them - but that's how the game works, so cancelling the evolution is the only way to do it.
I feel that the simplest way of allowing your Pokémon to achieve growth through overcoming adversity it to use beating Gyms as a benchmark. Again, it's not ideal, but I feel like it's the best way of getting consistency across all generations, as there are always Gyms to defeat!
I know this is covering a bunch of well-trodded ground, but I thought it'd be good to try and bring a bunch of different bits and pieces from here and there into one conclusive set of guideline.
If you made it this far, thanks. I would love any feedback / thoughts on how these rules could be made better / clearer. Planning on starting a Youtube series doing this challenge in the next week or so.
Thanks!!!! ^^
EDIT: The full playthrough of my Pokemon Crystal EVOLocke challenge can be found here if you're interested :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUzdtCF2ZpI&list=PLCpRzBB8fuxfGnnOLY2RybLXFMhcawR6x&index=1)
I love to try different challenges when playing the Pokémon series. They force you to adapt the way you play, and they really help to mix it up a bit so each journey is different from the last. The Pokémon community is great a creating all sorts of different challenges, varying on the original Pokémon Hard Mode / Nuzlocke challenge.
One such challenge I'm really interested in at the moment is an EvoLocke, or an Evolution-Locke. However, since the rules and form of the challenge haven't really been established, and it's often referred to by different names, I thought it'd be worthwhile to create a set of guidelines outlining this challenge type.
So to be clear, the purpose of this post is not in any way to claim to have made up a new form of Nuzlocke variant, but rather to try and unite all the different EvoLocke / Unevolved Nuzlocke / KetchumLocke challenges into one, conclusive Pokémon EvoLocke.
The reason I like the idea of an EvoLocke so much is really because of the TV show. Ever since I re-watched the very first season a year ago, I've been thinking about the way Ash trains / works with his Pokémon throughout the show. Although many of his tactics are questionable, I love the bond he has with his Pokémon and how he doesn't force them to evolve to become more powerful. He manages to get the best out of them as they are. So I see that's the real challenge behind an EvoLocke: getting the best out of your Pokémon as they are, without just relying on them getting their stats boosted through evolution.
Another part of the show I appreciate a lot is that when Ash's (or anyone's) Pokémon do evolve, it is normally through facing some real adversity, and overcoming it. Whether its Ash's Charmeleon evolving when it defeats Aerodactyl, or when his Pidgeotto evolves defending him from Fearow and Spearow, it always means something. In the games, this can most easily be translated as beating one of the Gyms and attaining a Gym Badge. These are the two main themes I put at the centre of the Pokémon EvoLocke.
So, given all this, my GENERAL GUIDELINES for the Pokémon EvoLocke are that:
Normal Nuzlocke Rules
1. You can only catch the very first Pokémon you encounter in each area
2. If one of your Pokémon faints, it is considered dead (standard)
3. All Pokémon must receive nicknames.
4. Once a Pokémon enters your party, they must stay there until the very end or until they faint.
(all other basic/optional nuzlocke rules can be applied)
Additional EvoLocke Rules
5. Pokémon DO NOT evolve - If a Pokémon tries to evolve through levelling up, you must cancel it.
6. When you successfully defeat a Gym Leader and obtain a Gym Badge, you can EVOLVE ONE of the Pokémon who took part in the battle by ONE STAGE.
Example – If you defeated Brock in Generation I, and you used a Squirtle and a Caterpie to win the battle, you can choose to EITHER evolve the Squirtle into a Wartortle OR to evolve the Caterpie into a Metapod. You cannot evolve any more Pokémon until you obtain the next Gym Badge (Example – when you defeat Misty)
7. Evolved Pokémon can be caught
It isn't ideal to be cancelling the Pokémon's evolution - I think it'd be better in general if you were pressing a button when a Pokémon passed a certain level to make them evolve, rather than having the evolution forced upon them - but that's how the game works, so cancelling the evolution is the only way to do it.
I feel that the simplest way of allowing your Pokémon to achieve growth through overcoming adversity it to use beating Gyms as a benchmark. Again, it's not ideal, but I feel like it's the best way of getting consistency across all generations, as there are always Gyms to defeat!
I know this is covering a bunch of well-trodded ground, but I thought it'd be good to try and bring a bunch of different bits and pieces from here and there into one conclusive set of guideline.
If you made it this far, thanks. I would love any feedback / thoughts on how these rules could be made better / clearer. Planning on starting a Youtube series doing this challenge in the next week or so.
Thanks!!!! ^^
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