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Veteran fans playing Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are unlikely to want to play through the regular game. Be it their first time with the remake or a repeat visit, fans are always looking for ways to add extra difficulty into the Pokemon franchise.
The most straightforward challenge run that can be undertaken is the Nuzlocke run. There are many slight variations and optional rules, but the main thrust is that Pokemon are permanently removed from the team if they feint, and players can only catch one Pokemon on each route. This means slots on a team are precious, and players will want to fill them with the best possible options.
10 Infernape - Fire Required
While players are free to pick whichever Starter Pokemon they like, picking Infernape will make life a lot easier down the line. For one thing, it's a powerful Pokemon. It can make full use of the game's best Fighting moves, and while Physical Fire moves are few and far between, there are ones it can learn.
More importantly, Fire-types are extremely rare in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. The Grand Underground thankfully inserted more, but if players are just using the game's overworld routes, the only other chance to get a Fire-type is Ponyta. What players encounter on these routes is random, though, so picking Chimchar is the only way to guarantee a Fire-type Pokemon.
9 Staraptor - Essential Early
Sinnoh's early-game Pokemon may look cool, but most aren't the best for battling purposes. Bidoof and Kricketot are virtually useless against the first couple of Gym Leaders, and by the time they might be helpful, players will have access to better Pokemon.
Staraptor is one of the few that has the luxury of remaining useful from start to finish. It's not the best Flying-type in the game, but players are likely to encounter it early on, and it won't be a liability if they can't find anything better later on. It's, unfortunately, rubbish against the first Gym Leader, but in just about every other major battle, it proves its worth.
8 Luxray - Planning Ahead
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Players may only be on the game's second route when they encounter a Shinx, but it's already time to start thinking ahead to the battle with Cynthia. This is by far the game's most difficult battle, and trainers need to prepare for it from the very beginning.
Luxray or any Electric-type will be a huge boon come the Champion battle. While most players focus on finding a way to take out Cynthia's Garchomp, her Milotic can be equally problematic due to its excessive bulk and self-healing capabilities. It can force players into a war of attrition they may lose, but a Luxray that knows Wild Charge can take care of it fairly easily.
7 Machop - Breaking Roark
Aside from the Champion battle, one of the game's most challenging battles in a Pokemon nuzlocke run is the first Gym Leader, Roark. Players won't have access to many Pokemon by that point, and if players have chosen Chimchar, as is recommended, their Starter will be useless against Roark's Rock-types.
The game gives players an out, though, as in the city's mines, they will find a Machop. This powerful Pokemon learns Fighting-type moves very early and will shatter all of Roark's Pokemon. Past this, it will continue to be useful if players want to grow it to a Machamp, but it may have a better purpose after Roark is defeated.
6 Alakazam - Reliable Power
There's nothing fancy that makes Alakazam special, it's just a very powerful Psychic-type Pokemon. As pure-Psychic, it has few weaknesses, and its Special Psychic attacks will hit like a truck against any Pokemon that doesn't resist it.
An Abra can be gotten as early as Oreburgh City. A resident of the city will offer players a trade of Machop for Abra. For this reason, it is recommended that players use Machop to defeat Roark first, then come and make this trade. Ultimately, both Machamp and Alakazam will be brilliant on a team, so it's up to the player who they'd rather have.
5 Gyarados OR Gastrodon - Hydro-Power
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Water is one of the game's most valuable types, and Water Pokemon are everywhere in Sinnoh. They're the most common type in the entire franchise, so there are a couple of options for the best one, but at the top of the pile are Gyarados and Gastrodon.
Gyarados is the kind of Pokemon that trainers can never go wrong with. It has enormous attacking power and great Special Defense. The only thing to worry about is any Electric-type attack, which will destroy it in a heartbeat. Gastrodon, meanwhile, is completely immune to Electricity. It has notably less offensive capability than Gyarados, but it has enviable defenses, which players might value more in a nuzlocke.
4 Garchomp - Fighting Dragon With Dragon
Once again thinking ahead to the battle with Cynthia, Garchomp can be an insurmountable problem. There is a potentially simple solution, though, just getting one on the team. Dragon-type is unique in that it is super effective against itself, meaning that a faster Garchomp could wipe Cynthia's out in an instant.
Even putting Cynthia aside, Garchomp is an insanely powerful Pokemon that dominated the competitive Pokemon scene for years; very little can stand in its path. To catch a Gible, players will have to wait until they have 6 Gym badges and can use Strength. Then head to a secret entrance to Wayward Cave, under the Cycling Road.
3 Togekiss - Fearsome Flying Fairy
In Generation 8, there is more than one way to slay a Dragon. Using an opposing Garchomp will undoubtedly do the trick, but players of Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl have an advantage the Generation 4 originals did not, Fairy-types.
There are a few to choose from, but players can't go wrong with Togekiss, although players will have to be willing to use the Grand Underground to get it before Cynthia. With a Special Attack of 125 and access to brilliant Fairy moves like Moonblast, Cynthia's Garchomp doesn't stand a chance. What's more is it's got bulk, too, with great Physical and Special Defense.
2 Altaria - Birds Aplenty
Whether or not using the Grand Underground is within the spirit of the Nuzlocke challenge is up to the player. However, if they want to use it, there are some awesome Pokemon up for grabs from quite early on in the adventure.
Swablu, and its evolution, Altaria fit into a team no matter the rest of its composition. Players could use it as a replacement for Staraptor or in a different slot if they so choose. Dragon/Flying is a powerful type combination. It has access to a wide array of stat-boosting moves, giving it excessive power on top of what it already has naturally.
1 Bronzong - Supportive Wall
Some Pokemon get overlooked by most players, but time proves they shouldn't, and Bronzong is perhaps the poster child of this. Its design isn't the most interesting, and it fails to draw people in initially, but it turns out it's one of Sinnoh's more powerful Pokemon.
Being used in the competitive scene for many years, Bronzong can wall out just about anything. Steel/Psychic is an incredible defensive type combination, naturally resisting a whopping 10 of the game's 18 types, which gets boosted to 11 if it has the Levitate ability. On top of that, its movepool is full of great supportive moves, locking off opponents' options and enhancing the rest of the team's capabilities.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl was released on November 19, 2021, for Nintendo Switch.