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The world of Pokemon can be full of fun, surprises, and plenty of challenges along the way as trainers attempt to gather all badges of a region and take on the Elite Four. For some, this isn't enough, and players have adopted a new set of rules to play under, known as the Pokemon Nuzlocke Challenge.
The rules are simple; players can only catch one Pokemon per route, they must nickname the Pokemon, and if a Pokemon faints during battle, they must be released or left in the PC until the end of the run. To many, the Pokemon Nuzlocke Challenge should be featured in every game, making the rule system somewhat official.
Content creator and verified Twitch streamer erobb221 learned that nuzlocking a Pokemon game isn't as easy as some make it out to be. While he's known for being a variety streamer, playing anything along the lines of games like Tekken 7, League of Legends, and Elden Ring, erob221 ventured into the world of Pokemon to attempt his own nuzlocke run. Playing Pokemon Emerald with a randomizer to change all static and random encounters, he and his starter, Quagsire, entered the first area to encounter a potential first teammate. What he ran into was a level two Lugia, one of the two legendary birds from the Pokemon Gold and Silver series.
Fortunately for erob221, a level two Lugia doesn't have any damaging attacks, meaning his Quagsire was safe to attack. It would have taken two Water Gun attacks to bring Lugia down to low-enough health to attempt a catch, but Lugia has a move known as Whirlwind. While this move doesn't damage the opposing Pokemon, it does knock it out of the battle. Unfortunately for erob221, this meant he lost the chance to catch Lugia and the opportunity to add a member to his team. As the Pokemon Nuzlocke Challenge rules suggest, only one encounter can be made at each route and is not dependent on if the trainer catches the Pokemon.
Technically, he should have never attempted to catch Lugia for two reasons — his starter Pokemon was obtained on Route 101, the same route as the Lugia encounter, and Lugia's catch rate, even at low health, is next to impossible. Luckily for erob221, this occurred at the very start of his run, and he still has plenty of routes ahead before the first gym challenge to build up a team. It's always entertaining to find Pokemon players attempting different types of runs, like Twitch streamers The4thGenGamer and GalacticElliot teaming up to speed run Pokemon Sword and Shield.
It's a wonder if The Pokémon Company ever intends to implement such mechanics like nuzlockes into its main-title games as a way to provide its more dedicated player base with a different degree of difficulty, though clips like this make a good case for it to be an official feature.