So a bit of back-story before I get right into this. I competed my first Nuzlocke challenge a year ago. I was inspired by the comics of other runs all over deviantart and decided that I was going to make a comic out of my run. Well, let's just say that the comic got away from me and I never felt motivated to sit down and draw anything. So, I've decided that I'm just going to write it. For those of you who don't know, a Nuzlocke challenge is basically "Pokemon: Hard Mode". The rules for my run will be explained later in the story (it'll make sense, trust me). So, I proudly present, Torihito's Nuzlocke Challenge: Platinum. Enjoy!
Chapter 1: The Challenge
It all started on a day that was just like any other. Nothing that happened was out of the ordinary, no warning signs of the things to come. But I'm getting ahead of myself. My name is Nick. I'm your typical gamer kid. Tall, skinny, glasses, the whole nine yards. The sun was just starting to set on my suburban neighborhood and I was upstairs in my room, doing what a typical nerd would be doing at the time. Playing video-games, in this case, Pokemon.
I had played the Pokemon series most of my life, ever since I got a game-boy and Yellow version way back on my 5th birthday. And sure, you might think it's weird for an 18 year old to be playing Pokemon, but it was still fun. At least, it was something to do.
At the time, I was playing Diamond version, since I couldn't afford the new Black and White version. I remember it perfectly...
The room was quiet except for the music of the game coming from the Nintendo DS. I lay on my bed, occasionally glancing around my messy room, trying my best not to be bored and failing miserably. This sucks. I thought. Wish I had my Xbox, then I could play something entertaining. I focused my attention back on the screen, noticing that my opponent had sent out a Gyarados against my Pikachu.
"Too easy." I groaned, selecting Thunderbolt and glancing around the room again. My boredom was taking it's toll and I finally decided to go see what the family was doing. I hopped off of my bed and casually tossed the DS over my shoulder. "There's just no challenge in it anymore." I complained to no one in particular. Little did I know the impact those words would have on my life.
"So, you're looking for a challenge huh?" a voice said behind me. It was smooth and human, but had an electronic buzz to it, like someone speaking through a radio. I whirled around, eyes darting across the room, searching for the source of the voice. That's when I noticed my DS screen still on, showing not the game, but a white screen. In the center of the screen was a weird symbol, kind of like a radish. It was a large black circle with three smaller ovals coming off the top of it like the leaves.
"What the hell?" I said, slowly walking towards my bed, eyes never leaving the glowing screen of the DS.
"What are you, deaf or something?" the DS said. "Are. You. Looking. For. A. Challenge." it said, drawing out each word as if talking to a child. The screen pulsed at each word, leaving no doubt in my mind that the voice was coming for it.
"Well, yeah, but I never thought I'd get one from my DS." I said, kneeling now so I was face to face (face to screen?) with the gaming device.
"What are you- oh. The game." the voice said. "Look kid, I'm not your game. I'm using it as a way to speak to you. And what I'm here to do is offer you the chance to take my challenge. It'll be a tough road and there's no real reward to speak of. Just bragging rights and the chance to do something fun and exciting. That's what you wanted, right?" The DS went quiet, but I felt like it was looking at my, reading my reaction and waiting patiently for my reply.
I thought for a moment. "Well it wouldn't be much of a challenge if there wasn't risk involved. I'm in." I said, grinning.
The screen was silent for the longest time. I almost thought that I had somehow offended the being talking to me and it had left. Then the voice returned. "Well said." it spoke simply.
The light of the screen grew brighter, flooding my room and overpowering the light from my ceiling fan. I shielded my eyes from the onslaught, getting to my feet and taking a few steps back. Through the shield of my hands, I saw the bottom screen go black.
"Welcome to the Nuzlocke Challenge." the voice said.
Suddenly, the black in the bottom screen spilled over the edge. It flowed like mist across my bed, spinning around and around making a spiral pattern. Purple mixed into the center and a hole appeared. The whole effect was similar to pictures of a black hole I'd seen back in high school science class.
Without warning, large hands made of the same misty black stuff shot out of the hole and latched themselves onto my arms. I cried out in alarm and tried to wrench myself free but they wouldn't give. The arms lifted me up into the air and moved me above the portal, which grew wider and wider. I slowly realized what was going to happen. "Oh no." I said. "No! No no no no nonononononono- FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-" I shouted as I was dragged headfirst into the portal. As my feet cleared the rim, it snapped shut. The screen dimmed and the emblem flickered off, revealing my pokemon game. "Pika?" the game said.
I fell through the air, or at least, what felt like air. I wasn't taking anything for granted anymore after being dragged through a smoky portal that sprung out of my DS. Maybe the boredom has gotten to me and I've gone crazy? I thought. Looking down, I noticed the ground coming towards me. Really coming towards me. "Oh shit!" I screamed, holding my arms over my face hoping to muster up some kind of defense. That's when I felt myself slowing down. Eventually, I stopped, floating a few feet above the ground. "Huh." I said, lowering my arms. "That wasn't so-" I said before gravity remembered I was there and brought me crashing to the floor. "Oof. Argh! That sucks." I groaned, rubbing my bruised chest as I got to my feet.
After making sure I was okay other than a few bumps, I looked around, deciding to figure out where I was now. Well, this certainly isn't my bedroom. I thought. Or my neighborhood. Or Kansas. The floor I was standing on was as smooth and hard as concrete. Lines stretched across it in a grid, going as far as my eyes could see in every direction. The whole world seemed flat, which was really disorienting. The "sky" was even worse. Curved lines spread across it and floating among them were groups of ones and zeroes.
"Okay, so where the hell is this?" I said aloud, still staring at the numbers flickering across the sky.
"Isn't it obvious? This is the game. Or at least, the programming." the voice from earlier said. This time there was no radio buzz and I could tell it was male and right behind me. I turned and looked at the new arrival. He (at least I think it was a he judging from the voice) wore a red and gold cloak that covered his entire body. The hood was drawn up and cast his face in shadow. The clasp for the cloak had the same weird onion mark on it. The figure spread it's arms.
"Welcome to the Game World." it said with an exaggerated voice that managed to sound excited and bored at the same time. "This is where the challenge begins. I'm gonna explain the rules to you and then send you on your way. Any questions so far?" he said, leaning forward, arms crossed and head turned as if offering me his ear.
"Uh, yeah, I've got one." I said, voice rising a bit. "Couldn't you have warned me before dragging me in here? And what the fuck are my parents going to think if they look for me and I'm not in the house anymore? Got an alibi for that?" I was yelling at this point, already frustrated with the way this "challenge" was going.
The robed man sighed, lowering his head. "They always ask the same things, might as well put it in the intro." he muttered. He looked back in my direction. "One, that was the only was to get you here. Two, if you don't like it, I can send you back the way you came. Three, time is no issue. Take as long as you want on the challenge, you'll go back to your world the same time you left it. Like Narnia." he said. Clearly he had already given this speech before and was tired of it by this point. I relaxed a little.
"Alright. So no matter how long this challenge takes, I'll be back home in time for dinner tonight?" I asked. When he nodded I grinned in return. "Then let's do it. Tell me the rules."
The cloaked man waved a hand in an exaggerated sweep and a blackboard appeared in a puff of smoke. He walked up to it and started working with the chalk, writing and drawing all across it. I couldn't see past his movements to what was being drawn, but I did notice with a bit of amusement that he'd added a graduation cap to his cloak outfit. Guy's a bit of a smart-ass I thought to myself.
He put the chalk down and turned away from the board, revealing what he had written. The Nuzlocke Challenge! Was written across the top in big letters. "As you can see, this is the Nuzlocke Challenge. I'm Nuzlocke, by the way." he said, gesturing to the board and himself. "There are three major rules, each with their own sub-rules and the goal is simple." He gestured at the board, seemingly encouraging me to read it myself.
I shrugged and stepped closer, eyes darting across the green board as I read the thin lettering.
Rule 1: You can only catch the first pokemon you find in a new area
1-1: In the event you run into a pokemon you already have first, a mulligan is allowed. If you do this twice, you forfeit your pokemon for this area.
1-2: The exception to this rule is for shiny pokemon. The rarity of these are such that you probably won't find one anyway.
Rule 2: You cannot decline any battle that is offered to you. You must fight no matter what condition your team is in and how prepared you are.
Rule 3: THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE! Your pokemon DO NOT FAINT! If their HP reaches zero, they DIE! That's it. Kaput. DEAD. Seriously, do not forget this.
The first goal of the Nuzlocke Challenge is to collect all 8 badges of the region and challenge the Elite Four. This does NOT mean that you have to defeat the Elite Four and Champion, so if you loose there it counts as a victory.
I frowned as I finished reading the rules. "Okay, so how are these rules enforced? What, do you pop up and shoot a fainted pokemon in the head or...? And what do you mean 'first goal'? What's the second?" I shot a questioning look at Nuzlocke.
In response, he flipped the blackboard around and revealed a whole new block of text on the back. I don't remember him writing that I thought. Still, he does appear to be omnipotent. Best not to question it. I read the new text on the blackboard.
The second goal of the Nuzlocke Challenge is to gather five artifacts and bring them to Mt Silver in Johto. You will need the Silph Scope from Kanto, The Rainbow Wing from Johto, the Red Orb and Blue Orb from Hoen, and the Griseous Orb from Sinnoh. There were drawings of each of the items with arrows pointing from their names.
Once you arrive at the summit of Mt Silver, use the Silph Scope to find the Alter. Place the objects in their correct locations and the portal home will open!
I nodded once I finished reading. "Still didn't answer the first question. Why do my pokemon die? And for that matter, how can you tell if I'm catching one pokemon or not?"
"I'll answer that question with a question." Nuzlocke said. "Which is your dominant hand?"
The question threw me off, confusing the hell out of me. "Uh, my right?" I said. "What's that got to do with-" Nuzlocke shot forward and grabbed my right hand, interrupting me. I felt a slight burning sensation on it before he let it go. Looking down, I saw that there was now a black mark on the back of it matching the symbol on his cloak and the DS screen. "What the hell is this?" I asked, looking it over.
"That is the Mark of Nuzlocke." he said with an air of satisfaction. "That's how I'll be monitoring you. It's a direct link between me in this world, and you in the pokemon world. You're pokeballs will all have it too, and any pokemon you capture will have it put on them as well." I couldn't see it, but I was sure there was a smirk on his face.
I glanced over my hand one more time before letting it fall. "I'd argue that that made no scientific sense, but I was dragged through a portal to another dimension not to long ago so my views on what's possible have changed a bit." I said.
"Yeah, about that, try not to tell anyone that you're a Nuzlocker. Or that you're from another dimension. People know about the first but not about the second so it's probably for the best." Nuzlocke said, suddenly very serious.
I stared at him for a long moment before nodding. "Okay, yeah, I can get why that would be important." I said. Wonder why mentioning the challenge is bad if they already know about it I thought to myself. "Anything else before I start this thing?"
The cloaked figure shook his head. "Nope. Have a nice trip." He gestured and I felt a familiar tight grip on my upper arms. Glancing down, I saw the shadowy arms grabbing me again.
"Oh man, not again!" I cried as I was dragged into the portal, off to start my adventure.
Hope you guys like it, and just to let you know now, yes, I will be doing a Nuzlocke fic for each of the four games. This one is just for my Platinum run though, I'll be making new fics for the other three. As for whether or not I'll do a run in more recent games like Black and White or X and Y, we'll have to wait and see. Also, I since this story is going to be a long one and I already have the plot hammered out, I'll be updating it twice a week, maybe more. So, check often, I don't know if I'll get a regular patter going other than just twice a week. As always, please rate and review, and I'll see you later this week. Peace =P