Hello, everybody, and welcome to my Nuzlocke of Pokémon: Alpha Sapphire! I've always wanted to do a Nuzlocke, and I'm really excited to begin. Before we begin with the festivities, I want to inform everybody of the rules I'll be using for this go-around:

Fainting = death

White-out = failure

Catch the first encounter in each area (Dupes clause is in effect so that I don't have a team consisting of Zigzagoons).

Everybody gets a nickname

Mercy rule: I still can try to catch a shiny if it's not the first encounter, but it's not safe from death.

So, for Alpha Sapphire, I'm planning to go through the story up until the League Champion battle. However, if any of you are interested in me extending the Nuzlocke to the Delta Episode and the fight with Deoxys, then let me know! I'll be glad to hear what you have to say!

Pokémon is owned by Nintendo. The Nuzlocke Challenge was created by Nuzlocke, the writer of Pokémon Hard Mode.

It was a fine summer's day in Littleroot Town, which was not much of a town in itself. Rather, it was made up of two neighboring houses – one occupied, one soon-to-be – and a modest Pokémon laboratory just south of them. Despite this incongruity concerning the name of it, however, Littleroot Town was a peaceful little... place where humans lived alongside their Pokémon companions.

Little did these people know, however, that a new face was about to join the ranks of the varied denizens of the Hoenn regon. Truly, this was a face that would soon be known throughout the entire region. Indeed, this face would soon be in the middle of events that would rock not only Hoenn, but the rest of the world itself.

For that very day, a moving truck came sputtering into town, swerving precariously across the road. It stopped, turned around, and parked itself outside of the rightmost house. The great doors were then thrown open. From out of the van stumbled a young girl of around 12-years-old, with gray eyes and a large bow atop her head. Her face had turned a sickly green color, and her hands covered her mouth. Immediately after exiting the truck, the girl made a beeline for the back of a nearby tree.

When the girl finished retching and came up for air, she was greeted by her mother, who made a beeline straight for her. "Charlie!" The older woman went to support her daughter. "Good gracious, sweetheart, you look ill! What happened in that truck?"

The girl - Charlie - moaned and made grand, sweeping motions with her arms. "Lot of turns..."

"That's the end of that," said her mother, "Hopefully, you'll never have to do that again! Now, did you know that one of our next door neighbors is none other than Professor Birch?"

Charlie's eyes widened, and the green color slowly vanished from her face. "The Professor Birch?"

Her mother nodded. " Why don't you introduce yourself? I hear that the Professor has a son your age."

"Alright!" Charlie steadied herself on her feet and headed to Professor Birch's home. It wasn't that far away, thanks to Littleroot Town being so small. She knocked three times on the door and waited for an answer.

After a few seconds, the door cracked open, and a boy with a white knit cap poked his head out. He scrunched up his face. "Hello?"

"Um... Hi!" Charlie gave the other boy a small wave. "My name's Charlie. I just moved in here next door from Johto. My mom told me your dad's the Professor...?"

At the mention of his father, a wide grin spread across the boy's face. "You bet he is, Charlie! My name's Brendan!"

"Nice to meet you, Brendan!" Charlie eagerly shook his hand.

Brendan thought for a moment. "My mom told me that the family of Norman, the Petalburg City Gym leader, was moving in next door." His eyes widened. "Are you his daughter?"

Charlie laughed nervously and nodded. "Yeah, that's me!" She normally didn't tell anybody about who her father was; she didn't want to come across as bragging. Since Brendan asked first, she thought she could make an exception.

"Oh..." Brendan's face fell. "You know, I was kind of hoping that you would be a guy..."

Charlie stared at Brendan, unable to believe the boy's words. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

Brendan's eyes widened as he realized his mistake. "Oh Arceus, I'm sorry! Forget I said that, okay?" He sighed. "Besides, I really would like to be friends with you. Please?"

Charlie tapped her chin and considered her response for a brief moment. "Of course we can, Brendan."

"Thank you!" Brendan's face lit up in excitement. "We're going to be such great friends, Charlie! Maybe you can even introduce me to your dad at some point!"

Charlie averted her gaze. "Uh, actually, there's something I need to tell you about that..."

Brendan looked at her, concerned. "What?"

Before Charlie could respond, however, he continued talking. "Look, it's probably not that important right now! Anyway, I need to get down to the lab soon. Who knows what Dad needs me to do today?" He began to leave, but stopped and waved goodbye to Charlie. "I'll see you around!" he said.

Charlie smiled and waved back. "Goodbye, Brendan."

As he left, however, she sighed to herself and walked away from Birch's house. Brendan probably didn't mean to rush off before she could tell him the truth, but it was important indeed. Never mind that, Charlie said, I'm sure I'll tell him another time.

She took a walk through Littleroot Town. There wasn't much there; the other residents, however, took the time to tell her some interesting facts relating to Pokémon. It made sense, considering that Professor Birch was a denizen of Littleroot, and that his lab was also stationed there. Charlie sat down on the grass. When am I going to get my first Pokémon? She'd heard of other kids, some being younger than she was, receiving their first Pokémon and setting out on their own journey. Why hadn't the same happen to her yet? Wow, Charlie thought, I feel so old compared to some of the other trainers out there!

Charlie's thoughts were interrupted by a panicked young girl running over to her. "Miss! Miss! You've got to come help!"

Charlie jumped up. "Hey, what's wrong?"

The little girl pointed to the route ahead. "The professor who lives here went up there a while ago, and he hasn't come back yet!" She took a deep breath before continuing. "I really hope he's okay! I just heard somebody screaming up there!"

As if on cue, a panicked shout echoed from down the way that the girl pointed towards. Charlie tensed up at the noise. "D- Don't worry, kid," she said, her voice quivering slightly, "I'll go check things out, okay?"

The 12-year-old girl rushed down the route, her hair bow flapping wildly as she ran. It didn't take her long to reach the Professor. He was caught between a tree and a snarling Poochyena. Close to Charlie's feet was a canvas bag; it was open, and three Poké Balls lay just outside the opening of it.

Professor Birch quickly noticed Charlie's presence. "Hello!" Charlie snapped to attention. "Help me out, please!" He pointed to the bag near Charlie's feet. "Use one of the Poké Balls from that bag!"

Charlie nodded wordlessly. She had no time to consider which ball to pick up; after all, the Pokémon Professor of Hoenn was going to be attacked if she didn't act fast enough. Charlie looked down and saw a Poké Ball just inches from her feet. She picked it up and approached the Professor. Charlie blew on the Poké Ball and gave it a gentle toss. From out of the Poké Ball emerged a small blue Pokémon with beady black eyes. He yipped and planted himself, drawing the Poochyena's attention away from the Professor.

"Okay..." Charlie scanned the scene hesitantly, considering her options. "Mudkip. That's what you are, right?" The Mudkip nodded and chirped back at her. "Okay. Mudkip, attack Poochyena!"

The Mudkip obliged and tackled Poochyena, knocking the canine off its feet. However, Poochyena was not out. It regained its footing and growled at the Mudkip, who jumped back a little bit.

Charlie covered her mouth as she thought for a moment. "What else can you do?" she asked the Mudkip. Mudkip bobbed his head and faced the Poochyena again. He opened his mouth and let loose a spray of water, which sent the other Pokémon back. "Wow!" Charlie clapped. "Good job there, Mudkip!"

The Poochyena got back onto its feet and reciprocated with a tackle of its own. Mudkip, despite being knocked back by the attack, regained his footing. "Okay!" Charlie looked to Mudkip. "Tackle it again, Mudkip!"

Mudkip did so. Poochyena seethed and struggled to stand up again. When it did, however, it didn't attack Mudkip. Rather, it growled and slinked away into the wilderness.

Charlie's face brightened, and she picked Mudkip up. "Hey! Not bad for a first go-around, right?" Mudkip yipped in response.

"You saved my hide there," said Professor Birch as he picked up his bag and regained his composure. "Who knows what could've happened if you didn't show up? Thanks a lot!"

Charlie smiled. "It was nothing, Professor."

Professor Birch smiled as he returned the other Poké Balls to his bag. "That was quite the performance in that battle there! You know, I think you've got the makings of a pretty excellent Trainer. What's your name, kid?"

"Charlie," said Charlie.

"Alright!" Professor Birch gestured to her. "Why don't you follow me to the lab, Charlie?" He began to leave, but stopped for a moment. "Oh, and bring Mudkip there with you!"

The girl and the Pokémon watched as the Pokémon Professor headed back towards Littleroot Town. She looked down at the eager Mudkip and set him on the ground. "Come on, boy," said Charlie, "Let's follow Professor Birch!"

And so, the two of them chased after the Professor on their way back towards the lab. Little did either know of the journey that lay just ahead of them.

NEXT TIME ON 'WATER IS WET'...

Charlie's adventure begins as she sets out from Littleroot Town. What will happen? Who will she meet? Will she make it to the Pokémon League with her entire team alive? Find out next time!