A/N: lol I came crawling back after sword and shield came out and I suddenly had an intense urge to novelize my nuzlocke. I haven't written anything for ages, so I guess I'm testing the waters with something low effort :' )

Basic rules are: Catch the first pokemon you run into on each route; if they faint in battle, they're dead; no healing items/battle items/held items; set battle; if every caught pokemon dies, then it's game over; no starters allowed.

This will sort of follow game canon up until a certain point, and diverge somewhat from there.

edit: lmao i forgot how to use line breaks apparently

Chapter One

There was something almost dreamlike about the way raindrops slid down the glass walls of the greenhouse, blurring slate-grey clouds into the rolling hills surrounding Postwick like an impressionist painting. Moira felt like she could watch it for hours, lulled into a sense of peace by the deep rumble of thunder as she transplanted begonias and trimmed roses for bouquets. Hop was always bored within minutes of watching her work, but he'd always been a little too impatient to appreciate the silence, she mused, absent-mindedly sweeping fallen flower petals into a dusty pile.

"Dinner's almost ready!" Moira glanced from the floor up to see her mother leaning in through the doorway of dim room, a look of consternation on her face.

"I'll be there in a second!" she shouted back, hastily sweeping the debris into the dustpan and dumping it in the fertilizer bin. Wiping her dusty hands off, she hung up her apron and dashed up the pathway leading up to the house, hands folded over her head to block the downpour. By the time she walked inside, she was almost drenched; autumn rains in Galar always came down in a veritable deluge, chilling everything to the bone. The warmth inside the cottage was a welcome change as she hastily pulled off her damp wool coat and kicked her shoes off.

"Hey, Avalon," she said brightly, patting the Rookidee perched on the coat hanger fondly. He chirped back in response, fluttering down to land on her shoulder.

"It's dark already, Moira. You don't have to work so late," her mom chided her as she sat down at the dining table. "The flowers aren't going to run away if you leave them alone for a bit, you know." Moira laughed, transfering a heaping spoonful of mash to her plate.

"It's not work if I'm having fun, Mom," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'm going to run the shop someday; might as well get used to the working hours now."

Her mom sighed. "There's more to life than just plants, love. I wish you'd at least consider traveling."

"I have everything I want here. Not everyone wants to go on a Pokemon journey," Moira mumbled around a mouthful of potato, jolting upright as Avalon chirped and pecked her ear. "Hey- stop it, you prat" she said, swatting at him ineffectually.

"Even he's tired of being cooped up here all the time," her mom murmured. "If only I had the energy to show him around Galar…"

Moira frowned, looking at her mother's pale, drawn face. "That's why I should be here, Mom. You need someone to help out around the shop." Though her tone was meant to be reassuring, her mom just glanced away guiltily, fingers drumming on the table.

"Ah, I feel like you were born with the soul of a grandmother," she joked, the corner of her mouth quirking up slightly. "Sometimes I can't tell who's the mother around here."

Moira rolled her eyes, gathering up the dishes and making her way towards the sink. "Well, it's me tonight. I'll wash up the dishes; the doctor said you shouldn't do anything strenuous so soon after the surgery." She brandished a newly soaped up sponge at her mother, fixing her with a stern look.

"Dishes aren't quite that strenuous, love," her mom said, smiling and ruffling Moira's hair until she squawked and ducked away. "But I'll do as you command, oh-mighty-Moira. As long as you promise to go to sleep at a reasonable time for once - I can see when the lights are on in the greenhouse from my window, you know."

The door clicked shut gently behind her as she made her way to her room. "Yeah, yeah," Moira grumbled, scrubbing extra-hard at a stubborn spot. "It's okay for me to travel across the region alone, but Arceus forbid I go to sleep too late." Despite her words, however, she slipped into her room soon after the dishes were done, cracking open a window to let the cool breeze in. Moira crawled under the quilted coverlet and smiled as Avalon fluttered in behind her and settled on her pillow. "G'night, you," she mumbled fondly, curling up on her side and letting the rain lull her to sleep.

Morning dawned in the form of clear skies and insistent knocking on her bedroom door. "Go away, I'm sleeping," she shouted into her pillow, pulling her blankets up around her head and burrowing into the sheets futilely.

"C'mon, Moira," Hop yelled from behind her door. "You promised you'd come with me to meet Lee at the station; He's supposed to get here in an hour and you're not even up!" Moira groaned and yanked the sheets off, pulling her arms up in a spine-cracking stretch as she rolled out of bed and stumbled to her dresser.

"Okay, okay. I'll be out in thirty minutes, just let me change first," she called. She heard a muffled thud outside her door - the sound of Hop hopping in excitement - and grinned bemusedly. She had no idea where he got all the energy from, but someone had to be excited enough to make up for her lackadaisical nonchalance, she guessed.

"Sweet! Meet me at my house when you're ready - we can walk to Wedgehurst together." She heard the fading sound of footsteps and sighed, pulling off her soft pajamas and rummaging through her dresser, shivering as the crisp fall air brushed against her skin. She hastily pulled on a thick green jumper and a pair of trousers, lacing her boots with one hand as she pulled her dark hair up into a disheveled bun.

She grabbed her dad's old bag as she dashed through the kitchen, snatching a bit of toast and sparing a moment to wave to her mom. The path to Hop's house was ingrained in her muscle memory at this point after years of dashing to and fro between their houses. She pulled up short from her sprint when she spotted him leaning against the fence next to the garden. "Moira!" he exclaimed, somehow equally excited to talk to her for the second time in an hour. "You'll never guess what - Lee said he has a present for us! Come on, let's get going!" Moira trotted after him as he took off down the path to Wedgehurst, talking nonstop the entire way.

Knowing Leon, it had to be something related to the Pokemon League, she mused, glancing away from Hop to take in the lush greenery surrounding Route 1. She'd never quite understood Hop's fascination with the whole thing, but the rest of Galar seemed to disagree, from the massive crowds she'd seen at all of Leon's battles that Hop had made her watch.

She glanced back down the road, only to see Hop waving at her from the entrance to Wedgehurst, nearly vibrating in excitement. She sped up until she reached up, leaning down and bracing her hands on her knees as she gasped for breath. "Honestly, Hop, not everyone has as much energy as you do," she panted, reaching up to brush her sweaty bangs out of her face.

"I'm just helping you limit test," he said. "And - look! He's finally here!" Moira glanced up to see a large crowd gathered around the entrance to the train station, pushing at each other to get to the front for a glimpse of the hometown celebrity. After a moment of waiting, impatience practically emanating from Hop, the doors slid open and the Champion of Galar walked out, scanning the crowd until his gaze slid over to rest on Moira and Hop.