The Psychic Shorts Nuzlocke Challenge, Part 5: The Final Risks

So the fifth and final installment of my very first Nuzlocke Challenge is one that may be slightly anticlimactic. While the trek through Victory Road and the battles at the Pokemon League are considered to be the hardest parts of the game and the ultimate test of a trainer's abilities, they still aren't that nerve wracking if your team is diverse and strong enough. I had a few concerns with the approach since my team was a couple levels lower than they usually are when I play this game, but I still successfully pulled through.

 Victory Road is always my favorite part of the game due to its trainers posing a bigger challenge than those before due to their higher leveled, more diverse teams and this run was certainly no exception. I had a few close calls with a couple battles here and there but I got my Pokemon to the levels where I would be more confident in my clashes against the Elite Four. I even knocked Moltres out for sport and captured an Onix which I nicknamed MagicSnake.

Too bad I didn't find it in the Rock Tunnel. Could've summed up this entire challenge

Once I made it to the Indigo Plateau, I decided to suspend the Nuzlocke rules for the sake of finishing the game in one round with the best Pokemon in my roster. With that in mind, I definitely took a few more risks than I had anytime prior to this and a few surprising battles came out of it. This was also where I didn't worry so much about keeping my Pokemon's levels even, allowing me to see who would become the strongest links.

The battle with Lorelei's Ice types is usually the one I have the hardest time with on my usual files but this didn't seem to be the case with this run. Lucky and Sparkles were the only two Pokemon I really needed as Sparkles took out her Dewgong, Cloyster, and Slowbro while Lucky went after her Jynx. Lucky was eventually felled by Lorelei's Lapras but Sparkles quickly made short work of it. With that, I revived Lucky and moved to the next challenge.

Bruno, the Fighting type master, is easily the weakest member of the Elite Four, especially if you have a strong Flying or Psychic handy. But only wanting to use Elsa sparingly, I thought this one would be a little trickier than usual. However, two of my more overlooked Pokemon pulled through as Weed destroyed an Onix and his Hitmonchan while Roid Rage finished off the other Onix and surprisingly held his own against his Machamp.

I already made the Onix joke so here's a picture of a Mudkip. I heard you leik them.

With the absence of a strong Pokemon or two that knew Psychic and Ground type attacks (Kooopaaaa...), Agatha was most definitely the trickiest Elite Four member on this run as I didn't have a definite advantage against her. Sparkles led the way against one of her Gengars, Roid Rage took out her Golbat and Haunter, Weezy defeated her Arbok when Roid Rage was knocked out, and a bit of paralysis from Sparkles contributed to the fall of her last Gengar. Overall, a little trickier than usual but still pretty manageable.

Lance was the final member to the Elite Four to fight and another one that I normally don't find too challenging since Pokemon with a strong Ice attack or two are easy to come by. Sparkles destroyed Gyarados with a single Thunderbolt, Weezy knocked out his two Dragonairs but was defeated by Aerodactyl's Bite attack, Sparkles jumped back in to take Aerodactyl out, and his Dragonite was vanquished by Elsa's Ice Beam.

Then in true Gen I fashion, Asshat was the game's last opponent and the battle with him may have been the most personal I've fought since I played this game for the very first time. Lucky beat Pidgeot with a single Thunder but lost to Alakazam, Elsa avenged it and Koopa by Flying after Alakazam, Roid Rage barely won out against Rhydon, Sparkles made short work of another Gyarados, Roid Rage had to cover for Weezy after it lost to Arcanine, and Weed defeated Venusaur in one of the game's most drawn out battles. And then, once the dust cleared, Professor Oak came.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

So not wanting to bother with the whole Mewtwo debacle, I have decided to end my quest here as I almost always do. Upon finishing the Nuzlocke Challenge, I find myself feeling a little richer for the experience and wishing that the game had gone on for longer. It would've been nice if I had saved a Pokemon or two but the team I ended up with was certainly a strong one and came through in a lot more ways than I would've expected.

A slightly worn-out game served as more than just a nostalgia-based reward system and it even got me to think about a few philosophical points beyond the usual Pokemon theories. It just may end up being the only way I ever play through this game but I probably won't be blogging too much about any of my future Nuzlocke experiences.

Unless I can shell out more Pokemon memes. Everyone loves Pokemon memes.

The Hall of Famers:
Weed the Vileplume, Level 46
Roid Rage the Machoke, Level 47
Sparkles the Jolteon, Level 49
Lucky the Chansey, Level 46
Weezy the Seadra, Level 46
Elsa the Articuno, Level 50

The Fallen:
Charles the Zubat, Level 17
Madame the Butterfree, Level 24
Cheater the Kadabra, Level 24
G-G-Ghost the Haunter, Level 38
YouFatFuck the Snorlax, Level 30
King the Nidoking, Level 40
Jazz the Koffing, Level 31
Koopa the Blastoise, Level 44

On Reserve:
FourChan the Hitmonchan, Level 30
Scramble the Exeggutor, Level 25
Lapras the Lapras, Level 15
Miracles the Magneton, Level 32
Alfred the Tentacool, Level 10
Lord Helix the Omanyte, Level 30
Azagthoth the Kangaskhan, Level 61
MagicSnake the Onix, Level 39