Pokémon Shield – Nuzlocke Challenge

Part 2 – Beginnings

And so Lockie sets out on her journey with Gaspar by her side. I predict that there will be plenty of close calls, and maybe even some tragedies, but only time will tell.

It wasn’t long before Lockie found herself in her first random encounter on Route 1, as a Blipbug jumped out at her! Luckily the Pokémon are at a very weak point at this stage, and Lockie was able to catch it straight away with her first throw. She named the female Blipbug, Beatrice.

The other random Pokémon that I could have encountered were Caterpie, Grubbin, Skwovet and Hoothoot. Perhaps I would have preferred these for the sake of familiarity, but using a Pokémon I haven’t had much to do with before should add to the challenge.

Upon reaching Wedgehurst, Lockie was introduced to Sonia, and then directed to Professor Magnolia’s house on Route 2. After healing up, she set off to meet the professor, and soon came to her first random encounter on the route, which was … a Blipbug. Thankfully I chose to use the No Duplicate rule, so this Blipbug was safe from my grasp. The next encounter was … a Lotad! Another easy capture by Lockie, and she soon found herself naming this little lady, Lillian.

The other possibilities would have been Rookidee, Hoothoot and Purrloin. I think Rookidee would have been my first choice here, but regardless, Lillian is a welcome addition to the party!

Lockie very nearly found herself facing her first tragedy, as a simple Level 7 Rookidee faced her down, and Gaspar was too slow to run away… Two pecks later and Gaspar is one hit away from an untimely end! Thankfully Lockie managed to escape on the third turn, and I suddenly realised how vulnerable my current team was to Flying Pokémon.

I decided to let Beatrice test her mettle against her first ever opponent, a Nickit belonging to Youngster Benjamin on Route 2 … and she did it! She managed to take the sly fox down, only losing 6HP in the process! I hoped she would be able to manage it as her Struggle Bug move is super effective, and she showed me that she’s got what it takes! Champion Leon, here we come!

Okay, perhaps I’m getting carried away here …

Once Lockie reached the professor’s house, a brief conversation between Magnolia, Leon and Hop led to Lockie being thrown into another battle with her rival! Not even our archnemesis, Rookidee, could slow Gaspar down! Hop just managed to get us into yellow health, but Gaspar powered through and swept his team of three, and grew to Level 11 in the process.

Hop makes for a good training partner before the threat of the Gym Challenge.

With this victory, Leon saw fit to offer Lockie a letter of endorsement, which will allow her entry to the Gym Challenge. So far, everything seems to be going our way for this Nuzlocke challenge. Next stop for Lockie is of course, the Wild Area. Many different routes await, as well as many strong Pokémon who could prove absolutely fatal to our team.