Gameplay Journal BZRich64's FireRed Nuzlocke

Spoiler: Nuzlocke Rules

I can only catch the first Pokémon I find in an area (starting once I get the Pokédex, does not count Pokémon that are already registered as Caught in my Pokédex, I will also attempt to catch any Legendary Pokémon or Shiny Pokémon that I find, but will not use them once I get them).

Once a Pokémon has fainted, it is dead and I hang a plaque of it in the “Hall of the Fallen” (aka. I put it in the PC in box labelled “Fallen”).

I must nickname all Pokémon I catch or that I’m given.

My starter Pokémon is determined by the last digit of my ID number (1-3 are Bulbasaur, 4-6 are Charmander, 7-9 are Squirtle, 0 means I go by the next digit instead).

I cannot run from battle (I accidentally broke this rule once near the beginning).

Chapter 1: Brock

The unnecessary opening text that is in no other game in the series goes by, which I skip over. That’s followed by Prof Oak’s normal opening speech. I skip that too.

Prof. Oak asks me my gender, I answer honestly and say boy.

He then asks me my name. I say BZRich

Next, he asks me what his grandson’s name (insert generic joke about memory loss here). I name him Gary because I felt lazy with naming him.

I wake up in front of my television, having apparently been playing the NES I don’t actually have. It was a SNES in the originals, which I do own; I don’t know why they changed that.

I walk downstairs and check the TV. The description is apparently suggesting that Stand by Me is playing, but I’ve never actually seen that movie, so I have to take others’ words on that.

I talk to my mom. She seems to be a little too influenced by television, saying that all boys have to leave home some day because that’s what it says on TV. She also says that the professor is looking for me.

I go next door and talk to the Professor’s granddaughter, Daisy. She tells me Gary’s at their grandfather’s lab.

I talk to Mr. Generic Fat Guy, standing beside the river flowing into town. He tells me of the wonders of science.

I talk to a girl standing in front of sign. She want to show me something, but I ignore her and leave. Then I come back because that was rude of me. I read the sign she wanted me to read, which was utterly basic advise that I already know. She says the sign is useful, but I don’t believe her.

I go to the lab and talk to Gary. He tells me that the Professor isn’t there. None of the other people there have any useful advice. I try to pull a Silver and steel the starter Pokémon, but the game won’t let me.

There’s nothing left for me in Pallet Town, so I try to leave. The moment I take one step out of town, the Professor shows up out of nowhere and pulls me back to his lab, telling me what basically mount to “Its dangerous to go alone. Take this.”.

In the lab, Gary says he’s tired of waiting. The Professor isn’t sure why he’s ever there at first, but then remembers inviting him. The professor tells me to take a Pokémon, but doesn’t seem to think I know what a Pokéball is. He talks about how he used to be a trainer, but now only has three Pokémon. How does that even work?

The professor seems to be extremely against nepotism, because he won’t let Gary choose a Pokémon until after I do. The Pokémon on his desk aren’t in numberical order and I almost grab Squirtle instead of Charmander. Then, just as I’m about to pick Charmender, I remember that the starter Pokémonshould be determined by your ID number, not by personal preference. I check my ID, 05922. According to the rules (at least the rules given on Bulbapedia’s Nuzlocke page) that means I get Bulbasaur.

I choose the Grass-type and name him Fern. Gary picks Charmander. I try to take Squirtle again while Gary tells me his Pokémon looks stronger than mine, but the game still won’t let me steel anything. I try to take a Pokédex, but I can’t steel that either.

I try to leave the lab, but Gary stops me so that we can battle. The professor gives a tutorial during the fight, which is unnecessary for someone like me who already knows the Pokémon battle system.

Spoiler: Vs. Gary

Turn 1

Charmander uses Scratch, Fern uses Tackle.

Turn 2

Fern uses Tackle, Charmander uses Scratch.

Turn 3

Charmander uses Scratch, Bulbasaur uses Tackle which gets a critical hit, knocking the opponent down to 3 HP.

Turn 4

Charmander uses Scratch, leaving Fern at only 2 HP left. Fern uses Tackle and defeats Charmander. I win the battle. Fern reaches level 6.

Gary blames his defeat on his choice of Pokémon, but really what would Squirtle have done differently? Gary leaves the Lab and I follow, ready to leave home. I stop by my house on my way out of town to tell Mom I’m leaving. She makes my take a nap before I go.

I make my way along Route 1, doing my best to avoid any random encounters before I get any Pokéballs. I talk to a guy that gives me a free Potion, reminding me that I should already have a Potion in my PC that I should pick up when I get a chance. Despite my efforts I encounter a Level 2 Pidgey. Fern defeats the Pidgey easily.

I reach Viridian City and enter the PokéMart to try and buy some Pokéballs. The clerk instead gives me a package to deliver to the Professor. Does the Pokémon World not have UPS/FedEx/(insert your preferred delivery service here)?

I rush back to Pallet Town, using the ledges to get back without going through the tall grass. I give the package to the Professor and Gary shows up, asking why the Professor had called him there earlier. The professor remembers to give us Pokédexes and a set of five Pokéballs each and sends us out to catch as many Pokémon as we can. I guess he didn’t get the memo that I’m doing a Nuzlocke. Gary tells me that he told Daisy not to give me a map. Naturally, I then go see Daisy and she gives me a map.

I return to Route 1 and encounter a Level 3 Rattata. I catch the Rattata easily and name her Ratilly. I then try to return home to heal up and grab that Potion, but I’m stopped by a Level 3 Pidgey. Normally I would try to catch it, but this is a Nuzlocke and I’ve already caught a Rattata here. I try to fight, but my Bulbasaur doesn’t do nearly enough damage and takes a considerable hit. Not wanting to take chances just yet, I run away like a coward.

My mom heals my Pokémon and I finally grab that Potion before heading out again. I encounter another Level 3 Rattata. Fern takes it down easily and reaches Level 7, learning Leech Seed in the process. Also at this point I remember that I’m not allowed to run away from battle, meaning I’ve already unintentionally broken the rules.

I now encounter a Level 3 Pidgey (I’m going to pretend it was the same one as earlier, so that I can get revenge for him causing me to inadvertently break the rules). The battle goes down very differently this time and Fern defeats the Pidgey. I then fight another Pidgey with similar results.

Now that I’ve gotten back to Viridian, I heal up at the Pokémon Center and buy five more Pokéballs and five more Potions for later. I then go back to Route one to grind Ratilly to Level 5. Fern also reaches Level 8 in the process.

Once that’s done I venture out to Route 22 to catch my third Pokémon. I find a Level 2 Mankey which I catch. I name him Manfred and go back to route 1 to raise him up to level 5 like Ratilly. Unfortunately, Manfed fell to a Rattata at level three and became my first casualty. Ratilly was able to avenge him.

I return to Route 22 to face my rival again.

Spoiler: Vs. Gary

Turn 1

I discover that I am severely outmatched at this point as Gary starts with a Level 9 Pidgey. Pidgey uses Tackle and wipes out about half Ratilly’s health. Rattily tries to use Tackle, but misses.

Turn 2

Despite my better judgement, I have Ratilly use Tackle again. Pidgey’s Tackle hits first and leaves Ratilly with only 1 HP. This time Rattily’s attack hits, but does almost nothing.

Turn 3

I swap out Ratilly for Fern, who gets hit by Pidgey’s Tackle.

Turn 4

Pidgey uses Sand-Attack. Fern uses Tackle.

Turn 5

Pidgey uses Tackle. Fern uses Leech Seed, but misses.

Turn 6

Pidgey uses Tackle. Fern uses Leech Seed again and this time the attack hits. Fern recovers health from Leech Seed.

Turn 7

Pidgey uses Tackle, almost defeating Fern. Fern uses Tackle and recovers health from Leech Seed.

Turn 8

I use a Potion on Fern. Pidgey uses Tackle. Fern recovers health from Leech Seed.

Turn 9

Pidgey uses Tackle. Fern uses Tackle, but misses. Fern recovers health from Leech Seed.

Turn 10

Pidgey use Tackle and gets a Critical Hit, leaving Fern at only 5 HP. Fern uses Tackle and defeats Pidgey. Fern reaches Level 9. Gary sends out his Charmander, also Level 9..

Turn 11

I use a Potion on Fern. Charmander uses Scratch.

Turn 12

Charmander uses Scratch. Fern uses Leech Seed, but misses.

Turn 13

Charmadner uses Scratch. Fern uses Leech Seed and hits this time. Fern recovers health from leech Seed.

Turn 14

Charmander uses Scratch. I actidently have Fern use Leech Seed again, which does nothing. Fern recovers health from Leech Seed.

Turn 15

Charmander uses Scratch. Fern uses Tackle, but misses. Fern restores health from leech Seed.

Turn 16

Charmander uses Scratch. Bulbasaur uses Tackle and restores health from Leech Seed.

Turn 17

Charmander uses Scratch. Fern uses Tackle, but misses. Fern restores health from leech Seed.

Turn 18

Charmander uses Scratch and gets a Critical Hit, leaving Fern at only 5 HP. Fern uses Tackle and recovers health from Leech Seed. The health drain from Leech Seed also depletes what’s left of Charmander’s HP and he faints. I win the battle.

Gary warns me that the Pokémon League is full of strong trainers before leaving. I return to viridian City and try to head North, but I’m stopped by and old man who teaches me how to catch Pokémon even though I already know that. He also knows what a Pokédex is and how it works even though the Professor just invented it and it should not be public knowledge yet. I grab a Potion lying on the ground before leaving for Route 2.

On Route 2 I encounter a Level 5 Rattata. Because I already have a Rattata it does not count towards the “I can only catch the first Pokémon in an area” rule and I can catch whatever I find next. Which was another Rattata, meaning it still doesn’t count. Finally, for my third encounter on the route, I find a Level 2 Pidgey. I manage to catch the Pidgey and name her Windie.

Fern reached Level 10 and learned Vine Whip. Batilly made it up to Level 7 and learned Quick Attack, but then fell to another Rattata, becoming my second causality.

I then take a moment to grind before moving on. I got Windie up to level, Ratilly up to Level 7 and Fern up to Level 10. Ratilly learned Quick Attack and Fern learned Vine Whip in the process. Unfortunately, Ratilly fell to another Rattata, becoming my second casuality, but Windie was able to avenge her. Windie reached level 7 and learned Sand Attack.

It was now time for me to move on to the Viridian Forest. The first thing I found upon entering the area was a boy staring at a tree. I decided to avoid this strange person and go find Pokémon instead. My first wild encounter was a Level 5 Weedle, which I caught and named BBQ. Unfortunately Windie got poisoned in the fight so I had to return to the Viridian Pokémon Center. I had to use a Potion on her to keep her from fainting before I reached the Pokémon Center. After heeling my team, I went to the Pokémart to get some Antidotes for when my Pokémon inevitably get poisoned again.

I fight a few random encounters to get BBQ up to Level 6, then fought a Bug Trainer. Windie almost died in that fight, getting down to 2 HP and being poisoned, but I was able to swap her out in time and gave her an Antidote after the battle.

After a quick trip to the Pokémon Center I returned to the forest and fought another Bug Catcher. Windie got poisoned for the third time but made it through and even reached level 8. BBQ also gained a level, reaching level 7 and evolving into a Kakuna after the battle. Unfortunalety, I misjudged how much health Windie had and tried to make a run for the Pokémon Center without healing her poison first. She died on the way.

By the time I made it through the Viridian Forest, Bulbasaur had reached level 11 and BBQ reached level 10, evolving into a Beedrill.

Now that I’ve reached Pewter City, I talk to everyone I can to see if anyone will give me anything. No one did so I went to the Gym to fight Brock. Fern tears through the Camper in Brock’s gym, reaching level 13, and I move on to the leader himself.

Spoiler: Vs. Brock

Turn 1

Brock sends out his level 12 Geodude. I send out Fern. Fern uses Vine Whip and Geodude immediately goes down. Brock sends out his level 14 Onix.

Turn 2

Onix uses Tackle. Fern uses Vine Whip and Onix goes down. Fern reaches level 14. I was expecting this battle to be easy with Fern, but I didn’t think it would be that easy. I win the battle and the Boulder Badge and TM 39: Rock Tomb.

End of Chapter Report

Spoiler: New Pokémon

Fern the Bulbasaur, Male, level 5, Mild nature, given in Pallet Town

Ratilly the Rattata, Female, level 3, Bashful nature, caught in Route 1Manfred the Mankey, Male, level 2,

Brave nature, caught in Route 22

Windie the Pidgey, Female, level 2, Brave nature, caught in Route 2

BBQ the Weedle, Male, level 5, Serious nature, caught in the Viridian Forest

Spoiler: Evolutions

BBQ: Weedle>Kakuna>Beedrill

Spoiler: Deaths

Manfred the Mankey, level 3, defeated by a Rattata in Route 1

Ratilly the Rattata, level 7, defeated by a Rattata in Route 2

Windie the Pidgey, level 8, fell to poison in Viridian City

 

Chapter 2: Misty

I set out from Pewter City and I am immediately stopped by one of the Professor’s aides. He gives me a pair of shoes from the Professor that somehow give me the power to run. How shoes can do that I do not know. The shoes also came with a note from my mom, even though the aide said that it was the Professor that wanted to give them to me. I now know not to trust the aide due to his lies. The aide leaves pack to Pallet Town and I continue onward to Route 3.

As I get to the route, a Lass who accuses me of being a pervert and I beat her in a battle. The next trainer I meat is a Bug Catcher who says he say me in the Viridian Forest. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t one of the Bug Catchers I fought earlier, which makes his claim a little suspect. I defeat him and BBQ reaches level 11. My next opponent is a Youngster who likes short because “They’re delightfully comfy and easy to wear!” Personally I prefer pants and don’t really like shorts that much, but to each his own. Fern reaches level 15 when I defeat him and learns PoisonPowder, which I replace Growl with. He also tries to learn Sleep Powder, but I don’t want to replace any of his other moves with it so I don’t let him.

After that I fight another Bug Catcher, a Lass who likes the look I gave her, a third Bug Catcher and a Lass who accuses me of groping her. By the time I’ve defeated all of the trainers on this route, BBQ is level 13.

I stop by the Pokémon Center outside Mt. Moon before heading back to Route 3 to try and catch the next member of my team. I encounter a level 6 Spearow. I catch her and name her Becky. I grind Pecky up to level 19 and she learns Leer along the way. BBQ also reaches level 14 at this point.

I now enter Mt. moon where I quickly encounter a level 7 Zubat. I catch her and name her Kate Kane because even if I don’t actually read comic books, I’m still kind of a comic nerd (Kate Kane is Batwoman’s name for those who don’t get the reference). I then fight a Lass who’s waiting for some friends of hers to show up. I defeat her then, start grinding Kate Kane up to level 10. While I’m grinding I run into a Bug Catcher who says there are suspicious men in the cave. Pecky reaches level 11.

After I’m finished grinding, I head further into the cave. I encounter a Super nerd with a Magnamite and Voltorb. I use Fern for this battle because Pecky and Kate Kane are both Flying-type and I don’t think BBQ will be able to defeat his Magnamite. Fern manages to defeat the two Electric-type Pokémon and even reaches Level 16 in the process and evolves into an Ivysaur once the battle has ended.

I continue to make my way through the cave, fighting trainers and wild Pokémon alive until I encounter a Team Rocket Grunt. By this point, Pecky has reached level 13 and learned Fury Attack. Kate Kane has reached level 11, learning Supersonic in the process.

The Grunt tells me to get lost, so I battle him instead. After I defeat the Rocket Grunt I pick up a TM off the ground and turn back because I’m at a dead end. I return to the entrance to heal my Pokémon at the Pokémon Center and Kate Kane reaches level 12 along the way.

I make my way back deeper into the cave where I fight a Hiker. While fighting him, Fern reaches level 17 and BBQ reaches level 15, learning Focus energy in the process, which I replace String Shot with. I pick up a Moon Stone before heading down a couple of ladders into a large area filled with more Rocket Grunts. Shortly after reaching this room Kate Kane reaches level 13. By the time I’ve cleared my way through the room, Fern has reached level 18, Peck has reached level 14.

After making my way past the Team Rocket Grunts, I encounter a Super Nerd who challenges me to a battle because he thinks I’m after the fossils he uncovered. I defeat him and he tells me I can take one of his fossils. Why? Who knows? I take the Dome Fossil and finally make my way out of the cave. I make my way through Route 4 to Cerulean to heal my Pokémon at the Pokémon Center and return back to route 4 to get a new Pokémon.

My first encounter is a Rattata, but because I already had one earlier it doesn’t count. My next encounter is also a Rattata and Pecky levels up to 15 when she defeats it. Finally, I encounter a level 6 Ekans. I capture her and name her Kobra. I now have a party of five that includes four Poison-types. Weird how that happens. As per normal when I get a new Pokémon, I grind it up to level ten before moving on.

Unfortunately, Kobra only made it to level 9 before being defeated by a wild Mankey, who was then downed by the poison that Kobra had inflicted on it. BBQ also reaches level 16 during this time.

I decide not to let my first loss since beating Brock get me down too much and take on the next Gym. Fern tears through the Swimmer and Picnicker in the Gym and reaches level 19 in the process. Now I challenge Misty without even healing before hand.

Spoiler: Vs. Misty

Turn 1

Misty sends out her Staryu and I send out fern. Staryu uses Tackle. Fern uses Vine Whip and almost defeats Staryu in one turn.

Turn 2

Misty uses a Super Potion on her Staryu. Fern uses Vine Whip. Again, it almost defeats the Staryu in one hit.

Turn 3

Staryu uses Water Pulse. Fern uses Tackle and defeats Staryu, reaching level 20. Misty sends out Starmie.

Turn 4

Starie uses Swift, leaving Fern at below half health. Fern uses Leech Seed.

Turn 5

Starmie uses Swift, leaving Fern at only 6 health. Fern gets a critical hit with Vine Whip and defeats Starmie. Fern reaches level 21 and I win the battle. Misty awards me with a Cascade Badge and TM 03: Water Pulse.

End of Chapter Report

Spoiler: New Pokémon

Pecky the Spearow, Female, level 6, Rash nature, caught in Route 3

Kate Kane the Zubat, Female, level 7, Brave Nature, caught in Mt. Moon

Kobra the Ekans, Female, level 6, Jolly Nature, caught in Route 4

Spoiler: Evolutions

Fern: Bulbasaur>Ivysaur

Spoiler: Deaths

Kobra the Ekans. Level 9, defeated