One of my 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:new year’s resolutions for 2024 is to hit the gym more. The Pokemon Gym, that is. I’m going to play through every Pokemon game as a Nuzlocke, in order to find some excitement in a series that has long-since gone dry. I’m not looking forward to the point when I have to replay 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Scarlet & Violet, or those long opening hours of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Sun & Moon's tutorial island, but with eight Gens before Paldea, I jumped into Pokemon Let’s Go 💝Eeveeꦐ first.

I opted for 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Let’s Go b🙈ecause, let’s face it, it’s the prettiest way to play Gen 1. I have some nostalgia for that Gen 3 aesthetic of FireRed & LeafGreen, but to hop on a Dragonite’s back and fly high above the Cycling Road? There are few better feelings.

Dragonite from Pokemon Let's Go Eevee & Let's Go Pikachu, flying over Route 6

As comfy as Let’s Go’s art sꦿtyle is, it’s a difficult game to Nuzlocke. I’m a gamer who likes a challenge, and this remake is made for children. Gen 1 is probably the easiest Generation anyway, but applying hardcore rules can make things a bit more interesting. The standard Nuzlocke rules can be supplemented by additional difficulty modifiers like banning healing items in battle, limiting your static encounters, or straight-up banning broken Psychic types to make things more challenging.

The standard Nuzlocke rules are: you must catch the first Pokeꦜmon on every route, and only that Pokemon. If Pokemon faint, they die and cannot be use𒊎d again.

These rules get more difficult to follow in Let’s Go. First of all, the core part of a Nuzlocke, catching the first random encounter on each route, is hard. Every wild Pokemon is shown in the overworld, giving you a choice in what Pokemon you want to add to your team. For the opening routes I shut my eyes and mashed my Switch’s joystick, risking Joy-Con drift to pursue the greater good of completing my New Year’s resolution. Fine. But then I realised I couldn’t level u♔p.

You can’t fight wild Pokemon in Let’s Go, you have to catch the𝔍m to gain experience. It’s that awkward mechanic borrowed from Pokemon Go (alongside the infuriating catch circle), and the most painful part of replaying the game. In a Nuzlocke, however, it’s nearly a death sentence. If you can only level up by catching Pokemon, and you can only 💞catch one Pokemon per route, then you’ll be permanently underleveled.

Through clever play, analysing type matchups, and th🔯e meagre experience gained from my encounters, I made it as far as Koga, the Poison-type Gym leader of Fuchsia City. It was hard, but I made it. I didn’t say tha🐭t Let’s Go was difficult to Nuzlocke, though. I said it was impossible. And Koga is the reason why.

Koga in Pokemon Lets Go Eevee

Before facing Koga, the Gym leader, or more accurately his bouncer, sets you a challenge. You must prove ෴yourself before challenging the Kantonian ninja, by catching 50 P🔜okemon.

You cannot catch 50 Pokemon by this point in a Pokemon Let’s Go Nuzlocke. I know some people who bend the rules a little, catching additional Pokemon befo✃re releasing them in order to gain experience and get past Koga&rs🍬quo;s hurdle, but I’m not about that life. If I’m Nuzlocking a game, I’m Nuzlocking a game. And I’m not Nuzlocking Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee any more.

Geodude being caught in Pokemon Lets Go

It’s annoying that I’ve failed my first Nuzlocke of the year, not thanks to my own incompetence but due to an arbitrary barrier that 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Game Freak added into the eꦐasiest game it ever produced. This doesn’t make the game any more difficult, it just makes it more annoying to progress, and completely stops you from playing a true Nuzlocke. I don’t think this is an intentional anti-Nuzlocke mechanic, but it’s an infuriating hurdle nonetheless.

I didn’t want to challenge myself too much with my first Nuzlocke of the year, but it may be time to load up Radical Red. I wanted to play every Pokemon game as originally intended, on DS or Switch as they’re all available across the two, but Pokemon might hav🐓e forced my hand. It’s impossible to Nuzlocke Pokemon Let’s Go, and that’s so much worse than getting wiped by Lance.

Next: “There Was No One Who Was Doing This” - Poke𝓀mon Challenges🍸 On Nuzlocking Emerald Kaizo