Official Hardcore Nuzlocke Rulebook by PokemonChallenges

Introduction and disclaimer:

This is the ruleset I personally use in my hardcore Nuzlockes that I do on my stream

at twitch.tv/pokemonchallenges. To me this represents the perfect balance of
challenge and fun, of random and skill elements. This is in no way the be all end all of
challenge runs and there are definitely some downsides to this ruleset. It requires a
lot of experience as a nuzlocker, I do not recommend using this ruleset as your very
first Nuzlocke challenge. Additionally this ruleset usually requires quite a lot of
grinding before gym battles. However I still believe them to be the baseline for one of
the most fun ways ever to play a Pokemon game and I hope you give it a try. All credit
for coming up with the original Nuzlocke challenge goes to its creator. Check out his
comics here: nuzlocke.com

1. Encounters

1.1 Basic rules of obtaining Pokemon:

Only the first Pokemon I encounter in a specific Area may be caught.

The area a Pokemon was caught in is defined by the "Met on:" text in its Summary.
Pokemon that hatch from an egg are considered an exception to this. The area that
the Egg is received in is counted as the area the Pokemon was encountered in.

If the first encounter in an area is killed off in battle, the encounter may not be
rerolled.(A reroll is considered another chance at an encounter while ignoring and
not
catching the previous one)

These rules apply as soon as I am first ABLE to encounter and catch a Pokemon.
For example, Pokemon I encounter in tall grass before I am able to receive pokeballs
do NOT count as my first encounter of the Route.

1.2 Methods of encountering Pokemon

I may chose the method of acquiring the encounter freely. fishing, surfing, grass,
hordes, Rock Smash, honey, Headbutt etc, are all considered
legitimate. The exceptions to this are dexnaving, shaking grass and Pokemon
obtained in an SOS chain started on the first legal encounter of the route. (and all
equivalents thereof).
A gift Pokemon is considered a legitimate encounter and will be treated as such. I
may NOT encounter another Pokemon after receiving one as a gift.

1.3 Manipulating encounters

I am able to freely choose my starter or any other gift pokemon that has multiple
options (Casino etc).

If the first encounter on a route is a double battle or horde encounter the Pokemon
I can catch in that battle may be chosen by me.

Repelling in an area to get a certain encounter (High level, different floor, roaming or
static legendary) is allowed.

1.4 Additional and illegitimate encounters

Trading with NPCs is allowed and not considered an encounter. I may trade with
NPCs in areas that I have previously received an encounter or plan to receive an
encounter on.

If I, at any point encounter a shiny Pokemon during the run, I may catch and use that
Pokemon. This does not include static shinies such as the Red Gyarados. If the first
encounter on a route is a shiny I do not get an additional encounter. The only
exception to its usability is being listed on the banlist.

I may not use two Pokemon of the same species or evolution line. If the first
encounter of a Route belongs to an evolution line of a Pokemon that I have already
received as an encountered in that run, the encounter on that route may be rerolled
until I encounter a Pokemon that I may use. (I might restrict this to a limited amount
of rerolls in the future)

I may not catch any Pokemon that are on my ban list:

http://bans.pchal.tv

1. Losing Pokemon

2.1 Basic conditions for death

If at any point the hp of one of my Pokemon is reduced to 0 that Pokemon is

considered dead and may no longer be used. I MUST permanently put the pokemon
into the PC as soon as possible.

2.2 HM slaves and forced reviving

If I need to use a certain HM to progress in the game and none of my alive Pokemon
are able to learn it, I may pick up a dead Pokemon from the pc for the sole purpose of
using that HM with it. This does not include things like Flash, Fly, thieving for items
or using sweet scent for hordes.

I may catch an additional HM slave if I have no Pokemon dead or alive that can help
me progress

If I end up in a situation where a dead Pokemon is put into battle I

must switch into a living Pokemon immediately. I may not use
the moves Assist or Beat Up while I have a revived Pokemon or HM Slave on my
team.

1. Level Caps

3.1 Basic rules for level caps

Any Pokemon I use for battle may not exceed the next gym leader's highest level
Pokemon in level. This applies exactly until the gym battle is INITIATED so
overleveling during a gym fight is allowed.

The level cap for the Elite Four is to be determined by me. A good starting point is
the
first Elite Four members highest level Pokemon. The level cap is in effect until I
initiate the first Elite Four member. I may not use any rare candies after initiating
the
Elite Four.

3.2 Exceeding the Level Cap

If a Pokemon does overlevel before then or I catch an over leveled Pokemon, it is

considered dead until I beat the gym that unlocks it's level. A Pokemon that exceeds
its level cap during battle or is brought into battle through Roar/Whirlwind/Dragon
Tail
etc. must be switched out immediately. I may not use the moves Assist or Beat Up
with an overleveled Pokemon on my team. If at any point all my Pokemon are above
the level cap the run is considered a wipe and I must restart.

1. Items

I may at no point use non-pokeball items from my bag during a battle. This does not
apply to items held by my Pokemon.
At no point can I have more than one Pokemon on my team hold Leftovers. (Added
19.05.2017)

1. Losing the Run

The run is considered lost when I lose a party of pokemon and enter the white out
screen. This applies even if I have other Pokemon left in the PC.

1. Settings
The battle style must always be on "set"

The gen 6+ exp share may be turned on at all times.

When playing on an emulator I may speed up the game at any point.

1. Crashes and Rule Breaking

7.1 Crashes

In case of an emulator or console crash I must reload the last save and the following
rules apply:

All encounters I have gotten between the save point and crash are considered lost
and may not be rerolled.

Any pokemon that died between the last save point and crashed are still considered
dead

I may re battle any required trainer battle that I have beaten between save point and
crash. I may use any method I see fit to clear this battle (Using dead Pokemon,
modifying the save etc.) any Pokemon that faints during such a re battle is not
considered dead.

7.2 Rule breaking

If at any point I break one of these rules on accident (or purpose) the standard
punishment is to reload at the last save point and kill off the Pokemon that might
have been saved by said rule violation. If no Pokemon was saved I will select one
randomly.