Ludic Narratives and the Pokémon Nuzlocke

Challenge-seeking impulses and emergent storytelling combine to redefine the play patterns of a children’s video game.

(https://www.cbr.com/pokemon-nuzlocke-clauses-guide/)

Pokémon is one of the most instantly recognizable, beloved, and profitable intellectual properties in all of recorded history. From the over-1000 unique creatures to collect, to the time-tested and proven turn based core gameplay design, to the varied array of spin off titles and generational gimmicks, there’s something for everyone in the Pokémon franchise.

With one general exception: difficulty. Specifically in regards to the main game experience — the online competitive scene is a different beast entirely.

These are games for children, and so are designed with that target demographic in mind. Once you learn the type matchup tables and recognize that leveling up your Pokémon makes them more powerful, you’ve functionally unlocked all you need to beat any given mainline title. This means that, despite the fun and nostalgia, most of these games are not particularly difficult by default. Even Generation 5’s Hard Mode arguably makes certain aspects of the game easier due to how it handles the supposed increase in difficulty (increasing levels but not stats, for example). The design of these games, for the most part, does little to really push and test a player’s skill, knowledge, and adaptability until the Elite Four gauntlet and whatever postgame content the game might have. It’s long been one of the biggest criticisms of the games from the fans.

So the fans fixed it.

The Nuzlocke

What started as a unique web comic powered by a playthrough of Pokémon Ruby with a strict ruleset became a broadly recognized self-enforced (or mod-enforced) difficulty challenge that has been iterated upon and applied to the entire franchise. It’s popularity has even broken containment into other games, including variations for MOBAs like League of Legends and other RPGs like Dark Souls. The base rules are simple:

• You can only catch the first encountered wild Pokémon in each route.
• If a Pokémon faints, it’s dead and can no longer be used.
• If you white out (lose a battle) you must restart from the beginning.
• You must nickname every Pokémon you catch.

Just like that, these video games for children suddenly have the three things that define any good challenge: limitations, emotional investment, and a failure state. The ruleset has expanded to include further restrictions such as playing on “Set” mode (which prevents switching Pokémon for free when your opponent does), banning the use of consumable items in battle, and more. Dedicated fans with some programming skills and the right tools have made dozens of enhancement and difficulty hacks of the games, such as the infamous Emerald Kaizo or the current “most difficult nuzlocke” titled Pokémon Run and Bun, where handpicked teams, modern mechanics, and new routing are implemented to maximize the challenge of this ruleset. Streamers like pChal, formerly known as Pokémon Challenges, have built their brands on this unique way of engaging with the Pokémon games (again, originally made for children). It’s obviously a broadly compelling unofficial mode of play.

Nuzlocking Pokémon games is, in fact, my favorite way of playing them. Sometimes I stream my own runs for a couple of my friends (and for accountability, so I don’t cheat) because it’s fun to share that adventure. Beyond the engagement factor as a player, however, I’m interested in what the nuzlocke represents as a study of player behavior. While video content on nuzlocke runs are broadly focused on how the player overcomes the challenge of the game, there is also a narrative component carried through from the original webcomic and maintained in videos like this one from JaidenAnimations. It’s this intersection, and then divergence, of gameplay and narrative traits that I find interesting about the ruleset.

Ludic Narrative, Investment, and Themes

A ludic narrative is the story implied or generated by the systems of gameplay in a given play space. You can think of it as how the game is mechanically experienced, and what can be inferred from the details of that experience.

While the expansions of the core nuzlocke rules, and indeed most of the core rules, were all aimed at increasing difficulty, the required nicknaming of all caught Pokémon represents a more narrative and emotional component to the ruleset. Because there are no stakes while playing these games normally, there’s no tension and little drama that isn’t carried by the given title’s plot. This challenge-oriented ruleset aims to change that by forcing the player to form attachments to new teammates that are much more fragile and ephemeral than usual. As a player, you will play more safely, your risks will feel riskier, and every clutch moment where a Pokémon survives something it probably shouldn’t have feels all the more powerful. These new tensions lead to personally unique, emergent narratives for each player, creating compelling experiences that go beyond the thrill of overcoming something difficult. My own nuzlocke run of Fire Red Omega, an older enhancement hack of Pokémon Fire Red by Drayano60, left me with a deep appreciation for the Pokémon Altaria because of the journey I took with that fluffy bird-dragon in that run. There are countless stories like this, emotional ties built because an optional ruleset for a child’s game added stakes and made things significant.

My boy Aether, from my first successful Fire Red Omega nuzlocke.

We can see that the mere addition of a set of self-imposed rules can completely redefine (if not create) a ludic narrative within an existing play space. This isn’t unique to nuzlockes specifically, but nuzlockes do change the ludic narrative to align with the themes of the franchise more than the base games do.

Unmodified Pokémon can easily lead into a play pattern where individual team members don’t matter — they can be easily replaced, their unique values can be neglected in favor of something more “optimal”, and they will eventually be relegated to a check box in your Pokédex collection. This is the legacy of the “Catch ’em All” tagline and design that the franchise has moved away from in recent years, and the ludic narrative it creates is one that prioritizes acquisition more than anything else. When the base games’ battles aren’t challenging, and when there are no stakes, progression is a matter of power acquisition via new Pokémon or level grinding. It’s, funnily enough, a ludic narrative that aligns fairly well with the villainous factions of Pokémon Black (2) and White (2), where the villain is seeking to control Pokémon purely for the power he can take from them. Sure, you can find new favorite Pokémon and develop an attachment, but there are very few external factors encouraging that. Your beloved Dunsparce isn’t going to out-damage a Dragonite because he’s your favorite fat worm-monster-friend.

Ghetsis, the leader of Team Plasma, monologuing during the climax of Pokémon Black/White

While that power-seeking ludic narrative is still present in the nuzlocke, especially when a player with a high degree of game knowledge is able to manipulate their routing to ensure the “best” possible encounters, the ruleset of a nuzlocke changes the context — especially for a “hardcore” nuzlocke that implements strict level caps for benchmark fights in the game to prevent victory by sheer statistical power. Suddenly you can lose Pokémon, you have limited resources, and you can’t always guarantee the same team you’d necessarily choose. You are forced to use, and preserve, and name, a limited array of encounters. By limiting your options and allowing them to be expendable, the ruleset forces players to use Pokémon they might not use otherwise, which externally provides the conditions for the kind of discovery, understanding, and connection that are so prevalent in Pokémon’s other stories. You caught them, you named them, they might not be here forever, so you better treasure them. They’ll often surprise and reward you for the effort. Through these restrictions and requirements, the ludic narrative of a Pokémon game changes from one of acquisition and empowerment to one of discovery and mastery. That’s a narrative I find a lot more compelling.

I highly encourage any Pokémon fan who hasn’t attempted a nuzlocke yet to give it a try. It’s a simple set of rules that can be added to as much or as little as you’d like, supported by a broad and passionate community online that has resources, tips, and stories to share. I always recommend either Pokémon Fire Red or Pokémon Emerald to first time nuzlockers, as they’re not prohibitively difficult, provide a decent range of unique encounter options, and are easy to play via a console or emulation. It’s fun, it’s different, and it’ll tell a story that’s uniquely yours.

If you’ve completed a nuzlocke of your own, share your experiences! Tell me about the hidden gems and clutch moments that defined your run(s).