Pokémon Friendlocke

The Pokémon Friendlocke is a type of nuzlocke created by Saltydkdan in April, 2021.

## **Nuzlocke**

A nuzlocke is a set of self-imposed rules that are used to make whichever (typically Pokémon) games more difficult. The name originates from a comic series of the same name.

#### **Basic Nuzlocke Rules**

* The player must catch the first wild Pokémon encounter in each area. If it faints or flees, the player may not try for another in that area.
	+ In encounters that triggers double battles, the player may choose between the wild Pokémon to catch, but can only catch one of the two.
* Caught Pokémon that faint are considered dead and may either be released or stored away and can no longer be used

## **Friendlocke Rules**

##### **Pokémon**

* To choose which of your friends will be a certain encounter, a random number generator could be used to assign people to the area encounter as they are caught.
	+ This is mostly up to the player how they would like to assign their encounters, but this is the one that Salty uses in present time for his encounters.
* The encounter for the new area, if caught, must be named after the player that controls that pokémon
	+ The pokémon does not have to be specifically nicknamed a set name (ie. Mikey (BinjoMonkey) naming his previously played pokemon Mikeydeez\* and Mykyie)
	+ The player fully controls the actions the pokémon they are assigned to
		- This includes: moves they learn/forget, if they want to evolve or not, what moves to use in battle
			* If this player wishes to attack their teammate in a double battle or use a move that could "kill" themselves in battle, they may do so
* Upon fainting/dying, the person assigned to the pokémon must be kicked from the medium (most likely being discord) being used to communicate with them to emphasize the perma-death experience in losing the pokémon
	+ If the pokémon or the trainer would like final goodbyes, it must be done so in the last few seconds prior to the health bar reaching 0 in the last moments of battle
	+ The trainer may hold a small memorial for the pokémon in the pc, but the pokémon player may not be present during that time

#### **Trainer**

* The trainer controls the movement in the overworld, priority in battle, item pokémon holds, and order of the party.
* While the pokémon will control what moves it wants to use, the trainer is given first call to prioritize items in battle or to switch out instead
	+ This rule can be briefly looked over if the pokémon absolutely insists on staying in battle and bothers the trainer enough times about it that the trainer frustratingly gives in (ie. **Spoilers**: First Scene Editor Thought Of To Include This Subpoint, First Death in Season 2 )

#### **Game Over Condition**:

* Unlike most pokémon nuzlockes, if all pokémon in a party die, the trainer may keep playing and use their boxed pokémon
* There must be a full reset once every friend pokémon dies

## **Optional Friendlocke Rules**

* Duplication Clause (also applies to nuzlocke optional rules)
	+ Having this in effect allows for each player to uniquely control separate pokémon
	+ If a pokémon encountered in a new area is the same pokémon as one already caught by the trainer, it may be skipped over for a new species (this is the only time the 'one encounter per route' is allowed to be looked over)
* Reincarnation Rule
	+ Upon beating a certain point in the game (originally listed as the 4th or 8th gym), if three or more friends have died, one may be reincarnated and may control a new pokémon on a new route
		- This can be determined via random number generator
		- For streamers, this can be determined by chat poll

## External Links

* General Nuzlocke Information

* Original Tweet of Friendlocke Rules

Last Updated: February 1, 2023