@pChalTV’s year long challenge finally comes to an end!

It started one year ago, when Pro-Nuzlocker Jan, better known as “Pokémon Challenges”, began his journey through the ROM hack, Pokémon Emerald Kaizo. Said to be a super-hard mode of Pokémon Emerald, this ROM hack implements many changes to the beloved Generation 3 Pokémon game, including everything from wild encounters to Gym Leaders to puzzle layouts. This ROM hack, authored by SinisterHoodedFigure, is said to be the official sequel to Blue Kaizo and Crystal Kaizo, both of which Pokémon Challenges has taken on, and beaten before. However, Emerald Kaizo quickly proved to be one of his toughest challenges yet.
On top of being a generally difficult ROM hack already, Jan implemented a set of his own special rules to further increase the difficulty. Known as the “Hardcore Nuzlocke”, it takes the basic rules of a vanilla Nuzlocke and adds some additional constraints to really limit the player. You can find the full explanation of his rule set here, but to summarize:

  • A player may only catch the first Pokémon on a route.
  • Duplicate Pokémon are not counted as the first encounter.
  • Shiny Pokémon may be caught but can only be used if a Pokémon of the same species has already been caught. If this is the case, the two may be “swapped”.
  • If a Pokémon faints it is considered dead and must be boxed.
  • Pokémon must be nicknamed.
  • Player must use Set mode.
  • Items are not permitted in battle. Only Pokéballs and held items are allowed.
  • Any Pokemon used 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. This also applies to the Elite Four, though Jan is allowed to slightly change the level cap as he sees fit.
  • If the player whites out, that’s the end of the run and it must be restarted from when the starter is chosen.

There are other rules too but that’s the general overview of it all! It’s a pretty intense rule set with the level cap and no items combo definitely being the two rules that I think can be the toughest to work around. Individually they can be easy since the solution to level caps or lack of items is to spam items or over level respectively. So having both really puts your skills and knowledge of the game to the test.
There’s a reason Pokémon Challenges says he’s the best Nuzlocker in the world. It is a well earned title that is for sure. I’ve been following his Nuzlocke since the end of Attempt 77 in his Emerald Kaizo Nuzlocke and learned so much about nuzlocking. Like I thought I was already a pretty decent nuzlocker but that’s just because I was playing on easy mode. His content reignited my passion for nuzlockes and I’ve definitely been challenging myself more since I became more familiar with his content.
This is why Emerald Kaizo is so interesting. This year long saga put all of Jan’s skills and knowledge as a pro nuzlocker to the test. Assessing opponents, creating strategies based on his encounters, thinking on the fly when something goes wrong, and so much more were constant factors. There’d be multiple streams where a solid chunk of it was just planning for individual battles because if one thing went wrong that meant the tun was over. And all that time, planning, and effort finally paid off when Pokémon Challenges finally beat Emerald Kaizo.
On his 151st attempt, Pokémon Challenges managed to finally conquer Steven and beat the game. The combined power of Pilot the Swellow, Mailman the 31 IV Naughty Nature God Salamence, and Nurse the Shell Armor Slowbro was just too much for Emerald Kaizo to handle. This was for Attempt 77. This was for all the Pokémon that died along the way. This was a moment that will go down in history.
I was there that day watching the stream. I’m normally not much of a livestream person, but to me it was like watching the Olympics live. I found myself yelling for joy and cheering Pokémon Challenges onward as he conquered the Elite Four. THIS was going to be the attempt. He would win it this time and get Burger King to celebrate. I remember screaming with pride as I watched his Slowbro take down Steven’s final Pokémon. He had done it. After over a year, he had done it.
I’ll be embeding the two videos covering Jan’s Elite Four journey for Emerald Kaizo attempt #151 down below, but in the mean time you can also see the rest of his videos on all his attempts here and here.
To Pokemon Challenges, if you’re reading this, from one Jan to another, congratulations. This was a well earned victory that was a long time coming. You’ve provided me and many others with some amazing content to watch over the last few months and I’m sure to be a loyal subscriber for a long time to come.

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The post VIDEO: Pokémon Emerald Hardcore Nuzlocke appeared first on Pokémon Crossroads.


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