Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to The Pokémon Center, a 'hub blog' of sorts that I'm putting together to centralise my Pokémon FireRed Nuzlocke Challenge blog series. Much like the Compilation of Enduring Final Fantasy VII and Looking Back on My Month in Skyrim did for my previous serial blogs, it collates all the episodes of the series in one place, making it easier to both find and navigate for prospective readers. Its fairly neutral title means I can also use the blog to centralise any future Pokémon-themed blog series I decide to embark upon - a situation that's looking increasingly likely as I begin to itch for another Nuzlocke challenge...

Pokémon FireRed Nuzlocke Challenge

In February of 2014 I picked up a copy of Pokémon FireRed Version and began a new playthrough. However, this wasn't a conventional story run of a Pokémon game, as I'd done with more or less the entire series the previous year. Truth be told I'd grown a little tired of the formula and wanted to experience it in a different way. The result was the Pokémon FireRed Nuzlocke Challenge - a much harder run-through governed by self-imposed rules incorporating concepts like perma-death and limitations on catchable Pokémon into the series' established mechanics. The hope was that it would turn my newest Pokémon journey into something other than a simple badge-hunt, and put a new spin on how I view a series that, for better or worse, has become a big part of who I am as a player of video games.

I chose to chronicle the playthrough in a series of blog posts, published at a rate of around one a week, which would hopefully give readers a bit of an insight into how I would choose to play the game, as well as any effect the different format might have on me. The results were... Well, I won't say too much here for the sake of avoiding spoilers. The entire series is linked below as an indexed list of numbered chapters, or 'parts', for easy reading and navigation. Just click on a chapter's title and you'll automagically be taken to it by the mysterious power of the internet.

Part Zero - Laying Down The Laws

Part Zero is perhaps the most important chapter in the whole series, and essential reading for anybody who isn't already familiar with the concept of a Nuzlocke challenge. It's devoid of any actual gameplay, but explains at length the rule-set by which the series is governed, from the basic foundations of every Nuzlocke, to the specific caveats I've chosen to apply to this particular playthrough. If you've never encountered the word 'Nuzlocke' before (or even if you have), this is without a doubt the best place to start the series.

Part One - It's A Team-Building Exercise

The first true instalment in the series picks up right from the start of the game, following the rookie trainer Dan through his first steps in the Kanto region. Along the way Dan meets Judi Drench the Squirtle, his first Pokémon of many, and begins to assemble a team of confrontational critters on his way to and through Viridian City.

Part Two - Rockin' With Brock

The next leg of Dan and Judi's journey takes them through the poisonous perils of Viridian Forest and on to Pewter City, where they take on resident gym leader Brock in pursuit of their first gym badge.

Part Three - The Clownbat Under The Mountain

With the Boulderbadge safely in their possession, Team Judi Drench moves onwards into Mount Moon, where they encounter the nefarious Team Rocket for the first time. Emerging on the other side of the mountain, the crew heads for Cerulean City to take stock of their situation and prepare for the challenges ahead.

Part Four - Two Badges, Three Fallen Comrades

After visiting Bill and getting some more training done, the team prepares to battle Cerulean City's gym leader Misty for their second badge. Misty has some tricks up her sleeve though, and not all of Dan and Judi's newfound friends will survive this dangerous encounter.

Part Five - Grounded Lightning

Now two badges to the good, Team Judi Drench says goodbye to its departed comrades and presses on south to Vermilion City, where the S.S. Anne is docked, and Lt. Surge's Electric-type gym is just waiting to be challenged for the coveted Thunderbadge.

Part Six - Tunnels Of Death

Equipped with three badges, the Flash HM and a team full of strong-looking Pokémon, Dan moves on to the next challenge - Rock Tunnel. Unknown terrors await in its gloomy caverns, and not all six of our current roster of heroes will survive to see the light on the other side.

Part Seven - The End Of The Road...?

After a month-long hiatus to recover from the stresses of Rock Tunnel, Dan and Judi return to take care of business in Lavender Town before moving on west to Celadon City. A new gym awaits there, and with it a new badge, but Team Rocket are once again meddling in local affairs, and the Nuzlocke threatens to end prematurely in the absence of a Pokémon capable of using Cut.

Part Eight - The Search For A Cutter

Team Judi Drench needs to find a Pokémon able to use Cut - their journey through Kanto depends on it. Dan sets off along Kanto's eastern coast, hoping to find a new Cutter. However, with such heavy limitations imposed on potential captures, and only a handful of locations left to search, will the team be able to find the Cutter they need before their luck runs out?

Part Nine - Back To The Badges

With a new Cutter finally in their possession, our band of Poké-brothers can finally take care of the trees that have blocked their path, and the challenges that lie beyond them. Koga and Erika lie in waiting in the Fuchsia City and Celadon City gyms respectively, and our rejuvenated team is itching to test its new-found luck in two more gym badge challenges.

Part Ten - Keep Calm And Don't Carry On

With five badges on Dan's belt, the team roll into Saffron City eager to get things done. After tussling with Team Rocket once again at Silph Co. and putting the Fighting Dojo trainers back in their places, Team Judi Drench enters the Saffron City gym looking for their sixth badge. However, Sabrina is a powerful adversary, and her Alakazam is not to be underestimated.

---

Future Projects

Even though the Pokémon FireRed Nuzlocke Challenge came to an end only recently, I feel pretty confident saying this probably won't be my last Nuzlocke. If I do decide to embark upon another new journey through one of the old Pokémon games, it will most likely be in this interesting format, and I'll most likely want to share the adventure with readers in another series of blogs. If I do end up doing this, then the Pokémon Center will serve as a hub for the next adventure as well.

But until then, we're done here. All that remains for me to say is thanks for taking the time to read this series, whether in whole or in part. I hope you've enjoyed what you've read, and that you'll stick around for whatever the future decides to bring. Until then, thanks very much for reading, and I'll see you around.

Dan

---

Currently playing - Alice: Madness Returns (PC)

Loved the first Nuzlocke and can't wait for future instalments, awesome work duder.