Update [Wed 21st Sep, 2022 10:26 BST]: In a statement mimicking its reaction to Joe Merrick, The Pokémon Company doubled down on its stance regarding Nuzlocke’s run, claiming Eurogamer that “Pokémon Company International has no problem with fans or creators playing video games with the Nuzlocke rules”.
As mentioned in the original article, the Pokémon Company’s statement probably indicates that it has more problems promoting the Nuzlocke Challenge in an official position, than treating the Nuzlocke Challenge as a concept.
So if you’re looking to stream a Nucklocke run in the future, don’t worry; Pokémon ninjas won’t be visiting your house any time soon!
Original article [Mon 19th Sep, 2022 10:30 BST]:
Well then, here’s your ‘Strange News Story of the Week™’. In a clip posted on Twitter through the latest episode of Kit and podcast KrystaFormer Nintendo employees received a question from one of their Patreon supporters about whether they’ve ever played Pokémon ‘Nuzlocke Run’.
This prompted the pair to recount a story in which they pitched the idea to The Pokémon Company to play Nuzlocke in an episode of ‘Nintendo Minute’. Apparently, their proposal was not only immediately shut down, but was reportedly nearly fired, with The Pokémon Company claiming that the Nuzlocke Challenge was “on par with a hack or ROM”.
Naturally, this bomb may come as a bit of a shock to those familiar with the Nuzlocke Challenge. For those who haven’t started yet, it’s a self-made set of community rules to follow when playing Pokémon. The two basic rules include releasing any Pokémon that faints during battle, as it must be considered “dead” and the player must only catch the first Pokémon they encounter in each area. There are a lot of extra rules that most players also follow and you can read about all of them on Bulbapedia Page Challenge Nuzlocke.
Regardless of your level of familiarity with the Nuzlocke Challenge, our brief overview will make it clear that Not peer to hack or ROM; it is simply a set of self-imposed restrictions that take place within the core specs of the game. Indeed, Kit and Krysta were clearly shocked by the response from The Pokémon Company and highlighted its unpredictability regarding the community’s suggestions.
Since the release of the clip, Serebii webmaster Joe Merrick stated that he contacted The Pokémon Company regarding the complaint, who confirmed that players are free to play the Pokémon game in any way they see fit, as long as it remains within the limits of the game itself, stating that “we don’t have any issues with fans/creators playing the game with Nuzlocke’s rules”.
While there is no doubt that Kit and Krysta’s story is true, we suspect that there may have been some misinformation about the definitions of hacks and ROMs and their connection (or lack thereof). with the Nuzlocke Challenge. It could be that while the Pokémon Company has no problem with the Nuzlocke Challenge, it probably doesn’t care about the challenge being introduced through an official channel like the Nintendo Minute. Even so, Kit and Krysta seem to have caused controversy in their walk, posting an amusing tweet yesterday evening:
What do you think of Kit and Krysta’s statements? Are you a fan of the Nuzlocke Challenge? Let us know in the comments below.
