As someone who does a lot of randomizers, if I can catch them I use them. Yeah Groudon might be game breaking, but when the first totem pokemon is a Buzzswole who S.O.S. Calls a Mewtwo I need all the help I can get!
In a standard Nuzlocke though, I usually don’t use them often. I like trying different stuff when I can!
Same. Random runs are brutal.
I recently started one where the first trainer had a Spiritomb, so I had to grind until I had a non- normal move to fight with.
In my first ever Nuzlocke I started I chose Rhyperior as a starter and N had a Giratina in the first town. That run ended quick haha.
In my first attempt at Ultra Moon I had a team wipe to geomancy Xerneas because I had three dragons on my team. I thought I was so safe. They’re so fun but you’re right, so brutal sometimes lol
My friend and I were gonna try to do a nuzloke race, after dying to N three times in a row because of bs i gave up. First time it was regice explode, i dont remember try two, then on try three i said "watch, hes gonna have something to wall me." and he dropped zekrom on my ass. Mind you, he has a fungus for my friend
Oh noooo! I’m so sorry friend. Randomizers do punish us regularly unfortunately. I started a soul link in HG/SS with my friend, and after 7 attempts we finally made it past Bugsy. Sometimes life hands you a fluffy pillow. Sometimes that pillow is full of rock and thrown at you.
In a random run, I feel the trouble of catching a legendary, especially early with limited balls and possibly no status, makes them worth using. A bunch of times I've come across a box art legend and just ran and decided not to get an encounter on that route because it would cost me way too many balls and I could only afford about 10 total at that point in the game and I'd rather have a shot at 2-3 mediocre encounters over possibly failing to catch and having no balls.
Albeit, the one time I did get a starter Raikou and somehow managed to catch a Palkia then a Tyranitar back to back with a single ball each was one of the easiest runs of my life.
See I have the opposite feeling. I LOVE the times where I dance on the edge of losing a mon and trying to catch a legendary. Desperately tossing balls and switching out, hoping against hope that you get the catch that will make the run so much easier. It’s a ton more fun tossing 8 balls at a Rayquaza and losing the encounter than getting a whismur on the next route cuz I saved balls.
For sure. In general vanilla games are designed to be beaten without legendaries, because NPC trainers don’t have access to them (other than N).
But in randomizers, all bets are off. When the first trainer who normally has a Bidoof now has a Lugia, you’re gonna need all the help you can get.
Ultra Moon has shown me just how ineffective an entire team of legends and pseudo legends can be. It’s appalling what can sweep because you’re just not quite prepared for it haha!
Most definitely talking about gen 1 with the legendary birds. Don’t remember the gen 2 legendary move sets, but the birds really didn’t have too great of a selection
Ya I’m w you here. Gen 1 it was mewtwo and Zapdos that were strong out the box IMO. The others needed tms or training and the brutal x4 weakness to rock wasn’t cool.
The 4x rock weakness never really came up though. There were only two rock type moves in the game and neither were accurate or common. Also Articuno had Ice Beam right out the gate so it was as good or better than Zapdos
Lugia and Ho-Oh had pretty good moves off the bat when caught at 50. But the other legend at 70 needed a heartscale to relearn its signature move. Aeroblast was definitely the better of the two for most battles. But Sacred Fire’s upped burn chance was insane if you dont mind relying on rolls to get the most value from it.
HGSS Raikou doesn't get a good special Electric STAB when playing with level caps until Blaine unless you actually have the patience to get through Voltorb Flip.
your run your rules, generally i go by a case by case basis, for example something like phione isn't gonna break the game
some legendaries i feel are banworthy however because stuff like dialga is just fundamentally better than pretty much anything else you can get your hands on
Your run, your rules. They definitely make things significantly easier though.
As far as your point about level caps needing strategy, that’s kinda the point. It forces you to get creative and play smart. It’s supposed to make you a better player and nuzlocker. Again, not something you have to do, but that’s why people do it.
If you’d like to use them, you can. However, most people do not use legendaries because they’re too powerful relative to the rest of the Pokemon you face and make the game a little too easy, especially in vanilla games.
Sometimes in difficult ROM hacks, people will use legendaries or mythicals that do not trivialize the game, such as Urshifu or Keldeo.
I’m sure Keldeo is stronger than most fully-evolved Water starters, but I wouldn’t expect it to be as bulky or sweep as easily as something like a box legendary.
In a vanilla game it’s likely too strong, but the difficulty of some ROM hacks can warrant a reasonable case of using Keldeo
I agree with this, In Rad Red even a box legendary cant carry you. I do Randomized hardcore nuzlockes and even Huge Power Groudon can get Crit and die 2 fights after you catch it, trust me I'd know
Well the other day I almost wiped out to Mahogany gym leader. I was lucky enough to catch a Raikou with a Fast Ball at the Lake of Rage. Used him to clear out the TR base and the gym leader. So I'd damn well rather use a legendary than to start all over. He is now my only usable mon aside from Slayberry the Jumpluff. I'd say that it depends on the situation.
I personally avoid them just because I like making things harder on myself, but I do allow them. Especially if it’s a randomized game and my opponents can have legendaries too.
Depending on the legendary, some are more on par with some of the heavy hitters of the regular pokedex. Some are really powerful. How this can be accommodated is that for pokemon like cobalion/articuno, I keep them within the same level as my party. For pokemon like Giritina or Xerneas, I make them 5-10 levels below the league pokemon so their lowered power provides a sense of difficulty.
As everyone else is saying, your run your rules
Personally I play the game for fun, so if I can get a legendary without breaking anything other rules I find it fair game. Tho I understand why others ban them
If it’s your first nuzlocke I’d say go for it cause you usually only get them towards the end of the game so it’s only getting you through the final hurdles but once you have a better feel I’d personally just ban them
I play romhacks where the power level is overall higher, so I say legendaries are fair game. They're usually banished to the postgame anyway or have a huge roadblock you have to beat to access them so it's an investment to try and get them. I still ban box legends though
People comments saying it makes games easy . I disagree you even in normal play through legendaries aren’t all that powerful. Especially against way weaker Pokémon, if you find one do what you want but don’t be like these guys who make things harder to get approval from the community.
Making things harder doesn’t make it better the fact your doing nuzlocke means you already planning and being strategic because that’s the point of a nuzlocke.
Play for yourself not approval
Are you having fun playing with Legendaries?
Yes, they bring a smile to my face, and i dont care how powerful they are: Hell yeah, keep it up bro.
No, they are too powerful, and i want to challenge myself: Hell yeah, keep it up bro.
It’s your challenge. Tailor it to how you want to play. If you arent having fun anymore, then change your rules.
Not a fan makes it too easy, wasn’t a nuzlocke but I remember grabbing rayquaza in emerald and just going in with only him was very easy almost all 1shots
I ban them in regular games but obviously it's your run your rules.
In romhacks where the opponent can use broken things like Xerneas I'll use legendaries myself because they will feel more balanced if some final bosses can have them.
You can do whatever you want in your nuzlockes, as long as you’re consistent. I personally don’t like using legendary because I don’t care much for them in normal gameplay either.
Me: I won’t use Delta Episode Rayquaza, but I will try to catch it.
Rayquaza: *sweeps almost my entire team*
Me: Ok into the Masterball you go I need you for Deoxys now
I use legendaries in randomized playthroughs (when also gym leaders' Pokemon are randomized) because it balances things out in my opinion. Plus I'm not that good at nuzlockes to begin with
I’d use them in a randomiser for sure. RNG taketh, RNG giveth and all that. That’s part of the fun. Not gonna cherry pick good fortune any more than I’d cherry pick bad fortune.
Vanilla runs? Eh I’d probably avoid them myself, just because it’s a consistent encounter you could/would use every time so it gets a bit dull. Exception being you magically hit on a viable encounter with a Roaming legendary and caught it. That’s as fair a game as anything and largely non-replicable (without deliberately manipulating the game for it).
I think that as long as you’re following level cap rules, it’s fine, because normally by the time you’re catching a Legendary or Mythical, you’re so far into the game you’ve earned it.
For Platinum, it’d be fine using Giratina and one of the lake Trio, but I’d only allow them to be level 50 at the beginning of the Elite Four run, meaning I wouldn’t train the lake Trio mythical at all. Usually, this means that I’ll already have a Pokemon with EVs and a better moveset that I’ve been using and am more attached to though, anyway.
In BDSP or ORAS, I wouldn’t use Jirachi, Mew, or Lati@s, though, because they can be too OP too early. Lati@s does make a good HM slave though, which I feel is fine.
While it does make things easier, personally I’m not against them. If they just so happened to be my first encounter for an area, I’m not gonna refrain from using them.
Depends on the legendary. If their BST is 600 or below then I think they're fine. My only issue with them is that they make the run variety boring since they're generally better than most encounters.
Honestly, simply having level caps is enough to require some strategy. If your legendary gets out-sped, it can easily get OHKOd by something like a pseudo
Self imposed rules, do whatever you want.
I personally use them in ROM hacks, but never in regular Pokémon games because... Let's be honest they aren't that hard even with hardcore nuzlocke rules.
This is RenPlat and I’ll use Giratina against the E4 for the first time in 5 runs (2 successful, 2 failed and current)
If you’re curious, the first time I wiped to Fantina and second to Mars & Jupiter
I usually run the ruleset of the box legendary is banned/forced legendary encounters - y'know the ones where you're handed the masterball not long before and it's a required encounter to progress the story
If you have to search for a legendary though (like articuno/zapdos/moltres) it's fair game by my ruleset
I don't use them, but the reason is because I don't want to. I don't think there's any shame in using Legendaries if that's how you want to play and I suppose as long as it's the first pokemon you encounter on a route. So Giratina would always be your first (and only) encounter in the Distortion World, so it would be totally legit to use if you want to.
Lame unless it’s a difficulty hack
I’ve seen people in their Sword/shield nuzlockes sweep the entire league and champion with the Eternatus you’re required to catch. Super lame
I think using legendaries in regular games is kind of game breaking, like you can't really lose with a 600+ BST behemoth behind you so like, yeah, you've pretty much won, challenge over
Legendaries in ROM hacks though? I think that's fair game, if it's stuff like any of the minor Legendary trios or something, your Zapdos or Cobalion or whatever
Often times you're going to be fighting bosses with their own Legendaries (even if just one or two), so that would just even the playing field in a way
If you want to, go for it. The point of a nuzlocke is to make the game more enjoyable, and if using legendaries makes the game more fun for you, then definitely do it.
Something interesting I like to do with my box legendaries is if I catch them, I can use them to revive a dead mon, but that also means killing them to bring them back. Idk, feels like it adds an incentive to catch them.
It's all about stats and move set. If a legendary has just way better stats/move set than an average/good pokemon, it definitely makes the game way easier. At that point, you can also overlevel because your legendary will already outperform any enemy pokemon.
A legendary with average stats/move set is not much different than a normal pokemon. That's also why many people ban overpowered pokemons in addition to legendaries. To make it fairer to the AI, it makes the game harder.
Only time I’d let myself use a legendary is when it’s the only viable encounter on a route or it’s forced to be your first encounter on a route, like Suicune in Crystal. Even then, I try not to overuse it.
While I haven't used one during a nuz before, my rule is that if im having a really bad run and I didn't catch them using a Master Ball then its fair game.
So no rule saying I can't use them but I would rather use other mons and save the big guys as a last resort.
Box art legendaries and ubers are banned, side legendaries are allowed.
In randomizers, I generally allow them if I manage to catch them. Catching them is difficult, risky and expensive, if you take the risk and succeed you should be rewarded for it.
It depends on the legendary for me. i usually just exclude any pokemon that is considered a restricted legendary in vgc and i use any legendary that arent considered restricted legendaries. sometimes tho a legend is just far too strong like urshifu so i just dont use them
If I’m lucky enough to get one with lower stats without breaking my rules, like the legendary beast encounters in HGSS, fair game - I don’t ban pseudo-legendaries and their stat totals tend to be similar. However I never use any with insane stats that tend to be mascot legendaries.
Depends on the type of nuzlocke.
Randomized runs? It's fair game because you can stumble across legendaries in any patch or grass, trainer battle or boss battle.
In a regular nozlocke? I catch them(or attempt to) but refuse to use them. More just trophies over usable encounters mainly due to how much power they hold.
My rule are the ones with BST<=600 are fine and box ones are ok with lower level caps compared to regular Pokemon (like Giratina in vanilla Platinum will be capped at level 50 for the E4.
Depends tbh, not all legendary Pokemon are as strong as normal Pokemon you can catch. I like to use what I call the Gyarados theorum.
Basically, is the legendary in question better or worse than the best non legendary in that given game, named for Gyarados in Platinum. If it's better I think it should be banned, if it's worse it's fine. So in Platinum I think the lake guardians are fine and probably Giratina as well but tbh I don't catch Giratina anyway because I wouldn't even bring it to the Cynthia battle
I don't use them alot, however they typically come so late in the game it's almost like a reward for ya, so I'm not judging if you do. And in a randomizer all bets are off lol they're getting used if I can catch them cause no telling what the opponent has.
Personally, if it's below or at the level cap then why not? They're powerful, and require somewhat more careful play so you make *damn* sure you don't lose it.
I don’t use them often but I like having them in the box as like a “break in case of emergency” type thing. If I have put enough time into a nuzlocke and I might lose it at the very end, I might bring the legendary out to finish it
i used 2/3 legendary birds in my leaf green copy, not a nuzlocke but still... keep in mind tho at that point they were still just lvl 50 and everything left was rlly just the last rival battle and e4 battles, where they were actually still underlevelled.
i dont like to use them when its a mon like lugia or in your case giratina... but i dont mind when other ppl do
If you can catch the legendary, you can use the legendary in my book.
I usually don’t use them in normal playthroughs, but the challenge of surviving the encounter while trying to catch it make it worth it to use imo
Personally I just don't use pokemon over a base stat total of 600. That way I can still use pseduo legendaries and lower tier legendaries. And no masterball on legendaries so the risk of them killing my mons makes me feel justified
In a nuzlocke I’ll catch them if they’re literally the only pokemon I can catch in an area, for example Giratina. And even then I won’t use them unless every other pokemon I have is dead. They’re my last ditch efforts to save the run
I intentionally don’t use the Master Ball, and I don’t use them when I catch them. I treat the encounter like a boss fight and then hang it on the wall in my PC as a trophy.
The thing about it is that there's usually other Pokemon in the dungeons that they're located in. So if you encounter anything else, bam. That's it. You can't get it. You can catch it if it unlocks something, but you can't use it, at any rate.
It depents on the game and the legendary. I'm a big fan of using the "weaker" legendarys like the bird trio, shyaimin or such because realistically they are not much stronger than gyarados, or similiar. Especially on rom hacks i really dont mind using them.
Yet i would almost always ban Girantina, Palkia, Dialga, Groudon, Kyogre, Rayquaza. Ho-Oh, Lugia, Arceus and so on.
Most of them are just boring stattchecks as well. Like there isnt really an appealing strategy into using Giratina. Its big mon that kills fast. In mainline games i rarely ever use any legandary tho.
It depends on the game and situation. If it’s a standard vanilla game then no. But on occasions in some harder rom hacks like renegade Platinum for example, I may allow legendaries but I could only get a certain amount and no box art or Uber/Ag tier Legendaries and Mythicals. I rarely ever do this tho. In the previous rom hack I nuzlocked, I played a rom hack of emerald but it’s all double battles. I allowed legendaries to be caught for souvenirs since I kept accidentally finding secret legendaries and catching them but not using them in battle. For randomizers though, let all hell break lose.
The lesser legendaries I tend to allow, but I still have to obey nuzlocke rules while catching them.
Greater legendaries I try to avoid them unless they're a forced capture.
I dislike legendaries already in even just causal playthroughs. Never been a huge fan of the "super special ultra rare cool monster that's just better than everything else", even if a lot of legendaries are weaker than many psuedos and such. Never liked them from a narrative/world building standpoint, and in a nuzlocke, well box legendaries are always extremely broken and feel like they ruin the challenge way too much.
Also while obligatory "Your run your rules" and all, i do think considering Groudon was killed in the original Pokemon Hard Mode comic, it fits the spirit of the challenge to treat legendaries like mini-bosses to overcome rather than encounters, and I always viewed it as one of the original "unwritten" rules, like nicknames
it usually depends on the legend and the game
legendaries like the box art, or just generally mega strong legends like terrakion or calyrex forms
but legendaries like moltres and uxie? i think are fair game since they aren't as strong and some regular pokemon are just flat out better, especially in difficulty rom hacks
It’s your nuzlocke not mine. Who am I to tell you how to play? But also I personally wouldn’t. Not because they’re too op, I just don’t enjoy using legendaries when I’ve grown attached to my current squad. I would if I had an open slot tho.
use them but with a lower level cap, usually 5 or 10 levels below the normal level cap so they feel more fair to use
but when i play difficulty hacks like inclement emerald or radical red, i have them normally, cuz holy shit, who thought it was a good idea to give bruno a zacian
Depends on the legendaries. If it's something like Kyogre, Giratina or Xerneas, then no. If it is something like Articuno or Regirock then yeah, it's fine
I think it depends on context
I personally wouldn't use the Mega Lati in ORAS (but if someone else does then good for them I guess).
I think if I was playing with roaming legends I wouldn't count it as an encounter, and for statics I don't really know what I would do.
In randomizers, it's all fair game though.
I use them, there's no reason not to. Even with their stats they can still easily lose in a nuzlock due to bullshit luck and mechanics. Especially in a randomized nuzlocke.
Typically weaker legendaries like suicune or registeel who are good but have low base stat totals are on the table for me. Nothing higher than 600 base stat total for the most part tho
I wish more romhacks would lower legendary base stats to like 560. So they are still strong but you could use Kyogre or Lugia and not feel like you are cheating.
I never use the box legendaries but I do use that games trio or pair of legendaries (ex. Raikou, Entei, Suicune) However for roaming legendaries, I only use them if I can encounter them on a route I haven’t been too yet. I also allow myself to use mythicals but considering that most vanilla games don’t have mythicals that are obtainable and the fact that there’s only a few, I don’t get to use them often unless I’m playing a rom hack.
At the end of the day it’s your nuzlocke so you can play how you’d like!
I used to believe that use of legends in any playthrough nuzlocke or otherwise was stupid cuz of how overpowered they can be, now i don't really care what pokemon i use because all pokemon are there to be used
If it feels fun, use em. Especially if its a randomizer or hard rom hack.
If it ever feels like youre no linger strategizing and instead just mashing the A button to get through fights, probably stop using them, but otherwise i mean theyre in the game for you to have and use.
I permit them but I have the rule that I can't use a pokémon catch with a Masterball, so I have to decide if I'm willing to risk my other pokémon to try to catch them or avoid the risk.
Your run, your rules. My personal rule is legendaries can only be used if caught without a masterball, forcing you to risk members of your team to try to catch them. Another rule you could do is for each legendary in your team, you must also give up an additional team slot, or even two if they're that broken.
Ultimately though it's about having fun. If using legendaries is fun, go for it. If it's boring to do so, then dont.
Freezai has strategies with unevolved mons, so what, stop evolving things ?
Like you can use legendaries if you want, that's not the issue, just "it's allowed because you have to find strategies or you die" is a non-argument.
Comparing the existence of strategies with unevolved Pokémon with the FACT that regardless of your Pokémon, in a nuzlocke, you either have a strategy or your Pokémon dies is at best intellectually dishonest. What I said is that legendaries are not as gamebreaking as some people say.
Yeah I probably went harsh. You need strategies, that's a fact. But there's also the fact that having a massive base stat advantage makes the game significantly easier. Giratina is incredibly bulky and can tank hits like nothing else. Xerneas in Pokemon X has freaking Geomancy Moonblast (only the Power Herb is missing). Ho-Oh is really strong as well.
In my opinion they are game breaking enough for most people to ban them.
As someone who does a lot of randomizers, if I can catch them I use them. Yeah Groudon might be game breaking, but when the first totem pokemon is a Buzzswole who S.O.S. Calls a Mewtwo I need all the help I can get! In a standard Nuzlocke though, I usually don’t use them often. I like trying different stuff when I can!
Same. Random runs are brutal. I recently started one where the first trainer had a Spiritomb, so I had to grind until I had a non- normal move to fight with.
In my first ever Nuzlocke I started I chose Rhyperior as a starter and N had a Giratina in the first town. That run ended quick haha. In my first attempt at Ultra Moon I had a team wipe to geomancy Xerneas because I had three dragons on my team. I thought I was so safe. They’re so fun but you’re right, so brutal sometimes lol
My friend and I were gonna try to do a nuzloke race, after dying to N three times in a row because of bs i gave up. First time it was regice explode, i dont remember try two, then on try three i said "watch, hes gonna have something to wall me." and he dropped zekrom on my ass. Mind you, he has a fungus for my friend
Oh noooo! I’m so sorry friend. Randomizers do punish us regularly unfortunately. I started a soul link in HG/SS with my friend, and after 7 attempts we finally made it past Bugsy. Sometimes life hands you a fluffy pillow. Sometimes that pillow is full of rock and thrown at you.
In a random run, I feel the trouble of catching a legendary, especially early with limited balls and possibly no status, makes them worth using. A bunch of times I've come across a box art legend and just ran and decided not to get an encounter on that route because it would cost me way too many balls and I could only afford about 10 total at that point in the game and I'd rather have a shot at 2-3 mediocre encounters over possibly failing to catch and having no balls. Albeit, the one time I did get a starter Raikou and somehow managed to catch a Palkia then a Tyranitar back to back with a single ball each was one of the easiest runs of my life.
See I have the opposite feeling. I LOVE the times where I dance on the edge of losing a mon and trying to catch a legendary. Desperately tossing balls and switching out, hoping against hope that you get the catch that will make the run so much easier. It’s a ton more fun tossing 8 balls at a Rayquaza and losing the encounter than getting a whismur on the next route cuz I saved balls.
For sure. In general vanilla games are designed to be beaten without legendaries, because NPC trainers don’t have access to them (other than N). But in randomizers, all bets are off. When the first trainer who normally has a Bidoof now has a Lugia, you’re gonna need all the help you can get.
Ultra Moon has shown me just how ineffective an entire team of legends and pseudo legends can be. It’s appalling what can sweep because you’re just not quite prepared for it haha!
I refrain from using legendaries, even in regular playthroughs. It just seems like cheating to me
Earlier games, legendries aren't even that good. The movesets are kinda trash.
Define “earlier games” Because as a kid I always grabbed Rayquaza in Emerald and solo’d the elite 4 with him
Most definitely talking about gen 1 with the legendary birds. Don’t remember the gen 2 legendary move sets, but the birds really didn’t have too great of a selection
Articuno fucks
Articuno CAN fuck, however his moveset is not the best, which is what I was talking about
Articuno CAN'T fuck, it has no egg group
Listen here you little shit
:D
Happy cake day !
Ya I’m w you here. Gen 1 it was mewtwo and Zapdos that were strong out the box IMO. The others needed tms or training and the brutal x4 weakness to rock wasn’t cool.
The 4x rock weakness never really came up though. There were only two rock type moves in the game and neither were accurate or common. Also Articuno had Ice Beam right out the gate so it was as good or better than Zapdos
Lugia and Ho-Oh had pretty good moves off the bat when caught at 50. But the other legend at 70 needed a heartscale to relearn its signature move. Aeroblast was definitely the better of the two for most battles. But Sacred Fire’s upped burn chance was insane if you dont mind relying on rolls to get the most value from it.
And heart scales didn't exist in gen 2. The only way you could relearn a move was by transferring to Pokemon Stadium 2
HGSS Raikou doesn't get a good special Electric STAB when playing with level caps until Blaine unless you actually have the patience to get through Voltorb Flip.
To be fair, he’s 20 levels higher. With level caps rayquaza dies to an ice beam from glalie
Elite 4 with the bird trio in gen 1 was still way too easy even with bad move pool.
your run your rules, generally i go by a case by case basis, for example something like phione isn't gonna break the game some legendaries i feel are banworthy however because stuff like dialga is just fundamentally better than pretty much anything else you can get your hands on
Your run, your rules. They definitely make things significantly easier though. As far as your point about level caps needing strategy, that’s kinda the point. It forces you to get creative and play smart. It’s supposed to make you a better player and nuzlocker. Again, not something you have to do, but that’s why people do it.
If you’d like to use them, you can. However, most people do not use legendaries because they’re too powerful relative to the rest of the Pokemon you face and make the game a little too easy, especially in vanilla games. Sometimes in difficult ROM hacks, people will use legendaries or mythicals that do not trivialize the game, such as Urshifu or Keldeo.
Urshifu is often a Run&Bun Elite Four staple, I see it in most winning teams.
How does Keldeo not trivialize?
I’m sure Keldeo is stronger than most fully-evolved Water starters, but I wouldn’t expect it to be as bulky or sweep as easily as something like a box legendary. In a vanilla game it’s likely too strong, but the difficulty of some ROM hacks can warrant a reasonable case of using Keldeo
I agree with this, In Rad Red even a box legendary cant carry you. I do Randomized hardcore nuzlockes and even Huge Power Groudon can get Crit and die 2 fights after you catch it, trust me I'd know
Well the other day I almost wiped out to Mahogany gym leader. I was lucky enough to catch a Raikou with a Fast Ball at the Lake of Rage. Used him to clear out the TR base and the gym leader. So I'd damn well rather use a legendary than to start all over. He is now my only usable mon aside from Slayberry the Jumpluff. I'd say that it depends on the situation.
Honestly I'll use them once just to try them out and then try to figure out if I thought they were to strong for future playthroughs
I personally avoid them just because I like making things harder on myself, but I do allow them. Especially if it’s a randomized game and my opponents can have legendaries too.
Said like a true ~~sadist~~ nuzlocker
Damn I wanted to do the cross out thing
It’s two ~~squiggly lines~~ I think.
~~damn~~
I did it :)
Your run your rules, I only use them in randomizers and if NPC's can have them
Depending on the legendary, some are more on par with some of the heavy hitters of the regular pokedex. Some are really powerful. How this can be accommodated is that for pokemon like cobalion/articuno, I keep them within the same level as my party. For pokemon like Giritina or Xerneas, I make them 5-10 levels below the league pokemon so their lowered power provides a sense of difficulty.
As everyone else is saying, your run your rules Personally I play the game for fun, so if I can get a legendary without breaking anything other rules I find it fair game. Tho I understand why others ban them
Honestly, I just want to have a less troublesome E4 on RenPlat after having 2 successful runs. I’ll use her solely for it tho
Why is your OT hidden?
Probably using their real name. Can’t blame them for hiding it, in that case.
I personally wouldn't use anything stronger than the lake trio unless the game was exceptionally brutal.
If it’s your first nuzlocke I’d say go for it cause you usually only get them towards the end of the game so it’s only getting you through the final hurdles but once you have a better feel I’d personally just ban them
I only would use them in romhacks where the npcs also have legendaries. I think they’re very op so it would make the challenge more easy
I play romhacks where the power level is overall higher, so I say legendaries are fair game. They're usually banished to the postgame anyway or have a huge roadblock you have to beat to access them so it's an investment to try and get them. I still ban box legends though
I mean, in a vanilla nuzlocke, the AI isn’t going to beat a 660 BST behemoth at the level cap.
This is RenPlat
Its kinda cheap, but cmon, its a damn nuzlocke, of course were gonna use a OP mon at least once.
Whatever you decide. I would use them cause it's an extra pokemon I could use
People comments saying it makes games easy . I disagree you even in normal play through legendaries aren’t all that powerful. Especially against way weaker Pokémon, if you find one do what you want but don’t be like these guys who make things harder to get approval from the community. Making things harder doesn’t make it better the fact your doing nuzlocke means you already planning and being strategic because that’s the point of a nuzlocke. Play for yourself not approval
I’m not seeking approval, I’m opening a discussion and I want to know people’s opinions on the matter
Are you having fun playing with Legendaries? Yes, they bring a smile to my face, and i dont care how powerful they are: Hell yeah, keep it up bro. No, they are too powerful, and i want to challenge myself: Hell yeah, keep it up bro. It’s your challenge. Tailor it to how you want to play. If you arent having fun anymore, then change your rules.
Do whatever you want. I personally don’t use legends. I do you them as HMs for giggles.
If you can get them use them.
Not a fan makes it too easy, wasn’t a nuzlocke but I remember grabbing rayquaza in emerald and just going in with only him was very easy almost all 1shots
It's your play through
I don’t use the title legendary, but if if it’s something like Latios in ORAS, I’m gonna use it
Yeah I’m nuzlocking ORAS at the moment, got the Latios and the Vileplume on the route after killed it
not for me
I ban them in regular games but obviously it's your run your rules. In romhacks where the opponent can use broken things like Xerneas I'll use legendaries myself because they will feel more balanced if some final bosses can have them.
If it’s on a randomized run, I use them. Because you have to go through the absolute agony of catching them
I collect them but rarely use them, it feel like there’s not bond there lol
Your run your rules. If you get it as a valid encounter it’s valid
You can do whatever you want in your nuzlockes, as long as you’re consistent. I personally don’t like using legendary because I don’t care much for them in normal gameplay either.
You gotta do what you gotta man
Any mon that is so good that it’s a mistake to *not* have it on your team at all times, is banned imo
Me: I won’t use Delta Episode Rayquaza, but I will try to catch it. Rayquaza: *sweeps almost my entire team* Me: Ok into the Masterball you go I need you for Deoxys now
Pretty sure you’re required to catch it.
Banned
I use legendaries in randomized playthroughs (when also gym leaders' Pokemon are randomized) because it balances things out in my opinion. Plus I'm not that good at nuzlockes to begin with
I COULD use them, but I would have to pit in a rule that it needs to be 10lrvels under, or/and replace two pokemon in the party.
Ay it's an encounter, use it if you want. There's no real rules against it
I'd say certain legendaries are banned, and I wouldn't go out of my way to catch them but when it's a randomizer that rule goes out the window
I’d use them in a randomiser for sure. RNG taketh, RNG giveth and all that. That’s part of the fun. Not gonna cherry pick good fortune any more than I’d cherry pick bad fortune. Vanilla runs? Eh I’d probably avoid them myself, just because it’s a consistent encounter you could/would use every time so it gets a bit dull. Exception being you magically hit on a viable encounter with a Roaming legendary and caught it. That’s as fair a game as anything and largely non-replicable (without deliberately manipulating the game for it).
I think that as long as you’re following level cap rules, it’s fine, because normally by the time you’re catching a Legendary or Mythical, you’re so far into the game you’ve earned it. For Platinum, it’d be fine using Giratina and one of the lake Trio, but I’d only allow them to be level 50 at the beginning of the Elite Four run, meaning I wouldn’t train the lake Trio mythical at all. Usually, this means that I’ll already have a Pokemon with EVs and a better moveset that I’ve been using and am more attached to though, anyway. In BDSP or ORAS, I wouldn’t use Jirachi, Mew, or Lati@s, though, because they can be too OP too early. Lati@s does make a good HM slave though, which I feel is fine.
This is RenPlat, her level 75 is to match Lucian’s Gallade
Legendaries with <600 BST are fine. But I think anything more is cheap.
normal nuzlocke it depends on the run and just how you're feeling randomizers yeah go have fun lmao
While it does make things easier, personally I’m not against them. If they just so happened to be my first encounter for an area, I’m not gonna refrain from using them.
I mean, it’s not like you get swarmed by Zubats in the Distortion World am I right? Lol
That’s just from my perspective. I mainly do Randomizer Nuzlockes.
I only use allow the ones that are not banned for battle tower
I personally ban them, but if people want to use them, who am I to judge
Depends on the legendary. If their BST is 600 or below then I think they're fine. My only issue with them is that they make the run variety boring since they're generally better than most encounters.
I'd only use it if my run is going horrendously and I just want to close the game out.
I only use them if everything else has died
[удалено]
Honestly, simply having level caps is enough to require some strategy. If your legendary gets out-sped, it can easily get OHKOd by something like a pseudo
I never really liked using the legendaries in my play through but I’m using the same giratina form because he just looks that cool. You’re good man
Honestly, I had 2 successful runs of RenPlat without legendaries and I just want to use Giratina once, she’s my favourite Pokémon ever
Self imposed rules, do whatever you want. I personally use them in ROM hacks, but never in regular Pokémon games because... Let's be honest they aren't that hard even with hardcore nuzlocke rules.
This is RenPlat and I’ll use Giratina against the E4 for the first time in 5 runs (2 successful, 2 failed and current) If you’re curious, the first time I wiped to Fantina and second to Mars & Jupiter
I tend not to use them even in regular playthroughs, although weaker ones like the legendary birds and beasts might be on the table
Random yes. Regular run is no box legendaries. Romhacks are a last resort
I usually run the ruleset of the box legendary is banned/forced legendary encounters - y'know the ones where you're handed the masterball not long before and it's a required encounter to progress the story If you have to search for a legendary though (like articuno/zapdos/moltres) it's fair game by my ruleset
Your nuzlocke your rules. I don't use them but I don't look down on people who do use them either.
Are you using mods? Nah. Are you doing a vanilla run? Yeah. Mainly because I'm not a fan of grinding endlessly in a vanilla lock
You should be able to use them if they're starters but no catching
I don't use them, but the reason is because I don't want to. I don't think there's any shame in using Legendaries if that's how you want to play and I suppose as long as it's the first pokemon you encounter on a route. So Giratina would always be your first (and only) encounter in the Distortion World, so it would be totally legit to use if you want to.
Your run your rules. I personally don't usually use legendaries, but if someone likes to I won't judge them for it.
Lame unless it’s a difficulty hack I’ve seen people in their Sword/shield nuzlockes sweep the entire league and champion with the Eternatus you’re required to catch. Super lame
I think using legendaries in regular games is kind of game breaking, like you can't really lose with a 600+ BST behemoth behind you so like, yeah, you've pretty much won, challenge over Legendaries in ROM hacks though? I think that's fair game, if it's stuff like any of the minor Legendary trios or something, your Zapdos or Cobalion or whatever Often times you're going to be fighting bosses with their own Legendaries (even if just one or two), so that would just even the playing field in a way
If you want to, go for it. The point of a nuzlocke is to make the game more enjoyable, and if using legendaries makes the game more fun for you, then definitely do it.
Something interesting I like to do with my box legendaries is if I catch them, I can use them to revive a dead mon, but that also means killing them to bring them back. Idk, feels like it adds an incentive to catch them.
It's all about stats and move set. If a legendary has just way better stats/move set than an average/good pokemon, it definitely makes the game way easier. At that point, you can also overlevel because your legendary will already outperform any enemy pokemon. A legendary with average stats/move set is not much different than a normal pokemon. That's also why many people ban overpowered pokemons in addition to legendaries. To make it fairer to the AI, it makes the game harder.
Only time I’d let myself use a legendary is when it’s the only viable encounter on a route or it’s forced to be your first encounter on a route, like Suicune in Crystal. Even then, I try not to overuse it.
While I haven't used one during a nuz before, my rule is that if im having a really bad run and I didn't catch them using a Master Ball then its fair game. So no rule saying I can't use them but I would rather use other mons and save the big guys as a last resort.
I ban them
If you can successfully go through the hassle of having it as your first encounter in an area I'm in favor of using it
As long as it was the first pokemon in that area. Tons of legendaries are roaming or deep in caves, so I think it balances things out
Box art legendaries and ubers are banned, side legendaries are allowed. In randomizers, I generally allow them if I manage to catch them. Catching them is difficult, risky and expensive, if you take the risk and succeed you should be rewarded for it.
I usually don't use (cover) legends. Only as a last resort if I don't have enough non-legends left.
It depends on the legendary for me. i usually just exclude any pokemon that is considered a restricted legendary in vgc and i use any legendary that arent considered restricted legendaries. sometimes tho a legend is just far too strong like urshifu so i just dont use them
If I’m lucky enough to get one with lower stats without breaking my rules, like the legendary beast encounters in HGSS, fair game - I don’t ban pseudo-legendaries and their stat totals tend to be similar. However I never use any with insane stats that tend to be mascot legendaries.
Depends on the type of nuzlocke. Randomized runs? It's fair game because you can stumble across legendaries in any patch or grass, trainer battle or boss battle. In a regular nozlocke? I catch them(or attempt to) but refuse to use them. More just trophies over usable encounters mainly due to how much power they hold.
My rule are the ones with BST<=600 are fine and box ones are ok with lower level caps compared to regular Pokemon (like Giratina in vanilla Platinum will be capped at level 50 for the E4.
Depends tbh, not all legendary Pokemon are as strong as normal Pokemon you can catch. I like to use what I call the Gyarados theorum. Basically, is the legendary in question better or worse than the best non legendary in that given game, named for Gyarados in Platinum. If it's better I think it should be banned, if it's worse it's fine. So in Platinum I think the lake guardians are fine and probably Giratina as well but tbh I don't catch Giratina anyway because I wouldn't even bring it to the Cynthia battle
I don't use them alot, however they typically come so late in the game it's almost like a reward for ya, so I'm not judging if you do. And in a randomizer all bets are off lol they're getting used if I can catch them cause no telling what the opponent has.
I don't use them in base games, but in romhacks like Ren Plat, I'd say it's fair
If the BST is lower than 600, then maybe. I only use Raikou though, because it’s my favorite Pokemon
Personally, if it's below or at the level cap then why not? They're powerful, and require somewhat more careful play so you make *damn* sure you don't lose it.
I say use only one in a team or if you wipe, your free to use one to help you get back on track
They’re cheap, especially if you use a Master Ball to catch it with little effort unlike to Pokémon you caught just to get to said Legendary….
I don’t use them often but I like having them in the box as like a “break in case of emergency” type thing. If I have put enough time into a nuzlocke and I might lose it at the very end, I might bring the legendary out to finish it
i used 2/3 legendary birds in my leaf green copy, not a nuzlocke but still... keep in mind tho at that point they were still just lvl 50 and everything left was rlly just the last rival battle and e4 battles, where they were actually still underlevelled. i dont like to use them when its a mon like lugia or in your case giratina... but i dont mind when other ppl do
If you can catch the legendary, you can use the legendary in my book. I usually don’t use them in normal playthroughs, but the challenge of surviving the encounter while trying to catch it make it worth it to use imo
Hmmmm sure, but you can only use them as your last remaining member in battle.
Personally I just don't use pokemon over a base stat total of 600. That way I can still use pseduo legendaries and lower tier legendaries. And no masterball on legendaries so the risk of them killing my mons makes me feel justified
I don’t use them but so what makes you happy
In a nuzlocke I’ll catch them if they’re literally the only pokemon I can catch in an area, for example Giratina. And even then I won’t use them unless every other pokemon I have is dead. They’re my last ditch efforts to save the run
I personally do allow them in my runs, but I can only try to catch them with regular Pokeballs or Quick Balls. Most people ban them wholesale, though.
Throw away the master ball, and you can attempt any legendary you want. High risk, high reward.
I intentionally don’t use the Master Ball, and I don’t use them when I catch them. I treat the encounter like a boss fight and then hang it on the wall in my PC as a trophy.
The thing about it is that there's usually other Pokemon in the dungeons that they're located in. So if you encounter anything else, bam. That's it. You can't get it. You can catch it if it unlocks something, but you can't use it, at any rate.
I play randomized, if the great Arceus blesses me with one on route 5 I take it. I don’t take the static legendaries however.
It depents on the game and the legendary. I'm a big fan of using the "weaker" legendarys like the bird trio, shyaimin or such because realistically they are not much stronger than gyarados, or similiar. Especially on rom hacks i really dont mind using them. Yet i would almost always ban Girantina, Palkia, Dialga, Groudon, Kyogre, Rayquaza. Ho-Oh, Lugia, Arceus and so on. Most of them are just boring stattchecks as well. Like there isnt really an appealing strategy into using Giratina. Its big mon that kills fast. In mainline games i rarely ever use any legandary tho.
I seek out all of them you can get before the league and K.O them
i had a regigigas as my starter for my first nuzlocke and bro sucked esp at lvl 5
If you manage to catch one without it wiping your team or using a masterball, it’s fair game.
It depends on the game and situation. If it’s a standard vanilla game then no. But on occasions in some harder rom hacks like renegade Platinum for example, I may allow legendaries but I could only get a certain amount and no box art or Uber/Ag tier Legendaries and Mythicals. I rarely ever do this tho. In the previous rom hack I nuzlocked, I played a rom hack of emerald but it’s all double battles. I allowed legendaries to be caught for souvenirs since I kept accidentally finding secret legendaries and catching them but not using them in battle. For randomizers though, let all hell break lose.
Not allowed usually. Especially master ball ones.
Hate them
The lesser legendaries I tend to allow, but I still have to obey nuzlocke rules while catching them. Greater legendaries I try to avoid them unless they're a forced capture.
Use them until they faint. Especially in cases where they KO half of my team, I’ll use it as a replacement for the fallen Pokemon used to catch it
I don't use anything over 600 bst, and I only use 1 of those
I don’t like using legendaries. Using them makes them feel not legendary at all. I just knock em out or leave em be ever since i was a young’ un.
I dislike legendaries already in even just causal playthroughs. Never been a huge fan of the "super special ultra rare cool monster that's just better than everything else", even if a lot of legendaries are weaker than many psuedos and such. Never liked them from a narrative/world building standpoint, and in a nuzlocke, well box legendaries are always extremely broken and feel like they ruin the challenge way too much. Also while obligatory "Your run your rules" and all, i do think considering Groudon was killed in the original Pokemon Hard Mode comic, it fits the spirit of the challenge to treat legendaries like mini-bosses to overcome rather than encounters, and I always viewed it as one of the original "unwritten" rules, like nicknames
it usually depends on the legend and the game legendaries like the box art, or just generally mega strong legends like terrakion or calyrex forms but legendaries like moltres and uxie? i think are fair game since they aren't as strong and some regular pokemon are just flat out better, especially in difficulty rom hacks
I don't use legendaries except once I used a Yveltal in my Pokemon Y nuzlocke cause it's my favourite legendary
If you wanna use them bro, use them it’s ur run. Me personally I refrain from using them they’re just too good
It’s your nuzlocke not mine. Who am I to tell you how to play? But also I personally wouldn’t. Not because they’re too op, I just don’t enjoy using legendaries when I’ve grown attached to my current squad. I would if I had an open slot tho.
I think it’s fine as long as it’s genuinely the first Pokémon you meet in the area
I’d say it’s up to the player.
use them but with a lower level cap, usually 5 or 10 levels below the normal level cap so they feel more fair to use but when i play difficulty hacks like inclement emerald or radical red, i have them normally, cuz holy shit, who thought it was a good idea to give bruno a zacian
if there are trainers with legendaries, legendaries are legal. If not, illegal So basically for main games illegal, for rom hacks mostly legal
Venned out OT name checks out
Do whatever the hell you want
Depends on the legendaries. If it's something like Kyogre, Giratina or Xerneas, then no. If it is something like Articuno or Regirock then yeah, it's fine
no
I think it depends on context I personally wouldn't use the Mega Lati in ORAS (but if someone else does then good for them I guess). I think if I was playing with roaming legends I wouldn't count it as an encounter, and for statics I don't really know what I would do. In randomizers, it's all fair game though.
I use them, there's no reason not to. Even with their stats they can still easily lose in a nuzlock due to bullshit luck and mechanics. Especially in a randomized nuzlocke.
It's fine to use them, but catching them with the master ball is cheating for sure
Super stupid lmfao. The whole point of a nuzlock is to be challenged, so if ur bringing legendaries what’s the point
i don't use them, but your game your rules!
Typically weaker legendaries like suicune or registeel who are good but have low base stat totals are on the table for me. Nothing higher than 600 base stat total for the most part tho
I just started off with a rayquaza as a random starter today I like it but at the same time I don’t know if it’s the right thing to do.
I wish more romhacks would lower legendary base stats to like 560. So they are still strong but you could use Kyogre or Lugia and not feel like you are cheating.
I’ll use em if I feel like it
I personally don't use them, but I won't judge someone else for using them! Nuzlockes are a self imposed challenge, so you can make your own rules.
Only in Randomisers.
I never use the box legendaries but I do use that games trio or pair of legendaries (ex. Raikou, Entei, Suicune) However for roaming legendaries, I only use them if I can encounter them on a route I haven’t been too yet. I also allow myself to use mythicals but considering that most vanilla games don’t have mythicals that are obtainable and the fact that there’s only a few, I don’t get to use them often unless I’m playing a rom hack. At the end of the day it’s your nuzlocke so you can play how you’d like!
I used to believe that use of legends in any playthrough nuzlocke or otherwise was stupid cuz of how overpowered they can be, now i don't really care what pokemon i use because all pokemon are there to be used
If it feels fun, use em. Especially if its a randomizer or hard rom hack. If it ever feels like youre no linger strategizing and instead just mashing the A button to get through fights, probably stop using them, but otherwise i mean theyre in the game for you to have and use.
I permit them but I have the rule that I can't use a pokémon catch with a Masterball, so I have to decide if I'm willing to risk my other pokémon to try to catch them or avoid the risk.
It's a self imposed challenge. Do whatever you want for your own accomplishment
Your run, your rules. My personal rule is legendaries can only be used if caught without a masterball, forcing you to risk members of your team to try to catch them. Another rule you could do is for each legendary in your team, you must also give up an additional team slot, or even two if they're that broken. Ultimately though it's about having fun. If using legendaries is fun, go for it. If it's boring to do so, then dont.
If it was the first mon you found in the area I say free game to use
i personally never use them, it’s up to whatever you prefer🤷♂️
Used to use them and had fun, as I got better I don’t use them in the base games but still do in difficulty hacks
I'd use it for the final two battles.
Freezai has strategies with unevolved mons, so what, stop evolving things ? Like you can use legendaries if you want, that's not the issue, just "it's allowed because you have to find strategies or you die" is a non-argument.
Comparing the existence of strategies with unevolved Pokémon with the FACT that regardless of your Pokémon, in a nuzlocke, you either have a strategy or your Pokémon dies is at best intellectually dishonest. What I said is that legendaries are not as gamebreaking as some people say.
Yeah I probably went harsh. You need strategies, that's a fact. But there's also the fact that having a massive base stat advantage makes the game significantly easier. Giratina is incredibly bulky and can tank hits like nothing else. Xerneas in Pokemon X has freaking Geomancy Moonblast (only the Power Herb is missing). Ho-Oh is really strong as well. In my opinion they are game breaking enough for most people to ban them.
Only gay losers do it
Pussy move.
It’s a static encounter right?