nuzlocke
/ˈnʌzlɒk/
CommonA self-imposed Pokemon challenge run where fainted Pokemon are permanently dead and you can only catch the first Pokemon on each route.
The name comes from a webcomic. People often add extra rules on top of the two base ones. Saying you 'did a Nuzlocke' usually means a full run, not just attempting one.
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | just lost my starter in my nuzlocke. bro I actually cried | The starter Pokemon fainted and is gone, and the player is emotionally affected. | x, 2023 |
| 02 | doing a blind nuzlocke of scarlet and every gym leader is destroying me | Playing without prior knowledge while also under permadeath rules makes the game brutal. | reddit, 2023 |
| 03 | my rattata died to a crit and now I have to retire him. this game is so cruel | A random lucky hit ended a team member's run permanently. | tiktok, 2024 |
| 04 | finally beat the elite four in my nuzlocke with only 2 pokemon left | Completed the final challenge with heavy losses but still won the run. | reddit, 2024 |
Use it when
- Describing a Pokemon playthrough with permadeath rules.
- Talking about losing a team member to a tough fight.
- Explaining why a casual Pokemon game became emotionally intense.
- Referring to the challenge run format itself.
Do not use it when
- You just mean playing Pokemon normally.
- You mean any hard game, not specifically Pokemon with these rules.Use “challenge run” instead.
Variations and related forms
Nuzlocke vs challenge run
nuzlocke
Nuzlocke refers specifically to a defined ruleset: permadeath plus first-encounter-only catching.
challenge-run
Challenge run is any self-imposed restriction, including monotype, no items, or low-level runs.
Origin and context
Originated from a webcomic by creator 'Nuzlocke' (Nick Franco) in 2010, which depicted a Pokemon FireRed playthrough with these self-imposed rules. The comic spread on forums and the challenge format took on the creator's username as its name.
- First seen
- 2010
- Confidence
- high
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/nuzlocke