Well my lovely readers, it is time for you to see me write a kind of fanfic I've never written before. As you can see from the title, it is now my turn to have a go at the beloved challenge of many a Pokemon fan that is the Nuzlocke Challenge.

As a major Pokemon fan, it was inevitable I would give this a try. I've researched all about Nuzlockes and read plenty of fan-comics on DeviantArt, particularly the ones by ky-nim and pettyartist. So I hope that I can do this challenge justice and give you all an entertaining Nuzlocke story to read. Sit back and enjoy Pokemon fans as we dive into Mixedfan8643's Pokemon Shield Nuzlocke Challenge...

Nuzlocke Rules for this Challenge

Rule 1: If a Pokemon faints during battle, it is no longer allowed to be used. Unlike other Nuzlockes, a loss won't always equal a death in this situation.

Rule 2: Nickname any Pokemon you capture.

Rule 3: You're only allowed to capture ONE Pokemon you see in the overworld. If it's a Random Encounter, you must catch the first Pokemon that shows up in said encounter. You're also only allowed to catch one of each species.

Rule 4: Catch only one Pokemon per new area.

Rule 5: NO CATCHING POKEMON IN THE WILD AREA. Only in Routes is this allowed. This is only done to prevent any premature "deaths" in the Nuzlocke in case I'm against a really strong Mon and can't get away before it kills any of my Mons.

Rule 6: EXP candies are allowed ONLY to help other Pokemon catch up. NO using EXP candies to overlevel.

Rule 7: No revival items allowed. Healing items are still permitted.

Rule 8: Catching Pokemon during a Dynamax Raid IS allowed but you can only catch one Dynamax Pokemon per area in the Wild Area. Losing a Dynamax Raid doesn't count as a death either so your Pokemon are allowed to be used again even if they faint during these raids.

Rule 9: Whenever you face the gym leader, your Pokemon's level must be no more than 2 levels above his or her strongest Pokemon. (Example, if a gym leader's strongest Pokemon is Level 20, your Pokemon's level must be level 22 or lower in order to fight it.)

Rule 10: You're only allowed to make ONE curry per camping trip. Also all camping sessions must last no longer than 10 minutes. This will prevent over-levelling too much.

Rule 11: Failure to uphold these rules will result in the challenge being rendered null and void. If you lose all your Pokemon in a battle, you may use any Pokemon still in your Box to carry on. If all Pokemon, including those in your box, die in battle then your game is over and the challenge is lost.

With all that out of the way, let us begin!

Prologue

Legend tells of two heroes that banded together to end a looming crisis that befell the Galar region. Many historians would call it "The Darkest Day". It was so called because 3,000 years ago, a massive black storm covered the Galar region in eternal darkness. During this time, a strange new phenomenon was born, an occurrence in which the Pokemon of the region would grow to colossal sizes and display immense power, while also going on uncontrollable rampages. The storm had been stopped by a pair of heroes that were seen to have wielded a magical sword and a magical shield respectively. There was much destruction to repair afterwards and the strange phenomenon still continued to this day, which modern Pokemon tournaments would make great use out of. That is the story that everyone knows. Details have remained lost to time for so long that nobody truly knows the full story. Who were the two heroes that stopped the Darkest Day? What even caused the Darkest Day? Would it ever happen again?

Long have the heroes of Galar waited for their story to be uncovered and the truth to be known. Maybe there will be a time where they'll be needed to save Galar from total destruction again...

The energy that was being generated from the crowd gathered at Wyndon Stadium was enough to power all of Galar itself. Tumultuous applause could be heard from all over the city, and yet it was all coming from this one stadium in the heart of Wyndon itself. Fireworks exploded in the night sky above, a dazzling pattern of colours breaking through the darkness. The people gathered at this stadium were here to see the Galar region's most popular sport of all time: the sport of Pokemon battling. Many regions all over the world loved Pokemon battling but the Galar region in particular was a hot spot for it. In this region, it was akin to that of a major sporting event like the Olympic Games in which regular tournaments would attract millions of viewers every year. The audience gathered here today were only seeing an exhibition match, but it was still enough to generate the huge amount of excitement that only true fans of Pokemon could display. A match was about to start, and it was a match that had everybody eagerly anticipating it, even if it was only an exhibition match.

Before the match was due to start, a slightly portly man dressed in a smart grey suit and red tie with a circular lapel pin attached to his left lapel was on the field and addressing the viewers at home. He was looking at a Rotom camera that was filming the match. Rotom was just one of many species of Pokemon that lived in the Galar region and they often possessed household items like lawn mowers, fans and even TVs and phones. This one followed the smartly dressed man as he made his speech for the viewers.

"Welcome one and all!" he greeted, his handsome face breaking into a welcoming smile, presumably for the benefit of the cameras that were trained on him, "Welcome to the wonderful world of Pokemon!"

The audience could feel the amount of enthusiasm this man displayed. Many celebrities would usually fake expressions so they looked good on camera but this man's enthusiastic speech had nothing fake about it at all. This was a man that wasn't afraid to make his true feelings apparent to anyone. He clasped his hands behind his back and continued to speak.

"Our beloved Galar region is a wonderful place with thriving nature, beautiful cities and many Pokemon with which we share our lives! As you know, our society is able to thrive..."

He paused as he drew out the familiar red and white sphere that was the famous Pokeball, the one item that no Pokemon trainer was ever seen without. He then tossed the ball into the air and it opened up, an explosion of light escaping from inside to materialize into the form of a Cufant. Cufant was a Steel type Pokemon that resembled an elephant with some Indian artistry added to it. Its orange and green colours, big trunk and rather cutesy appearance made it a beloved Pokemon in the Galar region an easy Pokemon to make friends with. The Cufant trumpeted with delight, glad to see so many people as it waved its trunk to greet them.

"...thanks to help from these mysterious creatures we call Pokemon." the suited man continued, "Yes, Pokemon are all around us, in the sea, in the sky and even with us in our towns! And those of us who choose to raise and train Pokemon to do battle and compete...we call Pokemon trainers!" he added, holding up the Pokeball with which Cufant had come out of.

The audience cheered upon the mention of those last two words.

"Oh! But I'm getting carried away. Please allow me to introduce myself." the man continued, "My name is Derek Rose, and it is a pleasure to be here. Now turn your gaze to the Galar region's greatest Pokemon trainer, your undefeated Champion..."

He paused for dramatic effect, noticing the increasing excitement in the crowd for they knew what was coming. Rose held his hands out to the side as he concluded his speech with the intro of Galar's champion.

"It's time for Champion Leon's exhibition match!" Rose declared, sounding as excited as the crowd currently was.

Some strategically placed fireworks went off behind him as Champion Leon made his entrance. As the smoke cleared, he made his way onto the pitch with his prized Pokemon, the fiery Charizard, beside him. Leon had been in this position more times than he dared count since he'd started his career as a Pokemon trainer. Standing on the pitch of Wyndon Stadium, the huge crowd all gathered around to watch him battle and preparing to give the audience an amazing show was practically routine for him and he relished every minute of it.

Leon was a well-built, fit looking man with comically large purple hair dazzling golden eyes. His trademark outfit was...odd to say the least. He wore a black striped t-shirt with the red circle and blue sword logo that marked his status as the reigning champion along with some tiny white shorts with a number 1 on the left leg over some white, black and gold tights and a black cap to match. Draped over his shoulders was a regal red cape with gold fur trimmings. This ensemble made him look like a cross between a football player and an old English king. Yet nobody dared to mock his sense of fashion given the incredible reputation he had.

With Charizard beside him, Leon flashed his famous "Charizard Stance" to the crowd, knowing full well how much it got them worked up. The stance involved him standing with his feet apart, twisting to one side, closing his eyes and flashing a confident smile with his head bowed and his left arm straight up in the air with two fingers and his thumb fully extended, imitating the famous twin-horned appearance his iconic Pokemon partner. The audience went wild with joy with some crowd members mimicking him and many people snapped some pictures of Leon as he struck his trademark pose. As Galar's champion, he was supremely confident and felt as if he truly had the audience in the palm of his hand.

His opponent stood on the other side of the pitch, ready to battle him. He was one of Galar's eight gym leaders, a master of dragon types named Raihan. He was Leon's rival and a determined trainer to take Leon's title for his own. He had his strongest Pokemon, a mighty Dragon/Steel type named Duraludon that to many looked like a sentient skyscraper. Duraludon eyed Charizard, sharing his trainer's determination to win this battle. Raihan smirked, confident that this would be his match.

"Exhibition or not, Leon, your pristine record is about to end when I beat you here today!" the dragon trainer declared.

Leon just flicked his cape and smiled back, looking unperturbed. How many times had he heard that declaration before only for it to never come true?

"You know I don't lose battles, Raihan!" he stated, his tone matter-of-fact, "Charizard, Dynamax!"

The audience grew ever more excited as they watched an incredible transformation happen before them. Dynamaxing was a feature exclusive to the Galar region and largely the reason why the stadiums in Galar were so big in size. When a Pokemon Dynamaxed, it grew to gigantic sizes and some Pokemon changed appearance when they did this. Charizard was doing just that, his size increasing until he was about several times his original height and his wings were engulfed in flames. The circular marking on his stomach turned white and the huge dragon like Pokemon glowed with a dazzling red aura as Dynamax energy flashed all around him. The Dynamaxed Charizard roared loudly, its terrifying roars booming all around the stadium. A battle between giant Pokemon was always going to be incredible to watch and the audience was determined not to miss a second of it...

I know this isn't much of a start and that we've basically got a novelized version of the opening cutscene to the game. I just felt it was right to start this Nuzlocke where the game starts y'know? ^^

And as many of you will have spotted, one change to the game I've made is that I've given Chairman Rose a first name. The game seems to indicate his name is actually "Rose" but I don't buy it. Who's heard of a man named "Rose"? Isn't that like calling a girl "John" or something? It makes more sense that he has a first name and Rose is his surname so I've given him one. I dunno why but I think "Derek" suits him.

Anywho, tune in to the first chapter next time as things will get more interesting with the introduction to our protagonist and also which starter we'll be going with for this story. See you then. ^^

Oh and FYI, I'll be writing this fanfic as I play the game so how this will turn out is as much a mystery to me as anyone else. I hope you all enjoy!

Update: I've altered Rule 8 for the Nuzlocke as I felt Rule 8 ended up being counter-intuitive in practice. So from now on, the new Rule 8 is what I'm following.

Update 2: Updated Rule 1 to explain why any future chapters won't have Pokemon deaths when I lose any in the challenge. I honestly think Nuzlocke players shouldn't always interpert losing a Pokemon as a "death" in their stories.