History YMMV / NuzlockeComics

* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: Plagued with it to a degree. Despite the random nature of the game and how death can result in some odd teams, a ''lot'' of the comic makers tend to make similar choices of starter Pokemon and likely make similar choices on keeping mons if they are able to use them. A Johto locke that picks Chikorita tends up attract intrigue and curiosity since it is a rare occurrence while a Sinnoh locke that picks a Chimchar is regarded as another run-of-the-mill Nuzlocke.
** And most people are almost always going to get, the bug type, the rodent, the bird, and a zubat at some point. Just cause of how common they are.

* MemeticMutation: The [[SelfImposedChallenge Nuzlocke Challenge rules]] have since then become ''very'' popular among players.

*** Or, if there's more than one rival (like in ''Ruby and Sapphire'', ''Diamond and Pearl'', ''Black and White'', and ''X and Y''), rivals with ''each other''. Kynim's ''Diamond'' Nuzlocke is a noteworthy case of this, as one of the endgame pairings is [[spoiler:the two male rivals.]]

* CompleteMonster: [[Characters/PokemonMewtwo Mewtwo]] is a clone of Mew who was tortured by one of his creators and developed an [[MisanthropeSupreme irrational hatred of all of humanity]]. Murdering another innocent scientist, Mewtwo wrathfully destroys the lab where he was made and is trapped by Mew on a deserted island. When a human washes up on the isle's shores, Mewtwo angrily tries to choke them to death to satiate his bloodlust, and later tries to trick Ruby into killing the legendary birds that keep his power restrained so he can escape. When Ruby nearly wins the tournament, Mewtwo arrives to [[MindRape crush the minds]] of all present, [[FrameUp framing Mew]] and intending for Ruby to kill him while planning to escape and [[KillAllHumans murder all humans]], mocking Ruby all the while.

* SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness: The comics tend to vary from both extremes of this.

** In the same vein, Archie is seldomly portrayed as anything more than [[StupidEvil a moron]]. Maxie has a few moments [[WhatAnIdiot ("How did I not see water is GOOD?!"),]] but he is generally shown as more intelligent and having [[AntiVillain greater thought out motives.]]

** The original challenge did not have "No Legendaries" as a rule (Legendaries weren't caught simply because they weren't the first encounter Nuzlocke ran into in their area), nor was "Blackout/Whiteout = Game Over" part of the original rules. ([[spoiler:Ruby ended the way it did probably because the author felt turning the loss against the Champion into a DownerEnding worked well from a story perspective]]) In fact, "you must nickname all your Pokemon" is generally accepted as part of the core Nuzlocke rules these days, but even ''that'' wasn't the case in the original either. The only two rules the first challenge used were stated in the first panel: "Release a Pokemon if it faints" and "Have to catch the first Pokemon on each route and nothing else".

*** Or, if there's more than one rival (like in ''Ruby and Sapphire'', ''Diamond and Pearl'', ''Black and White'', and ''X and Y''), rivals with ''each other''. Kynim's ''Diamond'' Nuzlocke is a noteworthy case of this, as one of the endgame pairings is [[spoiler:the two male rivals]].

* StopHavingFunGuys: It is to be expected, given it is part of the Pokemon fandom, albeit rare. There are some who take the challenge [[SeriousBusiness rather seriously]] and will criticize the teambuilding of other players (if they are sharing the progress and results of their challenge) even though one of the premises of the challenge involves adapting to having no choice on what mons you can use outside of ones given as gifts.
* StrawmanHasAPoint: There's something to be said for N's claims -- that Pokemon battles are cruel, selfish, and only result in Pokemon being hurt -- on a normal playthrough. On a Nuzlocke run, he's pretty much right.

* BrokenBase: Episode 8 of White: Hard Mode has been getting this for [[spoiler: having Ruby catch Victini, showing the "No Legendaries" rule is not in effect]], resulting in either people okay with it (mostly due to the mon's personality) or crying "ruined".

** Blastoise also counts to an extent after all the crap he took from Gary despite being a repeated HeroKiller for [[spoiler:Meowth]] and [[spoiler:Blamo]]. As such, his TheDogBitesBack moment feels all the more cathartic.

!!! Apocalypse Johto:

* MoralEventHorizon: Lyrax's Gold run immediately establishes the rival as irredeemable when he [[spoiler: steals ''both'' of the leftover starters, apparently just so he could tell Lyrax "Don't follow me or I'll ''kill'' one of them." He does]].

* NauseaFuel: [[spoiler: The ways Stan is described as having killed the gym leaders in "Super Stan's Super Awesome Adventure!"]]

* NightmareFuel: The Unnamed Protagonist from [[http://s7.zetaboards.com/Nuzlocke_Forum/topic/8579823/1/ Pitch Black]] is a [[NightmareFuel terrifying]], evil, sadistic protagonist. From the beginning it's established that he's NOT a good character, (Considering we see his first activities IMPALING POKEMON ON HIS PICKET FENCE). From then on, any Pokemon he catches he forces to fight and brutally murder his friends and family and sees them nothing more as tools, even going as far as to [[spoiler: KILL his own Pokemon, and eventually even humans]]. Basically, he's an even worse version of Paul. His Oshawott, Icarus, MAY be just as bad--the only difference in their personalities is that Icarus is a [[BigBadWannabe /b/tard]] while the MC is a [[BigBad serial killer]].

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: May was treated as an IneffectualSympatheticVillain and her threats of murder aren't taken very seriously, even when she kills grandma Winstrait. [[spoiler: But then she finally manages to kill Django...]]
* HarsherInHindsight: In Hale's comic, Hale tells May that she should kill herself. [[spoiler: Guess what she tries to do later on.]]

* CompleteMonster: [[MisanthropeSupreme Mewtwo]] is a clone of Mew who was [[BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil tortured by one of his creators and developed an irrational hatred of all of humanity]]. Murdering another innocent scientist, Mewtwo wrathfully destroys the lab where he was made and is trapped by Mew on a deserted island. When a human washes up on the isle's shores, Mewtwo angrily tries to choke them to death to satiate his bloodlust, and later tries to trick Ruby into killing the legendary birds that keep his power restrained so he can escape. When Ruby nearly wins the tournament, Mewtwo arrives to [[MindRape crush the minds]] of all present, [[FrameUp framing Mew]] and intending for Ruby to kill him while planning to escape and [[KillAllHumans murder all humans]], mocking Ruby all the while.

* CompleteMonster: Mewtwo is the BigBad of the [=FireRed=] arc. A clone of the legendary Pokémon Mew, Mewtwo [[BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil grew a hatred for humanity due to being tortured]] by one of the scientists who created him. After killing a scientist who took no part in his torture in a rage and destroying the laboratory he was created in, Mewtwo came across Mew, who trapped the former on a deserted island in hopes that it would give Mewtwo time for his anger to subside. Despite calming down and regaining sanity, Mewtwo [[MisanthropeSupreme still held his hatred of humanity]] despite knowing not all of them are cruel, attempting to slowly choke a human who accidentally washed on the island shore to death, [[{{Sadist}} simply because he believes it's been too long since he's killed somebody]]. Looking for a way to break the seal that keeps him trapped on the island, Mewtwo deceives [[TheHero Ruby]] into killing the three legendary birds, who kept Mewtwo's power restrained, by pretending to be the ghost of Ruby's deceased Nuzleaf. After Ruby defeats Gary and is about to be crowned Elite Four Champion, Mewtwo [[MindRape breaks the minds]] of everybody in the stadium except for Ruby, and [[FrameUp frames Mew]] for it, intending for Ruby to kill Mew and completely break the seal. Mewtwo mocks Ruby for being tricked by him and proclaims that he looks forward to enjoying his newfound freedom, [[ForTheEvulz and might as well]] KillAllHumans while he's at it, [[UngratefulBastard promising to kill Ruby last as his way of "thanks"]].

!!!ShiningAce's Nuzlocke:

* NightmareFuel: The Unnamed Protagonist from [[http://s7.zetaboards.com/Nuzlocke_Forum/topic/8579823/1/ Pitch Black]] is a [[NightmareFuel terrifying]], evil, sadistic protagonist. From the beginning it's established that he's NOT a good character, (Considering we see his first activities IMPALING POKEMON ON HIS PICKET FENCE). From then on, any Pokemon he catches he forces to fight and brutally murder his friends and family and sees them nothing more as tools, even going as far as to [[spoiler: KILL his own Pokemon]]. Basically, he's an even worse version of Paul. His Oshawott, Icarus, MAY be just as bad.

** In White, Ghetsis starts out seeming like a humorous and possibly well-intentioned crime boss in a similar vein to Giovanni, until TheReveal that [[spoiler:while N is a creepy {{Manchild}}, Ghetsis is very much TheManBehindTheMan who manipulated him into being that way, and he straight up ''murdered'' Bruce the Charizard with his Hydreigon and then his own wife Isis by sealing her underground and leaving her to starve to death. Even before that, he was a disingenuous activist who used his group's environmental concerns for his own gain, and he fully intends to take over the entire Unova region as a tyrant by using N's ability to communicate with Pokemon.]]

** The original challenge did not have "No Legendaries" as a rule (Legendaries weren't caught simply because they weren't the first encounter Nuzlocke ran into in their area), nor was "Blackout/Whiteout = Game Over" part of the original rules. ([[spoiler: Ruby ended the way it did probably because the author felt turning the loss against the Champion into a DownerEnding worked well from a story perspective]]) In fact, "you must nickname all your Pokemon" is generally accepted as part of the core Nuzlocke rules these days, but even ''that'' wasn't the case in the original either. The only two rules the first challenge used were stated in the first panel: "Release a Pokemon if it faints" and "Have to catch the first Pokemon on each route and nothing else".

* MoralEventHorizon: [[spoiler:Ghetsis crosses it in episode 12 when he murdered Ruby's Charizard and then sealed his wife Isis in Relic Castle, killing her because they tried to stop his plans to take over Unova, along with admitting that getting rid of her made him feel free.]]

* MoralEventHorizon: [[spoiler:Ghetsis crosses it in episode 12 when he murdered Ruby's Charizard and then sealed his wife Isis in Relic Castle, killing her because they tried to stop his plans to take over Kanto, along with admitting that getting rid of her made him feel free.]]

* SlidingScaleofSillinessVersusSeriousness: The comics tend to vary from both extremes of this.

* NightmareFuel The Unnamed Protagonist from [[http://s7.zetaboards.com/Nuzlocke_Forum/topic/8579823/1/ Pitch Black]] is a [[NightmareFuel terrifying]], evil, sadistic protagonist. From the beginning it's established that he's NOT a good character, (Considering we see his first activities IMPALING POKEMON ON HIS PICKET FENCE). From then on, any Pokemon he catches he forces to fight and brutally murder his friends and family and sees them nothing more as tools, even going as far as to [[spoiler: KILL his own Pokemon]]. Basically, he's an even worse version of Paul. His Oshawott, Icarus, MAY be just as bad.

* HarsherInHindsight: Meta-example. On late Feb 2017, the author would had his car [[https://twitter.com/Nuzlocke/status/833569811619684352 broken into]] and have his 3DS and ''all'' his Pokémon games stolen. This meant that that he lost all of his friends in real life whether they lived through the story or not, meaning that in a way, they died for real. The only legacy left of them would be the webcomic itself where he [[https://twitter.com/Nuzlocke/status/833722225106694144 already written down]] the notes for White.

* {{Shipping}}: In spinoffs, the MainCharacter with Pokemon Gym Leaders/NPC:

** And it seems like the White arc is starting to grow it even further, by having it in full color, the art being a lot more clean, and not overusing the ''Series/{{Lost}}'' references.

* HoYay: Bill and the guy with glasses.
* JerkassWoobie: Ruby is by no means a total jerk, and he warms up to any Pokemon he initially hates, but he's often a bit cynical in some chapters. You'd be too if your own father favored a Slakoth over you, you watched several Pokemon die, [[spoiler:lost all your remaining teammates against the champion, almost lost everyone against another, were used by an all-powerful legendary who proceeded to kill ''another'' party member, and [[FishOutOfTemporalWater flung three years into the future in the aftermath]] without the remaining one of your Pokemon, where the cycle starts again via a certain green-haired Pokemon rights activist.]] Guy's got it rough...

* {{Squick}}/{{Fanservice}}: [[http://www.nuzlocke.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/ruby51.jpg Torkoal used Attract!]]
* NightmareFuel: [[http://www.nuzlocke.com/pokemonhardmode.php?p=27 Marowak's Ghost in this comic]], [[spoiler: Mewtwo's wall of Nuzlockers in the Fire Red run]], and as of White, N's [[DissonantSerenity Pidove.]] [[VerbalTic Coo.]]

** Although to be fair, [[spoiler: the original comic never has never had the "No Legendaries" rule. The reason he didn't catch all the legendaries previously is because they weren't the first Pokemon he encountered in an area. [[LoopholeAbuse Victini was]].]]

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:
** Several of the gym leaders, but Erika as a pot head takes the cake.
** N in White: Hard Mode is [[AdaptationalVillainy much worse]] than {{Canon}}; he's willing to ''kill'' Pokemon just to lecture their owners about how "this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't caught them!"
** Also in White: Hard Mode, Cheren and Bianca being creepy {{psychopathic manchild}}ren who stalked and hounded Hilbert so badly that he ''[[DrivenToSuicide hung himself]]'' just to get away from them--and their reaction to seeing this is simply mild disappointment (with the mildly unsettling implication that this has happened before).
** [[UltimateLifeForm Mewtwo]] goes the exact [[AdaptationalVillainy opposite direction]] of how most fanworks, Nuzlocke or otherwise, portray him. In the games, Mewtwo had very little personality, but the 'dex and most hints from its backstory portray it as an easily angered BloodKnight that takes no greater joy in anything but fighting. The anime popularized a more tragic portrayal of the character, a broken creature that sees itself as an abomination and bitterly hates humanity for making it that way, whilst simultaneously having a cold calculating mind. "Fire Red: Hard Mode" portrays a horrifying merger of the two characterizations, with a highly intelligent and manipulative Mewtwo who not only bitterly hates humanity, but also wants to ''destroy'' them, and displays a sadistic love of killing both humans and Pokemon alike.

** Surprisingly enough, [[spoiler:Ghetsis is this as of episode 11]].

** Also in Hoenn runs, Wallace tends to be depicted as CampStraight and in a relationship with Winnona. This is probably influenced by ''Manga/PokemonSpecial''.

* CommonKnowledge: The original challenge did not have "No Legendaries" as a rule (Legendaries weren't caught simply because they weren't the first encounter Nuzlocke ran into in their area), nor was "Blackout/Whiteout = Game Over" part of the original rules. ([[spoiler: Ruby ended the way it did probably because the author felt turning the loss against the Champion into a DownerEnding worked well from a story perspective]]) In fact, "you must nickname all your Pokemon" is generally accepted as part of the core Nuzlocke rules these days, but even ''that'' wasn't the case in the original either. The only two rules the first challenge used were stated in the first panel: "Release a Pokemon if it faints" and "Have to catch the first Pokemon on each route and nothing else".