looking back on the experience now - oh BOY was there a lot of stuff i didn't remember!! i'll be transcribing my "live" notes from this point on, but know this: i made MANY decisions that i now realize were entirely foolish. oh well, live and learn ;)

- i feel it's important to note that i was planning to use charmander, since i was playing red version, but i took one look at squirtle's dopey little sprite, and well... i just couldn't resist!! i'll come back to you charmander, i promise.

- in the rival battle, moves like growl just... failed? i didn't know that was possible! there is a pop-up for moves missing, but there's also one for 'didn't affect the pokemon' or 'move failed', which is so odd. i should probably look up the mechanics of that at some point.

- yuuuuup. i completely forgot that professor oak doesn't give you pokeballs in gen one. that's such a small time save, but it is super helpful, especially in nuzlockes. that's money spent, too... gah.

- found a pikachu!! not that i'll have any lack of those later on (yellow, leaf green, let's go pikachu, etc.), but still. they seem to spawn fairly often in the forest! such a cute sprite :)

- the trainer in the gym used a diglett!! nice to see another ground type in here, rather than a rattata. though i do have to say, there's only... 5 rock types in this gen, yeah? there's geodude, onix, rhyhorn, kabuto, and omantye. and three of those are completely late game... huh. guess it's important for the first gym leader in the first game to have 'unique' or 'first witnessed' pokemon.

- as expected, Haly swept through Brock!! though i am surprised that his signature move was bide instead of rock throw. when two of the starters are super-effective against him, having a time stalling move as the signature seems rather odd.

as of this battle, squirtle is an officially banned pokemon!

- mt moon was easy to storm through. i usually go through every nook and cranny, so it was actually pretty funny just how short it is if you know how to avoid all the trainers!

- ??? when a pokemon is wrapped they can't attack?? that's a BIG switch up!! interesting too because it doesn't give a huge advantage to the attacker either, considering that they can't use any other moves or items, or switch out their pokemon. i can see why they just switched it over to chip damage in the later gens. interesting to see the foundations of that here. also!! a bit scary!! since i wasn't sure if i was about to get totally wasted or not LMAO

- this jigglypuff sprite.... oh my love ♥ i do adore you so

- on the other side of that - OH MY GOD GRIMER, WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU

- in and out of mt moon without an issue!! though i was surprised to see this little clearing without the karate dudes in it!! feels like they meant to have something here and just didn't add it in... otherwise it's an odd empty space considering we know that it is used in later gens...

- NIDORINO DOESN'T LEARN DOUBLE KICK UNTIL LEVEL 50??? i love nidoking, and it's generally a pretty solid option for kanto, but without the doublekick to help with rock and normal types, the only real advantage it has is a resistance to poison... which, admittedly, is helpful in this poison-heavy gen, but still. may end up boxing my buddy... ☹

- this battle vs the rival tends to be a rough one -- maybe even the toughest battle so far, considering it's a big team of varied pokemon that are all likely at your level, if not higher. i really did try to let zubat get a hit in, but it's just too fragile... rattata, on the other hand, always fucking cleans house. i'll probably box zubat and wait to use it for a gen when i can get a crobat instead. not like i'll have any lack of zubats in a pokemon game lmao

- that MANKEY.... lil guy is SCHMOOVIN' !!

- oh thank god, an oddish. i was about to start REALLY panicking over what to do with misty, lmao. i could probably push through with raticate if need be, but still. a decent grass type is definitely an advantage.

- yup, Dya is already being a huge help. and!! this is when i realized that the PC doesn't heal pokemon in this game!! another tiny quality of life update that probably didn't matter much beforehand, considering you can only access the PC in the center, but definitely a welcome change.

- also realizing now that the game doesn't tell you when you enter a new route... luckily i have the kanto routes pretty well memorized, but still. rough for a nuzlocke!!

- there's no romantic couple at the pier, either, huh?

- at the misty battle now, and oh my god?? misty used an X-DEFENSE?? i can't recall a time i've seen an enemy trainer use one of those just out of the blue!! and especially for misty, a water type trainer, this feels out of place?? i guess it's just to teach you the mechanics of the x-items, but still.

- no psychic moves on these 'mons!! that's the thing i was most worried about for poor dya, but thankfully, we're in the clear!! oddish sweep!! what a damn good catch

as of this battle, oddish is an officially banned pokemon!

- i know i just keep marveling over 'thing different', but it catches me off guard every time. like, disable gets rid of a random move?? huh!

- i can't catch anything on route 6... totally forgot how many pokemon are exclusives in this gen (like meowth! damn)

- OH NO!! close call from this raticate was almost a 1HKO for armetrewe!! D:

- i needed a good ground type for surge and i accidentally killed my diglett encounter... goddamn it

- there's no healing in the ss anne!! not gonna bother with the rest of the trainers, then. might as well go right to the rival battle.

- ough... ori was in a tough spot for a minute there. mankey is real fragile... tapis took out two of the 'mons, so they're the real winner here. also, what the hell's up with ivysaur's sprite?? stay on the GROUND, fool!

- well, i've got cut now... back to the age of permenant hms. this is definitely not something i missed.

- the list for who can use cut (and i'm willing to sacrifice a move slot for) is... slim. agh. forgive me, mailarde, i need a beedrill! :')

- looking for someone to give dig and uh. UH?? wode can't learn it?? (bgsweat) is nidoking not a ground type in this gen?? forgive me as i run to serebii to find out -- ah. nidoking is a ground type. it just only learns earthquake and fissure. by tm. it can't learn dig. WHAT?? mankey better be able to use dig or i'm gonna mourn that diglett so much...

- karate chop is a normal type move?? damn. doesn't that make fighting types pretty... useless early on? a lot of other fighting type moves are pretty gimicky, like reversal. i guess this makes sense because this gen has no physical/special split (rip hitmonchan) but still. what a bizarre take. at least mankey can learn dig.

- when i clicked on the tree and cut didn't initiate, i nearly panicked, but thankfully, i recalled something about hm's activating from the menu, which is... (dead)

- managed to get through the puzzle without fighting anyone, thankfully!! that's one good thing about this gen, trainer line of sight is much shorter, and they won't see you if their sprite is off-screen.

- total side note, but it is admittedly still so funny to me that surge is a 'canon' american. that would never exist in the modern games, they've put too much work into their own worldbuilding lmao. funny little artifact

- RAICHU IS SO CHONKY?? big man...

- rabbi SWEEP!!! didn't even need to use mankey for dig! ...kinda regretting using dig so early on, now. surely this won't come back to bite me later.

as of this battle, raticate is an officially banned pokemon!

- i can only let my team go up one more level, huh? through all of rock tunnel, huh?? (dead) i've never played with such extreme level caps before, and i'm not a big fan, to be honest. it does make the game more difficult! but does that matter if it also makes it less enjoyable? we'll have to see if i keep doing this for the next few games. might stick with it for gen 1, at least, since grinding for levels is a lot easier and more enjoyable in later games.

- well, can't catch anything on route 9! rip.

- holy shit!! rock tunnel is really dark! i'm pretty sure i have the route memorized, but still, it's a way different vibe!

- the color palettes are kind throwing me off here. i keep thinking that zubat is shiny, even tho it's crobat who has a pink shiny (laugh)

- ohh! the maniacs aren't wearing costumes! in fact they're kinda... uh... dare i say it

- when an enemy meowth uses payday, i get to pick up the money after the battle!! kinda sad they changed that for future gens, tbh.

- OUGH. first self-destruct of the playthrough. dya's tough, though!! :')

- SO glad to be out of that cave. the caves in pokemon are always my LEAST favorite environments, and a cave that requires an HM to traverse is the worst offender, in my opinion.

- ...i forgot about item limits. the bag system is already so outdated in this game, agh. there's no key items, and everything can be deposited into the PC, including the town map and HMs!! so weird

- hey guess what. voltorb does not naturally learn ANY electric type moves. gah. INTO THE BOX WITH YOU.

- oh thank god, growlithe learns fire-type moves. you'd think that'd be obvious, but it was a real concern for a minute there. THANK YOU ARCEUS!!

- into the tower we go!! yippee!! wahoo!! what could go wrong?! :D (← unaware of the horrors)

- BLUE'S GYARADOS HAS DRAGON RAGE?? AND HYDRO PUMP??? HE ALMOST KILLED HALY!! that thing nearly wiped out half my team. holy shit.

- rabbiss cleaned up the rest of them easily but HOLY SHIT. just, wow. that was definitely the first rough battle of the run.

- man, there's so many trainers missing from the overworld!! with some trees and other 'space-fillers' missing too, the world feels far more empty...

- i'm not gonna bother with eevee. as much as i love them, i think the original three eeveelutions are the least useful in terms of what's available in later generations (sylveon my beloved)

- nothing new to catch in route 7! this usually happens even with gba runs, though

- i think i'll go and see if there's anything useful in the game corner!! let's see... abra, clefairy, nidorina, dratini, scyther, and porygon are available... well, i have to be honest. scyther and porygon will both be more useful in later generations. i need to play the long game here!! also, dratini is cool (and the cheapest of the top three). tms available are dragon rage, hyper beam, and substitute. well, dragon rage is worth it for my dratini!

- YOU CAN ONLY BET 3 COINS AT A TIME?? oh NO. and you can only buy coins by 50 at a time.... oh my god this is uh. gonna take a while.

- agony.

- okay dya my beloved you're not gonna help with this gym, so you're gonna go in the box for a bit while our new dratini buddy comes in for some training

- what a cute sprite for dratini!! i think i like it more than the modern one, tbh... also, level 18!! that's nice!

- dratini has no good moves until level 30. doesn't even learn dragon rage until level 40. this was DEFINITELY a good investment to just teach it the tm right now.

- ANTIGO CAN ALSO LEARN IT??

- am i really gonna go grind more coins just to give dragon rage to my dog? ......yes

- oh no, there's no way to examine moves in this game (laugh) oh well, i looked it up and it's the same as modern dragon rage

- do i absolutely HAVE to do rocket game corner right away? i've spent enough time in there as it is... honestly, if i keep going by the gym leader / rival level caps, then i could take care of erika and koga, then come back to sweep through this nonsense. the level cap really is making me want to avoid battle as much as possible. i feel like i had more Shenanigans (and fun) when there was no level cap... (sigh) i'll stick it out for now!!

- in the department store!! there's no descriptions for anything... rough.

- huh. this is the first time i've really gone out of my way to use the DrugsTM floor lmao.

- FINALLY DONE. oh my GOD that took forever. also, remembered that i need cut again, so haly needs to go in the box. sorry babe, but you wouldn't help here anyway.

- WHAT THE HELL IS EXEGGCUTE'S SPRITE??

- tapis takes erika down completely untouched!! the only damage is from gym trainers. hell yeah FEAROW SWEEP!!

as of this battle, fearow is an officially banned pokemon!

- the level jump here is INSANE. and on top of that, the level cap for sabrina is ALSO 43, but i have to storm through the rockets and the tower and then again in saffron just to open the gym... gah.

- okay, i might just have to use different pokemon for those battles. we'll see!

- haly learns withdraw at level 31?? lmao. just. lol.

- SHIT I NEED TO DO THE TOWER AND ALL THAT SHIT NOW OR ELSE I CAN'T WAKE UP THE SNORLAX!! FUCK!! shit. goddamn. alright, game corner it is

- i feel like the base door being hidden behind machines and in the back wall actually makes it feel more stealthy than before!! i like that little detail, i wish they'd kept it around in future gens

- i actually don't remember the way to make it through this base the fastest.... might just look it up

- i'm already lost LMAO

- haly took down giovanni easy!! seriously, not even a dent. that's my partner!!

- ah shit, i totally forgot that the rocket grunts don't abandon base after giovanni leaves... might have accidentally walked into an extra battle or two, lol

- alright, into the tower i go. get to catch a gastly too!! love that little guy

- holy SHIT?? first spawn cubone?? that's literally never happened to me before. could be great for koga's gym!! let's see what moves it can know... knows bone club right off the bat!! and learns bonemerang at 43!! fuck yeah!! koga ace here we come!!

- oh wow, gastly actually looks kinda spooky!! it'd be nice to have gengar for sabrina, but im satisfied with clik tbh

- BITE DOESN'T AFFECT GASTLY?? oh my god bite isn't a dark type move, dark doesn't exist in this gen. whoopsies

- well, rabbiss chewed through the rockets here and i'm all set!! god, raticate is really so good. it's been in my championship team for many a nuzlocke

- that snorlax looks ready to KICK !!

- THE POKEBALL CAN FUCKING MISS?? god, this is gonna take a while

- i don't tend to ever use snorlax, honestly, but it is an undeniable powerhouse. usually in a nuzlocke i'll already have a full team that im attached to and don't plan to replace at this point, but the pickings are kinda slim in these early gens, so snorlax is good to have on standby

- i forgot about the fucking bike LMAO. lemme go grab that real quick

- ...i didn't hav enough room in my inventory. now i have to listen to the old man ramble about his rapidash again... well, i guess if i had a super cool horse i would want to tell people about it all the time too, so i suppose i can't complain

- okay, in fuschia!! now i can just train to beat koga, get surf, and head straight to sabrina

- ugh, i forgot that most of the gym trainers use psychic types for some reason... i suppose they have to if they don't want to have extreme overlap with erika, considering most poison types are also grass types, but they could at least throw some beedrills in there

- huh. the gym puzzle is actually easier in this gen!! i quite like that. i understand why they changed it, but considering the minor annoyance of the modern one, this just feels like a nice little break lmao

- WOOF. that last minute self-destruct is crazy!! clik sweep tho ;) we knew it would!!

as of this battle, marowak is an offically banned pokemon!!

- since the rival level here is below that of the last gym leader, we're just gonna ignore it

- i just gotta grab surf, and then we'll be golden!!

- god, there's so many arbitrary cut spots in this gen... and for what...

- surf and gold teeth acquired!! i was kinda worried that the layout would be different enough that i wouldn't be able to navigate right to it, but im actually the best there ever was so it's fine

- now i just need to get through to saffron city and -- uh oh. where's the tea?? the old lady doesn't have it. do i need to go speak with the guard first??

- uh oh

- i had to look it up... there's no tea in this game, i need to buy a drink from the vending machine. which, like, i guess?? i know im just trained for the tea thanks to the later gens, and it's not like there's NO hints, but still. i can absolutely see why they changed that, six year old me would have gotten trapped here forever

- in silph co and GOD im so lost!! i know the map and layout, but i can't tell what level of the building im on because the game doesn't tell you!! gah!

- ...i was not healed before the rival battle. damnit

- got through it, but god that gyarados is still so rough. never misses a hydropump for some reason!!

- alright, lapris acquired, giovanni booted from residence (haly SWEEP). time for the gym!!

- okay, so clik is too high level for this battle now... but it wouldn't have been TOO helpful for psychics anyway... just gonna have to stick with my gut

- pulling rabbiss back out for this battle, im gonna need all the help i can get with no dark or ghost types...

- WOAH i can't believe i remembered the exact way to get through this gym!! thankfully i knew that only one trainer was a required fight, so that made choosing the path much easier

- huh... that sabrina fight was pretty easy! her ace move was psywave, even though her kadabra had psychic?? anyway, haly + moraunt sweep. guess snorlax will come in handy after all!!

as of this battle, snorlax is an offically banned pokemon!!

- the ice caves are so annoying... but, here we -- OH WAIT A FUCKIN SECOND. almost forgot i can just travel down from palett town. woohoo!!

- also, pulled dya back out of the box :) welcome back baby!! dya can learn petal dance, and i would usually get rid of stun spore, but that's actually been very useful this run!! honestly, there's nothing that poison is super effective against, since pretty much every grass type in this gen is also a poison type. should i get rid of acid?? probably tbh

- THIS is what surf looks like?? BABY (plead)

- alright, im gonna evolve dya now, and i'll evolve anitgo as soon as it hits level 50 for flamethrower. almost there!! oh, vileplume looks so much happier... :') my precious

- i'm pretty sure i can navigate through the mansion without issue. let's find out!

- what's with the random beds in here...?

- Uh Oh. (lost)

- okay!! i did manage it, just had... a MomentTM LMAO

- off to the gym!! wow, there's no more bullshit left after this, exciting!!

- the first gym question actually caught me off guard...

- woah, there's way more questions than i remember. i thought there was only three?

- perhaps unsurprisingly, haly swept through with no issue. BLASTOISE FTW!!

- straight to giovanni, no messing around!!

- i totally forgot that he gets rid of kangaskhan for this fight... bit of a throw tbh, that's always his toughest pokemon to go against

- anyway. you'll never guess. EASY HALY WIN!!! THE BEST!!

- i think i've got my final team here!! i've never used an arcanine as a main team meber, so exciting!!

- ugh... so nervous!! moving into the endgame is scary!! and that damn gyarados... AUGH. but at least after this i can level up to the champion levels... at least i think that's how it works? i should look it up tbh

- oh... looking it up, it seems like most people do stick with level cap for the eilte four, but DON'T do it for the rival battles... i'll do my goddamn best, i suppose. since i can't grind in the pokemon league, i'll go in a little under the champion level and call it even

- thankfully gyarados' dragon rage isn't so scary up against a snorlax

- woof. went for skull bash, but didn't realize that it doesn't increase defense in this gen... luckily antigo cleaned that alakazam up!

- whew!! the trainers don't seem to use very good healing items, thankfully. blue only used potions in this battle!

here we go! final stretch!!

- okay, since lance's ace is 62 and the rival's is 65, i'll train up to 62 and call it even. that feels fair

- i'm kinda feeling like Beaw might not actually be... super helpful? like, marowak might actually be useful for the ghost types... we shall see. this victory road could change some things!!

- okay, victory road is always pretty annoying, but i have this one pretty well-memorized, thankfully. and since trainers won't go after you if they're not in your direct field of vision, it's a bit easier to avoid them. in and out!!

- god, i forgot about these fucking statues... what a weird, last-second addition. ANYWAY. time to train up, decide on my final team, and crush the competition!!

- god im SO NERVOUS. it's so rare for me to get this far without a single death... and in a game where i'm not incredibly familiar with every aspect of the types and moves!! gah

- urgh. okay, all of the water types with lorelei are either ice or psychic secondaries, which makes dya a bad option... maybe moraunt? bruno won't be an issue. ghost i can deal with too, though it won't be pretty... then lance, shit. Beaw may finally have a spot, though it'll be rough as hell. and with the champion, so long as a fire type, water type, and Moraunt survive, i'll be fine. okay, time to plan

- ALRIGHT. definitely snorlax, arcanine, & blastoise. tapis has been the only one to stay with me the whole damn time (hello, love!!) but i think a fire type will take care of anything flying could help with, so, arcanine is the better pick. dya isn't going to really be helpful with anything here that Haly can't do, so... sorry, baby. i'm still unsure about Beaw... gah. let me see what my other options are atm

- would it be better to have woder or clik...? hrm. Woder would be better for agatha. plus, i definitely need an electric type. god, i'm gonna need to track down some tms, aren't i? ...unless i go to the electric plant... (unless)

- also, i need the earthquake tm, which is apparently in silph co. not a bad spot to go back to tbh, no random battles anymore since it's been cleared out.

- okay, i think that's pretty good so far!! i just need an electric type (hopefully a magnemite) and one last team member... Beaw might be my best option. lemme check to see what else i have in the box. nothing impressive, as i recall (sorry y'all)

- THIS COULD BE THE BEEDRILL SWEEP!! (lie)

- i'm looking over my other options, and... rhyhorn may be it?! i've literally never used one before, but it can learn rock slide and thunderbolt, which could be very helpful for lance. i don't think dragonite will be MORE helpful, tbh. lemme see what dragon moves it can learn... is dragon rage the ONLY dragon type move in this gen?? ...yep, so it is. so the dragon v dragon weakness doesn't actually matter. huh. that means an ice type move will be more helpful. okay, so rhyhorn or dragonite can both learn ice beam!! dragonite has better stats, and frankly, it needs to earn its keep after taking up a slot on the team for so long. rhydon can wait for a later gen

- okay NOW. training and tm time!!

- A PIKACHU??? GODDAMN IT I WANTED A MAGNEMITE!!!! and it's only level 20...... i am in agony. well, that's a nuzlocke for you

- the pc can run out of room to store items????? damn

- okay, got ice beam and earthquake. now i just need to train everyone up (dead)

- pikachu learns thunder before thunderbolt??? i need to look some things up...

- it doesn't learn thunderbolt naturally. (tired) well, no matter. i got that tm from surge, thank god

- okay okay okay. nothing left to do. LET'S DO THIS!!

vs lorelei: dene cleaned house with an assiet from antigo!!

vs bruno: haly sweep!! honestly bruno wasted time using x-defense when machamp could have done some major damage to us... oh-well!

vs agatha: the wode gambit paid off!! yes!! now i just need to beat lance, and i feel confident about blue!! almost there!! time to do your job, beaw!!

vs lance: OH MY GOD THAT WAS SO CLOSE!! these tms were an ESSENTIAL investment holy shit. beaw took out the dragons, haly took out the aerodactyl and dene took out the gyarados!! whew!! this is also the moment i realized... I NEVER LEVELED UP BEAW?? ah, fuck. well, i'm not planning to use it in the next battle anyway, so. nice job, buddy!!

vs blue: EASY WIN!!!! WAHOO!!!!!!!!! (boogie)

as of this battle, dragonite, nidoking, arcanine, & raichu are all officially banned pokemon!! YIPPEE!!

it was nice to use some pokemon that i rarely touch, even from the original gen! some of the moves and mechanics really caught me off guard, which honestly made me prepare a lot more than i normally would have!! this was an easier end than i've had in a long while for a nuzlocke - no items and no abilities definitely contributed to it, but still. an interesting attempt!!! sucks to not be able to use pikachu now, considering that i have both yellow and let's go pikachu on my roster at some point... oops. still, dene was essential, and i can't deny that. we would have never been able to get past lorelei so easily without it. oh well!! also: no deaths!! kinda insane for how unprepared i felt at times. this lovely team carried me all the way to the end!!

Halymote the Blastoise: my rock, my beloved, my trusted partner. i should have never even CONSIDERED a charmander, i knew you were perfect for me from the start. squirtle was my first ever starter, and continues to prove itself as the BEST every day. thanks for sticking through this whole crazy journey with me. i love you haly ♥

Woderofe the Nidoking: an early party member becomes a late-game star!! i love nidoking but the lousy moveset in this gen had me really hesitant to include you fully, wode, but i should have known all that you needed was some love and care, and you would blossom into a beautiful death machine. thank you for everything, my love ♥

Antigo the Arcanine: big dog!! woof woof!! i've never had a chance to use an arcanine before, but i get it now. i see why this big fluffy dog is so cool and powerful and everyone's fav, because it's just FACT. you were reliable and quick in the moments i needed you most, and if i could pet you in real life just know that i would be giving you the BIGGEST scritches ♥

Beawfronte the Dragonite: now, dragonite has always been slow to get started, and i knew that going in. you were a COMMITMENT, beaw, and goddamn it paid off. you're a cool dragon, and i just know you would give amazing hugs. and you know what? you didn't need good dragon moves for that. you were enough all on your own ♥

Moraunt the Snorlax: as the origin of the best pokemon to ever exist (munchlax) you know my respect for you is unparalleled, moraunt. but here, you have proven that you can stand on your own as a tough protector, always there to take the hits and deal back twice as much damage, always in defense of your teammates!! you have absolutely earned your rest, my sleepy friend ♥

Dene the Raichu: a late game addition, and i will admit to some... trepidation. but i was blind to the truth. i should have known after seeing that pikachu all the way back in viridian forest -- you'd find your way to me somehow, dene. and honestly, i can't thank you enough. you saved this run, and in doing so, brought us all to our long-awaited victory. sparkle on, little buddy!! ♥

thank you so much, everyone!! literally could not have done it without you :)

🕰 - started 3/30/24 | finished 3/31/24

🕱 - RIP: NA :)

- i love seeing pikachu next to me and the whole follow animation... :pleading: i hope that i can keep it with me even when i box it forever LMAO

- ah, in this gen the catch tutor is officially no longer optional!! interesting! i was surprised that you could just run past him without issue in red.

- ran out of pokeballs on a fucking caterpie... goddamn. alrighty then, i guess pidgey and nidoran (f) will have to be my saving grace for brock!! (sweating profusely)

- aw man :((( put pikachu in the box but it doesn't walk with me anymore... i'll just keep pikachu with me and not use it in battle, i think that works fine

- okay, i'll be real, i'm relying entirely on nody for this battle (thank GOD she gets double kick at level 12 instead of fucking 50 like last game) and i am. worried. but there's nothing more we can do, so let's just have fun!!

- had to use two potions - dangerous combination of wrap and bide made this pretty scay, but it worked out!! nody wins!!