Quote Originally Posted by Flickerdart View Post
I don't really get Nuzlocke. This is a game about collecting Pokemon, and the main difficulty limiter Nuzlocke has is "you only get one per route." Why try so hard to make Pokemon something it isn't? Other challenges like "can't have more/higher-level guys than the gym leader" actually make sense, in that they require you to be skilled at the game and don't just let you grind until you're so overlevelled that you can stomp everyone without fear of dying.
Nuzlocke is more of a concept as a run with self-imposed limitations, the most fundamental of which are a limit on pokemon caught, the loss/death of a pokemon after it faints, and naming everything you catch.

Personally, I try to start the gym without anything higher level than the gym leader. Ideally I start with everything a level lower, but I also try not to prepare too much until I hit the last couple gym leaders or E4.

I catch the first new evolution line pokemon I encounter in a route or named area.

I play on "set".

I don't use Legendary pokemon. For Legendary encounters that force you to catch the pokemon instead of merely beating it, Nuzlocke rules are suspended once the pokemon is fainted at least once and resume after the pokemon has been caught. (Did not have this rule until Y.)

For Y I limited use of the super training until I already had a pokemon with maxed out EVs.

I've seen the following options:
No items in combat.
No items outside of combat.
Only X trips to each pokemon center allowed.
May only buy one pokeball from each vendor.

I agree that merely out-leveling all the opposition would be a tedious exercise in grinding.