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For a fair, easy-to-track Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield Nuzlocke, use the two core rules—one eligible catch per area and permanent retirement after a faint—then count each named Wild Area sub-area as its own area. Decide in advance how visible encounters, Max Raid Battles, gifts, and full-party wipes work. Those details are house rules: Nuzlockes are fan-made challenges, not an official game mode or an official Sword and Shield ruleset.
Start with the two core Nuzlocke rules
- One eligible encounter per area: Catch only the first eligible wild Pokémon you encounter in each area. If that encounter faints or flees before you catch it, the area is spent.
- A faint means retirement: When a Pokémon faints, release it or place it permanently in the PC and never use it again. Do not revive it for battle or restore it for the run.
Give each caught Pokémon a nickname. Nicknaming is a strong community convention, though it is not one of the two core rules. The Nuzlocke Wiki describes the challenge as fan-made and self-imposed, and notes that players disagree about how gifts and static encounters should count. The Nuzlocke Wiki’s rules guide was last updated August 15, 2026.
How to count encounters in the Wild Area
The Wild Area is not one uniform patch of grass. It connects towns and cities, and Pokémon vary with location and weather. The game also includes powerful Pokémon that may be impossible to catch early on. Those mechanics make it important to settle your encounter rule before you start. The official Wild Area overview describes these location, weather, and catchability differences.
Recommended: one catch per named sub-area
For a generous but straightforward run, treat each separately named Wild Area sub-area as one area and allow one catch there across the whole game. A new visit or a change in weather does not create another encounter. This is a practical house rule, not an official count or a universal community standard.
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- Team up with other Trainers to participate in Max Raid Battles***!
- Battle wild Dynamax Pokémon in Max Raid Battles and try catching them***
Choose what counts as the first encounter
Before the run, pick one method and use it everywhere: the first Pokémon visible in the overworld, the first Pokémon that initiates a battle, or the first random encounter in grass. Sword and Shield’s visible exploration and changing encounter conditions make these approaches meaningfully different; switching methods when convenient makes the run harder to audit.
Handle Pokémon you cannot catch yet
Some powerful Wild Area Pokémon cannot be caught at the beginning of the game. Recommended house rule: if the game blocks your Poké Ball attempt, flee without spending the area’s encounter and return later; the first eligible, catchable Pokémon then uses that encounter. If a catchable Pokémon flees or faints, the encounter is spent. State this exception before playing so it cannot become a retroactive reroll.
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- New entries in the main series of Pokémon RPGs arrive on Nintendo Switch simultaneously in late 2019
- The Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield games take place in the newly discovered Galar Region
- Galar is an expansive region with diverse environments - an idyllic countryside, contemporary cities, thick forest and craggy, snow-covered mountains
- Fans will have the opportunity to visit Gyms in the Galar region in their quest to become Champion
- Newly discovered partner Pokémon join in this new iteration of the games - Grookey, Scorbunny and Sobble
Set a separate rule for Max Raid Battles
A defeated Dynamax Pokémon in a Max Raid Battle gives each participant one chance to throw a Poké Ball, and the battle can also provide item rewards. Raid Pokémon have additional battle mechanics, including multiple moves, barriers, and effects that can neutralize Abilities or reset stat changes. The official Max Raid Battles guide explains these mechanics. Because a raid creates a catch attempt beyond an ordinary wild encounter, decide explicitly whether that attempt is allowed.
- Simplest option: Take part in raids for battles and rewards, but do not catch raid Pokémon.
- More generous option: Allow one raid catch per named Wild Area sub-area, and count it as that sub-area’s one encounter. If you already caught a wild Pokémon there, you cannot also catch its raid Pokémon.
Apply the same cap to raids you join through another player; hosting or joining a raid should not create a bonus encounter. These are player-created Nuzlocke rules, not restrictions imposed by the game.
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- Continue your Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield adventure in The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra, two new areas to explore that will be added to the Galar region as part of the Pokémon Shield Expansion Pass or Pokémon Sword Expansion Pass
- Redeem your download code in the Nintendo eShop for either the Pokémon Sword Expansion Pass or the Pokémon Shield Expansion Pass. Upon redeeming the code, you will be prompted to select one Expansion Pass. Only redeemable for one Expansion Pass.
- You'll also see some familiar Pokémon that didn't appear in the Galar region before, a total of over 200 Pokémon
- Part 1: The Isle of Armor is available now; Part 2: The Crown Tundra is scheduled for release during the fall of 2020
- If you purchase the Pokémon Sword Expansion Pass or the Pokémon Shield Expansion Pass, you'll receive two codes redeemable to get two special uniform sets of in-game apparel as a bonus
Decide how gifts, static encounters, and repeat species work
These are optional clauses rather than settled core rules. Choose a policy before playing, then use it consistently in towns, routes, and the Wild Area.
- Gift Pokémon: Decide whether a gift uses the encounter for the area where you receive it or is a bonus. The community rules guide records disagreement on this question.
- Static encounters: Decide whether a Pokémon encountered in a fixed location replaces that area’s ordinary encounter or is a bonus. Treating it as a bonus can make the run more forgiving.
- Dupes Clause: Decide whether you may skip a species you already own and try again for a different Pokémon. This can reduce duplicate captures, but it adds an exception to the one-encounter rule.
- Shiny Clause: Decide whether a shiny Pokémon may be caught even after the area’s encounter is spent. If you allow it, say whether it counts as that area’s encounter or is an extra catch.
Choose the difficulty beyond encounters
Level caps, battle style, and restrictions on in-battle items are optional difficulty rules, not prerequisites for a Nuzlocke. The standard Hardcore foundation adds a level cap, Set battle style, and no items during battles. You can adopt that foundation or choose a lighter set of restrictions.
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![Pokémon Shield - Nintendo Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51+7bdACo1L._SL160_.jpg)
- Catch, battle, and trade Pokémon on an all-new adventure in the Galar region
- Choose from three new partner Pokémon and encounter never-before-seen Pokémon
- Unravel the mystery behind the Legendary Pokémon Zacian and Zamazenta!
- Team up with other Trainers to participate in Max Raid Battles***!
- Battle wild Dynamax Pokémon in Max Raid Battles and try catching them***
| Approach | Encounter rules | Battle restrictions |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | One catch per named Wild Area sub-area; consider Dupes Clause. | Keep items and battle style at your preference; no level cap required. |
| Standard recommendation | Use the same encounter rules, with your gift, static, and raid policies declared in advance. | Cap levels at the next major boss’s highest-level Pokémon, use Set style, and do not use healing items during battles. Held items are optional. |
| Hardcore | Use the core encounter rule and decide in advance how gifts, statics, raids, and failed attempts count. | Use level caps, Set style, and no items in battle. |
The standard level cap means your Pokémon should not exceed the highest level of the next major boss’s team when you challenge that boss. Check the boss’s team before setting the cap; do not assume every milestone has the same level limit.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Set your party and wipe rules
A party-size cap is not part of the core rules, so leave it out unless you want an additional challenge. Decide separately what happens if every Pokémon in your party faints. A common convention is that a full-party wipe ends the run; another house rule lets you continue with eligible survivors in the PC. Either way, retirement after a faint still applies to each Pokémon that goes down.
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![Pokémon Sword + Pokémon Sword Expansion Pass - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51L+MTaoMmL._SL160_.jpg)
- Part 1 - The Isle of Armor releases June 17, 2020; Part 2 - The Crown Tundra is scheduled for release during the fall of 2020
- New Areas Discovered in the Galar Region and expand Your Pokémon Adventure
- This bundle includes both the Pokémon Sword game and the Pokémon Sword Expansion Pass
- Catch, battle, and trade Pokémon on a new adventure in the Galar region
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Use this ready-to-play ruleset
- Catch the first eligible encounter in each area; a failed catch spends that area.
- For the Wild Area, allow one catch per separately named sub-area for the entire run. Weather changes and revisits do not reset the count.
- Choose one encounter method: first visible Pokémon, first to initiate battle, or first random grass encounter.
- If the game prevents a Poké Ball attempt against a powerful Pokémon, flee without spending the encounter; return later. A catchable Pokémon that flees or faints spends it.
- Do not catch Max Raid Pokémon. You may still battle in raids for rewards.
- Retire every fainted Pokémon permanently, and nickname catches.
- Before starting, decide how gifts, static encounters, Dupes Clause, Shiny Clause, and a full-party wipe work.
- For the standard difficulty, add a level cap at the next major boss’s highest-level Pokémon, Set style, and no healing items in battle. Keep held items if you wish.
If you own the game, Nintendo UK lists Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield for Nintendo Switch in both physical Game Card and download formats; its page gives November 15, 2019 as the Game Card release date. Nintendo UK’s Pokémon Sword page provides those edition details.
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