While some players are still busy trekking across Paldea, steadily discovering and training new Pokémon as they go, some hardcore fans have already been grinding Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Nuzlockes. According to one Nuzlocke veteran, the challenge isn’t actually that tricky in the new games if you’re smart at the start and pick what they are describing as “the most broken starter in Nuzlocke history”.
In a tweet following his completion of a zero-death Nuzlocke of Scarlet and Violet, content creator ‘PokémonChallenges’ says that Fire-type starter Fuecoco is the perfect tool for any Nuzlocke run – if anything, maybe too perfect.
“Fuecoco is already easily the most broken starter in Nuzlocke history,” PokémonChallenges claims in the tweet, which was spotted by GamesRadar. “[It] solo sweeps five gyms, an [Elite Four] member and the champion. No other starter in any game comes close. I recommend banning it for a more interesting run.”
With Fuecoco, and its evolutions Crocalor and Skeledirge, the Bug, Grass, and Ice Gyms are a breeze with Fire-type moves, and Skeledirge’s added Ghost typing means that the Psychic Gym is also fairly easy. We’ll stay somewhat spoiler free here, but as PokémonChallenges mentions, an Elite Four member can be blitzed by a Skeledirge, and it’s also strong against five of the Champion’s six Pokémon.
Skeledirge also boasts great stats that rival some of the best Pokémon Violet and best Pokémon Scarlet Pokémon.
For a starter to be so dominant that Nuzlocker recommends not using it in a playthrough is pretty astounding. Sure, there are amazing Pokémon you may bump into in a Nuzlocke run that can make light work of most battles, but to be given one of the best Nuzlocke stompers at the very start of the game wasn’t something folks would’ve predicted.
If you’re reading this wondering what the heck a Nuzlocke is, it is essentially a challenge whereby a Pokémon cannot be used again in your playthrough if it faints, and you can only catch the first Pokémon you encounter in a given route or area. You can also add extra rules for increased difficulty, such as banning held items.
Fuecoco’s dominance extends beyond Nuzlockes too, with content creator ‘Jrose11’ recently completing the entire game with just the fiery croc (and no, they didn’t evolve it).
If you want to see which other types of Pokémon Fuecoco can stomp, check out our Pokémon type chart, which goes over all the strengths and weaknesses.