Join us for a punishing playthrough of Pokémon Y in our new Nuzlocke series

Today marks the beginning of a new chapter in my lifelong fandom of the Pokémon franchise, and the first step in my true journey to be a Pokémon Master. In the video above, you can watch me kick off a Nuzlocke run of Pokémon Y; a run which I will document in a brand new video series.

What's a Nuzlocke run? The ruleset originated in this comic series of the same name, which describes a hardcore, potentially super punishing way of playing the game. There are only two core Nuzlocke rules:

• The player can only catch the first Pokémon they encounter in each area.
• If a Pokémon is KOed in battle, they are considered dead, and must be released as soon as possible.

Over the years, the Nuzlocke-running community has developed tons of variations on those two core rules, some of which I've chosen to adopt to make this run a bit more entertaining (and a bit more difficult).

• If the first Pokémon I encounter in an area is one I've caught before, I can keep searching until I find a new one.
• I can't use healing items (like Potions or Antidotes) in battle; held items (like Berries) can still be used.
• Battle mode is "Set," preventing me from countering my opponent's line-up changes.
• After completing a Gym, I have to Wonder Trade a member of my winning Pokémon team.

Are you ready? Because this is going to get very, very stupid, very fast.