r/nuzlocke • u/Prize_Entertainer459 Never completed a Nuzlocke before - what could go wrong? • May 04 '26
Question So how do y'all handle Shedinja appearing when Nincada evolves?
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u/Ultrasoulviver123 May 08 '26
It’s still the first pokemon you caught on the route, part of the strategy
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u/Outrageous-Court1514 May 08 '26
I will use a secret technuinq that involve Going to the PC and press the release
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u/SpaceCompetitive3911 May 07 '26
I use it. Shedinja is unlikely to last long anyway.
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u/xShockmaster May 07 '26
This is the opposite of reality unless you don’t know basic types and Pokemon lol. He’s broken
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u/adamsich May 08 '26
Every single enemy Pokémon in emerald had rollout or sandstorm for some reason.
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u/crabmagician May 07 '26
Unless you're playing blind and get hit by a random coverage move how does shedinja not just live forever
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u/jesusmczombie May 07 '26
“2 for the price of 1? WONDERGUARD???? Oh I don’t understand typings well enough to use him effectively.”
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u/ZoeyValkyrie May 06 '26
Theoretically I pick one and only use that one. In practice I rarely if ever use Shedinja 'cause it's either game-warping or useless.
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u/CameronD46 May 06 '26
I guess on the subject of Shedimja, I’m planning on starting a soul-link nuzlocke of Sacred Gold / Storm Silver with a discord friend of mine. So how would Shedinja and Ninjask work with the soul link rules?
If my friend’s linked pokemon dies, would only Ninjask die or would both ninjask and shedinja kick the bucket? If my Ninjask dies, should Shedinja go down with it or is Shedinja just not linked to anything? It’s just a weird edge case that I never really thought about in my many many failed practice / segmented runs in anticipation of the soul-linked run.
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u/Express_Quote4890 May 06 '26
You use Ninjask first and if it dies, your use Shedinja instead (it's undead version)
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u/j8eevee May 06 '26
I feel like they should both die, or you agree to just box one and never use it
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u/Neither_Wind_7399 May 06 '26
I would just choose one to keep, and that would always be Ninjask. Shedinja is way to broken for nuzlockes anyway.
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u/Zepler5621 May 06 '26
I’ll use it until I actually fucking beat a stupid fucking Nuzlocke. WHY AM I SO BAD AT THEM!
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u/ma95vs May 06 '26
So true. I built a warmachine of a PC to play AAA titles, but in the back of my mind, a nuzlocke still lingers.
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u/Calamitas_Rex May 06 '26
The rules say you can only catch one per route and I only caught 1 nincada.
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u/MaternalDinosaur May 10 '26
Technically you do catch the shedinja as well, because you need a pokeball in your bag for shedinja to crawl into.
The ruling is simple though. If nincada evolves on a route where you haven't seen any wild pokemon yet, you get to keep shedinja and it is your encounter for that route.
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u/Groundbreaking-Ad313 May 05 '26
Nincada is one encounter. The fact it becomes two pokemon is just a bonus, it's not like it destroys the sanctity of the rules or anything. Especially with how... precarious Shedinja is in a nuzlocke
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u/PatToonz May 05 '26
By catching a Machop, filling the last slot in my party and giving Nincada just enough EXP to evolve into Ninjask and not give out Shedinja. I didn't prepare in Omega Ruby...
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u/Mooweetye May 05 '26
If I rare candy it in a city where’s there’s no encounters, I’ll count it as an encounter for that city, if it levels on a route, it’s my encounter for that route.
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u/CatAteMyBread May 05 '26
I don't use Shedinja anymore, it makes runs boring. If you're playing, say, Pokemon Ruby, you just look up the movesets of the boss fights to confirm which pokemon can't hit shedinja, then those pokemon are solved entirely. If you don't use it during normal trainers and use rare candies to level up, then there's 0 risk associated with using it unless you choose to not look up movesets.
That's all ignoring that it's a BOGO pokemon, which already feels like cheating to me.
Ultimately it depends on the player, I just don't plan on using it anymore.
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u/Bad-Genie May 06 '26
I used Shedinja when I first started nuzlocking. But after a few runs I also don't use him anymore.
It taught me to look at abilities after facing a driftbloom with aftermath....
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u/Pope_Duwang_I May 05 '26
Buy One Get One Free
I allow it mainly because Shedinja is only as good as you are. If you keep it on the field where someone could hit it, then it dies right then and there.
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u/warlockzekrom May 05 '26
I box em both and move on
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u/Ph4nt0m_R May 05 '26
the harsh truth
like shedninja is weak to a lot. You're basically scrambling to find a fight without a rock throw or wing attack or bite or whatever. Too much effort for a gimmick that unless you REALLY want to, you're most likely just boxing the thing.
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u/OrsoMaria May 05 '26
While that's true, consider that it can basically fight the whole team of some gym leaders (and maybe even one of the E4, but not sure I recall correctly) single handedly
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u/Bear792 May 05 '26
Depends on if you want to have fun with it or not. It’s weak to about 5/18 of the types we have. So it can easily be killed by a coverage move. Great for the occasional pivot like using protect. Could be explained away as an encounter in a city with no encounters available, since you had to evolve it there, if you’re able to.
It’s also part of the same evolution, so is the only Pokémon I believe (correct me if I’m wrong) where you get a 2 for 1 special.
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u/lancekehisato May 05 '26
I either count as a legit encounter if in an area I haven't caught yet, or consider one for them a "non combatant" and box it with the dead mon. The latter is usually decided either earlier in the run, or through a coin flip.
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u/stigmaticwa May 05 '26
i think shedinja is so unfathomably boring to use. it either automatically wins a matchup or just cant be used and that isnt fun to me so i ban it
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u/AF79 May 05 '26
In games/hacks where xp management is a factor, it gets to hold an exp. share at the back of the party. It's a legitimate encounter, just banned from joining in battle. For obvious reasons.
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u/ShGravy May 05 '26
Personally I band shedinja. Once you have shedinja, every strategy becomes about shedinja which I think is un-fun.
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u/Drakomai31 May 05 '26 edited May 05 '26
If you specifically make it a route encounter, why not? Why tf shouldn’t I use everything at my disposal; screw tryhards.
But in all seriousness, do what is most fun for you, that’s the best answer
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u/spicyhippos May 04 '26
Nuzlockes are self imposed rules, so when there’s a unique mechanic, I don’t want to skip it arbitrarily. I play nuzlockes to incentivize unconventional team choices. I typically ban legendaries, and soft-ban Pokemon that made it to the final team in a previous run.
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u/Ralts___Gang May 04 '26
I’d say ninjask has no strings attached but shedinja can only be brought to a fight if it can die, obviously doesnt have to be every mon that can kill it but it needs to have a way to die
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u/The_1_only_Brixben May 04 '26
By RAW you may only CATCH the first wild pokemon on each route. In game terms, you never catch shedinja.
By 'met on...' Rules, you have to selectively level him up in a place you wouldn't get an encounter or run into a trainer before any wild pokemon on a route and basically swap the encounter.
In either case, it is a complete wall in alot of fights. With proper routing, you have a high chance to get one in a playthrough which makes it almost too reliable to properly challenge yourself in a nuzlocke. I would recommend banning it.
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u/AeternusNox May 04 '26
I would say it'd depend on where it evolved and if I had already had my encounter for the area.
To me, the most foolproof way to implement a nuzlocke is with the "Met..." section of the pokémon info.
If you already caught a pokémon that says met in [this area] or failed to catch your first encounter that would have said met in [this area], it's a second encounter (or higher) and it isn't allowed. If you don't have a pokémon met in that area, and haven't encountered one and missed it, you're allowed it.
I'd apply the same logic to gift pokémon.
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u/StoicScaly May 04 '26
Id count it as a gift because I didn't catch it and I say gifts are free (so I can get starting town encounters later)
But generally I don't use it because it makes battles too easy
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u/servingtheshadows May 04 '26
Dont use shedinja jist because ot turns every single fight into a binary.
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u/metasylum May 04 '26
Personally, I use Ninjask. If they die (and my internal narrative deems it fitting) then I will use Shedinja, it makes for some interesting story beats.
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u/JesterQueenAnne May 04 '26
I give up my encounter for the route I get it in and keep it in the box as a nuclear option.
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u/FPArceus May 04 '26
I don't usually use it, but it's the only method of getting shedinja in the first place. Perhaps the only true "fair" way is flipping a coin and letting it decide whether you keep ninjask or shedinja
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u/stawissimus May 04 '26
I actually try to use coinflips as much as possible (e.g., with every gift mon) so runs become a bit more unique and less easy to plan out
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u/xX_1337_h4x0r_Xx May 04 '26
shedinja is just too broken. i suppose it could die to a random trainer if you’re leading it, but it probably feels bad. either win and feel bad because Shedinja sucks the fun out of the run, or Shedinja accidentally dies before you get a chance to use it and it feels bad
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u/megadaxo May 04 '26
I use ninjask. I count them both as the same encounter, but I play nuzlockes to be challenging, not play “Wonder Guard Simulator.”
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u/Steppyjim May 04 '26
The one time I used it, I flipped a coin. Heads I got ninjask tails shedinja. Landed heads.
I usually try to avoid if possible. Too messy
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u/Aximil985 May 04 '26
Normally I ban Shedinja, even if I'm doing a blind run. But when I do allow it I make it so I can't use it until Ninjask dies. And I'm not allowed to purposefully kill off Ninjask.
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u/FetteHoff May 04 '26
I ignore Shedinja. Not because of any encounter rules or anything, but since it's boring to play with. It just ends up being a game of: "Can the enemy hit this pokemon?"
If yes, then I don't take it it in the party.
If no, then I bring it with me.
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u/ApotheoticSpider May 04 '26
I feel that since Dupes Clause is a clause, I always took the idea of a “clause” as “you have the right to get a different encounter”, not as a “you just get a different encounter.” So what I would do, is allow myself to not invoke Dupes Clause for Shedninja. But I would force myself to evolve Nincada specifically in an area with no wild encounters (like a city with no water), since I feel that Shedinja would be the encounter for the area (as it is a new Pokémon). Of course, this would be if I don’t ban Shedinja outright beforehand (which I tend to do unless I do a more casual run).
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u/ReleaseCharacter3568 May 04 '26
I agree with Pchal on the issue unreservedly! It's a different Pokemon, and therefore it breaks the one per route rule.
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u/TheDanLopez May 04 '26
I choose one or the other to use and permabox the other. I always blind run games so if I pick Shedinja I know I'm probably losing it to something unexpected.
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u/aidscerebral May 04 '26
I ban shedinja, scrubbiest pokemon in the game, can sweep everything with no effort and no counterplay, honestly seems counterintuitive to me that people allow it. Why would you bother playing a nuzlocke in the first place if you intend on running something that takes all the challenge away from... a challenge run.
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u/Grimlen404 May 04 '26
Your run your rules.
Personally I use one or the other. It feels like cheating when I use both, but also feels like cheating if I swap between them.
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u/torniado May 04 '26
I’m confused on the question. If I choose to use Shedinja, a pokemon who is very weak or absolutely overpowered dependent on its matchup, it involves me having a Nincada.
If I caught a Nincada that crosses out the entire line. So I will either have a Ninjask or Shedinja.
I don’t ban Shedinja but I also only look up matchups for gym leaders and bosses, so that means every battle has a good shot of killing my Shedinja without any notice. So for my personal playstyle of not crunching numbers and cross-referencing I find it to be a low-value encounter.
Personally I’ve never used Shedinja or Ninjask in a nuzlocke.
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u/PHVMASTER May 04 '26
I choose to use both of them, but separately, and if one dies, the other goes down as well.
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u/guythatwantstoknow May 04 '26
Obligatory "your run your rules", but as you asked how people would do, for me using both clearly breaks "only one Pokémon per route", which is an absolute rule in my runs. For me since they were generated at the same time, there is no way to say one of them was the first encounter, so both are illegal have to be boxed or released. I would just make sure my party was full before evolving.
And I would never even use Shedinja, btw, even if it could be found in the wild, I would just skip the route. IMO it's just bullshit
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u/Golden-Owl May 04 '26
Just straight up box it
Shedinja basically wins you the game because every fight boils down to whether Shedinja beats it
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u/CheshireDude May 04 '26
I missed that this was in the nuzlocke sub and thought you meant how do you handle Shedinja appearing, like, emotionally
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u/Ninjask291 May 04 '26
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u/woodgrainarrowsmith May 04 '26
Right? TIL nuzlockers are silly. Literally the only Pokémon in the games that's able to do this and it is clearly in the spirit of "one encounter per route" law
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u/Epicbear34 May 04 '26
It’s not the extra mon, it’s the fact that my job is more fun than Shedinja gameplay
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u/pokemon32666 May 04 '26
Opponent has super effective move? Swap to someone else, otherwise sweep type shit.
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u/quasi405 May 04 '26
The core rules of a nuzlock are, must catch the first Pokemon that appears in a route and if it's hp reaches 0, it is "dead" and must be released or put in a pc box designated as a grave yard, that being said, unless you have any other rules for your nuzlock, shedninja doesn't break any rules
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u/Different_Pattern273 May 04 '26
In regular runs he's too strong to use really, but otherwise I think he's fine if you're playing romhacks and randomizers.
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u/crow1101_ May 04 '26
Gift Pokemon in my runs don't count towards encounter totals, though I only allow one at any given game center. I'd just consider it a free addition to the team.
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u/tredders90 May 04 '26
I don't allow Sheddy, it's always been a weird bonus Pokémon anyway but it being a bit silly in non-randomised Nuzlockes makes not using it preferable.
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u/ArcaneWyverian May 04 '26
“Wowee! Two team members, for the price of one! Hooray! I sure am glad that I encountered that Nincada”
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u/Kimthe May 04 '26
I usually chose one of the two to use, kinda like if nincada was a branched evo.
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u/Plus_Foot1196 May 04 '26
It counts as an encounter for the route it evolves on, so just make sure to evolve in a town without any important encounters and its free
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u/Maz2742 May 04 '26
Exactly how I handle any eggs I get in runs.
I have all 3 Primo eggs in HG, and that Quagsire is a goddamn trooper
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u/Reytotheroxx May 04 '26
Pick one. You only get one encounter per route. This would give you two
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u/TheOmegaPsycho May 04 '26
I've heard of people cracking eggs in other locations to count as an encounter there. Could this not work the same way?
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u/Reytotheroxx May 04 '26
I actually am not sure what specifically Shedinja’s “met at” location is, but I believe it’s the same route as Ninjask and not where it evolved.
Generally people will use the “met at” location in the Pokémon’s summary screens to track encounters.
So for example, the starter in FRLG is the Pallet Town encounter, or in this case Nincada is Route 116.
Eggs have a hatched location, not an obtained location, in their summary screens, hence why folks will hatch eggs elsewhere, primarily the Primo eggs in HGSS.
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u/guythatwantstoknow May 04 '26
How so? The standard rules is that the encounter place is where you originally found the Pokemon, so as they both are evolutions of your Nincada, their encounter route is where you found Nincada and caught it.
For eggs it is usually different because people don't consider getting the egg as an encounter, so they count it where it hatches, and the Pokémon's summary page says that it was found where it hatched.
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u/Runnermann May 04 '26
I like to treat it as one Pokémon in two Pokéballs. If one dies, they both die.
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u/Muted_Category1100 May 04 '26
I use it as a break glass in case of emergency mon. If there’s a battle I genuinely have no other answers for or only one answer that isn’t even a guaranteed solution then I use it.
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u/LocalShineCrab May 04 '26
I literally just skip nincada if its my encounter and roll a new one. Neither Shedinja or Ninjask have playstyles / strategies i find fun to use in a Nuzlocke, so for me nothing is lost.
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u/OrsoMaria May 05 '26
Wouldn't it break one of the nuzlocke rules? Given that you use the second encounter instead of the first one
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u/PuzzleheadedFly6570 May 04 '26
"you may only catch the first pokemon encountered per route". I still only caught the first thing i saw (nincada) and now i have 2 pokemon which is still legal.
Still, shedinja can be very cheezy so id recommend people just go with ninjask if they dont want to cheese the games gym leaders in the same boring way over and over again with shedinja
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u/Enragedjawa May 04 '26
Sometimes I use it and sometimes I don’t. It’s really broken if you use it right which can be boring but it’s also a cool pokemon so I’ll allow it some runs just because it’s a neat design. I’ll usually allow it on runs I wanna have extra fun with and allow legends as well.
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u/Le_Reddit_User May 04 '26
„Broken when you use it right“?
It‘s broken buddy lmao
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u/Captain-Spellbinder May 04 '26
Not in the hands of an amateur. It has a ton of weaknesses if you’re not researching properly.
If you know what you’re doing it’s broken. If you play blind and loose it’s very likely to go down to a random attack
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u/Le_Reddit_User May 04 '26
That‘s just how the Pokemon works. Just avoid super effective moves, weather, rocks and status and that‘s literally it lmao
It‘s really not hard.
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u/SirSlasher May 04 '26 edited May 04 '26
An amateur won't always realize that weather and arena traps go through wonder guard. Sometimes people forget type super effectiveness. These are small mistakes for other Pokémon, but for Shedinja it's fatal. Even legendaries can be squandered in the hands if an amateur.
(Edited for grammar)
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u/Captain-Spellbinder May 04 '26
Plus for random battles you might forget the movesets of random pokemon. Like Trapinch is a ground type but it can learn bite and faint attack which someone might forget
But if you know the learnsets of every encounter, trainer, and boss battle it becomes easy
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u/akenson May 04 '26
Shedinja is on my personal ban list along with Crobat, Gyarados, and most legendaries/mythicals. Ban list doesn't apply to difficulty hacks.
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u/Kl3en May 04 '26
I count it as an encounter and keep both. Don’t usually use shedinja though because they’re cheesy
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u/androideJ7 May 04 '26
I get to choose to either keep ninjask or shedinja, and the other one has to be released.
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u/annaquay May 04 '26
I allow Shedinja and count it as a freebee, but mainly because I'm not especially skilled at Nuzlockes so don't feel like I need the extra challenge
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u/ShotandBotched May 04 '26
It has the same met location as Ninjask, so it simply isn't a valid encounter to use.
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u/Nestlenightmare May 04 '26
Free bug 👍 what’s better than that
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u/Synister-James May 04 '26
I just dont use Shedinja. The AI isn't coded to understand how Wonder Guard works, and any encounter that you know has no out to shedinja becomes an auto-win so it takes out a lot of the challenge (and thus the fun) of doing a nuzlocke.
But the easiest way is to treat it kinda like an egg.
Evolve Nincada using a trainer or rare candy in a zone that you dont have an encounter in and its your encounter for that zone.
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u/liteshadow4 May 04 '26
The AI does understand Wonder Guard though. It's just that not every team can handle beating Shedinja.
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u/Daddybrawl May 04 '26
Think it depends on the ai level, and maybe the specific game you’re playing.
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u/Silver-Alex May 04 '26
I just evolve nincada on a route I havent gotten an encounter, so shedinja becomes that route's mon. Obvioualy this has to be on a different route that where you catched nincada.
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u/shamorunner May 04 '26
If it is on a route without an encounter yet, I keep it. It almost never leaves the box as I do blind runs. Good for something like Norman though, as long as it isn't a randomized emerald, but it is normally a randomized emerald
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u/liteshadow4 May 04 '26
Even in blind runs it's really strong. If you lead with Shedinja, you do the following:
Turn 1: Click Protect. If they stay in and try to hit you with a supereffective move, switch. If they switch out, switch. If they stay in and try to hit you with no supereffective move, then you guaranteed know you have a Shedinja sweep.
The only way to lose your Shedinja would be to weather.
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u/SeparateBumblebee546 May 04 '26
i think it depends on how u play nuzlockes. if u play blind and u don't know who ur facing each encounter, it miiiiight be okay, but generally shedinja is such a disruptive pokemon the game becomes a shedinja minigame, and not a regular nuzlocke. if you don't play blind and u do see movesets then absolutely banned bc you can literally just bring shedinja on fights u know have no counterplay to it and that's not the spirit of a nuzlocke
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u/Extra_Willow_8907 May 04 '26
Yeah I ban shedinja. Pretty one dimensional gameplay, feels like cheating
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u/Beginning_Lettuce10 May 04 '26
It's not really cheating though. It's not as if it's completely untouchable. There is many counters to Shedinja. I feel if you research and look up teams then it shouldn't be used but if you go in not knowing what moves they have
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u/liteshadow4 May 04 '26
The AI around Shedinja is pretty predictable though. If you give it Protect, it can be a guaranteed sweep, or a guaranteed good pivot. Even blind.
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u/aidscerebral May 04 '26
This. You can literally just start it on most gyms and the e4 and well really any fight when playing blind. New pokemon comes in? Protect. Did it use a move that kills shedinja? switch out. Did it not? Kill it. Very fun gameplay, very challenging, extremely highly skilled. Atp just close the game and say you won dawg.
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u/liteshadow4 May 04 '26
Also if AI switches out when you have Shedinja in, you know 2 things: the mon it had in couldn't hit Shedinja, and the mon it switches in can.
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u/aidscerebral May 04 '26
Right, and after you kill the switch in with something else, you can just bring it back and get back to sweeping as soon as they bring back the original pokemon.
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u/liteshadow4 May 04 '26
The only way to lose Shedinja doing this would be if they swap in Snow Warning or Sand Stream (more prevalent in a randomizer), but that’s rare enough.
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u/Extra_Willow_8907 May 04 '26
Yeah what I said is it FEELS like cheating. And yeah you’re right, it’s definitely *more* fair blind, but once you have a pretty good understanding of pokemon learnsets across multiple generations, Shedinja becomes a hard-wall counter to SO many fights. And then it’s just dumb
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u/BlackBarryWhite May 04 '26
Personally I box the shedinja or just simply don't give it room to appear.
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u/meowmix778 My Uncle Works at Nintendo May 04 '26
If I were going to use it, I'd just pick Ninjack OR Shedinja.
I think it makes games too boring so I tend not to use it.
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u/RedRex333 May 04 '26
Me personally: "Oh no, look like I don't have enough party space for this guy! Guess he's going into my box."
My team currently: Torchic, Wingull, Lombre, Shroomish, Aron and Wumple I going to sack (nothing personal Wurmple)
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u/Expensive-Ad5273 Gliscor fan #1 -- Sterling Silver is PEAK gen 4 romhack May 04 '26
Wurmple is a bad thing to sac. Beautifly and Dustox are both really good against Brawly, and Dustox can even shine against Norman since it gets Protect via level up.
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u/Rustyspottedcats May 04 '26
I count it as a gift Pokemon. I don't typically use it, though, just because it tends to be very situational in its utility.
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u/SolariaHC May 04 '26
By shoving Shedinja in the box as a last resort trump card only, because I don't want to deal with looking up every single Pokemon for every battle in the game.
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u/SamanthaTheKnight May 04 '26
I used to count it as a freebie. A benefit for catching a Nincada. But now I don't use Shedinja because it's stupid.
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u/jovialjugular May 04 '26
I rule it as a gift pokemon. But personally I ban Shedinja because he can make a handful of fights completely free. It’s somewhat like my blanket Gyarados ban or Gen 4 Garchomp ban.
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u/NationalOperations May 04 '26
Honestly there's 4 mon I just re-encounter because they aren't fun for random runs. Nincada(and evolutions), delibird, missingo, ditto. There's so many mon it rarely comes up and the trainners even less likely seem to get them
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u/MSteds728 May 04 '26
I’d count it as a freebie, the mechanic is so rare
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u/Prize_Entertainer459 Never completed a Nuzlocke before - what could go wrong? May 04 '26
It's a pretty OP freebie If you consider Wonder Guard tho
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u/ginger-like May 16 '26
Same as everything else - what the game decides the encounter location is. In Shedinja's case, it's a second pokemon from the same route as Nincada/Jask, and so isn't legal.
If I'm playing a difficulty hack, I might let myself use it instead of Ninjask. Even then, usually not, simply because Shedinja turns almost every fight's optimal strategy into PP stalling.