Sapphire Nuzlocke
Rules- If a pokemon faints, it's dead.
- I can only catch the first Pokemon I run into in any route or area.
- I must nickname all my pokemon.
- I cannot do any trades.
- I cannot catch legendaries.
Prologue
"I cannot believe you!" Caroline hissed, her voice low. In the next room her daughter was glued to the television. Sapphire eyes darted back and forth in front of the screen as a Charizard breathed red-hot fire on a Mismagius, which retorted with a shot of electricity. Norman looked up from the dimly lit table, squinting to make out his wife's shadowy form.
"What?" Norman asked curiously. He turned and glanced at the clock. "Oh. Sorry. I didn't realize it was past her bedtime."
"That's not what I mean!" Caroline paused. "Well, now that you mention it, yes, but... That's not the point! The point is you shouldn't be showing her that kind of stuff!"
Norman glanced over her shoulder to peer at what their daughter was watching. "It's an exhibition match from Johto. Perfectly safe. Maybe a little flashier than need be, though..." Norman told her, returning to examine the papers spread over the table.
Caroline fumed quietly, disturbed by Norman's lack of interest in what she viewed as a serious issue. Taking a deep breath to compose herself, she turned to her husband again. "You know she has the gene, though whether she actually has it is unclear, though I assume we'll find out soon enough. I don't want you getting her in love with training before we can explain to her about the Nuzlocke gene and all the consequences. I mean, if she's already set on the id-"
A loud yawn from the next room cut Caroline her off. Suddenly remembering their daughter, Caroline headed for the doorway. "I'm going to put our daughter to bed," she declared to Norman in a hushed tone. "We are going to continue this when I'm done." Norman merely shrugged and pored over more paperwork.
Ten minutes later, Caroline returned, gently shutting the door behind her and taking a seat this time. "Now, we can't keep exposing her to battles and stuff. She's going to be set on the idea before she can know the consequences."
Norman sighed. "Pokemon training is too embedded into our culture, Caroline, you know that. She's going to be 'exposed' to it sooner or later, whether you like it or not."
Caroline thought for a moment, before quickly saying, "Well, like, what about in Unova? There's a lot of pokemon related stuff that isn't necessarily pokemon training there."
"So you want to crush my dreams of being a gym leader and our daughter's possible dreams of training all in one fell swoop? I'm impressed." Norman replied dryly. His tone softened. "You know there's no chance of getting a job in Unova. Brycen's kind of old, but still spry, and Drayden already has Iris slowly taking over his duties." Norman paused, thinking over his options. "I think our best bet's Hoenn. The Lavaridge's gym leader is getting old, though there's a chance his granddaughter's taking over. But I heard the Petalburg gym leader is retiring to spend time with his grandkids. Probably in four to five years. That's plenty of time for her to finish her preliminary education here, me to take the gym leader test, and all of us to move."
"Hoenn?" Caroline squeaked. She loved the idea of a large tropical island, as their current apartment in Johto was both cold and cramped. But almost everyone trained pokemon, no matter what they did...
Norman nodded, before leaning over and kissing his wife on the forehead. "It'll be fine. Really, at least let her try. If worst comes to worst, at least she can be miserable with experience."
Caroline murmured, "I just don't want her to go through what I did..."
"I know," Norman replied quietly, standing up and leaving his wife as she was flooded in memories of guilt and torment and gravestones. Acro...Pixie...Aurora...I'm so sorry...