Though the above rules tend to stay consistent with all challengers, many optional variations and amendments to the rules have been created by players to further adjust difficulty.

The player may put Pokémon that have fainted in the Pokémon Storage System permanently rather than releasing them.

As of White: Hard-Mode Episode 3, it is implied that the player can accept Pokémon that are received freely from NPCs.As for trading and retrading the same Pokémon (for the purpose of evolving a Graveler, for example), there is no firm consensus. The player may only use Pokémon they have captured themselves, meaning Pokémon acquired through trading, Mystery Gifts, etc., are prohibited.The player must nickname all of their Pokémon, for the sake of forming stronger emotional bonds.A black out/white out is considered to be a 'game over,' even if there are usable Pokémon left in the Pokémon Storage System, and the player must start over.Cheating devices (such as GameShark) may not be used.Being able to do so would render all of the other rules pointless. The player may not voluntarily reset and reload the game whenever things go wrong.The move Revival Blessing cannot be used to bring back a dead Pokémon.Any Pokémon that faints is considered dead and must be released.If the first encounter in the area is a Double Battle, the player is free to choose which of the two wild Pokémon they would like to catch but may only catch one of them.If the first wild Pokémon encountered faints or flees, there are no second chances. The player may only catch the first wild Pokémon encountered in each area, and none else.The Nuzlocke Challenge has only two rules that must be followed:

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

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