Nuzlocke Mode & Rules

Heart & Soul has a built-in Nuzlocke system selected during a new game. You can revisit the challenge settings from a PC later, but Nuzlocke, randomizer, difficulty, and challenge settings can only be made easier after the game begins.

Choose a mode

Mode	What the game enforces
Off	No Nuzlocke rules.
Easy	A fainted Pokémon is permanently removed from use. There is no one-encounter-per-area rule.
Normal	A fainted Pokémon is permanently removed, and you get one encounter per tracked area.
Hard	Normal mode rules, plus a full party loss deletes the save.

Easy mode is the lightest option: it keeps permanent fainting, while leaving encounter limits and the optional clauses off.

Normal and Hard rules

In Normal or Hard mode, the game tracks your encounter in each area. Once an area has used its encounter, the game blocks further captures there. This is based on the game's tracked areas, not only numbered routes -- towns, cities, dungeons, and other mapped areas can each have their own encounter.

Dupes Clause

With Dupes Clause on, Pokémon from an evolutionary family you have already caught do not count as your first encounter. This lets you continue looking for a new family. Turn it off to require catching the first Pokémon encountered in the area.

Shiny Clause

With Shiny Clause on, a Shiny Pokémon can always be caught, even if the area's encounter was already used. Turn it off to apply the normal first-encounter rule to Shinies too.

Nicknames

With Nicknames on, the game requires a nickname whenever you catch a Pokémon or receive one through a relevant event. Turn it off to make nicknames optional.

Fainting

A Pokémon that faints is removed after battle. Choose one of two outcomes:

Cemetery sends it to the PC, where it cannot be retrieved.
Release removes it permanently.

Held items are returned before the Pokémon is removed. Field-poison fainting follows the same rule.

Infinite Rare Candy

Turn this on to place Infinite Rare Candies in the starting PC. It is available with any enabled Nuzlocke mode, including Easy.

Capture exceptions

The game does not apply the area or Dupes Clause capture block to:

Shinies when Shiny Clause is enabled.
Gift and other fateful encounters.
Restricted legendary, sub-legendary, and mythical Pokémon.

These exceptions do not spend the area's normal encounter.

Planning a run

For a Normal or Hard run, use the Encounter Finder to see what can appear in an area, and the Level Caps page to plan around the separate Difficulty setting. Level Caps are not part of Nuzlocke mode: they are configured independently.