Pokémon Rivals

Pokémon Rivals is a Franchise Play covering the games of the Pokémon franchise. It debuted on April 16, 2012, making it one of the oldest continuing projects on the channel. Unlike later Franchise Plays, Pokémon Rivals is not a thorough exploration of every game in a series. Instead, it takes the form of a series of competitive Nuzlockes fought between Rick and John using a modified ruleset known as a Padlocke. Nuzlockes for every pair of main series games are either completed or planned, with the exception of the original versions of games for which remakes exist. Not counted as part of the project is a solo Nuzlocke of the 3DS re-release of Pokémon Yellow Version: Special Pikachu Edition, played by Rick and not featuring any of the Padlocke rules, as well as several unrelated playthroughs of Pokémon games that have also appeared on the channel. As of June 21, 2017, 835 episodes of Pokémon Rivals have been released.

Rules

Pokémon Rivals makes use of the Padlocke ruleset:

• The first player will begin by playing up to the first major battle of their chosen game (usually the first Gym Leader, but the first trial in Sun & Moon)
• After completing the battle, they will immediately stop and let the other player reach the same point in their game.
• Immediately following this, the two players will have an exhibition match, using the exact team they had upon beating the Gym/trial - they are not allowed to alter their teams in any way.
• The winner of this battle will be the first to play the next segment of the game, until the next major battle.
• The loser of the battle will play after this, allowing them to strategize for the next face-off.
• This process continues until the game is complete. The player who wins the most face-offs is considered to have won the Padlocke overall.

Outside of the Padlocke, Pokémon Rivals also uses a slightly modified version of the basic Nuzlocke rules.

• A player may only catch the first Pokémon they encounter in each area.
• If a Pokémon faints, it is considered dead and must be boxed permanently.
• Every Pokémon obtained must be nicknamed at the earliest possible opportunity.
• No duplicates are allowed - if a player encounters a Pokémon in the same evolutionary line as one they already own, it is not considered an eligible catch and they are allowed to catch the next Pokémon they encounter in the area.
• Event Pokémon, or unique Pokémon that are "on the map" are allowed to be caught and used in addition to the eligible catch for that area.
• Breeding is not allowed under any circumstances.
• Trading is not allowed under any circumstances, with the exception of when it is necessary to evolve a Pokémon. In-game trades are also not allowed.
• Mystery Gifts are not allowed; neither are in-game features such as Pokémon-Amie and Pokémon Refresh.
• Any shinies can be caught, but must be boxed permanently if they are not an eligible catch.

Not all of these rules existed initially; some of them have been added over time. They are current as of Sun vs. Moon.

Games played

#	Name	Gen	Platform	Year	Player	Score	Start date	End date	Eps	Links
1	Pokémon FireRed Version	III	GBA	2004	Rick	N/A	April 16, 2012	March 18, 2015	105	playlist
	Pokémon LeafGreen Version				John	N/A	December 2, 2014	May 22, 2015	95	playlist
2	Pokémon X	VI	3DS	2013	Rick	3	May 12, 2014	November 26, 2015	79	playlist
	Pokémon Y				John	6	May 19, 2014	November 26, 2015	95	playlist
3	Pokémon Omega Ruby	VI	3DS	2014	John	5	November 24, 2014	August 15, 2015	97	playlist
	Pokémon Alpha Sapphire				Rick	4	December 2, 2014	June 19, 2015	76	playlist
4	Pokémon Insurgence	VI	PC	2018	John	0	June 22, 2015	July 9, 2015	14	playlist
					Rick	0	July 14, 2015	on hiatus	138	playlist
5	Pokémon Sun	VII	3DS	2016	John	5	November 21, 2016	ongoing	80	playlist
	Pokémon Moon				Rick	2	December 19, 2016	ongoing	80	playlist

Episodes

For a list of all episodes uploaded as part of Pokémon Rivals or other Nuzlockes, see the following pages:

• Pokémon Rivals: FireRed vs. LeafGreen
• Pokémon Rivals: X vs. Y
• Pokémon Rivals: Omega Ruby vs. Alpha Sapphire
• Pokémon Rivals: Insurgence
• Pokémon Rivals: Sun vs. Moon