Top 5 Pokemon to use in nuzlockes of Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

Nuzlockes of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl can be tough without the right encounters.

Since it is a remake technically done in Generation VIII, many Pokemon get access to new moves that they didn’t have in the original Generation IV games. This has made some Pokemon become much more valuable, although many of the Pokemon that perform well in this nuzlocke were also viable in Generation IV.

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Which Pokemon should trainers try to use in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl nuzlockes?

5) Bronzong

Bronzong can be found on Lucien's Elite Four team (Image via The Pokemon Company)

At the route to the east of Eterna City, players can find a Bronzor. With Levitate, this Pokemon becomes a defensive tank when it evolves into Bronzong. It gets access to a wide movepool with Calm Mind, Psychic, Earthquake, Shadow Ball and other great tools. Bronzong also has the bonus of being able to check Cynthia’s Garchomp.

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4) Staraptor

Staraptor can be found in Kalos as well as Sinnoh (Image via Game Freak)

Fortunately, trainers can pick up one of the best Pokemon in the first route of the Sinnoh region. Starly can get the Intimidate ability, which drops the attack of the enemy when Starly enters the field. This can cripple opponents from the get-go. Once it evolves, Staraptor also learns Brave Bird and Close Combat, two of the most spammable moves in the game.

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3) Infernape

Infernape is often considered the best starter for nuzlockes (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Fire-types are few and far between in the Sinnoh region, which is why many voices in the community suggest getting Chimchar as the starter. At level 12, Chimchar gets Power-up Punch, a move that raises its Attack while dealing damage. This is a great early game tool, and late game Infernape becomes a monster with Flare Blitz and Close Combat.

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2) Blissey

Blissey gets acces to Serene Grace (Image via The Pokemon Company)

This Pokemon practically invalidates any special attacking opponent that tries to damage it. In addition to its defensive cabalitites, Blissey can have the Serene Grace ability, which doubles the chances of secondary effects occurring. That means Thunder’s paralysis chance, Flamethrower’s burn chance and Ice Beam’s freeze chance all have a higher probability of occuring.

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1) Gyarados

This is arguably the most reliable Pokemon in nuzlocke history. Almost every game is filled with Magikarp, and if trainers put in the work to evolve it, they get a massive payoff in the form of Gyarados. After intimidating the enemy, Gyarados can Dragon Dance until it’s fast and strong enough to sweep the opposing team.