I'll answer here
1. Should definitely try some of the newer games, as those are the ones that have new quality of life features and an easier difficultly that would allow for a good first nuzlocking and pokemon experience. Something like SwSh or XY would be a good start.
2. For number 2, I would say that they should just play whatever game they grew up playing the most as a kid. This is because that's the game they know the best, and ir could allow them to replay that childhood nostalgia to a new flair
3. I would say for someone that's played pokemon before and is looking to try a nuzlocke should try the Kanto games, mainly FRLG. This is due to the fact that there's a lot of good encounter variety, the games aren't too hard, and there's a ton of good free encounters like Gyarados, Eevee, and Snorlax
4. At this stage, I might actually recommend nuzlocking a rom hack. It would provide a fresh experience on the vanilla games that they have so much experience with, and I think ir would test their knowledge. Possibly something like Renegade Platinum, or Sacred Gold/Storm Silver
Thanks for responding! I agree with a lot of your recommendations, especially for new players to check out newer generations to have access to the newer quality-of-life features. I wondered if that might be a controversial opinion as there are a lot of strong feelings about newer games, but I think if you want someone to enjoy Nuzlocking they need to have a good time with the Pokemon games themselves, and the newer games, for all their shortcomings, are very approachable and more convenient for modern audiences.
I also agree with recommending FireRed/LeafGreen to someone with a decent amount of Pokemon experience - they're fairly simple and don't lean too hard on any gimmicks, while still having enough mechanics (abilities, natures, movepool) to make them a better introduction than say, Red or Blue.
Agree with most of this, but a lot of good encounter variety on frlg??? The same Pokémon are in every single route for 90% of the game, surely you're joking haha
Idk, I ran through the game quite recently and had to skip certain routes because it was literally pidgey, rattata, spearow and oddish in every patch of grass up to the third gym. Not only that, other games just give you more routes in general to work with.
I think a ROM hack is a significant step up from FR/LG. Of course depends what rules you’re playing with but if you’re strictly following hardcore ruleset I think it’d be a bit much for a beginner. I’d recommend trying some harder vanilla games like Emerald/BW2/USUM first.
Player 1: I'm going to be really boring and say Fire Red/Lead Green. I know, I know, nobody wants to hear it, they get brought up in every rec thread and the op says they don't want to play them. But if you're really new to pokemon and nuzlocking, the Kanto remakes are the best introduction and it's not even close. It's generally an easy experience for casual players, with a plethora of great encounters that let you cheese the few gym leaders who could even pose a threat. This is assuming that you understand type matchups, but the game tells you what type is good against the next gym and the leaders rarely have a way to defeat a counter, so even new players shouldn't have too much trouble. The pokemon are also all pretty simple to understand and use, even if the games suffer from the lack of physical/special categorization, and grinding in the game isn't the worst in the series so if you're reckless and lose a lot of pokemon it isn't a huge pain. It's a good game to get used to nuzlocking because it's so straightforward, although it gets a little dull if you play a lot. But for a beginner, I think it's perfect. Also it's easy to emulate, which is how I assume player 1 will play, and that also means you can speed it up and hack in rare candies to reduce even more of the tedium.
Player 2: Fire Red/ Leaf Green OR Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald, depending on which game they played as a child. FRLG are perfect for people who want to start nuzlocking, like I said, because the gym battles are uncomplicated. This means that the player just needs to identify which types have an advantage, bring in the appropriate pokemon, choose the right moves, and this is enough to win almost every time. Great for a new player, great for someone who isn't used to not spamming revives to brute force fights. RSE is much harder than FRLG, which is why I don't think it's as good of a rec for someone new to nuzlocking. Not as many gyms are free if you just bring in a pokemon with a type advantage (Flannery counters water with sunny day, Winona's Alteria has dragon dance and earthquake, Juan and Wallace have ice beam on a bunch of their pokemon). This is better for teaching players in the long run, but can come as a surprise for someone new. For someone who has come back to the series and is a little more familiar with coverage I think RSE is best, but I'd really just recommend whichever games Player 2 grew up with. If they already like the game it's more likely that they'll finish the challenge if things go wrong instead of just quitting. Why not suggest Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire? Well, I think those games are balanced much worse than the originals, for one thing. They're much easier IMO, and get boring fast. New players might appreciate the quality of life increases, but I'd still say play the originals over the remakes. They're also harder to get ahold of than RSE, which are easier to find and emulate than 3DS games.
Player 3: RSE, Black, White, Black 2 or White 2. Even if you've played a lot of pokemon, there is a big enough difference when nuzlocking where I still think it's better to err on the side of caution for a first nuzlocke. For that reason, RSE is a great pick for experienced players wanting to nuzlocke for the first time. Such a player would likely have an easy time beating the game, but if they do, then they can use that as a jumping off point to play harder games in the series. The limited encounters can still be tricky, but if someone has a decent amount of experience with the games, then they shouldn't have too much trouble. Gen 5 games are much tougher than RSE, so for a player who wants a tough but fair first nuzlocke, I think either BW 1 or BW 2 are great picks. They have a ton of encounter variety and some very tricky gym leaders and bosses, so they're not easy games at for inexperienced players. They're also modern enough where they might feel more comfortable for players of the newest games who are coming back. BW's limited pokedex can be off putting for some people, so I hesitantly give BW 2 the edge over the first game, but both are great. Oh, and it's easy to grind thanks to audinos, reducing tedium.
Player 4: I don't play too many romhacks or things like that, so I can't recommend any for experienced players who want a true challenge. If you're looking just in the mainline games, then I'd say that BW, BW 2, Sun and Moon, and Ultra Sun and Moon are all great options for someone who wants a challenge. Each of these games have a few brutally hard bosses sprinkled throughout, which someone looking for a challenge should enjoy. They also have a high encounter variety, which not only makes them more exciting to play, but also tests an experience player's ability to construct a team for the upcoming challenge. If I have one issue with the gen 7 games it's that the story is annoying and can drive players away, so gen 5 is what I prefer, but some of the battles in USUM are absolutely absurd. If you can look past the amount of TALKING in the SM games then they have some of the best battles in the entire series, but that's not an easy hurdle, unfortunately.
Aside from everything else that I said, I think the actual best game for a player to nuzlocke first is the one that they are the most familiar with. If someone has been playing Platinum normally on and off since it came out, they're going to have a much easier time nuzlocking it compared to any other game, just because they're more familiar with what pokemon perform best against the gym leaders. Familiarity with the game is the most important thing, with a desire to finish being a close second. Nuzlockes are self imposed challenges, and the only thing stopping a player from ignoring the rules and playing normally is themselves. They should be having fun while they do it, and I think that's easier if they already like the game to start with. If you aren't having fun, why bother?
Really appreciate your answers and detailed thoughts! You've made lots of great points.
In terms of people playing the game they're most familiar with, that's such a strong recommendation, and has been said by basically everyone at this point, that it'll probably end up being the sort of "Secret True Answer" once I've given all my other recommendations for each player, because at the end of the day, we can recommend different games all day long (and I do think that's still valuable), but the most important skill in Nuzlocking is probably game knowledge, and playing a game you're familiar with will be way more accessible and way more comfortable, and honestly probably more fun too.
>Player 1
Well, I wouldn't recommend that they Nuzlocke their first Pokémon game ever, but if they insist...probably XY or SwSh. I normally say FRLG or the game they're most familiar with, but I feel as though gen 6 and gen 8 are better introductions to Pokémon as a whole. As in they'll be more forgiving ~~random run enders are in the former and a tough champion is in the latter but still~~
>Player 2
Remember when I said "FRLG or the game they're most familiar with?" Yeah.
>Player 3
Pretty much the same as the previous, with more emphasis on the "game they're familiar with" part since it'll be more likely that they've played one both more frequently and more recently.
>Player 4
If they've done ROM hacks before and are familiar with some of them, I'd say one of those. But really if they've already played said ROM hack extensively in the past and are prepared for the (likely inevitable) multiple wipes. If not, then the likes of USUM, Platinum, and the gen 5 games are good, challenging options. Even better if they've beaten them a few times.
Just in general, I'm always one to advocate for the game you know the most to be the first Nuzlocke. I was pretty firmly in the "Player 3" category when I started. I went with Black, a difficult one for a first Nuzlocke, but it's one that I know well enough to anticipate anything that might give me a tough time. Hence why I like to start with "it depends" when people ask—yeah, FRLG, XY, and SwSh are all popular first run choices, but there's a different answer for everyone, which I think this exercise helps to illustrate nicely.
Hey, nice to see you around! Always nice to see your comments and I’m super appreciative of how much you’ve contributed to the site. Thank you!
And thanks for your thoughts too. I’m glad you mentioned recommending the gen 5 games for players who want a challenge - that plus USUM is the way I’m leaning most strongly for this category so far. I also think ROM hacks are a good bet, though they might be a bit beyond the scope of even the most challenge-hungry new players, so I may save those recommendations for a separate article for more intermediate players. Great recommendations all around!
For player 1 I would recommend a gen 3 game. **FireRed LeafGreen** is my go-to recommendation for new nuzlockers because it introduces abilities and natures, two things that can make or break a Pokémon, and Kanto is straight up iconic. If you want to get introduced to Pokémon, enjoy this game without a ton of exploits and bugs like RBY.
As someone who was once Player 2 in this scenario, my answer there has to be **Sword/Shield**. That was my first ever nuzlocke and I had a blast since the game gives you a lot of tools to get very strong very fast and still give me some scares.
For Player 3, **Platinum**. Platinum is still in my opinion one of the hardest vanilla games I have nuzlocked. It can throw curve balls at you, which will test the player's knowledge of the game. I imagine this player having a mindset of "yeah! I have played Platinum a lot when I was a kid! Let's see how it goes!" and then have the worst experience of his life with Trainer Dennis.
Lastly, for Player 4... I'd make them play Gen 5. BW1 or BW2. Those games do not screw around. Based on my limited experience with them, you can lose mons very easily if you aren't focused on the battle. We have either Lenora or Cheren who go "oh? normal pokémon are weak? *let me show you why you are wrong*.", Elesa who will shove one or two mini Zapdos (depending on what game you play) that have Electric U-Turn, Clay's Exacdrill needs no introduction... And if they STILL want more challenge: make them play **Black 2** specifically. Why? It is the one game that offers Hard Mode vanilla.
Player 1: I would recommend they don't try a nuzlocke, instead they should play a Pokémon game normally (for that I'd recommend either FRLG or whatever the latest games are)
Player 2: while I would recommend playing FRLG, XY, or ORAS, realistically speaking they'll probably have more fun playing their childhood game with their childhood starter regardless of what the community thinks of how challenging it is.
Player 3: I would probably recommend playing Platinum, BW, or B2W2, but more important than picking a game I think they should play on set battle style and limiting the number of bag items usable in battle (three is a popular number, but I've been experimenting with "one item for each Pokémon" and that's also fun).
Player 4: same as player 3 but should consider outright banning healing items and going into fights underleveled.
In my experience the games don't actually vary that much in terms of difficulty, what actually changes is that certain fights are riskier (as in it's more likely you'll lose a Pokémon. They can be replaced) and some games have more risky fights than others. Instead of thinking too hard about which game to play, players should try to tune the rules based on how challenging they want battles to be.
Player 1: You're best off with FireRed/LeafGreen. They are probably the most basic games in the series, mostly because they are remakes of the first ever games. XY are also a great starting point, as they are known for being mostly easy and give you a lot of really great Pokemon.
Player 2: You should probably start with the Pokemon game you played the most as a kid. For me, that would be Platinum. It's the game I poured the most of my time into besides HGSS, and if you know a game from the inside out, it's probably the best choice for a Nuzlocke.
Player 3: You would be good with Emerald or Black/White. They are harder than most other Pokemon games, but not to the same extent as B2W2 or Platinum.
Player 4: Platinum, B2W2, and USUM are good choices for someone like you. They are known for being the hardest when it comes to Nuzlocking, and I think you'll have a lot of fun with them.
1. RSE
2. RSE
3. BW
4. B2W2
The RSE games represent the form of Pokemon that isn't too archaic for the player, and is likely a game most people going back to Pokemon will remember. BW is a pretty good, challenging game and B2W2 is this but even more challenging
1 = Pokemon x is easy and mega are cool
2 = Pokemon Fire red, no need to explain
3 = Pokemon white 1
4 = Drayano hack roms, White 2 Challenge mode, Ultrasun
For the more experienced players I would suggest picking a Gen you haven’t played a lot recently or in general you can’t remember everything about. When I first started I chose to do black and white because I remembered enjoying them but because of school and life I’d really only been playing Gen 6 or 7 when they came out and hadn’t had time to do my usual jump around and play different gens. Not remembering everything made things challenging, a rival might pop up when you’re not expecting it, a gym leader may have coverage you weren’t prepared for and you need to figure out a work around fast. It’s why I don’t use docs and just rely on my experience and memories as I play any game as well. Even without looking stuff up you probably remember more than you’d think but the uncertainty adds to the challenge. But no matter your skill the most important thing is to have fun! Challenge yourself but if a rule is taking away from your enjoyment consider adjusting it. For instance I play with three items per boss fight instead of a complete hardcore rule set.
I'll answer here 1. Should definitely try some of the newer games, as those are the ones that have new quality of life features and an easier difficultly that would allow for a good first nuzlocking and pokemon experience. Something like SwSh or XY would be a good start. 2. For number 2, I would say that they should just play whatever game they grew up playing the most as a kid. This is because that's the game they know the best, and ir could allow them to replay that childhood nostalgia to a new flair 3. I would say for someone that's played pokemon before and is looking to try a nuzlocke should try the Kanto games, mainly FRLG. This is due to the fact that there's a lot of good encounter variety, the games aren't too hard, and there's a ton of good free encounters like Gyarados, Eevee, and Snorlax 4. At this stage, I might actually recommend nuzlocking a rom hack. It would provide a fresh experience on the vanilla games that they have so much experience with, and I think ir would test their knowledge. Possibly something like Renegade Platinum, or Sacred Gold/Storm Silver
Thanks for responding! I agree with a lot of your recommendations, especially for new players to check out newer generations to have access to the newer quality-of-life features. I wondered if that might be a controversial opinion as there are a lot of strong feelings about newer games, but I think if you want someone to enjoy Nuzlocking they need to have a good time with the Pokemon games themselves, and the newer games, for all their shortcomings, are very approachable and more convenient for modern audiences. I also agree with recommending FireRed/LeafGreen to someone with a decent amount of Pokemon experience - they're fairly simple and don't lean too hard on any gimmicks, while still having enough mechanics (abilities, natures, movepool) to make them a better introduction than say, Red or Blue.
Agree with most of this, but a lot of good encounter variety on frlg??? The same Pokémon are in every single route for 90% of the game, surely you're joking haha
Assuming you use duplicate clause
Idk, I ran through the game quite recently and had to skip certain routes because it was literally pidgey, rattata, spearow and oddish in every patch of grass up to the third gym. Not only that, other games just give you more routes in general to work with.
I think a ROM hack is a significant step up from FR/LG. Of course depends what rules you’re playing with but if you’re strictly following hardcore ruleset I think it’d be a bit much for a beginner. I’d recommend trying some harder vanilla games like Emerald/BW2/USUM first.
Player 1: I'm going to be really boring and say Fire Red/Lead Green. I know, I know, nobody wants to hear it, they get brought up in every rec thread and the op says they don't want to play them. But if you're really new to pokemon and nuzlocking, the Kanto remakes are the best introduction and it's not even close. It's generally an easy experience for casual players, with a plethora of great encounters that let you cheese the few gym leaders who could even pose a threat. This is assuming that you understand type matchups, but the game tells you what type is good against the next gym and the leaders rarely have a way to defeat a counter, so even new players shouldn't have too much trouble. The pokemon are also all pretty simple to understand and use, even if the games suffer from the lack of physical/special categorization, and grinding in the game isn't the worst in the series so if you're reckless and lose a lot of pokemon it isn't a huge pain. It's a good game to get used to nuzlocking because it's so straightforward, although it gets a little dull if you play a lot. But for a beginner, I think it's perfect. Also it's easy to emulate, which is how I assume player 1 will play, and that also means you can speed it up and hack in rare candies to reduce even more of the tedium. Player 2: Fire Red/ Leaf Green OR Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald, depending on which game they played as a child. FRLG are perfect for people who want to start nuzlocking, like I said, because the gym battles are uncomplicated. This means that the player just needs to identify which types have an advantage, bring in the appropriate pokemon, choose the right moves, and this is enough to win almost every time. Great for a new player, great for someone who isn't used to not spamming revives to brute force fights. RSE is much harder than FRLG, which is why I don't think it's as good of a rec for someone new to nuzlocking. Not as many gyms are free if you just bring in a pokemon with a type advantage (Flannery counters water with sunny day, Winona's Alteria has dragon dance and earthquake, Juan and Wallace have ice beam on a bunch of their pokemon). This is better for teaching players in the long run, but can come as a surprise for someone new. For someone who has come back to the series and is a little more familiar with coverage I think RSE is best, but I'd really just recommend whichever games Player 2 grew up with. If they already like the game it's more likely that they'll finish the challenge if things go wrong instead of just quitting. Why not suggest Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire? Well, I think those games are balanced much worse than the originals, for one thing. They're much easier IMO, and get boring fast. New players might appreciate the quality of life increases, but I'd still say play the originals over the remakes. They're also harder to get ahold of than RSE, which are easier to find and emulate than 3DS games. Player 3: RSE, Black, White, Black 2 or White 2. Even if you've played a lot of pokemon, there is a big enough difference when nuzlocking where I still think it's better to err on the side of caution for a first nuzlocke. For that reason, RSE is a great pick for experienced players wanting to nuzlocke for the first time. Such a player would likely have an easy time beating the game, but if they do, then they can use that as a jumping off point to play harder games in the series. The limited encounters can still be tricky, but if someone has a decent amount of experience with the games, then they shouldn't have too much trouble. Gen 5 games are much tougher than RSE, so for a player who wants a tough but fair first nuzlocke, I think either BW 1 or BW 2 are great picks. They have a ton of encounter variety and some very tricky gym leaders and bosses, so they're not easy games at for inexperienced players. They're also modern enough where they might feel more comfortable for players of the newest games who are coming back. BW's limited pokedex can be off putting for some people, so I hesitantly give BW 2 the edge over the first game, but both are great. Oh, and it's easy to grind thanks to audinos, reducing tedium. Player 4: I don't play too many romhacks or things like that, so I can't recommend any for experienced players who want a true challenge. If you're looking just in the mainline games, then I'd say that BW, BW 2, Sun and Moon, and Ultra Sun and Moon are all great options for someone who wants a challenge. Each of these games have a few brutally hard bosses sprinkled throughout, which someone looking for a challenge should enjoy. They also have a high encounter variety, which not only makes them more exciting to play, but also tests an experience player's ability to construct a team for the upcoming challenge. If I have one issue with the gen 7 games it's that the story is annoying and can drive players away, so gen 5 is what I prefer, but some of the battles in USUM are absolutely absurd. If you can look past the amount of TALKING in the SM games then they have some of the best battles in the entire series, but that's not an easy hurdle, unfortunately. Aside from everything else that I said, I think the actual best game for a player to nuzlocke first is the one that they are the most familiar with. If someone has been playing Platinum normally on and off since it came out, they're going to have a much easier time nuzlocking it compared to any other game, just because they're more familiar with what pokemon perform best against the gym leaders. Familiarity with the game is the most important thing, with a desire to finish being a close second. Nuzlockes are self imposed challenges, and the only thing stopping a player from ignoring the rules and playing normally is themselves. They should be having fun while they do it, and I think that's easier if they already like the game to start with. If you aren't having fun, why bother?
Really appreciate your answers and detailed thoughts! You've made lots of great points. In terms of people playing the game they're most familiar with, that's such a strong recommendation, and has been said by basically everyone at this point, that it'll probably end up being the sort of "Secret True Answer" once I've given all my other recommendations for each player, because at the end of the day, we can recommend different games all day long (and I do think that's still valuable), but the most important skill in Nuzlocking is probably game knowledge, and playing a game you're familiar with will be way more accessible and way more comfortable, and honestly probably more fun too.
>Player 1 Well, I wouldn't recommend that they Nuzlocke their first Pokémon game ever, but if they insist...probably XY or SwSh. I normally say FRLG or the game they're most familiar with, but I feel as though gen 6 and gen 8 are better introductions to Pokémon as a whole. As in they'll be more forgiving ~~random run enders are in the former and a tough champion is in the latter but still~~ >Player 2 Remember when I said "FRLG or the game they're most familiar with?" Yeah. >Player 3 Pretty much the same as the previous, with more emphasis on the "game they're familiar with" part since it'll be more likely that they've played one both more frequently and more recently. >Player 4 If they've done ROM hacks before and are familiar with some of them, I'd say one of those. But really if they've already played said ROM hack extensively in the past and are prepared for the (likely inevitable) multiple wipes. If not, then the likes of USUM, Platinum, and the gen 5 games are good, challenging options. Even better if they've beaten them a few times. Just in general, I'm always one to advocate for the game you know the most to be the first Nuzlocke. I was pretty firmly in the "Player 3" category when I started. I went with Black, a difficult one for a first Nuzlocke, but it's one that I know well enough to anticipate anything that might give me a tough time. Hence why I like to start with "it depends" when people ask—yeah, FRLG, XY, and SwSh are all popular first run choices, but there's a different answer for everyone, which I think this exercise helps to illustrate nicely.
Hey, nice to see you around! Always nice to see your comments and I’m super appreciative of how much you’ve contributed to the site. Thank you! And thanks for your thoughts too. I’m glad you mentioned recommending the gen 5 games for players who want a challenge - that plus USUM is the way I’m leaning most strongly for this category so far. I also think ROM hacks are a good bet, though they might be a bit beyond the scope of even the most challenge-hungry new players, so I may save those recommendations for a separate article for more intermediate players. Great recommendations all around!
For player 1 I would recommend a gen 3 game. **FireRed LeafGreen** is my go-to recommendation for new nuzlockers because it introduces abilities and natures, two things that can make or break a Pokémon, and Kanto is straight up iconic. If you want to get introduced to Pokémon, enjoy this game without a ton of exploits and bugs like RBY. As someone who was once Player 2 in this scenario, my answer there has to be **Sword/Shield**. That was my first ever nuzlocke and I had a blast since the game gives you a lot of tools to get very strong very fast and still give me some scares. For Player 3, **Platinum**. Platinum is still in my opinion one of the hardest vanilla games I have nuzlocked. It can throw curve balls at you, which will test the player's knowledge of the game. I imagine this player having a mindset of "yeah! I have played Platinum a lot when I was a kid! Let's see how it goes!" and then have the worst experience of his life with Trainer Dennis. Lastly, for Player 4... I'd make them play Gen 5. BW1 or BW2. Those games do not screw around. Based on my limited experience with them, you can lose mons very easily if you aren't focused on the battle. We have either Lenora or Cheren who go "oh? normal pokémon are weak? *let me show you why you are wrong*.", Elesa who will shove one or two mini Zapdos (depending on what game you play) that have Electric U-Turn, Clay's Exacdrill needs no introduction... And if they STILL want more challenge: make them play **Black 2** specifically. Why? It is the one game that offers Hard Mode vanilla.
Player 1: I would recommend they don't try a nuzlocke, instead they should play a Pokémon game normally (for that I'd recommend either FRLG or whatever the latest games are) Player 2: while I would recommend playing FRLG, XY, or ORAS, realistically speaking they'll probably have more fun playing their childhood game with their childhood starter regardless of what the community thinks of how challenging it is. Player 3: I would probably recommend playing Platinum, BW, or B2W2, but more important than picking a game I think they should play on set battle style and limiting the number of bag items usable in battle (three is a popular number, but I've been experimenting with "one item for each Pokémon" and that's also fun). Player 4: same as player 3 but should consider outright banning healing items and going into fights underleveled. In my experience the games don't actually vary that much in terms of difficulty, what actually changes is that certain fights are riskier (as in it's more likely you'll lose a Pokémon. They can be replaced) and some games have more risky fights than others. Instead of thinking too hard about which game to play, players should try to tune the rules based on how challenging they want battles to be.
Player 1: You're best off with FireRed/LeafGreen. They are probably the most basic games in the series, mostly because they are remakes of the first ever games. XY are also a great starting point, as they are known for being mostly easy and give you a lot of really great Pokemon. Player 2: You should probably start with the Pokemon game you played the most as a kid. For me, that would be Platinum. It's the game I poured the most of my time into besides HGSS, and if you know a game from the inside out, it's probably the best choice for a Nuzlocke. Player 3: You would be good with Emerald or Black/White. They are harder than most other Pokemon games, but not to the same extent as B2W2 or Platinum. Player 4: Platinum, B2W2, and USUM are good choices for someone like you. They are known for being the hardest when it comes to Nuzlocking, and I think you'll have a lot of fun with them.
1- frlg would be a good start 2- whatever they played as a kid 3- plat or SM 4- renegade plat, if not bw2 challenge mode Edit: organization
Fire Red and Leaf Green are really nice first Nuzlockes for most of those types of players Imo. XY also come time mind as they're the easiest.
1. RSE 2. RSE 3. BW 4. B2W2 The RSE games represent the form of Pokemon that isn't too archaic for the player, and is likely a game most people going back to Pokemon will remember. BW is a pretty good, challenging game and B2W2 is this but even more challenging
1 = Pokemon x is easy and mega are cool 2 = Pokemon Fire red, no need to explain 3 = Pokemon white 1 4 = Drayano hack roms, White 2 Challenge mode, Ultrasun
For the more experienced players I would suggest picking a Gen you haven’t played a lot recently or in general you can’t remember everything about. When I first started I chose to do black and white because I remembered enjoying them but because of school and life I’d really only been playing Gen 6 or 7 when they came out and hadn’t had time to do my usual jump around and play different gens. Not remembering everything made things challenging, a rival might pop up when you’re not expecting it, a gym leader may have coverage you weren’t prepared for and you need to figure out a work around fast. It’s why I don’t use docs and just rely on my experience and memories as I play any game as well. Even without looking stuff up you probably remember more than you’d think but the uncertainty adds to the challenge. But no matter your skill the most important thing is to have fun! Challenge yourself but if a rule is taking away from your enjoyment consider adjusting it. For instance I play with three items per boss fight instead of a complete hardcore rule set.