Touhoumon Nuzlocke Challenge



""The best Nuzlocke Comic this side of Gensokyo!""

It was, perhaps, inevitable.

The sheer popularity of Pokémon has led to, among other things, countless Game Mods and Romhacks of varying quality... such as Moemon, whose entire gimmick is replacing every last pokemon with Moe ginjinkas of the original Mons.

There's also the rules of Nuzlocke, which have become a popular Self Imposed Challenge. Since Nuzlocke first presented his rules through a Web Comic detailing the results, many who took on the challenge followed suit, creating their own records of whatever occured in their runs.

Touhou Project, meanwhile, boasts Loads and Loads of Characters -- enough, in fact, that fans saw fit to create their own crazy spin on the Mons genre with Touhoumon.

Leo Modesto's Touhoumon Nuzlocke Challenge is, therefore, the next logical step -- applying the rules of Nuzlocke to a Touhoumon game. Season 1 is based on Touhoumon Aqua+Yui, while Season 2 is based on Touhoumon Emerald 1.8.

Amber, our heroine, is an impulsive, stubborn young girl whose 'rival' is... another Amber from an Alternate Dimension. Though this other Amber seems calmer and gentler, Amber is convinced that she simply must be an Evil Twin! Thus, after picking up her first Touhou -- a surly, foul-tempered Chibi Reimu whom she immediately dubs "Bitch" -- she immediately attacks her alternate, then sets out on her grand journey across Gensokyo--!

...Only to swiftly discover that just because Touhous are cute and almost everyone is raising and fighting them, it doesn't mean those battles don't have consequences... As with pretty much every Nuzlocke, Touhoumon Nuzlocke Challenge is filled with Mood Whiplash, swinging between silly, lighthearted humor, intense combat, and tragic loss.

Season 2, set in Hoenn as opposed to Kanto, stars Lyla, a science-oriented girl who begins her journey to fill the Touhoudex for research. She initially states a dislike for battling, but takes to it quickly, though she has a mysterious aversion to embracing fighting. An Older and Wiser Amber has reappeared, making her way through Hoenn as well, and acting as a bit of a mentor/CoolBigSis to Lyla.

Touhoumon Nuzlocke Challenge contains examples of:
"Nineball: That's what happens when you write a character as threatening and then in-game she's a wuss."
 * And Now for Someone Completely Different: Season two stars a new heroine and a new rival.
 * An Ice Person: Nineball and Winter.
 * Marcia knows Blizzard.
 * Art Evolution
 * Ascended Extra: became part of the main team right before the championship..
 * not that they get much screentime or personality anyways.
 * In Season Two, Amber's unused team members from the previous season will be used according to Leo. So far we've only seen Merchant.
 * Alternate Dimension: Amber's rival Amber comes from one. Nice girl, despite Amber's assumptions otherwise.
 * Later it is revealed that.
 * Anticlimax: Lampshaded by Nineball Breaking the Fourth Wall to chastise Leo Modesto:
 * Anticlimax: Lampshaded by Nineball Breaking the Fourth Wall to chastise Leo Modesto:

"Marisa: Are you scared? Even after that melodramatic Flash update?"
 * Subverted hard by in Bohemian Archive in Burnt Red.
 * Anti Hero: Amber's more or less a Type I at the beginning.
 * Bare Fisted Monk: Jackie
 * Bash Sisters/Buddy Cop: Babs and Nyah.
 * Battle in The Rain: Part 36: Magical Metronome.
 * Beach Episode: The beginning of Part 27.
 * Berserk Button: NEVER call Nyah, a useless kitten. Surge's EX-Luna Child finds this out the hard way.
 * BFS: Kura's sword
 * Big Bad:
 * Giovanni and Sariel in Season 1.
 * In Season Two, it's Team Aqua and Team Magma.
 * Big Damn Heroes:
 * Big Eater: Max.
 * Bishie Sparkle: Lance
 * Black Comedy:
 * While the others react with horror to every death, Bitch prefers to make snarky comments. She gets called out on this frequently.
 * seems to have this attitude as well..
 * Blade On a Stick: Anko
 * Blood Knight:
 * Bitch, who would much prefer to kill everything they come across and is not pleased by Amber's insistence on catching other Touhous.
 * as well. Much to her chagrin.
 * Blow You Away: Bitch and WindyThing
 * Boisterous Bruiser: Max, Lyla's male Reisen starter.
 * Bond One Liner: Quite a few.
 * Boss Subtitles: Used to introduce the Gym Leaders is Season Two. Usually comes with a Shout Out or two.
 * Bottle Fairy: ZUN.
 * Breaking the Fourth Wall: The Silph Scope gives an awareness of the Fourth Wall.
 * Breaking the Fourth Wall: The Silph Scope gives an awareness of the Fourth Wall.

"Jackie: (after Giovanni states that this is not a game and that actions have consequences) Haha, it's funny cause this is actually -punched-"
 * During a conversation between Giovanni and Amber:

"Lampshaded by Nineball: "What you thought they weren't? Even I knew that.""
 * Brick Joke: Amber  at Lavender Town   During the Q & A segment we're a shown
 * Brilliant but Lazy: Gregoria
 * But for Me It Was Tuesday: The response from.
 * Butt Monkey: Other!Amber's Momiji.
 * Chekhov's Gun: A trainer's mentioning of the


 * Apparently, a good majority of what Leo's fans suggest he should do.
 * Chekhov's Gunman:
 * Cool Shades: Babs.
 * Nineball's Silph Scope, as well.
 * wears a pair of Blackglasses.
 * Cue the Rain / Weather of War: In Chapter 36,
 * Curb Stomp Battle: Nyah versus the, Nineball versus the  , Marcia versus.
 * Curb Stomp Battle: Nyah versus the, Nineball versus the  , Marcia versus.

"Nineball: Eat Water Pulse, bitch! Although, you're a cat so I guess I should call you a p-
 * Most opposing Touhous tend to be defeated unceremoniously in one or two attacks, and many battles only last a page because there's five of them. Of course the flipside is that losses are usually even more sudden.
 * Curse Cut Short: Invoked by Amber, interrupting Nineball.

Amber: That's enough Nineball."

"Amber:Mom, how I missed you...
 * Cute Ghost Girl: Ms. Wright.
 * Darker and Edgier: The later chapters reveal that.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Bitch, whose sense of humor tends towards the black.
 * Deal With the Devil: As of Ghostly Backstory Club,.
 * Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu:
 * Does This Remind You of Anything: Metal Gear Re- I mean EX-Nitori's Crotch Laser.
 * Don't Explain the Joke: Amber explains to Laughter, a Chibi Medicine, just why she named her that. Bitch is not amused. Bitch is never amused.
 * Once again in Part 38..
 * The Dragon: Sabrina to Giovanni.
 * Dude Looks Like a Lady:
 * Much like Moemon, some of the Touhous Amber catches turn out to be male.
 * Dropped A Bridget On Her//Cross Dresser: Birdo the Mystia, he says he likes wearing a dress.
 * Dumb Muscle: According to Brawly's Boss Subtitles, he only has five brain cells.
 * Epic Fail:
 * Everythings Better With Bunnies: Babs and Babs Jr.
 * Season Two adds Max to the group.
 * Everythings Better With Spinning: Holiday.
 * Lava Adds Awesome: Welcome to Cinnabar Island. We have a volcano!
 * Cute Kitten: Nyah. Inverted by the Team Rocket Chens.
 * Everythings Funkier With Disco: Surge's Iku comes with Stayin' Alive playing in the background.
 * Evil Costume Switch: When her attitude shifts from just trying to avoid her crazy counterpart to actively wanting to fight her, Other!Amber dons a small black mantle.
 * Evil Twin: Parodied; Amber assumes the other Amber is this, and won't be told differently. Her bullheaded behavior towards her so-called rival leads to that Amber declaring "You're the bad one!"
 * Zigzagged once again where it is revealed that . Amber then thinks that . Until Daisy says that Dimensions don't work that way.
 * Expy:
 * By the nature of the game, all the cast members resemble the actual Touhou crew, but are distinctly different.
 * Blaine has a strangely familiar mustache.
 * In Season 2, Max, Lyla's Reisen, is an obvious expy of Max
 * Gadget, Lyla's Nazrin, may turn out to be an expy of Marcia, if she can survive... She also is an Expy of Gadget Hackwrench from Rescue Rangers.
 * Amber's new Suwako, Anko, is an expy of Kyouko. Her name is even a reference to a Fan Nickname of Kyouko.
 * Eyepatch of Power: Kura and Ida
 * Eyes Always Shut: Bitch generally has an angry, closed-eyed expression. The first time she does open her eyes, it's accompanied by a Slasher Smile.
 * Jackie as well, because he is Chinese after all.
 * Fade to White: Used at the end of the Championship Fight, as.
 * Fan Art: A decent amount for Season 1, and an explosion of it in Season 2.
 * Fan Service: Two words. Hot Springs.
 * Flat What: Lyla's rival Derek, upon realizing the battle he's just talked her into ended before he even realized it.
 * Fun Size: All Touhous start out as Chibi.
 * Flipping the Table:.
 * Follow in My Footsteps: Norman wants Lyla to become a gym leader just like him, even though she's more interested in becoming a researcher. Derek has a similar problem, as he'd rather become a gym leader than a boring scientist like his dad.
 * Gameplay and Story Segregation: Ghost types are immune to Fighting type attacks but Jackie takes  with his fists..
 * Genki Girl:
 * Amber, though she's not so genki whenever she's just lost a party member.
 * Hatate, who retains her cheerful attitude even as.
 * Giant Mecha: Other!Amber's EX-Nitori pilots a Metal Gear Rex, and the Lorelei's EX-Nitori pilots a Metal Gear Ray.
 * Gilligan Cut: Amber upon returning home to Pallet Town.

Amber's Mom: Aw, I missed you too, honey

Amber: ...r cooking! What's for dinner, ma?

(Next panel cuts to Amber with Daisy)

Amber: And that's why I'm having dinner here tonight."

"Koga: Cirnos really aren't too bright. Did you forget that you're a water type now?
 * Green Thumb: Jade, Laughter, Spring, and Autumn.
 * The no longer permaboxed Amelia!
 * Goggles Do Something Unusual: Along with being able to see ghosts, the Silph Scope can also give one awareness of the Fourth Wall, read people's minds, and detect psychic and dark energies.
 * He Is Not My Boyfriend: Archie calls Amber Steven's girlfriend, which she denies.
 * Hero Antagonist: Other!Amber.
 * Heroic Sacrifice:
 * Hope Spot: During the Championship Fight, . According with Leo,.
 * I Hit You You Hit the Ground: Seen in Part 37 when.
 * Identical Stranger: The two Ambers. A Running Gag is that the gym leaders keep wondering why Amber keeps returning for another badge...
 * I'm a Humanitarian: Max frequently eats his opponents. Played for Laughs.
 * Implied Love Interest:.
 * And in Season Two,
 * Ironic Echo:

Nineball: Gym Leader's aren't too bright. Did you forget...that I'm the Strongest?"



"Lyla: Wait, aren't you a beast type user why is it called the ston-
 * Karma Houdini:
 * Killed Off for Real: Final death tally for Amber's Touhous: . That's more than three times the size of your active party. Early on she lost them almost as fast as she gained them.
 * Also, Other!Amber's.
 * In season 2, Lyla has lost:, while Amber has lost.
 * Kill the Cutie
 * Lack of Empathy: Bitch has a very cold attitude towards everyone. If someone dies, it's their own damn fault, though she's quick to harp on Amber for being upset and point out any and all mistakes she's made.
 * Leave Her To Me: Despite her type disadvantage, Bitch insists on taking on Other!Amber's starter Marisa every time they cross paths. Amber calls her on this in Magical Metronome, but.
 * Plucky Girl: Amber. Given the losses she's suffered, the fact she can drive forward at all is astonishing sometimes...
 * Making a Splash: Marcia, Jade, Nineball, and Gregoria.
 * Martial Arts Headband: Amber  and dons one of them instead.
 * Meaningful Name: Bitch, just for starters.
 * Meganekko: Lyla
 * Megaton Punch:.
 * Mons
 * Motive Decay: In Season 2, Amber worries if she's slipping into this, as she's not entirely sure why she's started over with another adventure.
 * Mythology Gag: Upon entering the, Jackie begins to feel that he shouldn't let them enter.
 * Nice Hat: Well it is a Touhou comic.
 * Nice Job Breaking It Hero: Amber
 * Nightmare Fuel:
 * Nintendo Hard: Touhoumon games have a reputation for being quite difficult, and this bears out in the comic.
 * Noodle Implements:

Roxanne: 'Some things man was not meant to know'."


 * Nosebleed: Jackie gets a bunch of these in the Q&A session.
 * No Sell:.
 * Not So Harmless: After being treated as a complete joke for sleeping through their first couple encounters, Other!Amber's Patchouli opens her eyes and.
 * And she
 * Surge's Chibi Shou.
 * Oh Crap:.

"Violet: I-I have boobs! It's just, my clothes, they're kinda big and...
 * The One Guy: Jackie
 * Parental Neglect: Lyla's father Norman cares about her... but not enough to pay child support. And he'd really prefer for her to follow his dreams rather than hers.
 * Pay Evil Unto Evil: Amber's treatment of her rival (including trying to kill her, Played for Laughs), who's not actually evil, as well as some Rocket Grunts, who are.
 * Pettanko/ACupAngst:.

Windy Thing: She doesn't have boobs."

"Hitomi: The proper term is erotica. I mean, no"
 * Plot Device: The Silph Scope. Lampshaded by Amber at one point.
 * Psychic Powers: Babs.
 * Sabrina but she can only use them when she's confident.
 * Red Shirt: The Team Rocket Grunt's Pokemon.
 * The Rival: While the AU Amber would much rather be left alone at first, her Marisa makes a perfect Foil to Bitch; while she appears nicer at first, she has a disturbingly cavalier attitude towards life-and-death combat. The other Amber eventually does decide to seriously oppose her, in no small part since it's clear Amber would just keep attacking her anyway.
 * Running Gag:
 * Other!Amber's Momiji being knocked out instantly when sent out.
 * The Gym Leaders asking if they've fought Amber before. It was actually Other!Amber that fought them.
 * Sequel Hook: The ending seems to imply there may be another Touhoumon Nuzlocke Challenge taking place in a different Touhoumon game.
 * And now there is!
 * Shock and Awe: Amber's Marisa, Other!Amber's Marisa, and Marcia after evolving.
 * Shockwave Stomp:
 * Shout Out: Several of the names Amber gives her Touhous are references, such as to common Touhou Memes or other games.
 * Babs' introduction has her attempting the Jedi Mind Trick: "These are not the droids you're looking for!"
 * The Nugget Bridge battles are summarized by a parody of classic-style Final Fantasy combat.
 * The text in that panel reads "And then there was the Clash on the Big Bridge"
 * The Silph Scope resembles the headgear from Splinter Cell.
 * Mount Moon. Named after Keith Moon.
 * Bitch uses the Vulcan Nerve Pinch on Sabrina's Hakurei.
 * Amber's mom is singing Kero 9 Destiny by Silver Forest in Part XXXII.
 * Marcia: When that baby (the S.S Cucumber) hits 88 mph, we see some serious shit.
 * In Season Two, Lyla has a Medecine that's nicknamed Bridget.
 * Roxanne doesn't have to put on the red light.
 * Lyla's Chen is nicknamed Felicia.
 * Lyla has a Chibi Minoriko named Eustace.
 * Silly Rabbit Idealism Is for Kids: Bitch is not exactly the most understanding or supportive of teammates.
 * Sinister Scythe: Gregoria the Komachi
 * Somebody Elses Problem: Steven Stone knows that Team Aqua's up to no good, but isn't bothering to do anything about it. Amber's attempts to call him out on this haven't been very effective...
 * Sour Supporter: Bitch, whose 'pep talks' aren't exactly peppy.
 * Splash of Color:
 * The strips are mostly monochrome, but blood and the Rs on the uniforms are always painted red. Certain dramatic moments also get splashes of color, such as Patchouli opening her eyes for the first time.
 * Whenever one of the girls reaches their final form, she gets a panel where she's fully colored to show off her new look.
 * In Part 37, the first color seen in that strip is.
 * The Stinger: Each Flash animated episode has one:
 * After Curiosities of Rival Asia,.
 * At the end of Bohemian Archive in Burnt Red,.
 * At the end of Lance, after being defeated by Amber and  he and his two Iku's start dancing to disco.
 * Stealth Pun: In Lorelei, the song in the background is a rock remix of Mystia Lorelei's theme.
 * Suspiciously Specific Denial:
 * Suspiciously Specific Denial:

"Bitch: Hey, I thought it was a good strategy. was just Cannon Fodder, anyway."
 * Taking the Bullet:
 * does this rather unintentionally when Amber shoves them into a fight to save Bitch.

""Bug/Grass? Seriously.""
 * Taking Up the Mantle:.
 * Taking You With Me: Thanks to Destiny Bond, this is the fate of.
 * Later attempted without the aid of a Destiny Bond. Instead,.
 * In Season Two,.
 * This Is Gonna Suck: The Portal Maze in Silph Co.
 * Training Montage: It even included Eye of the Tiger!
 * Another one occurs in Part 38, with . One of the scenes involves.
 * Tranquil Fury: At the end of the Championship Fight, does not take  well.
 * Took a Level In Badass: Duh.
 * Two Lines No Waiting: In Season Two, Amber is running a Randomlocke challenge at the same time that Lyla's starting her journey.
 * Uncanny Valley: According to Kura,.
 * Unstoppable Rage: In Part 37,.
 * Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: Amber has elements of this, before getting some Character Development.
 * Weaksauce Weakness: Flying attacks on Princess Wriggle.
 * Weaksauce Weakness: Flying attacks on Princess Wriggle.

"Other!Amber: You're the bad one!"
 * We Hardly Knew Ye: Some of Amber's Touhou don't last very long at all. Most notable are, who both lasted for only a couple of panels.
 * Wham Episode: Several of the late-run deaths effectively function as this.
 * What the Hell Hero: After Amber immediately attacks and beats up her just-obtained Marisa:

"Amber: ARE you nuts?
 * Much later, Amber calls out Other!Amber after.

Other!Amber: ...I have to."


 * And in Part 48, she calls out her counterpart again after realizing.
 * Whole Episode Flashback: Ghostly Backstory Club, as it name implies, explains the history of.
 * EX 1: Starters looks at the starters' lives shortly before being picked by their trainers.
 * EX 2: Silph Scope looks at Nineball and Marcia discussing about the Silph Scope..
 * EX 3: Return features Other!Amber returning home after
 * Why Don't You Marry It: Frustrated by Lyla's attempt to make him feel better after Amber curbstomped him, he snaps "If you like her so much, why don't you marry her?"
 * Yaoi Fangirl:
 * In Season 2, Roxanne.
 * You Never Asked: Jackie's response when Amber asks why he didn't in the first place.
 * Youthful Freckles: To help tell her apart from her rival, the Amber we follow has freckles dusting her nose.
 * Youthful Freckles: To help tell her apart from her rival, the Amber we follow has freckles dusting her nose.

Touhoumon Nuzlocke Challenge: contains 48% of the Reccomended Daily Intake of TV Tropes. For Touhou!