Webcomic / ky-nim's Nuzlocke Runs

Two fairly prolific Nuzlocke comics run by Kylee Nim.

The first of the two is the Diamond Nuzlocke, also known as "Tales of Sinnoh", following the adventures of young Pokemon trainer Kynim as she goes on her journey through the Sinnoh region and battles against the rising forces of Team Gaga—er, "Team Galactic", in their quest to resurrect Dialga and create a new world by destroying the current one.

The sequel, the White Nuzlocke, better known as "Myths of Unova", follows the adventures of Nina in the Unova region and her two friends, the competitive but good-hearted Cheren and the friendly but slightly conflicted Bianca. Nina and her Pokemon go on their journey, but soon find themselves wrapped up in the insanity of Team Plasma, an organization that seeks to separate people and Pokemon and whose leader, a strange boy named N, appears to have taken an interest in Nina.

Both Nuzlockes have been completed. The Diamond one can be read here and the White one can be read here. Both also have a Tumblr blog that provides supplementary material here. A sequel mini-series called "Episode Grey" can be found here.

Tropes seen in Kynim's Nuzlocke Runs:

• Abusive Parents:
  • Bianca's dad, who is misogynistic and emotionally abusive to Bianca, and mentioned to be physically abusive to her mother. Upon hearing about the latter, Elesa escorts Bianca to the police station to report him to Social Services.
  • Played for laughs when Byron mocks Roark for losing to Kynim in the Diamond run.
  Byron: OMG, son, you got pussy whipped. PUSSY WHIPPED!
• The Ace: Cheren views Nina like this.
• Achilles' Heel: Laila observes that Asha (Ghetsis' Hydreigon) has two. First off, his Fire Blast attack has gaps in it despite being so powerful, so it can be dodged pretty easily. Second, Asha pauses in-between each attack, prompting Laila to guess that he needs all three of his heads to be in cooperation in order to successfully land an attack.
• Adaptation Expansion: According to Kynim (the author, not the character), the reason for Bianca's father's Adaptational Villainy was to help expand Bianca's character arc.
• Adaptational Jerkass: Played for laughs; Byron is a sexist jerk who tells Kynim to Stay in the Kitchen and goes "OMG I LOST TO A GIRL" when she beats him in a gym battle.
• Adaptational Villainy: Unsurprisingly, Ghetsis is considerably more evil here than in canon. Bianca's father too. And the Striaton Trio are the Shadow Triad.
• Agent Peacock: Burgh, Burgh, BURGH. Dude gives an Offhand Backhand to one of the Seven Sages!
• Always Someone Better: Kynim is this to her daughter, Nina. Nina herself is this to Cheren.
• Anthropomorphic Personification: Kynim goes a different route than the games by having Reshiram and Zekrom become the personifications of the immense desire to seek truth and ideals from the twin kings.
• Anti-Climax: The first page of the battle with N ends with Zach about to be attacked from behind by N's Klinklang. Naturally, the fans were panicking about him possibly dying before the next page came out a month later...at which point Jojo jumps in out of nowhere and just 1HKOs the thing with no issue whatsoever. Given the reactions from Zach and Laila, this was most likely intentional.
• Art Evolution: Compare the first Diamond Run issue with the most recent White Run issue and the progress is astounding.
  • Even within the White run there is a lot of improvement art-wise and comic-wise.
• Babies Ever After: According to supplementary material, Zach and Laila adopted several baby Pokemon post-story (they can't actually have children of their own, since they're not in the same breeding group).
• Badass Adorable: Zach. Andy trumps him later in this department, being the shortest known Galvantula and still can dish out ass-kicking.
• Berserk Button: Not too berserk, but bringing up Kynim is a good way to irritate Nina.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Strip 28 shows why it's a bad idea to upset a Pokemon Center Nurse.
• Bilingual Bonus: The restaurant that N takes Nina to is named "The L'Navire" - French for The Ship.
• Bittersweet Ending: Nina defeats Ghetsis, who gets executed by the Shadow Triad for his incompetence, but Nina loses all but two of her Pokemon in the process. Meanwhile, Zekrias (Zekrom) and Reshai(Reshiram) are killed by Ghetsis, but they die free and their spirits thank N and an unconscious Nina for helping them before passing on. The epilogue reveals Nina's still going through a lot of problems due to what transpired, but she's getting help and her relationship with her mother has mended. Cheren and Bianca are pursuing their dreams while N, Anthea, Concordia and Rood have been reformed and are moving on with their lives. Laila and Zach, the last surviving members of Nina's team, are Happily Married and still loyally by Nina's side.
• Black Comedy:
  • When Kylee the author/artist is asked in the second White run Q&A session which death was the hardest for her, she says that Peter, Walter and Freddie were the worst in terms of gameplay and teambuilding, but notes that the death of a certain other team member made readers more upset. She says this while glancing at a drawing of Jordan, who was crushed to death by falling rocks as a pancake with a halo. Later, when Mimi is asked if she still thinks about Jordan sometimes, Kylee appears in the background eating a stack of pancakes.
  • When Bianca first appears, she brings Nina a giant birthday cake...and Cheren a sandwich. When Cheren asks why she did the latter despite the fact that she baked a cake big enough for all three of them, Bianca responds with "because my daddy says that women exist to make sandwiches for men", something Cheren is understandably disturbed by. According to Word of God, this was originally going to be something of a Running Gag, but she cut it after realizing that it would be in rather poor taste.
• Both Sides Have a Point: The explanations made for and against Pokemon battles in 036 and 037 both have legitimate points and give a deeper insight into the comic's universe.
• Broken Ace: Nina feels immense amounts of pressure to live up to and surpass her parents, causing her to foster a lot of resentment towards her mother. Making this worse is how she's grown used to having her issues dismissed as 'not real problems' and coping with others' jealousy of her position.
• Bus Crash: According to Word of God, Annie and Alex from the Diamond run passed away of old age before the events of the White run.
• Call-Back: Nina hesitates upon confronting Marshal's Throh. Early in the White Run, a Throh claimed the lives of Peter, Walter and Freddie. Marshal's Throh critically injures Mimi, and she eventually succumbs to her injuries.

• The Casanova: Maximus, the Murkrow from Kynim's Diamond run. He immediately attracts Regina, Mel, and Annie when he appears.
• Cerebus Syndrome: The Diamond run is mostly comedic, and what angst there is tends to come from someone dying. The White run is much more dramatic, with a lot of character-driven angst as well as mourning over Pokémon deaths.
• Characterization Marches On: N is initially depicted as creepy, twitchy and unpredictable. But over time, he is shown to be more - for lack of a better word - normal, though is still quite awkward and prone to getting worked up.
• Chaste Hero: Zach, initially. Though it seems he is gradually outgrowing his naivety with evolution.
• Chekhov's Gun: Remember that badge case Cilan gave Nina? It's a tracking device for Team Plasma.
• Creator Cameo: Kynim the artist has shown up as several characters in the comics.

• A Day in the Limelight: Quite a few Pokemon and recurring characters get an "Extra" comic that details their backstories.
• Dead Person Impersonation: After the Iccirus gym battle, it's revealed Brycen was killed by Team Plasma a few days prior. To avoid raising suspicion, a member of the Shadow Triad has been using Ditto to impersonate him and his Pokemon.
• Death by Adaptation:
  • Brycen is assassinated by the Shadow Triad offscreen.
  • When Ghetsis proves to be an unfit leader by being defeated by Nina, it's implied that the Triad personally executed him.
• Deus Exit Machina: Not mentioned, but an extra comic mentions Kynim is still residing in the Sinnoh region, which would explain why she isn't there to help Alder and the Gym Leaders with Team Plasma in Unova despite their presence to the region and the potential threat they are to her daughter.
• Due to the Dead: Both heroines always make it a point to give the Pokemon they have lost a proper burial.
• Eating the Eye Candy: A running gag regarding Haisi in the Diamond run is that he really likes Lucas' butt.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • Zinzolin is noticeably terrified when he sees Ghetsis feeding what is strongly implied to be a human corpse to his Hydreigon.
  • According to Word of God, Bianca's dad would never stoop so low as to kill his own daughter.
• Eye Scream: In the battle against N, Zach's eye gets hit by his armor ricocheting off of his flipper while he shields Laila from Archeops' Acrobatics.

• Fake Kill Scare: The Shadow Triad "warns" Clay for arresting the Sages in Cold Storage.
• Fallen Heroes: Several art pieces and the story implies that the that the reign of the twin kings didn't just end with region-wide destruction.
• First-Name Basis: As of Clay's gym, Rex has started calling Nina by her correct name.
• Foreshadowing: During the White run, Nina has just rung the bell on Celestial Tower and is experiencing a moment of peace with her fallen Pokemon. Lin, a psychic who serves as her guide, reaches out a hand to see if Nina is alright and is struck with a vision of Nina seemingly broken, with the shadowy figure of a Hydreigon looming behind her. This is eventually revealed to be a scene during the Ghetsis fight where Ghetsis's Hydreigon Asha is looming over Nina after killing Zekrias, Rex and Andy.
  Asha: Tell me child, are you afraid of death?
• Generation Xerox: Even though his father was never shown in the comics, Haisi ends up as the head of the Battle Frontier of Johto and Sinnoh, an area in which Palmer was involved in.

• Hate Sink: Seeing as N is simply deluded and Ghetsis is a distant obstacle up until the last third of the story, Bianca's father serves as a good lightning rod for hate in the interim.
• Heroic Sacrifice
  • Diamond Run:
    • Tyrus saves Annie from Fantina.
  • White Run
    • Walter, Peter, and Freddie help Nina escape a Throh in Pinwheel forest, at the expense of their lives.
    • Also, Jordan takes a Rock Slide for Mimi, dying in the process.
• Hero Killer: Ghetsis' Hydreigon successfully takes out Zekrias, Reshai, Rex, Andy and Jojo in that order.
• Happily Adopted:
  • Freddie, the Pansear, and Bianca's Munna and Pansage, Charlotte and Eddie.
  • In an Extra, Lucas and Haisi got together and adopted a girl named Chrissie.
• Happily Married: Kynim and Roark, Skyla and Lin, Haisi and Lucas, Laila and Zach.
• Healing Factor: Ghetsis' Hydreigon, Asha, can regenerate his heads in true hydra fashion.
• Heel–Face Turn: Cilan in the White run, who helps out Nina at Anthea's request.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Ghetsis had indoctrinated the Shadow Triad with a philosophy of zero-tolerance for failure. He neglected to realize that this applies to his own failures as well...

• Hurricane of Puns: Candice. She's depicted as a very cool gym leader.
• Hydra Problem: Rex and Nina learn this the hard way when they take on Ghetsis' Hydreigon — Rex chops off one of its heads, only for said head to grow back immediately after. Zach gets around this by chopping all of his heads off at once, leaving him without any heads to govern the body and initiate regeneration.
• I Die Free: Zekrias and Reshai, as confirmed in this video.
• Incoming Ham: Byron makes his first appearance yelling at Kynim, "I LOVE FOSSILS!!" Given a callback when Nina flips out with joy upon seeing fossils being given away for free and yelling "FOSSILS!" with joy — foreshadowing the fact that she's Byron's granddaughter.
• Interspecies Romance: Amongst Nina's Pokémon, Laila the Petilil/Lilligant is totally dere for Zach the Dewott/Samurott, Jojo the Darumaka/Darmanitan and Rex/Rey the Sandile are pretty flirty Childhood Friends, and Jordan the Bliztle/Zebstrika has a soft spot for sweet Mimi, a Woobat/Swoobat.
  • Lampshaded in the Fourth-Wall Mail Slot session, where an audience member asked Laila about it.
• Interspecies Adoption: Mimi takes in Andy when he is taken out to replace Jordan.
• Ironic Echo: As of Part 36, it is now Nina escaped using Run Away!
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Jordan is coined to be a "difficult" team member.
• Karma Houdini: According to Word of God, the Shadow Triad escaped shortly after executing Ghetsis and haven't been seen since. The International Police have enlisted the help of Anthea and Concordia to search for them.
• Karmic Death: Ghetsis—he conditioned the Shadow Triad to have a low tolerance for failure. He evidently failed to take into account that this applies to him as well...
• Keet: Zach, especially as an Oshawott.
  • The same can be said for Jasper, N's Joltik.
• Kill It with Water: Asha the Hydreigon tries to kill Nina and Jojo using Surf. Zach saves Nina...Jojo isn't so lucky.
• Kill the Cutie: Andy the Galvantula is INCINERATED ALIVE by Ghetsis' Hydreigon.
• Legendary in the Sequel: Downplayed, but Kynim from the Diamond comic is well-known in the White comic, much to Nina's annoyance.
• Letters 2 Numbers: Used frequently throughout the Diamond Run, especially by Haisi^note Justified in that she was working with a much smaller space at the time. Almost completely absent in the White Run, save for a one-off instance of Burgh using "IDC".
• Magical Eye: N has these after obtaining the Light Stone.
• Moe Anthropomorphism: Ky-Nim LOVES making gijinkas of her Pokemon, and her fans love those gijinkas. She also expanded it somewhat to Cheren and Bianca's starters.
• The Mole: The Striaton Triplets were actually the Shadow Triad, who infiltrated the Pokemon League using false identities. The badge case Cilan gave Nina contained a tracking device.
• Ms. Fanservice: Skyla, though it's played for laughs rather than sexiness—as shown when she nearly suffocates Nina with her breasts.
• Mr. Fanservice: Haisi's view of Lucas in the Diamond run; the first thing he notices about the guy is his butt.
• My God, What Have I Done?: The Hiker and Gurdurr responsible for Jordan's death do their best to make amends.
  • Then comes Marshal after his Throh critically injures Mimi, he offered Nina to leave so she could grieve.
• My Greatest Failure:
  • White Run
    • The simultaneous deaths of Freddie, Walter and Peter to a powerful Throh.
• The Great Offscreen War: There was a massive war that occurred in Unova several centuries prior to the events of White.
• The Nicknamer:
  • Rex, the Sandile. He likes to call Nina, "Enana"^note "Runt".
  • With the trainers, it's taken a step further because pretty much all of the trainers nickname their Pokemon. Even Ghetsis (his Hydreigon is named Asha).
• Not Enough to Bury: Ghetsis' Hydreigon's Fire Blast completely incinerates Andy, leaving only ashes. To add insult to injury, he stomps on the ashes afterward.
• Not Helping Your Case: Every time Nina and N cross paths, he manages to make progressively worse impressions.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain: In a recent update, Champion Kynim explains some of what's happened in Sinnoh since her Diamond game. Long story short: Team Gaga? Total joke. Team Neo-Galactic? Not a joke. They successfully summoned Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina, turned Sinnoh into a Death World full of portals to horrifying other dimensions, and it took years to set things straight. Meanwhile, Nina had been evacuated to Unova, causing her to feel alienated and unloved for several years.
• Official Couple: Kynim and Roark, Haisi and Lucas, Mimi and Jordan, Laila and Zach.
• Offing the Offspring: Ghetsis planned on doing this to N to cow Nina into battling him.
• Off with His Head!: Ghetsis' Hydreigon finally goes down when Zach chops off all three of its heads at once.
• Our Ghosts Are Different: All Ghost-Type Pokemon are implied to have originally been another species before perishing. This does not stop them from dying again.
• Painting the Medium:
  • The Shadow Triad use a different text and style of speaking compared to other characters.
  • Mentions of spoilery things (like N's full name) are blacked out. N's full name does get revealed eventually.
• Parental Substitute: In all of the runs thus far, there has always been at least one team member who acts like a father/mother figure.
  • Diamond Run: Killigan the Quagsire.
  • White Run: Walter the Herdier, and Jojo the Darumaka-Darmanitan. From a Rival's P.O.V, Leif the Serperior is the Team Dad for Cheren's team by helping new members and keeping Pierre the Liepard from committing acts of thievery.
• Powers via Possession and Willing Channeler: N seems to be gaining some powers from the Light Stone in the Part 36. Because of it, he is able to block Nina's usual physical attacks and and then fights back verbally, ultimately making Nina run away.
• Precision F-Strike: When Nina vents to Cheren:
  Nina: How can I be a good trainer, when I still fucking fail to keep my Pokemon safe?!
• Really Dead Montage: Often takes the form of a Happy Flashback.
• Related in the Adaptation:
  • Bertha is revealed to be Byron's mother (and by extension, Roark's grandmother) in the Diamond run.
  • Rood is depicted as Anthea and Concordia's father.
  • Ghetsis and Zinzolin are cousins according to Word of God. The Shadow Triad, aka the Striaton Triplets are his nephews.
• Retired Badass: Gohan and Maximus from the Diamond run have retired from battling by the time of the White run according to Word of God.
• The Resenter: Cheren towards Nina, and Nina towards her mother.
• Ridiculously Cute Critter: Andy the Joltik. Even as a Galvantula, he is still tiny and adorable.
  • To top it off, he also speaks only in emotes.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: N is not only the King of Team Plasma, but the descendant of a line of Unovan Kings.
• Running Gag: N ESCAPED USING RUN AWAY!
• Scars Are Forever: Jordan retains the scar on his eye he received from Freddie.
  • Zach keeps the scar on his right arm that he received from Lenora's Watchog.
• Ship Tease: Most notable in the White Run, where everything is shipped.
  • Laila is a Tsundere for Zach.
  • Jordan seems to have a soft spot for Mimi.
  • A more dramatic case, but the climax gives implications toward Anthea and Cilan, certainly helped by the artwork Kynim made of them later on.
  • And in the Diamond run, Gohan and Shakti were totally not an item, according to the artist's notes on the omake comic featuring them. Tyrus's affections for Annie, however, were eventually reciprocated, as were Kynim's for Roark (big time!).
  • The White run's Q&A session included asking Nina whether she was more interested in Cheren or N. Hilarity ensued.
  • Bianca and Hilbert get a slight bit of this as well.
• Shout-Out: Too many to list.
  • Team Gaga in the Diamond run still stands out.
  • Alder's personal assistant is The Lieutenant. Even more references is that the Shadow Triad use his weapons from the show.
  • The Diamond comic was littered with references to Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt just as much as Gaga.
• Shout-Out Theme Naming:
  • Bianca's Emboar and Musharna are named Wilbur and Charlotte respectively.
  • All the Pokemon in the Elite Four's rosters have this:
    • Shauntal's are named after Bayonetta characters and design team members: Cereza the Cofagrigus, Madame the Jellicent, Kamiya the Golurk and Mari the Chandelure.
    • Grimsley's are named after Fire Emblem characters, with one exception: Anna the Liepard, Severa the Bisharp and Charlotte the Krookodile are all accompanied by Callum the Scrafty (a shout-out to Poketuber HoodlumScrafty).
    • Caitlin's are named after Steven Universe characters: Rose Quartz the Musharna, Alexandrite the Sigilyph, Peridot the Reuniclus and Garnet the Gothitelle.
    • Marshal's are named after JoJo's Bizarre Adventure characters: Santana the Throh, Esidisi the Mienshao, Whamuu the Sawk and Kars the Conkeldurr.
• Sole Survivor:
  • As of Mimi's death at the Elite Four, Zach is the only member of Nina's first team who is still alive.
  • A partial example; Diana is the only one of Kynim's Pokemon who is still an active member of her team. Alex and Annie passed away of old age and Gohan and Maximus retired.
  • Thanks to Ghetsis, Zach and Laila are the only members of Nina's team left standing.
• Southern Belle: Bianca, apparently.
• Speaks Fluent Animal: In White, Nina, N, and Cedric Juniper.
  • It's mentioned in passing that this is an unusual ability, but not unknown in the 'verse.
  • Part 40 shows Ghetsis apparently talking with his Hydreigon.
• Spin-Offspring: Nina has been confirmed to be the daughter of Kynim (the Diamond player character) and Roark. Many fans had been speculating this to be the case for a while.
  • Time Skip: This proves that the events of White is twenty years or so after Diamond. (Nina is stated to be turning 18 near the beginning; presumably Kynim didn't settle down with Roark right away.)
  • It's also deconstructed, since being the daughter of a League Champion puts a lot of pressure on Nina and makes her feel that her actual accomplishments are unappreciated. Among other things, she's had a fight with her mother recently, and is still refusing to speak to her directly.
• Stable Time Loop: Nina's necklace that was her birthday gift in the beginning? It's a fragment of the Adamant Orb that sent her back in time where she would meet N in his younger days when she entered his room and would unknowingly build him up to the current man he is today with her words. She would then pass her trainer cap to him and after it got worn down over time, he replaced it with his current black cap in because of it's similar design.
  Kid!N: So don't be sorry! I hope I grow up to be a cool hero like you! (With the hat and everything...)
• Stalker with a Crush: Lucas in the Diamond run, for Kynim. "How do you know my clothing sizes?!" Eventually Haisi hooks up with Lucas instead.
  • In the White Run, the role is given to N who has developed a crush on Nina but doesn't know how to express it. Lampshaded in the credits, where he's billed as "Creepy Stalker", and in the Valentine's Day omake:
    Roses are red,
    Violets are blue.
    If a stalker asks you out,
    What do you do?
• Static Stun Gun: The Shadow Triad have electric kali sticks, which they use on Nina.
• Stay in the Kitchen: Bianca's father is a real piece of work, and some of this has rubbed off on poor Bianca, especially at the beginning of the White run.
  • Byron's misogyny is played for laughs in the Diamond run, especially once Kynim gives him a taste of his own medicine and orders him to make her a sandwich after the fight.
• Stealth Pun: Bianca speaks and behaves like she's from the Deep South, especially in the beginning. She's a Southern Bel.
• Sticky Fingers: Pierre, Cheren's Liepard. Someone mentions that he's pickpocketing trainers, he steals Nina's bag, and attempts to steal Laila's Miracle Seed... only to Laila to hit him with a Magical Leaf.
• Talk to the Fist: How both Kynim and Nina often respond to all the nonsense around them.
• Teasing Creator: Ky-nim the artist.
• Thou Shalt Not Kill: Each protagonist, and the majority of other trainers, try to avoid killing as much as possible and most deaths are depicted as accidental. Except Ghetsis' Hydreigon.
  • In this universe, a Pokemon has a 30% chance of dying instead of fainting. But being a nuzlocke, all of Nina's Pokemon will die upon fainting.
• Token Good Teammate: Rood is the only member of the Seven Sages who seems to have any good in him. He and his daughters, Anthea and Concordia, are consequently given lighter sentences than the rest of Team Plasma.
• Tsundere: Laila the Petilil/Lilligant has a snippy attitude, but it doesn't take much to bring out her softer side.
• Unknown Rival: In the Nuzlocke forums, the White run's N earned an award for "Best Extra". Enough said.
  • Although, as of Chapter 36, this may be getting averted with the plot becoming more serious.
• Unsound Effect: PCHOOOOO is used as onomatopoeia for pokeballs.
• Versus Character Splash: Before every major battle, mimicking the style from the game.
• Wake-Up Call Boss: In the Diamond Run, Fantina's was the first gym to claim casualties.
  • For Jordan in particular, it was Lenora's Herdier. So far, Nina has yet to suffer a casualty to a Gym Leader unlike her mother.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Kiki the Patrat and Peter the Pidove.
• Wham Episode: Vs. Ghetsis part 2 and 3 of the White run. Zekrias is killed right after Nina battled N, and Ghetsis' Hydreigon successfully kills Rex, Andy and Jojo, leaving only Zach and Laila.
• With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: The Twin Kings, upon transforming into Zekrom and Reshiram, went on a rampage and nearly destroyed Ancient Unova, even attacking their own allies. In fact, one of them killed their own son.
• "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: Several of the Extra comics tend to give information on the characters from the Diamond Nuzlocke. Most notably, Haisi and Lucas are married and adopted a child, with their jobs as Frontier Head and Researcher respectively.
• Written Sound Effect: The Diamond run features Kynim curb-stomping Byron to the tune of "BAM, POW, WHACK, FOOSH".
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Bianca gets this from Nina, Cheren, her mother, Burgh, and Elesa.
  Burgh: IDC what your daddy says. You are a strong independent girl on the inside. Even if Team Plasma took your Pokémon, it's not entirely your fault! We all make mistakes, and learn from them, 'kay?

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