Shadowing Practice: My First Pokemon Nuzlocke - Learn English Speaking with Video
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A Pokemon Nuzlocke is a set of rules that turn a normal playthrough of Pokemon into a hardcore playthrough of Pokemon.
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You're only allowed to catch the first Pokemon you see per route, and if any of them faint, they actually.. don't live anymore, and you can never use them again.
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The game I will be Nuzlocking will be Pokemon Ruby.
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Not because I'm copying Jayden, but because Gen 3 is my favorite generation, and out of the three games,
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Ruby was the one I played as a kid and bought with my own money.
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It was $40.
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Imagine paying that much for a copy of the game now.
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Also, full disclosure, I've seen other Pokétubers who have a deep, uncanny knowledge of this game and use calculators to make the best,
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most optimal plays, but I'm not quite at that level yet, so I might make choices that some could consider.. suboptimal.
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I thought Grass was like super effective against water.
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Why is he super effective against me?
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But if you can forgive me and look past all that, then let's get out of this truck and start our adventure!
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Hmm, let's see...
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Someone's already picked Torchic, and when I played this as a kid, I picked Trico.
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So that means we're left with Kipmud!
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After defeating my rival's Trico, I headed to Oldale Town and caught my first Pokemon that would be joining our team, Floof the Poochiana.
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I'm guessing naming Pokemon after pets is very common in Nuzlocke's.
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By the way, this is how Floop's very first fight went.
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OH!
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OH!
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Oh my god.
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Hey!
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Do you wanna learn how to catch Pokemon?
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No. I'm good.
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Well that's too bad!
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First you wanna get him weak by throwing tiny rocks at him.
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Traveling through Route 104, I caught a Zigzagoon!
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Igzy the Zigzagoon.
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I'm probably not gonna train her up or anything, but she will be useful teaching useless HMs to.
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What's that, Igzy?
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You have an ability where you pick up random objects?
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And you picked up...
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...a revive?
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Oh, Igzy...
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I can't use these!
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Wandering through Pedalburg Woods, some guy asked me if I'd seen any Pokemon named...
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SHRUMISH!
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The main reason Gen 3 is my favorite is because the best Pokemon ever, Breloom makes his debut in this game.
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Why, if I found a Shroomish in this forest, I would probably react like this.
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This guy was being truthful.
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I named Shroomish Goat because not only is he the greatest of all time, but because I was also working on this other video about goats, so I had a lot of goats on the mind.
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We made it to Rustboro Town and challenged Roxanne, the rock-type gym leader, but thankfully we picked the water starter, so...
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You know, Kidmup, do your thing.
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I caught a Taillow on Route 116, and keeping with the naming Pokemon after pets theme, I named him RE2.
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Not to spoil anything, but don't get too attached to RE2, Jaden.
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We sailed to Jewford Town and saw that the second gym was a fighting-type gym, so that meant...
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Fighting...
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Type...
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Weakness...
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It was RE2's time to shine!
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He's like, actually a higher level.
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I didn't like that.
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I didn't like that.
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He's too high of a level.
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Despite being a lower level, we decided to wing it and managed to defeat everyone's Pokemon, only having to tap out at Brawly's Makahuita, which Kidmup mopped the floor with.
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Hey, when did you start walking on two legs, Kidmup?
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The next HM we learn is this terrible move, Flash.
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The only thing Flash is good for is lighting up a dark cave
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that technically isn't even required to progress through the game if you know where you're going.
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I however, do not.
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Currently, Goat is the only one on the team who can learn Flash.
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But I'm like 80% sure once a Pokemon learns an HM move, they can't unlearn it.
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So I really don't want to teach this S-tier Pokemon an unforgettable F-tier move.
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Oh boy, an Abra!
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I bet he can learn Flash!
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Oh boy, a Zubat!
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Okay, I'm kind of fudging the rules here.
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This Zubat wasn't technically the first Pokemon I saw on this route,
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but does it even count as an encounter if all you do is look at a Pokemon and then they teleport away?
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Excuse me?
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Look, I just need this useless Pokemon to learn this unrequired move.
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Zubat, I'm calling you Mr. Flash and immediately teaching you...
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No!
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Goat, you can learn Flash.
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YAY!
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After clearing out Team Magma from a museum, we were ready to take on Watson, the electric-type gym leader.
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Luckily, we picked the water-ground starter, so...
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Kidmup, do your thing!
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Now what?
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Do I go here?
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Here?
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How did I get here?
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During my wandering, both the Pokemon I named after pets evolved into bigger versions of themselves, And Goat learned headbutt.
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Can I get rid of Flash?
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NOOOOO!
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Hey lady, I'm kinda lost, so I'm...
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entering random houses and asking NPCs where I should go.
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Oh, you have harbor mail?
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I'll trade you that for my coin case!
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Coin case?
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You know, for gambling?
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GAMBLING?!
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Listen, I don't have a problem.
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The reason I'm this excited...
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Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.
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It's because one of the prizes you can win at the casino is a Pokemon.
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A Pokemon that may help me build the perfect team.
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So before I checked what the prizes actually were, I bought 500 coins for a measly 10,000 Poke Dollars.
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Just TMs?
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Just dolls?
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I just wasted a lot of money, didn't I?
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Good news though, Goat evolved into his perfect form and learned Mach Punch.
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Right, right.
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Eventually, I talked to the right NPC, taught Igzy Rock Smash, and while exploring a fiery path, I caught my first fire-type Pokémon, Oh, oh, okay, okay, okay,
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okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, Noomol.
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Let's go, man.
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Even though Noomols can be found in the desert, have a big hump on their back, and evolve into something called Camerupt,
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for some reason, I never looked at this Pokemon and thought Camel.
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I always thought Fire Cow.
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So that's why I named her Cooked Beef.
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Then on Route 114, we encountered a Zangoose.
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I have no clue what this Pokemon does, but it looks way cooler than all the Odishes and tiny birds I kept running into, so it had to be awesome!
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Cooked Beef!
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The nine levels you have on this goose are more than enough to weaken it.
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Hit him with an ev- Okay.
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Oh, please don't.
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OOOH!
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Kicked beef!
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So, my only fire type died to a quick attack that did 50 damage.
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Zangoose, or should I say, Beef Eater, you can join the team for now, but just know, we could have killed you at any point.
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It was a challenge not to kill you.
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We headed up a mountain and fought Maxi, the leader of Team Magma, who had his own floof Pokemon, which Goat took care of, and he had his own evolved cooked beef.
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Hmm, I sure wish I had one of those on the team!
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Hey, Beef Eater, why don't you make yourself useful and fight that Crobat?
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Okay, that's kinda cool.
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As we headed down the mountain, who did I encounter but- Who's the new Pokemon?
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Another Pneumo.
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Immediately, I abandoned Beefeater to make room for...
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Return of King.
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Before we take on Gym Number 4, I think I figured out a way to get Goat to forget the move Flash
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without having to beat him over the head with a 2x4.
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A little Pidgey told me that Goat was about to learn a new move at his next level.
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So, by placing him in the Pokemon Daycare and doing some light cardio outside, he'll level up, learn the new move, and forget Flash.
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And my plan worked like a charm.
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It really sucks that this is the only way to get Pokemon to forget an HM move.
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You'd think they'd have some, I don't know, a move-deleter NPC or something?
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Oh my gosh.
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Now you'd think that since I picked the water starter, that the fire type gym wouldn't be an issue. But it was.
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Floof and I quickly learned why biting lava was a bad idea.
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Okay!
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Thankfully Kidmup, who I don't know why I didn't send out first, took out both of Flannery's Slugmas with no issue.
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But then she sent out Torkoal.
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Even though Kidmup was using a super effective move, he only did this much damage.
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Meanwhile, Torkel's body slams were doing this much damage.
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And paralyzing us!
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Okay, um, goat?
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I know you're the goat, but you understand why you can't fight a fire turtle, right?
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RE2, looks like you're up.
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Finish her off with a steal- Ah!
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DUDE!
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RE2!
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NO!
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What do we do?
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What do we do?
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are great choices.
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What I really need is a turn to heal up Kidmup, but...
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Hey, Igzy.
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Are you aware of the concept...
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taking one for the team?
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Given the dire circumstances, this felt like the best choice.
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Sorry, Igzy.
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With Kidmup healed, we managed to get Torkoal's health really low, but then Kidmup refused to finish the fight because he was,
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in his words, Immobilized by love.
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Kidmup!
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I know you're letting this turtle body slam you on purpose, and you're sick for it!
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Do you really think we have a future together?
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Okay, Goat, I know this is a fire turtle, but she's mostly using body slams.
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Could you please punch this turtle's head off without falling in love?
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We earned our fourth gym badge, but it wasn't without some casualties.
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RE2 and Igzi, we wouldn't have made it this far without you.
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Thanks for everything.
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We traveled into a sandstorm where I picked up two Pokémon, this fossil, and this weird Pokémon I've never seen before, Baltoy.
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Alright King, my second chance at a fire type.
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I know this isn't your natural habitat, but why don't we train here in the desert for a bit?
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Moo!
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Oh, you found a Baltoy!
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I just caught one of those!
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I'm not sure what its moves are though.
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What, nuts!
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God!
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Okay, team!
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I know everyone is upset this...
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thing shares a species with the Pokemon who blew up King, but it possesses psychic abilities that I believe could be very useful.
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So, please everyone give a warm welcome to King Eater!
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No one step on it.
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We headed back to Petalburg City and faced gym number five, my dad.
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Also, I brought Odd1ish just in case we had another Iggy type situation.
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Am I an integral member of the team?
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You sure are, bud.
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Despite a few close calls... Who?
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Dude!
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Dude!
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Finish him off.
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Nooo!
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Everyone, including Odd1ish, made it out alive.
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Oh my god!
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Good thing we have free healthcare!
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I don't know WHAT I'd do if someone took away my free healthcare!
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Not right now, goat.
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Across the water on Route 118, I caught Picklechoo the Electrike.
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Great.
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I don't know, he's electric like Pikachu, and his head kinda looks like Pickles, so...
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Whatever, having an Electric-type on the team is huge.
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After inspecting all the Pokemon I had, I figured Mr. Flash's flying poison moves could be useful.
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So I evolved him into Golbat and then- Here you go, daycare lady!
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Alright, my favorite Pokemon!
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Who wants some ice cream?
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Gosh, I love you guys!
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I couldn't ask for a better team right here!
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At Fortree City, we were ready to take on Winona, the Flying-type Gym Leader.
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Wait, this, uh, weird lizard's blocking our path.
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Kidmup, can you- Oh, cool, you're back on four legs again.
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Also, Picklechew, why are you blue?
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The only thing that stood between me and Winona was this incredibly hard two-piece puzzle.
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Hmm...
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How do I get through this?
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Oh.
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Figured out.
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Picklechew was able to spark Winona's Swellow, and Kidmup, through sheer willpower, tanked all of Alteria's earthquakes, narrowly avoiding death by eight hit points.
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Good work, Kidmup!
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Picklechew, you know what to do.
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I found a TM for Ice Beam on an abandoned ship and… King Eater, you can learn Ice Beam?
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I'm sorry it's taken me this long to realize how awesome of a Pokemon you are.
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You know King Eater, with you on the team, I think we'll be okay without a Fire Type.
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I entered Lilycove City and my rival wanted a rematch.
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Kidmuff knocked out her Swellow no problem, but then she sent out Grovile.
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Ooh, I know the perfect matchup for this.
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King Eater, why don't you show this Grass-type that new move you learned?
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Dude!
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D'ah!
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Are you gonna use a Hyper Potion?
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No!
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I can't believe I got that upset at losing a Pokémon that before this challenge, I had never even considered playing with.
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If any members of the Claydol Lover community are watching...
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I'm sorry, I didn't know we hated grass.
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Alright team, we're not fighting any more gyms until each one of you is in peak physical shape.
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Floof!
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Why haven't you evolved into Hondoom yet?
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What about this fossil?
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Is this fossil any good?
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Mmm...
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We picked the plant one.
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We got the plant.
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What about Mr. Flash?
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Has anyone seen Mr. Flash?
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Why hasn't that loser evolved yet?!
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Hey, buddy... So listen...
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We're friends, right?
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You know, Goat had to stay in the daycare once.
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Yeah, yeah, it was to forget the move...
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Flash.
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Look, Mr. Flash, I know I technically shouldn't have even caught you, and I named you after a garbage move I thought you could learn,
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but I want you to evolve so you can be the best version of you on the team!
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Don't you want to join the team?!
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I have this soothing bell you can hold on to.
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Welcome to the team, Mr. Flash.
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With the team stronger than ever, I surfed my way to an island that had a Pokemon graveyard inside a tall building, and for the first time ever,
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I could actually grieve with the other trainers.
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That was a great battle, dude.
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Yeah, it was.
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Here's some money.
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So, Kidmup was holding an amulet coin, so you actually owe me 600.
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We defeated more Team Magma grunts at the top of the tower, and on our way down, I caught what I thought was going to be a super awesome Pokemon, but turned out to be a little disappointing.
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Let's go!
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My third chance at a Fire-type, my son, the Vulpix.
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Which I immediately evolved into Ninetales.
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Why was she a disappointment?
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I don't know.
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You'd think a Fire-type would have no problems defeating a Gloom. But alas.
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I'm not saying Ninetales is a lame Pokemon.
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I'm saying mine specifically was.
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Floof and Kidmup easily cleared the Psychic Gym with Shadow Ball and Surf,
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and with that we just have one more gym before we- Is the sun on fire?!
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So I haven't really been paying attention to the story, and now the legendary Pokemon Groudon is angry.
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And as much as I would've liked to have Groudon on the team, I never found the master So we're not risking it.
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Oh hey Wallace!
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Oh you're the water type gym leader?
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Oh I hope my fighting grass Pokemon will be okay.
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No, you don't have to fight the Sealeo.
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I'll get Floof to do that.
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And with our 8th gym badge, we could finally travel through Victory Road and face the Elite Four.
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Aren't you forgetting something?
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Oh...
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I don't know how you want me to respond to that.
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This is it.
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Our final challenge.
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Each one of you has trained very hard, and as a reward, you'll each be receiving...
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a piece of candy.
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You get a candy?
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You get a candy.
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You get a candy.
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You get a candy.
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You get a candy.
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And.. you get a candy.
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This is it.
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This is gamer moment to the max.
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Kidmup and Goat were able to finish off Sydney's Pokemon with their water, ice, and fighting moves, and my two dogs, Picklechew and Floof, crunched and bit all of Phoebe's ghost Pokemon.
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Picklechew might be cursed though.
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Against Glacia, my son finally stopped being a disappointment and fire blasted her Glalie.
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Then I tried to get Goat to drain her Sealeo, forgetting he didn't like Ice.
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Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.
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Ice and birds, those are his two big no-no's.
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Luckily, Kidmup was able to earthquake the rest of her Pokémon.
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Now it was time for the fourth member of the Elite Four, Drake.
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His Alteria was defeated by Kidmup and Floof, but they both took some damage.
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Against his Flygon, I sent out my son.
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Okay, what about Fireblast?
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You're green.
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AHH!
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Then Flygon dug a hole in the ground, but by the time he came up, Mr. Flash was waiting for him and took him out with a fly.
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For Drake's next Flygon, I sent out Goat.
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I don't think.. he doesn't like birds, and Flygon's a dragon?
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Yeah, Flygon wasn't a bird, but I forgot a very important aspect about dragons.
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Give him a dynamic punch.
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Nope, okay.
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Oh no!
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Oh he knows flamethrower.
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Fire and poison, those are his other two no-no's.
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Instead, Floof and Picklechew crunched Flygon's head off, and then I used Kidmup's last blizzard on Salamence.
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Okay, I'm gonna need this blizzard to hit.
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Please?
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Yes!
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Yes!
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Yes!
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We had done it.
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Oh my goodness!
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We had cleared four champions with some very close calls, but we are all still alive.
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Now it was time to face the fifth member of the Elite Four.
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What, you didn't know about the secret fifth boss that's in every Pokemon game?
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We had one more challenger.
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Steven.
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Steven sent out a Skarmory, which was the perfect lightning rod for Picklechew, then Kidmup took out Aggron with Surf, and my son defeated Cradle-E with Irontail.
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Then Steven sent out a Metagross, and things got messy.
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I thought Kidmup Surf would be super effective against this rock with legs.
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Turns out it wasn't.
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Pfft.
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Okay, here's what I'm gonna do.
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I have an idea.
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I have an idea.
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Kidmup, if you can last another hit, that would be amazing.
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Oh, Hyper Beam!
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Kidmup, my starter Pokémon, had been taken out.
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At least he got Metagross's health low enough that Floof could easily finish them off.
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That's it!
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Then Steven sent out his own King Eater, which I knew from personal experience they hated getting crunched.
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I know this Pokemon.
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He hates getting crunched.
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I don't care about your special defense.
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You're getting crunched!
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It's probably because his special defense went up!
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Floof eventually took down Claydol, even though Steven used a full restore on it three separate times. Of course!
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Of course you are!
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STOP IT!
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Which I get, man.
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I'm part of the Klaedal Lover community, too.
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Next was the last Pokémon we needed to defeat.
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Armaldo.
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One hit from its ancient power, badly injured Floof.
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So for this final fight, I sent Goat to finish him off.
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Goat, because he's so awesome, poisoned Armaldo just by standing next to him, and then promptly sky-uppercutted him straight in the jaw, just barely knocking him out.
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Armaldo was clinging onto life when the unthinkable happened.
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Armaldo knew a bird move.
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NOOOOO!
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NOOOOO!
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NOOOOO!
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Goat had made it so far into our journey, only to faint inches away from the finish line.
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I could have sent out a level 5 Zigzagoon
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and still would have won because Armaldo died to poison on the very next turn.
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The poison's gonna finish it off!
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Right?
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I didn't even have to- No!
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No!
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Not GOAT!
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By all accounts, GOAT had defeated Armaldo, but- But he didn't make it!
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And neither did Kidmup!
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That was my starter and my favorite Pokemon!
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No!
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No!
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I don't want this trophy!
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I want Goat and Tin Moth!
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Colleagues, friends, Wall-E, we gather together to honor two of the bravest Pokemon I know.
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One of them from the humble town of Little Root, and the other from a patch of grass in Petalburg Woods.
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Together, they faced gyms, rivals, and a plethora of wild Pokemon.
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And when the final challenge came, they didn't back down.
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This sucks!
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I hated that!
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And that's how my first Nuzlocke went.
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Dude!
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Dude!
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Dude!
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Drew Wumpels, dude.
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Dude, dude.
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Dude!
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Dude!
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Dude!
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Dude!
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Dude!
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Dude!
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Nothing, dude.
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Dude!
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Oh, dude!
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Stop falling in love!
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No!
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That title's so bad, dude!
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Fy is lava, dude.
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Go give him a chance to recover, dude!
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Dude!
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Dude!
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Dude!
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Dude?
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Dude, stop it.
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Mash their skull in, dude.
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Mmm, that was my psychic ice type, dude.
What You'll Practice in This Lesson
This lesson uses a lively video about a "Pokemon Nuzlocke" challenge to help you improve your English listening and speaking skills. You'll follow a casual, conversational narrative about gaming, learning new terms, and picking up natural speech patterns. Perfect for practicing how to talk about hobbies, share stories, and react to unexpected moments—just like the speaker does when their Pokemon faces a surprise defeat!
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Nuzlocke: A set of hard-core rules for playing Pokemon, where you can only catch the first Pokemon per route and fainted Pokemon can't be used again.
- Suboptimal: Not the best or most efficient choice (e.g., "I might make suboptimal plays").
- HM (Hidden Machine): A type of in-game item that teaches Pokemon moves needed to progress (like cutting trees).
- Revive: An item that brings a fainted Pokemon back to life (though the speaker can't use it in their Nuzlocke!).
- Weakness: A type of Pokemon that is easily defeated by another (e.g., "Fighting-type weakness" means fighting Pokemon are vulnerable to certain attacks).
Practice Tips for Shadowing
The video's tone is friendly and energetic, with a mix of quick reactions ("OH! Oh my god!") and longer explanations. To practice, use a shadowing site to replay short clips. Start with 5-second segments: listen, pause, then repeat, focusing on matching the speaker's pace and excitement. For phrases like "I'm guessing naming Pokemon after pets is very common," pay attention to the natural stress on "guessing" and "common"—this helps with fluency. Shadow speak exercises work best here because the dialogue is full of real-life pauses and asides ("Not because I'm copying Jayden, but because..."). Mimic these to sound more natural. If you struggle with pronunciation, use shadowspeaks tools to slow down the audio. Focus on words like "Breloom" (a Pokemon name) and "Shrumish"—they’re fun to say, and practicing them will boost your confidence with unique terms. Remember, the goal is to sound like a real person, not a robot! Copy the speaker's laughter and surprise to improve your intonation. With regular practice, you'll notice your English sounds more conversational, whether you're talking about games or everyday stories.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.