Inari Iroha Begins First Pokémon Sword Run, Aiming to Fill Out the Galar Pokédex

NORI PRO — Inari Iroha of Nori Pro began her first-ever playthrough of Pokémon Sword on Sunday, a stream of about six hours that she opened by laying out a goal of collecting as much of the Galar Pokédex as she can.

She said the dex covers roughly 400 species before the game is cleared, and that she would count only Pokémon obtainable in Sword, leaving out those exclusive to Shield and the starters she did not pick, since they would need trades. The downloadable content is on hold until after the main story. She also asked viewers to hold back spoilers and advice unless she asks for it. After a punishing four-legged-only run of Pokémon LeafGreen, she said, fans had asked her to enjoy the next game, so she planned to keep the rules loose and focus on the story and characters.

“I’ve decided on this one. I won’t make him cry anymore.” — Inari Iroha, after choosing Sobble as her starter

Picking a starter took her several minutes. She had already met Scorbunny in another game, she said, and chose Sobble because it was the one she knew least about. She named it Tsuyoshi, and on picking it said she had decided on this one and would not make him cry anymore. A first battle with the rival character Hop followed, and a detour into a misty forest after Hop’s Wooloo ended with her team being knocked out by a Pokémon whose moves passed straight through it.

Her collecting picked up in the Wild Area. A level 26 wild Pokémon nearly wiped out her team, and she said she was glad she was not playing under a no-loss rule. She then added a Nickit, which she named Neruru, and a Vulpix, which she named Atsuage after explaining that her Vulpix in LeafGreen had been a female called Oage and this one was male. Later she named a bird Pokémon “1 Kara” and said it would become “2 Kara” when it evolved. Her Sobble evolved at about the three-hour mark into a form she had not expected, and she said she had been picturing something cuter. Between battles she spent time on outfits and hairstyles for her character and attended the Gym Challenge opening ceremony.

Chat kept up a steady commentary, joking about the growing number of foxes on her team and about Tsuyoshi’s new look. She stopped on the road to Turffield with the first gym still ahead, saying she could keep the game going in regular sessions, and closed by reading the Super Chats aloud. Of Tsuyoshi, she said she would try not to make him cry.