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In Pokemon games it's pretty unlikely to get soft locked, however it can still happen.
A soft lock is when the player cannot move forward from their spot due to a faulty game mechanic or a player trying to glitch their way through a game.
Of course, in a Nuzlocke challenge run, the player can find themselves locked behind not being able to beat something like a Ghost Type Pokemon, if they only have Normal attacks. Here are the top 5 soft locks in Pokemon games.
Note: This list is subjective and reflects only the opinion of the writer.
Top 5 Soft Locks discovered in Pokemon games
#5 - Old man lock
In Pokemon Red & Blue if the player activates the Pokemon catching tutorial with a full party and box, the old man can't complete the tutorial and locks the player.
Obviously this may be difficult to complete since it requires the player to have a lot of Pokemon, and typically this will be activated at the beginning of the game. However, players can skip over the tutorial and do it later.
#4 - Evolution glitch Red & Blue
If a player of Red & Blue evolves their starter Pokemon into the second evolution before delivering Oak's Parcel, they cannot continue the game, as the coding thinks they've already started the Pokedex.
Being locked from getting the Pokedex and continuing the game from grinding for hours would be quite upsetting. Luckily, this is unlikely to happen, since why would the player grind to level 16 against level 3 Rattatas.
#3 - Finneon trade lock
This lock requires a Finneon to be traded to Diamond or Pearl and must be the only Pokemon the player has. It also requires the player to not have gotten any fishing rods throughout the game. The player has to Surf to Mesiter's Island and trade the Finneon for his Magikarp.
This will lock the player and they have no ability to get off the island via Fly, Teleport, or Surf. Since Magikarp cannot learn HM Surf, the player will be stranded there. Of course this will require a save also.
#2 - Petalburg Teleport to Dewford
In Ruby & Sapphire the player can find themselves stranded at Dewford Town quite easily. This happens if the player uses Mr. Briney's services to cruise to Petalburg and beats the Gym Leader Norman, then teleports back to Dewford. There will be no Mr. Briney, and this is before the player gets the HM Surf.
This effectively soft locks the player. Of course this also requires the player to save immediately, or they could just reload the last save. Although, they would have to battle the Gym Leader again.
#1 - Safari Zone lock in Red & Blue
This is one of the most likely-to-happen soft locks, as it doesn't require any specific things to happen. In Red and Blue, the Safari Zone can lock the player in a small space permanently.
This requires the player to enter the Safari Zone then immediately leave, enter again, and save. This will give the player the set amount of steps before returning to the Safari Zone entrance. Then if the player leaves they will be in this glitchy space, commonly referred to as "Glitch City".
