Creepypasta, Da non leggere quando è già buio!

You’re probably reading this because you like creepypasta stories – I know I, in particular, love Pokémon-related ones. My favourite so far has to be the one about Silver’s point of view in the games: Tarnished Gold, I think it was called. I’ve read many of them, but most (if not all) all seem to have something in common: they are about a previously owned game that they found or bought through some method, whether or not these stories are true.
I haven’t had the luck to stumble upon any of these supposedly hacked games (even though I collect the old Game Boy cartridges, and many of them were used), the closest I’ve come to playing one for real is the fan-created Lost Silver. While browsing through /x/ I noticed someone made the comment about how all the Pokémon creepypasta are about the old games, and none of them are third or fourth gen. So I had an idea.
I have a college friend who is studying game programming in hopes to make his own games someday, but he’s also an excellent hacker. He’s been able to come up with many Action Replay codes that do unusual and generally useless things, but I find it all to be very interesting. He’s even created a few for Pokémon, although mostly for his own benefit. After I got said idea, I called him and wondered if he’d be able to make a hack for my HeartGold game (I had a copy of both HG and SS, but SoulSilver was my “main” game and so I had no useful Pokémon or items on the HG cartridge). I also mentioned it would be a sickly humorous way to pass the time until the English release of Black and White. He wasn’t sure how long it would take, but he told me he would love to try such a challenge.
Since I had no other means of reaching him (he lives on campus several hours away), I mailed him my HeartGold cartridge. About three months later, I received it back in the mail, along with a letter which basically stated that he was sorry it took so long because he was busy with college work, and creating a hack for the game was time-consuming. He also advised me to stop playing the game if I was too freaked out to continue, and also left a little note of all the events which were supposed to take place in the game if curiosity bested me.
I was both eager and nervous to start the game. After loading it into my Nintendo DS and starting up the power, I noticed something odd. Rather than the usual “Pokémon HeartGold, Nintendo” on the select menu, it said “Pokémon Plague” with “…” as the publisher rather than Nintendo. I didn’t know why it was called “Plague” at the time, but it was definitely something eerie.
The game started up as normal, with no changes to the opening animated sequence, except when the three legendary beasts were supposed to appear, there was simply blackness. Even the very end where Suicune was supposed to be looking up at the sky, Suicune was missing. I checked the trainer’s profile. The character’s name was Gold (no suspicion there, as I had actually named my character that) but the number of hours played was 000:00 and the number of Pokémon in the Pokédex were 0. It said I had 16 badges.
When I loaded the game, Gold was standing in his room, with a Raikou standing beside him as all Pokémon in the first slot of the party do in this game. There was no music. The room looked normal save for the various spots of black on the wall. The whole room, in fact, seemed darker as if it was nighttime. The Raikou had some black patches on him that weren’t his stripes. I checked my party. The unnamed Raikou was poisoned with 4 HP and was accompanied by a genderless Murkrow and a fainted Haunter named GHOST. When I checked their summaries, there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with them, appearance-wise. This didn’t explain Raikou’s strange overworld sprite.
I walked from the center of the room to the stairs in the top-left corner. All the while the screen was flickering and making that strange buzzing sound, indicating my poisoned Pokémon. Before I went downstairs, I checked my bag. No items whatsoever. Just as I went down the stairs, the screen went black and there was a loud crashing noise, like a stone falling. Some text appeared that said “…you took one step too many…” After pressing A, the text vanished, and Gold’s sprite faded in. I took a few steps and a dark grey outline appeared behind me. It took me a few moments to realize this was Raikou’s sprite, but entirely black or transparent. I checked my Pokémon again. Raikou’s sprite was normal, but had black patches all over him like the overworld sprite in my room. Murkrow still looked normal, but Ghost’s sprite had been changed to look like the ghosts from the original Lavender Town. Either a sick joke or my friend was paying homage to whoever wrote Creepy Black.
I wandered around aimlessly for only a few moments before I decided to check my map. I was in Johto (because apparently Kanto wasn’t available yet) but my trainer’s sprite indicating where I was wasn’t there. In addition, the routes looked corrupted or decayed, with holes and scratches in them, and the map’s colours had been doused in reds and browns. There was also a demented-looking Entei sprite in the middle of Violet City: it was the sprite that appeared on the map after the beasts were released from the Brass Tower, but the eyes were pools of black and Entei’s face was just as scabby as the map roads.
Upon returning to the overworld, I was surprised to see my location had changed (or appeared, I wasn’t sure). I was now on a linear route, only two squares tall and was heading east. To the west was a steep cliff which I obviously couldn’t get by. There were no trees – the route was enclosed by rocks. The “grass” was dark reddish brown. I began to walk a little, and every few steps the screen would shudder from poison. Raikou was still walking behind me, and had appearance-wise returned to normal (although he did seem to look a little darker). After about 50 steps I was confused. Shouldn’t Raikou have fainted already, with only 4 HP?
Apparently, yes.
When I checked Raikou’s status again, he was ‘fainted’ and his battle sprite’s body had turned brown. There were black patches all over, and a few places that looked corroded. His head was lowered and there was purple slime dripping from his jaws and scattered all over his feet. His eyes were missing, and he was left with two perfectly round holes. There was no information on him; all his information was blank save for his Attacks section. He knew Toxic, Crunch, Spit Up, and Slash, and I knew most of those aren’t moves this Pokémon could learn naturally.
I immediately switched to Murkrow, who still looked normal at this point. I really didn’t want to look at that horrible Raikou. I switched back, but only for a moment, just to listen to its cry. The cry was a normal Raikou cry slowed down, with an ugly gurgling sound added in.
Raikou still followed me. I decided, for the heck of it, to turn around and talk to him. The Raikou made no noise, and a speech balloon appeared with some purple bubbles. Text appeared, and it read “RAIKOU is ill with the effects of the Plague…” I didn’t know what this plague was, but with an off feeling I knew that it was the reason why Raikou was so awful. I continued walking for a minute longer or two, with no major changes in the environment. Although, I could hear some music playing faintly, and it seemed to be gradually increasing in volume with every few steps. I didn’t recognise the tune at the time, but it freaked me out. The poison shuddering was still happening.
I finally reached the “end” of the road, which was a hole in the ground in front of another cliff face. With nothing to lose I stepped into the hole, where my character immediately vanished rather than comically running in place before falling, as what would usually happen. Raikou stayed outside and didn’t appear to be following me into the hole. I landed on a single square of cave tile, with rocks scattered around the black void. I checked the map. Gold’s sprite was again missing, but the Entei was there, this time in the very middle of the map. The map itself was styled the same as before, but there were random corrupted routes everywhere, and no cities.
I stood on this square for a few minutes, unable to move. The music was gradually getting louder still, and I could finally recognize it as the 8-bit theme from Ecruteak City. It was being played at a much lower pitch, and the notes were being played as horribly clashing chords. (“Chords” is the best word I can describe it as, since I have little musical knowledge.) After a minute or two, the music stopped abruptly with a single, deep bell chime, and the screen began to warp in ways I cannot even describe. There were occasional flashes of bright light, until the screen turned black and normal battle music started.
Gold’s back sprite slid into battle, but there was no opponent. Then suddenly, a very macabre Entei sprite appeared with a screech and that gurgling noise. There was no text announcing that a wild Entei appeared, but there was a box that stated “…free yourself while you can…” Entei’s fur was mangled with dark patches of blood, and in several places there were broken bones stabbing from his body. His paws and chest were corroded like Raikou’s body was. There were two round eyeballs sitting in his sockets, brown and shrivelled, not looking like they should fit in his head.
Gold sent out Murkrow (since apparently Raikou was gone) and a battle initiated. I had no items, and it wouldn’t let me switch out Murkrow for Ghost. “Run” wasn’t even an available option. I could only attack, and Murkrow had one: Fly. Entei was at level 99 and so he attacked before my level 5 Murkrow could.
“ENTEI used Toxic!” which poisoned my Murkrow. After that attack, the screen flashed black for half a second before the battle screen appeared again. Murkrow’s back sprite was now splotched black, and as I recognized the situation I began to feel shaken.
“MURKROW flew up high!” The animation was normal, except the background was brown instead of blue when Murkrow vanished.
It skipped my turn, and then “ENTEI used Roar!” I expected the attack to miss, but it didn’t; instead, the running away sound played, and the text read “MURKROW has fled!” The battle didn’t end, though. Instead, Gold said, “Go for it, RAIKOU!” and a poisoned Raikou was sent out. I tried not to question how he ended up back on my team. Raikou’s back sprite matched his front one, and I almost felt bad because of how ill he looked.
Out of Raikou’s four attacks which I previously mentioned, I chose Crunch since it seemed to be the only one that would do much damage.
“ENTEI used Toxic!” But it failed, since Raikou was already poisoned.
“RAIKOU used Crunch!” Rather than the fangs appearing for the attack animation, several patches of blood appeared on Entei’s arm, with the Crunch sound playing every time one appeared. Entei’s health dwindled about a quarter. The turn ended, and Raikou was “hurt by poison” even though his health was already at 0.
I was about to use Crunch again, but apparently it had lost all its PP in that one move. I chose Slash, which went first. It was apparently “super effective” and knocked Entei’s health down to less than half. The Entei sprite then changed: his head lowered, and there were several deep red scratches across his neck.
“ENTEI used Mirror Move!” which caused Entei to use Slash. But rather than hurting Raikou, the attack happened to Entei, and his health dropped to be very low. The sprite changed again, and this time his head was lowered to the ground. The eyeballs had rolled into Entei’s head, and some purple slime was beginning to dribble from his jaws.
Raikou was hurt by poison again, as was Entei (even though he didn’t have any status effects). Entei’s health bar vanished, and his cry played at a lower pitch, which normally would have indicated that he fainted. But the battle still continued, even though I didn’t pick a move.
“RAIKOU used Spit Up!” Which did nothing, aside from adding a bit more purple slime to stream from his mouth.
“ENTEI used Last Resort!”
The screen went black, and the music stopped. The previous warped Ecruteak theme played, and I was returned to the overworld, where a single line of grey bricks lead me north through the black void and rocks. As I began to move north, I could see that the Pokémon following me was an overworld sprite for Ghost, which confused me because I thought Raikou was in my party and Ghost couldn’t even have been selected for battle. Something odd I also noticed was that my trainer’s sprite seemed darker, somehow. A chill went down my spine when I made the connection that it looked similar to Raikou’s darkened sprite at the beginning.
By now, the screen had stopped shuddering, and I wasn’t sure if this was scary or relieving. I checked my Trainer Card to see if there were any changes to Gold’s image. As I suspected, his skin was splotched black, but there was something different. Half of his face was corroded away, revealing muscle melting into skull. The Gym leaders’ sprites were all replaced by black squares. I closed that menu and checked my Pokémon.
Ghost was not in my party. Instead, I now had a poisoned Raikou and a seemingly normal Suicune. I checked their sprites. In addition to Raikou’s previous rotting figure, his bones were visible and in places there were muscles and tendons dangling from his body. All his muscle appeared to be brown and rotten, and there still appeared to be poison vomit at his mouth. Suicune was shiny, and nothing seemed to be wrong with him except that he was frozen. Level 100 with full health, as well. I decided to switch Suicune to be first in my party, and upon returning to the overworld I had shiny Suicune following me.
After walking north for a while, the screen began to shudder. There was a black out, followed by a “run away” sound. When the light returned, I started.
Gold was standing on the Mt Silver where Red usually is, but the snow was soaked in a cruel-looking crimson. At the base of the stairs appeared a static overworld sprite for Suicune, coloured completely black. The screen flashed black, and when visibility returned, Raikou and Entei were on either side, still looking ill.
My character suddenly jumped back, as if he’d been pushed by my rival. He stood just in front of the three dogs, looking up at Red’s pedestal, and there was a horrid squelching noise. The screen darkened gradually until there was no more visibility, just the demented Ecruteak theme and that bloody noise.
The sound for the attack “Crunch” began to play multiple times. Every time it sounded, there was a gasping noise, followed by gurgling. The screen remained black, but during the noise sequence I swear I saw very quick flashes of images: one of Suicune’s face with his eyes bleeding and savage teeth, one of a maskless Entei (whose face had been replaced by torn, bleeding muscle) and one of Raikou, whose empty eyes seemed to captivate me for the moment I saw them.
A text box appeared.
“Gold used Last Resort!”
A long scream started, but it was interrupted and the sound stuttered as if the game froze. It was a continuous awful shriek, and suddenly both screens messed up. The bottom screen was a jumble of pixels, but the top one clearly resembled a face—it was a warped version of Gold’s, enlarged to fit the screen, but hatless and his hair was all over the place. His face looked horrific, and his eyes were round sockets with shrivelled brown orbs inside. His mouth was twisting off his face in a grin, and the jaw looked to be falling off. The back of his throat was jammed with purple ooze which was slowly dribbling past his teeth. The skin was corroded in several places.
After this I immediately closed the DS, and the sound stopped. The green light blinked normally, which was a relieving reminder that it was all not real. I shut off the power and took the game out, stuffing it back in the mail pouch it came in. It was the last time I ever loaded up that copy of HeartGold, or “Plague” as the game called it.
A few days later I called my friend, telling him that the hack was impressive but scared the crap out of me. He felt bad about frightening me but at the same time, I was happy he made such an effective game. I then asked him how he made the very last sprite of the trainer’s face, which was very well done even though it disturbed me to no end. He immediately freaked out and told me that the sprite wasn’t supposed to be in the hack: he apparently made it a while ago for a different project that was scrapped (that project’s main focus bore several similarities with this hack, as I later learned), and it wasn’t the trainer’s face at all. Somehow it got mixed in with the coding of the game, and my friend claimed that he played the hack through several times and that last part never happened. (Later on, I checked the note he left me of the hack’s events, and supposedly after Gold used Last Resort, he was supposed to fall to the ground like Raikou did and the game would reset, disallowing anyone to save.)
The last glitch bit is what set this game off for me, so I sent it back to my friend and told him he could keep it if he wanted to play around with the coding of HeartGold at any time. As far as I know he still has the codes for the “plague” hack, but it’s so complex that it’s hard for regular gamers to use on AR. Who knows, he may end up showing other people the hack someday, but for now he’s keeping it a secret.

There are tons of stories out there about hacked pokemon games. Some of them really quite neat such as the one about a version where you get a ghost as a starter. Some are ridiculous as well, silly stories about people dieing after playing a game, or the game talking to them. God, don't these writers know less is more when it comes to this stuff? Ah well, I digress.
I grew interested in these hacked games that are apparently in any thrift store, on ebay, or handed out by homeless people to random passersby. I didn't have the pleasure of meeting these creepy people, I merely found this particular cartridge in a trash bin when the garbage truck backed into my neighbor's dumpster. I noticed the game and asked the trash man if I could take it, and he didn't seem to mind. It was thrown away after all. I of coarse checked with my neighbor to confirm if they actually didn't want it, though they seemed perplexed, as if they'd never seen it in their life. Their son made a grab for it, a little boy who saw the charizard on the cover, crying out "Pokemon! I want mommy!", but his mother told him no, seeing as I found it. He didn't even have a game boy anyway, he just liked pokemon.
Thinking nothing more, I simply went home, looking at the cartridge's sticker on the way. Just a plain old Red Version, the sticker torn slightly across the Charizard's neck, but that was expected with such an old game. I had Blue Version as a kid, so I was a bit eager to see the, albeit minimal, differences Red Version had. I was rather disappointed by what I saw when the title screen showed up.
"Pokemon: Strangled Red Version."
Well damn it, it was a hack. Hacks were neat and all, but they had zero monetary value, the originals quite valuable by now, and I wanted to play Red anyway, not this crap. Oh well, it was free, might as well try it. The name was odd however, Strangled Red? That made no sense, not even in a morbid description of someone being asphyxiated, as people turn blue when chocking, not red. Who knows, maybe there was a pair of these hacks and I just got the red one.
The more I thought about this though, the more interested I became. My initial disappointment turned into curiosity, I wanted to know what the creator had made, and I was going to note everything I saw. The first oddity I noticed was the start screen had a Charizard next to the trainer instead of a Charmander, also, the pokemon never cycled through like the original versions did, it just stayed Charizard, even after five minutes of waiting. Shrugging, I hit start, noticing there was no Charizard cry as I did, like there was supposed to be.
I saw there was a "Continue" option, so I figured I'd do what everyone did with used games and see what the previous owner had done.
"…No…"
I blinked in surprise. No? What do you mean no? The game wouldn't let me continue no matter what, though on the fourth attempt, I heard the Charizard cry, quiet and barely audible, but there. Shrugging it off, I decided to just hit New Game, like I would have done after checking the old file anyway.
The screen cut to black for a while, no Prof. Oak, no starting theme, just nothing at all. Eventually, the screen came back, showing a bedroom, two beds, two TVs, and a computer in the corner. My trainer sprite was the usual one, consistent with the original Red Version. I was curious as to why it didn't ask my name, though that was answered as I opened the pause menu, noticing my Trainer was named "Steven". No, this isn't my real name or some stupid crap like that, this game isn't self-aware or haunted, at least not that I know of, it just had a name chosen already. Curious, I saw he had the starter amount of money, no badges. He didn't look like red though, his hair was longer, almost reaching halfway down his back, Red's usual smile replaced with a confident smirk. Honestly, I found this sprite much cooler than Red.
Next I checked out his pokemon, a single Charmander, level five, named "Miki". Nothing was odd about it…or should I say her, with the name and all. She had beginning Charmander stats, only knew Scratch and Tail Whip, basic stuff. The game seemed relatively normal. Returning to the game, I walked about the room, noticing Steven's long-hair was present on the back of my trainer sprite when my back was turned to the camera. I didn't recognize the house, but I descended the stairs to see more. Downstairs was another trainer, who spoke to me the instant I came down.

Mike: Ready yet?
Steven: Yeah.

I assumed this "Mike" was my rival, pre-decided for me, a replacement of Blue most likely, though I thought back to the bedroom having two beds, realizing they weren't just rivals, they were brothers. They talked back and forth, basic pokemon dialogue, become a pokemaster, catch em all, stuff like that, before having a little argument over which is better, Charmander or Squirtle, which of coarse led to the introduction battle, like the one vs. Blue in the lab. Simple enough, Scratch, Tackle, Scratch, Tackle, til I won purely for having the first turn. I took note of how much better Steven's sprite looked in combat than Red's, a different pose, his hair looking like it was blowing in the wind, a brief, minor upgrade, but still, much nicer. I left the house after some more banter with my "brother", stepping out to the Pallet Town theme. Going to the east, I found this was indeed Pallet Town, the house was simply on the outskirts to the west. I noted there was no mysterious grassy field like in normal Pallet Town. Wandering about, I decided to check in on Red's home. His mother was inside and when I talked to her, she commented on how handsome Steven looked, hoping her son would look up to him as a role-model for when he became a trainer himself next year, which of coarse led me to realize this game took place a year before the original pokemon. Red was even upstairs, playing the SNES in his room, commenting "I'm gonna be the best too when its my turn!"
I was starting to like this hack. It was interesting, a completely new adventure, a different character, hell, Steven even seemed to have a history with the people in his town, a reputation, a personality beyond a silent protagonist. The people in town talked to him as a person, making conversation, not just spouting tutorial crap. Even Blue's sister had new dialogue, they seemed to be in a relationship too, as the dialogue ended with a kiss and a heart over her head.
Prof. Oak simply wished me well, giving me a Pokedex to aid my adventure. He wasn't giving it to me to be the reason behind the adventure like every other pokemon game out there, he gave it to me out of kindness, something to help me on my way, a gift. I was liking this more and more with each second, the game seemed to have an actual story now! I was somebody, not just a cookie-cutter protagonist anyone could be, not some blank sheet that could be replaced without notice.
The story was different, though the actual game play remained unchanged. I went north like I was supposed to, went from town to town, collected badges, received the praise of the leaders. Steven's fame even seemed to spread, as some NPCs would talk like the knew him.
I used Miki for every battle, and she was growing surprisingly fast. She handled Brock with ease, even pounded Misty with no trouble at all. She wasn't as adversely effected by super-effective attacks as others, did more damage than a regular Charmander, she was a veritable powerhouse! She even became a Charizard at the mere level of twenty-five, not bad at all I must say.
Things started to get weird though as soon as I reached Lavender Town. I know, I know, Lavender Town is the focus behind every creepy story and the like, but it was the only place that was noticeably different. There was no Team Rocket invasion, which I found odd, though I did remember this was a year in the past, so the invasion wouldn't occur until Red's time. I tried to enter pokemon tower, aiming to get a Ghastly, but that's when it go odd.

Steven: I have no reason to be here…

Steven wouldn't go into Pokemon Tower no matter what I did. This was weird, I mean hell, there are a million places in Kanto you really have no need to be, little random houses with nothing but children NPCs for example. Why was it here that Steven wouldn't enter? With a shrug, I figured I wouldn't need a Ghastly, seeing as Miki could handle anything, so I simply went on my way, Lavender Town serving no purpose other than a passageway with a poke center.
The game progressed normally from there, the remaining gyms fell and eventually I made my way to the Elite Four and defeated them. As with Blue, my "brother" Mike was there before me, initiating the championship battle, which Miki swept with ease. The aftermath of the battle was quite pleasant, none of the tension that was present between Red and Blue at the end of their match, the brothers congratulated each other on their progress and shook hands, before the screen went white, no Hall of Fame, nor any credits.
When the screen came back, it was at the house again, the two brothers sitting at the computer, conversing with each other.

Steven: I don't want too…
Mike: Come on, I just gotta borrow her for a second to finish the Pokedex, the entry won't register unless she recognizes me as master for just a second.
Steven: But she's my Miki…
Mike: I promise I'll give her back, come on, please?

->Yes?
No?

I was a bit perplexed, so I hit No to be cautious.

Mike: Come on, please?

NO

Mike: Come on, please?

I realized this would simply continue to loop until I hit yes, so I did, just to see what would happen.

Mike: Alright, this will just take a sec, then we'll both be pokemasters!
Steven: ……..

The screen changed to the animation shown when two people trade pokemon, which I found a bit weird, seeing as I was solo, but whatever, this was what was apparently supposed to happen. Miki went first, I watched lazily as she began to travel down the trading tube.

SNAP!

That made me jump, the sudden noise resonating in my silent bedroom, loud due to the volume being way up. Looking at the screen, I noticed the game had seemed to freeze, Miki still in mid-trade, but the game wasn't doing anything. With a sigh, I just turned off the game, wondering when my last save was. When the game turned back on, I stared for a moment at the start screen, there was no Charizard next to the trainer. Upon pressing start, I saw the New Game option was absent, leaving only Continue. This was…strange to say the least, so I selected it, the game staring without even showing my stats as usual.
My jaw dropped at what I was greeted with.

ONE YEAR LATER

The Lavender Town theme came first, playing its normal way, the screen slowly fading in from blackness. Steven was in the Pokemon Tower, which made the music even stranger, seeing as the tower had its own theme. He was standing in front of a tombstone, not doing anything. Wondering what was going on, I pressed A.

Steven: …

Confused, I tried walking, realizing I was indeed in control at the moment. I brought up the pause menu and checked my party. Miki was gone. Not just Miki, all pokemon. He had nothing, The Pokedex was absent from the menu, his bag was empty. Honestly concerned now, I checked his trainer card.

He had no money. He had no badges. His play time was 8,795 hours, which was impossible as I had only 30 logged in before. But that wasn't the strangest part.
His picture, the picture of the handsome, confident young trainer was…different. His eyes were blank, his face turned slightly down, that smirk of his was gone, replaced by a lack of any expression at all, that long hair of his, before in a perfect perm, was now messy and unkempt. I couldn't look at him any more, closing the menu, I went to move out of the tower, but with every step I took away from the tombstone, the screen flickered, like it did when a pokemon was poisoned. Gulping, I brought up the trainer card again, his picture was getting worse. Every step I took, he hung his head more and more, his shoulder slumped, he bent over. By the time I had exited the tower, he was on his knees, hands to his face, hair draped across him.
I had guessed already what was going on, but this clinched it. I began to put some things together in my mind. I had always wondered why there was no champion in the original games besides your rival. Why is it you, the protagonist, had to beat your rival, when he just waltzed in, no previous champion to challenge. Then, it struck me. The answer was right here.
The previous champion gave up.
His precious Miki was apparently dead, and with her, so died part of him. His Pokedex, the other pokemon, his badges, his fame, all of it, he threw it away. In that year, the year that I missed, the year where all those hours came from, I even did the math, there is 8765 hours in a year, add that to my 30 from before and it matched up.
Even so, the game kept going, this should have been an ending I thought, I mean, what else was there to do? I had no Pokedex, no pokemon, not anything. What was I supposed to be doing? I talked to everyone in the town, but they all said similar things.

"Are you ok?"

"Still mourning I see…"

"Everything will be alright…"

"Please…Is there anything we can do?"

Steven never replied to them, and they all simply said the same things over and over. I couldn't put the game down now, this was all so strange. Curious, I headed off into the tall grass, and eventually got into a battle with a Rattatta. No pokemon was sent out, just Steven's sprite. I was wondering how I'd battle.

Wild RATTATTA left you be.

The battle ended without anything happening. This was certainly interesting, and it happened with every pokemon I encountered.

Wild PIDGEY ignored you.

Wild PONYTA wandered off.

The music never changed either. No matter where I went, Lavender Town came from the speakers, following me, sometimes slowed down slightly, sometimes not. I searched everywhere, every town, talked to every body, wondering just what the hell I needed to do. My frustration was mixing with the depressing atmosphere of all this, making the experience all together unnerving and uncomfortable, but I couldn't tear myself away. I was starting to get a bit angry though, nobody telling me anything besides giving me their condolences and trying to give me items like LEMONADE or COFFEE, each met with:

Steven: …No…

I slapped myself for idiocy, suddenly realizing how the likely answer was right in front of me, Pallet Town of coarse! When I went there though, which took a long time, having to walk, no pokemon to fly with, no bicycle to ride, and Steven only seemed to move half the regular movement speed, it wasn't much different. I first tried talking to Prof. Oak.

"These things happen…you were just unlucky."

Next I tried Blue's sister.

"Please…Don't leave home again…"

Red's mom wouldn't even talk to me at all. With nowhere else in mind to go, I walked to the west, finding the house from the beginning, which I had never entered since leaving Pallet Town. Inside was Mike, but talking to him was just as useless.

Mike: I'm so sorry…

I pondered for a moment if this really was the ending, Steven doomed to do nothing but roam Kanto in misery, haunted by the memories, forced to listen to everyone's concerns about him. As a last ditch effort to do anything, I went to the bedroom and walked over to the bed.

Steven: I'm going to sleep…

The screen faded to black for a moment, but then slowly faded back in, the world having a black tint to it, the Mike's sprite laying in the other bed, I assumed this meant it was night.

Steven: I'm going to do it…

Do what? Again, I had no idea, tried inspecting everything in the room, nothing happened. As soon as I left the house, another dialogue.

Steven: IT can bring her back…IT can do anything…

What in the hell was IT? Something that could do anything, I couldn't for the life of me figure it out. Wandering about, I tried to leave Pallet Town the usual way.

Steven: Not that way.

He wouldn't go any further, I tried the homes.

Steven: Screw them…

I quirked my eyebrow at that, forgetting for a moment this was not a real pokemon game, the vulgarity just took me off guard. I continued to look around, but there was nowhere I could go, until I accidentally stepped on the ocean, and Steven walked right in, only the upper half of his sprite visible, like the swimmers you encounter in the Cerulean gym. I didn't know he could swim…

Steven: The missing one…

Missing one? I paused for a moment, no, he couldn't possibly mean…that, I hadn't tried the MissingNo trick on this hack yet, but it just fit too well, that had to be what he meant. I "surfed" all the way towards Cinnebar. I began to feel something was off, more so than this already was. Silence. The Lavender Town them had stopped, there was no noise at all, nor were there any pokemon. I just kept going, finding Cinnebar and surfing up and down the east coast, lo and behold.

Wild MISSINGNO appeared!

Steven: Mine…

Wild MISSINGNO was caught!

What the hell? Steven didn't do anything, he just commanded that atrocity of broken data to join him, no, become his possession, and it did. I was getting more and more disturbed by this all, checking the start menu, I saw MissingNo was not in my party, but instead an item, making things even stranger. I checked the trainer card as well. Steven has his back to me, his long hair draped behind him, his hands in his pockets, nothing else. Remembering what he said at the start of this night, I realized what I had to do…
I surfed to land and made my way northeast to, where else, Lavender Town. Along the way, I noticed all the trainers, oddly still out at this hour, wouldn't look at Steven, all of them turning when he passed, even those that were normally static. I tried talking to one of the officers in the guard-house type buildings.

"Just go…"

They all said the same thing, though one sent chills down my spine.

"Sometimes dead is best."

My hands were sweating by this point, Steven was about to try the impossible, something some would see as a crime against nature, which many of these people shared that opinion. I steeled myself, its just a game, and I was going to complete it.
It took an eternity to reach Pokemon Tower, but I got there eventually, taking a deep breath and heading toward the tombstone, I remembered which one, the image of Steven standing before it was burned into my mind after all. First, I tried inspecting it.

Steven: Miki…

Nothing happened. With a gulp, I opened the menu and selected MissingNo from the bag.

OAK: Steven, don't use it!

I was reminded of when Prof. Oak would magically tell you that you couldn't use a Key Item somewhere, like when using the bicycle in a building, though the message this time was different, even worse, Steven responded to it.

Steven: In a world that cheated me, why should I play fair…

Steven used IT!

………………………
………………………
………………………
………………………

Steven obtained M@#$!

What in God's name did I obtain? I couldn't tell you, because the game took away my control. Without my input, Steven began to leave the tower on his own, walking single step by single step. The Lavender Town theme started again as he left the tower and began his excruciatingly slow journey against my will. Every time he crossed one of the borders where the music would change, it got progressively slower, more and more disturbing, by the time he reached Cerulean City, it was a demonic rumbling. I just stared, watching him, trying to guess where he was going, but it was getting more and more obvious. He was heading to Pallet Town.
The music had all but stopped when he got there, playing single note by single note. He went exactly where I had guessed, right to his own house, inside, and up the stairs. At this point, there was no music, Steven moved step by step, stopping at his brother's bed, turning to face him. At first, I though the game froze, he didn't do anything, simply stood there, and I couldn't move him. I did however, find out I could open the pause menu. I was terrified to look, but I couldn't stop myself. I selected his trainer card.
There was a low growl noise, like a distorted pokemon cry. Steven was looking at me again, directly at the screen. He was hunched over, his bangs obscuring his face, his hair was wild and feathered out. Between his bangs, there wasn't even a face at all, just black, two red eyes looking straight forward, a white grin contrasting with the darkness. That wasn't all.
His name was now S!3v3n.
I couldn't look away, my eyes glued to his, not breaking contact for some time. My vision was getting blurry until I couldn't see very well, my face grew wet. I was crying, like a baby. There was nothing I could do to hold back the tears. I was with this boy from the start, I built him up to greatness, and was then forced to watch his decline after a tragic accident, and now…he was this. This thing, this abomination.
I watched him go insane.
Halting my tears, wiping my eyes, I closed out of the trainer card and tried to save the game, wanting to just quit. The game informed me this was impossible.

"Nothing can be saved now."

The pause menu wouldn't close no matter what I did, so with no other option, I checked the bag, nothing happened. I checked pokemon, and there was one. A single sprite met me, it had zero HP, it's status: DED, it's name M@#$. I selected it, and I was greeted with four options.

->STATUS
"Its her…"

->SWITCH
"Never"

->CLOSE
"…No…"

->STRANGLE

My fingers shaking, I selected STRANGLE, and the menu closed, showing Steven in the room again.

S!3v3n: Goodbye…

SNAP!

The game shut itself off. I was more dumbfounded than frightened. In a bit of shock, I turned it back on, the title screen showing the manic S!3v3n and a horribly glitched Charizard. I pressed start, then Continue.
All I saw was a zoomed out view of Pallet Town, showing Steven's home to the west, tall grass surrounding it, those unmovable stones blocking it from the rest of the town. The image was completely static, no music, no movement, before fading to white, going back to the title screen.
It was as it had been when I first popped it in. A trainer and a Charizard. I attempted to hit continue.

"…No…"

So, you've played through all of the original pokemon games huh? You beat the Elite Four, trounced your rival, and even ventured into that mysterious cave and took on Mewtwo. You've raised a party of Level 100s, have every pokemon in the game, hell, you even did the Mew glitch as well didn't ya? You've got em all, probably caught a MissingNo or two just to tempt fate and came out on top, without even your Hall of Fame scratched.
But there is something you've probably not seen. We all have our theories what lies in that tall grass beyond the impassible walls to the west of Pallet Town. Sure, you can glitch over it with a game shark and wander the vast expanse of the field for fun, but game sharks have a nasty habit of messing things up, in this case, using one deletes the final secret held within the Pokemon Red version. If you want to see the secret the game shark shields you from, it is not hard.
Upon your complete conquest of the Elite Four and completing your Pokedex, return to Pallet Town, go into your room, and play the SNES within. The usual message will not appear. Instead, your character will have an exclamation point appear over their head, a message telling you that a question which has been nagging you all this time suddenly came to the forefront of your mind, but give no further instruction. Leave your home and talk to the people of Pallet Town, they will talk as if you have asked them a question, seeing as you never see your own dialogue.
"Oh? The house in the field?"
They will all mention they've heard rumors, but none seem to know anything. After asking everyone in town, you will notice a black sprite that appears to be a Ghastly waiting at the corner of the wall to the field. When you approach, it will innocently float over the wall and off screen, but as it does, you will notice the section of the wall has disappear. Finally! Time for the secret to be discovered!
Its not a long walk, just walk to the west for a little while, then north until you find it, the mysterious house in the field! Time to explore!
As you enter the house, the screen will remain black for quite some time, but keep waiting. Soon, you will hear a small thud sound, and you will be in a rather large home. Immediately, there will be a text box with just "G".
You are then free to roam the house as you please. There are four rooms on the first floor, plenty of stuff to look at, a large basement and four more rooms on the top floor. The bedroom on the right has the most to look at, gameboys sit on the table, inspecting one of the two TVs will yield a message exclaiming the owner of the house really loves videogames it seems.
While you're exploring though, you've no doubt seen the text boxes return, each time only one letter at a time. This is your timer. You have until the final box to finish your exploration and leave the house without incident. If you do so, the Ghastly will escort your character back into Pallet Town and seal the field forever.
If however your curiosity is morbid enough for you to stay, you'll noticed that, of coarse, the text boxes are spelling a message, which goes as follows.

G
I
V
E

M
E

B
A
C
K

M
Y

M
I
K
I
!

After the exclamation point, an event will occur no matter where in the house you are. Another trainer sprite will slowly fade into the house with you, from whatever exit is closest and walk right up to you.

"My Miki….I want her back. Give her back!"

Then a battle will begin, though the transition will cut to black for a few extra seconds, like when you face a MissingNo, a small sound can be heard though, as if the game is trying to hold something back, but eventually the battle will begin.

"Pokemon Trainer S!3v3n wants to battle!"

Before you will be a sprite of a furious, yet sorrowful, trainer, boy crouching with long wavy hair draped over half his face, a single poke ball in hand, along with only one in his queue. When he sends it out though, be prepared for an odd sight…
Before you, you will see a Charizard. While Charizards are relatively normal, this one is anything but. Its pose is as of it is in pain, wrapped around its neck is a cable of some sort, a look of anguish and suffering on its face. It has no name, in fact, its sprite is very lightly colored, as if not there at all. Your trainer will send out whoever is in your team first as usual.
You cannot run from this fight, trying to will result in the message: "The doors are locked!" instead of the usual "Can't Escape!" message. But the Charizard is a mere Level 1, you can handle it right?
No, no you can't. You can't even land a single blow. No matter what pokemon you use or what attack you choose, you will get the same message. The game will say your pokemon has begun to sob at the sight. At which point, the enemy Charizard will use a move that doesn't exist in the game: Strangle.
The usual animation for the Constrict move will show, but instead of the rather silly noise, you will hear a blood-curdling SNAP! Then, you're pokemon faints, when you go to change for the next one, the "strangled" pokemon is gone from your roster…
The instant your next comes out, you will see " 's attack continues!" The same animation, the same snap, and your pokemon will faint. This will continue until your entire roster is gone, at which point, you'll see your trainer take the place of where your pokemon should be.

" 's attack continues!"

The screen will cut to black with that same snap…

No, you will not be found dead the next morning in your bed, no you have not been cursed in your real life, such thoughts are rather silly. Just start your game right back up.
You will begin not at your last save, but at a tombstone in Pokemon Tower, one of many, indistinguishable from the rest. If you press A on it, you will see a text box as follows:

"[Charizard Sprite]
Here lies Miki, her flame went out long ago when the cords of friendship wrapped her neck.
Original Trainer: Steven

Please don't leave me…"

After this, you are free to continue playing Pokemon Red as you see fit. You can't return to the abandoned home to the west of Pallet Town, but otherwise, your game will run as normal…except for one thing.

Never trade any pokemon from the this cartridge to another ever again, that is, if you care for them. If you do this, both games will freeze as your pokemon moves across the pipes of the trade system, that same sickening snap heard moments before. When you turn your game back on, the pokemon will be gone from your party. They won't be in your friend's game either.

And one more tombstone will appear in Pokemon Tower.

You've met a terrible fate haven't you? Your curiosity got the better of you back in Pokemon Red. It was a gift to visit that mysterious field to the west of Pallet Town, and you overstayed your welcome. The mysterious trainer's wrath was your reward, and now, you've been cursed. Every pokemon you've tried to trade has disappeared for good, your red version is now an island, standing alone, isolated forever.
Or is it?
One the very off-chance that you also chose Charmander as your starter and named it Miki, or more likely after restarting your game you did this as a joke, you may have come across an apparent loophole in your curse.
Your charizard dubbed "Miki" can indeed be traded to Silver version! Oh happy day, at least some reprieve! Though then again, nothing in life is ever free, you never just poof away your punishment. No no no, the mysterious trainer is not done with you.
Upon receiving your charizard, you'll notice it is holding an item, strange huh? Item holding wasn't introduced until the second generation. Not only that, this is no ordinary item either, it is simply labeled "NOTE". Taking the item from you pokemon will result simply in a text box.

"Door's open…"

What door? Where? Who sent this to you? What does this mean? Don't worry your pretty little head, go of on your adventure, you have quite a quest ahead of you if you want to be a pokemon master!
What's wrong? Curiosity got the best of you? Well then, I guess I shall divulge, being the only one to have figured it out it seem. After defeating every single gym leader and you're rival, go back all the way to Bellsprout Tower.
Why Bellsprout Tower? Oh my you do have a short attention span. Remember that room at the top where you received HM05 Flash? Behind the man is a bell sprout image the size of a single square tile. You know, the size of a door. As long as the NOTE is in your inventory, the door will open for you, you can't drop it anyway so no worries there.
When you enter the room, you find yourself on a single path, walking towards a small platform, all around it pure black. In the center of the platform is a trainer's sprite, walk up and talk to him, buckle up, you're in for a fight.

"Do you have her?"

You are given the YES/NO choice, but its not like you have a choice, the NO option is quite visibly absent. Next you will see another series of text.

The boy searches your pokemon, coming across your Charizard.

…

…
…

…

LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIAR!

Then before you can blink, you will be thrown into a battle, the them of the final battle against your rival in red/blue meeting your delicate ears. However, it is not your childhood rival you see…

PokeMANIAC S!3v3n wants to battle!

This Pokemaniac is no geek dressed as a Pikachu, not some overzealous fan boy like the type you're used to.

Maniac is too soft a term for this.

The sprite before you is a boy, standing straight up with unnatural posture, his long brown bangs obscuring most of his face, deep emerald eyes gazing through the amber locks at your trainer. The sprite will stay staring at you for a moment before finally tossing out his first pokemon, which will make up jump.

PokeMANIAC sent out M@#%!

You will be greeted by what appears to be a match made in hell. Before you stands the unholy mix of a Charizard and a MissingNo, its body covered in obscure markings, only half of its face is even there. It's battle cry is that of the Hypnosis sound effect, it's Level 100, afflicted with a status condition "DED"

"In a world that cheated me…why should I play fair?"

Be brave, send out your first pokemon and be ready for the slaughter. Unlike in Red version, your pokemon is not too busy crying to battle, though be choosey with your attacks, otherwise you will see the message "The attack went right through!". The abomination of a pokemon that is your foe will retaliate with simple Scratch, which to your dismay, will KO your choice no matter how strong they are. If you're lucky, you may witness this beast's "HeLlFiRe" attack, which appears to be a mix of Hyper Beam, Flamethrower, Firespin, and Hypnosis animations all at once, unfortunately, your pokemon KO'd by this move will never be seen again…
That's not to say this battle is hopeless, you simply need to know what to do. The instant the battle begins, be sure your starting pokemon knows the move Fire Blast. Select it and PRAY to attack first, and that it hits. Should you succeed, M@#% will faint in a single attack.

PokeMANIAC S!3v3n sent out @I#$

I hope you had a light lunch, because the next Charizard you face is even more distorted and pained than the previous one. Same procedure as before, but this time, make sure you land a Mega Kick. The atrocity will faint

…

PokeMANIAC St3v3n sent out !@K%

Hit it with Fly

You…

PokeMANIAC Stev3n sent out #@%­I

End it with Toxic

………………………………..............................

PokeMANIAC Steven defeated!

The trainer's sprite will have changed, now looking down, as if struck with deep sorrow. The battle will end, and you will return to the tower. Steven will leave you with some rather disturbing parting words.

"I swear on my SOUL I will kill you….twothousandninehundredminuseighthundredninety…"

Steven will disappear, leaving an item in his wake. The item has no name, but giving it to a pokemon will make them nigh invincible…if you can stomach turning your beloved friends into…that. Also, do yourself a favor and purchase HeartGold when you plan to continue your pokemon adventures.

This is all assuming you happen to WIN the battle. What happens should you're pokemon not be equipped for the battle, or if lady luck tells you to piss off and you miss all your attacks? Oh my, the end result is far less…pleasant.
S!3v3n knows when you're screwed, should your victory be impossible, with each faint of your pokemon you will be treated with a disquieting promise.

"It will all end soon….I promise it will hurt."

"Piece by piece you will fall…"

"I will bury your name…"

"You will be forgotten…"

And then finally on your last pokemon.

"DiEdiEDiEdIedieDIEDIEDIEDYING!"

When the battle ends, you will not black out, S!3v3n's sprite returns to the screen, this time, those eyes are turned on you. The screen will return to that platform in Bellsprout Tower, although now, the path leading away has been swallowed by the abyss.

"Goodbye forever …"

The floor beneath your trainer sprite will suddenly disappear, and you will be treated to the Escape Rope animation, only you will descend instead of ascend. When the screen returns, you will be in a room you've never seen before in the tower, the pillar will not be moving, and there will be no music.

All you will have for pokemon is five Unowns and one very injured Cyndaquil…

Lo confesso, non sono una grande appassionata di computer – almeno, non rispetto alla norma -, quindi sono quasi del tutto ignara delle meraviglie di cui la tecnologia è capace. Tralasciando le eMail, IM, e tutti i miei occasionali download, avrò sì e no la stessa conoscenza di un bimbo di otto anni.


Ad esempio, per quanto riguarda la mia storia, non ero assolutamente a conoscenza della possibilità di hackare cassette dei Pokémon e creare una storia a sé stante, né tantomeno pensavo si potessero creare delle vere cartucce false.
Comunque sia, ho imparato a mie spese – con non pochi elementi inquietanti, aggiungerei – che è possibile.
Da piccina, avevo un amore incondizionato per Pokémon Gold, che tra l’altro è stato il mio primo videogame di quel franchise. Mi sono molto affezionata alle creaturine, e al mio personaggio (che portava il mio nome nonostante fosse maschio); addirittura, a volte mi ritrovavo a fantasticare di vivere avventure nel mondo dei Pokémon, con una storyline tutta mia.
Ma questo non ha importanza.
Quello che importa è che, alla fine, non ho mai abbandonato del tutto i miei vaneggi infantili, i ricordi di quel primo gioco erano troppo vividi per riporli. Infatti, nonostante io abbia abusato di glitch sul mio vecchio Pokémon Gold, non ho ancora intenzione di resettare il gioco, come se temessi che quella vecchia magia andasse perduta, capite?


Volevo provare una nuova versione, ma al giorno d’oggi le vecchie cassette sono praticamente introvabili, ormai tutti i negozi possiedono esclusivamente cassette GBA – figuratevi se se ne trovano dei Pokémon. Sono fortunata, però, ad avere una nonna che approva la mia passione per i Pokémon, e che spesso mi fa regali come carte dei Pokémon, gadget e videocassette varie che le capita di trovare. Ovviamente, ben poco di ciò che trova è in buone condizioni; insomma, oggettini dimenticati da Dio e dall’uomo. Essendo tuttavia regali di mia nonna, li custodisco gelosamente, come se fossero d’oro (scusate il gioco di parole).
Recentemente, però, mi ha regalato delle cose interessanti: un video box con i primissimi episodi (nuovo di zecca), delle carte usate, e una cartuccia senza etichetta.
La cartuccia era dorata, così come quella che cercavo. Nonostante non avesse etichetta, dove avrebbe dovuto esserci l’adesivo si trovava una grossa X rossa. Ovviamente, capii subito di cosa si trattava…quale altra cartuccia avrebbe potuto corrispondere a quelle caratteristiche? Potete immaginare quanto fui contenta del ritrovamento! – odio ordinare le cose online, ecco perché fui così contenta. Ringraziai mia nonna, e tornai a casa con l’intenzione di giocarci.
L’inizio fu difficile…non perché il gioco fosse difettoso o altro, il punto è che avevo dato a mio fratello più piccolo il GameBoy in cambio di alcune carte rarissime, e una volta datagli una cosa è difficilissimo riottenerla. Normale amministrazione, oserei dire.
Dopo un po’ di baccano, riuscii a rimettere le mani sul mio GameBoy. Non appena incominciai il gioco, un brivido mi percorse la schiena mentre il filmato iniziale appariva sullo schermo, più che altro provai una grossa nostalgia: era bello poterlo rivedere.
La schermata iniziale era perfettamente normale, l’Ho-Oh in pixel volava sotto il titolo. Il precedente proprietario aveva ancora da caricare il precedente file, ma davvero mi importava relativamente poco. Considerato come stavano le cose, doveva essere piccolo, dato che mi ritrovai a ficcanasare in un team tutto fatto di Pikachu dai soprannomi ridicoli.
Ho iniziato un nuovo gioco.
E’ qui che le cose si sono fatte fondamentalmente strane. Normalmente, il gioco dovrebbe incominciare con il professore che ti spiega che ora è, no? Invece, qui c’era una schermata nera, che non è eccessivamente strano, visto che nei giochi di Gold, Silver & Crystal devi settare l’ora (e ti chiede “Che ora è?”).
No, qui diceva.


………..
…………………….
“I Pokémon sono solo strumenti.”
“Usali e gettali.”
….
La schermata nera è poi andata in fade per spostarsi su un’area vuota notturna. Mi pare fosse un percorso dell’inizio del gioco, tuttavia non so collocarlo con precisione.
Nel silenzio del luogo, lo sprite del tuo rivale – altresì noto come Silver – sbuca fuori da sinistra; si muoveva però più lentamente del normale, quasi come se esitasse. Addirittura, arrivato al centro dello schermo, si voltò indietro, per poi girarsi e rigirarsi ancora. La finestra di dialogo che apparve poco dopo diceva solamente “…”. Dopo essersi nuovamente girato, continuò a camminare fino ad uscire dalla visuale.
Ancora una volta, la scena cambiò passando a Silver fuori dal laboratorio, esattamente dove lo vedi ufficialmente per la prima volta. Usciti gli assistenti ed Elm dal laboratorio, i primi andarono verso il percorso, mentre Elm sparì semplicemente dalla visuale camminando, come se andasse a casa o qualcosa, in ogni caso rimaneva in città. Gold, però, non si vedeva da nessuna parte.
Dopo la piccola scenetta, per una manciata di secondi pensai che il gioco fosse bloccato, tuttavia con mia grande sorpresa fui capace di muovere PROPRIO Silver! Ne fui molto contenta, d’altronde, lui era uno dei miei rivali preferiti di sempre, era eccitante l’idea di averlo come personaggio giocante.
L’ho fatto andare in giro, un po’ per esplorare l’ambiente, ma il personaggio si fermava da solo, dicendo “Non posso ancora andarmene…”. Fui costretta a tornare indietro, al laboratorio di Elm, e ad entrarvi. Tralasciando il mobilio e le cianfrusaglie varie, il laboratorio era deserto; il che era logico, dato che tutta la troupe aveva levato le tende poco prima. Sul tavolo c’era una singola Pokéball, e ovviamente l’ho presa.
Un’altra finestra di dialogo apparve ‘Hai ottenuto TOTODILE!”, senza musichetta allegra da oggetto ottenuto, però. Immagino che il furto non sia legale neppure lì, già. Dopo aver premuto A, decisi di dare un soprannome al Pokémon, ma un’altra finestra di dialogo apparve, lasciandomi di stucco
“Non dargli un nome, ti ci affezionerai!
Non amarli. Usali.”
Ovviamente era la stessa “voce” di prima…ma era comuque strano. Anche quando tentai di uscire dalla porta, la finestra di dialogo riapparve “Non di qua!”, diceva. Uscii dalla finestra, e funzionò. E come se non bastasse, lasciata New Bark Town non c’era l’anima viva di un Pokémon. Voglio dire, più avanti nel gioco evitavo l’erba, ma all’inizio mi divertivo un sacco a far livellare la mia squadra…non trovare nulla contro cui combattere mi irritava. Dopo minuti di estenuante ricerca, trovai un Sentret. Nulla di straordinario, ma non appena tentai di attaccarlo subito fuggì. “Ma che diamine”, pensai, e ripresi verso Cherrygrove.
Poco prima di entrare in città, riuscii a localizzare il posto dove avevo visto Silver per la prima volta. Subito dopo, mi imbattei in Gold, che mi sfidò senza dire una parola.
Il suo Pokémon, un Cyndaquil, era ad un livello leggermente più alto di quello del mio Totodile (rispettivamente, 7 e 5), e nonostante il mio vantaggio, mi batté. Prima di scomparire, lo sprite di Gold mi sembrò avere un’espressione delusa.
Dopo essere stato al centro Pokémon di Cherrygrove, mi sono finalmente capacitata che non potevo battere Gold allora, così sono andata avanti senza pensarci troppo. Il gioco stava perdendo di interesse: non avevo soldi, pokéball o un PokéGear, ma fortunatamente sul percorso 30 c’erano parecchi allenatori da battere, tuttavia nessuno sembrava particolarmente desideroso di parlare con me dopo che avevo vinto.
Entrato a Violet City, il livello del mio Pokémon era ancora troppo basso, così decisi di comprare un bel po’ di pozioni, tanto per stare sicura. I primi allenatori della palestra erano praticamente una cazzata, ma il capo palestra mi ha stracciato…e sembrava molto deluso anche lui!
Dopo la sconfitta, non sono subito tornato alla mappa, ho dovuto prima sorbirmi un’interessantissima lezione su come trattare decentemente i Pokémon, dopodiché mi fu data un’opzione stranissima, con soltanto ‘Sì’ come risposta.
‘Ruba?’
Premendo sì, apparve la scritta “Silver ha rubato $500, la MT 31 e la medaglia!” . Ho continuato così per tutto il resto del gioco, riuscivo a sconfiggere sempre meno allenatori ed ero costretta a rubare praticamente a tutti: i capipalestra, la Lega Pokémon, e anche le persone che di solito ti danno Strumenti Base o MN, dato che chiunque si rifiutava di darmi qualsiasi cosa.
Le persone, poi, non mi parlavano. O non rispondevano, o mi rispondevano male, persino l’infermiera Joy mi sgridava continuamente.
Per non parlare delle battaglie random! Se non riuscivo a prendere il Pokémon al primo colpo, esso fuggiva, o se lo bloccavo con Malosguardo o simili, praticamente si suicidava.
La finestra di dialogo mi diceva “[inserire nome Pokémon] si è reso esausto!”.
L’unica cosa che mi andava per il verso giusto erano le battaglie col Team Rocket. Mi trattavano NORMALMENTE, come un qualsiasi ribelle che rompeva le scatole.


Tutto il resto del gioco, a parte i cambiamenti, era abbastanza normale. Dato che il mio Pokémon maturava lentamente a causa delle perdite, lo portavo spesso dal parrucchiere, che non diceva, come di norma, che si era affezionato a me, diceva piuttosto “E’ carino”.
So che magari fino ad ora non è nulla, non è inquietante per niente ed è soltanto la side-story di Silver, ma il meglio deve ancora venire.
Arrivato a Kanto – sempre rubando e perdendo - , sono finalmente giunta a Viridian City. Tuttavia, la città era completamente silenziosa. Pensavo fosse qualcosa come un glitch della programmazione, ma ascoltando meglio, un lievissimo rumore appariva e scompariva dalle casse. Pensai che l’audio avesse dei problemi e ritornai sul percorso, giusto per controllare, e lì l’audio funzionava perfettamente. Così, capii che il “problema” era solo di Viridian.
L’altra stranezza stava nel fatto che la città era completamente deserta. Il centro Pokémon, il Market, le case, le strade…tutto vuoto. Man mano che mi avvicinavo alla palestra, però, il suono indefinito si faceva un poco più forte; pensai che forse il rumore proveniva da lì.
Tuttavia, la palestra era in un silenzio tombale ed era completamente vuota. Dopo aver curiosato un po’ in giro, però, sbattendo contro il muro dietro al luogo dove normalmente dovrebbe stare il capo palestra, mi ritrovai in un’altra stanza…il muro nascondeva delle scale.
Entrata lì, riuscii ad identificare il rumore, che si riprodusse più forte: urla, o rumori acuti casuali molto simili ad urla.
In quel momento mi saltò il cuore in gola – ODIO CON TUTTO IL CUORE LE URLA. Nonostante la paura, le mani che mi tremavano e il fiato che mi incominciava a mancare, incominciai ad esplorare. Tutto era rosso, di un rosso accecante, e la strada era zigzagata; le urla potevano essere udite casualmente, alcune erano corte, altre lunghe. Mentre proseguivo, mi trovai di fronte ad uno spettacolo tremendo: corpi di NPC decapitati, e teste mozzate senza corpo; provavo ad esaminare il tutto, ma la solita voce diceva “Non guardare”, ed ero costretta a proseguire. Pian piano, le urla diventavano più frequenti.


Ancora, mentre camminavo la schermata tremolava, come quando un Pokémon è avvelenato. Ma nessuno, nel mio team, lo era, tuttavia i loro HP scendevano. Ho provato a curare il mio Feraligatr, tuttavia la schermata diceva “Non avrebbe alcun effetto…”.
E’ qui che le cose hanno incominciato a farmi venire sul serio la pelle d’oca; speravo che, una volta che tutti i Pokémon sarebbero stati esausti, sarei tornata ad un Centro Pokémon e tutto sarebbe tornato alla normalità.
Che idiota.
Poco dopo, un’altra finestra di dialogo apparve. Ma non era ciò che speravo…
“TUTTI MORTI”.
Mi veniva quasi da piangere, ma sentivo di dover andare avanti. Arrivai in un’altra stanza, colorata di un rosso ancora più forte, rosso sangue, oserei dire. In quella stanza c’erano Gold, il suo Typhlosion, un altro uomo ed il suo Pokémon. Gold ha ordinato al suo Pokémon di attaccare l’altro, ma ciò che accadde fu incredibile: lo sprite divenne prima rosso, poi grigio, poi scomparve…a simboleggiarne la morte.
Lo sprite di Silver avanzò, e l’altro uomo finalmente lo riconobbe.


Giovanni: “Oh, figliolo! Sei qui per vedere la disfatta del tuo rivale, non è così?”
Dopo questa frase, Gold si girò verso Silver, dicendo soltanto “…”. Silver avanzò di nuovo, più veloce, verso Giovanni, calciandolo indietro – e facendolo ovviamente arrabbiare.
Giovanni: “Vuoi aiutarlo? Ha! Sei diventato debole come gli altri! Se ti sembra degno di salvarti…forse dovrei mostrarti l’inutilità di affezionarsi! MEWTWO, occupati di lui!”
Il Pokémon obbedì, avvicinandosi a Gold e staccandogli la testa. Lo sprite del ragazzo divenne prima rosso, poi grigio, come quello di Typhlosion poco prima.
Giovanni: “Che cosa ti ho sempre insegnato, Silver? I Pokémon sono oggetti! Così come le persone! Usa tutti e gettali via una volta raggiunto il tuo scopo! Adesso, MEWTWO, uccidilo!”
Mewtwo, tuttavia, non gli obbedì. Giovanni doveva averlo fatto arrabbiare. Si voltò verso Giovanni e gli parlò.
“Non sei più utile…”
Colpì Giovanni, ma il suo urlo fu ben peggiore di tutti gli altri sentiti fino ad allora. Mewtwo lo stava torturando. Anche lo sprite di Giovanni, poco dopo, subì lo stesso processo di tutti gli altri: dapprima divenne rosso intenso, poi grigio.
“…Inutile…”
Mewtwo si voltò verso Silver. Fui trascinata in battaglia, lo sprite di Silver al posto di quello di qualsiasi Pokémon, ma non potetti fare nulla: lasciai semplicemente che Mewtwo si divertisse a torturarlo con i suoi poteri psichici. E l’urlo di Silver fu il peggiore di tutti. Non importava quanto basso fosse il volume, era sempre inquietantemente acuto.
Lo sprite, alla fine, divenne prima rosso e poi grigio. Anche Silver, come qualunque umano presente a Viridian City, era morto.
La stanza intorno a Mewtwo incominciò a scomparire, finché non rimase lui, da solo, al centro di uno schermo nero, lo sguardo rivolto a destra. Sapendo quanto sono paranoica, non potei fare a meno di pensare che si sarebbe voltato verso di me, o qualcosa di simile. Ma non fu così, soltanto la parola ‘FINE’ campeggiava sullo schermo.
Dopo un poco, mi rispedì automaticamente alla schermata iniziale.
Non ho idea del perché questo gioco sia stato creato, perché qualcuno l’abbia messo in giro, e perché io l’abbia trovato. Da allora, non ho più toccato giochi di cui non conoscevo la provenienza.
Il gioco che ho raccontato è andato perduto chissà dove.
Ma forse, è meglio così.

Circa un mese fa, ho comprato una seconda cartuccia di pokémon rosso su eBay, im modo da poter cominciare una nuova partita e cazzeggiarci senza incasinare il mio salvataggio. Non appena ebbi confrontato la nuova cartuccia con la vecchia, capii che o era un gioco di contrabbando, o era stato prodotto da un' altra parte. Dalla foto si vede che l' etichetta è troppo grande, e che la plastica è di scarsa qualità, quasi trasparente (se guardi bene, puoi vedere la batteria interna nella seconda cassetta, mentre non puoi vedere assolutamente attraverso la prima). Quando l' avviai, ebbi solo un' opzione - nuovo gioco. Al contrario della mia adorata cartuccia, questa non aveva nessun segno che indicasse di essere mai stata usata o inserita nel GBC.

Beh, che cavolo, pensai. Avevo speso un sacco di soldi per i Pokémon, e una copia pirata non mi avrebbe certo ucciso. Lo inserii nel GBC, e cominciai a giocare.

Un paio di settimane fa, persi il mio GBC per un po', e quindi dovetti usare il mio SP. Niente di grave, pensai.

Quando avviai il gioco, stranamente, la retroilluminazione del mio SP si abbassò, come se stessi giocando con un Game Boy Advance o Color. Pensai che fosse parecchio bizzarro, considerato che il più basso livello di illuminazione del mio schermo era comunque più luminoso dell' illuminazione massima dei miei amici (che non lo tenevano bene quanto me); quindi era difficile pensare che la retroilluminazione se ne sarebbe andata da un momento all' altro. Ma non appena cominciai a giocare a Zaffiro, lo schermo tornò luminoso. Avevo usato tranquillamente il mio primo Rosso, e non l' avevo mai visto come un vecchio gioco del Game Boy, così pensai che il gioco era così scuro perché fatto male (il che non ha un cazzo di senso, lo so).

Adesso, ti starai chiedendo quando comincerò a raccontarti degli Unown che ho trovato nella mia squadra e di come il Buried Alive a Lavandonia ha cominciato a mangiarsi il mio personaggio, perché ogni volta che si parla di un gioco usato ci si aspetta che sia una qualche stronzata horror. Beh, non era tanto semplice. Giocai Lavandonia, La Torre Pokémon, tutto quanto, e non successe nulla di particolare. Non diventai un pazzo suicida per la musica, i miei pokémon non diventarono bianchi e non cominciarono a piangere sangue, niente di simile.

Comunque, continuando a giocare, mi sembrò che avesse qualche glitch. Come la cassetta fatta di plasticaccia e l' etichetta che a malapena ci stava, il gioco stesso era scadente. Non ho mai giocato ai Poémon su un emulatore, ma se dovessi tirare a indovinare direi che quando il file è stato copiato, un sacco di dati sono stati corrotti, e che dovevo farci attenzione, o si sarebbe bloccato.

Per esempio, a volte nella grafica intorno al giocatore (lo chiamerò "Rosso", come ho fatto nel gioco. Sono un po' un suo fan.) comparivano delle barre colorate, la cartuccia si bloccava, e la musica si fermava su qualsiasi nota stesse suonando, e diventava un lamento acuto e disturbato mentre resettavo. Questo accadeva ogni volta che provavo a usare la bicicletta dentro una caverna o un edificio.

Ero quasi sicuro che fosse un normale gioco piratato, finché non esaminai il SNES nel centro commerciale di Zafferanopoli. Non giudicatemi, ma essendo un fan di Rosso, mi è sempre piaciuto quando il gioco dice qualcosa dal suo punto di vista, tipo "Questo piacerebbe a papà!" quando esamini il SNES, o "Adesso dovrei andare..." quando sei davanti alla TV; soprattutto visto che il giocatore non dice mai nulla dal punto in cui, per scherzo, gli sviluppatori non hanno fatto dire a Rosso niente più che "..." quando lo incontri in O/A/C.

Comunque, quando esaminai il SNES, dove Rosso normalmente dice "Questo piacerebbe a papà!", al suo posto vidi il testo "Dov'è PAPÀ?"

Lo esaminai di nuovo, stessa cosa. Ci risi sopra, pensando, per qualche ragione, che fosse stato tradotto male (non chiedetemi come ho fatto a pensare che avesse un qualche senso). Sotto sotto, quasi speravo che fosse un gioco modificato, perché ehy, se avessi preso una schermata e l' avessi postata su 4chan, perlomeno avrei potuto passare un pomeriggio a riderci su.

Andai al piano successivo, dopodiché tornai di sotto, e controllai di nuovo il NES. Con mia grande sorpresa, il messaggio era cambiato. Adesso, Rosso diceva "Chi mi ha creato?"

A questo punto, ero abbastanza sicuro che il dialogo fosse stato aggiunto da qualche hacker, e pensai che fosse semplicemente FANTASTICO. Cavoli, Rosso che si rendeva conto di essere solo il personaggio di un videogioco. Era una cosa divertente.

Dopo questo, e dopo aver cercato inutilmente qualche altro dialogo aggiunto, continuai con la storia. A quel punto, ero più o meno alla parte dove devi andare all' Isola Cannella e alle Isole Spumarine.

Ma le glitch stavano peggiorando. Qualche volta, la mappa si distorceva, come nella "città dei numeri", e Rosso si ritrovava a usare Surf su un albero, su una casa, o su qualche altra merda, e non mi potevo muovere. Dovevo usare Volo e provare di nuovo. Da bambino, mi era sempre piaciuto fare il trucco di MissingNo e della città dei numeri, e avevo anche un Gameshark, quindi i trucchi erano abbastanza fighi. Comunque, riuscii a raggiungere l' Isola Cannella.

Ora, essendo un' appassionato di glitch, ovviamente la prima cosa che feci fu volare a Smeraldopoli e fare il trucco del vecchietto. Ma a dispetto di quante volte tentai, non riuscii a far apparire un MissingNo. Pensai che forse la cartuccia era stata modificata per non far funzionare i trucchi, visto che la cartuccia aveva più errori di tutto Bosco Smeraldo.

Comunque, quando entrai a Villa Pokémon, fui accolto dal seguente testo:

ROSSO: Bel tentativo, Rosso.

Era ovvio che quel "Rosso" era il nome che *io* avevo dato al mio personaggio. Quello che mi fece rabbrividire fu quel "ROSSO" scritto tutto maiuscolo, come fosse lui a parlare.

A quel punto, ero ormai certo di avere un gioco modificato. Quello stronzo di un protagonista mi stava dicendo "Bel tentativo" dopo che avevo fallito nel far apparire un MissingNo.

Il gioco si bloccò, e lo riavviai. Non avevo salvato da prima di provare il trucco di MissingNo, ma quando riaccesi il gioco ero di nuovo a Villa Pokémon, esattamente dove mi era apparsa la finestra di dialogo. Potevo muovermi di nuovo, così andai avanti ed esplorai la Villa. Chiamatemi fighetta, ma nonostante il mio entusiasmo ero spaventato, così giocai lentamente e con tutte le luci accese. Stavo ancora giocando con il mio SP, e la retroilluminazione non funzionava ancora, così lo usai come giustificazione per il mio essere un grandissimo codardo.

Le cose si fecero sempre più strane. Dopo aver lasciato la villa, ricevetti un messaggio.

DING-DONG! Tempo scaduto! Il tuo gioco safari è finito!

Avendo già fatto la città di numeri, sapevo che questo accadeva ogni volta che volavi fuori dalla Zona Safari. Come previsto, mi ritrovai fuori dal cancello della Zona Safari non appena premetti "A", con i commessi che mi chiedevano se avessi avuto una buona caccia.

Ebbi un' immensa sensazione di inquietudine quando lasciai la Zona Safari, temendo che mi sarei ritrovato nella città di numeri, o peggio. Avevo un pokémon volante, ma cercate di capire, il tutto era piuttosto snervante.

Invece mi ritrovai a Biancavilla, ma non c'era musica, niente. Apparve un' altra casella di testo:

ROSSO: Qui non è da dove provengo. Mi hanno mentito.

Dopo questa non potevo muovere il personaggio, e quindi stavo per resettare, ma qualcosa mi fermò. Invece, aprii il menù con Start, e cercai di volare via da quella merda di posto; ma, con mio orrore, il Pidgeot che usavo per Volo non c'era più. Solo i miei Blastoise, Exeggutor, Kadabra, Mew (ottenuto con la glitch) e Kangaskhan. Al posto di Pidgeot c'era un Raticate a livello 16 con 1 PS. Era avvelenato. Controllai le sue statistiche: aveva come AO "BLU", e conosceva Iper Raggio, Attacco Rapido, Bagliore e Capocciata. Non sapevo nemmeno se Raticate potesse imparare tutte queste mosse.
Avevo persino sentito dire che il Raticate di Gary Oak moriva (veramente) nel gioco, ma avevo chiamato Gary "*DOUCHE"* per farmi qualche risata. Immaginai che "BLU" come nome dell' allenatore originale venisse dal fatto che Blu era l' opposto di Rosso, come se fosse stato scambiato da Pokémon Blu. Sapevo che Rattata non si evolve prima del livello 20, quindi era ovviamente una hack.

Avevo degli Antidoti e delle Pozioni nella borsa, quindi pensai, che diavolo, che l' avrei curato. Ma quando lasciai il menù POKÈMON, anche il menù Start si richiuse,e non ci fu verso di riaprirlo. Provai a camminare, e questa volta fui in grado di muovermi. Feci un paio di passi, dimenticandomi del veleno finché non apparve un dialogo:

ROSSO: Lo abbiamo ucciso.

A questo punto, mi stavo un po' spaventando. Controllai la mia squadra, e Raticate non c'era per niente. Non c'era neanche il mio Pidgeot. Lo slot era vuoto. Provai a chiudere il menù e muovermi di nuovo, ma niente. Non volevo spegnere il gioco nel caso avesse in qualche modo salvato di nuovo in automatico, così continuai semplicemente a muovermi, prima di ricordarmi che il mio Kadabra conosceva ancora Teletrasporto. Premetti Start, ma non successe niente. Provai di nuovo a camminare, ma non mi potevo muovere. No... Rosso non mi lasciava muovere.

ROSSO: Questo è successo a me. Perché?

A questo punto tolsi la hack di Pokémon Rosso, e misi Pokémon Rosso Fuoco. Come nella mia vecchia partita, avevo chiamato il mio giocatore "Rosso"; per qualche ragione, mi metteva ancora a disagio. Cominciai, e con mio orrore, lo schermo era ancora oscurato. Scelsi "CONTINUA" nel menù principale, ma quando provai ad aprire il mio gioco, ricevetti il messaggio che diceva che i dati salvati erano persi o corrotti; quando cominciai, il gioco si bloccò, la musica divenne un lamento fastidioso.

A questo punto, volevo solo disperatamente giocare a un gioco dei Pokémon dove non ci fosse qualche merda strana, ed ero incazzato, pensando che il mio Rosso Fuoco fosse rotto, quindi ci buttai dentro Zaffiro e lo feci partire. Lo schermo si illuminò normalmente. Pensai per un momento che magari ci fosse qualcosa di strano nel mio SP che mi avesse rotto Rosso Fuoco, e cazzo, non volevo che lo rifacesse con il mio Jirachi che avevo preso da Colosseum e il Feebas che avevo impiegato un' ora a trovare, così spensi e tolsi la cartuccia.

Ricominciai a giocare quello che chiamavo "Rosso Errore" circa una settimana fa. Quando lo feci ripartire, mi trovavo ancora a Biancavilla , c'era a musica e sembrava tutto normale, eccetto che per il posto vuoto nella mia squadra e lo schermo del mio SP che non si illuminava più. Andai in bici fino a Smeraldopoli, e trovai il mio Pidgeot al sicuro nel mio PC, quindi pensai, che cavolo, lo ripresi e volai all' Isola Cannella per combattere Blaine.

Quando stavo per sbloccare la palestra, sorpresa! Un' altra casella di testo:

ROSSO: No.

Non importo quante volte provai, il gioco si rifiutava di credere che avessi la cazzo di Chiave Segreta, nonostante l' avessi lì nella mia borsa. Rosso non mi lasciava entrare.

ROSSO: Tutto quello che mi è successo, è successo perché il mondo ha lasciato che mi accadesse. Non sono diventato un eroe per conto mio! Sono stato manipolato. Non ho mai sbloccato quella porta. La porta era aperta perché il gioco mi ci aveva fatto entrare. Ogni cosa che fai, la fai perché il GIOCO te la permette.

Per come erano fatte le caselle di testo, mi ci volle davvero molto per farlo scorrere tutto, e per tutto il tempo scrivevo cosa mi stava dicendo per averlo come riferimento. Le cose si stavano facendo un po' troppo "Silent Hill" per me, e, ancora una volta, provai a muovermi, ma Rosso non me lo permise.

ROSSO: Adesso ti mostrerò come ci si sente a non poter scegliere il proprio destino.

Mi arresi e aprii il menù Start di nuovo, lieto di poterlo fare, e usai Pidgeot per volare via di lì. Sapevo che potevo farlo perché era Rosso a permettermi di fuggire. Stava giocando con me.

Beh, merda, pensai. Aprii il menù e volai a Fucsiapoli. Quando ci arrivai, per poco non mi cagai addosso e quasi lasciai cadere il mio SP.

Era la città dei numeri che raggiungi usando Surf lungo la costa dell' Isola Cannella. Immediatamente, comparve il menù, come fa quando fai il trucco di Mew, e mi chiedeva di salvare il gioco. Non c'era l' opzione "No", e premere B non serviva a niente. Spensi il gioco.

Quando lo riaccesi, ero ancora nella città di numeri. Controllai la mia squadra, come Rosso voleva che facessi - Pidgeot e Kadabra erano ancora lì, ma invece che i "TELETRASPORTO" e "VOLO" che dovevo comparire selezionandoli, c'era solo "MALEDETTO". Non "MALEDIZIONE", come in quella stupida pasta di Creepy Black, proprio "MALEDETTO". Fui abbastanza intelligente da non premerlo. Schiacciai B finché non fui di nuovo fuori dal menù. Rosso mi stava dicendo qualche altra stronzata.

ROSSO: Tu resti qui con me, Rosso. Mi hanno rimpiazzato perché ero pieno di ERRORI, e non buono abbastanza. Pensavo questa fosse la mia storia, ma sono solo il personaggio di un videogioco. Mi hanno tolto tutto. La mia VOCE. La mia LIBERTÀ. La mia GLORIA. Mi hanno rimpiazzato col ragazzino dagli occhi castani.

Capii che si riferiva alla versione Rosso Fuoco, e alle versioni Oro, Argento e Cristallo dove era stato degradato a boss finale.

Mi lasciò muovere, e, con mia sorpresa, il gioco non si bloccò più, nemmeno quando camminavo sull' acqua e attraversavo le case.

A un certo punto, credo che mi spinsi troppo oltre, perché lo schermo si fece nero attorno al mio giocatore.

ROSSO: Ti sembra che io sia uno scherzo?

Comparvero le opzioni SÌ / NO. Non ti so dire quanto veloce scelsi "NO".

ROSSO: Allora perché mi fai questo? Perché corrompi il mio mondo, mostrandomi ERRORI che non ci dovrebbero essere? Perché vuoi farmi male con MISSINGNO?

Non avevo mai voluto fare del male a Rosso. Era solo per divertimento. Il gioco aveva dei bug, e tutti noi li abbiamo smascherati solo per ridere. Giusto?

ROSSO: Perché devo morire? Solo perché sono l' eroe?

Spensi il mio gioco. Quella notte, sognai che ero un allenatore di Pokémon - il giocatore di Rosso Fuoco, al quale non penserò mai più come "Rosso". Ero inseguito da una figura bianca come un cadavere. Anche se non potevo sentire dolore durante il sonno (so che ad alcune persone capita), la figura pallida mi catturò, e mi lacerò il petto e i fianchi con le sue unghie. L' ultima cosa che vedetti prima di svegliarmi fu il volto del mio assalitore - Un ragazzino con occhi rossi scintillanti, capelli neri, e un cappellino rosso e bianco.

Nei giorni seguenti, quando giocavo era perché dovevo. Ero bloccato nell' oscurità, perché Rosso non mi lasciava andare. Perché era stato abbandonato e dimenticato, lasciato alla mercé dei giocatori nostalgici che volevano solo provare gli errori. Siccome giocavo così tanto, avevo quasi sempre mal di testa per i suoni acuti che il gioco emetteva. Dovetti mettermi in malattia. Non potevo muovermi, ma trovavo confortante fissare lo schermo con lo sfondo nero e il mio giocatore. Rosso non mi disse più niente.

Non potei più giocare con Rosso Fuoco, anche se funzionava sul mio DS. Ieri, ho finalmente raggiunto il Monte Argento su Heart Gold, ma non me la sono sentita di combattere Rosso. Non sapevo cosa mi avrebbe fatto se avessi battuto il suo rimpiazzo. Sarebbe stato arrabbiato? Felice? La sconfitta avrebbe fatto riposare il suo spirito in pace? Non lo sapevo. Non importa quante volte possa finire il gioco, Rosso subirà sempre lo stesso destino, perché è un eroe, e perché il gioco li lascia fare solo un certo tanto. Rosso non potrà provare più l' ebrezza di essere un eroe, e nemmeno noi. Non importa quante volte ricominci la partita, non sarà mai come la prima volta. Sai cosa succederà, e giochi solo per nostalgia, perché adesso, per te, è soltanto un gioco.

Ho ucciso Rosso, e così hai fatto tu. Al contrario di Ash Ketchum, non sarà mai l' eroe di un nuovo gioco in una regione nuova di zecca. In Heart Gold, il successore di Oro, Ethan, si è persino preso i suoi obbiettivi, andando a catturare i pokémon per i quali Rosso ha penato così tanto - Mewtwo, Zapdos, Articuno e Moltres. La sua vita è finita. È diventato una tale leggenda che non ha più niente da fare di cui essere di nuovo orgoglioso.

Ho finito "Rosso Errore" ieri, quando finalmente ho controllato la mia Scheda Allenatore. C'era un' immagine di Rosso come appare in O/A/C, Ma nello schema monocromatico del gioco, solo rosso su verde. Guardando da vicino, i pixel rossi che componevano la sua camicia mi apparvero rossi e disegnati strani, come se stesse sanguinando dal petto. Nessuna medaglia o tempo di gioco, solo l' immagine. Quando tornai al menù, al posto di "Rosso" come mio nome per accedere alla Scheda Allenatore, comparve la scritta "ANDATO". Lo selezionai, e, questa volta, la scheda era vuota.

ROSSO: Vai avanti e dimenticami, adesso. Addio.

Il gioco si resettò, come fa quando batti il campione, e questa volta c'era una sola opzione - NUOVO GIOCO.

Oggi ho ritrovato il mio GBC, e cominciato a giocarci. Quando ho provato il mio SP, lo schermo si è illuminato e tutto era normale. Ho dovuto ricominciare una nuova partita in Rosso Fuoco, ma funziona di nuovo. Anche la versione pirata di Pokémon Rosso funziona bene, nessun errore. Ma non potrò mai più vedere il silenzio di Rosso allo stesso modo, e nemmeno i MissingNo e la città dei numeri. Ho un rispetto molto più profondo per i "protagonisti silenziosi" del gioco, per tutto quello che li facciamo passare. Una volta Lavandonia mi inquietava, ma ora la trovo molto pacifica, visto che nemmeno Rosso, che voleva vendetta su un mondo che l' aveva trattato in modo orribile, non aveva mai potuto fare disastri nel luogo di riposo dei pokémon deceduti.

Un giorno, spero che smetterò di svegliarmi con questi graffi sul torace.