Glitch
/it was the type of thing that could kill you if you weren't careful

Word Count: 837
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: Pokémon doesn't belong to Kanthia or 4Kids.

x x x

This doesn't make any sense.

She took a deep breath and tried to clear her head. Avert her eyes. It was like a train wreck- she couldn't look away, it was so terrible and powerful in its untamed angles.

Calm down, she thought as panic crept up her throat. She felt as though she would vomit. Think back. What did you do to summon this- this thing?

It had been a beautiful, sunny day. It still was. I woke up in the Pokémon Centre. That was normal. Um- it was sunny, right, so I wanted to fly to Cinnabar and go surfing around a bit. Nothing strange about that.

It started to approach her, whirring slightly as though it was less a Pokémon and more a vending machine. She closed her eyes. I was going to fly to Cinnabar, right. I was in Viridian preparing to challenge the Elite Four and decided to take a day off. Right. I had all ready called out Pidgeot when that old man called me over and asked if I was busy-

It burbled. Was that its name? Burble Burble? I humoured him, right. He showed me how to catch a Weedle. It was pretty funny, okay, and then I said goodbye and flew over here and- Burble slid around her like solid air- make it stop- my Celadon Gym Badge came loose and fell into the water just by the shore so I called out Lapras and started surfing up and down looking- looking for it- and It rose out of the water like- oh-

Maybe- she pulled out her Pokedex with shaking hands and turned to It. The handheld whirred and beeped and eventually gave up and shut off. She swallowed a fistful of tears and looked up.

"You're human," Burble said.

"You're not," she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks, staining the water blue.

"Retire your Lapras," It murmured in a voice crowded with static. "Come gsvr ,r pm ;smf- excuse me. Come face me on land."

She stepped off the trembling shell and followed Its orders, finding her knees unable to carry her terror as she stumbled into the Cinnabar shallows. The ground rushed up at her as she collapsed into the ankle-deep water and noisily heaved.

It waited patiently as she recalled her Lapras and washed her mouth out with seawater, leaving only a burning in her throat.

"You act like you've seen a ghost," It said. "I'm not a ghost. I am a glitch. There is a difference."

"No difference," she muttered, faltering as she struggled to her feet. "And-" she swallowed, "-What do you m-mean, Glitch?"

"Not meant to exist." Burble's voice had changed from a broken tenor to a terrifyingly clear screeching as though it was part bird; she had heard something achingly similar to it once, when she was hopelessly lost in the Cerulean Power Plant. "An error- error- ejsypt sM,r- wHAT's YoUr naME, cHiLD?"

She looked away as the floating images began to rearrange themselves. "Kira- at least- um, what's your name- sir?"

It giggled something entirely intelligible.

The sun shuddered. She tossed the words around in her head. "Em."

" 'M?"

" 'M. That's what it sounded like. The rest- 'M Block, then."

"I'm not a ghost. I'm a glitch."

"You said that all ready." She could feel her terror surge like a waterfall. "I don't even know why I haven't woken up yet."

"Not a nightmare," 'M chortled in a deep bass. "Luck. A glitch. Call out one of yours and fight me. I can battle, you know- Water Gun, Water Gun, Sky Attack-"

"-So you're a Pokémon. Only Pokémon can fight other Pokémon." She forced a laugh and regretted it quickly. "Maybe- maybe if I catch you, you'll go away."

"I'll delete everything you own. I'll steal your name, dark one. I dis-" Its voice changed to a threatening soprano- "I would dislike being taken from this place."

She believed It entirely. "I'll run, then."

"Good."

She blinked. "Good?" Fresh tears bunched up in the corners of her eyes. "What do you mean, good? Don't you- aren't you- what are you?"

A cold wind picked up and she felt her heart in her ears as the unholy pixels dissociated and reformed around her. "I'll leave you a gift. You're lucky for finding me, Pokémon Trainer." Hundreds of hands fled to her item pouch and stole it- from a place deep inside herself, she could hear something counting, and someone watching.

"Your sixth is a Master Ball- so it was you who saved Saffron from the Rockets. Congratulations."

"P-please, don't take it. It was a- a gift."

"I'll leave you a gift in return, for your kindness. Please visit me again sometime. You haven't become a Master yet, have you?"

"…No."

"Good." The wind howled in her ears and forced her eyes closed. "I never did like records of things."

She felt her pouch in her hands. It was too heavy.

Carefully and without warning, she lost her mind.