A/N: What's this? Another fanfic? From me? Even though I got a good handful of other ones I need to update? *shot* I actually wasn't going to upload this until a lot later, but my friend insisted that I post it up, lest I wanted to face her wraith OTL Anyway, this little story is (loosely?) based off the game "False Red". Yeah. That one creepy game that makes you feel freaking depressed because holy crap, you're not Red from the original Pokemon games, and people hate you because of that. I've only seen like, maybe , ONE fanfic on the game, so this might be the first one using the female protagonist Leaf. Anyone who's played the game before knows that "False Red" makes more sense if you use the male protag, but I used Leaf in my playthrough cause, you know, I'm female. I've kept most of the lines true to the game, but there might be slight tweaks here and there (which I'm sure some people might notice). Anyway, enjoy!

It hurt.

It hurt so much. But what hurt?

She didn't know.

She tried to move, but found that her limbs felt too heavy to lift up. She tried to open her eyes, but was only welcomed by the darkness.

"Who are you?" a voice softly called out. She tried to look around, but failed miserably.

"Are you… talking to me?"

"Who are you?" the voice repeated, "What is your name?"

"My… name?" The girl tried to remember her name, which came as a bit of a shock to her. Surely, she could remember her own name, right? "My… name… is…"

"What is your name?" the voice demanded, now sounding impatient. The girl racked her mind again before coming up with a shaky answer.

"My name is… Leaf." The voice hummed in approval.

"Very good… Are you ready to begin your adventure?" Leaf was confused.

"Adventure? What adventure? What's going on?" Panic rose in Leaf's voice as the darkness began to fade away. "Wait! I don't know what's happening! Where am I? Who am I? How come I can only remember my name? Why can't I remember anything else?"

"You are Leaf, a trainer in Pallet Town. Your rival is Green, and you've known him since you were babies."

"But if I've known him for that long, then why can't I remember anything? Stop! Don't leave yet!" Leaf watched as her surroundings turned into a bright white light, blinding her temporarily. "Why am I here? Please! I'm so confused!"

"You are a replacement. Nothing else," the voice quipped, its presence fading away.

"What do you mean, 'replacement'?" she cried out fruitlessly, "Please! I just want answers!" Leaf realized that she had control of her arms now, and tried to reach out to whatever had spoken to her earlier.

She found herself rolling out of bed, hitting the ground face first.

"Arrgh!" she yelled as pain coursed through her face, "What the hell?" She rubbed her face before sitting up straight and looking around at her surroundings. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she noticed that she was in a room that had a simple desk with a desktop, a bed (which she rolled off of), a TV, a NES, a bookshelf crammed with books (probably of Pokémon), a drawer, and a note on the wall next to the staircase.

"I'm guessing, this is my room then?" she asked herself quietly as she examined each of the items in the room. Using the reflection of the TV, she was able to get a decent image of herself: she was dressed in a blue tank top with a black undershirt underneath and a red skirt that seemed to only go down to her thighs, though luckily, she was wearing black shorts underneath. A white hat with a red pokeball design was nestled on her head, and her sneakers were white with a red strip on each shoe. Leaf could only guess that she looked like what a normal female trainer would like; dressed fashionably but realistically. Looking down at the NES, Leaf noticed that there was a name engraved into the side of the machine. Picking it up carefully, she examined the carved writing, only to nearly drop it in shock.

There was a name on it. The name was "Red".

This wasn't hers. It belonged to a person named "Red", and Leaf could only guess that everything else in this room belonged to this mystery person as well. She shook her head.

"Th-there's no way that someone else had lived in this room!" she said, trying to convince herself, "Obviously, I must have bought this at a yard sale or something, and the kid who owned it before must have engraved his name into it before selling it! Yeah, that's gotta be the answer!" She nodded to herself, grinning triumphantly with her conclusion when she remembered what the voice told her.

"You are a replacement." Leaf gulped, trying to clear her mind.

"There's no way…. Right?" she laughed nervously before realizing that there was a staircase leading to the floor beneath the one she was on. "Right, I'm probably still living with my parents. Maybe they can clear things up for me…" She headed straight to the staircase, pausing for a second to read the note on the wall.

Come home.

Leaf flinched. Something wasn't right, she could tell. She ran her fingers through her hair nervously, wondering if it was still a good idea to go downstairs. What if they weren't her parents after all? She shook her head. No! That can't be! Maybe her parents had missed her so much that they decided to post that note up on the wall so that every time she came home, she would know that her parents would always want her to stay. That had to be it! But still…

Leaf slapped her cheeks. "Stop thinking Leaf! The more you think, the more freaked out you'll get!" she scolded herself, "Stop over-reacting and go downstairs! Everything will make sense once you talk with mom and dad!" With this, she bounded down the stairs two steps at a time, ensuring that she didn't have the sudden urge to turn back and dash back into her room.

"Mom!" she yelled once she saw the figure of a woman sitting at a table quietly, "I need to talk to you about something!" Leaf's mom looked up at the girl briefly before staring back at the table.

"…Right. All kids leave home someday," she said before adding quietly, "Just like my son." Leaf was shocked. 'Just like her son'? What did she mean by that? Leaf could feel the fear rising up in her again as she examined her "mom" again. The woman looked miserable, like she had lost her only light in the world. The only thing Leaf could do was remind the lady that she was still in the room.

"…Mom…?"

"Oh yes!" the woman suddenly brightened, as though she wasn't the image of depression just then, "Professor Oak, next door, was looking for you." She smiled at Leaf before turning back to staring at the table. Leaf hesitantly stood by the staircase before moving towards the front door. With her hand on the handle, she looked back to see her "mom" still staring down at the table.

"Bye Mom…"

"Bye dear!" The woman looked up and smiled at the girl again, though Leaf could tell that she was forcing herself to smile at her. Leaf's eyes drifted over to the TV where a movie was playing. A boy wearing a red hat with black hair was standing with his back facing the camera. It seemed as though he was standing on a mountain, and snow was falling everywhere. His hand reached up to hold the bill of his cap before he slowly turned to face the camera and-

The TV shut off before Leaf could get a glimpse of his face. Leaf shook her head. Right. She had to go see the Professor. She opened the door and was greeted with a strong breeze. White, cold snowflakes landed on her face as she looked up into the sky. It was sunny with no signs of clouds, yet it was snowing. Leaf closed her eyes, feeling the cold snowflakes continue to land her face.

"It's snowing because the clouds are trying to touch the ground!"

Leaf's eyes opened in shock. She looked down at her shaky hands.

"What…" she took a deep breath before clenching her hands, "What was that?" She had envisioned a young boy wearing a purple long-sleeved shirt tugging her hand and pointing his finger up in the sky. He seemed to have been smiling, his grin warm. His face was seemingly blurred out, as though someone had tried desperately to make her forget this person. But evidently, that person had failed.

"Forget about him." Leaf jumped. There it was! The voice! She looked around, trying to identify the person who said that. However, her searching was proved futile since it seemed as though nobody else but her had heard the voice. She ran her hand through her hair, already feeling the pull of stress and tension affecting her. Leaf let out a groan as she tried to collect her thoughts. I have to go see Professor Oak. Right, she reminded herself. She looked around and noticed a large, yellow building off to the side. That must be it! She walked towards it before she stopped to notice a sign.

"Huh, that's interesting…" She bent down to examine the sign.

PALLET TOWN. His hometown.

'His'. Leaf quickly stood up and took a step back. She gulped nervously and tried to laugh.

"R-right. Someone famous must have lived here! I couldn't be the ONLY person who has lived here!" She nodded to herself, though she didn't feel assured at all. Already, signs and words were pointing out that someone else had been in her place, but she still didn't know who. She felt herself sigh. I should be going to the Professor's lab… Straightening her already straight hat, she set off to the Professor's lab. Opening the green door, she noticed that the lab was teeming with activity. Lab assistants were rushing this way and that, though it didn't look as though there was a professor running around with them. She then noticed a brunette wearing a black polo and purple pants (Really? Purple pants?) standing in the back of the lab staring out the window. He looked familiar for some reason, so Leaf decided to approach him. By the time she was face-to-face with him, the boy still didn't notice her standing in front of him. She tapped his shoulder, grabbing his attention.

He had green eyes (but they were supposed to be a different color, she KNEW this) and a superior aura around him. He examined her a bit before blinking confusedly.

"Huh? Who are you? You're not Red." He turned back to staring out the window, as though he was waiting for someone. Red. There it was, that name again. This "Red" person had evidently lived here, and this guy seemed to have known him.

"Hey, um," she shook his shoulder this time, "Who is this, 'Red', person?" However, the person refused to acknowledge her existence. Sighing dejectedly, she pulled her hand away and decided to wait besides green-eyes. So they waited. And waited. And waited. But after about 20 minutes of waiting for no one, Leaf threw her hands up in frustration before leaving the building behind her in an impatient stomp.

She opened the door with enough force that the snowflakes outside were sent into a wild flurry. Slamming the door behind her, she leaned against it before deciding what to do. She didn't know where to start looking for this 'Professor Oak' person, but the best thing to do was to take a closer look at her surroundings. In front of her was a sign that read something, but given her earlier experiences with signs, she decided that it was best not to read it. Exploring Pallet Town revealed to her that the town consisted of only one lab and two houses: hers and Green's, the same person who, she assumed, had brushed her off earlier. The only thing left was the path that led to the outside. Leaf made her way to the path, ignoring any misgivings her mind sent her about heading outside. However, before she could even set down one foot into the patch of tall grass in front of her, a voice that sounded kind of wise with old age called out to her.

"Hey! Wait! Don't go out!" Leaf turned around in shock to see an old man come running at her from God knows where. He came to a screeching halt in front of Leaf, his hand on his lower back as he was bent over from exhaustion.

"It's… un…safe!" he said between pants, still trying to catch his breath. Leaf looked on, unsure of what to do. Should she pat his back? Or would she be tapping into some hidden back problem?

"Wild Pokémon… live in… tall grass!" he continued, letting out a loud exhalation before clearing his throat and attempting to stand up straight, "You need your own... Pokémon for your protection."

"Oh, uh, I see!" she said, trying to be cheerful even though she was cringing on the inside due to the old man's still labored breathing, "But you see, I don't have any Pokémon with me."

"That is… certainly a problem," the old man said, "Someone would need to give you a Pokémon before- Oh I know!" He grabbed the girl's wrist with great strength (much to her surprise) and proceeded to drag her somewhere.

"Here, come with me!" he said with a grin.

"I don't have much of a choice!" Leaf mumbled as she tried not to stumble over rocks that seemed to have magically appeared in her path. The old man continued to drag her back to the lab before yanking the poor girl inside, then slamming the door behind him. As she rubbed her wrist, the old man announced loudly that he was back. Lab assistants crowded around him with "Welcome back Professor!" and "What did the doctor say about your back problem?". He laughed and waved off the questions regarding his back problems.

"I'll answer your questions later, but first, I have to deal with this brand new trainer and send her off on her first adventure!" He walked to the back of the lab with Leaf following close behind. When he reached the back of the lab, he turned around so that he could face both Green and Leaf.

"Gramps!" Green yelled, "I'm fed up with waiting!" Professor Oak stared at Green blankly.

"Green?" the old man placed his finger against his chin, trying to recall something, "Let me think… Oh that's right, I told you to come! Just wait!" he scolded his impatient grandson (grandson? How did she know that Green was the Professor's grandson?) before turning to the girl standing next to him, "Here Leaf. There are three Pokémon here." Leaf looked around before eyeing three red and white orbs on a table. She quickly walked over to the spherical objects, as though she had done this before. Her hand automatically reached out for one of the objects before she stopped and hesitated. What was she doing? As far as she was concerned, she had never seen a Pokémon before, but somehow, she felt as though the Pokémon were inside these capsules of some sort. She heard the Professor laugh roughly behind her.

"I see you know exactly what you are doing," the Professor looked at Leaf with a hidden distaste (though Leaf could tell that he didn't want her here; she could feel it, she didn't BELONG here) before smiling and pointing at the objects in front of her, "The Pokémon are held inside these pokeballs. When I was young, I used to be a serious Pokémon trainer. But now, in my old age, I have only these three left. You can have one. Go on, choose!" He continued to smile that fake smile of his, causing Leaf to feel chills go down her spine. She reached out to a pokeball that had the emblem of fire on it and was about to grab it when Green's voice stopped her.

"You have his face… Why do you have his face?" Leaf looked up and saw Green's alarmed and confused face, "Who are you?" Leaf opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the Professor.

"Green," he spoke in a commanding voice, smile gone, "Not now."

"But she's-!"

"ENOUGH." Both Green and Leaf flinched at the older man's tone. Leaf looked between the two males, unsure of what to do. She retracted her outreached hand and scratched her head nervously.

"Umm, if it's alright with you… I think I'll be okay with starting my adventure tomorrow or something…" she laughed nervously, her eyes meeting up with Green's eyes, "You can have first pick Green."

"What are you talking about Leaf? It's every person's dream to set out on their own Pokémon adventure! So please, why don't you pick you're Pokémon?"

"No," Green glared at Leaf, making her flinch again, "This isn't your story. Go away. He's coming back soon, and he'll need that Pokémon."

"Don't listen to him Leaf! Please, just pick a Pokémon and get started on your adventure!"

"No! I will not allow you to take any one of those Pokémon! Especially not that one!" Green lunged at Leaf but was held back by his grandfather. He looked back in shock; betrayal flashed in his eyes.

"Why?" he screamed, "Why are you helping her? Don't you care about Red at all?" Green continued to struggle against the Professor while Leaf began stepping back from the table. She felt overwhelmed; her instinct told her to take the pokeball, but all the people around seemed to despise her being even near the thing. She couldn't even tell if the Professor was actually trying to help her, or if he was just putting up an act to get her out of his lab faster. Leaf grasped the edge of her skirt tightly, trying not to scream or cry or do whatever the hell girls did when they were under extreme pressure.

"Take it." She looked around in shock. No one else appeared to have heard the voice.

"Take the pokeball." Her eyes drifted back to the pokeball she had reached out for. But Green-

"Ignore him. Just take the pokeball, and everything will be alright." Leaf stared at the pokeball some more. She could feel herself moving slowly towards the capsule, her hand reaching out to it before-

"NO!" Green launched himself out of his grandfather's arms and straight into Leaf's path. But it was already too late. Leaf had already taken the pokeball of her choosing and had released the creature inside it.

"Char char!" it cried out happily, looking straight up into Leaf's face.

"A Charmander…" she breathed out, her eyes stuck in a nostalgic trance as she bent down and patted it on the head. The Pokémon cooed happily and closed its eyes in bliss as she continued to pat its head.

"N-no… This can't be happening…" Green collapsed in front of Leaf, staring despairingly at the Charmander that was happily nuzzling its owner.

"Green?" Leaf reached out to the boy with a comforting hand before it was swatted away by said owner.

"Don't touch me!" he yelled, propelling himself up and taking a pokeball himself, "I'm not letting you get any farther than this! I'm challenging you to a Pokémon battle!" He backed up a good distance away from Leaf before releasing the Pokémon that was hidden inside the capsule.

"Squirtle!" it cried out, already ready for action. Leaf's Charmander stood protectively in front of its owner, tail swishing threateningly behind it. The Professor merely sighed, running his fingers through his grayed hair before taking a deep breath for what was sure to be a long monologue.

"Leaf, you've never had a Pokémon battle before, have you?" Leaf shook her head (or at least, she thought so). "Then, I'll explain to you the rules of a Pokémon battle. Each trainer lets out a certain number of Pokémon depending on the battle. In this case, it is a one-on-one battle, so each trainer lets out one Pokémon. Each trainer then orders their Pokémon which moves to use on their opponent's Pokémon, and their goal is to make the opponent's Pokémon faint. The battle ends when one or both of the trainers run out of Pokémon. If both trainers run out of Pokémon at the same time, then it is considered a draw. However, if one of the trainers still has capable Pokémon left on their team, then they are the winner. The loser has to pay the winner money at the end of the battle."

"But in this case," Green interrupted, "If I win, then YOU have to return that Charmander back to Gramps, and then you are to leave Kanto immediately!"

"Char char…" Charmander looked up at its trainer with worry in its eyes. Leaf smiled down at it reassuringly.

"Don't worry, we won't lose," she looked back up at Green, a defiant look evident in her eyes, "Fine. But if we win, then you'll have to allow me to continue my journey without interruption. That means no more trying to take Pokémon away from me, and no more trying to get rid of me." Green made an annoyed sound in the back of his throat, but nodded in agreement.

"Fine."

"I'll go first then; Charmander, use Scratch!" Charmander launched itself at the Squirtle before swiping its claws against the Squirtle's arm. Squirtle cried out in pain before looking up at its trainer for commands.

"Tch! Use Tail Whip!" Squirtle shook its tail around, distracting Charmander from the battle.

"Don't get distracted! Scratch!" Charmander shook its head before swiping its claws against Squirtle's face. Squirtle let out another cry of pain.

"Tail Whip again!" Squirtle obediently waved its tail again, lowering Charmander's defenses again. "Now use Tackle!" Squirtle tackled the fire-Pokémon hard into the floor before bouncing back up again. Charmander let out a shocked cry as it collided into the ground. Leaf gritted her teeth as her Pokémon stood up from the blow.

"Hang in there Charmander! Scratch!"

"Tackle!" The two Pokémon continued exchanging blows until both of them became exhausted. Squirtle was covered in scratch wounds whilst Charmander could barely stand up on its shaky legs. Leaf bit her lip. What if Charmander couldn't withstand the next attack? She shook the thought from her head. No. The only thing she could do now was have complete faith in her Pokémon. She looked Green straight in the eye.

"Charmander! Use Scratch now!" Charmander charged at Squirtle with all its might.

"Squirtle! Dodge!" Squirtle tried to side-step to avoid the oncoming attack, but was too slow. Charmander raked its claws straight across Squirtle's face, causing the Pokémon to give one last cry of pain before passing out.

"Squirtle!" Green gathered up the fallen Pokémon into his arms as Leaf danced around with Charmander.

"You did it! Great job Charmander!" She laughed happily as the Pokémon jumped into her arms joyfully.

"N-no… This isn't right," Leaf looked back towards Green. Her eyes widened when she saw his frame quivering pathetically.

"…Green?"

"You aren't Red. Red always wins this battle, not you." Green held the injured Pokémon close to his body, his hair blocking Leaf's view of his face.

"Green, what are you talking about? Who's this 'Red' you keep going on about?" Leaf approached Green with her Charmander in her arms. Green looked up and glared at her once again.

"…I need to fix this," he hissed, "Get out of my world!" With that, the trainer dashed out of the lab with his fallen Pokémon cradled in his arms.

"Green!" Professor Oak yelled after his grandson fruitlessly, "Come back here!" The old man ran after the boy, leaving Leaf alone in the lab.

"…Looks like it's just you and me now Charmander." She sighed as she placed the Pokémon down on the floor. Charmander looked up at its trainer with bright eyes before sniffing the air around it. Suddenly, its head jerked to the left as it caught onto an interesting scent. Leaf stared down at the Pokémon.

"What's wrong?" she questioned it, watching as the Pokémon began to swish its tail back and forth excitedly.

"Charmander char!" The Pokémon quickly toddled off to the right, leaving its trainer behind.

"Hey, wait for me!" She chased after the surprisingly quick Pokémon and came to a halt in front of a computer. Something was opened up on it. Charmander began slapping her leg (it wasn't tall enough to reach her skirt) and pointing up at the computer, trying to get her to figure out what it was trying to say.

"…There's a computer," she announced to her Charmander, "So?"

"Char char!" It continued pointing at the computer with great urgency.

"…You want me to read what's on the computer?" The Pokémon nodded. "I can't do that! I'm invading someone's privacy!"

"Charmander!"

"…Is it really that important for me to read?"

"Char!"

"Really?"

"CHAR!"

"Okay! Fine, jeez! What a strange little Pokémon you are…." She mumbled before leaning in closer to the screen. An e-mail was opened on the screen. She blinked. Was it really okay for her to read this? She glanced down at her Charmander and saw that it was looking at her expectantly. She sighed and began to read the contents of the e-mail.

I'm sorry. We couldn't find him.

Leaf let out a gasp. Him. Could the e-mail be referring to 'Red'? And 'Red' was missing? Was this what Green was making a huge fuss about? Was this why the Professor allowed her to receive Charmander even though it was clear he didn't want her too? Was he hiding the truth from Green? Did Green even know that the sender, whoever the person was, couldn't find 'Red'? Leaf let out a groan and grasped her head.

"W-what…." Leaf collapsed on the ground, "What's going on here?"

"Char char!" Her Charmander began pulling at her shirt frantically, its eyes wide with terror.

"What's wrong…?" Leaf was about to place one hand on her Charmander's head when she heard a loud ringing noise in her head. She covered her ears in pain and cried out loudly.

"You shouldn't have read that e-mail." Leaf screamed as the ringing noise began to fill up her head, and the sensation of a thousand knives stabbing her head accompanied it.

"You should have just gone out and started your adventure. Now I have to punish you. What a pity." Leaf screamed again as the pain intensified. Charmander began howling in terror, tears appearing in its eyes as it was forced to watch its trainer suffer.

"I, I did nothing wrong!" she gasped out as her vision slowly faded to black.

"No. You did lots of things wrong. You shouldn't have poked your nose somewhere it didn't belong." Leaf could hear frantic voices surround her as she slumped to the ground unconscious, the sound of cruel laughter echoing in her mind as her mind faded back to black.

A/N: I hope that wasn't too fast paced. But if it helps you, note that I was standing in the same exact spot for nearly two hours while writing this chapters. My friends found it hilarious. Also, this will be updated as I play through "False Red", so try not to expect speedy updates. And no, it's not going to be a Nuzlocke. Dear god, that is the LAST thing I will ever do in regards to that game.

Spot mistakes? Errors? Please tell me and I'll fix them!