The Dangers of Pokerus
As many avid Pokémon lovers know, Pokerus is a fictional disease that can infect a player's Pokémon in the game. It is a very rare occurrence and almost impossible to contract. However, this disease, though it may seem dangerous, is actually helpful. It helps make the Pokémon stronger level by level. It can even spread to different Pokémon and help them as well. Unfortunately, it isn't meant to last. Eventually it will fade away from the Pokémon in the player's party, never to be seen again. My experience with this virus happened a week…and is the reason I no longer try to infect my Pokémon with it. A simple Gameshark code for Pokémon Ruby came into my life, promised infinite Pokerus effects, but all it did was open my eyes to the horrible downside of delaying this disease. I have been lead into the darkness by this experience and I don't have much time. I will be as brief as possible.
It all started a week ago. I was fooling around on the internet in the confines of my room. I was in the mood to play some Pokémon Ruby, one of my favorite games from my early teenage years. As I began to run my emulator, an interesting thought popped into my head: maybe I should figure out a way to infect my Pokémon with Pokerus. I had heard from some friends of its benefits. Because of its rarity and beneficial nature, I had always wanted to try and see if I could find a way to bring this disease into my Pokémon Ruby Rom so I can see the effects on my favorite game. I looked everywhere on the web for the secret to unlocking this hidden secret. Eventually I came across a Gameshark code that was compatible with my emulator. It had no other tag, except for its name, which was in all caps and said:
INFINITE POKERUS
The code caught my immediately caught my eye. The joy of my 13 year old self had come back into my heart. A sudden disregard for possible consequences, even for something as trivial as my computer, went out the window. I suddenly was drawn into the mystery of the code. I had to use it, so that the magic could be a part of one of my favorite Pokemon game. A sudden feeling of deep, selfish wanting started to arise in my chest. I knew it was just a game, but I had to know what it felt like to have this helpful virus. Oh how was I wrong…
I entered the code with a childlike curiosity. Strangely enough, it worked with extreme efficiency. The only thing that seemed to bother me was that the first time I loaded it up with the cheat; my emulator immediately froze, made a violent hissing noise, and then closed down. The reaction to the code being put in my computer troubled me, as I had never had a response like that before out of my emulator with any cheat I've used before. Be that as it may, I decided to attempt the code a second time and it worked like a dream. I was able to shake off my immediate discomfort as I allowed the code to infect my game with the benefits of Pokerus. I started a new game with a Mudkip and began my journey. I was surprised how well it was working. My Mudkip's attacks grew in strength. I eventually caught five more Pokémon: a Tailow, a Shroomish, a Slakoth, a Poochyena, and an Aron. They became infected as well to my excitement. I was just playing around, moving around happily around Hoenn. I even ignored the disturbing warnings I received from other trainers, angered for infecting their Pokémon with a deadly disease, as well as telling me to stop the spread before it was too late in text boxes I had never seen in the game. I my Pokemon evolve and grow like normal, unknowing of the damage I was causing.
My stubborn ignorance made me almost miss a strange thing that started happening once I reached Slateport City. I started to notice faint cries coming from the video game; cries of my Pokémon calling out in pain and suffering. They were so faint I ignored them at first, they got louder, almost deafening when I finally made it to Slateport. It sounded if they were being tortured, their screams making a cluster of noise I had never heard before. It was the sound of them dying. When the screams grew to their peak, I awoke from my dazed and confused sense of selfish ignorance and was awakened into a sense of dread I had never felt before. The cries were gnawing at my sanity, almost making me want to scream with them. I checked my Pokemon's status with my whole being shaking furiously. The pictures of my dear Pokémon were twisted. My Marshtomp had a look of excruciating pain. His flesh was rotting in some places. His character animation showed what looked like him coughing in agony. He seemed to look at me angrily, wondering why I didn't listen in the first place. He peered into my soul, burning me with his final breath. All my other Pokémon had the same bloodied up bodies as Marshtomp did. They were all dying. the way Marshtomp looked at me made me realize what I had done. I tried to make it stop, but even deactivating the code wouldn't help. I was too late. All of a sudden, when I tried to head back towards the boat, a deafening shriek of a dying animal pierced my ears, followed by a flash of the screen to black. A text box showed up on the screen and said:
Marshtomp has died.
I began to tear up. I had always regarded the Pokemon from this game like an old friend, as it was a nostalgic link to my past. I had let my selfishness blind me from what that bond meant. I let my Pokémon down, and soon I would pay the ultimate price. A dead, bloodied body appeared at my characters feat of the Pokémon just died. It's rotted flesh and vacant expression looked too realistic for this game. As I tried to keep walking, more dead bodies followed after text boxes saying my Pokémon had died. I cried more with tears of hatred for my stupidity. I moved my human character along and even made it to the boat. I traveled across to Dewford and saw the place was covered in rotting corpses of Pokémon and humans alike. They All looked at me angrily, making my hair stand on end. My whole body perspired at the liquid chill of fear and self-hatred running through my veins. I continued to go backwards, even visiting Rustburo City and the forest area and it was in the same state as Dewford: covered in staring corpses. The buildings were covered in blood. Even the people I talked to became infected and died. The trainers I had challenged were surrounded by their Pokémon as they too were dead. All of a sudden, my characters stopped dead in its tracts, and let out a menacing cackle that vibrated the confines of my room. a text box showed up which I read with a sense of pure terror flowing through my veins
You made your Pokémon die. Now you will suffer their fate!
A familiar shriek echoed through my room as the emulator closed forever, never able to be open again. My character finally succumbed to the Pokerus as well and died as the emulator closed. I have nightmares of that night still, seeing the dismembered corpses still angrily staring at me. I have become ill myself, and soon I must die. I need to confess my sin to someone before I perish. I had destroyed my favorite game and infected it with my selfishness and greed. I am cursed to meet the same fate…dying painfully and screaming my last breath.