A/N: I recently rewrote this, and decided that I'd post it here :3
Reviews and constructive criticism is welcome, flaming is not.
enjoy~
DISCLAIMER: come on guys, I think it's pretty obvious that I don't own pokemon -_-
The cold plastic of the opaque red cartridge against my fingers was enough to send chills of nostalgia up my spine. Now I'm your regular everyday Pokémon-nerd. I've played every game I could get my hands on even some of the spin offs. I started playing around the third generation, but Fire Red was my first game. I lost it long ago; in fact I was convinced that my mom had sold it.
But that's not quite the case.
See, a few days ago I happened upon the small red cartridge while cleaning out the garage. Only now, however, do I get the opportunity to play it again. After all those years…
I didn't remember much about my old save file, but I was all too eager to learn more about my childhood treasure. I blew on the newly dusted off cartridge, then inserted in into my beat-up, dark blue SP, which was as old as the game itself. I flipped open the SP and turned it on.
I planned on watching the introduction scenes, but strangely enough, they didn't play. I didn't pay that much mind to it however. Stopping at the Continue screen, I looked at my information. My name was Sam, which wasn't surprising. It was one of my favorite names when I was a kid. I almost had a full Pokédex, 8 badges, and had racked up almost 300 hours of game time.
Eager to see more, I quickly jammed the A button.
I found myself in the Pokémon Mansion on Cinnabar Island. Ignoring this for the moment, I went to the menu to look at my Pokémon. I only had a Charizard in my party, and it didn't have a nickname. I was curious why, but it didn't matter that much to me.
Wanting to see my other Pokémon, I headed towards the door of the mansion. When I got there, however, I was shocked to see a text box pop up.
"The door is locked,"
What the…?" I asked myself. I didn't remember this in the game. Maybe I had just forgotten? I hadn't played the game in a while, so it seemed possible. I tried the door again just to make sure, but got the same message. I decided that I probably just needed to go find some item to unlock the door. It was a little weird though, I wouldn't think they'd have an even after the main storyline was already over.
I slowly traveled through the mansion trying to find something that would let me out, but had no luck. I read some of the journals scattered about detailing Mewtwo's birth, but they didn't help me. I scattered about the mansion, until I found a room that I was sure shouldn't have been there, just off the main part of the basement floor. The room was empty, with the exception of a square table in the middle of the room. The table was tilted to one side, as if one of its legs were broken, and scattered about on top were some white squares, which I assumed to be papers.
Curious, I approached the table with my sprite, lightly tapping the A button when I reached it. I looked close with wide eyes as text appeared on the screen.
"SAM looked at the letter"
It declared, taking me to a new screen. There was a simple white background, and on it, words slowly started typing, creeping across the screen as if I had set the text speed at slow instead of fast which is how I usually have it set.
"February 6, 19XX
Dear Friend,
It's my birthday today friend. My mom says I'm old enough now that I can start my own journey, she's even given me a poochyena. I named him Oliver. Me and him are going to go far, I know it. We're going to beat the league and become champions. We're going to be champions, friend. We're going to be legends.
Sincerely,
M̲͖̭̦͔͎ͪ͂͌-͖͍̞͌̍̊̓͂ͯ̐̂ͣͅ-̠̟̜̠͗ͧͅt̝̗̉ͪ-͍̠̟͗ṙ̹͇ͬ̎ͩ̔͒-̻͚͍̣̺͉̄̈́,"
I could only make out the M, t, and r in the name, since it was heavily coated in glitched up pixels.
After reading all the text, I tapped the A button, and it went back to the overworld. Now my interest was piqued. I wanted to know more about this person, I wanted to read more. I went over the other side of the table where more papers were and pressed the A button hoping more text would pop up. I wasn't disappointed.
"February 20, 19XX
Dear Friend,
I've made to Fuchsia City. I've trained Oliver to a high level and I think he's strong enough to fight the gym leader now. I also picked up a tentacool on the way here, and it's evolved into a tentacruel already. I didn't name it but I think he's going to be a good addition to our team.
Sincerely,
M̲͖̭̦͔͎ͪ͂͌-͖͍̞͌̍̊̓͂ͯ̐̂ͣͅ-̠̟̜̠͗ͧͅt̝̗̉ͪ-͍̠̟͗ṙ̹͇ͬ̎ͩ̔͒-̻͚͍̣̺͉̄̈́,"
I looked like that was the last of them, but I wanted to make sure, so I checked the other sides of the table too. The top yielded nothing, but when I tried the left side, another letter appeared.
"March , 30, 19XX
Dear Friend,
I'm sorry I haven't written in a while friend, I've been very busy with my Pokémon lately. I'm currently in Celadon City. I've already defeated the gym leader, Erika, and am now staying at a small hotel.
I was given a pokemon by a nice man, but I can't seem to recall his name. It's an eevee, just like you have. I named her shelly, but I'm not sure yet what I want to evolve her into. I have the three evolution stones that I purchased from the Celadon Department Store, but I just can't decide.
You haven't been writing back lately… are you getting these? I'm sure your busy, but I'd love to hear from you.
Sincerely,
M̲͖̭̦͔͎ͪ͂͌-͖͍̞͌̍̊̓͂ͯ̐̂ͣͅ-̠̟̜̠͗ͧͅt̝̗̉ͪ-͍̠̟͗ṙ̹͇ͬ̎ͩ̔͒-̻͚͍̣̺͉̄̈́,"
The letter screens faded and the overworld reappeared. I checked the sides of the table again just to make sure I hadn't missed anything, then went to exit the room.
It donned on me that I still didn't know how to leave the mansion. I'd almost forgotten that that was the reason that I was wandering around in here in the first place.
I continued exploring, moving from the first floor, to the second, and finally to the third, however, after much fruitless searching I was beginning to get frustrated. If I didn't find a way out soon, I figured I'd put the game up for a while and try again later. That's when I accidentally walked off the broken ledge on the third floor.
The screen went black for a moment and made the usual *Swoosh* that it makes when you fall, however when the black went away, I found that I wasn't in the Basement like I should have been.
I was at the bottom floor of the Pokémon tower.
I tried to leave, but once again I was met with the all too familiar message of "the door is locked,"
I sighed, looking at the floor of the tower. "Maybe this is some kind of special event that I activated on accident… or maybe a beta event," I thought to myself, wandering up to the front desk of the tower. The man said a short line of glitched, unreadable text, and then it said "SAM looked at the letter,"
Going back to the white screen with the slowly crawling text, it read:
"May 10, 19XX,
Dear Friend,
I've defeated the Saffron and Vermillion City gym leaders. Oliver evolved into a Mightyena and defeated the psychic type leader Sabrina with ease, while I used Shelly to beat the Electric gym. After the battle, I decided to evolve her into a Jolteon.
I'm in Lavender town now. There's no gym here, but… I don't know, I just like it here for some reason. It's a nice quiet town, maybe I'll settle down in a town like this someday.
Please write back soon.
Sincerely,
M̲͖̭̦͔͎ͪ͂͌-͖͍̞͌̍̊̓͂ͯ̐̂ͣͅ-̠̟̜̠͗ͧͅt̝̗̉ͪ-͍̠̟͗ṙ̹͇ͬ̎ͩ̔͒-̻͚͍̣̺͉̄̈́,"
I talked to the desk guy again, but he just spat out another gargled line of text. I tried a few other NPCs, but they just said their usual lines. I tried the door again, but it was still locked. The only option was up.
I began to climb the tower. I had checked my bag for repels, and it ends up I didn't have any. My charizard was at a high level, but traveling up the tower with ghastly popping out at me every two steps was really annoying. The channelers didn't battle me however, presumably because I'd already battled them all those years ago, back when I first played this game.
I wasn't long before I'd reached the top. It seemed normal, just as creepy as it usually was. Once I looked closer though, I noticed a small white square, right were Mr. Fuji stood the first time you go through the tower. I slowly approached it, not having the ability to run inside buildings. When I got there, I pressed "A," and another letter appeared.
"May 17, 19XX
Dear Friend,
It's terrible. Truly awful.
Oliver has run away. I don't understand it. I was always kind to him, I fed him well, I let him out of his pokeball often, and I never hurt him, but still he ran away. He seemed so happy I just can't fathom why he would want to leave me…
I feel so horrible friend, I wish you would write me back. I haven't heard from you in so long and I'm starting to feel lonely. Shelly is really sick, and the doctor says she might not get better.
Please write back
Sincerely,
M̲͖̭̦͔͎ͪ͂͌-͖͍̞͌̍̊̓͂ͯ̐̂ͣͅ-̠̟̜̠͗ͧͅt̝̗̉ͪ-͍̠̟͗ṙ̹͇ͬ̎ͩ̔͒-̻͚͍̣̺͉̄̈́,"
"There are small drops of dried water on the paper," a text box read as the screen faded back to the overworld, my sprite facing where the letter was lying on the ground.
I didn't like this anymore. It was getting sad. Despite my feelings though, my curiosity got the better of me. I traveled back down the tower, and strangely, I didn't face any pokemon on the way. It was quiet too. I had the volume at full, but the usual tower music wasn't playing.
When I made to the bottom, I tried the exit, and to my surprise, I was allowed to leave. I walked to the little girl outside the tower, the one who asks if you believe in ghosts. She didn't ask that this time.
"Mr. Fuji found something in the tower. He may show it to you if you ask nice,"
I tried talking to her again, but she just said her usual lines, asking if I believed in ghosts and giving me the comment about the white hand on my shoulder when I told her I didn't.
I walked the few steps it took to reach Mr. Fuji's house. Entering, I walked up to Mr. Fuji, tapping the A button. At first nothing happened. I tried again, but still, nothing. Finally, after the third time, Mr. Fuji turned to face me, uttering the lines:
"What? You want to see what I found in the tower?
Very well… just… please don't hurt it. It was from someone very important to me,"
"SAM obtained LOST MAIL,"
said another text box, though it didn't play the usual jingle.
"SAM read the LOST MAIL"
"May 23,
Shelly's gone. I don't have anyone else, friend. I don't even have you anymore. I don't know what to do, I just… I just don't know what to do. I'm so lonely. All I have is these stupid badges. They don't mean anything without Oliver and Shelly.
I wish you were here. Please write back.
Sincerely,
M̲͖̭̦͔͎ͪ͂͌-͖͍̞͌̍̊̓͂ͯ̐̂ͣͅ-̠̟̜̠͗ͧͅt̝̗̉ͪ-͍̠̟͗ṙ̹͇ͬ̎ͩ̔͒-̻͚͍̣̺͉̄̈́
I turned my sprite to walk outside, thinking that there might not be much more to this event than letters.
That was until I went outside.
The town had lost its signature lavender buildings, replaced by brownish houses with slightly rounded roofs. The tower was a few stories shorter than It had been, and it seemed to be built on top of a cave, the entrance being in a wall of rock instead of a manmade structure. The NPCs were different too, the girl in front of the tower now replaced by a man in a hat. I tried talking with him, but all I got was "…," and then him turning away from me.
My sprite had changed as well. Instead of her normal attire, she was now dressed in dark brownish-gray clothing, which still slightly resembled her original outfit. I checked her trainer card, but that was different too. It didn't have a picture on it anymore, and her information was messed up. Her name read "-̪͇͚̞͙̜y̠͓̲ͫs̮̱̺̘̮-͍̫͍͈͈̓͌ͯẽ͕͙͚͎̥͕ͩ̓́ͧͯ̾-͉͙̯̥̜̪̌͆̎̅ͩ͆̄y̟̣̻͚ͦͭ̃," and her badges were different. She was suddenly missing the first two badges, as well as the last one.
I exited out of her trainer card, and headed for the tower. I was about to head for the second story, but was stopped.
"Please wait!"
A text box read. My sprite turned to face the source of the text, a man with a brown hat and clothing, who ran up to her.
Suddenly a battle was started, a text box at the bottom saying "Pokemon Trainer -̪͇͚̞͙̜y̠͓̲ͫs̮̱̺̘̮-͍̫͍͈͈̓͌ͯẽ͕͙͚͎̥͕ͩ̓́ͧͯ̾-͉͙̯̥̜̪̌͆̎̅ͩ͆̄y̟̣̻͚ͦͭ̃ has challenged Friend,"
Neither -̪͇͚̞͙̜y̠͓̲ͫs̮̱̺̘̮-͍̫͍͈͈̓͌ͯẽ͕͙͚͎̥͕ͩ̓́ͧͯ̾-͉͙̯̥̜̪̌͆̎̅ͩ͆̄y̟̣̻͚ͦͭ̃'s nor "Friend's" sprite showed up on screen, their pokemon immediately being shown. -̪͇͚̞͙̜y̠͓̲ͫs̮̱̺̘̮-͍̫͍͈͈̓͌ͯẽ͕͙͚͎̥͕ͩ̓́ͧͯ̾-͉͙̯̥̜̪̌͆̎̅ͩ͆̄y̟̣̻͚ͦͭ̃ had a Tentacruel, while her opponent had a Flareon. It was easy to see how this would end. Tentacruel used Surf, and Flareon's HP was taken down quickly. Flareon used flamethrower, however, It did little damage to the Tentacruel. The Flareon was finished off with one final surf, and fainted, ending the battle.
Another text box popped up.
"Please… just listen to me. This isn't you! They've taken advantage of your grief, M̨͖͕̲̱̖͕̫̘̩͖̑̆͒͑̉̂ͫ͗̋̊͊ͪ̊͋́͌ͫͬ̀̕͘ỹ͗̊̍̄̇̅̉̚͡͏̦͕̫͎̮͕̩͙s̶̝͎͈̼͚͉̬̫̰̥͍̪̳̬̣͈̘͓ͯ̈ͭͪ̈̈ͩͭ͑ͤͥ̅̒̅́̚t̛̩̤̘̝̼̮ͬ̈͌̾̅̐̈́̋̇͢eͤ̿̐̋̽̑͋̇̅̈̆ͦ̀͡҉̴̯͓̰̻̺̠͚̩̼̣͎̫̺͙̞̞̗̀ͅr̸̨̝̝̳̯̝̞ͣͬͨ̓̉ͤ̏͛͐̊͐̚̕y̢͕͕̙̫͓̗̱̪̲̿ͯ͊̐͛͛̎ͮ͊͆ͨ̇ͮ͛ͦ͢! They've turned you into this! Please…
You can still come back,"
The screen then flashed between white and black a few times, then returned to the overworld. The man was now gone. My sprite stood there for a moment, while I was unable to move her.
Suddenly the picture changed. I was back in Mr. Fuji's house, right in front of the exit. My sprite was back to normal, sporting her usual red and blue clothes. I slowly walked up to Mr. Fuji. He had his back turned to me. I tapped the A button and another text box appeared, without him turning to face me.
"I didn't always live here, in Lavender town. I used to live on Cinnabar Island. I had a friend there once, who left to become a trainer."
"̝̣̫̳͖͉̽̈́̄́S̆̿͗ḩ̭͎̟̿̑͋ͪͦͯ́e̥̩̙͚̅̎ n̥̳̜̤̦ͦe̳͓̲̼̙̊͘ͅv͉͙ͭͯͭ̀̄̂ͨe̼̣̣̥̻̥ͣ̊͊̊ŗ͍͙ ̴̙̖̝̘̻̯̩ͧ͆̇c̛̮̤͖̜̥̘̾̅̿̊ͣa̜̖̜͎͚̒͠m̲̹͔ͦ̃̈́ͯ̄̋ȩ̰͔͚̫̙̩͖̔ͧ ̢̺̳̬̖͖͚͂ͦh͈̗͕̬̱͊̅̇̿̎ͯ͟o̭̹͎̖̙͇͋͐̎́͗ͅm̹͔̦̞̙̺̔̌̚eͣ͋͢"̨̱̠̪̫̖͌