I catch up to Red just as he's exiting the Pokemon tower. "RED! Answer me, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Green, honestly." He glares at me, but I've known this kid since he was 6, and I can pretty much tell when he's lying through his ass.

"Uh-huh, and Scar likes girl Charizards."

Red rolls his eyes and tries to walk away from me.

"Oui!" I growl after him. The little shit needs to learn when people care about him, y'know?

"FOR ARCEUS'S SAKE, GREEN," he throws his hands up in the air and whips around. "DROP IT"

I shut my mouth, though I did have more to say to the asshole. I wrinkle my nose in irritation before spitting "fine" and walking off. If he wasn't going to answer me, so be it, but I knew something was up.

Green needs to fuck off for a while. You know what? Everyone does. Recently, they've all gotten together and decided the idea I'm off my rocker and on the floor sobbing, and that someone needs to pick my soppy ass back up. What's with associating me with rumors, anyways? Oh, look at me up the mountain with my "emo" hair and invisible six-pack. No. Where the living fuck did you get that from? Gold, probably. Yeah, I'd bet he'd like if I looked like that.

I'm perfectly fine. I am! I just wish everyone would stop this Taurosshit and leave me alone for like 5 minutes.

I didn't want to storm off like that, but his complete denial is pissing me and everyone else who loves him off, so I needed to be a little frank. I wish I could say I hated the 4 weeks of solitude, but I really didn't. I spent every Arceus damn second worrying about him, yeah, but the mere ability to walk around and not have to lecture him on how screwy his head was getting eased off a little bit. It was nice. Did I mention 4 weeks?

2 days ago, I'm in the store, when Red walks in. I turn to face him, and attempt an innocent "hello", and the fucked up kid looks as though I've shot his Arcanine and bolts out of the store. The clerk asked me what the issue was, and I didn't even know what to tell him. When I found Red again, how could I not call him out for it? It was rude and fucking freaky.

The other day, I was in the store. I saw Yellow. A long black tail flicked and she turned to face me. No one else was in the store, not even a clerk, so it was a bit suspicious. When she faced me, however, her eyes were pitch-black, and fangs had increased to an entire mouthful of sharp teeth. A set of four horns protruded from her hair, and parts of her body were engulfed in blue flame. No one else was in the store. I took off out of the store. So, why the fuck did Green lecture me on it, if he wasn't even there?

Every time I saw the kid, he was worse. I tried to invite him over my house, to maybe talk normally for once in 3 months, without him having a conniption fit over nothing, but my wishes weren't granted.

"GAHAHHHHHHHHHH" Red screeched.

"HOLY SHIT, WHAT?"

Red had his hands on the dining room table, his eyes widened with shear fear, screaming.

"THE FUCKING TABLE'S MELTING." He snaps back, his voice not lowering in tone at all.

I look at the table again. Dude. What the actual fuck.

"Red. The table isn't melting." I say coldly. With a tone that could calm a two year old, I continue to say "That's physically impossible."

Red's nose pulls into a snarl, and he glares up at me, as though I've offended him greatly. His eyes. Oh my fucking Arceus. They're red.

Red blinks, and appears to snap out of it. The house becomes eerily silent before he sits down and starts sobbing. I didn't know how to comfort him, so I sort of just put my soda can down and crouch by him, hoping he'll stop soon, or pray,tells me what the fuck's going on.

I felt nauseous, so I simply put my hands on the table. It starts melting and distorting as though wax. I try to pull my hands off the searing heat of the melting object, but they're glued. It's physically impossible, so why the fuck was it happening? Green tells me it's not, but I'd bet my Arceus-forsaken life on it that it most certainly was.

Another time, Red appeared to be looking at his stomach, examining what looked to be some rows of bruises. He was tracing them, as though trying to figure out where they came from.

"You ok?" I ask as gentle as possible.

"...I'm…Glitching out." He says quietly, as though a perfectly normal thing to say. He doesn't look up from his stomach.

"E-Excuse me?" I rasp out, kind of hoping I heard him wrong.

"My entire being is glitching out; the missing pixels are leaving bruises."

"Red…" I say, not believing I was actually attempting to tell this kid he needed a doctor again.

He pulls his shirt down and looks up at me. "We're in a video game. Do you not remember?"

"What? Remember what?"

"Try and remember before you were ten."

I thought for a moment. Whatever. That was 7 years ago, I forget sometimes. "No. But that's normal, what does that have to-"

"Because you were created as a ten year old; so was I. Do you remember your parents?"

"No."

"What happened to them?"

"I- I don't know, but-"

"Ever asked Oak?"

"Well, no-"

"Exactly." He said simply. "Why are we named after colors, and not anyone else?"

"Eh? I dunno, our parents-"

"What parents? I don't have any, yet there's a woman in my house constantly telling me she's so proud of me."

"Red, that's not-"

"Think about it, Green."

I huff. But I am thinking.

"…And now, my pixel make-up is getting old, and I'm glitching out."

Now I was scared. Not just because he was so fucked up he thought he wasn't even real, but that he was right.

The bruises got worse. They started appearing up my arms and legs. Even my face. I looked like a walking banana. What happened when I finally glitched entirely? The inner coloration of the oldest bruises were turning black. If I touched the black too hard, it came off on my finger in an ooze-like substance that evaporated not long after contact.

How could I prevent this? How long until Green began bruising? Did anyone ever notice Yellow had gone missing? I had to confront someone.

"Green, where's Yellow been?"

"Who?"

"The girl with blonde hair, we were friends? She's two years younger than us."

"Red, there's no one named Yellow, not ever."

"There was... How can you not remember her?"

Green shakes his head, as though pitying me. The bastard!

"Have you been getting bruises?" I say, rubbing the bridge of my nose in irritation.

"Eh? That again? Red-"

"HAVE YOU?"

Green's silent. Shit. I fucking knew it. "Where are they?"

"They're just from training, just a couple on my waist-"

"No… No!" I growl, "You assholes!" I shout upwards, hoping the unholy fucktard who created us can hear me loud and clear. "WHAT WILL YOU DO WHEN WE'RE GONE?!"

I get a sudden idea, as though someone had put it in my head. Remakes.

You're getting a new version, please do not be afraid. Everyone will love you again, and the glitches will stop.

The voice felt like Arceus. What even was Arceus? I don't know, but I'd been saying it since I could remember, which was about when I was ten. So, maybe… Creator?

I sigh, and feel tears slide down my face. Green's just watching me with an eyebrow raised, probably confused as shit.

I wake up and look out a single window in my bedroom. On the rug, a console sits in front of a TV. I rub my eyes, get out of bed, and get dressed. The mirror shows me to be a ten year old with brown hair and brown eyes, wearing a red vest over a black shirt with jeans. I have a yellow backpack. I head down stairs. My mother is at the table watching another TV.

"Oh, are you going out? All boys leave the house someday; it says so on the TV." I look at the TV, and it's blank. I ignore it.

I head out the door, not really sure what I'm doing. I see a large building. The word "Lab" pops into my head, and I enter. I see that kid far into the lab. What was his name again? I walk in anyway. What's my name?

I woke up with that question. My first answer was a number of things; I think "RED" was my final answer.

I guess the term would be "Man of many hats", wouldn't it? Or rather, "Man of many faces, outfits, and designs." Each time I moved games, I stopped glitching, but only then. Occasionally, I woke up on a mountain with a kid in front of me, prepared for what I figured was a battle. No matter how hard I tried, I never spoke when I woke up there. It seemed like a number of times I woke up there.

In the back of my head, I could somewhat remember what I thought were dreams. Some were long and dangerous seeming, others were of adventures. Sometimes I woke up and recognized the kid in front of me, other times I didn't. When I did, I couldn't even cry and shout "GOLD!" like I desperately wanted to. I stood there like an asshole and stared his obviously frightened and nervous face down before we started battling.

The only things I ever remembered were

I am from Pallet Town.

I am the Champion.

I died long ago, and everyone forgot me.