Do You Remember?

Credited to an anonymous writer on F Yeah Pokemon Creepypasta.

The first Pokémon game I ever owned was Pokémon Gold. I don’t remember my team entirely, but I remember the Pokémon I started with: Feraligatr. Feraligatr and I tore through the game, defeating trainer after trainer, even beating Red himself atop Mt. Silver.

And then the internal battery ran dry.

When that happened, I was devastated. I never regarded my Pokémon as simply bits of data, I saw them as friends. Having my save file deleted was akin to having a close friend die.

Over time, I continued to acquire games: Sapphire, Emerald, LeafGreen, Pearl, and Platinum. But I never forgot Gold.

It wasn’t long before I heard of the new remake of the Johto region games, HeartGold and SoulSilver. This offered the chance to play through my beloved Johto region for the first time since Gold died. As soon as they came out, I rushed to the nearest GameStop and picked one up.

As soon as I turned the game on, I felt a tingle in my fingers, an uncomfortable feeling that something was wrong. I shrugged it off as over-excitement and began the game. I named myself Xavier, as I always do, and went to go pick up a starter from Professor Elm.

When I reached the lab, I saw the familiar form of the rival (let’s call him Silver, for simplicity’s sake). I went up and spoke to him. What he said unsettled me.

“Welcome back.”

Welcome back? That wasn’t what he’d said in Gold, was it? That’s not what he’s supposed to say. I tried to speak to him again.

“…”

Nothing. I tried a few more times, then gave up and entered the lab. Professor Elm was waiting for me.

“Hello, XAVIER. Glad to see you again.”

What the hell?

“They are waiting for you. They have been for many years. Do you remember them?”

Here I was given a YES/NO option. Confused, but with a growing sense of suspicion, I chose NO.

“Hm. Pity. But of course, you wouldn’t remember, would you? Not someone like you. You’ve moved on.”

Here I lost control of my character. He walked over to the healing machine, where six Poké Balls waited. The screen faded out…

…then promptly faded in to a dark room. It took me a minute to realize where I was: the House of Memories, in Lavender Town. Mr. Fuji awaited me.

“They are waiting.”

I was led into an underground chamber. With horror, I realized that the graphics were changing. No longer were they the new, clear graphics of the DS; instead, they were pixelated, reminiscent of those of the GameBoy Color.

Upon reaching the lower chamber, Mr. Fuji stood aside.

“This is for you alone. I cannot stay.”

He left. And I was left to face these six gravestones.

“…”

What was this?

“…Hello again.”

“We’ve missed you.”

“Oh so much.”

“Do you remember?”

“Of course he doesn’t.”

“He’s moved on.”

Out of the graves came six figures, their detail horrific. Noctowl; Ariados; Togetic; Donphan; Hitmontop; Feraligatr. They were almost exactly as I remembered them. Except…I sensed an angry vibe from them.

“You’ve moved on.”

“You don’t remember us.”

“You don’t care about us.”

“You don’t want us.”

“You don’t need us.”

“You don’t love us.”

Here, I was given a YES/NO option. Confused, I clicked NO.

“No? You think us wrong?”

“He says that now. Look at him.”

“Yes. Smug, thinking he owns it all.”

“He never wanted us.”

“He never loved us.”

My old Feraligatr stepped forward. I could almost feel the breath of his enormous jaws on my face.

“Like it or not, XAVIER, we are yours. So if you will not permit us to join you…”

My character began to spin, like that of the Dig animation. But I knew I wasn’t escaping.

“You will join us.”

The screen zoomed in on my character’s face, and, for a split second, I thought I saw horror and fear in his pixilated eyes.

Then the screen went black.

I’ve begun playing through my older games now, games I hadn’t touched in months. Especially Sapphire. Because, when they remake the Hoenn games, I don’t want to be abandoned again…