I was always the kind of person to stubbornly reject new generations at first after the second generation, and generation five was no different. Though I played through the game and enjoyed my experience and the graphics, the Pokémon were all but appealing to me. I finally grew accustomed to my Serperior, but still wanted to find other companions that I actually liked. For a while I had been hoarding gold nuggets, among other rarities, to sell for money in preparation for EV training that special Pokémon, like a proper trainer would. It was not until that peculiar day in the depths of Relic Castle that I found that special Pokémon.
I was originally there for the storyline, and as usual was killing off the Team Plasma grunts with relative ease. Their dark-type Pokémon were no match for my Mienshao! Now typically when I am doing such a thing, I will use repels to ward off any pesky wild Pokémon, and that was the case this time as well…for a while. My last repel quickly wore off, and with a groan of frustration I had to press on. My first encounter happened in very few steps. Great.
I entered the battle with my Serperior, hoping to get it over quick, when a shocking sight beheld my eyes! A shiny Cofagrigus! I had never seen a normal one, let alone a shiny Cofagrigus, and I instantly knew it was something I wanted. I’ve been drawn to creepy things for as long as I can remember; stories, characters, monsters…so this was perfect!
In my excitement, even if I had known, I still would have overlooked the peculiarities of this particular Cofagrigus, like how its sprite showed it gaping open on occasion. It was difficult, but I carefully pounded down its health to a reasonable level, and, crossing my fingers, I sent out a Poké ball. Success on my first try! Laughing to myself, I jokingly named it Creephe, after a typo that a friend made that for some reason I found hilarious.
Overjoyed, I immediately admired the catch in my party. I had left a spot blank from the beginning in hopes that I would find a Pokémon of this generation I adored, and it was finally filled! Although I was itching to give Creephe a try, I realized that he might not be the best choice against the opponents I was about to face. Shrugging it off and intending to train him later, I took a step forward. A message popped up instantaneously. I read it, extremely curious:
“Creephe is hungry. Feed it a gold nugget?”
Weird. While I would have been interested to see the outcome, I still wanted to save as many as I could for cash for vitamins, so I selected no and continued. Not long after that I fought another grunt. I sighed heavily at first, remembering I had forgotten to switch to my Mienshao, but oddly enough, it was the Pokémon that came out. I could have sworn Serperior was in the first slot. Hastily defeating the grunt, I shrugged it off and went forward. I was challenged again. ”At least I have a fighting type,” I mumbled to myself as the battle started, but I had spoken too soon.
My mouth dropped open, when instead of my Mienshao, I was looking at the back of my Zebstrika. Extremely confused now, I struggled to win and opened my party afterwards. Even if I had been expecting it, I couldn’t have been prepared for what I saw. My Mienshao and my Serperior were both COMPLETELY absent from the party! Where had they gone!? Outraged, I felt like yelling at my DS, but I knew that wouldn’t help anything. Was this some sort of glitch? Had they rushed the release due to all of the hype? I couldn’t say, but I wasn’t ready to give up. After all, I still had three others besides Cofagrigus to use, right? I was about to engage yet another Plasma member when I was greeted by the same prompt as before:
“Creephe is hungry. Feed it a gold nugget?”
I was already too pissed to deal with this, so with a hard pound of the A button, I chose no. Soon after I was fighting the Plasma guy. I should have anticipated it, but my Zebstrika wasn’t sent out. Furious, I took out my anger on the Liepard and checked my party. Oh god…everything gone! Everything was gone except that stupid Cofagrigus! Creephe would be no use against the dark types, but I didn’t care anymore! It was after I had caught this stupid thing, so maybe it was to blame!
“Creephe is VERY hungry. Feed it a gold nugget?” flashed on the screen again, and I finally lost my cool.
Refusing to feed the greedy thing, and running into the next grunt, I was fully prepared to see this nuisance faint and get whited out. The grunt sent out a Liepard. Perfect! I was about to select attack, when the game suddenly grew a mind of its own.
Creephe used Bind!
What? Does it even have that move? I watched as its ghost-like arms enveloped the foe…I don’t remember Bind ever looking like that.
Liepard used Struggle!
How is that possible? Struggle is only used when no other move can be used! Don’t the Pokémon of trainers normally have full PP at the beginning of battles? And then…my stomach went cold. I stared in shock as the Liepard writhed in my Creephe’s powerful grip, letting out its cry. Creephe’s Mummy special ability activated, and bandages launched out to constrict it even more.
Creephe used Crush Grip!
I knew for SURE it didn’t know that move, but nonetheless, the Liepard was damaged! It fainted in a single blow, unable to even cry once more as is customary. But it wasn’t over; slowly Creephe’s arms dragged the motionless feline towards his body, then yanked it inside. The coffin slammed shut, and the match ended. I was shaking by then, wondering how they could put something so terrifying in a children’s game, when a message came up,
“Creephe: Kekeke. Are you still not enjoying your Pokémon team? I did…they were all wonderful.”
It finally dawned on me. This wasn’t a glitch! The Cofagrigus had been EATING my team all along!
“Creephe: However…I’m not satisfied…feed me, Spencer!”
Chills ran down my spine. My trainer was named Ash…Spencer is my real name! Before I could even press a button I was abruptly thrown into a battle. I was opposing Creephe, as myself. I glared vehemently at the screen, at that mocking smile. The game went on by itself.
Ash used Mean Look!
Ash’s sprite shared the scowl I was wearing.
Creephe used taunt!
“A ‘Proper Trainer’ would feed his Pokémon, before trying to make them stronger! You should have fed me…when you had the chance, Spencer. Kekeke!”
I swallowed and shook the DS violently. I attempted to run, but as expected it failed.
Couldn’t escape!
Creephe used Bind!
I wailed in agony, knowing what was coming.
Ash used Screech!
Creephe used Scary Face!
Its grin distorted and curled at the edges, its jagged teeth gnashing together as the coffin door swung open like a yawning mouth.
Ash used Struggle!
It was too late, I was already being dragged in. And then it happened; the Crush Grip finished the job, and with a sickening crack I saw myself yanked in, limp. The screen went black briefly, interrupted by a maniacal laugh and a close-up of those menacing, red eyes. I chucked my DS at the wall, trembling, and fled the room. Since that event, I haven’t been able to sleep.
I will keep the lights on, but whenever I accidentally doze off I see that face, that scary face, haunting me in my dreams. I tried restarting the game, hoping to evade that vicious, shiny Cofagrigus, but each time I am greeted by pitch black. Looking at my trainer card yields nothing but what might be a sleeping Cofagrigus, and the trainer name always shows up as, “EATEN”.