Mindfucks/creepypastas em pokémon

THE YELLOW CARTRIDGE

I've never been a real superstitious person until lately. I used to be fearless, horror movies didn't even phase me, after all, ghosts, demons and bad spirits weren't real… Were they? I used to believe that until I bought an old used Pokemon Yellow cartridge.

When I was a little girl I owned Pokemon Blue, and eventually my brother's Pokemon Red. I played them and loved them, and then moved on to Silver, Gold, Crystal, Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald… Well you catch the drift. After I received a Fire Red for Christmas it brought back memories of my younger days and how I had always wanted to play Pokemon Yellow, to have Pikachu follow me around and own all three starter Pokemon, I became obsessed with it almost. I had to play it. So I checked everywhere, used game shops and even stores like Game Stop where they had used and new games.

I almost gave up, thinking it was useless, until my friend Dani took me to a Flea Market. I figured, what the hell, if she wanted to go around buying peoples junk go for it. So to the Flea Market we went and as we were walking along I saw it. A small yellow square, easily fit into the palm of a hand, my hand. There was an orange sticker with “3$” written on it in black ink. The game I had been searching for, the game I thought I would never be able to play, could be fine for just three dollars. I was beyond ecstatic, I was beyond happiness. I looked up in pure happiness only to be met by the eyes of the old woman running the table, I remembered thinking that she looked incredibly old, her wrinkles had wrinkles.

She kind of just looked at me, her mouth opened a few times as if she wanted to say something but couldn't. Finally she took the money I had offered in my hands, gave me my change and I was on my way, plastic yellow clutched in my hand.

I had been so happy to finally get home later, and I admit I might have rushed Dani along quite a bit to her annoyance. It was worth it, she would get over it and I would get to play my game. So up I started it, setting up everything with Oak, choosing my name. Now, normally I would just name my character Ash and my rival Gary because I liked to pretend I was in the series, but this time I named my character Sarah. I don't know why I felt like I had to, but that's not the weird part. Oak's dialogue was changed, when he gave me the Pikachu instead of his usual “Here's your Pokemon” that he gave in Red and Blue he said

“Sarah, keep Pikachu near you always. It will protect you.”

I didn't think much of it at the time, after all I had never played Yellow before so how was I to know that wasn't what he normally told new trainers. What really creeped me out though is instead of the male sprite that I should have had, the one it showed me when I typed in my name, there was now a female in its place. A female sprite with dark, curly hair.

Now I knew something was wrong, female sprites weren't introduced as a playable character until Crystal, what was going on? Why did she have dark curly hair, like me. I remember clearly how weirded out I was in that moment, but I ignored it and decided to keep playing. After all I had waited so long for this, a few glitches weren't going to hold me back.

That's what I told myself, it was an old game, it was probably just a glitch. Soon, that would become my motto. 'Just a glitch'.

Because that wasn't the only weird thing in this game.

My Pikachu started out following right behind me, which I assume is normal, and it grew to love me as it tends to do as you keep playing, but it started following me a little less closely. Soon it was a little step behind me, then two. The further it seemed to get the darker my screen would get, as if something was messing up. I was playing on my original GBC though and just figured 'It was an old game, and a old hand-held, nothing more than a weird glitch'.

I was so naive and stupid, I should have just quit the game, this sense of darkness was pressing down on the the more I played, and play I did. I couldn't help it, I felt feverish if I wasn't playing, almost possessed to keep going. To finish the game. And still Pikachu kept getting further and further behind me until he was barely on the same screen with me.

I kept going, the screen was almost pitch black and then… Pikachu was gone, the music stopped at one high pitched note almost like a scream, the screen completely blacked out. I hadn't even reached Blaine yet, and everything seemed over.

A dialogue box appeared with the words “Sarah's blacked out” over and over it repeated itself every time I pressed any buttons.

I tried restarting the game, it brought me to the main menu, so I chose 'Play Game' and it just took me back to that dark empty screen, as if it had saved itself before I switched it off and turned it back on. So next I tried putting it in my GBA, still a black screen with those three words. I felt panicked now, it was a feeling I couldn't explain. Like I had to finish the game, that game, not another Pokemon Yellow but the one I had. The game wouldn't let me finish it though. It wouldn't even let me start a New Game.

And now weird things keep happening, and I keep remembering little things. The woman's stare as she tried to tell me something but acted as if she couldn't, Professor Oak telling me to keep Pikachu near me to protect me.

That sense of darkness I had felt, that was growing stronger, is now overwhelming wherever I go. Ever since that game messed up weird things have been happening. I wake up in the middle of the night and see ghostly faces that aren't there anymore after I blink, I almost got hit by a car in a parking lot the other day.

Even now as I'm typing this and sharing my story with you I feel this evil presence, as if I were to turn around right now it would be standing behind me, waiting just a little bit longer…
My name is Sarah, and I caution you please… If you one day stumble across a Pokemon Yellow and Professor Oak tells you to keep Pikachu near you, throw it away. Destroy it. Stop playing that game. Because after a while not even Pikachu can keep you safe.