Pokémon Creepypasta A to Z

Cubone's Revenge

PT. 1

I'm a big Pokémon fan. I always have been. Ever since seeing an article in "Contact Kids" about the notorious Porygon episode of the anime, I was hooked on the odd, colorful little creatures whose images littered the article. And when Pokémon finally made its way to America, I was the first person I knew of who started watching the anime and playing the games.

My first game was Pokémon Red. I traded a big pile of NES games at a flea market for the bright red cartridge with a Charizard on the front. No box, no manual. Just the game. And when I got home, I literally played it for nineteen hours straight, captivated by every new Pokémon species I saw and constantly searching each area for ones I might not have seen. It wasn't long after that when I got a brand new copy of Blue. And Yellow came the Christmas after it was released with all others following as soon as they came out.

But despite my loving every Pokémon species and game that's come out, I've always been trapped in the first and second generations. I had a massive Pokémon collection, and I recently decided to sell off most of my collection and focus on filling in the gaps in my Generation I collection. And there was one piece that I really wanted more than any other.

Pokémon Red.

I still had the old original cartridge, restarted several times, the top of the labeling worn from being pulled in and out of the Game Boy so many times. And I had every other role-playing game in the series with the original boxes and manuals, some even unopened. So I was thrilled to find a boxed copy of Pokémon Red in a used book store, and it was only $10! I bought it and was so excited to finally complete my game collection. I decided when I got home to put it in my teal Game Boy Color and make sure it still worked. But as I turned the box over to open it, I noticed one little flaw to my new prize. The vintage Sugimori Cubone image on the side looked like it had been drawn on with a red pen or marker. The eye was red, with a red tear trickling down the skull, the base of the skull also covered with red, as though blood flowed down its body from beneath the skull. Oh, well. No matter, as long as the game worked.

My husband went to bed because he had to work the next morning, but I stayed up to play the game. I took the red cartridge from the box and lovingly slid it into my Game Boy Color, then I switched the power on. I was thrilled to see the copyright information come up, with the simple little star animation that had become so foreign to me after having played the new games so much. I pressed Start until I reached the title screen, with Red holding a Pokeball, random Pokémon scrolling by, beginning with the version's beginner, Charmander. I listened to the lively, regal title music as I watched the Pokémon scroll by. A Gastly... then a Cubone... then another Gastly. It always seemed like certain Pokémon showed up on that title screen more often than others. I've always wondered if every Pokémon except for Mew would show up.

I pressed Start, and the game took me to the menu, with only "NEW GAME" and "OPTIONS" being my choice. Either I had had the uncanny luck of finding a game that had never been played before, or the bad luck of getting one with a dried internal battery. I chose "NEW GAME" after switching to fast text in the Options menu. Professor Oak greeted me as always, a Nidorino with a Nidorina's call representing all Pokémon. I chose the name "Ruiyo" for my character after an OC I used to play as when my friends and I would role-play Pokémon nearly a decade ago. I named my rival "Blue", since I've always had trouble figuring out an original name for him. And the game went from there. I chose Charmander, partly because Ruiyo had been a Fire-type trainer, and partly because I've always liked choosing the starter that corresponded to the version. Fire types for the first versions, Water types for the second, and Grass types for the special editions, like Crystal and Emerald. Before taking on Blue for the first time, I tried my luck at saving. And sure enough, the game saved!