Strangled red

There are tons of stories out there about hacked Pokémon games. Some 
of them really quite neat such as the one about a version where you get a
 ghost as a starter.
Some are ridiculous, silly stories about individuals dying after playing a game, or the game talking to them. 
God, don't these writers know less is more when it comes to these stories? Ah well, I digress.
I grew interested in these hacked games that are apparently in 
any thrift store, on eBay, or handed out by homeless people to random 
passersby.
I didn't have the pleasure of meeting these creepy people, I 
merely found this particular cartridge in a trash bin when the garbage 
truck backed into my neighbor's dumpster.
I noticed the game and asked the trash man if I could take it, 
and he didn't seem to mind. It was thrown away after all. I of course 
checked with my neighbor to confirm if they actually didn't want it, 
though they seemed perplexed, as if they'd never seen it in their life.
Their son made a grab for it, a little boy who saw the charizard 
on the cover, crying out "Pokémon! I want mommy!", but his mother told 
him no, seeing as I found it. He didn't even have a game boy anyway, he 
just liked Pokémon.
Thinking nothing more, I simply went home, looking at the 
cartridge's sticker on the way. Just a plain old Red Version, the 
sticker torn slightly across the Charizard's neck, but that was expected
 with such an old game. I had Blue Version as a kid, so I was a bit 
eager to see the, albeit minimal, differences Red Version had. I was 
rather disappointed by what I saw when the title screen showed up.
"Pokémon: Strangled Red Version."
Well damn it, it was a hack. Hacks were neat and all, but they 
had zero monetary value, the originals quite valuable by now, and I 
wanted to play Red anyway, not this crap. Oh well, it was free, might as
 well try it.
The name was odd however, Strangled Red? That made no sense, not 
even in a morbid description of someone being asphyxiated, as people 
turn blue when choking, not red. Who knows, maybe there was a pair of 
these hacks and I just got the red one.
The more I thought about this though, the more interested I 
became. My initial disappointment turned into curiosity, I wanted to 
know what the creator had made, and I was going to note everything I 
saw. The first oddity I noticed was the start screen had a Charizard 
next to the trainer instead of a Charmander, also, the Pokémon never 
cycled through like the original versions did, it just stayed Charizard,
 even after five minutes of waiting.
Shrugging, I hit start, noticing there was no Charizard cry as I did, like there was supposed to be.
I saw there was a "Continue" option, so I figured I'd do what 
everyone did with used games and see what the previous owner had done.
"… No…"
I blinked in surprise. No? What do you mean no? The game wouldn't
 let me continue no matter what, though on the fourth attempt, I heard 
the Charizard cry, quiet and barely audible, but there. Shrugging it 
off, I decided to just hit New Game, like I would have done after 
checking the old file anyway.
The screen cut to black for a while, no Prof. Oak, no starting 
theme, just nothing at all. Eventually, the screen came back, showing a 
bedroom, two beds, two TVs, and a computer in the corner. My trainer 
sprite was the usual one, consistent with the original Red Version. I 
was curious as to why it didn't ask my name, though that was answered as
 I opened the pause menu, noticing my Trainer was named "Steven". No, 
this isn't my real name or some stupid crap like that, this game isn't 
self-aware or haunted, at least not that I know of, it just had a name 
chosen already.
Curious, I saw he had the starter amount of money, no badges. He 
didn't look like red though, his hair was longer, almost reaching 
halfway down his back, Red's usual smile replaced with a confident 
smirk. Honestly, I found this sprite much cooler than Red.
Next I checked out his Pokémon, a single Charmander, level five, 
named "Miki". Nothing was odd about it… or should I say her, with the 
name and all. She had beginning Charmander stats, only knew Scratch and 
Tail Whip, basic stuff. The game seemed relatively normal.
Returning to the game, I walked about the room, noticing Steven's
 long hair was present on the back of my trainer sprite when my back was
 turned to the camera. I didn't recognize the house, but I descended the
 stairs to see more. Downstairs was another trainer, who spoke to me the
 instant I came down.
Mike: Ready yet?
Steven: Yeah.
I assumed this "Mike" was my rival, pre-decided for me, a 
replacement of Blue most likely, though I thought back to the bedroom 
having two beds, realizing they weren't just rivals, they were brothers.
 They talked back and forth, basic Pokémon dialogue, become a 
pokémaster, catch em all, stuff like that, before having a little 
argument over which is better, Charmander or Squirtle, which of course 
led to the introduction battle, like the one vs. Blue in the lab. Simple
 enough, Scratch, Tackle, Scratch, Tackle, til I won purely for having 
the first turn.
I took note of how much better Steven's sprite looked in combat 
than Red's, a different pose, his hair looking like it was blowing in 
the wind, a brief, minor upgrade, but still, much nicer.
I left the house after some more banter with my "brother", 
stepping out to the Pallet Town theme. Going to the east, I found this 
was indeed Pallet Town, the house was simply on the outskirts to the 
west. I noted there was no mysterious grassy field like in normal Pallet
 Town. Wandering about, I decided to check in on Red's home.
His mother was inside and when I talked to her, she commented on 
how handsome Steven looked, hoping her son would look up to him as a 
role-model for when he became a trainer himself next year, which of 
course led me to realize this game took place a year before the original
 Pokémon. Red was even upstairs, playing the SNES in his room, 
commenting "I'm gonna be the best too when its my turn!"
I was starting to like this hack. It was interesting, a 
completely new adventure, a different character, hell, Steven even 
seemed to have a history with the people in his town, a reputation, a 
personality beyond a silent protagonist. The people in town talked to 
him as a person, making conversation, not just spouting tutorial crap. 
Even Blue's sister had new dialogue, they seemed to be in a relationship
 too, as the dialogue ended with a kiss and a heart over her head.
Prof. Oak simply wished me well, giving me a Pokedex to aid my 
adventure. He wasn't giving it to me to be the reason behind the 
adventure like every other Pokémon game out there, he gave it to me out 
of kindness, something to help me on my way, a gift. I was liking this 
more and more with each second, the game seemed to have an actual story 
now! I was somebody, not just a cookie-cutter protagonist anyone could 
be, not some blank sheet that could be replaced without notice.
The story was different, though the actual game play remained 
unchanged. I went north like I was supposed to, went from town to town, 
collected badges, received the praise of the leaders. Steven's fame even
 seemed to spread, as some NPCs would talk like the knew him. 
I used Miki for every battle, and she was growing surprisingly 
fast. She handled Brock with ease, even pounded Misty with no trouble at
 all. She wasn't as adversely effected by super-effective attacks as 
others, did more damage than a regular Charmander, she was a veritable 
powerhouse! She even became a Charizard at the mere level of 
twenty-five, not bad at all I must say.
Things started to get weird though as soon as I reached Lavender 
Town. I know, I know, Lavender Town is the focus behind every creepy 
story and the like, but it was the only place that was noticeably 
different. There was no Team Rocket invasion, which I found odd, though I
 did remember this was a year in the past, so the invasion wouldn't 
occur until Red's time. I tried to enter Pokémon tower, aiming to get a 
Ghastly, but that's when it go odd.
Steven: I have no reason to be here…
Steven wouldn't go into Pokémon Tower no matter what I did. This 
was weird, I mean hell, there are a million places in Kanto you really 
have no need to be, little random houses with nothing but children NPCs 
for example.
Why was it here that Steven wouldn't enter?
With a shrug, I figured I wouldn't need a Ghastly, seeing as Miki
 could handle anything, so I simply went on my way, Lavender Town 
serving no purpose other than a passageway with a poke center.
The game progressed normally from there, the remaining gyms fell 
and eventually I made my way to the Elite Four and defeated them.
As with Blue, my "brother" Mike was there before me, initiating 
the championship battle, which Miki swept with ease. The aftermath of 
the battle was quite pleasant, none of the tension that was present 
between Red and Blue at the end of their match, the brothers 
congratulated each other on their progress and shook hands, before the 
screen went white, no Hall of Fame, nor any credits.
When the screen came back, it was at the house again, the two brothers sitting at the computer, conversing with each other.
Steven: I don't want too…
Mike: Come on, I just gotta borrow her for a second to finish the
 Pokédex, the entry won't register unless she recognizes me as master 
for just a second. 
Steven: But she's my Miki…
Mike: I promise I'll give her back, come on, please?
->Yes?
No?
I was a bit perplexed, so I hit No to be cautious.
Mike: Come on, please?
NO
Mike: Come on, please?
I realized this would simply continue to loop until I hit yes, so I did, just to see what would happen.
Mike: Alright, this will just take a sec, then we'll both be pokemasters! 
Steven: ........
The screen changed to the animation shown when two people trade 
Pokémon, which I found a bit weird, seeing as I was solo, but whatever, 
this was what was apparently supposed to happen. Miki went first, I 
watched lazily as she began to travel down the trading tube.
SNAP!
That made me jump, the sudden noise resonating in my silent 
bedroom, loud due to the volume being way up. Looking at the screen, I 
noticed the game had seemed to freeze, Miki still in mid-trade, but the 
game wasn't doing anything.
With a sigh, I just turned off the game, wondering when my last 
save was. When the game turned back on, I stared for a moment at the 
start screen, there was no Charizard next to the trainer. Upon pressing 
start, I saw the New Game option was absent, leaving only Continue. This
 was… strange to say the least, so I selected it, the game staring 
without even showing my stats as usual. 
My jaw dropped at what I was greeted with.
ONE YEAR LATER
The Lavender Town theme came first, playing its normal way, the 
screen slowly fading in from blackness. Steven was in the Pokémon Tower,
 which made the music even stranger, seeing as the tower had its own 
theme. He was standing in front of a tombstone, not doing anything. 
Wondering what was going on, I pressed A.
Steven: …
Confused, I tried walking, realizing I was indeed in control at 
the moment. I brought up the pause menu and checked my party. Miki was 
gone. Not just Miki, all Pokémon. He had nothing, The Pokedex was absent
 from the menu, his bag was empty. Honestly concerned now, I checked his
 trainer card.
He had no money. He had no badges. His play time was 8,795 hours,
 which was impossible as I had only 30 logged in before. But that wasn't
 the strangest part. 
His picture, the picture of the handsome, confident young trainer 
was…different. His eyes were blank, his face turned slightly down, that 
smirk of his was gone, replaced by a lack of any expression at all, that
 long hair of his, before in a perfect perm, was now messy and unkempt. I
 couldn't look at him any more, closing the menu, I went to move out of 
the tower, but with every step I took away from the tombstone, the 
screen flickered, like it did when a Pokémon was poisoned.
Gulping, I brought up the trainer card again, his picture was 
getting worse. Every step I took, he hung his head more and more, his 
shoulder slumped, he bent over. By the time I had exited the tower, he 
was on his knees, hands to his face, hair draped across him.
I had guessed already what was going on, but this clinched it. I 
began to put some things together in my mind. I had always wondered why 
there was no champion in the original games besides your rival. Why is 
it you, the protagonist, had to beat your rival, when he just waltzed 
in, no previous champion to challenge.
Then, it struck me. The answer was right here. 
The previous champion gave up.
His precious Miki was apparently dead, and with her, so died part
 of him. His Pokedex, the other Pokémon, his badges, his fame, all of 
it, he threw it away. In that year, the year that I missed, the year 
where all those hours came from, I even did the math, there is 8765 
hours in a year, add that to my 30 from before and it matched up.
Even so, the game kept going, this should have been an ending I 
thought, I mean, what else was there to do? I had no Pokédex, no 
Pokémon, not anything. What was I supposed to be doing? I talked to 
everyone in the town, but they all said similar things.
"Are you OK?"
"Still mourning I see…"
"Everything will be alright…"
"Please… Is there anything we can do?"
Steven never replied to them, and they all simply said the same 
things over and over. I couldn't put the game down now, this was all so 
strange. Curious, I headed off into the tall grass, and eventually got 
into a battle with a Rattatta. No Pokémon was sent out, just Steven's 
sprite. I was wondering how I'd battle.
Wild RATTATTA left you be.
The battle ended without anything happening. This was certainly interesting, and it happened with every Pokémon I encountered.
Wild PIDGEY ignored you.
Wild PONYTA wandered off.
The music never changed either. No matter where I went, Lavender 
Town came from the speakers, following me, sometimes slowed down 
slightly, sometimes not. I searched everywhere, every town, talked to 
every body, wondering just what the hell I needed to do.
My frustration was mixing with the depressing atmosphere of all 
this, making the experience all together unnerving and uncomfortable, 
but I couldn't tear myself away. I was starting to get a bit angry 
though, nobody telling me anything besides giving me their condolences 
and trying to give me items like LEMONADE or COFFEE, each met with:
Steven: … No…
I slapped myself for idiocy, suddenly realizing how the likely 
answer was right in front of me, Pallet Town of course! When I went 
there though, which took a long time, having to walk, no Pokémon to fly 
with, no bicycle to ride, and Steven only seemed to move half the 
regular movement speed, it wasn't much different. I first tried talking 
to Prof. Oak.
"These things happen… you were just unlucky."
Next I tried Blue's sister.
"Please… Don't leave home again…"
Red's mom wouldn't even talk to me at all. With nowhere else in 
mind to go, I walked to the west, finding the house from the beginning, 
which I had never entered since leaving Pallet Town. Inside was Mike, 
but talking to him was just as useless.
Mike: I'm so sorry…
I pondered for a moment if this really was the ending, Steven 
doomed to do nothing but roam Kanto in misery, haunted by the memories, 
forced to listen to everyone's concerns about him. As a last ditch 
effort to do anything, I went to the bedroom and walked over to the bed.
Steven: I'm going to sleep…
The screen faded to black for a moment, but then slowly faded 
back in, the world having a black tint to it, the Mike's sprite laying 
in the other bed, I assumed this meant it was night.
Steven: I'm going to do it…
Do what? Again, I had no idea, tried inspecting everything in the
 room, nothing happened. As soon as I left the house, another dialogue.
Steven: IT can bring her back… IT can do anything…
What in the hell was IT? Something that could do anything, I 
couldn't for the life of me figure it out. Wandering about, I tried to 
leave Pallet Town the usual way.
Steven: Not that way.
He wouldn't go any further, I tried the homes.
Steven: Screw them…
I quirked my eyebrow at that, forgetting for a moment this was 
not a real Pokémon game, the vulgarity just took me off guard. I 
continued to look around, but there was nowhere I could go, until I 
accidentally stepped on the ocean, and Steven walked right in, only the 
upper half of his sprite visible, like the swimmers you encounter in the
 Cerulean gym. I didn't know he could swim…
Steven: The missing one…
Missing one? I paused for a moment, no, he couldn't possibly 
mean… that, I hadn't tried the MissingNo trick on this hack yet, but it 
just fit too well, that had to be what he meant. I "surfed" all the way 
towards Cinnebar. I began to feel something was off, more so than this 
already was. Silence. The Lavender Town theme had stopped, there was no 
noise at all, nor were there any Pokémon. I just kept going, finding 
Cinnebar and surfing up and down the east coast, lo and behold.
Wild MISSINGNO appeared!
Steven: Mine…
Wild MISSINGNO was caught!
What the hell? Steven didn't do anything, he just commanded that 
atrocity of broken data to join him, no, become his possession, and it 
did. I was getting more and more disturbed by this all, checking the 
start menu, I saw MissingNo was not in my party, but instead an item, 
making things even stranger. I checked the trainer card as well. Steven 
has his back to me, his long hair draped behind him, his hands in his 
pockets, nothing else.
Remembering what he said at the start of this night, I realized 
what I had to do… 
I surfed to land and made my way northeast to, where else, Lavender 
Town. Along the way, I noticed all the trainers, oddly still out at this
 hour, wouldn't look at Steven, all of them turning when he passed, even
 those that were normally static. I tried talking to one of the officers
 in the guard-house type buildings.
"Just go…"
They all said the same thing, though one sent chills down my spine.
"Sometimes dead is best."
My hands were sweating by this point, Steven was about to try the
 impossible, something some would see as a crime against nature, which 
many of these people shared that opinion. I steeled myself, it's just a 
game, and I was going to complete it.
It took an eternity to reach Pokémon Tower, but I got there eventually, 
taking a deep breath and heading toward the tombstone, I remembered 
which one, the image of Steven standing before it was burned into my 
mind after all. First, I tried inspecting it.
Steven: Miki…
Nothing happened. With a gulp, I opened the menu and selected MissingNo from the bag.
OAK: Steven, don't use it!
I was reminded of when Prof. Oak would magically tell you that 
you couldn't use a Key Item somewhere, like when using the bicycle in a 
building, though the message this time was different, even worse, Steven
 responded to it.
Steven: In a world that cheated me, why should I play fair…
Steven used "It"!
……………………… 
……………………… 
……………………… 
………………………
Steven obtained M@#$!
What in God's name did I obtain? I couldn't tell you, because the
 game took away my control. Without my input, Steven began to leave the 
tower on his own, walking single step by single step. The Lavender Town 
theme started again as he left the tower and began his excruciatingly 
slow journey against my will.
Every time he crossed one of the borders where the music would 
change, it got progressively slower, more and more disturbing, by the 
time he reached Cerulean City, it was a demonic rumbling. I just stared,
 watching him, trying to guess where he was going, but it was getting 
more and more obvious. He was heading to Pallet Town.
The music had all but stopped when he got there, playing single 
note by single note. He went exactly where I had guessed, right to his 
own house, inside, and up the stairs.
At this point, there was no music, Steven moved step by step, 
stopping at his brother's bed, turning to face him. At first, I though 
the game froze, he didn't do anything, simply stood there, and I 
couldn't move him. I did however, find out I could open the pause menu. I
 was terrified to look, but I couldn't stop myself. I selected his 
trainer card.
There was a low growl noise, like a distorted Pokémon cry. Steven
 was looking at me again, directly at the screen. He was hunched over, 
his bangs obscuring his face, his hair was wild and feathered out.
Between his bangs, there wasn't even a face at all, just black, 
two red eyes looking straight forward, a white grin contrasting with the
 darkness. That wasn't all.
His name was now S!3v3n.
I couldn't look away, my eyes glued to his, not breaking contact 
for some time. My vision was getting blurry until I couldn't see very 
well, my face grew wet. I was crying, like a baby.
There was nothing I could do to hold back the tears. I was with 
this boy from the start, I built him up to greatness, and was then 
forced to watch his decline after a tragic accident, and now…he was 
this. This thing, this abomination.
I watched him go insane.
Halting my tears, wiping my eyes, I closed out of the trainer 
card and tried to save the game, wanting to just quit. The game informed
 me this was impossible.
"Nothing can be saved now."
The pause menu wouldn't close no matter what I did, so with no 
other option, I checked the bag, nothing happened. I checked Pokémon, 
and there was one. A single sprite met me, it had zero HP, it's status: 
DED, its name M@#$. I selected it, and I was greeted with four options.
->STATUS
"Its her…"
->SWITCH
"Never"
->CLOSE
"…No…"
->STRANGLE
My fingers shaking, I selected STRANGLE, and the menu closed, showing Steven in the room again.
S!3v3n: Goodbye…
SNAP!
The game shut itself off. I was more dumbfounded than frightened. In a
 bit of shock, I turned it back on, the title screen showing the manic 
S!3v3n and a horribly glitched Charizard. I pressed start, then 
Continue.
All I saw was a zoomed out view of Pallet Town, showing Steven's 
home to the west, tall grass surrounding it, those unmovable stones 
blocking it from the rest of the town.
The image was completely static, no music, no movement, before fading to white, going back to the title screen.
It was as it had been when I first popped it in. A trainer and a Charizard. I attempted to hit continue.
"… No…"