The Aegislash

I have always been a fan of Pokemon since the days of Gold and Silver. One day I walked into EB Games and something caught my eye that I wanted to buy really badly: a used copy of Pokemon Sword. The guy told me I could purchase it for $25, but to "beware" of the game

I purchased it happily and ignored his warning. I slapped the cartridge into my Switch and began playing. I chose my starter Pokemon, I beat the main story arc, defeated the gym leaders and beat Eternatus. I loved the legendary dogs of this generation; they looked majestic. I got myself a Japanese Zamazenta from the GTS and I caught myself Zacian. I was all set to go catch that Aegislash. I had my team of six with me and Zacian was the head of my party.

A dialogue box popped up saying "you need to catch Aegislash at the canyons".
I went to go and as I did there were other dialogue boxes popping up on my screen as I walked. One of the dialogue boxes warned me "Turn back now while you have the chance". I stupidly ignored the message, my instincts told me to explore further. Two more dialogue boxes popped up, "Get Out" and "Don't venture any further" but I slapped my head and this just made me want to explore even more because of my curiosity. One more dialogue box popped up "It's too late, you should have turned back while you had the chance. Death awaits you now..". Chills were running down my spine as I went into the room containing Aegislash.

The music just started and I was gusted into battle. The screen didn't even flash, not even a cut-scene but I just pushed that thought to the back of my mind. Zacian was the first Pokemon I sent out; I selected the move Crunch. Before I could even attack Aegislash used Curse which caused Zacian to faint in one turn. Curse normally cuts the users HP in half then cuts the enemy's HP every turn. Within four turns the enemy should faint but Aegislash didn't take any damage, "Huh that's weird" I thought because if you're a Ghost-Type you lose half of your HP then the enemy's HP every turn. However that move just Knocked out my Zacian in one hit.

No matter, I figured I had five other Pokémon who could weaken Aegislash just as well, but when the screen changed for me to call out my next Pokémon, I couldn't help but gape in disbelief. The other five Pokémon I had with me initially, had vanished. There was only one other Pokémon in my party that I could use, and that was the Japanese Zamazenta I had gotten from the GTS earlier. I sent out Zamazenta and selected the move Fire Fang. Just like before, Aegislash moved first (which was impossible - sure he was a higher level but his speed stat was slower) and used Curse, which devastatingly hit my Pokémon once more.

After Zamazenta fainted, I placed my finger on the power button, ready to turn off the system. I was furious. I assumed that it was one of those Creepy Pasta games. My plan from here was to restart the game so I could backtrack to the main entrance and fly to a nearby town where I could trade for an Aegislash of my own from the GTS. However, just before I was about to flip the power off on my Switch the screen faded to black and the option for choosing a Pokémon substitution appeared again on the screen.

Much to my surprise, the Pokémon I opted to substitute were my already fainted Zacian and Zamazenta. Their health bars were completely full again, but instead of the normal green colouration which would indicate high health, it was red. Baffled, curiosity got the better of me and I selected Zacian to see what would happen.

I really wish I had just shut off the game when I had the chance.

The screen faded back into the battle as Zacian was sent out once more, but something was wrong. Zacian looked different. Its sprite looked all mangled and bloodied: The closest part toward the screen of Zacian's face looked as though it had been torn apart and the crown which once rested upon his majestic forehead had also been peeled away, exposing the skull underneath. Its eyes were a deathly red instead of their normal yellow, which sunk deep into their black sockets like a forboding sinkhole opening up into the earth's crust. Black ooze trickled and slid out from the deepening socketswere accented by the sinking black sockets surrounding them and its ribcage seemed to be showing. Additionally, Zacian's wingblade on the furthest side of the screen seemed to be broken and shredded, making the Pokémon look freakishly unbalanced as it moved in its slowest animation as though its health was at a critical level along with the alarming beeping sound that accompanied it. What really set me off though was the sound of its cry. It was long, distorted and droning, and crackled a little midway through. I felt sick. The current state of my Zacian made it remarkably difficult for me to look at it further, so I turned my attention to Aegislash instead so that I wouldn't double over in illness.

But as I looked at Aegislash, I noticed it had changed too. Unlike my Zacian however, Aegislash didn't look disfigured, but "stronger" rather, for lack of a better way to describe it. The parts that were formerly a bronze-gold colour now appeared to be entirely gold and to be a lot shinier and its stance was more majestic than it was normally. Studying its form further, I then noticed something that sent chills through my body. Aegislash had parts of Zacian's crown and wingblades fused to his forehead and shoulders and the hilt of Zacian's sword now ordained the once beautiful crown and looked remarkably similar to those in Zacian's design.

Fear gripped me. It was almost as if Aegislash had absorbed parts of Zacian into itself in an attempt to be "true" again much like what the story from the books I had read at the Galarian library had warned me. I shook my head, feeling stupid for even humouring the notion. This was just some sort of sick game... right?

Before I could do anything else, a dialogue box suddenly appeared.

"Aegislash wants to be true again..."

The animation for Zacian hurting itself played and its health dropped significantly until it only had one remaining hit point.

Another dialogue box.

"Zacian hurt itself ..."

Then, the long, distorted cry of Zacian sounded again as its last remaining bit of health vanished while the fainting animation played.

"Zacian died."

Again, the screen faded to black and the Pokémon substitution prompt came up on the bottom screen. I noticed that Zacian had completely disappeared now and that Zamazenta was the only Pokémon left in my party. Its health bar was still full and red. I was terrified. What kind of game was this!? I sat there, staring at the prompt screen, struggling between my own perverse curiosity to continue and desire to just shut off the Switch. After about five minutes, I selected Zamazenta to send out.

Just like before, the screen slowly faded back into the battle as Zamazenta made its appearance. Like Zacian beforehand, it too looked bloodied and mangled, but on the opposite side. The only difference, however, was that Zamazenta's neck and his closest leg to the screen appeared to have been stripped down to the bone and its sunken sickly eyes now glowed completely yellow and the Ponytail on Zamazenta's head was stripped down as well and the skin where Zamazenta's ponytail used to be was stripped down revealing the skull. It had the same slow looping animation, accompanied by the beeping critical health sound. Its cry also mimicked the likes of Zacian's before: long, droning and crackling.

I looked at Aegislash again, though now it looked almost nothing like the Pokémon I had come to adore. Apart from its somewhat identifying colours, Aegislash now looked completely smooth and slick. Its shoulders and the hilt of its sword now looked like Zacian's; its shield, still majestic mirrored that of Zamazenta's. Zamazenta's blue and flowing cape as well as Zacian's fur sash now ordained a new set of shoulders, that of Aegislash's.

I braced myself for whatever was going to happen next. Sure enough, the same dialogue box appeared as it did before.

"Aegislash wants to be true again..."

Like Zacian before it, Zamazenta damaged itself to its last remaining bit of health, released its distorted cry and fainted.

"Zamazenta hurt itself ..."
"Zamazenta died."

Tears were streaming down my face at this point out of sheer terror. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't pull my eyes away from the screen. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It just didn't seem real. I had to keep telling myself this a sick joke in order to keep my sanity. Still, I waited to see if there was more.

The screen faded away and now it was just me and Aegislash. No Pokémon, no nothing. I couldn't even access my bag to use my Master Ball and catch the creature to see if it would end this horror. Then, a new dialogue box popped up.

"Aegislash is true again. Do you want to add this Pokémon to your party?"

The options for YES and NO appeared.

I was trembling. I didn't want this thing in my party. This thing wasn't even Aegislash! This was some sort of monster who devoured my Pokémon to take on their appearance for itself. I squeezed my eyes shut for a second as I selected the option of "NO."

Everything stopped. The strange image of Aegislash stopped looping its animation and the music went silent. I couldn't even prompt anything by pressing buttons.

I would have considered the game frozen if it weren't for the dialogue box which appeared a few seconds later.

> ".... ... ... .... ... .... ... .... ... ... .... .... ... ... ... ....
> ... ... ... .... ... .... ... .... ... ... .... .... ... ... ... ....
> ... ... ... .... ... .... ... .... ... ... .... ...
> I see... That's too bad..."
>
>

Suddenly Aegislash's figure distorted and turned itself to face the screen. Its eyes turned super red and flashed. I saw creepy images of Zacian, Zamazenta and Aegislash all fused together in one bloody disturbing, disgusting horror as it lunged toward me. A creepy screeching sound blasted so loudly out of my Switch speakers that I screamed and dropped the game system in startled surprise, backing away from it as I did.

I sat, huddled on the bed, staring at the game console as though it was possessed. Then I noticed the familiar sound of the start-up screen as it began to play through. Hesitantly, I reached for my game and pressed start, bringing myself the opening menu.

My game had been erased. The option of "NEW GAME" appeared where my file was supposed to be. Not wanting to deal with my creepy Sword version anymore, I shut my Switch off and tossed it to the side where I left it alone for the rest of the day.

I haven't touched my Pokémon Sword since that day. My friend had tried to coax me into playing it again, but I just can't bring myself to place the card in my Switch. I actively avoid watching or battling players if they have Zacian, Zamazenta or Aegislash on their team. The images of those Pokémon remind me too much of what I saw.

Those who have listened to my story have asked if they could take the game off of my hands so they can see what had happened for themselves. I refuse to let them. This creepy game will be my curse to bear alone for all time. The images are just too horrible to share.

Needless to say, I never bought a used game ever again.