Prevention of Evolution: Change Is For The Better

I just sat there on the balcony, staring at the sun as it sets on the horizon. I remembered my friend, Fredrick Klaus, saying that something was out to get him, but I don't know what it was... till now. Whatever it was, it had already got what it wanted. Because Fred was taken to the hospital, and is in a coma. I remembered what he looked like on that hospital bed... God, he looked like he was mauled by some rabid fox: there was slashes going this way and that, and his arms had bite marks on it. The doctors and nurses say that it was from a feral dog that broke into his home at the time... But what Fred said, made me a bit confused to say the least.

"...It wasn't a dog..."

I remember going over to his house on my bike, went inside, and everything was normal... till I got into his bedroom. It was a huge mess, it was as if a tornado had hit his room. It was like this when paramedics arrived. I then looked around, being exposed to the destruction of Fred's bedroom. That's when I saw in his trash bin... a cartridge of Pokémon SoulSilver. I went over to it, picked it up, and found his Nintendo DS on the floor. I grabbed both the cartridge, and the DS, and wanted to bring it to Fred, who's recovering at the hospital. When I got there, I brought the game to him. When he saw it... the look on his face was nothing like I've ever seen. It was as if he is experiencing... horrible, terrifying memories.

"Where did you get that...?" He said, barely a whisper.

"In your room." I replied.

He paused, looked at me, and I saw the pure, unadulterated fear in his eyes. "Jason, listen to me. You need to destroy it, now."

"I-I'm sorry, what?" I asked.

"I had to get rid of this thing somehow before it was too late, and I was hoping you'd do it for me. Please, Jason, shoot it, burn it, chop it to bits. Anything, just destroy it. But do it quick, otherwise it'll catch you. I-I just can't... It's too fast for me."

I looked at the SoulSilver in my hand, before a doctor came in. It was time for his medicine. Me and Fred said our goodbyes, but not before Fred reminded me to destroy it when I got home.

I rode my bike towards my house, and got inside with the DS and the SoulSilver. I thought about taking it outside and set it ablaze. But then I had second thoughts. Should I play it and disobey Fred, or do what he says and destroy it? I paced around the room, and stared at the SoulSilver in the palm of my hand. 'This is so weird...' I thought to myself.

I then heard my eleven-year-old brother, Dylan, coming from the den, "Hey Jason!" He said, knowing that I came home.

I said my hello, and Dylan saw the SoulSilver in my hand. "What's that?"

"What, this?" I said, "Well... It's a Pokémon game, what else?"

"Oh, cool! Can I play it?"

"Um... No," I replied, "my friend Fredrick wanted me to destroy it or something."

"Why would you do that? Is it broken?"

"No... It's, uuuuuuuh….." I paused, knowing that he'll think I'm crazy for saying that some demon of sorts is possessing it.

"Let me take a look at it." He said, eyeing the game cartridge for a second. "It looks fine to me."

"Yeah, well, he said it's cursed, so don't play it."

"Ugh, that's what they say about Sonic R."

"You still believe in that Tails Doll shit?" I asked, rolling my eyes at his childish behavior.

"No! Well... maybe?"

"Whatever, just don't touch it, okay?"

"Fine." Dylan groaned.

He went in the den to play his Xbox One as I went into my room upstairs and placed it on a little white box I had my picture of my girlfriend in to keep Dylan from getting a creepy boner, placed the cartridge inside, and wrote 'DO NOT TOUCH' on it in black marker.

Later that night, a sudden noise woke me up, and I looked to see that the box was open. "Oh shit!" I gasped, and ran to Dylan's room, to see... Dylan playing the game on Fred's DS.

"Dylan, turn it off right now!" I demanded quietly, trying not to wake our parents who are fast asleep. Dylan didn't respond. Before I can say anything, he swiveled his head towards me. He looked like as if he was about to have a panic attack. He looked so scared that he almost had tears welling up in his eyes.

"J....Jason...? Y... Y-You were.... r-right..."

"Right about what?" I asked.

"Th-the game... I-It's... c-cursed..."

"I told you not to play it, didn't I?"

"Yes...?"

"Are you going to hand it to me?"

"Yes...?"

"Good, now turn it off, and hand me the cartridge. I'll make sure it's in the firepit tomorrow night."

He tried to do as I said, but the cartridge wouldn't budge. "It won't come out!" Dylan said.

"Dylan, don't fuck with me, take the cartridge out." I told him, growing impatient with his antics.

"I'm serious! It seriously won't come out. I think it's stuck in there."

I went over to him saying, "Ugh, let me see it." I took the DS, and pulled and pulled, and pulled on the cartridge. But to no avail. "The fuck did you do to it? You put Gorilla Glue on it or something?" I asked Dylan, growing frustrated with the game.

"I didn't do anything, it was like that when I put it in."

"Whatever, just help me."

Just then, I heard something within the speakers of the DS. It was like anything I've ever heard. It sounded like something out of someone's nightmare, almost like something a madman, or in this case, a child would be tempted by. It hissed, "JaAaAaAsSsSoOoOoOoOoNnNnNn.….…."

Dylan and I froze in one place, looking at each other in complete silence. "Did... Did you hear that?" I asked, staying as quiet as a mouse. We knew it was coming from the game. I looked, and I saw something that... really, blew me away.

It was a Shiny Eevee with Shiny Espeon ears, tail, and a jewel. Blood was dripping from them, including the eyes. It seemed to be looking at me with... what appeared to be... hunger. Like a spider creeping up on a fly that's caught in it's web.

"Jason.... I'm scared..." Dylan said, he's obviously traumatized as traumatized can be.

"It's okay, buddy, I'm here. I won't let anything get you, I promise."

He eyed the bizarre Pokémon for a moment, before I did anything. I clicked the A button, and a textbox appeared.

"Well, well, well. Looks like I have a new opponent."

I just looked, and I thought that this can't be right. Where's the usual intro for SoulSilver? I clicked A again.

"It's such a shame that Fred didn't put up a fight. But, since I get to see some new faces, maybe you're more of a challenge than that weakling."

My eyes grew wide as pie pans. Was this....Was this the creature that attacked Fred? No.... No... It-It couldn't be.... I-It was a video game character, a bunch of pixels in a Nintendo DS made to entertain fans around the globe. I mean, it had to be something else! Maybe I'm going crazy! Maybe it's all just a figment of my imagination! Maybe it's all a horrible nightmare, maybe I'm just dreaming all of this, right now!

I pressed A once again, "But now... It's time to play..." It began to chuckle slightly to itself.

It cut to black for a second, then it fades to the overworld. The forest was dark red instead of it's normal green color. Bones and rotting flesh where strewn across the area. The little pond was blood red, too. It was just like how Fred described it one time. I couldn't believe that what Fred had said, was all true. I lead the trainer through the forest, till I had a random encounter.

"EEeEE attacked!"

So that's what it's called. EEeEE. The same monster that tried to maul my best friend, and left him to bleed to death. When the battle sequence started, it's cry was like a demonic version of Espeon's cry.

"Go! PIKACHU!"

I clicked on the fight option, and clicked on Thunderbolt.

"PIKACHU used Thunderbolt!"

It took little damage.

"EEeEE used Sand Attack!"

This took a chunk out of Pikachu's health. I thought, 'Damn, he's good.' I made Pikachu fight back.

"PIKACHU used Thundershock!"

Again, little damage.

"EEeEE used Swift! PIKACHU died!"

What....? What...? What.. What, the, fuck?! Pikachu, just... Did he...? I tho- Pikachu fucking died?! Whaaaaaa….? Since whe- Since when does a Pokémon die in a game, like this?! I was baffled to no end, I didn't know what to say, I'm that close to just flat out ask anybody who knows Pokémon like the back of their hand, 'Does a Pokémon even die in a game, or am I just a fucking lunatic'? I continued on, and another Pokémon is brought into the arena.

"Go! RATTATA!"

I clicked the fight options again.

"RATTATA used Bite!"

Like with Pikachu, it did little damage.

"EEeEE used Tackle!"

It took massive amounts of damage. I wiped the sweat from my brow, and continued.

"RATTATA used Super Fang!"

Little damage as usual. "Goddammit!" I cursed.

"EEeEE used kill! RATTATA died!"

Again my Pokémon had died. I guess that was the last of my Pokémon as it cuts to EEeEE grinning menacingly at me. The same voice came from the speakers. "Is that all you got, Jason? I expected more of a fight."

"What in Hell are you?!" I asked. Now, I'm not the one to scare easily, but I was a little uneasy. And I swear to Christ that... It answered back. It answered back in the most spine-tingling voice in the entire universe.

"tHe DeViL..."

Dylan immediately started to run out of the room, leaving me alone with the haunted game. It took me back to the corrupted overworld, the towns look beat-up and in ruins. The only thing that remained untouched, was Lavender Town. I knew Lavender Town is the main focus in all those creepy stories, but this, this was genuinely something. I explored Lavender Town, the fog and the endless amounts of creep factor making the atmosphere even more unnerving. When I made it to Pokémon Tower, there was no defense there. Only. The bastard responsible for all of this chaos.

EEeEE.

A textbox appeared as he came up to me. "Look what you've made me do. Look around you. All I had to do was evolve. That's all I wanted to do!"

"Why are you doing this?!" I demanded.

"I did this to show you how useful I am. I'll show you what it means to evolve into something even greater than the rest of the Pokémon! I mean, look at me! I am like clay! I am like God! I am better than anything else on this pathetic little orb you call Earth..."

I took heed at what he said. I mean, think about it. What would YOU personally do, if YOU sat there, and you completely and utterly gave it as much time and effort, to really give for someone, to be met with complete, and utter... Distain, or... Abuse? Now, of course, we're not perfect, none of us are, we all try to strive to be our best kind of people. But often times are not... sometimes, that rule kind of flies in the face of whatever, if we're really dealing with somebody who's genuinely agitating. I'm guessing this is what EEeEE was talking about. Fred must've done something to trigger him. Till, another textbox appeared.

"Besides, you're boring anyway. Maybe Dylan would want to play with me. He did like Pokémon games, you know. Said he wanted to Be the very best, If you catch my drift."

This comment threw me off, I began to snap at the DS. I know this was stupid of me to get angry with a fucking game, but I was too clouded with.. pretty much everything to say the least.

"You even fucking lay your hands on him!"

"No, I'll use my powers. I'm not an idiot!"

I was about ready to start smashing the DS with all my might, but I heard a demanding shout coming from the speakers, "Break this game and he dies!"

I jumped a bit, seeing how it nearly shook the whole room. With a huge sigh of frustration, I continued playing. I made my way to Pokémon Tower, and fought off Cubones, Ghastlys, Haunters, and even a Ghost Marowak. As I made my way to the top, I saw EEeEE again, looking the opposite way out the window as he glances down at Lavender Town below. A textbox appeared once again.

"I never thought you'd made it this far. But you did. Good. You're safe. At least for now."

He then turned to face me. "You're probably wondering why I called you up here to begin with. Well, it's simple, really. I wanted to make this the very place where everyone can see you... inside a casket, that is."

I then spoke, my lips dry as a desert. "EEeEE, this stops now. You don't have to do this."

"And why should I? So you can torment me like Fred did? I'd rather be kicked in the dick, a thousand times, than to ever let you assholes harm me again."

"That was in the past." I said, "This is today. You need to let this go, it's over. Long, over."

"That's just it. I'll never let it go..." EEeEE hissed with malice.

I just sat there, shaking as I heard EEeEE's voice in the speakers again. "He should've let me evolve..."

He then leapt at my trainer sprite, and it all cut to black. It then showed my trainer torn to shreds. EEeEE's sprite was now grinning widely. "Give Fred, a hug for me..."

Then the game ends.

I then noticed that I can literally take the cartridge out now. I took it and stuffed it back into my box. I made sure no one ever touches it again. Tomorrow came and I burned the cartridge in the firepit, and told Fred that, it's gone now. He smiled, and gave me a hug, saying that we're finally free.

When Memorial Day weekend came, I was on YouTube looking up some gameplays, till I noticed that I got an email. I clicked on it, and... No... Fucking... Way... It was a message from... EEeEE...

It read... "Where's your God now?"