Yamask

I remember the day they told me how much time I had, the day my loved ones cried with me. The day I died.

"I'm sorry. It's terminal." They told me.

"Yeah... it's terminal." I told them.

"It was terminal." They explained.

My red eyes shed a tear as I remembered my friends, my family. The worst torture? I could see them, I could be by them, but they would never recognize me. I was hideous. A black color, with puffy, red eyes from crying so hard and so long. The face I knew so well, that always stared back at me in the mirror and smiled at the start of the day, I held as a reminder of everything I had lost.

I remembered when I woke up on that fateful day, and saw myself sleeping. And when I realized what had happened- I was a Yamask. I recalled Yamask's Pokedex entry- "Each of them carries a mask that used to be its face when it was human. Sometimes they look at it and cry." I thought it was sad, but I never really thought much of it otherwise. Not even when I fell mysteriously ill after seeing one, or saw a Yamask out of the corner of my eye when my disease was declared terminal.

As I drifted through the air and looked at my family, friends, and Pokemon gathered around my body, I saw a shadow in the corner. It was another Yamask. "Welcome."

"I-I can understand you...!" I stammered.

"Yes. You are one of us."

"I don't want to be! I want to be alone! I want to... rest in peace!" I choked. The Yamask stared at me blankly. "We all wanted to. But we were chosen."

"I... I d-don't unders-stand..." I said shakily.

"You died of a terminal illness no one could explain, and saw a Yamask right before you were diagnosed. We all have. Every Yamask except the original."

"You... y-you killed me... didn't you? DIDN'T YOU?!" I screamed. I wanted to destroy it. Make if suffer like I had.

I flew away as fast as I could. I didn't want to see anyone or anything. That creature had sentenced me to a fate worse than death! I felt so horrible, I didn't care what I did. I blasted every Pidove and Caterpie that jumped out at me away. Finally, I happened upon a trainer...

I felt an overwhelming rage. How dare he flaunt his freedom and youthfulness in my face?! I didn't care what happened. I attacked, even though he only had two low-level Pokemon.

I flew away from battle after making his Pokemon faint. I heard a faint coughing from him as he scrambled to the nearest Pokecenter. Only then did I realize what I'd done.

I had cursed him with my fate.

I knew then that this was exactly what had happened to me. And in his rage and grief, I was sure the trainer would curse another, as me and the other Yamask before always have and always will.