You Forgot Us

Pokémon was always a part of growing-up. The kids in my school would always sneak in with their Gameboys, playing Pokémon during recess. Of course, nowadays, that "glory" has faded since then. Even with Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and all those new come-backs... It wasn't the same. On my birthday a few years ago, I got Pokemon Platinum since it was new, and was supposedly (according to reviews) better than the others.

I inserted the cartridge into my DS, and I was already addicted. I picked Turtwig as my starter, only because he was... cute. I know, you don't pick a Pokemon for its looks, but for power, and I understand. Still, who could resist? About a month later, I had two gym badges, and I was becoming bored. The game was stored into my game case, and that's where it stayed for a while.

With the game being put away, I forgot about it, thinking too much about the new games that were coming out. All of them pleased me and Pokemon seemed to slip my mind. Only when I saw a commercial for Pokemon Black & White I remembered it. I put it into my DS to see how it was doing and all that. Everything was normal. My Pokemon were fine, and all. Only one thing made me worry. My trainer sprite seemed... drained. His face was pale, and his coloring was faded. I only thought of it as something that my mind had forgotten, and that I was scaring myself over nothing.

After playing the game again for a while, I realized this was actually happening, and my mind wasn't forgetting things. My trainer sprite was getting more drained. I had no idea why, It just seemed to become gray. Whenever I moved him around, he was slow, almost as if he was dragging himself along. My Pokemon were fine, so I put down the game and looked up a bit on it, seeing if it was a glitch or something. Nothing was coming up at all about it. The next day, I continued the game, and a message came on screen. It simply said: "THIS IS THE WAY YOU MUST BE TO KEEP THEM ALIVE." I freaked out a bit. I knew the game wasn't supposed to do this, So why is it? It kept me awake that night, with those letters flashing over and over again. They seemed to haunt my mind until I woke up the next morning. After thinking a bit, I decided to play the game a last time before I would let it take a rest. Why let it take a rest? I've heard after playing a game for a long time, it affects it like a crooked cartridge or something.

I got on the game, and my trainer sprite seemed to be coming back around, with some color restored, and walking faster. My Pokemon all seemed happy whenever I clicked over to them, their "chirps" playing more lifelike then ever. After the day passed, I put the game in a safe place, and let it go. Soon that day, I took a nap, becoming tired after playing football. I had a strange dream, Seeming dark and dreary. All that I could hear was a voice, repeating: "DONT FORGET. DONT FORGET. DONT FORGET. DONT FORGET." After waking up, I thought about what the game had said before, connecting it to this. Soon enough, I let it go and forgot, completly leaving it behind.

A whole year had passed, and Pokemon seemed to pop up everywhere, somehow striking nothing to my mind. I just thought of it as a coincidence, and pushed it aside. My friend came over one night, Having an old Pokemon card pack. He wanted to know where my game was. At that moment, I gasped and ran to my room. Digging it out of closet, I put it in my DS and told him the weird things happening. When I clicked on my account, this message awaited: "I TOLD YOU NOT TO FORGET. NOW YOU MUST PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO ME." Pay for what I did to him? What was this thing talking about. I removed the cartridge, but the game kept going. It showed all the Pokemon I had caught, laying there, on the brink of death. "NO!" I cried, as the dying Turtwig showed on screen. His cry was low-pitched, becoming distorted. My friend just stared in shock, not knowing what to say. Then, there my trainer sprite stood, skinny, pale, and scratched up. He was grinning, as if proud of himself. "'WELCOME BACK, OLD FRIEND.'" He said, his smile becoming wider. "What happened?!?" I screamed, expecting an answer. My friend looked at me as if I were crazy, and turned back to the DS, interested. "YOU FORGOT ABOUT US. WHILE YOU WERE GONE, THESE CREATURES BEGGED ME FOR FOOD AND TRAINING. I COULDN'T DO A THING, BECAUSE YOU WERE MY MASTER. NOW, I AM TAKING CONTROL. He replied. I sat there, not knowing what to say. He turned to me and pointed his finger at me. I felt a sharp pain in my body, and I blacked-out. I woke up in my bedroom, in bed. It was dark and cold. I stood up, looking around. My legs tingled, now moving forward. I heard laughter and the words:

"You're my puppet now, and you're under my control. Hehehe... Now let's have some real fun..."