A Crack in Reality (2024 Remake)

Originally Written by: SuperSonic6299/Agent Zero[]

There’s no proper way for me to start this damn thing. With everything I’ve gone through, I doubt I could make this make sense even if I tried. With how fried my mind is, no amount of thought will allow me to put this…whatever you want to call it in a good format. I don’t even know if I should write anything down. Letting the world know what I’ve been going through is likely to just piss “it” off even more.

Or maybe it knows that no quantity of suspension of disbelief will allow anyone to believe anything I’ll say. Just another internet campfire tale, they’ll say. Something else for online personalities to put “creepy music” over and read out like it’s just another scary story.

Fine. I’ve got nothing left to lose at this point besides my sanity.

Really, the only way I can start this off is with a phrase you may have heard at some point while reading these “scary stories”. I used to play Pokemon a lot when I was younger, growing up with Pokemon Silver as a kid. Every time a new generation was announced, I’d practically grovel to my parents to buy it for me. Most of the time they acquiesced to my whims, but after the first few cartridges went belly up, they stopped and scolded me for not taking care of my stuff better. What caused those cartridges to die, you may ask? In short, my sick curiosity.

I’m a guy who, even when he was younger, had his ears to the ground when it came to rumors and myths about Pokemon, unaware that most of the rumors were about as fake as the Illuminati. However, my habit of listening in on gossip surrounding Pokemon led me to discovering what would become my eventual downfall. Game-breaking exploits and glitches. I’d heard about the rumors of Missingno., having missed out on that mess due to not having Red or Blue. However, I did learn about the Celebi Egg glitch in Gen 2, making several failed attempts at it to get a Celebi for my Silver Version. Fortunately, or unfortunately for younger me, I never was able to make it work. But just seeing that it was possible was enough. Pandora’s Box had effectively been opened for me, bringing all of the good and even more of the bad.

I tried using everything I could find in these games. I had been lucky, or rather unlucky, enough to watch Wally catch a fake Shiny Ralts in Ruby, I had successfully pulled off the acid rain glitch multiple times in Platinum, and even managed to get the tweaking glitch to work in order to grab Shaymin since I missed the event. At least until it caused my Diamond version to get corrupted. I’m pretty sure that was when my parents stopped buying me Pokemon games since they were convinced that I didn’t care enough to keep them together.

Honestly, they might have been right to do so. Even when I got older, got myself a job, and could buy my own games, I still hadn’t learned my lesson. Several more game cartridges went the way of the dodo as I corrupted them with all of my exploit abuse. One would have figured that the money coming out of my pockets would have been enough to get me to stop and think, but I guess not. With my fixation on glitches and exploits slowly dying down over the years, I actually began to make an effort to play through Pokemon normally again, with the only games I had left at that point being Silver, White, and Ultra Moon.

My effort would be for nothing as I would soon learn of the very thing that would get my ass in this mess in the first place.

While searching Youtube for other people's reactions to the recently announced Pokemon Sword and Shield, I came across a video that claimed to have a way to obtain mystery gifts in the Gen 5 games, even though they were long since discontinued. The now infamous “DNS exploit”, they called it. Basically, by going into the 3DS’s internet settings, if one was to set the primary and secondary DNS numbers to ones corresponding to certain servers, you could connect to them and get as many copies of the gifts as you wanted. I would say I was skeptical about the whole thing, but if anything, my curiosity overrode it.

I knew that I had sworn off exploits like this after years of wasted money and games, but like a drug addict, the compulsion hit me like a truck and I soon found myself booting up my 3DS and messing with my DNS settings before opening my copy of Pokemon White. It would just be a one-time deal, I remember thinking. I wanted to see if that video was full of shit or actually had some truth to it. Going into the main menu, I chose the mystery gift option and connected to the Nintendo Wi-Fi, fully believing that I was just getting punked by a video with really good editing.

I wasn’t.

Anyone who used this exploit before will know that it worked and my jaw hit the floor as I saw the background change color and a Darkrai floated down onto my screen. Just like that, this little oversight by Game Freak had sunk its claws into me and would not let me go. I kept using the exploit to get everything I could; be it Keldeo, Reshiram, or Deoxys, nothing was able to evade my grasp. Nothing but one Pokemon.

Genesect.

That cyborg bug was the last Pokemon I needed to complete my Unova Pokedex, as it happened to be the only event that I managed to miss when I was younger. And so, I spent the rest of the day trying on and off to get it, but the randomness of the DNS exploit proved to put a strain on the ordeal. Every time I used it, I just kept getting copies of the Pokemon and items I had received earlier that day. I was more than a little pissed at the seeming insistence of the game not handing me what I deserved, but my due diligence would prove beneficial.

Later that evening, with my eyes almost slipping shut thanks to how long I had been at it, I saw the mystery gift screen turn a shade of purple. Instantly perking up, I watched on intently and waited for my Genesect to float down onto the platform. My eagerness would be cut short, however, as I was instead met with a text box before the game froze,

“Error. Data not found.”

I had to give the text another read when it popped up, but when I did, I could only feel frustration. That damn bug was within my grasp and fate just so happened to snatch it away? Feeling that I was too far in, I decided that I would keep going. I was not leaving without that Genesect. Surprisingly, it only took me about five more minutes of mystery gifts before I witnessed the screen turn purple once more. But my hopes were once again dashed as another text box popped up and the game came to a halt yet again. This time though, the text had something extra attached to it,

“Error. Data not found.”

“01010011 01010100 01001111 01010000 00100000 01001001 01010100 00101110”

My frustration was only matched by my confusion at this point. Another attempt shattered by another damn error. But the random binary held my interest more at the moment. Pulling out my phone, I searched up a binary code translator. Inserting every number, what was translated had me somewhat unnerved,

“STOP IT.”

I couldn’t tell if I had stumbled across an anti-piracy message or it was just another glitch in the system, but whatever it was, it did a good job of putting me slightly on edge. If only it had fully deterred me from keeping the exploits up, I wouldn’t have to be writing this shit. Figuring that I would just try for Genesect tomorrow, I decided to give the gift option one last try. Upon clicking it and waiting, I watched the screen turn purple once more and prayed like a saint for no errors to happen. It seemed luck had finally been on my side as I watched a Genesect float down onto the platform.

A small smirk wormed its way onto my face as I rushed into my game and towards the nearest Pokemon Center. Walking over to the delivery guy, I rushed through the many, many gifts I had gotten on my way to snatching Genesect before finally arriving at the last gift. I couldn’t mash the A button any faster when I did, but my mashing was halted when I noticed I hadn’t received anything.

I gripped my 3DS so tight that I swore I could have broken it right then and there. All that work for nothing but a headache and several hours sent down the drain. Walking out of the Pokemon Center, I sighed before I saw something new happen. An NPC, a scientist by the looks of it, walked up to me and began to speak,

“E-excuse me. Would you happen to be N-nova?”

This was followed by a yes/no prompt. Having never seen something like this, I clicked yes and the man continued,

“O-oh, thank goodness. I have something for you.”

“P-please, take it quickly.”

Holding on to a fleeting sense of hope that this would be my Genesect, those hopes were replaced with questions when I instead received an item,

“Nova obtained the P2 Keycard!”

The man spoke one last time,

“I k-know this might seem weird but…this needs to go to you.”

“Y-you’ll know when to use it. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get out of here. Fast.”

And just like that, the scientist ran off, disappearing as fast as he came. At this point, my confusion outweighed any potential anger I felt. What the hell was the P2 Keycard and why had I never heard of it? I was sure that this item didn’t exist anywhere in the Gen 5 games, so what was it for? My rampant curiosity from my childhood reared its ugly head as I decided to get to the bottom of this mess and find out just what happened to my Genesect. Figuring that the thing was meant to be used at its namesake, the P2 Laboratory, I hopped on my Hydreigon and flew to the island that held the lab. Whatever was going on, I’d find out one way or another. And well…

I certainly found out.

I found out just how much I’d fucked up that night.

______________________________________________________________________________

When I arrived at the island that the P2 Lab was on, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. That was until I took my time to wander around the tiny island. The trainers that you find there were gone. In fact, there was no trace of life whatsoever as walking in the grass didn’t produce any wild Pokemon. I walked around the grass for 2 minutes straight and nothing showed up. This was my first real sign that whatever was happening, it was not normal in any way. Passing the rest of the island’s now lonely exterior, I walked over to the entrance to the actual laboratory and was greeted with a text box,

“Access denied. Please present your keycard.”

Getting taken to the key items, I scrolled down until I found the P2 Keycard, taking a second to read its description,

“A keycard with a faded picture of a scientist. The name “Dudley” is somewhat visible on it.”

I recalled that Dudley was the name of one of the scientists who had created Genesect and its drives, deducing that the man that gave it to me was Dudley himself. Why did he give it to me, though? And why was he in such a hurry to get it out of his hair? Plus, didn’t he only show up if you had Genesect in your party? I figured that I’d only have more questions and no answers if I just sat there, so I selected the item, seeing another text box pop up,

“Access granted. Welcome, Dr. Dudley.”

With that, the door to the P2 Laboratory slid open and I waltzed inside, unaware of the madness that would come to haunt me. The first thing I noticed upon stepping through the door was the lack of light. It wasn’t pitch black, but there was considerably less visibility than normal. All I had for light was a small circle surrounding me which did little to settle the shiver that ran up my back. The second thing I noticed was that there was no music. Or at least music in a traditional sense, as the only thing I heard coming from the speakers was a dull, droning hum that went up and down at random moments intertwined with an odd buzzing noise. Also unsettling, but there was one last thing that had my mind racing.

The layout of the lab was not at all what I had seen online. The P2 Lab was meant to just be one room, but I found myself in a long corridor, empty save for what looked like scattered papers and shattered glass on the floor. The hallway didn’t even turn or anything. It just kept going forward. At least until I came across a door on one of the adjacent walls. Walking in, I was met with something that had my eyes widening slightly. The room appeared to be a bedroom, likely one where the Team Plasma scientists could rest for a while before immediately heading back to work. A conspicuous, dark red spot was splattered on the ground next to the bed.

Blood. In a Pokemon game. My mind immediately shot to all of those bullshit internet horror stories and how they always used gore for shock factor. But at that moment, I realized that I was now in the middle of one of those stories. I won’t lie, I got scared quicker than I thought possible, but also even more curious about what happened in this place. Fear truly does make idiots of us all, I suppose. Looking over the bed, I saw lines drawn on the wall, seemingly scratched into the metal or whatever this place was made out of. Pressing A, I saw that it was indeed a message,

“We shouldn’t have listened to him…”

I was frozen in place for a second upon reading that. Something grisly went down in here, but who was this him that the message was talking about? Feeling the inevitable pull of queries tugging on my brain, I left the room and continued down the hallway. My trip down the abnormally extensive corridor was rather uneventful, only being met with more papers and glass. Soon, I ran into more bedrooms, each in a similar state of disarray as the first and each one having a message carved into the walls. Every one of those messages shook me to the core,

“Why did it come to this?”

“I can hear it creeping closer…”

“I don’t want to die…”

But it was the last one that creeped me out to no end.

“So this is what happens when you try to play god…”

At that point, I decided to stay the hell away from those rooms, rushing out and running down the hallway until I was met with one last door. Seemingly unlocked, I stepped inside and was met with what I was supposed to see. The singular room that should have been the P2 Laboratory. It looked like something out of a sci-fi horror movie. Blood splotches dotted the floor and walls, drawers and desks were overturned, and more shattered glass was littered at my feet; one of the tables was even smashed against the wall, as if forming some kind of barricade. The thing that shocked me the most were a couple of purple, stick-like sprites of some kind that were piled in one of the puddles of ichor. Clicking on them revealed just how badly things went for the scientists,

“The arms of an unidentified Pokemon. The whereabouts of the rest of the body are unknown.”

Right as I was about to turn tail and run for my life, however, a lone computer at the end of the room lit up. Walking over and interacting with it, I was met with a list of three entries for something called “Project G”. It was starting to become clear just what had happened here, but I needed the full context. It was the least I deserved for having slogged through this nightmare of a building, I figured. Clicking on the first entry, I read it intently,

“Project G: Entry 1.”

“It seems like it was only yesterday when we received the fossil. The remains of one of the oldest and most unknown species of Pokemon. Carbon dating hypothesized that the fossil was at least 300 million years old, suggesting that the Pokemon likely roamed the Earth around the same time as Kabutops. If so, it had to have been quite the hunter to survive such a time, possibly even an apex predator. We shall soon find out if there is more to this mythicized “Ultimate Hunter” than meets the eye. The revival is progressing smoothly and should this work, Team Plasma shall be unstoppable.”

“Project G: Entry 2.”

“Our progress is moving faster than even I expected, albeit with some slight miscalculations. The Pokemon has been revived, but it came back with several severe injuries. It was practically limbless and had its head caved in when it was brought back to the land of the living, but our efforts were fortunately not in vain. Placing it on life support, we debated on what course of action to take only for Nathan to guide us back on track. His suggestion was one that would doubtless have Lord N rushing here to shut the lab down, but one that intrigued us all the same. Weaponization. We mechanize the Pokemon and upgrade it to the highest possible level. It was a prospect that I couldn’t resist and still can’t even with the project nearing completion. The genetics of an apex predator combined with the limitless power of science that Team Plasma can provide. Genetics…Yes, I do believe we now have a name for our lavender weapon: Project Genesect.”

“PrOjecT G: FaiLuRE”

“It’s over. We’ve failed in every way conceivable. With the project nearing completion, we decided that it would be prudent to clone Genesect; backups in case the original decided to rebel. All at Nathan’s request once more, I and the others listening to that madman like the fools we are. When the first clone was nearly finished, it seemed that someone’s lips loosened in the presence of the original one. Its fury stoked, it went on a rampage, I myself only barely managing to escape its wrath. All the same, I was granted a front row seat to Genesect rending its clone into nothing more than scrap, blood, and oil. Even as I write this, I can hear the screams of others being preyed upon by the hunter…I shouldn’t be doing this. I’m leaving immediately. If you find this log, stop reading and run for your life. Project Genesect has gone rogue and this maverick will not stop until everyone in this laboratory is dead.”

Upon reading the last entry, my blood went as cold as the North Pole. Fuck everything I had seen, I needed to get out of there before something bad happened. But just as my character turned, I heard it. The faint muffled cry of a Genesect. A text box appeared,

“Another bug for me to squash.”

A rapid heartbeat came from my 3DS speakers and I threw all caution to the wind. Jamming the run button down, I booked it, running as fast as I could out of the lab. The hall leading to the exit never seemed to end as I heard even more Genesect cries flood my speakers, each one seemingly more corrupt than the last. At last, the door out of that hellhole came into view and I mashed the A button as if my life depended on it. But my heart dropped into my stomach when another text box came up,

“The door is jammed.”

I was left to watch as a silhouette walked behind me, my character turning to face it. It spoke,

“You…You’re the one who did this to me.”

“And for what? Sick curiosity? The thrill of messing with forces beyond your understanding?”

“Fine.”

“It’s time for you to see the consequences of your actions, Jack."

“And by the end of this, you will learn what happens to those who try to play god.”

It knew my name. My real name. I didn’t even have time to process this before I was thrust into a battle, finally getting a clear look at my assailant. I wish I didn’t. It was the Genesect I had been trying to get all night, distorted to an extreme degree. It had deep, red scars across its arms, blood dripping down them to its claw tips. A hole was present in the cannon attached to its back, it also leaking with more precious life force. The face nearly had me drop my 3DS when I got a good look at it. The cyborg bug’s head had a gaping void in it and its left eye was missing, leaving only two white pupils that glared daggers at me. It’s cry played once more, glitched and hellish in every way as my attacker was finally identified,

“Maverick has found you.”

I could only watch as I sent out my first Pokemon, Reuniclus. It was then that I noticed just how screwed I truly was when I saw that Maverick was level 100 while my team was only in the mid-70s. Cornered with the very essence of all of my mistakes ready to slaughter me and having little of any chance to fight back. I’d say I was scared shitless at that point, but I trekked on. If I was going to go out, I would go out swinging. I clicked Fight, having my Reuniclus use Fire Punch. I had no clue whether it would even get the chance to move, but it seemed that it wouldn’t as Maverick took the initiative and used Bug Buzz. An ear-splitting screech ripped its way out of the speakers, nearly causing me to drop the 3DS as I watched my Psychic-type’s HP plummet to zero and faint.

Figuring there was nothing else to do, I sent out my next Pokemon, Carracosta. Having it use Aqua Jet, I figured that I could at least deal some kind of damage with it. However, I clearly didn’t know what I was dealing with as Maverick somehow out-prioritized it and used Flash Cannon, blowing Carracosta away with one shot. After the tortoise fainted, another text box appeared on screen, seemingly coming from that damn Genesect,

“How do you like it when the rules are broken, you insect?”

Broken rules? I just wanted a Genesect to finish off my Pokedex. Why was I being targeted for using something as innocuous as a fucking exploit!? A bead of sweat ran down my face as I sent in Mienshao, praying for some kind of miracle to save me. Having it use Close Combat, I was once more greeted by this mechanical monstrosity outspeeding me and using Psychic to knock it out in one hit. At this point I was down to two, only having five ‘Mons on hand so I could get Genesect in my party. It seems that was just another one of the many mistakes I made that night.

Sending out my starter, Emboar, I had no real faith left. Mindlessly clicking on Heat Crash, I was prepared for Maverick to outrun my starter, but was surprised when Emboar actually got the hit off. I would have grinned if not for what happened next. Despite being four times effective, the Genesect’s health didn’t even drop a quarter of the way down. I could only watch helplessly as that bastard retaliated with Techno Blast, the move seemingly being Water-typed and thus, ending my first Gen 5 Pokemon with no effort wasted.

There was only one Pokemon left from me. My Hydreigon. Sending it to what was pretty much its death, I was left to watch as I didn’t even get to choose a move for it to use. Maverick seemingly took more of its time to mock my efforts as another text box popped up,

“Is that all? Pathetic.”

“I expected more of a challenge from you, Jack.”

“But in the end, you’re nothing more than a bug under my heel.”

The cyborg then used Bug Buzz, putting my Hydreigon down without me even getting to do anything. I watched as my trainer sprite appeared on the field and watched Maverick use Techno Blast one last time, seemingly ending my trainer as well. The screen faded to black and I was left in near total darkness, the sun having fully gone down around this time. Soon, I was greeted with another surprise as a much higher-resolution picture of Maverick appeared on my screen, similar to the one when an NPC calls you. We stared back at each other for what felt like ages, my fearful gaze bouncing off his evil glare like a mirror. One last text box appeared,

“You still don’t get it do you?”

At this point, I screamed at the screen as if that bunch of data could actually respond,

“DON’T GET WHAT, YOU FUCKING ABOMINATION!?”

To my growing surprise and terror, it seemed that the Genesect did hear me, responding in kind,

“Don’t worry, Jack.”

“You’ll understand sooner than you think, you sniveling worm.”

I nearly had a heart attack when I saw Maverick begin to pound on the screen, watching as cracks began to form. With my instinct shooting to fight, I chucked my 3DS away from me as hard as I could, watching it crash into the wall screen-first before dropping to the floor. I sat in darkness, paralyzed by the horrors that had unfolded before my eyes. I wanted to move, to turn on a light and see that everything was fine. But I was practically bolted in place.

My mind went into overdrive as I tried to put the pieces together. The binary code from when I used the exploit. It had to have been from Maverick. I was messing with a cornered animal and when it flashed its bright colors to warn me that it would attack, I just laughed and provoked it more until it finally bit me. All of this shit happened because I decided to use an exploit to get a Pokemon that I didn’t have. Any answers I could have come up with about how this went down were useless. It happened, I figured. Or maybe I was even more mentally exhausted than I knew. I didn’t move at all for the rest of that night, with sleep somehow finding its way to me and pulling me into unconsciousness.

That night would be where everything changed.

______________________________________________________________________________

When I opened my eyes, I found myself lying on the floor, gazing up at the darkness. Sitting up and rubbing the sleep from my eyes, my mind caught up abnormally fast as I realized that I was dreaming. A dream that would become an absolute nightmare as I looked around and realized the horrible truth of my surroundings. I was in the P2 Laboratory, the same extended hallway I had witnessed that night. Standing up on shaky legs, I dared not move or even breathe. Silence permeated the area, nothing entering my ears at all.

Until I heard a deep, mechanical voice whisper behind me,

“Run, you insect.”

Wheeling around, I fell back and screamed as I witnessed Maverick slowly walking towards me, chuckling like a madman. Scrambling to my feet, I did as he bid and ran as fast as I could, the sounds of papers flying and glass crunching under my feet the only things I could make out at that moment. I thought that if I could make it to the room where the actual lab was, I could find some kind of exit or a way to hide, but my hopes were dashed as I was met with a fork in the road. One that was absolutely not there when I was playing the game. Looking back, I saw that the mutilated Genesect had caught up, still slowly shambling towards me.

Throwing all caution to the wind, I decided to head left, rushing down the corridor with untold speed, nearly stumbling over my own feet before I crashed into an oncoming wall. Pain shot through my side as I looked over, gazing upon a light present at the end. Getting back to my feet, I shuffled down the hall as fast as my injured body would allow, praying to whatever god was out there that it was a way out of this nightmare. Upon making it to the end of the hall, however, I fell to my knees, tears silently streaming down my face at the horrifying visage before me.

A dead end. With my Emboar sitting slumped against the wall, flames dancing inside of its dead body. Shuffling back slightly, my fear reached a critical point as I felt cold metal make contact with my skin. Chancing a glance up, I saw the evil smile of Maverick stare back at me before his claw shot down to my neck. The cyborg bug gripped my windpipe with the force of a hydraulic press, leaving me with precious little air as he lifted me up and shot a glare of utter disgust through my very soul. With what oxygen I had left, I choked out,

“What…did I ever…do to you…!?”

To this, the Genesect’s grip became even tighter as he snarled back,

“Everything.”

Feeling my vision slipping to black, I had only one thing left to say,

“Please…God…I need…”

Until I heard Maverick chuckle before one last thing slipped from his monstrous maw,

“Let me enlighten you, Jack…”

“In this world…I’m the one playing God.”

Tightness around my throat.

A sickening crack.

Darkness…

I awoke with a scream, falling out of my bed onto the carpeted floor. Looking around, I saw that I was still in my room, shivering like a child with no coat as I laid my head back down, tears silently streaking down my face. After eventually sitting up, I gazed over to my 3DS that was still face down on the floor. Crawling over to it, I reached out and took it in my hands, turning it over to see a massive spider web of cracked glass, my shattered reflection staring back at me from the ebony screen.

As I looked upon my reflection, I felt a slight burning on my arm. Looking down, I was surprised to find a cut running horizontally down it, long enough to look like I did it myself, yet fresh enough to seem like it came when I fell out of bed. Upon seeing this, I broke, full on sobbing as I held my head up against my knees. Ever since that day, I’ve not touched Pokemon at all. I threw out the rest of my games and all of the memories I had associated with them. My 3DS, I personally destroyed. A few good hammer strikes will do that.

Sleep soon became a rarity for me, not wanting to slip back into my dreams only to find Maverick there, waiting for another chance to torture me. But I knew that one way or another, I’d pass out whether I wanted to or not. Ever since that night, the nightmares have come and gone. Increasing in frequency, but never on a consistent schedule. Sometimes, I’ll sleep like a baby as if none of this had ever happened. Most of the time, I’m forced into an all-nighter, bereft of all energy by the time the sun peeks over the horizon. And every time, without fucking fail, I find a fresh cut on my arm; one that I know for a fact was not there before I fell asleep.

Even as I write this down, it’s 2:30 AM. I’ve been once more forced into the waking world by that mechanical menace, having to clean and bandage yet another slice to my flesh. I’m documenting this not to convince others that what happened to me is true…But to convince myself that I’m not crazy. At least, I hope to whatever benevolent deity is listening that I'm not. If you’re reading this and can’t find or get in contact with me, assume the worst has happened. And if nothing else, take this madman’s advice.

Don’t try to play god. The universe has a way of punishing those who do.

-Jack Stevens

______________________________________________________________________________