When you’re a child, you have hopes and dreams. And usually, as farfetched as they might seem, you always had the smallest glint of hope of any of them coming true. Some children would have wanted to become a superhero. Some would have wanted to live in their favorite media. And mine, like many other children, wanted their favorite video game characters to come to life.
I was never sure what I would do if they did, but ever since I was young, my favorite video game has always been Pokémon. I’m an adult now, and I’ve been playing for as long as I could remember. I never really had a favorite Pokémon, I loved all of them all the same. They were all special to me and I treated them as if they were my closest friends.
It’s so funny to picture myself as a small, innocent child who just wanted their video game creatures to exist in the real world so I could have a friend. I guess that’s what child-like wonder does to you.
It was just one faithful day when I decided I wanted to play Pokémon again. I managed to find my old Gameboy Advance hidden deep in the crevices of my closet, and I dusted it off and immediately went and bought a copy of Pokémon Sapphire off of eBay. I was there when Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald were just being announced – the newest Pokémon generation at the time, it was all so new and exciting. Now seeing the intro sequence felt nostalgic. I knew the music like it was second nature. Littleroot and its music felt so refreshing. It felt so good to start a new adventure again.
I played for hours on end, the game had me hooked as if it was the first time I had played it. But I knew I had to stop eventually, it was getting late and I had work tomorrow. So I saved my game in front of the Lavaridge Gym where I had just defeated Flannery. But before I closed the game, I decided to look over my team one last time for tonight.
I had overlevelled my Pokémon prior to the gym, because I wanted to make sure to beat Flannery as soon as I can and to prepare my team for the next gym battle against Norman.
My team so far were as thus:
- SWAMPERT ♂ LV. 37- KIRLIA ♀ LV. 29- SWELLOW ♀ LV. 31- BRELOOM ♂ LV. 30- MIGHTYENA ♂ LV. 33- NINJASK ♂ LV. 30
Everybody but my Kirlia had become fully evolved, but I knew that she would evolve one level later, so I thought nothing of it. Looking at my team, I couldn’t help but smile. Little me would have loved to be all of your friends in real life, I thought to myself. I quietly shook my head and closed the game, heading off to bed for tonight.
Next morning I woke up and went off to work. It was just your average job at a convenience store, I was a cashier who just had to stay until the night shift started. During breaks, though, I snuck into the backroom to continue to play Sapphire, where I grinded up my team a bit more and eventually evolving my Kirlia into the now elegant Gardevoir.
Seeing her evolve felt great; I had a team full of fully evolved Pokémon now! I watched as the Pokédex recorded Gardevoir’s data.
No282 GARDEVOIR EMBRACE POKéMON
HT 5’03” WT 106.7 lbs.
GARDEVOIR has the psychokinetic power to distort the dimensions and create a small black hole. This POKéMON will try to protect its TRAINER even at the risk of its own life.
I closed out of the Pokédex entry, saved my game and went back to work. I think I made some good progress, now my entire team is fully evolved and I’m ready to face off Norman. But I was incredibly happy to see my Kirlia evolve, it felt so good. It was like I was a real trainer. And, safe to say, I was proud of her. She worked hard and now she’s fully grown.
Once my shift was over I headed back home and opened my Gameboy. Strangely enough, it was dead. That was weird, I could have sworn I charged it back at work. It’s no biggie, though. Just an hour or two on the charger and it’ll be good as new.
Unfortunately for me, I guess I was just a little too tired that night. I left my Gameboy to charge but fell asleep just a few minutes later. I didn’t even realize I’d fallen asleep, until I was rudely awoken by some noise clattering against my hardwood floors.
I passed out on the couch. Everything was dark. Damn, did I forget to turn the lights on when I got home? I guess I was on a rush to play some more Pokémon. I blindly tried to look for the light switch, holding my hand in front of me as I waved it around for something to hold.
Soon enough, light came pouring into the room. That was a relief. But as I looked up, I was nowhere near my light switch. I was just facing a wall.
I must be more tired than I thought. If this is a hallucination, then at least it made me know where everything in my house was. I should go and lay down in bed, it’s been a long enough night and I really should get some rest.
That, was of course, until I heard her.
‘TRAINER.’
I stopped. Am I tripping? Was I hearing things?
‘BEHIND YOU.’
I looked back. I fell to the ground as I kicked back in surprise.
A tall, slender humanoid figure was right there in front of me. With a body pale as ivory and eyes red as wine. A sharp horn protruding from her chest and what looked like a dress – it wasn’t without a shadow of a doubt that this was a Gardevoir. This was my Gardevoir. The light that filled the room was her using the move FLASH.
“What the hell?” I mumbled in shock. I could feel my lips quivering and ice cold sweat beaded down my forehead. What the hell was going on? Am I having a dream?
‘THIS IS NOT A DREAM’ she spoke. But her lips never parted nor opened. It’s a Psychic type – of course she was communicating via telepathy. ‘I THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE HAPPY TO SEE ME.’
“What?” I exclaimed. “What- Why? What the hell is going on?!”
‘I KNOW YOU.’ said the Pokémon. ‘I HAVE SEEN YOUR CHILDHOOD. YOU WANTED ME TO EXIST.’
I couldn’t even say anything before she kept talking to me.
‘I AM DEVOTED TO YOU, TRAINER.’ She spoke. ‘YOU LOVE ME AND I LOVE YOU AS WELL.’
I couldn’t even talk. I couldn’t move. Was any of this real? Was I losing my mind? Have I gone insane? I wish I knew.
It was only a few moments, but it felt like an eternity. I closely observed the creature that was in front of me. She was … nothing like I would have ever imagined a Gardevoir to look like. What people would usually expect was soft, smooth skin and thick green hair atop their head. Seeing the Pokémon right in front of me, none of those were true.
Her skin was rough. It looked like her skin was dry and had begun to chip away. You could see every wrinkle and texture on her uncomfortably slim body frame. What looked like hair wasn’t hair at all. It was somehow leathery. Like the back of a snake, or the shell of an armadillo. What I expected to have been soft and silky was stiff and rigid – it was like a helmet atop of her head, if anything. The dress didn’t look like fabric, it looked like it was made of the same material as her skin. Her eyes were glossy and glassy -- awfully large for the size of her head, and their snake-like pupils stared right at me. The spikes on the sides of her head were almost akin to fins. The “spikes” were made of a pale white webbing that you can almost see through. And the horn was … awfully sharp. It never looked like that in game, but, the horn in the center of her chest looked like a weapon. It was sharp enough to tear through just about anything. It was deep crimson in color, and I swore I could see my reflection through its shine.
‘TRAINER.’ Her words suddenly made me snap back into reality. ‘YOU LOVE ME AND I LOVE YOU AS WELL.’
I felt sick. It took me all the power I could to stand up and run to the bathroom. I slammed the door shut and locked it. I ran to the sink and clumsily opened the sink, splashing water onto my face as I tried to regain my composure. But as I looked back up, Gardevoir was standing right behind me.
I yelled in shock, throwing my body to the side but accidentally hitting the back of my head against the sink. It hurt bad. I put my hand behind my head in hopes to ease the pain, but it just wouldn’t go away. I couldn’t help but start crying. I was too overwhelmed.
‘TRAINER’ the creature spoke again. ‘DID THIS HURT YOU?’
She gestured towards the sink and faced it. Her eyes turned a blinding blue as a loud booming noise filled the room. My ears started to ring as she had destroyed the entire sink – it was flooding water now. She turned to me. ‘I WILL DO ANYTHING TO KEEP YOU SAFE.’
I felt the water pooling around my legs and feet. I hugged my head and fell to the ground. I can’t see. I was so scared. What the hell was happening? Why was it happening to me? I’m hurt. I’m scared. I don’t know what’s going on.
“This isn’t what I wanted.” I spoke weakly.
Gardevoir simply cocked her head to the side.
‘I DO NOT UNDERSTAND.’ She spoke. ‘YOU LOVE ME. AND I LOVE YOU AS WELL.’
I just curled tighter in a ball in a pool of water. “Stop saying that.” I begged.
‘I DO NOT UNDERSTAND.’ She repeated. ‘I THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE HAPPY. I THOUGHT YOU HAD LOVED ME.’ she was growing more and more agitated. Her eyes glowed a bright blue again, her dress flowing in the air stiffly. ‘I THOUGHT YOU HAD L̰̯̼̙̻̟͚̱O̝̰̟V͚̮̯͈̩͔͖̝͕E͍̙D̼͇̦̜̯̠͙̠ ̰̝̠̲̘̭M̩͕E̟̞̻͎̥’
And the ringing began again. I clutched my ears and head tighter, but the sound was too much. I couldn’t hear a thing. I looked up and saw all of my walls had been torn apart. Dust and wood are flying everywhere, her psychic powers had destroyed my house. Metal filings and wooden splinters scratched and scraped my body – and hers especially. The Gardevoir’s body was starting to bruise and bleed from the objects hitting her.
I̖̟̜̬͇̞̣ ̳̥TH̱̯̤͔͉̠̤O͓͎̖͍̩̟Ṵ͚ͅG̵̣͇̙̻̳̬ͅH̘͚̳̰̦Ț̰̮͈̫̬̳́ ͎̮YO̷U̕ ͎̦̠̼HA̙D̡̟͚ ̦̻̟̯̱̠̫͝L͚̺͚͓͙͔̲͝O̸V̴͚̫͈̪̳͖È̮͖̣͍D̸͍̖͉͇ ̺̣M̤͟E̹̭̘̘͍̱̺͠ ̥̮̮̘͖͘I͉̣̤̬ͅ ̘͓͎̭͓̮T̟̞H̘̞̲͖̭̹OU͎͇̳͍̠G̣͚̩ͅH̫͉͙̯͈Ṭ̸͎ͅ ̧̯̰Ỵ̛̺̬̹̘ỌU͇̝̺̫͉̦̞ ̶̗̼͎͔̯H͠À͓D͇ ̭̣̥̠͈̝̦L̛̘̤͓̲ͅO͍̳̬̗͖̺̟̕VE̵̖̪̩͎D̘̬͙̳̪͎̤ ̱̰̭͝M͇̘̖̱͢E͔ I̬̭͙̫̥̼̟ ̠̮TḨ̯̣O̠͕̲̙͓̟̦͢Ụ͇̻̖̩ͅG̻̝͠ͅH̥͍͓̬̩̭͠T͇̯͎͎̲̼͉ ̣̻̣́Y̛O̻̰U̟̘͚͈̲͎̝ ̵͔̜H͙̥̜͈̥AD̖̮͈͙̯͡ͅ ̳̠͙̩̼L̪͉͙̩O̻͙͍̗͈͚̦V̩̻̠̦E҉̤̯̱̲̱̭̦D̫͇͍͟ ͓͉̝̠̹͔M̢̳̗̰͎̻E ̧I̖̥͖̦̥̦͞ ̥̩̘̝͍T̶͉͕̣H̥̪͉̤O̢͓͍̯̗͎͉̹U͉G̙̲̜̟̳͇H̘͖͚̩̫̣͖Ț̜͠ ̳̱̞̞̺̯͉͢Y͍͔O̢̺U̹̦̥̝̦͢ ͔̪H͖̙͎͇̗̥͕A̙̖͠D̲͖̝͙̝ L̫͕̳͇͡O̮̳͕͝ͅV̱̹̹̥̲͕E̩̝͡D ̮̪̞͢M͚̯̙E̗͚͇ ̠͍͇͘I̘ ̤͔̪̰̮̹͢ͅT̟H͙̦Ọ̸U͚͍̦͙G͙͉̭̻̤͇H̸͕͕T̹̕ͅͅ ̡̺Y͝O̺͔̬̭͓̘̟Ṷ̘͚̀ ̻̭̱̦̟H̝͈̗̻̯A͎̫̼͓͞Ḏ̶͙̼̲ ҉͕̱̥L͏̪͖͈̙̗͇ͅO͉̭̮̣V̴̞͕E̥̳͓D̡̫̗̞̜͔̘̟ ҉M̜E̵ ͏̳̰͈͖̱̙̬I̶̭ ̴̙̣̗̗͇̹̩T͕̠͞H̰̪͕͖O̜̯̰Ṷ̹̯͖̭̗̰G̺H͓͎̺̰̩ͅṬ ̯͍͙̹̫͙Y̬̣̻̺̙O͓͈͙̼̲̪͟ͅU̼̬͚̳͞ ̖͙̖͚̝̺̲H͎̥̩̣̬AḌ̝͍̻̲̲ ͖͍͓̹̼̝ͅL̫̥͠O̤͎̩̫̝͍V̢͍̠̱̙E̹͍̱̜̩̯D̞̥̮̩̠̩̕ ̰̠̫͙̻͟M̘͉͇͢E̟̭̟͎͟ͅI̳̣̣͎̖̝ ͕̦̭̬T̗̜̺͡H̦͍̰̰O̲̺̥͓̘̯͠ͅŲ̫̠G̦̺̪H̼̥̠͖̹T͚͓̗̥͢ Y҉̦͖̪̳O̹͓̮̦U̘͈͈̕ ̮͙̟̯͟ͅH̖A̧̮D̩̦͕̭̜͇̙ ̝̺̻̠͇̤L̼̞̀O͏̠̦V̖̖͎͚̖̦E̼̠̼͔̱̪D ͈̝̪̮̙̝̀ͅM̜̗̘̥̼E̲͈͉̮ ̭̙̹̜̩I ̗̭̪̱T̷͎H̛͎͔͙̳̱̪O͓̙̝U̙̫̘͇G̝̼̯͚̜̬̼HȚ͈ ̯̻̘Y̲̣̲͚̱̰̠O͘U҉̯̲̙̗̣ͅ ̤͉̟Ḥ͞À̭̻̫͈̯̮D̰̲̝̺̝́ ̻͔͘L͓̘O͏͎̩̣V̫̱̣̲̞̗͞E̫͎͙͞D͔̲ ̼̟M̙̺̳͙E͎̞̟̺̯͟ ̧I͈̤̲ ̼̳͎̝̜̠̞T̫̤̥̦HO҉̗̮̗Ú̮͕G̤̘͢H̰͈̟͎͉̗T̶̝ ̙̲̞Y̱̘̗̟͈OU̶̬̱̺̻̯ ̯̥͓H͈̗̝̮̺̠̣̕À̤̰͉̳̭̣D̢̦̺̬̣̩ ̫̥̗ͅL̝̭͚̺̙͢O͇̥͔̺̟̙V̹̗͇̗E̪̙͎͇̻̤̳D͎͙̘ ̧͈͓̲̙M͕͟E̘̺͖͝I̞ ͉̬T̨Ḩ͚O̟̪͠U͈G͞Ḥ̣͘T̜͓̩͓͇̙̣ ҉̥̥̟͙̦̮̤YO̪̜̲̤͈͚̰U͎̤̳ ͖̪̪̰͕̰͢H͕̖̻͇͉Ạ̧̰̟D̢̠̞̫͖͖̼ ̮̖͇̜͔͕͖LO͍͕͓̟͎̦V̨E̞͚̯̥̣̰͜D͖̗͕̟͕̪͜ ̴͓̰̙̘M͇̞̪͜E̸ ̘͚̝͎͔I̙̹̠ ̺̰͟T̖̖̟H͏O͙̬̳U͉̰͙͔̲͔G̣̮H͓̲͉̫̮͚̕T̡̖͎̯͇̖̯̘ ̳̭̯̞͖͜Y̥̫̰̠͇͙̥O͍̭̦̙U͓͓͓͙ ͜H͇̩̰̩̙͞À̭̜̩̪̣̞D̯̪̬ ̝͈̮͓̮L̷͓̼̜̬̠̩ͅO̻̭̭͙̫̜̳͘V̫̫̮͙͚͈͢E͏͍͕̙D̟ ͔͕͖̻M̮̤̲̜E̶̬̣̙͕͕̣ ͖̙̬̱͙̀I̧̳̞̺̪̮̩ ̙̤̕T҉̮̯̳͔̲̪H͕͙O̸U͚G̶̙H͚̬̜̠̜͖͈T̺͓ ̖̬͠YO̺̦͚̻ͅU̳̫̼͖͙̩ ̶̯̺͓H̙̦̱͓̟͓ĄD͏̯̫͉̝̝ͅ ̵͕L͢O̡V̧̯̫̣̞E̟͚̳͇̞D̘ M̼̲͎̥̥̦E̝̼̝ ̹͝I̜͔̞̦͜ ͝T̩̰́H͚͞ͅO҉U̡͙̯̪͙͓G͇̣H̪̪T̩͜ ̫̱̱͕̝̥̯Y̻̥͔̞̪͝O̹͈U̖ ̕H̢A̱͙̜͚̳͇D̸͚̦̗ ̫̜̣͉L̢̻̩̗O͖̭͚̫̪͕͉V̪E̱͍D͏ ̞̠̣̖̺̦͇M̞̝̬E̻ I ̨̼̝͓̭T̰H̙̘̪̺O̻͚̟U̗͇͚G̞H͏̱̦̠T͔͓͉̩̱͟ ̘͓ͅY̵͉̜̟͉̳͇ͅO̸̘̝̦͚U ̷̰̹̠̺H̖̪͜A͈̟̦D̹̣͙̪̹̣ͅ ̖͉͝L͖̖͈̬̥͡O͏̗̦ͅͅV̝̀E̮͔̗͈̹͎D̬̟̤͞ͅ ҉̭̖̫̪M҉̟̗̪̯̹̰E̠̣͡ͅ ͉̦̘̤͍̗͖I͏̞̯̹̖̗̲ ̙̲͇̜̹TH̨̟̰̹O͏̪̠̳̟U͎͔͉͍̻G̭̳̳̱̤̼H̸̩̬͕̳T̹̰͇͕͔̳͕ ̳Y͕͖̞͚̘͎̟͠Ơ͇̙͈̻͉̮Ụ̜̮̣̳̙͘ ̝̙H̺̝͍̼A͕̤D͈͚̳̱̤̱͇͟ ̡͕̼͙̻̹͓̩L̵̤̰͙ͅOV̖̳͕̤̝E̤D ͞M҉̖E͉̝͈͚͙̦ ̣̞ͅI ̥͇͔̻͝T̛̥̘H̵͙̹͈̰̘̠O͘U̮͚͞Ģ͓H̨̖͖̟̭͔T͓̠̪ ̹͔̟̥͎̟̬Y̬͍̖͖̞O̞̹̹̗Ṳ̡̩̬ ̡͚̰͇̯̦̣H͇̗̳AD͎̪̪̯̤͠ ̼̮̞̻Ḻ̞͚͖O҉̬̗̠V̼E̮͍̙͘Ḓ ̢̯ME̶̗̜̳͍̫̱ ͍̘̰̤̻̠I̟ ̯̥̣Ṯ̵͎͇͕̦Ḩ̼͖͇̖̩O͙̙̬ͅU͖̙̻̙͈̣̰GHȚ͡ ̜̱̣̱Y̨͕̬O͇͙͔͇͜U ̞́H͚̯̪A͕͎̲̩̱D͈̱ ̼͎ͅḼ̹̫O̧̝̝V̷̜͔̜E̦͔̲̞̭̕ͅD̞̼̮̳̟͡ͅ ̦̭̥̲̥̬̘M͏͈͙̭̱ͅE ̟̲I҉̦̺ ͙͍́T̮̳͍̰͚͖͕͢H̴̬̤̪̥O̪̩̩̻͙͖̩U̻͝G̖̣H̭T͠ ̧̣͚̪̲̦̘̝Y̟̞͎̹̥O̮͍͈̖͚̘̖U̢͍̹̰̘̩ ̸͉͍̗̟͎͉͖H̜̣͇̰̫A̳̜͡D̼̖̤ ͙͇͍̗L͚̤̘͓̫̘O͕͔̺͉͕͕̥̕V̭͔͙͕̪E̢͇͎D̢̲͚ ̯̥̰̱̙̗ͅM̨͍̲͖͉̖̫E̦̝̱ ͙̰͍̤̺I͜ ̥̬̪͚̰̞T͈͖͍͓̖ͅH̰̖̲̙͘ͅO̻͇͇̘͟ͅU̳̝̥͙G̬͙͕̹̰͟Ḫ͕̩̳̬T͖̙ ͓̘͇̙̱̻́Y̧̫O҉̬̠͓̺ͅU̠̞̭̗ ̘̲͚̭̗̯̕H̖̞͉̱̞̟ͅA̞͍͚͈͖͡D̥̟̱̖̬̟͉͠ ̝L̨͈͚̰̬̬O͍͡V͙Ę̳͈̠͓̻̭D͏̞ Ṃ͔̪̪̦͚̝E̝ ̨I̩͎̻͎ ̠͜T̲̞͓̹͝HO̙̝̱̥U̠̙̕G̣̯͖̣H͍͚T̡̹͎ ͜Y͙͇͚̜͓͈̥͟O͓͎̘̬̞U̦̣̻̹͍ ̰̖̥̣̠́H͚͍͔͙̠͙̖A͖͈͇̮̣͝D͇̖̥̹̦̺ ̹̯͎͟L̶͔͍OV̪E͇͓D̺̖ M̛͔̩̦̺̜E̢̮̝͇̗̬͉̩ ̯̱̪͙̲͎I͔̘̙ ̮̙T̟͎̫̦̮̪͍͟H̬̣͕̻̹̗̲O͇̺̯̘UG͖͔̼H͕͖̦͙̥T̶̩̥̠͕ ̩̩̻̬͜Y̬O̵̞͉͕Ụ̯͔͖͝ͅ ̢̰H͇A̤̻̼̜D̬̯̜̬̫͔ ̞͓̰̘̦L̞̟̫Ǫ͙̞͉V̝̳͚͓͎̼̳E̡̱̰͓͔ͅD̻̱͖̫̲͞ ̸̜̗M̯̭̳E̴̪͚̭̰I̳̤̘̦͔̠ ̛̪̠͕͇TH̴͈̫̟̺ͅO͖͙̪̣̦͉U̴̥͕̠̜̼̼G̥̬̰̙͜H̬͖͘T͎͉̙̹̲͜ Y͕͔̣̪̜͉̲͟O̡̻͉̬̘̙U̺̤ ̠̱̲͈̗̩H҉̯̳͉̣̟͔͙A҉͉̘̮D̸̹̝͇ ̲̮L̵̙̰̟OV҉̩̠̫̼E̺̺̤̼̞̥͖D̲̗̬͕͈͎ ͙̭̬̤̫M͓͖̞̫E̶̝̼̰ ̤͚͙I͖̹̼͔͔͘ ̳̱̩͔͚T̵̜̝͓̻͔ͅH̯͕̩̯̦͞ͅO̖͉̮͎U̲͚̥̲̰͜G̨̳͖̺̹͍̗H̡T̥̖̩͙͟ ̞Y̶̭̝̤̩̤ͅOÙ͙͖͙̱ͅ ̞̹̻̥̦H̸̝̮Ḁ̫͖̥̱̠́ͅD̫̦̹̳̺͞ ̷͙L̛̥O̭͕̙͢V͚̝̩̤̣̱̮E̬̤̜͔̟D ̰̲̪̳̗̥̭M̷̺E̪̹̠͉̮͕ ̵̳͖͔͈Í̗̼̱ ̙̣̖̲̼̕T̷̩̙̞H͏̲̹͔͚O̥̪Ù̝̗̣̤ͅG̦̫̣͎̤̟͙H̘̱̝Ṯ̢̲̠͍̤͔̠ ̘͙̳̫̟ͅY̜̤̲͓̼̜̬O̲̠͠U̙̦͈̰̪̪̕ͅ ͍́H͍̠A͔͓̘̯̹͕͞D͕ ̰͈͚͍̯͡L̟̝̙̭O҉̭͇̯̰̳ͅV͎̻͘E̢͓̜D͏͕̙ͅͅ ̶̣̠̟͖̯M҉͉͕͍͚̘E̡Ḭ̗̮̙ͅ ̟͖͔̮T̗̜̼̞̱H҉̼O̥͍̰͈̣̘͇͢U͓͇G̴̣̟̩̥͈̬Ḫ̜̰T̷͇̱̤ ̠͓̣̥Y̫Ọ̩́U̱ ̱̮͎̱͓H̯͔Á̹͉D̴͖̮ ̖̲̝̯͖̪L̼̳̦̲̲̲O̺̝̳̭̙V͉͕͇E͞D̞̬̙͉ ̫̠̭̼̻͇M̘̠͍̭̠̝͔E͍̲̻͓ ̶̺̰͚̬͎̫I̶͉̺̹͉̣ ͈̲̱̯͔̙̮T͕͉H̥̹͎̻̖̥̰Ơ̩̣U͏͇̰͉̖̻̩̟G͏̳͈͍͓͖H҉̟͚Ṯ͙̳̦̯͉ͅ ̳̭̼̱Y̹͙͉O̢U̺͍̻̙͖ ̬̻͘H̡̹̪̬̱A̼͚͕͟D̦̪̙͉̫̮ ͈͉̲̬̜́Ḽ̪̭͚̭O̻͢V̸̜͙͍̠̹E͖̩̼͇̩D̤͙̥ ̟͖̫̙MÈ͔ͅ ͙I ͏̦̜͓Ţ͚̪̹̰͇̞HO̜̼U̳̤̹̟̞̝̖G̣̥H̤̣T̻͖̯̬͖ ̵͕̳͈̦YO̳͔͚͈U̗̭̼̻ ͇H͙̣̭A̝͍̪͖ͅD̟͇̪̬͝ ̨̘̝L͘O͏̩̗̬̩V̛̼͉̦E̻̘̹̞D̦͖̭̺̰̪̕ ͓͎̘ͅM̧͎̪̻͕̹͙E̬̙͡I̢͙̻̩͇̖̫ͅ ̗͚̲Ṭ͎̰̮̲̺H̥O͚̖͎U̯̣͙̠̰̩G͜H͏̯T̥̱̤̠̯̟͓ ͉͙̞Y̲̦̳̗̼̰͉OU̮̬ ̮H̤ͅAD̼̘͖͠ ̞̠͔̲̫̖̥Ĺ̮̦̰O͔̹̩̣͞V̳̦̜̥͍̠͠Ḙ͍̘̗̗͈͈͟D̰͎̯̱̦̕ ͔͎̞̗͚̬̤M̛̤E͈̪̩͢ ̼I͈̜ ̟̺̣͇̺̳̝TH҉̯̩O̱̲U̦̟̙̜ͅG̯̠H̠͜T̢̺͉͓̲̹̗̱ ̬͓̲͍Y̪̤̖̱̠̫̪͘O̶̼͕͙U̝̩̰ͅ H̥̝͔̫͙̤A̮̯̗D̖̭̘̥̖̗̕ͅ ̥͉̠̪͡L̺͓̕O̯̖̥͉̩̪͞ͅV̹͓̻͙̩̮E̜̙͖̹͙̟͞D̩͍̱͚͝ M͔͈̥E͉̠ ͜I̻̬̼̕ͅ ̛̟Ṭ̱̩̻̼̮͝ͅH͎O̟̣̹͘U̮̦͝G͙̬͓̗͙̭͙H̗̭͍͓͎͕̤͡T̡̻͈͓͖̪ ̱͕̻̘̱Y҉̰O͠U̸̬͉̗͇̠ ̠̠̟̮̟H̴͓̙̭͓̩A̩͚̻͚̳ͅD͈̻̘̹̕ ͙̱̠͙̻̘̩L̬̯͉͟Ơ̖̺͉V̛E͓͖͙̦D̫̹̬̳͞ ͈͍M̝̤̟͝ͅE͉ ͎̱̠̤̺̪͖I ͏̥̼̱̰̤̜ͅT͈͈̫͍̮̬̦͢H́O̻̠͔̜̲̣̥U̫͈̯̳G͏̜̣̮͔̦H̙͔̙̩T͚͚̱ ̦̰̞̹̭ͅY̙̲͇̮̹̠͕O͍̲͎̝̖̬U͕̲̬ͅ ̙̠̪H͚̮̥̦̺̞̖͝A̲̬̩̮D̷̜ ͔̪̫̤L̜̣̗O̪͓̭̱͍̣͉V̪͙̤̱͕̭̟E̼͕̳̻̰̙̭D̠͚͕̕ ̗̪̟̝M̠̮Ḛ̟̙̦̺̭͇͠ ̺̯̼̗͙I̺͕ ̵̭͎̟͕T͉̘͉̳͠H̜̗̘̤̱̫̰͠O̡̙̭U̠̥̖͚̜̤̝G̮̭̩̦͍͠ͅH̤̲̖͉̙̠̲T̨͙̤͕̙͉͚̻ ̩Y̡̙Ò͉̱̜Ụ̰̰̫͍̩ ͔̮͚ͅH̟͍̻̤AD̛̬ ̼̫͕̜̦̪L̼͍̠Ọ̴̜͕͕̩̥V̞̰̫̫̼͉̮͢E̵̮͔͍̮D̩͍̞̮ ̖̬̝̰͜M̶E̢̙͍̮̘̟ ̭͈͖̘͢I̖̬̘̹̖͓̠͞ ̵͇̘͔̤͔̣͓T̩͠ͅH͎̤̜͙͖ͅO̪̩̥̙̱̹UG̩͖͈̘̰̟͢H̬̙̫T̢̬̩̟̩͇̘ ̤͉̰̞Y͕̮͚͙͖̳͕͘O̷̥̱U̸ ̣͕̗̯̰̝̹H̸̦̪̘͇͓̠A͔̖̪Ḏ̯͎ ̮̱̟̗L̢̹̻͙O̪̪V̝̻̭͈̟͈Ȩ̖̱̝̟̮ͅD̷ ͎͎́M̧̥̺̗̝̗̙E̥̤ ͔̰̼͚̗I͖̹̣̫̭͖ͅ ̺̳̺͟T̶͍͇̣̰̜H́O͕̼̰̥UG͏̙͕H͇͓͜Ţ̘̮̜͙ ̱̯̮̟̦Y̛O̩̬̗̜̙̻͇U͝ ͉H̫̀A̢D̴͍̬ ̵͖̻̫̫L̬̝͈͔O̫͕͖̩̝̰V͔̹̪ͅE̖̭̭̩͕̩D̗͔̬̗̟͎ ̳M̝͟Ę̘̳͉̮̺ ͍̦͙͇͞I ̠ͅT͈̖̬͍̭̺Ḩ̘̠̼OU̗̪͈ͅG̰̥̠̱̤̜H̗̯̖̜̱͡ͅT̠̼̝̹̪̝ ͉Y͓̠͔̘̠̞O̰̪͞U̬̻ ̢͍̦͇̙HA̢͚̮Ḑ̟̞͕̟ ̼̤͓̫̜͇L̹̬̳͙͕OV̮̺̪̪͈̕E͚̣͕D̖ Ṃ̧̬̠̺͎E̜̦͚̙̼͚͔ I ̠ͅT͈̖̬͍̭̺Ḩ̘̠̼OU̗̪͈ͅG̰̥̠̱̤̜H̗̯̖̜̱͡ͅT̠̼̝̹̪̝ ͉Y͓̠͔̘̠̞O̰̪͞U̬̻ ̢͍̦͇̙HA̢͚̮Ḑ̟̞͕̟ ̼̤͓̫̜͇L̹̬̳͙͕OV̮̺̪̪͈̕E͚̣͕D̖ Ṃ̧̬̠̺͎E̜̦͚̙̼͚͔ I ̠ͅT͈̖̬͍̭̺Ḩ̘̠̼OU̗̪͈ͅG̰̥̠̱̤̜H̗̯̖̜̱͡ͅT̠̼̝̹̪̝ ͉Y͓̠͔̘̠̞O̰̪͞U̬̻ ̢͍̦͇̙HA̢͚̮Ḑ̟̞͕̟ ̼̤͓̫̜͇L̹̬̳͙͕OV̮̺̪̪͈̕E͚̣͕D̖ Ṃ̧̬̠̺͎E̜̦͚̙̼͚͔ I ̠ͅT͈̖̬͍̭̺Ḩ̘̠̼OU̗̪͈ͅG̰̥̠̱̤̜H̗̯̖̜̱͡ͅT̠̼̝̹̪̝ ͉Y͓̠͔̘̠̞O̰̪͞U̬̻ ̢͍̦͇̙HA̢͚̮Ḑ̟̞͕̟ ̼̤͓̫̜͇L̹̬̳͙͕OV̮̺̪̪͈̕E͚̣͕D̖ Ṃ̧̬̠̺͎E̜̦͚̙̼͚͔ I ̠ͅT͈̖̬͍̭̺Ḩ̘̠̼OU̗̪͈ͅG̰̥̠̱̤̜H̗̯̖̜̱͡ͅT̠̼̝̹̪̝ ͉Y͓̠͔̘̠̞O̰̪͞U̬̻ ̢͍̦͇̙HA̢͚̮Ḑ̟̞͕̟ ̼̤͓̫̜͇L̹̬̳͙͕OV̮̺̪̪͈̕E͚̣͕D̖ Ṃ̧̬̠̺͎E̜̦͚̙̼͚͔ I ̠ͅT͈̖̬͍̭̺Ḩ̘̠̼OU̗̪͈ͅG̰̥̠̱̤̜H̗̯̖̜̱͡ͅT̠̼̝̹̪̝ ͉Y͓̠͔̘̠̞O̰̪͞U̬̻ ̢͍̦͇̙HA̢͚̮Ḑ̟̞͕̟ ̼̤͓̫̜͇L̹̬̳͙͕OV̮̺̪̪͈̕E͚̣͕D̖ Ṃ̧̬̠̺͎E̜̦͚̙̼͚͔ I ̠ͅT͈̖̬͍̭̺Ḩ̘̠̼OU̗̪͈ͅG̰̥̠̱̤̜H̗̯̖̜̱͡ͅT̠̼̝̹̪̝ ͉Y͓̠͔̘̠̞O̰̪͞U̬̻ ̢͍̦͇̙HA̢͚̮Ḑ̟̞͕̟ ̼̤͓̫̜͇L̹̬̳͙͕OV̮̺̪̪͈̕E͚̣͕D̖ Ṃ̧̬̠̺͎E̜̦͚̙̼͚͔
I couldn’t hear a thing. All I heard was her yelling into my mind; “I THOUGHT YOU HAD LOVED ME” over and over and over and over and over.
I wish I could make her go away. I never wanted this nor had I asked for this. She was destroying my home. She was destroying me. Her screaming just became louder and louder. I couldn’t hear a thing. I couldn’t hear a thing. I wanted to open my eyes but I couldn’t see a thing. All I saw was the water beneath me and what used to be my house encircling the both of us.
I looked at the Gardevoir who threw her hands up in the air. ‘I THOUGHT YOU HAD LOVED ME.’ She spoke. Her hands positioned in front of her chest, right in front of her horn. ‘I DID ALL I COULD TO SEE YOU AND YOU TREAT ME LIKE THIS.’
‘YOU NEVER LOVED ME’ she spat at me, words dripping with spite, and her hands started to form a dark, black hole right out of thin air. ‘YOU DO NOT DESERVE MY LOVE.’
The black hole grew larger and larger – I could feel myself getting pulled into it. I would have tried to stop it if I wasn’t so weak. ‘YOU DESERVE NOTHING.’
I was pulled into the dark. And I could have sworn she pulled herself in, too. Maybe in the vast emptiness I will learn to love her as much as she loved me.