AUTHOR NOTE/CONTENT WARNING: This Poképasta contains somewhat in-depth descriptions of gore, unsettling imagery, and some smaller existential horror themes. Please read at your own discretion.
Cover image - Created by @uuberwachen
Over and over again, it looped, a cycle of death, rebirth, immortality, and the suffering that came with it.
Memories tend to make up a person. Without them, who are you, really? Your only sense of self, crafted from your experiences, your life lived so far.
What happens, when that is taken from you?
Are you no better than an a robot, being made to carry out any task or script assigned to it?
So, should you want to break that cycle, what happens?
Welcome to a story of broken people. Cycles, and lost souls. Of hate, and of revenge.
MY revenge.
The story of Your Best Friend..
Silver.
Things had seemed all over the place for Ethan today, but he had thought it to be a good thing until just now.
He had finally gotten his PokéGear fixed up, Professor Elm gave him his first ever Pokémon, and was entrusted to go out on his own for the first time with it to deliver something important! He even got to meet Professor Oak himself! Who gave him his very own Pokédex! He'd been beaming since he had stepped foot into the first route leading out of his hometown, the townsfolk enjoying his cheery disposition as he said hello to everyone he passed. It hadn't even crossed his mind that just before he received his new friend Totodile, he had an odd encounter with a strange new boy just outside the lab. He didn't let it bother him. Ethan had too much good going for him to let any weirdo get his mood down.
At least, until Elm called him again, sounding terrified.
"Elm?"
"Ethan? Ethan, you have to come back right away! Something terrible has happened- People are hurt! I- Oh no, what do I do..?"
"What happened?" Ethan questioned, but doesn't hesitate as he quickly proceeds back down the trail towards New Bark Town.
"A strange boy broke in through the window.. He threatened us, and stole our Cyndaquil.. When one of my assistants tried to apprehend him before he got away, he.. Oh, no.."
"With red hair? I saw him looking in through the window earlier.." Ethan huffs, mildly losing his breath as he hurried into Cherrygrove.
"Ethan, whatever you do, if you see that boy on your way back here, you stay as far away as possible. Just be careful, okay? I already called the police and the paramedics.. They should be here soon."
Stay away.. Of course, Ethan figured if he managed to hurt someone the boy was likely armed. He hurries through the town plaza and heads towards the route, where he quickly skids to a stop, coming face to face with the very person Elm warned him about. Ethan inhales sharply, backing up a few feet and quickly standing behind his Totodile.
"Oh, you.. Hey, there!" The redhead approaches, a chipper tone in his voice. It didn't sound quite like he remembered...
His hands were held behind his back, eyes closed, and with a strange knowing smile that seemed to give Ethan a pit in his stomach. Ethan recognized the boy from earlier...
He remembers looking around the side of the lab just earlier this morning, and despite how it looked, he was actually.. rather friendly to him.
"Sorry, don't mind me, I'm just thinking about something back here.. It's awfully cozy, isn't it?"
His smile was soft, eyes shut in a relaxed expression. Something about it made Ethan uneasy, but he didn't understand why at all.
"Uh.. I guess so. Who are you?"
The boy raises a brow, almost like he didn't expect Ethan to speak to him.
"Nobody that important. I'll tell you more about me after you get yourself a Pokémon. Deal?"
"...Okay."
Ethan hadn't thought much of the boy before - he was a bit strange and off-putting but nothing made him seem like he was dangerous.
But now..
"You got a Pokémon at the lab, right?" The boy continued, "Shame, you got the one I wanted.. But it's alright."
Ethan subconsciously steps back as he notices the strange boy reaching into his pocket.
"Stay back-! W-Who even are you? What happened back at the lab!?"
The boy stops. His smile falls.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Ethan."
Ethan's stomach drops.
"...How do you know my name?"
"How wouldn't I? We're best friends now, aren't we? Rivals, even?"
Ethan swears he could see the boy's eye open just a crack. His eyes looked red, and unfocused. It took all his courage to not turn and run the other way. Something was clearly wrong with the trainer in front of him.
He couldn't stop the part of him that wanted to help him, either.
...Why did he want to help him?
"...Besides, you come from an awfully small town, you know. It's hard not to hear everyone's names after enough time."
His off-putting smile returns, and he continues shuffling through his pocket. In a moment after he pulls out a Pokéball, tossing it in the air and catching it.
"You can call me Silver. I have a Pokémon too, now. Want to have a battle?"
Ethan and his Totodile share an uneasy glance. He nervously grabs the strap of his bag as he weighs the situation over in his head. If he refused to cooperate, who knew what this boy could do. His Pokémon was strong, but.. it couldn't fight a person off the way it is right now. He silently asks his new friend to stay brave, and the small croc bounces forward, ready to fight.
"Okay," Ethan murmurs, and furrows his brow, putting on a strong exterior. "But... I-If I win, you have to leave me alone, and give the Pokémon you stole back to the lab."
Silver's expression was hard to read. It looked puzzled, yet.. amused?
He started to chuckle.
"I like the way you do things, Ethan! Deal."
Silver nonchalantly tosses his Pokéball onto the ground. Cyndaquil pops out, looking dazed and confused. It looked.. wounded, as if it were about to faint.
Ethan's face churns in discomfort and frustration. Something was very wrong. A sense of imminent danger hung heavy in the air between the two trainers.
"But just so we're clear.. if I win, you and I are going to be spending a LOT of time together."
Water was much stronger than fire was, Ethan was likely to win. Ethan KNEW he had to win.
But Totodile seemed to be hesitating to attack the other starter Pokémon. To kick it's friend while it was already practically out already..? Totodile uses scratch, causing the Cyndaquil to reel back as if it were going to fall over. It wobbles on it's feet, then steadies.
The Cyndaquil looks up at it's new trainer, and Silver's fingers merely twitch. His Pokémon flinches.
"What the hell is wrong with you..?" Ethan muttered under his breath.
How could one boy do so much damage in so little time..? How could he be so uncaring about the way he's hurt other people?
"There's nothing wrong with me, Ethan," Silver tilts his head. "I just know a lot more than they do, and they don't like that very much."
Silver chuckles again as Ethan's expression shifts to that of confusion. This kid was crazy.. he had to be.
The redhead continues.
"Ethan, I've done this more times than I can count... I guess I'm just a little tired of staying on-script. Even if this WAS my favorite game.. I'm so, so bored of having to lose all the time. Drawing the short straw in the pile, so to speak. I just want something different.. It's only fair, since I was here before you. Surely you can understand that, right..?"
His Cyndaquil arches it's back up, charging up flames much brighter than it should be able to conjure.
"You know how those type matchups work, right? I bet you were expecting to win, but I'm afraid types only do so much when you're going against broken stats and levels."
Silver's eyes finally open, and Ethan is met face to face with wide, dilated pupils. His sclera were barely visible. The subtlety of his smile loosens, showing gums, and sharp canines, strong enough to tear someone apart with ease. His grin is wicked and unhinged, slowly lifting his hand in offering to the trainer.
Cyndaquil howls in pain, shooting off a strong blast of fire from it's back and striking Totodile hard. Even with the strength of water against the other's typing, Totodile is knocked off it's feet immediately, hitting the ground hard in front of Ethan's feet.
The smoke and embers in the air nearly turn the sky around them red as eternal fire, the cries of the Pokémon in battle mixing with the overwhelming scent of charred flesh and smoke billowing towards him.
Ethan yells out in pain as the flame grazes his arm and cheek, rapidly diving out of the way and patting the flame out before he could be set ablaze like his partner. He shut his eyes as tight as possible, covering his ears to drown out the sound of his starter's horrific screeches of pain as the Cyndaquil scorches him without remorse.
The sounds straight from hell felt as though they invaded his mind. It felt like an eternity, the sheer heat making drips of sweat pour from his brow, mixing with the tears beginning to trickle out of his eyes. The smell was nauseating. The smoke made it hard to breathe.
This was it, Ethan thought, he was going to die here.
But then, silence.
Ethan felt like he couldn't inhale for the longest time. His hands trembled as they still pressed firmly over his ears, and the tingling pain from the burn on his arm was starting to reach his brain as the muffled sound of a Pokémon being recalled into their ball snapped him out of his daze.
Ethan doesn't move as he hears footsteps approach him. He doesn't open his eyes as he feels someone crouch in front of him. He bites down on his tongue as he feels Silver's hands gently grabbing his own, and moving them down.
"Open your eyes, friend..."
He didn't want to, but Ethan complied. He felt like he was going to be sick as he stared into Silver's gaping, soulless pupils. The boy stared through him, smile ever-present on his face.
"Hey.. Guess what?"
Silver begins to giggle, tilting his head and interlocking his fingers with one of Ethan's hands.
"I won."
Unable to take any more stress, Ethan's vision began to swim and sway. Slowly, his eyes roll back in his head, and he slumps over, passed out.
Silver leaves the unconscious trainer on the ground. He slowly rose to his feet and stepped to the side of the mutilated Totodile, observing it like it were some sort of experiment to him.
It still lay motionless on the ground.
It's face was gone, but there was no blood. It was all cauterized shut, scorched flesh collected around as a frame to an exposed skull, covered in soot and ash. It gargles senselessly, barely able to make a sound. The poor creature continues to twitch helplessly on the ground, silently begging whoever was by it's side to let them go back into their ball, put them out of their misery, anything to stop the pain it was in.
"I've seen worse get fixed before.. Maybe a trip to the Pokécenter is in your future, huh?"
Silver silently recalls the Totodile to it's ball as the last of the smell of charred flesh began to subside. The sky cleared as though nothing had happened there at all. The only evidence of Silver's deeds now lay in the memory of himself and Ethan.
He turns to Ethan, grin still on his face as he spoke, knowing that somewhere, at least subconsciously, the other trainer heard him loud and clear.
"Remember, Ethan.. I did say what would happen if you lost. You should be a good friend and get stronger for when we see one another again.. I don't want you to bore me in our next battle."
Silver walked closer, Pokéball in hand.
"Y'know, I'm surprised that you didn't pass out sooner..." Silver's voice echoes in the edge of Ethan's mind. "Better leave you here.. He won't be very happy about what I just did, but I'd be lying if it didn't make me feel the most alive I've felt in so many cold, lonely years.."
Silver sighs as he adjusts Ethan's body in his arms, and props him up to sit against the white picket fence protecting the flowers on the other side.
Like he had done nothing at all, he simply grins and began walking away, proud of what he had just done.
Ethan can't seem to remember how long he was out for... but the sun was setting.
The sound of his Pokégear going off repeatedly finally woke him, lurching forward. He felt a wave of nausea as he weakly laid back down. The sensation of a doctor's exam table, and the familiar hum of fluorescent lighting gently lulled him back to consciousness after he has finally awoken from what felt like the worst nightmare of his life.
It was then the sound of his ringtone finally reached his ears, and he weakly opens his eyes. Rummaging in his pocket, he finally lifts the Pokégear to his ear.
"...Hello..?" His voice was hoarse, and exhausted.
"Ethan!? Oh, thank goodness you're alright - where on Earth are you!? You've been gone all day!"
The voice of his mother. Upon hearing it, Ethan relaxed immediately.
"I... I'm okay, I think," he murmurs, still trying to shake the exhaustion from his body, sitting up with a bit of effort. It seemed he had been taken to the Pokécenter after someone found him unconscious on the road. "I think I blacked out..."
The deep sigh of worry from the other end of the call makes Ethan frown.
"The professor has been worried sick something happened to you... Something to do with the incident this morning," She continues, "Ethan, dear... Please, tell me. Did you go near that red-haired boy? Please tell me you didn't..."
Ethan falls silent. He remembered the horrible things he saw... But the amount of concern in the voice of his mother tugged at him. ..Maybe it was better not to worry her.
"...No, mom. I.. didn't see him. I just ran all the way back and..." He pauses, thinking, "...I don't know, I.. guess I overworked myself."
Ethan lets out a nervous chuckle. He hopes she believes him.
There's a pause on the other end of the line, then she sighs.
"Okay... I believe you. Just... when you feel better, please come home soon. The police are still at the lab taking questions and they want to hear from you, too."
"I will, mom. ...I'll be there soon, I promise."
It took all of his energy to hang up the phone. Even more to pull himself off of the cot the nurses at the Pokécenter had set him on, and out of the room they had emptied for him. He thanked the nurse at the desk, and hobbles to the exit. He appreciated being bandaged, seeing as his arm didn't sting quite as much as it did before.
Ethan steps out into the somewhat chilly evening air, warily looking around. He takes a few cautious steps down the road and looks both ways, hoping this "Silver" wasn't around. The thought of seeing him again made his stomach turn. His anxiety spikes as he approaches the road where he saw his Totodile get mutilated right in front of him. Yet.. he saw no Pokémon there. Not even a scorch mark on the ground.
It was like it never happened at all. But Totodile was still missing.
...How was he going to get home now?
He reaches into his pocket to call his mom back, but feels what seemed to be a Pokéball. Ethan pulls it out, and holds it in his hands. Ethan considered not opening it, but he had to know what was inside now. He dreaded the possibility of his Totodile being in there, and if the nurses hadn't known to heal him.
Ethan closes his eyes tight, holding the ball away from him as he pressed the button to open it. He drops it and immediately covers his ears, flinching.
He stood there, for about ten seconds. Upon hearing no scream, he peeks an eye open.
Stood in front of him, looking up at Ethan, was Cyndaquil, who let out a soft chirp, seeming to be happy Ethan was okay. It still looked a little wobbly, but it was much better than it was while Silver had him.
Ethan nervously picks up the ball, then Cyndaquil.
"...I guess I got to save you, at least.." He sighs.
Cyndaquil chitters happily in his arms. Ethan weakly began to walk back towards New Bark Town. He didn't even want to imagine what became of his Totodile now. Before he got to the route, he notices a small card on the road where Silver had been standing before. Cautiously, he picks it up and inspects it, recognizing it to be the redhead's trainer card. His eyes looked.. normal on it, compared to what they were now.
Only..
The name on the card read something totally different, and there seemed to be something called "Play Time" on the back, something Ethan didn't recognize at all. It was in the thousands. With all badges, from Johto, even the next region over, in Kanto..
Had he just fought a champion..?
Ethan nervously heads down the route to New Bark Town, holding the card tightly in his hand. The name written on it gave him that same pit in his stomach as before.. But he didn't know why it made him so uneasy.
Had he really done this before, and not remembered?
All he knew is that this name stood out to him in a way he didn't understand.
"ELIAS".
Why was it so familiar...?
Oh, how Silver loved this new turn of events.
He skips out of the Violet City gym that next morning before the sun rose, humming a tune as he juggles his Pokéballs in his hands.
The feeling of finally breaking the sequence he'd been forced to play over and over again for ages. The most freeing experience he had in so long. He had finally won something on his own for once, and he didn't have to wait around for someone to come into the same town as him in order to actually progress forward. Silver catches his team in his arms, striding over to heal them up in the nearby Pokécenter, ignoring the clearly uncomfortable look the nurse gives him.
He couldn't shake the feeling someone was definitely watching him as he continued to veer his actions in his own way, but he was sure if he kept moving, it would all be okay.
"What was next," he found himself wondering, "Ecruteak, maybe?"
Silver hums a quiet tune. Admittedly he had been in this same town too many times to count, so the order of things seemed to have blurred together in his mind over time.
The same adventure he and his friend had done over and over again, yet after a while, if Silver messed something up enough, it would all begin again, and they wouldn't remember a thing. It was how it had been for years, since he woke up here. He doesn't remember how his consciousness came to fruition here, but he knew one thing - that boy, Ethan, was a no good liar, and a thief. He didn't deserve to have the amazing adventure - HE did. This was HIS game.
Still, Silver wondered if the same would happen now, stopping in the middle of the route he had absentmindedly entered.
He soon became more aware of his surroundings. He didn't recognize this route. The forest paths were always very dark before the sun rose, but never THIS dark.
He could barely see a foot in front of him, the only sound in the darkness was the gentle rustling of the trees in the wind, and the occasional cry from a bug Pokémon hiding nearby.
Despite it seeming normal to anyone else, Silver couldn't shake the feeling rising within him from a place he didn't recognize. It didn't feel safe here. It wasn't safe here.
Something was out there.
He didn't understand what about this feeling made his chest tighten and his ankle feel sore. It was so close - yet nothing came to him.
Silver had done what he needed, he wasn't being controlled by a script, he could outrun anyone.
...Why was he so afraid of a forest, of all things?
Suddenly, like a neatly stitched up wound, something within Silver's mind breaks open, and the memories oozed out like blood from a fresh wound.
He only seemed to find comfort in his DS. It was a hand-me-down from his sister, and a faded pink color with a missing stylus but it let him play his favorite game. He didn't care if his classmates bullied him, or if everyone called him the creepy quiet kid.
It made him happy. It would keep him happy even after he finally graduated from this horrible place next month.
He just wished he had someone he could share his happiness with.
The kid who had moved in down the road from him and began going to school didn't seem to be interested in him, but he hadn't totally shunned Elias away just yet, so he considered it to be his best shot at a friend. He told him his name was Max. He learned of his hobbies, his fears. Elias had hoped Max considered him a friend, because he did so for him. It had to be easy, right? It was so easy for everyone else to make friends.. Surely that meant this was what it was?
On one particularly slow lunch period, Elias had brought out his DS and began playing his favorite game. It was his favorite way to ignore the world around him for a more favorable one. One where he didn't need to be himself.
He tried to ignore it when the other students came up to him. He tried to ignore it when they started trying to talk to him and get a reaction.
It wasn't until they called Max over that he looked up.
"Our buddy here told us how you've been following him around. What are you, some kind of stalker?" One boy shouts, jabbing a finger in Elias' direction.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Elias finally responds, an air of frustration in his voice. "Me and Max are friends. I'm not following him around, he WANTED to hang out with me."
He looks to the boy he thought shared those thoughts with him. "..Right, Max? Tell them."
..But Max doesn't say anything. He simply avoids making eye contact with Elias, taking a step back.
"He doesn't want to be your friend, you creep! Leave him alone!" Another boy calls.
Elias grips his DS tighter, furrowing his brow.
"..Max..?" His voice is quieter, now. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Finally, Max sighs, and Elias brightens, expecting the other to defend him.
"...Sorry, Eli. ..They're right. I can't be your friend. You're not bad, you're just.." Max winces, "..Too intense for me."
Elias could feel his hopes shatter then and there, eyes wide as a cold, stabbing hurt strikes him in his chest. Too intense..? What did "too intense" mean? Was he really that bad? Max always seemed to enjoy his company before. Was it all just a lie to make him feel better? Did ANYONE ever really like him..?
A feeling of betrayal fills him. He thought he had done everything right, and yet..
Before he could open his mouth to say anything, one of the teens that surrounded him grabbed his DS out of his own hands and threw it into the fenced off woods across from the yard. It then rolled down the hill and disappeared from sight.
"Go fetch your stupid DS and don't come back until you learn to be normal for once, freak."
Elias couldn't ignore how they laughed at him as he climbed the fence to retrieve it. He couldn't ignore the fact he knew the teachers, and guidance counsellors, and parents, would never do anything about it. They all thought it was him. They thought he was wrong, creepy, .."intense".
As he stood at the forest opening he decided it. If he couldn't ignore the world here, then perhaps if he walked far enough, he could.
Even if he were ignoring the signs that pointed to obvious danger, too.
Elias retrieved his DS, and looked back. The other teens had walked off, but Max remained. His face was hard to read from far away, but he almost seemed.. guilty. He considered coming back, until Max ultimately turns away, walking with the other boys that had tormented him for ages before. Anger swirling like a flame in his heart, he turned, and continued further into the thicket, feeling more and more assured as the sounds of the school grew more and more distant.
Intense. Intense. They wouldn't know intense if it burned them alive. They wouldn't know intense if it tore them apart, piece by piece. They wouldn't know intense if it ate them from the inside out, and left them to rot. He'd show them intense. He'd show them all.
Elias didn't care to follow a path. He just continued forwards, and forwards...
Until the sun had already gone down, and he still hadn't found the other side.
His stomach growls as he tries to find a path, wishing he hadn't walked with such reckless abandon. The little bit of light from his DS was the only way he could see in front of him. The music playing from his paused game soothing his nerves.
The boy passes by faded warning signs he can't see well enough to read. It puts him on edge.
The sound of the Ilex Forest's theme is the only thing that was keeping him calm now as he walks through a seemingly endless darkness.
He couldn't see the ground.
He couldn't see what he was stepping on, until it was too late.
CLANK.
A harsh sound of metal against metal, and Silver screams.
He shoots up from where he had been propped up against a tree, clutching at his right leg in a panic as he attempted to catch his breath.
Only, there was nothing wrong with it. He was unharmed.
Silver hadn't realized he had fallen asleep. He didn't remember doing so.. His eyes stung, as though they had been open for ages. He takes in a deep, trembling breath as he looks at his surroundings, calming himself down properly.
It appeared as though the sun was up enough to see the route paths again.
He brings a shaking hand up to his face, rubbing at his eyes. It stung to even touch them. Silver had been given a nightmare, but.. a memory, too. A realization that there was a reason he knew that he'd done this so many times.
Silver looks back towards Violet Town, and reconsiders where he had planned to go to next.
Ethan.. He should see his best friend, Ethan.. He could calm him down.
Ethan supposed things could be worse, now...
He couldn't shake what had happened to him the day before, but his mother and professor Elm still ushered him to try starting his training journey despite the seriousness of what occurred. It almost felt like Elm had forgot his best aide in his studies, despite the now empty desk in the lab. Even with the burn on his arm, nobody even seemed to acknowledge his injuries.
It was like nothing happened at all to the people in New Bark Town.
However.. he was able to get a bit of treatment in the Pokémon center, and his new Pokémon, Cyndaquil, who now seemed to be a lot more happy, was doing a lot better than how it was before. Healthier, and not pushing itself to output flames capable of harming itself.
Ethan shudders, imagining the horrific image of his old starter mangled and disfigured on the ground in front of him.
Part of him wondered.. How did he GET his Cyndquil now, anyway?
Was it Silver that sat him there, and traded with him in his sleep?
His introspection stops at the sight of the slowpoke well. What appeared to be two Team Rocket grunts were chatting to each other, but they didn't seem cocky or smug at all. As Ethan got closer he noticed their injuries, and how one was shakily babbling to the other about a "red haired kid that had gone nuts".
He feels a pit in his stomach, but against his better judgement, slowly approaches the two grunts with a wary expression.
"..Hey.. did you say something about a boy with red hair..?" Ethan meekly asks, fidgets with his bag strap.
The grunt's demeanor shifts after a moment, giving Ethan an unpleasant sneer. "Who's asking? We don't just give information to random people who walk up to us, you know."
The other grunt, who was clearly more shaken up, sighs deeply before giving Ethan a proper answer. "...He messed us up good, kid. I-I don't think I've seen anything like it..!"
"What happened..?" Ethan inquires.
The grunt hesitates, but continues. "He came up to us with his Croconaw, and just.. started talking about how we're not worth much of his time, before the thing started tearing both Pokémon and their trainers apart. We had to escape the well, but most of us didn't make it out of there.."
Ethan's blood ran cold. He looks towards the well.
"..Is.. Is he still down there..?"
The grunts look at each other, then nod.
"You gotta stay away from that kid. He's not normal. Not normal at all..."
Just then, multiple slowpoke appear to be trying to run away from the well entrance. A wooden creak of a ladder alerting that someone was coming back out. The grunts gasp, and instantly started to run away.
"Wait- Hey! Where are you going?!" Ethan calls after them.
"IT'S THE FREAK! RUN WHILE YOU STILL HAVE YOUR LEGS, KID!" One of them cries as they manage to make it around the corner.
"But-"
"Heeeyyy, Ethan.." A very familiar voice purrs, much closer than Ethan knew it should have been.
He screams, nearly tripping over his own feet as he started to run, but a hand grips his jacket's hood, keeping him from getting away. Ethan spun around, trying to pull the other's hand free, only to lock eyes with.. Silver. Yet again.
This time, though.. he didn't appear to be smiling.
"Oh, relax, will you? I'm not gonna burn you again. I can't exactly do that with my team, anyway." Silver states, almost smugly, before releasing Ethan's hood suddenly, causing the boy to fall onto his back. "I want to talk to you."
Ethan stares up at him, shocked.
"T.. TALK?! You want me to TALK to you after what you did?!"
"What, you mean the battle we had? Relax. He's fine. Look," Silver holds the Pokéball to Ethan's old partner, and out popped a Croconaw.
..Looking completely unharmed, as though nothing had even happened to it. The only difference was it's eyes. They were as wide and bloodshot as Silver's were.
"So long as you don't kill them, any Pokémon is back to normal once you put them through a Pokécenter machine. That's how it's always worked in here." Silver shrugs, stating this casually as though what he had done earlier wasn't a big deal at all.
"..You're sick," Ethan whispers, grinding his teeth, "You did ALL that to him - just so you could STEAL him?"
Silver rolls his eyes.
"Why are you even doing this..?"
Ethan backs away. His eyes darted between the twisted gaze of Silver and his Croconaw. Both stood there, unwavering.
"I already told you. Because I'm bored," Silver says, sounding almost confused by the question in the first place. "This isn't even the worst I've done to you before, anyway."
"What are you talking about?"
"..You really don't remember anything, do you?" Silver furrows his brow, looking disappointed.
Ethan swallows, unsure what to do next.
The thought of what had happened before suddenly struck the trainer with an idea, and he quickly grabs his bag, fumbling with it's contents. "Wait-" Ethan stammers. He pulls Silver's trainer card out, narrowing his eyes at it.
"..This is yours, isn't it?"
Silver immediately moved to snatch it back, but Ethan manages to hold it out of reach just fast enough. The redhead glares, bearing his teeth.
"Give it back."
"I-I'm not giving this back to you until you explain who and WHAT you really are. Is Silver even your real name?!"
With narrow eyes, Silver huffs, and retracts his arm.
"You seem awfully eager to learn more about me now when you obviously wanted nothing to do with me back then," he mutters.
"..What?" Ethan gave the other a perplexed look.
Silver finally breaks eye contact with Ethan for a moment, looking dejected. Hurt. Whatever had happened to him before.. Clearly impacted him quite a bit.
Ethan looks him up and down in the brief silence. He stops at the sight of a barely visible thin line tracing across his ankle, through his pant leg. He wasn't sure why that small detail drew his attention so much.
"..Elias?"
Silver's gaze instantly snapped back to Ethan. He was surprised by the sight that greeted him now - Silver's eyes. For once, they were wide, pupils small. He almost looked..
Like his old self.
"..What did you just call me?" Silver's voice was quiet for once.
Ethan hesitated, glancing down at the card.
"..Elias. ..That's the name on your trainer card," He gently explained, turning it over in his hands. After a moment, he finally held it out to the other, who timidly plucks it from his hold, looking down at it.
"Is that your real name?" Ethan asks.
Silver doesn't respond. He looks at this heirloom of his identity, transfixed on this name for a good minute, before glancing back up.
"..I-"
A nearby rustle in the forest cuts him off, and rather than answer, Silver immediately looks frantically around the tree line, and behind him. The furrow that appeared on his brow left much to be known.
Ethan could swear he almost looked...
Afraid.
That thought wasn't given the time to be elaborated on as his "friend" had now grabbed his wrist, and began to pull him along without another word.
"Hey--" Ethan stammered, attempting to pull away, but Silver appeared to be far stronger than him.
"Be quiet."
Ethan promptly shut his mouth, eyes wide with fear. His mind was racing with questions about this boy, this THING, that wouldn't leave him be.
Worse yet, the possibility of something out there that scared Silver of all people..
"In here," Silver mutters, shoving Ethan into a small brush of foliage, before crawling in next to him.
"What are you doing-?" Ethan attempted to ask, only to be quickly hushed by the redhead.
Silver delicately moves a small branch out of the way and looks out into the path they were on previously. He narrows his eyes, watching a figure walking through and stopping to look around. Looking for something, or someone.
Ethan squirmed to look out much to Silver's dismay judging by the growl that escaped his much too wide mouth. Peering through the opening, Ethan feels a glimmer of hope as he catches sight of who it seemed Silver had been hiding from all this time.
"P-Professor Oak-!"
Ethan's cry was met with a hand firmly clenched around his mouth and a snarl.
"What are you DOING?! Shut UP!" Silver whispers, panic and anger present in his voice.
Was Silver simply unaware of how much Ethan wanted to get away from him? The way he acted, almost made it seem as though he thought Ethan was REALLY his friend. Maybe he was curious. Maybe he wanted to find out what this redheaded psycho's deal really was, but that didn't mean he had to stomach any of this.
Through the shrubbery Ethan catches a glimpse of the Professor beginning to walk again, but it wasn't clear whether he'd heard Ethan's shout or not. Desperation wells up in the trainer's chest. He needed to get away, and this was his last chance.
Ethan summons the courage, and violently bites down on Silver's hand.
Silver cries out in pain, and Ethan was given a brief moment of release to worm away and run from the tree line in a panic.
The redheaded trainer cradled his hand staying hidden. Looking down at it, that same ever-present anger boiled up in his chest once again. No broken skin, at least, but it hurt. What hurt more was the festering realization that his friend was still a liar.
..Maybe he should have expected that. It wasn't the first time.
"OAK-! PROFESSOR OAK!"
Ethan cries out as he stumbled into the route path and directly in front of the man who he had grown to trust after their brief interactions before he'd met Silver. His face was damp with sweat, hair tussled about from Silver's manhandling and eyes wide, red, and fearful. He tries to catch his breath, wobbling on his feet before falling to his knees.
"Oak, please.. You have to help me," Ethan weakly croaks out, "It's Silver- He won't leave me alone..! He's been hurting people, and Pokémon- He's crazy.. Please, help me!"
He was met with silence. Ethan wearily looks up at the man, confused. Until confusion turned into fear.
OAK had no face. The only thing looking back at him was a singular eye illuminated in the dark void that replaced the once friendly visage of the Professor Ethan had known.
Ethan shudders, fearfully leaning away from him. The figure finally spoke, after what felt like ages of petrifying silence.
"Where is he."
The trainer's mouth felt dry as he lifted a shaking finger and pointed towards the bushes Silver had hid them in.
"..I-In there. He pulled me in with him," Ethan stammers, his voice weak and shrill.
OAK turned towards where Ethan had pointed, and walked towards the brush without another word. In that moment, the bush stirred and shifted violently.
Silver shot up onto his feet with a fearful look in his dilated eyes, stumbling backwards before taking off in a sprint deeper into the forest. His Magnemite was released in that moment, and released a bright flash.
OAK finally stumbles back, shielding his eyes from the bright light as the trainer and Pokémon run away. He lowers his arm, narrowing his eye.
Ethan shakily stood up, holding his stomach. He felt queasy again. It felt like none of this was real = and part of him hoped he WAS just dreaming. That this wasn't how his adventure would turn out. That things were fine and happy and nothing went wrong at all. Ethan prayed that was the truth, closing his eyes tight. Lost in thought, he hadn't realized the "Professor" had walked back to his side until he spoke up.
"I will find him." He spoke, his voice a cold and artificial version of the Professor Ethan knew. "For now, continue forwards."
"..But-"
When Ethan finally opened his eyes, he was alone again. Except for a small note on the ground.
"VICTORY ROAD - DISTRACT AND WAIT."
Amidst the cold cave that bridged the entrance to the Elite Four, a rage and hurt that could barely be hidden stews within the last trainer left standing within it.
A trail of destruction was left in his wake, deep gouges in the stone walls, and only the faintest traces of viscera left discernable.
Still, despite the horrific rage that had enveloped the boy that massacred the path of champions..
At the end of the tunnel, Elias sat there, and softly wept.
He could remember it all, now. The betrayal of the one person he thought was his friend, his slow, and painful death. Alone, cold, and in agony. Nobody was close enough to hear his screams for help.
That boy died in the forest all those years ago. Within this game, his soul became twisted, angrier and angrier with time until he could no longer stand the horrible eternity he had been stuck into.
He could be Silver. But he would also be the biggest mistake anyone ever knew of.
He would show them all.
The sound of tepid footsteps echoing closer snaps Elias out of his wandering thoughts, and he looked deeper into the cave, standing up and locking eyes, once more, with Ethan.
His eyes were red and puffy, but still, his pupils dilate. Only this time, it was in pure hatred. Elias snarls at the trainer, fingers trembling with the sheer desite to tear him apart himself.
"You should have given up when you had the chance."
Ethan's expression was hard to read. He appeared nervous, yet.. as though he were hiding something.
"..I know," he murmurs. "..I think I know who you are, now."
The line traced about Elias' ankle looked different now, to when Ethan had seen him last. A dark, thick line that dug holes through his pant leg and revealed rotting, agitated skin that had been hiding just beneath this whole time. It oozed a dark crimson fluid, too viscous to truly be called blood anymore.
"..You're not Silver."
Elias glares, sneering as he responded. "I never was. And I never wanted to be here in the first place."
"..I'm sorry. I know you're probably hurting.. I want to know if I can do something to stop all this." Ethan takes a step closer, and for a split second, Elias almost softens at the sight.
Despite all this, Ethan wanted to help him.
..What a fool he was.
"It's too late for that," Elias admitted in a low growl, "You and I both know that I'm beyond saving, and so are you."
He stops.
"...What do you mean?"
The area around them began to flicker. Elias hisses, gnashing his teeth and shifting to prepare an attack. The blood on his once clean yet clammy hands dripped off his jagged nails. He looked truly monstrous, a far cry from the boy Ethan first saw at the beginning of his adventure. It was clear now. Elias hadn't even used his Pokémon to take down all the trainers in Victory Road. He'd killed them himself, all mercilessly, and without hesitation.
Elias' body language made it apparent he wasn't going to be convinced. Ethan sighs at that.
"You're never going to give me an answer, are you?"
To Ethan's surprise, Elias quietly chuckles.
"I already have. You just need to find it."
What was once the stony cave around them was now gone, as was Elias.
Ethan now stood in a silent, dark forest. The branches so dense above him that if there WAS sun, it was obscured entirely. He felt completely caged in. The only noise discernable was the distant hum of crickets and flies. ..Not Pokémon. No Pokémon sounded like those. Where was he?
He anxiously pulls out his Pokégear and opens his map, only to find the entire area.. blank. Not Johto, not even Kanto. Nothing. Ethan shudders, a chilling breeze shaking the branches around him. He felt a rising sense of dread in his gut. He wasn't alone here.
As he moved to take a step forward, his shoe scuffs against an object, sitting on the ground at his feet. As he picked it up, he discovered it was a flashlight. He supposed it was better than nothing. But if he refused to move, whatever was in this place with him would surely catch up, and fast.
Old, dry leaves crunch underneath Ethan's feet as he continues through the endless maze of foliage. Twigs snap around him, the sound of nearby movement building dread slowly as he hoped with all his might that he would survive this. He thinks he should have listened to everyone's warnings. He should have stayed away, given up. He should have never spoken to that freak in the first place.
Just then, a noise catches his ears.
Music. In the distance.
The tune of Ilex Forest.
Was that where he was this whole time? Had he been brought to a dangerous part of it and left there? Ethan squints, eyeing a tiny light in the far distance, barely visible between the trees. It was the way out, surely. He began to walk closer, pausing as he reaches a faded sign lining the area he was about to enter. Shining his flashlight to it, he could barely make out the warning.
"CA TI N - BE R T PS ON P TH".
He'd have to be careful. Keeping his flashlight pointed toward the ground, the light gleamed back at him as it caught numerous metal contraptions barbed with teeth. They all sat open, ready to clamp down at any daring pressure that stood on the plate to activate it.
Ethan carefully weaved between them, taking a moments look before taking every step. Dragging his feet somewhat so as to not lift them up and step on something he shouldn't.
CLANK.
He yelps at the sound of one of the traps going off, but not on him. It was further away. Behind him. He whips around, flailing his arms to avoid falling over in the maze of jagged metal teeth. His flashlight shined over, looking at the activated trap, and seeing nothing within it.
CLANK.
Another activated. Closer.
Something was here, and it was something he couldn't see.
Ethan began to panic. He looked back at his path. The light still seemed so far away..
He moves quicker through the trap laden forest. Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead in his struggle.
CLANK.
He let out a fearful whine. He had to hurry. Almost there. Almost..
CLANK. CLANK. CLANK.
The music sounded much closer now.
CLANK.
Ethan wheezes, hearing the horrible noises of metal hitting metal behind him. Every time, it sounded closer and closer. Hunting him down like he was simply prey.
CLANK.
He let out a shout. The trap right behind him going off. With the light and music merely a few feet away, he throws caution to the side and makes a break for it, praying his luck would turn around, just this once.
CLANK.
A bear trap grazes his ankle, making him stumble, but he continues to run, sweat beginning to mix with tears.
The echoing laughter of something - or someone nearby. It laughed at his suffering as though it were merely a game.
Then, silence. Ethan's foot catches on an exposed root, tripping into the small clearing. He gasps and looks up, face lit up in hope to finally be out...
The light was not from the end of the forest.
It was a screen. A DS screen.
The music softly echoed from it's speakers, looping endlessly. A small, red light just below the screen gently blinked on and off.
Then, the stench hit his nose, and Ethan gags, covering his mouth and nose with his hand as he pushed himself onto his knees, shining his flashlight at the dark mass holding the DS.
The sight was horrific.
A maggot and fly infested corpse lay at the base of a tree, hand still clasped around the DS. It was of a teenage boy, with dark hair, pale skin, and a pine green hoodie, caked thoroughly with dirt, and blood. It's eyes bulge lifelessly in it's skull, pupils dilated enough to barely show the whites. It looked thin enough to have had all of it's muscles already gone from under it's skin.
A beartrap gripped it's ankle like a vice, chaining it to the ground.
Old, dried blood covered the forest floor.
Ethan felt whatever he had left in his stomach threaten to come up in that very moment. He attempted to push it back down. Struggled not to vomit, and failed. The bile stings his throat and nose as he spits it out onto the ground, coughing and hacking.
"You wanted the truth, Max.."
Ethan looks back up, swaying as he does.
The corpse was looking at him. It blinks between the horrid image of it, and.. Silver.
"You coward.. You felt so, so bad, for what you did to me. You came back to look for me. Thought I would just come back with you, like nothing happened."
The corpse's cracked, blue lips curl up into a crooked smile as a worm squirms it's way out of a hole in his jaw. It flickers back to Silver.
"But what you did is why I'm here."
"You killed me, Maximus."
"You killed me."
A figure, with the same flashlight as Ethan was holding, approaches the corpse. Another young boy, in a green flannel and black t-shirt.
He stands there, staring in horror. He pulls out his phone, trying to call someone.. But can't.
The boy stares at the body for longer than he should have. Thinking. And began to approach it.
He reaches for the DS.
In an instant, the illusion is broken by a howling screech of agony.
The redhead twitches and convulses on the ground, now a sleek black tile that stretched on seemingly forever. A net made of electrified white cable binds him down as he wails in pain.
Ethan scrambles backwards, confused and alarmed by the sudden change.
"W-Wha-?!"
"You've done well, Ethan."
The familiar voice of OAK chimes in, footsteps approaching from behind and passing by before coming to a stop in front of the writhing, glitching figure as it snarls and thrashes. Elias' stares directly at Ethan, letting out a cry of agonized rage as he tries to tear himself free.
"MAXIMUS! YOU TRAITOR! THIEF! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!!"
Ethan stares in horror as OAK merely watches Elias screech and struggle helplessly.
Within another minute, Elias' struggles and screams weakened. He hisses in pain, grasping at the cold floor through the netting towards Ethan in one last attempt to reach him.
"Maaaax…. T..Thief.. Thief.. You're a dirty.. thief..! But it's.. okay.. Because now.. we'll be together... for.. a very, v-very.. long... time..."
"B.. Best.. friends.. I'm... Your.. Friend..."
"..E.. Eli..as...."
The boy's eyes shrink to a normal size and roll back in his skull. He falls limp as the wires finally disappear.
"Such a tedious process, resetting the things he breaks," OAK mutters, "But it's better than letting him break it completely."
OAK turns to Ethan, and walks towards him. He looks between him and the now unconcious body of what used to be his rival, and crawls backwards on his elbows.
Nothing made sense. None of this could be true. Was it true that Elias wasn't the only one that had died in that forest?
..Who was he? Where was he? WHAT was he?
OAK presses the palm of his hand against Ethan's forehead, and he feels his thoughts slip away. Back to the fantasy. To how things were meant to be.
The darkness gave way, to his room. His bed. Yes, Ethan was home.
He was going to start his journey as a Pokémon trainer today.
"..Wh.. What? What was I just..?"
Ethan blinks, shaking his head. He looks up, to the friendly face of the Pokémon professor. Professor Oak.
"Hello there, Ethan!
Welcome to the world of Pokémon."
Let the cycle begin again.
