Pokémon is the biggest videogame franchise in the world, but even then, you might be
unaware of the many enigmas surrounding it.
And after hearing Victor's story, we ask you to never download the beta version of the
game "Pokémon Zombie".
It isn't an official game, and it isn't clear if it actually exists or not… however, many
claim that it can be found around the Internet.
And that if you do find it, you can actually download it and play it…
Before Victor's life completely changed, he loved to collect Pokémon games and merchandise.
He would spend hours and hours everyday playing his favorite titles in the series, and would
always buy the newest Pokémon game whenever it released.
However, one day, Victor bumped into a strange website in Japanese.
It had a black background with white lines, and images which looked like dust particles
moving in the wind.
Victor tried to translate the page using Google Translate, but every time he pressed the "Translate"
button, he would see a red box with strange characters.
That weirded him out a bit, but he didn't give it importance – he just thought it
was some sort of computer error.
The only thing Victor could understand on that page was a neon-green title which said:
"Pokémon Beta Zombie", and a button which said "Download".
He clicked on it, and his web browser opened a window with strange, unreadable characters.
It showed only two options: "Download executable", and "Flee while you can".
This weirded him out even more, but Victor was such a big Pokémon fan that he decided
to push forward, and download the game.
Once he downloaded the executable file, it opened automatically without him clicking
on it… and the game started.
There was no menu, and no intro screen.
All he could see was his player character in the middle of a dark zone.
And suddenly, a text popped-up on the screen: "If you survive, you will become my servant.
If you lose all of them, you will die."
After that message, the screen became completely red, then yellow, then sepia… and then,
gameplay resumed showing a strange fog.
And that fog eventually dissipated, showing what seemed to be a normal Pokémon town.
However, that fog was then replaced with rain and lightning, and Victor could then hear
an ominous chorus in the background, as well as the sounds of some sort of creature chewing
on something…
Victor then tried to check what Pokémon he had, but when he tried, a strange message
popped-up saying, "They hate themselves.
They don't want you to see them, until the right time."
Victor was also curious as to why the game was in English, since he downloaded it from
a website in Japanese.
He thought that maybe it was a fan-translation of a Japanese fan-game, and kept playing.
He advanced with his player character, and as he was walking, a random encounter with
a wild Pokémon started… and it was against a level 100 Mewtwo!
However, for some unsettling reason, the Mewtwo looked emaciated: Its skin was light green,
its tail was purple, and had scars all over its body.
The player character then threw a black pokéball.
A level 6 Charmander came out of it… and it looked injured, much alike the wild Mewtwo.
However, the most disturbing part was that a portion of the Charmander's head was broken-open,
and part of its brain could be seen through its skull.
The wild Mewtwo then used the move "bite", and for some reason, it caused the Charmander
to instantly became a level 60 Charizard.
And after that strange evolution, the wild Mewtwo fled.
The fight was over, and the game indicated that Victor had just earned the Soul Badge.
Then, a new message suddenly appeared instructing the player to go to the train station to take
a train.
Victor didn't know how to get there… but his hands seemed to act on their own, moving
the player character towards the station.
He went into the train… and saw many other characters that looked just like his.
Then, a message suddenly appeared on the screen saying, "All these characters look just like
mine!", and shortly after, "Creepy… is this game reading my mind?"
Victor got a bit scared.
For a moment he thought that the game was showing him exactly what he was thinking…
although, he then considered that the creators just put in those dialogues for all players
to see, and had calculated pretty well how most players would react.
However, more texts and dialogues started to appear, which made him feel more unsettled.
When the train stopped, all the other characters disappeared, and Victor's player character
was now alone.
He got off the train and into the town he had just arrived to… and it looked completely
burnt and destroyed.
Then, a new message appeared, instructing the player to "Kill The High Command".
Victor kept advancing with his player character… and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw
Pokémon devouring their trainers.
Victor could hear the Pokémon chewing, as well as the screams and cries of the trainers.
The sound effects were eerily realistic…
And in that moment, next to a building, Team Rocket appeared, and ran directly towards
the player character.
There was no dialogue, but a battle immediately started.
It was a double battle, where Team Rocket sent out a Pikachu and a Pinsir, both level
59.
The player character controlled by Victor then sent out a Jigglypuff and a Ninetales.
And strangely enough, he couldn't choose any attack, and the battle went on automatically.
Victor then witnessed how the Pokémon started eating each other in battle.
The first one to be defeated was Jigglypuff.
When its health points reached zero… it exploded, covering everything around it in
blood.
Then, the same thing happened to Team Rocket's Pikachu and Pinsir.
Only Ninetales was still standing after the carnage.
Once the battle was over, a text appeared saying: "Your Jigglypuff has been devoured.
Fortunately you still have 5 Pokémon left.
Lose them, and the one who will be devoured next will be you."
Victor tried to check his Pokémon team again, and this time he was able to.
His Jigglypuff was no longer there – the place which should be occupied by the sixth
Pokémon was now empty.
Charizard and Ninetales were there.
And the rest of the Pokémon couldn't be discerned, since they were covered by shadows.
Victor got out of the menu, and moved his player character into a building.
The inside seemed to be Pokémon Center… but nobody was there, except for ominous piano
music and the sound of whispers in the background.
Then, a text appeared saying that he had to go upstairs.
He did, and then he saw three characters: A man, a woman, and a little girl.
The man seemed to be the father, and he seemed to be crying and yelling:
- "Why, Clear?!
Why did I have to kill him?!"
The mother tried to console the man:
- "Don't blame yourself anymore.
You had no choice.
He turned into one of them.
You think Victor's death doesn't affect me too?
We lost a son… but we still have Lily."
Victor was now frozen in shock: His mother's name was Clear, his little sister was named
Lily, and the boy who they killed in the game was also named Victor.
What was happening??