I was walking through the city center when I saw the old video game store with the sign
“SALE”. I had spent so many hours there as a child that memories came over me, and
I decided to go in and have a look out of pure curiosity.
I walked around the shelves and a title caught my attention. It was a second-hand version
of Pokémon Silver, my favorite. Suddenly, nostalgia came over me: my mother had got
rid of my old games a long time ago, but I still kept my old Game Boy Color. I didn't
hesitate for a second: I bought it and ran home to try it.
When I arrived, I changed the batteries on the console and put the cartridge in. The
familiar Gamefreak logo appeared on the screen. That brought back so many memories...! The
unmistakable start menu soon emerged. I was surprised to see that the game had the data
from a previous game. Probably the old owner hadn't reset it.
Out of curiosity, I clicked on it. The first thing that caught my attention was that my
character, Gold, didn't have a name, and instead, only a few quotation marks appeared. But I
found his profile even weirder: 999 hours 99 minutes played, 16 medals, 999,999 Pokémon
dollars and 251 Pokémon in the Pokédex.
I checked my equipment, which was complete. I had a Pokémon with the nickname “HURRY”,
and a level 5 Cyndaquil with only 1 HP (hit point). It had two attacks, "Screech" and
"Flash". But even stranger was that I found I had 5 Unowns, also level 5. By checking
their symbols I could read the word “LEAVE”.
I closed the menu, still puzzled by all that, and saw that the game had been left at the
Bellsprout Tower, but unlike the original game, the central pillar didn't move. I started
walking around it until I saw some stairs behind it, and when I walked them the screen
went black.
I tried to move around the map but soon realized that I would need light to continue. At that
moment I remembered that my Cyndaquill had "Flash". I used it... but instead, the screen
turned completely red. That was getting weirder.
The only direction I could take was to the south, and I noticed that the further I went
the darker the screen got, until I reached the end. Straining my eyes a little, I distinguished
a sign. I went over to read it: “Turn back now”. A dialogue window suddenly popped
up, giving me a choice between yes and no, but there was no question. I selected yes,
and when doing so the game notified me that my Cyndaquill had passed out, without further
explanation.
The Gamefreak logo reappeared, and the usual music from the game returned. I realized that
I could open the menu, and I checked my equipment: I no longer had Cyndaquil, but instead there
was a new Unown, 6 in total, whose symbols now said, “HE DIED”.
I was in Goldenrod City. No doubt that version was a hack, I didn't understand how they could
sell a faulty game. I reopened my trainer's profile: it showed 24 medals, something clearly
impossible. I checked my gear again: 5 Unowns and a level 100 Celebi without a nickname.
The Unowns were now level 15, and spelled the word "DYING".
Immediately after closing the menu, the FLIGHT animation appeared, and I found myself again
at the Bellsprout Tower, with the central pillar as still as before and the light red
again. My avatar now had red eyes, as if they were bleeding. Again, there was only one way
to go, and for the first time I saw another player on the map: it was Red. I advanced
to him, and the game quickly went into battle mode.
The text simply said “... wants to fight!”, Without a name. Me and my opponent, we only
had one Pokémon, even though I knew my team was complete. My Celebi came out, with the
sprite showing only half the body. Red sent an apparently normal Pikachu, except that
he was level 255, and his expression was really sad.
The battle started, although I couldn't select any attack: it was as if the game did it for
me. Red's Pikachu was far superior in level, so my Celebi soon weakened. The text announced,
“CELEBI is dead!”, and instead of the normal animation I saw his avatar fade away.
The same thing happened soon after with the opponent, who also vanished. The music stopped
and the screen went black again.
I appeared in my room in New Bark Town. My trainer profile said now that I had 40 medals.
As for my team, it was all Level 20 Unowns, which spelled the word “NO MORE”. As I
moved around the room I noticed that my avatar was transparent and it was floating, like
a ghost. I went down to the ground floor and after not seeing anything, I went out the
door.
There was no transition, instead, my sprite turned white and continued on a gray map.
It no longer made the slightest sense. I went down the map for a long time, since it was
the only possible direction. The screen changed color again, and suddenly the game teleported
me again like I was using an Escape Rope.
I appeared in the Lavender Town Tower, surrounded by tombs. But now I didn't even have an avatar!
I was able to move the map but without any references. I checked my Pokémon: I still
had 6 Unowns, now level 25. I read the phrase they formed: "I’M DEAD”. Shortly after,
a text popped up on the screen, which said "R.I.P. PokéMon TRAINER GOLD ". Now I understood
everything.
Trainer Gold was dead. In the game, he was a young trainer who despite his attempts to
be a Pokémon master had been unable to avoid his fate. All his efforts were forgotten by
the next generation. I couldn't escape that text, no matter what buttons I pressed. I
tried to reset the game but to no avail. I gave up, and put the console back in the closet.
After that surreal experience, I would never see the Unowns the same way again... nor the
old Pokémon games. For some strange reason, I had the feeling that what had happened to
Trainer Gold was a life lesson that could happen to anyone... even me.