A Shuppet's Call

I remember when my friend had bought me "Pokémon: Sapphire Version" for my birthday (because he was tired of me playing his copy) and I hardly put it down for a long period of time. Mind you, I was far from obsessed with the game. I'm just a guy who loves to play Pokémon. One of my favorite Pokémon was my Shuppet, who I named "Vendetta" after I read its Pokédex entry.

It described Shuppet as a Pokémon who seeks out people filled with vengeful thoughts, and feeds off their grudges...or something like that. I found that to be a little dark, but not unnerving dark, just the "whoa...cool." kind of dark.

My Shuppet was my top Pokémon, and for once, I didn't play through my Pokémon game relying solely on my uber buff Starter, since I was usually far too lazy to bother leveling up my other Pokémon.

But Vendetta was the exception. Granted, my Swampert was still a pretty tough cookie, but My Shuppet was hardcore too. Then things started getting a little weird in my game...

It started when I got Vendetta to Level 37. It didn't evolve into a Banette. Truthfully, I didn't really notice until I realized it was level 43, and I knew that most Pokémon evolve (at the highest) when they reach level 42. I brushed it off, thinking maybe I gave it an Everstone or something and forgot. My friend who bought me the game was pretty Pokémon savvy, so I thought I'd ask him about it.

I thought maybe Shuppet was one of those Pokémon you had to trade or use a stone or item to evolve it (I didn't know a whole lot about Pokémon back then). Unfortunately he had gone to visit relatives for the summer, so I was out of luck for the moment. I didn't really care enough to Google it, so I just kept Vendetta as a Shuppet. In a weird way, I was kind of happy it didn't evolve.

But the weirdness didn't stop there. When I went into battle, Vendetta was becoming a little more....active. It was as if Vendetta was jealous of my other Pokémon. I found that whenever I moved it from the first slot in my party, to a different slot that it'd move by itself. Vendetta would re-appear in the first slot. Also, sometimes when I chose another Pokémon for battle, Vendetta would pop out. That's when the weirdness really started to get my attention. It didn't really annoy me too much though. By this point, Vendetta was level 93, and could whoop almost any Pokémon I came across, even dark types.

Also, Vendetta really liked to use the move "CURSE", sometimes even when I chose another move for it to attack with. It was like Vendetta wanted the enemy Pokémon to suffer, just for challenging it. When I tried to replace the move, it would say "Cannot Replace this move!" which I thought was weird. I simply summed it up to being something I didn't know about Pokémon games, like maybe there are some moves that don't get replaced or that only the "Mover Deleter" can erase, besides HMs. Before you correct me, I'll repeat that this was back when I didn't know the inner workings and the little strategies of Pokémon games. I just loved to play the games; I really didn't pay attention to the little things in them.

Eventually though, things got to the point where I knew for a fact, that it wasn't simply something I didn't know about the game...it's something I wish I never knew in general. One day, I went to the "Name Rater" to rename one of my Pokémon, but I pressed A too many times, trying to skip the text, and I accidentally chose Vendetta to be renamed (who was still in the first slot of my party.) Then something kinda creepy happened. Instead of saying Vendetta's name was okay but he could think of something better, or whatever he says, his text box was blank for a moment.

Then it went "...." for a few seconds. He said something that unnerved me a bit. "Get Rid of that thing boy, That Pokémon hold's grudges, terrible grudge's...it'll be the death of yo-" but before he could finish, the little sequence that came up were you use an HM like fly or Surf in the overworld. When the sequence shows the Pokémon that uses the move, it was Vendetta who appeared. But I had never taught Vendetta any HMs or Teleport or anything like those moves. Suddenly we teleported out of the Name Rater's house and ended up in front of the Pokémon Center. At this point I was a little creeped out. I knew that this hadn't happened before, since I've actually renamed Vendetta before this (I misspelled its name the first time).

I ran back over to the Name Rater's house, but when I walked in, he was gone. Not only that, but his house had fog in it, like when you're at Mt. Pyre. I was beyond creeped out, but something stopped me from turning the game off. I left the house and was just going to keep playing, but suddenly a text box popped up. Nothing was said in it. Then I heard a Pokémon's call sound effect....a Shuppet's call. Then something was said in the text box. "VENDETTA: Are you happy with what I did?" it said. Wait a second.

Was Vendetta talking to me? The name in front of the text said "VENDETTA." And if so, why was it asking me is I was happy with what it did? What did it do? Suddenly a "YES/NO" box popped up. "VENDETTA: So, are you happy with what I did?" it repeated. My heart was tightening by now. How could a game be doing this? I knew people could hack games. I knew people hacked used games (which this was). But If someone did hack the game, this kind of thing would've shown up by now. I mean, I'd been playing the game for a few months by now.

My attention was drawn back to the game eventually, Vendetta's question still staring me in the face. I chose "YES." for some reason, maybe I didn't want to make Vendetta upset, maybe I just chose "YES." without thinking. All I know is, I was scared. After I answered "YES.", Vendetta responded. "VENDETTA: Good, because I killed him." My heart dropped after reading that. The reason the Name Rater was gone was because...Vendetta killed him?! Why, why would it do such a thing? My question was then answered. "VENDETTA: That man was telling lies about me.

I don't hold grudges. You don't have to get rid of me...Do you KYLE?" it asked. Another "YES/NO" block appeared. That's when I was truly frightened, because Vendetta said my name. I wouldn't have been so scared if I had named my character my real name. But my character was named "KMAN." not "KYLE." I then re-read Vendetta's question. It was as if Vendetta was worried I was going to get rid of it. I clicked "NO" this time to let Vendetta know I wasn't going to go release it. "VENDETTA: Good. I thought you were mad at me. Come on, let's continue on our adventure!" it said. It sounded like Vendetta was kind of saying "Forget about what I did." when it wanted to "continue on our adventure." But I was done.

I didn't want to play anymore. I was scared, and I just want to forget about what Vendetta did, I also wanted to forget about Vendetta. I turned the game off, not even bothering to save the current game. I then put my Gameboy on my bedroom desk, and walked out of my room.

It was a few days later, a Saturday to be exact. I was bored, so I walked into my room in hopes something would come to me that could end my boredom. The first thing that caught my eye was my Gameboy. Immediately, the event with Vendetta reappeared in my mind, but I decided to play the game anyway. I turned on my Gameboy. Instead of the little sequence with the Gameboy logo flying on the screen, or even the game's opening cut scene, it just cut directly to the part where you select your saved game file.

I remembered that I didn't save, so I would still be at "SOOTOPOLIS" where I had saved before the whole thing with Vendetta had happened. But I read my save file and it wasn't what it should have been. I read it and it said my name, not "KMAN," but my real name. "KYLE." I read further and My Pokédex number was at 0. But that was impossible, as the game would not allow you to be without any Pokémon unless for the first few parts of a new game. My playing time was the same though, "98:43." I was again scared, but I clicked on the file anyway.

It opened up, and I was in "SOOTOPOLIS", but it was raining. Not like when Kyogre was awoken, because I was past that already, I had already beaten the game, in fact. The town wasn't flooded, either. It was just raining. I checked my party, and it was empty. I had not one Pokémon in my party. Luckily, I was in front of the Pokémon center (since in "SOOTOPOLIS" you have to surf over to the Pokémon center) and I rushed in. The Pokémon center was empty. No people were inside.

The nurse character wasn't even behind the counter were she'd normally heal your Pokémon. I ran over to the computer, and checked my boxes. Every one of my Pokémon was gone. Then I noticed the boxes' titles. It kept saying repeatedly "READ.YOUR. MAIL." Obeying the message, I accessed to my character's PC, and there was one letter. It didn't have a title though.

I opened it, and it simply said "cHeCk On VeNdEtTa." I was scared again, even more so then last time I had played. I did as the letter asked, and I checked my Pokémon again. This time, Vendetta was in the first slot of my party, ONLY Vendetta though. But its sprite was different. Vendetta's eyes looked red, and there were darker red splotches all over it.

I checked Vendetta's summary to see its full sized sprite. I wish I hadn't. Its eyes were glowing a bright red, and it was covered in what appeared to be stains of blood. The Bottom of its body, were it looked like a cloth was thrown over something, was all tattered, dripping with blood as well. I exited its stats quickly, and exited the computer. But before I could exit the Pokémon center, a text box came up. I knew who it belonged to. "VENDETTA: Why did you leave me?

Was it what I did to that man?" it said. A "YES/NO" box appeared this time. "VENDETTA: You told me you were happy with what I did! I would've made it right if you said you weren't happy. Why did you lie to me? I hate liars...." Vendetta seemed to pause for a moment. "VENDETTA: I guess I can't really complain. I, myself, have lied." it said.

I was taken back for a moment. What did Vendetta lie about? As if it was reading my mind, Vendetta replied. "VENDETTA: What did I lie about? Well, remember what that man said?" It was referring to the Name Rater. "Vendetta: Well, when I told you that he was telling lies about me? I told you I didn't hold grudges, remember?" it asked. Yes, I remembered, I wished I could forget. Vendetta paused for a moment, and my fear grew more intense. "VENDETTA: Well, I lied." it answered.

I was shaking by now. "VENDETTA: So, are you happy with what I did to the others?" it said. I was confused. What was Vendetta talking about? What did it do this time? "VENDETTA: I hope you're happy this time...you better be. So are you KYLE?" Vendetta added. Then a "YES/NO." box appeared. Fear gripping me, I chose "YES.". There was a pause and Vendetta replied. "VENDETTA: Really? You're happy I killed all your other Pokémon? You're happy I killed all these people? YOU'RE HAPPY I KILLED EVERYONE?" It asked.

I was still shaking. I now knew why all my Pokémon were gone. Why all the people in the Pokémon Center were gone. Why everyone was gone. "VENDETTA: I killed them. Now no one can keep you from me," it said. It was clear why Vendetta was doing this. Vendetta, in a sick twisted way, did all this because it wanted to be with me. But it was too late. I was done.

I wanted nothing to do with this game, with Vendetta. I never wanted to play Pokémon again. I didn't even shut off my game. Instead, out of fear, I threw my Gameboy to the wall. The screen cracked, and the game flew out of the cartridge slot. I stared at the broken Gameboy for a few minutes. When I had calmed down enough to move, I got up. I was about to walk out of my room, when I felt something under my foot. When I looked, I saw it was my Sapphire game. I was about to pick it up...

Then I heard a Pokémon's call sound effect....a Shuppet's call.

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