Cubone's Revenge: Difference between revisions

I still had the old original cartridge, restarted several times, the top of the labeling worn from being pulled in and out of the Game Boy so many times. And I had every other role-playing game in the series with the original boxes and manuals, some even unopened. So I was thrilled to find a boxed copy of Pokemon Red in a used book store, and it was only $10! I bought it and was so excited to finally complete my game collection. I decided when I got home to put it in my teal Game Boy Color and make sure it still worked. But as I turned the box over to open it, I noticed one little flaw to my new prize. The vintage Sugimori Cubone image on the side looked like it had been drawn on with a red pen or marker. The eye was red, with a red tear trickling down the skull, the base of the skull also covered with red, as though blood flowed down its body from beneath the skull. Oh, well. No matter, as long as the game worked.

 

 

I pressed Start, and the game took me to the menu, with only "NEW GAME" and "OPTIONS" being my choice. Either I had had the uncanny luck of finding a game that had never been played before, or the bad luck of getting one with a dried internal battery. I chose "NEW GAME" after switching to fast text in the Options menu. Professor Oak greeted me as always, a Nidorino with a Nidorina's call representing all Pokemon. I chose the name "Ruiyo" for my character after an OC I used to play as when my friends and I would role-play Pokemon nearly a decade ago. I named my rival "Blue", since I've always had trouble figuring out an original name for him. And the game went from there. I chose Charmander, partly because Ruiyo had been a Fire-type trainer, and partly because I've always liked choosing the starter that corresponded to the version. Fire types for the first versions, Water types for the second, and Grass types for the special editions, like Crystal and Emerald. Before taking on Blue for the first time, I tried my luck at saving. And sure enough, the game saved!

When I reached the stairs to go down to the floor below, a wild battle was suddenly initiated, much as though I had stirred up a Gastly. But instead, the game said "Wild KANGASKHAN appeared!" My heart froze mid-beat as the sprite came to light. Its cry was long and drawn out, and its image, while in the shape of the large Kangaskhan sprite, looked to be made up of bits and pieces of the Aerodactyl and Kabutops skeleton sprites. If this was a hack, this was well done. It really did look like what I imagined a Kangaskhan skeleton would. Here and there, the pixels were bright red, as though it still had muscle and blood clinging to the white bones. I was at least relieved when my Charizard came back into play, still at level 100, its HP replenished. The Kangaskhan was only at level 25, so I only had to view the creepy sprite for just a moment before it fainted from Charizard's Surf.

 

 

I exited the menu and made my way once again down the stairs of the Tower. All of the NPCs were missing from each floor, and not even Blue was waiting at the entrance to take me on. I left the Tower and continued over to the Pokemon Center, hoping that perhaps that would bring me back my Charizard or at least get rid of the chilling "DCS" status of my new Kangaskhan. I reached the door, but Ruiyo stopped short, bumping into it as though it were a wall. I tried then to head to Route 8, but the same thing happened. And without my Charizard to fly me out, I was trapped there in Lavender Town.

I exited the menu, finding that the Cubone oversprite was gone, and left the Pokemon House, not even wanting to find out what any of the NPCs there would say about this incident. I tried Route 8 again, and to my relief, I was finally able to leave Lavender Town behind. The music had never really bothered me at all, but after hearing it for the last half hour, the happy walking music of the route would be a welcome comfort. I was denied, met only with silence once I left the town. All of the NPCs were missing again, and even the bushes blocking the grassy area were gone, which was a relief, since I didn't have a Pokemon that could cut.

 

 

"CUBONE used BONE CLUB instead!"

This may sound crazy, but I was actually relieved to hear the creepy, monotonous tone of Lavender Town's theme. Anything was better at that point than the silence. I tried to go into the Pokemon Center, but I was met with the same thud sound. I walked south, the Lavender Town theme giving way to silence again. It was time to experiment with this strange game. I reached the area where Snorlax is normally found and went to the left through the guard house and into a grassy area. This time, the victim was a Drowzee. But rather than attacking it to faint it, I tried to run from it. At first, it said "Can't escape!" and the Drowzee used Hypnosis on Cubone, putting it to sleep. Again, I tried and was unable to escape, but instead of it jumping straight to Drowzee attacking, the game said, "CUBONE's thrashing about!" Even though it was asleep, it dealt damage to the opponent, fainting it and returning me again to the overworld. I checked Cubone's stats. It was still asleep.

 

 

 

Once I returned to the overworld, I decided to check something. With trembling thumbs, I opened the menu and selected Pokedex. It now said that I had seen and owned 143 Pokemon. The slot for Charizard was empty. So was the one for Pidgey and Spearow. Each one that Cubone had defeated had disappeared from the Pokedex and the entire game. Strangely, Kangaskhan was also gone.

"You. You released it. You showed it which ones to kill. One by one, you led it out. And now, it's your turn to feel the pain that they have felt."

 

 

A dialogue box appeared.

 

 

The game paused. I sat for a moment, at the edge of my seat. After a moment, I yelled, "Unless what? Tell me!" I violently shook the Game Boy back and forth, tormented by all of this. It had stopped being a game long ago. Now, it was personal. I was being blamed for what the Cubone had done. No matter if this was some sick hacker's practical joke. How could I have done anything? I was just as much a victim of this psychotic Cubone's game as Mr. Fuji! And all the wild Pokemon! I never even liked making Pokemon battle. I hated forcing them to fight to level them up. All I ever wanted was to befriend them, to befriend it.

I stopped shaking the handheld and looked at the tiny screen. It seemed like it was getting smaller and dimmer the more I played. Another dialogue box showed up. I could hardly read it for my eyes being so tired and filled with tears.

 

 

 

The Cubone reappeared in the overworld beside Ruiyo. It just turned and seemed to stare at me through the screen.

"CUBONE regrets what it has done."

 

 

I fumbled with the controls, trying to open up the menu to save. I pressed Start until my thumbs throbbed, but to no avail. Another dialogue box appeared.

"CUBONE knows you still love it. It will wait for you."

 

 

"CUBONE killed itself!"