One Used Growl [Pokemon Creepypasta Attempt]

After this experience, I had learned to never take anything that doesn't belong to you. It was a Friday afternoon and I was on my way to pick up milk from the local market, as I usually did every Friday, when a man approached me. He stumbled by a little dazed looking down the sidewalk, going in the opposite direction. As he did so, I heard a plastic clacking of a game hitting the ground. I stopped, but the man continued to walk, resembling a zombie. He turned a corner.
I yelled that he had dropped something, wondering if the man had just been intoxicated and didn't notice he did so. I inspected what he dropped, and discovered that it was a Pokemon Red cartridge. Memories flooded back to me. I had lost my old Pokemon game when I was a boy, and hadn't been able to get the money to replace it before moving on to new forms of entertainment. I had so much fun with it, and I had remembered where I put my GameBoy Color. With a nostalgic grin I shoved the cartridge in my pocket, got the gallon of milk I had set off to acquire, and went back home; all the while forgetting about the mysterious man that had owned the game. He wouldn't miss it, right? Most people dismiss Red and Blue for being outdated, so it was fine if he had lost it.
Due to this, I had no problem with digging my Gameboy out of the box it was previously placed in and placing the Pokemon Red game into it's slot. The game started up normally, with the title screen portraying Red alongside interchanging happy Pokemon. I watched it as a wave of memories washed over me, but as I watched it, I began to notice something odd as the Pikachu passed by Red. Unlike the other Pokemon, who were smiling and happy, Pikachu was frowning. He looked saddened by something. I payed no real heed to it, as I didn't remember if he had always been like this, but it seemed out of place. Nevertheless, I pressed start.
Immediately, a text box appeared. It simply said, "Loading save file." rather than bringing me to the menu that would have given me the option of a New Game. Before I new it, Red was in his room, and my game had started. I walked around the room for a bit, clicking on the television and the PC, but after a while I made my way down the stairs. There, my mom (or Red's mom) was at the table as usual, and I walked up to her to talk to her.
She simply stated, "Good Night, Red!" and the text box disappeared. I blinked at this, confused as to why she said this. Did the game know it was night time in the real world? That was an impressive feat for a Gameboy Color, but as usual, my limited memory of the game gave me no wariness. I exited my house and was greeted by Pallet Town. I remembered how you had to go into the grass to the north of the small town to activate the cutscene of Oak running to you, so I went to this area, finding it odd that I was unable to run. I stopped at the wild grass and pressed up on the directional pad, expecting Oak to comically shout, "Hey! It's unsafe to go out there!"
However, I saw my player walk into the grass, and a battle scene started. A Rattata appeared, and I wondered what I would send out if I hadn't any Pokemon. Would it be something cool like Missingno? However, that wasn't the case. A Pikachu appeared on my side of the battle, and in the place of it's name was the word, "One." I chose the attack option, and the only attack the Pikachu had was Growl. I sighed, knowing this was a non-damaging move, and tried to press B as to get to the "Run" option. Though, it didn't allow me to go back. Due to this, I just pressed Growl. Upon doing this, the music abruptly stopped, and Pikachu performed the move. Rather than the normal Pikachu cry, however, it was slightly low-pitched. The Rattata, though it's health bar did not go down, performed the fainting animation. The text box read, "Rattata ____!"
I was returned to the grass above Pallet Town, and the music never returned. I began to inspect my team, as to see my Pokemon, and was surprised to find it completely filled! The first slot was that Pikachu, named One, who only knew Growl. It had the same frown as the Pikachu on the title screen. The rest of the Pokemon were named after the slot they were in. There was a Squirtle named Two, a Bulbasaur named Three, a Charmander named Four, a Rattata named Five, and a Pidgey named Six. Seeing that I had all the starters, I knew I had no reason to try and trigger Professor Oak's cutscene. Keeping my finger glued to the up button on the directional pad, I began to make my way to Viridian City. All the while, I hummed the little song from the anime to replace the lack of music, but I stopped once I reached where Viridian City should have been. I was back in Pallet Town. There was not a single soul to be seen. A faint sound came from the speakers of the Gameboy, and I realized it was the same cry One had made when it used Growl. Sure enough, a text box appeared as I stepped into the Town. It read, "One Used Growl."
By this time, I knew there was something wrong with the game. Pokemon couldn't use Growl outside of the battlefield, and most importantly, I shouldn't be back at Pallet Town.
I pressed the menu button and checked my team, and I discovered that Six the Pidgey had disappeared from it's slot. I examined the rest of my team. The Pikachu, once frowning, had a neutral almost content look to it. The other Pokemon were frowning.
This was chilling, and I wanted to investigate further why the game was acting up like this. I walked to Professor Oak's lab, and entered it. Rather than ending up in the lab's interior, however, I was in some sort of cave. It was a straight walk ahead, with no discernible end viewable on the screen. I walked a step forward, before a text box appeared. "Five has ____!" is what it read.
I checked my team, and I found two Pokemon missing; Five the Rattata, and One the Pikachu. Two the Squirtle had not been moved up to the first slot, though. It stayed in the second slot, as if scared to move forward into the slot of what was One the Pikachu. My remaining Pokemon's expressions were very scared. My curiosity got the better of me, however, so I moved on into the cave. As I did so, the first "music" I'd heard since I first started up the game played. It wasn't exactly music, which is why I put the word in quotation marks. It was more like a collection of "tink" sounds, making no real rhythm whatsoever. All the while, the faint almost inaudible sound of One's low pitched Growl attack was heard. About 20 seconds into my running, a text box said, "Four has ____!"
I began to want to protect my remaining two Pokemon. As Red walked forward, the growls of One began to echo louder and louder. Finally, I found a doorway and walked into it, wasting no time. At this point, I was transported to Red's room in Pallet Town. I checked my team to see if my remaining Pokemon were alright, and I felt a chill go down my spine as I saw One the Pikachu back in his original slot. I selected him and focused on his sprite. He was smiling now. His eyes were large black voids and he seemed more grizzly and threatening. I looked at my Squirtle and Bulbasaur, and I saw they looked utterly horrified. Their eyes were black voids as well.
I closed out of my team and walked down the stairs of my room. However, doing so teleported Red back to the room once more. This time, though, a Pikachu sat on the bed. The Pikachu was the same sprite as in Pokemon Yellow, though it's eyes were large and jet black. As to investigate what was going on, I walked up to it and pressed A in front of it. A text box appeared.
"Tzzztztztzzzztzzzzzzzaaaaaaaaah." is all it said, and a battle began. Oh, the battle sprite for the Pikachu was terrifying. It's empty eyes seemed wide and insane, it's mouth was twisted in a terrifying grin. In place of it's level was the letters NO, and it's name was, as I expected, One. As I sent Two the Squirtle out and used Tackle, it wasted no time.
"One used Growl."
Squirtle immediately fainted, it's health bar not going down. The eerie cry of Pikachu played. I brought out my last Pokemon, the Bulbasaur, and tried to Growl at it myself to see if the Bulbasaur gave the same effect. It didn't. Though the Bulbasaur hit first, it only lowered Attack, which was not enough to stop One's Growl from decimating it. With each Growl, my Pokemon didn't faint. They ___'d.
As the battle ended, rather than what it usually said, it simply stated, "One Used Growl."
I was returned to my room, but now my Pokemon lay out on my floor. Everyone that had started out on my team looked dead, with One standing in the middle of them. As I walked up to each of them, a message read, "He wants you." The bodies blocked my way to the staircase. I had no choice but to interact with the Pikachu.
I walked up to him and pressed A. Slowly, the screen started to fade to black, and a text box appeared.
"One Used Growl."
Then, after a second, it said,
"Save file has been deleted."
I was taken back to the title screen. I stared incredulously at it for a few moments, taking in what I had just seen. Is this why the man didn't respond to me when I called for him? Did he not want this game back due to the horrific content?
I watched the title screen until the Pikachu showed up. It was frowning.