A Hardened Heart

         Hardened Heart... A Creepy Pasta

      The Nuzlocke Run. I'd heard about it over Deviantart, and it seemed to be a fun new way of playing my old Pokemon games that I hadn't tried before. It was supposed to make the game more challenging and get the player more attached to their Pokemon… I decided I had to do it for myself. Nostalgic, I dug out my old Gold version from the closet, (since I'd never even consider the notion of erasing my beloved Crystal version.) The old cartridge was cold in my hands, but I felt warm inside as I grabbed my old Gameboy Color and some fresh batteries.

        I didn't bother to look at the previous game saved into the console for fear of heartbreak. I didn't know if I could delete my beloved Pokemon if I were to see them one last time… Instead, I simply gritted my teeth and jabbed the delete button on my old game without a second glance.

       I created a new character and named him Jeremy, after a story character I'd made up. The game went on as usual after that. For my starter I chose the Cyndaquil. Because Cyndaquil turns into Typhlosion, and Typhlosion is epic, obviously. I went along making up a good team out of what I could catch, nicknaming them as I went along. My Cyndaquil I named Fenris, and he soon evolved into a Quilava and became my most powerful and beloved Pokemon. I also later caught a Rattata that I named Socrates… My Flaaffy I named Jolt… And later in a cave I caught a Sandshrew and named it Shrewd.

       The first to die was the Onix traded to me by the NPC guy for my Bellsprout, DingaLing.  I got a little upset by that. I thought he could take just one more blow, but it turned out to be a fatal critical hit.. I also discovered that my original notion was correct; this way of playing left the player emotionally attached to their Pokemon… Unable to just.. destroy him like that, I made a special box in my PC named 'DEAD' just for Rocky the Onix.
     
  Otherwise the game went on smoothly without any more fainting. My Fenris lead my team, followed by Jolt, then Socrates, and finally Shrewd. We defeated a couple of gyms and saved the Slowpokes just like I had remembered from when I was younger. In fact, everything was starting to come back to me and leaving me feeling like a happy little kid again. I was enjoying playing my old game once more.



      Then I made the mistake…



       It had been a day and a half since I began the run, but still I was starting to get a little bored with the same old battling for the umpteenth time. So I decided to look up some interesting cheat codes to try out. Online, I found a site about the Pokemon cloning cheat in which one can use the PC to clone a Pokemon. That one sounded pretty cool. I wondered if I might be able to get it to work. I didn't know if I had any Pokemon worth cloning, but it would be entertaining to at least see if it was a real cheat.. The site did contain a warning, though… 'Be careful! This cheat may delete your Pokemon! Remember to SAVE first!'

    I decided it might be entertaining to at least try out, so I veered off toward the nearest Pokemon Center and booted up the PC. But then I hesitated… Was it really worth the risk that I might mess up and accidentally delete my Pokemon? I looked at my party. I realized I couldn't lose Jolt, Shrewd, or Socrates to any stupid mistake I might make. And certainly not my beloved Quilava.. Disappointed, I leaned back in my chair and let the Gameboy rest on my lap.

      Then, I picked it back up and scrolled down to my other PC boxes. I looked down at the other random little Pokemon I'd caught and put inside the unnamed first box. "Why not… A Metapod?" I murmured to myself. Right there was my Metapod, lying around in all its uselessness. Meddy, was its name.

   Losing a little Metapod that couldn't do anything but harden anyways was no great loss to me… Yes, I decided. I could risk Meddy. I grabbed him from the box and, just to be sure, put the rest of my party safely back inside it. I proceeded to follow what instructions I could remember from the cheat code website. I saved, dumped the Metapod inside a different box, and then switched off the game when it told me not to.


      Eagerly, I turned my game back on and looked for the results. There was no Metapod. I checked both my party and the box, then at all the other boxes left in the PC. I had somehow screwed it up exactly the way the site had warned me not to. Meddy had somehow been deleted. I sat back in my chair again, feeling a little bad for the Metapod, but mostly relieved that I had made sure to use a useless Pokemon instead of one I really loved…..

     I didn't use any more cheats after the first I'd tried for it had deterred me from trying again. I continued on with my party as normal. Time went on.  We battled some more, leveled up some more. I passed up the gym in Goldenrod City to go look in the grass nearby for a Growlithe, since I think they're also awesome-looking. I ran around in the grass on my bicycle, looking to pick a fight. I faced a few Pokemon, but none of them turned out to be the Growlithe I wanted. So I ran around for seemingly forever, knocking off more and more foes.

     Then, as another shadow of a Pokemon appeared opposite me and the battle music rang out from the console's speaker, I leaned forward in my seat, shocked by what I saw. The shadow had moved to the far right spot as it usually does, but then revealed no Pokemon whatsoever. The spot was blank. Just.. white space…. Its health bar and stats appeared in a text box to the side, but no name showed up. Only the symbols ??? sat where the mysterious Pokemon's name should have been.

      I stared at the Gameboy in my hands, unable to move for a while. Nothing changed. No glitch reduced my screen to malevolent 0's and 1's.. .."What is this..?" I wondered aloud. "Is this some special ..messed up Pokemon?" I thought back to what I'd read about cheat codes and tricks and special events. I didn't think I'd heard about a ??? Pokemon or such an event before. Certainly there was a reason it had no name. "Maybe it's like that Missing No. Pokemon I've heard about?" I had never encountered one of these before; I certainly would have remembered it.  "Huh…." Yet my shoulders slowly hunched forward and a snicker escaped my sly smirk. It might ruin my console, yes, there was always that risk…. But how freaking epic would having an awesome glitch for a Pokemon be??


       My Quilava, Fenris, appeared first on the screen, eager for battle. I denied him the opportunity, though; as he was too powerful and would most likely kill this invisible Pokemon. No way I would let that happen, such an opportunity must be rare so I knew I should be careful and savor this awesome moment. Instead, I switched him out for Socrates, who I regularly used for catching. I smirked and cheered him on. "Alright, Socrates. Go get me that glitch!" The purple Rattata appeared on screen and made its signature squeak.

       My turn was now spent. Now, what could the nonexistent Pokemon do? I eagerly looked on for the blank spot to make its move, impatient to see what type of attack it could even use... Suddenly my Gameboy screen flashed and a shape appeared on the right side. A strange, curved shadow…. A startled gasp shot from my throat when I glanced at that inevitable name on top of the health bar….  

       I stared on for a few moments, my eyes glued on it. Then I slammed the Gameboy face-down on the table in front of me. ….I stared at the yellow back of my Gameboy firmly held down by my outstretched hand. 'No… No way…! No wild Pokemon are ever nicknamed….' I rapidly thought. 'Never! It's impossible….! It must be some messed up glitch, just a… a glitch.' I knew something creepy was going on, something that shouldn't ever happen… I stared at the Gameboy. My hand didn't want to let it go. Keep it on the table, it urged me. I just knew there was something wrong with this whole thing…. Yet what else could I do but continue playing…? Just shut it off and forget it ever happened? No, no, now I had to know. I willed my hand to lift the game back up to my face.

        It was all still there. I paused, afraid of what it would do next…. My Meddy, the Pokemon I had deleted so carelessly….
       Meddy stared at me with its one souless eye.    …..It was his turn.


     Meddy used HARDEN.


      I said nothing for a few moments…...    "Ah-HAHAHAHa! Harden! …HARDEN!"    I burst into laugher; doubling over in my chair and nearly dropping my game. "Srft-hehheh!" Ahhh, what else did I expect from a Metapod? Dragon Rage?? Oh, jeez…. Snickering, I fingered through the text box towards the FIGHT options, looking for a decent move to one-shot the useless little freak.

         Suddenly the screen flashed red and black in succession. I hadn't quite been paying attention, so the flashing shocked me and made me rock back in my chair. My stomach swiftly knotted up in panic and I flailed. I barely recovered. Startled by the near backwards fall and the scary flashing, I took in a few deep breaths to steady myself before I could look back at the screen.     Meddy still stared.     My turn now.. But my Rattata gave a battle squeak, though I hadn't commanded him to make a move. And I swear.. I heard a twinge of fear in its tiny voice….      Meddy still stared.

       The screen flashed again. RED/ BLACK/ RED. I jumped involuntarily. The text box faded away, and I cringed. Only another harden, nothing more…

     I paused, afraid of what it would do next. Then I realized it was really my turn. My thumb hovered over the A button. Should I fight my Meddy? Would I be only further hurting the Pokemon I had so heartlessly thrown away..?

     "No," I whispered. "Meddy, you're dead." I felt my stomach churn with dark, building defiance. "I did nothing wrong. You're just a Metapod." I scrolled down to the Quick Attack option and pressed it. Socrates charged at Meddy, and its HP took a small blow. I smiled slightly. Yes, no problem, I'll just take care of it again.
   

      Meddy used HARDEN.  


        I felt my palms grow sweaty. The black pixels flashed away again. I repeated my attack, but used Cut. Socrates tried, but Meddy's defenses had been raised yet again and the attack had even less effect. His rock-solid HP sustained only a trifle loss. I swallowed hard. It wasn't working… It was getting harder and harder to kill it...      Meddy wasn't going to go away.

      
       MEDDY USED HARDEN.


      I tried to force a gulp of air down my throat, but it was constricting on me. Never, it won't defeat me. I won't let a freaking Metapod beat me! Never! I looked to my bags instead. The Gameboy shook in my hands, but I managed to scroll to my available Pokeballs. They were gone. All of them, GONE. Simply… deleted.

        
       MEDDY USED HARDEN.


          "Damn you, Meddy!" I whispered. Unable to catch it anymore, I turned to other available Pokemon. When I pressed the button for switching out, I realized there were only 3 in my party. "No…" I whispered in horror. "No… No…No…" My eyes frantically scanned over the sprites again. Three low-tech Pokemon sprites bounced gaily. Desperate now, I checked over the names of each one. Fenris… Oh God, yes… Socrates…. Jolt….      My Shrewd was had disappeared.    Feeling a sickening realization of something most important, I noticed he had been my weakest, the least important…..

         "DAMN you, Meddy!!' I growled again.  I jabbed the button for my Quilava, Fenris. He appeared on screen, his flames flaring for battle. He screeched over the speakers. "Kill it, Fenris!!" I commanded him harshly as I punched the A button for ember. Yes, super-effective, burn the damned thing... Nothing happened. Tense moments passed, nothing. I glared at the Metapod sprite, waiting for the flame pixels to appear and consume his monstrous body. Horrified, I ripped my eyes from it and looked down. The text box for moves was blank.
   

      MEDDY USED HARDEN.


      "NO!!" I gasped out in rage and terror. Escape… RUN! Just get the heck away from this nightmare! I jammed down the B button for back so hard my thumb stung with the imprint of the letter. Not willing to look back for my remaining Pokemon for I knew there would only be more bodies, I tried to run, my only.. last option left...
    
  The pixels flashed the text box…..      Can't Escape!

      I felt the stare of the Metapod shift, and I glanced up at the sprite. Its eye stared, unblinking. I sweated heavily, the cold beads dripping down my sweltering neck. Nothing. Nothing. Pixels and programming. Yet still it was STARING….

         Jab! Can't Escape!

       An angry flash of red and black. I jerked back in my chair. Flash! Not done with me yet… Not punished enough… I gasped for breath, ripping one hand from the Gameboy to tug at my collar. The flashing rapidly increased, rising with my pulse to dangerous levels….


         MEDDY USED HARDEN!



          "GO TO HELL, MEDDY!!!" I shrieked at the game, suddenly ripping the golden cartridge straight from the Gameboy and chucking the damn thing across the room so it slammed into the wall and plummeted limply to the carpet.