REBORN

~ I AM REBORN ~ This Story Is From The Creepypasta Wiki. You may find it at http://creepypasta.wikia.com/wiki/R_E_B_O_R_N .

R_E_B_O_R_N
Today was the day.

I rushed downstairs, though I hadn't fully awakened, and turned into the living room. How surprising! My father had just arrived with the mail. With a delighted squeal, I searched around in the mail for my new Pokémon Silver game. When I discovered the little package, I snatched it up without a word and raced upstairs to begin my ancient, pixilated journey in Johto.

I'd heard about the new and improved Pokémon games, SoulSilver and HeartGold, but I preferred the old, classic Gameboy versions, and I had chosen Silver.

I ripped the package open and lifted the large, gray cartridge into the light of my window. I grinned excitedly, for I had never had one of the old Pokémon games in my possession. I reached down for my red GBA and pulled it onto my bed. I slipped the cartridge into the slot, switched the power on, and settled into a comfortable position. The regular Gameboy logo started on the screen.

Gamefreak. Intro. Skip. Title screen. Options.

For some reason, there was no 'New Game' option. I shrugged and chose the saved file. The Trainer sprite was male, of course. The location was in the Whirl Islands, in the midst of darkness. I knew instantly that I needed a Pokémon with the move Flash, and I brought the Start menu up. All the normal options popped up, and I soon realized that the Trainer's name was KrAd rather than the default name, Silver. I blinked slowly.

I clicked the Pokémon option. As I'd expected, KrAd's team has six full slots – three Pokémon and three Eggs. I checked the Eggs' summaries.

They were all close to hatching! For a brief moment, I wondered what Pokémon KrAd was trying to hatch. I then switched to examining his Pokémon.

All of his Pokémon were level 5! I was astonished. Level 5 and stuck in the middle of Whirl Islands? What kind of Trainer is this? Did all of his Pokémon know one-hit-KO moves?

There was a Typhlosion, a Noctowl, and an Eevee. Their nicknames sent a wave of foreboding rippling throughout my chest: I'VE [Noctowl] BEEN [Typhlosion] REBORN [Eevee].

To be honest, I wasn't anywhere near scared, though I felt the cold shoulder. The names made me feel like I wasn't alone in my room, and that the ghostly hand the girl mentions in Lavender Town was brushing along my neck – like a slimy snake, moist, cold, and wet along the bare flesh. The only real thought swimming through my mind was: what kind of sick trick was this KrAd guy trying to pull, hacking into this old Silver game?

I went through his Pokémon's' moves. I'VE and BEEN didn't know flash. I was beginning to lose hope in this dumb, hacked game, until I scrolled through REBORN's attacks and located Flash. My heart skipped a beat, and I smiled. There was one good thing about this cartridge. I selected REBORN and clicked Flash.

A bright, blinding light flickered in the cave and remained as so for several moments before fading back into total darkness. I could not see the sprite of KrAd any longer. My satisfied grin slowly progressed into a frown. I was sure that Flash was supposed to light dark caves up, not make them even darker…

Suddenly, a text box slid up. I gasped at what I read; "You cannot use that here."

I shivered.

This cartridge had definitely been hacked into.

In the pitch blackness, I began smashing the control keys. Nothing moved, but I could hear the brief thud sound of running into a wall and not being able to pass. That's when I realized that the wall sound was the only source of music in the cavern. There was no music, none whatsoever, and besides the thuds the whole cave was frighteningly silent.

There was a sudden flash, and I heard the cries of my party Pokémon – all mashed into one, distorted groan, rising and lowering in pitch time and again. It lasted for one solid minute before fading off into the distance,echoing like it was sounding from the very back of the cave. A picture of a Noctowl appeared. It stayed for at least thirty seconds, and I couldn't move at all. The cut scene was still running. Then, the Noctowl picture became a mash of distorted pixels; in just ten seconds the pile of pixels formed the shape of a Hoothoot.

It took several squints, multiple close looks, and tons of thinking to figure out that what the picture was showing me was devolution, or backwards evolution. I felt sour bile rising in the pit of my throat.

After gazing at the Hoothoot sprite, I pressed the A button and a YES/NO menu appeared. "YES/NO to what?!" I huffed in irritation at the GBA and began to think deeply. When I had finished pondering over whether I should select yes or no, I decided to click "No" as my answer for the invisible question.

So, I did.

A text box appeared as the Hoothoot image faded: "Oh?" That was something that hadn't happened before the Hoothoot picture. Is one of KrAd's eggs hatching? A Typhlosion picture appeared, and another YES/NO menu sided next to it. I selected "No".

The picture faded like the Hoothoot image did, and finally, the last picture of a Pokémon appeared.

It was a ghastly looking Eevee. Disgusting, haunted, and terrifying – it was a small Eevee, smaller than the average sprite, and it had no eyes. It was missing a hind leg.

YES/NO?

"No." Instead of fading softly, the image spread apart and shattered with the dozen pieces sliding off-screen as though the screen was slick as ice. I gasped, sudden realization sparking in my mind. Noctowl, Typhlosion, and Eevee… my Pokémon! Immediately sick with worry, I checked my party Pokémon.

I'VE was now a meek-looking Hoothoot with a saddened, one-eyed gaze. BEEN was an ice-blue Quilava with no flames and an angered expression. REBORN was what the image of the Eevee had shown – no eyes,small, and weak. However, instead of only one leg missing, there were two, and its tail had become a stump. I shuddered as I checked the Pokémon's' moves. I'VE's moves were now Fly, Sing, Hypnosis, and Curse. BEEN's moves were Curse, Nightmare, Dream Eater, and Sing. REBORN's only moves were Flash and Grudge.

I cancelled out of the Start menu and continued to move around. Suddenly a text box appeared; "Oh?" I expected one of those Pokémon pictures to appear, and then another YES/NO menu, but instead, nothing happened. I finally gave in, believing that this meant that something had happened to my Pokémon team. When I checked, the three Eggs that took up the last slots had hatched at the same time! How unusual, yet so exciting! There was a Cyndaquil, a Pikachu, and… a shiny Celebi! This hack was just getting more surprising.

I cancelled out and found my sprite in a rectangular room. Luckily, it was no longer dark. However, I was afraid that I would be eternally stuck in the tiny, four-sided room.

Suddenly, the roar of a Pokémon echoed in the room, and I was immediately engaged in a Pokémon battle. I gasped, but couldn't get the whole sound out of my throat, as the sprite of my opponent appeared. Lugia.

The sprite looked enraged. Its eyes were crimson red and bright against its sprite. A text box appeared, and I realized that Lugia was speaking to me.

"DaRkNeSs.

It SuRrOuNdS uS.

We WaNt To Be FrEe."

Then the battle began. I sent out my level 1 Cyndaquil. It was male and had BEEN's moveset. I selected Sing in hopes of putting the legendary Pokémon to sleep, but Lugia attacked first with Aeroblast and easily knocked out Cyndaquil. Instead of the regular "CYNDAQUIL fainted!" the text box read, "I'VE died!"

There was a flash. When it eased, Lugia lacked one wing. Its eyes were shut tight and its level was scratched out. Peering closer, I picked out the level: Lv. 155. I sent out Pikachu, hoping that it would know some electric-type moves that could weaken Lugia.

The Pikachu was male, and it looked rather depressed, as opposed to its normal, joyous sprite. His eyes were slits of black, and his ears were flattened. Three, long, bloody gashes were marked around his back and looping to his forearms. I couldn't choose a move this time. Lugia attacked first. Bam. Aeroblast. Obviously, it knocked out the Pikachu.

"BEEN died!"

My only other option was Celebi, for I'VE and BEEN had literally disappeared from my party Pokémon. There was also REBORN, but for some unknown reason, it was at 1 HP and had the sleep status. I sent out Celebi, only to find that Lugia's other wing was lying next to its sprite. Its mouth was wide open, as if crying out agonizing screams. It was teetering on one foot, for the other was now a bloodied stump.

I could not choose a move, but Celebi struck Lugia first. She used Double-Slap, which constantly smacked the giant bird and ended up draining approximately 30 HP from it altogether. It was Lugia's turn out, and I instantly expected a 1-hit KO from its moves. That didn't happen. What happened next in battle confused me greatly. Lugia's attack wasn't a simple Aeroblast, or even another attack. It was a frenzy of moves.

Wild LUGIA used Aeroblast! 99 damage!

Wild LUGIA used Aeroblast! 99 damage!

Then Lugia lost its other foot, which was followed by a swift white flash.

Wild LUGIA used Fly! 99 damage!

Wild LUGIA used Steel Wing! 99 damage!

Wild LUGIA used Recover! No effect.

Wild LUGIA used Recover! No effect.

"LUGIA: KrAdSsNe!" Lugia's sprite shrunk slightly.

Wild LUGIA used Wing Attack! 99 damage!

Wild LUGIA used Wing Attack! 99 damage!

Wild LUGIA used Wing Attack! 99 damage!

Lugia shrunk a little more. Then, its sprite began to curl up as if it was using Defense Curl.

Wild LUGIA used Growl! No effect on stranger CELEBI!

Wild LUGIA used Tackle! 99 damage!

Wild LUGIA used Teleport! Could not escape!

Wild LUGIA used Teleport! Could not escape!

Wild LUGIA used Teleport! Could not escape!

Wild LUGIA used Teleport! Could not escape!

Lugia became a tight, silver ball. Then it fell asleep and shrunk a little more…

…Wild LUGIA has died!

The poor Pokémon disappeared completely. This is the end of the battle. What confused me the most about the battle, despite the shrinking and the loop of random moves from Lugia, is that Celebi didn't have a health point taken from it.

I checked my Pokémon team, guessing that it had changed over time taken by the fight with Lugia. The Celebi was gone, as were I'VE and BEEN, who had disappeared earlier. Now all that remained was the mysterious Eevee. There was also an Absol (which I thought was only obtainable in Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald) and a Cubone. The Eevee's nickname was now RUN. Absol's was AWAY, and Cubone's was DON'T.

DON'T RUN AWAY.

I thought something bad would happen if I moved away from the Whirl Islands somehow, so I edged my hands away from the control pad. I sat gazing at my GBA screen for five minutes before I grew bored. Daringly and regretfully, I stepped to the left.

"?Oh"

The text boxes were showing their messages in a backwards and distorted way now.

I went back to viewing the new Pokémon in my team. Did I scroll too fast through their sprites and names and miss an Egg? Sure enough, there was an Egg in the fourth slot in my party. Perhaps the "?Oh" had meant that an Egg appeared.

I decided to check my Pokémon while I was in the party menu. DON'T, the Cubone, was at 1 HP, just like AWAY, the Absol. RUN was perfectly healthy. I was shocked. We hadn't even battled since Lugia's encounter, yet the Pokémon at the front of my team were severely damaged.

I hit the B button and returned to my Trainer sprite. There was a path of stone through the water leading to the left. Curious, I made my way down the path. It turned sharply north, and soon, I was standing at the entrance of a blackened and beaten tower. I went through the door. I realized that this was Burned Tower, home of the legendary dog trio, Suicune, Raikou, and Entei.

When I took my first step from the entrance, the cry of a Suicune sounded through the speakers of my GBA. A text box appeared.

"DON'T has died!"

So much death in this stupid hack! But, I was frightened. I was also growing tired of all the death.

I continued on through the tower, feeling my fingers tremble against the control keys. I heard the sound of a Raikou…

"AWAY has died!"

I expected RUN to die as well after another three steps... But RUN didn't die, it was still perfectly healthy.

I checked the Egg in my party. Its sprite had two, small, upper spots near the top of its shell, a tiny spot in the middle, and a large spot cut halfway off on the bottom. It differed much from its normal sprite, which made me shiver. the Egg was close to hatching… And my Pokémon's' nicknames had changed again.

RUN had become an Unown shaped like an exclamation point. It was at the head of my party. I did have an Eevee, but its name had become RBORN (sic). The other three Pokémon were Cyndaquil, Quilava, and Typhlosion. Cyndaquil's nickname was NOW, Quilava's B4, and Typhlosion's ITS.

"RUN NOW B4 ITS RBORN"

I let my gaze fall to the sixth slot in my party. I understood the warning completely. The Egg that was close to hatching… Something dreadful was to hatch from its shell.

I hit the B-button and watched the Trainer sprite standing perfectly still.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you said "no" to every question in a Pokémon game? If they ask for help, or if they ask for you to get something, or go on an adventure with them? I had never done that. And because I was curious, I ignored my Pokémon's warning and continued up Burned Tower, as if telling them no.

Suddenly, the sprite paused and the screen shook violently. There was a roar – the same cry I had heard before Lugia's battle – and then everything was silent. I checked my Pokémon team, then drew in a sharp breath. All the Pokémon were gone except for a Mew and the Egg. I checked the Mew's stats. The sprite wasn't its usual color – it was blood red.

It had the fainted status, and 1 HP left, which was rather unusual since fainted meant 0 HP. Its ability was WonderGuard, which only Shedinja should have. WonderGuard only allowed super-effective hits to strike the Pokémon with the ability. Its attacks were Grudge and Scary Face. Its nickname was 2 L8…

After returning to the Trainer sprite, I had hardly taken a step before a text box caused KrAd to stop. The text box read, "?Oh", and it actually went to an egg-hatching animation. But the Egg would not hatch. It simply cracked all the way, and then froze there. It was completely quiet. For five minutes, it remained as so, until a loud screech that sounded like Entei blared through the speakers. The screen went black, and the sprite of a Lugia faded in.

???: KrAdSsNe… DaRkNeSs.

A long moment of silence followed.

???: I warned you. !now you LlIw DnAtS nI kRaDsSnE rEvErOf

The sprite lifted its wings in a flash, then disappeared into the blackness. The Lavender Town music began to play, and red eyes gleamed. The song began to decrease in pitch, slow down, and soon it flipped backwards, and the song sounded like that sickening, distorted tune that you would hear in a horror movie. I felt my breath clog up in my throat, and a fresh blanket of warm and slimy sweat trickled down my forehead.

Lugia reappeared and opened its mouth wide, revealing the inside of it, which was simply an endless, dark void. A loud screech that sounded like sharp, needle-like claws making a deep gouge in a chalkboard blared through the GBA speakers. Then the game froze and the scream looped. It continued to play without stopping, again, again and again. The cry was loud and deafening, and it slowly increased in pitch and got louder each time its replayed. From all that I experienced, I knew I wouldn't sleep tonight.

Quick as light, I shut the GBA off, tore the Pokémon Silver cartridge out, and tossed it across my room. Although my room was completely silent, except for my heavy panting, I could still hear the pained screams of the Lugia that would always be reborn.

Five years passed since I had last touched the hacked cartridge of Pokémon Silver. And now, at age 17, calm and daring, I created a challenge and I went to search through the boxes that contained my childhood items.

It didn't take long to find the gray cartridge buried at the far bottom with my GBA beside it. I pulled them both out and stuck the cartridge inside the GBA slot.

Gameboy logo. Gamefreak. Intro. Skip. Title screen. Options.

There was still no "new game" option, just like I remembered it. I remembered how much the game traumatized me as a child, and I still remembered the Lugia's ear-splitting cries.

That didn't stop me, now.

The saved file had a new name: RBORN, like my Eevee – it kept its original way of spelling, and still didn't have the E.

I smiled challengingly and selected it.

I was standing in Burned Tower. One step… "?oh" I flinched at the text box, stunned. Then, my surprise faded into irritation.

"No... no... Hnnngh, great," I grunted to the GBA screen.

The egg-hatching animation began, but halfway through, the game froze, the music began to heavily glitch, and transparent static whssssshed in the background. The picture would also often glitch, and sometimes, a red flash would appear for a split second with six, frighteningly familiar, bold letters across the screen

R_E_B_O_R_N

Even in the dead silence I could hear the Lugia's crazy screech among the hisses of the static from my GBA..