Creepypasta - Red

It's an endless loop.

I don't mind it so much, I guess. I've gotten to know the different terrains really well, and I always loved exploring. It's what I always wanted to do, after all, this journey. Maybe I should be thankful that even when it ends, I get to do it over again. When you choose your starter, and release them for the first time, the look of trust and love in their eyes... Well, even jaded as I've become, it's the one thing that never fails to melt my heart. Maybe I'm lucky. Not everyone gets to live out their dream over and over again.

"I love you, mom."
"All boys dream of traveling. It said so on TV."

There are good parts. Meeting new friends for the first time. Raising them to their true potential. It's the first time for them, and their enthusiasm is infectious. And some things, like watching all that hard work pay off when they evolve, never get old. I can be happy. Sometimes I laugh. Sometimes I forget that it's this way.

It broke Green.
He was my best friend, always teasing me, playing up his persona of being a little too cocky, a little too arrogant, making me laugh. He was really pretty uncertain about his journey, but he tried to cover it up. He idolized his grandfather, and he didn't want the old man to see him as anything less than the best. The day before we left, I told him to pick the pokemon that was strong against mine, so he'd start out on the right foot.
These days, that's the only thing that changes. I find new teams each time, new pokemon, and different genders and natures names, each one unique. But Green goes through the same thing every time. Running into his old friends, the ones he'd cared for and trusted, shed blood and tears with. They never remember him. He has so many memories, but they don't even know him.

I learned pretty early on that there was something wrong with most of the people. Their personalities are static, and they flip on and off like light switches. All they do is stand or pace in the same spot all day, only activating if you pass their line of sight. They only say one or two things. It was a little disconcerting at first, but I've gotten used to it.
It's not hard to tell the real people from the living mannequins though. Me, Green of course. The gym leaders and Elite Four, I think. Giovanni definitely. A few other people I met. They're still forced through the same words, the same actions every time, but there's a look in their eyes. Like recognizes like.

"You're always plodding me behind me. So here, I'll give you a little present as a favor."
He presses his hand into mine as he gives me the fame checker, and I feel it trembling. His eyes bore into mine, like a drowning man searching for a lifeline. His lips move, as he tries so hard to say something, to deviate from the script, but there's no sound. I squeeze his hand gently instead. He almost smiles.
I use the device to check on him all the time. It still shows the same old comments and battles as it does every other time, but it makes me feel closer. Like I can keep an eye on him, even we're separate. Even this small connection is something to cherish.

There's a lot that goes on that you don't see. For instance, you've never heard me say a word, have you?

I've grown to hate Vermilion City. And that boat. That damned boat. It's not the people on it, they're not so bad. It's Green. We both know what's coming, and it breaks my heart every time. I think he hated me for it, at first, but now he doesn't have room for that in his sorrow.
I swear I try to stop it. I tell my pokemon beforehand to be gentle. I even tell them they can disobey my commands if they want. I hate myself for every order I can't help but give, bringing us closer and closer to that moment. His hand shakes as he reaches for the pokeball.
"R-raticate..."
Sometimes I can't watch. Other time I force myself to meet Green's eyes. There are tears in them, but he doesn't let them fall.
"Green, I'm so sorry..." I try to reach out for him, but he moves past me, shaking his head.
"Not your fault." he chokes out, almost too quietly to hear, before he gently picks up the body of his friend and runs.

I remember when he first caught his rattata. The real first time I mean. He'd proudly shown me the scar on his arm where it had bitten him when he was training it.
"Look at that! He's already a fighter. He's going to be something to reckon with once I've trained him up. Scared yet Red?" he teased.
"Of that little anklebiter? We'll see. Aren't you mad?" I'd asked.
"Of course not, it was my own fault. I did ask him to show me what he could do." he said with a rueful grin. "Gramps says never to undervalue even a weak pokemon after all. I see a lot of potential in this little guy."
"You're always quoting your grandpa aren't you?" I teased affectionately.
"Who wouldn't? He's the best pokemon professor around." he bragged. "I'm gonna be just like him someday."

It's funny, once all I ever wanted was to become the champion. Now I'd give anything to lose.

Giovanni really worries me.
He knows what's going on. The endless repetitions. Sometimes I think he almost enjoys it. It's something in his tone of voice. He speaks with a mocking politeness every time I meet him, that's at odd with his overly villainous dialogue. He even looks pleased to see me. He revels in his role as the designated villain. He knows he can act with impunity, since he knows the exact point I'll come to stop him. He can afford to lose with grace, pretend to step down. He knows he'll be back at the height of his power soon.
Every time I clean out the Rockets' bases, there's more junk there, strange machinery and abandoned labs. I worry about what he might be building. About what he might be planning. He has all the time in the world to get it right.

It's a bittersweet feeling, getting closer to the end, and to a new beginning. I'll admit, even if I've done it so many times before that I've lost count, there are some things that always give me a thrill. Seeing my pokemon evolve after so much hard work. Taking the last few steps out of Victory Road. The tired but triumphant look when my team realizes they've become champions. But even through the victory, (and I do feel a sense of elation, it's my hard work that made them champions too you know) I still know the end is coming. Sometimes I get the chance to deposit my team in the PC one last time, and watch as they're sent somewhere far away. I prefer that. Other times, they stay with me. In the moment that it goes dark, when you can't see, I say my last goodbye, hold them and comfort them. They can feel the end coming as much as I can, but unlike me, they will fade into nothingness when it does. They're scared. I try to tell them that every ending is a new beginning, but maybe that's only true for me.

"The bond you share with your pokemon is marvelous. Red, come with me."
"Wait, what about Green?"
"Er-hem! Congratulations, Red!"
"He was the champion too, you know, and he did it faster than me. Aren't you at least going to congratulate him?"
"This floor is the pokemon hall of fame. Pokemon league champions are honored for their exploits here. Their pokemon are also recorded in  the hall of fame."
"I thought all champions got their data entered into the computer. If you just arrived, why aren't you entering his too?"
"You have worked hard to become the new league champion. Congratulations Red, you and your pokemon are hall of famers."
It's too much to take. I grab him by the collar to shove him against the nearest wall, screaming into his face.
"Listen to me, you silly, stupid old man! Your grandson just walked out that door, with the pokemon you gave him, that he beat the elite four with! Is it too much for you to even acknowledge his existence, just once?" He looks at me with terrified eyes, but there's a look of clarity in them I haven't seen for a long time.
"Red?"
"Yeah, it's me. Sorry." I let go of his collar, stepping back ruefully. I already regret my furious outburst.
"You're already here... What iteration is this? No, it doesn't matter. Not enough time." he says, shaking his head. "Tell Green no matter what I say, that I'm so proud of him. That I always have been, and I always will."

And then, that's where I stay, until it starts again. No one ever comes to challenge me. The Pokemon League is echoingly empty. Sometimes I talk with Lance. Sometimes Green comes, and we talk without the strictures of a script. It doesn't stay that way, but it's restful. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if this ended for good. Would I stay here forever? Or would we be free to go, to do whatever we wanted?

I don't mind it, really I don't, most of the time.

I hear there's a mountain, so far to the east it's not on any maps, where legendary champions go when their time is over.

I wonder what you would think if I just vanished one day. What would you do?

What would I do?