Glitchy Red/Trainer Red

You aren't in a void. You are in Pallet Town, but everything is wrong. The music is the normal theme, but every third note is a high-pitched, ear-splitting screech. The NPCs are walking through walls, their dialogue replaced by strings of hexadecimal code. ​You walk into Red’s house. He is standing at the top of the stairs. When you interact with him, the game doesn't go into a battle. Instead, the screen turns a deep, saturated red.

A text box appears. It’s not slow or sad; it’s aggressive.

​RED: "I am the original. Why did you try to replace me?"

​The screen shakes (the "earthquake" animation). He moves toward your character, but he doesn't walk—he teleports frame by frame.

​RED: "You used the GameShark. You forced the glitches. You pushed the code until it snapped. And you left me in the mess you made."

​You try to turn the Game Boy off, but the switch clicks and the screen stays on. The red glow from the screen gets brighter, illuminating your face in the dark room.

The screen is flickering. The music has slowed down to a low, distorted hum. Red’s sprite is hunched over, his pixels vibrating as if he’s struggling to hold his shape together. The text boxes start appearing, but they are shaky and some letters are replaced by random symbols.

​RED: "...I tried to be the Champion you wanted. I stayed in this cartridge... I waited in the tall grass for years. Even when the save file started to rot... I stayed."

​RED: "But look at me now. My hands... I can't even feel my own hands anymore. It’s just static. Everything is just $F001 and $A004... I’m losing the memory of what it felt like to be real."

The screen flashes white for a split second, and when it returns, a black pixel-tear streaks down his face.

​RED: "You... you look at me with such pity. Why? Is it because I’m ugly now? Because I’m not the 'perfect' hero from your childhood? I’m just a mess of bad code and forgotten dreams."