Glitchy Red

About a month ago, I bought a second Pokémon Red cartridge so I could start a new game without corrupting my save file. When I compared it to my old cartridge, I assumed it was a pirated copy. I could see the label didn't fit the front of the cartridge, and the red plastic was cheap and see-through.
When I started it, there was only one option: "New Game." And unlike my beloved cartridge that I'd been using, it didn't have any signs of wear from being inserted into a Game Boy or anything else that indicated it had been used. Oh well, "What the hell," I thought, and started playing. I'd lost my Game Boy a few weeks ago, so I played it from my computer.
When the game started, my computer's backlit screen went out like I was playing on an old Game Boy Advance or Color. I thought it was pretty weird, since even the lowest brightness setting on my computer screen was brighter than the highest setting on all my friends' special edition consoles. I'd played more games on my computer than I ever had, and this had never happened with an old Game Boy game, so I just chalked it up to the game being poorly made or just plain awful.
Well, I had passed Lavender Town and the Pokémon Tower, and nothing unusual happened, the background music didn't drive me crazy or make me want to kill myself, my Pokémon never started crying blood or anything like that.
But as I continued playing, it became increasingly clear that this game had several problems, not to mention the ones already mentioned. Don't judge me, I'm a huge fan of Red, the main character of Pokémon. I've always loved it when he speaks from Red's point of view, like when he examines the Super Nintendo and says, "It's time to get going!" But when I examined the console, it said, "I miss Dad." I examined it again, and it said the same thing. I chuckled, thinking the translation was wrong.

I went to the next floor, then went back down to check the console again. The message had changed; it said, "Who created me?" By then, I thought it had been added by a hacker. Red discovered it was just a video game character, which was kind of funny.
After that, I continued with the game's story. I was near the part where you sail to the Seafoam Islands. Sometimes, the map would glitch, like in Glitch City, and Red would start sailing on some crazy thing, and I couldn't move. When I was younger, I liked to do the MissingNo. trick in Glitch City. Finally, I arrived in Glitch City. Of course, I first flew to the Safari Zone, but no matter how many times I tried, I couldn't make MissingNo. appear. I thought maybe that bug had been fixed to make the game cleaner, but that wasn't the case. When I entered the Pokémon Mansion, not only could I not move, but I was greeted by these texts...
"RED: Nice try, buddy"
What scared me was "Red" in all caps, like a narrator. Now I was sure the game had been edited. Red was telling me "Nice try" after I stopped trying the MissingNo cheat. The game froze, and I restarted it. I hadn't saved after doing the cheat, but when the game resumed, I was right where the text window had appeared. I could move now, so I continued.
I was still playing on my computer, and things were getting weirder; I was already scared. After leaving the mansion, I got a message that said, "Ding-Dong, your time in the Safari Zone is up." I'd done the glitch once before, and I knew this only happened when I flew out of the Safari Zone. As expected, I was outside the entrance. I had a feeling something was going to happen. When I tried to leave the door, knowing I'd be in Glitch City, I was in Pallet Town, but there was no music. Another text window popped up...
"RED: This isn't where I'm from, you lied to me."

I couldn't move, so I opened the start menu to fly off to another location with my Pidgeot. But I was shocked to find my Pidgeot gone; only my Blastoise, Exeggutor, Kadabra, Mew, and Kangaskhan were there. In Pidgeot's place was a level 18 Raticate with 1 HP, and it was badly poisoned. I checked its stats, and it knew Hyper Beam, Shadow Ball, Cut, and Psychic. I have no idea if Raticate can learn those moves. I heard that Green's Raticate died in the battle with Star Trek Anne, but Rattata doesn't evolve into Raticate until level 20, so that was a terrible trick.
I moved forward a little until another text box appeared, "NETWORK died." I went to check my equipment and the slot was empty. I tried to walk, but I couldn't. Another text message appeared...
"RED: Did this happen to me? Why?"
I quit the game pretty angry and looked for my old cartridge even though I knew it was broken. I don't know how it worked, but the "Continue" option appeared in the menu, but when I tried to select it, I got that damn message that my data was lost. So I kept trying, and it opened, although the game kept freezing, with the music barely playing. I was desperate to play any Pokémon game other than that one.
A week later, when I decided to continue, I was still in Pallet Town. There was no music, but everything seemed normal, despite the empty slot and the fact that my computer screen wouldn't work at times (only in that game). I looked for my Pidgeot on the PC, but it wasn't there. Just as I was about to open the gym door, surprise! Another text message appeared!
"NETWORK: No."
No matter how many times I tried, I couldn't open the door. Until it happened again...
"RED: Everything that happened to me, happened because everyone does whatever they want with me. I'm going to become a hero on my own. And I'm not going to let that door be opened."
It was locked. Everything I did, I did because Red allowed me to.

Things were weird; once I tried to move, but Red wouldn't let me.
"RED: I'm going to show you what it feels like to be unable to choose your own destiny."
I gave up and opened the game menu, happy to see my Pidgeot again. I flew somewhere far away; now I knew I did it because Red let me—he was just playing with me. I flew to Lavender Town, since nothing strange had happened there. From Lavender, I tried to walk toward Fuchsia, but when I left Lavender...
"NETWORK: No."
Okay, crap. I opened the menu and flew to Fuchsia. When I arrived, I almost had a heart attack: I was in Glitch City. It appeared in the menu like it does in the Mew glitch, and it asked me to save the game. There was no "NO" option, and pressing B (NO) did nothing. When I started it again, I was still in Glitch City. I checked my Pokémon; Pidgeot and Kadabra weren't there, but there was "FLY" and "TRANSPORT" when I selected the empty slots. It was also "CURSED," not "Curse" like in the Pokémon Black creepypasta. I'm smart enough not to press it, so I exited the menu. Red speaks again.
"RED: You're staying here with me. I know this is my story, but I'm a video game character. They took everything from me—my voice, my freedom... They've replaced me with the boy with the brown eyes."
I understood he was referring to the FireRed/LeafGreen version, and the Gold/Silver/Crystal/HeartGold/SoulSilver versions, where he'd been demoted to Final Boss. He let me walk, and to my surprise, the game never froze. But since I was walking on water, it wasn't long before the screen went black...
"RED: Am I a joke to you?"
The options "YES" and "NO" appeared, I chose "NO"...

"RED: So why are you doing these things to me? Why are you corrupting my world and causing me technical problems?...Why do you want to hurt me with MissingNo?"
I never meant to hurt Red, it was just for fun...
"RED: It was just for fun, right? The game had glitches and you decided to exploit me just for fun."
I didn't know what to say until another message appeared...
"RED: Why do I have to die? Just...because I'm a hero?"
I closed the game without saving and went to sleep. That night, I had a dream where I was Red from FireRed/LeafGreen, and I was being chased by a pale boy dressed in red. Although I didn't feel any pain in my dream, the pale boy caught me and dug his nails into my neck. The last thing I saw before waking up was the boy's face with his glowing red eyes, black hair, and a red and white cap.
The last few days I played, I did it because I felt I had to. I was trapped in the darkness because Red refused to let me go, like an abandoned and forgotten object, abused by players returning out of nostalgia, determined to exploit its glitches. Playing so much gave me terrible headaches, partly due to the game's loud sound issues. I missed days of school and could barely move, finding solace in staring at the game's black screen. Red never spoke to me again. Yesterday, I reached Mt. Silver in HG/SS, and I couldn't fight Red. I didn't know what would happen if I defeated him... Would he be angry? Happy? Would his defeat allow him to finally rest in peace?

No matter how many times I complete the game, Red will always suffer the same fate because he is a hero. Red will never experience glory again, no matter how many remakes they make, it will never be like the first time. We know what's going to happen, and we play for the nostalgia. I killed Red. Red had fought hard to be the best, capturing Mewtwo, Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres; he became a legend until there was nothing left of him.
I finished the game yesterday, and when I got to the Hall of Fame, one last text message popped up...
"RED: Move on and forget about me, goodbye."

Skills: Technology Manipulation
Manipulation of space and time in the world of technology.
Technological disruption.
Glitchy Red was believed to be able to bend time and space within the technological world, especially in the worlds of Pokémon games. In other words, while he's in the technological world, he can manipulate everything, and there's a possibility he could manifest in the real world.

Personality: Glitchy Red is described as the opposite of kindness and affection, due to being forgotten and "rejected." Glitchy Red becomes extremely hostile and begins haunting the Pokémon "Red" game to explain that he is the real character the player was meant to control, and he soon begins causing problems within the game.