Welcome to a new edition of Horror Gaming and I found creepypasta on the second Gen titles of Pokemon. Often, these Pokepastas focus mostly on Gen 1 as seen from the infamous Lavender Town Syndrome. For once we come across one from the second generation involving an obscure version of Gold. When you think about Gold/Silver/Crystal, none of them had the same melancholy tone the previous gen had. I chalk it up to the monochrome look and sound the originals gave us. The CP is about a guy who retells a time he went looking for another Pokemon Gold to play without erasing the one he had owned already. That's until the man happens to find a Gold version with its label torn off in his grandma's basement years later. Let's begin... It begins with someone talking about how he isn't tech savvy type guy unless it simple things to work. The man states that ROM hackers were a thing he didn't know existed and found this in a disturbing way. I haven't even gotten past the first area and there is already a strike. How does this moron consider hacked games disturbing? We will name this guy Moron #84 because he decided to act like one right from the start. Despite 84’s dumb thoughts, he doesn’t come across the weird hack with wanting to relive his childhood or through the typical phantom seller. Instead, Moron’s grandmother happened to buy a copy for him along with other related Pokemon stuff like cards and VHS tapes. It makes sense for the grandmother to buy something like this considering she wasn’t tech savvy enough to know. The way he discovered the weird hack was believable for once since we always had that family member who would buy stuff for us. That brings us to our second strike and apparently, these stories just can't stop using the torn label trope. Moron states the cover was missing and in its place was a simple big red X in sharpie. That's two times I found a story with this cliché to make it seem creepy. When starting the new file, it opens to a black screen that states Pokemon are useful tools. It's enjoyable how Polyhexian describes the opening to starting the game because the plot makes us think something is off. However, the gameplay is explained through Silver’s point instead of Gold’s and how different the events played out. The middle of the plot didn’t go anywhere except for Silver always losing whenever facing a gym leader or Gold. The character did play up to his loner and mean personality, but it was the only thing that stayed the same. As I was reading Moron’s walkthrough the more, it sounded like a terrible hacked fan game. By the mid-point of playing, I would have stopped since you always lose against bosses and have to steal key items to progress. There was one thing missing from the plot and where was the creepiness? The CP was building on Silver’s cold demeanor but for what reason? We receive none of this until 84 gets to Kanto and arrives at Viridian City’s gym. He then finds a hidden door leading to a basement in the most ridiculous manner one could discover. It happens when Moron explores the vacant building with no NPCs or Blue standing in his spot. The guy claims he usually would go past the spot where the gym leaders were all because the sound of walking into the wall pleased him. I just love the plot convenience of the way 84 found the hidden room. Can I ask, who the hell does that? Why didn't the author explain how Moron found a switch in the gym somewhere that opens a secret door? That's the third strike as not only is it a stupid way to discover a trap door, but the scene needs a rewrite. I also hated the way Moron was getting so upset over this especially when he's an adult man. It is explained the halls were full of the dead bodies and every time Silver dialogue comes up, he would say, ALL DEAD. After watching some walk-throughs on YouTube of the other hacks like Pokémon Nightmare Invasion and Snakewood—these fan games were hardly scary or disturbing despite the gore being about the same as in the story. The only thing written solid about this scene was the screen flickering and the sounds of screaming in the distance. Even the red tint did wonders during the scene because it tells us something bad is ahead. The curiosity trope somehow works here, and the reason is the game was a ROM hack and two, the man's life wasn’t in danger. Another thing about the red tint in the climax during the basement scene created the perfect feeling of unease—using that color didn't stay it's welcome, and the minimum of blood was just right. The ending was a little anticlimactic since it turned out all that noise was Giovanni using Mewtwo to kill Gold’s Pokémon. Basically, Mewtwo gets angered by Giovanni’s words of manipulating others after Gold was killed. I don’t understand the ending as all the buildup was really for nothing. What was the reason for Giovanni’s psychotic killing spree? I thought his motive was to manipulate others for selfish reasons and not for solely murdering. The writing through the buildup never explained why he went psycho in the game. That is the fourth strike as you need to explain things as to why the ROM Hack was leading up to the point. That was another Pokémon Creepypasta and even though this clearly wasn't the best I have seen; it was still a decent story. It isn't shocking for a person to make an ROM hack telling Silver's side of the game. However, the way he explains the gameplay makes me think this is a terrible fan recreation. How does that move towards a good build to the climax when nothing strange happens? That is another thing this story lacks, and it's the creepiness that doesn't appear until he reaches Viridian City. Obviously, the author should've put in weird and if not, creepy instances that led to the climax. Was it as terrible as the mess of stories from Mario and Sonic CPs? No and the sentence structure, grammar and punctuation were decent, but the wording was the only problem. I also love the poor use of scare tactics as 84 crying over a hacked game doesn't make me feel the same way. Now if the guy was a kid who was playing this like in Glitchlett then I could understand. When an adult cries over a hack that include dark elements makes this unbelievable. Has 84 ever experienced an M rated game and only plays lighthearted titles? I did find it interesting to have one about the second Gen games—the first Gen titles are the ones that become a Creepypasta most of the time. One thing the author did right was try not to use the typical clichés to how the player got the game. It was great for the author to write in little gore and blood and how the player didn't get the cartridge in a ridiculous manner. He simply didn't know his grandma accidentally bought an ROM hack that some fan made because she wasn't tech savvy enough. Despite my criticism of the plot leading to something, Silver's story was building to something terrible. Unfortunately, this story has several problems overall and the author should've fixed them before posting. It clearly indicates either Polyhexian didn't proofread or didn't look through their writing enough. I found the plot for the series a nice changed for these writers to take a break from the usual like Lavender Town. Aside from some wording issues and not enough creepiness leading to the ending, this was still a solid story to read. Rating: 7.3/10 Solid Sources Story: deviantart.com. (August 26, 2010). Tarnished Gold. Polyhexian. https://www.deviantart.com/polyhexian/art/Tarnished-Gold-176963474
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Retro Gamer has over 25 years of gaming experience and played many classics since the Golden Age. She has been an avid fan since the day the NES graced her life and changed it forever.
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