Bolt

Stop hating me.

I never did anything to you.

Why would I want to do anything to you? The only reason I would try to hurt you in any way would be if you hurt me.

 I still loved you. Now I'm not so sure. Why should I love someone who hates me more than anything else in the world?

Why is everything so cold?

-~-~-

I never liked Swablus. I don't know why; I just didn't like them. Actually, they were one of my least favorite Pokémon. Ironically enough, Altaria was among my favorites. So, naturally, when I caught a Swablu in my Sapphire, I trained it as quickly as I could, and it took the chief position in my party. The result was a high-leveled Swablu, a slightly underleveled Marshtomp, and a bunch of low-level Pokémon.

I had named the Swablu Bolt, as I thought it would be cool to have an Altaria with storm cloud wings and lightning through them. I always liked electric types anyways, and so an electric version of one of my favorite Pokémon would be amazing.

Bolt rapidly rose to level 34, and I held my breath as I defeated the last Pokémon needed to fill up his Exp. The screen faded to black, and then to the evolution screen, but instead of saying, "What? Bolt is evolving!", it said "Bolt refuses to evolve!" Then his sprite began moving in strangely smooth animations, flapping his wings and leaping slightly off the ground.

I was a little weirded out by this, as I had never heard of anything like that happening in Ruby or Sapphire. I got it brand new from GameStop, so it couldn't be a hack game, either. I decided to keep playing and see what happened.

I managed to level up Bolt again, and this time, it did the same thing; "Bolt refuses to evolve!", and then the animation. Then, though, he stopped, and flew offscreen with breathtakingly swift and accurate movements. He returned with a small gray stone in his beak. "Bolt has taken an Everstone!"

I noticed that, strangely, Bolt's wings were a shade darker, and I could detect faint flashes within them. His body was also a bit more purple. Now I was really confused. How could these things be happening in a Sapphire game? The animations weren't supposed to be smooth, the sprites never changed... Something was going on here.

The screen faded to black again, and then it went back to the overworld. I went to my party and checked Bolt, to find that he was holding an Everstone. I tried to take it away, but a text box popped up, saying "Bolt is gripping the rock tightly in his talons! You cannot get it away." I thought I heard the faint cry of a Swablu, although lower in pitch. I also noticed that the game called him a he, not an it.

"I don't want a stupid Swablu," I said quietly. "I want my Altaria already."

A box with light blue text popped up onscreen. "Well, you'd better catch a different Swablu then."

I stared at it for a moment, speechless. Had that thing just responded to me? No, I was imagining things. Nonetheless, I spoke to it. "I don't want to train another stupid Swablu. I'm sick and tired of you being one of them already, and I can't stand another one."

"...You don't like me?"

"...No." I was beginning to accept the fact that Bolt could hear what I was saying, however much it creeped me out.

"..."

"Bolt is upset."

The text was the normal black again. I decided to see if there was anything weird about Bolt, like he was glitched or something, and viewed his summary. He seemed normal; a Brave Swablu with the same stats he had before. But his wings were even darker now, his body more purple, and there were two little blue dots in the corners of his eyes that looked like tears. His wings had faint flashes of lightning going through them.

What kind of sick joke was this?

I tried putting him in the PC, but a text box popped up saying "Bolt wants to stay with you!" I tried releasing him, and got the same message. I couldn't even switch his place with other Pokémon in my party.

"I want to show you how much I love you," said the blue text.

The screen faded to the overworld without me exiting the PC, and a Pokéball appeared to tumble out of my bag. It rocked a few times before opening and revealing Bolt, whose wings were dark grey, and body was purple. Light blue streaks came from his eyes, which appeared to be tears. Lightning flashed in his wings. He was flapping his wings up and down, as if he were flying, rather than having a still sprite.

Much to my surprise, he was turned away from my character, facing down. "Come with me," he said, and I got the strange feeling he was talking to me, rather than my character. He flew out of the building, and I was forced to follow.

He led me out of the town, and into a patch of grass. Another Swablu came out - a normal Swablu, mind you - and he fought it entirely without me controlling him, winning the battle with surprising speed for his competition.

"Do you love me now? I became strong for you."

"No."

"Bolt is crying."

The screen faded to a black background with Bolt's sprite in front of it. This time, his wings were as close to black you could be without actually being black, and the lightning was clearly visible. His body was a dark, purplish color, and his eyes were simply black voids with one red pixel in each for a pupil. He was crying, and I could see the tears as they fell down his face, watched as they splashed onto the ground and left little damp spots on the ground before they faded away completely.

"Bolt just wants you to love him for who he is."

The text had turned dark purple.

I found tears welling up in my eyes at how depressed Bolt's sprite looked, and then quickly wiped them away from my face. "It's just a stupid game," I said. "It's not like Bolt actually exists. It's probably just a glitch."

Bolt's beak began quivering, and then his sprite tilted downwards, his wings falling limply to his sides.

"Bolt is not a glitch. Bolt loves you. Bolt wants to make you happy."

"Kara doesn't love you," I mocked. "Kara knows that you are just a bunch of pixels. Kara is happier without you."

"Should I leave you?" The text was the same color as Bolt's body.

"Yes." I had gotten used to talking through the game. It was probably just some sick person hacking into my game via... Internet? I thought of how outlandish that sounded, and tried to assure myself that it was true.

Bolt's red pupils looked up at me, and the sadness within them hit me with a pang. I suddenly felt different; I did love him. I wanted him to stay.

But it was too late.

"Bolt got away safely!"

When I went back to the overworld, Bolt was there. His overworld sprite matched the one I had seen before. He began flying slowly away from me, but the screen was following him, rather than staying focused on me.  He kept flying until I was offscreen.

"Bolt used Suicide!"

Bolt fell to the ground, and the screen scrolled back over to me. Things went back to normal, and I was allowed to move again. I walked over to where Bolt was, but he was gone. "No... I didn't mean like that..."

"Do you love me now?"

I stood staring at the words, my mouth open in an O of horror. Bolt's overworld  sprite faded back onto the screen, except now, he was sort of transparent, and he floated up and down slightly. He gave me the impression of a ghost.

His full sprite against a black background took up the screen, and it floated up and down, too, rather than flapping its wings like it had before. The background slowly became red, showing that Bolt's regular sprite was transparent as well.

"Do you love me now?" he repeated.

"N-no," I replied. "You're a monster."

"I know." Bolt looked downward. "A monster that you turned me into." He looked up again, and his tiny, red pupils were shaking violently. His text gradually began turning red. "You did this! All I ever wanted was for you to love me, but you refused to do even that! I don't want to evolve. I like being a Swablu. Why can't you just accept me for who I am?"

"I'm sorry," I murmured.

"No, you aren't! It's all your fault! I hate you. It's your turn to die."

"Bolt used Screech!"

A loud, shrill cry blasted in my ear, and I whirled around.

Only to face a pair of black eyes with blood-red pupils in the center.

A flash of lightning lit the room.