Crystal, a young and feisty girl, couldn’t wait to get started on her pokémon journey. She skipped to the lab of Professor Elm, and he was waiting for her happily. Three pokéballs were laid out before her, just like in all the stories she’d heard. But something shining caught her attention, an oddly colored ball in the corner. When asked what it was, the Professor’s expression turned grim. He explained that it was a Friend Ball, and inside was a Kanto pokémon that had been sent to him by Professor Oak. Crystal became instantly excited and asked if she could have that pokémon, instead of the usual three. The Professor was nervous, but after some probing from the girl he finally let her have it – with the warning that it would take a lot more training than the original three. She took it without a care and rushed off onto Route 29, releasing the pokémon inside.
”Bulba- Bulbasaur!”
The pokémon called out happily, looking at its new owner. Crystal analyzed her partner, her friend. Surprisingly, it was a girl – something rare for starter pokémon. And she was only level 1. Crystal decided, digging into the memories of all the pokémon books she had ever read, that this pokémon had been bred, and for some reason sent to Johto. But something struck her – they couldn’t breed over in Kanto. Breeding was something new that had been introduced in her generation – and, speaking of Kanto, did their pokémon even have genders? The books all pointed that her new friend shouldn’t even exist; yet, here she was, happily awaiting orders.
”Oh well, let’s start training, Venu!”
Being at level 1 proved difficult at first, but with determination – and many potions – the duo pushed through. Upon level 5 Venu had only learned one new attack – Growl. She already knew Tackle, which is what they had been pushing forward with, but it seemed like there was something more, something Crystal had not yet learned about her new friend. She sat down with Venu and questioned her on it, with which Venu responded with a smile and a “Bulba!” So there was something, she just had to find out what it was.
They trained until level 10 and, upon learning Leech Seed, made their way into the Cherrygrove City Pokémon Center; a much-needed rest for the both of them. While Venu was healing, Crystal decided to head over to the Poké Mart and stock up on items. As she exited, she saw two boys battling – one, dressed in yellow with black hair, had a Cyndaquil, and the other, dressed in black with red hair, had a Totodile. Both pokémon hadn’t been leveled very much, but the yellow boy’s Cyndaquil took away more health per attack – it was leveled higher. With one last Tackle attack the little blue pokémon fell, and the red-haired boy sighed in disgust.
”Humph. Are you happy you won?”
He returned the Totodile, and Crystal felt bad for the poor thing. With the anger and tension clearly plastered across his face, the redhead turned to the yellow boy.
”… My name is Silver. I’m going to be the world’s greatest pokémon trainer.”
With that he left, and the yellow boy turned and noticed Crystal for the first time. She smiled and walked over to him. “Hey, you battle pretty well. Do you mind if I battle you? After you heal your pokémon, of course! I’ll show you to the Pokémon Center!” She led the trainer to where the nurse waited with Venu. Venu happily rushed to Crystal and sat at her feet, waiting for their adventure to continue. The yellow trainer handed his pokémon to the nurse and curiously looked at Venu. He took out a red machine and pointed it at the pokémon – but all he got in return was static.
”Odd.”
He replied with a confused expression. Crystal had no idea what the machine was, or what outcome he expected from it, but she filled in the trainer with what she had learned from her books.
”Venu? Oh, she’s a Bulbasaur. A grass type, so she wouldn’t normally do well against your Cyndaquil, but I believe in her! My name’s Crystal, by the way.”
A smile was plastered across her face, and slowly the yellow trainer returned the smile, his confusion gone.
”My name is Gold. Exbo is my Cyndaquil, and we’ll defiantly win against your Venu!”
The two set off to battle, after, of course, both Expo and Venu were healed, and it soon turned…strange. Both pokémon were at level 10, and were wearing each other down with Tackle attacks. Then, Gold switched it up and ordered Expo to use Smokescreen. Venu looked around, coughing, not seeing where her enemy waited.
”Venu, try Leech Seed!”
Venu obeyed, but to no avail. When no energy returned to her, they both realized Venu had missed – and that’s when Expo made his move.
”Expo, use Tackle!”
A critical hit.
The smoke cleared and Crystal saw her beloved partner lying on the ground, only a sliver of energy left.
”Curse my luck!!”
Curse. Venu slowly stood and a new power washed over her. Crystal didn’t know what was going on, but she could see that Venu was ready to go again. Expo attacked first, which wasn’t odd, but his Tackle attack didn’t finish Venu off – It was like it just bounced off. Venu awaited orders.
”Uh- Venu, use Tackle!”
The small fire pokémon went down after that, which surprised both trainers. Gold and Crystal shook hands, a great battle between new rivals, and headed to the Pokémon Center. After both pokémon were healed, Gold went on his way, which left Crystal to ponder with her little bulb of a pokémon.
”What was that new move?”
”Bulba, bulba?”
The girl pondered over what she had said before Venu had unleashed this power. Luck? My? Curse! That had to be it. She would defiantly use this move again in later battles, she decided.
Between Cherrygrove City and Violet City, she met up with two trainers that hadn’t been taken out by Gold or Silver. Both battles she used Curse, and both battled she won. This pushed Venu to level 16, and she evolved into Ivysaur. This sent the two into a cheering frenzy, and they entered Violet City in high spirits. That night the two got a room at the local Pokémon Center, and Crystal fell asleep without a problem.
Venu, however…
One. Discover a new talent.
Huh? What?
Two.. See that it wins battles.
Who’s there?
Three… Feeling on top of the world.
What? Where am I? She was in a room with no doors, no windows – only darkness.
Three times is not the charm, little girl. What will happen after three? Will you feel sick? Woozy?
What are you talking about? Three times with what?
Curse, simple child. What will happen if you keep using Curse? Will you end up…looking like US?!
Suddenly faces flew at her, horrid, twisted faces. The smell of the room turned from non-existent to a decayed, poisonous smell; like a graveyard. Venu gasped as three figures hovered around her, one small, gaseous ball, one bigger, floating head with disconnected floating hands, and one large, complete body with a wicked grin. What do you want?! She heaved, a little afraid to even address the three.
We’re only here to warn you. The floating head spoke, moving closer, grabbing her chin. If you continue to use Curse, you may just end up looking like us.
Wh-what? Venu winced as his claws dug into her flesh. It’s just a move; it can’t change me!
Oh, but it can.
He let go, and she was suddenly surrounded by noxious gas; the floating ball peering over her shoulder. We used to be just like you, you know. We used to be normal pokémon with trainers, just like you. Why, my name used to be Shellder. I was happy, I worked hard for my trainer, back when there were no pokéballs and pokémon went with trainers by their own will. But when I learned a new move – Curse – things between us changed. He made me use it battle after battle and, while we were winning, I slowly decayed into sickness. My shell peeled away, and the noxious fumes coming from my body formed into a new shell – though see-through. The trainer abandoned me, hating what I had become, even though it was his own fault. I changed my name to Gastly. I watched all the new Shellder, my former self’s spawns, but none of them seem to learn the same move sets I did…
Venu was relieved of the gas and the largest figure floated towards her. His eyes stared her down, keeping her within his gaze. My name used to be Clefable. I came down with my partner, Clefairy, and inhabited a mountainside. I, too, went with a trainer – to see how far my skills would take me. However I, too, learned this strange move – Curse. Like Gastly, my trainer made me use it battle after battle, and we always won, but I slowly descended into sickness. My body decayed, parts falling off, flesh rotting, and I turned into this. My trainer left, disgusted, and I changed my name into Gengar. I went back to the mountain to see my old partner, but she had changed. She’d spawned new copies of herself, which transformed into copies of my former self. But none of them learned Curse – that nightmare ended with me.
Venu was growing weary; horrified at all these stories, but she knew it wasn’t the end. Gengar left, and she was faced with the last one, the middle spirit. He floated back over to her, his claws inches from her face. I used to be known as Raticate. I, unlike the others, roamed free. I learned Curse and constantly used it against any opponent I faced. I forced myself onward, I wasn’t pushed by the commands of an owner, and I caused my own downfall. I continued to use Curse even as I fell, and so my body distorted and decayed in even more ways. My hands fell off, but some force kept them with my head; the rest of my body dropped off. I was only a floating head, re-named Haunter, but I realized, after I stopped dying, that Curse now had a new effect. I no longer had a life, but Curse now took away my energy – but at a price to my enemies. I cursed my enemies with nightmares of their worst fears, and it drove them into insanity; slowly draining away their health like it had once done to me. I easily healed after the attacks, but realized that, like my friends here, my earlier spawns did not learn the way I had. We three found each other, and we witnessed as other strange abnormalities happened with other Pokémon and their move sets. Others that looked just like us soon joined our ranks, and we saw that, while we were dead, we were still Pokémon. The pokéball was invented, and our counterparts got caught, along with other Pokémon. But one thing we noticed – none of our counterparts remembered the move Curse. They learned it as they leveled, remembering it slowly.
All three flew back their bodies slowly disappeared until only their eyes and grins were left, staring Venu down. We were the Founders; therefore we know what Curse does. How do you think Ghost pokémon came to be? An unlucky pokémon learns the move, and his body slowly dies. The form its body takes depends on the pokémon, and it changes with each region. What pokémon does death bring in future regions? If unlucky pokémon like you continue to use Curse, we’ll find out soon enough, won’t we? The three mouths opened and flew at the startled Ivysaur.
Venu awoke with a start. Crystal, who was having a pleasant dream, looked at her friend sleepily “Huh? Venu? What’s wrong??” The pokémon realized it was just a dream, and nervously laughed it off. There was nothing wrong with Curse – of course. It made her win battles, and her trainer liked using it. She wouldn’t let some nightmare get to her.
Over the course of a few weeks, and Curse being used in quite a few battles, Venu grew sickly and pale. The nightmares continued night after night, even after evolving into a Venusaur. Crystal, while slow to realize, finally noticed that there was something wrong with her beloved Venu. The large pokémon let her know that it was the move, Curse, and Crystal decided on never using it again. She let Venu take a long rest and used her other five pokémon for battles after that. Venu never got better, but she did seem chipper and more ready and willing to battle – a bonus was that she no longer had the nightmares. A month or two after that, they got to the Elite Four, and her team was in top condition – except for sickly Venu, but it had come to become part of her, and Crystal accepted it.
They easily made their way through the four trainers: Will, Koga, Bruno, and Karen. Then came the champion: Lance. Crystal soon found that he was more difficult than the rest – knocking out all of her pokémon, except for Venu, her starter. Venu came out, ready to take orders, and she faced Lace’s last two pokémon. She knocked out his first, Dragonite, but then he threw out the last thing Crystal wanted to see: Charizard – a fire type.
He gave Venu quite a ride, and they were both down to their last slivers of health. Both trainers were out of healing items, so it was all down to this. Crystal could see Venu struggling, just like- she remembered now. Just like when she first battled Gold and Expo; and she remembered the long-forgotten move, Curse. She knew Curse was the reason Venu was like this, but she also knew that it could bring in the win – the championship. Venu would push through, right? Like she always had? It was only once more – they can do it. With a small pause, she uttered the words.
”Venu, use Curse.”
Venu hesitated, but couldn’t refuse an order from her master. She used the move, and Charizard’s next attack seemed to just bounce off. Having already used Sunny Day, Venu and Crystal both knew they were going to win.
”Venu, now use Solar Beam!”
Charizard fell, as did Venu soon after. Crystal rushed to her pokémon’s side, but with Lance congratulating her, all she felt the need to do was return Venu to heal her at a later time. She accepted the title and left, skipping out to the Pokemon Center within the Indigo Plateau, handing over all her pokémon for healing. Once she got her team back, she let out Venu to congratulate her – but screamed in horror. Venu was in the process of decaying, her skin was falling off and her body became much smaller, her giant flower wilted and her vines pulled back into her head. Her flesh had become a sickly blue, her vines tinted the softest of fleshy pink, and her petals fell off and became like jewels, wrapping around her neck and floating. This new Venu blinked, looking at her owner. She tried to speak, but all that came out was…
”Mis?”
It was as if that’s what she had always said – like it was part of her. None of this surprised her; the only thing that she was confused about was Crystal herself. Who was this girl? Why did she feel as if she knew her?
Crystal quickly returned Venu- no, this wasn’t Venu anymore. She sent out her trusted Xatee, who seemed to look with a bit of anger at the pokéball in Crystal’s hands.
”Fly to New Bark Town, and hurry!”
She jumped onto the pokémon’s back and they flew off, landing in front of the lab after a short time. Crystal returned Xatee and rushed in, demanding an answer from Professor Elm. He looked confused, but as soon as he saw the pokéball in the girl’s hands, he knew.
”Look, Crystal, I’m sorry. I tried to warn you.”
”What happened to Venu?!”
Tears were in the girl’s eyes now. He sighed and sat her down.
”That Bulbasaur came to me from Professor Oak; I told you that already. But I left out her whole story. You see, Oak found her as an egg at his lab. A trainer had recently sent him a pokéball containing a Slowbro – but something seemed wrong with it. It was pale, and very sickly. It wasn’t as dimwitted as you would expect the species to be, he just seemed to want to die, you know? Oak felt bad for the poor thing, and hoped that letting him roam with the other pokémon in the fields would make it feel better. About a week or two after its arrival, he stopped seeing it in the fields. He went to look for it, but all he saw was a Venusaur – with an egg. He’d never seen an egg before, so it baffled him, but he soon came to realize that it was the egg of that Slowbro. He didn’t know what to expect, and when the Bulbasaur hatched, he quickly put it in a Friend Ball to maybe help ease whatever sickness it might have. He sent it over to me so I could study it, and I did just that. That’s when I discovered that it knew Curse, a move that was new to our region, but didn’t even exist in Kanto. I once saw a Pokémon die, Crystal. It was decaying right on the spot – before it even took its last breath. What happened before that? I saw the trainer order the Pokémon to use Curse. I knew nothing good would come of this move, and I kept it away from the other pokémon. I thought you could maybe fix things, but…I see I was wrong. I’m truly sorry, Crystal.”
Crystal walked out of the lab in a daze. She knew Venu would never be the same, so she did the only thing she could do – she released the new pokémon and crushed the Ball beneath her foot. Without a second glance, she walked off, back onto Route 29.
Later she caught her Chumee to replace Venu, but was surprised to find a Chikorita that had run to her from Professor Elm’s lab. She replaced Chumee with the male, and named him Mega – and together the concurred a new adventure.
But what Crystal failed to notice was a figure following her wherever she went. The figure watched as Crystal raised her pokémon with care – not knowing why she was doing so. All she knew what that she felt a strong urge to be with Crystal, but was too shy to go up to her. All the pokémon knew was this urge for the girl, and her name. Her name was Misdreavus, and as she followed Crystal through Johto, she noticed others of her kind popping up from time to time. They came to be after trainers told their various pokémon to use Curse for the last time.
And it felt, to Misdreavus, like there was a large nail in her heart all the time.
Just like us.
Have you ever wondered where the first Ghost pokémon came from? Ghosts are dead beings, right? So naturally Ghost Pokemon…are dead pokémon. They can breed now, but every so often you see a non-Ghost type using the move Curse, and every so often a trainer gets an unexplained Ghost pokémon in their party.
Next time you play a Pokémon game, think about where your Ghost pokémon came from. And next time you play a Pokémon game, take notice of any non-Ghost type pokémon that know Curse. Make sure that the PP doesn’t decrease to 0, otherwise…you may just end up with a Ghost type.
