Buried Alive Wins

The light at the end of the Rock Tunnel was finally in my sights. Just short of a sprint, I reached the ca ve exit. In the short distance I ran, relief spread over me as the Pokémon Trainer gauntlet was done and I could finally get to a Pokémon Center. As I stepped into the light of the outside world, a terrible chill ran through me. I had no idea what it was that caused it but I figured it was because I had to go through Rock Tunnel without using Flash.



 I shrugged my shoulders and started to walk towards the next town which was Lavender Town as my trusty Town Map read right before I entered Rock Tunnel. As I got closer to town I noticed the sun got dimmer and a gray misty fog began to fill the air. Another chill went through me but this time I shuddered after it. Thinking that is was just the fog making the air chilly, I shrugged it off again and went in venture of the Pokémon Center.



As I searched for the Pokémon Center I noticed how quiet the area seemed. It made some sense that La vendar Town was quite small, but the absence of 99 percent of general sounds made me just a little uneasy. There didn’t seem to be any people around either, again it was a small town but it seemed a little weird. I finally located the Pokémon Center but almost running into it because of the fog that seemed to have gotten thicker.



 Passing through the automatic doors, I walked in and got my pokéballs ready. I stopped at the counter and placed my pokéballs onto the tray. The Nurse Joy here still had her back to me even after I finished placing my pokéballs down. As I examined her, I noticed she wasn’t moving, it was almost like she knew I was there but was playing a prank on me pretending she didn’t know I was there.



 “Excuse me…Nurse Joy?” I said trying to get her attention.





Nurse Joy seemed to finally notice me or stopped playing her prank and slowly turned around. It was odd how slowly her body mo ved as she turned to face me.



 “Oh hello…how may I help you?” she said in a spooky slow way.



 I found it strange on what she said mostly because all the Nurse Joy’s I encountered already all said the same thing the second I walked into their Pokémon Centers.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> “Welcome to our Pokémon Center. We heal your Pokémon back to perfect health. Shall we heal your Pokémon?”

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> Maybe this one was the odd one out, the “Black Sheep” of all the Nurse Joy’s.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> “Yes you can, I would like to heal my Pokémon please.” I said sliding the tray towards her.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> She grabbed the tray and began to place it on the healing machine. The pokéballs flashed as my Pokémon regained their health.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> “Here you go…your Pokémon are fighting fit. Hope to see you again.” Nurse Joy said.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> Her words were more familiar since that was what the others said to me before I left. She still spoke in a slowed almost delayed speech. I wasn’t going to stick around much longer, so I grabbed my Pokémon, thanked Nurse Joy, and made a quick exit. I pulled out my map and looked to see where I should go next and saw that Celadon was directly to the west and had a gym just waiting for me to give it some punishment.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> As I was figuring out where west was, I saw something that grabbed my attention. A very tall building lay against a large rock face. Staring at this structure compelled me to want to know what it was. Near the entrance was a little girl who seemed to be walking in circles.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> “Excuse me, but can you tell me what building this is?” I asked the girl.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> The girl stopped dead in her tracks and slowly looked up at me.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> “This is the Pokémon Tower…where Pokémon are laid to rest.” she said.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> “I see…” I said looking up at the Pokémon Tower.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> I knew what this place was before the girl told me I just didn’t know where it was. I’ve known about the Pokémon Tower long before I was even a Trainer. My parents spoke of it and its unusual occurrences. Looking up at it, I knew I had to climb it floors.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> “Do you believe in ghosts?” the girl asked me as I gazed up.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> “No,” I said as I returned my eyes back to her.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> “Well I guess not then…so don’t worry that white hand on your shoulder isn’t real…” she said then spreading a really crooked smile across her lips.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> I figured she was just messing with me until I felt a light feeling on my shoulder and I glanced over and saw a white decrepit, decaying white hand. My eyes blinked and within that microsecond the hand was gone.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> “It is all in my head” I reassured myself.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> My eagerness to climb the tower waned a little but I still wanted to see what was up there. I stepped into the main door and walk into the main area of the Pokémon Tower. The atmosphere was more solemn in here than outside. People stood or knelt down by rock slabs that stuck out of the ground. They sat there either crying or not, paying their respects to their fallen Pokémon. I moved passed them and walked up the stairs to the next floor.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> As I reached the top of the stairs I could barely see anything since there was no regular lighting, just candles lit here and there. I moved slowly trying not to kill myself. Out of nowhere an old woman came at me and threw a pokéball. Her Pokémon came out and hovered in place. I knew it was a Ghastly and also knew it was going down. As quickly as she summoned her Ghastly, it went down and I called back my Pidgeotto.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> The woman scooted towards me and whispered something to me.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> “Do not go any further.” she said.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> “Why not?” I asked.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> She stood there paused until she repeated herself.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> “Do NOT go any further.” she said emphasizing.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;">     I was not deterred by her words, and I passed by her and went up the stairs. The third floor was much darker than the second, almost as if only a single candle lit the entire floor. Another elderly woman came at me and threw a pokéball like the last. I repeated my actions from the last fight and took her Ghastly down. She threw a second ball calling out her Ghastly’s evolved form, Haunter.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> Though this Pokémon was a little tougher, I still managed to take it down and defeat her. She approached and whispered to me.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> “Don’t go any further…an evil awaits you if you do…” she said.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> As I did for the last woman I didn’t heed her warning and continued on. Before I could get far, the woman grabbed my sleeve.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> “Please listen to me, go back down this tower and leave immediately. Don’t damn yourself.” she said.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> I pulled my shirt free of her clenched fist and walked towards the next floor. As I moved towards the stairs the room seemed to darken with every step. By the time I got to the stairs, I was standing in almost complete darkness. I walked up the stairs to the final floor and slowly made the walk down the long corridor. As I stepped down the corridor, I felt like I was being watched.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> I reached the end of the corridor and two tombstones sat with what looked like fresh dirt piled in front of them. Though the light was dim, I was just barely able to read the words on each tombstone. The first on said, “White Hand” and the other said “Buried Alive”. Realizing I saw enough, I started to make my way back. I heard a voice which made me stop where I stood.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> “You’re…here…” it said.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> “Hello? Who’s there?” I said in response.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> “I’m trapped here…and I’m lonely…” the voice said.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> “Is there anything I can do to help?” I asked.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> “Join me…please join me…” the voice said as it trailed off.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> The dirt in front of the tombstones began to move as if something under was trying to unearth itself. I watched in horror as something crawled out of the dirt. It seemed to be a decomposing human being. What was unusual was that in on hand it held a pokéball. As enough of its body was clear it threw the pokéball and summoned a Muk. I summoned faithful Pidgeotto and took care of the Muk. The corpse then threw out a Gengar, which my Pidgeotto made short work of.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;">   “You will join me even if I have to disembowel you and your Pokémon…” the corpse said.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> It threw another pokéball and what came forth made the blood in my face to rush out. Floating in mid air was the same thing I saw on my shoulder moments before I entered this place. I didn’t know what to make of it, but I had a feeling I had to beat these things before I ended up the same as them…dead.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> I ordered my Pidgeotto to attack, but I soon regretted that decision. The white hand rushed at my Pidgeotto and knocked it hard into the floor. My Pidgeotto was dazed as the white hand floated down towards it. What happened next was unimaginable and I silently wept for my Pidgeotto. The white hand grabbed each of Pidgeotto’s wings and ripped them clear from its body.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> “Next victim please…” the corpse said.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> I didn’t want to throw out any of my other Pokémon know what fate may come to them, but I had no choice or we would all be surely dead. Grabbing my second pokéball, I summoned my Wartortle. Before I could even give a single order, the white hand rushed Wartortle and grabbed it by the throat and started to squeeze. In a single moment the white hand tore into Wartortle’s neck, cutting open its throat.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> As the white hand loosened its grip on Wartortle, it fell to the floor lifeless. My beloved starter was now dead. I had only one last chance to get out of here alive. I pulled my last pokéball and called forth my newly evolved Nidoking. This time my actions were quick enough and I was able to order Nidoking to charge. Though the white hand didn’t move, it teleported around the room dodging all Nidoking’s attacks.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> Nidoking started to slow in exhaustion and that when the white hand took its attack. It knocked Nidoking around causing it to be completely open for its final blow. The white hand struck Nidoking in the chest causing it to burst open. The white hand then proceeded to pull Nidoking’s heart out through the opening. Nidoking fell to its knees before collapsing fully.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> “It’s seems you lost…finally I’ve gotten some fresh meat…” the corpse said then slowly dragging itself towards me.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> I tried to run for the stairs but the white hand grabbed me. It along with a second white hand pulled me back and held me in place as the corpse slowly made its way to me. I knew this was the end and all I could do was feel sorry for my Pokémon I mercilessly got killed. The corpse finally reached me and with a quick movement, gouged out my eyes. I screamed in pain as I felt something strike the back of my head.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> I fell to the floor and began to fell a tug on my arm. I figured it was the corpse pulling me back to his burial. As I began to slip out of consciousness, I said with the last ounce of strength, “I’m sorry”, hoping my Pokémon would forgive me.