*TRIGGER WARNING: Child suicide.*
*To see the author credits, full origin story, and fanart credits for any chapter, click on the external link. It will take you to the chapter on Quotev. Scroll to the bottom of it and you'll find everything linked.*
The creepypasta says that in 1996 upon the release of Pokémon Red and Green, over 200 children ages 7-12 killed themselves due to a song featured in the game. Upon reaching Lavender Town and hearing the theme, many kids experienced severe headaches, acted irrationally, and developed various afflictions. The ones that killed themselves often did so by hanging themselves or jumping from great heights. The reason it only affected young kids and preteens is because the song featured a frequency only people in this age range could pick up on. The song's pitch was changed and the phenomenon stopped, problem solved.
Later software analysis of the audio revealed the shape of multiple Unown (Unown is a Pokémon that is shaped like an abstract letter) at the end of the song. The Unown spelled out "Leave now."
It's worth mentioning that Unown is a Pokémon that wasn't introduced until later games, which is a mystery in and of itself. The story acknowledges this, it isn't a plot hole.
My theory is that the Unown spelling out "Leave now" was to tell the kids to leave Lavender Town. The story breaks the fourth wall in this way as video game characters are indirectly speaking to people in the real world. They seem to know the maddening effects the frequencies have on children so they warn them in the only way they can. Maybe escaping the song would save the kids if they weren't exposed to it for too long.
Since Lavender Town is where deceased Pokémon rest, maybe their spirits use the high frequency to drive young kids insane and make them want to kill themselves. Why? I dunno, make something up. Maybe they're lonely and want more friends.
As for why the Unown showed themselves through song rather than showing up directly in the game and spelling out their message, I only have two guesses. One, since they weren't introduced until later generations, they didn't have a model in the game. The only way they could take shape is through the audio which could only be discovered by analyzing it with certain software. Two, they didn't want the developers to see and remove them. If this is true, it implies the developers knew that the frequency would cause harm and they purposefully made it that way. Or they had no clue but would have removed the Unown simply assuming they were a bug. I find this one doubtful, so I think the correct answer is the first one.
My last theory is that the Pokémon became real due to the thought and energy put into them, developing their own consciousnesses inside their virtual world. Since the Unown hadn't been introduced yet, maybe they existed because the devs were planning ahead, brainstorming future Pokémon. They existed as a thoughtform, something not fully developed, so they couldn't interact or exist in the Pokémon world the same way the others who had been fully modeled and implemented could.
Here's a random and probably dumb thought: maybe the reason why the characters in the game were directly speaking to the kids is because they didn't want them to get stuck or haunted by the game? Maybe the game had more to it than expected. Pretty cliche but it makes sense in a way. Could've been a warning for the kids to leave their bodies instead of suffering the affects of the game. As Ark basically just said above, and I just realized right when I was typing this lmfao. Maybe the developers fucked up, created a virus, and the game started to come to life mysteriously lol. I bet my money on the first option, cause it makes most sense to me in my head. Like, it has to be that. Or, the Unown turned into some kind of Tulpa (I don't believe in Tulpa's but let's just imagine for a second) and they made those kids die just to gain some kind of power. To gain more strength just to exist. Again, basically what Ark just said lol. I dunno. My head hurts but I like the concept of this story! - Brinlee
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Creepypasta Research Journal
Horror*Crossposted from Quotev* Remember friends, creepypasta is fiction! Don't act stupid. This book consists of completely canon information on as many creepypastas as I felt like covering.
