PROLOGUE- Too Tired for This (Refurbished)

You know what the best time of the day is? The best time, by far, is home time! Well pay-day is a close contestant, but today isn't pay-day, so home time has it beat.

I have just come home from a long, grizzling 12-hour shift from work. With no overtime! The horror, I know, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Am I right? So right now I'm just standing in front of my apartment door, looking for my keys since the door refused to open when I asked nicely.

"Where are my damn keys at?" I grumbled to myself while I felt around my many pockets for my keys. My small heart-attack from the idea of dropping them somewhere was extinguished when I finally fished them out of one of my many pockets. My pants have pockets, my bike jacket has pockets, my shirt has a pocket and even my pockets have pockets. What's in its dirty pocketses you ask, Mr. Smeagle? That's for me to know and you to not know.

An insertion of the house key, a turn to the right and a push of the key in the key hole, has allowed me to enter my small apartment. With the door closed and locked behind me, I take a second to let out the stress of the day with a long winded sigh. I always like doing this, just staring at my small apartment. It isn't much, but It's mine. I'm just glad to be away from 'them.'

Looking around once again, I really take the time to admire how this small, one bedroom, tiny living area next to the kitchen with a surprisingly nice bathroom just down the hall next to my bedroom, apartment belongs to no one, but me. Well the landowner technically owns this apartment, but eh, semantics. A man can truly free-ball it here with no one judging him. I haven't done it but hey, I could if I wanted to. Although, it is quiet by myself. No one to invite over after all since I don't have any friends. Not from a lack of trying, mind you. It's more of a 'I don't want to get hurt again,' sort of thing.

I shake my train of thought away, realizing to myself that I think weird and depressing thoughts when I'm tired. I deposit my helmet, biker Kevlar jacket and whatever else I've got on my person, on my couch. Don't you worry gaming setup, I will play you, I promise. What? No! I'm not having an affair with work. How could you even think that?

…I'm tired.

Looking at the small hand on my watch shows that it is indeed, two in the morning. If I go to sleep soon, then I might be able to get at least seven hours of sleep, one more than last night, so that's something at least!

Not wanting to spend a huge amount of my precious time cooking my dinner, I choose to rely on ol' reliable- leftovers.

Pulling out my cold dinner of pizza, I turn that oven on and slap that bad boy into the oven. Microwaves promote sogginess in the dough, my dear. For the best experience, one should use an oven if available.

Looking over to my depressingly unused gaming setup, I decide to compromise with it and grab my 3DS with my copy of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Sky. I sat down on my single chair near my dining table in the kitchen area. A withdrawal of the old game that was still in my 3DS and an insertion of Sky and the power turned on, revealed…'no game inserted.'

Typical. These things never work on the first try. Like the old classic N64 game cartridge, it has to receive a blow first before you insert it. Giggity.

"Alright, no matter who I get, is who I play. Come on Riolu, come on Riolu."

With the game now happy it got a blow, (giggity) it turned on and the game started. Saying goodbye to my old save, I deleted it and selected 'new game.' I was then prompted by the question;

'Did you play Explores of time and Darkness? Yes or no?'

I already knew that if I selected 'no' that I wouldn't get all the characters, so like a sane person, I chose 'Yes'. The screen then displayed the next prompt;

'Please answer the following questions truthfully so we can better understand you.'

Don't you worry game, I will be as truthful as someone who wants to play as Lucario would be. The game then prompts;

'Have you ever blurted something out without thinking about the consequences first? Yes or No'.

Yep, sure have. Not too long ago a woman asked me if toothpaste contained gluten in it. I just stared at her and simply replied "Are you stupid?" Boy, my manager was not too impressed by that, I tell you. Yeah, maybe don't call customers stupid to their faces, say it behind their backs. Like a smart person would. So I replied 'yes' and the screen moved on to the next question;

'You discover a beat-up looking treasure chest in some ruins. What do you do? Open it or leave it?'

I chose the option to 'open it'. Like come on, even if it might be cursed or trigger a trap or something, it's loot! Gotta get them stacks, am I right? I would totally fall for an Indiana Jones trap, I tell you.

A weird flick of the screen catches my attention. Some of the text seems to be bugging out before it flickers back to normal. Well, that's weird. Maybe I didn't put the game in properly. Probs just wants another blow, the greedy bastard. Well it seems fine for now, so no blow for you.

'Are you close with your friends? Yes or No'.

The screen prompts an unusual question that I don't recognise from the wiki. Yes, I am trying to cheese my way to Riolu by using the wiki by the way. So I'm not sure what question would get the right result, so I answer with 'Yes' thinking that would be closer to the 'Sassy' stat I would need to get Riolu.

The speaker on my 3DS gave a sudden 'BzzzZzz' noise, giving me a short jump. Especially since I have sound disabled at the moment. I swear, very faintly in that buzzing sound I could hear the word, "Lie." But I'm probably just imagining it due to fatigue or going crazy. A little of both, maybe? As sudden as it started, the message disappeared and the next question prompted;

'Are you close with your family? Yes or No?'.

Another question not listed on the wiki, what is this? A quick google from my phone revealed that these two questions are, infact, not in the game. I contemplated turning my console off and on, but I am kinda curious as to who I would get. So I gave another answer in hopes it would lead me to my desired Pokémon and chose 'Yes.'

No static noise this time, but the screen did swap to a bunch of dots across the middle of the screen where the questions would usually sit. Confused, I start to hit the 'A' button, then I press the rest in hopes to trigger the next event. Nothing. Thinking the game is broken, I move to turn it off when the static noise returns, stopping my motion. Looking back at the screen, in the middle of where the dots are, some of them swapped out to make the word "Lie" then disappeared.

Okay, this is getting a bit weird, not going to lie. It's okay, this isn't strange at all. I…probably just bought a bootleg copy of Pokémon Sky and it definitely isn't possessed by a spooky ghost. Yeah, that makes more sense. Lame though, this game wasn't cheap. I'm sending a passive aggressive email to the seller of this game, I tell you what.

The game deciding that it was bored with having nothing on the screen, it flashed, and the next prompted question was asked;

'Do you seek adventure? Yes or No?'

Sensing a pattern here, I decide to answer truthfully with 'Yes.' Like, of course I'm seeking an adventure. Exploring the great unknown, gathering all the loot I can get my mitts on while getting into trouble with my trusted friend; not that I would likely find another person who I would call a true friend on this planet. Everyone has a secret agenda and would betray me at any given chance… Yeesh, well aren't I being all depressing. Anyway, back to the game. I need a good distraction from that recent thought.

The screen flicked to the next prompt question, besides for these being questions not from the wiki, I didn't notice anything else strange about them. Maybe it was just a weird coincidence that the game called me out for lying? The screen read as followed for the next question;

'Would you help those in need? Yes or No'.

I wanted to test this out by answering truthfully again but I was a little stumped on how to answer this question. It's a little vague, like, would I help someone in need? Most likely, but I would be cautious about them. But what if that 'those in need' referred to a criminal or something? I'm overthinking this, aren't I? Screw it, I'm going with 'Yes' in the context of helping an innocent person.

The next question appeared on the screen as normal;

'Are you lonely? Yes or No?'

I paused when I saw this question. Strange, all the other personal questions didn't make me pause, but this one did. Am I lonely? I don't think I am. I do wish my only friend was still around though…Argh, no, I'm not lonely. I selected 'No.'

The screen froze in place like it crashed. Before I could even think about turning the game off and on, a voice that sounded like a ghostly woman whispered "liar" into my right ear, sending a chill up my spine. I dropped my 3DS that luckily landed on the table, while I jumped up from the chair I was sitting on. Looking around behind me revealed that no one was here. Feeling creeped the max out, I looked around my apartment for good measure.

"It's okay, no one is here, you are alone, it's fine. A voice didn't whisper into your ear. There are no such things as ghosts," I reasoned with myself. I doubted that I truly did hear a voice, but it just felt so realistic, so life-like. It truly felt like someone actually whispered into my ear.

With that sudden wave of adrenaline, I decided to walk around my apartment and check on my pizza to get rid of some of that sudden adrenaline in my system; not done yet, needs a little more time in the oven.

I picked up the chair that I threw back when I suddenly rose from it, and sat back down at my table. I continued to look over my shoulder, when the screen on my 3DS changed again. The screen no longer frozen, read;

'Would you help us? Yes or No?'

Still feeling a bit antsy about that voice, I just answered 'Yes,' since I wanted the game to start already. The screen with no issues this time flicked to the next prompt;

'Once selected, there is no turning back. Are you sure? Yes or No.'

Still feeling a bit spooked, I didn't think much of this message besides it being a warning that you can't change your character later in the game. So I selected 'Yes.'

The screen flickered again and a loud sudden 'Bzzkit' came from my 3DS, freaking me out even further than I already was. I began to move the console away from my face, since I didn't want it to, like, explode near my face or something. The screen fixed itself and a familiar looking message appeared;

'Press your thumb on the bottom screen to read your aura.'

Thinking that the weirdness might be finally over, I slowly put my finger on the bottom screen. The message changed to 'scanning…scanning…' with no noticeable glitch, buzzing or whispering in the ear.

'Please raise your thumb now, Ace.'

Yeah, no worries 3DS. I'll just raise my thumb and… did… did it display my name? But how? I never once put my real name on the console, let alone the game itself. I usually come up with a random name depending on how I feel that day. So how did it know my name? Okay, this is really freaking me out now.

Before I could freak out on maximum overdrive, the screen changed. I almost didn't want to see what was on it, since all the weirdness of before. The screen read;

'Your aura and personality have been read. You appear to be a…'

The screen paused for a second, giving me enough time to read it before it swapped to the sprite of a Bulbasaur with the message '…Bulbasaur!' underneath it. Now this wouldn't be an issue normally, if I had pressed the continue button, that is. This thing is moving along at its own leisure now.

'Prepare yourself, Ace. For you shall be reborn into our world as a Bulbasaur, with many wonders and adventures sure to be had. Please don't turn off the console while it loads. Loading…Loading…'

I slowly placed my 3DS down and got up. A bit of nervous sweat rolled down my face. "You are going crazy, Ace. My gaming console isn't haunted. You are just hallucinating due to lack of sleep," I reasoned with myself. "Just get yourself something to eat and get to bed…Oh crap, the pizza!" With great haste, I made my way to the oven. I swung the door open, checking if my pizza was burnt. Luckily, it was only slightly burnt, so it just meant extra crispy pizza tonight.

Good part about leftover pizza is that it's already cut up. So I simply moved the pieces of pizza onto a plate without using any utensils because I'm a tough, manly man who enjoys burning his fingers slightly due to not wanting to wash up more than he has too. I grabbed my pizza-full plate and headed to my table. Before I could get to my table, I realized that I left the oven.

Like a responsible adult, I went to turn it off. However, like someone flicked a switch, a sudden wave of extreme fatigue washed over me. It wasn't just me being tired, no, it was more like my whole being was tired. Since I was closer to the oven then I was to my table or bench, I put a hand on it to stabilize myself. My fingers rested on the temperature gauges for the oven.

Ugh. Not good, not good! I thought to myself. What is with this sudden tiredness? It kinda feels like I'm being drained or something. Looking around to see if anything could help me, I noticed that my 3DS console was now facing the complete opposite direction to where I left it and was now facing me. The screen was completely white, with only a loading bar with it saying 60 percent complete.

The bar moved slightly and the number changed to 70. That's when an even bigger wave of tiredness hit me. Not having enough strength to hold myself up anymore, I fell to the ground. While falling though, I did try to grab anything I could. My left hand twisted the temperature controls on the oven while I fell, while my right one tried to grab the oven door, flinging it open.

Opening my eyes, I noticed that my pizza landed butter side down. The horror! Oh, and now my 3DS was now somehow in front of me. Strange, especially since I didn't even knock over the table! The bar now reads as '80 percent complete'. I felt myself slowly falling asleep while the console continued to overlook me.

'90 percent complete'

My consciousness flickers in and out a couple of times. When it flickered the first time, I could see my apartment and slightly burnt pizza. My 3DS was still there, although the bar wasn't complete yet, '93 percent complete' it read as. I dozed back to sleep.

The second time I flickered back, I could feel a slight warmth around me, as a red flower or something crept into my view. I wasn't able to make out what it was. '95 percent complete' my 3DS read. I faded back to sleep.

The third and final time I flickered back to consciousness, it was extremely hot. The flower had turned into a infernal fire that was spreading around my apartment. Somehow I wasn't affected by it yet. My pizza however, was engulfed in flames. I looked with great effort at my 3DS's white screen.

'98 Percent complete'

'99 percent complete'

'100 percent complete.'

And with that, I could feel the last of myself fade away.

Prologue End