Author: Unknown
Year: Unknown
During the first few days of the release of Pokemon Red and Green in Japan back on February 27, 1996, a peak of deaths appeared in the age groups of 10-15 years. The children were usually found dead through suicide, usually by hanging or jumping from heights, but some were stranger. A few cases recorded children who had begun sawing off their own limbs, others sticking their faces inside ovens, and some choking themselves on their own fist, shoving their arms down their throats. The few children who were saved showed sporadic behavior. When asked whey they were going to hurt themselves, they only answered in chaotic noises and scratched at their eyes. When showed what seemed to be the connection to this attitude, their Game Boys, they had no response. However, when that was combined with either Pokemon game, they began to scream and would do their best to leave the room the game was located in.
This confirmed the authorities' suspicion that the games, somehow, had a connection to these children and their deaths. It was a strange case because only a few children showed this behavior. Many who had the same games were fine. The police had no choice but to pursue this, however. They had no other leads. The police collected all the cartridges these children had played and kept them sealed away as evidence to look over later. They decided the first thing to do was to talk to the programmers themselves. The first person they met was the director of the original games, Satoshi Taijiri. When told about the deaths surrounding his games, he seemed somewhat uneasy but admitted nothing. He led them to the main programmers of the game, the people responsible for the actual content.
The detectives met with Takenori Oota, one of the main programmers. Unlike Satoshi, he didn't seem uneasy, just very well-kept. Explaining it was impossible to use something like a game to cause such deaths and also bringing up the point that not all children were affected, he brushed it off as some kind of odd coincidence or mass hysteria. It seemed like he was hiding something, but wasn't giving way. Finally, Takenori did say something interesting. He had heard a rumor going around that the music for Lavender Town, one of the locations in the game, had caused some children to become ill. It was only a rumor and had no definite proof to back it up, but it was still something to look into. He directed the detectives to Junishi Masuda, the music composer for the series. Masuda had also heard these rumors but said that, again, they had no evidence his music was the cause. Even to prove a point, he played the song from the game completely, with no effects to anyone. Although they still had their suspicions about Masuda and the music of Lavender Town, it seemed they reached another dead end.
Going back to the cartridges they had seized, they decided to take a more direct look at the games. They knew it was these games that gave the children ill effects, so they took extreme caution. Popping in a cartridge and turning the handheld on, the game screen booted up. The title screen appeared, as well as the option to continue or create a new game. When they chose to continue, the stats of the game appeared. With every cartridge, they saw similar things. The names were of no consequence, usually "Red" or something simple like that. However, interestingly, the total time played was very low and all of them showed the Pokedex contained only a single Pokemon.
They came to the reality that it could not have been the music for Lavender Town that caused such ill effects in the children. It was impossible to reach that part of the game in such little time and with only one Pokemon. This brought them to the conclusion that something earlier in the game had to be the cause. If it wasn't the music or title screen, it had to be something within the first few minutes of the game itself. They had no choice but to go back to the programmers. Asking for a full list of the programmers, they found that, surprisingly, one of the programmers had committed suicide shortly after the game's initial release. His name was Chiro Miura. He was a lesser known programmer who provided little for the game. Interestingly, he had requested his name not appear in the credits for the game, so it did not.
Looking over the evidence found at Chiro's apartment, they found many notes written in bold marker. Most was crumpled or marked out, making it difficult to read. The few phrases they could read in the mess was, "Do not enter," "Watch out," and "COME FOLLOW ME." The detectives were unsure what these meant, but they knew it had to have a connection. Upon further research, they discovered Chiro was good friends with one of the designers, Kohji Nisino. This was probably the only reason Chiro had been given a part in making the game at all. Nisino, since the release of the game, had locked himself in his apartment. He was a recluse, only leaving in the dark of night to fetch anything he might need. He told his friends and family he was mourning for his dear friend Chiro, but they didn't believe this. He had locked himself up the day the game released in stores, a few days before Chiro had killed himself.
It was troubling, but the authorities finally persuaded Nisino to sit down and speak with them. He looked as if he hadn't slept in days and had dark rings under his eyes. He stunk, his nails had grown black, and his hair was greasy and sticking to his forehead and neck. He spoke in stutters and murmurs, but at least had something to say. When asked if he knew anything about the children who died after exposure to the game and if it had any connection to the game itself...he answered carefully, choosing his words thoughtfully before answering. He told them his friend Chiro had an interesting idea for the game, something he wanted to try since he heard the project was starting. Nisino himself knew Takenori, the director and main programmer, for a long time. He could easily get a mediocre programmer in on the project with a little persuasion. It seemed Chiro had convinced Nisino to get him in on the project and it had worked.
Nisino, throughout the entire conversation, seemed to break more and more with every question. The detectives pushed him, searching through his mind for any and all scraps of knowledge this man had of the game and of Chiro's intentions. It was when they asked about the notes found in Chiro's home that he snapped. From under the couch Nisino sat on, he whipped out a pistol and pointed it straight at the police while backing away. Then, just as quickly, he brought the pistol to his face. "Don't follow me," he muttered, sticking the pistol in his mouth and pulling the trigger. It was too quick for the police to react. It was done. Nisino had killed himself, repeating nearly the same words written on one of Chiro's papers.
It seemed all leads had finally died. The team who created the original game was splitting up and people were becoming harder to find. It was as if they were keeping a secret. When the police had managed to talk with anyone who had parts in the game, even obscure character or monster designers, they had nothing of interest to say. Most of them didn't even know Chiro, and the few who did only saw him once or twice while he worked on the game itself. Throughout all of this, the only confirmation they had was that Chiro was indeed the one who worked on very early parts of the game.
A couple months passed after the original suicides and the death rate had dropped dramatically. It seemed the game was no longer giving children any ill effects. The planned recall of the games was cancelled. Everyone begun to think that maybe Takenori was right. Maybe it was just a very odd coincidence, or even mass hysteria...until they received the letter. It was given to one of the detectives himself, quite directly out on the street. It was a woman who gave him the note. She was a very frail, thin, sick looking thing. She gave him the letter quickly, telling him it was something to see. Without waiting for a response or another word, she disappeared into the crowd. The detective brought it to his office and, calling the others in, brought it out and read it aloud. It was a letter written by Chiro himself, but it wasn't one found at his apartment. They had thoroughly searched and cleared out the place, so wherever this letter had come from, it wasn't at his home. It was signed to be given to Nisino.
It started off quite formal - a hello, how are you, regards to the family, and such. After a couple of these normal paragraphs, there was a section requesting Nisino get him onto the game's team, to get him a programming position in Pokemon Red and Green. As the letter continued, the handwriting grew harder to read. He talked about a glorious idea he had – a way to program something never before seen in a game. He said it would certainly revolutionize not only the game industry, but everyone in the world. He went on to say that it was a very simple procedure to program this idea into the game. He didn't even have to add any foreign data and could use what was already given in the game itself. This would, the detectives agreed, make it impossible to notice any obscurities in the programming itself. It was the perfect way to hide whatever this was.
The letter ended abruptly. There was no goodbye, no "say hi to the family", no write back...not even a thank you. There was nothing like that. There was just his name, written so hard onto the paper that the letters almost broke through. It was only his name. "Chiro Miura." This was the nail in the coffin. They had no more suspicion about the cause. Chiro had programmed something into the early parts of the game - something maddening. To further increase this streak of success, they discovered the programming team had worked in pairs, even Chiro himself. He had worked with another programmer, Sousuke Tamada. If anyone knew what the secret hidden in this game was, Sousuke Tamada would be the man. This was their final hope of unraveling this mystery once and for all.
They learned Sousuke had provided a lot of programming to the game and seemed to be an average good guy and worker. They were easily allowed into his home - a fair place - and they entered his living room where they sat. Sousuke did not sit, however. He stood by the window of the second story floor, looking out onto the busy street. He was smiling a little. There are no direct witnesses to the events that followed. The only remaining thing from this conversation was found on a voice recorder sitting on the table in front of the two detectives assigned to talk to Sousuke. What follows is a translated transcription of the unedited recording.
Detective One: "Sousuke Tamada, what part did you have in the games Pokemon Red and Green?"
Tamada: "I was a programmer." His voice was light and friendly - almost too friendly. "That's all."
Detective One: "Am I right in knowing that the programmers working on the game worked in teams?"
The sound of feet moving on the floor slightly.
Tamada: "You would be right."
Detective One: "And your partner, his name was-"
Tamada: "Chiro Miura... That was his name. Chiro Miura."
A momentary silence.
Detective Two: Could you tell us if Miura ever acted strange at all? Any particular behaviors you observed while working with him at all?"
Tamada: "I didn't really know him that well, really. We didn't meet up frequently, only every once in a while to trade data, or when the entire group was called for a meeting. That's the only times I really ever saw him. He acted normally, as far as I could tell. He was a short man, and I think this affected his consciousness. He acted weaker than any other man I've ever met. He was willing to do a lot of work to gain recognition, this I do know. I think..."
A momentary silence.
Detective Two: "Yes? You think what?"
Tamada: "I think he was a very weak man. I think he wanted to prove himself, regardless of what he had to do. I think he wanted to make himself known for something spcial. Something that would make people forget about the way he looked, and pay attention to the powerful mind that lay inside his skull. Unfortunately for him, however... hehehe... He didn't have much of a mind to back up that reasoning."
Detective One: "Why do you say that?"
Tamada: "Well, it's the simple truth."
Feet can be heard moving across the tiled floor.
Tamada: "He was nothing special, even if he wanted to believe so. You can't become greatness, even if you believe it. It's impossible. Somehow, I think Chiro knew this himself. Somewhere deep in there, he knew it."
A momentary silence.
Detective Two: "Can you tell us what Miura's part of the game was? What did he work on, exactly?"
Tamada: "Nothing... I mean, nothing important. He worked on some obscure parts of the beginning of the game. It was Professor Oak's part, to be exact. He worked on some of Oak's parts. When he's first seen, you see..."
Detective One: "What else? We know you know about the children and the deaths. We know it was Miura who did it. He programmed something into the game."
Tamada: "What are you implying?" It sounds like he's trying to maintain composure.
Detective One: "We're implying that since you were his partner... If you're hiding something from us, then you could be just as much responsible for these children's deaths as Miura himself!"
Tamada: "You can't prove anything!"
Detective Two: "Tell us what Miura did to the game!"
Tamada: "WHAT I TOLD HIM TO!"
A momentary silence.
Tamada: "You want to know, huh? You want to know what this is all about? Chiro was an idiot. He'd do anything for a bit of attention. He couldn't program worth a shit, either. The one thing he could do, however, was be manipulated. You could tell him what to do and he'd do it. He wouldn't even question it. He'd just do it. Just to hear that thank you when you received the finished project was his reasons. That's all he wanted."
Clicks of two guns, presumably the detectives', can be heard.
Tamada: "I could control him flawlessly. He's a lot like Takenori. Of course, none of you knew this, but I was the one who brought up the idea of the game, the idea of the entire operation. I just told the fellow what to do and he followed me without doubt. He knows nothing, just like Chiro."
The sound of a window opening.
Detective One: "Don't move or we'll shoot!"
Tamada: "Let me tell you about a mechanic in the game." His voice sounds rushed, but sly. "Consider it a hint, all right? If you walk around in grassy areas enough, a Pokemon will appear and you'll have a chance to go into battle with it. It's a necessary part of the game overall, you see?"
Detective Two: "Step away from the window! We won't warn you again!"
Tamada: "At the start of the game, you have to walk into the grassy area before Oak appears and you receive your first Pokemon, understand? Under normal circumstances, it was programmed that even though you're in a grassy area, no Pokemon will spawn...but I made it different. I manipulated that Chrio and told him what to put in the program. I gave him all the instructions on how to do it and he did it flawlessly. It's rare, but it can happen. Stepping into that grass, one can spawn..."
Detective Two: "Sousuke, we don't want to shoot!"
Tamada: "Shoot me?" He can be heard laughing. "Shoot ME? You're as dumb as Chiro was! Once he found out the truth, he had to end it! It was his fault, after all. He shot himself because of that! If you're so determined to finish that game of yours... If you want to know... Play the damn game for yourself! Roll the wheel! Who knows? Maybe you'll learn the secret for yourself."
A shot is heard, loud enough to distort the audio. Sounds of screaming follow. The table crashes with ear-shattering distortions. There's silence, then Tamada's laughter.
Tamada: "Come follow me... Come follow me..."
The recorder continued to record until the tape ran out. There was nothing else on it. The police arrived on the scene quickly and, to their horror, Sousuke and the two detectives were dead. They had all been shot, but not after struggling. The detectives had been shot multiple times - at least ten each - before dying to a shot in between their eyes. Tamada himself had clearly died of two shots to his chest, straight through the heart. The game was causing a massacre. At least a hundred children were dead. Nisino, the unexpecting friend, dead. Chiro, the manipulated toy, dead. The two detectives, dead. Now, even the creator, the cause of this atrocity, Sousuke Tamada, was dead. The game was stretching far over its original intentions. It was killing anyone and everyone who got involved.
The lead detective decided to put the case away. The man who committed the crime was dead, so there was no longer any reason to continue the case. All evidence was locked away, kept in the darkness where it belonged. There were talks about the entire ordeal - small conversations every now and then - but over the years even these began to fade away. Eventually, the case was only a memory in the minds of those who experienced it firsthand. Ten years passed. The lead detective, the man who locked away the original evidence years before, was reminded of the awful event that occurred. Although he was no longer in the force, he still had access to some files and helped where he could. The reminder of the event caused him to look back and open the sealed container that held all the collected evidence. He read through the letters and notes. He remembered the woman who had appeared to him on the street that day and handed him the letter that changed the entire case. He wondered who she was and where she had come from. Perhaps she was Chiro's mother. Maybe Sousuke's. It was too late to pursue any of this. Far too late.
Sealing the container again, he noticed a second one behind it. He pulled it out and read the note at the top. "Evidence #2104-A." He opened it up and looked inside. Filling the container were exactly 104 Pokemon Red and Green cartridges, each one in perfect condition...untouched since the day they had last checked them ten years ago. He reached in and pulled one out - Pokemon Red. He hadn't seen one in a long time. He didn't know why, but he reached into his desk and pulled out an old Game Boy. It was his son's, who died a few years ago. His wife was gone, too. That was then, though. Popping the cartridge in the back of the Game Boy, he turned the system on.
The title screen came up, then the option to continue or start a new game. "Tanaka." That was the child's name. The one who played it before. He was probably dead, along with the others. He pressed New Game and started. It was normal. Average. He walked around, talked to his character's mother, and went outside. He started walking toward the grass. In his head, he could still hear Sousuke's words. Even though he wasn't there, even though he had never seen the man in his life, he could still see him. Hear him. "Come follow me." He was getting closer and closer. Only a step or two away, now.
"Roll the wheel! Who knows? Maybe you'll learn the secret for yourself."
He entered the grass. Nothing happened at first. It just sat there. So did the detective, completely frozen, as if time had stopped just for them. The screen went black before lighting up again, the iconic green background with black text appearing. "Come follow me. Come follow me. Come follow me. I miss you, dad. I miss you, my husband. I miss you so much." Tears formed in his eyes, falling down his cheeks. Screens and screens of text appeared and he rapidly clicked the A button to continue it. It was his wife and child. They were speaking to him. Calling to him. Crying with him. They wanted to see him. They loved him, and he loved them. "I love you too," muttered the man in a hoarse, scratchy voice.
"Come follow me. Become new again. We want to see you and hold you. We want to be with you forever and ever and ever and ever."
"AND EVER AND EVER..."
"Don't stay away. You can see us, too. We miss you. Come follow me. We love yo-" A black screen. The detective's eyes grew wide, his jaw dropping. The screen lit back up and Oak was leading him out of the grass. "Come," said Oak. "Follow me." The man cried out, dropping the game to the floor. He quickly fell forward, reaching for it and bringing the screen back up to his face. "Bring them back! Bring them back to me!" The game continued as usual, not responding to the detective at all. "My wife! My child! Listen to me! Bring them back to me, I said!" And then...voices. He heard voices. Hundreds of voices. He turned around, looking behind him. Standing in the small room were children. Many children. Some had no eyes. Some had rings around their throats. Some were burned across their bodies. They were screaming and reaching toward him.
"Bring back my mommy! Bring back my daddy! Bring back my pet!" They all screamed out, reaching for the game, their mouths agape with horror and pain. "I don't want them to go away! Bring them back to me! Bring them back to me!" Horror spread across the detective's face and he held the game out of their reach. "No!" He shouted. "It's mine! My family is here! Don't touch it!"
"Come follow me," Said a voice. The man looked over and in the corner, next to an old desk, was Tamada. He was tall, handsome, and clean. A smile was stretched across his face. "Come follow me." The ex-detective jumped back, trying to force away the children crawling toward him, reaching out for the game held tightly within his hands. "Wh...what's going on here? What's going on? Where is my family?" Sousuke smiled generously and held out his hand. "I'll show you. I'll help you get away from them, you see? Just follow me." He reached down and opened a drawer on the old desk. The ex-detective, pushing through the crowd of children, looked inside. Sitting there, covered with dust, was his old gun from when he was on the force. He hadn't used the gun in many years and put it away, not wanting to remember the thing he had to do with it. Right now, though, he didn't see it as something that caused pain or that killed.
It was shining. It was light. It was something that could set him free. "Just follow me," said Sousuke, picking up the gun and putting it into the detective's hand. The man formed his hand around the gun and brought it to his temple. "Just pull the trigger. That's all." The man turned around. The children were crawling at him, grabbing his legs and pulling at him. They reached for the game. The man turned back toward Sousuke and smiled. "My family... I'll follow you." He pulled the trigger. His brains spread across the wall as he fell to the ground, dead.
A few days passed before the body was discovered. It lay on the floor, blood everywhere. In one hand was an empty gun. In the other was a Game Boy with Pokemon Red in it. The battery had long died and only an empty, white screen was left. This was the final death that the authorities would allow. The last surviving detective that had been part of this case personally carried all 104 cartridges away and burned them all, making sure not a single one survived. They would taunt no more. However, this is not the end of the story. The code is said to have survived and may even have passed on to other languages of the games. If you have an old Pokemon game, you can place the cartridge in the back of a Game Boy, turn on the system, and roll the wheel. Who knows? Maybe you'll learn the secret for yourself.