Crushed

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"Oh wow, Pokemon HeartGold!"

I plucked the shining game package from the torn wrapping paper. A grin stretched across my face.

Though I had already played SoulSilver a few months earlier, I was eager to start fresh and play as a different character with new Pokémon to control.

Being used to a dark, underwater atmosphere, I smiled a bit when I saw the pixelated Ho-oh flying across the HeartGold title screen, its wings sparkling in the sunlight.

I began my game with the name "Gold". Original I know, but as a reader of the Pokémon Adventures manga, I wanted to name the game characters after their comic counterparts. My rival was named Silver.

After wishing my in-game mom goodbye, I began my virtual adventure with Cyndaquil as my starter. Though I've been playing these games since Red and Blue days, I've always experienced a thrill when each game starts.

For this game, I had already planned about half of my party. I knew I really wanted a Dragonite. So, I caught a Dratini in the Dragon's Den on my SoulSilver version, and traded it in. I named him Ryu, after the Japanese word for dragon.

Though I never admitted it, Ryu was becoming my favorite. He was so strong, and always rescued my other Pokémon in battle if they needed help. I raised all my Pokémon equally, but being a Dragon-type had its advantages.

Every time I would turn around to talk to him, he would smile and greet me happily. I knew it was just a default greeting, but I felt attached to Ryu. He was my friend, my partner.

After a while, I finally had a full party. Ryu, Quilava, Chinchou, Larvitar, Murkrow, and Leafeon. No doubt most of these were traded in and hatched from eggs, but all of them were strong additions to my team.

However, after months of training, I decided to put the game down. For what reason, I do not know. It's not like I abandoned it completely; I just lost interest temporarily. I tend to get into swings with video games, and once I received Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep for Christmas, I was ecstatic with my new PSP.

For the most part, HeartGold sat in my video game chest in my dorm room. But when the promotions for the newest GameStop giveaways started surfacing, I dug out Pokémon HeartGold, SoulSilver, and Diamond and was ready to go to the nearest store.

Breathing out the frosty January air, I started up my car. I patted the game cartridges in my coat pocket, just to make sure they were all with me. I was so excited - shiny legendaries! I wondered what they'd look like following my character around.

I drove off to GameStop daydreaming about the legendary dogs. I received the Shiny Raikou, the promotion of the week, and happily took my prizes home.

Even though I was excited, after I saw the Pokémon following me I didn't play them again for a while. In fact, I didn't even notice that one of them was missing.

One afternoon, when I was eating lunch, my dad had walked into the room after being outside, shaking snow off his boots.

"Is this yours?" he asked.

I looked up from my lunch, eying the little rectangle he held in his gloved hand. Instantly, I shot out of my seat.

Pokémon HeartGold!

"Where did you find this?!" I demanded, taking my game from him.

"I was out moving the car back and forth to clear a path" he explained, pointing to our backyard parking pit, "When I got out, I saw something lodged in the snow."

My blood ran cold. It must have fell out of my coat pocket when I got back from GameStop!

"Did...did you run it over?" I inquired, afraid of the answer.

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