Fanart for the story created by GrumpyHedgehogInc.
Ah, it is never too early to hit on a spooky or sad story. Seeing as last week we took a dive into a chaptered story, I felt it would be good to instead take a look at a one-shot, a story consisting of just one “chapter”. With thanks to my friend DesperadoBRT, I came upon this story titled “Paralyzed”, which while not having a rating, I am going to say is PG-13. The simple reason it is PG-13 is because of the mention of death, dark undertones, and blood.
The story is short but simple, and I am going to avoid spoiling too much about it because, unlike the previous story, there is no prologue to go off of. Let me just say it follows the unnamed player playing his Pokemon Diamond game, catching a Nidoran M, named Caro, and his horrible misadventure with Pichu. This story spells out the dangers of paralysis, an often ignored status, and goes on to wonder just how painful it is to the Pokemon with the condition. It isn’t taken lightly in real life, so why would it be in a game?
Grassy’s Thoughts
Hmm…Well, as far as Creepypastas go (and yes I easily picture a bowl of haunted spaghetti when I say this), it is not the spookiest. The writer, however, purposely knew this, defining them as being scary or sad, and they went for the latter. Was the story sad? Well, yes and no. I felt it lacked build up, lacked a connection to Caro. However, I do like many of the undertones present and how they turned two harmless moves into crippling ones, something of which I am going to remember and possibly use in the future. It brings up the issue that conditions like Paralysis should not be underestimated, taking a cue from the real life counterpart in how disastrous it is. This is something I can appreciate.
This story may have been written two years ago but it still holds up well today, with notable flaws but equally notable achievements. It is just as important to give recognition to the works of yesterday as it is to the creations of tomorrow, and this short story is well worth the time and theories.
