Missing Number Escapes To Equestria

by The REAL Mister Pkmn

ERROR SIX: Illogical Actions Worsening. Virus Spreading. Highly Recommend Deletion of "Emotion Virus". Accept/<Ignore>

The thoughts that ran through MissingNo.’s mind started to trouble it gravely. The possibility of another sapient Glitch was something that MissingNo. had written off as impossible long ago, for it had presumed that it alone had the physiology to resist the Glitch enough to not lose the ability to reason. However, the very existence of Glitch Out proved otherwise. Were there more like them out there, then? More that had overcome the call to lose reason, and become mindless beasts? The very thought of such was an intriguing prospect, to say the least. MissingNo. had met over 1000 different species of Pokémon, none of which had its unique physiology. Though, it supposed that it stood to reason that if the metamorphosis could happen once, surely it could happen again in a faraway universe.

Shaking these thoughts away, any MissingNo. booted up its computer to search for any Glitch activity. Though it tried to distract itself from it, MissingNo. couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to the emotions it was experiencing. It had been centuries since emotion of any kind flowed in its being, so the concept was quite foreign these days. The concern- nay, the curiosity- at Glitch Out’s circumstances was something that threatened to consume MissingNo.’s very being. Why did it not see the Glitches as a threat as MissingNo. did? Why did Glitch Out side with them against its own former kin? MissingNo. knew that Glitch Out had to have come from a once-living pony, for it was sapient much like MissingNo. was, as opposed to the sentient but non-sapient Glitches the rest were.

Yet, MissingNo. was still puzzled by its emotions returning after such a long absence. After being re-written and nearly erased all that had been left of MissingNo. was the husk it now was. It clutched the feather that had been sent from home- the reminder of the form that it used to have. It was still a Pokémon, though one that was very malformed and altered drastically by the Glitches. Somehow, MissingNo. had to remind Glitch Out that it once was a pony, and that it still was, deep down inside. The options for figuring out how to open Glitch Out’s mind were unknown to MissingNo., but it had to find that way and persuade Glitch Out that what it was doing was wrong. The task seemed insurmountable, but MissingNo. was determined to see it through. Maybe once Glitch Out was convinced, MissingNo. could consider going home.

MissingNo. was knocked out of its thoughts when it saw some Glitches mobilizing near Caterlot. MissingNo. huffed in indignation as it exited its tower. Time to go to work. MissingNo. Made quick work of getting there, and started by blocking off the gate of the city. The Glitches growled, angry at MissingNo. It just scoffed. “Did you really think that I’d let you attack this city?” MissingNo. seemed to shake its head. “I am the corrector of Errors, the reprogrammer of Glitches, the straightener of Bifuriations. I am MissingNo.! Now, meet your fate.” MissingNo. gathered energy, and blasted them all with Code: Overwrite. With sheer determination and power, MissingNo. blasted the Glitches again and again, striking them down quicker than they could compensate for.

Even so, the glitches were numerous, and all seemed to have a singular goal. This was rather different behavior than MissingNo. had seen Glitches have in the past, but it adjusted accordingly to strike down the menace that threatened the ponies. The ponies cheered MisssingNo. on as the Glitches were struck down, now assured in their safety behind the walls of Canterlot. The Glitches broke away, almost as if they were trying to regroup. MissingNo. dismissed the absurd idea entirely, certain that these were still mere mistakes in the world, not beings of rational thought. After all, they twisted the world to their whim, unable to control their desire to change things to their liking. This is what made MissingNo. different from them- it could choose to control that power, and use it for fixing the Glitches. Of course, Glitch Out had the same choice, but chose to use its power to terrorize instead. MissingNo. went through a phase like that out of jealousy that it no longer had its old form. It only had stopped after Arceus talked some sense into it, and MissingNo. had opportunity here to do the same for Glitch Out. So MissingNo. followed the Glitches at a distance, hoping that they would lead it back to their camp- and it was right that they would.

The camp was more of a clearing full of demolished trees. The ground was covered in whitish patches all over. The Glitches gathered around the center of the campsite where Glitch Out was laid on the ground. It was still quite worn out from its earlier confrontation with MissingNo. Before approaching Glitch Out, MissingNo. saw the Glitches give their energy to Glitch Out. Whitish beams of light funneled from their bodies into Glitch out until the other Glitches were no more. Once all of them were gone, Glitch Out shot awake, and started to look around the area. It searched for a while, carefully analyzing the area. Just as it finished, Glitch Out was about to take a rest- but this is when MissingNo. decided to enter the clearing and make its presence known to Glitch Out. Glitch Out rose up, ready to fight, but MissingNo. spoke first. “Calm yourself. I only wish to talk.”

Glitch Out studied MissingNo. for a while, uncertain what to think. After a good while of deliberation, Glitch Out sighed and relented. “I don’t know what you might want to talk about, but fine. I will listen.”

MissingNo. knew that this was only the first step, so decided to to approach this from an angle similar to how Arceus had reasoned with MissingNo. so long ago. “You have powers quite different to your former fellows, Glitch Out. Yet instead of helping them overcome their plight, you choose to try and make it worse. I am only trying to understand why you might do this.” Of course, MissingNo. had a few guesses- maltreatment, perhaps even jealousy. But MissingNo. just had to hear it from Glitch Out’s own mouth.

For a few minutes, Glitch Out was completely silent. Glitch Out didn’t quite know what it was, but some part of it wanted to comply with MissingNo.’s request, yet the rest tried to fight it. Why should it comply? Why should it listen to MissingNo. at all? After struggling with the answer for a bit, Glitch Out pushed away. “No! Why should I tell you? You don’t understand, you don’t really care!”

MissingNo. grabbed the manic pony, holding firm until it stopped squirming. Once Glitch Out had stopped, MissingNo. looked into its eyes. “Maybe you will change your tune if I tell you my story first. It started so very long ago in a region known as Kanto…”

Author's Note:

Sorry about the cliffhanger. This chapter was originally intended to be the last one, but the story I want to tell just can't be contained in six chapters. Anyway, Next chapter we go into MissingNo.'s backstory. should be fun.