Leo dropped the device. He hadn't entered his real name anywhere in the save file. He looked at his bedroom window. Despite it being a humid July evening, a thin layer of frost was beginning to crystallize on the glass from the inside.
As he pushed toward the , the NPCs stopped talking about Pokemon battles. "The ice is coming back," one told him. "Version 01 wasn't finished because the cold caught us," another whispered.
By the time he reached the , things felt off. The tall grass didn’t rustle; it shivered. He encountered a Riolu, but its sprite was monochrome, a stark grey against the lush green background. He caught it, but instead of the "Gotcha!" jingle, the game emitted a low, distorted hum.
The deeper Leo played, the more the game world began to freeze. Static "snow" started covering the edges of the screen. When he reached the for the final confrontation with Team Plasma, the ROM didn't trigger the scripted battle with Kyurem. Instead, the screen went black. A single text box appeared: "Is it cold where you are, Leo?"
Should we continue the story with Leo trying to , or should he answer the prompt on the screen?