ã€ŠPMD: A Road Full of Discoveriesã€‹


 PokèŒ…mon Are Real!!!

    I gasped as I hastily sat up in my bed, panting heavily as sweat drops rolled down my face. I put a hand over my chest, feeling my heart pound like an auto assault rifle against the inside of my chest. ¡°That nightmare again¡­¡±

    That fucking nightmare just wouldn¡¯t leave me alone. Just when I thought I was gonna have a normal night''s sleep with any random dream of me attending a Smash Ultimate finals, I get assaulted by that stupid shift of dreams where suddenly, I¡¯m in a dark void with two red eyes watching me from the darkness, says a bunch of random mumbo jumbo then lunges at me. Like, what the hell is that even supposed to mean? I thought I got rid of my .EXE bad game fears from six years ago!

    I sighed and looked at my phone that was in the cabinet beside my bed, connected with a charger. I grabbed it and turned it on, seeing that it was fully charged. Checking the time on the lock screen, I noticed that it was still  four in the fucking morning.  ¡°Ugh, at least I can get prepared for school sooner¡­¡± I muttered to myself with an annoyed grunt and got out of bed.

    I walked to the bathroom with my pajamas still on, rubbing my eyelids a little with my finger to get rid of some of the crust that accumulated on the edges of them. After turning on the lights, I immediately went to the sink but looked at the mirror for a couple of seconds, taking in my tired face. Yep, it was still me as usual. Pink long hair, cerulean blue eyes, dark skin, and a small nose; the usual.

    I washed my face by splashing some water on it, blinking rapidly as the sleepiness went away slowly. I looked at the meds besides the sink faucet before thinking to myself.  ¡®I don¡¯t need those anymore, right? Nah, I don¡¯t.¡± I then pointed at the box of medication. ¡°Hah! Not depressed anymore, bitch!¡± I said to literally no one before grabbing the box and then aiming at the open trash can full of dirty hygienic papers. ¡°Kobi!¡±

    I tossed the box lightly and saw it fall beside the can. My grin morphed into an annoyed frown as I sighed, going to pick up the box and put it in the trash can like the normal and definitely not insane human being that I am. Did I tell you that I am not insane already? Who would even think that!?

    I cleaned my face with a towel, brushed my teeth then left the bathroom. I walked to the kitchen, taking a peek at one of the windows to see that the sun was still not out, but it was getting a tad bit brighter outside. I opened the fridge to grab one of the remaining milk gallons, closing the fridge afterwards. I grabbed a cup, poured milk into a glass, and just sipped it. I sighed in satisfaction. ¡°Last day of class today. After that, summer break, here I come.¡± I said in a low voice, smiling to myself as I fantasized in my mind about what sort of activities I could do on break.

    I could sleep, play video games, talk to friends online, sleep again, play video games, talk to friends online, sleep again-...  introverted mind, stop that!

    I scratched my cheek and said to myself. ¡°Nah, I can do more stuff than that. Hopefully, Dad can take us to a water park or something like that. Hopefully, Mary behaves this time.¡±

    Suddenly, the sounds of footsteps rounded up in my ears, prompting me to look behind. I saw my brother, Arthur, walking up to the kitchen with a tired look on his face. Once he saw me, he recoiled back a little from a scare. ¡°Geez Lucas, don¡¯t just stand there staring at me!¡±

    ¡°Bro, do I look like a skinwalker for you to get all jumpy like that? What¡¯s left? You scream like a girl?¡± I giggled as I grinned a little at him smugly, leaning in on the kitchen counter.

    He put a hand on his side and rolled his eyes. ¡°Says the femboy of the house.¡±

    ¡°Oi, you don¡¯t have the right to say that, you ass. Dad told you already many times that I have a birth defect, right?¡±

    Arthur pulled out of the cupboard coffee maker. ¡°What¡¯s left? Magical girl powers just to complete the look? After all, you already heal faster than normal.¡± He said before chuckling.

    I laughed a bit and punched him on the arm playfully. ¡°Shut the hell up¡­¡± I then finished downing the cup of milk before brushing a fringe off my eye. ¡°What are you even doing awake now?¡±

    ¡°I should ask you the same thing. Wait, actually, I don¡¯t need to. The nightmare again?¡± He asked as he crossed his arms after putting the coffee maker on the counter, next to the electrical outlet.

    I sighed as I put the glass on the counter. ¡°Yep. It¡¯s starting to get annoying more than anything. Like, the nightmare is forcing me to be scared when I don¡¯t even know what¡¯s behind the shadows if you know what I mean.¡± I yawn a little bit before asking. ¡°But anyway, why are YOU awake?¡±

    ¡°Insomnia.¡± My brother quickly responded.

    ¡°Real recognize real.¡± I then grabbed two slices of toast and walked to the living room. ¡°Imma watch Netflix until the sun dawns. Hope you can at least go back to bed.¡±

    ¡°Not gonna try to fall asleep again until it¡¯s school time?¡±

    ¡°Nah, bro. Today is just the last day ¡®n all. We¡¯re just gonna get the results to see who passed, and of course, I¡¯m getting my W.¡± I said smugly before taking a bite out of the toast. ¡°Cya later.¡±

    ¡°Cya.¡± He said while getting his phone from his pocket. ¡°I¡¯ll take you to school this time, alright?¡±

    ¡°¡®K, thanks.¡± I thanked him before finally going to the living room.

    My brother, Arthur was older than me, already 19 years old. He was still single and still hasn¡¯t moved out, even though he¡¯s already set for life, with a driver¡¯s license and all. He was planning to go to a university that I didn¡¯t bother learning the name of, but hey, if he said that it was good, I wouldn¡¯t pry much on it.

    After taking another bite of the toast, my mind went back to what I said to Arthur¡­ my birth defect. I wasn¡¯t really sure if it was a birth defect or not. My dad said it was along with some doctors I went to, but¡­ it just didn¡¯t feel right. Thanks to some of my classmates at school, they pointed out to me that they had never heard of a birth defect like that. So I just googled it and there was nothing that¡¯d point out my weird pink hair, but nothing. To think that I lived with this most of my life just thinking it was a birth defect but when in actuality may be something else¡­

    Oooh! Did that mean I¡¯m some kind of lab experiment? That¡¯d be really cool and awesome! No, that ain¡¯t the childish part of my brain trying to think of a fictional scenario to keep me occupied in this boring af reality, it¡¯s never that!

    Well¡­ it was time to wait until the sun finally decided to appear¡­

    <hr>

    It was noon now, the sun shining high at its peak in all its blazing glory. It was a bit hot today so I just went to school wearing a white shirt with a red alpha symbol on it, blue shorts, and my usual red and black sneakers.

    I was just sitting idly at the school gates, waiting for my bro to show up since he would be taking me home. I was playing a simple runner game on my phone to pass the time while I waited for him since it had been a few seconds since I called him. I was a bit excited to deliver the good, and obvious, news to him that I passed everything. Sure, I might¡¯ve not gotten the top grades in class, but hey, I¡¯m not aiming for the top so I don¡¯t care about that.

    Hm¡­ weird, last day and those dumbasses didn¡¯t even show up-

    ¡°Ayo Lucccccyy~¡±

    I thought too soon¡­

    I looked up from my phone, pausing my progress, and saw the duo of buffoons that kept tormenting me my entire first year of high school. Droz and Andrew. It all started at the beginning of the year. Since I came from another school, they didn¡¯t know me and one of them, Droz, tried to hit on me, mistaking me for a girl because of my pink hair. After that mess up he decided to basically make my school year at this place the worst just because I tricked him unintentionally.

    At first, the bullying was a bit unbearable for me, causing quite a bit of mental stress for me. But when some time passed¡­ I just grew numb to it that I just didn¡¯t care anymore, in fact, I even found some of their horrible attempts of bullying funny at some point.

    I put my phone away and grinned at them smugly. ¡°Oh, if it isn¡¯t my secret admirers. Want to take another shot at me before the semester ends?¡± I asked sarcastically, snickering a little.

    ¡°Shut the fuck up, pinkie! Or do you wanna resort to the usual!?¡± Andrew asked while raising a fist.

    ¡°Oh my, didn¡¯t think you were THOSE kinds of admirers. Are you guys that desperate?¡± I saw them getting physically more pissed off. At this point, I thought I was just an annoyance to them as well¡­ welp, it¡¯s gonna be like that then. Sorry bro, but if you get to school in the time I was gone, I had to juke these bozos until I had a clear path. ¡°Now, if you excuse me¡­¡± I then sprinted out of the school gate. ¡°NINGERUNDAYO!!!!¡±

    I couldn¡¯t hear them shouting at me nor see them running after me, but I could feel that they were indeed behind me ready to beat the shit out of me.

    Oh no! Anyway.

    I continued running for a bit, trying to spare as much stamina as possible for my sedentary-ass body to keep moving. I tried juking them, turning corners and narrow passageways of the city to lose sight of them, but unfortunately, they kept finding me after each twist and turn while trying to give them the slip.

    I then had the brightest idea and entered a parking lot building close to the school. I wanted to lose them in the maze of parked cars in the building, making my escape from them easier. I hid behind a black SUV, ensuring my red backpack was strapped tightly against my back so it didn¡¯t peek out. As I caught my breath after all that running, wiping a sweat off my face, I could hear two sets of footsteps nearby. They really did follow me all the way here¡­ didn¡¯t they?

    That¡¯s what I call dedication right there.

    ¡°You see him, Droz?¡± Andrew asked from afar.

    ¡°Nah, but knowing that sly bitch, he must be hidden. He didn¡¯t go far!¡± I heard Droz say before the area fell into complete silence. The only sounds filtering the silence were my breath and the sound of cars outside of the building.

    I took a peek around the car to find the two idiots looking around each car, passing a glance at each vehicle that was around. It was a good thing that it was summer and the parking lot of the supermarket was crowded with vehicles, it made me have more hiding spots.

    Ah, just like Metal Gear¡­

    I sneaked to another stationary car, crouching down so I was not seen through the car¡¯s transparent windows. I took another peek around the car and noticed that the duo, just like a team-based FPS, was camping around the entrance/exit. I needed to wait for them until-

    Bark, Bark, Bark!!!

    I yelped in surprise, flinching back a little. I looked at the source of the noise and saw a medium-sized dog that was tied to a small post with its collar. I stammered a little in a low voice. ¡°Sh-shut up¡­!¡±

    ¡°Wait, I heard something over there!¡± I heard Droz¡¯s voice in the distance.

    ¡°Shit!¡± I muttered to myself before sprinting out of the dog''s sight, ignoring its barks. Dammit, why the hell did every animal I encountered either afraid of me or hostile towards me!?

    ¡°Come back here, you fucking trap!¡± Andrew screamed at me as I heard his voice getting closer to me.

    My brain started to work like a burning cog machine, trying to come up with a good plan to get rid of those two. But as I went up to the last floor of the building, the one with no ceiling, no good plan came of it.

    I realized that the last floor was devoid of any cars. With that¡­ a bad realization came to me¡­

    I was trapped.

    As I ran to the edge of the floor, surrounded by a concrete fence, I slowed my run and stopped at the end of the road. I looked down at the building and realized that I was a few feet off the ground floor. ¡°Fuck¡­¡± I muttered to myself before I looked back, seeing the two fellow secret admirers getting closer to me.

    Maybe if I jump¡­ my knees could be fixed later¡­?

    ¡°End of the damn road, femboy!¡± Droz shouted as he angrily looked at me, cracking his knuckles.

    ¡°As a reminder, you wanted this, so we¡¯ll give it to you!¡± Andrew said before the two boys started getting closer to me.

    I grimaced as I pressed my back against the fence, a bit of fear starting to build up in me. I had a feeling that this beating I was about to receive, wouldn¡¯t be like the others¡­

    Jump¡­

    A voice I had never heard suddenly rang all around me, even though I couldn¡¯t see them. Intrusive thoughts, if that were you, it was not the time! ¡°What¡­? Who are¡­¡±

    Just do what I say and jump!

    I started looking around mildly confused while ignoring the two approaching threats in front of me. ¡°How the hell can I trust you¡­?¡±

    ¡°Gone crazy now? Maybe a few punches will get your head out of the gutter!¡± Droz said before he started rushing towards me.

    JUMP!!!

    In a stroke of panic and desperation, I turned around, hopped over the fence, and began falling. I didn¡¯t scream as I started falling, the ground rapidly inching closer to me. I braced and closed my eyes, waiting for the worst pain imaginable, however¡­

    The pain never came.

    I realized that I was still falling, feeling the wind rush through my whole body. I slowly opened my eyes and realized that I was still falling, however, I was WAY higher up in the air. Instead of seeing the grey from buildings, I only saw green from the trees, the sand of the beach, and the ocean¡­  which I was currently falling on.

    ¡°Oh shit, oh SHIT, FUCKFUCKFUCK, FUUUU-!¡±

    With that, I fell on the water head-on with a huge splash. Even if I fell from a great height, I still retained a bit of control of my body. I was completely underwater, my clothes and the entirety of my backpack getting wet with water infiltrating everything. I opened my eyes, seeing the sun through the water as my eyes started burning because of the salt water of what seemed like the sea. I tried swimming to the surface, however, I felt my body slowly growing weaker, probably due to the fatigue of all that running.

    And with that, I slowly started sinking¡­ my conscience slowly fading away¡­

    <hr>

    Wake up¡­

    Darkness. Darkness was everything I saw. Darkness was everything I touched. Darkness was everything I felt.

    I couldn¡¯t feel my body. It felt like I was in some kind of out-of-body experience in the void. It was a bit frightening, being in the dark with nothing but yourself to keep you company.

    Wake up¡­

    I asked myself internally if I died or not, and this void was the passageway for the afterlife. If so¡­ after the things I¡¯ve seen on the internet¡­ I would probably appear in a massive fiery pit of agony and torture¡­ but who knows, maybe God could forgive me or something. But if that was the case, my only wish¡­

    Wake up¡­

    Was to see  her  once again.

    WAKE UP!!!

    I gasped awake, getting up before coughing some water out of my mouth. I felt completely awful. My lungs ached, my heart beat like an SMG, my clothes felt clingy to my skin and I was soaking wet. Not only that but apparently, I had some kinds of grains clinging to my entire body, even inside my mouth.

    I spat some of it out and then opened my eyes a bit lightheaded. I brushed my long hair to the side and looked around for a moment before glancing down. Apparently, I was on a deserted beach that connected with a forest. In the distance around me, I could see some forgotten sand shovels hanging around the ground. ¡°Where the hell am I¡­?¡±

    I slowly got up, realizing that my backpack was still with me. I took it off my back and opened it a bit panicked, suddenly remembering that I was on the water for a couple of seconds before going unconscious. ¡°Shit¡­¡± Thankfully, I didn¡¯t have any notebooks or books in my backpack because the last day of class would only be the results before being free from hell- I mean, school for two months. However, I did fear that some of the electronics I had inside it were damaged.

    I don¡¯t have to worry about the AirPods since they are waterproof, along with my phone. Speaking of my phone¡­

    With my ADHD brain acting up, I closed my backpack before going to check on my phone, immediately forgetting to check up on the other items in my backpack. I saw that the phone was a bit wet with some sand smudges on the edges. I knew that if I cleaned it up it¡¯d make it worse. I sighed in disappointment before turning the screen on to check on two things. Firstly, the most important thing, I saw there was  no service . So wherever I was, was somewhere far from civilization.

    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    The second thing I checked was the time. On my phone, the time that it displayed was 1:42 PM, but when I looked at the sun, I noticed that it wasn¡¯t at its peak nor a really high position. This made me question a few things¡­ ¡°Genuinely though¡­ where am I?¡±

    I then started to remember what happened before I fell into the water. The two jerks following me, me jumping off a building, and suddenly¡­ ¡°What the hell happened that time? Like, did I no-clip into the backrooms or something?¡± I looked around again, uncertain if I was hallucinating once I saw one of those shovels shift a little to the side. I shook my head and gave a single flicker with my finger to snap me out of it. ¡°Must be seeing things¡­¡±

    I put my phone away and sighed. ¡°Welp, if I¡¯m in some kind of isekai world or something because what I¡¯ve been through is definitely not normal¡­ hope this is a good one!¡± I then thought silently to myself.  ¡®Ugh, if this is one of those horny harem worlds, one of my online friends would be jealous and I¡¯d be uncomfortable as fuck.¡¯

    I then took a couple of steps forward before I felt my wet shoes step on something hard. I looked down to see that it was¡­ bones¡­ dry bones of an unrecognizable creature. ¡°Wow, this took a dark tone rather quickly. I wonder-¡±

    ¡°Hey, you!¡±

    I flinched at the sudden voice before looking at the source of it. My eyes widened once I saw the creature in front of me. Brown fur with a cream-colored fluffy neck scruff, quadrupedal, and with a tail¡­ that just looked like an eevee, but like, those realistic ones all over the internet. This one even had a black eyepatch. I blinked, blinked twice,  blinked thrice , and even slapped myself just to confirm what I was seeing wasn¡¯t a hallucination. ¡°Wha-¡±

    The creature then spoke  in fucking English  again. ¡°What are you doing there!? Get out of the sand before it¡¯s too late!¡±

    Before it¡¯s too late? What did it mean by that?

    I looked around me and saw that the sand shovels I saw a bit far away from me were actually  getting closer to me . As I took a step back from the approaching sand shovels, a giant mound of sand started forming below one of the shovels, the mound instantly becoming a big sand castle with small holes making a face and with some sea shells around its body that were a bit taller than me.

    That¡­ that thing, it was a palossand¡­

    To make matters even worse, small sand mounds with faces below the rest of the shovels started forming, revealing themselves to be sandygasts. All around me, there were Pok¨¦mon¡­  real Pok¨¦mon. Although¡­

    I was about to get fucking mauled, wasn¡¯t I?

    I immediately started sprinting in the eevee¡¯s direction, however, I tripped and fell on the sand as I felt something tug my leg. As I tried to get up, I looked behind and saw that one of the sandygast holding my leg with one of its sand limbs, trapping my leg in place. I tried pulling it, but its hold was strong. ¡°Shit!¡±

    I saw the other sandygast and the palossand approaching me slowly by shifting their grainy bodies through the sand. However, before they got any step closer, an orb of pure darkness flew right by me and hit the giant sand castle in the face, causing smoke to erupt and obscure my vision and the other sandygasts¡¯. Before I could question it, the eyepatch-wearing eevee came out of nowhere and bit the sandygast holding my leg with ethereal jaws that appeared in front of it¡­ him? Her? Questions for later, my leg was at least free.

    The eevee turned to me and spoke with their boyish voice, a serious look on their face. ¡°Can you still walk?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± I looked at my leg, seeing that it had a bit of leftover sand grains. ¡°Well¡­ nothing¡¯s bleeding or broken-¡±

    ¡°Good, then let¡¯s book it!¡± They said before sprinting out of the sand. I quickly got up and followed the eevee, trying to not think too much about the roar that I heard coming from behind me. Horror games taught me well, never look behind or else you¡¯re pretty much dead.

    We kept running for a while before we stopped in a place with no sand whatsoever beneath our feet, the forest literally next to the beach. It was a forest that had a tropical feel to it, with palm trees along with oak trees. Just being in this forest made me feel sweaty, and it wasn¡¯t even because of the sun. I¡¯d say it¡¯d be a perfect place for someone to enjoy the summer but uh¡­ the palossand and the sandygast have something to say about that-

    ¡°N-no way¡­¡± I muttered to myself as the situation started dawning on my mind.

    The eevee turned to me and asked a bit annoyed. ¡°What on Arceus¡¯ name were you even doing near Ghasty Shores!? That place is a nest full of-¡±

    ¡°NO WAY!!!¡± I shouted loudly, startling the eevee whose fur went up a bit. I quickly grabbed my phone, unlocked it, and went straight up to the camera app. Sure, trying to use the phone with a bit of sand in my fingers sucked, but I didn¡¯t care,  I needed to confirm it!

    I quickly snapped a couple of photos of the eevee, who was a bit shocked by all of the things I was doing. He then tried to protest as I looked at the gallery. ¡°Wh- what is-¡±

    ¡°Hahaha! No fucking way!!!¡± I said as I looked at the photos I had just taken. There it was, in clear quality, the same eevee with an eyepatch just in my photo gallery. I was beaming in excitement, tapping both of my feet like a child excited to go to an amusement park. ¡°They¡¯re real! Holy fuck, they¡¯re FUCKING REAL!!! Fuck the palossand trying to eat me, this the best day EVER!!!¡±

    ¡°Hey, chill for a moment, will ya!?¡± The eevee called out, forcing me to look at them. ¡°Why are you so excited out of nowhere!? You would be dead if it wasn¡¯t for me!¡±

    I looked at the eevee for a moment before shrieking in excitement. I put my phone away before grabbing the Pok¨¦mon and lifting them in my hands. I could touch them, feel their fluffy fur poking against my bare skin, their soft skin caressing my hands as I touched them. They were real¡­ they were real all along. ¡°My gosh! You¡¯re so freaking cute, even in real life!¡± I rubbed my face against their head, feeling their fluffiness throughout my face and smelling their dog-like scent. I didn¡¯t care if I¡¯d got some fur in my mouth,  this was my first time doing something that was just so cute!

    I could feel some struggles coming from the eevee who clearly wasn¡¯t pleased with my actions. ¡°Ugh, stop that! What¡¯s wrong with you!?¡±

    I stopped with the cuddles and looked at him with a gleeful grin. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s just that you¡¯re so cute that I couldn¡¯t help myself.¡± My eyes then darted to some parts of the eevee¡¯s body, analyzing the Pok¨¦mon at a close glance. I could see some pawpads at the end of their feet, some small white spots on their brown fur and I could even see his¡­ ¡°Oh, you¡¯re male.¡±

    The eevee froze a little bit before biting me on the nose out of nowhere. I grunted in pain and let go of the rabbit¡­ dog¡­ whatever Pok¨¦mon. He looked at me angrily, baring his teeth while growling. ¡°What in Giratina¡¯s name is  wrong  with you!? Are you perhaps insane or something? First, you go to a dangerous location alone and then you look at my genitals?! And the way you act, it¡¯s like you¡¯ve never seen a Pok¨¦mon up close before!¡±

    I rubbed my nose, trying to ease the pain a little before responding. ¡°Uh¡­ you¡¯d be correct about that.¡± I shook my head before grinning again, quickly forgetting about the pain in my nose. Hopefully, it wasn¡¯t bleeding- oh wait, it was, but I didn¡¯t care it¡¯d heal soon. ¡°Oh yeah¡­ you¡¯re probably confused about me, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°More than confused. Not only do you act weird but you look weird in general. What kind of Pok¨¦mon are you?¡±

    With that line alone, I could tell what kind of world I was and the situation I was in. And with the pain that came from the bite (of 87),  this was surely not a dream.  My grin stretched even further once I put two on two together.  ¡®PMD world as well!? So that¡¯s why they can talk! Holy shit, I want to faint so bad but I¡¯m scared that if I do, I¡¯m gonna wake up in my bed again.¡¯  I maintained my excitement and responded to the little Pok¨¦mon before I freaked him out once again with my child-like attitude. ¡°Well, you see¡­ what if I tell you that I¡¯m not even a Pok¨¦mon in the first place?¡± The eevee tilted his head as I folded my arms behind my back. ¡°Tell me, have you ever heard of the name  human  before?¡±

    The eevee¡¯s eye widened, mouth agape from what he had heard. ¡°That¡­¡± He then deadpanned, unamused. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of it.¡±

    My grin fell as my arms limped. Well¡­ this wasn¡¯t like the games, was it? Well of course it wouldn¡¯t be! I wasn¡¯t made of low-quality 3D polygons or sprites, this is real life, I felt pain and I can smell, and I can taste (probably, if sand counts). So of course this wouldn¡¯t be a world connected by the games and be its own thing¡­  but did that really matter?  Correct answer: No, who cared? I didn¡¯t! Pok¨¦mon were confirmed real and that¡¯s all that mattered to me!

    I put a hand on my chest as I crouched down to be more on level with the eevee. ¡°Well, as you are seeing right now,  I  am a human. That¡¯s my species¡¯ name.¡±

    The eevee tilted his head. ¡°Really? You look like a weird crossbreed between a¡­ jynx and a gallade¡­ are all humans like that?¡±

    I pouted, looking away and muttering to myself. ¡°Even in a different world, I get compared to a girl¡­¡± I looked back at the Pok¨¦mon who had a confused expression. ¡°Nah, we do have different appearances depending on the person. I was born like this.¡±

    ¡°Alright then¡­ but you still act weird.¡±

    ¡°I came from another world, of course I¡¯m gonna act weird in your eyes, lil¡¯ guy.¡±

    The eevee¡¯s eye widened in shock. ¡°Another world!?¡± His ears dropped along with his tail, looking away. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±

    I started asking, trying to sound cool. ¡°Surprising? Shocking? Amazing-¡±

    ¡°Unbelievable.¡± The eevee interrupted me, his ears perking up again with an unamused face appearing on his face. ¡°For all I know, your species could just be an undiscovered species of Pok¨¦mon. Sure, I¡¯ve heard of stories of beings that came from other worlds, but I don¡¯t believe in any of them.¡±

    My arms limped a little. ¡°Uh¡­¡± I then pulled out my phone. ¡°I have the proof right here¡­¡±

    The eevee analyzed my phone as I put it closer to him, even sniffing it a little. He looked at me with a suspicious face. ¡°Hm¡­ it might hold some value to your claims, but right now, I¡¯m gonna go. I was gonna investigate a huge splash noise that I¡¯ve heard on the beach, but thanks to you, you made the area inaccessible for now¡­¡±

    As the eevee started to walk away, I started following him. ¡°I mean, you could smell me right now and you¡¯d smell the sand and salt water. If you were looking for the source of that splash, I¡¯m the guy because, believe it or not, I fell from the sky right into the ocean!¡± I said proudly like I achieved a great feat. Of course, I didn¡¯t.

    As he walked, the fox¡­ rabbit¡­ whatever, fox Pok¨¦mon inched closer to me and took a couple of sniffs from me before huffing in thought. ¡°Well, you¡¯re not lying at least¡­¡± He sighed. ¡°But I still have so many questions about you and now I¡¯m wondering if it was the right thing to help you or not.¡±

    ¡°Welp, let¡¯s start with the basics. First off, introductions!¡± I said with enthusiasm, pointing a thumb at myself. ¡°The name¡¯s Lucas, and as you know, I¡¯m a human!¡±  ¡®And with slight autism, but there¡¯s no need to say that. Would the Pok¨¦mon of this world even know what autism is?¡¯ I thought to myself after saying. ¡°And how about you little eevee?¡±

    The eevee stared at me with a look of suspicion and confusion before saying. ¡°Before I answer that¡­¡± He stopped in place, making me stop as well. ¡°If you¡¯re from a completely different world, how do you know about my species¡¯ name?¡±

    I subtly flinched a little, trying not to look nervous in front of the fox Pok¨¦mon. I started rubbing the back of my head, trying to think of a way to explain human knowledge to him.  ¡®Damn, didn¡¯t expect to get this question early. Well duh, Pok¨¦mon aren¡¯t that dumb in this world than the mainline games.¡¯ I thought to myself before answering. ¡°So¡­ how can I say this in a way you¡¯re not freaked out¡­?¡± I asked myself before putting a hand on my side. ¡°Alright, basically put¡­ there is this window of information about our world and other worlds as well. No info about everything, but the basics¡­ like yours for example. I only have info about the species of this planet.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s that even possible?¡± The eevee asked with a really confused look.

    I shrugged in response. ¡°I dunno. Most humans are kept in the dark with that kind of info.¡±  ¡®I sure hope this doesn¡¯t backfire in my face later¡­¡¯  I sighed once the lie was over. ¡°So¡­ would you tell me your name?¡±

    The eevee huffed before saying. ¡°Well, the name is-¡±

    ¡°Look at who we got here!¡±

    A new voice sounded out of nowhere, forcing our attention to the newcomer sitting in the darkness of some foliage, obscuring their form except for their red eyes. The male voice then emerged out of the bushes and leaves, revealing his whole body. Gray and black fur, four legs, ears and tail, red irises, and yellow sclera¡­ he was a mightyena. He was even wearing a brown scarf as well. He grinned at us with visible malicious intent from the way he was looking at us¡­ ¡°Oh, what a fortunate encounter the gods had set up for us! Ain¡¯t that right, Evon?¡±

    The eevee, supposedly named Evon, quivered and backed away a little bit. I looked at him and the mightyena back and forth before asking the brown furball, pointing at the mightyena with a thumb. ¡°Got beef with this edge lord wannabe?¡±

    Evon grimaced a little and looked away from me. ¡°None of your business¡­¡±

    I deadpanned and brushed away my fringe to the side. ¡°Okay then¡­¡± I turned to the menacing dark-type Pok¨¦mon. ¡°Yo doggy, care to explain-¡± I saw the mightyena growl at me, showing sharp fangs that could easily tear my flesh apart. I threw my hands in front of me defensively. ¡°Message received, say no more!¡±

    The canine dropped the intimidation act and looked back at the eevee. ¡°What¡¯s this? Pathetic ol¡¯ Evon has made a new friend? Wow, you really wanted to find any worthless replacement quickly.¡±

    The eevee snarled back at the mightyena, a nerve definitely being struck. ¡°Shut up, Valtrus! I already told you that it wasn¡¯t my fault! She jumped in front of me to save me and I couldn¡¯t-¡±

    ¡°Shut the fuck up!¡± Valtrus responded with a snarl. ¡°You keep telling the same excuse the same time over and over again! You could¡¯ve protected yourself, after all, every eevee on this gods¡¯ damn planet know that move!¡±

    Evon stomped on the ground, getting his fur a bit messy from the stress. ¡°How many times I gotta tell you!? I don¡¯t know that move!¡±

    I looked away while scratching my cheeks a bit uncomfortable.  ¡®Goddamn, am I in the middle of some heavy drama¡­¡¯  I sighed before butting in. ¡°Uh¡­ sorry for interrupting here but um¡­ wouldn¡¯t you mind giving Evon here the benefit of the doubt? You¡¯re not really in his body to verify if he¡¯s telling the truth or not.¡± I felt a sharp glare being directed right at me coming from the mightyena. I shrugged nervously while looking aside. ¡°Just sayin¡¯...¡±

    Valtrus took a step forward while growling at me. ¡°And who do you think YOU are for speaking on personal matters!? You might be Evon¡¯s new best bud, but get the fuck out of here! This is between me and him! We don¡¯t need some weird-ass Pok¨¦mon getting between our situation!¡±

    ¡°Wow, okay, asshole.¡± I said while crossing my arms.

    Evon turned to me and put his forepaws on my legs, looking at me pleadingly. ¡°Would you please stop!? I don¡¯t know how powerful humans are, but please, just drop it!¡±

    ¡°And let him just barrage you with his bullying of a drama you definitely don¡¯t want to be reminded of? Nah, guys like that are the worst. Trust me, I¡¯ve dealt with them practically daily.¡± On the outside, I tried to look nonchalant about the situation, trying not to be intimidated by the mightyena¡¯s threats of mauling me to death. But on the inside¡­  ¡®Lucas, what the HELL are you doing!? That¡¯s a fucking carnivore predator that can and WILL tear you to shreds if you anger him! Oh wait, of course,   you¡¯re gonna anger him even more!   ¡¯ I put a hand on my side and wag my finger from side to side. ¡°That¡¯s pussy behavior and you¡¯re a pussy for doing that!¡±

    Valtrus snarled as he took a step forward. ¡°That¡¯s fucking  IT!!!  I followed that brat just to give him a lesson, but how about I savor myself with a meal after I¡¯m done giving a killer what he deserves!¡±

    The mightyena howled into the sky before lunging at us, his fangs lighting up in flames. Evon and I screamed before I jumped away from the bite, falling face-first onto the ground and tasting grass. I quickly rolled to my back and saw that Evon was also lucky and dodged the lunge bite that the canine was going for.

    Instead of focusing on me, Valtrus was running around after the eevee, chasing him like a cat chasing a mouse with his fangs ablaze. I watched Evon lead the mightyena around in circles. Since the area we were in was quite spacious, the two had a bit of free space to run around. But it wasn¡¯t long until Valtrus was catching up to him since he was faster and bigger than the small fox-like Pok¨¦mon.

    An idea suddenly popped into my mind. Without even thinking further about it, I immediately got up and rushed to the two Pok¨¦mon running around. I opened my arms and I got closer- actually,  they got closer to me- I jumped and wrapped the dark type¡¯s head around my arms, trying to restrict the movement with his muzzle. He stopped and started shaking his head around, trying to free his head from my hold. ¡°Ngh! Let me go, you sac of meat!¡±

    ¡°Only if you promise me that you¡¯ll stop being a bitch, which doesn¡¯t seem like something you¡¯re gonna do!¡± I shouted, trying my hardest to maintain hold of Valtrus¡¯ head. Being a bit moist with sweat and his fur a bit oily¡­ made it a bit hard to maintain hold of him. ¡® I didn¡¯t sign up to be the next Steve Irwin!¡¯

    After a second, the mightyena freed himself from my arms and launched me back with a tackle from his body. I groaned in pain as I hit the floor, rubbing my butt afterward. ¡°Shit¡­¡± I heard the sound of footsteps approaching me, prompting me to look up. I saw Valtrus approaching me, hungry eyes directly locked with me. I froze a little bit in fear. However, before he could pounce at me and ferociously maul me, a whitish-brown blur struck the hyena Pok¨¦mon in the side, revealing it to be Evon.

    The mightyena slid across the ground from the hit as the eevee fell on the ground. Evon snarled at Valtrus, but it looked more cute than intimidating in my opinion. ¡°Enough, Valtrus! Just let it go, man! I¡¯m telling the truth! It¡¯s not my fault!¡±

    ¡°Shut up! The others may have bought your stunt, but I¡¯ve seen through it! You¡¯re not gonna get away from this until I deliver justice!¡± Valtrus roared before he started being surrounded by a dark aura. He opened his mouth and a ball of dark energy with purple rings surrounding appeared at the tip end of it. I had no time to think about what attack that was before the mightyena just released a barrage of those purple rings right at Evon. The eevee, who didn¡¯t react fast enough, got hit by the attack and dragged by it a distance away.

    I saw the small Pok¨¦mon get blasted away by the attack, making me a little shocked by the full-on power that energy blast carried. If I was a baby man, I¡¯d probably shit my pants when I saw that attack.

    Valtrus¡¯ onslaught didn¡¯t stop there. The mightyena rushed in where the eevee fell, surprising him once he attempted to get up, battered and bruised. He bit down on Evon¡¯s side with an icicle fang, making him scream in pain and agony from the frostbite. That scream was enough to snap me out of my dear-in-headlights trance as I rushed in to help Evon. ¡°Hey! Bad dog!¡±

    Before I could reach the two, the mightyena let go of the eevee and looked at me with a bloodied grin on his muzzle. I stopped and flinched a little before steeling myself, trying to not look that intimidated. The mightyena then started approaching me, however, instead of getting ready for a brawl, I was¡­ trembling. My legs were shaking, I was frozen and I couldn¡¯t move, and Valtrus knew it from the way he approached me in a relaxed way. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, skinbag? Scared? Weren¡¯t you acting without fear just a second ago?¡±

    ¡°I-... GAH!¡±

    I didn¡¯t have a chance to answer as I was tackled in the stomach and launched a bit far back. Once I landed on the ground, I coughed a bit before focusing on the mightyena again. I didn¡¯t have time to register but I saw that he was literally on top of me, making my heart drop while hearing Evon shouting in the distance. ¡°Valtrus¡­ don¡¯t¡­!¡±

    Valtrus didn¡¯t hesitate as he opened his mouth, highlighting all of his sharp teeth before biting down on me. I was fast, however, putting my arms in front of me to protect myself. But the pain¡­  it fucking hurt!  ¡°ARGH!!!¡±

    I could see my arms being pressured by the mightyena¡¯s maw, feeling some of my muscles and bones crack under pressure. Blood was oozing out from my arms, tainting my clothes in red. I couldn¡¯t do anything, I was stuck there, trying my best to resist my inevitable fate. My arms were growing numb, I couldn¡¯t resist for very long. I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes, trying to steel myself to prolong my death until a random stroke of luck happened.   ¡®P-please¡­ not like this!¡¯

    Lucas¡­

    ¡®That¡­ that voice¡­¡¯  I opened my eyes, immediately seeing the angry canine biting down on my arm. His saliva was mixing with my blood and I could feel his breath right in my face. If I dropped my arms, he¡¯d go straight to my chest or guts and I would instantly become his meal, and this time, Evon wouldn¡¯t be able to help me.

    I then tilted my head around, searching for the voice.  ¡®Where is it!?¡¯

    It¡¯s still not time for you to perish. There¡¯s still hope for you!

    I could feel something deep within my chest flourish, like a sudden burst of energy. It felt warm and cold at the same time, making it a bit overwhelming for me.  ¡®What is¡­¡¯

    Come on! You can still go through this! You have the power to do it!

    My vision started to get hazy, but instead of feeling lightheaded or weak¡­  I felt stronger than ever before.

    You¡¯re not gonna let this bully decide your fate, are you?

    ¡° NO!!! ¡± I screamed as I felt a surge of strength escape my body, shoving the mightyena away from me. I could faintly notice the grass and leaves rushing all around me. I started breathing heavily, standing up a little bit before dropping down on my hands. I screamed again as I stopped having control of my body completely.

    My vision was blocked by a pink glow as I felt my body shift and reshape itself. I felt my knees bent backwards along with my arms which now elongated to the same size as my legs. My hands and feet gained the same shape, my fingers curling and my nails elongating. I felt two protrusions elongating and becoming two ribbon-like limbs coming from above my rear. As I stopped feeling my clothes and backpack, I felt my hair elongate and extend right behind me as my face changed shape. My mouth extended a little bit while I felt something grow right out of my forehead.

    The pink glow disappeared and I opened my eyes, seeing the two Pok¨¦mon look at me with a frightened look. I still couldn¡¯t feel my body, I was in an out-of-body state where I could only see but not feel or control it.  ¡®Why are they staring at me like that¡­?¡¯

    ¡°S-... a suicune!?¡± Valtrus stammered while taking a step back.

    ¡®Suicune- woah!?¡¯  Suddenly, my body roared into the air before charging at the tip of its mouth an orb of water that grew in size with each passing second.  ¡®The hell is going on!?¡¯ I thought to myself. And from one moment to another, it released its water attack in the form of a laser of water that hit the mightyena on the chest, taking him off the ground. The blast made him go through trunks of trees from how powerful the water blast was. Once it was done with the blast of water, it closed its muzzle and looked at Evon. I tried speaking to him, but I couldn¡¯t say anything.

    It walked to him, taking slow steps with some kind of overwhelming aura surrounding it. I saw the eevee shake in fear once it stopped in front of it and looked at its eyes. Suddenly, I started to feel my body again, but once I felt control again, my vision went pink again. I felt my body reshape itself back to the way it was before, back to human. It was a much quicker process than before and, therefore, less painful than it initially felt.

    There I was, lying on the grass floor, feeling my clothes and backpack again while staring at the eevee. Evon stared back at me with a face that showed a lot of emotions, especially shock and confusion. ¡°Hey¡­¡± I managed to say before I felt all the strength I had sapped out of my body. With that, my consciousness started fading again as I managed to hear Evon shout my name¡­

 The Shapeshifter

    ¡°Dad, why is Lucas¡­ um¡­ the way he is?¡±

    I heard recognizable voices coming from outside my room as I played a certain video game on the Nintendo 3DS. I wasn¡¯t paying much attention to it, I was just too focused on playing Smash Bros. However, once I heard my name, I started losing focus on the bot match I played just for fun.

    ¡°Well, you know, Arthur, he may be autistic, but as the older brother, you know that-¡±

    ¡°Not what I¡¯m talking about, Dad. I noticed you don¡¯t bat an eye, not because you¡¯re oblivious but ignoring it. I know you noticed it.¡±

    I press pause on the match and start hearing the conversation a bit more attentively.

    ¡°The pink hair, the cerulean blue eyes, his fast healing. That¡¯s just not normal¡­¡± There was a pause, a silence looming in the air. My brother then spoke again. ¡°Is there something you¡¯re hiding from me?¡±

    A sigh could be heard. ¡°Listen, son. I just want Lucas to live a normal life, so I don¡¯t wanna worry him with these things for now.¡± Silence again before my dad¡¯s voice could be heard again. ¡°He had some kind of genetic mutation in his DNA that made him like this. I don¡¯t know what happened, but we discovered he was like this since his birth once his hair started to grow.¡±

    I put my gaming device aside and wondered to myself. ¡®Genetic mutation¡­? Does that mean I could be a cool superhero!? Aw yeah!!!¡¯

    Suddenly, my brother said. ¡°Wake up, Lucas.¡±

    I tilted my head at that and looked at the door, still not sitting up from my bed. ¡°Huh¡­? What-?¡±

    ¡°Wake up, Lucas!¡± My dad said next, causing me to flinch a little. The voices stopped momentarily and I got out of bed, inching for the door.

    ¡°Guys¡­? What are you talking about-¡±

    The door slammed open, revealing darkness on the other side of the room. Suddenly, two people with the head of an eevee with an eyepatch appeared from the darkness, screaming at my face. ¡°COME ON, WAKE UP ALREADY!!!¡±

    <hr>

    My eyes snapped open as I jolted awake, getting up immediately while hyperventilating. I tried to recollect my breathing, taking deep breaths to calm myself from the jumpscare that I was starting to forget. A voice surprised me as my eyes started to focus, trying to gather awareness of my surroundings.

    ¡°Y-you¡¯re awake¡­¡±

    I looked at the source of the voice as my vision focused more. I almost flinched once I could see clearly. I saw an IRL fuckin¡¯  eevee  . It was just like a normal eevee and it even had an eyepatch- wait a second,  I remember this guy from before!

    Suddenly, a flood of memories returned to me. Me getting chased around by some assholes, me getting the isekai treatment, meeting the eevee, getting into a fight with a mightyena, getting my arms bitten¡­ after that, everything else was a blur.

    The hell happened before I blacked out? Did the isekai gods save me from getting absolutely mauled by making me super lucky or something?

    ¡°Evon?¡± I say to the eevee who seemed to be in a defensive stance, he seemed to calm down a little. ¡°That¡¯s your name, right¡­?¡± After receiving an unsure nod, I looked at my arms, seeing that the bite wounds had mostly healed, however, some stains of dried blood were visible. ¡°The hell happened when I blacked out?¡± I looked around, realizing that we were both at the mouth of a cave. ¡°And where the hell are we?¡±

    The eevee tilted his head as he relaxed from his stance. ¡°You¡­ you don¡¯t remember uh¡­ doing that stuff?¡±

    ¡°What stuff? I literally just said I blacked out.¡± I explained while crossing my arms. ¡°Or else I wouldn¡¯t be asking.¡±

    There was some hesitation coming from Evon, his lone visible eye looking around before sighing. He looked back at me and just said it. ¡°You, turning into Suicune and literally knocking Valtrus cold- like, don¡¯t you remember doing something like that?¡±

    I stared at the eevee as he stared at me after explaining what happened while a breeze went by us, filtering the silence. My arms went limp, trying to think about what Evon said. As crazy as it seemed, my dumbass brain actually thought about the eevee¡¯s words. Me, turning into a fucking legendary and already knowing a move strong enough to one-shot a mightyena. Yeah, that sounded like the average fantasy isekai plot of  ¡°Oh look, let¡¯s show the watchers of the show what the main character is capable of doing with his full abilities right on the first or second episode!¡±  And then that power is not shown for literal  seasons .

    Was I in an anime?  Was I breaking the 4th wall by thinking about this kind of stuff!?

    Better not anger the anime writers anymore and move on to my response to Evon. ¡°Uh¡­ sorry to say this but that sounds like a lot of bullshit. Back in my world, that¡¯s some shit that anime protags would do daily.¡±

    Evon tilted his head. ¡°What in distortion is an anime?¡±

    Fuck, that¡¯s right, I was in an isekai PMD world, and, judging from the way he reacted when he saw my phone earlier, they didn¡¯t have modern tech. Welp, it was time to do my best in explaining what the hell an anime is. ¡°So basically, an anime is a form of entertainment in my world. Think of¡­ moving stories made by a certain group of people.¡±

    ¡°Wait, storybooks can  move  in your world?¡±

    Should I boast about the fact that humans are a more advanced civilization than Pok¨¦mon? ¡­ nah, that¡¯s gonna leave me with a lot of explaining that I wouldn¡¯t want to do. I still needed to get back to the main topic. Me, turning into Suicune¡­

    Suddenly, my ADHD made me just go straight into the Suicune topic. ¡°But seriously though, what the hell makes you think that I turned into Suicune? Like, did I actually do it? If I did so, I would definitely remember it, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    The eevee walked up to me before pointing a paw at me, his expression was a bit more annoyed than before. ¡°But I fucking saw you turning into one. If you didn¡¯t do that, Valtrus would¡¯ve eaten you alive!¡± That made me take a step back, making me think about Evon¡¯s words for a bit. ¡°Literally, no one was in this area to save us and when you transformed back, I had to drag you to this cave until you woke up!¡±

    With that, one idea entered my mind. A simple idea that many people would call stupid and call me a dumbass child.  Try changing into a Pok¨¦mon  . Sure, that may be impossible because I¡¯m not a ditto or something close, only an internet dweller human but like, what  if  Evon is right and I gained shapeshifting powers?

    I sighed and looked at Evon, putting a hand on my side. ¡°Fine, I¡¯m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt.¡± I lifted a finger, just before Evon tried yipping or wagging his tail for me to believe in him or whatever eevee did. ¡°Bu-bu-BUT! I¡¯m going to test something out real quick. If I can transform into a Pok¨¦mon. Any Pok¨¦mon actually.¡±

    Evon sat on his hind legs and tilted his head. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just transform into Suicune again?¡±

    ¡°Well, if you¡¯re right and I do transform into Suicune, I¡¯m probably gonna black out again, so not for now. So I¡¯ll try something easy like¡­¡± I pointed at Evon with a smirk. ¡°You for example.¡±

    The eevee blinked before saying a little weirded out, frowning a little. ¡°Well, if you say so.¡±

    I took a few steps back from Evon, swinging my arms and taking deep breaths. I wanted to prove Evon wrong, but like, at the same time, c¡¯mon,  who wouldn¡¯t like to transform into a Pok¨¦mon for at least for a moment?

    It was time for the moment of truth. I clenched my hands and closed my eyes, trying to think really hard about how an eevee looked like in my head. I was trying to think about every detail of an eevee, the fur, the eyes, the paws, and of course, the tail. And with everything ready and thought, I opened my eyes to find that-!

    Nothing changed¡­ boo-womp.

    I looked back at the eevee who looked at me with a surprised face, like he was expecting the opposite to happen. He really thought that I was about to transform?

    I shrugged and put my hands in my short pockets. ¡°So as I said, I can¡¯t transform into Suicune and whatchu saw was prolly¡¯ like¡­ uh¡­ I dunno, pain hallucination from all the damage? Maybe the actual Suicune appeared and-¡±

    ¡°I know what I saw, I¡¯m not crazy!¡± Evon said while slamming a paw on the ground. ¡°If you didn¡¯t transform, your guts would¡¯ve been ripped off from your body! Maybe your powers are just¡­¡± He looked away, looking like he was a bit unsure of himself. ¡°Recharging or something¡­¡±

    I stared at him for a moment before sighing. I brushed a fringe to the side and crouched to be somewhat on the eevee¡¯s level. ¡°Buddy, listen up. Humans can¡¯t shapeshift. If that were the case, my world would be miles cooler than it is right now, but here¡¯s the sad fact, it isn¡¯t.¡±

    Evon sighed. ¡°But I know what I saw¡­ you just¡­¡±

    I smirked. ¡°Listen, you might be right. Maybe I gained some cool powers when I entered this world or something. But right now, I¡¯m being skeptical because my own world forced me to be that way. After all, there was a place on my world called the internet where you should only trust claims with evidence.¡± I got up and stretched my legs and back. ¡°Maybe the evidence will come eventually, we just gotta wait.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­¡± Evon said bitterly.

    However, the mood of the moment was killed as soon as I spoke again when I realized something. ¡°What the hell was that reassuring talk from me!? Are the isekai gods influencing me to be the good boy, calm and collected protag!? Fuck, get out of my head!¡± I shouted as I gripped the sides of my head. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be that, I¡¯m not that! I need to spread the internet¡¯s influence! I need to spread  THE MEMES!!! ¡±

    That scared Evon, making him recoil a little. ¡°W-what!?¡±

    I looked back at Evon and realized something, he was still hurt, probably from the bite (of 87) he received. ¡°Oh shit, that¡¯s right you¡¯re still hurt! Unfortunately, the Medic from TF 2 or Mercy from Overwatch isn¡¯t here to heal you up. Want me to carry you to the nearest town slash village?¡±

    Evon stared at me for a second, still trying to process all my rambling. It was expected, some people just can¡¯t handle the power of my references or memes. And this eevee was a grass toucher so he wouldn¡¯t even handle a mere five percent of my power. ¡°I¡­ my legs are fine, I can walk it until we¡¯re at Cavestone Village. Besides, the frostbite wound wasn¡¯t that deep.¡±

    ¡°Okies then, shall we go?¡± I said, making an exaggerated walking motion but still staying in place.

    I could see hesitation on Evon¡¯s face but even then, he nodded. ¡°Alright then¡­¡± He started walking but I could hear him muttering something under his breath, probably an insult directed at me- wait, what was I thinking? Of course, he was definitely complimenting me for being such a great friend and partner and for offering to carry him to a clinic (or a vet, whatever it is in this world).

    Both of us left the cold cave and felt the warm and humid air of the forest brush through our skin (or fur for Evon¡¯s case). It was then that I made an  amazing  realization.  I was touching grass the whole time in this world. Well, the beach and cave didn¡¯t count but at least for the most part, I was above grass. And with that, I knew that no one had the balls to call me a Discord Mod or a Redditor!

    Ah, also I was a bit hungry, but that didn¡¯t matter for now.

    I kneeled and brushed a hand through some blades of grass. Were they a bit pokey? Yes, but I needed to touch grass as much as possible so as not to be called a fatty no-life person on the net. And after touching the grass, I can finally go back to my beloved games and memes!

    The eevee noticed my grass-touching activity and decided not to question it, only looking at me with a weirded-out look. I grinned back at him and he sighed, continuing moving forward. Oh poor Evon, he had no idea that what I was doing was going to change my title to something even better!

    After my grass-touching session, we continued walking. I followed Evon around since it was obvious he knew his place. Not only that, he could detect threats from a lot of places because of his animal-  AHEM , Pok¨¦mon senses. So basically put, he was my smol little escort. No one had the slightest idea of how much I wanted to scoop him up and hug him like the plushie-shaped creature he was.

    While we walked, surprisingly, Evon decided to speak up. ¡°Tell me. Do you even know about strong Pok¨¦mon? Like Suicune? When I talked about your transformation, it seemed that you even knew about it. Do humans even know about obscure Pok¨¦mon like them?¡±

    I put my hands behind my head and spoke. ¡°Yep. Not sure what you call them here but we call them Legendary and Mythical Pok¨¦mon in my world. We even know about the guy who created your world as well.¡±

    Evon stopped and looked at me, an expression of shock plastered on his face. ¡°You know of the almighty Lord Arceus!?  Do you even know what they look like!? ¡±

    ¡°Yes, we do. Sure, there¡¯s a lot of interpretations of them in our world, but like, in most interpretations, they look the same.¡± I decided not to address what Arceus looks like casually. Who knows if Evon is super religious and he¡¯d kill me for just not addressing his god with proper respect. ¡°Although, I¡¯m not gonna say anything about their appearance.¡± I turned my head slowly to the eevee, looking at him rather menacingly. ¡°It¡¯s best you don¡¯t know for now¡­¡±

    That made Evon shiver a little. He then looked back to his front and then continued walking forward. ¡°I-I see¡­¡±

    I continued following him with a smirk on my face. Sure, I didn¡¯t want to scare him by that much, but it did get me out of a situation that I didn¡¯t want to be in. So uh¡­ I took a half-W for that.

    Not too long after, the eevee already over the slight scare, we both stopped when I saw Evon stop in front of me, his ear twitching and flickering a little. ¡°Do you hear that?¡± He asked me as he looked around and sniffed the air.

    I pause to concentrate on the sounds, and indeed, I heard that. ¡°Sounds like a bunch of fan girls when they are in a show of some celebrity or something.¡± I waited until the sounds got a bit bigger before. ¡°Oh wait, actually, that sounds like uh¡­ I dunno, what are the noises monkeys do? Chitter? Uh¡­ hissing? No, um¡­ I dunno, sound like monkeys to me.¡±

    ¡°What in distortion are  monkeys!? ¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ Pok¨¦mon like mankey, uh, simisears, oranguru. Ya know, like those Pok¨¦mon-¡± Suddenly, the foliage of the trees shook as a bunch of Pok¨¦mon made themselves known. And who were those ¡®mons? Of course! The three elemental monkey Pok¨¦mon, and a lot of them. We had panpour, simipour, pansage, simisage, pansear, and last but not least, simisear.

    Just hope they could be not savages or else we were  F U C K E D .

    I pointed at the monkey Pok¨¦mon. ¡°Like those guys.¡±

    ¡°Thanks for pointing out the obvious¡­¡± Evon muttered as his tail curled a little. He started to shake in nervousness.

    A buff-looking simisage dropped down from one of the trees, landing like he was a damn superhero which would look cool¡­  if he was on our side.

    He took some steps to us and crossed his arms in front of us. He then spoke like a gangster for some reason. ¡°Who do ya think ya brats ¡®r tryin¡¯ to waltz into our turf like nothin¡¯?¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°I dunno, I¡¯m new here. Didn¡¯t even know this place had a territory.¡± I looked at the eevee beside me. ¡°Did you know this place had a territory?¡±

    The eevee slowly turned to me and nodded. ¡°Y-yes¡­ I kinda forgot¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± I said and then turned back to the grass monkey with the Super Saiyan hair, pointing at Evon with a thumb. ¡°He did. He waltzed into your turf like nothing.¡±

    Evon¡¯s fur went up along with his tail. He looked at me with a surprised face. ¡°LUCAS!¡±

    The simisage closed his eyes and spoke. ¡°I see what¡¯s goin¡¯ on. Ya two walk onto our territory then make fun of us just because ya can!?¡±

    Evon stood on his hind legs and shook his forepaws in front of him defensively. ¡°N-no, that¡¯s not what we want-¡±

    I interrupted Evon and grabbed him, putting him under my arm to skedaddle out of there. ¡°Sorry Evon but these guys want trouble and I know enough to escape them. So, as the protagonist of a famous anime said¡­¡± I turned away and booked it. ¡°NINGERUNDAYO!!!!¡±

    I faintly heard the monkey ¡®mon shout something more or less along the lines of ¡°Fuckin¡¯ get ¡®em!¡± Eh, I think it was less exaggerated than that, but my brain was instead thinking of getting out of there before our asses got beaten by the monkey gang. So we kept running, with the constant sounds of angry monkey speech and foliage shaking some meters behind us.

    ¡°Do you even know where are you taking me!?¡± Evon asked with a panicked tone.

    ¡°I don¡¯t fucking know! You better know this place and give me directions before we end up in some place we wouldn¡¯t like to be!¡± I shouted. I sure hoped all this running would make my legs fit enough if we ran into other situations like these because I would be without energy quite soon.

    ¡°I dunno, just lose track of them!? Or beat them up with your Suicune form!¡±

    ¡°Oh gee, how I wish I would know how TO TRANSFORM INTO IT!!!¡± I shouted as I did a 90-degree turn by a tree.

    After a few steps, Evon screamed. ¡°No, don¡¯t go there, that¡¯s a-!¡±

    ¡°L, plus ratio, plus we¡¯re in fucking danger, so I¡¯m going here because I¡¯m desperate!¡± I shouted as I sprinted even more when I heard the sound of foliage shaking getting closer. My forehead started to get drenched in sweat along with my chest. The humidity of the forest was just not helping.

    In front of me, I saw an arc made of rocks and tree branches, suspiciously shaped like the entrance of something. Because of our current situation, I didn¡¯t think too much about it and went through the arc. After passing by it, the sounds of foliage and trees shaking suddenly stopped.

    I stopped running, realizing there was an atmospheric shift in the air. It was a bit dry and cold now, giving a slight chill in my skin. It was as if time froze or something similar. ¡°Wah?¡± I looked around and saw that the way I came from had been blocked, and not only that, it seemed that the forest just shifted into something akin to a dungeon room like the Legend of Zelda or something similar.

    Wait a minute, dungeon¡­ oh shit.

    ¡°Is this a¡­ is this a mystery dungeon?¡± I asked, mostly to myself.

    Evon wiggled out of my hold, slipping through my arms and falling to the ground. He looked at me a bit- actually, very pissed. He snarled before shouting. ¡°I tried to warn you but you didn¡¯t listen!¡±

    I put a hand on my side and lifted a finger. ¡°Listen, lil¡¯ vee, when panic strikes, you literally ignore everything except for your brain that is telling you to run like a madman in a random direction. And that¡¯s what I did. And look at that, we¡¯re safe! Aren¡¯t you grateful for that?¡± The only act of gratefulness I received was a bite on my leg from Evon. ¡°Ack! My leg!¡± I shouted, trying to replicate the voice from that one Spongebob meme. I then looked at my leg, seeing a bite mark with a bit of blood dripping out of it. ¡°The pizza was aggressive¡­¡± I muttered to myself before looking at the eevee a bit annoyed. ¡°The hell was that for!?¡±

    The fox-like Pok¨¦mon responded angrily with a growl. ¡°That was for you dragging me to all of this stupid mess! You are the most INSANE being I¡¯ve ever seen, and the way you acted with that simisage!¡± He face-pawed himself. ¡°Ugh! What are you!? A hatchling!?¡±

    I crossed my arms. ¡°Look, it was pretty clear that guy would clobber us no matter the answer. I¡¯ve seen those kinds of people before and I knew the answer would be just to run away at the perfect moment. That¡¯s what we did if you haven¡¯t noticed.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but look at where you¡¯ve fucking brought us! This is a Mystery Dungeon if YOU haven¡¯t noticed!¡± Evon said while slamming a paw on the ground. ¡°You know how dangerous these are!? Oh, wait, I forgot, you are from another world probably full of insane people like you!¡±

    I made a more or less motion with my hand as I explained. ¡°Well there¡¯s not a lot of people like me back in my world¡­ but I¡¯m not insane! I just think better than others!¡±

    Evon stared at me for a moment and sighed, starting to walk away. ¡°I can¡¯t believe Arceus made me get stuck with a weirdo like him¡­¡± I could hear him mutter before he turned to me after adjusting his eyepatch. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s just leave this place. Once we¡¯re out of here and I take you to the village, continue with your life, I¡¯m staying as far away from you as possible!¡±

    I limped and thought.  ¡®What a whiny baby¡­ he could¡¯ve gotten stuck with someone way worse than me. Imagine if he got stuck with a horny furry¡­¡¯

    I prevented my brain from thinking further about the scenarios of Evon being stuck with that kind of person. After that, I followed the eevee behind as I muttered to myself. ¡°Alrighty then, suit yourself.¡±

    After walking a couple of steps, a feeling from a couple of minutes ago intensified and made itself more present than before. What was the feeling? Hunger of course!  I still haven¡¯t eaten anything ever since coming to this world.

    I opened up my backpack and searched it thoroughly. I felt my notebook, my pencil case, my Bluetooth earbuds, and yet, no snack. ¡°The fuck¡­? I swear I fucking brought a Pringles can!¡± I groaned and put my backpack away. I looked at Evon, who seemed to be looking at me unamused. I sheepishly smiled at him and rubbed the back of my head. ¡°So¡­ you feelin¡¯ hungry¡­? Pretty sure I am.¡±

    ¡°So what? Just find some berries or fruits to eat. This is a mystery dungeon, there¡¯s loads of them.¡± The eevee responded bitterly, however, he grimaced once he heard the growl coming from his belly. He stopped walking and sighed. ¡°Please tell me you at least know how to find food in the wilds.¡± I shook my head rapidly. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll look for food for the both of us¡­¡±

    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    ¡°Thank yoouuuu!!!¡± I shouted as I went to Evon to pet him, but I pulled my hand away, narrowingly avoiding another bite.

    ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± He growled as he started walking away. ¡°Stay here, it¡¯ll be quick.¡±

    With that, I saw the eevee walking away, sniffing the air as he was probably searching around for food. I thought about going after him and helping him with the foraging, but it was probably best to do as he said and not anger him further. I already pissed him off enough with my actions.

    I wouldn¡¯t worry too much, after all, it takes some time until a normie adapts to  THE MEMES .

    I sat on the grass and instantly had an idea. I pulled my phone out of my pocket (thankfully, it didn¡¯t fall out of it while I was knocked out cold) and decided on a funny idea. I turned it on and opened the camera app. I put on selfie mode and started recording. WhatsApp and Instagram stories weren¡¯t available at the moment so a video for later would suffice once I got a signal¡­ somewhere. ¡°Yo guys, I got something awesome to tell!¡± I got up and started walking and turning aimlessly, trying to show more of the scenario. ¡°You guys won¡¯t believe where I am right now. I got isekaid and now I¡¯m in a PMD world! Like, lots of people will be jealous of my situation right now!¡±

    I started walking around, completely ignoring Evon¡¯s demand. It was okay, a quick walk wouldn¡¯t hurt, besides, all that loud shouting from a certain angy lil¡¯ loaf would¡¯ve alerted some presence so far. ¡°Now, this may look like a totally random forest from our world, but here¡¯s the thing, it¡¯s not and I¡¯m gonna prove it! Just wait until a lil¡¯ brown and angy sac of fur appears and-¡±

    I interrupted myself once I saw from my camera some leaves shaking and some bioluminescent pink-red eyes coming out of them. From the foliage came a small and messy-looking sprigatito. I turned around and flipped the camera, pointing at it. The look on its face told me everything I needed to know. It was a cat. It was cute.  It was everything it needed to force my body to go to it and pet it.  ¡°Holy shit¡­ IT¡¯S SO CUTE!!!¡±

    The sprigatito (more commonly known as the weed cat) tilted its head and let out a small mewl of confusion. It didn¡¯t speak, meaning that this one was probably not as intelligent as all the other Pok¨¦mon I¡¯d encountered before. It also meant that the infamous cat caller would probably work!

    I crouched down, kneeling with one knee as I tried to call the cat while recording it all. ¡°Come here lil¡¯ kitty, come here! Pspspspspsps!¡± My endeavor seemed to be working because the sprigatito was approaching me slowly, keeping its curious stare. I continued doing the hand motion while talking on the phone. ¡°See guys? Told ya! This is a Pok¨¦mon, because who here knows a cat like this? And this smell I¡¯m feeling! Just like the Pok¨¦dex says!¡±

    The sprigatito got close enough to me and sat on the ground, its tail gently swaying back and forth. Petting range was finally achieved and with that, I could finally-!

    ¡°LUCAS, WHAT IN THE NAME OF ARCEUS ARE YOU DOING!?¡±

    My attention, just like my phone camera, was shifted to the side, making me look at the familiar voice that just shouted. It was Evon, the eevee dropping some berries that he was carrying with his mouth and immediately starting to growl. ¡°Get away from that sprigatito now!¡±

    ¡°What- why!?¡± I asked confused as I looked back at it. ¡°I just wanted to pet it-¡± I interrupted myself when I saw the sprigatito snarling and unsheathing its claws. ¡°Wuh-¡± The weed cat suddenly pounced at my chest, making me fall back and drop my phone. Before I could try to pick up the cat and throw it away, it started scratching my face, more specifically my cheeks, and mouth. ¡°Gah!¡±

    ¡°Ugh, just hold on a moment, I¡¯m coming!¡± I could hear Evon say as he approached quickly.

    Meanwhile, I picked the sprigatito up and did something I could never dream of doing unless in a very specific situation such as this one. I threw it away from me. ¡°Get away from me, YEET!¡± The cat landed on its paws, because of course, why not, then reminded me that it wasn¡¯t a normal cat by preparing a grass-type attack using its neck scruff. I scrambled for my phone and got up before the sprigatito could release the attack. ¡°Watch out!¡± I heard Evon shout while I rolled away from the storm of glowing leaves projectiles.

    I look back at the snarling, angry sprigatito. I flipped it off. ¡°Well, fuck you too then, you ass!¡± I got back up and stopped recording, putting the phone away. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll deal with it, it''s small and I can deal with a couple of scratches and paper cuts.¡± I say with some drops of blood dripping from my cheeks and lips.

    Evon grimaced as he looked at me in concern. He was definitely worried about me, trust. ¡°Unless you can turn into, I dunno, Suicune, I don¡¯t see you winning this.¡±

    ¡°Wow, your faith in me is off the charts¡­¡± I said while rolling my eyes. I then looked at the sprigatito and grinned. ¡°Just watch!¡± I said before taking off my backpack and putting it aside on the ground.

    The sprigatito lunged, preparing another Scratch as I lunged at him as well. When he jumped to slash my face, I surprised it with a quick punch in the gut. I would¡¯ve felt bad and immediately regretted it if this was a normal cat, but this wasn¡¯t, and this punch was almost nothing to a creature who could resist explosions from superpowers. Proof? So yeah, when I punched it, it just staggered a bit, falling on the ground and shaking its head.

    Like it was stopped by nothing but a really strong breeze.

    ¡°Wow, such a strong being you are¡­¡± I could hear Evon reply sarcastically, making me look at him and see him check on his paws.

    I replied angrily. ¡°Oh come on! At least I HIT it!¡± I looked back at the sprigatito and it seemed to hiss at me. It then shot more of those sharp glowing leaves at me. I didn¡¯t know if it was using either Leafage or Leaf Storm. I tried to dodge it by sidestepping, but unfortunately, some leaves caught me, cutting one of my arms, legs, and even some of my clothes. ¡°Ngh!¡± I gripped my arm from the pain, however, I didn¡¯t worry too much, it¡¯d heal soon anyway. ¡°Alright, now you¡¯re pissing me off, pussy cat!¡±

    I tried shrugging off the sting of the cut, letting the adrenaline rush through my body as I charged at the sprigatito. Before it readied another attack from its neck scruff, I did my best and kicked it, sending it flying a few feet away. ¡°Heh! How does that feel-!¡± I cut myself off when I saw the cat doing a backflip, correcting itself in the air and landing normally. It spat a little bit of blood. ¡°Oh fuck off-¡±

    Suddenly, the sprigatito  moved  from its spot, becoming nothing more than a blur to the naked eye. I couldn¡¯t do anything except just stay perfectly still as the weed cat tackled me in the gut, making me fall backwards. ¡°You¡¯re seriously not letting a base evolution Pok¨¦mon just take you on alone like that and win, right?¡±

    I coughed a little bit as the pain in the gut receded a bit. ¡°Oh my fucking god, I¡¯m about to lose to a level ten or below sprigatito in broad daylight, what the fuck man¡­¡± As much as it pained me to do this and my dignity, I sighed and twirled my finger before making a pulling motion with a raised hand. ¡°Evon, crush his skull, thank you.¡±

    The eevee tilted his head in confusion but eventually assumed what I wanted. ¡°Oh, finally gave in? Alright, I¡¯ll take care of this guy.¡± He said with a roll of his eye. Wow, what a reliable partner he is, always loving when he takes all the credit and saves the day.

    Well, jokes on him, I did more work than him! He was just stealing the show!

    ¡°Hey, you!¡± Evon called the attention of the sprigatito, the hissing cat turning to the eevee¡­ who was charging a shadow ball. ¡°Eat this!¡± Evon released the ball of darkness directly at the sprigatito, leaving no room for it to dodge. It hit the weed cat, exploding on its face and knocking it a bit away. Once the smoke cleared, I could see the spriga lying on the ground unconscious, its body bleeding a bit. Evon entered a relaxed stance as he adjusted his eyepatch. ¡°No problem.¡±

    I stared at the eevee, blinking a bit before dusting myself off. ¡°I call hacks.¡±

    The eyepatch-wearing eevee tilted his head as he saw me getting up. ¡°What- you know what? I¡¯m not gonna even try to understand your insane human dialect anymore.¡± He started walking away before having one more thing to say. ¡°Eat your food, I already had my fill.¡±

    I grabbed my backpack and put it on. I then looked at the berries that Evon brought and walked to them, crouching down to analyze them further. The eevee brought two oran berries, however, as I looked more at them, my excitement in eating the previously thought made-up food vanished. Splotches of dirt were seen all around the surface of them, along with some black spots on their leaves and peel, not to count that they looked unripe as well. Because of this, I asked myself.  ¡®Am I¡­ am I about to allow a bunch of viruses and potentially dangerous bacteria to live inside my body?¡¯

    My stomach rumbled and growled again.

    ¡°... fuck it, we ball.¡± I grabbed the two fruits and shoved one of them into my backpack while I kept the other in my hand. I stared at it for a moment, hesitating if I should really ball it or not. But, as the gigachad that I am, I didn¡¯t complain and took a bite out of it (on one of the more clean spots). After chewing a little bit and gulping it, I realized that it wasn¡¯t that bad. Not like, the best thing that I tasted, in fact, it was one of the worst things I tasted, BUT, it wasn¡¯t all that bad.

    The best I could describe the taste was an actual blueberry without, like, the sugary bits. But well, it was expected since the berry was unripe.

    ¡°Eh, could¡¯ve been worse. I could be eating Pok¨¦mon shit to satisfy my hunger if I was that desperate¡­¡± I said to myself as I started walking after Evon, finishing eating the rest of the berry in the meantime.

    While walking behind the eevee, I stared at the cut wounds I received in my embarrassing battle against the weed cat, seeing that the cut wounds magically disappeared, just leaving the blood covering the newly-mended scars. It was then that I remembered something about oran berries. ¡°Oh yeah¡­ heh, those heal wounds, don¡¯t they?¡±

    ¡°Let me guess, your kind knows of the berries here?¡± Evon asked, looking back at me a bit in curiosity. At least he wasn¡¯t seething that much from anger anymore. Maybe just watching me get my ass whooped by that cat was all the payback I needed for him to not be pissed off at me.

    I put a hand in my pocket. ¡°Yeah. One thing my kind loves having is knowledge. So we know a lot about these worlds, but like¡­ erm¡­ we don¡¯t really build the tools needed to prepare ourselves better for them since we can¡¯t travel to them. Apparently, I am an exception.¡±

    ¡°This makes me wonder. How did you come to our world and why?¡± The eyepatch-wearing eevee asked, a frown present on his face.

    I lifted a finger. ¡°Firstly, I dunno. Secondly, I dunno.¡± I saw Evon¡¯s grumpy expression return to his face. But honestly, thinking about it now¡­ when I got isekaid, a certain voice was giving me directions. Hmm¡­ probably just the typical isekai voice that asks the human protag for help to save the world and all that jazz. ¡°But then a random voice in my head was speaking to me during that time, so they may be the cause.¡±

    ¡°Random voice in your head¡­ seriously?¡± The eevee asked skeptically.

    ¡°I¡¯m not making shit up. I might be a little crazy, a little bit autistic even, but I swear that I heard someone speaking to me.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ alright then.¡± The eevee turned his head forward, ending the conversation right then and there.

    Honestly, I should¡¯ve been thinking about why I was sent here or who was the voice that supposedly sent me here. But like¡­ knowing certain isekai stories, I didn¡¯t think that voice won¡¯t be lore dumping my purpose here anytime soon. Well, my best bet was discovering all that saving the world business by asking not only the inhabitants of this world right beside me or village folk when I reach the village.

    I decided to rip the band-aid off right now by asking Evon right away. ¡°So Evon, gotta ask. Is this world-¡±

    Before I could finish my question, a bird screech interrupted me, forcing me and Evon to look at the source of the horrible noise. Coming down from the sky, a staravia landed on the ground, not only that, but it had a partner as well. A rather fat skwovet descended from a tree trunk and stood beside the bird.

    Double battle, huh? Welp, time to suffer on brainstorming how to defeat a fatty squirrel and a bird that wanted us out of its territory.

    ¡°So like¡­ what now?¡± I asked while scratching my cheek. ¡°Can you deal with this alone?¡±

    Evon got into a battle stance, raising his rear akin to a pouncing stance. ¡°I¡¯ve dealt with worse than this, don¡¯t worry. I can win this¡­ I think.¡±

    I grimaced. ¡°You  think ?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t protest more because of another bird screech coming from the staravia, shifting our attention to it just in time so we could dodge a glowing Wing Attack from the bird. I jumped back and rolled on the ground from the whirlwind released by the attack. I looked at Evon who was growling at the bird. ¡°You little-! Take this!¡±

    As the eevee tried shooting the bird with his Shadow Balls, the staravia dodged them all, just drifting around and twirling its body around like a damn mosquito. Unfortunately, I could do nothing to help Evon since, ya know, the bird was in the air and all. Also, I had another problem to deal with, and I could feel my problem crawling quickly on my leg.

    The fatty (and now closer to it, kinda stinky and dirty) skwovet got to my belly, highlighting its upper sharper teeth. I knew what it was about to do so I quickly grabbed it before it could bite me, lifting it up by its tail. ¡°Nuh-uh!¡± I said to it as I saw the little squirrel squirm and struggle against my hold. ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t get why many people think your design is mid, I like your concept, and honestly, IRL, you¡¯re kinda cute-¡± Then, the smell emanating from the skwovet worsened, making me cringe. ¡°Actually, fuck off, you smell like shit!¡± I dropped the squirrel right on my foot and kicked it as far away as possible, a shriek sounding through the air.

    ¡°Lucas!¡±

    I turned to look at Evon, who was getting hit around by the glowing wings of the bird, a bit of fur flying off from his body as more cuts made themselves present on his body. ¡°A little help would be appreciated !¡±

    My eyes widened before I started running to the  poor and defenseless  eevee who needed help from a knight in shining armor. I might not had armor, but my splendor was all I needed. Was I gaslighting myself? For sure I was!

    I got close to the staravia and Evon and shouted at the bird. ¡°Yo, flying shit machine!¡± I felt the bird shift his eyes at me even though it was flying in circles around the fox-like Pok¨¦mon. ¡°How about you start pickin¡¯ up on the real guy who can beat the shit out of you?¡± I ask while pointing a thumb at myself. ¡°The guy who knows a thing or two about¡­ uh¡­ how to do your mom? Fuck, that joke was terrible- Gah!¡±

    I narrowingly dodged a dive attack from the staravia with its glowing wings. From the way that bird went at full speed, I was pretty sure that attack would be fatal. And with that, I realized something.  I was in deep shit.

    I looked at Evon, who was beginning to stand up again, even with the cuts on his body. It seemed that he still had the energy to fight. But my hope of us winning this fight dwindled a little once I saw the fucking stinky squirrel back with its cheeks more filled up than before. It seemed that it was preparing something bad.  ¡®Are we in trouble?¡¯

    There is a chance you get out of this situation¡­

    I looked around quickly as my ears picked up a strange and familiar voice¡­ wait a fuckin¡¯ second. ¡°It¡¯s you! Who are you-¡±

    If you want to get out of this, listen to me without thinking about it too much.

    ¡°Lucas!? What are you talking about!?¡± I could hear Evon say, but I ignored him, focusing on the voice and the two approaching threats.

    ¡°Just say it already!¡± I demanded a bit hastily, feeling pressured by everything going on a bit too fast.

    Alright, all you need to do is simply calm down and think¡­ what would be very useful right now? And what would be the best Pok¨¦mon to do it? Think about that Pok¨¦mon with as much detail on your mind as possible, but I would recommend you think of smaller ones for the job for now.

    Think of a Pok¨¦mon? What the hell was this voice talking about? Better question,  was it just fucking with me?

    Welp, I didn¡¯t have time to think about questions like these. If this was the isekai god of this world that supposedly brought me here for some unknown purpose, I needed to follow their guidance or something if I wanted to survive out here. And hey, maybe it gave me a cool power to summon the Pok¨¦mon like a Jojo stand to help me out in battle!

    So with that, I cleared my mind and thought about what would be useful for the current situation. Definitely, a Pok¨¦mon that specializes in projectiles so that stupid bird rolls into a different projectile. Hmm¡­ that skwovet was annoying, I wanted to burn it so¡­ a fire type would be good. But which one¡­ eh, Fire Red showed that charmander is a good starter. After all, if the voice wants me to use the small ones, I better use them and not go overkill with Groudon or something.

    Alright with that out of the way¡­ what now-

    Now imagine you AS the charmander you¡¯re thinking about now.

    ¡­ W H A T???

    JUST DO WHAT I SAY, DAMMIT!!!

    ¡°Alright, alright chill!¡± I shouted which seemed to aggravate the threats even more, making them rush to us fast. Just as I saw Evon starting to rush to them in the corner of my eye, I felt time stop when I cleared my head completely and the only thing that filled my head was a charmander- no, it was not just a random charmander. It was imaginative me in the body of a charmander shooting flames and more flames at stupid Pok¨¦mon who got in my way.

    Suddenly, a pink glow filled my vision, blinding me as I felt my body shift and twist in weird ways. I felt my entire body shrink a little bit, my skin grew some smooth but also dry outer skin, my fingers changed shape and shrank and my toenails enlarged and changed. I felt my entire head be covered with that weird dry skin, and my head shape suffering major changes as well. Painfully, the teeth in my mouth reshaped and realigned weirdly in a way I couldn¡¯t describe, along with my insides as well. The weirdest part is that I felt something coming out slightly above my rear as well, elongating itself like a new limb, not only that, I could feel a tingling sensation at the tip.

    It felt painful and agonizing, but for some reason, I couldn¡¯t scream or shout in pain, only embrace it.

    ¡°Lucas!?¡±

    I heard Evon¡¯s voice right before the pink flash ended. My vision returned to me and I looked around desperately. Okay, first things first, I was still in the same place as before, I wasn¡¯t suddenly teleported to some other place, but¡­ everything felt bigger for some reason. Secondly, everyone, even the dumb bird and shit-smelling squirrel was still there, but it appeared that everyone was recovering from some sort of flashbang. Thirdly, my body felt weird, SUPER weird.

    Was I supposed to have an arm right above my ass? No, I didn¡¯t think so.  And why the fuck my ass felt like the armpit of said new arm???

    I looked down at myself and received a body jumpscare from what I saw. Orange and cream-colored scales filled the place of my skin, small arms, and legs replaced my normal human arms and legs, my fingers changed to claws, and a fuckin¡¯  tail with a flame at the tip could be seen. I looked down at my hands and flexed my small claw fingers. ¡°... no way¡­ no fucking way¡­¡± I realized my voice was a bit different as well, a bit more scratchy.

    Evon looked at me and stuttered. ¡°I¡­ I was right! You COULD transform into Suicune! Not only that but other Pok¨¦mon as well!¡±

    I stayed in silence for a moment, flexing my claws from the shock. However, as the shock slowly backed away, a grin slowly made its way into my face and I giggled a bit. ¡°Holy shit¡­ this isekai became ten times more  cool !¡± I clenched my claws before pointing at the two opposing Pok¨¦mon. ¡°Yo bitches, prepare to get your asses roasted!¡±

    The staravia screeched at us before flying higher and preparing for the assault. ¡°Alright, not sure why you can change into a different Pok¨¦mon but please, don¡¯t be a hindrance.¡±

    ¡°Like I¡¯ll ever be!¡± I said excitedly before noticing the skwovet try rushing up to us. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it quickly, I¡¯ll help you with the staravia once I get my revenge on this little stinker!¡± I said before starting to rush to the squirrel¡­ only to trip and fall on my face, my reptilian muzzle getting squished on the ground. ¡°Goddammit, small legs!!!¡±

    I could feel Evon groan and roll his eye at my Top 10 funny internet falls. ¡°Hope you can adapt to your new body quickly¡­¡±

    I quickly got up, just in time to see the skwovet right in front of me, preparing to bite one of my small legs. I twirled away from the bite and flicked my new tail at it, bitch-slapping it on his cheeks. ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t! Not tasty at all!¡±

    I then felt a certain urge to use my claws, not to punch it,  but to slash it.  I raised my arm and felt a certain surge of power rushing through my arms and then my hand, only intensified at the tip of my fingers. I then brought it down on the squirrel¡¯s body, scratching it with my claws and drawing out a bit of blood. The squirrel got launched a bit away, falling on its back.

    I looked at my claws, seeing a certain white shine escape from one of them and being replaced with a bit of blood. ¡°Damn¡­ this shit¡¯s awesome!¡± Although I needed to make sure I didn¡¯t hit any vital point, I wouldn¡¯t like to be the cause of death for anyone.

    My attention was snapped back to the skwovet once I heard a small squeak of anger. I saw a scratch mark on its chest a bit, realizing that I was the one that did it and also realizing that my claw was now smelling like shit from scraping it into the fat squirrel¡¯s fur. I would wash it deeply later, but for now, I had to survive the shit smell.

    Suddenly the skwovet¡¯s cheeks inflated even more like he was prepared to launch- oh shit.

    As I realized earlier, I managed to dodge the nuts and seed bullets the skwovet spat from its mouth. However, he did manage to scrape some of my scales off with a very sharp seed. I didn¡¯t know what came over me to make me growl from the pain.  I just hope these new bodies didn¡¯t make me act completely like an animal.  ¡°Just so you know shit squirrel, I¡¯ve played the sweatiest shooter games known to man! So I know how to deal with projectiles (I hope)...¡±

    I imagined what breathing fire would be like in IRL, so I tried it. I sucked up a bunch of air from the new slits in my face that I call nostrils and felt something building up in my chest. Instead of burning me from the inside out, it felt warm and felt like no harm to me. But instead of keeping it in, I decided to push it out, with a big blow from my mouth. Instead of shooting out air, I shot a  freaking fireball!  Guess where it was heading!

    The fire-fucking-ball flew directly to the skwovet, impacting it and launching a burst of sparks from the impact. For me, it felt like I was launching the greatest fire attack known in the history of Pok¨¦mon kind, but in reality, it was probably the weakest fire attack a fire ¡®mon could do¡­  but hey, it got the job done, now that shit smell was replaced with smoke.

    I saw the squirrel lying unconscious on the grassy and dirty ground, with smoke, and the smell of burnt fur coming out of it. I grinned and did the best victory sign I could with my claws, imitating the Final Fantasy XII victory theme as best I could. ¡°Hell yeah, my first opponent was beaten!¡±

    ¡°LUCAS, STOP FUCKING AROUND AND HELP ME OUT HERE!!!¡±

    I turned around and saw Evon getting tossed around by the staravia¡¯s relentless attacks. I noticed that some burnt feathers and blood were coming out of the bird, signifying that the eevee managed to damage it a bit. Keywords:  a bit.  ¡°Hold on, I¡¯m coming!¡±

    I rushed to the scene to help, this time, being mindful of how short my new legs were so I didn¡¯t trip like a clumsy mess again. While running, I prepped another fireball in my chest before releasing it into the air, aiming at the bird. However, I missed it completely, only making the bird¡¯s attention turn to me.

    I gritted my teeth as I saw it looking at me, nervousness starting to crawl at my skin (or scales). However, I still had it in me to quip. ¡°Hehe, ready for round two, birb?¡±

    Evon mustered the strength to look at me and regain a bit of his composure as the staravia descended again, readying another Wing Attack. I decided to shoot another fireball at it since I wanted to take advantage of that it was heading straight to me. I didn¡¯t need that much wind-up as before since I was growing used to blowing them (there goes the context). I shot the fireball at the bird, hitting it in the face, however¡­  it wasn¡¯t enough to stop its descent.

    ¡°Shit!¡± I shouted before the staravia crashed into me. We both got onto a rolling mess, me gripping onto the bird white it bit into my shoulder likely trying to do the same. I felt my tail getting crushed a bit when I hit the floor. The world was spinning too much for me, so I closed my eyes and tried my hardest to kick it off. ¡°Fuck¡­ off!¡±

    Eventually, we both rolled to a stop but we were still struggling with each other like wild animals fighting for dominance over each other. It removed its beak from me but it clenched its talons around my legs as it tried to peck me with its now glowing white beak. Thankfully, I reacted fast and dodged some of the pecks, however, a Peck successfully hit my belly making me scream in pain.

    Since my guard was dropped, the bird was preparing to do another one, however, an explosion of darkness happened mostly around the bird, releasing me from its grasp. I rolled onto my back, gripping my stomach and legs from the pain while gritting my teeth. I looked at the source of the explosion and saw Evon panting a little bit as dark wisps floated around his mouth. I mustered all my strength to grin and do a thumbs up to the eevee. ¡°Epic¡­!¡±

    Suddenly, Evon shouted. ¡°Lucas, watch out!¡±

    My eyes widened as I looked to the other side and saw a bloodied staravia come after me with its wings glowing a light-blue glow, running with its talons. Desperately, I got up on all fours and prepared another fireball on my chest, building up more power at the tip of my mouth. I didn¡¯t know what I was doing,  like seriously, what the fuck was I thinking?  I only knew one thing.

    Colonel Sanders would thank me for this.

    I shot the bird the biggest Ember (I think) I¡¯ve done so far, literally engulfing the staravia in flames. Feathers and sparks of ember flew as the fireball impacted the bird, a smell of sulfur and burned feathers permeating the air. The staravia stayed still for a silent moment before collapsing on the ground unmoving, but still breathing.

    Evon and I stared at the collapsed bird for a solid second before I muttered. ¡°We won¡­¡± I dropped my stance and rolled onto my back. I didn¡¯t even have the energy to do any memes or quips, I was literally just exhausted. ¡°Holy fuck, we won.¡±

    The eevee groaned in tiredness and dropped to his side. ¡°Somehow¡­ Arceus, I¡¯m so rusty at this and I¡¯m not that old¡­¡± Suddenly, the eyepatch-wearing eevee received a massive boost of energy before he trotted to me and had his face right close to mine, a musky with a scent of iron entering my nostrils. ¡°Do you see now? You CAN transform into Pok¨¦mon!¡±

    I stared at Evon and said. ¡°Wanna kiss me or what? Awfully close, ya know-¡±

    Suddenly (and expectantly), the eevee clawed my face and got away from me. If he didn¡¯t have fur, I would definitely see a blush of embarrassment. ¡°I can¡¯t with you! Ugh, like, what is LITERALLY wrong with you? Why are you¡­ ngh! Like that!¡±

    I got up and dusted myself, grinning afterwards. ¡°As the lord of the funny, I must retain my title. No matter which form I am. Speaking of forms¡­¡± I looked down again, flexing my claws. ¡°This shit is so fuckin¡¯ lit, for real! I get to be a Pok¨¦mon and got to breathe literal FIRE!¡± I looked at my tail, wagging it to see it in motion. ¡°The people in my world would be dreaming of this outcome!¡± Suddenly, an idea popped into my mind. ¡°Hol¡¯ up, I thought of an awesome reference to do next time I spit fire!¡±

    ¡°You just¡­¡± Evon sighed, having seen there was no point in arguing with the argument master here. He then turned away and looked back at me. ¡°Let¡¯s just leave this place, alright?¡±

    ¡°Alright, just let me transform back!¡± I said before I closed my eyes and waited for my body to feel weird because of the transformation, however¡­ nothing happened. I opened my eyes and looked at my body, starting to get a bit nervous. ¡°Huh¡­?¡±

    The eevee tilted his head. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Can¡¯t turn back to human anymore?¡±

    ¡°N-nope, I just uh¡­ don¡¯t know how to turn back¡­ for now. I¡¯ll figure it out on the way, no worries!¡± I said sheepishly before running a bit ahead. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s leave before more dungeon enemies pop up. I still need to wash my hands from that skwovet that I slashed earlier.¡±

    ¡°If you say so¡­¡± Evon said before starting to follow me behind.

    Fortunately enough, we were blessed by a rather quiet dungeon. No Pok¨¦mon jumped at us, and the few that spotted us ran away. It was weird since they were a fair distance away, but it felt like some primal fear tugged them directly by their souls, forcing them to run away at the slightest sight of us. Sure, most of them were bug types and if they behaved like the bugs in my world, understandable, but some of them were grass types as well¡­

    Well, I¡¯m currently a fire type so the fear is super understandable.

    It wasn¡¯t long until Evon and I passed through another perfectly round arc that was the exit of the dungeon. And just like that, the air around us returned to being humid and the temperature rose a bit more. However, I didn¡¯t mind it much since I was a fire type and wasn¡¯t wearing clothes¡­ wait a second.

    ¡°Hold on, I just realized!¡± I said, calling the eevee¡¯s attention as I looked down. ¡°Where are my clothes? Or my backpack for that matter?!¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ when you turned into a Suicune earlier as well, everything you wore seemed to disappear until you turned back into a human. Maybe¡­ the items are stuck on your human form?¡± Evon suggested.

    I scratched the side of my reptilian head and thought about it. ¡°Uh¡­ guess that¡¯s a thing.¡± I wiped my forehead even though there was no sweat. ¡°Phew, thank God, I thought I lost everything down to my phone.¡±

    Evon ignored what I said for now and took a look around the area. ¡°Wait, this area seems familiar¡­ yeah we¡¯re on the right track.¡± Evon said before looking at me. ¡°Follow me, Cavestone village is close by.¡±

    ¡°Right behind you, foxy!¡±

    A sharp one-eyed stare came from the eevee. ¡°Cut it with the nicknames, we¡¯re not friends. You¡¯re just with me until we¡¯re at the village, hope your insane human mind remembers that.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ I don¡¯t think ADHD would take that kindly¡­¡± I said while fiddling with my claw fingers, looking away with a sheepish smile.

    ¡°What is even- actually never mind, let¡¯s just go¡­¡± With that, Evon started walking, with me trailing behind him. What a silly, in isekai anime like these, the protag always befriends the grumpy dudes! ¡­ shit,  was I breaking the 4th wall again!?

    I really needed to stop doing that before an angry isekai god who tells these stories to manga artists comes down to me and strikes me dead on the spot.

 Living Under a Rock

    ¡°Are we close?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡° How  close though?¡±

    ¡°Close enough for you to stop bothering me for good.¡±

    ¡°At least I¡¯m not bothering you every few seconds asking if we are there yet like a child.¡±

    ¡°Maybe something good came out of you transforming¡­¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡±

    I huffed as Evon and I continued walking through the forest I have dubbed Sweaty Woods (because the atmosphere is so hot that it makes you sweat like the least sweaty Fortnite player), the pace being slow to recover from our fight in the dungeon. I would¡¯ve liked it if we were a bit faster to lower the chance of encountering another group like the Elemental Discount Kongs, but I got why we were going slow. Battle aftermaths are not an easy thing to get over.

    Speaking of battle aftermaths, the biggest one that happened was my new charmander body. I couldn¡¯t fucking believe it. I actually turned into a charmander in broad daylight, and it was no dream bullshit. I knew the entire situation wasn¡¯t a dream, but it didn¡¯t overcome the absurdity that it was turning into a Pok¨¦mon mid-battle.

    ¡­ which made Evon¡¯s claim of me turning into a Suicune a bit more valid¡­  holy fuck, this is awesome!

    Sure, it was a bit weird being just slightly taller than the eevee, having small legs, and having an extra limb right above my ass, but in all honesty, I just couldn¡¯t complain. I knew that this situation was the dream of millions back in my world, so the fact that I, local internet dumbass that¡¯s hyper-fixated on games and memes, was the lucky one is honestly kind of baffling.

    What kind of drugs were the isekai gods smoking when they looked at me and decided: ¡°That¡¯s him, that¡¯s the one, isekai his ass and give him a broken power too!¡± Again, what were they smoking and how could I get some of it too?

    Oh, silly me, I could just ask the voice in my head that¡¯s probably one of these isekai gods. It was just that simple.  ¡®Yo, voice in my head. Why the hell did you choose a rando like me to be your isekai hero or something?¡¯

    I waited for a response, my surroundings feeling a bit more silent than it was. However, after a few seconds of pure silence, I realized that I wouldn¡¯t get an answer. No alien intrusive thought nor a whispering in my ear¡­ wait, do charmanders have ears?

    I probed the side of my head with a scaly claw until I found a small hole. Yep, they do.

    Speaking of hearing, despite the obvious body differences, there were some differences that I also felt in this body. First of all, my feet had some callouses at the bottom that kinda inhibited sensitivity whenever I took steps, secondly, a very warm feeling in my chest; and thirdly, my sight, hearing, and smelling were  WAY better. To put it into perspective, I not only could smell the skwovet shit-stain scent on the claw I scratched it with, but I could also smell other scents of dung that I couldn¡¯t even see. It was just that good.

    Honestly, I was kinda surprised that I was in a forest and didn¡¯t step in a single pile of dung so far¡­ I hope I just didn¡¯t jinx it for thinking that¡­ quick, universe distraction!

    I started walking a bit more closely to the eevee, focusing more on analyzing his body to get my head off the jinx potential inside my brain. I took in Evon¡¯s half-musky and half-sweet smell, looked in more detail at his oily and fluffy pelt, and silently awed at his face that was glaring a bit confused and annoyedly at me¡­ wait a moment-

    ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± He asked with his head tilted to the side.

    I shrugged and looked away, inflating my cheeks a little. ¡°Can¡¯t I appreciate cuteness without getting called out?¡±

    The eyepatch-wearing eevee rolled his eyes while saying, sarcasm entering his voice. ¡°If you¡¯re gay, you can just say it. After all, you¡¯ve been calling me cute here and there-¡±

    ¡°Actually, I¡¯m bi.¡± I straight (not) up admitted, not even hesitating. Honestly, at this point, when you look up too much stuff on the internet, your sexuality just gets affected by that. You know who I blame for my case? Sephiroth. Bro might be an evil god or something close to that, but I can¡¯t deny his appearance and voice are hot as fuck.

    That stopped Evon in his tracks, making him look at me a bit surprised. ¡°S-so¡­ so that means you were actually flirting with me-?¡±

    I stopped as well and dismissed that claim with a wave of my claw. ¡°Nah, even with the body of a scalie right now, I¡¯m not a furry.¡± I smirked before booping Evon¡¯s snout. ¡°I was just messing with you because I like to get reactions for the funny.¡±

    Evon had a confused expression on his face, ignoring the boop I gave on his snout. ¡°Scalie? And what do you mean by furry?¡± Before I could respond, Evon suddenly shook his head and continued walking. ¡°Actually, never mind, I know it¡¯s definitely more nonsense that¡¯s better not to know from your world.¡±

    ¡°Hey, my world doesn¡¯t just have nonsense! It has lots of good things too, like¡­ the internet!¡± I said with a lot of grandiose, my tail flame burning a bit brighter as I kept following him. ¡°You should see it, almost everyone in my world uses it!¡±

    ¡°I take it is some type of drug that makes people insane then¡­¡± He said without even looking at me.

    ¡°No, legit, it¡¯s actually goated.¡± I made a wide motion with my arm. ¡°You can ask on the internet anything and literally  millions  of answers will be available to you from all around the world! It¡¯s basically an entire library inside your house and sometimes your pocket when you have-¡­¡± I fish for my phone inside my pockets. But of course, I forgot, when I transformed for some reason¡­  they fucking disappeared. ¡°Shit, right, my phone forgot to load into the world. Boo-womp¡­¡±

    It seemed that I achieved Evon¡¯s curiosity because he still kept asking about the internet. ¡° Anything?  Including the most hard-to-answer philosophical questions?¡±

    ¡°Yep! ¡­ kinda. They just propose the best answers possible and some theories. But still, results nonetheless!¡± I put a claw on my chest and pretended to wipe a tear with the other, dramatizing a little. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for such beauty, I wouldn¡¯t be the smart boy I am today¡­ sniffle, sniffle.¡±

    Evon just gave me a side-eye before his ears flattened. ¡°I think all it did was just make you more crazy¡­¡±

    At the word crazy, I tried to refrain from reciting a certain infinite copypasta until I tired myself. I would save that for another time. You¡¯re lucky I was tired Evon, you¡¯re so lucky¡­

    Suddenly, Evon and I stopped in front of a large cave entrance under a big cliff. Unlike a normal cave entrance, this one had unlit torches on the sides and above it, and not only that, I could see lit torches lighting up the dark path further in. On the wooden archway that made the entrance, I could see a sign spelling out: ¡°Cavestone Village¡± written in- wait a fucking second.  How the hell could I read that?

    Literally, the sign just had random paw prints on it and for some damn reason, I could read it like I was reading in English. Before I could question it out loud, my weeb knowledge activated, and reminded myself that in isekai anime, the protag has stuff translated to them by the isekai god/UI system of the universe.  ¡®Thank you for translating to me, voice in my head that I¡¯ll eventually name!¡¯

    I then looked at Evon. ¡°So¡­ the village is actually inside of a cave?¡±

    The eevee shook his head and denied it. ¡°No, the cave IS the village.¡±

    Once I heard that claim, my first thought was about Hollow Knight, however, it was best to keep it to myself.  ¡®Hopefully, I don¡¯t find an Ultra Necrozma sitting somewhere hidden in this village. But it would be funny though¡­¡¯

    ¡°What are you staring at?¡±

    I got snapped out of my thoughts and looked at Evon, who looked at me suspiciously and confused. I wave a claw in dismissal. ¡°Nothing much, just thinking something funny.¡± I then put my claws on my side. ¡°Say, you don¡¯t happen to have a villager named Necrozma there, right?¡±

    ¡°W-... what? Who even is this¡­ Necroz¡­ Necrozmus?¡±

    That question told me enough. ¡°Never mind, just a random question out of nowhere because yes.¡± I then stretched my arms and back, even hearing a slight snap coming from my back. ¡°Anyways, can we go in? I¡¯m hungry and tired, that berry did nothing to satisfy my belly.¡±

    Evon sighed. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go¡­¡±

    With that, we both walked into the lit-up cave. I could practically see in Evon¡¯s face that he was hesitating hard in entering the village again for some reason. He couldn¡¯t sweat, but the grimace and the look of uncertainty just showed it. Was he worried that bringing me to the village was a bad idea? Nah, of course not! Why would it be that? I¡¯m a ray of sunshine to everyone that meets me. Evon can surely agree if someone asks him!

    For sure!

    I took in my new rocky surroundings to keep myself occupied. I could tell this cave was man- excuse me, Pok¨¦mon-made from the way the rocks were carved roundly and there were almost no signs of stalactites or just sharp rocks jutting out of the ground or the walls, not to mention the floor was paved dirt, like part of a road that just passed through a cave.

    I looked away from Evon and did a fake cough to myself before muttering. ¡°Hallownest be like.¡± I felt the one-eye stare from the eevee before that feeling quickly went away.

    I continued staring at my surroundings for a bit longer, seeing the torches stretch for a bit in the distance before I could see the first sign of life in this tunnel of a cave in the form of a seviper, sweeping away dust with a mop that was wrapped in their tail, from there, the narrow tunnel expanded into a wide area.  ¡®Woah, sick!¡¯

    Suddenly, Evon stopped, making me stop as well and look at him in confusion. ¡°Why we stopping?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll see why, it¡¯s gonna be quick.¡± Evon responded nonchalantly.

    Before I could ask more, I could feel the ground shaking beneath my feet. I took a step back and, suddenly, dirt flew from where I was standing, revealing two figures. Actually¡­ six figures. After the dust settled, two dugtrio appeared, one being Owen Wilsons while the other not being Owen Wilsons.

    ¡°Unknown footstep detected!¡± The hairless dugtrio said followed by their counterpart.

    ¡°Unknown footstep detected!¡±

    ¡°Identify yourself, now!¡± They said in unison as both of them inched closer to me, leaning closer to me and sniffing me with their red noses.

    It felt weird hearing those diggers just have all of their heads speaking at once. It was like I was hearing the same voice but under different pitches coming from each head, but all the heads were literally the same being. It was with these two that it confirmed some things to me. One: The same brain is (somehow) split into three heads; two: regional variants existed and coexisted somehow. But whatever, each world with its uniqueness.

    Also, just like a certain diglett from Explorers of Sky, these guys have a foot fetish. Some things never change, do they?

    Before I could respond, Evon got in front of me and responded for me. Rude, I was about to introduce myself with a funny reference! ¡°Well, this here is Lucas, and uh¡­ it¡¯s kind of a wild story but we¡¯re tired and hungry. Don¡¯t worry about him, he¡¯s¡­ um¡­ he won¡¯t cause trouble.¡± He looked at me with a forced grin on his face. ¡°Isn¡¯t that right,  Lucas?¡±

    Me behaving like a normal person just to pass without references or memes?  CRINGE!

    I sighed disappointedly and spoke¡­ with a pompous tone in my voice. After all, I bet some weirdo in this world still speaks like they¡¯re in the Middle Ages or are part of a Shakespeare play. ¡°Yeah¡­ my name is Lucas and I promise to not be the source of any mayhem in this village.¡±

    I noticed Evon looking at me weirdly the hairless dugtrio spoke after squinting his eyes for a bit. ¡°Alright, we shall let you pass. Evon, keep an eye on him, will you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, the village is already in a terrible state, don¡¯t make it worse by bringing troublemakers!¡± The blonde-haired dugtrio added before the two of them burrowed back on the ground, leaving a small protrusion on the floor.

    I tilted my head at that and turned to the eevee. ¡°I take it that the village is not going well, I suppose.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t question about it. Just some drama that the guild is sorting over. It¡¯s gonna be over soon.¡± Evon responded before he started to walk again.

    I started to follow him as I thought.  ¡®Knowing my time on the internet with dramas and all that shit, they might think it will be done once the storm passes, but, of course, will come back stronger when this supposed drama gets brought up again.¡¯

    We continued walking in silence, passing by some buildings embedded in the rocky walls of the cave. Some signs in front or above some of the buildings indicated that they were miscellaneous public buildings, like a post office, an inn, and an accessory shop. Looking closely at these buildings, they reminded me of a lot of burrows seen in fantasized bug stories.  Cough, cough, Hollow Knight.

    The tunnel then extended to the point of being a large circular area that seemed like it was the village¡¯s square. Big and small Pok¨¦mon lived in harmony, even working together for certain tasks. This was probably a biologist¡¯s wet dream of a symbiotic relationship in action. In the center of the area was the statue of a zeraora looking up proudly. It sure looked like they worshipped some random zeraora or this was some hommage to a legendary hero or something like that, typical isekai world backstory.

    However¡­ something felt odd about that statue. For some reason, my head started to ache a little every time it came into my field of view.

    But that didn¡¯t matter though, what truly mattered was seeing the large variety of Pok¨¦mon in the flesh. From a fierce-looking garchomp to a cute little-... hisuian lilligant? Well, guess the hisuian guys aren¡¯t extinct yet, good for them. It also means more variety!

    I continued following Evon while noticing some of the Pok¨¦mon giving slight glances at me, some staring longer than others. Wow, it hadn¡¯t been an hour and I was already starting to get attention like a celebrity. If this village doesn¡¯t take well to outsiders, just imagine when they see my  true  form.

    ¡­ if I can transform back to it. I¡¯m not gonna get used to being a scalie for the rest of my life, no siree!

    After we turned to another tunnel and walked a bit, we stopped in front of a certain house, made from solid clay and rocks. Evon sighed and said. ¡°Welp, I¡¯m home¡­ I guess¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, this is your home? It¡¯s¡­ kinda nice!¡± I said, sugarcoating a little. Sure, I wasn¡¯t used to¡­ well, archaic-looking houses, but hey, shouldn¡¯t complain when you¡¯re at least in the comfort of someone else¡¯s home. I started taking a step forward. ¡°Well, I hope you have good food waiting insi-¡±

    ¡°And who said I¡¯m letting you in?¡±

    I stopped and looked at the eevee walking past me into his home with an annoyed look on his face. He opened the door as I tilted my head. ¡°Wuh-?¡±

    Evon turned to me with a scowl. ¡°Do you really think I¡¯m gonna let you stay in my house after all the shit you¡¯ve put me through?¡±

    ¡°Wha- what do you mean!?¡± I asked, my tail flame brightening a bit. ¡°I put my life on the line to help you in the dungeon and with that mightyena! Literally, the fuck do you mean?¡±

    ¡°To put it simply. You¡¯re fucking insane. Valtrus wasn¡¯t even gonna kill me and all you did was annoy him! And then, after that, you literally dragged me into a Mystery Dungeon when we could¡¯ve taken literally any other path. And then you fucking mock me after that? And let¡¯s not forget that you treated me like I was just your toy when we met after I saved you. Nah, if you think that I¡¯m gonna let you in after all of that, you¡¯re out of your mind.¡±

    ¡°But, why were you leading me here anyway?¡±

    ¡°You were just following me because you wanted to. I told you that once we got to the village, we would go our separate ways. Here¡¯s a bit of a reality check¡­ the world doesn¡¯t revolve around you.¡±

    With that, the eevee slammed his door on my face, making me flinch and take a step back from the loud noise. After I recovered, I looked back at the door, growling a little in anger. ¡°Bitch, literally!? After all of that!? Well, fuck you too!¡±

    I turned around and started walking away, an angry frown plastered on my face. I just couldn¡¯t believe it. After all, I did to save our asses, and what he did to save mine too at the beginning, that¡¯s how he fucking treated me? If little bro just couldn¡¯t handle the memes and tease, then he honestly was just a little softie who couldn¡¯t handle my humor. Imagine if he got stuck with someone from my world who couldn¡¯t stop saying shit like: ¡°She rizz on my skibidi ¡®till I gyat, down in Ohio.¡±

    I physically cringed and felt a sting in my soul after imagining that entire sentence.

    I was pissed. So pissed in fact that I couldn¡¯t say any memes or references to cope with this massive L I took. Of course, I was dumb and stupid. I thought this was gonna go exactly just like an isekai story or a PMD game would, but of course not. This was real life, not some cheap isekai story some manga artist would draw just to fulfill his escapism or perhaps his fetish by making it into a harem isekai.  Looking at you Konosuba.

    I stopped walking as I suddenly realized the situation I was in. I was alone now, with no money or help for me to have it easy. I had nowhere to go, no one to guide me, no mentor to teach me how to control my powers, and stuck in an alien body without knowledge of how to turn back into a human.

    To put it simply, I was softlocked.

    I went to one of the tunnel¡¯s walls and sat against it, curling my tail around my legs as I looked down in thought. ¡®What the hell do I do now¡­? I shouldn¡¯t join the guild until I get a hold of my powers. But how the fuck that if I don¡¯t even have an unreliable isekai god voice in my head to help me?¡¯  I rested my head on my short knees, somehow being able to do a fetal-like position in this body.  ¡®... was¡­ was Evon¡­ right?¡¯

    I raised my head and looked back at my actions with a grimace. I remember the actions that I did to piss him off and only trying to come off as justified¡­ I wondered to myself.  ¡®If I was that much of a jerk¡­ why the hell a lot of people online were friends with-¡¯

    Then it hit me. Of course, I would¡¯ve been seen as a jerk here. I knew that could be the case but never thought that would¡¯ve happened to me. I grew up in an environment built on brainless humor, dark jokes with sarcasm and irony that would be so toxic if someone wasn¡¯t used to it. The internet is not a place for people who can¡¯t handle that sort of humor, I literally grew up on it and my entire personality was molded by it. The only reason why I would feel like a jerk to these people is because they didn¡¯t grow up in the same environment as I did. They  DON¡¯T  have internet, not only that, this world was supposedly way less toxic than my world.

    Shit, I really was a dick, wasn¡¯t I?

    ¡°I need to-... is it a bit late for an apology? ... And I just did an alternate version of a verse of Justin Bieber''s song, just my day¡­¡± I sighed and looked back down, not realizing some heavy footsteps approaching me. ¡°First day in a new world and you already blew it, Lucas. Good stuff, good stuff. What¡¯chu gonna do next? Speedrun getting evicted from the village, any%?¡±

    ¡°And why would you get evicted from the village?¡±

    The smell of burning iron entered my nostrils as I heard the deep and raspy female voice. When I looked at the source, I recoiled a bit with an inaudible scream. The four-legged and iron-faced creature in front of me was a heatran, with pink eyes instead of the normal orange-eyed ones. From the voice and the noticeable traces of rust on her face, I could hazard a guess that they were female and probably a bit old as well...

    The heatran chuckled, probably from my reaction to her. ¡°What? Not used to seeing big Pok¨¦mon like me before?¡±

    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°Uhm¡­ uh¡­¡± I looked aside and thought.  ¡®Oh no, definitely not because of the title your species carry on their back with those absurd stats that make a competitive player like me shiver.¡¯  My eyes darted back to the heatran as I gathered the will to respond. ¡°No, it¡¯s not that. I was just deep into my thoughts and didn¡¯t see you coming.¡±

    I¡¯m not gonna explain how a being three times bigger the size of a human snuck on me and I didn¡¯t notice because I don¡¯t even know how I didn¡¯t notice her.

    ¡°Ah, I see¡­¡± The heatran then tilted her head. ¡°Say, I don¡¯t recall you being from this village. Are you new here, child?¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ my name is Lucas and I¡¯m a human-... or was before turning into a charmander out of desperation¡­¡±

    Confusion entered the magma¡¯s Pok¨¦mon face. ¡°Wait¡­ you¡­ weren¡¯t a charmander before?¡± She hummed in thought with her eyes closed before opening them again after finishing her thinking. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I never heard of these  ¡°hueman¡±  before. Can they turn into other Pok¨¦mon?¡±

    I ignored the butchered pronunciation and responded. ¡°No, it¡¯s just me.¡± I crossed my arms and sighed. ¡°It¡¯s a whole mess and I¡¯m not in my right mind to explain everything. I¡¯m hungry, I¡¯m tired, with nowhere to go and stuck in this scalie-ass body without signs of me turning back¡­¡±

    The heatran grimaced. ¡°Oh my, I¡¯m so sorry for you, child¡­¡± She looked down in thought before perking up. ¡°Oh, I know!¡± She took some steps by me, her strange feet giving the ground beneath her a few rumbles. She then stopped and looked back at me with a toothy metal smile. ¡°Come with me. A lonely child like you shouldn¡¯t wander into our village without a place to stay, especially with the few recent commotions happening in the shadows.¡±

    I tilted my head at that, looking at the magma Pok¨¦mon in confusion. Did I even look like a child as a charmander? ¡°Where are you taking me?¡±

    ¡°To my home, of course. I might be the village¡¯s elder but that doesn¡¯t mean I get to have someone to take care of until they find their place.¡± She responded cheerfully before she prompted me to follow with a foreleg.

    I was a bit surprised and confused by this outcome, scratching the side of my head as I got up. What were the odds of this entire situation? No shit, tell me, what are the damn odds? Local elder legendary from a cave village sees me in a weak moment and decides to take me to her home? I thought that I¡¯d have to just get up, dust myself, take the L, and then move on until I discover what to do in this world and how to get my humanity back. But no, after being such a dick to the guy that saved my ass, the universe treats me with an easy way out?

    It honestly didn¡¯t feel deserved, but I was in bad conditions right now so I couldn¡¯t complain, only accept it.

    I got up, dusting the underside of my tail a bit before following the heatran. Looking better at the fire and steel type, I noticed that the media did  NOT  do it justice. Molten pieces of steel were melded with her brown flesh, some of them having a bit of rust in them; her four-fingered feet left behind a sizzling and sticky substance whenever she stomped. There were even some cut scars on her body, but they looked like glued pebbles.

    Yeah, I¡¯m definitely not touching her in my human form. Just by being beside her, it felt like I was on the streets, wearing a bunch of black clothing under the 100¡ã sun¡­ or was it me feeling it because I was also a fire type so I could sense her heat? Either way, thank goodness I was a fire-type lizard, or else I¡¯d be sweating balls right now.

    While we walked onto another narrow tunnel, on the opposite side of the tunnel where Evon¡¯s house was located, the heatran spoke. ¡°Oh, silly me. Forgot to say my name!¡± She looked at me and said joyously. ¡°My name is Basidian. Nice to meet you, Lucas.¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ nice to meet you Basidian. Hm¡­ can I call you Basi? Your name is a bit long for my liking.¡± I requested with a bit of nervousness. I knew she was quite the carefree elder based on the few minutes I¡¯d been with her¡­  but what if she had some kind of hidden side of herself that hated that people were casual with her?

    My worries were cut short when a churning laugh came from her. ¡°That¡¯s the first nickname someone ever gave to me!¡± Her laughing was toned down as she looked back at me. ¡°Sure, you can. That¡¯s a nice abbreviation for my name.¡±

    ¡°Alrighties then, glad you likin¡¯ it!¡±

    It wasn¡¯t long before we reached Basidian¡¯s house. Unlike what I¡¯ve seen in other houses, the heatran¡¯s house was made of rocks with some steel connecting the stones. There were some splotches of mud on some of the stones for some reason too. The door was big and wide as well, fit for someone her size to pass through it.

    The heatran turned the door handle with her mouth and pushed the door open. She then turned to me and motioned inside. ¡°We¡¯re here, child!¡±

    An invisible tugging sensation tried to prevent me from entering the house because of last time, and it worked. Before stepping into it, I stopped and turned to Basidian, looking a bit sus to her as I questioned. ¡°Why are you being so nice to me? Actually, the better question is, how can you trust me so easily after all I said? Doesn¡¯t it sound¡­ a little silly? Doesn¡¯t it sound¡­ a little goofy?¡±

    The heatran chuckled. ¡°Oh, Lucas. When you live for such a long time, you start to develop a certain hunch for those nasty liars. Call it the elder sense.¡± She smirked. ¡°And if you want a bit of evidence¡­ you managed to enter the village, passing by the guards. Not only that, you don¡¯t seem affiliated with them.¡±

    I tilted my head in confusion. ¡°Them?¡±

    ¡°Better not to worry you for now.¡± She replied before motioning inside. ¡°But enough about that, come on in, judging by your wobbly stance, you must be pretty tired.¡±

    Damn, it was already that noticeable? I wasn¡¯t, like¡­ shivering my timbers, was I?

    I rubbed the back of my head with a sheepish grin. ¡°Well¡­ if you say so¡­¡± I entered the heatran¡¯s home and took in the surroundings. There wasn¡¯t really that much furniture for a living room, not a sofa to relax, not a shelf to store things, only some candles and torches on the wall, a few patches of hay around a small rocky piece of furniture which I assumed to be the table and a strong smell of ashes and sulfur¡­ well, what did I expect, honestly? Look at her shape and size, how could she actually sit on a sofa or in a chair? She just can¡¯t, that¡¯s the answer.

    But honestly, her house could be WAY worse. At least it¡¯s not a sex dungeon.

    ¡°Being legit¡­ I thought there would be more but somehow it feels homely and welcoming.¡± I wasn¡¯t sugarcoating, despite the issues the house had, I still felt¡­ safe in here. Was it just a Pok¨¦mon instinct or did I actually feel this way?

    Basidian smiled as she entered her home, closing the door with her back legs. ¡°I¡¯m glad you find it welcoming, Lucas. There¡¯s not much in here since I don¡¯t need much, but if you want to, I can get more things so you feel more comfortable around here.¡±

    I extended my arms and shook my claws in dismissal. ¡°No, no, no! There¡¯s no need to. I¡¯m just a freeloader, literally, don¡¯t put that much effort into taking care of me!¡± I looked aside and thought.  ¡®Besides, I¡¯m a literal teenager, I could already work a minimal-wage job.¡¯

    ¡°Nonsense! You were in need so I took you in. No need to repay me for having some sympathy common ¡®mon lack today.¡± She said as she took a few steps to a room separated by an arc on the wall. ¡°Besides, you¡¯re not the first one that I took in¡­¡± She then sighed a bit melancholic now, her movements slowing down a little bit. ¡°Too bad he¡¯s gone now¡­¡±

    Before I could ask about it, the heatran entered the other room, making me interrupt myself as I started to think about asking or not. I decided against it, because of the tone alone, that Pok¨¦mon probably kicked the bucket¡­

    As Basidian was taking her time in the other room doing¡­ something, I just sat there and fiddled with my tail a little bit. I looked at the fire at the tip of it and let curiosity get the best of me trying to answer one question in my mind: ¡°Do I get burned by my own flame?¡± With that question, I approached a finger to the fire, feeling the heat around my finger increased. However, when touching the flame, instead of feeling the sting of the burn, it felt¡­ warm and comforting to touch it.

    Before I could put my entire claw on it, I heard heavy footsteps getting closer, prompting me to turn to it. I saw Basidian walk silently to the rocky table before she opened her mouth next to it. From her large maw, came in some berries, bread, and even some veggies¡­  all covered with a sizzling saliva.

    I subtly cringed a bit in disgust before the heatran turned to me, masking my disgust entirely with a sheepish smile. ¡°Eat up! I know you¡¯re hungry, so eat as much as you like!¡±

    This had the same energy when a bird mother barfs up their entire food directly into their child¡¯s mouth, and the fact that I made that comparison now, only made the situation even worse.  The worst part is that I had no other choice and HAD to eat the food.

    At least I¡¯m not Ethan Winters and I¡¯m forced to eat raw entrails against my will¡­

    I slowly nodded and approached the table, muttering a simple ¡°Thanks¡­¡± while passing by the jolly heatran. I got to the table and took a sniff out of the food. A steamy smell was emanating from the drool-covered food, making it a bit better to be close to it after seeing that all of this was inside someone¡¯s mouth.

    But well, I couldn¡¯t just keep staring at it or else my stomach would bonk me in the head to make me eat it.

    I sighed through my nostrils before grabbing a bread piece, cringing once the sticky and moist touch spread through my claw.  ¡®Okay, fuck this.¡¯  I thought before tightening the grip on the bread.  ¡®You¡¯re not a lil¡¯ bitch who¡¯s disgusted by everything happening around you, you¡¯re a MAN and you¡¯re gonna eat the food, all drooled or not!¡¯

    With that, I steeled my body and chomped on the bread, munching it a bit even with a bit of discomfort. The discomfort then faded away once my tastebuds noticed something interesting about the bread. It was like had been dipped into a deep frier and now was crunchy and delicious as fuck!

    As I started chomping on the rest of the bread, Basidian sat beside me, folding her legs so that she could sit in a loaf-like position. She tilted her head and asked. ¡°I take it that you¡¯re enjoying the food?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I am. Legit thought this goop was your saliva.¡± I gulped before asking in confusion. ¡°Wait¡­ is it actually your saliva?¡±

    The fire and steel type chuckled. ¡°Not quite. You see, my species doesn¡¯t salivate, however, we produce a sizzling substance to help us chew a lot of food.¡± She then winked. ¡°It can be used to achieve a certain temperature on some foods to make it even tastier. It helps a lot on cooking.¡±

    I stared at her, blinking a little. Bro¡­ she¡¯s an oil factory. If her saliva does the same as kitchen oil but  better , a lot of people would want a heatran in her home. You don¡¯t own a deep frier? Well, heatran¡¯s right there! ¡°Well¡­ that¡¯s really interesting¡­ to say the least.¡±

    Basidian chuckled again. ¡°You had the same reaction that younglings have when discovering that fact.¡± She then took a bite out of the portion on the table, and without chewing, she swallowed it in one gulp. She then looked at me again. ¡°By the way, I¡¯ve been meaning to ask¡­¡± She tilted her head again. ¡°How did you manage to find our village? The forest is a bit tricky to navigate so I take someone was guiding you through it?¡±

    My expression turned with a frown as I looked aside, twisting my leg a little bit. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡± I sighed before looking back at the heatran. ¡°An eevee with an eyepatch was guiding me. He-¡±

    ¡°Wait, Evon? He was guiding you through the forest?¡± Basidian interrupted before I nodded. ¡°Strange¡­ I remember running into Valtrus at the village¡¯s entrance and hearing from him that Evon had gone missing. He said he was gonna find him to take him back to Cavestone.¡±

    At the name Valtrus, I froze a bit before asking. ¡°Valtrus¡­? As in like¡­ a mightyena named Valtrus?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Strange¡­ if you¡¯re here¡­ that means Evon is probably back. So why haven¡¯t I heard from him-¡±

    ¡°Basi¡­ I think he might¡¯ve lied to you¡­¡± The heatran raised an invisible eyebrow, silently asking more. ¡°We encountered him in the woods.¡± I sighed, clasping my claws. ¡°I¡¯m gonna be completely honest. I don¡¯t know how Valtrus normally is in front of you or other villagers, but from what I¡¯ve experienced from our small interaction together¡­ that dog is a straight-up PSYCHOPATH!¡± I shouted, my tail flaring a bit.

    Basidian blinked and had a look of surprise and disbelief on her face. ¡°W-what? What do you mean by that?¡±

    ¡°Look, I don¡¯t know what he told you. But finding Evon to bring back to the village? Hah! My ass! I¡¯m not sure what Evon was doing, but he sure as hell wasn¡¯t missing! When we encountered Valtrus, he not only injured Evon, he tried to kill me!¡± A look of horror passed through the heatran¡¯s iron face, I grimaced as the realization passed through my mind. ¡°If what Evon said is true then I would have my guts ripped off had I not turned into Suicune¡­¡±

    Silence filled the room afterwards, the heatran still processing what she had just heard. Honestly, I get it, if I heard someone close to me suddenly turn bad to the point of killing? I wouldn¡¯t believe it myself until I talked to the person. And once I confirmed that was true, I would block that person and report them to the authorities. I¡¯m not having killers in my friend list, no siree.

    After some seconds, Basidian muttered to herself, however, I could very well hear what she said. ¡°It can¡¯t be because of Alsia¡­ can it¡­?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ what¡­? Who¡¯s¡­ Alsia?¡±

    Her attention was turned back to me, grimacing as she looked at me in pity. ¡°Oh, child¡­ I¡¯m so sorry that happened to you¡­¡± She sighed. ¡°Since you¡¯re involved¡­ there¡¯s no point in keeping it from you¡­¡± She hesitated a little, looking aside for a moment before glancing back at me. ¡°So¡­ what if I told you that Evon had an exploration partner?¡± I raised an eyebrow¡­ or the best I could do with my skin without having one. ¡°Her name was Alsia. She was a poochyena that had a little knack for adventures. She was curious and really brave¡­ she was also Valtrus¡¯ younger sister.¡±

    I frowned at that, having a slightly bad feeling as to where this was going.

    ¡°One day, Evon and Alsia went on a mission to catch a wanted outlaw known around these parts¡­ a very dangerous outlaw. I really don¡¯t know what made them come up with that decision, but it was the deciding factor of a fatality¡­¡± She sighed and looked down. ¡°Only one of them came back that day¡­¡±

    I sat there, trying to process what had just happened. Evon¡­ went through some shit, didn¡¯t he? And thinking back on what Valtrus said before our fight¡­ it seemed that he was bitter that his sister died instead of her teammate and now he blames her death on him¡­

    ¡­ I  needed to apologize to Evon.

    I then looked back at the food and started putting a ton of it in my mouth, chewing it rapidly before gulping it. I wanted to have my stomach filled before going out again. I looked back at the heatran and spoke confidently. ¡°I need to speak with Evon.¡±

    <hr>

    Why couldn¡¯t I just go to the beach with no interruptions? Why did I have to meet that insane creature? Was this Arceus¡¯ way of mocking me? I still didn¡¯t know what in Giratina¡¯s name I did to deserve all this torture¡­

    It had to be worse when a certain part of that idiot reminded me of  her¡­

    I was lying on my bed, back against the hay as I stared at the ceiling just reminiscing past events, especially recent ones. This day could be summarized with one word, and that was insanity. I saved a random shape-shifting creature from another dimension, we both got away from Valtrus, and I got dragged into a Mystery Dungeon against my will¡­ all in one day.

    It was exhausting, honestly. Just when I wanted a break from all this crazy shit, it keeps dragging me back, like it was some sort of divine message saying that I was meant for this, I needed to keep at it despite¡­ that incident.

    ¡®But I don¡¯t want it anymore. I don¡¯t deserve to keep going after not managing to save her¡­ ¡¯

    I held back tears. I¡¯ve already cried too many times about this topic. I told myself today would be the last day that I¡¯d cry about that incident, and I¡¯m still trying to hold to that promise, even though the day didn¡¯t go as planned. I wasn¡¯t gonna let some jerk creature stop that-

    KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK

    The sound of knocking on wood made my ears flicker, making me look towards the door. I grimaced as my mind already started to imagine who was waiting for me on the other side. But well, it could very well be someone else and not the personification of insanity that is Lucas.

    I sighed and got out of bed, walking to the door slowly with a lot of thoughts filling my mind. I didn¡¯t know who it was, but still, it would be the same as usual, bottle up those feelings and just see what they want. Simple enough.

    As I got to the door, I tilted the door handle and opened the door, getting a bit surprised when I saw Elder Basidian standing outside. I perked up a little before asking. ¡°Elder Basidian? What¡­ are you doing here?¡±

    For some reason, she was looking at me with pity, like she knew that I endured something bad by just looking at my face. I wasn¡¯t crying without noticing, was I?

    ¡°I¡­ I came to talk to you about something.¡± She then looked aside. ¡°However¡­ there¡¯s someone else who wants to talk to you as well. He wants to apologize to you about something¡­¡±

    I tilted my head at that, silently wondering who wanted to apologize to a failure like me. ¡°Huh? Who-¡±

    I interrupted myself when a charmander came from behind the heatran. However, instead of having that jerkish expression, he had on his face a¡­ sorrowful one? He looked at me and spoke with a single wave of his claw. ¡°Hey¡­ Evon.¡±

    I scowled a bit. ¡°Tch, what are you doing back here? I told you-¡±

    ¡°Look dude, I just came to say I¡¯m sorry.¡± Lucas interrupted, and with heavy breath, he continued. ¡°I don¡¯t want to sound like I¡¯m making a fake apology video or something and not really guilty for my actions, but you gotta trust me, I am!¡± He sighed. ¡°I didn¡¯t really want to feel like a dickhead, I was just trying to be funny for¡­ reasons and I failed to realize that my entire humor is way different than yours so¡­¡± Unexpectedly, the charmander  bowed , making me take a step back from the suddenness of it. ¡°Sorry for not taking you seriously¡­¡±

    I silently stared at Lucas with my eyes widened a bit from surprise, the only sound filling the area was the crackling of fire from the charmander¡¯s tail. Was I¡­ was I hearing this right? Did he actually come back to apologize after cursing me for thinking he was in the right? I always thought ¡®mons that did that would never go back on their actions and apologize. I assumed he was faking it at the beginning, but to say all of this hesitantly and then  bow  like he was apologizing to royalty was something that I would never see an asshole of a Pok¨¦mon ever do.

    ¡°Do you¡­ do you really mean all of that? You serious?¡± I asked with a hint of suspicion.

    Lucas stood up again and balled his claws into a fist. ¡°¡®Course I¡¯m being legit or else I wouldn¡¯t even bother coming back here!¡± He sighed. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to sound like an asshole but I did. I ended up being dumb, and stupid, made a severe and continuous lapse in my judgment¡­ but unlike others, I don¡¯t just wish to apologize and go back to being the same way.¡± He looked aside and scratched the side of his head. ¡°So like¡­¡± He then extended his claw to me. ¡°Can we start over? I still owe you for saving my life on that beach.¡±

    I looked at the offered claw in front of me, thinking about the apology. At first, I didn¡¯t want to accept it, but after thinking about it a bit more in-depth... Even though he dragged me into those kinds of situations against my will, he¡­ he did help me sometimes. He saved me from Valtrus¡¯ wrath, he helped me against that staravia¡­

    Was I too harsh on him?

    I looked aside, thinking a bit more before ultimately deciding with a sigh. I looked back at him and shook his claw with a forepaw. ¡°Yes, we can. I just hope you don¡¯t act like that anymore.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t, don¡¯t worry.¡± Lucas said with a smile.

    ¡°Awwwww.¡± We both released each other limbs and looked at the elder who was smiling proudly at us. ¡°I¡¯m so glad the both of you managed to make it up for each other! I have no doubt you two will become great friends from now on!¡±

    I rolled my eyes while saying forcefully. ¡°I guess¡­¡± I then glanced back at the heatran and asked. ¡°Anyways, what did you come here to talk about?¡±

    Basidian¡¯s expression slowly turned into a grimace as she turned her head away. ¡°Well¡­¡± Her eyes darted back to Evon. ¡°It¡¯s about Valtrus¡­¡±

    My eyes widened as my heart dropped once I heard the mightyena¡¯s name. ¡°What¡­ what about him?¡±

    Lucas sighed and crossed his arms. ¡°I told her what happened when we encountered him and, because I got caught in the crossfire, she told me what happened between you two.¡±

    My eyes widened as I looked at the elder a bit annoyed and disappointed. ¡°You told him about Alsia?¡±

    She sighed. ¡°If Lucas told me correctly, Valtrus would¡¯ve killed him because he was with you. He deserved to know why.¡± The heatran looked aside, a bit ashamed. ¡°I guess it¡¯s also partially my fault as well. I should¡¯ve checked in more with Valtrus to know what was going on with him after Alsia¡¯s death¡­¡±

    I denied. ¡°No elder! It¡¯s not your fault! It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s mine¡­¡± My ears dropped as I was reminded of that gruesome scene I witnessed with bleeding and almost blurry vision. ¡°If only I had been fast enough to not get hit¡­ I would have been able to save her and¡­ none of this would''ve happened¡­¡±

    ¡°... dude.¡± I looked back at Lucas who had a grimace on his face, his claws clenched. ¡°Do you want to know why I do most of those jokes and a lot of teasing just to entertain myself?¡± I tilted my head in confusion as the charmander continued. ¡°I did all of this without realizing I went too far because I was trying to distract myself from someone¡­ my mom¡­¡±

    I perked up a bit. ¡°W-what¡­?¡±

    Lucas rubbed his arm. ¡°Five years ago, I was just shopping with my mom when I got a bit hasty and ran too far ahead of her. I¡­ got caught by someone undesirable and almost got kidnapped.¡± His fist clenched way harder than before as his tail flame crackled louder. ¡°She¡­ saw me getting taken away, he tried to stop the guy but he¡­ he had a weapon and¡­¡± He growled and stomped madly on the ground. ¡°Gah, just thinking back at that scene just makes me more fucking pissed than sad!¡± He calmed down a little and crossed his arms. ¡°I still blame myself for what happened¡­¡±

    I stayed in silence as I processed the information. Lucas¡­ Lucas had something similar happen to him. He lost someone he held dear and blamed himself for it¡­ just like I did for Alsia¡­ ¡°Lucas¡­¡±

    Lucas smiled a bit. ¡°I¡¯ll never forget her¡­ she was the best mom I could ever ask for¡­¡±

    Suddenly, the charmander started getting covered by a blinding pink glow, forcing me to squint my remaining eye a little bit. From what I could see, the charmander started growing in size, growing a new layer of skin(?) around the torso, losing his tail, and gaining long hair while the structure of its face and minor details in his body morphed. The glow faded and Lucas was fully visible again, however, his body was back to a human one with all his strange clothes and his bag in the same place they were before.

    I stared at the  human , seeing his brownish skin, his strange clothes covering most of his body, and his face. His face reminded me of a gallade combined with the hair of a jynx, however, unlike those, he had a visible nose, but everything else was strange, where the similarities to other Pok¨¦mon ended. ¡°You¡¯re back to human¡­?¡±

    Lucas stared at his skinny hands in surprise, analyzing them from the back and the front. ¡°I¡­ I am back¡­ holy shit, I am back!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s your original form?¡± Lucas and I looked back at Basidian, who stared at Lucas with an analyzing glance. She took a step closer to him and took a whiff of him. ¡°It looks¡­ interesting. It reminds me of other Pok¨¦mon but¡­ skinnier?¡±

    Lucas let out a sheepish snicker as he rubbed the back of his head. ¡°Yeah, yeah, I get it, humans are weaker than Pok¨¦mon, that much is a given. But that¡¯s not important right now!¡± He said with a smile, pumping a fist upwards. ¡°I figured out how to go back into human!¡±

    ¡°By just thinking about your mother?¡± I asked while tilting my ears.

    Lucas rubbed the back of the head. It seemed he realized the problem in that. ¡°Guess so¡­ but still, I just don¡¯t need to think about that scene and I¡¯ll be Gucci.¡± He then perked up, remembering something. ¡°Oh right, um¡­¡± He looked at me again, a frown entering his face. ¡°So what I was trying to say earlier was like¡­ don¡¯t keep thinking that your friend died because of you. I had this experience with my own and uh¡­¡± He looked aside, gritting his teeth. ¡°You do some pretty stupid stuff¡­  really stupid stuff  that your friend wouldn¡¯t like to see you do if she was still alive.¡±

    I tilted my head at that before thinking about it for a moment. In a way, he was right¡­ I was just eating Valtrus¡¯ claims as if they were true¡­ but they really weren¡¯t¡­ it was that damn grimmsnarl that who was the true killer! If I died today, I would never be able to avenge her¡­  ¡®I promise Alsia¡­ next time I find that bastard, I will   destroy   him.¡¯  I looked back at Lucas and nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right¡­ I¡­ I won¡¯t succumb and accept what Valtrus says to me. I¡¯ll live on for Alsia!¡±

    Lucas grinned and gave a thumbs-up. ¡°That¡¯s how you do it!¡±

    A raspy sniffle was heard beside us. We turned to the source of it and saw Elder Basidian crying. ¡°You children have gone through so much, yet you force through the pain¡­ waaaaahhhh!¡±

    Lucas suddenly took a step back, startled when the heatran stood up on two legs, the human knowing what was about to happen. ¡°Heyheyheyheyhey!!!¡±

    Basidian tackled both me and the human to the ground, pinning us under her body weight as she rubbed her metal head against ours. ¡°I¡¯m so proud of you two! You are such strong children for standing up and forcing your way through this cruel world!¡±

    ¡°E-elder¡­ we-we can¡¯t¡­¡± I gasped. ¡°We c-can¡¯t breathe¡­!¡±

    ¡°S-so this¡­ this is how a¡­ sub feels like?¡± The human said as he struggled, trying to wiggle out of the crying heatran¡¯s hold.

    Thankfully, my pleas were answered once I felt the huge weight of the heatran get off me, making me gasp loudly for air and cough a little bit as I got up. ¡°T-thank you, elder¡­¡±

    Basidian sniffled a bit and said. ¡°Oh dear, I¡¯m so sorry, I couldn¡¯t help myself.¡± She sniffled again, swallowing a tear that fell onto her maw. ¡°You both endured so much. It¡¯s a wonder how you two keep standing despite everything¡­¡±

    ¡°Listen, ma¡¯am, back in my world, if you don¡¯t get up after crying and taking the L, the world would take that opportunity to smack you to the ground even more so you would never stand up and live happily after traumatic events like those.¡± Lucas said, putting a hand on his side. ¡°It took me years until I was over it, and the sting of it still lingered¡­¡± The human noticed the heatran tilting her head and clarified. ¡°Also yes, I¡¯m basically an alien from another dimension.¡±

    I looked at Lucas with a frown. I didn¡¯t know why but from his words¡­ it seems like he went through a lot more than he¡¯s letting on about¡­

    Lucas suddenly yawned, snapping me from my thoughts. ¡°Man, I¡¯m exhausted¡­ and all of this drama has made my head pound even more¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see¡­ do you want to go back home now?¡± Basidian said, my curiosity flaring.

    ¡°Wait, what do you mean  home ?¡±

    The heatran turned to me and responded with a smile. ¡°Oh, it just means that I offered Lucas over here to stay with me for the time being. I found him lost and alone in the tunnels of our village and a certain feeling came over me to just help him!¡±

    I sighed as one of my ears twitched a little. ¡°You¡¯re too soft, elder¡­¡±

    ¡°Kindness and forgiveness take us far, Evon. I hope you remember that.¡± Basidian turned around and called. ¡°Come on, Lucas.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m coming!¡± The human said before starting to follow the elder, however¡­

    ¡°Lucas, wait!¡± I shouted to him, making him turn to me and tilt his head in confusion. I¡­ I needed to ask him this. Even if I said to myself that I would never go exploring again¡­ I wanted to do it¡­  I needed to . I was still weak. If I ever ran into that bastard again, I would never be able to defeat him and I would never be able to avenge Alsia¡­

    Lucas¡­ he was the Pok¨¦- I mean, creature that I needed for this. He would be able to help me get stronger. He would put me on the right path if I ever fell off again and decided to be weak until my death¡­ maybe he wasn¡¯t sent by Arceus to torture me¡­ he was sent to guide me to the right path, the path of power¡­ that¡¯s why I needed to ask him.

    The human stared at me with his head tilted. Not wasting any more time, I asked. ¡°Would¡­ would you like to form an exploration team with me?¡±

 Destiny

    ¡°You guys won¡¯t believe where I am right now. I got isekaid and now I¡¯m in a PMD world! Like, lots of people will be jealous of my situation right now! Now, this may look like a totally random forest from our world, but here¡¯s the thing, it¡¯s not and I¡¯m gonna prove it! Just wait until a lil¡¯ brown and angy sac of fur appears and-...... holy shit¡­ IT¡¯S SO CUTE!!!¡±

    I paused the video. ¡°Heh, can¡¯t wait to get the internet back so I can post this. Reddit is gonna lose their mind figuring out if this video is true or not.¡± I said to myself before putting my phone away in my shorts'' pocket and getting myself comfortable in my new bed¡­  or at least trying to get adjusted to this stupid pile of straws that they call a bed!

    I sighed and asked myself. ¡°What was I expecting? Not like they¡¯ll have beds with mattresses to behemoths like aggron, tyranitar, metagross, and the list goes on.¡±

    I was lying down on my new bed in my new room. It was night, probably, I didn¡¯t know, I was in a house inside of a cave for fuck sake; sure hoping I didn¡¯t look like a League player or a Redditor. Night or not, I was tired, that was for certain. Sure, I might¡¯ve blacked out earlier today for unknown reasons, but after that, I walked, walked,  and walked.  I thought that was probably the longest I walked in like¡­ two months, could be more or less, but I still could feel my legs burn, so I walked a lot. I may not have that big of a belly, but I knew I was a bit sedentary.

    ¡°Man, I can¡¯t wait to look like a Gigachad once I start my new explorer job!¡± I exclaimed to myself as I let my phone drop beside me. I put my hands behind my head as I looked to the ceiling as a realization dawned on me. ¡°... oh yeah¡­ I¡¯m gonna make an exploration team¡­ just like the games.¡±

    That scene played in my head, the part where Evon asked the question that would change how I¡¯d live in this world forever.

    <hr>

    ¡°Would¡­ would you like to form an exploration team with me?¡±

    I looked at Evon for a moment as my internet-powered brain started to process what he had just said. I blinked before I finally registered in my brain.  ¡®Oh my god¡­ he did the PMD thing! Sure, that was a bit out of nowhere but¡­ well, like the games except Explorers and Super, it¡¯s expected. But unlike those games¡­ I do have a choice in the matter.¡¯

    That¡¯s right. I wasn¡¯t chained down by something called the illusion of free choice. Unlike the games, this was real life, and unlike being forced by some kind of narrative, Evon might have an actual motive for wanting me to be his teammate. Should I question why before asking¡­ nah, I¡¯m lazy and it¡¯s probably some coping mechanism as a way to forget.

    However¡­ do I really want to be in an exploration team¡­?

    ¡°Hm¡­ eh, sure, why not.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Not like I have anything better to do anyways rather than sit in my room all day.¡± I then yawned and turned back around, following Basidian. ¡°See ya tomorrow, Evon!¡±

    <hr>

    ¡®Why I am like this? I should definitely change that in the future.¡¯  ¡°Haha, I think, as I know damn well I¡¯ll do it again.¡±

    I took a deep breath, the smell of earthly clay and dirt entering my nostrils as I breathed. This would be the smell I had to get used to while living here, accompanied by the smell of sulfur and ash because of the heatran I would be living with. It wasn¡¯t that bad, at least I wasn¡¯t forced to live with the smell of certain Pok¨¦mon like muk or gabodor¡­

    ¡­ for some reason, my brain just thought of a regional variant of muk that is just being made out of pure shit. Thanks, Conker¡¯s Bad Fur Day, now I just have to hope that my imagination gets debunked and doesn¡¯t get turned into reality. No way in hell would I be fighting a pile of shit, no siree.

    Trying to forget such a shit thought (kill me), I adjusted my position in the hay bed, trying to at least get in a comfortable position. Point of notice: there is none. Literally, I was sleeping on the hard dirt floor, having a pile of teensy tiny needles called straws poking at my skin.  There was literally no way I would be sleeping in this bed unless I had thicker skin or fur or something-

    Wait¡­ I could have it.

    I facepalmed lightly and thought.  ¡®Of course, you dumbass, you can transform into Pok¨¦mon!¡¯  I sat up cross-legged on the bed, rubbing my chin in thought. ¡°Now¡­ what Pok¨¦mon should be the best sleeper in this  ¡°bed¡± ? Hm¡­ ah, whatever, anything is good, we ball.¡±

    I remembered what the voice in my head said and started picturing myself sleeping as a Pok¨¦mon in my head. It was a hazy image, I didn¡¯t even know what Pok¨¦mon I was, just something with four legs¡­? However, I didn¡¯t need to think about it much anymore since that was to trigger the transformation.

    My vision got blinded by the color pink again and I could feel my body, painfully, change. I shrank down in size as my skeletal structure slowly morphed into something befitting of a quadrupedal, my hands and feet started shifting to the same shape, teensy tiny needles poked out of my skin, more of them appearing around my neck, and last but not least, a new limb that came out of my back.

    Once the pink light was gone, the pain went away like it was never there before I fell on my back because of a really awkward position. I gritted my teeth a bit before opening my eyes and looking down at my body. From the angle I looked at, it looked like I had the body of a cat with brown fur, and my new muzzle only boosted that claim. However, as I analyzed my new body a bit more, I saw some cream-colored fur coming out from under my head. ¡°Huh?¡± I rolled onto my belly and looked behind me, the iconic tail confirming what I was. ¡°Oh, I turned into an eevee.¡± I pretended to wipe my brow with a paw. ¡°Phew, dodged a massive bullet. At least it¡¯s no vaporeon.¡±

    I started feeling my new body as I did some simple movements with it; stretching my forelegs, moving my tail around (even though it felt so weird doing so), and even seeing how far I could bend my back in certain directions because this body gave cat-like vibes to me. Turned out I could stretch a lot (probably even stretch so much to do the cat thing but of course, never), it was nice to know I could turn into a liquid to fit into small spaces while still having the appearance of a dog as well.

    After I finished my tests, I realized something. ¡°The hell?¡± My phone was still right beside the pile of straws, it wasn¡¯t gone when I transformed just like last time. I crawled to it and analyzed it. It was still the same as usual, with nothing changed and no damage to it. With a finger, I turned it on and saw the screen flare to life in an instant, showing that it was still functional. I raised my head and then looked at the side of the room, seeing my backpack still lying against the rocky wall. It then hit me. ¡°Ooooh, I got it. So if I transform and the items are basically on me, they get shelved on my human form!¡±

    I grinned and nodded while speaking to myself. ¡°Nice, nice. Thanks for being so considerate about my items isekai gods. So whenever I¡¯m in a battle and in Pok¨¦mon form, they won¡¯t weigh me down.¡± My face then morphed into a frown of concern once I realized a major flaw with this. ¡°Shit, my ADHD is definitely gonna make me forget to put my phone and backpack on me before transforming into a Pok¨¦mon¡­ eh fuck it, like I¡¯ll leave my stuff anywhere else besides the house.¡±

    Then the reason for my transformation came back to me in the form of a yawn, causing me to open my mouth wide and show my small fangs for the world to see. ¡°Oh yeah, it¡¯s sleepy time¡­¡± I then tried to find a good position for me to sleep in the straw bed, thankfully, with an eevee body, it wasn¡¯t as hard to be comfortable in the bed. Instinctively, I curled my body just like a cat would and it was considered comfy enough for me. How? I don¡¯t fucking know, ask the guys who sleep in this position.

    I thought that my mind would go batshit crazy as usual while trying to sleep but no, sleep came swiftly this time as I closed my eyes from the tiredness¡­

    <hr>

    My head started aching just as I opened my eyes slowly while gritting my teeth. Darkness was the only thing I could see, it was a black void where I could only see my body; seeing my¡­ brown fur and¡­ paws?

    It seems I realized this was not normal so I took it as a lucid dream, after all, who the hell floats in a place like¡­ uh¡­ I¡¯m too tired to make references. I looked around a bit more and asked myself. ¡°Where am I this time? Hehe, it¡¯d be funny if I got isekaid again-¡±

    Clap, Clap, Clap.

    A certain sound made me perk up a bit and turn around. The source of the claps was a bit obscured by a pink light shining right behind it, obscuring his form in a shade, however, I could determine a rough shape in the shade that seemed a bit familiar. It was small, had small legs and arms, two ears, and a long thin tail. Not only that, one thing that stood out from it was a single glowing yellow eye. I blinked a single time before I tilted my head. ¡°Wut-?¡±

    The shadowy figure stopped clapping and said in a smooth male voice. ¡°I must congratulate you, Lucas. You have exceeded my expectations for you. Well¡­ they might¡¯ve been really low, but you¡¯ve exceeded them nonetheless.¡±

    I looked aside. ¡°Uuuuuh¡­.¡± I then looked back at the figure. ¡°Who are you, um¡­ shadow guy? Knowing anime¡­ are you the deity that sent me here?¡±

    ¡°Well, deity might be stretching a little. However¡­¡± He (as I assumed from the voice) crossed his small arms. ¡°Yes, I indeed summoned you to this world, however, not for the reasons you think.¡±

    I frowned with a confused expression. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°To put it simply¡­ I want you to fulfill your destiny.¡± The figure then lifted a stubby finger. ¡°And no, before you say anything else, it doesn¡¯t require saving the world.¡±

    To say I was confused was the understatement of the century. Sure, I knew how this goes, an entity appears in the dreams and starts being all cryptic with the protagonist and the protag has to figure out what¡¯s going on with the world with the help of the inhabitants of the world-

    ¡°I can see what you¡¯re thinking and let me tell you right now. This isn¡¯t like one of those situations you¡¯ve seen in human media.¡± The entity responded, shaking his head.

    My heart skipped a beat and I froze a bit shocked. ¡°W-what the fuck¡­?¡±

    The figure looked down at his paw while folding an arm behind his back. ¡°You probably must be wondering to yourself, how I read your thoughts just now. Think a bit more and you¡¯ll have the answer even a kid would figure out. But anyways¡­¡± He folded his other arm. ¡°You can ask the other inhabitants of this world about danger, but as far as I know, there is none for now. I could tell what your destiny is right here but¡­ it wouldn¡¯t be deserved. You¡¯re still far too naive and far too oblivious to grasp the severity of your role in this world, you wouldn¡¯t even take it seriously.¡±

    I overcame a bit of my shock and motioned a bit with my paws. ¡°Still give a sign, ya know!?¡±

    The shadow figure shrugged. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll give you a little hint. It has to do with your transformations.¡± Somehow, I could tell that he was smirking. ¡°Keep getting better at them and you¡¯ll get closer to the biggest discovery of your life.¡±

    I blinked a little bit. ¡°What are you even yapping about? Why can¡¯t you just-¡±

    BOOM, BOOM, BOOM

    The figure looked up, realizing the shaking around us. ¡°Ah, look who¡¯s finally waking up.¡± He looked back at me. ¡°I¡¯m afraid our little meeting has to be cut short for now. Continue getting better at transformations, only then the truth shall be clearer to you.¡± He turned around, his back facing me as his long tail swayed slowly. ¡°See you sometime, Lucas.¡±

    ¡°Nuh-uh! This is my dream and I don¡¯t wake up until  I  say so-!¡±

    In an instant, I opened my eyes slowly, the awareness of my surroundings slowly returning to me. I realized I was drooling a little bit, the smell of my saliva entering my new powerful nostrils. My movements were a bit sluggish, however, once I got going, I shook my head rapidly and swallowed the saliva. ¡°Buh¡­¡±

    Knock, Knock, Knock

    My hairs (or fur¡­) stood up as I was slightly startled by the knocking on the door. I looked at it and a familiar female and raspy voice sounded from the other side before I could ask. ¡°Lucas, are you alright in there? It¡¯s time for breakfast!¡±

    The loud footsteps from the other side of the door started sounding distant. I blinked a bit, trying to get the sleepiness off my body. I yawned loudly before scratching behind my ear with my hind paw-... fuck!

    I desperately tried to think about my mom before a pink flash covered my vision once again. From one second to another, I was back to human form, sitting up and looking at my hands while breathing rapidly. Nah¡­nananananananah. The fuck was that? Why did I scratch behind my ears without intending to?  Why did it also feel good when I did it???  ¡°Nonononono, I ain¡¯t letting furry instincts overtake me that fucking easily! I won¡¯t be getting that damn pathOwOgen anytime soon!¡±

    I shook my head and palmed it a little bit, trying to force the remaining furry thoughts out of my head. If that¡¯s what happens when you sleep only a single night in the body of an eevee, yeah, no thanks, imma gonna choose another body to sleep in and run away from the furry allegations.

    After all of this is done, I don¡¯t wanna go back and try to put a dog collar on my head, nuh-uh!

    I got up and exited my room, looking around the living room once I was on the other side. The back of the living room had four other doors; one led to Basi¡¯s room, another to the bathroom, another to the storage room, and, lastly, the room I slept in.

    It was a bit strange for someone who lived alone to have an extra room for someone else to sleep on.  ¡®Then again¡­ she did have that one Pok¨¦mon that she took in years ago so maybe this room was made for them?¡¯  I thought to myself before shrugging.  ¡®Could be.¡¯

    Sitting at the table in the living room, I could see Basidian already eating her fill, swallowing a portion of food in a single bite. Honestly, not to be rude or anything, but if people had never seen a heatran before and saw one eating food for the first time, they would think  they  are their next meal¡­  hold on, new trolling idea just dropped.  Just gotta get good at transformations until I¡¯m able to turn into one-

    ¡°Keep getting better at them and you¡¯ll get closer to the biggest discovery of your life.¡±

    The words from my dream rang again in the front of my mind, the image of that shaded figure being present once again in my head. I frowned as I crossed my arms. ¡®So that was the isekai god that brought me here. What a fella he was¡­ why did he even want me to focus on getting better at my transformation anyway?¡¯  My stomach started to punch my belly by rumbling, stopping my thoughts. ¡°Eh, I¡¯ll think about it later¡­¡±

    I approached the table and the heatran looked at me. She said while I sat down. ¡°Oh, hi there, Lucas! Have you slept well?¡±

    I smiled at Basidian and responded. ¡°Yep! Slept like a baby. Sleep came packing today.¡±  ¡®Packing more stuff than it should with that dream and animalistic instincts in the morning.¡¯ I thought to myself. That was honestly one of the nights of all time, but well, I¡¯ll take it over stupid red-eye shadow being jumpscare any day of the week.

    The fire and steel type tilted her head. ¡°So, tell me. Are our beds better than your world¡¯s? I mean, you said you slept like a baby.¡±

    I looked aside a bit sheepishly after taking a loaf of bread on the table. ¡°Uh¡­ to be honest¡­¡± I looked back at Basidian, speaking the truth. ¡°I had to turn into a Pok¨¦mon to sleep. Human skin is a bit sensitive and the straws were like¡­ making my skin really itchy.¡± I explained to her yesterday that I came from another world, that humans aren¡¯t really a Pok¨¦mon species and the fact that I knew about Pok¨¦mon. Of course, she was a bit baffled and started asking me some questions, only four or five, she had mercy on me because she noticed I was really tired. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t meet your expectations.¡± I shrugged.

    The heatran shook her head. ¡°Oh no, don¡¯t be! It¡¯s completely understandable, after all, you came from a different world and your bed must be made out of different materials, likely kinder materials to your skin.¡± She then hummed in thought as I took a bit out of the bread. ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering¡­ do humans at least have cores to compensate for their weak anatomy?¡±

    After munching the bread and swallowing, I looked at Basidian a bit confused, tilting my head. ¡°Wha? What do you mean by cores?¡±

    ¡°Huh? Do you¡­ don¡¯t you know what cores are?¡± She then looked at me from a few angles, squinting her eyes as she tried to spot something.

    ¡°Uh¡­ are you talking about cell cores or something?¡± I asked, even more confused.

    ¡°Oh dear¡­ you really don¡¯t know what cores are. Uh¡­ do humans live without one?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ Basi, I dunno what you mean about cores, so unless you mean soul or something else entirely, it¡¯s better to just explain it.¡± I said with a sheepish shrug.

    She stopped analyzing and sniffing me before sighing. ¡°You¡¯re right, after all, you did come from a different world.¡± The heatran folded her legs and sat on the ground. ¡°So, as you don¡¯t know, cores are essentially a Pok¨¦mon¡¯s source of life. It¡¯s what allows us to use our magical abilities and compresses our essence into our bodies.¡±

    I scratched my cheek. ¡°I get the first part but uh¡­ I¡¯m confused about the last part.¡±

    Basidian looked up and hummed, looking at me after perking up. ¡°Here¡¯s a way to explain it. The me that you see now, metal face and everything, isn¡¯t the real me. The me you see is basically just a barrier of protection of the real me, my core. You see, a Pok¨¦mon can¡¯t exist without their cores because their cores  are  them.¡±

    ¡°Hold on, hold on, hold on!¡± I said waving my hands forward. Too much info for my memer brain to handle¡­ shit,  the existential questions about all of this are coming.  ¡°You saying¡­ Pok¨¦mon bodies are just a magical extension of the core? If that¡¯s the case, what happens if a Pok¨¦mon just¡­ ya know, dies? What happens to the core?¡±

    ¡°Simply put¡­ moments after a Pok¨¦mon¡¯s death, their bodies vanish, only leaving a dull black rock that was once their cores. That is... if the body isn''t separated from the core, then it can the body preserved before disappearance. However¡­ there are Pok¨¦mon who are an exception to this.¡±

    I tilted my head. ¡°What? Some can cheat death?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ kinda.¡± She cleared her throat and motioned with a foot. ¡°You see, there are certain Pok¨¦mon whose cores are strong enough so when they die, they are rehatched if their core isn¡¯t destroyed. They are stuck in a cycle of rehatch to keep taking care of the world. Our deities are the main example of this since they are the only ones recorded who can do that.¡±

    ¡°Deities like¡­ Palkia or something?¡± For some reason, saying that name felt heavy in my heart, but I ignored it since the pain went away. The heatran nodded. ¡°Wait, so they basically just respawn for free? Just like that?¡±

    ¡°Respawn?¡±

    ¡°U-uh¡­ it¡¯s a term for reviving back in my world.¡± I replied a bit sheepishly.

    ¡°I see. Well¡­ there is one issue with it. After they are reborn, they acquire a new personality. Basically, just become an entirely different person.¡± Basidian frowned as she looked up. ¡°I remember reading about a certain event that happened ages ago. Zekrom started having ruthless ideals and started following them¡­ I rather not talk about these gruesome events in front of a child, but just so you know, it was horrible.¡± I scowled a little bit in annoyance, getting treated like a child¡­  again . ¡°Anyways, Zekrom was executed for his actions, however, he was rehatched a few months later. But instead of having the same ideals as before¡­ he sought out a different approach. He was more friendly and sympathetic, like a different person entirely.¡±

    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    ¡°So¡­ if I¡¯m getting this correctly. Basically, old one dies, and new one takes over in the same body. Is that correct?¡± I tilted my head, ignoring the fact that heatran still considers me a kid.  If only she saw what the kids in my world act and see on the internet nowadays¡­

    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± She then hummed in thought. ¡°Though¡­ it¡¯s a bit strange¡­ sometimes it feels like the new Pok¨¦mon that¡¯s recently hatched knows a lot more than it should¡­ but it must be something divine giving them that knowledge.¡±

    ¡°Hm¡­¡± I grabbed the apple on the table. ¡°I got a question. Are heatran able to¡­ rehatch? If I remember correctly, your species is kinda strong.¡±

    Basidian looked aside. ¡°Eh¡­¡± She shrugged. ¡°Not really. We don¡¯t fulfill a task for the world and there are more than thousands of us recorded in the world so I don¡¯t think that can happen. But well¡­ there  are  exceptions to that like shaymin and manaphy and even marshadow which are odd ones...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s interesting¡­ but well, thanks for the biology lesson!¡± I said with a thumbs-up before biting on the apple. Interesting indeed, which makes me question myself. If I could transform into beings that are the manifestation of these cores¡­ did that mean that I also gained a core? And if that¡¯s the case¡­  did I gain the cool respawning one just because I¡¯m human?

    My memer legacy would live on!

    ¡°No problem, Lucas!¡± As I started to munch on the apple, Basidian said. ¡°By the way, as I sniffed you before, I noticed something and I wanted to ask you...¡± I looked at the heatran and tilted my head in confusion. ¡°When was the last time you bathed?¡±

    My eyes widened a bit as she pointed out something that I thought no one would care about in this world. I started getting a bit nervous about where this question would lead up to. ¡°Uh¡­ so¡­¡±

    <hr>

    This¡­ is  BULLSHIT!!!

    Why I¡¯m being forced to do this!? This is outrageous, truly preposterous, and whatever other adjective those fancy people use! Why the hell does a creature whose species was born from the depth of volcanoes care about something as useless as that!? I thought that this world wouldn¡¯t mind it, but of course, just to fuck with me, they do!

    And I¡¯m being expelled from my new home because of it!

    What is the reason? Simple. I was just a bit stinky for not taking a bath for four days straight. And now, Basi wanted me to go to the bathhouse to take care of the smell and I¡¯m not allowed to go back until I took a bath! That boomer lady needs to know that gamers don¡¯t bathe, deodorant is already enough!  Too bad the deodorant in my backpack is empty.

    I sighed in annoyance.  ¡®How could I, Alpha Gamer and Master Memer Lucas, sink so low and be forced to take a bath? My ancestors are gonna be so ashamed of me they won¡¯t even look at me! It¡¯s so joever¡­¡¯

    Unfortunately, instead of getting lost in the village, I knew exactly where to go because Basidian gave me the exact coordinates to your mom¡¯s- I mean, to the bathhouse. I walked slowly, trying my best to delay the inevitable, but of course, my brain was just focusing on memorizing the checkpoints that the heatran gave me,  so, of course, it had the perception that I was going fast.

    I tried keeping my brain occupied while focusing on the way, looking at the surroundings of the rocky tunnel. However, as I walked, I noticed that some of the villagers were looking at me with suspicious and weirded-out looks like they were seeing in me something they weren¡¯t supposed to be seeing. Guys, I get it, okay? Humans are hideous because of their soft skin, fragile limbs, and dumb hair, the same reason why jynx are considered ugly.

    What surprised me was that one of the villagers walked up- actually the better term,  sneaked up  on me, and squeaked to call my attention.

    ¡°Hey, mister.¡±

    I looked around before glancing down, seeing the source of the high-pitched female voice. It was a small pichu with spiky fur, not only on her ears but on the end of her tail and her forehead. I had to resist a  very  big urge to squeal and pet her rapidly from the cuteness overload. After all, I needed to keep my menacing masculinity- just kidding, I had none of that because of  very obvious reasons.

    I crouched down. ¡°Why hello there, want something?¡±

    The little pichu then surprised me by poking one of my cheeks with a paw. ¡°What kind of Pok¨¦mon are you? Are you some rare kind or something? You look¡­¡±

    ¡°Fragile, weak, and ugly as-¡± I bit my tongue. I needed to have  some restrains, this pichu seems to be six years old at max. ¡°... as a bruxish? Well, I knew that already. I¡¯m a-¡±

    Suddenly, the pichu started  floating , covered in a purplish hue. ¡°My child!¡± I looked to the side and saw an alolan raichu floating towards us on their tail like a surfing board. With a glowing paw, it was made clear that she was the one making the pichu levitate. She stopped in front of us and looked at her child with a glare. ¡°What did I tell you about bothering strangers?¡±

    The pichu looked aside, feeling ashamed. ¡°S-sorry mama¡­¡±

    I tried to butt in. ¡°Sorry ma¡¯am but, like, she wasn¡¯t bothering-¡±

    The raichu turned to me and bowed, looking a little nervous. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the inconvenience.¡± She then bowed while still maintaining balance on her tail. ¡°Please forgive my daughter.¡± Before I could even respond, both electric rodents were already floating away. ¡°Come on, Raina, you can¡¯t be late for school.¡±

    I raised a finger, trying to have something come out of my mouth, but ultimately failed. I sighed and continued on my merry way to the bathhouse.  ¡®There goes my only chance at delaying the inevitable even more¡­ I could tell that raichu was afraid. Geez, I know that humans are ugly, but not to the point of looking like a skinwalker.¡¯

    After that little event, it wasn¡¯t long until I finally reached the bathhouse. Instead of looking like another building inside a cave, it was only two big doors in an archway supported by stone. From what Basi told me, apparently this bathhouse is basically just an entire lake made out of cave water. Since the entire thing is made out of natural water, any Pok¨¦mon can go to the bathhouse to drink or bathe at any time without paying a single coin. It was weird having the place be named a bathhouse if Pok¨¦mon can also go there to drink water¡­ but anyway.

    Guess who was the dumbass that was there to bathe, that¡¯s right.

    Without any more hesitation, I pushed through the doors and entered the bathhouse with a sigh. Unfortunately, I wouldn¡¯t suddenly become clean out of out of magic. Is there even a Pok¨¦mon that can clean others in an instant? ¡­ no, there isn¡¯t¡­ boo-womp.

    After I crossed the archway, the small tunnel after the doors expanded into something similar to one of those wide cave space areas in Minecraft, but of course, the one I was seeing wasn¡¯t all blocks and rectangles. Rocky walls and pillars supported a high ceiling with one pillar in the middle of a large portion of water. Covering the entire floor of the area was a giant shallow pool made out of crystalline water that shone with the reflection of light sources like the torches on the walls.

    The place wasn¡¯t empty either, some Pok¨¦mon were in there too. A slowking was dipping their legs in the water, a rockruff and a clefairy were having fun splashing water onto one another, and surprisingly, a lumineon. There were, of course, more Pok¨¦mon, but surprisingly, most of them were aquatic water types. Like, there was even a milotic here for crying out loud.

    I¡¯m glad that at least the fish Pok¨¦mon can breathe air because goddamn was that such a shallow lake.

    ¡®Wait, fuck, my clothes¡­¡¯  I took another long glance at the room, finding no private parts of the pool so I could take a bath while fully naked. A thought then occurred to me, since literally, all Pok¨¦mon in here are naked, there wouldn¡¯t be a problem if I was too¡­ right?  ¡®Nuh uh, my humanity will prevail. I¡¯m not getting naked in public anytime soon. Now, I might be a bit silly, a bit goofy, but not crazy!¡¯

    I would just decide to turn into a Pok¨¦mon. Since I was bathing, I decided to turn into a water type, maybe it could be more relaxing that way.  I sure hoped that I would still smell clean and feel washed after that because that would sure suck.

    To not scare the other Pok¨¦mon and make them barrage me with a thousand questions, I hid behind a certain rock formation on the archway and started thinking about the Pok¨¦mon I wanted to transform. After not too much thought, I decided on the Pok¨¦mon I wanted to become and imagined myself as the Pok¨¦mon, swimming around without a care in the world. That was the trigger to the transformation.

    This time, the transformation came just as quickly as it ended, the pink flash disappearing from my vision. I barely felt as much of that silent agony when transforming this time, sure, it was still there, but it was not as present as last time. From one moment to another, I was a buizel, with orange and cream fur coating my body, small blue fins on my arms, and the iconic twin tails.

    If already having an extra limb felt weird,  two  extra ones sent shivers down my body after I realized I could move the two of them independently.

    I took a look at my paws before checking out my new tails, moving them randomly before trying to spin them around like a certain fox. I grinned. ¡°Heh, I¡¯m getting used to this transforming business.¡± I looked up, and just by the doors, there was an excadrill with a black armband on his arm staring at me with his eyes widened and in silence, only blinking a few times.

    I froze as a shiver went down my spine.  ¡®I got caught in 4K, didn¡¯t I?¡¯  There was nowhere to go, he saw me, and now I had to pay the price¡­ or did I?

    I pointed at the excadrill¡¯s feet with a paw and shouted. ¡°Oh my gawd! Those Js fake as hell!¡± The drill mole looked down at his feet, a bit confused and startled by my claim. With that opportunity, I got the fuck out of there and went inside the lake, jumping on the water and making sure I avoided other Pok¨¦mon having fun in it.

    After running for a bit, I reached the rock pillar in the middle and hid behind it, sitting against it and sinking my toes in the water. I let out a sigh of relief and pumped a furry fist in the air. ¡°We move with another W in the bag!¡± I then noticed the same milotic from before staring at me, confusion plastered on their face. Unlike before, however, I could see that they wore a red ring under their head, wrapped around his neck. Masking my based way of speaking, I grinned sheepishly at them. ¡°Uh¡­ nice¡­ nice weather we¡¯re having, amiright?¡±

    The milotic blinked before speaking with a smooth male voice. ¡°Hm¡­ yes? I think?¡± Instead of slithering away, he slithered close to me and stopped right in front of me. With just bro¡¯s upper body, he already towered over me, looking like I was in one of those really bad anaconda movies but the snake had masterful CGI.

    The masterful CGI in this scenario is real life.

    I frowned a little bit nervous as I scratched my cheek. ¡°Uh¡­ want something?¡±

    ¡°Hm¡­ you¡¯re new to this village, aren¡¯t you?¡± He said as he started looking at me at different angles, only his long upper body moving around.

    I crossed my arms. ¡°Is there a problem with being new here?¡±

    The long sea serpent stopped analyzing me and coiled a little bit, glancing aside. ¡°I just find it surprising that in two days in a row, two new Pok¨¦mon appeared in the village in less than two days if reports are correct.¡± He then looked back at me. ¡°Now you, a buizel that I¡¯ve never met before, appear out of nowhere as well¡­¡±

    I looked away a bit more nervously, fiddling with my paws.  ¡®Oh yeah¡­ this village has security, I forgot about that. So apparently there are hidden surveilors around the village that report to this guy, for some reason. Yeah, that¡¯s cool. So   cool   I met him right on my second day in this village and he¡¯s already aware of my existence. Man, I¡¯m dead.¡¯  ¡°Uh¡­¡± I looked back at him, deciding that it was better to explain to him since I would be living here, and I¡¯d probably be transforming  a lot . ¡°So¡­ what if I told ya that those two other Pok¨¦mon that were reported were also me¡­?¡±

    The milotic tilted his head and tilted his head with a big eyebrow raised. ¡°What¡­?¡±

    I raised a finger in the air. ¡°Now, I know that may seem crazy, knowing that I was crazy once and was trapped in a rubber room with rats, b-bu-but!¡± I paused for dramatic effect before continuing. ¡°I am not delusional and I have the proof. I can show it to you¡­¡± I looked around once again. The pool was more crowded than I¡¯d like it to be. ¡°But um¡­ somewhere more private, I¡¯m not gonna leak the IP address that is my power.¡±

    The milotic blinked. ¡°Huh¡­ so¡­ you¡¯re saying that you can shape-shift?¡± I nodded in confirmation and gave a thumbs-up. ¡°Hm¡­ I see.¡± The aquatic serpent uncoiled and started floating away, not before stopping midway and looking back at me. ¡°Meet me at the village¡¯s entrance once you¡¯re done bathing, don¡¯t keep me waiting.¡±

    With that, the floating noodle went, even having a scale fall off his body. I blinked a little bit before sinking my body a bit deeper into the water, the action for some reason felt more refreshing than it should.  ¡®Congrats Lucas, you dumbass, you just put yourself on a possible village FBI watchlist! Don¡¯t you feel so proud of yourself for just jeopardizing the entirety of your quiet life in the village? Also, geez, that last line made it feel like he was ordering me or something.¡¯  I scratched my back a bit as I reevaluated my current situation. ¡°Actually¡­ not that quiet since I¡¯m gonna join an exploration team¡­¡± I muttered to myself.

    I relaxed myself a bit more, putting my paws behind my head as I leaned on the rocky pillar. It wasn¡¯t that comfortable, but eh, I wasn¡¯t expecting it to be comfortable anyway. Since it was one of those rare moments I was bathing, it called for one of the best things to do while bathing. Existential questions and reflection on bad life choices! Let¡¯s start with a simple one!

    Why in the actual fuck did I agree to join a fucking exploration team?!

    I could just chalk it up to me just being tired as fuck, but no, I won¡¯t. Because that decision is actually gonna be the biggest regret of my entire life. Why? Simple. I may have been overconfident as fuck since I discovered that my powers are OP as hell, and with the help of plot armor, it will get me out of any tricky situation I find myself in just like the fight with Valtrus, right? NUH-UH!

    This, this entire thing was real life, not some virtual reality game that I was put in just because, haha, fun! Nope! Now that I have a clearer and not sleep-deprived mind, I can, in fact, realize this is not fiction. There IS no plot armor to save me, there IS no UI system to guide me. It was just me and my powers. I was lucky that furry god guy was merciful enough to at least give me simple directions after being an annoyance.

    Speaking of the furry god guy, let me tackle that topic reeeeeal quick!

    What in the actual fuck does he want with me?

    He said I had a destiny to fulfill. Sure, what kind of destiny is it that doesn¡¯t require me to save an entire world? Why did he bring the random quirked-up tan boy goated with the sauce who only knew how to post memes, play games, and be another internet comedian that only a few people cared about? Was this a test? Was all of this a test just so he could uh¡­ I dunno, experiment to see if humans are ideal for saving the world or not? Like, bro just could¡¯ve given me a sign, didn¡¯t even let me talk to my family-

    ¡­ my family¡­

    Oh fuck¡­ I didn¡¯t even factor them in this situation. They must be worried to oblivion, wondering where the fuck I went to! If months pass and I¡¯m still not back, they¡¯ll definitely gonna think that I died or something like that. Hell¡­ they probably already think that because there has been a long time difference between this world and mine¡­

    Suddenly, I saw something at the bottom of my vision moving fast before falling into the water, more following suit. There were drops of some liquid falling into the pool water. I suddenly sniffled and it became apparent to me, especially when I wiped a paw on my face and looked at it. It was a tear¡­ my tears. I was weeping in silence and I didn¡¯t even notice it.

    I sniffled again and wiped the tears off my face before splashing some water on it.  ¡®Stop fucking crying, she wouldn¡¯t want to see you cry.¡¯  I thought to myself before drinking pawfuls of water to clench my thirst, the water being surprisingly cool and tasty.

    Well, that was the breakdown of all time, I expected it to have it some other time when my head gets unclogged from all the memes.

    I then got up, left the pool, and shook my body to get water off my fur a bit before a completely random thought entered my head.  ¡®Did I just drink out of place that some Pok¨¦mon   definitely    piss on?¡¯  I looked behind at the pool before just shrugging and starting to walk out of the bathhouse.  ¡®Eh fuck it, it¡¯s natural water, it gets replaced every day.¡¯  I didn¡¯t even notice that my fur was a little floofed up.

    As I walked through the tunnels of Cavestone, I tried to fill my head with funny memes to try to get rid of all the negativity. I really hate just thinking about this stuff all the time, literally, nothing good comes out of it. That¡¯s something I learned during my depression period when I kept constantly thinking about Mom.

    Never want to be in that state ever again.

    Funny cat videos, hilarious skits, and memes started filling my head again, trying to shove all the things about my breakdown, breakdown to the back of my mind. I sighed and stretched my body, even flexing my tails a bit. ¡°Alright, now that the nightmare that is bathing is said and done, time to drop the biggest exposed doc to someone, detailing all of my abilities and backstory¡­¡± I limped and whined in tiredness. ¡°This is gonna be  so  fun¡­¡±

    ¡°Lucas? Is that you?¡±

    I stopped walking and turned to the source of the familiar voice. I saw a certain eevee walking towards me, eyepatch and all. Yep, that was Evon alright. I dunno what it was, but his black eyepatch made him look like he had a strict and judgemental look on his face. ¡°Yo, Evo.¡± I gave a small paw wave before frowning sheepishly and looking away. ¡°So¡­ slept well?¡±

    The eevee glanced aside. ¡°Better than other nights, at least.¡± He then looked back at me. ¡°And you¡­?¡±

    ¡°Well, would you believe that this night was weird? Basically uh¡­ I met with the deity that summoned me here¡­ through my dream.¡± I admitted with a sheepish shrug.

    Evon¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°What!?¡± He leaned closer to me, curiosity appearing on his face. ¡°What did they say? And who was it? Cresselia?¡±

    ¡°Well, they were in my dream but from what I saw from shade alone¡­ he wasn¡¯t really Cresselia-shaped.¡± I crossed my arms and grimaced a bit. ¡°About what he said though¡­ he said that I needed to get better at my transformations to find the reason to why I am here¡­ something about my destiny or whatever. Bro really tryin¡¯ to make this a game show or somethin¡¯.¡±

    Evon frowned, probably expecting something more than what I said. ¡°Was there something else he said? Like a clue?¡±

    ¡°Nope. He said that getting better at transforming is the hint and I was gonna do that anyway!¡± I sighed before turning away and starting to walk again. ¡°Welp, I ain¡¯t gonna keep thinking about what he says, I¡¯ll just go with the flow and do whatever I want here. Besides, I need to go see someone.¡±

    The eevee tilted his head as he started walking beside me. ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°Eh, you¡¯ll see. He¡¯s waiting for me at the village¡¯s entrance. I uh¡­ was forced to talk about my powers¡­¡± I sighed. ¡°Not like I was caught transforming, but like, he has sources around the village that keep an eye on newcomers. I assume he¡¯s some kind of chief around here.¡±

    Evon raised an invisible eyebrow. ¡°Um¡­ we don¡¯t have police here like the big cities, only a couple of guards. Tell me¡­ what Pok¨¦mon was he?¡±

    ¡°Well, he¡¯s-¡± I interrupted myself when I saw a bit of a powerful light that wasn¡¯t from any torches. ¡°Oh, we¡¯re here!¡± With that, I ran to the entrance, having no difficulties running since this body was bipedal, even with  way  smaller legs than before. I didn¡¯t pause to look back to check if Evon was following me or not, I was more focused on getting this done so I could also get to the discussion of my new team with Evon as soon as possible.

    It took a few seconds to leave the cave, but once I was out, I started looking around for the milotic. It wasn¡¯t that hard to spot the big water noodle, I saw him brushing the scales of his tail with one of his big pink eyebrows. Oh yeah, forgot they are  limbs,  for some reason. I would make a Jojo reference, but that character is so obscure that I even forgot her name. I only remember her stand name which was basically her hair.

    ¡°Yo, I¡¯m here.¡± I announced with a finger salute and a grin, making the milotic turn to me.

    A smile appeared on the milotic¡¯s mouth. ¡°That was earlier than anticipated, but I enjoy having things done sooner than expected.¡± He then looked at the cave and saw Evon walking out of there. ¡°Oh, hi there, Evon. Unexpected to see you here.¡±

    Evon flinched once his eyes laid on the water serpent. ¡°Guidmaster Quartzo!? What are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°Wut?¡± I blinked a bit in disbelief and surprise before looking at the milotic again. I blinked a couple more times before pointing a paw at him. ¡°YOU¡¯RE a guildmaster!?¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ you didn¡¯t know. My apologies, allow me to introduce myself.¡± He lowered his head and pointed his tail fin to himself, closing his eyes. ¡°My name is Quartzo and I¡¯m guildmaster of the Stalacta guild from Cavestone Village.¡± He opened his eyes and asked as he coiled the lower half of his body. ¡°So, who might you be?¡±

    I put a paw on my side. ¡°Well¡­ the name¡¯s Lucas and uh¡­ I¡¯m a human. Now, I don¡¯t look like one right now but hold your horse-... I mean, scales. Let me show you what I mean.¡± With positive thoughts about my mom, the transformation was triggered. I opened my arms, and with a flash of pink in my eyes taking at least ten seconds, I was back into my human form, the flash disappearing and letting me see the world again. I grinned and pointed a thumb to myself, getting amused by the milotic¡¯s shocked reaction. ¡°And now, I¡¯m a human!¡±

    Quartzo was left speechless, only blinking a few times with his widened red eyes.

    Evon stopped beside me and sat on the ground. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll get used to it once you¡¯ve seen it enough times.¡±

    After a moment, the water serpent suddenly looked aside and muttered something unintelligible to me. I only managed to get a few words before he suddenly turned to me and asked. ¡°Tell me¡­  how  did you get that ability, Lucas?¡±

    I rubbed the back of my head. ¡°Uh¡­ kinda big backstory but the basic gist of it is that I am from another world, got sent to this one, and was gifted to do something with them. What that is?¡± I crossed my arms and looked away in a bit of annoyance. ¡°I dunno, I¡¯m still trying to wrap my head around a revelation I had recently on what my purpose in this world is.¡±

    ¡°What revelation?¡± The milotic tilted his head.

    Evon, being the gentleman that he was, saved me some breath and responded for me. ¡°He said that he saw the deity that summoned him in his dream, and apparently told them a clue to figuring out his destiny.¡±

    I snorted a bit, a bit angry at the situation. ¡°Clue my ass, he barely told me shit. If you¡¯re there to talk about my destiny or something, say something more useful!¡±

    Quartzo sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about you being put into this situation without your consent, Lucas. I hope you can return to your world soon.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best¡­ but I guess I¡¯ll also try my best to survive this world too.¡± I said with a sigh before I perked up about. ¡°Wait, since you¡¯re the guildmaster¡­ perfect, you¡¯re just the guy Evon and I wanted to talk to! Or your guild, whatever calls the shots to form exploration teams.¡±

    He tilted his head. ¡°Oh? Are you planning to form an exploration team with¡­¡± He turned his head to face the eevee, a grimace entering his face. ¡°Um¡­ Evon¡­ are you¡­ are you really sure about this? I thought-¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, guildmaster.¡± The eevee interrupted. ¡°I know what I¡¯m doing and I want to form an exploration team with Lucas.¡±

    I looked at Evon to see any kind of resolve or hesitation on his face, however, I saw something else. I dunno what it was but his face had such a steeled expression like he knew  why  he was doing this with no second thoughts.  ¡®Why I¡¯m getting cold version of the PMD partner Pok¨¦mon vibes?¡¯

    Quartzo closed his eyes and hummed. ¡°Hm¡­ if you say so.¡± He then motioned to the village with his long eyebrow limb¡­ thing. ¡°Well, if you¡¯re ready to join the guild, I¡¯ll take you there so you can sign a form and-¡±

    ¡°Guildmaster!¡±

    A sudden muffled voice appeared out of nowhere, making me look around trying to spot the source. However, the source would soon reveal himself (or themselves) once out of the ground. The alolan dugtrio from yesterday emerged from the dirt and looked at the milotic, a panicked look on their face. ¡°There¡¯s an emergency!¡±

    ¡°Explain, what happened?¡± The milotic grimaced in concern.

    I crossed my arms and copied the water noodle¡¯s expression.  ¡®Oh geez, please don¡¯t tell me I¡¯m gonna get dragged on guild drama literally on my second day here¡­¡¯

    The dugtrio explained a bit hastily. ¡°The daughter of Ramia the Raichu has been kidnapped by the Dark Rebellion!¡±

    Evon¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°What!?¡±

    The dugtrio continued. ¡°A Pok¨¦mon wearing a black armband was seen kidnapping the pichu!¡±

    The milotic groaned. ¡°Did you know where they took them?¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t know, but we have rumors that they came from the back tunnels that lead to the other side of the mountain! One of them must¡¯ve snuck in without us noticing!¡± The blonde moles stated before they started weeping. ¡°We¡¯re so sorry!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, they must¡¯ve sent a Pok¨¦mon that¡¯s used to cloaking ground waves. We should¡¯ve been more alert¡­¡± The guildmaster acknowledged.

    In the middle of the tense situation, despite having literally  nothing  to do with the situation nor having any kind of insight into what the fuck it¡¯s going on, I added something. ¡°Uh¡­ I saw an- uh¡­¡± Suddenly, everyone looked at me. ¡°An¡­ excadrill on the bathhouse when entering it, and he was wearing a black armband around their arm. I dunno, can they cloak themselves from the groundwaves or something?¡±

    ¡°They¡­ they can¡­¡± Quartzo said before he started floating in place. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll call a few teams to scope out those tunnels.¡± He turned to the dugtrio. ¡°Warn other guards around the village to keep watch on the village¡¯s vicinity. Don¡¯t forget to check some private areas as well.¡± The three moles nodded before digging into the ground.

    I scratched my cheek and asked. ¡°So¡­ we gonna do something as well or¡­¡±

    ¡°Tell me, Lucas.¡± The serpent leaned his head closer to me. ¡°How good are you in a fight?¡±

    I blinked before limping, knowing that lying would get me nowhere in this situation. ¡°I can handle myself at least¡­ is that enough?¡±

 The Hostage Incident

    ¡®Why the fuck do I keep saying shit without thinking? I¡¯m not ready for this! Me, knowing how to fight? Bruh, I barely handled that staravia by myself and I had help!¡¯

    Evon and I were running through the tunnels of Cavestone in search of a certain pichu and a certified child kidnapper (this was giving me hella EoS vibes, like, ain¡¯t no way there¡¯s a creep child kidnapper in this world too). We had our mission dear and clear in our heads, such a simple-sounding mission that¡¯s  not  hard for an ADHD teen like me to forget: Find the excadrill, get the pichu back, simple enough.

    However, there was a very simple problem with this very simple mission. We needed to find the excadrill¡¯s exact location and guess what, we didn¡¯t have that at our disposal! So guess what we had to do? That¡¯s right, we had to Persona 5 our way through, AKA, gather info on wherever that excadrill might¡¯ve taken that pichu that I definitely didn¡¯t forget the name of, why would I ever do that???

    So guess what that meant? That¡¯s right, baby! Forced into IRL social interactions, my biggest weakness! Yipee!

    At least it was just to ask the obvious and not engage in a convo with boring topics that I knew shit about. Of course, have Evon ask simple questions of ¡°Have you seen this ¡®mon?¡±, receive a yes or no, and then move on to the next until we get our next clue!

    What, did you actually think that I¡¯d do the talking? Nah, fuck that, if I have someone that doesn¡¯t have social anxiety like me,  they¡¯re  doing the talking.

    We have (Evon has) talked to some Pok¨¦mon, asking if they have seen any sus mole with a literal child in their grasp. Not gonna lie, this made me feel like Chris Hansen for a solid moment. Predator or not, kidnapping a child is a million red flags all over the body. However, no matter how many Pok¨¦mon we interrogated, it was the same answer most of the time: ¡°No I haven¡¯t¡± and ¡°Exca-who?¡± Not exactly that, but something similar to that for sure.

    We slowed the pace down and started walking around. At this point, we have covered much of the village except for a few places. We thought that we shouldn¡¯t need to worry much since both entrances of the village are being blocked off. Evon sighed, his ears and tail lowering. ¡°This is leading nowhere¡­ I wanna believe he¡¯s still in the village, but it just feels like he isn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Bro, not a chance he¡¯s out of the village. It wouldn¡¯t align with the thought process I¡¯m imagining.¡± I said adjusting my fringe.

    Evon looked at me confused and tilted his head. ¡°What is that you¡¯re thinking of?¡±

    ¡°Motives, specifically the excadrill¡¯s motives. Not only his Js are so fake, but it¡¯s kinda weird he just came to this village to kidnap someone out of nowhere.¡± I raised a finger. ¡°If I heard correctly, if that guy is from whatever it is the Dark Rebellion is, they probably want to fuck with the village in any way, knowing groups like those. They gain nothing by just kidnapping a child, in any case, it¡¯ll only make their group seem worse and they¡¯ll be seen as an even worse problem. So why kidnap a child? Simple, to be heard¡­ or something more nefarious.¡±

    ¡°And how does it lead to both of those options? And what¡¯s this nefarious option?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ option numero uno.¡± I raised my finger a bit higher. ¡°They want a hostage so the village meets with his demands so he can give the child back. He could simply want money or something else that the village prolly has, I dunno, not too deep into the Cavestone and Dark Rebellion lore.¡± I raised a second finger. ¡°Unlikely but possible option number two. The excadrill is a creep and a pedo.¡±

    The eevee tilted one of his ears to the side, a frown creeping up on his face as he asked. ¡°What¡¯s a¡­ pedo?¡±

    I motioned with a hand as I explained. ¡°The worst of the worst of possible no-no people in the world. Judging by the state of this world, it seems they didn¡¯t come up with a word for that. Basically, uh¡­ adults who like children in a¡­ sexual way¡­¡±

    Evon stayed silently for a moment before a scowl appeared on his face. ¡°We need to find those two,  fast! ¡± He then sprinted out of there like a cat going at high speeds. ¡°Come on, we can¡¯t afford to waste time!¡±

    ¡°Hey, wait the fuck up, we don¡¯t even know where they are!!!¡± I shouted as I tried to do my best to follow Evon with my slow human and sedentary body. My mind then went back to the Elemental Discount Kongs incident. When we were running from them, Evon could  easily  outspeed them, bro probably even has Quick Attack stored in his body so he could outspeed them in a way that would make the Reverse Flash target him over pettiness. Even if that was the case¡­  why the hell did I carry him on my side???

    Whatever, that was in the past, right now, we had a possible predator to catch, Chris Hansem style!

    After a moment, a certain memory came back to me, a very important memory that should¡¯ve come back to me way before we started Persona 5ing all over the place.

    ¡°Please forgive my daughter.¡± ¡°Come on, Raina, you can¡¯t be late for school.¡±

    I stopped running after Evon and just stared blankly ahead of me as I processed the memory I received. Sometimes, I wanted to punch myself for having the worst memory retention possible. Fucking brain rot¡­

    Evon noticed I stopped and pressed the brakes at his feet, looking at me confusedly. ¡°Why did you stop, something wrong or-¡±

    I looked back at the eevee slowly but surely. ¡°Evon¡­ I¡¯m such a dumbass¡­ I had a clue the whole time and I fucking forgot about it¡­¡±

    Evon stared at me and I stared back at him before he just shouted, his fur getting up a bit. ¡°You  FORGOT about it!?¡±

    I put my hands in front of me and waved them defensively. ¡°Chill, chill! I have a problem where I can¡¯t just retain some info until I remember way later, like, I¡¯m sorry, okay!?¡±

    The eyepatch-wearing eevee then shook his head with a slight groan as he calmed down a bit. ¡°Ugh, anyways, what¡¯s the clue you suddenly remembered?¡±

    ¡°Well, first off, there is only one family of the raichu line in the village, right?¡± I asked.

    Evon looked away, pouting a bit as he thought about it. ¡°Hm¡­ yeah, only Ms. Ramia and her daughter. Her husband isn¡¯t from her evolution line either.¡±

    ¡°Okay then, so here¡¯s the thing¡­ before I went to the bathhouse, I ran into her and her daughter. After she failed miserably in hiding the fact she thought I was an abomination, she said she was taking her daughter to school. So¡­¡± I clasped my hands and looked aside. ¡°Where¡¯s the school since the fake Js excadrill might still be there.¡±

    Evon sighed and turned around. ¡°Alright follow me, I¡¯ll show you to the school. Quick!¡±

    With that, Evon dashed off and I followed suit (noticeably slower than him but at least I could keep up). After a few turns through the village and a few weird looks from the village rs , we managed to reach the school.

    The building itself wasn¡¯t what I expected. Like some other village buildings, the school was made with cobblestone,  painted cobblestone. The stones were painted orange along with the wooden door, save for the archway which was painted green. The building was almost as tall as the door to the bathhouse, save for a few inches. I could only see the front of the place since the sides and back of it were covered with the earth of the cave.

    In front of the building however, two Pok¨¦mon were wearing matching red scarves, a shiny furfrou with red and combed tinges on some parts of his body, and a midnight form lycanroc with spiky bracelets in both arms. A second later, I noticed the eye-shaped badges with four white wings pinned on their scarves, making me realize they were probably explorers.

    ¡®Wow, what¡¯s their team name? Team Edgelords? ¡®Cause goddamn, ow the edge.¡¯

    ¡°Oh, they¡¯re here?¡± Evon suddenly spoke. I looked at him confusedly, the eevee noticing it and explaining. ¡°Oh, they¡¯re explorers. I saw them sometimes when I used to work at the guild, I think they know me too.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± I said before thinking.  ¡®Wonder if any of them just hung around shadows just to look cool so they were barely seen¡­¡¯

    As we approached them, the two edgelord doggos looked at us (specifically me). I could practically see that they were a bit shocked to see me, even though they tried their best to play it cool like edgelords usually do. Suddenly, the lycanroc spoke with a female voice that you¡¯d only see kickass women from movies usually have. ¡°So¡­ you¡¯re the shapeshifter, I presume?¡±

    I cringed a bit, caught by surprise that she knew about my powers. ¡°Huh!? How the hell did you know!?¡±

    She raised a paw finger. ¡°One: you look weird.¡± She lifted another finger. ¡°Two: this.¡± She then pointed at the building wall, specifically some weird small cracks and crevices that seemed to be spelling out something.

    Evon and I looked at each other confusedly before approaching and checking out the crevices of the wall more closely. It was a message. It crudely read:  ¡°If you want the pichu back bring me the shapeshifter. I¡¯ll be waiting in the basement¡± .

    Suddenly, the furfrou snapped our attention to him with a raspy voice. ¡°We already took a peek inside the school, everyone already seems to have evacuated.¡±

    The lycanroc put a paw on her side. ¡°Meaning, only the kidnapper and the pichu are inside¡­ that is if he didn¡¯t subtly bring help as well.¡±

    I stared at them before saying to myself. ¡°So it IS a hostage situation then¡­¡± I perked up and grinned, putting a hand on my side. ¡°Hell yeah, galaxy brain activated once again and made me read the enemy!¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ you know he wants  you , right?¡± Evon asked unamused while tilting his head. ¡°YOU are the exchange offer in this scenario.¡±

    I raised my finger before the realization slowly sank in and I lowered my hand. ¡°Oh¡­¡± My arms limped as I stared blankly at the wall as I realized what this meant for me, a nervous smile making its way into my mouth. ¡° Oh¡­ ¡±

    After this, I had just one question. Why? Why the  FUCK  that excadrill wanted me? Wait a sec¡­ oh yeah¡­ probably my powers or something. I mean, who wouldn¡¯t want a shapeshifter from another world that can transform into any Pok¨¦mom only to them? Like, bro could just send me out and instantly win any battle or whatever they wanted with me-

    ¡­ Nuh-uh, I¡¯m not being the ditto, fuck that.

    Suddenly, I felt a claw be placed on my shoulder and I looked back, seeing the lycanroc (who was taller than me for some damn reason) look at me with a concerned look despite her edgy appearance. ¡°Listen, kid, don¡¯t worry. I know you¡¯re scared by the situation, but we¡¯re not gonna give you in that easily.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s our job as explorers to make sure everyone¡¯s safe on a mission.¡± The furfrou added before winking in reassurance. ¡°Even very strange Pok¨¦mon like you.¡±

    Huh, despite their edgy looks, these guys were quite nice and careful. Also,  what the hell, man! Why am I getting treated like a child again!?  Like, sure, I¡¯m shorter than average but not a damn dwarf!

    I nervously took the furry paw off my shoulder and smiled, trying to play it cool. ¡°Listen, it¡¯s nice ¡®n all that you care about me. But I¡¯m not a child.¡± I flashed both explorers a toothy grin while doing a thumbs-up. ¡°I know how to defend myself just fine!¡±  ¡®Just kidding, I will get my shit wrecked because of the amount of skill issue I have! Please help me!¡¯ I said internally. I wasn¡¯t about to fight your local noob wild-mon, nahnahnahnahnah, I was about to fight someone who this time could think and not only rely on instincts. So, if I tried to win the brute power battle like last time, guess who wins, come on, take a wild guess. ¡°Besides, I can literally transform into Pok¨¦mon if I ever feel that I¡¯m at a disadvantage.¡±

    Evon looked aside and snickered a bit, a smug smirk plastered across his face. ¡°Yeah, sure, totally can take him with your amazing powers-¡±

    I crouched and put a finger over the eevee¡¯s mouth, shushing him. ¡°Shhhh, speak and you might be lookin¡¯ very yeetable for me.¡±

    ¡°What-?¡±

    I got up with a smile and announced. ¡°Welp, if it¡¯s me he wants, that¡¯s what he¡¯s gonna fucking get.¡± I made a finger motion before pointing at the school. ¡°We move!¡±

    ¡°Wait, hold on, we¡¯re just going in without a plan? What if there¡¯s some kind of trap besides just the exchange?¡± Evon hypothesized.

    The lycanroc took a step forward and crossed her arms. ¡°I agree with Eevee here. What IF there¡¯s a trap waiting for us inside? We never know the tricks these Dark Rebellion fools have, so we have to enter prepared.¡±

    I stared back at them unamused. Honestly, I just wanted to get this over with because, after this, there was more shit I was supposed to do before I could just relax. I wanted to explore around, see everything the town had to offer, and just chill. But nope, here I am, just forced to be the next best thing to actual explorers, who, you know,  are right behind me  . But well, can¡¯t get good at transformations without a little bit of EXP so¡­ guess I¡¯m forced to do this to fulfill my so-called  ¡°destiny¡± .

    I sighed and turned to them crossing my arms with an impatient frown. ¡°Fine, what¡¯s the plan, I don¡¯t wanna activate galaxy brain mode two times in the day. We definitely can¡¯t set up a trap or an ambush because the guy already has the area taken.¡±

    The furfrou hummed in thought before asking me, his tail rising a bit. ¡°Say¡­ how much time does it take you to finish a transformation?¡±

    I was about to respond before the thought dawned on me.  ¡®Huh¡­ hm¡­ guess shadow man from my dream had a point. Gotta get better not only at transforming into better Pok¨¦mon but transforming faster.¡¯ After thinking, I responded. ¡°Well¡­ judging from the times I transformed, guess you could say uh¡­ ten seconds?¡±

    ¡°Hm¡­ that should be enough to leave him stunned.¡± The furfrou said before looking at the rest of the Pok¨¦mon. ¡°Alright, I got a plan, but it¡¯s gonna be risky. A way to safely get the pichu back without any risks.¡±

    ¡°So uh¡­ what are you thinking exactly?¡± Evon asked while tilting his head.

    The black and red canine smirked slightly. ¡°Well¡­¡±

    <hr>

    Welp, it was time to execute the plan. To be honest, I wasn¡¯t a fan of this plan, mainly because I played an important role in it and because I¡¯m also the guy everyone can blame if I fuck it up. Ah, just like the good ol¡¯ days of Overwatch when you don¡¯t push the payload, but this time, instead of cursing you out with slurs, my teammates will probably hit me really hard for failing!

    Haha, definitely no pressure at all!

    The interior of the school wasn¡¯t that bad¡­ but it didn¡¯t feel like a school. But well, it¡¯s to be expected from cultural differences and all of that. The smell of dirt plastered onto the ceiling, walls, and ground; and the lack of lockers, which were replaced with torches that illuminated the place, even inside the classrooms. Not only the smell of dirt accompanied the place, but a smell akin to shit also infested the place.

    ¡­ oh¡­ I found the source and it is exactly like the smell¡­ who the fuck allows kids to do this  in school ???

    Anyway¡­ we were still in the school halls, heading to the basement (why did it even have a basement?) to confront the excadrill. Both members of Team Edgelord (as I have dubbed them in my mind) were still with me and Evon, feeling like our personal bodyguards, although uh¡­ I could smell that one of them was muskier than the other. But personally, the company was appreciative.

    ¡­ shit, the silence was getting to me, I needed to say something to keep the unquiet demon within me satisfied without doing something weird in front of them as I usually do!

    I folded my hands behind my back and asked. ¡°Soooo¡­ don¡¯t believe I¡¯ve gotten your names yet.¡± I looked back at the two dogs with a smile. ¡°Care to share?¡±

    The lycanroc spoke nonchalantly while putting a paw on her side. ¡°Well, mine¡¯s Ino.¡±

    The furfrou smiled, his tail wagging a little bit. ¡°My name is Chozo, and yours are¡­¡±

    I flashed an okay hand at them. ¡°The name¡¯s Lucas, master memer and beginner shapeshifter!¡±

    Chozo tilted his head in confusion. ¡°Master¡­ memer?¡±

    Evon sighed with his ears flattening against his head. ¡°Eh, you wouldn¡¯t get it, even I still don¡¯t get it.¡± He then perked up again. ¡°Well, my name is-¡±

    ¡°Evon¡­ right?¡± The lycanroc said, surprising Evon a bit. ¡°Yeah, kid, we know. Lots of talk went around the guild after um¡­¡± She looked away as a grimace appeared on her face. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    The eevee grimaced and looked away, his ears and tail lowering. ¡°I¡¯m¡­¡± He looked at me and stared for a bit, I looked back at him with a concerned frown. He then shook his head and looked back at Ino. ¡°I¡¯m fine, I got over it, mostly.¡±

    Chozo smiled at Evon as he rubbed his head against the eevee¡¯s forehead. ¡°Good, that¡¯s good. Don¡¯t worry, everything will be okay.¡±

    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Evon looked aside. ¡°I hope so¡­¡±

    I frowned at Evon before looking ahead with a sigh.  ¡®Don¡¯t worry Evon, you¡¯ll learn how to repress the grief soon enough¡­¡¯

    ¡°This is it.¡± The lycanroc suddenly announced and our attention was turned to a ramp that was a bit deep into the school. ¡°If I remember correctly from this school, this ramp leads to the basement.¡±

    The sad mood from before disappeared as a grin entered my face. I cracked my knuckles in an excitement filled with a bit of anxiety. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do this!¡±

    ¡°Kid, remember to stick with the plan, alright?¡± The furfrou reminded me.

    ¡°No worries, I¡¯ll follow the plan. I have a feeling this plan will work well since it wasn¡¯t made by me!¡± I said to myself before stepping on the ramp and started descending, adjusting my fringe with a flicker of my hand. ¡°We move!¡±

    With that, the rest of the group followed behind me. The light that the torches offered started dimming in intensity the further we went down since the ramp didn¡¯t have that many torches, unlike the hall. It felt like a party of four was about to enter one of those dungeons where a big monster from DnD campaigns was waiting to challenge us.

    Except that said monster was in the form of a mole with steel body parts and said mole wanted a bargain instead of just looking for a fight.

    I took a deep breath, reassuring myself with a few claps on my head. ¡°Head in the game, gamer mode activate.¡± I said to myself and clenched my fist before marching on with a determined face¡ªtime to put the plan into action.

    We reached the end of the ramp, entering the basement of the school. For a basement, it was quite spacious, well shouldn¡¯t call this a basement, more like¡­ a storage room. It wasn¡¯t empty, wooden boxes were laid around the room with some miscellaneous objects often seen in old schools present around the boxes, some berries left around the place, and some old¡­ chains? Not only that, there was a cage hanging from the ceiling of the cage with some kind of green glimmer in it.

    Was this a damn school or an actual dungeon???

    At the far back of the room, there was the drowze-  AHEM , I mean, the excadrill child kidnapper, standing beside the pichu as he had a firm grip on the pichu. I could barely see her arm since the excadrill¡¯s claws were way bigger than it, heck even bigger than the pichu¡¯s entire torso.

    The excadrill with the black armband was already looking at the ramp, probably already knowing that we were coming. ¡°Well, well, well, so you really brought me the shapeshifter. Thought you were going to fight me and have poor little pichu over here be in the middle of the battlefield.¡±

    I pointed at the excadrill. ¡°Oh, but we¡¯re gonna fight you, alright! Just wait until I kick your ass-¡±

    ¡°You can take him.¡± Ino said monotonously. ¡°He¡¯s yours.¡±

    I looked back at the lycanroc, eyes widened and mouth agape. ¡°WHAT!?¡±

    Chozo replied with a shrug. ¡°You heard her, give in to him.¡±

    I turned back to the two edgy-looking canines and opened my arms. ¡°The fuck does that mean!? Why!? I thought we had a plan, right!?¡± I looked at Evon, the eevee looking aside for a moment. ¡°Bro, we had a plan right, we can totally take him, you¡¯re with me as well, right, Evon?¡± He stayed silent, not even looking at my eyes. ¡°E-Evon¡­?¡±

    Suddenly, the explorers approached me, a menacing glare etched into their faces. For a moment, I started to feel fear. ¡°Don¡¯t try resisting¡­¡± The lycanroc said before shards of rock appeared on her palm. ¡°You¡¯re no match for us, no matter the form you take.¡±

    ¡°The kid is our top priority. We¡¯re being paid here, and what about you? Have anything to offer?¡± The furfrou asked.

    I backed away a little bit before I could hear the drill mole laughing behind me. ¡°Ahahaha, they were right about this village! It¡¯s more rotten than a muk¡¯s egg.¡± He extended a claw to me. ¡°That¡¯s why the Dark Rebellion exists, shapeshifter, to expose the ugliness hidden in the shadows of communities like these, and riot against them!¡± He then grinned. ¡°You¡¯d fit well with us.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± I tried speaking, but words wouldn¡¯t come out of my mind. I just couldn¡¯t stop staring at the trio in front of me, ready to go to town if I didn¡¯t comply with their terms. My expression darkened a bit before I turned to the excadrill, starting to walk to him. It was then that the memories of the plan played in my head, the voice of Chozo echoing.

    ¡°We¡¯re gonna surprise the excadrill.¡±

    I got a bit closer to the drill mole, the grip on Raina unwavering even when I approached him with my hands tightened into a fist. She looked sadder than scared for some reason. ¡°Mister¡­¡±

    ¡°He needs to let go of the pichu, so¡­ what better way than to just give him what he wants?¡±

    I finally reached the excadrill, seeing that I was way bigger than him. Once I was close enough, he finally let go of the electric rodent, Raina running on all fours to the explorers and Evon. Without looking, I noticed she stopped for a moment before continuing her path to the trio on the other side of the room.

    ¡°This needs to be convincing, so we¡¯re gonna pretend to betray you to focus more on the hostage.¡±

    The excadrill gripped my arm tightly, the cold and dirty steel almost drawing blood since he was poking too hard. I winced a bit before looking back, seeing Raina climbing on Chozo¡¯s back as the furfrou was already moving away to the ramp. However, he stopped for a moment and looked back, winking at me before ascending the ramp.

    ¡°And this is the part where you come in, shapeshifter. While thinking he¡¯s got the advantage, you transform and surprise him with a super effective attack after transforming, anything works, as long he¡¯s caught off guard. You do that while I take the pichu to safety, can you do that?¡±

    As the excadrill started dragging me to a freshly made hole in the wall (probably to be used as an escape route), I sighed and began speaking. ¡°You know¡­ this reminds me of my one time in  Sawcon  where my friends also betrayed me for nothing¡­¡±

    The excadrill looked at me a bit confused. ¡°What the heck is even Sawcon?¡±

    I grinned mischievously as my thoughts were locked in on the Pok¨¦mon I wanted to transform. From one moment to another, pink blinded my vision as I felt the excadrill let go of my arm. I felt my body shrink a bit, my muscles and skin hardening and bulking up, a small tail appearing on my rear, and three ridges appearing on the top of my head. Once the colors disappeared from my eyes, I saw the excadrill, taking a step back, still trying to recover from the blinding light.

    Now, in the body of a machop, I tightened my fist as I felt a surge of energy appears deep in my chest before going through my arm. Suddenly, my fist glowed a sickly orange as I pulled back my arm and I grinned like a madman. ¡°Sawcon deez nuts!¡± With the excadrill with his guard wide open, I punched him in the stomach. ¡°Bitch!¡±

    The drill mole gasped as saliva fell out of his mouth before I launched him to the ceiling with the boosted punch. The excadrill hit the ceiling hard, even making the old cage fall from its hinges and onto the floor, shattering it completely. As the excadrill started falling, I ran to Evon and Ino, giggling all the while. Evon smiled. ¡°For a second, I thought you¡¯d mess up on your acting and made the entire plan go to shit.¡±

    I heard the excadrill finally land (definitely gracefully) on the floor and then crossed my arms. ¡°Bruh put more faith in me!¡± I grinned and posed stylishly, specifically doing the Josuke pose. ¡°I wasn¡¯t born a master actor for nothing, people fall in tears over my masterful acting, trust!¡± I then looked at my grey-skinned hands. ¡°And of course.¡± I clenched my fist and flexed. ¡°I¡¯m so strong, real!¡±

    The eyepatch-wearing eevee snickered. ¡°Sure, buddy, sure.¡±

    ¡°This doesn¡¯t seem right...¡± Ino suddenly said, making us snap our attention to her. She had a rather thoughtful face. ¡°How did he move so fast to the school, kidnap someone, and even make an escape tunnel if the bargain went wrong all in a short amount of time¡­?¡± The lycanroc then looked at me, crossing her arms. ¡°Tell me, when did that guy see that you had the power to shapeshift?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ like¡­ early morning when I entered the bathhouse and it¡¯s been¡­ like¡­ I dunno¡­ almost around an hour from then?¡± I said, uncertainly. Now that she mentioned it, yeah, it does seem weird that he managed to kidnap Raina and set everything up in such a short amount of time, heck, why even kidnap Raina of all the children in the school?

    Wait a sec¡­ oh fuck, that guy might¡¯ve been stalking me¡­ because no way in hell seeing Raina before she got kidnapped was a coincidence. Like, he probably kidnapped her because I interacted with her a little, and then I only saw him because he was probably astonished by my powers. But after that¡­

    Huh¡­ yeah, ain¡¯t no  WAY  he did all those things in less than an hour.

    ¡°Hehehehehe¡­¡± The excadrill could be heard as he slowly got up, focusing our attention on him. His arms were limp, and his natural helmet prevented us from looking at the ugly bruise I inflicted on him. ¡°Played me like a damn slowpoke¡­¡± He slowly lifted his head, looking at us and grinning. ¡°You¡¯re wondering how I did all alone¡­ but I¡¯ll just answer for you¡­ I had help. Unfortunately, I got cocky and sent her away, thinking I had the situation under control. But that doesn¡¯t matter anymore¡­¡± The mole suddenly pulled from his steel hide on his forehead a blue orb the size of a soccer ball (how the hell was he hiding that?). ¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll mind getting called over¡­¡±

    Evon¡¯s expression slowly morphed to surprise. ¡°A Rollcall Orb!?¡± He gritted his teeth and growled. ¡°How does he even have that!? That¡¯s only for explorers!¡±

    ¡°The Dark Rebellion gets anything they want, be it legal or not.¡± Ino¡¯s stance changed as she got ready for a fight. ¡°Be ready, kids!¡±

    I started sweating a little as I got into a defensive stance once the excadrill lifted the orb. ¡°Oooh boy, time for a boss fight¡­¡± I then grinned. ¡°Let¡¯s do this!¡±

    ¡°Rollcall Orb¡­¡± The excadrill said as the orb on his claw started glowing a blue hue. He then threw the orb on the ground, the ball shattering into energy upon impact. ¡°Activate!¡±

    The wind blew from the orb as a blue flash of light enveloped the entire room, forcing me and the others to shield our eyes from the magical flashbang. When the light cleared, I took my hand away from my eyes to see a newcomer standing in front- actually, the better term would be  floating  in front of the excadrill.

    My eyes widened when I saw the cause of all my recent competitive Pok¨¦mon war flashbacks. Floating in place, their four arm hairs lazily swaying around, was a flutter mane, a black armband wrapped around her top left arm hair, and a pink ribbon tied around her front red horn. I could even see a small fang poking out of her mouth. I took a step back and blurted out. ¡°What the fuck!? Paradox Pok¨¦mon real!?¡±

    I received a weird look from the ghost and fairy type before she looked around confused. She then looked back ¡°over her shoulder¡± at the excadrill and said with a smug grin, having the voice of a literal anime girl. ¡°I take it by the lack of pichu and the fact that you called me, that the bargain didn¡¯t work?¡±

    The drill mole looked aside. ¡°They tricked me¡­¡±

    The fairy spirit stared at the excadrill for a moment before a snicker escaped her mouth. She then laughed loudly, putting one of her limbs over her mouth. Once her laughing fit was over, she spoke. ¡°Oh Ryobi, you¡¯re too precious for this world. But be too naive, and they trample all over you¡­¡± She then looked back at us, judging by the look on Ino and Evon¡¯s faces, they knew that Flutter Mane was as much of a threat as I saw her. ¡°So¡­ any of you is the supposed shapeshifter that little drill boy over here told me about?¡±

    I took a step forward and pointed a thumb at myself. ¡°If you¡¯re looking for someone, that¡¯s me! But like hell Imma let you just take me like I¡¯m some sort of prized possession to you!¡± Realizing that I was at a type disadvantage, I thought of another Pok¨¦mon and transformed into them, taking some seconds to transform into them. As the pink left my vision, I looked at my body to confirm if I had transformed into the right Pok¨¦mon. Just one look at my new blade hands, red arm, and the feeling of my mouth being behind some kind of mask or helmet confirmed the Pok¨¦mon I wanted.  ¡®I would¡¯ve gone for bisharp, but I probably couldn¡¯t handle it¡­ I¡¯ll do some tests later, for now, we move with this body.¡¯

    The flutter mane chuckled as she put her two bottom arms on her cheeks. ¡°Oooh! What an interesting ability you have! And those blue eyes you have¡­ so pretty to look at!¡± She clasped her limbs together. ¡°You¡¯d be wonderful to have in our organization!¡±

    Ino took a step forward, her visible eye flashing a bit menacingly. ¡°Yeah, like we¡¯d let you do that.¡±

    ¡°Oh my¡­ explorers¡­ the lowest scum of society¡­¡± The reptilian specter said.

    Ryobi coughed a bit, probably from the pain after the punch I gave him earlier. ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave now, you know I can¡¯t handle battles well. Don¡¯t  kill  the shapeshifter, alright? We need him.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah, sure. I¡¯ll restrain myself just for him.¡± She then looked at Evon and Ino as the excadrill already started leaving through the tunnel, a glare escaping her face. ¡°But the others, not so much¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what we¡¯ll see ghost bitch!¡± I got into a semi-pouncing stance as I readied my blade arms. ¡°Bring it!¡±

    The flutter mane shrugged and said casually. ¡°If you say so, ask and you shall receive.¡± In the blink of an eye, she disappeared, only leaving a gust of wind behind.

    Evon¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Where did she-¡±

    Ino shouted. ¡°Lucas, behind you!!!¡±

    I dropped my stance and looked behind me. My eyes widened as I saw the ghost with a fully charged Shadow Ball right on my face. I had no time to do anything as she winked at me before releasing the ball of darkness, point blank on my face.

    ¡°Lucas!¡±

    I could hear Evon shout as pain surged through my body when an explosion occurred. I got launched a bit of a distance away, shouting in pain before I landed on the floor and the sound of clanking steel ringing in my ears as my body crashed on the ground. I groaned and moaned in pain as I put my blade hands on my head. It rang a bit but not much, besides, the pain was already going away.  ¡®Thank goodness I turned into a dark type or that would¡¯ve hurt tenfold¡­¡¯

    I sat up while groaning. I moved a blade away from my eye to see the specter chuckling before she swiftly dodged a Shadow Ball coming from Evon. She looked at the eyepatch-wearing eevee with a smug smirk as he growled. ¡°Stay still!¡±

    She winked. ¡°What a cutie you are, such a shame you¡¯re standing with a piece of society¡¯s trash!¡± One blink and she was gone again, dodging a Crunch from Ino, the ethereal jaw biting nothing but air. The lycanroc already looked behind to find the flutter mane with an intimidating glare on her face. ¡°Isn¡¯t that right, explorer?¡±

    Ino didn¡¯t falter and punched the ground with a beige glow surrounding one of her paws. Stones emerged from below where the feathered ghost floated, however, she had no difficulty in just dodging those too with her unwavering speed. It almost looked like she was teleporting even. The rock canine growled. ¡°Dammit!¡±

    The flutter mane stopped in front of me, although, not looking at me. She laughed and shook her head. ¡°Is that everything that you got? Man, here I thought that I¡¯d actually get a challenge!¡±

    While she was yapping, I stopped paying attention to her and got up silently. By that point, most of the pain had receded a little bit, only leaving a small dent in my helmet/face. I felt a hardened and durable energy travel to my right arm, the blade hand felt harder and heavier, yet, I could swing it easily. I slowly and silently walked to the flutter mane, raising my arm. However, before I could slash her back, a feathery limb caught it with a strong grip.

    I tried yanking my arm away from her but she wouldn¡¯t let go. She inched her face closer to mine, her red and yellow predatory eyes staring menacingly into mine. I started to feel a little scared, it felt like she¡¯d open her mouth right now and take a bite out of me (but of course she wouldn¡¯t, I was covered in sharp edges and blades, but that fact still didn¡¯t stop me from being afraid). ¡°Aww, you look so cute when you¡¯re scared¡­!¡±

    ¡°Lucas!¡±

    I heard Evon shout before I could see him preparing another Shadow Ball along with Ino whose body was getting surrounded by floating rocks that circled around her body. Both of them launched their attacks towards the fairy specter, however, she jerked the arm that was holding me forward, launching me against the attacks.

    ¡°Woaaaah!¡± I screamed as Shadow Ball and the rocks impacted my body. The pain rocketed even more as I felt the damage of all the attacks.

    ¡°Lucas!¡± Ino and Evon shouted as I landed on the ground next to them.

    My strength was leaving my body, my head rang like I got too close to a church bell and suffered the consequences. My entire body was hurting like hell, the armor encasing my entire body had a lot of dents in it, and I was pretty sure I was bleeding¡­ or was I? I couldn¡¯t tell since it felt hard to process reality at the moment. That¡¯s what I got for receiving two balls of pure darkness and three hard rorks on the head. I hated it, everything hurt, sure, I¡¯d get healed pretty quickly later but still,  it hurt .

    Evon approached me and looked at me in concern, I barely see his outline with my blurry sight. ¡°Lucas, are you okay!? Can you still stand up!?¡±

    I grunted a bit, closing my eyes and trying to gather the strength in my arms to push myself up, sitting on the hard dirt floor. ¡°I¡­ ngh¡­¡± I pressed the blunt part of the blade against my head. ¡°She got hands, not gonna lie¡­¡± I opened my eyes and saw that bits of my natural armor had fallen off, and I also found some dents on the blades of my torso, other than that, I couldn¡¯t see my bruises, I just knew I had them by the pain. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡­¡±

    ¡°Seriously, I expected more from you guys, but you¡¯re all a disappointment¡­¡± She then focused on me, looking at me rather menacingly, a shiver went down my spine as she continued speaking. ¡°Especially you, shapeshifter, or should I say, Lucas. I was hoping you had nice forms to entertain me, but of course, they were lackluster...¡± The flutter mane then started to glow pink, sparkling energy dancing around her body before she put her limbs in front of her concentrating the energy in front of her. ¡°Time to end this game, unfortunately!¡±

    Ino noticed what was about to happen, so she ran in front of Evon and me and punched the ground with rock energy, making a wall made of stone pillars emerge from the floor. She then looked behind and shouted. ¡°Evon, take Lucas out of here and run-¡±

    Her eyes widened as she gasped, making us look behind as well. The ghost managed to pass by the rocks before they fully erected,  while still retaining her attack . The flutter mane winked before she released her Dazzling Gleam at us, bombarding us with fae light as we were forced to block the attack. The force of the attack was so strong that we were launched through the stone pillars, breaking them with our bare backs. Once we landed on the floor, I could smell burnt fur and steel from the amount of light we received, probably steaming a little.

    My body felt numb, however, I could still open my eyes, rather slowly and weakly. I saw a blurry outline of the ghost approaching me, looking down at me with a condescending stare. ¡°Hm¡­ seems like I beat you up enough. Honestly, if you¡¯re that weak, I don¡¯t see why you¡¯d be good in our team. But well, you¡¯re valuable, I guess I can¡¯t let you hang around with garbage.¡± Silently, I looked at Evon, seeing the horrible state the eevee was in. The whole side of his body had an ugly burn wound, bleeding a bit with burnt flesh exposed. He had his eyes open, clearly conscious, however, he did nothing but stare into the demise that is flutter mane. ¡°So it¡¯s time to finish them off¡­¡±

    I coughed a bit before raspily speaking, stretching my arm towards Evon. ¡°N-no¡­ please¡­! Evon¡­!¡±

    The ghost started concentrating that sickly pink energy in front of her again. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he won¡¯t feel a thing-¡± She suddenly stopped concentrating before whipping her body backwards. Her eyes widened before a literal bullet of a creature slammed right into her stomach. She screamed in pain as she got launched into the wall, the impact making her spit some strange substance from her mouth. The specter distanced herself from the wall and looked and got her bearings together. ¡°What was-¡± Her eyes widened a bit before she growled. ¡°You¡­!¡±

    I slowly tilted my head at the attacker, who had their head return to normal after hardening from pure iron. The newcomer was none other than Guildmaster Quartzo, who was floating off the ground majestically. He whipped his long eyebrow limbs and looked sternly at the flutter mane. ¡°So you¡¯re the one attacking my villagers¡­ it has been a long time, Marina.¡±

    The flutter mane, now named Marina, continued growling before her limbs started shaking in anger before throwing a tantrum. ¡°No, no, no, no! Why is it always you that keeps ruining my fun!¡± She then pointed at him with a feather. ¡°Not this time, old ¡®mon!¡±

    Ino, who was still conscious it seemed, shouted. ¡°Guildmaster, watch out!¡±

    With incredible speeds, the specter vanished, leaving behind only a cold wind. Suddenly, the guildmaster whipped his head in a certain direction before a  secret third black and red eye suddenly opened, whaaaaa?????

    For some reason, another shiver went down my spine when I saw that eye.

    ¡°Pull.¡± The milotic said, and his third eye shone a brilliant red. From one second to another, Marina was in front of him, gasping in shock.

    ¡°Shit!¡± She said after gasping.

    Without waiting any time, Quartzo morphed the skin on his forehead into iron and headbutted the ghost, launching her a certain distance away.

    Marina halted herself in the air. But before she could do anything, the water serpent was already behind her. What? But¡­ I didn¡¯t see him move a bit before flying like Marina does, how did he do that?

    The flutter mane looked behind her in surprise as the milotic¡¯s tail got covered in a torrent of water, circling it before he smacked it against the ghost, knocking her down to the ground. He didn¡¯t stop there, however. Without even charging inside his throat, he released a beam of pressurized water that covered Marina¡¯s body entirely.

    Once Quartzo was finished with the beam, he closed his third eye and fell on the ground beside the ghost. Marina opened her eyes while panting a little, looking at the milotic with a pained and annoyed stare. The guildmaster huffed. ¡°Had enough already?¡±

    ¡°You¡­ you serpentine bitch¡­¡± Her body was starting to release a purple smoke, a dark portal appearing right below her. ¡°This isn¡¯t over yet¡­ one day¡­ one day you and your little guild of garbage and shit will fall to the same gutter where the members of the Dark Rebellion once were¡­¡±

    With that, she disappeared into the portal, the hole dissipating right after. Quartzo stared at the ground for a moment and sighed. ¡°Arceus, have mercy¡­¡± He then looked at me, I was already starting to lose consciousness from all the beating I received in a single day. ¡°You¡­ need¡­ help¡­the-...?¡±

    I raised my blade hand trying to do a thumbs up before I finally gave in and fainted from my injuries.

    <hr>

    After seeing the milotic and the lycanroc drag the unconscious bodies of the pawniard and the eevee out of the cave, a certain green blob with a singular eye with a hollow hexagonal core inside it started wiggling away from the scene. It was finally free after being trapped in that stupid cell for Arceus-knows how long.

    However, this green blob was nothing more than a mere cell for the main body. He was using the cell as an eye, therefore, it sensed a battle brewing in the area his cell was so he watched everything, down to that strange being transforming into two different Pok¨¦mon.

    That was the part that intrigued him the most.

    ¡®That boy¡­ why does he have those powers? I thought they were lost to time¡­¡¯ The zygarde core thought as he bounced through the forest. He never would¡¯ve thought that he would see those powers again, being used by such a strange being as well. Who even was that creature, why did it have those powers anyway?

    They only belonged to a single Pok¨¦mon, after all.

    The zygarde stopped for a moment to think about this new information, humming to himself all the while.  ¡®Hm¡­ that cell isn¡¯t that far away from me, so I guess I could go investigate whoever that boy is. Let¡¯s see if he¡¯s related to   him   of all ¡®mons¡­¡¯

    Using his connection to the cell, the small ameba-like being started bouncing in its direction. He wondered if this meant that a new age was coming¡­

 To Infinity and Beyond

    I slowly opened my eyes while grunting and groaning, surprised by my surroundings.

    I was floating on the same black void from the last time I was unconscious. I remember drifting to somewhere before eventually waking up because of a whisper that suddenly turned into shouting. But here I was again, back in this void, with nothing to see, nowhere to go, and no one to hear my voice.

    Except for one being whose voice was already engraved on my mind.

    ¡°My¡­ quite the beating you took, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    I looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. I looked behind, seeing the god, deity, whatever, floating while his form stayed obscured with that pink light surrounding him. I assumed he was facing away from me since I couldn¡¯t see his glowing yellow eyes this time. Since I had finally some light to see a bit clearly, I looked down at my body to see I was still a pawniard. Obviously, since I got my ass handed to me.

    I raised my blade hands and looked at them. ¡°Yeah¡­ guess I did¡­¡± I put my blade on my side as I looked aside. ¡°To be fair, do you know what the hell I was facing? You should know those things back in my world are feared-¡±

    ¡°Feared for what? For just sweeping through competition on those tournaments?¡± The shadow figure sighed. ¡°You still haven¡¯t learned your lesson even after the struggle you¡¯ve been put through¡­¡± I was about to ask what he meant by that before he turned his head to face me, giving me a side-eye over the shoulder. ¡°Tell me, do you know what¡¯s the fastest time it took for a shapeshifter like you to transform in this world?¡±

    I stared at the shadow figure dumbfoundedly before responding with uncertainty. ¡°Uh¡­ four seconds? Still, how did you know-¡±

    He interrupted me when he raised a finger with a small paw. ¡°One second, and that¡¯s when they were moving while transforming. And how much time does it take you to transform? Exactly, ten times what the record could. You managing to surprise that excadrill was merely a stroke of luck that you won¡¯t have again.¡± He sighed. ¡°I¡¯m disappointed in you, Lucas. I thought that transforming into a Suicune would be the spark you needed to reach your full potential. But alas¡­ you still have much yet to learn.¡±

    I crossed my arms, getting a little bit annoyed. ¡°Okay Mr. Knows-A-Lot, what can you say to me to get better at transformations? Keep up the transformations? Like bro, I could¡¯ve easily won that if I transformed into a bisharp, actually, way better,  kingambit .¡± I tilted my head. ¡°The hell do I need to do to get there anyway? Level up? Keep transforming until something snaps and I can transform into the big bad legendaries? What are the rules here?¡±

    I could hear a growl mixed with the deity¡¯s sigh as he fully turned to me, his yellow eyes shining brighter than ever. ¡°When will you get it, kid? This is not a game nor this is a TV show where you are the protagonist and are saved by some script most of the time.¡± He started to approach me, taking in his features a little better. However, I felt a heavy weight being placed on my heart. ¡°If that girl wasn¡¯t acting out on orders, she wouldn¡¯t have gone easy on you. She would¡¯ve  killed you and your allies  on the spot. If that hasn¡¯t sunk into your head, let me remind you. This is  real life  where you can and  will  die if you don¡¯t take some situations like that one seriously.¡±

    I took a reflexive step back, my eyes widening a little as the shadow being spoke. He wasn¡¯t shouting nor was he speaking loudly, but the impact that his words had on me hit like a truck. He¡­ he was right. I wasn¡¯t taking that fight seriously, I thought that I had everything on my side to take that flutter mane on and win but¡­ she outmatched me in every way. I wasn¡¯t strong enough to beat her in the way that I was, and if Quartzo hadn¡¯t come to save us, Evon and Ino would¡¯ve been¡­ they would¡¯ve been¡­

    My arms and legs limped, feeling like I was floating on the ocean with the water drifting my body to places. Thoughts started swirling around my head, repeating themselves loudly and getting engraved in the forefront of my mind.

    I am weak.

    I would¡¯ve lost someone else to criminals because again I am weak¡­ just like last time. Even with all these powers, I was still powerless to save the people around me because I was not strong enough¡­

    ¡°If you continue with those stupid thoughts, you will remain weak, you know?¡± Again, I looked at the figure before me, a bit surprised that he could still hear my thoughts like that.

    I blinked for a moment before sighing and looking aside. ¡°Y-yeah, right, my bad¡­¡± I frowned before asking. ¡°Hey¡­ just asking¡­¡± I looked at the shadow figure, it seemed to be crossing his arms again while his left eye was covered by something. ¡°Is¡­ is there a way to get stronger¡­ besides the transformations and uh¡­ the obvious training?¡±

    ¡°Hm¡­ I¡¯d suggest¡­¡± There was a pause, a sigh leaving the figure¡¯s mouth. ¡°I suggest finding yourself a mentor who can teach you how to fight properly without doing something like this again.¡±

    The shadow raised an arm and, above his paw, a certain screen that wasn¡¯t tied to an electronic of some kind appeared, almost like a hologram. It showed the memories seen from my POV of my fight with that staravia when I had turned into a charmander and curled into a ball and fought wildly with it, like two animals fighting for territory. I looked away in shame. ¡°Uh¡­ yeah, I was a super poopoo fighter and still am¡­¡± Suddenly, a thought popped into my mind, making me look back at the deity. ¡°Do you know someone who can teach me?¡±

    Silence echoed across the void as the deity continued staring. He then looked away, dropping the hold on my memory as his voice changed to something a bit more sad. ¡°There is someone that comes to mind, however¡­ I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s still around, especially after  that¡­ ¡±

    I tilted my head in confusion.  ¡®¡¯That¡±? Did something happen between those two?¡¯  I avoided asking the deity about it, lest I would want divine wrath to rain down upon me. ¡°Uh¡­ can¡¯t you use your god abilities to communicate with him? Ya know¡­ telepathy like you¡¯re doing with me right now?¡±

    The figure fully turned away from me. ¡°If it were only that easy¡­¡±

    ¡°Huh? What do you mean by-¡± Suddenly, the void started shaking again, like an earthquake in the middle of space with a low rumbling sound following it. ¡°What the-¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re waking up.¡± The deity said, motioning with a paw as he continued speaking. ¡°We¡¯ll meet another time once you have improved your general skills. After all, can¡¯t steal your dreams every time you sleep.¡± He looked at me over his shoulders. ¡°See you next time.¡±

    With that, my body got covered in white glowing particles before my entire vision went white.

    <hr>

    A wave of headaches was the first thing I felt when my consciousness finally returned to me; throbbing pain throughout my whole body was the next thing that made itself present afterwards. I grunted from the pain before slowly opening my eyes and regaining control of my heavy limbs.

    I looked around, examining my surroundings and taking them in slowly. An earthly and sweet smell was present all around the rocky room I was in. White-painted walls surrounded the place, torches illuminated the room, drawers with some¡­ very primitive medical tools on the side of the room, and, interestingly enough, a bowl of food next to me, filled with berries of all kinds.

    I shifted my position slightly, feeling that I was in a pile of hay from the straws poking at my¡­ hm¡­? I barely felt them¡­

    Oh yeah! I was still in the body of a pawniard, even in my talk with the local Pok¨¦mon deity or something¡­ after¡­ I almost got captured and Evon¡­

    I got up quickly, bonking my head with a blade hand. Thank goodness my head was fully coated in metal or else I would¡¯ve received a small cut. ¡°Don¡¯t let those thoughts get to you! Not your fault. Not your fault¡­¡± I muttered to myself, trying to get those thoughts out of my head. I¡¯ve already been through this, I don¡¯t need to go over it again. Positivity, MEMES! ¡°Welp, um¡­ so that¡¯s how it feels getting my ass swept by a flutter mane irl, huh? Never want to feel that again¡­¡±

    I tried stretching my body before a few pangs of pain rang through my back and my arms. ¡°Ngh¡­¡± I looked down at my body, seeing bandages wrapped all around it. Parts of my armor had been chipped away while some had dents in them, probably from my body being pressed on rocks too much. I rested a blade on my arm and sighed. ¡°Yep¡­ never again¡­¡±

    ¡°Thank Arceus, you¡¯re awake.¡±

    I looked to my other side to find Evon, curled on a nest of straws while poking his head out of his perfect loaf form. Bandages were wrapped around his body, mostly on his torso while some were on his right ear, which was obvious because of that ugly burnt wound he received from that Dazzling Gleam. Like, that attack was aimed to cause a lot of damage to those on the receiving end.

    It was aimed to kill¡­

    Evon sighed, adjusting his black eyepatch with a paw. ¡°For a moment, I thought of the possibility of you never waking up again¡­¡±

    I tried smirking but then realized that my mouth was covered by my natural armor. I just then raised my arm. ¡°Well then, guess what, I lived!¡± I put my blade hands on my side, being careful to not cut the bandages. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be kept down that easily, after all, that bitch only hit me with not effective attacks-¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve been knocked out cold for two days straight.¡±

    I looked at Evon with my eyes widened. ¡°TWO DAYS!? WHAT THE HEEEEEEEEELLLLLLL!!!!!????¡±

    The eyepatch-wearing eevee folded his ears and covered them with his paws, gritting his teeth. ¡°Geez, no so loud, dammit!¡±

    I threw my arms in the air and asked in surprise and shock. ¡°Evon, what the hell do you mean I¡¯ve been knocked out for two days!? I thought I¡¯d only be in bed for some hours, bro!¡±

    Evon released his ears and scowled. ¡°How should I know? I don¡¯t know how humans work entirely, even in the body of Pok¨¦mon! Like, is it normal for you guys to black out for so long after you take a beating like that?¡±

    ¡°Of course not! I just¡­¡± I groaned a bit, rolling my eyes and crossing my arms. ¡°It must¡¯ve been that talk I had while knocked out¡­¡± I looked back at Evon, seeing his head tilted in confusion. ¡°Oh, uh¡­ while I was out cold, deity guy decided to pay me a visit again.¡±

    ¡°Really? What did he say this time?¡± Evon asked, looking a bit concerned and curious.

    I sighed as the deity¡¯s words ran through my head again, my mind highlighting the scolding I received. ¡°Eh, just telling me off from how much I was a dumbass and not taking shit seriously when I was supposed to¡­¡±

    I then looked down, curling my legs and reminiscing on a certain line that stuck out to me a lot.

    ¡°She would¡¯ve   killed you and your allies   on the spot. If that hasn¡¯t sunk on your head, let me remind you. This is real life where you can and will die if you don¡¯t take some situations like that one seriously.¡±

    I would¡¯ve grimaced if my mouth wasn¡¯t covered by armor, guilt sinking in. ¡°Evon¡­¡± I looked back at the eyepatch-wearing eevee with a guilty look. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±

    Evon tilted his head and looked at me with an invisible raised eyebrow. ¡°For what¡­?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I got too reckless. We¡¯ve got what we wanted and could¡¯ve just run out of there when we had the chance. But I got cocky with my own powers that I put you and Ino in danger thinking we could¡¯ve beaten them.¡± I squirmed a bit as the sight of Evon in that near-death moment hit my mind like a truck. ¡°I thought that I¡¯d lose you¡­¡±

    Evon looked aside, grimacing a little. He stared to the side for a moment before sighing. ¡°Listen, Lucas.¡± He got up slowly, walking out of his hay bed towards me. ¡°That entire thing that happened is not really your fault. We were assigned to face that excadrill one way or another, and we didn¡¯t even know he had a partner with him.¡± He haunched next to my bed. ¡°Even if the enemy was after you, you would be as much of a victim just like that pichu if you had surrendered to them.¡±

    I snorted and looked away. ¡°Oh, I know. But like¡­ I feel like I should still be a bit responsible for some of it¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re starting to sound a bit like me, being honest¡­¡± Evon said as I could hear him scratching himself. ¡°Hogging all the blame to yourself, thinking that you were responsible for not saving them¡­¡± He paused as I stared at him again. ¡°Maybe¡­ maybe we¡¯re not so different after all¡­¡±

    ¡°Aside from all the memes and shit?¡± I asked, tilting my head.

    A smile crept in on the eevee¡¯s muzzle. ¡°Yeah, aside from all of that human craziness of yours.¡±

    ¡°Hm¡­¡± I stared at the eevee for a moment before getting up as well. I decided to light the mood up, not wanting to be around a moody atmosphere for long. ¡°Heh, just wait until I introduce you to every meme in my phone, then, you¡¯d be exactly just like me!¡±

    Evon playfully rolled his eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll not be converted to your human insanities anytime soon, so don¡¯t even bother.¡±

    We giggled a bit as I thought about Evon spouting countless memes to the Pok¨¦mon of the village. That would be a dream come true, and the memes of the internet would spread into a new world like it was destined to be! Although, that would remain a dream because lil¡¯ eevee buddy over here probably wouldn¡¯t be a new carrier.

    Our giggles stopped when the door of the room opened, revealing a comfey floating into the room. They wore a nurse apron that wrapped itself around their head, and the vine that circled below them only had purple flowers, giving them a lavender scent.

    They floated towards us, their scent intensifying around my nose. They spoke with a soft and boyish voice. ¡°You¡¯re awake, that¡¯s good! How are you feeling? When you were brought here, your wounds were¡­ pretty bad, shall I say.¡±

    ¡°Well, not in perfect shape, of course, I feel a bit sore in some places, but give it another day and I¡¯ll be in top shape. Thanks for patching me up! What should I call you? Lifeline? Mercy? Medic?¡± I asked, putting a blade on my chin as I tried guessing the comfey¡¯s name.

    ¡°Oh, uh¡­ my name is Media, but well, you¡¯re welcome.¡± He floated closer to me, putting a leafy nub over the bandages on my body. ¡°Hm¡­ wow, already healed.¡± He started unwrapping the bandages, being careful with the blades embedded in my armor. I looked at my own body, even if the armor was dented a bit, I felt no wounds like before. Media looked at me with a smile. ¡°Alrighty, you¡¯re good to go!¡±

    ¡°Heh, thanks Media!¡±  ¡®Why is that the same name as that one healing move in Persona games?¡¯  I asked myself internally before turning away and moving my arms around. Even though the soreness was still there, it wasn¡¯t as potent as it was when I woke up.

    ¡°I heard you were¡­ a shapeshifter, is that correct?¡± I looked back at the fairy type and nodded. ¡°I see¡­ um¡­ if that¡¯s a part of your core¡¯s abilities, then I recommend not transforming a whole lot just to not strain it that much.¡±

    I hummed in thought.  ¡®When I gained these powers¡­ does that mean I gained a core as well? Hm¡­ probably, but it must be very small for me to feel it.¡¯ I spoke to Media. ¡°Can I at least transform to my main form though?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ guess so? It doesn¡¯t consume a lot of your stamina, right?¡± The comfey asked.

    I shook my head. ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t.¡± With that, I started transforming back into my human form with my usual method. Armor turned into skin, helmet turned into hair, and the tip of my hand blades split and turned into fingertips, my entire body changing in size as well. After a few seconds, my body finally finished transforming, the pink disappearing from my vision. I was back to human. ¡°We¡¯re so back!¡± I said while doing a peace sign.

    Media looked at me with an amazed expression. ¡°Holy Arceus almighty¡­¡±

    ¡°Yeah, whenever he gets beat up badly, get used to this.¡± Evon remarked.

    I turned to the eevee while crossing my arms. ¡°Let me put a stop to that argument. I  never  want to be in this powerless situation again.¡± I looked at my hands. ¡°Even if I seem really unserious about it, I¡¯m so glad about having these powers, because, with it, I finally can help people in need.¡± I looked at Evon with a smile. ¡°That has been one of my biggest dreams since I was a lil¡¯ dummy kid. And now that I have it¡­¡± I clenched my hands into fists. ¡°I don¡¯t want it to go to waste. I¡¯ll get stronger with it, no matter what!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s see if you hold true to that, buddy. After all, Mystery Dungeons are no joke once you get to the hard ones, not only that, outlaws, as you could tell, get stronger every day.¡± Evon said, his tail swishing from side to side a little.

    ¡°Let them come! Imma whoop their asses whenever my training arc is done!¡± I grinned while putting my arms on the side.

    I almost had forgotten about Media before he floated towards and turned to me. ¡°I hope you can reach your full potential soon, Lucas the Shapeshifter!¡± He then turned to Evon, touching his bandages with a nub. ¡°Hm¡­ needs a bit more healing. Tomorrow you can take off those bandages.¡±

    ¡°Okay, thanks.¡± Evon said with a nod. ¡°Do I need another dose of Floral Healing?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, just one more to be completely sure.¡± The comfey said before backing away a little from the eevee. Once he was at a certain distance, the fairy plant started glowing a bit green. He then did a little spin in the air as a bit of green energy left his body. Suddenly, purple flowers appeared out of the ground around Evon and shone green energy on the eevee. Once after the light show was over, the flowers dissipated into the air. ¡°Okay, it¡¯s over. Since you guys don¡¯t have any more injuries to go over, you guys are free to go!¡±

    ¡®As an American, this is a jumpscare and a half.¡¯  I thought to myself before giving a thumbs up. ¡°Thanks a bunch, bro! You rock!¡±

    The comfey rubbed the back of his head. ¡°Uh¡­ thanks? What do you mean by ¡°you rock¡±?¡±

    ¡°Ah, well, just an expression for saying: you¡¯re awesome.¡± I explained, a sheepish smile on my face.

    Media perked up. ¡°Oh, I see! Alright then, thanks!¡± As the comfey was about to wave, the comfey seemed to remember something. ¡°Wait, I almost forgot! The Guildmaster wanted to see you two once you were both out of the clinic.¡± He started fiddling with the tip of his vine. ¡°I think you should go to the guild to see him to see what he wants.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah, you¡¯ve told me yesterday. He was the one that brought us here, right?¡± Evon tilted his head.

    The comfey nodded. ¡°Mhm. He might have something to talk to you about, probably about the incident that caused you to have those injuries. But anyways, if you get any more injuries, don¡¯t be afraid to come to Mezuri¡¯s clinic!¡±

    As the comfey waved at us, I waved back as Evon and I left the room. ¡°Alright, cya sometime, Media!¡±

    As we walked through the clinic halls, I saw more nurses and doctor Pok¨¦mon running around, all wearing medical aprons wrapped around some part of their bodies. Heck, strangely enough, I even saw a metagross wearing one of those aprons. The variety was a bit wild to me, but it¡¯s good to see that, even if they worked for basically free, they still did their jobs as efficiently as ever.

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    Once we were out of the building a thought of a certain someone struck me. ¡°Wait, that¡¯s right!¡± I looked at Evon and put my hands in my shorts¡¯ pockets. ¡°Do you know what happened to Ino? She did get caught in the whole mess with the ghost bitch, didn¡¯t she?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah, about her¡­ she was the one to receive fewer injuries of the three of us, from what I heard. She got dispatched out of the clinic yesterday.¡± Evon clarified, easing my worries a little.

    ¡°That¡¯s a relief. Hope she¡¯s not too mad about me throwing the fight. Like, bro, that was such a severe case of skill issue on my part¡­¡± I said a bit bitterly. I started to wonder: what if I had been stronger? Would that fight go differently?

    Welp, whatever. Couldn¡¯t stay thinking about the ¡°what ifs¡±, the therapist recommended I focus on the future and how to improve myself.

    Evon¡¯s tail lowered as he responded with a frown. ¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯s that mad. We basically completed the mission, can¡¯t be too mad about that.¡±

    I sighed through my nose. ¡°Hope you¡¯re right about that-¡±

    ¡°MISTER!¡±

    I  turned in the direction of the shout and could barely see a blur before said blur attached itself to my leg, a fuzzy feeling lingering afterwards. I looked down at my leg to see Raina, the little pichu from that day, hugging my leg and rubbing her face on it. ¡°I was so worried about you, Mister! They chose me over you and then you went to the doctor and then you were sleeping for too long and I thought- I thought¡­!¡±

    ¡°Hey, hey, hey, calm down! I¡¯m alright, I¡¯m alright, don¡¯t worry!¡± I said hastily, trying to calm the pichu down a little bit. I could tell she was crying a little bit since my legs were starting to get a bit wet from tears and snot. I crouched a little and patted Raina on her head. ¡°The true question should be different, tho. Are YOU alright?¡±

    She looked up, letting me see her teary face. She sniffled a little bit and responded. ¡°I-I¡¯m alright! I was worried about you! You were sleeping when Mom and I came to visit yesterday, you looked super bad and hurt when you were in the armor ¡®mon form. Your friend as well!¡±

    ¡°Aww, thanks for visiting me. You¡¯re such a lil¡¯ cutie and sweetheart, you know that? Your mom must be proud of you!¡± I said before tilting my head. ¡°Speaking of her, where is she-¡±

    ¡°Finally caught up with you!¡± A voice shouted in the distance, approaching us quickly. I looked up and saw the Raina¡¯s mom, who I believed was named Ramia, if I was not mistaken. She panted a bit before perking up once she looked at me. ¡°Oh, you found him.¡± The psychic-type raichu crossed her arms. ¡°Wow, um¡­ you got out of there faster than expected¡­¡±

    I got up again and grinned. ¡°What can I say? I just don¡¯t stay down for that long!¡±

    ¡°Did you forget the part where you were unconscious for two days straight?¡± Evon asked, smirking all the while.

    I turned to Evon with one of my eyes twitching a bit. ¡°Fluke, obviously! Just that time and that time alone! Never gonna go down for that long ever again! Getting stronger for that reason!¡± I said while pumping a fist in the air. I then turned my attention back to Ramia. ¡°Anyways uh¡­ were you guys perhaps looking for me? Your daughter sounded like she was.¡±

    Raina responded, her small arms flailing a bit. ¡°Yes, we were, Mister! We wanted to visit you again and I wanted to give a gift to you and your friend for saving me!¡±

    The eevee tilted his head in confusion. ¡°Oh, really? But we didn¡¯t even take the mission for a reward.¡±

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t think of it as a reward, but as an actual gift for your kindness and bravery in rescuing my daughter.¡± Ramia said before taking two items off her bag with telekinesis. ¡°She wanted to give you guys these.¡±

    The items that were floating above the psychic mouse¡¯s paw were two matching necklaces. The necklaces resembled two pieces of a strange crest. Both had a shape resembling the half of an indigo hexagon, and each vertex of the crest had a pointy end to it. Of course, by just looking at it, you could tell that if you combined both pieces, it would make a complete hexagon, like a friendship necklace.

    The pichu went back to her mother as the raichu gave her the two necklaces. She then walked back to me, holding onto the necklaces before handing them out to me and Evon. ¡°My grandma gave these friendship necklaces to me, but my best friend didn¡¯t like them. So I¡¯m giving it to you two so you can match!¡±

    Evon got beside me as he grabbed his necklace while I grabbed my own. He haunched and held it in front of him with an analyzing glance. ¡°Woah¡­ it¡¯s shinier than I was expecting.¡±

    ¡°Geez, back where I came from, the only people that could buy these are the book-smart, money-smart people.¡± I said as I inspected my half of the crest. By touching the surface, I could tell that this shit was made out of pure crystal. ¡°How¡­ did your grandma get this?¡±

    Raina smiled and responded. ¡°She said she found it next to a cave when she was an explorer. She had no friends anymore so she gave it to me!¡± The pichu put a paw on her chin. ¡°Although, she said to give one of the halves to one of my most trust¡­ trust¡­ uh¡­ trustworthy! Yeah, she said it to give it to one of my most trustworthy ¡®mon! So I gave it to you since you are so kind and saved me!¡± She then looked at the eevee. ¡°You too, Mister Eevee!¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Raina.¡± Evon said before putting the necklace on, the reflection of one of the cave torches making the crest gleam slightly. He looked back at the pichu and grinned toothly. ¡°We¡¯ll put it to good use.¡±

    ¡°Yep!¡± I took one last good look at it before putting it around my neck and tightening the hold. Suddenly, a small jolt of pain went through my head, making me twitch a little bit and support my head on a hand for a second.  ¡®Urgh, hope this isn¡¯t the aftermath of the battle still lingering somehow.¡¯  I then masked the pain with a grin, giving a thumbs up. ¡°We¡¯ll take good care of them, you can count on us!¡±

    Raina¡¯s eyes sparkled in glee. ¡°I¡¯m so glad you guys liked my gift!¡± She then hugged my leg, rubbing her face on it again. ¡°With that, you¡¯ll be the bestest of best friends forever!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s see about that- YEAAAOUUU-!!!!¡± As I was about to respond, an electrical shock ran throughout my body, making me spazz for a bit from the pain. Raina rubbed a lot more than she should¡­

    Ramia levitated her daughter away from me as the electricity dissipated from my body. While that did hurt like any shock I took from any electrical outlet, the pain didn¡¯t linger for that long, even though my hair was all messed up now. ¡°Ramia, watch out when rubbing your heads on others! You still can¡¯t fully control your electricity!¡±

    As I straightened my hair again with a hand, Raina grimaced and looked at me guiltily. Her eyes looked like they were about to water again. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, Mister! I didn¡¯t mean to!¡±

    While I responded, I finished brushing my hair. ¡°No worries, it didn¡¯t hurt as much as the as- I mean, butt whooping from two days ago. Also, by the way¡­¡± I did a peace sign. ¡°Call me Lucas, you¡¯re making me look ancient by calling me Mister.¡±

    Fortunately, that was enough for the little pichu not to cry. She perked up, small tail included. ¡°Oh, okay then!¡± She smiled, the tears in her eyes instantly vanishing. ¡°Hope you enjoy the gift, Mister Lucas!¡±

    My smile faltered a little. Oh fuck,  I can feel my skin becoming sagged and old and my hair turning white . ¡°T-that¡¯s not¡­ you know what? Real recognize real, you can call me that.¡±

    ¡°Been meaning to ask, how old are you anyway? You act so immature and kidly most of the time that it¡¯s hard seeing you as an adult.¡± Evon asked, tilting his head.

    I bent down with a smug smile, putting my hands on my knees as I looked at the eevee. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you like to know, furry boy?¡±

    Evon¡¯s tail dropped as he looked at me unamused. ¡°Yes, I would like to know. At this point, I might even believe you were literally born a week ago.¡±

    I tried to imitate the incorrect buzzer sound. ¡°Wrong! I¡¯m fifteen years old!¡±

    The eyepatch-wearing eevee¡¯s eye widened a bit before looking aside. ¡°What a coincidence¡­¡± He muttered before looking back at me. ¡°A-anyways, I¡¯m still your senior since I¡¯m sixteen.¡± He looked at me, stomping a paw on the ground. ¡°Meaning more authority over you and your insane human actions!¡±

    I wagged my finger. ¡°Nuh-uh!¡±

    ¡°What do you mean ¡°nuh-uh¡±!?¡± Evon asked with his fur rising a little.

    Childish laughter erupted from the side, coming from Raina who was sitting on her mom¡¯s tail. ¡°You guys are so funny! Hehehe!¡± Once she managed to recover from her laughing fit, she continued. ¡°I knew it was right to give the friendship necklace to you two!¡± She grinned happily.

    Ramia nodded and smiled warmly. ¡°Yeah, you all deserved it! After all, your kindness and courage must be rewarded somehow.¡±

    I turned to the electric mouse family, and without knowing how to properly thank people in this world, I did the anime isekai way. I bowed. ¡°Thank you for the gift, we promise we shall cherish them.¡±  ¡®They¡¯re pleased, right? I didn¡¯t step over any rules or break any cultural tradition, right?¡¯

    ¡°My, no need for the formalities. Just you appreciating the gift is enough for me and my daughter.¡± Ramia said with a wave of her paw.

    ¡°Yeah, we will, miss Ramia.¡± Evon said politely. From a single glance, it reminded me a bit of those polite cat memes. It made me wonder if eevee were actually cats or not since his species was so bipolar on what to be.

    I gave them both a thumbs up. ¡°Yep!¡± I then remembered something we had to do. ¡°Oh yeah, that¡¯s right! We need to talk to the Guildmaster!¡± I started walking before motioning for the eevee to follow me. ¡°C¡¯mon dude, can¡¯t keep water noodle waiting! Bye Raina, bye Miss Ramia!¡±

    The pichu waved energetically at me while her mother waved gently. ¡°Bye Mister Lucas, bye Mister Evon!¡±

    ¡°Bye, guys.¡± Evon replied before catching up to me. Once we and the two mice parted ways, Evon spoke up. ¡°So¡­ do you even know where the guild is?¡±

    I stopped in my tracks once that realization came over me. My arms limped a little as I stared ahead for a moment. I facepalmed. ¡°Resident dumbass Lucas strikes again!¡± I said with fake enthusiasm.

    <hr>

    ¡°... Bruh, are you actually sure this is the guild?¡±

    ¡°What makes you ask that?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I expected it to be uh¡­ like another one of those buildings combined with the stones and dirt of the cave, not uh¡­  this .¡± I said as I motioned exaggeratedly to the cave structure in front of me.

    Talk about an underground luxury. The guild straight-up looks like one of those superhero underground bases like the Bat Cave but way less technological.

    Instead of being a building like any other structure I¡¯ve seen in this village, it was a bit like the bathhouse, meaning that it was a  gigantic  open area for everyone who passed through to see the work that the guild did. The room was separated into four floors on its sides that were connected by small primordial elevators, leading to different segments and parts of the guild. On the ceiling, there was even a hole where sunrays peeked through, lighting the area in a majestic way like a certain part of the building was getting called to heaven or something like that.

    From what I could see from the first floor, it was basically the main hub of the area, with furniture for Pok¨¦mon to relax and talk with each other, a bulletin board with posters about wanted and missing Pok¨¦mon along with treasure sketched images of treasure chests on some of them, and the last thing that stood out, was a golden version of the same statue in the center of the village, the one difference is that the zeraora was wearing a cloak that obscured their upper torso. The statue itself was in the middle of the floor, getting bathed by the sunlight that peeked through the hole in the ceiling.

    To be honest, it reminded me of the Goddess statues from Zelda games.

    ¡°Well, Lucas¡­¡± Evon smirked as he walked forward a bit and stopped in front of me, turning his head in my direction. ¡°Welcome to the Stalacta Guild.¡±

    I looked around a bit more before putting my hands on my side. ¡°Yep, I decided. This guild is peak cave architecture for me.¡±

    Evon tilted his head and asked. ¡°By peak, you mean uh¡­ a compliment or¡­¡±

    ¡°Basically saying something like: ¡®holy shit, this place is amazing¡¯.¡± I responded before I inspected around a bit more. Pok¨¦mon of all kinds were walking around the guild and chilling in the ¡°lounge¡± of the place. I could see an aggron and gardevoir talking to each other (the latter looking a bit annoyed), a spinda and an archen looking at the bulletin board looking for a mission, a duo of espurr being playful with a fletchling, an alolan vulpix, and a shiny jangmo-o were cuddled together, and a riolu, archen, zangoose, and a toxtricity were looking at a map before heading out the area.

    There was even a strange-looking blue scorpion Pok¨¦mon with a singular red eye that looked like the lens of one of those red goggles, not only that, it had the tip of the tail shaped like the tip of a sniper rifle.  ¡®The heck is that? That ain¡¯t a Pok¨¦mon in any of the games-... fuck, that¡¯s right, not a game, so uh¡­ species that I don¡¯t know about.¡¯

    The scorpion passed by me, giving me a suspicious side-eye before leaving the guild. Before I could muster the courage to ask what species was that, Evon called my attention. ¡°So you liked it, good. You¡¯ll probably get used to this place quickly so we can fool around less while you adapt.¡± He began walking again, going towards the elevator. I reluctantly followed him as he said. ¡°Come, I¡¯ll show you to the Guildmaster¡¯s office.¡±

    I followed the eevee to the office, going through the elevator and ascending to the fourth floor. While on the elevator, I shot a glance at the statue again before asking Evon. ¡°I¡¯m curious¡­ who¡¯s the Pok¨¦mon in the statue? Saw there was a statue of them at the center of the village too.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah, you wouldn¡¯t know about him.¡± Evon said before he looked at the statue. ¡°300 years ago a great calamity fell into the world. Pok¨¦mon and deities across the world suddenly went berserk, causing natural disasters all around the world. Time and space almost collapsed as well because the deities over it also got caught in the mass frenzy pandemic. No one knew how it started, it just happened out of nowhere.¡±

    The elevator stopped, leaving us on the fourth floor. We thanked the elevator operator who appeared to be a rather young makuhita handling the mechanisms. When we continued walking, I thought.  ¡®Huh, what¡¯s worse? A pandemic of a virus that kills millions of people or a pandemic of people going mad and crazy out of nowhere but still killing millions in the process? Hm¡­ at least the first option had a cure¡­ wait, was this some kind of virus?¡¯ I then asked. ¡°So¡­ um¡­ if the world still standing fine and dandy how in the fuck did the world survive all of that?¡±

    Evon hummed in thought. ¡°From what I remember from history class¡­ some Pok¨¦mon who went berserk could be quelled and others¡­ had to be put down, including some of the deities. And the only one who managed to defeat all of them was the ¡®mon in the statue.¡± As he walked, he turned his head to face the statue. ¡°Zariel the Zeraora.¡±

    ¡°First of all, fucking  sick  name. Second, how the hell did they manage to beat literal gods all on their own?¡± I asked while crossing my arms.

    ¡°Nah, of course, he had partners. Their statues were built in their hometown. He had four partners I believe. But Zariel was, by far, the strongest of them all. He was even the one who founded the Stalacta Guild too.¡±

    Damn, history lessons in the Pok¨¦mon world went crazy. This was honestly the first time I paid that much attention to one and was excited to hear more. ¡°I¡¯m surprised that a village as important as this one is not as advanced as I expected it to be.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, you can ask the elder that. She was around when that calamity happened anyway.¡± Evon said nonchalantly, not bothered by the fact that Basidian was  more than 300 years old!?!?

    ¡°What the heeeeellll!?!? Was she alive for  that long?  How long can she live for!?¡± I asked, utterly flabbergasted by the fact that the person I was living with temporarily was literally ancient. Speaking of her, I should go back to her house to talk to her and grab my stuff as well. Hopefully, she didn¡¯t break my phone.

    ¡°Heatran can live for a long time, can tell you that much.¡± The eevee then stopped in front of a bigger door of the guild, making me stop as well. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡±

    At the end of the fourth floor, we stood in front of a unique door, with the word ¡°Guildmaster¡± above it. The archway was colored yellow while the door itself was colored blue. In the middle of the door, there was the same emblem as the badges I saw Chozo and Ino wearing. The same singular eye and four wings coming out of it. Since it was bigger, it was a bit more unsettling. Why the emblem had to be like this instead of anything else? Makes this place have the look of a cult more than anything

    ¡®Wait a sec, that creepy third eye that Quartzo has. Was that a fuckin¡¯ Sharingan or something? Wait, or is it the Rinnegan that warps space? Can¡¯t remember, it''s been a bit since I watched Naruto.¡¯  I rubbed my cheek as I looked at the emblem. ¡°Questionable design choice for the emblem. Does bro want to be feared or something?¡±

    ¡°I never questioned it since I wasn¡¯t really unnerved by it. But I did hear from someone that it was meant to represent a watchful eye of justice or something like that.¡± Evon knocked on the door with a paw.

    We waited for a few seconds before the door opened, revealing¡­ nothing?

    I tilted my head before I heard a voice saying ¡°Down here¡± making me look down at the floor. The small Pok¨¦mon I saw was a mimikyu with the normal ragged pikachu cloth, however, the cloth had a white body and red eyes, looking more akin to a ghost version of a pikachu. ¡°Oops, expected someone uh¡­ bigger.¡±  ¡®At least their cloth can be different and not just two slightly different colored ones for every mimikyu.¡¯

    The mimikyu didn¡¯t comment on it and asked something else, a raspy female voice emerging from them. ¡°So you¡¯re the shapeshifter Quartzo has been expecting, huh? Hm¡­ tame form you have for a being that can reshape its entire core manifestation in a matter of seconds. I thought you¡¯d be something more¡­ incomprehensible.¡±

    ¡°Um, I¡¯m not an eldritch-¡±

    The obscured Pok¨¦mon interrupted me. ¡°Whatever, we¡¯re wasting time and I hate wasting time. Come with me, we can¡¯t keep the Guildmaster waiting any longer.¡± She motioned with a black claw coming from underneath the cloth and turned around, waddling further into the office.

    I stared for a moment before commenting. ¡°She reminds me of a teacher, a hated one from my middle school class.¡± I looked at Evon. ¡°You¡¯ve worked here before, is she always like that?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, she is. Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll get used to it once you¡¯ve been around her long enough.¡± Evon then entered the room before I followed him inside.

    The office itself was very unique. Like the rest of the guild, the walls and the floor were made of cave rocks, but polished enough to not be rough around their edges and not pointy on people¡¯s feet. The middle was covered by a velvet blue carpet and a yellow banner with the same unnerving emblem from before at the end of the room between two torches. The side of the room had a short table that the mimikyu was on, signing paperwork with a feather pen.

    In the middle of the office, coiled around himself, Quartzo stood there dusting his scales with his eyebrow limbs. For some reason, at the sight of the milotic, I started to feel a bit uneasy. I didn¡¯t know if it was for the power he held or for the possibility of him knowing that the Dark Rebellion dudes were after me. Either way, I was a bit nervous.

    Of course, I masked it off.

    ¡°Yo Quartz noodle bro, how uh- how you doing-?¡± Before I had the opportunity to say something else, I felt something wrapping up against my torso and tightening its hold on me. ¡°Nrk!¡±

    I looked down to see shadowy limbs constricting me, and the source was coming from the side of the room. ¡°When you are in the presence of our beloved guildmaster, it is demanded uttermost respect and formality, or else-¡±

    The white mimikyu got interrupted when Quartzo sighed and spoke to the clothed specter. ¡°Kina, how many times do I have to tell you that I don¡¯t care how others address me so that finally sinks into your head?¡±

    Kina looked away, her limbs loosening up around my torso before retracting them. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Guildmaster Quartzo.¡±

    I coughed a bit before adjusting my posture. ¡°Geez, sis plays COD or what, the aggression¡­¡± I said mostly to myself.

    ¡°That¡¯s what you get for not acting normally and formally around authority.¡± Evon said unamused, his ears dropping as well.

    ¡°Normal is cringe, casual is based. That¡¯s how I roll.¡± I said while shrugging.

    The eevee frowned before shaking his head in disappointment. ¡°Your head will roll if you have an audience with our king¡­¡±

    Quartzo cleared his throat, dragging our attention towards him again. ¡°So, before we get to the point of why I called you two here, let me ask. How are you two feeling? It¡¯s been two days since then, and I must say, I expected you to be in the clinic for a little longer.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m fine. Sure, I took quite a beating, but I heal fast!¡± I said while spinning my arm slowly. I noticed the cramps were mostly gone too.

    The milotic nodded before turning his head to Evon. ¡°How about you, Evon? I remember you had an ugly wound on you.¡±

    The eevee shifted his tail to the side as he sat on the ground. ¡°Well, it still stings a bit if I do some specific movements, but I¡¯m fine otherwise. I¡¯ll take off these bandages tomorrow.¡±

    Quartzo smiled. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡± The water serpent adjusted his position, uncoiling himself a little. ¡°So¡­ I called you here to discuss a few things with you two. Let¡¯s go over the most important topic. About the mission two days ago, I¡¯d first like to congratulate you on managing to rescue Ramia¡¯s daughter. Even if you got hurt in the process, you managed to succeed on the mission, and you two should be proud of that.¡±

    I looked to the side and thought.  ¡®I would¡¯ve been proud of myself even more if I beat that crazy bitch, but oh well, I¡¯ll prepare myself real nicely before running it back. Prepare yourself, ghostie, I¡¯m comin¡¯ for that ass later to whoop it real nicely!¡¯

    While in my mental rambling, the Guildmaster continued speaking. ¡°Anyway, since I¡¯ve arrived a bit late, I missed a bit of the context.¡±

    I raised my finger. ¡°Sorry to interrupt, but can I ask something?¡±

    Quartzo gave a single nod. ¡°Go ahead.¡±

    I put my hands in my shorts pockets. ¡°How did you even find us anyway? You figured out as well and came after us or¡­?¡±

    Kina grunted. ¡°Such a meaningless question. Of course not! Chozo informed the Guildmaster as quickly as possible.¡±

    I clasped my hands and looked at the mimikyu with a fake smile. ¡°Thanks for the very kind and very respectable answer, Miss Kina.¡± Before she had a chance to shoot me a death glare, I looked back at Quartzo. ¡°Please continue, Quartzo.¡±

    The milotic stared at us for a moment before sighing. ¡°Anyway, since I missed some context, I went and asked Ino for any info you guys gained from Marina and her excadrill teammate.¡± He paused before looking back at me, pity forming in his expression. ¡°So¡­ they wanted you, huh?¡±

    I sighed before scratching the top of my head. ¡°Honestly tho, makes sense they¡¯d want me in their ranks. I may be inexperienced in my abilities now, but bro, I¡¯d fear myself if I were to reach my prime.¡±

    ¡°Hm¡­ tell me, what is your strongest form so far?¡± He asked, tilting his head.

    I crossed my arms, humming as I thought about it. ¡°I dunno, dude. I transformed a few times, but I think I can¡¯t even transform into middle-stage evolutions yet¡­¡¯

    The milotic put an eyebrow limb in front of him and looked away before saying. ¡°I see¡­ still a bit weak then.¡± He then coiled himself a bit. ¡°Alright, it goes without saying that you  need  to get stronger so you can fend for yourself so your power won¡¯t fall into the wrong hands.¡±

    I frowned and looked down. ¡°Yeah, I know¡­ the last thing I¡¯d want is to get used by criminal scum¡­¡± I sighed. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, getting stronger is, just like a certain purple man, inevitable. And being in an exploration team will help a lot.¡±

    Quartzo smiled. ¡°I¡¯m glad to know.¡± His tail shifted to the side. ¡°Speaking of an exploration team, that¡¯s the next thing I wanted to discuss with you two.¡± He turned his head to the eevee beside me. ¡°Evon, since you¡¯ll be making a new team, your rank will be reset to accommodate your new teammate and because of your inactivity. Is that okay with you?¡±

    Evon nodded slowly. ¡°Yeah, understandable. It  has  been a while since I¡¯ve gone on a mission.¡±

    The water serpent nodded and turned his attention to the mimikyu (supposed) assistant. ¡°Kina, the form, please.¡±

    The mimikyu nodded under the cloth and waddled to the edge of the table. She searched in the drawers of the table for a moment before pulling out a piece of paper and another pen. She put the form on the table and dipped the tip of the feather in ink. Evon and I walked over to the table before I took the pen from Kina¡¯s claw. ¡°Don¡¯t waste ink writing useless things¡­¡±

    I waved her off in dismissal. ¡°Yeah, yeah, gotcha.¡± I took a look at the paper and it was with the stuff I was expecting. Names, ages, sex, all of that stuff when filling out a form. I was about to write my name on it before a thought struck me and I paused. I pressed the pen on the paper before looking at Evon. ¡°Uh¡­ I¡­ I forgot I don¡¯t know how to write in your language¡­¡±

    Evon tilted his head. ¡°You can understand us and read our language and you still can¡¯t write it? How?¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ like, there¡¯s this sort of translation thingy in my head or something. I can hear you guys and read everything in my language. It doesn¡¯t work when writing stuff¡­ I think.¡±

    The eyepatch-wearing eevee sighed and took the pen from me. He supported himself on the table and started writing with a paw. He filled out every box in the form until he paused suddenly, hitting a roadblock. ¡°Hm¡­¡± He looked at me as his tail started moving slowly. ¡°Any ideas for a new team name?¡±

    I crossed my arms. ¡°Won¡¯t we use your old team name?¡±

    Evon grimaced. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t want to use a name that¡¯ll remind me of¡­ her. Just anything else, please.¡±

    I sighed in understanding before humming. I was so bad with decisions. I needed to think about the best name possible. It was gonna stick with us until we disbanded the team so until that happened, we needed to make a good first name. Possibly funny too.  ¡®Hm¡­ it¡¯d be funny if there was an Among Us reference¡­ nah, it wouldn¡¯t sit right. Goofy Goobers maybe? Has potential but like¡­ I wouldn¡¯t want lil¡¯ furry bro over here to bite off my arm for choosing a silly name. Hm¡­ what do we want to be¡­¡¯

    Wait a sec, if the games don¡¯t bind this world, then imagine the possibilities of what form Evon could evolve to, and imagine what kind of Pok¨¦mon I could turn to. If that cool-looking scorpion Pok¨¦mon was anything to go by, there are endless possibilities of what we could become!

    ¡°Alright, I decided. Possibly the only idea that doesn¡¯t make me seem like a dumbass.¡± I said with a dorky grin.

    ¡°And that is, mister smart guy?¡±

    I grinned and struck the Jotaro pose, pointing at the form. ¡°How about we go by¡­ Team Infinity!¡±

 Two Sides, One Rivalry

    Dread was creeping into the back of my mind as we approached the underground base far from civilization. I really didn¡¯t want to take another beating, especially from the boss¡­

    Ryobi and I were on the way back to the Dark Rebellion base on the south of the Gemstone Continent, named after the number of rare gemstones that could be found in this big mass of land. It only took two days to get from Cavestone Village to the base, it wasn¡¯t that big of a distance but we were healing from the beating we took and delaying the inevitable as much as possible.

    Even if my body had physically healed, with no ectoplasm cells being unstable, my mind hasn¡¯t.  I was still fucking pissed. I hate that stupid serpent¡¯s guts so much, I wish I could just rip his heart out and   eat it right in front of his calm and condescending face!!!

    Deep breaths, Marina, even though you didn¡¯t need to breathe, it still calmed you. You would have many revenge opportunities later¡­

    Still, I can¡¯t believe he robbed me of getting that shapeshifter into the Dark Rebellion, now that blue-eyed stupid boy is definitely getting brainwashed with guild nonsense. His mind is getting filled with lies and deceit just to get him in on their ¡° totally just acts¡±~!

    A load of Tauros shit, they might fool him for now, but once he discovers what truly goes behind their shadows, he¡¯d reconsider¡­

    It¡¯s such a shame too, our group would love having a powerful Pok¨¦mon like him around. I could only imagine the endless possibilities that would come with that ability. He could fool anyone if he ever wanted to blend in on certain places, not only that, he could draw out the power of the body that he turned into. If he could turn into one of those Pok¨¦mon from the legends, imagine how powerful he could become!

    Hm¡­ Could he also be an amazing partner to have during mating? ¡­ Perhaps.

    His power is unique, there¡¯s not a Pok¨¦mon I remember that could have a power like that besides him. He  needs  to join the Dark Rebellion to finally achieve our big mission of the total annihilation of the Diamond Kingdom Guild Association!  But I fucking blew the opportunity to catch him while he was at his weakest because of that stupid serpent!  I hate, hate,  hate,   hate him so damn much!!!

    We needed to do something to get him while there was still time. If possible, he could be of great help in retrieving that artifact¡­

    ¡°So¡­ have you thought about what to say to the boss so we don¡¯t get punished that much for acting without orders¡­?¡±

    The excadrill walking beside me said, his claws fiddling a bit from nervousness. Poor little Ryobi, such a young and naive mind as well. Lost his parents to a Mystery Dungeon because rescue teams wouldn¡¯t accept his request because of the lack of money, showing the ugly side of guilds to the boy¡­ He had to fend for himself while growing up when he was at his lowest, and nobody helped him, nobody was there for him.

    Nobody except for the Dark Rebellion, the group that seeks  true  justice for the Pok¨¦mon who were cast out and mistreated by the authorities of society.

    ¡°Well¡­¡± I shrugged with my ribbon limbs. ¡°Who needs to have a planned talk anyway?¡±

    Ryobi¡¯s eyes widened as he looked at me. ¡°WHAT!? B-but, you know how the boss acts, right!? He absolutely hates it when someone acts out alone without his orders! I know he wouldn¡¯t kill his own, but still, remember Mar and Paimo? I-I don¡¯t wanna end up like-¡±

    I shushed the excadrill by hugging him from behind and wrapping my ribbons around his mouth. ¡°Shhh, relax already, you¡¯re getting loud again¡­ sure, we might¡¯ve gone a little off course by ourselves¡­  but! ¡± I released the driller and started floating backwards in front of him. ¡°If we hadn¡¯t done that we wouldn¡¯t find such a goldmine inside that ancient village!¡±

    ¡°You mean the brat shapeshifter?¡± He asked while crossing his arms.

    ¡°Exactly! Once the boss hears about that boy, he¡¯ll totally excuse us for such a magnificent find!¡± I argued before chuckling. ¡°Oh, we¡¯re definitely going to be promoted to a higher rank!¡±

    Ryobi looked aside with a concerned frown. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t think that¡¯s gonna be the case. Maybe if we captured the boy, probably, but since we¡¯re going back after our asses got kicked, I don¡¯t think the boss would be so forgiving¡­¡±

    I grinned while waving a ribbon in dismissal. ¡°You¡¯re worrying too much as usual. If it weren¡¯t for me, you wouldn¡¯t even have the balls to get the shapeshifter, I had to do everything just get that pichu while you drilled your escape.¡±

    ¡°And look how that went, we may¡¯ve escaped our arrest but not our beating¡­¡±

    ¡°That fucking milotic and his Eye of Palkia¡­ why of all ¡®mons,  he  had to get blessed with that eye!?¡± I growled a bit as I released a bit of fairy energy onto a tree out of anger, burning the wood a little. ¡°I¡¯ll get him sometime¡­ hehehehe¡­ he¡¯ll see, he¡¯ll pay for ruining my life¡­¡±

    As I was about to laugh a bit more, Ryobi put a claw over my torso. ¡°Save your revenge plans for later, for now, we have to worry about facing the boss¡¯ wrath¡­¡±

    I sighed as I adjusted my red ribbon and unruffled my feathers. ¡°You do have a point¡­ let¡¯s just head to the base and get over with this.¡±

    We then continued on our path to the Dark Rebellion base, with no further rants from me, as much I wanted to shout more curses to Quartzo, but that¡¯d have to wait for now¡­  for now.

    After a few seconds, we have finally reached the underground base. At first glance, it¡¯d look like we were about to enter the dangerous mystery dungeon called Foggy Meadow, known for the fog that never lifts and that housed many bloodthirsty Pok¨¦mon inside, my favorite playground!

    However, in front of the entrance of the dungeon, between the two curved trees and hidden in a rug of grass and leaves, there lay the entrance to our home. A wooden hatch that led to Pok¨¦mon-made underground tunnels that Ryobi and I called home sweet home.

    Ryobi removed the rug of greens, revealing the wooden hatch. Of course, I just phased through it since my body is not fully restrained by the laws of the living realm. I could¡¯ve just opened the door for him, but honestly, I wasn¡¯t in the mood. After that battle, I wouldn¡¯t be in a good mood for a while, constantly reminding myself that I had lost to Quartzo of all Pok¨¦mon.

    And that stupid phrase that he said to me during  that  incident¡­

    ¡°You will get stronger, but not under my tutelage. You¡¯re out of the guild.¡±

    I never needed your guild anyway you condescending bastard!!!

    I heard the hatch close behind me as I heard Ryobi¡¯s voice echo through the narrow tunnel with the metal stairs. ¡°Your curse energy is leaking again¡­¡±

    I groaned a bit. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, let¡¯s just go.¡±

    With that, we descended through the tunnel until we reached the bottom. The tunnel expanded a little bit to the right, showing a wide metal door with a small square hole in the middle. Ryobi and I walked (or in my case, floated) to it and stopped in front of it. A red and yellow eye from the other side made itself present as a scratchy voice came out of it.

    ¡°Password?¡±

    I sighed and just phased through the door, startling the luxray on the other side. I turned around and unlocked the door for my partner. ¡°Hey! What about the password!?¡±

    ¡°Not in the mood.¡± I said nonchalantly as the excadrill opened it and entered. I turned around and looked at the black and blue feline Pok¨¦mon. ¡°Has the boss said anything about our absence?¡±

    The luxray hissed with some electricity running through his mane. ¡°How should I know!? I just guard the door and verify our members! I have no idea what goes on in the other ranks!¡±

    I clicked my tongue and rolled my eyes, floating away as I felt the big feline stare at me a bit annoyedly. ¡°Let¡¯s just go ask him ourselves then¡­¡±

    The underground base wasn¡¯t as big as Cavestone Village, but it was big enough to house more than 200 members of our group. It was more like a hidden community rather than an actual village. It had the essentials that every base needed: training grounds (even though I used the mystery dungeon a bit more), a large cafeteria, multiple lounges and recreation rooms, dorms, meeting rooms, and much more. Thanks to the earthworms who helped make these tunnels, it was all that we needed to survive in the wilds, away from the corrupt society¡¯s eyes.

    The base was populated with Pok¨¦mon of different species from each other, even ferocious-looking ones that civilized society discriminated against for being feral and uncontrollable monsters, all wearing a black armband, scarves, or headbands. We¡¯ve all worked with a common goal in mind for years, and we wouldn¡¯t stop until we¡¯ve achieved our ultimate goal¡­

    The complete reformation of the current society.

    We fought for a world where misfits like we were accepted, a world where everyone was respected equally, a world where we were truly happy. This group wouldn¡¯t have even been formed if it wasn¡¯t for a single Pok¨¦mon: our beloved and respected boss Iblis.

    Iblis was a Pok¨¦mon like no other. He had an enlightened mind that no other Pok¨¦mon in our group, which led to him creating the Dark Rebellion and leading us to a brighter future! Sure, as much as some of his punishments were not to our liking once we went against his orders, he cared for all of us equally.

    He was basically a father to us, our light of hope in our darkest moments when we would look up to him.

    Ryobi hummed in thought beside me before asking. ¡°Is it just me or does this place feel more lively?¡±

    I shrugged, not having a lot of interest in the topic. ¡°I dunno, it could be because of new members that joined. I don¡¯t have to keep track of all of them.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case. I noticed that most members who are mostly out and about are here today¡­ and it¡¯s been like this before we left too. Are they planning for something?¡±

    ¡°Well, last time the group got together like this, we were preparing for a raid in a big guild. Didn¡¯t work out so we had to retreat.¡± I then put one of my ribbons over my mouth as I hummed in thought.  ¡°If we¡¯re doing another big operation¡­ I wonder what it¡¯s about this time¡­¡±

    I sighed and just shrugged off the thought for now. It¡¯s not like we were doing it now, I could tell we were still in the beginning stages of preparations. At the moment, there was another important issue to worry about.

    After going through the wide tunnels a bit, we finally reached the boss¡¯ room. He had a normal office, but it was more like a meeting room for those in the higher ranks and for the messengers he sent to the other Pok¨¦mon in the lower ranks. After all, no one from the lower ranks has seen what he looks like or what kind of Pok¨¦mon species he was.

    Even though Iblis was known for great things, he was also known for being mysterious. He usually stays in the shadows, where no one can see what he looks like. Even some members of our groups theorized that he wasn¡¯t a Pok¨¦mon, but of course, I never believed them. Imagine a creature that¡¯s not a Pok¨¦mon living in our world. Like, sure, that could happen in other universes, but still, a creature like that in our world would be a bit strange¡­

    Although, they¡¯d fit right into our group.

    Ryobi sighed and extended a claw to open the red door to the office, however, before he could fully reach it the door opened itself, revealing the male metallade that our boss has for an assistant. Lorvn was a metallade, a very interesting species of Pok¨¦mon along with the other artificial Pok¨¦mon, hailing from the future because of the space and time distortion issues caused by the incident of 300 years ago. Their biology is weird as well, even though artificial, they have cores in them and can reproduce like any ordinary ¡®mon, even though there is nothing organic in them.

    Truly a marvel of nature and future technology at play¡­ that I don¡¯t give enough shit to study further.

    The metallade crossed his arms, being aware of his arm blades and his chest protrusion. ¡°There you two are¡­¡± He spoke with a metallic and scratchy voice. Normally, he would speak like a normal Pok¨¦mon, but apparently, his  ¡®voice box¡¯ (whatever that is) got damaged in the raid of that guild. ¡°Master Iblis has noticed your sudden disappearance, and of course, he did not like your little act of rebellion¡­¡±

    Ryobi fiddled with his claws nervously as he stuttered a little. ¡°U-um¡­ s-sorry. W-we were¡­¡±

    ¡°I was bored, we went out and found something very interesting that the boss might like.¡± I admitted, not minding if the excadrill called my name in nervousness. ¡°I¡¯d like to talk to him, I feel like he¡¯s gonna be very interested in it!¡± I exclaimed while putting one of my ribbons on Lorvn¡¯s shoulders. ¡°You¡¯ll let us meet him, right?¡±

    The artificial Pok¨¦mon didn¡¯t budge, his body not even moving a slight millimeter. ¡°Is this an attempt at escaping your punishment?¡±

    ¡°Quite the contrary, it¡¯s an unofficial mission report!¡± I argued, motioning exaggeratedly with my ribbons. ¡°After all, what we found will for sure help in the operation that uh¡­ what¡¯s the operation?¡±

    ¡°It is private business for now. However, what kind of artifact have you two found that is so important for our master and our operation?¡± Lorvn asked, his virtual eyes glaring menacingly at me. Of course, his intimidation attempt fell flat for me.

    I just brushed the metal green  hair  of the robot with one of my ribbons while smirking. ¡°It is not an object¡­ it¡¯s a powerful Pok¨¦mon that could very well become one of us!¡± I stopped stroking the cold surface and grinned. ¡°In fact, that little boy is so powerful that he can turn into  other Pok¨¦mon as well¡­¡±

    The metallade stared at me for some seconds. He might not have a face to express himself, but judging by the silence, that news got him by surprise. Eventually, he spoke. ¡°Are you sure about that, Marina? Or is your mouth dirty with lies?¡±

    Ryobi shyly raised his arm. ¡°I-I can back her up! I¡¯ve seen with my own eyes his power in action. At first, he was some weird fleshy Pok¨¦mon I¡¯ve never seen before, then boom, he became a buizel, then a machop.¡±

    I crossed my ribbons smugly. ¡°And then into a pawniard. One thing that remained the same on all of his forms is his blue eyes, making it easier to tell it¡¯s him.¡±

    Lorvn looked at us for a while longer before turning away. ¡°Excuse me for a moment, I shall speak to Master Iblis¡­¡± He entered the boss¡¯ room, closing the door behind him and leaving Ryobi and I with ourselves.

    Ryobi stared at the door for a moment before looking at me. ¡°So¡­ do you think that worked?¡±

    ¡°If not¡­ then I hope you enjoy your punishment while I relax somewhere else.¡± I said nonchalantly while shrugging.

    Ryobi clenched his teeth in anger. ¡°Oh come on! You¡¯re even more guilty than I am for dragging me into this mess! In this case, YOU should be the only one punished!¡±

    ¡°Nah, who¡¯d want to punish such a cutie like me?¡± I said while forming a heart with my ribbons and winking at the excadrill.

    Ryobi said while unamused. ¡°I¡¯d still punish you hard¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh my, you love me that much~?¡± I teased while stroking Ryobi¡¯s natural metal protector.

    The excadrill blushed hard and responded with his claws clenched. ¡°Not in that way!!!¡±

    I¡¯d tease him even more, but of course, my fun had to end when the door to the office opened again, Lorvn stepping out of the office and looking at the both of us. Ryobi straightened his posture nervously, pretending like he wasn¡¯t blushing a cherri berry seconds ago. I turned to the metallade and tilted my head, leaning closer to him. ¡°So?¡±

    ¡°Master Iblis has agreed to speak of this matter with both of you.¡± Lorvn turned around and started walking into the room again. ¡°Follow me, do not keep him waiting.¡±

    We followed the artificial Pok¨¦mon into the boss¡¯ office. It was a very dark office, with few sources of illumination, like, only three torches. There were three desks in the room, one with a map of the Gemstone continent that resided on the right on the right, another with a few papers on it and a communication orb, and the last one at the end of the room with some objects that I had no clue as to what they were for.

    On the table with the orb sat a red manaphy named Chidori, with a black bandana wrapped around her antennas, talking with another Pok¨¦mon on the orb. She looked a bit bored and uninterested, although¡­ she normally looked like that with her monotone face. I wasn¡¯t sure what the topic was about, but I wouldn¡¯t pry too much since it was probably confidential and because I had an important topic to speak with the boss.

    Speaking of the boss!

    There he was, sitting in the darkness, with nothing visible of his body present, only a vague silhouette of what he looked like and his glowing white eyes that shone through the darkness, also showing that whatever species he was had only two eyes like most other Pok¨¦mon. All I could tell from his silhouette is that he was a bipedal Pok¨¦mon and had a long tail.

    To be honest, this was the first time seeing the boss this close before. I¡¯ve caught a couple of glimpses of his shadow from a distance, but seeing him now this close before with those eyes¡­ it felt a bit intimidating, and that¡¯s coming from a ghost type like me who has won against many intimidating opponents. I don¡¯t know what kind of magic he was using, but even Pok¨¦mon who could see really well in the darkness could never see his body, like some sort of shadow was protecting him. I could just feel from primal instinct alone that the boss was on another level of power and that if he were using his full strength against me, there would be a high chance I could be killed.

    Just what kind of Pok¨¦mon was he¡­?

    As the metallade went to his table to attend to his duties, the boss adjusted his position on his chair and spoke with a deep and smooth voice. ¡°Good afternoon, Ryobi and Marina. Let me ask, have you two been well¡­?¡±

    The excadrill perked up and rubbed the back of his head nervously. ¡°Y-yep boss! W-we uh¡­ we¡¯re pretty fine alright!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m the same as usual¡­¡± I lied with a sheepish smile. ¡°How are you doing, boss?¡±

    Even through the darkness, I could feel a smile coming out of him. ¡°Couldn¡¯t be better.¡± Because of his smile, I felt a bit more at ease knowing that he was in a good mood, however, that relieved feeling disappeared once I noticed the smile going away as he continued speaking. ¡°But anyway¡­ I have received notice of your little unscheduled break you had and what you found during that time¡­¡± Iblis clasped his sharp claws. ¡°So what is this I heard from Lorvn about a Pok¨¦mon that can change shape to become other Pok¨¦mon?¡±

    Ryobi took a step forward and motioned with his claws. ¡°You had to see it, boss! That Pok¨¦mon has a fleshy form that has pink jynx hair! And not only that, he can turn into other Pok¨¦mon too!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ve seen him transform before his our eyes. We  would¡¯ve  brought him here, but¡­ he was being heavily protected by guild scum¡­¡± I said bitterly as memories of that fight returned to me. But of course, I tried my best to contain the tone of my voice and one of my tantrums.

    ¡°Hm¡­¡± The boss hummed, his white eyes closing and basically making his body harder to see. It was hard to predict what the boss could be thinking. Because of his mysterious nature, it could be anything related to that boy. ¡°Tell me¡­¡± The boss¡¯ eyes opened as he began to ask. ¡°What is the name of that shapeshifter?¡±

    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    I tilted my head in confusion. Why would be interested in that brat¡¯s name more than what he could do with these abilities? ¡°Well¡­¡± I rubbed my forehead as I tried to think back on that boy¡¯s name. I remember one of his companions yelling his name before, but I was too focused on the battle to pay attention to it. ¡°I¡­ I think it was¡­ Lu¡­ Lu¡­¡± For a moment, I saw the boss¡¯ eyes widen a bit before I finally remembered the name. ¡°Oh yeah! He was named Lucas!¡±

    Iblis stared for a moment at us, Ryobi noticing something was wrong. ¡°Boss¡­? Are you okay?¡±

    I could see the silhouette shake his head and get up from his chair. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it is nothing¡­¡± He walked towards the wall and looked at one of the paintings on it. The picture was a bit blurry and I couldn¡¯t see what was in it. ¡°You are dismissed for now.¡±

    ¡°W-what?¡± Ryobi stammered a bit perplexed. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ not gonna punish us?¡±

    ¡°No¡­ this situation that has arisen is far more important than giving a simple punishment over something so insignificant as acting out for yourselves. He gave a sideways glance at us. ¡°Not like you two have gotten yourselves in trouble while you were out, right?¡±

    A bead of liquid ectoplasm ran down my head as I shook my head along with Ryobi. ¡°O-of course not, boss!¡±

    ¡°Good¡­¡± With that, the boss turned to the picture again as Ryobi and I started leaving the office. However as we were leaving, I could hear the boss mutter ¡°Is he back¡­?¡± before it all turned into an intelligible mumble.

    We distanced ourselves from the office, far away, so we could sigh in relief and start thanking the Gods. Ryobi started first with his claws in the air. ¡°Thank you, Lord Arceus, for going easy on us¡­¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know our boss could be so terrifying like that¡­¡± I admitted with a frown. ¡°Not even that stupid serpent has that terrifying of an aura¡­¡±

    The excadrill turned to me and asked. ¡°Hey¡­ don¡¯t you think the boss acted a bit off? I dunno what it is, but I thought he¡¯d be a bit more objective from how the others describe him.¡±

    ¡°Eh, I don¡¯t pay attention to what the others say about him. He¡¯s an enigma. Although¡­¡± I put a ribbon on my chin and thought about it for a bit. That last quote though¡­ ¡°I do feel like he¡¯s hiding something from us¡­ specifically from that shapeshifter.¡±

    ¡°Does that mean the boss knows about him?¡± Ryobi asked while scratching the side of his head.

    ¡°Maybe he does. If we¡¯re lucky, we might get to question him about that but¡­¡± I shrugged. ¡°I doubt it.¡± I started floating away. ¡°Let¡¯s just rest for now, I¡¯m pretty tired and I need to fill my mind with something else before I rip the guts out of a wild ¡®mon because of some memories.¡±

    Ryobi sighed. ¡°For once, I¡¯m totally with you¡­¡±

    <hr>

    ¡°ACHOOO!!!¡±

    Evon stopped writing on the paper and looked at me. ¡°Are you seriously okay? This is the second time¡­¡±

    I sniffled and rubbed my nose with a finger. ¡°Yeah, yeah, I¡¯m Gucci, no worries. Just felt the need to sneeze for some reason.¡± I shrugged off the uneasy feeling before turning to Guildmaster Quartzo, who was coiled right beside me. ¡°So¡­ I¡¯ve been meaning to ask since I got uh¡­ clobbered unconscious. But like¡­ what¡¯s up with that creepy third eye you got? I may not remember a few things from the fight¡­ but I do remember that.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you mean this?¡± The milotic suddenly opened his creepy third eye, sending chills down my spine when his eye locked in on me. He motioned with one of his eyebrow limbs. ¡°This is called the Eye of Palkia.¡±

    I blinked a bit, staring at the eye a bit silently. I was nervous for reasons I couldn¡¯t decipher, but probably because of how creepy having an eye on your forehead actually is. Like, literally, no eyebrows, eyelashes, nothing like that. Just¡­ that. And the fact its sclera was also black made this way more unnerving.

    Why do I feel like I¡¯ve seen this exact eye before¡­?

    ¡°Um, that¡¯s a cool name and all but like¡­ except for looking like its namesake owner, does it also give you uh¡­ space manipulation abilities?¡± I asked, going off a hunch that it gave him a few of Palkia¡¯s abilities.

    ¡°So, you are familiar with the Deity of Space, Palkia, huh?¡± The milotic asked as I nodded. He smiled. ¡°Well, that does cut a bit of the explanation.¡± He motioned with one of his limbs as he coiled a bit more. ¡°Well, to keep it simple. This eye originated from one of Palkia¡¯s deaths since deities like them can be reborn once they die to keep the balance of the world. 300 years ago, he went berserk and he was forced to be killed. He was killed by none other than Zariel, the hero that hailed from this village.¡±

    ¡®Goddamn, this Zariel guy kicked ass in the past. Bro could probably win against the one billion lions all by himself.¡¯  I thought, a smile escaping my mouth before I started to pay attention to the history lesson.

    The guildmaster continued. ¡°However, before Palkia was killed, one of Zariel¡¯s companions, whom not much is known about, gouged out one of the deity¡¯s eyes and gave it to another Pok¨¦mon to protect it. However, once Palkia died, the eye fused itself with the Pok¨¦mon, giving them their abilities.¡±

    ¡°Goddamn¡­ that¡¯s metal as shit¡­¡± I muttered to myself, trying to not be heard by the mimikyu who wanted me to use the ¡°rich and noble¡± language in front of the Pok¨¦mon she simps for.

    The eevee, being done filling out the form, sat next to me and asked. ¡°So¡­ before that guy died, he passed the eye to someone young and trustworthy for the next generation?¡±

    Quartzo nodded, his third eye shifting between Evon and me. ¡°Correct. This power has been passed down for generations. I am the last one they¡¯ve passed it to.¡± The water serpent then tilted his eyes. ¡°Well, any questions?¡±

    I raised a finger. ¡°Yeah, I do. What can you do with that eye? I¡¯m still hella confused about what you did in the fight with that insane ghost.¡±

    ¡°I still don¡¯t know if I can do everything with it, but, from what I know, I can still do a lot of things with it; I can pull and push things, create and erase space, and much more.¡± He said with a smile growing on his face for some reason.

    ¡°How much more we¡¯re talking-¡± I interrupted myself, noticing a change in my voice. For some reason, I felt my voice echo a bit, getting a more ethereal tone from it. I looked around in confusion before locking eyes with someone beside me who was¡­ myself!? ¡°WHAT THE HEEEEEELLLL!?!?!?¡±

    It felt like I was staring at a reflection of myself but without the need for a mirror. The other me had the same features as me, said the same things as me, and copied the same movements I did. It was like an actual reflection, although, I could see that it was lacking something, like some sort of opacity to it.

    Quartzo chuckled. ¡°Like I said, much more.¡±

    Suddenly, the other me literally  shattered  like a mirror, shards of him falling on the ground before disappearing from the world completely. I looked back at the milotic feeling a bit nervous about the thing I just witnessed.  Fucking crazy  is what I¡¯d best describe that eye ability. Who knew that Satoru Gojo got isekaid and got turned into a milotic? What¡¯s he gonna do next? Summon a pocket dimension out of nowhere and have it named Infinite Void or something? Bro¡¯s literally that but extra! ¡°W-what¡­ what did you just do!?¡±

    Gojo-   AHEM!  Quartzo responded. ¡°I just simply applied a reflective matter beside you on a very specific area to only reflect you from every angle you¡¯d look at. Of course, there were some small errors like the reflection cutting off on some parts. But it is to be expected since this requires a lot of concentration to pull it off since it uses my energy to do these things.¡±

    Evon was also a bit surprised by the sheer power that milotic contained in just a single eye. He asked a bit hesitantly. ¡°So¡­ is there any restraint to your power or¡­?¡±

    ¡°Well, of course, there are, or else I would be taking the role of the current space deity, wouldn¡¯t I?¡± The three-eyed serpent said with a shrug of his eyebrows. ¡°The limitations are quite simple. The abilities only work wherever this eye looks.¡± He said while pointing at the Eye of Palkia. ¡°So, I only have a narrow field of view to work with. But that¡¯s the only weakness.¡±

    Ah, I get it. He¡¯s Satoru Gojo on steroids AND with a big nerf. Got it¡­ but still dummy OP though. ¡°Ok then, glad you¡¯re one of the good guys and not one with those kidnapper guys¡­ the uh¡­ what is their group called again? I forgor¡­¡± I asked while scratching my cheek.

    ¡°As a reminder, they¡¯re from the group calling themselves Dark Rebellion. They¡¯re the biggest group of criminals that roam the Gemstone Continent. Since you¡¯re not from this world, I should tell you more about that group.¡±

    ¡°Wait, the shapeshifter hails from another world?¡± The mimikyu who was analyzing the contents of the form looked away from the paper and l glanced at the milotic who closed his eye. ¡°How is that possible? I thought that every otherworldly Pok¨¦mon had been recorded after the frenzy pandemic¡­ happened.¡±

    The water serpent looked at Kina. ¡°He¡¯s a recent one, although¡­ he said that a deity summoned him to this world to fulfill some sort of destiny¡­¡±

    I crossed my arms and pouted, muttering to myself. ¡°Pretty stupid one if it ain¡¯t about saving the world, that¡¯s for sure¡­¡±

    ¡°Anyway, back to what I was saying¡­¡± Quartzo looked back at me. ¡°The Dark Rebellion is a dangerous group of Pok¨¦mon that are known for destroying guilds and killing rescue and explorer teams all over the continent.¡± I grimaced at that. ¡°What is interesting is that they don¡¯t target civilians, only the authorities¡­¡±

    Evon turned to me as his ears and tail dropped. ¡°Yeah, apparently they¡¯re a group that has a serious hate towards authorities and nobility. When they¡¯re not killing, they¡¯re stealing from them.¡±

    I hummed in thought before thinking.  ¡®Yep, they¡¯re the darker version of Robin Hood in this world. Literally, the version that has decided: ¡°Let¡¯s do some killing tonight!¡±¡¯ And that was a group I was dealing with because I literally joined a guild and now I¡¯m their new target! Woohoo, go me!

    ¡°At any rate, from the way you two handled Marina, I¡¯d suggest staying away from them until you two are ready.¡± He tilted his head towards me. ¡°Lucas, you need to learn how to transform into stronger Pok¨¦mon. If you keep transforming into first-stage evolutions for battle purposes, you¡¯ll lose against stronger Pok¨¦mon. Not only that, you need to improve on your combat abilities as well.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m plannin¡¯. And by being in an exploration team, I feel that I¡¯d grow stronger!¡± I said with a grin and thumbs up.

    The milotic nodded before turning to Evon. ¡°Evon-¡±

    ¡°I know¡­ grow stronger and evolve. I was planning to do that anyway. And this time, I¡¯ll not back down.¡± For some reason, I could feel some kind of strong aura coming from the eevee. The bitterness in his voice sounded like he was planning something in his head, something that involved chopping someone¡¯s head, probably that outlaw from last time. I deduced that because I was like him before¡­ ¡°I need to do it for her, after all.¡±

    The milotic frowned, probably noticing it as well. ¡°Evon¡­ I told you to let it go; if you¡¯re planning to go after  him ¡­¡±

    The intent disappeared before he looked away with a frown. ¡°N-no¡­ I¡¯m not, sorry¡­¡±

    Quartzo sighed before leaning his upper body close to Evon and patting his head. ¡°It¡¯s alright Evon, I know it¡¯s hard, but you will overcome your grief.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I did it (for the most part), and so can you!¡± I said to the eevee, reassuring him that everything would turn alright. ¡°You¡¯re a strong ball of fluff, so I bet you¡¯ll overcome it in less than a year!¡±

    Evon looked at me with his remaining eye widened a bit like he saw something on me, maybe. He looked down. ¡°I¡­ um¡­¡± His tail and ears dropped with a grimace before he forced himself to smile and look back at me. ¡°Thanks, guys.¡±

    ¡°No biggie, and remember that I do owe you for saving my life back at that beach, alright?¡± I said with a grin.

    Quartzo tilted his head. ¡°The beach? Why would you-¡±

    He got interrupted by Kina, who looked at the three of us. ¡°Apologies for the interruption, Guildmaster Quartzo, but I have finished registering their team on the guild. They are now officially a part of the guild.¡±

    The milotic smiled at the mimikyu. ¡°That is good to know.¡± He turned to us again and shifted his position. ¡°Lucas and Evon. As the Guildmaster of the Stalacta Guild, I welcome you two warmly to our base of operations. Welcome, Team Infinity.¡±

    ¡®Why do I feel like I¡¯m in those anime scenes¡­ eh, gonna be like them since I¡¯m literally experiencing them IRL.¡¯  After that thought, both Evon and I said simultaneously: ¡°Thank you, Guildmaster Quartzo!¡±

    <hr>

    ¡®Welp, back here again¡­ I sure do hope she wasn¡¯t that worried¡­ and that she hasn¡¯t messed with my stuff, of course.¡¯ I thought to myself as I stared at the house in front of me.

    I had gone back to Basidian¡¯s house, parting with Evon on the way as he went to his home. I was standing in front of the rock-made house, looking at the door with a bit of hesitance to knock on it. That heatran was probably worried as hell about me. I left the house just to take a quick bath and boom, I was absent for 2 whole days because of a fight. Speaking of baths¡­

    I sniffed my armpit and, to my horror, it was starting to stink a bit. I should¡¯ve realized sooner when my armpit started to sting a bit before. I groaned disappointedly and limped while looking down. ¡°Ugh, she¡¯s gonna force me to bathe again, I¡¯m a gamer, my sweat is my shower!¡±

    Since I wasn¡¯t looking, I went to knock on the door, however, I felt my hand knocking on something  waaaay  harder and hotter. I looked up again and saw Basidian staring at me, giving me a bit of a scare when I realized I was knocking on her steel forehead. ¡°Oops, m-my bad, Basi-!¡±

    ¡°Lucas¡­!¡± The heatran muttered before her eyes started watering a little. ¡°L-Lucas I¡­ I WAS SO WORRIED!¡±

    ¡°Gah!¡±

    The old Pok¨¦mon tackled me to the ground, pinning me down with her claws as she nuzzled and even licked me with a sticky magma-colored, and frog-like tongue. Sure, not like she had saliva and wasn¡¯t coating me with that sizzling oil, but still, she was using her tongue on me!!! ¡®Geez, why¡¯s she such a clingy motherly crybaby instead of a knowledgeable old sage???¡¯

    This felt embarrassing. I didn¡¯t know they handled licks in this world, were they like hugs for quadrupeds or kisses? If it was the latter,  then why the fuck was I getting kissed!? I have known her for barely one day and she was already treating me like I was her child!?!?

    If I was getting licked by a dog or a cat, this wouldn¡¯t be as bad¡­  but this was a sentient creature from another world for Christ''s sake!  ¡°O-okay, okay, that¡¯s enough! I¡¯m alright, I¡¯m alright, don¡¯t worry!¡±

    Elder Basi stopped licking me, however, she didn¡¯t release me but instead started to nuzzle her head against my face, tears akin to hot bath water falling on my face. ¡°You don¡¯t know how  worried  you made me! Once I visited you at the hospital after hearing you were in there, I almost had a core freeze once I saw you in that state!¡±

    ¡°N-no worries tho¡­¡± Since her body was pressing down on me again, it was getting harder to breathe. ¡°I-I¡¯m alright¡­ P.S. y-your¡­ body¡­¡± I gasped the last word out.

    Thankfully, she heard my pleas and got her body mass out of the stick mass of mine, letting me breathe again and process the earthly air of the cave. Is there something wrong I¡¯m missing with her species? Do mama heatrans tend to crush their babies or something? ¡°Sorry, child, you have no idea how much I worried about you¡­¡± Even if she got off me, she still nuzzled her head onto mine. ¡°You spent two days there and I thought you¡¯d be in a longer coma¡­¡±

    I sat up and sheepishly smiled at her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, never been in a coma and not planning on it.¡± I jumped up. ¡°Sorry if I worried you, I¡¯ve been uh¡­ through some guild stuff and got caught up in a mess.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve¡­ heard some things about it when I went looking for you. Kidnappers beat you and Evon unconscious¡­?¡± Basidian asked concernedly.

    I looked aside, a frown entering my face as I debated telling her that those guys were from the most dangerous group on the entirety of the continent¡­ yeah, she¡¯d never gonna let me out again if I told her that those guys wanted my head now. ¡°So¡­ yeah, random kidnappers not from the village snuck in, kidnapped a kid, we saved the kids, they beat our asses, Gojo- I mean, Quartzo beat their ass, and then took us to the hospital. That¡¯s all that happened in a nutshell.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Arceus, you have been through so much, child, and with only so few days in a new world to you¡­ come now, you need to rest, even if for a small while.¡± Basi said while hushing me to her home.

    ¡°I feel fine, really! Sure, my arms were a bit sore earlier today but-¡±

    I got interrupted as I got pushed from the back lightly. ¡°No buts! You¡¯re going to eat some food and rest until you¡¯re  fully  healed! Got it?¡±

    ¡®Since when you¡¯re my new mom? New world, new mom?¡¯  I thought for myself before I accidentally said it out loud. ¡°Yes,  mom ¡­¡± I just realized what came out of my mouth and turned to the heatran, who wore a surprised expression on her face. ¡°M-my bad! You just reminded me of Mom for a bit and uh¡­ it came out on instinct¡­¡±

    The elder blinked a bit and became a bit embarrassed. ¡°Um¡­ sorry if I reminded you of your mom, I just wanted to see you taking care of yourself, child. You¡¯ve endured too much¡­¡±

    I waved at her a bit dismissively. ¡°Nah, it¡¯s all good.¡± I put my hands on my short pockets, realizing they were filled with dust. ¡°You¡¯re right to worry. Ever since I was a child, I was a reckless mess and my family was there to just take me out of some mess here and there, Mom especially.¡± I smiled sadly as I looked aside, remembering a certain scene of my mother unwrapping me after trying to do cool jump rope tricks with a rope. I don¡¯t even remember how I got into that state, but I did. ¡°She was such a lifesaver¡­¡±

    I felt a sticky metallic claw take a light grip on my arm. ¡°Lucas¡­¡±

    I saw the heatran looking at me with pity before I turned around and tried to lift the mood (specifically mine). ¡°Welp, you were right, I can already feel the eldritch horrors of the universe, AKA, my stomach wanting the consumption of  food. ¡± I looked back at Basidian and grinned. ¡°Where the food stash at? Imma grab some goodies for us.¡±

    Basi sighed and motioned at the area at the end of the house. I gave her a thumbs-up before heading in the direction she pointed me towards. I was feeling a bit more sweaty being in the heatran¡¯s house so I debated taking my shirt off.  ¡®Would she mind if I took it off? I¡­ don¡¯t think so because I don¡¯t think they understand the concepts of clothes, only accessories.¡¯  I thought with a shrug before taking off my T-shirt, feeling a bit more exposed like when I was in the body of a machoke or a charmander. I felt a bit more free.

    I threw the shirt at the door to my room, that hot feeling from before disappearing. I went to the back area and saw mainly the food stash lying¡­ on the dirty ground¡­ you know, what else I expected?

    I sighed and went to grab some of it, not before noticing in the corner of my vision a certain rectangular wooden chest with a very strange lock on it. The lock had a circle in the middle with four horizontal and vertical extensions. It reminded me a bit of those strange locks that needed some very specific artifacts to open.

    I shrugged it aside for now before going to the berry and bread pile and scooped a chunk of it with my arms, a few falling off my hold and landing back on the pile. I went back to the living room and put all the food I managed to scoop on the table. I looked at the elder with a grin. ¡°Bon¡¯ appetit!¡± I noticed she was looking weird at me, making my grin drop a little. ¡°Uh¡­ you good or¡­?¡±

    She realized she was staring at me with that concerned face of hers. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing, child. It¡¯s just¡­ I always thought that piece of cloth was a part of your skin since you never took it off¡­¡±

    I snickered a bit. ¡°Well, you see, my species likes to wear clothes that cover most of our bodies. It¡¯s because, like, we¡¯re kinda insecure about showing some parts of our body, so when we¡¯re in public we wear some clothes to not only protect us from certain weathers but also for fashion and the main thing I talked about.¡±

    The heatran tilted her head. ¡°Why would you want to hide certain parts of your body?¡±

    I was starting to get a bit embarrassed about the topic. How the hell should I explain body privacy to a species that has their asses exposed for the whole world to see? ¡°Um¡­ you see¡­ it wasn¡¯t like that at the beginning of our species existence and all of that, but uh¡­ we just don¡¯t reallylike others seeing our reproductive organs since we¡¯re  really  exposed.¡±  ¡®Kinda hypocritical of me to be saying that since one of the first things I did to the being that saved me when I came to this world was looking at his genitalia. If he was anyone from my species, he¡¯d had me dead on the spot.¡¯  I then continued. ¡°Then it evolved to not showing our bare torso in some places, especially females of our species.¡±  ¡®Please just let that be enough to satisfy her¡­¡¯

    ¡°Oh, I see. Different world, different cultures after all.¡± Basi said before leaning on the table and taking a huge bite out of  half  of the food on the table, swallowing everything whole. She then smiled at me. ¡°You should talk more about human culture, I¡¯d love to hear more!¡±

    I sat down on the table and grabbed a piece of bread. ¡°If you want to hear about our  ¡®crazy human behavior¡¯  as Evon says it, then I¡¯d love to talk about it more.¡±  ¡®Oh, just wait until I talk about the wonders of the internet, and of course the MEMES!¡¯

    The heatran just smiled at me before noticing something. ¡°By the way¡­ what¡¯s that pendant you¡¯re wearing? I haven¡¯t seen it before since your cloth was obscuring it.¡±

    ¡°Oh, this?¡± I said as I lifted the necklace up. ¡°Well, it¡¯s a friendship necklace that a little Pichu named Raina gave me. She gave the other half to Evon as well so we do be matching.¡±

    As I started to eat the bread, Basi responded. ¡°That¡¯s good to know! That means you and Evon will be best friends in the future!¡±

    I looked back at everything I did to Evon and how he kept looking at me with his face like my mere existence was an annoying mess to him. ¡°Um¡­ yeah.¡± I smiled sheepishly at the heatran. ¡°I hope so.¡±

    With that out of the way, I resumed eating my portion of the food, wincing a bit at the taste of the berries I didn¡¯t like. Of course, not everything in this world would be the most amazing thing¡­ kinda made me miss the milk, the sandwiches, the hamburgers, the pizza¡­ ¡®I¡¯ll miss you all. I¡¯ll be back for you, my pogchamps of the food dimension, don¡¯t worry!¡¯

    Once I finished the food, I went back to my room, grabbing my T-shirt along the way. I gave it a couple of sniffs, before realizing it was a bit stinky, and its sleeves were the worst part of it. There were also tears on some parts of it, made from scratches and other things. I sighed and muttered. ¡°There are no washing machines here and no other clothing shop¡­ I need to get some kinds of clothing for later.¡±

    I went to my backpack and put my T-shirt in one of its pockets. After that, I decided to grab my phone before a certain thought made me change my decision.  ¡®Actually, wait a minute, I need to test something out.¡¯

    I distanced myself from my backpack and stood in the middle of the room. Damn, this world is really changing me. Making me do something else instead of choosing to look at my phone¡­  woohoo! I escaped the Redditor allegations!

    I grinned for a bit before stretching my body a bit. I needed to test  why  I couldn¡¯t transform into stronger Pok¨¦mon than what I could transform.  ¡®Why is he so scared of me turning into the big boys? Scared that I won¡¯t be able to control the body¡¯s instincts? I could¡­¡¯  My thoughts were interrupted when I thought about that time I turned into an eevee¡­ scratching behind my ear like an actual dog¡­

    Still, that didn¡¯t deter me, my mind was set on finding out why I was prohibited from turning into the bigger and stronger Pok¨¦mon. As they say, ¡°fuck around and find out¡±!

    ¡®Who to choose¡­ hm¡­ maybe a dragon.¡¯  I went with dragonite, already picturing myself as one in my head. I imagined myself punching rocks like they were nothing, soaring into the air with my wings and exploding things with a powerful Hyper Beam. Even though it took a bit longer to activate¡­ the transformation  triggered.

    Pink filled my vision as I felt my body morph and shift inhumanely. My arms and legs started growing thicker, my skin getting covered with a new and hard layer, my stomach size increased a little, my head changed shape with two a horn and two antennas emerging from my head, and a large tail appeared on my back along with two bat-like wings. The pink flash disappeared from my vision letting me see my surroundings again. I noticed that the transformation lasted longer than the last ones¡­

    I looked down at my own body seeing the orange scales covering my body, my tree-trunk-shaped arms, my sharp claws, and my large tail. I flexed my claws for a bit before grinning and squealing silently in excitement. ¡°Holy shit, I can turn into a fucking Dragonite!¡± I ran a claw on my belly and then tried moving my wings a little bit, testing out every movement this body could do. ¡°This is so fucking awesome, haha¡­ ha¡­¡±

    Suddenly, I felt my legs give in out of nowhere, my body feeling heavier than ever. I dropped to my knees, supporting myself on my claws as I started breathing hard. I clenched my teeth as my tail lashed out from the sudden pain. ¡°W-what¡­ what the hell is this¡­!?¡±

    I felt weak like some outside force was sucking all of my strength and telling me to just cease all struggling.  Not only that, but some kind of alien voice made itself present.

    ¡°Give in to instinct, it shall guide you and take your pain away. No need for struggle, you shall be free¡­¡±

    ¡°NO!¡± I quickly thought about memories of my mom before the flash of pink quickly filled my vision. My body reverted to human after some seconds, leaving me panting and sweating on the floor. I rolled on my back and kept panting like I had run ten miles without any breaks. ¡°Yep¡­ never doing that again until I get stronger¡­ you win this time, shadow god guy¡­¡±

    Thankfully, I didn¡¯t shout that loudly so Basi shouldn¡¯t get that worried. I frowned a bit as I thought about the event. What the hell was that voice? It didn¡¯t seem like it was shadow god guy telling me that crap, but they sounded a bit like¡­ myself? I dunno, the voice felt way familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.

    But welp, this experience warned me of something.  Don¡¯t transform into powerful Pok¨¦mon or else you might turn into a wild animal.  That¡¯s what I get for fucking around and finding out!

    I sighed and just crawled onto the hay bed, feeling the straws poking into my bare skin. Irritated by them, I debated in my mind.  ¡®Should¡­ should I transform to sleep again? Actually, fuck it, Imma do it. It¡¯s clear I only get minor urges and nothing major like what almost happened.¡¯

    I thought about the Pok¨¦mon and transformed into it and after some seconds, the transformation had finished. I looked down at my body, seeing blue and black fur and a small snout coming from below my eyes. I had turned into a riolu.

    And of course, the musk followed me to another body¡­

    I sighed and got myself comfortable on the hay bed, sleepiness taking over my body once it had registered that I was on a bed in addition to being tired as hell. I was about to take another scolding from that guy, wouldn¡¯t I?

 Bro Visited His Friend

    The void¡­ the absence of space where nothing can be seen, where there is nowhere to go, where there is nothing to scream at, and where there is nothing to hear. An infinite darkness that permeates the parts where space does not exist. For example, there is no space between mind and matter nor dream and reality, leaving the only bridge between the two the void¡­ or like, that¡¯s what I least heard in some RPGs and video games. Sometimes, it even leaks onto dreams under some circumstances, like in my case!

    There I was again, in the same black space, seeing nothing but my own body because of dream logic, probably. I was still in a riolu¡¯s body since that was the form I last went to sleep with. Furry blue paws were there instead of my hands, and instead of the semi-toned skin that was my human legs, they were replaced with bony black-furred legs.

    Instead of finding myself face-to-face with the deity that was the cause of my entire situation, I was alone, with no one to give me the scolding I was expected to have after my  test  with the transformation. But¡­ no one was in sight, not even that pink light that always followed him wherever he went.

    Then¡­ why am I fully aware of the void again if it¡¯s not one of his speeches- oh wait, I almost forgot the other void dream option.

    And just as if it heard me, the thing that was plaguing my dreams so frequently recently came out to play. Two giant red rings that belonged to a giant creature¡¯s eyes appeared before me, staring down at my furry riolu body. And of course, just like the other times, it began speaking in a weird alien dialect that I could understand shit about it.

    I crossed my arms and sat while floating, crossing my legs as I rolled my eyes. I was already sick of this dream, it was the same shit over and over again. Eyes appear, a bunch of mumbo-jumbo is spilled, then boom, jumpscare without me ever seeing how the creature looks like while I¡¯m fully aware of everything that happens. I don¡¯t know how much time the guy spends on the mumbo-jumbo part, but it¡¯s for a small bit.

    I sighed and let my back fall a bit like I was lying in a bed. Even if I was floating, I relaxed like I was back in my bed, with covers over me as I closed my eyes again. ¡°Listen, bro, I know you¡¯re trying to look like my sleep paralysis demon or something, but you¡¯re having an insane amount of skill issue right now. Go get some bitches or something  then  we speak-¡±

    ¡°Go away¡­ please¡­!¡±

    A certain familiar male voice made me open my eyes again, not making me wake up back into the real world. I looked around, searching for the voice''s source while ignoring the gibberish the giant shadow monster was spitting. After looking around for a bit, I finally found the source below me. Surrounded by pink light, the yellow-eyed shadow was flying under me, curling his body and his own tail wrapped around him like some sort of shield. He looked¡­ afraid.

    ¡°L-leave me alone already¡­¡±

    The incoherent speech was slowly turning into a growl.

    ¡°S-Stop it!¡±

    Seeing the interaction between the two shadow beings made me realize something that finally made me understand why I was having these weird dreams that were supposed to be scary yet weren¡¯t¡­

    This was not my dream, it was the deity¡¯s.

    I glanced back at the deity and tried calling him, swimming through the void. ¡°Hey dude, what¡¯s wrong? Who the hell is this bozo scaring you-¡±

    ¡° Leave me ALONE!!! ¡±

    He screamed, a shockwave passing through the void and causing winds that ruffled my fur. That was enough to rile up the giant shadow monster. It roared into the sky before its head reached towards me. And before I knew it, the creature clamped its mouth on me¡­

    And I woke up.

    My eyes quickly opened with a jump as I was left panting, trying to catch my breath after dying in a dream. I put a paw on my chest and I felt my heart regulate its beating as I calmed down from the dream experience. I blinked for a moment before saying. ¡°Nani the fuck-¡± I interrupted myself to make it seem like a video cut and to appear like I was saying something else entirely, one of the many quirks I liked to do. ¡°Anyway¡­ uh¡­ that answers some stuff, but still, what the hell¡­¡± I shifted my position in the straw nest, tilting my body sideways as my brain did something almost impossible and thought.

    ¡®So¡­ the cause of those nightmares was actually because of the deity¡¯s dreams¡­? How¡­? I know it uses a lot of telepathy with me but like¡­ is his power different from what the media portrayed telepathy? Or¡­ is he connected with me in some way¡­¡¯  I thought as I was thinking about some theories. Before I could brainstorm some more, something snapped me away from my thoughts: my belly rumbling. ¡°Aw c¡¯mon dude, not cool! I was in the middle of my nerd emoji moment and you completely blew it!¡± I complained to my stomach, sighing in defeat before getting up, not before realizing something.

    Goddamn, my sense of smell was so powerful. It was kinda obvious since I was a canine Pok¨¦mon, but holy hell, I could smell all sorts of stuff without even being remotely close. Of course, there was the earthly air with the small smell of sulfur permeating the air. That would be as far as my human nose would go¡­ but since I wasn¡¯t exactly in human form, I could smell more than that, like the human sweat plaguing my T-shirt, the smell of the food on the storage area, and¡­ uh¡­ the smell coming from the hole where Pok¨¦mon did their necessities.

    Honestly, it would be better if I just focused on the food smell, shake, brain? Shake, no questions asked.

    Since these legs were a bit different than the other Pok¨¦mon I transformed had (having inverted knees for a biped is hella weird), it was a bit of a difficulty trying to walk, heck, I even fell on my side after a few steps. But after walking towards my backpack, I got the hang of it eventually, my tail being the only thing that kept me steady.

    I wanted to look for my phone, so I scavenged my backpack (that now was literally almost half of my height) for the device, checking every pocket for it. Well, there was my notebook, pencil case, and other miscellaneous items that I didn¡¯t bother taking out of my backpack, but¡­ no phone. ¡°The hell? Where did I¡­¡± I muttered to myself before realizing the last time I used my phone.

    It was before I went to bed the night I turned into an eevee and put the phone in my shorts¡¯ pocket¡­

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s nonexistent for now, but¡­¡± I said with a grin before stepping away from the bag. I opened my arms and slowly transformed myself back into human form. Once the pink flash faded, I could see my shirtless body with dirty shorts and muddied shoes, the pendant that I received from the little pichu still hanging from my neck. I frowned a bit when a realization hit him. I facepalmed lightly. ¡°Fuck, that¡¯s right, I gotta get new clothes somehow¡­¡±

    Ah yes, definitely gonna look for new clothes in a world where all of the inhabitants are naked as fuck and don¡¯t even mind if someone accidentally peeked under their tails. Like, the stuff that I saw and prevented myself from even speaking about it even by a bit¡­ eh, not like I¡¯m not used to seeing that with animals back in my world, so better not bother about it.

    I quickly whipped my phone out and checked the battery. Huh¡­ 65% even being in sleep mode for two days straight¡­ strange, but¡­ just shows the potency of the... wait, hold on a moment. ¡°Goddammit! How will I even recharge this-... oh wait, maybe if I turn into an electric Pok¨¦mon¡­¡± I shrugged. ¡°Eh, that¡¯s for later.¡± I looked back at my phone, frowning a bit when I saw no notifications on the lock screen. ¡°Man, no signal sucks¡­¡±

    I put my phone beside my backpack as a thought struck me. I realized a massive hygiene problem by staying in human form. I couldn¡¯t exactly brush my teeth whenever I ate stuff, leaving my teeth to get caries, something that animals didn¡¯t suffer from. Also, not only that, I¡¯d definitely be dirtying my clothes even more than I should, and since I have to go to some kind of river to wash them and don¡¯t have any spare in my backpack¡­ yeah, it would be bad if I stayed in human form for long.

    I gritted my teeth as I put a hand on my forehead as I thought of becoming a Pok¨¦mon for the majority of my time here. ¡°Should I¡­ should I really be doing this?¡± I sat on the ground with a frown, thinking about the consequences of what would happen if I stayed as a Pok¨¦mon for too long. Suddenly, memories from last night(? I don¡¯t know what time it is in a place like this¡­) returned to me, reminding me of what almost happened when I transformed into a dragonite for a couple of seconds.

    I¡­ I almost lost my humanity¡­

    I would¡¯ve become a wild monster if I had given in. It¡¯s impressive how I even resisted it because whatever that voice was, it got hands. But right now, I was given a choice. Either become in a similar precarious state as a street hobo for staying too much in my human form or take the risk of becoming a wild animal by turning into a Pok¨¦mon.

    I weighed my options- just kidding, I instantly decided on the latter for very obvious reasons. One: the reason why I almost lost my mind was that I fucked around and found out, turning into something that I shouldn¡¯t have. Two: Let me be real here, turning into Pok¨¦mon is like the dream of literal thousands back in my world, and having a random dumbass like me being the one to have this opportunity is like a huge middle finger to a bunch of others who wanted this and could (definitely) be better than me in this turning into Pok¨¦mon business.

    Why the hell am I complaining anyway? Who cares if some furry thoughts get over my mind, I¡¯m still human by mind and soul! And not like I wasn¡¯t one of the people who wanted to become a Pok¨¦mon too, and now that I got the chance with literally infinite possibilities, I¡¯m gonna use it dammit!

    ¡°Alright, alright, let¡¯s get this over with.¡± I said to myself the very obscure reference before thinking about the Pok¨¦mon I should become for a while.  ¡®Hm¡­ I should probably become a biped with great insight into my surroundings so I don¡¯t get watched by a criminal organization again¡­ hm¡­ ah, well, nothing better than the overused ¡®mon I slept with, huh?¡¯  I stretched my neck and rotated my arms a bit, the sound of snapping articulations being present.

    With that, I transformed again back into Riolu, my body shrinking and getting a bit more dog-like as the structure of my body just reshaped itself. Once the pink flash had disappeared and I could see again, I glanced at my body before staring at my phone for a bit. Subconsciously, my tail started wagging a little. ¡°Sick, I get to use my phone while in Pok¨¦mon form! But uh¡­¡± I stared at my paws, unsure if it¡¯d actually work on the touch screen. ¡°Welp, test time.¡±

    I grabbed my phone and realized that it was a bit bigger than it originally was for my human self, but welp, expected. I turned the screen on and traced my furry finger on the touch screen, a smile growing on my face upon noticing that it worked. I balled a free paw into a fist in joy. ¡°Hell yes! I still get to use my stuff even in furry mode!¡±

    I was glad I didn¡¯t pick a species with oversized claws or else the touchscreen would be messed up badly.

    ¡°Lucas, are you already awake?¡±

    A voice from outside of the room asked, clearly belonging to my heatran caretaker¡¯s voice.

    I shouted to her, clutching my phone close to my chest like I was holding a book (since it now weighed like one). ¡°Yes, Basi! Was just doing some stuff!¡± I then walked rapidly towards the door, opening it with a single paw. On the other side of the door, there stood Elder Basidian, getting a bit surprised seeing a riolu come out of the door instead of my human body. ¡°Now I¡¯m here!¡±  ¡®Reaching far across these new frontiers~!¡¯

    The old heatran sniffed me a bit before asking. ¡°Child, why are you still transformed?¡±

    I put a paw on my side and explained my reasoning. ¡°You see since I¡¯ll probably stay in this world for a while, I better stay in Pok¨¦mon form the majority of the time because um¡­ human hygiene is a very delicate thing, so we made tools to help us with that.¡± I then shrugged while looking aside. ¡°And since I don¡¯t have those tools here, I decided it would be best to just stay in Pok¨¦mon form since they don¡¯t need that much hygiene anyway. After all, ya wouldn¡¯t happen to know what a toothbrush is, right?¡± The molten steel Pok¨¦mon shook her head. ¡°Thought so.¡±

    ¡°Well, I think I get it¡­ but if you don¡¯t feel comfortable in Pok¨¦mon form, you know you¡¯re welcome to stay as a human as much as you want.¡± Basidian said with a reassuring smile.

    ¡°Thanks, Basi.¡± I said with a smile before thinking.  ¡®Not sure how a normal human without these powers would survive in conditions like these while catching a lot of unknown diseases, but sure, maybe a more experienced survival specialist could.¡¯

    I put my phone on the table before going to grab some food for myself and Basi for breakfast. However, I stopped once a thought came to me and I asked. ¡°Hey Basi, have you eaten already?¡±

    ¡°Yep, I did! I went to wake you up right after I ate.¡± The heatran responded. ¡°You can grab food just for yourself, child.¡±

    ¡°Got it!¡± I said in acknowledgment and grabbed an armful of food, scooping up berries, bread, and some sort of vegetables as well. I wondered when I would be able to eat meat or, like, what kind of policy the Pok¨¦mon made when it comes to meat.

    Because surely the carnivorous ¡®mons wouldn¡¯t live for long if they only lived off of veggies, fruits, and carbs.

    I brought the food back to the table, letting it fall next to my phone, and started eating, my tail wagging as I happily ate away. There were some berries and strange-looking veggies I liked, some I didn¡¯t like while discovering as I ate. But it didn¡¯t matter much, I¡¯d just filter out whenever I ate later, but for now, my stomach was getting filled.

    Like in my charmander body, I couldn¡¯t munch with my mouth closed because of my canine-like muzzle. This piqued my curiosity a bit, realizing that I had never seen my face while transformed into any Pok¨¦mon.

    I paused my feast, wiping away the remains of breadcrumbs and berry pieces off my fur before wiping my paws at the table. Next, I grabbed my phone and immediately went to the camera app, the screen displaying Basidian on the other side of the table before I switched the camera to selfie mode. To be honest, I got a bit jumpscared when instead of my human face appeared a blue and black furry face.

    ¡°Goddamn¡­¡± I muttered to myself as I slowly took my facial features. Even in a riolu body, I still had my blue eyes, but that¡¯s where the similarities end. I had a lot of fur, covering most of my forehead and my body, black-furred tassels came from the side of my head, pointed ears extended from the top of my head, and of course, there was my small muzzle. I opened my mouth and lifted my lips with a finger, analyzing the sharp teeth in front of my mouth that were stained with food bits.  ¡®Yep, definitely a furry¡¯s wet dream, alright.¡¯

    ¡°Lucas¡­¡± I lowered my phone and looked at the heatran on the other side of the table. ¡°What is that artifact you¡¯re holding¡­?¡±

    I realized something, making me gasp. ¡°Holy shit, that¡¯s right! I never showed you what phones were! Hol¡¯ up!¡± I walked excitedly towards the heatran and stood beside her, not minding the minor heat she expelled from her body as my tail wagged rapidly. ¡°Relish in the marvel of humanity¡¯s greatest invention that is accessible to mostly everyone back in my world (except for some places..)! Meet the cellphone!¡±

    I try to do my best Team Fortress 2 main theme for the  Meet the Character  trailers. Basidian only looked at me a bit awkwardly, not understanding the whole fanfare. ¡°Erm¡­ alright then¡­?¡± She shifted her stare at the phone in my paw. ¡°But what does it do to become the greatest invention created by humans?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a multipurpose tool that lets you do a lot of things! Like¡­¡± I pointed at the camera currently in selfie mode. ¡°Snap photos! Basically a more efficient method than things like sculpting a statue of someone or painting the person!¡±

    ¡°Wait, so basically¡­ photos are a faster method of paintings and sculptures in your world? How fast are they produced even?¡± The heatran asked, tilting her head in curiosity.

    I grinned. ¡°Instantly!¡± My response made Basi¡¯s eyes widen a bit, but before she could respond, I tilted my phone to the side and aimed the camera towards us. ¡°Smile!¡±

    Before the elder had the chance to do anything else, I snapped the photo pretty easily with one paw (these fingers were honestly quite flexible), a small  click  being heard as the photo got saved me in my gallery. Basidian blinked, unsure of what happened in the last five seconds. ¡°Wha-... what just happened¡­?¡±

    ¡°I snapped a photo of the two of us.¡± I tapped on the last saved photo, showing a high-quality image of a blue-eyed riolu and a pink-eyed heatran. I then showed the screen to Basidian. ¡°Look, it even got the rust on the edges of your head!¡±

    ¡°Dear Arceus¡­ you were right, it¡¯s really instantaneous!¡± She squinted her eyes, leaning her face closer to the phone. ¡°And the amount of details it has in such a small frame too¡­ how did humanity even achieve without any magic to work with?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the specifics, but uh¡­ short and simple answer¡­¡± I motioned a paw slowly across me. ¡°With the power of science and technology! And this is just the camera app!¡± I said before opening my arms. ¡°There is so much more you can do with just this thing! You can talk to people from different parts of the world-...¡±

    ¡°Oh, like the communication orb?¡± The heatran interrupted me, tilting her head as asked.

    I put my paws on my side and responded with a smile. ¡°If it acts just like I think it does, then exactly!¡± I then looked back at my phone, seeing the icon with no signal. ¡°Although uh¡­ my phone requires invisible electromagnetic waves for it to work.¡±

    ¡°Electro¡­ what?¡± The elder blinked in pure confusion, not understanding the last part. Ah, right, forgot I was in no tech zone.

    ¡°Uh¡­ well, the invisible waves that let my phone communicate with other people.¡± I tried simplifying before continuing. ¡°Not only that, it lets me access the greatest library known to mankind! The  internet !¡± I sighed disappointedly. ¡°I would¡¯ve loved to give you a demonstration of how it works, but sadly¡­ no signal for the internet here¡­ boo-womp.¡± I then piped up with excitement. ¡°But! I can still play some virtual games. Virtual as in like¡­¡± I pointed at the screen. ¡°Inside this thing.¡±

    Basidian blinked, apparently struggling to follow my explanation as she stared dumbfoundedly at me. ¡°Um¡­ wow, this¡­ this object can really do all of that?¡±

    ¡°Well, there is more it can do, but I just explained the most essential features of it.¡± I said with a shrug before perking up as an idea appeared in my mind. ¡°Oh wait, now that I have this thing out, I can show you some pictures of my family saved on my phone! Hold on.¡± I poked a tongue out as I quickly opened the gallery app and scrolled through the photos of miscellaneous things that I used for editing purposes only (I still wanted to delete them but always forgot to do so every time). I finally reached the picture I was looking for, a family photo with my entire family in it.

    Yes, even my mom. The picture was taken six years ago, it was saved on the family PC and I downloaded it onto my phone for very obvious reasons.

    I viewed the picture with the heatran beside me and pointed out each member. ¡°Okay, this human with no hair and glasses in the picture is my dad. He¡¯s kinda a secretive guy and likes to keep stuff mostly to himself, so share any secret with him and he¡¯ll never speak about it to anyone else besides you. Ah, his name is Martin Robinson.¡±

    ¡°Oh, humans have last names as well?¡± Basidian asked, gone was her confused and frozen face, replaced with a curious one. Seemed like she was more interested in my family.

    ¡°Yeah, we do. My full name is Lucas Robinson.¡± I revealed, lowering my phone a bit. ¡°What¡¯s yours?¡±

    ¡°Well, mine is Basidian Moltencore.¡±

    I blinked, a bit surprised her surname was something akin to a Warriors Cats¡¯ name. ¡°Wow, really fits with your species, to be honest.¡± I responded with a smile.

    ¡°Yeah, the Moltencore family is a proud one. But I haven¡¯t carried the legacy, my siblings did with their offspring.¡± The heatran explained before motioning her claw to my phone again. ¡°But that¡¯s enough about them, I¡¯m more interested in the rest of your family, that is if you want to continue speaking about them.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, I can continue.¡± I responded with a smile before raising my phone again and pointing at my brother who was still wearing glasses at the time. ¡°This is my brother, Arthur. He¡¯s older than me and like, he¡¯s the cool but still annoying teaser. But overall, bro¡¯s based. Couldn¡¯t ask for a better brother!¡± I then pointed at the short red-haired girl in the middle of the photo, posing like she was the queen of the world. ¡°This here is my little sister, Mary. She¡¯s uh¡­ I really don¡¯t know who¡¯s the most hyperactive when comparing her to me, but probably her because she can¡¯t contain herself. She¡¯s a literal tornado when we aren¡¯t watching. She currently holds the record of most broken things in the house.¡±

    The heatran chuckled. ¡°She definitely resembles the many young Pok¨¦mon I¡¯ve seen grow over the years in this village. Are you sure she¡¯s not secretly a Pok¨¦mon?¡±

    ¡°Well, she does have the most flaming slap of all time when she¡¯s angry when I annoy her a bit with teasing. But like, pretty sure she would¡¯ve revealed herself to be one a long time ago if she actually was.¡± I giggled, causing the elder to giggle along with me as well. ¡°Alright, next up is my mom.¡± Even if I tried to sound cheerful when talking about her, a sigh escaped me as I smiled a bit sadly. I pointed at the long red-haired woman in the picture. ¡°I talked about her sometimes before, but this is how she looked like back in the day. Her name was Cassandra Robinson.¡±

    Basidian stared at the still picture of my Mom, unreadable expressions flashing through her steel face. I tilted my head, about to ask something before the elder spoke. ¡°You loved her a lot, didn¡¯t you?¡± She looked back at me. ¡°Every time you speak of her, there¡¯s this sadness in your tone, even when you try to sound enthusiastic.¡±

    I sighed and lowered my phone, looking aside as I kicked nothing but a bit of dust below me. ¡°Yeah, I try to shove those melancholic thoughts aside, but they keep returning every time I remember her. I just¡­¡± I trailed off, organizing my thought process. ¡°It¡¯s tough to move on completely after what happened¡­ even with copious amounts of therapy for five years straight...¡±

    ¡°Oh, child¡­¡± Basidian leaned her hard head closer to me and nuzzled her metal face against my furry forehead. Instead of getting my head fried off because of the hot steel, I leaned onto the nuzzle, relaxing on the warm and comfortable regulated heat. It felt like I was in a nice sauna. She then leaned away and spoke again with a sorrowful face. ¡°You will eventually get over it, Dialga¡¯s time is meant to heal all wounds as they say. You know your mother wouldn¡¯t want to see you suffer in silence like this.¡±

    I grimaced a bit, looking away. ¡°I know¡­ I cope with it a lot, focusing on something else. But like, it just keeps coming back to haunt me¡­¡± I gritted my teeth as I scratched the side of my head. ¡°Can uh¡­ can we move on from this topic? I kinda don¡¯t like being sad for long¡­¡±

    Basidian gave a single nod. ¡°It¡¯s understandable, child. If you ever feel like it, you can always talk to me if you¡¯re having problems, alright?¡±

    I nodded with a smile, already trying to come up with better topics to speak of in my head. ¡°Thanks a bunch.¡± I thought about showing some of the memes I downloaded on my phone, but¡­ I doubted she¡¯d understand much of the jokes with the amount of brain rot the offer. She¡¯s too old for that anyway.  ¡®Hm¡­ I do have uno on my phone, we could play against the CPUs¡­¡¯  With that decided, I spoke. ¡°Hey, how about we-¡±

    ¡°How about I take you to the bathhouse with me? You did get a bit dirty after the battle¡­¡± The heatran interrupted me.

    My eyes widened, realizing the horrors I would endure again. ¡°Huh!? But I already took my bath! I might¡¯ve spent, like, two days in the hospital, but I¡¯m not that-...¡± I trailed off, reminding myself of the odor that my shirt had when I woke up. ¡°Well, um¡­ at least I don¡¯t smell that bad  right now  in this body!¡± I argued while shooting my arms up.

    Basidian sniffed me before speaking. ¡°Riolu musk¡­ yep, you do need a bath.¡±

    ¡°Aw c¡¯mon man¡­¡± I said in defeat, disappointed that I was gonna get rid of all my gamer aura again.  ¡®She really do be like my mom, huh?¡¯

    <hr>

    The walk to the bathhouse was livelier than last time. I was walking alongside Basidian while still in riolu form, staying close to her since I felt more protected in case another bad egg was spying on me. But well, they didn¡¯t need to hide in the shadows anymore.

    Because everyone in the village was watching us pass by.

    With my sharpened hearing (and a certain faint feeling that I deduced it was aura), I could tell Pok¨¦mon from all over the village were talking about us, actually, just me specifically, the reason being so obvious. Because of the incident from two- actually, three days ago with the Dark Rebellion, word got out and spread throughout the village that there was a shapeshifter  ¡°Pok¨¦mon¡± in the village and that he was living with the village¡¯s elder.

    That already blew my cover for a peaceful life as an exploration team in this village (not like guild work is exactly peaceful either)...

    Simply put, I became a celebrity in this village for basically living with the elder, having transformation powers, and because of the fiasco back in the school¡¯s basement. Just walking alongside Basidian makes any Pok¨¦mon I turned into kinda useless for cover since the Pok¨¦mon in the village, from what I heard so far, go:

    ¡°Is that the shapeshifter I¡¯ve heard about?¡± A noivern said.

    ¡°It must be, he¡¯s walking with the elder like she¡¯s a parent. They must be the one that the elder took in.¡± A lairon spoke.

    ¡°I heard to identify them, you should identify eye color¡­ heard it¡¯s the same in every form they take!¡± A larvitar kid exclaimed to a friend.

    ¡°Who knew he¡¯d look that young? What girls do you think he¡¯s into?¡± A hattrem asked a friend of hers who watched me and the elder.

    So, not only does my human form stand out among ( us . I know, I hate myself) them, but it seems every form where they can see my arms is just a way for me to dox myself. Well, at least I¡¯m not being recognized for something bad, like, I dunno¡­ what a normal Minecraft youtuber would do.

    I sighed and put my paws behind my head, relaxing and trying to get not anxious with all the stares. Kinda hard for them to see me as a threat to them anyway since I was walking right beside the Pok¨¦mon who had lived in the village for a long time. But if they do see me as one; first of all, what the hell, why would they think that if I had done nothing wrong nor transformed into a big and scary Pok¨¦mon? Are they an idiot sandwich or something? Second, if they  are  parts of an idiot sandwich, I¡¯ll uh¡­ guess I¡¯ll die. I barely could handle that flutter mane, how am I able to handle against an entire mob of Pok¨¦mon who want my ass evicted for potentially being a danger to them?

    Hopefully, it¡¯ll never come to that. My ass would  not  handle surviving in the Pok¨¦mon wilds a single day before becoming food for a big wild ursaring or something.

    While we were walking, Basidian joyfully greeted everyone who passed by us. What was really impressive is that the old heatran remembered the name of every Pok¨¦mon she passed by. No shit, be it an old ¡®mon or a little kid, she remembered  everyone . ¡°Good morning Zesto! Morning to you too, Marillion! Oh, hi there little Ikan, have you slept well today, child?¡±

    A small gulpin (don¡¯t think about it, don¡¯t think about it,  don¡¯t sin again ) responded as she passed us. ¡°I slept well, Elder Basidian, thanks for asking!¡±

    The gulpin slithered away slowly. When she was completely away, I looked at Basi and spoke. ¡°Damn, you sure know literally every villager here¡­¡±

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t get out of Cavestone much, so that¡¯s why I spend my time here getting to know every Pok¨¦mon here better!¡± The heatran happily explained, following up with a hum as she walked around.

    I noticed she looked happier than when I first met her. There was a huge difference in attitude from four days ago (geez, it¡¯s already been that long). She acted a bit more childish and carefree rather than the motherly and caretaking I¡¯ve come to know her from the first initial days. Is it because of me¡­? Probably, I¡¯m known to have a lot of impact on people, are they good impacts? ¡­  better not worry about that!

    Eventually, we reached the bathhouse without incident. The atmosphere of the place felt a bit different, but it was probably because Basidian was with me and I wasn¡¯t in human form. Well, at least I won¡¯t have any fear of stripping myself in front of a lot of Pok¨¦mon since I was already naked but covered!

    I wonder if I¡¯d get the bad dog smell if I water my fur¡­ welp, one way to find out.

    We both entered the bathhouse before I had a certain realization.  ¡®Holy shit¡­ I¡¯m going into a bathhouse with a fire type. You know what that means!? No, not fish, dumbass brain. A hot bath!¡¯  I looked at the elder and asked a question. ¡°Hey, small but  very  important question!¡± The heatran shifted her attention to me with an inquisitive hum. ¡°Uh¡­ you don¡¯t happen to expel a bit of heat around you when you¡¯re in the water, right?¡±

    ¡°I do a small bit. But if you want to, I can tone it down-¡±

    I shook my paws and my head. ¡°Nonononono! I actually want that! Hot water feels so nice on my body! Not like the cave water is  that  cold, but uh¡­¡± I shrugged sheepishly. ¡°I¡¯m just a fan of hot water in general.¡±

    ¡°Ah, well, if you say so!¡± The heatran said before walking to a large cave pool with me high on her heels.

    Nothing had changed so far from the last time I was here, but there were fewer Pok¨¦mon than before. Sure, there were like, thirty to forty or so, but still, not as much as my first time here. There were some Pok¨¦mon I¡¯d seen before from my time in the village like that hisuian lilligant from the first time I entered the village and some others I had never seen before like a tangrowth¡­ I ignored a certain thought that appeared in my head.

    Once we entered the water, we decided to stay on the edge of the pool, next to a cave wall. When Basidian settled down beside me, I realized her temperature was  perfect . It felt like I was in a hot tub, relaxing and just having some kind of thermal massage on my skin (and fur as well.)

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    I sighed in relief, letting my body get loose and just relax on my back. Sure, it''s not like the cave wall was soft or fluffy, but I didn¡¯t even care. Hot water was there to combat the cold of the cave, a nice contrast in temperature between the hot water (around me) and the air. Was I in a spa? Because it sure looked like it!

    As I crossed my legs just enjoying being alive, the elder chuckled as she looked at me. ¡°Enjoying it, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    I grinned at her. ¡°Yep! Been a while since I was in a hot pool like this. This heat is exactly what this bathhouse needs!¡±

    ¡°Not really¡­¡±

    I looked to the side finding a brown and moist fluff lord heading towards me and the elder. Evon was the source of the voice and, unlike yesterday, he had his bandages off, the gash on his skin mostly healed as fur started to grow again. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that some Pok¨¦mon don¡¯t like the heat.¡±

    His comment completely went over my head and I focused on the obvious. ¡°Hey Evon, are you fully healed?¡±

    The eevee nodded. ¡°Yeah, mostly.¡± He sat on his haunches, letting the water fully wash over his fur. He looked at his side and continued speaking. ¡°My fur just needs to regrow for the most part around the scars, but it will in a few days.¡± He turned his head back to me with an inquisitive stare. ¡°I take it that you¡¯re fully healed and back to your transformation madness?¡±

    ¡°Yep!¡± I said before getting up and pointing a finger at myself. ¡°And I¡¯ve decided to stay in Pok¨¦mon form for a bit since, well¡­¡± I shrugged. ¡°This world doesn¡¯t have the necessary tools to keep my human form clean and healthy.¡±

    The fox Pok¨¦mon tilted his head. ¡°Are humans really that sensitive?¡±

    Before I had a chance to respond, the heatran behind me chuckled. ¡°Humans really are an enigma. So sensitive for them to wear clothing all over their bodies but also intelligent enough to create incredible objects such as a cellphone!¡±

    ¡°Cellphone?¡±

    I smugly grinned. ¡°Oh, you should¡¯ve been there when I showed Basi the marvelous human invention. But you probably remember seeing a fraction of its power when you first met me. Remember when I needed evidence to know if I was hallucinating or not?¡±

    The eevee blinked as he seemed to be remembering the scene. ¡°Oh wait, you mean that black rectangle you used before you grabbed me just to see my junk, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    I froze a bit, feeling a menacing glare intensify behind me. I said a bit meekly. ¡°H-hey dude, what happened in the past, stays in the past, got it¡­?¡± I smiled nervously.

    My fur and tail went up as I could hear the heatran¡¯s voice. ¡°Lucas¡­ what does he mean by that?¡±

    It felt like I was dealing with my dad when he caught me in the act all over again. Geez, the parent aura around Basidian is not just for show¡­ ¡°Hehehe¡­ uh¡­¡± I slowly turned around to face the big and old heatran, sheepishly scratching my arm. ¡°You see¡­ I was kinda in awe by everything in the world and when I met Evon¡­ his voice was like, so high-pitched that I had to check if he was a boy or a girl.¡± The heatran¡¯s eyes narrowed a little. ¡°It¡¯s the pure truth!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, he was just an innocent and curious puppy.¡± Evon sarcastically remarked. ¡°But well, he knows what happens if he does it again.¡±

    ¡°Never doing that again or to anyone else. Got curious and jumped the gun, alright?¡± The two Pok¨¦mon beside me tilted their heads in confusion. I then explained. ¡°Uh¡­ term back in my word for basically recklessly deciding on an action.¡±

    ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s what you mostly do, got it¡­¡± Evon said as he hummed in acknowledgment.

    I narrowed my eyes as I crossed my wet furry arms. ¡°And what¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±

    ¡°Oh children, no need to get heated about things like these.¡± Basidian hummed in thought. ¡°For teammates, you still disagree on a lot of things¡­¡± The heatran¡¯s eyes widened, seemingly having thought of something. ¡°I have an idea! Since you two are on a team now, how about you spend the day getting to know each other better?¡±

    I blinked a bit, making gears turn in my head to realize what she meant. ¡°W-wait, you want us to goof off the entire day together?¡± I suppressed the urge to groan as my ears and tail lowered. ¡°But I wanted to tackle missions today! We¡¯ve wasted so much time in the hospital already!¡±

    Evon mumbled something under his breath, along the lines of ¡°Just like¡­¡± from what I could hear. Bro was super silent because I had dog ears and I could hear  far . He then spoke to the elder. ¡°Hey, is this really necessary? I mean, sure¡­ it might not seem like we don¡¯t get along well. But just because Lucas has a couple of screws loose off his brain, doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t work together like a team.¡±

    You could keep saying that all you want Evon, but you better not complain if I blasted you with physics and chemistry lessons that I barely remember. Then I wanna see who¡¯s the dumber guy between the two of us¡­ well, probably me, but still, I needed to flex my superiority over him somehow! ¡°Alright, girly furball, whatever you say.¡±

    Evon¡¯s tail raised as he bore his teeth at me. ¡°What did you just say-¡±

    ¡°And there¡¯s the example that demonstrated the current state of your synergy.¡± The elder said before lowering her body a bit more to let water wash her rusty face. She then reemerged once again, water streaming out of her lower jaw as if she had drank the water, before responding. ¡°You two fight a lot over petty things, and as a result, that may even affect your battles as well.¡±

    ¡°But-¡±

    The heatran interrupted me. ¡°No buts! You two are going to take the time off today to know each other better to clear your differences.¡± She stared specifically at me. ¡°Once we¡¯re done bathing, you are going to stay with Evon on his daily activities. And don¡¯t even think about accepting any missions for today.¡±

    I almost wanted to just say ¡°Okay,  Mom ¡± out of spite, but I suppressed it, not wanting to come off as rude to earn myself some lava up my ass. Instead, I just sighed and crossed my arms, looking disappointed as a low whine escaped my mouth. ¡°Alrighty, if you say so¡­¡±

    I know it was kinda childish of me to react that way, but like, think about it. I was in a world where the literal fantasies of thousands came true and I was fulfilling the dreams of all those people, of course, I¡¯d be excited as fuck to start my explorer journey, even if I knew exactly what the stakes were. Of course, that being my life and the others around me, the fight with those two Dark Rebellion members just proved it. Even if those dangers were present, goddammit, I just couldn¡¯t contain my excitement! I wanted to go back out there so badly to get better at doing Pok¨¦mon moves and transforming into Pok¨¦mon.

    But well, now I was stuck trying to get along better with the fox cat thing that, for some reason, still held a grudge over my cringe action in the past. Oh, that would go  greatly .

    Evon sighed behind me with a grimace. ¡°Alright¡­ let¡¯s see if this guy is actually a reasonable individual then¡­¡± Before I could retort his comment, he spoke again. ¡°If you¡¯re spending the entire day with me, I guess you can help me with some grocery tasks I have to do after this. I¡¯ll even let you enter my house this time.¡±

    I perked up a bit and looked at the eevee. ¡°Oh shit, house reveal? What made you rethink your options?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ you did put your life on the line for us in that unwinnable battle back in the school basement instead of running away like a¡­ coward¡­¡± That last word came out a bit bitter, but he didn¡¯t dwell on it. ¡°Yeah, you do deserve some credit.¡±

    ¡°OMG, senpai noticed me!¡± I said ironically while wagging my tail and putting my paws on my chin. Evon stared at me unamused as I giggled to myself. ¡°Joking, I¡¯m joking. But no worries though, I promise not to turn your house upside down when I step on it.¡±

    A small smile made its way to Evon¡¯s mouth. ¡°You better.¡±

    ¡°Well, isn¡¯t this a start!¡± We both looked back at Basidian who was starting to get up from her sitting position, splashes of water being present as her large body mass shifted. She shook her head clean from the water. ¡°I¡¯m confident that this day will help you deepen your bonds and shrug aside your differences!¡±

    I looked aside and thought.  ¡®Like friendship blooms that easily after you pestered someone as a bad first impression¡­¡¯

    ¡°Also, Lucas, don¡¯t forget to drink water! You don¡¯t want to dry yourself out for not drinking.¡± Basidian said as she pointed down at the water surrounding us.

    Wait, they don¡¯t mean¡­ ¡°Hold on, hold on, hold on!¡± I said a bit louder than I should¡¯ve, drawing the unwanted attention of other Pok¨¦mon bathing. I ignored them before pointing to the water. ¡°So¡­ you¡¯re meaning to tell me¡­ you guys drink water from¡­ here? Nahnahnah¡­¡± I turned to Evon. ¡°Evon, is she kidding or-¡±

    I interrupted myself once I saw the eevee drinking the water like a cat sipping from their pot. I stared wide-eyed, blinking a few times before he stopped drinking the water and looked at me. He licked his lips and asked. ¡°What? Something wrong with drinking a bit of water?¡±

    I stuttered a bit, trying to find a response to all of this. You know what? Fuck hygiene. Why should I be worried if someone pissed or shat in this water? Oh, what¡¯s this? Pok¨¦mon actually bathe here? Who cares!? No one does! The Pok¨¦mon here eat food without caring if they¡¯re tainted with bacteria or fungus, so why should I worry about drinking bath water with probably some Pok¨¦mon excrement? And hey, I¡¯m a riolu, some dogs are known back in my world for drinking toilet water anyway!

    ¡®Then something just snapped, something inside of me. I didn¡¯t care anymore!¡¯  I recited a certain meme in my mind before crouching down while supporting my body with my paws and hesitantly stretching my tongue towards the water and giving it a few licks.  ¡®I didn¡¯t care about the water having germs! I didn¡¯t care if it potentially had poop or piss!¡¯

    The water¡­ didn¡¯t taste anything different from the normal water I tasted. Sure, there was a slight variation in the taste because of the rocks (and because I was drinking straight out of a natural source), but it honestly didn¡¯t taste anything different. A few more sips and no signs of poop or piss tasted, good.

    After filling the rest of my belly with water, I got up and glanced at the heatran who smiled at me. ¡°Was that so hard? Why were you so hesitant about drinking water in the first place?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± I fiddled with my paws and lowered my tail as I looked away. ¡°Human hygiene stuff again¡­¡±

    Evon walked past me while commenting. ¡°Geez, you humans are real softies if drinking water is enough to make your body sick.¡± Before I could correct him, he turned his head to me. ¡°So, are you coming or not?¡±

    I would¡¯ve made a sex joke but I held myself back because of the grandma heatran next to me. Instead, I just said. ¡°Sure, I¡¯m just gonna grab some stuff back in Basi¡¯s house. Where can I meet you?¡±

    ¡°Eh, the statue in the village¡¯s square works best. It¡¯s close to the shops. Hope you don¡¯t get kidnapped by then.¡± With that, the eevee headed off with a smirk, shaking water off his body once he was out of the lake.

    I sighed before splashing more water on my body, rubbing my arms, chest, and face. Then the wet dog smell kicked in, something I was heavily familiar with when I spent a rainy day in my cousin¡¯s home and they left his dog in the backyard for a bit and it entered the house with its fur all wet.

    A bit funny that this smell could come from me now depending on my form.

    After throwing more water into the lower part of my body, I announced to the heatran. ¡°Okay, I finished bathing. Gonna go back to the house to grab my stuff, alright?¡±

    The heatran got up from her sitting position and tilted her head. ¡°Do you want me to come with you? You might be a little afraid to go alone after¡­¡±

    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m not letting the school incident get to me. I can do fine on my own, believe it or not.¡± I started walking off. ¡°You can stay here and enjoy more of your bath. Cya later!¡±

    I waved at Basi as she waved at me with her big claw before I stepped off the lake and shook the water from my body. I felt my fur floof up a bit which I didn¡¯t really mind.

    I quickly went back to Basi¡¯s house, running after memorizing a bit of the path there and getting the hang of my new legs. There, I grabbed my phone and went back to my room to grab my backpack. I put the phone inside it and slung the bag on my back, only to realize it felt bigger since my tail was getting shoved to the side. For some reason, it didn¡¯t feel heavier than it felt on my human shoulders. Was it because I was a fighting type? Probably¡­

    After that, I left the house and immediately went to the town square, the weight of the backpack not slowing me down. In the middle of the large area, next to the large stone statue, stood Evon with a pouch slung across his back. He sat on his haunches, watching Pok¨¦mon walk by before his eyes shifted his focus to the obvious riolu with a comically large backpack on his back.

    Oh yeah, did I forget to comment that Pok¨¦mon were looking at me for that? Of course they were, I was just trying my best to avoid those curious and confused stares that have been getting more frequent the more I walked around in this village. Pok¨¦mon of all kinds were staring at me, even a little green blob Pok¨¦mon with a red hexagon on their chest between the crowd-

    Wait a damn moment.

    I glanced back to where I spotted the green little¡¯ blob, expecting to see them continuing to stare at me, but as quickly as I sighted them, they were gone. I stopped for a second, searching for the obvious core form of a fucking  Zygarde  . Unfortunately, after a few seconds, I wasn¡¯t able to find them.  ¡®Was that¡­ was I imagining things or something? If I was, goddamn for the textures and realism brain¡­¡¯

    I got pulled out of my thoughts when someone pawed my side, making me look at the eyepatch-wearing eevee who retracted his paw. ¡°Are you well? You just stopped and zoned out¡­¡±

    I waved a paw in dismissal. ¡°Nah, I¡¯m good. Just felt like someone was, like, watching me and all¡­¡± I said while staring to the side, that uneasy feeling not fading away. Maybe just aura powers shenanigans, I need to learn how to control them one day.

    ¡°Of course with that large bag on your back, Pok¨¦mon are gonna look at you weirdly. It looks like one of those newly invented hiking bags¡­¡± Evon commented before shaking his head. ¡°But that¡¯s beside the point. Come on, let¡¯s go to the shop, I gotta replenish my berry and meat stock back home.¡±

    At the mention of meat, my ears perked up and I tilted my head in thought.  ¡¯Oh, so they do eat meat in this world. Well, obvious, or else no protein in these muscles. Still, the Game Theory of the day is¡­ where do they get the meat from¡­¡¯  I shoved that thought aside for now and flexed an arm. ¡°Well, if you can¡¯t carry everything. Count on these babies to help!¡±

    Evon huffed unamused as he turned around. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s see for how long they can hold until they drop all of the food.¡±

    I grinned as I put a paw on my side. ¡°Nah, my dad didn¡¯t raise me to be a weakling! You¡¯ll see!¡±

    With that, we walked to the shopping area of Cavestone. Instead of having a lot of buildings, like the ones in my city, the shopping area was filled with small wooden-made stands that stretched throughout the rectangular tunnel area. The stands sold different things, from different types of food and drinks (like berry juices and apple ciders), bags of different sizes and shapes, accessories and orbs, to even an ¡°open¡± restaurant at the end of the area.

    All-in-all, it looked exactly how a fantasy shopping district would look if it were under a cave. Ah, anime had prepared me well for occasions like this.

    We walked to one of the food stands, specifically the one selling all different kinds of meat. The owner of the shop was, of course, a carnivore Pok¨¦mon: a houndoom.

    ¡°Hey there, Evon!¡± The shopkeeper said in a friendly tone, already seeming familiar with the eevee. However, when he turned to me, his smile changed to a confused frown, probably because of my backpack or the rumors. ¡°Erm¡­ is this a new friend?¡±

    ¡°Hey Hadian, um¡­¡± Evon greeted before mulling over the question. ¡°I¡­ guess you could say that.¡± He shifted his tone once he looked at me, inquisitively asking. ¡°Anyway, you want a specific kind of meat or something?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­¡± I said before looking at the houndoom. ¡°What kinds of meat do you have available?¡±

    ¡°Lots of variety! We got big ones like tauros beef, miltank steak, and even ponyta meat as well. We also got small ones like spoink fillet, lechonk jerky, and even torchic breast!¡± Hadian cheerfully said.

    I blinked a bit, a bit in shock at the confirmation of my Game Theory. Yes, they ate other Pok¨¦mon, and the meat on display on the stand was from other Pok¨¦mon. Were they from wild Pok¨¦mon? Hell if I knew, I was just trying to suppress the vomit that almost escaped my throat.

    I tried not to think that much about the true origin of the Pok¨¦mon meat the guy had available and just chose not to draw suspicion. ¡°Uh¡­ I-I¡¯ll have the um¡­ the miltank steak, please.¡±

    ¡°Good, I was about to pick that one too.¡± Evon said as he looked back at the bone-covered canine. ¡°I¡¯ll take three pieces of miltank steak if you have enough.¡±

    My mind went a bit blank as I watched the houndoom pick the chosen meat (with his  mouth  by the way) and put it on the counter as Evon fished for the Pok¨¦ in his pouch. I was in disbelief by all of this, that was like, one of the biggest ¡°internally flabbergasted¡± moments I had in my life. With the revelation of the Pok¨¦mon used for meat consumption, my mind was beginning to overthink a lot of stuff.  ¡®What the   fuck   , dude? So like, just getting meat from other Pok¨¦mon is normal here? Do they like¡­ hunt other Pok¨¦mon just to get meat? Or is there some kind of ranch for that? Like, that¡¯s beyond fucked up. Oh god, imagine if in those ranches, they put the same Pok¨¦mon species to butcher the wild ones- actually, fuck no, don¡¯t imagine that brain!   Shut up!!!   ¡¯

    ¡°Lucas?¡±

    I was quickly snapped out of my thoughts once Evon called out to me. ¡°Were you listening? I was asking for you to hold these bags while I carry the berry one.¡±

    ¡°Ah, my bad, was just thinking to myself about some things.¡± I said with a sheepish smile before glancing at the two paper bags on the counter, seeing the houndoom stare concernedly at me. I smiled a bit nervously as I grabbed the two bags, saying in a Japanese tone. ¡°Thank you!¡±

    After that, we went into the berry stand, a bombirdier managing this one. After handing his money to the stork Pok¨¦mon, Evon grabbed the bag of fruits he ordered with his mouth and we both walked away from the stand and the shopping district as a whole. Even with two bags of meat occupying both of my paws and a big backpack, I didn¡¯t feel overwhelmed by the weight, hell, it felt like I was actually carrying feathers.  How strong are these punch dogs???

    It wasn¡¯t long after that we reached the eevee¡¯s home, the outside staying the same as last time. I was about to comment, but I decided to keep it to myself once before I remembered that Evon¡¯s mouth was busy carrying something. Without too much effort, Evon pushed the door open and entered the house with me following right after him.

    I entered the house and slowly took in the sights. The eevee¡¯s house was nothing out of the ordinary for a Pok¨¦mon house. There was the usual furniture of a low table, some wooden-made shelves with some miscellaneous items on the wall, some stacks of hay around the table and next to the wall, supposedly being used as seats. On the table, there was a book and also a shining blue orb at the center of the table.

    Evon, already having dropped the berry bag on the table, turned to me and spoke. ¡°Well, make yourself at home, I guess¡­¡±

    ¡°Not too shabby of a place. Already more stuff than Basi¡¯s house.¡± I said as I walked further inside.

    ¡°Basi? You mean Elder Basidian?¡± Evon asked while tilting his head. ¡°Have you humans no respect for your elders?¡±

    ¡°Listen, she didn¡¯t mind the nickname.¡± I said as I put the bags on the table as well, trying my best to not succumb to the hypnotic raw meat smell that for some reason sounded  delicious . ¡°Besides, the elders back in my world have grown soft¡­ mostly. Like, they aren¡¯t as demanding of respect as they were in the past.¡±

    ¡°Well, different world, different rules. You better treat old Pok¨¦mon with a lot of respect or else you might just get a Flamethrower directly on your ass.¡± Evon said with a smirk as he took off his fanny pack. ¡°Who knows what would happen if you met an angry old king who wouldn¡¯t take nicknames very well.¡±

    ¡°I mean, there¡¯s a clear difference between a village elder to a literal king. Besides, like I¡¯d be famous enough to meet one with an exploration job.¡± I argued as I took off my backpack, stretching my arms once my shoulders were free from the weight.

    ¡°You never know. After all, Guildmaster Quartzo already met the Platinum Kingdom¡¯s king.¡± Evon said as he sat on a hay seat. ¡°Oh yeah, you  don¡¯t  know we¡¯re on the Platinum Kingdom, do you?¡±

    I sat down against my backpack, leaning against the comfortable material used. ¡°No, duh. I only know that I am in the Gemstone Continent and that¡¯s it. Are there more kingdoms besides this one I should worry about?¡±

    The eevee scratched behind his ear and said. ¡°Well¡­ there are two other kingdoms besides this one. The other two are the Diamond Kingdom and the Pearl Kingdom with each kingdom¡¯s capital being named the same and-¡±

    After hearing those two names, I suddenly had a realization that made me interrupt the eevee with a laugh. This couldn¡¯t be real, it had to be the biggest coincidence ever made, like, ain¡¯t no way. ¡°Tchahahahahahaha! Ain¡¯t no fucking way.¡± I giggled a bit more, my tail wagging a bit. ¡°Biggest universal joke I¡¯ve heard in my entire life.¡±

    The eevee scowled a bit annoyed. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡±

    I sighed as my nose scrunched a bit, the laughter dying down. ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯ll tell you. Thank goodness I can show you with my emulator.¡± I said before getting up and opening my backpack, fishing for my phone. ¡°Okay, this might be a bit hard to explain and might break your mind a bit, just making sure¡­¡± I grabbed my phone and turned my head back to the eevee. ¡°Are you sure you can handle it?¡±

    Evon looked at me, blinking a bit as I could feel some thoughts occurring in his head. ¡°Wha-... I mean¡­ if I endured all of your insanity up until this point, what¡¯s one more insanity to the book?¡±

    ¡°Okay then, if you say so.¡± I said before walking to the eevee, sitting beside him on the same stack of hay. I noticed that, by just sitting, I was currently exactly his height, not counting the pointy ears. ¡°So¡­ remember when I said that there was a  window  that allowed us to peer into other universes?¡±

    Evon nodded, adjusting his eyepatch. ¡°Yeah, I remember. You could even see Arceus through that window.¡±

    ¡°Mhm, exactly. However¡­¡± I scratched the side of my head, a nervous frown appearing in my mouth. ¡°I gotta admit something, I kinda¡­ like, didn¡¯t mention some stuff because I was unsure of how badly you¡¯d react¡­¡±

    ¡°What do you mean? You thought I couldn¡¯t handle the information?¡± Evon asked, one of his ears flattening.

    ¡°Exactly. Because like, this is some, existential-crisis-level of info. Which again, I ask, you  sure  you wanna know?¡± I asked with a firm tone this time. As much as it¡¯d be funny in concept, I wouldn¡¯t want to be the one to cause an existential crisis to know that a major portion of his reality is just a video game in another world.

    I could see a bit of hesitation on the eevee¡¯s fox-like face, however, that slowly morphed into resolve as he nodded. ¡°Send it. I wanna know how much this window allows them to see.¡±

    ¡°Welp, no going back now.¡± I said with a shrug before showing the eevee my phone. ¡°This is one of the many windows that exist back in my world.¡±

    Evon stared and blinked a little bit before shooting a glance at me as if saying:  ¡°Bruh, are fuckin¡¯ with me right now?¡±  He then stared back at the phone and asked. ¡°So¡­ so you¡¯re telling me¡­ this small thing is part of the multiversal windows?¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a bit more complicated than that.¡± I explained. ¡°They¡¯re basically, like, connected as you could say. It¡¯s like, a system that only exists inside these devices that allow people to interact with other people and also see other worlds while interacting with them a little bit, but not much to change the structure of the universe while others we can¡¯t interact at all.¡± I tilted my head. ¡°You getting it so far?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not as slow as you think, I¡¯m getting everything so far.¡± Evon said while putting a paw on his chest. ¡°So basically¡­ inside your phone and other  windows , there is a multiversal system that not only allows you to communicate with other humans but to peek onto other worlds?¡± I nodded and the eevee hummed. ¡°That¡¯s kinda substantial stuff, and you already told me about humans seeing other worlds. Is there something else you¡¯re not telling me?¡±

    ¡°Well, I was getting to that¡­¡± I said while looking aside. ¡°So¡­ what if I told you that humans think that all of these other worlds we see are purely fictional?¡±

    The eevee perked up and looked at me confusedly. ¡°Huh¡­ what?¡± I stared at the fox Pok¨¦mon to let him process what he heard, gonna take it real slow with him. ¡°Are you serious¡­?¡±

    ¡°Exactly.¡± I turned on my phone and started setting up the emulator while I continued speaking. ¡°If you remember the windows thingy I made up to explain why we could see other worlds, then you surely remember the moving stories topic when I mentioned anime, right?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ yes, I remember-... wait a second.¡± Evon tilted his head as he looked at me with a disappointed frown. ¡°You made up the  windows ? Why?¡±

    ¡°To mask the severity of this whole thing. And because you wouldn¡¯t believe me if I just said to you at the time:  ¡®Hey Evon! I came from a universe where everyone believes that every Pok¨¦mon and this entire world is fictional and made by humans for entertainment!¡¯ ¡± I said with a mock voice while saying the last word while doing an exaggerated motion with my paws. I then tilted my head and asked. ¡°Would you honestly believe that?¡±

    Evon just stared silently at me as he processed the info he just gathered, a bit of denial creeping up on him as he asked. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­ you can¡¯t be serious¡­¡±

    I looked back at my phone. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for real, I wouldn¡¯t be telling you all of this with a warning. And if you want proof, the proof is right here.¡± I said while launching the Pok¨¦mon Platinum emulator on my phone. I skipped the intro and showed Evon the title screen on the right half with Giratina¡¯s silhouette on the left half. I showed the screen to Evon. ¡°This is the coincidence I was talking about.¡±

    Evon¡¯s face morphed into surprise and a bit of shock for a second as he muttered. ¡°Arceus above¡­ that silhouette¡­ it looks like the Banished One depicted on the books¡­ and¡­¡± He looked back at my face. ¡°What does the text mean?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah, right, forgot you can¡¯t read English.¡± I turned the screen back to myself started the game and selected my completed save file. ¡°The text says Pok¨¦mon Platinum which is the name of the  video game, which is ironic since the other versions of this game are called Pok¨¦mon Diamond and Pok¨¦mon Pearl- ¡± I looked back at the eevee, looking like he was overwhelmed by everything I was saying. I sighed and put my phone aside. ¡°Um¡­ I feel like you need a small break to process everything¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m okay¡­¡± Evon took a deep breath, staying silent for a moment and speaking after he was done relaxing. ¡°This is¡­ a bit overwhelming to hear but like¡­¡± He looked at me with a grimace. ¡°How¡­ how is this possible? There is no way an entire species can just think about all of these worlds without knowing them and just, like, turn them into stories without knowing that they¡¯re actually real?¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°Hell if I know. Don¡¯t wanna break my brain just thinking about multiversal questions like that with no answer.¡± I put my paws on my lap. ¡°Let¡¯s just chalk it up to multiverse shenanigans, makes it easier to digest all of this, at least for me.¡±

    ¡°Alright then¡­¡± Evon sighed before scratching his forehead with a paw. ¡°So¡­ my species is just pure fiction to your world then because they think they created fictional stories?¡±

    I put my paw on his back, feeling a bit of his fur on my pawpad.  ¡®Goddamn, I forgot how soft he was. Bro¡¯s fur is literally heaven¡¯s cloud¡­!¡¯  ¡°Listen, you look pretty real and not imaginary in my eyes, as well as my powers and, ya know, the rest of this world. Besides, I haven¡¯t seen any specific story back in my world where, like, there was a world of only Pok¨¦mon and all of this berserker virus was involved with this world. At least¡­ not in any official story.¡±

    Evon looked at me confused. ¡°Official story?¡±

    ¡°Ya know when a story gets famous and the readers try to do fan stories somehow related to those stories? Yeah, there¡¯s a  lot  of Pok¨¦mon fan stories out there in my world.¡± I said with a smirk. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, still no story similar to your world. So yes, you¡¯re not fictional and you¡¯re real. People back in my world still would flip the fuck out if they ever saw you though.¡±

    Evon stared at me for a second, a snicker escaping his mouth before he started chuckling. ¡°If you said I was so cute, why would others of your species be afraid of me?¡±

    My smile stretched further, relieved to see that existential questions weren¡¯t plaguing the eevee¡¯s mind. ¡°Well, not technically be afraid of you but more like¡­¡± I started doing another mock voice. ¡° OMG! That creature we thought was fictional turned out to be real all along! OOOH MY GAWD, no wayayayay! ¡±

    Evon giggled a bit at my antics, putting a forepaw over his mouth. ¡°Man, humans are kinda stupid.¡±

    ¡°You know what? Couldn¡¯t agree more.¡± I said while crossing my arms and nodding in acknowledgment. ¡°We laugh at the most stupid shit. Like, do you find a piece of bread out of context funny?¡±

    ¡°No? Why should I?¡± The eyepatch-wearing Pok¨¦mon said, followed by a chuckle.

    ¡°Exactly! I find it funny because our humor deteriorated along the way.¡± I explained with a playful grin.

    ¡°Explains why it feels like you¡¯re at the brink of insanity.¡±

    We both continued laughing for a bit, just having a bit of a nice moment together. This felt like the actual first moment Evon wasn¡¯t forcing himself to endure me, it really felt like he had grown used to me a little bit. (Insert Persona Social Link rank up here.)

    The eevee¡¯s laughter died down as he looked down at my phone. ¡°Now, I¡¯m curious.¡± He pointed his paw at it. ¡°If that story is not about the Platinum Kingdom, then what is that story about anyway?¡±

    ¡°Oh, glad ya asked!¡± I grabbed my phone again and showed the screen to both of us. ¡°Okay like, this is not like, one of those moving stories I talked about, this one is different, basically interactive. It¡¯s called a video game.¡± I lowered my phone a bit. ¡°You guys have theaters in this world, right?¡±

    Evon looked at me as one of his ears flickered. ¡°Huh? Yeah, we do.¡±

    ¡°Okay, makes it easier to explain.¡± I raised my phone again and pointed at the screen, pointing at the sprite of Dawn in the middle of the screen. ¡°Like in theaters, there¡¯s a role to be played here. We play the role of the protagonist of the story and sometimes the role varies depending on the video game and the story.¡± I did a circling motion with my paw finger around the girl. ¡°In this specific story, the protagonist is called Dawn or Lucas, depending on the gender you want them to be, since interactive story.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you choose the protagonist with your own name?¡± Evon asked curiously.

    I shrugged. ¡°Eh, I like how Dawn looks more.¡± I then made Dawn walk slowly to the Pok¨¦mon Center, her character sprite moving through the streets of Veilstone City. ¡°Anyway, the story of this game happens in a world where humans and Pok¨¦mon coexist on the same planet.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying there¡¯s potentially a universe like that?¡± The eevee inquired, his nose scrunching up a bit. ¡°A universe where Pok¨¦mon, in general, live with you humans?¡± I nodded. ¡°Heh, imagine the chaos that¡¯d be.¡±

    ¡°Oh, because it is chaotic. The story of this game specifically is about a group of humans who have a leader who plans to reset the universe using the power of Dialga and Palkia.¡± I explained before adding further to my point. ¡°And the other games are just as chaotic.¡±

    Evon blinked, taking in what I just said. ¡°Yeah¡­ maybe it¡¯s best if humans stayed away from Pok¨¦mon¡­ does this story at least have a good ending?¡±

    ¡°All of them do. These games are for children anyway so all of them have a good ending, despite how morally fucked up most of the antagonists in these games are.¡± I made Dawn enter the Pok¨¦mon Center. ¡°Also, I need to tell you something. Uh¡­ Pok¨¦mon in this game¡­ all act wildly except for the legendaries (I guess, deities in your language) and the point of these games is to uh¡­ collect them and treat them like pets.¡±

    Evon¡¯s face scrunched a bit in confusion and a bit of disgust. ¡°What¡­? Why?¡±

    ¡°Remember when I first met you and how I acted towards you? Yeah, it was exactly because of these games.¡± I said before motioning to my phone again. ¡°In these games, Pok¨¦mon don¡¯t speak human language, although they can understand it. The problem is, like I said before, they act like the wild guys you see in Mystery Dungeons.¡± I made the Dawn sprite walk towards a PC, making her access the box. ¡°Actually, I could show you the Pok¨¦mon I have stored.¡±

    ¡°Huh¡­ stored¡­¡±  Evon mumbled quietly as he eyed the small Pok¨¦mon sprites that appeared on the box. I decided to hover the cursor over the ones in my party first, showcasing them to the eevee. Of course, the first party member made his eyes widen and blurt out. ¡°T-the Banished One!?¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ you can also collect the deities by the way.¡± I explained it sheepishly. ¡°They¡¯re actually called Giratina.¡±

    Evon blinked, staring silently at me antimatter legendary for a few seconds, shock present throughout his face. He then slowly turned his head towards me and spoke a bit shaken. ¡°Please don¡¯t tell me you also have Lord Arceus in there. You can¡¯t, like, collect  God  ,  right ?¡±

    I stared at the eevee for a moment before I turned off the screen and put the phone away. ¡°Maybe that¡¯s enough of teaching you about video games for today¡­¡± Evon still looked a bit frozen like a cat that stared at you judgingly. ¡°Heeey, you must be hungry! After all, processing all that info must¡¯ve taken a large toll on ya!¡± I said trying to cheer the mood up while I stood up. I walked to the table and started fishing through the berries bag. ¡°Any specific berry you want?¡±

    ¡°... An oran¡­¡± Evon said, slowly recovering from the biggest reality check I probably gave him.

    I produced an oran berry from the bag and took the fruit towards the eevee, placing it on his paws. ¡°Uh¡­ my bad for, like, potentially breaking your view on reality for a moment, but don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not on your universe so you shouldn¡¯t worry about it a single bit. Different world, different rules after all!¡±

    Evon¡¯s ears flattened as he looked at the berry before looking back at me with a grimace. ¡°I know that, but still¡­ what the fuck?¡±

    I walked to the berry bag again and picked a different one, a cherri berry. ¡°Listen, that¡¯s not as fucked up as one universe where humans of the same species started enslaving one another and treating them as wild animals because some were born with a darker skin tone than others¡­ oh, wait a second!¡± I threw the red fruit slightly up and turned around, stylishly catching the berry again with a paw thanks to my heightened reaction instincts. ¡°That was our world years ago.¡±

    As I went to sit beside Evon again, I saw that he was already biting on the berry, peel and everything. Once he gulped a piece, he looked at me with a frown. ¡°You know¡­ I don¡¯t know how your kind manages to be so stupid, smart, terrifying, and messed up all at the same time.¡±

    ¡°Me neither, I just go with the flow to an acceptable degree.¡± I said before taking a bit into the berry, munching it a bit, and savoring the taste. It reminded me of those mini tomatoes that looked like red eggs, the specific name escaping me. I muttered to myself. ¡°Hm, could do great with salt¡­¡± I took a small glance around the room again before the blue orb at the table piqued my interest a bit. While munching the cherri, I pointed at it, my voice a bit muffled. ¡°Yo, Evon, what¡¯s that orb for? Decoration?¡±

    The eevee looked at the sphere and explained. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s just the communication orb. I used it sometimes to talk to my parents or my therapist.¡±

    Huh, so that¡¯s what the communication orb looked like. So it was basically a house telephone with pure magic? Interesting¡­ wait, parents? I thought it was normal for the eevee to have a therapist, but¡­ never once mentioned his parents. ¡°Kinda curious, how¡¯s your family like?¡±

    Evon mulled over the question before responding with a roll of his eye. ¡°Well, nothing special honestly. My mom, a vaporeon, and my dad, an absol, are explorers and like, they visit occasionally but are mostly never around since they¡¯re busy with explorer missions on the Diamond Kingdom.¡±

    At the mention of vaporeon, my mind immediately slowly made me remember that one infamous copypasta, but I tried suppressing it as best as I could.  ¡®God, imagine if Evon discovered about that   hideous   piece of text. He¡¯d never look at his mom the same way¡­¡¯  I nervously smiled. ¡°I-I see¡­ so¡­ they call you through the communication orb then?¡±

    Fortunately, my nervousness went unnoticed by the eevee as he responded. ¡°Yeah, they do on weekends. They ask how I¡¯m doing, I ask the same, we talk about what we did, and the usual¡­¡± Evon¡¯s ears fell as he grimaced. ¡°Or at least, that¡¯s what we¡¯ve been doing until Alsia¡¯s death¡­¡±

    I tilted my head for a second before it dawned back on me who Alsia was. It was the angry mightyena¡¯s younger sister and, if I remembered correctly, Evon¡¯s previous partner. I frowned a bit as I unknowingly whined out of sadness. ¡°Evon¡­¡±

    We stayed in silence for a moment, my anxious ass being worried that whatever came out of my mouth would only worsen the situation. However, it wasn¡¯t that long after that Evon sighed and spoke again. ¡°Sorry for bringing the mood down a bit¡­¡± He looked back at me with a melancholic look on his face. ¡°Being completely honest¡­ you remind me a lot of her.¡±

    I tilted my head in curiosity. ¡°How so¡­?¡±

    He smiled. ¡°That recklessness, that hyperactiveness, the way you¡¯re so quick to decide and how you¡¯re trying to do jokes all the time¡­¡± He shifted his paws. ¡°Even if you came from a different world, you two act so alike¡­¡±

    I blinked a bit and frowned concernedly. ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m not causing you unhappy memories to remind you of her, right?¡±

    Evon shook his head rapidly. ¡°No, no, it¡¯s not that. It¡¯s just that¡­ you just remind me a lot of her¡­¡± He hummed for a moment and glanced aside, looking a bit thoughtful. He then eyed me again and asked. ¡°Hey¡­ um¡­ can I ask a favor of you?¡±

    I smiled after finishing my berry. ¡°Sure, we¡¯re teammates so better help each other out in-¡±

    ¡°Can you turn into a poochyena for me¡­?¡± Evon interrupted with a question, making me stare at him for a moment. His ears flattened a bit. ¡°I just want to see something¡­¡±

    I scratched one of my tassels, trying to understand why he would want that. With my knowledge and experiences with grief, I could probably tell why the eevee wished for me to do that. ¡°Sure, I can.¡±

    I imagined myself as a poochyena doing some miscellaneous actions in my mind and I slowly transformed into one, a pink flash filling my vision for some seconds as I felt the structure of my body slowly change. Once the pink flash was done, I looked down at my paws, seeing black fur covering them and gray fur covering my arms. I could barely see between my eyes a red snout as well. I had successfully turned into a poochyena.

    Evon got up from his sitting position and slowly walked towards me, an expression of shock plastered on his face. He stopped in front of me and just stared at me with the same expression. The silence felt awkward, especially more so when he just stared at me like that. It felt like I was in some kind of personal tension that I shouldn¡¯t be involved.

    I was getting a bit uncomfortable, but to make it even more discomforting, the eevee fucking  rubbed his head against my neck.  That made me freeze and blush in embarrassment, my mind going a bit haywire once one of my poochyena¡¯s soft spots was struck.  ¡®What the fuck, what the   fuck!?    Evon, I know we¡¯re alone right now but please, for the love of God, I¡¯m not a furry, and I-¡¯

    ¡°Alsia¡­ I promise you that I¡¯ll use the chance you have given me and prove to you once and for all how strong I will become¡­¡± The eevee said as he kept nuzzling me. ¡°I will not fail you on my mission, I¡¯ll obtain power just for you¡­¡±

    ¡­ Okay, so like, I know what he wanted to do by having me transform into a poochyena and all, but like¡­  did bro really need to nuzzle me???  ¡°U-um¡­¡± I stuttered a bit embarrassedly. ¡°I know I resemble Alsia a bit but like¡­ I think the nuzzle is a  little  unnecessary¡­¡±

    Evon stepped away from me as his tail swished from side to side. ¡°I know, I know¡­ I just needed to get some things off my chest¡­¡± Evon sighed and smiled at me. ¡°Thanks for doing this, you can transform back now.¡±

    ¡°Actually, you wouldn¡¯t mind if I stayed in this form a bit more, right? I¡¯d like to learn how to walk with four legs.¡± I said as I lifted a paw and shook it lightly.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t mind it.¡± Evon said as he looked at the ceiling. ¡°I need to accept that Alsia¡¯s gone and move on to become powerful for her. That¡¯s what she would¡¯ve wanted me to do.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, hopefully, you can achieve what you want for her.¡± I wished as I nodded with a toothy smile. ¡°And I¡¯ll be here to support you every step of the way, as teammates do!¡±

    Evon eyed me again and smiled as well. ¡°As teammates do.¡±

 Okay, So The First Mission is Never Usually That Bad in Any of The Games So Ill Play Through This-

    I lazily opened my eyes, slowly but surely as I blinked the sleepiness away from my body. Yawning and subconsciously throwing my arms in the air, my awareness returned to me, my eyes unblurring themselves.

    I took notice of my arms, noticing blue fur on them and having them end on paws rather than hands. Oh yeah¡­ I forgot that I had become a riolu again.

    After yesterday''s events, with Evon¡¯s promise and all that stuff with Alsia, nothing interesting happened afterwards. I continued showing some other games on my phone, like Subway Surfers, Sonic Dash, and even some other miscellaneous games on my phone that didn¡¯t need the internet to work. Of course, I avoided showing more Pok¨¦mon games since that made the eevee feel uncomfortable.

    But we didn¡¯t just play phone games, as much as they were addicting. Since Evon was addicted and not a Redditor like me, he suggested we do other things besides those games, like target practice and other things that rely on me practicing Pok¨¦mon moves. Was this what most Pok¨¦mon found fun? Don¡¯t get me wrong, I like the feeling, I get a bit of a rush of fun adrenaline whenever I draw out Pok¨¦mon power from inside me. But like¡­ there¡¯s  gotta  be something else to do, right? Like, bro, Evon has a training dummy in his house.

    After that, not much else went on. We ate dinner and let¡¯s say that uh¡­

    <hr>

    Evon sighed after shooting a Shadow Ball directly at the dummy, sitting on his rear as his tail tilted from side to side. My sharp riolu ears heard a small rumbling coming from the fox Pok¨¦mon¡¯s belly. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough training for today. We should be good for our first mission tomorrow.¡± He turned his head to me, one of his ears flattening against his head. ¡°Are you hungry?¡±

    ¡°You bet I am! Man, just training makes you hella tired. I didn¡¯t even manage to do one Aura Sphere and I should be a master of that already¡­¡± I said, wiping my brow with my paw even though I couldn¡¯t sweat in this form. A force of habit, naturally.

    ¡°Do you even know how to use aura to your advantage? Like¡­ at all?¡± Evon inquired.

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± I did my best Hotel Mario voice impression as I shrugged. ¡°No¡­¡±

    Evon smirked like the smug bastard he always was when he felt the slightest bit of superiority towards me. ¡°Of course.¡± He got up and started heading to the living room again. ¡°Let¡¯s just eat dinner.¡±

    ¡°Hell yeah-¡± A quick whiff of the air as I followed Evon quickly made my excitement vanish in an instant. How the hell did I forget about the one thing I questioned a hell of a lot about when we first bought it?

    How could I forget about the raw Pok¨¦mon meat on the paper bag on the living room table?

    My mind was starting to race with thoughts as we got to the table, Evon already unfolding and the smell intensifying. It didn¡¯t help that for some reason, the smell felt   better   than what it felt when I was a human.  ¡®Don¡¯t fucking tell me we¡¯re gonna eat that shit raw, aw hell naw!¡¯  As Evon got the pieces of meat out, I gulped dry and called Evon¡¯s attention. ¡°Hey, uh¡­ Evon?¡±

    The eevee, after dropping the last piece of meat with a bloody and wet   splat   on the table, turned to me. ¡°Yeah? Something up? You look¡­ hesitant.¡±

    I rubbed the back of my head a bit nervously. ¡°So like¡­ you have anything to cook up the meat? Or like¡­¡±

    The eevee tilted his head. ¡°No? We eat it raw most of the time. Fire-types are the ones who usually cook them before consumption.¡± His ears flickered before asking. ¡°Wait, does your species only eat cooked meat?¡±

    I scratched my arm and rolled my eyes a bit embarrassedly. ¡°Yeah¡­ because we think it¡¯s gross and because we get sick if we do so.¡±

    Evon snickered before giggling a little. ¡°Damn, you weren¡¯t kidding when you said humans were weak, but you didn¡¯t say they are as weak as a twig!¡±

    ¡°Shuddup, our god didn¡¯t make something as powerful as like, I dunno, a dragon type or something.¡± I admitted, getting closer to the table and sitting on one of the hay seats scattered around it. ¡°If we did, we would¡¯ve been the same as Pok¨¦mon!¡±

    ¡°Not in intelligence because you guys are pretty stupid. Like, who in Giratina¡¯s name enslaves their own species for dumb reasons like different skin color?¡± Evon asked with a smirk on his face.

    ¡°I sometimes hate when you¡¯re right.¡± I said while rolling my eyes. I then grimaced a bit on the meat sitting in front of me. There was no oven, and if I tried to turn into a fire Pok¨¦mon to cook it, I¡¯d probably burn the meat since I still don¡¯t know how to control my moves properly. ¡®Is this even morally correct¡­?¡¯

    Evon noticed my hesitation before speaking with a frown. ¡°If it makes you feel slightly better¡­ you¡¯re a Pok¨¦mon now, riolu eat raw meat, ya know.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I get, I get. Now keep quiet, I need to focus on rejecting my humanity for a moment.¡± I said before scrunching my face, not in disgust, but primarily for concentration. What also made it slightly better was the fact that the meat piece smelled good, like, there wasn¡¯t a good enough comparison, but it did smell tasty¡­

    Suddenly, my stance loosened as the smell kept distracting me from my concentration, making me sniff the peace more than usual. The hunger¡­ the hunger inside me needed to be quelled. The void that lingered in my stomach needed to be filled¡­ it didn¡¯t matter anymore. Who cared if this was morally incorrect or not? Who cared if this would give me food poisoning or not? I didn¡¯t anymore. I was hungry and this piece of delicacy would be the thing to satisfy me.

    Without any more hesitation, I grabbed the bloody meat in my paws and bit down on it ferociously. It felt like something else was controlling my body, something directing me to clamp my teeth down into the flesh and consume it without any mercy, all in the hopes that the hunger would fade away.

    <hr>

    ¡°...Ah¡­¡± I was left staring at nothing as the memories from yesterday returned to me, blinking as I remembered how I went wild mode on that poor piece of meat without any mercy while hoping that my hunger would be satisfied. I looked at my paws for any traces of blood and remains of flesh stuck in my fur, thankfully, there were none.  ¡®At least I had the decency to wash myself after that.¡¯

    If I remember correctly afterwards, Evon didn¡¯t eat the same way as me. He did mention something about controlling hunting instincts or some shit along those lines. Welp, new thing to add to the ¡°Suppressing Pok¨¦mon Instincts¡± list!

    ¡°Anyway, that¡¯s enough about that, that¡¯s yesterday¡¯s drama that hopefully Evon won¡¯t bring up today.¡± I said before getting up and transforming back into my human form, revealing my shirtless torso with the shiny crystal necklace that Raina gave to me. ¡°Today¡¯s first mission baby, let¡¯s fucking gooooo!!!¡±

    I grabbed my shirt and twirled it around for a moment, shaking some dust off of it before putting it on. It was still a bit smelly and with a couple of scratch marks, but I¡¯d just give it a simple wash after the mission just to extend the remaining strand of lifespan it had left. ¡°Wooooooo!!! Yeah, baby!!!¡± I ran to my backpack and slung it across my shoulders, knowing that I had all the essentials I needed for the mission, including my phone (very essential, trust). ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been waiting for, that¡¯s what it¡¯s all about-!¡±

    Suddenly, the door to my room swung open, revealing the familiar face of the pink-eyed heatran. ¡°Lucas?¡±

    ¡°Woooooooo!¡± I ran towards Basidian, grinning excitedly all the while. Like Spongebob, I shouted while throwing an arm in the air. ¡°I¡¯m ready!¡±

    The old heatran stared at me for a moment before she began to laugh for a moment. She then spoke once her small fit of guttural laughter died down. ¡°I take it you¡¯re excited for your first mission, child?¡±

    ¡°Yeppers!¡± I flicked a finger in her direction, posing flamboyantly. ¡°My first  successful mission that is. Because if I don¡¯t succeed¡­ uh¡­¡± I put a finger on my chin, trying to avoid saying ¡®I die!¡¯ in front of her. ¡°I lose!¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯re going to ensure that¡¯s not going to happen, right?¡± Basi asked with a smile as she stepped away from the door to let me slip through. ¡°After all, from what you¡¯ve told me, you trained with Evon yesterday, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Yep! Now, I¡¯m ready to face anything on our first mission!¡± I rubbed the underside of my nose. ¡°And don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not gonna be anything like the Dar- I mean, those kidnappers that roughed me up that day.¡± I said, almost revealing the identity of the Pok¨¦mon that wanted to kidnap me. I still haven¡¯t told Basi about the true nature of the group that kidnapped Raina because that¡¯d definitely make the heatran hella worried and probably make me stuck in the house forever since mother instincts or something like that. So I decided that it¡¯d be best if the Dark Rebellion stuff went unsaid for now. ¡°I¡¯ll be careful, no worries.¡±

    I went to pet the metal forehead of the elder, feeling warm and rusty steel brush against my hand. Basi closed her eyes, nuzzling her forehead against my palm. ¡°Okay then, just make sure you¡¯re taking care of yourself out there. Don¡¯t forget to eat if you¡¯re feeling hungry, dungeon exploration leaves any Pok¨¦mon hungry.¡±

    I moved my hand away from the heatran¡¯s head, giving a thumbs up to her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry!¡± I pat my backpack softly. ¡°The bag with the bread pieces is still here.¡± I flashed her an okay sign with a hand. ¡°I¡¯m pretty Gucci to go if I say so myself!¡±

    Basidian chuckled. ¡°Well, if you say so. Are you well-fed enough? Not missing anything?¡± I nod my head before shaking it, answering both her questions in order. ¡°Well, in that case. I wish you good luck on your mission, Child!¡±

    ¡°Thanks Basi! Cya later!¡± I said and got out of the house, not before waving goodbye at her, the heatran doing the same.

    Once I closed the door behind me, my excitement-anxiety flared up and I basically squealed in happiness. I knew I was a teen and all that, but shut the hell up, let me have my moment! Not every day you get isekaid to another fucking world filled with creatures previously thought fictional and went on adventures¡­  and almost die a lotta times-  But hey! This shit is the dream of many and I¡¯m going to enjoy every second of it!

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± I exclaimed to myself before starting to dash in the direction of the guild, the place where Evon and I agreed to meet up. I was beginning to get used to navigating the tunnels of the village, after all, it had been, like¡­ five days since I got here (geez, time went by fast).

    I rushed past many Pok¨¦mon during my run, from avoiding stepping on small ones to dodging the big bulky ones. I felt like I was in a Sonic boost level, even doing sharp turns when the tunnel changed to another direction. Where were the rings for me to collect? The loops for me to pass? And the enemies for me to boost through?

    Okay, enough Sonic references¡­ for now.

    After a minute, I started panting and heaving, the remains of my sedentarism finally catching up to me. I walked the rest of the way to the guild, finally realizing that Pok¨¦mon were staring oddly at me, aka, the usual. I wonder when one of them would have the balls to come up to me and ask-

    ¡°So¡­ you¡¯re the shapeshifter, correct?¡±

    I stopped walking, trying to locate the source of the voice. I spotted the source of the voice, seeing a strange bipedal Pok¨¦mon leaning on the wall of the cave with their face darkened. They wore a red cape-like cloak and a black belt with a blue, silver, red, and gold chest-shaped pouch strapped to it. It took a small second for me to realize that the Pok¨¦mon itself was a gholdengo; they looked, however, much different than what I was used to. This one was in one half made out of gold coins and on the other half made out of silver coins, split vertically. Their coin braids on top of their head were slicked to the back like some human hairstyles.

    Immediately, my sweaty competitive Pok¨¦mon player mindset noticed red flags all over the individual. One: Gholdengo. Two: Gholdengo. Three:  Gholdengo  . I began to sweat a bit, remembering the times that a single Pok¨¦mon swept my entire team in a match because I let it accidentally set up. Oh, you missed an attack?  Too bad, Nasty Plot + Make It Rain on your ass.

    That¡¯s not even to mention their broken-ass ability.

    I gulped dry, shoving those thoughts away from me. ¡® Remember Lucas, this is not a game, so don¡¯t sweat about those dumb mechanics for now, just act friendly. Also, what the hell is a gholdengo doing here and why are they like that? How come I never saw him in the village before?¡¯ I crossed my arms and asked. ¡°Uh¡­ you spoke to me?¡±

    The coin-made Pok¨¦mon stepped away from the wall and raised his head to look at me, revealing their gold and silver eyes contrasting with their two sides. They put a hand on their side and spoke with a raspy low-pitched male voice. ¡°Yes, you, who else? Are there any other shape-shifting Pok¨¦mon I should know about?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ a ditto?¡±

    ¡°What in Arceus¡¯ name is a ditto?¡±

    My arms limped a bit as I rolled my eyes. ¡°Nevermind¡­¡± I put my hands on my side. ¡°More importantly, you want something from me?¡±

    ¡°No¡­ what I do want is that you stay certain of something.¡± He scowled menacingly, a certain chilliness filling the air around me. ¡° I am watching you¡­¡±

    I tensed a bit, a certain chill going through my spine. ¡°W-why¡­?¡±

    His cloak started rising a little as he continued speaking. ¡°Your kind presents infinite potential, and with that infinite potential, comes infinite danger.¡± He stepped closer to me. ¡°You might be on the good side now, but who knows when you will turn into the dark side? After all, the Dark Rebellion did offer a position in their ranks, didn¡¯t they?¡±

    My eyes widened, making me take a step back in caution and concern. ¡°H-how did you know that¡­?¡±

    ¡°I have my sources¡­ say, you weren¡¯t considering that offer, were you?¡± The gholdengo asked, crossing his arms as his frown deepened.

    My face scrunched in confusion. ¡°The fuck? No, ¡®course not! Why would I want to join a group that literally kills people they don¡¯t like!?¡±

    The scowl on the coin Pok¨¦mon softened a bit as he put a hand on his chin. ¡°Interesting response¡­ but yet, this feeling I have of you¡­¡± He muttered the last part, the chill in the air disappearing. ¡°I shall keep watch of you, I still haven¡¯t gotten the information I wanted from you.¡±

    He started walking away as I tilted my head. ¡°That¡¯s it? You threaten me and walk away? Bro, won¡¯t you even tell me who you are!?¡±

    The gholdengo stopped and turned his head to me, looking at me unamused. ¡°The name is Xenes, and all you need to know about me is that I value this village more than anything else.¡± He continued walking down his path. ¡°See you around, shapeshifter.¡±

    I watched the now-named Xenes walk away, the sound of his footsteps being the same as the sound of coins jingling in a sack. A light scowl appeared on my face as I muttered. ¡°Geez, and here I thought Evon was the edgelord of this place¡­ what¡¯s even his deal-?¡± I then realized something I was beginning to forget. ¡°Fuck, the mission!¡±

    With my breath a bit caught up, I started to run again, even though the Stalacta Guild was right next door.

    I entered the Bat Cave-like area and started looking for Evon, worrying a bit if I had overslept. What if Evon just wasn¡¯t there? What if he had waited for so long that Evon just gave up and went back home? What if-

    Oh never mind, he was just sitting idly on the lounge of the guild. Dumb anxiety¡­

    I ignored the stares from some guild members and went towards the eyepatch-wearing eevee next to a table. He perked up once he noticed me and got off his haunches, his half of the necklace jiggling around his neck. ¡°There you are. For a second, you had me worried you were going to regret your decision and not come.¡±

    ¡°Hell naw boi! You really think I¡¯d pass in something as exciting as this?¡± I winked and grinned smugly. ¡°Sorry, but you got the wrong number!¡± I suppressed the urge to squeal in public and bounce in place like an excited child. ¡°So, have ya decided what mission we gonna do first?¡±

    ¡°Not yet, but before that¡­¡± Evon opened his bag and started searching for something. He then took out with his mouth two familiar objects and put them on the table. It was the same eye badges I saw Ino¡¯s team wear, however, these badges had only one pair of wings instead of two. ¡°Quartzo forgot to hand us these once we finished the form.¡±

    I picked one of them up and inspected them further. They were modeled exactly like an eye, even down to the slit in the middle that served like a reptile¡¯s pupil. Unlike the edgelord doggo¡¯s badges, these were bronze instead of silver. And who could forget about the white wings on the side? ¡°So¡­ are these our badges?¡±

    ¡°Yep. Also, I should explain how they work.¡± Evon said as I pinned the badge on my shirt. ¡°There are five exploration ranks; Bronze, Silver, Gold, Master, and Legend, each determined by the amount of Exploration Points, or Exp. for short, our team has. Our badges can show our ranks by their color and the number of pairs of wings our badges carry.¡±

    ¡°Interesting system. So¡­ by doing missions we get Exp. to grow in ranks to tackle the big missions, right?¡±  ¡®Ain¡¯t no way that sounds like fucking experience points from video games. Universe, do you want me to believe that this world is a game or not!?¡¯

    Evon nodded. ¡°Yes. The Diamond Kingdom Guild Association, or D.K.G.A. for short, will keep a record of the missions we do and then give us the points for each mission done. Once we achieve enough points, the Guildmaster will tell us and move our ranks.¡± Evon grabbed the badge with a paw and stared at it a bit melancholically. ¡°I was a Silver Rank before¡­ the incident.¡± He sighed. ¡°Here I am, starting this stuff all over again¡­¡±

    I crouched next to Evon. ¡°Hey, remember, you¡¯re doing this for Alsia, right? You¡¯re gonna try again and this time  surpass  the silver, got it?¡± Evon nodded, a bit of hope returning to his face. He was about to put his badge on his mane before my mind thought of a brilliant idea. ¡°Holldup!¡±

    Evon paused his action and looked at me. ¡°What? Something wrong?¡±

    ¡°Just had an awesome idea, trust me on this!¡± I said, the eevee sighing at that.

    As I grabbed the fox Pok¨¦mon¡¯s badge, he asked curiously, although slightly annoyed. ¡°What are you gonna do now-¡± He interrupted himself once he saw me having my hand slowly move towards his face. He leaned his head away from my hand a little before asking. ¡°The heck are you-¡±

    ¡°Just trust me on this bro, it¡¯ll look good.¡± With my tongue poking out, I moved my hand towards his eyepatch with precision, hoping that I wouldn¡¯t hurt him with this. He didn¡¯t have an eye under that thing, right?

    Eventually, I placed the badge on his eyepatch, the left wing of the badge at least not covering a bit of the eevee¡¯s right eye. Evon ran a paw over his eyepatch, feeling the badge over it. He blinked and looked at me a bit madly. ¡°Did you just fucking-¡±

    ¡°What? It looks good on you! Looks badass!¡± I argued, a scowl making itself present on Evon¡¯s face.

    ¡°Remove it, now.¡± He requested, his tail starting to sway a bit.

    I took off my backpack, fishing for my phone. ¡°If you don¡¯t believe it, then look at it yourself.¡± I grabbed my phone and turned the camera on, putting it in selfie mode. I then turned the front camera towards Evon, letting him see how the badge looked on him. For me, the badge looked like it just fit like some sort of parasite eye. Since Evon lacked one eye (supposedly), it fits a bit to have that badge there. ¡°Since you¡¯re missing an eye, I thought that this badge could make for a nice aesthetic.¡±

    Evon stared at himself from my phone, analyzing how the badge looked at him from a lot of angles. He even lifted his eyepatch a bit to-  holy shit, he was missing an entire eye.  Literally just a hole of void where his left eye was supposed to be. I cringed a bit, Evon noticing it and lowering his eyepatch. ¡°Sorry, your phone just made me feel like I was alone with a mirror.¡± He sighed and rubbed the back of his head. ¡°Can¡¯t believe I¡¯m saying this but¡­ you do have a point about the badge. I¡­ kinda like it, honestly.¡±

    I put my phone back into my backpack. ¡°Heh, knew you¡¯d come around.¡± I grinned as I slung my backpack over my shoulders. ¡°I just know what fits some Pok¨¦mon best, what can I say?¡±

    ¡°Okay, Fully Covered Creature, whatever you say.¡± Evon said with a chuckle before motioning for me to follow him. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s get this over with. I need to get back into the swing of Mystery Dungeon adventuring.¡±

    ¡°No need to say it twice!¡± I said as I followed Evon to the mission board.

    We arrived at the board coated with papers, the contents on them being miscellaneous requests, wanted posters, and missing Pok¨¦mon. It felt like I was seeing something straight out of an anime or some shit. All that was left was that the guild was secretly a tavern for explorers and rescuers to shower themselves in booze.

    I put my hands on my side and looked at the eevee beside me. ¡°So¡­ what type of mission do you suggest we do first?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ missions come in difficulty rank, the same one we use for badges. So just search for one that says bronze.¡± Evon said as he started looking for some missions.

    I mirrored his actions and hummed in thought as I looked at the board. Let¡¯s see¡­ missing geodude last seen in Kibo Thicket¡­ eh, the ¡®mon in the pic looked tough enough, he was probably just taking a bit to find some things. A marowak looking for help to get rid of stray ivy around his house because some samurott planted them there for¡­ a prank? Uh¡­ that¡¯s their own issue, not interested. And a¡­ whatever a lovemih is that is wanted for¡­

    ¡­ I¡¯m not finishing reading that, not planning to get horny over Pok¨¦mon because of whatever that thing¡¯s ability is.

    ¡°Hey, Lucas.¡±

    I turned to Evon, seeing him look at a specific poster. He was looking at the poster of a nervous-looking hisuian zorua. The paper read:  ¡°White zorua stuck inside the Marsh Meadow Mystery Dungeon. The client appears to be a child and it is trapped inside the dungeon, surrounded by the local ferals.¡±  It was a bronze-rank mission and it seemed to be posted recently. The reward would be fifty Pok¨¦, which didn¡¯t matter to me since I didn¡¯t know how much that actually was worth. However, something about the poster made me a bit curious about something.

    Evon pointed his paw at the poster he was staring at. ¡°Is that a good enough mission for you?¡±

    I hummed and crossed my arms. ¡°Rescuing someone¡­ yes¡­¡± I grinned, a bit eager to do something I always wanted to do, and that was to be a fucking  hero.  ¡°Hell yeah!¡± I pumped my fist in the air before snatching the poster from the board and grinned at the eevee. ¡°Perfect way to start our team, by asserting our heroic nature to the guild!¡±

    Evon¡¯s ears flattened, looking at me unamused. ¡°You just want more fame and get looked up to¡­¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯m already a celebrity here in the village! So famous that even a guy threatened me because of my powers!¡± I said half-jokingly.

    ¡°Wait, what?¡±

    I leaned my head close to Evon, whispering in his ears. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later when we are on our way. He could be watching right now.¡± I leaned away and swiftly changed the topic. ¡°Anyway, kinda curious.¡± I straightened the paper, revealing its contents again. ¡°How does the guy that makes these posters know all of this info? Like, that kid is still in the dungeon, aren¡¯t they?¡±

    Evon stared at me for a moment before shifting his glance to his surroundings a bit. ¡°Um¡­ they are, but, because of things like communication orbs, they can send out distress signals to the nearest guild for help.¡± He then pointed at his badge on his eyepatch. ¡°Anyone that isn¡¯t an explorer takes them everywhere with them since they don¡¯t have badges to carry the task of sending distress signals.¡±

    ¡°Ah, got ya, got ya.¡± I said before rolling the paper and putting it in my backpack. ¡°Anyway, we got a mission to do and a zorua to save so let¡¯s-a go!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s do this.¡±

    With that, we both left the guild before heading out of the village itself. The sun lit up the sky and our surroundings, a tremendous shift from the dimly illuminated cave. The sight of the lush forest in front of me brought me joy, opening my arms and felt the sunlight grace my skin. ¡°Aw hell yeah! Finally out of that cave! Finally touching grass and escaping the Discord Mod and Redditor allegations once again!¡±

    Evon looked at me a bit inquisitively, one of his ears tilting downwards. ¡°Do I want to know what those two things are¡­?¡±

    ¡°No, no you don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Thought so.¡±

    Stretching my arms and my back, I asked the eevee. ¡°Soooo, have any idea where the heck this Marsh Meadow is? Cuz I have no damn clue.¡±

    Evon sighed and went to search his pouch once again. Quickly, he produced a rolled-up piece of paper with his mouth before putting it on the grassy floor. He then unveiled it with his paws, a map manifesting itself into the paper. No, literally, a map  poofed  into the paper, revealing the entire continent and all of its POIs. That just left me a bit surprised, but I just chalked it up to Pok¨¦mon magic bullshit as usual.

    ¡°It shows here that if we keep going west, we¡¯ll come across Marsh Meadows. It isn¡¯t that far from Cavestone so it should take about an hour or so to get there.¡± Evon said while analyzing the map. He then turned his head to me. ¡°If everything goes accordingly and there are no interruptions, I¡¯d say we might get there even earlier.¡±

    It then hit me the bad part about having this job. We¡¯d have to walk a  ton . This would be just like walking a trail through a forest, but guess what!? You take a break and you either: One, get your ass mauled by the local wildlife; Two, your client dies because you took too long!

    ¡­ my sedentary ass was not prepared for this at all. It was even a miracle I endured that much to get to Cavestone in the first place.

    I slightly groaned a bit. ¡°Too much walking, man¡­¡±

    Folding the paper, Evon smugly commented. ¡°Oh, does that mean you¡¯re giving up? And after hyping up Team Infinity for too long¡­¡±

    I immediately wagged my finger. ¡°Nuh-uh! I wasn¡¯t hyping this shit up for nothing. I¡¯m gonna see it through ¡®till I can¡¯t anymore!¡± I grinned at Evon. ¡°You¡¯ll see, fox boy!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s a fox?¡±

    I blinked before turning away from the eevee. ¡°Anyway, enough dilly-dallying! To infinity¡­  and beyond!!!¡±

    With that, I started walking away, not before hearing Evon say. ¡°You¡¯re going the wrong way, dummy.¡±

    I quickly started going the other way. ¡° This way!!!¡±

    I heard Evon sigh behind me.

    <hr>

    It had been some minutes since we left Cavestone, the walk being uninteresting so far. I had considered using my phone a bit to distract myself but decided against it for a few reasons. It was low on battery; I would be distracted and get attacked without having a chance to transform; or quite possibly step on Pok¨¦mon shit.

    So far so good. My legs still didn¡¯t give in to my slight sedentarism and I didn¡¯t feel tired. I silently thanked Dad for those cycling sessions I did with him on weekends, if I didn¡¯t have, my stamina would surely be shittier.

    To say I was a bit bored for just walking mostly in silence would be an understatement. I was basically forced to look around and observe the local wildlife while keeping silent. After all, what are the chances members of the Dark Rebellion appear and this time be successful in kidnapping me? Or like, what if bandits ambush us and steal all our shit? Would it be an LA classic? Yes, it would, but still, wouldn¡¯t want for that to happen.

    However, Evon broke the silence when he reminded me of something. ¡°So¡­ about that ¡®mon that threatened you¡­ were you joking about that or¡­¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡± As I walked, I turned my head to Evon. ¡°Before arriving in the guild, there was this gholdengo fella half silver and half gold. He said he was watching me, told me I was dangerous, and that he knew about the whole Dark Rebellion fiasco then left without elaborating further. His name was Xemnas¡­? No, that¡¯s Kingdom Heart¡­ oh wait, Xenes. His name was Xenes.¡±

    ¡°Wait, Xenes the gold-rank explorer that has no team?¡± Evon asked, his eyes widening a bit. ¡° That  Xenes?¡±

    I blinked a bit, crossing my arms. ¡°Sounds like you know the guy.¡±

    ¡°How couldn¡¯t I? That ¡®mon is famous around, not only the guild but the entirety of the village for being a solo explorer and still tackling difficult missions left and right every week!¡± Evon said, his tail swishing a bit as he talked about the edgelord gholdengo. ¡°It¡¯s still a wonder how he isn¡¯t Legend-rank yet!¡±

    I looked aside a bit nervously.  ¡®Oh great¡­ I really did pick the wrong house and now I got a big shot that isn¡¯t Spamton watching my every move inside that village¡­¡¯  ¡°Aha¡­ wow, uh¡­ reassuring to know¡­¡±

    Evon took notice of my nervousness and frowned. ¡°Oh yeah¡­¡± His ears drooped a bit. ¡°Guess you have to gain his trust so he gets his eyes off your back.¡±

    ¡°Money bro¡¯s gonna see.¡± I grinned as I rubbed the underside of my nose. ¡°With my heroic acts of saving people, he¡¯s gonna think otherwise and think of me as the guardian deity of the village!¡±

    ¡°Hard doubt that but¡­ sure, whatever you say.¡± Evon smiled as he shook his head.

    Eventually, the forest around us started giving way to a bit of a flower-filled clearing. A breeze flowed past us, lifting my hair slightly and brushing against Evon¡¯s fur. A sweet smell passed by our noses, the pleasant smell making us relax a little. Along with the flowers, there were various ponds of water, the pond being the origin of some of the flowers themselves. The air even felt a bit wet, unlike the forest.

    I took in the scenario, amazed by the sheer spectacle of such a view that I would¡¯ve never seen if it wasn¡¯t for computers. ¡°Geez¡­ this place is so damn beautiful¡­¡± I got out of my mesmerized trance and looked at the eevee after shaking my head a bit. ¡°So¡­ is this the dungeon?¡±

    ¡°No, but given the dungeon''s name, I¡¯d say that the entrance is around here somewhere or we¡¯re right next to it.¡± Evon stated before starting to look around, sniffing the air a bit more. ¡°We just need to find it.¡±

    I put a hand above my eyes, blocking a bit of the sun''s rays to observe the area a bit better. Looking around, I could see some lotad and lombre idling about in some of the ponds, ignoring us and other Pok¨¦mon who pacifically buzzed about like cutiefly. This place felt exactly like the kind of place where some kind of magical fairy would appear and grant some sort of magic power to us.

    Not spotting anything out of place yet, I asked Evon. ¡°What does the map say?¡±

    I turned to the eevee, seeing him take the magical map out of his bag and putting on the ground. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ huh¡­¡± Evon looked up from the map, scanning over the area. ¡°It shows here that we¡¯re basically in its vicinity. We just need to find the entrance.¡±

    ¡°Ah, okay.¡± I looked around, eyeing some of the Pok¨¦mon in the area. My attention was caught at a fairly close cutiefly who was sucking the nectar of a pond flower. ¡°Should we ask the locals about it? Can they even answer our question¡­?¡±

    After putting the map back in his pouch, Evon glanced at me with a frown on his face. ¡°Even though wild Pok¨¦mon are not like ferals and can act civilized, there¡¯s no way of telling if they can communicate with us or not. We just have to hope they know how to speak.¡±

    ¡°Welp, hope we get it first try.¡± I said before walking slowly to the cutiefly. Getting close to them, I realized that the bee Pok¨¦mon was so small that I could basically fit them in the palm of my hand. I probably looked like a massive giant to them so I needed to approach them carefully and gently.

    The cutiefly stopped sucking on nectar after noticing me, their body freezing slightly. ¡°W-what you want!?¡±

    Hopefully, my placation act was good enough after dealing with so many animals who acted hostile towards me. This had to be the one that I didn¡¯t get scratched or bitten! ¡°Yo, yo, yo, chill! I ain¡¯t here to hurt you. Just wanna ask a question, alright?¡± I kneeled next to the flower, getting at eye-level with the bug. ¡°I promise you¡¯re gonna be alright, okay?¡±

    ¡°A-alright¡­¡± They responded meekly, their high-pitched voice not making it easy for me to identify their gender. ¡°Wh- what question¡­?¡±

    ¡°So¡­ do you know where the local Mystery Dungeon is?¡± I pointed a thumb at Evon. ¡°My friend and I are trying to find it to save someone.¡±

    ¡°E-explorers¡­ you not attack hive¡­ right?¡± From what I could notice from their voice alone, they seemed nervous¡­

    I soothed the cutiefly, finding their worries a bit cute. To be honest, if I could pet it and not get stung, I so would. ¡°No, we¡¯re not. As I said, we¡¯re here to save an innocent Pok¨¦mon. You¡¯d be saving a life if you could tell us.¡±

    ¡°Um¡­¡± They lifted a nub in the direction of a weirdly shaped tree hidden behind some lush. ¡°There. Trunk is entrance.¡±

    ¡°Oooooh, so that¡¯s where it was.¡± I said before looking at the little bug again, giving them a thumbs up. ¡°Thanks, lil¡¯ dude, you¡¯re awesome!¡± I said before getting up and walking away. While going back to Evon, I could hear the cutiefly muttering to themselves.

    ¡°Me¡­ awesome¡­?¡±

    I smile at hearing those words and say to Evon. ¡°Yo, got the location!¡± Evon turned his head at me, inquisitive. I pointed at the weird tree. ¡°That¡¯s the entrance¡­ for some reason.¡±

    ¡°Mystery Dungeons are pocket dimensions, therefore, the entrance can reside in many odd places.¡± Evon said before tilting his head at me. ¡°There have even been reports of Mystery Dungeons forming inside chests.¡±

    ¡°The hell? That¡¯s kinda crazy. Can they even form inside a Pok¨¦mon? Like, inside a wailord, maybe?¡± I hypothesized, imagining a scenario of a moving Dungeon inside the whale¡¯s Pok¨¦mon body.

    Evon frowned, a thinking expression appearing on his face. ¡°That¡­ I don¡¯t know. There weren¡¯t any reports of that so far, but there could be.¡± He turned to face the tree. ¡°But anyways, let¡¯s not waste any more time. We have a Pok¨¦mon to save.¡±

    I grinned, balling my hand into a fist. ¡°Hell yeah, let¡¯s do this!¡±

    Without any further prompt, we walked towards the tree, the local wildlife paying no mind as we passed by some of them. We got past a huge bush of flowers, finally revealing the full trunk of the tree. From the bottom up, the tree was split in two in the shape of an arc, like someone had cut a passageway through the wood in the shape of a round door. Hanging from one of the branches of the tree, a big yellowish bulb stood with some cutieflies leaving and entering the place.

    So that¡¯s why the little guy from before thought we might attack their hive, it was because it hung on the entrance to the dungeon.

    I sighed, did a few hops, and tapped my face with my palms. ¡°Alright, this is it, we¡¯re gonna do it for real this time!¡±

    Evon raised an invisible eyebrow as he looked at me. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be in a Pok¨¦mon form already? You wouldn¡¯t want opponents taking advantage of you while transforming. And, like¡­ your human musk has a strong scent on your shirt, ya know¡­¡±

    I hummed in thought. ¡°Yep, speakin¡¯ facts right there.¡±

    With the Pok¨¦mon in mind, I started transforming into it. Pink sparkly light surrounded my vision, my body morphing slowly into my desired Pok¨¦mon. Large feet, a round fluffy tail, large ears, and big incisors made part of my new body. Once the light faded from my sight, I looked at my white-furred body with a bit of orange fur on my feet. I had successfully turned into a scorbunny.

    I turned to Evon, a smirk across my face. ¡°Thanks for the warning my loyal companion! Wouldn¡¯t want us to get ambushed without a form ready to save our rears!¡±

    Evon rolled his eye a playful smile on his face. ¡°Like it would¡¯ve made a difference with your mediocre fighting skills.

    ¡°Bro, did you just call me mid!?¡± I said a bit tempered. ¡°Aight, that¡¯s it. I¡¯m gonna be the best fighter out of both of us on this mission, you just watch!¡± I hopped in place before readying my legs, feeling my bare feet firing up. ¡°Marsh Meadows¡­¡± I then bolted into the dungeon. ¡°Here I come!¡±

    ¡°Hey, wait a second!¡±

    I heard Evon¡¯s voice trailing behind me along with his footsteps. It was then that I felt the air shift around us, the same dry air from the last time we entered one still lingering. A shiver went up my spine due to the sheer atmospheric change.

    Once I was a bit more feet ahead, I stopped and analyzed the dungeon around me. The dungeon was like the exact scenery we saw outside it but multiplied by ten. Rectangular-like areas and narrow tree hallways filled my surroundings, big difference from the last dungeon I was in is that this place felt a bit more lively and colorful than the plain forest. Ponds of water and wildflowers coated the place. The flowers were colorful, arranged in various colors, even black flowers incredibly.

    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    Evon showed up beside me, a frown on his face. ¡°Please, don¡¯t do that again. Even if this is a bronze-rank dungeon, it doesn¡¯t make it less dangerous for novice explorers. They¡¯re completely unpredictable and you never know what might happen when you enter one.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ got it, got it.¡± I said before putting my paws behind my head and looking around. ¡°So¡­ we¡¯re gonna be in this place until we find the zorua, then we dip, correct?¡±

    ¡°Yes. It might take a while to find them, but we just have to hope we get to them before something bad happens.¡± Evon said, taking a few steps forward and looking around cautiously.

    ¡°Alright then, we move!¡± I said before walking along with the eevee. Before we got much further, we were presented with a lovely fork in the road that expanded into five different paths. ¡°Uh¡­ which way?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s just pick randomly. We barely started and we got a lot of ground to cover.¡± Evon suggested, humming afterwards as he looked over the different paths to take. He then pointed a paw towards the left-most path. ¡°How about that path?¡±

    I thought about it, taking in the sight of a pond and some flowers in the distance of the path. ¡°Eh, sounds good to me, dude. Let¡¯s get to it!¡±

    We entered the chosen path, threading carefully in case some ferals appeared. While on the path, I decided to test some of the limitations in my scorbunny form. I punched the air a few times, barely being able to see my paws from how fast my punches were. I did a 3 punch combo repeatedly before ending it with a kick. During my kicks, I noticed a few sparks flying where the soles of my feet flew.

    ¡®Ooh, could I make use of Blaze Kick at some point? That¡¯d be lit! ¡­ Mods, crush my skull after that pun, thank you.¡¯ I thought to myself before trying to breathe a bit of fire. I concentrated a little bit of warm energy in my throat before letting it out of my mouth with a small flame breath, testing my fire-breathing capability.

    It was still a bit crazy to me that I was just turning into different creatures at will and literally just doing what they normally do, coming to me so naturally. Well, if some habits of those species get to me as well (like just scratching behind the ear like a dog, yeah, still not over that), that just means some abilities come naturally as well.

    ¡°Testing out what you can do as a scorbunny?¡± I heard Evon say, making me turn to him and seeing him eye me curiously.

    ¡°Yeah, gotta get ready for the fights.¡± I said before shooting out another small burst of Ember, this time aiming it upwards. It felt like I was letting out a very hot spit of saliva, but nope, it was a damn fireball. ¡°Gotta check all my limitations to see what I can or can¡¯t do yet.¡±

    ¡°Understandable.¡±

    The path we took eventually widened to a small clearing with a fresh pond of water and lush bushes of flowers scattered throughout the place, a sweet and welcoming smell filling our noses as we walked into it¡­  which meant this place was about to lower our guards so bad that hordes and hordes and hordes of enemies would flood in the place.

    Evon looked around before focusing his gaze on the pond. ¡°Hm¡­¡± His ears twitched and flickered before he walked over to it. ¡°I¡¯m a bit thirsty. Can you cover for me while I drink?¡±

    I crossed my small arms, one of my ears tilting sideways. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say this place was dangerous? You¡¯re basically lowering your guard and saying:  ¡®I¡¯m a smol wil¡¯ veevee, please don¡¯t hurt me, UwU!¡¯ ¡± I said mockingly, trying to do a cutesy voice.

    ¡°Haha, very funny. Just stay on watch, alright?¡± He said before lowering his head and taking a few sips from the pond, his tail twitching a little.

    I glanced around momentarily before a certain urge came over to me.  ¡®Urgh, I gotta piss.¡¯  Humming, I peered over a bush with some flowers and decided that was a good spot to do it. I walked over to it and saw no one looking. I readied myself to release the load but noticed some of the flowers twitch and move a little. ¡°The fuck¡­? Oh shit-!¡±

    Some flowers started  floating  , leaving the bushes and revealing what they really were. Holding the plant¡¯s stalks were a small group of floette,  angry  floette who did not take well me being here.

    I backed away a bit before running back to Evon. ¡°Evon, we got trouble!¡±

    The eevee turned away from the pond, looking at me and the group of the fairy-types on my tail. Suddenly, I felt a sudden hot wind brush my back, making me stagger forward and tumble a bit and only stopping in front of Evon. ¡°Lucas, what happened!?¡±

    I corrected my position in one quick motion, turning towards the angry floette. I noticed there were four of them. ¡°I was about to piss and, like, they showed up from the bush!¡±

    Evon groaned, getting into a battle stance and baring his teeth. ¡°Of course¡­!¡±

    The four fairies pointed their flowers at us and from them shot a faint pink glow that was carried by a sudden gust of wind. ¡°Guh!¡± We jumped out of the way of the sparkly light in different directions, getting separated from each other. I called out to the eevee. ¡°Let¡¯s focus on two each! That way we don¡¯t get overwhelmed with all of them focusing on us together!¡±

    ¡°Yeah! After all, you¡¯d mess up everything and we¡¯d both get mauled!¡± Evon said before firing a Shadow Ball directly at one of the floette. The ball exploded, sending the flower-bound Pok¨¦mon a few feet back while another focused on the eevee. ¡°Let¡¯s see if you can win this one.¡±

    I grinned as the two other floettes floated closer to me, holding the stalks of their flowers closely to them. ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll show you that I can win this easily!¡± As I let Evon do his battle, I shifted my focus solely on the two floettes, one with a purple flower and the other with a pink flower. ¡°Yo, girlies! How about we dance together, and that dance ends with both of you eating the floor- woah!¡±

    The purple-flowered fairy shot another sparkly hot wind at me, making me stagger back a bit. I corrected my position just in time to dodge the pink-flowered floette floating towards me, sidestepping out of their tackle and kicking her as she passed by me. I grinned again as the adrenaline flowed through my body again.

    ¡°Eat this!¡± I ran towards the pink floette, gathering hot energy deep within my chest and concentrating it on the back of my throat. I then let the energy out in the form of a fire breath, exhaling a small wave of flame that washed over the targetted fairy. I heard it squeal and scream in pain with her high-pitched voice; I almost felt bad¡­ almost.

    Before I could gloat about my small victory, I felt my leg get wrapped up in a vine before I felt it getting pulled along with my leg. I fell to the ground before looking above my shoulder to find the purple floette with a Vine Whip that came from the flower¡¯s petal. I gritted my teeth and said. ¡°Sorry, but I ain¡¯t into tentacles!¡±

    I burned the vine with another flame breath, freeing my leg and quickly getting up¡­ only to get assaulted from behind with another tackle. A swell of pain ached from my back as I staggered a bit forward and fell to my knees. I grunted a bit in pain before quickly getting up and assessing my situation by looking around. I was surrounded on both sides. Lowkey though¡­

    Getting surrounded by Andrew and Droz was worse than this.

    I grinned and quipped. ¡°Ladies, please, one at a time. You can¡¯t have my entire body at the same time!¡±

    I could see the two floettes aiming their flower at me, ready to unleash some kind of magic. I readied my legs, feeling my feet burn as I poured a bit of strength onto them. It would be a gamble, but I felt like I could do it with this body.

    With no more time wasted, one of the fairies shot more of that sparkly wind while the other shot a very sharp leaf from their flower¡¯s petals. Once they released their attacks, I bent my knees hard and jumped as high as I could, doing a front flip and landing beside the attacks. I almost lost my footing but I quickly corrected my position. ¡°Holy shit¡­ I did it, hah!¡± I exclaimed as the attacks clashed behind me.

    I turned around, focusing on the purple-flowered floette. ¡°Now¡­ time for ass whooping!¡± I felt my feet get fired up as my body started moving on its own, getting puppeteered by pure adrenaline alone. I ran towards the fairy, shooting out a burst of flame with an exhale, burning the fairy a bit. Once the flames doused a bit, I ran in and delivered what I trained some minutes ago, not caring if this was in my moveset or not. The 1, 2, 3 punch combo landed swiftly on the floette, despite my small paws (I supposed it worked since the fairy was fairly small). Once the combo was finished, I launched the floette away with a swift kick, the sole of my feet causing some additional burns as well. As the floette fell to the ground unconscious, I spoke while looking at my paws and flexing them. ¡°I¡¯m getting good at this Pok¨¦mon stuff! GGs bro-¡±

    My quip was interrupted when a razor-sharp leaf passed through my arm, cutting a small gash. I grunted in pain as I gripped my arm over the wound and turned into the other floette, seemingly angrier than before.

    ¡°Aight... I get it. You also want a piece of me since I¡¯m that  hot .¡± The wound stung a lot, making my arm burn a bit from pain. But it was manageable, it wasn¡¯t that deep. ¡°Welp then¡­¡± I took my paw off the wound and shook it aside, blood flying off it. I then balled my paw into a fist. ¡°But be careful though, I may cause a burn~¡±

    The floette shot another Razor Leaf towards me, but I dodged the leafy projectile this time and dashed towards the pink-flowered fairy. I jumped into the air and shot a fireball directly at the fairy, however she unfortunately dodged it. I landed on the ground and she decided to tackle me again with her small head. The hit connected, making me take a step back. However, I used the opportunity and grabbed the fairy with my paws, constricting her movements.

    ¡°Prime opportunity for yeeting but since you float¡­ gotta do the painful way.¡± I saw the fairy scrunch her face, knowing what was coming. I then released a point-blank flame breath¡­

    But not at the floette.

    She opened her eyes to find herself not getting burned, but rather her flower. She saw the burning petals being carried by the wind as they turned into ashes, the only thing left being the stem of it. The little fairy then turned her small head back to me a little confused. ¡°Floe¡­?¡±

    ¡°Look, I may have gone overboard while in the heat of the moment, but like¡­ the only reason I was attacking you is because you attacked me first.¡±  ¡®And since I destroyed her flower, she should stop attacking now. A small gambit, but fortunately, it was enough to pacify.¡¯  I thought to myself before softening my grip on the fairy. ¡°To be honest, I like to avoid as much conflict as possible, but sometimes, it¡¯s unavoidable, as I learned in the past.¡±

    I released the floette, the fairy floating in front of me a little lost and confused. She looked at the remains of the stem that she held a bit solemnly. ¡°Floe¡­¡±

    I put my paws on my waist and frowned. ¡°I did say it would be painful¡­ I needed to find a way to make you stop attacking.¡± I put a paw on her head and stroked it a bit. ¡°Don¡¯t worry though, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find another flower good enough for you.¡±

    ¡°Floe¡­ floette!¡± The little flower pixie responded, dropping the stem of the burned flower. For some reason, after my words, she seemed a bit enthusiastic. She floated towards the downed floette and started carrying her and her flower on the back. She turned to me. ¡°Floette!¡± She then flew back into the bush they came from. It seemed the two of those fairies were fairly close together.

    I smiled seeing that. ¡°Well, at least she didn¡¯t take her defeat that bitterly.¡± I then turned to see how Evon¡¯s battle was going. ¡°Welp, how are you fairing against-... what the fuck¡­?¡±

    I saw the eevee sitting on his rear with the two floettes he had been fighting with already knocked out, one with a large number of burns on her body and the other bleeding a bit with some scratch and bite marks. The scene reminded me of how our cat would be in the exact same position when it brought dead rats and lizards to our living room. ¡°Thought you would¡¯ve taken longer than that or probably lost. Good to know you at least have some fight in you.¡±

    I blinked a bit surprised before asking. ¡°Wha¡­ when did you even finish your fight¡­?¡±

    Evon responded with a small shrug. ¡°A few seconds before you took down the first floette.¡±

    ¡°Huh? You didn¡¯t even-¡±

    Evon¡¯s tail swished around from side to side. ¡°I wanted to see how much you could fare against ferals on your own. Who knew you just needed some beatings and then you become an average battler?¡± Evon said with a smirk before looking at the bush the floette had gone through. ¡°Although¡­ didn¡¯t expect you to have mercy on one of them.¡±

    I rubbed the back of my head a bit sheepishly. ¡°Yeah so uh¡­ I¡¯m a pacifist when I can. I don¡¯t really like hurting beings unless super necessary.¡± I looked at the bush with a sheepish smile. ¡°When I just saw her struggle so helplessly in my paws, I felt bad¡­ so I just destroyed her main weapon hoping that would be enough to make her stop attacking.¡±

    Evon frowned. ¡°I¡¯m glad that your mercy endeavors worked and all¡­¡± He turned him to me. ¡°But you know that¡¯s not gonna happen every time, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I know, I know. After all, that¡¯s the thing that got me bullied in the first place. Sometimes, violence is just like Thanos and is inevitable depending on the person.¡± I said with a nonchalant shrug.

    ¡°Good, at least you understand.¡± Evon said before turning to the path ahead. ¡°Anyways, let¡¯s keep moving-¡±

    I pressed my paws between my legs. ¡°Shit, I still gotta piss!¡±

    Evon turned to me annoyed. ¡°Oh, COME ON-¡±

    <hr>

    With the energy of the battle fading away and my bladder empty, Evon and I continued on our merry way through the Mystery Dungeon.

    Oh boy, I did  not  expect the battle to go this well for me. Sure, I¡¯ve gotten hit a few times and even gotten a nasty cut on my arm. But like, even with the damage I¡¯ve taken, I still kicked those fairies¡¯ asses, hell, I even did a fucking front flip in the air to avoid those attacks, something I¡¯ve never done before! Was it this scorbunny body that made me more agile and physically able? If so¡­  I picked the right body!

    Still, I¡¯m glad that even though shit like punching and kicking aren¡¯t in my moveset it does have some sort of effect¡­ just like actual PMD where characters can just not use moves if they want! Hell yeah! Random bullshit go! It was time for me to make up a lot of crazy shit on the spot and hope to God (or Arceus, I guess) that it works!

    Growl¡­

    Evon¡¯s ears flickered and turned his head to me, stopping in place. ¡°Was that you?¡±

    I put a paw on my belly, feeling the hunger pangs in my stomach. I sheepishly smiled. ¡°Yep¡­ uh¡­ was so excited by the mission that I didn¡¯t eat breakfast¡­¡±

    The eyepatch-wearing eevee tilted his head. ¡°Did you bring anything to eat?¡±

    ¡°Yep!¡± I transformed back into my human form and got access to my backpack again. ¡°It¡¯s time for a little break cuz we¡¯re awesome and we deserve it to make it this far!¡± I took my backpack out of my shoulders and set it down.

    ¡°It has been just one battle and a couple of steps into the dungeon¡­ we haven¡¯t even gotten that far.¡± Evon argued while sitting on the grass. Before he could argue more, we could hear another rumble, this time coming from the eevee. ¡°... never mind, what did you bring?¡±

    I took out of my backpack the bread bag and set it on the ground beside the backpack. ¡°Gamers¡¯ most reliable food source!  Bread! ¡± I took out a loaf from the bag and took a bite. While munching, I spoke a bit muffled. ¡°I brought, like, ten or less, so you can eat one or two if you want.¡±

    ¡°You sure you could¡¯ve brought that many?¡± Evon said, approaching the bag before sniffing it.

    I gulped the bread piece. ¡°Basi¡¯s food stash is hella huge, and she was the one to pack this with me so no worries.¡± I sat down and sighed, taking in the small moment of rest. I sure hope no feral would come here being attracted by the smell of bread¡­ or the smell of my sweaty shirt.

    Evon took a bread piece out of the bag and put it on the ground, eating a piece of the food before speaking to me again. ¡°Are you sure we can have a break right here? You know we¡¯re wide open for any kind of attack, right?¡±

    ¡°We are, but I¡¯m sure the ferals will never expect when I hit them with the L + ratio + don¡¯t care combo.¡± I said before taking another bite from the bread. While munching, I noticed Evon¡¯s confused and unamused expression, so I responded while muffled. ¡°It means that I don¡¯t care if they come to us, we¡¯re gonna deal with them either way.¡±

    ¡°You sound so confident, yet you got hit a lot during that fight.¡± Evon pointed at my arm, highlighting my biggest wound from that battle. ¡°What if you get hurt even more than just a simple cut?¡±

    ¡°Eh, we get hurt, we heal, life goes on.¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°I don¡¯t focus too much on small things like cuts and whatnot. I¡¯ve gotten hurt with much worse stuff than that after all.¡± I smirked at the eevee. ¡°Ever stubbed your toe on the table leg or stepped on a Lego?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ what?¡±

    ¡°Nothing, hehe.¡± I fiddled with the bread in my hands. ¡°All I¡¯m saying is that despite the life or death situation we are in these places¡­ I just feel¡­ more powerful than ever before. After all, you know how humans are weak as hell, right?¡± I smiled. ¡°By getting this power, I just feel like I can recover faster from any wounds, no matter how deadly they are.¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t this thought process that got you heavily injured and sent to the clinic when we fought those Dark Rebellion guys?¡± Evon asked, his ears flattening against his head.

    ¡°It¡¯s not the same mindset as before!¡± I argued a bit defensively. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna recklessly charge into battles thinking I¡¯m gonna win them all, I learned my lesson!¡± I sighed before biting into the bread. After gulping the piece, I added more to my claim. ¡°It¡¯s like¡­ a confidence boost of sorts. You know what I mean, right?¡±

    Evon just stared ahead silently for a moment. I tilted my head for a moment, but he shook his head before sighing. ¡°Well, I can get why.¡± He glanced back at me. ¡°But please, don¡¯t get ourselves into more trouble than we can handle. Impulsive behavior like this can get you killed sometimes.¡±

    I tried not to think about a certain event caused by my impulsiveness back in the human world. ¡°Yeah, I know¡­¡± I took the final bite of the bread before grabbing another one from the bag and getting up. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll eat this piece while we¡¯re on the way. We wasted a bit of time here, gotta get on the move before-¡±

    ¡°Woop?¡±

    Evon and I turned to the direction of the voice to find a Pok¨¦mon waddling towards us. My memer ass immediately recognized the Pok¨¦mon once I took in their armless blue and slimy body, their two purple branching gills attached to their round head, and that smile¡­ and that damn derpy smile on his face¡­

    It was a damn  wooper.

    Evon got in a defensive battle stance, but before he could do anything, I gasped in excitement. ¡°Wo-wo¡­ WOOPAH!!!¡± I said a little bit  too eagerly before crouching down and trying to approach the blue axolotl Pok¨¦mon gently and quietly.

    Evon looked at me a bit confused, growing a bit annoyed, judging by his tail¡¯s movements and face. ¡°Lucas, this is NOT the time for one of your idiotic human antics¡­!¡±

    I glanced at the eevee, ignoring the hiss in his voice. ¡°Calm down, this ain¡¯t gonna be like that sprigatito again, I know what I¡¯m doing!¡± I argued before crawling closer to the wooper, gripping the bread harder in my hand. ¡°Hey lil¡¯ guy, lil¡¯ dude, lil¡¯ pal!¡± I said before smiling at the axolotl, its derpy smile greeting me back. ¡°Wanna see a funny magic trick?¡±

    The wooper tilted its head, its smile turning into a pog of curiosity. ¡°Woo¡­?¡±

    ¡°Watch this!¡± Pink light overtook my vision and I started transforming once again. I felt my arms just retract further than they ever could, my legs becoming nonexistent with only my feet remaining. The side of my head grew some strange protrusions as it became a bit more round. Once the transformation finished, I was nothing more than a silly lil¡¯  wooper!  ¡°Woo!¡±

    The true wooper was a bit surprised by this, however, it happily started bouncing in place. ¡°Woo, woo, woopah!¡±

    ¡°Woopah!¡± I responded before kicking the bread towards the other axolotl with my feet. Also, perfect time to mention; that  having no arms felt wrong.  Like, it probably was a different feeling from a crippled human, but like, I just felt like there was a muscle hidden somewhere in my torso but I didn¡¯t know  where.

    I tried to ignore the feeling just for the bit where there was no need to hurt the wooper. Hopefully, it took the trade offer.

    I felt a paw touch my tail, making me turn around to face Evon who looked suspicious of me. ¡°What are you even doing¡­? You didn¡¯t turn into a feral¡­ right?¡±

    I looked back at the wooper, seeing it take the bread with its mouth and walk away. Once I was in the clear, I turned back to the eevee and whispered. ¡°It was just my strat to pretend that I was like them and give them something to leave us alone with no need for battle.¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ why do that when we could¡¯ve¡­ ah, right, pacifist.¡± Evon said before sitting on the ground.

    I nodded. ¡°Exactly, and not only that¡­ wooper is considered¡­ let¡¯s say, sacred in my world. You wouldn¡¯t understand, but I do and I mustn''t disrespect my kind by hurting such perfection in Pok¨¦mon form!¡± I said while imagining I was saluting. Oh, was it hard staying in the body of such a perfect lifeform¡­

    Evon just stared at me a bit confused before sighing and walking by me. ¡°Let¡¯s just move on¡­¡±

    <hr>

    Back into human form and with my stomach filled to the brim, we continued walking through the dungeon. We tried to avoid many confrontations with the wildlife to save up the energy in case the situation went dire. Our Metal Gear Solid sneaking skills went really well things considered, the Pok¨¦mon in the Mystery Dungeon.

    Marsh Meadows lived up to its name since this dungeon was filled with flower-connected Pok¨¦mon and water Pok¨¦mon because of the ponds. Wooper, comfey, flab¨¦b¨¦ and floette, sunflora, and even some ducklett. There were a lot of species variety here. If you were a fire-type Pok¨¦mon coming into this dungeon thinking it¡¯ll be easy GGs by the abundance of fairy types and grass types¡­ the water types were here to counter you.

    Luckily, none of those Pok¨¦mon noticed us while we were sneaking by them. However, some noticed us but didn¡¯t bother once Evon growled at them, making the lil¡¯ critters scurry away from fear.

    After making some marills run away by baring his fangs, Evon looked at me with a slightly annoyed frown. ¡°Why are you still in human form? That musky shirt is attracting unwanted attention¡­¡±

    ¡°Ah, shit, right, forgot!¡± I said in a low voice before humming. ¡°Hm¡­ any idea what Pok¨¦mon I should become?¡±

    Evon¡¯s tail and ears lowered. ¡°How should I know? You said to me that you could only turn into some first-stage-evolution Pok¨¦mon, but you know, a deity could make this dungeon a breeze¡­¡±

    ¡°And getting my ass controlled by the deity¡¯s instincts and getting turned into a feral god? Yep, no chance.¡± I said while crossing my arms.

    ¡°Wait, that¡¯s what happens if you transform into a more powerful Pok¨¦mon?¡± Evon asked while tilting his head, receiving a nod from me in return as he hummed in thought. ¡°So that¡¯s why you acted so differently while you were in Suicune¡¯s form¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m still confused about that, but still¡­ I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s why I don¡¯t remember any of it.¡± I crossed my arms, trying to think back on that whole fiasco with Valtrus. My memories from then were pretty foggy, probably because of the high amount of adrenaline and the pain coursing through my body at the time.  ¡°Hm¡­ speaking of suicune, I do need to try transforming into another quadruped Pok¨¦mon since they¡¯re agile most of the time.¡±

    While I was brainstorming for the exact Pok¨¦mon, Evon asked. ¡°Any you got in mind to deal with fairy and grass types?¡±

    ¡°Hm¡­ oh! I so got it!¡± I exclaimed before transforming slowly, the pink light filling my vision again. Like the poochyena transformation, I felt my stance slowly changing; I used four limbs instead of two to stand up. Once the pink light faded away, I found myself staring at orange fur with black streaks in my forelegs and a cream-colored mane coming from my chin. I had turned into a growlithe.

    When I fully transformed, the scents around the area became more powerful, even the unpleasant ones¡­ it¡¯s like I had a third eye just for smell.

    Evon¡¯s ears perked up. ¡°Growlithe, eh? Not bad of a choice.¡±

    I wagged my tail subconsciously. ¡°Yeah, and if we run into some water types, you cover that for me, alright?¡±

    Evon nodded and we continued on our path.

    Honestly, walking as a quadruped felt weird at first, I sometimes almost stumbled and fell on my face while trying to not get my feet tangled up. However, after some steps, I managed to get the hang of it, it just felt like extra steps when I crawled on all fours for the funsies trying to mimic my cat. Now all I needed to figure out how to turn around and to run, the latter being the hardest part from what I saw how animals did it.

    Eh, I¡¯d cross that bridge when it came to it¡­ Oh, wait, nice, the wound on one of my forelegs was already closing!

    Eventually, we reached a peculiar area¡­ at least, out of the ordinary for the dungeon as a whole. It looked like the dungeon left its theming aside and focused on one of its themes: the flowers. The area was littered with flowers of all shapes and sizes, some even were tremendously big, like the size of a couch or something.

    Wait, some are sunfloras¡­ and they noticed us.

    There were two of the flower Pok¨¦mon that saw us sneaking around, but unfortunately, the clap of my ass cheeks alerted them and now they were heading over to our direction to probably defend their territory. ¡°They were bound to engage us eventually¡­¡± Evon said before getting in an attacking stance.

    I let out a small breath of flame to the side before baring a toothy grin to the two sentient sunflowers. ¡°Let¡¯s show these plants that we don¡¯t mess around!¡± Then, the idea of Team Infinity¡¯s catchphrase being used sounded cool in my head, so¡­ ¡°To infinity¡­ and beyond!¡±

    I said before my body started to run towards one of the sunflora subconsciously, a rush of excited adrenaline flowing through my body. I felt my chest fire up as energy built inside, slowly traveling to my throat. I then released the energy in the form of a fire breath, the flames traveling to meet one of the sunflower Pok¨¦mon. It didn¡¯t manage to dodge it in time, getting its leaves and petals burned in the process.

    As the plant staggered back from the fire, its partner opened their mouth and suddenly globs of light started leaving my body and getting sucked directly into the sunflora¡¯s mouth. I suddenly felt a bit lightheaded as more of those light balls came out of my body. However, before I could do anything about that, a Shadow Ball hit the sunflora in the torso, sending it flying backwards. I looked behind to see Evon readying another one. ¡°What are you doing? Keep fighting!¡±

    ¡°No need to tell me twice!¡± I looked back at the sunflora seeing vines come out of its legs and root into the ground. My imagination went wild, already thinking about the anime vines'' bullshit that this thing was about to do. ¡°Nuh-uh, you don¡¯t!¡±

    I ran towards it and, out of instinct, instead of firing a fireball, I decided to literally  bite it . I opened my mouth wide and clamped my teeth down into the leafy skin of the sunflora, feeling the heat pass from my teeth towards it as I felt the taste of the sunflower. It screeched in agony as my body moved on its own, my head shaking as I tried tearing its stem-like body apart from it.

    ¡­ wait, what the fuck was I doing?

    I spat the sunflora, backing away from it as it unrooted from the ground, and promptly fell unconscious on the ground. I stared at its bite wound in horror, realizing what I had just done to it. It had an ugly gash that bled some greenish fluids onto the ground, scorch marks accompanying it¡­

    I¡­ I was about to kill it¡­

    ¡®That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s not what I-¡¯

    My thoughts were interrupted when suddenly a Razor Leaf passed by my body, cutting through my side a bit and cleaving through my fur. I groaned in pain before I heard Evon¡¯s shout. ¡°Lucas, don¡¯t just stand there!¡± He passed by me, glowing in a glistening white light that surrounded his body. ¡°Focus!¡±

    The eevee tackled the sunflora who was hit with the Shadow Ball previously, the force of impact sending the sunflower Pok¨¦mon towards a tree. However, as it slumped back to the ground, it quickly got back up, a green glow beginning to grow on the sunflower Pok¨¦mon¡¯s face. It was charging up for something  big .

    I shook my head and focused back on the battle, trying to shove those bad thoughts away.  ¡®It¡¯s not your fault, they aren¡¯t animals,   I¡¯m   not an animal, that sunflora will live. ¡¯ I said to myself before turning to the charging sunflora. ¡°I need to take care of that¡­¡± I said to myself before rushing to it with flames licking at my lips. ¡°Evon, stall its charging while I try to take it out!¡±

    ¡°Already doing it!¡± I heard Evon say before a volley of small Shadow Balls flew directly at the sunflower Pok¨¦mon, impacting its head and torso and staggering it a bit backwards. Although the attack didn¡¯t stop the charge, it did delay the charge.

    More than enough for me.

    I ran torwards the sunflora and jumped, flames building up in the back of my throat. I opened my muzzle and let out a fireball torwards the wild Pok¨¦mon, engulfing it in flames. The glow around the sunflora¡¯s head was consumed by the flames, the flower screaming in agony before falling onto the ground unconscious.

    I landed on the floor, panting a bit from all the movement. I then grunted in pain, trying to clutch a forepaw at my side at the wound. For a second, I thought I saw something moving among the foliage, but I didn¡¯t mind it and judged it as just a bit of wind caused by the fire. I had a wound to prioritize for now. ¡°At least their asses are officially whooped¡­¡±

    My ears flickered when I heard Evon approaching and turned to look at him. ¡°They weren¡¯t that hard, honestly. Just a bit resilient.¡±

    ¡°You say that since you weren¡¯t hurt¡­¡± I said with a grimace.

    Evon frowned unamused. ¡°Hey, I wasn¡¯t the one who stood still for seconds after defeating an enemy while the other recovered. Besides, why did you do that?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± I gazed over the sunflora I defeated with a bite, scowling a bit in shame before looking away. ¡°Nothing, just brain fart or something.¡± I said before walking away and looking around. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s not think about that. We still need to find-¡±

    ¡°What are you guys doing!? Y-you need to hide quickly!¡±

    A meekly boyish voice was heard, making our ears flicker and look at the source of it. Mine and Evon¡¯s attention was turned to a slightly tilted tree, with its underside exposed leading to a small little burrow. It was dark inside, however, two little shining eyes could be seen staring from it. Evon and I looked at each other for a moment before approaching slowly the tree so as to not scare the obviously civilized Pok¨¦mon.

    I started with a low voice. ¡°Heeeeey, are you the little zorua that got trapped in here? Are you stuck inside the stump?¡±

    ¡°No dummy, I¡¯m hiding!¡± The voice, who was most probably the zorua, responded in a whisper. ¡°I¡¯m hiding so that scary Pok¨¦mon doesn¡¯t find me!¡±

    Evon tilted his head. ¡°Scary Pok¨¦mon? What scary Pok¨¦mon?¡±

    Suddenly, a mighty roar filled the silence of the whole area which made my heart tremble a bit from how loud it was. Evon and I turned around, trying to locate the source of the roar, but we didn¡¯t need to look further once we saw trees  literally  getting pushed to the side like they were small obstacles in their way. There were no loud footsteps, meaning that whatever the Pok¨¦mon was either had very silent footsteps, crawled, or slithered.

    ¡°T-t-that Scary P-P-Pok¨¦mon!¡± The zorua exclaimed in a whisper.

    The Pok¨¦mon finally revealed itself to be... what the fuck was even that? The Pok¨¦mon resembled a giant sunflower with sharp golden petals surrounding its head, its entire torso consisted of hardened vines that rooted themselves into the ground, it had no legs but it had two arms of tangled and intertwined long and thick vines that ended in a four-fingered clawed hand. Its face resembled a sunflora¡¯s however, its lips were shaped like sharp teeth that covered the entrance of its mouth.

    ¡°What the  fuck  is that thing!?¡± I asked while taking slow steps back from fear. Despite the giant monster flower¡¯s resemblance to sunflora¡­ it reminded me a bit of that Cuphead flower boss final phase.

    Evon stood in place as he spoke a bit in fear. ¡°That¡¯s sunflora¡¯s final evolution¡­  sunbloom .¡± He gritted his teeth as he took a small step back. ¡°What is it doing here? I thought that this was a bronze-rank dungeon!¡±

    ¡°How should I know!? Recent change or something-!?¡±

    The sunbloom roared once again before smashing its vine arms on the ground, causing bigger and sharper vines to erupt and travel towards us. ¡°Dodge!¡±

    With Evon¡¯s shout, I jumped out of the way of the vines along with the eevee, the vines puncturing the ground where we stood. ¡°Geez!¡± I said as I looked at the damage. I then glanced back at the giant sunflower Pok¨¦mon again who growled at us. ¡°This guy might look like a tough guy, but I know how this goes with these types of bozos! The bigger they are, the slower they move!¡± I then started dashing towards the Pok¨¦mon, flames licking at my teeth as I rapidly approached the sunbloom. ¡°And the bigger they are, the bigger the fall!¡±

    I shot a jet of flames at the big wild Pok¨¦mon, aiming at its head. However, they blocked the fire with a viny arm, only leaving a black burnt spot on it. It didn¡¯t shout in pain or anything, it didn¡¯t even flinch. My eyes went wide before I got swatted away by the same arm that blocked my attack, sending me flying backwards and making me skid across the ground in pain. I heard Evon shout. ¡°Lucas!¡±

    ¡°Ow¡­¡± I muttered before slowly attempting to get up on trembling legs. ¡°Bro actually got hands¡­¡±

    ¡°Try not to get too close!¡± Evon said before charging a Shadow Ball in front of his mouth and launching it directly into the sunbloom face. Even though the hit connected with a small explosion coating the Pok¨¦mon¡¯s head, the sunbloom showed itself to be almost unbothered by the hit, only getting angrier. ¡°Shit¡­¡±

    ¡°Uh, Evon, why our attacks aren¡¯t doing anything to it¡­?¡± I asked, a bit terrified that this would be an unwinnable battle¡­ at least we can  hit it.

    The eevee gritted his teeth. ¡°It¡¯s tough, but there must be some kind of weak point we need to take advantage of¡­¡±

    I analyzed the sunbloom a bit more, trying to find any discernable weak points we could exploit. I frowned once I couldn¡¯t identify anything that we could hit specifically. ¡°Uh¡­ what if there¡¯s none¡­?¡±

    ¡°Then we keep attacking until we  make  one.¡± Evon said as his face turned full-on predatorial. He coated his body in a white aura, disappearing in a blur as he dashed straight towards the sunflower Pok¨¦mon. Before I could call him out on his hypocritical action of not approaching the Pok¨¦mon, he was already in front of it, jumping from its torso to its arms to its head in less than a second. The eevee then bit down on one of the Pokemon¡¯s petals, trying to tear it away from its head.

    I realized that was my sign to move in as well. I dashed in towards the sunbloom, shooting another thin pillar of fire from my mouth on its torso. However, as it got hit, the sunbloom roared again and released a blast of the shockwave of pure darkness that came out of the Pok¨¦mon, blasting the eevee off its face and launching me away from it as well.

    We tumbled to the ground, burns and aches flaring throughout my whole body, even my tail felt a little sore. ¡°Ngh¡­ motherfucker¡­¡± I said as I looked back at the flower monster. It grunted loudly before shoving its arms into the soil below, looking at us with an intense stare. ¡°Ugh, what is it doing now¡­?¡±

    ¡°Whatever the case, be careful¡­¡± Evon muttered as he got up.

    The earth shook as a giant vine erected from the ground, the giant appendage being 7 or 8 feet tall. The vine started glowing lime green, getting coated in some kind of energy of sorts that slowly shaped itself¡­

    Into a giant ass blade.

    ¡®Shit, is that-¡¯  I interrupted my thought as I saw the blade rising in the air before starting to take a horizontal sweep of the area. ¡°DUCK!¡± I screamed before I crouched rapidly, accidentally hitting my snout on the floor and hoping that the eevee managed to duck in time. I saw the glowing blade cut trees behind us, leaving huge gashes on them while some of them fell. ¡°Holy fuck¡­!¡±

    I heard Evon¡¯s voice calling out. ¡°It¡¯s striking again!¡±

    I looked at the blade vine again, seeing it getting raised this time getting ready to sunder us vertically. I rolled out of the way, not bothering this time seeing the damage that the Solar Blade had caused once it came down. I went to the base of the vine, feeling flames coat my teeth as I opened my mouth wide. Once I got close to it, I bit down the fine that erupted from the ground, clamping my teeth with as much force as I could around the thick vine.

    ¡°Lucas!¡± I heard Evon shout as the sunbloom let out a guttural shout, the Solar Blade dissipating as its vine flailed around wildly, thrashing aimlessly as it tried to make me get rid of it. Still, for some reason, my body just wanted to keep biting until it submitted  so I could rip out its-

    Not again!

    I let the pressure around the sunbloom¡¯s vine loosen up a little, but that was all that it took for it to forcibly pull its vine back underground, even though I had accidentally ripped some of its leafy skin from it. I spat most of the vine pieces off my mouth as Evon approached me. ¡°T-that was risky¡­!¡±

    I glanced at him for a moment before looking back at the sunflower Pok¨¦mon. ¡°I know, but still, we needed to get out of that situation. And hey, it can get hurt with enough brute force.¡±

    The sunbloom roared into the sky once again, not removing its arms from the ground even though its giant vine was retracted. Instead, it hunched its back and stared at us as its face began glowing the same lime green as its Solar Blade. It then clicked with me, that the attack the sunflora was attempting to do at that time was Solar Beam¡­

    Haha, I¡¯m in danger!

    ¡°Fuck, it¡¯s charging!¡± I said as a sense of dread took over my heart. ¡°We gotta do something, or else¡­¡±

    ¡°No need to even say it!¡± Evon shouted before shooting out a charged Shadow Ball directly at the charging sunbloom, the impact doing little to delay its charge. The eevee then glanced at me. ¡°Come on, help me!¡±

    ¡°Got it!¡± I said before starting to blast the sunflower Pok¨¦mon with my own fire projectiles as well. Fire and shadows combined to pelt the sunbloom to stop its charge as much as possible. However, despite a bit of delay in the charge, it wasn¡¯t stopping, despite us sending out the strongest projectiles we could muster.

    The charge got to a point where the wild Pok¨¦mon¡¯s limbs were trembling and the glow became blinding enough to cover its entire head along with its petals.  It was about to let loose.

    I stopped attacking and screamed at Evon. ¡°Evon, we need to fucking  run !¡±

    Evon threw out his last Shadow Ball and took a step back while growling. ¡°If that wasn¡¯t obvious enough-¡±

    The glow suddenly vanished from the sunbloom¡¯s head and I had an instant reaction by pouncing at Evon and making us both roll out of the way of a giant lime-green laser beam that came from the sunbloom¡¯s face. The beam was aimed at the spot where Evon was standing, and even though we managed to dodge out of the way of the attack, my tail didn¡¯t.

    It was numb at first but when we stopped the rolling and I lay beside Evon, pain surged through me as tears swelled up in my eyes from the pain. I groaned from the pain and looked back and saw the laser beam still active as the sunflower Pok¨¦mon aimed its laser at the sky, the beam finally dissipating as it tore through a few clouds. But never mind the spectacle of that,  my fucking tail was in so much pain right now!

    ¡°Ghn¡­ gah!¡± I groaned as I went to look at the damage on my tail. The fluffy tail that stood there was completely replaced by a burnt and bleeding mess of flesh and fur molten together. Imagine the pain that would emerge from this if I wasn¡¯t a fire type¡­ ¡°Goddamn, not very effective and it still hurts like a bitch¡­ ngh, fuck me¡­!¡±

    Evon noticed my pain and crawled up to me. ¡°Lucas¡­ are you alright? Can you still fight¡­?¡±

    I slowly but surely, despite the aches in my body, rose on trembling feet, doing my best to push through the pain that covered my body. I looked back at the sunbloom, seeing it remove its arms from the ground and limp a bit. It seemed that Solar Beam took a bit out of it. ¡°I can¡­ we need to attack it now¡­ while it recovers!¡±

    Evon nodded, a white glow covering his body. ¡°Right!¡± The eevee said before dashing torwards the sunflower Pok¨¦mon in a flash. I followed him, preparing a fire attack while ignoring the burns and aches that my tail provoked. While Evon tried to tackle the sunbloom from a lot of angles at fast speeds, I tried pelting it with more fire projectiles, however, that didn¡¯t seem to be as effective. I suddenly wondered if this guy was even a grass type or not.

    The sunbloom roared once again as the light surrounding Evon¡¯s body vanished. The sunflower Pok¨¦mon then snatched the fox on its claw, restraining him from any movement. ¡°Evon!¡± I shouted, feeling a bit more invigorated than before. I shot more fireballs at the sunbloom, however, it protected itself with its other free arm. ¡°Let him go you knockoff of a-¡±

    Before I could finish the sentence, the sunbloom slammed its free arm on the ground while Evon attempted to bite its other claw. I suddenly felt the earth shake around me, but before I could do anything about it, vines erupted from the ground and surrounded me. I growled at them but before I could burn them to ashes, they wrapped themselves around me and constricted my torso, pinning me to the ground.

    ¡°Ngh, you bitch!¡± I shouted before I tried my best to shoot flames at the vines and tear them with my teeth, however, my struggles were in vain as they kept me stuck on the ground. ¡°Dammit¡­!¡±

    Meanwhile, Evon was still attempting to free from the sunbloom¡¯s grasp, bitting into its fingers as best as he could. ¡°Release me!¡± Evon shouted and attempted to charge a Shadow Ball to shoot at the Pok¨¦mon¡¯s face. However, the sunbloom stopped the charge by slamming the eevee into the ground, forcing him to eat dirt again, again, and again.

    I screamed. ¡°Evon!¡±  ¡®I need to do something, anything to get us out of this stupid mess! What can I do? I can¡¯t just transform into a more powerful form or-¡¯ It then dawned on me¡­ that was something I could do at a large cost. But this may¡¯ve been the thing needed to get us out of that mess. ¡°You know what? Fuck it, we ball!¡±

    I started thinking of a stronger fire type, something that wouldn¡¯t just immediately turn me into a feral right away. It was probably best if I stuck to something like a mid-evo that wouldn¡¯t immediately turn into a feral. I should¡¯ve tested the waters, but this is my best shot to win.

    My head then locked in on my preferred form.

    ¡°NOW!¡± I shouted before I opened my eyes wide and started transforming again. The pink sparkly light covered my vision as I felt the changes occur in my body. My tail slowly disappeared, the pain transferring to my back a little, my arms and legs changed structure a little and my head reformed with my ears changing shape a bit. Once the transformation was over, the pink disappeared, letting me see the area again. My eyes locked onto the sunbloom who was trying to crush Evon by slamming him on the ground repeatedly.

    ¡°Let¡­ him¡­  GO! ¡± I roared as I felt fire erupt out of my back and the top of my head, the heat making the vines loosen as they got burnt to ashes by my fire quills. I swatted the rest away, freeing myself from their hold. I stood up on two legs as the sunflower Pok¨¦mon stopped slamming Evon to look at my quilava body. It released Evon and growled at me as it took note of the new potential threat to it and its territory.

    Evon struggled to get up, but even so, he only managed to lift up its head. ¡°Lucas¡­?¡±

    In my new form, I felt powered, mostly reinvigorated to fight the sunflower menace in front of me. ¡°Heal up, Evon¡­¡± I got into a stance, clenching my paws as I bawled them into fists. ¡°I¡¯ll distract it!¡±

    The sunbloom roared and slithered up to me, reaching out to grab me. I sidestepped out of the way and shot a stronger burst of flame to the sunbloom¡¯s face, the impact of the attack making it flinch this time, but not enough to stagger it. As it growled to me, I went back to four paws and ran around it to see if it could keep up with its slower body.

    The sunflower Pok¨¦mon then shoved one of its arms into the ground, making another giant vine appear. The appendage apparently tracked my movements even though the sunbloom didn¡¯t even look at me.  ¡®So it can sense me through the vine. Gotta take care of that then!¡¯

    The vine had enough of tracking me and went for the attack, trying to pierce me with its pointy tip. Fortunately, I dodged its strikes and jabs, noticing I was anticipating strikes much faster than before. When it jabbed one last time, I jumped back and my brain thought of something wild to do with my fire quills.  ¡®Quilava learns Flame Wheel, so does that mean¡­ oh my god¡­¡¯

    The vine was extending itself to strike me once again, however, I did what instinct told me and curled into a ball, with my quills still active. I didn¡¯t know why I did it or  how I did it but my body started spinning in place, gaining friction as I built up innate acceleration. Interestingly enough, I didn¡¯t feel like throwing up just like a certain hedgehog. ¡°Take this! Flaming Spindash!¡±

    I then rolled into the base of the vine, rolling through it as if it were nothing but a wall of feathers. I stopped on the base of something hard, uncurling myself and backing away from it just as I heard the roar of the sunbloom as I looked at the damage I caused. The Pok¨¦mon¡¯s side now had a black spot that was burning a bit.

    It unearthed its arm and looked at me with an angry face, it looked like it was ready to pounce on me. I steeled my stance to whatever it was about to throw at me, however, a Shadow Ball impacted its face, making it stagger a bit like last time. It looked at the source of the move with a snarl, seeing Evon standing in a battle position and with his wounds all healed. ¡°Should¡¯ve killed me while you could!¡±

    ¡°Evon, you¡¯ve fully recovered already!?¡± I asked in relief and excitement, feeling my quills spark even harder as I grinned.

    ¡°Why you¡¯re so surprised? Nothing like an oran berry can¡¯t fix-¡±

    Evon was interrupted when the sunbloom roared into the air again before  leaping  into the air, covering the sun with its large body for a second before crashing down again away from us. It shoved its arms on the ground and hunched, the green glow from before started covering its face again. It was charging another Solar Beam. ¡°Aw hell naw, not this time!¡± I turned to Evon. ¡°Let¡¯s stop it together! It¡¯s getting weaker, we need to use this to our advantage before it releases that beam!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Evon said before we both looked back at the charging sunbloom, the eevee¡¯s body getting coated in a white aura. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    In a flash, Evon dashed towards the sunflower Pok¨¦mon, clawing at it at high speeds to delay the charge as best as he could. It seemed to be having some effect since the big guy was trying to avoid some of Evon¡¯s attacks, and flinching a bit whenever it got hit.

    I dropped onto four legs again and started running towards the sunbloom, pelting its face with a barrage of fireballs at its glowing face, trying to delay the charge as much as possible. While I took a small breath to recharge my flames, Evon stopped clawing at random parts of the sunflower Pok¨¦mon¡¯s body and went directly for the head. He opened his mouth and bit one of its petals again, delaying the charge even more as the big feral screeched in pain.

    I stopped in front of the sunflower Pok¨¦mon, its glowing face staring right at me as I went back to two legs. ¡°Evon, move!¡± Evon did as I requested, releasing the bitten petal off the Pok¨¦mon and leaving plenty of room for me to go crazy.

    I bent my knees and jumped high in the air, having a clear target in my sight before I started descending. I curled up into a ball again and started spinning in place, getting faster and faster without getting dizzy. I felt the heat of the flames surrounding me as I descended down on the enemy. ¡°Eat this Dropdash, bitch!¡±

    The wheel of fire connected as I felt my body impact the head of the sunflower, feeling my quills tear a bit of its flowery flesh from the sunbloom as I kept spinning rapidly. The glowing sun''s energy shielded its face a bit as it charged, but I pushed through it, trying to cause as much damage as possible. Once I felt the speed decrease, I jumped away, landing on the ground and skidding to a stop.

    The sunbloom looked up and released the beam that it could manage to charge into the sky before unrooting its arms. It roared a bit before its arms fell limp, followed by the rest of its body. After what seemed like forever¡­ the big sunbloom was out unconscious.

    Evon and I just stared at the big unconscious flower that lay on the ground unmoving as we panted from exhaustion and a bit of fatigue. We stayed like that for a small moment, the silence coating the area we were in, giving it an eerie vibe.

    ¡°... heh¡­ hehehe¡­ hehehehahaha¡­¡± I started laughing a bit, panting between the laughter. ¡°Hahahahahahahaha!!!¡± I scooped the eevee in a hug as I felt my fire quills retract into my body. ¡°We did it, Evon! We beat that damn monster, hahahahahahaha!¡±

    ¡°We did it¡­ we really did it¡­¡± Evon muttered under his pants, ignoring the fact he was being hugged. ¡°We defeated a sunbloom all by ourselves¡­¡±

    ¡°Yeah, dude! We fucking did it!¡± I beamed in excitement, hugging the fluffball that Evon tighter! ¡°Woohoo!¡± I released the eevee and looked back at the downed sunbloom, pointing at it. ¡°That¡¯s right,  bitch! That¡¯s what you get for messing with Team-Fucking-Finity right here! Hahaha¡­ hah¡­¡± I then collapsed on my back, my arms and legs wide open. ¡°I¡±m so damn tired¡­¡±

    Evon sighed loudly as he looked at me, a tired expression present on his face. ¡°You don¡¯t say¡­¡± He then fished in his bag again before pulling out an oran berry and placing it next to me. ¡°You¡¯ve endured a lot of hits, eat this.¡±

    I glanced at the berry lying at my side and stared at it for a moment, considering if I had stomach remaining to eat or not. After some seconds, I grabbed the oran berry with a paw and bit down on it, tearing the berry¡¯s flesh easily with my sharp teeth. After I finished eating the food, I felt the extreme pain and injuries that I suffered in the dungeon patch up very quickly, like someone turned regeneration hacks on my body. I immediately felt more invigorated, however, I still felt a bit sore. I looked back at Evon after sitting up. ¡°Thank you, dude.¡±

    ¡°Anytime.¡± Evon replied with a nod.

    ¡°D-did¡­ did the scary Pok¨¦mon go away¡­?¡±

    Evon and I looked back to the tree where the zorua kid was currently hiding under, seeing him poke his white-furred head out of the hiding spot. He then noticed the downed sunbloom behind us, his yellow-irised eyes widening. ¡°It¡¯s-... it¡¯s asleep?¡±

    I got up. ¡°No dude, we beat the shi-¡± I interrupted myself as I remembered who I was talking to. ¡°I mean, we defeated it, now you¡¯re safe!¡±

    Evon nodded, walking towards the little fox. ¡°Yes, no need to hide anymore. We¡¯re taking you back to the guild so you can meet up with one of your parents, alright?¡±

    The little zorua nodded with a little (and fucking adorable) yip. ¡°Got it!¡± He then tilted his head as he looked at me again, analyzing my body. ¡°Uh¡­ I thought I saw a growlithe with Mr. Eevee.¡±

    Oh yeah, forgot that turning into other Pok¨¦mon is not a normal thing here. ¡°Lil¡¯ kid, you won¡¯t believe what happened to Mr. Growlithe.¡± I grinned as I leaned closer to the wispy white fox. ¡°Let me tell you all about when we go back to our guild!¡± However, I realized something that made me groan tiredly and my body went limp. ¡°Ugh, man, we¡¯re gonna have to walk all the way back to Cavestone¡­¡±

    ¡°Not exactly.¡± Evon said as he turned back to me. He pointed at the badge in his eyepatch. ¡°Remember these badges? These things have an emergency button that teleports us back into the guild whenever we¡¯re in deep trouble. But they also work as a method of transportation whenever we finish a mission.¡±

    I immediately perked up. ¡°Thank GOD for that. I didn¡¯t wanna travel all the way back after all this shi- I mean, stuff we had to deal with.¡±

    The eevee sighed and said. ¡°Just hold on to me and we¡¯ll go back together, alright?¡± I nodded as I went to touch Evon¡¯s back, the zorua repeating my action and touching Evon¡¯s leg. ¡°Is everyone ready?¡±

    ¡°Mhm.¡±

    ¡°Gucci to go.¡±

    Evon nodded and pressed a paw on his badge, focusing on the pupil of the badge. In a flash, a beam of light overcame us and in an instant, we were out of the dungeon.

 A Moment to Unwind

    We felt our feet touch the ground as the light around us disappeared. I opened my eyes and looked around, and just as expected, we were back at the guild¡¯s entrance, safe and sound.

    I sighed, feeling the rush of thrill and adrenaline fading from teleportation leaving my body. I forgot about this feeling whenever I used the Heavenly Fallback Nexus command of the badge, I may not feel the dizziness anymore whenever I use it since I used it a lot when I was still in the team with Alsia, but for first-time users¡­

    I turned my head to Lucas, seeing him stumble to the ground after trying to take a step forward. He looked like a ¡®mon who has low alcohol tolerance and tried a single bottle of champagne from the way he walked. The zorua boy wasn¡¯t faring that much better either. I supposed I could wait for them to recover from the teleportation.

    ¡°Bro, what the hell boy¡­ why do I feel like I¡¯m in a fucking Lankybox video¡­¡± Lucas managed to stutter out, rubbing his eyelids with a paw. I didn¡¯t know what in Giratina¡¯s name was Lankybox or a video, but I assume that both words combined must¡¯ve meant an acid trip. ¡°Geez, my brain feels like it wants to come out of my damn skull¡­¡±

    I responded to him while motioning with a paw towards my badge. ¡°That¡¯s what happens whenever we use the teleport button. Don¡¯t worry, you will get used to it over time.¡±

    The zorua spoke next, trying to balance himself on his feet. At least he didn¡¯t hear the fire quill Pok¨¦mon¡¯s curse. ¡°Ugh¡­ my head¡­ I can¡¯t even puke but it feels like my body wants to¡­¡±

    ¡°But I can, might as well bend over and just-¡±

    I interrupted the quilava, placing a paw in his mouth. ¡° Don¡¯t ! Find another place to do that. Not in the place where every explorer of this guild lands whenever they use the fallback.¡±

    Lucas took my paw off his mouth, the top of his head sparking a bit. ¡°Chillax dude, I was joking!¡± He sighed and lay himself on the ground, stretching his body as he groaned. ¡°What I really want is to lie down and just rest¡­ preferably for centuries. I¡¯m so beat¡­¡±

    ¡°You know the mission is not done yet, right? We still need to take the kid back home.¡± I reminded the quilava, earning another groan from him. Actually, about the zorua, that reminded me of what I wanted to ask him in the dungeon but couldn¡¯t because of Lucas¡¯ whining. I turned to the half-dead Pok¨¦mon and asked. ¡°Actually, I forgot to ask. What were you doing in that dungeon? Marsh Meadows is peaceful, but you saw what was there, right?¡±

    ¡°I know that!¡± He responded a bit nervously, looking aside afterwards with a frown. ¡°But still¡­ that scary Pok¨¦mon wasn¡¯t always there¡­¡±

    I tilted my head as my tail raised in curiosity and confusion. ¡°Hm? What do you mean? Have you been to that dungeon before?¡±

    The wispy zorua nodded as he kept his tail between his legs. ¡°Yeah¡­ my momma owns a flower shop near the village. Sometimes she asks me to pick up flowers from the Mystery Dungeon since she knows it¡¯s peaceful there. I¡¯ve been there lots and lots¡­ but¡­ it all changed when I went there today.¡±

    Lucas sat up and crossed his small arms. ¡°I take it that sunbloom isn¡¯t a local resident of the household dungeon, right?¡±

    The zorua shook his head. ¡°No, and neither the other sunflower Pok¨¦mon¡­ I-I thought the sunflowers were pretty so I tried to take some of them back home, but then it appeared and¡­¡± He shivered, likely thinking back on the encounter with the powerful grass type. ¡°It was so scary¡­¡±

    I hummed in thought about its specifics. It¡¯s common knowledge among explorers that dungeons themselves are  alive  in a sense since they constantly shift rooms and move their feral Pok¨¦mon and items around. But¡­ making new Pok¨¦mon appear on them¡­

    He swore he had been hearing something like that for the past few days¡­ was it becoming more common now? Hm¡­ the Guildmaster might already know but it¡¯s probably best to give our witness to him.

    ¡°Heh, not so scary when they¡¯re now unconscious on the floor!¡± Lucas commented while raising a paw finger before his enthusiasm vanished when he realized something. ¡°... but we could¡¯ve been the unconscious ones instead if I didn¡¯t manage to switch forms in time¡­¡±

    The zorua tilted his head as he looked at the quilava. ¡°Switch¡­ forms?¡±

    I butted in and smiled sheepishly at the young ghost. ¡°How about my teammate explain all about it while he takes you back to your momma?¡± I turned to Lucas, still maintaining my smile. ¡°You¡¯d do that willingly, right?¡±

    Of course, the now-fire-type showed discontent. ¡°What!? Why just me? Can¡¯t you just do that instead? I¡¯m so tired dude¡­ remember who got his tail  roasted  to save our ass-¡± He gave a glance at the zorua and quickly corrected himself. ¡°I-I mean, butts? Yeah, I should be the one staying here and-¡±

    ¡°Actually, I have something important to discuss with Guildmaster Quartzo, about our little sunbloom problem. And we shouldn¡¯t let poor little zorua just pass on to the afterlife of boredom, should we? Besides¡­¡± I put a paw on the quilava¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you wanted to come back to this guild by asserting some of that¡­  heroic nature  of yours?¡±

    Lucas looked at the young zorua for a moment before sighing. He muttered something quietly to himself and grunted. ¡°Fine¡­ hope ya know there¡¯ll be payback next time, got it furball?¡±

    I ignored the nickname and smirked at the quilava. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know. Go have fun with our little client, alright? We¡¯ll meet back right here, okay? Don¡¯t forget to check up on the clinic too.¡±

    Lucas did a quiet thumbs up as he walked away, motioning the zorua kid to follow him. ¡°Come on, emo, your mommy is waiting for you.¡±

    The zorua followed, correcting him as he walked beside the shapeshifter. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s not my name.¡±

    ¡°I know dude, just a small nickname, no biggie.¡±

    Once they were out of earshot, I turned away and entered the guild. I sighed, my mind racing with lots of thoughts. The thought that had more intensity was about the fight with the sunbloom, or more specifically, a certain moment within that fight that repeated itself mentally.

    The moment when Lucas managed to save me once again.

    He didn¡¯t know how or why, but that idiot of a shapeshifter managed to pull through once again in the face of unbeatable odds. First with Valtrus and now with the sunbloom. No matter how strong the enemies were, his power just kept pulling us out of tight scenarios like it was nothing, yet, he clearly struggled even with all that power flowing through his veins. Was he lying to me about only transforming into weak Pok¨¦mon? Was there something he wasn¡¯t telling me about his abilities?

    Whatever it was, the fact that Lucas managed to transform into the right Pok¨¦mon with a lot of pressure put on him just enough to save me and still win that battle is incredible. Moments where we were destined to die, just denied on the spot like they were nothing. Something about him is special and it wasn¡¯t just his amazing powers. Just what was it? Was he chosen by Arceus to bless us or something?

    Well, whatever the case, I owed him two times now¡­ actually, make that three because of  that.

    Shrugging those thoughts aside for now, I walked to the Guildmaster¡¯s office, greeting other explorers along the way who remembered me when I was exploring with my old team. I noticed that they didn¡¯t look at me the same anymore after the incident, looking at me with pity and concern. It was to be expected of course, who wouldn¡¯t look at me like that after I literally just locked myself in my house for months and only went out to buy food and drink water?

    Thankfully, I would recover now. My new purpose is as clear as ever, and that shapeshifter would be the catalyst.

    I knocked on the door of the office, sitting on the ground as I waited for a response. My tail swayed as I kept thinking about what I was going to say to the Guildmaster. The main concern of our talk was about stronger Pok¨¦mon appearing where they aren¡¯t supposed to, and hm¡­ what else? Yeah, that should cover everything¡­ maybe I should ask for a bonus as a reward for the fight we had with the sunbloom? That could be great, I had a feeling Lucas would love it.

    The door opened and a Pok¨¦mon I wasn¡¯t expecting walked out of the room. The Pok¨¦mon in question was Xenes, the gold and silver gholdengo. I stepped aside for him to walk by me. He eyed me for a moment as I stared at him silently, not a word exchanged before he just walked away, his red cloak flourishing as he walked away.

    While watching the coin Pok¨¦mon go on his way, I was reminded of the fact that he threatened Lucas before our mission. Why? Sure, he might be a bit stupid and reckless at times but he hasn¡¯t done anything wrong to the village, right?

    ¡°Come in.¡± Quartzo¡¯s voice echoed from beyond his office.

    I entered the Guildmaster¡¯s office and walked to the milotic coiled in the middle of the room. I noticed that Kina wasn¡¯t present at the moment. Oh well, it might be for the better, she can be quite a pain sometimes¡­

    I gave a single nod to the Guildmaster and spoke. ¡°Hello, Guildmaster Quartzo.¡±

    Quartzo smiled and greeted. ¡°Hello there, Evon.¡± He hummed in thought as he stared at me. ¡°You look a bit battered, have you gone to the clinic yet?¡±

    ¡°No, I can handle it. Besides, Lucas is going there after he escorts our client back to his home. He needs it since he took more of a beating than me in our mission.¡± I started, sitting on the ground and letting my tail sweep slowly behind me.

    ¡°I see. I take it that Team Infinity took their first mission today?¡± I nodded, making the water-type serpent smile at me again. ¡°That is wonderful to know! Pray tell, how was it?¡±

    I looked aside, a frown overtaking my face. ¡°About that¡­ that¡¯s why I came here in the first place.¡± The Guildmaster¡¯s smile disappeared, a curious expression manifesting. ¡°You see, we went to Marsh Meadows, right? Known for being a bronze rank dungeon filled with low-threat feral Pok¨¦mon.¡±

    ¡°Yes, that is common knowledge around these parts.¡± He shifted his position, his tail flicking down. ¡°But is there something wrong with it?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. From what we heard from our client, he said that he used to gather flowers there. But it changed when he went there today. And when Lucas and I went there¡­ yeah, it showed.¡± I sighed and admitted. ¡°There was a sunbloom in the dungeon.¡±

    Quartzo¡¯s eyes widened for a moment before a grimace overtook his face, he must¡¯ve realized something. ¡°What happened there?¡±

    ¡°We attempted to fight it. We probably would¡¯ve lost and died¡­ if it wasn¡¯t for Lucas¡¯ power.¡± I explained, recalling our fight. ¡°We were struggling with it, we took a lot of damage, but if it wasn¡¯t for Lucas managing to transform into a stronger form that exploited its weakness, we wouldn¡¯t have survived that fight¡­¡± My ears flattened against my head, imagining the reality where we both lost to the sunbloom and we couldn¡¯t escape in time. ¡°You see the problem, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s very clear.¡± The milotic sighed and looked aside. ¡°It seems that everyone¡¯s worries are becoming true¡­ the Mystery Dungeons are evolving.¡±

    I tilted my head at the Guildmaster¡¯s claims. Mystery Dungeons¡­ evolving? How in the world is that possible? ¡°They¡¯re evolving¡­ how?¡±

    Quartzo looked back at me. ¡°You surely must¡¯ve heard what other explorers have been saying, right? They¡¯ve been dealing with more trouble in the dungeons, even in lower-rank missions where ferals are known to be less prone to engage in combat. But after the past few weeks¡­¡±

    ¡°Has the DKGA mentioned anything about this? Have they started warning Pok¨¦mon about this change if it¡¯s the entire continent being affected?¡± I asked, my ears twitching a bit.

    ¡°No, at least not that I¡¯m aware of. But I¡¯m sure someone has contacted them about the issue, it¡¯s just a matter of time to see what action they take on this matter.¡± Quartzo responded coiling a bit more. He then placed one of his eyebrow limbs on top of my head. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll know what to do in this situation, just like they did when the Amethyst City Guild was raided by the Dark Rebellion all those months ago.¡±

    I sighed, forcing a smile. ¡°I sure hope so.¡±

    ¡°Yes, meanwhile, just make sure to talk to Lucas about the matter and avoid any dangerous Pok¨¦mon in the dungeons.¡± The milotic lifted his limb from my head. ¡°Anyway, since you¡¯re already here. I¡¯ve been meaning to ask you about something that caught my attention last time you were here with Lucas.¡±

    I perked up a bit, a bit curious about the sudden question. ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°If I remember correctly¡­ Lucas said that he owed you for saving his life back on the beach¡­¡± I froze, knowing where he was headed with the question. ¡°There is only one beach close by and you know why it¡¯s dangerous. Why were you there anyway?¡±

    I began growing a bit uncomfortable, thinking back on the peak of my grief and where that took me. I sighed and looked away. ¡°Listen, I know what it might seem to you, but don¡¯t worry. Lucas¡­ he¡­ he gave me a new purpose, a new resolve. I owe him way more than he thinks I do.¡±

    The atmosphere fell silent, an uncomfortable moment between the both of us knowing the severity of the topic. Quartzo definitely knew what I went to do there, but he didn¡¯t press on it further. ¡°I¡­ I understand. I just hope that whatever your new resolve it doesn¡¯t involve-¡±

    ¡°I know. And don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m doing it for her. I¡¯m doing exactly what she would¡¯ve wanted.¡±

    Guildmaster Quartzo hummed with a frown before he spoke. ¡°Alright, I sure hope you achieve it someday.¡±

    I turned away and assured. ¡°Alright, I shall.¡± I started walking away. ¡°Until next time, Guildmaster Quartzo.¡±

    ¡°See you, Evon.¡± The milotic replied before I left the room.

    I took a deep breath, not minding the earthly damp scent that the cave held. It felt relieving being away from topics like that. It was something hard to talk about, but still, it was just another reminder to not commit the same mistakes ever again. I wouldn¡¯t submit to grief, now or never. I needed to prove to Alsia that I was strong. I needed to prove to her that I was not the same coward who let her die that day.  I needed to make Alsia¡¯s dream come true and become strong for her.

    ¡°I promise¡­¡± I started heading to the entrance. ¡°Revenge¡­¡±

    <hr>

    My legs were killing me, my back burned and, my brain bashed against my skull from how much pain I was enduring¡­ but still, I needed to prove a point to Furball AND ghosty Furball too!

    ¡°Hey¡­¡± I looked at the hisuian zorua trailing beside me as he spoke. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re alright? You look super hurt¡­¡±

    I grinned at the ghost fox, my stoic facade still not fading. After all, I needed to look good and heroic in front of the children! ¡°Heh, please, I received far worse beatings than that overgrown sunflower gave me. I can handle it just fine, besides, I heal super duper fast!¡±

    We were already out of Cavestone Village, the zorua kept quiet all the time when we were in the village. It was pretty obvious he was the shy type, being scared of crowds and mostly keeping it to himself unless alone. Of course, when we left the cave, he started speaking up a bit more.

    The zorua¡¯s eyes glittered in awe. ¡°Oooh, that¡¯s amazing!¡± His tail started wagging a bit. ¡°So, your teammate said something about body shifting¡­ and¡­ if there was a growlithe before fighting the scary Pok¨¦mon and you appeared there¡­ does that mean-¡±

    I cut him off, finishing his thought process. ¡°It¡¯s exactly what you¡¯re thinking!¡± I stopped walking, making a cool Jojo pose with my paw covering my face. ¡°Watch this!¡± I let the pink light fill my vision as I began transforming. It took a few seconds but once the glittering pink light faded away, I was back into human form, still doing the pose. I looked back at the zorua, my pendant swaying over my chest. ¡°So cool and awesome, right?¡±

    The white fox gasped, stepping back from the situation''s absurdity. ¡°Woah¡­ that¡¯s so¡­ strange but¡­ cool and awesome too!¡± He then approached me, putting a paw on my leg. His body felt cold, like a walking freezer brushing against me. I tried my best not to shiver. ¡°Does it hurt? Morphing your entire body sounds painful¡­¡±

    ¡°Honestly, when I first started doing this, during the transformation, I was in a lot of pain. But once it¡¯s done, it¡¯s like there wasn¡¯t any pain to begin with! And hey, I¡¯m not even feeling that pain anymore!¡± I explained, shoving away some details from the explanation.

    ¡°Wow! Your ability is so amazing! Could you even turn into my species too?¡± The zorua asked, his tail wagging a lot.

    ¡°Hm¡­ I dunno- just kidding, course I can!¡± I jumped away from the fox and transformed. Once the transformation finished, I dropped onto all fours and felt¡­ strange. It was a weird sensation, it felt like I was breathing but at the same time, I wasn¡¯t. I felt¡­ incomplete. Did this body¡­ belong there?

    I wasn¡¯t breathing.

    ¡°M-mister! Your body! You¡¯re¡­ you¡¯re vanishing!¡± The ghost fox spoke, clearly panicking judging from his expression.

    ¡°Va-vanishing¡­?¡±  I asked with my voice sounding ethereal. I looked down, seeing the grassy ground  through  my body. I screamed and tried pawing my body, trying to make the sensation go away.  ¡®What¡¯s going on!? What do I do!?¡¯

    ¡°You haven¡¯t hatched a ghost like me, you need to remember what makes you live on! Remember your goal!¡± The zorua explained, some strands of his fur extending themselves and probing my vanishing body. ¡°You need to do it before you get spirited away!¡±

    My¡­ my goal¡­ that¡¯s right. My goal was a simple one that I  needed  to see it through. I needed to go back home and tell my family I was okay and¡­

    Live for my mom.

    The strange sensations of my body faded away as I felt my senses return to me. I lay on the floor on my side, panting rapidly. A more rational part of me would¡¯ve known that as a ghost I didn¡¯t need to breathe, but I wasn¡¯t in the mindset to know that since I was almost  taken to the afterlife just because I didn¡¯t set my goals straight.

    The zorua kid looked at me concernedly before nuzzling my chest with his snout. ¡°Are you okay¡­? That was scary¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ll be fine, you just saved me, hehehe¡­¡± I sighed deeply, trying to forget that near-death moment. I shouldn¡¯t forget it completely, it should serve as a lesson that whenever I¡¯m in a ghost form, I need to have my goals in mind or else Jesus- or Arceus, I guess, would greet me to look at my browsing history. ¡°I can¡¯t believe ghost types live like this all the time¡­¡±

    The fox backed away. ¡°Erm¡­ not necessarily. Some ghosts, like me, don¡¯t need to think about their goals since some were hatched like this, not reincarnated. But¡­ since you weren¡¯t hatched a ghost, I guess the rule applies to you.¡±

    I slowly stood up again a grimace shaping my expression. ¡°Well, of course being a creature not bound by the rules of reality has some setbacks¡­¡±

    ¡°Was this the first time you transformed into a ghost type?¡± The zorua asked with a tilt of his head.

    ¡°Yep, I got this transformation power recently so I haven¡¯t tried everything yet. I¡¯m even blocked from transforming into stronger Pok¨¦mon-¡± It then hit me. Since I was super occupied by the thrill of the moment and the exhaustion afterwards, I didn¡¯t bother to think about it. But¡­ I had transformed into a quilava¡­ a mid-stage evolution, and I hadn¡¯t gone feral during the entire time I was in that form. Hell, I even dropped Sonic references while fighting that sunbloom. Did that mean¡­ mid-stage evolutions were unlocked for me? Hm¡­ test time later. ¡°Well, at least from what I know of.¡±

    ¡°Alright then, I sure hope you know your limits.¡±

    ¡°Eh, don¡¯t worry kid, I know what I¡¯m dealing with.¡± I resumed walking, not bothering to change forms again. I wanted to give my body a small rest after all. ¡°Anyway, we stalled for long enough, we can¡¯t keep your momma waiting, right?¡±

    ¡°R-right, follow me, we¡¯re close!¡± The zorua exclaimed a bit sheepishly.

    Once we resumed walking, the silence of the woods returned, only the sound of the occasional wind brushing against our fur breaking the silent moment. Eventually, I decided to break the silence with a question I felt that I should¡¯ve asked a bit before. ¡°So¡­ what¡¯s your name? I forgot to ask.¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Xano, nice to meet you.¡± The zorua, now named Xano, said with a soft smile.

    ¡°Call me Lucas, your local shapeshifter human at your service!¡± I said with a snarky grin.

    ¡°Okay, nice to meet you Lucas-¡± Xano interrupted himself once he saw a patch of flowers up ahead. ¡°Oh, we¡¯re here!¡±

    As the ghost fox dashed away, I trailed right after him, trying not to get left behind. As we got closer to the patch of flowers, I realized that the flowers surrounded a wooden two-floored building, vines stretching its edges as far as I could see. I wondered if Xano¡¯s mother was a grass type or not because I couldn¡¯t imagine something as menacing as a hisuian zoroark being the owner of a flower shop.

    I mean, I couldn¡¯t imagine a heatran being an overprotective grandma either so there might be another ¡®mon to shatter my expectations.

    We got to the front door of the building and the zorua knocked on it with his paws. ¡°Mom, it¡¯s me!¡± He then just literally  phased through the door like it wasn¡¯t even there . ¡°I¡¯m back!¡±

    I just blinked as Xano casually ignored a door and went through it like someone forgot to put the collision on his body or something. I would¡¯ve shivered if I could.  ¡®Dude¡­ what? Seeing this happen unlike in any sort of media but in real life is weird as shit.¡¯ I muttered to myself afterwards. ¡°Could I¡­ honestly, gotta try that when I¡¯m testing my powers later.¡±

    I was about to walk back since I successfully escorted the zorua back home, however, I stopped once I heard the door to the shop open, making me turn my head torwards it. I froze once I saw a big hisuian zoroark walk out of it with Xano curled up in their arms. They noticed me and spoke in a soft female voice. ¡°Are you¡­ are you the explorer who found my son?¡±

    I analyzed her for a moment. She looked like a normal zoroark from the Hisui variant, however, she had yellow and purple eyes and a red flower beside her ears. To be honest, she looked kinda cute-

    I flushed a bit as I thought about what I had just thought.  ¡®Did I just¡­ on a fucking zoroark of all ¡®mons??? Nope! No! Not a furry! They just look cute like a normal fox would look like, yep!¡¯  I then turned to the family and smiled a bit sheepishly. ¡°Oh, yes, I am. The name¡¯s Lucas, nice to meet you¡­ uh¡­ ma¡¯am.¡±  ¡®Also, geez, Xano told the summary of it to his mother very quickly.¡¯

    The female hisuian zoroark nodded gratefully. ¡°Thank you so much for finding my son! I was very worried he didn¡¯t show up this morning so I was starting to get worried¡­¡± Her ears flickered as she analyzed me. ¡°Also¡­ strange, I didn¡¯t think there¡¯d be more of our species around this area¡­¡±

    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s because I¡¯m not a zorua.¡± I admitted that before transforming back to my human form, I had gone from a quadrupedal to a bipedal stance. Once the transformation was done, I grinned torwards the surprised fox. ¡°I¡¯m basically a guy that can transform into other Pok¨¦mon, that¡¯s the gist of it!¡±

    The zoroark was surprised, blinking for some seconds before her son giggled and responded. ¡°Yeah, Momma! Lucas is so cool! He used his awesome powers to take out a very scary Pok¨¦mon I was hiding from!¡±

    ¡°Scary¡­ Pok¨¦mon?¡± She asked, sounding a bit confused. Seemed like Xano hadn¡¯t explained everything to her yet.

    ¡°So¡­ uh¡­ apparently your son said he went to gather flowers for you on Marsh Meadows but for some reason a Pok¨¦mon that¡¯s called a sunboom¡­ sunbloom? Something along those lines.¡± I corrected with a nonchalant shrug. ¡°Yeah, big viney sunflora evolution was lurking around that place and uh, kinda pissed not gonna lie.¡± I then smirked and put a hand on my side. ¡°But since my partner and I are so goated with the sauce, we beat it, even if I got partially roasted in the process.¡±

    The mother fox just stared at me, probably in disbelief at what she just heard. ¡°So¡­ you¡¯re telling me that you managed to defeat a sunbloom that was for some reason in Marsh Meadows¡­¡± She then pointed a claw at my chest, specifically, my badge. ¡°While also being a bronze-rank explorer?¡±

    ¡°I know it sounds like I¡¯m lying just to gain clout, but hey, your son can back it up for me. He was there to confirm.¡± I said with certainty, Xano nodding in confirmation. The ghost bipedal fox could only stare in utter silence. ¡°Listen, all I can say right now is that Marsh Meadows isn¡¯t safe for your son to pick up flowers anymore, unfortunately.¡±

    The fox hummed as she looked aside before nodding. ¡°I understand.¡± She then nuzzled Xano on the face. ¡°I¡¯m just glad that my kit is safe and wasn¡¯t hurt.¡±

    The little zorua struggled, his whispy fur moving like tendrils as they tried (and failed) to push his mother away. ¡°M-Momma! Not in front of the cool explorer¡­!¡±

    I found that interaction a bit cute, making me chuckle a bit to myself. ¡°Alrighty then, my job¡¯s done, the kid¡¯s safe, and now back to the guild I go.¡± I did a small finger salute and turned away, starting my walk. ¡°See you two sometime-¡±

    ¡°Hey, wait! What about your reward!?¡±

    I heard the zoroark shout, making me stop dead in my tracks. I slowly turned back to them, seeing the mother putting her kid on the ground. I sheepishly smiled and rubbed the back of my head. ¡°Completely forgot about that, hehe¡­¡±  ¡®Evon was gonna kill me if I didn¡¯t get that. Thank goodness she reminded me¡­¡¯  Suddenly, an idea struck me and I stroked my chin a bit. I then pulled out my phone and clicked on the camera app. ¡°By the way¡­ can I do something real quick?¡±

    Both foxes stared at me curiously.

    <hr>

    Walking back to the village was a bit more boring than before. Since I didn¡¯t have someone to make small talk to or keep me company, I relied on my phone to keep my boredom away. To conserve a bit of battery (which was still fortyish percent or something, strangely¡­), I fished my Bluetooth headphones from my bag and started listening to some music.

    During the walk, I looked back at my phone and glanced at the selfie I had taken with the fox family. The zoroark had Xano wrapped in her arms as she smiled awkwardly at the camera and Xano grinned excitedly along with me as I posed for the camera. ''Ah, another piece of evidence acquired for back home!''

    While walking through the tunnels of Cavestone, I noticed that people were looking at me with more weird stares than normal. Well, obviously enough, since I passed by them while humming my songs with a weird device covering my ears. Heh, they¡¯re probably pretty envious I have some cool stuff and they don¡¯t. Too dripped out to them (real).

    Eventually, I reached back to the guild and saw Evon lying on the floor with a frown as he looked at the map. I approached him and spoke as he noticed me. ¡°Yo, I¡¯m back, dude.¡± I said as I lowered my headphones to my neck after pausing the song. ¡°How was the super duper important meeting that forced me to walk even more?¡±

    The eevee folded the map and put it in his bag. ¡°Hmph, you do need to walk more. Didn¡¯t you tell me you used to get tired pretty easily back in your world? Count that as exercise.¡±

    ¡°Nah, that¡¯s just an excuse for you to get the easy way out.¡± I then put on a sarcastic hopeless man act as I hugged myself. ¡°What about my lil¡¯ super hurt body after I clutched that W against the sunbloom?¡±

    Evon sighed and adjusted his eyepatch. ¡°Have you even gone to the clinic to check on your wounds?¡±

    I glanced aside for a fraction of a second. ¡°Uh¡­ yep! Gonna be back in full shape in a day!¡±  ¡®Hopefully, body, you better do your Support Legend magic body!¡¯  With that settled, I crouched down a bit and got on Evon¡¯s level, asking him. ¡°By the way, what did Quartzo say about the whole sunbloom matter? I¡¯m curious.¡±

    The eevee responded. ¡°Well¡­ he said that this is becoming a common matter in some Mystery Dungeons where stronger Pok¨¦mon are manifesting in the dungeons as if they were evolving in some sort of way.¡± I tilted my head at that claim confusedly. ¡°Yeah, I get it, it¡¯s kinda weird when putting it that way, but it does make sense when you think about it for a moment.¡±

    ¡°Okay, so basically put¡­ they¡¯re getting hella more dangerous.¡± I received a nod of confirmation and I sighed. ¡°Welp, more work put out for us than when doing missions¡­ well¡­ hopefully I can continue accessing more mid-evolution ¡®mons then. Way less deadly hopefully.¡±

    The brown fox Pok¨¦mon hummed. ¡°I guess so. But the Guildmaster just recommended us to avoid the really strong Pok¨¦mon that appear in the dungeons.¡±

    ¡°Oh, the pacifist way, got it. Should be pretty easy for me if I just¡­¡± I transformed in front of Evon, getting smaller and smaller. Once the light faded away, I saw that the eevee in front of me was  gigantic ¡­ well, not really, just bigger than me in general. I expected it since I became just a small little Joltik (also, my eyes felt weird). ¡°Become so small they ain¡¯t gonna notice a thing!¡±

    Evon blinked for a moment before letting out a snicker. He then smirked at me. ¡°You know they¡¯re just gonna try to eat you in that form, right? So small and powerless, almost can¡¯t fight back, could be just an appetizer that was there at the wrong time¡­¡±

    My eyes shot wide open and I immediately transformed back into my human form. Once the glow faded, I blinked for a bit. ¡°Uh¡­ on second thought, better to just casually avoid them¡­¡±

    The eevee chuckled. ¡°Yeah, it is better that way. Anyway¡­ have we gotten the reward from the job?¡±

    An idea flickered back in my mind, reminding me of a trolling plan I had formed for Evon when he asked that specific question. I tried my best to suppress a smile and just stared at the eevee. I blinked a few times and said nothing to him.

    Evon¡¯s smile dropped as the silence was getting to him a bit. ¡°... Lucas, where¡¯s the money¡­?¡±

    I faked a nervous expression and looked away. ¡°Uh¡­ um¡­ how do I say this¡­¡± I glanced at Evon¡¯s nervous expression. It felt like he was about to start growling or just pounce at me at any moment. ¡°I uh¡­ I didn¡¯t come back with the reward¡­¡±

    Evon just stared at me, his eye widened and twitched a little. He stayed silent for a moment before he tried stuttering. ¡°L-Lucas¡­ you¡­¡±

    I just decided to rip the bandaid off. ¡°SIKE! Hah, look at your face!¡± I giggled to myself a bit as the eevee slowly came to his senses. ¡°Relax, Foxy, I was just trolling dude, hihihi.¡±

    The eyepatch-wearing eevee just stared at me for a moment. Based on previous after-trolling reactions I garnered from my siblings and some school friends, I expected Evon to either shout at me a bit angrily, laugh a bit annoyedly, or straight up just hit me. Instead, none of that happened. He just simply stared for a moment before muttering. ¡°Alsia¡­¡±

    My laugh died down a bit as I began to feel a bit bad. Even though it was out of nowhere, it seemed that my troll triggered something in him. Then again, he did say I reminded him a lot of his dead friend. ¡°Uh¡­ are you alright¡­? I¡¯m sorry that-¡±

    Evon noticed and shook his head. ¡°Nonono, don¡¯t apologize. I just¡­ ugh, I just got caught in the past again. I need to move on eventually or else it¡¯ll¡­¡± He paused, thinking about his words a bit. ¡°It¡¯ll just get in the way of my goal.¡± I tried to say something but before I could say anything, he swiftly changed the topic. ¡°Anyway, can you pass me the money, I can store it for you since I could tell your backpack is full of¡­¡± He stared at the headphones in my neck a bit. ¡°Strange human artifacts¡­¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ sure.¡± I pulled a sack of coins from my backpack and handed it over to the eevee. He checked the bag and got a bit confused about the quantity of coins in the bag. ¡°So uh¡­ the reason I tried to troll you is because uh¡­ I wanted to tell you the good news about the fact that I didn¡¯t come back with the reward but double.¡±

    Evon blinked before he looked at me with a tilt of his head. ¡°Why did we get double the reward?¡±

    ¡°Well, I told the kid¡¯s mother about our ordeal, she felt bad so she added a lil¡¯ bonus on our reward. And now we have a hundred Pok¨¦. Dunno how much that values but well, that¡¯s a good amount, right?¡± I asked with a grin.

    ¡°Yeah, it is a good amount.¡± Suddenly, the eevee¡¯s belly grumbled, a silence with small miscellaneous voices in the background lingering afterwards. ¡°... I do know where to spend a bit of it.¡± He looked at me again. ¡°Are you hungry?¡±

    I nodded instantly. ¡°Yep, definitely. Didn¡¯t even eat breakfast this morning because I was so excited, heh.¡±

    ¡°Alright then, I know a place we can eat.¡± Evon put the sack on his bag and started walking away. ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll take you there.¡±

    ¡®Is he taking me to a restaurant or something? If so, I wonder what kinds of food there¡¯ll be in there? Please be something good, I don¡¯t wanna get stuck eating the same plain old foods and¡­ raw meat all the time.¡¯  I thought to myself before I began following Evon and putting my headphones on again.

    While setting up another song, a green blur registered in the corner of my vision. I tried getting a look at it in more detail but I only saw jagged rocks and stalactites next to the walls of the tunnel. I hummed in thought before ignoring it and paying attention back to my music.

    Burn My Dread, my beloved.

    It didn¡¯t take that long until we reached the place Evon took me to. There wasn¡¯t a building or anything of the type, just a big door on the wall of the tunnel and a sign above it that read  ¡°Rockin¡¯ Dine¡± in the strange translated alphabet. I paused my playlist and put my headphones around my neck. ¡°This the place?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. This is a restaurant that¡¯s close to the guild. I used to go here with Alsia a lot after our missions. It¡¯s cheap and the food here is decent enough.¡± Evon looked back at me as his tail shifted. ¡°I don¡¯t know what human tastebuds preferred foods are, but if you liked all the food you ate until now, I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯re gonna like this place.¡±

    ¡°Eh, if I don¡¯t like it, I can just shift into a form that I¡¯ll probably like it.¡± My stomach rumbled and I started walking inside the place. ¡°Come on! I¡¯m starving, dude!¡±

    Evon followed me inside. While he went to get a table for ourselves. I inspected the inside of the restaurant and was a bit surprised by its interior. Wood lined the edges and corners of the entire area, torches illuminated the place with their flickering fire. The tables were lined up with each other, their materials consisting of wood and stone. They were closer to the ground since the seats were piles of straws for any Pok¨¦mon to sit on. The smells were very attractive and only made my stomach grumble more every time I sniffed the air.

    I saw that Evon took a table next to the corner so I casually strode there with my hands in my pockets. Thankfully, the restaurant wasn¡¯t that filled, only some Pok¨¦mon were just eating their meals so, fortunately, there were fewer eyes on me. I sat on the seat beside the eevee and he looked at me expectantly. ¡°I don¡¯t know what your restaurants look like in your world so I wonder how much you like a place like this.¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s got that humble honest-work vibe so it ain¡¯t that bad. It¡¯s nothing compared to like, restaurants on top of towers but I didn¡¯t expect that in a village like this.¡± I admitted while stretching my arms after sitting on my seat.

    ¡°Wait, humans build all of their restaurants on top of literal towers?¡± Evon asked with a tilt of his head.

    I waved a hand in dismissal. ¡°Nah, only a few of them for the rich people. I was actually just making a very exaggerated comparison.¡± I chuckled to myself. ¡°But still, I really don¡¯t care about the aesthetics of the place. As long as the food tastes good, it¡¯s already a good restaurant in my book.¡±

    Evon smirked while folding his paws beneath his body. ¡°Wow, for a creature with so much technology at your disposal, who knew that you wouldn¡¯t care about getting the most pristine eating conditions like most nobles do.¡±

    ¡°Heh, what can I say? I¡¯m a simple guy with simple needs¡­ most of the time.¡± I said while leaning my head against the dirt wall. ¡°If that were the case, you¡¯d see me complain like a Karen.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what that means but I assume a very annoying person.¡± Evon said before we let the silence consume us and we started listening to the flickering of the fire from the torches and the idle chatter around the restaurant.

    There was no need to guess what they were talking about.

    ¡°Is that the shapeshifter I keep hearing so much about?¡±

    ¡°I wonder what those strange garments are around his body. So strange-looking¡­¡±

    ¡°I thought that their form would be monstrous, not something so squishy and visibly frail¡­¡±

    ¡°Are they another form of a jynx?¡±

    I glared at the last Pok¨¦mon who spoke who was crustle that sat a bit ahead of us along with a slither wing. The rock-shelled bug noticed my glare and quickly glanced aside. I sighed, trying to ignore the fact that I was still getting compared to such¡­ let¡¯s say a Pok¨¦mon not recognized by their beauty.

    ¡°Excuse me.¡±

    A different and slightly familiar voice called our attention. We turned to look at the new voice and I got a bit surprised when I saw Ino the lycanroc explorer from earlier wearing an apron and a clipboard. ¡°May I take your order?¡±

    ¡°Ino!? You work here???¡± I asked the rock canine, slightly confused about the matter.

    She sighed and crossed her arms. ¡°Surprise, surprise¡­ I do. My dad owns the place so I help out whenever I can.¡± She sounded tired like she had gone through this exact scenario multiple times. ¡°I take it that this is your first time here?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ yes, it is.¡± I turned to Evon and asked in a hushed voice. ¡°How come you never told me she worked here?¡±

    Evon shrugged nonchalantly. ¡°Hm, I don¡¯t know. Maybe¡­  wasn¡¯t in the right moment when you met her. ¡±

    ¡°I¡­ guess so.¡± I said, memories from the first encounter with the Dark Rebellion resurfacing. ¡°Yeah¡­ wasn¡¯t the moment.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of that. How have you two been, by the way? You two got hurt pretty badly after the battle against that crazy misdread.¡± Ino asked, sounding a little concerned.

    ¡®Mis¡­ dread? Wait, is that how they call flutter mane in this world?¡¯  I thought to myself before ultimately responding. ¡°Uh¡­ we¡¯ve been fine. We fully healed, trained a bit, and went on our first mission today. Been doing pretty good.¡± I smiled sheepishly, after trying to not think about the sunbloom. I glanced at Evon and shifted the tone of my voice a bit so I got my intentions across. ¡°Isn¡¯t that right, dude?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ could be a bit better but we¡¯re mostly doing fine.¡± Evon said while glancing aside for a moment before questioning the lycanroc herself. ¡°And how have you been after the fight?¡±

    ¡°Eh, wasn¡¯t that hurt or anything so I just went to the clinic, got a few bandages after some healing, and got out. I helped my dad move around the restaurant since one of the healers said to take a day off guild work. After that, back to normal for me.¡± She explained before sighing and gripping her clipboard and feathered pen. ¡°Anyway, I stalled for long enough. You two gonna order anything or¡­¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we will. I¡¯d like for a herbivore course with some tofu and oran juice.¡± Evon requested as Ino noted down his order.

    As the punk dog looked at me, I started thinking about what I wanted. But I stumbled upon a problem¡­ what was there available for me to order? They could¡¯ve handled me a menu or something, but oh well¡­ guess they didn¡¯t expect any outsiders to enter the restaurant. ¡°I uh¡­ I¡¯ll uh¡­ ya know what.¡± I pointed a thumb at Evon. ¡°I¡¯ll take what he¡¯s taking.¡±

    Ino nodded and noted that down. She then holstered the clipboard and spoke. ¡°It¡¯ll be delivered in some minutes.¡± She then walked away from our table, leaving me and Evon alone again.

    I leaned my back against the wall again and thought about Ino for a moment. Who knew that such an emo-looking Pok¨¦mon would actually be so kind to help out her father by being a waiter in his own restaurant? Well, she was very soft-spoken so like¡­ it¡¯s like she wants to look tough but has a softer side. I thought that was kinda cute-

    My eyes widened at the thought before I lightly knocked on my head.  ¡®Not again dude, get a fucking   grip  .  ¡¯

    Evon looked at me confusedly and asked. ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    I groaned a bit and waved in assurance. ¡°No worries, I¡¯m fine. Just a super dumb thought.¡± I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and highlighted it to the eevee. ¡°Anyway, while we wait, wanna see some funny memes on my phone to pass the time?¡±

    ¡°No thanks. I rather keep my brain intact than have it corrupted by complete human idiocy.¡± Evon said while turning his head to the side like a cat rejecting their food.

    As the door of the restaurant opened, I glanced at it for a moment while responding to the eevee. ¡°Nah, you¡¯re the baka here for rejecting the inevitable- what the fuck???¡±

    I tried my best to blurt the last part as quietly as possible. But legit though, how can I not blurt out when that appears from the door? Entering the restaurant was fucking shiny Zygarde in his doggo form, ya know, like the legendary ¡®mon whose whole deal is that it¡¯s powerful as fuck to just spread order around the planet???

    ¡®That¡¯s a Zygarde. And it just entered this place casually, what in the actual fuck?¡¯  I asked myself mentally while I just stood completely frozen staring at the white and green canine.

    ¡°Lucas.¡± I snapped out of my trance and looked back at Evon. His voice sounded a bit hushed. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay? Why are you staring at that guy like a statue all of a sudden? And that reaction you had¡­¡±

    ¡°Wha-?¡± I asked confusedly before leaning close to Evon, shooting occasional glances at Zygarde while whispering to the eevee. ¡°Dude, don¡¯t you know who that ¡®mon is!?¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ not really. Seems like an ordinary Pok¨¦mon to me.¡± Evon said while shortly inspecting the white dog who sat at another table. He then turned to me as his ears flattened against his head. ¡°Lucas, you¡¯re worrying me¡­¡±

    ¡°Dude, I don¡¯t get it. That¡¯s not an ordinary Pok¨¦mon, that¡¯s Zygarde! Like, the legit one!¡± I said in a hushed whisper.

    Evon¡¯s eye widened before a look of suspicion befell on his face. ¡°Seriously, are you okay? I¡¯ve seen murals with their depictions in books. They do not look like a canine Pok¨¦mon from what I saw.¡±

    ¡°Bro, it¡¯s legit the truth! Remember that I can-¡± I glanced at Zygarde again and I flinched when noticing he was approaching us. I muttered lowly. ¡°Fuck!¡±

    I immediately straightened my position with a nervous smile on my face as I waited for the white dog to come over. Once they got to the table, they spoke with a growly male voice. ¡°Hello there! My apologies for bothering you two, I just couldn¡¯t help myself when I saw you and I wanted to ask some questions!¡± He asked cheerfully, if it had a tail, pretty sure it would be wagging a lot.

    Evon looked at me with a face that basically just read  ¡°Don¡¯t you look stupid right now?¡±  Oh, if only he knew what  I  knew! This felt so absurd, but whatever, my expectations were already shattered beyond repair with  Grandma Heatran  and  Yandere Flutter Mane . ¡°Uh¡­ sure dude¡­!¡± I replied sheepishly, hoping the lord of order wouldn¡¯t see my nervousness. ¡°Um¡­ firstly, what¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Ah, silly me, I forgot to say!¡± He sat on the ground and raised a paw. ¡°My name is Zephaniel and I¡¯m just a very curious traveler! Nice to meet you two!¡± He tilted his head. ¡°What are your names?¡±

    ¡®Sussy name¡­ still starts with the letter Z¡­ what are you playing at here?¡¯  I asked myself mentally before just answering. ¡°Lu-Lucas, and this is my teammate, Evon.¡±

    ¡°Pleasure to meet you.¡± Evon tilted his head as he inspected the zygarde with more detail. ¡°Huh¡­ not often I see canine Pok¨¦mon with scales instead. What species are you?¡±

    ¡°Oh, uh, just an ordinary species called an acaniz, we¡¯re more common in another continent.¡± Zephaniel replied with an awkward grin. Is¡­ is he really trying to come off as a normal Pok¨¦mon in front of everyone? ¡°Anyway, enough about me and more about you!¡± He said while looking at me. ¡°I¡¯ve been hearing rumors all around this place about a certain Pok¨¦mon that can shapeshift unlike any other! Is it true that you¡¯re that Pok¨¦mon?¡±

    I considered my options of how I should tell him stuff. It was very clear that he knew about my reputation here, which made it seem that he was in this town for a short while. How come I never saw him? Whatever, I needed to play along for now and play his game since lying was super out of the question else I¡¯d want to get a Core Enforcer on the face. ¡°Yep, it¡¯s-a me indeed! Still learning about my powers though, so don¡¯t expect anything crazy to come out of me, yet!¡±

    ¡°Interesting¡­¡± His excited and cheerful tone dropped for a moment once he muttered that. However, his attitude quickly returned once he approached me and inspected my clothes closely. ¡°I wonder where you come from to have such strange and¡­¡± He trailed off and sniffed my shirt. ¡°Very musky cloth and objects.¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± I turned to Evon and asked since even I didn¡¯t know how to answer his question. ¡°Should I¡­¡±

    ¡°Eh, not like you have anything to hide. You didn¡¯t even keep your powers secret from everyone.¡± Evon said with an uncaring shrug. He then smirked at me. ¡°Or do you still believe that dumb delusion of yours?¡±

    I sighed and rolled my eyes. There was no convincing the eevee for now, but maybe later.

    I turned back to the real and true ¡° acaniz¡±  and smiled sheepishly at him. ¡°Well, in truth¡­ I¡¯m a Pok¨¦mon from another world.¡± That made the dog¡¯s hexagonal pupilless eyes widen a bit. ¡°But don¡¯t worry tho, I¡¯m a good alien who¡¯s not gonna destroy the world or some shit like that, dunno how Pok¨¦mon see interdimensional beings.¡±

    ¡°T-that¡¯s¡­¡± Zephaniel¡¯s tone faltered for a moment before he quickly readjusted himself. Bro, is this the first time he¡¯s undercover or something? Bro is so bad at this. ¡°That¡¯s interesting!¡± He quickly recovered his fake tone, at this point, it was so damn obvious that he was investigating me. He either thought that my powers were a threat to the planet or some shit along those lines. ¡°It explains all those weird-looking clothes and objects much better now!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s better for you to stop questioning him now before he shoves some terrible culture of his world into your face.¡± Evon said to the scaly-white canine with a chuckle. As the zygarde tilted his head, I lightly punched Evon in the side, ignoring his soft grunt of pain. ¡°Hey!¡±

    ¡°Anyway, erm¡­ any more questions besides the basic ones? Or do you wanna see my powers in action?¡± I asked, trying to sound a bit proud.

    Zephaniel hummed in thought, his eyes narrowing for a moment before he spoke. ¡°Honestly¡­ I do have one more question.¡± He then smiled sheepishly at me. ¡°Of course, if you wanna answer it. It¡¯s a bit personal.¡±

    ¡°Eh, I don¡¯t care. I got asked worse back in my place so ask away.¡± I said with a confident grin.

    ¡°Well then¡­¡± He looked aside for a moment. ¡°Have you¡­¡± He looked back at me. ¡°Have you ever heard of the name Lumi before?¡±

    ¡­  what?  Okay, first of all, what the hell was that question? Like, that just came out of nowhere and had nothing to do with any of my body functions or powers. Second, what the hell did he expect the answer to be by asking me a name I never heard before? Third and most obvious of all¡­  who the hell was Lumi?  Wait, was this some kind of trick question for me to slip up or something?

    Oh, I get it! Like, since I¡¯m a shapeshifter, it probably wants to know if I¡¯m a super bad guy or something, and that Lumi guy must be a really dangerous guy that he knows about. It was a trick question to see if that¡¯d tick me or not. And well, it really didn¡¯t, heh.

    I tilted my head and straight up asked the question since I was a bit curious about who this Lumi guy was. ¡°Uh¡­ who is Lumi¡­? Is this a personal question to you or like¡­¡±

    The white scaly dog blinked for a moment before he looked away. ¡°Ah, I see.¡± He waved a paw in dismissal. ¡°Nevermind. To be honest, because of your name, I mistook- I mean, I thought you knew someone else.¡±

    Holy shit, I called it.

    ¡°Won¡¯t you even tell to who this Lumi ¡®mon is for you to be having that thought?¡± Evon asked, judging from the look on his face, he was starting to get sus vibes from Zephaniel as well.

    The nervous look on the shiny zygarde¡¯s face vanished as he tried playing it cool by shrugging. ¡°Ah, just a Pok¨¦mon I knew, nothing much.¡± He turned his head at me. ¡°So yes, it was kind of a personal question to me.¡± He then smiled. ¡°But anyways, to finish it off, I¡¯m curious to see how you transform! Some Pok¨¦mon think of illusions as shapeshifting, so I wanna be sure that the people of this town aren¡¯t getting confused or something. I am curious if you¡¯re just lying to me too¡­¡±

    It was then that the show-off side of me flared a bit more than the rational brain part of me. ¡°Heh, let me tell you, doggy, the rumors you heard ain¡¯t no lie! Just watch!¡± With that, I started to transform. I thought that I ought to do one of the tests already. With that, I transformed into another mid-evolution, one I often found cool and very badass. Dewott. Once the light of transformation ended, I grinned and brushed a tuft of fur above my eyes. I then crossed my arms and looked back at the awestruck dog. ¡°Pretty cool, isn¡¯t it?¡±  ¡®Oh hey, I ain¡¯t going feral, nice!¡¯

    The zygarde had his eyes widened for a moment before recomposing himself. I¡¯m pretty sure he was thinking hard about what he just saw. Eventually, he nodded to himself. ¡°Very interesting¡­ it¡¯s just like-¡± He cut himself off and shook his head. Bro, speak, don¡¯t leave me hanging like that. What the hell were you about to say??? ¡°Thanks for the demonstration. I do not doubt that anyone that stands in your way trembles before such a mighty power like that...¡± He then turned away, going back to his table. ¡°It was nice meeting you, Lucas and Evon.¡±

    Even though he was shady as shit and obviously expecting something of me, I just waved back at him, a smirk on my face. ¡°Buh bye, Zepha¡­ something!¡± Bro must¡¯ve looked stupid thinking that I was some sort of threat to the environment. Heh, I know I have such dangerous and fine looks, but please, I couldn¡¯t even hurt a defenseless fly if I could. I leaned close to Evon and whispered. ¡°Please, fucking tell me you noticed he was being sus as hell.¡±

    The eevee sighed as his tail swayed. ¡°Yes, I obviously noticed. The question is¡­ what did he want out of you?¡±

    ¡°Since he¡¯s a zygarde, no doubt he probably saw me as a threat to the order of the world or some shit like that.¡± I whispered back while leaning against the wall again.

    Evon looked at me confused and whispered back. ¡°You honestly still think he¡¯s the deity of order? What are you on about, he looks nothing like a ten-meter-tall reptile and he doesn¡¯t even speak or act like a deity!¡±

    I raised a paw digit. ¡°¡® Never judge a book by its cover¡¯.  Do Pok¨¦mon not have that line here?¡±

    ¡°We do, it¡¯s just¡­ what you¡¯re saying is a bit unbelievable.¡± He then glanced back at Zephaniel, noticing he looked a bit more sour than what his original personality showed. ¡°But¡­ then again¡­ your abilities and claims were quite unbelievable too¡­¡±

    ¡°I told you I knew how your God looked like, and the game I showed you had them in it too.¡± I crossed my furry arms. ¡°If I had another game¡­ I could prove to you that I wasn¡¯t lying about it.¡±

    Evon hummed in thought, just discreetly eyeing Zephaniel. However, before he could say something about my claims, Ino arrived with the goods.

    She hovered both our food and drinks with a flat rock slab. The rock dog eyed me for a moment of awkwardness before she shrugged. She put the slab on the table and distributed our stuff. ¡°There you go boys, I hope you enjoy it.¡±

    I flashed a thumbs up at the lycanroc. ¡°Thanks! If Evon was a frequent customer of this place, I might enjoy it too.¡± I looked at the food itself. Surprisingly, there were a few items that caught my eye from familiarity. There were a few leaves that could probably be lettuce or something else, there were tomato slices (maybe or probably another berry from the inside that resembled tomatoes), and a few potatoes strung around the plate too. Additionally, there was a strange purple slimy block in the middle of the plate that I didn¡¯t recognize. I tilted my head at the last item and pointed at it. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s tofu. Not sure if you ever ate one before but they¡¯re the vegetarian replacement to actual meat.¡± Ino said before dissipating the stone slab.

    ¡°I know what tofu is, but like¡­ back where I came from they didn¡¯t look¡­ like this.¡± I said. Not to sound like a disgusted complainer, but like, this shit looked like an unblurred Dubious Food from Breath of The Wild. How the hell did this world tofu become like this?

    Evon smirked and remarked. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Looks poisonous enough for your refined human tastes?¡±

    I leered in annoyance. ¡°Shut up, I¡¯m in Pok¨¦mon form right now.¡± I grabbed the block with my paw and eyed it. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure this is just gonna taste just fine for me!¡±

    ¡°Well then, hope you enjoy the meal.¡± Ino said with a nod before walking away from the table.

    I nodded at the rock canine before focusing on the tofu. Hesitantly, I bit on it and tore a small piece of it. It felt like I was munching on something gelatinous but it was¡­ salty. The taste¡­ reminded me of a piece of grilled cheese, which¡­ yeah, it was the next best thing to a piece of meat. I gulped the piece and hummed to myself. ¡°Honestly, not that bad. Reminds me a lot of a certain type of cheese back home.¡±

    ¡°Heh, and here you were thinking it was about to make you die or something.¡± Evon said before started gobbling on his fill.

    ¡°Ain¡¯t my fault human stomachs are weak as fuck.¡± I put the tofu back on my plate and started focusing on the leaves on my plate. ¡°If you were born a human, you¡¯d know the fear of food poisoning.¡±

    ¡°Thank Arceus I wasn¡¯t then.¡± He chuckled to himself.

    I sighed playfully. ¡°Oh, you lucky bitch.¡±

    <hr>

    Scenario one: he either got hurt very badly or potentially lost his memories.

    Scenario two: his new life replaced him and obtained his powers.

    Scenario three: that was not him and that was just another creature entirely from another dimension with the same powers.

    After my meal in that restaurant, I started aimlessly wandering the tunnels of this underground village, trying to reason with what I just heard. I¡¯m glad that as the deity of order, I am not disturbed by mortal things such as a headache, but still, if I were a mortal, I would probably have one from the amount of thoughts I was creating about the subject.

    My interview with that creature¡­ Lucas hasn¡¯t gone the way I expected. I was so sure that he was  his  new form, but it just left me more confused than ever. The way he spoke, the way he causally acted just like a mortal Pok¨¦mon, and the way he didn¡¯t know who Lumi was just confused me even more. He was supposed to know, he was supposed to be guided by him. Has he not even met him?

    It didn¡¯t make any sense. How had he never met him yet he knew who I was behind the form I used to hide myself amongst mortals?

    I was missing some context- no, a  lot  of context about this. There were missing pieces for me to pick up to know the full lore about this Lucas figure. Something about him just felt familiar to me and that aura I picked up¡­ no, that boy is definitely hiding something that he might not even know or he has been lying pretty well about it.

    I should watch him more closely¡­ and I have just the way to do that. But I¡¯m going to have to stay in this form for a while¡­

 Berries, Part 1

    Darkness, yet again.

    Back into the weird dream void thingy I was, floating around an endless black that surrounded all my sides as my eyes opened. As usual, I felt like I was floating underwater without actually feeling that moisture all around me yadayadayada, the usual gist of the dream.

    I looked down at my hands- I mean, paws. Memories from the real world started flooding back to me, reminding me of what form I slept in. I was still in my dewott form from when I was in the restaurant with Zygar- Ahem,  Zephaniel . After scarfing down my meal, I returned to Basi¡¯s house and spent the rest of the day with her. How I wasn¡¯t melting from boredom since I wasn¡¯t rotting on the internet was a huge mystery¡­

    But welp, I was here again so that meant two things. One, big and super duper scary (real) .EXE eyes mumbo-jumbo, or shadow deity again. Man, if only I had a coin to decide which of these two dream scenarios could be-

    Suddenly, I could feel something within the grip of my paw, something cold and metal. I opened it up and saw a US penny on my paw pad. I blinked in confusion, a bit surprised at having that in my paw before it hit me. ¡°Oh yeah, this is my dream, technically. At least my own headspace.¡±

    Heh, no time like the present to determine my dream!

    ¡°Heads for deity, tails for mumbo-jumbo, let¡¯s-a go!¡± With my conditions set, I flipped the coin upwards with a smug grin. However, before I could see my result, a voice diverted my attention.

    ¡°Well done, Lucas.¡±

    I looked behind me and saw Shadow Deity behind me, his shade still being covered by the pink light. Before I could do anything else, I felt the coin hit my head before I saw it fall down the dark and bottomless abyss below. ¡°Aw fuck.¡± I muttered quickly before fully turning to my mind¡¯s visitor. ¡°Welp, doesn¡¯t seem like the coin was necessary. To be honest, was hoping to see you.¡±

    The deity huffed. ¡°I¡¯m flattered, warming up so quickly to me after the revelations I¡¯ve bestowed upon you.¡± His tail flicked to the side as he added kinda smugly. ¡°Surely you¡¯re not saying this thinking I shall give you the answers you want, right?¡±

    I was about to lie but then I remembered bro was in my mind and was probably reading it like an open book, so I sighed and just took the L on that one. ¡°A bit, being honest, but from all I know you¡¯re not gonna tell jack shit.¡± However, something from the last time we saw each other got me curious so I thought I¡¯d ask right away. ¡°So¡­ about last time. Can you at least tell me what the hell was that about?¡±

    I could feel the smug tone disappearing from him as I could feel his yellow-eyed stare tilt to the side, avoiding my gaze. I tilted my head in confusion, thinking if he was about to keep a secrecy act again, however, he decided to spill out. ¡°About your theory¡­ yes, that was not your dream, but my¡­ nightmare.¡±

    Thinking cap: activate. So, I was right, the creepy eyes and mumbo-jumbo were not my dream, it was literally this deity¡¯s dream. It made me wonder. If those dreams had started a while before I was sent to this world and the way the deity knew about video games and how they worked, he was probably in my mind for a while now¡­

    He was probably reading my primary thoughts right now, so, any reaction to that, Shadow Deity?

    ¡­

    ¡­ and that¡¯s just a theory, a GAAAAME Theory!

    The deity sighed and seemed to be rubbing his temples or facepalming, couldn¡¯t tell because of the shade over their body and the light behind him. ¡°Listen, Lucas, just know that was a nightmare and that¡¯s that, okay? I do not feel comfortable sharing it just yet. Besides, that¡¯s not why I called you here in the first place.¡±

    I sighed while rolling my eyes, crossing my blue furry arms, and leaning my body backwards like I was sitting in an invisible chair. ¡°Sure, fine. So, why call me here?¡±

    ¡°Well, first of all, I wanted to congratulate you on defeating your first of many ordeals in this world.¡± He turned around and shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m sure once you¡¯ve mastered your powers, that sunbloom would¡¯ve been nothing more than a pushover, however, credit is where credit is due since you are young and still learning.¡±

    My face morphed into a humorless expression. ¡°Damn, you sound like my tail getting roasted and the fact Evon almost became a pancake was pure skill issue¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh no, I wouldn¡¯t say that. I was merely saying that you were just biting more than you could chew at this moment.¡± The deity turned back to me. ¡°But that¡¯s not to say I¡¯m not happy with the results. Not only did you certainly prevail, but you have gotten a step further in dominating your forms. A small step, but a step nonetheless.¡±

    ¡°So¡­ like, all middle evolutions unlocked for me? Can I use all of them now?¡± I asked while tilting my head to the side.

    The deity thought for a moment before he stated while lifting a finger. ¡°Not exactly. Some middle evolutions are powerful in their own right, such as a magneton. They are not exactly stronger than a magnezone, however, they can be faster than one if they train hard enough. So I believe you have to train a little more to tame those forms.¡±

    I groaned, letting a bit of my impatience get to me. Of course, it wouldn¡¯t be that easy. ¡°Eh, fine, I get it. Or else it wouldn¡¯t have been fun having a lot of powerful forms at my disposal.¡± I put my paws on the side and asked. ¡°So, do I have to use my knowledge and try to hard guess who the more powerful mid-evolution is so I don¡¯t go feral if I transform into it?¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, that¡¯s the only way I can think of. I cannot tell you what species your body can¡¯t handle since it has been a long time since the last one to hold that power was in your situation.¡± Shadow Deity explained, his arms folded behind his back. ¡°You are on your own on that part.¡±

    I shrugged nonchalantly. ¡°Well, I managed to find the right Pok¨¦mon that doesn¡¯t turn me into a feral, so this is just another Tuesday morning for me.¡±

    The deity nodded before the void started shaking, like an earthquake happening while there was nothing. ¡°Ah, you seem to be waking up.¡± He said while looking around before focusing on me again. ¡°Before you wake up, I need to tell you something else quickly.¡±

    I tilted my head again before asking. ¡°What is it? Say it fast!¡±

    The earthquake started getting louder and Shadow Deity¡¯s voice was growing distant. ¡°Trust¡­ the¡­ zygarde¡­!¡±

    With those last few words spoken, the void disappeared and my eyes opened up again, this time to a brown dirt ceiling. I blinked multiple times, trying to adjust to the dim lighting of my room. The door was slightly opened, letting the light from the torches outside the room seep into it.

    I rubbed my eyelids with a paw while groaning before shifting my position on the hay bed, lying on my side. I yawned as I thought.  ¡®Welp, that was the convo of all time.¡¯  I scratched my tail, the burns from yesterday almost having disappeared entirely, save for the itchy feeling. ¡°At least I  got something out of that. Sucks I couldn¡¯t get more info.¡±

    I began wondering about what he said at the end there. Trust the zygarde, huh? I mean, sure, I wasn¡¯t about to get on the wrong side of that dude anyway, lest I¡¯d want to get Core Enforcer directly shot at my ass. But like, the way he said it felt like the white doggo was gonna offer me something in the future and the Shadow Deity knew about it. And from the way he predicted such an outcome, it seemed like he either had some kind of foresight or could predict what Zephy doggo was going to do since he probably knew about him.

    Eh, either way, I don¡¯t think that fact alone is gonna change anything. I guess I SHOULD probably be more open with him if he wants me to trust him.

    With that, I got up from bed and stretched my body. Subconsciously, I started licking my arms to groom my blue fur before starting to brush my paws all around my body to straighten my fur. Midway through, I snapped out of my trance once my paws reached my whiskers and realized what I was doing. I sighed. ¡°Body, please, you¡¯re not helping me beat the animal allegations here!¡±

    Yeah, nope, back into human form I go.

    After fully transforming back into human form, with my backpack and everything, I pulled out my phone to look at one of my favorite memes that I saved to get back into shape and get those animal thoughts away from my mind. However, I noticed something that made me a bit worried.

    My phone was finally running low on battery.

    Sure, I was stretching a little, it was around 30% left but still, my phone was already giving me warnings about it. Sure, for some reason its battery was lasting longer than I was expecting it to last, but it was about to run out eventually, one day or another. ¡°Gee, the day of reckoning is approaching it seems¡­¡±

    However, a certain idea flashed through my mind, and, holy fuck, I felt so stupid for not even thinking of doing this before just to test it out.

    I put away my backpack and put my phone on the bed as I stood away from it. I muttered to myself. ¡°I had the answer to this problem all this time. That one scene from the Shazam movie taught me how to do it but I didn¡¯t remember about that ¡®till now¡­ honestly great timing.¡±

    I stretched my hands and arms and spoke again. ¡°Hope this works. Overused Pok¨¦mon power assemble!¡± With that, I started transforming again. My body started shrinking little by little. My ears grew pointed at the top of my head, I gained a short muzzle with chubby cheeks and I¡¯ve grown a big lightning-shaped tail. Once the pink light faded away, I looked at my yellow-furred paws and noticed how flexible they were compared to other paws. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± I pointed at the ceiling with my new pikachu form. ¡°You can¡¯t get me Nintendo! I¡¯m in another world where you can¡¯t send your dumb ninjas! Get fucked!¡±

    I giggled a bit before walking to the phone and picking it up, my ears flickering as I subconsciously sniffed it. ¡°Alright, now¡­ how do I do this¡­¡± I started thinking of a solution to the problem. Now, this was my first time as an electric type Pok¨¦mon, so I didn¡¯t know how to regulate electric attacks for personal use. I needed to do something that didn¡¯t use as many volts as possible.

    Before I could think about it, Basi¡¯s voice sounded from the living room. ¡°Lucas! Are you awake yet!?¡±

    I looked back and shouted. ¡°Yeah, Basi! Hold on, I¡¯m just doing something!¡± After no response came, I looked back at my phone and started to think, and then I remembered something about Pikachu. ¡°Oh yeah¡­ wait, does that fact still apply to this world even with the existence of cores¡­?¡±

    I started rubbing the red spot on my chubby cheek, massaging it a little and hoping for something to happen. It honestly felt relaxing and a bit pleasuring for me to do that, like, my paws were made for this kind of stuff from how soft they were. However, not even a second into my massage, I was already feeling light electrical shocks on my paws that¡­ honestly tickled instead of causing me pain, confirming that the electricity sacks were still there.

    ¡°Good.¡± With that, I brought my phone close to my face and muttered. ¡°Please, for the love of God, don¡¯t zap my phone to oblivion¡­¡± With that, I started rubbing my phone against my cheeks slowly but surely. I didn¡¯t wanna do it too fast or else I might release  too  much electricity to burn my phone away. I felt a fuzzy feeling against my cheek, although, I couldn¡¯t see if it was working or not because I had my eyes closed from such bliss of having my cheek rubbed.

    Damn, why are pikachu¡¯s cheeks so damn sensitive?

    After rubbing it for half a minute, I stopped and turned on the screen to check the battery. My eyes widened once I looked at the battery percentage on my phone, muttering to myself. ¡°Holy shit, a 100% in less than a minute!? Damn, my body goes crazy when it comes to charging shit!¡±

    Crisis averted, my phone was fully charged once again!

    I started messing with it, feeling its surface on the palm of my paw. Unlike when I use my phone while charging, this time it didn¡¯t feel like it was overheating even after a quick charge like that. It felt like it rested appropriately while it charged. ¡°Goddamn¡­ despite being overused to hell, you do have some uses.¡± I said as I rubbed my belly.

    My stomach grumbled and that was the reminder I needed to remember that not only Basidian had called me, but I also had to eat breakfast. So without any delay, I rushed to the living room and the table with my phone in paw. I saw that food was already on the table, covered with that sizzling oil from the heatran. I noticed she was already on the table, eating some of the berries on the pile.

    She turned to me and smiled warmly. ¡°Good morning, Lucas!¡± She tilted her head curiously. ¡°Did you switch forms while asleep?¡±

    I put the phone on the table before answering sheepishly. ¡°Hehe, no no, I just transformed just now for an occasion.¡± I grabbed my phone and showed it to the elder. ¡°You see, cellphones don¡¯t have infinite energy to work. They have an internal battery that runs on electricity.¡±

    A look of understanding flashed through the heatran¡¯s face before she nodded. ¡°I see. So you transformed into a pikachu to charge your phone?¡± I nodded in confirmation. ¡°Interesting! At least you can just switch forms when not in battle to recharge your precious device!¡±

    I nodded before putting the phone on the table again and grabbing a piece of bread. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s great! Back home, since I didn¡¯t have this power, I had to find any available out-... station, charging stations for my phone. Since almost every human has a phone, it¡¯s very hard to find one.¡±

    ¡°Oh wow, that must be quite a hassle to deal with.¡± Basi commented with a chuckle.

    ¡°Oh, it is. And don¡¯t even get me started when all of them are filled up with something and I have to fight with my siblings for the last available ones.¡± I said before taking a bite out of the bread while chuckling muffledly with Basidian.

    After giggling a little, the elder spoke again. ¡°Say, you and Evon aren¡¯t planning to go into another mission today, right?¡±

    I gulped the bread before responding. ¡°Yeah, we aren¡¯t. Like I told you yesterday, that sunbloom from yesterday really whooped our butts, and after we went to the clinic, Media told us that Evon broke a few bones so he needs at least a day to heal them. Short and sweet version, yeah, break time.¡±

    As I started eating the rest of the bread, Basidian hummed before she said. ¡°I see. So you might be able to do it¡­¡± I hummed in confusion and tilted my head while munching on the bread. ¡°You see, a friend of mine visited yesterday. She was hoping to see you, actually.¡±

    I gulped the bread and asked while slowly stroking my chest fur. ¡°Why? Did she need something from me?¡±

    ¡°Yes, actually. She wanted to ask you a favor. But being honest, it¡¯s more of a task for you.¡± The heatran explained as she motioned with one of her big claws. ¡°I said to her that you were busy with guild work and I would tell her when you would be free to do so.¡± She then shook her head and smiled warmly. ¡°But it¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t want to do it.¡±

    I stroked my chin while I thought about the situation. ¡°Hm¡­ beats just being in my room just messing with my phone and training with my forms. Sure, why not?¡± I picked up a sitrus berry and bit onto it, the oil making the bitter taste of the berry so much better. ¡°Whot ish the tashk about anyway?¡± I asked while munching.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Once I said you weren¡¯t available, she just left. But oh well, you could just go to her house and ask about the task if you want to. But before that, don¡¯t forget to take a bath!¡± Basidian said that last part with enthusiasm.

    I frowned and rolled my eyes at that. ¡°Alright, I will...¡± I sighed. ¡°Geez, I thought you of all Pok¨¦mon wouldn¡¯t care much about a bath since fire type and all.¡±

    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    ¡°Oh no, I really don¡¯t since my skin isn¡¯t prone to getting dirty or smelling. But you, on the other paw, most Pok¨¦mon I see you changing into have fur, and your original form also can have a musky scent that some Pok¨¦mon don¡¯t like. Your clothes also stick with that scent, as felt from your shirt.¡± Basidian explained and, unfortunately for me, I couldn¡¯t really deny her¡­

    ¡°Ugh¡­ fine, you¡¯re right.¡± I said before taking the last bite out of the sitrus.  ¡®Speaking of hygiene, how the hell do I brush my teeth here? I¡¯m gonna- or at least my human form is gonna get cavities at this rate. Ugh, more reason to stick with Pok¨¦mon forms and use my human form for the least amount of time possible. I can endure a bad breath.¡¯

    I grabbed my phone and went back to my room, putting it inside the backpack and slinging it on my back. I then felt the weight of everything upon my shoulders. Since I wasn¡¯t in my riolu form, it wouldn¡¯t be that easy to lift my backpack in a pikachu¡¯s body, but I would manage it.

    Once I stepped out of my room, I asked. ¡°Hey, Basi, where even is your friend¡¯s house anyway?¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah, was forgetting to say.¡± She said before smiling. ¡°She lives outside the village but close. She owns a berry farm, just a bit northeast of the village¡¯s entrance. You¡¯ll find it if you keep walking in that direction.¡±

    ¡°Alright, thanks! See you later, Basi!¡± I said while flashing the heatran a thumbs up¡­ or was it a paws up? Wait, pikachu has a very small thumb so maybe a thumbs up.

    ¡°Bye Lucas, don¡¯t forget to say hi to Methra for me!¡± Basi said before I nodded and left the house.

    Before leaving the village, I went to the bathhouse to wash myself quickly and drink a bit of water. I needed to be at least clean enough so Basi didn¡¯t throw me out of the house just because I stank. Hey, at least this time there wouldn¡¯t be any wet dog smell like last time since I was a rodent this time.

    After cleaning myself, I left the bathhouse and decided to pay a visit to Evon to see how he was faring with his injuries.

    I was getting better at navigating the tunnels of Cavestone Village, at this point, the route to certain places was already engraved in my mind. Maybe once I finished the task, I could explore more of this place and see what it had to offer. Maybe I find a fun place to goof around.

    Eventually, once I reached Evon¡¯s home, I knocked on his door, and after a small bit, he answered the door. Once it fully opened to reveal the eevee, his eyepatch lacked the badge. He tilted his head in confusion before something clicked in his mind. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just you. Hey, Lucas.¡±

    ¡°Yo, Foxy. Just swingin¡¯ by to check up on how you doing. Are your bones healing well?¡± I asked with a grin, adjusting the backpack behind me.

    ¡°I¡¯m managing.¡± Evon smirked. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have experienced and endured more than just a few broken bones. I¡¯m not as frail as you¡¯re probably thinking to come and check up on me.¡±

    I smiled smugly while crossing my arms and looking away. ¡°Alright princess, if ya say so. Just tell me next time if you need a kiss on your lil¡¯ booboos.¡±

    He rolled his eyes. ¡°You never cease to amaze me every day with your nonexistent sense of humor.¡±

    ¡°Heh, bitch, I don¡¯t humor, I  meme!  Not like a princess like you would understand such sophisticated language!¡± I said while mocking a fancy noble tone, mimicking my paw twirling a glass of wine.

    Evon huffed in amusement. ¡°Sure¡­ sure¡­ anyway, got any plans for today since we aren¡¯t going out on missions?¡±

    ¡°Well, I wasn¡¯t planning on it until Basi said someone was looking for me to do a task. So I¡¯m going to that Pok¨¦mon to at least try and do her task.¡± I shrugged. ¡°You feel like coming with me or nah?¡±

    ¡°No, I have other stuff to do. And I¡¯m probably gonna be occupied through most of the day talking to my parents and catching them up on stuff. It has been a while, after all¡­¡± He said, a grimace appearing on his face, probably from guilt.

    I smiled softly, putting a paw on my side. ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be happy to see you again. You need to tell them about how we beat that sunbloom to the ground, bet they¡¯ll be really proud of ya!¡±

    Evon managed to smile a little, clutching his pendant with a paw. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m pretty sure they will.¡±

    I flashed a silent thumbs-up before turning around. ¡°Anyway, Imma go do the task now whatever that is. See ya, Evon!¡±

    ¡°See you.¡± I heard the eevee reply.

    After that convo, I decided to grab my headphones and put on some music to listen to while walking torwards the cave''s exit. Adjusting the headphones felt very awkward since they weren¡¯t made for beings with very pointed ears. Although I managed to slip them in and lock them in place, it was quite uncomfortable.

    But if I could hear some video game bangers while just walking for a long time, I would ignore the uncomfortable feeling to the best of my abilities!

    I got out of the village and started walking in the direction that the heatran pointed out to me. I hoped that I remembered the direction correctly because getting lost would NOT be favorable. Although¡­ I guess I could just turn into a flying ¡®mon to figure out where I would be. But there would be a huge problem¡­ learning how to fly¡­ I thought. Well, maybe it would come naturally just like all the other things that do when I transform into a Pok¨¦mon¡­ hopefully.

    Wonder what would happen if I transformed into a levitating Pok¨¦mon¡­

    I then sighed after all that theory crafting inside my head, deciding to just focus on listening to my music while walking through the rather peaceful woods.  ¡°I¡¯m hanging on to the other side! I won¡¯t give up ¡®till the end of me! I¡¯m what you get when the stars align! Now face it, you¡¯re just an e-ne-my!!!¡±

    It felt rather silly to think about an outside perspective seeing a Pikachu just walking through the woods with headphones singing a video game song. Honestly tho, if I got back to my world with these powers still active, the amount of reactions that I would gather from people would be astronomically high and funny. Haters gonna be saying it''s AI when I post photos of myself in Pok¨¦mon form, hehehe.

    Even though I sang loudly to myself, no other wild Pok¨¦mon decided to appear, although I could catch glimpses of some Pok¨¦mon that seemed to be civilized pass by some of the threes. It seemed like they were heading to Cavestone Village. Heh, hopefully, they didn¡¯t mind my great singing voice!

    After walking through the forest a bit more, just singing my way through and smelling the aromas of the forest while hearing the wind and the flowing sound of a river nearby, I finally saw some tall wooden fence in the distance. I squinted my eyes to see a bit further and saw that beyond the fence there were some bushes with some bluish objects. Then, the smell finally registered in my nose and I realized that those bushes had berries in them, oran berries.

    I paused the playlist once it was done and put my headphones around my neck, walking closer to the fence.  ¡®That must be it.¡¯

    Once I reached the fence, the scent of berries around me strengthened, like I was swimming in a pool of them. I had forgotten that rodents¡¯ noses are very powerful as well, so I was getting a bit overwhelmed by the smell. I got near the fence, seeing a bush brush past it with a few berries sticking out. Even though I¡¯d just eaten, my new body was getting a bit hypnotized by the smell, a certain urge to pluck some of those orans out of the bush and stash them somewhere¡­

    As I extended an arm to reach through the fence to pick a single berry, a female voice stopped me in my tracks. ¡°OI!¡±

    My fur stood up on end as I looked to see the source of the voice. I started trembling with a frightened frown once I saw the source of the voice. A big shiny slither wing was angrily stomping towards me, her golden yellow wings spread wide like the wings of a seraph and a red tail swishing back behind her. I fell on my butt as the fluffy bipedal moth approached.

    ¡°You wild hooligans don¡¯t know when to quit, eh?¡± The moth spoke in a very Scottish-accented voice as she finally reached me. ¡°Try all ya want to steal mah berries. I¡¯ll send y¡¯all back to your gang with a wee fist of searin¡¯ heat-¡± She then stopped speaking out of nowhere before staring at me for another moment. She tilted her head. ¡°Wait a sec¡­ that getup you got there¡­ are you civilized¡­?¡±

    I put my paws up defensively and spoke. ¡°Y-yeah, yeah, I am! Sorry, I just couldn¡¯t help myself, I¡¯m still coming to terms with this body¡¯s instincts!¡±

    The slither wing tilted her head and asked confusedly, her wings slowly retracting a bit. ¡°¡® This body''s  instincts?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± I sheepishly grinned and shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m the shapeshifter from Cavestone Village.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ oh! Oh, my bad, dear!¡± She crouched and extended her claw to me. ¡°Here, let me get ya up.¡±

    Hesitantly and mentally recovering from the scare of a large monster moth power-walking towards me, I took her claw as she pulled me back up with minimal effort. She then started brushing some dust off my shoulders, and once she was done, I spoke. ¡°Uh¡­ sorry for trying to steal your berries. Dunno what came over me.¡±

    ¡°Oh, dinnae fash yersel. It wasn¡¯t fully intentional, and besides, it¡¯s just wild ones who are a pain in the arse for being lil¡¯ thievin¡¯ bampots anyway.¡± The large bug spoke dismissively, a friendly expression on her face being a large contrast from the pissed-off look she had earlier.

    ¡®Holy shit, Scottland doesn¡¯t exist here but she¡¯s Scottish by soul!¡¯  I thought to myself before rubbing the back of my head. ¡°Yeah¡­ you know how they are. Just want easy food and all.¡±

    The slither wing nodded and changed the topic. ¡°Oh welp, it is what it is. Anyway, it¡¯s so nice to meet ya in the flesh, Lucas the Shapeshifter! The name¡¯s Methra Summers, just ya local farmer producing what she can to gain a wee bit of income as you¡¯ve probably figured.¡±

    I smiled while adjusting the straps of my backpack. ¡°Nice to meet ya, Miss Summers!¡±

    She waved a claw lazily while giggling. ¡°Oh, no need to fancy yourself with all that Miss blether, makes me feel old! Just call me Methra.¡±

    ¡°Heh, alright then. Then I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll handle all the youngster nonsense I¡¯m about to spew.¡± I said with a chuckle.

    ¡°Eh, I¡¯m used to it. My son¡¯s up with the trends of nowadays after all!¡± She said as her wings twitched a bit, bits of flaming golden ash falling a bit from them. ¡°Anyway, so¡­ if you came here, I assume ya heard about the favor I was about to ask you. But if it¡¯s necessary, I can reward ya.¡±

    I shook my paws with a sheepish grin. ¡°Oh no, no need to. I¡¯d be happy to help. Besides, got nothing better to do anyway.¡±

    ¡°Yaldi! Hope you don¡¯t mind about my wee problem, dearie.¡± She then turned around, turning slowly and being careful with her red tail so she didn¡¯t slap me with it. ¡°Let¡¯s get inside so I can discuss further about the lil¡¯ thing. Don¡¯t want any wild numpties catchin¡¯ a glimpse of my plans.¡±

    I nodded silently and followed the moth closely while putting my headphones back in my bag.

    As I followed Methra through her farm, walking towards her house, I couldn¡¯t help but stare at the fluff covering her body. In the games, slither wings were shown to have quite the fluff covering their bodies. But, holy shit, the amount of fluff Methra had was insane. She looked like a large pillow of fur that would make for an amazing place to sleep. I¡¯m only imagining¡­ the soft belly with the soft white fur being used as a cover as I sleep away on such a fluffy soft body¡­

    No, eepy virus, I just woke up, I know she looks like a nice bed but I have a favor to do!

    I started looking around, trying to fill my head with other thoughts so I wouldn¡¯t just grab onto the moth and fall asleep right on her. I saw the vast amount of berry bushes that were grown around us, sporting several berries around us, mostly oran. Again, their smell was hypnotizing me a bit, just slowly motivating me to steal one of them. But in the end, I decided not to since I (mostly) knew about self-restraint. ¡°Wow, so many berries¡­¡±

    The slither wing turned her head to me. ¡°Ya like what you see, dearie? The Summers family had this farm for generations, passed down along so more of those wee delicious berries fill Pok¨¦mon stomachs.¡± Methra spoke with a hint of pride in her voice. ¡°Although, it has seen its fair share of hooligans wanting to steal the berries for themselves. There had been seasons where production was scarce because of some pests.¡±

    I crossed my arms as I listened. ¡°I see¡­ so like, does this favor have something to do with helping you with some farm tasks or¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh no, nothing of the farm kerfuffle I¡¯m used to darling. It¡¯s about a recent issue that brewed outta nowhere and our farm¡¯s gonna suffer the consequences if we don¡¯t deal with it. I¡¯ll tell ya more about it when we¡¯re inside, let¡¯s not dawdle!¡±

    With that, the conversation died as we kept walking through the fields. Seconds later, I could see a building a bit ahead. The building was a simple one-floored house made out of carved rocks and a bit of wood around the edges, even the door was a simple but large wooden one with a small lantern above it.

    We entered the building and I took in the interior of it, feeling a warm and homely vibe of the house. Just like the outside, the interior was also simple. The living room had large hay seats in the middle of the room surrounding a stone table. On the walls, alongside some candles, there were some shelves with some books and orbs on them. Besides the shelves, there were, surprisingly, weapons with some hardened silk sticking them onto the walls.

    Sitting on one of the hay seats and supporting their arms on the table while reading a book, there was another slither wing, this one having orange wings but still having a red tail. The orange-winged moth looked at us, already speaking. ¡°Hey, Mom-¡± He interrupted himself once he noticed me, his eyes widening a little before tilting his head. ¡°Uh¡­ who is he?¡±

    ¡°Oh, he¡¯s the shapeshifter from Cavestone Village!¡± Methra spoke cheerfully while pushing me forward a little with her tail. The orange-winged slither wing¡¯s eyes widened before his mother motioned to him. ¡°Lucas, this barry fella right here¡¯s my wee son, Nothris Summers!¡±

    I lifted a paw to the smaller moth. ¡°Yo dude.¡±

    ¡°Wait¡­ y-you¡¯re the shapeshifter?¡± Nothris asked and I nodded with a thumbs up. ¡°I-if you¡¯re him¡­ then that means¡­¡± He dropped the book onto the table and walked towards me. Once he was a few inches in front of me, I realized that even though he was smaller than Methra,  holy shit he was still tall as fuck.  The moth then bowed in front of me. ¡°I¡¯m very sorry about my friend yesterday. He didn¡¯t mean to make fun of your strange true form!¡±

    I tilted my head and looked at the orange-winged moth in confusion. ¡°Yesterday¡­?¡± My mind went back to yesterday, after the whole drama with the sunbloom and everything. During my stay at the restaurant, I remembered something about rumors¡­ oh yeah, the jynx comparison. There was a slither wing with that crustle. ¡°Oh yeah, now I remember¡­¡± I waved a paw in dismissal. ¡°Nah, don¡¯t stress it, dude. I wasn¡¯t really that mad, I found it a bit funny, to be honest.¡±

    The moth stood up again and smiled softly. ¡°I-I¡¯m glad he didn¡¯t hurt your feelings then.¡± He then turned to his mother and asked. ¡°Mom, is he here to solve all that berry kerfuffle?¡±

    I took my backpack off and looked at the shiny Pok¨¦mon confused. ¡°Berry¡­ kerfuffle?¡±

    ¡°Oh dear, that¡¯s what I¡¯ve been wanting to tell ya.¡± Methra said before sighing. ¡°If ya want to sit while listenin¡¯ to me ramble about it, ya can, alright?¡±

    I nodded and went to sit in one of the hay seats around the table, putting my backpack beside me. I leaned my back on the stone, getting as comfortable as I could before speaking. ¡°So¡­ berries, right? What happened here?¡±

    ¡°Aye, so¡­ makin¡¯ things short, our berries supplies were stolen.¡± Methra cut right to the chase, shrugging with her short arms. I frowned at that information. ¡°Och, dinnae fash yersel, it doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯re gonna starve because of that, it¡¯s about another thing we¡¯re worried about, really.¡±

    The orange-winged slither wing added for his mother. ¡°Ya see, those berries we had stored were supposed to be shipped to a city for a festival that¡¯s gonna happen there. The Pok¨¦mon from there were gonna pick up the berries in a day from now¡­¡±

    I blinked at the severity of the situation, a little surprised about the situation being that dire. The situation was serious, if they didn¡¯t have those berries delivered, they wouldn¡¯t get any payment, or that might tarnish the reputation of their farm¡­ ¡°Do you guys know who did it?¡± I asked while crossing my arms.

    Both moths shook their head before the female and shiny one spoke with a sigh. ¡°No, we don¡¯t. It happened overnight while me and Nothris over here were sleepin¡¯. From the way the heist was committed and the eejit carried a bunch of berries overnight, we suspect it was either a group who did it or a psychic type.¡±

    Nothris scratched his orange horn while looking aside a bit disappointed. ¡°Whoever did this covered all their footsteps too¡­¡±

    ¡°Hm¡­¡± I hummed in thought before suggesting. ¡°The berries grown on the fields that I¡¯ve seen¡­ are they enough?¡±

    Methra frowned before her golden wings drooped a bit. ¡°No¡­ they aren¡¯t. Besides, the berries grown in these fields are harvested before they¡¯re put through the process of Vitalis to be more healthy and more effective with their effects.¡±

    I tilted my head in confusion. ¡°Vitalis¡­?¡±

    The orange-winged moth walked to me and explained, his tail swishing from side to side. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a process where we get a grass-type Pok¨¦mon to purify the berries we harvest so that their effects are enhanced and have a lot more time before they rot.¡±

    I put a paw on my chin as I thought. ¡°So harvesting more berries ain¡¯t enough¡­¡± I sighed and got up from the hay seat, putting my paws on the side. ¡°Alright, show me where the berry storage is. I need to see the crime scene so I can find anything suspicious or any trace of the thief.¡±  ¡®Mind, don¡¯t think about the red astronaut or I¡¯m going to- fuck! I thought about it!¡¯

    ¡°Aye then, follow me.¡± Methra motioned for me to follow, so I did along with her son.

    <hr>

    ¡°Alright, Evon, deep breaths, deep breaths. You can do this. Just don¡¯t mention anything about that beach and you¡¯re good, they didn¡¯t need to worry more than they were already worried¡­¡±

    I supported my forelegs on the table as I tapped away on the communication orb, attempting to connect with my parents¡¯ orb. I was a bit hesitant about doing this, but I needed to do this, I¡¯d kept them in the dark for too long. They were probably so worried about me, being months without contacting them.

    I finally thought about their side of the matter, grimacing as scenarios rushed through my head about their current situation. Were they alright? It had been months since I last spoke to them after all, who knows if anything had happened to them during one of their missions? Were they hurt? Have they been trapped somewhere by some disgusting criminal gang? Did¡­ did they-

    No, those thoughts are the worst of the worst. I couldn¡¯t keep thinking like that or else it¡¯ll throw away my entire resolve. I needed to be positive, maintain good and cheerful behavior, and never mention that I went to the beach to them. Simple as that. They were alright, Dad¡¯s disaster sense would always keep them away from big problems.

    I decided to do this call on the same day and at the same time they always called me since those were the times where they likely were still home and not out on missions.

    With all the mental preparations ready, I took a big sigh and held my paw to the communication orb, activating its instantaneous communication feature. Once it was activated, I put my paw away and just stared at the orb for a moment, seeing it glow brightly as it tried to connect with my parent¡¯s orb.

    It had stayed a bit like that, around 45 seconds or so, which gave me a bit of anxiety. Eventually, the connection went through and the orb produced a see-through image of my parents above it with a blue aura around it. The image focused itself, and once the figures in the image became fully visible, I managed to smile softly.

    There they were, in all of their glory. Even if some months had passed, they still hadn¡¯t changed a bit which was good. Mom, the pink vaporeon that she was, was still the same as I remembered, her pink-colored scales, her red eyes, her long fins on the sides of her head that looked like wings, and the scar that passed through her muzzle. Then there was Dad, an absol with a spiky and jagged horn, emerald green eyes, and a star-shaped birthmark on his forehead.

    Wait, was that a scar on Dad¡¯s mouth- wait, never mind, it was just a piece of meat that he didn¡¯t lick off. As usual, he¡¯s so thick-headed he didn¡¯t even realize that was there.

    I sucked in another breath and just did a simple wave with a paw. ¡°Hey, guys-¡±

    ¡°EVON!!!¡± The two Pok¨¦mon shouted through the orb, my ears falling numb followed by a white noise. Geez, I get that I didn¡¯t speak to you guys that long but that didn¡¯t mean you needed to destroy my hearing¡­

    ¡°Hi Mom¡­ hi Dad¡­¡± I managed to say while recovering a little.

    ¡°Evon! You had no idea how me and your mother have been worried sick about you!¡± Dad spoke in a stern tone, but even so, I could hear the shakiness of his voice. They probably thought that I¡¯d died or something¡­ ¡°You weren¡¯t answering our calls and we got worried and-¡±

    ¡°Dad, Dad¡­ it¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯m here. It¡¯s just¡­ a lot of things happened.¡± I said, looking away with a frown.

    ¡°Your¡­ your eye¡­¡± Mom commented next, finally taking notice of the donphan in the room. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s not for cosmetic purposes, right¡­?¡± I stayed silent for a moment before shaking my head. The vaporeon¡¯s ear fins dropped slightly. ¡°Dear Arceus¡­ what exactly happened¡­?¡±

    I sighed before finally letting out. ¡°Mom¡­ Dad? I¡­ I have a lot to say for today.¡±

 Berries, Part 2

    ¡°Goddamn, that¡¯s a huge pile¡­ you sure your berries were stolen or something?¡± I asked as I gazed at the 8-foot-tall berry pile at the end of the storage building.

    ¡°Oh dearie, that¡¯s only a teensy tiny fraction of the berries we had harvested. Just know that the pile reached the ceilin¡¯ because of its size!¡± Methra corrected, raising her claw in clear pride.

    I blinked and tried to imagine a pile of colorful fruits reaching the size of a behemoth. Ooh boy, when I got my hands (or¡­ ugh, paws) on the missing berries, I was gonna suffer trying to drag them all the way back here. Like, I needed to get the hang of psychic power or, like, turn into a horse Pok¨¦mon or something to carry all of those in a wagon. No way in HELL I¡¯d be able to take them all here.

    Hmm¡­ maybe teleportation was on the table? ¡­ I¡¯d cross that bridge when it came to it.

    We were now in the berry storage building that Methra and her son led me to. It was way bigger than I had imagined and, with the slither wing¡¯s explanation, it completely made sense why it was way bigger than ordinary rudimentary storage. Still¡­ that doesn¡¯t explain why or how an entire mountain of berries disappeared overnight without a single trace of the thief/thieves being left at the crime scene.

    I took a few steps forward while looking around, trying to find something or anything that¡¯d be important to find the thieves. Nothing stuck out to me; they were just the same wooden walls with a few traces of steel plates along the wood. A few tools hung from the wall (which were made for Pok¨¦mon like the moth family to hold) and a few bags of¡­ something inside of them. Still, nothing that could strike me as odd¡­ yet. Man, there are no clues to sniff-

    Sniff¡­ oh my God, I¡¯m gonna let that dog in me out.

    I turned to the two bipedal moths and held out a paw. ¡°I have an idea. Just a sec.¡± The two bugs tilted their heads confusedly before I focused. I then began to glow with the same pink light again as my body shifted and morphed into the Pok¨¦mon I had in mind. 6 or so seconds later, the transformation fully finished, leaving me to stand on four paws as the glow left my body. I had become a rockruff.

    And I immediately almost regretted it, goddamn, the smells of the berries were overwhelming!

    After shrugging that slight headache caused by my brain registering the many smells in this storage, I shook my head and lifted a paw. ¡°Time to sniff for clues, baby!¡± I said excitedly, feeling my tail wag behind me.

    Nothris gasped silently, his mandibles visibly parting and revealing his toothless mouth. He then explained. ¡°T-that¡¯s amazin¡¯! I saw you in other forms but I never saw you transform like this! What is that light? How do you do it!?¡±

    I tried rubbing my nose smugly only to remember that I had paws instead of hands so I got a full whiff of dog smell right in my face. Oh well, not that¡¯d matter much. ¡°Well, I kinda just think of a Pok¨¦mon I wanna turn into, like, imagining myself acting as that Pok¨¦mon and boom, I transform. Strange ability, sure, but still, plenty useful.¡±

    Methra nodded before crossing her arms. ¡°Yep, just know that this wee ability of yours is plenty of amazing work. You¡¯re a gifted wee kiddo, Lucas.¡±

    I blushed a bit before looking aside, my (very flexible, goddamn) paw rubbing the back of my head a bit in embarrassment. Look, I received very few compliments that weren¡¯t from my family, so shut the hell up, I¡¯m still learning how to deal with them!

    Focus on the mission at hand!

    My moment of embarrassment passed and I looked at the slither wing family again. ¡°Okay, so¡­ in case it wasn¡¯t obvious by this form I took, I¡¯m gonna try to find some sort of scent that may lead to any kind of clue.¡±

    Nothris scratched the side of his head and spoke. ¡°I know I¡¯ve seen some canine Pok¨¦mon do this. If I remember correctly, one of the guards back on Cavestone is a stoutland, and I usually see her sniffing the ground as if her nose was following a trail¡­ do you even know how to do this?¡±

    I raised my paw and answered with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m about to find out!¡± The two moths looked at me with shocked expressions before I ignored them and turned around. ¡°Fortunately, back where I came from, there¡¯s a certain tutorial that I watched that may give me an idea of what to do.¡± ¡®Beastars, if you are right about how scents worked when Legoshi did it, I¡¯ll uh¡­ I¡¯ll finally admit that I only watched the series because that dog in me leaked out, okay?¡¯

    I sighed before closing my eyes, following how that anthro wolf did in the anime. I then took a deep breath and took in all the smells my snout could pick up along with all the sounds my ears could identify. I then focused solely on the scents and smells around me, my brain doing the work for me and separating them from each other and the oxygen.

    The first and obvious scent was the mushy, earthly, and sweet scent that most of the berries in the pile had. However, my nose scrunched a bit once some of those smells were too much for me. I then decided to focus on the next batch of smells. It smelled a bit musky, with the scent of ashes and fiery fragrance around the source of the smell, it also seemed to come from behind me. Ah, that probably must¡¯ve been the slither wing family. Then I could smell the rusty iron coming from the slates around the storage, the wood from the planks-

    Hm¡­ hol¡¯ up, I¡¯m cookin¡¯. I found a strange scent that lingered closely among the planks.

    I subconsciously started walking in its direction, my nose sniffing it more so it got familiar with every part of the scent and where it was coming from. It was like I was following some kind of trail while blind. Just like Bea- No, brain, focus on smell!

    It smelled of musk but also combined with a scent of earthly grass that created a¡­ not so good mix of smells. Still, it was a trail, and this trail took me¡­ somewhere, I couldn¡¯t see, I was only following the trail, just letting my body move along the scent that seemed recent enough but not that recent so it was kinda hazy. But I could get where it was going at least, it was basically like following footprints, but instead of relying on sight to see where it led, I was relying on olfactory functions.

    I felt the air around me change, making me notice I was already outside. But I didn¡¯t care, my body was telling me to follow the smell until the source was found. So I kept walking and walking, trying to find where the trail of smell would end-

    ¡°Woah!!!¡±

    I was suddenly grabbed from behind and lifted off the ground, feeling my paws touch the air. I opened my eyes and looked at the Pok¨¦mon who caught me with such hard claws. It was Methra. ¡°Och, wha are ya doing, dearie? You were walking towards the forest outta nowhere. Were ya really thinkin¡¯ you¡¯d track that hooligan¡¯s scent all the way onto the forest? You could¡¯ve gone lost, ya know?¡±

    A bit of awareness returned to me as I glanced into the forest ahead, the canopy of the woods looking a bit menacing with the shadows caused by the foliage of the trees. Yeah, uh¡­ if horror movies and games taught me anything was to never go into unknown territory in the woods alone, or else you¡¯re cooked.

    I whimpered a bit and looked back at the slither wing, sheepishly grinning. ¡°My bad, got a bit too focused on the smell.¡± ¡®And of course, that should be cause for concern because, uh¡­ hello? Instincts are fucking taking over my body momentarily! I need to escape the furry allegations!!!¡¯

    Nothris crawled beside his mother and got onto two feet again to look better at me. ¡°But you did confirm there was a trail to follow, right?¡± He asked before I nodded in confirmation. His wings flapped a bit, a few ember scales scattering around. ¡°Nice! That means that we can track that pesky bampot of a thief and recover our berries!¡±

    ¡°Now hol¡¯ on to your wings darlings!¡± Methra said as she put me on the ground. ¡°Just because ya have a lead, doesn¡¯t mean ya can just waltz into whatever hideout that numpty has without a plan whatsoever. Now, before ya say anything, I trust y¡¯all¡¯s abilities and powers, but what if they have some kind of trap prepared? What if they have some strong members in their wee group?¡±

    Nothris¡¯ wings flapped a bit more as his tail shook a bit. ¡°B-but Mom, I didn¡¯t start a team back at the guild for nothing! If I don¡¯t do anything, then what is the point of me getting stronger to protect our farm?¡±

    The bigger moth swayed her red tail to the side as her mandibles clicked. ¡°And who said I wasn¡¯t gonna leave ya to your wits?¡± She shook her head and crossed her arms. ¡°What I was intendin¡¯ to say was for neither Lucas nor you to charge blindly into numpty territory. Y¡¯all would get overwhelmed easily ¡®n I wouldn¡¯t want to be responsible for losing ya both for that.¡±

    I sat down on my rear and tilted my head. ¡°So¡­ you¡¯re suggesting we make a trap or something to get an advantage over them?¡±

    ¡°I was gettin¡¯ to that part but yes, that¡¯d be ideal.¡± The golden-winged slither wing said. ¡°Thing is¡­ I dunno what would attract the thieves again unless it¡¯s more berries¡­¡±

    Nothris tapped on his chin and asked. ¡°But¡­ don¡¯t they already have enough berries to satisfy themselves? Why would they need more?¡±

    I chimed in. ¡°Exactly. Which is why we need something to lure them out of their hideout. Something bigger and better. But first¡­¡± I turned around again and faced the forest. ¡°We might need to scout where they are to find out what they might want besides berries¡­¡±

    ¡°Yer not suggesting¡­¡± Methra trailed off, a look of worry on her face.

    I looked back at her with a toothy dog grin. ¡°Lady, did you forget who you were speaking to?¡± I said before the light of transformation took over me again, making me shrink and morph into another form. When the light went away, I was fully transformed into a joltik. The two moths looked at me surprised. ¡°If I wanted to, I can just transform into any Pok¨¦mon that is awesome for stealth missions!¡±

    I shall honor your legacy, Solid Snake! Hmm¡­ maybe I should transform into an ekans¡­ yes¡­ for consistency''s sake!

    Methra still had her look of concern before her son stepped in and advocated for my magnificent plan. ¡°Come on, Mom! You didn¡¯t call Lucas¡¯ help for nothing, right? You can put a little more faith in him!¡±

    The big moth mom had a thoughtful look on her chitinous face before sighing. ¡°Welp, you can¡¯t have a lush berry tree without plantin¡¯ a few seedlings.¡± As I transformed back into a rockruff, the slither wing continued. ¡°I just hope ya know what you¡¯re doing, Lucas.¡±

    I gave her a reassuring smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know what I¡¯m doing. Dare I say, I¡¯m an expert when it comes to stealth missions!¡± ¡®Video games count, right? I mean, uh¡­ I did learn a thing or two when it comes to stealth. Hell, I can even transform into different body types to better aid in my stealth.¡¯

    Nothris raised a claw. ¡°And I¡¯ll help with that!¡± The orange-winged Pok¨¦mon then turned to his mother. ¡°This is what I signed up for after entering the guild! I need to get stronger to protect our farm from further harm and theft like this!¡±

    Methra, this time, didn¡¯t waste any time lingering on her thoughts and instead released an accepting clicking of her mandibles. ¡°Alright, darlings. I suppose I shouldn¡¯t let you here instead of tryin¡¯ to solve the problem. Haste ye back dearies, don¡¯t let a bunch of eejits stomp all over ya!¡± She finished while flapping her golden wings and clasping her claws.

    ¡°Heh, I¡¯ve already gone against a few strong guys so I¡¯ll be careful about that.¡± I said with a smirk as I felt my tail wag behind me and I turned around, calling out to the smaller slither wing. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Nothris. Those berries ain¡¯t gonna get themselves back!¡±

    The moth fell onto a quadrupedal stance as he nodded. ¡°Heck yeah, let¡¯s do this!¡±

    With that, we went into the forest, passing by the fence as Methra called from behind us. ¡°Stay safe, dearies!¡±

    Once we were a bit into the forest, I stopped and scanned my surroundings as the sound of nature started filling my ears. Fresh air flowed through my nose as I gazed at the canopy of trees above, bigger than I was used to because of my smaller form than my human one. Leaves rustled in the wind and small chirps from the feral bird Pok¨¦mon could be heard all around us. If it were any other situation, I¡¯d be chilling going on a nature walk¡­

    But nah bro, it¡¯s showtime, just like Snake says!

    I turned to the behemoth of a moth following behind me as I tried to remember the musky and grassy smell from before. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m gonna go into smell mode again until we get to the place. Can you direct me out of any obstacles while I¡¯m sniffing?¡±

    Nothris nodded as his wings fluttered. ¡°You can count on me! And if any dafty wild Pok¨¦mon try to interrupt ya, I¡¯ll punch ¡®em to the sun!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit! You¡¯re so based!¡± I complimented before turning to the direction I was heading and taking a deep breath. I closed my eyes again and focused on my olfactory senses again, letting the different smells all congregate into one before mentally separating them. I could smell the greenery of the leaves and grass, the sulfuric smell coming from the slither wing behind me, and the sweet scent of berries on the bushes too.

    There were also other smells that I failed to recognize, probably coming from other Pok¨¦mon judging from how¡­ musky and meaty they were. Hell, I could even smell some dung which almost threw me out of my zone.

    Eventually (and miraculously, so many smells for me to keep track of), the smell from before returned to my focus. ¡°There!¡± I said with my eyes closed before I rushed to the source of the smell, kicking dust from the pads of my feet.

    ¡°Wait for me, Lucas!¡±  Nothris shouted from behind me. I could hear and feel his heavy footsteps keeping pace with me.

    It felt like I was on a trail, an invisible one made out of just smell alone. I felt the minor instincts keeping me from going off the path of the smell, making me locked in on the smell alone and nothing else. I turned left and sometimes right while following the smelly path, going full speed in my sprint. Eventually, I could hear a couple of shouts from the orange-winged moth telling me there was a tree or a bush in the path, making me dodge the oncoming obstacles during my blind rush. This went on for minutes and minutes.

    The adrenaline was taking over me at this moment, feeling the wind brush through my skin and fur, going wherever that grassy and musky smell was taking me, it felt exciting. Was this how dogs normally felt? Just running along the fields in search of the source of an alluring smell¡­ is that why they¡¯re normally like that? It felt so damn good¡­

    Wait, why was my tongue out tasting the wind-

    ¡°Lucas, stop!¡±

    I heard Nothris'' voice snap out of my trance, slamming my forepaws on the ground with force and skidding to a stop. Awareness returned to me before I opened my eyes, scanning around before looking back at the slither wing that approached quickly (and rather menacingly). ¡°Ye-yeah, Nothris?¡±

    The moth stopped beside me and stood up, his tail swaying left and right. He stared up before pointing his claw to where he gazed. ¡°Look, up there!¡±

    My eyes drifted into the place he was pointing at and, consequentially, I saw what he wanted to show me. Since we were in an area with tall trees and big trunks, of course, the foliage in them would be massive as well, right? So¡­ not only were we below the massive canopy of the large trees that blocked out the sun, but we were also below a massive tree society.

    Hidden among the many leaves of the trees, wooden buildings were strung around the place with vines from the foundation of them dangling from underneath them. There were many buildings around the trees, varying in sizes, and with more of them hidden further inside the foliage too.

    And are those wooden catwalks connecting the trees too???

    It almost felt like we stumbled upon a hidden society or something. But instead of having any secret buildings underground, they were high above the ground, constantly watching the surface beneath them. Or, at least, it felt like it, I didn¡¯t see any ¡®mons watching us from high up or something.

    It was during my tree-gazing that I felt a certain smell entering my nose¡­ a very sweet one that I remember all too well from back at the berry storage. I gasped and commented. ¡°That smell-!¡± I turned to Nothris. ¡°The berries are up there!¡±

    The slither wing¡¯s eyes widened as he registered the information in his head, his fur fluffing up and his wings twitching. ¡°Huh!? Really!?¡± His gaze then returned back to the treetops above, his eyes now narrowing as his wings started flaring up a little. ¡°So that¡¯s basically the thieves¡¯ hideout¡­¡±

    With that confirmation out of the way, it meant that step 1 of the plan was now complete. Now¡­ onto step two.

    I took a few steps forward, my ears flickering as I swiveled my head around, almost sure I saw something. Although, I ignored it, hard-focusing on the task ahead. Welp, it was about time I had to try one of these forms eventually, I needed to get the hang of flying, after all.

    The pink glow of transformation took over my body again, my body started to morph and shift to the Pok¨¦mon in my mind. My hindlegs morphed into talons, my posture changed to a semi-bipedal one, my forelegs shifted with a flare into wings, and my muzzle turned into a small beak. Once the transformation was fully finished, the glow disappeared as I opened my new wings. I had transformed into a starly.

    I turned to look at the moth as sheepishly as my new bird features would allow. ¡°Okay, so¡­ listen. This is¡­ kinda my first time trying out wings and shit, so¡­ uh¡­ sorry if I don¡¯t get the hang of it immediately.¡± ¡®Even though the new instincts kinda beam tutorials in my head on how to do shit as certain Pok¨¦mon.¡¯

    Nothris shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If you can¡¯t do it, I¡¯ll crawl with you all the way up there. My claws can pierce wood just fine.¡±

    I grinned. ¡°Sweet! But still, just because I can, I¡¯mma act smugly and overconfident just to trick my brain that I can do it. Sooooo¡­¡± I did a small salute with the feathers of my wing. ¡°See ya at the top!¡±

    With a bit of effort, I jumped and started flapping my wings, slowly gaining altitude before a gust of wind propelled me forward and upwards. I let the low wind guide me for a bit, trying to remember from seeing how birds in video games, animations, and even real life usually do it. And that was working, I was probably a few feet in the air right now and I would only reach higher!

    ¡­ if not for a gust of wind push me back down. Look, seeing something is hella different from experiencing it!

    ¡°Woah! Shiiiiiit!¡± I screamed as I tried (and miserably failed) to regain control of my flight, flapping my wings in a very panicked way.

    ¡°Lucas!¡± I heard Nothris scream from below and I looked down at him during my rapid descent to the ground. He rushed torwards my landing location and jumped, turning around midair and catching me in his furry arms. He clutched me onto his fluffy chest as he landed on the floor again, holding me tightly. He released his hold of me and let his arms dangle to the side as he looked down at me. ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    I shook my head out of the vertigo of falling before responding. ¡°Me, physically? Yes, I am. My pride, mentally? Hell no, it ain¡¯t recovering until I do that shit right.¡± With that out of the way, I looked over my body to see if there was anything wrong with it on a superficial level. Once I was done checking my body (and as much as I¡¯d love to just sit on Nothris¡¯ fluff for an eternity), I jumped off his body and spread my wings again. ¡°I¡¯ll do it, dammit!¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ ya sure about that? Dinnae fash yersel, like I said, you can just let me carry you to the top.¡± Nothris suggested as he slowly got up beside me.

    I glared softly at the slither wing and explained my piece. ¡°Look, Nothris, I very much appreciate the help, but still, I need to learn this myself. I need to get good at this thing if I¡¯m gonna eventually be turning into birds on the fly once I get good at transformations.¡± ¡®After all, the fate of the world might be depending on it. I still don¡¯t fully trust what Shadow Deity in my head was saying.¡¯ I tilted my head. ¡°Can you at least, like, give me tips on how to do it? Since, uh¡­¡± I trailed off, motioning to the moth¡¯s orange blazing wings.

    ¡°Huh? But I don¡¯t fly, ya ken? Sure, I can lift my body off the ground for a few seconds with some flaps, but that¡¯s it. Besides, my wings are different ¡± I stayed silent, staring at him with a pleading look while rubbing my wings on each other. He relented with a sigh and shrugged. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll try my best to explain then, with some of the lessons I was given.¡± He turned around, showing me his back and the full size of his six orange wings, spreading them. ¡°Like you were doing before, you always flap your wings to keep your body in the air. And remember this, the lighter you are, the easier it is to keep flying with as small flaps as possible.¡± He demonstrated with a jump and a few powerful wing flaps before landing on the ground with a thud, managing a few seconds off the ground.

    I nodded in understanding. ¡°I see¡­ but¡­¡± I thought back to the reason I fell in the first place. ¡°But¡­ the downside of being lighter is that the wind can blow you away more easily?¡±

    The big moth nodded back after turning back to me. ¡°Exactly, that¡¯s why you need to have control of your wing beats to beat the wind on its own game, blow the wind back if you don¡¯t plan on riding it. But if you do, you should let the wind carry you, and you won¡¯t need to flap your wings a lot.¡± He scratched his chin and chittered. ¡°That¡­ seems to be the gist of it, at least.¡±

    I thought about the info in my head and imagined myself doing it very crudely and cartoonishly. It finally registered in my head an inkling of what I should be doing. It was worth a shot. ¡°Alright, I¡­ think I got it. Good explanation, the only way I fail this is because of my stupidity.¡± I said with a cheeky grin at Nothris.

    With that, I jumped back a bit and spread my wings further.

    ¡°You can do it, Lucas!¡±

    ¡°Thankies!¡± With that, I gave a few flaps and took off again, rising in altitude as my body slowly distanced itself off the ground. ¡®No falling this time, dammit! I¡¯ll fucking do it!¡¯ Rhythmic flapping sounds filled my ears as I pressed on, closing my eyes and slowly rising into the air.

    It was then that another gust of wind hit my body, trying to send me tumbling to the ground again. However, I was prepared. I opened my eyes and pressed on, changing the direction of my body in a way that I was facing the wind directly. And then, I started flapping my wings rhythmically, sending my own wind gust against the wind current assaulting me. It¡­ it was working, I wasn¡¯t falling!

    ¡°Yes!¡± I exclaimed with a grin before the wind picked up a bit, blowing me back and throwing off my mojo, and I started falling. ¡°Shit!¡± I flapped my wings harder, recovering the small attitude that I had lost. Eventually, I managed to stay in place while flying, wing flaps keeping me steady as I registered the situation in my head. I was¡­ flying, legit, all by myself. No wingsuit, no plane, nothing. I was in the air, flying like a bird. ¡°Heh¡­ hehehe, holy shit! This is legit so cool!¡±

    As I levitated with the help of my wings feet away from the ground, it was like a third eye opened and my brain remembered all the moves that bird did while flying around. Some could even say that I cracked the code.

    With that mental realization, I grinned as wide as my beak would let me and I descended down into the ground a bit before picking up my momentum by spreading my wings again just like a glider. ¡®I got it! I finally got it!¡¯ The downward slope turned into an upward one as I rose once again, my sharp eyes fixated beyond the foliage. ¡®I thought that my wings were pure instruments that made me fly. No, they¡¯re an extension of my body, an organ reorganizing the wind flow around it and letting me defy it.¡¯ I shot straight through the leaves, dodging the wooden buildings embedded in the treetops. And eventually, I flew to the highest point I had ever reached, finally surpassing all the leaves. And then, I saw it¡­

    Mountains were visible from the distance along with an endless ocean. Hills and trees of lush greenery were strung all around. I could see ahead some flying Pok¨¦mon soaring through the skies, be it wild ones or even explorers. Looking up, I saw the sun raining down its rays upon me again as a gentle breeze passed through my feathers. It was this sight and this sight alone that made me realize something. Despite the problems that this world clearly had¡­ it was still beautiful. It felt like I was staring at a canvas, something that simple video games would never be able to replicate.

    Words weren¡¯t enough to describe this beauty.

    ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± My wings flared in excitement as I let off a shrill excitement. ¡°This is one of the best things EVER!!!¡±

    I would¡¯ve loved to enjoy the moment even more, but of course, my brain had to remind me about¡­ uh¡­ what was it again? OH FUCK, THE MISSION! BERRIES! METAL GEAR SOLID MOMENT!

    I shook my head before grunting in annoyance. I¡¯d get to enjoy the air another time, meanwhile, I got a place to scout to develop a plan. Those berries needed to be recovered today, pronto!

    With that, I dived a bit down and analyzed my surroundings with sharp eyes. On the top of the tall trees, there were some wooden buildings spread around the highest sturdy branches of the trees. They looked like very rustic treehouses that served more like watchtowers rather than appreciating the beautiful scenery with how they were spread around.

    I also noticed some Pok¨¦mon were watching from there. I couldn¡¯t see exactly what kind of Pok¨¦mon they were, but I noticed they were oddly bipedal, had a tail, and had purple fur covering their bodies. Either way, this was a stealth mission, and I only needed to lose sight of them and enter one of those buildings since one of them was looking at me.

    ¡®I just need to pretend I¡¯m just a wild starly and they¡¯ll leave me alone, hopefully.¡¯ I thought before gliding a bit down and keeping level with the building, making sure I was in the Pok¨¦mon¡¯s line of sight. As I approached the building, flying beside it, I realized that the watcher was an aipom.

    I flew beside the building where the monkey Pok¨¦mon stood on watch, and after I was out of his line of sight, I soared up again and landed on the building, my talons touching the tip of the building. The wind breezed through my feathers as I observed below. ¡°Hm¡­ where to go, where to go¡­?¡± I scanned around until I spotted an open window on a cylindrical wooden building, devoid of any Pok¨¦mon passing by it or watching through it. That would be my entrance. ¡°There!¡±

    With that, I opened my wings again and started flying torwards the building, aiming at the window. Fortunately enough for me, the window was big enough for my small body to enter, so I went through it just fine, even though it threw me off my rhythm. I crashed onto the wooden floorboards face-first. Hopefully, no one saw or heard that¡­

    I got up and shook my head from the pain and dust that got stuck in my head. I whispered to myself. ¡°Landing with style! Now it¡¯s truly showtime!¡± I then transformed again, kissing goodbye to my wings and going back to a four-legged creature, a very small one. Once my transformation was finished, I had turned back into a joltik. ¡®I would¡¯ve turned into a rat for funny references but no, I needed the smallest Pok¨¦mon possible for this. Oh well, time for scouting, Metal Gear Solid style (or most 3D horror games for that matter)!¡¯

    I looked at the wall beside me, remembering that any arachnid Pok¨¦mon are excellent climbers and masters of stealth. So¡­ would I be able to climb walls as well? In this episode of Mythbusters-

    I looked at the nub that I considered feet and nodded to myself. I took a deep breath and mentally prepared myself for it. I thought that all I needed to do was just to firmly press my nubs on the wall and I¡¯d stick to them, so that¡¯s what I did. I walked to the wall and pressed my forelimbs on the wall, getting a tad bit ner- ¡®Nervous? Me!? Nuh uh, watch this sick ass wall climbing!¡¯ I mentally reassured myself as I gulped dry.

    Why did my saliva have different properties and why did my throat not like it? Never do that as a bug type ever again¡­ like getting sidetracked right now! (So true.)

    Eventually, I got my hind limbs to try and stick to the wall. Oh wow, would ya look at that, I did it, and kinda easily too! ¡®Hell yeah, I¡¯m so awesome and cool!¡¯ I said as I took a few steps upwards, my nubs still not failing on me yet. ¡®I can take on the world now! This achievement is gonna go down in history-!¡¯

    ¡°What in Giratina¡¯s name a wild joltik is doing here?¡±

    A new voice made me cringe a bit, making me turn to the source of it. I saw a groo- no, uh¡­ what was that middle evolution again? Oh yes, Thwackey! (Ugh, such a forgettable middle evolution. Really puts the mid in the name.) A Twhackey was staring at me with his arms crossed, a curious look on his face¡­ FUCK, I GOT SPOTTED!

    ¡®Uh, um, SURPRISE ELECTROWEB ATTACK!¡¯ A viscous and tingly substance formed in my mouth after I directed my core¡¯s energy along with my will. After my cheeks filled in half a second, I shot out at the grass monkey a single rope of electricity-made web before it spread into the trademark octagonal spider web. The Thwackey was caught by surprise as the Electroweb clung to his face, shocking him a bit and eliciting a grunt out of him.

    ¡°Ngh, what the-!¡±

    ¡®Time to skedaddle!!!¡¯ I shouted mentally and remembered joltik¡¯s running animation. That derpy-ass hop that they did since their tiny legs were not made for running. Quickly, I jumped off the wall and hopped high into the air, almost losing my balance after surprising myself with how high I could go. Instinctively, I managed to correct my posture before landing on the ground again. Then started the process of hopping like a maniac to get out of there before the monkey got out of his sticky and electrifying confinement.

    I hopped and hopped like a frog until I found two wooden doors on the circular corridor, likely leading to different rooms. I stopped hopping, letting my dizzy brain recover from all the jumping I did. Once it did, I looked at the doors again, finding a small and narrow passage beneath the door that I could slide through with my current height. I grinned and did just that, entering the room without the need to even open the door.

    I quickly thought of a big-brain move, my fanged grin widening further. I turned to face the door and jumped on it, softly pressing my nubs on it and sticking myself on the door. I stayed silent, not moving a muscle as I tried to hear any sort of movement from beyond the door. I prayed to the universe that this door would be pushed from the other side rather than pulled.

    ¡®Spider senses, be my savior in this scenario!¡¯

    Eventually, not only could I hear, but I could also feel the footsteps approaching. From the other side, I could hear a very annoyed Pok¨¦mon grumbling. ¡°Fucking bug types. Pain in my damn ass with their disgusting webs and creepy crawly attitude¡­¡±

    The sound got louder until it started lowering itself, the Thwackey obviously getting further away from the door. Once I deemed the sound far enough, I jumped off the wall and landed back on the ground. I let out a sigh of relief after getting away from such a close call. I took a few steps forward and thought to myself. ¡®Colonel, I¡¯m trying to sneak around, but I¡¯m dummy thick. And the clap of my ass cheeks keeps alerting the guards.¡¯

    I snickered a bit at the meme before I analyzed the contents of this room. It had a simple wooden desk with paper, a quill, and a pot of black ink on it. On the other side of the room, there was a ladder that led down, probably to the other treehouses below this one.

    ¡°Well, only one way to go and that is down.¡± I whispered to myself before walking to the ladder. I started walking on the base of the ladder, slowly descending. I realized that this was going to take a bit because of my small body, so I thought. ¡®No fall damage for bug types¡­ right? I mean, I saw a beetle fall from a tree, into the hard concrete AND survive!¡¯

    I stopped and stared down at the long drop ahead of me, making me shiver at the mere thought of falling. But¡­ I¡¯m a Pok¨¦mon now, I have more resistance to basically, like, anything. I can take a fall like this¡­ hopefully.

    ¡°Me? A pussy? Never!¡± I whispered to myself before I jumped away from the wooden ladder and started falling and falling as the wind blew through my fur. I wanted to scream so bad, but yet, I knew that my high-pitched joltik voice would echo all around the big trees. So¡­ I just braced for impact, steeling my feet until it made contact with the floor.

    I winced once I felt the hard wooden floor make contact with my nubs, pain traveling through my nerves as my body shivered from the impact. I wanted to grunt, yet¡­ I didn¡¯t. Also, I realized something once the pain went away. ¡®I¡­ I¡¯m not dead¡­ no broken bones either! Yes, Pok¨¦mon bodies are amazing!¡¯ I freeze for a moment before realizing what I thought. ¡®Ayo, pause-¡¯ I shook my head and started walking out of the ladder space, squeezing underneath another door. ¡®Anyway, I gotta find where they¡¯re keeping the berries. It must be a big room and probably heavily guarded.¡¯

    I looked around, taking in the new surroundings. It was another hallway, but this time, it was a narrow and straight one, filled with other rooms around it. Some ceramic pots were strung around the place, signifying that this specific building might be more than just a watchtower.

    ¡®No Pok¨¦mon around here so maybe I could go back to rockruff to find the berries faster. Don¡¯t want this to be a Persona 5 moment where I¡¯m gonna waste hours to find the treasure.¡¯

    With that mental reminder, I scanned the hallways even further. With no sounds or vibrations of encroaching footsteps. I got lucky, so hell naw I¡¯d waste this opportunity.

    I immediately bolted underneath one of the tables with a ceramic pot on it and started transforming. Once the transformation was finished, I was back into the form of a rockruff, and- goddammit, the tsunami of smells struck again!

    I shook my head from the overwhelming sensation, and, when that wasn¡¯t working, I decided to do something stupid. I raised my foreleg and bit into it, making the pain jolt me from the overwhelming sensation of the smells. I shivered a bit as I lowered my paw back to the ground. ¡®Alright, that¡¯s dealt with, berry-hunting mode now.¡¯

    I took a big whiff of the air, getting assaulted by musky scents spread all around, the smell of wood covering my surroundings, and the strong and sweet smell of berries that basically overshadowed many other smells.

    Strange¡­ why was smelling something¡­ smokey? It smelled¡­ familiar but a bit more intense?

    Anyway, not the point, probably some fire type making dinner or something. I needed to follow the scent of the berries!

    Doing the Legoshi strat once again, I started following the scent trail blindly. I did this very slowly since I didn¡¯t wanna ram my head onto a wall. Not only that, I also didn¡¯t want to get caught in 4K by some Pok¨¦mon patrolling around the place. So, I kept my nose and my ears sharp as I traversed the halls of the place.

    The sweet and tangy scent of the berries ever so slightly grew in intensity as I kept walking around. It seemed I was on the right track so I followed the trail thoroughly, turned sharply to the left, and immediately bumped my head into a wall. I opened my eyes and annoyedly glared at the wall in front of me. I huffed and whispered to my imaginary friend, Lucas. ¡°This is stupid¡­ hella agree there.¡± Amusedly, I turned away and sat on my haunches, looking at the ceiling. ¡®Maybe I can do the Legoshi strat with my eyes opened? I need to try that out-¡¯

    I paused that thought when one of my ears flickered. I heard faint sounds getting closer to my location. My eyes widened and I bolted away from there, turning a corner and hiding on the ledge of the wall. I peeked over the corner and my eyes noticed my muzzle poking out, one of the many curses of having a long snout. ¡®I swear if this gets me caught¡­¡¯

    The sounds started becoming more clear. It was both footsteps and voices, and both were heading in my direction. And then, two blurry figures in the distance could be seen until they got more resolution in my eyes. My eyes widened at what I saw. ¡®Is that¡­!¡¯

    Walking beside an infernape, a familiar figure that I¡¯d seen before and deeply remembered as the sole reason I went to a Mystery Dungeon on my first day here, forcing me to learn about my new powers. It was the same buff simisage from before, and from what I could tell, still speaking in that heavily accented voice.

    ¡®That smell¡­¡¯ I thought, my nose wrenching a bit as it caught a whiff of the smell I was tracking to reach this place, growing ever so slightly in intensity. ¡®The grassy and musky smell was coming from him!?¡¯

    ¡°So yer sayin¡¯ that ya caught a lil¡¯ bug, eh?¡± The simisage seemed to ask, rubbing his finger on his chin.

    The fire monkey crossed his arms, speaking in a smooth and grave tone. ¡°I would say it¡¯s more of a big bug, but yes, one of our fellows caught him staring at our base with a starly before they flew away. So, we ambushed him and brought him to our reinforced holding cell.¡±

    ¡®Wait¡­ did they fucking capture Nothris!?¡¯ I thought with a shocked expression on my face, stifling a gasp. I stopped watching them and fully hid behind the wall. ¡®Well¡­ in hindsight, I guess getting close to the base of operations while in the territory of what seemed to be a mockup mafia gang was a bad idea¡­ but I didn¡¯t even know the thieves would be them!¡¯ I shook my head and then gritted my teeth. ¡®Ugh, whatever, I¡¯m on borrowed time. Not only am I in the base of the Elemental Discount Kongs, but they also captured Nothris? Shit, I gotta be fast with this. Find Nothris then find the berries and THEN get outta here! ¡¯

    I then stopped listening to the conversation and bolted out of there, shifting my focus to the smells again. ¡®That smokey smell, was that Nothris trying to use a fire move? Well then, I just need to follow the smell of burning and I may find him.¡¯

    While running down the hallways, filtering through smells, I found the smell of smoke lingering in the air, coming from deeper down the treetops. ¡®Got it! Now to find the stairs- wait a minute, I don¡¯t need to.¡¯

    My throttle came down to a stop when I came across a glassless window embedded in the wall, a few leaves passing by it. I grinned a bit as I started transforming, taking a few seconds until I fully transformed back into a joltik. ¡®Heh, Perfect!¡¯

    I jumped onto the window and crawled to one of the branches around the building. I stopped to look around, marveling a bit at the sights of this tree civilization. There were bridges connecting to wooden houses and stuff, and the buildings themselves came in varying sizes, cylindrical and rectangular.

    Without needing to smell anything, my eyes caught a trail of smoke coming from the lower parts of the base. The source of it seemed to be a big rectangular building at the center of other constructions. With my sights set on that particular building, I noticed a small problem. The gap was way too large for me to jump and land safely on one of the walls. ¡®Dammit, it¡¯s a long trek to there, and if I used branches to get there while walking in this form, it¡¯s gonna take minutes to- ¡­ wait, can I?¡¯

    I managed to do an Electroweb earlier, right? So¡­ what if I used the same shit but as a tether or grappling hook? Like¡­ Spiderman¡­

    My weird mouth and mandible hybrid curled up with a fanged grin as I imagined myself doing slingshots left and right through buildings as a joltik, just like Peter Parker does daily. ¡®Brain, I fucking love you for coming up with that idea, now let¡¯s see the execution¡­¡¯

    Preparing an Electroweb in my mouth, I aimed my face at a nearby branch, staring at it while focusing a bit. And with the adrenaline starting to kick in, I jumped, getting a huge distance forward before finally releasing the fuzzy web. ¡®Reach!¡¯ The electricity-made strand stuck on the branch I was aiming, and instead of falling down to a miserable death (or not, could¡¯ve survived, probably), I swung slowly before I released my hold of the ¡®rope¡¯, flinging me forward and onto the building I was aiming for.

    I landed on the wall, another shiver going through my exoskeleton as my legs bent a bit. Once the shiver was done, I looked around and assessed my surroundings. I looked back and saw the electrifying web hanging limply from the branch before fizzling out of existence after its charge ran out. I almost squealed in excitement but managed to tone down to a silent tapping of feet onto the hardwood.

    ¡°That was AWESOME!!!¡± I whispered to myself. ¡°I¡¯m learning more cool shit every day! Just imagine when I reach peak Pok¨¦mon capacity!¡±

    Once my glee died down, I started walking around the outer wall of the construction where I landed. Fortunately for me, I found a crevice between the wood planks, a hole that led to the inside it seemed. I noticed that the planks of the buildings weren¡¯t that thick, so they could be broken down very easily if someone wanted to.

    While slipping through it, squeezing my body between the cracks like the bug I was at the moment, my mind wondered about something after a small realization. ¡®Wait, if the walls are as thin as a sheet of cardboard, then why didn¡¯t Nothris even try to escape? He¡¯s a fighting type with access to fire moves after all¡­¡¯

    Something that the infernape said bothered me a bit, something about reinforced holding cells? What did he mean by that?

    In any case, whatever kind of cell it was, I¡¯d bust Nothris out of there no matter what-

    My body shivered for a moment, my eyes shooting wide open as I turned to face a side of one of the rooms I stumbled into. I saw a panpour already shooting a jet of water from their tail at me, and on time, I leaped out of the way, not quite sticking the landing as I rolled on the floor. Lying on my back, I looked back at the panpour glaring at me angrily while I spoke. ¡°What in the actual-¡±

    ¡°Just stay still, dumb bug, I¡¯ll end your suffering so you don¡¯t need to pester anyone else.¡± The blue primate said as its hand glowed a bright white glow, his fingernails growing to an unfathomable length. (Slay queen, hehe.)

    I flipped myself back on my feet. ¡°That¡¯s kinda racist, ain¡¯t it-¡±

    I couldn¡¯t finish my sentence as the water type lunged at me, reeling his fist back before throwing it at me, trying to cut me with what was probably a Scratch attack. I narrowingly avoided it with a hop to the side, landing inches away from the white glowing claws. There was also a new scratch mark on the floor that easily pierced the floor. ¡°Ugh, stay still!¡±This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    ¡°Nuh-uh!¡± I declared before spraying the panpour with a strand of Electroweb on his chest before it could explode into a net. But that¡¯s what I needed to stagger him back a bit and make him suffer a bit of electrical shock throughout his body. The monkey grunted and twitched from the pain. I spat the web from my mouth and tried to run away. ¡°See ya, wettie!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too cocky for a normal wildling bug!¡± The panpour said as I heard the sound of something getting ripped. I turned around and found out that the monkey had removed the electric strand from his chest and thrown it away, and now he was aiming the tip of his tail at me. ¡°Take this!¡±

    I didn¡¯t react fast in time, almost frozen like a deer in the headlights as a jet of Water Gun was shot straight at me. As the water impacted my body, I felt pain surge through me as I was launched backwards by the force of the water, making me impact the wall close to a candle. I groaned in pain as I slumped back to the ground. My fuzz was all wet now, some of the water sticking really close to my breathing holes on the side. ¡®Shit, it would¡¯ve been better if I was in a stronger electric-type body.¡¯ I shook my head and slowly stood up again, the vertigo of being launched away slowly leaving my head. ¡®My transformations aren¡¯t fast enough yet for me to transform mid-battle. I need to make do with what I have!¡¯

    The panpour smiled smugly as he gripped his tail harder like a hose gun thing. ¡°My boss won¡¯t appreciate this place being bug-infested. So how about ya leave or face the consequences, eh?¡±

    ¡°Nah, you guys stole some things and I plan to bring them all back!¡± I took some steps forward. ¡°And besides¡­ I¡¯m not just a normal joltik!¡±

    I grinned and looked upwards, shooting an electrical web at the ceiling. The moment the panpour stopped registering my words, he already was shooting another jet of water directed at me. I dodged the jet by pulling myself up with my Electroweb and swinging with it like a vine. I let go of it once my momentum sent me forward to the panpour, making me land on his wet and humid fur. The water monkey noticed me on his head and growled, letting go of his tail and trying to grab me. ¡°Get off!¡±

    I avoided each of his grabs, running around his head and weaving each hand swipe the wet monkey did. ¡°You¡¯re too slow~!¡± I taunted in Sonic¡¯s voice before making a quick decision as I remembered something. Spider bite. I¡¯m a spider. I shall bite.

    The panpour shook his body, water particles flying around him angrily as if trying to get me off his head. And just like the stubborn little troll I was, I still maintained a hold on his head, sinking my nubs onto his moist fur and wrapping them around my legs. It would be the makeshift reins I need to not eat shit and fall off the horse.

    Eventually, I managed to gain my footing again and prepared myself for the taste of greasy flesh in my mouth. ¡®I sure hope this monkey''s moisty body isn¡¯t just for show and he washes himself!¡¯ After that thought, I bit down on him. After my fangs sunk into his skin, I forced my core to produce electricity around my body and focused the fuzzy feeling more on my mouth.

    The monkey beneath me spazzed and spasmed, getting hurt a lot by the electro ¡°massage¡± I was giving him. That¡¯s what you get for having water all over your body, bitch! It was super effective!

    After I felt the fuzzy feeling run out, I let go of the panpour¡¯s head and he fell limply on the floor, a small bit of smoke rising from him. I landed on the floor after his fall and got back up again. I looked at the water monkey who had twitchy limb movements, his eyes closed and still breathing. ¡®Thank goodness I didn¡¯t kill him. I was worried for nothing, this form is too weak anyway.¡¯

    I shook my head and sighed, starting to transform into a small but more powerful form. Eventually, I finished and the glow died down. I decided to settle for a more versatile type in case there is a Pok¨¦mon that can negate most of my attacks, so I settled for a normal type. A zorua, the hisuian variety of course.

    I remembered the lesson from yesterday so I knew how to stabilize my form so I didn¡¯t flicker out of existence.

    Ghost typing was one of the types I knew would be hard to grasp. Like, the sheer abnormality that this one type possessed (pun not intended)¡­ it was hard to understand how not only some Pok¨¦mon work but also what all of the moves work. Like, legit, how the fuck do I think about when it comes to a ghastly? How do I levitate? How do I levitate things? How do I turn invisible? How do I do ghost moves? Actually, now that I¡¯m a zorua at the moment¡­ how to illusion in a situation like this???

    Hm¡­ I was gonna need a mentor later, and who¡¯s better than the one ghost fox who owned a flower shop?

    I shook my head and decided to think about that later. At that moment, I ran away from the room, thankfully the door was opened so I didn¡¯t need to transform again or jump until my forepaw reached the door handle. Wait¡­ didn¡¯t zorua fur move on its own?

    ¡­ Yeah, yeah it did. After that realization, I could feel very small tendril-like limbs in every crevice on my body sans some parts.

    I decided to test that theory out while running around the hallway. Since the biggest tuft of fur close to my eyes was the one on the top of my head, I decided to try out the new¡­ limbs, moving them downwards and waving them in front of my eyes. It felt like had some kind of rubbery tentacle that I could stretch, stretch, and stretch to lengths that no hair could ever achieve. ¡®What the fuck is this? No, seriously, what IS this fur?¡¯

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s ethereal energy coalesced into the form of fur¡­? Could be-¡± The smell of smoke entered my nostrils, making me skid to a halt and stop messing with my current body. I looked around and saw a trail coming from one of the closed doors ahead. I noticed that the door was wide and made out of a different material from all the others I¡¯ve seen so far¡­ metal. ¡°I sure hope this is not the door to the kitchen or something. Because if someone¡¯s cooking in there, I¡¯d feel very stupid for taking the wrong lead¡­¡±

    After whispering to myself that, I made my way torwards the door, the smoke becoming more potent. I knew that this body had lungs but would it be bad for them if I kept inhaling the bad and nono smell? Hmm¡­ well, I wasn¡¯t coughing, so all¡¯s well in my book!

    I looked up and saw that the door handle was far away than I expected. There was no way with my current height I¡¯d be able to reach there¡­ if it wasn¡¯t for the fur tendril thingies. With the same tuft of fur from before, I extended it further than any normal fur could go, feeling like a thousand tendrils as I controlled them. I wrapped them around the handle, pulled, and pushed the door¡­ only for it to not budge at all.

    ¡°It¡¯s locked¡­!? Dammit-!¡± I paused my whisper, remembering an important fact about my fur. I looked at the lock below the handle. ¡°No way¡­ can I¡­?¡±

    Before I reached my one decade of life, wanna know what my mother used to teach me? Lockpicking. She used to teach me lockpicking when she was still alive, and sometimes, after her death, I put those lessons to use by practicing them on my own, mostly when I was bored or had nothing else to do or when the internet would go down. I still don¡¯t know the full reason why she taught me that stuff, even Arthur got taught how to lockpick. The reason she taught me that stuff was¡­ uh¡­ for a very strange reason that I didn¡¯t realize how weird it was back then. She basically said, and I quote: ¡°In case you ever lost the key to your home, you can use this useful skill to always come back in without the need to use keys!¡±

    In hindsight, Mom was a bit weird¡­ just like me, for real!

    I shook my head, getting my head out of memory lane and back to the present. My mom gifted me an ability that is really useful at a time when I don¡¯t know how to ghost, so¡­ yep, I¡¯m gonna use my lockpicking ability to save someone! But with what tools? These tendrils seem thin and dexterous enough, sure, why the hell not?

    Making sure I was controlling the right amount of tendrils, I moved and separated them from the same tuft I was controlling, shifting them around into the keyhole. I was more adept at doing this with actual tools like a screwdriver and some other stuff, but uh¡­ since tools are kinda like extensions of people to reach places they never could¡­ my fur tendrils were basically that, tools!

    So there I was, shifting my tendrils around and tilting the springs inside of the hole with precision. I was starting to get a bit desperate, and that was making it a bit difficult trying to unwind the springs in the back center of the hole. This was not a lock I was used to, they definitely used some different kind of key here. Instead of being a keyhole with multiple springs inside them, it was one and two in the middle¡­

    ¡®Well, makes it easier to unwind all the springies at the same time and-¡¯

    CLICK

    ¡°There we go.¡± I spoke with a smirk as I pulled away my fur, making sure I did not get it stuck on anything on the way out. I eventually tried opening the door again by pulling the handle, and this time, it opened. ¡°I was so lucky choosing the right form for lockpicking!¡± I whispered to myself. However, in hindsight, if I trained a little more in this form, I may have been able to get in by going through the wall like an actual ghost¡­ but still, I didn¡¯t know so I had to make do with what I had in my repertoire.

    I entered the room and took in the sights as I returned my fur back to normal. The room was very dim and held very little lighting on its own. I only saw two or three candles in the whole room and the room was large. The place only had one thing in the middle and it was steel bars that separated the two sides of the rooms. The other side had no windows and no doors¡­ and it also held¡­ ¡°Nothris?¡±

    The big moth was flapping away his burning orange wings, scales scattering around the place burning flames dancing around the mouth. Bro, this room didn¡¯t need candles, HE was the candle. I winced and looked away from the intensity of the flames, however, they quickly died down, making me look at the scene again. The moth grunted and groaned before collapsing on his feet. For some reason, even with those intense flames, nothing burned.

    Actually, why couldn¡¯t he just bend the bars and leave? He was strong, right?

    I approached the cage with a bit of worry and concern. ¡°Nothris, are you alright?¡±

    The slither wing perked up and shifted its big body to look at me while still lying on the ground. ¡°Those eyes¡­ Lucas, is that you?¡± As I approached the bars, Nothris mirrored the action. I nodded at him and he perked up. ¡°It really is, nice! How did you find me?¡±

    ¡°Well, when you smoke up the place really bad, it¡¯s kinda hard not to notice, ya know.¡± I said with a huff of amusement. ¡°Besides, how did you even get caught anyway? I thought those monkeys couldn¡¯t leave a dent on you if they tried.¡±

    Nothris rubbed his chin a bit and sheepishly laughed. ¡°Uh¡­ I got ambushed¡­ they threw a fire-resistant steel net over me¡­¡±

    ¡°Bruh¡­ anyway, can¡¯t you bust out of here? You¡¯re strong, aren¡¯t ya?¡± I asked while sitting on the ground. ¡°You could break the bars with your strength.¡±

    ¡°I could¡­ if it wasn¡¯t for that.¡± The slither wing pointed at the side of the room, pointing towards a strange purple crystal that released some purplish sparks around it. It was infused with the wall and a metal bar too.

    ¡°What the hell is that¡­?¡± I asked as I got up and walked to the strange crystal. Damn, the meth in this world was insane.

    ¡°That¡¯s a Weakening Crystal. It does exactly as the name implies for the Pok¨¦mon behind these bars...¡± The moth looked down at his claws as he flexed them a bit. ¡°I can barely walk while in here. It¡¯s like an invisible force is just draining my energy¡­ my fire barely did anything but cause smoke.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­ so this thing drains the life force of a Pok¨¦mon¡­¡± I said before grinning and transforming. The pink light died out after a few seconds and I had turned into a machop. I cracked my knuckles. ¡°Welp, not anymore!¡±

    With that, I charged a bit of energy in my fist, reeled it back, and then punched the crystal in its entirety, shards of purple crystalline rock were sent flying to the other side of the room. And suddenly, the oppressive energy that was clouding the entire room (how the fuck I didn¡¯t notice that before?) was gone.

    ¡°Phew! Awesome!¡± I said while flexing my fist for a bit. I then turned to look at the moth. ¡°I think you can leave now.¡±

    Nothris clicked his mandibles, his wings twitched a little as he flexed his claws. ¡°Oh yeah, I can feel my strength returning!¡± With that, the moth aimed his chitinous claw at one of the bars in front of him. With no build-up, he immediately threw a punch at one of the bars before throwing another quick one on the pole beside the other. Both bars bent easily under the force of the punches. The fighter bug then passed through the bars, pushing them away easily before turning to me. ¡°Thanks a bunch, Lucas! You saved my carapace!¡±

    I blushed a bit but tried to play it cool with a grin. ¡°While I do appreciate the compliments to my awesomeness, you can save them for later.¡± I walked back to the door. ¡°Right now, we gotta find the berries first. At this point, we need to move ahead to step 3 of the plan, which is just secure the berries and get the hell outta here.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I know where the berries are!¡± I looked at Nothris in bewilderment, registering a bit late what he said. ¡°When they were taking me to this cell, I saw a vault room or something like that, and I caught a whiff of what was inside. It was a bunch of berries.¡±

    ¡°For real though!?¡± I asked a bit in disbelief and the moth nodded. ¡°Alright then, lead the way. I¡¯ll figure out a way to transport all the berries in one go once we get there.¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡± Nothris¡¯s wings flared as he started stomping through the hallways. ¡°I¡¯m gonna show those numpties real payback for stealin¡¯ not only Summers¡¯ property but also ambushing me like cowards!¡±

    ¡°Talk to ¡®em!¡± I backed up as I rushed behind the slither wing, keeping pace with him as he ran around on four legs. We exited the ¡°prison¡± building and rushed to the bridge connecting to another construction site. When we got there, I noticed two Pok¨¦mon on the other side of the bridge: An ambipom and a rillaboom. ¡°Oh shit!¡±

    The two primate Pok¨¦mon noticed us and started rushing to us on the bridge. However, instead of Nothris stopping, he rushed right into the bridge, the bridge rocking back and forth because of the speed and his weight. I stopped at the beginning of the bridge, seeing Nothris charging against the two opposing Pok¨¦mon. He shouted as his body began to get enveloped by orange-bright flames covering him head to toe. ¡°Get out of my WAY!¡±

    I saw the two monkey Pok¨¦mon shriek in surprise as they tried to flee the other way with their tails between their legs, not wanting to get rammed by a big, fiery, and angry moth. However, their efforts were proven fruitless as Nothris reached them, headbutting into both of them. The two Pok¨¦mon were launched off the side of the bridge and fell onto the ground below.

    As the slither wing continued, the fire around him dissipated, and flames began consuming the bridge. I leaned close to the edge to see the two Pok¨¦mon falling. However, I couldn¡¯t get a good look once I heard my name being called. ¡°Come on, Lucas!¡±

    I looked at the slither wing which had stopped on the other end of the flaming bridge. I noticed my time to cross it was short, so I bolted through it, running as fast as I could with my short machop legs. ¡°I¡¯m coming, I¡¯m coming!¡±

    Smoke filled my nostrils as the fire around the bridge grew ever stronger. I was on borrowed time; as wide and sturdy as this bridge seemed, it would give in to the fire eventually. Right on the money I was when one of the ropes holding the bridge together seemed to snap and the bridge began to tumble a bit. I fell on my feet, the adrenaline numbing the pain. I raised my head and saw the fire only consuming the bridge further, reaching the middle. It was about to snap soon¡­

    ¡°Shit!¡±

    I immediately got up and rushed to the end of the bridge, jumping and rolling until I was safely out of the bridge. As I jumped, the bridge had completely given in to the flames, the ropes holding it snapping and the two halves getting limp and being consumed by the fire. I looked at the other building and saw a bunch of monkey Pok¨¦mon just staring at the damage.

    ¡°Welp, at least they can¡¯t get to us.¡± I said with a smirk while getting up and dusting myself.

    ¡°But¡­ how are we gonna carry back the berries? We¡¯re so deep into this now, we can¡¯t go back to bring a wagon or something.¡± Nothris inquired, sounding a bit concerned about the situation.

    ¡°Hm¡­ fuck, it might all come down to that then¡­¡± I muttered to myself, starting to doubt if I could pull that off in the heart of the moment or not. Whatever the case, it was a huge gamble, one that I had to try to succeed in the mission. I know my luck was hella doo-doo, but I needed to use that doo-doo luck for something. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go. If the berries are here, we can¡¯t go back now.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. We¡¯re this far, we can¡¯t turn around now!¡± Nothris said before clapping his claws together, a bit of flaming sparks coming from him. ¡°I¡¯ll right my wrongs and bring my berries back! That festival is gonna have their meal one way or another!¡±

    I nodded and grinned. ¡°Exactly!¡±

    Nothris got on his forelegs again and instead of rushing off like a bull again, he turned to me and spoke which caught me a little off guard. ¡°Hop on.¡±

    I blinked a bit and asked a bit dumbfounded. Did¡­ did I just hear that correctly? Did I just hear that bro wants me to ride him like a fucking horse??? ¡°W-what? You tweakin¡¯ or something¡­? For realsies?¡±

    The moth clicked his mandibles and nodded. ¡°Yep! Don¡¯t wanna outrun you, after all, so why not just ride on my back? Just be careful with the wings, they heat up whenever my emotions flare.¡±

    Holy shit, I was actually gonna ride a big alien moth like a horse, that was so fucking awesome. Deep breaths Lucas, it was not the time to glaze about how that shit was lit¡­ although, I couldn¡¯t help but let out a small squeal of excitement. ¡°Okay, okay, hold on for a moment!¡± I said before starting to transform again, after a few seconds, the glow died down, making me see again. I looked down and saw that the transformation was correct, I turned into a raboot. I shoved my white paws onto my fur pockets, trying to see if they were legit like hoodie pockets. And indeed, they were. I also pulled the fur mask covering my mouth, up and down. It was just like¡­ a fuzzy mask although attached to my body. I put the mask down for now and I glanced back at Nothris with a grin. ¡°Now I can handle some heat!¡±

    I went to Nothris¡¯ side and hopped on his back, staying between his head and his wings. ¡°Alright, all comfortable over there?¡± I nodded, adjusting my legs a bit as I gripped the moth¡¯s fluff as makeshift reins. He turned his head to face the closed door as his tail shifted and his wings fluttered, orange scales scattering around. ¡°Aye. Here. We¡­ GO!¡±

    With that, Nothris charged forward, busting the door open with his hard head. I held his fur as tightly as my bunny paws could hold, not expecting him to go this fast and almost breaking metal fucking doors with ease. ¡®Holy shit, this dude is a literal powerhouse!¡¯

    He kept charging in a straight hallway with an aura that basically said ¡®If you stand in my way, your existence is gone, reduced atoms.¡¯ Even so, what seemed weird was that there were no other Pok¨¦mon in the vicinity, just a long hallway with some doors and a huge area in the back. In that area, I could see something big, and the smell that entered my snout made me register what what colorful pile in the back was. ¡°Wait, isn¡¯t that¡­¡±

    Nothris slowed down a bit but still charged like a straight-up bull. ¡°Aye, it is! Come on!¡±

    It didn¡¯t take long until we reached the large room, Nothris skidding to a halt when we passed over the archway. Now that I could see the monstrous pile in 4K resolution¡­ yeah, Methra wasn¡¯t wrong. This shit WAS huge. There were so many berries, the color and size differing between each one.

    I stopped holding with my dear life the moth and hopped off his back as he stood on two feet again. I took a step closer to the pile and whistled. ¡°Goddamn, there¡¯s so many berries here¡­¡±

    ¡°Yep, and I can tell they¡¯ve been hit with the Vitalis¡¯ process. So these berries are definitely from our farm.¡± The moth spoke beside me. ¡°But still, how are we gonna get them back?¡±

    I turned to him with a raised digit, smiling all the while. ¡°And that¡¯s-¡±

    ¡°¡®N that¡¯s where ya learn dat y¡¯all never have ¡®em back!¡±

    Another voice spoke from behind us, prompting us to turn around. However, a bright light shone in our eyes as we heard the sound of something being broken on the ground. Before I could even register what that was, my body lost control of my limbs as it suddenly became very hard to move. I grunted in pain as slight jolts were jabbed at my articulations, my movements becoming twitchy and sluggish. ¡°W-what the¡­ h-hell¡­?¡± I questioned with a bit of difficulty, even my mouth didn¡¯t escape the pain.

    It also seemed that Nothris was in the same peril as me, judging by his voice. ¡°W-was that a¡­ P-Petrify Orb¡­?¡±

    ¡°Indeed it was, ya fat bug.¡± I looked at the source of the voice slowly, realizing it was the buff simisage. He stood on the archway of the area, surrounded by a pansage, a pansear, and a panpour. The grass monkey boss looked so damn smug¡­ ¡°I would¡¯ve used a Slumber Orb if my crew had ¡®em, but alas, gotta make do with what ya have.¡±

    ¡°M-motherfucker¡­¡± I whimpered as my legs gave in to the pain, making me kneel on the ground. I felt so weak at the moment.

    ¡°L-Lucas¡­¡± Nothris weakly let out as his body spazzed from the paralysis.

    ¡°Lucas, eh?¡± The simisage said as he got out of his little protection formation, taking a few steps towards me. ¡°So yer da Pok¨¦mon dat not only was a lil¡¯ canine Pok¨¦mon when ya waltzed into our territory, turned into a flyin¡¯ type tah enter our base, and then now yer a rodent, huh? Gee, quite da arsenal ya have there, ain¡¯t it? Now tell me, why does dat name sound familiar?¡±

    ¡°Remeb-ber¡­ this?¡± Even while paralyzed, I still managed to transform back into my human form, taking a few more seconds than usual. Once I finished, I appeared shirtless ¡®cause I had forgotten that I had taken off my shirt. After all, it was too stinky. Eh, who cares, not like they don¡¯t mind seeing a skinny and sedentary teen, after all. Although, the simisage seemed a bit surprised about my human form. ¡°The guy who boldly entered your territory without facing any consequences whatsoever.¡± I teased.

    ¡°Oh yeah¡­¡± The grass monkey said in recognition before he suddenly punched me across the face, launching me to the small mountain of berries.

    ¡°Lucas!¡± Nothris shouted as I tried to recover myself from the sudden punch. In my hazy vision, I saw Nothris¡¯ wings flare as heat started building up around his wings. ¡°I¡¯ll burn your arse-!¡± He stopped himself once his paralysis got stronger, making him fall to the ground while trembling. ¡°Ngh!¡±

    The simisage simply ignored Nothris and walked straight to me. ¡°So not only ya have da balls to invade my territory, but ya also have da extra balls to come back ¡®ere, make a mess in my base ¡®n try tah steal what¡¯s MY property?¡±

    I chose to not pay attention to what the Donkey Kong here was saying and instead, I decided to assess what the damage was to my body. Yeah, my nose was definitely broken AND bleeding, I could even taste the iron from my blood in my mouth. I wasn¡¯t that worried about the wound, I already dealt with it before in my first year of being targeted by Andrew and Droz. Although, what I was worried about was how to get out of this situation¡­

    ¡°Ya know what the punishment for dat is, right? It¡¯s very obvious by this point, brat.¡± The simisage spoke with a calm yet bitter tone, a tone I¡¯m used to hearing from mafia bosses from movies and other kinds of media.

    Even with those threats, that part of me couldn¡¯t help itself during moments like this. It instantly leaked something that I started doing to my bullies. ¡°Oh, w-what would¡­ th-that be? S-... sucking your dick?¡± I said with a smug smirk.

    The monkey stared at me for a solid moment with no reaction whatsoever. However, the silence was immediately broken with a snicker that changed into a full-blown laugh. He laughed for a solid ten seconds before it fully died down, he even had a tear in his eye. ¡°Oh, Arceus¡­ ya know what? Ya have tenacity, ¡®n I like dat! Maybe I¡¯ll sweeten the sentence just for you¡­¡± He said, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he scratched his chin with his fingers.

    I blinked and registered after some light twitches in my muscles. That seemed sus as shit. ¡°W-what¡­? F-for real¡­? Are y-you j-just gonna throw me away¡­ i-in a dungeon for the rest of my life?¡±

    ¡°That? Nah, silly, ya made yer point!¡± He started pacing from side to side, his tail swishing while his arm folded behind his back. ¡°After what ya said, ya got me thinkin¡¯... if ya have all those pretty transformation powers, then ya can transform into those hotties female Pok¨¦mon, right?¡± I froze when the word hottie came out. He wasn¡¯t about to ask- ¡°Assuming from da silence, I think I¡¯m right¡­ then in that case. This is yer punishment. Ya will be mah new playmate~¡±

    Even with my paralysis, I could feel the blood rushing into my face as I let out a very loud ¡°WHAT!?!?¡±

    ¡°Ya heard me right. In fact, your current form reminds me of a jynx¡­ but prettier.¡± The simisage as he leaned his body close, licking his lips as he lustfully looked at me. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure that my new toy will be comfortable.¡±

    Nothris tried to crawl to me, but the paralysis was taking a toll on him. ¡°D-don¡¯t you dare touch him¡­ ya eejit creep!¡±

    This was taking a toll on me. Was this dumb monkey really gonna¡­ he was gonna¡­ AW HELL NAW!!!

    Shaking my head quickly, the pain of the paralysis and broken nose getting numb as my head started getting heated. ¡°No, no, no, no, NO! You know what? Fuck this! I wouldn¡¯t mind getting wild and mauling your pedo ass right NOW!¡± With that, my hands started shaking as I started thinking of the Pok¨¦mon to transform. A second later, the pink glow enveloped my body as I started changing slowly with a piercing scream, feeling the power of this one specific transformation flow through my veins.

    I felt myself getting bigger and bigger almost reaching the roof of the building. My skin turned into scales, my neck enlarged, I grew a second pair of thick limbs and a tail, and my hair morphed into a hard natural helmet that enveloped my entire head except for my face, I felt my new long neck grow three plates around the back of it like a natural armor. And to top it off, I felt large wings extend from my neck plates as well.

    I felt the paralysis finally go away and I couldn¡¯t help but smile a bit. I felt my body shift from two legs to six legs, making the floor rumble a bit from the impact. I could feel them¡­ I could feel them all in this room. Tiny specks of flames that varied in color and sizes. I could feel their very essence, their cores, their souls. The power I felt coursing through my body¡­ felt overwhelming, yet¡­ unmatched. Ohoho, the pedo monkey is definitely messed up now!

    ¡°Mhahaha¡­ HAHAHAHA! You dumb monkey, this is what you get for being a pervert!¡± I said in my booming and deep voice. Hoping that the scare factor was enough. ¡°Now, you¡¯ll pay for your sins, for you have awakened¡­¡± The pink glow disappeared and the transformation was fully completed. I opened my eyes and saw a terrified Nothris just staring at me, frozen with his paralysis, and the trio of chimps running away while probably wetting their pants. All that was left was the simisage who stared wide-eyed at me while taking a few steps back. ¡°Giratina!¡±

    The fluffy moth meekly mouthed through his paralysis. ¡°L-Lucas¡­?¡±

    ¡°G-Giratina¡­? St-stop yer tricks, brat, this is just ¡®n illusion!¡± The scared primate said while putting his hands up defensively.

    I almost wanted to chuckle at the small analogy I could make to Super Mystery Dungeon, however, I decided to keep playing my role. ¡°An illusion, you say, eh?¡± I chuckled at that, my smile widening further. Right, if anime taught me anything, just a demonstration of huge power might leave him quaking in his boots (even though he doesn¡¯t wear any). ¡°Tell me¡­ can an illusion do¡­ this?¡±

    Hm¡­ has Pressure activated yet? Hm¡­ I don¡¯t think so, how do I¡­ hm¡­ will this work?

    I flapped my wings forward as I glared at the simisage a lot. It seemed his feet gave in beneath him and he fell on his knee, trying hard to keep his composure. Ah, there we go, now the pressure hit. Now¡­ to resolve things peacefully (even though I kinda wanted to beat the shit out of this guy, but I know it wouldn¡¯t last that long). ¡°Now¡­ leave this room immediately, or else, face the wrath of a deity-¡±

    ¡°Give in to your instincts. You shall be set free¡­¡±

    My muscles tensed as I began to tremble a bit, my forelimbs succumbing to the outside force taking a toll on my body. ¡®Fuck, not now!¡¯ I gritted my teeth in pain, struggling to maintain a hold of my body. I closed my eyes and, subconsciously, I let out a loud roar in pain that shook the entire building we were standing on. ¡®Transform, transform, TRANSFORM!¡¯

    Thankfully, my wishes were heard I quickly felt my body transform back into a raboot again, panting heavily while lying on my belly. Okay, as improvised as all of that shit was, I was ALMOST doing it right! This would''ve been over fast if it wasn¡¯t for that stupid voice thingy about instincts or whatever. I was reckless, now, I¡¯m wide open for anything that damn pervert monkey throws at me! And remember when I said about going wild? ¡­ uh¡­ about that-

    Still though, thank goodness I managed to turn into a raboot to retain the type advantage.

    ¡°Ya lil¡¯ bastard¡­¡± I managed to look up again and saw the simisage limply getting up; it seemed that I hit him with the pressure a bit too hard. ¡°Yer one bag full of surprises, eh¡­? Dat stunt ya pulled would¡¯ve almost won over me¡­ but ya bit more than ya could chew.¡± He started limping over me, readjusting his posture as he walked to me. I tried to move, but it was like all of my body battery had been sapped out of me after I used that form for a small while. Shit, I really didn¡¯t think this through. ¡°So¡­ I guess ya wanted to take the other punishment then¡­¡±

    I saw the monkey grip his thorny tail and lash it around like a whip. The tip of his tail glowed and its edges seemed to become harder and spikier. My eyes widened at what he was about to do. And I couldn¡¯t even move an inch to prevent it.

    ¡°You¡¯ll receive¡­ death!¡± With that, I braced as the simisage reeled back his posture to whip his tail at me. However, instead of receiving very tiny spikes to the face, I saw a burning blur slam into the simisage¡¯s side and launch him away to a wall. ¡°GAH!!!¡±

    Once the grass Pok¨¦mon slumped down, the flames around the figure suddenly disappeared, revealing Nothris panting a little bit before he shouted at the monkey. ¡°That¡¯s what you get, you fucking bampot!¡± The big moth turned to me and asked, a hint of worry in his bug face. ¡°Lucas, is that really you? You¡¯re not¡­ the¡­ Banished One, right?¡±

    I rubbed my head a little bit from the migraine and answered after a small grunt. ¡°No, of course not. I just wanted to scare that pervert for using my own joke against me in the literal sense.¡± I felt shivers run down my body as I remembered that proposal. ¡®Ugh, I think this guy grew up without knowing the age of consent.¡¯ I managed to roll my body and started lying on my back. ¡°I feel so weak¡­¡±

    Nothris looked around before his eyes landed on the small mountain of berries, he rushed to it and grabbed what I assumed was a sitrus berry. He then crouched down near me and offered me the fruit. ¡°Here, eat this. This should restore at least some of your energy.¡±

    I plucked the berry from the moth¡¯s claw and held it close to my mouth before eventually biting a chunk off of it, my big rabbit incisors tearing through the hide of the berry easily enough. After eating a bit, I felt the soreness slowly disappear from my body. I felt a certain type of heat come back to me in full force, and now I felt more reinvigorated than before.

    As I sat up, finishing eating the remainder of the berry, the simisage¡¯s voice made our attention turn to him. ¡°Ya lil¡¯ shits¡­¡± I saw him get up on steady feet, still gripping his tail. ¡°Congratu-bloody-lations, if it¡¯s a fight ya wanted, a fight it¡¯s what ya gonna get¡­¡± He raised his head, a pissed-off stare passing the message across in an instant. ¡°Because I¡¯m gonna love tearing yer bodies tah pieces!¡±

    I got up fully and threw the leftovers of the fruit on the side as I got into a battle position. ¡°Here he comes, Lucas!¡± Nothris spoke as he spread his wings beside me. ¡°Get ready!¡±

    ¡°Mothy, I was born ready!¡± I said with a smirk as I raised my fur mask to cover my mouth. Now I get to beat the shit out of that monkey in style. ¡°Bring it on, bitch!¡±

    The simisage said nothing, instead, he shrieked like the monkey he was before he¡­ pointed his tail at the ground below us?

    I looked down and saw the wooden floor around me and Nothris getting brighter. Wait¡­ shit what is that!?¡±

    ¡°Dodge!¡± I called out behind my mask before diving and rolling out of the way out of a big green pillar of light that erupted from the ground, sharp leaves circling it like it was a green tornado. And then, it was gone, good thing Nothris dodged it too from what I could see. ¡®That move¡­ was that¡­ Grass Pledge?¡¯

    I shook my head, shoving those thoughts aside for now and focusing again on the battle. The worse part about this was that I couldn¡¯t even predict what moves the simisage would do, because, holy shit, was that ¡®mon very forgettable. Did they even appear in the Switch games? ¡­ no they didn¡¯t!

    ¡°Take this!¡± Nothris shouted as his wings burned a bright orange for a moment before he flapped them in front of him, releasing a fireball directly at the monkey Pok¨¦mon. However, he was fast, he quickly dodged the incoming fire attack and jumped to grab one of the vines dangling from the wall. ¡°Get off from the wall!¡±

    The moth started flapping his wings rapidly, releasing gusts of wind that rocketed the vines back and forth, however, the simisage held tightly as he released another monkey screech, pointing his tail at the ground again.

    ¡°Shit, it¡¯s happening again!¡± I screamed and tried to run away from where would certainly be the pillar of light¡¯s target. However, I quickly got surrounded by small twisters of leaves, making me stay in place. Because of that, I got hit by the beam of green light, a scream of pure pain erupting from my mouth as cuts from leaves and burns from the beam did a number on my fur. The beam ended, making me fall on the floor again on one knee. Even though the damage wasn¡¯t much because of the type of disadvantage, it still hurt like hell.

    Nothris shouted as he extended a claw to me. ¡°Lucas-! Gah!¡± However, he got interrupted when a meteor of a monkey came down on him, slamming the moth on the side with his hard tail before pinning the moth on his belly with his foot. The slither wing grumbled beneath the pain as he looked at the simisage. ¡°Why you¡­ ngh!¡±

    The grass monkey didn¡¯t let up on his assault, relentlessly pounding the moth with his hard tail and even punching him with his free hand like a maniac. Of course, I couldn¡¯t see that and let that happen. I bit through the pain, shouting a little as I let my core produce flames over my entire body, covering myself with fire before rushing into the two Pok¨¦mon in a dash of flaming adrenaline. ¡°Take this!¡±

    The simisage looked at me just a bit too late as I jumped and kicked him with a flaming foot on his gut. I sent him a bit far away, freeing Nothris from the beating he was taking. I looked down at the moth and saw that his fluff was ruffled in some places and the exoskeleton on his horns a bit cracked, nonetheless, it wasn¡¯t that big of an injury. ¡°Thanks, Lucas.¡±

    ¡°No problem, now keep moving before he can get the advantage over us again!¡± I said as I looked back at the simisage, who was clutching his stomach with a hand.

    ¡°Not bad, brats, not bad¡­¡± The grass monkey spoke before dusting himself on his stomach and cracking his back. ¡°Still, I think it hasn¡¯t crossed over yer heads yet who yer dealiin¡¯ with!¡± He took a stomp forward, his tail releasing a bit of needles on the floor. ¡°Da name¡¯s Maxim, Sage Maxim, and I¡¯m the king of these woods! Every lil¡¯ bit of dis forest belongs to me! Even dat berry field those bugs claim to be their farm!¡±

    ¡°Haud yer wheesht! You¡¯re the king of nothing!¡± Came Nothris¡¯ immediate reply to that claim as he got up. ¡°You¡¯re just some self-proclaimed eejit who came here one day and decided to be greedy and cause a kerfuffle!¡± He exclaimed as his wings buzzed a few flaming scales off it. ¡°You have the right to no throne whatsoever! If that was the case, my family would¡¯ve bowed down to you generations ago!¡±

    ¡°Silence! I¡¯m da king of did forest ¡®n nothing that you say has any power here! For you have to have power, ya must be unbeatable, fearless, and complete control over yer own territory!¡± The now-named Maxim gripped his tail again, whipping against the ground to his sides. ¡°¡®N to prove my authority to this place, I¡¯ll defeat ya both, here and now!¡±

    He swung his tail in front of him as it glowed, releasing seeds that flew directly at us. We both jumped back from their range, watching the seeds explode once in contact with the floor. I used the smoke of the explosion to charge in at the monkey when he least expected. Going through the smoke, I felt the need to kick something, so I charged some of my core¡¯s energy to my legs and, of course, they reacted with an orange glow.

    Once I got close to the simisage, getting out of the smoke, I launched a kick aiming at the side of his head, however, to my surprise, he fucking parried the kick with his stone-like tail, almost stinging me a bit with the needle-like fur on the tip. I gritted my teeth before trying to strike him with another foot after dropping the other one. However, instead of parring my foot, he fucking bit it with his surprisingly sharp and fucking filthy, why there was so much black stuff in those gums, eww! ¡°Ngh, let it go, let it go, fuck!¡±

    However, before he could thrash his head around with my foot caught up in those filthy teeth, Nothris, the fluffy angel that he was, came to my rescue as he came from the air, dive-bombing Maxim with an outstretched foot. The monkey couldn¡¯t do anything as he got his skull bashed in by a chitinous foot, releasing my foot and letting me back away from the moth pinning the simisage down, all in a second.

    The slither wing rubbed his foot on the monkey¡¯s cheek, his nose and mouth bleeding a bit from the impact of the stomp to the head he received. ¡°Like I said before, you¡¯re the king of nothing! So just give up already and let us go with the berries!¡±

    ¡°A king¡­¡± Suddenly, the grass monkey was starting to glow a baby blue color as he began resisting the larger Pok¨¦mon¡¯s foot. ¡°A king never gives up!¡±

    With a renowned energy that came out of nowhere, he slammed his hands on the ground and shoved his legs up, sending the moth flying to the air with a surge of strength. I shouted as I saw that sudden movement. ¡°Nothris!¡±

    That little lift into the air wasn¡¯t enough as Maxim jumped up from his position, lined himself in front of the wall, and used it as a boost to fly directly towards Nothris, punching him. And it didn¡¯t end there, he fell on the ground and used his tail to spring back up to deliver a kick to the moth¡¯s back. He then ended the combo as he got a bit higher than Nothris, dunking him down on the gut with his two fists.

    As the slither wing landed on the ground, I couldn¡¯t help but wince at the impact. I would¡¯ve tried hitting the simisage with an Ember or something, but goddamn, he was moving so fast! How could I have tried to hit him when I could¡¯ve hit my ally??? Unfortunately, friendly fire is always on IRL.

    I would¡¯ve checked on Nothris, but I couldn¡¯t let my eye off Maxim. That guy had experience with fighting. My leg was bleeding a bit which¡­ wasn¡¯t good, but thankfully he hadn¡¯t bitten any articulations so I could still move them. I just needed to make do with what I could while Nothris recovered. ¡®What to do, what the hell do I do? I¡¯m not 100% right now and I have a powerhouse of an ally down¡­ no more reckless shit, it¡¯s game time.¡¯

    The grass monkey was staring at me a bit. I started moving to the side while he moved to the opposite side, starting to circle each other. So¡­ what moves did I have in my arsenal as a raboot? Hm¡­ Ember, Tackle, Flame Charge, Double Kick, Quick Attack¡­ hm¡­ maybe I should focus on out-speeding him the best as I could. Quick Attack sounded like the way to go¡­ I just had to do like all the other moves up until now, focus on my will, my core, and-

    ¡­ Wait a second¡­ oh my god, I¡¯m so dumb! This is not a game, I don¡¯t need to do one attack at a time, I could combo them into each other!

    ¡°Should¡¯ve stuck bein¡¯ my doll, brat. Yer too ballsy for yer own good.¡± Maxim said as he griped his tail as he walked, likely preparing another move with it.

    ¡°Yeah, no, you stink of bananas and probably don¡¯t shower, yeah, no chance I¡¯d risk getting aids from you.¡± I said accusingly while pointing a paw at him. I then put a paw on my mask as I started cooking up some improvised combo attack. ¡°Now, if you excuse me¡­¡± I pulled my fur mask down and spoke. ¡°I got a monkey to roast, and that¡¯s you.¡±

    With that, I sucked in a small breath and shot an Ember fireball directed at him. However, I didn¡¯t stop there as I coated myself with the aura of a Quick Attack. I felt everything around me slow down to a crawl; the fireball traveling at a walking pace, Maxim trying to dodge out of the way slowly, and one of the berries rolling down the mountain of them very slowly. Of course, I couldn¡¯t help but make a reference. ¡°King Crimson!¡±

    With that, I rushed to the grass monkey¡¯s side tackling him to the ground with an elbow as time resumed back to normal. The fireball impacted the wall, the berry finally finished rolling to the ground, and, of course, Maxin rolled on the ground after my elbow attack, jumping back to feet and skidding to a halt.

    He spent no time with words and immediately pointed his tail to the ground again, preparing another collum of green light and leaves. I didn¡¯t play around the bush this time and instead, I coated myself in flames to burn the leaves that blocked my path as I ran out of the range of the Grass Pledge, a beam of grassy green light erupting behind me. I jumped and used the momentum of the flame charge to deliver a flying kick to the grass monkey directly in his chest, staggering him backwards and making him release his tail.

    ¡®He¡¯s disarmed, now I can-¡¯ My thoughts were interrupted and Maxim¡¯s tail slammed corrected itself, turned harder, and smacked me across the face. ¡°NHGAH!¡± I was launched onto the wall, my arm taking most of the damage of the impact as I collided. I slumped to the ground and watched as the simisage walked to me. The pain finally made my body go numb, the adrenaline leaving my body. ¡°Y-you¡­ bitch¡­¡±

    ¡°Ya¡¯ve been a pain in my arse¡­ but yer fun ends here.¡± Maxim raised his tail and pointed at the ground below me. I could feel the vibration of the energy building up below me. ¡°Adios, Lucas-¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you DARE!¡±

    The energy building up died down and we both looked at the source of the scream, seeing a giant fireball just rushing directly at the grass monkey. Looking at it more closely, the center of this flaming orb was none other than Nothris himself. He didn¡¯t waste any time as he slammed himself directly at Maxim, pushing him directly into a wall and straight up breaking through it. Nothris, fortunately, managed to not fall off the building, however, Maxim went straight through the hole because of the impact, flying directly off the building with a scream that got distant and distant¡­

    We were both left panting, catching our breath after such an exhausting fight. However, once I rested enough, the realization dawned on me through the pain I was feeling. ¡°Holy fuck¡­ we did it! Hah! You launched him off Smash Bros style!¡±

    Nothris slowly turned around and blinked with his beady eyes, not quite believing what he had done. His carapace was cracked all over, and some of his fur was stained in hemolymph and a bit of the monkey¡¯s blood. ¡°I¡­ I did it¡­ I defeated the thief and got the berries back!¡± He laughed a bit, his voice a bit hoarse from everything that just happened. ¡°I proved myself, I protected the farm!¡±

    I flashed him the best thumbs up I could with my paws. ¡°I knew you could do it- ngh!¡± I winced in pain, my left arm hurting a lot. ¡°Fuck, I think I dislocated my arm a bit¡­¡±

    The moth¡¯s eyes widened a bit before he stomped over to me. ¡°Wait, really? Are the bones on your arm misplaced?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, think so¡­ listen, could you do me a favor and uh¡­¡± With a lot of effort and pain, I lifted my pained arm a bit. ¡°Pull my arm? I dunno if this will work or not, but from what I¡¯ve seen in pieces of media, it seems to work- ACK!!!¡±

    Nothris didn¡¯t even let me finish my explanation as he gripped my wrist with his chitinous claws and yanked my arm with a lot of force. For a second, I thought he¡¯d rip it off, but no, all he did was just pull very hard. Thankfully, the misplaced bone in my arm seemed to snap back in place.

    The moth released my arm and gasped. ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m not a Pok¨¦mon who has a skeleton so I didn¡¯t know what to do right and-¡±

    I gasped for air a bit as the pain was leaving my body, only leaving minor aches all around the place. ¡°No, no, it¡¯s fine. You did it right. It¡¯s supposed to hurt like that, after all.¡± I groaned a bit before grunting and getting up again. ¡°I can go without some berries at the moment¡­ I think. You clearly need it the most.¡±

    The slither wing looked at the hoard of berries behind him and his mandibles clicked a bit. ¡°But I don¡¯t wanna use these berries, the only reason I used that sitrus on you was because you desperately needed it.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­ alright then, let¡¯s bring these berries back. I already have a plan in mind.¡± I said as I walked to the mountain of berries. ¡°It all comes down to Teleport.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Are you gonna try and teleport a whole mountain of berries back to our farm? Do you even know how to do it?¡± I said nothing and slowly looked back at the slither wing with a mischievous smile on my rabbit face. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡±

    ¡°Exactly! And what a good way to learn that move during the thick of moments like these!¡± I then looked back at the pile and smirked, already thinking of me teleporting around in the form I chose. ¡°Let¡¯s-a go!¡±

    I started transforming, becoming a bit smaller, my fur getting replaced with hard skin, my tail enlarging and my paws turning into claws, all the while my head changed shape. Once the pink glow disappeared, I had been fully transformed into an abra. Just like with my rockruff body, I felt a huge headache as I was bombarded with a sensation I never felt before, overwhelming my head as I was forced onto my knees.

    It was like so many thoughts forming all at once that all rang in my head under different frequencies. My mind felt expanded, so much so that it felt like my skull would burst from the overwhelming sensation. Yet, those thoughts that appeared did not feel like mine¡­ in fact, one of those thoughts seemed more potent than others and resembled a familiar voice.

    ¡®Lucas!¡¯

    ¡°Lucas!¡±

    I turned to the source of the voice, seeing Nothris crouch down near me. Geez, him being so close up looked so menacing sometimes- wait a second¡­ the thought and the voice¡­

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± The slither wing asked as he analyzed me up and down with his beady eyes. ¡®Please don¡¯t let this be another moment like the Banished Pok¨¦mon.¡¯

    I blinked a bit, registering in my head as the overwhelming sensation left little by little. ¡°Y-yeah¡­ I think I can hear your thoughts in my head now.¡±

    ¡°What? Oh, wait, you¡¯re an abra now, right?¡± The moth asked and I nodded. ¡°That may be it. Can you filter out¡­ uh¡­ my thoughts?¡± ¡®Pretty please? Having my head invaded is creepy¡­¡¯

    I hummed as I focused on pushing the moth and many other Pok¨¦mon¡¯s constant thoughts aside. Wow, just like clouding my mind with brain rot to push negative thoughts away, it worked! ¡°Well, can¡¯t hear ya inside my noggin anymore so it must¡¯ve worked. Now¡­ to the main problem at hand¡­ teleportation.¡±

    I decided to first try and teleport myself. I stretched my fingers a bit and then clenched my claws, focusing on the psychic-type core within me. See, the main reason I chose abra in the first place was because they¡¯re the only Pok¨¦mon (besides Cosmog but I won¡¯t get to legendary territory again for a WHILE after the stunt I pulled) who has Teleport in their entire movepool before evolving. So it should be easy to try to use it without me pulling a Psybeam out of my ass.

    However, no matter how hard I tried, thinking of the location I wanted to teleport to (the place being behind Nothris just to spook ¡®em), how much brain power I put to willing myself to move some inches, I couldn¡¯t pull it off. ¡®Shit, I really needed to watch the earlier episodes of Dragon Ball to figure out how Goku did this shit so I could maybe-¡¯ I interrupted my thoughts right there as another thought struck me, feeling like Picasso being hit by the biggest wave of inspiration ever. ¡®Wait¡­ psychic power comes from the mind, right? What if I¡­ pretend I¡¯m Goku and do his version of teleportation? Trick my mind into thinking that I¡¯m a master at this and¡­. Ohoho, please fucking WORK!¡¯

    Nothris tilted his head and asked. ¡°Lucas¡­ are you sure you can do this?¡±

    ¡°I think I figured it out.¡± I put two of my fingers on my forehead and thought of the same location. ¡°If I do this and think of the location, maybe¡­¡± I closed my eyes and I felt a strong force almost knock me off my feet for a bit, feeling the wind rush through my skin. I stumbled back a bit and opened them again and realized something. I wasn¡¯t beside Nothris¡­ I was behind him now without moving my legs a single inch. ¡°Woah¡­ woah, woah, woah, woah, WOAH! It fucking worked! Holy shit, I did it!¡±

    The slither wing whipped his body around and stared at me incredulously. ¡°Wow, you managed to do it, nice!¡±

    I was feeling a bit light-headed after doing that, but who cared about that, I fucking did it! I learned how to teleport!

    ¡°So¡­ can you actually teleport other people and objects with you too?¡± Nothris eventually asked, making me shake my head out of the slight dizziness.

    Okay, enough glazing myself over learning that. Gotta do this quickly in case the Elemental Discount Kings call reinforcements. I ran to the mountain of berries and looked at them. However, as I stared at them, wondering how would I be able to teleport all of them at once, I suddenly got struck with a thought I hadn¡¯t considered before. ¡®Wait a sec¡­ when I found that smell back at the berry storage¡­ it obviously belonged to Maximus¡­ Maxie? Whatever, the simisage. I only found his scent there, but¡­ something was bothering me. I hadn¡¯t detected any other smells besides his and there was no way he could¡¯ve easily carried thousands and thousands of berries in a single night all while almost dropping no clues whatsoever besides his smell¡­ was there a third party involved?¡¯

    I shook my head a bit, not like that¡¯s my business. I had a mission to complete and I was so close!

    ¡®Rule of cool, please save me on this one, I don¡¯t wanna tire myself out by teleporting small piles of berries.¡¯ I put my claw on the pile, touching a few of the berries while I touched my forehead again. I looked at the slither wing behind me and asked. ¡°Yo, touch my shoulder. I wanna teleport everything at once back to the berry storage back on your family¡¯s farm.¡±

    ¡°What!? Are you sure you can do that? I don¡¯t think that¡¯s even possible!¡± Nothris said as he walked over to me, hesitating in putting his claw on my shoulder pad¡­ thingy.

    ¡°Listen, dude¡­ a few weeks ago, I thought that a lot of things were impossible. But now, here I am doing things that I thought I¡¯d never be able to do.¡± I grinned a bit, showing a small fang. ¡°And I wanna break the impossible even more if I can. So, come on. Watch me destroy the impossible.¡±

    The moth blinked before silently nodding and putting his claw on my shoulder.

    I then started focusing, channeling a bunch of energy around me as I used the power of references in my mind to try and grab as many berries as possible before teleporting to the location I was thinking of. It was then that I heard a sudden sigh¡­ directly into my mind.

    You know what? The simisage was right, you do have the tenacity to try dumb stuff like this. Fine, I¡¯ll give you a little boost, I guess you have earned it.

    Wait, wha-

    And, suddenly, as I blinked, I felt the wind rush by me before my feet were taken off the ground. I opened my eyes and I fell on the dirt of a building followed by Nothris who landed beside me. I didn¡¯t have the time to groan and fully open my eyes as I saw berries rain down on us. ¡°Oh shit-!¡±

    Nothris and I had no time to do anything as we were buried in a pile of fruits. Our bodies get pelted left and right by berries of many sizes and colors. Ah great, I couldn¡¯t breathe¡­ I needed to get the hell outta there.

    I swam through the pile like I was swimming through a really deep and smelly ball pit. Eventually, I emerged through the mountain, taking a deep breath before I panted from pain and exhaustion, not fully taking my body out of the pile. ¡®H-holy¡­ holy shit¡­¡¯

    Nothris emerged on another end of the pile, throwing a few berries onto the ceiling. ¡°Yaldi!¡± He then looked at me with an excited chitter of his mandibles. ¡°Lucas, that was pure dead BRILLIANT! I can¡¯t believe you actually teleported this amount of stuff along with me all at once!¡±

    ¡°I did¡­?¡± I was becoming a little dizzy, ooh boy, I was seeing double and my head was pounding like crazy. ¡°Guess I did¡­!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on here!?¡±

    We both turned to the source of the voice and saw a golden-winged slither wing with a red tail, looking completely shocked by the scene before her eyes.

    ¡°Hi Mom!¡± The orange-winged moth spoke. ¡°We managed to bring all the berries back! I¡¯ve grown really strong, I was finally able to protect our farm!¡±

    I lazily waved an arm to the golden-winged moth. ¡°Yo Ms. Summers, we¡­ we beat the shit outta¡­ monkeys and brought the good stuff back, now if ya excuse me. Nappy¡­ time¡­¡± It was then that my body went limp and I fell asleep¡­ with half of my body stuck in a mountain of berries.

 Stronger

    As I opened my eyes, a void of darkness was all I could see. My consciousness returned slowly as I took in my surroundings. I could still see my body, despite the absence of light. I was still in the body of an Abra.

    While half-sleepily I moved my arms and claws, testing them and getting a more general feel for them. I lazily ran a claw over my body, my hard skin-like scales almost not feeling my tender touch. I didn¡¯t remember this place in my mind being so cold¡­ but I guess that¡¯s what happens when I receive a beating and use a lot of my power to teleport not only with another person BUT a mountain of berries as well.

    Chat, was that a bit stupid?

    ¡°Yes, it definitely was.¡± A familiar voice echoed around the void, making me turn around and see Shadow Deity. ¡°That action was stupid, reckless, and dare I say, utterly dumb. Even so¡­ I do have to give credit for even having such an outlandish idea in the first place.¡±

    I blinked through my heavily squinted eyes and then smirked, putting a hand on my side. ¡°Well, at least I did it if you saw. Not only have I managed to assist Nothris in giving that pedo monkey the beating he deserved, but I also managed to teleport our entire mission back to the berry storage!¡±

    ¡°With my help.¡± Shadow Deity added nonchalantly as he crossed his arms. His reflective yellow eyes indicated he also rolled them. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t intervened, you and your vulcanrona friend would still be in that base at the mercy of those Pok¨¦mon.¡±

    I tilted my head at his claim before I remembered what happened when I tried teleporting all those berries and Nothris. That voice¡­ oh yeah¡­ ¡°Huh, well¡­¡± I sighed and scratched my cheek a bit sheepishly. ¡°You saved our asses back then, so, like, thank you.¡±

    For some reason, I could feel the darkness-cloaked deity feeling quite proud of my gratefulness. He huffed and spoke. ¡°Well, who knew you were taught to be respectful with your elders, I commend your thanks.¡± I was about to comment about that jab but he stopped me before I could say anything. ¡°Still, that is not why I called you back here today. I want to speak of something that I had no time to say during your sleep since we¡¯ll be here for a bit more time.¡±

    ¡°Okay then¡­ why would we be here for more time than the other time I¡¯ve been asleep?¡±

    Shadow Deity folded his arms behind his back and explained. ¡°You¡¯re currently an abra. And if you have forgotten, you are a Pok¨¦mon that has a sleep cycle of 18 hours. And after using your teleportation powers so recklessly like that? You will probably be sleeping a bit more than that.¡±

    ¡°WHAT!?¡± I asked, utterly flabbergasted. ¡°B-but I have other things to do rather than being an eepy lil¡¯ psychic baby! Like, can¡¯t I wake up a bit before schedule?¡±

    ¡°No, you cannot. And you also have the issue of teleporting around while asleep.¡± I was about to blurt out loud again but the Pok¨¦mon deity interjected again. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll redirect your teleportation to desired places. After all, I do have some influence on your body.¡±

    ¡°Huh¡­? Wait, legit?¡± I asked, confusedly after calming down from the fact I¡¯d be teleporting around like crazy. I then registered in my mind what he meant by that, and then it suddenly clicked. ¡°... of course you do. Since you''re inside my body, you helped me teleport all those berries. Hell, you literally gave me these powers to begin with!¡±

    For some reason, Shadow Deity chuckled a bit. ¡°Arceus above, took you this long to figure out? You really were almost a lost cause before I intervened. Imagine how long it would take until¡­¡±

    I put a claw on my side and asked. ¡°Until what?¡±

    ¡°We will get there eventually. But let us focus on the now. You finally turned into a psychic-type Pok¨¦mon, eh? I was eager to see you transform into one for a small while. After all, I needed to teach you a thing about most psychic Pok¨¦mon. You already nailed one thing, and that is teleportation.¡± The deity tilted his head. ¡°Can you guess what the other important part of most psychic Pok¨¦mon is?¡±

    I started to think back on what many psychic Pok¨¦mon can do. Well, not only do they have funny haha mind powers, but they teleport around and¡­ hm¡­ holy shit, of course! ¡°Telekinesis!¡±

    ¡°Well, I said most, not all of them.¡± Shadow Deity corrected me, which immediately dropped my excitement. ¡°It¡¯s levitation.¡± He then started floating in circles slowly around me, kind of like he was pacing. ¡°You see, I want you to learn how to levitate because it¡¯d be an important aspect of your forms from now on. As I said, most psychic types have the ability of levitation, but it¡¯s not just them, other kinds of Pok¨¦mon can levitate, like a lot of ghost types.¡±

    ¡°Hm¡­ now that you say that¡­ yeah, you speakin¡¯ facts.¡± I said while stroking my chin with my claw. I pointed my thumb at nothing and, suddenly, a flutter mane (or misdread as the Pok¨¦mon of this world call them) appeared in the direction of my thumb. This was a mindscape, this was my domain, after all, I could make anything appear. ¡°Like this bitch over here, only levitating with no legs.¡±

    ¡°Still feeling bitter from that loss, I see. But well, you get the idea.¡± Shadow Deity commented before my replica of Marina dissipated. ¡°Even though I may have some influence over your body, I cannot give you the ability immediately since you have to master it. Just like you are doing with the transformations.¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ you can¡¯t imprint knowledge into my brain? I thought that with the new revelation, you were already doing that since I can¡¯t read stuff in this world because they¡¯re not in English.¡± I asked a bit confusedly.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ a bit more complicated than you think.¡± The long-tailed Pok¨¦mon spoke after sighing. ¡°But let¡¯s not waste time. I¡¯m here to teach you about levitation before you wake up and also use the opportunity that you are in the body of a Pok¨¦mon who can also levitate.¡±

    I sat cross-legged in the space of the void as I started listening intently to learn the ability to fly without the need to turn into a Pok¨¦mon with wings!

    ¡°Alright, so, the secret to levitation is really simple, something most young Pok¨¦mon master when they are at least a single month old.¡± Shadow Deity explained while raising a single digit. ¡°And you are now going to learn this in a single day because it should be easy for you to get what I say. At least, it should because I don¡¯t even know how na?ve you¡¯d have to be not to get this hint.¡±

    I rolled my eyes a bit annoyedly and spoke. ¡°You either can say it now or keep dissing me every time you open your mouth¡­¡±

    ¡°I cannot help myself.¡± He chuckled again. ¡°It¡¯s in my nature. Anyway, about levitation. For you to start levitating, you have to forget about one important thing that was engraved in your brain¡­ gravity - or at least the one you spend the most time in.¡± Suddenly, the entire void¡­ just brightened immensely, and a white light forced my eyes shut. Once I opened them again, I felt my scales brushing against something itchy¡­ was this¡­ grass?

    I opened my eyes once, and I eventually didn¡¯t feel my eyelids taking that much light all at once. I registered that I was in some kind of calming plains, under a tree of cherry blossoms¡­ or at least it looked like it from how pink the flowers were. Another thing I noticed is that Shadow Deity was nowhere in sight. ¡°Uh¡­ hello? You there-?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I am here. Don¡¯t worry, I may not be in your field of vision, but I will be watching you.¡± I heard the deity''s voice say, echoing throughout the place like some kind of room speaker was projecting it.

    I got up and walked out of the shadow of the tree. There was no sun, however, there was illumination filling the entire place. Although¡­ I couldn¡¯t really see the source(s). ¡°Uh¡­ is this some kind of mental matrix or something¡­? Like, a training simulation?¡±

    ¡°Well, you may view it as that. This is the place where you¡¯ll practice. And I expect you to master levitation in this place BEFORE you wake up.¡±

    ¡°What!? You want me to learn this shit that quick!?¡± I asked with my eyes widening a bit. ¡°But-¡±

    ¡°No buts. As I said before, most young Pok¨¦mon learn this when they are one month old after hatching. Now, you are basically 15 years ahead of those Pok¨¦mon so you can pretty much do this with the tip that I gave you in¡­ less than thirty minutes.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ I guess so¡­¡± I said as I stretched my muscles a bit, feeling surprised at how they got sore even in my mind¡­

    ¡°That¡¯s the thing, Lucas. We may be in your mind, yes, but you are now in a field where I replicate everything about reality, and I do mean everything. Even you need to blink every once in a while in this place.¡±

    And just because he said that my body had the instinctual reaction to just blink through my squinted eyes. He was right¡­ if my muscles felt sore and I felt the need to blink a bit, that must mean¡­ ¡°Oh, gravity is normal here¡­¡± I jumped, willing myself to fly like Superman, but my feet were immediately pulled to the ground thanks to the good ol¡¯ chains called gravity. ¡°So¡­ it¡¯s exactly like a simulation inside my mind then¡­¡±

    ¡°Precisely, Lucas. Now, let¡¯s not waste any more time. If you do not manage to master levitation until you wake up, there shall be a small punishment for you to endure.¡±

    That caught me off guard, making me flinch and look around. Don¡¯t tell me bro is gonna do what I¡¯m imagining¡­ ¡°Uh¡­ what sort of¡­ punishment?¡±

    ¡°I already know what you are thinking. Get your head out of those naughty and lustful human thoughts. The punishment is simple. Next time we meet, I shall make you revisit the most embarrassing moments of your life so far.¡± My eyes widened at that. How the fuck would he know- ¡°Of course, I would know, I¡¯m in your mind, I have access to everything, even the parts you forgot throughout your life. I can simply make you remember them at any time that you¡¯re here.¡±

    I stood in silence for a solid moment before I raised my claw. ¡°Can you at least remember where I left that Lego set I had when I was a kid-¡±

    ¡°Clock¡¯s ticking, Lucas.¡±

    ¡°Shit! U-uh¡­ um¡­ gravity, that¡¯s right! Just gotta¡­ forget¡­ how the hell do I do that?¡± I said loudly to myself before shouting to the sky again. ¡°Yo, Shadow Deity, please have some mercy on poor ol¡¯ me, can¡¯t you give any more hints!?¡± Silence followed my plea, the silent wind passing through my body. ¡°Hello? You there? Dammit!¡±

    Welp, here I was, just stuck in this part of my mind that worked exactly like real life and on a countdown to failure or success. I better hope it was a success since I wouldn¡¯t be living that time when I accidentally kissed Droz and he fell in love with me- FUCK, why did I manage to remember that of all things!?

    Whatever, this only boosted my determination to not fail the ordeal and relive WORSE stuff with a literal deity who would be watching everything and JUDGING me as well! Nuh-uh, no siree, I¡¯d fly high like Superman today!

    Now, focus¡­ There¡¯s something about gravity¡­ how does one forget that gravity exists momentarily just to float for some time? There must¡¯ve been a trick somewhere¡­ hm¡­ shit, why is this kind of hard. Bro, you could¡¯ve just told me directly, not make this into some sort of game!

    Well¡­ uh¡­ it kinda makes sense since he isn¡¯t feeling any sense of urgency because I was gonna be asleep for 18 fucking hours.

    Now, here I was, stuck in a one-question exam that had only thirty minutes to figure out the question¡¯s gimmick, or else my failing grade would be an F for failure and embarrassment. ¡°Okay, so¡­ forget gravity¡­ there should be something more that I¡¯m missing here¡­ what was the other thing he said¡­ hm¡­ shit, all that talk about his punishment it¡¯s not making me remember¡­¡±

    I crossed my arms and looked around, trying to find some sort of clue in these plains. Nothing stood out to me so I kept talking to myself, it helped me concentrate and get ideas. ¡°Okay, to float in the air with no wings¡­ of course, you¡¯d either have to propel yourself into the air with something or glide away because of gravity¡­ but when there¡¯s no gravity you don¡¯t need either because you¡¯re floating with nothing pulling you¡­¡± It then clicked in my mind. ¡°Of course, space! Zero-G!¡±

    I didn¡¯t have to forget the concept of gravity, I had to ignore the gravity I¡¯m used to and apply a new one to work. But¡­ how the hell do I do that in the first place¡­?

    I started wandering, speaking to myself as my mind cooked some awesome plan. ¡°So¡­ I figured one part, now I gotta figure out the rest. I¡¯m currently an abra, a Pok¨¦mon that floats.¡± I then looked at my legs and claws, flexing them a little. ¡°I¡¯m also a psychic which helps me tremendously¡­¡±

    I felt myself falling on the ground again, sitting on my rear as I contemplated what to do with this new info. I couldn¡¯t just jump and will myself to think that I¡¯m in zero-G, I didn¡¯t think my core would activate that like I¡¯m activating a move. It was something passive, not active. ¡°After all¡­ if I were in battle¡­ I would have to levitate and fight at the same time¡­¡±

    I imagined myself taking a certain fight in space like those animes with my new power of levitation while I was something cool like Darkrai fighting some sort of shadow entity. The fight looked awesome in my head, literal DBZ style-

    HOLY SHIT! THAT¡¯S IT!

    I immediately jumped up. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I think of this sooner? I needed the references, just like I did with teleportation!¡± I squatted once, flexing my knees and back for a moment and getting up again. I grinned as I put the pieces together. ¡°So¡­ I just have to imagine myself the gravity of space and think of a meme or reference that corresponds to it-¡± I interrupted myself as I gasped. ¡°That video is perfect!¡±

    I cleared my throat and got into position as I began. ¡°Freedom¡­ imprisonment.¡± I turned around, facing an imaginary camera as I clasped my claws together. ¡°It¡¯s all an illusion.¡± After a pause, I grinned and continued. ¡°Gravity¡­ is a harness.¡± At that instant, I started thinking about flying in space, and my feet started to become lighter, I was beginning to rise in the air, slowly but surely. I was doing it! ¡°I have harnessed the harness!¡±

    Like I was swimming, I decided to do an impulse movement through the air as if I were underwater. Surprisingly, it worked and I rose even more into the air, the trees not looking so tall anymore with my tiny abra body. ¡°Try to hold it together¡­¡± I grinned further before doing a single twirl in the air and pumping a claw up. ¡°I DID IT!¡± I pointed at the air again and spoke. ¡°Suck it, dummy! Can¡¯t make me relieve my old embarrassing memories now!¡±

    I was suddenly blinded again, forcing my eyes shut as the scenario started getting covered by a white blinding light again. Once I felt the light recede, I slowly opened my eyes again and found myself in another place, this one being a huge contrast to the plains from before. It seemed to be a narrow canyon, with a river streaming down at the bottom of it. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    I was still floating, with my body having adapted to the feeling of being suspended in the air to apply that to auto-pilot. I noticed that some big metal rings were attached to the canyon and some obstacles in between them like spiky earth formations, some actual spikes, uh¡­ flamethrowers, and even some rocks falling from the top of the canyon. ¡°Wait¡­ is this an¡­ obstacle course?¡±

    ¡°Correct. As I have said before, I want you to master levitation before you wake up. An expert at it so that in future fights you shall not fumble to the opponent by lack of skill. And yes, the timer is still ticking.¡±

    My eyes widened at that. I was still not out of the danger zone!? ¡°Huh!? Dude, I already got the hang of it, no need for all of this!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Lucas?¡± For a moment, I swore I could hear a bit of sass coming out of the voice. ¡°I thought I heard you think back at that simisage¡¯s base you wanted to learn how to levitate yourself. Well, I am simply here to help you in what I can in that regard.¡±

    Once he spoke that, I vaguely remembered one of my thoughts while back at the Elemental Discount Kongs¡¯ base.

    Ghost typing was one of the types I knew would be hard to grasp. Like, the sheer abnormality that this one type possessed (pun not intended)¡­ it was hard to understand how not only some Pok¨¦mon work but also what all of the moves work. Like, legit, how the fuck do I think about when it comes to a ghastly? How do I levitate? How do I levitate things? How do I turn invisible? How do I do ghost moves? Actually, now that I¡¯m a zorua at the moment¡­ how to illusion in a situation like this???

    ¡°Dawg, now you¡¯re using my own thoughts against me!?¡± Lowkey though¡­ he was actually kinda right. I did wanna learn how to do most of the cool stuff ghost types could do, and it basically kinda came down to the fact that a psychic type could do some of that stuff too¡­ but still, he was using my passive wish of getting stronger into this obstacle course¡­ ¡°For a deity, you sure stoop so low sometimes¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh please, don¡¯t compare me to those deities that act so High and Mighty around mortals. I¡¯m nothing like them. Still, I hold some authority since I was one of the first before all life on the planet was fully developed. So I hope you do not underestimate me.¡± I was about to say something but of course, I was interrupted. ¡°Anyway, do you really want me to remind you of your embarrassing moments? Stand there for longer and I shall. 15 minutes remain¡­¡±

    ¡°You little¡­¡± I grumbled a bit before looking at the course ahead of me. Now I understand why he put this obstacle course ahead of me; I had only gotten the basics of levitation down. I knew how to rise and fall; just think of a lower number or a higher number of gravity in my mind to go up or down respectively. However, I didn¡¯t know how to go forward and backward. ¡°Welp then¡­ time to learn¡­¡±

    Staying afloat in the air was simple enough, heck, I didn¡¯t even think about it much anymore since my brain got the memo. But the memo I really want right now is how to schmove!

    I crossed my legs and basically sat in the air while scratching my chin. ¡°Okay, what references can I do to move in the air to not look like a dumbass trying to swim in a place of no water¡­¡± I hummed in thought, scavenging every little crevice of memories of many media that I consumed over the years that I could still vividly remember. Upon further analysis, I noticed something that many flying characters do¡­ tilt their body forward, put their arms back as if they¡¯re divebombing straight forward¡­¡±

    I decided to mimic the pose, making me feel like I was lying in bed or something. But no, here I was suspended in the air, trying to move forward when I was clearly not moving a single inch. ¡°Hm¡­ yeah, something¡¯s wrong, I can feel it.¡±

    I turned my body to the side, supporting my head on my claw. ¡°So¡­ what to do to propel forward¡­ there must be something I¡¯m missing. They just don¡¯t will themselves forward or anything, there must be some kind of hidden stream they ride or some kind of force propelling them forward-¡± As soon as those words left my mind, my mind instantly clicked as I was mentally flash banged by a character I should¡¯ve taken consideration before¡­ Iron Man. ¡°Holy, how did I forget about Iron Man? He doesn¡¯t levitate but he can very well stay afloat in the air with jet boosters¡­¡±

    I looked down at my claws and feet and realized something that I could do with them. ¡°Wait¡­ would that be possible¡­? If I manipulate my core power into my hands and feet just a tiny bit¡­ welp, only one way to find out.¡±

    With that new idea formed, I decided to straighten my body back to a standing position. I angled my arms down and breathed deeply. Even though this was a mindscape, I could still feel my core inside me, just like I did IRL. I was hopeful that I could direct the energy as easily as I could back there.

    ¡°Don¡¯t fail me now. My dignity and sanity depend on this!¡± With that, I started directing a bit of psychic energy from my core to the end of my claws and feet, letting them expel a bit on the end of my limbs. Eventually, when I expelled enough core energy, I was indeed rising in the air without the thought of gravity alternating in my mind. I saw the obstacle course getting lower from my point of view as I kept ascending in the air. ¡°It¡¯s working! Now can I¡­¡±

    I altered the course by inclining my body in the direction of the first ring of the course, expectedly, I was flying directly towards it, although it was kinda slow. ¡°Nice! So¡­ if I put more psychic energy out, maybe I can speed it up!¡±

    My theory was proven correct when I increased the output of the energy I released as my boosters. I flew faster now, feeling the air hitting my face like the wind as I went through a few rings. I grinned from ear to ear as I flew through the rings, minor Sonic & All-Star Racing Transformed flashbacks coming back to my brain, however, I didn¡¯t let them ruin this experience. ¡°Haha, this is awesome! I fucking love this!¡±

    I decided to get a little experimental and decided to do a twirl in the air before the first obstacle came up; a stalactite. I only grinned and prepared myself to dart out of the way when the moment came¡­

    But it never did.

    Suddenly, the environment faded into mist as I stopped feeling like as light as a feather. Instead, I started to feel like I weighed nothing again, and didn¡¯t feel air going through my nostrils despite not feeling asphyxiated. Here I was again, back in the black void, in the actual mindscape. I got in a standing position again and looked around. ¡°Wha-¡±

    ¡°Congratulations, Lucas.¡± I turned to the source of the voice and clapping sounds. There Shadow Deity was again. ¡°My endeavors worked, it seems. I just gave you the right pushes to give you a sense of urgency and you learned how to levitate completely in only twenty minutes.¡±

    ¡°Wait¡­ so the whole thing about making me relive my embarrassing moments was fake¡­? You just wanted to scare me just to learn levitation immediately?¡± I asked while blinking in surprise.

    Shadow Deity shook his head. ¡°Oh, no, I very much would do that punishment. But it seems you saved yourself from that little shame trip.¡±

    I huffed annoyedly. ¡°Just wait until I finally invade YOUR mind so I can do that to you and we¡¯ll see if that¡¯s so funny for you.¡±

    ¡°Heh, you may try, but unfortunately, it shall lead you nowhere.¡±

    ¡°Well, whatever, not like I have to endure that again¡­ at least I hope so.¡± I grumbled the last part out before a sudden question popped into my mind which made me a bit curious. ¡°Actually¡­ why the sudden urgency? I have a couple of reasons why you wanted me to learn how to levitate this quickly. But still, you could¡¯ve taught me any other time, heck, even give me a couple of vague tips back in the real world.¡±

    The deity stayed silent for a few seconds before letting out. ¡°I just needed to teach you something you should¡¯ve learned a long while ago¡­ to prepare for something later.¡±

    I crossed my arms in confusion. ¡°Prepare for what? And what do you mean I should¡¯ve learned this a while ago? Could you please start making sense?¡±

    Shadow Deity sighed. ¡°If you haven¡¯t had a clue by this point, that means you are not ready to know the answer yet. But do not worry, you shall get your answers when the time comes, I assure you.¡±

    For some reason, I was feeling a bit nervous about what he meant. ¡°I¡¯m still not getting what you mean, dude¡­¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s for the best for now.¡±

    After those words, the void started rumbling with an earthquake. I was waking up¡­

    I sighed and responded. ¡°Fine, sure, I¡¯ll wait until you decide when to reveal the big secrets to me. Meanwhile, I¡¯ll just continue doing what I¡¯m doing since that¡¯s what I¡¯m doing best.¡± I hummed. ¡°Ooh, tongue twister material-¡±

    <hr>

    I groggily opened my eyes, awareness slowly returning to me as I entered the waking world once again. I yawned loudly before assessing my surroundings. It seemed like I was in a rocky house with a bit of wood in it. I was also lying in a pile of straws, a huge one at that. It was probably a bed for a big ¡®mon-

    ¡­ Where the hell am I?

    After that question ran through my mind and the eventual realization that I wasn¡¯t anywhere I recognized, I sat up and started panicking, looking around trying to find something that¡¯d reassure me that I wasn¡¯t kidnapped while asleep. However, the more memories returned to me, the more confused I became instead of frightened. I remembered falling asleep in the pile of berries and then¡­ wait, didn¡¯t Shadow Deity I¡¯d be teleporting all around the place? Though, he said he¡¯d keep it controlled¡­

    My attention focused on the window, seeing that it was still night, however, I could see parts of the sun shining through. It seemed like it was becoming morning again from the way it got ever so slightly brighter.

    I stopped staring at the window and caught sight of something I hadn¡¯t noticed before in front of me. There was a piece of paper in front of the hay pile I was sitting on. I leaned forward a bit and grabbed the paper, inspecting it before realizing what it was. ¡°It¡¯s a note¡­¡±

    The note was written a strange language, and of course, I was getting everything translated to me. It read:

    Hey Lucas! I¡¯m just leaving you this letter for when you wake up, whenever that will be. I¡¯d like to thank you for everything you¡¯ve done for me and our farm. If it wasn¡¯t for you, we would never be able to deliver all those berries to the festival and the reputation of our farm would be tarnished. You don¡¯t know how much my mom and I owe you. So, again, thank you very much.

    Also, as a reward, you can take as many berries as we have separated for you to pick. If you feel like it, you can count on me if you need help with any missions you want. What we did was just the beginning for me to become strong enough to protect the farm, so I want to become even stronger! So yeah, don¡¯t forget to call me for a mission or two when I¡¯m not busy, I¡¯d love to help!

    ©¤Nothris Summers

    I blinked once I finished reading the letter, getting a bit of shivers running through my body. But they weren¡¯t bad shivers, they were the good kind because goddamn did that make me feel things. Not only did I feel useful, but I also got the feeling I helped them, and made a positive outcome in their lives.

    I¡­ I helped a family in need¡­ something I couldn¡¯t have done back in my world.

    I sat there, staring at the letter for a long moment before my arms sagged and my mind came to a realization. I¡¯ve been¡­ helping people, ever since I entered this world I have been helping people non-stop. This letter legit just made me open my eyes to that.

    Is that how those people who do charity worldwide in poor countries feel? If that¡¯s the case, then I finally get why those people do what they do now.

    I smiled a bit before getting up and dropping the letter on the bed. I stretched a little bit, stretching my back and arms, even straightening my tail a bit too. ¡°Alrighty, I¡­ should probably go back to Cavestone. Basi must be hella worried¡­ but before that¡­¡±

    I looked at the window again, grinning and running towards it. Luckily, this wasn¡¯t just a glass with some wooden ropes. It was kind of a hatch on the wall. I opened the window and sat on it. I took a deep breath. ¡®Remember what you learned back in the dream, it¡¯d be the same IRL.¡¯

    After that mental reassurance, I nodded before applying everything I learned in my head. I started thinking about the gravity of space, imagining myself on it. And just like that, I felt a huge weight off my body, letting myself just be taken into the air. I was levitating once again.

    ¡°I have harnessed the harness.¡± I muttered to myself with a grin before using the round arc of the window to propel myself up in the sky. Once I was above the tree level, I stopped in midair and scanned my surroundings, seeing the world from a top view the second time. Below me stood the farmlands of the Summers and in the distance to my right, there stood the tall trees where the Elemental Discount Kong¡¯s base was. Even though my disgust when looking at that place was apparent, it didn¡¯t stop me from basking in the euphoria of flying free in the air like this. Heck, I even did a little flip in the air just because I could. ¡°This is AWESOME!¡±

    After a few more seconds of unrestrained aerial excitement, I focused on the berry storage and flew towards it, thinking about what Nothris had said in the letter. ¡°Well, a few berries won¡¯t be SO bad.¡±

    <hr>

    After getting a few berries for Basi¡¯s food pile, I teleported back to Basi¡¯s home in Cavestone. I had a bit of a small hiccup when remembering how to teleport, but once I remembered how to do it, it was¡­ honestly, kinda easy doing it. I just had to think of a very specific place in my mind, even with just a few hazy memories, I think I could still pull it off if I put in the effort.

    Once the heatran had woken up, I was surprised to see her not tackle-hug me into the floor and lick my face clean again from such worry. Apparently, Methra came here yesterday and told her everything that happened and why I didn¡¯t go back home, soothing the volcano Pok¨¦mon¡¯s worries a little. Although, that wasn¡¯t enough to not earn a giant lick of worry in the face. And hey, she was feeling quite proud of me when I showed the new tricks I learned back in that mission so all was good.

    I immediately returned to my room again and transformed into a pikachu since I remembered that¡¯s the form I left all of my stuff in. Once the transformation was done, my backpack fell on the ground and I immediately went to fetch my phone. ¡°I still don¡¯t get how any of this shit works but, like, not that I¡¯m complaining.¡±

    Once I got my phone, a sudden thought hit me just like truck-kun would during an isekai scenario and my eyes widened at the absurdity of the thought. ¡°Wait a fucking second¡­¡± I turned on my phone again and entered the gallery app. I scrolled down until I was met with a recording of my room. I just needed to get very familiar with it so that I wouldn¡¯t forget how it looked. Why was I recording my room? It¡¯s simple. A big spider entered and I wanted to post it on Discord. ¡°No way, no way, no way, please let this work, fucking please.¡±

    Oh, and why did I want to get familiar with my room again, you might ask? Simple, I figured out teleportation, right? My question was if I could teleport back to my world again.

    After watching the video enough, I stopped and put the phone on the straw bed again. I got in the middle of the room and mentally prepared myself, turning back into an abra again. ¡°Okay, this will be quick. I just gotta lock in and think back on my room, simple enough.¡± I put my claw fingers on my forehead. ¡°Don¡¯t mess this up!¡±

    After taking a deep breath, I teleported, feeling the strange wind rushing by me for a split- PAIN!!!

    ¡°GAAAAAAAAAAAH!¡±

    I felt myself getting electrocuted from all sides, pain surging through my body before I felt myself getting sent onto the floor, sliding across it painfully until I hit a wall. My limbs and muscles felt twitching as I felt myself shivering from the biggest electrical shock I¡¯ve received in my life until now. I panted a bit as I felt the pain starting to recede a bit. Even though I felt tears threatening to leak from the pain, I opened my eyes to assess the situation. The first thing I noticed was concerning¡­

    I was still in my room in Basi¡¯s home.

    The next thing I registered was, of course, my charred body, black spots marking my yellow scales mostly everywhere, I could even see some smoke coming out of my body. I grunted and groaned in pain before speaking sarcastically. ¡°Who wants an abra BBQ¡­? Me¡­¡± However, that quickly turned into frustrated anger as I growled and punched the floor. ¡°Goddammit! Why didn¡¯t that work!?¡±

    You are still being too reckless¡­

    As I got up slowly, I was surprised to hear Shadow Deity¡¯s voice again, my anger receding a bit. ¡°You¡­ what was that even? Do you know something about it?¡±

    There was an awkward moment of silence for a bit. I was about to ask again until he finally responded again.

    Don¡¯t even bother trying to go back to your world for now. Abra may be a Pok¨¦mon made for teleportation, but it does not breach barriers between dimensions easily.

    I blinked at that new info. ¡°What¡­? But¡­¡± The more I thought about that, the more suspicious I got, along with a new idea entirely. ¡°Wait, if you did go through the berries to send me here since you¡¯re a deity¡­ can¡¯t you bring me back? I know you¡¯re gonna do that after my mission, but still, I wanna see my family to tell them I¡¯m okay and-¡±

    And when did I ever say that?

    My eyes widened upon hearing those words.

    When I pulled you into this world, I used all the power I could to just teleport you here. I need some time until I can fully use that power again. That boost in your endeavor back at the monkey Pok¨¦mon base was the least I could do in conjunction with your own power to do mass teleportation. But it wouldn¡¯t be the same if we hopped from one universe to another.

    I was a bit too stunned to say anything, almost covering my face with my arms as I felt my heart racing a little bit. Was he¡­ really being for real? Was there really no way home?

    I also did not say that. I may have no power to help you with that endeavor, but you do. If you continue getting stronger, you¡¯ll have access to more powerful forms. And with them, you may be able to teleport back to your world, breaching the wall between dimensions in the process.

    I immediately perked up at that, my ears shot up as my tail swished quickly. ¡°You¡¯re jo-¡­ no, you¡¯re actually right.¡± I looked at my claw and clenched it. ¡°I just need to get stronger to handle all these powers better. My mission then hasn¡¯t changed, so far.¡±

    I wish you good luck with that, you may need it.

    I nodded¡­ to specifically no one. Geez, I¡¯m so dumb sometimes- ANYWAY! ¡°Stronger¡­ maybe a bit of training would help¡­ and I know just the Pok¨¦mon who would accept my request!¡± My belly rumbled a bit for a moment before calming down a bit. ¡°AFTER food!¡±

 The Spar of Youthfull Wills

    ¡°Hey Evon, are you alright?¡±

    I tilted my head up, my eyes meeting furry grey forelegs before my eyes met with a black-furred face as a pair of yellow and red eyes stared back at me. Those eyes were so pretty that I almost couldn¡¯t force myself to look away from them.

    ¡°Yeah, I am,¡± I responded with uncertainty, looking away and trying to make my expression a bit more unreadable. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ are you sure we really should do this? You saw on the board, that this mission was Gold Rank and above and we¡¯re still Silver Rank. Plus¡­ something seemed off about that outlaw.¡±

    I remember seeing the poster. It was a wanted poster about a grimmsnarl criminal with a hefty reward. However, something unnerved me about that poster, specifically his face. The way he looked, with all those scars on his face. Not even mentioning his smile¡­ why was he smiling?

    The female poochyena in front of me reassured me by pressing her face on mine and started nuzzling me. ¡°I know you¡¯re heavily cautious about this. But don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ve trained hard. We should practically be Gold Rank by this point based on how well we¡¯re doing in our missions!¡± She took a step back and let out a toothy grin. ¡°Come on, have you already forgotten our team''s motto?¡±

    I sighed and nodded, reciting the motto we had come up with before forming the team. ¡°Be a wimp, rattata out of the way, be strong, dragonite the way in.¡± Evon allowed himself a smile. ¡°Inspirational motto, I know, but we should know how to identify something beyond our control, right?¡±

    ¡°I know, I know, silly. But still, I know what we¡¯re doing. Sure, I might be at a type disadvantage fighting this guy, but hey, that¡¯s why you¡¯re here with me!¡± The poochyena lifted her forepaw from the ground and placed it on my back. ¡°Together, we can grow powerful and beat the most impossible foes! So come on, the world is gonna see us destroy the impossible!¡±

    With those words, I smiled confidently. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. Let¡¯s do this, A???l???s???i???a???!¡±

    . . .

    I was bleeding. I felt a stream of warm blood pooling down from my left eye¡­ or where it used to be. My voice felt hoarse and dry from screaming so much in pain. The pain was too much, I couldn¡¯t move my body from sheer paralysis from what had happened.

    And the cause of it was in front of me, ready to deliver the finishing blow.

    ¡°Pathetic little eevee. You shouldn¡¯t have come here. You shouldn¡¯t have come to me. You should have let me be¡­¡± The grimmsnarl with fully black sclera raised his arm, his black hair surrounding his limbs hardening into a sharp blade. ¡°Now, you will suffer the consequences.¡±

    How could I have been so foolish? Why didn¡¯t I stop my partner? Just straight out refuse and just go on another mission? It would¡¯ve been so easy and we wouldn¡¯t have been in this dark hideout in a grottle to the brink of death. We were going to die because our ambition blinded us. We were going to die!

    ¡°EVON!!!¡± I managed to look away from the Pok¨¦mon that would end me and focused my blurred vision on someone else. A blur of black and grey approached us, however, I could not ponder for longer as the blur impacted me and I was launched away. I gritted my teeth as I landed on my underside.

    SHK!

    My ears flickered, and I tilted my head upwards slowly to find an agonizing and haunting sight once my vision became clear again. The sounds of blood drops were the only sound echoing around the room. My eye widened and my mouth went agape as I watched the scene in front of me. That same blade hair that would be the thing to kill me had pierced someone else on the side¡­

    A???l???s???i???a???¡­

    ¡°No¡­ NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!¡±

    My eye opened again, however, I stood floating in a dark void. Pitch black surrounded my sides. Nothing was visible¡­ except a mightyena who walked slowly to me. His eyes were missing.

    ¡°Why¡­?¡± He asked as he stopped in front of me. ¡°Why did you kill her? Why did you lead her to her demise? Why did you leave my dear sister to die?¡±

    I?t?¡¯?s? ?a?l?l? ?m?y? ?f?a?u?l?t?.? ?I?t?¡¯?s? ?a?l?l? ?m?y? ?f?a?u?l?t?.? ?I?t?¡¯?s? ?a?l?l? ?m?y? ?f?a?u?l?t?.? ?I?t?¡¯?s? ?a?l?l? ?m?y? ?f?a?u?l?t?.? ?I?t?¡¯?s? ?a?l?l? ?m?y? ?f?a?u?l?t?.? ?I?t?¡¯?s? ?a?l?l? ?m?y? ?f?a?u?l?t?.? ?I?t?¡¯?s? ?a?l?l? ?m?y? ?f?a?u?l?t?.? ?I?t?¡¯?s? ?a?l?l? ?m?y? ?f?a?u?l?t?.? ?I?t?¡¯?s? ?a?l?l? ?m?y? ?f?a?u?l?t?.? ?I?t?¡¯?s? ?a?l?l? ?m?y? ?f?a?u?l?t?.? ?I?t?¡¯?s? ?a?l?l? ?m?y? ?f?a?u?l?t?.? ?I?t?¡¯?s? ?a?l?l? ?m?y? ?f?a?u?l?t?.? ?I?t?¡¯?s? ?a?l?l? ?m?y? ?f?a?u?l?t?.? ?I?t?¡¯?s? ?a?l?l? ?m?y? ?f?a?u?l?t?.? ?I?t?¡¯?s? ?a?l?l? ?m?y? ?f?a?u?l?t?.? ?I?t?¡¯?s? ?a?l?l? ?m?y? ?f?a?u?l?t?.? ?I?t?¡¯?s? ?a?l?l? ?m?y? ?f?a?u?l?t?.? ?I?t?¡¯?s? ?a?l?l? ?m?y? ?f?a?u?l?t?.? ?I?t?¡¯?s? ?a?l?l? ?m?y? ?f?a?u?l?t?.? ?I?t?¡¯?s? ?a?l?l? ?m?y? ?f?a?u?l?t?.? ?I?t?¡¯?s? ?a?l?l? ?m?y? ?f?a?u?l?t?.? ?I?t?¡¯?s? ?a?l?l? ?m?y? ?f?a?u?l?t?.? ?I?t?¡¯?s? ?a?l?l? ?m?y? ?f?a?u?l?t?.? ?I?t?¡¯?s? ?a?l?l? ?m?y? ?f?a?u?l?t?-?

    ¡°She didn¡¯t deserve to die. You do¡­¡± The mightyena snarled, baring his teeth at me as I tried to shy away, covering my head in my paws. ¡°And that¡¯s why I¡¯ll bring you to justice¡­ by ending your life myself, EVON!!!¡±

    The mightyena jumped at me with his mouth wide open and claws ready to tear me apart-

    I screamed wide awake, my fur bristling as I let out a Shadow Ball to the wall. I started breathing heavily as I tried to calm myself from the absolute terror I experienced. ¡°Not¡­ not again¡­¡±

    I felt tears running down my right cheek. I passed a paw on it and wiped the tears off. I sniffled a bit and looked around a little disoriented, my ears flickering a bit. I put a paw on my head and sighed. ¡°I thought they stopped¡­ is my new motivation not enough?¡±

    ¡°EVON!¡±

    The sound of the unexpected voice combined with the knocking on my room made me jump with my fur bristling, letting out a loud yip. I landed and looked at the door, wondering who the heck was inside my house at this very moment. Well, they knew my name so of course it had to be someone I knew.

    I opened the door to find¡­ someone I didn¡¯t recognize. It was an abra, floating in the air, defying gravity with his eyes closed as usual. I tilted my head in confusion. ¡°Uh¡­ who are you¡­?¡±

    The abra crossed his arms and asked. ¡°Seriously, dude? Can¡¯t you see my eyes to identify them? I know they¡¯re squinted but it shouldn¡¯t be that hard to see.¡±

    I blinked and tried to process what he meant. What did he mean by squinted eyes, they were always closed. ¡°They¡¯re¡­ not really squinted. At least, from perspective.¡±

    ¡°Huh¡­ well, okay then, I believe you.¡± The abra adjusted his position in the air to make it look like he was lying down on his side. He smiled afterwards. ¡°It¡¯s me, the resident memer shapeshifter that you know and definitely love!¡±

    My ears perked up as the realization hit. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just you, Lucas.¡± I sighed and asked the shapeshifter. ¡°What are you even doing inside my house? And uh¡­ when did you learn how to levitate?¡±

    ¡°Long story short, Shadow Deity helped me do some stuff.¡± Lucas admitted before putting a finger on his forehead, blinking out of existence and appearing a few paces back then doing it again but appearing higher up then to the side then disappearing and reappearing again right where he was initially. ¡°Some cool stuff.¡±

    I took a step back and registered in my head what Lucas just did. So¡­ not only did he learn how to levitate¡­ but he also learned how to teleport in a single day¡­? I was finally putting into perspective something about Lucas that I really haven¡¯t been putting that much thought into before. He was learning how to use his new body and powers fast. This Shadow Deity inside his head¡­ I wondered who that was¡­ ¡®I may need to go to the library, I need to see what kind of deity is directing Lucas to the path of power¡­¡¯ I looked aside. ¡°I¡­ I see.¡±

    ¡°But anyway, the reason I barged into your house like the normal New York burglar was because I heard you scream and shout so I got worried and barged inside.¡± He landed on the ground and tilted his head. ¡°You okay or do I need to beat some ghost haunting ya?¡±

    I sighed while a soft scowl entered my face. ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s just¡­ some stupid nightmare, that¡¯s all.¡± My gaze darted back to him as I tilted my head. ¡°Wait, why did you even come here? Already wanting to go on another mission?¡±

    The abra waved his claw dismissively and spoke. ¡°Nah, leave that to tomorrow or something. I already had my fill of a mission yesterday. I¡¯ll tell you later what happened. For now, I came to ask you for something if you don¡¯t mind it.¡±

    My tail rose in curiosity. What did he want from me? ¡°What is it?¡±

    Lucas made a kicking movement while (supposedly) looking around. ¡°So¡­ I was thinking. Ya wanna get stronger right? Not just me who wants to feel prepared for the dangers lurking around the place, right?¡±

    I blinked and processed what he was trying to say. Wait, because he was a psychic type at the moment, could he know my inner goal? Did he already discover it-

    No, I shouldn¡¯t panic. He might have learned teleportation and levitation in a single day, but that doesn¡¯t mean he also mastered telepathy, or else he would¡¯ve already shown it to me because it¡¯s in his nature to be a showoff.

    I subtly recomposed myself and asked with one of my ears flattening against my head. ¡°Yes, I want to be stronger to tackle more difficult missions one day. But still, where are you getting at?¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s simple really. I was thinking¡­¡± He started flying again, twirling in the air and pretending to lay in the air with his belly, holding his head in his hands. ¡°How about you and I feel each other strength¡¯s in a friendly lil¡¯ spar slash training, hm?¡±

    That made me curious. ¡°Oh really? Spar with me? Where is this coming from?¡±

    ¡°Okay, hear me out.¡± Lucas began while adjusting his position and putting a hand on his side. ¡°I was thinking that if we tried to fight one another, we might see our biggest weakness and learn how to coordinate better when we fight as a team next time! You really don¡¯t want a repeat of the sunbloom incident where we almost died, right?¡±

    I hummed in thought as I processed his words, no, not because I was thinking if we should do this or not, but because I was thinking about Lucas¡¯ reasoning. There was something off about it, but I couldn¡¯t really put my paw on it to be sure¡­ not like he was lying, obviously there was some truth in it. But it felt like he was omitting something else from me.

    Ah, who cared, it was likely for some dumb reason or something. As per usual with him.

    I smirked. ¡°Sure, Lucas, why not? After all, you could learn a thing or two if you¡¯re not as reckless and rock-headed as I think you are.¡±

    The abra leaned forward and smugly grinned. ¡°Okay fur ball, let¡¯s see if you can actually beat me first, ya know? Don¡¯t go acting cocky now when I whoop your ass easily.¡±

    My tail started wagging in anticipation as I stomped a paw onto the ground. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s on¡­¡± I then walked beside Lucas and started heading out the door. Who knew I¡¯d be using that sparring court again, but oh well, better than leaving it gathering dust because no one else seemed to be using it. ¡°Come with me, I know of a place we can fight on.¡±

    <hr>

    It had been some minutes since we got out of my house and started walking to the training arena. Lucas had transformed into his human form again for some reason, however, he was without the cloth covering his torso but still wore the pendant that Raina gave to him. I still wore that pendant mostly every day because I thought it felt nice to wear. However, I got this strange feeling about it. I don¡¯t know what it was but it felt like some otherworldly presence was watching me¡­

    We had stopped by the bathhouse to drink some water as well before heading off to the arena. Of course, the rest of the way there was spent in silence because Lucas was using that strange multipurpose device of his that for some reason has the apparition of Giratina and even Arceus in it.

    It may not seem like it but I¡¯ll never get over that¡­ why does a completely different species have our gods trapped inside this strange dimension inside that crazy device???

    I snapped out of those thoughts when my eye caught sight of a familiar place after entering a path with no exit. The tunnel we were in expanded as we reached a wide area. It was like a large dome where someone could battle to their heart¡¯s contents (as long as they knew how to control themselves and not cause a cave-in.)

    The arena was a simple one. A wide area that extended in a circular manner, typical of a dome arena. The ground was also littered with a bit of rocks here and there to put some obstacles in the way of fighting to simulate a real fight too. It was simple but effective. It''s too bad that a lot of explorers and the town populace don¡¯t even use it. I had been using it when Alsia and I were in an exploration team but after her death, it was only gathering dust again.

    I guess that changed today.

    I turned my head to Lucas and motioned with a paw. ¡°Well, this is the field we will be sparring in. You might sneeze a bit, it IS quite abandoned since no one has been using it, as far as I know.¡±

    The human took a few steps into the arena, his phone still in his hand as he took in his surroundings. He hummed in a bit before whining. ¡°Aww man, this place doesn¡¯t have a spectator booth for other Pok¨¦mon to watch the biggest ass whooping in the century.¡± I was about to retort with something but he continued while lifting a finger. ¡°But that¡¯s okay, ¡®cause I have this lil¡¯ thing!¡±

    Lucas raised his phone in the air before starting to look around for something. At that moment, I decided to ask. ¡°What are you even gonna do with that thing?¡±

    The shapeshifter looked back at me with a smug grin. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s quite simple, my dear furball. Basically, this lil¡¯ thing is gonna capture the moment. It will record our fight. And when our fight ends, I can show this fight to others who want to see it but are not here to see it at this moment.¡± He then turned away, his head turning around while searching for something. ¡°I would¡¯ve live-streamed it but since this place has no connection at all, video form is better.¡± He giggled to himself before muttering, even though I could still hear him. ¡°Oh, I cannot fucking wait until I post this to Twitter, people are gonna lose their marbles!¡±

    He stopped craning his head around, going to a certain part of the wall after saying ¡°Aha!¡±. Meanwhile, I just went to a place in the arena and started wondering about what he said. Was he going to¡­ capture the moment? Is it just like that photography thing but long-term¡­? Ugh¡­ human technology is so confusing, why even bother understanding it? ¡°Once you¡¯re done over there, can we fight already?¡±

    ¡°Wait, hold on a moment¡­¡± Lucas was fidgeting with a certain part of the rocky and uneven wall with his device and eventually, he stopped and started backing away slowly. ¡°Hehehe, recording and holding steady, good¡­¡± Lucas got a bit of distance from the phone and clapped his hands while looking at the phone. ¡°Greeting future viewers!¡± He raised a finger. ¡°What you¡¯re about to watch is unedited in the slightest, after all, I don¡¯t know CGI!¡± The shapeshifter then looked at me with a smirk. ¡°Something to say for the people who are about to watch?¡±

    ¡°Uhh¡­¡± I stammered a bit before thinking. ¡®Why does he want me to say something!? I thought he was just going to add context for those who watch this later! Wait, how many people are going to even watch this? Oh, Arceus¡­ hopefully not a lot¡­¡¯ I then looked at the camera. ¡°Um, hi¡­ we¡¯re gonna fight and uh¡­¡± I pointed a paw at the human. ¡°He¡¯s gonna be a mop when I wipe his face on the ground.¡±

    He looked at me in surprise before his expression morphed into mild annoyance. ¡°Bro! Aight, that¡¯s it, gonna go Super Saiyan style on your ass.¡± Lucas then got into a position a distance away from me, opposite from where I stood. I shifted my focus away from the human device and focused on the shapeshifter in front of me. He stretched a bit, almost like he was ready to fight in his human form. However, that outcome was shattered in my head once the pink light of transformation overtook his body.

    I already got used to how bright his transformations were. However, every time Lucas transformed, I wondered how it felt to alter his entire cell structure and core to become another Pok¨¦mon in just a few seconds. It must feel¡­ excruciating. If humans are as fragile as he said they were, how could he handle things of this tier?

    Once his transformation ended, the pink mantle of glow faded from his body, and where a human stood, a dewott with blue irises was in his place crossing his arms while he looked at me with a smug grin on his face. ¡°I thought that I¡¯ve never used a water type for battle yet, so I wanna see how it would feel like for now. After all, I¡¯m pretty sure a stinky furball like you needs a bath anyway.¡±

    Already starting with the insults before the battle even started? The art of taunting¡­ yeah, that seems in line with his fighting style. There weren¡¯t any opponents he could use that on at least to my knowledge¡­ and I was another one who wouldn¡¯t fall for his taunts.

    I spread my legs apart from each other, readying a defensive stance. ¡°Your threats are hollow for someone like me who already has more experience dealing with your type.¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    Lucas huffed amusedly before speaking again, raising his hands up. ¡°Let¡¯s see about that in¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­ 1, GO!¡± The dewott announced before suddenly covering himself in a veil of water. He then started rushing to me, however, the moment he jumped to headbutt me, he started flying at incredible speeds. Thankfully, I activated my Quick Attack just in time to dodge out of the way with a jump. ¡°Woahhh!!!¡±

    I looked back to see Lucas falling on the ground after his Aqua Jet ended, skidding along it with his underside before stopping. He groaned a bit as I fully turned around with a disapproving expression. ¡°Hmph, seriously? All that shit talk just for that as your grand opener?¡±

    Lucas quickly got up and dusted himself, the water he covered himself with earlier making a few specs of dust clinging to his fur easily. The water type looked at me again and pointed. ¡°Shut up, you ain¡¯t seen nothing yet! I was just, like¡­ getting used to this body since it¡¯s my first time I¡¯m fighting in this body, that¡¯s all!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s see if that claim holds true.¡± I covered myself in the aura of Quick Attack again, and I felt myself getting faster than normal time could handle as I approached the dewott. I could see his eyes slowly widen before he crossed his arms in front of him. I headbutted him, however, he had successfully managed to defend himself as I felt the Quick Attack energy fade away. However, I didn¡¯t let that stop me as I opened my mouth wide open and bit down on one of his arms with dark energy surrounding my teeth.

    While I snarled with my teeth sinking into Lucas¡¯ flesh, he grunted in pain before starting to shake me away, however, I persisted, inflicting more dark-type energy onto him. ¡°Okay, puppy, chill for a bit, would ya!?¡± From the corner of my vision, I see his free hand grabbing one of the sea shells clinging to his leg. I already knew what was coming so I decided to release his arm and-

    ¡°Ngh!¡±

    I grunted in pain before I was launched into the air by a swift kick in the gut. And the pain wasn¡¯t done when Lucas jumped in the air and delivered a swift slice with his hard shell which sent me crashing onto the ground on my side. I felt a bit of pain, and the cut was shallow only cutting some of my fur. I regained awareness of my surroundings again and looked at Lucas who landed on the ground with a grin on his face. I asked after groaning a little and getting up. ¡°How did you know¡­?¡±

    Lucas stylishly threw the scalchop in his paw into the air and grabbed it without even looking. ¡°Quite simple actually. Wanna know the easiest method of attacking an opponent? Let them attack a hard part of your body and that leaves them exposed for a counter-attack with another body part.¡± He fiddled with the sea shell weapon. ¡°This little thing was a distraction because drawing any weapons is slower.¡±

    I was a bit surprised by the insight that he shared with me, not expecting that coming from him in the slightest. ¡°Where in distortion did you even learn about that?¡±

    ¡°Pieces of media from the internet and personal experience with bullies prepared me for stuff like this.¡± The dewott explained while getting into a battle pose again, pointing the scalchop in his paw forward. ¡°Come on bro, this match ain¡¯t ending until you give up and I claim victory over ya, proving I¡¯m the strongest of-¡±

    With a burst of speed from Quick Attack, I ignored what he was going to say and started dashing around the place, the water type becoming very slow to me. I started jumping onto the boulders strewn around the field, once I landed on them, I started whipping my tail in Lucas¡¯ direction. I launched Swift to the dewott, shooting a single star whenever I landed on the rocks.

    The first star hit on his back, causing a small explosion and staggering him forward. The second star almost hit him on the side, but he was fast and sidestepped out of the way. The last star, however, surprised me. I shot it in front of him, the projectile traveling at fast speeds to his face. However, instead of dodging it, he just stood there and sliced the star in half with his scalchop, the two halves flying past him and impacting a boulder and the wall.

    I didn¡¯t let that stun me for longer before I dashed at him from behind and prepared a Shadow Ball at the tip of my mouth. The ghost-type energy born from my life energy licked at my lips from how close it was to my mouth. I saw Lucas¡¯ ears flicker as he turned around just in time I let the Shadow Ball go, the purplish black orb flying to the dewott quickly.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Lucas cursed before grabbing his other scalchop and crossing them together as a glow of energy emanated from them. The Shadow Ball impacted the scalchops which caused Lucas to get pushed back a bit as he started blocking the ball of ghostly energy. He eventually let out a cry and shifted position, redirecting the ball to the wall above. ¡°Hah!¡±

    I took this as an opportunity and dashed towards the dewott, my teeth enlarging a bit with dark energy. I reached him and sank my fangs into his flesh once again, biting his leg this time. Lucas moaned in pain before falling into his knee, even dropping one of his scalchops on the ground.

    ¡°A bit angy now, are we?¡± Lucas hissed between his grunts before twisting his head around, his chest swelling a bit before he launched a burst of water from his mouth onto my face. The force of the impact launched me away from him, dislodging my teeth from his skin and soaking my face as well. I landed on my feet and shook my head, the smell of wet fur already entering my nostrils. ¡°Let me clean ya up a bit. Can tell you were on League a bit too much!¡±

    I saw Lucas grab his fallen scalchop and get up again. He fully turned to me before starting to spit more of those water spits with his Water Gun. To conserve my energy, I dodged the projectiles without the assistance of Quick Attack, making me pay even more attention to the direction in which Lucas shot the water. I narrowingly dodged the projectiles, however, when one of them hit my tail, my momentum was thrown off. ¡°Shit!¡±

    Then came another water projectile, hitting my side and launching me backwards. I skidded across the floor, stopping myself with my claws pinned on the floor. Then Lucas came with the taunt. ¡°Aw, there ya go! All washed! Both in a clean manner and being bad at stuff.¡± I looked at him growling. He struck a pose by putting his fist on his side and wagging a finger. ¡°Seems like someone¡¯s ready to take the L, eh?¡±

    I felt my muscles twitch as I slowly got back up. ¡°You¡¯re foolish to think that I¡¯d give up this easily when I can easily try harder to get stronger!¡±

    ¡°Okay then, don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn ya!¡± The dewott coated himself in a mantle of water again. I had a feeling that this time he learned from the last attempt at Aqua Jet¡­ dammit, what was I gonna do now-

    Wait a minute¡­ that¡¯s it!

    I took a deep breath as Lucas started approaching me again, running before he jumped and let the burst of speed he gained from the veil of water boost him forward. ¡®Wait¡­¡¯ He got closer and closer and I could feel the air almost moisturizing around me. ¡®Now!¡¯

    I ducked under the Aqua Jet and I saw Lucas¡¯ eyes widen in surprise. ¡°What the-¡± I then delivered a headbutt right onto Lucas¡¯ stomach. Even though the water around him softened the impact, it was enough to halt his momentum and throw him in the air. I copied what Lucas did to me at the beginning of the fight and decided to follow up with that, seeing as I was above him. I threw a Shadow Ball directly at him, the orb of ethereal force exploding in contact with his body and sending him straight to the ground.

    He groaned a bit before I landed again back on the floor. However, I gave him no time to rest and jumped on top of him, asserting my dominance over him. I smirked with a grin. ¡°It seems the victor has been decided-¡±

    ¡°Damn, you do wanna kiss me from how you get on top of me a lot.¡± Lucas suddenly spoke, which made me freeze and blush a little. I was ready to bite him again, however, I felt the cold and moist surface of something against my neck, catching me off guard. ¡°Here¡¯s another lesson for ya, don¡¯t declare victory UNTIL the opponent is outta tricks. Dragon Ball taught me well that.¡± He put away his scalchop and giggled a bit. ¡°Anyway, I yield, you won this fair and square.¡±

    Those last words confused me as I got off from him a bit winded. ¡°Wha- why? You could¡¯ve gotten the hit and won. I was on the advantage sure, but you could¡¯ve gotten the finishing strike!¡±

    The dewott caught up and casually dusted himself off. ¡°But would that feel good for you knowing that I stole your win with such a cheap trick?¡± He put his paws on his side, leaning his body close to me with a knowing smile. I couldn¡¯t help but ponder what he said. Unfortunately, he was right that¡­ I¡¯d probably just bite him again for pulling that out of his rear just to catch me off guard¡­ ¡°Yep, that face tells me everything!¡± He then leaned back and put a paw on his chin. ¡°Hmm, now to find my phone around here¡­¡±

    The dewott walked to the walls of the cave, looking for his phone. I was just left staring at him while my head replayed the previous battle. It was clear that even with his reckless personality and his cocky demeanor, he was no pushover and it showed in the way he fought. By this point, he had already gotten used to the body type of some Pok¨¦mon and knew the right way to execute his moves in those bodies. Not to mention the techniques he used to get his advantages in the fight¡­

    Was the human world really that bad for someone to learn how to fight harshly?

    I got snapped out of my thoughts when I saw Lucas with his device in his paws, squealing like a little kid receiving a present. ¡°Oh my goodness, hell yeah! Haha, everyone¡¯s gonna fuckin¡¯ flip once I post this baby on Twi-¡± The dewott looked up and froze, looking in my direction before flinching and taking a step back. ¡°The fuck!?¡±

    I got confused for a second about what had caused such a reaction from Lucas. However, my answers were given when I turned around as well. A certain white and green scaly canine Pok¨¦mon stood at the field entrance, casually sitting on the ground. Even I couldn¡¯t help but flinch as well and take a defensive stance. ¡°Zephaniel!?¡±

    That¡­ Pok¨¦mon again. What¡­ was his species name? Acaniz? Yeah, something called an acaniz. I don¡¯t have a strong enough opinion on this guy, other than the fact that I¡¯m just on the edge when he¡¯s around because of what Lucas said. There is just¡­ no way that this Pok¨¦mon is the legendary Serpent of Balance and Order, right?

    Zephaniel smiled before speaking. ¡°What a wonderful battle, you two. I¡¯m very impressed by the techniques you have shown.¡± He tilted his head after humming. ¡°Why do you two look so tense? Is there something about-¡±

    ¡°Dawg, I¡¯mma be for real here. Yes, there¡¯s something about you.¡± Lucas suddenly spoke as he started walking and stopped beside me. ¡°Listen, legit, you do a terrible job hiding your identity from other mortals who have an idea of who you are already.¡±

    That caught me off guard, making me nervously turn to Lucas and make him stop with those baseless assumptions. ¡°Lucas, could you drop it, please? You don¡¯t need to cause useless problems.¡±

    The acaniz flinched and looked aside. ¡°What are you talking about¡­? I-I¡¯m just-¡±

    The dewott sighed and crossed his arms. ¡°Dude, cut the crap, alright? Ain¡¯t nobody here right now and I don¡¯t think anyone would be if the furball¡¯s claims are true about this place. So come on, Zygarde, we won¡¯t judge.¡±

    My fur bristled and I hissed angrily at him. ¡°Lucas! Just stop already-¡±

    Suddenly, a sigh interrupted me and I looked back at the scaly canine Pok¨¦mon. ¡°Fine, I admit.¡± My eye widened a little once I heard the chipper tone in his voice get replaced with something more genuine. He craned his head up again and spoke something that made my heart skip a beat. ¡°You are correct. I am Zygarde. Also known as the Serpent of Order and Balance.¡±

    ¡­ W H A T!?

    No, no, absolutely not. In the name of Arceus¡¯ great paradise, there was absolutely no way that this Pok¨¦mon was the Zygarde from legend. The serpent could cause entire nations to fall if they disturb the ecosystem''s and nature''s balance. The deity that could wipe a whole mountain with that enormous power over the earth in the blink of an eye.

    Were you telling me that this Pok¨¦mon was that deity?

    I nervously spoke with a fake laugh. ¡°Hey, no need to, like, play into my partner¡¯s delusional beliefs. After all, there is no way you can-¡±

    Suddenly, Zephaniel spread his legs and started gaining a green glow as he braced for something to happen. I could feel my face growing pale as I stared at the aura covering the scaly Pok¨¦mon. Suddenly, hundreds upon hundreds of motes of green lights started pouring into the area they were just in, entering Zephaniel¡¯s bubble of green sphere. The sphere enlarged itself, making way for a bigger being blossoming from what remained of the old scaly canine¡¯s body.

    I glanced at Lucas who took a few steps forward and spoke. ¡°Aw hell yeah, now we¡¯re talking!¡±

    My eye darted back to see the green light dissipating, the big Pok¨¦mon in front of me making me feel the biggest chill running across my body. My breathing shallowed as I took fearful steps back, looking at the white and green serpentine behemoth in front of me. ¡°N-no way¡­ you¡­ you¡¯re actually¡­¡±

    Zephani- no, Zygarde sighed as one of his frills vibrated. ¡°See now why I don¡¯t reveal my identity to anyone? Now this little eevee will devote his life to me just to protect himself. It¡¯s repetitive and annoying.¡± The deity leaned his head close to us, their hexagonal scales making his expression unreadable. ¡°Isn¡¯t he?¡±

    ¡°I-I¡­¡±

    Before I could stammer, Lucas interrupted me, putting a paw on his side. ¡°Nah, he won¡¯t. If ya wanna be treated less deity-like and more common Pok¨¦mon-like, we can do that easily.¡± He turned his head to me and asked. ¡°Ain¡¯t that right, Ev?¡±

    I glanced at Lucas with the most bewildered stare I could muster, just to show the sheer shock I felt when he casually talked down with one of the most powerful deities on the planet. How in Giratina¡¯s name could he so casually address Zygarde like he was just a normal Pok¨¦mon like the rest of us? And it¡¯s not like he doesn¡¯t know his power, after all, he has those¡­ games of his on his device.

    How can he keep his calm that well¡­?

    <hr>

    Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod-

    WHAT AM I DOING!?!?!? Why I¡¯m acting so buddy-buddy with the big danger noodle who has 4 signature ways to kill me in one blow!?!? I shouldn¡¯t be doing this, why am I doing this!? I know the big guy just wanted to fit in, but like, what if he just playin¡¯? What if it¡¯s the biggest vibe check of all time? Well, I haven¡¯t gotten impaled to death by green spears, buried to death by lil¡¯ green blobs, exploded by the earth, or, who could forget, obliterated by a fucking laser beam (yet). So¡­ that¡¯s a good thing, right? Right?

    Chat, I may be dead in a few seconds probably-

    <hr>

    Well, he probably had seen worse things in his world to not be afraid of the deity, so¡­ maybe I¡¯m just letting my expectations about Zygarde run wild. After all, he wouldn¡¯t strike us down where we stand, right? ¡°Y-yeah, right, we won¡¯t¡­¡± I said with my ears flattened while looking aside.

    ¡°Hmm, that is good to know then. I hope that you two do not go back on your word.¡± He spoke with a big huff, and I could feel a warm breeze pass through my body after he exhaled.

    Lucas hummed for a second before speaking. ¡°For a ¡®mon that likes to have their identity hidden, those lil¡¯ cells that came to you would arouse a lot of suspicion around the village, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±

    Zygarde looked at Lucas. ¡°Hmph, I¡¯m not so foolish as you think. My cells are invisible at every moment. They just become energy once they¡¯re a small distance from me. So, the chances of them getting seen by another Pok¨¦mon are minimal and non-existent at best. But anyway¡­¡± The serpent started glowing green again as hundreds of small lights started leaving the big glow. His form started shrinking and reverting back to what it was. Eventually, the light dissipated, revealing the scaly canine form of the deity again. ¡°I am not here just to reveal my identity, as you now know. I came here for other business¡­ specifically you.¡± He pointed a paw at Lucas.

    The dewott tilted his head. ¡°So you¡¯re not satisfied with the answers I gave you at the restaurant?¡±

    ¡°Of course not, I left that place with more questions rather than answers. So I want you to be fully honest with me here. Who are you really, and what are you?¡± The deity of order asked while sitting on his haunches. ¡°And of course, what is your end goal here?¡±

    ¡®He¡¯s still wary about Lucas? I mean¡­ it does make sense given his strange powers and all. No wonder the deity of order would be afraid if an individual capable of even turning into rare and powerful Pok¨¦mon would emerge out of nowhere.¡¯ I reasoned in my head, humming a bit nervously and thoughtfully.

    ¡°If you want a concrete answer, fine, I¡¯ll give it to ya.¡± The dewott put his phone on the ground in front of him before he started transforming. He had morphed back into his human form before grabbing his phone again, his pendant jiggling around his chest. ¡°I am Lucas Robinson, and I¡¯m a human from another world.¡± He looked at his hand before continuing to speak. ¡°A deity of this world gifted me these powers. And with this power, I¡¯ll continue to grow stronger and help every Pok¨¦mon in need along the way until I return home.¡± He clenched his fist and looked back at Zygarde with a smile. ¡°This is who I am!¡±

    I noticed the human subtly chuckling to himself. What was even funny about that?

    Well, at least Zygarde didn¡¯t notice it so he didn¡¯t think that Lucas was objectively lying. He hummed before murmuring. ¡°Interesting¡­ and your aura does not lie either¡­¡± Since¡­ when could he read auras? Dammit, I should probably catch up on my deities¡¯ knowledge. Starting with both Lucas¡¯ strange deity and Zygarde¡­

    Maybe the guildmaster has some insight into both¡­

    ¡°However, I still do not feel satisfied.¡± The deity of order continued, getting closer to Lucas. He then started circling around him slowly. ¡°Do you even fully know about the power you possess at your fingertips? You might not know by your clear use of weaker forms, but if you access more forms, your power grows to the level of not just any deity, a deity that could even rival Arceus themselves.¡±

    My eyes widened at what the deity said. His power is that strong? All of this was starting to overwhelm me¡­ why did I have to be the one to get between deity affairs!?

    Lucas seemed to be caught a little off guard before he crossed his arms and spoke. ¡°Well, I already knew that¡­¡± HE ALREADY KNEW!?!? ¡°But what are you even getting at here? You¡¯re scared I might go rogue if I suddenly transform into, like, Dialga or something?¡±

    ¡°Precisely.¡± He stopped in front of Lucas. ¡°That power could prove to be a great disaster waiting to happen if it falls on the wrong paws. After all, what if you go feral when you¡¯re in the body of one of the children of creation? What if you get captured by a group of evil Pok¨¦mon who use you for your power to do their evil deeds?¡±

    The human held one of his arms and looked aside, a grimace finally entering his face. The worst part about that is that one of those things almost happened when it came to the Dark Rebellion. They wanted to take Lucas with them and force him to join their ranks¡­ absolutely despicable, I couldn¡¯t forgive them¡­ but still, it was worrying that Lucas had to be extra careful with his powers because they could cause a lot of destruction.

    Well¡­ if he managed not to destroy this village in more than two weeks in this place, he at least knows what he¡¯s doing, probably thanks to the deity inside his head. Although, Zygarde definitely wasn¡¯t convinced based on his speech¡­

    ¡°That look on your faces¡­ I guess you two are very aware of the situation.¡± The deity of order sighed and spoke again. ¡°That is why I came here in the first place. As the Pok¨¦mon who oversees the order of this world, I shall offer a proposal to you if you fear both of those things from happening.¡±

    I blinked a bit before tilting my head confusedly. ¡°Um¡­ what is that offer exactly?¡±

    ¡°The offer is not, like, killing me because I¡¯m too strong, right?¡± The shapeshifted inquired a bit nervously.

    ¡°Hmph, of course not. You do not break the balance of the world, at least for now, so I have no intention of killing you. No, the offer is something simple, really.¡± Zygarde then lifted a paw before finally speaking. ¡°I offer myself to join your exploration team, at least temporarily.¡±

    ¡°... WHAT!?!?¡± Lucas and I blurted out simultaneously. We definitely had the same thought going through our heads right now. What the FUCK!?.

    ¡°Like I had said before. I do not fully trust your word, Lucas Robinson. And would you think I let you go to your own devices after you know that I could be watching your every step from the shadows? After all, if you already knew about me, you definitely know how my cells work when they¡¯re not inside my body, isn¡¯t that right?¡± Zygarde asked while leaning his head forward and smirking.

    ¡°I-... well, yes. I do. So¡­ for you not to be creepily stalking me with your lil¡¯ friends, you¡¯re gonna be observing me up close just to see if I go off the rails of what you consider balanced?¡± He did a finger quotation motion.

    ¡°Yes, that is my plan. And if you do step over to the wrong path¡­¡± His scarf-like appendage started fluttering a bit as his white eyes flashed green. ¡°I will not hesitate to strike you down where you stand. Understood?¡±

    I felt my heart skip a beat again and my legs started trembling hard. I thought myself gulping dry on the deity¡¯s threat. Was he¡­ was he really going to kill Lucas? ¡°Lucas, should we really le-¡±

    ¡°Eh, sounds good to me. It''s not like I¡¯m planning to join the dark side or go feral anytime soon. I know my limits.¡± The human walked to the canine Pok¨¦mon and crouched down to his level. ¡°And it''s not like we can deny the offer too since it¡¯ll result in the same situation. And it¡¯s kinda nice having a powerhouse like ya on the team.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, keep in mind that I shall not be switching into my stronger forms in missions. My goal here is not to advance in guild ranks with you but rather to observe you. Do not disappoint me.¡± Zygarde spoke with a huff while looking away.

    Ugh, and of course Lucas keeps reeling me into way more problems than before¡­ what a trouble magnet. Although, it would be nice to have a third member on our team after that whole Sunbloom fiasco. I wonder how a deity would even fight in that form¡­