"Why is this forest always quiet?" Jeremy asked himself as he walked through the forest. "I wish I had known earlier that Michelle had recently visited Solaceon Town." He silently berated himself for walking through the forest without a flashlight. Deciding to travel to Solaceon Town's Pokémon Center in the dead of night was not one of his best ideas, he realized. He only had his knowledge to use as a compass, since he could not even see his hands in front of him. Because of that, his hands often came into contact with substances of unknown origin as he fumbled in the dark.
"Not even a Volbeat around to light my way…" he commented. He embraced himself as he stopped in his tracks and looked around. He dug his left hand into his left pocket and fished out a glow-stick.
"I don't know if it's safe to use this. I might draw unwanted attention." Using the glow-stick was his only chance at seeing in the dense forest, but it would also make him more likely to get mauled by one of the not-so-benevolent Pokémon that inhabited the area. After a few minutes, Jeremy decided that as soon as he turned on the glow-stick, he would make a run for it. Turning towards where he believed was Solaceon Town, Jeremy took a deep breath and prepared himself. He bent the glow-stick, and as soon as he heard a snapping sound, he took off, the item lighting his way. He leapt over small puddles and dashed past some of the larger, more dangerous Pokémon, glad that he hadn't bumped into them.
"I'm almost in the clear!" Jeremy cried as he noticed some lights ahead of him, indicating that the town was nearby. He smiled and decided to slow down to a walk, compelled by fatigue to do so. He panted as he walked forwards, aware that he could rest easy now.
"Oh, there it is," Jeremy said after a moment of looking for the Pokémon Center. He then face palmed. "How could I have missed THAT?" He ran to the doors and realized that pushing them open was not necessary; they slid open upon detecting motion. He stepped inside, then looked behind him after hearing something move.
"Is someone there?" he asked himself. He decided that he should take a look around before he stayed for the night. He grabbed his glow-stick and left the safety of the center to check to see what had been following him.
"I guess I was just a little paranoid," Jeremy commented after a while of searching. He walked back to the center, but tripped over a small rock that just happened to be in his way. Luckily for him, that fall let him dodge a Flamethrower headed his way.
"What was that?!" he asked in shock as he looked behind himself again. He later regretted doing that as he saw a Ninetales running right towards him. 'Why would a Ninetales attack me? Unless…I stepped on one of its tails by accident! Not good!' He sprinted away from the charging Pokémon as best as he could and threw the glow-stick away. 'If it catches me, I'm a goner!' He soon realized that he was just kicking up air for some odd reason.
"Why aren't I going any further?" He asked his legs desperately. He knew that upsetting a Ninetales, accidental or not, was not a wise move, and he realized that he was being held by a Psychic attack. "Whatever I did to you, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! Please let me go!" he begged.
"Oh, I'll let you go alright…but it will be as one of my kind," he replied slyly.
'What?! N-no!" Jeremy shouted, but it was no use as he felt himself slowly shrink a little. He tried to think that this was all a dream, but the pain he felt from it prevented his mind from wandering. He felt even more pain as he felt his hands and feet change shape.
"Don't worry, it will soon be over," the Ninetales said as he ended the Psychic attack. He knew that the human would soon lose the ability to run away because of the curse he cast. Any human foolish enough to touch a Ninetales tails would be forced to endure the curse cast upon them. Running away was no longer going to be an option. Jeremy fell to the ground and tried to make a run for it, but was tripped by the Ninetales and fell to the ground again. He felt three tails curl around his waist and pull him closer to the fox Pokémon.
'It won't help me if I struggle, but I need to get away!' he thought. In his panic, he tried to swipe at the Pokémon, who merely moved him around effortlessly and made his swipes useless.
"You are trapped, human. Accept your fate," the Pokémon stated as he let go of him. Jeremy jumped to his feet once he was let go, but he fell down to all fours this time. He felt all of his insides swap places as he stepped out of his now-loose sneakers and clothes, revealing two hind paws that resembled those of a Ninetales. Pain was evident in his now red eye as he watched beige-colored fur grow all over his body.
"It hurts so much!" he complained. "I feel like I'm going through painful acupuncture!"
"I did not say it would be painless," the fox responded nonchalantly. Jeremy could not believe that this was actually happening to him, of all people! He clenched his teeth, trying --but failing-- to endure the growth of claws from all four of his new paws. He gasped in pain, feeling his teeth suddenly sharpen and increase in number to match those of his new species. He panted, knowing that if the curse continued its course, it would only be a matter of time before he lost consciousness. For his luck, however, it seemed like the curse had stopped.
"…Is it over?" he asked himself. He looked at himself and guessed that it hadn't even ended yet.
"Not even. You're incomplete," the Ninetales responded. "The curse has now moved on to the second part. Your face will soon resemble my own, human." He turned out to be right as Jeremy felt his nose and mouth combine and elongate into a muzzle, painlessly this time.
"Thank Arceus that didn't hurt." The incomplete Ninetales let out a sigh of relief, but that was soon cancelled with another shout of pain when his ears sharpened to a triangular shape and moved to the top of his head. "Oh…come on…!" he growled out.
"Rather amusing to watch you squirm. Now you look like a tail-less Ninetales. Ironic, considering our name…oh wait! Your tails are growing right now, along with the tuft of fur on your reshaping head." Jeremy suddenly felt a painful feeling at his tailbone and clenched his teeth once more. He resisted crying out in pain as all nine tails burst out, one by one. He silently cried as he realized that he no longer had any physical humanity left.
"You've had your fun. Now I feel miserable. Are you happy now?" he asked the fox Pokémon.
"Not quite. It hasn't even finished yet, my dear," he stated as he pinned him down and lied down on him, giving him a gentle lick.
"What do you--" Jeremy's question was interrupted as he noticed his appearance become feminine and his voice heighten in pitch. "…W-w-what's going…on…aah!" he screamed as he felt his area painfully change to the female version, forever marking him as a female Ninetales.
"What have you done to me?!" he--rather, she shrieked, squirming to get away from him, tears rolling out of her eyes.
"You are now going to be my mate," he replied. "You will address me as North. Worry not, we're going to have a fun time together, Kate." As soon as he said that, the new female Ninetales passed out underneath him. Her tongue lolled out off her mouth, creating an awkward sight that would have made any passerby point and laugh.
"Soon, you will wake up and no longer have any memory of this happening, my new mate. I'll take care of you.f" The male Ninetales gave her a lick, dismounted her and carried her away using his Psychic attack. He looked forward to mating with her and padded away to his cave after burning the clothes and sneakers. He wanted no trace of what used to be a human left behind.
Kate woke up in a panic, and quickly looked around. She was relieved to know that she was back in her den with her mate.
"Calm down, Kate. You just had a terrible dream," North stated as he nuzzled her. She smiled upon feeling her mate's touch.
"It all seemed so real," she replied, silently chuckling as she got up. "I was a human male in it. Then something attacked me and turned me back to normal."
"I'm sure all dreams seem that way," North said. He got up and coaxed her to lay back down. "I'll go look for some food for us. Please stay in our den."
"Thank you." Kate nuzzled him in his area, drawing out a moan of pleasure from him. "Be back soon."
"Don't worry. I'll be thinking about our future mating session." He licked her on the nose and crawled out of the den, grinning about what would soon transpire.
"Where could that boy have gone?" Michelle asked herself when she arrived at Jeremy's house, only to find that he wasn't there. "…I guess I can't do anything about this except move on to Veilstone City. Maybe I'll see him some other time…" she said. Michelle and her Floatzel got up and surfed to the City of Stone on a conveniently placed river headed there.
