Forest's Curse
A Pokemon TF Story
Serena walked briskly through Route 20, the Winding Woods. Only one gym badge left to go, she thought happily, and I'll be ready to challenge the Pokémon League! She was here looking for Wulfric, the Gym Leader of the nearby town, to request a battle for the eighth gym badge. But as she walked, she was distracted time and again by the beautiful foliage, the cute little bugs in the trees, and many more wonders of the forest. Serena sighed softly, "I almost wish I could stay here forever! It's so beautiful here!"
It was then that Serena noticed that the sun was going down. "Oh, no!" she cried. "I can't keep searching all night! I need to go back to town and sleep."
Then she realized… she didn't know which way went to town. Irritated with herself, she dashed off in the direction she thought she'd come from. But after turning, turning, pushing through shrubs, and backtracking, Serena knew she was hopelessly lost. "Oh, why didn't I bring Talonflame? He could have flown me out of here!" As she said this, the sun sank below the treetops and out of sight. At once the woods were very dark.
All of a sudden, Serena heard a creaking, groaning noise from somewhere near her. Instantly on her guard, she gripped a Poké Ball and tried to figure out where the noise was coming from, but it seemed to come from all directions, and it was getting louder. She threw her Poké Ball, shouting, "Sigilyph! Use Flash!"
"Siiiiigiiiiillll…" the bird-like Pokémon hummed, as it emitted a bright glow, revealing… trees. The creaking stopped. There were only two fairly close to her, each tall and thin, with pointed, claw-like branches. But as Serena looked closer, she felt a growing sense of dread as she saw… cracks in the bark? One that looked like… a closed eye?
Serena screamed.
Two eyes snapped open, one on each tree, and with a snarl, the trees uprooted themselves, stretching to high heights, revealing long strips of bark torn off their trunks. Their branches contorted into arms, and four roots acted as legs. These were no trees. These were Trevenant.
Serena, very scared now, threw another Poké Ball. "Greninja! Help me!" A large, humanoid frog emerged, assuming a fighting stance against the two Trevenant.
"Use Surf!" Serena shouted.
Greninja quickly pirouetted, then leaped, a geyser of water following him. It crashed full force onto the Trevenants, who grunted and took a step back, but they were otherwise unharmed. Greninja looked shocked. Then one of the ghostly trees raised a fist, slamming it down on Greninja in a Wood Hammer. With a crash, Greninja flew backwards and landed, fainted, on the ground. The other Trevenant flung a Shadow Ball at Sigilyph, knocking it out and disturbing its Flash. It immediately became pitch-dark.
Serena was horrified. She could see the Trevenants' glowing red eyes moving towards her. What would they do to her? She didn't have any more Pokemon to defend herself with – she was completely helpless.
The Trevenants paused, then raised their arms to the sky, waving them in an odd, spooky rhythm. Suddenly, green particles of energy began to seep from the ground, floating up slowly towards the Trevenants' hands. They kept coming until each had a swirling cloud of green energy in each hand.
Then they lowered their arms and flung them at Serena.
She screamed as the particles hit her at full force, knocking the wind out of her. She felt heat, and cold, and something else altogether all at once as the particles penetrated her body, seeping within her. She'd known the stories… Her grandmother had told her never to go out in the woods after dark, as the Trevenant within would put her under the forest's curse.
Forest's Curse… That's the move that adds the Grass type to a Pokémon…
Oh no!
Serena gasped as she held her hands up to her face. Before her eyes, her skin began to turn green. Screaming in fright, she tried to run away, but the Trevenant groaned, and a wall of brambles exploded from the ground, cornering her. Suddenly, Serena doubled over in shock, as the forest's curse began to take full control. A large bump began to push up out of her back, straining her clothes, as all of her skin turned a bright bluish-green. Tears welling in her eyes, she watched helplessly as her nails reshaped into small, sharp claws. The bump, still growing, burst outward with force, ripping through the back of her shirt. The bump kept growing, and Serena looked behind her to see that it was a gigantic green bulb. Immediately, she knew what she was becoming.
The Trevenant stared silently, watching intently, as her hair turned deep green and became a mass of vines. More vines snaked around her arms and legs, as the bulb became twice the size of her head. She cried out as her incisors became sharper, larger, and her ears pointed and crept to the top of her head. Finally, Serena fell to the ground, no longer truly human, but an anthropomorphic Bulbasaur. Her life gone, her ambitions gone, she was a freak now, and she knew it. In her despair, she barely even noticed the Trevenant advancing, ready for the kill.
"Sabre! Use Night Slash!"
The Trevenant looked away, thoroughly surprised, as an Aegislash sliced the brambles to ribbons. Before they could react, the sentient sword was on top of them, and with two clean swipes, the Trevenant lay fainted on the ground. Serena looked up, still sobbing, as a tall boy ran towards her. He stopped short, gasping. As the moon came out from behind a cloud, Serena could see his messy jet-black hair, pale skin, long overcoat, and shocked stare.
"By Arceus!" he cursed. "I'm too late!"
Serena whimpered, trying to cover herself. "Stay back…" she gasped. "I'm a monster!" What would the boy do? Serena thought. He'll probably run screaming to the townspeople and they'll come to catch me for being a monster…
But he didn't. Composing himself, he smiled gently. "Come now! If you were really a monster, would you be worrying about this stuff?"
Serena started. Did he just read my thoughts?
"Yes, I did," he chuckled, startling her again. "I had hoped to stop the Trevenant before they could do you harm, but alas, I arrived too late to stop them. They cursed you, correct?"
Serena nodded, another tear trickling down her cheek.
"Well, consider yourself safe with me. My name is Allen." The boy extended a hand, but Serena, still wary, raised herself up, shivering.
"Oh – sorry," Allen started, removing his overcoat. "Here, this should keep you warm."
"Th – thanks," Serena smiled just a little bit as she wrapped the long coat around her body. Her bulb felt sensitive on the fabric, and she choked back more sobs as she realized how much she had changed.
"There, there…" said Allen, patting her on her shoulder. If any other strange boy had done this, Serena would have run away in embarrassment… but as he touched her, Serena felt a soft, calming feeling spread through her. Something that made her want to trust him. Where else could she turn, anyway?
"Come this way," said Allen, as his Aegislash began hacking through the dense brush. "You can sleep in my cabin, and in the morning, we can both explain who we are."
Together, the boy and the Bulbasaur girl walked through the woods, neither one noticing the dark figure watching from behind them.
Would you like more? I'm happy to provide it if it's wanted!
