Rustboro City

June 17th, 2024
9:25 AM

1: 35 until the Day of Blue Snow

Kyle Montressor looked around his dorm room and hoisted his backpack onto his shoulders. It seemed to be in its usual state of organization- books on shelves, laundry in the hamper, and nothing where it could be tripped over. He was certain that he had everything he needed- his binder, his textbook, Grant's Poké Ball, and his wallet. And yet, something was still bothering him.

A sudden thought struck him, so he looked over towards his closet door where a full length mirror hung. His hair had been combed, his shirt was wrinkle-free, and his glasses were completely clean, so it was nothing related to his appearance...

He reached down to his belt and produced Grant's Poké Ball. It had been ages since the red paint on top had been anything but dented and chipped, but he had gone out of his way in recent years to try and clean it on a regular basis. Realizing that it was probably due to be cleaned again sometime soon, he released his Infernape and placed his backpack down on the ground.

As the fire monkey stretched himself out, Kyle spoke with concern in his voice. "Hey, Grant. I know it sounds weird, but I can't shake this feeling like something's off today. I don't know what it is, though. Any clues?"

Grant tilted his head to the side. "Infern?"

Kyle chuckled. "No, I remember that I've got lunch with Teri today. In fact, that's why I'm so worried. You think it has anything to do with that?"

Grant immediately started shaking his head. Kyle smiled, and leaned against a wall. "Well, it's nice to know that you have some confidence in me... Anyway, I'm probably imagining it. You interested in hanging around, or would you rather stay behind?"

The Infernape picked up his Poké Ball, and clicked the button with a grin. A red beam fired out, and ensnared him, pulling him back inside. Kyle leaned down, and picked the Ball up.

"Thanks, buddy," he muttered before leaving the room.

Even for June, the temperature was blistering. There were very few people out on the streets in this weather, so Kyle found that the walk was at least pleasant in that regard. As much as he liked other people, too many of them made for longer journeys between point A and point B.

He began looking up and down the street, trying to catch a glimpse of Teri, one of his oldest and dearest friends. They had arranged lunch that day, and he felt that he was ready to ask her if she was interested in dating. This was the cause for his nerves earlier- this had to go off without a hitch.

A few minutes later, he heard a shout from behind him, and he turned to see Teri approaching him from behind. She had chosen a very casual ensemble for the day- just jeans and a yellow t-shirt. Her hair, however, was what made the outfit unusual- rather than the typical shoulder-length blonde she usually wore, she seemed to be trying to pull off a Princess Leia look.

"Hey, Kyle! How've you been?"

Kyle smiled, and approached her. "Pretty good. I'm finally passing this semester's classes. What about you?"

"I haven't been doing too badly myself. Four badges, and a Pokédex count of fifty."

Kyle grinned a little at that. "Only four?"

"Well, it's not eight badges and four league championships, but let's face it- for those of us who weren't immediately struck with the desire to travel across the land, searching far and wide the instant we turned ten, four is a decent number."

The two of them bantered back and forth for a while before Teri looked behind Kyle towards the cafe behind him. The building was on a street corner and had a number of tables out front. The smell of cooking Tauros wafted up and down the street. "So, that's where we're having lunch?"

"Yeah. I've been here a couple of times. While the food's not the best on the planet, the service and atmosphere are better than most places in town."

He led her inside and they were seated on the patio in front. As they took their seats, Teri noticed Grant's Poké Ball. "You still keep one of them around?"

Kyle's face fell at the thought of the others. "Yeah. Grant, at least, refuses to leave. The rest all left at some point or another..."

"Do you ever miss it? The joy of travel, the thrill of victory, the roar of a supportive crowd?"

He thought for a moment, remembering his previous triumphs. "...I do. And I would like to try it again someday, but for right now, I have a medical degree to earn..."

The two of them were silent for some time before Teri spoke up. "Well, at least Grant is sticking around. He's more dedicated than a number of starters I've met, which when you think about it, says quite a bit."

Kyle nodded and got the sense that, within his Poké Ball, Grant's face had gone even redder than usual.

"Speaking of starters, Mira finally evolved into a Sceptile. The rest of the party's doing just as well- in Dracul's case, even better. Who would have thought that the Poochyena I picked up on 102 would become the powerhouse he is now?"

Kyle nodded enthusiastically and was about to ask about one of her other Pokémon when a loud cracking sound silenced the entire city. A white flash flew from the ground several miles away into the sky, and an uncharacteristically cold wind blew through the streets.

This was followed by several more seconds of silence, and then bewildered yammering from just about everyone outside their homes. A number of people had left their houses and were staring in the direction of the spark. Tension was thick in the air. A general sense of confusion hung around the city.

Then, the temperature dropped thirty degrees. And another twenty. The sudden cold caught many off guard, and a good number stood in place, shocked by this development. A few ran inside, but an even larger number stood still as the first snowflakes fell.

Kyle and Teri stared upward as they floated down to earth, slow even for snowflakes. As they came into contact with the ground, Kyle heard Teri muttering to herself.

"How can it be snowing? It's June! And are the flakes blue?"

A sudden hissing sound brought their attention to a passerby- a young man about Kyle's age. The snow had made contact with him and seemed to be making his skin break out in a rash of some sort. But no, that wasn't it- as the redness continued along his face, Kyle watched as the clearly dumbstruck man's form appeared to shift. In the space of about a minute, the man shrank two feet, grew a tail, and his nails sharpened into claws. As the man's skull elongated and his tail caught fire, it became apparent that they weren't looking at a human anymore.

The clearly confused Charmeleon outside looked over towards them. He tried to speak for a few seconds, but his voice seemed to have been turned off. Ten seconds after he started, however, it finally kicked back in.

"Char? Charmel, char, meleon..."

Kyle was already on his feet. It was time for action, not panic. "Teri, we need to get inside-"

His words were cut off by the growing volume of a thousand hisses as the snow fell on Rustboro.

Teri rose, and the two made a break for the shop. However, running through the snow seemed to attract it to them, and each tripped over their own feet as they lost control of their legs.

Kyle winced as he fell, realizing that the outside world seemed to be expanding. No, that wasn't it- he was shrinking. What's more, his skin seemed to be changing from its normal slight tan to a brownish color. His hand shrank even more than the rest of his arms, and took on a mitten-like shape.

As he felt a number of spikes grow out of his back, he realized that while he ought to be panicking, he was more interested in how this process was somehow not painful. His skull changed shape, and he felt something materialize on the outside of his head. His peripheral vision decreased slightly as he saw eye holes in the middle of a field of white. There was a sound as well- much like holding your ear up to a conch. Finally, a short tail extended out of his back.

After a moment to make sure that nothing felt injured after his tumble, he picked himself up, and did a double-take at the Aerodactyl that was lying on the ground next to him. Assuming it was Teri, he leaned down next to her. He attempted to speak, but like the passerby from before, his vocal chords seemed inactive for the first ten seconds. When he finally managed to speak, he was surprised to hear his voice come through mostly unaltered.

"Teri, we have to-"

Before he could finish his thought, the Aerodactyl turned her head and whispered... something. It was hard for Kyle to make out, but he understood his own name easily enough. He was about to try and pick her up when the panic began.

In the streets of Rustboro, every former human realized what had just happened and simultaneously ran for the closest door they could find. Unfortunately, this brought them crashing into each other, the occasional car, and the sides of buildings. A transforming Steelix knocked the front of a building down, collapsing a wall inward, and exposing those inside to the blue snow.

Amidst all this anarchy, a secondary panic within Kyle's mind activated, and he felt his mind drift. He felt an immense longing for someone- where had that thought come from? He was concerned about his mother- no, he wasn't. She was fine! Was she? Of course! He had spoken to her last-

Kyle sank to his knees, fighting a mental battle against the psychological baggage that apparently came with his new form. He became dimly aware of a Nidoqueen charging past him and the Aerodactyl still speaking in that strange tongue. No. He couldn't deal with this all at once. He had to-

Car brakes squealed some ten feet to his right, and that was what got his legs moving. He had to get away. Where didn't matter- as long as he was far away from this chaos. He dashed five feet and tripped over Grant's Ball. Barely thinking that the Infernape could take care of himself, he picked himself up, ran into an alleyway, and kept running.

***
Rustboro City

June 20th, 2024
2:00 PM

03:03:00 since the Day of Blue Snow began.

Rustboro City lay dead silent. The city that had three days ago been in the midst of its longest heat wave on record lay in ruins coated in heaps of Blue Snow. There was little movement on the streets outside.

If one listened closely, however, they could hear a Cubone muttering to himself underneath a cardboard box in the middle of an alley.

Kyle had woken up and was now starting his third straight day of trying to convince himself that this was some kind of dream. So far, he had managed to wear out his voice twice.

He had found that box an hour after abandoning Teri. He had spent the hour calling for help, but he couldn't understand any of the Pokémon out there. None of them seemed to be capable of understanding him either.

So here he was: minding his own business and trying to convince himself that he was in some kind of nightmare. He might have succeeded if a loud knock hadn't come from the lid of the box.

"Hey! Anyone under there?"

Kyle was startled out of his stupor by the voice. This was the first one he could understand- maybe it was an untransformed human?

For the first time in three days, Kyle lifted the box up and stared into the face of an Infernape- one that he recognized.

"...Grant?"

Grant seemed equally surprised. "...You know me? That's a first. Everyone else here didn't. Perhaps you can help me then. I'm looking for my trainer. Name of Kyle Montressor."

Kyle was dumbstruck for a moment and then immediately started speaking very quickly, not caring that he could suddenly understand his Infernape's speech perfectly.

"Grant, it's me! I don't know what's going on, and I've spent three days trying to convince myself I'm dreaming, and I lost Teri, and I'm a Cubone now, and-"

Grant placed a finger over Kyle's lips. "Okay, first off, you've got an accent that's so thick, it could be used to bludgeon someone. All of you former humans do. I didn't understand a word of that. Second, take a moment to try and order your thoughts. Try again, one word at a time."

Kyle took a deep breath, and started over. "Grant. It's. Me. I'm. Kyle."

Grant took a few minutes to try and decipher his trainer's words. When he finally did, though, his face broke into a smile. "Oh, hey! What luck! I've been looking for you a while!"

He sat down next to Kyle, and held something out- his Poké Ball. "This nearly got stomped in front of that cafe. Keep better track of it in the future. I like you, and I'd rather not get released."

Kyle was silent. Grant leaned down in front of him. "Something the matter?"

"Grant, I'm not myself. My head-"

"One word at a time, please. I know it's frustrating at first, but I'll eventually figure this accent out, and yours will gradually conform to mine. Trust me- by the time I evolved into an Infernape, most Pokémon couldn't even tell that I was from Sinnoh."

"Grant. Something's. Up. With. My. Mind."

Grant raised his eyebrows. "Really? Well, I did notice a few species-specific behaviors cropping up along the way here- for example, there was a Meowth who had a minor panic attack when I alerted her to the fact that she was hoarding shiny objects. What's wrong, exactly?"

"Two. Things. First. Is. That. I. Can't. Stop. Thinking. About. My. Mother."

"Ah. Well, that's normal for Cubones. I've actually spoken with a few at Pokémon Centers, and it's something you'll eventually stop noticing. It's just something you'll have to deal with for a while. You said there was something else?"

"Yes. I. Feel. Drawn. To. The. North. For. Some. Reason."

"What's up North?"

"No. Clue. It. Feels. Like. I'm. Missing. Something. And. That. Something. Can. Be. Found. That. Way."

Grant seemed lost in thought, before snapping his fingers. "I think I've got it figured out. I don't want to say anything in case I'm wrong, but I think you ought to go. And before you ask any questions about why, let me just call attention to the fact that you seem to be lacking something typically associated with your new species."

"The. Bone. Club? I. Thought. That. Was. Weird. You're. Saying. That's. Related. To. This?"

"Probably. You ought to go. And I'm coming with you. You could use some protection, am I right?"

"...That. Would. Be. Nice. Thanks. Grant."

Grant picked himself up and offered a hand to Kyle. "So, why don't you fill me in on what's happened since then while we walk?"

Kyle nodded, and the two walked away from the silent city with a new destination in mind.

***
June 24th, 2024The Blue Snow fell across the Hoenn region for seven days. During this time period, crimes of all sorts were above nobody, and chaos ruled the streets. The property damage alone was estimated to be worth billions, and even ten years later, repairs were still being made.On June 24th, another bizarre weather pattern was witnessed across the Hoenn region. The atmosphere over the region suddenly generated an unknown gas that tinted the rays of the sun red. Any who breathed the gas reverted back to human form.However, an estimated ten percent of those affected by the Blue Snow were unable to breathe the gas. This includes those who were inside, in places with heavily polluted air, and who, like Kyle, were underground on that day. Once the window of twelve hours finished, the gas dissipated, making a return to human form nigh-impossible for those still trapped as Pokémon.The Hoenn government offered a program for transformed humans that would allow them to return to theoretically-normal lives. Once they registered with the program, they received three things- an ID card marking them as a former human, a prototype translator app for any smartphone they may own, and a Poké Ball for themselves, should they want to remain uncaptured by other humans. Those under the program retained all the rights of ordinary human citizens.

The next chapter will be published in the first week of July 2013.