It started like any other day.

He was just taking a stroll near Pallet Town, in one of the rare instances where he got to rest between one of his journeys, Pikachu by his side. It was just supposed to be a moment to relax and enjoy the quiet atmosphere before inevitably setting off, even wearing his original traveling outfit for old time's sake maybe getting some training or a Pokémon battle on the side. And the latter they did, as a strange woman they never saw before approached them, asking for a battle.

Winning that fight was a piece of cake, the trainer's Murkrow barely a challenge as Pikachu made short work of it. As she recalled her Pokémon, Ash's loyal partner joined back for him, the boy high fiving his partner's tail playfully for a job well done. He turned back to the woman, noticing her wearing a familiar pointy hat and a robe, now scaning him with interest. "Incredible... such talent, and with so much potential... I never stood a chance."

Ash blushed, rubbing his hair in embarassment. "Thanks, they tell us that a lot. We always try our best in a fight!"

"Pika pika!" his tiny partner threw a fist to the sky in excitement with the happiest grin, one Ash shared soon after.

The woman continued to look at Ash with an inquisitive gaze, a grin of her own on her face. "You really like fighting, don't you?"

"Yeah. Pokémon battles are my life!"

"Good to know."

That reply felt strange, and Ash wanted to ask more about it. Before he could, the woman formed a strange, dark sphere over her hand, throwing it towards the boy without warning. Ash paled as the black energy entered inside him, resulting into a shockwave powerful enough to throw Pikachu off his shoulder. With a scream, Ash doubled down on the ground, a foreign, unexpected sensation enveloping his body, filling him with a spark he never felt before, his hair standing straight as electricity surged through himself.

He turned to his hands, and he looked on in shock as he saw them being covered in thick fur, any inch of skin lost in a sea of black and yellow, his hands turning as large as his head, bursting through his green gloves. His fingers grew shorter, stubbier, going from five to four, his inches turning into full blown claws. Behind him, his legs abruptly changed shape, tearing through the front of his pants as they shifted into hindpaws, his toes reduced from five to three as his feet grew much longer, freed from his shoes. Large tufts of yellow fur formed over the hindpaws, stretching the tattered remains of Ash's pants as they grew much larger than his legs used to be.

Ash wanted to scream more, but he found himself unable to, his face turning more feline, his face elongating into a small muzzle, his face covered of the same fur as his body, hair and fur becoming one as his ears were repositioned over his head, turning large as his whole head was covered in yellow fur, save for his black muzzle and some tufts of blue fur, most notably his iconic Z-shaped birthmarks, now massively bigger azure whiskers. Yellow fur sprouted over his upper chest and shoulders, breaking through his shirt and jacket and ripping through it, with a small, long tuft of fur extending low in something akin to a ponytail, reaching his paws in length.

By the time the changes ended, Ash collapsed face-first over the ground, his clothes tattered and ruined as his hat fell off his head, electricity still making his tired body convulse. He had no idea what was going on, everything was confused, and he grabbed his head in a foolish attempt to make sense of it all.

And through it all, the woman- the witch that caused all of that laughed at the former boy's misfortune. She walked closer, passing a hand over the former boy's fur.

"This form suits you best. Such a splendid, powerful specimen..." The witch chuckled to herself, moving along to touch the new creature's chest experimentally, uncaring of how uncomfortable Ash looked to be.

"Z... Zerah... Zera!?" Ash's eyes went wide, a claw over his throat as he realized that he couldn't produce any sound but what looked to be his cry, the ability to speak completely gone.

"Don't bother trying to talk. You're just a Pokémon now, a much better use of your talents." The woman appeared amused by the confusion and panic settling into the boy, reaching for what was left of his jacket. "You won't need these anymore."

With a few powerful tugs, the witch ripped the remainder of the shirt off the boy's body, soon followed by what was left of his pants, ribbons of the already destroyed clothes falling to the floor with no regard for Ash's rising uncomfortableness. As the woman finished, Ash was left completely naked, no different from a regular Pokémon, his shame only rising.

The witch capitalized on that, grabbing the former boy by the chin, staring into his eyes, asserting her own dominance. "You will be my little pet, fighting for me, and doing everything I ask you to. You will be crucial for my plan..."

Ash could feel his body tremble, an unknown fear and anxiety overtaking him. None of what happened made sense. Why did she turn into that... that thing? What was the plan she was working on? And why he of all people!?

"Pika Chupi!" The witch didn't have time to do anything, as she jumped out of the way to dodge the energy sphere that exploded into a net, Ash turning to see Pikachu staring angrily at the woman that had hurt his friend. The woman didn't take kindly to that interruption.

"What are you trying to do, you stupid rat?"

"Chupika!" Pikachu didn't answer, instead trying to slam an Iron Tail straight to the woman's face, forcing her further back. He put himself between the villain and his transformed trainer, cheeks sparking and making clear she would've to go through him if she wanted to hurt his friend again. For some reason, that seemed to do the trick as the woman fumed, as if that simple rebellion had thrown her whole scheme in disarray.

"Grr... I should've planned things more carefully. But it's okay, not like a Zeraora can go anywhere without being sighted..." She took a deep breath, a cloud of smoke surrounding her as she smiled wickedly at her victim. "I will come back for you, Zeraora boy."

And so just as abruptly as she came the woman left, leaving behind the former boy and his friend completely alone in the lonely road. Finally safe, Ash collapsed on the ground again, holding himself up with his paws as he finally pieced everything together. He had been in a similar situation once, in Johto, when a young witch named Lily transformed him into a Pikachu, but that transformation felt different, more encompassing, stronger.

He looked at his paws, faintly remembering having seen other Zeraora before, the thought leaving his mind as he focused on the now. He wasn't a human, a trainer any longer. He was a wild Pokémon, unable to speak, and with no seeming way out of that mess.

Ash had always been a strong believer of never giving up before the end. Yet, in front of his body perverted in such a shape, he felt himself faltering on that, his body shaking with fear and worry.

All the while, Pikachu drew closer to his pained friend, looking on in concern. "Pikapi...?"

"Zera... Zerah... ZERAAAAAHHH!" Ash smashed his paw on the ground, upsetting the earth and forming a small crater in it, hitting and hitting with no regard for his surroundings, his rage and frustration unleashed all at once as sparks formed around him. Why? Why did that have to happen to him!? WHY!?

He kept smashing his paws down, tears streaking down his fur, letting himself be overtaken by his fury. Yet, he could feel a smaller body tackling him to the ground, hugging him tightly and getting close to his face, staring at him in concern.

"Pikapi! Pika pika pikAsh!" Pikachu pleaded, his beady brown eyes reflected into Ash's now blue ones, and at that moment, the former boy heard him, as if no language barrier existed between them.

The surprise managed to stop the Zeraora's rampage, instead making him blink, giving his best friend a quizzical look. "Zerah...?"

"Ash, calm down, it's okay. I'm here for you." Pikachu punctuated his talk with another small hug, giving a quick lick on the cheek of his trainer, causing him to blush a bit.

Gulping down the mounting embarassment, Ash cleared his throat, attempting to emulate his friend, concentrating in talking back to his friend, with all his heart. "P... Pikachu...?" he managed to ask, his voice broken and soft, but still reaching his friend as he grinned back to him.

"You can talk properly! That's good, at least." Pikachu hopped off Ash, helping him out in standing back to a sitting position.

Ash sighed, scratching his cheek as he observed his fluffy fur, hardly as convinced. "I guess so..."

"This is quite the predicament... maybe Professor Oak knows something about it? Wouldn't hurt to try. Can you walk?" Pikachu questioned, ears drooping as he crossed his arms.

Unsure himself of the answer, Ash looked at his new legs, looking much different than they used to. He forced himself up, standing on wobbly feet. "I... I think so...?" Ash asked prematurely, falling flat on his face right after. The former human groaned, putting himself on all fours, crawling slowly and awkwardly towards his Electric type best friend.

Pikachu sighed, accepting that as the closest thing for the moment as he went down on all fours himself, walking in the direction of Professor Oak's Laboratory. "Alright, follow after me, I'll go slowly, okay? I'm going to protect you."

He accompanied his statement with a pumped fist, before he moved forward to lead the way. Ash continued to follow along in his goofy-looking crawl, the now Zeraora boy trying to emulate his best friend, feeling just a bit more reassured.

That whole situation was insane, Ash barely able to believe it was all real. But so long as he had Pikachu by his side, he knew they would find a solution, together.

My first proper fic dealing with transformation topics, but I like to think is going to be fun. I didn't see many stories exploring the idea of Ash becoming a Zeraora, so I thought it would be fun to explore it (I have a pretty different take on this same idea in the works, but it may take a long time to be published). As the story summary explained, this fic will eventually touch onto Pikashipping and other Ash/Pokémon ships as part of the story, but I'll do my best to make it work naturally. Also, I'd like to thank Ivy the Snivy for the support she gave me in working on this story. This first chapter is dedicated to her!

Hope you will like what I have to offer. See y'all next chapter!