Will rubbed his temples as if it would allow his poor brain to process the newly gained information. Unfortunately for him, it didn't work. Ninetales sat in front of him, looking apologetic.

Ninetales, however, wasn't Ninetales. At the moment, anyways.

In her place sat Echo, dressed in a fiery orange shirt and blue jeans. The only clue that she was or ever had been a Ninetales was her mane of light blonde hair and the soft brown eyes.

"Ok, let me get this straight…" Will said slowly. "You're a Pokemon…and you're a human…"

Echo paused for a second, thinking of a way that could describe the situation in a more simple fashion. "Mmmm, yup."

Will gave her a pained expression and asked in an equally pained voice, "Since when?"

Echo shrugged. "Since forever. I'm pretty sure I was born this way."

"Wow, so…all that time…Even back then…Nine—I mean Echo! Umm…are there more…PokeHumans?"

Echo wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Ew, PokeHumans? Doesn't exactly have a wonderful ring to it…Remind me to think of a better name later. Anyways, yes." She paused for another moment. "I think. One for each Pokemon, I'm guessing, maybe more."

"Ugh…" Will let himself fall backwards so half of his body was still in a sitting position and the other half was flat on the ground. He heard a slight shuffling sound and felt a sharp finger jab his stomach.

Echo's face appeared in his view, blocking out the sunlight. "Will, are you okay?" she asked.

Will closed his eyes, stood up, and brushed himself off. "I will be, eventually. But we should get going. I mean, that Team Aqua guy is after you right?"

"Yeah, now he is," Echo grumbled. She held out a arm and concentrated. The arm caught on fire and the fire spread, completely engulfing Echo. The fire died as quickly as it came, and when it died Ninetales stood in Echo's place.

Will shuddered. "Do you have to change back like that?" he asked. "It's kinda scary watching your best friend suddenly catch fire…"

Echo laughed, strangely still sounding human. "Sorry, but I don't think I can change back any other way."

"Fine, let's just get going before someone finds us."

--------------------------------------------

Hours later, after possibly hundreds of back and forth, question and answer conversations, Echo and Will reached the gate of Lilycove City, both sighing in relief at the thought of being able to relax in a Pokemon Center. Echo happily marched into the city, but Will slowed down.

"Ninetales?" Echo asked, needing to act like a real Pokemon in the presence of other people.

"Echo, I've been thinking…what about the other…uh…" he moved his hands in a way that said 'you know what I'm talking about.' "If there are more, what if Team Aqua's after them too?"

Echo shot him a look that clearly said, 'you couldn't have mentioned this to me before we walked into the city?'

"Well, I couldn't think of how to say it!"

Echo frowned and shook her head in exasperation.

"Anyways, if Team Aqua's after them, we should help them, right? We should warn them about what Team Aqua's up to!" Will suggested brightly.

Echo raised an eyebrow and looked around quickly. "Is this some hero thing you've suddenly gotten into?" she asked quietly, clearly speaking human.

"What, don't you want to stop them? We're already wanted by Team Aqua, so we might as well stop them. And what if they've found a legendary Pokemon!"

"A legendary, huh? Is this because seeing a legendary would be really, really cool, or…?"

Will smiled. "A little bit…That and because we need to stop Team Aqua!"

Echo rolled her eyes. "Fine, but where do we start?" She looked around the town, searching for any clue. Will followed suit and their eyes meet the same location: A piece of paper taped to the side of a building.

Calling all Pokemon Fans!

This Saturday, the Lilycove Department Store

Will be hosting the 1st annual

Pokemon Look-a-Like Contest!

Saturday, June 25

11:00 a.m.

Entrants sign up at the Department Store prior to 10:30 a.m.

Will grabbed the paper and re-read it, holding it out so Echo could read it as well. They grinned and looked at each other.

"Should we?"

Echo replied with a smug grin and raced into a dark alley. Will slid over the opening, covering it as much as he could with his thin body. The shadow of flames covered the wall briefly and a finger tapped his shoulder. He moved out of the way as Echo brushed a small amount of soot from her sleeve.

"Well, I'll be entering for sure. Heck, even as a human I still look like a Ninetales!" Echo laughed. "But you…"

"Hmmm?" Will answered, eyes wide. "What?"

"You should probably join too…Just so we can both go early, y'know?"

Will stepped back and raised his hands defensively. "Uh, that's okay. Besides, I don't look like any Pokemon."

"Sure you do!" exclaimed Echo. She raised a hand to her mouth and placed the other on her left hip in a thoughtful pose. She stared at Will, thinking…

Echo pounded a fist into an open palm. "I've got it!" she reached up and grabbed a couple tufts of Will's golden hair on either side of his head, pulling it up straight. "Pikachu!"

Will swatted her away and fixed his hair. "Seriously, it's ok. I'll be out in the crowd."

The Ninetales looked disappointed, but agreed. "Fine, I'll enter it alone…"she said. "But you had better be careful! Got it?" she finished with a grin, grabbing the paper from his hands and jogging up to the Department Store.

Will stared at her as she disappeared up the hill and shook his head. "A Ninetales that can become a human…What else?" he said to himself quietly. Well, might as well find the Pokemon Center… He walked off, casually looking for the building and eventually stopping to ask a citizen of the city for directions.

In the bushes at the sides of the roads, someone was watching his every move…

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Hey, thanks for reading the second chapter! Since I forgot to do this last time...I don't own anything! Nope! Nothing at all besides myself!

And thanks for the wonderful review, Nyaa-Neko!