Shiloh should be used to this by now.
The teleport came so unexpectedly that she didn't know how to react, and was helpless to stop herself. She barely had time to scream, bright lights blurring past her for an instant before she hit water.
It felt like icy meltwater, so cold it made her instantly start shivering. Yet there was also heat rising from around her, in ways she didn't understand.
At least the water wasn't deep. Her feet found the bottom—a flat cement pool. She touched up against it, then pushed the way she would've done if she were still human.
She broke the surface with her ears first, not surprising given their size. Then she blinked, eyes adjusting to the harsh light of the sun.
Several eyes stared at her from the shore, an assembly of Pokémon she would've paid a vast fortune to find before yesterday. Two of the catlike mew, though they were far larger than they had any right to be. Both watched with concern, but didn't actually get close.
The water wasn't deep. Her body shape might be different, but it was close enough that she could make it to the edge, catching the shore with feet.
She could take in the other details of her surroundings then—a little pool with a few chairs around it, huge stone walls, and a mirrored ceiling reflecting sunlight from somewhere she couldn't see.
The world was so big that she lost focus if she tried to look too far away. There was another hole somewhere, maybe a bigger pool? And off in the distance, a doorway that towered over her, like an ancient temple to an unknown god.
Mostly she felt confused. There had been something else before, but the abrupt dunk made it hard to remember. The mew was there, not changing her back—so her indignation would make sense. That was probably the source of the steam rising from around her, bubbling off her soft coat.
"Are you okay?" asked a voice. Not one of the mew, those got out of her way. The speaker was bigger, and sounded more masculine. But not the same shaymin she'd seen in the Mt. Battle lab, this one was far smaller.
"No," she said, letting her huge head slump against the stone railing. "Look at me. I'm pathetic."
"You're like me!" one of the little cats exclaimed. She moved like the big one did, floating above the ground and constantly spinning, twisting, and generally ignoring gravity. She stopped upside-down beside Shiloh, hanging in front of her. She remained outside the little curtain of steam, just out of reach.
"Shiny," Shiloh whispered. "The big one was just taunting me. Captured me, brought me here. Treasures I can't have."
She struggled in vain to lift herself from the water. But her little forepaws just didn't have the strength. Her tail caught the water, applying so much drag that she couldn't break the surface. She sighed, then turned. There was a ramp leading up and out.
It's built for small Pokémon. Is this a day-care? Briar had called it something like that.
"You should at least ask her to dinner first," said the other mew, the little pink one. Strange how effortless it was to understand them. What a human thing to say. "Mom says we're too young for that. We have to focus on learning, instead of having fun."
Before today, Shiloh would never let a Pokémon embarrass her like this. She would have already marched back inside to battle and capture the one with the audacity to teleport her around. She'd done it before, then locked away those psychic-types in his PC, where they would never see the light of day again.
If I could get access to the PC somehow, I could overpower even a mew. She doesn't care about the rules... maybe a hundred Pokémon at once could do it.
That was an idea, something she could latch onto. And when victory came—forget having a legendary Pokémon on her team. She could have a whole team! Pokémon so terrifying that she would be champion for life.
Could the big mew change other people the way she changed me? I could get a whole team made to order.
Someone interrupted her little daydream, nudging her with a paw. It was the sky-forme shaymin again. Shiloh's Pokémon senses must be getting to her, because there was something subtly familiar about the way he smelled. Was that weird?
"I've never seen Lane change someone against their will before. What did you do?"
Outside the water, the Pokémon was taller than she was by a few inches. There was a confidence to him these others lacked, one she recognized from years as a skilled trainer. This was the kind of Pokémon she would choose to train out of a crowd of identical members of the same species—a competitive spirit that drove a rare few Pokémon to fight and win.
"Lane is... the big one?" she asked. "The one who brought me here?"
She shook herself out, but found her fur already drying. Steam rose from her coat, like she'd stepped out of the shower on a cold day. But it didn't actually look cold outside. That gardevoir lounging by the pool even had icy lemonade in a glass.
"Yeah. Lane runs this nursery, and a few others. Those are in cities, where we can practice around humans. This one is for her youngest, the ones who haven't grown up enough yet. Or who cause trouble." He pawed at the mossy ground, frustration on his face. "Out in the jungle where there's nothing around and nothing ever happens."
Maybe I can use this. Shiloh nodded sympathetically. "So you're all her prisoners? She changed you into her... playthings, then hid you underground to torment?"
The kittens both giggled in unison. Both were still following her, though only the blue one was brave enough to say anything. "We signed up for this, Victini. I knew I wouldn't see my family and friends much in the next few years. They think I'm on a ranger expedition." The rest descended into unintelligible giggles.
The pink one nodded her agreement. "She's our mom. Lane does a good job lots of the time, takes us out to practice and battle and to see cool places. But not right now. She's busy." She folded her paws, glaring stubbornly at the ground.
"She's trying to stop the strange effects of Orre from spreading," said another voice, without any of the youth or childishness of these little Pokémon. It was the gardevoir, the one typing on a laptop and sipping lemonade. "We have a way of reading the hostile pattern in someone's mind, but not get rid of it. As soon as she does that, she'll hand it off to the human authorities and be back with you, you'll see."
Both kittens made different unhappy noises—no, that wasn't quite right. They both radiated their unhappiness, in a way that Shiloh could feel coming off them like a scent. There were other feelings too—nervous optimism about Shiloh herself, and fear of something inside.
She would think she was imagining it, if she wasn't already surrounded by so many impossible things. "I'm Aspen," the shaymin said. "This is Miya, Goh, and our chaperone is Akiko. What's your name?"
She made her slow way towards the building. It made sense they all acted so human, they were human. Or they had been, anyway. "Pokémon Master Shiloh Lehman. Don't any of you worry—I'm going to set you free from this place. Soon."
It took some effort to walk normally. Her body was so top-heavy. Her tail kept moving on its own, as though it expected to lift her up into the air and carry her the rest of the way. She ignored the impression, forcing step after deliberate step. They came unsteadily, but she kept moving, even if the threshold nearly tripped her.
Good thing the last person to pass through the door had left it open, because Arceus only knew how she would open it.
She found who she was looking for not by sight, but by feel. She could tell there was someone familiar inside, and know about where to find them in the building.
Past a huge kitchen, she found a little lounge, with a ceiling low enough that it felt almost normal. There were various toys inside—blocks, stuffed Pokémon dolls, and similar.
She found the fox she was looking for watching the television screen, set into the wall, where a news broadcast was playing.
"Search continues in the Orre investigation," said a reporter. "Several prominent figures have vanished within the evacuation zone, including Pokémon Master Shiloh Lehman. The Pokémon League had this to say."
The screen transitioned to a press conference, where League President Goodshow was surrounded by reporters.
"We continue to encourage all our trainers to keep their distance from the exclusion zone. We know there are rumors of uniquely powerful Pokémon inside, but we urge each of you to stay away. These Pokémon can and have caused serious injury and death even in our bravest and most capable trainers. Please comply with all local evacuation orders—"
The fox reached forward, turning off the screen with one paw. Then he looked back, eyes settling on Shiloh. "You're out of the bedroom."
He was only a little taller than Shiloh, when he stood. Not a terribly threatening Pokémon either, compared to the others living here. Briar got to within a few inches, sniffing. "Why do you smell like... chlorine? Were you swimming?"
"Not by choice." She blushed, heat rising from inside her again. It was a little like what she'd felt when the mew attacked her, but not anger this time. She was naked, and Briar was inches away, staring. There would be no mysteries about her transformation, if her voice wasn't obvious enough.
She turned to the side, then held onto the little door, and pulled it shut. At least her prison was built for Pokémon her size. "I've been thinking. I might have a plan."
"Better than the last one?" Briar asked. "Does it involve doing exactly what the legendary wants so she lets us go?"
"Of course not." She faced Briar again, then settled into a sitting position. She pulled her legs together, crossing them in front of herself. That helped, though they were so short that she couldn't cover as much as she liked. Stupid bird feet.
"You can't negotiate with Pokémon, you can't persuade them. They don't understand those things. All Pokémon understand is reward and punishment. Dominance, and submission. We have to show Lane that she can't push us around, force her to change us back. Until then, we'll be in her power."
Briar made an unhappy sound, a single strangled bark. "You're stuck in that old way of thinking, boss. I won't pretend to know more about training than you do, but don't you think we've gotten ourselves mixed up with Pokémon a little different than your usual? Mew isn't an arcanine. She isn't just a big dog with strong attacks. She's a dangerous, capricious goddess. One you pissed off."
As he said it, the fox changed before her eyes. His outline fuzzed near the edges, then he grew bigger. And pinker, until he was an almost identical copy of the mew named Lane. Even the older, confident scent was right. Her mouth fell open, and she gasped
"I'm glad you're taking this more seriously," Briar said, in the mew's voice. The tone was the same, except it actually made sound. It wasn't entirely mental, echoing in Shiloh's head. "We need to stop thinking about this like a battle, and more like a hostage—"
He trailed off, tilting his head to the side. "Why do I sound different?"
Shiloh smacked her face with a paw. "Because... she made you a zorua. You're the trickster fox Pokémon. You can use their powers!"
Her mind raced, considering all the moves a zorua might be able to learn, and the abilities they had. A dark type might have an advantage against the other Pokémon here, if he could manage a Dark Pulse or something similar. The illusion wouldn't be as powerful as the evolved form... could they get Briar to evolve?
The mew dissolved from in front of her, shrinking back into that fluffy black fox. "Weird. I just did that. Mirage, it happened! Just how you said!"
The door slid open, and a figure appeared beyond it—Zoroark, settled into a watchful sitting position. Had she been lurking outside this whole time? Shiloh hadn't noticed her there, but that wasn't unusual. The Pokémon usually hid herself when they were filming, that was part of her talent. She was a one-member crew.
That's two illusionists. Zoroark probably isn't strong enough to beat legendaries in a fight, but she doesn't have to beat them. Her plan was transforming before her eyes. As it formed, her hopelessness was replaced with determination. Lane should've locked them away in pokeballs if she wanted them to blindly obey and not cause trouble.
"Illusion is... important," the Pokémon said. Shiloh could understand her too, yet there was something different. Every other Pokémon she had heard so far could've been indistinguishable from a human being, if she held up a screen to hide them.
Zoroark didn't talk that way. There was a halting irregularity to her words, with the feelings behind them just as important as the words themselves.
Closer to what she expected a Pokémon to sound like. "Too small to fight, but many can be tricked. Best trick for a little fox, learn to look like them. No one wants to hurt their shadow."
Briar nodded, watching the oversized black fox like she was a talented university professor, sharing an insight that would change the world. But Shiloh could've told him the same thing—zorua's behavior was well documented!
"That would be a good trick," he said. "Hold still, Shiloh. I want to see you from behind." He started circling around Shiloh, watching her with a clinical intensity. Enough that she blushed all over again, lowering her stupid tiny paws to cover herself. without apparent effect, because seconds later Briar changed.
He got smaller this time, rising into a standing position at exactly her eye-level.
"Good!" the zoroark exclaimed. "But the tail is wrong. More practice, you get better."
Shiloh gaped. When she did finally manage to speak, it was something stupid. "I guess I am shiny. Doesn't even match my outfits."
Briar held out his paws, stretching them. Then he dropped to all fours, looking strangely incongruous and uncomfortable. The illusion strained at the edges, with black fur poking through the white. It melted away a second later, and he fell onto his side, breathing heavily.
"That's... harder than it looks. Muscles I didn't know were there."
Zoroark laughed, then slid the door shut, returning them to relative privacy. Not that Shiloh minded—she was part of the film-crew. There was no reason to expect disloyalty. She had fought on their side in the mountain lab, after all.
"I know what we need to do," she said. "I haven't worked out how we'll do it, but I welcome your advice."
Her friend gestured with one paw, attentive. Not that different from the way Briar normally acted. A supportive member of his staff, and most loyal friend.
"I need access to my PC. With all the Pokémon in there, I could assemble a perfect team to battle and capture mew. I underestimated her, thinking one type advantage would be enough. I have some items stored in there too. It was a mistake leaving the master ball behind, I won't do that again. And once she's captured, she'll have to change us back."
Briar sat up, frustrated. "You're still on that? Getting away is one thing, boss... but I'm not fighting them. I've seen the way she moves and she has a whole little army of other legendaries around her. You piss her off enough, and you're going to get yourself killed. Find a better plan, one that doesn't end with the two of us getting steamrolled."
"You can't just give up! We're the best trainers in the world! We don't let Pokémon tell us what to do!"
Briar stared. He didn't even try to hide his anger, both in his scent and written plainly on his face. Or maybe those were his emotions? It was hard to keep it all straight.
"Shiloh, how much further do you have to fall before you admit you were wrong? You're a girl. You could fit in a shoebox. I'm a fox. They took our stuff, and we're surrounded by the most powerful guards in the region—Pokémon that are probably reading our minds right now."
He took one step closer, teeth bared. "Can't you just admit it? You screwed up. Instead of trying to fight Pokémon, we should do what they want. Maybe they'll change us back on their own."
She shook her head stubbornly. "I'm nobody's bitch, Briar. Sometimes you lose a battle. It doesn't mean you give up. That's why I'm going to be the greatest Pokémon champion that ever lived."
Briar barked loudly, right into his face. It wasn't even a word. "Have fun as the greatest Pokémon champion."
He stalked out, walking on all fours like that was the most natural thing in the world.
But that, it seemed, was exactly what Briar intended to do. He vanished into the hall, and Zoroark followed behind him, leaving her alone beside the television.