Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Touch my characters, however, and I'll come after you.
Thanks for the reviews, they made me release my grip on this chapter (though I'm not sure how THAT will turn out!). Please be patient with me... xD
An itch in my left ear woke me up. I yawned and stretched, sleepily reaching up to scratch the offending itch, only to find that my ear wasn't the shape I thought it should be. It was pointy and bigger than what it should have been.
What the...?
All traces of sleep disappeared as I grabbed the unfamiliar ear and pulled on it to take a look at it out of the corner of my eye. It was, indeed, pointy, but also covered in orange... FUR?!
I gasped as I realized that my hands were covered in the same orange fur, ending in clawed fingers. The palms had turned into pads, rough and pink. They were as dexterous as my hands had been, retaining opposable thumbs. I wiggled my fingers and moved my hand around in wonder, flexing and unflexing. There was no doubt that it belonged to me.
My eyes opened in sheer horror as I took in the rest of my body. Through rips and tears in my clothes, I was able to see the changes. The same orange fur covered most of my body, except for patches of cream fur and a black-covered belly. There were black stripes on my body, contrasting with the orange fur. Small tufts of cream fur stuck out from my forearms and around my legs. My feet were now a weird shape, shorter but incredibly stable and agile. They, too, ended in clawed toes and rough pink pads.
A tuft of cream colored fur covered the area around my collarbones, running up my neck. I braced myself for the hardest part, and explored my face with my furry hands. My nose had changed to resemble a snout, but still allowing for communication. Sharp, canine teeth decorated the inside of my mouth, and I found out that my long, wavy brown hair had turned the same shade as the cream tufts.
Maybe I'm dreaming... I thought, hoping that I would wake up anywhere but here. Pain should wake me up, right? I pinched my arm, wincing as the pain registered in my brain. No, I wasn't dreaming...
I could only stare at what lay before me, tears filling up my eyes and running down my foreign face. This 'adventure' was going from bad, to worse, to nightmare.
Just then, the door opened and the same woman from before stepped in with her two guards following her. One of them shut the door after them, preventing me from making a run for it.
"You..." my voice came out as a gruff growl. "You did this to me!" I threw myself at her, only to stumble and fall down face first. Stupid body... once I got the hang of it she'd see!
"You know, that tail of yours is probably not supposed to be under your legs," chuckled one of the bodyguards, earning a guffaw from the other one and a glare from the woman.
Tail? Oh no... I looked behind me and found a big fluffy tail hanging out in a heap on the floor. Of course, no freak would be complete without a tail! Angry tears escaped my eyes, and I stood up defiantly, pushing my tail back.
"Oh dear, come here. You've been through a lot, and I understand how you feel." She smiled in a benevolent way and held out her arms.
"You understand nothing about how I feel. Why you... you'll pay for this!" I lunged, once again, this time with no embarrassing stumbles, and managed to get within striking range of her. I slashed out, claws extended, not knowing what I intended to do but filled with rage. So they wanted to mess with me? Fine. They would get to.
A sudden shock in my side caused me to stop mid-slash and fall, clutching the affected spot. One of the guards held a Taser in his hand, while the other one drew out what looked like a rod.
"Just try that again, freak, and you'll end up with more than a little pain on your side," the one with the Taser warned.
"Shush. Sweetie, they're right. If you're not going to cooperate, we're gonna have to force you. Now hold still and don't try anything suspicious." She approached me cautiously, and I smiled smugly as I noticed I was now significantly taller than her. Both men stood by my side, weapons at the ready, just in case.
"Open wide. You're only making this hard on yourself. Ah, there we go. Much better!" She lifted my chin up, inspecting my teeth and mouth like a horse. I growled deep in my throat, making her jump back. Hah, scaredy-cat! However, another shock to the other side shut me up. Party poopers...
Next came the arms and legs, with a series of instructions and challenges to test my hands' abilities and dexterity. When she had inspected them to her heart's content, she circled around me and then stepped back. "Now, special abilities," she said, rubbing her hands together.
"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked, not following her meaning. "I can juggle a soccer ball, drive, sing, and make food disappear. Which one would you like to see?" I hoped she wanted to see my driving, or at least my magic trick.
"No, silly!" she said, chuckling. "You know, fire and all that. You're a fire Pokemon! You're supposed to know these things..."
Crazy woman say what? "Uhh, what?" Come to think of it, it made some sense... but Pokemon don't exist!
She saw the disbelief in my eyes, and looked at a clipboard. "Number fifty-nine, Arcanine. Fire Pokemon. It says here, along with other things, 'Mastery of Fire'..." She looked up and stood expectantly, arms crossed.
"Well, you're wrong. I don't know anything about fire other than it hurts. Badly." I crossed my arms as well.
"Perhaps you're a slow learner. That can be taken care of, don't worry. Well, our job here is finished. We'll see each other soon!" she winked and walked out of the cell with the bodyguards.
"Well?" the man with the Taser asked the woman. "What do you think of our newest recruit?"
"Incredible phisique. She has a serious discipline and obedience problem, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem. Also, she hasn't... found herself yet. Look for a suitable handler, and we'll begin her training. She'll fight the Scyther at the end of the week. Then we'll see just how tough she really is."