The leaves of a seemingly serene, little forest were dense with gold; trees and shrubbery shed their green hue and, in the process, curdled into a vibrant yellow. The gentle wind would occasionally manage to pick up an insurgent leaf, carrying it for a brief moment before adding it to the mounting blanket of gold below. The spaced-out beams of sunlight spilling in from above helped in framing the serenity of the forest at its most magnificent point of the year.

Underneath one of the towering golden trees sat a resting Scorbunny, her body slumped against a massive, hazelnut trunk. Her ears drooped, one completely bent with the other not far off, as her bright, yellow eyes turned hazy from the surrounding serenity. She knew that it wasn't safe to doze off, yet she couldn't help but entertain the idea as her head bobbed, jolted back up, then came crashing back down again. Even the material of the satchel draped across her shoulder seemed to be convincing her to succumb, absorbing the cozy warmth provided by the many beams of sunlight which managed to crack through gaps in the overhead leaves.

She likely would have succumbed to a deep, restful slumber if it wasn't for the sudden terror-filled scream which suddenly echoed across the entirety of the woods.

-

Trevor only finished screaming once his lungs ran out of air and his voice petered out into a barely audible rasp. As much as he pinched himself, violently shook his head, told himself over and over that this couldn't be happening, his watery reflection continued to stare back at him, unchanging. He, who was once human, had been transformed a horrified-looking Meowth.

"This has to be some kind of sick dream," Trevor muttered to himself as he ran a paw across one of his whiskers, using the other to feel out the golden coin now fermented on his furry, beige-colored forehead.

"That's right, this is a dream," he began thinking, "Nothing more than a surreal nightmare. But is this supposed to feel so real? Why does this coin on my forehead feel genuinely metallic and cold to the touch? Why can I feel this whisker as if it's part of my body? I don't think I've ever had a dream this clear before."

As Trevor became more and more lost in thought, the more concerned-looking his new reflection became; his brow furrowed as his huge, black eyes only grew wider with each new question that popped into his mind. His nails, now transformed into sharp, cone-shaped claws, became subject to unconscious chewing as his surroundings slowly blurred into a sea of indistinguishable orange and yellow. His thoughts nearly consumed him to the point of not noticing a nearby shadow that wasn't his own.

Trevor immediately tensed up. He resented the idea of someone seeing him in this weird new form with fur and claws and a snail shell-looking tail. Would he be able to speak anything but his own name now that he was a Meowth? And even if he was still capable of speech, how would he explain his new form? Was he just supposed to say that he was a former human and be expected to be taken seriously? His mind raced to find some kind of explanation for his new appearance as he slowly turned to meet the owner of the shadow.

"I'm sorry, please don't look at m- "

His mind instantly blanked as he found himself in front of a Riolu. A Pokémon that he would normally tower over was now noticeably bigger than him, looking down with an imposing aura. Its entire body was covered in black and blue with teardrop shaped ears, a short, perky snout, and an intimidatingly powerful looking body with defined arms and legs. What really captured Trevor's attention, however, were the Riolu's pupils - or its distinct lack of them. Its eyes were nothing but white irises, so devoid of features to the point where Trevor could almost see his reflection in the pale mirrors. Ironically, the lack of pupils seemed to intensify Trevor's sense that the Riolu was looking at him intently.

Before Trevor could even react to this oddity, the Riolu swiftly winded up its arm before crushing his chest with its palm. A searing pain ripped across Trevor's entire body as the blow propelled him into the air for a few seconds before he came crashing back down. As Trevor laid motionless on the ground, his body crumpled and limbs contorted, his assailant menacingly lumbered over to him with heavy steps.

Terrified, Trevor tried picking himself up and running as far away from his attacker as possible. Instead, he continued to lay motionless, as his limbs were completely paralyzed. As much as he strained, his arms and legs remained still; he felt as if they were not there at all.

"What...what did I do..." was all he could sputter before being instantly silenced by an agonizing sensation of heartburn. All the air had been knocked out of him from the Riolu's attack, leaving him barely able to breathe, much less speak. His body would have convulsed from the struggle to draw breath had it not been rendered completely motionless by whatever the Riolu had done to him.

All Trevor could do at that moment was helplessly struggle to breath and slowly lose consciousness as the murderous Riolu towered over him, winding up its arm once more to finish him off. As pale blue sky and golden leaves gave way to seeping black, Trevor managed to barely catch sight of a sudden flash of fire before blacking out.