Me: Hello People! Raven here! Sorry this took so long! Had a bit of trouble writing this one. Took a lot of thinking.
?: Stop whining and get to the reviews so I can go back to bed.
Me: Verto! Don't be like that. I get up at 5:30 every morning!
Verto: Yeah, but I don't, so hurry up.
Me: Ugh. Fine. Rocketiermaster, gee, thanks. Though what you said was so over the top it was-
Verto: Nobody cares. Hurry up.
Me: Ugh. Fine. As for this guest, thank you so much for what you said. I hope you continue to enjoy this fic, and that I continue to be grammatically comprehensible.
Verto: Ugh... not worth getting up early. Blah blah blah.
Me: Don't be a jerk. He took the time to review. Be grateful.
Verto: I'm going to bed. Don't wake me.
Me: Set the bed on fire again, and your the one cleaning it. Anyway, sorry about him. I made him come here as revenge for a "prank" that involved a bear trap and a lot of slime. Anyway, enjoy!
Verto: She doesn't own Pokémon.
Danny's POV
Danny woke up early today, which was around twelve o' clock. He was never the early-bird type. Danny stretched, slipped on some blue jeans and a Pikachu shirt, and stumbled downstairs like a Spinda running a race, still half-asleep. Well, half-asleep until he smelled the heavenly scent of pancakes wafting from his kitchen. With his mind focused on getting some of that Heaven in a pan, he went to go sit at his kitchen table.
"Good morning, sweetie!" his mom greeted, with a slight tone of shock evident in her voice. "Your never up this early! Did you make plans with Michael?"
"Yup. We're gonna play our pokémon handhelds. At his house." Danny explained. "It really sucks the age to train pokémon was moved all the way up to eighteen…"
"I know you don't like it, sweetie, but the law is the law. You know they don't want more irresponsible teens getting their pokémon killed." She replied. Danny remembered that news report. About eight years ago, a bunch of irresponsible teenagers battled needlessly powerful trainers with their own pathetically weak Pokémon, as well as a lot of abuse coming from that age group towards Pokémon. Idiots. It was a common issue, to the point of the authorities stepping in. anyone who already had a trainer's license could keep it, but until you were eighteen, no new trainer licenses were issued. However, having a pokémon, as a pet exclusively, was not illegal, in fact, you can often see children running or playing with Pokémon in their yards or places like that. Danny's parents did not own a Pokémon though, so he had to wait to have one of those life-long companions.
"Well, before you go, how many pancakes would you like?" his mom asked.
"I'll take five. And be sure to drown them in syrup." He responded.
"Goodness… you and your father eat so much… he is still asleep, thankfully, so I won't have to be making pancakes until dinner." His mom commented. She was used to making pancakes at noon, with their messed-up sleep schedules on weekends.
Fifteen minutes of bliss and syrup later, Danny grabbed his game, checked his pokémon roster to make sure it was how he wanted, and he departed for his friend's house. In his driveway sat his boring black car. His vehicle had four doors, though nothing special whatsoever on it other than that. Most people his age would want the fanciest car possible. He wanted that two hundred dollar, limited edition pokémon card he saw on the Internet.
After a brief five-minute drive through the suburbs, he pulled into his friend's driveway, where he then walked up to Michael's door and rang the doorbell with a smug grin on his face. Michael opened the door to allow Danny in, surprise evident on his face.
"Wow Danny. You were only fifteen minutes late today! I wasn't expecting you for another hour or so!" he genuinely complemented.
"Well I've been looking forward to kicking your butt with my new roster of pokémon."
"Oh yeah, sure. Good luck with that." Michael taunted as Danny stepped into his home.
"Your dad at work?" Danny asked, glancing around the Michael's living room. It was a simple room. Brown walls, a medium sized television mounted on the wall, a gray couch that could fit up to four, and two windows with green curtains. It was plain, but tidy. Danny wasn't the only one who didn't care about ascetics.
"Yeah, he is. Arceus knows when he'll be back. Anyway, best out of three? Double battle, no team changes." Michael requested.
"Loser does a forfeit?"
"You're on!"
LINE BREAK
"How did you beat me twice in a row?" Michael asked, dumbfounded. "You used a Dunsparce, Shuckle, Shedinja, Zoroark, Sabeleye, and a freaking Ditto! None of those are very powerful!"
"Well, we were doing a double battle, so I used Zoroark to draw your attacks to him while I set up Dunsparce as a paraflincher. After I defeated your only fairy type, I sent in Sabeleye and Shedinja. Where a skill swap made my mega invincible. When Dunsparce was down, a power swapping Shuckle and a hidden ability Ditto were viable distractions while my Sabeleye took your remaining pokémon down." Michael blinked several times in surprise at Danny's intricate strategy.
"Since when have you played mind games?" Michael asked incredulously. Danny gave a mischievous chuckle. To which Michael raised an eyebrow.
"Well it wasn't hard to trick you when you had a team entirely comprised of sweepers." Danny retorted. "You obviously had your pokémon equipped with power-based moves. I'm surprised, really. You always have at least one or two strategically viable pokémon."
"Eh… I dunno… I just wanted a power-based team, I guess… Not really sure as to why." He replied.
"Whatever… I won though! You know what that means." Danny declared mischievously.
"Ugh… yeah… you did… do you want me to make you another sandwich?" Michael glumly asked.
"Two. Extra everything."
"Jeez, its amazing how much you eat. I'm surprised you're not fat as a Snorlax."
"Hey, I don't just eat, sleep, and move slow, I'll have you know." Danny replied, once again giving that peculiar laugh.
"Yeah, when crisis, or in your case, a battle, comes around, your raring to go. Where have I heard that before?" Michael teased.
"Go make my freaking sandwiches!"
Michael laughed, and turned around to walk to his kitchen, when Danny noticed he was walking there on the balls of his feet
"Why are you walking like that?" he asked, mildly confused. Michael turned around and shrugged.
"It just feels right. Since when do you laugh like the Happy Masks Salesman?" he retorted.
"…Touché, must be one of those weird habits I see in a video game… I saw this one person in a game put her thumb to her mouth when deep in thought one time, and I was doing that for weeks after."
The rest of the time spent at Michael's was for the most part uneventful, Danny ate two sandwiches, and Michael and Danny played their pokémon handhelds for a few more hours, do things from training their wide roster of pokémon, to adding more pokémon to said roster, as well as hunting for some shiny pokémon, the rarest and most coveted of pokémon, which are pokémon with different coloration, though they had nothing else special about them.
While they were hunting said shinies, Michael sighed. "I wish shiny pokémon could actually do something special. My shiny Eevee has been doing nothing but looking cute and being pretty."
"Yeah, I get what your saying. I wish they had some sort of special use to make them more useful, because nobody is going to use that shiny luvdisc they spent six hours hunting." Danny replied, with a hint of wry humor in voice. Michael let out a chuckle.
"I'm sensing some resentment towards 'Goldie'," Michael stated in amusement. "It would have been easier to simply do the chain fishing method I taught you. I got a shiny Magikarp in half an hour."
"I didn't want the Luvdisc! But that's what I ended up encountering! I named it Goldie because I was tired and couldn't think of anything better!" Danny whined indignantly. "The stupid thing didn't have any full IVs, it had a horrible move set, and nobody wants it in the GTS! It's been in there for weeks! And its not like I was asking for a Darkrai! All I was asking for was a Bulbasaur, since neither of us can get one. Totally worthless shiny! Six hours of my li-" Michael cut him off.
"Ok, I get it. I can sense a lot of resentment towards that Luvdisc, it's practically tangible."
"Wait, wait what?" Danny asked, confused.
"Well your not really good at hiding your emotions." Michael replied with a shrug.
"Uh, I suppose that's fair enough." Danny replied, slightly surprised. "Let's just do a few more battles, then I'm gonna go. I don't want to miss dinner," Danny requested to which Michael rolled his eyes at.
"I swear, the only things it seems you ever think about are Pokémon, the occasional skateboarding, food, and bugging Rachael."
"... You know me too well… let's battle already! Say… four more matches? Should take about an hour."
Michael replied with a knowing eye roll and a "You're on!" Two hours later, Michael groaned and rubbed his temples. "Ugh… might need to unplug for a bit… "
"What does that mean? Never heard of it before." Danny replied with humor, but also concern in his voice.
"Oh ha ha. I know your mom tells you that at least nine times a week, and I've seen you outside riding your skateboard at least fifteen times! But when I look at you, I see colors swirl around. It's weird. Plus, I have a massive headache…" Michael responded.
"Well what do you think I'm doing? Flashing a spotlight on myself?"
"Oh don't give me that garbage. Its obvious you're trying to hide pain, likely a headache." Danny gaped at Michael's statement.
"Ok. I suppose I might not be the subtlest when it comes to emotions, but I was hiding that headache, and I know I was hiding it well! I never gave any indications of pain, so how did you know that?" Danny asked in bewilderment.
"I could tell you were distressed about something, and I got the feeling it wasn't because you beat me in a battle… again." Michael responded, his voice growing annoyed at the mention of losing to Danny.
"Whoa man, ok, first, how could you possibly tell I had a headache? Second, since when do you get so riled up about losing? You never were this competitive before!" Danny replied, confused.
"Well… I… Uh…" Michael stammered. "I… don't know. I just know you were distressed about something, and that I want to win. Badly."
"Um, ok… that's kind of weird… well... uh… I can think of no response to that. I think I might go home now, because, as you somehow guessed, I do have a headache, plus, I'm hungry." Danny replied, finally letting the suppressed pain and fatigue he had been hiding get to him."
"Ok… hope your headache goes away," Michael politely replied, while massaging the back of his head.
"I should say the same to you, man. Thanks for having me. "
"No problem, now go home before you starve." Michael humorously commanded.
Danny exited Michael's house, trying to push his headache to the back of his head, and instead focused on his surroundings as he got in his car and drove through his neighborhood.
It was about six in the evening and the sun was starting to set, bathing the suburbs he lived in in a golden glow. He passed by simple houses, most of them only one story high, but with large yards in front, some with trees, swings, or benches for the many children in the neighborhood to entertain themselves, while parents could watch within the porches that every house had.
Looking around, Danny noticed a small boy and girl, both seeming to be about eight, running around playing with a Furfrou in their expansive yard. The white, mangy dog was running around in a game of chase, barking gleefully, as the children chased it, squealing in raw delight, while their mom watched from the porch, with a contented smile on her face.
Danny felt a pang of envy towards those kids, who were lucky enough to have parents who owned a pokémon, whereas his parents didn't want the responsibility, and his mom didn't want another mouth to feed. However, the sight of the joyful children and pokémon was enough to atone for that envy. His mood was not at its best, however, due the incessant pounding in the back of his skull that hadn't subsided since he started shiny hunting at about four-thirty with Michael, which was unusual, because his headaches never lasted that long.
Danny let out an inaudible groan as he pulled into his driveway, again choosing to focus on his surroundings to try and not think about his stupid headache. His house was one of the few two-story houses in the neighborhood. It was a red brick house, with a black roof, a two-car garage on the side of the house with a sidewalk leading from the driveway to the door. The door was on a porch elevated by two steps, with roofing over it to provide shade for the two wooden chairs that decorated it. The porch watched over his yard, which had a large tree with a tree house in it from his youth, complete with a rope ladder to get up to it, and a tire-swing hanging from one of the stray branches.
Danny opened his door, and stepped into his living room. He collapsed on his cream-colored couch, and stared ahead at his brick fireplace, with a TV mounted over it, as he waited for his mom to notice he was home, which took a whopping thirty seconds.
"Hello sweetie. Did you have fun at Michael's house?" his mom asked.
"Uh huh…" Danny groaned, his headache quickly worsening.
"What's wrong sweetie?"
"Headache, hungry…" Danny muttered in reply. His mom nodded and turned around quickly to go and get some painkillers from the kitchen, as well as some food.
"Here you go, sweetie." His mom sweetly said as she set down a plate with three slices of pizza and a painkiller capsule. Danny closed his eyes due to pain, but had no intention on ignoring the food in front of him. Better yet, his mom walked in, carrying his all time favorite drinks, oran berry juice in her hand. She set it down and walked away, when Danny noticed he still had his eyes closed, though he still was able to tell it was his favorite drink. He could recognize the smell of oran berries from a mile away.
Danny opened his eyes, and smelled the heavenly aroma of his pizza, still steaming as it awaited its fate. His headache forgotten as he devoured his food, and drank his drink, which have never been more delicious. As soon as he was done, however, his headache worsened, it seeming to grow worse very minute.
After he ate two more slices of pizza, his headache got so bad that he had to go to bed to escape the pain. The painkillers weren't helping at all. He stumbled upstairs, feeling like a Psyduck that tried to head-butt a Metagross, which never ends well for the Psyduck. He stumbled into his room, unable to think properly. It felt like someone was hammering his head repeatedly, each heartbeat causing a fresh stab of pain. He reached his bed, and barely had enough time to get under the covers before he passed out from the agony.
Danny awoke from his fitful sleep filled with vivid dreams, though in his groggy state of mind he was unable to recall what they were. He looked up through squinted eyes to see the blurry visage of his dad standing over him.
"Hey son. Heard you weren't feeling well. Are you feeling better today?" Danny just let out an inaudible grunt in response. "Do you want me to grab you a sandwich?" his dad asked, to figure out whether Danny was just being Danny or if he was really feeling unwell.
"Later…" Danny muttered which let his dad know he was really feeling unwell, because Danny simply didn't turn down food.
"Okay. I'll let your school know, maybe take a shower later. It could help. Maybe think about shaving while you're in there. You look like you haven't shaved in a week." His dad finished with a wink, as he left Danny's room, closing the door behind him. Danny pondered what he meant, but disregarded it as he tried to recall his dreams. Now that he was slightly more awake, he was able to remember a few things: walking through a forest, a flash of black and red, as well as a lot of pain, but that was all he could recall.
Frustrated at both his lack of memory and the throbbing pain in his head, he made his way to his bathroom. It had a white tiled wall, a large shower, and a simple sink with a mirror over it. He froze. Surely he must be going crazy? It wouldn't be the first time. He thought back to what his dad had said about shaving.
His face and neck were covered in short, grey hairs.
Trying to remain calm, he undressed and looked at himself in the mirror. He was completely covered in grey hairs. He knew he was supposed to have more hair at this point in his life, but dang! Not this much! And they weren't supposed to be grey. Attempting to quell the rising panic inside him, he turned on the shower, locked the door, and grabbed two cans of shaving cream.
An hour later, Danny stepped out of the shower, freshly shaved, as he proceeded to put on a spare pair of clothes he always kept in the bathroom, due to his extreme forgetfulness. Simple jeans and a red T-shirt, that may or may not have a Charmander face on it. His persistent headache flared once again, and he stumbled, using the sink for balance. He stared in horror at the mirror. Hairs were growing back right in front of him.
Danny was officially freaking out right now. He ran to his room, locked his door, and got in his bed to take a nap. He was probably just delusional. He slept for about an extra hour, but woke up to no avail. The hairs were still growing, his headache not going away. He grabbed his cell phone to distract himself. He noticed he had some missed text from Michael.
Michael: Headache never went away. Still seeing colors. Didn't go to school. Going nuts for multiple reasons.
Danny was about to reply when he heard a soft knock on his door.
"Sweetie? How are you?" His mom quietly asked from the other side of the door.
"I'm fi-" he was interrupted with a fit of coughing.
"Are you losing your voice?" his mom worriedly asked.
"Yeah…" Danny muttered in a scratchy voice.
"Would you like me to get you some medicine? I can go pick some up." Danny's eyes widened. He didn't want his mom to see him in his current state.
"No its… fine," Danny quickly replied. "I'll go pick some up myself later… I'm tough enough."
"Alright sweetie… I'll be downstairs working in the office if you need me." His mom was a web page designer, so she spent quite a bit of time working. Danny breathed a sigh of relief. He grabbed his phone and texted Michael.
Danny: You ok? Is your dad still on business? Michael's response was almost immediate.
Michael: Yeah. Stuck at home, going nutters.
Danny: Ditto.
Michael: What you want to trade now?
Danny: Oh Har dee har.
Michael: Hehe. In all seriousness, in what way are you going crazy? Are you losing your voice, got a headache, and going delusional? Danny gaped
Danny: What? How… did you know?
Michael: I've been texting with Rachael. She is… freaking out, same… sickness as you and me. She went to school though. From what I heard her day really sucked. Hannah seems to be just fine though.
Danny: Uh… I doubt it. I'm going a whole new level of nuts.
Michael: Stop beating around the bush. What is up? Danny internally gulped; nervous at what is friend would say.
Danny: I keep imagining that I'm growing fur. Michael's response was immediate.
Michael: Danny, Get over here now. Don't let anyone see you, wear a hoodie, tell your mom you are picking me up medicine and helping me out. NOW.
Danny: Okay. Be right there. Danny was officially freaking out. He didn't dwell on it as he quickly put on a black hoodie with a Pokéball on the back. He pulled the hood over his head, as he opened the door of his room and stepped into his hallway, and down the stairs.
"Danny?" his mom asked, hearing him make his way down the wooden staircase. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah. I'm… fine" Danny lied in between rough coughs, when his headache flared up again. He suppressed a groan of pain. "Michael… is down too, so I'm gonna… go hang out there. Bring …him some meds. Help him… out. His dad is still… on business." He said, hiding any pain he felt, though the cough and rough voice were impossible to hide.
"Okay sweetie. Come home if you need to. Michael is welcome to come too if he wishes." His mom said, reluctant at the idea at letting his son leave while sick. Danny grunted in affirmation, and stumbled out the door, gritting his teeth, when he felt a stab of pain in his mouth.
He gasped, and felt his teeth with his tongue. He let out another gasp, this time in shock. His two canine teeth were sharp! They were very sharp, and longer than his other teeth, pointed like fangs! Nearing panic, he stumbled into his car, and quickly drove to Michael's house, not even trying to force back his headache, each heartbeat sending more stabs of pain throughout him.
Danny pulled into Michael's driveway, trepidation blossoming in his heart and mind. Before he could even knock on the door, Michael opened it, donning his favorite hoodie, bathed in shadows like a cliché villain from every movie ever made.
Danny followed Michael to his living room, where Rachael was waiting, on the very edge of the couch, also wearing a hoodie. She was slumped back, as if she was trying to not be noticed.
Danny and Michael sat down, and sat there for an awkward thirty seconds, before Michael said, between coughs, "You guys… can probably guess… why you are here."
"Aw man… that's… never good...when people... say that… and your voice… is nearly as bad… as mine." Danny replied, with a weak chuckle. Rachael still hadn't said anything.
"Well… since you guys… won't be the first ones to…" Michael started, as he began to take his hoodie off, as I gasped and Rachael gaped at his appearance.
His once brown hair was now dull blue, similar to the color of overused jeans, his face, previously shadowed due to the hoodie shadowing it, had a horizontal black stripe going across it, surrounding his eyes like a mask, reaching down to cover his nose. His arms and neck were now covered in blue fur, the same color as his hair. Michael suddenly found his shoes way more interesting to look at than Danny or Rachael.
Danny groaned. "So I… wasn't just going crazy…" He sighed, and took off his hoodie, Michael and Rachael both taking in his appearance, Michael and Rachael both gaping. "Like… my new look?" He said, at an attempt at lightheartedness, which he quickly gave up on. "Rachael, you still… haven't said anything, plus, why don't you… have your glasses?" Danny said, noting for the first time that Rachael was indeed without them.
Rachael slumped, pulled out here phone, typed something for a minute or so, and said "I just chirp texted chirp texted Hannah." She said, looking down, tears welling up in her eyes. Michael looked mortified while Danny had to bite his lip to keep from laughing, which worked, given his new fang. Rachael then gave some sort of long chirp that could qualify as a sigh, as she took her hoodie off as well.
Both Danny and Michael gasped in absolute horror, as Rachael now had large, grey feathers littering her hair, as well as smaller ones covering her exposed arms. She also had little feathers among her neck, and her short back hair had now paled slightly into more of a grey color. As they were gaping, Danny's headache flared again, as he groaned in pain. The pain took a couple minutes to recede to a dull throb, when Danny leaned back, breathing heavily. Rachael gasped.
"Danny! Your chirp hair is red at chirp at the top!" Danny pulled his phone out and switched on his camera. Indeed, the top of his shaggy blonde hair was red, the hair below the red turning black. He also noticed the grey furs around his neck were considerably longer.
"So every… time… a headache… comes… something weird… happens…" His voice was now much rougher and he was coughing more often. Michael let out a gasp of horror, his face paling three shades.
"Can't you guys… see what's… happening?" Michael asked, horrified. He was even more horrified than Rachael when she fails a math test. It took about five seconds, but both of them gasped, almost simultaneously, horrible understanding flooding the two, as Michael grimly nodded.
"No… you don't chirp mean…" Rachael started, looking seriously terrified at this point.
"I… do." Michael started, cringing. "We're turning into pokémon!"
Crickets sing their farewells to the setting sun.
Me: All right! Things are off and running! I greatly apprecia-
Verto: Blah blah blah. She is glad you read, is grateful to Pigeoncracker for his help, and wants you to review. There. I just saved you twenty minutes of reading.
Me: Oh hah hah. You somehow manage to make it sound so insincere. You know you wouldn't exist if it weren't for Pigeoncracker and Hyperjade coming in and turning this previously train-wreck of a story around, so stop whining.
Verto: ... Whatever.
Me: Ok! Now that he is shut up, leave a review! And try to guess what Pokemon the three are turning into! Except for you Rocketiermaster! Oh, and I kinda rushed the Pokemorph thing because I plan to have WAY more fun with it next chapter, so look forward to that! See ya guys later!