CHAPTER 4

˂We must hurry, they will be here soon,˃ Skipper said, glancing around nervously. ˂They had found us, and were chasing us. That's how I was hurt. We lost them, at least for a little while. But they will find me, soon.˃

"So, what do you think about this power?" Boris asked us. "I say do it! These Weederpies seem like they need to be taught a lesson."

Typical Boris, wanting to help solve the problem with violence.

"Yeah, we have to help the Mews. If we don't, it's basically the end," Lisa said.

Typical Lisa, acting all logical, while inside, I knew she was boiling with rage towards the Weederpies.

"What have we got to lose? Oh, except maybe our lives. I suppose I'm in," Michael said.

Typical Michael, joking around.

"I agree we should do it. I can't just let this Mew possibly die and then go back to normal everyday life," I said.

Typical me, accepting the inevitable and being very calm about it.

˂Then place your hand on the Ditto Device,˃ Skipper said. He looked at Bounce and Blitz, who were pulling each other's tails in some kind of a game. ˂You must have this ability as well,˃ Skipper said. ˂You must help these humans. They will take care of you now.˃

˂Daddy? Don't talk like that! You're gonna be okay!˃ Blitz yelled.

˂Blitz, please understand, I won't be able to protect you any longer,˃ Skipper said. I saw a tear well up in his eyes.

˂NO! No!˃ Blitz screamed.

˂Blitz! He's hurt. The Weederpies will find him. He's giving this last gift to us. Please, just take it,˃ Bounce said.

This seemed to calm Blitz a little. He and Bounce put a paw on the sphere, and we each put a hand on it.

The sphere glowed brighter and brighter.

Skipper reached forward with his long tail. And I mean long. He reached under the sphere and put the tip of his tail in a small hole at the bottom. I heard a kind of a clicking sound. Then Skipper closed his eyes.

He seemed like he was concentrating.

The sphere glowed brighter than ever.

I suddenly realized: Skipper was hooked up to the sphere through his tail, and was now controlling it with his thoughts!

It was like he and the sphere were two computers linked together.

Suddenly, a shock went up my arm. I pulled away, as did the others.

The shock lasted a few seconds, then faded away.

It felt like I had pins and needles in my arm. Only it wasn't the type that hurt. It was the type that made you want to laugh.

˂Congratulations,˃ Skipper said. ˂You can now turn into Pokémon.˃

"How?" Boris asked.

˂You must touch a Pokémon and focus on it. This will allow you to 'acquire' the Pokémon's DNA. Once you have acquired a Pokémon, you only need to focus on it again to start morphing,˃ Skipper explained. ˂There are bound to be problems and restrictions with morphing. But I have never morphed, so I only know one rule: Never stay in a morph for more than two hours. If you do, you will be trapped in morph forever.˃

"Rat-ta-rat-tata." A Rattata had just popped out of the bushes.

It snarled at us.

Skipper's tail rose high into the air, as if he was getting ready to whip it forward and knock the Rattata senseless.

But suddenly, the Rattata stopped. It turned around. And it started snarling at something behind him.

Suddenly, more Rattatas appeared. They ran out of the bushes and went straight past us, as if they were scared out of their wits.

˂They're coming!˃ Skipper said, an edge of fear in his voice. ˂The Weederpies are coming.˃

Author's Annotation: You'll notice the morphing power is specifically for turning into Pokémon, not humans. Also, earlier in the story it's stated the Weederpies couldn't infest humans. This is simply because I didn't find the idea of morphing into other humans or having humans infested particularly interesting to write. Animorphs covers these things (especially the latter) in spades, so I wanted to focus specifically on Pokémon.