Hello!

Short chapter again - and Khrista's going to get to see another free Pokemon!

Chapter 12 - Type Shift?

Khrista came to, shaking her head as her vision started to clear up and her legs started to buckle a little. When she found herself leaning against a wall - and she wasn't being suspended in a pipe-filled shaft - she stiffened almost instantly and started to look around with a somewhat fearful expression.

The room she was now standing in was made of blank stone, and it was completely empty except for a few boxes stacked in a corner and a pile of what looked like straw and blankets.

"What the...?" Khrista looked around in bewilderment. "Where am I? What happened?" She was getting a horrible sense of déjà vu.

"I overshadowed you."

The brown-haired girl turned sharply, catching sight of Gangrene standing not too far behind her. Her blue eyes widened in alarm, and she took a step back.

"Overshadowed?" Khrista gulped.

"You know - possessed?"

That got a reaction out of Khrista, and she stumbled back a few more steps. "What? Why?"

"It was the only way I could think of getting you up here. And besides, I wasn't about to ask you to try and become a Ghost-Type." The Gengar's grin became even more mischievous as she said this.

"Ghost-Type...?" Khrista looked down at her shirt and found that, much to her surprise, the black color had lightened to a grayish-purple. "How -"

"It may have something to do with what occurred when you first arrived here."

Khrista stiffened again. Turning her head, she caught sight of a figure that looked human, but wasn't quite.

Mainly because the figure had a pointed nose, appeared to be wearing armor that was made of its own skin, and was holding a spoon in both of its three-fingered hands.

"An Alakazam?" Khrista asked quietly, frowning.

"I am not simply an Alakazam," the Psychic-Type replied calmly. "I am a member of Gangrene's team. I am called Alak." The Pokemon took a few steps forward. "I am guessing that you are the new human who was summoned from your world?"

"Uh...yeah." Khrista gave a hesitant nod, feeling cautious. "You're not with the guy who -"

"No, we are not. We have different reasons for being here." Alak looked over at Gangrene. "Did he tell her already?"

"If he was going to tell her anything, there wasn't much time to tell her," Gangrene replied with a shrug. "Saturn crashed the party."

Khrista blinked, feeling her stomach starting to twist again. "Are you talking about Joshua?"

The two Pokemon looked over at her and nodded. Then Alak paused and took a few steps closer to the teenage girl.

"You seem...stranger than I had originally thought," the Alakazam noted. "Already, your Type is shifting from Ghost to Psychic."

Khrista looked down at her shirt and, to her alarm, saw that the gray-purple was lightening into a golden shade. "What in the name of -"

"I wouldn't finish that," Gangrene spoke up. "There are so many ways that could go wrong." She walked over to Khrista and grabbed her hands, watching as the shirt reverted back to the gray-purple.

At the same time, Khrista felt her stomach relax - even if it was only a little bit.

She looked back at Alak, who had been watching the whole thing with a look of interest on his face. "What do you think's going on, old-timer?"

The Alakazam frowned. "I am no older than you are," he stated, leveling a spoon at the Gengar. "However, I do believe I have an inkling as to what is going on here."

"You do?" Khrista asked, a hopeful smile coming over her face.

"Yes. It seems that your body is mimicking the DNA in both Gangrene and myself, much like a Ditto mimics the appearance and abilities of its opponents." Alak took a few steps forward himself until he stopped in front of Khrista.

This time, Khrista definitely felt something wrench in her stomach, like she was being pulled in two directions.

She let out a cry of surprise and pulled out of Gangrene's grip, stumbling back. She tripped and fell onto the pile of blankets and straw, then looked down at her shirt and watched as it turned into its normal red color.

Khrista let out a sigh of relief, then looked back up at Alak and Gangrene with a concerned expression. "What's happening to me?"

The two Pokemon looked at each other, considering what exactly they had seen happen to the human in front of them.

"Perhaps it is one of the abilities that appears when some Avatars are brought over," Alak suggested.

Khrista's blue eyes widened a little. "Abilities?"

"Some of you kids are just too weird for this place," Gangrene remarked, shaking her head. "I've heard Goons muttering about kids who turned into Pokemon or had Pokemon abilities, but it's only been a few. Guess they didn't find out about you yet."

"I didn't know until you pointed out that I'd turned into a Dark-Type!" Khrista yelped, panicked.

"Calm yourself," Alak stated, raising a spoon. "It is obvious that you are only just coming into your powers and have little understanding of them. Perhaps, one of us could assist in teaching you about our own Types." He started to walk forward.

"Hey!" Gangrene looked miffed. "I should teach her first so that she can sneak around without being noticed!"

"She is going to need to know some Psychic techniques," Alak replied calmly, looking back at the Gengar. "Telepathy will become a vital asset for her."

"I am right here, you know," Khrista stated, feeling a little irritated. She looked over at Alak. "And you're right. It'll help keep me out of sight, if they're on the lookout for me."

Alak and Gangrene exchanged glances, and the Gengar gained an annoyed expression.

"Fine," she muttered. "But I'm getting her next."

"I'm not going to argue that we are the only two who are able to teach her," Alak replied. He turned to face Khrista and approached the brown-haired teenager, who felt something in her gut as her red shirt brightened fully into a gold shade.

"Okay," Khrista muttered, getting into a more comfortable position on the blankets and straw. "I really hope I'm ready for this."

"If your form thinks you are, then you are."

Spacial Break

"Sir, J-4 has been moved into a cell with M-1 and C-5 temporarily."

Charon turned to look at the Galactic grunt in front of him and gave a nod. "Good. That should keep him out of trouble until his cell is repaired. But what of M-9? Any news?"

"None, sir." The green-haired man didn't take his eyes off the wall behind Charon to even glance at the scientist. "There was an illegal Teleport that took place between here and J-4's cell, but there hasn't been any Pokemon-like activity since."

The height-challenged [a/n: I found that much more insulting than just "short"] scientist clenched his fists so tightly that the clipboard in his hands looked like it was about to snap in two. "You are to take a squad and search this citadel from too to bottom in order to find her," he hissed. "And you are not to rest until you find her."

The grunt finally looked down at Charon and blinked upon seeing that the man was looking somewhat annoyed. He gave a curt nod, then turned and walked out of the room.

Charon let out a frustrated noise, then turned to look at the tall, blue-haired man looking out a brand new window over a gray, frozen landscape. "My apologies. I did not expect there to be a rogue Pokemon to be living here right under my nose. I'll make sure it's caught immediately."

The man turned slightly to look back at Charon for a moment. The scientist saw that there was a look in his eye that shouldn't have been there.

"...Sir?" Charon asked hesitantly.

"That rogue Pokemon you saw may not just be a normal Pokemon," Cyrus stated coldly. The tired look in his eyes made him look even more off-kilter than he might have been in the eyes of non-Galactic Trainers.

"We may have a free Legendary in my citadel."

There! Khrista's going to get taught about Psychic abilities, and Cyrus is starting to feel the effects of a certain Nightmare Pokemon's work!

See you guys next week!