Before we get started, I'm going to let you all know that the Percentverse community has a Discord server! While I, uh, don't know what the code for it is, you could contact one of the other writers and see if they can help you out!
Or you could do what I did and use the link in either the Deviantart or Wattpad versions of these stories, since they don't have rules on that.
Anyways, I hope you have fun reading, and I may or may not see you later in the server! (-o-)
Zinnia Wilder
My house was quickly recognizable, mostly because of all the paint on the sidewalks. I always loved painting, and there were quite a few impressive images left on the concrete.
I felt a twinge of sadness when I realized I might not be able to do it anymore. After all, Dragonairs didn't have any hands to paint with.
Then again, my father didn't like the paints. Maybe this would make him happier.
But it wouldn't make ME happier...
I glided down to a landing, touching down next to my father's car. He hadn't left for work yet, but I knew he would soon. Or would've, before this transformation happened.
'How is that going to affect other peoples' jobs?', I wondered, 'Surely there will be a lot of people who will suddenly be unable to work the same things they used to be able to do. Things are gonna be very different now, that's for sure.'
As I sat there, I realized I had no way of telling my father who I was if he had stayed human. I knew I needed to figure something out, fast.
My yard was not very spacious (after all, this was San Francisco), but there was still enough room for a hedge and some grass. It felt very odd to feel the grass under my scales as I slithered over it, but I was focused more on finding something to write my name with.
Aha! Under the hedge, right where I had hidden it, I found my paints. Gingerly, I picked up a small brush with my mouth, which while gross was all I could do. Next, I tried to open a can of blue paint, but ended up knocking it over instead. I winced as the paint poured out onto the ground, but I knew that there was nothing I could do about that now.
Dipping the brush into the paint, I quickly sketched out a shaky "I'm Zinnia" onto one of the last few bare spots on the concrete. It was definitely not the best I could do, but it was necessary.
I gave the tipped-over can of paint another sad look. I slipped my tail over and pushed it back up, but it was too late. Most of the paint had dumped out now.
I shivered at the cold wet feeling on the tip of my tail, and saw that quite a bit of paint had gotten on it. The light blue color clashed horribly with my dark scales, and I knew that wasn't going to be easy to scrub off. Especially when one remembered my depressing lack of hands.
As I sat there, I heard the front door open, and I saw my father march out, baseball bat in his hand. I'll admit, I wilted inside slightly when I realized he was still the same, slightly ugly, graying middle-aged man. But I still held onto a fragment of my hope, praying desperately that this would turn out all right.
As soon as he saw me, he narrowed his eyes, and shouted, "Get out of here, monster!"
That stung, but I knew he couldn't recognize me right now. So I gestured towards the message on the ground with my tail, hoping he'd see it and realize who I was.
His eyes followed the message, and widened slightly. He was silent for a long time.
Then he growled. "Impossible. My daughter is human."
My heart sank. It felt fragile, as if it was right on the edge of fracturing.
He stood up tall, his eyes full only with anger. "My daughter is human. She can't be anything else. I don't know who you are, but you're not my daughter. Not anymore."
My heart shattered, collapsing into a mess of glass shards that I feared could never fit together again.
No.
Not again.
I couldn't be abandoned again!
"Go. Get out of here!", my father yelled.
Still reeling from what had just happened, I didn't move.
"GO!", my father roared, throwing the bat at me.
Instinctively, my tail lashed out, snatching the baseball bat right out of the air. I felt a growl build up in my throat, as my rising despair was drowned out by raw, pure RAGE.
"Fine, reject me!", I screeched, an electrical feeling rising up in my pearls, "Just, just...leave me ALONE!"
On that final note, I felt my power burst free, and a giant purple tornado appeared in front of me.
One moment, there was my father and my house, glaring hatefully at me. The next moment, they were gone, as pieces of timber and brick rained all around me, destroyed instantly by the twister.
I stared, still in shock from what had just happened. Then the weight of what I'd done crashed down on me, and I sank to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. (-o-)
Rosa Santoro
Alright, it's my turn now. It always takes a bit for ZZ to recover from thinking about that.
So, anyways, I left off at Molly and I as we set off on our grand rescue ride. We didn't know where we were going or who we were looking for, though, and it wasn't long before we both realized that fact.
By then, we were in the middle of downtown, which while crazy at the best of times was a veritable nightmare now. There were cars piled up left and right, while police attempted to keep the peace while firefighters struggled to put out the raging inferno that was the street and paramedics attempted to evacuate as many injured people and Pokemon as possible. I felt afraid for everyone, wondering how we were all going to get through this.
"This is bad.", Molly whispered, "We were right in the middle of tourist season when this happened. How many people got stranded with no way back home?"
I shivered, sending petals everywhere. "I don't know...we need to find out what happened to our friends."
Molly nodded. "Yes, you're right. Let's see...where would they all have been when this thing happened?"
Running past us was a screaming Kecleon, which probably wasn't helping her thought process.
Molly continued, "Samuel must have been at work. Zinnia was probably getting her daily coffee and scone. She might have stayed at the cafe, or headed home. We're not near either of those places. Jackson and Ryan were going to go on a trip to the Embarcadero today, we could check that out. Amanda..."
She froze. "Amanda would be at the bookstore again. That's just down the block from here!"
Molly burst into a gallop, and I held on tight to prevent from being thrown off. We leaped over a series of cars and raced down the street, quickly arriving at the bookstore.
The store in question had had its windows shattered, and inside it was a giant mess of books and shelves and loose pages. There was no one in there right now that I could see - everyone had probably all left in a hurry when the big event happened.
"She might be trapped in there somewhere.", Molly muttered, "Oh, I hope she's safe..."
"Molly?"
Molly spun around, where we saw a white feminine Pokemon, pulling herself up from the curb. Behind her was a mangled mess of cars, including a large semi-truck.
I recognized the Pokemon immediately. A Froslass. And I could tell who they'd been - there was only one girl who wore a blue-and-white scarf and had an Elsa backpack.
"Amanda!?", I cried, "Are you okay?!"
"Um...maybe.", she replied, "I feel so cold...not to mention the fact that we're apparently Pokemon now..."
"This is messed up, huh?", Molly commented, "But I do suspect we have to get used to it..."
She sighed deeply. "Gosh darn it, I really wish we has SOME answers! Like, is this reversible? What even caused it? Will it happen again!? I don't know anything, and I hate it!"
Amanda pulled herself up, nodding sadly. "I definitely agree...but there's nothing we can do. We're just going to have to make do until people find some answers."
Molly replied, "But how long can we afford to wait? I don't know how I'll last even a day as a stupid freaking sparkly unicorn!"
I poked her with one of my thorns, and she flinched.
"Rosa, seriously!?", Molly yelled incredulously.
I replied, "We gotta keep ourselves together. Remember, it's not just you. We need to find our friends, regroup, and figure out a plan of action together. This affected ALL of us, and I don't want any mental breakdowns before we're all gathered up and can help each other."
Amanda giggled. "Yeah, sounds fair. Who are we going after now?"
Molly answered, "Well, um, I think we're going to find Ryan and Jackson next. They were going to hang out at the Embarcadero today, and I think we'll find them by the yachts."
I nodded. "Yup. Probably trying to make themselves jealous again. Or at least, before this thing happened."
I shuddered. "Oh, I do hope they're all right..."
"We have no time to lose!", Molly declared.
Amanda nervously drifted over, floating over the ground. "Um...do you mind if I ride on you? I don't think I'd be able to keep up on my own...I mean, I can try, I know you probably don't like the thought of people riding you like some regular horse..."
Molly replied, "No, no, that's okay! Hop on! I'm just worried that without legs you won't be able to stay on..."
Amanda smiled. "Thank you."
She floated up onto Molly's back, draping her kimono-like torso over her side and gripping onto Molly's neck. I shivered violently, as Amanda's new body was radiating cold air. Molly shivered, too, but didn't say anything, instead setting off on a gallop again.
I nestled deeper into her mane, trying my best to stay warm. It was funny - California was famous for being warm and sunny, yet here I was shivering in the middle of summer. But Amanda really WAS cold...
We raced down the street, swerving past the crowds of people and nimbly avoiding the car wrecks across the road. People gave us strange looks as we raced past, but most were too busy panicking to care.
It felt like forever until we finally reached the end of the road and hopped down to the piers. Looking ahead, I could see a collection of yachts...and Ryan! Gosh, he was so buff and cool-looking and handsome...
Sorry, I was saying?
Right. He was currently backed up against the boats, alongside a Dewgong, both shivering in fear as a giant, fiery Magmortar stomped towards them, readying its hand blasters.
"Oh no!", I cried, "We have to save them!"
Molly replied, "Well, obviously, but how!? That thing is literally on fire!"
Amanda answered, "Um...what if you kicked one of those barrels into it?"
She pointed to the edge of the marina, where there was a large collection of boxes and barrels.
"Oh, I better not have to pay for this...", groaned Molly as she raced over, whirling around and striking her hooves into the nearest barrel.
The wood splintered as she sent it flying, and it splashed into the water behind the Magmortar, completely missing it. However, it had caught its attention, and the ferocious fire Pokemon turned towards us, growling.
"Hurry!", cried Amanda, "Rosa and I have a major type disadvantage, which means a fireball from that thing is going to hurt!"
But before Molly could do anything else, the Magmortar locked and loaded its blaster arms.
I closed my eyes, bracing myself, but then there was a weird choking noise and the sound of a jet of water.
Opening my eyes, I saw the Dewgong (who I assumed was Jackson) spraying out a massive jet of water, which plowed into the Magmortar and sending up a cloud of steam. The Pokemon bellowed as it stumbled back, tripping over a rope on the ground and falling backwards into the sea, vanishing in a jet of steam. Jackson gasped, coughing for breath as he slumped forward, Ryan leaning over concerned.
Molly trotted over, frowning. "Huh...that made, like, no scientific sense."
Amanda dismounted, gliding over to the two boys. "Hey, are you two okay?"
Ryan frowned, before noting her scarf and backpack. "Amanda!? Oh no, you transformed too..."
"Yeah...so did Molly and Rosa. We still don't know if Zinnia or Sammy are alright.", she replied.
Ryan sighed sadly. "I can't understand you!", he wailed, "I can't understand Jackson, I can't understand you...am I going to be the only one who stayed human?"
Amanda looked towards Molly and I. "This is even worse than I thought!", she wailed, "Now we can't even talk to people!"
"Well, we can, kinda.", I replied, "Just not with words."
I tried to hop off Molly, but my thorns were too tangled in her mane and I got stuck dangling over her side. Molly winced as I pulled on her hair, struggling fruitlessly to escape.
Ryan stood up, sighing as he brushed off his clothes. "Well, Jackson's dad is coming soon to help pick him up. I'm assuming the unicorn and the, uh, flower? Anyways, are you two Molly and Rosa?"
Molly nodded. I did too, but it wasn't easy when I was dangling in the air.
Ryan sighed. "So it's just Zinnia and Sammy we don't know about. I hope they're all right."
I noticed that Amanda looked very nervous. Of course. Samuel and her had only recently started dating, and she was scared that this transformation might split them up. I wished I could comfort her, but I was too busy dangling from Molly's mane and struggling to not fall to say or do anything.
Jackson slowly pulled himself closer to us, his face despondent. "So...you guys were transformed too?"
"Um, yeah.", Molly replied, "Kinda obvious, actually."
Jackson sighed deeply as he took us all in. "Well...at least you guys can still do some things properly. That's good."
I shrugged, but that just made my arms ache even more than they already were from hanging there. "Well, I wouldn't say that. I couldn't even open my freaking door properly."
Jackson frowned. "But at least you have legs. I'm just stuck here."
Molly scoffed. "Yeah. We all have our problems now. I can't even take a step in my apartment now without knocking something over. We're just gonna have to adapt to this situation together."
She flinched as I struggled again. "Also, can someone get Rosa out of my hair, please?"
Ryan couldn't understand us, but he seemed to see what was going on. Carefully he walked over and started prying me loose from Molly's mane. I smiled up at his handsome face, trying to shoot him a playful wink as he pulled my body loose. But that just seemed to confuse him.
Stupid boy couldn't even tell when a girl was flirting with him.
Finally, he managed to get me free from Molly's sparkly hair, and set me down on the ground. I huffed, disappointed that he hadn't held me longer. He just felt so safe and warm and...
Oh god, I'm hopeless aren't I?
At about the same time, a familiar truck drove down to us, old, red, and heavily scratched-up. I noticed a sad-looking man driving it, glancing towards us as if dreading what he was going to see.
Jackson's father, I knew. And clearly he was afraid to see how his son had gone from looking like, well, his son, and had now become something else entirely.
"Where is he?", the man asked, looking ready to start crying.
"I'm down here, Dad...", Jackson replied, waving a flipper sadly.
His father sniffled, and walked over, leaning down so he could see his son's face better.
"Oh, my boy, my poor poor boy...", he whispered, reaching out and stroking a hand across his son's face, "What are we going to do?"
"Is Mom alright?", asked Jackson, but of course his father couldn't understand him either.
Ryan said, "I think we should take him to my house. There's a really big bathtub on the second floor that could probably fit him comfortably. Plus, my house is out of the way of downtown and the neighborhood should be somewhat calmer..."
Jackson's father nodded tearfully. "That would be nice, if you're okay with it. There were some terrifying creatures near my house and I don't want Jackson and I to be near them. I'll see if I can get ahold of my wife and let her know. She was at work when this happened and I haven't been able to contact her yet..."
Jackson whimpered, "I do hope Mom's all right..."
Jackson's father stood up and looked at Molly, Amanda, and I. "Are these some of your friends?"
Ryan nodded. "Yeah. Amanda, Molly, and Rosa. Can they ride along with us?"
Jackson's father nodded softly. "They'll have to be in the back with Jackson, but I think they'll be alright."
I tugged on Ryan's pant leg using my thorns. He looked down, confused.
"Please let me ride in the truck with you!", I cried.
Then I realized that, duh, he couldn't understand me.
Amanda sighed and placed a hand on her icy face.
I pointed towards the cab of the truck, then at Ryan, repeating until he seemed to understand. He asked, "Do you...want to ride up front with me? Is that it?"
I put my roses together in a pleading motion. "Yes yes yes! Please please please!"
Molly sighed. I shot her an angry look.
Ryan chuckled. "Well...I suppose that'll be fine. You're super small now."
Jackson's father said, "I don't care if the flower rides up front or not. I want to get my son to safety."
He gave Jackson a pointed look. "You ARE still my son, you know. I don't care what you look like!"
Ryan nodded. "Yeah, let's get moving. We're going to need to work together to get Jackson into the back of the truck, though."
He looked towards Jackson and rolled up his sleeves. "Alright, dude. Let's get you out of here."
Ryan and Jackson's father took place at opposite sides of the Dewgong. Ryan picked up Jackson's tail, and Jackson's dad lifted up Jackson's front, looking softly at his face as he did so. With some heaving and groaning, they managed to carry him to the pack, where Amanda helped open the tailgate. Thank goodness for her, she still had somewhat functional hands.
Once Jackson was safely in the back, Molly hopped in, shaking the truck with her heavy weight. Amanda floated in afterwards, closing the tailgate.
Meanwhile, Ryan sat down in the passenger seat, and I hurried over there as fast as my little legs could carry me. It took a few tries, but I managed to hop up and settle into his lap, smiling blissfully. Ryan looked very, very confused, but buckled us up all the same.
Jackson's father climbed into the driver's seat, and locked the door. "Alright, let's get going.", he said.
"Do you remember my address?", asked Ryan.
"Got it saved in my phone.", Jackson's father answered, "Here we go."
And so we started driving, where hopefully we could find some sanctuary...and after that, our other friends. (-o-)
Samuel Townsend
Mr. Philly frowned as he looked over me, and said, "Hrmmm, I do think you're presentable now."
We were in the corner of the studio, while the crew worked to make sure his desk was as pristine as ever. Some were running through camera feeds taken from the ground, and none of them looked good. There was so much chaos and suffering, I couldn't bear watch.
'Oh, I hope Dad's doing okay...', I thought.
I was currently sitting on top of a stool, cringing at every movement of my new tail. It just felt so wrong and unnatural, not to mention the rest of me. I was a pink psychic cat now. I couldn't even stand it for one second.
'Oh gosh, what is Amanda going to think if she sees me like this!?', I thought panickedly.
Mr. Philly kept frowning at me. "Hmm, something still seems to be missing...aha!"
He rushed off, and returned with one of his signature red bowties. He slipped it around my neck before I could even blink, and he grinned. "Perfecto!", he declared, "Now we're ready to get this show rolling!"
He dashed over to his desk, and sat down with a collection of papers. A crewman set up a laptop next to him, turning it on so it showed the current feeds. Mr. Philly needed to see what he was talking about, after all.
"Switching to live in ten seconds.", declared a woman, before turning on the cameras.
"Hello, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Golden Gate News!", declared Mr. Philly, "It's me, your host, Mr. Philly Cheeztaik, and we're going to discuss a most alarming and astonishing event - a mass transformation that affects the entire globe!"
He gestured towards the wall, and someone presumably turned on a screen of the footage.
"This is taken live from the streets of San Francisco!", Mr. Philly declared, "As you can see, it's chaos out there. As you know, there are always thousands of tourists here, and this transformation hit us at the worst of times! No one was spared. Even some of our own staff were affected!"
He mouthed, 'Roll in Samuel now.'
Someone started pushing my stool over, wheeling me up to Mr. Philly's side.
"This here is Samuel, son of our intrepid reporter Mr. Edward!", Mr. Philly declared, "Say hi to the cameras, kiddo."
"Uh...hi?", I replied nervously, feeling very uncomfortable being put on the spotlight like this.
"As you can tell, the transformed cannot speak any human languages.", Mr. Philly said, "They only seem to be able to say the name of their species. Sammy, may I call you Sammy -"
'No, that's only for my close friends.', I thought unhappily.
"Sammy here appears to have transformed into an 'Es-pe-on.'", Mr. Philly reported.
He reached over to the laptop and switched it to a word processing document, and showed it to the cameras. "I will be interviewing our dear Sammy, and he'll be using this to speak to us. I'm sure this will be quite enlightening!"
He turned the laptop back towards me, and asked, "First, Sammy, how does it feel to be one of the transformed?"
I started typing on the keyboard with my paws, trying hard not to make a mistake.
'It's weird.', I typed, 'Being a strange new animal with a tail and four paws and everything...it's really messed up.'
"Thank you!", replied Mr. Philly, and he read what I typed out to the cameras, "Alright, now, next question. How much experience do you have with the creatures from...whatever that franchise is?"
I typed, 'They're called Pokemon. I play the games with my friends sometimes.'
Mr. Philly read through that, and said, "Ah, yes, Pokemon! Very interesting. Now, third question. How do you think these friends of yours are going to respond?"
I thought for a minute, before typing, 'I think they'll be nice and understanding. Some of them might have been transformed too.'
"True, true.", replied Mr. Philly, "I'll have to see if I can't call them up later. Now for the fourth question. Do you have a girlfriend?"
I turned bright red and spluttered, "Wh-what!? What kind of question is that!?"
I was glad that he couldn't understand me just there.
"Or boyfriend. I know there's all sorts of odd relationships these days.", Mr. Philly added.
After I recovered from the shock of the question, I typed out, 'I do have a girlfriend. Why does it matter?'
Mr. Philly replied, "That leads to our fifth question. How do you think your girlfriend will respond to your transformation?"
I shivered, scared because I didn't know that answer myself.
Trembling, I typed out, 'I...I think she'll love me the same. I know I would.'
Mr. Philly smiled. "How sweet of you. Very well. That's it for now. We'll be back in five!"
The cameras shut off, and I immediately sprang off the tool and raced under the cameras, startling the crewmen. I curled up trembling in the darkest spot I could find, stressed out by what had just happened.
I was scared. So, so scared. I didn't know what was going on or what I was gonna do, and Mr. Philly's questions had not helped at all.
Mr. Philly sighed from where he was sitting. "Alright, we'll give the boy a break. It's hard to be onstage with a star, after all. I was planning on discussing some of the events going on right now anyways!"
I clutched my ears and sniffled quietly, trying not to think about how terrifying everything was right now.
I especially didn't want to think about my greatest worry.
'How the hell am I gonna explain this to Amanda?!' (-o-)