Part of this chapter has exposition.
"Good morning, Mrs. Ketchum!"
Sitting on a picnic table just outside of the facility was Daisy Oak, who politely greeted the older woman. She was too busy writing some notes in her journal and could only look briefly at the older woman climbing up the steps.
"Good morning… To you too, Daisy." Delia Ketchum panted between breaths. Having finally arrived at the laboratory staircase's landing, she breathed deeply in and out and paused to get her bearings.
She sat down on the floor for a bit to rest, pulling out a water bottle from inside of her purse. The fox Pokemon inside, too dizzy to even yip or bark properly, hopped out of the bag and collapsed in a heap.
Despite already being a ghost Pokemon, it looked as if his soul had been sucked out and what was left was a soulless husk, if it were open-mouthed and drooling saliva. Ironic, considering the actual state of his human body.
Daisy Oak, having taken off her headphones, finally took a proper gander at the older woman with a gasp. Disheveled and sweaty beyond belief, Delia Ketchum looked the part of a woman on the run. More on that, she also held in her arms the best friend of her kid brother, Ash. The boy looked so fragile; her heart had stopped when she saw him in state.
"My goodness!" Daisy stood up from the picnic table, surprising a stray Rattata behind her. She moved to help the mother get her bearings, only stopping because Delia had gestured not to.
"Auntie Delia, is… Is Ash alright?" She gulped. She looked behind her and briefly looked down at the silver and red fox too busy making a beached Magikarp impression. She gave the much older woman a very concerned look over both of them.
"Don't... Don't you worry, Daisy…" Delia breathed in deeply. She looked down briefly at the fox kit she had brought with her, then at her son afterward with a humorless chuckle. "He'll be fine… I hope."
"I'd hope so. I'm not sure how much help the laboratory could help you two, but I promise you we'll try our hardest. No Pokemon Center or not, Pallet Town still has medical professionals willing to try their darndest!"
She gave Delia a peace sign.
"And uh, what's with the fox Pokemon you brought with you?" She furrowed her eyebrows. "I didn't think you'd be the type to have a house pet, Mrs. Ketchum, nor do I think it looks like a native species. Is it foreign?"
Delia looked down, tinier Ash tuckered out on the floor and gave a small smile. She picked him up and put him on her lap.
"If my hypothesis is correct, then this little guy…" She rubbed its head, the little thing mewling reflexively. "Is Ash." And then she smiled.
The look on Daisy's face was as priceless as it was perturbed. In return, Delia gave her the stoniest, most dispassionate expression she could give back.
For several moments, the only sounds you could hear were the sounds of the wind, carrying away the last few ounces of sanity that Delia Ketchum tried to hold onto for the past hour.
Daisy took a step back, obliging the older woman to make her move. Her face remained stony still, having not much response to the answer she had received.
And Delia finally stood up not a moment later. She breathed in the warm summer air, and did a few squats and stretches, all with the Zorua neatly placed on her shoulder. She peered in between the gaps of the laboratory doors with a focused look on her face.
And then at a moment's notice. She moved.
Kicking open the door with furious vengeance and great anger, the doors slammed on the walls, the locks falling on the floor and all at the same time waking up the professor who was conveniently sleeping on the laboratory couch. She picked up the sleeping boy from outside and dropped him on the other side of said couch.
Samuel Oak, having woken up due to the kerfuffle, rubbed his eyes awake. He craned his neck, having slept in a particularly bad position, and bore witness to the damage done to his wall and especially to his poor, poor doorway.
Looking at the daylight glaring through the windows, he could only stare back at the mother possessed with a look of fear and incredulity. Professor Oak looked at his cell phone with a deep sigh, learning that he'd received a message from her earlier, then shook himself awake.
Standing up, the professor had to ask. "Delia, what the hell are you doing?" It wasn't very often that he was at such a loss of words that he couldn't help but squeak out an expletive, but this was a whole new level of deranged.
Even coming from her, who tossed rolls of toilet paper all over his estate just a decade prior. The concerning presence of her only son, seemingly unconscious, wasn't enough to peel away the vexed feelings he was bottling up.
Mrs. Ketchum tried to open her mouth to say something but couldn't get any words to come out. She looked to her shoulder, where a fearful fox Pokemon watched the entire event play out, and smiled nervously.
It jumped down, and she finally sighed. She gestured towards her feet, where the white and red fox kit had decided to hide. The professor looked down at where she was pointing, and then at the boy currently unconscious on the couch. He sighed.
"Delia, I appreciate you respecting me enough to come to me for help. But I'm not a licensed medical doctor." He pointed at one of the walls, presenting his various degrees. Some awards were in glass cases, but his actual degrees were in neat littler portraits.
"I'm a zoologist, for goodness' sake. The Premiere Pokemon Professor of Kanto, not a doctor of human beings." The Professor exasperatedly exclaimed, putting his hand up to massage his head.
She rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah, I know that." She spared a glance towards the man's granddaughter behind her, who could only look away awkwardly.
"There's something more important. Ahem, Professor, I'd like you to meet Ash for the second time this month!" She walked away from the doorframe, leaving the spiteful fox Pokemon to be caught like a deer in headlights. Mouth wavering, it waved nervously at the professor, giving him a toothy grin, or at least as toothy a grin that he could make.
He blinked. And then he blinked again, trying to process the gravity of her statement. He looked up at the clock on his wall, seeing it just barely passing 11 AM, being far too early for the woman to have taken any kind of substances. He slowly rotated his head back to face her, wondering if he'd entered an alternate reality.
"Delia, you can't actually be implying that this is Ash…" He looked at her deadpan face, his lips pursed. "But that doesn't make any sense, how could that possibly be…"
The look on her face was as frigid as it could be, even as her head tiredly bobbed up and down in affirmation. His eyes looked back and forth at the supposed mother and son, the fox Pokemon the most.
The only real hint he could make out between all of the insanity were the strong pair of brown eyes staring at him, much like what Delia and Ash would have, and its strong resemblance to a Zorua. If this was indeed Ash and not a wild Zorua taking his place, then he should've won the lottery years ago. Those old stories were real to an extent, so he was wondering how she could possibly explain herself.
Delia sighed. "If you're still skeptical, you can take a look at his body on the couch yourself. He doesn't have a pulse, but he's still alive if you can even believe it."
He marched back to the couch, and despite the long gaps between pulses, could confirm at least that much on his end. The fox Pokemon sat patiently for his response, almost as if it was hoping for him to believe it wholly.
Considering Professor Oak's long portfolio over the years, proving many more inane theories once considered nonsense, it would have been out of turn for him to dismiss the claims of the young mother. Especially since the supposed fox boy he was looking at was his primary inspiration after all these years.
The professor groaned and slapped both of his palms on his face. He gestured for all three to come inside, his eyes still glued on the fox gingerly walking past him. Opening the lights, he closed the doors and opened the air conditioning.
"Come on in, then. I'll see what I can do for you." As they walked slowly into the laboratory, he looked despairingly at the damage done to his walls and the lock he'd just finished replacing 2 weeks prior.
Daisy stopped short of attempting to comfort him, knowing that it wouldn't help lighten his mood much.
"He looks just like a Zorua, Delia. Did you know that?" The Professor exclaimed, looking over an antique bestiary he hadn't yet digitized. It featured the description and a rough sketch of a silvery gray fox pup that looked alarmingly like what Ash appeared to be.
As it happens, the illustrations were authored to a certain Akari, no last name. A young researcher who worked in the fields a lot in Sinnoh during its early modern history, she contributed the most to the creation of the earliest compiled Pokedex.
Ash drew closer to the book, sitting on the man's shoulder and trying his best not to fall off. The Professor, though still skeptical, already gave the two a chance and was willing enough to let the young fox sit on his shoulders in the meantime.
Coming back from the kitchen was Daisy, carrying a tray with some biscuits and hot tea for all of them. Professor Oak accepted a cup from her and sipped on it.
"A Zorua?" Daisy asked. She'd sat down next to the Professor and had regained her senses enough to continue with her homework.
"A Zorua, yes." He pulled out his personal Pokedex, recently updated for international standards and wiped the screen. "A species of fox Pokemon native to distant Unova, in the Americas."
Powering it on, he searched for Zorua on the screen using the built-in keyboard and keyed its name in.
On the screen was the 3D model of a Zorua similar to Ash, except instead of a thick fur scarf, its neck hair flared out. Instead of a bright white color, it had colors ranging from black to very dark shades of violet or blue.
One of the headers in the book noted that the Hisuian Zorua grew its fur white or a snowy gray instead of black to more properly camouflage itself in the harsh winters of Hisui. Its primary territories were, after all, in the Alabaster Icelands, roughly where Snowpoint City and Lake Acuity were located in the modern day.
Clicking on the Pokedex's microphone button, the Pokedex began to speak in a robotic, if feminine, tone.
"ZORUA, THE TRICKY FOX POKEMON. TO PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM DANGER, THEY HIDE THEIR TRUE IDENTITIES BY TRANSFORMING INTO PEOPLE AND POKEMON."
Tapping it again, another Pokedex entry spoke up.
"IF A NORMALLY TALKATIVE CHILD SUDDENLY STOPS TALKING, THEY MAY HAVE BEEN REPLACED BY A ZORUA." A cartoon image of a Zorua and some children flashed on the screen, depicting exactly that sort of event unfolding.
All three human beings looked at the young fox, scaring him off the Professor's shoulders. He also suddenly decided that hiding behind the table was his best bet for survival.
Daisy couldn't help but chuckle at the response, the familiar act reminding her of the times Ash and Gary would hide in the cupboards when someone would call for them back in their house.
He looked back at Delia. "Delia, if I'm not mistaken you told me that a transparent image of Ash appeared behind you when you were in his room, correct?"
The mother nodded, slightly apprehensive.
"If that's the case, then I believe his illusion ability is at fault for that. He might not have the best grasp on the usual Pokemon moves, however…" He looked back down at where the Zorua would have been, a bamboo shoot with a fox tail and ears suddenly in its place.
The Professor smirks. "He might have a model, near-instinctual level of controlling his Illusion ability. Most young kits, and I know that he for certain is a kit, couldn't control theirs' until much later in their life. If my old Unovan colleague's research was still accurate, he might end up having a better grasp on his illusionary skills than most fully grown Zoroark when he evolves."
He coughs into his hand. "Provided, of course, he gets that far in the first place. But I'm certain that's not the answer you're looking for."
Putting the teacup down, he walked over to one of his bookcases and produced another journal from the middle of the sets.
He gestured to call in both the mother and transformed son to look at the book with him. The page he had pulled featured another elaborate illustration of a Zorua and Zoroark, this one named Mother and Child. It featured a nest in the middle of a cave, the mother Zoroark sitting down, and her Zorua pup sleeping on its lap.
This article was co-authored by the formerly mentioned Akari, as well as two more people identified as the venerated Professor Laventon, and Kouki Rei, one of his assistants in the Survey Corps.
"He happens to be an extinct regional variant from Sinnoh, I believe. Once upon a time, it was called Hisui, hence the term Hisuian Zorua."
He pulled back another page. This one described their taxonomy and biology, describing it as a Normal-Ghost type Pokemon that began appearing after the former population of Unovan Zoroark had begun dying off. Unlike the more common varieties from down south and abroad, the Hisuian Zorua was described as the Spiteful Fox Pokemon, a significantly more cynical epithet.
"This variant of Zorua and Zoroark was featured extensively once upon a time some 200 years ago. The local populations of Zorua and Zoroark once looked just like the extant populations we know of all around the world."
His expression turned grim, having turned one of the pages over to a grimy photo of a Zoroark frozen under ice. Although the picture had lost most of its coloring over the years, he could still tell that it was black and red, like the 3D Unovan Zorua from earlier. Off in the distance, the stark white figure of a Hisuian Zoroark could be seen, staring at the camera crew.
A footnote remarked that they'd only noticed the Hisuian Zoroark after their reproductions of the photos had finished. Another footnote stated that Akari had suspicions that the Hisuian Zoroark in the distance was the same Zoroark that was under the ice but had no ability to confirm it herself.
Ash, who finally jumped up to see the images his mother and the Professor had been looking at, hopped over to the side, only for his smile to slowly fade as he processed the morbidity of the image below. He hopped down just after, a haunted look on his face.
For that, Delia gave the Professor a reprimanding look, and Daisy had to run and collect him before he could try hiding away again. Professor Oak rubbed the back of his neck nervously but continued the discussion.
"Ahem. The years had turned the old natives of Sinnoh, then-called Hisui, into hunting most of the Zoroark population into near extinction. Their ghostly nature was caused because of rampant hunting. Do you know why?"
Another page was turned, with an image of a roaring Zoroark being caught off guard by a gaggle of men and women wielding spears and swords, painted in a traditional handscroll. Below the Zoroark was, if Oak could guess, a litter of Zorua.
Though their attempt in illustration was mostly to show it as a triumphant victory for the men and women's village, more modern sensibilities would have recognized the tragedy that was the loss of this family of Zorua.
"They had a reputation for being bloodthirsty killers, and tricksters that none should ever trust. If there was a Pokemon that could inspire such rampant paranoia in ancient times, it was this one." He breathed a deep sigh and closed the journal.
"This is why they're known as spirits of vengeance, Delia. I'm not sure how to say this, but the lad doesn't seem too angry, does he?"
The Zorua in question drooped his ears, contemplating the article about his species. If there was any more doubt that he was alive, then this was the evidence that could land him in jail.
Noticing his distress, his mother picked him up and rubbed his head, and he leaned in closer to her bosom.
"Well, first of all, you should've thought about the subject matter you were reading to us in the first place. Keep talking about death and stuff, and he might end up having another existential crisis." She hugged her son closer, and looked a tad dejected.
She took a deep breath. "Still, I'm not sure, Professor. He seemed to act just like the Ash I know him to be. Besides acting more instinctually like a regular Pokemon…" She started scratching below his neck, the fox purring all the while.
"…He acts just like the Ash I've known for years. If a bit more docile." She looks up at the ceiling in deep thought, scratching him all the while.
The Professor gives her a weird look. "I'm not certain how you could tell considering the very distinct difference in physiology, but I'll take your word for it. In any case, I'd like to ask. Does he know how to control the illusions he makes?"
"Just earlier when I looked down, he turned himself into a bamboo shoot. If a flawed example considering he couldn't help but leave the fox tail and ears on. It makes for a pretty unique sight, I assure you. The examples they gave us back in the academy were equally hilarious." He gave the fox a cursory glance.
"I would suggest making him practice making an illusion of himself if we won't find an answer for his body, but I don't think that would be a good enough solution for you, no?" He stood up and pushed the chair back in. "Well, all this exposition aside, the primary issue. Ash's body, as it appears."
He gestures to his couch, and they all turn to the unconscious boy on the couch. Still not breathing, with a heartbeat slow enough to kill most people. And yet all the same, somehow still alive.
"If your hypothesis is true, and the reason for Ash's unconscious state was that his soul was pulled out and given a physical form… In other words, the Zorua you're currently cradling." His hand pointed at his head. "Then we'll have to figure out a way to make him go back inside of his body."
"I'm certain you've already tried more manual efforts, correct?" Delia and her son shared a look, and they walked towards the body on the couch and put him over the body. Pushing him in didn't seem to work, and neither did their attempts to "transfer their spiritual energies" work particularly well.
"…If he's a Ghost-type, he should be able to figure out how to 'go ghost', should he not? Try... Making him phase into it, perhaps?" Looking at his human body, Ash tried that as well. And yet, all the same, he simply phased through it and went below the couch. His head poked out one of the gaps, sneezing.
A tired look crawled back into the Professor's profile. "Easier said than done, then. Imagine having a ghost who doesn't know how to possess people…" He made a growling noise under his breath, only heard by the sharp-of-hearing fox boy who gave Professor Oak a face.
"My only other leads happen to be the Johto Gym Leader Morty, who's on the other side of the mountain. He's probably too busy with new challengers to entertain my call, anyway. But it would either be him, or…" He put his hand on his chin, and he turned his head towards the wall, the others following him.
His gaze turned to an old black-and-white picture on the wall with two young trainers, holding their gym badges high. One resembled a slightly older Gary Oak wearing a white button-up shirt, and the other was a girl around his age wearing a purple yukata decorated in a chrysanthemum pattern. The Professor, for his part, had a difficult look on his face.
"Agatha. Of the Elite Four, if you couldn't tell. We're well past the end of this year's Pokemon League season, so she'll be unoccupied for the rest of the year. She's an old friend of mine, and practically Morty's mentor. I'll be sure to call her when I have the time" He stood up, still looking at the portrait.
"Well, if that's all, I'll be having my lunch. We're past 1:30 already and we're still in the same place we've started in."
Coughing his hand, he gave a thin smile. "You're free to join us if you want. Daisy?" The younger girl smiled and told the two of them to follow her into the dining room. The fox yipped joyfully, and ran after her, his mother following after.
Curiously, the boy seemed to be most excited at the prospect of eating the Pokemon kibble, usually reserved for the Pokemon living on the ranch. Despite his mother's grievances over him eating Pokemon food in the first place, the dehumanizing aspect fresh on her mind, Ash had enjoyed his lunchtime meal.
A few hours later, they finally went home.
"If you're worried about his body, we'll be sure to keep him in safe hands." Daisy Oak told Mrs. Ketchum, having escorted the two of them after a few more hours of research in the Laboratory library. The sun had begun setting, and it was getting closer to nighttime proper.
The fact that Daisy's brother hadn't decided to barge in at any point was in good fortune. It meant that they had all the time they could need to prepare for his eventual arrival, and make sure he never found the body. They wouldn't have wanted him blabbing about his best friend's current condition, after all, whether it was with his diminutive ghostly fox half or the half-dead human half.
The Professor, having been called into another online conference meeting, could not join them. However, he had given Delia explicit instructions to not let him out, fearing that he could become a target for exploitation.
"Thank you so much for being patient with us, Daisy." She bowed. "I'll be sure to let your grandfather know if we need anything else."
"No problem, ma'am. Just let us know." With a wink and cheeky salute, Daisy waved them goodbye, leaving the premises of the Ketchum household. She walked down the hill, her silhouette disappearing in the distance.
Mother and son looked up at their home, releasing a deep breath they've been holding onto since arriving. She opened the door, seeing that nothing was off, and everything was exactly as they'd left it that morning. She closed all the windows in the house, then closed the door they'd entered from, locking it.
She pulled back a chair from the hallway and sat down on it, putting the fox kit down on the floor. He took this as an invitation to run around the house, his newly acquired tiny stature being the perfect opportunity to run under and over the furniture he couldn't quite wriggle under before.
Delia watched him crawl under the dining table with a thin smile, observing how he'd run under the chairs one by one. And then from a shorter distance away in the kitchen, an open cabinet. After jumping on the counter, he crawled inside of it with a pop, tail poking out of the panel. A few seconds later, having made a ruckus, he poked his head out with a colander on his head.
Delia couldn't help it, she giggled. Shortly after, her smile had faded, and she sighed. Slapped a hand to her face, she looked down at him with a mirthful smile. The Zorua, who stopped his mischief for a moment, looked at her curiously.
"Don't worry, Ash. I just forgot about the breakfast I left for you this morning. I'm so sorry, I'll just go upstairs and clean it up in a bit…" She stood up and ran upstairs. Ash sat down patiently, tail wagging all the while.
A few moments later, she brought everything down, plus a few black feathers courtesy of a Murkrow who decided to fly into his room during their absence. She put the plates away to wash the day after and paused. She put a finger to her chin, contemplating something.
Grinning, she crouched down, facing towards him. "How about I let you sleep next to me tonight? I know you loved getting your room all those years ago, but I feel like a change of pace could make you feel a little better."
The Zorua tilted his head, and gasped, tail wagging even faster. He barked, and even past the melancholy she couldn't help but laugh with him. She climbed up the stairs and beckoned for him to follow.
Closing the lights, she laid down on her bed, too tired to even change her clothes. Rolling over, she looked over to her bedroom window in contemplation.
The fox followed her shortly after. He sniffed the air and finally found his mark. Having prepared to jump, he went up and over the bed, just barely stopping short of the other end. He crawled up to her stomach, and she put her hand over him.
She put a blanket over herself, and his head poked out of it. Even in the dim lighting, she could see him smile so innocently.
That childish, happy look on his face made her feel so much better, despite the circumstances. She wasn't sure how she could move past the melancholy of her only son turning into a Pokemon, and she doubted that she ever will.
She shifted her body slightly, making it easier for her to scratch him in the year. Ash had begun purring. She frowned.
The fact that he couldn't speak normally anymore really rubbed that in, she tiredly notes. Though she supposed that her treatment of him lately hadn't helped her case much.
Still, if there was a feasible way to fix the issue on their hands, she'd take it as soon as it was available. She wasn't sure if there was, of course, but she'd trudge on through regardless. For him.
And that was all that mattered to her.
This chapter was going to be a little bigger, but I saw the writing on the wall and decided that it would be too big for the standards I was working with. I would've found it harder to justify all of those events happening in the same timeframe, anyway.
