PokeMorphisis

My head was spinning. Blades of grass towered over me. I must have been laying here for a while, every part of my body felt stiff and numb. I couldn't get my body to move either, no matter how many signals my brain sent down.

Not like I mind laying here a bit longer, the smushed grass underneath me provided a nice makeshift cushion.

I could see the crown of a couple trees. The sky was adorned with a bright baby blue hue, smudged with white clouds. There was one peculiar looking cloud though…high above from where I was. It seemed to swirl endlessly, a blinking glow emitting right in the eye of the funnel.

A few more minutes had gone by till it finally subsided, only a puff of smoke left behind.

The numbness in my limbs mysteriously started to fade, as if it had left right with that strange purple cloud. I must have been numb for hours, I only regained feeling in three of my fingers on each hand. They felt a little inflamed. More numbness exited down my body as the cool wind made the blades of grass tickle against me. After what felt like forever, I finally felt the courage to push myself up despite the feeling of pins and needles throughout my whole body. I half rolled to one side and with enough motion I pushed myself to the other direction to face the ground.

Maybe I should wait it out a little more…something about my body felt off. I don't remember, or at least from what I could remember, having a pair of red, hairy hands.

What…

Something about my feet was off putting. It was like I had heels on, with the back of my feet raised and slanted. When I tried to stand on two, both of my legs awkwardly gave up and put my ass back on the grass. At least, what I thought was grass.

"YIP!"

Whatever I had sat on sent a stinging pain through my spine. A few tears leaked out my eyes. I attempted to stand back up one more time but I just fell back on all fours.

All fours.

Somehow that felt much more natural than trying to stand on two right now. Time to crawl…

Rustle…Rustle…

Above me emerged a group of Pidgey. The trio flew from tree to tree, most likely looking for food. To my right two Skwovet were in pursuit of a Rattata, who had a round blue object in its mouth.

Shit…wild pokemon! I couldn't stay here for too long, good chance that I get attacked here. I just needed to figure out where I was. There's two nature preserves here in this city but now I just need to find out which one this is so I can navigate myself out. Perhaps if I walk far enough whilst avoiding wilds, I can reach a checkpoint or landmark and get the hell out of here. In fact, there was a familiar pond up ahead.

Might have been the one the one me and my pops used to reel in Magikarp from. I miss him…

I made my way towards the nostalgic pond still trying to get a hang on having to walk on all fours. I could feel something constantly brushing against my legs, it felt extremely fluffy…probably just grass. It started to become an annoyance, so I came to a stop.

As I leaned back and sat down, I finally noticed what was tickling my legs.

"Wha…what?!"

It was black…big and large. It poked between my legs, my…thin stubby legs?

That's not all. My entire body…was covered in fur! Quickly I got up and ran up to the pond. A few startled wild Pokemon scrammed into random directions leaving me alone at the pond as I observed my own reflection. What stared back was nothing of what I resembled for these 20 years that I've been alive. I was…

A Zorua.

"But…how?" I tried searching through my memories from yesterday.

In the morning, helped mom with groceries. Afternoon…well I just went back to my apartment and did nothing, I had the day off. Then I went to sleep…at least I think I did. It still didn't help me figure out how I got here though…

Was it yesterday? For all I know it could have been days since…this happened.

Looking back at my reflection,I noticed a fluffy black scarf wrapped around my neck, but I guess Zoruas usually had that. At least I wouldn't have to worry about getting attacked.

Say… me being a pokemon now, can I talk to and understand other pokemon? Perhaps I can try with some of the nearby pokemon! Up ahead was a trail that curved right around some trees. Perhaps if I followed, it would lead me back to civilization!

Ten minutes into the trail and still no luck. I thought there'd at least be some pokemon along the trail, but no. Just trees over and over again. It did seem pretty weird that there wasn't a single human along this trail, or really anywho. Though…I didn't realise til now how dangerous that was. I could be caught by a trainer! Worse, used as a punching bag for levelling purposes! I really didn't think this through, I should be avoiding this trail, or at least not walk right on the paved path.

My head snapped to the left where rustling could be heard. There was a Pidove picking away at an apple. It must have been pretty immersed in that apple, as it didn't appear to notice me walking up to it. This was my chance to test my theory.

"Hey! Um, would you happen to know where the nearest civilization would be?"

The Pidove, still picking away at the apple without even turning his attention to me spoke through his feasting.

"Goh yeagh! Itsh shoushd be shtu zhe wright ifsh you conti-"

GULP

"Apologies. It should be to the right at a fork if you continue down this trail! Just make sure to watch where you go when you fly, those beedrill are extremely territorial!"

"Oh uh, I don't think I can fly anyway."

The Pidove twisted its head to the side in confusion. It took a slight step back, eyeing me from head to toe.

"Don't think I've seen one of your species ever before, but I've also never really been out of these woods. Must be a pretty ugly place out there if you're from there!"

Ignoring the remark at the end,I explained to him about another possible danger.

"There could still be trainers out there to throw their poke balls at me to try and catch me. Do you know any way to avoid them?"

"Their WHAT? Kid, what are you baffling about?" He replied quite loudly.

"Y-you know! You've probably seen them walking these parts right? They usually walk around throw around these balls at random that they use to capture pokemon like us? N-no?"

The Pidgey had the most displeased face on full display, which soon turned into a glare.

"Balls? Are you trying to tell me something? If you are, I'll have you know, I don't roll that way! People like you disgust me!" Pwtuah.

A lot of the bits of apple he was munching on flew right into my eyes, some even into my mane.

The Pidove started flapping it's wings, the motion pushing him up and off the green grass. Before he turned to leave, he kicked some dirt right into my eyes, causing me to yelp in pain.

"Go pick some fruit while you're at it, you fruit fly!"

The bird was gone in a flash.

It took a bit to recover from that, but I managed to clean my eyes free of the dirt. Couldn't say the same about my mane, some bits were still stuck in there….

I would have to remember the way back to that pond to clean myself later, the pond where me and my…

Hmm…I had a feeling the pond had a very personal connection to me, but I just couldn't remember. Even trying to think about it made me feel nauseous, my head felt like it was shaking. I decided to just ignore it and kept going.

At least I got the directions I wanted. Something good out of whatever the fuck that was. Did he really have no idea about what I was talking about? To be fair, he did mention that he hadn't really been outside of this place, so there's a chance he actually had no idea. Wouldn't people have at least walked through here before?

My trek down the trail continued. I soon encountered the fork that the crazy bird told me about, taking the route to the right. Hopefully no more cuckoos like that guy show up here.

It was quite the long walk, but I had reached an open area. There wasn't much going on here, which was strange because usually there'd be a parking lot in open areas like this. There were some houses up ahead though. Rows and rows of houses.

A door to one of the houses cranked open. Not wanting to be seen and risk getting caught, I rushed towards the nearest bush. Out of the door first came out a Riolu. It seemed very impatient, waving his arms towards himself hastily, waiting for whoever was inside. Most likely its trainer. A split second after, a Lucario stepped out, and then a Lopunny trailing behind who closed the door behind them.

Huh….

Adjacent to that house, another door opened. Two Boltund and one Yamper. They turned and walked towards the edge of the street, where they took a turn to the right. Still no humans. How come they can just walk on their own with free will? There's yet to be a human in sight so… wouldn't hurt to go up and ask them.

It took a bit of a jog to get to them but I managed to catch up. Both Boltund snapped their heads to look behind, startled as I came to an abrupt stop.

"I wasn't chasing you, I swear." In an attempt to put my hands up, or paws, my snout came plummeting down onto the pavement. I'll have to get used to that….

They didn't appear convinced at all, as the presumed mother of looked frightened, protecting the Yamper behind her while cowering behind the other Boltund.

"Is there something you want from us? I have it right here for you." Little sparks started to flow throughout his body.

"Wait! I was just curious about the whereabouts of your owners! You know, since you walked out of that house by yourselves?"

The sparks on his body grew wilder. The scowl on his face turned even more foul.

"Owners? What exactly do you mean by that buddy? Do we not look like the type to own a house, is that what you're saying?"

"Wh-what?! No! That's not what I'm saying!"

"Hell, you're one to talk. Look at you! You don't even LOOK like you could own a home. Got your mane looking like shit splatter at a public restroom."

Well he was right about that at least. Couldn't really get that dirt off me unfortunately, which coincidentally did look like a splatter of shit.

The electricity on his body started to growl heavily. With a grunt, he threw a booming bolt of lightning right near me. My ears rang for a bit, although it wasn't a direct hit, the shockwave the bolt sent out was enough to temporarily deafen me.

Not thinking twice about it, I turned and sped off in the opposite direction.

The pokemon here weren't too nice. But, I guess it wasn't too different back home. Couldn't even take a breather on the sidewalk, some Swanna sprayed me with water, complaining I was ruining the look of her garden. The trainers of these pokemon must not be good at training them if they're acting like this...

Where WERE these pokemon's owners? It seemed like every house I'd pass by, only pokemon would reside in them. How could pokemon even be homeowners? How would a pokemon be able to make money? It wasn't like they could work a regular job, that was for humans! There were a couple exceptions, like being a ride or service pokemon, but only a few pokemon would qualify for that.

I was starting to get an idea of where I was the more I progressed throughout the suburb. There was that church that never seemed to have any visitors, really just took up space. I could vaguely remember something distant about it but the thought slipped my mind. Perhaps my new body was taking a toll on me, I could feel that the state of my mind just wasn't right. With everything that has happened so far, it was hard for me to not feel disoriented.

The sidewalk I was walking on was no longer smooth, but fissured with cracks that were overgrown with grass. Guess this is where the concrete starts getting ugly.

Yep…I must be on the right path then. Right back to my apartment. I came across the familiar children's playground that was connected to a middle school, then further down the street on the side I was walking on, the local market. Despite the fissured sidewalk, the one thing I always adored about this place was the large, tall trees throughout the neighbourhoods. Eventually after minutes of walking, I was here. Guarded by a metal gate, was my home…my apartment! I've lived in this apartment ever since mom kicked me out after I graduated highschool…yep, just like that! Fortunately there was enough money in the bank from working at Jim John's.

Hopefully nothing was stolen from my apartment while I was gone for who knows how long. I made my way to the number pad at the entrance of the gate surrounding the apartment. Some of the paint on it was chipping off, the exposed parts rusting due to age.

Quickly, I typed away at the number pad, a buzzing sound emitting from the box as confirmation. Slowly, the gate rolled to the left at a Magcargo's pace but I was never patient enough for this part, and since I wasn't in a car I just made a dash for the gap that was open.

My apartment was on the second floor just to the right of the top of the stairs. Not wasting any more time, I walked towards the stairs.

It was starting to darken. There had been a curfew placed before sunset city wide due to the people that were going missing in the area. Very strange cases too. The people who had gone missing disappeared without a trace! Not even a piece of clothing from the victims was ever found by the police. Unfortunately…one of those many victims happened to be my dear best friend. Throughout the entire investigation I was there to console her parents the best I could. Hours turned into days, days into weeks, weeks into months, but nothing ever came from the police. It wasn't in her nature to just disappear like that…so we were quick to detect some foul play, the many disappearances that came before and followed after further pushed our theory.

"Hup!"

It was a bit of a challenge to go up the stairs, but I managed to reach the door to my apartment. This door also had a pin pad like all the other doors in the apartment complex, however the pin pad on the door was higher and harder to reach than the one near the gate…

There was no way I was going to be able to reach the pin pad. Fortunately for me there was a stepping stool not too far from. Placing the stool under the pin pad, I stepped up on it and stood on two, resting my weight against the door to balance myself.

0672

The small light on the door handle flashed red and let out a short sequence of beeps.

What?! I've lived here for two years, how can it be incorrect? Maybe I just didn't do it right.

0672

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP

0672

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP

Alright, the landlord must have been fucking with it again. From time to time he'd pull a prank and leave me stranded outside for hours. Oh hoh hoh, he thinks shits funny and that we're buddy-buddy, but if he weren't the owner of this place, I wouldn't be so tolerant of it.

I slammed my head on the door out of frustration. There was no way I could go to the main office like this…They'd probably kick me out thinking I'm some wild pokemon or something.

BZZZZZTT-CLICK

The door slowly crept open. Banging my head on it worked!

I took a step inside, the familiar smell of old carpet wafting my nostrils…

Wump

Augh…my head was spinning, once again. It felt as if so much was just drained from me. It was so strong it knocked me off my feet.

"Where am I?"

Oh right…my…apartment…

Yeah…?

Perhaps I just need some rest. After all, it had been a pretty crazy day. I made my way through the living room, the light of the street lamp illuminating through the half shut blinds. The TV was left on with a commercial about foot cream…

Ugh…

The nausea was growing too strong…can't…stand…

Thump…

Ksshhhkk!

Glass shattered on the ground. I was stumbling so much that my paw landed right over a broken shard. A puddle of red stained the carpet at the lift of my foreleg. Right next to the puddle laid a pile of broken glass, along with a picture frame turned on its back.

Shit…I hope it's not what I think it is!

Using my other paw to avoid staining it with blood, I flicked the frame to avoid staining it, effectively turning it to its front side, and to my surprise…

The frame contained fiveEevee, a Jolteon and a Vaporeon

That's not right…the only picture frame I ever had in my apartment was of mom and dad, the only and last picture of them together.

Yes. The frame. Of…mom and dad?

My head pulsed the worst it has had today, I was so close to throwing up.

I…

I…can't.

Mom and dad…

I can't remember their faces!

My heart beat against my chest. I was hyperventilating under my laboured breaths. I've lived a good 20 years, and I couldn't remember their faces?

"Dammit! Remember damnit! Why can't I remember mom and dad!"

"Who are you and how the hell did you get in here?!"

My head snapped to the right. Peaking around the corner was a little Eevee cowering in fear. Right next to it stood a Vaporeon baring its fangs.

"You better start explaining how you got in here before I fry you into a pile of ashes." Spoke a Jolteon emerging from behind and getting in frontline position, his fur sparking with electricity.

"B-but, this is my apartment!" Not even I was sure what I was saying at this point. Where was I even? How did I get here?

"Please just let me explain first! Before I woke up today in some random forest I was certain I was walking on two feet and not covered in fur. I was human! I-"

The Jolteon rolled his eyes and sighed, chuckling a bit as the electricity he was protruding surrounded his entire body.

"So you're just another one of those dimwit cuckoo's that have lost their minds and claim they were these so-called 'humans', aye? Well listen up buddy, I'm not the one to be playing with. Nobody knows if humans were ever real. It could be a myth for all I know! The man above created only us! Us ya hear!? Don't you bring that blasphemy to my or anyone else's homes! In the name of Arceus, I rebuke you from my home!"

"W-wai-!"

Before I could get the chance to finish, I was charged at by a flurry of electricity. I was launched backwards forcefully, until I came into contact with a solid surface.

Thuck.

"Just to make sure, you acted in self defence, right?"

"Hello?! Do you not understand that if someone you don't recognize is in your home, they're up to no good?." The Jolteon shook his head in disbelief. Is this what "rescue teams" have come to?

"Yeppity! But all I need is an answer sir and this will all be dealt with, lickity-split! Did he attack you first or threaten you?"

"Well…n-no. But, I only attacked because he started talking like a lunatic! Talking about how he was a 'human' and what not, you know how it's been recently with these people. What these people should be doing is praying instead of breaking into people's homes! And what's with all these people showing up out of thin air? Have y'all bunch solved that?! Or do y'all just not care!"

"We promise you, we're doing every investigation possible sir! Now you mentioned that he mentioned something about he was human, care to give us more info on that?"

The Jolteon shook his head again and sighed, turning back to the inside of the apartment byr not closing the door.

"Well, besides that, my wife did mention she overheard him saying something along the lines of 'why can't I remember mom and dad?' And then he mentioned that it was 'his' apartment. Obviously not with all that dirt and grime all over his fur…" The Jolteon sucked in spit and spat out, aiming directly at the knocked Zorua.

"O-okay! Alright! We'll take it from here…"

The door was shut.

The Floragato lifted her wrist up to her mouth, and spoke directly into a wristband.

"Andy…I'm taking this guy with us."