The sun shone brightly in the clear, blue sky above the plains to the east of Treasure Town, raining its light down on the vast and lush expanse of green. Patches of flowers of all kinds covered some more of the land, with the soft breeze that was blowing carrying their captivating scent across the land. The day was quite warm and calm, the kind of day most Pokémon would spend by either taking a nap under a tree or even in their homes. It just made everyone want to relax.

There were two young females, however, who chose to spend the day in a different way. After all, what was the point of such great weather if everyone just napped about?

A long and slim brown figure dashed nimbly across the fields and through the flowers, scattering some of them about, while a smaller, lavender one followed behind her as quickly as she could in hopes of catching up.

"Come on, Lilian!" the first one called teasingly at the one behind her. "Keep in step with me!" Her long, thin body was covered in cream-colored fur, with brown rings going down from her body all the way to the tip of her tail. Her forepaws and the two stripes on each of her cheeks were brown as well, while her hind paws maintained a creamy coloration. "You're falling behind!" the Furret said playfully.

"It's not fair, Amber!" the other one answered, running as fast as her dainty, feline paws allowed her to. "You know I'm not as quick as you are!" This creature was much smaller. Her body was covered all the way from her large ears to the twin tips of her tail with clear, lavender-colored fur, and a small, red gem on her forehead seemed to glow with the sunlight. She was an Espeon, and right now, she was having trouble just seeing her friend, as the flowers kept obstructing her view.

"Come on, come on!" Amber answered, stopping once she was out of the patch of flowers to wait for her friend.

Shortly after, the Espeon came out of the flowers as well and saw the Furret standing right in front of her, waiting for the moment she came out to just dash away again. "Hey!" Lilian said, not expecting Amber's sudden move. "Wait!"

"It's been almost ten minutes now!" Amber answered as they kept running. "You'd better get me or I'll win our little bet!"

"Ooh ..." Lilian sped up as fast as she could, but couldn't catch up to the much faster Furret. She was quick, sure, but Amber was twice as fast. Finally, she seemed to get close enough to jump on her, but missed and hit the grass with a frustrated grunt when Amber sped up the moment she was going to catch her.

"Got you thinking you could catch me back there, didn't I?" Amber said, stopping to look at Lilian, who didn't get up after landing on the grass. "Hey ... Lilian?" She scooted over to the apparently unconscious Espeon, her tone showing a slight concern. "Lilian? Lilian?!" She moved closer until she was right next to her friend, then leaned in to see of she was okay: her mistake.

"Gotcha!" Lilian suddenly sprang towards the Furret and grabbed her, sending them both rolling down a gentle slope to their right, giggling all the way.

"Hey!"

"It's allowed!" Lilian answered before her friend could say anything as they kept rolling downhill. They finally came to a stop at the bottom of the slope and moved away from each other. Lilian stopped to clean some of the grassy slope's dirt of her paws before looking at Amber. "So, I win!"

"Fine ..." Amber answered, looking down in disappointment. She had been less than a minute from winning the bet she and Lilian had made earlier that day. "What do you want to do?"

"Well," Lilian looked up, thinking, "we could go fishing!" She quickly changed her mind, however. "No, wait ... I don't like water. Wanna go put a fake rescue note at the guild like you did last time?"

"Last time we did that your parents grilled us and had to pay five hundred to the team that actually thought your request was true," Amber said before the idea had a chance to latch on to the Espeon's mind. Though she did enjoy those kinds of jokes, she knew Lilian would be all for the plan until the time to act actually came. That's when the Espeon became the 'goodie two-shoes' and didn't want to help anymore.

"Fine ... how about a walk in the forest?"

"Boring."

"No, come on!" Lilian said. "We can just go, have a nice walk ... I bet the forest is really nice on a day like this!"

"I'm taking that bet," Amber shook her head a little. "If the forest sucks, I get to pick what we do!"

"Okay!" Lilian cheered as she walked towards a group of trees in the distance. "Come on!"

Those were Lilian and Amber. An Espeon and Furret from Treasure Town, located in the Pokémon World. They met one day quite some time ago when Lilian was idly walking, looking up at the sky, and bumped against the Sentret that would later become her best friend.

Lilian tended to be flaky, forgetful, and very curious, and would often end up daydreaming if she didn't find something interesting to do. Everyone would have assumed evolving into an Espeon would have made her personality a little more serious or down-to-earth, but, if anything, it only made her even more curious of the world around her; a quality that, more often than not, got her in trouble.

Amber, on the other paw, was more focused but also far more playful than Lilian was. She enjoyed practical jokes, especially if she could get Lilian to participate and would usually end up being scolded because her flaky friend would forget or regret playing her part of the prank. They ended up arguing a lot because of this, but they still managed to maintain a strong friendship in spite of it. And, though not as curious as her friend, she did enjoy the occasional adventure and rule-breaking.

And their adventure for the day: a walk in the forest. Wasn't that exciting...?

Don't answer.


***


A buzz sounded off in a room as an alarm clock on a nightstand hit 8:30, making a lump lying under the covers of a bed start wiggling and flailing its arms about, trying to get the clock.

"Five more minutes...!" the man groaned, feeling around blindly for the clock before finally finding and slamming it with his hand, silencing it. "Ah, that's better ..." he mumbled as he went back to sleep. His victory over the clock was short-lived, however, as he felt two strong smacks across the face pull him back to reality.

He bounced to his senses and sat up on his bed to notice the elegant, thin figure of a Delcatty sitting on his lap with a stern and serious expression.

"Thanks a lot, Violet," the man said as he stroked the feline's back with one hand and used the other one to rub his own cheek, which had reddened slightly from the slap. "I guess they call it Wake-Up Slap for a reason, huh?" The Delcatty nodded, purring. "You're still pretty tough ... Well," he said as the Pokémon moved off his lap, allowing him to get up, "gotta get ready now." He got up, headed for the room's window, and opened the drapes, letting light into the room.

He had short, brown hair, hazel eyes and was rather skinny. He was wearing a long grey shirt and dark green briefs, which he wore to sleep. His overall appearance suggested he was someone calm, or at least somewhat mellow. That was Victor; a former trainer whom life didn't treat too kindly. His days living and traveling as a trainer were a bit of a failure, as he only managed to beat one gym in all those years. Now, at age 22, he lived in a small, two-room apartment with Violet, his Delcatty. He used to have a roommate, who left after getting a job as a coordinator. Before, with his help, Victor was able to live a steadier life, affording a few luxuries (videogames, going to the movies every weekend, beach trips), but nowadays, he was barely able to make rent and pay his bills with only a little money to spare.

He walked into the bathroom to take a shower before heading off to work, with Violet following behind him. He turned the water on and took his shirt off. Then, becoming very aware that he was being watched, he turned around to see the Delcatty looking intently at him. "Hey, Violet ... could I have some privacy?"

Violet just turned around and left, offended. It wasn't like she hadn't seen him like that before when they went to the beach or years ago when he would stop to take a bath in a lake. Besides, she seldom asked for him to let her follow him.


A little while later, a fully-dressed Victor was walking out of his room, wearing a white dress shirt, black pants and shoes, the required outfit for his work, stopping to get some breakfast before heading out. He put a plate and glass on the counter, took a sandwich he had made the night before, and finally sat down to eat. He hadn't taken one bite when he was approached by Violet, who was expecting to get something to eat herself.

"I totally forgot!" Victor said, getting up, opening a cabinet, and taking a bag of food out. "Sorry, Violet." He grabbed a bowl and poured the food into it, then handed it to the Delcatty, who got to eating at once. "Bon appétit! We're running out of food, though," he commented, noticing how light the bag had become. "I'll go and get you some more when I get out of work, okay?"

Violet looked up to him and nodded, then continued eating.

"Well," Victor took the last bite of his sandwich before getting up and heading for the door. "I'm off to work, Violet. Wish me luck!"

"Del!" Violet answered, brushing affectionately against his legs with a soft purr.

"Okay, see you later, Violet!" Victor bade farewell, taking his coat, stepping out into the hallway and closing the door, leaving the Delcatty alone in the kitchen.

"Ah, poor guy ..." Violet sighed once her trainer was gone. "I really wish he had a less demeaning job than that one. He deserves better."


***


"So far?" Amber said as she and Lilian walked around the forest. "It sucks. Can I pick what to do now?"

"Not yet!" Lilian replied, distancing herself from her friend towards a flower that was growing at the base of a tree. "Never seen this one before!" she told Amber, who moved closer to look at the flower as well. Lilian leaned towards the flower and took a few deep sniffs; unfortunately, the flower's pollen caused her to sneeze, blowing the flower's petals away. "Oh, now it's all ugly ..."

"See? Even the flower had a bad time!"

"Oh, come on!" Lilian began walking again with Amber walking along her. "There's gotta be something fun to do in the forest! What about ..." She looked up at the dark canopy of the woods above her, which prevented any of the abundant sunlight from filtering into the forest. "Wanna climb a tree?"

"I do that every day, Lil," Amber replied, evidently bored. "Your plan blew hard, so it's my turn to choose what to do. I say we-"

She didn't finish as a rustle caught both their attentions. The Espeon and Furret turned to find the source of the noise, some nearby bushes, and something was moving in them. However, the noise disappeared and the bush stopped moving the moment they noticed it.

"Hello?" Lilian greeted, walking towards the bush with her eyes gaining that lively glow they did whenever something got her curious. "Is anyone there? I promise we won't hurt you!"

"Maybe it was just the wind," Amber said, walking cautiously towards the bush as well, ready to jump away if it was anything dangerous. "You know, these woods are pretty windy ... I think."

"No," Lilian looked back at Amber. "I saw something! I'm sure!"

"Well, then ... let's poke it!"

"Right!" Lilian nodded, then turned back to the bush and kept walking until she was right in front of it. She slowly raised her paw, the thrust it into the bushes with a loud "Surprise!"

A deafening shriek came from the bush as a black bulge emerged from the bushes, dashing away deeper into the forest. Lilian, who was closer to the bush, closed her eyes and shook her head a little at the intensity of the noise.

"What the hell was that?!" Amber walked over to the Espeon and poked at her with her paw. "Are you okay?"

"Um ... yeah," Lilian answered, opening her eyes and looking in the direction whatever came out of the bushes headed. "That was a little creepy," she commented, with her eyes beginning to take that glow again.

"Oh, no ..." Amber noticed Lilian's expression and foresaw her intentions. "Lilian, don't tell me we're going after that thing!"

"Wouldn't you like to?" Lilian cheerfully responded. "You wanted an adventure, and this could be one! Come on!"

"Well ..." she stood there for a while, thinking, before suddenly taking off in the same direction. "Last one there's a Grimer egg!"

"Wha- hey!" Lilian took off after her friend, laughing. Once again, they were just chasing each other. It wasn't exactly the most complex game, but she had to admit it was very entertaining.

They ran through the forest, Lilian chasing Amber and both of them chasing after that mysterious thing that emerged from the bushes. One thing they didn't notice as they were caught up in both the chase and their own games was that the forest seemed to get darker and murkier the deeper they went. The green of the leaves and brown of the tree trunks slowly shifted to a dull grey, and the already dark woods became twice so. Finally, they came to a stop when they caught sight of the mysterious figure once again. Hiding behind a shrub to prevent it from seeing them, both watched as it floated towards the face of a mountain and entered a cave. Once they were sure it was gone, the Furret and Espeon stepped out from the shrub and headed for the cave, stopping in front of the entrance.

"I wonder where this leads ..." Lilian said, raising her paw to take a step forward, but lowering it almost immediately, not sure whether she should go in or not. "Should we go in?" She looked at Amber. "I mean, I want to see what's in there, but ... don't you think it's dangerous?"

"I like dangerous!" Amber answered, puffing her chest. "Besides, worse comes to worst, we just run away!"

"I guess ..." Lilian replied, walking forward towards the entrance a little. She was still nervous, but in the end, her curiosity got the best of her. "Come on, Amber. Let's have a look!"

"Okay!" Amber nodded, walking towards the cave as well. They were about to enter when they were stopped by a white, slender figure that got in their way.

"Stop!" the Absol said, standing in front of the cave's entrance in a way that prevented them from entering, her paws firmly anchored to the ground in case either of them tried to push her aside.

Lilian and Amber stared at the Absol for a while before recognizing her. She was Jena, an Absol that would come into town every now and then to try and get some work catching wanted criminals. Her attitude was a much too serious one: she seldom spoke unless she was spoken to, and even then, any conversations with her usually didn't last too long. An average chat with her would be something along the lines of:

"Hi, Jena!"
"...Hello."
"How've you been?"
"Fine. Goodbye."

And if anyone ever managed to get in a conversation with her that lasted more than six phrases, it was because she really liked them.

"Hi, Jena!" Lilian greeted the Absol, walking over to her and nuzzling her cheek as a sign of affection. "How've you been?"

"Caught any criminals of late?" Amber added, staying in place. She wasn't one for greetings like that.

"Don't think I'm letting you through," Jena answered, not moving either, watching as Lilian sat in front of her. "This cave is a forbidden place. Those who go in never come back, and I've inherited the duty of guarding it."

"Never come back?" Lilian curiously asked. "Why? What's inside?"

"I've never gone to look," Jena replied. "If I did, I would never come back."

"Uh-huh ..." Amber walked towards Jena and stood in front of her. She was considerably taller than the Absol, probably because she was standing on her hind paws. "Could we have a look?"

"No."

"Come on!"

"I don't know, Amber ..." Lilian answered. "What if we never come back?"

"We'll come back!" Amber reassured her. "I bet the ones who went inside were some of those self-proclaimed big, tough explorers who thought they could handle it. If things get ugly, we'll just run!"

"You're not going in there," Jena firmly answered, growling.

"Okay, you win!" Amber answered, walking back into the shrub she and Lilian were hiding in and gesturing for her to come. Both the Espeon and Absol seemed thrown-off by her sudden change of heart, but Lilian followed nonetheless.

"What is it, Amber?" Lilian asked as she and her friend hid again.

Amber peeked out to see if Jena was still standing guard; she was. Once she was sure of that she turned to look at Lilian. "So, Lil, how are we getting in there?"

"What?" Lilian sounded a tad surprised by the Furret's words. "So, you mean we're really going in there?"

"Well, yeah!" Amber replied. "I bet there's something pretty amazing in there!"

"But Jena said-"

"-She must be making it up!" Amber interrupted. "Maybe she has something there she simply doesn't want us to see. Like, treasure, or a diary ... or maybe the boy she likes!"

"You think?" Lilian asked, imagining what someone like that might look like. She couldn't deny it: she was very curious of seeing what the cave had, but she had no idea how they'd be getting in.

"Of course! I bet she has him chained up or something. It's always the quiet ones who do things like that!" She stopped when she noticed Lilian was looking up at a single, small berry that was dangling from a tree above them, no longer listening to her. "Lilian!" she called, regaining the Espeon's attention.

"Yeah?" Lilian blinked a little, looking at her.

"We're going in there!"

"But I'm not sure ..." Lilian replied.

"Oh, come on!"

"I don't wanna disappear ..."

"Okay," Amber answered. "I didn't want it to come to this, but ... this is what I wanna do! We agreed I'd get to pick if the forest sucked and it did, so: we're going in the cave!"

"Maybe we should just go back home," Lilian nervously said. "I mean, our parents are probably looking for us, and we're here ..."

"Uh-huh," Amber nodded, smiling in a cunning fashion. "I get it: you're scared."

"I'm not scared!"

"You are. You're real, real scared!"

"No!"

"Then go in there with me!"

"Um ..." Lilian looked down, thinking. "I'm not scared..." she whispered, then looked up at the Furret. "I'm not scared and I'll show you!"

"Okay, then!" Amber said in an upbeat tone. "Let me see ..." She peeked out again and sighed: Jena was gone, and their way into the cave was clear now. "Come on!" she told Lilian as both sneakily left the shrub and headed towards the cave. They were almost in now! Just a few more steps ...

"Maybe I wasn't clear enough," they heard as the Absol landed in front of them, blocking their path again. "Go away."

"You were very clear, Jena," Amber answered, clearly up to something. "It's just we wanted to- run, Lilian, run!" she suddenly yelled as she easily snuck past the Absol thanks to her slim build. And, while Jena was distracted staring as Amber ran into the cave, Lilian ran past her, leaving her behind.

"No, wait!" Jena barked as she saw the two vanish into the cave. "Ugh, those airhead girls don't know what they're getting into ..."


If the forest outside the cave was dark, Lilian and Amber needed to come up with a whole new word to describe the cave's interior. The tunnel seemed to go on forever, meeting no end, with the only source of light being groups of small, pink wisps that floated around in a mystifying way. Lilian tried to catch one, but the moment her paws came in contact with it, it faded away. And right now, both the Espeon and Furret were walking close to each other as to avoid getting lost.

"I don't know if this was such a good idea ..." Lilian murmured. "I know I already said this, but what if we never come out?"

"We'll have to live in here, then!" Amber nonchalantly replied. "Come on, the mountain's not too big. We're probably nearing the end of the cave right now!"

"You think?"

"Totally!"

"Okay, then ..."

"Who dares tread the path of the forgotten?" the deep voice echoed across the cave, making the fur on both Lilian and Amber's backs stand on end.

"Okay," Amber commented, "now that can't be good."

"This is the road to the complete change of your fates," they heard again. "A road towards the loss of all you know and held dear ..."

"We should go back, Amber ..." Lilian said nervously, beginning to shiver.

"Come on, Lil!" Amber kept pushing forward. "I bet this is just one of Jena's tricks in case anyone sneaks past her!"

"Abandon all hope, ye who enter here ..."

"Oh, like no one's said that before," Amber answered. She wasn't sure if whoever was talking could hear her, but she still wanted him to.

"Um ..."

"Come on!" she told Lilian. "Don't tell me you're not even a little bit curious of what the source of the voice is!"

"I am," Lilian didn't scare easy. Most of the time, she'd be too busy in her thoughts to even notice things that would make others freeze in fear. The one thing that she was afraid of, however, was the unknown. If there was something that she couldn't see or hear, she'd be afraid of it. "But it's just, what Jena said-"

"-Was all made up! Come on!"

The two kept venturing forward into the sinister and apparently endless interior of the cave. Though they were both a tad nervous at first, right now Amber was pushing forward, and Lilian was following behind because she didn't want to leave her friend alone. Eventually, they reached the end of the cave at a large chamber. Cracking sounds were made by every step they took, and there was an odd scent in the air that made their nostrils flare.

"I warned you!" the deep voice came again before the pink light flooded the room, allowing them to see where they were standing. The ground was littered with bones of all sizes; the scent was probably coming from them. Amber cringed a little at the sight, while Lilian didn't seem to notice it at all; she was busy jumping and trying to catch some more of the wisps. And right there, before their eyes, a shadow emerged in the middle of the room. A large, bulky and dark figure rose about twice their sizes. On its body, it had what looked like a sinister, crooked smile, and on its head, a yellow antenna and a single red eye, gleaming in a malevolent way. "Your end comes today!" He hovered towards Lilian first, trying to frighten her. "I am the darkest monster! Are you ready to-huh?" The Dusknoir stopped, staring awkwardly at the Espeon who was staring at his stomach. "What are you looking at?"

"Your belly must be real happy. Is it always smiling? Or have you ever seen it frown?" Lilian asked curiously as she poked the Dusknoir's stomach, no longer scared. She had been afraid when she had no idea of who the one talking to them was, but now he was there, and she found his appearance to be quite amusing.

"What ..." The Dusknoir seemed thrown-off by her answer. "I said your end comes today! Aren't you scared?!"

"Nope," Lilian replied, poking at one of the bones on the ground and making it crumble. "These are fake!"

"What?! How did you-"

"-She's right," Amber said, smashing another bone. "Now that I notice it, they crumble away the moment we touch them."

"And the smell ..." Lilian sniffed at the air, following the trail to a bag that was buried amongst the bones. "Ew!" She leaned away from the bag before swatting it away with her paw. "This is all fake! You're not a real monster!"

"I am!" the Dusknoir answered. "I really am!" He raised his arms in a macabre way, trying to frighten them. "I will ... I will eat you both alive!"

"But why would you make those bones?" Lilian asked. "Don't you want to have any guests over?"

"Well, I-"

"And if you want to look creepy," Amber smashed some more of the fake bones, "you should look angrier. That dumb mug you have isn't scaring anyone."

"Wha- hey!"

"Forget my last question. How can you even make those bones?" the Espeon kept poking at the Dusknoir's stomach.

"They're illusions, but that's not the point! I meant that I-"

"-And you should also go on a diet," Amber continued, looking at the Ghost-type's build. "Chubby and scary are not the same."

"Stop!" the Dusknoir yelled, quite upset at their words. "If you two don't stop bothering me right now, I swear you will regret it!"


"What'll you do?" Lilian asked.

"Yeah, will you sit on us or something?"

"Enough!" The Dusknoir was at the limit of what his patience allowed him to take. "This is your last warning!" he said as he puffed his chest and made the mouth painted in his stomach open into a gaping maw. "If you don't stop, I won't be responsible for my actions!" His tone was as threatening as could be, yet he failed to impose in any way.

"Whoa," Lilian looked at the maw. "Is that how you eat? That must be weird, isn't it?"

The Dusknoir finally snapped. He raised his arms and yelled in rage before a 'black hole' of sorts began to form in his stomach's maw, starting to pull in only air and some of the bones, yet widening as more was dragged into it.

"I think we ticked him off!" Lilian said as loudly as she could so Amber could hear her through the gust that was blowing.

"Oh, you think?!" Amber answered, hanging on to a rock, closing her eyes.

"Yeah!" Lilian hung on to her friend's tail in order to avoid being dragged into the rift.

They both hung on as strongly as they could before even the rock began being pulled. After this, it was only a few seconds before the rock was ripped from the ground and thrown into the black hole, taking Lilian and Amber with it. The Espeon and Furret fell into nothing, crying at the sensation of falling into the empty darkness.

"Stop!" Jena roared as she leapt, landing in front of the Dusknoir, anchoring herself to the ground as strongly as she could once again, this time to avoid being pulled.

"An Absol?! So you're the one who gets to keep me here now?!" the Dusknoir said before making the black hole intensify.

"Must ... hang ... on!"


***


"This isn't what I ordered!" the man said angrily, slamming his fist against the table.

"I'm sorry, sir!" Victor apologized. That was his job: he was a waiter. It really wasn't a great job or something he'd be remembered for, but it gave him enough to survive. He was wearing a black apron and holding a tray with two mugs in one hand while leaning in to listen to the customer's complaint. "What's the problem?"

"I asked for a Cast-cake, sun form, low sugar, double cream, with ground lemon on top!"

"And?"

"Where is my lemon?!"

"I'm sorry, sir!" Victor bowed, taking the cake and putting it on the tray. "I'll be right back with your lemon!" He walked away into the kitchen, and once he was sure the client couldn't listen, he mumbled, "Every Monday night's the same ... you big, huge freak! Who puts lemon on this anyway?"

Once inside the kitchen, he was approached by one of the cooks, who noticed him carrying the cake on his tray.

"Hey," the cook greeted Victor. "Something wrong with the cake?"

"You forgot the lemons," Victor answered, placing the cake on the table.

"Right!" the cook answered, heading into a cabinet, and taking out a can with a white label and the words 'lie lemons' written on pencil. "It's Monday night!" He opened the can and let some of the yellow shreds fall on the cake before closing the can and putting it back in the cabinet. "Done!"

"Wait ... 'Lie lemons'?" Victor asked, placing the cake back on the tray. "So, the lemons are a lie?"

"Vic," the cook said, smiling, "the whole cake is a lie."

"What-"

"As if we were going to spend so much money on ingredients for something just one guy orders! That's not financial sense!"

"I see..." Victor smiled as well, thinking of how that one client had, apparently, been tricked all that time. "Clever!" He left the kitchen to deliver the client's meal to his table and came back with an even broader smile. The moment he had been given the cake, the man took a bite and complimented the exquisite taste, identical to the ones he ate so long ago. "Man buys the whole thing," Victor chuckled.

"Hey," the cook approached him again. "Did he fall for it?"

"Like he does every Monday night," Victor nodded.

"Cool," the cook answered, looking at the clock on the kitchen wall. "It's 8:30 already! Vic, your shift ended about an hour ago, why are you here?"

"Really?" He looked at his right hand to check his watch, which was frozen on 7:00. "And my watch doesn't work ... does it get any better than this?"

"Well," the cook said as he pulled out a bag of Pokémon food from under the table. "If it makes you feel better, I got you that Pokéchow you wanted!"

"Great, thanks," Victor answered, digging into his pockets to get the money and pay for the food. His hands rummaged in his pockets for a while before he realized he had only about half the money. "Hey, can I pay this tomorrow?"

"It's a gift, man," the cook answered. "Take it. And give Violet my best, huh?"

"Thanks!" Victor said as he took the apron off, put his coat on, and headed for the back exit, carrying the Pokéchow under his right arm. "So, see you tomorrow, Guy?"

"Sure! See ya tomorrow!"


The streets were empty as Victor made his way back home, carrying the food for his Delcatty. He hated Monday night. That was the shift during which that high-maintenance, overly demanding client would come and ask for the same meal, yelling at anyone who got one detail of his complex orders wrong. Fortunately, his shift was over now, and soon he would get home, put some TV on, and forget about life for the rest of the day. His mind was brought back to reality as he heard a whimper coming from his right. He turned to see a lone Poochyena digging into a knocked-over trashcan, trying to find something to eat.

He couldn't help but feel sympathy for the little pup. He stood there, staring for a while before deciding to help it kill off some hunger. "Hey!" he called, making the Poochyena turn around, alarmed. "No! I'm not gonna hurt you! Here," he opened the bag and poured some food, making a small mound that he pushed towards the Poochyena, "have something better to eat."

The canine stared distrustfully at him for a while before deciding to approach and take some of the food. And once he made sure the Poochyena was eating, Victor kept walking, leaving the other one behind. Anytime he saw an abandoned Pokémon out in the streets, he'd try to do something to help it; usually, that meant giving some food, and this often resulted in a very upset Violet, who only received half her ration when he got home since he had spent the rest on stray Pokémon.

He turned to go into a darker street, but stopped. Those streets were dangerous at that time of the night, so he was better off taking the longer but safer route by the park. Deciding to go with the latter, Victor went the other way into a park on the other side of the street, whistling. Going through there meant traveling safer, as there were reports of gangs and thieves around the streets he was going to cut through in the first place.


Lilian opened her eyes, her vision still a little blurry from the hit she had taken when she fell. Once her vision returned to normal, she looked around to get an idea of where she was. There were some bushes, with a tree rising right next to where she was, covering her. Though the tree made it harder to see, she noticed it was nighttime, but was not too sure of what had happened. She and her friend Amber had been teasing a not-scary-at-all Dusknoir, to the point the ghost lost his temper and pulled both of them into a black hole. She remembered feeling a little scared, not knowing what was going to happen to her, yet it appeared everything had gone okay. Except for...

"Amber?" she called, awaiting her friend's answer, but none came. "Amber?" she weakly got back up and tried to look for her friend, but several things happened at once that came as a shock to her. First, her attempt at walking on all fours went ... well, wrong. She just felt like she couldn't do it without being about to fall. Second, when she looked down to see what was wrong with her hind legs, she was quite shocked to see that she had developed breasts, much like a Gardevoir or Jynx had. And third, when she looked at her paws, she realized they were not paws anymore: they were hands! It all came as a huge surprise as she fell flat against the grass, feeling it tickle her body in a way it didn't use to before.

She stopped for a while to think. If her body looked so much like a Gardevoir's, then she'd probably have to learn to walk like one. With some trouble, she got up to her feet and took a few steps, trying to get used to the strange situation she was being put through. A few steps later she got the hang of it, and decided to head out to find her friend. The first thing she needed to know, however, was where she was, and for that she needed the help of someone else. She peeked out the bushes to see if anyone passed by so she could ask him.


Victor was making his way through the park, hoping he could get home before a storm that seemed to be approaching arrived. He was walking hastily, trying to beat the rain before it reached him. He stopped, however when he heard a 'psst!' from the side of the small dirt road. He turned to his right to see who was calling him, and all he saw was the head of an Espeon, coming out from the bushes. Or at least, it looked like an Espeon: the lavender fur and purple eyes, the large cat ears, the red gem in her forehead. The one thing that seemed out of place, however, was the long silver hair cascading down her head. That was something he had never seen on an Espeon as for him to know whether it was normal or not, but it certainly made for an odd sight.

"Yeah?" he asked, walking closer to the bushes.

Lilian couldn't believe her eyes: a human! These were creatures she had only heard about in stories, but she never expected to see one in real life! Still, he was the only one around, so there was no harm in asking him. "Hey ... where am I?"

"Whoa!" Victor jumped back, staring at Lilian. Did the Espeon just talk to him? And not by telepathy, but with actual words! "Y-you can talk?"

"Well of course I can talk!" Lilian answered. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because you're a Pokémon. You are... aren't you?"

"Yeah!" Lilian replied. "Haven't you ever seen one before? Look," she said, stepping out of the bushes. "See? I'm a Pokémon!"

Victor froze when he saw her. Indeed, she could have been a Pokémon. She had the features the body of any Espeon would have: the lavender fur, the twin-tipped tail. However, he couldn't help but notice her more human traits, like her firm breasts with their pink tips ... she was naked! Why in the world would a girl (if she could be called one) be naked in a park in the middle of the night? He couldn't help moving his eyes further down ... After that, all he could remember was feeling lightheaded before his vision turned hazy and he fell backwards to the floor.


About an hour later, he woke up in the bushes to see Lilian staring curiously at him, clearly unaware of the reasons for which he fainted in the first place.

"Hey, are you okay?" Lilian asked, looking at him. "What happened to you?"

"I don't know!" he lied. If he told her what had really happened, his cheek would probably end up redder than it did when Violet slapped him.

"Well, are you okay now? And what was that lump between your-"

"-I'm okay now!" Victor hurriedly answered.

"Okay. Can you tell me where I am now?"

"Where you are?" Victor slowly sat up. "You're in Snowbell City. How can you not know where you are if you are here?"

"Well ... I sort of just arrived," Lilian answered. "But thanks for telling me!" She nuzzled his cheek in a sign of affection as she did with others, but that only made the human feel even more awkward. "Hey, have you seen a Furret?"

"I've seen many," Victor answered, "but none of late. Are you looking for one?"

"Yup," Lilian answered. "She's sort of my best friend."

"And, is she a Pokémon like you or-"

"-All Furret are Pokémon!"

"No, I meant, like, well, standing on two legs, and ... well... with a human-like body."

"I don't know," Lilian answered. "I guess she might be..."

"Well, searching for her at this time of night with no clothes on will only get you in trouble," Victor replied as he got up and picked up the bag of Pokéchow. "You'd better go home and search tomorrow."

"Home?"

"You do have a place to stay, right?" Victor asked.

"No ..." Lilian looked around. "But I can stay here!" She walked towards a bench and lied down on it. "See?"

"Uh-huh ..." Victor didn't feel right about leaving her there. Leaving a naked girl to sleep in a bench in the middle of a park was sure to get her in trouble, so maybe there was nothing wrong with what he was about to say. "Why don't you come with me?"

"What?"

"Yeah," Victor nodded. "Why not? Just come along and stay until you can find a place."

"Oh, thank you!" Lilian got up and hugged him, pressing her body against his and making him feel like he was about to faint again.

"It's nothing," Victor answered. "But first ..." He couldn't leave a naked girl in the middle of a park, but he couldn't be seen walking around with one either, so he took his coat off and put it on her. "Cover yourself with this. You'll get in trouble if you get seen without any clothes."

"Clothes?" she asked, closing the coat around herself as she was told.

"Yeah, well ... nudity's a delicate subject among humans. You'd better learn that."

"Why would it be wrong to walk around without having to wear these pieces of cloth and fabric?" Lilian asked, feeling uncomfortable yet incredibly warm at the sensation of the coat on her.

"Because ..." Victor stopped, thinking. "You know? I really don't know why." He started walking and gestured for her to follow him. "Come on."

"Okay!"


"So, what's up with you?" Victor asked as he and Lilian walked down the streets towards his building.

"Well ... I'm from Treasure Town."

"Treasure Town?" Victor replied. "Never heard of it."

"It's a very famous place," Lilian answered.

"And your name?"

"My name is Refin Viridia Lilianya Mira," Lilian answered.

"Wow ... that's ... a mouthful. Mind if I just call you Lilian?"

"Everyone does," the Espeon-turned-human answered. "And you?"

"I'm Victor Perry," he answered. "It's good to meet you, Lilian."

"You too."

Finally, they reached his building. Victor unlocked the gate and left it open so Lilian could walk in, then walked in himself and closed it behind him. The two went up the stairs all the way to his apartment. Victor opened the door and once again held it open so Lilian could walk in, following in himself.

"Home sweet home!" Victor said, stretching with a yawn. "Violet, I'm home!"

"Good, I can take this off at last!" Lilian sighed in relief as she took the coat off, once again revealing her body to the human.

"Yeah," Victor looked away, "we've got to find you some clothes."

"Del!" Violet greeted cheerfully as she walked into the kitchen, but stopped at once when she noticed Lilian standing near her trainer with no clothes on. Her cheerful meow turned into more of a low hiss as she sat and watched the two.

"Oh, hey, Violet!" Victor greeted her. "This is Lilian. She'll be staying with us for a while, so be nice to her, okay?" He opened the door and headed out into the hallway again. "I'll be right back, okay? Remember: be nice!" He closed the door, leaving the Delcatty and former Espeon alone.

"Um ... hi!" Lilian greeted, looking at he Delcatty.

Violet just sat there, staring sternly at Lilian with a serious expression before uttering a low "Don't you dare touch him or I'll make your life a living hell."


Victor knocked on the door of the apartment one floor above his. That's where his friend Alexia lived. Shortly after, a thin, blonde woman wearing white jeans and a blue top opened the door, looking at him. "Oh, hey, Vic. What's up?"

"Er ... clothes," Victor answered, making some 'dress-up' motions with his hands.

"Yeah, you're wearing some this time!" Alexia laughed.

"No, I mean ... clothes. I need to borrow your clothes."

"What?" Alexia asked, clearly weirded-out by his request. "What would you need my clothes for?"

"I have a ... cousin over. She had an accident, and she's out of clothes, so ... could I borrow some old clothes for her?"

"Oh, sure!" Alexia answered, going into her apartment and coming out after a while. "Okay ..." she said as she dropped a bunch of clothes on Victor's arms. "These are some old red pajamas, a pair of pink socks, and oh! Don't forget the undies!"

"Yeah ..." Victor answered awkwardly. "Thanks for that ..." He went back down to his apartment to find Lilian sitting on his couch, staring curiously at a bookshelf and Violet lying on the kitchen counter, not taking one of her eyes off her. "Hey, Lilian!" he called, and the Espeon turned around at once.

"Here," he held Alexia's clothes so Lilian could see them, "take these and put them on!"

"Why?" Lilian asked. "They're so uncomfortable ..."

"They are, but if you're gonna be walking and talking like a human you're gonna have to learn how to do things like this, okay?"

"Okay ..." She got up from the couch and took the clothes from him.

"You can put them on in there," Victor pointed at the room that had once been his roommate's.

Lilian turned and walked into the room, closing the door behind her.

"She's a little weird, isn't she?" Victor asked Violet, who just stared seriously at him. "Oh, by the way," he said, picking up the bag of Pokéchow and showing it to her, "look what I got!" The Delcatty's eyes brightened when she saw this before fading to their usual tone when he finished saying, "I shared some with a Poochyena on the streets. That's okay, right?"

"Victor!" he heard Lilian call him from the room. "I need help!"

"What?" Victor walked into the room.

"How do I put this on?"

*Thud!*


A few hours later, a pajama-clad Lilian (she had cut holes in the pants and panties to accommodate her tail) was sitting on the couch next to Victor, both of them holding a plate with two more sandwiches on them as they watched TV. The artifact came as a marvel to Lilian, who had never seen anything of the sort. Violet was lying on Victor's lap, purring lightly.

"This was amazing!" Lilian said, taking the last bite of her dinner. "You are a really good cook!"

"Well, thanks ..."

The chatter was interrupted by a grumbling sound as Lilian brought her hands down to her stomach, arching a little.

"Hey ..." she whispered at him. "Where can I go if I need to ..."

"My room, only door there is," Victor answered, watching the Espeon get up and run into his room. He put his plate down and gently stroked the Delcatty's back again, bringing out more purring from her. "What a girl!" he commented. "What a girl!"


And so, Victor met Lilian, a being completely new to a world she didn't know. At first, it seemed like it would be just another event in his life ...

Needless to say, it was something that would change both their lives forever...