FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"This is meant to be the Temple of the Legendary Hero?" Peter thought to himself, staring directly at the entrance of the old, dilapidated looking temple. He pulled out his Rotom Phone, taking a look at the photos on the device - granted, they were taken in years gone by, but it looked to be in a better condition then compared to now, almost as if someone let loose a group of rampaging Tauros or Haxorus within the building. "I suppose it's still largely in one piece at the least, but this place has really gone to hell!"

He walked over to one of the statues placed outside, one which was largely destroyed with large chunks of worn-down rubble strewn around it. From how the bottom half of it looked, he was torn between deciding if it was meant to be Zacian or Zamazenta, and from the photos on the device, it was hard to tell either way thanks to the angle of the shot and the foliage in the way of them. There wasn't even as much as a clue to if they were holding a sword or a shield. There were a few other statues as well, some appeared to be human-like in design, but again were missing everything above the waist, and there were some Pokémon statues scattered here and there, making him wonder if it was a home to more than just the two wolves.

"Guess I'm not gonna find anything standing outside, am I?" He said, making his way inside. Thanks to the various holes in the ceiling, the occasional sunbeam or ten could be seen filtering through, adding a bit of light to stop it from appearing totally dank. Keeping one hand close to his Poké Balls, he scanned the area around him - he had a feeling he'd probably bump into a Pokémon or two roaming around here, and although the chances of finding a legendary here seemed slim, there was still a good chance that he'd find something to add to his team nonetheless.

Peter idly whistled to himself, walking through the barren temple. There were signs that it had been properly inhabited at some point in time, statues on plinths and tapestries hanging from the wall, but what remained were either broken or torn, too damaged to properly make anything out about them. Well, that was until he walked closer towards the back half of the place. "What in the..."

To his surprise, what he could see ahead of him looked virtually brand new. Everything looked pristine - even the ceiling was fixed and adorned with lights. Why was this half of the temple immaculate whilst the rest of it looked like something had used SelfDestruct?

"This... this is both amazing and weird..." He chuckled, taking a look around the restored part of the temple. "It's like I've stepped through a portal into a different time!"

"Oh, there's no portals involved, hun... well, I lie, there was one so that I could get here, but outside of that, this has been the work of my two hands~" A feminine voice called out to him. "Not a bad job so far, right?"

"You did this all yourself?" He spun around, trying to find the source of the voice. "I've got to say you've done a great job so far - did you have any Pokémon to help you?"

"Nope, this was all done by me!" A figure swooped down from the ceiling, landing before him. "It's quite easy to do when you're well-trained in magic!"

"Guh..." Peter paused, looking at the feminine figure before him - if this was a Pokémon, it wasn't one he'd ever seen before, the avian creature standing taller than him, wings spread out and framed with magical runes. "What... what are you?"

"Technically, I'm a raven!" The creature smirked, purple markings glowing along her form. "The name's Shade, and it's a pleasure to -" She stopped when the human pulled out his Rotom Phone, aiming it at her as he opened the Pokédex function. "Errr..." She blinked in confusion.

'No data found!' An electronic voice chimed from the phone.

"I mean you could at least ASK before taking photos~" Shade smirked.

"You're not a Pokémon at all... WHAT are you?"

"I told you, a raven... although technically I'm not from this world, I'm from a different realm altogether. I like to dabble in dimensional travel every now and then, and when I found out there's a realm where Pokémon are real and not just something you see in a video game and all that, I HAD to check it out!"

"Uuhh...huhhhh..." He nodded, trying to understand what she was saying. "Do you... come to this world often?"

"A few times, actually! I've befriended many different Pokémon, I've got a nice daycare running off the beaten path, among other things..." She winked.

"You run a daycare? Wait, don't people freak out upon seeing a talking raven serving them?"

"That happened once when I forgot to use my disguise, actually... the guy took it well, though!"

"Right..." He composed himself. "My name's Peter. What brought you down to this temple, Shade?"

"I like looking into myths and legends every now and then, especially when it comes to dimension-hopping. In my explorations around the many regions of this world, I saw stories about this temple and had to check it out for myself. Of course, when I got here, the place looked like Haimogwen had been bouncing around the place whilst on a sugar high and holding a giant sledgehammer in his feet, so I thought I'd try my talons at fixing the place up!"

"Is Haimogwen a friend of yours? Is he here at all?"

"He had been here initially, but he kept causing more harm than good, so I've had to ask him to stay behind... well, not ask him..." She squawked in a frustrated tone. "It's not the first time he's botched a restoration job, either... I've kicked him out of more places than Jazz was thrown out of the Banks' house!"

"I'm sure his heart's in the right place, though!" Peter said. "Anyways, have you been able to salvage any relics in here to put back on display?"

"Honestly, no - it seems that anything of value that wasn't broken was taken away. I might be able to recreate them, but it'd take a while to do so on top of restoring this place. Although, I was able to fix up a couple of things..."

"Oh? What did you fix?"

"A dusty old sword and shield... well, I say that, they sure don't look anything like a standard sword and shield!"

"Mind if I take a look at them?" He offered.

"Not at all! You can even try them on for size if you want!" Shade trilled, guiding him over to where she had set down the two relics. They rested atop of one another instead of being laid out separately.

"Wait a moment... these don't look like the tools that belong to the Pokémon of legend..." Peter took a closer look at them. "I mean yeah, they're a sword and a shield..."

"From what I've gathered, there were more heroes than just Zacian and Zamazenta - this one in particular wielded both to fight his foes!"

"You sure you're not thinking of an Aegislash?" Peter gasped the sword in one hand and the shield in the other. "Granted, that thing's literally just an animated sword and shield, but still..."

"I'm sure, these ones don't match an Aegislash's description - besides which it'd probably be mad at you for taking it apart if it were one!"

"I suppose you'd be right on that front. Still, where have I seen these befo-'' He paused when the sword and shield began to glow brightly, the dull, metal appearance of them swapping out for a vivid, leafy green - in fact he swore he was now holding what appeared to be a pair of overgrown vegetables. "Er... is that meant to happen?" He asked.

"Maybe, let's see where this is going~" Shade watched, chirping as she saw white feathers sprout along Peter's arms, quills erupting along his limbs that soon blossomed forth into soft plumage. The feathers worked to envelop his hands as well, which, to his surprise, still maintained their dexterity and digits.

"What in the world?!" He gasped, seeing the feathers start to work their way along his body, his arms looking noticeably thicker, almost wing-like. His shirt felt tighter thanks to the emerging feathers, some of the quills puncturing the fabric before blooming, creating a few holes in it. "What's going on?!"

"I feel like I may have missed out the smallest detail that this particular sword and shield is slightly enchanted..." She trilled, watching him place the tools down so he could remove his damaged shirt. They both noticed that his muscle tone had gained some definition, showing up against the feathers, a tuft of plumage perfectly positioned between his pectorals. "And whilst the hero in question isn't a wolf, I think it's still a good choice~"

The feathers moved downwards, the back of his shorts tenting outwards as a small, stubby tail grew outwards, the growing feathers bursting through the seat of his pants. The feathers stopped midway down his legs, orange-coloured scales growing over them as he had to lean against the nearest object to keep his balance, his stance shifting thanks to the increasingly avian configuration his legs were taking. His feet stretched, the toes merging together into three large digits lined with webbing, the remaining toes gaining sharp, curving talons, a fourth sprouting from his heels.

"Wait a minute... this is starting to look kinda familiar..." He started just as his shorts and underwear tore off, destroyed by his larger, muscular thighs. A blush crossed his face as he threw his hands down to his crotch, but then immediately noticed that everything there was hidden away behind a thick patch of feathery fluff.

"Don't worry, I've made sure that your modesty is preserved... for now, anyways..." She grinned. His upper body looked thinner compared to his muscular legs, but that was quickly amended by his torso gaining some extra muscle. "I dare say you'll probably get some attention from the ladies, myself included~" She winked.

"Eh...eheh..." He blushed, the feathers working up his head. His hair vanished beneath the plumage, three large feathers sprouting from atop his scalp, his ears shrinking away into tiny holes in the sides of his head. A growing numbness filled his mouth, his teeth fusing together into two masses, pushing out past his lips as they formed a yellow-tinged beak of moderate length, his nose merging with the upper part of his new bill. His eyes moved slightly apart, turning golden brown, his pupils becoming white to better stand out against the new coloration. His eyebrows shifted into black, eyebrow-like markings that extended down towards the top of his beak, meeting there to finish it off. Of course, this had the side effect of making his expression look somewhat smug-looking for the most part, even if it wasn't intended. His changes complete, he picked up the leafy sword and shield from the ground.

"And there we go, my proud, feathery... oh." Shade started off proudly before failing to stifle a giggle. "Oh dear, I might have underestimated the look I was going for!" She couldn't hold back a laugh as she looked at Peter, now an anthropomorphic Sirfetch'd, holding a sword and shield that looked comically tiny in his hands, suited more for a standard Sirfetch'd instead. "I'm sorry, I'll fix that right up!" She cackled, waving her hands as they glowed, the objects in his hand soon enveloped in the same glow as they grew to a more fitting size.

"I'm guessing this is better?" He asked, swinging the leek-like sword about, trying to get a feel for his new weapon.

"Much better! What you were holding before looked more like a kitchen knife than a proper sword in your hands!"

"You say that like a person couldn't do damage with such a thing..." He cocked his head.

"Yeah, well it wouldn't have looked right anyway!" Shade stepped closer. "I mean look at you now, my proud, feathery knight~"

He swung the sword again before placing it down alongside the shield. "The only thing is how I'm gonna explain this to my Pokémon... or my friends, even!"

"I'm sure your Pokémon will adapt. As for your friends, you could always point them my way if they like what they see~" She winked. "For now, though, I'd bring out your Pokémon so they can familiarise themselves to the new you!"

He nodded, reaching for the belt that was torn off alongside his clothes, grabbing the balls as he called out his team - an Espeon, Milotic, Obstagoon, Corviknight, Luxray and, funnily enough, a Sirfetch'd, with the former three being shiny.

"Oooh, I like what I see here!" Shade smiled, looking at Peter's team. "You've got good taste, having a Corviknight with you!"

The Pokémon were initially confused by their trainer's new look, as well as the raven lady by his side, but they quickly warmed up to it.

"Oh yeah, I never did say thank you for this, did I?" Peter looked at Shade.

"No worries, I do know one way you could thank me, if you so well desire..." She cawed, stroking his cheek with her talons.

"I may be up to that..." He smirked, leaning into her hand.

"Hey, I'm back!" A voice all too familiar to Shade called out.

"Hoo boy..." Shade paused, the two turning to face the humanoid bat who had stumbled in through a portal outside of the temple. "Talk about a moment killer!" She whispered to Peter.

"Sorry it took me so long!" Haimogwen walked over to them. "I had a hell of a time trying to find places that sold cement of any kind, the mansion didn't want to spawn anywhere near any kind of builder's merchant. I managed to procure a few giant-sized buckets of Vegemite, maybe that'll hold the bricks in place?"

Shade simply said nothing - she was using magic to restore the temple, and thought that feigning that she was doing it manually by hand would dissuade him from trying to 'help'. She glanced to Peter, shooting him a simple 'would you?' gesture. He nodded in response, smirking to her as he walked over to Haimogwen.

Outside of the temple, everything looked nice and peaceful, the quiet only broken by the sounds of Rookidee chirping... until a large, bat-shaped figure was sent flying out through the doorway.

"AAAAGHH!"