FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Tuck picked up the amulet from the ground, he was standing in the field neighboring his village. The amulet sparkled with a purple hue, just holding the amulet sent odd sensations through the teenager's arm. He was speechless, it was a gorgeous piece of jewelry... and it looked pricey. He quickly did a glance around, his friends were having a Pokémon battle over in next field. Tuck gave the amulet one more glance and shoved into his sweater pocket before walking over to his friends, the battle was finished by Jeremy's Pinsir using brick break on Norto's Cacturne.

"Jeremy and Pinsir are the winner, sorry Norto." Lang said with a smile on his face, Norto glared at Lang before returning his Pokémon.

"I knew you were all cheaters, I hope you get run over by a horde of Tauros." He spat before turning and walking around, Tuck approached them and watched as Norto walked away.

"Made another enemy guys?" Tuck asked as his hand absently stroked the amulet in his pocket.

Lang chuckled, "I told 'im that he wouldn't win, but did he listen?" He laughed, Lang was a daunting seven feet tall, well overtaking Tuck's six foot two.

"Well if you warned him..." Tuck said with a grin, everyone in the village had heard rumors of Lang's extremely strong Pinsir. Trainers from all around paid the trainer a visit to attempt to beat the Pinsir and its trainer, but it was always in vain.

Norto sat on a rock with a smile on his face, "Well, it doesn't help that you keep on asking if they want to drop out during the battle. I think they feel belittled."

Lang shrugged, "Not my fault they don't get the message..." The trio chuckled, from above a Pidgeot floated down with a letter strapped to its leg. Tuck smiled, it was his father's Pidgeot, he walked over and untied the letter before patting Pidgeot on the leg to signal that it could go back home.

Looking at Tuck in interest, his two friends awaited the message. Tuck glanced it over, "Looks like some traders are in town. My dad wants us to come home to set up the trader's booths."

Norto and Lang moaned, "Do we have to?" They moaned in unison, but Tuck just shot them the glance that his father had shown him. It was a glance of a leader, of the mayor of the village, and the mayor's son Tuck.

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Tuck and his friends walked into town to find that some of the villagers were already helping the traders unpack their wares and build vending tables, Tuck glanced at some oddities here and there in interest. But all he could think of was the amulet he had in his sweater pocket, he could likely sell it for a great price with the traders.

"Hey Tuck." Tuck blinked, beside him was his sister who was smiling up at him.

"Hey Lizzy, what's up?" His little sister was only ten, where he was seventeen. The height difference had always been an annoyance to the younger sibling. But she made up for it by being a strong little girl.

"Daddy says you have to help the amulet trader, he's over by the inn." Tuck nodded, his father's word was law, literally.

"Alright, can you show Lang and Norto where they have to go?" Lizzy smiled and nodded, always happy when she was trusted with important jobs. She skipped off, Tuck's friends in tow, though they shot him glances that told him he'd pay for sending them with Lizzy. Nearing the amulet trader, Tuck's hand wrapped tight around the purple stone in his pocket, what if this amulet was one of the trader's? If he gave it back, he might get a reward! Or he might just be accused of trying to steal it...

Finding the amulet maker, a tall man with his hair tied back in a ponytail, Tuck gathered himself up and forced a smile pushing the thoughts away. "Hello, you're the amulet trader?"

The tall man turned, his eyes shining a startling green color settled on the young. "Yes, and you are the mayor's son? He told me that he would be sending his son to help me." He answered the young man's confused glance before he could ask how he knew. "My name is Stark." He held his meaty fist out for Tuck to shake.

The young man was barely able to shake Stark's hand, "I'm Tuck." Stark nodded, and imediantly got Tuck working. Tuck worked with some fighting type Pokémon to erect a tent, it was a bit sad as the Pokémon were doing most of the work for Tuck.

As Tuck worked, he had the thought of the amulet on his mind at all times. His hand still slightly tingled from where he had touched the amulet, but after touching Stark's hand, it had intensified somehow. "Tuck." The teenager looked back, Stark was looking at him from inside the Inn. The tall man beckoned him over, realizing that the fighting type Pokémon were working without him, it was silly to hold the pretense of working up any longer.

Walking into the inn, Tuck looked at Start curiously. "What is it sir?"

Stark's face was unreadable for a moment, "You have an amulet."

Tuck blinked in surprise, "H... how did you..."

Stark smiled, "Because I dropped that amulet on purpose." He took a seat at a nearby table, Tuck quickly took the seat opposite. "I saw you and your friends out in the fields, and one of my amulets told me that it belong to one of you, so I set it down and let life take its course."

Tuck frowned, "It told you?"

Stark nodded, "My amulets aren't ordinary, they aren't just simple polished rocks. No, they're much more..." Tuck awaited more information, but Stark gave nothing more on the amulets. Instead he stood and started towards the door before stopping momentarily, "And if you are still having thoughts about selling that amulet." The man held his hand out, "I'll take the amulet back now." This time there was a menacing glint in Stark's eyes, "I won't have the power of these amulets among the regular people, I only let those amulets stay with their destined master."

For a moment, Tuck hesitated, did he still want to sell the pendent? For a moment he wavered, but then he steeled himself. "If it's as important as you say it is." He wrapped his hand around the purple stone within his pocket, "Then I'll keep it."

The merchant searched the young man's face for a moment before a smile spread across his own, "Good answer, I hope to see good things come from you one day Tuck." He then turned and whistled as he walked back towards his tent which had been finished during their conversation.

As the man walked away, Tuck felt a shiver up his back, he felt that his father hadn't chosen him to help, but he'd be asked for directly by Stark. He shook his head, "This is weird."

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It didn't take long for all of the merchants to be set up, after two hours the traders were selling their wares. People from other villages had seen the merchants' caravan and had proceeded to come to the village to buy some of the wares, people were interested in some of the TMs and HMs that they were selling off, some like Strength and rain dance were sold out within the hour by farmers.

Lang and Norto were browsing the wares and were buying knick knacks and a few TMs, but Tuck was sitting at a bench rubbing his hand over the amulet in his pocket. The feel of the amulet was like none he had never felt before, it felt like a polished rock, but wherever he ran his hands sparked under his fingertips. Tuck watched as people passed by, the few who glanced his way had to blink and take a second look at him, around his eyes was the faintest purple aura; but whenever someone took a second look it would fade as Tuck would quickly withdraw his hand from his pocket whenever observed.

Time passed by as Tuck sat back and watched the day's proceedings go on, Lang and Norto had told him that they were going to have a Pokémon battle. He had let them go and continued to watch everyone pass him by, Stark closed before all of the other Merchants. As he closed up his tent for the day, he froze as if stung by something. He swung around and locked eyes with Tuck, he took on a stern face and walked towards Tuck. "Cut that out!"

Tuck blinked in shock as he hadn't realized the effect of the stone on himself, "S... stop what?"

Stark rubbed his head, "Stop stroking the stone, you're putting up an aura of power around yourself..."

Tuck blinked in shock, "I am?"

Stark sighed heavily, "It's a good thing I'm in town for a week, I'll teach you the abilities of your amulet. But you aren't to touch it until I say you can, do you understand?" Tuck nodded, "Good. You can tell your family that I gave you the amulet as a sign of my thanks for helping with the tent." He then nodded and walked away towards the inn, Tuck grinned. He couldn't wait to see what this amulet had in store for him...

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Slipping away from his family the next night, Tuck walked up to Stark's tent where he had been informed to meet the amulet merchant. Walking in, he found that the tent was much larger inside than it appeared. Stark smiled from the teenager at the other side of the tent, "Surprised?" Tuck nodded, his eyes wide as saucers. "Yes, I only expand my tent when I'm doing lessons like these."

"W... what are you?" Tuck asked.

Stark's eyes glinted green again, and Tuck suddenly got an image of a grand Pokémon, one that he had only seen in depictions. It looked like a deer with a golden ring wrapped around it, but Stark didn't give Tuck the chance to ask anything. "Now, let us begin our lessons. Come to the middle of the tent Tuck." Tuck shivered as he stepped into the middle of the tent, he had put the amulet around his neck when he had left his house, Stark had told him to do so. "Now what?" He asked, his voice surprisingly loud in the tent.

Stark closed his eyes and folded his arms in front of him, "Before we continue, I must tell you. What you are about to do will..." He went silent for a moment, it appeared as if he were searching for the words. "It will pull the truth from your soul, I hope you are prepared."

The words didn't give much for Tuck to go off of, but he was prepared. "Yeah." He said, once again surprised how loud he was.

The man nodded, "Alright, I'll explain to you the full story once we're finished. Now what I want you to do is grip your hand around your amulet." Tuck reached up and clenched the purple amulet in hand, sparks traveling from it to his skin, "Good, now, I want you to grip it as hard as you can. Still your breathing, and imagine yourself falling into the amulet." Tuck did as he was told, he was a bit dubious about the whole thing, but it couldn't hurt, could it?

It did, as he imagined himself falling into the purple amulet, it was as if something punched a hole through his chest, a loud gasp of pain escaped the teenager's mouth. His imagination widened past his own, he could see inside of the gem, an enormous purple maw opened and swallowed him up in one bite. Tuck could feel the whole of himself becoming wrapped up in the mouth, being changed by the image.

Tuck's outside body was indeed changing, purple plates grew from the human's skin, his body quickly growing taller and wider to fit the large purple plates. From his back, a pair of odd wing shaped plates grew out, and from his extending neck a set of white feather like pieces grew.

Stark watched as the human changed, writhing as he changed, "Perhaps I should've told him this would hurt..." Stark muttered, guilt wrenching his stomach. The human's face grew, a black mark extending down the top of his head as his hair disappeared. Tuck's eyes grew out from their normal position to the top of his head, two red marks appeared in the black markings on Tuck's head.

Tuck's arms pulled in from their normal spots near the middle of his chest, becoming sharp looking appendages as they did so. Tuck's weight had massively increased, the weight of his new body was far more than before. Finally, Tuck opened his eyes, wincing as they ached. He looked down and felt his mouth gape in shock, "W... what happened to me?" Even as he started to speak, he realized that he wasn't speaking as a normal human would.

The man opposite him smiled, "You have become your true self. You see some humans aren't wholly human, some of us were born with the body of a human but the spirit of a Pokémon."

Tuck looked over his body once more, "So I'm a... Armaldo?"

Stark nodded, "Yes, it appears that way. Don't worry, you can return to your human body. But not until you wish it." Tuck tried moving around with his new body, as heavy as the Pokémon was, it was easy for him to movie it around. A smile spread across the Pokémon's face, "I think I'm happy as I am right now."

Stark grinned, "I'm glad, now let me train you how to use your new body." He started to glow a piercing white, Tuck awaited his mentor's transformation, and he couldn't wait to use his true body to its full advantage.

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Stark waved goodbye to his pupil, he had trained the young Pokémon everything he would need. He could already see the need to leave the small village in the young man's eyes, he didn't doubt that now that the heart of his true self had been opened, Tuck would leave the village and explore it... but not as a Pokémon trainer, but as a Pokémon.

The man looked down the road, there were more Pokémon to be released from their human shells. The village found the merchants returning many times in the future, but the amulet seller never returned, he had no reason to.

Tuck left a few days later, telling his family that he needed to see the world, and they let him albeit hesitant. After getting out of the view of the village, Tuck let the true himself out. Armaldo heavily treading through grass, he had his eyes set on the mountains. He was ready to see the world through his true eyes, and live life as a Pokémon, though he knew that every now and again he would visit his family as a human, but that was far off.

Five days after the amulet trader had left, there were rumors in another town of a amulet seller, one who sold the most precious amulets for good prices. Near the village, a teenager found an amulet just lying in the grass...