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Pokemon: Further Evolutions

CH 1

A New Start

The fields of Jhoto were as beautiful as ever. A cool breeze blew across the land, making the trees and bushes gently rustle and sway. A few pokemon could be seen grazing in the fields. The way sun's rays shined on the area gave it a very mystical appearance. It seemed like the perfect place to relax and just be at peace...

But that wasn't what pokemon trainers did. At least...not this trainer. Walking along the dirt path was a trainer who went by the name of Kyo. Following faithfully by his side was his trusted partner, Totodile. Kyo had begun his journey with him only a month ago. They had gotten along very well, and had grown fairly close to each other. It was just the two of them, Kyo having not caught any other pokemon.

In his bag, he carried only a few pokeballs, some potions, his pokedex, some traveling money, some food, spare clothes and his badge case, having yet to be filled with any badges.

Kyo put his hands behind his head casually as the two of them walked, looking down at his companion. "So," he began, "you up for some training?"

"To-to-toto-dile!" the small bipedal crocodile responded, nodding furiously.

"Heh, I thought so." Smiling to himself, Kyo looked ahead, adjusting his cap. As he did this, a few strands of his hazel-brown hair fell over his line of vision. He raised a hand to brush them away from his sea green eyes. Letting his hand back down, he began to look around the area.

"Let's see..." he began, "who can we challenge today?" Looking around, all Kyo could see were a few Stantlers and Miltanks, all of which probably wouldn't appreciate being attacked during their breakfast.

Then again, what would?

"Man, not too many pokemon to battle today." He folded his arms, letting out a disappointed sigh. He looked back down at Totodile, shrugging, "I guess it's a bit too early anyways."

"Toto," he replied, seeming a bit disappointed.

The two of them did things differently compared to most other trainers. Rather than going straight into battle against a wild pokemon, Kyo usually challenged them directly. Admittedly, it was a strange thing to do, but to him, it was better than attacking one out of nowhere. While it did make the battles much more enjoyable, it made actually getting into a battle much more difficult. It was probably why his partner hadn't evolved yet.

"Sorry buddy," Kyo continued, "I guess we gotta wait fer a bit longer." He simply gave a dismissive wave in response, folding his little arms in frustration.

"Well, I guess we should get going then." Jamming his hands into the pockets of his pants, he began walking along the path again, with Totodile following closely behind.

"I really am sorry Totes," Kyo continued, using the nickname he had given him, "I know how you hate getting your hopes up."

"To-to-to-TO!" he snapped back, seeming a bit irritated.

"R-right... Sorry," Kyo replied, flinching a bit. While he didn't speak pokemon tongue, he could clearly understand the message. "I-I'll try to make it up to you. Hmmm, oh! I got it! I think there's a town nearby that ha-"

"HEY! YOU THERE!" a voice rang out in the distance, cutting off Kyo and startling some of the nearby pokemon. The both of them turned around, seeing a younger boy running after them. He was holding something in his hand, raising it up in the air. It was hard to make out at first, but looking closely, it seemed to be...spherical...

Kyo smirked, "Looks like you're battling today after all. What do ya say, still up for it?" His partner responded by loudly snapping his powerful jaws, getting jittery with excitement.

When the boy finally caught up to them, he stopped a bit to catch his breath, his hands resting on his knees, "You're...phew...you're a trainer right?"

"Yup, why do you ask?" he questioned, not really needing an answer.

Standing back up, the boy thrust out the object he had been holding at him, which could now be identified as a pokeball.

"Battle me!" he demanded with seemingly renewed energy, "I've been waiting for a battle with someone all day!"

That's what I thought, Kyo thought to himself, alright, now to make an impression. He looked down at Totodile, who nodded to him, knowing what he was planning.

Smiling, Kyo turned to the side and turned his head to the other trainer, giving him a determined look. "Hmph, perfect timing," he began, "the two of us were looking for a battle as well. But listen up." He quickly brought up his arm, pointing at his challenger. "You better not hold back," he snapped his arm back, pointing his thumb toward his chest, "cuz I certainly won't!"

The young trainer gulped, making Kyo smile. "I...I won't either!" Trembling slightly, he backed up, giving them enough distance for their battle. "A-alright," he stammered, "h-here I go!" He positioned himself to throw his pokeball.

"Heh, then come at us!" Kyo shouted, turning to his pokemon, "Ready? GO TOTODILE!!!"

***

"Ack, hold still will ya?" Kyo said as he applied a bandage on his pokemon's back. He was sitting cross-legged with Totodile sitting on his lap, several cuts and bruises scattered across his little frame.

"To-to-TO-todile!" he growled, tapping his tail impatiently on his trainer's knee.

"I know, I'm sorry," Kyo said as he reached into his bag for another bandage, "but it's not exactly my fault that guy had a Bayleef."

"To-toto," he grumbled. After applying the bandage, the trainer reached in his bag for a potion.

"Now, this is gonna sting a bit, so brace yourself," he waited until Totodile nodded to him, signaling for the OK. Slowly, Kyo began to spray the small crocodile's back, making him tense up a bit as he felt the sting of the medicine along his back. Kyo waited for him to relax again before moving on to his little arms.

"You did fairly well though," he continued, "I mean you lasted longer than most other pokemon your age and type would have."

"Toto," he replied proudly, puffing out his chest a bit before Kyo made him settle back down.

"Aaaand...there, all done," Kyo declared as he finished his last spray. Satisfied with his work, he let Totodile off of his lap, who was more than happy to be finished with the process.

"To-to-tchm-tooooooooooh," Totodile sighed out, stretching his arms out. Kyo did the same as he got to his feet.

"Mmmmrph, alright, how much money have we got left?" he reached into his bag once more, pulling out his money pouch. "Let's see here...twenty...fifty...seventy...tch. Only a hundred ten credits. That's what I get for setting the bet so high." He tossed the pouch back in his bag, and proceeded to kick a nearby pebble in irritation. "Come on Totes, let's get going."

"To-toto," he replied, following obediently.

"You know, I'm actually quite impressed. You did quite a number on that Bayleef back there."

"To-to?"

"I'm serious! I don't think he even knew what hit him!"

"Dile," Totodile responded proudly.

"Heh, and look at you, just walking it off like nothing happened." At this point Totodile was smiling broadly. With his confidence thoroughly boosted, he marched on ahead, taking the lead with his head held high, making Kyo smirk.

He always hated seeing his pokemon in a bad mood, especially when it was due to something he had done. It was the main reason why he always tried the best he could to try and keep the small croc happy.

"Alright," Kyo said, "now if I remember correctly, this road should take us to the next...town..." He trailed off from his statement as he noticed something peculiar. Looking past a few of the forest trees, he could see what appeared to be a cave, with a few wooden bars blocking the way. Weird, he thought to himself, I don't remember seeing that on the map. Curiously, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his poke-gear, pulling up his map and checking the area he was in.

Not on the map. Huh, that's odd. He looked up from the screen and looked back at the mysterious cave. Suddenly, he felt a tug at his pants. Looking down, he saw Totodile, looking up at him questioningly. Kyo blinked, realizing that he had stopped walking without noticing. "S-sorry bud," he apologized, "I got a little distracted there for a moment."

"To-to?" Totodile asked, head tilting to the side.

"W-well..." Kyo began, figuring he wanted clarification, "I just saw this cave that wasn't on the map and I got curious."

"To-dile?" Totodile looked around, searching for it.

"Oh, um...it's over there," Kyo said, pointing toward the cave's direction. Following the direction of his finger, Totodile was able to spot the alleged cave. He stared at it for a while, tilting his head here and there.

"To-to.........." he said thoughtfully, putting his clawed hands on his hips. Shrugging, he began walking, confusing Kyo in the process.

"H-hey, where ya goin?" he asked, puzzled.

"To-toto", Totodile replied, turning to him and pointing toward the cave.

"Y-you want to go in there?" He simply nodded in response, and continued walking, "Uh...a-alright, w-wait up!"

Upon arrival at the cave, Kyo saw that the bars that barricaded the entrance were actually old and rotting. Nailed onto one of them was a sign that he couldn't read, due to the fact that the letters were so faded. He could only assume that it was meant to say something along the lines of "Keep Out."

"Hmmm," Kyo began, looking over the sign intently, "this place seems pretty run down." He looked up a bit, looking at the overall cave, "almost looks like an abandoned mine." Upon closer inspection, the cave did seem man made, for the inner walls appeared to be smoother and more accustomed to human size. In fact, Kyo thought he could make out wooden bracers along the walls in the darkness.

"Weird," Kyo said, folding his arms, "wonder what's in there..." He took a step closer, peering into the dark abyss to try and see more. "Man, can't see a dang thing in there."

"To-to?" Totodile said, trying to look over the wooden bars that were just tall enough to block his view, before Kyo picked him up to give him a better view.

"What do you think is in there Totes?" Kyo asked, looking down at his companion.

"To-to-to," he replied, shrugging a bit. Shrugging himself, Kyo let the bipedal croc down.

"Well," he began, straightening himself, "I guess we should get going then."

"TO-TO?!" Totodile exclaimed, looking at him with a surprised look. Kyo looked down to him, confused.

"What's wrong?" he asked him, "you don't wanna go?"

"To-to," he replied, nodding.

"You...you wanna..." he turned back to the entrance, "you wanna go in there?" Again, a nod in response. "Oh, well...I'd like to too buddy, but the problem is that it's just way too dark in there, and I don't have a flashlight with me."

"To-_to_to-to," said Totodile, pointing at Kyo's pocket. Still a bit confused but getting the message, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his poke-gear.

"Al...right...," he began, scratching his head, "what about my poke-gear?" Totodile then reached out his arms, gesturing a bit with his claws. Still unsure of where this was going, Kyo kneeled down and handed him the device. With a bit of difficulty, due to the lack of poseable thumbs, Totodile held it so that the screen was facing away from him. He then walked over to where Kyo's shadow was and pointed the poke-gear down at the ground, illuminating the area slightly.

"To-todile," he said, looking at his trainer proudly. It took him a few seconds to realize what he meant.

"OH, duh. You mean to use my poke-gear as a flashlight." Totodile nodded furiously. "Heh, nice thinking there Totes, why didn't I think of that?" After Totodile handed back the poke-gear, Kyo stood back up, looking back at the cave again. Just what could there be in there? he thought to himself. Shrugging, he looked down at the screen and opened up the menu.

"Okay, just gotta go to options...settings...and...oh wait, wrong thing... Kay now settings...initial set up...and...it's loading..." He sighed to himself, tapping his foot impatiently. "Oh, okay...ummm, language...menu layout-AHA! Brightness. Now just gotta raise it up some more...and...there! All done." Satisfied with his work, he turned back to his partner. "Alright, you ready for some exploring Totodile?"

"To-to-TO!" Totodile exclaimed, looking at him excitedly.

"Then let's go-ACK!" Kyo drew back, having hit his shin on one of the wooden bars when he rushed forward. "Ow...r-right, that's still there..." he said, holding his shin, "u-uhm...T-Totodile, use your water gun attack on those bars please." Nodding obediently, he filled up his cheeks with water, before blasting the pressurized water at the entrance, snapping the rotting bars and sending them flying into the dark confines of the soon to be explored cave.

"Th-thank you," Kyo said, letting his foot down. Collecting himself, he held his poke-gear out as Totodile had shown him. "Now then, off we go," Kyo declared as they made their way in.

***

"Man, can't see too much down here," Kyo said, hands trailing the rails he had found along the walls, "I can barely see any farther than a few feet ahead of us." The two of them had gone relatively deep into the cave. While using the poke-gear as a flashlight did at least help, it did little to pierce the cold darkness, making it hard to tell what was ahead. They had to walk closely together to ensure that they didn't get separated.

"You doin alright Totes?" Kyo asked him, aiming his "flashlight" at him.

"To-toto," he replied, looking up at him and nodding.

"Good to know," Kyo said, before facing forward again. If only I could say that for myself... he thought to himself uneasily, continuing along the guided path, _I'm starting to regret coming down here. I'm just thankful there haven't been any branching paths yet._What made Kyo so uneasy was the fact that he didn't have any sort of marker or string to guide him out of the cave when it was time to leave. He would have been fine with that and maybe fine with branching paths if the place had been lighted.

But it wasn't.

And they couldn't have made the walls just a little bit farther apart? He sighed, were they in a rush or something? Jeez...maybe we should just go back. He turned to his pokemon again, "Hey Toto...dile," he trailed off, seeing the blue reptile turn to him, having just the brightest smile across his features. Kyo smiled. He just looked so happy. How could he make the two of them leave just because he was a little uncomfortable? "Never mind," he said, facing the path again. Totodile simply shrugged and continued to follow.

"Jeez, this place goes pretty far down," Kyo stated. "What do you think is down here?"

"To-toto-to."

"...Uh...y-yeah...me too..."

"...Toto-to?"

"No I did not know what you just said." They both chuckled, dismissing the subject. Suddenly, Kyo's light began to flash red. Confused, he stopped to look at the screen. "Crap," he said under his breath. He looked at Totodile, who was giving him a confused look. "The...batteries are running low," he informed him, "and if I can't recharge it soon, they'll run out and we'll have to walk around in complete-"

Suddenly, all he could see was pitch black. "Darkness...damn it." He placed his hand on the wall, making sure he didn't lose his sense of direction, "Totodile?"

"To-to?"

"I...I think we need to turn back."

"TO-TO-TO?!"

"W-well I'm sorry, but we don't have much of a choice!"

"To-toto-to-to-to!"

"What do you expect me to do?! It's not like I have night vision or anything!"

"To-totooooooooo," he whined.

"I know, but we really should turn back. I mean, considering I can barely see my...hand..." Wait...I can see my hand? It was strange, but he could see the outlines of his hand. He turned to his partner. To his surprise he could make out his outlines as well. But...it should be pitch black down here. Why is it that I can still see? After his eyes fully adjusted to the darkness, Kyo noticed that everything that he could see seemed to be illuminated in a strange purple glow. Looking ahead, he could see that the glow seemed to brighten deeper into the cave.

What in the world? he thought to himself, _what...is that? _He looked at his partner again, who also seemed to be looking at him. He sighed. "Well," he continued, "we've come this far. Why turn back now?"

"TO-TO!" Totodile replied, practically jumping for joy. Looking back ahead, Kyo saw that they actually didn't have much left to go. The only thing left seemed to be a single turn, which seemed to be where the strange light was coming from.

At least it's only one turn, Kyo thought to himself, I don't think I could have handled many others... As they got closer, the light made it easier to see, and eventually, they could see each other clearly once again. While he was thankful for this, Kyo couldn't help but feel uneasy. That glow...it can't be natural. And I don't think anyone makes purple lanterns, and if they did, why would anyone bring one down here? The fact that he didn't even know what to expect troubled him even more.

It wasn't long before they were at the corner, but before they made the turn, Kyo stopped, freezing in his tracks, panic spread across his face. Noticing this, Totodile looked up at his trainer in concern.

"To-to?" he asked, worried for his master. Hearing this, Kyo shook his head, snapping himself out of his trance, and looked back at his pokemon. Just seeing him act in such a caring manner seemed to put his mind at ease. That's right, he told himself, smirking, he's with me after all. He's been with me the entire time...

He took a minute to calm himself, closing his eyes and taking a breath, before speaking up again. "Sorry," he began, "I was just...captivated...by the...lights?" Totodile gave him a type of "really?" look. Kyo smiled, "Okay, maybe I'm a little scared." The small croc folded his arms. "Tch, okay I'm pretty scared. There, I admit it, happy?"

Totodile smiled, "Toto." He then went over to his trainer and patted him on his shin in a reassuring manner. The both of them practically burst out laughing at that point, the sounds of their laughter echoing throughout the cave.

Settling down again, Kyo straightened himself and looked at his partner. "Well," he said to him, "whatever's causing this, we'll be ready for it, right Totes?"

"To-todile!" he replied confidently, making a fist with his clawed hand. Nodding and taking a deep breath, Kyo stepped forward. What he saw left him in awe.

"W...wow," he managed to let out, staring in wonder, "that...was where the light was coming from?" Protruding from the wall of the cave was a strange gem of some kind, and it seemed to be the source of the strange light. "What...kind of a gem...is that exactly?" he asked aloud, more or less just speaking his thoughts, "I've never seen one...quite like this before..." Absentmindedly, he began to walk towards the strange gem.

"It's...so...pretty..." he said, admiring its beauty, "if I...take it home with me...I can hang it up...in my room...and...just stare at it...all day..." As he continued to near the gem, he thought he heard something. It sounded like a voice. It seemed distressed, like it wanted his attention. Kyo paid no mind to it though, all that mattered to him was the gem. All that mattered in the world was the gem. It was his to take and his to keep.

"I won't let anyone else have it," he continued, "I'll make sure to keep it safe. I'll hide it where no one else can to find it." He slowly began to reach out for the gem, which was still a good distance away from him. "When I have it, I'll clean it every day. I'll keep it nice and pretty. Yeah, my pretty gem...my shiny...pretty gem..." Suddenly, he stopped moving. His leg wouldn't budge. Frustrated, he pulled his leg forward, refusing to let anything keep him from his precious gem.

He heard the voice again. It seemed panicked, desperate even. He grew irritated, why were things getting in the way? What was trying to keep him from getting what was his? Growling, he pulled harder, and eventually, he was freed. Though he stumbled upon the release, he was undeterred and simply got to his feet and continued walking.

"It's my gem," he said, almost whispering, "it's mine...and no one else's..." He reached out again, using both of his hands now. Soon, the gem would be his. Nothing would get in his way now. He wouldn't let that happen, not when he was so close. He was only a couple of feet away now. He could practically feel the gem's rays envelop him in its warmth. He closed his eyes; he couldn't have been happier than he was now. And the light felt so good. He felt he could just lay there and enjoy this wonderful feeling all day. But that would have to wait, at least, until he had brought it home with him.

"So close," he said with glee, "I'm so close." The gem seemed to shine even brighter as he neared. He felt the light envelop him even further, seeming to shine through the fabric of his clothes. He sighed in happiness, he felt his body tingle and warm him from the chill of the cave. Then, all of a sudden, he was blasted off his feet by a torrent of water. He hit the ground hard and groaned. Getting back up, he whipped his head to the direction the blast had come from. Then, without warning, something came upon him. Kyo was pinned to the floor by a strange blue creature. Yet...somehow...it seemed...familiar. He shook his head. No, it didn't matter if he knew this thing, it was in his way and he would not let that stop him.

"Get OFF!" he shouted, aggressively shoving the thing off of his chest. He heard the thing cry out in pain, but he didn't care. It got what it deserved for trying to keep him from his gem. He quickly scrambled to his feet, and made a dash for the gem again, the strange thing running after him. "NO!" he shouted as he ran, "You can't have it, it's MINE!" Soon enough, Kyo closed the distance between him and the gem, but rather than grab it, he turned around and spread his arms out, blocking it from the small blue creature.

The thing stopped in its tracks, staring up at him in shock. "Go AWAY!" Kyo shouted at it, "I already said it's mine!" The blue creature seemed to choke when it was told this. Tears welled up at the corners of its eyes. It appeared genuinely hurt from what he had said.

Whatever,_Kyo thought to himself, _it's probably just upset that it can't have my gem. The thing then began to chatter, its voice matching the one that had disturbed him the first time. This time, though, its voice carried meaning. Even while Kyo couldn't understand a single word of it, he knew; it wasn't for the gem. Kyo shook his head; he wouldn't let this thing trick him. "Stop it!" he cried out, "stop...trying to trick me! I-it's not gonna work!" Tearing his eyes from the creature, he turned to the gem, now only an arm's length away.

Slowly, he began to reach for it. It was so close! Everything that he ever wanted would soon be in his fingertips. Yes, this was what he wanted.

Wasn't it?

He shook his head again. Of course it was!Why would he think otherwise? He turned to the small creature again, seeing it watch him with watering eyes. Wait, no. It was his eyes that were watering. Why were they watering? Wiping his eyes, he turned back to the gem, its beauty filling his eyes once more. Once again, he was filled with happiness, forgetting about the strange creature that had gotten in his way. With a happy sigh, he reached out, and pried the gem from the wall of the cave.

"Mine."

The gem warmed his hands as he held it. It was about as big as his head, taking an ovular shape. It was a thing of beauty. He felt it warm his entire body in its glow. He closed his eyes, relishing in the wonderful feeling, his body tingling with pleasure.

This was what he wanted. This was his. The gem was his. Its beauty was his. Its warmth was his. Its warmth, so warm. So very warm. So very...very...wait. It was growing warmer. Much warmer. It started to feel hot at his fingertips. He cried out, his hands felt burned. It was too hot. He let go of the gem, letting it fall to the ground with a lout clatter. It did not break. It only continued to shine, its rays now feeling like fire upon his skin.

Kyo screamed out. It was so hot now! He tried to shield himself from the blazing light with his arms, but it made no difference. The light continued to burn him, passing through his clothes and into his skin. He even felt his very bones heat up within his body. He continued to scream in agony, stumbling backwards and falling to the floor. He couldn't take it, the heat was unbearable. He rolled around frantically in a vain attempt to put out the non-existent fires that burned him. He screamed and screamed, begging for the burning to stop, but it wouldn't. The light continued to burn him indifferently, beating down on him without break.

"Please stop!" he cried out, "No more! No more!" He clawed at his clothes, ripping them off of his body to try and release the inferno from underneath. It didn't help. If anything, it made matters worse as his skin was now directly exposed to the horrible light. "Make it stop! Make it stop!" he sobbed out, gasping. Suddenly, the blue creature from before was next to him. It seemed to want to calm him. It turned out to be a vain attempt as he laid there, thrashing and screaming. The last thing he heard was the sounds of the blue creature's chatter before he was sent into cold, merciful unconsciousness.

***

"................yo?.......................Ky.................Kyo...............Kyo wa..................wake up Kyo.....................please Kyo.................please wake up Kyo.........Kyo.......come on wake up Kyo...........Kyo wake up...Kyo! Kyo wake up!"

Kyo groaned as he was roused from his slumber. He kept his eyes closed, not wanting to get up just yet. "Ffffive mooore minnnuutessssss," he croaked, waving his hand.

"Kyo, please just wake up," a young voice said, gently shaking him with small hands. Kyo groaned. He didn't want to get up so early. He thought about who this could be. Mom must've.........invited.....a cousin over today........ Kyo thought to himself groggily, curling up a bit more.

"Kyo.......Kyo please I..." the person's voice cracked. He seemed distressed, "I....I'm begging you. Just...please get up." He shook him again. His hands felt oddly small.

"Alright...alright...I'm getting up..." he replied, sitting up and stretching. He yawned loudly, stretching out his tongue as he did so. He must have been really tired, for he felt as though his tongue had stretched out longer than usual. Jeez, did I sleep on the floor? he complained in his head, I feel like I slept on a rock. He yawned profusely, shaking his head as it left his mouth. He put his hands to his knees. "So...do I...know you exactly?" he asked, eyes still closed.

"W...well," the boy responded nervously, "we've...known each other for...quite a while...actually..."

"Hhhhave we?" Kyo asked, yawning again, eyes still closed.

"Y...yes...K-Kyo?"

"Yeah?" he asked, swallowing a bit of spit that had gathered in his mouth.

"Are you...feeling well?" Kyo raised a brow; it was an odd question to ask. Sure, his bed felt like bricks at the moment, but it wasn't anything that bad.

"Yyyeah, I'm fine," Kyo responded groggily, "why do you ask?"

"W...well," the boy began, "I just...wanted to make sure... Kyo...do you know...where you are?" Another odd question from this kid that he supposedly knew.

"Of course I do," he replied, "I'm in my room, in the house that I live in." There was a pause.

"Kyo...do you remember...what happened?" Happened? What was with all of the strange questions?

"Yeah..." he began, recollecting his thoughts, "I was with Totodile, going down a long, dark cave." He tilted his head, bringing back the memories of the other day. "Then my poke-gear lost power, so we had to walk in the dark." He scratched the back of his neck, and continued his recollection. "Then we saw this weird, purple light. And then we found...this weird gem...and..." His heart skipped a beat. What had happened after? Why couldn't he remember?

"And then..." he tried to continue, "and then I...I think..." He remained silent, a feeling of dread engulfing him. "Kid," he asked nervously, "am I...in my room?" There was silence.

"...No...you're not..." More silence. Kyo dared not to open his eyes.

"Then...where...where am I..." Again, silence.

"...Still...still in the cave...Kyo." Kyo's heart all but stopped. He was terrified to ask his next question.

"Kid..." he gulped, "who...are you?" There was a longer silence between the two. Hesitantly, the boy spoke again.

"I'm...your partner Kyo...your pokemon...Totodile..."

For a moment, time seemed to stop for Kyo. Could that possibly be? Was this really happening? Was this just some twisted dream? He pinched himself. No, this was real. This wasn't a dream. His breathing became shallower, and his head began to spin. Something had happened to him. Something was different. Something had changed.

Still too terrified to open his eyes, he felt the ground with his hand. Cold and hard, yes, that was the floor of the cave. Trembling, he reached for his chest. That was when things began to seem really off. Rather than feeling his skin, he felt scales upon his chest, softer kinds, like that of his pokemon Totodile. He then realized that his hands felt different too, though he had noticed it to less of a degree when he had placed his hands on the floor. He then felt his shoulder. Same scaly feeling. His breathing began to quicken. He stopped.

He hadn't noticed it before, but he felt something...new. It was a numb feeling, like how one would feel when a foot would go numb, or how someone's cheeks would feel when going through a tooth removal in the dentist. But, unlike any of those instances, he felt none of that in any of those body parts. He didn't feel it in the body parts he was used to. No, this was new. It was extending from his lower back, closer to where his posterior began. The bizarre part was, it extended further.

He swallowed. Hand still trembling, he reached for the strange protrusion, realizing in horror that he was holding a tail. His tail. His head was spinning, and it became hard to think straight. Only one thing was left. Mustering up what little courage he had left, he reached for his face.

He nearly died of shock.

No longer was his head what it was before. Replacing his face, a long, slender snout took its stead. He felt around his skull. It had changed as well, feeling more reptilian in shape to match his longer snout. He felt for his ears. They were gone, leaving only ear canals. He felt the top of his head, now noticing a strange, dorsal fin-like protrusion from his skull. His hand dropped to his side. He wasn't sure if he was terrified or fascinated, finding himself lost in a limbo between the two.

"Kyo," Totodile asked nervously, "are you...alright?" For a moment, Kyo couldn't respond.

"I..." he choked, "I don't know..." Even though he knew he was different, he still couldn't bring himself to open his eyes. "T-To...Totodile?"

"...Yes Kyo?" He choked again.

"I..." he inhaled deeply, letting it out shakily, "...I'm scared." He heard his partner sniffle.

"I-I am too Kyo," Kyo felt his small hands gently grasp his arm, "b...but it'll be alright. So please...open your eyes." Trembling, Kyo reached for Totodile, seeking comfort. He soon felt Totodile's small hands grasp his hand. It wasn't enough, but it would have to do. He breathed in deeply, trying his best to calm himself, preparing himself one last time.

And then, he opened his eyes.

It was a strange. His field of vision had become much wider. Seeing it for the first time made him dizzy, like how it felt to put on new glasses, or wearing someone else's. Slowly, he let himself adjust to his wider vision. Once he felt comfortable enough, he looked around. He was definitely still in the cave. Purple lights still illuminated the area. Turning a bit more, he saw the gem that had hypnotized him so severely was still there, lying on the floor. He snapped his head away, disgusted by it now. How could he ever have thought so highly of it? How could he be so intrigued by it, especially after what it had done to him?

To him. He realized; he still hadn't looked at himself yet.

He swallowed. No...not just yet... Moving his head slowly, he turned to his partner, Totodile. From what he could tell from the purple lights, Totodile had been crying, eyes bloodshot and dried tears under his eyes. He looked stricken with fear, but somehow, Kyo knew that it wasn't from him. It was for him.

Holding back his own tears, Kyo forced a smile, speaking up once more. "Hhh...hey there pal." Totodile's eyes watered again. He tried his best to hold back the flood of tears that were threatening to spill out from the small crocodile's eyes. When he couldn't, he rushed to his trainer, hugging him as tightly as he could, sobbing into his trainer's bare chest. Kyo hugged him just as tightly, letting out his tears as well. He held him close as they cried, placing his chin atop his pokemon's head.

He saw his arm, which was now covered in blue scales, along with some odd, tough ridges encasing parts of his arm. He saw his hand, blue with scales as well, now bearing claws within his fingertips. He also saw his knee, not lacking in scales either. He hugged Totodile tighter as more and more tears fell from their eyes, feeling their scaled bodies press against each other.

"K-k...Kyo," Totodile sobbed, sniffling between words, "l-let...l-let's g-guh...let's go home Kyo... I..." he breathed in shakily, "I just w-whu-wanna go home..." He tightened his hug around his trainer.

"M...m-me too Totes," Kyo replied, almost choking on the lump in his throat, "me too..." They continued to cry for a while, the sounds of their sobs echoing through the cave.

***