Caleb and Wolfie

Chapter 1: Transformation

Caleb walks along Route 101, his partner Wolfie by his side. He looks around the route, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. They reach an area by a small lake. Wolfie sniffs something unusual. He nuzzles Caleb's leg to get his attention. "What is it, Wolfie?" Caleb said.

The Poochyena starts following the scent. Caleb follows him. Eventually, Wolfie starts digging in the ground. He comes up with a deflated pool floatie in his mouth. "Hm? What's this?" Caleb asked. Caleb takes it out of Wolfie's mouth and examines it.

All of a sudden, the pool floatie latches around Caleb's neck and instantly inflates, surprising him. "Huh?!" Caleb shouted. He tried to pull it off, but it had already fused with his body. "It's stuck! And... now my hands feel weird..." He looked down at his hands.

His hands were growing short orange fur, and his fingers were morphing into paws. "What's happening?!" After his hands had completely transformed into orange paws, Caleb felt a strange sensation around his elbows. Little blue fins were coming out of his elbows. The sensation went to his tailbone. He looked behind him and saw that he was growing not one, but two orange tails that were lighter colored at the ends.

After the tails had fully grown, the world seemed to get larger for Caleb, even his clothes. He looked down and realized that he was shrinking. Most of his body had already been covered in short, orange fur while he was distracted watching his tails grow. His legs shrunk down all the way, leaving only his feet. He felt his head change shape to more of a sea otter's, also being engulfed in short, orange fur.

The transformation was complete, leaving Caleb as now a Buizel. Caleb looks around from his new perspective, hyperventilating. He wasn't sure if he was dreaming or hallucinating or what. He wasn't doing any of those. He had actually transformed into a Buizel. He swiftly looked towards Wolfie, who was about as confused as (but not as panicked as) Caleb was. "Hey, Caleb, calm down, it'll be okay..." Wolfie said in an attempt to calm Caleb. However, it only made him panic more.

"Huh?! How can I understand you now?! What's going on?!" Caleb yelled out in fear.

"Caleb, you're a Pokemon now." Wolfie replied calmly, trying to calm Caleb.

"WHAT?! HOW?!" Caleb asked.

"I'm... not sure, but I think it had something to do with that deflated pool floatie." Wolfie responded.

Caleb continued to hyperventilate. "Caleb, calm down... You'll be okay..." Wolfie said as he nuzzled Caleb's stomach. Eventually, Caleb calmed down a bit, still terrified of what just happened. He then hugged Wolfie tightly.

"Caleb, it's okay... Maybe it's only temporary?" Wolfie said, hugging Caleb back, trying to make him feel better.

"Y-yeah, hopefully..." Caleb said in a worried tone. He didn't want to be a Pokemon forever. How was he supposed to become the very best if he was a Buizel? "B-but now what?"

"We could go see if anyone knew about the pool floatie." Wolfie suggested.

"Y-yeah, s-sounds great..." Caleb replied. He doesn't let go of the hug.

"I know this might seem like a drastic change, and it is, but I'll help you get through it..." Wolfie said.

"O-ok... T-thanks, Wolfie..." Caleb replied.

"No problem, Caleb..." Wolfie replied.

They continued hugging for several minutes in silence. Afterwards, Wolfie let go of the hug and looked up at Caleb's Buizel face, smiling. "You wanna do something fun? It might make you feel better," Wolfie suggested.

"I wanna know about that pool floatie... How did it turn me into this Pokemon? What is this Pokemon?" Caleb looked around his body, trying to figure out what he was, but to no avail.

"We can do that later, though." Wolfie complained.

"We can also have fun later, Wolfie." Caleb replied.

"But... but... Please?" Wolfie begged.

Caleb sighs. "Fine. What kind of fun did you have in mind?"

"YAAY! Follow me!" Wolfie started running towards Route 103.

"H-hey, wait up! I have smaller legs now!" Caleb shouted.