Nate and the Mysterious Locket

Chapter 4

Nate was busy making himself lunch when his phone rung; his sister was calling him. Nate answered the phone, and put it on speaker, setting the phone on an angle atop the counter he was working on. A small hologram appeared from the phone, which showed a video of Susie. Her hair was tied back, and from the portion of her torso the camera was able to capture, you could see she wore a small pin that showed her name and the Olivine Café logo. "Hey, Nate! How've you been, bud? You look a little sick. After work I could bring you some soup if that would help?" Susie's face went from smiling and happy to frowning and anxious almost instantly.
"It's all good over here, Susie. I'm fine, just tired is all. I might take a nap after lunch; you don't need to worry about me" Nate tried to calm down his sister, however her face remained in its worried state.
"Nate, I'm worried about you. Ever since Mom and Da-"
"Can we not go over this right now? Maybe we can talk about it when you get home again but not now?"
"You're right. I'll get back to work. Just please stay safe. There's medicine in the fridge if you feel like you need it, alright?"
"I've got it. Love you sis." Nate reached for the phone to hang up.
"Love you t-" The hologram shut off as Nate pressed the button. He picked up the phone, pausing when he noticed it felt much bigger in his hands than when he started the call. Shrugging it off, he set the phone aside, grabbed the sandwich he had finished making, and went back to the living room to eat his food. On the television, a documentary about regional forms was showing the camera a Galaran Zigzagoon. Nate heard the cameraman mention something about eevee, and his ears perked up. Nate froze, and set the plate down on the coffee table, before slowly moving his hands to the side of his head. He didn't feel anything except for his hair. He then moved his hands slowly upward, brushing them through his suddenly softer hair. He arrived at the top of his head, and felt two large, fluffy, ears. Upon touching them, Nate jolted and an odd tingling sensation ran through his body. The ears felt so alien, but the more Nate felt them the more he realized what had happened; these ARE his ears. Nate's breathing sped up. He began to hear more sounds, much louder. Birds chirping outside, young children playing along the street, the sounds of cars driving along the streets around him. Nate ran towards the bathroom, not able to believe what was happening on. He slammed the door open, and immediately looked at himself in the mirror. He was definitely shorter than he used to be, his head only just visible in the mirror. Nate's hair had grown on much more of his body; he was growing a coat of thick chestnut-brown fur, starting with his head. Nate's ears were now on the top of his head, and looked more like eevee ears now. As Nate stood in the mirror, he noticed his face stretching slightly, growing into a small muzzle. Nate touched his muzzle, noticing its sensitivity, before realizing his hands were now small paws. His clothes started slipping down, Nate no longer the right size or body shape to wear them. Nate felt a pain in his lower back, and bent over as a large bushy tail grew. Nate could no longer reach the mirror, let alone stand correctly, and so was forced to stand on both pairs of legs. Nate yelled for help, but the only sound that came out of his mouth was a quiet eevee sound. Nate coughed, his throat sore as it changed from a human voice-box into that of a pokémon. Nate put his paws over his head in pain and fear, as the final changes were happening within his body. Shortly after Nate felt his fur stop growing, the pain inside him subsided and he lifted his head. He was now only just high enough to face the bottom drawer; only 1 1/2 feet high. Nate sat there for a moment, reeling from what had happened. He lied back down, buried his face in his front paws, and cried.

"Lousy, sexist sailor guy..." Susie stomped her way towards the house, carrying a bag from the local supermarket. She was still in her work clothes having only just finished work. "Oh man Nate hasn't been responding to my calls... I hope he's still okay." Susie sped up once she neared the house. Once at the door, she fumbled around with the keys, visibly worried now. She unlocked the door and hurried inside. "Naaate! Are you alright??" Susie yelled as she locked the door behind her. "I brought some ingredients for chicken soup, as well as some more medicine just in case!" Susie walked into the kitchen, noticing a small mess of vegetables around the closed fridge. "Ugh... Nate..." Susie sighed and set down her bag, "Nate! Could you come down here and help clean up this mess?" Susie looked around the house expecting a response. Silence continued. Susie shut the fridge door, the ground now relatively clean, "Could you at least say something??" Susie began taking the items out of the grocery bag, and packing them away for when she would make dinner later. Susie slammed her hand on the kitchen counter, "NATE! ANSWER ME!" A loud thump came from upstairs, followed by a small whine. Susie sighed, and stomped her way up the stairs. "Nate are you alright? I didn't mean to scare you..."
"Eevee..." Came the response
"Nate? I told you to ASK me before getting a pet. You know Eevee can be really finicky, and they grow up to be really big pokémon. You'll either have to take it to a shelter or..." Susie opened the door to Nate's room, finding a mess of Nate's clothing on the ground, with a small eevee in the centre of it all. The eevee wore a small pokéball shaped locket around its neck, and had small beads of water in its fur as if it had been crying. Susie looked around the room for any sign of Nate, however there was none. "Naaaate?!" Susie yelled throughout the house, hoping to get a response from her younger brother.
Instead, the small eevee responded with a small, "Ee-VEE!"
Susie looked down at the eevee, "Do YOU know where Nate is little guy?"
"Eevee!" The small eevee nodded, and ran over to Nate's bookshelf.
Susie followed, "He went to get a book...?"
The eevee ignored her, and began scratching a book out of the shelf. Susie walked over and helped pull it out. When Susie looked at it, she paused, a look of surprise on her face. It was an old photo book, containing pictures of Nate throughout the years. The photos stopped halfway through the book, a couple of weeks before the accident happened. Susie looked at the eevee, and the eevee looked back. Susie opened her mouth to say something, paused at the absurdity, then continued regardless, "N-nate?" She asked?
The eevee jumped up and yipped, "Eevee! Vee vee!"
Susie stared, her mouth gaping, before she fainted.