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Today has to be the worst day of your life. Out of all the days you could have picked to explore one of Unova's sprawling forests, you picked the entirely wrong day. As much as you hate to admit it, you're lost.

Your Pokemon had spent too much time fighting off packs of forest Pokemon, and to your dismay, they are so tired that they can only struggle. Phone's dead, no revives left, half your team has fainted. There's no telling when you'll get out of here.

After wandering for some time, you notice that the sun is going to set soon. You don't want to think about what will happen in this forest at night.

Peering between the trees, you see light glinting off a red roof in the distance. That has to be the Pokemon Center. You'd recognize that shade of red anywhere. The location is a little strange, however. You've never heard of a Pokemon Center built in the middle of the forest. The sun is beginning to sink under the horizon, so you aren't picky about where the Pokemon Center is at this point.

Suddenly, you feel a little more energetic knowing that you're going to be able to rest soon. The Pokemon Center is probably within easy walking distance. You dart through the trees, avoiding debris scattered on the forest floor.

Something moves.

Yes, you are absolutely sure one of the shadows around you moved. You stop for a moment to glance around and make sure you aren't being followed. The only sound you hear is the distant chirping of a bird, most likely a Pidove.

"Is someone there?" you call. No response.

You continue on your way, and this time, your steps are a little more careful.

Soon, you reach a path in the middle of the forest, leading right up to the Pokemon Center. What luck!, you think. The Pokemon Center is only about two hundred feet away by now. You smile to yourself and decide to run the rest of the way. It'll all be worth it once you get to rest for the night.

As you start to run, you see movement out of the corner of your eye. Something definitely moved in the shadows again. You dash down the path slightly faster. You're sure you're being watched now, but once you get to the Pokemon Center, you assume you'll be safe.

The sun has completely vanished beneath the horizon, and the sky is a pale pink color. You need to reach the Pokemon Center soon. How long have you been running, anyway? You should be close.

But it's gone.

The Pokemon Center should be right in front of you by now. Instead, a group of small bushes is taking the place of where the Pokemon Center should be. You take a few steps back and look around. It's possible that you could have been hallucinating, but you think that's unlikely.

The bushes in front of you begin to shake, and a dark shape hops out. You immediately recognize the Pokemon. It's a Zoroark. You realize that you've been fooled by its illusion. Shaking your head, you start to turn around and head back, but you feel a weight being lifted off your shoulders. Your bag! You whirl around to see the Zoroark, along with a few other Zoroark, running away with all your belongings. Those other Zoroark must have been the shapes you saw moving earlier. You were being watched, but that wasn't your priority now. The pack of Zoroark have your bag, with your Pokeballs inside.

Your legs are feeling tired now, and the sunlight is beginning to diminish. Even so, the Zoroark have your stuff now, and without your things, you can't even battle. You sprint after the Zoroark with your remaining energy. They quickly disperse into the trees and almost seem to fade into the shadows. You didn't even see which one had your bag.

"Hey!" you yell. "You better give me back my stuff! If you don't, you'll regret it!" An empty threat. The Zoroark don't respond to this.

You start to feel a little hopeless. It's dark out, you don't have any of your supplies, and you have no idea where you are. The Zoroark vanished with all your things in a matter of seconds and there's no telling when you'll get out of this place.

Slouching, you make your way over to a nearby fallen tree and sit on the trunk. Today couldn't possibly get any worse, could it?

A shadowy figure approaches you. Flinching and jumping to your feet, you start to back off, but the shadow flinches when you do. Judging by the shape, it's another Zoroark, but this one is on all fours. Its fur is standing on end, and its ears are pressed to its head.

You cautiously hold out one hand so the Zoroark can get an idea of what you smell like. You don't want to seem hostile, after all. Hoping that Pokemon can't smell fear, you wait for the Zoroark to make a move. It silently pads closer and sniffs at your hand. To your surprise, it nuzzles its snout into your palm. You stroke its head and scratch its chin. Without warning, it nips your hand, so you jump back and rub the place where it bit you.

You wonder if you're allergic to Zoroark as you glance down at your hand. A sensation runs up and down your palm, from the place where the Zoroark bit you. It almost feels as if a blade is barely grazing your skin. Wincing in pain, you inspect your hand. Something gray is coming out of your palm. Your eyes widen.

"Don't even think about screaming! You're just going to draw attention to yourself," the Zoroark says.

All you can do is glance back and forth between your hand and the talking Zoroark. You knew that Zoroark had the capability to speak human languages, but you hadn't expect it to sound so fluent.

"Now, stay calm. You might feel a little funny, but it'll pass," continues the Zoroark, who is now standing on two legs instead of four.

The gray patch on your hand has started to spread up your arm. Speechless, you use your other hand to feel the gray patch, which you now recognize as dense fur. Your fingers have also started to change, as your index and middle finger start to merge together. Your ring and pinky finger have also started to merge, and all your fingers are turning a shade of crimson red.

"W-What's happening to me?" you manage to stutter.

"It seems like my bite has begun your, uh, transformation, if you wanna call it that. Must be something in my teeth." The Zoroark absentmindedly uses its claws to comb through its long ponytail.

"Why are you standing there and not helping me?" you shout. The fur is still spreading, and it's by your collarbone, causing long tufts of fur to grow out of your chest. One of your arms has completely changed into something else. However, as you look closer at it, your arm definitely looks similar to a Zoroark's arm. Maybe, just maybe, that might be part of the answer you're looking for.

"Am I turning into... one of you?" you ask.

"Me? Oh, you mean a Zoroark? Maybe." The Zoroark smirks.

By now, you realize that this Zoroark isn't going to be any help. Your other arm has started to grow fur from the shoulder down, and to make matters worse, your head is starting to change shape. Your entire skeleton is morphing into one of a Zoroark, and the sensation is like nothing else you could ever imagine.

The bones around your mouth stretch into some snout-like shape, as if the new forms appearing on you are being molded out of clay. Your teeth become sharp and pointed, and your ears begin to extend outward and turn gray, the same color as the rest of your new fur.

Without warning, your vision goes dark, just for a moment. When it returns, the forest is now brighter, and there's more contrast between lights and shadows. Despite this, you realize that most of the colors in the forest have disappeared. Your vision must have changed, too, making the world appear like it would to a Zoroark.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see a puddle illuminated by the now-present moon above you. You stumble over to the puddle and get a good look at your reflection. Most of your face resembles a Zoroark by now, and there's no evidence that you were ever human. You can only watch as your reflection grows a long red ponytail, and your ears perk up at the new weight tugging on your head.

You look down to see that your chest, back, and waist have become covered in fur, and your spine has altered to give you a new, uncomfortable stance. The fur spreads down your thighs and your legs' shape begins to morph, just like the rest of your body. You find yourself unable to stand as your changing body forces you onto your toes.

The Zoroark stands over you and tilts its head.

"Are you gonna be alright?" it asks. "You don't look so good."

"Of course I'm not alright!" you bark. "This is your fault! If you hadn't bitten me, I wouldn't have ended up like this!" Gripping your legs, you realize that your transformation is almost complete. Your clothes, which now hang off your small frame, slip off as you stand up. Finally, your shoes begin to tear as your feet grow too wide for them.

"There's no use arguing it now. It's too late."

You take a few wobbly steps toward the Zoroark. "What am I going to do now?" you utter to yourself.

"Well, you could stay with us. I'm part of a pretty nice pack of Zoroark and Zorua. I was a human once, if that makes you feel any better," says the Zoroark, shrugging. "I'm going to tell you right now that it'll be a challenge returning to your old life."

"This is too much information to take in," you murmur, inspecting your new body.

"I know. You'll get used to it, just like I did. Believe me, you're going to have more fun now than you did when you were a human."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah! C'mon, I'm sure everyone wants to meet you." The Zoroark makes some semblance of a smile. It walks ahead of you and gestures for you to follow.

You're sure you will miss your old life, but maybe living as a Zoroark won't be so bad after all.