#ditto defect

     N didn't have to go far into the trees, though they still grew together denses beyond the illusion, before coming to the waters around the Entree's clearing. Two bridges did connect the mainland to the clearing; however, N found that he could connect to the nature and Pokémon of Dream Forest more when he traversed the strange waters directly. Zorua knew this, too, and followed him in. 

    There was one more moat around the Entree itself, but first N walked over to the boarder separating the Dream Forest from its denser half; a dark place of tangled wood, where he could never go, but only watch the coming and goings of the wisps representing Pokémon. He often greeted the wisps before visiting the Entree.

     This time, though, he saw something else. He saw a Liepard, and then, in a moment of horror, he saw a person materialize. 

     "I'll play right into their hands if I do fight back," a sourceless voice said.

     Nothing he had ever seen in the trees was more than wisps of smoke, colored and shaped into their normal forms. The Trainer's smoke – he was sure it was a Trainer, now – shifted form and color – a cream, flowing fur and piercing red eyes, nine tails lashing in anger.

     "I'll break sooner if I don't fight back." 

     N recognized the voice this time. Crystal?

     He watched her pummel the Liepard with her nine tails, turning silver with the attack, wincing every time Crystal landed a hit. He wanted to scream, tell her to stop it, but he knew she didn’t know he was there, watching. She wasn’t really in the Dream Forest.

    She stopped attacking just before the Liepard fainted.

    “Wouldn’t it be merciful to her? It would, maybe, if N knew about her. But considering his stance on Pokémon cruelty and abuse, I doubt he knows about this place. Whatever I hold against him, he wouldn’t leave a hurt Pokémon to rot.”

     The Liepard’s smoke dissolved; Crystal, as a Ninetales, laid down. For just a second, N saw her face clearly; clear enough to see tears in her eyes. Faces appeared around her, in the smoke: the scarred Liepard, then her Pokémon, then N, and then a younger, happier version of herself. Crystal buried her face in her paws, and then the scene dissolved.

     N ran to the Entree. “What does it mean?!” he desperately asked it.

     Zorua nudged his leg in concern. “What’d you see?”

     “Something I caused, someone I am bringing harm to.” N reached out to the Entree. “Someone I meant to protect. Please, where is she?”

     He heard more of Crystal’s thoughts, this time stemming directly from the Entree. “I can’t become their tool. Whatever the cost.” Images of Crystal's party appeared in the trees again, this time surrounding her, with happy expressions on their faces. “Except you.” She reached out to them. “I couldn’t be free without leaving you. I was lost, we lost, they won. Better you keep your freedom. I would have lost mine either way, and the torture of knowing everyone else could have gotten away... I never would have forgiven myself.” She pulled her arm away. They all vanished.

     Crystal reappeared, in her normal form, with a hulking, massive golem staring her down. With a dread and horror that had no end, that kept growing inside of him with each mist vision shown, N recognized that hulking golem. They continued the Genesect Project. She was preparing a powerful move of some kind. “So this is Charizard's reward,” he heard. “If I lose control of this and it turns into Self-Destruct, it won’t matter what I do after that.” Another, final image formed in the dense trees: a small building on a small island. A familiar building and island. Crystal exploded, and so did the building and island.

☙   ❦   ❧

Crystal’s body shifted, horribly, incompletely, unnaturally. She just had to keep this to herself, figure out what to do—

     She locked eyes with something. No, someone. A human. This late at night?

     He froze. Then he started approaching, slowly. “Are you okay?” he asked softly. He held no fear in his eyes. Just concern. 

     His bushy, light-colored hair was long, and some fell over his shoulder. It might’ve been in a Ponyta-tail. He wore some kind of baseball cap, and nondescript clothing that could have had more color than just white and grey, but her current grey-scale night-vision couldn’t pick it out.

     Crystal noticed, as she bared her teeth at him, that she made the threat with a small snout – a Vulpix’s snout, she realized. She didn’t growl, not yet, her fangs were the first warning. He stopped. The concern never wavered.

     “I want to help you,” he said. “Can I help you?”

     She let out a quiet growl, just for a moment. No. Go away. I can’t be more clear.

     He took another step forward. “Please, I know someone who might be able to help. Who did this to you?”

     Who did this? I did this to myself. I don’t need your help. 

     “Can you tell me?”

     I'm a Pokémon, as far as you know. Of course I can't.

     The fur along her spine bristled and rose threateningly. Will-o-Wisp fires appeared around her on some uncontrollable instinct.

     “You’re a long way from home,” he said. “Vulpix are from Kanto. Who brought you here?”

     She took a threatening step forward, growling again. The Wisps moved forward, too. He stopped again.

     “I know seeing a human must be scary. But I understand you, can you tell me what happened?”

     She just continued to growl.

     He sat down, on the forest floor, and glanced up at the starry sky. “You have no reason to trust me,” he said, not looking at her. “But, I promise, I want to help. You’re hurt, you’re wrong. Someone did that to you. You’re not how you should be. It must be scary, and you don’t have to be scared and alone.” He sighed. “How about I tell you about my childhood. About the Pokémon that I helped, and met, and lived with.”

     He reached out a hand, and a Sewaddle came out of a bush and nudged against his hand. The Pokémon here know him.

     “I grew up with a lot of hurt Pokémon,” he began. “I spent time soothing them, helping them, playing with them. Growing up with them led to me understanding Pokéspeak...”

☙   ❦   ❧

And, for nearly an hour, he talked to Crystal. He poured his heart out, he stayed where he was, as Crystal listened intently. During this time, she reached out with her psychic sense – and she found that he meant what he said. His intentions, his history.

     His stories helped her calm down from her initial alarm of her ability malfunctioning, of him finding her in such a state. Maybe that person he said could help might be a good idea. If I can return to human, and find them myself. I have to stay hidden, secret. It’s dangerous that he even sees me. But he doesn’t suspect that I'm human...

     The sharp snap of twigs made her whirl around, fire at the ready. The Wisps, which had faded while the guy had talked, whooshed to life as she searched for the source of the sound.

     This human was clearly an adult. His hair was nearly shaved right to his head, and had light-colored hair, aside from a darker swish of hair that went around his head, resisting gravity, like it was one of Saturn’s rings.

     “Go on, Beheeyem,” the man said softly, not addressing Crystal or the other guy.

     Unlike her meeting with the first guy, this human brought a Pokémon with him – something odd, a Pokémon Crystal hadn’t seen before. It had light-colored skin – if it could be called skin, its form had a look of stone – and strange markings on its head. If anything, its strange body reminded her of a Gardevoir’s gown, minus the large and strange head. Its three-pronged hands reminded her of the old, grainy pictures of Mewtwo that circulated in newspapers and on the news. She reached out with her psychic-sense, but couldn’t get a read on it – instead, something pushed back.

     “Stop it,” she barked in alarm, stepping back. The presence pushed further, steadily and unhindered. “Get back!” Her fur bristled again, trying to put up a resistance – but this wasn’t like anything she had encountered before. The Wisps surrounded her, but she knew they wouldn't do much.

     “It talks?” the man asked.

     “It understood me,” the other guy said, “but never responded.”

     “That’s not a Unovan accent.”

     “It’s a Vulpix, it’s probably from Kanto.”

     Come along, a thought said. It pushed its way into Crystal’s mind.

     No! She took another step backward.

     Come along, it repeated. Its hands started lighting up, off-white flashes.

     What is that? she wondered, warily.

     Come along.

     It wasn’t hurting her. It wasn’t even attacking. In fact, it wasn’t moving, at all, aside from the lights on its hands. Just watching her, as she watched it, the lights flickering. She took a hesitant step forward. She didn’t want to, yet she very much wanted to.

     Come along. The thought had become a mantra inside Crystal's mind. Come along. She couldn’t define where it came from – the presence, or herself. It didn't matter to her to figure that out, either. Come along.

     Crystal had to follow this Pokémon – she couldn’t not. She felt compelled to go. Her hostility melted away, replaced by a welcome calmness. All of the worries she’d harbored had left. Come along.

     A gentle hand touched her back, flattening the bristled fur around her neck. The hand was warm to the touch. “We’ll help you and get you back home.”

     The small prick in her neck snapped her focus away from the hypnotizing control, the liquid he injected— But she couldn’t move, anyway – she noticed an energy holding her in place. The same way her Kadabra would sometimes use Psychic outside of battle. Kadabra would often pull berries out of trees with ease, move small boulders, and even the time he caught her PokéDex while traversing Victory Road, where it would have gone over a cliff. Once or twice, he used Psychic to hold a Pokémon in place long enough for her to make a new entry in her PokéDex, before it ran away.

     Arceus, no, please, no. She felt the adrenaline rush, in that moment, but it was only a matter of time until that couldn’t help her, she knew. Her panic would only hurry the sedative through her veins. Can I use Teleport to get far enough away before it takes effect?

     Fear overwrote her concentration - too many what-if scenarios flew through her mind, pressing against her skull. Her pulse hammered in her head, in her heart, as she stood frozen in place, time ticking by. Stop it. Use your power to get away. Then the sedative won’t matter.

      She had to focus – harder thought than done, she realized, as her thoughts scattered away from her and as darkness enticed her to relax – on the clearing where her Pokémon were sleeping, oblivious to her situation. The smallest thread in her mind let her put focus and energy into Teleport, but she quickly reached her limit and couldn’t put anything else into it. This has to work. It has to!

     The incorporeal grip vanished as she used Teleport – but it was only a handful of feet away. Without Psychic to hold her up, her legs nearly buckled beneath her as she landed on the ground. So much energy wasted on a few feet! She took a step, but vertigo pulled her to the forest floor.

     She heard the humans’ exclamations of surprise, but her exhaustion turned her focus inward – her body was slowing down as whatever sedative they gave her took hold.  I have to go, she frantically, sluggishly, thought.

     “I’ll take it to my lab for observation,” the man said. “This isn’t a normal Vulpix.”

     “Let me know if you need help with it.” The guy looked over at Crystal, pity in his eyes. “Poor thing. I can help transport it home, if that ever becomes possible.”

     “I will. Thank you, N.”

     Crystal tried to pull herself forward; she could sense Lucario dimly. He’s awake. Lucario, help! A hand scooped her up, and she hung limply in the man’s hands. She had enough awareness to wonder about her abnormally long tails, and that there were only three of them, instead of a Vulpix’s usual six.

     “I wonder how you got this way? Let’s go and see what you're made of.”

     The darkness swallowed her up.

☙   ❦   ❧

Beheeyem, the Cerebral Pokémon. It has strong psychic powers that it can use to confuse or control its opponents’ minds. Apparently, it communicates by flashing its three fingers, but those patterns haven’t been decoded. 

☙   ❦   ❧

Crystal woke up in a strange place. The blurry surroundings gave way to strange, off-white walls and tile floors. Did I mess up so badly that I’m in Professor Juniper’s lab? She pushed herself up, saw her Vulpix-like paws, and remembered what had happened. Pinwheel Forest. The humans. The dread, accompanied by, I lost control of my body.

     Panic filled her chest, she could feel herself shaking and the adrenaline that followed the realization that she had always feared this.

     Teleport, Teleport, Teleport! she urged herself, shutting her eyes tight and forcing the energy through her terror. She pictured the clearing, pictured Charizard curled up, Luxray and Persian sleeping back-to-back, Serperior draped over Venusaur as they both seem to root themselves in place; and then imagined Lucario, frantically searching for her aura, everyone starting from their peaceful sleep at his urgency.

     Teleport.

     She opened her eyes to the same white walls. She finally noticed the strange, translucent tube around her, and the adrenaline only made everything worse.

     Crystal instinctively curled her three tails around herself. What do I do? What can I do?

     Carrying a clipboard, the man from the forest strolled into the room – the main room of whatever lab she was trapped in.

     “Ah, you’re awake. For what it’s worth, I”m sorry for the tricks,” he said, trying for a smile. “But you’re just too intriguing to let be.” He walked over to the computer setup next to the tube. “Oh my, the heart-rate monitor— please, I don’t mean you harm. I’ve dealt with strange Pokémon before. If I can get you back to however you’re supposed to be, then I’ll make arrangements to send you back to Kanto. I know that your accent isn’t Unovan. But I want to record as much data as I can before that eventuality. I hope you won’t mind."

     His demeanor hadn’t really changed much from that when the other, younger guy was present – but it did change. Crystal couldn’t read him or his intentions, but she had the instinct that he was less concerned, and more curious, than he had acted with the other guy with his genuine feelings on his sleeve.

     “ My friend said that you seemed to understand human speech. You can speak, there isn’t any reason to hide that, now, so how about we have a conversation?" the man said. "How about we get you back to your original form, hm?"

     Let me go, Crystal telepathically demanded, growling.

     “Telepathy,” the man said, smiling and writing something down. “Why don’t you want to return to your original form?”

     Put me back, she hissed into his mind, baring her fangs. Where am I?

     “Opelucid City,” the man said. “In a lab that I run.”

     I don’t like labs.

     “Have you been in multiple?”

     Crystal didn't answer. She just glared at him.

     “Do you have a name?”

     Crystal thought for a moment, wondering to herself, What is your end-game here? But she found herself answering, “Yes,” aloud. She had to hold back her name – she almost let it slip.

     “Ah, you found your voice. Good. What were you, originally?”

     Crystal held the answer, even as it eagerly sat on her tongue. Doesn’t matter to you, she spat mentally instead.

     “It does if you want help getting back to your original form.”

     I don’t need your help. I did this to myself. I can undo it on my own.

     “I can do it just as easily myself,” the man said, his finger hovering over a button.

     Crystal's eyed widened in alarm. “Don't you dare,” she hissed out.

     “Fine, fine,” he said, putting his hands up in a calming gesture. “Especially when you ask verbally. Another test I want to do is to find out what Pokémon you are. You’re clearly a Vulpix, but also just as clearly not only a Vulpix. Unless you’d like to shed any light on this strange fusion of yours?”

     Crystal looked away, staring at her three tails. I don’t know. I noticed my three tails instead of a Vulpix’s typical six. She turned her head sharply to glare at him again, and growled, continuing, Right before your sedative took full effect.

     “Then let’s find out, shall we?”

     Crystal jumped in surprise as he started powering up the tube that she was in, a whir building in the air around her. “What are you doing?” she demanded.

     “I’m finding the answer to what you currently are. Aren’t you curious?”

     “No! I’m not!” She couldn’t do anything about it. She watched, helplessly, as the machine kept whirring, as the man, hunched over, watched the monitors and computers with an intense, maybe even obsessive, focus. Occasionally, he wrote something down.

     She waited for something to happen. Something to change in the tube.

     Nothing.

     He stood up and straightened his glasses. He regarded her in awe. “It says that your other half... registers as Mew, even though it’s not very certain about that. There is precious little Mew DNA available for study, especially after what happened with the Mewtwo Project in Kanto. But I’m sure you’re plenty familiar with that, aren’t you?”

     “I’m not– what? Don’t tell me you think I’m a Mew.” Arceus, why?

     “They say that Mew is the ancestor of all Pokémon, and that Ditto came from cloning attempts that weren’t overly successful. Maybe that’s where your origins lie.”

     “Mew is the ancestor of all life in those legends!” Crystal pointed out. “I know those legends, I was—” she cut herself off. If he suspects I’m human, he’ll be even more curious. Instead, she continued, “Mew can’t speak human languages!”

     “Then how are you, a random Vulpix, speaking with both telepathy and vocally? It seems there are some significant Mew influences in you, and I would like to see a Mew in person, if you wouldn’t mind,” he said eagerly, ignoring her protests. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!”

     She ran up to the side of the tube. “I’m not a Mew!” Crystal insisted.

     The man shrugged. “You’re certainly not a Vulpix. I can just make you revert to your original form, and we can have the answer.”

     “I have never seen a Mew, as much as I looked!” Crystal said, desperately. “I’m not a Mew, I promise! Just let me go. Let me go. Please!”

     “Oh, don’t worry, I plan to,” the man said. "But I want to see a Mew first, or whatever you were, and get some valuable data.”

     “Please, I'm not a Mew!”

     The man just turned back to his computers, and started hitting buttons, like before. The machine started up again. “You’re just as interesting as a Mew, even if you aren’t one. But I’d still like the data.”

     I can’t let him know! Crystal, in her panic, tried to start Self-Destruct – anything to stop anyone from knowing – but it wouldn’t hold. The energy she put into it dissipated immediately, and faster than she could replenish it.

     “You won’t be able to use any moves in there,” the man said in an offhanded manner. “It’s specifically for studying Pokémon, especially ones that could get scared into doing something drastic.”

     “I’m about to do something drastic, alright,” Crystal promised darkly.

     “You can try.”

     Her next attempt was Earthquake – but that dissolved as well. Can I overload whatever is draining my energy?

     She wracked her brain for a powerful move – All those Legendary encounters, and I can’t think of anything!

     Then her body started to change. The bones started shifting, her tendons stretching, her muscles adjusting. Her tails vanishing, the bone cells finding new purposes elsewhere.

     “Stop!” she grunted, unprepared for the sudden pain of Transform. But she knew, even if he somehow stopped the devices, her body would have completed it, anyway. “No!”

     The pain stopped, faster than she expected, leaving its burning absence in the wake of Transform. She laid on the floor of her tube, thankful that it was over quickly.

     “Hm, not what I expected. That seemed quite painful.”

     “I told you, I’m not a Mew!” Crystal hissed, trying to breathe through the pain, seeing her human hands. She slowly pushed herself up as her strength returned. “And of course it’s painful. Imagine every bone in your body breaking, deconstructing, every tendon and muscle overstretching. All at once.”

     “Evidently. My mistake, Miss. But don’t worry, I have a way to fix everything.” The man made a gesture toward a strange statue, sitting off to the side.

     The strange statue Pokémon from before levitated over to her as the tube lifted. Now, she could see the pale brown color of its body, and the red-yellow-green lights on its hands.

     “You,” Crystal growled out, glaring at the man. “Get it away from me.”

     “Now, now, this is my Beheeyem.” Than man walked over to stand near it. “He’s going to fix this whole mess right up.”

     “How can he possibly do that?” she asked, suspicious.

     “Beheeyem, erase her memories then prepare Teleport back to Pinwheel Forest. We’re dropping her back off where we found her.”

     Before Crystal could say anything, the Beheeyem arrested her mind, and the memories of the last couple of hours started dissolving like those in a dream.

     “I hope we meet again,” the strange man said.

🙞 🙟 🙝 🙜

Sebastian stalked into the observation lab early today. He had a Krookodile that walked beside him when they stood outside my containment chamber. "We'll be doing another observation test today. I do enjoy the data we can glean from your battles. N said you were a very accomplished trainer, after all, and our records show your early success in the Youth Indigo League. How much do you remember without your precious PokéDex? How many Pokémon, how many moves?"

I remained in my human form, determined to keep it for as long as I could. I couldn't risk being stuck in a Pokémon form, and I didn't trust that I would be able to use Transform successfully. My control over it was deteriorating rapidly, and it took an increasing amount of energy to even initiate Transform in the first place. 

The Krookodile sauntered in. I could sense the excitement to battle from it. This time, there would be no guilt – this was Sebastian's own Pokémon, I knew that much. This wasn't stolen or abused, like the Liepard.

"I'll leave you to it, Krookodile."

The Krookodile smiled maliciously at me. 

Without warning, he swiped at me, his claws glowing purple. Dragon Claw, I recognized. I only just got out of the way in time, but the follow-up Dragon Tail caught me off-guard, and it slammed hard into my side – knocking the air out of me, but I wasn't sure if that was all, or if my ribs— Can't think about that now, I thought, pushing the thought aside. Pain is an indicator. Nothing more. I hastily breathed a Flamethrower in the Krookodile's direction on instinct.

I thought of Ninetales, thanks to Hex, and their ability to curse – the legends I heard as I grew up. Will-O-Wisp, I thought, conjuring the cursed purple tongues of flame and sending them toward the Krookodile. 

Belatedly, I remembered that the Krookdile was a ground-type. I need water!

The Krookodile struck before I could adapt. I had enough time to recognize the attack, and try and defend against it – Crunch, against my raised arm. Luxray used this often enough for me to know it well. I didn't have time, I couldn't do anything so fast – crunch, right on my arm.

The pain was similar to the pain of using Transform, but it wasn't resolving into anything. I heard myself scream in pain – the Krookodile's jaws must have broken my arm.

In the haze, my yell turned into a roar, and the rest of my body started to burn. Ninetales, I had the brief clarity to think. Mid-Transform, I used Iron Tail as I gained the nine tails, slamming each tail down sequentially onto the Krookodile. I landed hard, unable to use one of my front legs – even though Transform, it stayed broken. With my whole body hurting, I forced out a Hydro Pump directly at the stunned Krookodile. He finally fainted, to my relief.

I struggled to my feet, holding up my broken leg. I didn't want to Transform. I don't have enough energy to use it again, especially not with this leg. Can I heal it with my ability?

Sebastian approached the door, and I snarled at him, fire licking at my teeth. His sickeningly satisfied expression only fueled my fury.

"What a lovely performance," he mocked. "I think we're starting to make good progress. I did note that you tried halting your transformation. Everything will be faithfully recorded."

As futile as I knew it would be, I blasted the door with Flamethrower. I did get the satisfaction of Sebastian flinching back, though I did little or even no damage otherwise.

"Do you want to use my Krookodile for something else, or may I take him back?"

As if you need my permission. If you wanted him, you'd find a way to take him. I just continued baring my fangs.

"I'd like to take him to heal. You wouldn't keep a Pokémon in pain, for how they were raised?"

As if they aren't sentient in their own right!

"We can just sedate you. It's really no skin off my teeth."

I huffed out a small plume of fire, and went to lay in the farthest corner, where my bed was. I didn't lay on it, but faced away from the door. I heard it open, heard the Pokéball returning Krookodile, and heard the door lock again.