Honestly, he wasn’t sure why he’d bothered to tag along in the first place.
He’d been close enough to catch wind of the plan—that they were all going to come down to the cove and look for this “Manaphy”, which was apparently a mythical Pokémon. Wes had nearly laughed out loud at that.
Seriously? A whole group of people was just going to waltz down to the water’s edge and—what? Nicely ask a
legendary Pokémon to show itself? Gods, he couldn’t have come up with a more idiotic plan if he’d tried.
So why had he bothered to tag along? Maybe he just needed some entertainment and wanted to watch these people make idiots of themselves. But maybe part of him was actually curious. After all, he recognized Odette and her posse, and that rather articulate kid who has stepped in between him and Noro the day before, and—hell, even
Nate had been tagging along. Wes had never pegged any of them as morons, even if he didn’t know them very well. Maybe there was something he wasn’t aware of, an unspoken factor to the whole thing.
His excuse, though, was that he just wanted to take Neo and Novo to the beach to play. Which was certainly believable, since the two of them immediately bounded to the water and stared at it in awe. Novo didn’t hesitate to jump in the waves and splash around with glee, but Neo unexpectedly got his paws wet when a particularly strong wave washed up. He promptly decided to keep his distance and returned to sit next to Wes, but only after yowling at the ocean for its audacity.
Wes remained a fair distance from the group and sat on the sand, close enough to listen but far enough away to avoid interaction. He shook his head as he watched the dark-clothed kid step into the water and call out for Manaphy. Honestly, what was the guy expecting to hap—
holy hell.
It had worked. Somehow, it had
worked, and a tiny little blue Pokémon emerged from the water. Wes could hear it speak, though he wasn’t sure if he was actually hearing it or if the Pokémon was speaking inside his head, which was…unnerving.
Wes leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and thought about moving closer. Surely having a legendary on their side was good, right? Especially if it was a psychic one? He watched Odette ask the Pokémon about a “heart swap”, whatever the hell that was. And then…then—
Then suddenly he was standing in the water.
Wes blinked and staggered, feeling woozy from the odd floating sensation that had suddenly taken over his senses. He managed to catch himself and closed his eyes until the feeling passed, then opened them again.
The hell? Had he just been teleported? But—he at least hadn’t gone far, because Odette was nearby, and—oh gods, Manaphy was
right there, and—what was in his face?
He raised a hand to brush what looked like a curtain of bright blond hair out of his vision, then froze. For one thing, his arm…his clothing was different. Instead of his teal coat, he wore long, black sleeves that were smattered with rips and tears. And then, this curtain of yellow hair
was hair. And it was attached to his head.
“What is going—?” he froze again. His voice. His voice was
different. Not his at all.
Panic rising in his chest, he floundered out of the water, stumbling more than once—was he taller? What was he wearing, why did he feel so
different, what was
happening—
Yells and varying exclamations started breaking out all around him. In a daze, Wes watched as some began looking at themselves—their hands, their limbs, playing with their own hair—with faces of awe, while others shrieked in confused distress. He remembered what Odette had just said a second earlier—about “heart swap” and “swapping bodies”…
Oh.
Oh, gods. No, no, no, this couldn’t be happening, this was
not happening, how was this possible,
who was he and where was he and—
Neo. Novo. Where.
Where were they.
One moment, Novo had been splashing in the waves and having the time of his life. Water was always fun to play in, but this water even
moved like it was alive! He’d been making a game out of dodging and rolling with the waves, and had just taken a flying leap over the crest of another one when—
Pompf. He face-planted into the sand. What? How—?
He clambered to his feet and shook the sand from his pelt—only to fall over again. His paws felt too big, his ears too small, his muzzle too long. He whined, but instead of coming out as a trill, it came out in a deep, wavering growl. He looked over himself again and—wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. He was…not an Umbreon anymore. He was…a Mightyena?
He attempted a yap of distress, and what came out was a booming bark that startled him so badly he nearly fell over a third time.
Wes. Wes! Where was Wes! His trainer could fix this. He would make it all better. Where was he?
Neo had been getting comfortable in the sun, in the warm sand around him. It was the perfect condition for a nap, so maybe that was why he felt a little dazed when he felt an odd sensation and jolted up. Had he dozed off? Why was he suddenly in the shade, under trees? And why did his tail feel so…different?
He snapped his head around, looking to his trainer for reassurance, and his confusion immediately melted into alarm. Not-Wes was sitting
right next to him.
Neo arched his back and snarled.
“Briiiii!”
….huh?
@AbraPunk @Shiny Phantump @Negrek
