Chapter Text
It's the smell that wakes her up. Her nose twitches as her brain registers a hundred different scents at once—soil, leaves, plants, fruits, water.
It's all wrong. Why does it smell like a forest inside of her bedroom?
And there's something else, something that stands out starkly from the smell of growth and greenery. It's smoky. And very, very close to her.
"Hey," says a voice. "You alive or what?"
Her eyes pop open and she is met with the pale face of an enormous creature looming over her. She yelps and scrambles back to get away from the—is it a fox? Wolf? Whatever it is, it's huge, way bigger than she is.
The creature jumps in alarm. Now that it's not right up in her face, she has a better view of it. It's more a fox than a wolf, but it's… weird. Its fur is silver, sparkling in the sunlight, and it has a long mane and multiple tails!
It's no regular fox, it's a k—
It's some kind of y—
…God, the words are right on the tip of her tongue, but her head hurts when she tries to chase them down. What is wrong with her?
"Entei's teeth, kid," the fox-thing says. "Chill out, would ya? Just trying to make sure you're still breathing."
"You… you can talk?!" she exclaims. It's voice is low and feminine, and now that she's really looking at it, she notices a small pair of red-framed glasses perched its snout.
The fox snorts, and its tails flick. "So can you, it seems. You bump your head, or something?"
"I-I don't…" She's so confused, she doesn't know how she got here in this… forest, or—
Oh god, she doesn't remember anything! Maybe she did hit head… She reaches up to feel around for a bump, and—
…What?
That's not… That's not right, why can she feel…? Why is her ear…?
She pulls her hand down to stare at it. That is not her hand—it's not even a hand, it's a paw, covered in bright yellow fur! Pink pads on the tips of her fingers and her palm, and small claws sprout from her fingertips.
Panic swells in her chest, tightening her throat. She feels around her face—it's furry, with strange, rubbery patches on both her cheeks. Her questing hands find her ears, and they're long, so long she can grab hold of them and pull them down in front of her face. They're yellow, tipped with black. Looking down at the rest of her body, she can see more yellow fur, and—holy crap—a tail in the shape of a lighting bolt with a black heart shape on the tip!
What the fuck is happening?!
"Uh… you alright there, kid?" The fox approaches her.
"S-stay back!" she exclaims, throwing her strange, paw-hands out in front of her—though the fox is so big, if it wants to eat her, she has no way of stopping it. Her cheeks tingle, for some reason, and she hears a crackling sound.
"Hey, hey, no need to spit sparks at me!" The fox backs away from her. Its—her?—voice lowers into a soothing tone. "What's your name, kid?"
"M-Momo," she says, and thank god she can remember that, at least! "I'm Momo…"
…It feels like there should be more to it, somehow. She has a surname, right? She must. God, her head is killing her…
"Momo," the fox says. "My name is Seiko. Where are you from, Momo?"
"I don't remember. I don't remember anything, but—but I know I'm a human, not a-a… whatever I am! This isn't me!" Her eyes begin to sting, and Momo swipes at them. She hates crying.
"A human?" the fox asks incredulously. Her head dips towards Momo and her nose twitches as she sniffs her. "You seem like a perfectly normal Pikachu to me."
"A-a what?" Pika… chu? She doesn't recognize that word. Is that whatever this fuzzy long-eared thing she's become is called?
Seiko huffs out a breath. "Look, you seem… confused. My place isn't far from here. I ain't no healer, but I can look you over, see if you've got a head injury or something."
Follow the giant fox thing back to her lair? Yeah, sounds like a great idea!
"Like hell am I going anywhere with you! You're probably gonna try and eat me, or something!"
Seiko's muzzle wrinkles in such obvious disgust, it's almost comical. "Eat you? Where in the world did ya get that idea?! Gross…" She stands up. "Look kid, follow me or don't, it ain't no fur off my back. But from where I'm standing, it doesn't look like you've got any better options."
That's… depressingly accurate.
"Wait," Momo says as Seiko turns away to leave. With a bit of wobbling, she stands up—sheesh, this body is so short—and takes a few steps forward. "I'll come with you. You're right, I don't… I don't have anywhere else to go."
Seiko nods once. "C'mon, then." She turns and begins walking away, and Momo hurries after her.
It's… awkward. Her legs are much, much shorter than the fox's, and it takes her way more effort than it feels like it should to keep up. Her foot catches on a root sticking out of the ground, and she hits the ground with an oomph.
"Why are you walking like that?" Seiko asks, having stopped to watch Momo struggle back to her feet.
Annoyance flares in her chest. "My legs are a lot shorter than they were before, okay?!"
"…Right. Just go down on all fours. It's faster."
"Hah?!" she demands. "No way!"
"Suit yourself." Seiko continues on at the same pace as before. She's gonna leave me behind at this rate!
Grumbling, Momo lowers herself to the ground. After a couple awkward steps, her arms and legs fall into a natural rhythm on their own. Feeling a little more confident, Momo increases her speed, her gait changing to rabbit-like hops without even thinking about it to catch up to Seiko.
It's still really weird having her face this close to the ground, but it seems like her new body knows what it's doing…
"…Sorry about before," Momo says.
"S'alright. Can't blame you for being suspicious of strangers, with the world the way it is nowadays."
What is that supposed to mean?
"But you're just gonna let some stranger into your home?"
Seiko makes a point of looking her up and down. "I think I'll be alright."
Momo huffs. She can't exactly argue with that…
They walk in silence for a while. There's no trail that she can discern, but Seiko seems like she knows exactly where she's going. As they go on, Momo's fragile hope that maybe this whole thing is some weird dream shrivels up and dies.
She might not remember any of her dreams specifically right now, but she's pretty sure none of them have felt so real. Her nose can pick up a hundred scents from the greenery around them, her ears twitch at the sound of wind rustling through the trees. Her hands—paws—can feel the dirt and grass and moss they walk over.
Eventually, the trees part. In front of them there's a wide dirt road, and across the road is a stone gate. Momo stares at it, a wave of familiarity washing over her.
The structure is so similar to something she thinks she's seen before, but also different. Ugh, this amnesia thing is so annoying…
She follows Seiko through the gate. Through it is a little clearing, and to their left is a building—very obviously a house—and next to that is a much smaller building. It's barely even that, just a small alcove with three walls, a roof, and a pedestal in the center with some kind of statue on it.
A shrine, Momo thinks, though how she knows that, she has no idea. It's the same familiar-but-not sensation she got from the gate.
"Come on in," Seiko says, pushing open the door to the house—is it her house? Talking animals here live in houses?
Guess it makes sense, Momo thinks. Seiko seems intelligent as any human. Just glad it's not some hole in the ground. She can't remember ever going camping, but the idea does not appeal to her.
The inside of Seiko's house is surprisingly cozy. It has lots of windows covered by wooden slats rather than glass, currently open to let in the sunlight. The floors are wooden, and so are the walls, with large paper screens separating the rooms. Straw mats cover the floorboards in the main room.
Momo has no shoes to take off, so she wipes her hands and feet off on a mat at the entrance before she steps further in.
"Sit yourself down," Seiko says, indicating a few cushions strewn around the living room with a flick of her tails. Momo does so, and Seiko settles herself down in front of her. "Now, just hold still a minute."
She's about to ask why when a pink light appears in Seiko's eyes and Momo is hit with the sensation of being seen so intensely she cries out.
"What the hell was that?!" she exclaims after it fades a moment later.
"Chill out. Just a touch of Extrasensory."
That means absolutely nothing to her.
"Well, don't do it again, that was creepy!" It felt like she'd been stripped down bare and—oh shit, she's been literally naked this entire time, hasn't she?
Momo crosses her arms over her chest self-consciously, even though Seiko is also naked, and there's actually nothing there to cover in the first place.
"Weird," Seiko says, almost to herself. "I don't see any head injuries… No injuries at all, in fact. You're in completely perfect health. Hmm…"
Momo squirms under the fox's piercing gaze. Eventually, she shrugs, and gets up to go rummage around inside a set of drawers against the wall. When she comes back over to Momo, a wooden pipe with intricate carvings is clenched between her teeth. She settles herself back down on the cushions, and with a flick of one of her tails, a small ball of flame appears out of thin air.
Momo gawks as the flame ignites the pipe and the same smokey scent that clings to the fox fills the room.
"How'd you do that?!" It was a much cooler trick than the weird pink light.
Seiko raises a brow as she exhales smoke through her nose. "You ain't never seen a fire-type, kid?"
"Fire what? What's that mean?"
"My type, kid. All Pokémon have a type. I'm a fire-type, you're an electric-type. C'mon, this is basic stuff."
"I told you, I'm a human, not a—a pokey-man, or peeking-chew, or whatever! We don't have giant foxes that make fire outta thin air or—or yellow electric rabbits where I'm from!"
"Foxes? Rabbits? What're you on about?"
"You! You're a fox, but really big and with lots of tails, for some reason!"
"I'm a Ninetales, kid."
Momo groans and flops onto her back, giving up. They're just going around in circles. Frustration claws up her throat, making her eyes tear up again, but she stubbornly blinks them away.
Seiko watches her in silence for a moment. Then she says, "Well, whatever you used to be, you're a Pokémon, now."
"Thought you called me a peeking-chew, before," Momo grumbles.
"Pikachu. That's you're species, like I'm a Ninetales."
That's awfully literal, Momo thinks, looking up to count—and yeah, she does have nine of them.
"But the people of this world are all Pokémon."
"What about the humans," she asks, sitting up. "Where are they?"
Seiko shrugs. "Dunno. I sure ain't never seen one. So far as I know, they're all gone—if they even existed in the first place."
"But they do exist! They have to, I'm a human!"
Seiko just hums a neutral tone. "So, you're a human who somehow became a Pikachu and lost all her memories. What are you going to do now, then?"
"I…" Momo trails off, looking down at her unfamiliar hands. What am I going to do now?
She has absolutely nowhere to go, and no one to talk to besides this weird fox lady—Ninetales lady, or whatever.
She is completely and utterly alone.
"Well, no need to decide right away," Seiko says, standing back up. "You can stay here for the time being."
Momo looks up at her, startled. "Wha—wait, really?"
Seiko shrugs. "Why not? I got an extra room you can sleep in. It's nothing fancy, but it'll do. I'll make us dinner—do you like oran soup?"
"I have no idea what that is…"
Seiko makes her way into the room adjacent—the kitchen, maybe—with Momo still trying to catch up.
"I'll, uh, I'll pay you back? Eventually? I don't have any money right now, but…" Where would she even get some? Do Pokémon even use money?
Seiko looks back at her. "What would be the use of giving me money, huh?"
"But… but you're being so nice to me! I gotta pay you back somehow—"
"Times like these, Pokémon need to look after each other," Seiko interrupts. "If you're feeling indebted to me, then you can pay it forward by helping someone else who's in trouble. I don't want any repayment more than that."
Momo just blinks, momentarily stunned. Seiko is… really cool, actually… "Can I… help you with dinner, or something?"
"Can you cook?"
"I have no clue."
Seiko snorts at that. "I'm fine, kid. It won't take long. Look around if you want—your room's first one down the hall there. Just don't break anything."
Momo looks down the hall she indicates. Seiko disappears back into the kitchen, so she gets up from her cushion seat and goes to explore.
The door swings open with a gentle push, and the room inside is… pretty bare. Orange light peeks through the slats of the one window—Momo didn't realize how late it had gotten. Under the window is a large chest, a mirror in the corner, and nest in the center of the floor.
That's not an exaggeration, either, it's literally a nest, made of twigs. Momo walks up to it, bewildered.
Does she expect me to sleep in this? Upon closer inspection, she can see a few pillows and a blanket laid over a pile of straw in the center—but still. It's a nest.
…Maybe it's more comfortable than it looks?
Momo looks up from the nest and spots the mirror in the corner. Nerves battle with curiosity as she walks up to it and peers at her reflection.
In the mirror is a small yellow rabbit. But not a rabbit, exactly. There are bright red patches on its cheeks, a small black nose, lighting-bolt tail, and its dark pink eyes blink at the same time Momo's do.
Momo reaches her hands up to press on her cheeks, and the rabbit-creature in the mirror does the same. That's… really me, isn't it? She brushes through the long strands of brown fur that fall over her forehead. Did she have bangs like this, in her human body?
She turns around to examine her back, and notes a few brown, horizontal stripes.
I guess… this could've been worse, she thinks. Her new body isn't bad-looking. Pretty cute, even. Just wish I wasn't so small…
Momo is distracted from examining herself by the utterly delicious smell wafting through the air. Her nose twitches as she inhales, and follows the scent back into the living room.
A low table has appeared, with two bowls set on top of it. Seiko is currently ladling a dark, chunky liquid into them from a metal pot—she doesn't spill a single drop, even though she's clutching the ladle in her teeth.
She looks up at Momo once she's done. "Hungry?"
Her stomach gurgles in reply. "Uh huh…"
Momo settles herself down on the cushion across from Seiko and peers into her bowl. It's full of a dark, almost purple broth, and chunks of some kind of blue fruit are floating in it. She doesn't recognize it at all, but it smells amazing. Momo picks up the small wooden spoon beside her bowl.
She has the feeling like she should say something before she starts eating…
"Thanks for the food," she tells Seiko. The Ninetales looks at her and nods in acknowledgement, before leaning down to sip at her bowl.
Momo spoons up some of the steaming liquid and blows on it before taking a sip—it tastes even better than it smells. The blue fruits add the perfect amount of sweetness in the savory broth.
"You've got a healthy appetite," Seiko says when Momo finishes off her bowl. "That's good. Want some more?"
"Yes please!"
+++
Once they've polished off the soup, Seiko has Momo help her clean up. She carries the bowls into the kitchen, and looks around curiously. The kitchen doesn't look how she'd expected—there's no dishwasher or refrigerator.
Do they not have those here? she wonders. Her head twinges a little, but nowhere near as painfully as when she first woke up that day.
There is a sink against the wall, but its faucet has a pump attached. Maybe the water comes from a well, or something?
Seiko sets the empty pot down and reaches into the sink. After doing something Momo can't see—the sink is much taller than her—she tilts a small dish so that a bit of liquid pours out of it and into the sink. The smell makes Momo think it might be dish soap.
Seiko begins to work the pump with both paws, and water gushes out of the faucet into the sink, soon filling it with soapy suds.
"You scrub, I'll dry," she says.
"Uh… 'kay." How is she supposed to get up there? Jump?
With no better ideas, Momo sets the bowls down, bends her knees, and launches herself at the counter. She manages to grab the edge, but doesn't quite make it the whole way and ends up dangling with her legs kicking. Seiko helps her the rest of the way buy pushing her snout up under her rear and lifting.
"…Thanks," Momo mutters. Thankfully, she doesn't laugh, just puts the bowls Momo left behind onto the counter next to her.
"Sponge's there, kid."
Momo blinks at the scraggly green thing Seiko indicates, sitting near the sink beside a lump of what she assumes is hand soap. It looks more like a plant than anything she would think of as a sponge, but she picks it up, dunks it in the lukewarm water, and starts scrubbing.
+++
The day must be catching up with her, because once they're done cleaning the kitchen, Momo is exhausted.
Seiko catches her yawning and suggests she turn in for the night.
"Just shout if you need anything," she says, before retreating into her own room.
Momo trudges into the guest room and climbs into the nest. It's a little more crinkly than she's used to a bed being, but not actually uncomfortable. The room is plenty warm, so she just spreads out on her back on top of the blanket, staring up at the ceiling.
As tired as she is, her mind won't stop whirling. How did she get to this strange place? What happened to her body? How does she get home?
…Can she go home?
…
…Is there anybody back there who's missing her right now?
All questions she has no answers to. Momo sighs and rolls over.
At least she has a place to sleep, food to eat, and someone to talk to who seems… nice-ish?
Eventually, Momo's eyes drift closed, and she falls into a dreamless sleep.