Project Changeling: A Study in Partial Evolutions
by
The Emperor
Updated: 10/27/97
THE CONTENTS OF THIS FILE ARE FOR ALPHA CLEARANCE ONLY
READING THIS WITHOUT PROPER CLEARANCE WILL RESULT IN TERMINATION
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What is Project Changeling?
Project Changeling is the answer to the question of whether or not it is possible to combine multiple evolutions into one.
This field of study has been pursued many times across recent history, in various degrees of legality. However, they have all resulted in catastrophic failures that resulted in the deaths of the test subjects, and oftentimes the researchers themselves.
What separates Project Changeling from these previous experiments is the methodology. Previous attempts to combine multiple evolutions simply smashed them together in a haphazard hope of getting worthwhile results. Unfortunately, the data from these experiments are nearly worthless, due to their entire methodology being fundamentally flawed.
Simply put, it is physically impossible for a pokémon to hold multiple evolutions at once. The amount of energy put out by the body simply overwhelms the host, leading to seizures, vomiting, and cardiac arrest.
This proved fatal to researchers when these subjects lost control of their elemental abilities, as they flared out of control as the host died.
Instead of directly combining evolutions, Project Changeling aimed to answer the question in a different way: Partial Evolutions. This is the process of evolving, devolving, then evolving once more into something else.
As a species, Eevee is host to seven known evolutions, each having a unique list of catalysts. As such, The Eevee line has been the most prominent pokémon to be used in this field of research.
This project aims to develop a specimen capable of switching between more than one evolution at once, with an end goal of being able to switch between all seven evolutions fast enough that, for all practical applications, the pokémon holds multiple evolutions at once.
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The Restrictions of Typing
Pokémon Typing is a phenomena that, for all its impact in our society, is widely unexplored.
There are 17 Known Types, with an additional one that is currently being debated. However, despite there being hundreds - if not thousands - of pokémon species in the world, they are only able to fit upwards of two types.
Now, there are some minor exceptions to this. A famous example is the Charizard line, who hold the dual Fire/Flying type in their final evolution. However, they do retain minor ties to the Dragon type, which actually becomes dominant in one of their Mega Evolutions. However, Mega Charizard X is a dual Fire/Dragon type, not a tri Fire/Flying/Dragon like some conspiracy theorists initially believed.
Despite any regional variants, differing evolutions, or form changes, pokémon are limited to two types.
This comes into play with battling, but it also has wider implications in research. Pioneers have tried and failed to push past this limitation by introducing a tri-typed pokémon. Fortunately, these failures have identified key aspects of pokémon biology that have become cornerstones in our research.
Most pokémon have three inherent types. The dominant type, which remains constant despite any variations or evolutions. The secondary type, which may manifest in later evolutions. And the recessive type, which only becomes active when either the dominant or secondary types are suppressed.
Using the example from earlier, the Charizard line has Fire as the dominant type, Flying as the secondary type, and Dragon as the recessive type. In most cases, the Charizard’s recessive type only becomes active in Mega Evolution.
However, there are several cases of recessive types overtaking secondary, or even dominant, types in regional variants. An example of this can be seen in the Ninetales line, where the dominant Fire type is suppressed by the joint Ice and Fairy types, which both acted as recessive types.
This phenomenon can be seen in various pokémon with multiple variants, including Meowth, Rattata, Muk, Sandslash, etc.
However, it is vital to note that, for these pokémon, only three types, at most, have been found to be associated with them. This, in turn, raised a conundrum in the research community.
How is it that pokémon can only display upwards of two types while being able to carry aspects of a third type?
This is a question that we have sought to tackle in a different project. The details of this project can be found [REDACTED].
However, there is one pokémon line in particular that acts as the exception to this rule. The Eevee line, unlike every other pokémon, can evolve into seven different variants, each with a unique typing.
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What Makes Eevee Special?
Remember that pokémon have a dominant, secondary, and recessive type. On occasion, they may forfeit a secondary type for another recessive type, but they still total up to three total types.
Eevee is unique in that it has several dominant types, with a recessive Normal type underneath. Eevee has no secondary types, and only one dominant type can be active at once.
In this way, a standard Eevee has all of their dominant types repressed, allowing their recessive Normal typing to be their sole type. However, in the case where they evolve, one of their many dominant types are brought up, and overshadow the recessive type as the sole type.
This is why the Eevee line is uniquely unable to hold two types at once. However, they have the potential for more types than any other pokémon.
Recall that Eevee have multiple dominant types. These types are Fire, Water, Electric, Psychic, Dark, Grass, and Ice. Studies have indicated that Eevee holds each of these types, which directly contradicts the rule of pokémon having no more than three potential types.
Additionally, there is precedent for Eevee having even more potential types that we have yet to discover. It is practically impossible to determine if a pokémon has a type if it is repressed, and it only becomes more difficult when a pokémon has as many potential types as Eevee does.
As such, there have been a small number of studies looking at potential evolutions for the Dragon, Steel, and Poison types. However, these have yet to bear fruit, instead often leading to their subjects evolving into Flareon, Glaceon, Umbreon, and Vaporeon due to the catalysts that they use.
Looking back at the question of holding multiple evolutions, Eevee is uniquely suited for this due to their typing. Whereas the structure of other pokémons’ typing prevents them from holding more than two theoretical evolutions at once, Eevee could theoretically hold several evolutions in the same body.
This goes back to the methodology of evolving, devolving, then evolving in a different manner. Because each evolution brings out a unique dominant type, if the creature were to devolve back to an Eevee, it would suppress the dominant type, once more allowing the creature to evolve in a different way.
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Fusion and Typing
Pokémon fusion is an experimental field of study that is widely debated for its moral and ethical implications. As such, it has seen little progress outside of illegal research facilities, primarily in Kalos and Orre.
While fusion as a concept is not the main goal with this project, it is still related in some of the future designs of Team Source. Project A.N.E.M.I.A. deals with a proto-fusion between two pokémon of the same family, while Project Grey deals with the legend of an ancient fused dragon.
Fusions offer a unique possibility with pokémon types, in that they have the potential to introduce pokémon with three active types. However, as of yet, studies indicate that this would still result in the imminent demise of the creature.
Interestingly enough, the legend of the Tao Dragon alludes to the ancient creature as bearing four types: Fire, Electric, Ice, and Dragon. It is questionable as to whether this was actually the case, or if the dragon carried a similar circumstance to Eevee, where it may have held a unique mixture of dominant, secondary, and recessive types.
The Magician has shown immense interest in this line of research. He has taken it upon himself to spearhead both of those projects with his own resources and contacts, and has proven a valuable partner in our experiments.
Fusion relates to Project Changeling in such a way that it should be actively avoided. Developing multiple partial evolutions toes the line very close to fusion, which for a pokémon of Eevee’s calibre, would inevitably prove fatal not only for the pokémon, but for any individuals in its immediate vicinity.
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December 25th, 1995
[REDACTED]
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Preliminary Preparations
For this project, the Eevees used are specially bred to exhibit little to no leanings towards any particular evolution. Additionally, the Eevees should be no older than 6 months old at the start of testing.
For the first three days of testing, food is reduced to one meal a day of 1,000 calories. No more than 500 mL of water a day is to be given to the specimens. The goal with these provisions is to reduce their physical stamina without causing any permanent harm to their mental stamina.
Refrain from withholding food as a punishment. Starvation is a specially controlled aspect of later parts of the experiment, so it should be saved until then for maximum impact.
Instead, when the specimens begin to act unruly, cause them brief, but intense, pain in the form of electric shocks, controlled flames, or pressurised water. Avoid prolonging the exposure of any single element at the early points of the experiment, or else they will interfere with the specimen’s ability to evolve properly.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Once the specimen has undergone a week of containment, place the specimen in a controlled sleep for exactly 24 hours. In that time, the stabilising agent provided by the overseers will be injected into the specimen’s neck.
Once the specimen awakes, perform a Psychic evaluation to determine how much the specimen remembers of the outside world. If the specimen is deemed fit, then it will move onto primary testing. If not, then the specimen’s memories may be shattered in small applications. If this is the case, utmost caution is required, as the specimen will be highly susceptible to going into a vegetative state if the procedure is done incorrectly.
On the first day of primary testing, mix exactly 4.93 mg of the Catalyst into the specimen’s food. This will alter the specimen’s biology such that it is more susceptible to the different evolution methods we will use in this experiment.
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Dichotomy of Type - To Be Both Psychic and Dark
One of the nuances of typing is that there are certain types that naturally oppose each other.
These pairs are: Electric/Ground, Normal/Ghost, Ghost/Psychic, Fighting/Dark, and Dark/Psychic.
There are naturally exceptions to this, but they are far and few between. In fact, there have yet to be any pokémon discovered that hold both the Ghost/Psychic and Normal/Ghost types.
This opposition in typing manifests primarily in one, or both, being immune to the other. However, there are other more subtle manifestations of these natural oppositions.
To use an example, the Stunfisk line holds three types: Ground as the dominant type, Steel as the secondary type, and Electric as the recessive type. Common theory would suggest that Stunfisk would therefore be a Ground/Steel type pokémon. However, the Stunfisk native to Unova and Kalos suppresses their secondary type, allowing their recessive type to become active.
However, whereas other pokémon that do something similar do not undergo major changes over short periods of time, Stunfisk do because Ground and Electric are so absolutely opposed that any shift in their genetic makeup easily nullifies the suppression on their Steel typing, which then represses their Electric typing.
This can be seen in action with the recent invasion of Galarian Stunfisk to Kalos, as they have begun breeding with the local populace, causing a sharp decrease of births retaining their native Ground/Electric typing.
Relating this back to the Changeling, it is vital to note that two of the partial evolutions tested are of the Psychic and Dark type. As stated, these are diametrically opposed types, which made these evolutions the most difficult to achieve.
The three common methods of evolving Eevee into Espeon are to expose it to a location of high psychic frequency, to use a Dawn Stone, or for it to naturally bond 1-on-1 with a trainer in the direct sunlight.
On the other end of the spectrum, to evolve an Eevee into Umbreon, one either exposes it to highly concentrated Dark-type energy, uses a Dusk Stone, or naturally bonds with it in the direct moonlight.
Naturally, given the location of this experiment, the latter options for both of these evolutions were off of the table. Initially, repeat exposure to Dawn and Dusk stones were used to evolve. However, while it had evolved into Espeon by this method, it had no progress evolving into Umbreon this way.
A secondary procedure was developed using the methodology of the first evolution method. Given that the Psychic and Dark types are oppositely linked, it was theoretically possible to transform its Psychic energy into Dark energy.
This was done by controlled pain, along with long-term starvation. Along with this, the light levels around the containment glass were dimmed, allowing for greater amounts of Dark energy to fester.
As of yet, only one test has been conducted using this method. In the end, it turned out to be a success, given that Specimen V evolved after two weeks of this procedure. However, the specimen expelled high amounts of faecal matter and vomit, and became especially prone to scratching itself until it bled. A current hypothesis is that these negative effects resulted from Specimen V being less than six months old, and thus not fully matured. Future testing will be needed to determine whether this experiment was a fluke, or if the method will work regardless.
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Fairy Evolution - Eevee of Light
Each evolution in the Eevee line has an environmental effect that can be recorded. Obviously, the elemental evolutions tie to their elements, such as fire with Flareon, or electricity with Jolteon.
This becomes moderately more complicated with regards to Espeon and Umbreon, as they do not have the same simple correlations.
One may initially think that Espeon ties to the sun and daytime and Umbreon to the moon and nighttime. However, it is more nuanced than that.
The discussion of how these evolutions relate to the environment extends to how these types as a whole relate to it as well. As a whole, both of these types have far more abstract relations to the world.
Psychic type is the logos of the mind. It encapsulates logic and movement. Thus, it extends to the natural world as movement and change, kept in order by natural processes.
Dark type is the pathos of the mind. It encapsulates emotion and stability. In this way, it extends in the opposite way as lethargic and lacking change.
This actually manifests in an interesting phenomena where excessive feeding can heighten Psychic prowess while starvation may heighten Dark prowess. Studies have shown that in species such as the Snorlax and Slowpoke lines, the more food they eat the higher their psychic potential. This remains true even if the pokémon in question is not necessarily Psychic type.
However, looking back at how Psychic and Dark interact with the world, there seems to be something missing. For years, researchers attempted to find a third type that would fit this trinity of logos, ethos, and pathos. While certain types such as Fighting fit this on a technical scale, it did not quite line up with the other two with regards to how it interacted with the world.
Enter the Fairy type, which has been all-but confirmed by researchers in Kalos. While it does not necessarily fit the type matchups in quite the same way as Fighting does, Fairy type fits in remarkably well in how it seems to interact with the world.
Whereas Psychic and Dark encapsulate logic and emotion, Fairy type seems to encapsulate vision. Certain moves such as Miracle Eye and Future Sight have found ties to Fairy-type energy, and for years, certain individuals have exhibited clairvoyance that did not match up with our understanding of the Psychic type.
As such, Fairy type can be seen as the ethos of the mind. It encapsulates vision. Thus, it extends to the natural world as light for us to see, and visions of events beyond our current comprehension.
How, then, does this relate to Project Changeling?
Once researchers discovered the correlation between the Fairy type and light, they developed a method for testing whether or not a pokémon was capable of evolving into a Fairy type.
Naturally, one of the first pokémon tested was the Eevee line. After collecting several months’ worth of data, it was determined that Eevee, along with a select few other pokémon, had access to the Fairy Type.
With this in mind, several methods have been theorised for evolving Eevee into its Fairy evolution. Of these methods, the most promising is the development of artificial Fairy Lights, which radiate Fairy-type energy at the target.
Using this method, we aim to achieve the sixth evolution for Project Changeling. If this can be pulled off, it would be invaluable in gaining a better understanding of the newly discovered Fairy type, and how it can be traced back to the Source.
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Protocols
* Protocol A - Lockdown (Internal)
* Protocol B - Lockdown (External)
* Protocol C - Administer Euthinasia
* Protocol D - Chariot (Active in Area)
* Protocol E - [REDACTED]
* Protocol F - Intruder (Inner Lab) [ALARM]
* Protocol G - Quarantine (Psychic)
* Protocol H - [REDACTED]
* Protocol I - Experimental Soundwave Testing
* Protocol J - Experimental Void Testing
* Protocol K - Alert (Diglett War)
* Protocol L - Alert (League Investigation)
* Protocol M - Alert (Minor Legendary)
* Protocol N - Alert (Gang Activity)
* Protocol O - Administer Sleeping Agent
* Protocol P - Experimental Fairy Light Testing
* Protocol Q - Lockdown (Major Legendary) [ALARM]
* Protocol R - Intruder (Abandoned Lab)
* Protocol S - Release Specimen
* Protocol T - Quarantine (Illness)
* Protocol U - Chariot (Going Rogue) [ALARM]
* Protocol V - Activate Self Destruct [ALARM]
* Protocol W - Alert (Internal Damage) [ALARM]
* Protocol X - Activate Full Power on Soundwaves
* Protocol Y - Activate Full Power on Void
* Protocol Z - Activate Full Power on Fairy Lights
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Thoughtography Incident - October 18th, 1997
At approximately 11:37 P.M. October 18th, 1997, Specimen V experienced a particularly violent reaction to the Fairy Light Testing, which resulted in tears appearing in its skin along with a minor seizure.
At the time of the experiment, Specimen V was visually morphing between Espeon and Jolteon in an attempt to align itself with the unique energy signature of the Fairy Lights.
This seemed to cause some sort of psycho-electric action, as small messages were burned in nearby walls when Specimen V lost consciousness. Each message has a slightly negative electric charge surrounding them, and they emitted a faint psychic glow before fading away approximately two hours later. Each message repeated several times in various, random locations. Something to note is that most of the messages had proper spelling and capitalization, indicating that the specimen may have a heightened understanding of human language.
Below are transcriptions of the messages:
* “It Hurts”
* “let there be light”
* “Why am I here”
* “Silly Silly”
* “freedom is a lie”
* “He has a deathwish”
* “the light is overwhelming”
* “It burns so cold”
* “Please Stop”
* “LIGHT”
The content of these messages are of particular note because of what they imply about the specimen’s mental state.
The Fairy type does not have the same documentation as other types with regards to how they affect pokémon and human psyche. However, despite the name of the type, preliminary studies suggest that the Fairy type actually decreases mental stability in a similar manner to the Dark and Ghost types.
This lines up with the behaviours observed in the specimen during and after testing. The specimen spends longer times asleep, and when it is awake, it has acted more erratically in movement and transformations than it had previously.
This suggests that the specimen is undergoing a prolonged mental breakdown. It is uncertain as of yet whether or not this is necessary for the specimen to evolve into the Fairy type, or if it is avoidable.
At this point in testing, though, it is too late for the specimen to naturally recover its faculties if the experiment were to end prematurely. The specimen has undergone small but permanent biological changes from the Fairy Lights, which have a high chance of proving fatal if the specimen does not achieve the Fairy evolution within the next 28 days.
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Breaking the Boundaries of Types - Finding The Source
We are looking to find and harness the power of evolution to provide a source of infinite energy for the benefit of society.
For years, researchers have crafted theories and models for the “Omni-Pokémon”, which would be able to wield every move, hold every type, and master every ability.
While this is certainly a fun thought exercise, restricting this theoretical “Omni-Pokémon” to even just all of the known types wouldn’t even begin to show the scope of this theoretical creature.
Many researchers state that this “Omni-Pokémon” already exists in the form of Mew, Arceus, or whatever regional god they worship. While I do not hold any one interpretation over the other, it is undeniable that there is an omnipotent force beyond our universal understanding, one that has equal or greater energy than all that which is contained in the universe.
The universe as we live in it has not existed forever. Whether it began in one bang or over the course of aeons, there must have been a force outside of our universal scope that initiated our universe’s creation.
Whether this force is God, primordial chaos, or some combination doesn’t ultimately matter for our purposes. What does matter is understanding the energy that led to the universe’s creation, and how it permeates in everything we know today.
Recent studies have unearthed evidence of pokémon types that have not been formally recognized. Theoretical types such as Light, Void, and Sound have found support from these findings. In particular, the theoretical Fairy type has practically been proven to exist by Kalos researchers, and have only yet to be recognized due to international relations with the region.
What this means, though, is that the boundaries of type are far greater than what we understand with our measly 17 types. There have been constant discoveries of type formation, partial types, recessive types, and other research that have all pointed towards there being one, ultimate source for type energy.
This source of type energy has also been proven to be the source of other forms of power as well. Nuclear, solar, and gas energy all have their roots in this Source.
Relating this to the energy used in creation, there is a definite link between the Source energy and the energy of creation. Given that the energy of creation was infinite in scope, it stands to reason that the Source energy would be infinite in scope as well.
As such, it is our goal to understand and harness this energy. Even a fraction of infinity is still infinity, and the ability to harness a percentage of a percentage of this Source energy would cast all lesser forms of energy obsolete.
Going back to Project Changeling, while it is not our short term goal to tap into this Source energy with this experiment, it is meant to gain a finer understanding of how to navigate towards it.
Project Changeling ultimately has two objectives, and two phases with it.
The first objective was to create a specimen capable of holding multiple evolutions in the same host. This has been achieved as of July 14th, 1997.
The second objective is to condition the specimen towards evolution, so that when presented with a catalyst, it will naturally tap into its evolutionary power, and evolve without specialised procedure.
The goal with Project Changeling is to condition a specimen that will naturally evolve according to its environmental and internal cues. For example, if it were placed in a blizzardous mountain, it would evolve into Glaceon in order to survive the cold.
This goal extends beyond the known evolutions for Eevee. By conditioning it to evolve to anything, it will, in theory, evolve from anything.
This has the possibility of causing a breakthrough in research if the specimen evolves into a previously unseen evolution, such as a Steel evolution, or a Poison evolution.
In its optimum state, it would evolve into types that are beyond what is currently known. The ability for Eevee to evolve into a recently-discovered Fairy type shows credence to this theory. If this becomes the case, then it could be used to navigate closer to Source energy.