It was a beautiful day to be outside and enjoying the weather. The sun was shining, with an occasional cloud drifting by to allow brief moments of shade and to break up the solid monotony of the sky. A gentle breeze ruffled through the grass and the leaves, carrying the scent of fresh-blooming flowers and the vibrancy of spring. All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better day to have an existential crisis.

I stared down at my arms and the shapeless blob of... myself spilling out across the grass. I could feel every blade of grass that was squishing down under me, and I very much felt solid, rather than a liquid, so that was nice. I wasn't in danger of soaking into the ground like a puddle, as had been one of the first coherent thoughts that managed to form in my mind. I'm a Ditto. Definitely a Ditto. How was I so sure? Well, any time I tried to talk to myself, I simultaneously heard the words I wanted to say sound out around me, while also hearing a high-pitched calling of, well, various arrangements of the noises comprising the word 'Ditto'. That's new. This was probably going to hit me like a freight train in the future, but for now? Comfortable numbness.

It was as that moment that my stomach decided to growl with such ferocity that I could actually see my stomach wobbling. Like, in plain sight. I'm pretty sure it indented inward for emphasis, but that could just be my mind playing tricks on me. One arm reached off to the side and grabbed a large fragment of eggshell without really thinking about it, and I casually brought it up to my mouth and tried to take a bite out of it, acting completely on reflex. Well, the term 'grabbing' might be a little generous, it was more that I focused on keeping the object stuck to me, and it gently adhered to the nub of my hand. Along side that, calling it biting was an equally questionable description for what actually happened.

With some unpleasant squishing, all I really managed to accomplish was gumming at the eggshell and breaking a bit of it off into a smaller piece, which began to dissolve atop my tongue. Well, at least that seemed to be working. Just me, sitting here in the middle of a moderately forested area, eating the eggshell I just broke out of a few minutes ago. The surprise and disbelief was wearing off, actually, and I still wasn't feeling any shakes set in, like I had been in some sort of stupor from shock or anything. That was either a very good or very bad sign.

It took me a few minutes to finish off the eggshell, giving a double-take at the spot where it had lain when I reached for more and found it completely absent. Should I be freaking out? Well, honestly, I felt a little bit of excitement building up. Okay, being a Pokémon wasn't really on my agenda for the day, but neither was anything else that happened. Was this even still the same day? This is Pokémon, and I have a fresh start. About as fresh of a start as you can get, considering I was just... born? So where's Mom or Dad in the picture then?

A rustle in the bushes behind me made me jump away from the noise. As in, literally jump! As best as I could figure out, I tensed my entire body to compress, and then shoved outward as hard as I could to launch myself several feet away. A confused-looking buck-toothed visage poked out of the foliage, head tipping slightly aside as it stared toward me. A goofy-sounding 'Baaareeeel?' managed to force actual comprehension upon me. "Who's there?" The rest of the beaver-like Pokémon emerged from the bush a moment later, stepping forward into the clearing I had hatched in.

I stared back toward the Bibarel that had appeared, offering a small wave rather than reply. I was feeling rather embarrassed that the friendly tone and casual approach had gotten such a reaction out of me. "Oh!" The Bibarel spoke up again, expression brightening as it looked my way. "Hello there..." He spoke slowly, drawing out the words in an exaggerated fashion that made me wonder if he was part Slowpoke. "What are you doing out here? You're a long way from the pasture... Come on. I'll bring you back."

I shook my head as I stared up at the other Pokémon, which really meant that most of my body twisted lightly from side to side. The motion caught me off guard, but the fact that most of my body was stable beneath me and holding me up was actually a benefit. As weird as it felt, it kept me from falling over when I made sudden movements.

"Hello!" Despite the circumstances, I was having trouble being too nervous, and I think my voice actually managed to come out as cheerful... but that could have just been my natural disposition, as my voice was almost comedically high-pitched and squeaky. "I'm not actually from any of the pastures around here. Actually, I'm not even sure where here is. As a matter of fact, I just broke out of my egg. Can you still show me around, please?" I put on my best attempt at learning Baby-Doll Eyes on the spot, tone hopeful and earnest.

The confusion eased back into the Bibarel's expression, "I've never seen any fresh-hatched that was as talkative as you. Then again, I'm not around eggs very often. I suppose if you just hatched, then that's all the more reason we should get you out of the woods." With a roll of his posture that I interpreted as a shrug, he turned away and started to trundle off in the same direction he had been heading before running into me.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

While he wasn't moving very fast, I wasn't about to hop along and bounce through the woods as a blob if I didn't have to! After trying to examine the Bibarel, I felt a sudden and intense feeling of understanding, like I knew exactly what I was supposed to do next. A brief pulse of energy coursed through me, and I felt my body stretching and shifting. More defined limbs formed, a large, flat tail forming after I dropped forward onto all four of my new limbs, and brown fur settling over my body.

My high-pitched voice was replaced with a mimicry of the deeper tones of the Bibarel I had been speaking with as I called out an excited "It worked!" and ran a few quick steps. Despite it being a new, unknown form for me, all the motions seemed to be instinctive, moving just as readily as I could hope for without any stumbling or awkwardness of adjustment. It must come with being a Ditto, needing to adjust to new forms even in the middle of combat.

Alongside those instincts for moving my body, I felt an understanding for the various forms and types of energy that could move through my new shape. To put it in game terms, I had an understanding of the moves that I was able to use, and all but sighed in relief as I felt a number of techniques, not merely four of them. That was one part of the games that had always seemed a little bit silly.

I hurriedly trotted along to bring myself up alongside the other Pokémon, almost expecting some sort of remark on my transformation, and so I felt a little bit let down when he took it in stride. I suppose a Ditto transforming wasn't anything the least bit remarkable, but it was the first time I had done it! He could have at least pretended to be impressed by it! Still, as much as I might be able to get away with acting like a child, I refrained from prodding for a reaction from him. After all, I wasn't actually a child, so it didn't bother me. Much. "So, what are you doing out in the woods?" The silence had stretched on too long, and I couldn't think of anything else to ask. After all, for the few minutes we had been walking along to Bibarel's placid, strolling pace he hadn't made a peep.

Bibarel tipped his head toward me, peeking at me as he spoke, "Oh, they like to have me go down to the water and take a swim now and then. It's a nice way for me to relax, and I keep an eye out for anyone who's bothering the Magikarp. Don't want to let anybody get them too riled up. If they get too stressed out and evolve, it gets so noisy for a few days until they can get moved. And sometimes one of them evolving stresses out the rest, so some more evolve, and it just gets really messy."

"They? You mean the pasture you were talking about? Wait, you have a Trainer!" That much should have jumped out at me sooner, and I peered around restlessly, my teeth grinding in a reflexive habit that I was almost entirely certain wasn't my own. How much did transforming into another Pokémon really affect me, I idly wondered, before getting back to the matter at hand. "They aren't going to try and catch me if I go along with you, are they?"

Up until this moment, I hadn't considered just what a precarious position I was going to find myself in as a wild Pokémon. And a relatively rare one, from what I remembered. One particular memory of the games pushed itself to the forefront of my mind no matter how hard I tried to ignore it. "Nope, no way. No trainers!" I wasn't about to wind up spending any length of time in one of the daycares. I felt a shudder run through my entire body at the very thought.

Another slow shrug that didn't even interrupt his stride was the Bibarel's only reaction. Really, did nothing bother him? Was it a trait or ability of the species, or was he really just such a placid fellow that nothing fazed him? "It's really not bad, you know. I don't care much for getting into fights, and my Trainer doesn't mind that. I get to spend time wandering through the woods, or going for a swim, scrounging around for berries that I like. All I have to do is make a fuss if there's something wrong in the area. If a Trainer who seems nice wants to take you in, you shouldn't throw a fit without thinking it over."

When I shook my head vehemently at the idea, he meandered over toward the base of one of the nearby trees and ripped a chunk of bark out of the trunk, dropping it to the grassy ground below. "Well, you don't have to come if you don't want to. You've got time to change your mind before the sun goes down. I'll leave a little trail of markings on the trees for you to follow along if you decide you do want to head over to the pasture." The beaver Pokemon began to waddle off at the same relaxed pace, before peeking over his shoulder and remarking, "Happy birthday." as if the thought had just occurred to him, and then he turned to leave again.

I could feel my resolve wavering almost immediately at the thought of remaining out here by myself in the woods. While we had been walking, we hadn't passed any other Pokémon. I hadn't even heard birds flying around overhead, or even bugs making noise in the trees. It was only now that I didn't have the noise of Bibarel nearby to distract me that I realized how profound the silence had become. I twisted anxiously in place, peering back and forth, then in the direction that Bibarel had wandered off. "Man... I really hope the pasture he's talking about isn't a daycare..." I grumbled to myself, sullenly, before dashing after the trail that had been left behind. "Wait for me! I don't want to be by myself out here!"