Introduction to the Water

Energy can be neither created nor destroyed, only transferred.

Andrew couldn’t remember the last time he had a headache this bad. At least this meant that he might get to sleep in. Slowly opening his eyes, out of nowhere an overpowering brightness practically blinded him! His hands shot up to cover his face. But, something about them felt… off. 

They were eerily cold, a shiver went down Andrew’s back as his hands made contact with his skin. Focusing, he realized that his whole body felt odd. Also, the blowing of the wind was very distracting. 

Wait a second? 

Realizing something was very wrong, Andrew’s heart began to pound faster. He lowered his hands and slowly opened his eyes. He was not in his bed, his room, or even in his own home. Instead, an untouched forest surrounded him on all sides. Large dark trees covered in green towered impossibly high. 

Despite the pristine landscape, something about it also felt off. The colors weren’t the dull greens and browns of a forest. Instead, they were vibrant and attention-grabbing. It looked far too cartoonish to be anything naturally grown. Andrew had to consider if he was even awake. 

Even though he stayed quiet, there was only stress and panic in his mind. How did I get here? Have I been kidnapped? Did I sleepwalk? He looked to the sky only to be met with the same cartoonish color scheme. What the hell?

Realizing there was no use in laying on the ground all day, Andrew put his hand on the grass to push himself up. He froze. 

This was not his hand. 

The thing he stared at was flat, blue, covered in small droplets of water, and three-fingered. Was hand an accurate way to describe what he saw? It seemed more reminiscent of the flipper of an animal. 

He ran his other other damp, cold, hand across his face. Only to find it completely flat. Devoid of human features. The only deviation was two cone-like extrusions jutting out from either side of his head. 

In contempt of his situation, Andrew did his best to keep calm. He took a deep breath before slowly getting up to gain a better view of his body. His skin had become light blue like his hands. A vibrant orange oval reached from just above his legs to right below his neck, jutting out slightly.

The skin above the oval was an even lighter creamy blue that climbed up all the way to right below his mouth. 

He could feel an odd sensation on the bottom of his back. Something was there that had not been before. They twitched and swayed ever so slightly in the wind. Sort of like… tails? 

A gray object was visible above in his peripheral vision. Andrew shot his head back, only to find the smudge of gray still dancing just above his eyes. He raised a hand… or was it a flipper? Upon touching it, he felt two things. His hand making contact with a sticky coating, and something on his head being touched. 

I do seem a bit… fishy. Is that a fin? Or something?

Something about this was familiar, he had seen this body before! 

Light blue, flippers, orange stomach? There’s a fin attached to my head, and I think I have two tails now? Nobody in sight… And everything looks like a cartoon!

He stuck up a finger, a lightbulb going off in his head. Am I the Pokemon Marshtomp?

It seemed ridiculous. Andrew considered himself to be a logical person. But he was no longer human. How could that be explained? 

The whole situation seemed insane! Going to sleep in one body and waking up with another? That’s impossible! Yet here he stood, an unassuming Marshtomp in the middle of an unfamiliar forest. Not an ounce of humanity visible to him. 

Andrew noticed a narrow dirt path a few dozen feet away. He tentatively walked over, wobbling as he adjusted to a new center of gravity. 

A sign lay mounted to a tree and proudly displayed; Grandeport and Welldeep Ocean 2 Miles . An arrow pointing to the left was carved below. 

“I have a feeling I’m not on Earth anymore,” he muttered.

Andrew laid out his options. Grandeport sounds like a town or city. Which means it has people or… other Pokemon. Maybe someone there could figure out what’s going on and help me get back home?

However, this thought only posed more questions for Andrew. Would my parents still recognize me? Would they still want me like this? Would my friends still want to be around me? Would the government try to kidnap me? Can I ever go back to normal life?

He stopped himself, taking another breath. I’m stranded in the middle of a forest with no food or water. I’ve never been off the grid for more than a few hours. Finding civilization is the only reasonable option. Who knows what could be out here?

Andrew followed the direction of the sign and began slowly trotting down the path. It was strange to see the unblemished surrounding nature. The trees seemed to stretch hundreds of feet from the ground, the sun barely trickling through their thick leaves.

Can’t remember the last time I’ve seen any piece of land not messed with by people.

As his stroll continued, the path began to deteriorate. It became progressively harder to differentiate from the twigs, stones, and fallen leaves which consumed the forest floor. Eventually, the path seemed to disappear altogether. Leaving Andrew yet again stranded in the middle of the forest.

Crappy infrastructure! Would it kill someone to clear some leaves every now and then?

This got Andrew thinking, how developed is this world? Has there been an industrial revolution? Or am I stuck in a place with primitive technology and knowledge?

Hopefully, there’s something that can get me back home, or at least back into my own body. Living as a weird bipedal fish creature does not sound appealing.

At a complete loss for direction, he stopped for a moment and sat down. 

Two realizations came upon him. The first was that he just walked a mile without having eaten or drunk anything that day, and he was exhausted. The second was he could hear the faint noise of running water nearby. 

Following the sound led to a narrow, lazy creek. The water had a muddy tint and was riddled with rocks and leaves. However, Andrew was desperate for water. His skin which had been moist only moments earlier was beginning to dry out. 

Despite the color and debris, Andrew cupped his flippers and began drinking. It was far from a pleasant experience. The brown liquid oozed painfully down his throat, along with whatever bits of dirt and leaves it contained.

But still, a voice called from the back of his head. It screamed and kicked and pouted for Andrew to drink. Dehydration was not an option. After several minutes of shoving disgusting water into his mouth, his body was satisfied. 

He remembered the sign from earlier. Maybe this creek flows into the ocean? I can’t tell the path from the forest floor. Following the creek is better than wandering aimlessly, at least I’ll have water.

Lethargically, he sauntered down the path of the creek. Though not having been awake for very long, Andrew was already exhausted from the events of the day. Maybe I could just get back into bed and pretend this never happened…

After what felt like an eternity of trudging along the creek the pristine, blue ocean revealed itself. 

To say it looked magnificent would be a vast understatement. No other ocean, lake, or any nature for that matter could be compared to what Andrew laid his eyes on. The water was pure and vibrant, completely still and flawless. It seemed perfectly handcrafted for swimming. 

Andrew was not fully in control. If he was thinking rationally, maybe he would have remembered he had not swam in what felt like an eternity. But, his mind was complicit in his body’s desire to immerse itself in the ocean.

He stepped into the calm blue water and was overcome by an indescribable feeling. All other thoughts, desires, hopes, and fears, melted in an instant. The Marshtomp had become consumed by pure pleasure. There was a wide grin on Andrew’s blue face as he swam farther and farther out from shore.

He was not thinking, guided by his fins and flippers pattering away at the water. The forest had become a smudge in the distance. It was only then Andrew realized how far out he had swum.

He became motionless as he flipped onto his back, running in his mind what had just been done. I just swam at least a mile in… how long was it? Ten minutes? That’s impossible. Or, at least it used to be.

However, self-praise turned to fear as the realization set in that he was a mile out in the ocean… Alone! Andrew flipped back onto his stomach, aggressively thrashing against the now-unwelcoming waters. 

But it was futile. He was using more and more energy to swim shorter and shorter distances, fighting the waves that threatened to consume him. With one final gasp, he sank beneath the sea.

He thought of his friends and family, the mundane life he had. The exciting one that he would never experience. His eyes squeezed shut as the descent continued. 

Andrew was beginning to run out of air. He opened his eyes to take one last look at the ocean which had invited him in. Having accepted it would soon become his tomb. He saw the underwater in all its beauty. Colorful plants danced across the depths, stretching dozens of feet high. Vibrant sands and minerals covered its floor creating a magnificent collage. It was truly at peace.

However, when the surface air from his lungs was depleted, oxygen from the ocean filled its place. Andrew felt stupid, I’m a water-type Pokemon. Don’t I have those stupid big gills on the sides of my head? Of course, I’m able to breathe underwater!

His new eyes worked well when submerged. It allowed for vision with sharpness he could only dream of before this moment. His vision in the water was not just better than on land, but better than it was as a human. 

Regaining his composure, Andrew allowed his body to guide him again. No such memories of being a skilled swimmer existed within him, but that did not matter. The water was no longer something to be feared. It had been mastered and was now within his control.

Despite the effective use of energy, exhaustion began to mount. Satisfied with the amount of swimming he had done, Andrew let himself sink to the bottom of the ocean. The sun’s light playfully danced on the surface of the water. Allowing him to shut his eyes and drift peacefully off to sleep. 

Two orange eyes opened on the seafloor. Groggily, Andrew swam up to the surface of the ocean. The sun’s lower position in the sky revealed to him just how much time had passed. In the distance, he could see a town nestled at the base of the ocean.

The pattering commenced again as Andrew made his way toward civilization.

The transition onto land was unpleasant. The water was welcoming, to him it felt better than being wrapped in a million blankets. The land had become boring, stiff, and mundane. 

He could not help but feel exposed as he stumbled toward the town. The cool air blew against his sensitive fins. Darkness was beginning to envelop the land, and Andrew’s walk toward the town became a sprint.

The first landmark he noticed upon arrival was the large sign welcoming him to the town. It was colorful and illuminated by what looked like… oil lamps? The next thing he noticed was the sheer abundance of Pokemon. 

There wasn’t a human in sight, just a variety of Pokemon going about their nightly routines. It was surreal seeing video game characters walking around the town as if it was completely normal, but to them this was normal.

Strolling through the town allowed Andrew to see the world from a whole new perspective, as everything still seemed to tower above him. The town folks’ voices could be heard from all around. Blending into a symphony of yelling and laughter. 

It was too much for him, the events of the day having caught up to Andrew. His heart pounded harder and harder, his whole body felt like it was going to burst. Sprinting in desperation, Andrew shoved a young Cyndaquil out of his way in his effort to escape.

The noise began to deafen as he jogged further from the town. A few feet away was a large tree stump. He sat down and rested his head on his flipper, recollecting the events of the day. It was hard to describe how he felt. Andrew was in no imminent danger, nothing had tried to hurt him.

But, there was a worry in the back of his mind, something was not right. 

Am I myself?  

It took him a moment to fully grasp his situation, but soon a growing wave of realization and despair crashed upon him. 

My humanity was stolen!  

The new body was blue, wet, and slimy! He stomped the ground out of frustration.

How am I supposed to live like this? 

But there was something else bothering him, something in his brain. It had changed. 

Why am I not me?

He was only barely able to hold himself back from sprinting and diving into the water. And since when has he had the skillfulness of an Olympic swimmer?

As much as he tried, Andrew couldn’t bring himself to find solid ground as his home anymore. His body and mind had become obsessed with water against his will. His new instincts were growing stronger, overpowering what remained of his human ones. 

What am I going to do?

Andrew sighed and turned his gaze to the sky. The sun had long since fallen from it, and the woods were encapsulated in an inky darkness. The night was clear and there were countless stars in the sky.

“Woah.”

It was as if space had come down to earth. Never had Andrew seen such a pure, starry night. His brain tried to make out constellations from the Earth’s skies, but it was no use. The stars were beautiful but foreign.

His stargazing was interrupted by a rumbling from his stomach. Despite Andrew being on his feet all day, he had found no sustenance. Without any other food in sight, Andrew was forced to venture back.

The overwhelming sound returned, but he took a deep breath and tuned it out. 

Surely, I can at least find an apple?

The main street was lined with shops of all kinds. A colorful stand run by a Smeargle caught his eye. There were colorful bowls and glasses and for quite steep prices. Turning his gaze away, this made him realize:

I have no money. How am I supposed to pay for food?

Next to the art stand was just that. It was manned by a Kecleon. Andrew may not have had a nose, but the wonderful aromas of the stand’s food still filled his nostrils. 

Maybe that Kecleon will give me food for free, out of the kindness of their heart?

Suddenly, a flash of yellow light cut across the street. For a split second, Andrew felt completely weightless. Almost like being in the soft arms of the ocean. His head made contact with the ground before he even knew what happened. There was a straight line of Pokemon toppled onto the street.

“Somebody stop that thief! I don’t give away food for free!” Yelled the Kecleon.

The day had brought many mysteries and unexpected occurrences. But, what was no mystery to Andrew, was that any chance of free food had just dropped to zero. 

He traversed the square to look for any shopkeep who might take pity on him, only to find the theft was not an isolated occurrence. Every stand or shop selling food he scouted seemed to have been robbed. None of the shopkeepers were in a good mood. But, his hunger refused to subside. Only growing as he explored the town.

After about a half hour of searching, he returned to the Kecleon-run stand. 

If every shop is getting robbed, surely one more won’t hurt?

Andrew dashed towards the stand and scooped as many items with his flippers as he could carry. He winked at the Kecleon, before scampering away on stubby legs with food stacked to his neck.

“Help, help! I’ve been robbed again!” Cried the angered Kecleon, waving a fist. 

The combination of thrill and adrenaline was amazing. Nothing else mattered! Andrew just had to get out of town before anyone caught him. Eventually, the noise deafened and the light around him grew dimmer, he arrived back at the stump.

He spread his flippers causing the pile of food to fall out. Andrew began shoving pastries into his mouth like the vicious animal he had become. 

Andrew yawned and stretched out his flippers. There were still a few muffins beside him, but he was too stuffed.

Maybe I’ll go for a swim before turning in for the night.

He got up and turned in the direction of the ocean, ready to submerge himself in the water again.

“Stop right there thief!”

His head swung around, revealing a Zorua and Espeon standing on a nearby rock.

“Um, are you talking to me?” Asked Andrew worriedly. 

“Of course we are.” Sneered the Espeon as his eyes narrowed.

Thoughts of panic began to race through Andrew’s head. Were these the police? Are they gonna arrest me? I didn’t do anything that bad!  

“This food is mine. It’s, uh, from home.” Andrew took a step back.

“Well that’s odd,” Spoke the Zorua, “Because those look an awful lot like the muffins Mr. Kecleon sells.”

Andrew maintained a blank expression and stared awkwardly at the Pokemon. Now is probably a good time to run . 

His blue legs shot up as his body awkwardly bolted in the opposite direction.

“I told you he would,” remarked the Zorua as he and the Espeon gave chase.

Andrew desperately hoped these Pokemon couldn’t swim. Even with his head start they were trailing close behind. The weight of exhaustion began to grow heavy, as his body was not built for running. 

“We won’t hurt you if you stop now!” cried the Espeon desperately.

The ocean was in sight, freedom was so close. But seemingly out of thin air, the Zorua materialized in front of Andrew! Fearing a collision, he swerved and lost his footing. Tumbling helplessly onto the ground. 

“Surrender now Marshtomp!” The Zorua announced with a wide grin.

A rumbling began from Andrew’s stomach, liquid churned and bulbed up his throat. Without thinking, he opened his mouth and blasted the Zorua with a jet of water. The creature was taken right off his feet, flying into a nearby tree. 

Seizing this opportunity, Andrew began to stand up. But as he was doing so, a rock the size of a bowling ball shot right toward his head.

Andrew toppled back down, barely catching a glimpse of the Espeon’s disapproving face before falling unconscious.