This is an example image for an upcoming collaboration with myself and  AnAlternateGuy234! I'll be illustrating a pokemon story that he writes. More info will be up tomorrow, so keep an eye out for it. For now, enjoy a TF story he wrote to go with this:

(A link to his submission of the story: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/27251997/ )

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It had been several weeks since Jeff had run away.

The note he left showed a man who was hopelessly distraught of his life, his very existence in fact, and was in need of someone to talk to, to confide in. But he felt like he couldn’t, not to his family, not to his friends, not to anyone. He believed he was not worth helping anymore. Luke was hoping to find him however, to help him. He needed a friend and he was going to help.

Everyone went looking for him: posters were placed, search teams, the usual techniques to find a missing person. As time went on, people just started assuming he was dead, probably another of the thousands that decided to end their lives too soon. His parents never gave up and neither did Luke.

One day, Luke got a call saying they had spotted him. He was headed into the forest leading up to a manor that once housed Richard Hawnstom.

Luke knew nothing of the place other than what the locals had told him once he arrived. Richard Hawnstom was a strange and deeply private man. He was a veterinarian, capable of handling any kind of pokemon that came his way. He could whisper to them, they said, talk to them on their level; could figure things out about them that not even the pokemon themselves knew. He had married a beautiful woman name Lilly and they both had a son he adored named Sam.

His wife left him soon after; Taken a divorce, left the kid, and left him behind. Since that day, he barely left the manor and spent most of his time either with his son or the pokemon he had there.

Then his son upped and disappeared.

No one knew what happened to him, and Richard kept quiet about the whole thing. As months marched on, rumors began to spread; rumors of murder. It didn’t stop after he was found dead a year after Sam’s disappearance: Suicide by hanging. His son never showed up to the funeral, further fueling the rumors.

Without a body to confirm his son’s death, the estate was left in limbo. No one knew what to do with it, so it just sat there. The staff who worked there slowly left, the Pokemon either ran off or died, and 3 years later the manor stood silent; where once there were the cacophony of Pokemon and servant staff running around, there was now silence.

People who wander near it claim to have heard voices, beckoning them to enter the long since abandoned place. “The place is cursed,” the locals say. “Any who enter it will find themselves trapped for eternity…”

Luke wasn’t a superstitious man though. He only cared that his friend was heading towards it, and he had to make sure Jeff was OK.

So he marched into the forest, towards the ‘haunted’ house.

Forest…

It felt like he was walking for hours as he hiked on and on and on, down the forest path that occasionally disappeared before him.

‘How deep in the forest is this place? Am I even on the right track?’ Luke thought to himself.

The forest offered no reply however, only stretching on and on and on.

‘I just hope I find him before he…’

His thought was interrupted when he heard something; a voice.
“Come inside…”

He looked around for a moment, seeing if he could find the source. He didn’t see anyone or anything however, only the endless stretch of trees. He continued to hike, figuring it was probably just his imagination.

“It’s your home now..”

He spun around once more, knowing he definitely heard something this time.

“Hello? Anyone out here?” He yelled out.

Nothing replied back.

He walked forward again.

“Stay a while”
“Oh he would make a good servant..”

“Look at his hair, he would make a good pet

“We would love to see some fur on him

“Just dress him up in a tie and he would be the perfect butler”

“Why is he here?”

A series of voices assaulted his ears, filling his mind and drilling themselves deep into his consciousness.

“Jeff!?! Is that you? This isn’t the time for joking!! People are worried about you!!”

“Jeff?” “Who is Jeff?”

“A friend?”
“He is a part of our staff right?”

“Shall he be a guest, a pet, or a servant of the manor!?”

“Guest!”
“Pet”
“Servant!!”

“He thinks he can find his friend”

“He’ll find him alright!~”
“He will find him already dead..”

“It was his fault..”

“It’s your fault!!!” “He’s dead, come and join us Luke!!”

“As a pet?

“Yes…. he would make a good pet for the manor

“An amazing pet..”

“Gooooooddd pet….”


Luke turned, and, turned, and turned, feeling the voices coming just out of his sight, just off to both his left and right at the same time. They filled his mind, permeating amongst every one of his sense. His sight was the voices, his smell was the voices, and HIS VERY SKIN CRAWLED WITH THE VOICES. He ran and ran and ran and ran and ran, his hands on his ears, his eyes clenched shut trying to block out the voices.

He ran smack into the gate of the Hawnstom Manor.

The voices disappeared and he held his head, rubbing at the throbbing pain.

“Owwwww, what was that?” He asked himself

He looked up at the imposing iron gate, the manor sitting just beyond it, as if silently watching over him.

‘How did I not notice this till just now?’ He thought to himself as he picked himself up and looked at the creepy dwelling. He looked at the iron gate, now rusted with time, and reached a hand towards it. He barely touched it before it slowly opened, creaking and groaning, as if just awoken from a slumber and stretching it’s metallic muscles. He saw the manor in its full glory as it opened; large, majestic, yet intimidating, stalwart, cold.

He figured he shouldn’t go in; he really had no reason to go into it. He was about to turn around and leave until he realized something

‘Jeff... could he be in there?’

With the possibility of him being in there in his mind, he proceeded forward into the manor.

Main Hall

As he opened the door to the main hall, Luke noticed how large and expansive it was. Granted, he figured it would be large, but not to the extent that he saw before him. Chandeliers hung from the roof, the red carpets rolling down the stairs and halls, and a picture of what he presumed to be the family: Richard smiling charmingly with his son in one hand, a chendelure hovering over his shoulder, and a arcanine sitting next to the young boy. They were smiling, as if to say, “welcome home”.

He wandered around for a moment, in awe of how surprisingly well kept the inside was for a place abandoned many years ago. Not only that, but it looked like the place still had electricity, if the lights glowing were any indication. He explored around for a while, seeing the lack of any dust that would accumulate in a place like this. If one didn’t know the history of the place, they would say it was still lived in.

He thought he heard something shuffling down the hall.

“Hello?!? Anyone in here?” He yelled aloud. “Jeff? come out pal!! We can talk about whatever is troubling you! You need somebody, I know that!! I’m here to help!!”

He swore he heard something down the hall, and proceeded to investigate. Down and down the main hall he went, till he came upon a large door. Figuring he had nothing to lose, he opened it and gazed upon the backyard of the manor.

Backyard

The yard, much like the rest of the manor, was larger than one would assume. It was expansive, Larger than it had any right to be. A dazzling array of flowers situated in a nearby garden. A pond was situated near the garden, the blue water glistening with sunlight. He wandered through the beautiful garden, trying to take in the wonder of it all.

‘I thought this was supposed to be abandoned. How is all this still here?’

He saw a house of glass situated nearby; a greenhouse he deduced. Taking a peek inside, he saw several strange plants growing, but not overgrowing as one would imagine. It too made him do a double take, his mind having to take the splendour of it all in.

He turned around and looked over the place once more, coming to a conclusion:

It was wonderful.

It… strangely brought a warmth into his heart, made him feel joy. It was like noticing something really special and surprising about someone; like a gruff looking man who had a tender singing voice that would melt your heart and sooth your ears. He felt like he didn’t want to leave…

He snapped out of the thought. He had to find his friend, that was why he was here. Looking around, he realized that he would not be out here (Jeff was never an outdoors person). He noticed a small building nearby, the word kennel engraved on a sign near it.

Luke felt compelled to walk into the dark lonely kennels. It seemed almost sad to him really. Where once canine pokemon would bark playfully at each other as they waited for their master to come around to walk them, instead was replaced with silence only broken by the small squeaks the rusty cages would give out, as if the cages themselves sighed in loneliness and boredom. Luke searched through the place, hoping to at least find a clue as to the whereabouts of his friend or anyone for that matter.

As he did so, he saw something that caught his eye. It was a collar lying near a window, the sunlight spotlighting the piece of red leather. He walked over and picked it up, curious to see if it would give insight to the place. The collar had a name tag on the front, though no name was inscribed on the front. The leather felt comforting for some reason, as if it were calling to him much like the kennels. He held it close to himself…

Only to have it leap out of his hands and latch itself around his neck.

With a gasp he stumbled backwards and threw his hands around his neck. His stumbling about caused him to trip over some leashes that suddenly grew taut behind him, and he found himself falling down onto a cold metal floor. Disoriented, he shook his head and tried to reorient himself as he heard a door slam. He looked over to the source and saw that it was the door of one of the cages he saw coming, a cage he quickly realized he was in.He quickly tried to stand up only to bump his head on the roof of the now much smaller space he inhabited. He rubbed his throbbing head, trying to will the pain away as he moved towards the door to leave. Reaching for the door, he pushed at it only to find it wouldn’t budge at all!!! That was when he noticed that a padlock had materialized onto the door, trapping him inside. He pushed at the door, trying to force it open to no avail. He then tried to pull the lock off, but with similar results. He then looked around trying to see if he could find the key, but no luck there.


“Someone!?!? Anyone!!?? Please!!! I need help!!” He yelled as he realized he couldn’t get out by himself.


Luke held the bars and shouted for help, but no one either heard him or cared to help him. An hour had passed as he slowly grew quieter and quieter, the realization of what was happening slowly dawning on him until he just let go of the bars and he just sat back in defeat. He was stuck with no way out; no food, no water, no help. Maybe someone would realized he was gone and come looking for him? But how long would it take to find him?

As he sat there wondering and scared, he remembered the piece of leather still strapped onto his neck. He reached up and tried to remove it, feeling around the back of it for a some way to remove it. Surprisingly, he couldn’t find any kind of release on the collar. Growing frustrated, he grabbed the collar and tried to tear it off of him. Even though it stretched and stretched, it did not release its hold around its neck despite his best efforts.

“What is up with this thing? Get off me!!” He growled as he continued to pull with all his might. Several attempts at pulling it off only caused him to expend his energy and he let go of it, the collar snapping tightly back around his neck. Stuck in a cage, a collar around his neck, helpless to get out without someone else to come and save him, he realized that this might be what being pokemon in a cage must feel like. He laid back and just waited to see what would happen.

“Daddy, can I have a pet pokemon of my own?” He heard a distant, childlike voice say.

He shot up and looked around, hoping to see someone nearby. Seeing no one, he yelled out once more but got no response. He laid back down once more, dismissing the sound as a figment of his imagination, and tried to relax on the cold, metal floor.

“I don’t know, it seems like a lot of responsibility for you…” He heard another more mature voice say.

Luke shot up and grabbed the bars, yelling with all his being for whoever was out there to help him.

“What type of pokemon would you like?” He heard a more mature voice ask, seemingly ignoring Luke’s cries for help.

“You know what would be cool?!? If I could have an arcanine!!” The young boys voice exclaimed, “They have such fluffy fur…” The boy trailed off.

The collar squeezed his throat, choking him for a moment before easing its grip once more. Not even a second passed before Luke felt a thousand needles stabbing into his arm at that point. Hissing, he grabbed a hold of his arms and looked down, only to have his heart stop at what he was seeing. Fiery orange fur with black stripes grew from his arms to his horror. On his elbows grew beige color fur, much thicker than the rest of his normal developing pelt. Luke rubbed the newly developed fur, feeling the soft texture it provided. It didn’t bring him comfort however. He saw it growing up his arms and tried desperately to pull if off, only to be met with absolute pain as the fur became his very own pelt. Even still, it marched up his arms.

It didn’t stop there though. He felt the same thing happening on his legs. The fur attacked him and quickly covered his legs. Like his arms, they too were quickly covered with orange fur with black stripes, beige fur growing around his ankles. Luke was in a panic, as most people would be in this situation. He yelled once more, trying to see if anyone would save him from whatever was happening.

The fur, however, paid no heed to his calls. It both flanked his chest and back and started to take over that location as well. His neck and the top part of his chest grew the same fluffy, beige fur that his elbows and ankles grew. The collar and Maui hook necklace he wore, however, still held onto his neck tightly despite the growing mane he was acquiring.

The fur slowed its growth for a little bit, leaving all but his head covered in a thick coat. As he felt it slow, Luke slipped out of his shirt and looked down at the fur now covering him. Putting a hand to his chest, he felt around the soft thick pelt he was now sporting, not fully believing that it was real.

“They can be quick and elusive guys…”

“Yeah, I bet they can run so fast on their paws. Kinda wish I could have them…”

The collar tightened, and Luke’s world exploded into pain.

Meanwhile….

A light rustling came from the chandelier of the main hall as a strange figure moved about a feather duster in its grasp.

“Chande chan chandelure.” The chandelure spoke to itself, glad that it no longer had a nose to worry about with all the dusting it now did. The beard of fire it now sported got the brunt of all the dust though, and cleaning that out was a pain, all things considered. Regardless though, the fact it didn’t need to worry about sneezing every five seconds or having to deal with allergies made that a net positive in its book.

A couple of weeks had passed since Jeff had been turned into the ghostly, chandelier pokemon. In that time, it has learned to float, to shoot fire, and how to grip things with its new metallic ‘hands’. It had also grown quite fond of the form it was now stuck in, though turning back into a human was something it very much desired. With nothing really to do in the manor, and with boredom taking hold, it busied Itself day in and day out with dusting up as much of the house as it could until it got bored and decided to explore even more of the house. It had decided today that the music room on the far side of the house had to be dusted (pianos can really attract dust apparently) and had focused on that for the past several hours. Now however, it was tired and wanted nothing more than to perch on the roof of the main hall and sleep for a bit (learning that it can still get tired was also strange. Who knew ghosts needed sleep?)

Having returned to the main hall several minutes ago, it decided its sleeping place, the top of the chandelier, would need a good cleaning as well ( it always hated having a dirty bed when it was human). As it dusted however, it heard crashing coming from the backyard. At first, it dismissed it as something falling over (just mark it down as something else to clean). Hearing someone yelling for help a couple of minutes later made it realize it wasn’t just that. On top of that, it swore that it recognized the voice of the one yelling.

“Chande!?!?” It spoke to itself as it quickly raced off as quickly as a spirit inhabited piece of furniture could go to help, and hopefully preventing someone else from ending up with the same fate that befell itself.



Kennels…

Luke fell over as his leg and arms snapped and contorted with a sickening series of crunches and a tsunami of pain. He had never before felt such pain in his life as his ankles started to migrate up his legs, forcing him to stand on the tips of his toes. As that was happening, his arms grew outwards, the bones themselves lengthening, until they matched his legs in length. The snaps and pops resonated through the building as his toes and fingers started slowly merging together, growing thicker and thicker, until only three thick digits remained on each both hands and feet turned paws. Underneath his new paws, soft pads formed to protect his fully developed paws against the ground. The new paws pushed against his shoes as they grew, threatening to burst through the footwear. The shoes themselves tried to hold them in, but were quickly losing that battle. With a loud snap, flash of pain, and the feeling of his new paw breaking free from his shoes, it was over. He was now the not-so-happy owner of a pair of paws where human feet and hands once were.

Luke laid on the cold floor, panting and gasping as the pain dulled down to a slow throb in his arms and legs. Several minutes passed as he just laid there, trying to come to terms with all that was happening to him. After a while though, he knew he had to take a look at what had happened to him. Lifting a leg into the air, Luke gazed upon the thick digits with equal parts fear and fascination, the scraps of his former socks and shoes falling away and landing limply on the cage floor. Wiggling the new, fatter toes only complicated matters. He looked at his hands, now forepaws, and did the same. They FELT thicker, less nimble than his human digits. Flipping his forepaw over, he studied the thick black pads underneath and gulped back a scream of fear at the sight. He placed a paw on the side of the cage and tried to stand up on his new legs. Unfortunately, the new arrangement proved to be too much for his legs and he found himself stumbling and then falling forward. His forepaws caught him, however, and he found himself on all fours.

And it felt totally natural.

Sure he was shaky at first, but the new position he was in felt far better than when he tried to stand on his rear legs. The thought of calling his legs his rear legs made him gulp again, but he knew it to be true.He took a step with his new legs, then another, and then another. It was a strange sensation for Luke; the feeling of paw pads making contact with the floor, the feeling of his new ‘fingers’ flexing as he stepped on and then off them, and the overall feeling of moving on 4 legs instead of 2. He still stumbled and fell several times however. Something was missing from him, something that would help him with his new balance.

“Their fluffy tails would be awesome to snuggle with!!” The young boy exclaimed with glee.

Back Door…

The chandelure heard a blood curdling scream (thankfully he didn’t have blood anymore) as it stood at the doorway to the backyard. It always felt this pull to stay inside the house. It’s what kept him from escaping all those weeks ago, that and the fact that trying to get help like this would be a monumental undertaking. It had to really work up to taking a step (float?) outside. But It knew it had to help whoever was out there. So with a breath, or whatever was closest to it, it floated towards the kennels.

Kennels…

Luke could do nothing but grit his teeth and groan as his back snapped and cracked, reforming and stretching out. A knot began forming just above his rear as his back rearranged itself to fit a 4 legged stance. The knot grew longer and longer, feeling like someone had grabbed and started pulling at the base of his spine. It got worse however, as the knot pressed up against his shorts, pushing against it, wanting to be free of its confines. The pressure from it pressing against its cloth prison made him groan and moan, the bulge in his pants growing bigger and bigger along with the pressure.

‘I’m growing a freaking tail!?!?’ he realized as he both saw and felt the bulge grow larger and larger.

He tried to pull his shorts off, but the pain from his back continuing to reform along with the loss of dexterity in his paws made that an impossibility. So all he could do was lay there, moaning, groaning, and whining, his energy long since sapped. He could hear his shorts straining and tearing, losing the battle against the quickly growing limb. He yelped as a loud and powerful rip resounded throughout the kennel and a thick, fluffy, beige colored tail sprang forth to greet the world.

Luke collapsed, groaning as he could feel the new limb flick around erratically for several seconds. The feeling of the his new tail flexing and wagging about was so alien and foreign to him that he couldn’t really compare it to anything else. He looked down at the thick mass of fur whipping about, not fully believing what had happened, nor what was happening.

“A tail?!?! I have a tail!!” He panted to himself. “Am I…. turning into an arcanine?!?”

A couple of minutes passed as he tried to recover his strength, or what little he had left. Eventually, he shakily stood back up on his legs. Doing so, his tail instinctively helped with his new balance. He took another once over of himself. As he examined himself, he had confirmed his suspicion: He really was turning into an arcanine.

‘No no no no NO!! This cannot be happening!! HOW is this happening?!? I don’t want to turn into a pokemon!! I have to get out of here!! I need to get help!!’ He rushed over and tried to escape once more. He threw himself against the cage walls in a desperate ploy to get free, rattling the cage something fierce.

As it floated around the garden, Jeff noticed the door to the kennels was ajar. Rushing inside, it noticed Luke slamming into the cages, trying his damnedest to get out.

It was at this point that Jeff made its way to the kennels, and saw Luke, almost fully turned into a arcanine, trying to force his was out.

“CHANDE!!” It yelled out to its friend as it floated to him.

Luke looked at the chandelure.

“Chande chan chandelure!!” Jeff exclaimed, noticing the changes already affecting his friend.

“Please..” Luke groaned “stop it.. I don’t want to be an arcanine..” The chandelure saw the look of fear in his eyes, and the tears running from them. Jeff grabbed the padlock of the cage and tried its best to force it off.

‘wait a sec… the owner had all the keys to all the rooms in his bedroom…’

“Chande lure!! Chandelure lure!!” Jeff tried to assuage Luke’s fears before floating out of the kennels.

“Wait!! Come back!! Don’t leave me!!” Luke yelled before resuming his attempts at freedom, slamming into the walls once more.

“They can be aggressive creatures, so be careful. When they feel threatened, they will unleash a fire blast upon those that they feel are a threat.”

“NO NO NO NOT FIRE BLAACCK ACK!!” Luke tried to beg and scream at the otherworldly forces. But he was cut off as his chest, barreling forward, felt like burning embers were settling inside of his lungs. Every breath felt like he was inhaling smoke, and every cough belched a white cloud of smoke. He coughed and sputtered, one of his paws on his chest as the fire grew stronger and stronger, an inferno inside his body growing larger and larger, the heat moving up his neck, threatening to burst forth as he tried to hold back whatever was happening in an attempt to stop the changes. He couldn’t stop it though, as his mouth was forced open and a stream of fire erupted from his depths, blasting against the cage. The cage grew red from the heat of the blast but stood firm, almost as if it were designed to contain a creature of fire.

Luke hung his head and tried to breath once more, the burning in his lungs subsiding for a moment. It still felt like he was breathing in pure smoke, but it felt more natural somehow. It was as if he were made to hold a fire within his chest.

“Raw, ruff, ruff?” He barked aloud. He was taken back from the sound that replaced his voice.

“Ruff, Raw RUFF RUFF!!” He barked, hoping to hear his voice once more.

‘They took away my voice!!! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO GET HELP NOW!!’ He thought to himself. ‘This place.. they were right!! It IS cursed! It’s making me into a fucking pokemon!! I don’t want to be a pokemon!!’

The fire flared up in his chest and he unleashed it upon the walls of his confines.

‘You took my body!! You took my voice!! I’ll blast my way out of this cage! And when I do, I’ll burn this whole place down!!’ He thought ragefully.

He blasted at the cage, the fires bouncing off them fruitlessly however as they stood stalwartly against his attempts to escape. The cage rattled with each attack, shaking it around as the pissed off Luke tried his best to escape.

“Dad, he’s scary…” the young voice whimpered.

“Shhhh… he is just as scared as you. He doesn’t understand what’s happening. He doesn’t understand that we are only here to help him.” The older voice said soothingly to the son. “Just watch…”

Luke felt something petting his head, patting it lovingly. He recoiled back and yelped, another blast shooting in the direction of where he felt the pet coming from.

“It’s ok.. we are not here to hurt you.”

‘NO!! YOU TURNED ME INTO THIS!! I WANT TO BE HUMAN AGAIN!!’

He felt another pet, this one feeling… good. In fact, the first one felt good too. He shook his head to clear himself of the thought, before slamming his body against the now glowing red cage.

“Shhhh, calm down little guy… I’m not going to hurt you. WE are not going to hurt you. Here, how about I prove it. I bet you are hungry…”

Luke opened his mouth to bark at the voice, only to have something shoved into his mouth. He instinctively chewed on the mysterious treat, and it tasted… good… oh so very good. He didn’t realize how hungry he was.

“There we go. Have another..”

He tasted another treat gracing his lips and chewed on it, tail wagging in happiness as he tasted the delectable snack.

“Good arcy..”

As he swallowed the last crumb, he thought to himself, ‘I didn’t realize how much of an appetite I worked up looking for Jeff…”

The mention of his friends name snapped him out of his trance.

‘Jeff!! I need to find him!!’

He scratched at the cage, whimpering as he tried to get out once more.

“What’s he doing now?” the young boy asked.

“He wants out.”

“Can we..?”

“No. Not yet. We don’t have his trust yet. Besides, he doesn’t understand his place with us, as our pet…”

“Can an arcanine cry?”

“My son… all creatures can cry. Even… even if they don’t shed tears, you can see the sorrow, the fear in their eyes.”

The fur marched up his neck, moving to take over the last of his humanity. Beige fur growing thick and strong around his head, taking over his hair and leaving only a small patch of orange fur around his eyes. His ears were yanked up his head as they were changed into a sharp pair of ears, rotating and moving about to catch whatever sounds they could find. His nose was pulled back until it was reformed into a pair of black nostrils resting against his face. As the rest of his head finished, he felt his mouth and new nose slowly starting to push forward away from his face, his eyes clenching shut. A series of snaps and pops signaled his muzzle now forming, taking away his human visage and leaving nothing to suggest he was nothing more than a pokemon, the collar wound tightly around his neck showing he was a pet on top of that.

And as he opened his eyes, he realizing he was now fully an arcanine. The only pieces of his former humanity was the shape of the fur atop his head, reminiscent of his hairstyle as a human, and the necklace he wore coming in, which had miraculously hung on during the entire ordeal.

Luke whimpered, tears flowing forth as he realized everything that had transpired.

‘Lost my friend… lost my humanity… if I get out, what will I do? Some trainer is going to put me in a pokeball and force me to fight!! I don’t want that!! I want to be human!! I want to be back with….’

“Shhhh..” The voice soothed, a pet gracing his new fur as the arcanine shivered, “It’s okay. We will take care of you. I know you are scared, afraid, maybe even mad at me. But don’t worry, we are going to take good care of you. Just let all that fear go..”

As the voice spoke and the petting continued, Luke felt all his fears melt away. He felt all his desires to be human wash away, all his memories of being human flowing away from his mind. He was always an arcanine after all, running around trying to get away from his abusive trainers. He was so scared of the humans, they would yell and beat him when he refused to fight. But he didn’t want to fight, right? He wanted to play!! This human though, this voice, it was different. It wanted him to play too, not fight. Voice was good, he will stay with voice, protect home of voice. He was a loyal arcanine to voice….

The arcanine’s tongue lolled from his mouth as he felt more and more relaxed. Luke was still in there, only changed. His memories played around with But what made Luke himself, his personality, his dreams, that remained unchanged. In fact… his name didn’t feel right. It wasn’t the name of an arcanine. What was his name?

A bright flash brought him out of his trance. Realizing the flash came from his collar, he peeked down at it and saw that the necklace from before had merged with the collar, the fish hook now a charm hanging alongside the name tag. Not only that, but the tag itself now bore an engraving.

“Bestest and Most Loyal Arcanine: Duke” The front read.

‘Of course, how could I forget? My name is Duke!! Bestest and most loyal arcanine to ever exist…. Who was I loyal too?

The tag flipped over, revealing even more info on the back.

“Property of Richard Hawnstom.”

‘Of course, Richard!! And master’s offspring Sam!! They played with him, gave him belly rubs. Fixed him when he got hurt. They were best masters ever, much better than his previous ones. They protected him from them when they tried to get him back. Duke be with them and watch their house forever. In fact, they helped him meet his best friend! Where is best friend? In fact… where is… everyone?’

The trance suddenly dropped, and the arcanine found himself scratching at the bars of his cage…

‘Cage.. I only go to cage if I do something wrong. But.. I don’t remember if I did something wrong.I remember…. playing in kennel and it fell on me… MASTER HELP ME!! DUKE DON’T WANT TO BE IN CAGE!!’

He howled for help, wanting nothing more than to be free of his cage. His cries were answered however, as the chandelure came inside.

“Don’t worry Luke!! I found the keys!!” Jeff yelled triumphantly as it came crashing back into the kennel, keys clenched in one ‘hand’.

The arcanine was happy, he was going to be free of the cage! Afterwards, he and his friend would go on walkies and play fetch alongside master’s son!! Once he got home of course…

The chandelure dropped the keys as he looked at his friend, now fully turned into an arcanine.

“Luke… I’m sorry. This is all my fault…” he whispered to himself as he slowly floated over to the cage.

“If I had not run away… none of this would’ve happened to you. I was so stupid...” The chandelure sobbed to himself.

‘What is wrong with friend? Why he upset? Did this Luke guy hurt him? Duke will blast the pants off Luke!! But first, Duke need to help friend feel better.’

Duke pushed his muzzle between the bars and nuzzled at the sobbing chandelure, whimpering at the sight of his friend crying. The chandelure looked up, seeing the concern in the arcanine’s eyes.

‘He’s… still in there, just fluffier now. I… can’t give up on him, not while he hasn’t given up on me.’

The chandelure reached a ‘hand’ up and slowly rubbed the arcanine’s head.

“Thanks, I needed that Luke.”

The arcanine at first was happy with the affection, but then tilted his head in confusion.

‘Why friend call me Luke? I not Luke, I Duke.’

Duke shook his head and put a paw on the tag.

“Duke… That.. That’s what you want me to call you?”

Duke nodded.

Jeff felt his heart ache at the sight. ‘He.. really thinks he is an arcanine… but I can feel him still in there…I need to.. make this up to him.’

The chandelure resumed his petting, “Oh Lu… Duke.. I’m so sorry for everything. I promise you, I will find a way to turn you back. If not, I’ll make sure you are the happiest arcanine to ever exist.”

The chandelure wrapped his arms around Duke and gave him a tight hug. The arcanine, not liking such close contact, wanted to pull away.

‘Jeff in pain though. If it helps friend feel better, than Duke will let friend hug Duke.’

Duke nuzzled into the hug, letting his friend sink into his soft fur.

3 weeks later…

With Duke’s leash in hand, Jeff was preparing to take Duke out for his bi-weekly walkies. The new Arcanine got antsy when he wasn’t allowed out of the house, and this manifested itself by him trying to set stuff on fire around the house and causing general mischief, mostly centering around playing with Jeff’s beard of fire. So, as a way to work off some of that energy, walkies were instituted. They couldn’t go very far, the house wouldn’t allowed that. So it was mostly a quick jog around the walls and then a game of fetch. Treats would be given, pets would be received, and there would be a copious amount of “good arcys” and praises to go around for the arcanine.

“Come on Duke!” The chandelure whistled as it pulled at Duke’s leash, “It’s time for walkies!!”

Duke was excited, of course. Being cooped up inside all the time was tiresome. He wanted to run around and play all day! But he couldn’t. Jeff had made sure to bar him from doing anything that would damage the house, and told him not to run off the premises (although he really didn’t want to. Why would he abandon friend and master?)

The chandelure was his master for now, though it felt weird for it to be calling a fellow pokemon that. Since that day, he had felt compelled to follow him around and obey him, feeling as if the floating, ghost type pokemon was some kind of friend. The treats and belly rubs definitely helped win him over as well.

He panted and barked in excitement as he was lead to the door. As they reached the door, Jeff felt the hand of the house try to pull him back towards the main hall. It merely took a breath (or whatever it was it did now) and stepped outside, Duke in hand. They both needed this time, it knew it. They needed to get away from this place and try to make some sense of where they were. Jeff needed it more so however. It had to see if it could work up the willpower to get away, Duke in tow, and see if there was a way to turn back to normal. It pained Jeff to see its friend as a arcanine. This was only somewhat relieved when it realized Luke was still somewhat there, although no doubt acting like a full arcanine. Jeff figured that, in some twisted way, they were both happier this way.

The two of them reached the gate of the mansion, Duke wagging his tail and barking happily at the prospect of walkies. As Jeff was about to open the gate however, he heard something. The rustle of bushes, the sound of footsteps on the thick underbrush near the house, and a shout of someone. Duke himself heard it, and had caught the scent of the stranger approaching the house. He growled for a moment before he felt a tug at his leash. Jeff was pulling him away from the gate.

“Duke!” He whispered firmly to the arcanine, “Hide, and be quiet!”

The arcanine, noticing the sudden amount of stress and worry in the chandelure’s voice, obeyed. The two of them hid in the nearby hedges leading up to the mansion itself. Jeff concentrated and willed his spirit fire to dim down until it was only a flicker within his housing, falling to the ground with a quiet ‘tink’. The arcanine was panicked at first, never seeing Jeff doing this before. Jeff assured him he was alright; this was his way of hiding.

Duke was excited all of a sudden: was this a game of hiding!? He loved it the couple of times the two of them did it. He started barking and wagging his tail at the prospect of playing ‘hiding’ with his best friend.

“No Duke! This is not play time! This is serious hiding time!!” The chandelure whispered sharply to Duke.

Duke flattened his ears and remained silent once more. The two of them watched and waited, both wondering what was going to happen to the stranger whom approached the cursed mansion.