A request for  incinermyn. It's a simple Lapras pooltoy TF, in case you were wondering. Enjoy!

Life is but a Dream by SqueakyTails


A machete cleaved through the dense forest foliage to make way for a tall human. He carefully scanned the ground before him, looking for any tell-tale sign of a new Pokémon to catch. He wasn’t too interested in assembling another team of common, run-of-the-mill Pokémon; he wanted a unique team of only the rarest ones he could find.

He stepped into a small clearing where light could filter through the dense trees, illuminating the man’s features. A brown, scraggly beard outlined his still youthful visage, wrapping around his head to join his identically colored hair without interruption. He wore an azure-colored tee shirt prominently displaying two Lapras as if they were swimming in the cloth. The shirt barely failed to hide a slight potbelly. Denim jeans and tough black boots protected his lower half from the thorns and other painful plants, allowing him to trudge through the forest without hesitation. Two Pokéball holsters on either side of his belt labeled him “Jay Christie”.

His trained eye allowed him to notice a slight lack of underbrush- evidence of a trail used by the local wildlife. Growing excited, he followed it until it joined up with the humans’ path where the trail went cold. His enthusiasm quickly fled. So close! he thought in frustration.

A rustling caught his attention. He snapped his head to the side just in time to see a Shiny Ninetales dive behind some foliage, its reflective pelt scattering light in every direction. Heart pounding in excitement, Jay ran as quietly and quickly as he could after the rare Pokémon. He managed to just barely keep up with the sprinting fox as it dived in and around the underbrush. Eventually it led him back a little further up the dirt trail where turned to regard him with suspicion, tails held high in intimidation. There was something off about it, Jay thought. It certainly wasn’t the satchel it carried; those were actually pretty common with Pokémon nowadays. No, it seemed too smooth, like its fur was glazed over. As the Ninetales back up slowly, Jay could make out a soft squeaking noise emitting from strangely scarred limbs.

“Could you put that machete away?” The obviously male Ninetales asked. “I’d rather not pop again; that’s never fun.”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Jay said as he sheathed his knife. Then it hit him. “Wait, what? You can talk?! And what do you mean, ‘pop’?” Jay replied, shocked and a little weirded out.

The Ninetales giggled and walked up to the human. “Well, first of all, it’s not that hard for us Ninetales to figure out human-speak. Then again, I was manufactured knowing it.” Before Jay could respond he continued, “Yes, I said manufactured. I’m a pool toy, in case you haven’t noticed so I will pop if I’m cut. Oh, where are my manners? My name’s Sai!”

Jay backed away, somewhat spooked by this uncanny creature as he realized the glaze was simply shiny plastic and the scars were seams. “Um, nice to meet you, Sai. I’ve got places to go, you see, so…” He turned and slowly picked up speed as he prepared to run.

“Hey, don’t be scared! Wait!” Sai called.

Almost against his will, Jay turned and flinched as the living toy Ninetales approached on squeaking paws. Sai grinned, “I’m not gonna hurt ya. I’m your friend; promise! I want to talk to you, actually. You seem like a nice guy.”

Jay forced himself to relax as he sat beside the vinyl yet living Ninetales under a large oak. He watched almost mesmerized as air-filled tails swayed back and forth. Sai tilted his head, bemused. “So what’s your name?”

Snapping out of his trance, Jay responded, “Oh, I’m Jay. Jay Christie.”

Sai nuzzled Jay’s hand, prompting him to pet the smooth inflatable while Sai spoke, “Jay Christie, huh? Nice name! So what brings you ‘round here?”

“Wow, you’re really soft for a piece of plastic. I like it. Anyway, I’m looking for some rare Pokémon to catch—“

Sai jumped back, “Whoa, now, I don’t want to be caught! I’d be horrible in a battle, anyway…”

Jay raised his arms calmingly. “Hey, it’s okay. I wasn’t going to catch you anyway.”

Sai’s ears fell back as he frowned. “What? Am I not good enough for you? I dare you to find another Pokémon like me. Because you won’t.”

“Hey now, that’s not what I meant!” Jay replied.

“Then what did you mean?”

“Well, I mean, like you said- you probably wouldn’t do well in a fight. I plan on training and fighting quite a bit with my team, and it wouldn’t be good for either of us to just keep you in a Pokéball all day.”

Sai had returned and once more persuaded Jay to rub his plastic head and neck “fur”, a collar of hollow vinyl around his neck that imitated the mane Ninetales had. Jay stared at the valve on that collar until Sai responded, “Fair enough. How many Pokémon do you have so far? I’d love to meet them if they promise to be gentle with me.”

“Ah, see, I haven’t caught any yet.”

Sai’s eyes widened. “Wait, you haven’t? Not a one? Not even a starter?”

“Nope; I released all my first Pokémon long ago.”

“Huh. Well, are there any you’re hoping to catch? Maybe I could help you track!”

“I don’t know just yet. I kinda just want to catch what I find. Although… I do want to catch a Lapras…” Jay leaned against a large tree, smiling as he looked off into the distance.

“You like Lapras?” Sai confirmed.

“Yeah; they’re the greatest, you know? Those cute curled ears, the knowing eyes, and that gorgeously detailed shell on their back—“

Sai had interrupted his new friend with a fit of giggling, “Jay and Lapras sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S—”

“H-hey, that’s not what I meant!” Jay shouted, blushing profusely. “I don’t like like Lapras- I’m human!”

Sai didn’t miss a beat, “So if you were a Lapras, you’d like them?”

Jay didn’t respond except to blush harder and look away.

“If there’s something you want to say, you can talk to me. I’m not gonna tell anyone…” Sai offered.

Jay began rubbing Sai’s back as he whispered, “Um… see… I want to be a Lapras…”

Sai tilted his head. “What was that? I couldn’t—”

“I want to be a Lapras, okay?!” he blurted out, eyes shut. “Ever since I was a kid I thought Lapras were the greatest things Arceus ever created… and I had always secretly wished I was one.” He bowed his head in embarrassment as he rubbed lower down Sai’s smooth, vinyl back.

Suddenly the inflatable Ninetales jumped back. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa; don’t touch my tails, got it? You’ll turn into a pool toy like me!”

“What? Really?!”

Sai nodded solemnly.

“That’s kinda scary, your friends always being one touch away from becoming a toy like you...”

“Aw, they get used to it. Most of my friends are toys anyway.”

“Huh. Where do you all get… manufactured, I guess?”

Sai chuckled. “Sorry, that’s a secret. Inflatables only, you see.”

Jay sat in thought for a moment as he contemplated the swaying tails behind his new friend. After hesitating several times, he finally blushed and asked, “Could you make me a Lapras?”

Sai blinked. “Um, yeah, actually. But I’d have to make you an inflatable Lapras. You’ll be alive like me, but you’ll be made of vinyl and air instead of flesh and blood.”

Jay sighed. “All my life this has been my deepest desire…”

Sai smiled. “And…?

Jay nodded. “It’s definitely worth it, even if I’ll be a pool toy.” He reached for a tail.

Sai pulled his tails away, emitting many squeaks as he backed away from the hand. “Let’s not be too hasty, now. If you transform, there’s no going back. Ever. You’ll be a pool toy for life.”

“Hmm… well, what do I have to lose? I’ve been on the road for quite a while, not really that close to any family or friends, I have no Pokémon to care for… I have nothing left in life. No obligations, no debts…” he sat in silence for a couple minutes as thought deeply over his life and whether he was willing to change everything. Sai waited with a smile on his muzzle. Jay turned to the Ninetales. “Let’s do it.”

Sai leaped in the air with a cheer. “Hooray! This’ll be the best day of your life- being an inflatable is the greatest! No more working or hunting for food; just eat some plastic now and again to keep your skin healthy! Not to mention that without a flesh body you’ll never grow old and you’re practically immortal. Even if you pop you’ll repair yourself on your own. Oh, I can’t wait to get started!”

Jay laughed silently. “You didn’t mention this before because…?”

“Well, I don’t want trainers abandoning their Pokémon or family just so they can seek an easy life; only those with no ties I can transform in good conscience.”

Jay’s countenance brightened. He could hardly contain his excitement at fulfilling his deepest fantasy. “Yeah, that makes sense. But can we get going already?”

“Okay. First, remove your clothes. …Don’t look at me like that! I’m just a Ninetales! Okay, you can keep your underwear on; I just don’t want you to be constrained by your clothes as you transform, but if you want to stay somewhat modest until… well, until you have nothing to hide I don’t think your boxers will be that hard to tear through.” Somewhat self-conscious, Jay complied, removing his shirt, shoes, and jeans and dropping them on the dirt, never to wear them again. Sai wasn’t fazed.

The inflatable Pokémon continued, “To make sure this goes to plan, I want to you to close your eyes and imagine yourself as a Lapras pool toy. Don’t look at your Lapras body from third-person; I know you are! Be the Lapras because you are the Lapras. Are you doing it?” Jay nodded. “Can you feel your shell, your flippers, the pressure of the air inside of you? Can you feel every aspect of your plastic, vinyl body, from your muzzle to your tail?” Jay nodded more emphatically this time, unable to keep himself from grinning from ear to ear. Sai turned around, his tails displayed before Jay. “Good! Now touch my tails; any one will do. And so begins the rest of your life!”

Jay opened his eyes and grabbed hold of the middle tail with his right hand. A shiver ran through his whole body, causing him to let go and stumble back. His hand turned blue and shiny as it began to swell. He became aware of a hollow feeling in his hand while it distended, his fingers losing individuality as they fused into a navy blue flipper.

In awe, Jay squeezed the flipper with his other hand, feeling the air inside shift and push out as he met his fingers through his thin vinyl. The Lapras-to-be shivered with pleasure as he stroked his new, sensitive vinyl skin. He watched in amazement as the plastic crept up his arm with a gentle hissing even as it, too, inflated and transformed into a toy flipper, complete with a seam running down each edge. It looked just as he imagined- a flat, oval shaped limb, starting small and widening in the middle before tapering to a point, blue on top and a sandy brown beneath. However, it continued to swell, stretching the plastic until the seams bore no hint of a fold and it became somewhat round. Jay realized how even though it should realistically be incredibly painful to slowly change like this…

“Th-this feels amazing…” Jay spoke softly as he watched vinyl overtake his shoulder and spread to his torso, turning the tan of a Lapras’s underbelly as his whole body swelled, now completely devoid of anything but air.

“Oh, it only gets better,” Sai promised.

Jay’s gut disappeared as his body inflated and widened, becoming the smooth belly of the Pokémon he loved so dearly complete with another seam running right down the middle. True to Sai’s word, Jay’s underwear stretched beyond its limits and was ripped apart by the pressure of his body, yet nothing was revealed by its failure. He sighed in relief of being free of the constrictive clothing and silently thanked the Ninetales’ foresight. The sound of hissing air grew louder as his back turned a dark grey and pushed outwards. Jay was keenly aware of soft plastic swelling and shifting, growing into the bumpy shell he had long since memorized

. As the vinyl migrated up his chest, his neck elongated, pushing his head higher before the plastic surrounded it and coated his head in a uniform blue. Any facial hair quickly assimilated with the vinyl before his human face pushed out into the triangular muzzle Jay had so often traced with a finger in his books. Two bumps on either side of his head sprouted and grew with the ever-hissing air, curling back into themselves to form his ears while a small horn grew before them. Two painted, violet eyes snapped open as the Lapras took its first breaths, and with a slight pinch, a grey valve formed from the plastic at the base of his neck. Sai watched with a gentle smile as an enraptured Jay stroked his smooth, still inflating belly with his remaining arm before it, too, became a blue flipper. As the vinyl cascaded down his legs, his feet first shrank down to tips, causing him to fall with a thud on his taut, over-inflated belly, bouncing a little before resting on the soft dirt.

The beaming Lapras twisted his long, hollow neck to watch as the vinyl on his legs stretched and shrank into smaller counterparts to his front flippers. He flopped the limbs experimentally, grinning widely as he found them just as he imagined it to be. Still Jay swelled, growing tighter and tighter as a small tail formed between his legs. Finally the hissing stopped, leaving Jay panting shallowly from the pressure.

Looking once more over his new body, Jay cried out triumphantly, “I’m a Lapras! I’m really actually a Lapras! This is a dream come true! And if I am dreaming, don’t wake me up!” He laughed boisterously as Sai padded over and looked up at the now towering Jay.

“Feel good?” Sai asked.

“Good? You kidding? I’ve never felt better! The tightness in my belly, my stretched, thin, plastic skin, the fact that I’m a freaking Lapras!” He craned his long neck to look down at the Ninetales, taut vinyl pinching and folding as he bent it. “You know, I’m fairly certain most Lapras aren’t this big…”

“That’s because you’re… rather over-inflated.” Sai chuckled. “Seriously, you must be like ten feet tall!”

“I really need to lay off the burgers,” Jay laughed, waving his flippers in delight. “Oh my gosh, thank you so much! You literally made my dreams come true and I can’t even begin to thank you enough!”

Sai pawed his nose, embarrassed. “Aw, thanks! I’m so happy you like it!” He sprang up to Jay’s shelled back, massaging his neck with his paws while he proposed, “You know… you are a water toy and a Lapras at that. Wanna go for a swim?”

Jay turned his neck around to face his benefactor, violet eyes twinkling in delight. “Do I ever! Let’s go!” Jay slid on his new flippers somewhat awkwardly as he turned to face the trail ahead. Suddenly he stopped with a furtive look.

“What’s wrong, buddy?” Sai probed.

“Um, just… I suddenly realized how fragile I am now. Seriously, I brush over one sharp twig or thorn and I’ll go flat!”

“That’s okay,” Sai replied without missing a beat. He jumped down from Jay’s back, “I’m pretty tough; I’ll carry you there!”

“You? Carry me? I must weigh like two hundred- oh, wait, right.” His eyes were force shut by his enormous grin. “That’s right; I’m a Lapras, now! Again, thank you so much, Sai!” Snapping out of his reverie, he commented, “Hang on, I’m still huge and probably really awkward to carry, let alone really hard to keep from popping. How do you plan to do that?”

Sai had reached into his bag and pawed out a large, plastic box that had obviously taken up a lot of his satchel. The box was styled like a Pokéball- one half red and one half clear, with a black stripe down the middle. Sai opened it and grinned at his Lapras friend, eyeing the valve at the base of his neck. Jay’s violet eyes widened as he realized his plan.

“Oh, no, you are not deflating me!” he declared in a quivering voice as Sai jumped back up to his neck.

“What, do you have a better idea?” Sai questioned as he pulled up the valve with soft, plastic teeth.

Jay thought for a moment before sighing in defeat.

Sai chuckled for a moment. “You’ll enjoy it; trust me!” He pulled the valve open and pinched it between his paws.

“You really think I’ll enjoy deflating—oh…” Jay’s eyes became half-shut as the rush of air leaving his hollow body soothed him immensely. “Oh… that’s what you mean… heh. Wow. Being a pool toy really is the best…”

“Told ya,” Sai replied as he squeezed Jay’s body between his hind paws to force the air out even faster.

Jay relaxed along with his vinyl skin, feeling himself shrink down to the size of a normal Lapras before he began to simply deflate. He smiled lazily at his inflatable friend before he laid his long neck on the dirt trail before him, growing drowsy as his air fled his body at a steady, ever so relaxing pace. His head and muzzle crumpled as its air escaped, so Jay closed his eyes and relaxed, relishing in the feeling of his flippers and shell collapsing under their own weight in the absence of their vital gasses. Now unable to move, Jay could do nothing but feel as Sai finished flattening him out, each paw stroke sending a new wave of delight through him. He felt as Sai folded each flipper over his body before he felt his left side being lifted into the air and folded over his middle. His right side followed suit. By Jay’s reckoning he now appeared as a long, thin piece of plastic.

“Hey, Jay; you sleeping?”

“Huh? No, just relaxing…” It took Jay a moment to realize that he could still talk despite his crumpled state, though he could not explain how.

“Good. I didn’t want you to miss this.”

“Miss what?”

“Oh, you’ll see…” Sai continued by folding Jay end over end into a small square, taking great care to make sure every crease was tight and flawless. Jay’s eyes snapped open as Sai finished by wrapping his neck around the square he made, a dizzying effect that left him neatly tucked into the rest of his body in a position that left him quite capable of seeing Sai grinning back at him. Holding Jay gently in his soft teeth, Sai carried him back over to the box and neatly dropped him inside, giving Jay a perfect view through the transparent half. Sai finished by attaching the box to his satchel’s strap like a dog tag, giving Jay a clear view of where they were headed. Sai set off through the forest.

Overcome by another wave of euphoria, Jay continued to praise Sai, although somewhat muffled by the plastic encasing. “Man, it wasn’t enough for you to just fulfill my dreams, no, you kept going! You’re showing me all the wonders of being an inflatable, too! I’ve hardly known you for an hour and already you’ve done so much for me…”

This string of compliments continued, leaving Sai giddier and giddier about helping this man—well, Lapras, now. Soon Sai pushed through one last bush and found himself on the beach of a slow-moving riverbank.

“I just can’t say much more,” Jay finished. “You’ve made my life paradise!”

Now it was Sai’s turn to beam from ear to ear. “I’m so touched, really! I’ve scarcely met someone so happy to accept an inflatable way of life.” He giggled. “We’ll be friends forever!”

Jay smiled… somehow. He decided not to question it. “Thanks. I think we’ll be friends forever, too.”

“Now, let’s get you pumped up for your first float!” Sai removed his satchel, letting Jay fall to the soft beach sand as Sai rummaged once more in his bag. After extracting a hand pump—well, paw pump—he lifted Jay out of his box and began to unfold him.

Jay felt everything Sai had done before, but in reverse- first he unwrapped his neck, laying it gently on the sand before quickly and methodically unfolding the square he had made. Once Jay was the correct length, Sai proceeded to unfold his right side and then his left, ending by laying his flippers out and grabbing the pump.

Jay blushed a little as he felt the cold, metal nozzle being pushed tight into his sensitive valve just past the flap that kept air inside him. He was keenly aware of the slow rush of air that began his inflation. The next pump came faster, and the next faster. Air began to flow into him at a steady rate, slowly leaking into the very tips of his flippers and his muzzle as it pushed them up and apart. Once he had regained enough movement in his crumpled neck, he turned to find Sai furiously pushing his front paws up and down on the pump to force air into his new friend. Jay smiled at his determination.

The inflation was slow, much slower than his initial transformation, but the extra time gave him plenty of opportunity to savor each moment of progression, feeling every inch of his plastic skin tickled by the gently flowing air as flippers once more became mobile and took shape. His body hogged most of the air, a large cavity that required much of Sai’s exertion to fill. Soon, it, too, regained its former shape: a bumpy, inflatable shell above an empty belly. Jay’s neck soon was forced up by its own pressure, restoring his ability to move freely as before. Sai continued until every bump, flipper, and seam was nice and tight.

“There,” Sai panted. Jay looked on in amusement as Sai swelled and deflated with each deep breath. “This is your standard “manufactured” size. This is just big and tight enough for you to maintain your form while being ridden even by real Pokémon or humans, yet you’re still small enough to… take a few risks, you could say.”

Jay grinned. “I love it. Over inflation was great, I guess, but I was too fragile, I think. This should be great for general life. Ah, once more, Sai, you’re the greatest. Thank you ever so much!”

“Why, you’re welcome!”

“I mean, if there’s anything I can do for you, anything at all…”

Sai grinned mischievously. “Now that you mention it, there is something…”

“What is it? I’ll do anything?”

Sai whipped Jay with his tails, sending him spinning into the river as the Lapras yelped in surprise. The Ninetales quickly jumped on his shell before he drifted away, causing Jay to rock back and forth. Sai wrapped his paws around the inflatable Lapras before suggesting, “Let’s go swimming!”

Jay laughed in delight as he began pushing his flippers through the water. To his frustration, he couldn’t get anywhere.

“Why aren’t we going?” Sai questioned.

“See, um… I guess Idon’t know how to swim.”

Sai’s eyes widened in surprise. “Your favorite Pokémon is Lapras and you never learned how to swim?!”

“No, I did, trust me, it’s just… well, I learned how to swim like a human. Not a Lapras.”

Sai blinked. After an uncomfortable silence, he laughed mirthfully, “Well, now is as good a time as any!”

Together they watched as Jay flailed in the water, trying to work out how his new flippers worked in the midst of his splashing. Eventually the pool toys figured out a system.

“So… front flippers, then turn them sideways, then back flippers, turn sideways, and front flippers again.” Jay called his movements as they glided smoothly around the water.

“You’re doing great!” Sai called. “Guess those Lapras instincts are finally kicking in.”

Indeed, Jay became aware of how natural his movements were becoming; how automatically he moved his tail to change direction and how quickly he could turn on a dime without hesitation.

“You bet, Sai! So… ready to take some risks?”

“I’ve got a patch kit!”

“Hey! I’ll have you know I have years of experience in wilderness survival and self-administered first-aid… but that’s probably a good idea. Thanks.” The two laughed as Jay gently carried them downstream to whatever adventures awaited them.