An ongoing, episodic commission I'm working on for  Falkie set in the world of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon

While out on a camping trip, Alex and Daniel get pulled into another world. A world of myth and legend, danger and discovery awaits us



Next: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/53.....oad-successful




Alex/Sceptile belongs to  Falkie

Daniel/Lucario belongs to me

Thumbnail by  Torakuta

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Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Legends of Alta


Alex and Daniel were walking through the woods on the way to their campsite. They were following a game trail. It was late afternoon and the sun was near the horizon. Neither knew it, but their lives were about to change forever.

Daniel led the way with map in hand. He had GPS open on his phone. Alex scratched absently at a bug bite on the back of his neck. He could feel a rash forming. He didn’t think much of it at the time. He didn’t see it, but the trees around them seemed to shift and shimmer, changing colors subtly.

“Dad said to go past the camp sign and head north, down a path between the trees,” Daniel declared, nose buried in his phone. “It’s not too far, I think.”

“We’ve been walking for hours, Daniel,” Alex said exasperatedly. “And there’s trees everywhere. We’d better not be lost.”

Daniel suddenly paused and looked up. “Uhhhhh…” He looked around, confused. “Wait, did we pass a stream yet?”

Alex grabbed the phone from his friend and swore. “Damn it, Daniel! There’s not even any reception here.” He studied the map in silence for an uncomfortable moment. “We ARE lost!”

“It’s not my fault!” Daniel said defensively. “I had a signal a while ago.”

Alex pulled out his cell phone and checked the reception. No bars for him either. He took a moment to assess the situation. Rash actions wouldn’t help anyone. “Okay,” he finally said. “It’s afternoon, so the sun is to the west. Therefore, south is that way.” He pointed to the left. “I know there’s a town to the south. the one we came from. We head that way and see from there.”

Alex immediately headed south without waiting for Daniel’s response. He wasn’t super familiar with the area, but it was a start.

“I’m sorry!” Daniel called out to Alex as he followed after him. “I thought we were going the right way.”

“Let’s just get out of this forest.”

Alex scratched at his wrist, feeling the skin blistering. He passed it off as another bug bite, but it was starting to hurt.

“This forest looks kinda familiar,” Dan suddenly said.

“We’ve been camping here before.”

“No, I mean…in this game I was playing, there was a forest called Tiny Woods. It looks like this.”

Alex rolled his eyes. “You mean that pokemon game? I think you are overstating the similarities. A forest looks like a forest. How can you even tell with a 2D top down RPG?”

“Yeah. maybe you are right”.

“Hm…” Daniel pulled at his shirt collar. “God, I must be seeing things. It’s hot as fuck today, and these bugs are eating me alive.” The forest flickered around them and progressively changed to a darker green as they were walking.

Alex ignored his friend’s complaints. It wasn’t even 75 degrees Fahrenheit (24 degrees Celsius) yet.

As time passed, they weren’t making any real progress, but Alex was feeling strange. Colors were getting brighter, hurting his eyes. He staggered against a tree, feeling sick.

Daniel suddenly fell to the ground. “What...what’s…”

Alex opened his mouth to say something, but cried out in pain instead. He grabbed at his face, feeling the bones break and his nose pushed forward. His neck grew longer and fingernails dug into the tree bark as they became thicker and sharpened. He gasped for air.

His posture shifted, bending him forward against the tree. His shirt rode up his chest as his spine lengthened and he grew taller. A short nub pressed against the back of his pants.

Alex was scared. He didn’t know what was happening or why, but it hurt! He looked toward his friend on the ground, only to find Daniel changing as well.

Daniel’s face was pushing out into a dog-like snout. His nose turned black and moistened. Whimpering, he tore at his shirt with lengthening claws, revealing yellow fur growing from his chest . He rolled around in the dirt as his body shrank, ears grew longer, and shoes fell off to reveal black paws.

Alex eventually fell to the ground as he lost his balance. His legs changed abruptly, shortening as his stomach fattened. His feet lengthened and slowly forced him into a digitigrade stance. Big claws ripped through his shoes as his feet lengthened. A sharp-pointed tail ripping through the seat of his pants. It grew longer and thrashed in the air. Spikes grew out down its entire length. 2 fingers on each hand and foot receded into the body. Hands and feet thickened, becoming more sturdy for the bigger, thicker digits.

He closed his eyes and grimaced in pain as his eyes burned. He couldn’t see it, but his eyes were growing bigger and slitted, like a reptile’s. They stayed bright blue. His head finished reshaping into a triangular muzzle. His hair fell out and ears retracted into his head.

He was panting now, tired. His legs wobbled before he fell to the ground. He tried calling out to Daniel, but his voice rasped unintelligibly, almost a hiss as his tongue lengthened and forked. His vision blurred as his skin changed color and texture. It darkened to a vibrant, verdant green like the trees around them. His vision faded to black and he finally passed out. He called out one last time to Daniel. He was barely conscious, but it sounded like, “Sceptile…”





Alex didn’t know how much time passed, how long he was unconscious, but he awoke to a voice, to someone calling his name.

“Alex…” the voice called distantly. “Come on, wake up!”

Alex groaned sleepily, turning his head away. “5 minutes, Mom…”

Someone shook his shoulder roughly and Alex abruptly woke. “Alex, wake up! You gotta see this!”

Alex didn’t recognize the voice and shoved against his aggressor, pushing him away. He opened his eyes, planning to yell at the person-

-and shouted in surprise, scrambling away in fear. A blue dog face was grinning down at him, less than a foot away.

Alex tried to jump to his feet and stumbled, thrown off-balance. His feet felt wrong, his center of mass off.

The bipedal dog pushed him down by the shoulders, holding him down. “Alex, calm down!” it said urgently. “It’s me! I’m Daniel!”

Alex paused, confused. The dog let him go and carefully backed away. “Danny?” ‘Daniel’ nodded in response. He didn’t sound like Daniel, but he had Daniel’s green eyes and was wearing his shirt, which was way too big for him. There were large rips in the fabric. He was bipedal and quite a bit shorter than Alex at about 4 feet 1.2m tall. His chest was covered in creamy yellow fur with a gray spike sticking out of his chest. The rest of his body was covered in alternating blue and black fur,

Alex shook his head. “I´m sorry, but Daniel is human!”

Daniel gestured at Alex’s body. “Well, you don't look very human to me.”

Alex finally looked down at himself and did a double take. He had a long neck and rounded belly, distinctly pear-shaped. His skin was scaly like a lizard’s and dark green. He still had 2 arms and 2 legs, but each had 3 digits. He did keep his thumbs, thank god.

With Daniel’s help, he managed to stagger to his feet. Thankfully he was still bipedal. Looking behind him he saw a long, thick, spiky tail extended from his rear end. It looked a bit like a pine tree. With a little effort and moving his hip muscles in a certain way, he was able to move the tail. Testfully, he swung it back and forth. Feeling the weight of it, his tail and the spikes swishing with the motions, was something he had to get used to. Bulbous yellow orbs adorned his back, though he wasn’t sure what they were.

Alex slowly remembered what happened, the agonizing transformation into this...whatever the fuck he now was. And he saw Daniel changing too, now that he thought about it. He looked at his friend. Daniel’s smile returned.

“What...what the fuck happened?” Alex demanded. “What are we? Why’d this happen?”

“We’re Pokémon, obviously,” Daniel explained matter-of-factly. “You’re a Sceptile and I’m a Lucario.”

“But that’s…” Alex almost said ‘impossible’, but the proof was right in front of him. He looked down at his weirdly-shaped hands, clenching and unclenching his fists. “I…”

“I…”

“What do we do now?” Daniel asked worriedly.

“I don’t…” Alex perked up suddenly, remembering. “South!”

“What?”

“The town, remember?” Alex reminded him. “Maybe if we retrace our steps, we’ll change back . Or we can find help!”

“Help? We turned into Pokémon. How’s anyone supposed to help with that?”

“I don’t know, but we have to try.“ Alex shook his head and started off. “Come on. Let’s get going.”

Almost immediately, he stumbled. Daniel grabbed his arm and kept him from falling. His legs were a lot shorter than he was used to.

“You alright?”

“I’m fine. I just...damn legs aren’t shaped right.” Alex regained his balance and kept going. His new digitigrade stance was something he had to get used to.

Alex had no idea what was going on. This whole Pokémon thing was something he knew almost nothing about. The first priority, however, was getting out of the forest and that was what Alex put his mind to.

Alex fell behind as they made their way south. Daniel was much more agile in his new body and had to stop and wait for Alex a few times.

After a while, Daniel reached up and pulled off his T-shirt. It was in tatters. He looked at the cloth for a moment, almost forlornly, then tossed it aside and kept walking.

Alex looked at the discarded shirt as he passed it. “Shouldn’t you keep it for when we change back?”

“My pants are history. Not much point wearing a shirt,” Daniel explained. “And it’s uncomfortable to wear. You should take yours off too.”

Alex looked down at his own shirt, the last piece of clothing he had on. It was still intact, but it hung loosely on his shoulders. With a sigh, he pulled it over his head. He was about to throw it aside, but then he had an idea. It was dark red. He folded the shirt in a triangle, wrapped it around his neck. and tied a knot. It looked like a red bandana. Daniel looked curiously back at him, then smiled.

“What?” Alex said. “I like this shirt.”

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Daniel looked away, still smiling, and forged ahead. “It’s a good look for you.”

Later, Alex needed a break and leaned against a tree trunk to catch his breath. Daniel was a ways ahead.

He pushed away from the tree, then paused, looking curiously at the leaves. “Hmm?” He reached up and pulled out a few needles from a low-hanging branch. “These are pine needles. Douglas Fir, I think.” He looked around. Similar trees surrounded him. “That can’t be right. We were in an elm forest.” He rolled the needles around in his hand. They felt soft in his grip, and they didn’t jab his skin like pine needles usually do.

He knew something was off about the forest they were in. From the moment he woke up, he knew something was wrong, he just couldn’t put his finger on it. Now he knew. Not only did they turn into Pokémon, but they traveled to an entirely different place. But where? How far? What was going on here?

A knot formed in his chest as he realized something else: where were they supposed to go now? They could be hundreds of miles from the campsite. Or thousands, for all he knew. Landmarks he was familiar with weren’t there.

Suddenly, a small bird landed in the tree above him. It chattered for a moment, then started preening.

He watched the bird curiously. “That’s a funny-looking bird,” he thought aloud. The bird was about the size of a pidgeon but had dark brown, spiky feathers, yellow eyes and pink talons.

“Hey, who you calling funny-looking?” the bird suddenly said indignantly, glaring down at Alex. Alex stumbled backward, startled. “Ugly green lizard.”

Alex was silent for a moment, unsure how to react. Birds don’t usually talk back. “I...uh...uhm…”

“Alex!” Daniel suddenly called out to him. “Come here! You have to see this!”

The bird flew away in a huff. Alex shook his head, still confused, and went after his friend.

Daniel was standing in a clearing in front of a large tree. It looked different from the fir trees around them, with a broader canopy and orange objects nestled among the branches.

“Daniel,” Alex said as he walked up. “I don’t think we’re in the same forest.”

Daniel nodded. “I know.” He pointed at the tree. “You see those berries?”

Alex looked up, confused. Berries? They were too big to be berries and were shaped like gourds.

Suddenly, Daniel ran up to the trunk. He hoisted himself up by a branch and grabbed 2 of the fruits. They came off easily and he dropped back down. He held one out to Alex.

Alex examined it closely. It was unlike anything he’d ever seen before. It was soft and squishy, like an overripe pear. “What is it?”

“It’s a Sitrus Berry.”

Alex looked up, confused. “A what?”

“A Sitrus Berry,” Daniel repeated, his tone suddenly solemn. “And they’re only found in one place: the Pokemon World.”

Alex was silent for a moment. He looked around at his surroundings, the revelation setting in. He remembered that strange bird in the tree.

“We’re…” He looked at Daniel. “I saw some kind of bird. It could talk.” He shook his head. “If we’re in another world, what do we do now? Where do we go?”

“Hmmm…” Daniel considered it for a moment. “You said you saw a talking Pokémon. Maybe there’s a village around here.” He looked down at the Sitrus Berry in his paw-hand. “I’m kinda hungry.” He suddenly took a bite out of it. Alex thought of stopping him, but changed his mind.

“How’s it taste?”

“Mmm…” The Lucario chewed for a few seconds, then swallowed and smiled at Alex. “Hey, this is really good! Almost like an orange, but a little sour.” He shoved the rest of the berry in his mouth and chewed happily

Alex looked down at his own fruit uncertainty for a moment. His stomach rumbled and he realized he was hungry too. He nibbled at it experimentally and rolled the piece around in his mouth. “You’re right, it is good.”

As he finished off the Sitrus Berry, Alex started to relax a little. He wasn’t sure what the future held, but they had food. They could probably find water around here too. He spat out the large pit.

Daniel turned back to the tree and climbed it again.

“How are you doing that?” Alex called out to him. “I can barely walk in this body.”

“It’s easy,” Daniel answered, looked down through the branches. “Like tree climbing in our world. And this body, I feel so strong, so nimble.” He swiped a berry off a branch and chomped on it, still up in the tree. “You’re a grass type. I bet you’d be better at it than me.”

Alex looked at the tree trunk uncertainly.

Daniel grabbed another berry, and this time, a screech split the air. Alex jumped back and Daniel fell out of the tree, startled. A loud buzzing filled the air as the ‘berry’ Daniel had just grabbed started to move.

A large, yellow insect emerged from the tree, looking pissed off. It looked like a giant wasp with drills for hands.

“Oh, shit, that’s a Beedrill!” Daniel called out. He turned to flee. Run!”

Alex stood frozen in place as the Beedrill turned to glare at him, wings buzzing. Alex took a step back, then another. Then, the trance was broken as more of the creatures came out of the tree. Dozens of them. Alex turned and fled.

He scanned frantically for an escape. Trees everywhere, as far as the eye could see. Maybe he could climb-

He cried out in surprise as he tripped over a rock. He flew forward before slamming into the ground. He screamed in pain as one of the bugs immediately latched onto him, slamming him into the ground. He thrashed and managed to roll over, but the creature only jabbed him in the stomach. He kicked as hard as he could and shielded his face.

“Please! Stop!” he cried out, but the creature didn’t respond.

Fear gripped him. He wasn’t sure where it came from, what it meant, but his vision darkened. He knew he was about to die and something awakened in him. He lunged at the insect, grabbing 2 of its limbs. The Beedrill buzzed indignantly, but Alex ignored it. His head jabbed forward, biting into the carapace around its neck.

His teeth didn’t go very deep, but he could feel the chitin give, breaking. The Beedrill was surprised at first, then furious. Alex tasted blood as it stabbed him in the face with a hand-stinger, and again.

Then, the moment passed and the rest of the swarm descended on him. Pulled out of his trance, Alex screamed in pain as bees stung him from all sides. “DANIEL!”

Suddenly, a shock of electricity arced overhead. “Get offa him!” an unfamiliar voice shouted. Another bolt and the swarm released their prey.

Alex looked to the left and saw his rescuer. A little yellow mouse with red cheeks. A Pikachu? No, too small. Pichu, maybe? Pikachu was one of the few Pokémon he knew of. It wore a red scarf around its neck and small bag looped around its shoulder. It picked up a rock and hurled it at one of the Beedrill. The bug screeched in anger and retreated

“I said, get lost, you bullies!” the Pichu shouted at them. It sounded male. His cheeks sizzled with electricity. He picked up another rock and the swarm retreated. The small Pokémon sighed and dropped the rock. He looked toward Alex. “They’re tough, but they don’t stick around if you stand up to them. They’re pushovers.”

Alex was having trouble concentrating. Even with the threat gone, his vision blurred. He felt whoozy and laid back down.

“Alex?” Daniel called out worriedly. The Lucario ran up to him and shook his shoulder. Alex felt the urge to throw up, but nothing came out.

“Oh, no, he’s poisoned! They musta hit him with Twinneedle, the jerks.” The Pichu opened his bag and looked through it. “We need to get him back to town. I’m out of Pecha Berries.”