After moving to the base of Brimport Hiking Park and Lodge, Odytt the form-weaving ghost Pokemon became somewhat of a celebrity thanks to a single bout of local news. A Pokemon evolved from a Ditto with the ability to transform things other than herself pretty much enabled a whole mess of people's desires and dreams. The majority of her clientele involved trainers wanting to get closer to their cherished partner Pokemon by gaining similar features of their own. Pikachu ears, riolu tail, magnemite magnets, you get the gist.

Very rarely, however, does she ever get it the other way around.

Brelen was one such Pokemon. Originally an unnamed Umbreon, she grew up alongside her young female trainer since they were both children. However, as the years went on, she seemed to find them growing more and more distant as her trainer made plenty of friends and prioritized them over her. It got to the point where she was mainly just her trainer and her friends' fill of snuggles and whatnot; a role that most other Pokemon accepted as a simple life.

Not her, though. This distancing really got to her, making her feel like she was unable to keep up with them as a friend, leaving her to only be seen as a pet. Not much else than that.

As a result, after seeing the aforementioned news article about Odytt and hearing about the special ghost Pokemon down the Pokemon pipeline, she ran away from home and sought her out in the hopes that Odytt would make her into a human. This way, she could get more involved with the group and participate in more activities.

Now, Odytt has standards. She avoids turning people directly into Pokemon and vice versa because of the morality of both species identity and security (for all she knows, she could be helping a felon escape the law). Also, trainers aren't allowed to have her change their Pokemon (or friends) unless the target themselves are OK with it. As such, because Brelen had a trainer and was asking for humanity, Odytt refused her service. She got mad and argued back. Odytt only agreed to a provide her a more human-shaped form, but that was the limit, and any aggravation against this would result in her refusing to do anything at all. Brelen accepted this as a start, to get more into walking like a human, but assured Odytt that she'll be back for exactly what she wanted.

Seething and plotting some sort of compromise with Odytt, she wandered through the park and into the forest, barely able to balance upright. Seeing red, however, meant she wasn't seeing where she was going, and she eventually discovered that she had gotten lost. Anger turned to fear as she discovered she was lost in the wilderness in a body she wasn't entirely familiar with, and in a panic, she rushed around, trying to find her way back to the city.

As a result, she tripped. And fell. And tumbled. Down a hill, down a cliff, and into a large dark crevice. When she woke up, it was night, and she was stuck deep in an steelix-carved cavern, all battered and bruised and hungry. She tried to climb out, but the walls were too smooth to grip, so she was forced to wander the pitch-black maze with what little night vision and ring glow she had to see.

Alas, she was dazed, and could hardly tell if she was going up or down, and as a result, she would slip and slide down even further into the cavern. Each time her bruises stung even more, hopelessness filled her mind. Hopelessness and anger. This was all Odytt's fault. If only she just made her human, she wouldn't be in this mess. She would be back with her trainer, hanging out with friends, having fun and doing things and exploring...

She missed her trainer. She wanted her close by. But no matter how much she silently pleaded for things to be alright, nothing answered. She was alone. A helpless wreck of a Pokemon, twisted by the world unknown.

It was then she felt wind against her ears. Rhythmic wind, as though being pushed forward over and over. The silence spoke volumes; she wasn't alone in the depths. She tried to run. She couldn't. She tried to fight back, but when her opponent was unseen in the dark, only the walls around her took any collateral damage.

For the darkness was home to many whom light refused to touch. One such being, known simply as Maelstrom, had caught her scent. The scent of a troubled mind, struggling in the dark and fighting against it. Darkness was not something to fight against, but rather something to embrace, for within the purest of darkness can one see everything.

His was the only voice, the only sound she heard, coming from all directions as though the cavern air itself spoke. It did not promise no harm, nor did it assure safety. Instead, he made a declaration that hers was an unnecessary fight, and to confront her true opponent, she would have to go on a pilgrimage along with him. She had no idea what was going on, but at this point, she wasn't really thinking anymore, so she decided to just accept whatever this strange, somewhat annoyingly loud being had in mind.

... and then she was devoured whole.

The Emperor of Darkness, as Maelstrom humbly referred it as, was a massive cavern-crawling worm-like creature sporting an uncountable number of tendrils spawning from inside and outside a mighty leech-like maw. She never saw it in the pitch black, nor did she hear its silent strides. All she felt was something wrapping around her waist and getting yanked into an abyss even blacker than the darkest night.

It had gotten so dark that all she saw was white.

And in this whiteness, she saw her past. Wandering around events in her life as though an omnipresent observer, seeing herself grow up with her trainer, watching herself evolve under the full moon to her absolute delight. Witnessing herself always being there for her trainer, an ever reliable friend and pet. Even when she left to play with her friends.

She remembered all those times. When her trainer came in with a phone in hand, chatting away and ignoring her completely. When her trainer came in so enraged she cowered behind the couch to avoid her wrath. When her trainer came home in tears, spawned from pain and humiliation, all alienated and alone and needing someone she could trust. Someone like...

Her eyes widened as realization hit her harder than any rock on her tumble into the deep. The times she was there for her, oblivious to the outside world, always familiar and predictable. She wasn't just a pet after all. She was the only one who could protect her from the harms of the outside world that she was now all-too familiar with. Her Trainer wanted to be with her in those few and unforgiving moments. Just like how she wanted to be with her Trainer.

... what had she done? She ran away. She let herself be corrupted. She left her Trainer all alone! She had to get back! She had to-

With a sudden rush, she tumbled onto grassy ground under a starry night sky. Whatever had swallowed her had spit her back out, rapidly vanishing silently in the darkness of the massive cave behind her. In front of her, city lights, shining like a beacon through the trees. She only glanced towards the cave for a moment before pushing herself to her feet and sprinting forward. Forward, as fast as her lopsided body could take her.

And before she knew it, she was back in the park. Odytt's tree house just to the right. She went straight there, pushing forward with the last of her strength, and collapsing at the door.

"Odytt!" she called with a raspy voice, "Odytt, I was wrong! Please change me back! I'm so so sorry that I got mad!"

Odytt, of course, understood what she was saying, being a Pokemon herself, but the cries went over the heads of her human guests all seated around her table.

Save for one of them.

It was like she had plunged herself into a dream, for there, lit by the light of a single lantern hanging from the ceiling, was her Trainer and her parents. After learning that the Brelen was missing, they went out searching for her, following witness reports over to Odytt's place, where she explained with her knowledge of human-speak about the whole situation. A situation that Brelen's trainer didn't realize she was taking for granted. She had no idea that her Pokemon felt so distanced because she spent so much time with her friends. Both Brelen and her trainer sobbed on each others shoulders until the sun started rising from the horizon.

In the end, Brelen ended up keeping the form that Odytt gave her. Then, with a few telepathy lessons from Skipper (which took way longer than it should have because Skipper), she learned to communicate with humans and ended up joining her trainer and her friends after all as one of the crew. Sort of more as a sister than a pet. It was a bit awkward at first, but they convinced themselves it was simply a "third" evolution, and things mellowed out from there. They chose a new name for her; Brelen, they taught her about human stuff and mannerisms, and she ultimately became one of the girls.

And that's how an Umbreon learned how to go clothes shopping.