The Outlaw

“Chespin! Chespin! Today's the day! We're finally gonna stop a bad guy today!”
For what feels like the hundredth time, I'm awakened by Wooper's overly excited voice. “Yeah, yeah, relax...can't it wait until tomorrow?”
“But you promised! You said that if I helped out with that garden, you'd go on any mission I wanted, no questions asked!”
I force myself out of bed. Of course Wooper would remember something like that even after a couple of weeks. Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I say, “Alright, you win. Let's find a crook to beat up.”
Wooper leads me towards the mission board, hopping all the way. Nodding up towards a poster, he says, “That one, on the upper-right!”
I swipe the outlaw's poster from the board with a vine, holding it up to my face.

Smeargle the Savage

This criminal, wanted for multiple counts of theft and assault. has evaded capture for well over a month. All attempts at bringing him to justice have been met with complete failure. Our sources report that he hides out in or around a cave in or around Mystifying Forest. Identify him by the skull marking on his back and the red paint he uses.
Capture him and bring him to Magnezone for the bounty!

At least it probably wouldn't involve ice. Still, there's no telling what a Smeargle could do to us. “Smeargle the Savage, huh?” I shook my head a little, did he call himself that or did he earn the name? “Right. This shouldn't be too rough, after all it's no Charizard or Beedrill.”
“That's the spirit, Chespin! C'mon, the forest is this way!”

The walk to Mystifying Forest isn't too long, and we arrive within the hour. Things begin to grow darker as we venture inside, the canopy blocking out most of the sunlight. “Keep an eye out, Wooper. A dog with a paintbrush can't be hard to find at all.”
Wooper glances back, a confused look on his face. “What's a dog?”
Whoops, slipped up again. “It's something from the human world. Something with many different variations. Anyhow, it's not important, what is important is finding this bad guy and bringing him to justice!”

Before long, we come across a small cave entrance, a pond not far from the entrance. Red splotches of paint and little drawings adorn the outside. There's no doubt, this is the place! Wooper's body begins to glow blue, illuminating the entrance. I grab him with my vines and venture deeper into the cave. The trip within is uneventful and short, and it isn't long before we see the telltale flicker of a campfire. Setting Wooper down, I glance around the corner, trying to get a good look at the perp.

A Smeargle sits in front of the fire, roasting what looks like a bunch of berries. Squinting, I can just barely make out a drawing of a skull on his back. Not far from him, I spot a pile of bags. Those must be the things he's stolen! Before I can work on a plan of action, the Smeargle whips around, looking directly at us!
“Ahh, another pair of Pokemon has arrived to try and bring me in. My my, you do-gooders never learn your lesson." Laughing, the Smeargle continues. "When will you understand? If you're too weak to protect your valuables, you deserve to have them stolen!”
Wooper steps forward, determination on his face. “Your days of thievery are at an end, villain!”
I stand alongside him, vines at the ready. “We've fought tougher foes than you. We ain't scared of you!”
“I see, but could your old foes do...THIS?”
Before I can react, the Smeargle takes up his brush, rapidly painting a pendulum on the cave floor. His paintbrush tail shimmers with a purple energy as he points it directly at us!
Wooper charges ahead, spitting water as his body begins to glow purple. “That's not gonna...stop...u-” Wooper slows to a halt, slumping over on the cavern floor!
I see Smeargle fist pump as Wooper falls. “Say goodnight, floppy!”
“No! What'd you do to Wooper?!” I shoot my vines forward, trying to grab Smeargle.
My foe leaps backwards, furiously doodling another pendulum. “The same thing I'm going to do to you, Mr. Hero!” His paintbrush's glow is renewed, this time taking aim at me!
“We came here to...stop...” As I see my body begin to shimmer with a purple light, I know there's no use. We didn't have any kind of plan for an enemy that can put us to sleep! All of a sudden, it feels as though I've been awake for an entire week. Try as I might, I can't even stand upright anymore. I fall to the floor, my consciousness fading rapidly.
“Ahaha, that'll learn ya! Turns out the infamous Clover Guild is just a bunch of weaklings!” I watch as Smeargle approaches us, drawing something onto Wooper. “You kids are holding me up for too long, I've got travelers to mug. Just for that, how's about I give you two a little memento to remember me by?” The paintbrush presses onto me next. A bright flash illuminates us, my entire body going numb as I finally pass out.

When I finally wake up, I find that I'm outside the cave. My body feels cold as I lie there in the grass. “Ugh...that went badly, Wooper...” I feel a twinge of worry at the sound of my own voice, as though it weren't my own. I try to stand up, but I'm unable to move or even feel my arms!
“I'm sorry, Chespin...I didn't realize he'd be that tricky.” Hang on, that voice sounds a little familiar...
Still stuck on the ground, I look in the direction of the voice, my heart stopping as I see the source of the voice.
It's me! Right now, I'm looking directly at a Chespin who looks exactly like me, right down to the red scarf and clover badge! Confused, I look down at myself. Blue body, dark blue markings, and a distinct lack of arms.

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!” I let out a horrified scream as reality hits me. Wooper and I have switched bodies! “No no no no NO, this can't be happening!” Fear and panic overtake my mind as I begin to cry, feeling completely and utterly helpless. I was scared when I first woke up as a Chespin but this...this was on a completely new level of terror!
Wooper walks over, his steps wobbly. “That rotten crook...it'll be okay, Chespin. We can fix this.”
“Th-that's easy for the guy with arms to say!”
Wooper looks down at his new body, awkwardly waving his arms around. “Huh, so this is what having arms feels like. Cool, huh?”
I lash out at him, angry that he's not the one that has to panic. “THAT'S MY BODY! GIVE IT BACK!”
“Woah, Chespin, I said we can fix this!” He picks me up, carrying me over to the pond. “I know something that'll help you while we think of a plan.”
“I-I can't swim like this! I don't have arms!” I squirm uselessly in Wooper's grasp.
“You gotta trust me on this! Besides, you're in my body now, a body that can breathe underwater.”
Oh. Right. Now I feel like a complete idiot for panicking about that. I brace myself as Wooper lowers me into the water.

As soon as I dip underneath the surface, an overwhelming sense of relief floods into me. The intense feelings of worry and helplessness are washed away in the blink of an eye as I sink deeper into the water. It reminds me a lot of how my Chespin body reacts to sunlight. Coming to a stop at the bottom of the pond, I'm finally able to think about the current situation thanks to the water's calming effects.
Whatever that Smeargle did to us, it switched our bodies around. If he can do that, he can undo it. There's no way he'll do it willingly, so we'll have to beat it out of him. But...how do I fight in this new body? My entire battle strategy hinged on my vines, which I can't use anymore. Wooper is a highly capable fighter, but he was born into this body. He wouldn't know the first thing about how to fight while in MY body!
Thinking on things even more, I find that the need for air still hasn't arisen. It feels so bizarre, not needing air or having to hold my breath while still being perfectly fine. Looking up at the surface, another thought crosses my mind. How do I swim out of here?
Using my arms is out of the question, considering...Trying to jump out, I push off the bottom of the pond, slowly sinking back down. C'mon, think! How does Wooper do it so easily? He swims so casually and all he's gotta do is whip that tail of his around...wait, that's it!
Focusing back onto my body, I feel my tail swish around in the water. Looking back at it, I try wiggling it around a little. I'm relieved to find it to be quite easy to move, not unlike an arm coming out of my lower back. Surprisingly, it feels pretty powerful, like I could do some real damage if I hit someone with it like a pseudo-fist. Alright, here goes nothing! I leap off the pond's bottom, paddling as hard as I can with my tail.
With a small splash, I leap out of the pond, coming to a soft landing in the grass. Wooper waves to me, smiling. “Hey, you did it! So, how do you feel now?”
“Better, but...I still need my old body back!” Looking around again, I can't find any sign of my bag! “As if that wasn't enough, that criminal stole our bag. Come on, we gotta stop him!”
Wooper shakes his head. “He'll just put us to sleep again! We need more of a plan, but it's getting late. We should go back to the guild for now.”
I'm absolutely NOT thrilled about going even one more minute without my old body, but he's right. There's not a chance we can win against him without more of a plan. Trying me best to cope with the situation, I force out my response. “...Fine.”

By the time we return to the guild, the sun has already set. We see guild members return to their rooms, getting ready for bed. Sneasel waves for us as we near our room “There're the outlaw hunters. So, catch any bad guys today, Chespin?”
“No, it went ba-” I quickly shut up, realizing that I'm not the one she's talking to! I nudge Wooper with my tail, trying to get him to respond in my place.
Wooper takes over speaking. “He put us to sleep and got away. He also swa-”
“SHHH!” I give Wooper a light headbutt, whispering “Nobody at the guild needs to know that!”
“I mean, he swiped our bag, too. We're going to give it another try soon.”
Sneasel shakes her head, saying, “Hey, we all fail a job here and there. Good to know you'll go back there and give him what he deserves.”
I nod, saying, “He's gonna pay for what he did!”
“Y'know, if you take Chesto Berries with you, you can stay awake no matter what, right? Do that and you'll take away that bad guy's dirty little trick.”
That's it! I turn to Wooper, saying, “Hear that?! We gotta get some of those before we show up for the rematch!”
Sneasel turns to her door, heading inside. “Give 'em a good hit over the head for me, alright?”

Later that night, I can't fall asleep. Not only had today gone horribly, but I'm not even in my own body anymore! On top of all that, I shiver underneath the blankets, a cold breeze blowing through the window. No matter how much I curl up, I can't get warm. I don't get it, why did the blankets work so much better in my normal body? It was like my current form was generating no heat at all...but wait a second, that's exactly the problem! That means the only source of heat is...well, this is going to be embarrassing. But it's not like I have a choice in the matter anymore.
I climb out of bed, wiggling around enough to where I can finally stand. I gently nudge Wooper awake with my tail. “C'mon, please wake up.”
“Mmm...What's wrong?” He blinks his eyes a few times, looking at me. “Oh...we're still in the wrong bodies, aren't we?”
“About that...” Swallowing my pride, I say, “I...need to get into that bed. It's too cold tonight, I can't sleep at all!”
“That's it? Sure, I don't mind.” Wooper lifts up the blanket, scooting over.
I crawl under the covers, trying not to think about it. One thing's for sure, it's definitely warmer here than in the other bed. “Uhh...Promise me you won't tell the others, okay?”
Wooper sounds confused, saying, “Why would they care? It's cold tonight, what's wrong with keeping warm?”
“It's a stupid human thing, nevermind. It'd...just look weird to them, okay?”
“Sounds like humans worry about a lot of dumb things, huh?” Wooper yawns, rolling over. “Well, I don't see any reason to tell them. G'night Chespin, hope this helps!”

As Wooper falls asleep next to me, I stare up at the ceiling, the awful events of the day running through my mind. Is this really what I've been reduced to? Stuck in a body without arms, incapable of using what little strategies I had for fighting, unable to even keep warm without having to share a bed? Part of me feels utterly helpless and worthless, and yet...there's an optimistic part of me despite all of this?

Even as I dwell on things, a small part of my mind keeps saying things like “You can do it!”, “That bad guy's gonna get taught a lesson, just you wait!” and even “It's not all bad, it's only for a few days!” What's going on with me? It's like my mind won't allow me to think negative thoughts for more than even a few moments, my subconscious trying to keep me pepped up! It's not unlike those intrusive thoughts where you think about doing something really awful, only these were nothing but positive. Was this why Wooper is always so happy and cheerful? Glancing over at Wooper once again, I'm reminded that his attitude seems a little different since the bodyswap. He's more neutral, less cheerful than he normally is. A lot like how I usually am. Just how much of a Pokemon's attitude is determined by what they are?
As my mind wanders, I finally feel my body begin to relax, and sleep follows shortly behind.

I awaken the next morning, eager to hunt down that Smeargle and return to my own body! Trying to get up, I find something is holding me down. Looking over I spot Wooper, still asleep, with me stuck in a one-armed hug of sorts. Oh, great, this is all I need. I'll never live it down if someone else saw this! Although I hate to admit it to myself, it...doesn't really feel BAD, just incredibly awkward. I'm not cold like this, at the very least. Either way, I'm stuck like this until he wakes up. Thankfully, nobody else is around. I try to relax a little, maybe I can at least get a little extra shut-eye.
I nearly jump out of my skin as I hear a knock at the door. I just HAD to think that, didn't I? “'Ey, you guys awake yet? Heard about your little outlaw troubles, let's talk about it.” No no no, now's not the time!
Wooper stirs awake, seemingly unaware of me. “Hmm? Yeah, c'mon in.”
I squirm around helplessly, trying to get up. “Wooper, what are you DOING?! He can't-”

I flinch as I hear the door creak open, a gray Meowth staring me right in the face. Oh no, this is so humiliating! Panicking, I yell, “I-it's not what you think! It was cold last night, I couldn't get warm, I-”
The Meowth shrugs, making a dismissive hand gesture to the side. “Relax, it ain't any of my business. I got better things to worry about than how someone chooses to keep warm.” Realizing something, he follows with, “Say...ain't you usually the cheerful one who never panics? I'd expect that kind of reaction from Chespin, not the living embodiment of happiness himself.”
I pause for a moment. “Uhh...yeah?”
Rubbing his chin, the Meowth says, “I know what's going on here. That outlaw somehow swapped the two of you, right?”
Wooper finally gets out of bed, giving me a helping hand as I stand up as well. “Yeah, that's right.”
I let out a sigh. “Well, now you know. If I could just get my hands on him I'd beat him lifeless, but...no hands...Wooper's stuck in my body and doesn't know how to do anything in it, either.”
“Mind telling me how that outlaw swapped the two of you? I might know of a little something that might help you.”
Wooper nods, saying, “He put us to sleep right away. Right before we fell asleep, he did some kind of move that swapped us.”
“Ahaha, so he got one over on you guys with trickery, is that so?” The Meowth allows himself a small chuckle.”
I look down at the ground. “Ugh, yeah.”
“How about you fight trickery with trickery? Come, I've got something to show you in my treasury.”

Wooper and I follow the Meowth to the guild's treasury. Small stacks of coins adorn a small table, as well as dozens of his infamous 'surprise boxes'. He opens one of the boxes, setting out a couple of Chesto Berries on the table. “Right, so what you wanna do is chow down on these before the fight, right? Then you pretend you got switched back to normal somehow, wait for him to do that sleep and bodyswap deal, and boom, back in your own bodies. Then you'll be free to tear him a new one. Neat trick, huh?”
“What if he doesn't buy it? What do we do then?” I can't help but worry about this, it sounds too precise to work.
“Crooks like him usually don't think that far ahead. If he doesn't do that...” Reaching into a nearby drawer, he pulls out a strange brown orb, with what looks like a few purple rubber bands around it. Placing it next to the berries, he says, “You simply use one of these.
“That's a Petrify Orb!” Wooper shouts.
“You got it. Slam one of these bad boys on the ground and he'll be unable to move until you attack him. Then you'll have all the time in the world to decide what you want to do. Fight him, get the cops, form a Clover Guild mob to beat him down, whichever you like most.” Shrugging, he follows with, “Personally I'd go with that last one. I'd join in but I've got a busy day of selling off surprise mechanics.”
Wooper grabs up the items, as well as a spare bag. “Thanks, but what's your name again?”
“You still don't know? And here I thought we were guildmates. It's Kaiji.”

As much as I'd love to run out and put our plan into action, we need to get breakfast first. Standing at the short table, I wait as Wooper rounds up a few cups of juice and a couple of pancakes topped with Oran Berry syrup, which Beast was whipping together for everybody.
Wooper takes a seat next to me. “How're you holding up?”
Grabbing a fork in my mouth, I manage to saw off a little piece of pancake and stab it. Then I look at the food on the fork, reality slowly setting in. “I can't eat like this!”
“I could feed it to you, would that work?”
I shake my head rapidly. “No no no, screw that, I'm not going to be fed like some baby!” Turning my attention back to my food, I continue cutting it up as best I can, a very difficult feat considering how hard it is to use a fork with your mouth. After what feels like an eternity, it's all cut up. How does Wooper put up with this every day?! Staring at my plate, I try not to think about how it looks to everybody else as I lean my head down and eat directly off the plate, silently seething at my situation. It's messy, but at least the pancakes and syrup taste nice.

Next, I turn my attention towards my cup of juice. At least Wooper had the foresight to stick a straw in it. I begin to sip, my eyes going wide at the taste. It tastes better than any drink I've ever had before! Incredibly sweet, but not overwhelmingly so. Refreshing, like a cold water after a long run. It even seems to be cheering me up, not unlike the pond from yesterday! Could this also be a side effect of being stuck in Wooper's body? Was all liquid helpful to me now?
I chug the rest of my drink down in one go. “Alright! Let's go hunt down that outlaw!”
Wooper finishes his own drink, setting the empty glass down. “I'd love to, but what if he's got backup this time around? We should spend today training, so we can fight them off if they show up.”
“But...but...I need my arms back!” I complain.
Wooper places a hand atop my head. “We'll get back to normal, don't worry. C'mon, let's head out to train.”

The two of us leave the guild. I brace myself for the energizing power of the sunlight...but it never comes. I let out a sigh, already missing it. Looking over, Wooper looks raring to go. “Oh yeah! No wonder you act this way every time we leave the guild, that sunshine's great!” Great, no need to rub it in. Heading away from the guild, my heart skips a beat at what I see. Right there, browsing through a store's stand, is Smeargle!
Anger dominates my mind as I scream at him, yelling, “YOU! I'M GONNA KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO US!” I run as fast as I can towards the crook, the only thought on my mind being that of revenge.
Wooper calls out after me. “Chespin! That's not the outlaw, stop! That's someone completely different!
I skid to a halt, just before I was about to jump up and slam my tail into his face. The Smeargle gives me a look of pure terror, backing away. “I-I'm not the bad guy, honest! I'm innocent! I'm just an average shopper!”
“I uh...sorry!” I take a closer look at him. Green paint. A distinct lack of a skull on his back. Whoops. “Uhh...my bad! You look kinda like the outlaw we're after!”
By now, he had regained his composure. “Well, I'm not.” Twiddling his paintbrush tail in his hand, he continues with, “You really should make sure before jumping to conclusions.”
Getting an idea, I ask, “Hey...are you a good fighter?”
“Me? Fight? How barbaric. No, I stick to painting.”
Well, there goes that idea, and here I was thinking he might know how to swap Wooper and I back. “Well, this is getting nowhere. Sorry again, but we gotta go. We have an outlaw to catch!”

Wooper leads me to the riverbank just outside of town. “Alright, this is where we'll train today.” Setting down his bag, he says, “First off, the vines you use all the time. How do they work?”
“You tense up your shoulders to let them out”
Wooper follows my instructions and two vines shoot out from him. “Oh, this is awesome!”
“Then you tense up your shoulders to extend them, and relax to retract them. I still don't really know how moving them around works. It's like a second pair of arms, if that helps.”
I watch as he fumbles about with the vines for a couple of minutes, finally grabbing a nearby rock. “Yeah, here we go!” He flings it into the river, where it skips across the water a few times before sinking. “Right, now time to try out that strategy we love using so much.”
Suddenly, the vines rush towards me! I let out a small yell as they wrap around me, lifting me into the air. “It's okay...you do this to him all the time...”
Wooper calls up to me, saying, “Alright, now you gotta use Water Gun!”
“How?!”
“You just spit water, it's that simple!”

I shoot him a confused look. Sure, that's easy for him to say considering he's probably spent his whole life doing it. Well, here goes nothing. Taking a deep breath, I blow as hard as I can, not unlike what you'd do while trying to blow out a candle. The sudden blast of water that follows takes me by surprise!
It's so strong in fact, that I feel myself being pushed back a little in Wooper's grasp!
“Yeah, you did it! Now, time to aim a little!” Without warning, I feel myself being swung around as Wooper points me towards a tree. I shake my head a little, trying to rid myself of the dizziness. “See that hole in the tree? Hit it!”
Taking aim, I let forth another stream of water. The first shot goes wide, the second and third just barely missing as well. With the fourth volley, I strike dead center. “Yeah, check it out, I hit it!”
Wooper sets me down, smiling. “See, we're getting there. At this rate we'll have that bad guy caught in no time!” Pointing to a large rock nearby, he continues. “Now for the cool bit, Earth Power!”
“I dunno about that one...it looks really strong when you do it, so it must be real hard!”
“It can't be that bad for you. After all, you're in my highly-trained body!” Highly-trained? Oh yeah, that's right, didn't Wooper train for most of his life to be like past heroes? Is that why Water Gun was so easy for me? “So what you want to do is leap into the air and stomp down on the ground, focusing all of your energy and focus onto your target. Then...BOOM!”

I spend the next several minutes hopping up and down fruitlessly. Why isn't it working?! It looks so easy whenever I see him do it! I just want to make the ground erupt underneath that rock, why's it gotta be such a battle?
“Oh, I forgot the most important part! You gotta slam your tail on the ground just as you land. That'll get the energy flowing properly.”
Nodding, I leap like a freak one more time, smashing my tail into the ground as hard as I can. Streaks of red light race across the earth towards the rock. I'm beyond elated as I watch the ground around the rock glow brighter before erupting with power! “Ohoho, now THIS is more like it!” Even if I don't have arms right now, I definitely feel more dangerous when it comes to fighting now! It's just a shame all I can do in my normal body is smack things with vines and headbutt stuff.

“Fun stuff, right Chespin? So uh...Do you know how to do anything other than use the vines yet?”
“There's only one thing. If you headbutt something, those quills on your head get all sharp and pointy. You've also got a super-solid head, so even slamming head-first into a rock won't hurt you!” Remembering something, I say, “How about that thing you do where you glow in the dark?”
“You gotta think about happy thoughts and sunshine!”
With an explanation like that, I wonder to myself why he doesn't glow 24/7. Regardless, I focus on the intrusive encouraging thoughts, the “You can do it”s and the “You know how to fight, that's great”s running through my head. Looking down, I spot a soft blue glow emitting from my body, almost impossible to see in the direct sunlight.
Wooper lets out a cheer, saying, “Chespin, that's awesome, you did it!”
I let out a sigh of relief. This bit of training paired with our little trick, that Smeargle's in for it now! Still, it felt a little too easy to learn. Maybe in a situation like ours, fighting is more body over mind?

We spend the rest of the day relaxing in and around the river. Wooper sunbathes while I try my non-existent hand at swimming some more, the water feeling incredible on my weird fishy body. I'm still surprised at just how quickly I'm able to swim. While I wasn't too amazing at swimming as a Chespin, right now I'm jetting around in the river! I feel like I can outswim even the best of pros back in the human world! Being able to breathe underwater is still all kinds of strange. I keep expecting to grow tired while being forced to resurface for air, but it never happens. Eventually the time comes where I have to say goodbye to the river, and the two of us head back for the guild.
Once more, I'm forced to share a bed due to another cold night. I grumble to myself a little, wishing I could just keep myself warm. How does Wooper put up with this every night? I make a little promise to myself. After we get back to normal, I'm going to hunt down something that'll help him sleep better! ...He won't mind returning to his normal body, will he? It'd really suck to finally gain a pair of arms and lose them, but he's shown no sign of wanting things to stay this way. I'm sure he won't do something bad...This is weird, even my worrying thoughts find a way to turn positive! Rolling over, I drift off to sleep, my mind turning to what'll happen tomorrow.

We wake up early the next morning with one thought on our minds. Bring that Smeargle to justice! Determined, we make our way for the kitchen for some breakfast. While eating, I spot Ronnie being used as a stove once again, seeming pretty frustrated as usual. Getting a little idea, I walk over to him.

Instantly, Ronnie is set off, the mere sight of me angering him. “Oh GREAT, the problem customer returns. What's wrong, food ain't hot enough? You got ice in your soda when you didn't want it? Spit it out!”
Jeez, I haven't even said anything and he's mad! Shaking my head, I say, “Actually...How would you like to come with us on a little adventure?”
“You have to be joking. Every single interaction I've had with you and the green-hatted MORON you call a partner has been awful. Why would I ever help you?!”
Brushing off his insult, I say, “No, it's not like that. See, we don't actually need your help.”
“Then WHY are you BOTHERING ME?! I have a very busy job here of standing in place for the next ten hours. God, it's like nothing has changed!”
“How do I put this in a way you'll understand, hmm...We have a problem customer of our own. I want you to come with and unleash every ounce of frustration you've ever had with customers onto them. Come on, there's no way you haven't wanted to punch them in the face before.”
I see Ronnie's expression turn to an evil-looking smirk. “In that case...Oh, you bet I'll show up.”
Turning to Beast, I ask, “You don't mind, do you?”
Beast rubs his chin, thinking on it. “I've heard about your outlaw troubles. I suppose I can prepare something that doesn't need an oven tonight, if it means you guys can get your stuff back.”
“Thanks!”

The three of us don't get far from the guild before we're stopped, this time by an Oshawott.
Stepping forward, I say, “Oh, hey! I remember seeing you around the guild here and there. You're Gus, right?”
He nods, saying, “I was thinking about something after hearing about the outlaw you guys are going after. I think he might have swiped my lunch from me the other day. Red paintbrush, right?”
Wooper gasps. “That's him! He can't get away with that!”
Gus continues, saying “I know you two can stop him. You have a Petrify Orb, right?” After seeing me nod, he says “You should hide it from view before you fight him.”
Confused, I say, “How? I have no arms, you know!”
Gus points to my mouth. “Right there. Once you've got everything sorted, you spit the orb out and use it.”
“Sorted? You mean...You know about Wooper and I?”
“Word in the guild spreads fast. You aren't acting like Wooper usually would.”
Great, now everybody knows we've switched bodies! ...Wait, why do I care about that so much, anyways? “So...wanna come with us to beat that outlaw up?”
Gus fidgets around with the shell on his stomach, absentmindedly tossing it from hand to hand. “I dunno if I'll be of much help. I was hoping the thing I said about the orb would be enough.”
“It's fine, honest! We'll be able to bring him in, just watch!”

The hike back to Mystifying Forest doesn't take very long. Ronnie holds us up thanks to how clumsy and slow he is, but I keep myself from pestering him about it. We retrace our steps from the day before, following a winding path deeper into the forest. The cave comes into sight just as we round a bend, and we mentally prepare ourselves for the second confrontation. However, we're interrupted by an unfamiliar voice.
“Yo! You punks decided to come and give Smeargle the Savage even more of your things?” A Scraggy steps in front of us, arms crossed like a kid trying to throw gang signs. “How about I help myself to your loot instead?”
I don't have time for this, I have a body to get back to. “How about I help you find a drink? Here, this one's on tap!” I blast a jet of water directly into the Scraggy's face, sending him tumbling! Man, is Wooper's body good at this! Nodding at the others, I say, “Ronnie, this ain't the guy, but do you want to get a hit in on him?”
I see an evil grin cross Ronnie's face. “I'm gonna give him a taste of my quarter-pounder!” He awkwardly runs forward, standing on his back legs as he tries to punch the Scraggy. The hit barely connects, the force from the botched swing sending Ronnie falling to the ground.
“You brought some dumb twerp with you to fight the great Smeargle? Man, you're stupid.” With that, the Scraggy delivers a powerful kick, knocking Ronnie across the ground. He lets out a cry of pain as he skids to a stop next to us, yelling “I-I need a vacation day!”

Retaliating, Wooper shoots his vines forward, holding the Scraggy in place. “Chespin, hit him with all you got!”
Oh yeah, the best part's here now! With a cheer, I leap into the air, slamming my tail onto the ground. The familiar streaks of red light dart for Scraggy, the earth erupting with pure power below him! He flies through the air, landing with a thud in front of me. “How you like that, huh? That give you any idea who you're messing with?!” There's no response however, looks like I knocked him out.
A small orb rolls out from his 'pants', and Wooper picks it up stuffing it in his bag. “Hey, this is a Rollcall Orb. Think he was planning on using this to bring Smeargle out here?”

Before I can respond, I hear a series of familiar voices from behind me.
“Hey, don't go in there without me.” Looking back, I spot Kaiji, one of his 'lootboxes' in hand. “I thought about it a little more. Selling my surprises can wait, I've got a little present for that outlaw.”
Sneasel walks alongside him. “How can I resist the chance to help out with a dirty, low-down thief?” I spot Booker on top of her head, who seems less than eager to be here.
Even if it feels like Wooper and I can manage on our own, seeing more help arrive is reassuring. “Hey guys! We're just about ready to head in and put everything back to normal.”
Kaiji points to Wooper's bag. “Don't forget about eating those Chesto Berries, now.”
Wooper digs out the berries, stuffing one into my mouth before I can react. The berry tastes incredibly dry, overpowering any other flavors of the fruit. After swallowing it, I feel myself grow more alert, like I had just downed several cups of coffee! Following that, Wooper sticks the Petrify Orb in my mouth. It feels weird, like I'm a little kid that just ate a large marble. “Alright, so here's the plan, everybody...”

After going over the details of the plan with the others, Wooper and I head into the cave. The mere thought of being minutes from returning to my old body excites me, causing me to glow blue. Sneaking through the cave, we spot our target, the Smeargle from the other day! He sorts through a bag near his campfire, seeming as though he just robbed another adventurer recently.
Wooper makes the first move, stepping forward. “You think that garbage from the other day is going to stop us? Think again!” I stand alongside him, nodding in response.
The Smeargle sets his bag down, standing up to face us. “Ahaha...the fools from the other day return. Tell me, how's it feel being in the wrong bodies?”
“You think you're the only one that can do that? We're back to normal now, and I'll prove it!”

Wooper shoots his vines forward, prompting the Smeargle to hastily scribble a pendulum on the floor. Before the vines can reach him, the Smeargle's brush tail glows purple. “Such a resourceful duo you are! No matter, swapping the two of you once more will buy me enough time to clear out of here.”
With that, he jabs his tail forward, wrapping Wooper in a purple light. As he slumps to the floor, the outlaw turns his attention to me. “In the end, it results in yet another victory for me, Smeargle the Savage!” I feign panic as I watch him draw his next move, the purple light surrounding me as well. I allow myself to fall backwards, closing my eyes.
Smeargle talks to himself as I hear him walk over to Wooper. “What a troublesome team these two are. I've stayed in this area for too long as it is, I'll clear out of here once this is done.” Next it's my turn, and I brace myself as I feel his brush against my torso. Suddenly, my mind grows all fuzzy and my body becomes numb. For a moment, I think the plan is a total failure! But then, as sensation returns to me, I realize I can feel my arms again! It worked! Picking my head up, I watch Smeargle turn away from us. This is our chance! “NOW, WOOPER!”

Wooper spits the Petrify Orb out of his mouth, smashing it to bits with his tail. I hear Smeargle shout out “Oh n-” before being halted in place. Now that I'm a Chespin again, it's time to get down to business!
I walk over to the Smeargle, staring him in the eyes. “You...No good, filthy, thieving, body-switching, dirty trick-using DOODLER! Do you have ANY idea how many lives you've probably ruined by doing what you do? Huh? HUH?!” The Smeargle can only stare at me, the Petrify Orb doing its work. “Well, it's the last time you're gonna be able to do anything like that.
Pointing to Wooper, I say, “That's Wooper. I'm Chespin. Together, we're Team Cozy.” Pulling out the Rollcall Orb from my bag, I toss it to the floor, the other guild members teleporting in next to me. With my bag now completely empty, I stick it over his head, blocking his vision. “And you're about to have a very UN-COZY time.”

Getting behind Smeargle, I use my vines to push him to the cave floor. Standing on his legs, I proceed to tie his arms behind his back. “I'll show you what happens to outlaws who cross the Clover Guild! Kaiji, make it hail!”
Kaiji grabs a handful of money from the pile of stolen bags, whipping coin after coin at the Smeargle. Pocketing another handful of money, he says, “I won't allow a common criminal to steal from fellow guildmates.” Kaiji opens his 'lootbox', pulling out a seed with the shape of an evil purple cloud. He shoves it into the Smeargle's mouth, who shudders at the taste. “Ooh, sorry, looks like your lootbox is a loser. Kinda like you right now.” Kaiji holds his hand over Smeargle's mouth, forcing him eat it. “Taste good? It's a special little treat known as a Doom Seed.”

I feel the villain begin to struggle beneath me, so I tighten my binds. “Ronnie, you're up! Think of every customer who ever asked for your manager. Imagine, this Smeargle here? He's gonna call corporate on you. He'll even leave his garbage at the table and not take it with him.”
“He'll WHAT?! HOW ABOUT A TWO-FOR-ONE SPECIAL IN THAT CASE?!” Ronnie stomps on Smeargle's hands, letting out a laugh as the crook cries out. Moving onto his tail, he shouts “Come again, have a nice DAY!” as he stomps on the paintbrush, the slick paint causing Ronnie to slip and fall with a yell. “Umm...nevermind...”

I look over at Sneasel and Booker. Booker is covering his eyes, while Sneasel lets out her claws. “You okay with a little ice, Chespin?” Seeing me nod, she begins to form one in her hands. “If there's one thing I hate, it's petty crooks that target my friends.” She launches a series of shards into Smeargle's side, causing his struggling to strengthen. “It's all you now, Team Cozy.”

Turning my attention downwards, I yell “Still think the Clover Guild's a buncha pushovers?” I kneel down, giving Smeargle a few punches to the back. Driven more by anger than anything, I hop off of him, still keeping him tied down. “Wooper, it's all you!”
“But he looks pretty beat up...” Wooper sounds almost concerned, what's gotten into him?
“He's a bad guy! He's like the guys from those stories you grew up reading! He's stolen countless things from innocents! Besides, we need to knock him out to safely capture him.”
“Okay! Time to stop the baddies!” Well, that was easy. Wooper leaps up, the ground beneath Smeargle erupting with energy!

I take the bag off of Smeargle's head. There's no doubt about it, he's down for the count. For a split second, I remember the fear I felt when first waking up as a Wooper, and give him one final smack with a Vine Whip before waving for the others. “We gotta carry him back to town. Thanks for the help, everybody.”
Booker uncovers his eyes. “Um...don't you think we went a little too far?”
I shrug. “Maybe a little, but it's about sending a message. That message being that the Clover Guild isn't something you can push around. Outlaws gotta learn that their number's up if they even think about causing trouble for us! C'mon, let's go collect that reward!” Before leaving, I rummage through the stack of stolen bags, fetching the one that was taken from me the other day.
We carry the knocked-out Smeargle out of the cave, marching him towards town. I snatch up the Scraggy as well, no sense letting one criminal get away.

I kick open the door to Officer Magnezone's station. “Hey, I got an order here for one 'Smeargle the Savage', anybody want to take it off the Clover Guild's hands? We also found one of his henchmen.”
Magnezone looks down at me. “The Clover Guild? I had thought the odds anybody from there catching any outlaw at all would be astronomically low.”
“Odds ain't everything,” I say. “It was a team effort, after all.”
Magnezone analyzes the still-KO'd Smeargle, who is covered in bruises from our 'fight'. “This is our perp.” The officer eyes up Scraggy as well. “As well as his sidekick. We will make sure they are brought to justice. Although I must ask, what is with all the bruising?”
Before I can think up a lie, Kaiji shrugs, saying, “He slipped while trying to evade capture, tumbling down a steep hill.”
“I see.” Magnezone points a magnet towards a nearby chest, drawing it in. “Here is the bounty on the outlaw's head.”
I gratefully accept the chest, holding it with my vines. “Thanks!”
Just as we're about to head out, I hear one more thing. “What of the stolen items Smeargle the Savage had?”
“Oh, that stuff? He had piles of bags in his cave out in Mystifying Forest. Just go there and you'll find everything.”

Our little group heads to the guild's kitchen, where I set the reward chest down. “Open it, open it!” Wooper sounds as eager as ever.
Flipping open the lock, I open up the chest. Inside is a big stack of gleaming coins, as well as what looks like...a CD? I pick up the CD, scratching my head. “What's this?” Taking a closer look, I see faint writing on the opposite side. 'Solarbeam.' Oh, hell yes. Now THIS was a jackpot. “How do I...use this?”
Wooper speaks up, saying “Oh! I found a TM before! You press it against your head, and it'll dissolve! Then you'll know how to do something cool!”

Shrugging, I press it against my forehead, watching as the TM crumbles before my eyes. Instantly, the kitchen fades from view. Suddenly, I see myself in a grassy plain, arms raised skyward. Continuing, I watch as 'I' cup my hands together down near my side. With a quick motion, 'I' thrust my hands forward, shooting forth a bright beam of energy! The vision repeats several times, and I begin to feel confident that I can perform the same actions myself. The scene finally melts away, reality returning.

“Uhh, Chespin? You there?” Sneasel waves her hand in front of my face.
“Oh, yeah I'm here now! I never knew that these things gave you some crazy hallucination of your new skill!” I reach back into the chest, pulling out money. “Time to split the reward.” I begin dividing up the coins, sliding a pile towards Sneasel and Booker.
Sneasel shakes her head. “...Nah. Keep it. You two are the ones who did all the heavy lifting. I was just in it to teach the guy a lesson.”
I'm a little confused, who would deny their own share of the reward? “Okay, I'll just have to think of something to get you guys someday.”
I slide another stack towards Kaiji, who pockets the cash. “Pleasure doin' business with you.”
Finally, there's Ronnie. “Y'know, normally I wouldn't give you much at all, but...you got a couple good hits on that Smeargle. Go on, buy a Big Mac or two on me.”
Ronnie shoots me an angry look. “You REALLY couldn't resist, could you?!”
I let out a little laugh. “Relax, it's just a little banter. Seriously though, a big stack of coins feels better to get than a paycheck, admit it.”
Ronnie grumbles to himself as he collects his share, wandering off with the others.

Wooper and I return to our room. Climbing into bed, I sigh in relaxation. Finally, the bed is warm again! And yet...there's a few nagging thoughts on my mind. “Wooper? You're not bothered by not having arms again, are you?”
“Well...it was nice having them. But if it means you have to go without, it's not worth it!”
I still don't know how to feel about it. Wooper really is a real deal friend, and him doing all of what he did to help the past couple days proves without a doubt there's no ill will within him at all. Even so, I can never shake the feeling that there's something else at play. Was it the intrusive positive thoughts he has cheering him on? Or is there...no, no! I have to quit doubting him. Even after all this time, there's a tiny corner of my mind that can't help but worry. I guess it's like Wooper said the other night, humans, even former ones, worry about a lot of stupid things.
Whatever the case, I'm just glad to be back in my old body...or well, my old Pokemon body. As far as becoming a human again was concerned, that probably wasn't going to happen.

Pushing the thoughts away, I say, “Hey...I never knew how cold it was for you, trying to sleep in that bed. Are you sure you're okay? Maybe I could get you a little water basin to sleep in.”
“It's a little chilly tonight, but I'll manage! G'night, Chespin!”
A little chilly, huh? “Umm...You can come over here if you want. Trust me, I know how bad the cold is.”
“Okay!”
Wooper crawls in next to me, falling asleep in a hurry. This still feels really weird to allow, but if it's cold out, what harm is there? After all, I know what it's like for him now. As I begin to grow drowsy, I'm already planning our next adventure.

We need a hot spring. If not for the guild, then for Wooper.