Part One:
![Man to Sandshrew 1/2 [Anthro/TG] by Transviscera](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/87684d17-8b34-4054-a6cc-9b9e97dcb44a/dgpegb8-2ee3c075-277d-4348-aaba-f8f34526ab33.jpg/v1/fit/w_150,h_150,q_70,strp/man_to_sandshrew_1_2__anthro_tg__by_transviscera_dgpegb8-150.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9MjkwMiIsInBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzg3Njg0ZDE3LThiMzQtNDA1NC1hNmNjLTliOWU5N2RjYjQ0YVwvZGdwZWdiOC0yZWUzYzA3NS0yNzdkLTQzNDgtYWFiYS1mOGYzNDUyNmFiMzMuanBnIiwid2lkdGgiOiI8PTM5MjcifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6aW1hZ2Uub3BlcmF0aW9ucyJdfQ.TeSWxExzMw20-EL12gZAKgCJJsvt21EMPa7DNl819l0)
Part Two:
![Man to Sandshrew 2/2 [Anthro/TG] by Transviscera](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/87684d17-8b34-4054-a6cc-9b9e97dcb44a/dgpegcq-cb126668-f22d-413c-874a-34c23dde0912.jpg/v1/fit/w_150,h_150,q_70,strp/man_to_sandshrew_2_2__anthro_tg__by_transviscera_dgpegcq-150.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsImV4cCI6MTcwNDk4Njg0NSwib2JqIjpbW3siaGVpZ2h0IjoiPD0yOTAyIiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvODc2ODRkMTctOGIzNC00MDU0LWE2Y2MtOWI5ZTk3ZGNiNDRhXC9kZ3BlZ2NxLWNiMTI2NjY4LWYyMmQtNDEzYy04NzRhLTM0YzIzZGRlMDkxMi5qcGciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9Mzg3NCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.VPfH_izkIF8tFArWW1CK5zdnWqcyUcYYuVhG5BCeots)
The Pokequest was a coming-of-age expected of every young man and woman. On their 18th birthday, they would be placed in a Pokemon body and sent out into the world of Kanto to prove themselves against the Gyms, to make their mark and become the very best, like no one ever was.
It stood to reason that not everyone could become the very best. Many flunked out early or treated it like a gap year, riding their borrowed bodies hard until they returned the following year as plump, pampered Pokemon with very few gym badges to show for their journey. But for the young people of Pallet Town, which had produced two Elite Four victors in a single year, the pressure to succeed was immense.
Zapped into a rattata's pea-sized brain and pointed northward, Red had only made it halfway to Pewter City before a gauntlet of Bug Catchers had forced him to throw in the towel. He'd limped back to Pallet Town with his tail between his legs, poisoned and too poor to afford the PokeCentre's antidote. The rattata had been appalled at the state of the body it received back.
A year later, the sting of that humiliation was fading. Now it was the turn of his friend, Blue. His stout sandshrew body had been a smart pick. She was built like a tank, with her armored skin and powerful, spade-shaped paws tipped with razor sharp claws capable of easily burrowing through the dirt or disemboweling anything that might trouble him on the north road. Nothing fancy, but practical. Professor Oak shooed the newly-made Pokemon out of his laboratory, and Red walked Blue to the outskirts.
"Remember to keep your collar on so nobody captures you. Oh, and watch out for Onyx trails. They like to attack their prey from - well, you'll find out."
Blue's eyes were wide with fear. Red waved him away, watching his squat, thick cheeks wiggle off into the sunset and wondering when he'd ever see his friend again. At the edge of the village, Blue hesitated, glancing back as the instinctive fear of the long grass gripped him.
Red returned home. It wasn't long before he heard the desperate scrape of claws on the back door. Blue scurried over his feet into the warm kitchen, rain dripping down his smooth, scaled sides. "It's dangerous out there!" he squeaked. "Bro, you gotta let me stay with you!"