Matt sighed as he sat on the bench. He looked to his right, getting a view of the crowd waiting for him in the stadium. Matt lived in a world inhabited by people and Pokémon. Long ago, people used to work together with Pokémon to compete in battles and prove that they were the best, but over time, Pokémon numbers began to dwindle and get dangerously low. That’s when the new age of Pokémon battles began. Scientists found a way to take a pokemon’s dna and put it into humans via nanomachines allowing them to become that Pokémon and even use its moves. Nowadays, people just lived with Pokémon outright, picking partners that they could bond with and eventually use their DNA for battles.

Matt had signed up for a battle since he recently obtained a new Pokémon form. He looked at his arm which had three tattoos that looked like pokeballs. All he need to do was touch one out of the battlefield and the nanomachines would do thier work. Matt heard the squeal of the speakers coming to life. The announcer began to hype up the crowd, but Matt’s nerves kept him from processing any actual words.

“…and on the other side of the field, a girl you all know well! The fighting favoring twenty-two year old, Melissa!” The announcer shouted.

Matt’s nerves got even worse when he heard that he’d be fighting against a girl. He never liked how it felt, he didn’t want to go all out and possible hurt her but he also didn’t want to be accused of letting her win. What was even worse, that name sounded somewhat familiar.

As Matt stepped up onto the arena, his nerves finally shot through the roof. Stepping  into the arena was his old crush. He never thought he’d see her again, she left town as soon as she could to become the best Pokéfighter in the world and that’s before Matt could tell her how he felt about her.

Matt was brought out of his thoughts by a tight hug from his opponent. “Oh my god Matt! It’s so good to see you! It’s been forever!” She shouted.

“…hey Melissa, I’m surprised you remembered me.” Matt said.

“Of course I remember you! How could I forget the only kid my age who cheered me on as I left town!” She said.

Matt took his time to get a good look at her, finding that not a lot changed. She never obtained that growth spurt that she claimed was on its way, keeping her at a height of 4’6”, a foot shorter than Matt. Her petite frame was accentuated by her auburn that reached down to the back of her knees. Her smile was highlighted by the sea of freckles that dotted her face.

Matt ran his fingers though his short blonde hair. “Yeah, I forgot that I was the only one there when you left.” Matt said sheepishly.

The announcer cut through their conversation. “And now it’s time for the main event! Fighters, please ready yourselves to change after the horn has sounded.” He told them.

Melissa suddenly backed away, a serious but giddy look plastering her face. “Hey Matt, care to make a wager.”

He knew he shouldn’t, he didn’t have any confidence in this fight anymore. “What are you thinking?”

“If I win, you take me on a date!”

The horn sounded, scrambling Matt’s thoughts. He watched Melissa pressed one of her tattoos and slowly start to change. He took a deep breath and pressed one of his.

Matt’s blonde hair began to turn green and grow in length to a short bob cut. His skin began to turn ivory white as his head became more rounded. A large lock of green hair dropped in front of Matt’s face as he lost most of his facial features. His eyes were the only thing that remained, getting bigger while his irises turned red. His body began to shrink a little, whatever muscles he did have was being taken from him. His fingers became less dexterous as his arms turned green and became more frail.

A red spike pushed out from his chest as his pecs lost what little definition they had. His torso began to thin away, as if he was being whittled down. As his legs thinned away like the rest of his body, parts of his body began to extend off of him that made it look like he was wearing a white dress. As Matt’s mind expanded with physic powers, he began to float off the ground as the Pokémon Gardevoir.

Across from Matt, Melissa began to grow. Her skin started to turn to a light blue hue. Her petite body began to pulse as every muscle in her body seemed to swell and strengthen. Her height began to steadily climb as every part of her body became more and more toned. Her legs bulked up with toned muscles as her toes merged into two big digits. Her waist caved out as her stomach received a six pack and her pecs became defined. Her hair started falling out as three distinct ridges formed on the top of her head. The biggest change occurred when her arms started to swell with power, her thin arms were soon replaced with strong arms the size of tree trunks. As if that power wasn’t enough, another pair of arms sprouted from her body, ending Melissa’s change into Machamp.

The two pokefighters stood their ground as the fight began, waiting for the other to make the first move. The stalemate ended when Matt used Psychic to try and throw Melissa off her rhythm. She put all her hands on her head as if she was rocked by a headache but soon recovered. Mellisa began to close the gap between them, getting close to try a Low Sweep attack. She was surprised to find it had no effect as Matt floated right over it. This left Melissa open to a Psybeam attack by Matt, dealing more damage.

Melissa stood up and threw a Dynamic Punch, knocking Matt back a little. She then performed a Vital Throw by scooping up some of the arena around them and tossing it at Matt. Matt tried to move out of the way but got caught by some of the rubble. As Matt lowered his arms, he was greeted by Melissa, who picked him up and performed a Seismic Toss.

Matt sailed upwards and quickly came crashing down. His stamina had fallen and a headache was starting to form due to all the psychic attacks he was throwing around. He gingerly threw up an arm, signifying his concession. The crowd erupted into cheers as the two fighters slowly returned to normal. Melissa extended a hand towards Matt, “Want a hand, while I still have four?” She asked.

Matt sighed and took one of the shrinking hands. “Well, you won. Looks like I gotta take you on a date.”

“You don’t sound too upset about that.” Melissa teased.

“Yeah, I think you might know why.” Matt said, walking out of the arena.

“I had a feeling, why didn’t you do anything about it?” She asked.

“Actually, I was getting ready to come and find you.” Matt said, blushing.

“Well then, don’t keep me waiting any longer!” Mellisa said, breaking out into a sprint. Matt smiled and took off after her.