The sun blazed upon a forest as though Groudon amplified its rays. Plenty of Pokémon hid underneath branches, underground, or behind trees. A few Stantler stalked near a tree, reaching for a berry within reach. Just as the fruit was only inches away from a Stantler’s mouth, she paused and wiggled her ears. A car’s roar came closer, coming from the dirt path. Perhaps the human or humans driving it were passing through and not approaching for their antlers, but it best not to leave it to chance. The Stantler group leaped away from the road into the forest’s shadows.

A light-green convertible car drove by just as the last Stantler disappeared. Besides its engine, the car made no sound nor emitted toxic fumes. The driver hung his arm out the door with ill regard for danger. His long, golden hair flapped from the air flowing past. He held a grin, shining just as bright as his purple eyes.

“Nice weather we’re having,” the driver, Thomas, said. He adjusted his rearview mirror to see his two best Pokémon in the world, Flareon and Glaceon. They curled up in a ball next to backpacks filled with clothes and games. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Hmm? Oh, yes.” Lloyd turned away from the side with regret. After all, various Caterpie and Joltik crawling up and down trees were too beautiful to turn away from. “Lovely Bug Pokémon here.”

Thomas raised an eyebrow before he grinned. “Have they caused you to fall into a sl-ember?”

The Glaceon and Lloyd winced. “Look, I know it’s a bit hot for a spring day, but I think that was stretching it.”

“Are you suggesting that I should chill out my puns instead?”

This time, the Flareon winced with Lloyd. That was the thing with spring, slammed against summer and winter. The two polar-opposite seasons fought it out, with the heat giving way to cold in autumn and the cold giving way to heat in spring. As such, they were absol-utely perfect for temperature-related puns.

“OK. I get it.” Lloyd rolled his eyes. It was a common reaction after being with Thomas for a while. “But you better stop. You’re hurting your poor Pokémon back there.”

“Maybe. Or maybe they’re enjoying it.”

“You’re hopeless.”

“Why, thank you.”

The car drove onward, reaching the camp within the forest. The Pokémon Academy Thomas and Lloyd attended opened up for a four-day weekend camping trip. It was only open for senior students that are eighteen years old and even offered extra credit for their classes. They both signed up for it, along with thirty other students.

“I mean, you know all the right puns to say,” Lloyd said. He turned to the side where a couple of Kakuna hung on branches. “Even if some of them are a stretch.”

“Hey, I can’t help it if I was burn this way.” Thomas laughed when his Glaceon winced again. “Or maybe I’m just the frozen one.” The Flareon winced at that. “Those were pretty good, huh?”

“Sigh. You really are hopeless.” Lloyd flopped back against his seat. He reached into the back for his backpack. Once he grabbed it, he pulled it up front and unzipped it. He smiled and pulled out his Nintendo Switch attached to an external battery. “I’m going to play Picross for a while.”

“Have an ice time, though I prefer Sudoku myself.” Thomas winked. “They fire up my brain.”

“Do you ever stop?”

“Nope.”

“Sigh. This is what I have to deal with. At least this will be a good distraction.”

“Just don’t let Professor Osage see it. I bet he’ll throw a fit. ‘This is the natural wood yonder, not a town or a city. I don’t want to see any unwarranted technology on this camping trip, including your infernal games. Why, when I was your age, we made our own Pokéballs instead of buying them. You have no clue how hard it was!’ I can hear him throwing a ton of heat at you for it.”

“You can talk! I saw you sneak your Nintendo Switch in your bag as well!”

“And so will at least half of the students in this. But at least be smart about it. We don’t want to freeze in place as soon as he found out.”

Lloyd sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Alright. Looks like everyone is here,” Professor Osage announced. His silver hair rubbed against his shoulders. His camo vest and jeans hung loose on him as though built for a heftier man. The wooden walking cane he leaned on strained against his weight. “We are at least twenty miles from any nearby civilization in the beauty of nature.”

Half of the class became bored, anticipating the incoming speech. Thomas’s Flareon and Glaceon pressed their sides against his legs out of protection and love, such as catching him in case he grew tired of that speech. Lloyd stood next to him, struggling to not break into a yawn. His fingers twitched toward his backpack for his game, though he stopped himself.

Professor Osage turned to the trees above. “Do you smell that? That is the Sleeping Powder Dustox showered in the forest, hoping to catch prey.” Most of the students jolted to attention in a panic. Lloyd, on the other hand, pulled out a camera and aimed it at the sky. The professor chuckled and wagged his finger at the students. “Got you, didn’t I? There’s no Dustox in this forest. I said that just to make sure you were paying attention.”

Several of the students became red in the face out of embarrassment. Lloyd lowered his camera out of disappointment. Thomas, one of the few who did not panic, laughed to himself.

“Here we are,” Professor Osage said. “In the heart of nature. I’m certain that most of you never set foot at the edge of this forest until now. As a boy, forests like this were plentiful, and my parents allowed me to travel in them. They taught me valuable lessons about Pokémon, including how to craft Pokéballs.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a Pokéball that, instead of a button, held a latch that kept it shut. The Apricorn part is evident at the bottom, but the top half was made from crystal or heavy steel. “And unlike your electrical, self-guiding Pokéballs, we must have a good arm and aim to catch Pokémon. You kids have little idea how fortunate you are to live with such technological advances.”

The student campers glanced at each other with a couple annoyed at being called ‘kids,’ though they said nothing about it. Thomas, though, was not offended by the label at all. He still felt like a kid at heart despite being a legal adult. His Flareon wiggled against his leg.

Professor Osage lifted himself off of his stick. “Now then, let’s set up the tents while the sun is still up. And I don’t want to see any of you kids slack off. After all, it may rain, and you don’t want your video games to get ruined!” Several of the students flinched. Who leaked that little information to him? The professor sneered. “When you’re surrounded by kids all the time, you know they’ll do the opposite of what they’re told. Especially if they believe that they know better than us old folks. Now, get to work.”

The students nodded and carried their backpacks to the camp clearing. They split off into groups of twos or threes. Thomas and Lloyd were one such group, with Flareon and Glaceon following. The Pokémon took being in the wild quite well, much better than half of the students there.

“I should’ve figured that the professor would’ve seen through us,” Lloyd said. He lowered his half of the stuff on a flat clearing. Nearby, a couple of groups had already pulled out their tent supplies. “He’s a clever old geezer.”

“Yeah. At least we’re not in hot water.” Thomas chuckled for a few seconds. “But we don’t want hail to break loose.”

“Less puns, more work.” Lloyd reached into one of his packs and pulled out a tent. He handed one end to Thomas. They stretched and spread it out until it was flat on the bottom. “So far, so good.”

Thomas unfolded the tent poles until they stretched out long. He inserted them through the slits until Lloyd caught them. He did the same with the other corner until the rods were through the tent’s slits in an X. The two pushed on the tent poles, with them bending upward while carrying the tent. They hammered the tent into the ground so no heavy winds could blow it away.

“Now for the cover.” Lloyd reached into the bag and pulled out a waterproof cover. He unfolded it, and it took a couple of attempts before it hung over the tent. Thomas reached for one end and grabbed it. They stretched the cover out until it lay on top of it, preventing rain from leaking in. They tied it onto the ground and stood before the zipper door. Lloyd rubbed his chin, somewhat thoughtful. “Hmm. Maybe I should’ve brought a tarp for underneath. Now the tent may get soggy underneath and we’ll likely step out into the mud.”

“Too late for that now. Let’s hope that no problem ar-ice.” Thomas reached into his pack and pulled out a couple of inflatable beds and a battery-power inflator with a hose. He kicked off his shoes before stepping into the tent. He inserted the hose into one of the beds. “Now, fire away!”

“Really?” Lloyd leaned inside the tent. “That’s stretch even for you.”

Thomas chuckled to himself, pleased with his ability to make puns. Meanwhile, his Flareon and Glaceon glanced at each other in annoyance. If they could speak, they would warn him that a chilly heat combo was incoming if he kept the puns up. Not that it would stop him; he would likely keep firing puns that would freeze the skin.

Thomas grinned at the two inflated beds. “Should be all ready to go. Icy come, icy go.”

Lloyd winced along with Flareon, but he nodded. “As long as it’s good.”

Lloyd gave their gear and bags to Thomas, who set them on the corner. He kicked off his own shoes before stepping in as well. He tested one of the beds by sitting on it and smiled at its soft yet firm hold. Meanwhile, Thomas pulled out a pair of grocery bags and placed their shoes inside. He took them in, the bags holding any dirt the shoes accumulated.

“Whew. That was good work.” Thomas lay on the other inflatable bed. “Almost makes me want to fall into sl-ember.” Thomas laughed when Glaceon and Lloyd flinched. “That was good, wasn’t it?”

“Y-yeah. Real good.” Lloyd tugged on his black hair. “Even if your puns are too much.”

“Why, thanks again!”

Lloyd paused for a few seconds before he sighed. “There’s nothing that can kill your good mood, is there?”

“None! I’m just too fired up for that. Or maybe I have a cool enough head.”

Both his Flareon and Glaceon glanced at each other before staring at the tent. Using their fire and ice attacks on him was simple, but that could damage the tent. Instead, they shook their heads. Lloyd, meanwhile, rubbed his nose’s bridge. He glanced out the zipper door toward the forest. Already he spotted several Bug-type Pokémon along the way but did not take any pictures. He rubbed against his camera while an idea formed within his head.

“Say, now that we have set up the tent, shall we go hiking?” Lloyd asked. “I know our professor wants us to go on a group hike tomorrow for the start of the river, but I want to see the surrounding area.”

“As long as we don’t go out too far, sure.” Thomas rolled up from the inflatable bed. He reached over and patted both Flareon and Glaceon on their heads. “And we have the two best buddies who can lead us back here.”

Both Flareon and Glaceon murred in response. Though their trainer often annoyed them with his puns, they loved him regardless. Even if they did have to remind him of their limits.

“Great!” Lloyd slung his camera around his neck. He grabbed his shoes out from the bags and slipped them on. He stepped out and waited until Thomas stepped out along with his Pokémon. “Ready?”

“Always.”

An hour of hiking passed by. An hour of traveling through the woods around them. An hour of taking pictures of Bug Pokémon. It was a glorious hour for a Bug lover like Lloyd.

He smiled at a pair of Caterpie crawling up a tree in a cute-like fashion. He lifted his camera up and took pictures of them. Meanwhile, Thomas picked up a stick a head shorter than himself and used it as an improv walking stick. He sometimes made arrow markings on the ground, reminding him where the camp was.

Thomas stood above a steep path with his Flareon and Glaceon close by. A couple of Combee flew by, their buzzing causing him to flinch. Behind, Lloyd aimed his camera at them and snapped some shots of them. Their three faces smiled for the camera before buzzing away for nectar.

“Jeez, there are a lot of lovely Bug Pokémon out here,” Lloyd said. He slid down the steep path while not jogging his camera too much. “They are such gorgeous creatures, aren’t they?”

“Are they?” Thomas rubbed the back of his head. He took cautious steps down the steep path, using a stick to steady himself. “I’m not as hot about them as you are. They’re more like an ice-sore.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” Lloyd said. He reached behind a bush and found a Weedle crawling there. He took a couple of pictures before walking back to Thomas. “I still can’t believe you aren’t interested in them.”

“Everyone has their own interests.” Thomas shrugged. “And mine are—”

He stopped and blinked. Ahead walked a figure in green between the trees. At least, it looked like it wore green, but its texture flowed like fur. It carried a long stick that extended taller than its height. Thomas closed and opened his eyes in bewilderment.

The figure already disappeared in that fraction of a second.

“—What’s that?”

“What’s what?” Lloyd twisted around, his eyes searching for the spot Thomas was staring at. “I don’t see anyone or anything but us.”

“I saw something. I don’t know what. It’s not like any Pokémon that I’ve ever seen.” Thomas scratched his head. “All I could see was green, almost like fur.”

“You mean like a Sprigatito?”

“Something like that, but it was tall like a human.”

“Then maybe a Meowscarada.”

“With multiple tails?”

The two remained silent for a few seconds. Flareon and Glaceon glanced at each other, worried about what those two may decide. At the end of the final second, Thomas tossed away his stick and sprinted toward where he last saw the figure. Lloyd followed close behind, just as eager.

“Must be a new kind of Pokémon!” Lloyd said. “If it is, we’ll get credit for finding it!”

“Yeah! I’m all fired up for this discovery!” Thomas grinned wide. “And we’ll fight tooth and hail to get it!”

The Flareon and Glaceon flinched, not from the puns, but from the humans’ sudden movements. They held their mouths open in disbelief at something silly for a few seconds. The two turned to each other as though determining a plan within their minds. They nodded at each other and followed Thomas and Lloyd. After all, they could get into trouble, and the two Pokémon needed to be there to bail them out.

Thomas and Lloyd sprinted further into the forest. Pawprints lay before them, shaped like a Ninetales if they held bigger paws, at least quadruple in size. The prints became lighter on the ground until none lay anymore. They stopped at that point, panting with their tongues out. Behind, their shoe prints lay plain, not becoming lighter like the other set.

“Som-somehow, thi-this Pokémon made their prints dis-disappear,” Lloyd said. He bent down low.

“No-not just di-disappear,” Thomas said. His Flareon and Glaceon caught up with them. “S-somehow made its prints li-lighter. Li-like it was f-flying or fl-floating.”

The Flareon and Glaceon reached the two humans. The two Pokémon realized that Thomas and Lloyd had lost track of this unknown creature, so they sniffed the ground for any scent. They also held their ears open for the lightest sound and scanned the entire area. After several seconds of searching, they gave up with nothing to track this creature down. They turned to Thomas with their ears low, disappointed in their failure.

Thomas smiled at them and petted them. “Don’t worry. We may get another shot next time. For example, tom—”

A twinkle of pale yellow and light blue came from ahead. Thomas stopped talking and instead stared at them. Curiosity tugged at him, almost begging him to discover what they were. Perhaps that Pokémon was not running away but was leading them here. For what reason, he could not tell.

“Thomas?” Lloyd asked. “What is it?”

Thomas, instead of answering, headed over to the twinkling lights. Lloyd blinked and followed, confusion covering much of his face. The two Pokémon sighed with each other, exhausted with their trainer. Still, it would be best to follow. They nodded and ran, catching up to Thomas.

Thomas, for his part, let curiosity lead him on. The mysterious objects burned within his mind, almost like a burst of ice and fire. Whatever they were and whether or not the unknown Pokémon planned for this, there was one way to find out. To leave this moment behind would be like missing a chance to say a pun of some sort.

Once he got close enough, Thomas kneeled down at the objects. He swallowed, feeling a sense of anti-climax building up within him. Both items were stones, though nothing to sneer at since they cause evolution to some Pokémon. He knew them by heart, remembering how he used similar ones on his Flareon and Glaceon. The left was a pale yellow stone with an orange and yellow flame pattern. The right was a light blue stone with a white snowflake pattern.

“What is it?” Lloyd asked. The Flareon reached beside Thomas on his left and Glaceon on his right. “You were in a rush.”

“Was I? Sorry. I guess I had a burning curiosity over these.” Thomas rubbed his chin. “But they’re just a Fire Stone and an Ice Stone. That really froze me stiff.”

“Uh-huh. Glad that you’re alright.” Lloyd rubbed the back of his head. “Still, let’s head back to camp. You know that the professor wants us all there to set up a fire and make dinner.”

“Right.” Thomas, without thinking about it, picked up both stones. He stood up while smirking. “Don’t worry. I’ll be bringing the he—”

Before Thomas could complete his pun, both stones glowed brightly. He froze and stared at them in wonder and confusion. Lloyd took a few steps back, startled to the bone. Both stones fused into Thomas’s palms, dissolving like a lump of salt in freshwater.

“Wh-what?” Thomas flipped his hands over. “What just happened?”

“I-I have no freaking clue!” Lloyd rubbed his eyes. “B-but from what I saw, th-they almost look as though they tried to evolve you.”

“Like I’m a Pokémon? Why, that’s ridiculous!” Thomas shook his head. “As if—”

The hair on Thomas’s hands grew longer and thicker, changing color. On his left hand, golden-white hair rose, and on his right, pale blue. His fingernails grew longer and sharper, becoming white claws. The palms thickened, becoming thick paw padding that could grip stuff hard like a walking stick. He turned to them and paled.

“—The stones reacted,” Thomas continued in an uncertain tone. “Like I’m a Pokémon?”

Lloyd, Flareon, and Glaceon gasped and took a step back in horror. The fur on Thomas’s hands spread up his arms, becoming thick and plush. That alone would freak anyone out, but that was not what horrified the three watchers. It was how Thomas’s head stretched wider, like playdoh splitting apart. His head stretched out broader and, to their surprise, a third eye formed in the middle.

“Wh-what’s g-g-g-g—” Thomas stopped asking when his stretching mouth prevented him from speaking well. The third eye itself stretched wider until it split into two. His nose became wider, with a third nostril forming in the middle. His mouth spread out with new sets of teeth growing, sharper than before, though that did not last long. Much like his eyes, his nose and mouth split apart to develop their own separate mouth and nose. He twisted his chins, his two faces on one head at a sixty-degree angle. He spoke with both mouths. “W-why am I seeing two things at once?! I-I can barely see you!”

“Wh-what in the name of Giratina is happening?!” Lloyd tripped and fell on his rear. “Your-your face!”

“Wh-what’s wrong?” Thomas asked before he gritted both sets of teeth. His faces pulled farther away from each other. His eyes morphed with the left face’s eyes red and the right face’s eyes blue. Their faces split further, with new skin, bone, and muscles helping them separate from each other. The splitting went as far down to his neck until it stopped. He stood there, his head becoming two with their own necks. “That’s—”

“—better.”

Both Thomas blinked and turned to the other, their red and blue eyes meeting. They gasped and would have pulled away from each other if they were not attached to the same body. Instead, they reached with their fuzzy hand-paws to check on the other’s head.

“Wh-what?” the red-eyed Thomas asked. “Wh-who are you?”

“I’m Thomas! Who are you?” The blue-eyed Thomas asked in turn.

“Bu-but I’m Thomas too!”

They stared at each other for a few seconds before saying, “Did-did we split our minds into two?!”

Before they could say anymore, they both grunted in discomfort. Lumps grew just underneath their arms, pushing against their shirt. Their torso stretched taller, pulling out their shirt from their pants. The bumps pushed further underneath the shirt, pressing against it until they ripped through. They stretched farther, with more flesh, bones, and muscles forming and taking shape. The bones cracked as though getting ready for hard work. At the end of the new bumps, five individual lumps stretched out, one becoming opposable to the rest. Thick padding formed, becoming leather-like, at the bottom of them. New claws grew at the very tip of each digit, ripping through the skin while not dropping a single drop of blood. Both of Thomas’s heads gasped while turning over their new set of furry arms.

“W-woah! Thi-this is freaky!” The red-eyed Thomas flexed both golden-white hand-paws. “I have a burning question about this.”

“Yeah. I’d like to speak to my adv-ice-er!” The blue-eyed Thomas wiggled both light blue arms. “Because this is crazy!”

Both Thomas glanced at each other in stunned realization. Though split into two heads, two minds, they still felt a connection. Perhaps they felt what the other thought because of some neural connection or by heart. They found that, though distinct from the other, they thought much of the same.

Before they could verbalize that realization, their torso kept stretching taller into the air. Their jeans ripped from their expanding thighs with fur poking out from the holes. Their feet stretched out, splitting through their shoes like paper. Thick padding formed underneath their feet-paws, with long thick white claws replacing their toenails. Fur also sprouted all over their body, with the left side golden-yellow and the right side pale blue.

The pain came to them from their rear with nine lumps swelling, which pressed against what was left of their jeans until they ripped through. Bone, flesh, and muscles stretched into nine tails with fur covering them. Four of their tails on the left side held golden-white, bushy yet smooth fur ending with orange tips. The other four tails on their right side had pale blue fur, each flowing like mist and ending with white tips. The very center tail, meanwhile, was different between its left and right halves, half golden-white and orange, half pale blue and white, half smooth, half wavy. Each tail stretched long, at least half the length of their stretching torso.

At that point, their torso stopped stretching, and instead, their back shifted. Much like Thomas’s new set of arms, a pair of bumps formed near the midway with bones, muscles, and flesh growing. The bones cracked as though out of reinvigorating them, taking shape. Digits formed at the bottom with thick padding and brand-new claws. Much like the rest of their body, the left front leg was golden white, and the right was pale blue with the foot-paw white. A final snap from their back later, they landed on their front feet-paws effortlessly as though born for it. Their back stood upright, their body in taur shape.

Their faces morphed, with each of their noses blackening. Their mouths and noses elongated in an acute way. Their noses shifted, each becoming moist to the touch and having roughly an upside-down triangle shape. Their teeth became sharp, especially their canines, which they tested with their tongues. Their original ears moved up their head as they morphed. Fur covered them as they became long, pointy, triangular shapes. A new ear grew on the other side of each head, becoming the same shape as the original ones. Their hair changed color and shape, their already long hair growing longer. The left head held golden-white fur, its hair-fur becoming crescent shaped and flowing behind the head. The right head instead had pale-blue fur, its hair-fur becoming wavy like the mist and ending with white.

Thus, Thomas stood before Lloyd and their two Pokémon as a four-armed, two-headed Ninetales taur.

“W-woah!” The Alolan Thomas said. He held his upper arm up and breathed into it. Frost covered it. “This is way cool!”

“Or rather, I look pretty lit!” The Kantonian Thomas breathed out fire.

Lloyd scootched back a few feet, afraid. Flareon and Glaceon hid behind his back. They all shook in fear. Meanwhile, Thomas glanced all over their body, from their feet-paws to their tails. One of their tails extended to rub against one of Thomas’s heads. Despite the changes that occurred to them with only the tattered remains of their shirt on, they took it well.

“W-wh-what are you?” Lloyd asked. Both Thomas turned to him and took a step forward. Lloyd held his arm against his head. “Stay back!”

“Lloyd?” The Alolan Thomas tilted his head. “It’s us, Thomas.”

“A little strange looking, but still the same,” the Kantonian Thomas added. “We’re kindling spirits.”

“Hehe. We’re a living icicle built for two.”

“Haha. At least Flareon is my favorite fiery friend.”

“Meanwhile, my Glaceon is too cold for you.”

Lloyd shifted from one Thomas head to the next. They did not notice him, instead bantering and exchanging puns. Lloyd’s breathing relaxed somewhat, his nerves becoming steady. Flareon and Glaceon poked their heads out from behind before approaching. They sniffed on both Thomas’s feet-paws before, with a yip, hopping onto their back.

Lloyd blinked before he laughed. “OK. OK. That proves it. You’re Thomas. Or you’re Thomas.” He got up and scratched his head. “Not sure which one I should call Thomas. Both of you acted as him when you were, well, together.”

“Perhaps we’re both and neither at the same time,” the Alolan Thomas replied. “We’re still—”

“—connected,” the Kantonian Thomas said. “I can feel his thoughts and—”

“—I can feel his. I guess this is the ice of life.”

“Haha. And I have a bright spark.”

Both Thomas laughed for a few seconds. Lloyd smiled and joined in with their laughter. Flareon and Glaceon glanced at each other before firing out Flamethrower and Freeze-Dry at the opposite element Thomas. Despite that, they both laughed harder.

“They get that way when they have enough of my puns,” the Alolan Thomas said.

“Still, it’s getting late and we should rejoin the camp,” the Kantonian Thomas said.

“The camp. Oh, right!” Lloyd rubbed his chin. “Though, how will we explain this? Should we try to hide you?” His heart slammed against his chest. “Would they see you as a freak like I did?”

“Eh, let them,” the Kantonian Thomas said.

“Yeah.” The Alolan Thomas shrugged. “If they don’t want to accept us, that’s OK.”

“And there’s no point in hiding. They’ll find out sooner or later.”

“We might as well reveal ourselves to them.”

“Um, OK.” Lloyd nodded. He exhaled for a few long seconds before he nodded. “You’re right. There’s no way we can explain your disappearance and hide you. Might as well face the music while we can.”

“I prefer the phrase ‘facing the fire’ myself.”

“Why can’t it be ‘facing the blizzard?’ That sounds much cooler!”

“Because it’s not a hot enough name.”

“Eh, good point.”

“You know, in all of my years of research,” Professor Osage said. “The decades of lab work, observing evolution and Pokémon behaviors, I have never seen or heard anything like this.”

When the Thomas taur and Lloyd joined back with the camp, they made a point to meet with Professor Osage first. The other camping students poked out and stared at Thomas from his tails to his two heads as though he was some kind of freak. If they wanted to approach, they would have if it were not for Flareon and Glaceon guarding him.

Thomas allowed the professor to step forward to check on him. Osage poked Thomas’s new front legs; and with his walking stick, the professor poked the Alolan tails. He even had both heads open their mouths to rub their tongues and teeth. Despite that, Professor Osage scratched his head in bafflement at the impossibility he faced. He knew all about Pokémon biology, but the idea of a human somehow turning into this was beyond him. In only one case, he heard of something like this happening in Kanto; even then, it was a transporter accident.

“And you said that this happened because you touched a Fire Stone and an Ice Stone?” Professor Osage asked. Both Thomas nodded at him. “If it wasn’t for my tests seeing if what I was seeing was real, I would’ve taken it as one elaborate prank. The idea of evolution stones turning humans into Pokémon-like creatures is not something I heard in my long years. And yet, I’m aware of how magic-like Pokémon are. So perhaps this is a new discovery!”

“Yeah. That Fire Stone set my heart on fire!”

“While that Ice Stone froze my heart!”

“I bet I’m too hot to candle!”

“Words hail me!”

The other students became relaxed at both Thomas firing out puns. One of the students took a step toward him. Flareon stood in front of him, but Thomas waved her back. The student cautiously stepped closer until he was only a foot away. He reached for both of their cheeks and rubbed them. Both Thomas responded by hugging him with all four arms.

The students laughed and joined in the hugging. Both Flareon and Glaceon smiled at each other.

“Alright, alright,” Professor Osage said. The students backed away from Thomas, letting the professor through. “This gives me an idea. A unique opportunity, as it were. You don’t have to accept this very second, if at all, but I believe it’ll benefit us all.”

Both Thomas stared at the professor. “Explain.”

“How about, once you graduate, you can work for me as a volunteer. A T.A.” Professor Osage winked at them. “You grant us a unique chance to show us how Pokémon live, far more than anyone would. Like battling and other stuff.” Both Thomas flinched. “Just kidding. Still, your existence shows us a unique way of researching Pokémon. Want to accept?”

Both Thomas looked at each other. “We’ll have to think about it.”

“Very good. I was certain that you wouldn’t accept it this very second, Thomas.”

“Yeah, though I don’t think ‘Thomas’ is a good name for us anymore,” the Alolan Thomas said.

“And while on the way here, we thought up new names for us,” the Kantonian Thomas said.

“Yeah!” Both Thomas spread out their arms. “From now on, we’re Thermis Coldflare!”

“And if you want to refer to only one of us, you can call me Friizandro,” the Alolan Thermis said.

“And you can call me Flaemandre,” the Kantonian Thermis said.

“If that’s too long, call me Freezy—”

“—Or Flamey!”

“Together, we’ll bring in the party!”

At that point, every student laughed before they hugged Thermis Coldflare close. They hugged back as much as they could. Flareon and Glaceon smiled before they hopped onto Thermis’s back. The two Eeveelutions climbed onto their shoulders. Professor Osage nodded to himself before he walked back into his tent.

“Well, that’s that,” Lloyd said. He patted Thermis on their back. “That went better than I expected.”

“Yeah,” Freezy said. “This was a cool party!”

“But let’s bring in the heat!” Flamey breathed fire into the air. “Ah, yeah!”

“Good.” Lloyd rubbed his chin. “Though, what happened to the Pokémon we saw? And did it leave behind those stones? Did it even know what would’ve happened?”

“I have no idea,” Flamey said. He shrugged. “But if I see it again, I’m thanking it.”

“Same here!” Freezy said.

“Well, well, well. That is fascinating.”

A five-tailed kitsune sat on top of a tree near the student camp. His green fur ruffled from the evening breeze, his golden hair joining as well. His mysterious blue eyes glanced down at the newly christened Thermis with interest. He rubbed his brown staff from the brown and white yin-yang symbol on its head to the bottom.

“That is a curious experiment,” Glorfindel said. He rubbed against his red shirt. “Curious indeed.”

He recalled encountering those two students while exploring this Pokémon world. A prank formed in his mind then, which he set out. He began by letting himself be seen and let them follow further in. With the help of a levitation spell, he got onto a tree and hid behind them. While they looked for pawprints, he summoned the Fire Stone and Ice Stone, each enchanted to transform the first one that touched them. It went well outside of one thing.

“Who would’ve thought he would’ve taken both stones instead of one? And maybe had the other take it as well?” Glorfindel rubbed his snoot. “And the extra arms and head were not planned for. Perhaps it was because both spells reacted at the same time.” He shrugged. “But I’m not complaining. In fact, it gave me a few ideas on other pranks.”

Glorfindel sat there, watching Thermis practice a few tricks for their audience. It almost made him want to join in as well. He remained in the shadows though, hidden beneath them. The shadows grew long from the setting sun. He did wonder how Thermis would live and travel at this stage.

“Hmm. Perhaps I should watch and see. And perhaps help if they needed it.”