I sighed as I flopped onto my tiny bed in my dorm. I had hoped college would work out much better than it had been for the past couple of years, but lo and behold, nothing ever seems to go right for me. At this point I’m surprised I thought I could actually get anywhere in life seeing as I have a bad habit of screwing myself over without a second thought. I would confidently avoid doing any work and then get so upset with myself that I did nothing that I continue doing nothing. I’m a walking paradox.

I sat myself up again and turned to my desk, which was covered in blank worksheets and a bunch of half-written rough drafts of essays that were due last month. Pretending to be oblivious to the work that will soon get me kicked out of college, I turned my gaze to my roommate’s side of the room, finding a small note on his bed. I lazily got up to read it, even though I could already guess what it said.

Im out partyyng w/the squad, Ill be back @8ish ~Rich

Figured. Richard went to frat parties every other night to scam on chicks. And yet, he was always on task with all his work. Yet another reason to hate him, not to mention his horrendous illiteracy for an English major.

Tossing the note back on his bed, I paced towards the window at the end of the room. Orange lights from street lamps mixed with red brake lights and dirty yellow headlights from traffic outside, making a disgusting burnt rust color in the sky, polluting the night and blocking the pure light of the stars. The city sky was nothing like the night sky I was used to.

This place feels miserable.

“I desperately need a change,” I muttered to myself.

Feeling defeated by my own depression, I moped to my desk and sat down, shuffling through papers. I might as well finish something tonight; I’ll fail the assignment anyways but at least I could say I tried… sort of.

Picking up where I left off, I began writing pointless filler to reach the page limit. As if the professor would actually read this.

A good thirty minutes passed as I wrote, braindead. I had begun writing the first sentence of the conclusion when I chipper voice spoke up behind me.

“You misspelled ‘paradigm’”

I immediately leapt out of my seat and whirled around to see who had broken into my dorm.

“Whoa man, chill! I’m only trying to help!”

Before me stood - er, floated - a tall, slender figure, covered in pastel pink fur, with large blue eyes and a smug grin. It had an odd silhouette, appearing to be mostly humanoid save for its digitigrade legs, large feet-paws, and a long, thin tail, which grew a bit thicker towards the tip. Its upper body looked more like a slim human’s, not unlike my entire figure. Its head was more animalistic, with a big, yet shallow, snout, large catlike ears, and thicker head-fur which naturally fell down its head like hair. It was levitating around a couple feet from the ground, and was hunched over to look down at me.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, the pink creature suddenly burst into laughter, leaning back in the air and kicking its thick legs. It slowly drifted towards the other side of the room during its giggle-fit and fell down on Richard’s bed, still snickering to itself.

“What the hell are you!?” I yelled, not waiting for the laughing thing to calm down.

“Jeez, dude! What are you shouting about?”

“You just broke into my dorm and-and you’re not human-and-”

“Okay, now you’re just being a spaz,” The pink creature said flatly as it sat up. “M’name’s Gene. I’m a Mew… sort of. I’m here to help!”

A Mew? Why did that sound familiar?

“Wait, ‘to help?’ Help with what?” I asked before thousands of other questions flooded my mind.

“Help you… er… fix your life! I’ll give you a fresh start!” The thing-Gene, apparently, answered. “You’ve got a purpose, just not where you are now! Or who you are now, or what you are now!”

Before I had time to ask any more questions, Gene spoke up again. “Since I’m psychic, I can read your mind and hear all your questions. I’m just not going to bother to answer them!” He said, shrugging and flashing me a silly grin.

“Well why not!?” I shouted again, startling the Mew.

“Okay, look,” Gene said in an annoyed tone. “I’ll explain everything you’ll need to know. I need you to calm down and quit freaking out.”

I wanted to yell again, but I suddenly felt a wave of “shut up” wash over my mind. Weird.

I sat back down in my desk chair, cradling my head in my hands. Now that my head wasn’t swarming with furious questions, I was able to focus on what was really happening.

Mew… wasn’t that some sort of… Pokémon? No, it was the Pokémon! The most powerful Pokémon, with omnipotent abilities, a benevolent nature, and the unique power to shapeshift! And it exists in the real world!? Although, I don’t quite remember it looking so… human. Well, Gene did say he was sort of a Mew, though it doesn’t appear that he’s any less powerful than a regular Mew, seeing as he could levitate, read my mind and control me enough to get me to shut my mouth.

Before I could contemplate my situation further, Gene interrupted me. “Yeah, now you’re getting it! It makes the entire process a lot easier when you have an inkling of what’s going on.”

“Process?” I spoke up, not bothering to question how he was reading my thoughts.

Gene floated off of Richard’s bed and towards me. Before I knew it, his smug smile was inches from my confused face.

“I know what you want more than you do. I can see into your unconscious desires and find your deepest, most repressed wishes… and grant them. I know what needs to happen in order for you to find satisfaction. You need a new life- a new world, a new time, a new… self,” Gene spoke softly, his sweet breath washing over my face.

“A new self…?” I asked, unknowingly imitating his quiet tone.

“Don’t worry, I will unlock your happiness,” Gene replied with a soft smile and a seductive gaze.

Slowly, his face drifted into mine, his lips locking with mine. I felt a strange power resonating within Gene; it was odd, undetectable, but it was there. I couldn’t resist. I passionately leaned into him, feeling his warmth against my face. Without severing our connection, Gene’s body drifted down towards mine, his arms enfolding me. He sat down on my lap, his legs wrapped around my waist as his long tail coiled around my right leg, squeezing it tight. I couldn’t help but embrace him as his lips pressed against mine. The feeling that seemed to buzz within Gene grew, becoming an enveloping warmth that spread within me. Gene hugged me tighter with both his arms and legs, lovingly pressing himself into me. This feeling… what was it? Love? Lust? Ecstasy? Whatever it was, it seemed to fill the room with an odd energy, until suddenly, a feeling of relaxation washed over the world around me.

Gene released his grip on me, slowly drifting back to Richard’s bed. “Was that…” I couldn’t finish what I was saying. I didn’t even know what to say.

Gene slowly fell onto the bed on his side, facing me. He giggled to himself, “That was only the beginning!”

My confusion was suddenly shocked into surprise. A strange feeling grew inside of me, unlike the feeling that was in Gene. My hands felt oddly warm, and my head was light. I instinctively looked down at my hands to see…

Fur. Blue, pastel fur.

It covered both of my hands in an instant. Was I becoming…?

“Nope,” Gene interrupted my thoughts again. “Even better.”

The aqua fluff shifted white like a fluffy cloud, or fresh snow. It was beautifully bright, and spread up my forearms, causing a growing warmth from my wrists to my elbows, along with a slightly uncomfortable itching sensation.Speaking of itchiness, my shirt felt awkward around my belly. I lifted the shirt to find more white fur crawling up my torso, already past my navel and reaching the center of my chest. My hands suddenly cramped up, forcing me to drop my shirt. I watched in dumbfounded wonder as my ring and pinky fingers became unnaturally drawn together, slowly forming one thick digit. My middle and pointer fingers swelled up similarly, and soon my long five fingers became four short, stumpy digits. I flexed them experimentally. Although they’re much shorter, they’re still just as flexible, and I at least still have my thumbs!

The white fur around my arms extended to my shoulders and soon joined the fur growing around my chest. An odd sensation suddenly overtook my lower torso as the transformation spread towards my crotch and rear. “Oh, right,” Gene spoke up, “you might want to lose the pants,” he said with a grin. Before I could protest, they suddenly began to strangle my lower body! I hurriedly shoved my pants to my ankles, which took much more force than I remembered. I flexed my back to look around at my posterior to see it visibly swelling, stretching my underwear to fit around my expanding butt. Similarly, my thighs began to swell up as bright white fur spread down my legs. Gene began snickering again, apparently enjoying the view. I decided it was better to keep my underwear on for the time being…

The white hair spread rapidly down my legs, passing my knees and suddenly becoming blue again like my forearms. My calves grew only a slight bit, accenting my new thick thighs and bubble butt. As the fur reached my ankles, a sudden spine-chilling crack split the air, startling even Gene. My legs appeared to bend backwards, becoming digitigrade like Gene’s. I clumsily stumbled around for a second before tripping over my own pants, still around my ankles, and falling belly-first to the floor, my legs becoming increasingly sore. I flipped myself over as a great pain began to shock my toes. I tried to reach for my shoes when the sound of fabric splitting filled the air, revealing three giant toes poking out of my old sneakers. I let out a sigh of relief as the pain subsided, and kicked off the remains of my socks and shoes. My feet had become comically large pastel blue paws.

I slowly propped myself back upright, unknowingly showing off my butt to Gene. As I stood up again, I felt a familiar itch around my neck. Weird, did it stop growing up my chest as it continued to growing down my legs? Putting the thought aside, my ears suddenly became hot. I reached up to touch them to find that they weren’t just growing, they were moving up my head! I felt them shift to the top of my head and grow in size. My attention was immediately drawn to my mouth as my jaw became horribly sore. I felt my chin to find that it, too, was growing. My mouth and nose began to grow out of my face into a slight, subtle snout. I felt my teeth suddenly grow, two small canines becoming a pair of pointed fangs. I experimentally licked them, feeling their surprising sharpness. I began pawing at my own face as it became covered in short fur. As soon as I thought the transformation was subsiding, my eyes started to horribly sting. I held my eyes shut, feeling them grow in size, making me shudder. I slowly let go of my face and blinked; the dorm was suddenly brighter and more defined, and colors filled the room in a way I didn’t remember.

Everything was calm for a moment. I began to relax my body, which soon turned out to be unwise. My spine suddenly cracked painfully, and my underwear suddenly felt even tighter! As if it was triggered by my cracking spine, a large white bow, tipped in a familiar pastel blue, bloomed at the base of my neck, along with two long white ribbons tipped in a rainbow of blue, magenta, and pink. A similar feeling blossomed from my left ear, now on top of my head, and another two ribbons drifted into my field of view from above. My spine shifted again, and I felt even more growth in my posterior. Without hesitation, I pulled down my underwear and felt my tailbone, which was now my tail! It was a bit short, but that only seemed to make my own butt look bigger… and cuter! I snapped back into awareness, realizing I was calling my own butt cute…

I paused for a moment, expecting another painful split of some sort. Gene spoke up instead, “You’ve turned out better than I could imagine,” a slightly embarrassingly dreamy look in his eyes. A translucent mirror formed in front of Gene, revealing my new appearance to myself.

I immediately understood why Gene looked so entranced. My already twinkish figure was accented with lovingly thick thighs and a nicely firm butt. My snowy white fur seemed to shine as my blue paws glowed. My large eyes were an alluring hue of magenta, and while my face was white, I appeared to have hair a similar blue as my hands and feet. Furthermore, my hair had grown about shoulder-length and was beautifully light, like that of a supermodel’s. Oddly, I seemed to have shrunk in height; my t-shirt was just above my crotch, and the sleeves were slightly below my elbows. My entire body seemed to sparkle and glitter. I wasn’t just a Sylveon, I was shiny!

Gene’s mirror suddenly poofed into nothingness. He floated upwards and over me, slowly examining my entire form. “I knew I could fix you up! Look at you now! You’re stunning!” I blushed, turning my gaze downwards sheepishly.

“Welp, now it’s time for the big change!” Gene declared with a chipper tone.

“Wait, this wasn’t the big change?” I asked, gesturing to myself.

“Well, that was only half of it. Now it’s time for you to find your new home!” Gene replied, suddenly rocketing towards me and hugged me tight. Before I could react, he jumped upwards, pulling me with him. A blinding light suddenly illuminated the room, forcing my eyes shut as Gene flew upwards. It wasn’t five seconds before we both came to a screeching halt in midair. Gene set me down on a bed, letting me get my bearings.

The room we were in now appeared to be… another dormitory? Same beds, only bigger, same desks, only cleaner, same window, except…

I stood up and walked to the window. It was nighttime. Stars were twinkling in the dark sky, dancing and shining, forming patterns and rhythms. It was incredible…

“Welcome,” Gene piped into my thoughts, “to your new life!”

“What…?” I asked, dumbfounded.

“You’re an English Arts major at Hearthome University!”

“I… don’t believe this!”

“Well, believe it! You’re starting fresh!”

My mind was reeling. I get a new start as a beautiful Sylveon, caught up in my studies in a world of Pokémon. It’s a miracle…

“Anywho, I never got your name,” Gene reminded me, floating towards the window I was entranced by.

“My name?” For some reason, the question forced me to think harder than I should have. I was starting completely fresh, right? Maybe I should call myself something different… but at the same time my “human” name wasn’t coming to mind either.

“My name is… Ferris!” I finally exclaimed. I wasn’t sure where that name came from, but it felt right in some way. I don’t know, maybe I just really like ferris wheels on a subconscious level. Either way, it was the name I’ve settled on.

“Very well!” Gene said, clapping his hand-paws together excitedly. “From this point forward, you are now living the life of Ferris the Sylveon!”

I couldn’t help but smile a bit. I could give my life a soft reset and finally start anew as something more than I used to be. “Well, now what?” I asked Gene.

“That’s up to you,” Gene responded softly with a wink before slowly fading away like a dream. “You have full control of yourself now.”

“Then I guess I’ll nap.” I said, feeling a wave of exhaustion wash over me. Gene giggled a bit before completely disappearing in a soft cloud of sparkles. I immediately flopped down on my bed, which was so much softer than I could ever dream. Whether it was the transformation or the stresses of my past life that wore me out so much, I was one-hundred percent fine with sleeping until dawn, something I could never have hoped for before.