A Maverick Vynenasty (Tangrowth Tf )

Sunlight filtered in through canopies of lush green as both human and Pokémon admired the scenery. The very air seemed to buzz with the nature of spring as Wurmple began the search for succulent food and Budew dance in the light. Buneary chased each other around Eterna Forest, enjoying the peace, tranquillity and very essence of life.

Terrance was one of the humans enjoying the scene. A traveller, it was Terrance’s job to note down the positives of such an area to encourage others to visit. After all, tourist sells took a third of the income of all Sinnoh jobs. Tourists included families, trainers, co-ordinators or simply those looking for something different. This forest certainly was different; he had never seen a habitat so full of life. To say that Terrance enjoyed nature would have been an understatement; he lived it. But this made him lonely. Having a job that no one seemed to care about and sending you far from the place where you lived was one that didn’t appeal to those back home. Terrance wasn’t sure if he minded, after all, he loved places like this. Places that some people would never see. He felt privileged.

Terrance continued through the forest, noting the Pokémon and thinking of awesome phrases to describe the scene. The 26 year old male was wearing a dark green short sleeved T-shirt, baggy brown shorts and sandy sandals. Reading glasses were perched on his nose as wavy black hair flowed gently in the wing. A round face with a sweet-natured smile and several spotty freckles finished off the look of a man who had travelled far and wide. What he was about to come upon, however, would change everything.

The man had been engrossed in his writing that he hadn’t noticed what he was coming to. His notes ran thus:

‘…the very heart of Eterna is the spectacle of the place. Somewhere deep in this forest lays a moss coloured rock. While some might say this is unimportant, for trainers it gives a chance of something extraordinary. The rock is one of only two in the region that affects the DNA of Eevee, this one bringing an evolution into Leafeon. This is a must for trainers, co-ordinators and breeders far and wide. Many others can still enjoy the sense o…’

BANG!

Terrance slammed into a tree and feel backwards. Ow! He had a fine bruise on his forehead. No matter, there were still things to be seen…

As Terrance sat up, he noticed something that was still ‘to be seen’.  In front of him lay a derelict old chateau. It had seemed better days. Vines were poking out of cracked windows, the roof had partly collapsed and the door certainly seemed like it was going to fall off at any moment. The old chateau, however, seemed to exert an air of mystery. One that Terrance found unable to resist, and went inside. He began recording his thoughts once more, under the title of ‘The fabled Old Chateau in Eterna Forest: Must for adventurers!’

‘Upon entering the Old Chateau, one realises the scale and majesty of such a place. The area is huge, with a high ceiling and sloping staircases. There is an attention to detail which can be marvelled at. Elegant paintings of Sinnoh country, Pokémon statues and miniature trees are just some of the items that might appeal. Who knows what might be waiting? There are two paths that can be taken: up the stairs or straight ahead. I have chosen straight ahead, and leave upstairs for an innovative, adventurous young trainer to forge.’

Terrance smiled at his report, simply put in his opinion but also attracting attention by adding an air of mystery. He had exaggerated a point or two; the paintings were very faded and as for the plants, well, they needed some serious TLC. This didn’t matter to the young man and, curious about what was ahead and feeling a bit lazy to climb stairs, went ahead. As soon as he entered, he began conveying his thoughts to paper.

‘A grand dining room is instantly perceived. A table so long that a Wailord could easily fit on it, this room is also decked with the fashions of the era. Three candle holders are placed at intervals to give a romantic feel. A painting adorns the décor of this room, it shows the previous occupants. This room is a must for designers, museum curators and young lovers. But I am also sure an inquisitive young trainer can find some interesting fin…’

Terrance stopped suddenly. Something was not right. Something was in this room that made his hair stand on end. What was it? He looked over what he had written. Nope, it wasn’t any of that. He had missed something. Then, Terrance looked at the plant in the far right corner. Unlike the plant opposite, which was another small tree, this had been a tree. Had. It was now a single piece of bark, broken at the top, and a dark green, almost blue vine, engulfed it. Terrance suddenly felt sad; life was being strangled from the room. Eventually, as nature does, the vine would take over and the Old Chateau would be removed from history forever. There was, however, nothing that Terrance felt he could do about it. He wasn’t a gardener, and his bosses would certainly not enjoy hearing the negatives of such a place; as long as people brought his guide that was all that mattered. It infuriated him. He turned around, to go back to that world which now seemed a bit cruel. Back to Eterna Forest which felt magical in his eyes.

Suddenly, he felt something tug at his waist. He looked down. A vine was around his waist, and it was tightening. Numb with shock, he slowly turned his head and saw the vine in the far corner. It had lengthened and grabbed him. It knew. Terrance, in panic, tried to run away, but the vine tightened and he felt as if the pain in his stomach would lurch. The vine shook him to the floor, making him drop his notepad, and dragged him along. Terrance fought to get a hold on the floor, but the carpet had no gaps. The vine took him at tremendous speed. He fought all of the way, but it was no use. The vine flung him against the wall, a window on his right side.

“This is it,” thought Terrance. “I’m going to be eaten by a plant…”

With him immobile, the vine began to wrap itself around his body. Terrance could only watch as the vine swarmed around him. He realised that it wasn’t the usual luscious green colour of most plants, but a dull dingy teal. What was even worse was that he could feel the vines actually going into his body, not deep but attaching themselves. As they did, he could feel them gaining energy while his body lost its. This energy zapped into his organs, muscles and bones. Any clothes on Terrance either disintegrated or were disbursed as fuel for the plant. He felt his skin remain underneath the vines, but become coarse and hard.

The vines increased in capacity around his body and legs, leaving his head and arms for the moment. He felt the vines digest what were most of his legs, now just dangling vines, until he had very short legs which became black as if limited life moved through them. This was then consumed to make his body larger. The vines began tangling together, before some eventually merged. A few vines trailed in front of his short legs. Terrance now had some idea what was happening; for reasons unknown to him, he was becoming a walking plant. A Pokémon called Tangrowth.

He was sort of relieved, because at least he would have arms unlike the previous form, Tangela, but it meant that all life as a human was gone. Terrance was distracted from these thoughts for a moment as his feet began swelling, bursting out of his shoes. His toes were quickly consumed in the swell and formed a hard pink layer. They pointed it a bit, making them similar to leather shoes. The vines began bursting into making their own energy, and Terrance felt the sunlight from the window on his right. This energy felt…unique, special and revitalising. It calmed him for the next stage.

His arms gained some of the photosynthesising energy and began to turn the same colour. Currently being pinned against his wide frame, he couldn’t feel much. Yet, Terrance felt them lengthen considerably. His bones, including his wrists, melted away to give him the structure of a plant. Terrance’s fingers swelled as well, although his little finger and thumb from both hands were engulfed by the changes.  The fingers became rounded and smoother, as well as the same pink as his toes. Now came the part where he was sure anyone who had been transformed, and he had heard the horror stories, dreaded.

His head, however, wasn’t as mind numbing as the rest. Instead, he felt his mouth being polished off, as well nose, ears and hair. The vines increased once more to cover what was much of Terrance’s face and grew upwards. This resulted in a higher height, as well as new almost Buffon hair-do. His eyes came slightly closer together and became wider so he could see out of the mass of viney hair. The pupils became smaller and, finally, the skin around them darkened to black. Terrance was a fully formed Tangrowth. The vines placed him back on the ground and released him.

Terrance took some time to get his thoughts back together. That was not what he had expected. Now, what was he going to do? He looked over to the notepad and hurried as quickly as he could (which wasn’t very fast with the new short legs) over to it. Maybe, he could write a message to his employers saying what had happened. Or maybe a simple warning message would be enough.

He picked it up and paused. Did he actually want to write anymore, assuming he could hold his pen? The fact was that now he was a Tangrowth, Terrance felt even more in tune with nature. He could enjoy his passion and actually live in Eterna Forest as a happy specimen of it, living off the land. Terrance would not be lonely, there were other Pokémon around and, even better, perhaps a female human would enter and gain the same effects. Then he would be even more content. Without any further thoughts, Terrance chucked the notepad in the air and ran out of the mansion, screaming happily:

“TANGROWTHHHHHHHHH!”

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In a couple years’ time, Terrance now lived in harmony with the other residents. A few times, he saw old employees look for him, but none ventured into the mansion to find the reason, obviously too scared. Bar one. A female who Terrance took to be a new recruit, as he didn’t recognise her, was also transformed by the plant. Unlike him, she wasn’t a nature lover and used her new found power to destroy the plant by eating it. When she met him, however, her personality changed until the two had found love and had baby Tangelas. Some of these would wonder away, others captured and others to remain in the forest. Terrance would now look back on his day of transformation with great content. This was the life for him.