"Her" True Form

Heath froze for a moment. The little girl before him looked very familiar. Wasn't she the one he had seen in Viridian Forest last time?

"You're here again. There's a nice smell coming from inside your clothes. What is it?" the little girl asked in a childish voice, her wide eyes studying Heath curiously.

"Hmm, do you mean this?" Heath motioned for Farfetch'd to stand beside him, then took the prepared lunch box out of his clothes and opened it to show the little girl.

The rich aroma of Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs wafted out at once. The golden-brown ribs, glistening in the sunlight, made the little girl swallow involuntarily.

Heath saw her reaction and was delighted. That important clue really had come in handy. This little girl—no, this Pokémon—really did love sweet-and-sour food, and Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs fit the bill perfectly.

"Would you like some?" Heath asked the little girl with a warm smile. He felt a little regretful. If only he hadn't used his appraisal chance on Farfetch'd.

The little girl nodded instinctively, her cheeks flushing with excitement. But she quickly shook her head again, folding her arms haughtily and turning away with a look of disdain.

Heath didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Who would have guessed this Pokémon was such a little contrarian? It only made him more curious about her identity. What kind of Pokémon could act so convincingly?

"You aren't actually human, are you? I saw you in Viridian City earlier. You should still be training with your Charmander right now." Heath looked at the little girl and decided to expose her disguise.

"Huh? Who says! I'm human! I just... didn't bring Charmander, and came out for a walk!" The little girl seemed to bristle instantly, waving her arms as she protested.

Heath couldn't hold back his laughter. He clutched his stomach and laughed heartily, the sound echoing through the forest as the little girl glared at him.

"Sorry, sorry... Now I'm certain you really aren't human, because that little girl's Pokémon is a Squirtle." Heath wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, then laughed even harder at her stunned expression.

To keep the little girl from simply following his lead, Heath had deliberately replaced Squirtle with Charmander. And she really had fallen for it.

"You! You! Sneaky! Devious! ...Shameless!" The little girl was so furious she nearly jumped, her face burning with embarrassment and anger.

"Sorry, sorry... Ahem, back to the point. You're the one who's been causing trouble in the forest around Viridian City, aren't you? The League has already noticed you. They're investigating and searching for you. If they find you, you'll be captured." Heath spoke with a smile.

Although he had no idea how the League would actually deal with this Pokémon, Heath intended to scare her a little. Maybe he could get her to reveal her true form.

"I-I can change into something else and escape! You humans will never find me!" The little girl panicked briefly, but quickly came up with a solution. Her figure distorted, and a Caterpie appeared where she had been standing.

Heath watched in astonishment. It was flawless. If he hadn't watched her transform with his own eyes, he probably would never have imagined that this Caterpie had been a little girl.

"Who says we can't recognize you? Let me tell you, someone incredibly powerful lives here. Your transformation won't fool her." Heath thought of Ms. Lori, that formidable woman.

Her Gengar was exceptionally powerful. Heath even suspected that the Gengar raised by Agatha, one of the Elite Four, might not be as strong as Ms. Lori's.

"I... I..." The Caterpie looked flustered, and Heath smiled. It seemed this little creature had encountered someone who could see through her disguise before.

"What Pokémon are you? Mew?" Heath looked at the little girl expectantly. To him, Mew seemed the most likely possibility. After all, Mew was playful and had very powerful illusion abilities.

"Huh? What's Mew? I'm not that! I'm a Zorua!" The Caterpie wriggled furiously, and a completely different Pokémon appeared before Heath.

Heath stared at the Zorua in surprise. Naturally, he knew about Zorua, a master of illusions. Although it wasn't a Legendary Pokémon, it was still an excellent Pokémon, a Dark type.

It also possessed extremely powerful shapeshifting abilities. That would explain the little girl from earlier, along with those bizarre illusions.

After all, Zorua's evolved form, Zoroark, was a master of illusions, capable of creating mirages so extraordinary that even cameras couldn't see through them.

But Heath remembered that Zorua wasn't native to Kanto, so how had this Zorua...

"Were... were you brought here by Team Plasma?" Heath thought of the Team Plasma member he had served earlier. He had received a clue at the time.

The clue said that Team Plasma had brought some things to Kanto in order to cooperate with Team Rocket. Could Zorua have been among them?

"You know them? You're a bad guy too!" Zorua's fur bristled in anger, and she bared her teeth at Heath.

Before Heath could explain, Zorua rushed forward at high speed and swiped with a claw, only to strike Farfetch'd instead.

Dark-type energy flared against Farfetch'd's body. Farfetch'd stared blankly at Zorua, not quite understanding why this little girl had suddenly rushed over for such a friendly bit of close contact.

Heath breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Wonder Guard had activated. Zorua's Dark-type move had no effect on Farfetch'd.

"I'm not a bad guy. I just met someone from Team Plasma before, and you aren't a Pokémon native to our region," Heath hurriedly explained. She wasn't Mew, but Zorua was pretty good too.

And this was a Shiny Zorua.

Heath looked at the wary Zorua before him. A normal Zorua should have had dark red fur, but this one's fur was blue, making her look very beautiful. No wonder she was called the Tricky Fox Pokémon.

"These are Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs. They're sweet and sour. Would you like to try some? Don't worry, I'll leave them here and go." Heath set the Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs down in front of him, then glanced at Zorua.

"But I do need to tell you that the League really has noticed you. They're searching for you, and if they find you, I don't know what will happen either." Heath shrugged, then left with Farfetch'd.

Zorua: Hmph! Foolish humans, even if you vote for me, I won't be happy~