Zorua raised her head and glanced at Heath, her eyes like pools of water, then shifted her paws.
"Hmph, human. I don't really want to travel with you, but since you saved me today, I suppose I'll reluctantly agree." Zorua raised her head and held out her right forepaw.
Heath froze for a moment. What did Zorua mean by that? Was she asking him to touch her paw?
With that thought, Heath reached out and took Zorua's paw, but before he could say anything, she irritably turned her paw over and rested it on his hand.
"Heh-heh. This is proof of our pact never to betray each other. From this moment on, you are my partner." Zorua suddenly turned serious. Heath stared at her blankly, only catching on a moment later.
"That line... Have you read Arceus's Creation Travelogue?" Heath gave Zorua a curious look. He remembered that line from a novel full of over-the-top fantasy posturing.
Naturally, the Pokémon world had novels and writers too. Since this was the Pokémon world, though, the most common books were all kinds of Pokémon novels. Arceus was the most popular subject and frequently appeared in all sorts of novels.
But Heath remembered Arceus's Creation Travelogue being a little questionable. In the end, the male protagonist had gone off to "swordfight" with the male human form Arceus had taken. Only when Heath reached that part did he realize the author actually wrote boys' love fiction.
"Huh? How did you know? Have you read it too?" Zorua stared at Heath in surprise, disbelief written all over her little fox face.
Heath scratched his head. He really hadn't expected this Zorua to be into that sort of thing. Then another question struck him: was this Zorua male or female?
As soon as Heath asked, Zorua swiped at his face. Fortunately, she hadn't extended her claws, so he didn't have to worry about being left with scars.
"I'm obviously female!" Zorua glared at Heath, her embarrassment turning to anger. Heath gave an awkward smile. So she was a girl.
"By the way, Zorua, can that illusion ability of yours turn you into any kind of creature you want?" Heath looked at Zorua. As a master of illusions, she was certainly quite capable.
"No. I can't take the form of a creature I haven't seen. Any form I made that way would look really strange, and the illusion would fall apart easily." Zorua settled comfortably onto Heath's bed.
At that moment, all sorts of things came to Heath's mind: Hatsune Miku, the various waifus he switched out every three months, and more. But as he looked at Zorua's blue ears, a bold idea arose in his mind.
"Zorua, could you turn into that little girl from before, but keep your ears and tail?" Heath rubbed his hands together expectantly. He admitted he was being a little creepy right now, but who could resist a catgirl?
No, a foxgirl.
"Hmm? Like this?" Zorua's figure suddenly blurred, and a little girl with Zorua's ears and tail appeared on Heath's bed. She looked curiously at her hands, then touched her ears before turning to Heath.
Heath covered his face with both hands, rubbed them up and down, and took a deep breath. Right now, all he wanted to say was that Zorua was a true god walking the earth. Having a Zorua meant having anyone's ideal partner.
Looking at the unfairly adorable Zorua, Heath felt he had finally fulfilled his life's ambition. That old dream of pointing at his cat and saying, "Transform for me!" had finally come true.
"You humans are really strange. It's just an extra pair of ears and a tail, isn't it?" Zorua curled her lip, then adjusted her clothes, leaving Heath staring.
At that moment, a question occurred to Heath: could the human form Zorua created also simulate that sort of-
"Heath, I just heard from Nurse Joy-" Just as Heath was about to say something, the door swung open, and Officer Jenny Feng barged in.
Officer Jenny Feng stared blankly at Heath and Zorua, then silently closed the door. Heath's brain short-circuited for a moment. As soon as she shut the door, he pushed it open and ran out, calling after her just as she was about to leave.
"Sister Feng, you've got the wrong idea!" Heath looked at Officer Jenny Feng. No matter how you looked at it, that scene had made him seem like a pervert who had lured a little girl into his room.
"So? What exactly have I misunderstood?" Officer Jenny Feng gave Heath a strange look, leaving him no choice but to explain the situation with Zorua.
"So there really are Pokémon like that... What an extraordinary Pokémon." Only after Heath painstakingly explained everything and had Zorua demonstrate her transformation in front of Officer Jenny Feng did she believe his story.
Heath let out a long sigh of relief. At least he had managed to get Officer Jenny Feng to put down the silver bracelets in her hand. If Zorua had gotten him slapped in handcuffs, he might have become the first Trainer sent to prison by his own Pokémon.
"Since she's become your partner, make sure you treat her well." Officer Jenny Feng patted Heath's shoulder approvingly. When she had first spotted a little girl in his room, she had almost pinned him to the floor on the spot.
Fortunately, Heath had explained what had happened. Otherwise, Officer Jenny Feng suspected she really would have needed to think long and hard about how to face this little brother of hers.
Watching Sister Feng leave with a smile, Heath breathed a long sigh of relief, then took Zorua back to his room.
"You humans are so strange. Was that female human your older sister?" Zorua sprawled on Heath's bed and yawned.
Heath gave Zorua a curious look. Had this little creature decided his bed was her resting spot? Still, he didn't particularly mind.
It was just like keeping a cat. Sometimes cats would jump onto their owners' beds and sleep with them. Besides, although Zorua was a fox, she didn't have a musky fox smell. Instead, she carried a faint floral fragrance.
With that thought, Heath lay down on the bed quite naturally, only to regret it a moment later when he saw Zorua's figure distort.
Then a little girl with animal ears was lying beside Heath.
Before you continue