Pokémon Transformation

**Pokémon Transformation** is a phenomenon appearing in *A Girl's Rise and Fall*.

## **Description**

The transformation is a phenomenon where a human is involuntarily transformed into a Pokémon. The process is irreversible, and those affected will remain a Pokémon for the rest of their lives. Specifically, affected individuals will transform into whatever Pokémon that they last had physical contact with. The process is usually very slow, but people with underlying health conditions or some form of stress (like Lucille's mental stress) will transform faster. Additionally, the transformation is initially subtle, but manifests itself more over time until the infected person is completely changed. After the transformation is complete, the individual gains all the Pokémon's types, abilities, and learnable moves; however, they will retain their sentience and still be able to perform activities they used to do as a human. Despite this, they are no longer able to wear clothes.

## **Cause and Symptoms**

The phenomenon is caused by an airborne pathogen simply known to scientists as the Pokémon Transformation Virus (PTV). This virus enters a Pokémon's body through the airways and contaminated food, water, objects, surfaces, among other things. Once a Pokémon is infected, the virus spreads to every corner of the body, inhabiting even the exterior (fur, skin, scales, etc.). The symptoms the infected Pokémon exhibits are loss of balance, blurred vision, fatigue, a runny nose, erratic behavior, and excessive drooling; these symptoms will progressively worsen before leading to death, after which the virus will remain present in the Pokémon's body. It is then passed on to any person that the Pokémon has any physical contact with (biting, scratching, hitting, kicking, hugging, kissing, the like). After the contact is made, the virus immediately takes hold of the human's body and begins transforming their DNA into that of the Pokémon they touched. This drastically increases the risk of genetic mutations, which will, in turn, cause the individual to acquire physical abnormalities during or after the transformation. An example is when Xesha, after the process happened to her, gained a mutated version of her new form. PTV also causes the person to exhibit the specific Pokémon's behaviors.

The first human symptoms occur within a day of contact. They are headaches, dizziness, fatigue, loss of balance, and double vision. After a week, nausea, vomiting, insomnia, and acute heightening of the senses will set in, along with subtle acquisition of the Pokémon's general behaviors and physical traits (e.g. change of eye color, hair loss, a hand transforming into a paw). After two more days, these characteristics will become more obvious. By the third day, the transformation will be complete.

As Lucille discovers, there is no cure for the virus, and it can be spread very easily. However, the virus can only be passed from a fully transformed individual to another human; thus, it cannot be spread from a person undergoing any other stage of their transformation. to an unaffected person. She later classifies the phenomenon as an incurable disease that can only be diagnosed after death.