Planning your next step, though with an interruption

"I'm not entirely sure, Rosa," you told your friend as you reflected the situation. "If you being a Pokémon is how reality has always been to everyone but us, I doubt that we'll just be able to convince people otherwise."

"You might be right about that," she replied, a look of concern visible on her face. "I'd be pretty concerned myself if you suddenly tried to argue a Pokémon was actually a human."

"So I'd guess that we'll most likely have to deal with this ourselves," you concluded. "Maybe we can find something that returns things to normal, don't you think?"

"I'm not sure if we will end up finding something," she said as she took a glance at the strange Pokéball that caused this. "But we should definitely learn everything we can about this thing."

"You mean including what those chips do with you?" you pointed at the still opened case, the eighteen Type Chips inside in full view.

"Most likely, yeah," Rosa confirmed. "I mean, if I'm going to have to live as your Pokémon from now on, we might as well make use of those. You won't be able to carry any other Pokémon while I'm with you, after all."

"Are you really sure about that?" you asked in response. "What about those changes the message mentioned?"

"I guess I'll have to get used to them with how things are," she told you, noticing the look of concern on your face. "Besides, the message said that my core personality and memories won't be affected, so we can worry a little less, I think."

"Well, if you think so, then I guess it'll be fine," you nodded at her, deciding to move your worries aside. "So you're actually going to live as my Pokémon now, huh?"

"Yeah, until we maybe find some way to return things to normal," your friend gave you one of her usual smiles, the mood seemingly having gotten better despite the circumstances.

You returned the smile, happy to see that she had seemingly calmed down from the initial shock of her conversion into a human Pokémon. Looking over to where the purple Pokéball still laid on the grassy ground of the clearing, you turned to go pick it up. Just after you had bent down and collected the ball from the ground, both you and Rosa heard a rustling coming from a bush adjacent to the clearing. The two of you turned towards it to see what had made the sound, just in time to see a wild Patrat jumping out from the foliage. As it looked around, its gaze met that of Rosa and it took on a cautious stance, as if it was getting ready to battle.

"Uh, Nate?" Rosa began without removing her gaze from the wild Pokémon. "I think I'm about to have my first Pokémon battle."

"Are you going to be alright?" you asked, wanting to make sure your friend would be fine. "Do you think we should just run for now?"

"I'm going to have to fight in a battle sooner or later, now that I'm a Pokémon," she began to assure you. "I'll be fine, don't worry. Though, you'll have to give me proper directions, you know? You're my trainer now, after all," she added, turning her head momentarily to give you a teasing grin.

"Alright, let's win our first battle then," you replied, returning the grin. "Rosa, use Fake Out!"

Upon your instruction, Rosa dashed forward, quickly closing the distance between herself and the wild Patrat as she prepared to strike with her right arm. Once she was right in front of her target, she moved her fist to strike in a quick motion. Just before her fist made contact with the other Pokémon though, she quickly moved her left hand forward as well and instead clapped her hands right in front of its face. The Patrat stumbled back a little, unable to move for a short moment as it had been successfully flinched.

"Well done Rosa!" you praised her for the successful attack. "While it can't move, use Tail Whip!"

With the Patrat still stunned for the moment, Rosa proceeded to make the next move as instructed. Standing at some distance to the wild Pokémon again, she began shaking her head from side to side, her long twintails swaying in a smooth motion. The move seemed to have the intended effect, as when the Patrat recovered from its stunned state, its stance had slightly shifted compared to before. It also had the added effect of her shapely breasts swaying around in the same motion, which provided a pleasant view you silently enjoyed from your position on the sidelines of the battlefield.

"Okay, now that its Defense is lowered, let's finish this with Pound!" you instructed her to finish the battle.

Not wasting a moment, Rosa once again moved towards the smaller Pokémon. Swinging her hand in a slapping motion, it shone in a white light as it traveled towards the Patrat's face. Upon making contact, her opponent was sent flying off to the side of the battlefield, slamming into one of the trees adjacent to the clearing. Once it had landed on the ground, it was clear that it had fainted and the battle was won.

"I can't believe it... I won!" Rosa cheered when she saw her defeated opponent. "I won in a Pokémon battle!"

"I can't believe it either!" you said as you headed over to her, the astonishment about what you just saw setting in. "How did you know how to perform the moves? You looked like you'd done them for your entire life."

"I'm not sure myself, to be honest," she replied, one hand behind her head as she gave you an embarassed smile. "It was as if I acted on instinct, if that makes sense to you. They just came to me naturally."

"Well, regardless of that, we now know that you can really fight just like a Pokémon," you told her with an approving nod. "You did really well in that battle, Rosa. They sure didn't lie when they said you'd be strong in comparison to other Pokémon."

"Thanks for the compliment!" your friend smiled sweetly at your praise before teasing you once more. "I can't disappoint my trainer, can I?"

"I'm sure you'd never," you returned before looking back towards where the Patrat had landed. While the two of you had chatted, it had already gotten back up and disappeared into the woods.

"Do you think we should head back to Aspertia for now?" Rosa ended up proposing. "It's starting to get a bit late, and we still have to make our way back out of the woods."

"That should be a good idea for now," you agreed with her. "I'll go grab the case and put it in my bag before we head back then."

"Alright, good thing your bag can fit so much stuff," she remarked as you went to pick up the case and subsequently stashed it away.

"Yeah, I got it specifically for our journey after all," you added, slinging the strap of your bag over your shoulder and leaving you with just the Conversion Ball in your hands. You looked at Rosa.

"By the way, you can forget putting me in that ball again," she stated with a stern expression. "I may have accepted that I'm your Pokémon for now, but I'm staying outside the entire time."

"Don't worry, I wasn't going to put you in there again anyway," you assured her with a smile. "I prefer having you by my side after all."

"Good," she replied in short, though you did notice a slight blush on her face. "Anyway, let's get back to Aspertia."