Pokémon - That's a weird-looking Espurr you got there...

What do we do when we don't have Pokeballs?

[January 26, 2022 - Mass Evolution Event]

New York City, NY, United States of America [9:00 AM, Eastern Daylight Time]

When Maria DeLacey woke up late to her job at 8:30 AM, she didn't expect to see a behemoth of a wolf panting above her.

She let out a shrill shriek and jumped back, throwing the shoddy lamp next on her bedstand. The rock-wolf cocked its head to the side, whimpering as it sat down at the foot of her bed. Maria, still high on adrenaline, noticed the familiar neon-pink collar.

"Cheesecake? Is that you, honey?"

"Mama?" She pushed her snout under Maria's hand, sniffing and licking. "Is mama okay?"

Maria sat in shock as Cheesecake whined and kissed her hand, snuggling into her blankets with a worried "mama?". She could hardly believe her small husky turned into a gigantic wolf with rocks on his mane, much less talk to her.

Cheesecake was a meter in length, taking up almost all of the cramped apartment she had. Her fur had gone from a black-and-white to a soft beige and cream.

"Cheese- Cheescake, sweetie, how are you talking?" The former dog gave an approximation of a shrug. "I dunno. But can I have food? Please?"

Maria got up and shuffled to the fridge, where she kept a spare bag of dog treats. As she opened it, however, Cheesecake grabbed a paper bag and flipped it onto the counter, happily chowing down on the leftovers. "Burger! Burger! Burger!"

"H-hey! At least microwave it!"

Aiken, SC, United States of America [9:14 AM, Eastern Daylight Time]

"Come back here! You're not setting fire to any more hay, you hear me?!" Henry, an unlucky rural farmer, was running after a flock of Torchics. Smattered in between them were white bird Pokémon, much less intelligent and pecking around like normal chickens.

"Catch me if you can!" "Too slow! Hurry up!" "Can't you do any better?"

Henry Hoss huffed as he let them go, spitting embers and laughing like children. Fine, he wasn't going to catch them anyway. They were too... smart to eat anyways. The farmer shuddered at the thought of eating something that sounded like his children. No thank you. I'll stick to the dumb ones.

He'd heard of the newfangled "Pokemon" games from his sons, who loved it to bits. And although he didn't have the "inter-net" like other young folks, he knew that they weren't games anymore. Henry was infinitely relieved that his animals were all free-range; he'd feel guilty if anything with a brain as trapped in a small room. Instead, he went back to check on his cows.

Luckily for him, the beef cattle didn't talk or seem smart. Those three-tailed cows weren't that different. They acted like regular old cows, but he saw how they flipped his old tractor. He'd deal with that scary thought later.

On the other hand, the dairy cattle had made polite conversation with him, even letting him harvest their milk for later. He'd taken a sip of it and declared it the best milk to ever exist (even if it was unpasteurized and might get him sick). Those "Miltank" were best left living their own cozy lives, with the occasional food to provide for their milk in return.

The only problem that he had was the three pigs that he kept for meat. They were now well-aware of their planned future as bacon, and he had to reassure them that he'd crapped the plan once he knew they talked.

Henry snorted at the thought. Fire pig. They're already bacon, in some sorta weird way.