Bloom of An Arcade Star (Dahlia TG/TF)

Sinnoh’s Battle Frontier had seen better times: It had once been the premier site of high-ranked competitive Pokémon battling in the region, surpassing even the Elite Four and the previous Champion in prestige, something that only increased with the previous champion’s crude, foul-mouthed personality. But that all changed when Cynthia arrived onto the scene: Her cunning prowess, charming personality and undeniable beauty had made her an instant celebrity overnight and a global superstar within two weeks, with her constantly touring the world to participate in tournaments; effortlessly winning each and every one.

Desperate to get the respect and attention that had been abruptly taken from them, the Sinnoh Frontier Brains challenged the freshly crowned Champion to a consecutive 1v4 battle; their rather humiliating defeats at her hand only serving to build up the hype of the “invincible” Cynthia. However, the remaining Frontier fans would always counter this claim with the fact that Palmer, the Tower Tycoon, had almost defeated the Champion despite only having a team of three Pokémon compared to her full party: The amount of energy in the crowd when Palmer defeated Cynthia’s infamous Garchomp and forcing the two trainers to fight Milotic-to-Milotic was enough to make even an Elctrode blush.

However, even this event wasn’t enough to generate any audiences to the Battle Frontier - if anything, the Battle Frontier actually lost visitors, who had been convinced by Cynthia’s superior skills. One night, the Four Brains (and Lady Caitlin, who insisted on Darach’s constant presence around her) decided to hold a meeting at the very top of the Battle Tower for a solution to this worrying problem. They all sat around the pentagonal table, each Brain sitting in the corner respective to their building’s position.

“A year ago, we had thousands of trainers coming to this facility every day,” Palmer sighed from the table’s peak, his chair turned away as he stared at the shelf containing the various accolades both he and the others had colected over the years. “Now, we’re dipping to just a thousand - one thousand!”

“Can you blame them, Palmer?” Argenta, the Battle Matron, remarked in a dulcet tone. “Cynthia’s quite a darling - she’s skilled, she’s kind and she’s hot! I wish I looked half as good as her when I was that young.”

Palmer swiveled his the chair back around, resting his head on a gloved hand. “There’s got to be something we can do to get people back here, but what?”

It was then that Thorton, the Factory Head, stood up from his seat. “I have an idea,” he said, gesturing to the empty corner south from him. “There’s clearly enough room for another Battle Building in our facility - perhaps it’s time we find a trainer worthy of becoming the next Frontier Brain.” “We certainly have the money to make an addition, but we lack is time.” Darach remarked in a grave tone. “Who knows long it will take to find a trainer strong enough not only to beat us, but to potentially rival Cynthia’s expertise?”

“As much as everyone likes to believe, skill isn’t enough.” Argenta added. “We’ll need to find a girl who is just as attractive as Cynthia - and I think we’ll need to wait a long time before that’s possible.”

“Who says we need to wait?” Thorton asked as he began to pace up and down on his side of the table. “While we’re all undoubtedly aware of how praised Cynthia is, there are rumors going around that she-”

“Hey, she came onto me!” Palmer exclaimed, standing up and slamming a fist on the glass table. “I was in my suite relaxing after the tournament and she came over to congratulate me on giving her a rough time, one thing led to anoth-“

“That’s not the rumor I was talking about, Palmer.”

There was a long moment of silence in which Palmer darted his eyes around the table before slowly sitting back down, shifting in his seat and clearing his throat. “Continue, Thorton.”

“Um, as I was saying, you may or may not be aware of the rumors that Cynthia is supposedly an experiment by the Pokémon League to create the perfect champion.”

Darach chortled haughtily, placing a white glove to his mouth. “You seriously don’t believe that poppycock theory, do you?” He remarked, adjusting his monocle back onto his face. “That Cynthia is a “test-tube” champion or what have you?“

"You’re almost correct, Darach.” said Thorton. “After I did some poking around I managed to make a more accurate theory - I believe that Cynthia was previously male.”

“What?!” Palmer screeched. “A ‘more accurate theory’ my ass, when I went down on her I’m pretty sure she absolutely did not have a goddamn-”

Darach cleared his throat loudly whilst shooting a deathly glare at Palmer, who immediately stopped.

“Allow me to explain,” Thorton continued, producing his iPhone-like device and sliding something on it towards the table. Suddenly, a hologram of a trainer card materialised above it, bobbing slowly. The card’s photo was of a boyish young man with short brown hair wearing a confident smile.

“This trainer is Bradley from Jubilife city,” He said. “He began his Gym Challenge around a year ago; making short work of our Leaders before heading towards the Pokémon League - then he disappeared without a trace.”

“What happened to him?” Argenta asked, her jade earring clattering as she crossed her arms.

“Officially, the Pokémon League announced that Bradley had unfortunately gotten lost within the labyrinth of Victory Road. However, on the same day that Bradley would have entered Victory Road…”

Thorton swiped on his device again; a newspaper article with the headline “CYNTHIA CROWNED SINNOH LEAGUE CHAMPION” printed on it.

“So two things happened on the same day,” Palmer snapped. “That doesn’t mean they’re connected!”

“That’s true,” Thorton answered. “Which is why I decided to infiltrate the League database under the guise of a cyber-attack by Team Galactic. Whilst they were distracted I managed to retrieve some… interesting evidence.”

Swiping a third time, a video of what appeared to be camera footage from inside the Hall of Fame.

“I apologise for the disappointing video quality,” he added. “I needed the data as swiftly as possible - but you should be able to make out what happens…”

Bradley appeared in the camera’s view moments later as he approached the Champion Station and placed his hands on the panel. After a couple seconds, clamps appeared on his feet and hands; the signs of struggle were evident as Bradley jerked his arms and legs to no avail. The Frontier Brains were in complete awe as they saw the young lad transform into the mature, buxom League Champion they knew today in front of them. The video abruptly ended just as a group of men approached Cynthia; Thorton turned back around.

“Well?”

Argenta slowly took off her sunglasses before saying; “Where can I get something like that? Ahh, I could relieve my days as a model with such a machine…”

Thorton smirked. “Fortunately I was able to gain some blueprints of the machine they used to create Cynthia and I believe that I can mostly replicate it - as well as adding my own adjustments to make it less suspicious.”

“But where would we put such a machine in the first place?” Asked Darach. “We don’t have a Hall of Fame to disguise it with.”
“Sometimes the best way to hide something is to keep it in plain sight,” Thorton said before swiping his device a fourth and final time; revealing a holographic model of a tent-like building with oddly bulbous spires.
 
“Allow me to introduce you all to… The Battle Arcade.”

----

The Battle Arcade was swiftly constructed and opened, the Battle Frontier’s nation-wide advertisement for a suitable candidate caused a small influx of hotshot trainers and devoted fans to travel towards the Battle Zone.

What made the Battle Arcade exceptionally unique was the machine that inflicted status effects on the challenger’s, the defender’s or both trainers’ Pokémon randomly - it was possible for the machine to even simulate weather conditions. The temporary Frontier Brain of the Battle Arcade was Palmer himself, with the title of “Arcade Star” being given to whoever managed to best him.

One trainer who was eager to prove himself worthy of the title was the eighteen year old Anthony from Floaroma Town - although he had been easily defeated by Cynthia weeks ago, he hardly appeared to be upset or angry.

“Life has many twists and turns,” He thought as he stepped inside the building. “I was either lucky enough to fight my way up to Cynthia, or I had been talented enough to reach her but not lucky enough to win.“

Anthony soon arrived at the building’s stadium. To his left was a massive screen - the Game Screen - which would show the participants what status effect or weather they were about to receive. Opposite him in the distance was Tower Tycoon Palmer himself; the only people present in the vast sea of seats around them were the silently spectating Caitlin, Darach, and Thorton.

The machine hummed as it began to compute and calculate a potential scenario before managing to settle on No Effects, causing Anthony to sigh in relief - it would have been extremely annoying if his Pokémon were paralyzed or asleep during battle.

"We’ve had many contenders these past couple weeks,” Palmer proclaimed from across the stage. “But none so far have made the cut - do you think you’ll be able to defeat me today?”

“I will either be lucky enough to win, or talented enough for luck not to matter,” Anthony responded calmly as he took out a Pokéball. “There is only one way for us to know!”

Anthony fought with his Dusknoir, Medicham and Ludicolo, whilst Palmer carried his Rhyperior, Dragonite, and of course his Milotic. After a long and grueling battle, Anthony managed defeat the Frontier Brain, Milotic collapsing gracefully onto the ground after being shredded too many times with Ludicolo’s Razor Leaf.

“Congratulations, Anthony of Floaroma Town!” Palmer announced as the two trainers withdrew their Pokémon. “It seems you are worthy of being the Arcade Star!” Anthony beamed proudly, his heart heaving in his chest from both the adrenaline fueled fight and the realisation that he’d actually won it - seems like luck was on his side today.

“I’ll, uh, I’ll be right back!” Palmer shouted. “Stay right where you are - I’m um, getting a camera to commemorate the occasion!” However, after almost five minutes had passed, Palmer did not return and Anthony began to feel anxious - had something gone wrong?

“Palmer, where did you go?” he called out, his voice echoing across the silent arena. “Is anybody there?” In the seats, Thorton pressed something on his device and the eerie silence was shattered by the humming of the machine as it powered up, causing Anthony tp almost jump out his skin.

“A-are we fighting again?” He shouted, his question drowned out by the cacophony of the machine as it began to activate for its true purpose. The Game Screen lit up, displaying a symbol Anthony had never seen or mentioned before in the Battle Arcade’s adverts - a pink Venus Symbol, the classic sign of the female gender and of femininity. Anthony frowned slightly in confusion as he stared the screen: What did it mean? Why was it even a potential scenario? It wasn’t like female trainers were as rare as encountering a legendary.

A spotlight switched on above Anthony, bathing him in a pink, warm light. Initially his body was tense as he was unsure of what was happening, but as the warmth pierced through his clothes and seeped into his skin, he felt himself begin to relax and couldn’t help but let out a content sigh.

The light disappeared as abruptly as it had arrived and although he was still a little anxious, there was a small part of Anthony’s mind that wished the warmth would come back. Curious as to any effects the light may have had on him, Anthony gave himself a once-over: he didn’t feel any different than befo-

Actually, his yellow velcro gloves seemed to be looser than usual, which was odd as he usually had it on as tight as possible. Taking off his right glove, Anthony gasped at what he saw: his hand looked slimmer and daintier somehow, and were his fingernails growing? Removing his left glove also revealed the same was happening to his other hand.

But what worried Anthony even more were the beige patches erupting not just on his arms and hands but all over his body - if he had a mirror to look in, he would have seen the same happening to his face. A shiver pulsed through Anthony’s body as his body hair stood on edge before it was all shaved off by an invisible razor, leaving him with velvety smooth tanned skin.

Before he could say anything, Anthony cried out as his spine snapped and cracked, causing him to fall to the ground. Oddly enough, this didn’t hurt - it was as if his back was being roughly massaged by a chiropractor; as this happened Anthony’s height fell from 6'1" to around 5'8".

“No, please no…” Anthony whimpered as his legs and arms traded some of the firm muscle they’d gained from a year and a half trekking Sinnoh for more slender limbs. “P-Palmer, someone, please hel-!”
 
Anthony’s muttered plea was interrupted by a loud guttural groan forcing itself out of him as his testicles suddenly departed and pulled themselves deep within his body - this sensation was bizarrely sensational for him; he could feel his rock hard member straining uncomfortably against his leggings. In order to give the rapidly forming ovaries comfortable room, Anthony’s pelvis began to stretch out, his boyish frame quickly fading away as his hips widened into womanly curves.

Anthony’s body scrunched up reflexively, causing his face to press into the cold cement floor and his flat buttocks to stick up in the air. The tight nylon jeans he was wearing then started to gradually stretch outward as the muscles in his cheeks swelled up; resulting in a large, bouncy bubble butt - it wiggled invitingly at the air as Anthony shifted his legs subconsciously.

Then he began to feel sparks of pleasure flow from his nipples and all the down into his crotch; Anthony fell back on to his cushioned ass and yanked the zipper of his blue hoodie down, his green eyes hungrily peering down at his chest in anticipation - he wasn’t sure what the hell was happening to him, but as his mind was completely shrouded with such an intense and unfamiliar pleasure he no longer really cared.

As if on cue, Anthony’s chest began to inflate and he wailed lustily, his moans reverberating around the arena. As his burgeoning breasts continued to grow, Anthony’s sweat coated face began to morph and gain more feminine features, evening out from a squarish shape to a soft oval, and his sandy blond hair darkened to a lustrous jet black, cascading down to his rear.

As his breasts began to stretch against his plain white t-shirt, Anthony lost his adam’s apple and his growling, grunting groans honeyed into high pitched coos and squeaks. Unable to resist anymore, he shoved a clammy hand down his pants and started to vigorously stroke his manhood - however, it quickly became clear that the pitch was not the only thing to change about Anthony’s voice.

“Fuck, I c-can’t stand it anymore!” he gasped in a clear Hispanic accent. “I n-need this so bad!”

“Now, Caitlin!” Thorton yelled, and the young woman sitting beside him stood up; her eyes glowing purple as she unleashed her innate psychic powers upon Anthony’s disorientated, pleasure-addled mind, replacing her memories with those of a different life, leaving Dahlia’s love for Pokémon and the Battle Frontier intact, as well as giving her an appreciation of more feminine hobbies and a desire for dancing.

Finished with her task, Caitlin left Dahlia’s mind, the purple glow fading from both women’s eyes, but Dahlia’s were now a sky-blue instead of the emerald they had been as Anthony. As his manhood finally slipped away, completing the transformation, Dahlia unleashed a final girlish squeal as she came before slumping onto the ground unconscious, a sleepy yet satisfied smile on her reddened face.

----

Thorton and Palmer were stood outside of the Battle Arcade. It was night-time now; although the facility was usually still teeming with trainers, it had been closed off until tomorrow whilst the Battle Arcade had some “technical difficulties” fixed - in reality it was so that they could prepare for the announcement of Dahlia becoming the Arcade Star. As the Tower Tycoon and Factory Head waited, Darach suddenly stepped out of the building and approached them.

“Miss Dahlia woke up ten minutes ago,” he informed the two. “Miss Argenta is currently in the middle of picking suitable clothing for her.”

“And how is Caitlin?” asked Palmer hurriedly. “Thorton told me she almost fainted.”

“Aye, she’s never used her powers in such a way, or for such a long time, before.” Darach sighed. “She’s currently recuperating in her chambers at the Battle Castle.”

“I just can’t believe it worked,” Thorton said excitedly. “We might actually have a chance of getting people back again.”

Palmer frowned. “And what’s going to happen to Anthony from Floaroma Town?”

“Like many trainers Anthony decided to head inside Stark Mountain to search for the legendary Heatran - and like many, he got lost in its depths.” 

It was then that Argentina stepped out of the Battle Arcade, a proud smile on her face. “Are you guys ready?” She asked excitedly. “I think what she’s wearing might be one of my finest works yet!” She then turned and gestured at the front doors of the Battle Arcade before shouting; “Come out, Dahlia!”

The automatic doors slid up as they opened, the click clack of heels could be heard, and what Palmer saw caused his eyes to widen in surprise as an absolute supermodel of a woman stood before them, her tanned skin and the black mane of hair on her head shining beautifully in the moonlight, especially with the gold beads that were sprinkled within her wavy locks. She wore a tight fitting yellow top that ended above her pierced belly button, revealing a delicious and tight midriff that, alongside the equally as tight denim jeans, only served to accentuate her already curvaceous hips and ample ass. The high heeled shoes she wore brought her up an inch, leaving her as a sort of statuesque stunner; her energetic blue eyes and warm smile gave the appearance of a highly confident, outgoing and energetic woman - which she certainly was thanks to Caitlin.

“Hello~” Dahlia cooed as she strutted towards the three men, hips swaying with every step as if there was a tune in the air that only she could hear. “You guys have no idea how glad I am to be the new Frontier Brain! I promise not to let you guys down~”
As Palmer shook her soft, gentle hands, he found it hard to believe that this amazing woman would have been a young man yesterday. “I’m sure you won’t…” he said in response, laughing nervously as she shook hands with Thorton and Darach.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Dahlia.” Darach welcomed, bowing slightly, causing her to laugh heartily.

“What a gentleman~!” she remarked, giving the servant a flirty wink. “Now, maybe we should all treat ourselves to something to eat? I don’t know about you, but I’m starving!”

“I believe we all are,” said The Castle Valet. “I know a couple of good restaurants in Hearthome that I can get us into.”

----

A couple days later, the Battle Frontier revealed Dahlia as the new Frontier Brain and the reception they received was phenomenal: Her sexy looks, warm personality and mysteriously exotic background quickly made her one of the most popular Pokémon Trainers in Sinnoh - it also helped that she had a tendency to dance and swing her hips a lot. Initially her rather revealing clothing style received some criticism, but it soon quietened - although she was a huge icon it wasn’t likely that she would ever represent the Sinnoh League at events where Cynthia or any of the Gym Leaders would be present instead. As the months passed Dahlia received many compliments about her looks, with some saying that she could even give Cynthia a run for her money; it got to the point where it was decided by the League that the two should fight each other in the Battle Arcade - after all, Dahlia’s addition to the Battle Frontier technically meant Cynthia hadn’t beaten all of them now. The machine whirred up once more, and as the Game Screen flickered through all the possible effects and conditions, Dahlia couldn’t help but feel nervous yet again so she closed her eyes and took a deep, long breath.

“Life has many twists and turns,” She whispered to herself. “Chance will decide the out come of our battle - but I don’t think we’ve made it to where we are now just because we were lucky…” Opening her eyes, she allowed a big cheerful grin to spread across her face as she placed a hand on her tilted hip. "Let's do this~!"


(This story was inspired by WaverCD's "Champion Makeover" story, so please read that too!)