Three months had passed since Riley's catastrophic rose garden incident, and he'd learned the value of methodical testing over reckless experimentation. His transformation stamina had improved significantly through daily practice, and more importantly, he'd developed what he privately called "The Scientific Approach to Awesome Powers."
It was a crisp Saturday morning, and Delia had left early for a weekend shift at the flower shop. Riley had the entire day to himself—a perfect opportunity for his most ambitious round of testing yet.
He'd prepared like he was conducting a real research project. His notebook was filled with hypotheses, variables to test, and detailed observation charts. He'd even packed a lunch and set up a base camp in the secluded clearing he'd discovered during one of his Pidgey reconnaissance flights.
The clearing was perfect for experimentation—far enough from civilization that nobody would stumble across a four-year-old turning into legendary Pokemon, but close enough that he could make it home before Delia returned from work.
Riley spread out his supplies: notebook, pencils, a basic first aid kit (he'd learned to be prepared), and a thermos of hot chocolate that Delia had made him. He opened his notebook to a fresh page and wrote in his careful four-year-old handwriting:
TRANSFORMATION RESEARCH PROJECT #4Objective: Test advanced abilities, move interactions, and legendary formsSafety protocols: Healing items ready, time limits set, emergency exit strategies planned
He cracked his knuckles and grinned. "Time to do some science."
Experiment 1: Environmental Manipulation and Passive Abilities
Riley's first test had been inspired by watching the weather forecast the night before. The meteorologist had mentioned how some powerful Quirks could affect local weather patterns, and it got him wondering about Pokémon with similar abilities.
He took a deep breath and focused on one of his favorite Eeveelutions.
The transformation into Glaceon was like stepping into a freezer, but in the best possible way. His human warmth was replaced by a comfortable coolness that made the morning air feel balmy by comparison. Ice-blue fur covered his body, and he could feel crystalline structures forming along his ears and tail that seemed to pulse with frozen energy.
But the really interesting part happened to the world around him.
The temperature didn't just feel different—it was different. Riley could sense the moisture in the air responding to his presence, condensation beginning to form on the nearby grass. His breath came out in visible puffs, and frost started to gather on the ground beneath his paws.
"Okay, that's passive temperature control," he murmured, his voice coming out in Glaceon's distinctive cry but somehow still feeling like words to him. "Now let's see about active weather manipulation."
Riley closed his eyes and reached out with senses he was still learning to understand. He could feel the atmospheric pressure, the humidity levels, the delicate balance of forces that determined whether the sky would be clear or stormy.
With a gentle push of will, he encouraged the water vapor around him to condense.
The first snowflake materialized about six feet above his head.
Riley's eyes snapped open, and he watched in fascination as more flakes began to fall. Within minutes, he was standing in the center of a localized snowstorm, icy precipitation swirling around him in a perfect ten-foot radius while the rest of the clearing remained sunny and dry.
"Holy crap," he breathed, then immediately began testing his abilities in the artificial weather.
Snow Cloak activated automatically. Riley could feel himself becoming harder to pinpoint, his form blurring slightly as the swirling snow created natural camouflage. It wasn't invisibility, but it was close—like trying to focus on something seen through frosted glass.
Then came Ice Body. As the hail he'd summoned began to pelt down, each impact sent a pulse of cool energy through his system. The minor scratches from his morning climb through the underbrush began to fade, and the lingering tiredness from his early wake-up call evaporated entirely.
Riley let the storm continue for several more minutes, luxuriating in the healing sensation and marveling at his ability to create weather systems like some kind of meteorological deity. Finally, he allowed the snow to fade and transformed back to human form.
The sudden return to normal temperature made him shiver, but he was grinning as he scribbled notes:
Results: Glaceon form can create localized weather effects. Snow Cloak provides significant stealth enhancement. Ice Body offers continuous healing in ice/hail conditions. Energy cost moderate - sustainable for 15-20 minutes.
Tactical applications: Area denial, environmental control, sustained healing support, stealth operations.
Experiment 2: Move Interactions and Buff Mechanics
For his second test, Riley wanted to explore something that had been bugging him since he'd started training seriously: how Pokémon moves interacted with form changes.
He transformed into Lycanroc—specifically the Dusk Form, which he'd always thought looked the coolest with its orange fur and fierce red eyes. The transformation came with an immediate surge of confidence and predatory awareness that made him want to howl at the sky.
Instead, he focused on the move he wanted to test.
Swords Dance wasn't just about sword-like appendages, despite the name. It was about sharpening one's fighting spirit, honing the killer instinct, preparing the body and mind for maximum offensive output. As Riley performed the move, he felt energy coursing through his muscles, his claws extending slightly, his senses becoming hyperaware of potential targets.
The power boost was intoxicating. He felt like he could tear through trees, leap impossible distances, fight opponents twice his size.
Now came the real test.
Riley held onto that feeling as he shifted forms, transforming from Lycanroc into Jolteon. The change was like switching radio frequencies—his perspective shifted from ground-based predator to speed-focused striker, his body crackling with electrical potential.
But the Swords Dance boost was gone.
"Interesting," Riley muttered, his Jolteon form sparking with disappointment. He switched back to Lycanroc, and immediately felt the attack enhancement return, exactly as strong as before.
He spent the next twenty minutes testing variations. The pattern held consistent: stat boosts were tied to specific forms. Transform away, lose the boost. Transform back, regain it exactly as it was.
Results: Move-based stat changes are form-specific and persistent within that form. Strategic implications significant - timing of transformations becomes crucial in combat scenarios.
Follow-up hypothesis: What about moves that affect other targets? Test healing moves on external subjects.
Riley made a note to find a willing test subject for that experiment. Maybe he could convince a wild Pokémon to let him practice Heal Pulse on them.
Experiment 3: Intangibility and Physical Laws
The third test was one Riley had been both excited and nervous about: ghost-type intangibility.
He'd chosen Flutter Mane for this experiment—a ghost/fairy type from the newer games that he found absolutely fascinating. The transformation was unlike any he'd experienced before.
Instead of his body changing shape, it felt like his body was forgetting how to be solid.
Riley looked down at himself and saw translucent, ethereal flames where his hands should be. His lower body had become a flowing, spectral tail that seemed to phase in and out of visibility. Most unsettling of all, he could see through himself to the ground below.
"Flutter... maaaane," he said experimentally, his voice echoing with otherworldly resonance.
Moving as Flutter Mane was like swimming through air. He drifted forward, barely touching the ground, and approached the nearest tree—a thick oak that had probably been growing for decades.
Riley took a deep breath (did ghosts need to breathe?) and floated forward.
His ethereal form slipped through the bark like it was made of mist.
The sensation was indescribable. Not cold, not warm, but something else entirely—like being embraced by silk that existed in a different dimension. He could feel the tree's life energy, its slow and patient existence, the way its roots connected deep into the earth.
Riley spent several minutes just moving through solid objects, testing the limits of his intangibility. Trees, rocks, even the ground itself—nothing could stop him. He was like a living ghost, able to go anywhere and see anything.
But the real test came when he tried to interact with the world while phased.
Settling himself halfway through a tree trunk—an absolutely surreal experience that his human brain kept trying to reject—Riley attempted to use Calm Mind.
The psychic energy flowed through him just as easily as it would have in solid form. His senses sharpened, his mental focus crystallized, and he felt a peaceful clarity settle over his consciousness.
When he phased back out of the tree, the buff remained.
"Flutter maaaane," he said with satisfaction, already imagining the tactical possibilities. Invisible setup, untouchable positioning, surprise attacks from impossible angles...
Results: Ghost-type intangibility functions exactly as expected. Can use self-targeting moves while phased. Buff effects persist after returning to tangible state. No apparent energy penalty for phasing through different materials.
Strategic applications: Reconnaissance, infiltration, surprise attacks, untouchable support positioning.
Experiment 4: The Legendary Test
Riley saved the most ambitious test for last.
He'd been working up to this for weeks, slowly building his stamina and confidence with increasingly powerful forms. Today felt like the day to finally test a true legendary transformation.
Ho-Oh had always been one of his favorites—majestic, powerful, and thematically perfect for a reborn character starting a new life. Plus, its healing abilities might be useful for the more dangerous experiments he was planning.
Riley took a moment to center himself, then reached for a power level he'd never attempted before.
The transformation hit him like a lightning bolt.
His body expanded dramatically, human proportions stretching and reshaping into something magnificent and terrible. Feathers erupted across his form in brilliant reds, golds, and greens that seemed to contain their own inner fire. His arms became wings of impossible beauty, each feather edged with rainbow flame that danced without burning.
But it was the power that took his breath away.
As Ho-Oh, Riley didn't just feel strong—he felt mythic. Like he could reshape the world with a thought, command the elements with a cry, soar to the edge of space and back again just because he felt like it.
He spread his wings and launched himself skyward with a single powerful downstroke.
Flying as Ho-Oh was nothing like his previous aerial experiments. This wasn't just movement through the air—this was dominion over it. The wind obeyed him, thermals formed at his command, and the sky itself seemed to welcome him home.
Riley let out a cry that echoed across the entire forest, a sound of pure joy and power that sent every bird for miles into startled flight. He soared higher, reveling in the sensation of true flight, the kind of movement that made his previous Pidgeotto attempts look like clumsy stumbling.
When he finally descended back to his clearing, Riley decided to test Ho-Oh's signature ability.
He focused on the lingering soreness in his left shoulder—a reminder of an early training accident involving Draco Meteor and poor trajectory calculation. With careful concentration, he began to produce Sacred Ash, the legendary healing substance that could revive even the most critically injured Pokémon.
Golden particles drifted from his feathers like fairy dust, settling on his human-form body wherever he directed them. The ash felt warm where it touched, sinking through his clothing and into his skin with a tingling sensation.
The shoulder pain vanished instantly, but it didn't stop there. Riley felt energized, refreshed, like he'd just had the best night's sleep of his life. Even minor aches he hadn't consciously noticed were gone, leaving him feeling better than he could ever remember feeling.
"Now that's what I call healthcare," he said, his voice carrying Ho-Oh's natural majesty even as he spoke human words.
But maintaining the legendary form was already taking its toll. Riley could feel his energy reserves draining rapidly, like a phone battery dropping percentage points by the second. He managed to hold the transformation for maybe three more minutes before exhaustion forced him back to human form.
The crash was immediate and dramatic. Riley collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath and shaking from the sudden energy deficit. It took him several minutes to recover enough to write in his notebook.
Results: Legendary transformations are EXTREMELY energy-intensive but proportionally powerful. Ho-Oh form grants true flight capabilities and powerful healing through Sacred Ash. Duration severely limited - maybe 5-7 minutes maximum before energy collapse.
Warning: Do not attempt legendary forms without significant preparation and recovery time planned.
Reflection and Future Planning
Riley leaned back against his favorite tree, exhausted but exhilarated. His notebook was filled with observations, theories, and plans for future experiments. Each test had revealed new possibilities and new limitations, painting a clearer picture of just how incredible—and complex—his abilities really were.
"I'm not just a shapeshifter," he murmured to himself, watching the sun begin to set through the forest canopy. "I'm a walking Pokémon research lab. A one-person Elite Four."
He paused, then grinned.
"No, scratch that. I'm not just a Champion. I'm an entire Pokémon universe condensed into one four-year-old body."
The thought was both thrilling and terrifying. With great power came great responsibility, as a certain web-slinger would say. Riley had the potential to be incredibly helpful or incredibly dangerous, depending on how he chose to use his gifts.
But that was a problem for future Riley to solve. Right now, he had twelve years to prepare, to grow, to master abilities that could make him one of the most powerful individuals in the My Hero Academia world.
Riley packed up his supplies and began the walk home, his mind already racing with plans for next week's experiments. He wanted to test type matchups against Quirks, explore whether Pokémon abilities could interact with technology, and maybe see if he could manage partial transformations.
The possibilities were endless.
And Riley intended to explore every single one of them.
As he walked through the forest, humming the Pokémon theme song under his breath, a thought occurred to him that made him smile.
Professor Oak would be so proud.