Chopan/Mozart
~Beginning

Among the many varieties of Pokémon that traverse the vast Pokémon world, there are a few that have to suffer through unique abilities or disabilities as the situation calls. Some Pokémon have extra limbs, some lack limbs, some have bizarre features that make movement awkward. These are all obstacles that can be overcome through natural abilities or practice. Not so for those few Pokémon who suffer the problem of a dual-consciousness, the Pokémon who deal with the presence of two separate entities in one body.

This is even more difficult for a Pokémon in which that should not be possible.

This was Chopan's problem.

Girafarig, in general, do have tails that resemble another creature. These tails that stand stick-straight into the air, with unblinking eyes and a frozen vacant smile, lack any real sentience. Although these tails can be triggered into obeying baser instincts, such as the desire for food, on the whole they differ wildly from the main head of a Girafarig. Attempting to converse with someone's tail was considered a faux-pas amongst the Girafarig in Chopan's herd and impossible to boot. It was something that was not done.

So what was Chopan to do when he was able to realize that his tail was not a mindless drone? He was different enough at that period to begin with. The markings on his body did not go halfway up his torso like other Girafarig, instead the black limiting itself to his tail. That could be allowed to pass amongst Girafarig since markings can vary from Pokémon to Pokémon, but his tail...that was another matter. His tail stalk was thick and curvy, like his own neck, and the head at the end surprisingly versatile. His tail had a wide range of capacity for facial emotion and could speak through his large triangular fangs.

And he could speak.

How confusing would it be to have a part of your body, not known for intelligence, turn and speak to you? Chopan's tail presented this very problem. When he sat one day, lonely and bored, his tail mentioned if he'd like to go get something to eat. He didn't register it as odd immediately but it only took a few more minutes of speech from his tail to make him realize that something was wrong. He had felt that lingering consciousness in his mind somewhere, connected as they were, and thought that it was the primitive brain that was supposed to reside in his tail.

But no.

His tail was intelligent. Very intelligent. And the problem was there was no way that Chopan could hide this. Not among his own. The other Girafarig viewed his tail, and by extension him, as some kind of freak. Essentially, Chopan couldn't argue. His tail was sentient. That wasn't normal. He was a freak.

Although his tail did succumb to the call of sweet foods like all other Girafarig tails, he was able to discuss the food with Chopan in an intelligent and thoughtful way which drove him nuts. He argued with his tail constantly, which only made him look more insane among his own, and the black side of him always tended to win. There was nothing he could do to get revenge on his own body without causing physical pain, so essentially Chopan was stuck with the eternal annoying-roommate-that-wouldn't-leave.

And it wears on your nerves after a while.

As his tail grew more and more eloquent, soft-spoken, polite, and well-mannered, Chopan became more of an arrogant, selfish jerk. He was mean to other Girafarig in his herd for almost no reason at all. His tail said it was because he was trying to prove that the two of them were separate, but Chopan didn't believe that for a minute.

He hated his tail. Other Girafarig didn't have to deal with this problem. Screw them.

Chopan had fallen asleep after another intense and drawn out argument with his tail over his possible future plans and career and whether or not he intended to be captured or not. It had ended with Chopan screaming at his tail loudly and refusing to listen any more, dropping his head to the ground and covering it with his hooves. Realizing that Chopan did not want to listen, his tail sighed and let him sleep.

Once his other half finally relinquished control, Mozart was able to take control of the body. Slowly, he dragged his half of the body upwards. Although the black marking that distinguished him from Chopan's yellow marked fur did not extend as far as it should, he still had limited control over the body. Particularly when Chopan was asleep. Carefully, he forced the hind legs to stand and the forelegs to follow, being particularly cautious in not disturbing Chopan's head. As long as he was asleep, Mozart was fine. He could walk around this way.

And he smelled something good.

Carefully Mozart threaded his way through the forest. It was difficult to walk backwards, but he DID have some degree of practice. He made his way towards a faint glowing light some distance away where he was SURE the smell was coming from.

Sure enough, a trainer and his Pokémon had settled in for the night here. The boy was cooking something over the fire with his three Pokémon beside him. The Hoothoot had chocolate smeared all over his beak, the Mareep was cuddled up to the boy's side, and the Wooper was eating what looked to be a S'more as best it could with its two feet.

The boy seemed like a nice boy...he wouldn't mind giving a wild Pokémon something to eat, would he? And even if he did get angry and tried to capture them or something, it didn't matter anyway. They had no standing in their herd and no one would miss them when they were gone. Besides, training might help Chopan control his temper.

"Hello?" Mozart ventured softly. The boy turned in his direction.

"Who's there?"

"Oh, um...I was just...can one of you translate?" All the Pokémon there were staring at him curiously. The Mareep blinked at him and eventually the Wooper was the first to speak.

"I'll translate for you."

"Thank you. I was wondering if you'd mind sharing something to eat with me...I'm a little hungry, you see."

The Wooper turned to his trainer and translated the words for him. The boy nodded and smiled.

"No problem. Come on in, I've got enough for everyone."

Mozart accepted the invitation and sat near the fire, hoping the heat wouldn't wake his other half. Chopan's long neck drooped as Mozart smiled at those present.

"Don't mind my other half, he's sleeping."

"I...I wasn't aware that Girafarig could switch control like that." The Wooper stared at him curiously. Mozart sighed as best he could.

"Well, we can't normally. Actually, we're a bit of a freak really...I shouldn't be alive. Well, not here. Technically, I should be in control of the head, but hey. Fate. There's not much you can do there."

Taking breaks to explain to his trainer what they were talking about, the Wooper nodded. "I see. That's all right, I was merely curious. By the way, I'm Dipsy. The Mareep here is Chirin, the obnoxious bird is Poe, and our trainer's name is Radic."

"I'm not obnoxious." Poe squawked, although he sounded a bit dizzy and sick. "You're the obnoxious one."

"Of course I am." Dipsy barely acknowledged Poe's statement. "What's your name?"

"Well, my name's Mozart. This dolt attached to me is Chopan, although I hope you won't have to talk to him much. He's not as...nice as me, you might say."

"I see." Dipsy smiled slightly. "I think he and Poe may get along."

"Hey! ...Shut up!" Poe retorted lamely.

Radic held out a S'more in Mozart's direction. "Here you go. I was wondering...Mozart, right?"

"That's right." Mozart delicately picked it out of his hand.

"I was wondering if you'd like to come with us. I'm always looking for new friends and...I have this feeling that you'd make a great companion for us."

"He always gets these feelings apparently." Dipsy smiled. "They've lead him straight so far."

"I don't know..." Mozart felt a tinge of guilt at his sleeping other half. "I mean...like I said, Chopan is something of a jerk. I don't want you to get saddled with him if you don't want to be..."

After a moment of translation, Radic laughed. "Oh, don't worry. I'm used to temperamental Pokémon. You seem nice enough though. I know that if you do come with me, I'm sure we can figure something out. The thing is, do you want to come with me? I'm sure we'd all love to have you."

"I wouldn't." Poe interjected. Radic rolled his eyes.

"You don't count."

Mozart turned his neck to stare at his sleeping other half. It WOULD drive Chopan insane if he let Radic catch them both...imagine his surprise! The thought was very tempting...Chopan HAD been a real jerk lately and didn't have any plans for himself. He needed some kind of motivation.

All right, that was it. He'd do it!

So there, Chopan, a tail CAN make their own decision.

Mozart nodded and he watched as Radic dug through his bag until he held out a Pokéball with a smile.

"It'll be nice to have you with us." Dipsy seemed pleased and from the smile and constant buzzing from Chirin, she seemed pleased as well. Poe not so much, but that seemed to be in his character.

"You seem nice too. I'm sure it'll be fun." Mozart snickered as he tapped the button on the front of the Pokéball.

After Dipsy had extinguished the fire and the next day had dawned, Chopan was going to be in for quite a surprise.

And so would the others.

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