Text log. Scribe Fairchild, Pokemon Rangers, Kanto division.

The third and final phase. The hosts we interviewed all recall a few pertienent details, but they all reported that they lost consciousness at the end of the entire process. Upon waking up they felt different, mentally and physically aware of the creature within their bodies. Primitive empathic communication was possible right away.

• Cardiovascular connection migrates further to the rear third of the creature's body. We think this keeps it out of the way so it won't get tugged on as much when the creature moves, and it does move often.
• Neural-fiber connections reach the brain stem of the host and infiltrate into the brain proper. We believe this is what causes the host to lose consciousness; the interlinking of two nervous systems into one larger network.
• Connection of creature's digestive tract to the host's. For elimination of waste, as far as we can tell.
• The creature's head re-enters the vaginal canal through the prior wound it made. The edges of the vaginal cuff, where the host's cervix used to reside, become part of the creature's skin. We do not understand how that process works, but this permanently fuses the vaginal canal to the creature's body. This permanently seals the wound and thsu entirely eliminates any potential for pelvic organ prolapse into and out of the vagina.
• The creature does have to partially "extrude" its head almost entirely out of the host first, or so we believe. Since its adaptations and alterations to the host's body are permanent, its connection to the vaginal canal must be flexible enough to account for its movement and the host's. So the more "slack" it has, so to speak, the better.
• We later found out that this is critical for its ability to extrude more than half its body from the host's vagina. One researcher called this extrusion "reverse penetration", for the record. It should also be noted that they were asked to stop using such terminology for the process.
• The host finally loses consciousness for at least 12 hours. Some hosts report waking up a full day later. These reports come from those who had a functional timepiece on them.
• Upon awakening from their induced "coma", hosts are aware of the creature's consciousness in their own minds. As mentioned, they describe it as a primitive empathic link at first. They are also physically aware of the creature's body within their own, from their perspective and the creature's own. This is probably to be expected since their nervous systems are interconnected. However the host cannot control the creature's body nor can the creature control the host's.
• The internal (and vaginal) bleeding is halted when this phase completes. When they awaken, the host has to clean clotted and/or dried blood off their genitals (perhaps the anus too), thighs, and anything they had to lay on.
• This is important for hygine and is done as soon as the host feels able to comfortably move once more.

While we thought of this as parasitic, some of the effects o the host show it to be more of a mutual symbiosis. Blood tests show the following:

• Organically synthesized estrogen in the host's blood.
• The creature's body is producing estrogen to help maintain hormonal balance.
• Increased antibody levels.
• Normally this is a signal of an infection or a disease, but the additional antibodies belong to the creature. It is supporting the host's immune response.
• Higher blood-oxygen levels.
• Given the creature's head is in the host's vaginal canal and the vagina itself is dilated by its presence, it is clearly breathing through that oriface. This means it has lungs to process that air and it is sharing that oxygenated blood with the host.
• Presence of adapted blood cells.
• Their circulatory systems are interconnected and fused together. The host's blood is flowing through the creature's body and vice versa. The creature's body must adapt to the host's to avoid being rejected, resulting in unique physiological changes in the creature which prevent rejection.

We also speculate that the creature's consumption of the host's cervix, uterus, and ovaries serve several purposes.

• The consumption of the host's female reproductive organs renders them sterile for child bearing. This appears to be a survival instinct on the part of the creature; a gravid uterus competes with the creature for the host's resources and the developing fetus' mass would eventually crush the creature and either injure it or kill it.
• It could prevent health complications later in life.
• The creature is sometimes deliberately sought out to be used as a treatment for endometriosis, cancers, or other ailments of the female reproductive system.
• If the individual is already sterile or perhaps does not wish to ever bear children, they may seek out these creatures as well.

With these in mind, we do not think calling it a parasite is truly appropriate. It is displaying mutualistic symbiotic traits, though becoming a host requires sacrificing the female reproductive organs and it is both a bloody and mildly uncomfortable process.

We will continue to research this creature and their hosts. They are still classified as a mutated creature and should be regarded as such. While we are duty bound to eliminate mutant threats, this creature hasn't yet proved to be a danger to the survival of the many Pokemorph species of our world. It is, so far, just a victim of the mutagens and ambient radiation in the environment. Environmental changes caused as a result of the Great War two centuries ago on October 31st, 2049.