The first use of the Process, of course, was most likely not on a human subject.  Dr. Chen’s renowned pacifism would have driven him to risk animal lives before allowing a person to be put at risk.  Indeed, were it not for the famous accident that created Prevailer, it is not clear whether he ever would have made the leap to human experimentation.

It is fascinating, then that more is not known of the results of these early animal experiments.

Common sense would dictate that they must have shown some success.  The good doctor continued his research, after all, and presumably was enough of a scientist not to have done so if his initial results were not encouraging.

And yet the public’s eye never lighted upon the fruits of these efforts.  Even when the Ultra Force was public knowledge, even as cameras flitted around these men and women, and the most meager scraps of information were spread far and wide on the net, no word was ever spoken of animals with Ultra gifts.

A contradiction, then.  Reason tells us that they existed, but the evidence cannot be found.  Perhaps the answer lies, as with so many matters pertaining to the Regime’s origins, in Remover’s manipulations?

Perhaps, but it feels unsatisfactory.  Could even the clout that she once commanded, the ferocious intellect that she is known to posses have shrouded the truth so thoroughly against so many prying eyes?  It feels doubtful.

Then, too, there is the Company Man’s answer when asked to Process a dog or cat.

If you ask the Company Men to fly the earth out beyond the reaches of the solar system, to turn back time, or to bring the dead back to life, they will say, invariably, “That is not possible at this time.”

It is a rote response, given in answer to any question that takes them beyond the bounds of their instruction.  You might have heard it for yourself if you asked them to defy physics or the Regime.

But ask one to use the Process on a beloved pet.and they will say “That is not possible.”

Why the distinction?  Why did the mind that scripted their responses differentiate that particular line of inquiry from so many others?

While we are asking, why does Pursuer look like a werewolf?  What gave the canine impression to the forces that sculpted his form?

Vague hints, suspicious denials…all reminiscent of the recorded controversies that bored dilettantes manufactured about nonexistent extraterrestrials in the olden days.  And perhaps this is nothing more than that.  It’s the most likely answer, after all.

Perhaps the Process needs a human body to manipulate, a soul to bind.  There’s no reason it can’t be so.

If so, the only Ultra Beasts that we’ll ever see will be those we are familiar with, the two legged kind who rule over us.