(Short Story) Dynamax Maniac (public) (Patreon)
Content
An old woman shadowed beneath a hefty cloak. An antique store that miraculously appeared in the alleys of Lumiose City. A promise that she had an item “just for you.” And the next day, that store was completely gone without a trace. The pokemon trainer stood in front of the now vacant lot, the item she was coerced into purchasing cradled in her arms.
Her astonishment gave way to a twitchy smile, and her eyes spun with new vigor. “Yes… Perfect!” she exclaimed. “This must be a haunted item! It just has to be!”
Hex Maniac was a fanatic of jinxes, always on the hunt for a mysterious misadventure to be shared with her ghostly pokemon partners. When that strange shop had appeared, it was her gut instinct that lead her right to it, and she couldn’t have been happier with the results. While such a tale would normally unsettle any normal person, for Hex Maniac, she was thrilled to be able to experience a real life scary story. Upon confirming that the merchant was long gone, she rushed back home so that she could truly relish this strange, unknown object -- a wristband of some kind.
Her home was nestled in the woods of Route 14, putting her cozily between the big city of Lumiose and the natural rhythms of Laverre City. Tree branches tickled one another as autumn winds followed her bicycle ride back to her cabin, a tailwind that ushered her even more to experiment with such a strange thing. It sat in the basket of her bike, along with the old scroll that came with it. She smiled again, salivating at her rare find.
Up a rural road, Hex Maniac hopped off her bike in mid-motion so that she could park it more quickly against a tree. She wouldn’t waste even a moment, not after having already hesitated for an entire day, and with the sun beginning to set, it could accidentally become two. Her hands were shaking as she took out the items and stood in a position outside the front of her home, a decent clearing for what she would be testing.
In one hand was the bracelet, in the other was the scripture. She unrolled the writings, reminding herself of what exactly she had bought. It was an artifact, seemingly, from another region -- the Galar region, which sounded real enough for Hex Maniac. Supposedly, it could harness an unusual power, enabling a trainer’s pokemon to maximize their potential with an eruption of strength. At least, that’s how Hex Maniac had translated the old text, but there was only one way to truly find out what the band was meant to do. It was clearly ancient and in some corners damaged, but Hex Maniac would boldly continue.
“Gourgeist, come out~” she hummed, tossing out a pokeball. In a spark of light did the ghoulish pokemon appear, announcing itself with a cry as it hovered in front of her trainer. It was her most trusted pokemon, and the strongest she had, making her the most effective for these tests. Gourgeist, much like her trainer, remained optimistic regardless of how odd the whole matter was.
Hex Maniac sat down in the grass as though she were preparing for a real pokemon battle, taking her usual position that was best for channeling dark energies. She held her breath while attaching the bracelet around her wrist, but donning it was as mundane as any other article being worn. Then, she turned her attention up to Gourgeist, herself getting pumped for what could unfold.
“Okay! L-Let’s try this!” Hex Maniac stuttered, the nervousness that had been stowed away bubbling up in her voice. She swallowed and affirmed her focus. “The scroll said… th-this was called… dynamaxing. So, then… Gourgeist!” Hex Maniac raised her arm up; Gourgeist chirped happily. “Dynamax!”
The center button was pressed in, Hex Maniac inhaled deep in anticipation. “I feel it!” she giggled. “The dyna-energy… The dyna-magic! I-It’s dyna-happening…!” The wind spiralled around her, playing with the edges of her dress while simultaneously tossing up orange and brown leaves. Her chuckling became less restrained and her eyes swirled madly with fascination towards the band.
But Gourgeist whimpered curiously, pulling Hex Maniac out of her obsessed trance. Her chuckling was cut when she realized only then that Gourgeist seemed no different than before, except perhaps more anxious than usual. Gourgeist tilted her head, and Hex Maniac mirrored the movement with equal confusion.
“Nothing?” Hex Maniac wondered, applying a light touch to her lip. “You don’t feel any stronger? More malicious? Disturbed?” Gourgeist shook her head. “Not even power-hungry?” Gourgeist shook her head, and Hex Maniac’s drooped. “It was… a dyna-dud.”
The pokeball was withdrawn again with a defeated sigh. Gourgeist weakly apologized in her own way as she was returned, but her trainer certainly didn’t blame her. She cast her own sorry expression to the band, questioning what she did incorrectly or if she trusted the wrong disappearing salesperson.
Hex Maniac motioned to rise, but a weight kept her grounded in her seat. She tried again, this time feeling a heat enter her head so harshly that she still couldn’t get to her feet. All at once, Hex Maniac was lost in these pains, finding them not quite uncomfortable, but strange and unexplained.
A moment later, her eyes widened. Excitement took over once again, “I-I think something’s… happening…!” But what exactly was happening, she didn’t realize until her whole body stretched outward. She gagged, the transformation so unexpected and weird to her that she doubted the result was true. Before she could question it for long, however, another burst of growth hit her, then another. She was growing, as illogical as that seemed to her.
“B-But, I used the… thing… on a pokemon…! Why am I-- ack!” Hex Maniac curled forward, her head having bumped into the branches above. Already she had grown so large that even the clearing outside her home was beginning to shrink, and soon did it seem that it would dwindle away completely under her. All of this felt wrong -- it should have been Gourgeist turning huge, not herself.
Eventually a height was reached where even while sitting, Hex Maniac’s head peered over the canopy. The trees behind her now raked through her messy hair, and a twist of her neck meant those branches would snap and rip away. Suddenly imposed upon by this new problem, Hex Maniac sought to get some space, now that she was adjusting to the feeling of growing. Where she expected herself to go from that point, however, she had no idea.
Krrink. Hex Maniac flinched; it was while standing up that she had heard the metallic bust of a noise, the crunch of pieces being pulverized underneath her foot. “Oh no,” she whispered, stuck in a crawl-like pose while she inspected the source. Her loafer was raised sole-up so that she could survey the damage, and to her dismay, it was her own bicycle that had been accidentally destroyed. It stuck to her shoe like a candy wrapper, mangled and unusable.
Her expression despaired. “My… bike…” She peeled the remains off the sole, watching as a bent up wheel fell to the ground. But not all was gloom, for this very accident was evidence that this was all quite real. Saddened as she might have been by the destruction of her bike, she soon found herself on the up as her size was, even still, only getting bigger.
Mightily, Hex Maniac finally stood firm. She ripped past the tops of trees, which now failed to surpass her knees. The clearing of her home was entirely under her dress, casting a shadow upon her house that blotched everything within in black. She awed at her hands and down the rest of her new form, too choked up by surprise for her giggles to make it beyond her throat. Truly, with a clench of her fists, she was feeling the very power the scroll had promised.
“So… this is dynamaxing,” Hex Maniac muttered, her grin spreading from cheek to cheek. “This… Th-This is unreal… This is supernatural! The definition of supernatural! I-I’ve never seen anything like this…!
“... Ooh, or anything like that,” Hex Maniac giggled, her attention pulled northbound towards the town ahead. Laverre City could be seen from her newly acquired perspective, standing out with its proudful tree that grew in its center. It was a wonderful sight for tourists to behold, and a must-visit for champions-to-be, but from afar, it looked like merely a model of the real gym. Even tinier beneath it, Hex Maniac imagined, had to be the citizens of the town.
Her feet guided themselves, with one taking the first huge lunge over a border of trees so she could get onto the road. Her ankles kicked through the branches with a trickle of snaps and cracks, and a family of Fletchlings took to the skies in response to such chaotic sounds, flying past her long dress. Under Hex Maniac’s feet, logs and fences vanished completely, unveiled as obliterated as her next step was taken to cause the same damage again. Yet, despite the disaster being strewn below, Hex Maniac hummed joyfully as she crept towards Laverre City.
Just outside the fairy-themed town was a pokemon ranger and her pokemon partner, an Arbok that slithered alongside her. It had been a routine patrol of the area, ensuring the wild pokemon were healthy and well while also providing guidance to traveling trainers. It hadn’t gone unnoticed that the ground was unsteady and that an unfamiliar storm could be heard coming from the depths of the woods, nor was it ignored that those very sounds were thundering closer and closer.
“Here I thought the day was going to be too relaxing,” the ranger idly commented. She turned, staring down the dark, swampy path in pursuit of whatever was out there. She nodded at her Arbok and the pokemon lifted her head to be more alert -- a duo. “Is that a pokemon?” she asked her Arbok. “It… must be, obviously…”
Another quake, stronger than any before it. The ranger and her Arbok held their ground, each with their own expectations. Hyper Beams, the ranger imagined, or… Magnitudes? A ground-type, perhaps?
None of her assumptions came close to accurate. Like witnessing a bolt of lightning strike right before her, the ranger trembled as an unbelievable object slammed into view -- a purple loafer with an exposed roof, giving just a partial view at the muscles casually throwing such weight around. Both the ranger and her Arbok gawked at what had suddenly appeared, unable to fathom an explanation yet it was unquestionable what it was; a massive foot, the base of an equally massive human.
Arbok nearly fainted, too scared to even hiss at the threat. Her trainer was much the same, only able to stutter over herself while trying to evaluate what to even do. Rarely had she seen a pokemon this big, and this was only the foot -- of which there had to be another. Only reasoning this out now, the ranger’s head popped upwards to confirm what had been lifted over her and her pokemon. The shadow cast upon them was indeed that of the other foot, another loafer preparing to land. And higher past that threatening footfall was an oblivious expression, a smog of purple hair belonging to a local.
“A-Arbok!” the ranger called out. She pointed fast at the shoe up above, her arm wavering and shaking with fear. “D-Do something! A-Attack it!” Arbok gasped back at her owner, baffled by such vague directions. The pokemon knew well that if this giant wanted to crush them, it would be utterly inevitable.
Terrified as they were, they had more time than expected to settle their demise. The loafer where it was in midair was frozen, pulled back by something -- the long dress, Hex Maniac’s favorite attire for occultic practices, was too tightly snagged on the treetops that it now reeled back her next step. No longer could the obstacle be ignored, so Hex Maniac finally came to a stop to address it.
“M-My robe,” Hex Maniac mumbled, looking down at how tangled the hem of her dress was with the sharp array of branches. She could barely twist around even to see the trail of havoc her dress had been leaving behind. Her next step retreated. “Ahhh… The trees… Well…”
Hex Maniac pinched the sides of her dress and tugged up on it, just enough strength for the fabric to rip itself free from the branches. She would have to keep the dress uplifted as such if she wanted to continue towards Laverre City, high enough that it would only graze over the trees. It was a delicate pose to strike, a permanent curtsy. It was a well enough of a solution that Hex Maniac smiled before continuing her walk.
The ranger and her Arbok were still dumbfounded as this all progressed. The shadows among them danced and shifted as the giantess moved, until much of the darkness was wiped clean by her pulling up on her robe. The crackling storm of wood breaking to shards rang over their heads as the tent that was Hex Maniac’s dress was lifted, exposing her pale white legs like pillars to a structure. Where those legs met were a pair of cotton panties, a shady glimpse of which painted the shocked ranger and Arbok in a hue of embarrassment.
So ashamed of what they were staring at that they didn’t remark upon Hex Maniac’s next step flying right over them. Less restricted than before, Hex Maniac could stretch her legs just beyond where the ranger stood, surpassing her without ever realizing she was there. As the huge body waltzed right over the ranger, she tumbled backwards in shock, a shell that couldn’t stand after what she had just witnessed.
And so the curtsying Hex Maniac continued to Laverre City, her happiness more and more evident the closer she got to the town’s border. The trees thinned away and now her feet would have to scuttle past rows of houses, all of which she looked down upon with a playful outlook. Tiny homes with tiny cars and tiny gardens and, to her delight, tiny people.
Crowds of which were gathering outside their colorful homes to observe the approaching disaster. They, too, had felt the rumbles of something large happening in the woods, and just the same as the ranger did they consider it the act of a powerful pokemon. The reality was startling, witnessing the approach of a massive, creepy woman that stomped through the surrounding woods. Some optimistically assumed it was a balloon or hologram, a publicity stunt from Lumiose City, but those guesses were disproven to those on the edge of town, immediately so when the first of her footfalls had landed.
“I-It really is it!” Hex Maniac said, a hand near her mouth in joyful surprise. “It’s Laverre City…! O-Of course it is, b-but it’s so… so small! Look at how cute everyone and everything is! Ahh, I-I can barely see any of you, actually…”
Outside a row of homes were two feet planted firmly into the slopes of the land. Even the most mild twist on the heels created a grinding, crunching noise as the earth was displaced from underneath the giantess. Neighbors watched the scene uneasily, most looking on from their windows while others were bold enough to step out into the street due to overwhelming curiosity. The neighborhood felt even quieter than usual, with only the sound of panicked pokemon heard underneath the huge mutterings of the Hex Maniac.
Emotions erupted when the giantess began to move, squatting down so that she could better appreciate the intricate details of Laverre City. Shadows grew denser as Hex Maniac’s rear rushed towards the ground, her knees spread apart and her heels coiling upwards to support herself. The weight she pressed down into the dirt was immense, so much power needed to hold up the huge body. When she was finally still and situated, the people beneath her were in a frenzy. One moment they were fearful of being crushed by this humongous invader, the next moment they were staring up in awe at her unabashed display of underwear, shaded by the umbrella that was Hex Maniac’s dress.
Hex Maniac’s mind was in so many other places, too distracted to notice that she was flashing an entire block. Her eyes darted from one tiny thing to the next, swirling about as they usually did as her fanaticism took over. She hunched forward, her giant face looming above multiple streets at a time. Bundles of hair, so flowing and ghastly, blanketed some of the roofs as they cascaded from her shoulders, with some loose threads even sifting through a crowd.
All of the attention was finally starting to dawn on Hex Maniac. Her ecstatic smile started to quiver into something more nervous, her introverted traits beginning to flare yet at odds with the savory tingle of power. For a long pause she merely looked at the people, pondering how else to enjoy her empowered state.
“H-Hello, e-everyone…” Hex Maniac said, finally greeting the community. Her voice spread far and heavy, a testament to her size. “I m-must look pretty scary, huh… Hehe… To me, all of you look like toys…” A statement made so casually affected the crowds intensely, and those that had been on the edge of fleeing finally took off for shelter. Their panic brought light to Hex Maniac’s cheeks, who cherished the liveliness of everyone scrambling at her feet.
Hex Maniac stood up again, sweeping off her skirt the remains of branches and leaves. “I feel like a tourist… which reminds me…”
One foot took to the air, taking with it a layer of dirt and grass pressed into its ridges. It bounded right over the row of houses plus another, making landfall into a street just barely wide enough for it. People raced to escape its shadow, some tripped off their feet by its shockwave resonating so close. Then, the second foot took air, flying twice the distance but with all the same effect. She was walking to the center of town, enamored with the Laverre City gym.
Several more distressing steps shook the city until Hex Maniac stood just in front of the proud tree. Her hands were clasped together in joy as she compared herself to it, noting how the highest point of the tree was only as tall as her -- excluding her stray cowlick. Her fascination then went to the building itself, and she fell in love with the quaint, traditional aesthetic and its synergy with nature. Of course, she couldn’t forget one key feature of the Laverre gym, which was now more fitting than ever.
“It’s just like a dollhouse…!” Hex Maniac cooed, her knees bent and her hands at her cheeks. “On the inside… i-it always felt like one… but now…!”
Her giggling became a curious hum -- she had to peer inside, but she was too tall to look through the windows. Concerned only with this interest, she carelessly chose to sit down on what she considered to be a convenient chair, but was in reality the local Pokemon Center. It had quickly become a hectic place of refuge for locals and travelers alike seeking to hide from the giantess, but now it dangerously rumbled under the weight placed atop it. So heavy was Hex Maniac that parts of the ceiling crumbled under the pressure, releasing trickles of dust and disrupting some of the electricity.
But those issues were a non-concern to Hex Maniac, who only wanted to get a better angle to appreciate the miniature gym. Having sat down, she could more easily hunch forward and peek inside the many windows.
A heated pokemon battle was underway. Exciting moves and desperate dodges; the staples of a typical battle being had in an official gym. A hotshot trainer found herself experiencing the power of fairy-type pokemon that day, withdrawing her last pokemon in defeat. Her opponent, graceful and confident the entire time, was a Furisode Girl, one of several that honed their skills at the Laverre gym and stood between challengers and gym leader.
The Furisode Girl smiled elegantly, keeping the pumped energy from her victory subdued. “That was a close battle,” she said politely. “With a little improvement, you can certainly return to challenge our--” She stopped, noticing then that her opponent was more aloof than the usual bested trainer. It was an expression sticken not with dismay, but utter confusion. The Furisode Girl wondered if her win was really so bedazzling, but a cold, creeping sensation against her back told her otherwise.
The long arms of her pink dress flew about as she twirled around. The Furisode Girl trembled back in astonishment; from the tall window peeking into her colorful room was an eye, bigger than the window itself and swirling about with a ghostly color. “A-A face?” the Furisode Girl said, a bead of sweat tickling her temple.
“A fairy!” Both the Furisode Girl and her opponent nearly toppled backwards underneath the sudden pop of a giant voice. Hex Maniac was delighted with what she saw, enamored with the pristine woman and unaware of what fear she summoned within her. She truly did look just like a fairy inside an appropriate home, but Hex Maniac’s bewilderment was like looking onto an intricate doll set.
Hex Maniac’s face moved away from the window, but that only terrified the Furisode Girl further, not knowing what the giant was up to. She hurried to the window, “Wh-What has been happening in town?!” But before she could reach the glass, Hex Maniac did with her own hand. The bright and decorative chamber was coated in darkness as the ghastly palm pressed against the window, suspending its occupants in uncertainty. The next second, the silence was shattered alongside the glass, and Hex Maniac’s hand intruded into the gym like a wild monster.
The Furisode Girl screamed while her previous opponent dashed far into a corner. The spectacle was surreal and breathtaking, forcing the Furisode Girl to shakingly reach for a pokeball. Was she meant to fight this? That hesitation cost her as the hand grew nearer while her pokeball remained unlaunched. “Granbull--!” she choked, interrupted by the purple-tipped digits clasping around her body all at once.
So easily did Hex Maniac take what she desired, and thus had a Furisode Girl entirely in hand, withdrawn from the gym like an item. The thumping and squirming in her coiled fist built up her anticipation. Her fingers unraveled, revealing the Furisode Girl to the outside world, and to the loomingness of her captor. She shivered in silence, the feeling of defenselessness settling deep.
Hex Maniac awed. “You’re j-just like a doll!” she commented. Her hand tilted so slightly, but it made the Furisode Girl leap to maintain balance. “Like a doll of one of those trainers…”
“I…! I am no doll!” the Furisode Girl protested, flushed with red. “I’m a true pokemon trainer!” She glanced down, just a glimpse of the height she was held at. “Now, p-please! Set me down! I h-hate heights!”
But Hex Maniac’s grin, seeded with wickedness, was unwavering to these plights. Caught up in the thrill of being a giant monster, Hex Maniac didn’t hear these little cries at all. She ignored them nonchalantly while her curious fingers hovered around the tiny Furisode Girl, pinching first at one long sleeve and tugging the whole arm up.
“Hey! Ow!” The Furisode Girl tugged back, but she couldn’t compete against the grip of two huge fingers. Instead, the struggling only entertained Hex Maniac, and lured her attention to other details. The sleeve was released, but those same fingers were then rolling the Furisode Girl onto her back. She patted the brown head of hair with just a fingertip, a gentle motion that still bobbed the woman’s head up and down like a dog’s.
Overcome by this belittling gesture, the Furisode Girl reacted slowly when she felt her skirt being toyed with. She sparked into anger, “N-No! Quit that!” but the giant Hex Maniac was ultimately unopposed, free to harass her captive however she pleased while onlookers formed along the street. The Furisode Girl whined in shame, twisting away as to try and conceal her undergarments from the giantess’s gaze.
Hex Maniac didn’t see the malice in her action, only fulfilling her whims as they bubbled to mind with no specific intent to harm. “The Furisode Girls… So pretty…!” Hex Maniac giggled. “Such excellent trainers, too… unlike me… Ah,” she lifted the Furisode Girl close to her face. “But you don’t look so strong! Not when you’re tiny… D-Do you want to have a pokemon battle right now?”
“R-Right now?!” the Furisode Girl squealed, clutching to a finger tightly with both her arms and legs. Was she being challenged to a pokemon battle? Did this giantess have equally giant pokemon? The idea of such a thing baffled her, having already thought mega evolutions were explosive enough. “N-No, please, I’ve battled enough today--”
“I’ll be your opponent, Giant,” a bold, sparkling voice had announced. The crowds pointed to the highest balcony of the gym in amazement. It was the gym leader herself, Valerie, having appeared alongside her proud Sylveon. Both stood firm facing their gargantuan opponent, for any lesser spirit would have shivered at the sight of Hex Maniac’s head rising up to address them.
“A-Another doll! An exclusive…!” Hex Maniac marveled over the gym leader not unlike the citizens beneath her. Her head tilted back and forth, fascinated with the wonderful display of fashion. “C-Could I hold you, too…?”
Hex Maniac’s free hand approached, but Valerie would have none of these games. With an effortless sway of her huge sleeve, she aimed her pokemon, “Sylveon! Dazzling Gleam!” The pink pokemon was equally galant, hopping into position and manifesting a magical energy. A bright light gathered in front of Sylveon as he charged his energy, and then, it was released in a flash. The light spread apart like spikes that struck Hex Maniac directly against her eerie smile.
The attack was middling in damage against Hex Maniac, but the light itself was blinding. Hex Maniac, so keen on observing what she perceived as toys, felt her eyes burn from the flash, and she threw herself back in a fit. “Ahhh! It’s too pretty!” Hex Maniac whined happily, her hand having been recalled to now protect her eyes. Valerie nodded approvingly, for now having warded the giant’s reach.
Peace was, however, far from restored, and Valerie’s counterattack was flawed. Hex Maniac reeled backward in her seat with a burst of giggles, still recoiling from the Dazzling Gleam. This adjustment of weight, so minor to her, was significant for the Pokemon Center she was atop. As her rear grinded towards the edge, no longer could the roof support the weight, and so the structure began to creak, splinter, and break.
Suddenly, Hex Maniac’s seat was pulled out from under her -- it had collapsed, actually, and she slid down an avalanche of debris with a gasp of air. The backside of the Pokemon Center had caved in and the weight it had suspended slammed into the earth with a significant quake, a noise largely lost amidst Hex Maniac’s amusement. Chaos quickly spread around the damaged area both in and around the Pokemon Center. It was fortunate that no person nor pokemon was crushed, as they surely would have been, but the destruction left for them to survey was abysmal. Responders to the demolition were agasp; those outside the Pokemon Center marveled at her destructive ass, which fidgeted in its newly-claimed seat, while those inside were agasp at the crumbled wall and the mighty thighs stretched above it.
Hex Maniac’s vision was returning, and she assessed the situation as it did. She looked down upon the streets and its people, who ran away in shock after such destruction was caused. Behind her, waves of hair flooded the next street, curls twisting around whatever it fell against. Even under her free hand, which pushed against the ground to support her, had a truck hidden underneath it, as if waiting to be flattened. As Hex Maniac recovered, so too did her excitement.
“Now then,” Valerie continued, waving an arm dancefully, “listen to me well, Giant. Your presence is not welcome here. For the best of the people and pokemon of Laverre, I demand--” She stopped, as the giant she spoke down to was on the rise. No longer remaining seated in the rubble, Hex Maniac stood to full height once more, a whole head above where Valerie stood. Valerie and her Sylveon fastened themselves for another bout, but when the giantess turned, they were left confused.
“That light… It reminded me…” Hex Maniac continued to be easily distracted, with her focus leaving Valerie and the gym behind in favor of what lay south. Past her home and across the winding road that was Route 14, visible even from Laverre, was Lumiose City. What had caught Hex Maniac’s eye was the lighting of Prism Tower, beaming to life to truly signal night’s start. “Ahh, the city…! I have to go see it like this…!”
Valerie gasped -- her opponent was going to leave. “P-Pardon? A-A moment, please!” she yelled out, still mindful of her manners. Hex Maniac’s first step claimed a road, proving that she was going to exit town. “You still have-- Giant, you never returned my Furisode Girl!”
But the second step was taken, and Hex Maniac was already a block away. She scuttled away with less care than when she entered, magnetically drawn to the glowing tower and nothing else. The cries stemming from the furious Furisode Girl could be heard wailing above Laverre, at least until she was idly pocketed away -- embarrassingly held captive at Hex Maniac’s chest, like a clip between her robe and her darker-colored sweater.
So quickly had the storm come and then gone, the disasters she caused left behind like remnants of a catastrophe. An uneasy but notable calm took over the tension of Laverre’s civilians, but Valerie remained pointed in Lumiose’s direction. “Another magical day in Kalos,” she quietly joked to her Sylveon, before deciding what else she needed to do.
Daylight faded, and in its absence was the purple shade of night to blanket over Lumiose. City lights popped to life like little dots scattered around the many streets and rush hour traffic was starting to unwind. Lumiose exhaled after another busy day, but an even more eventful night was ahead of them. From afar, their little lives were observed by Hex Maniac, evermore on the approach from the northern marsh.
“What is that thing? And what do they think we can do about it?!” Police officers bickered at the northern gate as the low rumblings grew in magnitude. They had sealed the northern gate and began a minor evacuation effort in preparation for the giantess, but tensions only continued to rise and now heavy crowds clogged the streets. Some wanted to flee, others wanted to witness the giantess; together, the chaos only tripled as police struggled to sort them while at the same time keeping their eyes set on Hex Maniac.
“Ooh, it’s big! Still big, I-I should say,” Hex Maniac said, her dress once again held-up in a curtsy as she walked over trees. Eventually the forest ended and only a strip of road lay beneath Hex Maniac, a direct path to the city’s gate. She strolled alongside the street, cars and trucks screeching to sudden halts as they comprehended the immense threat adjacent to them. Just as quickly as her feet exploded just beside one of these drivers, it would be launched away in the next instant.
It was imminent that Hex Maniac would reach the city, and so a blockade of police was formed outside the north gate. A stern police captain had stepped forward among them, one hand held behind his back while the other carried a megaphone. Yet even this hard stance of a solid, refined officer would see itself shiver as Hex Maniac’s footsteps drew closer. Fear peaked among the police as one footfall followed right after the other; Hex Maniac was stopping, her feet spread wide around the blockade made for her. An array of trained officers, their vehicles, and their equipment all appeared like scattered toys to Hex Maniac, thrown into a fluster by just her standing over them.
The leading officer regained his bearings and spoke firmly into the megaphone. “Ma’am, this is Lumiose Police! Remain where you are and do not move a muscle without our permission! We order you to kneel down and leave the hostage--”
“It’s soooo pretty! Everything is lit up like diamonds…!” Hex Maniac cooed as she leaned over the city’s wall. What was meant to be Lumiose’s most basic defense was little more than a waist-high fence for this massive intruder to casually lean on. “And so many people! So many, many people…! Hello, Lumiose!” She waved to the crowds of people panicking over her arrival, none the wiser that they were so distressed.
Nor did she realize that a police captain had been barking at her the entire time. Not even they could hold her attention, as Hex Maniac only listened to what intrigued her. Rank and order were lost among the police, and the leading officer was still being ignored regardless of what warnings he gave Hex Maniac. It all failed as Hex Maniac wanted an even better look, and thus decided to step into the city.
One leg was thrown over the wall. Its foot poked at the street, requesting space to land. The people gave in and cleared a spot around the incoming shoe, creating a bizarre obstacle that blocked all traffic. The next foot followed, to which Hex Maniac closely observed the chaos it caused by finding a place to be. Witnessing a crowd of people turn tail and flee as her feet hovered over them made her laugh, as though it was all a game to be enjoyed.
“Look out, look out…! It’s a giant gross monster attacking the city…!” Hex Maniac joked -- but a taunt that the civilians took seriously. An uproar of fearful shouts and cries responded to her statement, and spotlights flared up to beam over the giantess’s position. All of this felt perfect for the play Hex Maniac had in mind, and so she struck her own pose of creepy, claw-like hands held up high, claiming the bestial role she had given herself.
“Beware! Here I come…!” Hex Maniac lifted a foot high into the air, dragging out the motion so that she could get the most reaction. Indeed, just moving her foot to step forward resulted in crowds rushing to escape, some even abandoning their vehicles. Hex Maniac would ensure that no one actually got stepped on, always lowering her foot slowly and pushing aside vehicles with the toe of her shoe. She traveled down a road like this, outrunning the police while she giggled over the hectic scene.
An office woman sighed and leaned back in her chair -- a long shift was never easy, especially not when there were earthquakes rattling everything. She had imagined it was some nonsense involving a nearby pokemon battle gone too far, but when she looked out the window, she thought for sure she had fallen deep into her dreams. Just beyond the glass in front of her was, of all people, a Furisode Girl. The office worker blinked, and soon did she have a crowd of equally befuddled coworkers right behind her. The Furisode Girl, seemingly pocketed in something, was exhausted yet still had the desperate energy to reach out and call for help from those that saw her. Her pleas barely surpassed the window, but in the next second, she was lowered away and gone -- replaced with a huge swirling eye, and a heavy bag underneath it, that peeked into the floor.
“There’s still people working this late! Hmm!” Hex Maniac looked closer into the building, fascinated with its inhabitants and their fearful expressions. “Attention, everyone. Work is now closed. Everyone go home.” Hex Maniac grabbed the building by two corners and then proceeded to shake the structure in its foundation. It felt fragile in her grasp much like she expected, and she got the result she wanted. Inside the building, her shaking caused lights to flicker erratically and office furniture was thrown about amidst a whirlwind of paper work and panicked employees. Her laughter echoed in the halls as they evacuated; “It’s a haunted office building! Ghosts, everywhere!”
The shaking ceased when Hex Maniac suddenly perked up, having felt something against her back. It was just a tickle of a feeling, but to her surprise, the source of the itch had come from a pokemon. Her head turned and behind her was a squadron of police officers, each one with a Magneton out and ready. From one of these steel pokemon did the electrical shock come from, a test to see how much power they would need.
Hex Maniac’s eyes were cast upon the officers, both them and their pokemon trembling when her attention was turned their way. They feared for what kind of anger they had just provoked, scrambling when she started to move. But her smile was not aimed at or interested in them. She moved not to counterattack, but to begin crawling through the street, her wild eyes in pursuit of something new altogether.
“I wonder if I can find any spooky pokemon…!” Hex Maniac chuckled, applying a scary amount of weight to one building as she passed by. Her nose pointed into one of the many alleys, frightening whatever citizens happened to be grouped there with her sudden appearance. “Ghosts enjoy dark places, like alleys and abandoned buildings… There must be some around here…”
Hex Maniac trudged forward, her legs raking through the streets as her knees charged forward. The wide street allowed her plenty of room to move, and so she quickly went from alley to alley, poking her head down them in hopes of catching a tiny ghost pokemon. She would peek into buildings, resulting in terrified responses from those within. All the while, crowds on either end of the road watched on, wondering just how far this crazy event would go. A mix of news and police helicopters flew high overhead, providing a birds view of Hex Maniac as she continued towards the center of town.
Soon, there was an entire task force surrounding and trailing Hex Maniac’s crawl through Lumiose. Police cars and fire trucks made a wide parameter encircling her as she moved, ambulances were on standby just beyond them, and officers dashed around her knees and under her body in order to track their target. Magneton’s test attack had proven successful, if only too weak, but before a second strike could be directed, there was first the issue of the Furisode Girl. She hadn’t been forgotten by authorities the same way Hex Maniac had, and she still dangled precariously from Hex Maniac’s chest. With the way the giantess was bent forward, the Furisode Girl was stuck in the hammock formed by her robe, and pressed over her were two hanging boobs that bounced and swayed with Hex Maniac’s motions. Rescuing the hostage first wouldn’t be easy.
But there was a plan prepared and rolled out, taking effect quite quickly. Hex Maniac had been poking the windows of a building -- teasing those inside with her usual comments -- when she had taken notice of something dark manifesting. Further up the road was a spectacle of dizzying lights and swirling blotches of black; a series of illusions created by her favorite things in the world, ghost-type pokemon.
“Oh! There they are!” Hex Maniac abandoned the office she was harassing in order to pursue what interested her most. Her crawling pace was doubled for the short sprint she needed to get up to the ghost pokemon of which her eyes were glued to. “A Sableye! A-And a Lampent! There’s Gengar, and a Misdreavus, too!” She pointed at the pokemon one by one, knowledgeable of each, yet she was unaware of the trap being played on her.
The illusions were directed by the trainers of the ghost-type pokemon, a mixed bunch of volunteers that took the call to action. As directed by the police, they were to have Hypnosis used on Hex Maniac in order to distract her -- and it was working better than expected. Hex Maniac’s obsession with ghosts had her staring straight into the Hypnosis, but it was actually her own interest in the ghost pokemon that had her come to a total standstill. Yet the effect was virtually the same, with Hex Maniac’s mouth hanging open as she loomed.
It was when she was slowed that the police could finally act on saving the innocent Furisode Girl. With Hex Maniac no longer moving, they could finally set up a procedure to bring down the Furisode Girl safely. It was a fully realized effort for the emergency responders that required a fire truck be driven directly underneath the giant terror and to then have its rescue ladder raised to the Furisode Girl. Their time limit was nebulous, with no clear indication of how long Hex Maniac would remain dumbfounded and still.
The Furisode Girl groaned as she pushed up against the fat overtop of her. Hex Maniac’s breasts collapsed heavily over her in the position she was in, trapping her under a blobby weight that constantly pressed down onto her. It was as frustrating as it was humiliating, but a glimmer of hope appeared in front of the Furisode Girl. It was a hand offered to her by a firefighter, situated at the peak of a tall ladder leading down to the street. The firefighter urged her to hurry, and so she took the hand and crawled out from Hex Maniac’s robes without delay.
The firefighter held the Furisode Girl close as they descended, but that embrace tightened when suddenly struck with instability. The mass of person that was Hex Maniac had begun to move once more, contrary to the assumed time limit the responders thought they had. This movement first saw the ladder of the firetruck be hooked into the pocket of her robe, snagging it roughly while those descending it struggled to keep hold. Hex Maniac was rising, and her chest catching the ladder as it did nearly lead to it snapping apart.
Before their balance was secured, one more hazard interfered with the rescue operation. A hard rattle shook the ladder as Hex Maniac’s leg was lifted off its knee and propped up to stand on. Her left foot glided across the pavement and stomped firmly into its place to stand up, which happened to be where the fire truck was. As a result, her loafer kicked the front of the truck, a powerful bump that angled the vehicle away and nearly toppled it over. Both the Furisode Girl and the firefighter yelled out in horror as this happened, grappling the ladder for their lives while the giant above them was getting up to her feet.
But she wasn’t merely standing, but reaching forward. A ghoulish and cold hand was extending out to the gathering of ghost pokemon, and a foul giggle predicted their fate. “Can I keep just one…?” Innocently asked, but no less a threat to the pokemon and their trainers. Without an answer one way or another, Hex Maniac stretched ahead without question, and the pokemon scattered away in all directions to evade capture.
All but one managed to get away; a fat Gengar, just slightly too slow, found himself clutched in a net of fingers. His entire body fit easily in the giantess’s grasp, and his wicked smile persisted out of habit, only showing cracks of nervousness as he was lifted into the air. The other pokemon scurried back to the volunteers, but Gengar’s trainer watched in grave suspense.
“So…! Cute…!” Hex Maniac stuttered, overcome with emotion. She remained crouched while she held Gengar in her hand, enjoying the squishy feeling of his round body and even ticking its stomach with little pokes. “This feels great! T-Tiny ghost pokemon…! I would collect a million of these…!”
The potential for disaster was still high as long as Hex Maniac remained giant. Panic still swept the streets, and it only roared back to life when Hex Maniac was back on the move. There was no predicting what disaster she’d cause if left allowed to roam, and her reach towards the ghost pokemon provoked the worst forethoughts. An on-scene police captain followed his instinct, and then organized his officers in spitting commands.
Five Magneton of the police force were collected down the street, electricity visibly flowing between them as they chanted their dull, mechanical tones. Their trainers behind them stood on command for their captain’s call, and the captain himself studied Hex Maniac from far behind her, aiming the attack. “Officers!” he alerted, and both trainers and Magnetons perked up on notice. “Thundershock!”
Five streams of electricity came together as one, their energies charged together and then unleashed to rip through the air. Like a javelin, the combined lightning raced to its target and found its mark upon the giant target. A jolt of electricity struck Hex Maniac from behind -- her uplifted rear, specifically.
Hex Maniac had been stepping up once again, intending to fully stand up, when suddenly she was assaulted by a burning point. She gasped and stumbled forward, her feet smashing forward recklessly; a street sign was crunched under one, and the other kicked through a line of parked cars. Much of her weight fell upon the buildings beside her, her arms propping against them for support, and in turn leading to signs and antennas being swiped clean off their roofs. Despite this slow fall forward, however, Hex Maniac remained weirdly positive, giggling in bursts as trickles of electricity zapped her.
Fortunately, the Gengar she had grabbed had managed to escape after her grip loosened from the Thundershock. With that hand freed, Hex Maniac instinctively lunged it forward while still attempting to prevent her own face-fall. The distance she cleared from merely stumbling about was impressive, and all she could grapple onto in front of her was a single structure. She looked up, admiring the shining light of the city’s central building and gym, the Prism Tower.
But the electricity coursing through her body responded negatively to the power running through Prism Tower, specifically in the area of her wrist. Just as her hand approached the wall, a red spark connected the building’s lights to the wristband that had started it all, and when it made full contact, an eruption of lightning blitzed in random directions. Hex Maniac felt the joltage tear up her arm, paralyzing her while the band’s inherent energy came into conflict with that around it. Hex Maniac’s yowl could be heard across the city, rightfully garnering even more attention onto her.
All of the blinding light ceased like a blink, and a hole of darkness filled Lumiose’s center. A power outage from the contact had taken out the city’s proud gym as well as the businesses surrounding it, leaving behind a dim dome. Crowds caught in the darkness bumbled about blindly, but everyone’s focus remained honed where it had been. Street lights popped back on first, then a few of the businesses, revealing the awaited truth: the giant Hex Maniac was no more.
What had come of her? The citizens asked this with a rush to have answers, but the police barricaded them away from the scene of the disaster while they did their own inspection. Dozens of emergency responders wandered the streets that Hex Maniac’s journey had gone through, expressing wonder and shock to the damages a lone woman could cause when enhanced with such power. There were no leads for them to follow, and no sign of where the culprit had mysteriously disappeared to. In their reports, the police described the event as, “A mysterious, nonviolent incident involving a misguided ghost-type enthusiast turned giant.” Between Lumiose and Laverre, blessings were accounted for that no one had been seriously injured.
Hex Maniac was no more aware of where she was than those searching for her, at least when she first came to. Her vision was hazy, only worsened by the tall beam of light high above her. “P-Prism Tower?” she mumbled, then twitched -- leftover static. She wasn’t wrong, realizing that she was stranded atop one of the tower’s ledges. Beyond the ledge and down below, flashing red and blue lights of the police could be seen scouring through the remains of her adventure. “Heh-heh… Whoops~” She shuddered back due to guilt.
She sat against the wall with a long exhale and an even longer smile. Ignoring the direct application of electricity to her ass, the night had been pleasantly eventful. She had gotten carried away, she could admit, but the only disappointment truly was that it was over without explanation. Many mysteries still surrounded the band, which now seemed cracked and in need of repair. But Hex Maniac’s smile didn’t fade, for this only inspired her. Her love for mysteries, after all, is what spurred everything to begin with.
“With a little research… I could, maybe…” She chuckled as she twisted the band in her grasp. Just maybe, she could get it to work again.
One mystery, however, was pressed for a more immediate answer. “Umm… H-How does one get down from here, I wonder…”