Team Giga

“Team Mega on three. One… two…!”

“TEAM MEGA!” yelled two of the team’s three giant Pokemon. The third, an Arcanine, blinked and tried to catch up with a hurried Team Mega at the end of the battle cry.

“KingDead… what the heck? I said on three,” Starroo, an Umbreon morph, said exasperatedly.

The Arcanine shrugged. “But you didn’t do it on three, you did it on two.”

“Wha- No, everyone knows it’s one, two, GO. Not one, two, three, GO.”

“Well I didn’t know,” KingDead huffed, a small ember escaping his mouth. “Should have specified.”

The Buizel morph, Buizilla, shrugged dismissively. “Couldn’t we just do another one, Star?”

“No no no, the moment is ruined now,” the Umbreon sighed. “It would look silly to keep trying over and over until it’s right. We’ll just have to move on to the mission itself now. We’ll practice our team cry again later.”

The three Pokemon sat down in the tall grass, flattening huge areas with their rumps and legs in the process. Team Mega was the only three-person team made up entirely of giant Pokemon. Not necessarily by choice either; it was hard to find team mates when all the others were scared or couldn’t keep up. In fact, once upon a time they’d each been quite worried they might never find a team to be part of.

KingDead had always wanted to be a super hero; they inspired him with their heroics and senses of justice. Most of all they proved that power could be something used for good, and the Arcanine had no lack of power that was for sure. That pushed him to find a team. He didn’t want sidekicks though; he wanted other heroes to work with. Saving the day one good deed at a time!

That’s what he’d hoped for until some pretty bad experiences with smaller Pokemon teams made him rethink his dream. It just didn’t seem possible for a 30 foot tall Arcanine to live alongside the tinier folks of the world. But just when things seemed at their most hopeless Starroo found him. The Umbreon wanted to form a team too. A team of giants! It was too good to be true, and perhaps through the shared experience of being giant in a world far too tiny, the two Pokemorphs became fast friends. Star handled most of the thinking between the two of them while King was the Go-Getter ready to spring to the rescue at a moment’s notice.

But a team of two was hardly a team at all if they were honest with themselves. A third person would round out their roster, and hopefully someone with a different type than their Dark and Fire combo. How on Earth could they find yet another giant though? They had been lucky enough to just find each other. Word of their exploits was starting to spread through the region though (sometimes not for the best of reasons either thanks to the property damage) and soon their third member found the team. Buizilla hadn’t originally wanted to join a rescue team, but he was willing to give it a try if only to hang out with some others his own size.

That was several months ago. Team Mega was making a name for themselves. Through thick and thin, the trio had thwarted the case of the Snorlax blocking a major road, vanquished the schoolyard bullies of an elementary school, and in their greatest caper even rescued a Meowth caught in an enormous tree with no way to get down. But they were getting antsy. Anxious. These small time jobs would only satisfy KingDead for so long. Truly heroic acts would prove that Team Mega was a force to be reckoned with.

So when he heard stories of a mysterious cave with giant Pokemon living in it and a group of explorers that had gone missing inside… how could he resist?

Sitting in a field together, Starroo started drawing out their plan of attack with a finger. “So from the very small amount of information we’ve been given, it looks like the cave has one huge Pokemon in it. Reports have been a little fuzzy though on the species. Most likely it’s a Ground type though; witnesses keep mentioning tossed boulders and earthquakes.”

“But those earthquakes could just be from the Pokemon’s stomping, right? I think we should all know about that,” Buizilla chimed in.

“…fair point. Other info, the giant Pokemorph should be around our height or taller. It’s hard to get an exact number though. People keep exaggerating. It won’t be taller than 50 feet though since that’s around the height of the cave’s entrance.”

“So we all run in swinging right?” KingDead asked, flexing an arm and grinning. “Take them out with one Fire Punch!”

“No no, we’re not gonna do that until we know what we’re up against. So I’ll be sneaking in, learn what I can, then come back out,” Starroo explained as he drew on the ground. “You two can hang back at the entrance. If I don’t come back in 10 minutes, then you can come in and punch some stuff KD.” That set the Arcanine’s tail wagging. A real rescue mission with a mysterious giant Pokemon. After this they were sure to be famous heroes!

Team Mega waited until dusk in the mountains nearby for their chance to strike at the cave. Bui had fallen asleep waiting for night time to arrive, while KD kept pacing back and forth excitedly. Star merely tried to center himself and get ready for the night’s operation. As soon as the sun set on the horizon the two of them woke up Buizilla and made their way to the cave entrance.

Star hoped that his friends could stay safe and out of view as he made his way inside. The glow from his Umbreon markings gave him all the light he could possibly need. He did his best to blend into the shadows though. Most of the witnesses from trying to explore this cave had mentioned being stopped right at the entrance. But for some reason that hadn’t happened this time… which was especially weird considering how much easier a normal sized Pokemorph could hide versus, well, himself.

Those sorts of questions would be better suited for later though. For now he slinked through the shadows and behind stalagmites. The cave entrance had been 50 feet tall, which was cutting it close for the 30 foot tall Umbreon but further into the cave it opened up into a much higher ceiling. Crystal formations grew on the walls like jagged, beautiful gardens and droplets of water fell gently onto Star’s head. Aside from whatever dangerous giant lived in here this place was gorgeous. It could be something of a tourist attraction someday.

But something was bothering Star. He had time to take in the scenery and day dream in here. Wasn’t this supposed to be some super dangerous mission? Where were the missing Pokemorphs? And the cave hardly seemed protected by anyone either. The entire situation felt fishy. Even more so once he ended up reaching the back of the cave without sight or any other living souls.

Huh, he thought. Maybe this whole expedition was a bust. Could have just been a practical joke. Terrifying monster Pokemorph guarding a cave! Yes. That seemed likely.

Although it seemed likely to Starroo, the imposing figure behind him disagreed. Right up until the point he dropped a boulder on the Umbreon’s head, knocking him out cold.

Back at the front of the cave, KingDead was getting impatient. Well, more impatient. He wasn’t well known for being a restrained Arcanine. So when 10 minutes passed without a single message from his friend he practically bounded inside. Buizilla had to hold him back though.

“Just hold on a minute longer, maybe the cave was deeper than he expected. He’ll be back soon,” he reasoned. But that logic didn’t hold water once 5 more minutes passed. 15 minutes was more than KD could bear and this time Bui didn’t try stopping him. Something had certainly gone wrong by this point.

The Arcanine led the way in as he shot embers to light up the cavern. To any normal Pokemon it would seem more like a Flamethrower, and they easily lit up the entire cave. He practically ran in, fists clenched and ready to punch anyone in his way. Bui hurried in after and took the time to look around each part of the cave to make sure they weren’t missing anything. Nothing looked too out of the ordinary.

The echo of a yipe forced the Water type to hurry along through the cavern. He rounded a corner near the very end of the cave and found KD sitting on his rear end. He’d apparently run into a wall… well it looked like a wall at least. Walls didn’t have eyes or arms usually though. In fact, the wall looked an awful lot like an enormous Machamp. Nearly 50 feet tall and built like a tank, he roared at the Fire and Water duo before picking up a boulder in each of his four arms. KingDead’s running and overzealous fire shooting must have alerted the Machamp to their presence.

Buizilla only had enough time to grab his friend and dodge out of the way of the boulders, tossed one after another toward them. He hid behind an outcropping of stalagmites and tried to collect his thoughts. Okay, Fighting type. Neither of them had any type advantage they could exploit here. Although that Machamp would definitely have had the advantage on Star. Was he hurt? He resolved to take down this giant and find out what was going on. He wasn’t the best fighter on the team by a long shot but something had to be done. But first, he put his glasses on the ground. It wouldn’t be very good to lose those in the heat of a fight.

He jumped back into the fray using his natural speed to avoid each boulder as it crashed to the ground. Thank goodness for the speed of Buizels, that was for sure. Left and right he dodged, covering the distance between himself and the Machamp in seconds. And once he got there Buizilla leapt up into the air, shoulder turned toward his opponent ready to Body Slam him into submission.

Machamp was strong enough to take the hit. But that didn’t stop the force of the attack from making him stumble to his knees. Two against one and after a single attack he’d been staggered. Things didn’t look too good for the Fighting type. The boulders flew faster now, as he broke off chunks of the cave walls and floor in desperation. Buizilla was good at dodging, but not perfect. As one spire from the cave ceiling whizzed past his ear, clipping his collar, he decided that close quarters fighting wasn’t the best tactic after all.

A moment later Buizilla’s retreat was mirrored by the approach of an orange-furred, canine Pokemon. His blazing fist connected directly with the Machamp’s face; no one had seen fit to warn KD that running head on into a fighting type didn’t usually work out. But for some reason this time it did. In fact, the Machamp looked downright in pain. His face was bruised and singed where the fist had connected.

But that face soon shimmered a purple color and disappeared, leaving behind only the cave wall that KingDead’s fist had hit. The Arcanine morph blinked in surprise. What just happened? Then the shock wore off to leave only the throbbing in his hand. He howled and shook out his paw, whimpering in pain.

Buizilla’s mouth hung open. A wall? He Body Slammed a wall? It didn’t feel like stone at the time, it felt just like a living being. There was something strange afoot here. What could make a Pokemon appear and disappear into thin air like that? Not many things that could, that’s for sure. Except maybe a-

“Greetings, Pokemorphs. So you’re here exploring my cave? Looking for treasure perhaps?” a voice echoed throughout the cavern. KingDead temporarily forgot the pain in his hand, channeling that anger into trying to find the source of the sound with equal parts whimpering and growling. Buizilla turned around all the way, looking into every corner and shadow he could see. But the voice seemed to come from all directions at once thanks to the echo.

“We don’t want treasure; we just want our friend back!” KD yelled back to the voice.

“Oh ho, your friend. You mean the Umbreon? He’s safe. Sleeping, but safe,” the voice chuckled. “Please unclench your fists. I’ll show myself.” With a gentle shimmer, a boulder at KingDead’s feet faded away to leave a Zoroark morph. He was clothed in robes with blue highlights to his fur.

Buizilla got down on one knee to get a better look at the normal sized Pokemon. “You’re the one who made that Machamp? Why?”

“I’m a protector of this cave. It houses a great and terrible treasure, one which must never fall into the wrong hands. My lineage has protected it for generations; although maybe I’ve been a little hasty with knocking out your Umbreon friend. I just needed to be sure you weren’t after what I’m protecting. You can call me Axis.”

“Are you some sort of Kingdom Hearts reject or something?” KingDead asked incredulously.

“I’m sorry?” Axis asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Bui punched his friend in the arm to get him to shut up. “What he means is, we’d appreciate being allowed to see our friend again. I’m Buizilla, the Arcanine is KingDead. We were just searching for a lost party of Pokemon in here.”

“Lost Pokemon?” the Zoroark repeated, twirling the fur on top of his head in thought. “I can’t say that I have seen any Pokemon come in here before you two and the Umbreon. And I’m very good at keeping track of that sort of thing.”

“What? Oh come on you can’t be serious,” KingDead sighed. “You’re saying there were never any lost Pokemon at all? That we just came here for nothing? I don’t believe it.” He wound up and punched a stalactite in frustration, knocking it to the ground. His entire plan of being a hero and saving the day… dashed in an instant. Instead all they had done was trespass in some ancient cave with a powerful treasure or whatever.

“How can you even be sure that someone didn’t sneak in? Sure, you caught us, but we’re 30 feet tall. You can’t possibly catch every trespasser in a cave this large,” KingDead huffed.

The Zoroark chuckled again, like a parent entertained by the naiveté of a child. “That’s where you’d be wrong. Afraid that I’m still not being entirely honest when I show myself like this.” The ground shimmered around Axis, purple energy crackling and left in its place a paw. A single paw, connected to a very large Zoroark. And where the cave wall had been a second ago stood Axis. Really it was more like crouching, because he was definitely too large to stand up normally. He had been using his own body as the cave wall. Disguised that way with his illusion, and with a Machamp illusion as a body guard, no one would ever think to trespass in the cave.

Team Mega was left speechless.

Axis cleared his throat. “So… yes. I definitely would know if someone came in. Because, well, I take up a lot of room. Hard for me to miss anyone.”

“But then why are we here?” Bui asked. “Why did someone say anything about a monster and rescuing travelers? All that’s here is treasure… oh. That might be why.” He grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.

“Exactly. They likely wanted you to clear me out so they could take what I guard. A little ironic that they would send giants to defeat a giant.”

“Just how did you get so big anyway? We’re supposed to be the big ones around here you know,” KD asked, still a little peeved at not getting his chance to be a hero for the non-existent Pokemorphs in need.

The massive Zoroark sighed. “It’s actually thanks to the treasure as well. I wasn’t born this way you see. But what we’ve been protecting for ages is a special kind of stone. The Giant’s Stone. I don’t think I need to explain further what it does to Pokemon in contact with it. But I’ve been living here so long, I think there is a residual effect. Now I can’t escape anymore thanks to the cave entrance being smaller than the cave itself. It’s really bothersome. But come with me. I’ll show you your friend.”

Axis got down on his hands and knees and crawled forward, ducking under as the ceiling dipped in spots and avoiding pitfalls in the floor. Bui was still just a little shell shocked at finding another giant Pokemon. How long had he lived here like this, all alone and unable to escape? It seemed like such a lonely life. At least he had KD and Star for friends but Axis had no one.

As they approached another opening in the cave, this time with an even higher ceiling than the rest, Axis was able to finally stand up with his ears touching the top of the cave. He was absolutely massive, nearing 150 feet tall and dwarfing even the normally huge Arcanine and Buizel morphs. They barely came up to his knees. KingDead gulped nervously. Whatever this treasure was, it must be very powerful to have an effect like that.

In fact, they could see behind the Zoroark a large pillar with a stone on top. A beam of moonlight shined through a hole in the roof illuminating the area in silver. The stone gleamed with crackled with unnatural power. That must be the Giant’s Stone, KD thought. Buizilla was instead looking around for Star, finding a dark lump slumped up against the pillar in the room.

“Star!” Buizilla said, running up to check on the Umbreon. He was still breathing just fine, nothing seemed wrong. Although it might have just been his imagination but he did seem bigger. Starroo was just as tall as Buizilla even while slumped down. That meant he had to be maybe twice as tall as usual.

Axis gasped when he saw the Umbreon morph. “He has gotten that much larger already? This doesn’t bode well. You two should take your friend and leave immediately. The Giant’s Stone is reacting far too powerfully with all of you.”

“Way ahead of you, buddy!” KD said as he rushed over to get Star. With Buizilla lifting by the shoulders and KingDead lifting by the legs the two of them were able to pick up their comrade with some effort. It wouldn’t be easy to carry him all the way to the cave entrance but it was lucky they arrived when they did. Any longer and who knows how big Star could have gotten.

The Fire type didn’t pay very close attention as he backed up though, accidentally knocking into the pillar with his rump. It toppled unceremoniously with the stone falling down right onto Starroo’s chest. The Umbreon morph opened his eyes hazily as a jolt of energy shot through his body, now glowing a light blue. The growth started immediately though. His black fur stood on end and as he saw the ceiling of the cave get closer and closer to his head, his eyes shot wide open.

“WOAH!” he yelled, trying to sit up but only hitting his head on a stalagmite. “Oof! Oww… what is going on? KD? Bui? Where are you?” The two other Pokemorphs were frantically trying to avoid the movements and growth of their friend though. His sitting up had tossed the Giant’s Stone off his chest thankfully but the growth hadn’t stopped right away.

“Woah,” Buizilla said, repeating after Starroo in awe. In less than a minute he’d gotten taller than Axis! That stone really was a powerful treasure; it was no wonder it had to be protected. He took a step back as he craned his neck back to look at his friend. As his paw landed though, it wasn’t the stone of the cave floor that greeted him but instead a cold, polished stone. The Giant’s Stone.

“Oh shoot-“ Buizilla said, taking his foot off as quickly as he could but it was too late. The collar around his neck seemed to tighten, and then loosen as it expanded along with the rest of his body. Orange fur mingled with the black fur of his friend as he quickly hit the ceiling and flopped forward onto Star. Between the two of them there was practically nowhere else to go. They each had filled the entire space of the cave, all 150 feet from floor to ceiling.

KingDead was feeling pretty left out now though. Why couldn’t he be huge too? That just wasn’t fair. He didn’t want to be left behind. He could vaguely hear Axis trying to warn KingDead of the dangers while he fought off the Umbreon tail that had pinned him to the ground, but all the Arcanine really wanted was to be with his friends. So without thinking it over too much he waltzed over to the Giant’s Stone and picked it up with both hands. He held it close to his chest, even as the power flowed and burned through his muscles. With his eyes closed he couldn’t really see just how large he was getting but he certainly felt it as the ceiling of the cave bumped into his head. It gave way and he could feel the open air on his face again.

Curious about this change in atmosphere, KD opened his eyes again. The world didn’t seem the same at all any more at his size. Both paws fit into a single hole in the cave that he had grown through not even a minute ago, with Buizilla and StarRoo still growing alongside him on the side of a mountain. They had crawled out of the hole in the ceiling before they got too large as well. But even that meant they were just absolutely massive. Axis had somehow made his way out of the cave too. He only came up to the calves of Buizilla and StarRoo. Quite the reversal of fortune considering how just moments ago that was nearly how they stood compared to the Zoroark. And compared to KingDead… he was nearly a skyscraper.

Still the Arcanine held onto the Giant’s Stone, apparently unaware or not caring about his continued growth. “Hey guys! You’re all so small now!” he said, bending over and picking up the three tiny titans. “I can’t even tell how large I am now… hah! This is great! I’m really a superhero now! I say we keep this up and go find some crime to stop.”

“Well it’s not like we can stop you anymore, you big lug! Quit it already with the growing!” Starroo yelled.

“Maybe later I’ll stop. I kinda like being this big! First though… Team Mega on three. Wait, no! Team GIGA! One, two-“