Adrian opened his eyes as they felt smoke, dust, and steam. His nose smelled the same as his paws helped him get up, feeling the small rocks underneath. He opened his mouth in awe before he coughed out a storm.

He stumbled around as the dust settled and the steam faded into water particles, his eyes able to see the small Vulpix sitting down in the middle of a massive crater where the star engraving once was. She was panting as her body gave out a reddish glow with smoke coming out of her mouth. The Flareon walked over to her with a deep fear written all over his face.

“Faith? Are you alright?” Adrian asked when he got near her, feeling a massive amount of heat from her.

“N-no,” Faith answered as she stood up on all fours and faced the Flareon. “But at least I'm alive.”

Adrian gave out a sigh, yet he still felt his stomach tightened. “That's good. But, where's Jirachi? Did you blast him out to space?”

As soon as the Flareon uttered those words, the pit shook. They looked around as the shaking got worse, the two Fire-types Pokémon's ears flattened back. They then crouched low, bracing themselves as the quake got worse. A massive light appeared in a flash, illuminating the pit that would've blinded them if they didn't shut their eyes quick enough. A few seconds and the earthquakes stopped. They at first slowly opened one of their eyes only to shot them both opened.

All the destruction caused in the fight, the cracks, the craters, even the hole to the outside were all gone and fixed. Even the engraving on the ground was returned and repaired, the five-pointed star underneath them that was, just a minute ago, a huge crater. The two looked at each other in shock, neither having felt the ground changed.

Their ears twitched as they heard a yawn above and, when they looked up, they saw the yellow Pokémon floating above them, stretching his limbs.

“Hah! Alright, I'm fully awake,” Jirachi said with a grin and both of his eyes wide opened. “So, so awake! Ahhh!” His eyes then looked down at the two bewildered Pokémon. “My name is Jirachi! Who are you?”

Both Faith and Adrian blinked at the very casual, child-like Jirachi. Just a few minutes ago, Faith had blasted Jirachi with a Flamethrower so powerful, it blasted Doom Desire back at his face and sent him through the mountainside and to the sky. Yet, here he was, grinning without pain or worry in the world. Did those attacks, they wondered, even hurt him?

Faith looked back at Adrian for a second before stepping forward. “Um, my name is Faith.”

“And my name is Adrian,” the Flareon said.

“Your names are Faith and Adrian,” Jirachi said as he floated down to in front of the Vulpix with the white paws. “So, Faith and Adrian, you better listen well.” The three tags on his head glowed. “I grant wishes for those who managed to wake me up.”

Faith nodded as she felt her heart swelling up. This was the moment, the moment that she had been waiting for ever since she left Arkanilacum. Where if it's a day or an hour away from herself exploding, she succeeded. Yet, she had a hard time finding the words to say.

“Well, um,” Faith finally said. “I admit that I have a complex issue that only you can fix.”

Jirachi nodded before he coughed, blowing out smoke. He blinked at the smoke in confusion before changing his sight to Faith. “All right. I'll listen.”

Faith looked back at Adrian, who smiled back at her. Faith nodded as she smiled back and looked at Jirachi. “OK, to make the long story short . . .”

Faith, with some assistance from Adrian, explained what happened, starting with the Fire Stone created by Maya and her failed evolution from it, resulting in her evolutionary flux that was in constant growth. Jirachi nodded with politeness, though Faith sensed that most of the more complex parts went over his head. When Faith finished her explanation, Jirachi looked up to the top of the pit.

“So, um, let me get this straight,” Jirachi said. “You tried to evolve into a Ninetales, it failed because of some merged Pokémon named Mia-”

“Maya,” Adrian said.

“Whatever this Pokémon's name is. Anyways, she used some weird technology that creates evolutionary stones and caused herself to grow-”

“I think they're separate tech, Jirachi.”

“Whatever. And, because of this fake Fire Stone, it created a 'flux' (what does flux means anyways?) that resulted in a buildup of power that may cause you to blow up like a firework-”

“Honestly, it's more like a hundred Golem using Explosion at once,” Faith said, rather self-conscience of herself glowing.

“Same difference. Which is why you came here so I can fix it,” Jirachi said as he nodded. “Although, I admit that it's a little embarrassing to admit to. I have no idea what a Ninetales is.”

“Wait, what? You don't know what a Ninetales is?” Faith asked, blinking. “It's my next evolutionary form.”

“You do realize that, though I've been given a title of a 'Mythical Pokémon', it doesn't mean that I know absolutely everything,” Jirachi explained with a sheepish grin. “Especially since I'm only awake for a week after each thousand-year of sleeping. Unless I've been fought into an awakening, which is rare. Heck, from what you guys said, the world had changed a lot since I was last awake. Like, what are these 'anthros' mentioned? Are they Pokémon too?”

Both Faith and Adrian sighed as their ears lowered.

“What can you do so that she doesn't end up being, I don't know, a Venasaur?”

“What's a Venasaur?”

“Er, nevermind,” Adrian said as he shifted his eyes. “So, how do you think you can solve it?”

“Hmm,” Jirachi said as he rubbed his chin. “First off, what does a Ninetales look like?”

“Oh, ah,” Faith said as a vision of her favorite Explorer entered her mind, “unlike my reddish-orange fur, a Ninetales has a golden-white fur. Also, they have nine tails rather than my six and, unlike my curly top on my head, their turfs of fur are rather straight.”

“OK. That'll help. Now just wait for a moment while I do my super-duper sightseeing search!” Jirachi said with pride in his voice as his eyes closed and his arms spread out. Glass-like bubbles formed around the three as images of Pokémon appeared in them, at first filled with rock-types and ground-types. Faith and Adrian looked around in amazement, their eyes reflecting the images of those Pokémon doing various actives.

The numbers of glass-bubbles expanded in the pit, showing grass-types, bug-types, and normal-types in them. Faith opened her mouth with a complete sense of wonder before her eyes saw a golden-white Pokémon in one of them. She raised her front paw and pointed at it.

“This is it. This is a Ninetales,” Faith said as she looked back at Jirachi.

Jirachi opened his eyes as the glass-bubbles popped except for the one Faith is pointing at. “Huh. That's a weird looking Pokémon. Not to mention how uncool it looks compared to the others. Like that massive, long body one that looks like it's made of metal!”

“That's Steelix,” the Flareon said as Faith looked closer to the Ninetales one. Her eyes widened when she realized that this Ninetales was wearing a green scarf.

“Isn't that-”

“OK,” Jirachi said as the glass-bubble floated away from Faith and towards himself. His hands rubbed against it as his head glowed blue. Faith blinked as she looked down at her own body and saw blue around her as well for only a few seconds. “I believe I got it! I now know what moves, what abilities, what size a Ninetales should be along with how one should look! Comparing it with you, Faith, I can see now what needed to be changed. In fact, two things that needed to be changed so you're better. So, tell me you wish!”

Faith blinked, thinking of what the yellow Pokémon just said. “Jirachi? What do you mean by-”

“What is it?” Adrian asked, his voice anxious.

“Jirachi said that there were two things that's wrong with me,” Faith answered, looking at the Flareon. “I just want to know what he means by-”

“Isn't it obvious? He means your evolutionary flux and your failed evolution. Isn't that right?”

“It is true that, in order for me to evolve Faith, I have to cancel the attempt fully,” Jirachi said, floating around the two Fire-types. He opened his mouth to speak again but shut his mouth like a polite child when Adrian spoke up.

“See? So just wish for your body to be fixed.”

Faith hesitated for a second before breathing in and out. “Jirachi, I wish for myself to recover from this failed evolution.”

Jirachi smiled as the topmost tag on his head glowed in a golden light. Faith's own glow changed color from red to golden as well. She felt a smile forming on her face, feeling Jirachi's power flowing through her, as her eyes closed. The growing pressure, like she was continuing filled to the brim with fire, was gone.

“Faith, your wish has been granted,” Jirachi said as Faith opened her eyes.

She looked over herself and saw that the glow she was surrounded with was gone. The curse she felt she was under since she touched that Fire Stone was gone. She was free, yet, while she no longer felt the pressure of growing power, she still felt the power she had since it started. Would it dissipate in time?

Faith looked over to Adrian and said, “It's ov-”

“Um, Faith? Why are you growing?” Adrian asked as he took a step back.

The Vulpix blinked as she looked at the Flareon more and her eyes widened. When just a minute ago she was a foot smaller, she had just equaled Adrian's size for a second before growing past that. She found herself looked down at him when it was normally the other way around, finding Adrian to be the small one. Jirachi floated around Faith when she reached the fifth foot mark and kept on growing.

“Huh. I didn't think a Vulpix can grow,” Jirachi said as Faith soon surpassed the height of a Blazakin.

“They're not supposed to in the first place!” Adrian yelled out as Faith's growth pace increased and doubled in size, reaching the twelve-foot mark. “What did you do!?”

“A-all I did was changed her body so that it's back to normal,” Jirachi explained as Faith's eyes widened, her body now larger than the star they were on. “I spotted a flaw in her evolution that was causing that so I stopped that and I saw that her ability was wrong.”

“What do you mean 'her ability was wrong'?” Adrian asked as he got onto Faith's growing paw so he wasn't crushed by it.

“When I compared her body to that Ninetales, I saw a tiny difference,” Jirachi explained as Faith crouched low, reaching the amazing size of fifty feet. “They worked by absorbing flames, but I saw that the Ninetales' body reacted differently from it. So I thought that it's because of a flaw she has. I didn't think it could've caused it to grow.”

“Well, that's just-” Adrian said before being pressed up against the wall of the pit.

Faith kept on growing as if her body wanted to fill up every space in the pit. She felt like she was being crushed by the walls she was surrounded with, with both Adrian and Jirachi pressed against her and the wall. She closed her eyes, growling in pain.

“Ji-Jirachi! Ad-Adrian!” Faith said as her growth caused the cracks to formed again around the pit. “I-I am really getting crushed here!”

“You're getting crushed?!” Adrian yelled out as he's pinned between a wall and a growing paw. “I-I can barely breathe in here!”

“Jirachi, I want us out of here!” Faith yelled out, feeling so pinned between the (from her point-of-view) shrinking pit that she couldn't move anymore.

“O-OK!” Jirachi said, his voice muffled by a giant tail. His eyes closed as his left tag glows, with blue light enveloping the three Pokémon there. A flash shined out and they were gone. All that remained were massive riffs on the walls and ceiling, with huge chunks of rocks falling down.

---

The three Pokémon reappeared outside of the mountain, with both Adrian and Jirachi on Faith's back. Both of them were dazed for a second, before giving out a sigh, their chest free to breathe again, not noticing that the Vulpix they were on was still growing. Faith looked down at the surrounding trees, almost like tall grass to her, as she gained another growth spurt. Her paws slammed against the trees below her, tumbling them down and shattering them like fragile glass, as a swung of one of her giant tails smashed against the mountainside behind, throwing several huge rocks away. She gave out a yelp as she fell down, with Adrian clinging onto the fur, causing the ground below her to quake and knocking down several surrounding trees with an accidental Earthquake.

She grew and grew, with Faith feeling her stomach tightened, wondering when would she stop growing. Then, as if that's all she needed to do was ask, she stopped growing at a behemoth size of 250 feet tall. Her eyes looked down, wondering if Adrian and Jirachi were down below as her heart stopped like a Glaceon grabbed her heart with their cold paws.

“Wh-what happened to me?!” Faith asked to herself, her voice carried over for hundreds of feet away. “Wh-why am I so HUGE?! Adrian! Jirachi! Where are you?!”

“Right here,” Faith barely heard behind her. She blinked as she looked behind herself and saw a tiny Flareon on her back with an even smaller Jirachi floating nearby. Jirachi motioned one of his arms and, with Adrian enveloped in a bluish-white light, the two floated up to Faith's muzzle. Adrian was placed onto her muzzle, with the Vulpix's giant baby blue eyes looking towards the two. “Jeez, I knew that you wanted to be big, but I think you had overdone it.”

Faith blushed, her cheeks fur fluffed up, as she crouched down low. “I didn't want to be this big! Why did I grow to this size!”

Adrian grabbed onto the Vulpix's muzzle, feeling every movement she makes like it was some sort of earthquake. “Jirachi said that he thought that there was also something wrong with your ability.”

“Yeah, my bad,” Jirachi said as he rubbed the back of his head with a hand. “When I compared you with that Ninetales, I honestly thought that your fire absorption power-”

“Flash Fire,” Adrian said, looking up at the floating yellow Pokémon next to him.

“Whatever. I thought that there was something wrong with that as well caused by your failed evolution. So I've copied that Ninetales' ability and placed it over your ability, Faith,” Jirachi explained, giving out a very nervous smile. “Again, I never knew much about the outside world and other Pokémon outside of a few.”

“But what kind of Ninetales has Flash Fire that causes it to grow?” Adrian asked as his ears flattened to the sides. “Not to mention that Faith hasn't been hit by flames at all. So, how could she be this huge?”

“Adrian, you're embarrassing me!” Faith said, giving out an even bigger blush as her back legs dug onto the ground behind her, making massive holes.

“I-I didn't mean it like that!” Adrian said, his face blushing as well.

“Hmm,” Jirachi said as he rubbed his hand against his chin. “The best I can think of is that pile of power she'd build up since it happened. It built itself up like some sort of fake fire absorption power thing and, when I changed her ability, it acted on it, causing her growth. As for why that Ninetales has such a power, I don't know.”

Adrian sighed as he rubbed his face with a paw. “So, we now have a very massive problem thanks to your screw-up. Can you fix it?”

“Um, there's good news and bad news for it,” Jirachi explained as he pointed at his left tag. “The good news is that I can reverse it with a wish. The bad news is that I took Faith's command as a wish, which means-”

“-we only have one wish left,” Adrian said, his eyes wide as his paw was back onto Faith's muzzle. “And we're over 4000 miles away from home.”

“Th-then, if I wished I was back to my normal size, it'll take months to travel back home,” Faith said as she lifted one of her paws and rubbed it against one of her eyes. “If I wished for us to teleport home, I'll still be a massive Vulpix. There's no good option here!”

“I don't think our trouble is as bad as you think,” Jirachi said with a childish smile. “That Ninetales was at what I think is a normal size when I located him, which means that you'll be back to your normal size in time. I can't say for how long, but, as long as you aren't attacked by a Fire-type attack, you won't grow and instead shrink.”

“That may take weeks!” Faith responded as she shut her eyes. “And being at this size, “I'll just be seen as some sort of monster.”

The Flareon looked as what he could see of the giant Vulpix's face before his lower his sorrowful eyes. His ears flattened back as he felt his chest tightened and he gritted his teeth. His claws clutched the fur underneath him.

“I-I don't think of you as a monster!” Adrian said with tears falling out from his eyes.

“You-you don't?” Faith asked, opening one of her eyes before closing it again. A tear swelled up on the corner of her eyes. “No. You're just being nice, Adrian. I am nothing more than-”

“-the most beautiful Vulpix I've ever met!”

“W-what did you say?” Faith asked, opening her eyes with them pointed at Adrian as she lowered her paw back onto the logs and boulders. Her chest felt a stab when she saw that the Flareon was crying as well.

“It's-it's true!” Adrian explained as his tail drooped down. “Ever since we met many years ago, I-I thought of you as beautiful and amazing. I didn't think you would've noticed a little, lonely Eevee like me, but you did. You are a bright part of my life, Faith. It's why, when offered various stones and means to evolved with, I chose a Fire Stone. To be closer to you!”

Faith stared at her dear friend, Adrian, in complete surprise, feeling that she now know him a bit more than before. She felt the heart in her chest beat slower from the panic state it was in as she, in a slow and gentle pace, gotten back up. Not a single tree or rock was smashed as she sat down, giving out a teary smile.

“Oh, Adrian,” Faith said. “You're always a sweet and understanding friend. I think you're just being nice here, but thanks anyway.”

Adrian blinked and looked up at her giant eyes. “No. I meant every word I said. No matter what you look like or how big you get, you are the most beautiful Pokémon I've ever met. I'll do my best to be with you, wherever and however you are.”

Faith gave out a massive blush as her eyes shifted away. “Adrian, stop. You're embarrassing me.”

The Flareon gave out a shy laugh. “Sorry. Anyways, I think that makes our answer to the third wish clear.”

Faith gave a slight nod before her eyes turned to Jirachi “OK, Jirachi. I wish for us to go back home. Or rather a mile away from Arkanilacum so I don't smash anyone by just appearing there.”

“Arkanilacum? Strange name,” Jirachi said before he closed his eyes. His eyes moved in circles above his head as an image of a globe formed above, with massive oceans and seven continents displayed on it. Adrian's ears flattened to their sides, confusion written all over his face, as the largest of the continents grew in size and the globe flattened up. It zoomed in until an image of a town with giant Arcanine bones around it like a mother protecting her children was displayed on this psychic map. “You wanted to be away from this place, yes? Like a mile off? How long is a mile anyway?”

Faith's left ear flattened to the side as Adrian said, “Er, may I point out where we want to teleport to?”

“Sure!” Jirachi said as he expanded the map and lowered it to Adrian.

Adrian looked at it and, spotting the high hills where the Arcanine's skull was on, pointed at it. “There.”

“There? Why? It looks so rocky.”

“Exactly,” Adrian said with a wink. “For a couple of reasons. One is that only a few Pokémon could be able to spot her while she's there and another is that it's a sacred spot of our home, where the only ones allowed to be in there are high officials.”

“You-you mean that you want to involved Mayor Richard in this?” Faith asked as she looked at Adrian in shocked.

“It's not like we can do this alone,” Adrian explained with a weak shrug. “To be honest, I would rather just deal with it with just you and me, Faith. But I don't see how we can do it alone. At least through him, we can pull out the help needed to hide you and give you food and water while keeping knowledge about you to a minimal.”

“That does make sense,” Faith admitted as her eyes looked up and her face blushed.

“Okey-dokey!” Jirachi said as the right tag glows. A light enveloped both the macro Vulpix and normal Flareon. Then, with a wave, they disappeared in a flash with only Jirachi still remaining. “Wish granted. Although, I wish there was a way to fix all the mess we left behind. Oh well! Back to sleep!”

Jirachi glowed for a few seconds before he disappeared from the area as well, himself leaving behind the ruined trees and shattered giant rocks. If Jirachi stayed a bit longer, he would've met another Pokémon, one who had listened to the latter part of the conversation.

“Huh. Arkanilacum, isn't it?” this Pokémon said as he stepped out from under the shade. His sea blue eyes looked over the carnage caused by Faith with sadness yet also with amusement. He then stepped onto a trunk of a tree, his nine tailed brushing against it. “That sounds like it'll be my next destination. But first, there's something I should do with this. Might as well call her in.”

---

Massive rocks stood high in the what is called the high hills north of Arkanilacum, their tips piercing the skies as high as 500 feet tall with the half-moon shining down on them. It was thought to be, long ago, the remains of a battle between the Great Protector and another giant Pokémon, often theorized to be Rhydon or Rhynerior. The citizens believed it to be her final battle and chose preserved the remains in remembrance of the battle where she died protecting them.

A light flashed within the center of the high hills and a giant Vulpix materialized there with a Flareon on her muzzle, tiny in comparison. Faith felt her head spun as she steadies herself by laying down with care, with the hills very close to her. Adrian clung onto her muzzle until he felt his limbs went numb.

“Long-distance teleportation is not good for the body,” Faith said as she lowered her head.

“No kidding,” Adrian said as he hopped off of her muzzle. “I wish I could stay with you. Just that, if we need to get Mayor Richard here, I'll need to head over to Arkanilacum so I can meet him early when I can meet him.”

“It's OK,” Faith replied as her giant eyes looked down at Adrian. “Good luck.”

Adrian gave her a quick nuzzle before he ran out, his fur fluffed up from the cool breeze. Faith placed her head over her paws as her body relaxed and her mind reflected on what happened. When their quest began a few days ago, she thought that the best-case scenario was that she would be on her bed sleeping for days when they came back, her problem fixed. But instead, she's this giant Vulpix, perhaps the first in a long time. Everything that was solid and strong now felt like they were brittle.

She with a gentle shook of a head knocked that thought out of her head. What's done had been done and there's nothing that she could do about it outside of not making things worse. She closed her eyes and her mind drifted into a sleep that even an earthquake couldn't wake her up from, with a nice cool breeze brushed against her fur and the half-moon illuminating over her body.

---

The morning sun shined upon Faith's face, with her struggling to keep them closed before she sighed and opened them. For a second, she wondered why she was surrounded by a number of rocks before she remembered what happened last night. She, with a gentleness of a Jigglypuff, moved her body so that she doesn't knock over the high, rocky hills around her. She then looked around, trying to see any sign of restless sleep and destruction, but found none.

She sighed in relief as she lay back down and waited for Adrian and Mayor Richard to come. The giant Vulpix at times looked up at the sky to tell what time it was, with the shadows shortening up and the sun crawling up higher in the sky. When it was at the highest point of the sky, her ears twitched as she heard paw-steps coming closer to her location. She lowered her head, attempting to look smaller than she really was when she saw Adrian and Mayor Richard.

Mayor's Richard's dark brown fur met his light brown legs, tail tip, face, and chest. His mane was magnificent large around his face, most of the colors being red but with golden streaks. His piercing blue eyes looked up at Faith's giant body with his feline face, plain to see by both Flareon and Vulpix, with amazement.

“Boy, if you haven't convinced me to come, I would never have believed that your girlfriend has become a giant,” Mayor Richard said. “Yet, here she is. Like out of the story ages past.”

Faith blinked as Adrian said, “Sir, we're not together like that!”

“Could've fooled me, boy,” Mayor Richard responded as his long tail flicked. “Of course, now that I see that you were honest about this, it is a question about what to do next.”

“Um, what do you mean?” Faith said with a soft voice.

“To explain, I gather that you wanted to be hidden. Is that right?”

Faith nodded as a thought entered her mind. Is he going to expose her?

“While I do wish to profit out of this since our lovely town hasn't got any good amount of revenue lately, I understand that I can't force you to come out into the light,” Mayor Richard said in a diplomatic voice. “Besides, at your size at the moment, it'll take everyone in town to pull you out along with two others. As a result, I have to respect your wish to hide in here, gal.”

Faith gave out a sigh, with the resulting wind blowing through Mayor Richard's mane.

“Although, now we have a logistic issue for you to remain hidden,” Mayor Richard said, annoyed at that sigh as his ears twitched. “We can't have you come out since there will be a chance of you being spotted. So we need to get resources for you like food and water, which can't be handled by only Adrian and myself.”

“Um, Mr. Mayor?” Faith said. “For the last few days, I haven't felt hungry. In fact, I still don't feel hungry. I do feel thirsty, though.”

“You aren't hungry? Even though it's been a few days?” Mayor Richard asked as his ears twitched. He then looked at Adrian. “Do you know why, boy?”

“N-no,” Adrian answered, looking up at Mayor Richard. “I don't have a guess why.”

The Pyroar closed his eyes for a few seconds before looking up at Faith. “Gal? Do you mind if I also bring in some researchers while you're hiding here?”

“W-wait,” Faith said as she looked down at them, flustered. “I don't want to be some science experiment. I just want to hide until I'm normal again.”

“Don't worry,” the Pyroar said reassuring with a slight smile. “I'll make sure that the worse that they'll do to you is observe your shrink rate. They will not hurt you, take your blood, or stick you into a room isolated for their observation, gal. You'll have my word that I'll make them back off if you felt uncomfortable.”

“It's good to have your word for it,” Adrian said with his head tilted and his ear flopped to the side. “However, on writing is better since you can't back out from it.”

“Oh come on, boy and gal,” Mayor Richard said as his mane fluffed up. “Don't you think of me as a trustworthy fellow?”

Faith and Adrian stared at him in response. The Pyroar looked back and forth between the normal-sized Flareon and the giant Vulpix and swallowed when he saw her, at a slow pace, lifted her paw.

“All right, I'll put it in writing.”

---

With the agreement done and in writing, Mayor Richard went back to Arkanilacum for some private recruitment of various Pokémon who's unique talents would be useful in hiding a giant Pokémon. Of course, vision is always an issue since, although the high hills can cover her from the ground, it still doesn't hide her from any flying Pokémon above. Which was why it was a convenient thing that there were two Pokémon best suited for it, for their powers can cover the entire landscape in their Illusion.

“So let me get this straight,” David said with his wife standing nearby, his hair-like mane brushing against the floor. “My friend, Faith, after some adventure far off east met with Jirachi in order to cure her evolutionary flux, has accidentally become a giant at around 250 feet tall.”

“Yes,” Mayor Richard said, standing behind his desk in his office. “I know it sounds like I'm lying, but that's what really happened.”

“Eh, it's very crazy talk,” David said, his arms crossed and his eyes squinted. He then gave out a laugh as he leaned back. “But I don't see any reason why you're lying.”

“You-you don't?” the Pyroar asked, his ears pointed upwards.

“Of course I don't. Because you're giving me a job and I know how much of a tight-ward you are,” the Zoroark said with a wink.

The Pyroar's ears flattened to the sides as David's wife laughed. “Very funny, boy. Now then, will you accept the job?”

“Eh, I see no reason why I shouldn't. But,” David's lips curled into a grin, “may I suggest how much you're paying me?”

“Is it something I'll regret?” Mayor Richard asked, his eyes half-closed. The Zoroark gave a quick nod and whispered into his ear. The Pyroar, after listening to David for a minute, gave out a glare. “Unacceptable, boy! Please take this seriously or else everything I and the others are working on will be for nothing!”

“Eh, I had to ask,” David said as his wife laughed louder. “Say, is that a genuine anthro artifact?”

His eyes skimmed over what looked like a box with a cylinder on the side of it, but at the end of it was a circle of glass. The Pyroar gave out a small gasp as he, with surprising speed, picked it up and placed it inside of a shelve behind him. He then turned back to David, who's looked back with squinted eyes.

“Y-yes, it is. The anthros of old called it a 'camera',” the Pyroar answered. “It allows instant pictures to be made with a click of a button. Very sensitive stuff and can break if mishandled.”

David rubbed his chin as he gave out a low hum. “I understand that part. Of course, that looked like it's pristine. Where did you get that?”

“None of your business!”

“Eh, alright,” David said as he placed his arm around his wife and walked out of the office.

So far successful. With their help, it would be many times easier to hide a giant Vulpix with their Illusion. Another issue was the travel since, in particular on foot, a mile of distance was far and it would be hard to hide a stream of Pokémon, even a few, going to and from the high hills. Even under a cover of 'official business', it would be considered odd. As a result, they needed to set up some sort of fast travel to and from for them. It also wouldn't hurt that they would also have a fast way of communicating so they could take care of Faith's needs.

“I thought I saw something red while on my flight over there last night,” Captain Galeron said, his arms crossed. “Don't worry. I haven't told anyone yet since it's been a long time since any macro Pokémon ever appeared and I thought I was seeing stuff. Though why are you bringing them along too?”

His eyes shifted downwards to the other guest being offered this job, an avian Pokémon with a brown plumage with a cream-colored torso and under-wings. His pink beak was short and hooked while a long crest of red and yellow hung from his head to his tail and perhaps even longer. His talons were also pink and sharp, which gripped on the floor to the point that the claws pierced them.

“Because we need all the help that we can get,” Mayor Richard answered, his tail flicked from behind.

“I doubt that things are so bad that you need to get help from our rivals as well,” the Dragonite said, slamming his hands on the desk. Splinters flew off up and around the three Pokémon. “After all, they're smaller, slower, and weaker than us.”

“Yet, in only a few short years, the Pidgeot Aerial Express has already rivaled the Dragonite Travel and Delivery Service,” the Pidgeot below said. “You're right that we aren't as big, strong, and fast as you, but that's like saying that an Alakazam is an idiot compared to Uxie. Not to mention that we outnumber you 10 to 1, so we can handle more Pokémon deliveries and travels than you can.”

“S-settle down, boys!” the Pyroar said, looking over the remains of his desk, shattered into pieces of lumber. “This isn't just to get as much help as we can get, but also kill any potential leaks about a giant Vulpix in the open a mile away. After all, I can guarantee that you two would be looking into each other's business if I only hired one of your business.”

The Pyroar smiled to himself when he saw the pear-shaped dragon and the large bird glaring at each other.

“Yes, that's true,” the two said.

“There we have it, then. I suggest that you two do your best to work together here since you may be doing this for weeks.”

The two stepped out with the Pyroar thinking about how would he get Captain Galreon to pay for the destroyed desk's replacement. Either way, that's another job done. He managed to get two groups to ship out supplies and Pokémon to and from the high hills. Still, that's not all that was needed for this duty. While he had promised that he wouldn't put Faith into a lab for examination regarding her abilities and such, he did ask for them to at least observed her. Besides, they would need someone who would be able to check her health for the coming weeks.

“You're telling me that my former patient has gotten herself in a giant mess?” Dr. Erelah asked Mayor Richard while fiddling with her earlobes. “And by 'giant', you mean that she is a giant?”

“Yes, exactly,” the Pyroar answered as he shifted his eyes. “Now, I know that it may be hard to swallow, but-”

“Why shouldn't I believe you?” the Audino asked, cutting in as her eyes glared at him.

“I honestly thought that telling people that we have a giant Vulpix within a mile would be hard to convince Pokémon of,” Mayor Richard said as he backed away with a paw raised, ready to defend himself. “But this is easier than I thought.”

Dr. Erelah stared at him like he was an idiot. “You do remember that our town is surrounded by the bones of Great Protector, who was a giant Arcanine in her time, right? While I do believe in facts rather than baseless claims, the idea that a Pokémon could've become a giant as they told in the old anthro legends today isn't that far-fetched since we have evidence surrounding our very town.”

The Pyroar blinked at the Audino. “Yes, yes. Will you help us maintained her health while this is going on? And perhaps we could be able to learn more about how the old Pokémon giants lived during those days as well.”

“Yes, I will,” Dr. Erelah said with a smile. “Just be warned that I wouldn't do anything that would make her uncomfortable.”

“Believe me, that's why I picked you,” Mayor Richard said with a shrug. “Besides, Faith had me put in writing that she wouldn't be some lab experiment during and afterward as you can see.”

Mayor Richard pulled out from what remains of his desk a paper and showed it to Dr. Erelah. She smiled wider as she said, “Smart girl. And I guess it wasn't that hard to convince you?”

“When you're face to face with someone who's at least 250 feet tall, you'll agree to anything they demand.”

Dr. Erelah laughed as she stepped out as the Pyroar shifted his eyes, wishing that he would be able to stay at home in bed rather than endure another round of mocking. But there's still one last thing to do if what Adrian said earlier was true; that, despite Faith at this moment having no need for foods, she still needed water. But she couldn't just step out of the high hills and go to the closest lake without being spotted. Even with the Zoroark cloaking her, they needed to coordinated with the Water-type Pokémon living there and there would be too many to keep this a secret. Good thing he knew two who worked for him who had enforced some unreasonable Pokémon in the past.

“So you want us to help this giant Vulpix by giving her water?” a Water-type Pokémon asked. This Pokémon and his companion were a large, blue Pokémon with a shell, brown on the back and pale yellow on the front, encompassing most of their bodies. White ridges surrounded the brown part of the shell with a pair of large cannons opened on the top part of their backs. Their blue, triangular ears twitched as their yellow eyes stared down at the Pyroar.

“Yes, that's exactly right,” Mayor Richard answered. “I know that it'll be a tough job since, at her size, she'll need a lot of water-”

“What I'm more interested in is why keep her a secret at all?” the second Blastoise asked, cutting in. “It'll be far better if she revealed herself. After all, it's been a long time since a macro Pokémon appeared in this world, so she'll be renown throughout the entire continent if not the world. Not to mention that given on what you told us about her, she's not a destructive type, so the town won't be harmed outside of an accident. And the citizens will worship her like they worship the Great Protector, so all of her needs will be met. Sounds like a win, so why not convince her to reveal herself?”

“Um,” Mayor Richard said, remembering Faith and Adrian hours ago. Of course, all of these points struck him back then when he saw Faith and how huge she was. It would be beneficial for him if she revealed herself as a giant to the town. But it wasn't the time for her to become reasoned with. “I know what you said is true. But she isn't interested.”

“Why not convince her to do it?” the second Blastoise asked again. “I'm sure that she'll listen to facts.”

“Boy, if you recalled what I just told you, she's now 250 feet tall,” the Pyroar answered. “Even though you both are water-type Pokémon, you're talking about fighting someone who'll require the entire town to even move her a foot. Just be patient.”

“But-”

The first Blastoise waved his hand at the second one. “We'll take the job. We'll be patient. Also, what happened to your desk? Is it something we should fix?”

“It was caused by a Dragonite named-”

“Oh. I know a carpenter who can replace it for you.”

“Er, thank you,” Mayor Richard said in a kind voice while, in his mind, he was annoyed that his hope to get Captain Galeron to replace it had failed. He watched the two walked out the door as he gave out a strained smile. Well, all of the pieces to hide Faith had been placed. Let's hope that it wouldn't take too long for her to shrink to normal, which would be the perfect time to convince her to reveal herself.

After all, she wouldn't be big enough for her to resist him with their help.

---

The two weeks passed by in a Slowpoke pace, Faith felt as she hid in the hiding spot. Though it didn't diminish her happiness when she saw the help that Mayor Richard gave to her so it would be easier during those days along with Adrian. She was comfortable with Dr. Erelah and her team with them observing her, learning about giant Pokémon and how they could've lived.

“I do believe that I have a hypothesis on why you don't feel hungry anymore,” Dr. Erelah said to Faith on the third day.

“Oh? What is it?” Faith asked, laying down low so she could be at around eye level. Yet, because of how huge she still was, she's still looking down at the doctor.

“My theory is that, because of the huge influx of energy Faith built up until recently, it had temporarily replaced the need for foods since they would be needed for energy,” Dr. Erelah answered, her hand rubbing her feelers on her ears. “Of course, the water part isn't as easily replaceable since we don't drink water for energy usually, but for body regulations. Like making sure the body temperature is at the right level.”

“OK, but why haven't Faith needed foods now?” Adrian asked, who was sitting next to the Audino. “The influx of power she built up due to the evolutionary flux had stopped for days now.”

“That is something I thought of when developing my hypothesis,” Dr. Erelah answered again. “I believe that it's because, despite not in-taking any foods during the last few days, she just has that much energy to spare. Of course, that would mean that, when Faith is back to normal size, she'll have intense hunger pains due to not eating for so long.”

Faith blinked and imagined herself on the ground, laying down and unable to move. “I-I hope that there's something to eat by then.”

“Very much so,” Dr. Erelah said as she looked down at Adrian in amusement, seeing Adrian's horrified expression. “I must say, this is very fascinating. I wondered if all macros back in those days were like that or only those like you. At least most of them would've been like you, Faith, since such a massive body would require a ton of energy in order to just move a single step without collapsing in on itself. So much energy that, even if a giant ate everything and everyone in Arkanilacum, they wouldn't have a quarter of the needed energy needed.”

The Vulpix looked down at Dr. Erelah, her face turned green at trying to comprehend it. Still, at least noticeable progress has been seen in her shrinking down from 250 feet. It also meant less time for the other Pokémon to brush off all the dirt and grime off of her since there's less space to cover.

Four days afterward, Faith was chatting with David's wife, Amber, when it was her shift. The two Zoroark's agreed that the two would take turns in maintaining the Illusion around the area, hiding Faith and the crew. Faith also noticed Adrian talking to Captain Galeron around that time as well, but she was unable to hear what they were saying.

“I do wonder what my silly husband is doing,” Amber said before she blushed. “Did I just say that out loud? Sorry, can you ignore that?”

“Er, what do you mean?” Faith asked, ignoring Amber's requested. “Wouldn't he be at home while you're here?”

“I thought so too, but some of my friends near our home told me that he rarely goes inside. They don't know where he is. I'm just worried that.” She paused as she rubbed a red claw against her chin. “That he might have been-”

“Oh. I wouldn't worry,” Faith said, realizing what was on Amber's mind. “I knew him for years before I met Adrian. I knew, even back then when he was a Zorua, that he's not that type of Pokémon.”

“Yes, I guess,” Amber said. She rubbed one of her ears with a claw. “Yet, where does he go? And why doesn't he talk to me about it?”

Faith paused as she rubbed her own white paw against her chin. “Perhaps you should ask him then. I doubt that he'll keep it a secret any longer from you if you confront him about it.”

“I know I should,” Amber said as she shifted her eyes and feet from side to side. “But what if my fears are confirmed? What if he's not the Zoroark I thought I knew?”

“Then give him one hell of a smack-down,” Faith answered with a wink of her baby blue eyes. “And leave room for me when you're done.”

Amber looked up at Faith, a grin forming on her face. “OK. I'll do it and I'll make sure he'll regret it if he's been fooling around behind my back.”

The next day, when David left for the day and Amber took his spot for maintaining the Illusion, Faith asked, “How did it go?”

“It went extremely well,” Amber answered, her face radiating happiness. “When I talked to him about it, he did explain what he was doing and even gave proof on it. It turned out to be not as bad as I thought. In fact, it's even better than what I thought it might be.”

“That's great news,” Faith said, smiling down at the Zoroark. A pause passed by as Faith tilted her head. “What was he doing?”

“He made me swear not to tell,” Amber answered with a giggle. “Don't look disappointed, Faith. Just know that, when all this is over, you won't have to worry.”

Faith nodded as she spied Adrian coming in, looking high in spirits himself. “Hey there, Adrian. What's up?”

“Nothing,” he answered, his fur fluffed up as he wagged his bushy tail. “I had some talks and made some preparations with Captain Galeron. I know what you'll ask and I'll say no, I won't tell. Sorry, Faith?”

“But why?” Faith asked in an exaggerated whiny tone as she booped Adrian's tone with a soft touch that wouldn't knock over a boulder down a hill. “Pokémon around me are keeping secrets that I want to know.”

Adrian laughed as he pushed away from the giant paw much larger than him. “Because I know you'll want in on it. While this would normally be a good thing with me, it does involve Arkanilacum and, with you being at the size you are, it'll attract too much attention and ruined the surprise I'm planning.”

“Surprise? A surprise for me?” Faith asked, wagging her six tails while not chipping out boulders from the high hills.

“No, not for you. In fact, the one who'll get it will hate it,” Adrian said with a wink. “Just be patient and, who knows, maybe it wouldn't come to pass.”

Faith gave out an exaggerated sigh and relaxed. She does feel happy and not even the secret keeping done by her friends would dampen it since she had shrunk down massively since the previous week. Instead of 250 feet tall, she was just under 150 feet tall and, while it's too slow for her taste (and everyone for that matter, in particular, the ones who helped brush off the soil off of her), it at least won't take weeks for her to be back to normal.

The next week passed by with no real incident and her shrunk pace had stayed constant and, when the second week ended, she's only fifty feet tall. Just one more week, she thought, and things will go back to normal. Then she would get her long bath washing out the weeks of stress and filth off of her fur.