…This is Malva with the daily report from Kalos. Moving onto to news outside of our beautiful region, life is looking bleaker for certain individuals within the Unova Region. The recent legislation, Shrinking Heinous and Repugnant Individuals Normalizes Kindness, also known as the SHRINK Act, has been anything but kind. The Unova government had taken to using the Minimize Ray to shrink the population of the Unova Prison Population. What was initially an attempt to control the prison population size and resource expenditure, has transformed into a typical display of capitalist consumerism. These criminals who have their rights as humans taken under this new law, are not only shrunk to handheld size, but are now being sold as objects. The increase in the Unova GDP stand in contrast to the global condemnation of this blatant disregard of prisoner’s rights. Human rights proponents have argued, aside from this extreme form of punitive punishment, that the guilt of the criminals subjected to these procedures may still be questionable. On the other hand, …

With a frown, Hilda shut off the television, her thoughts disturbed by the dark direction that Unova appeared to be heading. What was initially a new means to collect data on the micro-interactions of unique energy signatures—Evolution, Ultra Wormholes, and Dynamax Energy—became a tool to commit atrocities against criminals.  Hilda sighed, attempting to direct her thoughts to more lighthearted matters. Although the task that Bianca and she were engaged with made that difficult. 

“Hey Hilda, why do you look so glum?” Bianca asked as she held what was an earlier model of the Minimize Ray.

“Nothing. I was just worried if this was going to work or not.” Hilda hid her distress as she held with two hands a large gold band. A dark ore was nested on top of it. The weight of the object made Hilda strain a little. The item was the result of having Clay melt and weld a bunch of gold nuggets into the band. The dark ore was the very stone that Hilda had used to summon Zekrom during her time of need against N. Someone that she had not seen since, a saddening thought for the growing girl, who had felt as if she developed a real connection with the misanthropic and misguided individual.

The reason that these two objects were combined was a simple one. It would serve as a Mother’s Day present for Hilda’s mom. The dark stone had become nothing more than an oversized paperweight for the young girl. However, she was hesitant to let it go due to nature of the object. Along with the fact that she had not seen her mother since she went on her Pokemon journey with Tepig, Hilda decided to hit two Pidoves with one Roggenrola, by gifting the large stone to her mother for this holiday. An idea that hadn’t popped in her head until Bianca was cleaning out Professor Juniper’s inventory and happened on the outdated experimental model. Thus, Bianca snuck out the Minimize Ray to help Hilda in making a one-of-a-kind ring for a Mother’s Day present.

“Don’t worry Hilda, we’ll return the device after we shrink the stone and bands to ring size.” Neither of the girls wished to use the ring for malignant purposes. From their perception, the proportionality of the punishment far outweighed the attributed crimes of these individuals. Many of them were former Team Plasma Grunts, mislead and used by Ghestis and his nefarious scheme to take over Unova.

“I never knew that this would happen to the underlings. If only I kept a closer eye about those around me instead of basking in my new status as champion.” Hilda’s thoughts continued despite Bianca’s reassurances. It was this mindset that she had adopted that led her to commit to this extravagant effort for a Mother’s Day Present. Hilda placed the soon-to-be ring on the table and typed out a message on her Xtransciever to her mother of the present that they had prepared for her. She wanted to stay to see her mother try on the ring, however their schedules ended up not matching up today. Skyla, Bianca, and she planned to travel to a region that she was wholly unfamiliar with. Although she did hear that there was a cute Grass type Car Pokémon there.

Hilda walked back to the side of her blonde-haired friend. Her green eyes sparkling at the thought of engaging in this unsupervised experiment. Only recently being accepted as a research assistant under Professor Juniper, Bianca hasn’t had much active engagement in the current projects her supervisor oversaw. Hilda looked at the Minimize Ray that begun to power up. The humming of the machine was oddly soothing for a device that inadvertently brought so much pain after falling into the wrong hands. It was at this point that Hilda’s contemplation spontaneously arrived at the fact that the last time she had seen her mom in person was before this device was utilized for punitive sentences. “Now that I think about it, did mom and I ever talk about her thoughts on this issue?” The gentle hum of the Minimize ray, that mimicked the cry of the Fairy-type Pokemon that it originated from had transformed. Interrupting Hilda’s pondering as it sounded more like a Kricketune. Hilda’s eyes turned up to Bianca and her hands reached out to her friend after she yelped. The old device, long since it was last used, had heated up to an incredible degree. Causing Bianca to drop the device as static sparks flew out of it. Before either of them could react, the contraption hit the floor with a loud thud before everything turned white. Then everything faded into darkness.

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A woman walked out of a grocery in a swift pace after seeing a text message from her daughter. Hilda’s mother, to meet up with her before she headed out for Alola with Skyla, left the store without buying anything. Fortunately, her home was nearby, as all buildings were in Nuvema Town. It was a small community, but a close one that helped pass her days and develop friendships since her and Hilda had started living there. Relationships that she had leaned onto more strongly with Hilda being gone for the better part of the year. “Oh, Hilda is going to be surprised to realize that I was in still town.” Her mother said as she typed out a response to her daughter on her Xtransciever. Her face adopted a plussed expression upon her several failed attempts at sending the message. Stopping for a second to check on the device, she happened to be adjacent to a television that was playing Malva’s guest segment.

…Professor Sycamore, it is well known that you and Professor Juniper had both had an essential part to play in the creation of the Minimize Ray. What is your opinion of its current popular usage in Unova? 

It is an absolutely horrid state of affairs. Not only does the punishment not fit tinge crime, but with increasing the demand and increasing normalization of this practice, it’s inevitable that the threshold of what justifies this shrinking punishment under the SHRINK act is going to decrease. Eventually the Unova public’s market is going to be saturated with petty criminals shrunken down for the cruel entertainment of price lives individuals who had the fortune of being born into a good environment. Even now, from recent case studies, it appears that many of these criminals committed these crimes under situations where they had minimal autonomy. To allow for policies to drive social behaviors in this direction will…

Hilda’s Mother had stopped listening to the broadcast as she walked away and towards her home. The mother’s pace slowing down as her messages failed to send. “She must already be flying off with Hilda at this moment.” The mother sighed as she walked in a leisurely stroll through her town. Unconcerned of making it in time to greet her daughter now. Her mind drifted to the news piece that was on the television adjacent to her. “Hmph. Now they’re asking professor’s opinions about public matters. What a way for them to politicize this matter. There are enough things that are acting as wedge issues between us and the other party within the nation.” Hilda’s mother thought to herself. A woman who was convinced that the punitive punishment in place is necessary for their region’s smooth operation. “I would have appreciated such advances back when I was traveling as a trainer. I can’t even count the number of deviants that needed to be cleaned off the streets.” Hilda’s mom thoughts continued as she reached the door to her house. Just as she placed her hand on the doorknob, the mother thought about her daughter. “I…don’t think I’ve ever talked with Hilda about the Minimize Ray since she left on her journey?”

Click

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The two trainers, Bianca, and Hilda, in pain from the sudden explosion roused themselves from their unconscious state, their vision blurry as they opened their eyes around the same time. The first thing that they noticed was that the environment was alien to them, and they were unable to see each other. 

Bianca was standing on a coarse brown surface. Minor ledges and darkened circles were in the distance as the light reflected off the floor and onto her face. She had difficulty getting up due to the brim marks on her arms. Her body shivered before she realized that she was without clothes. Minor disintegrated fragments surrounded her. As she called for Hilda and walked on this never-ending landscape, she realized that the blurred sky was not due to her vision. Her foot bumped on the Dark Stone Band that Hilda and her prepared for her mom. While bouncing up and down from stubbing her toe, she looked to a side of the environment that she had ignored up to this point. Bianca nearly fell over as she looked at the looming clear cylinder. Her mind was taken off the numb burning sensation over her arms. Bianca processed the structure before her. “Wait…isn’t that the glass that was on the table…” Just as Bianca realized that she and Hilda must have shrunk a loud noise reverberated through her world, which was merely the living room of Hilda’s house.

CLICK

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“Oh no.” Hilda had said before her mother opened the door. She had arrived at Bianca’s conclusion much sooner. Her body had shrunk, and the clothes were loss to the energy dispersed by the Minimize ray. Hilda was not as bother by her naked body as she was by the remnants of the Minimize Ray, shrunken shrapnel had surrounded her as she stood on the carpeted floor of her living room. The brown-haired trainer looked for her Xtransciever, a device that was destroyed from the spontaneous shrinking process. “Thank goodness that I left my Pokemon in the care of Professor Juniper. But now I must find Bianca and find a way to get help.

CLICK

THUMP

CLICK

THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP

Hilda’s attention was drawn to the large noise radiating from the front of her house. The floor shook as Hilda steadied herself on the fur of the carpet. Bianca was not as lucky as the smooth surface of the table forced her to sprawl back first onto the rough surface. The wind being knocked out of the blonde-haired trainer’s lungs as the relatively gargantuan woman lumbered into the room after taking off her loafers. The air currents created by the giantess’s body blowed over Hilda who was still standing up. Knocking the daughter off her feet as the mother neared the table. The socked feet stopped right before Hilda. Even though she was facing straight up to the ceiling, Hilda was able to smell the odor that was baked within the confines of her mother’s loafers. The girl gagged as she turned her head to the side of the foot. The sock clung tightly to her mother’s bulbous toes. The white of the sock was turned into a gray fibrous surface speckled with brown and black dots. The mother’s short jaunt, shopping under the blistering sun of this early summer day, resulted in her perspiration pooling into her loafers. Wetting the sock and adhering it to the mother’s soles and toes, as the salty liquid picked up the dirt that built up in her loafers. Hilda continued to cough as the nauseous fumes of her mother’s feet immobilized her. Her mother was immobilized in her stance as the tremendous volume produced by her vocal cords sounded like a voice that did not belong to a human. As if the voice belonged to a being far beyond her, which it literally was for her daughter. Hilda, paralyzed in awe inhaled sharply as the displaced wind blew over her body once more. The damp and dirty sole of her mother lifted once more as above Hilda. Before it rushed back downwards enveloping Hilda in its embrace. Hilda’s form, cushioned by the fibers of the carpet, conformed under the insole of her mother. Otherwise, the daughter would have been crushed into a bloody smear before her mind would have been able to process the impact. Instead, Hilda was faced with a more painful fate as she felt half her mother’s body weight settle over her small frame. Her lungs compressed, forcing her to expire the vapors to join the malodorous miasma produced by her maternal figure’s rush to see her daughter. As her eyes bad nose burned from the smell, the damp sock material forced its way into Hilda’s open mouth. Hilda’s body slightly convulsed as the sweat sodden material squished out the foot sweat it absorbed earlier. Her movements restricted as the pressure of the sole held her body steady.

Meanwhile, her mother had gasped at the sight of what she perceived to be her daughter’s presents for her. A ring with a dark stone embedded in the center and a blonde “Minnie”, what they were colloquially called at Nuvema Town, that were all the rage. “Awww. I can’t believe Hilda was able to get not only this beautiful ring, but also this female Minnie.” Hilda’s mother said, unable to see that it was her daughter’s friend Bianca due to their difference in scale. From the mother’s perspective it could have been any blonde woman and she would be unable to tell who exactly they were. It was her shock at how generous her daughter was in splurging for these undoubtedly expensive items, that prevented her from noticing the object underneath her right foot. She reached her hand over and scooped the pair of gifts. The giantess, with Bianca in her hand, walks off to the couch and table in front of the television. The place where Hilda was on the floor now vacant. Only a depression of the mother’s sizable foot was left. The fibers slowly sprung back up as the mother sat down and flipped to a random channel, as she prepared to indulge in her gift. 

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Bianca reeling from the wind leaving her lungs, her stinging arms, and the dull pounding pain over her back, was only able to look up at the posture of the giantess before her. Her pain and the loud volume made the words the woman say indecipherable. She was barely able to see that it was Hilda’s mom above her due to how her breasts obscured her face. The gaze intimidating as it looked down at her, with a gaze unfamiliar to the blonde-haired trainer. Throughout the clumsy and naive girl’s journey, she had seen this gaze directed towards her occasionally. Bianca at first thought they were looking for a battle, but these trainers never approached her and only looked on from afar. She had never seen this expression upon the face of her friend’s mother. Eyes that simultaneously stared directly at her and not at her. The corners of the kind mother’s lips were upturned as the wrinkles around her eyes and cheeks tightened to frame a countenance that was too devilish to be called a simple smirk. The foreign situation terrified her, before she could act, a hand the size of her body gripped her figure and the present. The gold band and stone jabbed against her side painfully as the sweaty palm tightened its grip. The embrace was too tight to be called a hug, Bianca was unable to even let out a yelp as the hand moved in an arc. It was like a rollercoaster for the blonde-haired girl, except the mother’s fingers, which served as restraints in this ride, were much too unyielding. The irritating liquid that lined the mother’s palms rubbed over Bianca’s sensitive areas as the wind violently whipped passed her. Robbing her of the chance to breathe or her vestibular system to catch up. The only constant for the blonde trainer was the arc like motion of her organic cage, and the dark stone which had begun to pierce her skin. Small rivulets of blood trickling from her side. An amount that would go unnoticed by the larger-than-life mother. 

Finally, the rollercoaster came to a startling stop, as Bianca was plunged downward as the mother sat down on the couch. The friend of her daughter had nearly blacked out from the simple ordeal. Bianca had not even noticed the additional uproar brought about by the mother turning the television on. Fighting to stay awake as the five restraints unfurled from her form. Two large structures came up to Bianca’s side, she involuntarily flinched away and hid her face from the once kind figure. One that now treated her so callously. Panicked shallow breaths were all that Bianca was capable of.

Hilda’s mother had noticed this from observing the fragile figure in her palm once more. “I heard that this would be a rush, but this is just something else. I can feel her…not it’s…chest moving with her breathing. It’s much smaller than any Pokemon and much more fragile. Why, I’m sure that if it tried to run away it would only get picked up and swallowed by another Pokémon.” The mother thought as she gazed down at the pathetic figure. A warm feeling, distinct from the one that would well up whenever she saw her daughter’s smiling face, had sprouted. She had power over this insignificant Minnie’s life. Her socked feet resting, scrunched the fibers of the carpet. The material of her floor oddly bulged a giant one of her soles. “How did its arms and side get discolored like that. Wait is that blood?” The mother thought as she ignored the carpet. Her thoughts morphed due to incidents of Minnies becoming a Pokemon’s meal, the blood on this Minnie’s side, and several other owner’s callous actions towards their Minnies. Before she realized what she was doing, the mother had brought the shivering figure up to her parted mouth. Exhaling before she let her tongue contact her squirming possession. Her foot tightened over the loose pieces of fiber under her right foot.