Cress started to scramble backwards as Firrin’s grin continued to widen.

“He-Hey! Fi-Firrin! Please wait!” Cress began to plead desperately. “It was just an accident! You know it was!”

Firrin just chuckled as he watched Cress scamper backwards. The Charmander took an exaggerated step forward, causing the ground below Cress to shake. His gigantic orange foot landed just mere inches away from the tiny Totodile.

He crouched low to the ground to get a better look at Cress and tilted his head with a smirk. “Yeah, but it was quite embarrassing to be stuck to your dirty, sweaty toe all day.” He started to tap a finger on his chin. “You know, I was thinking…”

“Th-thinking what?!” Cress gulped as he inched further backwards. “Hey! C-Come on! Let’s —WHOA!” He yelped as Firrin suddenly stood and lifted his foot slightly, hovering it over him.

Firrin gave a low chuckle. “I was thinking of helping you…” He wiggled his toes above Cress. “But this is a rare opportunity~ I mean, now I can step on you too.”

“FIRRIN, NO!” Cress threw his arms up in terror.

Firrin let his foot descend just enough to scare Cress, feeling the warmth radiating from his sole. Then, with an amused snort, he pulled back. “Nah, I’m just messing with you.”

Cress sighed in relief.

Then Firrin crouched and plucked him between two of his fingers.

“H-Hey! Put me down!” Cress flailed.

Firrin held him up to eye level, his tail flame dancing in amusement. “Hmm… I could try to fix this. But y’know… I keep thinking of that time I got shrunk and stuck to your toe.”

Cress froze. “N-No, no, no, don’t you dare—“

Firrin carried him across the room over to his bed. “Speaking of putting you down, I got the perfect place in mind.”

Cress’s eyes widened and heart sank as he saw what Firrin was heading for—a pair of well-worn blue flip-flops lying on the floor next to his bed.

“Wait. WAIT! FIRRIN, NO!”

Firrin chuckled, ignoring Cress’s protests as he lowered him onto the cushioned insole of his right flip-flop. A wave of musky, burnt rubber hit Cress immediately, assaulting his senses.

Cress immediately jumped to his feet, scrambling to run, but Firrin’s foot loomed above.

“Uh-oh,” Firrin said pretending to be concerned, wiggling his toes. “I better be careful where I step!”

“DON’T YOU DARE—“

THWAP.

Firrin’s foot came down, pinning Cress beneath it. The Totodile was smothered under the warm sweaty sole, completely trapped. His tiny limbs squirmed, but the Charmander’s weight made it impossible to move.

“Ooh, this is quite comfy,” Firrin hummed playfully. “I could get used to this.”

Cress let out a muffled groan.

Firrin smirked, sliding his foot fully into the flip-flop, securing Cress in place. “Oh, I almost forgot! The Guildmaster wanted an update on your research. Guess I better walk over and tell him~.”

Cress’s muffled screams were drowned out as Firrin casually strolled out of the room, making his way through the guild. Each step jostled the shrunken Totodile beneath his sole, the soft padding of the flip-flops offering little relief.

Firrin hummed a cheerful tune, making his way to Guildmaster Flynt’s office. When he entered, the large Flygon who was reading reports on his laptop looked up.

“Firrin?” the guildmaster questioned. “Where’s Cress? I thought you were going to get him?”

Firrin stifled a snicker. “Oh, he’s still analyzing the artifacts, though, uh… he’s pretty immersed in his work.” Firrin applied more pressure under his foot, causing a muffled groan to escape from Cress. He then wiggled his toes. “He’s doing a very in-depth study at this moment!”

The guildmaster nodded. “Ah, I see. Well, let him know I’ll need his report later.”

“Yes, sir,” Firrin said with a grin, spinning on his heel and heading back to his room.

By the time he returned, Cress was fuming. Firrin plopped down into the red armchair next to his desk, sinking into the plush fabric and sighing contently as he slipped off his left flip flop, brought up his foot, and crossed it over his leg.

Cress’s muffled voice was livid. “FIRRIN! YOU’RE A MONSTER!”

Firrin grinned, “Actually, I’m a Pocket Monster, Cress. And maybe just a bit of an opportunist, too.”

He tapped his foot against the floor a few times, causing Cress to bounce slightly and move towards his toes. Then, for fun, he slapped the flip-flop against the ground, making Cress’s world shake, pinning him between his toes.

“Oh yeah,” Firrin smirked happily. “This definitely makes up for last time.”

Cress groaned. “Yeah, yeah… laugh it up, you overgrown lizard. Just wait ‘til I get back to normal.”

---

This awesome artwork was a YCH done by  owun and this short story was written by me.

This happens to directly follow Beware of Mysterious Shrinking Artifacts. How much longer can this story go?

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