An adaptation electric types have to avoid damage from electricity can backfire in higher voltage amounts, extra inconvenient in tight spaces….


“Lux, can you check the wire box? The appliances have been on the fritz again.” Lux sighed and closed the book he had been reading. His boss was currently peering into the back of their old stove, an unbaked tray of cookies sitting on one of the racks.
“And I’m doing it cause?” Acorn looked up at him.
“You’re immune to electricity, aren’t you? I’d usually have Zaps do it but he’s home sick right now. Got a joltik while hiking and now he’s on bed rest for a week.”
“So what, you just think because I’m an electric type it’ll hurt less when I get shocked?”
“Yes, I think precisely that. When you check, be careful. A rat or something must’ve chewed through one of the wires and may still be there.” Lux growled under his breath, but obliged, making sure to stomp angrily past his boss, just so he knew he wasn’t happy about this.

“Arceus Acorn, hire an electrician.” Lux mumbled to himself as he crawled into the small space where they kept the wires. Acorn was right, something had gotten into their wiring. The main wire that supplied the appliances with their power had been frayed rather considerably. Other than that, everything was in order, or about as much order as it was usually in. When they’d first opened, Acorn and Lux had rewired the place so they could keep as many appliances going as they did. It was prone to malfunction and it was a miracle the place hadn’t burnt down yet, but it worked.
“Looks like we’ve got joltiks here too…” Lux pushed aside the body of a joltik, the most likely suspect for the fraying. It was rather swollen so chances are it was happily feeding on the wiring, got a bit too greedy, bit through the main wire itself, and received upwards of 240 volts at once, dying instantly. Lux shook his head, wondering how one even got into the cafe. Granted, some larger or more powerful electric types may not notice a joltik, so chances are it was brought in by a customer. Lux made a mental note to tell Acorn about it, and rolled onto his back to reach up and fix the wire.
He’d brought extra wiring but to fix it he was going to need to shut the power off. Flipping the manual switch, the lights shut off and he grabbed a flashlight from the toolkit he’d brought, holding it between his teeth. Grabbing onto one side of the frayed wire, he used pliers to clip off the damaged portion, repeating it on the other side as well. He was able to cut a section of new wire to the exact size, and strip the ends of the three pieces no problem. But now he had a problem. He had to fray and intertwine the pieces together. Could he use pliers, yes. BUT if he used his paws and “accidentally” stabbed himself in the hand, he could take the rest of the day off… Paws it was.
Grabbing onto the bare wire of one of the sides of the original wires, Lux could feel electricity coursing through his body. It wasn’t anything too harsh, a rather warm feeling, but when he reached over to grab the small piece he’d cut, he couldn’t find it. Instead, he found a small set of four eyes staring back at him.
“Oh, hey little guy. You wouldn’t happen to have my wire, would you?” The joltik didn’t respond as expected, but instead began crawling towards him. Lux jerked back away from the bug, but found his claws entangled in the wire. He heard a faint ripping noise, but figured it must’ve been his uniform getting caught on something and torn. His apron was starting to get a bit tight as well, but unfortunately, his paws were a bit full at the moment and he couldn't reach it.
“Shit, shit, shit! Acorn!” Lux yelled for the stantler, but got no reply. He could feel his body starting to hit its absorbed voltage limit but despite his best efforts he couldn’t let go of the wire. The joltik continued to crawl towards him and he tried to growl to scare it off, but in his effort to escape he just got more tangled. Lux tried desperately to scooch backwards through the entrance he’d come in, but found he was unable to, both from the wires and now from another unfortunate fact that he was now realizing.
His body, in order to try and store the electricity without hurting him, was converting the electricity into calories. And not at a redundant rate either. It seemed the shut off had just redirected the electricity back to the wire box, which should be impossible, but with the mess of wires he and Acorn had made when they were first wired the thing, he wasn’t surprised. Unfortunately, that meant there was now about 240 volts with nowhere to go but him.
Continuing to try and jerk his way out, Lux now also had to deal with it getting substantially harder to move. He watched as fat began to pile on onto the arm still tangled with the main wire, flab hanging downwards. It didn’t hurt or anything, but the growing weight was making it more and more difficult to get out.
His butt was the only part not crammed into the wire box, and from the breeze Lux was able to feel, he found the location of the earlier ripping. His apron gave out with a pop on all it’s own, and Lux continued to try and tug, viscerally aware of his belly pressing into the bottom of the vent. Normally he’d probably enjoy this, even more if it was happening to someone else, but in the current situation, even with the pleasant warm feeling spreading through every inch of fur he had, it was a nuisance if anything.
“Oh you’re enjoying this, aren’t you.” The joltik had stopped crawling towards him and was sitting just out of his reach, staring at him. “You and your little friend planned this to trap me, didn’t you.” The bug cocked its head and Lux snarled at it. “You’re a menace.” Lux tried to swat at it, but he couldn’t move any further, being completely stuck. He could even hear the light creaking of metal, indicating that the entrance may give out before he does. The most he could do on the outside was lash his tail side to side, sheathe and unsheathe his rear claws, and wiggle his legs a bit. The leg wiggling did send ripples across his rear, now completely uncovered by clothes due to the original breach, but seeing as Acorn was still yet to make an appearance, there was no need to feel embarrassed.
“I should’ve let Acorn do this, that would’ve been fun to watch… Alright little guy, you have any ideas to get me out?” The joltik just stared, then began crawling towards him again. Lux screamed and kept trying to scramble away, but due to all the swelling fat, the most he was able to do was jiggle. The joltik grabbed onto his arm, and bit down.
“HEY!” It was too late, the joltik sent all its stored energy right into Lux’s body. What remained of his clothes, the scraps they were, evacuated instantly from his body, leaving him completely naked. He figured he should be cold, but the fat was nice and warm. The wire box was so filled with his girth that the joltik ended up slammed against the wall of the small area, dying instantly. Lux growled with effort, but the sudden spurt of growth seemed to have loosened the entrance. With all his might, he was able to rocket himself out of the wire box, wires snapping as he launched himself into the counter behind him. The impact left him out of breath, but he was at least out of the box. Breathing heavily and sweating, Lux slowly looked down at his body. He must’ve put on 200, even 300 pounds in the past few minutes. His face and neck were swollen and every inch of his body that he could see was covered in fat.
Lux sighed as he leaned back against the counter, letting himself rest for a moment.
“So, did you fix the wires?” Lux’s ears pricked and he looked up, seeing a very amused Acorn sitting on top of the countertop. Lux grabbed onto the edge of the counter to pull himself up, but barely managed to get his chin above the counter before it became too much for him, his fat bouncing up and down from the impact.
“You put that joltik in there.” This seemed to surprise Acorn.
“Joltik… Is that what it was? No, I didn’t put it there. I just knew there was something chewing through the wires. I heard a commotion and I came over to help, but you seem to have figured it out.” Lux glared at him, but said nothing, managing to hoist himself up using the counter.
“Here,” Acorn tossed him an apron, which Lux promptly put on, “It’s the largest size we’ve got, so that’ll have to do. I’d offer you some more clothes, but I don’t have any on hand that size.” The apron barely covered Lux’s stomach, and the gift felt more like a twist of the knife, but it was better than nothing he supposed.
“So, the wires? It’s a bit hard to bake in the dark.” Lux’s eyes must’ve adjusted to the dark, as he hadn’t even realized they still didn’t have any power.
“No, I didn’t fix them. Probably made it worse actually. But the joltiks are dead, so you shouldn’t have to worry about any more chewing.” Acorn beamed and hopped off the counter. Lux followed, too aware of how much his joints hurt with each step.
“So…” Acorn held the back door open for Lux, “Looks like I’m calling an electrician. Do you want to get some dinner?”
“Are you crazy?!? Do I look like I need more calories?!?” Lux paused, his stomach rumbling, “Though, I could go for a good burger right now.”
“That’s what I thought. C’mon, burgers and fries are on me!”