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Transformation Causes

In any story in which a character changes form, regardless of whether they become a giant, an Incredible Shrinking Man, or even the opposite sex, this is usually explained using of the following reasons:

They Just Woke Up That Way.
A Mad Scientist
- An Evilutionary Biologist experimented on them.
- They were shot with a Transformation Ray or Shrink Ray.
- They were Playing With Syringes.
- They were injected with a Super Serum.
  - The Super Serum went wrong.
- They were genetically modified.
  - Which gave them an Unstable Genetic Code.
They were involved in a nasty Teleporter Accident.
- They were accidentally fused together with another creature.
They were accidentally exposed to a strange substance.
- They ate the Mutagenic Food.
  - They ate the new and improved crunchtastic Yummypops.
- They were exposed to strange radiation or nuclear waste.
- They got too close to the Green Rocks.
They were in a strange place that caused transformations.
- They took a dip in the Fountain of Youth.
- They fell into the cursed swamp.
- Their reality got warped or re-written.
- They got hit by the World Wrecking Wave.
They have always been destined to transform at a certain point in their lives.
- They're a Half-Human Hybrid
  - It's a natural process of Metamorphosis for them.
- They have a number of "natural" genetic mutations that don't manifest until puberty.
- They inherited a family curse.
- They're "evolving" into a superior lifeform.
- They were carrying certain genes that got "activated" somehow.
Transformation is contagious
- It's a virus, and the character was infected (possibly through biting).
- They were splashed with a monster's bodily fluids.
They became the host to an alien parasite.
- They received a Face Full of Alien Wing-Wong.
- They were by something that wanted them to transform.
They received the form from somebody else.
- They were given the form as a gift.
- They earned their new form by Working For A Body Upgrade.
- They were given a Superhuman Transfusion.
- A dying character gave them the power.
- They were given a copy of the form from another character.
- They gained the form by fighting someone with it (although the form may not last).
  - They assimilated or ate a foe who had the form.
  - They became subject to You Kill It, You Bought It.
- They gained the form as a reaction to being attacked.
They were on the brink of death and it was the only way to save them.
- They were "rebuilt" with cybernetic parts
They switched bodies with someone else
They triggered a Transformation Trinket.
- They wore a garment that transformed them
- A Clingy MacGuffin got stuck to them.
They made the wrong wish to a Literal Genie.
They pissed off a witch.
- They pissed off the Gods.
- They pissed off the author.
  - The author is into that sort of thing.
They were a complete jerk and they deserved it.
- They were such a jerk that they started transforming all on their own.
It was a Bargain With Heaven.
- Or a Deal with the Devil.
A Wizard Did It
They were struck by lightning.
They wanted to change.
They only think they transformed
A videogame hero has just slain their usual form.

It's also worth noting that a lot of these are also what might give a character Superpowers, however, gaining a superpower tends to be more of a plot focus, whereas in a transformation story, the focus is more on what happens during or after the change rather than what caused it.