Into the Unown Ch 200 + 201 (Coffee tier)

Author's note:

Chapter 200!!!!!!!!!!

To celebrate, I've got a double release for you all today. With Ch 201 being a double length chapter as well.

Also, thank you to everyone who voted in the poll last time. It hasn't technically ended yet but the results seem to be an overwhelming no for now. So we'll continue with the current release format.

Quite surprising, honestly. But it does warm my heart.

***

Chapter 200

Nina breathed in the fragrant spring air as Nairy glided through the twilight skies. Her partner was going at a sedate pace owing to the fact that he was holding onto Collin in a Fly Basket below.

The girl had asked the hiker man if he would like to go back to the city with them at the end of the day. And although reluctant at first, Collin was ultimately unable to resist the call of civilization and agreed to come along. Especially when Nina promised to buy him a hearty meal as thanks for all of his help that day.

“Ramen. I would like a big bowl of ramen.” The man had said, eliciting laughter from Nina. She loved her noodles as well, though she hadn’t had much ramen since her transmigration — most places only had meat-based broths.

“Pretty sure we passed by a place the other day that sold seafood ramen… Where was it again?”

“Es.”

Nina’s musings were interrupted when Espy poked at her mind and directed her attention towards the eastern entrance of Violet City, where she could see a Charizard touching down. The Fire Pokemon was being ridden by a pair of humans and clutching a black bundle in his claws.

“Is that…?”

Espy nodded, affirming Nina’s thoughts.

“Heh. They’re finally here. Nitey, let’s head over and check on those two tardy rascals.”

“Niite~”

The Dragonite shifted his wings and changed course towards the eastern end of Violet City where, presumably, Justin and Lucy were registering their entry into the city.

“Jerry, Lucy! ‘Bout time the two of you showed up!” Nina called, but halted in her steps once she got a better look at her friends; surrounded on all sides by police officers and handing over a group of tied up Rocket grunts — the black bundle that Lucy’s Charizard was carrying.

Justin jolted and lit up when he saw Nina, running over to greet her despite Officer Jenny’s protest.

“Nina, hey! You won’t be able to guess what we just did!” The boy began, with an insufferably smug grin.

Nina sighed and pointed towards the black clad individuals being apprehended by the group of officers. “I have eyes, you know? Good work, by the way. But where did you find this lot? I thought these assholes would be laying low after what happened to the Yamaguchi Group.”

Justin scoffed. “Yeah, thanks for inviting me — not! Why didn’t you guys call me?! I wanted to kick some Rocket ass too!”

The girl responded with another sigh. “I nearly got killed, Justin. It was a foolish endeavor and I regretted every second of it. And besides, you weren’t around back then.”

However, before the boy could respond, the Officer Jenny that he was speaking to earlier chimed in with an irate scowl.

“Mr Mayo, please don’t just run off during the middle of our interview. And who is this? An acquaintance? Were you present during the incident as well?”

Nina shook her head in response and pulled up her Trainer ID on her Pokedex. “No ma’am, I’m just a friend. I saw Justin on my way back to the city and came here to welcome him. I didn’t expect that he was busy speaking to you, my apologies.”

The girl then turned towards the capricious boy. “I’ll leave you to your business first. You and Lucy can come find us once you’re done here and we can chat then.”

“Aww… Do I have to? I’m starving…”

Both Nina and the Jenny sighed in exasperation. “It won’t take too long Mr Mayo, so long as you focus up and cooperate with us. You’ve done us a service today and we won’t mistreat you for it. I’ll see if any of my colleagues have a chocolate bar you can snack on in the meantime.”

Nina encouraged the boy with a pat on the back and a thumbs up before heading back to rejoin Collin and Nitey.

***

“Easy there, Julian… Careful not to choke.” Nina held a hand up to stop Justin, who was about to bark back with the usual quip about his name.

The boy was frantically shovelling noodles down his mouth and somehow even got a strand of it sticking out of his nose. Good thing Nina already ate, otherwise she would have lost her appetite at the crass sight.

“Haha! Your friend’s quite the lil’ Munchlax huh?” Collin remarked.

Nina chuckled and turned to address the much calmer Lucy instead. “So Luce, what happened? How did you guys end up catching all those Team Rocket guys?”

Lucy trembled at Nina’s attention and averted her gaze a little. “Erm, well… We heard about this Marowak grave in one of the caves of Route 31 and Justin wanted to check it out — I told him!” The girl exclaimed, before sheepishly settling back down again. “I told him we should hurry ‘cause we were late and you were waiting. But he really wanted to go. And then we overheard those guys plotting in the forest…”

Nina nodded with a genial smile. “No worries, Kerry and I still have a few more days in Violet City. And besides, it was a good thing that you guys came across those Rocket goons today and foiled their plot. I’m assuming they were looking to poach some Pokemon?”

“Yup!” Justin chimed. “Said they were looking to catch some special Marowak, Aloha, Ammonia or something?”

Nina snorted, nearly choking on the glass of water she was drinking. “Alolan Marowak, you dolt! It’s a special Fire and Ghost Type Marowak variant. I didn’t know it was even possible to find them outside of Alola. Someone probably released a Cubone they caught from Alola.”

After all, both Marowak variants evolved from the same base Cubone. In fact, Nina didn’t even know what the trigger was for getting an Alolan Marowak, aside from Evolving them at night. There had to be something else to it if the phenomenon could only be observed in the Alolan Isles.

Nina made a mental note to research this and maybe send a message to Professor Samson to ask.

“Yeah, so we kicked their asses, tied them up and dragged them over to the police. Hehe… Not bad right? Whatever you and Lilian can do, I can do too!”

Nina chuckled and chose not to comment any further. No doubt that series of events was caused by the boy’s intense desires and his protagonist luck. “Good, I can use a bit of that bullshit plot armor when we venture into Ilex Forest later.”

“Anyways, where’s Kerry? I don’t see her around.” Justin asked. The restless boy jerked his head around to try and spot their mutual friend.

“Kerry’s back in the compound resting. She just spent the whole day trying to get her Flying License, so she’s all spent for the day.”

“Aww…”

“But speaking of which, where are you guys planning to stay? I don’t think it’d be right to suddenly spring you guys on Kerry’s family without prior notice and it’s getting kinda late now.” Nina looked out the window at the darkened sky.

Justin and Lucy looked at each other with a helpless expression until Collin chimed in. “Haha! There’s a little hostel in the city that I always stay in. The owner’s great and it’s cheap and cheerful. You two kiddos can tag along if ya want. I’m sure we can get a couple of beds for ya.”

“Thanks mister!” Justin exclaimed, before Lucy even had a chance to say anything.

“Urgh.” Nina groaned, feeling immense sympathy for the girl. “Lucy, you can come with me if you want. The room we have at the Joy compound is massive. I’m sure we can fit another futon in there.”

However, to her surprise, Lucy responded with a fervent headshake, saying that she was fine going to the hostel with Justin.

“Are you sure? It wouldn’t be that big of a deal.”

“Positive, thank you for the offer Aqu— I mean, Nina… We’ll meet up with you and Miss Joy tomorrow. I’ll make sure that Justin doesn’t oversleep.”

Nina tilted her head in confusion but chose not to press further. She knew that Lucy was a fan of her celebrity work, so maybe the girl was just feeling awkward? 

“Alright, if you’re sure I guess…”

***

“No, we are not letting Justin lead the way.” Nina declared, eliciting nods of approval from both Kerry and Lucy.

“Aww…” The boy whined, but his companions were not having any of it.

“We’ve already received coordinates and detailed instructions from Mr Collin. Just stick to it and we’ll be able to get to the Marowak grave without issue.”

The four teens had met up again the next day and after a round of discussion, they came to the conclusion that all of them really wanted to go and check out the Marowak grave on Route 31.

So in lieu of Pokemon training, which was what Nina and Kerry had intended originally, they decided to just extend their stay in Violet City for some sightseeing. And besides, now that she had rendezvoused with Justin and Lucy, Nina now had proper sparring partners she could train with.

“What’s a Marowak grave anyway?” Justin asked as they were trudging through the wilderness to find the entrance to the cave that they needed to delve into.

All three girls turned to him with a flabbergasted look.

“Seriously, kid? Please don’t tell me you were seeking it out without knowing what it was?” Nina asked, eliciting a sheepish grin from the boy.

“I mean, it kinda sounds cool right? Is it supposed to be like a graveyard for Marowaks or something?”

A collective sigh permeated the forest.

“You’re not entirely wrong.” Nina replied. “So have you heard the story about Cubones wearing their mother’s skull before?”

Justin nodded. “Yup. That’s kinda… It’s kinda messed up isn’t it?”

Nina chuckled. “Well it’s not exactly true. The Cubone line is often called the lonely Pokemon, not because all their mothers end up dead or anything — that would be ridiculous. But because their parents abandon them at birth.”

Kerry nodded with a melancholic gaze. “It’s sad, but baby Cubones are expected to learn how to defend themselves the moment that they hatch, hence wild Cubones have an abnormally high mortality rate. It’s gotten better in recent years though, thanks to preservation efforts from the Pokemon Rangers.”

“Yup, but the interesting thing about Cubones is actually their ability to sense the presence of nearby Marowak graves, which serves as a guidepost of sorts for them.”

A Cubone, once hatched, would instinctively know to make their way to a Marowak grave to procure bones to use as weapon and armor. In fact, the Cubone line was part of the minority of Pokemon species known to be reliant on tools.

“If there are no mass graves in their vicinity, then a Cubone will simply seek out the resting place of any Marowak or Cubone nearby and dig out their remains. Failing which, they will settle for the bones of any old Pokemon that would fit them, Raticates and Nidorina are the most common substitutes.”

Kerry nodded. “In the Pokemon Center, if we hatch a Cubone egg then we’ll make sure to prepare bones for them in advance. Most of the time, we’d be able to call on a Ranger to help get Marowak bones but not always.”

“That is all to say, Marowak graves are a big deal for the species — a cornerstone of their ecology,” continued Nina. “And are highly protected by an area’s Pokemon Rangers.”

In fact, when a Marowak sensed that it was approaching its natural end. They would begin the journey of congregating in a Marowak grave to leave their remains behind for the next generation of Cubones, however lengthy that journey may be.

“Everytime that we get a new Cubone trainer in the Pokecenter, we always make sure to educate them about the species’s customs and encourage them to return their Pokemon’s remains to a Marowak grave or hand it over to a Pokemon Ranger in the event that they were met with an early demise.” Kerry added, her tone quite somber at this point. 

“Doesn’t stop people from selfishly memorializing their remains for their own sentiment though.” Nina was reminded of the ghostly Marowak haunting the Pokemon Tower in the games. “But honestly, I can’t blame them. I would be reluctant as well…”

Justin thanked the girls for their enlightenment and continued on his silent trek, looking uncharacteristically subdued. Underneath all of that capriciousness was a heart of gold with a genuine love of Pokemon after all.

Chapter 201

“Wow…” 

Nina couldn’t help but gasp in awe, at the stacks of ivory lining the cavern. The hollow drumming of a Marowak skull sounding out every time a droplet of water landed on it from the stalactites above, the air warm and smelling of rot.

The four teens were currently concealed in the cavern’s darkness, courtesy of Nina’s Haunter, to avoid startling the small handful of wild Cubones picking through the remains of their predecessors, all of them covered in scars in one way or another.

“Poor little guys… You can see that they’ve had a rough trek over.” Kerry remarked.

Nina nodded. “Lots of Bellsprouts around the city, then you’ve got predators like Hoothoots and Linoones.”

“Beedrills too.” Lucy chimed.

To be fair to the species, most Marowaks tended to leave their spawn fairly close to a grave. Some even stashed their eggs directly in a grave itself as pointed out by Lucy, whose sharp eyes managed to spot a couple of eggs hidden amidst piles of bone.

“And that one over there, is that the Alolan Marowak?”

Sat cross legged atop a broken stalagmite, eyes shut in meditation, was a black scaled Marowak. Its body looking thinner and lankier than its Ground Type cousins and wearing a skull with a greyish colouration to it, marked by a black flame between its brows.

But most prominent of all was its weapon of choice, a skeletal bo staff almost the length of its body with sinister green flames burning on both ends. The bone staff was currently laid across the Marowak’s lap, quietly smoldering away as the Pokemon engaged in deep meditation.

Justin pulled his Pokedex out in an attempt to scan the Marowak, but Nina frantically put a stop to it and manually pulled from the League’s database instead, to avoid startling the Pokemon.

Justin frowned as he read through the Pokedex entry. “There’s not much here…” The boy lamented.

“Yeah, that’s because we’re pulling from the Indigo League’s database. I’m sure there’d be more to learn if we had an Alolan Pokedex,” said Nina, followed by a haughty smirk. “But luckily for you, Jeffrey, Professor Samson Oak just replied to my email this morning with a whole bunch of info on the variant.”

Nina flipped open her Pokedex to summarize the material she was given.

Basically, Alolan Marowak’s were a result of behavioural differences in the region’s Cubone. While the rest of the world dubbed the species the lonely Pokemon, Cubones born in Alola were the exact opposite in how tribal they were.

“In Alola, due to the proliferation of Grass Types, Cubones have learned to band together to ensure their survival, a result of the species being foreign to the Alolan isles — a form of social adaptation if you will.”

According to the Professor, Marowak graves in Alola formed the cornerstone of a Cubone tribe and were treated with an almost primal reverence.

“Nobody knows exactly what prompted the behavior. But over the course of time, the Alolan Cubone and Marowak population started worshipping the remains of their ancestors, resulting in a ritual that concentrated Ghost Type Energy into said remains.”

Nina looked up at her companions, who all wore looks of confusion on their faces, prompting her to elaborate further.

“Basically, the variant Evolution is caused by the dense concentration of Ghost Type Energy infused into the skulls that they wear. There are other criterias as well of course, for example, a Cubone set on branching their Evolution would have to adapt to a nocturnal routine and have the will for it. But that’s the basic gist of things.”

Another point to note was that Alolan Marowaks tended to act as leaders and shamans of their respective tribes, presiding over their ritualistic endeavors — quite appropriate given the Pokemon’s nature.

The three teens all gasped in fascination, their combined voices loud enough to alert the Alolan Marowak of their presence as the surrounding Cubones all scrambled to hide from the interlopers.

Nina winced when she turned her head to see the Alolan Marowak jump down from its perch and began twirling its bone staff around in an aggressive manner.

“Wak! Maro-wak!” The bone keeper Pokemon cried, as it pointed one of its ominous flames at the direction the humans were hiding in.

Nina sighed and looked towards Espy, who affirmed the fact that the Marowak was challenging them to a battle. 

“Is it looking to chase us away or does it want to be captured?” Nina wondered. The fact that it was here in the grave seemed to indicate the former, but that Marowak looked a little too energetic to be near its deathbed and its body language seemed to indicate the latter.

“I’ll do it.”

However, to her surprise, before Nina could get any further confirmation, Kerry of all people stepped out of Haunter’s shadow to confront the Marowak with a Pokeball in hand.

Nina looked towards Justin, who seemed equally as flabbergasted as she was. Meanwhile, Lucy was simmering in regret at losing the initiative, as if the girl didn’t have enough Fire Types already.

“Hi there, my name is Kerry. Are you looking for a trainer perhaps?”

In lieu of a response, the Marowak twirled its weapon around once more, the sickly green flames trailing a series of mesmerizing arcs in the dimly lit cavern.

Kerry giggled. “Okay, you can tell me after we’re done battling. I choose you, Polly!” And with a flash of light, Kerry’s Poliwhirl took to the scene.

“Po. Poliwhirl!” Polly drummed at her belly and took on a fighting stance. The tadpole Pokemon had grown to become a lot more comfortable with battling. Though she still preferred to assist Kerry with her medical duties most of the time.

“Maro, marowak!”

With a fanciful flourish, the Marowak’s green flames flared up and exploded into tiny little Will-O-Wisp that proceeded to dot the surrounding cavern, leaving little room for Polly to maneuver without bumping into one of the ghastly embers.

Nina whistled in admiration. “Yeah, that Marowak is definitely trained alright. Instead of directly applying the Will-O-Wisp, it chose to spread it out to secure itself a domain instead.”

Kerry frowned but was undeterred, she had already learned about domains from Nina and knew how to deal with such situations.

“Rain Dance, Polly!”

“Poli!” The Poliwhirl did a little twirl and began spewing mist into the air. But before she could complete her move, Marowak spun its bone staff around and summoned shadows to coat its ivory shaft, then dashed towards Polly to swipe a Shadow Bone at her — a move exclusive to Alolan Marowaks if Nina’s memory served her right.

“Polly!” Kerry cried as her Poliwhirl was sent tumbling onto the ground.

“This is bad…” Nina frowned. “Kerry, switch Polly out for Rocky!” She called, the Poliwhirl was too specialized in special attacks to deal with the masterful Marowak in such a confined space.

Kerry nodded and did as she was told, sending her Geodude out in Polly’s place. The nurse knew better than to question her friend’s expertise.

“Rocky! Remember what we taught you about Aura? Time to put it into practice buddy!” Nina called, feeling a little bad about hijacking the battle.

“Geo!” Rocky began by immediately buffing his defenses, just like how he had been conditioned previously. He then punched the ground to scatter sharp stone fragments all over the ground to create his own hazardous terrain using Stealth Rock.

“Maro…” Marowak growled and in response, manipulated the formation of its Will-O-Wisp, to tighten their spread and surround itself with a few of the ghastly fireballs for defense.

Then, it expertly twirled its unwieldy bone staff and threw it towards Rocky at a distance, the flaming projectile just barely grazing the rocky exterior of the Geodude before flying back to its owner like a Bonemerang, clipping the back of Rocky’s head in the process, another signature move of the Cubone line.

“Geo!” But Rocky was undeterred and retaliated with his signature Shotgun Rock Blast, the hardy pellets of stone blasting through Marowak’s defenses and slammed into the bone Pokemon with a painful cry.

“Yeah! Keep it up, Rocky!” Nina cheered, prompting her companions to do the same.

That joy did not last, because Marowak directed the rest of its Will-O-Wisp to converge upon Rocky, turning the Geodude into a burning green hunk of levitating rock.

Rocky groaned at the ethereal heat threatening to melt his interior but still charged forward to meet the Marowak in melee, slamming into Marowak with a Rolling Bulldoze, like a blazing meteorite shooting through the cavern.

“Marowak…” The Alolan Marowak winced at the sharp stones digging into its fragile flesh, but was able to roll out of the way just in time to avoid receiving the full brunt of Rocky’s assault.

“Wak!”

Then, with another cry, the abundant shadows within the cavern came to life and lashed out at the recoiling Geodude to inflict damage directly at his soul — Hex, a move that became doubly more potent when a Pokemon’s physique was weakened by a status effect.

“Rocky! Hang in there!” Kerry cried.

“Geo!”

Rocky bore through the agonizing pain and slammed his fist onto the ground to summon a piece of stone that shot out and exploded into fragments — Stone Grenade, another one of Nina’s brainchildren and Rocky’s signature. The little surprise had been snuck in earlier when Rocky was laying down his Stealth Rock,

Marowak cried out in pain as shrapnel dug into the tender flesh on its back, completely taking it by surprise.

“Rollout and Bulldoze combo! But don’t hurt Marowak too much!” Kerry called.

Rocky broke out into another Rolling Bulldoze in response, but the force was visibly more restrained than his earlier attempt. Thankfully, Marowak couldn’t recover fast enough to dodge this time, sending it flying to the air and slamming back down again while Rocky crashed into a pile of bones.

“Marowak, are you okay?!” Kerry rushed towards the weakened Pokemon to check on it, only to falter at its rebellious glare.

“Hey… It’s okay…” Kerry soothed as she lowered herself on the ground to look at the injured Marowak. “I’m sorry about Rocky. I wasn’t…” The girl sighed. “I may not be the best Pokemon Trainer around. But I am a nurse and healing is what I do best. So can I please have a look at you so that I may help treat you?”

The Alolan Marowak held onto Kerry’s sincere gaze and ultimately conceded with a weak nod, prompting Kerry to immediately take action after releasing her Chansey.

***

“So Marowak, you’re a long way from home. Did something happen?”

“Wak.”

The Alolan Marowak got up and stared at Nina with her pale grey eyes, the Ghost Type’s irises so faint as to almost blend homogeneously with its sclera.

“Maro, marowak.” Then with a curt gesture, the bone keeper Pokemon bid the humans to follow.

Kerry was the first to move, ever the innocent soul, and Nina followed suit after confirming with Espy that she didn’t sense any ill intentions from the Marowak, outside of the usual negative aura surrounding Ghost Types of course — a problem that wasn’t as pronounced when dealing with living Ghost Types like an Alolan Marowak.

The four teenage explorers were led through a series of convoluted tunnels, sometimes necessitating that they go prone and crawl through narrow openings to get to the other end.

But eventually, the Alolan Marowak reached a dirt wall that she dug through to reveal a secret cavity hidden within.

“That’s—!” Kerry took in a sharp breath, her hands quivering as she knelt down to pull the Marowak into a hug.

Nina breathed in a melancholic sigh and allowed a solemn moment of silence, before moving closer to get a better look, at the skeletal human remains laid out before her, still garbed in worn and bloodied travel gear.

“Is it okay if I examine the body, just to get a better idea?” Nina asked Marowak, who returned with a nod.

At Nina’s words, Kerry hardened her gaze as well and went into nurse mode, moving away to examine the skeleton of the deceased trainer while Nina rummaged around in their pockets, to see if she could find any form of identification.

“Palani Lala, male, twenty two years old,” said Nina, reading from a card she found in one of the dead man’s pockets.

“I’m seeing signs of an acute head trauma.” Kerry added, referring to a nasty looking crack at the back of the skull. “A falling object? Ambush, perhaps? Whatever the case, there was enough force involved that he should have been knocked out right away.” 

The nurse girl then turned towards the stoic Marowak. “He wouldn’t have suffered.” She continued, eliciting a little quiver from the Pokemon.

“Emergency release on Marowak’s Pokeball must have triggered when it ran out of power.” Nina chimed. But to her surprise, Marowak shook her head at her comment.

“No? Did you sense your trainer’s predicament and came out on your own?” 

The Pokemon nodded.

“Then were you the only one?”

“Wak.” The Marowak shook her head.

In response, Espy relayed some images to Nina; of Marowak releasing the rest of her team, of a sneering Salandit that just slinked away at the sight of their unconscious trainer, and of a Fletchling that flew off to get help but never returned, then of Marowak dragging the inert corpse of her partner away from the glowing red eyes of Rattatas skulking in the darkness.

Nina sighed. “That explains Marowak’s presence in the grave — it was her new home.” 

Cubones born in Alola were ingrained with tribal instincts, so the Alolan Marowak probably sought out the grave expecting to find more of her kind, only to be met with juvenile Cubones digging for equipment and skittish wariness.

“S-so, what do we do now?” Justin sputtered, having never seen a dead human body before.

“We bring the bones back to the city.” Lucy answered. “Or call in a Ranger, as per the League’s guidelines.”

Kerry turned to the Marowak with a gentle smile. “Is it okay? For us to bring Palani back? I know you have your own customs, but for us humans, the appropriate thing to do is to return any remains to his family, so that they may attain closure for their grief.”

“Maro… Wak.” Marowak nodded with a steady gaze. It was likely that she was waiting for this moment all along.

With the Marowak’s approval, Kerry asked Nina to take out her supersized picnic blanket which they then used to wrap up the corpse after Espy used her Psychic aura to secure it. Then, with the Espeon’s masterful Telekinesis, they carried it back out of the cavern before flying back to Violet City with Marowak in tow.

***

“That concludes the end of our statement. Great work, the lot of you did good today. Most kids would have just sent in a picture and shoddy set of coordinates and called it a day.”

The Jenny then looked towards Marowak who was currently under the care of Justin and Lucy and giving some sort of lecture to Nina’s Haunter, bonking the younger Ghost Type on the head every time she failed to answer correctly, eliciting giggles from the humans.

“About the Marowak… Do you want me to make a call to the Rangers?” asked the blue haired policewoman.

Nina and Kerry shared a troubled gaze. “We’re not sure if Marowak wants to be repatriated to her home region or not. Can you give us some time to talk to her?”

“Sure, take your time. I’ll be here handling the paperwork if you need me. And we already have people coming over to settle the corpse, so make sure that Marowak is okay with the separation before they arrive. Maybe have her take away any mementos beforehand in case they accidentally lose anything during the transport process.”

“Thanks, Officer Jenny. Will do.” And with that, Nina and Kerry got up to go rejoin their friends.

“Hey Marowak, sorry for the long wait.” Kerry lowered herself to meet the Alolan Marowak at eye level.

“So we had a talk with Officer Jenny and we were wondering what you would like to do from now on? It’s not going to be an issue to send you back to Alola alongside your trainer. Or if you’d like to stay here in Johto, we can make arrangements with the Pokemon Rangers as well.” Kerry then averted her gaze, looking a little sheepish as she did.

“Additionally, well… I actually thought you were looking for a trainer just now when you challenged us. And I’d still be happy to have you join the team if you’d like…” said the young nurse, her voice fading a little at the end.

Marowak stared at Kerry then back at the bundle containing the remains of her former partner. Then, with a sharp flourish, looked up at Nina and twirled her bone staff around to point a burning end at the Gym Trainer, much to her bewilderment.

“Err… wha?” Nina was mouth agape in confusion and looked towards her Espeon for guidance.

“Are you saying that you want to join my team? But the one who battled you was Kerry, not me.”

“Wak!”

But Marowak just held on to her gaze, seemingly aware of Nina’s meddling at the beginning of their match.

The girl sighed and joined the dejected looking Kerry by her side. “Look, it’s not that I don’t want you or anything. In fact, I’d be happy to have you. But right now, my team is full and it doesn’t feel right to swap anyone out just yet. Kerry though, is also a great trainer, even if she isn’t as battle-oriented as I am. And more importantly, she has an extra slot in her team and can afford to give you all the care and attention that you deserve.”

Right now, Kerry had five Pokemon plus an unhatched Egg, which didn’t count towards her carry limit, unlike the games. It would be ridiculous if it did anyway, since a Pokemon Egg did not pose any sort of risk.

However, Marowak was stalwart in her choice, merely continuing to hold Nina’s gaze, eliciting a helpless smile from the girl.

“I don’t know what you heard from the others, but it is true that Kerry’s Pokemon often trains with mine. And if you join her team, you won’t be deprived either. Rather, I’d be happy to help you train — we’re always in need of sparring partners after all.”

Nina looked towards the downtrodden Kerry and pulled her into a reassuring hug. “Kerry is one of the most hardworking people that I know. So please, give her a chance. And if at any point you’re still feeling dissatisfied then well…”

“I’ll trade you over to Nina.” Kerry chimed, eyes wavering ever so slightly. “I’m not as good a battler like Nina — I’m a nurse. But I do enjoy battles. And although I can’t guarantee that I can meet your expectations. I can promise you all of my love and the best care that a Joy can provide.”

Kerry reached out and extended a palm to the Alolan Marowak. “So, Marowak… Would you be willing to give me a chance?”

“Wak…” Marowak looked down at the hand that was offered to her, eyes narrowed in contemplation.

And after what felt like an eternity to the anxious Kerry, Marowak responded with a nod and a calloused hand on top of Kerry’s.

Justin was the first to cheer, prompting his friends to do the same.

“Welcome to the family, Marowak! And now for the fun part, picking your Pokeball!”

“Wak!”

Kerry reached into her backpack to grab at her Pokeball collection, but was stopped by a cry and a head shake from Marowak who, instead, sauntered over to her deceased trainer and rummaged around his pockets, to produce a faded and scarred Pokeball.

“That’s…” Kerry reached out, only to falter mid way and break down into a sobbing mess in Nina’s embrace.

“Marowak…” Nina continued as she gently caressed her friend’s hair. “Are you sure?”

“Maro, marowak.”

The girl returned the Pokemon’s conviction with a feeble smile and tear stained eyes. “If that’s the Pokeball you want to use then we’ll need to make a trip to the Pokemon Center.” 

Pokemon Trade machines required the verification of the respective trainers’ IDs to prevent abuse. But under such unique circumstances, Nina had no doubts that the local nurses could make an exception.

In the end, Marowak was successfully registered under Kerry, in exchange for a blank Pokeball.

And when asked about what name they should call her with. Espy helped to relay the memory of a cheerful boy with his starter Cubone, all bright eyed and beaming.

“I’m going to name you Kaipo! And together, the two of us are gonna be the very best, like no one ever was!”

***

Author's note:

First of all, thank you.

Thank you all for sticking with me throughout all 200 chapters of Nina's journey so far.

Especially for the handful of you who have been with me since the very beginning. Your faith in me is the reason why I have yet to give up all this time. And believe me, there had been times where I nearly faltered.

There's still more to Nina's journey. I'm not done writing yet. So I hope you guys will continue sticking around and see this story to its conclusion.

Next, some notes about Ch 201.

It was originally supposed to be Ch 200.5 -- just a short little excursion. In fact, I was quite ambivalent about whether or not I wanted Kaipo the Marowak to join Nina's motley little crew going in.

But as I was writing the chapter, the words just kept pouring out and it became a little too long for a mere bonus chapter.

Anyways, in case it isn't obvious. Kaipo wanted to go with Nina instead because she sensed that Nina was the stronger trainer of the group. Her motivation being that she wanted to help achieve the dreams of her late trainer to become the very best.

I suppose I did cheat a little using Kerry's spare slot. That way, no one would be benched immediately. Especially considering that Nina still had half her team to train.

Now, whether or not Kerry would be able to convince Kaipo to stay with her on a more permanent basis remains to be seen. But let's just say... no one can resist the charms of a Nurse Joy for very long.

In all honesty I was debating strongly on Kaipo's ownership for quite some time. But the addition of Nina's upcoming team member fills in a lot of her immediate shortcomings. So things are more clear cut now.

Thank you all again and I hope to see you guys next time.