Into the Unown Ch 194 + 195 (Coffee tier)

Author's note:

Finally had a good night's rest and had a good look at my stockpile. Decided that I can probably afford to do a double after all.

So here it is, the double release I owed you guys.

Still doesn't change the fact that I gotta get back to writing but I'll deal with that in the upcoming week.

***

Chapter 194

Nina dug her feet into the ground as her bike slowly came to a stop. “Might need to have this thing checked out when we get into town.” The girl mused. She could feel a wobble in her Kusanagi’s wheels, not to mention the looser breaks. 

Her newest baby had been subjected to a lot of abuse over the past couple of weeks, scarlet red paint chipped and muddied. Some of the stickers had even fallen off, much to Nina's dismay. So hopefully, there was a competent bicycle shop in Violet City she could use. 

“Is that it?” Kerry asked as she came up to a stop beside Nina.

Nina nodded and admired the view that opened up below them, of dark and purple wooden constructs set amidst a sea of trees and contained within ancient stone walls — Violet City. The sight of it felt almost like stepping back in time to a period piece set in medieval times.

The two girls had spent almost another week on the road at this point, with Nina opting to shelve her cave exploration plans. One, because Justin finally called and said that he was enroute. And two, because unlike in the games, the rocky terrain of Route 31 didn't just have the one cave, it had several, considering it was a fairly expansive area after all.

Not that their journey was fruitless, not for Kerry at least. The young Nurse Joy had managed to catch herself a fully evolved Noctowl during one of their many nights out in the wilderness. 

Nina was initially perplexed. She had been urging her friend to catch one of the many Tallows and Swellows that had migrated back into the region for spring. But she opted for a Noctowl instead.

According to the nurse, Noctowls were calm Flyers that made them more ideal for airlifting any sick patients. “It’s not always about speed, Nina,” said Kerry, which was fair enough. Especially considering the inordinately calm and intelligent demeanour of her newest member. 

In fact, the young nurse had begun training the owl Pokemon on becoming her newest medical assistant, much like the rest of her team. Even Lynxie was starting to get better at utilizing his latent X-ray vision that all Luxio’s possessed, though it took a lot of bribes and treats to accomplish, much to Nina’s amusement and Kerry’s chagrin.

“Then you’ll have to get a Fly Basket since you can’t exactly ride bareback on Noctowl, and also your Fly license.” Nina said at the time. She had already gotten her license during her recovery interval.

“I can get that done in Violet City. And mom said that she’ll buy me a Fly Basket and send it over with the Egg.”

“Oh, are you getting a new Pokemon Egg?”

“Yup! It’s part of the reward for successfully Evolving a Happiny and being accredited as a full-fledged nurse.” Kerry explained. “I get to request for any Pokemon Egg from the matrons — within reason of course.”

“So? What Egg did you ask for?” Nina probed eagerly, only to receive a cheeky wink from the girl. “You’ll have to wait to find out,” said the young nurse.

“Dammit! Why are all the people around me so damn cryptic?!”

“We should get going before it gets dark. Think we can make it in time?” Kerry chimed, pulling Nina back from her recollection.

The other girl shrugged. “Eh, worst comes to worst, I’ll just have Nitey Fly us there. We’re in the home stretch anyway.” Nina hummed. “Hmmm… Actually, wanna just switch to Flying now? I’m a little worried about the state of our bikes.”

Kerry nodded fervently in agreement, eager to get to a hot shower and a soft bed sooner rather than later.

***

Purpleheart, a type of wood that turns a beautiful purple hue when exposed to air and sunlight. It used to be found in abundance here in this area, until overexploitation led to a very precarious situation. Hence why there was now a strict quota on how many Purpleheart trees could be harvested per year.

It was also the reason for the stunning dark purple hue of Violet’s City’s architecture, from which the city derived its name.

And coming into the city really was like stepping into a set for a period drama; wooden townhouses lined the street, roads paved simply with basalt slabs, and not a single vehicle in sight. In fact, the only form of public transportation the city had was a tram that commuted between the western and eastern district of Violet City in one straight line. 

The tram and the modern street lights illuminating the streets, styled in the motif of Bellsprouts, were the only visible aspects grounding the ancient city in the modern era. As well as the people of course. The sight of people in modern clothes casually walking the streets of Violet City amidst beautiful geishas and devout looking monks with their derpy little Bellsprouts almost made the place feel like one giant theme park.

In the distance, Nina could see the fabled Sprout Tower jutting out from an elevated hill, a massive three storey pagoda said to be built with a giant Bellsprout as its core. Though the validity of such lofty claims would warrant further investigation.

“It’s hard to think that a place like this is considered a city.” Kerry remarked as the two of them leisurely took in the sights around them.

Nina nodded in agreement. “Apparently, the Tsubasa Clan, Falker’s family, are really strict when it comes to population control. Trying to get residency here is no easy feat and they aren’t very accommodating of tourists either. Which is why you don’t see the same problem of over tourism like in Fuchsia City. And speaking of, should we head to a Pokecenter first or straight to your family’s estate?” 

According to Kerry, the Joy Clan maintained quite a sizable compound here in Violet City, and the young nurse had already called ahead to secure accommodation for them.

“Let’s head to a Pokemon Center first.” Kerry replied. “I don’t want to trouble my relatives too much. Best to maintain some propriety whenever we can.”

***

As it turned out, the graduation of an apprentice to a full nurse was quite the big deal, as one would expect. So all the local nurse Joys were quite giddy with excitement when Kerry showed up at the Pokemon Center, practically putting a temporary halt to their operations just so that they could come out and celebrate the newest addition to their member with confetti and hugs. Leading to a very flustered Kerry.

“Your cousins are all very nice.” Nina remarked, in between mouthfuls of Chansey’s eggs that the nurses offloaded onto her.

“Urgh… Don’t you dare start.” Kerry grumbled as they came up to the Joy compound in Violet City. It was quite the space. In fact, Nina wouldn’t be surprised if she was told that the place housed more people and took up more real estate than the Apricorn Village they just visited not too long ago.

“Kerry-Anne, it is so good to finally meet you. I hope your journey here has been pleasant?”

The one who greeted them at the threshold was an elderly Joy that radiated a comforting maternal aura, her pink hair faded with time and wearing an elegant green yukata. 

“Esteemed matron,” Kerry greeted in return. “My journey has been pleasant, yes. Thank you for your concern. And thank you for your generosity in housing us as well. I am truly sorry for the imposition.”

The elder Joy smiled and waved elegantly at the girl. “Nonsense.” The woman exclaimed as she pulled the child into her embrace. “We are all very happy to have you here, and deeply proud of your accomplishment, dear. To graduate from being an apprentice at such a young age, that is no small feat I can assure you. Your mother was absolutely beside herself with joy when she called in.”

Kerry blushed, lowering her gaze out of embarrassment.

“We received your parcel not too long ago, I’ll have one of the young ones guide you to it once you’re properly settled.” The old Joy then turned towards Nina. “And this lovely young lady must be your travelling companion.”

Kerry nodded. “Yes, this is Melina Jones, a member of the Cerulean Gym and the niece of Lady Misty Mizuhana.”

“Indeed. I saw your wonderful performance during your aunt’s wedding, dear. It is an honor to meet you, and I hope that you will look kindly upon our humble abode.”

Nina shook her head. “No, the honor is all mine. And please, just call me Nina. Rest assured that your home is very lovely and I am very grateful to be here.”

The elderly Joy nodded in approval with a matronly smile. “I’m sure the two of you must be winded from your long journey. So please, allow me to show you to your rooms and feel free to partake in the baths as well. I just had the servants clean it in anticipation of your arrival.”

“Is it a hot spring? There’s a hot spring in this compound?!” Nina exclaimed, eyes sparkling in anticipation.

Kerry giggled at her friend’s enthusiasm. “Of course, we’re in Johto right now, the land of hot springs.”

Chansey’s eggs, free accommodation and a hot spring. Today might be Nina’s happiest day yet!

***

However, not long after, Nina let out another weary sigh as she rubbed at the broken fragment of an Apricorn shell that night. All the while, absentmindedly scribbling in her notebook.

Maizie had been kind enough to let Nina take some of her failed crafts with her when she left the village. So the girl had been spending every one of her nights since, ruminating on her findings, but to no avail.

“I see some suspicious lines here… Like, this obviously says cmd…” It was hard for Nina to tell anymore, if she was just hallucinating or if it was just a random coincidence. “But does that mean I’m currently living in a simulation?” Nina chuckled. “Nah, no way. That would be sooo cliche.”

Nina had always hated tropes in stories where everything turned out to be just a dream or it was a simulation all along. It just felt to her like lazy writing. So the girl fancied that, if there was some celestial llama in the sky dictating her life, or if this was just someone’s shitty fanfiction, they would at least be competent enough to not rely on such a cop out setting.

“I think you should take a break, Nins… You’ve been staring at that thing for days now.” Kerry chimed as she sat down next to her friend, hair still moist from the baths.

Nina groaned and rubbed at her eyes. “Yeah, you’re right… This isn’t productive at all… I feel like I’m starting to go crazy.” It’s no wonder why every researcher that studied the Unown before her all broke down at some point in their lives.

The other girl chuckled and gave Nina’s hand a little squeeze before wrenching the Apricorn fragment from her. “C’mon, girl~ we’re finally in Violet City. Let’s go do something fun tomorrow! I mean this entire place is full of history and old buildings — you love old buildings right? It’ll help take your mind off things.”

Nina laughed. She did love old buildings indeed. “Sure, we deserve a break anyway, after such a long trek. Let’s stop by the Gym tomorrow as well. I wanna get a feel of the place, see if all those rumours are true or not.”

Kerry nodded and pulled her friend into a hug. “Yup, let’s do that! C’mon, it’s almost dinner time. I told ‘em how much you love Chansey eggs, so the matrons here promised to cook up a feast for us.”

Nina immediately lit up at the prospect. Nothing beats grandma’s cooking. And what’s better than a grandma? A compound full of retired Nurse Joys!

Chapter 195

“Hehe…” Kerry held back her drool as she cooed over the Pokemon Egg in her arms. Which, surprisingly, was not in an incubator, just wrapped up in a fluffy blanket.

It was the next morning and Kerry was finally introduced to the newest member of her family, mainly because she ended up having to do a lot of socializing with her extended family yesterday and was too exhausted by the end of it.

“Hmm… Let’s see here, the lack of an incubator is a big clue — means that the species isn’t the fussy sort. Which is good…” Nina mused. 

That said, there were a wide range of possibilities since a good majority of Pokemon Eggs didn’t really require special incubators. The bog standard white shell with green polka dot patterns of the Egg wasn’t very indicative either.

“So?” Nina chimed. “Are you finally gonna tell me what species of Egg that is?”

“Hehe… Take a guess!” The other girl quipped, with an insufferably smug grin on her face.

Nina groaned, her brain was too worn out for this game right now. “Fine, keep your secrets. Just don’t come crawling to me when you need a babysitter.”

Kerry stuck her tongue out with a pout. “You’re no fun! But I’ll give you a hint, it’s one of my favorite Pokemon.”

“Urgh. That hardly narrows it down!” But Nina still made a last ditch effort to humour her. “Let’s see here… You like cute Pokemon, obviously. But more specifically, you like furry little critters.” 

Nina recalled the bliss on Kerry’s face when they stumbled upon a small family of Sentrets out in the wild, freshly woken from hibernation and starving for sustenance. So they had a great time pampering the little ones with Berries and having a little picnic by their tree.

“And I know you’ve been wanting a Fire Type…” Which made this all the more perplexing since most Fire Types need to be incubated in a very high temperature environment to hatch properly. Nina recalled all the Fire Types that she could remember off the top of her head and eliminated all the fussier, non-furry options.

“The regional starters would be the most obvious answer but you could’ve asked for Cyndaquil from Professor Elm and he probably would have agreed… You already have Lynxie so there’s no need for a Rider.” That eliminated the possibility of either Growlithe or Ponyta. “So… a Vulpix?”

“Boo-boo!” Kerry crossed her arms and made a buzzer noise. “Nope! But you’re on the right track. The answer is… Eevee~!”

Nina laughed. She had forgotten how enamored Kerry was with Espy back when she was still an Eevee. It was all that she would talk to her about before they got to know each other better.

“Good choice — expensive choice as well.” Cheapskate Nina fully approved of her friend’s gold digging behavior. “But you do know that your Eevee might not want to Evolve into a Flareon right?”

Kerry shrugged. “I know, and it’s fine. I’m fully in support of whatever they want to become in the future. I just want some fluffy Eevee fur to bury my face into.”

Nina laughed. “It’d be funny if they choose to become a Jolteon in the future. Spiky Electric fur’s not exactly the cuddliest.”

“Don’t say that!” Kerry fumed. “And don’t let me catch you trying to lead my baby astray either, you evil Drifloon!”

***

Falkner’s Gym was located at the base of the little hill that housed the Sprout Tower, bordering a still and tranquil lake. A building that Nina could only describe as storied, solemn and dignified.

In fact, she gave into her instincts by giving a little bow at the threshold the moment that they entered the massive wooden dojo that functioned as the Gym building.

The inside though, was less austere. The entrance was lined with little lockers for visitors to store their shoes in and largely devoid of human presence, save for the girl in a lavish, Pokeball patterned kimono who came out to greet them. 

“Makes sense, this basically confirms that Falkner’s Gym, unlike the games, is very beginner unfriendly.”

“Welcome to our humble Gym. My name is Zuki,” said the girl in the kimono. “Are the two of you looking to apply for a challenge?”

Nina returned the girl’s greeting with a genial smile. “Yes and no. We would like to challenge the Gym at some point, but not immediately. We’re actually here today to make some inquiries if you don’t mind.”

Zuki affirmed with an elegant bow and gestured for them to follow her. “Why of course. Please follow me to our reception desk, and if you would be so kind as to hand me your identification as well.”

The two girls nodded in agreement and handed their Pokedexes over to be examined.

“Oh my, an esteemed Lady Joy and…” Zuki’s eyes practically twinkled when she caught sight of Nina’s credentials. “A sister from the Cerulean Gym. How delightful!”

Nina tilted her head in confusion. “Are you a mermaid as well?”

“Oh, heavens no!” Zuki giggled. “I could never measure up to the talented ladies of your esteemed Gym. But I do dabble in the performance arts as well, hence my presumptuous remark. Have you heard of the traditional kimono dances before?”

Nina gasped. “Are you a Kimono Girl? I’m a huge fan! I’ve been dying to get tickets for your show in Ecruteak, but it’s almost impossible since you guys don’t do online bookings and all that.”

Zuki smiled. “Our venue is limited in capacity and it hardly seems fair to allow our work to benefit unscrupulous resellers. That aside, you mentioned you have an inquiry? Do tell, I would be more than happy to assist a kindred sister.”

“Yeah, I get you. Our Gym struggles with scalpers as well. And yes, I was just wondering, if I were to challenge Falkner to a Star battle and lose, would he be amenable enough to still grant me a lower tier badge if I did well enough?”

Zuki faltered slightly as she flashed the younger girl a guilty smile. “My brother, as his reputation suggests, is quite faithful to the rules imposed upon him as a Gym Leader. In particular, he feels a great sense of duty to bolster the standards of young Pokemon Trainers in our waning generation. Especially given recent revelations pertaining to the plot against the Ace Corp — an incident which I believe you are intimately familiar with, Lady Jones?”

Nina returned the girl’s sentiment with a warm smile. “No worries, I totally understand. I just wanted to ask beforehand to better prepare myself on what to expect. I’m sorry to have troubled you, Lady Zuki.”

“No, not at all.” The delicate tassels of her hairpin wavered gently in the air as Zuki shook her head in denial before reaching over to caress Nina’s hand. “How about this? If you would be so inclined, why don’t you join me for some tea? Meanwhile, I shall have one of our apprentices relay your question to my esteemed brother and seek a more assured response.

“Additionally, I would also be delighted if we could conduct an exchange on our differing approaches to the art of performance.” The girl added in the end with a sheepish look, eliciting a bright smile from Nina.

“Of course, Lady Zuki. I would love to! If you don’t mind that is, Kerry?”

The young nurse shook her head with an equally bright expression. “Nope, not at all. I’m a big fan of the Kimono Girls too. Wait til I take a picture and send it to my cousins, they’re gonna be so jealous!”

Zuki chuckled. “Very well then…” She said before expanding a Pokeball and releasing a regal looking Umbreon, whose first act was to lower his head in a courteous bow towards the Espeon accompanying Nina and reach down to lightly kiss her front paw.

Espy, of course, acted impervious to the charms of the gentle Umbreon. But inwardly, Nina could sense a wave of approval and giddiness at the attention she was receiving. The girl suppressed her mirth. “Careful now, Bev. Vapey’s got some stiff competition.”

“Kazuki will escort you to our tea ceremony room while I make the necessary arrangements,” said Zuki, also smiling in amusement at her Umbreon’s conduct. “So please, follow after him and I shall join you momentarily.”

The two girls nodded and did as they were told while Zuki went off to relay instructions to her subordinates.

***

Nina silently watched as Zuki agitated the tea in her hand with a little straw brush, churning up bubbles and dissolving any stubborn lumps of powder still present. By all accounts, it should have been a very strenuous act. Yet, Zuki’s face looked utterly serene and her movement graceful as a Goldeen.

With an elegant bow, Zuki reached over and slid the finished cup of tea over to her guests, one each for Nina and Kerry.

Nina picked up the proffered tea cup with a quiet thanks, marvelling at the rough texture of the earth-toned pottery and all the associated patterns — as if someone had carved out the vessel using a piece of the land itself. 

As she rotated the cup around on the palm of her hands, Nina could also see rivers of cracks and seams gleaming a radiant silver — Kintsugi, or in this case, more like Gintsugi since silver was used. It was a technique used to repair broken pottery using lacquer mixed with precious metals like gold, silver and platinum.

After thoroughly satisfying her sense of aesthetics and fully taking in the earthy herbaceous perfume of the steaming green liquid before her, Nina took a sip, the cloying bitterness made her instinctively reach to get a bite of the plate of wagashi laying on the tatami mat.

Zuki giggled. “Quite the potent taste is it not? A little milk will go a long way in tempering the tea’s harshness. Would you like me to go procure some? Though you will have to keep it a secret from the elders of course.” The girl winked in mischief.

Nina smiled. “No, I think it’s fine as it is. I just need some time for my taste buds to get used to it.” To her side, Kerry nodded as well. This wasn’t the young nurse’s first tea ceremony so she was already prepared for the acrid concoction.

“Very well then…” Zuki returned, with a smile of her own, followed by a bow towards Nina. “To begin, I would first like to convey my sincere apologies. It seems my esteemed brother is being quite headstrong as always.”

Nina chuckled. “It’s fine. I wasn’t expecting much anyways. I can see that Lord Falkner’s reputation is well deserved.”

“Quite,” said Zuki, with a stiff smile on her face. “But if you would be amenable, I would love to make your acquaintance regardless. It was not in jest when I expressed my admiration for your work earlier.”

“Sure,” Nina replied. “Though I have to warn you, I may not be as uh… devoted to the life of a mermaid like my colleagues are.”

“Of course, we all have our passions outside of the arts. I myself am quite partial to battles as well, as embarrassing as it is to admit. What about yourself, Lady Jones?”

Nina laughed. “I can hardly qualify as a lady. But well… I’m into travel, exploration and history. And speaking of which…” The girl looked towards her gracious host with a sheepish glance. “If you don’t mind me asking, I have some questions regarding your family’s storied domain…”

Zuki lightly shook her head. “Not at all. My brother is quite an avid historian as well so I suspect the two of you will get along quite well in that regard. Please, ask away and I shall do my best to answer.”

Nina nodded. “I was actually wondering about the Bellsprout population. I find it fascinating how the city is so intertwined with the species. And yet, there seem to also be a relative lack of their evolved forms hanging around in comparison. Why is that?”

The older girl chuckled. “Indeed. Though there’s no definitive answer for that question I’m afraid. As far as our ancestors could remember, Bellsprouts have always been an integral part of Violet City. One could speculate, of course.” The girl pointed towards the Sprout Tower in the distance.

“One theory is that the Bellsprouts were attracted to the Sprout Tower, which they mistook as one of their own.” Zuki continued. “As you are likely aware, Johto is a region with an abundance of seismic activity, blessing us with a wealth of hot springs while simultaneously plaguing the region with, oftentimes, disastrous earthquakes.”

The Sprout Tower, aside from being a prototype to the much more prominent Brass and Bell Towers in Ecruteak, was originally designed with these earthquakes in mind. 

The end result was a construct that wobbled and danced during these seismic vibrations akin to that of a Bellsprouts wavy gait. Hence, attracting to the vicinity a healthy population of the Grass Types who came to worship the tower as a deity of sorts, lending the tower its name as well as forming the legend surrounding its creation — that the tower was built with a giant Bellsprout as its core.

“Although most would say that it’s the other way around, that it was the Bellsprouts that inspired the design of the tower.” Zuki took a dainty sip of her tea. “Bellsprouts, you see, are deeply connected to the earth through their roots, and thus are capable of predicting even the slightest shift in seismic activity. It is often said that our ancestors bred them for the explicit purpose of detecting earthquakes, until their population bloomed out of control.”

Nina hummed, committing everything she heard to memory to be written down later. “Is that also why the denizens of Violet City aren’t partial to Evolving them?”

Zuki chuckled. “Not at all, that has more to do with the martial pursuit of the Tower’s sages.”

Apparently, the monks of Sprout Tower were of the martial variety, much like the shaolin monks of Nina’s past life. In fact, they pursued a brand of martial arts reminiscent of tai chi that were derived from a Bellsprout’s unique movements.

“You’ll find that despite being only in the initial phase of their Evolution, the Bellsprouts of Violet City are extremely fearsome battlers. One could only assume that the little sprouts abstain from Evolution for the sake of achieving martial enlightenment and for fear of losing their limbs.”

“I see…” Nina murmured as they moved on to other topics. Zuki’s words reminded her of the Pokemon anime when a Bellsprout was first introduced. She remembered how difficult it was for Ash and his team to take down the Bellsprout that was featured at the time, its flexible limbs capable of absorbing any impact and its extensive roots serving to ground any Electric Type moves that were thrown at it.