Into the Unown Ch 189 + 190 (Regular 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 189

“Careful, the Wooper line, no matter the variant, all have a Poisonous membrane coating their skin. So you shouldn’t touch them without any protection.”

The little girl wilted at Nina’s warning as she looked towards her nurse friend for some disposable gloves. “Here, wear these if you want to touch Sir Clodington. Clodsires in particular are Ground and Poison Type, so I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Listen to the big sis, Megumi. Make sure not to touch the nice Clodsire with your bare skin.” The man said to his daughter.

“Okay…” The girl responded, somewhat dejectedly. But her face immediately brightened the moment that she got a feel of Sir Clodington’s jelly-like bounciness. “Hehe…”

“Sorry about this child,” said the apologetic man. “She’s always had a deep love of Woopers.”

Nina dismissed the man’s concern with a casual wave. “No worries, it’s always nice to meet someone who’s so passionate about Pokemon. Are you two here for the full moon as well? Bit of an odd season, don’t you think?”

The man laughed. “Yeah… I would have liked to bring Megumi here during the Blue Moon, but it’s hard to get any time off and Megumi doesn’t do well with crowds. So I figured, it’s now or never.”

Nina chuckled. “Well if the point of the trip is to play with Woopers then I think you came at the right time. They’re only active during the day in this particular season. Any other time and Megumi would have to stay up really late, which might be difficult for someone her age.”

The girl then asked if the pair of parent and child would like to share a bonfire with them, a tradition among campers in Rangers outposts. The two of them agreed readily and the man even insisted on paying for the firewood, happy to just have some company to keep her hyperactive daughter distracted for a time.

“You see, Megumi. The most efficient way to start a fire is to first cut the firewood into thin sticks like this.” Nina said, as she applied her Tomb Raider axe on the piece of wood in front of her. “Then you shave little strands from the side until it starts to look like a spider lily. If any shavings fall off, don’t worry about it, just add it to the pile as tinder.”

The girl then proceeded to light the wood on fire and gently stoke the flames to life with more wood and a mild breeze from Brucey. It was approaching evening and there was now a light drizzle from the skies, but with Espy’s help in shielding them, the rain did not pose a problem to the fire.

Once the fire was lit, Nina and her companions all set about preparing dinner. Even Megumi clammored to help, not wanting to be left out. So Nina set her the task of washing the rice and Berries for the curry. The kid and her dad didn’t mind the lack of meat so Nina and Kerry offered to cook.

“Kerry, do you mind taking over while I summon Nitey for dinner.” Not wanting to bog her partner down with their slow pace, Nina had asked the Dragonite to venture off on his own, but stay within earshot of her whistle, which she blew into to recall him.

“NIIITEE!!!” A roar of affirmation echoed back in return as Nina continued to help with the cooking.

“Are you a noble Blackthorn by chance?” Megumi’s father asked, once he caught sight of the majestic orange Dragonite that landed in their midst, much to his daughter’s excitement as she immediately ran up to Nitey to indulge in his tubby belly.

Johtons, unlike Kantonians, were much more relaxed around the presence of Dragons, thanks to the prominence of the Blackthorn clan. Though owning one, especially one of the Dragonite line, did automatically mark someone as aristocracy, as evident by the man’s shift to a more cordial tone.

Nina laughed. “No, not at all. Kerry and I are both from Kanto. I found Nitey by chance as a Dratini back during my childhood. He’s my lifelong partner, practically my soulmate at this point.”

“Do you think I can catch a cute little Dratini too?” Megumi exclaimed, in between uppies from Nitey. The girl’s exuberance elicited a genial smile from Nina and her usual canned response of “work hard and you’re sure to achieve your dreams some day.”

***

“Nooo! Woopie!!!” Megumi cried.

“What’s wrong, Megu?!” The girl’s father rushed over, just in time to see a Quagsire jump into the freezing ice water with a Pokedoll clutched in its hands.

It was the second day, and Nina and her friends were back near Blue Moon Falls to play with the local Pokemon while they awaited nightfall.

The man sighed in helplessness. “It can’t be helped, I’ll buy you a new one later at the Ranger outpost.”

“Noooo! I want Woopie!” The girl cried, unyielding in her demand.

“What happened?” Nina asked, as she approached. And after learning of the situation, she looked down at the two Pokemon surrounding the young girl in admonishment. “Poppy… Lynxie… Didn’t I tell you two to look after Megumi?”

Then with a sigh, she bent down to pull the girl into a hug. “Cheer up, Megumi. How about this? Wanna go on a treasure hunt?”

Megumi sniffled and looked at the older girl in confusion. “Treasure… hunt?”

In lieu of a reply, Nina turned to address her Popplio. “Hey Poppy, remember what that Quagsire looked like? Do you think you can go track it down for us, buddy.”

“Po-po!” Poppy did a little back flip in acknowledgement and then splashed into the water to do precisely that.

“But Nina! That water is freezing!” Kerry chimed in protest, only to receive a reassuring smile from the girl as she blew into her whistle, to summon a mighty Dragonite from the sky.

“Megumi can ride on Nitey’s back while Espy shields her. In the meantime, I’m gonna go change into my wetsuit. Wanna come with?” Kerry gave her friend a vehement shake of the head, eliciting an amused chuckle from the girl.

Nina was someone who spent years in the Cerulean Gym, often in its chilly pool waters and freezing Pokemon exhibits. So such temperatures, while unpleasant, weren't particularly daunting to her. Thus, Nina and Megumi dove into lake water while the little girl’s father and Kerry stayed on land, to call for help if it came down to it.

“Don’t worry, sir. I’ll take good care of your daughter for you,” said the confident Gym Trainer as she submerged into the water.

***

Megumi held on tight to the fuzzy pink Espeon as the big strong Dragonite dove into the water.

At first she was scared that she might drown, so she closed her eyes tight in anticipation. But after a loud splash and a strained cry from the Espeon, the girl steadily opened her eyes, realizing that the air around her remained unchanged.

“Wow…” The little girl awed. Beneath the waters, a magical new world opened up before her.

Like glistening jewels in the lake, a squadron of Woopers swam up, curiously circling the pink bubble she was in. Megumi tried to reach out and touch them, only to be yoinked back by the grumpy Espeon who told her to stay put.

Megumi made a pouty little face, but soon got distracted again by a bunch of Quagsires playing in the water, throwing a Shellder back and forth like it was a frisbee. And underneath, there was another group of Woopers who were using a sad looking Magikarp as a ball, bouncing it around with their tails. Until the pretty big sis who dove in with her swam over and scolded the Woopers, lovingly caressing the Magikarp before letting it go.

The big sis then swam up to Megumi’s bubble and gave it a little knock and a wink, looking super cool in her colorful wetsuit and her mouth breather thingy. “I wanna be cool like her one day…” The girl pined.

Then with a series of gestures, the older girl told her Dragonite to lead the way as they searched around for her cute little Popplio. Though strangely, it seemed to be the fuzzy Espeon who was steering them as she bossed the big Dragon around.

Megumi giggled. “Silly Espy, you can’t even swim. How are you supposed to know where Poppy is?” The little girl mused, eliciting an annoyed look from the Pokemon in return.

It didn’t take long to find the funny little Popplio, because he was waiting for them near a cave that was behind some really swirly and foamy water. The Popplio was spinning around and doing little tricks to call for his trainer’s attention. 

“We’re directly beneath the waterfall right now.” A familiar voice echoed in her head, causing Megumi to jolt in surprise, only to calm down again when a warm and reassuring feeling washed over her head. Almost like the smell of the wicker basket she liked to hide in when her mother was out taking in the laundry — like sunshine and warm hugs.

However, Megumi almost cried out in distress again when she saw the big sis get swept up in the swirly waters, only to relax and gasp in awe once she saw how effortlessly Nina was swishing and dancing around, playfully doing tricks with Poppy by her side. It was almost like the girl was a Water Pokemon herself.

“So cool…” The girl murmured. Her awe then turned to exuberant laughter as the girl’s Dragonite joined in on the dance as well, with Megumi on his back, zooming up and down and twisting all around like a roller coaster ride. Their little display even attracted the attention of the nearby Pokemon as Quagsires and Woopers alike joined in on the dance in the swirly waters.

After some time, when the cool big sis finally had enough fun, she giggled with bubbles spewing out of her mouthpiece and gestured for them to enter the cave.

***

The underwater cave hidden behind the turbulent waters of the base of Blue Moon Falls led to a fairly expansive cavern, one large enough to easily accommodate the massive bulk of Nitey with some space to spare.

Inside was a damp space lined with plenty of moss on the walls and mud on the ground — exactly the sort of environment favored by the Wooper line.

“Niite~” Nitey surfaced behind Nina, with a curious Megumi on his back. The sparkle in the little girl’s eyes intensified at the sight of all the shiny treasures hidden within the cavern; colorful Pokeballs intermixed with glass baubles, jewels, crystals and Berries. Each haphazardly placed in individual piles, presumably to demarcate the different collections of each Quagsire living here.

Nina whistled, feeling impressed by the hoard before her. “Gosh, these Quagsires are quite something huh?” She then turned towards the cute little Popplio by her side, eyes sparkling at all the shinies. The Quagsire hoard must have triggered the innate instincts of Poppy’s species.

The girl pulled the Popplio into a tight hug, to prevent the little seal from doing anything that might get them in trouble. “Do you think you can identify the Quagsire who took Megumi’s doll?” She asked, referring to the number of lazy blue blobs that were lounging around the space.

“Po?”

“Not sure, huh? It’s okay, you did great by leading us here.” Nina then turned towards Espy, who was casually levitating in the air, not wanting to get her paws dirty on the mud. “Espy, mind asking around with Poppy and Megumi to see if you can find the doll? I’ll let you negotiate the return, just try not to antagonize the local Pokemon too much, okay?”

“Es.” Espy replied with a proud huff and a mental pulse of affirmation as Nina handed Poppy over to Megumi. 

Meanwhile the girl and her Dragonite went looking around to satisfy their curiosity, casually picking up random little trinkets that caught their eyes for closer examination. After they got permission from the nearby Quagsire and complimented them on their haul, of course.

“This little guy likes to collect Pokeballs, huh?” Nina could see Ultra Balls, Net balls, Great Balls and so on, mixed in with the veritable mountain of regular Pokeballs, even some models that she’d never seen before.

“Hang on… Is this a…” Nina dug into the Pokeball pile, much to the Quagsire’s displeasure and extracted a peculiar looking Pokeball from the midst; a dark blue orb with pale blue lines etched onto the surface in a net-like pattern. To the side were four protruding yellow fins that formed a cross framing the central button.

“This is… a Beast Ball!”

Beast Balls were the only thing in the world that were capable of containing Ultra Beast. Regular Pokeballs that made use of dimensional tech just weren’t capable of holding the extra-dimensional beings. Any attempts to do so would just result in the Ultra Beast slipping out from the seams of the Pokeball, IF they were even willing to go into it in the first place, since they couldn’t even be sucked in.

At present, there was no way of obtaining Beast Balls in the open market. By all accounts, they were considered contraband that were highly regulated by the International Police. The justification being; Ultra Beast were dangerous creatures that should not be abused by careless humans.

“If I remember correctly, Uncle Ali told me last time that you couldn’t apply a Psychic signature to an Ultra Beast, nor tame them in a conventional way either. Not even with a Beast Ball.” The mind of an Ultra Beast was simply too much of an enigma to be restrained. Not that it was impossible, maybe in the future with a more advanced model of Beast Balls.

So in that sense, Interpol’s stance was justified. Didn’t stop the League from accusing them of attempting to monopolize the secrets of Ultra Beasts though.

“Say, would you be open to a trade?” Nina asked the Quagsire who, presumably, “found” the Beast Ball. “This might be my only chance to get my hands on one of these…” There was still her Uncle Ali of course. But realistically, the low level inspector had nowhere enough authority to grant her one. Not in the near future anyway.

“Come to think of it, Unown are, by definition, Ultra Beasts aren’t they? So why do regular Pokeballs work on them then?” Nina would have to run some tests on her own to find out. “Hmm… the Ruins of Alph are located in the vicinity of Violet City. Should I try to look for Celebi first or the Unown first? Decisions, decisions…”

“Quag.” Nina’s reverie was interrupted by a response from the Quagsire as it beckoned for Nina to follow.

The place she was led to was another pile of spherical treasures, with another smug looking Quagsire presiding over it.

“Quag!”

“Quaag!”

The two Quagsires faced off against each other, each posturing in contempt. Though it was clear that the second Quagsire had the edge as it gestured towards its pile, which was largely mundane, save for a gleaming Gold Nugget sitting at the top, like a shining topper above a Christmas tree.

“Quag! Quag!” The initial Quagsire cried in indignation as it looked towards Nina with a frown and gestured wildly at the Gold Nugget.

“Are you telling me you want to trade for a Gold Nugget?”

“Quag!” The Quagsire nodded, causing a pit to form in Nina’s stomach.

The girl sighed. “I mean I still have that extra Nugget that I won from Lilian. But…” Nina flipped open her Pokedex to check on the current market price of gold. “Roundabouts eight grand… its value has only appreciated since I got it.”

Nina was reluctant, but then again, eight thousand Pokedollars for a Beast Ball did seem fair. However, at the same time, she struggled to contain her stinginess. “Dammit, I’m starting to become more and more like Violet!” 

“Big sis! Big sis! I found Woopie!” Nina’s thoughts were once again interrupted. This time by Megumi, who ran up to her with an exuberant smile, prompting the older girl to commend her with genial head pats.

“Espy, do you think you can help me talk some sense into this Quagsire?” Nina pleaded, only to receive a mental wave of indifference in return. It seemed Espy was still a little hung up on her previous haggling session with the Quagsire that stole Megumi’s Pokedoll.

So with a helpless sigh, Nina agreed to the trade and invited the Quagsire to come back with them to complete the transaction. As a result, Nina spent the rest of the day mouth agape like a mindless zombie, still in denial over the lighter load in her backpack. And before she knew it, the full moon passed by in a flash, and it was now time for Nina and Kerry to head off again.

Chapter 190

As someone who spent such an inordinately long time of her new life in the Cerulean Gym, the idea of a major city without a Pokemon Gym just seemed odd to Nina.

She tried to look up the reason for it, studied the history of Cherrygrove City to find out why. But in the end, came up empty. As far as she could tell, the place had just always been like this. Or more than likely, the Great Clan that used to preside over the city fled to Kanto during the Blackthorn conquest and was never replaced.

Cherrygrove City was a quaint little place, not quite as backwards as Viridian City, but not as developed as some of the other cities that Nina had been to in this world either. 

There were a couple of taller buildings jutting out here and there and a fair bit of commercial activity thanks to the region’s central bus station being located in the city. But otherwise, despite its mid-sized port, actual shipping activity was scarce, owing to Goldenrod City having largely subsumed that sector.

“So, how long are we supposed to wait for Justin here?”

Nina sighed. “Don’t know, he couldn’t say… You know how he is, fickle as the wind and the attention span of a Growlithe with ADHD.”

The trip from New Bark Town to Cherrygrove, after accounting for all their detours, took the two girls over a week, even with their Mach Bikes, owing to Nina’s penchant for deviating off route whenever any of her Pokemon sensed anything interesting.

It was now February, temperatures were a lot warmer thanks to Johto being closer to the southern hemisphere, and the new Gym season had officially begun.

And when Nina called in to check on Justin, who somehow managed to get fifth place in the Indigo Conference, he expressed an interest in wanting to join Nina’s journey. Usually, most people would opt for some down time back home before setting off again, but the boy was evidently too restless for that. 

“I’m gonna go crazy if I have to listen to that old hag’s nagging for even one more day!” He exclaimed, during their call.

Kerry frowned. “His childhood friend is coming along right? Doesn’t that girl have a Charizard? They could probably Fly here today if they wanted to.” She whined, eliciting another sigh from her friend.

“Apparently, he wants to try climbing Mount Silver as well. Probably shouldn’t have told him about our encounter with Red…”

Nina tilted her head in consideration. While all the cute little statues of Quagsires in Jojo poses were charming, there wasn’t really much to do in Cherrygrove. “Except maybe the Quagsire Shrine down the river, but that’s like half a day at most.”

“Screw it!” Nina exclaimed. “We’ll stay a couple of days here to rest and restock. And if Justin and Lucy still aren’t showing up, then we’ll head up north to Route 30. There’s a little off route village there with an Apricorn orchard and a community of artisanal Pokeball smiths.” 

And according to Professor Elm, Nina could also meet with Mr Pokemon, one of the Gold and Silver NPCs in her past life who was also an eccentric researcher and Pokemon breeder in this world.

“If those two kids show up in Cherrygrove in time, then I’ll send them a coordinate to meet us in the village. If not, then we’ll head straight to Violet City and tell them to meet us there instead. The both of us need some time to prep our Pokemon to challenge Falkner anyway.”

The Violet City Gym Leader was not a pushover like in the games. Flying Type Pokemon, alongside the likes of Normal Types, were species that had the widest range of Type diversity. So the girls would have to be very tactical about their approach. 

Not to mention, as a former law enforcer and the patriarch of a very old and conservative noble family, Falkner himself was also quite the stringent hardass when it came to his Gym’s pride.

Nina groaned internally. As far as the difficulty level of Star badges went, Falkner’s was pretty up there. So she wasn’t harboring any hopes of earning one from him. At most, she could maybe strive for an Expert badge if she did well enough in the screening battles.

“But then again, I suppose I do have to train my team to be strong enough to wrench that Volcano Star badge from Volcarona. How am I supposed to overpower an ancient Alpha Pokemon if I can’t even beat at least some of Falkner’s Star team.”

In truth, Nina had originally decided to go to Azalea Town next. She wasn’t even really planning to challenge Falkner, just help out Kerry with her training and coach her by the side while she commuted back and forth to the Ruins of Alph during their time in Violet City.

But considering she was planning on spending an inordinate amount of time in Ilex Forest to look for Celebi, and ran a high risk of being incommunicable, it was more convenient for Justin to meet them in Violet City instead. And if it was going to be a long wait, then she might as well spend her time productively.

“Also, if I remember correctly, there’s a cave up in Route 31 with Dunsparce in it…” The idea of owning a drill that could pierce the heavens appealed greatly to Nina. “But, we’ll see how it goes.” She already had Sir Clodington for all her Digging needs anyway.

***

In the end, Justin never showed up. So Nina and Kerry were now trekking up a precariously steep trail on a mountainous forest, to reach the village of Pokeball smiths.

They had tried to use their bikes to go as far as they could — the Mach Bikes, despite their speedy nature, were quite competent off-roaders as well. However, the trail eventually became too narrow, forcing them to get off and continue on foot.

Kerry huffed in exhaustion, nearly falling from being startled by an Ekans that tried to bite at her. But luckily, she had Rocky the Geodude with her who blocked the attack and fought it off. “How much longer, Nina?” The girl whined.

Nina halted to take in a breath of her own as she checked on her map. “This should be the last uphill portion that we have to get through. After that, the terrain should level off and open up a bit. Do you need a break, Kerr?”

The nurse apprentice shook her head. Kerry wasn’t so fragile that she couldn’t handle a little rough trek. Though she was regretting not staying an extra day in Cherrygrove — the girl missed hot showers.

Nina smiled and exchanged a few words of encouragement with her friend before continuing on the trek with Poppy resting on her head, just like how Espy used to when she was an Eevee. “In hindsight, I probably should have just used Nitey to cheat this part.” She mused. It wasn’t like she or Kerry were adrenaline junkies or anything. “Lesson learned for next time…”

“Kukuku…” Eventually though, Brucey, whom Nina sent ahead as a scout, came back with good news — signs of civilization. And so, with renewed vigour, the two girls forged ahead and were able to encounter an older girl, who was out gathering wild Apricorns with a basket strapped to her back.

“You two out here to commission Apricorn Balls?” The older girl asked, with a stoic face and a curt manner. The dark haired girl wore a set of light blue haori with a pair of straw sandals and a layer of Sentret fur on her back, looking like she had just walked out of an old Ghibli movie.

But the two travellers were undeterred, merely returning the sentiment with friendly smiles. “Hi there, we’re actually here primarily to visit Mr Pokemon. Is he still living in these parts by any chance?”

The older girl nodded. “Aye, that old fart. Do you need a guide to the village?”

“We do have a map and coordinates. But if it isn’t too much trouble…” Nina replied sheepishly, only to earn another curt nod from the girl as she hollered at the tree she was standing under, summoning a Heracross that poked its cross shaped horns from the treetop, indicating that it was a male.

“Oi! Kuwamushi! Let’s wrap up and head back home!”

“Cross.” At his trainer’s words, the Heracross fell from the tree and fluttered gently down the ground with a pair of rapidly flickering insectoid wings sheathed underneath shiny blue elytra shells.

As he landed, Nina could see that the Heracross held a little net of pale green Apricorns in his grasp. “Oh, I didn’t know that Apricorns were available so early in the season?”

“They ain’t,” said the older girl as she grabbed hold of her Pokemon’s haul and examined the Apricorns one by one. “But the unripe ones have a sharp flavor that my grandpa loves, and we can only really get them around this time.”

Nina nodded in curiosity and thanked the girl for her insight. “Sorry to cut your harvest short. My friend and I are happy to wait for you to be done before leaving, we’re not in a rush or anything.”

But the older girl merely shook her head and gestured for them to follow, her Heracross in tow. “Nah, we’re about done here. Can’t take too much, else we won’t have enough for crafting.”

“So it’s true then, that your village consists of mostly Pokeball smiths?”

“Just a few of us. The rest have their own business.” The older girl replied, curt as ever.

Nina nodded. “I wouldn’t mind commissioning some custom Apricorn Balls if any of the esteemed craftsmen of your village are willing.”

“We do take commissions, aye. But only if it's worth our while.”

Nina smiled. “Very pragmatic…” She tried to make more conversation. But unfortunately, the older girl wasn’t very receptive. Though Nina could tell that she wasn’t entirely unfriendly, just a little distracted, her mind seemingly preoccupied with other matters.

***

It was approaching dusk by the time that the three girls reached the village. The skies tinged a fiery orange, casting a greyish purple tint over the rural village.

The Apricorn Village itself was an interesting place; houses of wood and tarpaulin built upon pitched slopes of the mountain amidst empty rice fields. A quaint little shrine adorned the highest tier, beyond unkempt bushes and overgrown trees.

All around, Nina could see residents going about their daily routine, most of them skewing towards the older side with the occasional laughter of children running amok.

The girl who guided Nina and Kerry pointed towards an unpaved path which led down the slope, towards a little clearing at the bottom. “Head down this way until the end and you’ll find the man you seek.”

Nina and Kerry thanked the girl for her kindness, making sure to introduce themselves before they parted ways since they hadn’t done so yet.

The girl nodded in acknowledgement. “My name is Maizie, may we meet again.” And with that, the older girl left, taking a path that led upwards instead of down. Heracross, though, was friendly enough to wave goodbye with a happy expression before following suit.