Into the Unown Ch 161-165 (Coffee tier)

Author's note:

I'm back from vacation!

And recovering from jetlag, probably the worse I've dealt with in all my life. Your body really just starts to fail once you hit your 30s so enjoy your youth while you still got it, folks.

Anyways, I may or may not write up a travel blog as I promised previously. But I'll need to get through my photos and see how many of them are actually usable first. Don't wanna accidentally dox myself.

But going back to the chapters.

I had some time to reflect on my written material during my vacation and decided that a few of the chapters needed rewrites just to better clarify Nina's current motivations.

I've already gone and made the changes but I'm still not 100% on them yet. So I'll continue to tweak things before the public release.

Until then, if anything feels weird at all or if I've been repeating some things over and over again for no good reason, do let me know. I tend to do that when I'm rewriting stuff cause I would have lost tracked of what I had written previously.

PS. Patreon has gone and fixed some of the formatting issues plaguing text posts like this. But the issue with the paragraph spacing still persists.

I'll go in and edit out any obvious jank, but for this bulk posting, I think I'll save myself the trouble and leave the spacing as is for now. Let me know as well if anyone at all feels strongly about this.

***

Chapter 161

Nina shut her eyes and allowed the misty rain to wash over her, revelling in the sound of the whistling winds.

“Kukuku…” To her side, Brucey laughed in a strained manner, desperately flapping his wings in an effort to keep up with the leisurely gliding Nitey.

Nina laughed. “C’mere, Brucey,” she beckoned. Golbats weren’t supposed to fly at such high altitudes so it was normal for Brucey to be struggling.

“Kukuku…” With a great deal of reluctance, Brucey conceded and landed behind Nina to wrap his wings around the girl. He would have loved to be at the front and be cuddled, but that spot was taken by Espy who warned him off with a mental pulse of denial.

Nina giggled and gently caressed Brucey before giving Nitey a pat on his scaly back. “Alright Nitey, no need to hold back anymore. Time to soar beyond the clouds!”

“Dragooo!!!” With a mighty bellow, Nitey flapped his wings and pierced through the veil of clouds obstructing the sky, prompting Nina to laugh out in exuberance and opened her mouth wide to taste the fluffy white mist. 

She had always wondered if clouds tasted like cotton candy, and now she knew — it was all just water. Cool, refreshing water vapours, but water nonetheless.

The girl chuckled. “No duh! What did you expect, you silly Psyduck.”

Nina felt a thrilling rush deep within her the higher she ascended. And the moment that they pierced through to the vast blue emptiness above, she hollered.

“WOOHOOOOO!!!”

Before her was an endless sea of clouds, mottled grey and tinged red and purple in the horizon. And peeking out from the ethereal canopy was the tip of Mount Silver, its peak holding aloft a majestic ball of fire, like a golden beacon illuminating the lands below.

Hatsuhinode — the first sunrise of the new year. Nina had always wanted to go witness the occasion in her past life. But now, that wish was finally fulfilled, and in the best way possible.

“Thanks for the suggestion, Nitey. This is your best idea yet!”

“Niiite~” Nitey hovered in the air with a proud look in his reptilian eyes. He could have come at any time with his newly acquired wings, but he held off because he wanted to share the occasion with his loved ones.

“It’s a shame that Clody couldn’t be out here to experience this too.” 

The Clodsire’s pseudo-Safari Ball was currently hanging around Nina’s neck in transparency mode. He couldn’t be out with them because his Poisonous exterior was a risk to the flying Nitey. Otherwise, the Dragonite could have just carried the brown blob in his arms.

Nina and her team of Pokemon hovered in the air to bask in the first light of the new year. Espy, in particular, due to her species’s affinity with the sun, was especially ecstatic, eyes glistening in awe. Even her forehead jewel was shining a brighter red than usual.

Gastly peeked out from Nina’s shadow as well, to admire the scenic view despite her aversion to sunlight.

They stayed there for some time, watching the sun rise higher and higher, completely breaking free from the imposing silhouette of Mount Silver.

Nina let out a sigh of content. But just before she could tell Nitey to move on, she saw a rainbow trail arcing across Mount Silver’s snow-covered peak.

“Is that… Ho-Oh!” Nina exclaimed.

“Hooooo!!!” 

And as if responding to her call, a majestic screech echoed throughout the region, signalling the start of the new year.

Nina was practically buzzing with excitement. The Legendary Rainbow Pokemon was not an uncommon sight in Kanto-Johto, but Nina had never seen it in person before. To think that she could witness both Ho-Oh and hatsuhinode at the same time. She once again thanked Arceus for allowing her to be reborn in this magical world.

***

Nina and her team landed on a relatively flat surface of Mount Moon. The motley crew didn’t just fly out today to see the sunrise, but also to have a little picnic as well. And what better spot to enjoy an outdoor breakfast than on Mount Moon while facing the majestic view of Mount Silver.

It was still drizzling a little on this cold winter morning. But luckily, they had Espy who shielded them with a barrier to block out both the rain and the chilling winds.

Nina then released Sir Clodington from his Pokeball, who manipulated the ground to create a dry and solid platform for them to set up on.

“Alright, Nitey. Could you use those big strong arms of yours to help me out?”

But instead of obliging, Nitey just sat down with a thump with his legs splayed out like a deadbeat waiting to be fed, eliciting an annoyed twitch from Nina.

“Cheeky bastard’s been getting really full of himself lately.” Nitey wasn’t being belligerent or anything. It was just that the Dragonite’s advantage over his trainer had given him a big head, and he had taken to teasing Nina at every opportunity now.

Luckily, Espy helped out with an exasperated sigh, grabbing the food that Nina extracted from her backpack with her Psychic grasp and laying them on a blanket. There were sandwiches and rice balls to share, as well as a big pot of stew for the big eating Nitey — feeding a full grown Dragon was no easy task. “Thank goodness for all my sponsors.” 

The stew itself wouldn’t be enough of course, so Nina also opened up a bag of high density Pokechow for her Dragonite. At the moment, Nitey was going through a bag of the stuff every single day. It was the sort of expenditure that would have long crippled the finances of an average trainer.

Once everything was set up, Nina jumped and fell into the embrace of Nitey’s tubby belly. The Dragonite gave his partner a playful shake, like the girl was a human sized teddy bear, before settling her down between his legs on the picnic blanket.

“Alright, everyone. Let’s dig in!” Nina declared, eliciting cheers from her Pokemon.

***

With a subdued gust of wind, Nina descended onto a little hidden grove on Mount Moon. Before her was a familiar looking torii gate, or spirit gate as they were called in the Pokemon world.

“It’s been a long time huh, Nitey?” 

“Nite~”

The last time that Nina was here, she was only seven years old. “It’s been five years at this point. Time sure flies…”

The girl then asked her Dragonite to fly closer to the bright red spirit gate, so that she could examine the wooden plaque adorning the top of the arch.

“S-O-L… Pretty sure the last time we were here, it read L-O-S.” The letters were arranged vertically.

This actually wasn’t Nina’s first time returning to the Moon Shrine. During the past few months that she spent idle in recovery, the restless girl had snuck out at one point to visit as well. 

“The letters have swapped around. So that confirms it then — the Unown scripts decorating the plaque are alive. Espy, Gastly, could the two of you examine the plaque for me? See if you sense anything.” The girl implored, prompting her two Pokemon into action.

The results though, were disappointing. Despite furrowing her brow in frustration, Espy couldn’t detect any sentient thoughts or Psychic energy from the Unown. And Gastly just shook her head with a sad frown after phasing through every single corner of the wooden structure.

Nina sighed. She had half anticipated this. Based on what she could recall from her spotty meta-knowledge, the Unown were extra-dimensional beings. Which meant that the etchings on the plaque probably only came to life when the alphabet Pokemon came into their dimension.

Nina hummed in consideration. “So does that mean that the Unown scripts are interdimensional gates? What happens if I replicate the script in a different surface, would that create or summon an Unown to me as well? And is this where I come from, I wonder?” Maybe beyond the Unown was Nina’s old world — the one without Pokemon that she was so familiar with. 

“Come to think of it, Miles did have that keychain with him when he died didn’t he? The one where he had a string of Unowns spelling out his name that he bought from that convention he went to that one time.”

However, Nina was jolted from her ponderings by a stern voice that called out to her.

“You there! Are you a Blackthorn? What are you doing up there?!”

Nina turned around to look at the ground below her, to see a familiar looking man with slit-for-eyes, tanned skin and spiky dark hair.

“Brock… No.” Nina lightly shook her head, the man looked a little too young to be the retired Gym Leader. “Are you Mr Forrest by any chance?” She asked, eliciting a grunt of affirmation from the guy.

“So you know who I am. But who are you? And how do you know about this place?” asked Forrest Harrison, the current Leader of the Pewter City Gym.

Nina smiled to disarm the Gym Leader’s wariness and asked Nitey to land. “It’s nice to meet you Mr Forrest. My name is Melina Jones, but you can just call me Nina.” The girl greeted as she extended a hand to Forrest. “You may know my grandma, Melina Ashes, and I’m also a Gym Trainer at the Cerulean Gym.”

“Ahhh…” Forrest gaped in realisation as his expression softened and reciprocated the girl’s handshake. “I see, so you’re the one… I heard about what you did with that Blackthorn girl. Are you still in contact with Cole by any chance? How is he?”

Nina lightly shook her head with a wry smile. “Unfortunately, I’m not in direct contact with him. But I do keep in touch with Charlie, Cole’s traveling companion. Last I heard, the two of them were fine. Still going around trying to meet as many new Pokemon as they can. Though I think they’re mostly focused on earning money now, to save up for a trip to Johto.”

Forrest smiled and let out a quiet sigh of relief. “That’s good to know. That boy can be very stubborn so it’s hard to get a hold of him. Are you here to visit Elder Melina? I think I saw her in the city earlier, running some errands.”

Nina shifted and followed Forrest through the spirit gate with her Pokemon in tow. “No, I'm mainly here to check on Futaba. Though I might go see my grandma later. How is she, by the way? Still unconscious?”

Forrest sighed. “Elder Futaba is stable. My brother and Elder Melina have been taking turns to look after her. But she isn’t showing any signs of waking up soon and none of the medical professionals we enlisted are harboring much hope either — ‘the woman is over ninety years old now, so it’s just a matter of time,’ they said.”

Nina thanked the man for the update as a melancholic silence fell between them. The caverns leading to the Moon Shrine were the same as ever, still dark with mysterious paintings on the wall. The last time that Nina was here, she made sure to take pictures of the primitive drawings to be studied in her own time.

The vicinity of the Moon Shrine though, was very different from what she remembered. Aside from the Clefable line, there were now a myriad of different Pokemon roaming the space; Water Types in the water, Sandshrews rolling around, Geodudes wrestling each other and many more. There were even a few regional starters around; Squirtles, Bulbasaurs and Charmanders.

Forrest laughed at Nina’s wonderment. “Ever since he retired, Brock’s been devoting himself to Pokemon breeding and nutrition. Just so happens, there’s plenty of space here and the Moon Priestess is in no shape to scold him. So that guy went and appropriated the place for his own purposes.”

Nina nodded. Futaba might take issue with it, but it was none of her business so Nina could hardly judge.

“Forrest! Hey! Good of you to visit. And is that Nina I see?” And speaking of the devil, Brock called out to them from a distance, waving enthusiastically as he approached.

***

Chapter 162

Nina gently reached out to caress the withered hand laying atop the yellowed futon, feeling nothing but skin and bones in her grasp.

The girl sighed, breathing in the distinct smell of wax and kerosene permeating the air, and looked towards the dishevelled, hollow cheeks of the old lady laying asleep before her.

“Did you manage to convince her granddaughter?” Nina asked Brock, who was also with her in the archaic little shed that Futaba used as her bedroom.

As it turned out, Nina wasn’t the only one that Futaba had requested for help in seeking out her estranged granddaughter. There were others as well, Brock and her grandma included.

Brock shook his head in exasperation. “No, unfortunately not. Whitney is a very stubborn person. And honestly, I can’t blame her. She’s never met Futaba before, not since she was a baby anyway. It’s probably quite awkward for her. And knowing her, she’s probably trying to avoid the unnecessary heartache as well.”

To be told that the grandmother you’ve never known was now on her deathbed and that her final wish was to be reunited with you. Yeah, Nina could see how that might be a difficult situation for Whitney.

And yes, Futaba’s granddaughter was indeed Whitney, Leader of the Goldenrod City Gym in Johto. “No wonder she said I was sure to find her…” If Nina had continued to journey as normal then there was a good chance that she would have gone to Johto to challenge Whitney’s Gym at some point.

“So what’s the deal anyway?” Nina asked. “What happened that caused Futaba’s family to abandon her?”

Brock sighed and leaned back a little to adjust his posture. “It’s all very petty to be honest. Futaba’s family is an ancient one, dating back to even before the war and the founding of Kanto — not that anyone actually knows when that was. Basically, they’ve been here since the very beginning.”

The man then explained that the family had been living in seclusion, distancing themselves from worldly matters that entire time, or at least the main branch of the family had.

“Throughout all of history, the Tsukigami family only had a single role — the preservation of the Moon Shrine.” Brock continued. Nobody knew why they were so obsessed with the shrine, just that they had been guarding it with stalwart devotion from one generation to the next.

“That all changed in Futaba’s generation,” said the former Gym Leader. “Futaba only ever had one daughter. And by this point, most of their distant relatives were either killed in the war or completely estranged from their storied tradition.” Brock chuckled. “Most of them aren’t even aware of the shrine’s existence anymore.”

Things got even more complicated when Futaba’s only daughter fell in love with a Johton, and a ‘westerner’ without a single drop of Kantonian blood in him no less. “To say that the reserved Tsukigami family was xenophobic is a huge understatement. So an argument ensued and you know the rest…”

Nina groaned. The whole thing sounded like an extremely complicated and melodramatic soap opera — everything that Nina hated in life.

“Dammit, she promised to answer my questions if I brought her granddaughter to her.” Nina whined. “Guess that’s not happening anymore…” 

Brock let out a wry smile. “Unfortunately, any important knowledge could only be passed down verbally within the Tsukigami family — such is their tradition. There are some scrolls that I found while rummaging around, but they’re very faded and from what I can tell, mostly contain trivial information of little significance.” 

Nina asked to see the scrolls just in case, not that she was well versed in the ancient Kantonian language. “What about going into her dreams?” Nina continued to ask, her tone hopeful. “My Gastly is still green but I’m sure we could find an experienced Ghost Type among our contacts.”

However, that suggestion was also dashed with another shake of the head from Brock. “We tried, but couldn’t get through. I imagine each succeeding Moon Priestess had barriers set up in their mind before being bestowed their duty.”

Nina slumped against the wall and let out a frustrated groan. It seems that her hopes of learning the secrets behind this world were lost forevermore.

“Cheer up. I’m sure you’ll get your questions answered somewhere down the line. Maybe you can ask me? I’ve been all over the world and seen lots of things, even Legends the likes you wouldn’t believe. Maybe I might have the answer?”

Nina shook her head, but thanked the man for his kindness all the same. The two then left the room and went outside to get a tour of Brock’s makeshift ranch.

***

“So you’ll be going on your journey this year, Nina?”

Nina replied to Brock in affirmation. “Yeah, me and my friend Kerry — she’s an apprentice Nurse Joy.”

At the mention of Nurse Joy, Brock seemed to wilt slightly, prompting Forrest to give him a reassuring pat on the back.

“Well, since you’re here anyway. Wanna get your first badge with me?” Forrest offered, in an attempt to change the subject.

“Erm… I don’t mind, but the new season hasn’t started yet has it?” In fact, last year’s season technically wasn’t even over yet, since the Indigo Conference was delayed to January due to the destruction wrought onto Indigo Village from Lance and Koga’s battle.

Forrest chuckled. “It’s fine. We can fudge the records a bit. Won’t be the first time anyway…” That last part was said with a helpless sigh from the Gym Leader.

Nina hummed in consideration. She was planning to complete the Gym circuit within one year reagardless, so the two year validity on the badges wasn’t an issue. The half year delay on her journey gave her plenty of time to bolster her team and she was confident that even with just five Pokemon, she was more than capable of earning all eight of her badges at the Intermediate to Expert tier. 

However, what Nina was really after were three Star badges. That way, she could skip the hassle of battling her way through the preliminaries and go straight into the main tournament. It would also allow her more leeway to explore more interesting places rather than just going from city to city, since she wouldn’t need to bother with the other five badges.

Nina had already marked out a few of the ‘weaker’ Gyms in both Kanto and Johto that she had the highest chances of winning against, as well as the Cerulean Gym of course. Nina had to end her circuit at her home Gym with a Star battle against her mentor as per tradition.

Unfortunately, the Pewter Gym was not one of the Gyms she considered weak, despite their reputation as being THE beginner Gym. Forrest was no joke and was a much more competent trainer than his older brother.

In fact, word on the Pokenet was, newbie trainers had been flocking to Viridian Gym as their first Gym, away from Pewter, ever since Forrest took over.

“If I challenge your Star team and lose, will you give me a lower tier badge if I do well enough?” Nina asked sheepishly, eliciting an amused smirk from Forrest.

“Sure, I don’t mind.” The Gym Leader replied. “But I don’t have my full Star team with me right now, so I’ll have to borrow some of your Pokemon, Brock.”

Brock chuckled and beckoned for his two companions to follow him. “Sure, you spend more time with them than I do anyways. C’mon, I know a good spot where the two of you can go at it without restraint. I’ll be the ref.”

Nina tilted her head in confusion. “I thought we were going to the Gym?” 

“Nah, you should know that Gym Leaders can give out badges anywhere they want — the Gym is just a formality. So long as we record the battle for the League’s records then all’s good.”

***

The place that Brock took them to ended up being a massive empty cavern within the depths of Mount Moon, lit by luminescent moss and past a steep, precarious looking tunnel dug ages ago by some stray Onix.

Nina heaved as she climbed the massive stalagmite that would serve as the platform where she would stand, its tip broken off to enable a stable foothold. Opposite of her, Forrest did the same, looking much more at ease in the rocky environment than she was.

Between the two trainers was hazardous, uneven terrain, fully covered in rocky spikes — smaller stalagmites than the one that Nina was perched on. The only consolation was the tall ceiling, providing plenty of room for a Pokemon to Fly.’

To their side was Brock, who found a little indent up in the cavern wall to sit in. The former Gym Leader had his Pokedex out, ready to record the battle that was about to take place.

“Trainers! Are you ready?” Brock yelled, his voice echoing throughout the vast cavern.

“Ready.” Forrest responded, his voice steady and calm.

“Ready…” Nina murmured, feeling a little apprehensive about her odds. 

The girl was at quite a disadvantage here; the terrain favored her opponent and she only had five Pokemon as opposed to Forrest’s full team of six. Not to mention her relative lack of experience compared to the seasoned Gym Leader.

“That said, I do have one advantage. So might as well make full use of him.” 

Aces were usually reserved to the end, and Nina was going to take full advantage of that convention. That and the fact that Forrest was bound by etiquette as a Gym Leader. Meaning, he would always go first and he would refuse to swap out his Pokemon, even if he was allowed to.

So the moment that Brock announced the start of the match, and when Forrest unveiled his first pick, a Golem, Nina’s plan was set in stone.

“Let’s sweep through as many of his numbers at the start and even the odds!” And with that, Nina expanded her Pokeball and threw it into the makeshift arena. “I choose you, Nitey!”

“DRAGOOO!!!”

With a flash of light and a mighty roar, Nina’s Dragonite appeared on the field. His voice reverberated throughout the empty space, causing rocks to quake and stalactites to fall.

“Time for a Tsunami, Nitey. No mercy.” Nina called, her voice cold as ice.

With yet another roar, dark clouds covered the rocky ceiling, lightning rumbled and rain fell. And with a powerful sweep of his tail, the Dragonite conjured a massive wave that engulfed the entire battlefield, completely flooding it and turning the space into an underground lake.

Everything happened so quickly that Forrest’s Golem didn’t even have a chance to react as it was washed away by turbulent waters, sinking deep within its murky depths.

Nina let out a smirk. The first lesson she ever learned while training under a Gym of Water Type specialists was; if the terrain wasn’t favorable, then make it so. It was part of what made challenging a Gym in their home turf that much more difficult, but there was more to it as well.

It was also the foundation underpinning the establishment of a Pokemon’s domain — a relatively advanced concept that most non-legacy trainers wouldn’t be made aware of until too late in their career. But nepo babies like Nina were of course already trained with the proper fundamentals from the very beginning.

“Now then, what are you gonna do, Forrest?” The man had decisively lost the first move. For a Rock Type Pokemon to overturn such a strong Water domain was exhausting. And Nitey sure as heck wouldn’t just standby and let it happen for free.

Nina’s opponent made a little frown, but still maintained a steady calm as Forrest opened his mouth to give his first command…

***

Chapter 163

“Do you honestly think that our Gym’s Star Pokemon are weak enough to be scared of a little water?” Forrest chuckled in amusement. “You’re too naive, mermaid girl… Rise, Golem!”

Deep underwater, the megaton Pokemon slammed all of its weight into a single stomp, causing the entire cavern to shake even more, like a magnitude 3 Earthquake had just occurred.

Nina yelped as she crouched down to hug the stalagmite she was standing on, even releasing Espy to shield against the falling debris threatening to impale her. “Dammit! This has to count as sabotage right?!” The girl exclaimed in her mind.

But when Nina looked over to check on the other humans, she saw that both Harrison brothers were unbothered, stoic as ever like the earthquake was just a pleasant massage.

Midway through the quaking, the lake stirred, towering pillars of granite rose, elevating Forrest’s Golem above the water. It was quite the sight; two dozen giant pillars rising from the turbulent waves as storm clouds continued to rumble high above — the battlefield was transformed once more.

Nina groaned and forced herself up again. “And you’d be naive to think that a Gym Trainer would underestimate a Star Pokemon!” The girl replied. “Nitey! Time for a Gyarados special!”

The first ever Star battle that Nina and her partner witnessed in their lives was in the Cerulean Gym. The sight of the rampaging Gyarados that Misty put down at the time never left their minds.

And so Nitey howled, conjuring a powerful Hurricane surrounding Forrest’s Golem that sucked up some of the water surrounding the stone pillar to create a water spout. A water spout crackling with Electricity that became larger and larger the more that it was fed, closing in on Golem to suck it into its vortex.

“GOO!!!” Golem cried, trying but failing to break free of the vicious water spout as it was spun around like a lone sock in a washing machine.

And for the first time since the match began, Forrest broke his composure. “Cannonball! Use the momentum!” He yelled.

Golem grunted and was somehow able to manipulate his weight, increasing it to disrupt the centripetal force of Nitey’s vortex, spinning further and further away from the center until it eventually broke free from the Hurricane and flung towards Nitey with a dangerous glow.

Nitey let out a haughty huff. The Golem’s intentions were clear as day. And the moment that the barreling Rock Pokemon came within range of its Explosion, Nitey was already gone in Extreme Speed, causing the Golem to sacrifice itself in vain.

An ear deafening blast happened, and the entire cavern quaked once more. Luckily, Nina had Espy to shield her from the aftermath.

On the other end of the field, Nitey reappeared above Forrest, glaring down at the Gym Leader who hurriedly returned his Golem before it sunk fully into the water.

Forrest scoffed. “Going for a sweep right at the beginning. Well played. As expected of Misty’s finest.” The young Gym Leader then expanded an Ultra Ball and smirked at his challenger. “Well then. If that’s how you want to roll, then don’t mind if I do.”

Nina frowned, but just told Nitey to ready himself. She had already expected that Forrest would meet her tit for tat in this scenario. No matter, her goal was already accomplished.

However, what Forrest sent out next was beyond even her wildest imagination. “Is that…”

A metallic roar shook the cavern, like an over-amped electric guitar. And the Pokemon who made that noise could only be described by Nina as being a rainbow Steelix.

The Steelix emerged wrapped around a pillar, its head a greyish gunmetal, followed by a neck of ruby, then emerald, iron, sapphire, amethyst, obsidian, bronze and so on, ending with a sharp tip of gleaming diamond.

If Nina didn’t know any better, she would have thought that the anomaly in front of her was an artificial creation — some sort of ostentatious statue given life.

Forrest laughed at the flabbergasted look on Nina’s face. “Haha! Incredible right? She’s my pride and joy. I don’t get to use her in battle very often so this is a rare treat.” Like all Pokemon Trainers, Forrest had a great deal of pride in his Pokemon and was eager to show off his one of a kind Steelix.

“I found her back when she was just a crystal Onix. Took a lot to evolve her, let me tell you. Got a lot of help from Professor Oak in exchange for letting him study her.”

“Wait,” Nina chimed. “Does that mean your Steelix didn’t evolve from a Metal Coat?”

“Nope,” Forrest said with a wink. “But the details are secret.”

Nina’s eyes were practically sparkling with curiosity now, eager to get close to the variant Steelix to examine her. “C-can I play with her later?” The girl pleaded, leveraging the full power of her Baby-doll Eyes and eliciting another round of laughter from the older trainer.

“Sure, if Steelix is fine with it.” Forrest responded with a smirk.

“No fair! He’s basically telling me that I won’t be able to touch that special Steelix if Nitey beats her up too badly.”

However, before Nina could retort, their back and forth was interrupted by a throaty cough from Brock. “Guys, camera’s still rolling and we’re still in the middle of a match here.” The older Harrison chimed, instantly restoring the severity of the situation.

“Dammit! Nitey, we’re ending this match quickly to go play with Steelix later!”

“Niiite!” Nina’s adventurous partner was also gleaming in curiosity at the dazzling Pokemon in front of him. He once again disappeared in Extreme Speed, appearing next to the Steelix to slam a Fire infused Focus Punch to her face.

Steelix groaned, but barely budged, as she whipped the tail around, her gleaming diamond tail tip grazing past Nitey as he frantically got out of the way. Nina’s Dragonite was unharmed, but there was now a very obvious gash on his abdomen from the surface of his scales being sheared off in that brief interaction.

“Kingsley strats, Nitey!” Nina called for a long ranged hit and run while she furrowed her brows in contemplation. The problem they were faced with right now was the variant Steelix’s Typing. “I can clearly see metal in her body, so obviously she still retained her Steel Typing… But there has to be a secondary Type since Nitey’s Fire Punch did nothing to her.”

Nitey pulled away as instructed and unleashed his signature Double Pulse, banking on the fact that regardless of Typing, Steelix should be limited in terms of ranged attack options. 

But that presumption was soon proven wrong because Steelix just tanked the attack, all the while, every single one of her gemstone segments lit up one by one, ultimately culminating in a powerful Hyperbeam that she shot towards her Flying opponent.

Nitey danced out of the way, empowering himself at the same time. However, the Hyperbeam did not relent, chasing after the Dragonite and cutting through the rocky cavern walls. It was honestly a miracle that the whole place hadn’t collapsed yet.

The two traded blows, Nitey bombarding the Steelix with bolts of Type Energy whenever he had an opening while Steelix was unrelenting in her Hyperbeam, almost like she had an unlimited reserve of Type Energy. 

“That rainbow Steelix… She's absorbing Energy from Nitey's attacks!” With each bolt of Double Pulse that Steelix took, the gemstone segments of her body pulsed and her dwindling Hyperbeam reignited. 

Forrest smirked at the girl’s words but offered no confirmation.

Meanwhile, Nitey ceased his attacks at his partner’s revelation. In the meantime, he flew. He flew and he flew, the space around him falling apart as a beam of searing hot light trailed after him. 

Nitey tried as best as he could to lead the Hyperbeam away from his partner and to bait it into hitting the eyeless human they were fighting instead. But the glittery Pokemon was too well trained, always managing to miss her trainer as the light of destruction veered away and found itself back on his tail.

“Bring everything down, Nitey!”

At his partner’s command, Nitey dove into the lake he created, the sounds of destruction muffled and distorted at his entry. The water hissed and boiled behind him as the stubborn beam of light followed suit, nearly singing Nitey’s precious tail from the sudden refraction of the Hyperbeam.

With a determined glare, Nitey jetted through the water, at a speed that was even faster than his old serpentine form. The Dragonite charged through one of his opponent’s stone pillars with a dull crash, then another and another. One by one the granite crumbled and fell, from the outside going in, until eventually, he reached the final pillar where Steelix was wrapped around.

And with a loud splash, Nitey’s opponent crashed into the water. Her overheated body, brimming with energy, creaked and writhed as it cooled on impact.

Even though Nitey wasn’t a Water Type Pokemon, he was still a proud member of the Cerulean Gym, and Steelix was now in his domain.

***

Nina watched as Steelix fell into the water, her surroundings noticeably darkened after the Steelix’s radiant Hyperbeam was extinguished, Forrest not even flinching at his Pokemon’s predicament. 

“So not a Rock Type then, and likely not Ground either. An ability that would allow a Pokemon to absorb Type Energy…” There were a couple that came to mind, but none worked quite like what she saw. And given that the Steelix was a variant, it stood to reason that she would have a unique ability as well. “No matter, there has to be a limit to everything.”

“Nitey! Brute force!” The water quaked as a powerful Draconic aura suffused her partner’s visage. The Dragonite slammed into the aberrant Pokemon’s hardy body, then zoomed away again before Steelix could retaliate.

Steelix whipped her tail out in vain, trying but failing to charge into Nitey with her overwhelming weight as he outmaneuvered her in every turn. Regardless of her uniqueness, Steelix’s movement underwater was too awkward compared to the specially trained Nitey.

Then, as Nitey whipped back around for a final charge, Forrest spoke… 

“Play Rough.”

An explosion of bright pink Fairy Type Energy exploded from the Steelix as she intercepted Nitey mid-charge, crashing into him and wrapping him up before smashing him repeatedly against the cavern floor.

“Nitey!” Nina yelled in a panic. “Outrage! Break free!”

However, try as he might, the searing Fairy Type Energy and Steelix’s raw strength was simply too overwhelming. In the end, Nitey failed to break free and eventually fainted.

Nina held back her tears and returned her partner. “This is my fault, Fairy Types are so rare in this region that we don’t have much experience against them.”

“Your Steelix…” Nina croaked. “Is it Steel and Fairy Type?” It should have been so obvious. When one thought about gemstone Pokemon, the first ones that came to mind were Carbink and Diancie.

Forrest smiled. “Who knows…” He drawled, but Nina took it as confirmation. 

The girl then checked her Pokedex before deciding on her next Pokemon. “Steel and Fairy are immune to Dragon. No wonder Nitey lost.” Steelix’s impervious reaction to Nitey’s initial Fire Punch was likely a ruse as well. Otherwise, Nina would have told her partner to stick with Fire moves.

As a matter of fact, none of Nina’s Pokemon were particularly good against Forrest’s Steelix. Except Gastly, maybe. Problem was, Nina’s newest team member wasn’t ready to face the Ace of a Gym Leader’s Star team yet. Not that Type advantage was the end all be all of Pokemon battling, but when dealing with a Star battle, one needed to consider every factor.

“Nina, you have ten seconds.” Brock chimed, urging Nina to make a move soon.

Nina sighed and expanded a Pokeball, to summon her next Pokemon.

***

Chapter 164

Nina's next pick was Sir Clodington, who came out fuming with rage, the Dragon Scale buried under the skin of his forehead gleaming a subtle iridescent light. The loyal knight cried in his usual baritone voice, eager to avenge Nitey, the subject of his devotion. 

The Clodsire swam through the water with the ease and grace of a majestic whale. Despite lacking the Water Typing like his cousins, theirs was a species that lived close to bodies of water and were very proficient swimmers despite the spiny fish Pokemon’s bulky build. 

Nina hummed, wondering if it was possible to drown the Steelix if they stalled for long enough, but ultimately dismissed that notion with a shake of her head. “Can't rely on what ifs… Clody! Swampy Terrain!”

This was Sir Clodington’s original move that Nina devised with him; a combination of Muddy Water and Sludge Wave, tied together using the Clodsire's incredible talent in Ground Energy manipulation. 

“CLOOD!” With a powerful heave, Sir Clodington widened his maw to ten times its original size and began spewing a deluge of mud and Poison into the water, causing his surroundings to turn beige, then brown, then a sickening greenish purple. 

And just as the name of the move implied, the underground lake that Nitey created soon turned into a toxic swamp, exuding noxious gas into the enclosed environment. 

Nina smirked as she put on her rebreather, even producing a spare for Espy who was furrowing her brows next to her.

“Interesting…” said the muffled voice of Forrest. “Is that an original move?” 

“Who knows…” Nina replied with a scoff. 

Poisons would not be effective against the aberrant Steelix, but that was besides the point, the benefits of the sticky terrain were already showing, as evident by Steelix who was struggling, but failing to surface from the swamp — just like quicksand, the more force that was applied to it, the more viscous the Swampy Terrain became.

Sir Clodington was fine though, wading through the muck like he was a fish in water.

“What’s wrong?” Nina taunted. “Don’t tell me, does your Steelix not know any Ground Type moves? Quite ironic, don’t you think? Get it? Ironic, iron, steel?” Nina guffawed, cackling like a villain before tempering her gaze with vindictive rage and telling Sir Clodington to “Rock that Steelix’s world!”

In response, Sir Clodington zoomed towards Steelix and slammed his bulbous tail into her metallic head, using the close contact Earthquake that he learned from Beverly’s Quagsire. 

The swamp bubbled and stirred as Steelix roared in pain, feeling the agony of a large magnitude Earthquake reverberating through every segment of her expensive looking body.

“Enough!” Forrest called with a raise of his hand. “I’m withdrawing Steelix from the match.” He continued, with a glance at his brother who just let out a helpless sigh and responded with a nod.

“I’m sorry but I would prefer Steelix not come to permanent harm. She’s more fragile than she looks,” said the Gym Leader, before sheepishly asking if Nina could help bring the Steelix to the surface so that he could return her.

Nina hummed before obliging. “Hmm… So she’s weak to physical attacks. Why didn’t Nitey’s attacks work then? Or is it because of her fragile internals?”

“No comment,” said Forrest. He then expanded another Pokeball and summoned his next pick — an Omastar.

Nina was not sure how it was being done, but the Omastar seemed to be able to stand atop the sticky swamp with its wriggly tentacles and traverse it without issue. That said, the Rock and Water Type seemed reluctant to dive into the noxious swamp for fear of being Poisoned.

The girl chuckled. “This is going to be an easy win.” She mused, opting to stay silent and let Sir Clodington handle things.

The moment that Omastar appeared, it immediately summoned another Rain Dance and Surf in an attempt to dilute the Swampy Terrain, turning it into a boggy terrain instead.

Sir Clodington just let it happen. And when the swamp became thin enough for Omastar to comfortably dive into, he waited for the prehistoric shellfish Pokemon to appear right in front of him before letting out another deluge of sludge from his maw, once again trapping Forrest’s Pokemon in the sticky swamp

Omastar wasn’t as immobile as Steelix, but was still helpless in front of Sir Clodington, who went in with another close contact Earthquake that completely cracked the shell of the Omastar. The Clodsire’s assault was relentless since he barely got to vent his anger during the previous round. 

And by the time that everything was done, a fainted Omastar was unceremoniously tossed out of the swamp with a roaring Clodsire that followed suit.

“Very impressive…” Forrest praised. “You know, I wouldn’t mind telling you everything that I know about my Steelix in exchange for some information on that move.”

In response, Nina just chuckled. “We’ll see,” the girl said coyly.

Forrest laughed. “Well then, can’t just let you take down my Star team so easily. So I’m afraid I’m going to have to put an end to this. Go, Rhyperior! Pierce the heavens!”

“RHYYY!!!”

Nina frowned. The Rhyperior was Forrest’s ace, his true ace, if the anime was to be believed. In fact, she distinctly recalled Forrest’s Rhyperior took down a Legendary Pokemon in that particular episode.

The Rhyperior splashed into the sticky swamp without any reservations, its feet were instantly swallowed as the hefty drill Pokemon slowly sunk into the poisonous sludge. And speaking of drills, Rhyperior activated its nose drill with a roar, the shrill sound of it grinding against the Pokemon’s rocky exterior permeated the air.

And instead of panicking and struggling in vain to extricate itself from the swamp, Rhyperior dove face first into the terrain and drilled his way down, all the way to the bedrock of the cavern and disappeared.

Nina frowned. “Is he trying to drain the swamp?”

The answer came a few moments later when the Rhyperior reemerged, bursting out of the purple sludge, into the air and continuing to drill into the ceiling with an unstoppable momentum, nearly grazing Sir Clodington along the way.

The Clodsire surfaced, looking towards Nina for instructions on how to deal with this situation.

Nina frowned, trying to recall everything that she knew about the Rhyperior line. “Dilute the swamp.” The girl called. “Rhyperior is weak to Water and Earth.” Not that a change in the environment would deter the veteran Pokemon very much, but it was better than doing nothing.

“Clod.” With an affirmative nod, Sir Clodington opened up his mouth and inhaled some of the sludge, all the while using his Earth manipulation to divert the excess mud into the hole that Rhyperior drilled to plug it up and adjust the viscosity of the swamp.

However, during this process, Nina’s Clodsire was immobile from being deep in concentration. Which was when Hyperion reemerged from the ceiling and slammed into Sir Clodington with a Horn Drill, viciously pressing him against the bottom of the cavern until Sir Clodington fainted.

Nina growled and returned Sir Clodington, muttering an apology to his Pokeball all the while for not being a good enough trainer. “Stupid one-hit KO moves!” It was a good thing that Rhyperior didn’t drill a hole into the Clodsire as that move was liable to do. As expected of a Gym Leader’s number one ace, its control was immaculate.

Nina sighed, she only had three Pokemon left but the choice was obvious — an ace for an ace. The girl turned to her side, to look at the Espeon whose violet eyes and silver collar were gleaming an ominous light.

Espy strutted forth wordlessly, her each step held up by a Psychic aura as she stood in mid-air. Nina’s princess was too dignified to play around in the muddy waters beneath her like those that came before her.

Her opponent Rhyperior charged out of the murky waters and stuck a hand into the ceiling, his hefty body dangling in the air and looking down on Espy with a severe glint in his blood red pupils. And Forrest’s Rhyperior was indeed a male, not that Nina could tell the difference. She only found out thanks to Espy.

“Es.” Espy taunted, willingly ceding the first move to her opponent.

Rhyperior growled and let out a haughty smirk, which Nina perceived, via her mental link with Espy, as; “You’ll regret this.”

The Ground and Rock Type raised his arm, aiming the cannon hidden within its palm towards the pretentious Espeon before him. But then, nothing. Just a silent glaring contest between the two Pokemon

At first Nina was confused at the lack of activity. That was, until the already dim cavern that they were in became dimmer — all the available light in the surrounding area sucked into the black void at the center of Rhyperior’s palm.

“Rhy!” He cried, which Espy interpreted as; “Behold, the power of the universe!” Nina couldn’t help but chuckle. It seemed Forrest’s partner was a bit of a chuuni.

And with another roar, Rhyperior unleashed a destructive beam towards Espy. A beam which looked like someone had tried to contain the milky way in a jar, but failed and was now exploding back out of containment. The black beam contained within it countless stars in a myriad of colors, all crashing towards Espy at the speed of light.

However, midway through its trajectory, a mirror appeared, deflecting the Meteor Beam to the side, where it was intercepted yet again and reflected elsewhere, and again, and again, until the beam was routed back to Rhyperior and struck his orange chest plate.

Rhyperior cried out in pain at the powerful force of his own attack, causing him to let go and fall back into the muddy waters down below.

But Espy wasn’t done yet. Because the moment that Rhyperior entered the water, he was immediately encased in a Trick Room — a Psychic maze surrounding the drill Pokemon that Espy constructed with her mind.

In the games, Trick Room was a utility move that reversed the turn order of the fastest and slowest Pokemon. But in real life, the move took on a more literal interpretation. Espy’s trick room though, was special, just like her. Because there were mirrors hidden in every corner of the maze.

Nina smirked. Her princess had been training hard after her defeat by Mob the Alakazam. And while the Espeon may never reach the Alakazam in raw Psychic prowess, it didn’t mean that she couldn’t improve in other ways.

“Es!” And with a haughty cry, Espeon let loose a barrage of Psybeams into the maze that she constructed. The beams of Type Energy, upon reaching every corner, deflected off the mirrors and shot to the next junction, all converging towards the center where Espy’s opponent stood, rapidly forming a complex series of purple geometric patterns in the water. All of that time Espy spent perusing interior design magazines paying off in an unexpected manner.

“Rhy!” Rhyperior cried in a panic and slammed his drill into the Psychic wall encasing him, but even after he destroyed one, there were a hundred more layers to get through and not enough time. Because immediately after, the first of the Psybeams arrived, piercing into his wide back, then another and another and another. Rhyperior could barely recover from the previous attack before getting struck by the next. 

Espy’s barrage was ruthless and overwhelming, shooting out new Psybeams every so often to keep the assault going. It was a sight unlike anything that Forrest had ever seen as the Gym Leader yelled out for his Rhyperior to use Protect.

However, after everything that Espy had been through, Protect was now the Espeon’s most treasured move — the move that allowed her to protect her loved ones and the move that she was most familiar with. So she knew better than anyone its limitations.

With a few well placed Deflects, Espy’s Psybeams targeted the weakest point on Rhyperior’s Protect, shattering his defenses in a few hits and ultimately fainting the Star Pokemon.

Forrest was flabbergasted. He had fought against Psychics before. Even some of the most talented trainers of the Summers clan. But never had he seen anything quite like Espy.

“Es, espeon.” Espy said to the flabbergasted Gym Leader, which Nina interpreted as; “So, what’s next, Diglett head?”

***

Chapter 165

Nina sighed. “Espy, it’s not nice to call people names like that…” But what was next depended on Forrest, which ended up being a Kabutops. So Nina called Espy to come back and sent out Brucey instead.

Gastly wasn’t much of a battler but Brucey would hate being left out of a Star battle. Not to mention, Nina wanted her Golbat to get as much experience as possible anyway. The fact that he hadn’t evolved into Crobat yet, despite her and Espy’s best efforts was worrying.

“Brucey’s been making good progress on his emotional development. Though he’s not fully there yet. Professor Oak said to keep trying and was even nice enough to share with me all the reports that he had been getting from his other trainers.” Though it was also concerning that none of Nina’s other senior trainers managed to evolve their Golbat either. It really made her rethink her theory on Crobat Evolution, that maybe she was just wrong from the start.

“Oh well, no point thinking about it now.” Nina sighed and whistled her instructions to Brucey. The Golbat’s first ever battle opponent was a Scyther, and Kabutops looked pretty similar to his old rival, except without the wings, so he had a good idea on what needed to be done.

The moment that the round started, Kabutops dove into the water, since it was part Water Type. So that ruled out any of Brucey’s usual sound based harassment.

But no matter, because the Golbat immediately dumped a load of Poison into the now, very polluted, underground lake.

Kabutops shot out of the water with a jetstream of reverse Waterfall and attempted to slice at Brucey with a Swords Dance empowered X-Scissor. But Nina’s Golbat just handily dodged out of the way with a sinister laugh.

The fossil Pokemon would probably catch Brucey at some point, but Nina had no intention of waiting for that to happen. Instead, she let out a whistle and called on Brucey to use Hurricane — a move that he was now very proficient with thanks to the patient guidance of Nitey.

And just like his senior, the Hurricane sucked up the surrounding water and Kabutops with it. The combination move didn’t look as grand as Nitey’s, but it was good enough for most cases. What made Brucey’s application unique though, was that Brucey centered the Water Spout around himself and let loose with an Uproar in the middle.

The Water Spout bulged and undulated, causing the turbulent vortex to become even more distorted as Kabutops struggled to regain its bearings. Not even knowing up from down and left to right, Kabutops couldn’t get out of the Water Spout despite being a Water Pokemon. 

Forrest called on Kabutops to use Whirlpool and reverse the rotation of the Water Spout — a valiant effort. But Kabutops eventually fainted from accumulated damage.

In the end, all that was left was an exhausted Golbat and a limp Kabutops floating atop muddied and poisoned water.

At the loss of his latest Pokemon, Forrest raised a hand to surrender, eliciting an indignant cry from Nina.

“Wait, no! You still have one more Pokemon left. You can’t just leave me hanging here!” The girl exclaimed. It wasn’t everyday that she got to fight a Star battle after all.

Forrest sighed. “My last Pokemon is an Aerodactyl. And while I would love to give you a good fight, I doubt Aerith could beat that Espeon of yours. Also, I need to fly home after this too.”

“I can fly you back!” Nina argued.

“With what?” Forrest retorted. “Your Dragonite is fainted, remember?”

Nina looked toward Brock with a pleading gaze, eliciting laughter from the older Harrison.

“It’s alright,” assured Brock. “I can Fly you both back. Melina should have returned by now anyway, so maybe Nina can spend the night over at her grandma’s place.”

Forrest sighed, unable to refute his brother’s logic. So he reluctantly released his Aerodactyl, who handily beat both the Rock-weak Brucey and Nina’s pacifist Gastly before being taken down by Espy.

Again, Type advantage wasn’t everything. But when it came to Star battles, every little bit counted.

***

“Congratulations on earning a Boulder Badge, with a star.”

Nina accepted the award with giddy excitement. The girl may say that she didn’t particularly care about battles and badges and stuff. But as an otherworlder who spent her entire past life playing the Pokemon games, she’d be lying if she didn’t feel a deep sense of catharsis at earning her first ever Gym badge.

Forrest chuckled at the peppy girl before him and gestured towards the two hunk of rocks that Brock retrieved from a little hut that he had taken to using as storage near the Moon Shrine.

“Now, normally we would give you a monetary reward and a TM along with the badge. But I doubt you care about the money — heck, you probably earn more from your modelling work than I do as a Gym Leader!” Forrest laughed, much to the miserly girl’s dismay. “But we don’t have any TMs with us right now. So how about you pick one of these as your reward instead.”

Nina, still reeling from the fact that she wouldn’t be paid, looked at the man with skeptical eyes. “I don’t get it, are these precious geodes or something?” The girl asked, while gingerly examining the two oval-shaped rocks that were placed before her.

Forrest chuckled in amusement. “I mean we do have plenty of geodes lying around if you want those instead. But no, these two are fossils, but not just any fossils — fossilized eggs. Perfectly preserved, just like the day they were laid. I can tell you that a fossil hunter would willingly give an arm and a leg to get their hands on one of these.”

Nina squealed, jumping around like a Spoink before giving each of the Harrison brothers an enthusiastic hug and kisses on their cheeks.

Forrest wasn’t kidding when he said that a fossil hunter would give up their limbs for one of these. Fossilized eggs were some of the most valuable finds in the world, more expensive than even the rarest Evolution Stones and equivalent to the rarest of Pokemon. 

That was because, once revived, a fossil egg would not have any of the lifespan and health issues that one would commonly associate with conventionally revived fossil Pokemon. They would just be like any regular Pokemon for all intents and purposes, just brought forwards through the passage of time into the modern era. With the right gender and paired with the appropriate egg group, one could even start breeding them!

“Thank you, thank you! Thank you so muuuuch!” Nine screeched and doled out another round of hugs and kisses to the two burly brothers, until her grandma stepped in to restrain her.

“Nina, get a hold of yourself! A proper girl like you shouldn’t be so promiscuous!” The woman chided. She then leveled a glare at the pair of awkward brothers. “And you two! I better not catch you harboring any weird thoughts towards my precious granddaughter, or else!”

Brock laughed. “Relax, Melina. My love life might not be going so well, but I’m not so desperate that I would lay a hand on a child. How old is she? Twelve?” The muscular man then crossed his arms and made a buzzing sound. “Heck no. Not even if Giratina pointed a Hyberbeam at me.”

To his side, Forrest nodded fervently with a fiery blush, fully in agreement with his brother’s words.

Melina relented with a huff, once Nina settled down and promised to behave herself. “So erm…” The girl continued. “What eggs are these? What are my choices?”

Unfortunately, both Brock and Forrest just shook their heads in ignorance. “No idea,” said the older Harrison. “I just found these while I was spelunking in Mount Moon recently. Haven’t even had a chance to have them looked at, yet. Not that there’s a single expert out there capable of analysing them — it’s almost impossible to tell what a fossil egg contains without cracking them open.”

That last sentence caused Nina to whip her ponytail around with a vehement headshake, eliciting laughter from Brock.

“So yeah, although I said you can choose. Truth is, I found them in close proximity to one another at the same time. So chances are, they’re the same species, from the same nest. I just have no idea what Pokemon they contain.”

Nina nodded in understanding. “Alright, I’ll just pick a random one then. Do you know where I can go to get them revived?”

“There are labs all over the region, but most people go to Cinnabar. Just make sure the person you leave the egg with is trustworthy.” Forrest warned. “It takes a while to perfectly revive a fossil and there’s the possibility that someone blinded by greed might swap the fossil out for a Zubat egg or something and claim that it was just bad luck.”

Nina nodded and thanked the Gym Leader. Some Pokemon species had a long history on this world, so it wouldn’t be entirely farfetched for such a scam to occur.

“I suggest you ask your sponsors for a referral. I doubt there’s a single moron in academia that would dare to cross Professor Oak or Bill.” Forrest continued.

“Thanks Mr Forrest, I’ll make sure to do that. And thanks for the Gym battle today as well. I learned a lot!” Nina exclaimed, before sheepishly looking up at the man with Baby-doll Eyes. “And erm… You said you would let me play with Steelix…?”

Forrest laughed. “Sure, sure… but maybe tomorrow? You’re spending the night with Elder Melina today, right? And all our Pokemon are exhausted right now. Best to bring them to a Pokemon Center soon.”

Nina reluctantly agreed. She actually didn’t plan on staying the night in Pewter City. But if it meant getting to touch the rainbow Steelix, then she would gladly put up with her uptight grandma for a night.

***

Forrest’s Steelix, whose name Nina found out was Crystal, was indeed partially made of precious gemstones.

Originally, Nina thought that the gems and metals were just surface level — a shell encompassing iron or rocky innards. But as Nina pressed against one of the partially translucent gemstone segments and peered through it, she could see veins circulating Type Energy throughout Crystal’s entire body, as well as sinews of rocky muscle and oddly shaped organs.

“Incredible…” Nina murmured. “No wonder you’re so protective of her… Crystal is one of the most beautiful Pokemon I’ve ever seen.” The girl added, eliciting a huff from Espy which earned her an amused smile and affectionate cuddles from Nina.

“Not as beautiful as you of course, Espy. There’s not a single Pokemon in this world more beautiful than my precious princess.” Nina swooned and kissed the Espeon on her forehead gem.

Forrest chuckled at the adorable interaction. “Yeah, Crystal is my pride and joy. And like I said, she’s more fragile than she looks. So if I could ask you to keep her existence a secret, that would be great.” Apparently, the Gym Leader did not use her for Gym battles normally to avoid causing a frenzy. He only allowed her to battle when he felt that the opponent was trustworthy.

Nina nodded with a warm smile. “Of course, I would hate to see Crystal come to harm. So will you answer my previous question? Is she fragile because of her internals?”

Forrest sighed. “Yes, metals and gemstones are sturdy on the outside. But any jeweller will tell you that they crack easily under the right conditions. And given Crystal’s unique constitution, any cracks that form won’t be easily regenerated, if they could even regenerate at all.”

The Gym leader then beckoned Nina to follow him to one of the rainbow Steelix’s segments, to showcase some of the irreversible cracks that she had accumulated throughout the years.

“I was so reckless during my youth that I failed to notice the damage that Crystal had suffered.” Forrest said, voice full of regrets.

Nina lowered her head in remorse. “Sorry, I didn’t know. Otherwise I wouldn’t have let Clody use Earthquake on her.”

Forrest shrugged. “It’s fine, you did what you had to do for the win. I only have myself to blame. Besides, like you said, you didn’t know.”

Forrest then looked at Nina with hungry eyes. “But that aside, would you be willing to teach me that special move of yours? Swampy Terrain was it? Or maybe we can exchange TMs?”

Nina laughed at the passionate Pokemon Trainer. “Sure, I won’t let you copy a TM, but I can tell you the basics and let you figure it out on your own. In exchange, I want to know everything there is to know about Crystal.” And so the two Pokemon trainers conducted a thorough exchange of knowledge. Unfortunately, Forrest also mentioned that he returned to the island where he found Crystal at one point, but couldn’t find any other Onix like her.

In fact, aside from Crystal, there wasn’t even a regular Onix in sight. Which really raised the question of how she even came to be in the first place.

Nina even enlisted the help of Espy to communicate with the rainbow Steelix to ask her some questions about her origins. However, Crystal’s memories of her early life were very murky. All she could remember was just a solitary existence in her little underground lake and the occasional interlopers. Until Forest came along and captured her.

“The name of the island where I found her is called Sunburst Island,” said Forrest. “It’s one of the many islands located within the Orange Archipelago, south of Kanto and Johto, near the southwestern region of the Orange Islands to be precise.

Nina eagerly looked the island up in her Pokedex, making sure to pin the location and check it out if she ever got a chance.