Into the Unown Ch 100 & 101 (rewrite) + Ch 102 (new)

Changelog:

Ch 100 - Two new pages of content, but plotpoints remain the same.

CH 101 - Expanded into three chapters.

Ch 101 (new) - First half of original Ch 101 completely rewritten with only about 10-15% of text retained from the original.

Ch 102 (new) - New scene featuring an interaction between Professor Oak and Nina. Second half largely remains the same as original Ch 101 with some minor adjustments.

Ch 103 (new) - Brand new chapter that will be released in a separate post to ensure you guys don't miss it.

Note: All other chapters after the original Ch 101 will be relabeled accordingly.

***

Chapter 100

Unsurprisingly, Collin was infinitely more familiar with Diglett’s Cave than Nina was. The man was even kind enough to point out a few side passages that were not included in her map.

According to him, he had been underground for the better part of a week at this point, saying that it was easier to get work done during the relatively drier weather of summer as compared to rainy autumn.

“Gotta warn you, this Golbat that I’m about to show you is a real prankster. Kept harassing me during the couple of days that I camped nearby. Had to wrap up early and move away cause I couldn’t take it anymore.”

The Pokemon that Collin described didn’t sound malicious, just a prankster like the man said. He told Nina stories about how he’d wake up with his shoes missing, only to find that it was hidden on top of some ledge on the wall. And when he was just about to fall to sleep, he’d be jolted wide awake again after hearing a loud screech from outside his tent.

The man would then spray Repel all over the camp to ward off the prankster, only to find that the Golbat had somehow managed to pour water all over his camp instead and soaked all of his stuff. After every prank, the Golbat would perch nearby, deliberately in sight, to cackle at the furious human and his indignant cursing.

It wasn’t exactly what Nina was looking for, but it was pretty in line with her desires. So she thanked the man and gladly followed along to where the Golbat was last spotted. Nina felt that she could work with the prankster. A Pokemon with a clear and distinct personality was much more preferable to a mindless drone that just did whatever she asked.

They ended up going back to Collin’s old campsite, The Golbat was nowhere to be seen since the species was mostly nocturnal. So the man asked if Nina was okay with camping here for the night.

“Yeah, I’m okay with that. Rather I’m sorry you have to put your work on hold for my sake,” she replied.

“Haha! It’s fine. I’m not in a rush. ‘Sides, I kind of do want to see you teach that jerk a lesson for me.” He said, with a somewhat vindictive look on his face.

Nina smiled and opted not to reply. She didn’t want to beat up any of her future companions if she could help it. But depending on how willful the Golbat was, she just might have to do that before she could even have a proper conversation with them.

Since it was still a long way to nighttime, Nina ended up volunteering herself to assist Collin in his work. Which mostly involved her helping to carry some of the man’s more cumbersome equipment in her own Silph Co Backpack, so that he could cut down on weight and move around a little faster. It really was a wonder how the guy managed to nurture such a pronounced belly with all the physical labor he was doing.

***

Nina stumbled as she swung the pickaxe in her hand, her center of gravity completely thrown off by the top heavy pickaxe.

“Wow there, careful missy…” Collin cautioned as he dropped what he was doing to try to rush towards Nina’s side, only to be halted in his steps by the girl who said she was okay.

“No worries, I’m all good.” That was just a test swing, so Nina easily regained her balance after shifting her weight around a little bit. 

Collin sighed in relief. “You’re too skinny, so you gotta widen your stance a little.” The geologist advised. “And when you’re swinging the pickaxe, focus on your shoulders and your core, also your elbows are too close to your body, gotta spread them out a little bit.

Nina thanked her companion and mimed a stance without the pickaxe. It was only after a few more adjustments and receiving Collin’s approval that she went in for another attempt.

“Do you think we might be able to dig up some fossils here, Mr Collin?” Nin asked amidst the rhythmic clanging of metal against rock.

Collin hummed out a tune. The man was currently working his shovel and digging against some of the softer parts of the cavern wall they were facing. As part of the geologist’s prospecting work, he had to obtain samples of specific areas in Diglett cave at different depths.

It was a tricky endeavour, since Collin had to find a spot that could hold up to their excavation work without any risk of collapsing. Something that the seasoned professional could do almost at a glance at this point. But he still made doubly sure to be extra safe by using some specialized instrument to measure soil composition and density. The risk couldn’t entirely be eliminated though, so Espy and Dexter the Dugtrio were on standby to intervene.

“Hmm… I doubt it,” replied Collin. “We’re a little too deep underground, not that it’s impossible or anything. All the seismic activity in our region could very well have buried some fossils this far down, but the chances of them being intact enough to be of use is slim.”

Nina nodded. According to Collin, the availability of fossils largely depended on an area’s geological history and climate. Bones were sturdy but still subject to environmental erosion and decay after all. 

“Besides, fossil hunters don’t use pickaxes for their work — one hit from that thing and whatever bones you manage to find will be ruined,” added Collin.

“So where would one usually find fossils in Kanto then? And what do people use to excavate fossils?” The girl continued to ask.

“The most common spot would be Cinnabar Island. Lava is great for burying critters alive and preserving their remains, not to mention the fact that the island used to be submerged in the ocean in prehistoric times. As for the pros, they use soundwaves to loosen the soil. After that, it’s a shed load of brushing — real tedious work, lemme tell ya. Sometimes, Ground and Rock Type Pokemon can help, but it depends on how well trained they are too.”

The man then laughed. “That reminds me of the time I thought I found an Aerodactyl in Cinnabar actually. Turns out, it was just the tip of a Zubat wing. Hah! Spent an entire week on that wild Mew chase.”

Nina laughed along as she lowered her pickaxe for a break. Working the unwieldy tool was hard work, who woulda thunk? “Too bad, I imagine an Aerodactyl probably could have sold for a lot.”

“Eh, not as much as you would think, or at the very least, it kind of depends on its condition like what I told you before,” said Collin. “A fully intact Aerodactyl fossil is as rare as a shiny Entei. Most of the ones you see with those hotshot trainers are clones. So in that sense, there’s still value in a fragment I suppose, just that the boffins prefer a larger sample to fill in any potential holes.”

Nina took in another breath and hefted her pickaxe up to continue her work. She had initially thought that shovelling was the easier task until Collin told her to try it for herself, prompting her to volunteer for pickaxe duty instead.

The two continued to chat, mostly just Nina asking questions and Collin going on a tangent about his various experiences. Nina, being a wannabe explorer, actually enjoyed the work a great deal — it was taxing but fulfilling. In particular, the girl learned a lot from the veteran geologist, accumulating a wealth of knowledge that would be very useful to her in the future.

***

“Thanks Nina, I usually don’t have enough space to fit too many Ready Meals into my pack. So I typically save them for when I’m feeling really down in the dumps. A hot meal’s a luxury in a place like this.”

“No worries, I’ve still got plenty more where those came from. Think of it as my thanks for being my guide for today.”

Collin chuckled. “I should be the one thanking you. You have no idea how lonely it can get in these places sometimes. I mean sure, I have Dexter. But Pokemon company and human company’s different, you know.”

“Yeah, I get it. My Uncle Ali, who’s an explorer, says the same thing.” Nina nodded. “So what made you choose this line of work then, if it’s as hard as you make it out to be?”

Collin let out a melancholic smile and took a sip from his mug of hot soup. “It’s a long story, but basically my parents passed away in a mining incident. I know I complain a lot, but at the end of the day I don’t think I can imagine a different life for myself. It would just feel weird, I guess…”

“Ever thought about retiring? Can’t keep doing this forever.” Nina reckoned Collin was in his mid forties and it’s clear from all the grunting and cursing she heard during the afternoon tailing him that the man was beginning to lose steam.

Collin laughed at the idea of retirement. “Honestly, kid. Don’t really know. Maybe get a teaching job somewhere? I mean this life is all I know and all this cave exploration stuff is the only thing I’m good at. I reckon there might be some people out there that’d be willing to put up with my yapping.”

Nina chuckled. “I think that’s a great idea. I for one would have greatly appreciated some of the things you taught me today if it was done in school. Saves me the hassle of doing my own research and stumbling around on my own.”

They kept on chatting, mostly it was Collin regaling Nina about all the different places he’d been to over the course of his work. In particular, Nina was most intrigued by his experience with the Ruins of Alph. “I’ve only been there twice before, but that place gives off weird vibes every time,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“So I’ve been to my fair share of ruins. And usually with these sorts of places, you can kind of tell what their original purpose was, y’know? Like a religious monument, a kitchen, a bathroom and all that — lots of those by the way, bathrooms. For whatever reason, the ancients really know how to build a loo that can last through the ages.”

Nina smiled and nodded, urging Collin to continue.

“But the Ruins of Alph… Nobody has any clue what it's for. I mean, it’s clearly manmade. You can tell from how each slab of stone is meticulously carved and stacked. Even the sigils on the walls, all spaced evenly and consistently shaped. But you know what the weirdest part was?”

Nina shook her head.

“There’s no Pokemon in there, none except for the Unown that is. Usually with these sorts of abandoned places, you’ll at least find a few squatters; Rattatas, Zubats… Y’know, the usual. But there’s nothing in there, no other signs of Pokemon life. Like they’re avoiding the place or sumthin’ ain’t that creepy?”

“What about the Unown then?” asked Nina. “What’s their deal?”

Collin shrugged. “No clue, they don’t eat, they don’t sleep and they don’t talk. They just… exist.” The man then told a story about how some crazy scientist tried to figure out the origins of the Unown by capturing half of the population in the Ruin of Alph. It caused quite the hubbub, but he did it anyway, just for the pursuit of knowledge.

“So he caught half the Unowns in the place. And you know what happened? The next day, he went in and did another census. The numbers just went back to normal like nothing ever happened. But all the Unowns he caught were still in their Balls. Not like they escaped or anythin’.

“So he released them back into the ruins, to see what happens. And guess what? The next day, those extra Unowns just disappeared. Poof! Gone just like that, no idea where. Not even the cameras caught anything cause electronics get all weird in that place. Makes them unreliable.”

According to Collin, that particular scientist was driven mad in the end. His mind was so consumed by the Unown mystery that it just broke him.

Nina tilted her head in consideration. “Has no one tried to decipher the writings on the wall? If they are indeed sigils or alphabets, then there has to be a logical system behind them right?” She asked.

Collin shook his head. “I’m no expert, but from what I heard, those writings on the wall change sporadically. No one’s been able to pin down anything sensible. So the running theory is that the Unown are the sigils on the wall come to life.”

Nina nodded. That hypothesis was pretty close to the truth. She once again renewed her vow to visit the Ruin of Alph in person sometime in the future.

After a bit more chatter they decided to call it a day and go to bed. So far, Golbat had yet to appear, but Collin assured her that it was only a matter of time. “That bastard likes to surprise you when you least expect it. Just make sure to keep any precious belongings in your tent.” He said, to which Nina nodded and wished the man a good night.

***

Nina was woken from her deep slumber by a loud commotion from outside her tent. Nairy was too big to sleep with her inside and Espy volunteered to keep her big Dragon baby company, so she was sleeping all by herself.

The girl rubbed at her tired eyes and checked the time before listlessly getting out of her tent to see what was going on. Only to see an enraged Nairy crying out at the ceiling and shooting sporadic shots of Dragon Pulse everywhere. His target appears to be the cackling Golbat that was zigzagging around the air while dodging the projectiles and occasionally sticking his tongue out to taunt the Dragon.

Nina frowned at the sight. “Espy, what’s going on?” She asked, to which the Psychic responded by beaming a bunch of images into her head.

Apparently, Nairy had been sound asleep when little pebbles began dropping on his head. At first he thought it was just the rocky ceiling above them, so he simply relocated to a different spot. Only for the exact same thing to happen again when he fell asleep the second time. 

Nairy looked up to see if there was anything above, but saw nothing but darkness. So he paid it no mind and tried to go back to sleep again. Only for the same phenomenon to reoccur. And after another relocation and another interrupted sleep, the Dragonair finally snapped and let out an enraged Dragon Breath into the air, revealing the existence of the mischievous Golbat messing with him.

“What in Distortion is going on out here!” exclaimed Collin, who had finally woken up and crawled out of his tent.

Nina sighed and reassured the older man before calling out to Nairy. “Nairy, stop. Please? C’mere and lemme have a good look at you?” She gestured.

The Dragonair did as he was told and stopped his tantrum, then he looked at his partner and rushed towards the girl with tear filled eyes, crying and whining all the while.

Nina let out a wry smile, pulling the pouty Dragon into her embrace while gently caressing the Pokemon. “There, there… You’re alright. It’s just a small boo boo.” Nina kissed her partner's forehead where the rocks impacted and nuzzled against him. “Come on now, you’re a big strong Dragon. No need to be upset over a few rocks.”

Nairy was just being overly dramatic and Nina knew it. Her Dragonair could take a full on Rock Tomb to the face, as if he’d be hurt by some rocks the size of a pebble. But he wanted to be spoiled and babied, so Nina willingly obliged.

Though for whatever reason, Nina’s show of affection with Nairy seemed to have upset the Golbat somehow as it let out an annoyed screech and swooped in to interrupt them. But just as it was about to strike, the Golbat was intercepted by a purple Psychic aura that held it in place.

Nina let go of Nairy and looked over to the panicking Golbat who was frozen in mid air, and decided that some punishment was warranted for all the mean-spirited pranks it had pulled so far.

“Espy, spin Golbat around for a little bit. But make sure not to hurt them.”

Having perfectly read Nina’s intent, Espy grinned and spun her target around like a top in mid air, only stopping when the Golbat’s eyes were all swirly from dizziness before letting go of her Psychic hold.

Golbat wobbled around in the air for a bit as the bat Pokemon tried to regain its bearings, only to slowly drift down to the ground and fall on its back.

Nina walked over to the side of the incapacitated Golbat and sat down cross legged on the floor before picking the Pokemon up into her arms and gently caressing its backs to soothe the dizziness.

About a minute later, Golbat got its bearings back and finally recognized the strange girl that was holding onto it. The Golbat panicked and tried to flap their wings to get away, but Nina simply held it down and tried to reassure the bat Pokemon with a gentle tone.

“Hey, hey… You’re alright, I’m not gonna hurt you. Settle down, see I’ve got Berries. You like Berries right?” At the mention of Berries, Golbat seemed to calm down a little as Nina reached into her Berry pouch to procure some treats for the wary Pokemon.

The moment that the Berries were presented in front of him, the Golbat unceremoniously chowed down, splashing Berry juices all over Nina. But the girl simply beared with it and gently caressed Golbat’s back to slow him down.

“No need to rush, there’s plenty more where that came from.”

“Kukuku…” The Golbat cackled as it looked up towards Nina with intelligent eyes, as if trying to take her in for the very first time.

“Say, are you a boy or a girl? I can’t really tell.”

But instead of picking a hand, Golbat just snorted and let out another “Kukuku…” A sign of rudeness that greatly irked Espy as she glared at the bat Pokemon with glowing eyes.

That act of intimidation seemed to have cowed Golbat as he shuddered in fear and bent his wing to touch Nina’s left hand, indicating to her that he was male.

Nina chuckled and pulled the Golbat into an embrace, gently caressing his wide back all the while. “It’s okay, don’t worry. Espy won’t hurt you. But it’s not good to be rude to others, okay?”

Surprisingly, the Golbat willingly snuggled up to her, his sharp eyes scrunching up in happiness at the physical affection he was receiving.

Nina swooned. “Aww… he was just lonely. That’s why he pulled all those pranks, he just wanted someone to pay attention to him.”

At that realization, Nina gently caressed the Golbat on the head, much to the Pokemon’s delight. “You know, Golbat. The reason why I came down here in the first place was so that I could find someone new to join my family.”

Golbat looked up at Nina with a curious gaze, before letting out another one of his creepy laughs. “Kukuku…”

Nina wasn’t sure how to interpret that response, so she asked Espy for help. The Espeon helped to relay everything that Nina said in the form of ideas and concepts directly into the Golbat’s mind.

“Just so happens, you’re exactly the sort of Pokemon I’m looking for.” Nina continued, prompting Espy to continue interpreting. “We’ll have to set a few ground rules about your pranks so you don’t end up getting us into trouble. But I can promise you that you won’t feel lonely ever again in our little family. What do you say?”

“Kukuku…” Golbat closed his eyes before looking around the cavern, as if deliberating his options. 

Nina did not rush him. This was his home after all. Who knows if he has a family or a cauldron to take care of or something. But eventually, the Golbat did return his gaze to Nina and gave her a curt nod in response, eliciting a bright smile from the girl.

Nina pulled her new Golbat in for a tight hug and smothered him with kisses. Probably a bad idea since wild Pokemon might carry all sorts of weird bacteria and viruses on their body. But she was too ecstatic to care.

Even Espy and Nairy cheered in celebration, despite the latter still being somewhat annoyed at the Golbat.

Nina asked Espy to grab a specific Pokeball from her tent; one with a green top decorated with red teardrops at the front. This was a Friend Ball, a special Pokeball variant that Nina purchased specifically for this capture that costed her a whopping 3,000 Pokedollars. 

It was times like these that Nina was glad that she fought tooth and nail to negotiate better terms with Violet instead of just letting herself be jerked around from one money making scheme to another.

In the games, it automatically sets any captured Pokemon’s friendship value to a specific number. The effects in real life were similar in that it does boost Pokemon friendliness, but Nina had no idea what the mechanics behind it were, since the people who invented it have an exclusive patent.

However, she did contact Bill and asked about it, and the Professor assured her that there were no mind control shenanigans going on. Rather, it was a modern iteration of a custom Apricorn Ball from Kurt, the renowned Pokeball Smith. Apparently there was a whole load of drama going on about plagiarism and a lawsuit, but Nina did not care about any of that. “If it works, it works.”

“Now we need to decide on a name for you, do you have any preferences?” Nina asked, only to receive a confused look from the Golbat.

“Hmm… Let’s see here, I was gonna name my Golbat Bruce if it was a male. But given his personality, wouldn’t Heath be more appropriate? Nah, Bruce is funnier, so let’s stick with that.”

“Alright Golbat, from now on you’re going to be named Brucey! Are you okay with that?”

“Kukuku…” Brucey replied with a laugh, which Nina took to be a yes. So she jumped in front of him and pulled him into another hug, this time joined by Nairy who coiled around them while Espy just shook her head in exasperation to the side.

After Nina explained to Golbat what a Pokeball was, she held out the Friend Ball in her palm and waited for the Golbat to engage, which he did by pressing the button with the edge of his wing.

A shake and a blink later, and the capture was complete. Nina jumped into the air and ran to embrace Nairy and Espy in celebration before releasing Golbat again. “Welcome to the family, Golbat!” The girl exclaimed, with her two other Pokemon crying out enthusiastically as well.

“That was… easy,” chimed Collin, who Nina had forgotten was still with them. “Is it always like that with you?”

Nina tilted her head in confusion. “I don’t really know what you mean? I suppose, yeah? Cause I only catch Pokemon who are willing to go with me. Brucey is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a forced capture.”

Collin smiled wryly and lightly shook his head. “Nevermind, I didn’t mean anything by it so no worries. Congratulations on your latest capture, by the way.”

“Thanks!”

Chapter 101

It had been a good week since Nina’s excursion into Diglett’s Cave when she was suddenly awoken in the dead of night by a loud cry from Espy.

“EEEEEE!”

Both Nina and Nairy jolted awake, frantically looking around them to assess what was going on. Only to find an angry looking Espeon in the midst of aggressively spinning a Golbat around in circles with her Psychic Aura.

Hovering next to the Golbat was what seemed like a fainted Ekans which Espy unceremoniously tossed out the window.

“Espy, no!” Nina croaked as she scrambled towards the window to check on the fate of the Ekans. 

The girl sighed as she looked down, completely wide awake by this point. “I really hope that Ekans doesn’t land on somebody’s head.” She also prayed that the Pokemon was still alive from the fall, otherwise she might have to endure some pointed questions from her dorm supervisor.

“Alright, you two, time out!” Nina chided her two troublesome Pokemon, prompting Espy to halt her abuse of Brucey and look towards Nina with puffy cheeks.

Nina desperately resisted the urge to squish her adorable Espeon’s bulging face sacks and continued her questioning with a throaty cough to clear her voice. “Alright Espy, what’s going on here.”

A deluge of frustration and anger flooded Nina’s head, along with blurry images of a Golbat trying to sneak into their home with a muted cackle and a fainted Ekans in his grasp.

Golbats were nocturnal creatures, so there needed to be a transition period where Brucey had to adjust his internal clock to that of a daywalker as opposed to a nightcrawler. This is in order to sync himself up with Nina and the rest of his new family.

During this time, Nina would leave a window open at night for Brucey to leave the dorm with, just so that the Golbat wouldn’t feel bored while everyone else was asleep. Of course, she had to have a talk with him and forbid him from pulling any pranks within the vicinity of the school to avoid any trouble. Though evidently, the mischievous Golbat had taken her words lightly.

Nina sighed once again and turned to address Brucey this time, who was being forcefully grounded by a heavy Psychic aura. “Brucey, did you try to sneak a poisonous Ekans into our home just for a prank?”

“Kukuku…” Brucey laughed in his usual undecipherable manner. This was the biggest challenge associated with the Golbat — Nina had no idea if her words were getting through to him, or what he was trying to say. There seemed to be some underlying emotion and intent behind each of his laugh, but Nina hadn’t been with him long enough to interpret them yet.

In a way, it kind of reminded Nina of Mile’s autistic cousin in her past life. The kid would often do things that many would consider to be highly inappropriate and self-harming, like trying to dip their hands into someone else’s bowl of piping hot soup. But there was no malice behind such actions, just misguided logic from a peculiar mind.

“Brucey, do you understand that what you did was very dangerous and could have caused harm to me and your new family?”

“Kukuku…” Brucey responded, but there was no nod or shake, just the same mischievous glint in his eyes.

Nina frowned and asked Espy to directly convey Nina’s question to Brucey’s mind, finally eliciting a weak nod from the Golbat as he wilted in remorse. His reaction confirmed the girl’s theory. “Brucey doesn’t understand words or know how to decipher social cues.”

Zubats were largely instinct driven Pokemon, in addition to being blind. So it made sense then that a Golbat wouldn’t suddenly be capable of reading faces and gestures despite gaining sight. “And I doubt there’s any complex emotions for Brucey to read out there in the wild. No wonder the species was so favored by criminals, most of them simply didn’t know any better.”

Nina hummed in consideration. “Is that the key to a Golbat’s evolution I wonder? To guide them into developing a full spectrum of emotions?” It’s a theory that would make a whole lot of sense given that humans had a naturally higher EQ than Pokemon. And out in the wild, if a Golbat were to befriend an emotionally complex Pokemon, like say, a Chansey or a Psychic, there was also the chance of them Evolving naturally as well.

“I should send an email to Professor Oak to ask about this.” Nina wasn’t so conceited as to think that she was the first to come up with a theory like this, so maybe the Professor could steer her towards some relevant research material. And if it really was a new theory, then being able to prove it would be a great boon to understanding the Evolution of Golbats.

Nina had the urge to type out the email right now, but before that, she had to settle the conflict between her two Pokemon. “Espy, you were following my thoughts earlier right?” She asked, prompting the Espeon to nod in response. Such was the convenience of having a Psychic Pokemon.

“Then you should know that Brucey didn’t mean anything bad by his actions. We just need to patiently guide him until he understands.”

Espy averted her gaze with her cheeks still puffed in irritation, but Nina could tell that her Espeon understood from what she was feeling through their mental link. The girl couldn’t help but swoon at her awkward princess and pulled her in for a hug while rubbing her face against Espy’s fuzzy little cheeks.

At the sight of this, Brucey screeched and struggled against Espy’s Psychic hold, desperate to fly over and get in on the action, prompting Espy to hiss at him in annoyance and renew her spinning.

“Espy, no!” Nina chided once again as she pulled her Golbat into the hug as well. “There’s plenty of me to go around, so no need to fight.”

“Nair~”

Nina chuckled. “You too, Nairy.” The girl beckoned for her needy Dragonair to join in as well, much to Espy’s annoyance, who didn’t like to be crowded like this.

***

It had been a few days since, and Nina wished she could say that Brucey had learned his lesson from the events of that night. Unfortunately, the Golbat didn’t appear to be upset or remorseful. Instead, he seemed to relish the attention he got from Espy and tried to do everything he could from then on to get a rise out of her.

To the bat Pokemon, any attention was good attention, because all of it helped to soothe the loneliness gnawing at his heart. He didn’t seem to realize that his poor behavior would only serve to foster resentment and drive a wedge between him and all his other companions.

It was getting to the point where Espy was actually irritated enough to break Brucey’s wings if he kept pushing his luck any further.

“What now…” Nina sighed as a crying Brucey rushed into her embrace and drooled all over her. “Hey, it’s okay, Brucey… What happened?” Nina gently caressed the Golbat, marvelling at the leathery skin beneath the layer of fuzzy blue fur.

“Gol! Golbat, gol!”

Nina was a little taken aback, this was the first time that Brucey had tried to use Pokespeak instead of just laughing like he usually did. Didn’t mean she could understand him though. The Golbat’s body language was arguably worse than Espy’s when they first met, coming across as erratic and frantic no matter what he tried to convey.

“Nairy, could you help me out here?” Nina asked her partner, knowing that Espy wouldn’t be in a cooperative mood.

“Nair, dragon, dragonair… Nairy nair, nair…” Nairy wiggled around and started engaging in charades, shifting his expression in a variety of different ways to convey to Nina what had just happened, from anger, to a malicious smirk, to sadness and so on. Despite some uncertainties, Nina managed to grasp a rough understanding from her partner’s miming, thanks to their tight bond, leading her to turn towards Espy with a furious gaze.

At some point, Nina started harbouring some regrets about taking Brucey in. She had thought that she could redirect Brucey’s prankster energy towards battles. But she had been proven to be nothing but wrong so far.

And apparently, after realizing that corporeal punishment was doing nothing to deter the Golbat’s pranks, Espy decided to translate Nina’s feelings of regret and beam it directly into Brucey’s mind, completely unprompted. Which then resulted in the current situation.

“Espy! That was super mean and uncalled for!” Nina yelled. It was probably the first time that she had ever raised her voice against the Espeon.

However, Espy was unrepentant, which just goes to show the extent of her frustrations. Worst still, it seemed even the good natured Nairy was inclined to take Espy’s side on the matter. It made sense, Espy was like a sister to him by this point, while Brucey was just an annoying newcomer who kept griefing him and a vampire who was stealing Nina’s attention away.

“I need to do something about this. Otherwise, my team’s going to fall apart at this rate.” Nina considered her options. 

There were all sorts of personality types among the Pokemon in the Cerulean Gym, but none of them were quite like Brucey. And if there were, they wouldn’t be included in any training and be left in the exhibit instead. So Nina was at a loss on what to do.

Nina looked towards the sheepish Nairy, who was nervously glancing between his two companions; Brucey, who was still crying in her arms, and the defiant Espy who had her back turned towards Nina and her Golbat.

“What Espy did was extremely uncouth, but maybe I can make use of that…” Nina approached Espy and sat the Golbat down in front of her. The Psychic Pokemon had already known about Nina’s approach. In fact, she had already read Nina’s mind and understood what the girl wanted from her. The fact that she was still posturing was just her tsundere side acting up, which Nina thought was the cutest part about her Espeon.

“Please, Espy?” Nina pleaded. To which the Espeon begrudgingly agreed with a curt nod. What Nina wanted Espy to do was beam all the negative emotions she felt towards Brucey directly into his mind. That way, there was no room for misinterpretation on Brucey’s end.

The end result was inordinately effective, Brucey wilted and even broke out crying at all the hate that he was feeling from Espy, prompting Nina to pull him in for an impromptu cuddle session and assuage him until he was calm enough to continue.

The stick had to be balanced out by a carrot, so Nina then asked Espy to think of a time where she felt positive acknowledgement from something nice she did for somebody else. 

The tsundere princess actually averted her gaze and took awhile to respond, feeling too embarrassed to expose her soft side in such a direct manner. But in the end she did comply, though she kept Nina out of the loop, so her human did not know what was shared.

Brucey immediately perked up at the emotions he was feeling, seeming to like it much more than what he was feeling before.

“See, Brucey,” said Nina. “There’s a big difference between the attention you get from doing something nice for someone and pranking them. I’m not going to stop you from playing pranks ‘cause I think it’s a big part of who you are. But you need to learn when to stop and to balance it out with good deeds every once in a while to make up for all the grief you cause. Do you think you can do that?” 

And just for good measure, Nina also asked Espy to reiterate her words using simple concepts for the socially challenged Golbat. Brucey nodded, seeming to understand.

“Alright, let’s hope this works. But only time will tell.”

Chapter 102

It did work, kind of. Ever since the events of that day, Brucey had been trying to make it up to Espy with all sorts of awkward gestures like massaging her with his claws when she was lounging or leaving Berries and Pokechow next to her while she was sleeping.

All of this only served to annoy the senior Pokemon, but she was adept enough to know that it was all done under good intentions. So instead of admonishing him, she just gently chided Brucey and corrected him whenever she was feeling patient enough for it.

Seeing the two of them like that reminded Nina of the awkward dynamic between an older sister and her annoying younger brother. She could feel a sense of warmth within her from her Pokemon’s wholesome interaction with one another.

That said, Brucey was still quite persistent with his pranks against Nairy. Though at least he now knew to back off when he was told and had significantly reduced the frequency of his mischief. Apparently, Espy had included some of her desire to expel Brucey from the team during their little sharing session, a fate that the needy Golbat feared more than anything else.

“Thank you for taking my call today, Professor Oak.” Nina said towards the white haired visage of the Pokemon Professor on her Pokedex screen

“No, it is entirely my pleasure,” replied the excited looking Professor. “That email you sent was very enlightening. If proven true, we might finally be able to crack the mysteries behind Crobat Evolution! As expected of Bill’s student, I almost feel jealous that he found you first. Not to disparage your own abilities of course, dear Nina. Yours is the most remarkable young mind I’ve encountered in a long while.”

Nina smiled and thanked Professor Oak for his praise. “Judging by your reaction, I’m assuming nobody else has come up with a similar thought? Why, though? It felt fairly obvious to me after interacting with Brucey.”

Professor Oak shook his head with a wry smile. “Such is the benefit of having a layman’s perspective. Sometimes, we so-called ‘experts’ miss the obvious because we’re too entrenched in the nitty gritty of advanced sciences. And while I have found a couple of papers which follow a similar line of thought, most of them were hyper focused on the instinct component of the Zubat line and not from the perspective of an emotional development standpoint as you proposed.”

The Professor explained that most of those papers ended with a shaky proposal that a Golbat’s natural Evolution was the result of the Pokemon being ‘Gifted’ or simply more intellectually developed than their peers. Which wasn’t exactly wrong, but it felt very much like an obvious observation as opposed to anything meaningful.

“So what should I do then, Professor?” Nina asked. “I would like to prove this theory right as well, but I’m not exactly a scientist, so I don’t really know if there’s any strict processes that I need to abide by.”

“And I wouldn’t presume to tell a trainer how to train their Pokemon either.” Oak responded. “Simply do what you think is best for the development of your Golbat and maintain proper documentation. If it is not too much to ask, I would love it if you could send your records over to me for review. By the end of it, with your blessing, I’d like to list your name as the primary author of the research paper that will be published on the subject.”

Nina blushed in embarrassment, unsure of how to respond. “You flatter me, Professor. I wouldn’t mind being a collaborator, but primary author is a little…”

“I mean, it’s not like I’ll be the one writing the paper or anything!”

Professor Oak laughed at the girl’s reservations. “Nonsense! This is a theory that you proposed, my girl. And you will indeed be doing the bulk of the work with your regular reporting. My job is to just sort through them and compile them in an articulate manner to support this hypothesis. So having your name front and center is only right.”

“But having a sample size of just one Golbat feels a little tenuous don’t you think?” The girl argued.

“Indeed. Which is why, with your permission, I’d like to reach out to some of the other trainers in my network and get them involved as well. Any contributors therein will be listed as collaborators. What do you think?”

Nina naturally agreed to the proposal. Having a larger sample size will help to substantiate their claims. Not to mention, the other more experienced trainers might spot something that Nina overlooked.

After hammering out a few more details, like the frequency and formatting of her reports and so on. Nina exchanged a few more pleasantries with Professor Oak before heading off to the Vermilion Flames specialized Pokemon training facilities.

***

“Do you think you can achieve this someday?”

Nina had booked one of the many private training rooms in the Vermilion Flame. There were rules regarding their usage, mainly related to Pokemon size and moves restrictions but none of them applied to her since she was looking to train Brucey today.

The girl had pulled up a video of Koga’s Golbat on her Pokedex and was now showing Brucey to see if he had any inkling on how to achieve the bat swarm effect that the Elite Golbat was currently performing on the screen.

“Kukuku…” Brucey laughed, but in a weaker and more uncertain tone than usual.

Nina kissed the Golbat on the top of his head to reassure him. “It’s fine if you feel overwhelmed, we’re not looking to be able to do this in just one day. For now, let’s try having you use Substitute, see how many clones you can produce in one go,” she said.

Which, as it turns out, was only two at once. More than what Nina had initially anticipated. It seemed that Brucey really pushed himself to the limit to impress his human as evident by the slight wispiness and translucent look of the second substitute.

Nina made sure to heap a ton of praise on Brucey and rewarded him with some Berries, which he now learned to eat without making a mess of his surroundings.

“Alright, seems like the first step would be to first raise your endurance and efficiency.”

Substitute in the Pokemon games worked by sacrificing a portion of a Pokemon’s HP to create a clone that could take a hit for them. In real life, this translates to a stamina and Type Energy costs. The former, Brucey had in abundance since he was quite hyperactive, but he still had room for improvement as evident by the exhausted heap of Golbat in Nina’s arms.

Type Energy capacity might be a bit tricky since Substitute used Normal Type Energy and Golbats were Poison and Flying Type. But it wasn’t impossible. Normal Type Energy served as the foundation for all Type Energy, which meant that all Pokemon could harness it to varying degrees. Arceus’s default form was Normal Type for a reason after all. 

So Brucey just needed to optimize the conversion of his native Type Energy to Normal Type Energy to be as close to being one to one as possible.

Nina put on her earplugs and continued instructing Brucey. “Since you’re having trouble being physical right now. Let’s do some Hyper Voice training.”

Nina was aware that Hyper Voice wasn’t part of a Golbat’s official movelist. It even said as much on the Pokedex when she looked it up. But it was another one of those things that just made no sense. After all, Golbats could learn Uproar, so why not Hyper Voice. They shared the same principles, just that the former was a more focused move whereas the other one is indiscriminate in its scope.

If this was a game then that would be it. Such limitations were simply hardcoded and there was nothing that Nina could do about it. But this was real life, and if something made sense then it should be achievable.

And, since Espy was also working on the move as well, Nina decided to be efficient and had her teach Brucey so that they could both work on it together. That said, her Espeon didn’t like having her ears blasted by an external source so she kept away from the Golbat when he was practicing.

Brucey took in a deep breath, puffing his massive cheeks out as he yelled out as loud as he could. But what came out wasn’t an ear splitting roar as much as it was a sharp and unpleasant Screech.

Screech itself wasn’t a bad move; it could stun an opponent Pokemon for a period of time, leaving them completely vulnerable to any attacks. But it was more of a utility/status move instead of one capable of doing damage. 

Nina did have plans to hone Brucey’s Screech into becoming an aural spear that was sharp enough to pierce through eardrums and deafen most opposing Pokemon though.

Without their hearing, battling Pokemon couldn’t receive instructions from their trainers. And hearing also played a big part in maintaining one’s sense of balance. It also wasn’t a typical status condition that could be easily cured with some quick healing on the field.

“You did good, Brucey. But remember we’re focusing on volume, not pitch. You remember how Nairy always roars at you whenever you piss him off too much with your pranks. Try to channel that sort of energy.”

“Kukuku…” Brucey laughed in amusement at the recollection of his companion’s grief and tried to imitate him. The end result was a little hoarse, but it was significantly more dulled than compared to the earlier Screech.

Nina clapped her hands in encouragement. “Awesome, Brucey. You did great. And remember to do the vocal exercises that Nairy taught you. We don’t want you straining your voice too much. And tell me if you need to take a break, okay?”

Brucey nodded and continued on. And once Nina judged that her Golbat had drained all of his Type Energy, she tapped on the tablet that controls the training room and conjured up a holographic obstacle course for Brucey to fly in.

She didn’t fully appreciate this at the time. But Brucey did an incredible job of dodging Nairy’s attacks down in Diglett’s Cave when they first met. Most of it came down to his quirky way of flying and his clever use of Taunt.

Instead of going in one smooth line or weaving around in curves, Brucey was almost like a housefly in that he jerks and zips around in short bursts and seemingly random patterns. He could fly smoothly as well of course, but whenever he was feeling excited from a successful prank, that was how he flew.

Most trainers would probably think of it as some problem to fix, but Nina saw it as an advantage. As evident by all the battles that Brucey had been in so far. Most of her classmate's Pokemon simply could not get a handle on him as he buzzed around like an annoying bug, causing most ranged attacks to miss and completely disorientating any melee opponents.

In addition, he was very good at sneaking in Taunts to hinder his opponents judgment and force them into an enraged state where they just attack mindlessly. It was an issue that could be largely mitigated through training and experience, but most trainers at Nina’s age simply could not deal with such an aggravating tactic.

The only times that he had been defeated was when encountering indiscriminate Electric Type moves and that one time he faced off against that girl whose Oddish Nina borrowed during her first day of school. Only now, it had evolved into a Gloom. The girl used the same sweet scent tactic Nina demonstrated to her, alongside an assortment of other nasty powders to completely incapacitate Brucey. 

And honestly, Nina didn’t even feel bad about the loss. Rather she felt an odd sense of pride at having greatly contributed to the growth of such a promising trainer. Though she did send Espy out to take the girl down a peg after Brucey. 

They also had a pleasant conversation afterwards where Nina commended her on her hard work while the girl was telling Nina all about her Gloom’s training regimen the past few months. She didn’t bother to make friends with the girl though since her personality was a little too intense. 

Also, at some point, she took out an album from the Gym and asked her to sign it. And Nina had strict policies when it came to getting too intimate with fans to avoid any unnecessary drama.

“We need to work on your control Brucey. I like the way you fly, but you need to do it with more thought. There were more than a few times where you got hit by an attack you could have dodged just cause you weren’t thinking and flew right into it.” There was still a part of Brucey that still retained a Zubat's animalistic instincts, which was good if used in moderation, but at the moment, Nina’s Golbat was too heavily reliant on those instincts to guide his actions.

Nina watched as Brucey tried his best to dodge the random projectiles and obstacles that came his way as he progressed. She intentionally randomized some of them to hone Brucey’s reaction speed, so that he could dodge on instinct if he had to. But the rest followed a fairly predictable pattern. A pattern that Brucey had trouble discerning due to his bad habits.

She noticed that Brucey was still prone to panicking and lacked peripheral awareness, but the number of times he was getting hit was steadily decreasing after each run. So he was no doubt improving.

Nina continued cheering for Brucey and rewarding him for a job well done, rotating his regimen a couple more times before calling it a day. She had faith that her Golbat would become an absolute menace in the arena some day. 

Thoughts of all the tears that would be shed because of Brucey made Nina smile in sinister glee. Until said thoughts were interrupted by a message from Kerry, saying that she was done with her extracurriculars and asking about Nina’s whereabouts.

“Oh right, I forgot. Kerry wants to come over to my place tonight.” And so the girl returned her Pokemon and cleaned up before heading out to meet with her friend.