Into the Unown Ch 93 & 94

Chapter 93

In the end, about a dozen children and nearly forty lost Pokemon were rescued from that particular Rocket den. Which really brought into question the competency of the local law enforcement. 

A fact that Misty made full use of as she mercilessly tore into the commanding officer in charge of the subjugation efforts when she finally arrived at the scene.

“So not only did you stubbornly refused and hampered the aid of Interpol and the League’s Ace Trainers for the sake of your vainglorious pursuit, but you also had to rely on two of my apprentices to spearhead the operation for you — who I should also note, are only ten and twelve years old. Thereby placing them in dire danger where either of them could have been killed or worse!”

The middle aged Jenny reeled back at the Gym Leader’s fierce admonishment, looking flushed with indignation. “We would have successfully completed the operation even without the cooperation of —”’

“Would’ve! Could’ve!” Misty interrupted. “The fact of the matter is, without Nina and Beverly’s efforts, this operation would have been a wash. You could have allowed Team Rocket to escape. Or worse! If not for Nina, the hostages could have been harmed or we’d be forced into a standoff where the city would have had to negotiate with terrorists!”

Nina and Beverly just spectated the drama on the sidelines, with the younger girl sitting on her uncle’s lap — who, she should note, was also fuming silently. Ali had apparently spent the whole day trying to cut through all the red tape keeping him from rushing over to his niece’s rescue.

“And that’s not even accounting for the fact that the city allowed these terrorists to impersonate council personnel to go on an unrestrained crime spree!” Continued enraged Gym leader. “Ten! That’s how many kids were rescued by my girls! How in Distortion did the Cerulean police allow ten missing children’s cases to go unresolved for so long!”

Commander Jenny groaned and glared at Misty. “Thanks to you, my officers have been spread far too thin during this time! And we already had detectives working on tracking down the missing children—”

“Excuses, excuses… My sisters and I have already informed the City Council of our plans beforehand. And might I remind you that it was the council who decided they wanted to double down and cash in on our wedding. We did want to profit on merchandising and some sponsorships to make up for the extravagant costs, yes. But it was never meant to be turned into this spectacle. So don’t you dare try to shift the blame on me or my Gym!”

Misty huffed and gestured for her people to follow her in leaving. “I expect accurate reporting, commander. Fully reflecting you and your people’s ineptitudes. Don’t let me catch you trying to overstate your meager contributions and downplay the true heroes of this operation.” She gestured towards Nina and Beverly with that last sentence. “I’ll be making my own separate report to the League as well to ensure full transparency and accountability.”

“Interpol will also be interceding as well,” chimed Ali. “For months, we have been feeding intel to local authorities on suspected criminal activities. It is devastating to know that our efforts have not been treated with due severity. 

“Your inaction nearly allowed all of these missing children and stolen Pokemon to be trafficked out of the region from right under your noses. Had it not been for the bravery of my niece and her fellow Gym Trainer, these victims might be halfway across the Eastern Ocean by now.”

And with that ultimatum, the Interpol inspector followed after his fuming fiance with Nina in his embrace and Beverly to the side. Normally, Nina wouldn’t allow herself to be coddled like this, but given how on edge her uncle was, she decided to just let Ali indulge in the comfort of her presence for now.

In truth, Nina felt a little mixed towards that tense exchange. On one hand, she understood why the Cerulean Police was reluctant to allow external organizations to undermine their authority. But on the other hand, she also felt that they were too heavy handed in trying to obstruct the helping hand that was offered to them, for no good reason other than to preserve their vanity.

At the end of the day, it was all just inane politics and a clash of egos. Nothing that would involve her and Beverly. Or at least she hoped the adults around her would shield them from it. And based on that extremely one sided verbal beatdown the older Jenny received, she was fairly optimistic that would indeed be the case.

***

“WHAT WERE YOU TWO THINKING!” Nina and Beverly winced at Misty’s admonishment.

“That was extremely reckless of you two. You shouldn’t have agreed to their stupid plan like that,” Ali scolded, after they had settled down in the private room of a nearby restaurant.

Nina would have loved to just go straight home to change out of her ruined clothes, but she didn’t want to worry her parents. So she managed to convince the two adults to allow her some leeway to buy some new clothes and get changed before they head back. Which they agreed to, by having one of Misty’s regular stores bring a selection over to this restaurant.

That way, they can escape the public scrutiny of Aquarium Girl being seen in public looking like she had just escaped from a Charizard’s maw. And since they were here anyways, might as well have some lunch while they were at it.

“It’s not Nina’s fault… I would have charged in even if she refused,” said Beverly, earning her a gentle stroke on the head from Nina.

“No, I thought the plan was feasible since we would have backup. If anything I shouldn’t have asked Beverly to take on the Rocket executives without a full grasp of their capabilities.” Nina cuddled up to her friend. “I nearly got you killed, sorry Bev.”

But the older girl just scoffed at the danger. “Please, those guys were chumps. I only struggled a bit in the beginning cause they ganged up on me.”

“They’re criminals, Bev! What did you expect?” Misty rebuked, as she took a sip of the cocktail she ordered. “Criminals don’t play by the rules. They’re not going to take you one on one with a referee, kid.”

“I already know that…” Beverly whined.

“She’s right,” said Ali, before addressing Nina again. “You got lucky with that Houndoom. If it had its pack with it, then you’d be in a cage by now.”

Nina wilted. “I know… I wasn’t expecting anyone strong to be guarding a bunch of helpless kids. But I guess if they were thinking of them as precious ‘merchandise’ then it kind of makes sense.” She added that she was too caught up with trying to prevent a hostage situation.

“One misstep and you could have gotten those hostages killed, Nina.”

“I know… I’m really sorry, Uncle Ali. I should have texted you and asked for your opinion before agreeing to anything.”

The man nodded in satisfaction at Nina’s words. Ali knew that his niece wasn’t an idiot and that she would learn from her mistakes. At the end of the day, both the girls were safe and got out of that tricky situation as heroes. That was something worth celebrating at least.

So he called the waiter over and told them to order whatever they wanted, in an attempt to ease their collective nerves. “In celebration of our two heroes, and Espy’s evolution. Cheers!”

The girls cheered along in excitement and clinked glasses with each other. Though Misty still looked a bit incensed about the whole ordeal. Something that she quickly got over once she had a few drinks in her.

“By the way, could you keep this a secret from mom? I’m worried that she’s gonna have a freakout,” Nina said to Ali at some point.

The older man sighed. “There’s no point. The media is already hounding the parents of the rescued children. It’s only a matter of time until it's known that ‘Aquarium Girl’ rescued a bunch of kidnapped children and stolen Pokemon. Best we break the news to Leanette on our terms. At least we can shift the narrative a bit and soften the blow.”

Nina sighed but nodded in agreement. Her uncle was right, no point trying to hide it from her parents.

“Hey, what about me?! I played a part too!” exclaimed the pouting Beverly, earning her laughs from Misty.

“Oh don’t you worry your pretty little head,” assured the woman. “No doubt Violet’s already concocting all sorts of Tauros poo to advertise you and pull in some sponsors. For a generous cut of course.”

Nina nodded in agreement and assured Beverly as well. “Leave it to Violet to handle your publicity. She’s expensive, but very effective as you can already tell from all my suffering.” She moaned, eliciting an excited look from the girl.

***

“Umb.”

“Es.” 

The pair of father and daughter Eeveelutions were as stoic as ever as they simply sat in front of each other and exchanged curt greetings.

But in the eyes of their respective trainers, they could tell that the two socially awkward Pokemon were ecstatic at their reunion. As evident by the proud glint in Umber’s eyes and how animated Espy’s two tails were.

“Espy has become quite the remarkable Espeon. In all my years researching Eevees, I don’t believe I’ve seen a specimen quite like her,” said Bill.

“How do you figure?” Nina asked in return.

Bill gestured towards Espy, particularly her tail. “See how close the split of Espy’s tail is to her body? The depth of the split is usually a good measure of how powerful an Espeon’s Psychic potential is.” He then pulled out pictures of average Espeons on his Pokedex and showed it to Nina for comparison.

And indeed, Nina could tell that most Espeons only have a split near the final third of their tail. With the longest one that Bill had on record being a split that reached halfway. In comparison, Espy’s tails were barely conjoined for five centimeters or so before splitting.

“And look at how dextrous each of her individual tails are,” said Bill. “They’re practically independent limbs of their own!” Apparently for most Espeons, the fork is purely aesthetic with the species being unable to move the individual splits the way that Espy could.

Bill’s high praise made Espy puff her chest up in pride, while Umber let out a rare smile and gave his daughter a nod of approval.

Nina couldn't help but tackle her Espeon with a hug at the adorably awkward display of affection. “Hear that Espy? You’re the most special Espeon in the whole wide world. As expected of my precious princess.”

“Es~” Espy reciprocated Nina’s nuzzle and gave her human a little lick with her feline-esque barbed tongue. The rough texture of the barbs made it a little unpleasant on Nina’s face but she simply endured the discomfort out of love for her princess.

Nina did not want Espy to shy away from physical affection like she used to. In fact, aside from appearances, this was probably the largest change that Nina observed in Espy since the Evolution. 

Her tsundere princess’s temperament had warmed somewhat and was now much more open to physical displays of affection. Where before, Espy would dislike Nina for coddling her like this outside of grooming time. Now, she accepts it without complaint and would even reciprocate. Much to Nairy’s delight as he had been pestering Espy with non-stop cuddles.

As if Espy had literally just read Nina’s mind, probably because she actually did, the Espeon huffed and jerked her head away in embarrassment. Causing her overbearing human to swoon even more at her cuteness.

“You know Nina, when Umber and I entrusted Espy to you, we had not expected such stellar results. I mean, we always knew that she was different from the rest of the litter, but such incredible growth was beyond even our wildest imaginations. I’m sure Professor Oak would love to use the two of you as a case study on the correlation between the potency of a Pokemon’s Friendship Evolution and the strength of their bond with a trainer.”

Nina denied the praise however, citing her conversation with Sabrina. “I met Sabrina during a brief trip to Saffron City, and she mentioned that Espy was already extraordinarily Gifted to begin with. All she needed was just a bit of diligence in nurturing her Gift. So I’m pretty sure she would have done fine even if she was under your care, Bill.”

But the Pokemon Professor shook his head in denial as well. “You’re selling yourself short, Nina. No matter how much potential a Pokemon holds, they require proper nurture in order to achieve said potential. Nurture, which you tirelessly work to provide for all of your Pokemon. Otherwise, what meaning is there in bonding with a human trainer?

“But enough about that. I’d like to run some tests on Espy if she would be kind enough to oblige.”

That last sentence caused the Espeon to wilt in despair while sending a pleading glance to her father, who simply averted his gaze in helplessness. Nina chuckled at the silly sight and kissed Espy’s ruby red forehead jewel in assurance.

Chapter 94

“Madame Opal! Wassup, how’s it going?”

“Ah little Miss Beverly, good of you to visit my humble shop once in a while.”

The girl sheepishly grinned and muttered a casual apology. The shop that Beverly and Nina had stepped into was the same crystals and jewelry shop that Nina went to years ago to get her Mew Gem fitted into a necklace. 

And today, on their day off, she was here for much the same reason since all the salt water exposure and recent ‘heat treatment’ had really begun to threaten the integrity of the stainless steel chain and its clasp, which had begun to rust.

“I didn’t even know stainless steel could rust. But I guess enough saltwater and high enough heat will stress any metal.”

“Ah… and you brought a friend today as well. I believe I’ve met you before… The girl with the intriguing gemstone, correct?” Madame Opal asked.

“Yeap, I’m actually here today to take you up on that offer for a custom necklace. The one I got is starting to rust.”

“Indeed,” she said as she gingerly grabbed hold of the necklace that Nina handed to her, before catching sight of the Espeon by Nina’s side. “Oh my, and who is this beauty? I don’t believe I’ve seen a Pokemon as Gifted as this in a very long time. At least one that wasn’t from one of the noble Psychic lines”

The noble Psychic lines referred to Pokemon who were of the Psychic Typing from birth all the way to final Evolution. So think Abra, Ralts, Drowzee etcetera.

“You’re a Psychic?” Nina asked, bewildered, as Espy jumped up onto the counter and sat down in a prim and regal pose. The girl sighed. “Espy… it’s really rude to step on the counter like that.”

But Madame Opal simply dismissed her concern and proceeded to gently caress Espy’s fur. “No need to worry, little miss. I do not mind. Rather, your Espeon is truly remarkable. I don’t think I’ve seen one quite like her.”

Nina chuckled at Espy who huffed in pride at the lady’s words. “Yeah, she’s been hearing that quite a lot lately. And actually…” Nina took another look at the shop's esoteric interior, thinking that it made sense a woman with such taste was into mysticism. “Do you know if there’s any good shops in the city that sell catalysts? Espy’s outgrown her old spoon and I don’t want to make a whole trip to Saffron City just to get another one.”

Madame Opal let out a mirthful smile at Nina’s request. “Oh my, as it just so happens, my shop is a bit of a hidden secret among the local cabal. Usually, only those who have received a referral may have access to my precious wares. But as fate saw it fit to bring the three of us together, it would behoove me to regale you of my services. Please, wait for a moment.”

The portly shopkeeper then made her way to the back before coming back with a massive wooden case, which she snapped open to unveil a varied selection of silverware resting atop a purple velvet lined interior.

Beverly hummed. “Hmm… I didn’t know you sell dinky old spoons as well, Madame Opal,” said the girl, earning her a glare of indignation from Espy and the shopkeeper.

Nina sighed and explained the importance of silver catalysts for Psychics to the ignorant girl. “You’re looking to catch a Slowpoke at some point right?” Nina asked towards the end, to which Beverly simply nodded in embarrassment. “Then It’s important that you know about this stuff. I’ll lend you some books that Sabrina recommended to me.”

“Oh my, to think that you’re acquainted with the esteemed Lady Sabrina as well. It would seem that fate has indeed been kind to me today.”

“Kind enough to warrant a discount?” asked the cheeky Nina, only to receive an amused smile in return from Opal.

“Es!” Meanwhile, Espy seemed to have found her new catalyst which she pointed to using one of her two tails.

“That’s a really pretty design, quite big though…” Nina mused. And indeed, the spoon was the size of a typical ladle. On the handle, she could see intricate carvings of a fairy and what looked suspiciously like Mew with a super long tail looping around the handle. It didn’t look practical as far as tableware goes, but it wasn’t exactly crafted for dining purposes anyway.

“You know, for a spoon that big, you can probably bend it and wear it around your neck like a collar or something…” Nina jokes, but to her horror, Espy cried out in agreement and proceeded to levitate the spoon to do just that.

The expensive looking spoon unraveled and warped under the guidance of Espy’s Psychic aura before wrapping itself around the Espeon’s neck to form a form fitting metallic collar. The whole process happened so quickly that Nina was powerless to stop her capricious Pokemon.

Nina felt the blood drain from her face as she stiffly turned towards Madame Opal with a flabbergasted look. “I… I am so sorry. Truly, I didn’t mean for Espy to take me seriously like that!”

However, the woman simply cackled and dismissed her concern. “Not to worry. It is the catalyst that chooses its wielder and not the other way around. That particular child was actually one of my older stocks. To date, it has yet to find one worthy of wielding it.” The woman looked towards the Espeon in her brand new collar with a melancholic smile.

“I am actually glad that it found a home where it belongs. That said, as you well know, a catalyst is forever tethered to the first to wield it. So I’m afraid this sale is already a done deal,” said the woman with a ravenous smile.

Nina nodded helplessly in agreement. She couldn’t exactly deny her beloved Espy who was now rapturously playing with her new toy by morphing it between its default spoon form and into other shapes.

The girl sighed. “How much is it?”

“Given the craftsmanship and the storied history of that particular relic. And accounting for our fateful encounter today… I would be willing to part with it for this much,” the profiteering woman held out ten fingers in the air, causing Nina to nearly have a heart attack.

“Ten thousand?!!” She exclaimed, alongside Beverly who finally caught on to the ridiculous pricing.

“For a lousy SPOON!” exclaimed the older girl. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

Madame Opal closed her eyes and gave a gentle nod of her head. “Indeed. Like I said, this isn’t just a regular catalyst. It is considered a relic with a rich and storied history. I’ll include the details in a scroll that shall come with the purchase. But I wouldn’t fault you for being unable to afford it. Just know that you’ll have to pay a significant penalty in order for me to hire an expert to unregister Lady Espy from the spoon.”

Nina sighed. “I don’t suppose you’ll accept a trade?”

“Wait, Nins! You can’t be serious? This is a scam. It’s daylight robbery!”

The younger girl shook her head to deny Beverly’s allegations. “No, it’s actually not. I’m not an expert but I do know that high quality catalysts can go up to five and sometimes even six figures in pricing. If it is a relic as the Madame claims then 10 grand is actually a steal.”

The older woman nodded along. “Indeed, I was entrusted with the spoon by my mentor. However, she procured the spoon in an auction for an amount that would be equivalent to a five figure sum in today’s money. Like I said, I already accounted for fate’s machinations in my pricing. Now, Miss Nina… What would you like to trade with?”

“Sounds like a bunch of Tauros poo to me.” Beverly grumbled, but Nina ignored her and rummaged through her backpack to produce a gleaming Golden Nugget in a little box she got for it.

Beverly balked once more, but this time at her friend. “How in Arceus's name did you get that, Nins!”

“I told you, I beat that Blackthorn girl and this was the reward,” she replied simply before holding the item in front of Madame Opal’s eyes for her inspection. “In terms of market value, it might not reach up to the 10 thousand Pokedollars you asked for, but gold appreciates over time and I doubt you’ll easily find one of such purity very often.”

Madame Opal adjusted her glasses and nodded in appreciation. “I would consider this more than a fair trade indeed… I do value material substance over arbitrary pieces of paper or numbers on a screen. Very well, throw in another thousand in cash and consider it sold, I’ll even include a steep discount for the necklace you requested.”

Nina smiled and handed the Golden Nugget over to conclude the trade. Seeing how willing her human was to indulge her whims, Espy nuzzled up against the girl and gave her affectionate licks, which Nina returned with a warm smile and gentle smooches. Her Pokemon’s happiness was well worth the money in her mind.

“For the necklace, would it be possible for the work to be done without the presence of the gemstone? I’m reluctant to part with it for too long,” said Nina, to which the woman simply responded with a troubled nod.

“It is possible, yes. I can make a quick mold of it to work with in the interim and you can come have it fitted once the design is done. I’ll need a couple of hours with it today and maybe about half a day when the time comes for the actual work. Would that be acceptable?”

It wasn’t ideal but Nina agreed to it regardless. She knew that Mew’s Gem will always return to her so long as it has yet to fulfill its purpose, but leaving its side for a prolonged period of time still made her feel anxious. “Is this Stockholm Syndrome?” She wondered.

Despite Beverly’s protest, Nina opted to wait in the shop for the gem to be returned to her.

“What’s so special about that rock anyway? I noticed you always wear it. Did your boyfriend give it to you or something?” The older girl teased.

Nina sighed and pulled her silly friend into a hug. “It’s not like that, but it is super important. It’s hard to explain but I just feel anxious without it.”

Beverly hummed skeptically but chose not to pry any further. “I still can’t believe you spent ten thousand Pokedollars on a freaking spoon,” she said.

Nina gave a wry smile and shrugged. “Whatever makes my darlings happy. I’m sure you would have done the same for Luna, Ryu, Vapey and the others as well.”

Speaking of Vapey the Vaporeon, Beverly had released him at some point to keep her company and Nina could see the bedroom eyes that he was throwing Espy’s way. Not that she could blame him, her princess was captivatingly beautiful and powerful. Any Pokemon would be lucky to get together with her.

Unfortunately for Vapey, the regal Espeon wasn’t some roadside skank he could just hit up for a casual quickie. He’ll need to buy her an expensive Munchlax star dinner first before she’d even consider letting him near her.

Espy, having read Nina’s mind, huffed in indignation, as if to say she wasn’t that cheap.

Nina giggled and nuzzled at her Espeon. “You’re right, Espy. He’ll need to do more than just dinner to earn your attention. Maybe some flowers and expensive jewelry. I wouldn’t mind some gifts myself.” The pair of girl and mon laughed out at the oblivious Vapey’s expense, while Beverly just watched in confusion.

“Is Espy talking to you in her head?” She asked.

“Kind of?” Nina replied. “It’s hard to describe it, but Pokemon don’t exactly ‘talk’.” Usually when a human talks to a Pokemon, they interpret the words through their underlying intent as opposed to deciphering the words themselves. 

That’s why Pokemon were so good at detecting lies, since they can sense the mismatch between what a human said and what they actually meant. It was also how wild Pokemon who have never interacted with humans before are able to understand human words. As well as how Pokemon of differing species talk to one another.

“When Espy wants to ‘say’ something to me, she beams a bunch of images, emotions and intent into my mind. I don’t hear actual words, but I can get a sense of what she's trying to convey. In fact, a lot of the time, it’s much more efficient and accurate since it happens at the blink of an eye and there’s no room for misunderstandings.” Nina explained.

Beverly nodded in confusion, still not fully grasping the concept. But the older girl decided to just put it out of mind until she gets her own Psychic. They then transitioned to other topics until Madame Opal came back. All the while, no other customers stepped into the store during that time, which really puts into perspective just how obscure this little shop was.

Author's note:

And we are back to our regularly scheduled programming. Since no one shared their preference on whether they want a staggered release or a bulk release, I decided to just do whatever is convenient for me at the time.

Hope you all had a good new year. For me, 2025 is off to a middling start, which is better than a poor one I suppose. Though I definitely do feel poorer after all the money I had to spend over the holidays.

I picked up Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson during my break and would like to share some of my thoughts.

It takes a lot of creativity to build a world where you don't even question some of the fantastical physics defying imagery that gets depicted. And personally, I have a deep love for IPs that manage to capture that lovecraftian aesthetic in such vivid detail. Stuff like Lord of the Mysteries and Shadow Slave, just to name a few big names that you guys might know of.

That said, I find myself not liking the inane human drama that is depicted in Sanderson's work, really distracts from an otherwise grand setting. The politics in particular, feels like its written by a teenager in terms of its complexity, with way too much focus on interpersonal drama as opposed to gains and trade offs the way that I feel good politics should convey. Which is why I find myself stalling on volume 2

Maybe it's just an issue with that particular volume, I don't know. Since I did enjoy volume 1 after all.

Anyways, if anyone has any other reading suggestions, please share them down below. I would love to discover any new literature that I might otherwise have not been exposed to before.