Into the Unown (Pokemon Fanfiction OC)

Author's note:

Edit: Sorry guys, for whatever reason the scheduled chapter thing didn't work. And I didn't notice it until now since I just woke up.

For those who don't like surprises, you can find a rough roadmap for the remainder of Part Two down below. I won't go into detail, just an approximate guideline of what to expect.

Spoiler

The next few chapters coming up will be a short 3 chapter arc of Nina back in Cerulean City doing Gym Trainer stuff.

After that, there will be a couple of one off chapters before we go on to a lengthy vacation arc to wind down. This will also be when Nina catches her fourth Pokemon. All of that will happen around the chapter 120 range.

Chapter 125 is when the finale officially starts, though there'll be a slow buildup with some mini arcs interpersed in between before things really kick off around Chapter 140.

Chapter 160 is the epilogue of Part Two

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***

“Nina, I challenge you to a Pokemon battle!” Justin yelled, also taking the chance to debut the new pose he devised; head twisted and facing the sky in indifference, left arm across his torso and hugging his right shoulder, right arm pointed, and single leg bent and raised in a sharp angle. It was Justin’s best work yet if he may say so himself. 

But the boy received no response. There was no sigh or thorny quips, just silence as the strain of maintaining his dynamic pose caused Justin to eventually falter and glare at his classmate. Only to find that Nina’s seat was empty, with just an impassive looking Kerry sitting next to it in her usual spot.

Justin rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. “Hey err… Kerry. Is Nina not in yet?”

Kerry looked at the boy like Justin was a Muk that had just crawled out of the sewers. “She’s been called back to the Cerulean Gym, since it’s October and all.”

Justin just looked at the girl with a confused look as he vaulted over the desk and sat in Nina’s usual spot. “What’s up with October?”

Kerry sighed at the boy’s ignorance, really wishing that their more mature friend was here at the moment. Nina usually served as a lubricant between her and the impetuous Justin. “November’s when the Indigo Conference begins. So Gyms usually experience a surge during October, since it's the last month of the Gym circuit. The Gym people call it Crunchtober.”

“Wait, so that means she’s gone for the whole month?”

“Yup,” replied the girl. “She already tried to delay it for a week since she wanted more time to get Brucey in shape before leaving their instructor. What about you? You’ve been gone for what? Two weeks now. Did you manage to catch a Noibat?” Kerry asked, with a somewhat expectant gaze.

Justin grinned. “Yeah, I’ll show her to you during lunch. But boy did Lilian make me work for it.”

He basically had to live like a caveman during the two weeks he spent trying to capture a Noibat, too afraid to head back into the city to avoid falling behind Lilian who could teleport around with the help of her butler.

“Every time I showed up at a place, that snob was already there, blasting every Noibat in sight with Electricity.” Since Lilian had to repatriate most of the fledgeling Dragons regardless, she just captured them through forceful means for the sake of efficiency. 

Justin wasn’t opposed to it, since he liked to battle Pokemon before capturing them anyway. Problem was, he had no chance to even challenge any of the Noibats, with them screeching and running in fear from the crazy Blackthorn girl.

“So, how did you catch one then?” Kerry asked.

Justin let out a feeble smile. “Had to battle Lilian to buy time for Scyther to bring one of the injured Noibats to safety. I lost. Badly.” 

Justin’s Wartortle hardly stood a chance. And he was even dumb enough to demand a fight with Sapphire, Lilian’s Dratini, who at this point had fully mastered her control over Electric Type Energy. In fact, the Dragon and her mistress just toyed with Justin the entire time.

“I couldn’t even get her to use a single Dragon Type move…” The boy sighed dejectedly. “And here I am, thinking I’ve caught up to Nina a little bit. If Lilian’s Dratini is already that strong, then how much stronger is Nairy, who managed to beat Sapphire and was now a Dragonair?”

Justin had only ever gotten one glimpse of Nairy’s strength in recent memory. It was the time when he tagged along with his friend to go swimming by the beach. He had challenged her in the water on a whim. Which surprisingly, Nina accepted. Though thinking back, his friend had probably just been humoring him because she had stuff she wanted to test out.

He still remembered the Surf that Nairy conjured up that day. Even Wartortle, a pure Water Pokemon, looked scared at the gigantic wave that towered over them. And according to Nina, Misty’s Milotic could create a wave that was three times bigger than Nairy’s. Something that Justin’s brain simply could not fathom at the time.

As expected of Justin’s number one partner though, Wartortle was undeterred. Instead he had been working ten times as hard to catch up to Nairy. After all, how could a pure Water Type lose out to a pure Dragon Type in Water moves?

In a rather uncharacteristic moment, Kerry reached out to give Justin an assuring pat on his shoulder. “It’s like Nina always said, you shouldn’t compare yourself to her and Lilian. The two of them have unique backgrounds and way more experience than you. Pokemon training is a marathon, not a sprint.”

Justin nodded with a thanks, his motivation reignited. The boy had not realized how big the world was until he left Viridian City and met all these talented people in the Vermilion Flame. 

He was half tempted to stay for another year if only to take advantage of Nina’s expertise and all the facilities here. But then shook his head as he recalled the girl’s words about how he shouldn’t get into the habit of relying on her too much.

“Nina’s right. My Pokemon are my own responsibility. And I have my own journey to make. I’ll pick her brain on how to train Noibat for the rest of my time here and then leave.” Four Pokemon, that was a good start to a decent Gym circuit. 

“I’m not going to be a firecracker!” He vowed.

***

Lilian took a sip from her dainty tea cup, savouring the fragrant bitterness of the double strength Earl Grey that she preferred, the nutty citrus flavors dancing on her tongue, and the scent of wood and floral honey permeating the back of her nostrils.

Breakfast today was a thick cut piece of premium Oinkologne ham imported straight from Paldea with a side of salad made using an assortment of Berries and vegetables. Lilian wasn’t a big fan of vegetables, but she recognized that one needed to endure some unpleasantries for the greater good.

“What’s my schedule looking like today, Alfred?”

Lilian’s butler refilled his lady’s tea with a bow as he answered the question. “This morning is freed as you requested, to allow you some time with your recent acquisition. May I ask if you’ve decided on a name for the Noibat yet, Milady?”

The girl shook her head. Melina Jones had sent a message to her saying that she should capture a ‘special’ Noibat. Lilian was a little confused about the cryptic message, but Alfred suggested that she perhaps reference Melina Jones’s Pokemon for what the girl considered ‘special’.

What stood out to Lilian the most was her Espeon of course. Even among the noble Dragons of her family, very few were possessed of a poise as regal as Melina Jones’s Psychic Eevee. Then there was her marvelous specimen of a Dragonair, which although frivolous in mind, had an immaculate physique.

But given that the message was likely to do with their recent efforts in trying to learn the Koga Clan’s secret technique. Lilian concluded that the answer probably laid with that ridiculously misbehaving Golbat that her friend recently procured. 

She was skeptical of Melina Jones’s judgement at first. But after seeing the Golbat in action and experiencing his infuriating airborne maneuvers in person, she had realized the qualities that the girl had seen in the Pokemon.

To that end, she made sure to capture herself a similarly energetic Noibat. While none of them stood out much, there was one that was particularly defiant, refusing to go down no matter what and insisted on fighting till the very end. That fiery spirit of his caught Lilian’s eyes and she decided that this would be the new addition to her entourage.

Unfortunately, the Noibat’s willfulness resulted in her having to catch him through somewhat more forceful means. Which meant necessitating that Lilian go through an arduous taming process for her newest Pokemon. 

“I refuse to name him until I have successfully tamed the Noibat and bent him to my will,” she said, finally responding to her servant’s query.

Alfred lowered his head subtly in servitude. “Indeed, milady. The safety gear has been readied for your use. I have absolute faith that the beast will come to terms with your virtues in due time.”

However, Lilian denied the gesture with a shake of her head. “I refuse. I shall tame the Dragon with naught but my bare hands, just like my ancestors did in days of old.”

Alfred frowned slightly but quickly schooled his expression. “Might I remind you, milady, that your ancestors were not so foolish as to engage a Dragon with their bare bodies. They had armor on as well, as ineffective as they were back then. If nothing else, I implore that you put on the gauntlets at least.”

Lilian groaned. Alfred was right, as usual. The man was always right. But he was also too level headed and conservative, prioritizing her safety above all else. “Sometimes, one needs to take some risks to reap greater rewards. Speaking of…” 

Lilian was reminded of Melina Jones who possessed the same steady qualities of her right hand man, whilst also being bold enough to take risks for her own benefit. “Now that is a woman worth having by my side.” 

As of late, Lilian found that her gaze would oftentimes linger on her friend’s softer features; those almond shaped eyes, slender nape, olive tanned skin and shapely lips. She recalled the frown on the girl’s delicate eyebrows whenever she was met with a particularly difficult conundrum, as well as her vibrant visage whenever she encountered a rare Pokemon, invoking an involuntary smile from Lilian.

After realizing her moment of weakness, Lilian shook her head to snap herself out of her reverie and took a sip of tea to cool her overactive desires. “Blasted! Is this what the elders meant when they warned me against the trappings of puberty? How insidious…” 

“I’ll put on those cumbersome gauntlets as you advised. Now, what’s next on the agenda?” said the flustered Lilian, in an effort to forcefully divert her mind’s wanderings.

If Alfred noticed any irregularities with his mistress, he did not let it show, as his professionalism demanded. “There is a meeting this afternoon with the Pokemon League. Milady’s presence was requested as a representative of the Clan to oversee the final phase negotiations of the Kanto-Johto trade agreement.”

“Urgh! What a waste of time. Those old coots are going to attempt to divert the discussion to Silph Co again!” In taking advantage of the renewed trade negotiations, there was a group of conservatives in both regions who were trying to instigate an antitrust investigation into Silph Co’s operations.

Silph Co was originally a Kantonian company. But as part of the Pokemon League’s broader initiative to smother the seeds of future conflict, they had turned a blind eye to the company’s aggressive expansion into their neighbouring Johto. Hoping that the existence of a dominant conglomerate which unified the economies of both regions would act as an effective deterrent for war. After all, money and greed were some of humankind’s greatest motivators.

The warmongers on both sides of the aisle agreed as well, and in an ironic turn of events had joined hands in trying to hinder Silph Co’s growth. Each with their own baseless rationale of course.

The Kantonian side was worried that the transfer of technology from Kanto to Johto would empower their enemies. While the Johton side were paranoid about the proliferation of Silph Co tech being used as a means of spying and developing an overreliance on a foreign entity.

All of these concerns were inane and short sighted. It was all just based on the irrational pride and blind resentment of lesser men. “We should just snap the necks of these troublemakers and be done with it already!” Lilian exclaimed.

“These individuals would not have made it to their lofty positions through competence alone,” said Alfred in his usual calm, lecturing tone. “To eliminate them is easy, but the forces behind them will simply instate another in their place. Change is a gradual process, milady. One must have patience to enact a lasting legacy.”

“This isn’t even supposed to be my duty! My uncle’s the one who’s supposed to be representing our Clan in these negotiations! And what about Aunt Clair?!”

“Lady Clair is busy with the Clan’s governance. And Master Lance is preoccupied with… important matters.”

Lilian scoffed. “You mean he’s shirking his duties as Champion and off gallivanting through the Black Zones in search of worthy opponents again!”

It wasn’t fair, Lilian thought. Her uncle was getting stronger by the day, while she remained stagnant at the starting point, wasting her time in these inane meetings when she should be training her Pokemon instead.

“The road towards becoming Champion is a long one, milady,” assuaged the elderly servant in response to his mistress’s agitation. “To reach Master Lance, you must first patiently lay down the foundations for your ascension, one brick at a time.”

The girl rolled her eyes. “What is the point of laying bricks when my opponent is blasting off into the distance with a jet engine!” Lilian aggressively cut into her breakfast meat, all the while pretending like it was Lance’s face.

After waiting for his mistress to calm down, Alfred refilled Lilian’s tea and continued on with the debriefing of her schedule. “After the meeting with the League, there will be another one with our family’s stewards regarding the persistent losses incurred by some of our ventures in Kanto. Shall I cancel it to make time for your training, milady?” 

“This is the third time that we’ve discussed this topic. Just cut our losses and move on! Why does this need to be so complicated?”

Alfred let out a genial smile. “As mentioned previously, there are many individuals under our employ at these businesses, most of whom have families that they provide for. It is our duty to ensure that they are supported even in the toughest of times. Winding down these ventures should be our last resort.”

Lilian scowled. “Who was supposed to be in charge of these losses to begin with.”

“The stewards of the two loss making businesses are the Yoshida family and Okubo family. And just as a reminder, removing them from their position will only serve to exacerbate matters since there is no one else qualified to take their place.”

Lilian let out a sinister grin. “Oh I am well aware… From the looks of things, the issue stems from a lack of cooperation. What is the point of having a consortium when the members are all trying to bring each other down? 

“Tell all the stewards that from now on, the fates of the two failing businesses are going to be a joint responsibility. For every quarter that passes, should either business fail to show improvement, we will select a steward at random for replacement. And yes, cancel the meeting. My decision is final and I will brook no argument.”

Alfred bowed in obedience, feeling a sense of pride in his mistress’s decisive handling of the issue. “And lastly, there is a dinner party tonight hosted by Vermilion City’s mayor elect. You requested an invitation to lobby for action against the criminal infestation in the northeastern district.”

“Renounce my attendance.” Lilian ordered. “Melina Jones is right, there’s no point in relying on these spineless sycophants to take any meaningful action. If I want to see any change, I must first wrench the mantle of Champion from my uncle and secure true authority.”

In the end, might makes right. As evident by how Lance’s overwhelming dominance of their two regions put an end to a seemingly never ending war. 

However, Lilian’s uncle was now obsolete. His blatant indifference towards League matters has allowed some unsavoury elements to gain a foothold in their governance, enabling them to impede their earnest pursuit of long lasting peace. It was time for someone else to step up and put these ingrates in their place.

Lilian, got up from the dining table and made her way to the training hall with Alfred in tow. Along the way, she stopped by the armory to equip the bulky metal gauntlets that had been prepared for her, the mechanisms hidden within hissed and engaged to secure themselves around her arm. 

The Dragon Tamer then flexed her fingers and nodded in satisfaction at the well tuned gauntlets. “It seems that Alfred has done his due diligence.” 

In order to become Champion, Lilian needed a Champion worthy team. And for that, she first had to tame the rebellious Dragon before her. “One brick at a time, just like Alfred said.”

***

Author's notes:

Just to note that I still don't plan to delve too deep into romance, not until Nina grows older at least. And even then, that's not a guarantee.

Anything that you'll encounter going forwards will mostly just be surface level stuff. So shippers are still free to do the things that you guys do.