Into the Unown (Pokemon Fanfiction OC)

Author's Note:

Just a heads up, next week's release may or may not be irregular. This whole tariff situation is making my life very difficult and I might just need some time to deal with stuff. But I'll keep you guys posted. Next story chapter will still be Sunday.

***

As the one being challenged, Nina had the right to dictate the terms of the battle. And while she could have given her and Nairy an advantage by requesting for a water arena, she decided to start off on more neutral ground instead. 

This was a match between two Dragonairs, famed for being a species of divine Pokemon capable of controlling the weather at will. And as such, it was only right that they each endeavored to secure their own advantages. 

“There shall be no wager.” Nina declared. “Instead, If I win. I want you to drop the formalities and call me Nina, instead of my full name.”

Lilian let out a savage grin at the proposal, but ultimately shook her head. “No. If Iwin, then I shall earn the right to address you in affection. And should you win, you will earn my eternal friendship. How does that sound?”

Nina laughed. It was all just a bunch of platitudes in her head, but she still agreed since there was no loss in it anyway.

“Nair! Nairy nair. Dragonair~” Meanwhile, Nairy was just yapping at Sapphire, congratulating her for the Evolution and commending her on the beautiful dance. All while the other Dragon stared at him from the other end of the arena with an intense gaze, looking like she was ready to pummel him at any moment.

Nairy may be too oblivious to notice, but this was Sapphire’s way of conveying embarrassment. Both trainers could tell that the female Dragonair was ready to pounce on Nairy, not to pummel him, but to do things that weren’t at all battle related.

And after exchanging another look, Lilian called on the referee to begin the match.

“Very well, this will be a battle between Lilian of the Blackthorn clan, and Melina Jones of Professor Bill and Oak’s Laboratory, and the Cerulean Gym.” The man in the pinstripe suit proclaimed. Nina could have sworn she’d seen the guy in an Elite Four match before.

“Trainers, are you ready?” The referee asked, breaking Nina from her reverie and forcing her to focus up. Even Nairy hardened his gaze at the signal, though his resolve fell short of Sapphire’s, who looked like she was being encompassed by a fiery draconic aura.

“And… Begin!”

At the commencement of the match, both Dragonairs unleashed Dragon pulses at each other, in a mirror image of their first encounter.

However, unlike their first fight, Sapphire unleashed a continuous stream of Draconic bolts at Nairy instead of just one, completely catching Nina’s Dragon by surprise as he cried out in pain. And not only that, the bolts exploded with Electric Type Energy as well, causing Nairy’s translucent scales to flake off and disintegrate into ash. Indicating to Nina that the bolt contained Paralyzing properties.

“Seems like Lilian taught Sapphire some new tricks…” Nina called for Nairy to dodge, prompting a Draconic aura to infuse him as he did his usual evasive Dragon Dance to empower himself.

“Set the terrain, Nairy. Hold nothing back!”

The crystalline orbs adorning Nairy’s serpentine body glowed a prismatic light as storm clouds formed above the arena at an unprecedented rate. The sudden change in air pressure was even abrupt enough to stir up the air and conjure violent winds that began to assault all parties present in the arena.

“We will not falter, Sapphire!” Lilian yelled in response. “Show them that you are no less of a Dragon!”

“Dra!!!” Sapphire cried out as her own orbs began glowing, causing the storm clouds to crackle with electricity before summoning a bolt of lightning to strike down onto the arena to supercharge the space.

Nina scowled upon recognizing the move. “Electric Terrain… Can the Dragonite line even learn that?” She wondered, but was once again reminded that this was real life and not a game. If it made sense then it should be doable, even if the results weren’t entirely ideal.

“Flood the place, Nairy!” She called, after deciding that they needed to take action before Lilian acted on her advantage. Nina had yet to come up with an effective countermeasure for Sapphire’s overpowered Thunder.

With a swoosh of his tail, a massive wave enveloped Nairy and hung menacingly over the arena. Nairy’s Dragon and Rain Dance empowered Surf was barely half the height of Josephine’s, but it was more than enough to submerge everything underwater and cover up the nascent Electric Terrain that Sapphire had conjured.

Lilian looked towards the oppressive sight in bewilderment, before her face twisted into a grin at the prospect of Nina and Nairy finally going all out against her. “Brace yourself, Sapphire! Become one with the waves, don’t fight against it!”

And true to her trainer’s instructions, Sapphire endured the pain of impact and allowed herself to be carried by the turbulent waters before finally wresting some semblance of control over Nairy’s Water Type Energy to reorient herself.

Meanwhile, the storm continued to rage on, churning the waters and forming turbulent waves that crashed against the walls of the arena. Bolts of lightning, summoned by Sapphire’s Electric Terrain, crackled and slammed into the waters at irregular intervals, looking like a scene from the apocalypse. 

Nina had to pull up the hood of her windbreaker to shield against the rain. While Lilian just stood stoically on her platform, half cape flapping in the wind as she clenched down on her feet and widened her stance to prevent herself from being blown away.

The two trainers briefly exchanged a look of defiance before calling out their next orders simultaneously.

“Time for the Josephine Special, Nairy!”

“Get close and overpower him, Sapphire!”

A surge of Electricity and Draconic aura suffused Sapphire’s body as she shot towards her opponent in a violent rush. Meanwhile, a massive Whirlpool began forming with Nairy in the center as he continuously danced to empower himself. 

Unfortunately for Nina, Nairy’s Whirlpool was too slow in forming and Sapphire managed to reach her mark before the waters had a chance to suck the Dragonair into its flow.

Bubbles spewed from Nairy’s mouth upon the electrifying impact as Sapphire wrapped herself around Nairy and overwhelmed him with a supercharged Thunder Wave. 

Nairy cried out in pain once more, but was thankfully not paralyzed thanks to his Shed Skin ability expelling the residual Electricity through the shedding of sacrificial scales.

But this situation would not last. Nina’s Dragonair could only use Shed Skin so many times before it ate into his defenses. “Outrage!” the girl called. Nina hated using this move, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

Nairy’s eyes turned bloodshot from anger while a purple Draconic aura infused him with the strength needed to break free from Sapphire’s hold. Once Nairy was free from his bindings, he then began to mindlessly slam himself against the other Dragon, in complete disregard of his own wellbeing.

“Get away from him, Sapphire!” Lilian was right to call for a retreat, but compared to Nairy who spent an inordinate amount of time in water for his species, Sapphire’s speed while swimming paled in comparison. 

Sapphire broke away, only for Nairy to suddenly cut her off from the front and slammed his tail into her. “Nair!” Lilian’s Dragonair cried in pain and scrambled to get away again. However, Nairy was relentless, immediately cutting her off again with an empowered tackle.

Lilian gritted her teeth in frustration, and called for her own indiscriminate attack. “Thunder!” She yelled, as a powerful surge of Electricity exploded from her Dragonair’s body. 

The arena shook in response to the Blackthorn Dragon’s unrelenting will, prompting Nina to put on her earplugs to protect herself against the booming thunderbolts raining down onto the arena.

It was clear to Nina that Sapphire’s overwhelming raw power had been boosted by her Evolution and buffed even further by Electric Terrain. In addition to the much finer control she was observing from Lilian’s Dragon; the powerful Thunder being emitted by Sapphire was much more focused in its intensity as it continuously blasted into Nairy, singing and charring the scales of Nina’s beloved partner.

“Nairy!” Nina cried out in a panic, her voice drowned out by the raging howls of the ongoing thunderstorm, barely holding back her tears while she desperately racked her brain for a way out of this predicament. “Use Protect, Nairy! Double layer it if you can!”

However, Nairy, still in the throes of Outrage, couldn’t tell the difference between friend and foe, and was heedless of Nina’s plea. Instead, he just kept throwing himself against Sapphire, only to be blasted back by the other Dragonair’s Thunder, time and time again.

The girl clenched her teeth in frustration. This was why Nina hated using this move; not only was it self-harming, but Nina could barely feel the deep connection that she usually shared with her soulmate. Like there was a river of rage separating the two and Nairy was drowning in its torrent.

In the end, the accumulated damage overwhelmed Nairy so much that he was brought back to his senses. Only it was now too late for a counterattack, because Nina’s Dragonair was floating listlessly in the water, looking haggard, burnt black and spasming in pain from the residual Electricity.

Meanwhile, Sapphire looked bruised but imperious, very much the image of a Dragon from a regal clan of Dragon Tamers as she looked down on her opponent with bloodshot eyes full of determination, body crackling with Energy, seeming like she was ready for a fight to the death.

Nina sighed and raised her hand to concede defeat. She was not a protagonist character like Justin and could not hope for a miracle comeback. And even if she did somehow manage to turn things around, the costs would be too great. Nina cared more about the safety and wellbeing of her Pokemon than some petty win.

Lilian pumped her fist out in triumph at the decision and breathed in a sigh of relief. While Sapphire forcefully wrapped herself around Nairy, not to harm him, but to push her snout against Nairy’s in a show of love and affection as she often saw humans do in the dramas that her partner liked to watch.

***

Nina watched in amusement at the sight of her partner being smothered in one sided affection from Lilian’s overbearing Dragonair.

Sapphire had refused to leave Nairy’s side even as he was being looked at by the Blackthorn clan’s personal healers. Which led to a very awkward situation, since Nairy could not understand why his usually haughty and aggressive friend was now being so affectionate towards him.

“I’ll explain Sapphire’s feelings to Nairy later,” Nina began. “But I’m not going to force him into an unwilling relationship. Besides, we still want to go out and explore the wider world, so Nairy’s not going to make for a very present parent.” She said.

But Lilian simply shook her head in response. “You need not worry, any egg borne of a Blackthorn Dragon is to stay within the clan. We are not to share our boon with outsiders. That is, unless…”

Nina was taken aback as the Blackthorn girl suddenly invaded her space, bringing her face close enough to Nina’s that she could feel Lilian’s minty breath tickling at her lips.

“That is unless… you wish to come into our clan’s fold? Nina…?” The other girl said Nina’s name in such a sensual manner as to make her blush red and gulp in nervousness, before breaking out into nervous laughter.

“Haha… Ha… That’s funny, Lilian. I knew you had a sense of humour in there somewhere…” She responded, voice faltering at the seductive smirk that Lilian gave her in return. 

The Blackthorn girl’s skin glistened under the lights of the arena, still wet from the earlier rainstorm as she ran her fingers through her slick back red hair and bore a feverish gaze into Nina.

Lilian gently caressed Nina’s cheeks, daintily running her thumb through Nina’s lips to trace its outline before leaning in to whisper into her ears. “You need only say the word, Nina… And I shall make you my queen.”

Nina pushed her friend away in fright and gestured towards their Pokemon. “Haha… Good one! Thanks for the offer, but erm… I should probably go check on Nairy now — Yeah! That's right! That Thunder did quite a number on him and I gotta make sure he’s okay… Smell ya later!” She exclaimed, before running off in a panic, heart pounding and cheeks flushed all the while.

“Fuck! Too soon puberty, too soon!” The gap in mental age was also a no go in Nina’s book.

***

Author's note:

I realize this might not be coming across clearly in the chapter. But Lilian is actually a junkie when it comes to trashy romance dramas. Basically, think about all those K-dramas and soap operas that the women in your life likes to watch, the girl is a sucker for those.

And that final scene was just Lilian aping a moment from a show.

I was going to write a slice of life chapter of Nina, Kerry and Lilian having a girl's night out where Kerry and Lilian would go all crazy about their favorite shows and rewatch them on TV while the indifferent Nina hung out with the Pokemon in a corner. But that didn't end up happening for some reason.

But I did write it as a side story which will be released after the end of Part Two.