Into the Unown (Pokemon Fanfiction OC)

“Hmm… Let’s see here, Whismur, Hoothoot and Doduo. How in Arceus did someone teach their Hoothoot Uproar anyway?”

Nina was currently in that same hidden TM shop she found in Vermilion City last time. She had a few items in her to-do list. The first of which was procuring an Uproar TM for Brucey, who was currently waddling around in tow under the watchful eyes of Espy. Nina did not want to pay for any damages, but it didn’t feel right to keep the prankster cooped up in his Pokeball either.

After another week of effort, Nina realized that Brucey’s progress with Hyper Voice was too slow and it strained him too much. Something about a Golbat’s perpetually unhinged jaw and their body structure made it difficult for the species to focus their voice in a narrow cone.

So she decided to try a top down approach. Starting from Uproar, which Nina was certain that Brucey was capable of, then trying to work on his control so that he could focus the Uproar into a semblance of Hyper Voice.

Nina took the three Uproars she was considering up to the counter for some clarification. “Hey, Johnny. These two TMs aren’t seconds right?” She asked, referring to the Uproar copied from Hoothoot and Doduo.

Johnny the crackhead store owner took a puff of his inhaler and looked at Nina with bloodshot eyes and scoffed. “Johnny doesn’t do sloppy seconds, babe. Those Uproars are preem virgin stock.”

Sloppy seconds was slang referring to TMs that were copied from Pokemon who learned the move originally through a TM as well. It was highly frowned upon in the TM collectors community since it was inevitable for there to be some noise and degradation with the practice. 

It was almost like a game of telephone. At some point, the original message gets lost along the way, and all you’re left with is a garbled mess.

Nina decided to take his word on it since the guy seems quite passionate about his ‘art’, as he called it. “So which one would you suggest for my Golbat here?” She asked, still unsure about her choice.

“Neither,” responded Johny. “Should be one from a Loudred in the pile. It’s pricier but it’ll be worth it.” His logic was the similar open jaw structure of the two Pokemon, which made the TM more compatible with Brucey. 

And after looking up a Loudred in her Pokedex to refresh her memory. Nina couldn’t really refute that logic and decided to shell out the 700 Pokedollars for the TM. She was tempted to pick up Sludge Bomb as well, but ultimately decided not to.

Brucey was very proficient in Poison Fang and was making good progress in learning Venoshock. Sludge Bomb was only a matter of time and effort.

“Say, you wouldn’t happen to know what this move is right?” Nina pulled up the footage of Koga’s Golbat on her Pokedex to show to the TM shop owner. It was a shot in the dark but she didn’t have much choice.

She had previously asked her sponsors about it, but this wasn’t in Professor Bill’s wheelhouse and Professor Oak refused to say because he did not want to risk offending the Koga clan. 

And honestly, Nina couldn’t blame him. After the passing of Agatha, Koga was now head of the Indigo League’s Intelligence Bureau. Pissing him off was like pissing off the CIA or MI6. Being put on a watch list would be the least of Nina’s worries.

Surprisingly, Johnny was actually able to provide an answer. “Kage Bunshin…” whispered the crackhead, in an uncharacteristically severe and reverent tone.

“Kage Bunshin… Like shadow clone technique?” asked the perturbed Nina.

Johnny nodded and took another puff of his inhaler. “Yup, the Koga clan’s secret sauce. Passed down from one Koga to the next.” 

Koga wasn’t really a birth name, more like the name of the clan that each successive head had to bear when they took over. So for example, when Janine eventually succeeds her father, she would change her name to Koga as well.@@novelbin@@

Johnny scoffed. “What I wouldn’t do to get a TM like that. Won’t even sell it, just frame it in my bathroom so I can admire it everytime I’m in the shitter.”

Nina scrunched up her nose at the disgusting imagery and soldiered on. “So I’m guessing you won’t know anyone who might be able to teach it then? Bummer.”

But in yet another surprise, Johnny scratched his chin in consideration. “Not exactly, but I don’t know how far you can get with the guy.”

Nina perked up and asked for more information. “I’ll even pay you,” she added.

“Not that simple babe, guy’s a ronin. Know what that is?”

Nina nodded. “A masterless ninja, or someone who has strayed from their clan.”

“Yup, not exactly the friendly sort. Quite ruthless as well. I don’t mind telling you, so long as you keep your trap shut about ol’ Johnny. And under one more condition.”

“What condition?”

Johnny took another puff of his inhaler. “I don’t want the money. But if, and that’s a very big if. IF you survive and do manage to get the move, I want to copy a TM.”

Nina frowned. It wasn’t an unreasonable condition, but it wasn’t exactly as simple as it seemed either. “I’m not dumb, Johnny. If I give you the TM, what’s stopping you from just making your own copies and selling them. I’m sure there’s tons of people out there who’ll pay a lot of money for a move that valuable.”

Johnny cackled at Nina’s concern. “Well for one, Koga’s gonna skin my ass. And two, I already said didn’t I? Johnny doesn’t do sloppy seconds. And that’s a guarantee.”

“Except Koga won’t just be skinning your ass but mine as well. And there’s no guarantee that your TM printer isn’t equipped with memory storage. So theoretically, you could just grab a fresh printer and go ham without worrying about degradation.”

“Fine, one copy of the TM that you print using your printer.” Johnny conceded. “Don’t have one? I’ll front you the cash to buy one. I get to choose the model though. Don’t want you giving any money to some overpriced, overengineered corpo garbage.”

“Deal!”

And so the two shook on it. The location of where Nina could find the person though was very problematic. Not the sort of place a reputable Gym Trainer and minor celebrity should really be seen going to. Especially not one that’s only a ten year old child.

Nina sighed. “What to do? I’ll need backup as well ‘cause no way I’m diving into a place like this on my own.”

***

The backup that Nina ended up recruiting was Lilian Blackthorn of all people. Since Kerry was out of the question and Justin in a den of criminals was asking for trouble.

She had actually expected Alfred to object, but the old butler was surprisingly tolerant, saying that this was a good opportunity for ‘milady’ to get a bit more exposure to a different facet of society. Especially if she was to govern the two regions in the future. The man seemed to have no doubts whatsoever that Lilian would eventually dethrone Lance as Champion.

The old man wasn’t tagging along, of course. Since he was too conspicuous. Also, he was going to be their guy in a van, whispering into their ears with advice when necessary and jumping in to bail them out if things went horribly wrong. The inconspicuous butler used to be counterintelligence apparently. As expected of the Blackthorn clan, they did not fuck around.

On Lilian’s part, she was excited to have a chance to play vigilante, and Nina had to talk her down by reminding her that their purpose there was to find someone and hopefully engage in amicable negotiations.

She also caught the girl mumbling: “I wonder if it’s possible to teach a Noibat this move?”

The thought of a swarm of Draconic Noiverns descending down onto the arena sent chills to Nina’s spine. That was some apocalyptic imagery right there. At the same time, she also couldn’t help but wonder the same thing. 

The Noivern line wasn't native to Kanto-Johto, so it wasn’t odd that the Koga clan had never tried rearing them. But the Blackthorn clan with their abundant resources could easily procure one.

“How do I look?” Lilian asked, looking a little uncomfortable in the casual hoodie and jeans. She tied her hair up and stuffed the bulk of it under a cap, while leaving only a short ponytail sticking out from the back.

Overall, the girl looked like a handsome young boy as opposed to the young lady of the region’s most influential clan.

Nina reached over to tilt her cap down a little bit to help shade her features further. “You need to relax your shoulders and hunch over some more. You look too disciplined and proper. Remember, we’re supposed to be delinquents.”

Lilian frowned, but tried her best to comply. They also agreed that she would keep her mouth shut and act all brooding and silent, and leave all the talking to Nina. The uptight Blackthorn girl wasn’t a good enough actress to change her speech pattern to something less formal.

Nina, on the other hand, had put on a ton of makeup with some help from Alfred to lighten her tan. Skin color was one of the biggest identifiers of a person, so just this small change was enough to make Nina look significantly different from Aquarium Girl.

She was also wearing a hoodie with jeans. Though her gender wasn’t as ambiguous as Lilian’s, looking just like a normal bratty girl.

Next up, Alfred presented two cases of contact lenses to the girls. The contacts were intentionally a prominent icy blue color to mislead people. In addition to being high tech gizmos that would allow Alfred to have eyes on what the girls were seeing as well.

It was really funny how people’s memories worked, they tended to automatically focus on a small number of prominent features and build an image from there. So for Lilian, it would be her fiery red mane and uptight demeanor. Whereas Nina was most identifiable by her tanned skin, big round eyes and her penchant for yellow clothing. 

Obscure any one of these features and people will have a significantly harder time recognizing them, according to Alfred.

The two caps that Nina and Lilian wore were also gadgets that could transmit sound through bone induction, allowing Alfred to talk to them if necessary. Meaning they didn’t stick out like an earpiece would.

The downside to the tech was that there was inevitably some sound leakage. But unless someone pressed their ear against the headwear, it wasn’t too audible. Besides, Nina anticipated that the place they had to go to would be very rowdy.

“What do you think, Mr Alfred? Do we look passable enough?” Nina asked.

“Indeed, this should be enough to fool your average thug. Make sure to hide your Pokeballs in your pockets as well, and ensure that you keep track of them. An easy way would be to use the front pockets of your hoodie, that way you can keep your hands on them at all times without breaking your faux demeanor.”

Nina and Lilian both nodded and did as they were told.

“Welp, that should be it then. You ready Lilian? Or rather, Luther.”

Lilian, now disguised as Luther, gave Nina an awkward thumbs up. “Ready as I’ll ever be, Meli… ssa.” 

Nina laughed at her friend’s blunder. She had already anticipated this, so she picked a similar name to Melina. “Alright, let’s go then.”

***

Author's Note:

Reminder of the new schedule. New chapter tomorrow and on Sunday.