Into the Unown (Pokemon Fanfiction OC)

Author's Note:

Reminder: Nina and Lilian are undercover. Nina is Melissa and Lilian is Luther.

Disclaimer: Same as last chapter, there will be some depiction of gore but it shouldn't be any worse than what you read previously. So any sensitive souls beware.

***

There was a bar attached to the side of the fight club, though the selection of drinks on offer were limited; either cheap beer or hard liquor with very little in between. ‘Luther’ decided to grab a beer just for appearances sake. And as one would expect from an establishment like this, the bartender didn’t even bat an eyelid at the underaged children.

“Hey Barkeep, where can we find out who’s gonna be fighting after this?” ‘Melissa’ asked, to which the bartender just jerked a thumb to the side where the betting counter’s located. With a curt thanks, the two squeezed through the crowd and headed over.

“Hmm… let’s see here, we’re looking for a Purple Shadow.” Nina scanned through the crudely written roster. Purple Shadow was quite an ostentatious name, but then again, most of them were. She saw a Black Widow, Grave Digger, and one that was a little smudged and hard to see. “What is that one? Cohn… Jena? What sort of dumb name is that?”

“Purple Shadow.” ‘Luther’ mumbled as he pointed towards the board.

“Nice eye, babe. Knew you were the best.” ‘Melissa’ leaned in and pecked her ‘boyfriend’ on the cheek. ‘Luther’ stiffened a little at the unfamiliar physical affection, which ‘Melissa’ thought was kind of cute.

She then grabbed some money from her pockets and headed to the bookie. “Hey there mister, half on Black Widow and half on Purple Shadow,” ‘Melissa’ shoved the crumpled bills, a total of 400 Pokedollars through a divet under the glass panel as she placed her bets.

“Heh. New around here are ya, kid? You got a good eye there.”

“Nah, the names just sound cool. And Black Widow is a girl, gotta support a sister y’know?” Nina responded.

The man behind the glass laughed. “Hah! S’pose that’s as good a reason as any. Never know what’ll happen in the cage…” He said with a sly wink.

Nina caught on to the insinuation, and it did make sense. This sort of shady place probably engaged in some form of match fixing. It’d be hard to keep any sort of win streak going. Rather, it’s precisely the fighters on a win streak that people needed to be wary off, because you never know when they might inexplicably fall to some underdog.

A wave of cheers drowned out ‘Melissa’ and the bookie’s voice, followed by disappointed groans and angry curses. As the wave of winners moved towards the betting counter to claim their winnings, the two children took the opportunity to find a nice spot to watch the next fights. They made sure not to get too close to avoid any splashback. Some people might enjoy a bit of viscera on their face, but definitely not Nina and Lilian.

Purple Shadow was three fights in, with Black Widow versus Grave Digger going right before that. And honestly, the Black Widow fight was kind of boring.

The salacious looking woman sent out an Ariados in keeping with her name, While Grave Digger sent out a Graveler. A fairly odd matchup as far as entertainment went.

Ariados started off with spewing corrosive Poison all over the Graveller, before spinning its webs to begin hampering its opponent. It was basically stall tactics. And since the spider was bouncing around all over the cage, the poison just slowly seeped into the Graveler’s rocky shell as it tried to wade its way through the cumbersome threads to get at the bugger.

Graveler would occasionally use Rock Throw against Ariados, only to find all its projectiles getting stuck in the webs which the spider Pokemon just cleverly flung back by using its steel like strands as slingshots.

The ending was pretty much the only thing of note. At one point, the mid-Rollout Graveler got into melee range with Ariados. But instead of using the opportunity to grapple its opponent, Grave Digger called for an Explosion instead. 

And boy was it an explosion. Definitely beyond the safe limit of force permissible by the Pokemon League, because Ariados just turned into paste against the cage as green blood and purple innards sprayed all over the audience. Nina was thankful that the explosion was facing away from them. 

Meanwhile, Black Widow just shrieked out in rage like a Fearow at the loss of her Pokemon.

***

‘Luther’ took another sip of his beer as he leaned back against an exposed pillar. The ‘boy’ had been going back to it every so often, despite having made a disgusted face at his first taste. ‘Melissa’ wasn’t sure if it was stubbornness or if her ‘boyfriend’ had actually developed a taste for it.

“Poor Lilian, my sweet summer child. There are so many more wondrous brews out there in the world than that mug of piss water you have in your hand.” The girl thought. 

Nina had half a mind to wrench the beverage from her friend’s hand and pour it down the toilet. Partially because underage drinking was not okay, and partially because she didn’t want the girl’s impression on beer to be spoiled or perverted by such swivel. Although it had been a long time since Nina had a beer, not since her time as Miles. 

“Come to think of it, what does Pokemon world beer even taste like?”

While Nina was pondering deep philosophical issues, the emcee shouted out in his disgustingly noisy microphone. 

“Well that was quite the banger of an ending, wouldn’t you say folks?” A wave of boos sounded out from the crowd at the bad pun, but the man was undeterred. “Next up, we have the hotly anticipated matchup of an old favorite, Purpleeee SHADOW!!!!!!” 

At the emcee’s call, the spotlight shined on one side of the arena to reveal a haggard looking man in jeans, a stained button up, and wearing a torn jacket, who looked like he had just woken up from a hangover. His eyes were bloodshot, face covered in uneven stubbles and had a demeanor like he’d rather be anywhere but here right now.

“And in the red corner… a newcomer who’s electrifying performance has shocked us over and over again. Please give a round of applause to Vicioussss THUNDER!!!!!”

‘Melissa’ tilted her head in recognition of the name. “Now where have I heard of Vicious Thunder before?” It wasn’t until a familiar looking androgynous figure, covered in piercings and tattoos, showed up that she remembered. 

“Ah, right… The punk rocker girl? Boy? What were they again?” ‘Melissa’ shook her head. “That was the trainer that challenged Misty to a Star battle all those years ago and got their ass handed to them by Kingsley.” 

She recalled that Vicious Thunder was quite the ambitious trainer, if a bit unrefined. It’s only been a few years, but the fact that they were here instead of somewhere more reputable probably meant that the amateur punk rocker had been on a downward spiral since Nina last saw them. “What a shame…”

“Will this upstart be able to beat one of our old favorites? Well, we’re about to find out folks! Ref, take it away!”

The referee wasn’t a League sanctioned one, of course. More like an actor that was just there to add some flare to the match. And the moment that the man wearing pinstripes waved his hand down to signal the match, Pokemon was released onto the field.

Vicious Thunder had chosen a gruff looking Electabuzz covered in scars, while Purple Shadow just lazily threw out his Pokeball with a yawn and revealed his Weezing. 

Honestly, Nina was a little disappointed. She was hoping to see his Golbat in action to verify Johnny’s intel. “But I guess if he’s been kicked out of the Koga clan, he wouldn’t exactly want to stand out too much.”

At this point, ‘Melissa’ covered her mouth to fake a yawn and talk to Alfred who was remotely observing the proceedings. “So? Did you manage to ID the guy?’

“No, Miss Jones. Unfortunately, nothing showed up in the League’s database. It’s not entirely unexpected. New initiates of the Koga clan are expected to forsake their family name and other worldly ties upon joining. They are then bestowed a new identity and have their old records scrubbed from the system.”

‘Melissa’ hummed in understanding. It was a shame, but this was a confirmation in and of itself.

Right off the bat, both Pokemon burst out into their respective elements; Weezing began spewing toxic Smog that obscured the entire cage, while Electabuzz just indiscriminately released Thundershocks all over, supercharging the metallic confines of the cage and turning the entire area into a hazard.

Weezing cried out in pain at the bolts of Electricity lancing through it, And Electabuzz was clearly poisoned from its bloodshot look and rough breathing. Even the front row audience and Vicious Thunder were coughing at the toxic fumes entering their lungs. Purple Shadow seemed fine though.

All the while, Weezing belched and vomited a pitch black Sludge Wave onto the field, coating Electabuzz’s fur with the sticky substance and stopping it from closing the distance with a Thunder Punch.

“Charge in, Electabuzz!” Vicious Thunder yelled. And in response, Electabuzz lowered its knees in a ready stance, its entire body glowed in a blinding surge of electricity, and rushed towards Weezing with a Wild Charge. The speed of the assault was too fast for Weezing to contend with as the Electric Type smashed into the Poison Type and pinned the latter against the supercharged cage.

Weezing cried out in pain once more, but Purple Shadow looked as impassive as ever, simply clicking his tongue and telling Weezing to end this. Which the Pokemon did by unleashing a stream of blue flames from each of its cavities, lighting the sludge covered Electabuzz and cage floor on fire.

The heat emanating from the cage was so intense that the audience members at the forefront were desperately trying to shove their way further back, only to be deterred by a meat wall of their fellow fight club enjoyers pushing them back. Desperate screams and pleas to make way sounded out from the front from melting faces and hair catching on fire.

Nina wished she could say that she felt bad for these people. But in truth, they deserved it for supporting such an uncouth blood sport.

Electabuzz let out a rage-filled howl and gritted its teeth to Endure the searing heat while continuously pummeling Weezing with Thunder Punches, over and over again, the Poison gas Pokemon became even more deformed from swelling and bloodied bruises.

Vicious Thunder yelled fervently at her Electabuzz to keep going and not to let up. But Purple Shadow just remained silent, content to allow Weezing to keep spewing flames and for Electabuzz to continue laying into his Pokemon.

In the end, the match was decided when Electabuzz picked up the Weezing and slammed it onto the floor with all its might. Weezing at this point was already fainted, but in a fit of rage, Electabuzz kicked its downed opponent across the cage.

That final act seemed to have gotten a reaction from Purple Shadow as he scowled at his opponent’s graceless behavior and hurriedly returned his Pokemon.

“Well there you have it folks! After a heated battle, Vicious Thunder prevails once more!!!! Is there no one who can stop her rise?!”

‘Melissa’ frowned at the outcome of the match and so did ‘Luther’. It seemed that the couple were in agreement on what they just witnessed.

***

A few rounds of free drinks and some questions later, ‘Melissa’ and ‘Luther’ found out about the location of a black clinic that the fighters used to heal up their badly wounded Pokemon after each battle. After all, it was hard to avoid pointed questions if they went to a proper Pokemon Center in such a sorry state.

Just so happened, the black clinic was located in the basement of a dinghy looking dive bar, and it was there that they caught up with Purple Shadow, who was currently drinking himself into a coma in a corner.

The two children ignored the mix of hostile and curious gazes leveled towards them by the bar’s occupants and took a seat at Purple Shadow’s table without permission.

“You threw the fight,” began ‘Melissa’. “Why?”

Purple Shadow scoffed and listlessly waved his bottle at the two intruders. “Fuck off…” He slurred.

“That Electabuzz was on its last legs, Weezing had any number of options to end the match with a win. Even Explosion if it came down to it. That match was rigged wasn’t it?”

The drunkard slammed a palm onto the table and glared at the two kids. “If you have a fucking problem with it then go talk to Villy! Not me!” A spray of spittle flew everywhere as the man yelled.

‘Melissa’ and ‘Luther’ frowned, but avoided flinching at the disgusting projectiles and foul smelling breath.

“If it’s money you’re after. We have an offer for you.”

“Hah!” Purple Shadow snorted. “I’m not into kiddies, I ain’t that much of a loser.”

‘Melissa’ ignored the tasteless insinuation and continued. “Kage Bunshin…” She said, causing the drunkard to immediately sober up and gaze at her with a sharp and unfriendly gaze.

“You know it. And we’d like you to teach it to us.”

Purple Shadow snorted once more and spat on the floor. “Has the Iga clan fallen so low that they’d stoop to using children to run their errands?” There was an abundance of venom in his voice as he took a proper look at the two kids for the first time. “Nah, can’t be. You two are full of holes. Initiates? A bit too early to be going rogue innit?”

‘Melissa’ deliberated on her next move. Purple Shadow did not deny her outright. But he also did not affirm her allegations, which meant he probably did know the move. So she did what she did best, which was to ask questions. “The Iga clan? That’s the clan of ninjas that sided with Johto ages ago wasn’t it? I thought your Koga predecessors had already wiped them out of existence.”

“Hah! Playing dumb? No… You really are clueless. Listen kid, I’m gonna say this one last time — fuck off. Whatever it is you want, I ain’t got it.”

“Where there is light, there is shadow. We guard the shadows, so that others may walk the light.” ‘Luther’ chimed, parroting lines that Alfred was feeding him.

Purple Shadow’ stared at the ‘boy’ with a slight twitch of his ear, his eyes roaming until he settled on the cap that ‘Luther’ was wearing.

Instead of responding, he just took another swig of his bottle and let out a loud burp. It seemed that he wasn’t willing to engage them anymore as he got up and stumbled his way to the back door.

‘Melissa’ frowned and considered going after him but was dissuaded by Alfred. “I believe it is wise to allow our friend some time for consideration. It’s also getting quite late, and I believe you still have classes tomorrow, yes? Miss Jones?”

The girl let out a sigh and reluctantly nodded. From the sounds of it, the old butler knew more than he let on. She decided to follow his advice for now and stood up alongside ‘Luther’ to leave.

However, on the way out, they were followed by some unsavory looking thugs who surrounded them and spewed some generic sounding garbage about children and the dangers of night and so on. Honestly, Nina wasn’t in a good enough mood to entertain them. And neither was Lilian apparently, because they both released Brucey and Topaz simultaneously.

The hooligans were taken aback and fumbled for their own Pokeballs, but didn’t manage to do anything before swiftly being dispatched by a series of Electric shocks and Poisonous projectiles.

If these were decent people, Nina might have felt bad enough to get them medical attention. But they weren’t, so the two kids just stepped over the pile of human garbage and went on their way unimpeded.

***

Author's Note:

Vicious Thunder was the trainer that challenged Misty to a Star battle in Chapter 60 for those of you who have forgotten. Not that it's an important detail or anything.