Into the Unown (Pokemon Fanfiction OC)

Nina could not stress enough that she was not a horse girl and never will be. But boy was it ever so nice to hug a Ponyta and bury her face in their fiery mane.

Equines do not hibernate, and were one of the few Pokemon species that were still active in the Safari Zone during this winter season.

Nina and the other girls were out touring the Safari Zone on their own when they came across a group of Ponytas who were chasing each other and playing around in the snow. And since Nina had missed out on the Galarian Ponyta the day prior, she insisted that they make a stop to interact with the Fire variants of the horse Pokemon.

“You should just go and catch yourself a Ponyta already. I know you want to.” Beverly teased.

But Nina just shot her friend a look and once more emphasised the fact that she was not a horse girl. “I refuse to fall into that stereotype.” She declared.

Beverly snorted. “You already are. Not for Ponytas or whatever, but for Pokemon. I mean that’s kind of all you talk about.”

“That is not true!” Nina cried with indignity. “I read books as well, I just can’t talk to you guys about it. I mean, we’re supposed to be professional Pokemon Trainers for Arceus’s sake.”

“Yeah,” Beverly scoffed. “Books about Pokemon. Name me one Lisia song.” She demanded.

“Just cause I’m not into trashy pop music, doesn’t mean I’m someone whose world revolves only around Pokemon!” Nina cared about other things as well, like travelling and food and stuff.

“Gurl~ The first time I met you, you were covered in Pokemon from head to toe. And you looked like a dork who didn’t even know how to comb her hair right.”

Nina turned towards the twins for support, only for them to sheepishly avert their gaze. “Betrayal! What happened to me being their favourite Big Sis?!”

Nina buried her head in Ponyta’s comforting flames for solace. Pokemon were the best, they love unconditionally if treated right and weren’t all judgemental like humans.

“I think it’s wonderful that Big Sis Nina loves Pokemon so much,” assuaged the kind hearted Natsumi.

“Thank you!”

“Which is why I think it’s fine if you want to get a Ponyta, Big Sis. I’m sure whatever Pokemon you catch will all become super strong just like the rest of your team.” The younger girl added, completely unnecessarily.

“Not you too!” Nina was reeling from the intense betrayal she was facing right now.

“Didn’t you always say that you wanted a Ride Pokemon?” Fuyumi asked.

Nina did say that but she was thinking about getting a Shinx because they were cute and Luxrays were cool. Also, Luxios have X-ray vision, which was super handy when exploring ruins. 

“Nairy can already learn Electric Type moves right? What’s the point of getting an Electric Type?” Beverly chimed.

Nina groaned. “Nairy’s still a little slow with Electric moves. I mean he can use Thunder with Rainy Day active, but that’s just because it’s a wide area move without needing much control.”

“Then just use Espy to help him learn. You said you’re friends with that Blackthorn girl right?” Beverly said that last part somewhat begrudgingly. The Mizuhana Clan had a fundamental dislike of the region’s ruling clan, despite the olive branch that Misty had extended by inviting Lilian to her wedding.

Nina nuzzled against Ponyta once more. The Fire horse Pokemon looked a little confused since he was too young to understand much of human speech. He was just happy to be fed Berries and doted on by the human girl.

In truth, Nina was stubbornly refusing to use Espy to cheat with Nairy’s elemental training. Dragonair’s were supposed to be naturally in tune with the weather and the elements. Yet, she still struggled to teach her partner Sunny Day. So Nina couldn’t help but feel a little inadequate, like she was doing something wrong somehow.

“By that logic, I don’t need a Fire Type, or a Water type either.” Nina grumbled. “Since Nairy can learn all those elements. Might as well just go get a Mightyena or something.”

Beverly rolled her eyes at her junior. “You know what I mean.”

Nina’s rebuke was interrupted by a sticky lick from Ponyta who had finished his Berries and was demanding more. The girl laughed and returned the gesture with a little kiss before reaching into her Berry Pouch.

***

In the end, Nina did not catch the Ponyta, despite the Pokemon’s intensely wistful gaze, which she surmised to be a desire for more Berries and cuddles as opposed to a yearning to go on a journey. Not that Berries and cuddles weren’t valid reasons for why a Pokemon wanted to be caught, it was simply that Nina was unsure about her own desires.

“Are you kidding me? We’re having a hard enough time trying to manage the three canine species with their constant turf wars, adding a Shinx pride to that is just impossible!” Masayuki said, when Nina asked about the presence of Shinx in the Safari Zone.

The girls decided to host a barbecue in their lodge today, to thank the old Ranger for his hospitality. They even invited Ranger Charlotte, Charlie's mentor, as well as the one who guided the rest of the girls when Nina and Nairy were off visiting Victoria. 

Charlotte nodded in agreement at her senior’s words. “Yeah… I get you though, Shinxes are super cute and I kinda want one for myself too. I heard they might have them around Vermilion City?”

“They do,” Nina confirmed. “Up on Route 6. But they’re protected by the local Rangers because they want to localize the species. Part of an initiative between Surge and the Pokemon League or something.”

“Ho… Can’t even get permission with all your fancy sponsors?” Masayuki chimed.

Nina hummed. She probably could if she pushed hard enough. Even if Surge didn’t get along well with the Cerulean Sisters, Professor Oak and Bill’s names should be more than enough to sway the Pokemon Rangers. She just didn’t want to wave that particular stick around.

“Oh well, there’s no rush. Ideally I’d like to get another Pokemon before the start of the new school year, since my carry limit is automatically expanded. But I’m fine with waiting as well, because Brucey still needs more attention.” It was the truth, but Nina would be lying if she said she wasn’t coping.

“Oh just get yourself a Ponyta already,” said the persistent Beverly. “That one from earlier today looked like it really likes you.”

Nina blatantly ignored the girl and bit into her corn ribs. She remembered the recipe from her past life and wanted to try it out, earning her quite a lot of appreciation even from the carnivores in their midst.

“Anyways, how have you been Charlie? I haven’t heard from you in a while. Thought you went rogue again.” Nina said, in an attempt to divert the conversation.

Charlie let out a sheepish smile. “Pretty good actually, Typhoon’s evolved, but you already know that.” The boy said as he gestured towards his Poliwrath.

Nina responded with a warm smile and an enthusiastic nod. “Yup, had a good look at her just now. You’re doing a great job of taking care of your Pokemon. Super proud of you, C.” Nina said, as she gave the boy a playful punch on the shoulder, eliciting a boisterous laugh from Charlie. Nina was glad to see that her friend had regained some of his former optimism.

“Yeah, that was… quite the moment.” Charlie said, voice full of awe at the memory. “Outside of that, I’ve just been tailing Charlotte and learning a whole bunch of stuff. Like, did you know that Butterfrees are actually omnivores? I always thought that they only ate leaves and stuff. Also, Rhyhorns have to break their horns periodically, otherwise they grow all curved and deformed. Also…” 

The boy rambled on about various Pokemon trivia he learned during the course of his ‘voluntary’ work experience, while Nina continued to listen with a genial smile. She fondly recalled their first trip to the Safari Zone where it was actually her that was yapping non-stop about Pokemon while Charlie just rolled his eyes and tuned her out. “Oh how the turns have tabled…” 

“Oh, and there’s Cole of course. Can’t forget him. I don’t think I could have beaten the Pewter Gym without his advice.” Charlie then covered his mouth and whispered to Nina; “He’s also a great cook,” like it was some earth shattering secret or something.

The girl laughed and threw her gaze over to the grill where Cole Harrison was busy cooking up a storm. The boy had distanced himself very early on after a curt greeting to the group, preferring the company of the flames instead.

“Is he avoiding me perhaps?” Nina thought. She still remembered her first meeting with the boy. As far as first impressions went, it could hardly have gotten any worse than that moment. 

Nina understood Beverly’s reaction now. In fact, even she was a little skeptical of the boy, but Masayuki did vouch for him, so it was likely that he did turn over a new leaf. The old man had a very sharp eye when it came to people.

“Cole must be a great trainer.” Nina said to Charlie. “I wonder what his Pokemon are like?” She asked, trying to prod at Cole’s current disposition.

Charlie nodded enthusiastically. “Yup, he’s a bit of a jerk, but he takes real good care of his Pokemon — makes sure to polish his Geodude every single day, and his Graveler is probably one of the strongest Pokemon I’ve seen, even stronger than the one Brock used when I fought him. I wonder why it hasn’t evolved yet though?”

“That’s because Gravelers need to fulfill a special condition to evolve,” Masayuki explained. “In nature, a whole bunch of Gravelers will huddle together, forming a temporary hivemind between them to evolve a single Graveler into a Golem to lead and protect the colony.” 

Nina nodded along with the Ranger’s explanation. The girl had seen documentaries on the phenomenon and it was quite the sight; a single Graveler stood huddled amongst a group of its kind under radiant moonlight. Surrounding them were circles of Geodude, hands linked as they engaged in a primitive dance whilst humming a rhythmic tune. 

And in the apex of the ritual, each of the Rock Pokemon glowed, their lights gradually congregating in the center where the leading Graveler stood, imbuing it with the Light of Evolution and pushing it towards the next stage of life.

“A trained Graveler without a supporting band however, may Evolve through different means.” Masayuki continued, as Charlie took out a notepad to take notes in, eliciting an amused smile from Nina. “In particular, the shift in Psychic imprint when a Pokemon undergoes the trading process creates a reaction that’s close enough to that ‘banding effect’ to trigger an Evolution. If the Graveler is ready for it of course.”

“That’s super cool…” muttered the bright eyed Charlie, after he was done taking notes. “So Cole’s Graveler needs to be traded to Evolve…” The boy mused, as if deep in thought.

“Yup.” Nina affirmed. “Maybe you can offer to do the trade with Cole?” She suggested. “You need a lot of trust to do a Trade Evolution like this since there’s the possibility of theft. I imagine the guys over at the Pewter Gym can just trade amongst themselves, which isn’t really an option for Cole given his rocky relationship with his family.”

Nina was glad that Cole wasn’t being a bad influence on the impressionable Charlie. In fact, she suspected that it was actually Charlie who was influencing Cole for the better. So she had no reservations about helping them out.

Charlie nodded in response, but didn’t say much else as he excused himself to go check up on his solitary friend by the grill.

“Anyways, tomorrow’s your last day in the Safari right?” Masayuki asked Nina, earning a nod from the girl in return.

“Yup, Nairy wants to see his family again for one last time, and Bev wants to have a go at fishing for Dratini.”

Masayuki laughed. “In this weather? Good luck with that.” Dragon Types were weak to Ice after all.

Beverly scoffed at the man’s doubt. “I’m definitely gonna catch one someday! I’ll show all of you for ever doubting Beverly Mizuhana!”

***

The next morning, Beverly and the twins flew off on their rental Pidgeot to the lake district of the Safari Zone, while Nina was once again zooming across the plains in a jeep. Except it was Charlotte who was guiding her today, leaving Charlie in the hands of Masayuki, since the woman wanted to play with the cute Dratinis as well. With Nina and Nairy with her, there were no worries that Victoria might react poorly to the unfamiliar Safari Ranger.

“So you used to be a mermaid?” Nina asked the twenty odd years old green haired Ranger.

Charlotte chuckled wryly. “Not exactly… More like a knockoff mermaid since I was never part of the Cerulean Gym. Me and my girlfriends, we used to dream about becoming mermaids. So we gathered together during our trainer school years to form something like an independent unit. We mostly performed with our Pokemon about once a month by the beach to a small crowd.”

The woman laughed. “Half of us didn’t even have Water Pokemon, which goes to show just how legit we were.”

“What happened to your friends?”

Charlotte let out a melancholic smile. “Oh, you know how it is… We all grew up, went on our journeys and realized that we didn’t have the luxury of holding on to our childish dreams anymore.”

“It’s not too late, you know,” said Nina. “The Gym is always shorthanded, and as an experienced Pokemon Ranger and independent performer, we’d be more than happy to have you. At the very least, you’d be more qualified than most of the self entitled divas that show up on our doorstep.”

Charlotte hummed in doubt. “I mean it’s been years since I did any sort of song and dance. I doubt I can get back into it at my age…”

Nina laughed. “Did you see me and Bev’s performance during Misty’s wedding?” She asked, to which the older woman nodded fervently.

“Yup! It was wonderful. Even the wedding as well. I hope I get to have a ceremony like that one day…” Charlotte sighed longingly.

“Well just so you know, that was about two weeks worth of intense last minute practice. Before that, I’d never done any dancing or singing before.” Nina chuckled wryly. “In fact, I was so tone deaf that my vocal coach had to stuff cotton in her ears just to dampen the horrible noise I was making at the beginning. Not to mention the amount of times I stepped on Bev’s toes…

“If a talentless hack like me can do it then there’s no reason why an experienced veteran like you can’t. Besides, it’s not like they’ll throw you into the deep end right off the bat. We’re lacking in battlers and Pokemon handlers, not performers. So it’s fine for you to slowly ease your way back onto stage.”

“You really think I could do it?” Charlotte murmured, her voice tinged with childish hopefulness.

Nina nodded. “Definitely!” 

A comfortable silence settled between them as Charlotte considered Nina’s words. 

“What Pokemon do you think I should catch next?” Nina continued, as she struggled with a dilemma of her own. “I kinda want a Ride Pokemon, but a good Digger would be nice as well.”

Charlotte hummed in consideration. “Well, there’s Ponyta like your friend mentioned…” Nina groaned. “As for Diggers, we have the usual fare of Rock Types near the mountains, a healthy population of the Rhydon line, and a bunch of others. Sandshrews are cute, and maybe Woopers? We do have the Paldean variants available. Why a Digger anyway?”

“I want to be an explorer. So having a Pokemon that can Dig would be very helpful. How does the Wooper line use Dig anyway? Given how… round they are.” The species was strong, but they didn't possess teeth or claws.

“They excrete a special mucus that helps them to soften the earth and manipulate it.” The Ranger explained. “Unfortunately, that also means they’re not the most efficient Diggers, given how slow the process is. Clodsires are a little better since they have those spikes on their back.”

Nina nodded. It wasn’t ideal, but she did love Woopers and had planned on catching one at some point. “What do you think Nairy?”

“Nair~” Nina’s partner was happy to just add to their little family. So anyone would do, so long as they got along with the rest of the team. The Dragonair did manage to get used to Brucey’s relentless pranks after all. So in his mind, nothing could be worse than that.

“Do you mind making a quick detour and guiding me to some Paldean Woopers?” Nina asked Charlotte, to which the woman readily agreed with an amused smirk.

In truth, Nina probably should have prioritized a Ride Pokemon. Maybe get over her own prejudice and catch that Ponyta like Beverly suggested. And as far as Diggers go, pure Rock Type Pokemon were probably best, and Nina did indeed have plans on catching one in the future, but not now.

Woopers would eat just about everything. And as it was, she could feed them using any one of Nairy, Espy or Brucey’s feed, whichever she had the most excess of or was easiest to store. Rock Types would require a more specialized diet of not just gravel, dirt and rocks, despite what some people may think. They required a good mix of organics and a myriad of other minerals and vitamins as well to maintain a hardy and lustrous body. Some Rock Types even had the tendency to feed on expensive gems, like Carbink. Those were absolute nightmares on the wallet.

These were all excuses of course, Nina could probably afford to rear a Rock Type just by moving her budget around a little. But in the end, she couldn’t help her own desires to have a cute little blob of her own. Also she didn’t want to deal with Beverly’s insufferable demands every time she felt like cuddling with Sir Quagsalot.

Besides, there were other alternatives to Ride Pokemon, like bicycles for example. It wouldn’t be viable in every terrain, but those could be overcome once Nairy or Brucey evolved as well. She also had a very powerful Psychic in the form of Espy, whose highly versatile Telekinetic ability was nothing to scoff at.

***

Author's note:

Did you guys see the Nintendo Switch 2 info?

450 USD for the console. Yowzas... I was kind of expecting it but to be gouged this much...

I'm starting to think if Pokemon A-Z is even worth it. Since I didn't play Legends: Arceus either. But then again, I suppose I'm gonna buy the console anyway, if the newest mainline Pokemon game comes out.

Problem is, I just recently bought a refurbished MacBook since my old Windows laptop could barely last 2 hours without needing to be charged. Seriously, fix your shit Microsoft. Cause it's obviously not a hardware problem.

Anyways, cheeky reminder that my Patreon is a thing and that you can get advanced chapters. XD

Patreon readers just entered the final arc and is currently 13 chapters ahead if I'm not mistaken.