Into the Unown (Pokemon Fanfiction OC)

Chapter 144

“So how do you want to do this?”

Nina walked up to the arena to face Mash on the other end. “Keep in mind that I have other matches after this.” She continued. 

In fact, Fuyumi had challenged her right after Mash did the day before — her junior wanted to assess Artoria’s progress against Nairy. Matsuri also went with the flow and asked for a match as well. Then Nina also laid down a personal challenge against Thomas since she was curious about the caliber of VF’s student council president.

Not to mention, the moment that she stepped into the gym where the free-for-all was going to be held, she received a deluge of challenges as well, mostly leveled against Nairy. Everyone wanted to face off against the pseudo legendary Dragonair at least once. Nina doubted she could get through them all, so she pulled a little prank and set the condition that she would only take on challengers who managed to beat Tanya the soldier girl’s Arcanine, or at least last more than five minutes against her.

Lilian was around as well, but most people were too intimidated by the Blackthorn to approach her. Some did, though. But mostly, it was Lilian herself who was going around demanding challenges. The girl had made a list which she had eagerly shown Nina the night before.

“While I would love to face your Dragonair as well, it is unfortunate that I too have received a great number of challenges. So for this occasion, I would just like to challenge Lady Espy.” Mash replied, in his usual monotone manner.

Nina nodded in agreement. “Alright, so a one on one with Espy then. I’m presuming she’ll be facing your Alakazam? Mob, was it?”

In lieu of a reply, Mash simply smiled and tossed his Pokeball into the arena, unveiling the Alakazam in question. Nina was intrigued, she had never seen an Alakazam in person before. “I wonder what that mustache feels like to touch.” She mused. Apparently, the females of the species grew mustaches as well, though they were shorter. Not that Nina could tell the difference.

Another thing that really stood out was the Alakazam’s catalyst. The noble Psychic Pokemon was holding two spoons as per the norm, but one of them was more intricate than the other, with a purple gemstone decorating the tip of the handle and various geometric patterns etched onto the surface. Nina had no doubts that the spoon was probably more expensive than Espy’s. The other spoon though, was just plain bog standard silver, providing quite the contrast.

“Are we still saving up for the second spoon?” Nina teased, but Mash just shook his head in response.

“No, the more gaudy catalyst that you see is a family heirloom.” The boy explained. “In truth, that single spoon is enough for Mash’s purposes. The other one is his baby spoon, he holds it for sentimental reasons and for symmetry’s sake.”

Nina felt that having mismatched spoons ran contrary to symmetry, but it wasn’t like she had any right to criticize the duo’s choices. So she just nodded once more and released Espy onto the field.

“Es.” The Espeon sat on the field, stoic as always. But underneath, there was a current of excitement running through her as evident by the glowing purple aura enveloping her spoon-collar as it morphed back into its default form and hovered away from her.

On the other end, Mob the Alakazam did the same, letting go of his ornate silver spoon and allowing it to hover over to the middle of the arena.

The two spoons met, floating near each other, but never touching. Instead, it was the Psychic aura coating the two silverware that contacted, forming a brief connection between the two Pokemon as they acknowledged each other’s worth.

“Zam.”

“Es.”

And with that, the silver catalysts twirled around one another before returning to their respective owners. Nina and Mash nodded at each other in acknowledgement as well as they awaited the referee’s call for the start of the match. 

“I wonder where Espy learned that etiquette from.” The girl mused, referring to the pre-battle ritual that the two Psychics engaged in. Nina did not recall ever reading anything of the sort. “Hmm… Probably TV, or maybe something instinctual among Psychic Pokemon.”

As a tense moment of calmness passed, the referee dropped his raised hand, signalling the start of the match. The air in the arena vibrated in the midst of two Psychic auras clashing forcefully in the middle. The ground rumbled as it cracked and sundered, particles of dirt and rocks floating into the air.

Both Psychic Pokemon remained unmoving, the only signs of activity being the increasingly potent glow of their respective catalysts as the spoons twisted and warped from strain. But Nina could feel it, through the pair’s shared connection, the stress and the tension being endured by Espy.

The battle might look equally matched right now from the perspective of a layman, but it was clear to the girl that the opponent Alakazam was more powerful than her Espeon. This battle of wills was not something they could win through sheer attrition. Something needed to be done, and soon.

“Hyper Voice.” Nina commanded in her mind, prompting Espy to shift her focus as she gathered pure Type Energy in her larynx. The cracks on the ground began to spread, but only towards Espy as her Psychic aura faltered, conceding her domain to Mob. But before the Espeon was completely overwhelmed, she let loose a deafening cry. 

“ESSS!” The air undulated as a concentrated wave of sound punched through Mob’s Psychic aura and impacted the Alakazam.

“Zam…” Mob groaned, but only faltered momentarily. The force behind Espy’s Hyper Voice was too diluted by the Pokemon’s dense Psychic domain.

However, that brief moment was more than enough as Espy immediately followed up with a Quick Attack to close the distance, before snapping at the Alakazam and latching onto his wrist with Bite.

“Zam!” This time, Mob was unable to endure the pain. The Alakazam waved his arm around and instinctively slammed a Psycho Cut at Espy with his other spoon. 

Espy yelped at the impact and was forced to let go of her Bite, her body twisting mid-air to land elegantly back on the ground. But her goal was accomplished — Mob’s Psychic domain was dispelled along with the Alakazam’s focus.

Not wanting to allow Mob the chance to recover, Espy continued with her assault, slamming into Mob with another Quick Attack, before pulling back and following up with a Shadow Ball she learned from her father.

Mob grunted from being struck by the shadowy projectile. But before Espy could follow up with another combo, a Psybeam appeared out of nowhere to strike at her, forcing the Espeon to do a last minute dodge — a Future Sight attack set up by Mob at some point during the course of the battle.

Mob did not allow Espy any reprieve as another Future Sight was triggered upon her landing, forcing her to dodge once more with a Quick Attack, only for another Future Sight to be triggered, then another, and another, and another.

“Air Strats!”

“E!” Espy tanked a Psybeam with a pained cry before launching into the air with Quick Attack and began shooting around between panels of Psychic Type Energy.

“Bomb him!”

A rain of Shadow Balls began pelting at Mob the Alakazam from every angle as the noble Psychic frowned, imbuing both his spoons with Psychic Type Energy to form purple blades of energy. A flurry of seizure-inducing purple lights flashed all around the Alakazam as Mob frantically used Psycho Cut to slash at each of the shadowy bolts aimed at him.

“Zam!” But despite his surprising proficiency with the blade, a Shadow Ball still snuck through and struck him on the back, prompting Mob to finally move from that singular spot that he had been rooted to since the beginning of the match.

The Alakazam disappeared in a flash, appearing midair in front of Espy’s trajectory and slashed at her with his purple energy blades.

“E!” Espy, tilted her head and deflected the blow with a Psychic barrier, sending her careening to the side as she arrested her momentum with another Psychic foothold and striked at Mob with a Quick Attack, only to miss as the Alakazam Teleported out of the way, then reappearing again with another flash to strike at Espy.

The bystanders all looked up in awe at the light show happening above them; the zigzagging blur of a pink silhouette zipping around in the air, clashing with an erratically blinking purple light in a cacophony of clanging metal.

Sweat dripped down Nina’s chin as the girl panted in exhaustion. That flashy exchange might have seemed straightforward in the eyes of a layman, but there were actually turbulent undercurrents happening completely unseen.

In order to dodge and defend against the attacks leveled against her, Espy needed to strain her own Future Sight to predict Mob’s Teleport, all while keeping her mental defenses up to stave off the Psychic assault against her mind that had been ongoing since the start of the battle. It was the latter task that Nina shared the burden in, freely lending Espy her mental bandwidth to offload the strain.

By the time that everything was over and both Pokemon landed back onto the arena, Nina felt as if she had aged a whole decade. The girl wouldn’t be surprised if she found a few strands of grey hair in the mirror later on.

On the other hand, Mash and Mob were completely unfazed, looking like they had just gone for a light jog and were now taking a quick breather. As expected of a Psychic prodigy that was groomed from a young age. In terms of just base specs and raw talent, neither Nina nor Espy could compete.

“Take the chance to recover, Espy.” Despite her Pokemon’s exhaustion, Nina still pushed Espy to set up a Sunny Day and Morning Sun combo while she could. Better to expend some precious energy now and recover more later on.

Morning Sun was a move that allowed its user to harness solar power to replenish their own energy. It was a move that all Espeons were able to learn naturally, given that their Evolution was closely aligned with the celestial body.

Their opponents showed no indication of being bothered by Espy’s set up, merely opting to persist in their meditation — a fact that irked Nina and her Espeon to no end.

Mash smiled. “It isn’t very often that Mob is forced to strain himself so much. Lady Sabrina did not err in her judgement!”

“Thanks…” Nina replied simply, her smile feeble and voice hoarse from exhaustion. A wave of irritation and intent invaded Nina’s mind through her mental link as Espy pushed for an all or nothing assault.

Nina frowned, not liking Espy’s plan one bit. The girl cared a great deal about her Pokemon’s wellbeing and possessed an aversion towards self-harming moves. She didn’t mind her Pokemon learning them. In fact, all her Pokemon possessed at least one recoil move in their arsenal, like Brucey’s Brave Bird or Nairy’s Outrage, but they were all last resort options and not to be relied upon — a fact that she made abundantly clear to them during training.

What’s worse was that there was really no feasible way for them to win this match, all roads led to defeat. So Espy’s desperate maneuver was purely out of spite and ego more than anything else. Nina’s prideful princess would effectively be hurting herself for no good reason.

However, in response to her trainer’s protest, Espy just doubled down with a mental pulse of determination. It was clear that the Espeon was going to go ahead with her idea, regardless of Nina’s feelings on the matter. The girl sighed, giving a mental nod of assent, knowing full well that she wouldn’t be able to stop Espy. Having a Pokemon who was too sapient had its downsides sometimes.

As their 30 seconds came to a close, both Psychics sprung into action, restarting the battle once again.

Mob disappeared in a flash while Espy jumped, dodging a gleaming Psychic blade that ambushed her from behind. The Alakazam was being a good sport, opting not to invoke another clash of Psychic auras, an exchange that he was sure to win given Espy’s haggard state.

In retaliation, Espy conjured a ball of mud upon her landing and flung it at Mob with a Mud-Slap. At this point, Nina’s Espeon had no reservations about playing a little dirty. Mob foresaw the attack and Teleported out of the way, appearing next to Espy and attempted another Psycho Cut, which she dodged once more.

Nina’s frown deepened. “Is he messing with us?” The Alakazam line should have plenty of moves in their arsenal, but so far, it felt like Mob had been limiting himself to just a few of the base moves that his species learned naturally. The implication was something that offended Nina and Espy greatly as their emotions synced. “As if we need a handicap!”

And with that thought, Espy committed to a final offensive rush while utterly disregarding defense, she endured a Psybeam from the Alakazam and rushed towards him with a Quick Attack, Leer and Growl. The latter two were wholly ineffective on Mob, but it didn’t hurt to try. 

However, just when the two Pokemon were about to collide, the pale white glow surrounding Espy’s Quick Attack exploded in a bright flash of light, completely catching Mob off guard. The Espeon burst into a supernova of stars, as if a miniature galaxy was born right there in the arena, blinding everyone who had their eyes on her. Even Mob was unable to Teleport out of the way, and even if he did, there was nowhere in the arena for him to run, lest he be disqualified for being out of bounds.

This was Last Resort, a powerful Normal Type move that all Eeveelutions were capable of learning — an unrestrained, upgraded version of Swift. Just as the name implied, it was an all or nothing move that completely drained a Pokemon’s energy reserves to inflict a huge amount of damage. Not too dissimilar to Explosion or Self-Destruct, but it didn’t cause any physical harm to its user, only fainting them after use from exhaustion.

In all her research, Nina had never come upon a Pokemon who was capable of using the move more than once in a match. It was truly a last resort, a final hurrah that allowed a Pokemon to end their match in a flashy blaze of glory.

Nina buckled, collapsing onto her knees as blood dripped down her nose. Espy had fainted, and the girl was currently experiencing the backlash of their mental connection’s abrupt termination. But before she allowed herself to pass out, she caught sight of a battered looking Alakazam struggling to get up from the ground, eliciting a smirk from the girl. 

“Hah! Take that you asshole!” Nina exclaimed on behalf of Espy, and that was the girl’s final thought before she blacked out.

***

Author's note:

I recently finished reading Dorothy's Forbidden Grimoire. Thank you to @Try_1102099 for the rec.

To put it simply, the story is basically we have Lord of the Mysteries at home. Out of all the LotM immitators out there, this one definitely comes the closest in the supermarket branded Oreos kind of way. And I mean that in the best way possible.

The author perfectly captures the vibe of Lord of the Mysteries. And I would even go as far as to say that I prefer it over LotM 2: CoI. 

It does have it's fair share of jank though. For one, the power system doesn't have clearly defined costs and benefits the way that LotM does.

The MCs schtick is that she is supposed to be trading knowledge for power. But she doesn't actually lose the knowledge that she trades, so she basically gets the powers for free.

Then there's the clumsy insert of abilities and powers from other well-established IPs. I call it clumsy because the author could have just as easily just rebranded everything and atleast kept up some pretense of originality in a cheeky kind of way. Instead, they just blatantly ripped off the Dragon Shouts from Skyrim etc.

Then there's the usual awkward dialogue that one would associate with unofficial translations. It stopped bothering me after 20 odd chapters, though it does still make me raise my eyebrows at times with how unnatural the dialogue is.

Other than that, the plotpoints are all very smartly written with an emphasis on intelligent problem solving rather than in your face overpowered munchkin bs.

The author's playbook basically involves setting up a convoluted mystery then slowly unravels it to the readers via backwards deduction. It sounds simple and derogatory, but I can assure you that to do it well is quite the feat. Because to design such a complex and intricate puzzle is a very difficult challenge to begin with.

That said, there are times where the author takes too many liberties with the MC's leap in logic. To the point where it feels like made up nonsense for the sake of plot convenience.

All in all, I do recommend it if you're feeling deprived of LotM. Not sure if there's any official translations available though.