Into the Unown (Pokemon Fanfiction OC)
Chapter 151

“There’s a new batch of shipment coming in tonight,” said Purple Shadow, who was hunched over a shipping manifesto that he pilfered some time ago.

It had been a couple of days since their visit to the Game Corner, Nina and her cohort from the inter-school meet were all gathered today in Lilian’s villa to discuss a plan of action. The only one missing was Nobita who had set up a series of codes and means of communication via his grandmother whom he was in frequent contact with.

The boy had relayed whatever information he could during the brief meeting that they had the other day. His time was limited and movement restricted usually, so Nobita made up for it through a steady stream of cryptic communications, part of which confirmed the intel that Purple Shadow previously acquired.

And due to the sensitive nature of their conversation, the meeting room that everyone was currently in was encased in a Psychic barrier, with Espy, Mob and Gallade on the lookout for any possible invaders.

“According to the Yamaguchi kid, Noboru Yamaguchi, the big cheese himself, will be overseeing the receipt of the shipment.” Noboru Yamaguchi always made sure to get down into the weeds and personally involve himself in any important business transactions to make sure that everything was up to par — a fact that the man took great pride in and often attributed as the key to his success.

“Which means that his private office will be left unattended during that time. Not to mention, a large chunk of Yamaguchi’s hired muscles will be diverted to secure the shipment as well.” The ronin concluded.

“So what’s the plan then?” asked an overly excited Matsuri. The girl had been unbearably antsy over the past few days due to the lack of action. 

By this point, the week long inter-school meet had already been concluded, but the group of students opted to stay behind to see things through to the end. In truth, Nina would have liked to exclude Kerry and the twins in this dangerous endeavor, but the trio was adamant, the battle thirsty Fuyumi especially.

“I still think that we should inform the authorities.” Thomas chimed, eliciting fervent nods of approval from Nina. The two of them were the most against this reckless undertaking. The only reason why they hadn’t informed the authorities yet was out of respect for Lilian’s ambition, but it didn’t stop them from trying to discourage the girl whenever they could.

“No.” Lilian declined, for the umpteenth time, irritation clear in her voice. “I will succeed. Not only will we bring down a criminal syndicate, but also obtain sufficient evidence to implicate Koga and his misguided ambition. Hence why I will lead a squad to assault Noboru Yamaguchi, while Alfred will infiltrate Yamaguchi Tower with the help of Nobita Yamaguchi, to secure evidence against our enemies.”

Nina frowned and shot a look of concern towards Alfred. “By himself? Are you sure about this, Lilian? What happened to being a noble Dragon and all that?”

“I appreciate the concern, Miss Jones. But rest assured that I alone will suffice for the task.” The butler assuaged, with a cryptic smile.

However, Nina was unconvinced. “I still think we should contact your family, Lil. I understand you don’t want to share the credit, but surely they can send a few subordinates as backup? I doubt they’ll want to lose their frontrunning Champion candidate in vain like this.” In fact, Nina had considered sending a message to her uncle and Misty several times over the course of the past couple of days.

Lilian sighed. “I already told you, Nina. The clan will not be accepting of such cowardice. I need to do this on my own, using the immediate resources at my disposal.”

Nina scoffed. “Hah! So is that what we are? Resources for you to dispose of?” The girl said as she gestured to each of the participants of this meeting.

The Blackthorn girl scowled. “Do not twist my words, Melina Jones! You know perfectly well what I meant!”

Lilian got up to Nina’s face, sparks igniting between them as the two faced off against one another. An awkward silence descended upon the space as everyone else glanced around nervously, unsure of how to defuse the situation. That was, until Kerry intervened.

“Alright you two, cut it out,” said the young Joy as she forcefully stepped in between the two prodigies. “There’s still some time, and I think we all need a break to really think things through.” The girl then turned to Lilian. “Lilian, Nina’s right to be cautious. What you’re proposing is extremely dangerous. I have no doubts you can handle yourself, but as a leader, you need to be considerate of your followers as well.”

Kerry then turned around and pulled Nina into a reassuring hug. “You’ve been super tense ever since this whole thing with Charlie and Nobita started, Nins.” The girl whispered. “You’re the most dependable person I know. And I also know you go to great lengths to repay any favors you receive. But it’s okay to say no sometimes if you feel you’re being pushed too far. Isn’t it tiring? Constantly forcing yourself to do things you don’t like just to satisfy the desires of the people around you?”

Nina shut her eyes and gave Kerry a tight squeeze. The girl was right, Nina had a compulsive need to please those she felt indebted to, just like with the Cerulean Gym. Maybe this was it. This was her limit.

“Thank Kerr…” Nina muttered, her voice cracking all the while. “Heh… all those psychiatry courses you’ve been taking are paying off huh?” Nina lightly chuckled as she separated from her friend. “You’re right, I need a break. I’m going to go get some fresh air.” She declared, before walking out of the room.

***

“So err… Nice weather today huh?”

Nina laughed and turned to face the awkward boy approaching her. “Hey there, Charlie, did you follow me all the way here?”

In truth, Nina had no idea where she was. The girl just kept walking in the bamboo forest until the reeds became too dense for her to continue.

Charlie flushed red and rubbed at the back of his head. “Yeah, sorry… Cole kicked me out of the house and said that I should. Hope you don’t mind…?”

Nina giggled and found a clear spot on the ground to sit down on, while gesturing for Charlie to join her. “Didn’t know Cole was so considerate.” She quipped.

Charlie laughed and sat down next to Nina. “Yeah, it’s been nearly a year now and I still get surprised by him sometimes… I’m sorry, by the way. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have been wrapped up in all this. Maybe I should have gone to the police instead.”

Nina snorted. “Hah! As if the police would believe in your hunch. And with the abysmal state of the Celadon City Council, who knows how many Rattatas are hiding in their midst.” Under normal circumstances, they probably should have informed Erika and her Gym. But Lilian was ambivalent about the woman, unsure of where she stood. 

The girl planted a hand on Charlie’s shoulder to assure him. “You did the right thing — confiding in me.” She then let out a dejected sigh. “I just wish that Lilian was more level-headed about all this.”

“Do you think she’ll be able to do it?” Charlie asked, hesitation clear in his tone. “Take down Nobita’s dad and all that. Kind of feels like we’re bringing a hammer to do a screwdriver’s job, you know?”

Nina laughed, the boy probably got that saying from his father who worked in construction. “You’re right, Lilian is being too forward with her plans. But on the other hand, Alfred’s a seasoned elite, I doubt the guy would allow his ward to be so reckless if he didn’t think there was a good enough chance of success.”

And that really was all there was to it. The only reason why Nina hadn’t bailed yet was because of her faith in Lilian’s mysterious butler. Just based purely on the context clues that she had gathered during the course of their acquaintance, Nina could tell that Alfred, if that was even his real name, shared a similar background to Koga — likely a retired black ops who was previously active in the war.

“If I’m being optimistic, then there’s a good chance that Alfred is in frequent contact with the Blackthorn elders and has already arranged for a contingency, unbeknownst to his mistress.” The problem was, whether or not said contingency encompassed the wellbeing of Lilian’s “resources”. But Nina did not say that out loud to Charlie, to avoid adding to his concerns.

The two teens sat there for some time, taking in the warm summer air and occasionally engaging in empty chatter until Nina’s mind cleared from all her pent up frustrations.

Kerry was right, Nina did need a break. This little siesta did wonders in helping her gather her thoughts. Things that she had previously missed now seemed a lot more obvious to her. “Maybe this whole mess isn’t as doomed as I initially thought.”

“Alright, let’s head back.” Nina declared, after noticing that the sky was starting to take on an orange glow. The girl got up, dusted the dirt off her pants and extended a hand to help her friend up. 

“Come on, C. Up you—” But before she could finish her sentence, Nina was assaulted by a bright gleam, the loud clanging of metal against metal, and a squirt of blood.

“Charlie!” Nina knelt down and frantically called out to her friend who was now collapsed on the ground with a sinister looking black kunai sticking out of his shoulder.

“Heh! I knew you couldn’t resist. You lot are as cowardly as ever.” The shadows of the surrounding bamboo shifted, and all of a sudden Purple Shadow appeared, standing protectively over Nina and the fallen Charlie. “Are you proud of yourself? Ambushing a kid without her Pokemon on hand.”

Nina did indeed leave all her Pokemon behind in the wake of her outburst. Since they were all out of their Pokeballs at the time and she was too flustered to think about recalling them. A fact that Purple Shadow took full advantage of by intentionally leaving his ward unguarded to lure out her stalker, only intervening when the assailant’s kunai was enroute to Nina’s heart. Unfortunately, he couldn’t deflect the projectile well enough and ended up implicating Charlie.

“Shadow, what’s the meaning of this?!” Nina demanded, still crouched over Charlie, unsure if she should remove the weapon lodged in her friend for fear that he might bleed out.

Purple Shadow just snorted and tossed a bottle of Antidote to Nina. “Relax, your boyfriend’s gonna be fine. These bottom tier grunts are only equipped with the vanilla stuff, just take out the blade and apply the Antidote. You know first aid right?”

There were a million things that Nina wanted to say, but she prioritized Charlie’s healing, her concentration only briefly faltered when Purple Shadow let out a manic cackle.

“Haha! Trying to escape, are we?” The shadows of the forest came to life as Purple Shadow’s Gengar revealed himself with a snicker, before conjuring a veil of ghastly darkness to encompass their surroundings. And like a magician stripped of their curtains, the shadows parted to unveil a black clad figure covered from head to toe as to completely obscure any defining features 

Purple Shadow lightly shook his head with a smirk. “The clan’s standards must have fallen over the years. I remember we used to be a lot more competent than this. Either that, or Koga seriously thought that a bargain bin reject like you was good enough for the job.”

The enemy ninja growled at Purple Shadow’s provocation, eyes red with fury. “Traitor.” He spat, eliciting laughter from the ronin.

“Hah! Says the guy who's doing the bidding of a treasonous cunt!” Purple Shadow retorted as he summoned his Crobat onto the field, the gargantuan bat Pokemon casting a sinister shadow over the Koga ninja as he loomed above Gengar’s domain.

In response, the opponent summoned his own slew of Pokemon as well, the typical lineup commonly used by Koga ninjas; Muk, Wheezing, Golbat, Venomoth and so on.

Purple Shadow scoffed and tossed a Pokeball to Nina, containing his own Venomoth. “Get out of here, kid. Hinata will guide your way.”

Nina frantically reached out to catch the Pokeball and swallowed her nerves. “Is it safe to move Charlie? Will it agitate the Poison somehow?” She asked, only to receive an impatient groan in return.

“It’ll be fine. Just bring him over to your nurse friend, she’ll know what to do.”

Nina was hesitant but held her tongue as she struggled to get Charlie onto her back. The girl was the fittest she had ever been in all her two lives, so piggybacking an underweight teen like Charlie didn’t cause her too much strain.

As Nina got up to leave, the Koga ninja ordered his Pokemon to unleash an all out assault on her, only to be blocked by a powerful gust of wind conjured by Itachi the Crobat. 

“Get out of here, now!” Purple Shadow yelled, prompting Nina to rush towards the veil of shadows which parted just enough to allow the girl’s exit.

After Nina left, Purple Shadow turned his full, undivided attention towards the pitiful excuse for a ninja in front of him. “Now then, let’s have some fun…” The ronin let out a toothy grin as purple smog began to envelop the space.

***

“Kerry! Kerry! We need help!” Nina yelled as she rushed through the doors of the Blackthorn villa, only to be taken aback by the sight of an unconscious Thomas laying on the floor, and the concerned looking Kerry and Natsumi tending to the older teen.

“Nina! What happened?!” Kerry exclaimed as she got up and rushed over to the bloodied girl.

“I…” Nina shook off her confusion and promptly deposited Charlie onto the nearest sofa. “We were attacked, Purple Shadow said the weapon was poisoned, but he didn’t specify what kind. I applied the Antidote that he gave me, but Charlie’s still unconscious.” The girl explained while trying her best to remain calm and articulate. 

Kerry checked on the boy’s pulse and pried his eyelids open to shine a light into his eyes. “He should be stable, but we still need to stop the bleeding. Natsumi, could you bring over my stuff please?” The apprentice nurse instructed, prompting Nina’s junior to jump into action and carry over the bag containing Kerry’s medical supplies.

“What happened here?” Nina asked, once Kerry no longer had need of Natsumi’s assistance. “Where’s Lilian? Where’s your sister?”

Natsumi’s face twisted into an unhappy frown as she threw herself into Nina’s embrace. It took a bit of gentle persuasion from Nina, but she was finally able to calm the girl well enough to start talking.

“You were taking too long to come back so Lady Blackthorn got impatient.” Natsumi said, in between sniffles. “Big Brother Thomas tried to convince her to wait, but she got annoyed and knocked him out.”

Nina frowned at the girl’s words. She had hoped that Lilian had calmed down a little in her absence, but apparently not. “What about the others?”

“Big Sis Matsuri and that Cole boy were super excited to go. I tried to stop Fuyu, but she said she wanted to do this and told me to stay behind. I couldn’t stop her… Fuyu wouldn’t listen!” Natsumi broke out into sobs once more.

Nina shushed at her junior and gently caressed Natsumi’s back. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s okay… You tried your best. What about Mash? What happened to him?” The Psychic prodigy was the most level headed out of all of them and largely stayed passive throughout this entire endeavour.

Natsumi hiccuped as she turned her teary gaze up towards Nina. “Mash said he had a premonition and that his presence was needed. So he went along with Lady Blackthorn.”

Nina frowned but thanked Natsumi for filling her in. It was hard to say if Mash’s premonition was a good sign or not. “I mean, if he feels confident enough to put himself at risk then surely that’s a good thing?”

“What should we do?” Natsumi whined, once she calmed down a little.

Nina gave the girl a gentle pat on the head as she separated herself from their embrace. “I need to make a call to my uncle.” In fact, Nina regretted not doing this earlier.

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