Into the Unown (Pokemon Fanfiction OC)
Chapter 153

Nina groaned as she rolled her incredibly sore shoulders. Flying such a long distance while being clutched like a sack of potatoes by her erratic Golbat was not a pleasant experience. Midway through, Nina had half a mind to sit on Brucey’s unhinged jaw like a Golbat shaped swing, but ultimately opted not to, for fear of unbalancing the Flying Pokemon.

The girl took stock of her surroundings, which were looking fairly dire. “We’re surrounded on all sides. Clody and Cole’s Pokemon are watching our backs. And Lilian is down to only her Flaaffy and Dragonair.” 

The situation above wasn’t looking so good either. Both Brucey and Purple Shadow’s Venomoth were expert stallers, but there was only so much they could do while under relentless assault from the enemy Electric Types, even with support from Espy. Not to mention the powerful Ghost Type shadowing Noboru.

“Nairy!” Nina called, summoning the Dragonair away from his defense of Sapphire. “Start dancing, buddy. Full power, we’re gonna blow these assholes away!”

“Nair!” Nairy cried in affirmation, his Mystic Water earring gleaming under the lamplight, while the Damp Rock secured around his neck started exuding a bluish glow. The earring was something that Nina hastily rigged together with Espy’s assistance while the Damp Rock was on loan from Sir Clodington.

The Dragonair’s weather orbs glowed an iridescent light as Nairy initiated a Dragon and Rain Dance combo. Thunder rumbled as grey clouds converged, signalling the coming of a violent storm.

“Cole! I need Onix to protect us while Nairy powers up!” Nina yelled, eliciting a snort and a nod from the belligerent boy.

“Sapphire! Let Onix take over and join Nairy in his dance!” Lilian called, fully in tune with her friend’s intentions.

Sapphire cried in affirmation and joined in with a dance of her own, gradually intertwining her body with Nairy’s as the two serpentine Dragons floated in the air. The rumbling of thunder intensified as violent winds threatened to blow the surrounding Rocket grunts off their feet. 

Even the massive shipping vessel coming in to dock was having trouble as the steel construct tilted and swayed in the turbulent waves. All around the harbor, metal creaked and banged as overstacked shipping containers were toppled, crushing the Rocket goons seeking shelter underneath them.

In a desperate attempt to disrupt the Dragons’ dance, all of the surrounding Pokemon redirected their attacks towards the writhing sphere of Dragonairs in the air, only to be intercepted by an all encompassing Psychic barrier from Espy.

As the storm raged on, Cole recalled his Pokemon and hunkered down near the tight coils of his Onix. Nina, alongside Lilian, threw up the hood of her windbreaker and did the same with Brucey, Venomoth and Sir Clodington — the Clodsire couldn’t dig down due to the concrete surface they were on — and huddled up with Espy in her embrace.

A deafening bolt of Thunder struck, completely frying whatever Flying Pokemon were unfortunate enough to be caught in its path, and continued to smite down the screaming humans and Pokemon on the ground. Even the Rock and Ground Type enemies were not spared as they were blasted to the side in the explosive impact.

Rain poured from the sky, aided by the abundant moisture of the humid Kantonian summer and further fueled by the surrounding seas. The sight was akin to rapture, a flood of water from the skies washing away people and Pokemon alike.

Cole’s Onix groaned in pain, but as a Rock Pokemon trained in the Pewter Gym, the rainwater did little to affect the Rock snake’s indomitable resolve.

In the air, the rest of the Flying Pokemon struggled to stay aloft from the powerful winds as they were struck down by Thunder one by one. Noboru Yamaguchi’s bodyguards called back their Pokemon and had them surround their employer in a heap, while the humans held the man down to avoid being struck by lightning. 

Not that it did them any good, Lilian instructed her Flaaffy to add to the chaos by redirecting the falling Thunder onto the Yamaguchi patriarch, only for them to be intercepted by the Rhydons and Noburo’s Dusclops one by one. Not without a cost though as one of the Rhydons were now down on their knees after taking one too many Thunders to the face. Eventually, even the Dusclops and the human bodyguards were looking haggard after getting shocked by too many wayward sparks.

Nina had no idea how long the storm lasted, only that it felt like an eternity. “Gosh, stacking Held Items really is unfair huh? No wonder the League has rules against it during official battles.” Both Mystic Water and Damp Rock boosted the potency of Water Type Moves. The effects of combining the two on one already powerful Pokemon was self-evident.

Of course, She had no doubts that the power of Nairy’s Rain Dance was also further compounded by Sapphire’s assistance, because when the storm subsided and the two Dragonairs floated back onto the ground, the exhausted looking pair had expressions of bliss and content on their faces, almost like… “Wait, don’t tell me? Did the two of them…” Nina distinctly recalled reading about a similar ritual during the mating process of Dragonairs.

Nina groaned. “Well they do say that the legendary Dragonite Island is surrounded by never ending storm clouds.” She murmured, eliciting a look of amusement from Lilian who gave her a playful shoulder bump.

“Give it up Noboru, your goons are totaled!” Nina exclaimed, gesturing towards the carnage surrounding them; myriad Pokemon fainted on the ground, charred and bloodied humans moaning in pain, and more than a few wretched individuals either limply adrift at sea or trying desperately to swim back to shore. 

“Hmm… Maybe we didn’t need backup after all.” Even the elite bodyguards were down for the count, spasming and paralyzed on the floor.

However, it seemed that Nina jinxed herself because Noboru simply responded with manic laughter as he expanded a Pokeball in his hand, whilst holding a sinister looking piece of equipment on the other; a headgear akin to an EXP Share helmet like in the games. Except, in place of the goofy yellow orbs were exposed wiring and pitch black gems glowing a sinister light. There were even spikes protruding out from the center of the headpiece, pointing inwards, almost like they were designed to dig into the wearer’s scalp.

Just looking at the ominous device was enough to send chills down Nina’s spine as both she and Lilian readied themselves for one last fight, prompting their two Dragonairs to tense up as well.

“Espy, stop him!” Nina commanded silently, only for the Espeon’s Psybeam to be intercepted by a grumpy looking Dusclops who was still hanging on to Noboru’s shadow.

“HAHA! AHAHAHA! Remember, you fucking brats! You made me do this! When I’m done with you, there won’t even be a shit stain left over for your family to scrape up!” And with that, the man tossed out his Pokeball to unveil a stoic looking Charizard.

Nina frowned at the reveal, Noboru’s Charizard seemed a little off. The Fire Pokemon emerged without even so much as a sound, just standing there lifelessly with glassy eyes. In fact, if not for the constant flickering of the pseudo-Dragon’s tail flame, Nina would have thought that the man had summoned a cadaver onto the field.

What was even more concerning was the mysterious contraption protruding from the Charizard’s cranium, its tip adorned with the same sinister looking black gems on Noboru’s helmet.

“HAHA! AHAHAHA!” As curious as the contraption may be, neither Nina nor Lilian were dumb enough to allow a villain time to monologue and do their set up.

“Sapphire, attack!” Lilian yelled, prompting Nairy into action as well, while Nina released the rest of her Pokemon.

However, it was too late as one of the fallen Rhydons stirred, getting up just in time to intercept a Dragon Pulse meant for Noburo. Meanwhile, Dusclops moved to the forefront and intercepted the rest, finally fainting from the joint assault.

At the same time, Noburo Yamaguchi persisted with his manic laughter as he shakily elevated the toothy contraption above his head and yanked it down with one forceful motion, crying out in pain the moment that the spikes dug into his scalp, turning his eyes bloodshot while foam and spittle sputtered through tightly clenched teeth.

“Grrr… Grrr…! GRAAAAH!!!” Noboru let out an inhuman howl. And one by one, the gems adorning the man’s helmet lit up in a dark glow. Eventually, seeming to establish a link to the Charizard’s cranial implant as the supersized gem adorning its crown lit up with the same sinister light.

The Charizard stirred, eyes bulging from pain while also letting out the same agonized howl as its master. The Pokemon's howl eventually transitioned to a deafening roar, one filled with so much rage and hatred that Nina could feel it piercing through her soul. 

“W-what’s happening…” Nina murmured, in all her two lives she had never ever been exposed to such sheer concentrated vitriol. She could feel every ounce of pain and torture the poor creature had been subjected to, the despair and sorrow and a desperate plea to end its suffering.

The girl fought the urge to collapse onto the ground, her legs shaking like jelly. And she probably would have fallen, were it not for the burning heat searing into her delicate chest.

“Ouch!” Nina yelped in pain and clawed at the unbearably hot Mew Gem glowing around her neck. The pain helped to knock Nina out of her stupor and bring her back to her senses. “Fuck!” Nina cussed, but let out a wry smile as she extracted the necklace and placed it over her top to shield against the heat. The girl wasn’t sure if she should thank the Mythical Ancestor for the rough awakening or not.

After Nina regained her lucidity, the next thing she did was to bend down and embrace Espy, who was uncharacteristically cowering on the ground with her paws pressed down on her ears. 

“Hey, hey… It’s okay Espy, it’s okay.” Nina whispered softly to her princess. “You need to shut off your mind and set up a barrier to cut out the noise. Do you think you can do that, girl?” 

It took a few more words of encouragement, but Espy eventually recovered enough to do as Nina asked, starting by shielding her mind before proceeding to set up a barrier around Lilian and Cole, who were also cowering on the ground with a horrified look on their faces.

The moment that the Charizard’s voice was muted, Nina could feel the pressure that was weighing down on them noticeably dissipate.

Unfortunately, that was not the end of it. As Nina went to help placate her two human companions, the Charizard's tail flame took on a sudden, incandescent glow. 

The pseudo Dragon writhed, its body growing while contorting at unnatural angles. All the while, the cries of pain persisted and intensified as Charizard clutched its head in agony, its sorrowful voice so potent that it could even pierce through Espy's barrier to transmit a muffled bellow. 

The skin around Charizard’s forearm split in a gruesome manner, forming auxiliary wings around its arms. The Fire Pokemon tensed as spikes protruded from each of its wing tips and from the edge of its tail, its claws extended, becoming much more prominent, imbuing the Pokemon with a vicious and primal look.

Nina gaped at the sight. “That’s… a Mega Charizard Y! How’s that possible?!” There was not a Mega Stone in sight, and Noboru was not wearing a Key Stone either. Nina’s eyes shifted, before stopping at the heinous contraption attached to Noboru’s head, blood dripping down the lunatic’s brow, further accentuating the psychotic smile he was wearing.

Nina bit down on her lip in rage, drawing blood of her own. “Scum! Absolute scum!” They finally found out what the Yamaguchi Group had been spending their research budget on.