Into the Unown (Poke Chapter 124

“Hehe… Copycat.”

Nina ignored Beverly and continued to focus her attention on the tiny Wooper who was huffing his chest and posturing at Sir Quagsalot, Beverly’s Quagsire.

Her newest companion, whom Nina had decided to na Sir Clodington, to match with Beverly, was very combative as evident by their first encounter, and he had taken to treating the senior Quagsire like a rival of sorts.

Nina felt an inexplicably impulsive urge to na the Wooper Jeff for whatever reason, but ultimately decided to listen to her rational mind. She was already being made fun of for Brucey’s na, not that anyone in this world would get the reference.

In response to his junior’s provocation, Sir Quagsalot, being the friendly and amicable little derp that he was, just gave a friendly wave at his junior and plopped a hand on Sir Clodington’s head to dot on him, much to the Wooper’s annoyance.

Nina’s face blood into a big dumb smile at the sight of the silly Wooper, who proceeded to approach Nairy and petition his ‘god’ to strike down the infidel who dared disrespect him. Nairy seed troubled by the plea and gave Sir Quagsalot a helpless look. In return, the Quagsire rely tilted his head in confusion.

Nina laughed at the cody unfolding before her and couldn’t resist the urge to scoop Sir Clodington into her arms. Which was a mistake, because she yelped out in pain imdiately after making skin contact, like soone had stung her with a dozen needles or sothing.

“Dammit! I gotta stop doing that.” The girl exclaid, eliciting laughter from her senior apprentice.

“Good luck with that. It took

forever to train Sir Quagsalot to suppress his poison when interacting with people.” said Beverly.

The mucous coating a Wooper’s body was a part of their natural bodily function. That’s to say, it was a passive defense chanism that couldn’t be eliminated entirely, only suppressed. Which for a regular bog standard Wooper, was not a problem. Since they were Water and Ground Type hybrids, the Poison wasn’t very potent to begin with and served little purpose.

Paldean Woopers on the other hand, were Ground and Poison Type. Which ant that their bodies were oozing with Poison. The passively excreted ones weren’t very lethal, but it also ant that it was almost impossible to suppress it to the point where Nina wouldn’t feel a prick if she tried to touch Sir Clodington.

Nina sighed. “There goes my plans for a cuddly little blob that I can hug to sleep at night.” Not that Sir Clodington would have agreed to it anyway. The Wooper was quite a stickler on ceremony and proper decorum. To the point where Nina would say that he was worse than pre-evolved Espy.

Not to ntion, the Wooper line was very sensitive to temperature. They prefer cool environnts, which was why the species was typically only active during night ti, when the sun was set. The only reason why Nina was able to encounter them during the day was because it was winter ti.

Nina was starting to have a little regret about her newest capture. She had been so caught up on the Pokemon’s potential that she failed to account for the practical aspects of owning a Paldean Wooper. Chiefly, she would have to prepare a mud bath or so other ans to keep the Pokemon cool in her dorms. Also, she needed to figure out a way to maintain Sir Clodington’s activities when the weather was hot as well.

“I still have ti before winter’s end. And spring should be bearable with all the rain. Hmm… I wonder if there’s a held item I can get… Never-lt Ice? Too expensive, and too potent. Icy Rock or Damp Rock perhaps…”

Outside of Espy’s silver spoon, Nina hadn’t dealt with held items too much. There was a subsect of trainers who considered it cheating. Not to ntion, so items were just straight banned in tournants. A lot of them were scammy placebos as well, like a Black Belt or a Silk Scarf for example, all of which had been debunked as having no tangible effects on a Pokemon’s Type Energy.

“Hey Bev, how are you keeping Sir Quagsalot cool usually?” Nina asked.

The older girl shrugged. “I an, so long as there’s water then Quagsy is fine. My Pokemon aren’t chumps that can’t handle a bit of heat. I think you’re overthinking it, Nins — Woopers aren’t so weak that they can’t handle a bit of sun. You’re the one who’s always going on about how sturdy they are.”

“In ga terms maybe.” Nina thought. “Yeah, but I want my Pokemon to be happy and comfortable, you know?”

“Eh, just keep him in his Pokeball,” dismissed Beverly. “I doubt that Wooper of yours will care, seems like a real Nosepass to .”

Speaking of Pokeballs, Sir Clodington did not care for anything specific, so Nina ended up just keeping him in a camo-skinned Pokeball styled after Safari Balls that she bought from the Safari Park gift shop. It was twice the price of a regular Pokeball despite just having a costic difference, but Nina wanted to commorate where the Wooper was captured.

“Big Sis Nina, now that you have Sir Clodington, are we still going to Lavender Town?” asked a timid Fuyumi.

Nina smiled and gave the girl a reassuring pat on the head. She had originally intended to go to the periphery of Lavender Town as a backup plan if she couldn’t find anything in the Safari Zone. Not the town itself or even Lavender Mansion, just near the edge, maybe around Route 8 to try her luck with any stray Ghost Pokemon. Hikari did offer her an alternative, but she didn’t feel like speaking to the woman right now.

Her companions agreed to co with her, even Fuyumi, who was scared of ghosts. It was always a good idea to have backup when dealing with Ghost Types. Surprisingly, Natsumi was actually quite enthusiastic about the paranormal, which really served to accentuate the difference between the personalities of the twins.

“Don’t worry, I don’t think I’ll be headed to Lavender town for so ti yet.” Nina said, eliciting a gentle sigh of relief from Fuyumi.

In truth, Nina was feeling a little conflicted. Hikari said that w’s Gem might pull her towards Agatha’s ancestral mansion, but if that was the case, wouldn’t Nina have failed to capture a Pokemon in the Safari Zone sohow? That way, the girl would be inclined to travel to its vicinity.

The girl sighed. “Am I supposed to go or not? I can’t tell.”

***

“Cut it out you two!” Nina stepped in between the bickering Golbat and Wooper, her head pounding in frustration.

This had beco a common occurrence in their household ever since Sir Clodington joined the team. The Wooper possessed a great deal of reverence for Nairy, despite having seen the more mundane side of the Dragonair. And from what Nina could tell, it was largely based on a sense of primal instinct as opposed to any rational reasoning.

So naturally, whenever Brucey saw fit to ss with Sir Clodington’s ‘god’, the Wooper took extre offense towards the infidel and would seek to punish him for the transgression. But little did the Wooper know, his outrage only served to trigger Brucey’s mischievousness and spur him on even further.

“I need to do sothing about this.” Nina thought.

The easiest solution would be to get Nairy to give his follower a stern talking to, but her partner had proven to be less than reliable on the matter. In fact, Nairy almost seed afraid of the Wooper and his zealousness — always hiding behind Nina everyti Sir Clodington tried to show his devotion through various misguided gestures; like the offering of sensitive clothing items that he stole from Nina’s drawers, or in this instance, confronting Brucey who had just filled the Dragonair’s bean bag with rocks.

Nina had no idea how Sir Clodington managed to rummage through her clothes without arms and why he thought Nairy would like the gesture, nor did she know how Brucey managed to sneak so many rocks inside their ho, but none of that was important. What’s important was that she needed to do sothing soon or risk being driven insane.

“Espy, so help please?” The girl pleaded, resorting to her secret weapon.

The Espeon rolled her eyes in exasperation and held the two rival Pokemon in place with her Psychic aura. Nina sighed in relief and took a seat on the sofa before asking Espy to settle the two troublemakers in front of her.

“First off, Brucey, rember what we discussed about the scale of your pranks?” said Nina, with Espy acting as an interpreter. The Golbat wilted slightly at the admonishnt. “I think sohow managing to sneak 40 kilos worth of rocks into our ho definitely counts,” she continued. “I expect you to clean up your own ss okay?”

“Kukuku…” Brucey cackled in acknowledgent. Nina had been with Brucey for long enough by this point that she could differentiate between her Golbat’s laugh even without Espy’s aid. She also added that Brucey should apologize to Nairy afterwards as well. Not that it needed to be said since Brucey knew the routine by now.

“And Clody,” Nina turned to address her Wooper. “Brucey doesn’t an anything bad by his pranks, and Nairy certainly does not mind. Right, Nairy?” Nina turned to his partner with a glare, prompting him to nod vigorously at his junior.

“See? So you need to learn to loosen up. I can’t have you starting a fight during all hours of the day. It’s disrupting our peace — mine, Espy’s, and especially Nairy’s.”

“Nair, dragonair.” Nairy nodded along with Nina’s statent. This ti, of his own volition. But Sir Clodington still seed unconvinced, rely frowning at Nina’s words.

Nina held back a sigh, racking her brain for any knowledge that might help. “What motivates religious fervour?” Nina thought back on that one sester of anthropology that Miles took in her past life. Sacrifice and abstinence was the answer. “But do I want to further enforce this behaviour?”

The dilemma was that Sir Clodington was only with Nina because of his worship towards Nairy. He considered his current position to be a privilege he earned in battle against his adversary. So if Nina were to eliminate said reverence, then he might not want to stick around anymore. Or worse, he might even fall into despair at having been forsaken by his deity, thinking he committed a cardinal sin or sothing.

The alternative was to double down to the point where she could guarantee absolute, unquestioning obedience, but that seed worse sohow. Nina was quite adamant about not wanting a mindless drone among her roster.

“There has to be a middle ground…” Nina mused.

“Espy can you keep an eye on these guys?” Nina got up and gave Espy a little pat, completely ignoring the look of exasperation the Espeon gave her, then stepped out onto the balcony to make a call to Professor Oak. She probably should have sent an email, but she knew first hand how bad the Professor was at replying to those. “Besides, why else would he give

his personal number?”

“Hello, little Nina! Are you well?” Professor Oak asked when he got on the line, a hint of concern evident in his tone.

Nina let out a wry smile, feeling a little guilty as she did. “Hello, Professor. I’m sorry to bother your busy schedule, but I just have a question in regards to my latest Pokemon. It’s nothing urgent, so I can call back at a more convenient ti if you prefer.”

“No, not at all,” denied the Professor. “I was due for a break anyway — I tend to get too enamored with my work, so this is good. Please, ask away.”

Nina thanked her benefactor and explained so background and her concerns regarding Sir Clodington to him. She even sent him the recording she had of the Wooper and his ‘tribe’, much to Professor Oak’s fascination.

“What an absolutely intriguing display of Pokemon sociology…” The Professor awed. “Hmm… Perhaps I should reach out to my colleagues at the Safari Zone to request for more observations? But I digress. In regards to your concern,” the Professor humd in consideration. “Have you tried anointnt?” He said.

Nina frowned in confusion. “Anointnt?”

“Indeed. You seek a middle ground, one that would allow your Wooper to retain his individuality without compromising on his loyalty towards your Dragonair. So just anoint him to a position of perceived importance.” The Professor explained.

The idea was that by officially appointing Sir Clodington as an official retainer of sorts, Nina would be able to put him indirectly under her authority through specific rules of conduct as opposed to simply allowing him to act as he pleased through a set of arbitrary self-imposed beliefs.

“So long as you fra your ‘rules’ with the appropriate pretence, your Wooper will take it upon himself to act accordingly. And should he behave in any way that is untowards, simply make an addendum or render cryptic admonishnt as religious authorities tend to do.”

Nina tilted her head in consideration. Everything the Professor told her made sense. If the primary worry was Sir Clodington’s unruly behavior, then this would neatly solve the issue without compromising too much on the Wooper’s personality, however twisted it may be.

That said, she couldn’t help but feel a little ambivalent towards this solution. “It feels… deceptive sohow. But then again, what choice do I have?” Ideally, she would be able to make the Wooper see reason and endear him to the team as family as opposed to a religious sycophant. But she had enough real world experience in her past life to know that this was nothing more than vain idealism. It often took extre events and experiences to sway soone’s beliefs, let alone completely invalidate them.

“I think I know what to do now, thank you Professor.” Nina said as she proceeded to exchange a few more pleasantries with Professor Oak before ending the call.

Nina sighed as she stepped back into her room, giving Espy a look all the while, eliciting an exasperated sigh from the Espeon as she read her human’s mind. Pokemon could detect lies to a certain extent, so she needed Espy to help obfuscate her intent. Not to ntion, the added mystique would also help to reinforce her authority.

Nina expressed silent gratitude towards Espy as she rummaged around in her dresser to extract a single Dragon Scale from her stash, before returning to the group. anwhile, Espy telepathically communicated with Nairy to convey their trainer’s intent. Nairy frowned in hesitation, but a silent admonishnt from Espy got him to behave.

When all was said and done, Nairy stood regally in the center of the living room, while Nina gave the Dragon a reverent bow. The atmosphere beca solemn as silence descended upon the space, further amplified by the subtly oppressive Draconic aura that Nairy intentionally let out.

“Sir Clodington, kneel before your liege.” Nina had intentionally avoided any reference to divinity since she wasn’t comfortable with that notion. So she sought to transform the relationship into that of a king and his knight instead. This also aligned with the Wooper’s na, so it felt more appropriate.

The Wooper jolted in attention and hurriedly lowered his body in front of Nairy and his spokesperson.

“Sir Clodington, in recognition of your devoted and selfless service to His Eminence, I hereby anoint you as Scalebearer!” said Nina, in a grandiose tone, as she produced a singular gleaming Dragon Scale under the light.

“Wooperrr…” Sir Clodington sighed in reverence and further lowered his head.

Nina suppressed that feeling of stuffiness in her chest and moved on. “As Scalebearer, you are to hereby abide by these Three Commandnts;

“First Commandnt: Thou shalt safeguard the wellbeing of His Eminence, Nairy, and his pantheon.” Nina didn’t just want Sir Clodington to be devoted to Nairy at the expense of everyone else, so she included the ntion of pantheon to refer to the rest of the team.

“Second Commandnt: Thou shalt not seek conflict in vain, lest it be to the benefit of His Eminence and his pantheon.” Hopefully, this would temper the Wooper's aggressive behavior and stop him from picking random fights. There was still room for interpretation here, which was intentional, Nina didn’t want to abstain him from battle after all. And if he acted out of line, she could just admonish him.

“Third Commandnt: Love and harmony above all else.” This last one was a little contradictory to the second one, but all religions were contradictory to a certain extent. And weirdly, such contradictions only served to reinforce belief, because it gave the impression that God was all knowing and unfathomable. Nina was also hoping that this would make her Wooper second guess any acts of aggression he might be considering in the future.

For now, these three commandnts were the only ones she could think of on the spot. Nina would run with these for now and see how it goes before making any additions in the future. It was hard to predict the actions and thoughts of religious zealots, because it was hard to predict what might trigger them.

“Arise, Sir Clodington, and err… accept thy burden.”

Sir Clodington rose with sparkly eyes and an enthusiastic “Woop!”

anwhile, Nina was dealing with the dilemma of how to attach the Dragon Scale onto the armless, slippery blob.