Into the Unown (Pokemon Fanfiction OC)
Side Story: Homecoming

“Give it up already, Nitey… Just go back to your Ball and I’ll release you once we get in. Won’t take more than a few seconds.”

“Nite! Drago, drago-nite!” Nitey shook his head in defiance as he sucked in another deep breath in an attempt to shrink his tubby belly, determined to somehow force his way into the narrow crevice on the ground.

Nina sighed once more and glanced at the Safari Ranger to her side with an apologetic look. “Sorry about this Mr Masa. Nitey’s been real self-conscious about his body ever since the Evolution.” 

The fact that the tubby orange Dragon could no longer fit in most indoor spaces irked him to no end. Especially given how restless he was usually, necessitating that Nina make him sit still in a corner whenever they were home to avoid any one of his powerful appendages causing wanton destruction to their furniture — a fact that took the girl a broken sofa and a very expensive laptop replacement to realize.

It was near the end of October now, and the pair of trainer and mon were back in the Safari Zone to go visit Nitey’s family and show off his recent development.

Usually, around this time, the two of them would be busy slaving away in the Gym. But given the recent destruction of Indigo Village, the League had delayed the conference by an extra month. Which also meant a one month extension to the Gym season as well, pushing the annual crunch into November instead.

“Nitey, if you keep being stubborn like this, you’re going to end up destroying the entrance to your home! Is that what you want, huh?” Nina chided impatiently, eliciting a whine and a pleading look from her partner.

“Nite…”

Nina’s face softened, blooming into a warm smile as she approached the big crybaby for a hug, gently caressing his scarred belly all the while — scars retained from his harrowing battle with that fake Mega Charizard just a few months ago.

“This new body of yours is proof of your growth, Nitey. Not something to be ashamed of,” assuaged Nina. “So what if some things are a little more inconvenient now? That’s why you have me, and Espy, and the rest of our little family right? We’ll love you no matter what and help to make up for any issues going forward.”

“Nite…” Nitey cooed and returned the hug, pressing Nina against his bouncy belly and lowering his head to nuzzle against her.

“So, Nitey? May I return you to your Pokeball so that we can proceed inside? We’ll run out of time to spend with your family at this rate.”

“Nite. Drago-nite…” Nitey nodded reluctantly and tried to extricate himself from the gap on the ground, only to grunt in discomfort, having already lodged himself into the narrow space.

Nina laughed and gave her big orange oaf a little flick on the snout, before returning him in a flash of light and releasing him again once she and Masayuki were finally free to enter the underground cavern.

***

“Nite…” Nitey growled with a barely contained Aura as he faced off against an equally belligerent Dragonair.

Nina and Nitey had made it back to Victoria’s nest. But to their surprise, they found not one, but two Dragonairs resting within the nest. One of them was obviously Victoria, Nitey’s mother. But the other one was an unfamiliar male Pokemon, and a much younger Dragonair to boot, judging from Nina’s familiarity with the species.

“Wow, I didn’t expect Nitey’s mom to be such a cougar. You go, girl!” And as if sensing the girl’s rude thoughts, Nina felt a prickling glare pierce through her entire being from Victoria’s direction.

Nina coughed and gently caressed the back of her agitated partner with a frown. “Easy there, boy… We don’t want to risk causing a cave in and harming your family.”

The girl then turned towards Victoria and greeted her with an elegant curtsy. “Hello again, Victoria. It’s me, Nina. I know it hasn’t been that long since our last meeting, but Nitey has grown again as you can see, so we’re here to check in and see how the nest has been faring.”

“Nair…?” Victoria squinted, trying to recall the familiar presence of the human in front of her before lighting up and rushing at the grown up visage of her son. “Nair! Nair!”

“Nite! Dragonite!” Nitey cried in exuberance and pulled his mother in for a tight hug with his newly acquired limbs, the Dragonair wrapping herself around him and nuzzling against his cheeks.

Nina smiled, happy that they managed to get through another reunion without it coming to blows. Trying to reunite a family of powerful Dragon Types was surprisingly stressful.

“Hey there, my name’s Nina. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, Nitey’s Victoria’s son and I’m his partner. Nice to meet you.” The girl greeted the other, annoyed looking Dragonair with a casual wave, her tone utterly irreverent.

Nina had spent enough time with Lilian to gain a better understanding of the finer nuances associated with Dragon sociology. And in this case, she was fully aware that, as Nitey’s trainer, if she were to exhibit any form of weakness in front of the younger Dragonair, it would be used to undermine Nitey’s standing within the brood. After all, his mother’s boy toy or not, a mighty Dragonite simply should not be deferential to a newly evolved whelp of a Dragonair.

“Nair!!!” The Dragonair hissed at the intruding human, only to be immediately suppressed by an angry Aura from Nitey who pulled away from his mother and grabbed at the Dragonair’s neck with his powerful claws.

“Drago! Dragonite, NITE!!!”

Nina did not need Espy to tell her that her partner had just told the motherfucking casanova to scram and never show up in his mom’s nest again. Nitey’s claws closed in on the Dragonair’s slender nape, the offending Dragon flailing his serpentine tail around all the while as he desperately gasped for air.

Then, like he was tossing aside a used tissue, Nitey threw the Dragonair into the underground lake, where he presumably slithered off into one of the many underwater tunnels to get away from the overbearing Dragonite.

“Nair! Dragonair!” Victoria lashed out and admonished her son’s unwarranted behavior with a bonk on the head with her tail orbs.

“Nite…” Nitey whined as he wilted and rubbed at the bulge on his scalp, eliciting amused laughter from Nina.

“Alright everyone, let’s cool down with some snacks. I brought Berries!” Nina declared, inciting rapturous cries from the surrounding Dratinis and her gluttonous Dragonite. “Dammit, Nitey! You’re supposed to be the cool and accomplished older brother here. Act like it!”

***

“Mr Masa, is it okay for me and Nitey to stay the night here.”

Masayuki looked around the cave as he scratched his chin in consideration. “Hmmm… I think you should be asking Vicky that, not me. Though I doubt she’d mind. Promise you won’t do anything naughty while I’m away.”

Nina laughed. “I doubt Nitey’s mom would let me get away with doing anything to her brood.”

“I dunno… You seem to have earned her trust, what with you taking such good care of her son and all. I doubt she’d bat an eyelid if you said you wanted a couple more of them noodles.” 

The girl waved at the Safari Ranger’s concern. “Are you kidding me? Do you know how much Nitey eats on a daily basis? I know I earn more money than your average kid and all but even I have to be careful with my spending around him.”

Masayuki laughed. “True that. Alright, I’ll put my trust in you. Just keep in mind that if you smuggle one of ‘em noodles in your pocket then we’ll have to put a bounty on you. I know you’re friends with that Blackthorn princess and all, but even she won’t be able to protect you from the rest of her clan.”

Nina responded with a solemn nod and a pinky promise. She knew when to use her status as an innocent child when the occasion called for it.

That night, Nina cooked up a feast, courtesy of Nitey who went fishing in the chilly lakes nearby and came back with a net full of juicy seafood. The Dragonite was considerate enough not to catch any Pokemon of course, knowing that Nina wouldn’t be able to handle the butchery.

It was a lot of work for one girl and honestly, Nina wished she had the rest of her team around to help out. But it couldn’t be helped, Safari rules being what they were, Nina had to respect it.

It was all worth it though, seeing the look of pure bliss on the innocent little Dratini’s faces. The little noodle Dragons had never sampled much in terms of cooked and processed foods before, outside of the occasional Pokechow that the Rangers bring in. Even a simple ceviche was enough to blow their juvenile minds.

“This here is Sir Clodington,” Nina pointed at the screen of her Pokedex as she luxuriated in a heap of slippery Dratinis. The girl was currently sitting against a coiled up Victoria and showing pictures of their adventures in the world outside to Nitey’s family.

“We found Clody here in the Safari Zone as well — the last time we visited you actually. You guys should see how much he worships Nitey. I betcha you’d get a good laugh out of that.” Then she swiped over to the next picture, to find the overbearing visage of Sapphire all wrapped up around a weary looking Nitey. 

“And this here is Nitey’s girlfriend. They’ve been really frisky ever since they went through a life and death ordeal together, even snuck out to Hoenn on a romantic date without me. Can you believe this guy?!” Nina exclaimed, still annoyed about that incident. 

“Anyways, pretty sure you can expect grandchildren soon, Victoria. Don’t know if we’ll be able to bring them over for a visit though. The in-laws are the real uppity sort. Y’know, typical noble households and all that. On the bright side, it means that Nitey managed to snag himself a princess. Attaboy!” Nina teased her partner with a smirk. 

The Dragonite was blushing furiously from her mother’s scrutinizing gaze as she tilted her head this way and that to assess the image of her son’s chosen mate.

“Anyways, next up this is our dorm room in the Vermilion Flame, that’s the school that me and Nitey go to…”

And so Nina continued to narrate her and Nitey’s life, until the Dratinis started yawning in exhaustion, signalling that it was time for bed.

***

“I know we haven’t officially begun our journey yet. But it really does feel like we’re a long way away from where we started, don’t you think so, Nitey?”

“Niiite~”

Nina and Nitey were currently laying on the open plains, underneath the sea of stars hanging high above the Safari Zone. The girl was currently in Nitey’s embrace, stretched out atop his belly.

The bulging sack of scales might be uncomfortable to some people, but Nina actually quite enjoyed it. It was great for stretching out her back and helped to soothe her increasingly aching shoulders. 

She especially liked it when Nitey rubbed against her belly with his palms, though this wasn’t exactly the best weather for that. Instead, the Dragonite was rhythmically patting the girl who was wrapped up in a blanket burrito in a gentle and soothing manner.

“I’m so glad that I met you back then, Nitey…” Nina murmured as she snuggled deeper into her blanket casing, trying her best to fight against her drooping eyelids.

“It was all very tough… getting enough food to feed you, slaving away at the Gym… But it was all worth it and I wouldn’t have had it any other way…”

“Niiite~” Nitey began to hum a lullaby, gently lulling his partner to sleep as he gazed up upon the endless skies above him, all ripe for exploration, and feeling glad that he chose to venture out with Nina all those years ago as well.

***

Author's note:

Alright, that's it. That's the last of the Side Stories.

Do let me know what you thought of them so far and if you enjoyed it.

Because even if no one liked them, I would still have written them since there was no room in the main story without bogging down the pacing too much.

And I figured, better this than a lengthy break right?

Anyways, next release will be on Monday. And it will be a bulk release of Chapter 161-165.