Into the Unown (Pokemon Fanfiction OC)

Chapter 280

Team Nina’s battle with Spiritomb was an extreme example of why domains were so effective at the higher level. Because while Pokemon had access to a reserve of their native Type Energy at all times, moves that required Type Energy beyond those reserves were reliant on the ambient Type Energies available in the environment.And here in Limbo, at the center of the Murasaki Clan’s crumbling spiritual formation and under Spiritomb’s domain, it was just an endless expanse of Ghost and Dark, leaving Nina’s Pokemon with nothing but their innate reserves to rely upon and not a single shred of ambient Normal Type Energy they could convert.

In other words, it was a battle of attrition under the most hostile of circumstances with access to only a small portion of their vast arsenal of moves.

Azzy had done her best in countering Spiritomb’s influence with her own domain. But the Mega Gengar had been forced to keep the scope of her Aura confined to maximise her family’s wellbeing, enabling only a limited area in which they could freely operate — much like a submarine in the deepest and most oppressive depths of the ocean.

The purple flames surrounding them struck in the form of a hundred flaming Hex blades raining down upon the mortals, only to be met with a swoosh of Rinny’s tail to summon an ascending, all encompassing wall of Waterfall in defense, his Mystic Water pendant gleaming all the while. 

“Prima… Rina~ ♪”

The Primarina sang and the circular wall of Water swirled, shifting into a Whirlpool to wash away the encroaching flames and smother their baleful light.

“S̶̡̛̱̪͈̣͕̫̳̘̣͚̙̞̱̫̖͐̎̓̈́͊p̴͕͈̻̲̥͇͉̰͉̲̮̓̾̑̄̊̈̆͛͗̑̅ͅi̸̡̡̺̙̱̩̦̩̮͙͓̝̥̝̞͋͌̈́̎̇̀̊͘͘̕i̷̹̜̹͈͕̞̗̪̮̝͙̋͜ì̸̛̳͈͔̳̘̅̈́̈̽͗̍̉͗̚̕į̴̰̥͍͈̺̹̘̗͔͚͍̌́͆́̇͛̚͜ͅi̸̧͍̼͔͂̓̉̅̆̇̆̄̈́͗̐̂̽̈́͂͘̕ï̵̢̜͕̟̭͓͚͕̦͈̰͗̑͆̉̓̈͊̀̈́̎̎̓͝ͅǐ̴̢͉̭̜̪̰͇͈̙̭͈̤̟̮͐͜ȉ̶̯̜̝̫͘i̸͕̦͖̹̫͎͛́́̀̈̈́̊̈́̋͑̕͘͠͝͝͝͝į̴͇̖̯̥̬̯̪̝͊́̋̈́͊̈́͊̏̀́́̿̈́͜i̷̞͈̺̼͗͊̓͒͊̈́̾͊̈̅͝!̴͚̾̓̿̎̽̆̈́̅̓̒̽͒̃̏͝͝!̵̨̜̭͙͇̠̱̞͉̀̍́!̴̝̞̪̊̇ͅ” 

Spiritomb cried out in anguish, the shell of the damned surrounding its core sundered, creating momentary gaps in the revenant’s aberrant unity.

Nina grinned. “That’s right, keep it up! We need to create a big enough opening for a single decisive strike!”

The Pokemon cried out in tandem as Brucey broke out into a squadron of Kage Bunshin to intercept some of the Spiritomb wisps that slipped through Rinny’s barricade — the Crobat was put on support duty to fill in for Espy who was tied up by Miracle Eye.

Wisp after purple wisps extinguished under a rough bombardment of Mud Shot from Sir Clodington, earning him a resentful look from Brucey whose clones suffered a couple instances of friendly fire.

Meanwhile, Nitey continued to dance, layering Dragon Dance after Dragon Dance until his body was pushed to the brink, steadily feeding into an orb of hyper condensed Dragon Type Energy at the tip of his tail.

“S̵̢̨̨͎̟̼͖̜̥̖̫̈́̑P̵̢̥̱̺̮͉̰̺̳̣͚̈́̾͛̓͗̓̆̄͆͊̆̏̽̃̅͋̑ͅỈ̸̢͖̻͕͙͔͉͇̩̞̩̤̙̻̆͋̎̏͂̄̎͜Ŗ̸̨̨̛̗͔͎̞̹͎͑͊͋̾͒̃̚̚͜͠I̶̼͔̘͓̤̺̯͔̫̟̍͌T̶̰̻̘̪̹̜̱̝̯̯́̋̂̾͑͋́̀̀̏̏͘͝͝Ơ̴̡̨̫̟͕̗̝̖̖̤͎͕̺̤͗̈̌̊̊͋́̕͘͜͠ͅǪ̵̺̩͕̪̟̦̪͂̈͂̄̃͂́̈́͗̽̓̈́̍͒͑̋͝O̶̻̱͎̮̟̝̲̤̯̲̔̄̂̿̆̃̉̂̀̓̂͝ͅŎ̸̰̼͕͈̙̜̮͇̪̇͐̍̓̕M̸̨̼̟̪͂̀̒̆̉͐̒͒͐̏̾̍ͅB̴̳̯͖̩̭͖̻́̑́̽̀̃͂̂̃̄̇̎!!!!!”

The desperation in Spiritomb’s wail compounded with every wisp extinguished, the 107 revenants tied to its existence writhing with increased fervour, each driven by their instincts to break free, to defy the occult forces binding them and to feast upon the living. Far off in the distance, the denizens of Lavender Town were like Chinchous in the deep ocean, taunting them, stoking their resentment towards all that they had lost.

“Now, Nitey! Draco Pulse”

“DRAGOOOOO!!!”

The Mega Dragonite heaved and his tail orb glowed. Then, with a flourishing whip of the serpentine appendage, flung a destructive ball of Dragon Type Energy right between the gaps of those wretched souls.

Spiritomb’s wailing had been so incessant that the sudden silence was like a splash of cold. And for a single, agonising second, the wisps dimmed as the revenant swelled. Until…

“S̷̢̢̭͙͖̱͖̤̲̭̖̯̮̥͇̖̀̈́̍̎̊̈́̾̒̏̇̑̈́̈́̇̀͘P̵̨̦̲̳͈̳͚͔̯̘̟͈͚̰̗͍͆̿͜͜I̵̛̟̠̹͙̱̪͚̰͚̟̝̰͇͉̘̎̾͑̈́͌̓̊̈́̃̎͊̿̍͘͝Ḯ̵̢̛̳̩̠̻̤̗̹͙̜̳̲̥̃̎̄͂́̄͛͜ͅȊ̴̢̛̛̦̫̙̱͓͓̪̫͓̠̯̗̟̱͗̑̈̾́͆̄͛̈́̊͊̌͝͝͠I̵̛̘̟͙̩͓̫̱̙̳͚͐̈́́ͅĮ̸̛̖̱̮̘̗̮̹͇͙͎̪̯̯̏͛͜I̶̖̰̜̞͙͉̻̳̅͛̏I̵͚̺̦̻͎̤̩͌͗͛͐̔̍̊͒̓͛̃͑̿̂̈́̏͠I̸̡̹̳̼̲̮̻̫̭̩̾I̶̡̬͕͎̣͚͓̘̮̣̘̠̗͒́̋̾̄͝Ï̴̘̻̜̫̗̆̎͑͌͊̈́͒̀͆̑̓͒̉̇̀̚I̴̧̬̓̉̀͐̾̍̓̾̕͠͝Ỉ̸̻̮̤̫̎̓̒̃̾͆̇̽̑̊̚I̶̯͈̹͎̯̾̈̌Į̸̦͇̮̟̣͓͖̞̳̜̬̰̹̟͆̍̃̊͂̽̇́̑̎͆́͘͜I̶̧͓͉͔̝̤͔̻̫̜͒̌͜͜͝!̶̧̛̛̥̐̄͗̽͐̉̀́̓̇̉͗̕͠͝!̷̼̉̇̈́!̸̨̛̩̜̟̭̌͊̈́̋̐̋̒͘͜͝͠͝!̵̠̮̘̠͕͎̘̻̗̯̈̉̐͐̏̓̏̄̐̎̕͜͝!̵̡̹̣͔͉͓̩̖̰̰̭̻͈̳̞̊̄̔̔̀͛͂͌̚̕͜͠!̴̧̛͚̹̟̜̹͌̃̋̏̾̔̓͗͆͋̽͐̔̚̕̕͝!̴̨̟̖̄̂̓!̶̡̧̨͇͎̥̝̦̲̪́̓̆̉̾́̌́̕̚͘!̴̢̧̨̛̞̰̰͍̖̦͉͙͉̦͚̪͓̻̂!̷̗̼͙̻̟͖̤͍̎̋͜͜”

Spiritomb shrieked — a cry of pain so piercing that Nina retched against the ground. All the hurt she had endured in all of her two lives, the pain of being hit by a truck, the agony of being burned alive, all those moments of suffering brought back in a single overwhelming instant.

The pain was so immense and so abrupt that the girl didn’t even have time to cry, just reduced to a broken puddle on the ground as Nitey howled, trying but failing to share in his partner’s burden, his mind on the verge of madness from the sudden collapse of their bond.

“GEEEEN! GENGAAAAAR!!!”

“ESSS!!!”

“RIIIIIIIN!!!”

Azzy cried out in desperation as she struggled to keep their Mega Evolution intact, all while stressing the sanctuary of her domain to the very limit and taking on the damage that would have otherwise torn her family’s souls asunder.

Meanwhile, Espy was forced to drop her Miracle Eye in favor of a protective barrier, the Psychic aegis flickering feebly against the veritable tsunami of Darkness despite the aid of a Misty Terrain and Dazzling Gleam from Rinny to break the tide.

“Get up, girl!” came a chiding voice in their heads. “Is this all you amount to?! The Odd Keystone is cracked and Spiritomb has to devour itself to repair the harm. Now is your chance! One more decisive strike… GET UP!”

Then, a deafening clack as Agatha’s staff positioned itself in front of the incapacitated Nina and her flagging team of Pokemon. Mercifully, the tide faltered and the pain lessened against the phantom Pokemon Master’s shadow.

A single broken petal flickered past Nina’s tear-filled vision, its once-vibrant purple sheen now a brown and withered shred.

“Urgh…” Nina clenched and forced herself to fight through the numbness that followed an absence of pain. The girl wretched, heaving for air. Her lungs were burning and throat tight from suffocation. Until a rebreather floated in front of her face, held aloft by an ethereal Psychic Aura.

She grasped for it desperately and shoved it into her mouth for a second wind. “Thanks Espy…” Nina whimpered as the gentle caress of a familiar presence briefly touched her mind. “Need to… get up!”

Reaching out with her very being, Nina could sense her partner’s rising distress, prompting the girl to clamp down on that waning thread in an effort to steady their bond. “I’m here, Nitey… I’m here… Still alive, still kicking…”

“Cro…”

“Cloooood!”

A familiar set of wings enveloped Nina in a protective embrace as a bouncy lump nudged against her to provide a buttress on which she could prop herself up.

“T-Thanks, Brucey… Thanks… Clody…”

With a forceful wipe of her face against her sleeves, one more snort and a cough to clear the gunk clogging her orifices, Nina rose, steadily, one shaky knee at a time as Nitey began to calm from his berserking state as well.

“And t-thanks… for the save, Agat—”

The ghostly spectre of the former Elite Four was in a precarious state. The bouquet of flowers adorning the staff, while once withered, was now further reduced to but a handful of balding stalks, the fading chrysanthemum blossoms shedding petals at a worrying rate.

“Agatha! Fall back! I’m good now! AGATHA!!!”

“Pfeh! About damn time, you twerp! Now go and finish this while I still have the strength to witness.”

Nina held back her tears and forced out a resolute nod. She could see that the Spiritomb had drawn in closer to its core, the spirits surrounding it wailing more desperately than ever before as their numbers diminished one by one, spiralling into that purple flame to help mend the fissure of their bindings.

“Heh. Gluttonous one aren’t you?” She reached to her belt and unclipped an Ultra Ball. “But… When it comes to gluttony, I’ve got someone here who has you beat.”

Nina tossed out that black and golden sphere, and what emerged in a dark flash of light was not that familiar visage of anchor and seaweed, but a deluge of bloated corpses and splintered wreckage all tangled up in a mess of sea detritus. Within which, a ravenous hunger hid, driving the eldritch being to surge forth and gorge on the buffet of souls that was Spiritomb.

This was Dhelmise’s true form. The manifestation of its spirit in Limbo — a combination of drowning laments and nautical memories of a sinking ship, bound to the forces of nature by a deluge of ravenous, parasitic sea algae. 

Seeing this, Nina finally understood. Her Dhelmise was no better than the Spiritomb she was opposing. That perhaps, she may never form meaningful bonds with it the way that she had hoped. For its very existence was naught but raw instincts and unbridled grief held together by a fragile thread of voracious sapience. “Lilian was right…”

As the spirit of Dhelmise writhed, so too did a wafting stench emanated from its being; a repulsively fishy smell, like an open seafood market on a hot and humid summer’s day.

Nina gagged and threw up once more, her stomach like a juice box twisted into a knot. Even Espy sneered and tightened her barrier to block out the smell but to no avail. For the stench was not of an olfactory nature, but a rot straight from the soul.

“Heh. What a deplorable being.” Agatha chimed. “But in this case, a useful one. Better to feed those foolish ancestors of mine to your Dhelmise than allow them to sustain this curse… Good work, now get it together and finish this!”

“AHHHHHH!!!!!!”

“DRAGOOOOOO!!!!!!!”

Nina roared and so too did Nitey as the Mega Dragonite wreathed in shadowy regalia charged forth in a streaky blur of purple, black and white, fist aiming for that hairline crack struggling to heal from Spiritomb’s struggles against Dhelmise — Dragon Rush.

“NIIIITE! DRAGONIIIIITE!!!”

The world shuddered, the darkness fractured, and the geometric bindings surrounding the courtyard scattered.

“S̷̢̢̭͙͖̱͖̤̲̭̖̯̮̥͇̖̀̈́̍̎̊̈́̾̒̏̇̑̈́̈́̇̀͘P̵̨̦̲̳͈̳͚͔̯̘̟͈͚̰̗͍͆̿͜͜I̵̛̟̠̹͙̱̪͚̰͚̟̝̰͇͉̘̎̾͑̈́͌̓̊̈́̃̎͊̿̍͘͝Ḯ̵̢̛̳̩̠̻̤̗̹͙̜̳̲̥̃̎̄͂́̄͛͜ͅȊ̴̢̛̛̦̫̙̱͓͓̪̫͓̠̯̗̟̱͗̑̈̾́͆̄͛̈́̊͊̌͝͝͠I̵̛̘̟͙̩͓̫̱̙̳͚͐̈́́ͅĮ̸̛̖̱̮̘̗̮̹͇͙͎̪̯̯̏͛͜I̶̖̰̜̞͙͉̻̳̅͛̏I̵͚̺̦̻͎̤̩͌͗͛͐̔̍̊͒̓͛̃͑̿̂̈́̏͠I̸̡̹̳̼̲̮̻̫̭̩̾I̶̡̬͕͎̣͚͓̘̮̣̘̠̗͒́̋̾̄͝Ï̴̘̻̜̫̗̆̎͑͌͊̈́͒̀͆̑̓͒̉̇̀̚I̴̧̬̓̉̀͐̾̍̓̾̕͠͝Ỉ̸̻̮̤̫̎̓̒̃̾͆̇̽̑̊̚I̶̯͈̹͎̯̾̈̌Į̸̦͇̮̟̣͓͖̞̳̜̬̰̹̟͆̍̃̊͂̽̇́̑̎͆́͘͜I̶̧͓͉͔̝̤͔̻̫̜͒̌͜͜͝!̶̧̛̛̥̐̄͗̽͐̉̀́̓̇̉͗̕͠͝!̷̼̉̇̈́!̸̨̛̩̜̟̭̌͊̈́̋̐̋̒͘͜͝͠͝!̵̠̮̘̠͕͎̘̻̗̯̈̉̐͐̏̓̏̄̐̎̕͜͝!̵̡̹̣͔͉͓̩̖̰̰̭̻͈̳̞̊̄̔̔̀͛͂͌̚̕͜͠!̴̧̛͚̹̟̜̹͌̃̋̏̾̔̓͗͆͋̽͐̔̚̕̕͝!̴̨̟̖̄̂̓!̶̡̧̨͇͎̥̝̦̲̪́̓̆̉̾́̌́̕̚͘!̴̢̧̨̛̞̰̰͍̖̦͉͙͉̦͚̪͓̻̂!̷̗̼͙̻̟͖̤͍̎̋͜͜”

And with one final shriek, the Odd Keystone shattered into a thousand pieces. Then, nothingness as everything faded…

***

Nina awoke smelling like piss and vomit, mind plagued by a sense of deja vu as she once again found herself laying on a scratchy turf of grass while surrounded by her Pokemon.

“You know… All things considered, that was easier than I expected it to be.” All that time preparing for the final battle was worth it after all.

“Pfeh! The Spiritomb was incomplete and bound in chains. Breaking it was as simple as smothering a baby in their crib. It’s a wonder you struggled as much as you did!”

Nina sat up with a chuckle, to see the fading phantom of Agatha with her back against her and staring off into the skies. The old woman’s form was wispy and translucent, just barely holding on to its feeble shape.

“Agatha…”

“Do not weep, child. I have had to deal with enough tears in a day to last a lifetime.”

“Gretel… I need to go get her. Just hang on for a little longer— ow!” The familiar bonk of wood against bone once again landed on Nina’s head.

“Mind your own business, child! That girl is more resilient than she could ever give herself credit for…” Agatha’s voice tapered as she let loose a forlorn sigh. “The woman known as Agatha — the woman in Gretel’s memories — died years ago. What lingers is but a stubborn echo, devoid of spirit, undeserving of grief…”

Nina frowned. “You’re wrong! Farewells and funerals are for the living! So that they may lay down their regrets and move on with life. Your stubborn refusal to allow Gretel closure will do nothing but poison the rest of her life!”

“She is right!”

Agatha scowled and turned her gaze to the side, where a blonde-haired girl in a red dress stood, pouting with her arms against her hips.

“You stupid, stubborn, grumpy woman! How dare you leave without goodbye!”

“Gretel…”

The girl chuckled and stepped forth to her side. “So finally you call my name.”

“Pfeh.” Agatha snorted, but her breath was weak and lacked her usual gumption. “I keep telling you, girl… Stop clinging to my skirt and move on already. There is so much more to the world than this bitter old hag and that ramshackle little cottage.”

Gretel sniffled, then sucked in her tears with a deep and shaky breath. “And I will… Once I finish telling you how much I love you, how much I thank you and… how much I will miss you…”

The girl sobbed then fell forward with a hug, only to phase right through the ghostly woman and clutch miserably against her staff instead.

“Oh child…” Misty tears fell from the phantom’s eyes, her form fading even more with every single drop. “I will miss you too… And thank you for restoring colour to my life in these final moments.”

Agatha’s arms hovered over Gretel’s hunched form in a gentle embrace as the girl bawled her eyes out, sobbing and wailing like a newborn babe in her mother’s bosom.

“Promise me you will be happy… Promise me you will be at peace…”

Agatha chortled. “I have worked my entire life to pursue peace in death, child. And no one, not even the light of Arceus or the madness of Giratina, will keep me away from it.”

Nina watched on with tear-filled eyes at the heartbreaking farewell, unable to avert her gaze.

“That child is in the basement...” Agatha’s voice whispered in Nina’s ears. “But be wary… I suspect his mood will be incredibly foul after all these years of restless slumber.”

The girl nodded and gripped her Mew Gem tight. “I will put an end to this farce once and for all. You can count on it.”

Agatha smiled and, with one final whisper in Gretel’s ears, faded into motes of light and ascended into that endless azure expanse, to join the wind and the clouds in their peaceful respite.

In the silence that followed, all that was left was a grief-stricken girl in a vibrant red dress, legs crumpled against the empty ground and a weathered black staff in her embrace.

Nina rose and pulled Gretel into a hug where they stayed, sobbing and wailing until a foreign, pain-filled howl reverberated in the air.