Into the Unown (Pokemon Fanfiction OC)

Chapter 277.5: Gretel Reise ins Zauberland

Nina got out of the shower to the sight of Gretel timidly hovering around Rinny, like someone who was cautiously admiring a particularly fragile piece of art. The two otherworlders had decided to bunk together for the night.

There were many other rooms in Agatha’s family mansion. But Gretel had only cleaned out one of them for her own use. The older girl had offered to prepare another room for Nina as well but she did not want to trouble her too much. 

“It’s just one night anyway. And just because Agatha treats her like a maid, doesn’t mean I should too.”

The room itself was quite homey and filled with all sorts of knick-knacks that Gretel had gathered over the years, mostly fabrics and yarn — the young woman seemed to have an affinity with knitting and tailoring. It was also a testament to how long she had been living here. 

Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough space in the room to fit all of Nina’s Pokemon. So, aside from Espy, Azzy and Rinny, everyone else was in their Pokeballs. The team had been quite reluctant to leave Nina’s side after their most recent ordeal.

“Beautiful, isn’t he?” Nina chimed, startling her roommate who jumped up in fright and shrunk away from Rinny.

“Eeek! Err… Y-yes… Wait, is a he?”

The two of them were speaking in English, of course. Though Gretel’s speech remained a touch quirky since it wasn’t her primary language.

Nina giggled and approached to cuddle against Rinny, even beckoning for Gretel to come join her. “Yup. But don’t worry about it, I keep making that same mistake myself given how pretty Rinny is.”

“Riiin~♪”

“Hehehe… Yes, he is very pretty.” Emboldened by Nina’s invitation, Gretel got close to gently caress the Primarina’s luscious blue hair as well. “You teach all your Pokemon English?” She asked.

Nina tilted her head in confusion. “Hmmm? No. Pokemon understands us by extracting intent directly from speech. So it doesn’t matter what language we’re speaking. Have you never tried speaking German with Terry before?”

Gretel froze then glanced towards her shadow. “I… Terry?”

“Haun~ ter!”

“Verstehen Sie mich?”

“Haunt?” The Haunter seemed a little confused by the question but ultimately nodded in understanding.

Gretel shuddered. Then pulled her partner in for a tight hug, sniffling a little as she did. “I never knew…”

Nina, not wanting to interrupt, opted to rummage around her backpack instead to produce a bottle of Shuckle Juice. One of the remaining two bottles from Bobby that she was saving for a special occasion. “Should have gone to visit Bobby and bought more while we were back home.”

“Es!”

“I know, babe. But this person, she’s important to me.” Even if they had barely known each other for a day.

“I know Germans are more into beer and all, but this is all I have. Care for a drink?” Nina asked, distracting Gretel from her moment.

The older girl frowned. “Is that… wine?”

Nina chuckled. “No, I’m not old enough to drink yet. Not in this body anyway. No, this is Shuckle Juice. Have you tried it before?”

The girl shook her head. “I think I saw in das Pokemart. Never tried… seems scary. And what you mean this body?”

Nina beckoned for the girl to join her by the desk as she decanted the bottle and poured its contents into some mugs, making sure to prepare bowls for the Pokemon as well. Mainly just to placate Espy.

“Well… The way I ended up here was kind of cliche. I got hit by a truck and just woke up in this body.” The girl chuckled feebly. “So I guess you can kinda say that I’m a body snatcher…” She added reluctantly, fully expecting to be condemned for her existence.

Except, Gretel just tilted her head in confusion. “So you were reborn? What you mean body snatcher?”

“Err…not really…? Nina — the real Nina — was just two years old when I took over. She had just had an accident and was in critical condition…”

Gretel nodded along as Nina told her story. She had not been expecting to trauma dump on the poor girl, but the flow of words just wouldn’t stop. “Feels kind of good actually, to let it all out.” All those secrets she had been keeping, the guilt plaguing her conscience and the grief hidden deep within her core.

“Sounds horrible, your new mother.” Gretel said, when Nina got to describing her second upbringing.

The girl laughed. “Leanette’s alright. She’s a victim of her own set of circumstances. We’re mostly good now. And besides, I kinda owe it to her, you know? Since I stole her daughter and all. These days, I even feel bad about reporting her back then. Like, maybe there should have been a better solution… a gentler solution. But I was simply too apathetic to find it.”

With a vehement shake of her head, Gretel denied Nina’s censure. “You keep saying steal, like you had choice. Is not your fault. You miss your family, your real family. And this Leanette, she was bad mother.” She pulled Nina into an awkward hug, it was clear that Gretel was not used to placating others. “Must be hard, to miss your family. I can understand. I miss my family too…”

That last sentence was said in the barest of whispers. And Nina could feel it, the rawness of Gretel’s grief, that intense yearning for home — that same longing that Nina felt towards Miles’ parents, especially now that she had been reminded of them in her dream.

Nina shuddered, sniffling a little as she returned the hug, only for as long as it took for Gretel to begin tensing that they let go. “Thanks… for understanding. It’s nice to be able to talk to somebody about this. But what about you? What’s your family like?”

Gretel’s smile faltered a little as she took a big sip of her Shuckle Juice. Then, as if recalling a happy memory, her poise visibly loosened. “I remember, when I was little girl, I once sneak wine from Mama’s glass. But the taste was so bad I almost vomit… My Papa, he saw and laughed. Said to me; ‘No, you silly girl. You German, drink this instead!’ Then he handed me his beer and that one was no better.”

Gretel laughed and Nina laughed with her.

“Yeah… I remember my trip to Berlin. Pretty much spent the whole trip going from brewery to brewery. Like seriously, you guys’ beer game is on point — beer and bread. ‘Cause man, those pretzels… I still dream about those pretzels I had. No wonder the world likes to make fun of us yanks and our Bud Light.”

“Hehe. Papa always said beer is in our blood. That is why our pee is yellow. Maybe I will like it if I drink beer now. Beer, döner and currywurst, with papa, someday…”

The two otherworlders continued to chat, sipping their drinks as they each reminisced about their bygone life. Gretel and Nina had little in common. The former was a teenling when she fell into this world while Nina had been a full grown adult, each living in their own little parts of the world.

Gretel mostly talked about her family and school life while Nina regaled her with Miles’ experience traveling the world and all the wondrous things she had seen in her new life. They conversed, each making jokes and references that completely flew over the other’s head. But none of that mattered. What mattered was the solidarity, the comfort in knowing that they were not alone in their struggles.

And when Nina finally judged that Gretel had opened up to her, she asked; “How exactly did you end up here, if you don’t mind me asking?”

The older girl sighed. “Mama and Papa, they love nature. Me and my brother, not so much. But we go where they go. Spreewald is very beautiful in autumn. Golden trees and calm water, but… very boring.” She chuckled. “So I wander alone, I walk and I walk… Then suddenly, the light turned dark and the golden trees vanish. I was still in forest, but not Spreewald.”

Gretel described hearing voices in the wind and seeing shadows in the dark. “My brother likes Pokemon. Greninja is his favourite, so I know Greninja and I know Pikachu. But nothing else.”

Unlike Miles, Gretel was very much a normie, completely divorced from any video game knowledge, let alone Pokemon. Whatever she knew of the franchise was gained purely through osmosis of her younger brother’s childish fascinations.

“I thought the Pokemon were monsters. They do not look like animals I know. I was scared, so I run. I run and run until I find little house — a scary house, grabstein everywhere outside. But nowhere else to go, so I open door and hide inside.”

“That was where you met Agatha.” Nina chimed.

Gretel responded with a wry smile, as if reliving an awkward memory. “Oma found me hiding. At first she did not want me. Told me to leave. But I promise her work for stay because I don’t know what to do, where to go. She was very grumpy but still she agree. Oma can be grumpy but she is actually very kind. But I only learned later… I wish I learned sooner…”

Nina gave Gretel’s hand a little squeeze. She had largely pieced together the reason for Gretel’s continued presence in the mansion from what Agatha had told her. 

Following Agatha’s demise, the otherworldly girl had been tasked with delivering her benefactor’s ashes from halfway across the globe. It was likely that the old woman had intended to force the girl out of her shell and learn to appreciate this new world she had found herself in — a final act of kindness to the stray who wandered into her home.

Unfortunately, the reveal that Agatha’s spirit was still very much alive and present had largely undone whatever revelations Gretel attained throughout the course of her long journey. And now, she had convinced herself that she needed to tend to Agatha until the very end, unwilling to move on from her sentiments.

“What do you plan on doing after this is all over?” Because it would be over soon enough. Once Nina dispelled the curse anchoring Spiritomb to the world, it was certain that Agatha would finally allow herself to fade from the mortal plane.

“I… I don’t know. Maybe go back to the village? There are many old people that need help.” Gretel sobbed, tears welling from her eyes. “I don’t want to leave but I know Agatha is tired… I cannot make her stay. She needs to rest.” The girl confessed, then broke out into an ugly cry at the prospect of being left alone in this foreign world.

Nina, feeling a sting in her eyes, pulled Gretel into a tight embrace. The two of them remained that way, Gretel wailing in anguish and clutching Nina tight until she finally tired enough to stop.

That night, with the assistance of Azzy, Nina took Gretel on a guided dream tour of her home. The suburbs of Jersey were hardly Europe but it was the thought that mattered.