Into the Unown (Pokemon Fanfiction OC)-Chapter 218

Into the Unown (Pokemon Fanfiction OC)-Chapter 218

“C-Congrat-tulations… Y-You’ve earned a-a H-Hive Badge with a s-star…” Bugsy stammered as he met Nina in the middle of a crater that used to be his arena.
“Thanks.” The girl replied, amidst ruin and rubble with a cold, deadpan smile on her face. The sunlight pouring in from the broken ceiling casting a sinister shadow around her eyes.
True to her promise, Nina did not hold back at all during her match with the Azalea Gym Leader. And it wasn’t just the depressing sight of her precious friend that triggered her either.
Before the start of the match, Bugsy had proposed a wager to her — that were she to lose, Aquarium Girl would have to undertake a collaborative project with their Gym. All the while, the nervous idol boy would keep stealing glances to where Danny Kitagawa, his agent, was sitting, the sleazebag repeatedly throwing two thumbs up and gleaming smiles at the young man.
The former pissed her off, but the poor attempt at manipulation in the latter turned her catastrophic. And so, Nina sent Nitey out as her first pick with one simple instruction; “No mercy.”
It did not matter how steely the carapace of Bugsy’s Bug Types were or how solid the Protect. None could withstand a Draco Pulse at point blank.
And it certainly did not matter how elusive Bugsy’s collection of Scythers and Scizors were in their little forest arena. A single, unrestrained barrage of Draco Meteor was all it took to reduce everything into ash and rubble.
Who cared how fast Bugsy was in swapping his Pokemon? Espy certainly didn’t. All it took was a barrier to lock the critters in place and deny the Pokeball’s light as she slowly toyed with them like a Persian would a Pidgey.
Poison, Sleep, Paralysis? Nina would like to see them try as they slowly suffocate in Sir Clodington’s swamp.
Funnily enough, Bugsy did not pull a Fairy Type on her the way that the other Gym Leaders did. Probably because there was only one known Bug and Fairy hybrid in the form of the Cutiefly line.
A shame. And here Nina had made a special run to the Pokemon Center to transfer Dhelmise over, consequences of the voracious Ghost Type losing control be damned.
“A-As for the reward… Ahem. Since reparations are due for the destruction of the Gy— eek!” Bugsy yelped as Nina leaned in menacingly, the sheer vitriol in her eyes causing all the blood to drain from his face.
“If you’re looking for compensation. Feel free to make a call to the Cerulean Gym. I’m sure the Mizuhanas would absolutely
love
to have that conversation with you. I trust you have their number?”
Bugsy nodded fervently, letting out a quiet whimper before scurrying away from the crazy mermaid girl like a cockroach.
Of course, Nina wasn’t mean. So she didn’t end up claiming her cash prize. Nor did she press Bugsy for the TM that he owed her. But she did stop by to see Mimi at the reception desk to register her win — the bespectacled girl was glaring at her with silent threats of retribution all the while.
But again, Nina did not care. If anything she felt rather refreshed as she left to go to the Pokemon Center with a snickering Justin and a flabbergasted Kerry in tow. The nurse girl made sure to give her an earful later on, saying that she overreacted.
***
“What’s this I hear about you demolishing Bugsy’s Gym?”
Nina scoffed. “I didn’t ‘demolish’ it. Stupid twink was just being a drama queen.”
“I SAW the pictures!” Violet exclaimed, veins looking like they were about to pop out of the screen from which the pair was conversing.
The girl shrugged. “It’s just the arena. And besides, he made my friend cry and tried to con me into some sort of sketchy pyramid scheme, something about Porygonchains and NFTs. No way I was letting him get away with it. If he’s demanding reparations then just deduct it from my share of the commercial sponsorships.” Bugsy’s Gym was pretty basic and run down, so she doubted it would cost that much to fix.
“That’s not the
point
! The beatdown you gave him is all over the Pokenet. Bugsy’s fangirls are all frothing at the mouth to tear you apart!”
“And I’m sure that the other side of that equation, his haters — of which there are many if my understanding is correct — are all glazing me up. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.” Nina laughed.
“And besides, since when has Violet Mizuhana of all people cared about our talents’ image? Because if you did then you should have started by admonishing Misty before her name got dragged through the trenches of every tabloid in existence.” For as long as Nina knew the women, her philosophy had always been “scandal equals profit”.
Violet groaned and slammed a fist onto her desk. “I
care
when it impacts our profitability, Nina! You were our safety net, a regional hero! The innocent adorkable girl that everyone loved across all demographics. And now, you’ve just gone and alienated a segment of the market. Even the older folks are starting to feel a little disillusioned from your little stunt!”
Nina sighed. “Look, I’m sorry if my tantrum caused the Gym some losses. It’s not that big a deal anyway, I’ll just take on a few extra jobs when I get to Goldenrod next month — happy? Just don’t expect me to make a public apology or anything because I’d rather get in the mouth of a Muk.”
Violet grinned. “Fine, I’ll make a call to Whitney’s agent and make some arrangements. Be sure to call once you set foot into Goldenrod. No excuses, you hear?”
“What?! No! Not Whitney! Anything but Whitney!”
The Goldenrod Gym Leader was notorious for being a narcissistic diva of the highest order. If Nina had ever thought that her coworkers in the Cerulean Gym were insufferable, Whitney was that but times eleven.
“Hehe. Too late now, kiddo. You already agreed to it.”
“Dammit Violet! Don’t you dare— Hang up on me! FUCK!” Nina breathed, quietly hissing to avoid causing a commotion.
The girl was presently in a private booth in the Pokemon Center, but the soundproofing wasn’t perfect and yelling her lungs out was a surefire way of getting in trouble.
“Just gotta deal with this one step at a time, Nina. One step at a time…”
This wasn’t the first time that Violet strong-armed her like this and it wouldn’t be the last. She just had to make a call to Mizuho, her manager, to work out a compromise.
Nina’s agent was on a commission, so it was in her best interest to increase her charge’s profitability. But at the same time, Mizuho was also quite a matronly figure with a lot of affection towards Nina. So it was oftentimes that she would act as the middle ground between Violet’s greed and Nina’s desires.
“Stupid Bugsy, stupid twink… I should have torn his Gym down completely…”
***
“Here, I forgot to give this to you yesterday… It’s a TM for Fury Cutter”
Nina’s eyes narrowed in surprise as she gingerly took hold of the TM case from Bugsy. This was not what she expected when the young Gym Leader had asked to meet in front of her inn.
“Thanks…err… Sorry about your Gym. I might’ve… gotten a little carried away.”
“Oh, no worries. Haha…” Bugsy’s laugh was followed by an awkward smile that exuded an almost ephemeral innocence, his face accentuated by a gentle flutter of his shoulder length purple hair. Paired with his androgynous features, delicate build, and that vulnerable look in his lilac eyes, Nina could almost see the appeal.
“Nah… Even if I was into guys, I’d prefer someone more sophisticated and intelligent. Not some pretty boytoy.”
“I received a call from Lady Violet and she offered to help with the repairs — seemed quite happy about it too… Drove a really hard bargain though. I’ve never seen Danny that angry before.”
Nina groaned. “That guilt tripping, manipulative bitch, ‘alienated a segment of the market’ my ass…”
“Sorry?”
“Oh, no. I was just thinking out loud. Anyways, thanks for TM. It was nice of you to come all this way.”
Bugsy chuckled. “Ours is a small town so it’s not that much of a hassle. But you’re welcome. Are you heading into Ilex Forest next?”
“Yup.” Nina affirmed without elaborating any further. She didn’t trust Bugsy enough to reveal her intentions of wanting to seek out Celebi — this was only their second interaction together, and their first meeting was not exactly an amicable one.
“Right, erm…” Bugsy scratched the back of his head in a sheepish manner. “Do be careful. Ilex Forest is huge and there are a lot of places there that are kind of… weird. I practically grew up there and even I can’t claim to know the forest as well as I should.”
Nina’s eyes glinted. “Define what you mean by weird… And do you mind marking out all these suspicious areas on my map please? Just so that me and my friends know what to avoid, of course.”
Bugsy tilted his head in confusion. “Sure… But um, the Rangers and I worked really hard to lay down a path that would take you right through the forest. So if you just follow the trail then you shouldn’t need to worry about getting lost.”
Nina let out an innocent smile. “My friend, Justin, is quite adventurous you see. We might end up spending some time off route just to see if there’s any Pokemon for him to catch — he has a fair amount of interest in Bug Types. Boys, amirite? I’d rather be prepared than not. Just in case, you know?”
“Ah, right. Better safe than sorry and all that. Sure thing! I’ll mark out some of the areas you should avoid in the forest as well as any notable Pokemon colonies. It’s always great to see people take an interest in Bug Types. Did you know that Pineco are pure Bug Type? They look like a pinecone and so most people assume that they’re Grass Type but actually…”
Nina spent an inordinate amount of time after that chatting with Bugsy and trying her darndest to subtly poke him for more intel. Aside from that though, the guy was delightfully nerdy and was practically a walking Pokedex of all things Bug Types. Were she not so distracted, she would have loved to conduct a more thorough exchange with him.
***
Author's note:
I apologise to all the Bugsy stans out there who might have taken offense towards my treatment of him.
Despite my personal dislike of him, it is against my principles to blatantly assasinate his character. So the intention was to have Danny, his agent, be a pariah of sorts -- the mastermind leading him astray. Hence why I even introduced such a character.
In my mind, Bugsy will forever be that earnest boy with a deep love of all things Bug Type. But with the way he battles in the games, it wasn't particularly hard to put a more negative spin on it really.
Hopefully that final scene balanced the scales a little bit and showcased more of Bugsy's true character. Considering that Nina and her friends hadn't had any sort of personal interaction with him outside of their respective Gym battle.
Btw, Danny Kitagawa is a reference to Johnny Kitagawa. If you don't know who that is, bless your innocent soul.
And just as an aside, if I ever feel like writing smut about Bugsy (which would be never) It'd be like that one meme of the shota in a bus surrounded by two onee-sans. Or that other meme with him in the couch and a group of buff muscular men standing behind him. Depends on which way you swing really.
Try to get that image out of your head. 😏

Chapter 218