“Ahhhhh~”
Nina moaned as she subrged her weary body into the comforting embrace of the hot spring, all the pain in her aching muscles lting away in an instant.
“This is the life… Isn’t that right, guys?”
A chorus of Pokemon cries sounded out across the open bath. The best thing about the reclusive nature of Blaine’s inn was that they were pretty lax with the rules, which ant that Nina could bathe in the company of her entire team.
Nitey, Espy, Rinny, Celebi and Azzy were with her in the piping hot mineral bath, the bath-hating Brucey was accompanying Aurora in the cold tub, and they even had a mud bath for Sir Clodington to soak in.
anwhile, Zed was just floating around as usual. The Unown had tried to dip their little appendage into the spring water earlier but just as quickly decided that they weren’t really feeling anything from the endeavour and opted to ride the rising mist instead.
Simply by virtue of inclusivity, Nina decided that the Big Riddle Inn truly was the best inn she ever had the pleasure of staying in.
One might also ask how Nina was able to carry beyond the six Pokemon limit. And the answer was a simple one; Zed’s Beast Ball and Celebi’s GS Ball were unregistered of course, while Azzy’s Pokeball was ‘stored’ back ho. So as far as the League was concerned, the conniving girl was indeed only carrying six Pokemon with her. The downside would be that she couldn’t use Azzy in official League sanctioned battles, but a quick trip to the trade machine wasn’t that much of a hassle.
“Should’ve brought Ricey with us too. The hot springs would do wonders for her recovery…”
“Niiite~”
“You’re right, Nitey. We could always just transfer her over later. Maybe when we head into the city to go get your ice cream.”
“Nite! Drago-nite!”
“Hehehe. You were incredible just now, buddy. So just for today, you get to eat all the ice cream you want!”
The gluttonous Dragonite cheered and pulled his partner in for a suffocating hug.
***
“Urgh…” Nina sighed as she trudged back into the inn. “That was a mistake…”
After a soak in the baths and a hearty lunch, Nina flew into Cinnabar City in search of desserts. And to say that the atmosphere in town was awkward would be an understatent.
By this point, she was pretty used to people mobbing her at every turn, especially back in Cerulean City. What she did NOT expect was elderly people throwing themselves at her feet and begging for her blessing.
Because, unbeknownst to Nina, her entire battle with the Alpha Volcarona had been stread live on the Pokenet. Which wouldn’t have been a problem had she not been fild in such a dramatic light.
Being able to ga Evolve in itself would be newsworthy on any other day, let alone the fact that she had unknowingly revealed the hitherto undiscovered existence of a ga Dragonite. No, what really took the cake was her dance — a dance that she and Nitey shalessly ripped from Daisy’s routine during Tini’s first ever Cerulean on Ice debut.
The the of the show back then had been Lugia and the three Disaster Birds, featuring Daisy as the Maiden of the Sea. And unsurprisingly, sobody connected the dots and even put together a fairly dramatic edit of Nina and Nitey’s battle with all the associated music on top. Between their graceful dance and the cataclysmic imagery of the skies being torn asunder, it painted a distinctly ssianic image. Despite her repeated insistence that it was just a slightly out of the norm Gym battle.
“And of course, those conniving won back ho are fanning the flas… They’re actually calling the Maiden of the Sea now. What happened to Aquarium Girl?! Go back! Go back I say!”
To understand Nina’s frustrations, one must understand the legends of Indigo. The story of the conflict between Lugia, Moltress, Zapdos and Articuno was deeply intertwined in the history of Kanto and Johto, despite tracing its roots back to the Orange Isles. Which ant that everybody and their ancestors grew up hearing stories about the Maiden of the Sea and her valiant struggles against disaster.
There were even minor religions based around such legends. Religions which, at one point, were quite prolific among the older folks who lived through the war. Hence, the grovelling and the worship.
Needless to say, Nina was quite disturbed by all the reverence. Not everybody bought into all of that nonsense of course, the younger generation and foreigners especially. Most of the mob keeping her in place were just fans or tourists who wanted pictures and autographs.
So she sent Espy ahead with her debit card and tasked the Espeon with buying a variety of ice cream flavors by the tub-full while she dealt with the crowd. Fortunately, the police did show up at so point to disperse the mob, and when Espy returned with her purchase, Nina flew the heck out of there post-haste.
“This is all your fault, Nitey!”
“Nite?! Drago-nite, nite!” The Dragonite jolted then frantically flailed his arms around to protest his innocence.
“I don’t care! This is all your fault! Leanette is gonna kill and it’s all your fault!”
The girl and her Dragonite continued with their senseless bickering until a knock sounded from the door.
Nina trudged over and slid open the door with a glaring pout, only to be greeted by the insufferably sunny smile of Blaine.
“You! This is all your fault!” She pointed an accusatory finger at the elderly man wearing a tacky blonde wig.
“I’m sorry?”
“You better be! Who gave you permission to livestream that battle?! And now I got fragile old ladies throwing themselves at my feet. What happens if they get injured, huh?! Who’s gonna take responsibility for that?!”
Blaine guffawed, then wilted with a helpless sigh. “Believe it or not, it was the little ones in my Gym who ca up with the idea. I did try to veto it but they assured it would be fine.” With a casual wave, the Gym Leader returned to his sunny self. “But no matter, I’m here because Volcarona awoke briefly from her slumber and we were able to confirm her will.”
Nina imdiately sobered up at Blaine’s words. “H-Her will? Is Volcarona gonna be okay?”
Blaine laughed. “Oh, not to worry, dear. She still has so life left in her yet. No, I’m here for that other thing we promised you. Co on over, Magmortar.” At the man’s call, the flaming behemoth of a Pokemon trudged over to his side.
“You might want to call your Dragonite over for this one, Nina.” The girl nodded and did as she was told.
“Niiite~”
“Mag.”
And when Nitey ca to the door, Magmortar extended his arms and pressed a Pokemon Egg into the Dragonite’s embrace. One whose shell was woven from silk and textured with veins of smoldering Fire, volatile sparks of fireworks jumping out from the crags in a srising display.
“This… This is…” Nitey and Nina gasped in awe at the delicate little bundle they were given.
“A Larvesta Egg, my dear. From the Volcarona you just fought. You’ll have to be careful about touching it directly though, lest you want to scald your hands.”
“I— This is too precious. I don’t know what to say. D-Don’t I need an incubator for this? My grandparents told about their experience transporting a Larvesta Egg once, they said it was held in an incubator…”
Blaine smiled then gestured beyond the door. “May I co in? I sense you have a lot of questions and I’d prefer we sit down while we talk.”
“O-Of course! My apologies, Master Blaine. Please, make yourselves comfortable while I go make us so tea.” And as Nina was doing that, Nitey returned to the rest of the team where the Pokemon all congregated around the Dragonite to coo over the flaming cocoon.
“Now then, how much do you know about the Volcarona as a species?” Blaine began when Nina settled down with a tray of piping hot tea.
The girl frowned. “Not much, really. I tried to research them ages ago.” Along with the rest of her list of all-ti favourite Pokemons. “But factual information on them is scarce. Most of what I could find consisted largely of folklore, as befitting their legendary reputation.” Even their Pokedex entries were frustratingly curt and vague.
[This Pokémon erges from a cocoon ford of raging flas. Ancient murals depict Volcarona as a deity of fire. When volcanic ash darkened the atmosphere, it is said that Volcarona's fire provided a replacent for the sun.]
Blaine nodded. “That’s not too surprising. Along with the likes of Arcanine and Ninetales, there was a ti when Volcarona were so rare that most consider them to be Legendary Pokemon.” The Fire Type Master paused and took a sip of his tea. “Volcarona are rare because they demand a very Fire rich environnt to grow and also because of the length between their breeding cycles. In fact, did you know? That the number of eggs a Volcarona can lay in their entire lifeti is finite?”
Nina tilted her head in confusion. “Isn’t that the case with most Pokemon?”
The old man chuckled. “True. Even iteroparous breeders are limited by their age and health. And while Volcarona are not a selparous species by any ans, each of their kind is only capable of producing up to ten eggs in their lifeti. And that—” Blaine pointed towards the Egg in Nitey’s embrace, “is the tenth and final Egg of our island’s resident Guardian.”
“The final Egg…” Nina shuddered at the sudden weight on her shoulders. “Is this true even in the case of an Alpha? And why ten?”
Blaine shrugged. “No idea, the number appears arbitrary. Even the Volcarona themselves don’t know. And yes, an Alpha of the species is also subject to such restrictions, despite their prolonged lifespan. In fact, most Volcarona rarely survive until the birth of their tenth egg — most expire around the third. Another factor contributing to their rarity.”
He further explained that the gap between each breeding cycle only beca further extended the older a Volcarona got, from every five years to every ten, then thirty and ninety and so on.
“So there’s a chance that a sufficiently long lived Volcarona could give birth to more then?” Nina argued.
Blaine smiled at the girl’s inquisitive mind. “No. Ten is the maximum. Because while a Volcarona doesn’t understand the significance behind the number, they do instinctively know their limit. Ask any Volcarona and they’ll tell you the sa.”
“How old was the Alpha that Nitey and I fought?”
“Haha! Older than , that much I can say. She was already nesting in the volcano even before I set up shop there. For all I know, she has been here since the very formation of the island, as unlikely as that may sound.” Blaine took another sip of his tea. “It’s not like she’d be able to give an exact answer herself. Ancient Pokemon like her perceive ti in a wholly different manner than us humans.”
Nina nodded, content with that line of questioning for now. “So just to confirm, Volcarona is really fine with entrusting the last of her lineage to ? What happened to her previous eggs then? And what about the need for an incubator?” Because she seriously did not want to accidentally ss up such a precious inheritance.
“Haha! Slow down… Honestly, young’uns these days...” Blaine lightly shook his head, the tacky blonde wig he was wearing rustling against his scalp, and took another leisurely sip of his tea.
“To answer your first question again; yes, Volcarona entrusted the Egg to Magmortar with explicit instructions to hand it to you. That was part of her condition to conduct the trial — I get to test your resolve and she, hopefully, finds a trainer worthy of her last child. And as ntioned before, you did exceedingly well, Nina. I don’t think either I or Volcarona was expecting an outright victory.”
Nina flashed a grin towards Nitey, who grinned back in return. “It’s all thanks to Nitey and his hard work.
Blaine smiled. “Indeed. And as for the second question, I honestly don't know what happened to her prior offspring as that was before my ti.” No doubt the Alpha Volcarona would have entrusted her last egg to Blaine had the man been in his pri.
“And regarding the incubator. I’ll have one prepared for you. In the anti, if you are not opposed, I propose leaving the egg here.” Blaine’s murky grey eyes glinted. “By the ti you return from Lavender Town, all shall be in place…”
Nina scowled and rubbed a thumb against her burning w Gem. “Lavender Town…”
***
Author's Note:
Ever have the feeling that sothing really bad is about to happen but you just don't know what?
I've plagued by this sense of paranoia for the past week or so and it just won't go away. It's maddening and it's really starting to affect my temper.
This has nothing to do with the chapter, by the way. I just feel like venting since I don't really know who I should even talk to about this.
And yet sohow, shouting into the void of the internet is sohow more sane? /s
Regardless, there should be a bonus 0.5 chapter tomorrow. Please shout at in the comnts if I forget. Which I most likely will.
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