Into the Unown (Pokemon Fanfiction OC)

Junia’s Tales of Misfits and Mimikyu: CH06

“Urgh… Hold on tight, Tumbleweed!”“Ḱ̵͖͝y̷̝͐u̵̢̓͌!̴̗̹̤̄̅̇”

A light shone through the darkness as a Scolipede of steel and fury came barreling through the tunnel, ground rattling and air surging in its wake. Then, with an ear-piercing squeal, the carriage halted with a screech and its metallic carapace slid open with an angry hiss.

Junia was, of course, referring to the subway train that had just come into station. “Wow, that was quite something huh, Tumbleweed?”

“Ḱ̵̛̙̖͇͗̒̚y̴̤̳̋̈́̕ư̵̯͔̇̓͒!̵̙̊̍̉͐ ̸͔̥̉̌̓̈́̔M̷̢̘̘͋̃̋̍i̷̟̘̤͉̙͐m̵̖̻̩̔i̸̛̫̽k̵̼̜̻̫̊ÿ̶͚̜̤́̓̚u̵͚͐!̸͔͈͋̀̓”

“I mean it’s one thing to see it on TV but another thing to experience it in person. Phew! Even my hair’s all ruffled now. Gotta redo my braids.” 

To her side, Johnny was also wide-eyed with shock, having never seen such a formidable monstrosity before.

“Ahem! Excuse you.”

“Huh? Oh. Pardon me, sir. Didn’t mean to get in your way like that. Oopsie.” Junia chuckled sheepishly as she hopped onto the train with a little bounce.

Trying to get to the building where the Mimikyu Appreciation Society was housed was quite a tiring ordeal in itself, what’s with how utterly map illiterate Junia was. But thanks to the detailed instructions written down for her by that pretty young nurse at the Pokecenter, she did manage to get there somehow and only made the wrong transit once to boot — an achievement that imbued the rural farmgirl with no small amount of pride.

The building itself was a grey rectangular thing, much like most other things in the city. However, there was a simplicity to the exterior which really stood out amidst all the glitz and glamor of Castelia’s gaudy metropolis.

“Pardon me, we’re lookin’ for the Mimikyu Appreciation Society? I have a referral letter here from Professor Melina Jones.” Junia said as she shuffled her way up to the first floor reception, feeling very subconscious of the way her boots were squeaking against the polished marble tiles.

“Hmm?” The lady at the reception stirred, slowly and lethargically pushed against the rim of her glasses, stared at Junia, then at the Mimikyu on her shoulder and nodded.

“You got an appointment?”

“Err… No. But I was told they were expecting me?”

“Heh. Just messing with you, kid. I mean, do I look like a secretary to you?”

Junia titled her head in confusion.

“‘Cause if I was pretty enough to be one then I’d be lounging around in my boss’ secret apartment instead of rotting away behind this desk. Though, it’s not like that pervert could afford me anyways. MAS’s office is on the 7th floor, suite 78. Take the elevator on your left.”

“Err… Sure. Thanks a ton, ma’am. Hope you get to become a secretary one day…” Whatever that meant.

***

“Hu-HmM~ huH-hMM~” Junia bounced her feet up and down on the elevator floor as a strange feeling of weightiness assaulted her.

“You new in town?”

“Huh?” The girl looked up to address the flamboyant looking man talking down at her. “Err.. Yup! I mean, yes. My Pokemon and I just got into the city today.”

The man nodded. “Looking to challenge Burgh’s Gym?”

“Uh-huh! My friends and I wanna go all over Unova collecting badges. Then we’re gonna go challenge the conference and be all famous and make a tonna money to go travel the world, just like Professor Nina!”

“Heh. Sounds like a plan, kid. All the best to ya.”

“Thanks!” Junia exchanged another round of smiles with the man before the elevator dinged and he exited with a wave. 

Peering out, Junia saw that the floor he was stopping on was full of other scantily-clad and super muscular humans who were all grunting, running in place and lifting or pulling at all kinds of weirdly shaped metals for some reason.

“See, Tumbleweed. Not all of them city-slickers are mean all the time. Some of them are real nice too, just like that guy and that purdy nurse lady and that ol’ trucker who brought us into the city.”

“Ḱ̵̛̙̖͇͗̒̚y̴̤̳̋̈́̕ư̵̯͔̇̓͒!̵̙̊̍̉͐ ̸͔̥̉̌̓̈́̔M̷̢̘̘͋̃̋̍i̷̟̘̤͉̙͐m̵̖̻̩̔i̸̛̫̽k̵̼̜̻̫̊ÿ̶͚̜̤́̓̚u̵͚͐!̸͔͈͋̀̓”

***

The first thing that caught Junia’s eyes when she gingerly pushed her way into the tiny office space were the Pokedolls, the colorful balls of yarn, the legion of sewing equipment and all the half-finished pieces of crochet and costumes littered around the floor.

“Erm, pardon me, is this the Mimikyu Appreciation Society? Hello…?”

There was a rustling of fabric. Then, over by the corner of the office, a mound of clothes shifted, bulged and collapsed to reveal a Mimikyu, or at least something that looked like a Mimikyu, the largest that Junia had ever seen.

“Oh, a guest? Dismas wasn’t expecting any guests today.” The voice was feminine, cheerful and ever so slightly muffled.

The Pikachu head of the giant ‘Mimikyu’ collapsed onto the side the moment that the figure stood to her full height, completely throwing her off balance as she tripped, bounced and fell into another pile of clothes.

“Err… You alright there, ma’am? Need any help?”

“It’s fine. Dismas is fine. Just have to…” The woman (?) grunted as her bare legs flailed in the air. And with much effort, pulled herself out of the costume with a poof, to reveal a completely buck-naked girl inside.

Junia covered her eyes and the person gasped. “Oh my, how embarassing. One moment please…” The latter said as she dove back into the pile to rummage at all the outfits that were available, before finally settling on a Pikachu onesie. “There, Dismas is all covered up now.”

“Sure. Erm… Is that your name, ma’am? Dismas?”

Dismas smiled. “Yup! Dismas is Dismas. President of the Mimikyu Appreciation Society in Unova. Nice to meet you, unknown guest.”

Junia nodded with a sheepish smile, unsure of what to make of this person in front of her. “Howdy ma’am, my name’s Junia. Nice to meet you too.”

“Ḱ̵̛̙̖͇͗̒̚y̴̤̳̋̈́̕ư̵̯͔̇̓͒!̵̙̊̍̉͐ ̸͔̥̉̌̓̈́̔M̷̢̘̘͋̃̋̍i̷̟̘̤͉̙͐m̵̖̻̩̔i̸̛̫̽k̵̼̜̻̫̊ÿ̶͚̜̤́̓̚u̵͚͐!̸͔͈͋̀̓”

“Scrag!”

“Hehehe… And these are my friends, Tumbleweed and Johnny!”

Dismas gasped. Then, with the speed of a Quick Attack, charged towards Tumbleweed with her hand outstretched to caress the little Mimikyu.

“A Mimikyu! An actual Mimikyu! How CWUUUUTE!”

Junina, taken aback by the woman’s fervour, bent back in fright, invoking a sharp creak from Tumbleweed as well. “Woah there, ma’am. Might wanna settle down a little. Haha… And whadya mean an actual Mimikyu? Haven’t you ever seen one before?”

“Well…” The woman sighed. “It’s a bit of a long story. Why don’t Junia sit down while Dismas goes and get us something to drink.” She said before diving back into the pile. “Dismas swears the mini fridge is buried in here somewhere…”

Once the two humans were finally settled, juice boxes in hand, Dismas began her explanation. “To tell you the truth, Junia… The Mimikyu Appreciation Society never really took off here in Unova.” She said, her tone less peppy than before. 

“Dismas is not only the president, she is also the only member here.” The woman wilted, Pikachu hoodie drooping down in sadness. “Dismas doesn’t even have a Mimikyu of her own…”

“Wait! What?! But what about the grant? Professor Nina said you guys can help me apply for some money for my journey and help teach me everything about Mimikyus!”

Dismas perked up with an assuring smile. “Oh no need to worry! Dismas loves Mimikyus! Dismas knows everything about Mimikyus! Dismas wants to be a Mimikyu!” With every declaration the woman in the Pikachu onesie sat up taller and taller until her chest was all puffed up with pride.

“And Dismas can certainly help Junia apply for the grant. In fact, with a proper Mimikyu trainer in the society, Dismas can even apply for money to help pay the rent of this office!”

“You meanin’ to say that you’ve been paying for everythang outta your own pocket ‘til now?”

“Yup! Because Dismas loves Mimikyus and Dismas wants there to be a proper home for Mimikyus and Mimikyu lovers when they need it!”

“So why aren’t there any other members then?”

The Mimikyu fanatic wilted once more. “Because Unovans are really mean to Mimikyus and the Unova League is really strict on Mimikyu ownership, even by international standards. Most trainers just don’t love Mimikyus enough to want to pander to all their requirements.”

Now it was Junia’s turn to be dejected. “Ain’t no way am I gettin’ that permit then…”

“Don’t be like that! Junia can’t give up!” Dismas tightly grabbed hold of the girl’s hands. “Junia is smart, Junia can do it! Dismas has done it! Dismas has taken the Mimikyu handler certification exam twenty-one times and succeeded in twenty! Dismas will help Junia! Junia will become the best Mimikyu trainer in Unova!”

“Err… Thanks prez. Is it okay if I call you that? Prez?” The woman nodded. “Thanks, and mind if I ask why you took the exam so many times?” Junia imagined the woman probably has a whole wall of certificates in her home. If Dismas even had a home and wasn’t just sleeping in the office.

“To prove that Dismas could! To show to everyone that Dismas is the number one Mimikyu lover in the world!”

“Even though Dismas doesn’t have a Mimikyu of her own?”

The number one Mimikyu fan wilted and the actual Mimikyu trainer giggled. “Thanks prez, I’ll be countin’ on you.”

“Heh!” Dismas perked up while pounding at her chest. “Junia can count on Dismas. With Dismas’ help, Junia is sure to get that permit!”

“Why do you do that, by the by? Usin’ your name instead of ‘I’ or ‘me’ and all that?”

The woman tilted her head, Pikachu ears drooping to the side. “Because Dismas is Dismas. All Pokemon say their names so Dismas says her name too.” 

The eccentric woman then went on to explain that there was a point in her life where she spoke only exclusively in Pokespeak. So, “Dis, dismas-dis!” and all that. But some serious intervention from her family got her to stop after it became too bothersome to talk to her.

“Neat!”Junia exclaimed. But inside, she was thinking; “Oh Tumbleweed… What have we gotten ourselves into?”

“Ḱ̵̛̙̖͇͗̒̚y̴̤̳̋̈́̕ư̵̯͔̇̓͒!̵̙̊̍̉͐ ̸͔̥̉̌̓̈́̔M̷̢̘̘͋̃̋̍i̷̟̘̤͉̙͐m̵̖̻̩̔i̸̛̫̽k̵̼̜̻̫̊ÿ̶͚̜̤́̓̚u̵͚͐!̸͔͈͋̀̓”

Tumbleweed didn’t care. He was just happy that he got to make another new friend, no matter what eccentricities they had.

***

After briefly being talked at by Dismas on her plans to get Junia certified in a week, the girl excused herself to head to a Ranger Outpost, citing the lateness of the hour.

The President of the Unovan MAS had actually offered to just let Junia stay in the office. But after seeing the absolute state of the place… “Nah, even a fully organic, free-range, farmgal like myself has her limits.” And besides, Junia wasn’t entirely sure if Dismas was going to be staying with her and she really would appreciate being able to sleep at some point.

By the time that Junia and her Pokemon reached the outpost, the sky had just about turned dark. The whole day had gone by in a flash despite feeling as eventful as it did.

Junia did a little stretch and groaned. “I dunno ‘bout you two, but I’m looking forward to a thorough washing in the outhouse — get all this sand outta my cracks. Don’t even matter if the water’s hot or cold…” But she doubted a big city like Castelia was lacking in hot water.

As it turned out, the only Ranger Outpost in the city that offered a campground was located by Castelia Park. And by the time that Junia made it there, the place was absolutely packed full of similarly impoverished travellers like herself.

“How big’s your tent and Pokemon? ‘Cause we’re really running low on viable space here,” asked the Pokemon Ranger who, by the looks of him, was a desertfolk just like Chief Redstone. One of the tribe’s young’uns who was seduced away by the false light of civilization most likely.

“I ain’t got a tent. Just my trusty ol’ sleeping bag. Might go and buy a proper tent tomorrow though. And my Pokemon’s just Tumbleweed and Johnny here — Tumbleweed likes to be cuddled at night and Johnny’ll probably dig a hole or sumthin’.”

The Ranger shook his head. “Absolutely not! No hole digging of any sort. But otherwise, it should be fine, they’re not big enough to get in the way.” The man returned Junia’s Trainer License and a little slip detailing the time of her check in and lot number. 

“You’ll be sharing lucky number 9 with another trainer, a girl from Nacrene. Now I expect the two of you to be mature about things. But if it really comes down to it, I can reassign you if necessary. Just that I’d really rather you two put in an effort to get along first. Understood?”

“Crystal!”

The Ranger grunted and dismissed Junia with a wave.

That promise, though, was tested right away when Junia made her way over to her lot, only to find her space being occupied by a circle of young trainers surrounding a campfire.

“Oh, hey there! You lookin’ to join in on our little congregation?” One of the girls asked when she noticed the awkward farmgirl shuffling her feet nearby.

“Err… Not really? My name’s Junia and the Ranger by the reception assigned me to this lot.” She explained while holding up the little slip that the Ranger gave her.

“Well I’ll be… Looks like I’m getting myself a roomie!” The girl beckoned for Junia to approach. “Come on in and join us! The name’s Trinity and this here’s my partner Griddle.”

“Tim… burr!” The Timburr waved their weighty log, prompting Junia to wave back.

She was then introduced to all the other trainers around the campfire one by one. Junia’s lot-mate herself, Trinity, was an older teen with beautiful caramel skin and a very peculiar accent — one with a cadence of rhythmic urgency to it, like a dancing banjo.

There were quite a few times where Junia had to ask for repetition on some of the things that Trinity said, eliciting laughter from around the fire. Apparently, the girl’s speech was a bit of a running joke among the group.

“Nice to meet y’all! Once again, my name’s Junia! Lookin’ forward to making friends with everyone!” The girl greeted, fighting through her exhaustion to muster as much gumption as she could.

“Heh. Hi again, Junia. Want some hot chocolate?” Trinity offered, imbuing a bit of pep back into the farmgirl.

“Boy, do I?! Aint nobody’s sayin’ no to hot chocolate!” The girl sat her butt down on the ground and reached out to accept a mug of liquid chocolaty goodness from Trinity.

“So Junia, that’s a cute lil’ costume your Pokemon’s wearing. Shy little one isn’t he…”

And so the group continued to chat, asking questions and throwing gossip around until someone ran past while ringing a noisy little bicycle bell in their hand.

“What’s going on?” asked the very confused and definitely sleepy Junia.

“Heh. Time for the Gauntlet.” Trinity replied.

“Gauntlet?”

The older girl grabbed hold of her lot-mate’s wrist. “C’mon, I’ll show you.”

Junia found herself being dragged all the way to the middle of Castelia Park itself where a number of makeshift arenas were already drawn out on the ground. She could even see some enterprising trailers and carts nearby selling all sorts of food and stuff to the campers.

“The Gauntlet’s basically just short for Battle Gauntlet.” Trinity explained. “Simple stuff, really. Those that wanna join’ll get split into age groups, badge numbers and so on. So, for example, you said you don’t have a badge yet, right?”

Junia nodded.

“Then you and your Pokemon’re gonna be pooled in with the other freshies — not that there’s that many of you, mind. People don’t often come to Castelia for their first badge.”

Junia nodded. “How many of us are there?”

“Including you, I reckon about six? Again, not all of them’ll be around or even wanna join. And if you’re the only person in the group then they might just move you to a higher pool. It’s all kinda casual, really. Although sometimes, a Ranger might come in and ref us out of boredom. But otherwise, the matches are all ref’d by some of the other guys who did a summer course back in school or are actually looking to become professional refs in the future.”

“Hmmm…” Junia hummed before sharing a glance with each of her Pokemon. “Wadya think, guys? Wanna stretch your legs a lil ‘fore we call it a night?”

“Scrag!”

“Ḱ̵͖͝y̷̝͐u̵̢̓͌!̴̗̹̤̄̅̇” 

Johnny’s bulging round eyes were burning with motivation while Tumbleweed was just happy to be surrounded by so many people.

“Alright, that’s settled then. Let’s get you signed up!” Trinity declared as she dragged the girl over to another group of teens who were busy drawing out the brackets on a flimsy little whiteboard.

“That makes our fifth freshie then.” An older boy nodded after Junia told him her name. “That works out pretty well actually. Since Jimmy won last time, we can seed him into the final round and slot you in his place.” He continued as he erased a name on the whiteboard and wrote Junia’s name atop the smudged surface.

“Heh. Looks like Junia’s first opponent is gonna be that prissy Karen.” Trinity remarked. “Try not to beat her up too badly, alright? As fun as it is to see that brat malding her brains out, it does get kinda annoying after a while.”

“What’s malding?”

“Don’t worry ‘bout it. C’mon, let’s get you settled. The freshies always go first. Gotta build up to the more exciting bits y’know?”

***

Junia thought that the girl across from her was super pretty, just like one of those fancy doll-girls with their elaborate dresses. Sadly that illusion broke apart almost as soon as she opened her mouth.

“Hmph! There’s no way I’m losing to some ugly hick like you! I bet you probably smell as gross as you look!”

In response, the farmgirl just sniffed, rubbed at her nose and shrugged. “I guess I kinda do need a shower. All the more reason to get this over with lickity-split. Name’s Junia by the way, wanna be friends?”

The girl scowled, blood flushing through her cheeks. “As if I would befriend a bumpkin like you! Go, Foo-Foo!” With a toss of her Pokeball, Junia’s opponent unveiled a weasel-like Pokemon who flashed through a few dynamic poses before settling with a very spirited cry.

“Mieeeeen-FOO!”

“Ohhhh~ Look, Tumbleweed! A Pokemon we’ve ne’er seen before!”

“Mienfoo is a Fighting Type, Junia!” Trinity called out from the audience, eliciting a glare from Karen.

“Shut up! That’s cheating!”

Meanwhile, Junia just waved at her newest camping buddy. “Thanks, Trin! No idea what’s good against Fighting Types, though… And I ain’t got no Psychic Pokemon.” The farmgirl tilted her head in consideration. “Hmm… I guess Ghost would be closest to Psychic, huh? Alright, I choose you, Tumbleweed!”

“Ḳ̴̆̔̅̈́y̶̤̝̳̰̎̔ü̴̼͗͘͜ȕ̶̫̫̞̯͂ű̷̫͕̭̐́̑͜u̵̠̹͈̿̌͝ŭ̷̖̅̅͜͠u̴̖̓u̷͉̾!̵̛̲̟̓”

With an equally spirited cry, Junia’s partner jumped off her shoulder and landed in the arena, causing all of the surrounding spectators to flinch back in fright.

“W-Wha… What is that thing?!” Karen exclaimed.

“Hehe! That’s my friend Tumbleweed. And he’s a Mimikyu!”

“M̸͕̔͘i̵̞͙̐͑m̴̬̾́ͅi̵̝͑͘k̶̜̈́y̴͖̠͒ȕ̸͍͓́!̸͕̍̽”

“Urgh! Your Pokemon’s a freak! Just like you! Go, Foo-Foo! Use Pound!”

“Foo! Mieeeenfoo!” After a few more dynamic poses and a ridiculously long wind-up, the martial arts Pokemon lunged and pounded against Tumbleweed’s Pikachu head with its paw, sending him tumbling against the ground with a sharp and nasty creak, like the snapping of bones.

“Ḱ̵̛̙̖͇͗̒̚y̴̤̳̋̈́̕ư̵̯͔̇̓͒!̵̙̊̍̉͐ ̸͔̥̉̌̓̈́̔M̷̢̘̘͋̃̋̍i̷̟̘̤͉̙͐m̵̖̻̩̔i̸̛̫̽k̵̼̜̻̫̊ÿ̶͚̜̤́̓̚u̵͚͐!̸͔͈͋̀̓”

Being that Pound was a Normal Type move, Tumbleweed was completely unharmed, of course. But his costume did receive damage. Because the moment that he got back up, his Pikachu head was drooping and facing the completely wrong direction.

A gasp from the audience. “That Pikachu’s neck! I-It’s broken! Somebody get a nurse, quick!” The commotion quickly spread and Junia had to raise her voice to stop everyone from panicking.

“Don’t worry guys! Tumbleweed’s fine — that’s just his costume! Ain’t that right, Tumbleweed?”

“M̸͎̝͚̄̉͠ỉ̶̜͜m̶͍͛ḭ̶̛̖͌̈́-̴̨̭̭̆K̶̜̠̍͂͛y̷̡̖͋̚u̷̟̟͂̄!̵̻͇̣̅̽̊”

The Mimikyu did a few jumps just to affirm Junia’s words. But the grotesque sight of the limp Pikachu head bouncing up and down and the noisy creaks that accompanied it only served to exacerbate the crowd, forcing the referee to intervene and restore order to the venue.

“Alright, that’s enough! Everybody settle down! That Pokemon is clearly still fit for battle!” The older teen then turned towards Junia with an uncertain frown. “He is still fit for battle right?”

“Yup!” Junia nodded.

“Alright, let’s resume the match. 3… 2… 1… Go!”

“Let’s go Tumbleweed! Our first proper battle against another trainer and we sure as sin ain’t losin’ to some prickly city-slicker! So let’s show ‘em what we’ve got! Use Astonish!”

“Don’t lose to this freak, Foo-Foo! Fury Swipes!”

The Mienfoo charged in with its claws, but right before it reached Tumbleweed, a shadowy tendril snuck up from behind it with a tickle, causing it to yelp out in surprise and distracting it long enough for Junia’s Mimikyu to slam it with a shadowy uppercut.

“Fooooo!!!”

“Foo-Foo!”

“Don’t let up, Tumbleweed! Wood Hammer!”

“K̶̜̠̍͂͛y̷̡̖͋̚u̷̟̟͂̄!̵̻͇̣̅̽̊”

Tumbleweed jumped, spun his wooden tail around and smashed it into Foo-Foo’s face to send the weasel Pokemon crashing against the ground.

“Great work, Tumbleweed! Keep laying into it, just like that! Use—”

“Halt!” The guy who was acting as their referee proclaimed with his hand raised. “Karen’s Mienfoo is unable to battle. Winner is… Junia and her— I’m sorry, what is he again?”

“Tumbleweed’s a Mimikyu!”

“Thanks. Winner is Junia and her Mimikyu! Please clear the arena for the next round.”

The audience cheered but just before Junia could make way for the next trainer, her opponent cried out.

“Wait! There’s no way I lost to a bumpkin like her! She has to be cheating! I demand to see what’s underneath that costume!”

A sigh from the referee. “Give it up, Karen. You lost. And this isn’t the first time either. Just go train up your Pokemon and try again.”

Another voice chimed in from the audience. “Yeah, Karen! We keep telling you to quit it with all those flashy poses — slows down your Mienfoo and makes her look stupid as heck!”

The girl in question growled. “Nghhh! Shut up! All of you! If that hick has nothing to hide then she won’t mind letting us see what her Pokemon actually looks like!”

All eyes turned to Junia, causing the girl to stiffen and tighten her embrace on Tumbleweed.

“Well, Junia?” asked the referee. “Karen’s being a pain in the butt as always but she’s not going to stop anytime soon. Best to just show her your Pokemon and get it over with.”

The girl swung her head side to side in fervent denial. “No! No one’s allowed to peek inside Tumbleweed’s costume! Professor Nina said so! It’s to keep everyone safe!”

The older teen frowned while Junia’s opponent gloated. “See! She’s hiding something! There has to be something illegal underneath that ugly costume! There’s no way my Foo-Foo would have lost otherwise!”

“Dammit, of all the people to be saddled with this drama…” The referee sighed. “Junia, mind explaining to us why your Mimikyu can’t show his face?”

“Because he’s a Mimikyu! Tumbleweed can’t show his true form, otherwise it’ll put people  in danger! And Tumbleweed’s super nice and gentle and he just wants to make friends! He doesn’twant to hurt people — it’ll make him sad!”

“Heh! Sounds like a whole bunch of bologna to me!”

The crowd shifted. It seemed that public sentiment was slowly leaning towards Karen’s side.

Seeing that both sides were unwilling to relent, the referee sighed once more as he turned to address the crowd. “Does anyone here have a Pokedex or knows what a Mimikyu is?”

“Oh come on now, Jake. As if a Pokedex holder would be bumming it out here with plebs like us.”

“Oh screw you, they might not be camping with us but that doesn’t mean they’re not nosy enough to join the Gauntlet!” Pokedex holders liked showing off how superior they were to the rest of the rabble, everybody knew that. “So, Pokedex holders, anyone? Really? And nobody’s heard of a Mimikyu either?”

“The Rangers might know!” Someone shouted, earning them a nod from the ref boy.

“Good call. Can someone go and get a Ranger from the outpost over please.”

A couple of kids ran off and came back with that same copper-skinned, square-jawed Ranger whom Junia met earlier.

“Honestly, can’t you kids go a single night without making trouble?”

“Sorry, Mr Blackrock. But we just need you to identify a Pokemon for us. Just to make sure that everything’s above board, you know?” The referee gestured towards Junia.

The Ranger sighed then pulled out his Pokedex. Which Junia noted had a very different design from Professor Nina’s. With a flick, the Pokedex slid open vertically and Blackrock pointed it at Tumbleweed.

[Voice dictation disabled. Please refer to instructions on the screen to access confidential information.]

“Huh?” The PokeRanger frowned and tapped at his device, eyebrows steadily lifting higher and higher as he read through Mimikyu’s profile.

“I see… Heh. Honestly, never a boring day with you wiyvsgi.” Blackrock snapped his Pokedex shut then turned to address Junia. “You got a permit for that little aniyvwi?”

The girl shook her head and hastily reached for her Trainer’s License. “No, but I got a letter! You can see for yourself if you scan my license! I was by the Pokecenter earlier, the nurse lady said it was fine for now. And-and, Dismas said she’d help me get my permit soon. And-and—”

Blackrock raised a hand at Junia to mollify her while he checked on her credentials. “Peace, girl… No need to strain yourself.” He said before turning to address the crowd. “I can verify that there’s nothing amiss with the girl and her Mimikyu. And no, she is not obligated to reveal her Pokemon’s true form.” Blackrock declared, eliciting disappointed grumbles from the nosy crowd.

The PokeRanger’s face tightened. “I’d also like to add that it is in fact illegal to try and expose a Mimikyu’s naked form.” He continued, with a very pointed glare towards the disgruntled Karen. “Anybody caught attempting to do so will be faced with a very direct and very severe reprimand from the League… Should you even be so lucky to still draw breath after.”

The gravity of that final statement caused a wave of gasps and murmurs to sound out from the audience of young trainers, their boundless curiosity practically chomping at the bits to know what’s hidden underneath that outfit.

With a raised hand, Blackrock silenced the crowd. “In the interest of everybody’s safety, I will personally be taking over refereeing duty for all matches pertaining to young Junia and her Mimikyu for the rest of the Gauntlet.” 

He then turned to the relieved looking boy who refereed the previous match. “Sorry Jake, but you’re not qualified to handle a Mimikyu. Not to mention I’m kind of curious to see what the species is like in battle too…” He said to Junia, eliciting nods from both the teens.

“At least tell us the Type! It’s not fair for us to battle a Pokemon we don’t know the Type of!”

Blackrock scowled at the heckler. “It is perfectly normal to encounter unknown Pokemon in the conference and during the Gym circuit. The land is vast and the world of Pokemon even more so… The discovery of new Pokemon species and learning about them is part and parcel of every trainer’s journey. But…” The Ranger growled. 

“If such a privilege is too much for you to bear then return to your narrow little well and continue living your days in blissful ignorance!”

The crowd silenced after that rebuke, none daring to challenge Junia or Blackrock any further.

With all that drama settled and after a thoroughly humiliated Karen stormed away from the park, matches resumed once more with the second round between the freshies. The winner of which would then go on to face Junia before moving into the finals against the previous freshie Gauntlet winner.

“Heh! I figured it out!” said Junia’s next opponent. “That Mimikyu of yours is Ghost and Fairy! I’m not gonna let you fool me that easily!”

Junia beamed, happy that people were now taking an interest to learn about her friend. “Yup! Tumbleweed’s Ghost and Fairy Type and he’s weak to Ghost and Steel!”

“That’s right! So don’t think I’m gonna go down like that prissy Karen did. Go, Klink!”

“K-k-k-k-k…Klink!” A two-faced Pokemon made out of steel and gears emerged floating above the arena.

Junia smirked. “You do know I’ve got more than one Pokemon, right?”

“Scraaag…” The Scraggy by her side hissed and spat a little wooden branch that he’d been chewing on onto the ground as he sauntered into the arena while belligerently pulling at his trousers. Johnny had been chomping at the bits to battle after seeing all those matches prior. 

The variety of Pokemon out in the desert were quite limited, so it was his first time seeing this many new species in one place. He’d only been in Junia’s team for a few days but seeing all these new sights and meeting all these new faces only served to affirm his decision to allow his capture and further ignited his yearning to be the strongest Pokemon in the world.

“W-Wha!” Junia’s opponent sputtered, clearly not expecting the switch-up. “I-It doesn’t matter, Klink! As if we’d lose to something as basic as a Scraggy!”

Johnny’s veins bulged. How dare that ignorant human call him basic! “Scrag! Scraggy-scrag!” Johnny’d show him. Johnny would show the world that it was a mistake for anyone to mess with him!

“Hehe… Let’s give it our all, Johnny! Use Sand Attack!”

“Scrag!”

And so the battles continued, deep into the night until Junia’s eyes couldn’t take it anymore and she withdrew to go shower and sleep with a big smile on her face.

“We sure made a lot of new friends today huh, Tumbleweed?”

“K̵̪̈́͊y̵͑ͅŭ̸͎u̶̮̪̞̔͘͝ŭ̵͔͕u̵͇̬͙͋̓.̵̩͍̔̃.̴̖́̑̕.̸̯͋̕”