Into the Unown (Pokemon Fanfiction OC)

Chapter 60: Interlude

Alias Jones fiddled with the noose around his neck. For the life of him he couldn’t get the blasted thing to look right. His brother, Patrick, laughed out by his side and gently spun Ali around to face him.

“You know it’s really not that difficult,” teased Patrick.

Ali scoffed. “What’s the point of this damned thing anyway?!” He exclaimed, referring to the necktie that his brother was adjusting for him at that moment. “Are you people so masochistic that you have to have something choking your neck at all times. As if all the red tape wasn’t enough bondage for you all.”

Patrick chuckled. “It’s just a formality. Most people don’t need to wear them on the regular. Just be thankful they’re not suspenders.”

“What’s wrong with suspenders? At least they serve a purpose. Unlike this decorative silk noose.” Ali grew up reading a lot of adventure novels about the industrial era, back when the world was more isolated, with an abundance of unknown regions and Pokemon to discover. As such, he had a fondness for the old-timey fashion of that time period.

It was his love of those same adventure novels that spurred him to go out and see the wider world. He wanted to be like the heroes depicted in their pages; handsome, daring and cunning. To explore treacherous temples, strike down conniving villains, and rescue damsels in distress.

“Yeah… I forgot that you had a thing for suspenders… There, all done.” Patrick straightened his brother's tie and sweeped Ali’s shoulders to straighten his shirt, then turned the man back towards the mirror to await his judgment.

“Thanks, Patrick. I don’t know what I’ll do without you.” Despite Patrick’s humility, Ali was of the firm belief that his brother is one of the most remarkable people he knew. And that was on a list that includes lots of big name trainers and re

Ali lifted his head from the park bench where he was sitting to see the ridiculously cute sight of his beloved niece and her Pokemon. 

The girl’s hair was all damp and clumped together, indicating that she had just returned from her weekly dives. Wrapped around her was Nina’s Dratini who was mirroring his trainer’s expression and staring at Ali with the same concerned eyes. 

On top of his niece’s shoulder was the girl’s haughty little Eevee who was leisurely hanging on, making Ali wonder how the girl was even able to sustain the weight of two decent sized Pokemon on her. And riding atop a cooler that Nina was dragging around by its handle was Patrick’s Pikachu who had also joined in on the excursion.

The girl covered in Pokemon looked ridiculous, but Ali couldn’t help but let out a warm smile at the sight of his adorable niece. 

It usually took some time for children to learn how to live alongside Pokemon, something that Ali himself had to go through as well. But to his knowledge, Nina was an absolute natural when it came to her aptitude with Pokemon. To the point where she even earned the acknowledgement of Misty, a seasoned Gym Leader.

“Hey, there’s my favorite niece! Did you just come back from diving?”

Nina nodded and asked her Pokemon to go play in the park while she sat next to Ali and gave him that same insightful gaze that the girl had always possessed. Sometimes, it really feels like the girl could just see right through him to all the deep seated insecurities he had hidden away from the world.

“How was the interview?” She asked, getting straight into the heart of the matter.

Ali chuckled. “About as well as you’d expect from a thirty six year old man who’s never had a stable job in his life. Your father is a remarkable man, you know that?”

Nina shook her head. “Dad has things he’s good at and things he’s not. You’ve been all over the world and have seen sights that other people could only dream of. In my mind, you’re a very remarkable person too. One of the greats, in fact. There’s probably only a handful of people in this world who can do what you did.”

Ali laughed. His niece has always had a way with words. Truly, she inherited only the best from their family’s piddly little genepool.

Ali gave a bright smile at his niece’s encouragement. Or at least he hoped he did. It was a little hard to tell what his face looked like given his current mood. He couldn’t let himself appear weak in front of Nina. He knew better than anyone how much his niece worshiped him.

In her mind, Ali was a hero. Someone who she aspires to become one day. But little did she know, Ali considered her as his guiding light as well, one that shines brighter even than Arceus’s radiance in the deepest and darkest depths of Area Zero.

The inbox full of emails from Nina that he would find everytime he returned to civilization was the only thread he could climb to restore his sanity after an excursion into the abyss. Reading about Nina’s recent events, her joys and anxieties of finally owning Pokemon, the stressful work at the Gym, her friends and family — all of these little mundane things helped to ground him and maintain his humanity.

As a matter of fact, he would always ask the researchers at the lab to help him download the emails onto his Rotom Phone just so that he could read them during the most strenuous of nights in Area Zero. Because as much as he loved his Pokemon, there was something special about a human connection that they simply could not replicate.

Nina was unconvinced by her uncle’s facade, puffing up her cheeks to glare at him. “Is this about your time in the Crater? You can tell me stuff you know? Without needing to go into specifics. It’s not good to keep things bottled up like that.”

There it was again, Nina’s keen insight. Ali felt a little inadequate as an adult for being exposed by a child so easily. He reached out to pat his niece on the head and assure her once more that he was fine. Just a little bothered by some of the things he said in the interview.

But in truth, the scars behind his back were throbbing. Misty often said that they were sexy and loved to caress them. And Ali did not have the heart to tell her about the pain they caused him. 

The wounds have long since healed of course, but everytime they throbbed, Ali was reminded of the broken Key Stone dangling around his neck and the Charizard who stayed behind in exchange for his worthless life. And his heart would feel like it was being grated on by a million Sandshrews.

“Come on, let’s go get dinner,” suggested Ali. “Your parents have gone off on a little date so no one’s home right now. It’ll be my treat.”

Nina scoffed. “Between the two of us, you’re the one who’s unemployed, Uncle Ali. If anything it’ll be my treat.”

Ali laughed out loud at the deep cut that his adorable little niece just delivered to him, and pulled her in for a hug that would put even a Bewear to shame.

The girl yelped in surprise and struggled to pry herself loose before sticking her tongue out at him. “I wanna go back home and drop off the fish first. Then we can go,” said Nina.

“Alright, what do you want to eat, boss?”

“Munchies!” Nina exclaimed, eliciting more laughter from Ali.

“Kids and their junk food…” And yet, he couldn’t help but spoil his one and only niece.

It was not until two weeks later that Ali got an email from Interpol, notifying him of his successful transition to the second round of interviews. “Oh boy… Here we go again.” He thought.