Chapter 28: Chapter 28

Nina watched as purple Draconic Energy suffused Tini’s body, making him look like he was engulfed in purple flames even though they were underwater.

Tini gave a determined look before rushing forwards to crash into the wild Krabby who had challenged them prior. Upon impact, the Krabby expelled a cloud of bubbles as it was sent hurtling towards the distance.

Nina pumped her fist up in triumph while Tini did a little twirl in the water. That was the first time that the Dratini had used Dragon Rush on a proper opponent and it was every bit as impactful as they had imagined.

The little blue eel swam closer to Nina and booped his trainer on the nose, causing her to giggle and let out a bunch of bubbles. Nina made a jerking motion with her thumb to signal for them to surface.

“That was incredible, Tini!” Nina praised, after she took off her rebreather.

“Tiiin~”

“Now we gotta work on your Dragon Rush on land.” To be fair, Tini was capable of using Dragon Rush out of water, but he was fairly slow and predictable. Nina had a couple of ideas on how to address this, but her Dratini isn’t entirely up to par yet.

Not being able to battle really limits a Pokemon’s growth, since they do best under pressure. And neither of them counted bullying wild Pokemon as battles, more like live target practice. An untrained wild Pokemon simply can’t compare to a Dratini who had undergone training at the Cerulean Gym.

The two then went back up to shore for a break. “Thanks Pikachu.” The electric mouse got up to hand a towel over to Nina. Before this, she had a bad habit of crashing onto her camping chair right after getting onto shore. Turns out, salt water wasn’t very good for hinges and it took an embarrassing fall onto her butt to make her realize that.

“Tiin!” Cried Tini, still riding the high of his recent victory.

“You look like you’ve still got a lot of energy left in you. Why don’t you try to use your special Dragon Tail on the usual boulder.”

Upon Nina’s instruction, Tini slithered over to the scarred and cracked boulder that they normally use as a dummy. With a loud “Tin!” Tini's tail began glowing purple as swirls of water coalesced around the tip, forming an Aqua/Dragon Tail Hybrid.

Tini swung his tail down with as much force as he could muster, causing bits of the boulder to break off and new cracks to form.

“Awesome!” Cheered Nina. It took a long time, but Tini finally learned how to combine the moves without compromising on strength. So that one attack was the equivalent of both Tail attacks rolled into one, providing double the damage in one go.

“Tini!” Cheered Tini. But Nina could tell that her partner’s breathing was a little rough. Using a double move like that was equally as taxing on his endurance.

“C’mere Tini, I’m really proud of you! Just a month ago that move would’ve completely exhausted you. Now, look at you! Dragon Rush and special Tini Tail back to back!” Nina nuzzled against the little Dragon’s snout and smothered him in kisses.

“Tiin~” Tini squirmed against his partner’s assault, much to Nina’s amusement.

“Let’s rest up and then catch some fish. I want you to try only using Dragon Pulse, but maintain control over it so that it doesn't pulverize the fish.” This was Nina’s way of training Tini’s finesse. As he was at the moment, he tends to just go all out on his moves which isn’t good for longer battles.

Nina did not want her Dragon to become a one pump chump.

***

Nina thanked the kind bus driver who helped her heft her cooler down the steps. Her frequent trips to the Sea Cottage and her friendly demeanor meant that the two of them were very well acquainted by now.

“Pika!” Right as the bus drove off, Pikachu jumped down from Nina’s backpack and ran towards a familiar figure across the street.

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“Dad? What are you doing down here?”

Patrick Jones settled Pikachu on his shoulder and walked over to help carry his daughter’s baggage. “Hey Nina… Wow, you got quite the catch huh?” He said as he lifted the cooler.

Nina made sure to buy a cooler with wheels and a handle but it was still quite a burden to drag around, especially when it was full of fish. “Thanks dad. Yeah, Dratini got a bit too enthusiastic today so we have plenty for dinner tonight as well.”

“That’s great, your mom’s already cooked dinner, so maybe tomorrow night.”

Nina nodded and just followed along as they made their way back to the apartment. An awkward silence settled between the two of them.

“So erm… Is this about mom?” Began Nina.

Patrick sighed. “Yeah… I was just thinking… if you’d be up to spending a weekend over at your grandma’s?”

“We’re talking about the one in Pewter City right?” Nina naturally had two grandmas. Her paternal grandparents were often out and about, rarely settling in one place. So Nina, or at least this version of Nina, had never met them in person before.

“Yeah. I know Melina’s been pestering you to visit for ages now. And I think this might be a good time. What do you think?”

Melina Ashes has indeed been keen on her favorite granddaughter coming to visit, and Nina was quite willing as well since she’ll get to play with lots of different Pokemon over at the woman’s daycare. But their plans kept getting delayed for one reason or another.

“Will you guys be coming as well or is it just me?”

Patrick nodded hesitantly. “Just you… If you don’t mind?”

Nina was tempted to make a joke about finally getting younger siblings. But judging by her father’s face and tone, this might not be a “Let’s get the kid out of the way so that we can get kinky” type situation.

It has been two months since Leanette Jones was discharged from the hospital. Any improvements that Nina had noticed in her mother during this period were marginal. She’s definitely gotten a bit more expressive, more human. But according to Pikachu, the times where the woman wasn’t doing chores and eating, she just spent it sitting on the couch or laying in bed. It was concerning to say the least.

Nina agreed readily, assuming that Patrick had his own plans to rectify the situation. “When do you think I should make the trip? We’ll have to talk to grandma about it as well and check her availability. I’m assuming you’re gonna ask her to come pick me up?”

Patrick hummed. “Maybe sometime next month? I’m guessing you’ll need to get things sorted with the Gym. I’ll leave it up to you to decide. Just so long as you let me know beforehand. And yeah, I know for a fact that your grandma will want to pick you up on her own.”

In truth, Tini was so used to performing now that he only required minimal practice for the monthly shows. But it was still good for him to interact with the Gym Pokemon and practice his moves. He had also gotten more in tune with moving his body from practicing all the dance choreography.

Nina turned to her partner and scratched him behind his ear fins. “What do you think Tini? Shall we make a visit to grandma and check out her daycare? Maybe if we ask nicely enough, she’ll take us up Mount Moon.”

“Tiin~”

Patrick winced at the mention of Mount Moon. “Nina, no. No going up Mount Moon. That place is crawling with dangerous Pokemon, or have you not been paying attention to Stephen’s stories?”

Nina giggled. “Dad, you’re talking about a guy who stupidly ran into the mountain back when he was a kid without any Pokemon. And relax, I was just joking.”

She was not. Nina was serious, but that’s also subject to her grandmother’s approval. Nina wasn’t dumb enough to go up Mount Moon with just an inexperienced Dratini with her.

Patrick sighed. “I hope so, but I’ll make sure to put a word in with Melina to avoid indulging your recklessness.”

Nina held back her laughter. “Knowing Melina, she might just deliberately defy her son-in-law purely to piss him off.” Not that Nina was going to say anything.

***

Turns out, Nina’s grandmother was more sensible than she gave her credit for.

“Of course I’m not gonna take my precious granddaughter up Mount Moon! I knew you were a fool, but not this much of a fool!”

“Welp, there goes that idea I guess.”

Patrick sighed. “I was just being cautious, Melina,” he then turned towards Nina. “Do you have everything with you?”

Nina patted her backpack. “Yeap, all here. Grandma, do I have to put Pikachu and Tini in their Pokeballs?”

“Nope. Ol’ Pidgeot can carry a bit of luggage just fine. My Pokemon ain’t that weak!”

“Chuuu…” Pikachu seemed to have taken offense at being called luggage, while Tini just seemed excited to go on another flight as the little Dragon kept staring at their Pokemon ride with sparkly eyes.

“Come to think of it, this will be both our first times riding bareback on a Pokemon huh, Tini? Last time we were on a Fly Basket.”

“Dra. Tini tin tin!”

Nina chuckled. “I know you’re excited buddy, but make sure to hold on so you don’t fall off, okay?”

“That reminds me,” chimed Melina as she pulled out a set of goggles and a muffler. “Here Nina, put this on. I don’t want my granddaughter’s beautiful face to be all scratched up.”

Nina took the offered items and put them on as instructed. “What about Tini and Pikachu?”

“Your Dragon will be fine. He’ll need to learn to fly on his own at some point anyway. As for the Rattata, I didn’t bring anything for that one.”

“Pika!” Cried the incensed Pokemon, more offended at being called a Rattata than being neglected.

“It’s okay Pikachu, why don’t you come inside my hoodie? If the wind becomes too much then just hide your head, okay?”

“Pika chu~” the electric mouse nuzzled her cheek against Nina’s in affection.

“All set?” Melina reached down to grab hold of her granddaughter and the two Pokemon who were all tangled up with the girl in some way or another.

She plopped the little girl onto the back of her Pidgeot and sat herself behind Nina. “Hold onto the feathers but don’t pull too hard, he’s a real pansy.”

Nina nodded and braced herself. “Why don’t you just get a saddle, grandma?”

Melina scoffed. “I did. But birdbrain here starts making a fuss every time I try to use it.” The Pidgeot screeched out in protest only to earn a slap on the back from his trainer. “Alright, enough dallying. Let’s Fly!”

Pidgeot let out another screech. And with one powerful flap of his wings, shot straight up towards the sky at a face melting speed. The little girl and her two Pokemon companions riding on its back all screamed out in excitement at the adventures ahead.