“How should I go about doing this? Cute innocent girl looking for her sister, or just go in Dragon blazing.”

Nina wanted aggression on the bad guy’s side. Because innocent bystanders will cower in fear when attacked, while most bad guys tend to fight back. Not to mention if she caused chaos, the police will have justification to arrest everyone for illegal Pokemon battling. Since they wouldn’t have known who the primary aggressor was, just that they received reports of a commotion.

“Going in Dragon blazing it is.” The girl smirked as she pushed open the rusty metal door. Inside, she could see three goons in blue vests hanging around what was supposed to be a reception desk.

“Hello, I’m looking for an asshole who kidnapped a lost girl just now. You three stooges wouldn’t happen to know where he is, right?” Nina tilted her head at one of the goons. “Actually now that I had a better look at your ugly mug, I’m pretty sure you’re the asshole.” She pointed at one of the goons who was now frowning at her.

The man in question scowled before schooling his face to be that of an amicable city employee. “Hi there, little girl, I think you might have made a mistake. This building is still under construction and it's dangerous to be here…” The creep reached out a hand in an attempt to assuage Nina. But naturally, the girl was having none of it.

“Sic’ em, Nairy.” With a flash of light, the Pokeball hanging around Nina’s neck opened to release an angry looking serpentine Dragon, glaring down at the creepy man who tried to touch his girl.

One of the ‘volunteers’ at the back, a woman, was quick to respond, expanding her Pokeball to let out a Poochyena. But unfortunately for her, the unconscious body of her colleague was soon sent tumbling back towards them via a vicious Dragon Tail from Nairy. 

Another Water Pulse for good measure, and soon, the final goon was being suffocated inside Nairy’s wrap. The guy was too slow to react and didn’t put up much resistance at all.

“Now then, if you don’t want my partner here to burn you alive in Dragon fire, I suggest you tell me where the kidnapped children are?” Nina threatened, while Nairy singed the guy’s hair with a mild Dragon Breath to prove her point. 

At the same time, the entire building shook. Indicating that Beverly had also begun the assault on her end.

The man in Nairy’s grasp shook in fear and nodded fearfully at Nina, who signaled her Dragonair to loosen his grip for the man to talk. “D-downstairs… In t-the b-basement.” He stuttered. 

Nina would have liked to ask for more details, but by that point, Lieutenant Jenny had arrived at the scene with her Growlithe to ‘arrest’ her. “The captives are in the basement,” said the girl. “We should get down there and hold them off before they do anything stupid.”

The Jenny frowned as she cuffed the goon that Nairy was restraining. “We should wait for backup…” She muttered, the tone of her voice filled with doubt.

“Do you really want this whole thing to develop into a hostage negotiation!” Nina yelled. “They’re in the basement. By the time that backup shows up, they’ll have reinforced the place and hunkered down!” As far as Nina could tell, the only way to access the basement was through the emergency stairwell or the elevator. The place would be a nightmare to siege, especially with the presence of any Dark Types thwarting the use of Teleport.

Lieutenant Jenny sighed. “Fine, but you have to stay behind me and let your Dragonair take the lead.”

The girl readily agreed as the pair of trainers and their Pokemon rushed towards the stairs. On the way down the stairwell, they encountered a stream of Rocket goons that were rushing up to see what the commotion was about. And these were unmistakably Team Rocket goons, with their dark uniforms and gaudy red R.

“Jackpot!”

Nina grinned as Nairy crashed into the terrorists with a Dragon Rush, sending them flying limp across the air like screaming bowling pins.

With a massive 4.5 meter Dragon serpent bulldozing them a way through, Nina and Lieutenant Jenny made it down to the basement floor in no time. Though the policewoman did face difficulties lumbering her way through the fallen bodies, slowing down their advance somewhat.

Unfortunately, Nairy didn’t manage to get all the goons, and some of them had retreated and were waiting with their Pokemons at the exit. While Nairy and Growlithe engaged them in battle, Nina squinted and took in her dim surroundings.

The space was dimly lit, with a good portion of the light bulbs flickering in and out in a vexing manner. She could see the presence of numerous cages lined up by the side of the basement. Some were filled with crying children, while others had listless looking lost Pokemon.

Nina scowled in anger. “How in Distortion did the police not find this place sooner?!” Lost Pokemon aside, this many missing children must have raised some sort of alarm right? The girl shot a suspicious look to the Jenny by her side.

“No mercy, Nairy! Burn them all!”

The Dragonair howled in rage and engulfed all the perpetrators in purple Draconic flames, eliciting cries of agony to permeate the space. Only a few Houndours were capable of enduring the Dragon Breath and attempted to fight back with their own Fire. But those were quickly extinguished with a sweeping Aqua Tail from Nairy.

Seeing an opening to push through, Nina left Nairy to it and rushed towards the cages with Espy on her shoulder. She had faith that her partner was more than capable of holding their assailants back.

“W-wait!” Lieutenant Jenny exclaimed as she moved to chase after the reckless girl, only to be intercepted by a Poochyena who attempted to Bite at her. “Dammit!” The woman cursed as she summoned another Growlithe onto the field.@@novelbin@@

Nina and her companions were clearly outnumbered. As powerful as Nairy was, he wouldn’t have been able to take out all their assailants in a timely manner. So she wanted to secure the hostages before the disorganized Team Rocket grunts wised up and started employing meat shields. “If I can at least get some of the lost Pokemon free, they can join in on the battle and add to the chaos.” She thought.

The first cage that Nina reached was the one containing the girl that she and Beverly witnessed getting kidnapped earlier. By now the girl had woken up from her forced stupor and was sobbing uncontrollably. Nina threw her hood back and took off her sunglasses. “Hey there… it’s gonna be alright, big sis is here to rescue you.”

The girl momentarily held back her sobs and looked up at Nina with starry, hope filled eyes. “A-Aquarium Girl…?”

Nina let out a warm smile to assure the girl. “Yup, that’s me! Say, you wouldn’t happen to see where those baddies kept the keys did you? Kind of hard to break you out of these cages without them.”

“I know!” A defiant boy cried out in a nearby cage. “It’s at the back, where they keep all our Pokeballs!”

Nina flashed the boy a winning smile and a thumbs up. “Thanks kid, I’ll get you out soon. Keep up your spirit and hang tight!”

Nina ran towards the direction indicated by the boy, only to suddenly stop in her tracks when Espy cried out in alarm. The girl barely stopped in time for the Eevee to launch off her shoulder and rushed towards a corner with Quick Attack, unveiling a Houndoom who leaped out of the shadows and into Nina’s path.

“Well, well, well… What do we have here?” A masculine voice drawled, with a distinctly New York accent. “Bad day to be playing hero, kid. Tell ya what, if you back off and surrender now, I might be kind enough to just lock you up and sell you off to a nice, rich daddio, whaddya say?”

From behind the Houdoom, a sleazy looking man with tasteless golden grills lining his teeth stepped out of the shadows and leered at Nina lecherously from top to bottom, like the girl was some slab of meat whose quality he was assessing.

“Vee!” Espy cried, jumping in front of Nina to glare at the Houndoom and its trainer defiantly.

Nina held back a frown, trying to keep her face as impassive as possible. “This is bad, Espy isn’t a match for a Houndoom, poorly trained or otherwise.”

So she unclipped a whistle she kept on her belt and blew into it forcefully.

The sudden high pitched noise must have irritated the Houndoom, because he whinnied and Lashed Out at Espy who handily dodged to the side with her Calm Mind.

The Rocket goon snorted. “Hmph! What a pity, s’not always we get such high quality goods. Houndoom, roast ‘em. Lessee if this one’s pipes sound as good as she looks.”

“Espy, Protect!” Nina called, fully anticipating what was coming. And just as she feared, a wide area Flamethrower was released from the Houndoom’s maw. The searing hot flames splitted in the middle as it impacted Espy’s Protect barrier.

“Eeeee!!!” Espy cried out in distress while she struggled to maintain the defensive move. To the sides, Nina could also hear the cries of Pokemon and children as the dark red flames began heating up the metal exterior of the surrounding cages. 

Thankfully, Espy had enough presence of mind to extend her barrier at an angle to prevent the flames from actually reaching the victims, so it was only the scorching heat they had to contend with. Unfortunately, the larger barrier also imposed a lot of unnecessary strain on the Eevee.

Nina yelped and stepped closer to Espy and her Protect barrier. The oppressive flames converged on the girl’s back to cut off her retreat. “Dammit! This guy’s a lunatic and Espy can’t hold Protect for too long.” It hadn’t been too long since Espy learned Protect from the TM that Nina bought. And she was still tweaking the strenuous move to better suit her.

“Hang in there for a little bit longer, Espy! Nairy’s almost here!” Nina called out to her Pokemon encouragingly and blew into her whistle once more in desperation.

“EEEEEE!” 

But despite Espy’s determined cry, Nina could already see the cracks forming on the translucent barrier as the Eevee shrunk the Protect to maintain its integrity for as long as possible. 

Nina inched closer to Espy as the flames closed in, before finally deciding to raise her hood and throw her body over Espy to shield her from the flames. She was hoping to give her Eevee some reprieve from the roasting flames to better concentrate.

“You’re doing great, Espy. Just have to keep it up for a while longer…” Nina whispered hoarsely, in a feeble attempt to encourage her princess. “Just a bit longer…”

But despite her bravado, she could already feel her hoodie giving out as heat began to sear into her delicate skin. Causing her to wince in pain in spite of herself. This was one time where she wished she had her signature yellow windbreaker with her. The miracle material and its temperature regulating properties would have been extremely useful right now.

Seeing her human’s face twist into a pained expression made the fragile little Eevee wish she could be stronger; as strong as her father, or Nairy. At the very least, she wanted to be strong enough to contend with the Houndoom who was causing harm to her human.

Espy cursed herself for being weak, tears streaming down in frustration, her heated emotions burning hotter than the flames that she was resisting as they fed into the Protect barrier to infuse it with a purplish Psychic glow. 

The empowered Protect barrier expanded, even curving to shield the cages in their periphery to spare the kidnapped victims from the harsh heat, completely isolating the Houndoom and its trainer.

At the same time, Espy began glowing, her luscious fur shedding and body shifting to take on a more feline form. Her previously fluffy tail that Nina always enjoyed huffing, twisted and elongated before finally splitting into two near the base.

Nina reeled back from the blinding glow, mouth agape at the awe inspiring scene that was taking place before her, then broke out into tears of her own as her emotions synchronized and became one with Espy’s. “Thank you, Espy…” The girl sobbed. “Thank you for evolving to protect me!”

“Es! Espeonnnn!!!” As Espy cried out in triumph, and the Light of Evolution began to dissipate, an angry roar could be heard from behind the two as Nairy finally arrived in a surge of furious Draconic energy, his body full of scratches, scales chipped in places to indicate the fierce resistance he had to fight through. 

And indeed, when Nina looked behind her, she could see a swarm of Zubats and Spearows, led by a Golbat, chasing after the Dragon. The Rocket goons must have changed tactics at some point.

“Nairy! I’m leaving the creep and his Houndoom to you. Espy will take care of the tagalongs.”

“DRAA!!!!”

“ESSSS!!!”

With that, Espy lowered her barrier to allow Nairy to decimate the Houndoom with a devastating Double Pulse attack. Meanwhile, all the Flying Pokemon that were chasing after Nairy were held in place, mid-air, by an overbearing Psychic aura that suddenly engulfed them.

Nina’s companions let out another cry and lashed out without mercy; Nairy slammed a Double Tail onto the lecherous Rocket goon, crumpling the guy’s body into a bloody heap with a sickening crunch. Meanwhile, Espy narrowed her eyes, her Psychic aura crushing her captives, folding their wings and bodies at unnatural angles before dropping them onto the floor.

Nina winced at her Pokemon’s brutality. She was unsure if the Rocket goon was dead, and it’d be a miracle if any of those Flying Pokemon didn’t become lifelong cripples after this. “I’m gonna have to endure a lot of pointed questions for this…” 

After seeing the dreary condition of the cages and nearly getting roasted alive, Nina had very little sympathy to give to these scumbags. But she still scrunched up her nose at the visceral scene and made a mental note to have a talk with her Pokemon.

Having witnessed the sorry state of their Pokemon, the pursuing Rocket goons that Nairy did not manage to take out in time faltered, allowing Lieutenant Jenny to subdue them from behind as Espy froze them in place with her Psychic Aura.

Nina ignored the moans of pain from the incapacitated Team Rocket members and continued on her search for the keys before steadily going through each cage and releasing their captives, either to cries of gratitude or listless and glassy stares.

Midway through her efforts, aided by some of the more energetic kids who offered to help, a bunch of police officers in blue uniforms and black boots stormed into the basement to aid their lone colleague in apprehending the criminals.

“Did you do this…?” A disheveled and nervous looking Lieutenant Jenny asked Nina, when she caught sight of the bloodied Rocket goon to the side

Nina scratched her head apologetically. “Technically, my Pokemon did. We didn’t have a choice, that guy would have killed me if my Eevee didn’t evolve in time. He had no reservations against harming the hostages either. I’m sure some of the kids can testify on my behalf.” 

Everything that Nina said was technically true, if a bit contrived. And she was sure that the kids would be too traumatized to give any accurate statements. All they’d remember would be the miserable darkness and the scary flames that nearly burned them, all of which only served to further incriminate Team Rocket.

“Anyways, do you know if Beverly is okay?” The girl continued, in an attempt to divert the conversation.

The policewoman cleared her throat and nodded. “Miss Mizuhana is safe. We’ve sent our best battlers to assist her on the top floor. She struggled in trying to hold back the two executives of this particular splinter group, but she held out long enough for help to arrive.” The Lieutenant continued, eliciting a sigh of relief from Nina.

“That’s good to know…” The singed and haggard looking girl muttered as she winced in pain, the strain of the burns Nina suffered finally catching up to her, and buckled onto the floor in exhaustion. The newly evolved Espy and Nairy nuzzled up against their human to provide comfort. In particular, the anxious Nairy was coiled protectively around Nina, not allowing a single person to go anywhere near his partner.

“You did it, Espy. You finally managed to evolve into a proper Espeon…” Nina whispered to her princess affectionately while gently caressing her velvety lilac fur, which was now much shorter than before. A blessing in disguise for Nina, since it made grooming easier.

“Es~” The Espeon nuzzled her head against Nina’s face and tickled her with licks.

“Hehe… We should find some time to visit the Sea Cottage and show off to Bill and your dad. I’m sure Umber’s gonna be really proud of you.”

“Espy es!”

***

Author's Note:

Had some time to sit down and write the past couple of days. And it wasn't until I took a step back that I realized I wrote like 4-5 battle sequences back to back in the latest chapters. It's no wonder I feel so burnt out.

The good news is, I've officially started writing the finale of this current part. In fact, I went ahead and wrote the final 2 chapters just to really nail down the goalpost.

I'm aiming to finish writing the finale by the end of February. If I manage to do that, and am able to get ahead on Part 3 (I renamed the prologue as part 1 since some people are sensitive to the use of that term.) I will maybe do daily chapters until we reach the end of Part 2.

But that's a very big IF, so don't quote me on that.

After that though, I might take a break on public releases to work on Part 3 as well as an original story idea that's been kicking around in my head. Releases will go on as usual on Patreon though, until I feel ready enough for public scrutiny.