AN: The wait is over. It's time to see what starter Lincoln, Lola and Lana will choose. For those who haven't seen, the top three types voted by you all were: Normal with 6 votes, Fire with 3 votes and Ghost with 2. So, between those three, one pokemon was randomly selected. If the pokemon you wanted to see didn't get selected, don't despair. It's possible Lincoln, Lana, or Lola may catch them later on down the road. Enjoy the story and see you all at the end.
It Begins pt 2
"Woooooow," Lana said in complete awe as she looked at all the choices of Pokemon available to them, each pokeball with a little picture of the pokemon in question underneath it. "Where did you get all of these pokemon?"
"As a Pokemon Professor, I have sponsored a number of trainers seeking to take on the Pokemon League. A few of those said trainers had taken up competitive battling, which involves breeding pokemon to perfection. They've sent a few of these offspring to me in order to study and to pass on to new trainers," Lisa explained with a small smile, her eyes slowly scanning the many shelves. "Trainers such as yourselves."
"How can a person choose?" Lincoln asked, a little overwhelmed at all the pokeballs around him.
"Carefully, of course. It is, after all, your starter pokemon."
"...you're not helping," The older brother informed his younger sister in a deadpan tone.
"Oh! I like this one!" Lola said as she grabbed the ball over a picture of a poodle with its fur cut like a sunhat.
"Are you sure that is your selection, elder sister? If you open that ball, there is no turning back." The little Pokemon Professor warned her.
"I'm sure," The pageant princess said firmly, a big smile on her face. "Come on out, cutie." She tossed the pokeball in front of her, revealing a dog pokemon over half her size. It was covered in scruffy white fur, with a black snout ending in a blue nose sticking out from under it.
"Furfrou!" The poodle barked, wagging its tail at the sight of her.
"...it doesn't look like its picture at all…" Lola complained, her face falling, which also made the Furfrou look kind of sad too.
"That picture is of one of many styles in which the Poodle Pokemon can have." Lisa explained, gently patting the pupper on the head. "A simple visit to a beauty parlor can arrange your preferred style for your Furfrou, lest you wish to style it yourself."
"Oh? I could do that!?" Lola asked, her eyes getting all starry and a big grin returning to her face. Furfrou seemed encouraged by her smile, bounding up to start licking her face. "Hahahah! Hey, stop! You'll mess up my makeup!" She said while laughing, gently pushing the happy dog back. Lincoln, Lana and Lisa all chuckled softly at the sight, the white haired boy pointing his pokedex at the pokemon.
"Furfrou," The electronic encyclopedia said in a robotic voice. "The Poodle Pokemon. There was an era when aristocrats would compete to see who could trim their Furfrou's fur into the most exquisite style. Left alone, its fur will grow longer and longer, but it will only allow someone it trusts to cut it."
"Yeah, that sounds like the perfect pokemon for Lola," Her twin commented with a soft laugh.
"I wonder what gender it is," Lola said as she gently scrubbed her new pokemon behind the ears.
"I can assist you in that inquiry, Miss Lola," Lincoln's pokedex said, surprising everyone but Lisa. "In addition to recording and sharing information about pokemon scanned into my memory, I can reveal the gender of pokemon, show the various forms of pokemon with different forms, reveal the pokemon's ability and even ascertain if the pokemon possesses an egg move. In this particular case, your Furfrou is female and has the Fur Coat ability."
"Egg move?"
"It is a technique that can be passed down from a pokemon's parents, outside of its usual move pool," Lisa explained. "That is part of the breeding process."
"Cool. I hope my pokemon gets one," The young handywoman said as she started to really peruse the shelves. After a couple seconds, she scooped up a red and white ball sitting atop the picture of some kind of tadpole. "I pick...this one!" She tossed the ball in front of her and out came a little pokemon that was mostly a smiling face with a black head/body with a blue fin like tail and little dark gray and blue lumps on the sides of its face.
"Tympole!" The pokemon declared as it flopped on the ground.
"Awww. It's actually kind of cute," The prissy twin commented, kneeling down for a closer look.
"Yeah," The tomboy twin agreed as she picked the tadpole up and gave it a hug. "Hello there!"
"Tympole, the tadpole pokemon," The pokedex revealed after Lincoln turned its lens onto the pokemon. "By vibrating its cheeks, it emits sound waves imperceptible to humans and warns others of danger. This Tympole is Male with the Hydration ability. I am sorry to disappoint you, Miss Lana, but your pokemon does not have an egg move."
"Ah well. No pokemon's perfect...but he's close." Lana smiled as she pet her new partner like it were a cat, the tadpole making a humming noise almost as if he were purring. While his little sisters were fawning over their starting pokemon, Lincoln was scanning the many rows of pokeballs with a somewhat pensive look. He was having trouble picking his pokemon, as there were just so many to pick from; not just species, but types as well. It almost made his head spin. As he pointed out earlier, how could he choose? He drifted along the shelves, his finger tracing along the pictures set along under the pokeballs. He paused in front of a picture of what looked like a jellyfish of some kind. He thought about it for a moment, starting to reach for it, but stopping with his hand open halfway to it. As he thought about it, the pokemon containment device rolled forward slightly, right into his hand. He blinked in surprise and was about to put it back, but then he thought,
'Actually, perhaps this is a sign.' He thought to himself. '...nah, it's probably just a coincidence...but you know...why not?' He smiled as he removed the ball from the shelf and, to show he had made his final decision, tossed the ball in front of him. From it appeared a pink, round headed jellyfish creature with blue eyes surrounded by red and a pale pink kind of crown on its head. It had five tentacles which were lined with frills that looked like lace. On its face was a bright smile
"Eeeeeee!" Lola squeed enthusiastically, which made her Furfrou frown slightly, but it made Frillish smile even more. "She looks just like a princess!"
"Frillish, the floating pokemon." The pokedex explained after registering the pokemon's data. "They paralyze their prey with poison, then drag them down to their lair, five miles below the surface. Frillish is a female, and possesses the ability Cursed Body." Lincoln gulped a bit when he heard that as he looked to his starter, who was looking back at him.
"Uh...hello there."
"Frillish." The pokemon responded in a sort of regal, somewhat cute voice, holding a tentacle out and pointing toward the ground. Not able to understand pokemon, the one son just looked at the tentacle, then at her face. She was just staring expectantly at him. He had no idea what she expected from him. However, he had taken notice of what Lola said about her looking like a princess, so he thought about what she would want in this case. He shrugged lightly, gently took hold of the tentacle she was pointing with and kissed it as if it were her hand. Frillish giggled and pulled it away, shaking it a bit and shaking her head. "Frill Frillish Ish Frill."
"I think she said that she appreciates that, but that wasn't what she wanted you to do," Lana informed him.
"You can understand her?"
"Kinda," The animal lover of the trio answered. "I mean, I can better understand cats, dogs, reptiles, etc...aquatic pokemon are a little out of my range, but I can get a general idea." Once more, the pink jellyfish gestured to the ground. "i think she wants you to kneel." Frillish nodded in confirmation, waiting patiently for him to do so.
'...really?' Lincoln thought to himself. 'She's really expecting me to kneel?' He mulled it over for a second, finally deciding that if this pokemon was like Lola, upsetting her would be a BAD move...especially after what her pokedex entry stated. So, thinking this may be a move he would regret, knelt down on one knee before the water ghost pokemon. Frillish then went into a little speech that the white haired young man couldn't even begin to understand as she tapped his left shoulder, his right shoulder, then his left shoulder again. It felt like he was being knighted, which he had to admit felt kind of cool.
"Uh...she said a lot there, so I'm gonna try and summarize…" Lana said, scratching the back of her head in confusion. "If I'm understanding her right...she just made you her steward, her knight and...her steed?" Lincoln blinked, looking to his hat wearing sister, who just shrugged at him. She didn't seem too sure, so maybe it was a mistranslation. Frillish gently nudged his chin up, a sign she wanted him to rise again, to which he complied.
"Well, now that each of you have chosen your starting pokemon, there is just one last matter I wish to discuss. With Lana and Lincoln specifically, as they were the ones expressing interest in participating in the Pokemon League Gym Challenge." The one son and the animal lover turned their attention off their pokemon and onto their younger sister. "If I recall, Lincoln, you were a big fan of watching the League battles on television once upon a time, yes?
"Yeah...though the last two years, there was nothing really to watch…" Her brother admitted with a half hearted shrug. "It just got boring after a while. None of the challenging trainers stood a chance against the Elite Four. Don't think anyone has even reached the champion in a dog's age..."
"Indeed. It has been a growing concern with the Pokemon League. Trainers enter the Elite Four with all eight badges, yet battles on a level of someone who never battled in their life," Lisa continued, leading her siblings out of the pokeball storage area. As Lincoln started to walk, he felt something soft wrap around his midsection and on his shoulders, before feeling some weight briefly put onto his back. He looked back and noticed his Frillish was holding on like she was going for a piggyback ride, her arm tendrils on his shoulders and leg appendages around his middle. She just gave him a big smile, while he just sighed.
'Greeeeat...She really meant steed…' He thought glumly. '...well, at least she's still floating, so she isn't that heavy…but when we get home, we're going to need to set some guidelines.'
"Now, I personally have a theory as to where the problem could have come from...and it's centered around the Gym Challenge," The child professor continued, not really noticing
"What's that?" Lana asked, her head tilted.
"...as much as I don't like thinking of such a possibility, I suspect some of the gym leaders may be going easy on participants, or perhaps even accepting bribes for their badges," Lisa said solemnly, turning her back to her siblings she strode over to her electronics workbench. "Now, I'm not suspecting all of them, mind. Just a few whose fail/success ratio have changed drastically as of late, who had denied televising any matches, or have exhibited anything unusual of late. However, I lack any evidence, at least presently." She picked up a pair of pokeball shaped pins, looking them over for a moment before handing them to Lincoln and Lana. "These pins contain a hidden camera and listening device. Press the pokeball button on it and it will start recording straight into your Pokedex. Start it up before entering into a gym battle and, if any evidence of wrongdoing is found, we can take appropriate action."
"Hmmm. Alright, Lisa," Lincoln said as he pocketed the pin. "And if there is nothing there, at least I can review the footage of my battle to help improve my game."
"A fine idea, elder brother. Now, for obvious reasons, I request you keep this silent from not just the gym leaders, but all others. In the event I am mistaken, I wouldn't want to besmirch their reputations."
"Of course. If anyone catches us recording, we can just say what Linc said: we're recording to check for and fix mistakes." The hat wearing twin commented, which got an approving nod from their little sister.
"Excellent. I believe that is all we need to cover. I wish you three the best on your adventures," The little professor told them with a small smile. "Let us return home before it gets too late." The one brother and twins all nodded, as the twins were starting to feel tired again.
"...I seriously can't believe that guy, leaving us to take care of all the cleaning up ourselves…" Lynn grumbled as she tied off the last garbage bag and threw it over her shoulder. She had been complaining ever since Lincoln had left with Lola, Lana and Lisa, which was only a couple minutes ago. Complaining to the point where her siblings were getting irate with her.
"Would you ease up, sis?" Luna finally said, having just lugged her amps back into her own van outside.
"I'm sure Lisa has a reason for taking him with her." Lucy agreed, gently petting her Golbat since all the work was done.
"Yeah, but Linc could have waited until we were finished cleaning before he went…"
"Actually, no," Lisa said suddenly, having just appeared with her siblings and their pokemon in tow, courtesy of Abra. Lynn jumped and yelped in shock.
"Wha! Dang it, Lisa...It's bad enough when Lucy does that!" She snapped, but then she noticed three new pokemon: one standing by Lola, one in Lana's arms, and one clinging to Lincoln's back like a backpack.
"Whoa! You guys got your starters!" Luan exclaimed, the sisters present running over for a closer look. Luna and Lily were petting Furfrou, while Luan was patting Tympole on the head, and Lucy and Lynn were getting a closer look at Frillish.
"Such a cute doggy!~" Lily exclaimed as she scrubbed the poodle pokemon, who was loving the attention.
"Hee hee. Can't say I'm surprised at your selection, Lana," Luan commented, the tadpole pokemon making that purr like buzzing sound again.
"You got a ghost pokemon, Lincoln?" The goth teen inquired, sounding just a little jealous. "Lucky."
"Ghost?" Her brother and sporty older sister asked together.
"Doesn't look like a ghost to me." Lynn said, squinting her eyes as she stared at the princess jelly.
"Trust me. I know my ghosts." Lucy responded in her monotone. "Frillish is both a water and a ghost pokemon. And again, I say you're lucky."
"So…why's it on your back?"
"Long story…" Lincoln replied, hoping that would be the end of that...though he knew better than that.
"It's not that long a story." Lola interjected with a grin. "Linky's Frillish made him her steward and knight."
"Aww. That's so sweet." The youngest of the sisters said, beaming at the boy and his ghost pokemon.
"-and her steed." Lana added. The moment she said that, all his sisters in the room (Lucy and Lisa included) just burst out laughing. Being used to getting laughed at by his sisters by now, the one son just rolled his eyes and waited for them to get it out of their system.
"Hahahahahahaha! Ok! That made being one hand short for clean up worth it!" The family athlete said through her hysterics.
"Well, we can see Linc isn't horsing around with this decision." Luan quipped. "He's gonna pony up and go on his own adventure, and with his pokemon to back him up, he's gonna gallop all over the competition."
"...are you done?"
"I'm just getting warmed up."
"Then I'm just going to my room…" Lincoln said, not wishing to get swamped by more of Luan's puns. So up the stairs he went, Frillish waving to the hysterical sisters like royalty passing in a carriage.
Since most of the Loud children were out adventuring (a few having moved to new locations as well), Lincoln was able to move into Lynn and Lucy's old room. He didn't change much up just in case they came back to visit; in fact, the most he did was move his bed between their empty beds and put his posters up on the wall. Lola and Lana had the option for their own rooms as well, but they decided to stay in their old room together. No surprise, as they were twins and they had plenty of years to get it the way they liked it. The one son sighed as he passed the threshold to his room and paused by his bed. "Ok. Last stop. Everybody off." Frillish let him go without any argument, hovering over his mattress.
"Frill Rillish, Frill frill," She said to him, which he could only assume was her thanking him.
"You're welcome." His response seemed to please her, so it seemed he was right, or at least not far off. "Alright, Frillish...actually, we should pick a name for you, shouldn't we?" The white haired boy looked her over for a moment as he thought. He felt Lola had a point; she did look like a princess. "...how about Princess?" The floating pokemon smiled in a haughty manner, clearly approving. "Ok. Princess, I'm Lincoln, your new trainer...though you probably got that already." The Frillish gave a soft bow of the head to him, which he returned. She was being respectful; a good sign to the young man. "With that out of the way, I'd like us to come to a kind of understanding, alright? About this whole 'steed' thing." She tilted her round head a little, clearly curious what was the matter. "Now, if you want to ride on my back, I don't mind. I really don't, if you ask first. However, can we not make a habit of it, please? Or, at very least, don't call me your steed in that case?" The jellyfish pokemon just stared at him with a kind of blank look. Before he could ask for any kind of response from her, there was a knock on the door. "Come in."
"Hey Lincoln." Lana said as she and her twin entered the room, the former still carrying her little tadpole and the latter with her canine companion in tow. The handyperson sat down on Lynn's bed, while the pageant participant remained standing by the door. "You got a couple minutes?"
"For you two? Sure," He said, turning his attention away from his Frillish. "What's on your mind?"
"We know you're heading off on your adventure, Linky," Lola said, rubbing Furfrou on the head. "And Lana and I were talking over what you said at Lisa's lab; about travelling with us if we wanted you to."
"Well, we decided we did want you to," The tomboy continued, smiling at her brother. "It'd be cool to be off on our own, sure, but three heads are better than two, right?"
"Yeah, that's true," Lincoln responded with a nod, while thinking 'Especially if it's a more level head between two frequently arguing heads.'
"Then it's settled. Tomorrow morning, we all set out together." Lana sprang up and ran over to her only brother with Lola, the three of them hugging one another. The three spent the last few hours before the twins' bedtime planning out their route and bonding with their pokemon. Lincoln didn't really need to go to bed that early (as he was old enough to set his own sleep schedule), but he was as eager as his sisters to get started. He got himself ready for bed around ten o'clock, changed into his pajamas in the bathroom, and when he returned to his bedroom, he found Lucy sitting on her old bed in her own pjs, Golbat hanging from the canopy as if standing guard.
"Getting an early night, Lincoln?" The goth girl inquired.
"Yeah. Want to get an early start tomorrow, so we can have as much time to cover as much ground as possible."
"Makes sense. Fangs and I will probably be heading out early tomorrow too," She explained, then gave a faint smile. "I wish you, Lana and Lola the best."
"Thanks, Lucy. How's your quest going?" Lincoln asked, as he didn't really know what Lucy was aiming for.
"Decently well. Still not sure where I'm going with it, but I've caught a few good pokemon, earned a few badges and learned quite a lot," The teenage macabre enthusiast explained. "I've given up the gym challenge though. It was fun while it lasted, but I'm just not the competitive type."
"Oh. Well, here's hoping you find your path soon, Luce," Her older brother said, giving her a hug.
"Thanks, Lincoln. Same to you," She replied, hugging him in return. Once the two separated, he turned to his bed and found Princess laying with her head on his pillow, her eyes closed, taking up the whole bed.
"Huh? Hey." The Frillish opened one eye and looked up at her trainer. "Princess, if you'd like a place to sleep, I can arrange something, but this is my bed," The one son said, irritated but trying to keep a calm, firm tone.
"Fri. Frill Illish," The sleepy jellyfish said, closing her eye again. Lincoln couldn't understand what she was saying, but suspected she wasn't planning on moving.
"Princess…" He started to say, but the water ghost pokemon opened both eyes to frown at him, as if he were the inconvenience here. "I'm going to ask nicely one more time."
"Frill Frillish!" She snapped at him. The white haired teen frowned, pulling her pokeball from behind him. Seeing it scared her, much to Lincoln's surprise. She quickly changed strategies, widening her eyes and looking sadly up at him.
"What? Oh good grief…" The middle son said, cringing as he experienced the puppy dog eyes from the adorable, pink pokemon. "Princess…" The aquatic pocket monster quivered her lip with a soft whine, melting his heart and his resolve, Lincoln lowering the pokeball with a sigh. "...can you at least move over so I can sleep too?" The young man asked in a defeated tone. Frillish calmed right down and scooched aside enough so he could fit on the bed too. He grabbed another pillow and laid down beside the pink monster, his back to her. "Lucy, do all girls know that trick naturally, or is it taught?"
"A little of both." She answered, trying her bed not to laugh at her brother again.
Before the sun rose the next day, Lincoln had woken up and sprang out of bed, grabbing what he needed for a shower and rushing out into the hall. Right in front of the bathroom door was Lana, tapping a foot as she was waiting herself. Seemed the twins had the same idea, and woke up even earlier than him. Fortunately, their own showers didn't take long, as they all wanted to be out the door and on their way ASAP. Within less than an hour, they had all gotten through the bathroom, got dressed and got their pokemon back in their compact homes...except for Lincoln. For some reason, she absolutely refused to return to her pokeball. She seemed utterly terrified of the idea. Not wishing to traumatize her, he agreed to let her stay outside the ball, so down to breakfast he went with his Frillish clinging to his back. Turns out, their parents had anticipated their wanting to get an early start and were already starting on making breakfast by the time Lincoln got his turn in the bathroom. They were about halfway through their waffles when the rest of the family had entered the dining room, having been woken up by the smell of their father's cooking. They probably would have been done before then, but Princess was being very picky about what berries she would eat, and it slowed Lincoln down significantly.
By the time he finished, the twins were already packing up everything they needed for the trip, meaning Lincoln had to rush in order to get ready in time. He quickly packed his clothes, his hidden stash of money, some extra snacks, a few essentials, and the pokeballs he had gotten on his eleventh birthday into his backpack, then grabbed his tent, sleeping bag, and a blanket and tied them to the top of his pack. By the time he got back downstairs, Lola and Lana were already there being hugged by their mother and their crying father, and their siblings standing behind them. "I...I told myself I wouldn't cry…" Lynn Sr sobbed as he held the blonde haired duo tightly.
"With all due respect, Pop, you said that every time one of us left on our pokemon journeys." Lynn commented, her arms crossed and smiling with pride at her little sisters.
"Yes, but this is the first time three baby birds are leaving the nest at once." Rita reminded her most active daughter, her own eyes welling with tears. "The nest...it's almost empty…"
"Aww, it'll be alright, Mom, Dad," Lana told them. She was dressed in her best overalls with a pair of hiking boots, a brand new red hat and a red shirt under the overalls. She had the pokeball pin stuck to one of the suspenders. Lola was wearing a deep pink long sleeve shirt and a matching knee length skirt, pale pink leggings and red sneakers. Over the shirt, she wore light, white windbreaker jacket. Lincoln, on the other hand, stuck to his classic outfit, but with a few changes; he wore a simple orange visor on his head, a band for holding pokeballs across his chest, and a black glove on his right hand. The pin Lisa had given him was pinned to the pocket of his orange polo. "We'll call frequently and visit whenever we can."
"Just...be careful out there, kids," Their father said after they both released the twins and pulled Lincoln into a strong embrace. "Don't fall in with the wrong crowd, mind your brother, eat all your vegetables, don't take any wooden pokeballs, always look both-"
"Daaaaaaad…" Lola whined, crossing her arms in annoyance.
"Oh...sorry...got carried away there…" He said, looking somewhat sheepish.
"It's alright, Dad. We know you do that because you both care a lot," Lincoln said, giving his father a pat on the back after he had been freed from the double parental hug. "But you don't need to worry. With each of us watching each other's backs, we'll be just fine."
"Linc's right," The tool savvy twin confirmed with a nod. "And with our pokemon by our sides too, we could take whatever the world throws at us."
"We know you can," Rita told them, brushing the tears from her eyes. "But we can't help but worry. Just be careful and keep in touch, and we'll try to worry less."
"Sure thing, Mom, Dad," Lincoln replied. "We'll call you at least once a week, when possible."
"Thank you, Lincoln. Best of luck to you all."
"Show them what a Loud is made of, kids," Lynn Sr said, fighting back a fresh wave of tears of pride.
"Rock on, you crazy kids," Luna cheered to them, raising the horns to them.
"Spirits be with you, brother, sisters…" Lucy said in her monotone.
"Stay strong, Linc, Lola, Lana!" Lynn called, grinning as she raised her fist into the air.
"Show the world you're no joke." Luan encouraged them, waving as the three approached the front door.
"Good luck, big brother and big sisters!" Lily wished upon them, bouncing on her little feet.
"Go forth, siblings, and forge your destiny," Lisa said, a small smile on her face and her hands behind her back. "Whatever it may be."
"Bye everyone!" The trio of trainers called in return, waving back to their family as they all stepped outside, out into the bright sunlight of early morning in Royal Woods.
It took them about an hour to walk their way through town, headed down the path leading south. It was a lovely day, so no one minded the trip...except for Princess. The brightness of the sun was somewhat irritating to the princess jellyfish, leading her to complain in pokemon about twenty minutes in. Fortunately, Lincoln is the man with the plan, and had thought to pack a little umbrella among his gear. It wasn't much, but it kept the sun off the Frillish, and seemed to satisfy it. The moment they had left the city limit, they noticed the way ahead was practically crawling with wild pokemon; caterpillar like creatures crawling up and down trees to either side of the path, little purple rats running away from a portly little beaver into a patch of tall grass, and a flock of pigeon pokemon. to name a few. Lana's eyes were as wide as dinner plates as she saw them all, a big grin on her face. "Well, here we are...the first leg of our journeys," Lincoln declared, taking a deep breath of the fresh air. "First thing we should probably do is catch a few pokemon to bolster our-" He started to suggest, but Lana had already run off to do some pokemon hunting. "...nevermind. I see Lana is one step ahead of me," The white haired teen said with a soft chuckle. "How about you Lo?"
"I don't think so. I mean, I have Brittany. Do I really need anyone else for the contests?" The beauty centered sister asked with a shrug.
"I don't know, Lola. It couldn't hurt to have a variety of pokemon, even for pokemon contests," Her older brother pointed out to her. "I mean, not all contests are the same."
"They're not?"
"No. Contests are usually set into five categories: cute, beauty, clever, tough and cool." He explained, pulling up some contest info on his pokedex. "And the contest halls change which categories they're running each week...except the Master hall in Great Lakes CIty. They run them all, all the time, but I digress. Your Furfrou could handle a few of those contests, but not all of them."
"Hmmm...I guess you're right," The pageant princess replied after a moment to consider it. "It helps to have a variety of talents in pageants, so it couldn't hurt to have different pokemon with different talents."
"Exactly. Plus, the more experience Brittany gets in battle, the more techniques she can learn for the contests."
"Oh! Good point." With that, Lola ran off in search of a new pokemon of her own.
"Hehe. I guess it's just you and me, Princess, to find a new teammate."
"Oh man...where do I even begin?" Lana asked herself quietly as she crept through the forest, peeking up from bushes and shrubs to observe her new potential poke friends. "So many bugs and birds and rats and...which one do I catch?" She looked down at her bag of pokeballs, then up at the pokemon simply living life in front of her. "...all of them," She decided with a very excited grin, grabbing one of the pokemon catching devices as she rose from the bushes...and caused almost all the pokemon that heard and saw her to scatter. "...oops." The tomboy kind of slumped as she looked into the now empty clearing...only to find it wasn't entirely empty. Skittering toward a large oak tree was a dark gray worm like monster with three white hairs sticking out of its head. It had large dark yellow eyes with square, black pupils. It was desperately trying to flee, but wasn't fast enough to do so.
"Pokeball, go!" Lana yelled as she hurled the red and white spheroid at the escaping bug. The moment the ball came into contact with it, it sprang open and bathed the insect in red light before it disappeared into the ball. It snapped shut and fell to the ground, shaking and twitching. "Come on...come on…" The hat wearing twin muttered, her hands shaking from pure excitement. After a few seconds of squirming, the pokeball stopped and made a satisfying click. "YES!" She threw her arms up in celebration, scaring a flock of bird pokemon from the nearby trees. "My first catch!" Lana ran over to the pokeball, picked it up and nuzzled it with her cheek.
"Scatterbug." Her pokedex suddenly said, startling her.
"Wha! Huh? Oh, I forgot to scan the pokemon, didn't I?
"Yes, but not to worry, Miss Loud. I can gather data from the pokemon you catch as well. In fact, catching the pokemon allows you access to even more information regarding that pokemon," The electronic pokemon encyclopedia explained to her. "Back on topic: Scatterbug, the Scatterdust Pokemon. The powder that covers its body regulates its temperature, so it can live in any region or climate. When under attack from bird Pokémon, it spews a poisonous black powder that causes paralysis on contact."
"Cooool."
"Thank you, Miss Loud. The Scatterbug is Male, with the Shield Dust ability."
"Sweet. I'll name him Dusty." Lana declared, putting Scatterbug's pokeball on a notch on her belt.
"If I may suggest, Miss Loud, sending out your Tympole when capturing pokemon?" The Pokedex recommended to her.
"Oh! Right. Guess I got so excited I forgot," The more tomboyish of the twins admitted with a sheepish chuckle. "Come on out, Hops!" She called out as she released Tympole from his pokeball. It looked raring to go as it hopped up and down on the ground. "Alright, buddy. Let's go find us some new friends." The tadpole pokemon blubbed in agreement, just as a particularly chubby beaver pokemon plodded it's way into view. It stopped when it saw Lana and Lana saw it. Her 'target acquired' grin returned as Hops put his game face on, ready to fight.
While Lana was out catching everything she could find, Lola was being a little more particular. After all, she was looking for partners suitable for pokemon contests. Not just any pokemon would do. She strolled along the dirt path, aiming her pokedex at any pokemon she stumbled across. "Rattata...no," She grumbled, turning away from the little purple rat. "Pidgey...I think not. Wumple? HARD pass." The prissy twin's anger grew with each pokemon she rejected. "Bidoof. Another Rattata. More worms. ANOTHER Rattata…Ugggh!" She groaned in frustration and disgust. "Aren't there any cute or beautiful pokemon around here!?" She nearly screamed, sending most of the wild pokemon close to her running for cover. All went quiet as the short tempered Loud found herself alone on the path, Lola almost stomping along as she tried to find just the right pokemon.
About an hour into her tirade, she heard a rustling in the bushes to her right. She thought it was probably another rat, but decided to check it out anyway. She crept over to the shrubs and found, not only was it full of berries, but she was half right. On the other side was a rodent pokemon, but a yellow one with pointed ears lined with black fur and two tiny points sticking out at the tip, a little black tail, and little red cheeks. It was nibbling on a Razz Berry, not noticing the human intruder spying on it. Lola's eyes widened when she saw it, a twinkle returning to her eyes. "Oh my goodness, it's soooo cute!" She exclaimed as she pulled her pokedex on it.
"Pichu." The data recording program intoned, which got the little pokemon's attention. "The Tiny Mouse Pokemon. It has electric sacs in its cheeks. When they're fully charged, Pichu plays very energetically. It still can't use electricity very well. When surprised or excited, it discharges electricity unintentionally."
"Even it's name is adorable." Lola was about one step of swooning at it's cuteness when the baby pokemon dropped it's berry and got down on all fours, glaring at her.
"Pichu…" It growled warningly, sparks emitting from its cheeks...which actually made it look even cuter rather than threatening.
"Cute and with attitude. That settles it." The beauty obsessed twin stepped from the bushes as she tossed the pokeball with her Furfrou in it. "Go, Brittany!" The poodle pokemon appeared in a flash, barking at the Pichu before it. "Brittany, tackle the little darling...but not too hard." Brittany nodded before she charged at the baby mouse pokemon and rammed into it with her head, knocking it a couple inches back onto its front. The Pichu growled angrily, arcs of electricity shooting from its cheeks to it's ears...then its neck, body, tail and its little feet. In fact, its whole body was getting surrounded by electricity. "...uh, what's going on?" Lola asked, looking and sounding concerned.
"PiiiiiiiCHHHHUUUUUUUU!" The electric pokemon screamed as it ran right toward the stoic Furfrou, a trail of lightning in its wake. A few feet from the canine pokemon, it leapt into the air, flying toward her chest like an electricity encased missile. Its head slammed right into her, causing a bright flash and a massive discharge of electrical energy, forcing Lola to look away and cover her eyes with one arm.
"Brittany!" She cried out, fearing for her partner's safety. "Oh, I knew I shouldn't have-huh?" She slowly lowered her arm and, to her amazement, her Furfrou looked just fine. Its chest fur was a little singed, but otherwise, nothing seemed wrong. "Brittany! You're ok!"
"That would most likely be attributed to Furfrou's fur coat." Lola's Pokedex explained. "A pokemon with the fur coat ability takes less damage from physical based attacks." Brittany barked and nodded to confirm the pokemon encyclopedia's information. As well as she looked, the Pichu looked a wreck, however. Its attack hurt the poor baby pokemon a lot more than it hurt its opponent, leaving it on its back with spinning eyes and a 'I regret everything' look.
"Well, it looks softened up enough to me. Here we go!" Lola tossed a pokeball at the dazed electric mouse. As it was in no condition to struggle, she caught it with ease. "Yes!"
"The recently captured Pichu is male, with the Static ability." The pokedex informed her once the pokemon's data was fully registered. "And it possesses the egg move Volt Tackle."
"Volt Tackle? Was that what that was?" She asked the multi purpose electronic device. "Hmmm. It was a really flashy attack...it'd be perfect for the contests!"
Much like Lola, Lincoln was also being particular about what he was going to catch next, but for different reasons; he was going for strategy than for appearance. "Let's see…" Lincoln thought out loud, his eyes scanning the surrounding environment. "Lucy said that Princess is a water ghost pokemon...as a water pokemon, it's weak to grass and electricity, so finding a pokemon that could cover at least one of those weaknesses would be a big help." As he quietly pondered and searched, the Frillish on his back was getting bored. Out here in the wild, there wasn't anyone to give her attention apart from the trainer she was clinging to.
"...Friiiillish…" She complained, brushing his cheek with one of her arm tentacles. The touch made his mouth twitch.
"Just a moment, Princess," He told her, as he was still trying to find a new pokemon partner. She didn't like that answer, so she tried to pinch his cheek instead. However, as the frill on the tendril was so soft and lacey, it tickled more than it hurt, making Lincoln chuckle a bit. "Hehehey, cut it out, Princess."
"Frill Frillish Fri…"
"Be patient. I'm trying to find you a friend," He explained to her. Princess huffed and swatted him across the nose. "Hehehe, Frillish, knock it off," He chuckled, pushing her tentacle away. "That tickles." The pink jellyfish blinked at him, then smirked, raising both arm tentacles threateningly. He couldn't see this, but he had a gut feeling he knew what was coming. He grabbed her pokeball and held it where she could see it. "Don't even think about it," he warned her firmly. She squeaked in reply and clung to his shoulders again, whimpering. The young man sighed as he put her containment device back on the bandolier. He hated having to resort to that; it made him feel bad for doing it. "...Princess, look. I'm sorry I went there…" He started, gently taking her off his back so he could speak to her face to face. "...but right now, we need to focus. I promise, after we find a pokemon we can add to our team, we can play, or talk, or whatever you'd like. Ok?" Princess crossed her arm tentacles and looked kind of pouty, but begrudgingly nodded. "Ok. Thank you. It shouldn't take that much longer."
"Lincoln!" The white haired young man and the pink pokemon turned their head to look at Lana running up to them, holding a stack of pokeballs in her arms. "I was catching some pokemon, and now my pokedex is saying I can only have six pokemon at a time…"
"Er...yes, Lana, it was part ot-"
"I know, I know," Lana interrupted him, looking sad. "...but I can't pick which one to send to this box thing they're talking about…"
"Wait...you already caught more than six pokemon!?" Lincoln exclaimed in surprise. His tool savvy sister nodded, showing him her pokedex. According to it, in addition to her starter, she had a Scatterbug, a Bidoof, a Rattata, a Pikachu, a Pidgey and a Pidove. It was asking if she wanted to keep the Pidove or send it to the box. "...you've been busy."
"Yeah, but like I said, I don't know who to swap, or if to swap...I don't really want to give anybody up, but I know I gotta…" Lana said sadly, looking at the list.
"Hmmm...well, you should only really need one flying pokemon on your team, so I guess it would depend on if you want Pidgey or Pidove." This didn't seem to help her situation, so Lincoln continued, "If you end up changing your mind, you could always swap them back at any Pokemon Center PC."
"Yeah, I know...but I still would have liked to have all my pokemon friends with me."
"I can understand that, Lana...but where would you keep all those pokeballs?" He pointed out to her.
"...good point. Alright. I guess I'll keep Pidgey for now," She finally decided, the pokeball with the Pidove glowing for a moment before it vanished from sight. Just then, another pigeon pokemon flew over and landed on the ground to their right, pecking the ground in search of seeds.
"Hmmm. A flying pokemon would work nicely to cover Princess' grass weakness, and being part normal would cover her ghost weakness too." Lincoln reasoned, pointing his pokedex at the bird pokemon.
"Pidove, the Tiny Pigeon pokemon. Each follows its trainer's orders as best they can, but they sometimes fail to comprehend complicated commands. These pokemon live in cities. They are accustomed to people. Flocks often gather in parks and plazas."
"Ok, Princess. You're up. Go get 'em!" Lincoln declared with confidence, pointing toward the Pidove that was paying him no attention. "Bubble attack!" He instructed. However, nothing happened. He slowly turned to the Frillish, who was hovering there with a defiant expression. "Uh...Princess. Bubble, please."
"Fri." She responded, turning away from him.
"What? Why not?" He asked, annoyed at her refusal to listen.
"I don't want to get my tentacles dirty." Lana translated, followed by a facepalm after she did.
"Don't want to get...you're just going to be spitting bubbles at a pigeon. Your tentacles won't be involved at all!" The comic book enthusiast informed her angrily. The Frillish still refused to obey. Lincoln was tempted to go for her pokeball again, but he thought she would start to really resent him if he kept doing that. He did have another idea, however. He just sighed and shrugged with a smirk. "I guess you don't care about becoming a queen." The princess jelly blinked and turned quickly to look at Lincoln.
"...Illish?"
"That's what you evolve into, right?" He inquired, taking out his pokedex and showing her an image of the pokemon she could evolve into. Her eyes got all wide and sparkly at the sight. "Of course, it'll take a lot of experience to get to that point, which would mean a lot of battling...but if you don't want to get your tentacles dirty-" Before he could finish that thought, Frillish floated right in front of the Pidove and blew a strew of bubbles from her mouth at the little bird. The bubbles sent the pigeon into a daze for a moment, but once it faded, it glared at the jellyfish pokemon. It took to the air and charged right at her. Princess screamed and held her arm tendrils in front of her face.
"Don't worry, Princess. You're a ghost pokemon." He called out to her, just as the pigeon flew right through her like she was made of nothing. The Frillish slowly looked back at the bird pokemon, who looked totally shell shocked that its attack failed, then blushed in embarrassment at having forgotten that. "Give it another bubble!" She returned her focus to the battle at his next order, sending another cluster of bubbles at the flying pokemon, knocking it to the ground. "And now...Pokeball, go!" The one son through one of his empty capture devices at the downed Pidove and, after a few seconds struggling, succeeded in catching it. "Yeah! That's the way to do it, Princess!" He cheered, giving the Frillish a big hug. She giggled in response, very pleased to be getting attention (and positive attention at that).
"Your Pidove is Male, with the ability Super Luck," His pokedex informed him after he collected his latest partner.
"Good to know. Thanks." He replied as he attached the pokeball to his bandolier. He wasn't sure if it would be a permanent part of the team, but it would certainly do for now. "Well, do you think you're ready for-" He started to ask Princess, but when he turned to look at her, she was already gone. She had floated off to pick a fight with a nearby Rattata, spitting bubbles at it. "Uh oh...Princess, wait!" He called out, chasing after his water ghost pokemon, Lana laughing as he tried to stop her from going into battles on her own.
"-and then, it ran right at my Brittany." Lola was relating the tale of the capture of her Pichu while she, her twin and her older brother were resting and having lunch. Lana had poured a few bowls of pokemon food for their pokemon, while Lincoln was once more having to deal with a picky Princess. Among them, their brother was the only one with cooking experience (though Lola could be a mean baker with the right tools), but he had nothing to cook for them. However, they had packed a few things they could eat just in case such an event arose: plenty of bread, some peanut butter, a plastic jar of grape jelly and strawberry jam, a couple pouches of tuna, a few cans of spiced meat, lots of bottled water, etc. On the menu that meal was peanut butter and jam for his sisters, as he knew they had a preference for strawberry jam. "It used a move called Volt Tackle on her. I was so worried...I thought my poor puppy had gotten seriously hurt, but it looked a lot worse than it actually was, and the Pichu wore itself out enough for me to catch it easily."
"I'm happy to hear you caught a pokemon you're happy with," Lincoln said to her with a smile, handing her a sandwich. Princess was looking curiously at the jar of jam as he made Lana's sandwich, holding a half eaten Rawst Berry in her hands.
"I'm happy with all my pokemon too. I even caught this pokemon all covered in leaves called Burmy," Lana interjected excitedly as she pet her Bidoof and Pidgey as they ate. "I had to send her to the box too, though."
"Have you come up with nicknames for them all?" Her brother asked, handing her her lunch.
"Not yet. But I'll figure something out soon enough."
"I need a name for my little darling as well." Lola piped in, looking to the Pichu who was eating one of the Razz Berries Lola had picked after their battle.
"Well, no need to rush. I'm sure you'll find the right names in time." Lincoln was about to bite into his own sandwich when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Princess pointing at the jar of jam. "Hmm? You want some strawberry jam?" She nodded to him. He frowned lightly as he thought, then pulled out his pokedex. "Pokedex, is human food harmful to Pokemon?"
"Hardly, in moderation. However, too much can make a pokemon unhealthy."
"Hmmm. I see." He looked to the jam jar, then to Princess. "I'll give you some when you finish your lunch." She nodded, but just as she was about to jam the whole berry into her mouth, he quickly added, "Slowly! You don't want to choke on it or get sick." The Frillish huffed, but did as she was told, slowly finishing her Rawst Berry. Satisfied, Lincoln smeared a healthy amount of jam onto a slice of bread and handed it to Princess. She looked it over for a few seconds, then took a small bite. Her eyes sprang wide open as she chewed, looking like she had just tasted paradise. She greedily wolfed down the slice of bread, getting jam all over her face in the process, and looked like she couldn't be happier about it. "Hehe. You got a little something on your face, Princess." Her trainer said, picking up a napkin and wiping her face clean, with Lola and Lana snickering in the background.
AN: For the most part, I plan to be playing by the anime's rules when it comes to the Pokemon's moves (IE they aren't limited to only four moves they can learn naturally). However, there will be a limit to how many tm and tr moves a pokemon in this universe can learn. That will be limited to four.
Main Characters current pokemon teams:
Lincoln
Frillish aka Princess
Water Ghost
Ability: Cursed Body
Pidove
Normal Flying
Ability: Super Luck
Lola
Furfrou aka Brittany
Normal
Ability: Fur Coat
Pichu
Electric
Ability: Static
Egg Move: Volt Tackle
Lana
Tympole aka Hops
Water
Ability: Hydration
Scatterbug aka Dusty
Bug
Ability: Shield Dust
(The others will not be accounted for until they are used)
Hope you all liked the story. Will probably work on the next chapter after a chapter of Gregory Loud Horror Story or LincolnJuice.