A fiend indeed
As the sun rose in the early morning sky, Lola and Lana vacated Lincoln's tent before he woke up (Lola sneaking away first, then Lana). They didn't bother to wake him up, though, so that was left to Princess; a task she was more than happy to perform. She leaned over Lincoln as she slept, smiling a little.
"Frillllish…" She said softly, shaking him gently. "Friiiillish…" Her shaking didn't seem to be doing the job...which is what she was hoping for. "Frill Fri Frillish…" She smirked as she lightly flicked her tentacle right under his nose. Lincoln flinched and turned his head in his sleep, but the Frillish simply followed him. After a few seconds, the white haired trainer sneezed and opened his eyes. Princess grinned at him, waving to him as he sighed.
"...good morning, Princess…" He groaned as he sat up. "...bet you think you're real cute." The pink water pokemon responded by giving him the big eyes, a bright smile, and holding her arm tentacles under her face as if to say 'I can't help it if I'm cute', complete with eyelash flutter. He just sighed and shook his head, but smiled all the same before he crawled out of his tent. When he emerged, Girl Jordan was making some toast using a grill rack she had brought with her, laying each slice of bread over the fire until it became toasted. With Lincoln's jars of pb, jam and jelly, it was a simple, but tasty breakfast for all. Once they were finished and the fire was put out, they all moved off the platform created by the portable campsite and Lana pressed the button on the side of it. Almost instantly, the whole campsite, tents and all, had returned to the simple package it had started as.
"Wow. Now that's convenient," Jordan said with a slight smile.
"Isn't it? We got it for our birthday from Lincoln's friend, Clyde," Lana explained as she put the instant campsite away.
"How's he been, by the way?" The light brown haired teen asked as she turned to look at the man with the plan.
"He's doing alright from what I can tell. He's been really busy lately, from what he told us at the part," Lincoln told her. "Not sure with what, though. He doesn't talk much about it." The popular girl thought this was pretty strange, but didn't think too much about it. After all, they had a lot of ground to cover.
After a few hours walking, the four of them had finally reached Route 2. From a visual standpoint, it didn't look that different from the first road: a dirt road with plenty of forest and tall grass. However, it still held a few different pokemon from the first route. None of them really understood why this was, but they just accepted that was the way it was. Lana wasn't complaining though. New pokemon meant a lot of new friends. In fact, she ran off in pursuit of a Wurmple (which she fought, but didn't catch before), Lincoln not far behind her. Meanwhile, Lola too was on the lookout for a new pokemon. She still wanted a pokemon that looked really good, but she needed a pokemon with enough might to deal with serious threats too. The question on her mind though: was there such a pokemon here? The answer came bounding across the path mere seconds later. A brown and tan lion cub with a little tuft of red and orange fur on top of its head was chasing after a round, green berry, batting it around like it was a ball. This playful little kitty instantly got the attention of the aspiring princess as she pulled her pokedex on it. "Litleo, the Lion Cub Pokemon. They set off on their own from their pride and live by themselves to become stronger. These hot-blooded Pokémon are quick to fight. The stronger the opponent it faces, the more heat surges from its mane and the more power flows through its body."
"That sounds like the description of a real fighter. This could be perfect," Lola said with a big smile. "Come on out, Brat. Let's see what you can do." She tossed her Pichu's ball in front of her, releasing him from his portable home. The Litleo blinked, looking curiously at the mouse pokemon. "Give it a little thundershock," She instructed her baby pokemon. He glanced back at her with a somewhat sour expression, but did as she said anyway (if for no other reason than he wanted to test his mettle against this lion). Brat unleashed a weak jolt of electricity on the opposing feline, zapping it on the nose. This caused it to spring back, its fur standing on end. Otherwise, it seemed to have little effect, apart from making it angry. It gave a mewling sort of growl as it opened its mouth and spat out a volley of tiny burning embers.
"Pichu!" Brat exclaimed as he darted between the small smoldering projectiles, barely managing to avoid them as he emitted another bolt of static electricity upon the cub. The Litleo didn't seem too hurt by the attack, though it did seem to go quite stiff all of the sudden.
"Huh? What happened?" Lola asked, looking at her opponent in confusion.
"I think Brat managed to paralyze the pokemon," Jordan said. "Most electric attacks have a chance to do that. It should be easier to catch now."
"Easier to catch? Sounds good to me! Pokeball, go!" The thrown pokeball bounced off Litleo's itty bitty mane before engulfing it in light. After a few seconds of gentle rocking, the pokeball clicked and went ding. "Yay! We got it!" Lola cheered, with Brat looking confident, almost to the point of smug.
"The Litleo is a female, with the ability Rivalry." Her pokedex elaborated as soon as the capture data came in.
"Rivalry? What's that?"
"Pokemon with the Rivalry ability tend to fight more fiercely against pokemon sharing the same gender, while fighting less fiercely against others of the opposing gender."
"Ooo. That could come in handy," The prissy twin commented as she ran over and claimed her new catch. "I think I'll name you...Isabella."
"And I name you my next opponent!" Came a really young voice from a little further ahead had declared. Standing before her was a five year old girl kindergartener, who was carrying a little buneary plush in her arms.
"Huh? I thought you had to be eleven to be a trainer." Lola said, looking surprised.
"Oh, well...yeah, you do," The young child confessed, her boldness fading a little. "But you don't have to be a full trainer to battle."
"She's right, you know." Girl Jordan interjected. "Not having a license means you just can't participate in league battles, breed pokemon, etc."
"Oh. Well, in that case, I accept." The pageant princess looked down at the little Pichu. "Ready to go another round, Brat?"
"Pichu," The baby mouse pokemon answered with a nod.
"Go, Sentret!" The child exclaimed, calling forward a chubby little raccoon-ish rodent with a long ringed tail and rabbit like ears.
"Aww. So cute…" Lola cooed, her eyes sparkling. "Pity I have to knock it out. Brat, show them a little of your Charm!"
"Sentret, tackle!" The plump rodent nodded and ran toward the baby pokemon. However, part way to it, the Pichu's eyes suddenly became very big, wearing his most adorable smile as it gently dug one of his fingers into his cheek. "Awwww!" The little girl exclaimed with a sigh, a sentiment shared by her Sentret. In fact, it was so distracted by the electric mouse's charm, its charge was slowed to the point the tackle was more of a bump. It wasn't enough to hurt, but it did knock Brat onto his tail. He smirked as he built electricity into his cheeks, then he zapped the enemy pokemon with a Thundershock.
"That's it, Brat!" The pageant princess cheered on her Pichu as the Sentret gasped and staggered back from the shock.
"Don't give up, Sentret! Quick attack!" The squirrelly raccoon nodded, gritting its teeth as it seemed to vanish from sight. The yellow mouse blinked and looked about, just as the chubby rodent slammed right into him, sending the baby mouse flat on his back. Fortunately, after it had been charmed, the attack did little to hurt Brat. It did, however, make him angry.
"Uh oh. You did it now…" Lola said with a grin, her electric pokemon gathering electricity all over his body before he ran toward Sentret. "Time for his signature Volt Tackle!" Brat unleashed a mighty squeak before he became a ball of pure electrical energy and collided headlong into the enemy normal pokemon. The impact caused the sphere to explode in a bright flash of lightning. When the two children looked again, Sentret was starting to get back on its feet, looking the worse for wear, and Brat looked a little banged up as well. However, they were both still capable of battling, with Sentret making another rapid attack against the Pichu. The plucky baby Pikachu was sent skidding back a few inches as he tried to regain his breath. "You almost got it, Brat! One more Thundershock!"
"Don't let up! Keep Quick Attacking!" Once more, the pudgy rodent with the long ears moved faster than the eye could see. However, this time, Brat just flopped onto his back as if he had had enough. When the Sentret started to pass over him, he unleashed a bolt of static electricity right into its prominent belly. That jolt was enough to drain the last of Sentret's energy and it passed out...landing right on top of him. "Oh no! Sentret!"
"Brat!" The prissy twin gasped as she ran over to the two pokemon, helping him out from under his fainted opponent. He looked mighty cranky, but otherwise alright.
"Oh no...my poor pokemon fainted…" The little girl said, close to tears. "And I can't go back to the pokemon center…"
"Is it too far away?" Jordan asked as she walked over to the young'un, Lola giving her Pichu a hug that he objected to.
"No...it's just up the road. My mommy works there," The child said, pointing further up the road.
"Then why can't you return?"
"...a bad man is there," She answered fearfully. "He won't let anyone into the pokemon center unless they pay him."
"What!?" Jordan and Lola exclaimed together in outrage.
"What what?" The white haired Loud asked as he and Lana returned (her captured Wurmple sent to the box).
"The young lady here says that someone is forcing those trying to enter the pokemon center to pay a toll." The teen with the light brown hair explained with a frown on her face.
"Seriously!? That's just not right…"
"My thoughts exactly…" Girl Jordan turned back to the scared little girl. "Lead the way, kid. We'll see if we can get him to go away."
"You will? Really? Thank you," The grateful little girl said, taking Girl Jordan by the hand as she started to lead her down the road.
"She really is nice," Lola commented just loud enough for Lincoln to hear as she recalled Brat.
"And brave too," Lana added.
"Come on, girls. She might need some backup," Their brother said with a serious look, running off after his friend and the child. The twins grinned to one another before they followed him.
"Just like the knight going to save his princess," The beauty centered twin commented quietly.
"Nah. I don't really see Jordan as a princess. More like a knight going to save his fellow knight." Lana responded under her breath.
"There weren't any girl knights, Lana…"
"What about Joan of Arc?" Lola opened her mouth, but no sound came out before she slowly closed it. She had forgotten about her, and now she was beat. Lana smirked in victory as Lola huffed angrily, turning to face forward. "Point goes to me."
Up ahead, by a babbling brook with a little footbridge built over it, a small red and white pokemon center stood. It had been built a few years back to help beginner trainers keep their pokemon healthy on the long road to Glenvale. It didn't have the rooms where official trainers could stay like their city based counterparts, but it could heal injured and tired pokemon in nothing flat. However, today, the way into the building was blocked by a quartet of teenagers; three boys and one girl, about 13 or 14 years each. Each one of them was dressed as a junior executive or in preppy style clothes, but physically couldn't be more different. One young man was large, bulky and bald, the other was small with shoulder length black hair. The teen girl was petit, curvier than most with bubblegum pink hair, and clinging to the arm of the young man in the center of the group. He had perfectly coifed orange hair, wore dark forest green suit with polished black shoes, a black tie, and a gold watch on his wrist. On the left side of the chest of his jacket was an insignia of a sabre pointed downward with a long, hand guard curved down toward the blade. He was laughing about something, and the others were laughing along. "Hahaha. And then, he had the nerve to challenge me. Me! I mean, didn't that ignorant servant know the customer is always right? Especially when that customer is me? "
"Some people are just dumb, right boss?" The largest of the four inquired.
"Right you are. Anyway, I just needed to demand the manager and, upon telling him who I was, had the manager on his knees begging me for forgiveness. I decided to show him mercy...if he were to fire that miserable cretin who dared tell me no. Naturally, he not only dismissed the idiotic servant, but even blacklisted him from ever getting work in that field in Maple City ever again. The way that peon cried after he was terminated...hilarious," The leader of the group recounted with a cruel laugh. "Ah...such power can be so entertaining…"
"Hey, boss...look over there," The shortest one of the crew called out, pointing down the road, in the direction of the little girl, the Louds and Girl Jordan headed their way. "Fresh meat."
"Indeed. And the baby too." The teen with the fiery hair sneered when he spotted them.
"Want us to deal with them, darling?" The preppy girl on his arm asked him, sounding absolutely enthralled with him.
"No. No. You all had your fun with the last one. This I will deal with personally." He gently freed his arm from the disappointed looking teen girl. He took two steps away from his group just the trainers from Royal Woods and Larchton had arrived.
"Th...that's him…" The four year old said, gesturing toward the one standing before them.
"Stay back, kid. We'll handle this," Jordan said quietly, the child quickly hiding behind her as she stood tall and firm in front of this unknown adversary. "So, you're the one preventing trainers from entering the pokemon center, are you?"
"Me? Hardly, miss," He replied with a scoff. "Poverty is what is preventing them from passing. After all, if one cannot pay, they must be poor. If they are poor, I don't want them in MY center. It all stands to reason," He continued, shrugging as he wore a grin that just made Jordan want to slug him.
"Your center!? This is a public pokemon center, free to everyone!" Lana snapped in absolute outrage.
"Not for much longer, if I have anything to say about it...so why not save yourselves some trouble, get ahead of the curve, and hand over five hundred dollars. In cash." He demanded, holding his hand out to him.
"Five hundred!? Are you crazy!?" Lincoln exclaimed. "No one just carries around that much money!"
"Perhaps you don't, you empoverished imbecile, but the likes of me...five hundred is a mere drop in the bucket," He responded with a snicker. "That said, for the two lovely ladies in your group, I have an alternative."
"Two? There are three ladies here!" Lana informed him with a frown.
"You keep telling yourself that, though it will never make it true." His three 'friends' burst out laughing at that. Lana grit her teeth and tried to look tough, but that comment hurt her more than she was willing to let on. It also lit a fuse within Lincoln, who was turning red in the face, and damn near made Lola lose her temper. No one says something THAT hurtful to her sister and lives to tell the tale. "As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted...I'd be willing to let the two lovely ladies in your group pass...for but a kiss." The girl of his gang, who had been looking so endearingly at him, suddenly blinked when she heard him say that. Girl Jordan seemed visibly disgusted at the prospect. Lola, however, suddenly threw on a smile and approached him with a slight sway in her step.
"So, you want a kiss, do you?" She asked him in a syrupy sweet voice. The brunette teen behind her looked utterly floored by her sudden move. However, Lincoln and Lana were smirking to one another. They knew Lola long enough to know what was coming.
"Why yes, I do." The young man in front of her replied, his grin growing. She motioned him closer with one finger, the scummy teen leaning in with his lips puckered. In an instant, he was on his back on the ground, holding his reddened cheek as Lola stood over him. She had punched him the moment he went in for the kiss, so quickly no one had time to react.
"Then kiss my fist!" She had said as she decked him. With the deed done, she simply dusted off her hands and turned to return to her family and friends, who were laughing their heads off. However, the two remaining boys of the group ran forward and grabbed her by the arms, stopping her from moving. The preppy girl, however, was trying her darnedest to not laugh along with the Louds and Jordan.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Lincoln warned them. "She's a biter!" The bald goon and his diminutive associate both turned to look at Lola, who gave them a sinister smile in return. A smile that revealed a LOT of very sharp looking teeth. They, wisely, decided to let go of her.
"You did the right thing." She told them sweetly as she sauntered away from them. The orange haired boy in the dirt covered green suit could only lay there in shock, holding his sore cheek and looking at Lola with an expression of wonder.
'...what a woman…' He thought to himself before he snapped himself out of his daze. In an attempt to save some of his dignity, he rose to his feet, dusted himself off, and turned to the group with an unamused look on his face. "You realize I could sue you to oblivion for that stunt, don't you? Do you not realize who I am?" He inquired angrily.
"Should we care?" Girl Jordan asked flatly, not the least bit intimidated by this brat.
"I am Charlemange Tavish, of THE Westminster Tavishes!" He declared, his face a little red at the perceived disrespect. "The Tavish family responsible for supplying this whole continent with pokeballs. THAT Tavish family."
"Never heard of you," Lola told him coldly.
"I don't think it matters who you are. You have no right to be doing this," The dodgeball champ of RWE said firmly. "So either clear off, or we'll make you leave." To illustrate her point, she grabbed one of the pokeballs at her belt.
"Please. I don't fight women," Charlemange informed them. "It wouldn't be fair. As my uncle Montague would say, they are the weaker gender; in muscle, in mind, and in business." Now his once biggest fan girl was glaring at his back, clearly offended.
"Says the man who got socked by the 'weaker gender'," The fussier of the twins retorted snarkily. The arrogant Tavish's friends put their hands over their mouths to keep their snickers from being heard.
"You got lucky. No way you could do that again."
"Wanna test that theory?" Lola asked, rolling up her right sleeve. Charlemange flinched at the idea, quickly turning to look at Lincoln.
"You there. Grandpa. You've been awfully quiet…" He said snidely, leering at the silently fuming teenager. It was taking everything Lincoln had to keep his temper under control. He had enough of this pompous creep's mouth. "Too scared to step up, are you?"
"If you're asking for a battle...you've got it," Lincoln replied angrily, pulling a pokeball from his bandolier.
"Heh. I must warn you, I am currently undefeated in pokemon battling." Charlemange informed him, his smarmy smirk growing. "Thirty consecutive battles, and all of them a victory for me."
"Then this shouldn't be a problem for you." The white haired young man stood ready to face the over confident egotist before him.
"Suit yourself. If you truly want to lose in front of the lovely ladies and whatever tha-"
"You know, you're doing an awful lot of blabber mouthing, and not much battling. You asked for a battle, I accepted. Now put up AND shut up!" Lincoln cut him off furiously. Charlemange blinked in shock at his audacity, then frowned. "Go, Pidove!" Once more, the absent minded pigeon appeared in front of Lincoln.
"Very well, if you wish to hasten your humiliation, so be it. I choose Axew!" From a golden pokemon containment device came a little green dragon with a dark green crest and two little tusks sticking out of each side of its mouth.
"Axew?" The one son wondered aloud as he pulled out his pokedex.
"Axew, the Tusk Pokemon. They mark their territory by leaving gashes in trees with their tusks. If a tusk breaks, a new one grows in quickly. They use their tusks to crush the berries they eat. Repeated regrowth makes their tusks strong and sharp."
"Huh. I think I heard the word tusk more times in that description than I ever will again." He commented quietly before turning his attention to the battle field. Before the battle started, he tapped the button on his shirt to activate the hidden camera.
"This guy has a dragon pokemon!? Already!?" Lana exclaimed, equal parts shocked, excited and scared.
"Why yes. It's an easy feat when your uncle is one of the richest men this side of Sinnoh." Charlemange bragged. "But enough of that. Axew, use Scratch. No sense embarrassing him entirely right off the bat."
"Pidove, quick attack!" Lincoln instructed his bird pokemon. However, he wasn't paying attention as he pecked at the ground. This gave Axew an opening to slash at him with its little claws. Pidove squawked in pain as he was knocked backwards from the force of the hit, before glaring at the opposing dragon. He spread his wings and surged forward right at the emerald reptile, his beak plowing right into its chest. Axew staggered a bit as the Pidove circled around for another pass. It seemed absolutely focused on the battle now. "That's great! Give it another one!" The gray pigeon gave a coo of compliance before it dove at the Axew again before it could react. This time, its beak seemed to hit a pressure point, as the dragon pokemon gave out a loud cry of pain as it was struck and knocked to the ground.
"Axew, what are you doing!?" The teen with the swelled head shouted. "Don't just lay there! Use Dragon Rage!" He demanded after the tusk pokemon shakily got to its feet. It looked up just as the Pidove was charging again, fire in its little eyes. From its mouth, a jet of dark blue fire was spat out, engulfing the poor flying pokemon in midair. Pidove screeched in agony before falling to the ground, unable to battle any further.
"Pidove!" Lincoln cried out in concern before recalling it.
"Hmph. You should have stayed hidden behind the ladies. It would have saved you from this thrashing. Why not just give up now and save what little dignity you may have left."
"I'm not done yet. Princess, you're up!"
"Frillish!" The pink jellyfish replied as she floated over his head and onto the battlefield.
"Princess? More like pauper, like you!" Frillish's face turned a deep red at his attempt at an insult.
"Frill frill frillish frill!" She screamed out in rage.
"She said she'll make you eat those words!" Lana translated.
"I doubt that. Axew, just Dragon Rage them and finish this. This is getting dull to me." The green dragon charged another burst of blue fire in its mouth before unleashing it toward the water pokemon. Princess screamed in absolute pain as the flames surrounded her. However, unlike Pidove, the Frillish managed to withstand the hit...albeit barely. She was shaking in both discomfort and fury. Lincoln looked in utter horror as his injured pokemon, starting to regret this move. Just then, a sickly purple aura emitted from the pokemon with the princess complex as she glared at the little dragon, making it recoil in terror.
"W...what's going on!?" Lincoln asked as the aura now affected the opposing Axew.
"That would be Frillish's Cursed Body ability." His pokedex answered. "Whenever a pokemon with Cursed Body is attacked, they have a chance of preventing their opponent from using that same attack for a brief period."
"What!? She can't do that!" Charlemange objected as his dragon pokemon wailed in fright.
"Incorrect. She already has." The electronic pokemon encyclopedia responded flatly, which got a laugh from the twins.
'Well, that's something, but Princess is still hurt bad…' Lincoln thought to himself. '...and unfortunately, the rules of battling prevent the use of items in battle…' His mind raced as he tried to think of what he could do. "...Princess, attack Axew with Absorb!" He instructed, pointing toward the shaking drake. The jellyfish pokemon obeyed without question, throwing herself at the Axew and wrapping her tentacles around it. Once she had a good hold on it, her tendrils started to glow.
"Absorb? What kind of water pokemon knows absorb!?" The arrogant teen asked angrily, but then he smirked and shrugged. "Ah, who cares? Dragon pokemon are strong against grass attacks, so Axew shouldn't-huh?" It seems he spoke too soon, for his pokemon wasn't looking too good, while Princess' wounds were recovering (albeit only slightly). "Grrr! Axew, you're better than that! This should be a cakewalk for you!" He screamed, clenching his fists.
"Well, you're about to get your just desserts!" Lola exclaimed with a big grin. "Wipe him out, Linky!"
"That's what you think, beautiful. We still have another trick up our sleeves." Charlemange looked at Princess with a sinister smirk. "You see, my Axew is of the finest breed, the offspring of the most powerful dragon type pokemon. And from his parentage, he not only gains physical perfection, but knowledge of their techniques as well."
"Huh? You mean...it has an egg move?" Girl Jordan asked, starting to get worried herself.
"Precisely. And with it, he will obliterate that mewling little jellyfish...and the Frillish as well." The orange haired young man laughed at his own joke before he continued. "Axew, attack with Dragon Pulse!"
"Princess, watch out!" Lincoln yelled, but it was too late. Axew was already charging the blast, and Princess had no time or room to dodge. She closed her eyes and braced herself as the emerald drake unleashed a blast of violet energy right at her at point blank range. "No!"
"Ha! What did I tell you!? Obliter-what!?" Charlemange's boasting was cut short as the light faded and Lincoln's Frillish still had a strong hold on the Axew. In fact, she seemed hardly affected by the attack. He clearly took serious umbrage at that.
'How did Princess take that so well in comparison to Dragon Rage?' Lincoln wondered to himself. 'Nevermind. Question for another time. Right now, I need to focus on getting Princess through this fight,' He told himself as he shook his head to dispel the mental inquiry. "Princess, time to up the ante. Attack with Night Shade!" The jellyfish nodded as she released the dragon and put some distance between herself and her foe before her eyes turned dark purple. At first, nothing seemed to happen. Then, the dragon was suddenly covered in a similar colored smoke, the mist seeming to drain his very essence.
"AXEW! Enough! Dragon pulse again, and this time, DO IT RIGHT!" He screamed, making the tusk bearing reptile flinch in fear. He charged up another draconic beam, but did it and fired it too hastily. The attack went right over Princess' and Lincoln's heads, blasting the top right off the nearest tree.
"Princess, use Night Shade again!" The white haired trainer told her, hoping to put an end to this quickly. Not only was this brat getting reckless, but he didn't know when Dragon Rage would get uncursed. The pink pokemon nodded and plagued the scaly half pint with her ghostly powers once more. The Axew looked pretty sick for a little while, but then fell face first into the dirt.
"What!? NO!" Charlemange bellowed to the heavens as the twins and Girl Jordan cheered, and Lincoln sighed with relief.
"That was close...good work, Princess," He told her as he pulled her into a hug. Normally, she would be thrilled. However, with all the burns and bruises on her frail body, a hug was out of the question. She pushed herself away from him as she winced.
"Frill Frillish…"
"Oh...sorry. I guess we should wait until you heal up first."
"Gah! That didn't count!" Charlemange complained loudly, ignoring his exhausted dragon. "You cheated with that curse thing!"
"How is that cheating? All pokemon have abilities," Lana pointed out.
"It's because it was bad for him," Jordan reasoned, looking at the sore loser with crossed arms and a disapproving look. "Suck it up, buttercup, and send out your next pokemon."
"I don't have any other pokemon!" He snapped. "Agh! Axew, return!" A red light encompassed the fainted pokemon as he returned to his pokeball. "I don't know who you think you are, Grandpa…"
"The name is Lincoln. Lincoln L-"
"Did I say I cared who you were!? Regardless, you will soon come to learn why no one crosses Charlemange Tavish!" He turned swiftly toward the bridge and started to storm off. "Come on, you guys.."
"Mmmmm...nah," The large, bald teen replied, shaking his head.
"What!?" The furious loser asked, whipping his head around.
"You got owned by a little girl and a geek...Yer not looking so tough anymore."
"...I'm not that little…" Lola grumbled, pouting something fierce.
"And you know what...I'm tired of wearing this stupid suit." The shorter of the two said, tugging at his lapel and tie. "It was one thing when we looked like top dogs, but now, I look ridiculous." Charlemange turned to look at his once biggest fan girl, but her response to him was just to flip him the bird.
"What's that mean?" Lana asked curiously, pointing to the raised middle finger.
"I'll tell you later." Lola whispered. Her twin may have been lucky and innocent enough to not be exposed to that gesture, but Lola...she had seen it many times in the pageant circuit, both from parents and contestants. So many times, she had to find out what it meant and, courtesy of the internet, she found out. The young Tavish teen in green's face turned bright red with pure wrath as he stormed off, throwing a tantrum in the process, leaving his 'friends' to just meander away, leaving the way to the pokemon center open.
"Bye, Chuck!" The hat wearing twin called out as a parting shot, laughing as Charlemange started raging even harder now.
"Nice job, Lincoln," Jordan complimented him with a hearty pat on the back as the little girl ran into the center.
"You got him good, big brother!" The Loud in pink added, hugging his left arm.
"Yeah, though the battle was much closer than I would like." The one son replied, pulling Pidove's pokeball out to look at it with sadness. "If we didn't get lucky with Princess' Cursed Body…"
"What was up with that Dragon Rage attack?" Lana asked with a raised eyebrow. "How did it hurt Pidove and Princess so much?"
"I'm not sure, but I plan to do some research while we get our pokemon healed," Her brother answered. The four of them passed through the double doors leading into the building. The pokemon center was about as large as a convenience store, with a long counter taking up most of the back wall, along with a large healing machine synonymous with pokemon centers. Around the waiting room were a series of wooden chairs, and a few tables, along with a pair of vending machines by the door. Behind the counter was a young woman with curly yellow hair in a bright pink dress topped with a white apron, and a nurse's hat on her head. Beside her was an egg shaped, pink pokemon with a large egg in a belly pouch who was also wearing a nurse's hat. She was returning the pokeball to her daughter, who looked relieved that her poor Sentret was healthy again. After she expressed her gratitude to the trainers from Royal Woods and Larchton, she started to treat their pokemon, starting with Lincoln's team.
"Um...sir, are you sure you don't want to put your pokemon in her pokeball?" The nurse asked as Princess floated over the counter.
"Sorry, but she doesn't like being in her pokeball." Lincoln replied.
"Oh. Well, that's not a problem. It would just be easier in the pokeball." She explained as she brought Pidove's pokeball and Princess to the restoration device. While he waited, Lincoln took a seat in one of the chairs along the wall and pulled out his pokedex.
"Pokedex...actually, do you have a name apart from being called Pokedex?"
"Negative, Mr Loud, though if you wish, you may give me a nickname of your own."
"Hmmm. Alright. How about...Rip?" Lincoln suggested, a smile returning to his face.
"Rip?" Jordan inquired, giving him an odd look.
"Yeah. Rip. Named after my favorite survivalist, Rip Hardcore," The white haired teen explained to her. "The way I see it, if I'm going to survive in the world of pokemon, my pokedex is going to be essential. Ergo, Rip."
"Hehehe. Once a geek, always a geek, I guess," She teased him with a soft giggle. Lincoln's cheeks turned a little red as he looked away from her. "Oh, I'm just teasing you, Lincoln. Besides, at least you were-" She then whispered softly, "-and kinda still are-" Before continuing in a normal voice, "-a cute geek." He didn't hear what she had whispered, but he did hear her call him cute. His whole face turned red at that and he looked somewhat shocked. Jordan giggled a little harder at the look on his face, while the twins grinned to one another once more. The middle Loud shook off his shock and his blush after a couple seconds.
'She just said that to make me feel a bit better,' He thought to himself. 'Or to see my reaction...probably column a and column b.'
"Ahem. I don't mean to interrupt, Mr Loud, but I have registered the name Rip. I will now respond to that name as well as Pokedex," The synthetic voice told him.
"Right. Thank you, Rip. Anyway, what can you tell us about Dragon Rage?"
"Dragon Rage is a dragon type move that calls forth the literal inner fire and anger of the user and unleashes it all at once. The attack is much more damaging to younger pokemon than it is against older, seasoned pokemon. In addition, protective techniques such Defense Curl and Amnesia are ineffective against it."
"Yikes. I'll need to watch out for it in the future," Lincoln commented, gulping a bit after hearing the news. "That probably explains how it wiped out Pidove so quickly and nearly one shot Princess…"
"But then why did Dragon Pulse do practically nothing to Princess?" Lola asked, voicing her brother's pondering from earlier.
"That would be resulting from Frillish's natural defenses against special attacks, and Axew's lackluster special attack," Rip informed them in a mechanical monotone.
"Huh. Makes me wonder why Charlemange would want a special dragon attack on Axew in that case…" The man with the plan tapped his chin a bit as he considered why this would be. 'He probably just wanted to have a dragon starter and didn't really consider it.'
"Your pokemon are all healed, young man," The nurse declared, his one pokeball on the counter and his Frillish levitating over the counter, looking good as new.
"Feeling better, Princess?" Lincoln asked with a smile, rising from his seat. She answered by moving over to him and wrapping her tentacles around him in a big hug. "I'll take that as a yes," He said with a chuckle, giving her a well deserved hug in return as Lola and Lana turned over their pokemon for healing next.
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 aka Brat
Electric
Ability: Static
Egg Move: Volt Tackle
Litleo aka Isabella
Fire/Normal
Ability: Rivalry
Lana
Tympole aka Hops
Water
Ability: Hydration
Scatterbug aka Dusty
Bug
Ability: Shield Dust
Bidoof aka Nibbles
Normal
Ability: Unaware
Pidgey
Normal/Flying
Ability: Keen Eye
Girl Jordan
Timburr
Fighting
Ability: Guts
Pinsir
Bug
Ability:Mold Breaker
(The others in Lana's team will not be accounted for until they are used)