A/N Welcome everyone to Chapter 11 of Pokemon Omega Loud. This is the second chapter based off an episode of the anime, again changed slightly due to the lack of Team Rocket. The group has finally made it to Rustboro City and will begin to prepare for their various challenges. I will admit, I had a bit of a tough time writing this one but I hope you enjoy it anyways.
After the researcher had run off, the trio continued on their way through Petalburg Woods. During their walk Lincoln managed to catch a Slakoth and a Shroomish of his own. Soon the trees began to get thinner and thinner and they could see light shining through them. Eventually they could see a city through the trees as they finally exited Petalburg Woods. In front of them lay the rest of Route 104 and just a short distance away was Rustboro City.
Unbeknownst to the group, a lone female Magma Grunt was observing them from within the tree line. As they began to make their way down Route 104, the Grunt began to speak into a radio headset.
"...This is the Petalburg Recon Team checking in." she said, "I'm afraid I have to begin with an apology Ms. Courtney…It's not good news. The mission is a no go. A little something cropped up and got in the way."
The Grunt paused, listening as her superior spoke on the other end of the headset. She nodded then continued speaking.
"Roger that." she continued, "Got it…Will do. I'll continue investigating that energy we detected."
With that the Grunt ended the communication before removing her hood, revealing short messy black hair and red eyes.
"Phew!" she exclaimed, turning to watch Lincoln and Co. as they disappeared in the distance.
"But those kids sure had promise as trainers, I'd say. Might be a good idea to keep a close eye on them."
With that she pulled up her hood, turned, and disappeared into the woods.
-=o=-
Lincoln and Co. had finally made it to Rustboro City. The first thing the group decided to do was to head to the local Pokemon Center where they decided to have lunch and discuss what they would do next. Lincoln was dead set on checking out the Gym, while May wanted to sign up for her first contest.
If fell onto Lana to break the tie and after some quick deliberation Lana compromised by having May sign up for her contest then immediately heading to the gym since May's contest wasn't for another couple of days.
Immediately after they finished their meal, Lincoln went to check out the Wonder Trade machine only to find that it was under maintenance until the next day. With that the group left to head to Rustboro Hall, where May registered for her contest. After that they headed towards Rustboro Gym only to find that it was closed for the day as the Gym Leader was unavailable due to prior commitments and would reopen the following morning.
With nothing better to do the group decided to do some sightseeing. After stopping at the market to replenish their supplies they then made their way around the city. Their path eventually led them to Rustboro's observation tower which gave an excellent view of the entire city. As they were taking in the view, Lana glanced off to the side and noticed a round tadpole like Pokemon with a spiral pattern on its stomach hiding under a bench.
After pointing it out to Lincoln and May, Lana slowly approached the Pokemon while May looked it up on her Pokedex.
Poliwag, the Tadpole Pokemon, Male. Poliwag has a very thin skin. It is possible to see the Pokémon's spiral innards right through the skin. Despite its thinness, however, the skin is also very flexible. Even sharp fangs bounce right off it.
"Hey it's ok little guy," said Lana as she held her hand out to the Poliwag. "We won't hurt you."
The Poliwag looked at the three trainers nervously, refusing to come out from under the bench. As Lana continued to try and coax it from its hiding place, Lincoln noticed that the Poliwag had a white armband on its tail with a red Pokeball design
"I think Poliwag might have gotten separated from its trainer," said Lincoln.
Finally after a couple more minutes Lana had managed to get Poliwag to come out into the open, where she gingerly picked up the Tadpole Pokemon before turning to her companions.
"Well then we have to find its trainer right away!" she said
Before they could commence their search however, they were interrupted by a voice calling out.
"Poliwag!" said the voice, "Oh Good, I've been looking all over for you!"
Looking in the direction the voice was coming from they were met with the sight of an approaching woman. She was dressed in a dark gray sleeveless dress over a white short sleeved blouse and bright pink tights. She was also wearing a pink tie and a pink ribbon holding her hair in two ponytails on the back of her head.
As she approached Poliwag smiled and leapt from Lana's arms and into the woman's.
"I was so worried," she continued, turning to Lana, "Did you find it?"
Lana looked up at the woman before nodding her head.
"Well I just can't thank you enough," said the woman.
"Miss Roxanne!" came another voice from behind the woman.
The woman, now named Roxanne, turned around to see a group four of children about the same age as Lana, three of which had a Pokemon including a purple rat Pokemon, a brown and beige, bird Pokemon, and a red duck-like pokemon with a flame pattern on its stomach and weird ball-like growths on its head. Each Pokemon had on a similar armband like the Poliwag.
The only member of the group who didn't have Pokemon was a young boy in a yellow shirt with blue hair. He had a nervous expression on his face and stood apart from the other three children. While Roxanne spoke with the children, Lincoln and May took the opportunity to scan the Pokemon with their Pokedexes.
Rattata, the Mouse Pokemon, Male. Rattata is cautious in the extreme. Even while it is asleep, it constantly listens by moving its ears around. It is not picky about where it lives—it will make its nest anywhere. Said May's Pokedex.
Pidgey, the Tiny Bird Pokemon, Female. Pidgey has an extremely sharp sense of direction. It is capable of unerringly returning home to its nest, however far it may be removed from its familiar surroundings. Said Lincoln's Pokedex before he pointed it at the remaining Pokemon.
Magby, the Live Coal Pokemon, Female. Magby's state of health is determined by observing the fire it breathes. If the Pokémon is spouting yellow flames from its mouth, it is in good health. When it is fatigued, black smoke will be mixed in with the flames.
Hearing a small commotion the trio turned back to the group of children to see a boy in a purple jacket with yellow stripes yelling at the nervous looking boy from before.
"Now our class trip is ruined and poor Poliwag is scared out of its mind because of you!" he yelled.
The nervous looking boy looked down at the ground mumbling his apologies, before a little girl in a yellow and pink dress stepped between the two and got in the face of the boy in purple.
"Do you have to be so mean all the time!" she said, "You know Kenny's afraid of touching Pokemon so leave him alone!"
"All right! That's enough you two!" scolded Roxanne as she separated the two. Both children just looked at each other before turning away in a huff.
Roxanne turned to the boy named Kenny and spoke. "Now Kenny," she began in a gentle voice, "I hope you have learned something from all of this. There's no need to be afraid, and no reason to be upset either cause you tried your hardest."
Turning to her class as a whole, Roxanne continued.
"Okay Class! It's time for us to head back to the Pokemon School!"
"Okay!" said the class.
"Umm excuse me," said Lana, getting Roxanne's attention, "But what's that?"
Roxanne smiled, turning to address Lincoln and Co. as she described the Pokemon School and what the curriculum was. As she spoke Lana gained a look of awe as Roxanne continued to talk about the school. Turning to Lincoln, Lana put on her best Puppy Eyes before asking if they could go look at the school.
Lincoln took one look at his sister and decided that it wasn't a bad idea to check out the School, since the Gym was closed and May's contest wasn't for another couple of days. When Lincoln agreed Lana gave a cheer of excitement not noticing that the boy in the purple jacket was looking at her with a disdainful look.
-=o=-
Later at the Pokemon School, Lincoln and Co. were shown around campus by the School Principal, who showed them classes of various age groups who were studying to be Pokemon Doctors, a special class for Pokemon Coordinators (which May took great interest in), and a class focusing on just Pokemon Battling. While she found each class exciting Lana looked more and more concerned before turning to the principal.
"Um excuse me," she said, "but can we see Miss Roxanne's class please?"
"Oh yes of course!" said the Principal, "Right this way!" with that he turned and directed the trio towards another wing of the school and stopped at another door.
"And here we are!" he said, "This is Miss Roxanne's class, Miss Lana"
He opened the door and the group stepped inside to see a classroom full of children, including the children from before, watching a video presentation. The presentation was being performed by an older man in a white lab coat and red shirt. When Lincoln saw the presenter, his jaw dropped as he recognised the man.
"Holy smokes!" he said in excitement, "That's Professor Oak!"
Lana and May looked at the boy in confusion before he noticed their expressions.
"Professor Oak is THE leading expert on Pokemon in the entire world!" he said. "I've only seen pictures or video of him while helping Professor Birch but I can't believe I can see a live presentation by him!"
Lana giggled at her brother's reaction as the only time she had ever seen him this excited was when he went to any event that had to do with Ace Savvy and comic books.
"I'm glad you're excited!" came Roxanne's voice. The group turned to see Roxanne approaching from the front of the class.
"You see," she continued, "Here at the Pokemon School we receive lectures from various Professors around the world via video call."
"That's awesome!" said Lincoln, "I'm almost more excited about this than my Gym battle tomorrow!"
Roxanne blinked in surprise before gaining a smug grin. "So you're challenging the Rustboro Gym?" she asked.
Lincoln nodded in excitement as Roxanne continued. "Then I hope you give me a good challenge!"
Lincoln and Co. froze before May yelled in surprise
"Wait! So YOU'RE the Rustboro Gym Leader?!" she cried.
"Yes I am!" said Roxanne, "When I don't have any challengers I work here as a teacher." she explained.
Lincoln remained frozen for a few more seconds before turning towards Roxanne with a fierce grin.
"Then let me take this opportunity to officially challenge you for my first badge!" he said.
While Lincoln was talking with Roxanne, Lana took the opportunity to watch the lecture from Professor Oak. While she didn't understand most of what he was talking about due to her inexperience when it comes to Pokemon, she was excited to learn new things about Pokemon from such an accomplished man.
When the Professor finished his lecture and the screen turned off Lana went back to where she had left her brother unaware she was still being watched by the boy in the purple jacket. As the class discussed what they had learned, Lana was approached by the girl who had defended Kenny earlier in the day.
"Hi there!" she said, "Are you a new student?"
"Not really," said Lana. "We're just stopping by to see how the Pokemon School is."
With that Lana introduced herself to the girl, learning that her name was Anita. After Lana expressed excitement over the fact that Anita gets to learn so much about Pokemon every day, Anita gained a frown on her face.
"It's really not that great, Lana," she said, "I don't really care that much about Pokemon. The only reason I'm here to begin with is that my parents are forcing me to attend."
Lana frowned, hearing the girl get more upset as she spoke. She considered herself lucky that her parents allowed their children to pick their own paths in life and didn't force them to be something they were not (except that one time her parents forced Lincoln to play football even though he had no aptitude for sports, but they all collectively agreed to never speak of that.)
"And Kenny feels the same way!" she continued pointing out the nervous looking boy. "He's so afraid of Pokemon that he doesn't want to touch them, but adults say you should start getting used to them when you're still young!"
Lana looked towards Kenny and noticed the boy in purple from earlier glaring at her.
"What's his problem?" she asked Anita.
Anita looked where Lana had indicated and scoffed.
"That's Tommy." she answered. "I don't like him. He thinks he knows everything and always picks on students he thinks are weak, like Kenny."
When Tommy noticed Lana looking at him, he stormed over shoving Anita out of the way. Before he could say anything however, the class's attention was pulled to the front of the room. There Roxanne stood next to Lincoln and May. Lincoln quickly got Lana's attention and motioned for her to join them.
"Okay class!" She said, "We have a special treat today!"
Turning to Lincoln and May she continued. "Today while you are tending to your assigned Pokemon you will also learn about some Pokemon from experienced trainers!"
Lana quickly went to stand by her brother as they each introduced themselves to the class. When it came time for Lana to introduce herself, she was interrupted by Tommy.
"What's she doing up there!" he cried, "She's too young to be a trainer!"
Lana glared at the boy before Lincoln stepped forward.
"While my sister is too young to do the League Challenge or compete in contests, there is no rule stating that she can't catch Pokemon herself without supervision," he explained.
Tommy just gave a huff before sitting back in his seat.
"Now then with that out of the way," Roxanne continued, "Lincoln, May, and Lana, could you please show us your Pokemon?"
With that the trio released their Pokemon to the delight of the class. The class took turns examining each Pokemon, paying special attention to Ralts, Lynn, Lizzy, and Mudkip. As the class looked at each Pokemon, Lincoln and Co. gave a description of each one, how they were caught, and what battles they had been part of.
While Lana was talking about Lizzy and how she recently won her first battle, Tommy began making fun of Kenny.
"Look Kenny!" he said, "It's you as a Pokemon! A weak little baby!"
Before Roxanne could intervene, Lana stepped forward and got into Tommy's face.
"Hey! Lay off him you jerk!" she growled. Tommy glared at her for a moment before turning and stomping away. Lana went to check on Kenny and tried to comfort the boy.
A few moments later, the class was continuing as the children continued to interact with the group's Pokemon. As this was going on Lana continued to stay by Kenny's side and do his best to comfort him.
Soon Lincoln approached the two and sat down next to them. As soon as he sat, Lynn and Ralts scurried up to him and sat on his lap, where he immediately started petting the two much to their delight.
"You know, Kenny," he said. "A lot of people start off afraid of Pokemon. It's perfectly natural to fear what you don't understand."
He turned to the boy before continuing.
"But the best thing you can do to get over your fears is to face them head on. By doing so you prove that there is nothing to fear and you can continue to grow as a person."
Kenny looked at Lincoln, before turning to Lana who gave an encouraging nod. Slowly, hesitatingly, Kenny reached out a hand towards Ralts in an attempt to pet the Pokemon.
Unfortunately, they were interrupted by a shrill screech and turned just in time to see Poliwag let out a Water Gun in their direction. Before it could hit Kenny, Lana dove and tackled the boy to the ground preventing him from getting soaked.
Roxanne ran forwards to check on the two.
"Lana! Kenny! Are you both ok?" she asked in concern.
"Yes," said Kenny
"Yeah, we're fine," said Lana.
Tommy then stood by Roxanne's side, drawing everyone's attention.
"Sorry," he said, "I 'accidently' stepped on Poliwag's tail."
"LIAR!" shouted Anita, "I could tell you did it on purpose!"
"Did not!" Tommy shouted back, "Why would I possibly do something like that!"
"Children, break it up!" said Roxanne, "I'm sure it was just an accident."
As she turned away, Tommy looked at Lana and Kenny and smirked before sticking his tongue out at the girl. Lana immediately knew that Tommy had hurt Poliwag on purpose and grew angry, glaring at the boy.
-=o=-
An hour later, Roxanne directed everyone outside to the school's battle arena.
"Okay class," she began, "Let's begin our Pokemon Battle Training. Lana, would you please demonstrate to the class how an experienced trainer battles? Tommy will be your opponent."
She motioned Lana and Tommy forward where she stood by with a tray containing six Pokeballs.
"You will each use one Pokeball. You will continue battling until I judge one of your Pokemon unable to battle."
Lana and Tommy glared at each other before selecting their Pokeballs. As they walked to opposing ends of the field, Lana glanced at her brother and May, both trainers giving her encouraging looks and thumbs up.
May turned to Lincoln. "Do you think Lana will be okay?" she asked, "She doesn't really have that much battle experience."
Lincoln smiled at his friend. "She'll be fine. If there's one positive thing I can say about my family, it's that when we have something to prove, we're practically unbeatable."
Lincoln looked at his sister and directed May to do the same. May looked at the girl and saw that she was glaring intently at Tommy, a look of both anger and determination on her face.
"Right now, Lana wants to show Tommy that anyone who hurts others, both People and Pokemon, is nothing but a loser." said Lincoln. "And she's determined to see this through."
Roxanne stepped up to the referee's box. "Are both competitors ready to battle?" she asked. Both trainers gave a nod. "Then let the match begin!"
Both Tommy and Lana tossed out their Pokeballs, with Tommy's releasing Magby and Lana's releasing Poliwag. Lana immediately grinned seeing that she had the advantage. She immediately tried to remember what a Poliwag's moveset was when Tommy shouted.
"Magby! Use Flamethrower!"
Magby inhaled and blew out a thick plume of flame towards Poliwag. Panicking slightly Lana called out for Poliwag to use Defense Curl. Poliwag curled into a tight ball, his tail protecting his face from the flames.
"Magby! Another Flamethrower!" shouted Tommy.
"Quick Poliwag! Use Belly Drum!" counted Lana.
As Magby blew out another plume of flame, Poliwag turned into the blast taking the full brunt of it but not taking much damage. It then smacked his belly repeatedly with his tail, psyching himself up and raising his attack power.
Tommy growled in frustration, ordering Magby to continue to use Flamethrower. Each time Lana would counter with either Defense Curl or Belly Drum raising Poliwags stats. Finally Lana called out for a Water Gun attack and, due to its enhanced stats, knocked out Magby in one hit.
As the class and visiting trainers cheered, Kenny slowly walked up to Lana and Poliwag. Inspired by seeing how Lana battled, the boy slowly reached forward and began petting the Tadpole Pokemon on the head. Lana grinned seeing the boy overcome his fear when she noticed Tommy walking toward her, a look of respect on his features.
When he reached the girl, he put his hand out and offered her a handshake.
"I have to admit. You're a great trainer Lana." he said. Then turning to Kenny, he began apologizing for bullying him.
Meanwhile, Roxanne, Lincoln, and May watched as the children spoke before Roxanne turned to Lincoln.
"I have to admit, Lincoln." she began, "I'm impressed by your little sisters battling. If you're even half as good as she is then I know you'll give me an exciting battle tomorrow."
Lincoln looked at the Gym Leader, a confident grin on his face.
"Count on it."
A/N So the group has met Roxanne and in the next chapter Lincoln will finally have his Gym Battle with Roxanne. Will he win? Will he lose? Find out on the next episode of Dragonball Z...I mean Pokemon Omega Loud!