Hopefully, this is the last chapter in Kitakami. Sorry it took so long, but Stardew Valley released 1.6 and I've had a lot of my free time taken up by it. I have no excuses. Further, this ended up being like 3 times longer than I wanted (around 20 pages), and I took a lot of things out that I wanted. Hope you enjoy it. I refuse to make another chapter focusing on Kitakami.
Reviews:
Njistar: Extremely true. Though in the modern villagers' defense, they were raised on the story based on what the villagers of old saw during the event. Remember that at the time, Ogerpon and her partner/trainer were only accepted when wearing the masks, so there is some mistrust already there. Hence, the incorrect history. It should take a long time to get them to change their minds, which is how it happens in this universe.
Gamelover41592: Thank you. If I may ask, what did you enjoy?
Mr. Haziq: I like to use 4 to 8 moves. For me, it is a way to show an experienced trainer since they will have 8 moves and use them when needed while most wild and inexperienced trainers only have 4 moves at most. Any more than 8 moves means that things can get too complicated to keep track of. Truthfully, learn sets and base stats are the only aspects of the Pokemon games that I take anything from, and I use the term loosely. Since we aren't talking in terms of the Pokemon RPG, there is no real benefit to min-maxing Pokemon since battles are not turn based in the slightest.
Deathtrap64: I'm putting this here because it needs to be said to everyone. On the topic of Ogerpon forgiving the Loyal Three, it took time, and we'll get to it later. However, they did not frame Ogerpon. It was the villagers not having the full story and coming up with what they thought was true. The Loyal Three truly had no interaction with the villagers aside from escaping into the village when they stole the masks.
Lincoln's Life Changing Field Trip Part Three - Let's begin
"The next day, the three of us met back at Carmine's place again where we were met with some good and bad news." Lincoln paused dramatically.
"The good news was that Yukito had most of the supplies or could get them easily. The bad news was that he was missing the crystals needed to fix Oni Sister's mask," Lincoln explained. He motioned to Ogerpon who soundlessly handed her mask over to him. He held it flat and pointed at some of the crystals. "Some of them ended up getting cracked. I didn't see it at the time, but the main gem had a lot of hairline fractures. We needed to head up to the Crystal Pools to get a chunk of the crystals."
"How would that work?" Lola asked. "And why didn't you set aside some for me? Those crystals were gorgeous." It was a mix of agreement and disbelief that followed that statement. "What? They are!" Lola shouted indignantly.
"Lola, I know I told you about it, but there are really strong Pokemon that live in the Crystal Pools. I wouldn't have too much trouble now, but I was a pretty inexperienced trainer at the time with only three fairly new Pokemon. Ask Carmine, we had to fight one of them to get the crystals for the mask," Lincoln said.
"Don't remind me," Carmine scowled. "At the time, Arven was probably the strongest of us, and the three of us struggled to take on that Milotic. It was crazy strong!" She then threw up her hands. "Then somehow, when this is all over, he goes back and catches its kid, and it becomes an even bigger power house!" She got incredulous looks from Lincoln's sister while his friends nodded in agreement. Lincoln looked unaffected.
"To be fair, we were pretty new trainers at the time," Lincoln commented thoughtfully. "Also, I caught over half my Pokemon in Kitakami, and most of them were plenty strong. Sononi was just one of them."
"What are you talking about?" Lynn spoke up.
"Right, I still haven't introduced all of my Pokmeon," Lincoln said. He pulled out his Rotom Phone and sent a quick message to someone. It floated in place as he then pulled out six other Pokeballs. He released the first one, revealing Enya Rideon. "You already met Enya. He's my ride partner and is crucial for my job as a delivery man because of it, I can bend the rules for the six Pokemon limit a bit. Meloetta is a similar case. She's what's called a Mythical Pokemon, which just basically means an extremely rare Pokemon with a legend surrounding it."
"What do you mean?" Lucy asked, very interested.
"Well, Meloetta, the Pokemon species, have been recorded as being the origin or inspiration of multiple forms of music throughout history in the Pokemon Regions," Lincoln explained, but he had a thoughtful look. "Actually, a lot of Pokemon have historical roots outside of regions. That book I gave you has a lot of the legends of the Pokemon world. You probably would really enjoy Mimikyu. Legend says that a scholar looked under its cloak and was so filled with terror that he couldn't sleep for a month." He told Lucy with a wide grin. He could feel his little sister's excitement, even though it isn't shown very well.
"Really?" Lucy asked, excitedly. The two vaguely noticed that some of their siblings were creeping away as they talked. Lincoln nodded.
"Yep. I spent so long looking for one in Kitakami, but I was never lucky enough to catch one," Lincoln commented. "Now, where was I?" There were some shakes from his friends at his absentmindedness.
"You were about to show us your Pokemon, Linky!" Lily cheered.
Lincoln comically slammed his palm into his hand, getting a giggle from his sister. "Right! Role call time!" He shouted. Four out of the five Pokeballs opened, and four very different Pokemon formed. "Let me introduce you to my Pokemon!"
"Up first, you've already met him. We have the strongest one there is… Don Torabolt!" Lincoln announced. Torabolt crouched down and cracked his neck with a grin.
"Now we're talking!" Lynn shouted excitedly. She faltered when she saw the tiger wrestler get out of his stance, pull out a tanning mirror from somewhere and lay on his back.
"Next, we have his partner. Able-bodied and strong-muscled… Don Doragoku!" A massive, sea serpent appeared curled up on the sand. It looked quite fearsome. It looked around and waved its tail at the family with an almost silly face, dispelling the fearsome aura. "Don't let his looks fool you. He's a real softy," Lincoln said, seeing the hesitant looks of his parents and some of his sisters. He patted the large Pokemon on his snout. It leaned into Lincoln's hand like a cat would, and pouted when Lincoln moved on to the next Pokemon.
"Cleanliness First… Sonoshi!" Lincoln introduced his third Pokemon. What could only be described as a ninja frog with a long tongue scarf appeared. It looked around for a moment, recoiled at the sight of the table, and vanished. A thump could be heard, and when the Louds turned around, they saw the frog frantically washing the dirty dishes and wiping the table. It was moving so fast that there were after images. Lincoln just shook his head at his Pokemon's display. "He's a Greninja who is more than a small neat freak. Though don't be fooled because he can fight with the best of my Pokemon."
"He looks so cool!" Lana cheered with stars practically in her eyes. Sonoshi paused in its cleaning, and it seemed to move with a small bounce to its step.
"Following him is the daughter of the Milotic that Carmine and I fought. A beautiful rose has its thorns… Sononi!" A gorgeous serpent appeared with a primarily cream-colored body, blue hair-like fins, and a golden tail that glistened in the sunlight. She was floating above the ground and let loose an elegant cry.
"She's beautiful!" Lola, Lori, and Leni squealed. The shiny Pokemon preened at the attention.
"Most would say so. Milotic are regarded as some of the most beautiful Pokemon in the world," Lincoln noted. "As stated, I caught her at the request of her mother when she was a Feebas. She was quite happy when I welcomed her as part of my team." As he said this, Sononi wrapped her body around Lincoln and started to nuzzle him.
"Easy girl. I'm introducing everyone, so go ahead and relax," Lincoln said. The Tender Pokemon seemed to pout, before she saw Lily and Pixie staring at her. She floated over to the girl and cooed at her. Lily giggled and happily patted the Pokemon's snout. It gently nuzzled the girl to the jealousy of the sisters.
"The Jaws that have snapped awake… Don Murasume!" Lincoln released his sixth Pokemon. A bipedal shark with a dark blue body covered in fins, a yellow chest, and several white spikes around its body. It let loose a large roar as it sank slightly in the sand, revealing that it was only a few inches above Lincoln. "Easy, Sume! It's not time to battle. That's for later," Lincoln lightly rebuked, rubbing his Pokemon's head. It visibly calmed down. "Why don't you go relax? It's a nice sunny day," he suggested towards his Pokemon, getting a fanged smirk in reply. Without another moment, the shark dived into the sand and swam through the beach. It circled a few times around the table to the unease of everyone before it partially surfaced a few meters away from Lincoln. It let out a pleased grunt as it rested his head on the sand.
Lincoln looked at his family seriously. "Now before I let out my last Pokemon, know that what is about to happen isn't anything serious. It's just how we greet each other when not in a battle," he warned. He said it with an easy-going smirk that most of his family didn't take it seriously.
"Absolute Integrity and Perfection Personified… Sonoi!" Lincoln announced. A humanoid jackal appeared with a sword that seemed to be made from a glowing bone. He immediately jumped towards Lincoln swinging his sword towards his head. Faster than his family could respond, a staff extended into his hand just in time to meet the attack. Soon the two were exchanging blows to the shock and awe of his family.
Most of the family was shocked into silence. Except one. "Somebody stop them!" Rita demanded, jumping to her feet.
"Sonoshi…" A nonchalant Drayton yawned. Suddenly, Rita was held in place by a webbed hand. "You can relax, Mrs. L. Like Lincoln said, the two do it all the time. It really is a way for them to play with each other."
"At this point, you should just let them get it out of their system," Lacey stated, equally unconcerned. She was continuing to munch on her popcorn, only to pout when she couldn't get any more popcorn.
"Yeah, Tarou is about to finish this," Carmine said, pointing at the dueling trainer and Pokemon. As if to prove her point, Lincoln disarmed Sonoi and pointed his staff at the jackal's throat. The two looked at each other before Lincoln pulled his staff away and held his hand out. Sonoi grunted but accepted the hand and allowed himself to be pulled up.
"Alright, that's enough fun. My family is watching," Lincoln told his Pokemon. Suddenly, the fight left Lucario. He straightened up and robotically turned to the watching Loud family. It gave a stiff bow towards them.
"That was so cool!" Lily shouted. She was sitting on a coiled up Sononi and was looking at her brother and his Pokemon with stars in her eyes.
"My turn!" Lynn shouted. She looked like she was about to jump towards them, only to be stopped by a blue aura locking her in place. It could be traced back to Sonoi who was standing with an outstretched arm and glowing eyes.
"That's enough, Sonoi," Lincoln said, patting his Pokemon on the shoulder. The Lucario grunted but released the attack around Lynn.
"What was that?" She demanded as soon as regained control.
"That was a Psychic attack," Amarys explained. She was shaking her head at her friend's sister's antics. "Sonoi is a bit stingy about his spars with Lincoln. Crispin has tried multiple times to join, to no avail."
"I have the bumps to prove it," Crispin bragged with a wide grin. It fell quickly when Lacey poked the back of his head and he cradled his head.
"Crispin, that's not something to brag about," Lacey giggled, as she kept poking his head.
"I get it! Could you stop with the poking?" Crispin whined.
"No. You're funny when you are like this," Lacey said.
"I want to try," Lily squealed. "Sononi, can you bring me down?" She asked the serpent. Sononi cooed before she shifted the little girl onto her neck. She slid towards the two bickering friends and gently deposited Lily by Lacey's side.
"Not you too, Lily," Crispin whined. The two girls began poking at the boy who dramatically wailed at the indignity of it all. Lincoln tuned out the trio's antics and turned to his family.
"Now, where was I?" Lincoln asked.
"You had just gotten to getting those crystals," Lola said.
"Right, so after a hard fought battle, Arven, Carmine, and I were lucky enough to find a chunk of the crystals that we needed. We had also ran into Mrs. Briar who was doing research on the Crystal Pools to bring the Terastal Phenomenon to Blueberry Academy. We filled her in, and she told us to keep her up to date. We made our way back to Carmine's house to share the good news," Lincoln started again. "Unfortunately, we had one more issue. Kieran had been spying on us for most of it, and he had the genius idea to steal the mask."
"Why would he do that?" Leni asked innocently.
Carmine answered this time. "Kiki has been obsessed with Ogerpon since he heard the story, always talking about how cool and strong it was. He took the mask to force her out," Carmine said. "It was not his best moment."
"Yeah, he took the mask up to Loyalty Plaza where we had a battle for the mask," Lincoln said. "It wasn't a really note-worthy battle since I had been training with Carmine and the rest for a few months, while Kieran only really had the wild Pokemon around Mossui Town to train against. However, it was what happened next that was really interesting."
"Applin is unable to battle. Lincoln wins," Arven announced. Before him, a barely bruised Toracat stood over an unconscious apple wyrm.
"Good job, Tora," Lincoln cheered at the proud cat. Torabolt pranced towards Lincoln and basked in his trainer's praise.
Meanwhile, Kieran staggered over to the shrine for the "Loyal" Three. The mask was held limply in his left hand, but it fell to the ground as Kieran ran his hands through his hair. "ARGH!" He screamed, pulling at his locks. He punched his right fist against the stone pillar of the shrine and held it there. A visible shudder went through his body before he held his arm in pain.
"Kiki!" Carmine cried out, running to her brother with Lincoln and Arven behind her. She approached her brother and gently checked out his hand. "Are you alright?"
He winced as his sister checked his wrist and hand. "I'm fine. I think I just bruised myself," he said.
"Go home and get yourself checked out by Grandma. We'll talk later," Carmine scolded gently. Kieran gave a defeated look, but he picked up the mask and held towards Lincoln.
"Here. I promised," Kieran said. He barely let Lincoln take a hold of it before he took off. He paused when he was a fair distance away. "Tell the ogre… I said hello." It was spoken lowly, but everyone heard it. Having said his piece, Kieran ran off towards his home.
"Kiki," Carmine whispered, watching the retreating boy's back. "I'm sorry about all that. He's usually not like this at all."
The two boys didn't have a chance to respond because a low rumbling formed behind them. "What's that noise?" Arven asked.
"It sounds like it's coming from the monument," Lincoln said. The three looked at the shrine. The three statues of the Loyal Three were beginning to glow an ominous pink. "Get down!" Lincoln screamed, holding the Teal Mask to his chest and sprinting from the monument. His friends followed suit. As the glow began to get harsher, the trio took cover behind the trees of the plaza.
A pillar of energy erupted from the shrine, blinding the three and blowing away any clouds above it. It lasted for about a minute before it died down. Lincoln cautiously peaked out and saw that a cloud of dust was obscuring the building. He was able to make out three figures standing on the ruins of the building.
"That's impossible!" Carmine whispered loudly. "The Loyal Three are back alive!" Indeed, Okidogi, Fezendipiti and Munkidori were standing proudly in the wreckage. Okidogi barked something, and the three went off somewhere.
"They're Zombies!" Lucy interrupted with starry eyes breaking through her bangs.
"Eh!" Most of the other Louds screamed in shock.
"Doesn't that mean that Saru Brother is a zombie?" Lily questioned innocently.
"Not quite. We still don't know what exactly happened. Mrs. Briar and Mr. Jaqc have researched their revival, and the best they came up with is that they were more of an extended sleep to recover. The Loyal Three of them recover much faster than the average Pokemon when they are sleeping," Amarys explained.
"Does that mean that Lincoln has all three of them?" Lisa asked with an interested gleam in her eyes.
"Yep. You see, when the explosion happened, Mrs. Briar and Mr. Jaqc were frantically contacting any students not nearby to make certain they were safe. When Briar called us, we explained what, and she gave authorization for Carmine and I to catch them regardless of our catch limits. However, Carmine refused to catch them, so it fell to me."
Carmine let out a dismissive grunt. "Like I would want any of the Lousy Three," she growled.
"Yeah, that's what you said back then," Lincoln said. "We split up after that. I went up Oni Mountain to check on Ogerpon. Carmine took the mask back to her grandpa, and Arven chased after the Loyal Three. It was a good thing I did because by the time I found the den, the three were beating her up," Lincoln said, patting a pouting Oni Sister on the head.
"But didn't the legend say that Oni Sister beat up all the bad guys?" Lily asked.
"Well, Oni Sister draws her strength from her masks. They change her typing and can affect her abilities. Without them, she is still strong, but she couldn't stand up to the three together," Lincoln explained. "However, I couldn't stand doing nothing, so Torabolt and I attacked. They seemed to take it as a challenge and after a few moments, we were facing Munkidori."
"Torracat, Flamethrower!" Lincoln ordered. Torracat's bell rang loudly before a stream of fire was blasted out of it. The opposing Munkidori laughed as its eyes began to glow. The flames were dispersed as they got about a foot from the monkey. It placed its hands on the floor and a pillar of sludge shot from the ground in front of it. It was angled towards Torracat.
"Flame Charge! Circle it!" Lincoln countered. Flames surrounded the cat and it blitzed around the attack. Lincoln did not expect Munkidori to cancel his attack and form a matching green aura. It took off at a similar speed and intercepted Torracat. The two clashed and while Munkidori seemed to have the advantage in speed, Torracat's flaming aura seemed to be eating away at the attack. The two Pokemon separated and then rammed back into each other again and again.
"Twist and then Revenge!" Lincoln shouted after the fourth time. Right before the two struck again, Torracat pivoted on his front legs. He then twisted his body around to give a kick towards the approaching Munkidori. The flames condensed around the kick and tore through Munkidori's aura, striking the offending Pokemon's face. The force from it knocked the retainer backwards, burning its face. Behind it, the remaining two of the trio were snickering at the misfortune of their last member. However, as Munkidori got up, all the laughter stopped.
Munkidori screeched something, and it seemed to be more damaged than it should. It was holding its stomach in pain.
"You hit him in the face, right?" Lincoln asked his Pokemon. He got an affirmative meow from him. He watched confused as Munkidori took a deep breath. From his mouth, a cloud of white smog that blocked Lincoln and Torracat's view of the three. Lincoln could barely make out some movement, but when the smog finally cleared, the three Pokemon were gone, leaving Lincoln alone with Torracat and Ogerpon.
"Ogerpon, are you alright?" Lincoln asked, running to the beaten Pokemon. Ogerpon got to her feet and began patting herself down. She gave her equivalent of a thumbs-up after a few moments.
"That's a relief," Lincoln breathed out. He pulled out his Phone and called someone. It rang for a few moments before it was picked up.
"Lincoln, how are things going on your end?" Arven's out-of-breath voice came through the device.
"I'm good. The three were beating up Ogerpon, and we fought Munkidori, but something caused them to run away. Munkidori was holding his stomach. When you were chasing them, did they eat anything?" Lincoln explained.
"Yeah. I ran into the village chief. Apparently, the Loyal Three were looking for the masks, and he just gave them to them and some sort of special mochi made from some herbs that grew only by the Crystal Pools," Arven explained with a frustrated grunt. "The chief said it would help them recover."
"That must have been it. The mochi must have been why they ran away," Lincoln realized.
"That makes sense. It isn't the best idea to eat solids or hard to digest food after not eating in a while," Arven continued.
"Yeah. But that means that they weren't at full power when we fought them," Lincoln added. "How far are you from Carmine?"
Arven paused. "I think I'm about 10 minutes away from her house," He said after a moment.
"Good. We'll meet up there. It's getting late, so we'll have to look for the three tomorrow," Lincoln decided.
"And that's what we did. Oni Sister, Torabolt, and I met everyone back at Carmine's house. We rested for the night before we started looking for the Loyal Three," Lincoln narrated. "The locals of Kitakami were a big help because they would not hide where the three Pokemon were resting."
"However, it was almost like the three were waiting for someone because in the three days that it took for us to figure out where they were, they didn't leave the region. This meant that Oni Sister's Teal Mask was able to be fully repaired, so she could help us out," Lincoln continued. "Good thing too, because the mochi caused something strange to happen to each of the Loyal Three. They had all grown to be about three times their usual sizes. It was something that surprised us when we caught up to Munkidori."
The trio and Ogerpon were racing down the fields of Kitakami towards Wisteria Pond.
"If what the townsfolk said was correct, then Munkidori should be right up here," Lincoln said.
"There it is!" Carmine shouted, pointing at a figure a few dozen feet away.
"Nice!" Arven cheered, getting an identical response from Ogerpon.
"You may want to hold off on cheering. We should not be able to see it from here. Munkidori was like 3 feet tall," Lincoln warned. As they approached, Lincoln's fears were proven correct. Instead of the barely over 3 feet tall monkey, an almost 10 feet monkie stood at the edge of the lake. Interestingly, Munkidori's eyes were a lot less focused and it was just standing there.
"Why is he so big?" Carmine screeched, stopping in her tracks.
"Arven, you said that those mochi were made using herbs from the Crystal Pools. Do you think that they caused it?" Lincoln asked, not taking his eyes off of Munkidori. Beside him, Ogerpon pulled out her Ivy Cudgel from from her cloak. She brandished it threateningly. "Not now, Ogerpon." Lincoln said, patting the Pokemon on her head. This instantly evaporated her anger, and she lowered her weapon.
"It has to be. I think we have something like this back in Paldea," Arven said thoughtfully. He took off his backpack and started rummaging through it. After a few moments, he pulled out a violet book. "This is one of my dad's books that I remembered him reading all the time. I took it with me for some reading, but…" he flipped through the pages before stopping at a specific one. "Here we go. '"Area Zero was home to wondrous herbs that instantly impart vigor when eaten. We dubbed them Herba Mystica and attempted to grow some in areas around Paldea. However, before we could harvest, the herbs were eaten by Pokémon—which in turn grew large and strong. We call these Titan Pokémon." Arven read off.
"Darn," Lincoln breathed off. "I don't think we'll have an easy time fighting Munkidori if what the book said is true."
Arven looked thoughtful at that statement. "Maybe not. I think the mochi may be affecting Munkidori's mind. Look at his eyes and behavior. He's unfocused and stationary. He's barely moving."
"Then this is our chance. Morpeko, come on out!" Carmine said. A small, almost divided in color hamster Pokemon appeared.
"Grookey, I need your help!" Lincoln followed up. A green monkey with a small stick appeared. It looked around and noticed the new people. It banged its stick on the ground a few times before it jumped onto Lincoln's shoulder.
"Mabosstiff, come out buddy!" Arven finished. A large, canine Pokemon materialized. It sniffed the air for a few moments and settled in front of Arven's feet. "Alright, what's the plan then?"
"Plan?" Carmine asked with a tilted head. Her Pokemon copied the movement, but it was nibbling on a seed it pulled from somewhere. Arven looked exasperated at her.
"A plan," Arven drawled out like one might talk to a young child. "You know, how are we going to approach the fight? What are our roles?"
"I was just going to have Morpeko deck him in the snoz," Carmine said, simply. She got two disappointed looks from Arven and Lincoln. Lincoln opened his mouth-
"That did not happen!" Carmine suddenly shouted. "I wanted us all to gang up on him, but I wasn't Abridged Goku!"
"I could see you saying that," Drayton piped in with a lazy smirk. If looks could kill, Drayton would have been a smoldering pile of ash.
"I might be getting a few of the details mixed up, and I think it was just after we got back that we started another marathon," Lincoln defended himself with a shrug. "Anyway, Arven and I made a plan. Morpeko was to hit at blind spots, Grookey would trap it with his ability, while Ogerpon and Mabosstiff were going to be the main attacking force."
"Honestly, the battle was a little disappointing," Carmine groaned. "Those Herba Mystica things made them way too big, but it basically made Munkidori a walking target. I am glad that you did let me start off the battle." She had a vicious smile as she said that.
"Morpeko, Aura Wheel!" Carmine called out. An electric wheel formed around Morpeko, and it ran forward at breakneck speeds. It slammed into Munkidori's face. This had the unfortunate result of knocking Munkidori out of whatever funk he was in. He held a hand to his face and glared at the retreating Morpeko. A psychic glow formed around Morpeko before it dispersed.
"Mabosstiff, Double Edge!" Arven called out in the middle of the attack. Mabosstiff ran forward, a glowing trail of energy following behind it. Grookey was riding on the dog's back with gleeful laughter. Grookey jumped off the back right before the hound slammed into the back of the Titanic Monkey's knees.
"Munki!" It screeched as it fell face forward.
"Grassy Surge!" Lincoln called out. Grookey banged his drumstick on the ground several times, a green aura flowing from it into the ground. His ability triggered, and the grass under the downed Titan rapidly grew to the point where it had completely ensnared Munkidori. He thrashed about, starting to tear up the plants holding him in place. "Ogerpon, now!" Lincoln yelled.
A green blur shot past Lincoln. Ogerpon had her club held behind her as she sprinted toward the trapped Pokemon. The cudgel glowed green as the spikes on it became more pronounced. It leaped into the air, and just as Munkidori broke free of its grassy prison, she slammed the club right onto his head. A shockwave was released at the point of impact, knocking an observing Grookey backwards from the force.
Munkidori seemed to pause when the attack hit. There was a visible shudder that went through his body before his eyes rolled into the back of his head. As the Titan lost consciousness, his body visibly shrunk down to normal size. Lincoln took that moment to chuck a Pokeball at the dazed Munkidori. The ball opened, and the psychic monkey was pulled in. It shook in place for a few moments, before a click could be heard. Before he could get the ball, a maskless Ogerpon picked the ball and skipped over to Lincoln.
"Thank you, Ogerpon," Lincoln said. Before he could take the ball, Ogerpon pulled out Lincoln's mask. She held it out for him. "My mask? I forgot about it," Lincoln mumbled to himself, taking the mask. He watched as Ogerpon mimed putting it on before striking a pose.
"You want me to put it on and make a pose," Lincoln said. Seeing that Ogerpon was holding the Pokeball hostage, he sighed and put on the mask. "You're lucky I enjoy Super Sentai." He put on the mask and held out his hand. Ogerpon handed him the ball and stepped back with an expectant look.
He took a deep breath. "HAHAHA! I, Don Momotaro, proclaim that this is a win for the ages!" Lincoln announced, holding the pokeball up in the air. Through the slits, he saw that Ogerpon and Grookey were looking at him with stars in their eyes. In the blink of an eye, the two were on opposite sides of him, mimicking the pose.
"I have to ask, why Don Momotaro?" Lisa piped in.
Honestly, I don't know," Lincoln stated after a few moments. "For some reason, it felt right when I announced it. I had based the mask on the story of Momotaro, so I guess I wanted to pay homage to him."
"Yeah, and since Lincoln is basically a modern Momotaro, it kind of stuck," Lacey added.
"What do you mean, modern Momotaro?" Lola asked.
"Think about it, squirt," Drayton drawled. He got a glare from the girl that he easily ignored. "Lincoln with a misunderstood oni took on the mischievous dog, pheasant, and monkey. He then caught and tamed them all. Just like Momotaro, just from the opposite end." There were a few awed looks from the younger girls, but then Carmine joined the conversation.
"I mean yeah, but he is also a huge dork, so I think it balances out," she teased with a confident look. She got a few nods from the older sisters. "He definitely wasn't as strong as he is now. Without our help, the Lousy Three would still be causing mischief in Kitakami." Lincoln shrugged at that statement.
"Probably. Ogerpon definitely earned her title as the Dreaded Oni when it comes to battle," Lincoln agreed. Oni Sister had a proud look at that statement. "Now where was I?" He asked himself.
"You had just beat Munkidori!" Lily exclaimed with all the energy of a wound up puppy.
"Right. So we beat Munkidori and retrieved the Wellspring Mask," Lincoln said, pulling up a picture of him posing dramatically beside Ogerpon who was hugging the mask. Behind the two, Arven and Carmine were looking on with fond expressions. There were a few oohs at the beauty of the mask. "I talked to Mrs. Briar and got the Pokeball locked down. We then tracked down Fezendipiti on Oni Mountain. This was a bit more of a difficult battle due to the location."
"There he is," Lincoln whispered. The three trainers were peeking around a corner at a hovering Fezendipiti. It was facing away from the cave entrance. "Carmine, do you know anything about where we are?" Carmine had a thoughtful look.
"I think I found this cave when I was exploring before I went to Blueberry Academy." Carmine said. She pointed to the very large opening in the cave wall where they could see the sun shining through but not much else. "We are pretty high up on Oni Mountain, near the Fellhorn Gorge."
"That isn't good," Arven said. He took his thinking pose, head tilted and arms folded over themselves. "We'll have to be careful. One wrong move, and it's game over." He slumped down. "I don't have any flying types."
"I don't," Lincoln said. "And Grookey doesn't know any vine type moves. Froakie may be able to help with his frubbles."
"I don't have any either," Carmine growled. "But Lincoln brings up a good point. My Ninetails knows Extrasensory. She can be a backup, but it will be rough. Extrasensory only really causes a push or pull when it comes to the attack."
"And I have a Toedscool that can use Power Whip, but its really short range," Arven added. "I think that gives us some options for safety. Let's also try to stay near the cave entrance rather than the edge. Long range attacks would probably be better. Linc, do you have any ideas on the approach?"
"Hmm, first thing is that it will probably come down to Ogerpon to make the final blow, and I don't think we will be able to overwhelm Fezendipiti like we did with Munkidori," Lincoln thought aloud. "We got lucky last time, so we need to take this a bit more seriously." He pulled out a Pokeball and released the frog-like Pokemon inside. "Froakie, I need you to make as many frubbles as you can." Froakie saluted and got to work, expanding the bubble-like scarf on his neck and pulling them off. Soon a large ball of frubbles was forming next to the frog.
"How fast can your Toedscool run, and how far can its Power Whip attack reach?" Lincoln asked.
"It is definitely one of my fastest Pokemon. It would only take it about 20 seconds for it to run from the entrance to the edge. As to the Power Whip length, it can make it about 2 meters long, but it loses most of its power then. It would be best for saving itself over us," Arven explained.
"Hm, good to know. I'm thinking that the initial attack should be done using Froakie's frubbles. I think this should be enough to ground it," Lincoln said. He motioned to the large pile of frubbles that came up to about half his height. "We're going to need your Ninetails to send the frubbles to attack the joints of Fezendipiti's wings. If all goes well this should make them unusable."
"I like it!" Carmine said. She quickly released her Pokemon and started to fill it in on its job in the upcoming battle.
"What if it notices us?" Arven said.
Lincoln looked thoughtful. "Well that depends," Lincoln said after a moment. "What is your Toedscool's fighting style like? How about Ninetails?"
"Toedscool is a status fighter. Aside from Power Whip, its other moves are meant to debilitate or confuse its foes. It knows Mud Slap, Stun Spore and Poison Powder," Arven said. "I'm working on some new moves with it." He added.
"Ninetails is a long range fighter. She has a few defensive moves, but nothing special," Carmine explained. "I think her providing support would be best in this case."
"That works. Our initial plan will be to ground Fezendipiti with Froakie's frubbles before we start peppering it with attacks. If that doesn't work, then we switch to a more hit and run style. Froakie and Toedscool distract it, hopefully we can use Stun Spore to paralyze it, while Ninetails stays back and acts as both a defense for us and long range support," Lincoln said. "Ogerpon, you can be the main vanguard or act as support. That will be up to you." His answer was in the form of Ogerpon switching her masks to the recently acquired Wellspring Mask. There was a brief shift, and water seemed to flow over her body, washing the green of her cloak and painting her cloak blue. She held up her Cudgel, and a watery vortex formed around it.
"Cool!" Carmine exclaimed, looking at the transformation. Lincoln and Arven were looking at the transformed Pokemon with excitement.
"This leaves more possibilities, but we'll have to think about them later," Lincoln said, pushing aside his questions. "We have our plans. If nothing seems to be working, we may need to retreat. Don't hesitate to retreat or send out other Pokemon if you get overwhelmed."
"Got it, little buddy," Arven said. He grinned at the small glare that nickname inspired. "How about you let me start this off? If we can paralyze Fezendipiti first, then this should make things easier." He got a nod from the suggestion.
"Don't worry about us, dork. We'll be fine," Carmine teased. "Now let's do this. Ninetails, be ready to send the pile of frubbles at my command."
"Alright, Toedscool, you're up!" Arven said, releasing a mushroom-like Pokemon that also bared some resemblance to a jellyfish. However, it was standing on two of its tentacles poised to run. "I need you to release the biggest Stun Spore you can on that Pokemon. Be as fast as you can, and then get out of there." His Pokemon looked a little fearful at first, but it visibly relaxed as Arven explained its tasks. "Once you get back, try sending some Mud Slaps its way. See if you can blind it." He got a comical salute from one of its legs, before it prepared itself.
At some unknown signal, Toedscool sprinted forward at the speed that would have put any sprinter to shame. In mere moments, it was in the air right about the still unfocused Fezendipiti's head. Its body shook, and a cloud of yellow spores drifted down over its head. This snapped Fezendipiti out of whatever trance it was in, but it was a moment too late. The spores did its job, and its body began to seize up as it started to respond. It managed to turn around to face its attacker.
"Now!" Carmine called out. As Toedscool leapt off the now paralyzed bird, Ninetails' eyes glowed yellow. She opened up her mouth and a large cone of psychic energy was released from it towards the frubbles in front of her. The attack slightly pushed the sticky bubbles apart, but the attack struck true. Soon, the chest and wings were covered in the sticky attack, further limiting its movement and grounding it.
"Fezen!" The bird screeched, struggling to move. There was a sizzling sound, and to the astonishment of its opponents, the frubbles near its chest seemed to be melting away.
"It's breaking free! Water Pulse, long range!" Lincoln noted. Froakie responded immediately. An orb of water formed in his hand and bowled it towards the downed bird. It struck Fezendipiti's legs, knocking it off balance even further.
"Mud Slap!" Arven continued the attack. As Fezendipiti struggled to get up, Toedscool swung one of its legs forward. From it, globs of mud were flung and struck the face of the pheasant, blinding it.
"Now Flamethrower!" Carmine said. Ninetails took a deep breath and let loose a stream of fire toward the downed Pokemon. Fezendipitii barely managed to get itself up before the fire engulfed his face and body.
"Dipitii!" It screeched in pain. However, it suddenly found the strength to flap its wings. The strength wasn't anything to sneeze at either as it was able to completely disperse the attack and partially break through the paralysis. This revealed that the flames had burned off the frubbles binding it, and that the only signs of damage were a few burns. It cawed and flapped its wings, faster than before and blades of wind were released from it. The blades were released haphazardly towards its three opponents.
"Scatter!" Lincoln shouted. Thankfully, the attack wasn't accurate at all and the three Pokemon were able to dodge. Fezendipiti panted as it glared at its opponents. It started to flap its wings, and while a bit clumsy, regained its position in the sky. Then, its wings started to glow purple, and it dive bombed towards Ninetails.
"Ninetails, Disable!" Carmine ordered frantically. An almost invisible shot of psychic energy was shot from Ninetail's eyes. It struck Fezendipiti, but the attack seemed to do no damage. However, Fezindipiti's wings lost their poison attack, but didn't slow down at all.
"Pon!" A new voice joined the battle. Ogerpon was suddenly airborne between Ninetails and the approaching Retainer Pokemon. Her swirling cudgel met Fezendipiti's charge at its right wing. She had much greater force than the descending bird, and as a result, Fezendipiti was launched back into the ground. Ogerpon stood in front of Ninetails, and Lincoln could tell that she was ready to take over. Meanwhile, Fezendipiti staggered up from the blow, showing much more fight than Munkidori. It met Ogerpon's glare with one of its own.
Blue and green vines snaked out of Ogerpon's cloak, and before the Titanic bird could respond, they wrapped around Fezendipiti's wings. Energy flowed down the vines, causing it to try to break free. This was for naught because, betraying the difference in sizes, Ogerpon somehow managed to lift and swing Fezendipiti overhead before comically slamming it down into the ground. This repeated several times before Ogerpon released the Pokemon. Immediately, Fezendipiti collapsed, unconscious.
Arven and Carmine were speechless at this show of power. Lincoln was also shocked, but he was able to shake past it when Ogerpon hopped over to Lincoln and patted his leg. He quickly took out a Pokeball and chucked it at the fallen Pokemon. Without any fanfare, it was pulled into the ball and an immediate click was heard. Lincoln went to pick it up, and held it up triumphantly.
"Yes, I did do another chant," Lincoln said to the unasked questions. He looked both amused and exasperated at the expectant looks from Lily and Lola. "But that isn't relevant. What was relevant was that we recovered another one of Oni Sister's masks," Lincoln said, pulling up another picture. This time it was Lincoln crouched behind Ogerpon with a very happy look while Arven had him in a playful headlock. Carmine was rubbing a very happy Ogerpon who was smiling while holding her mask.
"After that, we took a bit of a break. We had been running around Kitakami for most of the day, and it was getting late. We stopped back in Mossui Town and met back with Carmine's grandparents. Briar showed up as well, and everyone got caught up on the same page. Briar revealed that she was doing some research into the past of the village to see if there were any links to the terastal phenomenon. It was through this, and some other aspects from Paldea that she was able to get some written documentation from the time of Ogerpon's story."
Lincoln then shrugged. "It took a lot of effort on our side, and us finding a lot of hidden or unknown information, but eventually we were able to present enough evidence that Mossui Town had to acknowledge Ogerpon's innocence and the Loyal Three's misdeeds. Truthfully, only about half of those in Kitakami believe in the original story. It is mainly the teenagers and children that are on Ogerpon's side with a few of the older generations. Kieran is a big rallying point for them, hence Team Ogre." He explained thoughtfully.
"It does make things awkward when I visit home," Carmine grumbled. "At this point, most of the older villagers are just being stubborn, but they are certainly letting me know their displeasure about the truth." Amarys placed her hand on her best friend's shoulder.
"Give it time. Soon, they will have no other choice than to accept the truth," she said with a cold smile.
"What was next?" Lynn spoke up, completely ignoring the scene behind her. Lincoln looked at Amarys and Carmine and got a silent nod.
"Well, after we recovered, we managed to track down Okidogi at the Paradise Barrens," Lincoln said. "He was the toughest of the three. He had the longest time to adapt to the Mochi, and he is naturally the most powerful of the three. It was certainly a struggle to just damage him. At least, it was before Oni Sister pulled out her trump card. After that, it was really a fight between Okidogi and Oni Sister. Nobody wanted to join in the fight."
"Why is Okidogi so huge!" Carmine whispered loudly. Indeed, Okidogi would have towered over the other two of the Titanic Three, standing at almost 20 feet tall.
"I don't think that is what we should worry about," Lincoln mumbled. He was staring at the dog retainer as it swung its Toxic Chain around with his hand. "Okidogi isn't affected by whatever was affecting the other two. He looks ready to fight."
Arven adopted his thinking pose. "Lincoln is right. It also looks like Okidogi is a physical tank. We're going to be in for a rough fight."
Ogerpon jumped up next to Lincoln, drawing their attention to her. She mimed swinging something around with a worried expression. "We need to worry about the swinging chain?" Lincoln asked. He got an excited nod from the tiny Ogre.
"How are you able to understand her? Like I get that she is acting it out, but it's instant for you," Carmine asked in disbelief.
Lincoln looked thoughtful before he shrugged. "I just do," he finally said. He missed the pleased look that Ogerpon gave him. "If what Ogerpon told us is true, this will be the toughest fight of the three. Ogerpon, I think you will need to be more involved this time as the vanguard." He got a determined nod from her as she fastened the Hearthflame Mask on her face. Flames ignited on her body, burning the green of her cloak to reveal the new red color scheme. She took out her cudgel, and it became engulfed in flames.
"Let's do this!" Carmine cheered.
"How do we want to approach this?" Arven asked.
"We'll want to have a mix of speed and power. I don't think that trapping or paralyzing Okidogi will do anything besides buy us a few moments. And we definitely don't want our Pokemon to be hit by him. I'm pretty certain any of our Pokemon would instantly be knocked out if we got hit, so prioritize dodging over anything else," Lincoln decided. "Next is deciding what Pokemon we will use. On my side, the only Pokemon I have that I would be comfortable with fighting would be Toracat."
"I'm in the same boat. Mabosstiff would be the only Pokemon that I have that I think is both fast enough and strong enough," Arven said.
"That leaves me with Morpeko. Ninetails could help from a distance, but she isn't my fastest Pokemon. Morpeko can pack a punch, and I don't have to worry as much about him getting hit," Carmine said. Having said their pieces, they all released their respective Pokemon.
"I think we can work with this. Ogerpon, like earlier, you will be the main attacker. Ninetails, please provide long range support. Mabosstiff, I think it would be best if you wait for the right moment to hit Okidogi with the strongest attack you can then get away. Morpeko and Torracat, you will be doing hit and run attacks," Lincoln explained to the Pokemon. Torracat let out a yowl at that. "I know you want to fight head on, but you aren't there yet! That is what we are going to be facing." He looked down sternly at his starter, pointing at the gigantic Okidogi. "You get hit once, and you may be put in the hospital!" Torracat shrunk down as the reality of the situation.
Lincoln crouched down to Torracat. "I'm not trying to dismiss your strength, but I also don't want to force you to into situations that we are not prepared for. We don't want a repeat of the Tofu Incident, do we?" Lincoln, Torract, and Carmine all shuddered at that question to the bewilderment of Arven. Unknown to the three, a pink-haired girl and a red-haired boy both shuddered suddenly in their sleep.
"What is the T-..." Arven began asking.
"We don't speak of the Tofu Incident!" Lincoln and Carmine cried out simultaneously. Torracat hopped onto Lincoln's shoulder with an angry yowl.
"OK…" Arven managed to squeak out.
"Good," Lincoln said, suddenly all smiles. He gently picked up Torracat and placed him on the ground. "Let's do this! Whenever you are ready, Ogerpon." The Oni jumped ahead while the other Pokemon looked a little hesitant.
"Tora!" Torracat suddenly cried out. He drew all the other Pokemon's attention to himself as he confidently stood right next to Ogerpon. Mabosstiff gave a grunt before he too stood on the left side of Ogerpon. The two remaining Pokemon looked at each other. Ninetails gave the equivalent of a shrug and joined them. Morpeko looked helplessly at its allies before slumping down. It pulled out a seed and chowed it down until there was only a little nub left. It then tossed the seed away. A dark aura flowed around Morpeko's body, prompting a transformation into a more dark themed hamster.
"PON!" Ogerpon roared. She leapt at Okidogi with her flaming cudgel raised high above her. Unlike Monkidori or Fezendipiti, Okidogi was able to react to the attack. He intercepted the attack with a glowing purple fist. A shockwave pulsed through battlefield, forcing the observers to take a step back as it ruffled their clothes or fur.
The two Pokemon had a power struggle, both trying to break through but not giving any ground to their foe. It was interrupted by Torracat and Morpeko ramming into the bipedal dog's knees, surrounded in fire and an aura wheel respectively. This caused the dog to stumble and gave Ogerpon the leverage to overpower Okidogi, knocking the fist sidewise. This sent the dog even further off balance. However, he was able to right himself before he fell over.
The moment of imbalance gave Ogerpon the chance to land on the ground by his foot and send a sweeping kick on its left leg. The kick struck true and was able to successfully knock Okidogi over. The three Pokemon jumped away from the fallen Pokemon just in time for a psychic energy wave to strike Okidogi's body.
"Dogi!" Okidogi howled at the energy wave. He managed to fight past the pain and grabbed his Toxic Chain. He swung it around himself. The chain almost doubled in length, dispersing the psychic wave and almost striking Torracat.
"Back off, everyone!" Lincoln called out. All the Pokemon distanced themselves even further from the recovering Okidogi. Okidogi hopped back to his feet with a growl. He had a scowl on his face as he leveled a heavy glare at his foes. A heavy pressure filled the area, causing every Pokemon to brace themselves.
Faster than any of them could respond, Okidogi was in front of Torracat, swinging his chain at the surprised cat. Thankfully, Ogerpon was able to intercept the attack and met the attack with her flaming cudgel. The two met in another power struggle, but Torracat didn't leave Ogerpon alone. Flames surrounded Torracat again, and it blasted towards Okidogi's face, clawing at it. With a pain-filled yell, Okidogi knocked Ogerpon away with his free arm and grabbed Torracat. He threw the cat onto the ground, creating a crater at the point of impact.
"Torracat!" Lincoln called out. He had to literally be held back by Arven and Carmine.
Okidogi was about to follow up on the attack, but he was blindsided by a Giga Impact by Mabosstiff. This allowed Ogerpon the moment to recover and join back into the battle.
"PON!" Ogerpon screamed in anger at her foe. Something changed in her posture and Ogerpon began to be covered in crystals. The crystals broke apart revealing that Ogerpon had gone under a transformation. Her body seemed to be made of crystals, but it was her mask that was the most interesting aspect. It had nearly tripled in size, became much more fierce looking, and was floating in front of her. The yellow accents of the mask had extended and were flowing through the air like flames.
"OKIDOGI!" The dog cried out in defiance. The two titans once more clashed, poison fist meeting flaming cudgel. However, this time, Ogerpon seemed to be attacking with much more strength, and she was able to bat aside the fist much easier. She followed up by sweeping the dog's legs with her weapon, burning his leg. Okidogi almost fell over, but he managed to keep himself upright. As Ogerpon went for a follow up swing to the off balanced dog, Okidogi quickly grabbed his chain and stretched it using both of his hands. As the chain impacted the burning weapon, it stretched, dispersing some of the attack, though not fully blocking the strike.
From there, the two legendary Pokemon went on a back and forth with Ogerpon slowly moving Okidogi away from the downed Torracat. Lincoln took the opportunity to break free of his friend's grip and rush towards his partner Pokemon. "Torracat! Are you okay!" Lincoln whisper-shouted as he approached the crater. He was just at the edge when a familiar red-orange arm pulled itself over the edge.
"Torra!" Torracat growled lowly. He was struggling to get out. Lincoln immediately went to his partner's side and pulled him out of the crater. He cradled his partner, shifting to a gentle hold when he saw the fire cat wince.
*BOOM* echoed throughout the Paradise Barrens. Lincoln and Torracat whipped towards the sound. Their jaws dropped at the scene before them. The massive mask projection was meeting every blow from Okidogi with its flames.
"Torra…" Torracat breathed out in awe. He twisted out of Lincoln's hold, landing with a soft thud and wincing. However, he ignored the pain to look at the fight. Ogerpon was steadily gaining ground.
"She certainly is something," Lincoln said. The two missed the other Pokemon moving back to defend their trainers.
"Torra, Torra…cat!" Torracat announced, slamming a paw onto the ground at the sight in front of them. His fire bell began ringing the more the battle raged on.
"You're excited, aren't you, Tora?" Lincoln asked with a grin. He got an excited yowl from his Pokemon. "We'll get there one day." He scratched Toracat's head. As he said this, Ogerpon landed one final blow on a battered Okidogi, sending it skidding on the ground. A trench was dug up by the sliding dog's journey to unconsciousness. It was comically buried in the ground, a few feet from Lincoln.
"Ogerpon!" Ogerpon screamed victoriously jumping on top of the defeated dog. She was back to normal but looked quite happy with herself. She stamped her feet on Okidogi's head several times. She then skipped over to Lincoln, taking off her mask to reveal a very pleased look. Behind her, Okidogo's body shrank back to his usual size.
"That was awesome, Ogerpon!" Lincoln cheered. He scrambled to toss a ball at the unconscious dog.
"Tora!" Torracat announced by Lincoln's feet. He looked pleased at Ogerpon's victory. "Torra, Torracat." Ogerpon skipped over to Torracat. The two seemed to be in a silent conversation to the confusion of Lincoln.
"Pon," Ogerpon finally said with a nod. She patted Torracat on the head, getting a playful swat.
"It's finally over!" Carmine cheered. She looped an arm around Lincoln's shoulder. "I had no idea Ogerpon could do that!"
"Now what?" Arven asked, joining them. Mabosstiff followed beside him.
Lincoln looked down at Ogerpon. She was panting from exhaustion, though it looked like she wasn't injured. "Let's go back to Carmine's house and share the good news with her grandparents and Mrs. Briar."
"And Kieran," Carmine added.
"Right, forgot about him," Lincoln said. Beside him, Ogerpon scowled at the mention of the boy.
"And with that, we had recovered all of Ogerpon's masks. In high spirits, and very exhausted bodies, we traveled back to Carmine's house which had basically turned into our base of operations in Kitakami," Lincoln said, showing a picture of Lincoln, Carmine, Arven and their Pokemon celebrating with Ogerpon holding up the Cornerstone Mask triumphantly.
"It was after some resting, but we were all in high spirits about the victory. We celebrated in high spirits, and Arven showed that he was a cook that could rival Crispin," Lincoln said.
"I still don't believe that," Crispin cried out. Lincoln just rolled his eyes.
"I spent the rest of the trip with Carmine, Arven and Ogerpon. I caught a few Pokemon, explored Kitakami with Ogerpon, started learning wood carving and then before we knew it, it was almost time to head back to Blueberry Academy. When Ogerpon learned about that, she did something that surprised everyone," Lincoln said.
"Do you all have everything packed?" Hideko asked her granddaughter and her two friends.
"We've double checked everything. We have everything we need," Carmine groaned. Lincoln snickered as he shifted his bag over his shoulders. Arven just looked on with a hesitant look. The three were standing outside the house with the two grandparents looking on the departing teens.
"Where's Kieran?" Carmine asked, looking around.
Yukito gave a displeased shake of his head. "He's out again. I don't know why, but he's hardly home anymore. I'm getting a little worried about him," he said with a frown. "Hopefully, he'll mellow out before he joins Blueberry Academy."
"We'll have to wait and see," Hideko said, placing a comforting hand on her husband's shoulder. She turned a happy smile towards the watching trio. "It was good to have you back, Carmine. Lincoln, Arven, thank you for being my granddaughter's friend. I know that she can be hard to get along with."
"Grandma!" Carmine screeched.
"It's no problem, Hideko," Lincoln reassured. "Carmine's helped me a lot when I was just starting out at Blueberry Academy. I don't think she could get rid of me if she wanted."
"You just wait and see, you little twerp," Carmine growled at her friend. Arven chuckled.
"I can't thank you enough for your hospitality. I've learnt a lot during my stay," Arven said gratefully.
"It has been a pleasure having you here. If you are ever in Kitakami, don't hesitate to stop by. You'll always be welcome," Hideko said.
"Thank you," Arven almost whispered. "You have no idea how much that means to me."
"Thank you again for your hospitality," Lincoln said. "If I'm ever in the area, you can bet that I will stop by."
"Make certain you practice what I taught you. Something tells me that you will need it," Yukito commanded with a hard look.
"You can count on me, sir," Lincoln saluted. A beeping came from his pocket. He silenced it with a tap. "But we need to get going or we'll get in trouble."
"PON!" Ogerpon suddenly shouted running towards the house. She had on the Teal Mask and had a small pouch made of tattered cloth around her shoulders.
"Get back here!" Kieran screamed, chasing after her. He had a Pokeball in his hand and was preparing to throw it.
"What are you doing, Kieran?" Lincoln demanded. He stepped in front of Ogerpon, shielding her from the boy.
"I'm trying to catch Ogerpon! I've been looking for her for months. I found her den, and I found her packing up. If I don't do this now, I will lose my chance forever!" Kieran retorted. "Go, Dipplin!" He sent out his Pokemon. It resembled a candy apple, though a wyrm tail was visible out the back and eyes were peeking around the green stem.
"Torracat!" Lincoln responded. A fully healed Torracat stood in front of Lincoln and Ogerpon. "Kieran back down. It's obvious that Ogerpon doesn't want you to be her trainer."
"No! If I have to fight through you, I will! Ogerpon will become my Pokemon," Kieran rejected. "Dipplin use Syrup Bomb!" Dipplin spat out a glob of sticky syrup towards Torracat.
"Flame Charge! Dodge then Flamethrower," Lincoln crisply said. Torracat easily sped away from the blob of sugary sap, covered in flames. He got within a few feet of Dipplin and faster than it could react, the flame armor shifted into Torracat's bell, and a stream of fire engulfed the Candy Apple Pokemon.
"Dipplin!" Kieran called out. The flames receded revealing a burnt, but still standing apple. It wiggled a bit to show that it was ok. "Dragon Breath!"
"Flamethrower!" Lincoln immediately countered. A purple, cloudy stream of energy met the flamethrower, struggling for power before exploding in a cloud of dust and smoke. "Flame Charge. Plan b!" In a flash, Torracat blitzed towards Dipplin. He began circling Dipplin, creating a ring of fire around the apple Pokemon.
"Don't let them finish whatever they are doing. Syrup Bomb!" Kieran countered. This time, several globs of sugary sap was launched at the blurred form of Torracat.
"Now!" At the sound, Torracat shot out of the fire, easily dodging the syrup bombs and slamming into Dipplin. The candy apple was launched backwards into the ring of fire. "Shadow Claw!" Torracat followed after Dipplin with a dark, almost ghostly claw surrounding his front paws. He dived into the flames, and he could barely be seen raking his claws against the apple several times. With a final swat, Dipplin was sent rolling out of the flames, charred and barely conscious.
"Dipplin!" Kieran called out again. He ran over to his Pokemon and gently checked it for the damage. The Candy Apple looked at his trainer with sad eyes before it fell unconscious.
"Good work, Torracat!" Lincoln cheered. The fire cat jumped onto Lincoln's shoulders, looking quite proud of himself. Beside him, a happy Ogerpon was digging through bag.
"How…" Kieran's voice whispered out loud. Lincoln turned to Kieran. The boy's face was shadowed, and his fists were clenched so hard that they were trembling. "It's only been a few days. I was at least able to put up a fight. How did you get so strong?" Lincoln and Torracat looked at each other and shrugged.
"We trained?" Lincoln said uncertain. Carmine laughed at his dumbfounded expression, while Arven face palmed. "I mean, beside exploring Kitakami, that was about all we did the past few days. Tora has been pretty insistent since we caught the Loyal Three. He's tried sparring with Ogerpon, but she is a bit too much for him right now." Torracat looked a little put out at that.
"If that is the case, why does she want to come with you? You certainly aren't strong enough for Ogerpon!" Kieran demanded. Lincoln's head looked down to a faux-innocent Ogerpon. She was not looking at Lincoln and was rocking back and forth on her feet.
"Really?" Lincoln asked hesitantly. He got a tiny, almost unnoticeable nod from Ogerpon.
"Torra!/Grookey!/Froakie!" Three Pokemon suddenly were dogpilling a shocked Ogerpon. Something fell from Ogerpon's cloak while she tried to push the three Pokemon off her. It rolled down to Lincoln, and he picked it up. It was a green Pokeball with red markings.
"What's this?" Lincoln asked, observing it. Yukito approached Lincoln. In the background, Hideko was scolding Kieran who looked unrepentant.
"That looks like an Apricorn ball," Yukito pointed out.
"Apricorn ball?" Carmine asked.
"Apricorn are a type of fruit that grows all over the regions. They are inedible when fresh, but they were how Pokeballs were originally made. Craftsmen would gather them and hollow them out. Depending on the type of Apricorn, the Pokeball would have special properties," Yukito explained. "Now, since Pokeballs are so cheap to make, Apricorn Balls are more of a novelty. It looks like you have a Friend Ball. These were the closest to a normal Pokeball, but Pokemon caught in them tend to have bonds like no one will believe. There have been some rumors that the ball won't work if there is no potential between the Pokemon and the trainer." He blinked a little at the dumbfounded looks the observers were giving him. "What?"
"How do you know so much about this?" Arven finally asked. He had his jaw hanging and a hand on his head.
Yukito looked surprised before he shook his head. "A distant cousin of mine still makes Apricorn Balls to this day. I can make a few if I ever get the materials, but there are no Apricorns in Kitakami." He said all this with a wide grin and a laugh. "It means that Ogerpon has really taken a liking to you if she went through all the trouble of bringing you one."
"Pon!" Ogerpon shouted. She had finally flung Lincoln's Pokemon off her, and after making certain that they are going to back off, she moved towards Lincoln. She held out her cloak-hand towards the ball. Then she pointed at herself.
"Are you positive? There's no going back if you do this?" Lincoln asked, looking at the Pokeball apprehensively.
"Ogerpon!" Ogerpon said cheerfully. Before he could react, a vine snaked around Lincoln's arm, pulling his arm out. She tapped the ball and was transformed into the energy that was pulled into the ball. Immediately, there was a click. Lincoln smiled at the ball before he wound his arm back. Unknown to Lincoln, Kieran chose this moment to storm out.
"Come on out, Ogerpon!" Lincoln shouted. He tossed the ball into the air, and in a burst of energy, Ogerpon formed from the energy. However, she formed midair and quickly descended on top of Lincoln, sending them both onto the ground in a tangled heap of limbs. It wasn't helped when Torracat, Grookey, and Froakie all joined in.
"I'm happy for you all, but I can't breathe!" Lincoln groaned from the place on the bottom.
"And that is the story of how I caught Ogerpon!" Lincoln explained happily. "From there, things just snowballed. I met Enya Rideon, got a job as a delivery man, and started upping my training with the league club. Then here we are."
"That's quite a tale, brah," Luna said.
"There must be more to it," Lisa pushed. There were several murmurs of agreement from the sisters.
"I mean, yeah. There's so much more. This is honestly the cliffnotes of my trip," Lincoln said. "But we didn't come down here to spend all day listening to me talk. We're at the beach! Go get changed and enjoy it. My Pokemon will keep an eye out for you but don't go too far. There are wild Pokemon that wander around. Lynn, Lola, Lisa, I am being very serious when I say that you should not bother them. If you don't heed my warning, I will have Sonoshi put you in time out." He gave a pointed look at the mentioned sisters.
"But this warning goes to all of you. Pokemon are wonderful and fascinating creatures, but they can also be dangerous. We shouldn't have any issues if you give them space," he snickered at the crestfallen looks from his younger sisters.
"We're not saying that you can't interact with them," Lacey cut in. "Just respect their wants as well as yours. We have plenty of wild Pokemon who have no issue playing with the students and even being caught, but there will be others who are defensive around trainers. If they decide that they don't want you to play, then forcing the issue is just not right!" She crossed her arms in her trademarked x. This seemed to perk them up.
"Enough of this! Go out and swim. We'll join you in a bit," Carmine said. This seemed to be the trigger for them all, and the sisters ran off to enjoy the beach, followed by the Pokemon.
"Wait for me, girls!" Albert shouted, running after the girls. Soon it was just the adult Louds, Lincoln, and his friends.
"Are you going to join them?" Lynn Sr. asked his son.
"In a bit. We have some things to talk about before we can," Lincoln said.
"Will they be safe?" Rita brought up. She was looking at Lily and Lola who were riding Sononi through the water. The beautiful sea serpent raised herself up, and the two girls slid down into the water, laughing all the way.
"You don't need to worry. Any wild Pokemon foolish enough to try won't stand a chance," Drayton drawled out confidently. He had shifted to a lax, but assured pose with an arm resting on a pulled up knee. As if to prove his point, a Tentacruel slinked out of the ocean with menacing eyes towards the splashing Lily and Lola. As it rose out of the water towards them, Don Doragoku shot out of the water, blocking the two girls from sight. Comically, the Tentacruel looked up at the sea serpent before it scurried away. The adults looked on at that while the swimming sisters continued to swim as if nothing happened.
"Yeah, I wouldn't worry about them," Crispin slowly noted. His shoulders were shaking at the scene.
"What did you want to talk about?" Amarys prompted. At Lincoln's questioning look, she added. "You were looking forward to swimming with your family, but you aren't joining them."
Lincoln let out an exasperated sigh. "I can't get anything past you," Lincoln said. He held up a Pokeball and tossed it to Carmine. "Kieran gave, well tossed, it to me. He left a note inside it." Carmine popped the Pokeball open, finding the crumpled up note. She snatched it out, dropping the ball, and quickly began reading it.
Her face twisted into a mask of anger as she read it. "Kiki, you idiot," she growled.
"What's it say?" Crispin asked innocently. Carmine held the note out, and Lacey grabbed it. She read it over and anger filled her face.
"Come to the Central Plaza tonight by 10 pm, alone. It's finally time to settle things. Fail to show up, and I'll make your time here a nightmare." Lincoln rolled his eyes at this message while Carmine slammed her palm into her forehead.
"Do you want me to come with you, so I can beat some sense into him?" Carmine asked. Lincoln waved her off.
"Nah. Well, I want you to come, but no beating up your brother," Lincoln corrected himself. "First of all, I highly doubt he has gotten permission to stay after curfew. Secondly, I think we can use this as a chance to finally bring Team Ogre down."
"How do you figure?" Carmine demanded. Lincoln stayed silent.
"Kieran won't be alone," Amarys realized. Lincoln snapped his finger and pointed to her.
"Bingo!" Lincoln said. "Kieran wants it to be known that he is facing me. He will definitely have some of his lackeys there as witnesses. But that means that we can use this to trap him." He said this with a mischievous grin that soon was matched by his friends. "Now, let's start planning for a festival."
Chapter End
The battles between Lincoln, his friends and the Loyal Three are purposefully underwhelming. One, Lincoln and Arven specifically took the fight against the Loyal Three very seriously. Two, the Mochi Mystica (plus the coma/resurrection) worked against the Loyal Three in this case, messing with the brainwashing/mochi-enforced servitude by Pecharunt and causing a great amount of physical and mental stress to them. This meant that while they looked very strong, they could be easily overwhelmed. Three, they literally just came back to life, and based on Pecharunt's backstory, the three were stronger as a team than individually. Four, Lincoln is at his core a planner, and his time at Blueberry Academy, while short, has helped him hone his skills to be more well thought out and better executed. And while I firmly believe that no plan survives the enemy, that doesn't matter if the plan is flexible enough for them to adapt. Five, Ogerpon was able to join this time.
I want to acknowledge that Lincoln, Carmine, and Arven had zero Pokemon who could truly stand up to the Titan Three in terms of raw power. Arven is the closest with his Mabosstiff but not by much. This isn't a video game, and power levels are not determined by levels (they don't exist here), and while species and evolution stages can influence raw power, they are not the end all be all. It is one flaw I see a lot when people criticize trainers like Ash who doesn't force his Pokemon to evolve. I personally see merits in any Pokemon stage, and I don't think that they have to be the final evolution to be the strongest they can be. Even in terms of the Pokemon games, we had people use a Pachirisu to win real-world Pokemon tournaments.
As to how Kieran is in this, Ogerpon had no reason to want to join this random boy who after causing trouble for her, decided he was the one who was worthy of catching her. This, added on to the fact that he stole her last mask and didn't help recover the others, does not put him in Ogerpon's favor, at all. Lincoln spent practically no time with Kieran, and while he understands being disappointed after not getting something you want, he has practically zero connection to Kieran, so he's sympathetic, but has no reason to try to reason with Kieran besides the fact that he is Carmine's brother. On my side, while I don't hate Kieran, I don't particularly like him anywhere near most of the fandom does. I acknowledge that he is a child, but he was an entitled one in Teal Mask and an arrogant brat during Indigo Disk. So while I'm not trying to bash Kieran, I am in no way making any excuses for aspects of his behavior that are brushed off as "teenage rebellion." There is also no Master Ball for the Champion because I don't like the Master Ball being handed out like candy.
Hopefully, I won't take a month and a half to get the next chapter done, but no promises.