A/N Hey all I'm officially back from my trip so here is the next installment of Pokemon Omega Loud! I did loads of thinking while I was away and had loads of ideas for this story like whether or not to include wonder trading or thinking up ways to have BOTH Team Aqua and Team Magma be threats to Hoenn instead of just one. Anyways in this chapter we meet Norman and Wally, Lana makes a new friend, and the two Loud siblings are reunited. So I hope you enjoy this part as much as I did writing it.
Lana was currently making her way down Route 101 on her way to Oldale Town. Walking by her side was her recently obtained Treecko whom she decided to name Lizzy. The wood gecko Pokemon was clearly nervous though, as it kept jumping at the slightest noise coming from their surroundings. After a while Lana knelt down and gently placed her hand on Lizzy's head.
"Hey, it's okay," she said, "I know you're nervous, I am too. This place is very different from where I originally came from but I promise, if you stay by my side, nothing will hurt you."
"After all," she continued, with a comforting smile on her face, "I doubt there's anything out here that wants to hurt us."
As soon as those words left her mouth, a low growling sound came from the nearby tall grass.
Lizzy squeaked in fear and jumped behind Lana, while the handywoman slowly turned in the direction of the growling.
There just a short distance away was a gray puppy looking pokemon with a black face that had three still healing scratch marks on it. The pokemon was in an aggressive stance and looked like it was ready to pounce at any moment.
"Of course, I could be wrong." said Lana.
Meanwhile with Lincoln and May
The two young trainers were currently standing outside of the Petalburg Gym. The duo had briefly stopped at the Pokemon Center when they arrived in town and, after getting their pokemon healed, had immediately made their way to the gym. Lincoln was nervous, as he was about to have his first gym battle. May was equally nervous as any time her father had seen her hanging out with Lincoln, the man immediately went into overprotective dad mode.
After a moment of building up their courage, the two looked at each other, and steeling their resolve, walked through the door.
Inside was a large nondescript room with an almost as large tatami mat on the floor. Sitting in the middle of the room was the Petalburg Gym Leader and May's father, Norman.
As soon as he saw his daughter a large grin spread across the man's face, but it quickly turned into a frown when she saw who accompanied her.
Truth be told, Norman had nothing against the white haired lad his daughter had befriended, finding him very polite and a good kid. However it was clear as day to him that the two had developed some feelings towards each other and as the girl's father he had to make sure that any potential partners were kept on the up and up. As such he routinely gave Lincoln a hard time just to hammer in the point that the boy had better not hurt his daughter in any way, or else.
May quickly ran to her father and gave him a massive hug as it had been a few weeks since they had last seen each other.
"Dad!" she cried, "It's so good to see you!"
"It's great to see you too, May!" he replied, "I'm sorry for not coming home in a while but I've been dealing with non-stop challengers for weeks now."
"It's fine dad, I get how busy work can be."
As they spoke Lincoln stood off to the side, reluctant to interrupt the small family reunion. After a few more minutes Norman stood up and walked over to the boy.
"Lincoln," he said.
"H-hi, Mr. Norman sir." Lincoln stuttered. "I'm here to challenge you for a badge."
Norman stood silent, looking the boy up and down, paying particular attention to the two pokeballs on his belt.
May looked a bit exasperated as her father stood quietly, getting ready to speak up when Norman said one word.
"No."
Back with Lana
Lana and the Poochyena continued to stare each other down, while Lizzy hid behind her trainer. Seconds ticked by like hours, each side waiting for the other to move, when a loud gurgling sound came from the Bite Pokemon.
Almost immediately the poochyena collapsed, clearly weakened by hunger.
Lana blinked, before slowly approaching the pokemon, Lizzy following close behind.
The Poochyena growled at the approaching girl but it was clear it was in no condition to do anything.
"Hey, it's okay boy," said Lana, "I'm not going to hurt you. Are you hungry? I have some food in my bag that you can have if you want."
Taking off her bag and opening it, she reached inside and pulled out a small container filled with some of her father's Lynnsagna. Taking off the lid, she gently put it down in front of the puppy pokemon.
After sniffing it a few times, the poochyena immediately began eating it with as much gusto as it could manage. A few minutes later it had finished its meal and after licking its lips stared at Lana.
With a small jump the pokemon pounced on Lola, licking her face in affection as the girl giggled.
"Aw, see! I knew you were a good boy!" she said between giggles. Soon the poochyena stopped its 'attack' and sat down at the girl's feet.
Lana stood and waved goodbye to her new friend before continuing on her way to Oldale Town.
"I wish I could take you with me boy, but I don't have any pokeballs or anything." she said.
As she walked away the poochyena sat with a sad look on its face. After a moment it picked itself up and with a smirk began following the little blonde girl.
Petalburg Gym
Lincoln stood in shock. Out of all the responses he expected the gym leader to make, 'No' definitely wasn't one of them.
"What do you mean no?" he asked.
"Why won't you battle Lincoln!?" said May.
Norman looked between the two before sighing and asking one simple question.
"How many badges and Pokemon do you have, Lincoln?"
Lincoln looked a little unsure of what was happening before responding.
"This will be my first badge and I currently have two pokemon."
"I thought as much," said Norman. "In case you were unaware, we Gym leaders have a ranking system based on how strong we are."
Lincoln listened as Norman continued.
"In essence this ranking system could also be considered a guide on what order one should challenge the gyms. I am currently the fourth strongest Gym leader so objectively I should be the fifth gym you challenge."
Lincoln thought for a few minutes. "So which Gym should I challenge first?"
Norman nodded, glad to see the boy was still determined to continue.
"You should challenge the Rustboro City Gym first, then head on to Dewford town after that."
Before Lincoln could ask anymore questions, the door to the gym opened and a frail looking boy the same age as Lincoln and May with green hair walked in. He looked very unsteady on his feet and spoke in a quiet voice.
"E-excuse me," he said, "I-I'd like to get a p-pokemon please."
Norman looked at the newcomer before a look of realization crossed his face.
"Oh right! You're Wally right?"
"Y..yes. I'm supposed to stay with my relatives in Verdanturf Town but I..I thought I'd be lonely, so I want to bring a p..pokemon with me."
Wally then looked a little saddened as he continued.
"B..but I've never caught a p..pokemon by myself before…"
Norman looked a little apprehensive, he was unable to leave the gym in order to help the boy catch a pokemon, before he remembered that Lincoln and May were there.
"Lincoln, May, could you accompany Wally as he catches a Pokemon?" he said.
"Us!?" said Lincoln, surprised.
"Yes. You two already have experience catching Pokemon and I'm currently unable to leave the Gym so you're perfect for the job." said Norman.
Lincoln looked towards Wally, who was looking at the white haired boy with hope. He took no time at all to agree.
"Sure we can help him out," said Lincoln, before turning to Wally. "Wally, was it? Let's head to route 102 to get you a pokemon!"
"Hold up a minute kids!" said Norman, "You should take these with you to make it easier."
He then handed Wally an empty Pokeball as well as a Pokeball with a Zigzagoon in it. The three kids then left the gym and headed to route 102.
As they walked Lincoln and May asked Wally about himself. They soon learned that Wally had been sick on and off since he was a baby and that after a recent bout of serious illness, his family had decided to send him to Verdanturf Town to stay with relatives as the air was much cleaner there than in Petalburg City.
Lincoln and May expressed their condolences, as they could not imagine how lonely that must have been for the boy.
Before long the trio left Petalburg City and re-entered route 102. They stopped at a patch of grass and looked around.
"Okay Wally, "said Lincoln. "All you have to do is look in the tall grass and keep a sharp eye for any Pokemon that may jump out."
"O..okay." said Wally. The sickly boy then stepped carefully into the grass. "L..like this?"
Almost as soon as the boy took the first step, a small cry of anger came from nearby. Stepping out of the tall grass was a Ralts. It glared at the three trainers in anger over someone invading its territory.
Seeing that its hair was green and not blue like his, Lincoln concluded that this was a regular Ralts and not a shiny.
"Careful Wally!" said May, "That Ralts looks very angry!"
Looking nervous, Wally took out one of the pokeballs that Norman had given him and threw it, releasing zigzagoon.
With a small battlecry the zigzagoon ran at the ralts, beginning the battle.
May stood next to Lincoln, the two keeping a careful watch on the other boy.
"I hope this works out," she thought.
Meanwhile
Lana had made it to Oldale Town with zero issue, completely unaware she was being followed by poochyena. After checking the watch to see which direction she should go, she left Oldale Town and entered route 102.
She was in absolute awe at the various types of Pokemon she saw as she walked. As she walked she spoke frequently to Lizzy about all the fun they would have, and of how much she missed her brother.
At one point she stopped to watch as two nearby trainers had a pokemon battle. While it looked like fun she felt a little hesitant to want to take part in one herself, as she felt she couldn't bring herself to allow her new friend to get hurt.
Eventually she saw a sign ahead that indicated that she was close to Petalburg City. Quickening her pace she was about to continue on her way when she noticed a group of people in some nearby grass. It looked like one of them was trying to catch a pokemon while two others watched.
She looked away from the group and was about to continue on her way, when she stopped in shock. Quickly turning back to the group she looked at the two trainers who were watching the battle, particularly the boy that she had thought was wearing a white cap on his head.
Upon close inspection, she realized that what she thought was a cap was actually hair.
White hair.
Checking her watch she noticed the beeping got stronger whenever she pointed it at the boy.
"Lincoln!" she gasped.
"Zigzagoon! Use Tackle!" cried Wally
The zigzagoon ran at the ralts hitting it with a full force tackle. The Ralts still looked defiant but was clearly starting to show weakness as its movements slowed down.
"Wally!" said Lincoln. "I think now's the perfect chance to catch it!"
With a nod, Wally took the empty pokeball Norman had given him. With a look of nervousness Wall threw the pokeball at the ralts, striking it on the top of its head. With a click the ball snapped open drawing the ralts into it where it closed with a snap.
As the ball shook, all three trainers held their breaths in anticipation before, with one final click the ball locked, indicating a successful capture.
Wally looked on in astonishment before picking up the pokeball.
"I..I did it" he said, a grin slowly spreading across his face.
He rushed back to Lincoln and gave him a great big hug, thanking him profusely for his help.
"It's no problem at all," said Lincoln.
"We're happy to help," said May. "Now let's get back to the gym and tell my dad how things went."
The two boys agreed and the three trainers went to turn back towards Petalburg City.
They had only taken a few steps when they were stopped by the sound of someone calling out to them.
"LINCOLN!" the voice cried.
The three turned and saw a small blonde girl running towards them with a Treecko clinging to her back.
While May and Wally looked confused, Lincoln stopped in shock recognizing who was calling out to him.
"Lana!?" he cried in amazement.
When the girl finally reached the group she immediately jumped into Lincoln's arms, knocking the boy down as she cried into his chest.
May looked on concerned while Wally just wondered what was going on.
Lincoln on the other hand was holding his little sister close to him as she cried.
"Lana!? What are you doing here!?" he asked in amazement.
Lana on the other hand, was crying far too much to speak as she held her brother.
She had finally found him.
A/N so the siblings have reunited and Lincoln is currently comforting his little sister. In the next chapter Lincoln will teach Lana how to catch pokemon and the group will start heading to Rustboro city via Petalburg woods where they encounter a serious new threat.
I have also decided to have the group learn about wonder trading once they reach Rustboro so I'll be brainstorming what Pokemon they'll each be receiving via wonder trade as the story progresses. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the latest installment of Pokemon Omega Loud and I can't wait to see ya'll at the next update.
P.S. Dialogue is STILL a bitch.
