A/N Hey all and welcome to Chapter 10 of Pokemon Omega Loud! We've officially made it into the double-digits. I'm so happy to be writing story and I'm absolutely thrilled that all of you enjoy it so much. Anyways in this chapter the group will meet a researcher in need of help and will have their first encounter with a threat working behind the scenes.
I've also thrown in a quick snippet about Lincoln and Lana catching some non-native to Hoenn Pokemon. They are able to be caught during the post game content in the games but I figured it would make more sense for them to already be found in Hoenn rather than them just randomly spawning like..well...like a video game.
It's been two days since the group had their encounter with the flock of Taillow and they were making excellent progress through Petalburg Woods. During their trek, Lincoln and Co. managed to train up their Pokemon a bit more and had managed to add more members to their teams with Lincoln having caught a Phantump and Lana having caught a Paras. Both Lincoln and May were surprised when they encountered the two, as neither species was native to Hoenn. However, there had been reports lately about sightings of non-native Pokemon appearing across Hoenn, something that Professor Birch was greatly interested in.
Either way Lucy and Lisa were quite pleased when the two Pokemon were sent to Royal Woods so that Lisa could look after them. Currently Lincoln's team consisted of Lynn the Torchic, Ralts, the lead Taillow from before now named Wrath, two Zigzagoon, and a Wingull. Lana, on the other hand, still only had Lizzy the Treecko, Scar the Poochyena, and Wormy the Cascoon.
Meanwhile May was a bit more selective with what Pokemon she wanted on her team, thinking about which ones would make good contest competitors. She knew Mudkip could create dazzling displays with his water based abilities and once her Silcoon evolved into a Beautifly, it would captivate audiences with its beauty. So for now she was content with what she had on hand but if she encountered any Pokemon that had good contest potential she'd be sure to snatch them up.
At the moment, Lincoln was helping Lana to get Lizzy's confidence up as its timid nature was preventing it from gaining more experience, since it refused to battle due to being too scared.
"Lizzy! Use Leafage!" yelled Lana.
"Ralts! Use Double Team!" cried Lincoln.
Lizzy leapt forward swinging her tail, causing a small leaf-filled tornado to spawn which blew towards Ralts. Before it could connect, however, Ralts began quickly moving about the field creating a series of after images.
Unfortunately, one of the doubles appeared right in front of Lizzy, causing the Treecko to let out a squeak of fear and making it run and hide behind Lana. The two trainers let out a sigh of resignation, knowing full well that Lizzy's training was done for the day as it would take Lana quite a while to get the Treecko to battle again.
"It's okay Lizzy, we'll just try again later ok?" said Lana as she comforted her starter.
"I wish there was an easier way to get her confidence up but aside from battle there isn't much we can do," said Lincoln.
May stood nearby watching the two siblings try to calm down the scared lizard Pokemon. She began walking towards the two as they talked between themselves.
"Hey, Lincoln?" said Lana.
"Yes, Lana?" he replied.
"I've been meaning to ask," she began, "but how come you've been catching doubles of some Pokemon like Zigzagoon and Taillow?"
"Actually, I've been wondering that also." said May as she approached, "Most trainers usually only catch one of each Pokemon."
"Well," said Lincoln. "There's a new trade machine that's been installed in Rustboro's Pokemon Center that I want to try out, where you can put in a Pokemon and get a random Pokemon from somewhere else on the planet in return."
"Oh I've heard of that!" said May, "It's called Wonder Trading! Aren't all the Pokemon Centers getting those machines though?"
"They are," replied Lincoln, "But Rustboro got theirs first, so I want to do some Wonder Trading when we finally get there. The other Centers should be getting theirs by the end of the month."
Lincoln and Lana each got off the ground with Lana recalling Lizzy to her Pokeball. While they had been talking, Lincoln's Ralts had been slowly chasing after some bugs that had been flying around the clearing. When the trio finally noticed, Ralts seemed to have a perplexed look on her face as some light shone through the trees above them, creating a shimmering pattern on the ground.
As they watched, the Feeling Pokemon quickly tried to grab the light, becoming more and more confused when it couldn't catch it.
Lana giggled, amused by the admittedly adorable sight. "Ya know. Ralts kinda reminds me of Leni. She gets confused by light too."
Lincoln chuckled in agreement, before recalling Ralts to her Pokeball. The three trainers soon continued on the path to Rustboro City, chatting as they did. Before long discussion turned back to their Pokemon and what they could do to both help Lizzy gain more confidence as well as what Pokemon May should keep an eye out for for her team.
Eventually, as the trio was walking across a grassy field, they became distracted by a rustle noise. Turning towards the sound, the group watched as a line of small, yellow and green mushroom Pokemon came marching out of the grass. They had round bodies with the top half resembling a yellow mushroom cap with green spots while their bottom halves were green with two stubby legs. They all had stern, almost angry expressions on their faces, but they ignored the trainers as they walked across the path.
Intrigued, Lincoln took out his Pokedex and pointed it at the Pokemon.
Shroomish, the Mushroom Pokemon, Shroomish live in damp soil in the dark depths of forests. They are often found keeping still under fallen leaves. This Pokémon feeds on compost that is made up of fallen, rotted leaves.
The Shroomish continued on their way, walking into the tall grass on the other side of the path. The three trainers looked at each other before shrugging and continuing on their way. They soon came upon a shadowy trail covered in trees.
Looking around the base of the trees was a man in a white lab coat with glasses. As the group approached they could hear him muttering to himself.
"Hmmm, not a one to be found," he said.
Hearing the approaching trainers, the researcher looked up. Straightening themselves out, the researcher walked towards the group.
"Excuse me!" he said. "Have any of you seen any Pokemon called Shroomish around here? I really love that Pokemon."
"Actually yeah we have." said May. "There was a small group of them in the grassy field just a bit back down the path." She then pointed back the way they had come.
Before they could do anything else however, the three trainers and the researcher were startled when the sound of something rushing through the undergrowth towards them was soon heard.
Turning towards the noise they were surprised to see a man in an all red outfit approached them. He appeared to be wearing a red striped bodysuit underneath red shorts and a red hooded crop top. His hands and feet were adorned with red gauntlets and boots and his hood had two small black horns on top. Finally, on his chest was a stylised M shaped insignia and a yellow belt across his waist.
"There you are!" he yelled as he marched towards them. " I was going to ambush you as you left, but you had to dawdle in Petalburg Woods forever didn't you?!"
The man approached the researcher exclaiming as he did "I got sick of waiting, so here I am!" Poking the researcher in the chest, he got right in the researcher's face before continuing. "You! Devon Researcher! Hand over those blasted papers!"
The researcher screamed in fear before running and hiding behind Lincoln and Co.
"You kids are Pokemon Trainers right?" he cried, "You've got to help me! Please!"
The three trainers stepped between the man and the researcher.
"Look, I don't really know what's going on," Lincoln said, "But he clearly doesn't want to give you whatever papers he's got, understand?"
"Yeah, buzz off!" said Lana.
The man looked at the group surprised and puzzled.
"Hunh?" He said, "What do you think you're doing? What, you brats gonna protect him?"
He then takes out a Pokeball, getting into a battle stance.
"No one who crosses Team Magma deserves any mercy! Not even some snot nosed brats!"
The Magma Grunt then tossed his Pokeball, releasing a Poochyena and ordering it to use Bite.
"Lana! May! Protect the researcher!" cried Lincoln, "I'll deal with this guy."
With that Lincoln sent out Ralts and had her use Double Team. As the doubles appeared across the battlefield the Poochyena tried to Bite each one, failing each time it did so. Yelling in frustration the Magma Grunt ordered his Poochyena to use Howl to boost its attack.
"Ralts! Use Disarming Voice!" said Lincoln.
"Dodge and use Roar!" cried the Grunt.
The Poochyena leapt over the soundwaves produced by Ralts' Disarming Voice, before opening its mouth and letting out a fearsome Roar.
Ralts screamed in fear before being returned to her Pokeball. Before anyone could do anything else the Pokeball on Lana's belt that contained Lizzy opened with a pop as Lizzy took Ralts place. The poor Lizard Pokemon looked around clearly startled by her sudden release. When it noticed the Poochyena it squeaked in fear before falling to the ground and covering herself with her tail.
"Poochyena! Use Bite!" cried the Grunt.
The Poochyena leapt into the air, opening its mouth as far as it could before clamping its jaws onto Lizzy's tail and whipping her into the base of a nearby tree.
"No! LIZZY!" yelled Lana. The young girl ran forward trying to get to Lizzy and the Poochyena before the Bite Pokemon could ready another attack. Once again the Poochyena opened its mouth as it lunged towards Lizzy. The Treecko just stared in fear as the Poochyena got closer and closer and as it reached the Lizard Pokemon, Lizzy closed her eyes in fear.
When no pain came Lizzy slowly opened her eyes only to see her trainer standing in front of her, her arm in the Poochyena's mouth.
Gritting her teeth in pain, Lana looked over her shoulder at Lizzy and gave her a gentle smile.
"Are you okay Lizzy?" she asked, "Did he hurt you?"
Lizzy just stared at her trainer in awe, amazed that she would do something so courageous. Hearing malicious laughter, everyone turned towards the grunt who continued to laugh as he pointed at Lizzy.
"HAAHAHA! What a joke!" he laughed, "What kind of Pokemon is too scared to battle!? If I were you I'd ditch it as soon as possible kid!"
Lincoln moved to attack the Grunt but May held him back as Lana began shouting back at the Grunt.
"I don't care if she's not great at battling!" she cried, "She's my friend and I'll always care for her especially if she's scared!"
Lizzy continued to stare at Lana, remembering how friendly and caring the girl has been since they met. As the Grunt continued to make fun of Lana, Lizzy began to grit her teeth with each insult.
"This is stupid!" said the Grunt, "Poochyena put them BOTH out of their misery, use Bite at full power."
The Poochyena made to leap back in order to attack, releasing Lana's arm in the process. But as soon as Lana was free, a green blur flashed between Lana and the Poochyena, knocking the Poochyena to the ground.
To everyone's surprise, Lizzy stood in front of Lana, a look of grim determination on her face. Looking back at her trainer, Lizzy gave Lana the same reassuring smile that moments before Lana had given her.
A grin spread across Lana's face as Lizzy turned back to the Poochyena and glared at the Bite Pokemon.
"All right!" Lana cried. "Lizzy! Use Leafage!"
With that Lizzy turned and swept her tail through the air, creating a leaf filled blast of wind that flew across the battlefield, hitting the Poochyena in the face.
"Grr, Lucky brat!" the Grunt growled, "Poochyena get in there and use Bite one more time!"
The Poochyena began running towards Lizzy with a look of anger on its face. Before it could make contact however Lizzy dodged out of the way and knocked it back with her tail.
"Lizzy use Mega Drain!" yelled Lana.
Lizzy rushed forward before Poochyena could recover from its failed attack. She began whipping her tail back and forth as it began to glow with a green light. With each strike of her tail, the Poochyena's health began to be siphoned into Lizzy healing her wounds and damaging the Poochyena.
"Finish it with Pound!" cried Lana.
With that Lizzy turned and slammed her tail into the Poochyena's face with as much force as she could manage, creating a massive dust cloud that obscured the field. As the dust settled all involved were quiet as they waited to see who was still standing. When the dust finally cleared, Lizzy was standing at the edge of a small crater. In the middle of the crater lay Poochyena, its head embedded in the ground.
Everyone stood in shock before Lana, Lincoln, and May let out a loud cheer. Lana then ran forward and scooped Lizzy up into a massive hug as the Grunt recalled his Poochyena. The group of trainers turned towards the Grunt as he spoke.
"Grrr..You've got some nerve messing with Team Magma!" he growled, "I'll let this slide for now but next time you butt into our business you'll regret it! So just stay out of our business in Rustboro!"
With that the Grunt turned and ran down the path soon disappearing from sight. Lincoln immediately went to check on Lana's arm, sighing in relief to find it wasn't too badly injured. Lana on the other hand was still busy hugging and congratulating Lizzy on what would hopefully be her first victory. As Lana was praising her Lizzy began rubbing her head against Lana's side making happy sounding noises.
Soon the trio's attention was directed towards the Researcher as he approached the group thanking them profusely.
"That was close," he said, "I'm so grateful for the help. If you kids hadn't shown up when you did I would have been done for."
"Thank goodness he didn't manage to get his hands on my research papers," he continued. "Oh here take this as thanks for helping me out."
The researcher then reached into his pocket and handed Lincoln a small golden ball roughly the size of a golf ball.
"Wow, a nugget!" said May.
"Here, Let me heal up your Pokemon as well," said the Researcher.
Soon all the group's Pokemon were as healthy as could be. The three trainers and the researcher began to chat when the researcher suddenly gasped in shock.
"Wait! Didn't he say that Team Magma thug say they were after something in Rustboro City?!" he cried. "Oh no! It's a crisis! I can't waste any more time!"
With that the researcher took off running in the same direction the Magma Grunt had gone in. As he disappeared into the trees the group looked at each other before giving one another yet another shrug.
"What an odd guy" said Lana
-=o=-
Meanwhile in Royal Woods, Lisa was examining the mushrooms on the back of Lana's Paras. She had already determined that the spores each mushroom produced had a variety of effects but could also be used to create a very potent medicine. As she worked, she jumped as her door slammed open and was rapidly shut.
Lisa turned and was shocked to see Lynn Jr. with her back to the door, white as a sheet. Next to her looking nearly as scared was Luan and Lynn Sr.
It didn't take Lisa long to figure out what was happening as she let out an exasperated sigh.
"Let me guess." she lisped. "Lucy and Phantump have continued to cause you all to have an exaggerated adrenaline flight response or in layman's terms fear."
Both Lynn's nodded while Luan did her best to come up with a pun based on the situation, but before a word could come out of her mouth, a low wailing sound emanated from all around them as a dark shadow grew at their feet. As red eyes began glowing from deep within the shadow the Louds (minus Lisa) screamed in horror as they tried to open the door. After a brief scramble the three Louds managed to get the door open, only to come to a screeching halt when they came face to face with Lucy.
After another scream of horror, both Lynn's and Luan collapsed in a heap, their eyes rolled back into their heads and their mouths foaming.
Lisa just gave another sigh as Lucy and Phantump stood over their unconscious family members.
"While I'm glad that you are having fun dear sister, might I ask that you please refrain from causing our family to interrupt my research."
Lucy looked at her little sister before motioning Phantump to come with her.
"No promises." she said as she left Lisa to her research.
A/N So the group has finally encountered Team Magma and Lizzy has gained some much needed confidence from her trainer. In the next chapter the group will finally reach Rustboro City where they will check out the sites before Lincoln tries to win his first badge.
