Kanto Gets Loud
(Pokemon X Loud House Story)
Chapter 1: Pop-Pop's Proposal
Back at the Loud House,
Lincoln was still moping as the day continued. However, it was when a car, driven by his grandfather, Albert, passed by the house. Albert then saw Lincoln sitting on the front steps, looking quite miserable. Albert then pulled up to the sidewalk in front of the house, "Lincoln, is that you?" Albert called. Lincoln perked up upon seeing his grandfather.
"Hey Pop-Pop," Lincoln greeted, as Albert approached.
"What are you doing outside? Did you forget your keys?" Albert joked, trying to help lift his grandson's mood, but to no avail.
"No. My family locked me outside of the house and has banned me from entering," Lincoln replied.
"Wait, WHAT?!" Albert exclaimed, his normally good mood turning uncharacteristically sour, "Why would they do something like that?!"
"Well, it started a few days ago. After going to several of my sister's activities, I wanted just one day off. However, Lynn insisted that I come to her softball game. She even threatened me with her bat. So I did go, but the game ended in a loss. I went to go commend her for her efforts, saying that she'll get a win next time, and do you know what she did? She actually accused ME of ruining her game, proclaiming that I was bad luck. That's when I got one of the dumbest ideas I ever had: I figured if everyone thought I was bad luck, then I could have plenty of free time to myself. And it worked, albeit a little too well. They soon began to bar me from stuff I would've liked to be a part of, like going to the movies," Lincoln explained.
"Well, did your parents try to stop this whole mess?" Albert asked. Much to his shock, Lincoln shook his head.
"No. They bought into the lie as well. I guess they believe the word of the many over the word of the few," Lincoln replied.
"I see. And what about telling the truth? Did you try that?" Albert asked.
"I did, but they immediately dismissed it, thinking I was trying to make an excuse to come back inside," Lincoln replied. Albert looked like he was trying to take in all of this information. Just then, Van-zilla pulled into the driveway, and almost immediately, Lynn leaped out, her bat in hand, and charged at Lincoln, swinging at the white haired boy.
"Whoa, what are you doing?!" Lincoln exclaimed, dodging each swing.
"SHUT UP, YOU STUPID JINX! YOU RUINED MY CHAMPIONSHIP GAME! SO SIT STILL, AND TAKE YOUR LUMPS LIKE A MAN FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE!" Lynn screamed, taking another swing at her brother, who continued to dodge. From inside Van-zilla, the rest of the family looked on, worried expressions on their faces.
"Maybe we should try to stop this before it gets any worse," Lori suggested.
"Good call," Rita replied, as they got out of the van, and proceeded to try and restrain Lynn, who continued to try and smash Lincoln's head in.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Lynn! I wasn't even at your stupid game!" Lincoln argued.
"LIAR! I lost the championship! I wouldn't have lost unless you were actually there!" Lynn snapped, swinging again.
"Really?! It never occurred to you that maybe the other team had a plan set in place to beat you? Or that your no bathroom rule was hindering your teammate's progress? Or that you're all luck and no skill? Face the facts Lynn; You're acting like nothing shy of a sore looser!" Lincoln ranted. Lynn then screamed with even more rage, as she lunged at Lincoln, who continued to dodge, "Oh man, now she's really mad!" he commented, sensing that things had just gotten worse. Lynn had him cornered, as she went to take another swing, when...
"LYNN LOUD JR., THAT IS QUITE ENOUGH!" the authoritative tone of Albert boomed, causing Lynn to stop dead in her tracks. She looked up to see a disapproving look on her grandfather's face, "Inside, NOW!" he ordered. The Louds all knew that when Albert had that tone, he meant business. The Louds all quickly piled into the Loud House, with Lincoln being last, only to be stopped by his father.
"Sorry sport, but with how your sister's behaving, it may be best for you to stay out here," Lynn Sr. said.
"As much as I disapprove of your father's decision, he does have a point. Just try to bear with it a little longer, Lincoln. I'll get things squared away, and hopefully have you back inside this house where you belong," Albert said, as the door was closed in front of Lincoln. Once again, Lincoln begrudgingly slumped down on the front porch.
Inside the Loud House, in the living room,
Lynn had more or less calmed down, but was still ticked off at her brother. But that wasn't her main concern right now. Albert had all his granddaughters, his daughter and son-in law all seated around the living room, "Now, what's this I hear about you all locking Lincoln out on purpose?" he asked, his tone indicated that he wanted a suitable answer.
"It's because he ruined my softball game against the Lions, which was the first game he had attended all season. Until then, we were dominating the league, until Stinkcoln decided to ruin it with his bad luck!" Lynn Jr. explained.
"And after that, bad things just continued to happen whenever Lincoln was around, so we figured that locking him out was the best course of action," Lori added.
"I see. Well, then, if that's your answer, then I can say this without a bit of guilt: WHAT WERE YOU ALL THINKING?!" he yelled, causing everyone in the room to flinch, "There's no such thing as luck, good or bad! It's just an excuse that people use when things go right or wrong!" Albert declared.
"But he still ruined my game! And as revenge, he had to have jinxed my championship game too!" Lynn Jr. argued.
"Please, Lynn. Whether or not Lincoln was at your game today would not have changed the outcome," Lisa stated.
"And you, Lisa. Why did you, the smartest person in this family, and possibly all of Royal Woods, go along with this whole mess?!" Albert scolded. Lisa remained undeterred.
"It was all apart of a social experiment. After Lincoln purposely destroyed Lori's clubs and was banned from her golf tournament, I became curious as to why someone who thinks rationally would suddenly give in to such nonsense as superstitions. So, the nature of this experiment was to see how far the rest of the family would take this mess before the consequences reared their ugly head. That, and Lincoln got into this mess by himself, so he had to get out of it himself," Lisa explained. Her high and mighty attitude quickly faded when Albert simply facepalmed, signaling his disappointment with Lisa.
"Lisa, if you knew Lincoln was fibbing about being bad luck, then you should've tried to convince your family of that fact!" Albert yelled.
"Except Stinkcoln didn't lie, and he IS bad luck! Therefore, as punishment for ruining my championship game, I vote in favor of sending him to live with Great Aunt Ruth! Maybe rubbing those disgusting feet of hers and eating moldy pudding will teach him not to ruin our activities, especially MY sports games!" Lynn declared.
"Maybe it would be best to send Lincoln away. After all, we don't know what more trouble his bad luck could bring to this house," Lynn Sr. stated, worrying about what his family's well being.
"Lynn, did you not hear what we said?! All this bad luck hoo-ha is nothing more than just superstitious bullshit!" Albert yelled at his son-in-law.
"Sorry Albert, but if his sisters say he's bad luck, then it has to be true," Lynn Sr. stated, remaining an anchored ship to his beliefs. Once again, Albert facepalmed.
"I literally see no problem with sending that twerp away. The less I have to worry about my dates with Bobby getting ruined, the better," Lori said nonchalantly. One by one, each of the Loud Sisters voiced their approval for Lynn's suggestion. Albert could tell he wasn't going to get through to them anytime soon, until he thought of something. A sly look worked his way onto his face.
"Well, if I can't stop you from making more of a big deal out of this ridiculous mess, then maybe I can convince you of sending him somewhere else?" he suggested. Lynn Jr. was quick to reject.
"No way! Stinkcoln ruined my game, so he has to be punished thoroughly! I want him to suffer the same way he made me suffer!" she declared.
"Whoa, that's way harsh, dude," Luna commented.
"Now hold on. Let's hear Dad out on this," Rita suggested.
"I have an old buddy I met back during my shore leave during the war over on an island just off the coast of Japan. I was thinking he could take in Lincoln," Albert explained.
"What does your buddy do, exactly?" Rita asked, suddenly sounding unsure about sending her son away.
"He's a researcher who studies the wildlife in that particular region. My thoughts were that Lincoln could help him out with his research," Albert explained.
"You mean like zoology?" Lana asked.
"In a way, yes. The animals that Lincoln will be encountering will not be the typical dogs, cats or birds that you're all used to," Albert replied.
"Girls, you're all dismissed to your rooms," Rita said.
"But we want to hear what Pop-Pop has in mind," Lola replied.
"Your mother asked you to do something, so do it," Albert calmly said, but the Loud Sisters easily picked up the authority in his voice, and did as they were told. When they were all back upstairs, the Loud Parent's then turned to the old man.
"Ok Dad, so what's this all about?" Rita asked.
"Well, if I can't convince you that this bad luck garbage is all just a bunch of crap, then I might as well play along with you. Think of it this way, if Lincoln's all the way across the world, then Junior has absolutely no excuse to blame him for anything, whether it be bad luck or something that's actually sensible. And while Lincoln is gone, I expect BOTH of you to get control of ALL your daughters, NO exceptions," Albert stated.
"O-Ok, but who exactly is this researcher friend of yours?" Lynn Sr. asked with a gulp.
"He goes by the name Samuel Oak. He's a trusted friend of mine. We've stayed in touch for years. We can do a video call with him, but I want Lincoln to meet him as well," Albert said, his tone indicating he wasn't going to argue. Rita then went over to the front door, and opened it.
"Lincoln, sweetie? Can you come in? We have something we need to discuss with you," Rita requested.
"Finally, sanity prevails!" Lincoln exclaimed, as he entered the house for the first time in days, "So, have you managed to get it through to Lynn that bad luck isn't real?" he asked.
"I'm afraid she was too stubborn to accept that Lincoln. But, I was able to reach an agreement with your folks," Albert replied. Lincoln then looked up at his grandfather, perplexed.
"What do you mean?" Lincoln asked.
"First, before we begin, let me ask you something? How would feel about going on a sort of vacation, all by yourself?" Albert asked.
"A vacation? Where to?" Lincoln asked.
"Well, here's the thing; I have a friend over on a small region just off the coast of Japan. What I was proposing to your family was having you go there to have a little... zoological expedition," Albert explained.
"Over in Japan? That seems awfully far," Lincoln commented.
"I know it is, but that's where you get a sort of a win-win. Not only will this provide a chance for Junior to come to terms with the fact that bad luck doesn't exist, but you may end up finding your own special talent, just like your sisters," Albert explained. Lincoln took a moment to mull this over. If he were all the way on the other end of the world, then Lynn wouldn't have any excuse to blame him for anything going wrong. Not to mention, having some kind of talent that would get him a legitimate trophy in the trophy case didn't sound too bad either.
"Well, in that case, I'm in," Lincoln replied.
"Great! But before anything else, we're going to do a video call with my friend," Albert said, as Lynn Sr. finished setting things up on the computer, "Now, I'll just punch in his phone number," Albert said, as he punched in the number, and hit dial. A few seconds passed before the other end picked up, showing the back of an old man in a lab coat.
"Ah, Albert, so good to hear from you again. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" the old man asked.
"Uh, Samuel? You've got the wrong camera again," Albert chuckled. The old man then looked behind him, before fiddling with the controls at the computer he was at.
"Oh, this always happens!" Professor Oak grumbled, as the screen turned to static, before his face was displayed on the screen, "Sorry about that. Now then, what's up?" the professor asked.
"I understand that some of the kids from Pallet Town that your sponsoring are going to be heading out in a few days, yes?" Albert asked.
"Indeed. Of course, I do have one more slot open for another candidate," Professor Oak replied.
"Well, then I may have a potential candidate here that you might be interested in," Albert said, as he brought Lincoln into sight, "This is my grandson, Lincoln Loud, and he has shown an interest in becoming a Pokemon Trainer, and his parents, Rita and Lynn Loud Sr. Lincoln, this is Professor Samuel Oak, the researcher friend I told you about," Albert explained.
"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Lincoln," Professor Oak said.
"Likewise, Professor," Lincoln replied.
"Uh, is there something we're missing here? What in the world is a 'Pokemon'?" Lynn Sr. asked.
"Well, I'll give a brief explanation. You see, in certain parts of the world lives an innumerable amount of fantastic creatures known as 'Pokemon'. They inhabit forests, fields, mountains, lakes, rivers, oceans, and even take up residence in sprawling cities. For some, Pokemon are treated as friends and family, but they can be more than just pets. Pokemon Trainers, which is what Lincoln has voiced his interest in becoming, compete against one another in Pokemon Battles for honor and glory," Professor Oak explained, as he held up a red and white ball, before tossing it up, releasing what appeared to be a living rock creature with arms, "This Pokemon, Geodude, is just one example of the many different species you'll encounter and battle," he explained.
"Wait, so these trainers actually have these Pokemon things fight one another? I'm not too sure how I feel about that," Rita commented.
"Perfectly understandable, but you needn't worry. There are plenty of rules in place to keep things from going too far. Besides, battling is how Pokemon become stronger," Professor Oak explained. Rita still seemed unsure, but it was Lincoln who asked the next question.
"So, what exactly does a Pokemon Trainer do?" he asked.
"Well, they can catch Pokemon to help bolster their teams, and they go around and battle other trainers. Of course, there is a large scale tournament held once a year that trainers are able to enter called the 'Pokemon League', but in order to participate, trainers must accumulate a minimum number of badges from various gyms scattered throughout the region. In the case of Kanto, where I live, trainers must collect a total of 8 gym badges to qualify," Professor Oak explained.
"I see," Lincoln replied.
"That being said, there are other activities that trainers may participate in, such as Pokemon Contests, where trainers show off their Pokemon in as flashy a way as possible, and the Pokeathelon, which is a big sports event for trainers," Professor Oak added.
"Ok, I think I get the picture," Lincoln replied.
"Though before you can be given a trainer's license, it is recommended that you attend at least one semester of Pokemon School to learn the basics," Professor Oak added.
"Are these semesters the same length as regular schools, or...?" Lincoln asked. Professor Oak chuckled.
"Not to worry. I can get you into a course that can help you learn the basics quickly and easily," Professor Oak replied.
"So, will you let Lincoln try out?" Albert asked.
"I see no reason why he can't. I would be more than happy to sponsor him. So, when and where shall I pick him up?" Professor Oak asked.
"How about 10 AM at the Detroit Airport?" Albert suggested.
"That sounds reasonable. I'll see you then," Professor Oak said, as he hung up.
"Alright, we got a lot of things to do before tomorrow. We'll have to get some clothes for Lincoln to wear while he's in Kanto, as well as plenty of camping gear," Albert said.
"Oh, we'll have to get that stuff from the garage. We moved everything out of Lincoln's bedroom when we sealed it up," Lynn Sr. stated. He and Rita were met with scowls from both Albert and Lincoln.
"I expect ALL of my stuff to be back in my room EXACTLY how it was before you decided to seal it off," Lincoln stated coldly, causing his parents to flinch.
"I'll be taking Lincoln to meet with Professor Oak in the morning. That will give you and the girls plenty of time to put his room back the way you found it," Albert stated, once again, causing both Loud Parents to flinch, "Lincoln, go out to my car. I'll bring your clothes when we're done collecting them," he ordered. Lincoln did so, and exited the Loud House, followed closely by the adults, who made their way over to the garage. Opening it, Albert immediately saw some boxes labeled "To be donated." Much to his disappointment, both Rita and Lynn Sr. went over to them, "I can't believe this... You two were actually going to donate all of Lincoln's stuff without his consent?!" Albert yelled, while still trying to keep his voice down.
"Well, the girls suggested that we do it, since they said they have no need for any of Lincoln's belongings," Lynn Sr. replied. Albert pinched the bridge of his nose, before noticing a distinct lack of furniture.
"And what of Lincoln's furniture?" Albert asked, bracing himself for another idiotic response.
"Junior convinced us to sell it, since it was tainted with Lincoln's bad luck," Rita replied.
"Once we're done here, bring me the money you got from the sale," Albert ordered.
"Yes sir," Rita replied. She knew when her father spoke like that, it was best not to argue with him.
"And after you unseal his room, you are to purchase new furniture for him, and leave his room unsealed," Albert added.
"Well, I suppose there goes our trip to the beach," Lynn Sr. commented, as they got the last of Lincoln's clothes that he would need.
"Personally, I don't think you or your daughters deserve to go to the beach after this inexcusable way you've treated one of your own," Albert stated. Rita then returned with a stack of cash, which Albert then confiscated.
"Words cannot even begin to describe how disappointed I am with the two of you and your daughters. The next time I come over for a visit, I expect all this bad luck garbage to be in the garbage, where it belongs, and each and every one of your daughters to be thoroughly disciplined, Junior especially," Albert said, as he collected the clothes, and took them to his car.
"Where'd you get that cash, Pop-Pop?" Lincoln asked, seeing the wad of cash.
"I convinced your folks to give you a little spending cash while you're in Kanto. This is just to start you off," Albert replied, as they drove off. As they watched Albert's car disappear from view, both Rita and Lynn Sr. couldn't help but think that they had made a tremendous mistake in being a part of this whole mess.
"Albert said we have to go and buy some new furniture for Lincoln's bedroom, and that it's to go unsealed until he gets back," Lynn Sr. said.
"Ok," Rita solemnly replied, as they went back into the house.