Disclaimer: We don't own Loud House or Pokemon. All rights to Loud House belong to Nickelodeon. All rights to Pokemon belong to Nintendo and Game Freak.
Diamond in the Rufflet (Part Two)
Early the next morning at the Pokemon Center; the nurse was heading to the recovery ward to check on Rufflet.
"Time to see how our little patient is doing." said the nurse. She soon reaches the room and heads inside; and to her surprise, Rufflet wasn't on the bed.
'Where's Rufflet?!' the nurse asked herself. She then goes through all the rooms in the Pokemon Center in search of it; she soon reaches the room where Lincoln, Kiawe, and Sophocles were still asleep and looks inside; upon further investigation, she sees, to her relief; Rufflet sleeping on Lincoln's chest.
As the nurse enters the room, her footsteps wake Lincoln up a bit, who looks to see the nurse looking at him.
"Alola, ma'am." said Lincoln. "Is something wrong?" The nurse smiles as she points to Rufflet sleeping on his chest, making him gasp in surprise. The other boys wake up in response and look to see Rufflet sleeping on Lincoln as well.
"What's Rufflet doing here?" asked Sophocles. Rufflet slowly wakes up and sees everyone looking at him.
"It seems that Rufflet here is attached to your friend here." said the nurse as she picks up Rufflet and examines him.
"How's Rufflet doing?" asked Lincoln.
"It seems his injuries are fully healed, but I'll need to take some x-rays to make sure there are no internal ones we're not aware of." said the nurse. She then carries Rufflet to the examination room with the boys following after her. As they passed by Mallow, Lillie, and Alola Lana's room, the door opens, and the girls stick their heads outside.
"Alola, everyone." said Lillie.
"Alola." Kiawe replies.
"What's going on?" asked Alola Lana. The boys tell them about Rufflet sleeping in their room last night. After that, the group go to the examination room where they watch Rufflet under some sort of scanning device that is used to check for internal injuries. Five minutes later, the nurse and Rufflet come out.
"Rufflet is going to be just fine." said the nurse.
"That's a relief." said Lincoln. A growling was soon heard from Rufflet's stomach.
"I think this little one is hungry." said the nurse with a chuckle.
"I guess it is time for breakfast." said Mallow. Soon, the group was in the cafeteria where they, along with their Pokemon and Rufflet, were eating. Once everyone was done, the group exits the Pokemon Center, with Rufflet following them outside.
"So, what are you going to do now, Rufflet?" Lincoln asked. A look of determination appears on Rufflet's face, and he starts heading north towards Route 3.
"You don't suppose he's going to try battling those Spearow again, do you?" asked Sophocles.
"I'm guessing his pride won't allow him to accept being beaten by them so easily." said Kiawe. Lincoln then runs over to Rufflet and stands in his path.
"Rufflet, wait." said Lincoln. "You shouldn't just go picking fights right away; you just got done recovering from the last fight." Rufflet squawks in protest.
"I don't think anything's going to stop him from wanting a rematch with those Spearow." said Kiawe. Lincoln thinks for a bit and has an idea.
"How about I help you train first before you take them on?" suggested Lincoln, surprising his friends and Rufflet.
"Train Rufflet?" replied Lillie.
"Are you sure?" asked Alola Lana.
"I'm not certain if it'll guarantee victory, but it should give Rufflet a better chance." said Lincoln. "And that nurse said he has a lot of power, but not a lot of real practice with it." Rufflet looks as if he's thinking it over, and soon nods in acceptance of Lincoln's offer.
"I'm thinking that's a 'yes'." said Kiawe.
"Then it's a deal." said Lincoln. "We should train in this area for a while to give Rufflet more experience."
"Yeah, it should have a comparably easier time with the Pokemon in this area." said Sophocles.
"What attacks does Rufflet know?" asked Mallow. Lincoln thinks back to yesterday to that battle Rufflet had.
"I saw him strike with his wing, so I'm guessing he knows Wing Attack." said Lincoln.
"And he did a barrage of jabs also so I think he might know Fury Attack." said Lillie.
"And some flying type Pokemon do know Peck so it's possible that Rufflet knows that move." said Mallow. Lincoln kneels towards Rufflet.
"Do you know those attacks?" asked Lincoln. Rufflet nods in response, indicating that he did. "What other moves do you know?" Rufflet glares hard at Lincoln, making him nervous.
"I think he might know Leer." said Mallow as she laughs, making Rufflet nod in response.
"Are those all your moves?" asked Lincoln. Rufflet nods, indicating that they were. "Let's get started." The group look through some tall grass and came across a Makuhita.
"Rufflet should have an easy time against it." said Kiawe. "Flying types have an advantage against fighting types."
"Okay, then." said Lincoln as he steps forward.
"Go for it, Lincoln." said Sophocles.
"Rufflet, use Peck attack!" said Lincoln. Rufflet quickly flies at the Makuhita and jabs his beak towards it as fast as he could, but he struck too soon and the attack misses. The Makuhita responds by ramming its body into Rufflet, knocking him back. Rufflet tries again multiple times, but the result was the same as before.
"He's attacking while too far from its target and too quickly." said Kiawe.
"Rufflet." said Lincoln, getting its attention. "Don't be too hasty; wait until you're close enough to your target, aim carefully, then strike." Rufflet looks at Lincoln for a few seconds before nodding. He flies at the Makuhita again, and this time, following Lincoln's advice, he jabs his beak at Makuhita, this time hitting it, doing super effective damage.
"Direct hit!" said Mallow.
"Do it again but try and aim and attack faster." said Lincoln. Rufflet does this and manages to hit the Makuhita a bit sooner than before, doing more super effective damage. The Makuhita then flings sand into Rufflet's eyes.
"That's Sand Attack!" said Alola Lana.
"Rufflet, use Peck one more time!" said Lincoln. Rufflet strikes Makuhita with his beak, managing to hit it, doing super effective damage, and knocking it onto its back. Lincoln takes out an empty pokeball and throws it at the Makuhita, hitting it and sucking it in; the pokeball wiggles a few times before clicking.
"Way to go, Rufflet!" said Mallow. Lincoln goes to Rufflet and picks it up in a hug.
"You were great, Rufflet." said Lincoln. His Makuhita's pokeball disappears to storage, and Lincoln decides to look up its information. "This says that Makuhita is a girl, she knows Tackle, Focus Energy, Sand Attack, and Arm Thrust; she has the Guts ability which makes her moves stronger if she has a status condition."
"So, what now?" asked Lillie.
"I'll help Rufflet practice with his other moves for a while, and then we'll see what happens from there." said Lincoln. He spends a few hours helping Rufflet train by battling whatever Pokemon they came across. He also had his Pokemon help Rufflet practice his dodging by using attacks on him, but slowly, with their speed increasing as his dodging skills improve.
Soon, Lincoln and Rufflet were staring down a bipedal, cream-colored Pokemon that had brown ears, a brown ring around its neck, brown stripes around its wrists and ankles, what looked like a beret on its head, and a tail that looked like a paintbrush at the end of it. Lincoln was checking it out on his Rotom Phone.
"Smeargle, the Painter Pokemon. The fluid of Smeargle's tail secretions changes in the intensity of its hue as the Pokémon's emotions change." said the Rotom Phone.
"Okay, Rufflet; use Leer!" said Lincoln. Rufflet glares harshly at the Smeargle, making its defense weaker. Smeargle responds by waving its tail around, making a green pencil appear and circle around Rufflet. Smeargle then glares harshly back at Rufflet, also making his defense weaker.
"That must've been Sketch." said Lillie. "It lets Smeargle copy and learn the last attack used on it."
"So, it knows Leer now?" asked Lincoln.
"Yeah, but it can only use Sketch once; after that, it can't learn anything else until it learns it again." said Mallow.
"Rufflet, use Fury Attack!" said Lincoln. As Rufflet flew at Smeargle, he scrapes his talons together, sharpening them as he does.
"I think Rufflet just learned Hone Claws!" said Mallow. "That move will increase his power and accuracy."
"Awesome!" said Lincoln. Rufflet then strikes Smeargle repeatedly with precise jabs from his beak, knocking it to the ground. Lincoln then takes out an empty pokeball and throws it at the Smeargle, hitting it, and sucking it in; the pokeball wiggles a few times before clicking.
"Good one, Lincoln." said Sophocles. Lincoln looks up his new Smeargle's information.
"This says Smeargle is a boy, and the only move he knows is the Leer attack it copied, and he has the Own Tempo ability which prevents him from being confused." said Lincoln.
"Hey, I think it's almost lunchtime." said Mallow. Lincoln's stomach growls in response.
"My stomach seems to think so, too." said Lincoln, making everyone, including Rufflet, laugh in response.
"Then let's get something to eat." said Lillie. The group then head back to the Pokemon Center, with Rufflet walking side-by-side with Lincoln.
End of Chapter 20
Pokemon that Lincoln has with him: Torracat (M), Pikachu (F), Rockruff (M), Ekans (F), Misdreavus (F) Crabrawler (F)
Pokemon in Lincoln's collection: Torracat (M), Grubbin (M), Pikachu (F), Rockruff (M), Ekans (F), Misdreavus (F), Crabrawler (F), Zubat (F) Noibat (F), Makuhita (F), and Smeargle (M)