A/N Hey all and welcome to the newest chapter of Pokemon Omega Loud! Sorry for the late update but my health took a turn, leaving me unable to update until now. As such I'll probably be moving away from a set update schedule and will begin to update whenever I can which could mean multiple chapters one week if I'm feeling ok, to maybe only one chapter a month if I'm feeling worse.
Anyways, in this chapter our heroes will be exploring the ship turned nature preserve known as Sea Mauville and have a run in with someone from the past. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did writing it!
Once again we find our heroes on the deck of the S.S. Wingull. As the ship powered through the surf, Lincoln, Lana, and May were keeping themselves busy, with Lincoln and Lana taking care of their Pokemon and May doing some sunbathing.
At one point, Lana looked off in the direction they were moving and noticed something curious coming closer. To her it looked like a derelict ship that was covered in all manner of vegetation, from trees to shrubs and even a few areas around the ship that were filled with mangrove trees.
"What's that?" she asked, getting the other two trainers' attention.
Lincoln looked in the direction his sister was pointing, seeing the approaching vessel.
"Oh," he said, recognizing the ship. "That's Sea Mauville. It's an old abandoned research facility that's been turned into a nature preserve."
Lana's eyes widened in delight. "Do you think we have time to stop and check it out?"
Lincoln thought for a minute, estimating how much of a detour this trip would take.
"I don't see why not." he said, "The Slateport Contest isn't for another few days and we're ahead of schedule."
After discussing the idea between themselves, Lincoln asked Mr. Briney to dock near the abandoned vessel. Pulling alongside it, the three young trainers quickly changed into their swimwear before they made to disembark. As they were about to leave, Mr. Briney approached carrying three oxygen tanks and some scuba equipment including some waterproof headlamps.
"Hold on a second, children." he said as he approached. "Parts of the ship are underwater so you can borrow this equipment while you explore.
"But we don't know how to use this stuff," said Lana.
Mr. Briney gave them a quick lesson on how to use the regulators and oxygen tanks, as well as showing them how to read the oxygen gauges. After that the three trainers climbed up a makeshift ladder onto the deck of the derelict ship.
Almost immediately they were approached by a guide who gave them a brief rundown of Sea Mauville's history, as well as the types of Pokemon they could encounter. She then concluded her speech by asking if they would be willing to donate some money in order to finance the upkeep of the preserve, to which they all agreed.
As our heroes looked around they took notice of various trainers, who were either looking around themselves, or were battling/looking for Pokemon. Doing their best to mind their steps, as the deck was riddled with holes of various sizes, the three trainers soon explored most of the deck and decided to head inside to see what could be found.
As they approached the door that would lead them below decks, they soon noticed a man in a white lab coat looking between a device in his hands and the area around him in confusion. Curious, Lana approached the man and got his attention.
"Hi mister!" she said, "Are you looking for something?"
The man looked down at the little girl in front of him before responding.
"Oh! Hi there kids," he said, "I'm investigating this place on behalf of Captain Stern from Slateport City. He asked me to look for a device called a scanner while I'm here, but I haven't had any luck."
The man then gained a look of contemplation before continuing.
"I suppose the only part of the ship I haven't searched are the parts that're below deck or underwater, but I don't have any equipment to go looking for it."
The man then noticed the scuba gear that the group was carrying and his face brightened as if he had an idea.
"Say, could you kids help me look?" he asked, "Since you have scuba gear it would be a massive help if you could look below deck for me."
The group quickly looked at each other, before ultimately deciding to help.
"By any chance, could you tell us what the scanner looks like?" asked May.
The researcher thanked the three, before showing them a picture of the scanner on the device he was carrying. The three looked at the picture, seeing what looked like a joystick with an attached screen on the display. After making sure they got a good look at the device, the three trainers soon made their way through the doorway leading below deck, unaware that they were being watched from nearby by a shadowy figure.
The figure grit his teeth in rage as the three trainers headed belowdecks. He had been sent by his superiors to find the scanner before the aide, but hesitated when he recognized the three trainers who offered to help.
Quickly taking out a small rebreathing device from his pocket, the figure quickly snuck after the kids, doing his best to not draw attention to himself.
I'll let those brats lead me to the scanner, he thought, and when they find it, I'll make my move, and get some revenge at the same time.
-=o=-
At the bottom of the stairs, the group immediately noticed that they were in a corridor leading to two long hallways filled with doors leading to various rooms, although one of the hallways was blocked from their end. Deciding to split up in order to search more efficiently the three trainers checked each room as they went.
Most of the rooms proved to be empty but they did find some items in a couple of rooms, although a few of the rooms were locked from the inside.
Soon they came to the end of the hallway where a pool of water awaited them that led to the submerged parts of the ship. Quickly putting on their gear, the three trainers headed underwater to continue their search.
What awaited them was the awe inspiring sight of an entire underwater ecosystem filled with all kinds of fish, plants, and of course underwater Pokemon. Keeping their eyes open for the scanner, the three slowly made their way through the submerged ship.
Eventually they came upon a fork in the path, with one part leading deeper into the ship and the other leading back up above the water line towards a second hallway.
Lincoln quickly motioned to Lana and May, indicating that he would continue deeper into the ship while they continued searching above water.
Both girls nodded and headed off in the direction of the second hallway while Lincoln swam deeper into the ship. As he swam the water became darker and darker and soon Lincoln had to turn on the headlamp that was included in the scuba gear.
It was a bit unnerving swimming in near total darkness, but Lincoln pressed on. After looking around a few empty rooms he soon reached what appeared to be the engine room. Looking around he soon noticed a faint glimmer near the back of the room as his headlamp reflected off of something.
Swimming closer his face lit up when he discovered that the glimmering object was in fact the scanner that Captain Stern's aide was searching for. Lincoln picked up the device, giving it a once-over to see if it was damaged before putting it in his bag. Lincoln then began to make his way back along the corridor, when he was momentarily stopped by a loud rumbling noise from somewhere high above him in another hallway.
The ship shook as any fish and Pokemon in the area disappeared and hid wherever they could as small bits of debris rained down around the white haired trainer.
Immediately a sense of dread filled Lincoln's chest as he felt that whatever caused the ship to shake had something to do with his sister and friend. He then began to swim as fast as he could, so he could get back to his companions before something bad happened to them.
-=o=-
After splitting up, Lana and May swam along the corridor until it began to slope upwards leading them back up to an unsubmerged hallway, similar to the one they had been in before. Taking off their scuba gear, the two girls began searching each room one by one.
Aside from a few items, each room appeared to be empty, though at one point Lana found a key to a room marked "Storage" which she pocketed in case the scanner was located there. Soon they had checked all of the rooms except for one, but as they made to open the door, they were startled by someone yelling.
"Crawdaunt! Use Bubblebeam!"
Before they could react, a stream of explosive bubbles shot out from nearby, hitting the space between the two girls and causing an explosion that sent the two girls flying and causing the ship to shudder violently.
Pulling themselves to their feet, Lana and May looked in the direction the bubbles had come from and saw a Team Aqua grunt and his Crawdaunt looking at them in barely concealed rage. The two girls immediately recognized him as the same grunt that had tried to hold Mr. Briney hostage back near Petalburg City.
"All right you brats!" growled the Grunt, "Give me the scanner and I MIGHT let you go. But not before I get my revenge on you meddling twerps."
"Hey! Even if we had the scanner we wouldn't give it to you you big jerk!" yelled Lana.
The grunt paused for a moment before a sadistic grin crossed his face when he noticed that the white haired trainer wasn't with the two girls.
"Well if you don't have the scanner," he began, "Then I guess I'll use you as hostages for when your friend returns."
"Not if we can help it!" cried May. With a quick nod to each other, both girls quickly grabbed a Pokeball from their belts and tossed them out, releasing Lizzy and Marshtomp.
"Lizzy! Use Leafage!" shouted Lana. Lizzy leapt forward, swinging her tail in a wide arc causing a spray of sharp edged leaves to fly towards Crawdaunt.
"Use Water Pulse!" cried May. Marstomp quickly shot a spiraling blast of water towards Crawdaunt. The two attacks met midway, combining into a single attack as it closed in on the opposing Crawdaunt.
"Use Protect, then hit them with Double Hit!" cried the grunt. Crawdaunt waved one of its pincers, creating a shimmering shield of energy that blocked the combined grass and water attack. Before either trainer could react, Crawdaunt launched itself towards the two opposing Pokemon, its pincers glowing with a bright light. When it closed the distance it swung first one claw, then the other, hitting both Pokemon with its attack. Lizzy was launched backwards from the force of the blow, while Marshtomp was able to withstand the attack.
"Lizzy!" cried Lana as she ran to check on her partner. The little Wood Gecko Pokemon struggled to its feet but collapsed from the pain, causing Lana to catch her as she fell. The grunt laughed at the sight of the worried girl but was brought back to attention when May ordered Marshtomp to use Mud Shot. While the attack wasn't that effective it did manage to widen the distance between the two Pokemon.
Soon both trainers were calling out attack after attack as their Pokemon battled. Due to them both being Water Types, neither Pokemon had the advantage causing them to be evenly matched.
The grunt grit his teeth in anger. The last time he battled these two, he had been able to absolutely destroy them, and while he was pleased that he had dealt with the little blonde girl, the older girl was clearly holding her own against him, something that angered him to no end.
Seeking to end this battle quickly, the Grunt looked towards the blonde girl and her Treecko. Soon a sneer of malice crossed his features as a plan formed in his mind.
"Crawdaunt use Bubble Beam!" he growled. Crawdaunt then launched another series of explosive bubbles at Marshtomp.
"Quick Marshtomp! Use Protect!" cried May. Just as Crawdaunt had done before, Marshtomp crossed its arms before it, creating an energy shield in front of it. The bubblebeam crashed against the shield, creating a small explosion that obscured most of the battlefield.
As May and Marshtomp struggled to see through the dust, a chill went down their spines as they heard the Grunt cry out.
"Crawdaunt! Hit the blonde brat with Knock Off!"
Before the older girl and her Pokemon could react, Crawdaunt leapt past them towards where Lana was taking care of Lizzy. Lana turned at the sound of the shout, and her face paled as Crawdaunt loomed above her, its claw poised to attack. Closing her eyes in fear, Lana cried out in terror.
Before the attack could hit, however, a bright light began to emanate from Lizzy, blinding Crawdaunt. Lana opened her eyes and watched in amazement as Lizzy began to grow in size. Soon the light faded, revealing Lizzy's new form. She had grown taller, while her body had grown much more slender. She now sported a red chest and underside as well as longer arms and legs. In place of a tail she now had two sharp edged leaves, as well as three sharp leaves on each arm. Finally, on top of her head she sported one long leaf, forming a crest on her head.
Lizzy roared in challenge as she stood in front of Lana. The little mechanic smiled in amazement before taking out her PokeNav and activating its Pokedex feature.
Grovyle, the Wood Gecko Pokemon, Female. The leaves growing out of Grovyle's body are convenient for camouflaging it from enemies in the forest. This Pokémon is a master at climbing trees in jungles.
The Grunt grimaced. He hadn't been expecting the brat's worthless Treecko to evolve. He began to worry about whether he could beat the two brats before he noticed that even though the blonde's Pokemon had evolved, it had still taken a lot of damage.
With a malicious grin, the Grunt shouted out.
"Crawdaunt hit it with Knock Off!" Crawdaunt immediately leapt forward swinging its claw at Lizzy. Before the attack could land however, Marshtomp leapt in front of the Grass Type as May yelled out.
"Block it with Protect!" Once again Marshtomp created a shield that blocked Crawdaunt's attack. Before the Grunt or his Pokemon could recover, Lana cried out for Lizzy to attack.
"Lizzy use Mega Drain!" she cried. Lizzy leapt past Marshtomp, slicing at Crawdaunt with the leaves on its forearms, hitting the Rogue Pokemon for super effective damage and siphoning off some of its health, healing some of Lizzy's wounds.
Crawdaunt leapt backwards, landing just before its trainer. The Rogue Pokemon was breathing heavily and was struggling to stay on its feet.
The Grunt began to look worried, as he hadn't expected the two to be able to fight back this hard. However before he could call out an attack, a bright purple glow enveloped his body as he was lifted up into the air, unable to cry out.
"Leni use Confusion!" cried a voice from behind the Grunt. With significant effort the grunt turned his head towards the voice and gulped when he saw the white haired trainer and a shiny Kirlia standing behind him. His face paled even further when he saw the look of pure rage on the teens face.
Lincoln was absolutely livid. He had finally made back up from the submerged portion of the ship and had taken off running down the hallway that Lana and May were searching. When he finally found them he had seen the Grunt have Crawdaunt attack Lana as well as Lizzy evolving into Grovyle. He was extremely grateful for that as he was nowhere near close enough to save his sister and that made him even more angry.
Glancing at May and Lana, Lincoln nodded and told them to finish it.
With a nod of confirmation, both girls stood side by side and ordered their Pokemon to attack.
"Lizzy/Marshtomp! Use Mega Drain/Water Pulse!" they cried. Marshtomp launched its water attack at full force, while Lizzy ran alongside it, the leaves on her arms glowing brightly.
With its trainer unable to utter a command, Crawdaunt took the full force of both attacks, launching it towards a nearby wall. Just as the Pokemon began sliding down the wall into unconsciousness, shouts were heard coming from further down the corridor as the authorities in charge of protecting the nature preserve arrived on scene.
While May and Lana calmed Lincoln down, the rangers handcuffed the Aqua Grunt and his Pokemon before dragging him towards the entrance. As they left Lincoln knelt down and hugged his sister tightly, apologizing for him not being there to protect her.
"It's okay bro." said Lana. "Lizzy protected me just fine." Lincoln looked at the newly evolved grass type and gave it a grateful nod in thanks. Lizzy nodded back before nuzzling against her trainer.
After the all recovered a bit, Lincoln told the girls that he had managed to find the scanner. Before they left though, they decided to continue exploring the ship for a bit longer. The girls went into one room, where they found the entrance to the storage room. Imagine their shock when they entered and discovered that the room was filled with treasure in the form of several nuggets, big nuggets, and an odd shimmering blue stone with an orange core with a swirl like pattern in the middle.
Lincoln, on the other hand, began to explore the room that the girls were about to explore before they were attacked. As soon as he entered he began to feel a sense of paranoia, as if he was being watched. He looked around nervously, expecting some trink left by the Aqua Grunt, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
After a quick search of the room, Lincoln soon found an oddly shaped rock with a large crack in the center and two small dots on either side of the crack. Thinking it might be worth something, Lincoln placed the rock into his bag before going to meet up with the girls.
When they met up, both parties showed the other what they had discovered before calling it a day. Walking back up towards the deck the three chatted amongst themselves. Soon they found themselves back on deck where they gave the grateful aide the scanner. The aide was so grateful for their help that he wanted to reward the three trainers but they refused, saying that what they found while looking for the scanner was reward enough.
The trio soon left Sea Mauville, reuniting with Mr. Briney, who had spent the day fishing as the trainers did their exploring. Looking at the time, they decided to anchor the boat a little ways away from Sea Mauville and spend the night. While they all hunkered down for the night, none of them were aware as the strange stone Lincoln had found began to pulse with an eerie purple light…
-=o=-
Lincoln
Pokemon on Team: Lynn (Combusken (F)), Leni (Kirlia(F))*, Carvanha(M), Lola II (Bounsweet (F)), Joltik(F),
Pokemon in Storage: Phantump(F), Zigzagoon(M), Wingull(M), Slakoth(M), Shroomish(M), Carvanha(M), Skitty(M), Wrath (Taillow(M)), Makuhita(M), Sableye(F), Mawile(F), Geodude(M), Aron(M)*, Aron x3 (M/M/F)
Loud House: Whismur(M), Abra(F), Mimikyu(F), Dratini(M)
May
Pokemon on Team: Marshtomp(M), Beautifly(F), Skitty(F), Feebas(F), Pancham(F)
Lana
Pokemon on Team: Lizzy (Grovyle(F)), Scar (Poochyena(M)), Wormy (Dustox(F)), Ninjask(M), Magikarp*(F), Pokemon Egg(N/A)
Pokemon in Storage: Paras(M)
Loud House: Shedinja (X)
LJ
Pokemon on Team: Passimian(F)
*denotes shiny Pokemon