A/N Hey all and welcome to the newest chapter of Pokemon: Omega Loud! In this chapter Lincoln and Co. have finally made it to Slateport City where they have an encounter with Team Magma. As always, I hope you like this reading this one as much as I did writing it.
Lincoln gave a long stretch as he stepped off the S.S. Wingull and on to the docks on Route 109, just south of Slateport city. After their adventure on Sea Mauville, the group spent the night docked nearby and when morning came, they resumed their journey to Slateport City arriving just around midday.
"Wow this looks like a really nice beach." said Lana as she and May joined him.
"Yeah but after all the beach fun we had at Dewford Town, I think I'm a bit overbeached at the moment." said May.
"Well kids," said Mr. Briney from the controls of his boat. "I think it's about time Peeko and I head back towards home. I wish you good luck with your adventures."
"Thank you for the ride Mr. Briney" said Lincoln. "If we're ever back near Petalburg City, we'll be sure to stop by and say hi!"
With a smile and a wave, Mr. Briney turned on his boat and headed back in the direction they came. The three trainers waved goodbye as the ship got smaller and smaller until it had disappeared over the horizon.
Lana looked up at the two older trainers, an inquisitive look on her face.
"So what should we do now?" she asked. Lincoln smiled before answering.
"Well I think we should go check in with the Pokemon Center since we're gonna be here for a couple days for May's contest." he said, "Once we do that we can look around town."
He then turned to May. "We should also get you registered as soon as possible."
"What about the package we were supposed to deliver?" asked May. Lincoln facepalmed. He had completely forgotten about that.
"Crap, I forgot." he said, "Ok so change of plans. First we check into the Pokemon center, then we deliver the package, THEN we get May signed up for her contest and do some sightseeing."
Both girls nodded in agreement, before all three trainers made their way away from the docks and along the beach towards the city.
As they walked, Lana looked at all the people having fun along the beach until her attention was drawn towards a building roughly the size of a house with a massive crowd in front.
"Hey what's that?" she asked. Lincoln looked at where she pointed and an excited expression crossed his features.
"Oh that's the Seashore House." he replied, "It's a small beachside restaurant where people can get some food while they have fun at the beach."
Lincoln smiled as he continued speaking.
"It's also where a cooking competition will be held tomorrow afternoon and I was thinking about having dad come over so we can compete."
Lana smiled at the thought of seeing her dad in person, while May smiled seeing her friend taking such wide steps towards reconnecting with his family.
Soon the three trainers had left the beach and entered the city proper, where they navigated the busy streets until they found the Pokemon Center. After booking some rooms for themselves, Lincoln took a moment to add his shiny Aron to his party and temporarily placed Carvanha, Lola II, and Joltik in storage so he would withdraw his three extra Aron.
When asked why, Lincoln just responded saying that he wants to do some more wonder training when they finish their business for the day and this would save him some time. Before they left Lincoln asked the Nurse Joy on duty if she knew of anyone by the name of Stern.
"Oh you mean Captain Stern?" said the nurse. "I think he should be down at the shipyard. He's always busy designing new ships and other oceanographic instruments."
After receiving directions to the shipyard, Lincoln and Co. began to make their way there. As they walked they took the time to look around at whatever sights came into their path. At one point they came across a street leading to the Slateport Oceanic Museum, but stopped in shock when they noticed a group of people wearing a familiar red outfit, waiting to enter the museum.
"What are those Team Magma jerks doing here?" asked Lana. Lincoln and May gave the group a wary glance before they ushered the younger girl away.
"I don't know but if they're not causing any trouble then we should do our best to avoid them," said Lincoln. With that the three trainers continued on their way towards the shipyard. Soon they came to a large warehouse-like building near the harbor a little ways away from the beach. As they walked into the main office they noticed several people going about their business which was either looking at schematics for new ships, or with manufacturing parts for said ships.
Near the back sat a man who was looking over a large schematic as several people either went to him for directions. Thinking that this must be Captain Stern, the three trainers approached the man, who was currently talking to himself under his breath.
"Umm… If this goes here, and that goes over there," said the man as he clutched his head in frustration, "Then where does this thing go? And what about that doohickey? Aaargh! I can't make heads or tails of this!"
Lana walked up to the table and looked at the schematic, instantly seeing what was wrong.
"Um, excuse me mister," she said while pointing at the schematics, "but I think you've put the wrong parts, here and here."
The man looked at Lana incredulously, before looking at the schematics where she indicated, taking a moment to study them intensely. His eyes widened in shock when he saw that the little blonde girl was right and that he had made a small error.
"I don't believe it." said the man as he turned to Lana, "You've just saved us hours of work. Who are you?"
It was then that the man noticed Lincoln and May who immediately introduced themselves alongside Lana.
"Thank you so much for your help, Lana." said the man, "My name is Dock. Captain Stern commissioned me to design some new state of the art ferries that we hope to put into circulation soon."
"It's nice to meet you, Dock." said Lincoln as he reached into his bag and pulled out the package from President Stone. "Do you know where Captain Stern is? We have an important package to deliver to him."
Dock looked at the package in Lincoln's hands and a spark of recognition crossed his features.
"Oh those must be the Devon Parts!" he said before frowning, "Well this won't do. Captain Stern is currently at the Oceanic Museum just north of here. Could I ask you three to deliver the parts to him there?"
"Sure, it would be no problem at all," said May as Lincoln and Lana nodded along.
"Fantastic!" said Dock, "I'd do it myself but I'm absolutely swamped with work at the moment so you'd be doing me a huge favor."
After saying a quick goodbye, the three trainers left the shipyard behind and headed back the way they came until they came across the street where they had seen Team Magma waiting, although no one was there any longer.
The group entered the museum and after paying the entry fee, took the time to look around. The museum was filled with various exhibits showcasing such things as barometric pressure, oceanic currents, geological sediment samples, and other things that completely flew over the trainers heads as to what they could be.
They also noticed that the entire museum was absolutely filled with Team Magma grunts. The three trainers looked nervous waiting for something to happen, but it seemed that the grunts were genuinely interested in the museum exhibits and weren't causing any trouble.
Doing their best to not draw attention to themselves, Lincoln and Co. made their way through the museum while keeping an eye out for Captain Stern. As they walked they looked at a few of the exhibits but couldn't make heads or tails out of them.
"Lisa would get a kick out of this place if she was here." said Lana to which Lincoln agreed. Soon the group found a staircase going up to the next floor and the rest of the museum. Going up the staircase they entered a large room filled with more exhibits including various models of different ships. Near the back corner was a man in a suit looking over one of the models.
The group approached the man, who noticed them approaching and turned to face them.
"Excuse me, are you Captain Stern?" asked May.
"Yes, that's me." said the man now known as Captain Stern. "Can I help you kids with something?"
"Actually yes," said Lincoln as he got the package from his bag. "We have a delivery for you from the Devon Corporation."
Captain Stern's eyes lit up with glee as he realized what the package was.
"Ah! Those must be the parts I ordered from President Stone." he said as he took the package. "Thank you for bringing it all this way."
Suddenly, a loud voice cried out from behind the group, causing them to jump and whirl around to see two Magma grunts heading towards them.
"Hold it!" said one of the grunts. "We'll be taking possession of those parts, if you don't mind."
"I knew those guys were up to something!" said Lana as she, Lincoln, and May stood in front of Captain Stern.
A glimmer of recognition crossed one of the grunts' faces as he looked at the three trainers, especially Lana and Lincoln.
"YOU!" he growled, "You're those brats from Rustboro! You three have caused me nothing but trouble!"
The grunt made to take a step towards the three trainers but was stopped by his companion.
"Easy!" said the second grunt, who was clearly the most level-headed of the two. Turning back to our heroes, the second grunt addressed Captain Stern.
"Look, our boss has need of the parts in that package," said the second grunt. "So if you don't want any trouble, hand it over or things will get…dicey."
Lincoln and May stepped forwards, blocking the grunts from getting past.
"Those parts aren't yours for the taking." said Lincoln as he pulled out a pokeball.
The first grunt growled as he stepped forwards, pulling out a pokeball as well.
"If you don't get out of our way, you'll regret it." he snarled. Lincoln just stared him down as they each threw out their Pokeballs.
"Go Lynn!" cried Lincoln as his Combusken took to the field. The starter Pokemon glared at the Magma grunt as she crowed in anticipation.
"Burn him to a crisp, Numel!" said the Grunt as he released a small, yellow, camel-like Pokemon with a small green hump on its back and sleepy looking eyes. Lana quickly pulled out her PokeNav and scanned the Pokemon.
Numel, the Numb Pokemon, Male. Numel is extremely dull-witted—it doesn't notice being hit. However, it can't stand hunger for even a second. This Pokémon's body is a seething cauldron of boiling magma.
"Lynn use Aerial Ace!" cried Lincoln. Lynn leapt into the air before hitting the ground and launching herself at high speed towards the opposing Numel, her claws glowing brightly. Before the Magma grunt could react, Lynn struck Numel with her claws, sending it back several feet.
"Numel hit it with Bulldoze!" cried the Grunt. Numel quickly stomped on the ground sending a small shockwave towards Lynn which caused the ground around the Fire Type Pokemon to become loose and unwieldy, slowing down her speed.
"Now use Focus Energy!" yelled the Grunt as Numel closed its eyes and stood still, gathering its strength.
"Hit it with Slash before it can use any attacks!" cried Lincoln. Lynn once again launched herself forwards, her claws lengthening and glowing white. Once she closed the distance, Lynn swung her claws at Numel, hitting it with a critical hit and slamming it into the ground where it lay unmoving.
The Magma grunt screamed in frustration as he called back his Pokemon. The second Grunt then stepped forwards, looking at his companion with disdain.
"My, you are absolutely incompetent." said the second Grunt before he turned back to Lincoln and Co. "Let a future Magma Admin show you how to deal with pests."
Before Lincoln could continue, May stepped forwards.
"Mind if I take this guy?" she asked as she looked at her friend. Lincoln smiled before recalling Lynn and stepped back, bowing as he did so.
"Not at all." he said, "After you."
May quickly took out a Pokeball and let out her Skitty, before also releasing her Pancham. Looking down at the Playful Pokemon, May spoke in a calming voice.
"Ok, Pancham." said May, "Watch closely as Skitty battles, so you can get a grasp as to how battles work." Pancham nodded, then took a seat next to May's feet and watched the battlefield intently.
The Grunt scoffed at the cute display before tossing out a small blue bat Pokemon with large ears and no eyes. Lincoln pulled out his Pokedex and scanned the new Pokemon.
Zubat, the Bat Pokemon, Female. Zubat remains quietly unmoving in a dark spot during the bright daylight hours. It does so because prolonged exposure to the sun causes its body to become slightly burned.
Sounds like Lucy's kind of Pokemon. Lincoln thought.
"Zubat use Supersonic!" cried the grunt. Zubat then let out an ear piercing screech, as several glowing rings came from its mouth and flew towards Skitty.
"Dodge and use Copycat!" yelled May. Skitty waited until the absolute last moment before dodging the incoming attack. She then opened her mouth and let out a similar sounding screech as Zubat had done, glowing rings and all.
As the rings struck Zubat, the Bat Pokemon began flying erratically, clearly confused.
"Zubat use Poison Fang!" cried the Grunt. Zubat then flew forwards, its teeth glowing with a sickly purple glow. However, instead of hitting Skitty, the attack flew wide and Zubat slammed into the ground, damaging itself.
"Quick Skitty use Assist!" cried May. Skitty ran towards Zubat, glowing briefly before she opened her mouth, releasing a stream of green colored flame at the Bat Pokemon.
"Was that Dragonbreath!?" yelled Lincoln in shock.
May blinked, utterly stunned at what had just happened before she looked at her Pokemon's moveset.
"Looks like Skitty used an egg move from Feebas..." She muttered to herself. Turning her attention back to the battle, May immediately noticed that the Zubat was now lying on the ground twitching sporadically.
"May, I think Zubat's paralyzed." said Lincoln. May grinned then called out another attack.
"Skitty! Use Fury Swipes!" cried the brunette. Skitty ran towards Zubat, unleashing a barrage of scratch attacks at the downed bat Pokemon.
"Zubat! Get off the ground and use Poison Fang!" yelled the Grunt. Zubat slowly lifted itself off the ground before another twitching fit caused it to collapse to the ground once again.
"Use another Fury Swipes!" cried May as Skitty began clawing at the bat Pokemon one more time. After a few swipes of Skitty's claws the bat Pokemon ceased its struggling as it descended into unconsciousness.
The Grunt recalled his Pokemon, giving the Pokeball a disdainful look as he took another one off his belt, releasing another Numel. May recalled Skitty, letting the pink cat Pokemon rest, as she took her own Pokeball off her belt releasing Marshtomp.
The Grunt groaned in frustration at the sight of the Water Type, knowing full well that his Numel had a severe weakness to water being part fire and ground type.
"Let's finish this quickly, Marshtomp!" said May, "Use Water Pulse!" Marshtomp opened its mouth and released a series of spiraling rings made of water that rocketed towards Numel.
"Dodge it and use Bulldoze!" yelled the Grunt. Unfortunately, Numel was too slow and took the water type attack full center, doing super effective damage and knocking out the camel Pokemon with one hit.
A scream of rage came from the Grunt as he recalled his Pokemon, while May recalled Marshtomp after complimenting it for the good job it had done. Meanwhile, Pancham stared up at her trainer with wide eyes, amazed at how calm and collected she had been during the battle.
The two Grunts looked at each other in frustration. They were out of usable Pokemon and had no way of getting the Devon Parts away from Captain Stern and those interfering brats. Before they could come up with a plan of attack, a loud stern voice rang out.
"What is taking you ingrates so long to acquire those parts," said the voice. Everyone in the room turned towards the stairs, seeing a tall thin man standing there with a look of disapproval on his face.
He was an older man, with sunken cheeks and some wrinkles around his mouth. His red hair was neatly combed and his outfit was similar to the uniform that the grunts were wearing. However instead of a hood the man was wearing a long red jacket, with the Magma logo on the lapels. On his face were a pair of glasses, giving him a stern, disciplinarian look. Lincoln quickly noted that one side of his glasses were adorned with a single marble sized gem with a swirl pattern in the center.
The man made his way towards the group of trainers and the Grunts, taking a moment to size up each group as he did so. He soon stood in front of the two Grunts, who had paled considerably when they recognized the man, and glared at the three trainers who were standing protectively in front of Captain Stern.
"Now here I was wondering how you could be held up in the simple act of seizing a case." he said towards the Grunts. "Do I take it you are being stymied by these children?"
The second Grunt stepped forwards. "Well..you see..we were-" but was cut off when the man glared back at him.
"Be quiet!" growled the man. The two grunts stepped back in fear as the man once again turned his gaze towards Lincoln and Co. He looked each trainer up and down, sizing them up, before he finally stared directly at Lincoln.
"Hmm. Though you are but a child, your eyes tell me of your fierce determination." He said, "Yes, I think I can see why my lowly Grunts could not stand one minute against you. I am called Maxie"
Lincoln glared at Maxie making sure that he stood with his sister and friend behind him, in case the man decided to attack.
"I stand as the head of Team Magma, a noble organization whose goal is to propel humanity to even greater heights of progress and evolution," said Maxie.
"Noble?" said Lincoln, "All I've seen of Team Magma is a bunch of thugs and bullies who attack and steal from innocent people."
"Be silent, Boy!" yelled Maxie as his calm demeanor slipped just a bit. He took a moment to compose himself before addressing Lincoln again. "It seems I must educate you in the ways of the world."
As he spoke, he looked at each trainer individually before moving on to the next.
"The land... It is the stage upon which humanity stands. The land exists so we humans might continue onward and upward, stepping into the future... For us to continue growing and evolving, humans require a grand stage upon which to stand. A land upon which we can stride forward... A land we can explore...develop...exploit... This is the basis for the growth of all human endeavors. That is why we, Team Magma, must increase the landmass of the world! Believe that this will lead to a future of eternal happiness for humanity... And consequently for all life!"
When he had finished his speech, Maxie stood still as if waiting for a response from the three trainers. Eventually, Lincoln spoke up.
"That's…" he began, "That's got to be the stupidest idea I have ever heard!"
Maxie blinked, having not anticipated that response before his face morphed into a mask of silent rage.
"Humph. I suppose the concept may still be too difficult for a child to comprehend." said Maxie. "At least I have tried to open your mind. I will take my leave for now."
He then stared deep into Lincoln's eyes, a look of pure contempt on his features. "I suggest you take care that you never again stand against Team Magma. I will not be so lenient next time. I implore you to remember that."
Maxie then turned to the two Grunts, who immediately stood at attention when he did so.
"We're done here." said Maxie, as he then made his way towards the stairs, the two Grunts following close behind.
Once he was gone, Lincoln let out a sigh of relief. He looked back at his sister and his best friend and could tell that they were just as relieved as he was.
"That was intense." said Lana. "That guy is on a completely different level."
Lincoln and May nodded in agreement, as they could tell that Maxie could have taken them apart in a Pokemon battle with little effort.
The three trainers then turned back to Captain Stern, who thanked them all profusely before running off to finish his work. They then left the museum, noting the absence of any and all Team Magma grunts. With their errand done, they began making their way towards the Slateport Contest Hall, so that May could sign up for her contest.
As they walked, Lincoln took the time to collect his thoughts, something that Lana noticed.
"Hey Lincoln?" she asked, "Are you okay?"
Lincoln sighed before looking at his sister. "I'm fine. I was just thinking that we all need to train our Pokemon a lot harder."
The two girls looked at their friend as he continued.
"I have a feeling that this isn't the last time we'll be dealing with Team Magma. Or Team Aqua for that matter. We need to be ready for whatever they throw at us."
He then got a cocky grin on his face. "After all. Someone has to keep those nutjobs from ruining things, right?"
Lana and May both smiled and nodded in agreement. They then continued on their way, May eager to sign up for her contest, while Lana voiced her support.
Lincoln however was thinking about how once they were done, he needed to sign up for the cooking competition at the Seashore House.
And bring his dad over for a visit.
A/N So Lincoln and Co. have delivered the Devon Parts to Captain Stern, and have come face to face with the head of Team Magma, Maxie. In the next chapter, May will sign up for her contest, Lincoln will do some Wonder Trading, and Lynn Sr. will cross over for a cooking competition. Can he win? Find out Next chapter!
-=o=-
Lincoln
Pokemon on Team: Lynn (Combusken (F)), Leni (Kirlia(F))*, Aron(M)*Aron x3 (M/M/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), Carvanha(M), Lola II (Bounsweet(F)), Joltik(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