Kanto Gets Loud
Chapter 86: Giro, the Mega Master!
The Next Morning,
Having gotten his registration for the Stone Town Toughness Pokemon Contest out of the way, Lincoln was brushing up on his routine with Lucario and Kingler, "Lucario, Aura Sphere!" Lincoln called out. Lucario fired off an Aura Sphere, piercing through five large boulders, "Kingler, use Crabhammer!" Kingler leapt up, and swung its massive claw onto another boulder, pulverizing it to dust, "Great! Now we just have to remember these steps and that second Ribbon is as good as ours!"
"Nice that you're bringing me out into the field again, Lincoln," Kingler said.
"Yeah. Sorry it's not for a big battle or anything, but this contest will show off how strong you are," Lincoln replied, as Eevee came rushing up, jumping up and around the three of them, "Hey there, Eevee, what are you up to?" Eevee said nothing, but fired off a Swift attack at some rocks, leaping on one of them, and parkouring to the others.
"Oh! That's very good, Eevee!" Misty commented.
"Looks to me that Eevee wants to get in on the Contest too," Brock said with a chuckle, as Eevee landed in Lincoln's arms.
"Oh, Eevee, I know you want to participate in the Contest, but you still need some battle training before you can even think of participating," Lincoln said. Eevee only pouted at this.
"Aw, someone's being a brat," Misty cooed at how cute Eevee was being.
"But rather, I want you to watch how Kingler and Lucario do in today's contest, and keep a watch of how they move. Once you do that, we can try training you in little sparring matches with some of my other Pokemon, to help you gain experience," Lincoln explained. Eevee didn't like it, but understood where its trainer was coming from.
"Seeing as how the Contest isn't for another two days, should we try finding that Giro person?" Misty suggested.
"Sounds like a plan. We still have the address that Sparky and his brothers gave us. It shouldn't take too long, hopefully," Brock replied.
"Alrighty then. Let's get a move on, then. I want to start training to master Mega Evolution soon," Lincoln replied, recalling his Pokemon. He and his friends began to move out from the Pokemon Center.
"By the way Lincoln, after we get some guidance from Giro, why don't we take a trip up to the Evolution Springs?" Misty suggested.
"The 'Evolution Springs'?" Lincoln parroted.
"Yeah. It's a hot spring exclusively for humans that has particles of evolution stones in the water. Supposedly, it adds minerals to your body to help improve your overall health," Misty replied.
"Hmm, sounds good. But why is it exclusive to just humans?" Lincoln asked.
"There've been some incidents, from what I've heard, about Pokemon with Stone Induced evolutions evolving in the springs before the trainers were ready to evolve them. That's why Pokemon aren't allowed in them. The Pokemon Center has a specialty hot spring that's for both humans and Pokemon," Brock added.
"Y'know, this does sound like a good opportunity for you and Misty to finally get together, if you, know what I mean?" Pikachu said in a suggestive tone.
"Really, Pikachu, I highly doubt that these hot springs are mixed gender," Lincoln stated.
"Oh, you don't have to worry. The hot springs are strictly separate genders," Misty replied, guessing what Pikachu might've said.
"Well, that's one less thing for me to worry about. The hot water from the springs will no doubt be enough heat for me," Lincoln commented, sounding like he figured he'd pass out from overheating seeing Misty or any other beautiful girl in the nude.
"And I'm certain that the staff monitors each bath to ensure that any peepholes are covered up," Misty added.
"Heh, I doubt that would stop anyone from trying," Brock stated.
"In any case, we should just focus on finding Giro for now," Lincoln stated, wanting to move away from the talk about hot springs peeping.
Meanwhile, in Yukki House living room, Sainan, Japan,
Nana, along with her sisters, were seated opposite of Zastin, who bore a very serious expression on his face, "Princess Lala, Princess Nana, Princess Momo, the time has come for the Intergalactic Royal Conference. As usual, you three will be making an appearance alongside your parents as representatives of the Deviluke Royal Family," Zastin stated in an authoritarian tone.
"Wah, but that conference is SO boring! All its for is for the other royal families to exchange stories about what's going on with their individual planets!" Lala whined, not wanting to be bored at such an event.
"It's not just the three of you who are to attend. Your fiancés are to be in attendance as well," Zastin added.
"Wait, you mean both Rito and Lincoln?" Nana asked.
"Precisely. They must meet with the other high ranked royal families and with Lincoln's newly announced engagements to Xalanna, Vaxeena, and Gyleena, he'll need to meet with their families as well to make it official," Zastin added.
"Yes, the three of them were acting a bit flustered when we were talking with them," Lala commented, remembering how the three of them were when she and her sisters spoke with them the other night.
"Should we have the Kovaks along for the ride? They did swear themselves to Lincoln, after all, so they can act as his attendants," Momo suggested.
"That would ordinarily be the idea, but we need some way of indicating that they are the boy's servants," Zastin replied.
"Well, I have an idea for that. When is the Conference happening again?" Lala asked.
"Tomorrow," Zastin replied.
"Alright, I think I have an invention that'll mark the Kovaks as Lincoln's servants, so no one can take them," Lala said, standing up, and heading upstairs.
"It would be imperative that Princess Lala does whatever she has in mind. After all, the Clan of Echo Mirages main flagship still hasn't been taken down, nor has either the Deviluke Army nor the Galaxy Police managed to locate them. They're still in the midst of using Kovaks as their main source of slave trafficking," Zastin murmured.
"That raises one question in my mind," the twins and Zastin looked over to see Rito standing in the doorway, along with Mikan, "How did the clan get its start? And where did is start?" he asked.
"Well, we don't exactly have the exact information on when and where it began, but we have some intel that dictates that they started out as an underground crime ring. They started out on one home planet before eventually taking to the galaxy, adding more members of many different races to their ranks," Zastin explained.
"Kind of like those Team Rocket thugs Lincoln and his friends have been fighting against," Mikan commented.
"Most likely, but those Rocket hooligans you speak of are merely human. The clan consists of several races that are far more advanced than Earth," Zastin reminded.
"Either way, hopefully they won't attack during the conference," Rito commented.
"Oh, they would be pretty cocky or have no value to their own lives anymore if they were to attempt such a feat, as it would be foolhardy," Zastin replied dismissively.
"Will the others be joining us? Ayeka, Sasami, Lum?" Nana asked.
"Most definitely. Though I believe that Moroboshi chap Lum is engaged to was blacklisted," Zastin commented in a thinking manner.
"Probably for the best. That guy is the biggest pervert we've ever had the dissatisfaction of meeting," Nana commented.
"I don't get what Lum sees in him. He's not at all attractive, or intelligent, or well mannered. I doubt he's even housebroken," Momo added.
"Well, in any case, I'll be back tomorrow to collect you. I suggest that you all get everything you need ready. We won't be coming back until after the conference has concluded," Zastin said, as he took his leave.
"I'd better go contact Lincoln and let him know," Nana said, as she got up to go to her room.
Back with Lincoln and company,
The three of them stood before a large house. It wasn't nearly as large as the Eevee Brother's mansion, but it was still on the big side, complete with a battlefield off to the side, "Wow, lot of houses in Kanto are huge!" Lincoln commented.
"Well, a lot of owners of these kinds of houses probably have a large source of income," Brock replied.
"Well, might as well go ahead and try seeing if he's home," Misty said, as she rang the doorbell. A few seconds pass with no answer, causing confusion.
"Maybe he's not home?" Lincoln wondered.
"It is a possibility," Brock replied.
"Either that or he's doing something inside or around the house. Why don't we look around for that Giro guy?" Misty suggested.
"Well, look no further, young lady," the trio looked up to see an elderly man with curly white and grey hair, and holding a cane with a Key Stone embedded into the handle, sitting on top of the house. With a leap, he landed right before the three of them, "Name's Giro. Very few know me as the Kanto Region Mega Evolution Guru. What business do you have here?"
"W-Well, my name is Lincoln Loud, and I was wondering if you'd be willing to share your secrets on how to form a strong bond with your Pokemon. See, I've only used Mega Evolution twice since obtaining this Mega Ring, and each time, my Gardevoir, Lapis, always winds up collapsing from exhaustion," Lincoln explained. Giro eyed the boy with skepticism.
"Alright then. The best way for me to evaluate how well you can use Mega Evolution is to battle you. Bring out your Gardevoir so that I may see how you fair against me and my Pokemon," Giro ordered.
"Y-Yes sir!" Lincoln said, as he used his Pokemon Box Link to swap out Kingler for Lapis, as Giro made his way to the opposite end of the battlefield.
"Alright, here's the Pokemon I'll be using for this test! Go, Pinsir!" Giro yelled, sending out a Pinsir.
"Lapis, you're on!" Lincoln said, sending out Lapis, who immediately embraced Lincoln, "Uh, Lapis? Don't know if you know this, but we're getting ready to have our Mega Evolution evaluation."
"Hmm, your Gardevoir seems to be quite fond of you. Alright, show me what you can do!" Giro demanded.
"Right! Get ready, Lapis!" Lincoln said, as Lapis took her place on the battlefield, "Alright, Lapis, Mega Evolve!" he called, tapping his Key Stone, which caused Lapis' Gardevoirite to start reacting. Lapis was then wrapped up in a pink sphere of energy, as she Mega Evolved into Mega Gardevoir.
"Hmm, the form is right, and she does seem to be stable. Now, it's our turn, Pinsir!" Giro called out, tapping a Key Stone in his cane, which began reacting with the Mega Stone that Pinsir was holding, "Now then, Pinsir, Mega Evolve!" much like Lapis, Pinsir was enveloped in pink energy, before finally breaking free. Pinsir now had longer horns with even longer spikes on them, longer arms, and it had wings to boot, "How do you like Mega Pinsir? Like most Pokemon that Mega Evolve, it gains a new Type upon Mega Evolving, as well as a new Ability during that time. Pinsir is now a Bug and Flying Type, and has the ability Aerilate. It not increases the power of Normal Type moves, but it also turns them into Flying Type Moves as well!"
"Whoa, that's wicked!" Lincoln exclaimed.
"You have the first move, boy!" Giro urged.
"Alright then! Lapis, use Moonblast!" Lincoln called out. Lapis gathered lunar energy, and hurled it as Pinsir.
"Evade it, Pinsir!" Giro ordered. Pinsir flew up and out of the way of Moonblast.
"Alright, then take this! Thunderbolt!" Lincoln called out. Lapis then fired off Thunderbolt.
"Protect!" Pinsir then erected the Protect barrier, blocking Thunderbolt, "Well, I'd say it's our turn to attack now! Pinsir, use Rock Slide!" Pinsir then hurled the large boulders at Lapis.
"Quick, Double Team and dodge them all!" Lincoln called out. Afterimages of Lapis began appearing all over the battlefield, missing the real on, "Now, use Psychic and bring down Pinsir!" Lapis then used Psychic to slam Pinsir onto the ground.
"Hmm, clever boy. But see how you deal with this! Pinsir, use Guillotine!" Giro ordered. Pinsir's horns began glowing brightly, as it flew right at Lapis, striking right at her neck, causing an explosion. When the smoke cleared, Lapis had reverted to her normal state, having been defeated.
"No, Lapis!" Lincoln exclaimed, rushing to her aid.
"Brock, what happened?" Misty asked.
"Guillotine; Its one of many moves that defeats an opponent instantly if it lands," Brock explained, as Giro approached Lincoln, along with his now reverted Pinsir.
"Based on that battle, boy, I can honestly say that you and your Gardevoir are, at best, still a bit shaky with Mega Evolution, but much like riding a bike, it'll get easier as time progresses," Giro stated.
"Wait, so does that mean that…?"
"It means that you and your Gardevoir should keep practicing Mega Evolution in order to master it more quickly. After all, you two are close to doing just that," Giro declared.
"That's amazing, Lincoln!" Misty exclaimed.
"Maybe you should try the same method with your other Pokemon too," Brock suggested.
"'Other Pokemon'? You mean he has more than one Pokemon capable of Mega Evolution?" Giro asked.
"That's right. I have Mega Stones for Beedrill, Absol, Charizard, Lopunny, Mawile, Lucario, and Metagross. Of course, my Metang still has to evolve into a Metagross first," Lincoln replied.
"Hmm, I see. Come with me, all of you. I have something involving Mega Evolution that might be of interest to you," Giro said, as he led them into his house.
"What are you wanting to show us, Giro?" Misty asked, as they arrived in a showroom of some kind. Giro turned on the lights, showing glass cases full of different Mega Stones of all different colors.
"Whoa!" Lincoln exclaimed.
"Mega Stones! There must be hundreds of them!" Brock added.
"Indeed. I've spent most of my younger years collecting all the different Mega Stones from all over Kanto. This also includes Mega Stones for Pokemon from other regions as well. And take a look over there," Giro replied, pointing over to a chart that had the various Mega Stones that were on display, each paired up a different Pokemon. Some notable ones that were up there included Venusaur, Blastoise, Pidgeot, Beedrill, Gengar, Gyarados, Medicham, Steelix, Salamence, Sceptile, Swampert, Lopunny, Lucario, Scizor, Camerupt, Mawile, Pinsir, Heracross, Gardevoir, Aerodactyl, Gallade, and Absol.
"Oh, so this chart show what Pokemon can Mega Evolve?" Lincoln asked.
"Correct. Those wishing to master Mega Evolution must first know what Pokemon can utilize this phenomenon," Giro explained.
"And it looks like most of the Pokemon we have currently can use it," Brock commented, seeing Steelix and Salamence up on the chart.
"Maybe we should try training to use Mega Evolution too," Misty suggested, seeing Gyarados and Medicham on the chart as well.
"You might as well, since you're here, provided that you have Pokemon capable of using Mega Evolution," Giro replied, before turning back to Lincoln, "And as for you, boy, I want to see how well each of your other Pokemon can fair with Mega Evolution. You and I will be continuing with practice battles, while your friends run a special course I set up for those who are just starting to learn the ways of Mega Evolution."
"Alright, sounds good. I'll have to get the Mega Stones that Professor Oak's been holding for me, first, as well as switching up my team a bit," Lincoln replied.
"Understandable. So, lets just go ahead and get a start on things," Giro replied.
"Uh, one thing, Giro, sir? Won't the two of us need Key Stones first?" Brock asked.
"Hmm, you do have a point. I tell you what, as part of the test, I'll give each of you a Key Stone, IF you can show that you and your Pokemon have a strong bond in battle," Giro replied.
"Alright, that sounds fair enough," Brock replied, as they made their way back outside. Giro took his spot on the battlefield.
"Alright, first up, I'll keep evaluating the boy's Mega Evolution capabilities with the rest of his Pokemon. Once I've seen first hand what they can do, then I'll see how your Pokemon handle in battle," Giro replied, as Lincoln swapped in and out Pokemon from storage, and getting the Mega Stones Professor Oak had been holding for him as well, "Pinsir, up for one more battle?" he asked, as Pinsir chittered in response.
"Alright, then for my next Pokemon, go, Inferna!" Lincoln said, sending out Inferna, "Ok Inferna, we're going to be doing some practice training with the Mega Stone Damian found on that mountain. Are you up to the task?" he asked, holding the Mega Stone he received from Damian.
"Of course! I want to show Damian that his efforts into finding it were not in vain," Inferna replied, taking the Mega Stone from Lincoln, before walking out onto the battlefield.
"Alright, now it's your Charizard's turn! Have you done Mega Evolution with it before?" Giro asked.
"No, this will be the first time," Lincoln replied.
"Hmm, well, in that case, proceed, but remember to take it slow," Giro replied.
"We will. Ok Inferna, Mega Evolve!" Lincoln called out, tapping his Key Stone, which caused the Mega Stone Inferna was holding to react, enveloping her in the sphere of pink energy. When it opened up again, Inferna was now completely black, with a blue tail flame, blue spikes on her shoulders, and blue fire spewing from her mouth, "Whoa, that's awesome!"
"I suppose it is for a beginner. Something to keep in mind about Charizard is that it has TWO potential Mega Evolutions. What we're witnessing now is Mega Charizard X, since it was holding Charizardite X. There's a Y Counterpart to it, but just focus on the X Mega Stone for now. As for your Charizard itself, when it Mega Evolves into this form, it becomes a Fire and Dragon Type, and gains the Tough Claws ability, which increases the power of all its Physical Moves," Giro explained.
"Inferna does look much stronger now," Misty observed.
"Now then, to even the playing field! Pinsir, Mega Evolve!" Giro called out, as he Mega Evolved his Pinsir once more.
Somewhere, in the depths of Space,
A massive flagship with a familiar logo on it was cruising by. On the bridge of said ship, a very large, burly humanoid alien man sat in his chair, clenching his chair with anger. The reason for his anger? He was looking at the monitor, displaying the Kovaks that Lincoln and friends had rescued from their dastardly clutches, "It's inconceivable! How could the inhabitants of such an inferior planet fend off one our best crew members?!"
"Well, the last transmission we received from them indicated that not only was King Deviluke involved, but also Yami, the Golden Darkness as well. Their combined might must've been more than they could handle," one of the crew members pointed out.
"Even with our technology meant to specifically combat the two of them, they still managed to get the drop on our men and send them to Galaxy Prison! To make matters even worse, our valuable merchandise has been taken by some Earthling!" the captain of the ship growled, as a Kovak slave poured him some wine, only to get slapped away, "Well, there is one way we can try and take back our merchandise!"
"What did you have in mind, Captain Vortex, sir?" his first mate asked.
"We have our own Ship Disabler Wave, right? As well as a detector?" Captain Vortex asked.
"Yes, we do," the first mate replied in a questioning tone.
"Well, seeing as how the royalty that's living on Planet Earth, for what ever reason, is going to be heading into space for that Intergalactic Conference, we're going to ambush them, and take back our merchandise, as well as any lives that dare to get in our way!" Captain Vortex replied.
"B-But sir, those royals on Earth come from some of the highest ranked royal families in the cosmos! If their families find out that we captured them…"
"If they find out, we'll hold them hostage until their families pay the massive ransom we'll be holding! Now that the likes of Kagato and Tarant Shank are no longer threats, we have to show those namby-pamby royal types that we mean business!" Captain Vortex replied.
"Y-Yes sir. And what if, in the off chance, they have Earthlings or any other non-royal with them?"
"So, what if they do, Mister Vexar? It's not like that planet's inhabitants are good for anything. Just throw them out the airlock if they get in the way," Captain Vortex replied.
"Yes sir!" Vexar replied.
"Good. Now, get me some wenches!" Captain Vortex demanded.
"Right away, sir!" Vexar replied, roughly taking the Kovak Vortex had slapped earlier, and stood her up, "Tend to the captains needs!" The Kovak timidly nodded, before going up to the ruthless captain of the ship, who wrapped his arm around her waist.
"Mark my words, no one will EVER mess with the Clan of Echo Mirages again!" he snarled, glaring up at the screen.
Meanwhile, in Team Rocket's Main HQ, the Gym Area,
One key staple for any member of Team Rocket is to keep in shape for any missions that would arise. For Alexander, he was pummeling a sandbag with a picture of Luan on it, hatefully glaring at the clowning Loud Sister, "Luan, your prank ruined my life way beyond the point of repair! And as soon as we cross paths again, I WILL make you suffer the way you made ME suffer!" he growled, as he punched the sandbag with an increasing ferocity. All of the other grunts who saw this made sure to stay well away from him, lest they get decked by him as well.
"Geez, what's with him?"
"Don't know."
"Must have something to do with that girl he has on that sandbag."
"Well, whatever she did to make him this mad, I'd hate to be her!"
Ok, so a bit of a shorter chapter than normal, but I feel like I'm building up a lot already with what I did here. Anyhow, I think a new poll is in order for when I write the next chapter. The theme of this poll? Whether Charlie and the other Monster Girls join Lincoln as he's taken into Space for the conference.
I still plan on having Lincoln take Gwendolyn and Loona on a date at the Big-P Pokemon Ranch in Fuchsia City. Might have him take Carlota, Girl Jordan, Stella, and Haiku on a date in Sunny Town. After the Contest in Stone Town, I plan to have Lincoln and them be taken immediately to Sunny Town without any more filler chapters. Let me know when and where I should have him take Amber and Midori out in the comments!