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.
Meeting Astrid
The next morning at the Cyllage City Pokemon Center; right now, Lincoln and his friends were in the cafeteria, looking at a map they had laid on the table.
"So, Lincoln; any idea where your next gym battle is?" asked Tierno.
"According to this map, the closest gym from here is in Shalour City." replied Lincoln.
"Shalour City; isn't that where that Korrina girl's the gym leader at?" asked Serena. Shauna frowned after hearing Korrina's name.
"I think so." replied Lincoln. He looks at the map. "If we travel north from here through Route 10, we should reach a place called Geosenge Town, then we travel east from there through Route 11 and go through something called Reflection Cave; once we get through there, we should reach Shalour City."
"What type of Pokemon do you think Korrina uses?" asked Trevor.
"She did have two Lucarios with her, so she might use fighting types." replied Lincoln.
"Do you have any Pokemon on your team that can take on fighting types?" asked Shauna.
"Only Braixen and Floette; I think I'll get my Farfetch'd from storage and spend time training her." replied Lincoln. After putting his map away, Lincoln and his friends leave the cafeteria. Lincoln uses the Pokemon Center's PC to exchange his Dunsparce for Farfetch'd; after that, the group leaves the Pokemon Center.
After travelling north, the group leaves Cyllage City and soon found themselves on Route 10. They saw an open area and decided it would be a good place to begin training their Pokemon.
Lincoln wasted no time training his Farfetch'd with the assistance of the rest of his Pokemon team; Farfetch'd soon learned Aerial Ace, Knock Off, Slash, Air Cutter, and Swords Dance. As he continued training, he encountered a bipedal Pokemon that was two shades of blue and appeared to be made of clay with two stone blocks for feet and forearms. Lincoln points his pokedex at the Pokemon.
"Golett, the Automaton Pokemon. The energy that burns inside it enables it to move, but no one has yet been able to identify this energy." said Lincoln's pokedex.
"You ready for a battle, Farfetch'd?" Lincoln asked Farfetch'd; she nods in response. Lincoln and Farfetch'd faced Golett. "All right, Farfetch'd, use Swords Dance!" Farfetch'd flies into the air and spins around, raising her attack strength. The Golett rolls towards Farfetch'd and rams into her, dealing super effective damage.
"Oh man, that looked like Rollout." said Lincoln. "Okay, Farfetch'd, use Knock Off!" Farfetch'd leaps at Golett while black sparks surrounded her leek and she strikes Golett with it, dealing super effective damage. Golett rolls at Farfetch'd and rams her, dealing more super effective damage.
"Farfetch'd, use Aerial Ace!" said Lincoln. Farfetch'd flies at Golett while white streaks of light surround her body and she rams into Golett, knocking it to the ground. Lincoln takes out an empty pokeball and throws it at Golett, hitting it, and sucking it in; after it wiggled around a few times, it clicked. "Yes; I caught a Golett!" Golett's pokeball vanishes and gets transported to storage. Lincoln looks up Golett's information on his pokedex.
"This says my Golett has no gender, but it knows Pound, Astonish, Defense Curl, Mud-Slap, Rollout, Shadow Punch, Iron Defense, and Mega Punch." said Lincoln. "It has the Iron Fist ability which powers up its punching moves." He walks to Farfetch'd while taking a potion out of his backpack. "Are you okay, Farfetch'd?" Farfetch'd nods in response; Lincoln sprays Farfetch'd with the potion and heals her wounds. "You were amazing, Farfetch'd." She smiles in response.
Lincoln trained his other Pokemon as well; his Bagon got stronger, his Braixen learned Lucky Chant, his Panpour learned Taunt and Fling, his Lucario learned Bone Rush, and his Floette learned Grassy Terrain. During the training, Bagon began to glow.
"Bagon's evolving!" said Lincoln. Everyone watched as Bagon began to change form; when he stopped glowing, Bagon stood on four gray legs while the rest of his body was covered in a light gray shell with an opening in front, revealing a pair of eyes. Lincoln points his pokedex at his newly evolved Bagon.
"Shelgon, the Endurance Pokemon and the evolved form of Bagon. Within its rugged shell, its cells have begun changing. The shell peels off the instant it evolves." said Lincoln's pokedex.
"This is amazing, Shelgon; pretty soon, you'll be airborne in no time." said Lincoln, making Shelgon jump up and down, happily, making Lincoln laugh, happily.
Lincoln's friends also took the time to train their Pokemon. During Shauna's training, her Chespin and Azurill began to glow.
"Chespin and Azurill are evolving!" said Shauna. Everyone watched as both Chespin and Azurill began to grow. When they glowing stopped, Chespin now had a round body with most of its body covered in a green, armorlike shell with a large, red-tipped spike on top of each side of its head. Shauna points her pokedex at her newly evolved Chespin.
"Quilladin, the Spiny Armor Pokemon and the evolved form of Chespin. It relies on its sturdy shell to deflect predators' attacks. It counterattacks with its sharp quills." said Shauna's pokedex.
Azurill had a blue, round body with a white belly, round ears, arms and feet, and a thin, black tail with a blue ball on the end of it.
"And what's Azurill now, Shauna?" asked Lincoln. Shauna points her pokedex at her newly evolved Azurill.
"Marill, the Aqua Mouse Pokemon and the evolved form of Azurill. The fur on its body naturally repels water. It can stay dry, even when it plays in the water." said Shauna's pokedex.
"Congratulations, Shauna." said Lincoln, making Shauna smile in response.
Serena and her Pidgey were currently facing a furry, brown, quadrupedal Pokemon with a cream-colored furry collar around its neck. Serena takes out her pokedex and points it at the Pokemon.
"Eevee, the Evolution Pokemon. A rare Pokémon that adapts to harsh environments by taking on different evolutionary forms." said Serena's pokedex.
"Okay, Pidgey, use Quick Attack!" said Serena. Pidgey flies at Eevee with incredible speed and rams it, knocking it back. Eevee releases stars from its body and they hit Pidgey, damaging her.
"Pidgey, use Gust!" said Serena. Pidgey flaps her wings and releases a gust of wind at Eevee, and it hits it, damaging it. Eevee charges at Pidgey and rams her, knocking her to the ground, but gets back in the air.
"Pidgey, use Tackle!" said Serena. Pidgey flies at Eevee and rams it, knocking it to the ground. Serena takes out an empty pokeball and throws it at Eevee, hitting it, and sucking it in; the pokeball wiggled until it clicked. "I caught an Eevee; way to go, Pidgey." Pidgey smiles before she freezes up and begins to glow. "Hey, Pidgey's evolving." Pidgey began to grow; when she stopped glowing, Pidgey was now bigger and had pinkish-red feathers on her head and back. Serena points her pokedex at her newly evolved Pidgey.
"Pidgeotto, the Bird Pokemon and the evolved form of Pidgey. The claws on its feet are well developed. It can carry prey such as an Exeggcute to its nest over 60 miles away." said Serena's pokedex.
"All right, Serena!" cheered Tierno. Serena then uses her pokedex to look up her new Eevee's information.
"This says my Eevee's a girl, she knows Helping Hand, Tackle, Growl, Tail Whip, Sand Attack, Baby-Doll Eyes, Swift, Quick Attack, Bite, and Refresh." said Serena. "She has the Adaptability ability which powers up her attacks that are the same type she is; no wonder her Swift and Tackle looked strong."
With Trevor, he was also training his Pokemon. During the training, his Charmander began to glow.
"Now Charmander's evolving." said Trevor. Charmander began to grow; the glowing stopped, revealing Charmander was now red, had a hornlike protrusion on the back of his head, and long claws on the end of its arms. Trevor points his pokedex at his newly evolved Charmander.
"Charmeleon, the Torch Pokemon and the evolved form of Charmander. It lashes about with its tail to knock down its foe. It then tears up the fallen opponent with sharp claws." said Trevor's pokedex.
"Way to go, Trevor!" said Tierno.
"Whoa, a lot of our Pokemon evolving; this...is...awesome!" said Lincoln; Shauna giggles at Lincoln's excitement.
Moments later, the group were sitting on logs, eating sandwiches while all their Pokemon were eating Pokemon food out of bowls, as well as drinking water out of another.
"Eat up, everyone; you all earned it." said Lincoln.
"So, Lincoln; you think you're ready to take on Korrina in Shalour City?" asked Tierno, making Shauna frown after Korrina's name was mentioned.
"Not sure." replied Lincoln. "I've never seen her battle before, so I don't know how strong a gym leader she is."
"I'm sure you can beat her, Lincoln." said Shauna.
"I'll just keep training, so I'll be ready for her." said Lincoln, making his friends nod.
After everyone was finished eating, everyone packed up their Pokemon's bowls. After the group returned their Pokemon to their pokeballs, the group turned towards the path they were taking and started walking down it. As they did, they saw two girls having a Pokemon battle and stopped to watch.
One girl had long, blonde hair with a light purple hairpin on it, wearing a purple, long sleeved vest with fuchsia lines, light purple buttons, and a white handkerchief attached to the collar, a purple skirt with a fuchsia line around it, knee high, dark purple boots with purple stripes around the top of them, and an earring that looked like an orb with a black helix symbol on it.
The other girl had short red hair, wearing a yellow shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers. The blonde-haired girl had an Absol that had a pendant that had what appeared to be a Mega Stone with a blue, light blue, and white emblem in it around its neck out while the redhead had a long, mammalian, cream-colored furred Pokemon with brown stripes. Tierno points his pokedex at the redhead's Pokemon.
"Furret, the Long Body Pokemon and the evolved form of Sentret. The mother puts its offspring to sleep by curling up around them. It corners foes with speed." said Tierno's pokedex. The Furret was battered and was panting.
"Furret, use Fury Swipes!" said Furret's trainer. Furret leaps at the blonde girl's Absol with its arms raised.
"Absol, use Detect!" said Absol's trainer. Absol leaps up and dodges Furret's attack. "Now use Slash!" Absol comes down towards Furret and claws it, knocking it to the ground, unconscious.
"Furret, are you okay?" asked Furret's trainer, running to Furret. Furret looks at her trainer and smiles, weakly. Furret's trainer returns Furret to its pokeball and walks to Absol's trainer. "Good battle, Astrid."
"Thanks." said Absol's trainer, now identified as Astrid. Furret's trainer gives Astrid pokedollars and walks away. Astrid returns her Absol; she was about to walk when she sees Lincoln and his friends standing nearby. "Hello." She begins walking to them.
"Hi." replied Lincoln. Astrid soon reaches the group.
"My name's Astrid." said Astrid.
"I'm Lincoln Loud." said Lincoln.
"I'm Shauna." said Shauna.
"I'm Serena." said Serena.
"I'm Trevor." said Trevor.
"And I'm Tierno." said Tierno.
"Are you all travelling?" asked Astrid.
"Yeah; Lincoln's challenging gyms so he can compete in the Kalos League." said Tierno, putting his hands on Lincoln's shoulders from behind.
"Is that so?" asked Astrid, looking up and down at Lincoln.
"Yeah; he won his second badge yesterday." said Tierno.
"I'm challenging gyms as well." said Astrid.
"So, you're going for the Kalos League also?" asked Lincoln; Astrid nods in repsonse.
"I would like to see how strong you are as a trainer, Lincoln." said Astrid.
"With a Pokemon battle?" asked Lincoln.
"There's no other way." replied Astrid.
"Sure, I'll battle you." said Lincoln. Moments later, Lincoln and Astrid stood several yards from each other in a clearing while Lincoln's friends watched.
"How many Pokemon are we using?" asked Lincoln.
"We will each use three; I hope you're as strong a trainer as you are cute." said Astrid, making Lincoln blush and Shauna frown. Lincoln and Astrid each pull out a pokeball.
"Litleo, go!" said Astrid, throwing a pokeball and releasing a dark brown, lion cub-like Pokemon with a tuft of orange fur on top of its head. Serena points her pokedex at the Pokemon.
"Litleo, the Lion Cub Pokemon. The stronger the opponent it faces, the more heat surges from its mane and the more power flows through its body." said Serena's pokedex.
"Panpour, go!" said Lincoln, throwing Panpour's pokeball and releasing him. "Panpour, use Scald!" Panpour releases a stream of steaming water from his mouth, and it hits Lilteo, dealing super effective damage.
"Litleo, use Work Up!" said Astrid. Litleo becomes surrounded by a light red aura and its attack and special attack strength increases.
"Panpour, use use Bite!" said Lincoln. Panpour leaps at Litleo and bites it, dealing damage to it.
"Litleo, use Take Down!" said Astrid. Litleo charges at Panpour and rams him, knocking him back; Litleo receives recoil damage from Take Down.
"Whoa; that Take Down looked strong." said Lincoln.
"Is your Panpour male?" asked Astrid.
"Yeah, why?" asked Lincoln.
"So is my Litleo; he has the Rivalry ability which makes his attacks strong against Pokemon that are the same gender as him." said Astrid.
"So, because your Lilteo's a boy like my Panpour, Litleo's attacks will do more damage to Panpour?" asked Lincoln.
"Exactly." replied Astrid.
"We won't let that stop us." said Lincoln.
"Love the determination." said Astrid.
"Panpour, use Bite!" said Lincoln. Panpour leaps at Litleo and bites him, dealing damage, and making him flinch. "Now use Water Gun!" Panpour releases a stream of water from his mouth, and it hits Litleo, dealing super effective damage.
"Litleo, use Fire Fang!" said Astrid. Litleo runs at Panpour while fire covered his fangs and he bites Panpour, dealing moderate damage due to Litleo's Rivalry ability; fire covered Panpour's body.
"Panpour's burned." said Trevor.
"It's not over as long as Panpour's standing." said Lincoln, making Astrid smile. Panpour receives damage from his burn. "Panpour, use Scratch!" Panpour runs at Litleo and scratches him.
"Litleo,use Headbutt!" said Astrid. Litleo pounces at Panpour and rams his head against him, damaging him.
"Panpour, use Fury Swipes!" said Lincoln. Panpour leaps at Litleo and repeatedly scratches him, knocking him near Astrid's feet with swirly eyes. "Good work, Panpour."
"Go, Lincoln!" cheered Tierno.
"That was great." said Serena. Astrid returns Litleo to his pokeball.
"You deserve a rest, Litleo." said Astrid. She puts Litleo's pokeball away and pulls out another pokeball. "Espurr, go!" She throws the pokeball and releases a pale gray, bipedal, catlike Pokemon. Shauna points her pokedex at the Pokemon.
"Espurr, the Restraint Pokemon. The organ that emits its intense psychic power is sheltered by its ears to keep power from leaking out." said Shauna's pokedex.
"You want to keep battling, Panpour?" asked Lincoln. Panpour nods in response. "That's the spirit, Panpour; never give up." Astrid looks at Lincoln with admiration.
"Espurr, use Fake Out!" said Astrid. Espurr leaps at Panpour and lands in front of him, surprising him; it claps its hands, releasing a shockwave that hits Panpour, damaging him, and making him flinch; he receives damage from his burn. "Now use Psybeam!" Espurr fires a beam of multicolored energy from its arms, and it hits Panpour, damaging him; he receives more damage from his burn. A blue aura surrounds Panpour.
"Panpour's Torrent ability; okay, Panpour, use Scald!" said Lincoln. Panpour releases a steaming stream of water from his mouth at Espurr.
"Espurr, Light Screen!" said Astrid. A light blue wall appears in front of Espurr before Scald hitting it, dealing damage; fire covers Espurr's body.
"Yeah; now Espurr's the one who's burned." said Tierno.
"Espurr, use Covet!" said Astrid. Espurr leaps at Panpour and hits him with its paw, knocking him to the ground, unconscious. "Well done, Espurr."
"Keep going, Lincoln!" said Trevor.
"Don't give up!" said Shauna.
"As long as I have Pokemon willing to battle, I'll never give up; I'll continue battling alongside them." said Lincoln. Astrid smiles and blushes when she hears Lincoln's words. Lincoln returns Panpour to his pokeball. "You fought well, Panpour; I'm proud of you." He puts Panpour's pokeball away and pulls out another one.
"Go, Farfetch'd!" said Lincoln before he throws Farfetch'd's pokeball and releases her. "Farfetch'd, use Swords Dance!" Farfetch'd flies up and spins around, raising her attack strength.
"Espurr, Psybeam!" said Astrid. Espurr fires another multi-colored beam of energy at Farfetch'd and hits her, damaging her. Espurr receives damage from its burn.
"Farfetch'd, use Knock Off!" said Lincoln. Farfetch'd flies at Espurr while black sparks surrounded her leek and she strikes Espurr with it, dealing super effective damage.
"Espurr, use Confusion!" said Astrid. Espurr's eyes glowed purple; Farfetch'd becomes surrounded by a purple aura and gets lifted off the ground, then gets slammed down onto it, dealing damage to Farfetch'd. Espurr receives damage from its burn.
"Farfetch'd, Fury Cutter!" said Lincoln. Farfetch'd leaps at Espurr and slashes it, dealing super effective damage and knocking it to the ground; Espurr struggles to get back up.
"Espurr, use Scratch!" said Astrid. Espurr leaps at Farfetch'd and scratches her but not dealing much damage due to its attack strength being weakened by burn; speaking of which, Espurr receives more damage from it.
"Farfetch'd, use Fury Cutter!" said Lincoln. Farfetch'd slashes Espurr with her leek, dealing more damage than the previous Fury Cutter. "Fury Cutter deals more damage for each consecutive time it's used." Espurr falls near Astrid, unconscious. "Great work, Farfetch'd."
"All right, Lincoln!" said Serena.
"Keep it up!" said Tierno. Astrid returns Espurr to its pokeball.
"You did well, Espurr." said Astrid. She puts Espurr's pokeball away and pulls out another. "I'm enjoying our battle so far, Lincoln; let's see how you handle my final Pokemon. Absol, go!" She throws her pokeball and releases her Absol. Astrid touches her earring and streams of energy comes out of it while streams of energy come out of the Mega Stone in Absol's pendant; the streams of energy from Astrid's earring and Absol's pendant combine and Absol begins to glow.
"What's going on?" asked Serena. They watched as Absol begins to change shape; when it stopped glowing, its fur was longer, its horn was bigger, the fur on its back made it appear Absol had wings, a tuft of fur covered one of its eyes, its tail was saw-shaped, and had long black spikes coming out of the back of its heels and elbows. A rainbow colored dna helix appears above Absol and then it disappears.
"I think Astrid Mega Evolved her Absol!" said Trevor.
"Whoa; that is awesome!" said Lincoln.
"Okay, Mega Absol, use Slash!" said Astrid. Mega Absol leaps at Farfetch'd while its claws glowed white, and slashes her with them, damaging her, and knocking her to the ground; she struggles to get up.
"Farfetch'd, use Fury Cutter once more!" said Lincoln. Farfetch'd slashes Mega Absol with her leek, dealing super effective damage.
"Mega Absol, use Bite!" said Astrid. Mega Absol leaps at Farfetch'd and bites her; it tosses Farfetch'd to the ground, unconscious. "Excellent work, Mega Absol." Lincoln returns Farfetch'd to her pokeball.
"I'm proud of you, Farfetch'd." said Lincoln. He puts Farfetch'd's pokeball away and pulls out another. "I'm really enjoying our battle, Astrid."
"I'm enjoying it too, Lincoln." replied Astrid.
"But this battle's not over yet; Lucario, go!" said Lincoln as he throws Lucario's pokeball and releases him. "Lucario, Swords Dance!" Lucario closes his eyes and meditates; glowing blue swords circle him and cross together. Lucario glows red and his attack strength increases.
"Mega Absol, use Bite!" said Astrid. Mega Absol leaps at Lucario and bites him, but not dealing much damage, but making him flinch; energy begins surging through Lucario.
"You activated Lucario's Steadfast ability; his speed increases when he flinches." said Lincoln.
"Mega Absol, use Pursuit!" said Astrid. Mega Absol leaps at Lucario and rams him but not dealing much damage.
"Lucario, Power-Up Punch!" said Lincoln. Lucario raises a paw while an orange aura surrounds it and he punches Mega Absol, dealing super effective damage; energy surges through Lucario and his attack strength increases.
"Mega Absol, use Slash!" said Astrid. Mega Absol leaps at Lucario while its claws glowed whie and slashes Lucario with them, but not dealing much damage.
"Lucario, Force Palm!" said Lincoln. Lucario leaps at Mega Absol while his paw turned light blue and he thrusts it into Mega Absol, dealing super effective damage; Mega Absol begins twitching.
"Mega Absol's paralyzed." said Trevor.
"Mega Absol, use Bite!" said Astrid. Unfortunately, paralysis stops Mega Absol from attacking.
"Aura Sphere, Lucario!" said Lincoln. Lucario holds out a paw and launches a blue sphere of energy out of it and it hits Mega Absol, dealing super effective damage. Mega Absol turns back to its regular form and collapses. "We did it!"
"Lincoln did it!" said Tierno.
"I knew he would." said Shauna.
"That battle was exciting." said Serena. Astrid returns Absol to its pokeball.
"You were incredible, Absol." said Astrid. She puts Absol's pokeball away and walks to Lincoln who was patting Lucario's arm. "You really are a strong trainer, Lincoln."
"Thanks, Astrid; that Mega Evolution was amazing." said Lincoln. "I can't wait for Shelgon to evolve so I can use my Salamencite on him."
"You have a Mega Stone too?" asked Astrid. Lincoln reaches into his backpack and pulls out his Salamencite. "That is amazing."
"What's your Mega Stone called, Astrid?" asked Lincoln.
"Absolite." replied Astrid.
"We have Mega Stones too." said Shauna as she pulls out her Venusaurite, while Tierno pulls out his Blastoisinite, and Trevor pulls out his Charizardite. "Mine is a Venusaurite."
"Mine's a Blastoisinite." said Tierno.
"And mine is a Charizardite Y." said Trevor. Astrid looks in amazement at all the Mega Stones. (a/n: Don't worry; Serena will get her own Mega Stone in a future chapter.) Lincoln and his friends put their Mega Stones away. Astrid reaches into her pocket and pulls out pokedollars; she gives them to Lincoln. As Lincoln looks at the pokedollars, Astrid leans forward and kisses him on the cheek, surprising Lincoln, and making Shauna glare at her; after Astrid finished kissing Lincoln, she winks at him, making him blush.
"I think I'll stay here and train for a while." said Astrid.
"Sounds good; my friends and I are going to Geosenge Town so I can get my Pokemon treated." said Lincoln.
"Hope we see each other again." said Astrid, holding out a hand; Lincoln grabs Astrid's hand and shakes it. After breaking the handshake, Lincoln and his friends begin walking down Route 10 while Astrid watched them; she then looks at her hand that Lincoln shook and holds it close to her chest while blushing with her eyes closed. "I really hope to see you again, Lincoln."
Lincoln and his friends have met another trainer going for the Kalos League, as well as witnessing a Mega Evolution. What else will they experience as their Kalos journey continues?
End of Chapter 23
(Authors' Note: Lincoln's family will learn he's alive in a future chapter. We're only asking everyone to please be patient in the meantime. The chapter will come; we give you our word.)
Pokemon on Lincoln's Team: Shelgon (M), Braixen (F), Panpour (M), Lucario (M), Floette (F), and Farfetch'd (F).
Pokemon in Lincoln's Collection: Shelgon (M), Braixen (F), Zigzagoon (M), Beedrill (M), Panpour (M), Dunsparce (M), Riolu (M), Farfetch'd (F), Budew (F), Floette (F), Honedge (F), Volbeat (M), Woobat (F), Anorith (M), and Golett (genderless).