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.
The Great Charjabug Race
Another day at the Alola Pokemon School has nearly ended, and Professor Kukui has a special announcement for his class who were just about ready to leave.
"This Friday is the day of Melemele Island's monthly Charjabug Race." Professor Kukui tells his class.
"Isn't that the thing that Sophocles wants to do?" asked Lynn.
"Yeah." said Shelby.
"We'll be attending it as my treat to all of you." said Professor Kukui.
"What if one of us wants to enter it?" Sophocles asked.
"Well, if you have a Charjabug Racer, and a Charjabug to operate it, then I don't see why not." Professor Kukui replied.
"Great." said Sophocles. "I'm almost done with mine."
"We should all cheer him on when he races." said Alola Lana; everyone else gives their support to their classmate.
"How about telling us who don't know a lot about Charjabug Racing how it works?" asked Professor Kukui.
"Sure, Professor." said Sophocles. "Each Charjabug Racer team has three members; one person to give directions from a tower, another one to change the tires and provide maintenance for their team's car, and one other person to run alongside their team's Charjabug and help it overcome obstacles."
"Who are you gonna have on your team, Sophocles?" asked Shiloh.
"Too bad our sister, Lana, isn't here." said Lynn. "She's great with cars."
"I'll be the one giving instructions from the tower." said Sophocles.
"I can help with maintenance part; I have experience repairing stuff at my family's ranch." said Kiawe.
"Maybe I can run along your Charjabug and help it out." said Lincoln. "I've gotten a lot more stamina because of the Pancake Race training."
"Sure." said Sophocles. "And as for the race itself; the track has three parts to it: one has a rocky terrain with stone pillars as obstacles, another with a desert terrain that has a sandstorm which makes it hard to see, and the last one is a city street that has different weather that could make the road a bit slippery. There's a pit stop after each part where the runner can rest while the maintenance member switches out the tires."
"What else?" asked Kiawe.
"The person running along their Charjabug Racer can't help it by pushing it along which could get their team disqualified, and your Charjabug can't use their attacks on the other team's Charjabugs either." said Sophocles.
"Yeah, that's dirty competing and I won't stand for that." said Lynn.
"You should hurry and finish your Charjabug Racer." said Lincoln.
"I'll get started on that when I get home." said Sophocles.
Soon, the bell rings, and everyone, especially Sophocles leave the building to do their own things.
At Sophocles' home, he goes into his garage and walks over to a workbench where a blushish-green and yellow Charjabug Racer was sitting.
"Time to get to work." said Sophocles. He works on his Racer until it was time for dinner; as soon as he was done, he gets back to it until bedtime. He gets up at 4:00 AM to do more work before it was time to go to school.
It was near dawn in Sophocles' workshop; he was putting the finishing touches on his Charjabug Racer while his Charjabug watches.
"Soon, you'll be ready to ride, Charjabug." Sophocles says, making his Pokemon chirp in response.
The next morning, Lincoln and Lynn, their cousins, and most of their Alola friends were walking through the Pokemon School's front gate.
"Where's Sophocles?" asked Lincoln.
"He's going to be late." said Kiawe.
"I hope that Guzma guy isn't messing with him." said Lynn.
"He's not that tough." said Chandler.
"Says someone who lost to him." said Shelby.
"That guy just got lucky." said Chandler.
"Better to be lucky than good; and unfortunately for you, you're neither of those things." said Shane, making Chandler growl.
Just then, they hear the sound of electric buzzing from behind them, making the group look to see Sophocles, along with his Charjabug who was in his Charjabug Racer heading towards them.
"Alola, everybody!" said Sophocles.
"Alola, Sophocles!" Lincoln replied.
"Is that your Charjabug Racer?" asked Shelby as everyone, including Chandler, gathered around Sophocles' completed project to get a good look at it.
"That is so cool!" said Shiloh.
"I'll bet Lana would like to get a good look at it." said Lincoln.
"She might be tempted to mail herself here to get in on Charjabug Racing." said Lynn.
"What's the big deal?" asked Chandler. "It's just a bug in a small car."
"Hey, this is important to Sophocles, so don't rain on his parade." said Shelby.
"Yeah, or I might rain some fists down on your face, McCann." said Lynn.
"Whatever." said Chandler. "I gotta get to class before I'm late." He then walks towards the Pokemon School.
"Since when did he care about missing classes?" asked Lincoln.
"He probably said that so he wouldn't have to mess with me." said Lynn. Sophocles then bends down to examine his Charjabug Racer.
"Something wrong?" asked Alola Lana.
"Not really." said Sophocles. "But my Racer isn't going as fast as the ones I've seen in past races; and if I want to win,then it has to be faster."
"Maybe Charjabug needs more encouragement?" suggested Lillie.
"Well, my Charjabug is a mild Pokemon, so a little confidence would help." said Sophocles. Everyone then started giving Charjabug some support to boost his morale, but it blushed a bit from the attention and spits a gob of sticky thread into Sophocles' face.
"We might have to take it easy on him." said Lincoln as Sophocles tries getting the thread off his cheek.
"That sure is sticky." said Shelby.
"Yeah, Charjabug thread will stick to virtually anything; even slick surfaces." said Sophocles as he tears some thread off his face.
"He could practice a bit more to build up his confidence." said Lynn.
"We can do that during lunch period." suggested Lincoln.
"I could do some more work on the Racer to make it faster at home." said Sophocles. "And I could also help Kiawe about changing the tires on it."
"Yeah, I'm not that familiar with Charjabug Racers, so that would be helpful." said Kiawe.
"Sounds like we got a plan for the week." said Lincoln.
"Let's go, Sophocles' Lab!" said Sophocles.
"Sophocles' Lab?" Lynn replied.
"Yeah, that's our team name." said Sophocles.
"Well, I guess since it's your team, then it's okay by me." said Lynn. Sophocles, Lincoln, and Kiawe put their hands in and promise to be victorious in the upcoming race.
The next four days were busy for Sophocles' Lab; during lunch periods, Lincoln ran with Charjabug's racer, giving it encouragement to make it determined and faster, along with taking Moomoo Milk breaks to recharge. Sophocles helps Kiawe learn about the different tires there were and how to change them. After school, Sophocles would work on improving his Charjabug Racer to make it faster.
Soon, the day of the Great Charjabug Race finally comes, and Team Sophocles, along with the other Louds and their Alola friends, all go over to a large stadium where the competition was taking place and head inside.
"Wow." said Lincoln. "Look at all the teams competing here today."
One team was called Team Princess, which consisted of three girls who had a Charjabug wearing a red ribbon, and a pink Charjabug Racer.
"Lola would like that team." said Lincoln.
Another team was called Team Starmie which consisted of three boys with a Charjabug that had two star-shaped stickers on its face, and a dark blue Charjabug Racer.
Another team was called Team Science Speed which had three boys wearing lab coats and glasses.
"Lisa would like that team." said Lynn.
"It doesn't matter." said Sophocles. "I'm sure that my Charjabug will win."
"Don't be too sure about that." a smug voice calls out, making the group look to see a young man with blonde hair, wearing a white dress shirt with red bow tie and black suspenders, red shorts, white dress socks, and black dress shoes; with him were two other boys; one had red rust hair, wearing a white shirt under a dark gray vest, red shorts, white socks, and black dress shoes; and the other one had brown hair with a bowl cut, white dress shirt, red shorts, white socks, and black dress shoes.
"Who are you?" asked Sophocles.
"If you commoners must know, my name is Horatio; leader of Team Red Comet." said the blonde boy now known as Horatio.
"I'm Yansu." said the red haired boy now identified as Yansu.
"And I'm Dana." said the brown haired boy, now identified as Dana.
"And this is my Charjabug." said Horatio as he gestures to a red Charjabug that was inside a red Racer.
"Is that a shiny Charjabug?" asked Lincoln.
"The commoner gets it on the first try." said Horatio.
"Hey, don't insult my bro unless you want a fist in the face." said Lynn as she punches the palm of her hand, making Yansu and Dana back off.
"I'm not a neanderthal." said Horatio. "I'm saying I spent a lot of money on my Charjabug Racer, so there's no way it can lose."
"Don't be so sure about that!" said Sophocles. "I've worked very hard on my Charjabug Racer, so you should save yourself the embarassment of losing and just go home."
"How dare you talk back to me!" said Horatio. "I've wasted too much time talking to commoners; I have a race to win."
"Which race are you talking about, because it sure isn't gonna be this one!" said Lynn.
"Hmph." Horatio replied before he turns around with Yansu and Dana following after him.
"What a chump." said Lynn.
"You'll show him how good your Racer is on the track." said Shelby.
"Thanks, everyone." said Sophocles.
"Hold on." said Lincoln as he takes out his Rotom Phone and uses it to call his family.
"Hi, son." Lynn Sr, who answer the call, says.
"Is Lana there?" asked Lincoln. Lana's face appears in front of Lynn Sr's.
"What's up, Linc?" asked Lana.
"The Charjabug Race is about to start, and I'm gonna broadcast it to you all if you want to watch." said Lincoln.
"Yeah!" said Lana. Lynn Sr hooks his device to the TV in the Loud house's living room to give Lana a bigger picture; the rest of the family gathers to watch.
Soon, the race was about to start; Anna, the lady with the Magnezone who was giving a play-by-play at the Pancake Race, was telling everyone how the race worked.
"Get to your positions, everyone." said Anna. All the teams' Charjabug Racers went onto the track and got ready to begin. Soon, the race started and the Racers were all speeding along the track with their support runners following alongside them; at the first turn, a couple of Charjabug Racers crashed, eliminating them from the race.
Several of the teams' Racers, including Sophocles' Lab and Team Red Comet were able to avoid wiping out and soon make it to the rocky area.
"Your Charjabug didn't crash because it was too slow." Horatio says to Sophocles as he sits on a velvet cushioned chair.
"Hey, we're still in the race!" Sophocles replied.
"For now." said Horatio. As the remaining Charjabug Racers moved through the cliffs, a Boldore appears and uses Stone Edge to make rock pillars which caused a couple of Charjabug Racers to tip over. Team Red Comet's Racer was able to make their way past the new obstacles while Horatio looks on with a smug look on his face.
Sophocles' Racer soon gets blocked by a large stone wall that Boldore suddenly creates.
"That's not good." said Kiawe.
"Think, Lincoln, think." Lincoln said as he tries to think of a solution; an idea soon pops into his head and he checks in with Sophocles on something. "Hey, Sophocles; the support runners are only prohibited from pushing the team's Charjabug Racers, right?"
"Yeah?" asked Sophocles.
"Is there a rule that says we can't, say, uses our bodies as ramps?" Lincoln replied.
"No, there isn't." Sophocles says as he realizes what Lincoln was getting at; the white-haired Loud leans against the rock wall and has Sophocles' Charjabug drive up his body to the top, which it does successfully.
"Nice one, bro!" said Lynn.
"He is the 'Man with the Plan'." said Mallow.
"You just got lucky!" said Horatio.
"Better to be lucky than you, chump." said Lynn. Other teams, seeing Lincoln's tactic, do the same thing to help them make it over the wall.
The Charjabug Racers still in the race make a pit stop to change their tires. Kiawe gives Sophocles' Charjabug some Moomoo Milk to give it a pick-me-up, as well as give Lincoln and Charjabug some goggles to protect their eyes from the sand in the next part of the race.
After the tires were changed, the remaining Racers head out onto the desert course where a Pokemon that looks like a mound of sand with a small shovel embedded in it causes a sandstorm to appear.
"What's that Pokemon?" asked Lincoln. "I'll check it out with my Rotom Phone when I get it back."
Everyone, including Team Red Comet, had a hard time seeing where they were going with the sand getting in their eyes, and some of the Racers got stuck in the sand.
"Lincoln!" Sophocles says to the white-haired Loud via earpiece. "Don't let Charjabug stop or he'll get stuck in the sand, and make sure to have him pace himself so he doesn't wear himself out too much!"
"You got it!" said Lincoln as he encourages Sophocles' Charjabug to keep on going at a subdued yet quick pace, which it does until it reaches the end of the desert course, with Team Red Comet and the very few remaining teams following after them.
After exiting the desert course, the teams do one more pit stop to do another tire swap. Team Red Comet's Charjabug was looking really exhausted.
"Charjabug needs to rest up, Horatio." Yansu says to Team Red Comet's captain.
"There's no time for a break!" Horatio replied. "Just have it keep going no matter what!"
"Man, what a moron." said Lynn. "Resting up is very important; can't do much if you're too tired to do anything."
"He's very insensitive to his Pokemon." said Lillie.
Soon, the remaining teams finished the tire changes, as well as Kiawe giving Sophocles' Charjabug some more Moomoo Milk, and everyone heads out onto the city track where another Pokemon that was gray, had an orb-shaped head on top of a cloudlike body, with a protrusion that looked like a lock of hair appears before its head turns into a large drop of water, causes rain to come down, slicking up the roads a bit, causing another team's Racer to wipe out.
Soon, three teams remained; Team Sophocles' Lab, Team Red Comet, and Team Princess.
As the Charjabug Racers continued down the cityscape road, the Pokemon that made it rain, suddenly turned into what looked like a light purple orb with eyes inside a swirling cloud, making it snow suddenly, turning the roads icy.
"Wasn't expecting that!" said Sophocles. Team Princess's Charjabug Racer suddenly loses control and was about to crash into Sophocle's Racer.
"Watch out!" said Lincoln as he dives in front of Sophocles' Racer and takes the blow from Team Princess' Racer.
"Lincoln!" his family and friends call out with worry.
"Are you okay, cuz?" asked Shane.
"I'm fine." said Lincoln as he gets up. "If I can get up after some of Lynn's karate kicks, I can handle something like that."
"Yeah, bro knows how to take a hit." said Lynn.
"Sorry about that." Team Princess's support runner says to Lincoln as she checks on him.
"It wasn't your fault." said Lincoln. "And no harm was done."
"Heh." said Horatio from the tower. "Too bad you two didn't crash; not like it would've mattered since I'm still ahead."
"Horatio, we got a problem!" said Yansu.
"What is it?!" asked Horatio. He looks down at the race track and sees his Racer wasn't able to make it up a road going up a hill due to its icy surface, as well as being low on stamina.
"Our Racer can't make it up!" said Yansu as he tries to figure out what to do.
"Just push it up!" said Horatio as he begins to panic.
"I can't! That's against the rules!" said Yansu.
"Forget the rules!" shouts Horatio as he leaves the tower and heads for the city course.
"What a chump." said Lynn.
Back on the course, Lincoln sees the situation that Team Red Comet was in and tries to figure out a solution for Sophocles' Racer.
"I know we can't run up this hill." said Lincoln. "There has to be a way to avoid slipping on the ice." He thinks and thinks until he remembers something from five days ago.
"Any ideas, Sophocles?" Kiawe asked his friend. As Sophocles tries to figure out a solution, he hears Shiloh yell out.
"Hey, Lincoln and Charjabug are in the lead now!" Shiloh says. Everyone looks to see Lincoln and Sophocles' Charjabug running up the hill without slipping.
"Hey!" Horatio yells out. "You can't change your tires outside a pitstop!"
"I didn't." Lincoln says as he looks back at Horatio with a grin before looking at his shoes; the Team Red Comet leader looks to see something shining on Lincoln's shoes; he also notices the same thing on Charjabug's tires.
"What is that?!" asked Horatio.
"Charjabug's String Shot." said Lincoln. "I remember that Sophocles said that Charjabug's thread can stick to pretty much anything, even slick surfaces."
"No way!" shouts Horatio.
"Can he do that?!" asked Yansu.
"The rules say that a team's Charjabug can't use their attacks on their opponents, but they don't say they can't use it on themselves!" said Lincoln.
"Ingenious." said Sophocles.
"He really is the 'Man with the Plan'." said Shelby.
"Hurry!" shouts Horatio. "Have Charjabug do that to its tires!" But Lincoln and Sophocles' Charjabug Racer was already at the top of the hill, making their way to the finish line.
"You're almost there, Charjabug!" said Sophocles.
"Keep pushing it!" said Kiawe.
"DASH!" Sophocles, Lincoln, and Kiawe all yell at the same time. Charjabug puts lots of its energy into its Racer and it zooms past the finish line.
"They won!" said Shelby.
"Knew they would." said Lynn.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" shouts Horatio as he drops to his knees and slams his fists into the street, hurting them in the process.
"What a wimp." said Lynn.
Later, at the winner's podium; Sophocles' team was on the highest pedestal, while Team Red Comet was on the second highest one with their heads hanging down in shame, while Team Princess was on the third place one.
"Let's get an interview with today's winners." said Anna as she walks over to Sophocles and holds a microphone up to him. "How do you feel about winning today?"
"It's so great!" said Sophocles. "But I can't take all the credit; Kiawe's mechanic skills, and Lincoln's quick thinking were a great help."
"Along with the boost Charjabug got from my family ranch's Moomoo Milk!" said Kiawe as he pops up in front of Sophocles while holding out two bottles of Moomoo Milk.
Later, Sophocles was looking at the prize package he got for winning; it had Charjabug pillows, notebooks, Charjabug Racer tires, and all sorts of other stuff.
"I'll share this with you all." Sophocles says to his teammates.
"I don't need the tires, but I'm sure that Lana would like one of those pillows." said Lincoln.
After the prizes were divvied up between the three members of Sophocles' Lab; they all then meet up with their friends and family.
"That was so amazing!" said Shelby.
"You were all incredible." said Lillie.
"We're so happy for you, Sophocles." said Mallow. She then looks at LIncoln with concern. "Are you okay after that hit, Lincoln?"
"I'm fine." said Lincoln.
"That was so cool!" said Lana.
"Maybe if you're ever in Alola, you can try a Charjabug race yourself." said Lincoln. "And I'm also sending you one of the Charjabug pillows that Sophocles got."
"Thanks, Lincoln!" said Lana.
"You better send me soemthing, too!" said Lola.
"Fine." said Lincoln. "I'll stop by Alola Sunrise and get you a couple pieces of jewelry."
"Thanks, Linky." said Lola.
"Better send me and Leni some also, Lincoln." said Lori.
"And Jackie and Mandee also." said Leni.
"Okay." said Lincoln. "I should stop by Poke Pelago and see if my Pokemon found anything."
Team Red Comet storms over to Sophocles, with Horatio at the front with a scowl on his face.
"You got lucky this time!" said Horatio. "But next time we compete against each other, I will win!"
"Bring it on!" said Sophocles as lightning travelled between his and Horatio's gazes.
"Looks like a new rivalry is born." said Alola Lana.
Sophocles' Charjabug Race team was victorious today. What else will happen with the Louds as their Alola adventure continues?
End of Chapter 87
Pokemon that Lincoln has with him: Incineroar (M), Rufflet (M), Trevenant (F), Gyarados (M), Lycanroc Dusk Form (M), and Lucario (M).
Pokemon in Lincoln's collection: Incineroar (M), Grubbin (M), Pikachu (F), Lycanroc Dusk Form (M), Ekans (F), Misdreavus (F), Crabrawler (F), Zubat (F) Noibat (F), Makuhita (F), Smeargle (M), Spearow (M), Rufflet (M), Mankey (F), Hawlucha x 2 (one M and one F) Flabebe (F), Oricorio (M), Whimsicott (F), Clamperl (F), Corsola (F), Gyarados (M), Sableye (F), Carbink (no gender), Machop (M), Spinda (M), Mudbray (F), Miltank (F) Herdier (M), Raticate (M), Sylveon (F), Grimer (M), Trevenant (F), Mantyke (M), Milotic (F), Caterpie (M), Yungoos (M), Pikipek (M), Bonsly (F), Munchlax (M), Drifloon (F), Gastly (M), Bagon (M), two Igglybuffs (both female), Eevee (M), Kecleon (F), Paras (M), Tyrunt (M), Gumshoos (F) Trubbish (F), and Elgyem (M).
Pokemon in Lana's care: Ekans (F), Mankey (F), Mudbray (F), Grimer (M), and Trubbish (F).
Pokemon in Lucy's care: Misdreavus (F), Zubat (F), Noibat (F), and Gastly (M).
Pokemon on Lynn Jr's team: Crabrawler (F), Hawlucha (M), Machamp (M), Talonflame (M), Kabutops (M), and Passimian (F).
Pokemon in Lynn Jr's collection: Crabrawler (F), Hariyama (F), Hawlucha (M), Machamp (M), Talonflame (M), Remoraid (M), Eevee (F), Kabutops (M). Passimian (F), and Minccino (F).
Pokemon in Lola's care: Flabebe (F), Clamperl (F), Corsola (F), Carbink (no gender), Milotic (F), Sylveon (F), Happiny (F), and Igglybuff (F).
Pokemon in Lily's care: Spinda (M), Herdier (M), and Minccino (F).
Pokemon in Morticians' Club's care: Sableye (F), Drifloon (F), and Shuppet (F).
Pokemon in Ronnie Anne's care: Hawlucha (F).
Pokemon in Liam's care: Miltank x 4 (F), and Tauros (M).
Pokemon in Leni's care: Pikachu (F).
Pokemon in Lisa's care: Archen (M)
Pokemon in the care of Lola's pageant friends: Sylveon (F), and Igglybuff (F).
Pokemon in Zach's care: Elygem (M).
Pokemon on Shelby's Team: Persian (F), Sudowoodo (M), Jynx (F), Seel (M), Espeon (M), and Ampharos (F).
Pokemon in Shelby's collection: Persian (F), Sudowoodo (M), Jynx (F), Seel (M), Espeon (M), Ampharos (F), Stufful (M), Cranidos (M), Natu (F), and Dedenne (M).
Pokemon on Shiloh's Team: Lycanroc Midday Form (M), Snorlax (M), Leafeon (M), Tirtouga (M), Pupitar (M), and Wailmer (M).
Pokemon in Shiloh's Collection: Lycanroc Midday Form (M), Snorlax (M), Leafeon (M), Mantyke (M), Tirtouga (M), Pupitar (M), Wailmer (M), and Torkoal (M).
Pokemon on Shane's Team: Toucannon (M), Mareanie (M), Wigglytuff (F), Oranguru (M), Lileep (M), and Pineco (M).
Pokemon in Shane's Collection: Toucannon (M), Mareanie (M), Wigglytuff (F), Oranguru (M), Lileep (M), Pineco (M), and Vanillite (F).
Pokemon on Chandler's Team: Arbok (F), Vullaby (F), Jolteon (M), Pinsir (M), Bruxish (M), and Boldore (M).
Pokemon in Chandler's collection: Raticate (M), Tentacruel (M), Arbok (F), Vullaby (F), Jolteon (M), Salandit (M), Pinsir (M), Dunsparce (F), Boldore (M), Bruxish (M), Yungoos (M), Lillipup, Grubbin, Magby, and Shieldon (M).