Pokemon Loud Version - Kanto

by SilverNugget

No Such Luck AU. After being accused by Lynn of ruining her championship softball game, Lincoln's family plans to send him away to live with his Aunt Ruth until the whole 'bad luck' mess blows over. However, a suggestion by Lisa leads to a different destination that will change Lincoln's life forever. New 'M' Rating due to language & content within the story. Cover by JaviSuzumiya.

33. Chapter 33 - Professor Ivy's Arrival

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or the Loud House. Those properties belong to Nintendo/Game Freak and (regardless of what happened to him) Chris Savino/Nickelodeon respectively.

Note: This story will be based primarily on the anime with aspects of the games, the Adventures manga and the Electric Tales manga mixed in. Also, for the sake of convenience, I will be using the following fonts for these particular parts of the story:

Translated Pokemon Speech

Pokedex Entries/Computerized Voices/Flashbacks

-=O=-

-The Loud Residence - Lisa & Lily's Room (7:30 AM)-

As the rest of the Loud family went about their usual post-awakening business, preparing themselves to face the day ahead of them, Lisa was sitting at her desk, staring at a small monitor that had the current date and time displayed on it.

"...It's been roughly three weeks since Lincoln's departure. Three entire weeks without him here." muttered Lisa to herself as her eyes remained locked onto the monitor in front of her. "While I'm happy that he's doing well for himself in Kanto, a small part of me wishes he was back here with us."

With a shudder, she adds "Especially since the school year's going to be starting soon. I dread to think about how difficult things are going to be during the morning without him around to keep everything in order..."

As another shudder ran through Lisa's body, the familiar sound of her VideoPhone's beeping rang through out the room, causing her to wince at the noise before giving Lily, who was somehow still sleeping despite the racket, a worried glance.

Upon seeing that her sister was still sound asleep, Lisa mutters "Thank Tesla for small miracles..." before quietly slinking over to answer whoever was calling her. Pressing a few keys on the VideoPhone, she adds "...Let's see...this call is coming from..."

Upon seeing the call's location on the screen, she murmurs "...Five Island? Where have I heard that name before?"

After taking a moment to mentally go over the name, the four year-old snapped her fingers in realization, saying "Right...Professor Ivy's laboratory. I can't believe I've already let that particular detail slip my mind so easily, considering I had just met her a few days ago..." as the memories of that particular day came to mind...

-Flashback-

-The Loud Residence - Living Room (2:45 PM)-

"Are you almost done with setting that TV up, dudette?" asked Luna as she, Lucy and Rita watched as Lisa was positioned behind a sizable flat-screen TV, apparently fidgeting with something on it.

"Almost. Just need to make a few more adjustments and..." muttered the four year-old in response as she finished attaching a long black cable to the back of the TV. Once she had finished checking to see that the wire was firmly attached, she peers at Rita from behind the TV, saying "There. Try turning it on now."

Nodding, Rita picks up what appears to be a remote from the couch and presses a button on it, causing the TV to flicker to life before turning on, displaying what appeared to be a news anchorman on the screen.

"And in today's news, numerous eyewitnesses have reported sightings of a wild Moltres near Mt. Ember within the Sevii Islands area..."

Smiling, Lisa remarks "Sounds like it works. We now have the ability to watch Kanto's programming in the comfort of our living room."

As she and Rita plunking themselves down onto the couch, Luna says "Righteous. Maybe one of Lincoln's gym battles will be on right now." as her mother started to flip through the channels to see what was on.

"Can we still watch our usual stuff on this TV, Lisa? While I do want to see what Kanto's TV stations have to offer, I don't want to miss any episodes of Vampires of Melancholia either." asked Lucy, eyeing the TV carefully.

Nodding, Lisa answers "We should be able to. If I'm assuming correctly, it'll just a simple matter of detaching the wire attached to the receiver and attaching the one from our usual cable box."

"Good to know." replied the dark-haired Loud with a small smile before sitting down beside Luna on the couch.

Before Lisa could walk over to do the same, the sound of the doorbell ringing could be heard, causing her to let out a disappointed groan before going over to answer the door.

"One of these days, I really need to get around to attaching something to that doorbell to prevent unwanted interruptions..." muttered the little genius under her breath before opening the door, only to see both the McBride and Santiago families there. After eyeing them for a moment, she remarks "...You're early."

"We wanted to make sure we arrived with plenty of time to spare." replied Ronnie with a shrug. "You don't mind, do you?"

"I do not. If anything, it'll allow us to get this call out of the way sooner so I can start watching the new TV that Professor Oak had sent us." answered Lisa before stepping aside to let her guests into the house. "Please, do come in."

As the others started to file into the house, Clyde asked "Professor Oak sent you a new TV?" before peering into the house to get a look at it. Upon seeing the flat-screen TV in the living room, he lets out a low whistle, saying "...Wow. Must've cost him a pretty penny to be able to afford something like that for you."

"Considering that I had given him the means to improve his research on Pokemon further, I believe that whatever price he paid for it and the receiver that came along with the television, it was well worth it." said Lisa before her voice took on a slightly boastful tone. "Thanks to the aforementioned receiver, we can pick up Kanto's programming, allowing us to enjoy it in the comfort of our home."

Nodding appreciatively, Ronnie says "Nice."

"It is."

Taking on a slightly nervous expression, Bobby asked "Uh...Lisa? Lori...she's not here right now, is she?", causing the toddler to give him a shake of her head. Letting out a sigh of relief, he mutters "Good. I don't know if I can face her right now after breaking up with her earlier today."

"Why did you break up with her anyway?" asked Clyde, giving Bobby a curious glance. "Better yet, why would you want to leave a beautiful angel like her behind?"

Nudging the nerdy boy lightly in the gut, Howard hisses "Clyde, knock it off."

"Believe me, it was a tough decision to make, Clydesdale. I almost couldn't bring myself to go through with it." said Bobby, sighing. "But it had to be done. She needs to learn that while our relationship was important to both of us, it shouldn't be the most important thing in her life. That role should belong to her family."

"That and she needs to learn to stop being such a control freak when it comes to other people's lives." grumbled Ronnie before noticing that aside from Lucy, Luna, Rita, Lily and Lisa, the other Louds were nowhere in sight. "...Speaking of family, where's the rest of yours?"

"Yeah, I noticed that aside from you and everyone else in the living room, there's nobody here." remarked Bobby, nodding.

"That would be my mother's doing. My brother had contacted us earlier this morning and in an attempt to prevent a repeat performance of what had happened during his call from Cerulean City, she had them barred from our household until..." started Lisa, only to see the perplexed looks she was getting from Maria and the McBride parents while Ronnie and Clyde grimaced, recalling that particular day. "...Lincoln called us again today and Mom, not wanting the others to upset him, booted them out of the house until the call was over."

"I understood what you were saying the first time, Lisa." said Howard, eyebrow raised. "I'm more concerned about what you mean by the others upsetting him during a previous call. Did something happen?"

Deciding to step in, Clyde says "It was just a...family dispute between him and one of his sisters, Dad. Nothing to worry about."

"Sounds like it was much more than that if Lisa's mother went through the trouble of banning the others from the house to prevent it from happening again." mused Harold, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

Nodding, Bobby muses "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that it was much more than that. Nie Nie told me that it was something about...OW!", only to be cut off by Ronnie stomping hard on his foot.

As her brother started hopping on one foot while clutching the one she had stepped on, Ronnie growls "Now isn't the time to be bringing 'that' up, Bobby!" in a low voice, causing the teen to look at her for a moment before nodding.

"Right...sorry about that."

"What was that about, Ronalda? Is there something about this that you're not telling us?"

"It's nothing, Mom. Besides, we're not here to talk about what's going on with Lincoln and whatever's going on with his sister, right? We came here to talk to Professor Oak."

"Your daughter is right, Mrs. Santiago. We should be focusing on the main reason you came to see me in the first place." said Lisa, nodding in agreement. "Now then, if you will please follow me upstairs, I'll show you exactly where we'll be speaking to him."

"Lead the way, Lisa. So...uh, will this be an in-person kind of conversation or...?" asked Bobby as Lisa started to lead the six upstairs to her room.

"We'll be speaking to him through my VideoPhone. If it helps, think of this upcoming meeting with him as a phone call, but with the ability to speak to him face-to-face through a screen instead of through a receiver."

"Neat."

Maria, on the other hand, looked intrigued as she asked "This VideoPhone device you're talking about...it can contact anyone in Kanto, right? Anyone at all?"

"As long as the appropriate number is known, yes. The same can be said for any calls coming in as well." replied Lisa, nodding.

"Good. In that case, I want one."

"...I beg your pardon?"

"I want one in my home so I'll be able to keep in contact with my babies in case they need anything from me." said Maria, ignoring the mortified groans that her children had let out at her response.

Nodding alongside his husband, Howard says "Now that you mention it, we'd like one to be installed in our home as well. Can you make it happen?"

"While I can understand your reasons on why you would like to have VideoPhones installed at your places of residence, I can't just make them out of thin air. A machine like that requires hundreds, if not thousands of parts to assemble properly, some of which are expensive or incredibly hard to come by." replied Lisa, causing looks of slight disappointment to form on their faces. "However, while I may be unable to assemble them for you, that doesn't mean you won't be able to have one installed in your home. During one of my first meetings with Professor Oak, I remember him mentioning that the Silph Company in Kanto have VideoPhones for sale. You might be able to acquire one from them for a price."

"I'll look into it when I get home." replied Maria, filing the name of the company away into her mind for later as Lisa opened the door to her bedroom before motioning for the group to step inside.

"In here. We'll be speaking to him here."

As Lisa started to make her way over to the terminal-like machine in the room, Howard eyes it warily, asking "...What in the world is that thing?"

"My VideoPhone. As stated before, we'll be using it to speak to Professor Oak."

Interested, Maria remarks "Interesting. I take it that we'll be able to see what he looks like on the screen?"

"Yes. I've already dialed in the number to his lab, so all we need to do is wait for him to..." started Lisa before the sound of something beeping nearby cuts her off, causing her to quickly act in order to accept the call coming her way. "Disregard that. We'll be speaking to him...now."

As soon as the four year-old had said 'now', the VideoPhone's screen flickers to life before displaying Professor Oak's half-asleep visage on the screen.

"Of all the times for me to get a VideoPhone call, it had to be while I was..." grumbled the old professor before noticing who was calling him. "Oh...hello again, Miss Loud. It's only been a few short days since our last meeting with each other, but it's good to see you once again. I just wish you could've called me at a better time."

"My apologies, Professor. You see, I had made an arrangement with the Santiago and McBride families to speak with you today, but it would seem that I had forgotten to take the fact you would be asleep at this time into consideration. Sorry about that."

"It's alright. Just...make sure to call me at a time where both of us will be wide awake, please." said Oak with a nod before noticing the others in the room. Recognizing Ronnie and Clyde right away, he says "Hello again, you two. It's good to see both of you again."

"Likewise, Professor."

"Nice to see you too, Professor."

Turning to face the other four in the room, Oak asks "Well, now that I've properly re-acquainted myself with Miss Santiago and Mr. McBride, may I ask on who these four are?"

'So this is Professor Oak, huh? I guess Ronalda was being honest with me about this after all...' thought Maria to herself before she and Bobby stepped forward to greet the old professor. "The name's Maria Santiago, Professor. I'm Ronnie's mother."

"Roberto Santiago, Professor Oak, sir. You can call me 'Bobby' for short." said Bobby, smiling. "I'm Nie Nie's older brother."

"I told you before not to call me that in public, Bobby!" exclaimed Ronnie, mortified.

"I can't help it! It just comes out sometimes out of habit!"

As the two Santiagos started to squabble while Maria shook her head at the sight,

Trying to ignore the two Santiago as they started to squabble with each other, Howard and Harold step forward, intent on greeting Professor Oak as well.

Gesturing towards himself, Howard says "Hello, Professor. The name's Howard McBride." before gesturing toward Harold, who was waving cheerily at the old professor. "And the charming, wonderful man beside me is my husband Harold. We're both very happy to meet you."

"Likewise. It's good to meet you too." replied Oak before noticing that Bobby and Ronnie were still bickering with each other. "...Miss Loud?"

"Yes, Professor?"

"Is there any chance you can do something to bring Mr. and Miss Santiago's argument to an end? I'd like to have our business settled as soon as possible so I can go back to sleep."

"Certainly. One moment." replied Lisa before walking over to her desk and rummaging through it, taking out what appeared to be an air horn. Giving the others a look, she adds "You may want to cover your ears for this." before blasting it at Bobby and Ronnie, causing them to stop bickering long enough to cover their ears with noticeable winces on their faces.

"What the heck was that for!?" complained both siblings as they glared at the four year-old.

"To get you two to stop so we could get back onto the matter at hand. You came here to speak to Professor Oak, yes?" replied Lisa, causing the two to scowl at her for a moment before nodding. "Good. Carry on, Professor."

"Thank you, Miss Loud. Now then, since we've got our introductions out of the way, let's get down to business. Based on the fact that you're here to speak to me regarding your children and their trip to the Sevii Islands to see Professor Ivy, I would be correct in assuming that they've told you about Pokemon?"

"More or less. Ronnie didn't explain everything to us, but she provided us with a base understanding of what she'll be doing during her trip." answered Maria before giving her daughter and Clyde a questioning look. "However, while we're on the subject...who is Professor Ivy, where are the Sevii Islands and why are you two going there? I thought you were going to Kanto?"

Grimacing as her mother, brother and the McBride parents looked at her expectantly, Ronnie mutters "Right...I should've mentioned that to you before..." before starting on a brief explanation about the circumstances regarding what had happened during her earlier meeting with Professor Oak during his second report on Lincoln's progress with Lisa, Clyde and Professor Oak occasionally chipping in to help streamline things along.

Once all three were finished, Maria nods in understanding before saying "I see...so that's why you're heading to Five Island instead of directly to Kanto. However, now we've got another problem on our hands."

Eyebrow quirked in confusion, Ronnie asks "And what's that?"

"Professor Ivy. If she's going to be your sponsor, we'll have to talk to her as well." answered Maria while Howard nodded his head in agreement. "And until that happens, we can't let you two go just yet."

Clearly distraught, Ronnie exclaims "Aw, c'mon! We've come this far and you're going to delay this even longer? Why!?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't just allow you to leave without meeting Professor Ivy as well."

"Same goes for us and Clyde as well." said Howard, nodding his head and causing his son to let out a disappointed groan. Giving the nerdy boy a glance, he adds "I know you two are looking forward to this trip, but until we talk to Professor Ivy, we can't let you leave."

Before Ronnie could raise another protest regarding the three parents' decision, Oak clears his throat to get everyone's attention. Once he had it, he says "Before we start making any hasty decisions, I'd like to propose a solution that will satisfy your condition of speaking to Professor Ivy while easing any concerns Miss Santiago may have about delaying her departure to Five Island."

"And that would be...?" questioned Howard, only for Oak to smile before pressing a few buttons nearby.

A few seconds later, the sound of a woman's voice could be heard, saying "...Samuel? What are you doing, calling me at this hour? It's four in the morning!"

"My apologies, Philena. However, there's an important matter that I need to address with you."

"Oh?"

"Do you remember the two Americans that I mentioned to you before? The ones that you agreed to sponsor?"

"I do. What of it?"

Pointing at Maria, Howard and Harold, Oak says "Well, I'm currently speaking to their parents right now and they'd like to speak to you personally. Would you like to talk to them?"

"Certainly. Can you patch me through, please?" replied the voice in return, causing Oak to smile before pressing another button, causing a split-screen effect to appear on the monitor as a plum-haired woman appeared beside him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Philena." said Oak in return before turning his attention back to the people in Lisa's room, who were eyeing the other professor curiously. "Ladies and gentleman, allow me to introduce you to Professor Philena Ivy - League-certified Pokemon Professor and soon-to-be sponsor of your children."

"Wow...and here I was thinking she was pretty before. She's even more beautiful-looking in person." mumbled Clyde in a low voice, cheeks lighting up slightly at the sight of the plum-haired professor.

Beside him, Bobby nodded in agreement. Even though he was still fully dedicated to his former girlfriend, even he had to admit that Professor Ivy was a very attractive-looking woman.

After letting out a tired-sounding yawn, Oak says "Now then, since Professor Ivy is here to answer any questions you may have regarding Pokemon, I believe that my presence is no longer needed.", causing the people in Lisa's room to give him odd looks.

"You're leaving already, Professor?" asked Howard, perplexed.

"As I said before, she's going to be the one sponsoring your children, not me. Therefore, it makes sense for you to speak to her instead." said Oak tiredly. "Not to mention it'll give me the chance to go back to sleep. You may not know this, but it's close to 4 AM over here and while I enjoy talking to Miss Loud, I enjoy sleeping during the night, too."

"I wouldn't be happy about being woken up in the middle of the night either, Professor." joked Lisa before giving the others a nod. "I agree with Professor Oak - Professor Ivy should be more than qualified to address anything you need to talk about."

After a moment, Maria says "...Alright, we'll speak to Professor Ivy instead. Thank you for your time, Professor Oak."

"You're welcome. Now then, I must be going. Good night."

"Wait...I do have a question for you before you go, Professor." said Ronnie, catching the gray-haired professor's attention. "...Has anything new happened with Lincoln?"

"Ah, yes. I believe I can answer that before I leave. One moment..." said Oak before turning his attention to a nearby computer and pressing a few buttons. After a moment, he remarks "...Well, aside from catching a Meowth on Route 6, an incident at Pokemon Tech and another encounter with Team Rocket at Cerulean Cape a few days ago, he had managed to defeat Lt. Surge to win a Thunder Badge, so that would bring him up to three badges so far. Rather impressive for someone who's only been a Trainer for a few weeks, I'd say."

"Aw man...he's already at three badges?" groaned Ronnie, holding her head. "It's going to be a pain trying to catch up with him..."

"It's best to do things at your own pace instead of rushing to follow one belonging to someone else, Miss Santiago." replied Oak, arms crossed.

"I agree with Professor Oak. While I can understand wanting to catch up with your friend, you'll miss out on a lot of opportunities that could be beneficial to you on your journey if you remain solely focused on something like that." said Ivy, nodding.

"Speaking of which, what exactly will our children be doing on their journey together, if I may ask?" inquired Harold, raising one of his hands.

"I'll take this one, Samuel. Go get some more sleep." stated Ivy, causing Professor Oak to nod before hanging up. Turning her attention back to Howard, she says "As for your question, Mr..."

"McBride. Harold McBride."

"Thank you. Anyway, once they pass the Trainer's exam, a decision like that will be up to them."

"Which means...?" asked Maria, eyebrow raised.

"It means that if they want to pursue the Kanto league championship, they can do that. They want to learn how to be a Pokemon Breeder, they can do that too. Once you acquire your Trainer Card, which I suppose you could think of as an official license, the sky's the limit on what you can do as a Trainer."

Nodding in approval, Howard remarks "Sounds like a very open-ended career choice. I can appreciate that."

"What about these 'Pokeyman' things? Are they safe to handle?" asked Maria, concerned.

"That's 'Pokemon', Mrs. Santiago. And I will say that while most are fairly safe, there are some species of Pokemon that are too dangerous for beginners to handle. I'm not going to lie about that." said Ivy, arms crossed. "However, those particular species are usually rare and hard to find in the wild, so the likelihood of running into one of them is slim at best."

"And the others...?"

"It varies, depending on your skill as a Trainer. Let's use the Onix species as an example." replied Ivy before pressing a button nearby, causing a small image of an Onix to appear on the screen. "If you were a Trainer just starting out on your journey, you would have some difficulty on keeping an Onix under control. But if you happen to have more experience under your belt, say around one or two badges to your name..."

"...Then it should be easier, right?" concluded Bobby, causing Ivy to nod with a smile on her face.

"Exactly. And for the record, it is possible for someone to tame the dangerous species I had mentioned before, but you'll need a lot of experience as a Trainer to do that - around seven or eight badges worth of it, I'd say. Some of them may even require you to be Elite Four or Champion level to capture them."

'She must be referring to Legendary Pokemon with that last part...' thought Lisa as the thought of capturing one of those mythical creatures ran through her mind.

"So as long as they stay away from these particular Pokemon, our kids should be alright?" asked Howard, causing Ivy to take on a thoughtful expression.

"As long as they mainly keep to the routes and towns, they should be. However, sometimes you will have to delve into other areas of Kanto that aren't connected to either one if you want to proceed further."

"I'm guessing something like that is unavoidable?"

"Unfortunately. It's just one of the many aspects of life that Trainers face everyday." replied Ivy, nodding. "However, those same aspects play an important role in helping us grow and improve ourselves in the process, too."

Looking still unsure, Howard asks "I see...well, is there anything else I need to know about? Anything important?"

Tentatively raising her hand, Lisa says "Well...my family and I weren't aware of this before Professor Oak had informed us of this, but..."

"But?"

"...When someone becomes an official Trainer, they're legally seen as an adult within the accommodating region. And yes, that currently applies to Lincoln, too."

At this, both McBrides and Maria stared at the four year-old in disbelief, trying to comprehend what they had just heard.

"Did you have to tell them about that, Lisa?" asked Ronnie, clearly irritated. "They're probably going to say 'no' now thanks to you!"

"Better for them to learn now than later." stated Lisa, frowning. "And while that particular bit of information may be true, I'm certain that Bobby and Professor Ivy will do everything they can to ensure that you and Clyde will stay out of trouble."

"Miss Loud is right. Bobby and I will make sure to keep an eye on..." started Ivy before a look of confusion appeared on her face. "...Wait, who's Bobby?"

"My older brother. Mom says I can't go to Kanto unless I bring him along as a chaperone." said Ronnie while Bobby gave the professor a small wave. "The same thing goes for Clyde's dads, too."

"I see..." mused Ivy, eyeing the teen carefully. After a moment, a smile forms on her face as she adds "A request like that is completely understandable. If I had children, I'd want someone older to watch over them during their travels as well. Arceus knows I'd need to do the same thing when it comes to my assistants at the lab."

Giving Ivy a surprised glance, Maria asks "You're fine with bringing my son along with you? Truly?"

"Of course. And hey, since your son will be coming along with us, I can offer him the chance to take the qualification exam as well so he can become a Trainer, too."

"You're giving me the chance to capture Pokemon with Nie...er, Ronnie and Clydesdale? Really?" asked Bobby, eyes gleaming in delight.

"Certainly. If I'm going to be offering sponsorship to your sister and Mr. McBride, then I should do the same for you as well, Mr. Santiago. It's only fair." replied Ivy with a nod. "However, while I can offer you the chance to take the exam, I won't be able to provide you with a Pokedex. I only have two of them at the lab and they're already reserved for your soon-to-be charges."

"It's alright, Professor. Whatever these Pokedex things are, I'm fine with not getting one." replied Bobby, shrugging. "So when can we expect you to arrive? Or better yet, how are you going to come here to get us?"

"I'll be coming via helicopter to the Detroit Airport." replied Ivy before taking on a thoughtful expression. "As for your first question...that's hard to say. Will probably be sometime within the next few days, I'd wager."

"So you won't know until you finally leave, huh..." mused Ronnie, slightly disappointed with the reply.

Raising a hand, Lisa says "If I may, I might have a suggestion that could work regarding the situation. How about you inform me ahead of time before your departure and I can pass the message along?"

Nodding, Ivy answers "That could work. I'll need a way to contact you, though."

"I'll make sure to give you my VideoPhone number before you hang up, Professor." replied Lisa simply. "And if you wouldn't mind. make sure that you call me at a time when I'm not asleep, please. Like Professor Oak, I'm not exactly keen on the idea of being woken up during the night just to answer a VideoPhone call."

Giving Ivy a look, she adds "I'll also need your lab's number as well, just in case I need to contact you about something."

"Of course. One moment." said Ivy as she wrote something on a piece of paper, then held it up to the screen. After Lisa had finished copying the number down before returning the favor with her own number, she asks "So do we need to discuss anything else or..."

"There's one more thing I'd like to ask, Professor." said Maria, causing the plum-haired woman to give her a curious look. "Will you keep in touch with us regarding our children?"

"Of course. As a Pokemon Professor, I am legally obligated to provide you with reports on their progress."

"That's not exactly what I'm referring to..."

"I'll keep tabs on them and if anything comes up, you'll be the first to know. You have my word on that." said Ivy reassuringly. "Considering that this will be your family's first real exposure to Pokemon, I take it you don't have a VideoPhone at home?"

Shaking her head, Maria says "Unfortunately not. Lisa mentioned that the Silph Company in Kanto sold them, but..."

"You need some way to contact them." concluded Ivy, causing the other woman to nod. "No worries. I'll see about having some of their catalogs mailed to you and the McBrides, Mrs. Santiago."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." replied Ivy, nodding. "Now then, any other questions before I go?"

Upon hearing nothing being asked of her, she adds "I see. In that case, I'll be on my way so I can go back to sleep. Good night." before hanging up.

As the screen cut off, Lisa hangs up her own receiver before saying "And that's done. Your meeting with Professor Oak, as promised. Didn't expect for him to allow Professor Ivy to step in as well, but that seemed to work out nicely as well, I think.", sounding pleased with how the aforementioned meeting had gone. Giving the two parents in the room a glance, she asks "Would I be correct in assuming you were satisfied with everything you've heard today?"

"I am. While I'm still a little unsure about having my son so far away from home, at least I know he'll be in good hands." said Howard, nodding. "Thank you for arranging this for us."

Nodding as well, Maria says "Same here. I feel much better about my babies going on this trip, knowing that Professor Ivy will be there to look after them." while ignoring the mortified groan coming from her daughter. "Thank you for arranging this for us, Lisa."

"You're welcome." replied the four year-old in return with a nod of her own. "Now then, is that everything you need from me?"

"Just one request...will you please keep an eye on any word regarding our kids for us?" asked Maria softly. "Until we manage to get VideoPhones of our own, you're the only one that'll be able to keep in contact with Professor Ivy."

After taking a moment or two to mull over the concerned mother's words, Lisa finally answers "...I can't make any guarantees that I'll be able to keep an eye on them all of the time, but I will do what I can, Mrs. Santiago."

Satisfied with the answer, Maria says "That's fine. Thank you." before giving Ronnie and Bobby a firm, expectant look. "As for you, once I get this VideoPhone thing, I'll be expecting a call from you two at least once a week. Is that clear?"

"Yeah, I'll call you every week. I promise."

"And I better not hear anything about you doing something you're not supposed to, either. I don't care if becoming official Trainers make both of you legal adults over there or not - if I find out that either you or Roberto have taken up smoking, drinking or anything like that, I'll come down to Kanto myself and take La Chancla to both of your behinds."

Flinching as she and her brother covered their rears, Ronnie exclaims "There won't be any trouble! I promise!"

"For your sake, there better not be." said Maria firmly.

"Same goes for you too, Clyde. You may be our son, but neither of us will tolerate you picking up any unhealthy vices." said Howard, causing Clyde to quickly nod in response.

Satisfied with the answers that she and the McBride parents were given, Maria turns to Lisa, who had a look of amusement on her face, and gives her a grateful nod. "Thank you again for arranging this for us, Lisa. We really appreciate it."

"Anytime. Do you need me to escort you downstairs?"

"Thanks for the offer, but we'll be fine on our own."

"If you insist." said Lisa before her eyes lit up, as if remembering something. "By the way, I need to speak with Ronnie about something private before you go. Is that alright with you?"

"Sure, but...what do you need to talk about?" asked Maria, eyebrow raised.

"It's a private matter that won't take more than a few moments for us to finish discussing, Mrs. Santiago. Clyde, you're more than free to leave if you want." replied Lisa, causing Maria and Bobby to give her strange looks for a brief moment before shrugging and walking out of the room with all three McBrides following behind them a few moments later.

Once the two girls were alone, Lisa holds out her hand and says "...I fulfilled my part of our agreement, so now it's time you do the same. You have something that needs to be returned to me."

"Yeah yeah, I know..." muttered Ronnie with a roll of her eyes before taking a USB stick out of her pocket and handing it over. While Lisa looked it over carefully, she adds "Don't worry, it's the same one you gave me a few weeks ago. I'm not about to go back on our deal."

"Good to know." replied Lisa before placing the stick onto her desk. "...You didn't do anything with the files on it, did you?"

"Aside from seeing what was on it, no." answered Ronnie, shaking her head before a look of disgust appeared on her face. "No offense, but your sister's one sick freak for not only recording this stuff, but for also getting a laugh out of watching her own brother suffer like that."

Nodding, Lisa says "While I wouldn't exactly use words like that to describe Luan, I will admit that when it comes to her idea of 'comedy', she does tend to overdo it, especially on the first day of April. You of all people should know about that, considering your role in what happened last year."

"Don't remind me of that. I'm still unhappy with Luan about using me as bait to lure Lincoln into all of those pranks she set up. I still think that I should've slammed more than just that pie into her face." grumbled the Hispanic girl, scowling. "So what are you going to do with the stick?"

"Once you leave, I'm going to ensure that no one can ever use it as blackmail material again." said Lisa, placing the stick onto her desk.

"Do what you want. It's your USB stick, not mine." replied Ronnie, shrugging. "...Guess I better get going. Mom's probably wondering what's keeping me."

"Then be on your way. I doubt you'll want to keep her waiting."

Turning to walk away, Ronnie says "Alright then. See ya later.", only to give the younger girl one last glance. "By the way..."

"Yes?" answered Lisa, causing a small smile to form on Ronnie's face in response.

"...Thanks for arranging all of this for us."

"You're welcome. Just try to refrain from using blackmail to get me to comply next time you need something from me, please."

"I'll try not to." said Ronnie dismissively before giving Lisa a small grin. "I'll see you later, Lisa. You better make sure to keep an eye out for the three of us from now on, because we're going to be making names for ourselves once we get to Kanto. You can bet on that."

With a small smile on her face as well, Lisa says "I'll be watching, Ronnie. Count on it.", causing the other girl to nod in response before leaving the room.

Once she was certain that she was alone, the four year-old lets out a sigh of relief before picking the USB stick from before back up.

"Thank Einstein Ronnie held up her end of our deal. I dread to think on what would've happened if she had chosen to go back on it." muttered Lisa, eyes locked onto the stick in her hand. "...Now I just need to get rid of this, along with any other copies that Luan asked me to keep for her. I can't let anyone use something like this against me ever again."

"Something like what against you again?" asked a voice from behind her, causing the little genius to let out a startled yelp before turning around to face whoever had spoken to her.

Upon seeing the familiar form of her mother standing there, Lisa calms down slightly before replying "...Oh. Hello, mother. Do you need something?"

"Some answers on what you were just talking about, for one."

"...How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to hear you mumbling to yourself about that stick, young lady. I want answers. Now."

"...Ulp."

-Flashback End-

After that, she had told her mother everything about the circumstances regarding the USB stick - Ronnie and Clyde's break-in during Lynn's game, the confrontation that took place during said break-in and the deal that Ronnie had made with Lisa regarding the return of the stick after revealing her initial intentions on what she wanted to do with it.

Of course, this only led to Rita asking what was on the stick, giving Lisa no other choice than to show her what was on it.

Needless to say, her mother would not only agree with the idea of destroying the stick and any copies that Luan asked Lisa to keep, but the tapes in Luna and Luan's room would end up going too - something that the aspiring comedian would raise a stink over after Rita had confiscated and sub-sequentially destroyed every single tape in her collection.

And it wasn't just tapes on Lincoln that were destroyed - Luan had kept collections of tapes about everyone else as well, which had earned her the ire of the rest of her siblings when she was forced to admit to it the next morning.

"I should've expected for her to have recordings of our mishaps as well, considering that she pranks us almost as much as she does Lincoln." mused Lisa to herself before the sound of the VideoPhone's beeping had cut her from her thoughts, immediately reminding her that Professor Ivy was trying to call her.

Deciding to answer said call before the beeping woke Lily from her slumber, Lisa picks up the receiver and presses a button on the VideoPhone, causing the plum-haired woman to appear on the screen.

Giving her a small, yet tired wave, Lisa says "...Good morning, Professor Ivy."

"Good morning to you as well, Miss Loud." replied the woman before recalling that Lisa lived in a different time zone. "...Or in my case, I should say 'good evening'. I hope that I didn't wake you up at a bad time."

"Not at all. You caught me just after I had gotten out of bed, actually." answered Lisa before giving the woman a questioning look. "I presume that you're calling me for an important reason?"

"Yes. Do you recall the meeting you arranged a few days ago with the Santiago and McBride families?"

"I do. I take it that you're about to depart from Five Island?"

"I'm actually on my way to the Detroit Airport as we speak, Miss Loud. I should be there within the next six hours." replied Ivy, causing the four year-old's eyebrows to raise in surprise.

"You're on your way already?" inquired Lisa, prompting Ivy to give her a nod in return. "Then I'm sorry to say that we'll have to cut this call short, Professor. If you're on your way right now, then I need to go inform the Santiago and McBride families about this immediately."

"Understandable. In that case, I'll go ahead and hang up then. Goodbye." replied Ivy before ending the call. Almost as soon as the screen had cut off, Lisa scurries out of the room, intent on passing Ivy's message along to their intended recipients.

Upon reaching the living room, she picks up the receiver and dials in the number to the Santiago household, causing Maria's voice to come from the speaker a few seconds later.

"Santiago Residence, Maria speaking. Who is this?"

"Lisa Loud. I was the one who helped arrange your meeting with Professor Oak a few days ago."

"Right. So what do you need? Do you need to arrange another meeting for us or something?"

"Not at all. Rather, I'm calling to inform you that Professor Ivy contacted me just a few moments ago. She's currently on her way to the Detroit Airport as we speak."

Sounding clearly surprised by the answer, Maria asks "Already? How long do we have until she arrives?"

"I believe she mentioned that she would be there within the next six hours. And considering the distance between your residence and the Detroit Airport..." started Lisa before going silent for a moment, as if thinking over something.

"...And just how exactly do you know where my home is? I can't recall you ever coming here before." asked Maria with an odd tone to her voice, only to go ignored as Lisa spoke up once more.

"...Then by my calculations, you have precisely three hours from now to prepare Ronnie Anne and Bobby for their departure."

"Three hours...talk about a tight time limit. Thank you for passing this along to us, Lisa."

"Not a problem, Mrs. Santiago. And don't worry about informing the McBrides - I'll make sure to contact them after we finish up here."

"Good to know. I'll be going now." answered Maria's voice before taking on a stern tone. "And I'll be expecting an answer to my earlier question when we meet again."

"No promises. Goodbye, Mrs. Santiago."

With that said, Lisa ends the call before Maria could the chance to speak up again.

"That's done. Now I just need to contact the McBrides and pass the same message along to them." mutters the four year-old to herself as she started to dial in the McBride family's number. "...Mr. McBride?"

"That's me." replied Howard's voice from the receiver. "Can I help you?"

"Professor Ivy contacted me earlier. She's arriving at the Detroit Airport later on today."

"So our son will be leaving today, huh...how long do we have until she arrives?"

"Three hours. I'd start preparing your son for departure if I were..." started Lisa, only to stop speaking upon hearing a dial tone coming from the receiver. After eyeing it for a moment, she shrugs before hanging up and walking away, intent on returning back to her room.

-=O=-

-Location Unknown (Time Unknown)-

In the middle of a massive stadium, two Trainers were facing off against each other - a repugnant-looking teenage girl with short orange hair tied into a small ponytail on the side of her head and a young Hispanic girl wearing a purple-colored hoodie and a confident smirk on her face.

"We're both down to our last Pokemon, Santiago. Only one person's gonna walk away from this as the winner." said the orange-haired teen as she held up a Pokeball. After breaking away her gaze to give what she thought was a seductive-looking smile to a white-haired boy on the sidelines, she adds "And that person's going to be me."

As the boy and the audience members behind him flinched in disgust, the other girl scoffs before saying "Not gonna happen, Misty. I'm not only going to win this battle, but I'm going to win Lincoln, too. You won't beat me today."

Scowling, Misty replies "We'll see about that. Get out here, Gyarados!" before tossing the Pokeball she was holding, causing a Gyarados - one that seemed to be much more menacing than the usual fare - to form on the field.

As the fans and the white-haired boy let out worried murmurs at the beast's appearance, Ronnie eyes it for a moment before taking a Pokeball out of her pocket, asking "Gyarados, huh? Well then, it's a good thing I've got just the Pokemon to counter that. Come on out!"

In one swift movement, she tosses the Pokeball into the air, causing it to release a blinding burst of light that engulfs the entire stadium as a deafening roar fills the air.

Seconds later, the light fades away, revealing Misty's Gyarados on the ground, clearly unconscious as it's Trainer lets out a distraught cry.

"Gyarados! No!"

"AND THAT'S IT, FOLKS! WE HAVE THE WINNER OF THIS YEAR'S INDIGO CONFERENCE, RONNIE ANNE SANTIAGO! CONGRATULATIONS!" boomed the stadium's announcer as the fans started to cheer wildly.

While the Misty look-alike continued to sulk over her loss, the referee of the match ran over to the winner of the match with an ornate-looking golden trophy in his arms.

Holding it out, he says "Your trophy, Miss Santiago. Congratulations on your win."

Accepting it proudly, Ronnie says "Thank you." before giving the white-haired boy a sly grin, causing him to smile and blush lightly at the look he was getting. "And now it's time for me to claim my other prize. Get over here, Lame-O."

Nodding, the boy says "With pleasure." before running over and taking Ronnie into his arms, causing the pair to look into each others' eyes lovingly for a brief moment before locking lips with each other, causing Misty to start blubbering before running out of the stadium.

Nearby, Lincoln's Pikachu, Bobby and Clyde watched on, giving the pair a thumbs-up of approval.

As she continued to kiss the boy she loved to the approving cheers of the crowd, Ronnie thought 'I did it. I managed to win both the Kanto league championship and my Lame-O...this is perfect. There's nothing that can ruin this moment for me. Nothing.'

-=O=-

-The Santiago Residence - Ronnie's Room (8:00 AM)-

"...Do you think we should wake her up, Roberto?" asked Maria as she and Bobby watched on with looks of amusement on their faces as Ronnie continued to snog her pillow in her sleep while occasionally mumbling Lincoln's name. "Whatever she's dreaming about, she seems to be enjoying it."

"As much as I would hate having to interrupt it, we have to. You said it yourself - we don't have much time to get ready." answered Bobby, trying to keep from cracking up at what he was seeing. "I doubt she'll be too mad at us once she finds out why we're waking her up, though. Do you want to do the honors, Mom?"

Instead of replying, Maria takes out her phone and snaps a quick picture of her daughter, causing her son to roll his eyes at what she was doing.

"...Really, Mom?"

"What? Wouldn't you do the same?"

Scratching the back of his head, Bobby admits "Well...yeah, but that's beside the point. We need to wake her up so we can get ready to go. That's why we're here, right?"

"True." replied Maria before walking over and gently shaking Ronnie's shoulder in an attempt to wake her from her slumber. "...Ronalda. Ronalda...you need to get up now."

Upon hearing her mother's voice and waking up to see the slightly drool-soaked pillow in her arms, Ronnie groans "...Dang it. Just a dream." before tossing it aside.

After sitting up and rubbing her eyes tiredly, she gives her mother and brother an annoyed look, asking "...Do you mind explaining why you decided to wake me up at..." before taking a look at her clock. "...eight in the morning? Especially since I was enjoying such a wonderful dream before you two interrupted it?"

"We wouldn't have bothered you if it wasn't important, Nie Nie." said Bobby before giving her a grin. "Must've been one heck of a dream if you're this annoyed about us interrupting it, though. What was it about?"

"That's not important." replied Ronnie quickly with a faint blush on her face before changing the subject. "So what did you two want, aside from waking me up? Whatever it is, get it out of the way so I can go back to sleep."

Shaking his head, Maria says "Can't let you do that, Ronalda. Do you remember the conversation we had with Professor Ivy a few days ago?"

Eyes half-lidded from exhaustion, Ronnie simply nods wordlessly.

"Well...I received a call from Lisa a few minutes ago regarding a VideoPhone call she had gotten from Ivy earlier this morning. She told me that Ivy's on her way to the Detroit Airport and will be there in a few hours."

At this, Ronnie's eyes snapped open completely as a stunned look formed on her face.

"...Please tell me that you're being serious about this. This isn't some sick joke, right?"

"We wouldn't mess with you like this, Ronalda. If we're going to make it in time for Professor Ivy's arrival, we need to start getting ready now." answered Maria, shaking her head. "So get out of bed and find yourself a fresh change of clothes so you can..."

Before Maria could finish speaking however, Ronnie had already zoomed past her and Bobby, sprinting towards the bathroom with an armful of clothes.

As he and his mother watched as the bathroom door was roughly slammed shut, Bobby remarked "...Well, at least she's up now."

"Mm-hmm. You'll be going next after she's done, Roberto."

"Works for me. And yourself?"

In response, Maria simply answers "I've got to make a quick phone call before we leave." before heading downstairs, causing Bobby to shrug before returning back to his room to gather his things.

-=O=-

-The McBride Residence - Front Lawn (8:10 AM)-

While the Santiagos were rushing to get themselves ready for Professor Ivy's arrival, Clyde was sitting on his front steps, waiting for his parents to finish tending to some last-minute tasks before they took him to the Detroit Airport.

"This is it, Clyde. You're going to be officially starting your journey today." said Clyde to himself, smiling as thoughts of all the Pokemon he would end up meeting ran through his mind.

During his time waiting for any word regarding his upcoming journey, he had taken the opportunity to research some of the Pokemon native to the Kanto region and the Sevii Islands.

Needless to say, he was incredibly impressed with what he saw and was looking forward to encountering them during his travels.

"...So you're leaving today." stated an airy-sounding feminine voice from beside him, causing Clyde to let out a startled yelp before falling off the stairs and onto the lawn.

After taking a moment to regain his bearings, the nerdy boy looked up, only to see Haiku sitting on the steps as well, eyebrow quirked with her lips slightly turned upward in amusement.

"Hello, Clyde."

"...Haiku? What are you doing here?"

"I came here so I could talk to you, but it seems that I came at a bad time, considering you're going to be leaving soon." answered Haiku as Clyde pulled himself back to his feet and took a seat beside her.

"I can spare a few moments. My parents are finishing up with some last-minute stuff, so we'll probably have a minute or two to talk." replied Clyde, pointing his thumb behind him. "So what's on your mind?"

"...It's about what happened when the others and I visited you a few days ago." said Haiku before looking directly into Clyde's eyes. "Clyde...why didn't you tell us the entire truth about Lincoln?"

At this, Clyde's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"...Pardon?"

"You didn't tell us everything you knew regarding his disappearance. I won't doubt your words when it came to telling us where he was and why he was there, but everything else seemed...off. Like you were intentionally trying to keep something secret from us."

After placing a hand gently onto Clyde's shoulder, Haiku asks "This secret you're trying to keep regarding Lincoln...is it something that we needed to know, but you didn't want to tell us?"

Sighing, Clyde answers "It's something that I couldn't tell you, especially since it would end up leading to a lot of trouble for Lincoln's family if it ever got out."

"...Is it really that bad?"

"I can't give you any details since this is a matter between Lincoln and his family, but...yeah, it's pretty bad."

"I see..." mused Haiku, filing this information away into her mind for later. "So...this trip of yours...what kind of Pokemon do you think you'll encounter during your trip?"

Surprised, Clyde asks "...You know?"

"I looked up Professor Oak's name while at the library and figured things out from there." replied Haiku simply. "I honestly never expected creatures like those to actually exist. I'm a little jealous that you and Ronnie will get to see them up close, to tell you the truth."

"I know what you mean. I felt the same way when Professor Oak told me that Lincoln was getting to see them, too." answered Clyde, smiling.

"I can imagine. So how long do you think you'll be gone?"

"Hard to say. Could be a few months before I come back. Maybe a year at the most."

"So this is a long-term trip." surmised Haiku, nodding in understanding.

Nodding as well, Clyde answers "Pretty much. There's a lot of stuff that I'd like to do when we finally arrive and I want to experience as much of it as possible."

"Sounds like it'll be a lot of fun. Part of me wishes that I could come along with you."

"Same here. Maybe when I set out for another journey after this one, I'll bring you along with me."

"I'll be looking forward to it. Until then..." said Haiku before pulling Clyde into a small hug, much to his surprise. "Please try to be careful out there and make sure to come back home safe so you can keep that promise."

"I'll try, Haiku. I'll try."

"Thank you, Clyde." replied the dark-haired goth softly before leaning in and pressing her lips against Clyde's cheek, causing his eyes to widen in surprise as his face turned a deep crimson color.

Behind them, Howard and Harold watch on from the front door with wide, approving smiles on their faces.

After stepping away from the blushing boy, Haiku says "Goodbye, Clyde. I hope you enjoy your trip to Kanto." before walking off, intent on returning back home.

As she prepared to start heading down the street, Clyde calls out "Haiku, wait!", causing her to stop to look at him. After running over, he leans close and whispers "...Bad luck."

"Pardon?"

"Mention that to Lucy when you meet her again. Hopefully, that will get her to provide the answers you're looking for when it comes to Lincoln."

"...I'll keep that in mind. Thank you."

As Clyde starts heading back into the house, Howard smiles widely as he drapes an arm around his husband's shoulders, saying "Well...that's one way for someone to say goodbye, eh honey?"

"Yeah, it is. To think that our little boy's got a girl already interested in him at his age...I'm so proud." replied Harold, smiling proudly. "...The poor girl could use a little more time in the sun, though."

"Mm-hmm. Haven't seen a person that pale since meeting Lincoln's younger sister."

-=O=-

-The Loud Residence - Luna & Luan's Room (8:35 AM)-

"I can't believe this! How could Mom and Dad get rid of all of my tapes like that!?" exclaimed Luan as she stood in front of a completely empty cabinet - one that once held the collection of tapes that she called 'Comedy Fort Knox'. "I spent three years on building up my collection and now everything's all gone!"

As Luan continued to rant and rave about her absent collection of tapes, Luna sat in her beanbag chair with a notepad and pencil in hand, trying to focus on finishing the song she wanted to write for her brother.

'Trying' being the key word at the moment since Luan's angry tirade was distracting the purple-clad rocker from her work.

"You mind keepin' it down, Lu? Trying to work on something here."

"Screw you, Luna! How do you expect me to keep quiet about something like this!?" snapped Luan before holding up three fingers. "Three years, Luna! I spent three entire years building up that collection of tapes! It's bad enough that Mom and Dad forbade me from pulling any of my bigger pranks, but they had to destroy three years of hard work, too?! That's bullcrap!"

"Well, maybe you should've spent those three years doing somethin' else instead of recording all of our goof-ups." answered Luna dismissively. "Can't say I'm going to object to the restriction Mom and Pop placed on your pranks, though. It'll be nice to be able to walk around the house on April 1st without having to look constantly over my shoulder."

Upon hearing the last part of her sister's comment, Luan fumes angrily as the memory of receiving the aforementioned restriction and losing her entire collection of tapes ran through her mind...

-Flashback-

-The Loud Residence - Luna & Luan's Room (4:30 PM)-

'Why can't they just hurry up and get this over with?' thought Luan anxiously as she sat on her bed, chewing on her thumb with a clearly nervous expression on her face. 'Are they trying to draw this out on purpose just to try and drive me nuts?'

The reason for her current nervousness? After learning about her stink bomb prank and the possibly lethal consequences that could've followed if her victims hadn't evacuated in time, her parents told her that they were planning to have a long discussion with her regarding her pranks.

And it was going to be a discussion that she was definitely not looking forward to having. Not at all.

'...This feeling of dread and anxiety...is this what the others go through when April Fools Day comes around?' thought the fourteen year-old as she eyed the wooden door with dread.

Upon seeing the doorknob start to turn, her breath hitched for a moment as she eyed the opening door with unease...only to relax a few moments later as her sister/roommate stepped into the bedroom.

"Hey, Lu. What's up?"

Letting out the breath she had been holding in, Luan mutters "Nothing much. You?"

"Been checking out the new TV Lise got for us. It's rockin'." said Luna with a smile before noticing the downtrodden look on her sister's face. "Say...what's got you bummed out, Lu? You look like somebody's told you that they're cancelling April Fools Day or something."

"Considering the chewing out I'm going to be getting from Mom and Dad when they finally come up here, it might as well be as far as I'm concerned." replied Luan with a sigh, causing Luna to give her an odd look in response. "You remember that stink bomb prank I played this year on our school?"

"Yeah. What of it?"

"Turns out it could've been more harmful than I thought it would be and because of that, Mom and Dad are going to come down on me big time over what happened."

"You always tend to overdo it with your pranks on April 1st, Lu. It was bound to come back and bite you eventually." replied Luna, shrugging.

"I didn't think that my prank would actually hurt anyone, though! I've never hurt anyone with a prank before."

With a deadpan look on her face, Luna dryly asks "April Fools Day, Lincoln, raccoons in the oven. Ring any bells, sis?", causing her sister to wince in response.

"...It wasn't that bad..."

"Not that bad, she says. Trust me on this - you've put plenty of people in harm's way with your pranks, young lady." said their mother's voice from nearby, catching the pair's attention. As she and her husband stepped into the room, Rita says "Luna, go downstairs. This is just between us and your sister."

Giving the pair a brief nod, Luna heads out of the room, leaving the three behind.

"Go ahead and take a seat, Luan. We have a lot to discuss with you." ordered Rita, causing their daughter to plop herself down onto Luna's beanbag chair. "...Now then, do you know why we're here to talk to you?"

"...It's about my pranks, right?"

"Sort of. We're here to talk about the big ones you keep pulling on everyone. The small ones are acceptable at best." said Lynn Sr. before giving the teen a serious look. "Tell me, Luan...what's the most important rule when it comes to being a comedian? You should know this, considering that you always try to follow this rule when it comes to your routines."

"To make sure that both the comedian and the audience enjoy the jokes. What of it?"

"Glad to see that you still remember that. So tell us...do you think we enjoy having you prank us constantly on April Fools Day?"

Chuckling, Luan says "Aw, c'mon...my pranks aren't that bad, are they? Sure, I go a bit over-the-top sometimes, but it's all in good fun, right?"

Wrong answer.

"YOU HAVE YOUR FAMILY COMPLETELY TERRIFIED OF YOU WHEN APRIL 1ST COMES AROUND, LUAN! IF THAT'S NOT 'BAD' TO YOU, THEN SOMETHING MUST BE SERIOUSLY WRONG!" roared Rita, causing both Luan and Lynn Sr. to flinch away, frightened. After taking a moment to calm down, she says "Look, I understand you enjoy playing pranks on other people. That's fine. But when you have the rest of us afraid to come out of our rooms when the first day of April comes around, then that's when it starts becoming a problem."

Leaning forward to come face-to-face with her daughter, she asks "So tell me, Luan...do you enjoy terrorizing us like that? Is making us fearful of April Fools Day supposed to be fun to you?"

Mortified, Luan replies "Of course not!"

"Then why do you always feel the need to overdo it with your pranks on us? Is this about the fact we tend to groan at your puns?"

"It's not that at all, Mom! I just..." replied Luan before scratching the back of her head. "...kinda go overboard sometimes while trying to outdo the pranks I pulled the year before."

"Overboard? You turn our home into a trap-laden hellhole every April 1st, Luan. That's not overboard, that's overkill."

"C'mon Rita, don't you think you're overdoing it yourself a bit here?" asked Lynn Sr., only for Rita to give him a glare that caused him to quickly close his mouth.

"Really, Lynn? You have the absolute gall to say something like that after agreeing to help Luan out with last year's prank?"

"She promised me a prank-free decade..." replied Lynn Sr. defensively, causing his wife to glare at him again.

"And was it worth selling out your family to save your own skin, Lynn? Was it worth wasting all that money on an abandoned motel just for a prank?"

"...No." answered the large-nosed man, shaking his head.

Turning her attention back to Luan, Rita says "Look...I understand that comedy is your passion, Luan. I know that you love the idea of jokes and humor almost as much as you love the rest of us and I can respect that." before her expression turns hard. "But when your idea of 'comedy' starts to frighten and harm the people you're pranking, then that's when it stops being funny. You may have thought that all of those 'Pranksgiving' jokes you played were hilarious, but you didn't think about how they would end up effecting us."

Puzzled, Luan answers "I...I don't get what you mean, Mom."

"Oh, you don't? Well then, let's see..." replied Rita in a mock thoughtful tone. "There was the prank you played on Lincoln involving those raccoons in the oven. Did you ever consider that maybe there was a chance that they could've been infected with something? Did you even think to consider what would've happened to your brother aside from the prank itself? What if they had rabies, Luan?"

"I...I was just..."

"And then there's the bleach you dumped on Lucy. It's bad enough that you dumped something that harmful onto her bare skin, but what if it had gotten into her mouth or eyes? Irritated skin would've been the least of her concerns then." continued Rita, ticking off every instance she could with her fingers. "There was also your prank on Lana where you dropped her into a pit full of rhubarb pie, which you clearly KNOW that she's allergic to, the clothes that you tried to drop on Lily..."

"How is that last one harmful?" asked Luan, confused.

"You were trying to drop an avalanche of dirty clothing directly onto an infant's head, genius. I had a hard time getting myself out from underneath all of those clothes, so what do you think would've happened if I hadn't been there to move her out of the way?"

While Lynn Sr. blanched in horror at the thought, Luan starts shaking like a leaf, now realizing just how close she came to inflicting serious harm onto her youngest sister.

"And now we have this prank at your school, which could've been fatal to your classmates, teachers...heck, you could've possibly killed your own siblings with it. This...this overdoing it on pranks needs to stop, Luan. No more."

"But...but I..."

"But what, Luan? Is it worth inflicting serious harm on other people just for a quick laugh? Is a prank worth possibly going to jail over?" asked Lynn Sr. seriously, causing Luan to give him an ashamed glance. "Your mother is right - this pranking problem of yours...it needs to get itself under control before you end up seriously hurting someone."

"...Okay, I'll try. Can I...can I still play a few small pranks every now and then, at least?"

"The small ones are fine as long as they don't happen regularly. You start doing that and and they're going to end up getting banned, too." said Rita, nodding. "But the big ones and this 'Pranksgiving' thing you pull on April 1st...that's not going to be allowed anymore. You challenge this and I'll see to it that not only will pranks be banned full-time, but jokes and puns will be, too. Is that clear?"

"...Crystal." mumbled Luan, nodding her head.

"We...well, I really didn't want to do this, but it had to be done, Luan." said Lynn Sr., patting the girl's shoulder. "At least you can take solace in the fact that you can still pull your smaller practical jokes every now and then, right?"

Still morose, Luan nods and answers "Yeah...I guess even minor pranks are better than nothing at all."

"Glad to hear it." replied her father, nodding in satisfaction. "We're done here, Luan. You can go now."

"You may be done, but I'm not. We have one more thing we need to discuss and it's something you better tell me the truth about, Luan." said Rita, causing both her husband and Luan to look at her oddly. "Do you have a collection of tapes about your brother hidden in your room?"

Shocked, Luan asked "How...how did you..."

"That's not important. Answer the question, Luan. Do you have something like that in here or not?"

"...Yeah."

"Rita, what is this about?" asked Lynn Sr., only for his wife to keep her eyes locked onto Luan, who fidgeted nervously under the woman's steely gaze.

"Not now, Lynn. I'll explain later." answered Rita firmly before pointing at Luan. "Well, since you admitted that you have tapes like these, I want to see them. Now."

Realizing that this would end up leading to trouble, Luan stammers "I...I really don't think that's...", only for her mother to narrow her eyes in response.

"That wasn't a request. Show them to me. Now."

Grimacing, Luan slowly walks over and opens a nearby cabinet, revealing a massive collection of tapes within it.

"Well, that's...certainly a lot of tapes. But why are you asking about..." started Lynn Sr., only for Rita to storm over and start taking the tapes out of the cabinet to get a better look at them.

And by the furious look that was starting to form on her face, she was clearly unhappy with what she was seeing.

"What in the world are you doing with all of this, Luan!? There must be hundreds of video tapes in here!" snapped Rita angrily, glaring at her daughter. "I thought it would just be three or four tapes, not literally a whole cabinet full of them!"

"I don't see what's the problem, honey. They're just a bunch of tapes about..." said Lynn Sr., only for Rita to shove one of the tapes in his face, revealing the label on the side that clearly said 'Lincoln Ruins Christmas' on it. "...Oh."

"'Oh' is a complete understatement, Lynn! Take a look at what else she has in there!" barked Rita, causing her husband to walk over to examine the other tapes while she returned her glare back to Luan, who looked like she had just seen a ghost. "Why are you keeping all of these tapes about your brother, Luan? Do you think it's funny to keep a recording of his mistakes, hmm? Or maybe you get a laugh out of watching his failures?"

"I...er...well...yeah. I admittedly do think it's pretty funny, but..."

"But nothing, Luan. Do you see any of us keeping records of your failures and laughing at them?"

"...No."

"Then why would you think it's okay to do it to your only brother!?" snarled Rita before pinching the bridge of her nose as she attempted to calm herself down. "...At least please tell me that this is the only collection of tapes you have in the house."

Wincing as she scratched the back of her head, Luan mumbles "Well...I may have...kinda started collections on the others, too. Lincoln's is the biggest one I've got, though."

After staring at Luan in disbelief for a few seconds, Rita shakes her head and says "They're going. All of them."

"What?"

"The tapes are going, Luan. I'm not going to let you keep something like this in my house."

"Honey, don't you think we've put her through enough? We've taken 'Pranksgiving' away from her along with being able to do something she loves. Isn't that enough?" asked Lynn Sr., only for Rita to shake her head in response.

"No, it's not enough, Lynn. If these were just tapes on the pranks she's played on other people, I wouldn't have minded. But this..." started Rita before holding up several of the tapes in her hand. "This is wrong. This is finding enjoyment in watching our son's misfortunes and I'm not going to have that in my home. The tapes are going and that's final."

"All of them?" asked Luan as a heavy feeling ran through her stomach.

"All of them, including the ones that you've made of your siblings." confirmed Rita, nodding. When it looked like her husband was about to say something, she adds "Don't start, Lynn. You said before that as a family, we need to support each other. Can you really consider keeping tapes like these to be 'support'?"

"...Actually, I was going to ask if she had tapes of us, too."

"...They're the smallest collections I've got, alongside Lily's." admitted Luan before quickly covering her mouth. "...Ulp."

"You have one on Lily, too?!" screeched Rita, clearly incensed by the sudden confession. Upon seeing Luan give her a meek nod in response, she coldly says "...Go round up all the tapes you have on everyone else and bring them here."

"But I put a lot of work and money into those tapes, Mom! I can't just..."

"Go get the tapes. Now. Otherwise, that ban I mentioned before will be the least of your worries."

Blanching, Luan quickly nods before scurrying out of the room, leaving the two parents behind.

"...Lynn."

"Yes, Rita?"

Giving him a look that clearly wasn't taking 'no' for an answer, Rita says "Make sure that they're taken off along with the trash tomorrow.", causing Lynn Sr. to look at her for a moment before nodding.

"I'll see to it first thing tomorrow morning."

-Flashback End-

"It's still not right, Luna. I put years of effort into making those tapes." grumbled Luan, crossing her arms. "And I can't even access any of the backups Lisa's keeping for me because Mom made her get rid of 'em, too."

"Considerin' what those videos were all about, maybe it's for the best that they're gone." replied Luna, eyes locked onto the notepad she was currently holding.

"That was three years of hard work! How can you think that's 'for the best'!?" snarled the braces-wearing girl angrily. "When I find out who ratted me out on this...ooh, they're gonna regret it! Pranksgiving's going to be small-time compared to what I'm going to do to them!"

'If it wasn't for the fact I agree with whoever wanted those tapes dealt with, I'd almost pity 'em.' thought Luna, wincing at the idea of something worse than her sister's usual April Fools shenanigans. "Well, whoever did it must've had a good reason for selling you out about those tapes if they were goin' to risk ticking you off, sis."

"Yeah, maybe." replied Luan before rounding onto her sister, glaring directly into her eyes. "So Luna...mind telling me why you did it?"

Startled by the accusation, Luna exclaims "Say what?!"

"You're one of the few people in this family who knew exactly where I had hidden my tapes. And since you're the most recent one who's been trying to make things right with Lincoln, it gives you one heck of a motive."

"I don't know what you're talking about. It wasn't me who told Mom about those tapes, Luan."

"Sure, you didn't." replied Luan dryly, rolling her eyes. "Look, Luna...just come clean with me here. We both know that if anyone's got the motivation to do something like this, it'd be you. There's no point in hiding it any longer."

"And I'm tellin' you that it wasn't me, Lu." countered Luna, frowning.

Starting to get irritated with the situation herself, Luan says "You're starting to test my patience, Luna. I've given you a chance to be honest with me and you've thrown it back into my face." before jabbing Luna's nose with her finger. "Last chance - fess up now or prepare yourself for a pranking spree unlike any you've seen before."

"I'm not about to take the blame for something I didn't do." growled Luna before swatting her sister's hand away. "And I'm definitely not gonna take this kinda treatment from you either, just because you're ticked because our 'rents took your tapes from you."

Giving the braces-wearing girl a glare, she adds "Not that I blame 'em for taking them away, considering what they were about. Do you get some kind of sick enjoyment out of watching our little bro suffer? Or the rest of us, for that matter?"

"Of course not!" denied Luan, offended by the question she was just asked. "And you're one to talk, considering all the stuff you've done to him. I even remember you finding it funny that I had those tapes on him when I showed them to you."

"...I may have found it funny that you had 'em at one point. I'm not gonna deny that. But after everything that's happened as of late and really thinkin' about the way we treated Lincoln over the years, I'm starting to believe that they're not so funny anymore."

"What about all the stuff he's done to us, Luna? Even you can't deny that he's wronged us, too."

"Yeah, but at least he tries to make things right when he does something to any of us. You can't deny that, either." countered Luna, eyebrow raised. "When's the last time you attempted to make things right for all the times you terrorized the rest of us during April Fools Day? Or all the times you scared the daylights out of Leni with that stupid spider toy of yours? Or even when you recorded us with that camera of yours and uploaded those videos on your channel?"

"Name one instance where I did that." challenged Luan with a scowl, causing her sister to smirk in response.

"Remember when the power went out sometime last year? I remember you saying 'this is going to go viral' while recording Lola and Lana during the fight that broke out between them that day. For someone who follows the 'unspoken rule' of never uploading a video without someone's permission, you seem to have no problem with ignoring it when it's convenient to you." said Luna before walking over to Luan's laptop and opening up the browser on it.

After gaining access to Luan's EyeTube channel, she nods before pointing at the screen, which had several links to videos of the rest of the Loud family - all of which looked to be about the mishaps and misfortunes they've been through over the years - on it.

"What do you call this, then? Hmm?"

"Th-that's..." stammered Luan, clearly flustered.

"Hypocrisy, plain and simple. You get on Linc's case one time over something like this, but see no problem with doin' the same thing. It's not right." said Luna, cutting her sister off. "And unlike you, at least he tried to make things right by postin' that video of himself when we called him out on it. I don't see you tryin' to make amends for something like this. Or for any of the trouble you've caused us, for that matter."

"...Okay, fine. I'll admit that I've bent my rule on uploading without permission before. But that doesn't change a thing about what I said earlier about Lincoln being just as guilty of wronging us in the past." replied Luan before giving Luna a scowl. "And it's not changing the fact that I still think you snitched to Mom about my tapes. So I'm going to give you this one last chance, Luna - come clean now or you're going to regret it later."

"I'm not confessing to anything because I didn't say anything to Mom about those stupid tapes of yours, Lu." retorted Luna with a glare.

After glaring back at her sister, Luan says "Suit yourself. You better watch your back from now on, Luna - you're going to be in for prank after prank until you finally confess what you've done." before storming off, leaving Luna alone in the room.

"Bloody nutter." grumbled the purple-clad teen to herself before returning her attention back to her notepad, unaware that Luan had started to sneaking back into the room, carrying a bucket filled with water.

Once she was certain that she was positioned behind her sister, Luan shouts out "Surprise!" before attempting to dump the contents of the bucket onto Luna's head, unaware of the horn on the floor that she was about to step on.

Upon hearing the loud and unexpected 'HONK' coming from beneath her feet, Luan lets out a startled yelp before falling backwards, causing the bucket to up-end its contents directly onto her while also splashing onto several of the costumes and props she used for Funny Business.

Coincidentally enough, the blare of the horn had caused Luna to quickly stand up and turn around to see what had happened, just in time to see Luan's attempted prank backfire on her.

As Luan laid there, completely soaked with a mixed look of mortification and disbelief on her face, Luna starts chuckling, saying "Well now, if this is what you've got in store for me, then it looks like I've got nothing to worry about."

No reply came from Luan, save for stunned silence over the fact that her attempted prank had backfired on her.

After watching her sister sit there on the floor for a few more seconds, Luna shakes her head before leaving the room with her notepad, intent on finding somewhere else where she could focus on writing the song meant for Lincoln without having to worry about Luan sneaking up on her again.

-=O=-

-Detroit Airport Terminal - Lobby (11:15 AM)-

'Any time now. Professor Ivy should be here any time now...' thought Ronnie Anne to herself as she sat alongside her mother, brother and the McBride family in the airport terminal's lobby, waiting for Professor Ivy to make her arrival. After taking a brief look at a nearby clock and seeing the time, she grouses "Where the heck is she and what's taking her so long!?"

"Calm down, Ronalda. Professor Ivy will be here soon." answered Maria reassuringly. "Just be patient."

"How can I be patient, Mom? I've been looking forward to this trip all week!"

"I know, but you're working yourself up over this. You need to calm down."

Sighing as the irritated look on her face fades away, Ronnie answers "I know. It's just that sitting here, having to wait for Professor Ivy to arrive is grating on my nerves. I've been looking forward to this trip all week and it's driving me nuts having to wait even longer for us to finally go."

"Why are you in such a rush to leave anyway? Even my son, who's been looking forward to this trip as well, isn't as anxious about it as you are right now." asked Howard, eyebrow raised.

"It's because I can't wait to head off to Kanto so we'd be able to catch Pokemon of our own! I can't wait to try my hand at the Pokemon League! And I can't wait for the chance to put that Misty girl in her place before she gets the chance to sink her claws into Lincoln! He's my Lame-O, not her's! I saw him first, damn it!" blurted Ronnie in anger before realizing what she had just said.

Instead of looking upset or angry at her daughter's outburst, Maria smirks knowingly before replying "Ah...so that's why you're in such a hurry to leave - another girl has it out for your man and you want to stake your claim on him first.", causing her daughter to blush at the response.

"Ah...young love. It's a beautiful thing, isn't it, Howard?" joked Harold, causing his husband to smile and nod in return. Giving Ronnie a smile, he adds "All jokes aside, it's good to see that you care this much about Lincoln, Ronnie. He must mean a lot to you if you're willing to travel halfway across the world just to be with him."

"More than you can imagine, Mr. McBride." answered Ronnie with a nod, still blushing slightly. "Sure, I'll admit that I picked on him in the past, but I genuinely like the guy and want to try to be a good friend to him when I wasn't one before. Maybe I can possibly be more than that with enough time."

Clearly surprised by the reply, Harold murmured "I see...well, I hope things work out for you."

"You have my support as well, young lady. I find it admirable that you want to try and work things out with Lincoln after everything both of you had been through with each other." said Howard before a frown crossed his face. "Still, I just wish that this trip of yours didn't come at the cost of your education. Both of you will be missing out on a lot of schoolwork."

"The three of us having fun and not going to school...how is that a bad thing?" joked Ronnie, causing the others to chuckle lightly at the response. "In all seriousness though, we know that we'll have to make up for the work we miss. But getting a shot at an opportunity like this...it'll be worth it."

"Yeah. It's hard to pass up the chance to do something like this, Dad." said Clyde, nodding his head. "Besides, don't forget that we'll actually be able to make a career out of being Pokemon Trainers too. If our education ends up faltering due to our trip, we can fall back on this and any other opportunities we encounter in Kanto to ensure we'll be able to make a living for ourselves."

"I suppose that's true..." mused Howard, though his frown still remained on his face.

"Everything will be fine, Mr. McBride. You'll see." said Ronnie confidently before taking a look at the same clock she had glanced at before. "Almost eleven-twenty. How much longer do we need to wait for Professor Ivy to get here?"

"There's no need to worry about that, Miss Santiago. I'm right here." said a female's voice from nearby, immediately catching the group's attention and causing them to turn towards the direction of the voice, only to see Ivy standing there with a smile on her face. "Looks like everyone's here. Good."

"Of course we're all here, Professor. You really think we'd want to miss out on this?" asked Ronnie, eyebrow raised. "So when can we get going? I'm eager to get to Five Island as soon as possible."

Before Ivy could give her an answer, an older woman's voice replied "You're not leaving just yet, mija. Not without saying goodbye to us first.", causing the group to turn to face the voice's owner - a stout-looking Hispanic woman wearing a navy blue dress with her black-colored hair tied back into a bun.

Standing behind her were other Hispanics of varying ages and genders - an old-looking man with graying hair and a bushy mustache, a middle-aged, glasses-wearing man who stood proudly beside a long-haired woman who was holding an infant in her arms, a teenage girl wearing a seafoam green-colored dress, a widely-grinning boy wearing a yellow shirt and a red cape-like cloth around his neck and a small boy wearing a red jacket who seemed to be checking Professor Ivy out with an appreciative grin on his face.

Upon seeing the newcomers, Ronnie and Bobby's eyebrows raised in surprise, clearly not expecting to see them here.

"...Grandma Rosa?"

"In the flesh. Come here and give your abuela a hug, both of you." replied the woman with a warm smile before scurrying over and pulling both Santiago siblings into a big hug.

"Mrs. Santiago...may I ask on who these people are?" inquired Ivy, eyebrow raised as Rosa continued to embrace her grandchildren.

Smiling, Maria says "My familia, Professor. I asked them to come here to say goodbye to the kids before they left." walking over and embracing the old-looking man. "Thanks for making it, Dad. I'm sure that it was hard having to leave the bodega to come here."

"The bodega's nice, but family comes first. We wouldn't miss this for anything." replied the man in return before breaking off the hug to walk over to Professor Ivy. "So...you're the professor who's taking my grandchildren on a trip."

"That would be me, yes." answered Ivy before offering him a handshake. "Professor Philena Ivy. It's nice to meet you..."

"Hector Casagrande. I'm Maria's father." said the man, shaking her hand heartily while the glasses-wearing man walked over with a look of interest on his face.

"You're a professor as well? Fascinating. What do you study? What college did you graduate from?"

Before Ivy could reply, the baby-holding woman walked over and grabbed the man's shoulder, saying "Come now, Carlos. This isn't the time for you to be playing twenty questions." before giving Ivy a warm smile. "I'm Frida Casagrande. It's a pleasure to meet you, Professor Ivy."

"Likewise." said Ivy before shaking Carlos' hand as well. "And to you as well, Mr. Casagrande. It's always nice to meet a fellow professor."

Turning to face the other three Casagrandes nearby, she asks "Your children, I presume?"

"All three of them." replied Carlos proudly before turning to face the other three Casagrandes and motioning for them to come over to him. Gesturing towards them, he adds "Meet my daughter Carlota and my sons Carlino and Carlos Junior."

"We call him C.J. for short." added Frida, patting the boy in the yellow shirt on the head as he gave Ivy a cheery wave with a wide grin on his face.

"And you can call me 'Carl', beautiful." said Carlino, sauntering over while giving Ivy the most charming smile he could muster. "So...what's a lovely lady like you doing in a place like this?"

While Ivy looked at him, eyebrow raised in amusement, Carlota rolls her eyes, commenting "Seriously? We're here to say goodbye to our cousins, not flirt with the pretty professor, Carl."

Crossing her arms, she adds "Besides, she's probably more than twice your age, Carl. It's never going to happen."

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to take the time to appreciate a woman's beauty." replied Carlino with a shrug before giving his sister a smug smirk. "Which is something you lack compared to Professor Ivy, I might add. Compared to her being a perfect ten, you're a mediocre three at best."

Face turning red with fury, Carlota snarls "What was that, you little weasel!?" before bolting towards her little brother, who lets out a startled yelp before running off.

Thinking that his siblings were playing a game, C.J. runs after them, shouting "Wait for me! I wanna play, too!"

As Ivy, Maria, Hector and Carlos sweatdrop at the sight of the three siblings running around the terminal, Frida says "Ah...it's always good to see the kids getting along like this." with a smile on her face.

'I wouldn't exactly call that 'getting along'...' thought Ivy before turning her attention to the baby in Frida's arms, who seemed to be mimicking the angry gestures that Carlota was directing at her little brother. "So who's this?"

"Our youngest son, Carlitos. Little bundle of joy, isn't he?" replied Frida proudly before turning and handing the infant over to her husband. "Can you take him for a moment, Carlos? I want to go get a few pictures of Roberto and Ronalda before they leave."

"Sure thing." replied Carlos before taking his youngest son into his arms.

"I'll come with you, Frida. I'd like to talk to the kids while I've still got the chance." said Maria, causing her sister-in-law to nod before rushing off while taking a small camera out of her pocket. "Dad?"

"Hmm?"

"Can you get Carlota and the boys to calm down?"

"Do I have to?" asked Hector, causing Maria to give him a flat look in response. "...Alright, fine. Never would've made my father do something like this..."

After watching her father run after his grandchildren, Maria nods in satisfaction before following after Frida, leaving Carlos with Professor Ivy.

Seeing this as his chance to speak to the plum-haired professor again, he says "So...about my earlier questions..."

-=O=-

Meanwhile, Rosa was still hugging Ronnie Anne and Bobby tightly while Clyde and his parents watched on, unable to decide whether to find the sight heartwarming or hilarious.

Patting the stout woman's back, Bobby asked "Uh...grandma? Not that I'm complaining or anything, but how much longer are you going to keep hugging us? My ribs are starting to hurt." in a muffled voice, causing Rosa to realize that she had lost track of the fact that she was still embracing her grandchildren.

Letting the two siblings go, she hastily replies "Oh...sorry about that, mijo. I guess I just got caught up there for a moment." before giving the pair a knowing look. "So...your mother mentioned to us earlier today that you two are going on a trip."

"Yeah. It's one that me, Bobby and Clyde have been looking forward to all week." replied Ronnie as she gestured to herself, her brother and Clyde, who gave Rosa a small wave.

"Hello there, dear." said Rosa, giving him a wave back before returning her attention to her granddaughter. "So where are you going?"

"Kanto. It's located somewhere near Japan."

"Japan? Goodness. That's pretty far away, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but it's something that all three of us want to do." replied Ronnie, nodding. "...I just hope that we're able to make it in time before Misty sinks her claws into Lincoln..."

Eyebrows raised, Rosa asks "Misty? Who's that?"

"She's a girl who's travelling alongside Lincoln, who's a friend of ours." answered Clyde, causing a knowing smile to form on Rosa's face.

"Ah...I see. So you're wanting to stake your claim on this boy before this Misty girl does, hmm?"

At this, Ronnie's face turned bright crimson while Bobby remarked "Wow, you're pretty sharp, Grandma. How'd you know?"

"Grandparents know these things, mijo. This isn't the first time I've had to deal with something like this." answered Rosa, smiling wistfully. "Why, when your mother had met your father for the first time..."

"Let's save the history lesson for another time, Grandma." said Ronnie quickly, cutting her grandmother off. With a sigh, she adds "...Yeah, you're right. I like Lincoln. A lot. And I don't want to lose him to that red-headed witch."

"...Is Misty really that big of a threat?" asked Bobby to Clyde in a low whisper.

Whispering back, Clyde answers "I mean no offense to your sister or anything, but it's going to be pretty hard for her to compete with Misty after seeing her for myself. She's..." before letting out a wolf whistle, causing Ronnie to give him an annoyed look while Rosa simply scoffed.

"Nonsense. Even if this Misty girl is pretty to look at, good looks can't compare to the old Casagrande family charm." replied Rosa dismissively. "You'll win this boy of yours over, mija. I just know it. But..."

In an instant, she starts pulling out what appeared to be a variety of talismans and charms from her pockets and shoves them into Ronnie's hands.

As Ronnie stared at the trinkets in bewilderment, Rosa nods in satisfaction, saying "There. That should do it. While I'm sure that you'll win this boy over with the family charm, there's nothing wrong with having a little luck on your side, too. Make sure to share some of them with the others."

"...Thanks. I'll...uh, make sure to do that." muttered Ronnie before a quick flash of white light caught her attention. Recognizing it as the flash of her aunt's camera, she groans before asking "...Really, Aunt Frida?"

"What? This is a special occasion for you two and I want to have pictures of it to remember it by." replied Frida defensively as she snapped another picture of the three soon-to-be Trainers. "I'll make sure to have copies set aside for you, Maria."

"Good to know." replied Maria before her eyes lit up as an idea formed in her mind. "...How about we all get together for a group photo? What do you say?"

"A group picture...now that's an idea I can get behind." said Frida with a smile, looking pleased with the suggestion. Calling the rest of her family over, she shouts "Come over here, all of you! We're going to take a photo together before Ronalda and Roberto leave!"

"Just as long...as I don't have to chase anyone anymore today." wheezed Hector tiredly before giving Carlota, Carlino and C.J. an annoyed look. "You three...are going to be helping me out at the bodega...once we get back home."

Turning to face Howard and Harold, Frida says "That goes for you two as well. This is just as momentous of an occasion for your son, too.", causing the two men to look at each other for a moment before shrugging and walking over.

"I'll take the picture for you, Mrs. Casagrande. I'm not one for being in photographs, honestly." offered Ivy, only to let out a startled yelp as Frida, instead of handing over the camera, started moving her over to join the others.

"Nope. You're part of this as well, Professor. Go stand over there with the others."

"But I..."

"But nothing. This is a group photo and you're going to be part of it." replied Frida, cutting the plum-haired professor off. Handing the camera over to a nearby worker, she asks "Would you mind taking a picture for us, please? I'd do it myself, but I'd like to be in this, too."

Perplexed, the worker answers "Uh...sure?" before aiming the camera at the group and snapping off a quick picture. Handing the camera back, he asks "That good enough for you, ma'am?"

"Passable. Thank you."

"Alright, so are we almost done here?" asked Ronnie, tapping her foot impatiently. "While I do enjoy spending time with you guys, I'd like to be on our way to Kanto, too."

"Of course, of course. We shouldn't hold you up any longer than we need to." replied Rosa, nodding in agreement. "Just remember to be careful out there, you two."

"We will, Grandma." said Bobby and Ronnie in unison, nodding.

"Make sure to come back with plenty of stories about your travels, too. I'm certain that you'll have a lot of them to share with us once you return." commented Frida, causing C.J.'s eyes to light up excitedly.

"Yeah, bring back lots of stories for us, okay?"

"We'll try to, little man." replied Bobby, ruffling the boy's hair playfully.

"Try to bring back some books as well, if you can. After the enlightening chat I had with Professor Ivy earlier, I'd like to see some of Kanto's literature for myself." said Carlos, only for his wife to give him a deadpan look.

"You have more than enough books at home, dear."

"There's no such thing as 'more than enough' when it comes to books."

Patting Bobby's shoulder, Hector asks "Lemme know how the stores there are run when you come back, will you? Maybe I'll be able to borrow an idea or two from them for the bodega."

Smirking, Carlino adds "And if you see any fine mamacitas over there, let 'em know that Carl says 'hi', yeah?" while Carlota gives Ronnie a small grin.

"You three should probably see about getting some new clothes over there, too. If you're going to be going through Kanto, you should at least look good while doing it."

Scratching the back of her head awkwardly, Ronnie answers "We'll...uh, try to keep that in mind, Carlota."

"Just make sure to come back home safely, you two. That, along with calling me every week, is all I ask." said Maria as she pulled her children into a tight hug.

"We'll try, Mom. We'll try." replied Bobby as he and Ronnie returned the embrace.

As he and Harold embraced their son as well, Howard says "Same goes for you too, Clyde. Try to keep safe out there, alright?"

"You got it, Dad."

Clearing her throat to get everyone's attention, Ivy says "While I hate having to break up such a touching moment between all of you, I believe that we must be on our way back to my laboratory. We have a long flight ahead of us."

"Then don't let us keep you any longer. Take care." said Rosa, nodding. Motioning for the rest of her family to follow her, she adds "Come on, we need to get back before those pesky cats find out we're not home."

As the Casagrandes left to return back to their home, Howard knelt down in front of Clyde and gave him one last hug, saying "Goodbye, son. Take care out there." before walking away with Harold, who seemed to be tearing up a bit as his husband led him out of the terminal.

After giving her son and daughter one last hug, Maria starts leaving as well, but stops long enough to mouth 'go get your man' to Ronnie with a watery smile before walking away.

Once everyone else was out of sight, Ivy remarks "Well...are you three ready to go? Do any of you need to use the bathroom or get something to drink/eat?"

As she, Bobby and Clyde shook their heads, Ronnie answered "Nah, we're good. Let's go.", causing Ivy to nod before motioning for them to follow her.

"Very well. Follow me, please."

-=O=-

-Detroit Airport - Parking Lot (11:35 AM)-

While Professor Ivy led her charges to their mode of transportation to Five Island, the McBrides and Maria stood together in the airport's parking lot, eyes locked onto the skies above the terminal.

"Shouldn't be too much longer until they take off." remarked Maria before letting out a saddened sigh. "...Roberto and Ronalda haven't even left yet and I already miss them. The day when I get a VideoPhone in my home can't come soon enough."

"I know what you mean, Mrs. Santiago. It's only been a few minutes since we told our son goodbye and we...we miss him, too." said Harold, sniffling. "But I know that he'll do fine out there. And I'm certain that things will go the same way for your children, too."

"Thank you, Mr. McBride." replied Maria, nodding as she wiped away a tear that was starting to form in her eye.

Pointing at the skies, Howard says "Look, up there.", causing the other two to look up to see a red, black and white-colored helicopter rise into the air. "That must be them."

"It is. I can see them peering at us through the windows." remarked Harold with a small, watery smile on his face as he raised one of his hands to wave goodbye.

Almost immediately, both Maria and Howard start doing the same thing, shouting their farewells until the helicopter eventually disappeared from view, vanishing into the horizon.

Once it was out of sight, Howard sighs before saying "...I guess Howard and I better get going. Mrs. Santiago?"

"Yes?"

"Feel free to stop by anytime. We're all in the same boat together when it comes to our children, so we'll be there if you need someone to talk to."

"...I'll keep that in mind. Thank you." replied Maria with a small smile, causing Howard to nod before leading Harold back to their car. After watching them drive off, she sighs to herself before muttering "Guess I better be getting back home, too. I can't be moping around here all day."

As she prepared to enter her car, the sound of something buzzing inside had caught her attention, prompting her to look around to see what was causing it.

Upon seeing her son's phone sitting on the dashboard, Maria mutters "...Roberto's phone?" before answering the incoming call.

"Thank god you finally answered, Bobby Boo-Boo Bear. I was literally waiting forever for you to pick up. We really need to talk." spoke a female voice from the phone, causing Maria to raise an eyebrow upon recognizing the voice's owner.

"...Lori? Is that you?"

"Mrs. Santiago? Where's Bobby? Why do you have his phone?"

"I should be asking you on why you're calling him." replied Maria, planting a hand on her hip while eyeing the phone. "You and Roberto have been driving our phone bills up the wall with your constant calls and texts to each other."

"I'm sure that it mustn't have been that bad..." mumbled Lori's voice in response, causing Maria's eyes to narrow.

"Our last bill was around three-hundred and fifty dollars. Before you and my son started seeing each other, we barely scratched fifty."

"Oh. Well...uh, we'll do what we can to keep the calls and texts to a minimum, Mrs. S. So...is Bobby home?"

"No. As a matter of fact, there's no one home at the moment." replied Maria, shaking her head.

"Can you tell me where he is, then? We need to talk about something important. It...it's about his recent decision to break up with me. I want us to try and work things out."

"And what is there to work out? Why did he break up with you in the first place?"

"Just a minor disagreement that got out of control, Mrs. Santiago. Nothing to worry about, really." replied Lori's voice evasively. "Can you tell me where he is? Or at least when he'll be back?"

Leaning against the car, Maria mumbles "Oh dear...how am I going to explain this one...?"

"Explain what? Did something happen?"

"Somewhat. You've met you youngest, yes?"

"Hard to forget someone like her...little relationship wrecker." grumbled Lori, making sure to mutter the last part of her reply in a low voice so it wouldn't be heard.

"Well...she and Clyde - the McBrides' son - had spoken to someone named Professor Oak a few days ago. Both of them had found out about what your brother was doing for him in some place called Kanto and..."

"I know about that. I was at home when they spoke to him. But what does this have to do with..."

Suddenly, Lori's voice goes silent, almost as if realizing that something terrible had just happened.

"...No. Don't tell me that..."

Nodding, Maria answers "Mm-hmm. They left the Detroit Airport just a few moments ago and should be on their way to Five Island as we speak."

After a few moments of horrified silence, Lori shouts "Well, then call whoever's with them and tell them to bring him back! I literally can't live without my Bobby Boo-Boo Bear! I can't!"

"I think you'll manage, Lori. If my son can handle going on a possible long-term trip with just his sister and the McBrides' boy, then I think you'll be able to handle a few months without him. You have a family back home, yes?"

"Yeah, but they're not my Bobby Boo-Boo Bear! I need him here with me!"

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do. You'll just have to wait until they're finished with their business in Kanto." replied Maria, shaking her head. "Now then, since you know where my son is, there's no point in continuing this any further. Goodbye."

After ending the call, she looks down at the phone, muttering "...That girl definitely needs to get her priorities straightened out. Who would consider their boyfriend to be more important than their own family?" before starting to get into her car in order to head back home.

-=O=-

-Skies Over The Pacific Ocean (Six Hours After Leaving The Detroit Airport)-

"Six hours. Six hours of nothing but sitting here and looking out the window. If I had known it was going to take us this long to get to Five Island, I would've brought something to do in order to pass the time. This is boring." muttered Ronnie, looking absolutely bored out of her mind as she waited for her current flight to Five Island to come to an end.

While Clyde was sitting quietly in his seat, thinking deeply about his earlier encounter with Haiku, Bobby groans before saying "Tell me about it. How much longer will it take for us to get there, Professor Ivy? We've been flying for almost four hours now."

"Shouldn't be too much longer, Mr. Santiago. Just be patient and we'll be there before you know it." said Ivy calmly. "But if you three are really that bored, then perhaps a bit of light discussion about what you want to do with your careers as Pokemon Trainers should help us with making the wait a little more bearable."

"Better than nothing, I suppose." said Ronnie with a shrug while Bobby and Clyde gave each other a brief glance before nodding as well. "So what do you mean by 'what we want to do with our careers'?"

"Exactly that, Miss Santiago. I'm talking about your goals, your dreams...are there any particular goals you wish to reach as a Trainer?" asked Ivy, causing the Hispanic girl's eyes to gleam as a smile formed on her face.

"That's an easy one: I'm going straight for the Kanto league championship, Professor. After seeing footage of Lam...er, Lincoln shredding through two of his gym battles and winning his gym badges, I decided that I wanted to try taking a crack at some of them myself."

"I see...well, you'll have to work hard and put in as much effort as possible into properly training any Pokemon you manage to capture if you want to fulfill that goal, Miss Santiago. The path of becoming a regional champion will not be an easy one for you to walk." said Ivy, nodding. "And yourself, Mr. McBride?"

"I'm not really sure, to be honest." replied Clyde, shrugging. "Sure, challenging gyms would be nice, but I don't want to take something like that away from Ronnie and Lincoln."

"Really, Clyde? You're just going to give up something like that because you don't want to step on any toes?" asked Ronnie, eyebrow raised.

"Kinda. I'm mainly doing this because I want to try winning something for myself instead of following you two into the Pokemon League."

"Uh-huh. And you're not just doing this to try and impress Lori, are you?" asked Ronnie, only for Clyde to shake his head, much to her surprise. "No?"

"Nope. I'm doing this for me, my parents and a certain someone who's looking forward to my return once this trip is over." replied Clyde before returning his attention back to Professor Ivy. "So, Professor...is there anything else I can take a crack at aside from the Kanto championship?"

"Something other than the Kanto championship..." mused Ivy, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Well...there's no shortage of events for you to make a name for yourself in, Mr. McBride. There's the Pokecathelon, which is a sporting event for Pokemon..."

"Pass. That seems more along the lines of what Lincoln's sister Lynn would do, not me."

"Alright, so that's a 'no' with that idea then. How about Pokemon Contests?"

His interest piquing slightly, Clyde asks "Pokemon Contests? What are those?"

"Pokemon Contests are events where Trainers show off the...shall we say, 'creative and artistic' side of their Pokemon and the attacks they can use."

Eyebrow raised, Ronnie asks "So...Contests are kinda like a talent show/pageant for Pokemon?"

"I suppose you can see it like that. There are five particular divisions that specialize in certain types of performances with each division having four ranks to classify the skill level of the performers who choose to participate." answered Ivy before giving Clyde a glance. "Tell me something, Mr. McBride - what interests you? Do you have any particular pastimes or hobbies?"

"Well...I like comic books. Superhero-based ones, to be precise." replied Clyde, causing Ivy to nod in understanding.

"Then you might want to try your hand in the 'Cool' or 'Tough' divisions, Mr. McBride. I've seen plenty of superhero-based appeals from those two divisions in particular on television."

While Clyde started thinking over the plum-haired professor's suggestion with a look of slight intrigue on his face, Ivy turned to Bobby next and asked "And what about you, Mr. Santiago? Do you have anything you want to do while you're travelling through Kanto?"

"Not really. I'm really just here to watch over Nie Nie and Clyde." answered Bobby, shaking his head. "Besides, I want to try and get used to the idea of being a Trainer first before I start setting goals for myself. Wouldn't do to start trying my hand at challenging gyms, only to end up developing a talent for Contests halfway through our trip, y'know?"

"A wise decision, Mr. Santiago. It's always a good idea to acquaint yourself with a particular method of training Pokemon before you start choosing which path as a Trainer you wish to take." said Ivy before noticing that Ronnie was raising her hand. "Yes?"

"Got a question for you, Professor - are there any Gyms on Five Island? Or on any of the Sevii Islands, for that matter?"

"Unfortunately, no. The closest gym I can think of would be the one on Cinnabar Island, but that particular gym has been inactive for some time. You may not be able to win a badge there."

"Dang it. So much for winning my first badge today..." grumbled the Hispanic girl under her breath.

"Not to sound discouraging, but you probably wouldn't have the chance to win your first badge today even if the gym was still active, Miss Santiago. Don't forget that you three have to pass the required exams before you can become official Pokemon Trainers. " answered Ivy, arms crossed. "And considering that you three will be taking said exams without going through Trainer's School, you'll need as much time as you can get to study for them."

"That's fair, I guess. No point in taking a test if you're not properly prepared for it." remarked Bobby, nodding.

"My thoughts exactly, Mr. Santiago." said Ivy, nodding as well with a smile on her face before giving Ronnie, who still had a miffed look on her face, a glance. "If it's any consolation to you Miss Santiago, you'll be able to leave as soon as you manage to pass the exam...that is, if you three manage to pass it."

"And when will you be administering it, Professor? Better yet, how much time will we have to properly prepare ourselves for it?" asked Clyde curiously.

"Well...considering that I want you three to have the best possible chance of passing the exams while still allowing you to leave within the week...I'd say two days tops, maybe three at the most. That should give you enough studying time to at least manage a passing grade."

Giving the plum-haired woman a hopeful look, Ronnie asks "Any chance of allowing us to take the test tomorrow morning? Or maybe later on tonight?"

"I'm afraid not, Miss Santiago." replied Ivy, shaking her head. "Look, I understand that you want to be on your way as soon as possible. However, I can't allow you, Mr. McBride or your brother to take the Trainer's Exam without at least having time to properly prepare yourself for it first."

Crossing her arms with a huff, Ronnie mutters "...Lincoln managed to pass the exam with only a single night of studying. I'm certain that the three of us could probably do it, too..."

"Perhaps, but I'm not going to risk the chance of you three failing because you weren't ready for it." said Ivy before giving Ronnie a curious look. "Why the sudden rush to get the exams out of the way? If this is about getting to Kanto sooner..."

"It's not the Kanto region that I'm worried about." said Ronnie with a frown as thoughts of a certain white-haired boy ran through her mind.

Deciding to throw his two cents into the conversation, Bobby remarks "Nie Nie's got a thing for Lincoln and she wants to catch up with him before he leaves...where did Professor say he was, Clyde?"

Ignoring the mortified cry of embarrassment coming from Ronnie, Clyde answers "Vermillion City, I think. That's where he won his most recent badge."

"Bobby! Why would you go and say something like that out loud!?"

"What? It's true, isn't it?"

"That's beside the point!"

"I see...so it's because of Mr. Loud that you're in such a hurry..." mused Ivy, scratching her chin thoughtfully. "Nonetheless, I cannot allow you to take the exam until you're properly prepared for it."

After grimacing for a moment or two, Ronnie grumbles "...Fine. Since we're on the topic anyway, what will we be doing during this exam, anyway?"

"The same stuff that most aspiring Trainers like yourselves go through - a paper exam that tests your knowledge on what it takes to be a Pokemon Trainer, Pokemon typings, what you know about the Kanto league itself...stuff like that." replied Ivy, shrugging. "After that, you'll participate in a mock battle to see how you fare in an actual match. My assistants will be your opponents for that particular part."

"Shouldn't be too hard. I've seen Lincoln take part in a few battles through Lisa's VideoPhone, so I think I've got a good grasp on what to do." said Ronnie confidently, causing the plum-haired woman's lips to twitch upward into an amused smirk.

"Seeing a battle and actually being a participant in one are two different things, Miss Santiago."

"I can handle it."

"We'll see, Miss Santiago. We'll see." replied Ivy in return before her eyes caught on something that was outside the window - a small group of seven islands in the distance. Smiling, she points at the window, causing the others to look at her oddly for a moment before taking a look at what she wanted them to see.

"Wow...so those are the Sevii Islands..." said Clyde, eyeing them in wonder. "I take it the name comes from the fact that there are seven of them in total?"

"You would be correct on that, Mr. McBride. As you can already guess, all seven are named after a particular number." answered Ivy with a nod before pointing at what appeared to be the fifth island. "And that island in particular is our destination - Five Island."

"Will we get the chance to explore the other islands?" asked Ronnie as she looked over the other Sevii Islands curiously.

"Not until after you complete the Trainer's exam. Once you manage to do that, the decision on whether you want to visit them or not will be up to you." said Ivy, shrugging. "I will say that Islands Four through Seven do have Pokemon that normally can't be found in the Kanto region, so it may be worth your while to check them out before you head to the mainland."

"And if we want to head directly to Kanto?"

"Then you'll want to depart for One Island. The ferry service located there can bring you to either Cinnabar Island or Vermilion City." said Ivy before a thoughtful look appeared on her face. "Although I'm pretty sure that the second option won't be open to you until after the St. Anne leaves Vermilion Port. The ferry terminal there always closes on the week that it arrives."

"And that means if Lincoln leaves Vermilion City before the St. Anne arrives, we won't be able to catch up to him until much later. Dang it." concluded Ronnie, letting out a sigh.

"Hey, at least there's a silver lining, Nie Nie - not only will you get to see if the gym at Cinnabar Island is active or not while we wait for the St. Anne to leave, but we can spend a bit of time checking out some of the other Sevii Islands, too." said Bobby in an attempt to raise his sister's mood.

"Yeah, I guess..." replied Ronnie, still unhappy about the fact she was going to have to wait a bit longer in order to be able to catch up with the white-haired Loud. As she stared out the window, watching as Five Island drew closer and closer, she thought '...Just wait for us a little bit longer, Lame-O. We'll be there soon.'

-=O=-

Lincoln's Pokemon (Current)

Pikachu Lv.28 (Male)
Ability: Static
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Mild
Moves Known: Thundershock, ?, Electroball, Thunder Wave, Iron Tail, Grass Knot, Volt Tail (Custom Move)

Fearow Lv.25 (Female)
Ability: Sniper
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Calm
Moves Known: Fury Attack, Leer, Aerial Ace, Mirror Move, Pursuit, Assurance, Steel Wing, ? (Egg)

Poliwhirl Lv.26 (Male) (At Oak's Lab)
Ability: Water Absorb
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Jolly
Moves Known: Hypnosis, Water Gun, Water Sport, Double-Slap, Bubblebeam, Body Slam, Ice Ball (Egg)

Beedrill Lv.23 (Male) (At Oak's Lab)
Ability: Swarm
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Lax
Moves Known: Poison Sting, String Shot, Bug Bite, Harden, Twineedle, Fury Attack, U-Turn, Venoshock, ?

Pidgeotto Lv.24 (Female) (Nickname: Skyera)
Ability: Tangled Feet
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Rash
Moves Known: Gust, Twister, Tackle, Sand Attack, Quick Attack, Whirlwind, Steel Wing

Zubat Lv.16 (Male) (Nickname: Bruce) (At Oak's Lab)
Ability: Inner Focus
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Quirky
Moves Known: Bite, Absorb, Wing Attack, Astonish, Supersonic

Sandshrew Lv.20 (Female) (Nickname: Andrea) (At Oak's Lab)
Ability: Sand Veil
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Calm
Moves Known: Magnitude, Defense Curl, Rollout, Fury Cutter, Rapid Spin, Swift, Rock Tomb

Clefable Lv.18 (Male) (Nickname: Astro)
Ability: Magic Guard
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Gentle
Moves Known: Metronome, Disarming Voice, Double Slap, Follow Me, Minimize, ? (Egg)

Bulbasaur Lv.17 (Male) (Nickname: Azami)
Ability: Overgrow
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Serious
Moves Known: Vine Whip, Tackle, Sleep Powder, Razor Leaf, Poisonpowder

Charmander Lv.19 (Male) (Nickname: Firestorm) (At Oak's Lab)
Ability: Blaze
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Naive
Moves Known: Ember, Smokescreen, Metal Claw (Egg), Growl, Dragon Rage, ?

Squirtle Lv.15 (Male) (Nickname: Raph)
Ability: Rain Dish
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Rash
Moves Known: Water Gun, Withdraw, Bubble, Tackle, Aqua Jet (Egg), ? (Egg)

Meowth Lv. 24 (Female) (At Oak's Lab)
Ability: Pickup
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Naughty
Moves Known: Swagger, Foul Play (Egg), Feint Attack, Fake Out, Thief, Taunt, Fling (?), Snatch (Egg)

Geodude Lv.? (?) (Will Be Used For Wonder Trade Only) (At Oak's Lab)
Ability: ?
Nature: ?
Moves Known: ?

Paras Lv.? (?) (Will Be Used For Wonder Trade Only) (At Oak's Lab)
Ability: ?
Nature: ?
Moves Known: ?

? Lv.? (?) (Will Be Used For Wonder Trade Only) (At Oak's Lab)
Ability: ?
Nature: ?
Moves Known: ?

Diglett Lv.24 (Female) (Will Be Used For Wonder Trade Only) (At Oak's Lab)
Ability: ?
Nature: ?
Moves Known: Astonish, Dig, Magnitude, Mud Slap, Sucker Punch, Uproar

Misty's Pokemon (Current)

Starmie Lv.19 (No Gender)
Ability: Natural Cure
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Mild
Moves Known: Rapid Spin, Water Gun, Swift, ?

Poliwhirl Lv.26 (Male)
Ability: Damp
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Bold
Moves Known: Water Pulse, Mega Punch, Body Slam, ?, ?

Gyarados Lv.22 (Male)
Ability: Intimidate
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Rash
Moves Known: Thrash, Bite, Tackle, Leer, ?, ?

Goldeen Lv.16 (Female)
Ability: Swift Swim
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Gentle
Moves Known: Horn Attack, Water Pulse, ?, ?

Squirtle Lv. 14 (Male)
Ability: Torrent
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Bold Moves
Known: Withdraw, Water Gun, Tackle, Mirror Coat (Egg Move)

Krabby Lv.15 (Male)
Ability: Hyper Cutter
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Impish
Moves Known: Leer, Bubblebeam, Harden, Vicegrip, Slam (Egg Move)

Brock's Pokemon (Current)

Geodude Lv.20 (Male)
Ability: Sturdy
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Hardy
Moves Known: Defense Curl, Rollout, Tackle, Rock Polish, Rock Tomb

Onix Lv.21 (Male)
Ability: Rock Head
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Adamant
Moves Known: Bind, Harden, Tackle, Rock Tomb, Rage, Stealth Rock, Rock Throw

Diglett Lv.? (?)
Ability: ?
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: ?
Moves Known: Slash, Dig, ?, ?, ?

-=O=-

-Omake 76: The One From Her Dreams (SilverNugget)-

-Location Unknown (Time Unknown)-

"Yeah! Rock on!" exclaimed Luna cheerfully as she sat among a raucous crowd in a lively-looking club, watching on as Mick Swagger stood on the club's stage, belting out one of his many hits to the approval of his audience. "Man, I don't know what the heck I ate to have a dream like this one, but I need to start eating it more often! Whoo!"

As Mick prepared to start singing again, everything in the entire club suddenly comes to a stop, causing the purple-clad teen to shake her fist in anger.

"Oi, what gives?! You can't just put a rockin' place like this on pause whenever ya bloody please, whoever you are!"

"I really didn't want to, Luna." replied a voice from nearby that sounded remarkably like Luna's own, causing her eyes to widen in shock as a black miamsa started to appear in front of her, taking a form that looked just her own.

"...You. You're the one I've been seeing in my dreams."

"The very same."

Frowning, Luna asks "...Why are you here? Haven't you tormented my dreams enough already? Don't tell me that you're here to ruin this one, too."

"Not at all. I just wanted to say goodbye before I go." replied the shadowy counterpart calmly before a warm smile formed on her face. "You seem to be doing a lot better ever since you spoke to your brother."

"I feel a lot better too, thanks to him." said Luna with a small smile. "Sam played a part in that, too. She's the one who convinced me to try speaking to him in the first place."

"Always felt that girl would be a good thing for you. I'm glad she managed to help you get your head straightened out."

"That's Sam for you. You get your head caught up with something and she'll do what she can to help you get you out of it."

"She's definitely a good match for you." replied the doppelganger with a nod.

"The best." said Luna, grinning widely. "...Which is why I'm going to tell her how I feel when we hang out again. Hopefully, she'll feel the same way."

"I think she'll welcome your affections with open arms, Luna. Just make sure to be yourself when you finally do tell her." answered the shadowy Luna with a nod before starting to get to her feet. "...Well, I guess that I better get going. My purpose here has come to an end and I'm no longer needed anymore."

"...Purpose?" questioned Luna, wondering what in the world her counterpart was talking about.

"It's nothing you need to worry about, Luna." answered the other Luna, shaking her head. "You take care of yourself, Luna. Hopefully, this will be the last meeting that we'll be having with each other."

Grabbing her doppelganger's shoulder to stop her, Luna says "Wait!", causing her counterpart to look at her oddly.

"Yes?"

"Do you...uh, you wanna hang out one last time before you go?"

Surprised, Luna's counterpart asks "You...you want me to stick around one more time? Even after everything I've done to you in your dreams?"

"Yeah, but if it wasn't for you appearin' in my dreams and showin' me what I've been doing wrong, I'd still be buyin' into that bad luck crap that Lynn's been spewing out lately."

"You'd be a lot more worse off than that if you hadn't changed, believe me..." muttered the other Luna under her breath. "So...are you really sure that you want me to stick around one last time before I go for good?"

"Yeah. This time, not as a reminder of my failure as an older sister...but as a friend." replied Luna, causing her counterpart to eye her for a moment before a smile forms on her face.

"...I'd like that."

"Righteous! In that case, take a seat and enjoy the show - Mick's gonna be here all night...well, until I wake up in the morning, anyway."

Nodding eagerly, Luna's doppelganger sits down beside her before snapping her fingers, causing the rambunctious club to come to life once more.

As the facsimile of Mick Swagger started to sing again, the two Lunas bump fists with each other before sitting back to enjoy the show.

-=O=-

-Omake 77: Luan's Failed Prank Alternate Scene (SilverNugget)-

"Bloody nutter." grumbled the purple-clad teen to herself before returning her attention back to her notepad, unaware that Luan had started to sneaking back into the room, carrying a bucket filled with tar in one hand while clutching a bag with the other.

Once she was certain that she was positioned behind her sister, Luan shouts out "Surprise!" before attempting to dump the contents of the bucket onto Luna's head, unaware of the horn on the floor that she was about to step on.

Upon hearing the loud and unexpected 'HONK' coming from beneath her feet, Luan lets out a startled yelp before falling backwards, causing the bucket to up-end the tar directly onto her, covering her head to toe with the black sludge.

Coincidentally enough, the blare of the horn had caused Luna to quickly stand up and turn around to see what had happened, just in time to see Luan's attempted prank backfire on her.

As Luan laid there with a mixed look of mortification and disbelief on her face, Luna stands there for a moment with a look of surprise on her face before grabbing the bag and emptying it onto her sister, covering her sister's tar-covered body with white feathers.

Once she was done, the purple-clad teen pointed at her and started to laugh uproariously.

-=O=-

AN: Chapter 33 is done. I know it's shorter than the usual fare, but I decided to make it shorter after coming to a certain decision (read below for more details). Hope you guys don't mind. I did intend on adding some more stuff involving the arrival on Five Island and Ronnie's group meeting Ivy's assistants, but decided to save that for a later time. For those that were looking forward to it, I'd like to apologize in advance for making you wait a bit longer for it to happen.

I'd also like to apologize for taking so long to finish it, but things kept getting in the way (working towards helping my brother get a new computer...which crapped out on him after a Window 10 update, burning out throughout the process or writing this chapter, bouts of sickness and constantly rewriting stuff to try and make things work, which would then lead to the above decision). I'll try to update more frequently in the future from now on.

Also, please try to refrain from sending me 'please update' reviews. While I can understand wanting me to continue the story, I will admit that it does get tiring constantly seeing reviews asking me on when the next chapter will be uploaded. So please, try to keep them to a minimum. I'd greatly appreciate it.

Anyway, now that I've got that out of the way, let's get down to other business.

First of all, I'm just going to get this out of the way right now: this is going to be the last chapter that mainly focuses on Ronnie, Clyde and Bobby. Now, before you start raising protests or whatever, I do have a reason for this.

What is it, you ask? Simple. I'm going to write out their adventures together as a completely separate fic. I know that I said before that I wasn't going to do this, but after realizing that they aren't going to get as much screen time as Lincoln and company, I decided to go through with the idea of writing a separate story for them.

Secondly and finally, I'd like to address the poll that I mentioned in the previous chapter. It came fairly close, but the winning choice was Cobalt Island (Hey You, Pikachu!). I've already got an idea on what to do with this one, but you'll just have to wait until after the St. Anne arc to see what it is.

With that said, I'd like to say that I look forward to continuing this story with the rest of you throughout the new year. As always, I hope you enjoy the chapter and look forward to the next one.