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.

35. Chapter 35 - The St Anne (Part 2)

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 - Rita & Lynn Sr.'s Room (5:45 AM)-

'Today's the day, Rita - the day that the new school year officially starts.' thought the mother of eleven to herself as she laid in her bed alone, staring up at the ceiling with a frown on her face. 'And something tells me that this morning in particular will be a hassle to deal with.'

After taking a moment or two to motivate herself to get out of bed, Rita stood up and started to get dressed for the morning. As she put on her usual outfit, her thoughts continued to dwell on how the family would be able to manage without Lincoln around to keep the girls in check. Normally, he'd be able to ensure that everything went smoothly in the morning, allowing the rest of the Loud family plenty of time to get ready to face the day.

But now? He wasn't around to keep things in order, which of course would mean trouble for everyone else in the long run.

"I'm honestly starting to wonder why we went along with the suggestion to send him away with the upcoming school term being so close. That 'bad luck' mumbo-jumbo must've really scrambled our common sense for us to make a decision like that."

"Your common sense, you mean. I knew exactly what I was doing when I suggested the idea of sending him away to Kanto." stated Lisa's voice from nearby, catching her mother's attention.

Eyebrow raised, Rita asked "What do you mean by that? Better yet, what are you doing up this early, young lady? You should still be asleep by now."

"You should already know the answer to the first question by now, Mother - I needed someone to go to Kanto and he was the only one that was readily available." answered the four year-old as she stepped into the room. "The fact that Aunt Ruth was the alternative choice the rest of you had in mind also helped with making that decision. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy."

"Your aunt's not that bad..."

"Mother, the woman makes him rub those repulsive feet of hers while forcing the rest of us to eat expired pudding during every visit. If you think that's 'not that bad', then perhaps you'd like to spend an extended amount of time with her. I believe you'll change your tune after that."

Giving her mother an icy look, Lisa adds "If I hadn't suggested the idea of sending Lincoln to Kanto that day, the rest of you would've shunted him off to our aunt before going back to your normal, everyday lives like nothing was wrong. You wouldn't care about whether or not he was miserable during his time with Aunt Ruth. As long as his 'bad luck' wasn't around to trouble us, you would just act like everything was just fine. If he honestly started to hate us after that, well...I wouldn't blame him."

Feeling a chill running down her spine, Rita asked "...You actually think he would've hated us for it?"

"Considering that he had nothing to do with Lynn's loss that day and she suggested the idea of sending him there to get some petty form of 'payback' on him? Along with the fact that all of you were considering the idea of going along with it before I spoke up? Yes."

"...Alright, fair enough. Now about my other question..."

"I had my alarm set to wake me up at five this morning. I specifically chose to do this purely so I would have plenty of time to observe the others as they try to adjust to their usual school morning routines without Lincoln around to keep them in check."

Arms crossed, Rita answered "That and you want to get a laugh or two out of watching the chaos that will no doubt unfold."

"...Also true." admitted Lisa with a sheepish grin.

"Well, while you're doing that, your father and I will have to do everything we can to make sure the others get ready in time." replied Rita before giving her daughter a hopeful look. "...Is there any chance that you could help us out this morning? Even just a little bit?"

"As much as I would like to, I must respectfully decline." answered Lisa, shaking her head. "However, I will be wishing the both of you luck from the safety and comfort of my own room."

"What? Why?" asked Rita, wondering why her daughter had refused to offer her assistance.

"For one, I would rather not get involved with the others, especially since they will most likely blame me once things start going poorly for them due to Lincoln's absence. I have no doubt that they will try to hold me responsible because it was my idea to send him away to Kanto." stated Lisa, adjusting her glasses. "Secondly, I want to finish with assembling an earpiece for an acquaintance of mine. You remember Bill, yes?"

"I think so. He was the one who told us about Mt. Moon and the evolution ceremony that took place there, right?"

"Correct. Sometime last night, he had contacted me, asking if I could assemble one of my translation earpieces for him. As you can already assume due to the fact I'll be returning back to my room to finish my work, I agreed to help him."

"Really now? Did you talk about anything else?"

"Well..."

-Flashback-

-The Loud Residence - Lisa & Lily's Room (9:00 PM)-

As night started to fall outside of the Loud residence, Lisa sat at her desk, once again looking over one of her books on Pokemon.

"Hmm...so the Dark-Type is immune to Psychic-Type attacks...why is that, I wonder?" pondered the four year-old to herself as she read through the chapter on Dark-Type Pokemon. "Furthermore, why do Bug-Types deal so much damage to them? Such a mystery..."

Before she could turn to the next page of her book, Lisa heard the familiar beeping sound of her VideoPhone, causing her to quickly mark her book before closing it.

"A call at this hour? Why would Professor Oak want to call me at a time like this? Surely he hasn't forgotten about the time difference between us..." mused the little genius to herself as she walked over to her VideoPhone and answered it, causing a familiar green-haired man to appear on the screen.

Recognizing him, the four year-old raised an eyebrow before asking "...Bill?"

Nodding with a smile on his face, Bill answers "Yes. I hope I didn't call you at a bad time."

"As long as our conversation doesn't go on for too long. Tomorrow is the first day of the school term and it's highly probable that I'll be heading off to bed soon." said Lisa, nodding. "Now then, what is the purpose of your call?"

"I'd like to speak to you about the earpiece that you made for your brother - the one that can translate Pokemon speech."

"One of my finest creations, in my honest opinion." boasted the little genius proudly with a smile on her face. "Even more so, considering that I had originally created it for the purpose of translating the speech patterns of commonplace animals such as canines and felines."

Nodding in agreement, Bill says "It is an impressive piece of technology. How in the world did you manage to get it to work?", only for Lisa to shake her head in response. "No? I presume there's a reason for your refusal?"

"There is. While I would like to share what I know about how my earpieces are made, I cannot risk the chance of the blueprints leaking to the public and allowing someone else to take credit for my creation. And I cannot...no, will not accept the idea of someone profiting off of my hard work."

"Completely understandable. If someone had asked me about how my Pokemon Transfer Service program was made, I would refuse to release that information as well." replied Bill, nodding. "Still, if you're that worried about someone stealing your idea, you should look into patenting it. A creation like your earpiece would be a huge hit with the people of the Kanto region if you're able to market it to the public."

"...I might have to look into that. While I'm not keen on the idea of sharing the means needed to make my earpieces, I would welcome the idea of making a profit from them with open arms." commented Lisa, scratching her chin. "Thank you for the suggestion."

"You're welcome." stated Bill, nodding with a smile on his face. "Now then, considering that you refuse to share how to make an earpiece with me, is there any way I can at least acquire one for myself? While learning how to make one was my original intention at first, I'm more than content with just having one made for me."

"I presume this has to do with the giant Dragonite that my brother had mentioned to me a few days ago?"

"Ah, yes...the Dragonitus Giganticus. That's the main reason why I would like to acquire an earpiece - the two of us had an enlightening conversation on the night of your brother's visit and I would like to speak with him again while understanding what he has to say in return. Can you assist me with that?"

"I can. You'll have to acquire the necessary vocal data to make it function, but I doubt that someone like yourself will have trouble with that." replied Lisa, nodding.

Smiling, Bill answers "Excellent! So how much do I owe you for the service?"

At this, the four year-old raised an eyebrow - the was the first time that someone had actually asked her for a price regarding the earpieces. After taking a moment or two to mentally go over possible ideas on what to ask for, she finally asked "...How soon can you get two VideoPhones sent here to the States? Two brand-new, fully-functioning ones, to be precise?"

"I can have them ordered and shipped to you from the Silph Company within the week. Any particular reason why you need two of them?"

"There is, actually. Two of Lincoln's friends - Clyde McBride and Ronnie Anne Santiago - are currently with Professor Ivy at her laboratory on Five Island and their parents would like an easy way to keep weekly tabs on them without needing to come here to use my VideoPhone."

"And you think that having VideoPhones installed in their homes will help out with that. I see." said Bill, nodding in understanding. "Yes, I believe I can help you with that. With the money I make from the Pokemon League committee regarding my Pokemon Transfer service, I've got more than enough to live comfortably for the remainder of my life. Two brand-new VideoPhones should be child's play to acquire for you."

"Good to know. Let me know when you have them and I'll pass along their home addresses to you."

"Certainly. Now then, about the earpiece..."

"I'll get started on it as soon as possible. Once it's finished, I'll pass it along to Professor Oak so he can apply Lincoln's Pokedex data to it, then he'll pass it along to you. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes, thank you." replied Bill, nodding. "I must admit that it's rather impressive that someone your age had managed to assemble such a wondrous device. My last attempt at trying to recreate it...well, it exploded."

"I know the feeling. I've lost count of the number of times my experiments had done the same thing." said Lisa, nodding. "Still, as a scientist, it's my job...no, duty to ensure that I find a successful way of making my experiments work, no matter what."

"Likewise." answered Bill before scratching the back of his head. "Although I do believe that there are some things that should only be handled by those who know how to make them work. Your earpiece is a fine example of that."

Before Lisa could give him a reply, Rita's voice booms out from the hallway, saying "Lisa, whatever you're doing in there, hurry it up! It's time to go to bed! You've got school tomorrow and I don't want you to be late!"

"Seems like we should be bringing our call to an end, Miss Lisa. Perhaps we'll pick this up again some other time."

"Of course. Goodbye."

-Flashback End-

"Sounds like you've been busy, Lisa." commented Rita, nodding. "So this earpiece, you're making it for Bill in exchange for a couple of VideoPhones, right? Do you plan on giving them to someone?"

"Yes. The McBrides and Ronnie's mother inquired about a way to acquire VideoPhones of their own so they can keep in contact with their children."

"So you're going to give the VideoPhones to them. I see..." said Rita, nodding in understanding. She would've asked for the same thing as well if she were in their position.

"I'm also going to be looking into the idea of patenting my earpieces as well. If I can have the design patented and find a company that's willing to market them, I believe that our money troubles may be a thing of the past." said Lisa with a small smirk.

"That would be one of the few good things to come from Lincoln's absence." remarked Rita before letting out a sigh. "I hope he's doing okay out there. I know that we just spoke to him a few days ago and he seemed to be doing fine, but..."

"I'm certain that he's alright, Mother. We both know that he can handle himself." stated Lisa confidently before taking notice of what appeared to be footsteps rumbling upstairs. "...Sounds like the others are waking up. Best of luck out there."

Before Rita could once again ask Lisa for assistance, the four year-old hurriedly exits the room, leaving her mother behind.

Upon hearing the sound of pounding footsteps and her daughters arguing with each other, Rita sighs to herself before reluctantly making her way out of the room to deal with the hostile situation that was starting to brew upstairs.

-=O=-

-The Loud Residence - Upstairs (6:00 AM)-

While their mother was making her way upstairs, the numerous daughters of the Loud family were in front of the bathroom door, arguing with each other over the rights to be the first to use the room in question that morning. The only ones not involved in the verbal battle were Lisa, Lily and Leni, who were currently inside of their respective rooms.

Even Lucy and Luna were getting involved in the dispute in the hallway, wanting to use the only bathroom in the house first.

"I don't see why we're arguing about this. I'm the oldest, so I should rightfully be allowed to use the bathroom first." said Lori in a condescending-sounding tone, causing the others to glare at her. "So step aside and let me pass - the sooner I get finished, the sooner the rest of you can use the bathroom after I'm done."

"I don't think so! If anyone deserves to use it first, it should be me!" barked Lynn, stomping a foot on the floor as she emphasized the last word of her response.

"No way! I'm the prettiest out of all of us, so I should use it first! Beauty before age!" countered Lola, pointing a finger at herself.

"In that case, you'd be coming in dead last with that one, sister..." remarked Lana sarcastically, causing her twin to glare at her for the crass comment.

"What was that, you trash-digging piece of garbage?"

"If I'm garbage, then you're manure! You've got the crappy attitude to match!"

Screeching in anger at the insult, Lola charges at Lana and tackles her, sending both sisters to the floor.

As the two blondes start trading blows and insults with each other, Luna remarks "Well, that's two more out of the queue. Now we just need to decide between us on who's going first."

"Which is going to be me. I'm the oldest, I deserve to go before the rest of you." said Lori, pointing at herself.

"Trying to use your age to get your way isn't going to work this time, Lori." said Luan, glaring at her sister. "I'm using the bathroom first. Otherwise, I'll unleash the mother of all pranking sprees on all of you."

"You don't have the guts to go through with it, Lu. Not after the ban that Mom and Dad dropped on you." said Luna, causing the others to look at her oddly.

Even Lola and Lana had stopped their brawl long enough to give her a glance.

"Luan can't play pranks anymore?" asked Lola, hoping that her sister spoke the truth. If there was one thing she could honestly admit that she hated about Luan, it was her pranks.

Making a so-so gesture with her hand, Luna says "Somewhat. They told her that she can't pull the big 'Prankgiving'-level stuff anymore.", only for Luan to give her a smug look.

"True, but they did say that the smaller ones were alright. And since I still have plenty of those up my sleeve...aha!"

With the last word of her response, the fourteen year-old quickly squeezed the trigger attached to the squirting flower on her shirt, only for nothing to happen.

After looking at the flower in bewilderment, Luan squeezes the trigger again and again, inwardly wondering why the flower wasn't spraying.

"Looks like you're all dried up, sis." said Luna with a smirk, causing the fourteen year-old to glower at her before pressing the trigger again.

Nothing. Not even a dribble.

After a few more failed attempts to get the flower to work, Luan mutters "What the heck's up with this thing? I know it was working yesterday..." before removing it from her shirt in order to get a good look at it.

Almost as if it had been waiting for that precise moment, the flower sprays a fine mist directly into Luan's face, causing her to let out a loud cry as the fluid gets into her eyes,

While Luan rolled around on the floor, howling in pain while covering her eyes, Luna jokingly remarks "'Eye' guess you didn't see that one coming, huh Lu?"

"Not funny, Luna! Do you have any idea on how much this burns?!" complained Luan, pulling her hands away in order to glare at her sister with red, inflamed eyes.

"Bet you'd be laughing your head off if you had managed to spray me with that stuff. What the heck was that, anyway?"

Instead of answering her, the aspiring comedian continued to glare at Luna before her smug grin returned despite the pain coursing through her eyes.

"I wasn't able to get the 'drop' on you with that one, but that's just the first prank on the 'bucket' list for this morning!"

With that said, the fourteen year-old directs a kick at a nearby door, causing what appeared to be a bucket filled with purple liquid to start falling from the top of the door, directly towards Luna's head.

However, almost as if by pure chance, the purple fluid goes flying over her sister/roommate's head and ends up splashing onto Lynn, coloring her face, hair and the front of her body a very Luna-esque shade of violet.

While the others stared at their now purple-colored sister in shocked disbelief, Luan's grin faltered for a moment as she stared at her backfired prank...before it returned a second later as she prepared to do the one thing she shouldn't have done at that very moment - make a pun about the situation at hand.

"Well, I may not have gotten Luna with that prank, but it's no 'grape' loss - at least I managed to get someone with it!" joked the fourteen year-old before breaking out into a fit of laughter, unaware of the fact that everyone else was backing away while Lynn glared at her with murder in her eyes.

Moving away, Lori says "Uh...Luan? You might wanna stop while you're still in one piece. Lynn looks like she's about to..."

Before the bald teen could finish, Lynn lets out a bellow of rage before tackling her sister to the ground and wrapping her hands around her throat, attempting to throttle the comedian with every ounce of fury burning within her.

While Lucy and Luna ran over to break the two up, Lola and Lana looked at the bathroom door, then at each other for the briefest of moments before making a break for the bathroom door, shoving each other as they raced to be the first to use the coveted room.

Neither twin would manage to make it to the door as their tempers overran their desire to use the bathroom, once again causing them to break out into a fight as they rolled about on the hallway floor.

Seeing the chaos breaking out in front of her, Lori instinctively makes a break for Lincoln's room, intent on getting him to come out and deal with the situation.

After all, he was well-versed in keeping things in order in the morning, so he should be able to defuse things before they could get worse, right?

"Lincoln, what the heck are you doing!? Get your butt out here and help with..." started the teen as she raised a fist to bang on her brother's door, only to stop upon seeing the numerous boards, chains and the various lengths of police tape that were blocking her way. After staring at them for a moment and immediately recalling where her brother actually was at the moment, she mutters "...Ah...that's right. Lincoln's in Kanto right now." in a soft, low voice.

In that instant, her eyes widened in horror as a sudden realization hit - with Lincoln in Kanto, who was going to be around to help make sure things went smoothly in the morning? Furthermore...what did this mean for her family?

As she stared at the door, the bald blonde muttered "...Uh-oh.", causing the other sisters to stop what they were doing to look at her.

Giving the older teen a perplexed look as she kept trying to pull Lynn off of her roommate, Luna asks "Uh-oh? Whaddya mean by that?"

"Lincoln's the one who usually helped out with making sure we made it through the morning in one piece. He's not here to do that, so..."

After taking a moment to go over Lori's words, the purple-clad girl's eyes widened in horror as she quickly came to the same realization that Lori had come to a few moments ago.

"...Oh bugger."

While Lana, Lola and Lucy were thinking about what this would mean for them, a grin started to form on Luan's face as she realized what this meant for her - without Lincoln around, she could prank the rest of her family during the morning without his intervention ruining it for her.

'Note to self - make sure to thank Lisa later for suggesting that we send Lincoln to Kanto. I'm going to enjoy this upcoming school year...'

Giving her older sister a dismissive glance as she got off of Luan, Lynn comments "Bah. We don't need Stinkcoln here with us. We can handle getting ready for school without him.", only for Luna to raise an eyebrow before pointing at her.

"Says the girl who was trying to strangle Luan just a few minutes ago."

"She started it with that stupid prank! One that was meant for you, I might add!"

"It was. I had to spend a pretty penny to find dye that was the right shade of purple." added Luan, pulling herself to her feet.

Glaring at the braces-wearing girl as she cracks her knuckles, Lynn snarls "For your sake, this crap better be removable.", causing the older girl to wince before nodding.

"A hot shower should be able to wash it off, no problem." replied Luan quickly, causing Lynn to give her a narrow-eyed glare before stomping her way into the bathroom, ignoring the protests that the twins were giving her as she passed by.

As the two blondes stormed over to the door and started banging on it while demanding entry, Rita makes her appearance from the stairs, asking "What in the world are you girls doing? You're supposed to be getting ready for school!" before noticing that Leni wasn't in the hallway. "...Where's your sister, Lori?"

Finally noticing that her sister/roommate wasn't within sight, Lori replies "I don't know, Mom. Maybe she's still in our room." before walking over to her bedroom door. Grasping the doorknob, she attempts to turn it, only to frown as it refused to move a single inch.

After trying to turn the knob a few more times, the bald blonde started to bang on the door, saying "Leni, are you in there? Open up!"

"NO! GO AWAY!" boomed Leni's voice in response from behind the door, causing the others in the hallway to look at it oddly.

Feeling her patience starting to run thin due to the events that had transpired that morning, Lori starts banging on the door again, snapping "Open the door, Leni! I'll literally break the door down if you don't let me in!"

Just as loudly as before, Leni exclaims "I SAID GO AWAY!"

"I'm not going to tell you again, Leni - open this door right now!"

"NO!"

As Lori started to bang on the door again while demanding entry to her room, Rita sighs and says "I knew I should've just stayed in bed this morning..." before turning her attention to Luan, who was rubbing her neck to ease the discomfort that was running through it. "...What in the world happened to you? And what happened to your eyes?"

"Lynn happened." replied Luan, glaring at the bathroom door. "All because of a harmless little prank..."

Stepping into the conversation, Luna says "Luan tried to get me with a couple of pranks this morning, but it backfired and hit Lynn instead.", causing Luan to give her an annoyed look. "Speaking of which, what was in that spray you tried to use on me earlier?"

"It was just some lemon juice. Nothing too major." answered Luan, tapping the flower on her shirt before glowering at the purple-clad teen. "I don't know how or why you were lucky enough to avoid getting sprayed by it, but your luck will have to run out eventually. One of these days, I'm going to pay you back for..."

Before Luan could finish speaking, a loud furious bellow of rage boomed from the bathroom, followed by the door being roughly kicked open, sending the twins who were banging on it earlier into a nearby wall.

Upon seeing her younger sister standing in the doorway, both completely dyed purple and fully nude with a look of absolute fury on her face, Luna asked "...Luan? What the heck was in that dye you used?"

"I don't know. It was..." started the fourteen year-old before her eyes widened in realization as she snapped her fingers. "Oh right, I booby-trapped the showerhead with it, too. I knew that if my earlier prank had hit you like it was supposed to, you would've went into the shower to try and wash it..."

"LUAN! YOU'RE DEAD! YOU HEAR ME!? DEAD!"

"Wait a minute, Lynn!" pleaded Luan, hands held up defensively. "That prank was meant for Luna, not you!"

"I guess it's a good thing that your prank missed me, huh Lu? I could've looked like a walking, talking, seething grape like Lynn over there." remarked Luna, causing the thirteen year-old's temper to flare up further.

Not wanting to be around what was about to happen, Lori backs away towards Lisa's door, saying "I...think I'll just go and see if Lisa's ready for school, Mom." before opening the door and hurrying inside.

Sensing the tension as well, Lucy and Luna start making their way towards their rooms as well while Lola and Lana, still dazed from the sudden blow they had taken earlier, wobbled unsteadily towards their bedroom door.

Stomping over, Lynn grabs the lapel of Luan's shirt and snarls "You said I could wash this stuff off, Luan. Tell me how to get this stuff off right now or else I'm going to hurt you. Now."

Even though she knew that it would be the worst possible thing to do at the moment, Luan couldn't help but crack a smile as a joke escaped through her lips.

"Well Lynn, I hate to give you the 'bare' facts, but here's the 'naked' truth - I actually don't know how to get that dye off. Get it?"

Grimacing, Rita says "Oh Luan, why did you have to make a pun at a time like this..." as Lynn's blood started to boil even further, giving the purple color on her face a slightly reddish hue.

Pointing at herself, Lynn roars "YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT I'M STUCK LIKE THIS!?" in anger, causing her sister's smile to falter.

"Well...uh, there might be a way to remove it somehow. I'll have to look into it, but..."

Before Luan could finish speaking, Lynn lets out a bellow of fury before tackling Luan to the floor and raising a fist in order to punch her older sister in the face.

"No, Lynn! No! Get off of her, now!" warned Rita as she hurriedly placed Lily on the floor in order to restrain her daughter.

Acting quickly before her sister could deliver her intended blow, Luan activates the trigger for her flower, causing it to spray lemon juice directly into Lynn's eyes, causing her to bellow in pain at the unpleasant stinging sensation.

While Lynn was occupied with trying to ease the stinging running through her eyes, Luan manages to get back to her feet and decides to make a run for the stairs, only to hear her sister's roar of anger again, followed by something tackling her from behind.

Due to the sheer momentum of Lynn's attack, both sisters go tumbling down the stairs before landing on the first floor with a sickening 'thud'.

As both sisters moan in pain on the floor, Rita sighs before making her way downstairs to see if they were alright.

"Well, this is a 'wonderful' start to the school year..."

-=O=-

-The Loud Residence - Lisa & Lily's Room (6:15 AM)-

While Rita went to go check on Luan and Lynn, Lisa sat at her desk, watching the events taking place outside of her room on her computer. And by the look of the smirk on her face, she was definitely amused with what she had seen so far.

"Well now, it appears that my assumption about our first morning of the school year was accurate after all. Even surpassing what I had expected, as a matter of fact." mused the four year-old to herself as she prepared to re-watch the incident between Luan and Lynn again, only to suddenly hear the sound of knocking coming from her door.

Turning to face it, she asks "Who is it?"

"It's me. Can I come in?" replied Lori's voice from the door, causing Lisa to smirk in response.

"I don't know. Can you?"

"Ugh...little smartass. May I come in?"

Nodding, Lisa answers "You may. Proceed.", causing her older sister to open the door and step inside. "Now then, what do you want? In case you've forgotten, we will be departing for school within the hour."

"I need to ask you for a favor, Lisa." stated Lori before recalling what she had recently learned from Mrs. Santiago. "...Make that two favors."

"I don't do favors. However, I will see about addressing whatever you wish to discuss with me if I get something in return."

"You get your older sister's gratitude for doing whatever she wants you to do for her. Isn't that good enough?"

Shaking her head, Lisa simply answered "No, but nice try."

Groaning in annoyance, Lori mutters "Greedy little...alright, fine. One month of free transportation. I'm not giving you anything more than that.", causing Lisa to think the offer over for a moment before crossing her arms.

"Tell me what you want first, then we'll negotiate a price for my services."

"Fine. I need you to look into a way for me to be able to contact Bobby - he's in Kanto with that bratty sister of his - and I need you to find a way to help my hair grow back. Can you help me with both of those?"

"I cannot assist you with your first request without the use of a VideoPhone." replied Lisa, causing Lori to open her mouth to speak while pointing at the VideoPhone in the room. "And before you bring up the one I own, I would like to inform you that since Ronnie, Bobby and Clyde will most likely be travelling on the road together, they will have to use the Pokemon Center's VideoPhones to call someone. Furthermore, since I do not know any of the Centers' numbers, I cannot use my VideoPhone to contact them. They have to send a call my way first."

Holding up a finger, Lori asks "What about an e-mail? Can you send them one of those?"

"I could...if I knew Ronnie or Clyde's e-mail addresses. Since I do not, that option is out of the question as well." stated Lisa, causing the bald teen to groan.

"Damn it. If only that little brat hadn't brought my Bobby Boo-Boo Bear with her...well, can you help me out with my hair at least?"

"I can...for the right price."

"One month of free transportation, as stated earlier. That's what you'll get." replied Lori, arms crossed. "I'm not offering anything more than that."

"Hmm...an entire month..." mused Lisa, thinking the offer over again. "...Acceptable. How soon do you want this done?"

"Sometime within the week. I want my hair back A.S.A.P." answered the bald blonde firmly.

"I'll see what I can do. Do you know how you intend to address your current lack of hair for school today?"

"...Damn. I was so busy thinking about how I was going to convince you to fix my hair that I didn't think about that." muttered Lori, rubbing the top of her head. "Do you have anything that can help cover it up? I'll throw in an extra week if you do."

"Fortunately for you, I do." stated Lisa before walking over to her closet and opening it up. After rummaging through it for a few seconds, she pulls out a wig that bore a close resemblance to Lori's natural hairdo. "Our brother used this while covering for us during Pop-Pop's visit last Spring. I believe it will be sufficient enough to conceal your baldness until I find a way to restore your hair for you."

After taking the wig and looking it over, Lori nods and says "It'll do." before plopping it on her head. After taking a moment to gaze at her reflection through a nearby mirror, she smiles and says "Literally perfect. As if I never lost it in the first place."

"Good. Just make sure not to lose it - I do not have another one to give you if you misplace it."

"Like I'd lose something like this. Thanks, Lisa." retorted Lori before taking notice of the earpiece in her sister's hand. "What's that? It looks like that thing Lincoln had in his ear when he spoke to us a few weeks ago."

"It's a translation device meant to allow humans to comprehend Pokemon speech. A colleague of Professor Oak's had asked me to make it for him."

"Right...so how is the little twerp doing anyway? I don't really care or anything - I'm just asking."

Clearly knowing that Lori was trying to act dismissive, but was actually curious on how Lincoln was doing, Lisa answered "I do not wish to go over the details of what he's been up to since our previous call, but I will say this..." before giving her sister a predatory smile. "Our sister's assumption about him being unlucky couldn't be any more wrong. If anything, fortune's smiling brightly upon our brother."

"Great. The one person we think is bad luck ends up having a good run of it when he's away from us. I'm starting to wonder who's truly the unlucky one around here." grumbled Lori, arms crossed. "How lucky are we talking here?"

"Lucky enough to obtain a free pass to ride on a world-class cruise liner, obtain two softball-sized nuggets of solid gold and meet a larger-than-normal, one-of-a-kind subspecies of Dragonite while spending time at a local beach." answered Lisa, causing the wig-wearing teen to gape at her in horror. "And that's not including everything that you and the others know about already from spying on our calls."

"LINCOLN DID WHAT NOW!?"

Bursting through the bedroom door, Lola - still looking woozy from her earlier hit - asked "What? Lincoln did what? Is he in trouble?" in a slightly slurred, yet eager-sounding tone. Behind her, the rest of the Loud sisters (who looked affected by the events that had taken place earlier that morning) had crowded behind her, wondering what their brother had done now.

Even Lynn Sr. and Rita had peered into the room, wondering what their only son had managed to do now.

Pointing at Lisa, Lori answers "She told me that Lincoln managed to get a free pass to ride on a cruise liner!", causing Lola, Lana, Luan and both Lynns to gape at her in utter shock while Rita, Luna and Lucy settled down slightly.

Waving dismissively, Luna says "Oh, that? Yeah, me, Mom and Luce already know about that.", causing the others to look at her and Lucy, mortified.

"You knew and you didn't tell us!?" asked Luan, prompting Luna to give her a shrug.

"You didn't bother to ask. He told us about that while you guys were out of the house."

"This has to be some kind of sick joke. There's no way Stinkcoln could..." started Lynn, only for Lisa to walk over to the VideoPhone and start playing back the recording of the call. Upon seeing the laminated pass in her brother's hand and hearing about what it was for, she mutters "...Oh, you've got to be freaking kidding me..."

"A cruise ship?" slurred Lana, still affected by the blow she had taken earlier. "Lincoln gets to ride on a cruise ship?"

"HOW THE HECK IS THAT FAIR!?" screeched Lola in anger before pointing at the pass in Lincoln's hand. "WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS STREAK OF BAD LUCK AND HE GETS TO RIDE ON A CRUISE LINER! THAT'S NOT RIGHT!"

"A cruise liner...we send him away due to thinking that he's bad luck and he gets to go on a cruise liner..." muttered Luan before a small, forced smile appeared on her face. "I guess he's just 'cruising' along just fine without us, huh?"

"I can't even laugh at a joke like that right now, Luan." said Lynn Sr., shaking his head. "Still, to think that Lincoln's luck is getting better while ours is going down the drain...I guess we kinda had this coming with how we treated him before he left."

With a dark smile forming on her face, Lucy remarks "Misfortune befalls the ones who believed him to bad luck while fortune smiles in his favor. How ironically fitting."

"Hey, he started the whole mess by claiming to be..." protested Lynn before noticing the glare her mother was giving her. "...'that' in the first place. If he hadn't done that, we wouldn't have done that to him."

"True. His decision to act like that was a foolish one. However, you were the one who gave him the idea of doing so in the first place." replied the dark-haired Loud, arms crossed. "But I won't deny that all of us had a hand in pushing him towards that decision as well."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Lola, wondering what her older sister was talking about.

"He barely gets any free time to himself because of us. We have to constantly drag him around with us when we go out." said Lucy before her frown deepened. "Then again, we deny him the same thing when we're at home as well. Remember the Noise-B-Gone earbuds he bought?"

"Yeah, I remember them. But what do they have to do with us not allowing him to have any free time to himself? He was using them to ignore us when we wanted something from him."

"Precisely. With how often we bother him while he's trying to enjoy some alone time, it's no wonder he chose to act like he was bad luck just to get the rest of us to back off."

"...Just what are you trying to imply here, Lucy?" asked Lynn Sr., eyebrow raised.

Turning to face Lisa, Lucy remarks "Do you want to tell them? Or should I do it?", causing the four year-old to shrug in response. Taking that as her cue to go ahead and continue speaking, she turns back to her father before saying "Before I continue, I want to ask you this - do you remember what happened on the day of Lynn's game against the Lions?"

"Well, I remember Lynn trying to knock Lincoln's block off with her bat because she lost that game." said Lana, causing Lynn to glower at her while her mother turned to look at the teen in question.

"Which is something I'm going to be confiscating later, now that I'm reminded of that incident."

Giving his wife a look, Lynn Sr. asks "Do you know what Lucy's talking about, honey?"

"I do, but I'm going to let the rest of you figure it out first before I say anything."

After taking a moment to think back on that particular day, Luan snaps her fingers before remarking "Lincoln's confession. That's what you're talking about, right?"

Satisfied with her older sister's answer, Lucy nods before replying "Yes. And do you remember what he said to us on that day?"

"He was telling us that he was faking his bad luck just to get some alone time. But what does..." started Lori before her eyes widened slightly, as if realizing what Lucy was trying to imply with her words. "...That can't be right."

"What can't be right? Stop leaving us out of the loop here, Lori!" barked Lola, glaring at the older blonde.

"...If what Lucy is implying is true, then Lincoln wasn't bad luck after all. He was telling the truth about faking it."

Making a 'no' gesture with her arms, Lynn exclaims "No way! I refuse to believe something like that! Especially after all of the trouble that little jinx has caused us with his bad luck! There's no way something like that..."

"Can be anything less than the absolute truth." remarked Lisa, cutting her sister off and causing the others save for Rita, Luna and Lucy to look at her oddly. "And interestingly enough, it's because of you that he chose to act like he was unlucky in the first place, Lynn."

"And just what do you mean by that?" asked Lynn, glaring at her sister.

"Think back on what happened when Leni told Lincoln about her charity fashion show. You tried to convince her not to bring him along, claiming he was bad luck."

"I remember that. But what does this have to do with that crap you said earlier about me earlier?"

"I'm getting to that." said Lisa before continuing her explanation. "While you were trying to talk Leni out of bringing him to her show, you were unknowingly giving him an idea on how to get everyone else to back off so he could finally get some time to himself. A foolish idea, but one he was willing to try due to the fact that we constantly brought him with us to our games, recitals and other events."

Turning to face the others, she asks "Think about it for a moment - when he was trying to convince the rest of us that he was unlucky, didn't he seem a bit too eager to try and prove it to us?"

"That was a little suspicious, now that I think about it." comments Lana, scratching her chin. "And I do remember how happy he looked when we started leaving him out of coming to our games and stuff..."

"Precisely. At that point in time, he finally had time to himself. It's only when we started to go further with excluding him that he realized just how foolish his plan truly was, which would eventually lead to his confession." said Lisa, nodding.

"So that means he broke my sand wedge intentionally?" asked Lori, causing Lisa to nod in response. "...I'm going to make sure to make that little twerp pay for that. I had to spend some of my personal savings to buy a replacement."

"You're learning the truth about what's been going on with Lincoln pretending to be bad luck and all you care about is the fact your club got messed up? Not cool." said Luna, giving her sister a look.

"Shut it, Luna. You'd be just as upset with him if he had broken one of your instruments just to try and prove a point about something this stupid."

"Wait a minute...what about the streak of bad luck that's been effecting us? If this theory of yours about Lincoln faking it this entire time is real - which it isn't, by the way - then who's the real cause of what's been going on?" questioned Lynn, causing the other sisters who were effected by Lucy's curse to look at each other for a moment before turning to face her. "...Why are all of you looking at me like that?"

Noticing the looks that the others were giving Lynn, Rita decides to cut in, saying "We don't have time to waste with something like this. School will be starting soon and we'll need to leave as soon as possible in order to avoid being late."

"Your mother's right, girls. We need to finish getting ready." said Lynn Sr., nodding in agreement.

"Well, if it wasn't for Leni holing herself up in her room, I would've been ready to go by now." complained Lori, arms crossed. "She's not letting anyone into our room."

"I'll do what I can to get her to open the door, Lori. In the meantime, you can use my room to get dressed." said Rita before starting to make her way out of the room. After a few moments, the Loud sisters start filing out of the room as well.

-=O=-

-The Loud Residence - Lori & Leni's Room (6:30 AM)-

While the rest of her sisters were making their way back to their respective rooms, Leni sat alone in her room with a blanket drawn tightly over her body, almost as if afraid it would vanish and expose herself to the outside world. Nearby, the windows had their blinds and curtains down, blocking anyone from peering into the darkened room.

"I can't go out...I can't go out..." whimpered the teen in a mantra-like manner, speaking only those four words as her gaze nervously trailed over to the nearby window.

After her mishap at the mall, Leni had become afraid of exposing herself to the outside world, fearing the reactions she would end up receiving from her friends and peers who would, thanks to the fact that her nakedness was all over social media by now, no doubt know about what had happened to her that day. She knew for certain that they would most likely laugh at her, maybe even humiliate her over it.

As she knew it, her social life was probably ruined, if not damaged enough to the point where it would take years to recover.

"I never should've gone to the mall alone. If I didn't, I totes wouldn't be stuck in here..." sniffled Leni to herself as the bitter memory of that day continued to run through her mind. "...I really should've brought someone with me. Someone who would've been able to get me out of trouble. Someone who would've been there to make me feel better afterwards. Someone like...someone like..."

At this, the blonde's eyes took on a vacant look as one name immediately came to mind.

"...Lincoln. He totes would've been there for me. He's always been there for me when I needed him."

In an instant, memories of all of the times her wayward brother had helped her out came to mind. From helping her learn how to drive to covering for her while she went to the Spring sale at the mall...her brother had done so much for her and she had thrown all of that away just to buy into Lynn's claim about him being bad luck.

'Some big sister I am...I could've been there for him when he needed me the most, but no...stupid, dummy Leni just had to buy that luck stuff like it was going on sale. And now he's gone and may never come back..." muttered the blonde to herself.

"Like, I wouldn't blame him. You and your family did choose to throw him out like yesterday's garbage just to appease that stupid sister of yours." remarked a similar-sounding voice icily, causing Leni's eyes to widen slightly in surprise.

"Who...who are you? Where are you?"

"Try looking in front of you, dipshit."

Hearing this, Leni retorts "Hey, I'm not a..." as she looked forward, only to see what appeared to be a perfect duplicate of herself standing in front of her, arms crossed with a nasty sneer on her face as a faint black aura flowed over her body. "...Who are you?"

"Does it matter at this point?" replied the other Leni dismissively. "You've got other concerns you should be worrying about aside from who I am. Namely, your brother and how you're going to fix things with him."

Giving her counterpart a look, she adds "Well...if you can, that is."

"What do you mean 'if I can'? Linky's always been willing to forgive us before, right?" questioned the other blonde, holding up a single finger. "Besides, he forgave Lucy, Lisa, Mom and Luna, so he can forgive me, right?"

"True, but while they may have deserved his forgiveness, he certainly hasn't forgotten what they've done to him." answered the shadowy Leni before a dark smile forms on her face. "As for you...well, I think that you don't deserve it. Not after what you've done to him."

"Why would you say something mean like that?"

"Because it's the truth. You don't have the ability to think for yourself or even the courage to stand up and do the right thing. No...you just go along with the crowd, just like the weak little sheep that you are."

"But I'm not a sheep, other Leni. I'm a human, just like you."

Groaning in annoyance, the other Leni mutters "It's a figure of speech, dumbass. It's not meant to be taken...you know what? Never mind that." before changing the subject. "The point is this - you're not smart or brave enough to be worthy of his forgiveness. You don't deserve it, not after what you did."

"But I know he'll forgive me if I just ask him! Linky's always been good to me!" protested Leni, causing an evil, almost predatory smile to form on her doppelganger's face.

"True. He may forgive you if you ask him, but only because of that and not because you actually learned something from this. It wouldn't be true forgiveness, just hollow words that may make you feel better, but wouldn't clear away that darkness that's eating away at you." replied the other blonde, nodding with that same, sick smile on her face as an evil gleam formed in her eyes. "But I wonder...you say that Lincoln's been good to you. Can you say the same?"

"I've totes been a good sister to him...well, when we're not fighting over stuff or bickering about money or..." started Leni before deciding to cut her tangent short. "But yeah, I can say that I've been a good sister to him."

"A 'good sister'...don't make me laugh. You're a joke, Leni. A lie. A sham. A brainless, thoughtless idiot who does what she's told without questioning what's being said to her."

"I am not!"

With the evil gleam in her eyes becoming more pronounced, the other Leni asked "Is that right? Then tell me, Leni...the night that you were going to let your brother back into the house...why didn't you go through with it? Why did you let your family talk you out of doing what you knew was the right thing?"

At this, Leni's eyes widened as the memory of that particular night ran through her mind, causing her blood to run cold...

-Flashback-

-The Loud Residence - Living Room (10:00 PM)-

As rain splashed and lightning flashed outside of the Loud House, Leni sat with the rest of her family in the living room, watching what appeared to be a movie on their TV.

While the rest of her family were enjoying the movie with smiles on their faces, Leni's eyes turned away from the television towards her younger brother, who was standing at the window in nothing but his completely drenched pajamas, looking absolutely miserable.

Seeing this, the ditzy teen couldn't help but wince - even though she knew that her brother had to stay out of the house so he wouldn't effect the others with his bad luck, she didn't like the idea of him being out in the rain.

Noticing that Leni was looking at him, he mouths her name while giving her a 'come closer' gesture, trying to get her to come closer to him.

After making sure that the others were still busy with watching the movie, Leni carefully creeps away from the couch and makes her way over to the window, causing a relieved smile to appear on her brother's face.

"Thank goodness you're here, Leni. I need you to do a favor for me, okay?"

"You do? What kind of favor?"

"...I need you to open the door and let me into the house. In case you haven't noticed, it's raining and I'm freezing out here." replied Lincoln, wincing as he tried to ignore the rain splashing against his body.

Wincing, Leni answers "I don't know if I can, Linky. I want to, but..." before giving her family an aside glance. "...I don't know if the others will let me."

"C'mon, Leni! It's cold out here! You wouldn't leave me out in the cold like this, would you?"

"N-no, but..."

"But nothing, Leni! Look, I know I shouldn't have started this whole bad luck mess. I realize that." said Lincoln, cutting his sister off. "And if I had known it was going to lead to something like this happening, I never would've lied about being bad luck just to get some time to myself."

"You were lying about that?" asked Leni, befuddled.

"Yes, I was! And if you'll let me in, I'll admit to what I've done! You have my word on that!" answered Lincoln, nodding. "Now please, open the door and let me in! Please!"

"Well...if you're really telling the truth about this..." muttered Leni in a reluctant tone before making her way over to the front door.

However, before she could get the chance to open it, Lori notices her and asks "Leni, what are you doing?"

"I...I want to let Linky in, Lori. It's raining outside and..."

Pointing at her, Lynn snaps "Don't you dare, Leni! If you open that door, you're going to let Lincoln's bad luck into the house where it can effect the rest of us. Is that what you want?"

"Don't listen to them, Leni! Remember what I said to you earlier - I'll confess everything if you just let me in!" said Lincoln, trying to coax the blonde into letting him into the house.

Walking over to the window, Lynn Sr. says "Back away from the window, sport. I know that you don't want to be out in the rain anymore, but we can't take any chances on your bad luck effecting the rest of us."

"You'd leave your own son out here in the rain, Dad? Seriously?"

"Well no, but we can't just let you in and start jinxing the rest of us. It's for the greater good of the family, son - we can't put everyone else at risk."

Turning to Leni, Lincoln tries once more to convince her to let him into the house, saying "C'mon, Leni...you wouldn't leave me out like this. Please, just let me in."

As Leni stood at the door, conflicted on what to do, a small part of her mind said 'Do it, Leni. Do the right thing. Don't let these meanies tell you what to do. Linky's been through enough.'

"Don't do it, sis. While I'm not too happy about leavin' our bro out in the cold like that, we can't let his luck hurt the rest of us." said Luna while Lana and Lola nodded in agreement.

"Yeah! He'll just ruin everything for the rest of us if you let him in! He might even curse you with it!"

"What she said! Don't let him in, Leni!"

"Step away from the door, Leni. Now." ordered Lori in a commanding tone, causing her sister/roommate to give Lincoln a solemn, sad look before moving her hand away from the front door.

Eyes widening in disbelief, Lincoln murmurs "Leni..."

"...I'm sorry, but the others said that I can't let you in, Linky." said Leni, just as sadly. "...Good night."

Trying not to show how hurt he was by the blonde's refusal, Lincoln replies "...Good night, Leni." as Lynn gives him a smirk before returning back to the couch to finish watching the movie. Sighing, he moves away from the door to find a dry spot to sleep.

-Flashback End-

"I...I remember..." murmured Leni, nodding as the memory finished going through her mind. "The others told me that keeping him out was the right thing to do, but...was it really?"

"And that's what I'm talking about, Leni. You could've chosen to tell your family to go fuck themselves and do the right thing, but you decided to let them dictate your actions. Do you want to know what would've happened if you had gone through with opening the door for him?" asked the other Leni, causing the original to look at her before shaking her head. "Too bad, I'm telling you anyway just to give you an idea on how badly you screwed up."

After clearing her throat, the shadowy teen said "If you had opened the door for him that night instead of leaving him out in the rain, you would've learned everything about your brother faking his bad luck and why he did it. Sure, both of you would have to sleep outside that night, but at least he would've been fine with knowing that at least someone gave a damn about him. Your family would try to talk you into coming back into the house the following morning, which would lead to you helping Lincoln with convincing the rest of your family that he was lying about his 'bad luck'. Eventually, your parents would decide to give the theory a test by bringing him to your sister's game against the Lions."

"...Linky was actually faking his bad luck?" asked Leni, stunned.

Ignoring the question, her counterpart stated "By bringing your brother to her game, your sister would've won against the Lions and as a result, would've apologized to Lincoln, admitting that she was wrong to call him bad luck in the first place. Same would've gone for the rest of your family, too. After that, everything would start going back to normal until Lisa brings up the idea of going to Kanto to your brother. Since he wouldn't be on the outs with you and your dumbass family, you and several others would've gone with him, enjoying what the place has to offer while bonding with each other, bringing all of you closer as a result. This whole luck thing would've just been a bad memory that everyone would've forgotten about while you built newer, happier ones with each other on your journey together."

At this, Leni whimpered, realizing what her inaction had just cost her.

Giving the other blond a dark smile, she adds "But you didn't do the right thing that night, did you? Well, look what happened as a result - you and your family are getting your just desserts with your luck going rotten while your brother's in Kanto, finally getting to enjoy something for himself without you or your idiot sisters around to ruin it for him. I honestly think that he should stay over there, considering that his life as a Trainer seems to be preferable to coming back to a family that was willing to toss him to the dogs to save their own worthless hides, yourself included. It'll be better for him to just cut ties with you and forget that you and your family even exist."

"But Linky started it by saying he was bad luck!"

"True, but you and your family took things way too far. You and your family excluding him from the activities you were enjoying together...that's an acceptable punishment. If you had just stuck with that, he would've come clean with the truth and learned a lesson from the whole ordeal. But no, your stupid fucking family just had to lock him out of the house, board up his room and sell off his stuff. You were even willing to go along with Lynn's idea of dumping him at that disgusting aunt of yours because of her bullshit, Leni. How is all of that a fair punishment?"

"I...I don't know..." muttered Leni, unsure. "I just went along with what everyone else was saying, even if I knew it was wrong."

"Which brings us back to your problem of not making your own decisions, Leni." stated her counterpart, nodding. "Until you're able to start thinking for yourself instead of letting your sisters decide for you, you're never going to be able to make things right with your brother."

Giving the other blonde a nasty smile, she adds "Then again, I doubt he'd want to mend things with you, considering what a spineless little idiot you are. I bet he's relieved at the fact that he doesn't have to bother looking after someone who's mental functions would make a brain-damaged monkey look intelligent."

"Hey, I'll have you know that Linky loves me for who I am, Miss Meanie-Pants!" snapped Leni, her melancholy mood replaced with anger at her counterpart's words.

"Are you sure about that? For all we know, he might be relieved at the fact you're out of his life. After all, who would want to waste their lives on trying to help a weak, spineless little girl who is not only unable to do things on her own, but couldn't bring herself to help him when he needed it the most?"

With a cruel, malicious grin, the darker Leni transformed into a perfect copy of Lincoln before saying "She's right, Leni. How can I ever hope to rely on someone like you? Someone so malleable, weak-minded, pathetic...why should I give a damn about someone who cared more about believing in Lynn's bullshit than about her own brother?"

"Enough! That's enough!" snapped Leni, eyes blazing brightly with anger as the copy of Lincoln changed back to her shadowy counterpart. Calming down, she adds "...I know I screwed up that night. My head may be full of hot air sometimes, but even I know when I've goofed up."

Instead of making a snarky comment, the other Leni simply looked at her, waiting for her to finish speaking.

As her eyes started to blaze once more, this time with determination, Leni adds "...But that totes doesn't mean that I'm just going to sit back and do nothing. I don't care on how long it takes, I'm going to get my brother back if it's the last thing I do. And no one - not Lori, not Lynn or even a meanie like you - will stop me. I've already failed him once. I'm not going to fail him again."

"So...you're willing to do what it takes to get that back, no matter what?" asked the other Leni, arms crossed. "Are you willing to start thinking for yourself instead of going along with everyone else like a brainless twit?"

A wordless nod was her answer, causing Leni's counterpart to nod as well.

"Then you've already taken the first step towards that goal. Now you just need to prove that your words actually have some weight to them." answered the shadowy teen before a dark grin formed on her face. "Let's see if you can do it, Leni. Prove me wrong."

"I'll totes prove that what I said is true. You'll see." replied the blonde, determined. "But...was Linky really lying about being bad luck?"

Rolling her eyes, the other Leni answered "Obviously. Don't you find it odd that he suddenly started going on about being bad lock almost exactly after Lynn brought it up? Doesn't that strike as suspicious to you?"

"Y'know, it totes does, now that I think about it..."

"You, thinking? Nice joke, blondie." remarked the blonde's counterpart, causing the original to glare at her. "But in all seriousness, he was faking it. Why else would he be going around, trying to convince everyone that he was bad luck? It's just common sense - something that your dumbass family seems to lack."

"But why would he want to do that?" asked Leni, wondering why her brother would choose to do something that foolish.

"Ask that brainy sister of yours. She'll probably be able to tell you." replied the other Leni before taking a glance at the bedroom door, hearing the sound of approaching footsteps. "Sounds like you're about to have company. I better get going."

"Wait!" cried out Leni, causing her doppelganger to look at her. "Um...will you be coming back? You may be mean, but at least you're trying to help me with making things right with Linky."

Scoffing, the other blonde answered "Until you get your head out of your ass and start making things right with your brother, you won't be getting rid of me anytime soon. I'll be back." before turning into a dark haze and disappearing just as the sound of knocking could be heard coming from the door.

"...Leni? It's Mom. Can I come in?" asked Rita's voice from behind the door, causing the younger blonde to contemplate the request for a moment before cautiously approaching the door and unlocking it.

"...It's open."

Taking that as her cue to enter, Rita slowly opens the door and steps inside, taking notice of the darker-than-usual atmosphere of the room as she approached her daughter, who had pulled the blanket back over her body.

"...Leni? Is everything okay? Why didn't you come out of your room this morning?"

Giving the nearby window a look, Leni simply whimpers in response, causing her mother to look at it oddly before walking over to open the blinds. As she prepared to do so, a loud scream of "No! Don't!" stopped her, causing her to face her daughter in confusion.

Noticing the odd look her mother was giving her, Leni shakes her head and says "...Don't let them see me. Please..."

"Let who see you? What happened?"

Instead of answering, Leni uses her phone to open up a web browser. After finding the site she was looking for, the younger blonde hands the phone over to her mother.

Lifting the phone up to her face to get a better look at what was on its screen, Rita's eyes widened in horrified disbelief at what appeared to be several pictures of Leni at the mall, completely stripped of her clothing while laying unconscious on the floor.

"What in the world happened!? Who took these disgusting photographs of you!?"

"I don't know. I just remember tripping on my face, the escalator eating my dress and falling on my face again." whimpered Leni, sniffling. "I'm scared of what everyone at school will say about this, Mom..."

At this, Rita felt conflicted on what to do. On one hand, she could do the right thing and allow her daughter to spend some time at home until the situation blew over, but the decision would end up effecting Leni's record at school and possibly leading to the family getting into trouble over the absences. On the other, she could make Leni go to school in order to keep the family out of trouble, but she would no doubt face the ridicule and mockery of her peers.

'This is one of the many things I hate about being a parent - having to make tough decisions like this.' thought Rita to herself as she mulled over which choice would be the right one to make.

After a moment or two, the older Loud sighed as she finally came to a decision. She only hoped that it would end up being the right one in the long run.

"Leni...if this is really bothering you that much...I suppose I can allow you to stay home until this mess blows over."

Surprised, Leni asks "But Mom, what about my attendance? Won't you, like, get into trouble?", only for her mother to pull her into a hug.

"My daughter comes first. School and whatever the law throws at me can wait."

After a moment or two, Leni returns the hug with one of her own, replying "...Thanks, Mom." before recalling the conversation she had with her darker counterpart. "...Mom?"

"Yes, Leni?"

"You've been talking to Linky lately, right? Is...is he doing okay out there?"

Eyebrow raised, Rita asked "You didn't hear the commotion that was going on earlier?", causing her daughter to shake her head in response. "Well, to put it simply...yes. He's doing wonderfully out there."

Nodding timidly, Leni replied "That's good. Um...does he...does he hate us? For what happened?", almost dreading the answer.

"I have no doubts that he's still upset about how we treated him, but some of us are doing what we can to try and make things right with him." answered Rita before giving her daughter a look. "But he doesn't hate any of us. He still loves us even after what had happened. And yes, that includes you too."

"He...he does?"

"Mm-hmm. But why are you asking me all of this?"

After a moment, Leni answers "...I want to talk to him when he calls again. I want to tell him how sorry I am for the mean things I did to him and...and for letting him down when he totes needed me the most."

Confused, Rita asks "Leni? What do you mean by that?"

"Well, this other mean Leni spoke to me before you knocked at the door. She was really mean and said all kinds of nasty stuff about me. About how I'd never earn Linky's forgiveness. About how he hated me and was probably glad that he didn't have to look after me anymore." replied the younger blonde sadly. "She even reminded me of the night before Lynn's game. I...I was going to let Linky back into the house that night, but the rest of you told me not to do it."

Sniffling, she adds "She...she told me what would've happened if I had let him into the house. Lynn would've won that stupid game, this stupid bad luck thing would be just a bad memory and all of us would be travelling with Linky to that Kanto place. All of that could've happened if I hadn't been a big dummy and let everyone else tell me what to do..."

"Uh-huh..." replied Rita, wincing as she remembered that particular night and how she didn't do anything to help her son either. "We were all 'big dummies' that night, Leni. All of us."

"Yeah, but I was the biggest one. I could've helped him, but I didn't. All I had to do was open the door and let him in."

"At least you cared enough about him to consider the idea, Leni. The rest of us, myself included, just acted like nothing was wrong." replied Rita, shaking her head sadly. "...Do you really want to apologize, Leni? Are you genuinely sorry over what you've done?"

A wordless nod was her reply, causing the mother of eleven to sigh before nodding in return.

"Alright. I'll do what I can to convince Lisa to let you in on our next call. I can't make any promises, but I'll try."

Sniffling as she nods again, Leni answers "...Thanks, Mom."

"You're welcome. Now then, do you want to come downstairs and watch our new TV with me? We might see your brother on it."

"...Linky's on TV?"

"He might be. Our new TV allows us to watch Kanto's programming, so we might get lucky enough to see one of his battles on it today." replied Rita with a shrug before a smile crossed her face. "So what do you think?"

Nodding again, Leni replied "...Okay.", causing Rita to give her a nod in return before leading her out of the room.

-=O=-

-Somewhere On The St. Anne (7:45 PM)-

As she watched her fellow Rockets plant the explosives needed for the upcoming operation, Midori barks "Hurry up and finish with setting those charges, you idiots! We're only an hour away from passing Seven Island!", causing a few of the black-clad crooks to glare at her before returning back to work.

Chuckling to herself as she rubbed her hands together, imagining the chaos that would unfold after the devices explode, she adds "I can't wait until we're able to sink this stupid ship and send it plummeting into the ocean. Our operation will not only create a new level of fear of Team Rocket unlike any other, but we'll be making off with thousands of Pokemon to boot!"

As a wide grin formed on her face, the green-haired Rocket included "And once I manage to get rid of that little white-haired shit and those three bumblers, I'll get my old rank back! I won't have to wear that degrading outfit anymore!"

"Which is a damn shame, considering that was the only good thing that you had goin' for ya." commented a nearby grunt, wiggling his eyebrows with a perverse grin on his face while several of the other grunts snickered or voiced their agreements.

Face flushing in anger, Midori snarls "You shut the fuck up! You think I enjoyed having to wear something so...so humiliating?! Because I didn't! I hated every second of it!"

"And I'm pretty sure that most of us enjoyed every moment of what we saw, sweetcheeks." replied the grunt, smirking before making a 'jerking off' motion with his hand. "I know I did, considering I rubbed out a few about that tight ass of yours while we were waiting for the St. Anne to arrive. Didn't know you were the kinda girl to wear red lace."

"Same here, but about her tits - they looked like they were about to pop out of that shirt of hers!" shouted another grunt in a delighted tone, causing Midori's cheeks to redden further in both embarrassment and anger while the other grunts start cracking up at her expense.

"You think this is funny!? Do you know how I felt, having to wear something like that!? I was..."

"A squad leader. You've bitched about how you used to be one so many times that we already know when you're gonna start whining about it." groused a female grunt, rolling her eyes. "Well, you're nothing special right now. You're just another grunt, just like the rest of us."

Face flushing in anger, Midori scowls before planting her hands on her hips.

"...Just get back to setting up those bombs before I decide to report you to Mr. Proton."

At this, the grunts simply roll their eyes before returning back to their task, causing the green-haired woman to groan in annoyance before pinching the bridge of her nose.

"This is all that white-haired brat's fault...because of him, I'm practically a joke to everyone else in the organization..." grumbled Midori before her eyes blazed in fury. "One way or another, I'm going to ensure that little bastard goes down with the ship. I don't care if I have to tie the little shit to something in order to make sure that it happens, but he's not going to ruin anything else for me after this. Not if I have anything to say about it."

As Midori started to daydream over a heavily tied-up Lincoln screaming for help as the remnants of the St. Anne started to sink into the ocean, the other grunts finally finish with setting the remainder of the bombs.

"And done. That oughta do it." stated the grunt from earlier before walking over to speak to the still-daydreaming Midori. "Hey sweetcheeks, we're finished with setting the charges."

He would receive no response, save for a blissful smile that was starting to form on the green-haired woman's face. After raising an eyebrow at the sight, the grunt snaps his fingers in front of her face, breaking her out of her daydream.

"Huh? What?"

"We're done with setting the bombs where you wanted them placed."

"Good. At least some of you know how to do your jobs correctly." said Midori, causing the grunt to roll his eyes in response. "Since you're done here, you'll need to get back into your disguise. We'll need to blend in with the other passengers in order to get close enough to strike."

Pointing at the others, she includes ""That order goes for the rest of you as well. Get going."

While the other grunts left the area, she turns to another one and says "You there - go fetch mine for me. Now.", causing the grunt to roll her eyes before picking up a nearby box and handing it to her. After opening it up in order to see what she had gotten, her smile fades as she adds "...You've got to be kidding me."

Smirking cheekily, the grunt replies "Nope. That's your outfit for the evening.", causing Midori to growl before taking the disguise - a perfect copy of the schoolgirl outfit she had to wear before - out of the box.

"You can't be serious! I have to wear this stupid thing again!? Who's the joker that decided to replace my actual outfit with this!?"

Before the other grunt could answer, Proton's voice responded "There's no mistake, grunt. That's your outfit.", causing Midori to look at him as he stepped into the room. "We cannot allow you to arouse suspicions on what we're doing, so you'll be playing the role of the girl who gave away the passes again until it's time to reveal ourselves."

"I dunno, Mr. Proton. I think something's going to be aroused, but with an outfit like that, it certainly isn't gonna be suspicion." joked the other grunt, causing a red-faced Midori to glare heatedly at her before turning back to face Proton.

"Sir, you really can't expect me to wear...'this' again. Surely you have something else for me to wear, right? Something classier, maybe?"

"Are you questioning my orders, grunt?"

Shaking her head, Midori answers "No, but..."

"No 'buts'. Go change into your disguise now." ordered Proton, causing the green-haired grunt to open her mouth to protest again, only for him to point at the clothes, then away from the area.

With a sigh, Midori groans "...Yes, sir." before walking off, sulking to herself about having to wear that degrading outfit again. "Damn it. And here I was thinking that I was done with having to wear this shit..."

As she walked off, Proton quickly added "And I better not see you exposing yourself again like last time, otherwise you'll get more than just a write-up!", causing Midori to groan again as she left. "Hmph. Perhaps I should see about putting her to work for Petrel once this is over. I'd rather not have a grunt who questions my orders or flaunts herself like a harlot under my command. She'd work well disguised as one of the Game Corner's hostesses, I think."

-=O=-

-St. Anne - Deck (8:15 PM)-

As he stood alone with Pikachu on the deck of the St. Anne, Lincoln remarked "What a sight, eh buddy? Almost as good as the sunset we saw back at Cerulean Cape." as he and the Mouse Pokemon gazed at the setting sun in the distance. "You remember that, right?"

"Yeah. Bit of a shame that Brock had to ruin it for you two - I was honestly hoping for something to happen between you and Misty. She's a good match for you." replied Pikachu, nodding. "Speaking of which, I've got a question that I wanna ask you."

"Shoot."

"What will you do if she tries again and actually manages to tell you how she feels?"

"I...don't know. I don't want to turn her down, but at the same time, I'm worried that I might end up hurting Ronnie Anne's feelings if she finds out about it. And if I say no, then I'll end up hurting Misty as well." answered Lincoln, unsure. "I guess I'll just have to wait and see when it actually happens."

Nodding, Pikachu says "Probably for the best, though I still think you're overthinking this concern that you'll ruin your friendship with Ronnie or Misty. If they're truly your friends, they'll support you, no matter who you decide to take on as your mate."

With a shrug, the white-haired boy replies "Maybe. We'll just have to wait and see."

"Wait and see for what?" asked Misty's voice from behind, causing Lincoln to turn around to face her, only to blush lightly upon seeing what she was now wearing.

Instead of her usual clothes, Misty was now clad in a cropped yellow tanktop that revealed much of her midriff and a pair of shortly-cut denim shorts with a pair of suspenders affixed over her shoulders. On her feet were a pair of ankle-length white socks with a pair of red and white-colored sneakers worn over them.

"...Nothing. Just shooting the breeze with Pikachu about the sunset, that's all." answered Lincoln, trying to resist the urge to eye the redhead's figure. "Nice clothes, by the way."

"Thanks. I picked them up during our earlier shopping trip." replied Misty before standing beside Lincoln and gazing at the setting sun as well. "The sunset does look pretty nice, I'll admit. Almost reminds you of Cerulean Cape, doesn't it?"

"That's the first thing that came to mind when I saw it, Misty." replied Lincoln, nodding. "That was one heck of an adventure, huh?"

With a nod of her own, the redhead answered "Yeah, it was. But the time we spent looking out at the sunset...that stood out to me more, honestly."

"Yeah, it stood out to me, too." said Lincoln as he continued to gaze at the sunset for a few more minutes before suddenly remembering the Bike Voucher and Water Stone in his possession. "...Hey, Misty?"

"Yeah?"

"Your bike...how are you doing on getting the money needed to replace it?"

Scoffing, Misty replied "What money? In case you've forgotten from earlier, I'm flat-broke after my spending spree today.", causing Lincoln to scratch the side of his head sheepishly.

"Right...forgot about that." muttered the white-haired Loud lowly.

"Bit of a shame that I ran out of cash, too. I was going to pick up a Water Stone for my Poliwhirl, but I spent the last of my money on that King's Rock you wanted...not that I regret buying it, mind you." said Misty before letting out a groan. "Man, at this rate, it's going to take me forever to get enough to buy a new bike."

"Are you sure about that? Really sure?" replied Lincoln with a smile, causing the redhead to look at him oddly. After reaching into his pocket, he takes out the Bike Voucher and the Water Stone, causing Misty's eyes to widen upon seeing them.

"Th-that's...a Water Stone..." murmured the Water-Type gym leader before giving Lincoln a look. "Lincoln, I can't take something this valuable from you. You should keep it."

"You keep it, Misty. You're the reason I got it in the first place." said Lincoln with a shake of his head, causing a stunned look to form on Misty's face.

"...You got this for me?"

"Don't forget about the Voucher, too. Take a look - you're going to love what's on it."

"Voucher?" repeated Misty before taking notice of the other object that Lincoln was holding. Gently plucking it out of his hand, she holds it up to her face to read it, only for her eyes to widen in shock upon seeing what it had to say.

"Th-this is...Lincoln...how did you get something like this?"

"Had to listen to some old guy at the Vermilion Pokemon Club ramble on about his Rapidash, but I think it was worth it in the end. Now you don't have to worry about paying for a new bike."

Instead of replying, Misty simply stared at the two items that had been given to her as if they were treasures to be cherished.

Nearby, Pikachu smiled warmly at the sight - it was moments like this that made him proud to call Lincoln his Trainer.

After putting both items into her pocket, Misty smiles warmly and says "Thank you, Lincoln. I'll never forget this." before pulling him into a hug, causing the white-haired boy to smile and blush lightly.

"You're welcome, Misty. We'll see about making another stop by Cerulean City later so you can..."

Before he could finish, the redhead suddenly captured Lincoln's lips with her own, causing his eyes to widen in surprise at the sudden gesture of affection. After a few moments, the sole son of the Loud family decides to just enjoy the moment, leaning into the kiss as well.

Seeing this, the smile on Pikachu's face widened as he silently pumped his fist in approval while Misty's Squirtle, who had released himself from his Pokeball, watched on wordlessly with a slight frown on his face.

Noticing this, he walks over and says "...Don't. She's made her choice on who she wants as her mate."

"I know, but I honestly thought I had a chance with her. But now Snowball over there's gone and taken it from me."

"He didn't take anything from you. She chose him." said the Electric-Type, frowning. "And I'll be damned if I'm going to let you ruin this for them. You make one move and I'm Volt Tailing your ass into next week."

Holding up his hands defensively, Squirtle replied "Hey, ease up - I'm a 'mon of my word. If she's happy with him, then I'm not gonna interfere. But..."

"But...?"

Taking off his sunglasses to give Pikachu a serious look, the Tiny Turtle Pokemon says "...If he does anything to hurt her, I'm knocking him on his ass. That's not a threat or a promise - it's a guarantee."

"You'll have to wait in line then. If he does something stupid to ruin this, I'm going to shock some sense into him first."

After breaking off from each other, the Trainers eyed each other for a moment with nervous eyes and reddened cheeks...before Lincoln gave Misty a small smile, causing her to return it with one of her own.

Seeing this, Squirtle sighed for a moment before nodding and recalling himself back into his Pokeball, as if resigned to the fact that any chance of winning Misty over was no longer valid.

Cheeks still flushed with color, Misty says "Thanks for giving these to me, Lincoln. I'll treasure them, just like I'll treasure the moment we just shared."

Inwardly, the redhead was whooping and cheering, mentally shouting 'Yes! Finally! And this time there was no Brock to ruin it! Yes! Eat that, Santiago!"

"Well now, it's about time you finally made your move, Misty. Took you long enough." remarked Brock's voice from nearby, causing the redhead's good mood to falter slightly upon hearing it. "And it looked like Lincoln was enjoying it, too."

"It felt...nice. Very nice." admitted the still-blushing boy with a nod.

'He thought I felt nice...' thought Misty to herself, cheeks flushing in color while Leaf walked over and patted her on the shoulder.

"You can do this, Misty. This is your moment to tell him. Do it now."

Eyes widening slightly, Misty mused '...Do it now...?' to herself before her eyes widened in realization as the memory of her conversation with Luna came to mind.

-Flashback-

"So…you and my brother…are you…you know, together?" asked Luna with a knowing smile, causing the redhead to blush brightly in response before rapidly shaking her head. "But you want to, yeah?"

In response, the redhead's blush deepens in color before she nodded her head and answered "Aside from being a Water-Type Pokemon Master, more than anything."

"Then you better get crackin' on it as soon as possible." replied Luna, nodding while crossing her arms. "Lincoln's a great guy, so if you're not quick enough, some other girl will end up snatching him from right under your nose. You gotta make a move while you still can, y'know?"

"I know. I've tried to tell him how I felt before, but a certain someone had to ruin it by showing up at the wrong time." grumbled Misty before crossing her arms with a huff. "I'm still annoyed with Brock about that, by the way."

"Another chance will come up, dudette. When it does, reach out and take it - you may not get another one after that."

-Flashback End-

'Leaf's right - the opportunity's right here and I just need to reach out and take it. I can do this.' thought Misty to herself firmly with a nod before taking Lincoln's hands into her own. "...Lincoln?"

"Yeah?"

"I...I need to tell you something. Something important." said Misty before turning to glare at Brock, who was watching the scene unfold with Leaf, who had a grin on her face. "And don't you dare step in and ruin this again for me, Brock. You stay right there and be quiet."

"I wasn't going to say anything..." muttered the Rock-Type gym leader, huffing in annoyance.

"Good to know. Now shush, it's just about to get good." said Leaf, making a shushing gesture with her hand as Misty returned her attention back to Lincoln, gazing deep into his eyes as the sunset blazed brightly behind them in the horizon, adding an aura of romance to the scene of the two together.

Having an idea on what Misty wanted to tell him, Lincoln said "Tell me, Misty. What do you want to say?"

"Lincoln, I...I wanted to say that I like you. As more than just a friend." confessed Misty, her voice shaking as she spoke. "And...and I'm hoping that you feel the same way, too. I know that Ronnie Anne means a lot to you, considering that she's your friend. I understand that. And I know that she likes you just as much as I do. But I hope you're willing to give me a chance. I know we've had our moments where we bicker and fight with each other and constantly end up getting into trouble, but despite all of that, I still care about you, Lincoln."

As the boy who had won her heart looked into her eyes, the redhead takes a moment to muster up the courage to say her next words - the words that would finally express just how she felt about him...

Before Misty could finish the rest of her confession, the sound of James' voice saying "Did someone say trouble?" rang out, immediately killing the romantic mood as the four Trainers immediately take defensive positions, looking around for the source of the voice.

With an absolutely acidic-sounding voice, Misty snarls "Of all the times for those three to show up, it had to be now..."

"Sounds like they want to make it double." replied the familiar sound of Jessie's voice before both Rockets suddenly make their appearance, leaping into the air before immediately striking a pose upon landing on the deck. "To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!" said James, arms folded with a smirk on his face.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

As the two Rockets continued their motto, Leaf and Brock stood there in bewilderment while Misty looked absolutely murderous, teeth grinding in anger while Lincoln gave her a concerned look.

Striking a pose that made her body and hair take on the shape of the letter 'R', Jessie calls out "Jessie!"

"James!" added James, dropping into a kneeling posture with his arms outstretched.

"Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

Leaping in place with a pose of his own, Meowth says "Meowth, that's right!" before letting out a long, drawn-out, but satisfied-sounding sigh. "Finally, we were able ta finish da motto."

Wiping away a tear of joy, James remarks "I know...it's a wonderful feeling."

"Weil, I hope you morons enjoyed it because it's the last time you're going to get to do it!" growled Misty, seething in rage as she took a Pokeball off of her belt. "You morons ruined what would've been a perfect moment between the two of us!"

With a mocking expression that clearly said otherwise, Jessie taunts "Oh, did we now? We're sooo sorry for interrupting your precious little moment, twerp." before giving the redhead a predatory smile. "You can go right back to it after we pay you back for all the humiliations you've caused us in the past. Your Pokemon should do nicely as compensation for that."

"And just fer kicks, we'll go ahead an' take yer friends' Pokemon too!" chimed in Meowth before pointing at the four. "Let's get 'em!"

"Gladly." said James before taking all of his Pokeballs, save for one, off of his belt and giving Lincoln a sinister smile. "I hope you're ready for some well-deserved payback, you little brat. We've prepared ourselves to take you on this time."

Doing the same with her own Pokeballs, Jessie says "That's right. You're not the only one who's captured some new Pokemon. We've expanded our ranks, too." before giving James a nod, which was quickly returned before both Rockets threw the Pokeballs they were holding, sending their Pokemon out to fight.

As soon as the large flash of light had cleared up, Lincoln's eyebrows raised up seeing the new additions to the Rockets' arsenal of Pokemon - a Growlithe that looked ready for a fight, a small purple fuzzy-looking Pokemon with stubby limbs, red eyes and white antennae, a small metallic egg-shaped Pokemon with several green thorns protruding from its body, a small black salamander-like Pokemon with an orange-red line going down its back, a purple scorpion-like Pokemon with round blue eyes and a pair of stingers on each of its limbs and a dark-colored Pokemon with a skull-like mask that conceal a single glowing red eye within it.

Smirking upon seeing the look on Lincoln's face, James says "That's right - we decided to try Wonder Trading and ended up getting these added to our teams. Let's see you try to fight...", only for the metallic Pokemon to look at James for a moment before squealing in delight and pouncing onto him, unintentionally sticking it's thorns deep into his chest. "AAAAAAHHHHHH! GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF! THIS HURTS!"

"What are you doing, James!? We're trying to look intimidating here, not incompetent!" groused Jessie, looking down at her partner in annoyance as he tried (and failed) to remove the metallic Pokemon from his body.

While Misty and Brock looked at each other before shrugging, Lincoln and Leaf both took out their Pokedexes to scan the Pokemon in front of them.

'Venonat, the Insect Pokemon. Venonat is said to have evolved with a coat of thin, stiff hair that covers its entire body for protection. It possesses large eyes that never fail to spot even miniscule prey.'

'Ferroseed, the Thorn Seed Pokemon. When threatened, it attacks by shooting a barrage of spikes, which gives it a chance to escape by rolling away.'

'Salandit, the Toxic Lizard Pokemon. The males will do whatever the females tell them. They give the females most of their food. Due to malnutrition, the males can't evolve.'

Scratching his chin upon hearing this, Meowth comments "Huh...ya know what? Dat Pokemon kinda reminds me of someone..." as he gave Jessie, who was trying to pull Ferroseed off of James' body, an aside glance.

'Skorupi, the Scorpion Pokemon. It grips prey with its tail claws and injects poison. It tenaciously hangs on until the poison takes.'

'Duskull, the Requiem Pokemon. Duskull can pass through any wall no matter how thick it may be. Once this Pokémon chooses a target, it will doggedly pursue the intended victim until the break of dawn.'

"Pokemon from the Unova, Hoenn, Sinnoh and Alola regions along with a Venonat and a Growlithe...interesting." mused Leaf to herself with a smirk as she took a Pokeball off of her belt. "I think we can take 'em, though. What do you three think?"

"Let's go for it. I want to give some of my new Pokemon a try." replied Lincoln, nodding.

"Count me in, too. I want those two to pay for ruining this moment for me..." growled Misty while Brock nodded before taking his Pokeballs off of his belt as well.

After giving each other a nod, the four send out several of their Pokemon to face off against the Rockets' Pokemon, causing the two white-clad crooks to gape at the large group of Pokemon that were opposing them.

"What the...that's not fair!" protested James, forgetting about the Ferroseed that was still sticking to his chest. "We don't even have full teams yet and you guys are sending out yours to fight us!"

Upon seeing the non-native Pokemon among the opposing group, he whines "And where did you get those!? I thought we were the only ones who knew about the Wonder Trade machine on the ship!"

"Why the hell would you assume something like that? Almost everyone on-board the ship knew about it." replied Misty, giving the lavender-haired Rocket a glance.

"On top of that, since when did you three start caring about what's fair?" questioned Lincoln, eyebrow raised.

"Well, I for one don't care if we have to face more Pokemon or not." remarked Skorupi, clicking his pincers together in anticipation. "I'm itching for a fight."

"Be careful what you wish for, little bug." said Mienfoo, eyeing the Scorpion Pokemon carefully while Ralts peered out from behind her.. "You might just get it."

"Bring it. I'm going to enjoy hurting you."

As the two groups of Pokemon stared each other down, Jessie remarks "Greater numbers or not, we're not going to lose to you this time, brats. Get ready to...", only to be cut off by the sound of her phone ringing. Snatching the device out of her pockets, she snarls "What do you want!? We're trying to..."

After a few moments, the angry look on Jessie's face immediately fades away as she looks at the phone with evident fear in her eyes.

"Oh...uh, my apologies, Mr. Proton. I thought you were..."

"Spare me your words, grunt. Why are you three goofing off instead of getting ready for our operation?"

"We were just engaging our target and his friends before you contacted us, sir." answered Jessie, hoping her explanation would be enough to get Proton to back off.

"Forget the American for now. Our raid will be starting soon and you three need to be here. Now. That's an order." answered Proton's voice, causing Jessie to grimace at the command before nodding.

"...Yes, sir. We'll be right there." grumbled the redhead before giving Lincoln and his friends a nasty-looking glare. "You four are very fortunate that we have other business to attend to on the St. Anne. However, don't get complacent just because we're letting you off easy this time. Team Rocket has some big plans for the St. Anne and when we finally act, we're going to settle things between us once and for all."

"Like you would've been able to beat us to begin with." retorted Lincoln before catching onto what she had just said. "And what do you mean by big plans for the St. Anne?"

Instead of answering the question, Jessie simply smirks and says "You'll just have to wait and see, brat." before recalling her Pokemon. Motioning for James and Meowth to follow her away from the deck, she adds "Let's go. Mr. Proton won't be happy with us if we keep him waiting."

As he watched the three Rockets leave, Brock comments "And here we were thinking that this was going to be a nice, relaxing break. No matter where we go, it seems that we're always going to run into Team Rocket somehow."

"Tell me about it. And here I was looking forward to unwinding and enjoying myself throughout the entirety of the cruise, too..." grumbled Misty, arms crossed. "I think we need to warn Master Lorelei about this. If Team Rocket's planning something and there's more than just those three goofs aboard the ship, then she's the first person we need to tell about it. Maybe she can help us put a stop to whatever they're going to do."

"Good idea." replied Leaf as she and the others nodded in agreement with Misty's suggestion. "I just hope we're able to warn her about what's going to happen before it's too late..."

"Then I guess we should start looking for her. Let's go."

(AN: The Wonder Trade Pokemon that Jessie and James will get more time to shine in the couple of chapters.)

-=O=-

-St. Anne - Suite (8:30 PM)-

While Lincoln and his friends were searching for Lorelei, the woman in question was sitting at a desk in one of the St. Anne's more expensive suites, humming to herself while working on the manuscript of her upcoming guide on Pokemon training.

At the moment, she was writing about creating hybrid attacks - something that had been inspired by the battle between Lincoln and Leaf that she had refereed earlier.

'Those two are quite interesting for up-and-coming Trainers. I'm honestly looking forward to seeing how they do in the Indigo Conference when the time comes for it to start.' thought Lorelei to herself as she continued to write while the memory of the battle between the two rookies went through her mind.

Before she could get started on writing the next paragraph, the sound of an incoming call coming from her phone caught her attention, causing her to put her pen down long enough to answer it.

"Yes?"

"Lorelei? It's Lance. How are things going so far with the operation?"

"Slow-going, so far. There hasn't been any signs of activity from Team Rocket yet, but we're keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. How are things going with you on Four Island?" answered Lorelei, wondering how her home island was doing.

"Same here. However..." replied Lance's voice before his voice took on a more serious tone. "Some reports from the Four Island citizens have mentioned men and women in black uniforms heading into the Icefall Cave."

Scowling, Lorelei says "Make sure to keep an eye on that place, Lance. The Pokemon living in that cave are very close to me and I don't want those crooks anywhere near them."

"I'll do what I can to keep it safe. You just worry about thwarting the raid that they're planning for the St. Anne." answered Lance firmly. "So...aside from your mission, how's the cruise coming along so far?"

"Interesting, to say the least. I was able to catch up with my former protege and even got to referee a match between a pair of up-and-comers that I think you should keep an eye on."

"Really now? And they are...?"

"Lincoln Loud and Leaf Rose. Both of them put on quite a show with their battle earlier today." answered Lorelei, smiling.

"Lincoln Loud...that's the name of the American that's been tearing through the league, if I'm remembering correctly. And Leaf Rose was one of the top rankers in the Trainer's exams this year. You oversaw a battle between those two?"

"Yes. And interestingly enough, their Pokemon know how to use hybrid attacks. I'm actually planning on writing a paragraph or two in my next guide about the concept of creating them."

"I'll have to make sure to get a copy when you eventually release it to the public." stated Lance in a joking tone. "I better get back to work. Take care of yourself, Lorelei. And be careful - just because you're stronger than most Trainers, it doesn't mean you shouldn't underestimate what Team Rocket is capable of."

"I won't. Goodbye, Lance." answered Lorelei before ending the call and putting her phone away. As she prepared to pick up her pen to continue writing, the sound of someone knocking at her door caught her attention. "Yes? Who is it?"

"It's me, Master Lorelei. Can we talk to you for a moment? It's important." replied Misty's voice from behind the door, causing a small smile to form on Lorelei's face in response.

"Of course, Misty. You may enter."

Taking that as her cue, the Water-Type specialist opens the door and enters the room with Brock, Leaf and Lincoln trailing right behind her.

After motioning for the four to take a seat on a nearby couch, Lorelei asks "Okay, so what's this 'important' matter that you need to talk to me about, Misty?"

"There are members of Team Rocket aboard the St. Anne." answered Misty, causing the older redhead's smile to immediately fade.

"How do you know about that? Where did you see them?"

"You knew that they were here?" asked Lincoln, eyebrow raised.

Seeing as there was no point in hiding it any further, Lorelei answers "...I'm actually here to lead an operation in order to counter the raid that Team Rocket is planning for the St. Anne. That's the real reason I'm here, Mr. Loud."

"Then why didn't you tell us sooner?" asked Leaf, causing Lorelei to sigh.

"I didn't know who to trust. No offense intended, but while I'm certain I could've shared this kind of information with Misty and possibly Brock, I couldn't take chances with the two of you." answered the glasses-wearing woman, making sure to give Lincoln and Leaf a glance as she spoke. "However, I see that there's no point in withholding information from you now, since you already know about Team Rocket's presence aboard the ship. So what do you want to know?"

"Is there any way we can help you with your mission?" asked Lincoln, causing the Elite Four member to look at him in surprise. "We've fought with members of Team Rocket before and even thwarted a few of their other operations."

"We'd be willing to lend a hand if you need it, Master Lorelei." said Misty as she, Brock and Leaf nodded in agreement. "All you have to do is ask."

After taking a moment to mull over the pair's words, Lorelei answers "Well...if you four really want to help out, I suppose I could use the extra assistance with keeping an eye out for any signs of Team Rocket."

"We'll do what we can to help. Do you happen to know when they'll strike?"

"Hard to say, though if I had to take a guess, they'll probably want everyone in one place first before they make their move." surmised Lorelei before her eyes widened slightly in realization. "...And the ball tonight in the ship's ballroom would be the perfect place to do it."

"Ball?" inquired Leaf, eyebrow raised.

"The St. Anne holds a ball during the first night of every departure." stated Brock, answering the brunette's question. "I overheard some of the other passengers mentioning that you need an special invitation in order to be allowed to attend it, though."

"That presents a problem, then. I'm pretty sure that we don't have the invitation needed to attend the ball." said Lincoln, frowning.

"Then I suppose it's a good thing that I happen to have the solution to your problem." replied Lorelei before walking over to her desk and taking four laminated passes out of one of its drawers. "Four of my subordinates - who are here to help me with stopping Team Rocket's raid - are unable to attend the ball tonight and have given me their passes to use however I see fit. I think giving them to you will allow you to help me keep an eye out for trouble tonight."

Giving Misty a sly wink, she adds "Not to mention that you'll get the chance to spend some quality time with Mr. Loud this evening, Misty. I can tell by the way you're looking at him that he must be someone very close to you."

"More than you can imagine..." muttered the younger redhead, blushing lightly as she took one of the passes and pocketed it. "Thank you."

As the other three took the remaining passes, Lorelei answers "You're welcome. Now then, you four should see about getting appropriate attire for tonight. While you may have the passes required to enter the ball room, I doubt that you'll be allowed to attend the ball dressed like that." before handing over a sleek crystal-blue card. "Here. Use this to get yourself something decent to wear. Consider it your payment in advance for helping me out tonight."

"A credit card? You're entrusting us with something like this?" asked Lincoln, looking at the card curiously.

"If I can trust you enough to help me with a matter this important, then I think I can trust you with something like this." answered Lorelei, shrugging. "Besides, I've got more money than I can ever hope to spend on that thing anyway. Considering my status as a member of the Kanto Elite Four and a well-known author, I've got enough to ensure that I'll never need to worry about my financial status."

"Are you sure about this?"

"I'm sure. And don't worry about paying me back. Just helping me out with dealing with Team Rocket tonight will be more than enough."

"Well...alright. We'll try not to spend too much." said Lincoln as he took the card and handed it over to Misty. "You hold it, Misty. I think Lorelei would trust you the most with something like this."

"I'll take good care of your card, Master Lorelei." remarked Misty, giving her mentor a firm nod. "By the way..."

"Yes?"

"Does the name 'Proton' happen to ring any bells?"

At this, a surprised look appears on Lorelei's face as she asked "And where exactly did you hear that particular name, if I may ask?"

"We heard it from the Team Rocket members we ran into earlier. Is he someone important?" inquired Brock, causing the Elite Four member to nod.

"Yes. He's one of the four Rocket Admins and the one who's leading the upcoming raid." answered Lorelei before giving the four a serious look. "I would advise against challenging him if he decides to make an appearance tonight. He's much stronger than the usual grunts. Leave him to me."

"Got it. Thanks for the warning." said Lincoln with a nod. "If we see anything suspicious, we'll come and let you know."

"Good to know. And Misty?"

"Yeah?"

Smiling, Lorelei answers "One of these days, I want us to battle again. I'd like to see how far my protege has come as a Trainer."

"We'll battle after we're finished with dealing with Team Rocket, Master Lorelei. I'm curious on how well I would fare against you, too." replied Misty, smiling as well.

"I'll be looking forward to it. Now then, you four should get going - the ball will be starting in an hour. Off you go." said Lorelei, causing the four Trainers to nod before making their way out of the room. Once she was alone, the redhead chuckled to herself before saying "Such a polite and well-mannered young man...almost reminds me of Lance. Misty certainly chose a good one to go after."

-=O=-

-St. Anne - Hallway (9:45 PM)-

As he, Misty, Brock, Pikachu and Leaf stood in front of a large pair of ornate double-doors with the word 'Ballroom' emblazoned proudly on the plaque above the doorway, Lincoln remarks "Well...looks like this is it, guys. Are all of you ready?"

"Whenever you are, Lincoln." replied Misty, who was now clad in a sapphire blue evening gown. "...You look nice, by the way."

After taking a look at himself for a moment to admire the tuxedo that he had purchased for the evening, Lincoln smiles and says "...Thanks. You look good too, Misty.", causing the redhead to blush at the remark.

"Hey, are you two almost done flirting with each other?" asked Brock with a wry smile on his face, causing the pair to blush in embarrassent at the comment while Pikachu starts snickering at the sight of the two red-faced Trainers.

"Yeah, what he said. While I'd like to stick around and listen to you two sweet-talk to each other, we should really be heading inside. Lorelei's probably wondering where we are." commented Leaf with a smirk, causing Lincoln's face to turn a deeper shade of red as he quickly opens the doors leading to the ballroom, only to gape in awe upon seeing the room in question for himself.

"...Wow." muttered the white-haired boy as he and the others stared at the ballroom's interior, which had an old-fashioned, but very ornate look to it that the other passengers, who were happily conversing with each other, seemed to enjoy.

"It's no wonder people consider the St. Anne to be a world-class cruise liner...this is absolutely breathtaking..." gasped Misty, eyes glancing around the room for a moment before noticing Lorelei, dressed in a sleek indigo-colored evening gown, sitting at a nearby table with a stately-looking man wearing a pair of sunglasses and a top hat. Lowering her voice, she adds "...There's Master Lorelei. But who's that guy sitting with her?"

"Maybe that's her date for the evening." remarked Leaf, shrugging. "Still, we need to talk to her about what we need to do while we're here. Let's go."

"Right." said Lincoln before heading over to the table with his group, immediately catching the man's attention.

"Good evening. And you are...?"

"They're the ones I told you about earlier - the ones who are aware of our 'unwanted' guests aboard the ship." remarked Lorelei in a low voice, causing the man to look at her for a moment before nodding in understanding. Noticing the questioning look on the other four Trainers' faces, she adds "This gentleman is one of the many subordinates under my command. He'll be helping us with 'you-know-who' when they decide to show up."

"Are you sure that these four will be able to help us with handling our little problem?" inquired the man, giving Lincoln and his friends a skeptical look.

"I believe they'll be up to the task." said Lorelei confidently before turning her attention over to the group. "Now then, on to business. I need you four to keep an eye out for anything suspicious during the ball. If you happen to see anyone you recognize as a member of Team Rocket or even one of the passengers acting oddly, I want you to inform us immediately."

"If you're going to be on lookout for any signs of trouble, I would suggest that you try to blend in with everyone else here as well. You'd look out of place if you were just skulking around like a Stoutland, sniffing around for any signs of Team Rocket." stated the man firmly, arms crossed. "In short, while looking out for trouble, try not to look suspicious yourself. Act like you're attending a ball."

Giving Misty and Lincoln a smirk, Lorelei remarks "At least it'll give you two the chance to spend some time together on the dance floor before the raid starts.", causing the white-haired Loud to start blushing while the Water-Type specialist's eyes lit up in delight. "Now then, off you go. Have fun, you two."

"You heard her, Lincoln! Let's go - I want to at least get one dance in before the Rockets show up!" said Misty in a firm, yet eager tone before leading Lincoln away towards the dance floor, ignoring his feeble protests along the way.

As she watched the redhead lead her soon-to-be dance partner away, Leaf comments "And there they go. Guess we better get to lookout duty, huh Brock?"

"Yeah...well, unless you want to dance too, that is. I'm willing to be your partner for this evening if you're open to the idea."

"That's considerate of you to offer, but no thanks. Now if Red were here, that'd be a different story altogether..."

-=O=-

-St. Anne - Elsewhere In The Ballroom (10:00 PM)-

'Once we're done with our raid, I'm burning this fucking outfit and any extras of it I can find. There's no way in Hell I'm going to wear this shit again after today.' thought Midori to herself as she glared at the numerous passengers that were giving her subtle, yet obviously lust-filled glances. 'Fucking perverts can't even keep their eyes to themselves. I'm gonna enjoy watching them go down with the ship when we blow it up.'

"There you are, sweetcheeks. Been lookin' for ya all evening." remarked one of the disguised Rocket Grunts as he sauntered over with a cocky smirk on his face. After looking the scowling woman over for a bit, his smirk widens before he adds "Damn, no matter how many times I see you wearing that, I never get enough of it. Whaddya say we ditch this stuffy ballroom and go have a bit of 'fun' elsewhere, eh?"

"Go choke on a Rapidash cock, asshole." growled Midori, eyes narrowed. "So what do you want? Have you heard anything from Mr. Proton yet?"

"As a matter of fact, I have. He told me to inform you that the raid will be starting in about twenty minutes. All we need to do is wait for his signal to start and we'll get right to robbing these suckers blind." answered the grunt before noticing Lincoln and Misty walking by. "Hey, look over there. It's the American brat and his little girlfriend."

"Ugh. Just when I thought my evening couldn't get any worse, HE has to show up. Just wonderful." grumbled Midori, arms crossed. "I can't wait to get some payback on that little shit for all the trouble he's caused me."

"Well, you'll have ta wait in line, greenie. We already called first dibs on takin' dat brat down foist." remarked Meowth's voice from nearby, catching the two Rockets' attention.

Turning to see the Scratch Cat Pokemon along with a disguised Jessie and James, Midori retorts "He's ruined my life more than he's ruined yours! I deserve to take that little shit down first, not you!"

"Well, the boss personally gave us a mission to handle the brat ourselves, so we have that. So you just focus on the raid and let us handle that little white-haired pest." replied Jessie before giving the green-haired grunt a taunting smirk. "Nice disguise, by the way. You could pass yourself off as an escort rather easily wearing something like that."

"Go fuck yourself! You try wearing this shit and see how you handle it!"

"Taking my natural beauty into consideration, I'd only make it look better."

"Natural my ass. You look old enough to be my mother." sneered Midori, causing Jessie's smirk to fade.

"Just stay out of our way when the time comes for the raid to start. We have unfinished business with that brat and you're not going to cut in on it." growled the redhead before walking off, motioning for James and Meowth to follow her.

"Yeah, you just keep walking, bitch. When the time comes, you three are going to be the ones out of the way." muttered Midori, watching as the trio walked off.

"Whaddya mean by that?" asked the other grunt, wondering what she was talking about.

"The boss isn't as fond of those three as that red-haired cunt likes to think. He wants them 'dealt with'."

"Geez...they must've done something to really piss him off if he wants 'em gone."

"He's tired of their incompetence. If you ask me, Team Rocket will be better off once those three are gone." said Midori, arms crossed. "In any case, go get back into position. We need to be ready just in case Mr. Proton gives us the signal to begin."

"Yeah, yeah...just remember that if you ever change your mind about my earlier offer..."

"Not on your life. Now beat it."

"I might just do that after we're done here. I've gotten a good enough look at you to use as 'motivation' for later." cackled the grunt lecherously, causing Midori to let out a groan of disgust before storming off.

-=O=-

As she and Lincoln finished off the first dance of the night, Misty comments "I got to say this, Lincoln - I may not like your older sister, but she definitely did a good job with teaching you how to dance." with a smile on her face.

Smiling as well, Lincoln answers "Thanks, Misty. You're doing pretty well, yourself. So who was your teacher?"

"My sisters. They wanted to make sure I wouldn't make a fool of myself if I ever found a boyfriend." answered Misty, rolling her eyes. "Guess that's something else we have in common, huh?"

"Looks like it." said Lincoln, nodding. "Y'know...both of us have a lot in common with each other, now that I really think about it - lots of older sisters who get on our nerves, the fact that two of our siblings share the same name and now this. It's interesting, isn't it?"

"It is." replied Misty with a nod of her own. "...Lincoln?"

"Yeah?"

Deciding that now would be a good time to make another attempt at telling the white-haired boy how she felt about him, Misty says "...About what happened earlier at the deck...there was something I wanted to say to you before we were interrupted. Something important."

"Before Team Rocket interrupted?" asked Lincoln, causing the redhead to nod.

"Yeah." replied Misty before taking a moment to compose herself. "Lincoln...I like you. I like you a lot. You've been a good friend to me and I appreciate that."

"Same goes for you, too. You've been a great friend as well, Misty." replied Lincoln, causing Misty to smile at the remark for a moment before continuing.

"...I'd like for us to become more than just friends, Lincoln. I want to take our friendship to the next level."

Feigning obliviousness, Lincoln asks "...You want us to be best friends?"

"More than just that, Lincoln. You mean a lot to me and I'd like to become more than just your friend." said Misty before taking his hands into her own. "...What I'm trying to say is...I...I...I lo..."

"As much as I hate having to interrupt you two, I'd like to speak to you two about something. Do you have a moment?" asked a female voice from nearby, cutting Misty off.

'Again!? This is the third time this has happened already...' thought the now-fuming redhead furiously before turning to glare at the person who had just interrupted her confession. Upon seeing Lorelei standing there with the gentleman from before, her mood quickly changes as she adds "Oh! Good evening, Mas...er, I mean good evening, Miss Prima. How has your night been so far?"

Inwardly thankful that the other redhead had quickly corrected herself, Lorelei answers "Can't complain, despite the fact I haven't had the chance to step onto the dance floor yet." with a small shrug before giving her former student's date a small, yet knowing smile. "So how is he? As a dancer, that is?"

"Pretty good, actually. Even I'll admit that the dancing lessons that his older sister forced him to take are actually paying off." replied Misty, smiling.

"That's good to hear. Perhaps I'll see if I can get a dance with him in later on this evening...well, if you don't mind that is." said Lorelei, causing the younger redhead to look at her with narrowed eyes. "Relax, Misty. I'm just kidding. Your friend is a well-mannered young man, but he's not my type."

"Thank Arceus for that..." muttered Misty, thankful that her mentor wasn't interested in Lincoln. "Anyway, did you need something from us?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. Do you remember what we spoke about earlier? About wanting to battle with each other?"

"Yeah, I remember. But I thought that we were going to wait until after we've dealt with Team Rocket first?"

"Yes, but considering how well you two seem to mesh together on the dance floor, I'm curious on how well you'd do as battling partners." said Lorelei with a smile.

"We've battled together before, Miss Prima." answered Misty, arms crossed. "Both of us managed to defeat Joe Rogers and Rusty Beige, who are former Pokemon Tech students."

"Pokemon Tech...ah yes, I seem to recall Professor Oak mentioning that place during the report he gave to us earlier this week." commented Lorelei, nodding. "But enough about that. What do you two say?"

After taking a moment to give each other a brief look, Misty and Lincoln reply "You're on!" in unison.

Chuckling at the enthusiastic reply, Lorelei answers "Now that's what I like to hear." before turning to the man standing beside her. "Feel like seeing how you'd fare against these two?"

"Of course." replied the man with a nod as he took out a Pokeball from his pocket. Giving Lincoln an expectant look, he adds "I've heard quite a bit about your battle on the deck from Miss Prima, Mr. Loud. I hope you'll give me and my Pokemon a worthwhile showing."

"We'll try not to disappoint." said Lincoln before looking around the ballroom. "So do we need to find another place to battle or..."

"We'll battle here." stated Lorelei before clearing her throat, getting the attention of nearly everyone else in the room. "Pardon the interruption, but would you mind clearing the floor, please? We'd like to participate in a doubles battle with each other."

Upon hearing the word 'battle' being mentioned, the other passengers start chattering with each other excitedly before moving away from the dance floor, giving the four Trainers plenty of room to use as an impromtu battlefield.

"What's going on, you two?" asked Leaf, wondering what was happening.

"We're going to try drawing Team Rocket out of hiding by battling with each other. Can you keep an eye out for anything suspicious while we're busy?" said Lincoln, causing the brunette to nod in response.

"You can count on me. Good luck, you two."

"I'll oversee this one." said Brock, taking his spot in what would be the referee's position. Raising his arm into the air, he proclaims "This double battle is between the team of Lincoln Loud and Misty Waterflower and the team of Prima and...uh..."

"My name is of no importance. Just call me 'the Gentleman'." replied the top hat-wearing man, causing Brock to look at him oddly for a moment before shrugging.

"...And the Gentleman! Each Trainer is allowed one Pokemon only and the battle is over when one team is unable to continue battling. Begin!"

-=O=-

As the nearby crowd started to chatter excitedly, the Gentleman gives Lorelei a glance before asking "Well now, would you like to send out your Pokemon first, miss? Ladies first, after all."

"And they say chivalry is dead..." remarked Lorelei in a joking tone before taking a regular Pokeball out of her pocket and looking it over. "...Hmm...yes, this should be an adequate challenge for the two of you."

Glancing at the Pokeball in her hand, the Gentleman asks "One of your regulars, I'm presuming?"

"Of course not. As strong as those two may be, they wouldn't be able to handle one of my regular team members." replied Lorelei before activating the Pokeball and tossing it, causing it to release an indigo-colored bivalve-like Pokemon with a dark center and a long pink tongue onto the field.

"A Shellder, huh? Always wanted to catch one of those." remarked Misty while Lincoln pointed his Pokedex at the newcomer, causing the nearby crowd to start murmuring excitedly upon seeing the device.

Nearby, Midori's eyes widened in shock upon seeing the red-colored device in the boy's hand.

'A Pokedex Holder!? That brat is a Pokedex Holder!?' thought the green-haired grunt, looking absolutely dumbfounded. 'Why didn't I notice this sooner!?'

While the crowd continued to murmur among themselves, the Gentleman remarked "You never mentioned that he was a Pokedex holder.", giving Lorelei an annoyed look.

"Slipped my mind. Sorry about that." answered Lorelei with a shrug as Dexter began to speak.

'Shellder, the Bivalve Pokemon. At night, this Pokémon uses its broad tongue to burrow a hole in the seafloor sand and then sleep in it. While it is sleeping, Shellder closes its shell, but leaves its tongue hanging out.'

"Well now, since I've sent out my Pokemon, it's time for you to send out yours. Mr. Gentleman." said Lorelei before giving her partner a small smirk. "Let's just hope your selection can keep up with mine, hmm?"

"While your concern is appreciated, I believe my Pokemon will be able to hold his own against our opponents." said the Gentleman before activating the Pokeball and throwing it into the air. "Come on out, Raticate!"

"A Raticate, huh? Considering that I've faced off against one before, I think we can..." started Lincoln as the light from the Pokeball started to materialize, only to stop upon seeing a rotund rat-like Pokemon that bore a very close resemblance to a Raticate, but was colored black instead of orange. "...What the heck? That looks nothing like the one I fought back in Viridian City..."

"Can't say I've seen one like it, either." commented Misty, eyeing the Mouse Pokemon curiously. "What's the deal with your Raticate? It doesn't look like the usual fare I've seen in Kanto."

Smiling, the man answers "Very observant of you, miss. My Raticate isn't from the Kanto region." before gesturing towards his Pokemon. "My Raticate comes from the Alola region, which is known for having unique variations of certain Pokemon living within it. I caught it on Melemele Island while on vacation in Alola last year."

"Different variation, huh?" mused Lincoln before taking out his Pokedex once more. "Dexter, mind giving me the rundown on Pokemon with different variations? My opponent is using a Raticate from the Alola region."

'A regional variation? Fascinating! Ever since Professor Oak upgraded me to be able to utilize the National Pokedex, I've been looking forward to scanning one of those.' stated the red-colored device in Lincoln's hand excitedly before letting out a beeping sound. 'Raticate, the Mouse Pokemon - Alolan variation. The evolved form of Rattata, this gourmet Pokémon is particular about the taste and freshness of its food. Restaurants where Raticate live have a good reputation. Unlike the regular variation of Raticate found in other regions, the Alolan variation is a dual Dark/Normal-Type.'

"Dark/Normal-Type, huh? Well, in that case, I think I've got the perfect Pokemon for the job. Might be a good way to start developing a bond with her, too." remarked Lincoln as he took a Great Ball off of his belt and activated it. "Ready, Misty?"

"Ready. Let's..." started Misty before the Net Ball on her belt activated on its own, sending her recently-acquired Dewpider out onto the field. "Kyah! Bug!"

"Hi, Misty!"

"A Dewpider...I didn't expect you to have one with you, Misty. Especially considering your...well, aversion to Bug-Types." commented Lorelei, eyeing the Water Bubble Pokemon curiously.

"I'm more curious on how you managed to come across one of the Alola region's Pokemon." said the gentleman, tapping his cane on the floor. "Where did you acquire it, if I may ask?"

"Wonder Trading. Misty and I decided to give it a try earlier." answered Lincoln before giving his opponents a grin as he reared back his arm to throw the Great Ball. "And now you're about to face one of the Pokemon I obtained through that very same method! C'mon out, Mienfoo!"

With that said, Lincoln hurls the ball into the air, causing it to send out the Martial Arts Pokemon, who immediately took on a combat-ready stance upon landing on the floor.

Lowering her voice to speak to her partner while the crowd murmured upon seeing the two non-native Pokemon, Misty says "Lincoln, we'll need to be careful since we're facing a Pokemon that's under the control of an Elite Four member. That Shellder isn't going to be an easy opponent for us to beat, unevolved or not. And we don't know what that Raticate is capable of since it has a different type than the usual fare. Don't let your guard down around either of them."

"Right. Let's do this." answered Lincoln, nodding. "Considering you know how to handle Water-Types better than I do, you'll take the Shellder. I'll handle the Raticate since Mienfoo will have a type-advantage against it."

"Good call." said Misty before looking down at Dewpider, who was eyeing her with a cheerful expression on its face. Trying not to wince at the sight, she asks "Er...okay, since you're...er, already out...what moves do you know?"

"Let's see...I think I've got Water Sport, Bug Bite, Bubblebeam, Spider Web and Aurora Beam." replied the Water Bubble Pokemon, tapping one of its legs against the bubble on its head thoughtfully. Giving the redhead another cheerful look, it adds "I'll do my best not to let you down!"

"Er...great. Now then...uh, can you step back a bit, please?"

Noticing the look of unease on Misty's face, Dewpider's cheerful expression faded slightly before it nodded and stepped away so it could get ready to face off against it's soon-to-be opponents.

Giving Misty a glance, Lincoln comments "You alright, Misty?" with a look of concern.

"I-I'll be fine. It's just that...well, you know how I am around bugs..."

"Just remember that Dewpider isn't here to harm you, Misty. You have nothing to fear from it."

"I know..." murmured Misty in a low voice before taking a couple of breaths in order to calm herself. Once she felt that she was calm enough to proceed, she grimaces again before saying "...Okay, Dewpider. Let's do this."

"You got it! Now give me an order!" replied Dewpider, eyes narrowing at the Raticate and Shellder in front of it.

"Er...use Bug Bite on Shellder?" suggested Misty, causing the Water/Bug-Type to nod before making the first move, skittering towards Shellder as a lime-green aura started to form near it's mouth.

Pointing at Dewpider, the Gentleman commands "Raticate, stop that Dewpider! Bite!", which prompted the rotund rat-like Pokemon to let out a screeching cry before running towards the Water Bubble Pokemon, fangs poised to strike.

Glaring at the Raticate, Lincoln snaps "Oh no, you don't! Mienfoo, Fake Out!", causing the Fighting-Type to nod curtly before speeding towards Raticate and slamming a paw directing into it's stomach, causing the rat-like Pokemon to let out a pained hiss before hopping away in order to put some distance between it and Mienfoo.

"Nice work! Now follow it up with Dual Chop!"

As the Martial Arts Pokemon started to dash towards Raticate in order to strike it again, Lorelei remarks "Such haste, Mr. Loud. I think you and your Pokemon need to slow down a bit." in a calm tone before giving Shellder a small nod. "Icy Wind, Shellder."

"On it!" replied Shellder before opening up it's shell slightly and releasing an icy blast of wind towards Mienfoo and Dewpider.

Pointing at the burst of icy wind, Misty orders "Dewpider, use Bubblebeam! Neutralize that Icy Wind!", causing the Water Bubble Pokemon to nod before firing a stream of bubbles directly at the Icy Wind attack, gradually weakening the Ice-Type move until it petered out completely.

"Using your Bubblebeam to wear down my Icy Wind attack...clever. Very clever." commented Lorelei, nodding in approval.

"Nice job stopping that move in its tracks, Misty! Now it's my turn!" said Lincoln with a grin before pointing at Shellder and saying. "Alright Mienfoo, let's use Vital Throw!"

"I can do that, but I need a little time to prepare before I can use it. Until then, your girlfriend's Dewpider will need to watch my back until I'm ready to attack." answered Mienfoo before starting to meditate, causing Lincoln to raise an eyebrow at the answer while Misty gave the Fighting-Type an irritated look.

"What the hell? Why the heck are you just sitting there on your butt?"

"As said before, I need to prepare before I can use Vital Throw."

"Well, why the hell would you have an impractical move like that in your arsenal instead of something useful that you can use right away?"

"Hey, it's not my fault that's the only Fighting-Type move I know at the moment!" argued Mienfoo, glaring at the redhead.

"As amusing as it may be to watch you three quarrel with each other, you shouldn't forget that we're still in a battle." commented the Gentleman as he shook his head in amusement. "Raticate, use Assurance! Take that Mienfoo down! Don't give it the chance to attack!"

"Aurora Beam, Dewpider! Stop that Raticate in it's tracks!"

While Dewpider starts firing several beams of multicolored light at Raticate in an attempt to prevent it from attacking it's partner, Lorelei simply orders "Iron Defense, Shellder.", causing the Bivalve Pokemon to give her a nod before glowing with a silver-colored aura. After a few moments, it's shell took on a metallic-looking appearance.

Pointing at Raticate, who was in the direct path of an Aurora Beam, she adds "Now then, I need you to block off that attack and prevent it from hitting Raticate."

After nodding again, the Water/Ice-Type uses it's tongue to launch itself directly into the path of the multicolored beam of energy, causing it to harmlessly splash into the hardened shell before vanishing completely.

"My thanks for the assist, Miss Prima." said the Gentleman with a smile before pointing at Mienfoo, who was still meditating. "Now, Raticate! Hit that Mienfoo with everything you've got!"

"Gladly. I'm going to pay you back for that little sucker punch you gave me earlier, you little..." started the Mouse Pokemon menacingly as it prepared to attack the immobile Fighting-Type, only to stop when a small grin forms on the mustelid-like Pokemon's face. "...What are you smiling about, runt?"

"This." answered Mienfoo before suddenly grabbing Raticate and hurling it high into the air. Giving Misty a glance, she adds "Now's your chance! Give your Pokemon the order to attack!"

"Got it! Dewpider, Bubblebeam!" commanded Misty as she pointed at Raticate, causing the Water Bubble Pokemon to fire a powerful stream of bubbles at Raticate, eliciting a screech of pain from the rat-like Pokemon as the Water-Type attack slammed into it's body.

After landing on the floor with a meaty 'thump', the Raticate gives Mienfoo and Dewpider a weak glare before going limp and losing consciousness.

Raising one of his arms, Brock announces "Raticate is unable to battle! The Gentleman has been eliminated!" while the crowd starts cheering in delight, pleased with the battle that they had just witnessed.

-=O=-

"Yes! One down and one to go!" said Lincoln cheerfully. Giving Dewpider and Mienfoo a grin, he adds "Nice work, you two!"

While Mienfoo simply gave him a curt nod in response, Dewpider tottles over to Misty with a happy expression on it's face, hoping to receive some praise from her as well.

"Well? How'd I do?" inquired the Water Bubble Pokemon, only to frown upon seeing that the redhead was inching away from it. "...Still having a hard time with being around me, huh?"

"I-I can't help it. I'm not a big fan of Bug-Type Pokemon..." replied Misty, shuddering. "I know that you have no intentions of harming me or anything, but..."

"Do you want me to withdraw? If I'm making you uncomfortable, I can go back into my Pokeball."

"No, that won't be necessary. I'll...I'll just have to try and keep focused on the battle so my fear of bugs doesn't get to me."

Nodding, Dewpider answers "Alright, if that's what you want. If you ever change your mind, let me know and I'll withdraw from the battle." before heading back to the battlefield.

As he recalled his fallen Raticate, the Gentleman gives Misty and Lincoln a smile, saying "Good showing, you two. Well played." before giving Lorelei a small nod. "Miss Prima, I believe you can take things over from here?"

"Of course." replied the red-haired Trainer in response before turning her attention back to Misty and Lincoln. "...Misty? Mr. Loud?"

"Yeah?" answered the two Trainers in unison, wondering what Lorelei wanted to say to them.

"You two have done well so far. Well enough to the point where I believe that it's time to step things up a notch."

While Misty eyed Lorelei warily, Lincoln asked "...What do you mean by that, Prima?", causing the glasses-wearing woman to smirk in response.

"Shellder, use Ice Beam. It's time to stop playing around."

"Ice what!?" asked Misty in a horrified tone as the Bivalve Pokemon opened its shell and fired a light blue-colored beam of energy at Mienfoo, who tried to move out of the way of the icy blast, only to fail as the attack connects with her left leg, freezing it in a thick chunk of ice.

"What in the world? To be able to freeze something that quickly..." murmured Lincoln, unable to believe what he was seeing.

"That's the power of Ice Beam, Mr. Loud. It's one of the best Ice-Type moves the world of Pokemon has to offer. And considering how experienced I am when it comes to training Ice-Type Pokemon, I know the best ways to teach my Pokemon on how to use it effectively." remarked Lorelei with a smile. "Shellder?"

Giving the glasses-wearing woman a glance, Shellder replies "Yes, Mistress Lorelei?"

"I think it's time we evened things out between us and our opponents. Would you mind handling that for me, please?"

"Of course, Mistress Lorelei." answered the Bivalve Pokemon before blasting Mienfoo with another Ice Beam, trapping her inside of a solid-looking block of ice.

Giving the now-horrified Lincoln a glance, Lorelei comments "Your Mienfoo won't be able to continue until that ice melts, Mr. Loud. Do you wish to forfeit?"

After taking a moment to give his frozen Pokemon a look, Lincoln sighs before nodding and holding up one of his hands.

"...Brock, I forfeit. Call it."

After giving the white-haired boy a nod, Brock proclaims "Mienfoo is unable to battle due to forfeiture! Lincoln Loud has been eliminated!" while Lorelei walks over to Lincoln with a small potion bottle.

Handing it over, she says "Here, this should thaw your Mienfoo out, Mr. Loud."

"...Thanks, Prima. I just wish I could've put up a better showing against you."

"There's always next time, Mr. Loud. Perhaps we'll be able to battle each other again sometime in the future." commented Lorelei as Lincoln sprayed the ice, causing it to quickly start melting. "I would advise looking into acquiring some Aspear Berries or Ice Heals in the future. Those will help you if something like this happens again."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks."

Upon managing to break free from the remnants of the ice, Mienfoo groaned "Ugh...what hit me? Did we win?" with a paw on her head.

"Unfortunately not. We're out of the battle, Mienfoo." replied Lincoln, shaking his head. "Are you alright?"

"A little cold, but I'll live. And yourself?"

"Disappointed, but glad that you're doing okay. I honestly didn't expect that Shellder to be able to freeze you like that."

"Neither did I." answered the Fighting-Type with a shiver. "I need to look into finding a new move that can counter something like that..."

"Speaking of learning new moves, I think we should look into teaching you some other Fighting-Type moves, preferably ones that you can use right away. Vital Throw is strong, but it leaves you open and takes too long to use." started Lincoln, causing the Martial Arts Pokemon to give him a thoughtful look.

Looking thoughtful, Mienfoo remarked "Hmm...perhaps. We should see about some non-Fighting moves as well. There's nothing wrong with having a wide variety of attacks to use in battle." before shivering, feeling the effects of the cold on her body again. "But that will have to wait for another time. I'd appreciate it if you would recall me back into my Pokeball, please."

"Sure." replied Lincoln before recalling Mienfoo back into her Great Ball. After placing the ball on his belt, he turns to his partner and says "This is all you, Misty. You can do this. Show her how far you've come as a Trainer."

"You got it." said Misty with a nod before turning back to face Lorelei. "It's just you and me now, Prima."

Nodding, Lorelei answers "Indeed. Let's see if you've improved from the last time we've battled each other, Misty."

"As much as I would like to watch this battle to its conclusion, I'm afraid that I'll have to bring it to a premature end." remarked a male voice from nearby, catching the attention of everyone else in the room as a green-haired man dressed in a black-colored uniform with a red 'R' on it steps onto the battlefield.

-=O=-

Glaring at the man, Misty asked "Hey, who the hell do you think you are, interfering with our battle!?"

"Who am I, you ask? Well, since you asked, I suppose I should introduce myself." replied the man before a dark smirk formed on his face. "My name is Proton, one of the four Admins of Team Rocket."

"So you're the one that Jessie was referring to when we ran into her, Meowth and James earlier." commented Lincoln, causing the green-haired admin's smirk to take on a more menacing look as he eyed the white-haired American.

"You must be Lincoln Loud, the American who has been a constant thorn in our side as of late. You and your friends have ruined several of our operations over the past week or so."

"And we'd do it again if it meant preventing crooks like you from getting your way."

"Bold words for such a little boy." replied Proton, scoffing. "I'll never understand on why the boss is interested in someone like you, considering how much damage you've done towards our goal of taking control of the Kanto region."

"Your boss...is interested in me?" questioned Lincoln, stunned. "Why?"

"You're not gonna get the chance to find out, you little brat." replied a green-haired woman in a school uniform, causing Lincoln and Misty's eyes to widen in surprised realization.

"Midori, not now. I haven't given you the order to reveal yourself yet." growled Proton, only to go ignored as the green-haired grunt stormed over towards Lincoln and Misty.

"You...you're the one who gave us the passes for the St. Anne. You were working for Team Rocket all along?"

"That's right, brat! And now that you know who I am, I owe you some well-deserved payback for what you've done to me! I'm a laughingstock in the organization because of you!"

After taking a moment to glance at the furious woman in front of him, Lincoln shakes his head before replying "...Nope. I'm pretty sure we've never met before."

"Same. I'd recognize someone like you if we had met." added Misty with a nod, causing Midori to facefault upon hearing the pair's responses.

"How the fuck are you two unable to recognize me!? We met at Mt. Moon, for Arceus' sake! And we fought at Cerulean Cape, too!"

"Mt. Moon and Cerulean Cape?" mused Lincoln to himself before his eyes lit up in understanding. "Now I remember. You were that green-haired woman who was leading both of the operations, right?"

"Finally! Now you remember who I am!" groused Midori as she took a Pokeball off of her belt. "And now it's payback time, you little bastard. I'm taking you down right here and right now."

"Get in line, greenie! That's our mark, not yours!" snarled Jessie as she roughly shoved Midori away, sending the green-haired Rocket crashing to the floor. "You just stay there on the floor, where you belong."

Turning to face Lincoln and Misty, she adds "There's no interruptions to get in the way this time, brats. We're going to finish what we started on the deck earlier."

"Agreed. I think it's about time that we dealt with you and James for good." replied Misty, glaring at the other redhead while Lincoln nodded in agreement.

"What the fuck!? Those three imbeciles are immediately recognized by those two, but they couldn't be bothered to remember me!?" complained Midori, clearly incensed.

"Unlike me, Jess and Jim here, you ain't nothing special." mocked Meowth with a grin on his face. "I may not like da twoips, but I can't exactly fault 'em for forgettin' someone like you."

"You're just that unremarkable, compared to us." said Jessie smugly, causing the other woman to seethe in rage at the remark.

"Unremarkable!? I'll show you unremarkable!" snarled Midori, getting back to her feet. "Once I'm done with the brat, I'm taking you three out next!"

"Damn it, can't you idiots wait until I give you the signal to show yourselves!?" snarled Proton, clearly unhappy that three more of his subordinates had revealed themselves. After taking a moment to calm himself down, he adds "...Fine. Since it's already quite clear to everyone else here that I'm not the only member of Team Rocket aboard the ship, I suppose we can go ahead and start our operation a little earlier than expected."

With that said, Proton snaps his fingers, causing several of the passengers in the room to grin evilly before removing their disguises, revealing themselves to be members of Team Rocket.

"There's so many of them..." murmured Misty as she and Lincoln glanced at the numerous black-clad Trainers with slight looks of worry on their faces.

Giving the other passengers a look, Proton states "Now then, on to business. We're here to take everything of value from all of you. I expect you to fully cooperate with us and hand over your valuables, Pokemon included, without a fight. Failure to comply..." before snapping his fingers again, causing the grunts to send out their Pokemon. "...will be met with punishment."

Turning to face Lorelei, he adds "That goes for you as well, Lorelei of the Elite Four. Skilled as you may be, even you're not able to handle battling all of us at once."

"Yeah! You can't beat us all!" crowed one of the grunts triumphantly while the others grinned maliciously.

"...So you've been aware of my presence on the ship all along." surmised Lorelei, causing Proton to smirk in response.

"Of course. Anyone could see through that paper-thin alias of yours."

Sneering at the Ice-Type specialist, Midori adds "You didn't even bother to change your appearance, for Arceus' sake! Who would be stupid enough to think that you and Prima are different people when the two of you look exactly alike!?"

At this, several of the other passengers and a few of the Rocket grunts blushed in embarrassment.

"In any case, it's just you against all of us. There's no possible way you can win against our numbers." stated Proton confidently before turning to face Lincoln. "And the same goes for you as well. Interesting or not, you're a threat to Team Rocket and must be neutralized."

"Mr. Proton, with all due respect, this is our fight. Leave the brat to us." said James, only for a cold smile to form on the admin's face in response.

"I think not." replied Proton before snapping his fingers, causing several of the grunts and Midori to immediately turn their attention towards the three Rockets, surprising them.

"What's the meaning of this? What's going on?" asked Jessie, confused.

"Your usefulness to our organization has officially run out." said Midori, grinning malevolently. "And that means you're a target here, just like everyone else on the ship."

Holding up a finger, James asks "But what about our mission!? The boss entrusted us with..."

"Your mission doesn't matter anymore." said Proton, cutting him off. "You three are now officially persona-non-grata with Team Rocket. Consider your memberships to be null and void."

"So that's it? You're just going to forget about all the effort we put into doing our jobs and fire us?"

"Your 'efforts' were doing more harm to Team Rocket than good. You're dead weight." answered Proton before a cold smile formed on his face. "And when you have to deal with dead weight, you don't keep it around. You get rid of it."

"Which means we're going to be getting rid of you. And I for one will enjoy destroying you three nuisances." said Midori before turning to face Lincoln. "And after I'm done with them, I'll get rid of you. You've cost me my self-respect and my rank. There's no way I'm going to ever forgive you for that."

"I can't believe dis..." muttered Meowth, still stunned by what Proton had just revealed.

Glaring at Lincoln and Misty, James snarls "This is all your fault, brats! If you hadn't ruined our raid at Viridian City, we would still have our jobs!"

"What the hell did you expect us to do, just stand by and let you rob the place?"

"Yes! That's exactly what you should've done!"

"I doubt it would've made any difference on whether or not you two succeeded at Viridian City or not. You've been dead weight for our organization for so long that I'm certain that you three would end up getting fired anyway." said Proton in a matter-of-fact tone before turning to face Lorelei, who already had a Pokeball in her hand. "Planning to fight back after all, Lorelei? Even someone like you won't be able to take on all of us by yourself."

Smirking, Lorelei answers "And who says I'm going to fight you alone, hmm?"

"If you think those two brats are going to be of any help, then you're sorely..."

"I wasn't referring to Mr. Loud and my protege."

At this, Proton's eyes widened in alarm as Lorelei snaps her fingers, causing over half of the remaining passengers to throw off their own disguises.

Recognizing the badges that the newcomers were wearing almost immediately, Midori cried out "Aw crap, it's the G-men! We've been set up!" in alarm.

"No shit." replied Proton sarcastically before glaring at Lorelei, who had a smug expression on her face. "You knew about our operation from the very beginning, didn't you?"

"Let's just say that we have some excellent sources of information regarding your organization's plans and leave it at that." taunted the glasses-wearing woman before giving Proton a smirk. "Now then, care to surrender while you still have the chance?"

"Go to hell." growled Proton in response before pointing at Lorelei and the G-men that were starting to take up positions behind her. "Smash them all! I want to see them broken and beaten!"

"Yes, sir!" barked all of the other grunts in response before bellowing orders at their Pokemon, giving them the command to attack.

"Show no mercy! Take them down!" ordered Lorelei, causing the G-men to start barking commands at their Pokemon as well, causing the leftover passengers to start screaming before running for cover. As Proton takes a Pokeball off of his belt and activates it, she smirks and says "Well then, shall we?" before following suit and doing the same.

"I'm going to enjoy crushing you and taking your prized Pokemon away." growled Proton before throwing the Pokeball, causing a large blue-colored bat-like Pokemon to appear before him. Pointing at Lorelei, he snarls "Destroy her, Golbat!"

"A Golbat. Why am I not surprised, considering how much your organization loves using Poison-Types?" remarked Lorelei before throwing her own Pokeball, causing it to release a large blue plesiosaur-like Pokemon with a stony shell on its back from within it. "Let's show this fool why we're among the best the Kanto region has to offer, Lapras! Take him down!"

-=O=-

While Lorelei and Proton started to battle with each other, Midori sends out all of her Pokemon to join the ones that the other grunts had sent out, causing the small army of Pokemon to become significantly larger.

"Well now, it's just the four of you against all of us." commented Midori before giving Lincoln, Misty, James and Jessie a predatory grin. "There's no way that you'll be able to survive against us all, so just give up now and I'll make your end qui...oh, who am I kidding. I'm going to draw this out as long as possible. I want to enjoy this."

"W-wait just a moment! Ya can't do dis ta us!" protested Meowth, paws raised in a defensive gesture. "Take da brats out if ya want, but leave us outta this!"

"What the hell are you saying, Meowth!?" snapped Jessie, glaring at the Scratch Cat Pokemon. "We're the ones supposed to take those brats out, not these jokers!"

"I'm tryin' ta get us outta this alive!" retorted Meowth before turning back to face the other grunts. "So how about it? Ya let us go and we'll step aside and let ya take the twoips out. Deal?"

Shaking her head, Midori answers "No deal. Did you already forget what Mr. Proton said earlier, you idiot?"

"Right...we ain't part of Team Rocket no more..."

"That's right. And since it's just the four of you against all of us...well, it's not looking good for you."

"Then let's change that four to six, shall we?" remarked Leaf from nearby as she and Brock ran over to join Lincoln's side. "If you're going to fight with them, you're going to fight us as well."

"Four, six...it doesn't matter. That just means more for you to tear apart and more Pokemon for us to take from you." replied Midori dismissively with a shrug while the other grunts chuckled malevolently.

"We still have the numbers advantage, brat. There's no way you'll be able to take us all down!"

"Quality over quantity." retorted Brock before giving Jessie, James and Meowth a glance. "You three are in the same position as us now, so we might as well work together to fight these guys off."

Nodding, Misty says "Brock's right. I may not be happy about the idea, but we'll need to cooperate if we're going to make it out of this in one piece."

"I've got an even better idea." remarked Lincoln as his eyes caught onto the other passengers, who were hiding nearby. Turning to address them, he asks "Why are all of you just standing there, instead of doing your part to help everyone else against these guys? You do realize that if you did help us, we'd be able to outnumber these crooks, right?"

As the numerous passengers started to murmur among themselves about Lincoln's words, Misty asks "What in the world are you doing, Lincoln? Why are you trying to get other people involved?"

"They'll make things easier for us and Lorelei in the long run if they helped out." answered Lincoln before deciding to try his luck with convincing the other passengers again. "All of you are Pokemon Trainers, right?"

A large collective of nods was his answer.

"Then why are you just letting these guys push you around? Where's your pride as Trainers? Your pride in the Pokemon you worked hard to raise? Are you really going to just let these crooks take them away from you?"

More murmuring came from the crowd in response, which only caused Midori to scoff.

"Talking to them isn't going to do you any good, brat. Those worthless fools are too scared of us and what we'll do to them if they even think of fighting back to..."

Before she could finish speaking, one of the passengers - an elderly gentleman with a cane - stepped forward.

"You're right about one thing - we were too scared of you and your gang to act at first. But after hearing what this young man had to say..."

In an instant, a hard, determined look forms in the man's eyes as he takes a Pokeball out of his pocket and throws it, sending out an Arcanine.

"...We're not going to stand by and let you scare us anymore. Frightened or not, we still have our pride as Pokemon Trainers and we won't let you take that away from us."

Watching as the other passengers start sending out Pokemon as well, Midori asks "What the hell do you think you're doing, you insignificant peons!? We're members of Team Rocket, the biggest criminal organization in Kanto! You should be shitting yourselves in fear instead of acting like this!"

"What she said! What do you hope to gain by fighting back against us!?" inquired another grunt, only to flinch as the army of Pokemon immediately turned their attention to him.

"Our self-respect as Trainers, for one." answered a female passenger with a scowl. "That's something we'll never allow you to steal away from us.."

"We're not gonna stand by and just let you take our Pokemon, either." added the man standing next to her as his Persian hissed at the Rockets, waiting for the order to attack.

As the other passengers start voicing their intentions to fight back as well, Leaf says "Nice work on getting those guys worked up enough to start fighting back against the Rockets, Lincoln. We'll definitely have an easier time with handling them now."

"Thanks, Leaf." answered Lincoln before turning to face Jessie, James and Meowth. "Well? Are you guys going to help us fight back, too? Or are you going to run away again, like you did back in the Viridian Forest?"

After contemplating the idea for a moment or two, a pained look forms on Jessie's face as she answers "...Fine, but this is a one-time deal. Once we're done with these clowns, we're going to settle things between us once and for all."

"I ain't happy 'bout it either, but I'll take my chances with youse guys. At least you ain't the ones tryin' ta get rid of us." said Meowth, nodding in agreement.

"I'm not happy about the idea of teaming up with you brats, but if it means getting out of this in one piece, I'll just have to swallow my pride and get it over with." muttered James as his Pokemon took up defensive positions in front of him.

"Think of it as an evil neccessity, James. We'll make sure to settle things with them later."

"I know, but I'm still not happy about it."

"That makes two of us." remarked Lincoln, giving the lavender-haired man a frown. "But Jessie's right - we'll need to work together on this, otherwise we can kiss our Pokemon goodbye. You know as well as I do that these guys will happily swipe everything we have from us."

Turning to face Growlie, who was glaring at Midori's Pokemon, he adds "Especially that Growlithe. Considering how protective it seems to be when it comes to you, they'll definitely try to take him away."

"No! Not my Growlie!"

"Then I suggest you quit whining about having to work together with us so we can get out of this in one piece. We'll settle whatever grudges we have with each other later."

"Deal. Let's do this." replied James before suddenly pointing at a Raticate belonging to one of the opposing grunts. "Growlie, Flamethrower!"

As the Puppy Pokemon fired a stream of red-hot flames at the Normal-Type, startling the other grunts with the pre-emptive strike, Lincoln and the others start calling out orders of their own as well in order to capitalize on the opening that James had just given them.

"Let's get them! Attack!" exclaimed one of the passengers as he pointed at the Rockets, causing the others to let out a roar of approval before shouting orders at their Pokemon as well, causing a large flurry of attacks to be launched at the now-horrified Rockets and their Pokemon.

They only had enough time to scream in terror before the onslaught reached them.

-=O=-

"Ice Beam, Lapras!" commanded Lorelei, causing her Lapras to let out a cry before firing a light blue-colored beam of energy at Proton's Golbat, freezing it completely in a block of ice. "And that takes care of that. For one of Team Rocket's admins, you're a lot weaker than I originally thought."

"Worthless Pokemon..." grumbled Proton under his breath as he recalled the frozen Poison-Type. Upon taking notice of several of his subordinates getting annihilated by the passengers and their Pokemon, he says "And it seems that my subordinates are just as worthless, if not more."

"Considering how worthless their superior turned out to be in battle, I'm not surprised." jabbed Lorelei with a smirk, causing Proton to give her a nasty sneer.

"This isn't over yet, Lorelei. I've still got one more ace up my sleeve - one that will ensure I get the last laugh in the end."

"And that is...?"

In response, a dark smile forms on Proton's face as he takes a remote out of his pocket, causing the Ice-Type Trainer's eyes to widen slightly in disbelief.

"This. We may have lost this battle, but I'm going to ensure that your victory today is a Pyrrhic one." answered Proton as he held up the remote. "I don't care if the raid ends up being a bust - I'm going to take you and everyone else out for daring to defy us."

"...You wouldn't dare. Not with all of these people on board the ship."

Instead of replying, a sick look of satisfaction appeared on Proton's face before he slammed the button on the remote, causing the ship to start trembling violently as loud booming sounds come from below, bringing the melee in the ballroom to a sudden halt.

"What the heck was that!?"

"What's going on!?"

"Why is the ship shaking?"

As panic continued to run rampant through the ballroom, Proton smiles and says "And with that, I believe we'll be making our leave." before running off, prompting his subordinates to start following after him.

Still smoldering from the assault she and her fellow grunts had faced earlier, Midori cries out "Hey, wait for me! Don't leave me behind with these lunatics!" before hobbling out of the ballroom in order to catch up with the other Rockets.

"Damn it. To think that he would actually do something like this..." muttered Lorelei, glaring at Proton as he ran off. After clearing her throat, she calls out "Attention, everyone! Please make your way to the deck at once for evacuation!", causing the panic in the ballroom to intensify.

Turning to face one of her subordinates, she adds "Make sure everyone gets to the lifeboats safely. We can't afford to allow even a single person to remain on the St. Anne when it goes down."

"Yes, ma'am."

Growling as he shook a fist at the retreating Rockets, Charley snaps "Hey, where the hell do you think you're going!? We're not done with kicking your asses yet!"

"I think we've got other things to worry about than our opponents running away." remarked Mienfoo, shaking her head. "I can hear the sound of water rushing below us. If that's happening, then those booming sounds from before must've been..."

After a moment, a stunned look forms on Misty's face as she says "...Explosions. They're trying to sink the St. Anne."

"Dat's what dey were plannin' ta do!?" exclaimed Meowth, shocked. "We didn't hear anythin' 'bout dis happening!"

"If the ship's going to go down, we need to find a way out of here as soon as we can." said Jessie before turning her attention to the fleeing grunts. "And since the others seem to know about what's going on, they'll probably have an escape route set up in order to make their getaway. I think we should follow them."

"Are you sure about that? Wouldn't it be safer to head to the deck instead?" questioned Lincoln, only for the redhead to shake her head as she pointed at the other passengers, who were now panicking once more as the G-men tried to lead them out of the ballroom.

"The lifeboats will already be full by the time we reach the deck. There won't be any room for us." answered Jessie before recalling her Pokemon. Motioning for James and Meowth to follow her, she adds "Come on, you two. We need to get out of here, pronto."

"There's another reason why we're going to follow them, isn't there?" inquired James, causing Jessie to nod in response.

"I want some answers on why the boss decided to suddenly cut us loose and I believe that Proton can give them to us."

"I tink dat's a bad idea, Jess. Mistah Proton already said dat da boss wanted us gone, so followin' after dem should be da last ting we need ta be doin'. He'd probably try ta take another crack at offin' us."

"Well, you can stay here or go with the brats if you want, Meowth. I want answers and I'm going to get them, one way or another."

"Hey, I neva said dat I wasn't gonna follow ya, Jess. Bad idea or not, I'm wit ya to da end." said Meowth, causing James to nod in agreement.

"Same goes for me too, Jessie. We're all in this together."

"You two..." muttered Jessie, looking like she was about to cry tears of joy until her eyes caught onto Lincoln and his friends. "...What are you looking at? Shouldn't you be going?"

"You're just going to let us leave?" asked Brock, eyebrow raised.

"Make no mistake - our business with each other is far from over." said Jessie before letting out a sigh. "But now's not the time for settling grudges. Get out of here while you've still got the chance."

"Just don't forget that when we meet again, we're going to finish what we started." added James, causing Lincoln to smirk in response.

"I'll hold you to that, then. Good luck with getting off of the ship."

"Likewise." replied Jessie before motioning for James and Meowth to follow her. "Let's go, you two. We need to hurry up and catch up with Proton and the others."

After recalling his Pokemon, James says "Right!" before following after his partner.

"Hey, don't leave me behind! Wait for Meowth!" cried out Meowth as he ran after them.

"Guess that just leaves us, then." replied Lincoln as he and the others recalled their Pokemon. "We should start making our way to the deck so we can evacuate, too."

"What about our stuff in our rooms? Are we really going to leave all of that behind?" asked Misty, causing the white-haired boy to look at her with a stern look on his face.

"Misty, our safety is far more important than the stuff we're leaving behind. Unlike our belongings, our lives can't be replaced."

"...Yeah, I guess you're right. We need to worry about getting off of the St. Anne instead of what we're going to be leaving behind." replied Misty before looking down at her belt, which had her Pokeballs attached to it. Taking one of them into her hand, she adds "At least we'll still have our Pokemon with..."

Before she could finish speaking, one of the other passengers accidentally runs into her, sending both the redhead and her Pokeball crashing to the floor.

"Hey, watch where you're going, you assho..." started Misty, only to stop upon seeing her Pokeball rolling out of the ballroom. After quickly getting to her feet, she runs after it, yelling "Hey, come back here!"

"Wait up, Misty! Don't run off without us!" called out Lincoln as he, Brock, Pikachu and Leaf ran after her.

-=O=-

-St. Anne - On-Route To The Exit Point (10:15 PM)-

"The water's flowing in a lot faster than expected..." muttered Midori as she glanced down nervously at the seawater that was quickly starting to fill the ship's interior. "Are we going to make it out in time, Mr. Proton?"

"As long as we keep our current pace and there aren't any distractions, we should make it with time to spare." answered Proton before a dark scowl appeared on his face. "Everything would've gone smoothly if that accursed woman and her men hadn't gotten involved. The boss isn't going to be happy when he hears about our raid getting compromised."

"He's not going to be happy about the fact we didn't take those three goofs out, either." stated one of the grunts, causing Proton's scowl to ease up.

"While I'm not happy about the fact that we failed to 'remove' them, I can settle with never seeing their faces ever again."

"Then you're not going to be happy about this, Mr. Proton." said the grunt as he pointed at Jessie, James and Meowth, who were running towards the Rockets in an attempt to catch up with them.

"Wait! Wait just a moment!"

"What are you three doing here? In case you've forgotten, you're not with our organization anymore." asked Proton, causing the three former Rockets to wince in response. "You're throwing away a perfectly good chance to walk away from this in one piece."

"Yeah. Buzz off and leave us alone. We don't want anything to do with you three anymore."

"If it wasn't fer da fact dat Jess made us come down here ta see ya, we'd already be gone by now." said Meowth as he quickly clambered onto James' shoulders to avold the water that was continuing to fill the area.

After taking a moment to prepare herself for what she was about to say, Jessie gives Proton a glance before saying "We have questions about what happened earlier. Questions that you should be able to answer."

"I think not. We're already short enough on time as it is, so we don't have enough of it to waste on you three imbeciles." stated Proton as he turned around to walk away.

"You're not going to attack us? Even after following you guys down here?" asked James, perplexed.

"If it wasn't for the fact that we would end up going down with the St. Anne if we wasted time on you three, I would give the order to have you removed from my sight." replied Proton, walking off. "Consider this an act of mercy on my part. Do not attempt to contact me or the boss again. After all, he's the one who signed off on your releases."

"The boss wanted to fire us?" asked James, stunned.

"More than that, you idiots. He actually wanted you three failures 'gone'. Dealt with. Out of the way." said Midori with a sneer before taking a Pokeball off of her belt and tossing it, releasing what appeared to be a Koffing, but with two spherical bodies connected to each other. "And since you three are here, I'm going to take the chance to finish you off now! Weezing, Self-Destruct! I don't care if you do more damage to the ship or not - just blow those three to bits!"

After letting out a sigh, the Poison-Type mutters "Another self-destruction. This is my least-favorite part of the job..." under it's breath before quickly floating over towards the three former Rockets, causing them to let out screams of terror before running off.

"Don't let them get away, Weezing! Kill them, now!" ordered Midori, causing the Weezing to sigh again before chasing after Jessie, James and Meowth. Dusting off her hands, she adds "And that takes care of that. While Weezing deals with those three, we'll be able to make our getaway."

"What about your Weezing?"

"What about him?"

"You're just going to let him go down with the ship like that? He's not going to have enough time to catch up with the rest of us, you know." said one of the grunts, slightly disturbed at how dismissive Midori seemed to be about the situation.

"Meh. I can always get another Weezing from the reserves." replied the green-haired grunt before tossing Weezing's Pokeball aside like it was a piece of garbage. "Besides, we need to worry about getting out of here. There's no point in going back for a Weezing who's just going to blow itself up, anyway."

"While I may disapprove of wasting our organization's resources like that, I will agree that it's not worth risking our lives for a single Weezing." stated Proton before continuing on his way to the exit point. "Our priority at the moment should be getting out of this sinking deathtrap before we go down with it. We need to leave. Now."

-=O=-

-St. Anne - Hallway (10:20 PM)-

While Jessie, James and Meowth were trying to get away from Midori's Weezing, Lincoln and the others were trying to catch up with the errant Pokeball that had been knocked out of Misty's hand earlier.

"How the heck can a Pokeball keep rolling like this? We've been after it for ten minutes now and it's still going!" complained Misty as she continued to chase after her Pokeball, which was still rolling away from her. "If I ever find the guy who knocked me down earlier..."

"You can worry about getting payback on that guy later, Misty. We need to get your Pokeball so we can get out of here." said Brock before noticing the red and white-colored ball gradually slowing down. "Speaking of which, I think it's about to come to a stop."

"About time, if you ask me." replied Lincoln, gasping for breath as he leaned against a nearby wall. "Hurry up and get it already so we can go, Misty."

After giving him a nod, Misty walks over to the now-still Pokeball and picks it up with a smile on her face.

"Got it."

"Great. Now then, let's start making our way back to the deck before..." said Lincoln, only to be cut off by the sound of screaming coming from the other end of the hallway. "What in the world?"

"Sounds like someone's in trouble." commented Leaf, frowning. "We should get out of here while we still can, but if someone needs our help..."

"Then we go and help. I don't know about you guys, but I'm not going to leave them behind. It's not right." replied Lincoln before heading towards the source of the screaming, causing the others to look at each other for a moment before following after him.

After a brief run through the hallway, the white-haired Loud turns a nearby corner, only for his eyes to widen upon seeing Jessie, James and Meowth running away from a floating, purple-colored Pokemon.

"What are you three doing here!?"

Upon seeing Lincoln and his friends, the three ex-Rockets run over and hide behind them, pointing at the Weezing that was now staring at the group.

"Help us!"

"Keep that thing away!"

"It's tryin' ta kill us!"

Before Lincoln could ask them for further details, the Weezing sighs and says "...Great. Unnecessary collateral damage. Just what I needed to deal with right now." before making a shrug-like motion with it's body "Oh well. Orders are orders, even if I don't like them."

With that said, the Poison Gas Pokemon rushes towards it's targets, glowing brightly as he approached.

Realizing what was about to happen, Leaf warns "Look out! It's going to..."

Before she could finish however, the poisonous Pokemon suddenly explodes, creating a blast strong enough to send the entire group flying into a nearby wall, knocking them out.

As it started to lose consciousness as well, the Weezing looks over the unconscious Trainers and mutters "Well, that's that." before a look of realization appeared in it's eyes. "...Wait, how am I supposed to get off now?"

Before it could even think about the answer to that question, the Poison-Type flops onto the floor, completely spent.

-=O=-

-Shores of Five Island (11:00 PM)-

Watching as the St. Anne disappeared beneath the ocean's surface, Midori laughs and says "There it goes! Good riddance!" while flipping the sinking ship a pair of middle fingers.

With a mock sorrowful look on his face as he placed a hand over his heart, Proton says "To the unfortunate souls that are still on-board the ship, we salute you. To Jessie, James and Meowth, we will never forget your incompetence and will use it as a reminder never to become as useless as you. And to Lincoln Loud, if you're still on-board the ship, your sacrifice will not be in vain - with your loss, Team Rocket will have a much brighter future." before turning to face his grunts. "Don't just stand there. Pay your respects."

After letting out dark chuckles, the grunts start spitting into the ocean.

While the other grunts were 'paying their respects', Midori turns to Proton with a hopeful look on her face.

"Since Weezing probably took care of those three dimwits, is there any chance that you can help me get my old rank back, sir?"

"I said that I might talk to the boss about that, grunt." replied Proton, causing the hopeful look to fade. "However, since you did manage to remove those three, I suppose I'll talk to him about the matter, but I can't promise that he'll be willing to listen."

"That'll have to do, I guess." said Midori, nodding. "The boss isn't going to be happy about the plan being a bust."

"I think he'll be a little more lenient when he learns that Lorelei and the G-men already knew about our raid." answered Proton before a frown formed on his face. "Still, that leaves me with two unanswered questions."

"And those are...?"

"Who told them about our plan? And did they warn the Elite Four about our other operations?"

"Yeah...that does sound pretty bad, now that I think about it. I can't believe we have a spy among us, sir." said Midori before hastily adding "And it's not me, sir! I assure you that I'm..."

"I know it's not you, fool. You seemed to be just as surprised as I was when the G-men showed themselves." snapped Proton, causing the green-haired grunt to let out a startled 'eep'. "And as much as I hate to say it, it wasn't those three fools either. They were too loyal to the boss to even consider the idea of betraying him, though I believe that if they somehow manage to escape the St. Anne, that won't be the case anymore."

"They won't escape, sir. My Weezing will make sure of that."

"If you say so." said Proton before snapping his fingers, causing the grunts to face him. "We should get to the Five Island base in order to get some shuteye. It's getting late and I want to get some much-needed rest before I give the boss the report on the raid tomorrow morning."

After taking the time to hock one more wad of spit into the sea, the grunts nod before they start following Proton to his intended destination.

-=O=-

-Seafoam Islands - Shores (2:30 AM)-

While the Rockets were making their way to the Five Island base, Lorelei stood one of the many shores of the Seafoam Islands, looking out at where the St. Anne had been before it's sinking.

'I just hope that everyone was able to get off of the ship in time. If anyone happened to still be on it when it went down...' thought the redhead to herself as she gazed at the sea.

"Lady Lorelei?" asked the Gentleman from before, snapping the Elite Four member from her thoughts.

"Yes? What is it?"

"We're finished with interviewing the other passengers and have done a complete census of everyone who happened to be on-board the ship."

"Excellent. Their testimonies will be of great use to us when it comes to dealing with Team Rocket." said Lorelei, nodding. "And as for the census?"

At this, the Gentleman's expression takes on a more morose appearance.

"...There are still several people unaccounted for, Lady Lorelei. I can't say that they're still on the St. Anne, but..."

"...How unfortunate. Names?"

After taking a moment to prepare himself for what he was going to say, the Gentleman answers "Brock Slate, Leaf Rose, James Kojiro, Jessie Musashi and the Meowth that was with her, Lincoln Loud and..."

As a look of horror started to form on Lorelei's face, she murmured "...No.", dreading what her subordinate was going to say next.

"...Misty Waterflower. I'm sorry, Lady Lorelei. Those were the only ones still unaccounted for."

"Misty..."

"...Lady Lorelei?"

"...Contact the higher-ups at Kanto TV and tell them that Lorelei of the Elite Four wants to speak to them." said Lorelei with a cold, icy look in her eyes. "This attack was a declaration of war on the entire region of Kanto by Team Rocket. We need to warn the public about what they're doing."

"I'll get on that as soon as possible, Lady Lorelei." replied the Gentleman, nodding. "...Are you going to be alright?"

"Go attend to your duty and leave me to grieve for my protege in peace, please."

"Of course."

As the Gentleman walked away, Lorelei stared sadly at the ocean for a few moments before a look of fury formed on her face as she said "...I'm going to make Team Rocket pay for this. One way or another, I'm going to make them pay." before an image of Proton with a cruel smirk on his face formed in her mind. With her voice taking on a more hate-filled tone, she adds "And I'm going to make sure that you'll never get the chance to do something like this to anyone ever again, Proton. That's a promise."

-=O=-

-Five Island Rocket Base (9:00 AM)-

"Man, I can't wait for the boss to promote me back to my old rank. It'll be good having my old squad under my command again." remarked Midori with a smile on her face as she and Proton made their way through the base in order to give their report on the previous night's raid. "Maybe the boss will give me an even bigger promotion for getting rid of those three idiots. I might get the chance to become an Admin!"

"I wouldn't get my hopes up about that if I were you." said Proton dryly, causing Midori to frown in response. "You'll probably get your rank back and that's it."

"Hey, you don't know that. The boss might want to give me an extra reward for offing those three failures." remarked the green-haired woman pointedly, prompting Proton to roll his eyes.

"We'll see, grunt. We'll see." muttered Proton, keeping the fact that he was going to take the full credit for Jessie and James' demise for himself.

Of course, he was going to keep his word about talking to his boss about reinstating Midori to her former rank, but he honestly wasn't going to actually try convincing him.

'I did say that I would talk to him about the matter. I never promised that I would actually try to succeed.' thought Proton to himself with a chuckle.

Suddenly, an angry-sounding female voice snaps "What the hell did you do, Proton!? Do you have any idea on how badly you fucked up!?", breaking the green-haired admin from his thoughts.

Upon seeing a blonde woman wearing a black Rocket uniform with a white and red-colored cap, elbow-length gloves and thigh-high boots storming towards him, Proton scoffs and says "Domino...should've known that the boss's number-one suck-up would be here. Shouldn't you be trying to kiss his ass right now instead of bothering me? You do realize that I'm much higher in the rankings than you are, therefore making you a waste of my time, yes?"

"If anyone's an ass-kisser here, it's you, Proton!" snarled Domino, jabbing a finger in the admin's face. "And you may not be in your current spot for much longer, considering just how badly you fucked up when it came to the St. Anne raid."

"So the boss knows about our failure then..." surmised Proton, only to look surprised when Domino shook her head.

"While I'm sure he's going to be pissed about that too, he's especially angry because of something you did last night, you dumbfuck."

"What I did? What do you mean by that exactly?"

"You'll be finding out in a few moments, Proton. The boss wants to see you in the meeting room." said a red-haired woman in a white-colored dress suit with the Rocket insignia on the breast pocket. Smirking, she adds "I'd hate to be you right now, honestly. You became an admin just a few months ago and it looks like you're about to lose that position. The boss isn't happy with you."

At this point, Proton's irritation turned to nervousness - just what exactly did he do to make his boss upset?

Quickly backing away upon realizing what kind of situation her superior had gotten himself into, Midori says "I'll...just be going. Best of luck with dealing with the boss, sir..."

Before she could make a run for it, a white glove grips her shoulder as a man's voice says "Sorry, but the boss man wants to see you too.", causing Midori's face to immediately pale with fear before she turned around to face the voice's owner - a purple-haired man wearing a uniform that reminded her of the one Proton usually wore.

"W-why does he want to see me?"

"Beats me, but it probably has to do with your role in what happened to the St. Anne last night." replied the man with a shrug before a dark grin formed on his face. "Better not keep him waiting."

Eyes narrowing, Proton asks "Petrel...what are you doing here?"

"Ari called me here. Said that the boss wanted to speak to me after he's done with chewing your butts out." replied Petrel, grin still on his face while Ariana gave him a dirty look for using a nickname to refer to her. "Speaking of which, you two better get going. You know how the boss gets when he's kept waiting, don't you?"

At this, both Midori and Proton pale before hurrying off to the base's meeting room.

"I don't know why the boss promoted that fool to Admin rank. If he had known about the St. Anne's importance to our organization before he decided to sink it..." mused Ariana, watching as the two green-haired Rockets ran off.

"Proton's always had his head up his ass, Ari. Always thinking that just because he's Admin rank, he knows what he's doing." replied Petrel with a shrug before giving Domino a glance. "The real question is why the boss promoted him to Admin rank instead of you. You do a good enough job for him to earn it."

"While the comment is appreciated, I prefer to continue with my current role." answered Domino, arms crossed. "The boss relies on me to handle the work that he's unable to complete himself because of his duties."

"Just saying that you'd be better at the job than that idiot, that's all."

-=O=-

-Five Island Rocket Base - Meeting Room (9:15 AM)-

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

As the sound of tapping continued to echo throughout the mostly-empty meeting room, two grunts stood beside a massive screen with an imposing-looking man with short, neatly-cut brown hair, an expensive-looking orange suit and a look of complete impatience on his face displayed on it.

And by the way he was drumming his fingers on the desk in front of him, he was becoming more and more impatient by the second.

"...How much longer will I have to wait for those two imbeciles to show up?" asked the man in a dark tone, causing the two grunts to shudder before one of them turned to answer him.

"I-I'm sure that they'll be here soon, boss. Domino's probably passed your message on to them, so they should be here shortly."

"They better be, if they know what's good for them."

As if on cue, the door bursts open, allowing Proton and Midori to scramble into the room.

"S-sorry about keeping you waiting, sir. We..." started Proton, only for the man to slam a fist onto his desk.

"I don't care about your excuses, Proton. You and the other one, sit down. Now."

"Yes, sir." muttered the two green-haired Rockets in unison before taking a seat at the table in front of the monitor.

After taking a few moments to watch the pair squirm in their seats, the man asks "Now then, I presume you two know why I want to speak to you?"

"Erm...is it about the St. Anne raid, sir?" questioned Midori nervously.

"Somewhat." replied the man, steepling his fingers as a dark look formed on his face. "Domino?"

As if on cue, the blonde-haired Rocket steps into the room with a manila folder in hand.

Knowing what her boss wanted, Domino gives him before giving the two green-haired Rockets a glare, saying "Before I tell you two just how badly you fucked up, I have a question to ask you." before holding up the folder for the pair to see. "...Do you know about the resources and assets that keep our organization going?"

"Not really. I just assumed that we stole Pokemon from people and made money off of that." replied Midori, shrugging.

"That's one of the ways we make money, yes. One of our 'legally ambiguous' means, as a matter of fact." confirmed Domino, nodding for a moment before her glare returned. "But were you aware that while we usually profit from criminal activity, we do have several assets that are not only fully legal, but are much more profitable than our usual methods of making money?"

"I didn't know that. But what does this have to do with..." started Midori, only for Proton to quickly clap a hand over her mouth.

"That's enough. Keep quiet and let me do the talking." said Proton before clearing his throat. "Sir, while I'm certain that you're upset about our raid going wrong, I'd like to point out that if it hadn't been for Lorelei of the Elite Four and her men making an appearance, everything would've gone smoothly and we wouldn't be here now."

"So instead of cutting your losses and getting out of there upon finding out that the entire operation's been compromised by one of the Elite Four and her subordinates, you choose to go through with it anyway and not only fail to get any Pokemon out of the attempt, but your foolish plan ends up sinking one of the few legitimate, highly-profitable assets our organization owns."

"Um...yes, sir. That's a fairly accurate summary." said Proton before catching onto the last part of his boss's statement. "Wait...you mean to tell me that..."

"Finally figured it out, hmm?" asked Domino in a sarcastic tone before slapping the folder onto the table in front of her and opening it up, revealing several invoices. "As you can see, our organization - and by extension, our boss - had a lot of money invested in the St. Anne."

"How much? A million? Two million?"

Sneering, Domino says "Try five-hundred million. The St. Anne made a lot of money for Team Rocket and now all of that's gone because a certain someone here couldn't just cut his losses and leave."

Upon hearing this, both Proton and Midori pale drastically, realizing just how much damage the plan to blow up the ship had done to the organization's finances.

"And the worst part of your foolishness is that if you had chosen to leave upon learning that the operation had been compromised, I would've actually commended you for it. A good leader knows when to cut their losses when the situation is not in their favor." said the man before taking on a furious tone. "And you've just proven to me with your fuck-up that you do not have what it takes to be a leader. For Arceus' sake, you've proven that you're not capable of overseeing a major operation!"

Hoping to salvage what he could out of this situation, Proton quickly says "I...uh, did manage to deal with , sir. You won't have to worry about those three bumbling fools ever again.", causing Midori to let out a shout of protest at her superior for trying to steal the credit of her efforts.

"Hey, I was the one who dealt with those three dimwits! I'm the one who deserves the credit for that!"

"Ignore her, sir. That fool doesn't know what she's talking..." started Proton, only for the man to cut him off.

"Who are you to tell me what I should or should not ignore, Proton?! In case you've forgotten, I am your boss! Your superior! I call the shots when it comes to giving orders, not you!"

"A-apologies, sir...I was just..."

"And speaking of orders, what the fuck were you thinking, using explosives to blow up MY ship?! I do not recall giving you permission to make that kind of decision!" barked the man once more, loud enough to cause the nearby grunts to wince.

"I...er, that is...one of my grunts decided that..."

"Hey, don't you try pasting this on me! You're the one who told us that the ship had to go!" shouted Midori, pointing at the green-haired admin.

"Nonsense. It was your idea to blow up the ship, not mine. I had nothing to do with..."

"That's enough, Proton. I've already gotten all the details from Domino, so there's no point in trying to save your own skin here by lying to me." said the man, causing Proton's face to pale slightly.

"How did she..."

"That's not important right now." said the man before turning his attention to Midori, who was shivering in her seat, terrified of what he was going to say to her. "As for you, grunt..."

"M-Midori, sir..."

"I didn't ask for your name." snarled the man, causing Midori to quickly clam up. "Now then, as for you...your constant failures have done nothing good for Team Rocket and our operations. In fact, your recent blunder by going along with Proton's foolishness would normally have you expelled from our ranks and possibly 'dealt with', just like those fools Jessie, James and Meowth. However..."

"However...?" asked Midori timidly.

"However...because Domino did confirm with me that you were the one who took care of those three nuisances, you'll be keeping your job for another day." said the man before snapping his fingers, causing Petrel to saunter into the room with a smirk on his face. "However, you'll be taking on a new assignment - working under Petrel at the Rocket Game Corner in Celadon City."

"You're not going to promote me back to my old rank!?" complained Midori, only to quickly shut her mouth upon seeing the man glaring at her.

"You should be thankful I'm even allowing you to keep your job, grunt. While I would normally fire or call for the 'termination' of someone as stupid as you for playing a part in doing so much damage to Team Rocket's resources, the fact that you actually managed to do one thing right is just enough to ensure that you still have a job with our organization." answered the man, frowning.

Turning to face the other Admin in the room, the man nods and says "She's under your command now, Petrel. Perhaps with a competent Admin giving her orders, she'll actually prove herself to be useful for a change."

"You got it, boss." replied Petrel before looking Midori over with a slight grin on his face. "...Yeah, you'll do. We've been needing a few new grunts to act as hostesses at the Game Corner and you're definitely a perfect fit for the role."

"A HOSTESS!? YOU'RE MAKING ME A HOSTESS OF ALL THINGS!?" exclaimed Midori, face turning bright crimson.

If she thought that the schoolgirl uniform she had to wear before was bad, it was incredibly modest compared to the incredibly showy outfits that the Game Corner hostesses had to wear while on the job to ensure that the more perverse customers kept coming back.

"Yep. We'll be heading back to Celadon City later this evening to get you properly fitted. You gotta dress for the part, y'know." replied Petrel before wiggling his eyebrows. "And with a hot bod like that, you'll fit in just fine with the others we've got working for us."

After taking a moment to imagine herself working as one of the Game Corner's hostesses while perverted customers of all ages ogled and flirted with her, Midori gives her boss the most pleading look she could muster before asking "Sir...is there any chance of you changing your mind about firing me or...you know, having me 'terminated'? I did screw up pretty badly..."

"Considering that's something you actually want...no, I don't think that I will. Consider this your punishment for going along with Proton's foolishness." said the man before giving Petrel a glance. "Make sure that she interacts with the Game Corner's customers as often as possible, Petrel. If need be, give her the showiest outfit you have available so she draws even more attention from them."

"I'll get right on that as soon as we get back to the Game Corner, boss." replied Petrel with a grin on his face while Midori broke down and started crying tears of pure frustration.

"WHAT THE FUCK!? WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!?"

"Because you had a hand in destroying something that belonged to ME, that's why. Did you really expect me to let you off with just a warning and a relocation?"

"You could've just fired me! Anything would be better than this!"

"Perhaps, but I find it more fitting to punish you this way." said the man, smirking darkly. "Besides, with the money you'll be earning from your new role as a hostess, you'll be able to start paying me back for destroying MY ship."

"I have to pay you back for that!?" exclaimed Midori, horrified.

"If it helps, you AND Proton will have to split the debt you owe the boss - two-hundred and fifty million, each." said Domino, which didn't make the distressed grunt feel any better about the situation.

Deciding it would be best to keep his own dismay about having to pay such a large debt to himself for the time being, Proton asks "...What will happen to me, sir? I know my plan had cost Team Rocket a sizable amount of funding, but you have my assurances that..."

"Your 'assurances' at this point don't mean anything to me, considering that I can't trust you with handling a major operation. Why would I bother with assigning another one to you when you've flubbed this one up so badly?" replied the man coldly, causing Proton to flinch at his tone. "As for what will be happening to you...well, I suggest that you start getting acquainted with Five Island's base. You're not going to be leaving it anytime soon."

"Sir?"

"You're going to oversee things at the Five Island Hideout. Perhaps you'll learn how to be a proper leader from the experience."

At this, Proton's expression immediately fell - while he knew that the Five Island base was an important one when it came to the Sevii Islands, he didn't like the idea of being exempted from playing a part in the more important missions in Kanto.

"S-sir, with all due respect...you can't be serious about this. I'm an Admin..."

"Not anymore. Consider this your demotion." stated the man in a firm tone before turning to face Petrel, who had a shit-eating grin on his face. "You'll be overseeing the main operations in Kanto, Petrel. Do not fail me like this imbecile did."

"You can count on me, boss."

Eyes widening in shock, Proton protests "P-Petrel?! But he doesn't take his role as an Admin seriously!"

"And yet he's proving to be more reliable than a fool like you. The Game Corner is flourishing rather nicely under his command."

"I aim to please." remarked Petrel, smirking.

"Well, what about the ones currently in charge of the Five Island base?"

"Archer and Ariana will be in charge of the operations in the Johto region." answered the man before giving Proton a dark scowl. "Consider this your last chance to prove that you still have worth to me. Fail me again and you won't have to worry about regaining your rank as an Admin because you'll be out of a job. Understand?"

"Y-yes, sir..."

"Good. Now then, dismissed." said the man before pressing a button on his desk, causing the screen to cut off.

After watching the screen cut off, Petrel gives Midori a grin before saying "Well, guess we better get back to the Game Corner and get you settled in, huh?"

"First that fucking schoolgirl uniform and now this...I must've done something really fucking terrible in a past life to deserve something like this." whined Midori in a despondent tone, causing Petrel to roll his eyes before taking a Pokeball out of his pocket and tossing it, causing an Abra to materialize in front of him.

"Take us back to the Game Corner, Abra. We need to get the new girl here familiarized with the place."

With a nod, the Psi Pokemon focuses it's powers for a brief moment before teleporting itself, Proton and Midori out of the meeting room, leaving a clearly frustrated Proton behind.

"Lorelei...if you hadn't been on board the St. Anne, everything would've gone smoothly and I would still have my rank as an Admin." muttered Proton to himself before a look of absolute loathing formed on his face. "...I don't care what it takes, I'm going to make you pay for this humiliation."

Turning to face a nearby grunt, he says "Tell the others to start focusing more on our operations on Four Island. The rest of the Sevii Islands can wait."

"Yes, sir."

(AN: Man, Midori's starting to become a bigger butt-monkey than Lynn at this point, huh?)

-=O=-

-The Loud Residence - Living Room (8:15 PM)-

While Proton was plotting his revenge on Lorelei, the Loud family, sans Lincoln and Lynn, were in their living room, watching a televised gym battle between Gary Oak and a woman with blue hair that was wearing a green-colored dress.

"Aw man, this is so cool..." gushed Lana as she watched the two Pokemon on the screen launch attacks at each other - a large blue-colored turtle-like Pokemon with a brown-colored shell that had two cannon barrels poking out of it and a blue-colored Pokemon with red eyes and a large rafflesia-like flower on its head. Giving Lisa a toothy smile, she adds "Thanks for getting this TV for us, Lisa. Now we can watch stuff like this whenever we want."

"I'm more curious on whether that woman's hair color is dyed or not." remarked Lola, eyes locked onto the blue-haired woman as she encouraged her Pokemon to continue fighting. "There's no way it can be natural."

"Who is she anyway?" questioned Luna, eyeing the woman curiously.

"That's Erika, the Celadon City gym leader. She specializes in Grass-Type Pokemon." answered Lisa before turning her attention to Lana, who was once again enthralled with the battle on the screen. "As for the television, you should be thanking Professor Oak, Lana. He was the one who sent it to us."

"Well, be sure to tell him I said 'thank you' when you talk to him again! I love this!"

"I'll be sure to let him know." chuckled Lisa before she went back to watching the battle, which had the turtle-like Pokemon firing a pair of Ice Beams from its cannons at the opposing Pokemon, freezing it solid in a block of ice. "That Blastoise's Ice Beam managed to freeze that Vileplume solid. This battle shouldn't last too much longer."

"I'm guessing getting frozen is bad?" questioned Luan, turning to face her sister.

"Very. Until the ice thaws - usually by using a Fire-Type move or by using an item, which is against the rules during a battle - the afflicted Pokemon can't do anything, leaving them open to further damage." answered Lisa as the blue-haired woman called for a forfeiture, ending the battle and giving her opponent the victory. "She made a wise decision, forfeiting like that. I doubt that her opponent would be willing to thaw her Vileplume out in order to continue the match."

"Doesn't seem like it. He's already going on about how he's 'halfway there to the League'." remarked Luna, shaking her head as the boy boasted about his win. "Looks like Lincoln was right about this guy being an arrogant, cocky jerk."

"Who cares what that little twerp thinks!? He's responsible for my Bobby Boo-Boo Bear leaving me in order to go to Kanto with Ronnie Anne!" stated Lori, sneering.

"And how exactly is your brother responsible for that, Lori?" questioned Rita, giving her eldest daughter a stern glance. "I suggest you think carefully about your answer."

"It's because of him that Ronnie decided to go to Kanto in the first place. And because Bobby chose to go with her and that dork Clyde as their chaperone, that make Lincoln guilty by association."

"Even though I don't care about Lori's relationship issues, I have to agree with her - I don't want to hear anything about Lincoln either." grumbled Lola, arms crossed with a huff. "He's living it up over there and is probably having the time of his life on that ship while I'm...er, we're suffering here at home."

"You're still mad about that?" asked Luna, eyebrow raised.

"Of course I'm still mad! It should be ME on that cruise ship and not him!" snapped the precocious six year-old, pointing at herself. "I should be the one living the high life over there!"

"Aside from the fact that you think it should be just you enjoying that stuff, I literally couldn't agree more." said Lori, nodding. "Why does Lincoln get to have all this nice stuff and not us? It's not fair."

"I'm not really mad about him getting to ride on a cruise ship, but I am jealous that he gets the chance to catch cool monsters." commented Lana, sighing. "I hope he brings me with him when he decides to go on another journey. I want to catch Pokemon too..."

"Well, maybe when we get this 'luck' mess sorted out, he'll be willing to let us tag along with him if he decides to go on another trip." said Lynn Sr. in an attempt to cheer the cap-wearing girl up. "We can even make it a family vacation - all of us traveling together, catching Pokemon of our own and exploring whatever unknown lands await us."

"That does sound kinda fun, I'll admit." conceded Luan, nodding.

"While your idea sounds appealing, there is one issue you need to take into consideration, father." said Lisa, causing the others to look at her.

"And that is?"

"Whether or not we'll actually manage to put this incident behind us. While I'm sure that the rest of us will eventually move on from what had transpired between us and Lincoln, we can't exactly say the same for Lincoln or Lynn."

"That's true. Lincoln might be willing to let bygones be bygones after a little while, but Lynn..."

"What about me?" asked the still-dyed teen as she came down the stairs, wondering what the rest of her family were talking about.

"It's nothing. We were just talking about the idea of traveling with Lincoln if he ends up going on another journey."

"Like I'd want to go anywhere with him of all people, especially after all the trouble his bad luck's caused us over the past week or so." said Lynn, scoffing. "And I wouldn't want him to come back to begin with. As far as I'm concerned, he can stay in Kanto."

"What she said." agreed Lori, nodding her head. "Lincoln's the source of all of the problems I'm having with my Bobby Boo-Boo Bear. I never want to see that little dweeb again."

"You two make me sick, you know that?" said Luna, shaking her head in disgust. "How can you say that stuff about our little bro?"

Before either sister could answer that question, the channel suddenly changes to what appeared to be a news channel with a somber-looking anchorman sitting at a desk.

"Today's top story is about an attempted attack on the luxury cruise liner, the St. Anne, by the criminal organization Team Rocket and the sinking of the ship that followed after the attack..."

"The St. Anne...wasn't that the name of the ship Lincoln was on?" asked Lana, causing a chill to run down the rest of the family's spines.

"...Yeah, that was the one." said Luna, nodding her head while hoping that her brother had managed to get off of the ship before it sunk. "I hope the little dude's alright..."

"He's probably fine." remarked Lola dismissively. "Knowing him, he was probably one of the first people to get off of the ship before it sunk."

"Which he probably caused with his bad luck. I knew he'd end up screwing something up over there eventually." said Lynn before taking on a smug look on her face. "If that's not enough proof for the rest of you that he's a no-good jinx, then..."

Before Lynn could finish, Luna slugs her in the face with a haymaker, sending the shorter brunette crashing to the floor with a black eye.

Eyes blazing with rage, the fifteen year-old snarls "You shut your fuckin' gob, Lynn! I think I speak for everyone when I say we've heard enough of your 'bad luck' bullshit!"

Glaring at Lynn as well, Leni says "Luna's right! It's not Linky's fault that those Rocket meanies decided to attack the ship!"

"Language, Luna." warned Rita halfheartedly, keeping her eyes locked onto the television.

"...But while most of the passengers on-board the ship had managed to evacuate to safety..." continued the anchorman before letting out a sigh, as if preparing himself for what he was going to say next. "...There are still several others that are unaccounted for."

This immediately caught the attention of the entire Loud family, causing them to stare at the television with looks of horror on their faces.

"Dude...there are people still on the ship?" murmured Luna, quickly forgetting about her earlier anger towards Lynn.

Looking just as horrified, Lisa said "To think that there were people who were unable to evacuate in time...what a terrible way to go." before turning to face Lynn, who was staring at the television, stunned. "You really couldn't have picked a worse time to start your 'bad luck' spiel."

Unfortunately for the four year-old, she would be proven wrong a few moments later when the anchorman said "The names of these individuals are as followed: James Kojiro, Jessie Musashi, Leaf Rose, Pewter City gym leader Brock Slate, Cerulean City gym leader Misty Waterflower and..."

'No...please not him. Don't say his name...' thought Rita, terrified of what the last name on the list would be.

Nearby, the other Louds, Lynn included, remained silent as they waited for the final name to be revealed.

"...Lincoln Loud. The whereabouts and current status of these individuals are unknown, but we will keep you updated."

After spending several seconds staring at the television with a look of utter despair on her face, Leni whimpers "Linky...I never got the chance to say..." in a low trembling voice before finally breaking out in tears as she ran towards the TV and clutched it tightly. "Don't leave me! Please!"

While Lola, Lana and Lucy started to cry hysterically at the perceived loss of their only brother, Lynn and Lori stared at the television screen with looks of abject horror on their faces.

Despite their earlier words...they truly didn't want this to happen.

Eyes glazed over with tears as she glared at the pair with hatred, Luna snarls "Well, I hope you two are happy now. Our little bro is gone and he's not coming back, just like you wanted."

"I...I didn't want this! I just wanted his bad luck to stay away from us!" protested Lynn defensively.

"Yeah! I may be mad at Lincoln over what happened between me and Bobby, but this is the last thing I would've wanted! Honest!"

While Luan and Lynn Sr. stared at the television with broken, despair-filled expressions on their faces, Rita murmured "My little boy...he's gone. He's gone." before breaking down and crying loudly, joining her younger daughters in their sorrow.

After spending a few moments gazing at the television, Lisa starts making her way up to her room, intent on contacting Professor Oak as quickly as possible.

"Where the heck are you going?" asked Luna, bewildered.

"To talk to Professor Oak." answered Lisa firmly. "You heard it yourself - Lincoln's current status is still unknown. And if they haven't found anything yet, then there's a chance he's still alive."

Inwardly hoping that her sister was right about this, Leni asked "Y-you think Linky's okay?"

"Not exactly okay, but there's a chance that he may still be among the living." said Lisa, shaking her head. "That's why I need to talk to Professor Oak. If there's anyone in Kanto who can keep us up to date on Lincoln's status, it's him."

-=O=-

Lincoln's Pokemon (Current)

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

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) (At Oak's Lab)
Ability: Tangled Feet
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Rash
Moves Known: Gust, Twister, Tackle, Sand Attack, Quick Attack, Whirlwind, Steel Wing, Air Slash (Egg)

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) (At Oak's Lab)
Ability: Magic Guard
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Gentle
Moves Known: Metronome, Disarming Voice, Double Slap, Follow Me, Minimize, ? (Egg)

Bulbasaur Lv.19 (Male) (Nickname: Azami)
Ability: Overgrow
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Serious
Moves Known: Vine Whip, Leech Seed, Stun Spore, 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.16 (Male) (Nickname: Raph) (At Oak's Lab)
Ability: Rain Dish
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Rash
Moves Known: Water Gun, Withdraw, Bubble, Tackle, Bite, 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)

Ralts Lv.14 (Female)
Ability: ?
Hold Item: Gardevoirite
Nature: ?
Moves Known: Confusion, Disarming Voice, Double Team, Teleport, Misty Terrain (Egg)

Mienfoo Lv.19 (Female)
Ability: ?
Hold Item: Black Belt
Nature: ?
Moves Known: Dual Chop, Meditate, Detect, Fake Out, Vital Throw (Egg)

Bunnelby Lv.13 (Male)
Ability: ?
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: ?
Moves Known: Leer, Agility, Quick Attack, Mud Slap, Defense Curl (Egg)

Whismur Lv.11 (Male)
Ability: ?
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: ?
Moves Known: Echoed Voice, Astonish, Howl, Fake Tears (Egg)

-=O=-

Misty's Pokemon (Current)

Starmie Lv.21 (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) (At Cerulean Gym)
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) (At Cerulean Gym)
Ability: Hyper Cutter
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Impish
Moves Known: Leer, Bubblebeam, Harden, Vicegrip, Slam (Egg Move)

Chinchou Lv.? (Male)
Ability: ?
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: ?
Moves Known: ?, ?, ?, ?

Dewpider Lv.? (Female)
Ability: ?
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: ?
Moves Known: ?, ?, ?, ?, ?

-=O=-

Brock's Pokemon (Current)

Geodude Lv.26 (Male)
Ability: Sturdy
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Hardy
Moves Known: Defense Curl, Rollout, Tackle, Rock Polish, Rock Tomb

Onix Lv.24 (Male)
Ability: Rock Head
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Adamant
Moves Known: Bind, Harden, Tackle, Rock Tomb, Rage, Stealth Rock, Rock Throw

Diglett Lv.18 (Female)
Ability: Arena Trap
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: Gentle
Moves Known: Slash, Dig, ?, ?, ?

Rockruff Lv.? (Female)
Ability: ?
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: ?
Moves Known: ?, ?, ?, ?, ?

Binacle Lv.? (Male)
Ability: ?
Hold Item: n/a
Nature: ?
Moves Known: ?, ?, ?, ?, ?

-=O=-

(AN: Four omakes this time.)

-Omake 82: Wish You Were Here 2: Electric Boogaloo (Lincoln/Misty) (SilverNugget)-

(AN: What if the Rockets didn't attack the St. Anne at all and the cruise went smoothly? Let's find out.)

-Vermillion Port - Outside The St. Anne (3:00 PM)-

(One Month After The St. Anne's Departure)

As he, Misty, Brock, Pikachu and Leaf disembarked from the St. Anne, Lincoln lets out a happy sigh before remarking "Ahh...one entire month of nothing but rest and relaxation." before giving Misty - who was holding his hand as they stepped off of the gangplank - a warm smile. "I take back everything I said about stepping onto the St. Anne, Misty. The delay we're going to face was worth the time we spent together on the ship."

"I knew you'd come around eventually. I'm just glad that you're willing to give us a chance, Lincoln. I know that Ronnie means a lot to you and I mean no offense by this, but I'm happy that you chose me over her." replied Misty, smiling brightly as she thought about how she had finally managed to win the white-haired boy's heart.

During the cruise, she had finally managed to muster the courage to come clean with her feelings and confessed how she felt to Lincoln, surprising him as she told him exactly how much he meant to her. Almost as if luck was on Misty's side, he took the confession well, bashfully admitting that a part of him liked her too.

Deciding to help things along, Brock had suggested the idea of the two spending time together on the St. Anne, using the month-long cruise to get to truly know each other as more than just friends.

Three weeks later, the two had become an official couple, much to their friends' approval.

"None taken. Ronnie's a great friend to have around, but it's kinda hard to fall for a girl who bullied and pranked you for months. You may poke fun at me every now and then, but at least you haven't tried to shove sloppy joe sandwiches down my pants." said Lincoln with a nod before taking out his Pokedex and pressing a few buttons on it. "I just hope that she'll be able to find someone to call her own."

No longer feeling the need to be antagonistic towards Ronnie since she had 'won' against her, Misty answered "She'll find someone, Lincoln. They probably won't be as good as you, but I'm sure she'll find some who'll be a perfect fit for her." before noticing what the white-haired Loud was doing. "Are you sending some of your Pokemon back to the lab?"

"Nah. I'm just looking over the pictures that I had Dexter take during our time on the St. Anne." replied Lincoln before a mischievous grin formed on his face. "You remember what happened at Cerulean Cape, right?"

"Cerulean Cape...I remember you sending pictures of..." started Misty before she started chuckling as the realization of what Lincoln was planning to do hit her. "...Oh man, that's just mean. First Cerulean Cape and now the St. Anne...you must really have it out for that family of yours, huh Lincoln?"

"It's mainly just to stick it to the ones who still think I'm bad luck. Everyone else will probably be pleased to see that I'm having the time of my life." said Lincoln before opening his bag to show off something inside of it. "I'm also sending a few souvenirs I picked up on the St. Anne to Lisa, Lily, Luna, Lucy and my mom."

"Nice. Very nice."

After pressing a button on the Pokedex and causing another picture to appear on the screen, Lincoln shows it to Misty and says "And I might send this one in particular to Lori, just because I know it'll give her an aneurism when she sees it.", causing the redhead to laugh upon seeing the picture in question.

"Yeah, I think that one's going to drive her nuts. I'd love to be a fly on the wall just to see her face when she checks out that particular picture. You mind if I sign that one?"

"Now that's mean, Misty." replied Lincoln jokingly before motioning for her to follow him. "C'mon, let's get to the Pokemon Center so I can get these printed out and mailed off to my family."

"Right behind you."

-=O=-

-The Loud Residence - Living Room (4:00 PM)-

(Four Days Later)

"C'mon bro, you and your Pikachu can beat that overgrown rodent! Kick it's butt!" cheered Luna as she and the rest of her family sat together in the living room, watching as the rematch between Lt. Surge and Lincoln unfolded on the television's screen. Nearby, Lily, Lucy and Rita let out similar shouts of encouragement while Lisa simply smiled as she silently watched the battle between the two Electric-Types.

As for the other Louds, they sat in their seats, unsure on whether to cheer for the white-haired boy or not.

Lynn, meanwhile, simply scowled as she crossed her arms, unhappy with the fact that the family seemed to be entranced by her brother's battle.

"This is so cool! I can't wait until I get the chance to be a Pokemon Trainer, too!" chirped Lana as her eyes shone with delight while the battle continued. "Dad, can we go with Lincoln when he leaves again?"

"We'll have to see, Lana. I doubt it's going to happen anytime soon, considering that most of us aren't on good terms with Lincoln right now." replied Lynn Sr. with a shake of his head. "Besides, what makes you think he's going to leave again?"

"Well, Professor Oak said that there's supposed to be a bunch of other places with Pokemon too, right? What if Lincoln decides to visit them someday?"

"It's a likely possibility. I doubt he's going to stop with just one region." commented Lisa, nodding. "Considering his options, Johto will probably be his next destination. It's the region closest to Kanto."

"How many regions are there in total, Lise?" asked Luna, interested.

Before the little genius could answer her older sister's question, the doorbell rang, causing Rita to let out an annoyed sigh before using the remote to pause the battle, much to the dismay of everyone else while Lynn took the opportunity to head back to her room.

Frowning as she stared at the still image of Raichu and Pikachu charging at each other with Volt Tackle and Volt Tail, Luna grumbles "Of all the times for someone to be at the door, it just had to happen right at what's probably the best part of the battle between Linc and that Surge guy."

"You've seen this battle already?" asked her father, eyebrow raised.

"No, but Lincoln told us about it during his last call." answered the fifteen year-old with a shake of her head before noticing her mother coming back into the living room, holding what appeared to be a mid-sized box with a smile on her face. "...What's that, Mom?"

"It's a package from your brother." answered Rita, immediately catching everyone else's attention.

"Lincoln sent another package? Really?"

"...What do you mean 'another'?"

"Lincoln sent us a package a few weeks ago - one that had a bunch of pictures of him enjoying his time at the beach in it." replied Lori, frowning. "Each one was signed with the words 'Wish You Were Here!' in orange ink. It was almost as if he were mocking us about the fact that we didn't get to go to the beach."

"I honestly think he was, considering that we were originally going to go to the beach without him after Lynn's game against the Lions." remarked Luan before taking the box and shaking it slightly, only to feel something thumping around within it. "...Seems like there's actually something inside of this one. Maybe he actually sent something other than pictures this time."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's open it already!" exclaimed Lola before snatching the box away and ripping it open.

Frowning, Luan says "You could've just asked for the box instead of just ripping it away from me!"

"Shut it, Luan!" snaps Lola before rummaging through the box eagerly. After a moment or two, she manages to pull out several objects - five wrapped parcels and a thick envelope. After looking over the smaller parcels eagerly for a bit, the little princess frowns before adding "...They're for Mom, Luna, Lily, Lucy and Lisa."

"Lincoln sent us something?" asked Luna as she took the gift meant for her and opened it, revealing what appeared to be a CD case with a white-haired girl in her early teens playing a wicked-looking purple and black-colored guitar on its cover.

Looking over the case curiously, the purple-clad rocker commented "...Roxie and the Toxics, huh? I might have to see about giving this a listen later."

"I got a book written by someone named Prima. It's...surprisingly informative, I'll admit." said Lisa, looking over her gift with interest. "I'll have to look into her other works later."

While Lily happily hugged a plush Pikachu in her arms, Rita smiled as she looked through an album filled with photographs that her son had put inside of it.

Lucy, meanwhile, was eagerly reading through a book on Ghost-Type Pokemon, eager to see if there were any that would catch her eye.

Pouting, Lola grumbles "Why didn't we get presents, too? It's not fair that they get gifts, but we didn't..."

Taking the envelope and looking it over, Lynn Sr. remarks "Well...this seems to be addressed to everyone else. I guess this is meant for the rest of us." before opening it up and removing the envelope's contents.

Upon seeing several photographs in her father's hand, Luan mutters "Oh no, here we go again..." before taking one of them and looking it over.

Sure enough, she saw the words 'Wish You Were Here!' written in orange ink on the picture of him, Misty, Leaf and Brock sunbathing on the deck of the St. Anne, causing her to grimace at the sight.

"Okay, I'll admit that it was funny the first time. This is just being mean now."

While the other Louds looked through the pictures with frowns on their faces, Lana looks at one of them for a moment before offering it to Lori, saying "This one's addressed directly to you."

Upon seeing it, the bald teen gaped at it in utter disbelief before letting out a loud, piercing shriek of anger.

"THAT WITCH HAS SOME NERVE, SENDING ME SOMETHING LIKE THIS! I'M GOING TO LITERALLY KILL HER IF I EVER GET MY HANDS ON THAT HARLOT!"

"What's got you so riled..." started Luan as she takes the picture from her sister and looks it over, only to raise her eyebrows at the sight of Lincoln and Misty in what appeared to be a ballroom, looking like they were enjoying each other's company.

Written on it in blue ink were the words 'He Chose Me' in what she believed to be Misty's handwriting, causing a wry smile to form on the fourteen year-old's face.

"Huh...guess Misty and Lincoln decided to hook up after all. They do make a cute couple, I'll admit."

In an instant, the other sisters start heading over to get a better look at the picture while Lori continued to rant and rave, cursing Misty's name with every expletive she had in her vocabulary.

-=O=-

-Omake 83: A Single Act Of Kindness (Slight Lincoln/Midori) (SilverNugget)-

(AN: What if Proton called off the raid after learning about Lorelei's presence on the ship, but neglected to let our favorite green-haired Rocket grunt know about it?)

-St. Anne - Cargo Hold (4:20 PM)-

"You can't be serious! I have to wear this stupid thing again!? Who's the joker that decided to replace my actual outfit with this!?" complained Midori as she glared down at the near-perfect copy of the schoolgirl outfit she had to wear a few days ago.

Before the grunt who had brought the disguise to her could answer her question, Proton's voice responded "There's no mistake, grunt. That's your outfit.", causing Midori to look at him as he stepped into the room. "We cannot allow you to arouse suspicions on what we're doing, so you'll be playing the role of the girl who gave away the passes again until it's time to reveal ourselves."

"I dunno, Mr. Proton. I think something's going to be aroused, but it certainly isn't gonna be suspicion." joked the other grunt, causing a red-faced Midori to glare heatedly at her before turning back to face Proton.

"Sir, you really can't expect me to wear...'these' again. Surely you have something else for me to wear, right? Something classier, maybe?"

"Are you questioning my orders, grunt?"

Shaking her head, Midori answers "No, but..."

"No 'buts'. Go change into your disguise now." ordered Proton, causing the green-haired grunt to open her mouth to protest again, only for him to point at the clothes, then away from the area.

With a sigh, Midori groans "...Yes, sir." before walking off, sulking to herself about having to wear that degrading outfit again. "Damn it. And here I was thinking that I was done with having to wear this shit..."

As she walked off, Proton quickly added "And I better not see you exposing yourself again like last time, otherwise you'll get more than just a write-up!", causing Midori to groan again as she left. "Hmph. Perhaps I should see about putting her to work for Petrel once this is over. I'd rather not have a grunt who questions my orders or flaunts herself like a harlot under my command. She'd work well disguised as one of the Game Corner's hostesses, I think."

As Proton prepared to leave the area, one of the disguised grunts ran towards him with a frantic look on his face.

"Sir! Trouble!"

"What kind of trouble?"

"I...I was getting ready to head to the ballroom for our raid, but while I was heading there, I..." replied the grunt in-between gasps of breath.

"You what? Spit it out already!" asked Proton impatiently.

"I...I overheard Lorelei of the Elite Four talking to someone in her room, sir. They mentioned something about our upcoming raid."

At this, worried looks started to form on the other grunts' faces while Proton had a contemplative look on his.

"...So other people, aside from us, know about our raid. And if Lorelei's one of them, then there's a good chance that she's planning something in order to thwart it." muttered the admin to himself as he thought about what to do next. After a moment, he sighs before adding "...Tell the others to start packing everything up. We're aborting the operation."

"We're cancelling the raid, sir?"

"Unlike the people we were planning to attack, Lorelei would probably end up making short work of us if we continued with our plan." said Proton as he took out his phone to call his boss. "Proceeding with the raid at this point would be a fatal mistake."

"Very well, sir." replied the grunt, nodding. "...What about whats-her-name - the green-haired one? Should I...?"

"...No. Focus on assisting the others."

"We're going to leave her behind, sir?"

"After thinking about it, she, much like those three imbeciles, has caused too many failures to be considered useful for our organization. We'll be better off without her."

"Yes, sir."

-=O=-

-St. Anne - Shopping Area (8:45 PM)-

"I can't believe I have to wear this stupid fucking outfit again." complained Midori as she walked past several of the merchants that were either trying to market their goods to other customers or were trying to call her over to take a look at what they had to offer. "I'm starting to wonder if it's worth continuing to work with Team Rocket at this rate, considering that I'm a total laughingstock among the other grunts and my life has gone to Hell ever since the Mt. Moon operation. Maybe I should..."

Before she could finish her musings, the green-haired Rocket accidentally bumps into someone, causing both her and the other person to fall onto the floor.

"Ow...watch where you're going, will you?" moaned Midori as she rubbed her now-sore rear.

"Hey, you're the one that ran into me! You watch where you're going!" protested the other person, which immediately caused Midori's eyes to widen upon hearing the person's voice.

'Of all the people for me to run into, it just had to be him...' thought Midori bitterly before looking at the other person and immediately recognizing the orange jacket, the chipped tooth and the snow white hair on his head. 'Damn it. Just my luck.'

After getting to his feet and dusting himself off, Lincoln glances at her for a few moments before his eyes lit up in recognition.

"Hey, I know you! You're the one who gave us the passes for the St. Anne!"

"Uh...yeah, that's me. Good to see that you managed to make it, I guess..." murmured Midori as she stood up as well. Trying to resist the urge to attack the boy in front of her, she asked "So...um, doing some shopping?"

"Yeah. I'm buying something to wear for the ball tonight." replied Lincoln, nodding. "Are you going to be there?"

Inwardly chuckling at the chaos she and the other Rockets would cause at the ball, Midori replies "Yeah, I'm going to be there. Wouldn't miss it for the world." before glancing down at her blouse, which appeared to be struggling to keep her sizable chest contained. "Wish I didn't have to wear this stupid get-up though. It's all I've got to wear tonight."

"That does look pretty uncomfortable." commented Lincoln as he looked her over, noting how tightly the outfit seemed to fit over her body.

"You have no idea. If I ever get my hands on the guy who picked this stupid outfit for me, I'm gonna..." growled Midori as she makes a throttling gesture with her hands, only to stop upon seeing Lincoln staring at her. "...Hey, what are you doing?"

"Nothing." quickly answered the white-haired Loud, causing her to eye him suspiciously for a few moments before shrugging.

"Whatever. Look, it was nice talking to you, but I have to go. I've got places to be and..."

"Before you go, can you wait just a moment?"

"What for? I can't just stick around here, talking to..." started Midori, only to stop upon seeing Lincoln holding out what appeared to be a folded-up evening gown towards her. "...What's this?"

"Well, you said that you didn't want to wear your outfit to the ball tonight, right?" said Lincoln, causing Midori to eye him for a moment before giving him a tentative nod. "Then perhaps you'll enjoy wearing that instead. I hope you don't mind the color."

After hearing this, the green-haired Rocket blinks in surprise for a few seconds before unfolding the gown to get a better look at it, only for her eyes to widen slightly as she took in it's appearance - a simple, yet elegant-looking gown made from emerald green silk.

It definitely looked like something she'd prefer wearing over her current outfit.

"Wow..." gasped Midori in awe before recalling who had given the gown to her in the first place. "I...I can't accept a gift like this, especially not from someone like you."

While Pikachu eyed her suspiciously, Lincoln asked "Someone like me? What do you mean by that?"

Quickly noticing her slip-up, Midori quickly answers "A stranger! I can't just accept random gifts from someone I barely know!"

"That makes sense, I guess." replied Lincoln, nodding in understanding before extending his hand out for a handshake. "In that case, the name's Lincoln Loud. It's nice to meet you..."

After eyeing the hand for a moment, Midori reluctantly answered "...Midori. Just call me Midori." before shaking it. After breaking off the handshake, she starts to hand the gown back over to Lincoln, only for him to shake his head.

"Go ahead and keep it."

Conflicted on whether to keep the gown for herself or toss it back at the boy she hated more than anything, Midori asked "Are you sure? You must've spent a lot on this..."

"It's yours." replied Lincoln with a nod. "Besides, considering how uncomfortable you seem to be in your current outfit, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want to wear it to the ball tonight anyway. It looks like it barely fits you."

'He's got a point there...' thought Midori to herself as she glanced down at her clothes. "Are you absolutely sure about giving me this? Because I'm not going to give this back if you ask me about it later."

"I'm sure. If it helps, think of it as my way of saying 'thanks' for the passes you gave us."

After spending a few more moments debating on whether to give the gown back or not, Midori nods and says "Well...alright." before giving the white-haired boy a sheepish smile. "Thanks, I guess."

"You're welcome." replied Lincoln with a smile of his own before turning to face Pikachu, who now had a wide smile on his face. "C'mon, Pikachu - let's go find the others."

"I thought you said that you didn't want to be like Gary and have a horde of girls after you, Lincoln." remarked Pikachu slyly, causing Lincoln's smile to falter slightly. "Can't exactly blame you for giving that one a gift, though. She's hot."

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Pikachu. I was just doing her a favor."

"Sure you were." replied Pikachu, smirking. "Still, that gown must've cost a lot. You sure Lorelei will mind that you used her money to pay for that?"

"I'll find a way to repay her back."

As Lincoln and Pikachu walked away while conversing with each other about the gift the white-haired boy had just given away, Midori stood there, staring at the gown in her arms for a few moments before turning to look at the boy who had just given it to her.

'...Maybe that brat isn't so bad after all.' thought the green-haired Rocket to herself before quickly shaking her head in order to clear any positive thoughts about the white-haired Loud from her mind. 'What the hell am I saying!? That little shit caused me to lose my rank and made me a laughingstock!'

Turning to look at her uniform, she inwardly added 'But on the other hand, he was willing to give me something decent to wear tonight instead of this pathetic excuse of a disguise. And I'm not sure if it was just me or not, but I think he was checking me out when he was staring at me earlier.'

Taking on a contemplative look, the green-haired Rocket included 'Huh...now I'm not sure if I should be pissed off because he was staring at me or flattered because the one person I hate more than anything potentially finds me attractive.'

After spending several minutes going over the conundrum that was running through her mind, Midori mutters "Why the fuck am I standing here, wasting time on thinking about that brat? I need to get ready for tonight's raid." before walking off in order to change into her newly-acquired gown. "Once Mr. Proton gives us the signal to attack, all bets are off. I don't care if that little shit gave me a nice gown to wear tonight or not - I'm taking him down."

Little did she know that she would be in for a long night, waiting for a signal that was never going to come.

-=O=-

-Omake 84: Alternate Ballroom Double Battle (SilverNugget)-

(AN: Based around the 'Who's The Best?' omake series.)

As the nearby crowd started to chatter excitedly, the Gentleman gives Lorelei a glance before asking "Well now, would you like to send out your Pokemon first, miss? Ladies first, after all."

"And they say chivalry is dead..." remarked Lorelei in a joking tone before taking a regular Pokeball out of her pocket and looking it over. "...Hmm...yes, this should be an adequate challenge for the two of you."

Glancing at the Pokeball in her hand, the Gentleman asks "One of your regulars, I'm presuming?"

"Of course not. As strong as those two may be, they wouldn't be able to handle one of my regular team members." replied Lorelei before activating the Pokeball and tossing it, causing it to release an indigo-colored bivalve-like Pokemon with a dark center and a long pink tongue onto the field.

"A Shellder, huh? Always wanted to catch one of those." remarked Misty while Lincoln pointed his Pokedex at the newcomer, causing the nearby crowd to start murmuring excitedly upon seeing the device.

Nearby, Midori's eyes widened in shock upon seeing the red-colored device in the boy's hand.

'A Pokedex Holder!? That brat is a Pokedex Holder!?' thought the green-haired grunt, looking absolutely dumbfounded. 'Why didn't I notice this sooner!?'

While the crowd continued to murmur among themselves, the Gentleman remarked "You never mentioned that he was a Pokedex holder.", giving Lorelei an annoyed look.

"Slipped my mind. Sorry about that." answered Lorelei with a shrug as Dexter began to speak.

'Shellder, the Bivalve Pokemon. At night, this Pokémon uses its broad tongue to burrow a hole in the seafloor sand and then sleep in it. While it is sleeping, Shellder closes its shell, but leaves its tongue hanging out.'

"Well now, since I've sent out my Pokemon, it's time for you to send out yours. Mr. Gentleman." said Lorelei before giving her partner a small smirk. "Let's just hope your selection can keep up with mine, hmm?"

"While your concern is appreciated, I believe my Pokemon will be able to hold his own against our opponents." said the Gentleman before activating the Pokeball and throwing it into the air. "Come on out, Raticate!"

"A Raticate, huh? Considering that I've faced off against one before, I think we can..." started Lincoln as the light from the Pokeball started to materialize, only to stop upon seeing a rotund rat-like Pokemon that bore a very close resemblance to a Raticate, but was colored black instead of orange. "...What the heck? That looks nothing like the one I fought back in Viridian City..."

"Can't say I've seen one like it, either." commented Misty, eyeing the Mouse Pokemon curiously. "What's the deal with your Raticate? It doesn't look like the usual fare I've seen in Kanto."

Smiling, the man answers "Very observant of you, miss. My Raticate isn't from the Kanto region." before gesturing towards his Pokemon. "My Raticate comes from the Alola region, which is known for having unique variations of certain Pokemon living within it. I caught it on Melemele Island while on vacation in Alola last year."

"Different variation, huh?" mused Lincoln before taking out his Pokedex once more. "Dexter, mind giving me the rundown on Pokemon with different variations? My opponent is using a Raticate from the Alola region."

'A regional variation? Fascinating! Ever since Professor Oak upgraded me to be able to utilize the National Pokedex, I've been looking forward to scanning one of those.' stated the red-colored device in Lincoln's hand excitedly before letting out a beeping sound. 'Raticate, the Mouse Pokemon - Alolan variation. The evolved form of Rattata, this gourmet Pokémon is particular about the taste and freshness of its food. Restaurants where Raticate live have a good reputation. Unlike the regular variation of Raticate found in other regions, the Alolan variation is a dual Dark/Normal-Type.'

"Dark/Normal-Type, huh? Neat." remarked Lincoln as he took a Pokeball off of his belt and activated it. "Ready, Misty?"

"Ready. Let's..." started Misty before the Net Ball on her belt activated on its own, sending her recently-acquired Dewpider out onto the field. "Kyah! Bug!"

"A Dewpider...I didn't expect you to have one with you, Misty. Especially considering your...well, aversion to Bug-Types." commented Lorelei, eyeing the Water Bubble Pokemon curiously.

"I'm more curious on how you managed to come across one of the Alola region's Pokemon." said the Gentleman, tapping his cane on the floor. "Where did you acquire it, if I may ask?"

"Wonder Trading. Misty and I decided to give it a try earlier." replied Lincoln, causing the opposing pair to nod in understanding.

"I see. And would I be correct in assuming that you're going to send out a Wonder Traded Pokemon as well?"

"Nope. I've got something else in mind."

With that said, the white-haired Loud grins before throwing the Pokeball, causing it to release the Pokemon within it in a burst of light.

Upon seeing a green-eyed, blue-colored Pokemon that bore a close resemblance to a cormorant taking form in front of Lincoln, Misty forgets about Dewpider for the moment in order to ask "What in the world is that? Better yet, how and when did you catch it?"

"Remember when all of those Flying-Types showed up during our time in the Viridian Forest?" questioned Lincoln, causing the redhead to nod. "Well, while I was searching for Damian on Route 24 a few weeks ago, a few more showed up, claiming to be from the Galar region located near the United Kingdom. We spoke for a bit before they decided to tag along with me because every other Flying-Type was doing it."

Deciding it was better not to inquire further, Misty simply replied "Right...and what's that one called?"

"Cramorant. From what Dexter told me, it's a Water/Flying-Type Pokemon that's known for trying to swallow Arrokuda - that's another Galar-native Pokemon - whole, but will spit them out like a projectile if they're in danger." answered Lincoln before noticing that the Gulp Pokemon was looking at Pikachu with an almost hungry gleam in it's eyes.

Before Lincoln could say anything to try and stop it, the blue-colored avian scampered over and with a single motion, forced the Electric-Type into it's mouth, causing the yellow mouse's legs to wiggle around frantically as he tried to escape from Cramorant's maw.

"Get me out of here! It smells like fish!" complained Pikachu as he tried to wiggle free.

"Hey, spit him out right now! That's my Pikachu, not your lunch!" exclaimed Lincoln as he ran over to help Pikachu out, only for Cramorant to suddenly face the Gentleman's Raticate and forcefully expel the Electric-Type from it's beak, sending him flying into the other Mouse Pokemon.

"Well, that's one way to attack, I suppose." remarked Lorelei before turning to address her partner. "Is your Raticate alright?"

"I'm afraid not. He's paralyzed." said the Gentleman, noting the small bolts of electricity waltzing on his Pokemon's body. "Must've happened when that young man's Cramorant spat that Pikachu out at him."

"Sorry about that, by the way." apologized Lincoln, scratching the back of his head. "This is my first time using it in a battle and..."

"No need to explain further, Mr. Loud. Something like this is bound to happen when you try to use an unfamiliar Pokemon during a match." said the Gentleman, waving a hand dismissively. "Let me use a Full Restore on my Raticate to get it back in fighting shape, then we'll have our battle."

While the Gentleman tended to his Raticate, Jessie and James watched on with curious expressions as they eyed the Cramorant standing in front of Lincoln.

Meowth, on the other hand, was rolling on the floor, laughing his ass off at Pikachu's expense.

-=O=-

-Omake 85: Alternate Ballroom Battle (SilverNugget)-

(AN: See if you can catch what this omake is referencing. Shouldn't be too hard to figure out.)

As she and Lincoln finished off the first dance of the night, Misty comments "I got to say this, Lincoln - I may not like your older sister, but she definitely did a good job with teaching you how to dance." with a smile on her face.

Smiling as well, Lincoln answers "Thanks, Misty. You're doing pretty well, yourself. So who was your teacher?"

"My sisters. They wanted to make sure I wouldn't make a fool of myself if I ever found a boyfriend." answered Misty, rolling her eyes. "Guess that's something else we have in common, huh?"

"Looks like it." said Lincoln, nodding. "Y'know...both of us have a lot in common with each other, now that I really think about it - lots of older sisters who get on our nerves, the fact that two of our siblings share the same name and now this. It's interesting, isn't it?"

"It is." replied Misty with a nod of her own. "...Lincoln?"

"Yeah?"

Deciding that now would be a good time to make another attempt at telling the white-haired boy how she felt about him, Misty says "...About what happened earlier at the deck...there was something I wanted to say to you before we were interrupted. Something important."

"Before Team Rocket interrupted?" asked Lincoln, causing the redhead to nod.

"Yeah." replied Misty before taking a moment to compose herself. "Lincoln...I like you. I like you a lot. You've been a good friend to me and I appreciate that."

"Same goes for you, too. You've been a great friend as well, Misty." replied Lincoln, causing Misty to smile at the remark for a moment before continuing.

"...I'd like for us to become more than just friends, Lincoln. I want to take our friendship to the next level."

Feigning obliviousness, Lincoln asks "...You want us to be best friends?"

"More than just that, Lincoln. You mean a lot to me and I'd like to become more than just your friend." said Misty before taking his hands into her own. "...What I'm trying to say is...I...I...I lo..."

Before she could finish, a loud shout of "Right! Down! Left! Down! A!" rang out, causing the redhead to start grumbling about 'unwanted interruptions' while Lincoln looked around for the voice's owner.

After looking around the ballroom for a few seconds, he managed to find it - a frazzled-looking Trainer that bore a very close resemblance to Red, save for the sieep-deprived, yet manic look in his eyes as he randomly walked around in different directions, bumping into some of the other people and Pokemon that were in the ballroom.

"Who the heck is that guy and what's his deal?" asked Misty, arms crossed as she eyed the unusual Trainer cautiously.

"Dunno. He looks a lot like Red, but he seems to be...well, I can't exactly find a word to describe him, really." remarked Lincoln as he watched the Red look-alike amble around for a bit longer before he took notice of the white-haired boy watching him.

Pointing at him with a crazed look in his eyes, the boy shouts "A challenger!" before throwing a Pokeball into the air, causing it to send out a Charmeleon.

Upon realizing what was going on, the Fire-Type sighs and says "...Welp, here we go again..." in an exasperated tone before waiting for Lincoln to send out a Pokemon for it to fight.

"Looks like he's challenging you to a battle, Lincoln." said Misty before glaring at the odd Trainer, who seemed to be muttering something about 'beating Misty' and 'consulting Lord Helix for guidance'. "Just hurry up and deal with this weirdo so we can get back to enjoying our evening."

"I'm on it." said Lincoln with a nod before giving Pikachu, who had ambled over to see what was going on, a thumbs-up. "Ready for a battle, buddy?"

"Not sure why we have to battle this whack-job, but sure. I'm up for it."

"Glad to hear it." replied Lincoln with a grin before turning to face the Red look-alike. "Hey, what's your name?"

"Twitch!"

"Weird name, but okay. Well, Twitch...if it's a battle you want, then we'll happily oblige. Does one-on-one sound good to you?"

"Start! A!"

After raising an eyebrow at the unusual Trainer's response, Lincoln says "...I'll just go ahead and take that as a 'yes'. You can go ahead and make the first move."

Instead of accepting Lincoln's offer to start the battle, Twitch starts mumbling to himself for a moment before spouting random directions as he ambles throughout the ballroom again, leaving both Misty and Lincoln completely bewildered with what was going on.

"Hey, where are you going? I thought you wanted to battle!"

"Don't bother. Once he gets going like this, it's hard to get him to stop." remarked the Charmeleon, shaking it's head.

"Left! Left! Up! B! A! Start9!" belted out the Red look-alike in a crazed and frantic voice before taking a Pokeball out of his bag and throwing it at Pikachu, only for Lincoln to quickly swat it away.

"Hey, don't be a thief!" protested the white-haired Loud, only to go ignored as the other boy wandered around aimlessly for a few more seconds before taking what appeared to be a fossil with an swirling pattern on it out of his bag. "...What the heck are you...?"

"PRAISE HELIX!" exclaimed Twitch as he held the fossil aloft for everyone else to see while his Charmeleon simply shook it's head, slightly ashamed with how the black-haired boy was acting.

"...Is this a regular thing with your Trainer?" inquired Pikachu while Twitch rummaged through his bag again.

"You have no idea." replied the Fire-Type, sighing. "Every time we battle against someone, it's always the same thing with him - consulting that fossil we found at Mt. Moon, ordering me to use useless attacks instead of telling me to use something that actually deals damage and wandering aimlessly around the area like someone with Alzheimer's. And don't get me started on his attempts at nicknaming us."

Overhearing what the Flame Pokemon was saying, Lincoln says "Surely your name can't be that bad, can it?"

"I can barely even pronounce it myself." replied the Charmeleon, shrugging. "The 'voices' that my Trainer can apparently hear inside of his mind call me 'Abby'. I honestly think that there's no voices in his head at all and he's just batshit insane. Heck, he once managed to get himself lost in one of the region's PokeMarts. For nine hours."

While Pikachu stood there in disbelief, trying to figure out how something like that was possible, Lincoln asked "Dexter, any chance of telling me what that Charmeleon's nickname is?" as he took out his Pokedex, causing the nearby crowd to murmur excitedly upon seeing it.

'Analyzing...' stated Dexter before letting out a confused-sounding beep. '...How in the world are you supposed to pronounce this!?'

"Can you display it for me, Dexter?" asked Lincoln, causing the red-colored device to beep once before displaying the Charmeleon's nickname on it's screen. Upon seeing the name 'ABBBBBBK(' on the screen, the white-haired boy stared at it for a moment before wordlessly putting the Pokedex back into his pocket, deciding it was better not to try pronouncing it.

"How in the world do you deal with someone like him?" asked Pikachu, completely bewildered with how Twitch was acting. "Better yet, why are you still with him?"

"It's just something you get used to after a while." replied Charmeleon, shrugging again. "And I only really stick around in order to keep him out of trouble. I'm essentially the...what's it called in this instance?"

"Cloudcuckoolander's Minder?"

"Yeah, that. If someone doesn't keep an eye on my nutcase of a Trainer, then there's no telling what he'll end up doing. That's why I stay with him."

After trying to use the Helix Fossil a few more times during the battle and somehow causing Professor Oak's voice to ring throughout the ballroom, telling the deranged Trainer that it wasn't the time to use something like that, Twitch belts out "Right! Down! A!" before suddenly recalling his Charmeleon and sending out a Raticate that was holding a shovel in it's place.

"In all my years as a Pokemon Trainer, I've never seen anyone as...strange as this one before." commented Lorelei, shaking her head as she watched Twitch spin around in place while yelling out different directions. "I wonder what's going on in that mind of his..."

"I'm not sure if I want to know, honestly." remarked the Gentleman, shaking his head as well.

After watching the eccentric Trainer wander off in order to bump into a nearby wall, Lorelei shrugs before deciding to send out her Slowbro in order to have it take a glimpse into the dark-haired Trainer's mind.

One mind-reading later, the Water/Psychic-Type simply turned towards her with a traumatized look on it's face, shaking it's head and mouthing 'fuck that' and 'hell no' before recalling itself back into it's Pokeball.

"Left! Down! Left! A!" yelled Twitch in a manic tone, causing his Raticate to look at him for a moment before letting out a few snickers as it started to use the move Dig. "No, BigDig, no! Teh urn! Focus on teh urn!"

'What's this lunatic going on about now?' thought Lincoln to himself as he watched the Raticate continue to dig, eventually causing both it and Twitch to start spinning wildly before disappearing in an instant.

As the nearby crowd stared at the empty space that Twitch and his Raticate had occupied before, Leaf remarks "Well...that just happened. How in the world did someone like him become a Pokemon Trainer?"

"I think that's a question better left unanswered, Leaf." said Brock, shaking his head.

-=O=-

AN: Part 2 of the St. Anne arc is done. I'm sorry for taking so long to finish it, but with COVID-19 running rampant through the States, supplies running low because of said virus and trying to rewrite the second chapter of Pokemon Santiago Version after my old laptop's drive suddenly died on me, I've had a lot on my mind, making it hard to focus on finishing this chapter.

Now then, on to other business...

First of all, I'd like to address something regarding the Gen 8 movesets. I've been using the Gen 7 sets for the story, but I have been considering the idea of gradually changing over to the Gen 8 sets while introducing TRs to the story. Let me know what you think.

Secondly, it's time for yet another quiz question, this time to decide the name of Lincoln's Ralts. Since all of you know how this works by now, I'll go ahead and just ask the question you'll need to answer: How many TR moves can Ralts learn?

Finally, I'd like to thank all of you for sticking around despite the lack of progress as of late. I know it's hard having to wait for a chapter to update (heck, there are stories I've been checking out on the site that haven't updated in YEARS), but you can rest assured that I'm not going to leave this or Santiago Version unfinished. I don't know how long it'll take, but I will finish both of them. I will, however, be taking a break from this fic to work on Ronnie's story,

You know, to help it catch up chapter-wise.

As always, I hope you enjoy this chapter and look forward to the next one.