AN: A quick response to a few comments before we start the story.
Guest: Thank you for your chapter suggestion, but I'm afraid not. However, there will still be plenty of Lola vs Lindsey moments in the future, along with another.
Gamelover41592: Buneary may still join his team later on. Just have to see what happens.
Also, quick question: Is the language used in this chapter enough for an M, or is a T still fine?
Rodge's Way
Before Lincoln would make his way to the Glenvale Gym, he desperately needed something to eat, since he spent most the morning chasing Scorbunny. He stopped at a donut shop to grab a quick breakfast and a cup of iced coffee, as well as a strawberry jam filled donut for Princess. "I can't believe you drink that stuff…" Lola commented in disgust as she looked at the plastic drink cup.
"I'm as surprised as you are," Lincoln replied as he sipped his drink. "But if it's made right, it's pretty good, and their iced coffee is just right."
"He's right, you know," Girl Jordan interjected. "Though I prefer Cosmocent's dark chocolate/caramel blendaccino. Only problem is it's so expensive."
"I'll stick to smoothies, thank you very much," The pageant princess retorted in a somewhat snooty manner.
"To each their own," Her brother said with a shrug as he pulled out his phone and sent a text to Lisa, telling her he was about to enter the gym.
"Excellent. The Glenvale Gym is one of the current prime suspects in my suspicions," Lisa texted in return. "Originally, the gym leader held a positively brutal fail rate of 99%, i.e. practically every trainer who faced him was defeated."
"99%!? That's insane…"
"The league agreed, and requested he take it a little easier, as Glenvale is where most trainers start their gym challenge. However, a little less than a year ago, his failure rate became the success rate. Now it seems impossible for prospective trainers to lose." Lincoln frowned lightly as he read this message. Now how could that be?
"What's up, Linc?" His once classmate asked with a raised eyebrow.
"It's nothing. Just a bit of a brain teaser," He responded, which was half true. To him, this was a head scratcher; one that could only be solved by heading to the gym. Speaking of, the building in question was right ahead. It was a mostly marble and steel building, dome shaped with a black and white pokeball sign hanging over the massive door that could fit a Snorlax. Very basic and bland, as Lola pointed out, but it wasn't supposed to be pretty. It was supposed to be strong enough to support pokemon battles. Lincoln pulled the door open, revealing the inside was as basic as the outside; a sprawling dirt floor with painted on lines indicating the boundaries. The field was littered with rocks and a few boulders. To their right, they saw a large window that was nearly the entire length of the wall, except for a door clear across the stadium. None of them could see through the window, except for two figures silhouetted in the glass. One was a mountain of a person, nearly seven feet tall with a barrel chest, and built like Atlas. The other was a small, more slender and shapely. Something about this figure seemed familiar to the Louds, but they couldn't put their finger on it. The smaller of the two walked over to the door on the opposite side of the gym. When it opened, the three were in for a big surprise: out walked their older sister, Leni.
She still had her hair as she had it at sixteen and wore her sunglasses on her head. She wore a small white jacket with a white tank top underneath that couldn't cover her slender stomach. On her legs were black stretch pants, with black sneakers on her feet. Far from the usual outfit for the fashionable sister. Her face was lightly made up, with a little lipstick on her lips, and she looked stressed, saddened and very nervous. "Leni?" They all ask in unison.
"Lincoln? Lola? Lana?" She responded in shock, before the smile they all knew and loved returned to her face. The twins smile in return and rush across the battlefield, with Leni meeting them halfway, the three of them sharing a big hug. "I totes missed you guys!"
"We missed you too, Leni!" The twins replied loudly. Lincoln had remained where he had stood, a surprised and confused look on his face.
"Something wrong, Lincoln?" Jordan asked quietly, noticing his expression.
"I'm just surprised to see Leni here," He whispered back. "She never told us she was a gym leader...she doesn't even like battling."
"That is kind of strange…" Lincoln's old friend from school commented, looking over at the hugging trio as Leni looked toward the window wall and flinched before she let the twins go and stepped back from them.
"Ahem. I'm sorry, but unless this is official pokemon league business-"
"Actually, Leni, it is," Lincoln spoke up. "With the exception of Lola, we're here to challenge the Glenvale City Gym." Lana and Jordan nodded in confirmation.
"Oh. Well, you came to the right place," Leni said, her smile seeming to be more forced now. She moved back to her side of the gym, while Lola and Lana returned to her brother and his friend. "In accordian...I mean, accordance to the rules of the gym, each battle will be one on one. Who will be going first?" Lincoln turned to Lana and Girl Jordan.
"Ladies first."
"Such a gentleman," Jordan commented with a bit of a grin before looking at Lana. "Would you like to go first?"
"Sure!" The animal loving twin smiled broadly and ran over to the challenger's circle. "Ready or not, Leni, here I come! Go, Hops!" Out from his pokeball came the tadpole pokemon, full of pep and eagerness.
"Ok...I can do this…" Leni muttered to herself, pulling a pokeball from her pocket. "Come on out, Tauros." She gently tossed the ball ahead of her, causing it to burst and unleash a mean, powerful looking bull pokemon with three stonelike circles on its forehead and three tails. One look at the glaring bull made Hops sweat in fear.
"Tauros? That doesn't sound like a pokemon Leni would have…" Lincoln commented as he pulled out his pokedex.
"Tauros, the wild bull pokemon. This Pokémon is not satisfied unless it is rampaging at all times. If there is no opponent for Tauros to battle, it will charge at thick trees and knock them down to calm itself." Rip informed him.
"Stand strong, Hops! You got this!" Lana encouraged her tadpole pokemon, though she was shaking like a leaf herself.
"Ok...what are a Tauros' moves…?" Leni wondered out loud. "Oh yes. Tauros, use Take Down, please," She requested politely. The bull pokemon's eyes shifted toward the windowed wall for a moment, then grunted and planted its hooves. It didn't budge. "Tauros? Take Down, please." Lana blinked as the Tauros still refused to move.
"Hops, use Bubblebeam...I guess?" She instructed, a little uncertain. The Tympole nodded and spat a stream of bubbles from his mouth right at the bull pokemon. Tauros grunted as the beam struck it in the chest, the bovine pokemon soaked.
"...maybe he forgot how to do Take Down?" Leni muttered to herself. "Tauros, stomp please?" Once again, the pokemon disobeyed her, which led to another blast of bubbly water. "Headbutt? Tackle? Tail Whip?" The second oldest of the sisters started pleading, almost to the point of getting on her knees. However, the Tauros refused to even acknowledge her existence. It simply stood there as Hops barraged it with bubble beams until it couldn't fight anymore (not that the Tauros fought at all). Leni looked saddened as she recalled the fainted pokemon, while Lana had the look of disappointment. She may have won the battle, but what kind of battle was that? It was just plain unsatisfying. The kindly, yet dim blonde seemed to sense this, as she quietly said "Sorry…" as Lana stepped back.
"What do you think that was?" Lola whispered to her brother, a frown on her face as well.
"Possibly a new pokemon," Lincoln responded in a hushed voice. "Newly caught, or even powerful traded pokemon can be difficult to handle until they get used to their new trainer...or the Tauros is just a jerk. Can't really say."
"My turn," Girl Jordan said with a voice of confidence, stepping up to the challenger's circle. "Alright, Timburr, come on out!" She threw her faithful first's pokeball out into the field, releasing the Timburr, who looked ready to fight. Leni glanced fearfully to her left before she selected her next pokemon.
"...ok. Bouffalant, you're up…" When the ball burst open, a mighty buffalo pokemon with a big brown afro covering most of its head and long horns appeared opposite Timburr. Each horn had two gold like rings on them.
'Yet another pokemon I wouldn't associate with Leni...what's going on?' The one son wondered.
"Bouffalant, please use Headbutt,"
"Timburr, Low Kick!" Jordan instructed. Timburr nodded as he ran toward the much larger pokemon. Bouffalant lowered its head, ready to fight, but then its eyes darted to the left for a moment. The buffalo hesitated, glancing back at Leni, then back forward. It was hard to tell what it was thinking with all that hair covering its face, but one thing was clear: it wasn't moving either. The little fighter slid across the floor in a sliding kick, hitting the bison's leg dead on.
"Bouffalant, please...use Headbutt." Leni was about to start crying as the Bouffalant was then clubbed with Timburr's chunk of lumber. However, it still refused to budge.
"What gives? Why isn't Bouffalant fighting back?" Jordan wondered to herself, starting to get kind of perturbed by this. "I was expecting some kind of challenge from a pokemon gym…" Sadly, she was to be disappointed, as Timburr was basically unopposed. Despite the ditzy sister giving orders to the bash buffalo pokemon, it refused to act on them. In no time at all, Bouffalant was beaten into the ground, with the teen with light brown hair looking displeased and Leni looking positively downcast as she recalled her fallen pokemon.
"Something about this stinks worse than Lana used to…" Lola muttered as Lincoln stepped up to take his turn.
"Alright. Get ready for your first battle…" Lincoln said quietly as he picked his pokeball. "Go, Scorbunny!" In a flash of light, the newest member of his team appeared on the field, cheerfully hopping in place while wearing his little orange blanket as a cape.
"Aww. Isn't he just precious?" Leni cooed in adoration before she suddenly winced as if she remembered something very unpleasant. "I mean...uh...Kangaskhan, you're up," She said as she summoned forth a brown and tan, vaguely reptilian monster with a black scalp and a belly pouch like a kangaroo. The pouch in question was empty, which Lana took notice of almost immediately.
'I thought all Kangaskhan's always carried their children in their pouches…' She thought to herself as Scorbunny looked up at the parent pokemon, his little knees shaking.
"Ok, Kangaskhan...let's try a Double Edge, please," The second oldest of the Loud sisters requested kindly. Kangaskhan turned its head to the left after Leni had spoken, seeming visibly worried.
'First Leni, then Tauros, now Kangaskhan...what are they looking at?' Lincoln wondered as he turned to see what was up. The large, muscle bound shadow was standing right where they had all been glancing this whole time. The figure seemed to have its arms crossed and was probably watching the battle from the other side. 'Must be one way glass...but who is that?' While he was considering that mystery, Kangaskhan had turned its nose to Leni and folded its own arms. Just like the others, it was refusing to listen to her.
"Oh no...not you too, Kangaskhan…" Leni couldn't hold it in any longer, falling to her knees and sobbing into her hands. "Why won't any of them listen to me…?" She wondered aloud while she cried. It was the kind of sight to break a Loud sibling's heart, seeing Leni cry. It seemed to have an affect on the kangaroo-ish monster as well, a look of the utmost sympathy appearing on its face.
"Khan...Gaskhan, Kan Kangaskhan…" The pokemon spoke up with a heavy heart. Whatever it had said, it made Lana a combination of concerned, curious, and angry.
"Alright! That's enough of that!" A man's voice rang out through the gym. "I'm puttin' an end to this embarrassing display!" Lincoln, the twins, Jordan and Leni all jumped in surprise (or fright in Leni's case), as the shadow on the window wall stormed over to the door Leni had emerged from and kicked it open. Out came a man almost taller than Kangaskhan, looking like a bodybuilder who didn't know when to quit. He was wearing a black muscle shirt, blue jeans, and black shoes. His hair was brown and very short. He had a scowl on his face as he glared daggers at Leni.
"Who's that guy?" Girl Jordan asked.
"Name's Rodge, kid. I'm the gym leader of Glenvale, soon to be ex-gym leader," The overly buff man explained, his eyes still boring into Leni, who was shaking fearfully in his presence. "Or at least, I would be...if you could do anything right!"
"Mr Rodge, I…" The fashion forward sister started to say.
"Can it, Loud! Ever since you got here, you've dragged the reputation of my gym right through the shitter…"
"Hey! Language!" Lincoln snapped, as both Lana and Lola gasped. "There are children present!"
"Save the sermon, padre. I'm not interested in listening," Rodge spat as he glanced toward Lincoln for a moment, before snapping back to the tearful young woman. "My gym went from being one that was rarely beaten to the one gym where you can't lose! You're an absolute disgrace as a trainer and as a gym leader!" He shouted into her face.
"But...but I can't get your pokemon to listen to me…" She whimpered.
'His pokemon?' The white haired boy thought internally.
"It's a piss poor trainer who blames the pokemon for the fact they're a failure," Rodge scolded her coldly. "If pokemon aren't listening to you, that's your fault! You're too soft! If you expect to get anywhere as a trainer and gym leader, you gotta toughen up! Show them who's the master!" He suddenly turned to the parent pokemon, who quickly assumed a battle stance while facing Scorbunny. "Kangaskhan! Mega Punch! Rock! NOW!" Without a moment's hesitation, the Kangaskhan threw a supercharged punch into the nearest boulder, causing it to shatter. The monster returned to a fighting stance, a tear in its eye and its fist very red. "See? Absolute obedience."
"Oh no...Kangaskhan, you aren't hurt, are-?"
"That hardly matters!" Rodge cut her off.
"How so!?" Lincoln demanded to know, his temper rising rapidly as his face started to turn red.
"This doesn't involve you, string bean...but if you must know, pokemon getting hurt is nothing new! They get hurt simply by battling, so what's the big deal!?"
"...I don't like this guy already," Lana commented in a growl.
"Me neither…" The one son agreed.
"Anyway, if the peanut gallery can shut the hell up...I think you need to learn a lesson, Loud!" The brawny gym leader thrust a finger back toward the door. "Get back there, get the cleaning supplies, and make this whole gym spotless! Then, rake the battlefield dirt, touch up the boundary paint, and glue that rock back together!"
"Gulp...yes, sir…" Leni squeaked, starting to shuffle away in sorrow.
"Hey! Brainless! You forgot something!" Rodge shouted as soon as she reached the opening. "Oh, nevermind. I'll deal with it. See if you can clean the place without screwing it up," He added cruelly before he reached into his pocket and tossed three tiny, metal badges toward Lincoln, Jordan and Lana. Each one was shaped like dumbbells "Yer Might Badges…" The hat wearing twin and the popular girl glared at Rodge as they picked up their badges. Lincoln, however, picked up his badge, then threw it right back at him.
"No," The one son growled, his temper one step away from boiling over. One of the many side effects of puberty upon him was a shortening of his fuse. He wasn't as bad as Lola, Lori or even Lynn, but still quicker to anger; and after an incident where he put his fist through the door to his old room (breaking his hand in the process), most of his sisters knew not to push his buttons too much. He could be a scary sight when pushed too far, not that his growing anger seemed to matter much to the brutish gym leader. "There was no battle between us, so I refuse to accept that badge."
"Just take it, you little prick. The munchkin and little lady did."
"They at least got to fight, even if it was one sided. Scorbunny didn't even get to fight before you butt in." A fact that seemed to get the little bunny down. "Come on, Scorbunny...let's get out of here…" The white haired trainer grumbled as he knelt down and picked up the rabbit pokemon, turning on his heel and leading the way out. Rodge simply grunted as he picked Lincoln's badge back up and threw it at his back. However, it was blocked by the door as Lola slammed it shut.
"Ugh...I can't believe that guy," The pageant princess groaned in disgust.
"What a jerk…" Her twin commented, her Tympole hopping along beside her.
"That's being too kind, Lana…" Their big brother said, steam billowing from his head.
"Frill frillish fri…" Princess said, shivering as she clung to Lincoln's back. The twins looked over to Lincoln and suddenly looked worried.
"Linky...calm down," Lola said as she ran over to him, taking hold of his hand not currently holding Scorbunny.
"I am calm," Lincoln replied quietly, yet angrily. "I may be really pissed off right now...but I am calm."
"Good, Linc. Let's stay that way. Deep, calming breaths." Lana told him, taking a few herself to get him gone.
"Girls...I appreciate what you're doing, but it's ok. I'm alright. I'm not quite THAT angry…" He reassured them, his face starting to return to his normal, somewhat pale skin. Jordan just looked surprised at them, clearly wondering what that was about. However, she didn't ask right now. She thought it would be better to wait until he calmed down. As they were leaving, Hops paused when he heard soft sobbing. He turned mid hop to see where it was coming from, and saw a little baby Kangaskhan sitting by a side door, crying quietly. Curious, the Tympole jumped his way over to the little one.
"Hello," Hops said, coming to stop in front of it.
"Sniff sniff...hello…"
"I'm Hops. What's your name?"
"...I don't have one...my momma's trainer doesn't think we need one…"
"Oh...why are you crying?"
"I wanna be with my momma...but I can't…" The little baby pokemon sniffled again.
"Oh...why is that?" Before the little one could answer, the door creaked open.
"Alright, rug rat...get in," Rodge grumbled from inside. Without hesitation, the pokemon toddled its way into the gym. Unable to contain his curiosity, Hops followed the baby Kangaskhan, trying to get in before the door closed. Fortunately, the foul tempered gym leader didn't notice the tadpole. Unfortunately, this meant the door ended up being closed with Hops still in the doorway. The poor Tympole squeaked like a rubber duck as the door was shut on him, which made Rodge pause for a moment, then shrugged and moved on. Hops managed to slip inside and looked around. He was in what looked like a kind of stable...and not a very well kept one at that. Not that it was filled with manure or anything, but it wasn't very clean. Not far away, the little one was reuniting with Kangaskhan, the two hugging closely, with the mother sobbing happily. Not far away, the cranky and soaked Tauros was leaning against a wall by an old feeding trough, looking like the pokemon equivalent of a back alley punk. Bouffalant was sitting in one of the stable stalls, eyes closed and looking like he was meditating. Hops quickly ducked into an empty space to avoid being seen as he listened to them talk.
"Oh, come off it, Khan…" Tauros grumbled after he listened to mother and child tell each other how much they missed each other. "It was only for a few hours. Not like you were never going to see him again…"
"Would you put it past Rodge, Tauros?" The buffalo pokemon inquired
"He may be strict, but he's not cruel," The bull pokemon retorted with a snort.
"Not cruel? He sends Junior outside whenever there are trainer battles," The reptile/kangaroo monster growled. "...outside. Not into the stable, but outside, all alone, where he could get caught by another trainer…"
"It should encourage you to battle quicker then…One hit, knock them out, just as our trainer demands."
"Just like how he demands we disobey that kind young human?" The mother pokemon asked, bitterness clear in her voice. Hops' eyes widened when he heard that. "That sweet young thing who took such good care of us…"
"It is for her own good. She needs to become tougher," Tauros said with a snort.
"He is going to turn her into another version of him…"
"Good."
"Tauros! How can you say that!?" The motherly pokemon said aghast. "Have you forgotten when you broke a piece of your horn off and Miss Loud helped put it back in place and made sure it set properly!? Our trainer would have just left it broken…Or how about when my little one was sick!? Miss Loud made sure to nurse him back to health."
"I would recommend you save your breath, ma'am," Bouffalant told her. "Tauros is as stubborn as he is loyal to his trainer. Admirable, I admit, if misdirected." The bull pokemon simply snorted angrily as he stomped off further into the stable. The little Tympole gulped, thinking he needed to get out of there. With Tauros out of the way, Kangaskhan not paying attention and Bouffalant having his eyes closed, he thought this was his chance. He hopped as quickly as he dared across the dirty ground. However, up ahead, the old, creaky door swung open. Hops gasped inaudibly, then dove under the trough.
"Alright, you lot...here's your food, not that you deserve it," The gym leader said sternly, pouring the pokemon food pellets into the trough. These were the bare basics of pokemon food; lacking taste, but having enough nutrition for survival purposes. Kangaskhan and her child went for the trough, while Tauros simply meandered over. Before any of them could touch any of the food, Rodge slammed his hand against the wall. "...forgetting something?"
"...Thank you, Rodge…" The pokemon mother and bash buffalo said, almost soullessly.
"Thank you, master," The bull pokemon responded with a bow of the head.
"That's better…" He said with a smirk, though he couldn't understand them. "And understand...the only reason you're being fed, even though you LOST...is because you're doing exactly what I said...ignore her until she grows a pair and learns the only way is Rodge's Way." The gym leader turned and strolled away, back into the gym. Kangaskhan and her child dug right in, while Tauros only ate a couple pellets. Bouffalant doesn't move from his place, keeping his eyes closed. Tympole carefully slipped out from under the feed bin, then moved quickly to the door, which was open a crack. Just outside, Hops could see Leni starting to clean the walls of the gym, with Rodge berating her some more.
"Hmph. Looks like that's at least one thing you're good at...cleaning. You can't battle pokemon to save your worthless life, but at least you make a barely functional maid…" He spat at her, Leni crying quietly as she continued cleaning. "...but that's not good enough. You know that, right?" She just nodded without saying a word. "You're going to be taking over as gym leader soon, and you won't be much use as one until you stop being such a bleeding heart! Do you understand me!?"
"...yes, sir."
"Peh. Don't lie to me...you don't understand a word coming out of my mouth. You know why? Not only are you softer than melted butter, you're dumber than a doornail! An absolute retard!" He screamed at her, making her flinch as if his words actually struck her. "...but you will learn eventually. Even if I have to literally beat it into your thick skull, I will get it in there. It's Rodge's way or the highway," He continued, poking her in the head to emphasize his point before he started to walk toward the main entrance. "I'm going to lunch. This place better be looking glorious when I get back. Until then, the gym is closed."
"...yes. sir." Rodge gave a sharp nod before he shoved the doors open and strode out into the daylight. Hop's mouth just hung open after he had heard that. He didn't really understand what all the words he said were, but he felt they must be bad. He then had the feeling he was being watched. The Tympole slowly turned to see Kangaskhan looking right at him. Tauros wasn't paying attention and Bouffalant was focused on his mental focus, so it was just the two of them. Hops was shaking somewhat, but the kangaroo like pokemon simply glanced back at her fellow pokemon, then pushed the door open more.
"Hurry, before Tauros sees you…" She whispered.
"Thanks," Hops whispered back, hurriedly leaving the stable. However, the tadpole still had one more door to get out, and no way to open it. However, there was someone who might be able to help him right there...at least he hoped. "Tympole…" He said as he hopped his way over to Leni.
"Hmm?" The second oldest of the Loud children blinked, looking about until she spotted the little pokemon. "O...Oh. You're Lana's pokemon, aren't you? What are you doing here?" She asked, kneeling down to look at Hops.
Back outside, Girl Jordan and the twins were discussing what they were going to do now, while Lincoln had stepped away from them. He needed to make a call. He pulled out his pokedex and initiated a video call to Lisa. "Professor Loud. What is the nature of-" She started to say.
"Lisa, it's Lincoln," He said, calmer than he was before, but still pretty angry.
"Ah. Afternoon elder...are you alright, Lincoln?" She inquired, taking note of his expression. "You seem most irate."
"We just finished at the Glenvale city gym."
"I see. And judging by your expression, the battles didn't go too well?"
"What battle? The opposing pokemon did nothing while Lana and Girl Jordan's pokemon wailed on them…"
"Girl Jordan?" Lisa asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh...she's a friend of mind from school. We met her on the way here and she decided to join us," Lincoln explained, looking back toward the teen girl with the light brown ponytail. Lisa stroked her chin as she had a look of pondering on her face. She remembered that name from somewhere, but at the moment, she couldn't pull up the memory.
'Eh. It probably isn't important,' The brilliant young girl thought with a shrug. "Anyway, as you were saying, Lincoln?"
"Well, like I said, neither Lana nor Jordan got an actual battle, and the gym leader cut off my battle…" The one son continued, sounding very bitter.
"Wait...the gym leader? He wasn't battling?"
"No. He had Leni battle us with his pokemon…"
"Ah. I see. That makes more sense," The second youngest of the sisters commented with a slight smile. "Pokemon as strong as Rodge's would naturally be more hesitant to obey one with no gym badges, such as Leni." Lincoln was frowning down at his younger sister, but he couldn't deny that it made sense. He did have other beefs, but before he could address them, Lisa continued. "That said, what is he doing having Leni battle in his stead?"
"By the sound of it, he's planning to retire and put her as his replacement." The middle Loud explained, putting the chat window into a smaller window as he looked through his pokedex for the video he recorded. "Here. I recorded the whole thing. You can see and hear for yourself." He sent her the video file and, after reviewing the footage, Lisa's face became hard and serious.
"Ignoring the fact that I do not approve of the manner in which he is speaking to our older sister, nor the words he uses to describe her...which believe me is much harder than you imagine…"
"Oh, I believe it…" Lincoln growled.
"...what he is doing is just plain wrong. Trainers who have yet to acquire gym badges cannot become gym leaders. The Elite Four would not allow it. Not to mention the fact I doubt he submitted the proper paperwork for an official retirement. I will have to consult with the Elite Four and the champion regarding that." Lisa said, turning to a computer console to her immediate right (which was offscreen, but Lincoln knew she had one there. She wasn't one to let a phone conversation slow down her work). Her brother nodded and was about to bid her goodbye when…
"Hops? Hops!? Hey, where'd Hops go!?" Lana called out frantically as she realized her starter wasn't by her side. Lincoln's eyes widened when he ran over to his sisters and Jordan, Lola trying to calm her twin. Fortunately, Leni had come running up to them, holding the Tympole in her arms.
"Here he is," She said, a weak smile on her face. "He got into the gym somehow."
"Hops!" The animal loving twin smiled broadly as the tadpole hopped from her older sister's arms and into hers. "Don't scare me like that again, little buddy."
"Tympole! Tym tym tympole!" The tadpole said, which made Lana blink and hold him at arm length to look him in the eyes.
"What was that, buddy?" She asked. The young frog pokemon went on to describe what she had heard while she was hidden away in the stable. "...he's forcing them to disobey her?"
"Really now?" Lisa commented quietly after she heard that.
"What!?" Lincoln, Jordan, Lola and Lana all gasped.
"W...what?" A shocked Leni asked.
"It's true!" Tympole said, with Lana translating. "I heard the Kangaskhan say it, with the Tauros saying it was for her own good."
"For her own good? How can it be for her own good?" The pageant princess asked in disgust.
"He wants her to be just like him."
"Oh Arceus no…" Lincoln groaned, gripping the bridge of his nose.
"...According to Hops, it gets worse…" Lana said, looking in foul temper. She listened to her little pokemon further, which only made her angrier. "He doesn't feed his pokemon if they lose!?"
"Lana! Keep it down…" Lisa scolded her, startling everyone there.
"Sorry. Was talking to Lisa earlier and never hung up," The one son explained.
"...that's fine. I want her to hear this." The handy Loud said, voice full of rage.
"Very well, but again, don't be so loud," The little pokemon professor told her. "Now, Hops, if you would be so kind as to go into more detail." The tympole nodded and, with Lana's help, told them about how Rodge claimed to not feed his pokemon if they lost, only doing so this time because they were purposely disobeying her like he ordered. No one present liked what they heard, but Lana seemed the most angry.
"Leni...please tell us this isn't true…" The tomboy twin asked, shaking with anger. The kindly blonde winced and looked away from her. That told her all she needed to know.
"He...said it encouraged them to fight harder and better…" Leni whimpered. "...I didn't agree with him...but it was Rodge's way or the highway…"
"Hops said he said the same thing, after he screamed at her and...He called her WHAT!?" She snapped, once more getting hushed by Lisa, and Leni looking horrified.
"What did he call her?" Lincoln asked in a dangerously calm voice; always a danger sign with him.
"Lana, no…" The fashionista cautioned her.
"...He used the r word," Lana whispered. Lisa's jaw hung open, Lola just froze in place for a moment, while Lincoln's face instantly went red, steam billowing from his ears like a tea kettle and unbridled fury in his eyes.
"The...r word?" Jordan asked. However, no one answered her. Instead, Lincoln simply dropped his pokedex, looking like he was ready to tear apart the entire town.
"Oh dear...someone stop him!" Lisa called out from the pokedex. Girl Jordan sprang into action, grabbing hold of the one son with one arm around his middle and the other grabbing one of his arms. She was certainly stronger than Lincoln, being more athletic than him, but she was still having trouble holding him in his anger.
"Let me go!" He snarled. "He is not getting away with that!"
"Lana...a little help…" Jordan requested as she struggled with Lincoln.
"Sorry, Jordan...but my hands are full…" The furious Lana replied through gritted teeth as she tried to keep Lola at bay. The prissy twin was even more wrathful than Lincoln, fighting and sounding an awful lot like a rabid wolverine.
"Lincoln, Lola, listen to me a moment," Lisa said in her usual monotone. "I share your outrage at this development, even if it doesn't show in my face and tone. However, such hostile actions will be detrimental to your cause. Besides, he shalln't get away with all this."
"...really?" The white haired boy asked, pausing in his struggles.
"I promise you, Lincoln. I may not necessarily be able to use all the information Hops had passed on...hearsay, after all...but the bits we can use, especially with Leni's cooperation, will be more than enough to deal with him."
"My cooperation?" The slightly dim young lady asked fearfully. "Won't...he get angry?"
"Who cares if he gets angry?" Lincoln grumbled.
"...he gets really mean when he gets angry…"
"It sounds to me like he's mean no matter what, so what's the difference?" Lana pointed out as she and her fuming sister were wrestling with one another now.
"Yeah...but it's worse when he's mad…and he'll probably take it out on me…"
"Then why don't you quit?" Girl Jordan asked. Lincoln had stopped fighting, but she wasn't about to give him a chance to get away on the sly, so she wasn't letting go. Leni thought about that for a moment.
"...I never thought about that before...yeah, I guess I could do that." She replied, a smile returning to her face. "...I never liked battling anyway."
"There you go. Screw that jerk," Lana told her after she finally managed to pin Lola.
"How'd you end up getting involved with that creep anyway?" The one son asked.
"Well, it all started about a year after I left Pokemon Care College…" she started to explain. "It's a bit of a long story…"
"Then let's talk about it over lunch," Lana suggested after her foul tempered twin finally calmed down. "I worked up an appetite wrestling with Lola."
"Oh! That sounds good. And I know a great place," Leni chirped, gesturing for her family and Girl Jordan to follow her. The twins chased after her (after Lana helped her twin up), but Lincoln and Jordan lagged behind a little. The one son wasn't that hungry, and his friend still had a hold of him. When they noticed this, they both blushed and she quickly released him.
"Er...thanks, Jordan…" He said, half appreciatively, half bashful.
"Anytime, Lincoln," she responded in kind.