Kanto Gets Loud

Chapter 48: St. Anne (Part 1)

Vermillion City Harbor, morning,

Lincoln and friends were all gathered at the Vermillion City Harbor, looking for the St. Anne, "There it is, over there!" Misty exclaimed, pointing to a cruise ship that was much larger than all of the other ships in the harbor.

"Whoa, talk about style!" Liam commented.

"You're so lucky to go on a cruise, Lincoln," Clyde said, a little envious.

"Well, you never know. The world is a big place, and you guys might find yourselves on a cruise of your own," Lincoln said.

"Besides, with all that's happened to him, you can't deny that he kind of deserves this," Ronnie Anne added.

"By the way, Misty, how were you able to find out which ship was the St. Anne?" Girl Jordan asked.

"I built a model of it when I was little, so I know every square inch of the ship," Misty replied.

"Oh, you like models, Misty?" Leni asked.

"I get some model kits from time to time, so yeah, I guess I do like them," Misty replied.

"Well, Lincoln loves building models himself, either of robots, spaceships or big boats," Leni pointed out.

"What can I say? Building models can be a very relaxing hobby," Lincoln commented. It was then he noticed Rito and his friends already boarding the ship, "Looks like Rito and the others are ready to go as well."

"Well, we'd better not keep them waiting," Leaf said, as she went to get in line, as did Raigo.

"Well guys, I guess I'll see you around," Lincoln said to his friends.

"You just take care out there, Linkey. And stay in contact," Leni said, sharing one last embrace with Lincoln.

"You guys take care too," Lincoln said, as he, Misty and Brock went to join their friends in line.

"Well, we'd better get back to the lab. The Professor will be making his grand opening speech soon," Bobby suggested, as they turned to head back to the lab. Back with Lincoln and company, the line was going fairly fast, but there was still a bit of a wait.

"Man, I hope the ship is as impressive on the inside as it is outside," Lincoln commented.

"You won't be disappointed. The St. Anne has just about everything you can expect from a luxury cruise ship, including a shopping mall, movie theater, plenty of gourmet restaurants, a ball room, and that's only a few things worth mentioning," Misty replied.

"I heard there's also a Wonder Trading Station on board. I think I'll hit that up first, once I get settled in," Leaf commented.

"I might do that as well," Raigo replied. Misty noticed a familiar woman walking up the gangplank.

"Was that…?" she murmured.

"Something wrong, Misty?" Lincoln asked.

"N-no, it's nothing," Misty replied. Lincoln could tell something was up, but it was now their turn to check in.

"Please present your tickets," the porter requested. All five trainers showed him the passes they received, "Everything seems to be in order. Here are your room keys," he said, handing them room keys, "Now, just sign your names on the registrar, and you'll be good to go," he said, motioning to what appeared to be a guest book. Each of them signed their names, and proceeded up the gangplank themselves.

"Oh, this is a dream come true!" Misty felt like she was in heaven, standing on board the world-famous Cruise Liner.

"I'll say. I can't say I've ever been on a cruise before," Lincoln commented.

"I can't remember the last time I was able to have a vacation this nice," Brock added.

"Well, what do you guys say we go drop off our stuff and check out what the ship has to offer?" Raigo suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," Lincoln said, as they made their way to the guest room part of the ship.

Earlier that day, back at the Loud House, daytime,

The Louds, Sam, and Lincoln's Pokemon were shocked to see several actual monsters standing on their front porch, but Rita, being ever so cautious, spoke up, "Uh, well, this is the Loud family residence. Is there something we can help you folks with?"

"You can relax, my dear lady. We are not here to cause any sort of trouble for you or your family. May we enter?" Lucius asked.

"Uh, of course," Rita replied, allowing the monsters to enter the house. However, the minotaur girl found it difficult to enter for two enormous "reasons."

"Aw man," she lamented.

"Don't worry Milt, let me help you out," Charlie said, as she opened a portal in the living room, which connected to the front yard, "Just go through that portal, and you'll be good."

"Ok," the minotaur girl, now known as Milt went through the portal, and emerged inside of the Loud House.

"So, this is where that Lincoln kid lives?" Loona questioned, sounding unimpressed about the house.

"How do you know about my son?" Rita asked, worried about Lincoln's safety.

"Ah yes, where are our manners? My name is Lucius Magne, Demon King of the Monster Realm, and this is my lovely wife, Lillian, and our daughter, Charloette," Lucius said, introducing his family.

"But please, call me 'Charlie.'' And this is my girlfriend, Vaggie," Charlie said, introducing her Mothman girlfriend.

"Hi there," Vaggie said.

"Next up, I am Stolas Goetia, another Demon royal, much like my associate here, and this is my sweet little owlette, Octavia," Stolas gushed, causing his daughter to pull down her beanie in embarrassment

"I am Wolfgang von Throne, hellhound Duke, and my daughter, Loona," Wolfgang said, as his daughter rolled her eyes.

"My name is Elanor Mayday, a Succubus countess, and my daughter, Verosika," the succubus mother said, introducing herself and her daughter, who simply waved.

"Next up is myself and my daughter. I am Resha Meridian, an Arachne, and my daughter, Gwendalyn," the Arachne mother said, introducing herself and her daughter, who was looking elsewhere.

"I am Shogun Akuma Roketto, and this is my wife, Kiken, and our daughter, Miu," the Oni Father said, introducing his family. His daughter bowed with respect.

"And finally, there is myself, Minister Taur Fraser. As you can tell, I am a minotaur, and this is my beautiful daughter, Milt," Minister Taur said, introducing himself and Milt, who was staring off into space.

"And my name is Blitz, the 'O' is silent, and I'm the owner of I.M.P, the 'Immediate Maintenance Professionals.' And these are my assistants, Moxxie and Millie," Blitz said, introducing himself and the other two imps.

"It's very nice to meet all of you. My name is Rita Loud, and this is my husband," Rita was cut off by Lucius holding up his hand.

"You needn't introduce your husband. We already know him," he said, glaring down at the Loud Patriarch, who was gradually coming to, "For better or for worse."

"Rrrright, well, might I ask what brings you all to our home in particular? And why are you asking about Lincoln?" Rita asked.

"Well, first, you may want to sit down for this one, Rita, because what we're about to tell you is a bit of a long story," Stolas replied, urging Rita to sit back down. Lily saw Loona, Wolfgang, Stolas, and Octavia, and giggled.

"Doggy! Birdie!" she said, as she reached for them. The daughters couldn't help but smile at how adorable she was.

"Well, I suppose the beginning is a good a place to start. You see, several years ago, our father's fathers had a human friend by the name of 'Harriet Loud'," Lucius began to explain.

"What, my grandmother? What does she have to do with any of you?" Lynn Sr. questioned, his tone a bit ruder than he intended, causing the parents to sneer at him. This caused his to yelp and retreat into the kitchen.

"It's probably best he stays out of this. Anyhow, Harriet struck a deal with our grandparents. In exchange for a book containing powerful spells from the Magne, Goetia, and Mayday families, one son from her family would be chosen to marry the daughters of each family who contributed to forging the book," Lucius said.

"However, both our father's generation, as well as our own, did not produce any daughters that could fulfill the deal that was made, apart from Elanor," Stolas added.

"And even if they did, Leonard Loud didn't quite fit the bill as a suitable husband, and as for Lynn, well, you can pretty much guess how he wasn't even worth talking about," Akuma added.

"So, the deal would continue to go unfulfilled unless each family had at least one daughter to marry a son from the Loud family?" Rita questioned.

"Correct. Which brings us to the next generation, which includes each of OUR daughters, and your son," Elanor replied.

"Lincoln…!" Rita was stunned to hear this, as was everyone else in the house.

"Yes. Of course, thanks to a particular curse from that very spell book, we were alerted to the potentiality of fulfilling the deal," Lilliana said.

"What are you talking about?" Rita asked.

"We're talking about the Karmic Misfortune Curse, one of my families most powerful curses. It amplifies the bad karma of those who have wronged a certain individual until they earn that person's forgiveness. And I must say, the daughter of yours who cast the curse has the real makings of a witch, just like Harriet was," Lucius explained. The Louds couldn't believe what they were hearing. They were afflicted by some curse that causing all this bad stuff to happen to them?

"Who cast the curse?" Lori demanded, causing the royals to turn to face her.

"Excuse me?" Lucius asked.

"I asked 'who cast the curse?' I need to know so that we can deal with them accordingly!" Lori demanded.

"Ooh, yeah, I don't really see a reason why we have to tell you squat," Elanor replied.

"Whoever cast this curse was obviously in cahoots with that rotten twerp, Lincoln, into ruining MY relationship with my boyfriend!" Lori snapped. None of the royals so much as flinched at this.

"Lori, there is a time and place for delusional talk like that, and this isn't it," Rita scolded, trying to keep her eldest daughter from embarrassing the family in front of these royals.

"I have to disagree, Mom! It's bad enough that these freaks just barged into OUR home, declaring that Lincoln is set to marry their daughters because of some stupid deal they made, but to learn that all our suffering is the result of an actual curse besides Lincoln? That has to be where I draw the line," Lori declared.

"Young lady," Lilianna said, getting up from her seat, and began walking towards the eldest sister. Both Lucius and Charlie shrank in their seats, because with the tone the Magne matriarch was using, they knew she meant business, "We are in the middle of discussing the terms of a deal that CANNOT be broken for any reason. And here you are, talking like you own your brother and this house? Last I checked, your parents are in charge of this house, so THEY hold the authority," Lilianna said, before noticing the cowering, whimpering Lynn Sr., "Well, your mother holds the authority anyhow. The point is, you have absolutely no say in who your brother gets to date or marry, nor do you have the authority to punish ANY of your siblings for their transgressions, especially if it's justified."

"Well, it still doesn't change the fact that this little arranged marriage you THINK you can force on Lincoln is still going to fly. I'm entirely against it! It's one thing for Lincoln to be dating three different hussies over in Kanto, but there is no way I'm letting a bunch of monsters try to muscle their way into our family!" Lori said, looking at Loona and Octavia specifically, "Especially these two. I will never allow Lincoln to marry a bunch of furry sluts! After all, I've already decided who he IS going to marry, and that's Ronnie Anne."

"Lori, of all the stupid, rude things to have come out of your mouth…!" Rita seethed in pure anger, only to be stopped by Loona.

"If I may, Mrs. Loud?" Loona asked. Rita backed off, allowing the hellhound to take a stand against Lori, "Look, I don't care if you trash talk Charlie and the others, but Octavia happens to be one of my best friends, and I don't appreciate the way you called both her and I a couple of 'furry sluts', you overly judgmental, Beverly Hills, possibly fake blonde reject bitchy bimbo!" Everyone was stunned at how easily Loona countered Lori's trash talk.

"Damn!" Moxxie and Millie commented, reeling back slightly.

"That was wicked!" Sam added.

"Ha! You think I'm going to let what some ugly goth wolf thing says bother me? Hate to burst your bubble, but…" Lori was cut off with a hard slap to her cheek, causing her to fall onto the stairs. No one made a sound.

"Lori Marie Loud, I am NOT going to tolerate any more of this rude behavior from you or Junior! These folks have not given us any reason to subject them to such inexcusable behavior, and here you are, insulting them right to their faces!" Rita ranted. Lori fought back some tears from the stinging pain of the slap, before standing back up.

"B-but Mom, my relationship with Bobby literally depends on Lincoln and Ronnie Anne being together!" Lori tried to convince her mother, only to fall short.

"Oh, here we go with your boyfriend AGAIN! You know something Lori, it's high time you got your priorities straight! Bobby isn't part of this family! And if you keep acting like he is, then I'm afraid I'll have to ban you from ever talking to him again!" Rita declared. Lori couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"B-But he…"

"Not another word about him, Lori! Until you prove you're mature enough to be in a relationship, you are officially BANNED from dating, period!" Rita yelled. Lori was about to speak up again, but Rita beat her to it, "And if you attempt to challenge this ban, then I am not hesitant to *massively censored* your phone so far up your *massively censored* that you'll know what it's like to *really can't put THOSE words here* children out your *massively censored*!" Rita rant was so severe, everyone in the neighborhood, men, women, children, even the animals, dropped what they were doing and went to their time out corners. Needless to say, everyone in the Loud House was shocked to hear Rita's ultimatum. Moxxie was the one who ultimately broke the silence.

"That's kind of hot."

"B-But we would still like to know who cast the curse so that they can be properly p-punished," Lynn whimpered from behind the door frame. Stolas rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Alright, you want to know? It was a young lady in this house by the name of 'Lucy'," Stolas snapped, causing Lynn to duck out of sight.

"Wait, Lucy did this?" Lola questioned.

"Yep. And I must say, for someone so young to cast a spell this powerful, she must be some kind of prodigy," Stolas replied.

"Oh, Lucy is so going to get it! I bet she's doing this as revenge for us teasing her about her Princess Pony books!" Lola declared, but she immediately shrunk in her seat upon seeing the death glare her mother shot her way.

"No, not possible. Based on what we gathered, the curse was cast on the night of August 2nd," Stolas replied.

"'August 2nd'? That was the day Lynn ran her mouth and nearly ruined our progress with Lincoln," Luna commented.

"Correct," Lisa mused, as she got everyone's attention, "Lucy had cast the curse after Lynn made Lincoln run off. That might've been the last straw as far as Lucy was concerned. Though I have to admit, even as a woman of science, I must say that the effects of the curse are fully warranted."

"Lisa, are you even hearing yourself?! Lucy cast that spell on everyone in the house just for the sake of that stupid little twerp! We are the dominant siblings in this house! We have to be in the right for everything we do!" Lori chastised, though it seemed to have little to no effect on Lisa.

"It's that kind of behavior that probably drove Lincoln to carry on Lynn's superstitious lie just to get out of our events," Lisa countered.

"What do you mean, sweetie?" Lynn Sr. asked.

"Think about it for a moment, Father Unit; Lynn blames Lincoln for one loss at a softball game, then Lincoln gets the idea to use 'bad luck' as an excuse for a little time to himself," Lisa replied.

"Wait, so you're saying Lincoln really WAS lying about being bad luck?" Luan asked.

"And the last horse crosses the finish line," Luna snarked. This got a snicker from the royals, Vaggie, Sam, and the imps, as well as a glare from Luan.

"So, the day Lincoln wrecked my golf clubs?" Lori asked, to which Lisa simply nodded, "That twerp is going to pay for a completely new set of clubs!" she declared.

"Why waste all that money for some set of clubs? As I recall, it was just the 9-Iron that was actually damaged," Luna questioned.

"It's not about the set of clubs, it's about the principle! Lincoln nearly destroyed someone else's property, and now, he has to face the consequences in full," Lori stated.

"I honestly don't see any point in doing that. Your brother should just have to pay for whatever club was actually broken, and be done with it," Charlie said.

"Who asked you?" Lori rudely quipped. Charlie didn't flinch. She also didn't like the tone this girl was taking with her, "Speaking of which, what even is that twerp up to now?"

"Well, I won't go into the full details, so I'll just give you a little run down of what's been going down in Kanto. So far, he's managed to acquire some more Nuggets, as well as catch a glimpse of a colossal Dragonite that made even a lighthouse look like a dollhouse, and he's managed to obtain a free pass to a world-famous luxury cruise liner," Lisa explained.

"LINCOLN DID WHAT?!" Lori, Luan, Lana, Lola, and Lynn Sr. exclaimed, shocked at what they had just heard. Lynn was storming down the stairs with Lucy, holding the goth girl's arms behind her back.

"I heard about what Lucy did with cursing us, so now we can punish her accordingly. So, what has that jinx done this time?" Lynn questioned, pushing Lucy to the ground.

"Lincoln… won a free pass to a luxury cruise!" Lori replied.

"What?! There's no way! He's bad luck!" Lynn argued, before noticing the monsters in the dining room, "And who are these freaks?"

"Young lady, that is certainly no way to talk to guests," Elanor stated, looking down on Lynn, who didn't take kindly to her tone or to being looked down upon.

"Secondly, we're here to discuss an arrangement involving your brother and our daughters," Akuma said.

"Thirdly, it sounds to me like your brother is anything but bad luck if he gets to go on a cruise," Octavia added.

"Pfft, like I believe he could be used in any arrangement, just like I don't believe he gets to take a cruise," Lynn declared, only for Lisa to pull out a tablet and show her the part from the latest call, "Oh you have got to be kidding me!"

"What's this about 'bad luck', and why does it have to do with your son?" Minister Taur asked.

"Well, it's kind of a long story. To make it short, Junior here thought it was a good idea to threaten her brother with her softball bat to make him come to a softball game where she lost then blamed Lincoln for the loss, saying it's because he was 'bad luck'," Rita began explaining.

"Because it's true!" Lynn stated.

"Junior, enough!" Rita scolded, causing Lynn to cross her arms in a pout, "Then Lincoln got the idea to lie about being bad luck to get out of his sister's events, which worked a little too well. We started banning him from being in the same room as us, as well as excluding him from events he would've liked to be a part of. Then we took it a bit too far by forcing him outside like a wild animal," she continued.

"Is all of this true?" Lucius asked, sounding shocked and a bit appalled by what he and the others just heard.

"All apart from the part where he lied about it. I wouldn't have lost my game that day if it weren't for him!" Lynn replied.

"Junior, to your room!" Rita demanded.

"Fine! As for you," Lynn said, taking Lucy by the collar of her dress and dragging her upstairs, "C'mon guys, we need to teach Lucy here a little lesson about cursing us!"

"Right behind you!" Lori said, only for both sisters to be stopped by being lifted into the air by Lapis' Psychic. Queeny took the initiative to rescue Lucy, as Lapis threw both sisters back upstairs.

"Most impressive from these two," Resha praised.

"Quite right. Now then, going back to this explanation, did your son make any attempt to confess his lie?" Lilliana asked.

"He did, but at first, we thought he was just saying that to come back in, so we didn't believe him. It wasn't until after we got back from another softball game where my father, Albert, came up with a solution to have us send Lincoln to the Kanto Region, just off the coast of Japan. He figured if Lincoln was on the other side of the world, then Junior wouldn't be able to either blame or harm him for any notions of bad luck," Rita replied.

"Hmm. Have you at least made any attempts to reconcile with him?" Octavia asked.

"Actually, yes. So far, only myself, and my daughters, Leni, Luna, Lucy, and Lisa have earned his forgiveness. And since Lily here is just a baby, you can guess why she's a wild card," Rita replied.

"Well, if you've managed to acknowledge your wrongdoings, then I see no reason to hold it against you, Rita. Your husband and remaining daughters, on the other hand, well that's a different story," Lucius replied.

"Which reminds me, how do you all know my husband?" Rita asked.

"Well, it all started back when we were kids," Stolas replied, going into a flashback.

35 years ago, somewhere between the human world and the Monster Realm,

"So, where are we going, Grandma?" a young Lynn Sr. nervously asked, as he walked alongside an elderly Harriet Loud through a dark forest.

"I told you, child, we're going to meet some friends of mine in regards to a promise I made a long time ago," Harriet replied, as they got deeper and deeper into the forest. Once they were deep enough, an eerie mist was beginning to roll in.

"Uh, you know, maybe this isn't such a good idea. Maybe I'll just head back to the house," Lynn said, as he tried to sneak away.

"You will stay right by my side, Lynn," Harriet said, her tone being final. Lynn could never disobey anyone in his family when they use THAT particular tone. Harriet then held out her hands, "From the dark mist, I contact thee in the realm unlike our own. I summon thee in regards to the deal with the tome!" she chanted, as a pillar of flames erupted from the mist, forming a portal. Several figures were seen within it.

"Ah, Harriet, so good to see you again," the lead figure said, stepping out of the portal with a younger version of Lucius. The

"As it is good to see you, Belmont. And I take it this is your son?" Harriet asked, noticing Lucius. The figure in question looked just like the adult Lucius, except he had long, red horns protruding from his head. One by one, each figure stepped out with child versions of Lucius' friends.

"Grandson, actually," Belmont said, kneeling down to his son's level, "Lucius, this is my friend, Harriet Loud. Harriet, my grandson, Lucius."

"It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. Loud," Lucius said respectfully.

"Such a well-mannered child," Harriet said, as she dragged a petrified Lynn over, "And this is my grandson, Lynn Loud. Lynn, this is my friend, and ruler of the Monster Realm, Belmont, and his colleagues."

Lynn was too scared to say anything, so he did the one instinctual thing he could've done in a situation like this: He screamed like a little girl and bolt into the forest, but not before yelling "MONSTERS!"

"Lynn, get back here!" Harriet yelled. She pinched the bridge of her nose, before turning back to her friends, "I am so sorry about this. Lynn's a good-natured boy, but he just, well…"

"It's alright Harriet. We understand. Besides, no offence, but your grandson is hardly fit to fulfil our deal," Belmont said.

"Yeah, he freezes up whenever he talks to human girls," Harriet said.

"And besides, there are hardly any daughters in our families among this new generation," Stolas' father commented, noting that Rasha and Elanor were the only daughters among them.

"Well, we can always make it so that our GREAT grandkids can marry," Harriet said.

"That will do," Belmont replied, as he took out the contract, and changed a part in the contract.

Realtime,

"And that's pretty much how we met Lynn," Stolas replied.

"Oh, so pretty much he screamed like a little bitch and ran off?" Blitz asked.

"I would've phrased that a bit cleaner, what with a b-a-b-y in the room, but yes," Akuma replied, pointing to Lily.

"Not to mention several other k-i-d-s," Lilliana added.

"Lady, listen, we hear a lot of bad words whenever we're out on the town. And believe me, we hear a lot worse than what that guy said," Lana said bluntly.

"Hmm, a lot of your daughters could use some work on their manners," Lilliana said Rita.

"Lynn and I are trying our best to raise them right," Rita replied.

"Well, we can always give some pointers. After all, we raised our daughters to be proper young ladies," Lucius said, pulling Charlie in closer, much to her embarrassment.

"Dad!" she whined.

"I think that would benefit a lot for us, thank you," Rita replied.

"Well, I already know two distinct areas we can start, namely Lincoln and Lucy," Lynn Sr. said.

"Lynn, have you learned NOTHING from what's been going on?" Rita asked.

"If by 'learned' you mean learned that Lincoln betrayed our trust and needs to be properly punished, then yes. The same goes for Lucy. Didn't she think about what could've happened with that curse? One of us could've been killed!" Lynn Sr. argued.

"Not possible, Lynn. The Karmic Misfortune Curse not only amplifies your bad karma, but it also ensures that you're kept alive long enough to pay back your karmic dues. At least until one year has passed," Lucius replied.

"Wait, what are you saying?" Rita asked.

"I'm saying that the curse your daughter here cast is a great motivator to apologize to whoever is used as a medium, in this case, your son, Lincoln. However, there is a time limit as to how long the afflicted can go without making any sort of amends. Long story short, if one year passes AFTER the curse is cast, and your karmic dues are not paid back, then the curse becomes caked in as the more powerful 'Curse of the Mule', and it wouldn't matter if you gain forgiveness after time is up, because this more powerful variant of the Misfortune Curse cannot be removed," Lucius explained. The Louds were speechless at hearing this.

"Is that really true, Dad?" Charlie whispered.

"I'm afraid it is, sweetie," Lucius replied.

Present time, on the St. Anne,

The ship's horn bellowed, as it began to take off. Passengers, including Lincoln and company, were waving goodbye to people on the dock, "Well, time to enjoy a relaxing cruise! What should we do first?" Lincoln asked.

"Why don't we hit up the Wonder Trade Station first? I'm itching to see what kinds of new Pokemon I'll get," Misty suggested.

"I'd kind of like to see what I'll get myself," Brock added.

"Same here. I've Wonder Traded before, and I've caught three Pokemon I want to use for it," Leaf chimed in.

"As have I," Raigo added.

"Well, lets take a look at where the station's at," Lincoln said, consulting a map of the ship, "Hmm, looks like it's on the third level."

"Great! And once we're done there, we can go check out all the stores they have here!" Leaf said, as she and Misty squeed at the thought of shopping.

"I just hope it won't be like back home with my sisters," Lincoln said in exasperation.

"That's why after we finish trading, I'm going to check out the buffets," Brock replied.

"I think I'll do that too," Raigo commented, as they continued through the ship. Unbeknownst to them, a certain trio was watching them from the shadows.

"Just our luck! That American brat and his friends are on board the St. Anne! No doubt they'll find a way to ruin the heist!" Jessie hissed.

"We should inform Proton of this at once," James replied.

"We can do that after we go beef up our teams. Didn't you hear them about going to do some Wonder Trading? We might benefit a bit more from adding new Pokemon to our ranks," Meowth said.

"Good thinking, Meowth. But we can't let them see us!" Jessie said, as they took a different route to the Wonder Trade room. Nearby, a pair of women had heard everything.

"Oh, great! Those three buffoons are here too?" Midori groaned.

"I take it you know them?" Lorelei asked.

"Unfortunately, yes. They're some of the more incompetent members of Team Rocket. The lowest of the lowest rank. They always manage to botch up even the simplest of tasks," Midori explained.

"Hmm, well, they can't be all that dangerous, at least compared to Proton and the others," Lorelei quipped.

"Fortunately for us, they're as weak as they are dumb, which is pretty dumb," Midori replied.

"Well, we can't let down our guard. You go and do your tasks to keep any incognito Team Rocket members from getting suspicious. I'm going to go meet with my protégé," Lorelei said, as she walked off.

"Hopefully, this sting operation goes well," Midori quietly mused, as she went back to her duties.

Later, in the Wonder Trade Station,

Lincoln and friends were busily making their way to the Wonder Trade Station, when they ran into some familiar faces, "Oh, it's you guys!" Saki said, as she was accompanied by Rin, Aya, Kotegawa, Haruna, Rito, Lala, Celine, Momo, and Nana.

"Glad to see you got on board," Nana said.

"Likewise. So, what've you been up to?" Lincoln asked.

"We've been looking around all the shops the ship has to offer. Though a lot of the stalls have stuff that I think you guys would benefit from more," Haruna replied.

"We even saw some guy who had a tank full of red colored fish, trying to sell them off," Rin added.

"'Red colored fish'?" Leaf asked, as she pulled out her Pokedex. She punched in a few keys, before showing them a picture of the Pokemon they were describing, "Is this what they looked like?"

"Magikarp, the Fish Pokemon, a Water Type. In ancient times, Magikarp was considered very powerful. However, the modern day descendants are considered the weakest Pokemon in the world," her Pokedex explained.

"Yeah, that's the very one!" Saki exclaimed.

"Don't know why anyone would be trying to sell a Magikarp. People can just fish one up for free," Misty commented.

"Probably some guy trying to sucker some cash out of unsuspecting people," Lincoln guessed.

"So, what are you up to?" Kotegawa asked.

"We're on our way to the Wonder Trade station," Raigo replied.

"What's that?" Rito asked.

"It's where trainers can exchange Pokemon with other trainers from around the world. It's actually pretty fun," Lincoln explained.

"Ooh, can we check it out with you guys?" Lala asked.

"Sure, the more the merrier," Lincoln replied, as they continued onward. Eventually, they had arrived at the station, which, thankfully, was empty, meaning they didn't have to wait in line, "Great! Now we can get to work on trading Pokemon!" Lincoln said.

"We'll get our Pokemon ready to trade over. Whoever has their Pokemon ready, go right ahead," Leaf said, as she and Lincoln took out their Pokedexes to access the Pokemon Box Link.

"Well, how about I go first?" Brock asked.

"By all means," Misty replied.

"It's cool, bro," Raigo added.

"So, how does this work?" Momo asked.

"Just take a Pokeball with the Pokemon you want to trade off and place it inside the machine here," Brock said, as he got out the first of his two Pokeballs ready to Wonder Trade, and placed it in the machine, "Next, just hit the 'Trade Button' and wait," he then hit the send button, and in seconds, the ball was sucked into the machine, and later replaced with a Dusk Ball. He repeated the process one more, this time, getting a Great Ball, "I'll wait till you guys finish up your trades to see what I got."

"Sure thing," Misty said, as she went next, sending off her two Pokeballs, and getting two Dusk Balls in return. Raigo repeated the same process three times with three of his Pokeballs, getting a Repeat Ball, a Fast Ball, and a Dive Ball.

"Ok, and we're good to go," Leaf said.

"Leaf, since you only have three Pokeballs, you go first," Lincoln urged.

"Thanks Lincoln!" Leaf said, as she took up the white-haired boy's offer, and sent off her three Pokeballs. She got another Pokeball, a Nest Ball, and a Net Ball.

"Alright, lets see what I get," Lincoln said, as he traded off his four Pokeballs, getting a Luxury Ball, a Net Ball, and two new Pokeballs, "Alright guys, lets see what we got!" Lincoln said, as he and the others tossed their new Pokeballs into the air, releasing all of their new Pokemon.

From the Luxury Ball Lincoln received, out emerged a little brown bunny Pokemon with curly, cream-colored fur round it's waist and on the tips of it's ears. From his Net Ball came a large, blue, beetle like Pokemon with a massive horn. From the first of his two new Pokeballs, came a small, yellow and red weasel like Pokemon that looked like a martial artist, and from the second one appeared to be a white, floating metal leg with a round, metal eye at the top, and yellow claws on the bottom. The last one sparkled as it appeared.

From Leaf's Pokeballs, she had gotten a blue, angler fish like Pokemon with two long antennae with big yellow bulbs on each end, a pink, cherry like Pokemon, and what appeared to be a little blue lobster with one claw being larger than the other.

Misty's Wonder Traded Dusk Balls produced a small, yellow cone shaped Pokemon with beady blue eyes, and short stubby hand like digits, and a small, blue and white humanoid Pokemon that appeared to be floating while meditating.

Brock's Dusk Ball and Great Ball had produced, respectively a small, blue lizard like Pokemon with a shiny, grey colored cranium, and a fox with snow white fur.

Raigo's Repeat Ball, Fast Ball, and Dive Ball released, respectively, an orange-colored elephant Pokemon, a little white eel like Pokemon, and finally a Skrelp.

"Buneary, Heracross, Mienfoo, and Beldum have been registered to your Pokedex," Dexter stated.

"Chinchou, Cherubi, and Clauncher have been registered to your Pokedex," Leaf's Pokedex said.

"Cufant, Tynamo, and Skrelp have been registered to your Pokedex," Raigo's Pokedex said.

"After you're done getting info on your guy's Pokemon, could one of you scan ours?" Misty asked.

"Sure thing," Lincoln replied, as he, Leaf, and Raigo began scanning the new Pokemon.

"Buneary, the Rabbit Pokemon, a Normal Type. Buneary can attack by rolling up one of its ears, then striking with the force created by unrolling them. This technique becomes stronger with training. This Female Buneary is Level 20, and knows the moves Splash, Pound, Double Kick, Defense Curl, Baby Doll Eyes, Quick Attack, and the Egg Move Copycat. Buneary is also holding a Loppunite.

Heracross, the Single Horn Pokemon, a Bug and Fighting Type. Heracross takes great pride in it's strength. It can easily lift things 100 times heavier than itself. It also loves tree sap, and will go searching for some in the forest. This Male Heracross is Level 26, and knows the moves Areial Ace, Tackle, Leer, Endure, Horn Attack, and the Egg Move Rock Blast.

Mienfoo, the Martial Arts Pokemon, a Fighting Type. Although small, Mienfoo's temperament is quite fierce. Any creature that approaches carelessly will be greeted with a flurry of graceful attacks. In one minute, a well-trained Mienfoo can chop with it's arms more than 100 times. This female Mienfoo is Level 25, and knows the moves Pound, Detect, Fake Out, Reversal, Quick Guard, Force Palm, Fury Swipes, and the Egg Move Vital Throw. Mienfoo is also holding a Black Belt.

Beldum, the Iron Ball Pokemon, a Steel and Psychic Type. Its cells are all magnets. It uses magnetism to communicate with others of it's kind. This Beldum is Level 17, and knows the moves Iron Head, Zen Headbutt, Iron Defense, and Take Down. Beldim is also holding a Metagrossite.

Chinchou, the Angler Pokemon, a Water and Electric Type. It shoots positive and negative electricity between the tips of its antennae and zaps opponents. This Male Chinchou is Level 23, and knows the moves Water Gun, Super Sonic, Thunder Wave, Electro Ball, Bubble Beam, Confuse Ray, and Spark.

Cherubi, the Cherry Pokemon, a Grass Type. The small ball hold nutrients needed for its evolution. Apparently, it's very sweet and tasty. This Female Cherubi is level 19, and knows the moves Morning Sun, Tackle, Leafage, Growth, Helping Hand, and the Egg Move Weather Ball.

Clauncher, the Water Gun Pokemon, a Water Type. This Pokemon launches water by detonating gas in its right claw. It snipes flying Pokemon. This Male Clauncher is Level 22, and knows the moves Water Gun, Splash, Vice Grip, Flail, Aqua Jet, Smack Down, and the Egg Move Bubble Beam.

Cufant, the Copperderm Pokemon, a Steel Type. It digs up the ground with it's trunk. It is also very strong, being able to carry loads weighing over five tons without any problems at all. This Male Cufant is Level 32, and knows the moves Iron Defense, Rock Smash, Dig, Stomp, Bulldoze, Brutal Swing and the Egg Move Swagger.

Tynamo, the Elefish Pokemon, an Electric Type. While one doesn't have much power alone, a chain of many Tynamo can be as powerful as lightning. This Female Tynamo is Level 35, and knows the moves Tackle, Thunder Wave, Charge Beam, Spark, and Magnet Rise.

Skrelp, the Mock Kelp Pokemon, a Poison and Water Type. It looks like rotten kelp. It uses this camouflage to hide from predators as it stores power for evolution. The Male Skrelp is Level 40, and knows the moves Double Team, Toxic, Sludge Bomb, Water Pulse, Poison Tail, Aqua Tail and the Egg Move Acid Armor," each of their Pokedexes explained.

"Awesome! We got some really cool Pokemon on this trade!" Raigo commented.

"Now, lets see about these four," Lincoln said, as he went to scan Brock and Misty's new Pokemon.

"Snorunt, the Snow Hat Pokemon, an Ice Type. Snorunt live primarily in snowy regions where they feed on ice. It is said that any house visited by a Snorunt will be blessed with good fortune.

Meditite, the Meditate Pokemon, a Psychic and Fighting Type. It eats just one berry a day. By enduring hunger, it's spirit is tempered and made sharper.

Vulpix, Alola Form, the Fox Pokemon, an Ice Type. It exhales air colder than -58 degrees Fahrenheit. It is also known as 'Keokeo'.

Bagon, the Rock Head Pokemon, a Dragon Type. With dreams of flying in the sky one day, it's genes are greatly influenced as it evolves," Dexter explained.

"So, no Water Types this time around. Oh well, these two are still plenty cute," Misty commented, kneeling down to eye level with her new Pokemon.

"I know that I can raise these two to be spectacular," Brock said, as he took a moment to meet his new Pokemon.

"I'm sure these four will make great teammates," Lincoln said, looking at his new Pokemon. Pikachu went down to greet them.

"Hey there! Welcome to the team!" Pikachu greeted.

"Very nice to meet you. So I take it he is to be our new trainer?" Mienfoo asked in an all too serious tone.

"Yep. This is Lincoln Loud," Pikachu replied, a little put off by how serious Mienfoo was.

"I'm hoping that we'll all be great friends," Lincoln said. Buneary couldn't help but admire her new trainer.

'He's cute,' she thought.

"If I may ask, where are we now?" Heracross asked.

"You're onboard the St. Anne Cruise Liner. We just left Vermillion City," Lincoln replied.

"So, we are in Kanto?" Beldum asked.

"Yep. We're going to be at sea for a few days, but for now, we're just relaxing," Lincoln replied.

"Speaking of which, I think I'm going to go do some serious shopping," Leaf commented, as she recalled her new Pokemon.

"I'm right behind you!" Misty said, recalling her Pokemon. Both girls then took Lincoln by the arms, "C'mon Lincoln, there might be something that'll pique your interest," she said, as the two of them dragged Lincoln away, leaving his new Pokemon to just watch in disbelief.

"Does this kind of stuff happen a lot?" Buneary asked.

"This is a definite first for me," Pikachu replied, as the five of them went to catch up with Lincoln.

"Well, seeing as how they're going to do some shopping, why don't we go do the same?" Nana asked.

"Sounds good, especially since you need to keep a close eye on Lincoln," Momo said in a suggestive tone, walking out of the station. Nana blushed furiously at this.

"Would you shut up about that!? It hasn't even been made official!" Nana yelled, chasing after her twin.

"Maybe it would be a good idea to help try to push Nana and Lincoln closer together," Lala commented.

"Just try not to overdo it," all eyes trained on Brock.

"What do you mean?" Rito asked.

"I'm saying that Lincoln's not exactly the type of guy who likes being forced into a relationship. I would tell you all the details, but I think it's best if Lincoln's the one to do it. After all, I'd rather not betray his trust," Brock replied seriously.

"I'm guessing something bad happened?" Raigo asked.

"That would be putting it mildly. Now, I was originally planning to go check out the buffet, but I think I'd like to see what kinds of goods the shops have myself," Brock said, recalling Vulpix and Bagon, before exiting the station.

"You seem to be good friends with Lincoln. Any idea what could've happened?" Lala asked Raigo.

"Afraid not. I only met him back in Viridian City when he was just starting out. Everything before that, apart from being from America, is a complete mystery," Raigo replied.

"Lincoln Loud… Just who are you?" Kotegawa wondered.

Team Updates:

Lincoln:

Buneary (New Pokemon)

Heracross (New Pokemon)

Beldum (New Pokemon)

Mienfoo (New Pokemon)

Misty:

Snorunt (New Pokemon)

Meditite (New Pokemon)

Brock

Alolan Vulpix (New Pokemon)

Bagon (New Pokemon)

Raigo:

Cufant (New Pokemon)

Skrelp (New Pokemon)

Tynamo (New Pokemon)

Leaf:

Chinchou (New Pokemon)

Cherubi (New Pokemon)

Clauncher (New Pokemon)