Kanto Gets Loud
Chapter 12: The First Progress Report
Meanwhile, at the Loud House, around 2:30 AM,
Lisa was trying to get to sleep, as she laid in bed. Key word being "try". She hadn't been able to fall asleep since her conversation with her mother regarding Lincoln. Her mind was too busy trying to figure out a way to apologize to Lincoln. So far, she hasn't been able to think of a proper way. She was hoping that at least Lucy could help brainstorm an idea on the proper course of action. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the beeping of the Videophone going off, "A call? At this hour?" she questioned as she quickly rushed over to answer, as not to disturb Lily. She picked up the receiver and pressed the answer button. As she did, Professor Oak appeared on the screen.
"Oh, I'm sorry little one, did I disturb your sleep?" Professor Oak asked.
"Uh… no. I was awake anyway. You must be Professor Oak," Lisa stated.
"Indeed I am. And I take it your one of Lincoln's sisters?" Professor Oak asked.
"Yes, I am his second youngest sister, Lisa Loud. Might I inquire as to the nature of this call?" Lisa asked.
"Of course, but are your parents around?" Professor Oak asked.
"Unfortunately, they are still asleep, and won't be for another few hours," Lisa replied.
"Ah, that's right! We're calling from two different time zones!" Professor Oak exclaimed, smacking himself in the forehead.
"Well, I can be sure to relay your message to them when they're up and around. Speaking of which," Lisa commented.
"Ah, right! I was calling to inform your parents that I've completed the first report on Lincoln's progress, and I thought they and the rest of your family would like to hear about it. That, and I wanted to give my two-bits about a certain event that Lincoln told me about," Professor Oak explained, his tone sounding serious at the end. Lisa felt a cold streak run down her spine.
"Uh… w-well, as I said, I'll inform the rest of my family about your progress report and bring them in to hear about it in a few hours," Lisa stated.
"Good. I can tell you're a very knowledgeable young lady, Lisa, and what I want to say about your family's actions will concern YOU a great deal more than the rest," Professor Oak replied, hanging up. Lisa felt her heart drop into her stomach.
"Oh boy, no doubt he's ever going to let any of us hear the end of it," Lisa groaned miserably, as she went back to bed, and tried once more to fall asleep.
A few hours later,
Lisa was able to get to sleep, if anything just a little while, when the smell of bacon being cooked roused her from her sleep, "Mmm, breakfast must be ready," she commented, as she got out of bed, exited her room, and made her way downstairs, where the rest of the family was seated at the table, enjoying their breakfast. Well, almost all of them were. Lucy had her head propped up with her arm, poking at her eggs, a glum look on her face, even for Lucy. Lisa also saw her mother was the same way, but still ate some pieces of her eggs.
"Good morning, Lisa. I have breakfast ready now," Lynn Sr. said, coming out of the kitchen with a plate of bacon and eggs for the young genius.
"Thank you, Father unit," Lisa said, as she sat at the table. It was then that she remembered, "Oh, right! When we're all done with breakfast, come to my room. Pop-Pop's Professor friend called last night and said he wants to talk to us." Rita then looked up in interest, and slight hope.
"Talk to us? About what in particular?" Luna asked.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he's calling to complain about that rotten, no-good jinx," Lynn Jr. stated, eating a piece of toast. Lisa chose to ignore Lynn's comment, as she turned to Luna.
"The Professor wants to discuss Lincoln's first progress report with us," Lisa replied.
"A progress report? Why would he need to inform us about anything that twerp does?" Lori asked.
"What even is the deal with this Professor Oak guy anyway? All we know about him is his name and his general field of study," Lana pointed out.
"Lana does raise a good point. Why should we meet with this guy?" Lola asked.
"Because he's a friend of Pop=Pop's, and therefore MUST be shown a great deal of respect," Rita declared.
"Well, if that's the case, then we might as well go and hear this report. Besides, I am kind of wondering how Lincoln's fairing without us," Lori commented.
"Knowing that jinx, he's probably crying like the wussy pansy he is and wishing he was back here with us. Not that we would take him back, or anything. You can count me out of meeting this Professor dude. I really couldn't care less about what Stinkcoln is up to," Lynn Jr. stated, spearing a sausage on her plate.
"Junior, you are NOT to talk about your brother that way!" Rita stated, sounding like her patience with her sporty daughter was already wearing thin, "And you WILL join the rest of us in meeting the Professor, or you can forget about your upcoming softball game," she added, giving an ultimatum, which, based on her tone and body language, indicated that her decision was final.
"Ugh, fine! But only AFTER I finish breakfast," Lynn Jr. grumbled, just as Lisa finished up her breakfast.
"In the meantime, I'll go and get things set up," Lisa said, as she retreated back upstairs. The rest of the sisters, save for Lori and Lynn Jr., followed after Lisa, while the parents cleaned up.
"Why aren't you following after them?" Lynn questioned.
"Because someone has to make sure that you don't 'conveniently forget' meeting the Professor. That, and I need to tell you something before we head upstairs," Lori replied.
"And what might that be?" Lynn asked.
"During the meeting with the professor, you are NOT to bring up this whole 'bad luck' mess Lincoln caused us. The less people getting involved in family affairs, the better, so keep your mouth shut about anything related to Lincoln's bad luck," Lori ordered.
"Fine, let's just go get this over with. I've got better things to do than hear about that geekwad's time at the lab," Lynn said, as she made her way upstairs, followed closely by Lori. Meanwhile, Rita and Lynn Sr. were washing the dishes. All the while, Lynn Sr. couldn't help but notice the forlorn look on his wife's face.
"Rita, is something troubling you?" Lynn Sr. asked.
"Well, with the fact that we're going to be talking with the Professor, I'm worried about what Lincoln could possibly say to us. What if he hates us all for what we did to him?" Rita asked. Lynn Sr. was surprised at such a question.
"Rita, Lincoln doesn't hate us. He's not the type to let hatred overtake him and cloud his judgement. Besides, he knew we were doing this for the sake of his safety, as well as the well being of the rest of the family. We couldn't risk any more of his bad luck causing some kind of trouble for us," Lynn Sr. replied.
"Lynn, even if Lincoln really is bad luck, what we did by locking him out was cruel and unusual. You heard how disappointed Dad was in us for what we did," Rita replied.
"I know, but somethings just aren't worth the risk," Lynn Sr. replied. Rita looked at her husband like he just committed a murder.
"'Not worth the risk'?! Lynn, Lincoln is our son, our ONLY son! We could've tried to find some way around this mess!" Rita yelled.
"Would we have found a way that ALL of his sisters would've agreed to? Junior included?" Lynn Sr. questioned. Rita narrowed her eyes at her husband.
"We are going to have words later today, but for now, we should go and meet the Professor again," Rita said, as they finished up, and made their way up towards Lisa's room.
In Lisa's Room,
"So, how much longer until we meet this Professor guy?" Lana asked, as the other Loud Sisters were awaiting Lisa to get things set up.
"In just a moment. I need to check the call log in order to call him back," Lisa said, accessing the call log, finding the Professor's number, "Ok, here we go. Just as soon as the others are in, I'll make the call," no soon than she said that, Lori and Lynn entered the room, "You two are just in time," she said.
"Yeah, yeah, let's just hurry this up. I've got better and more important things to do, like getting myself psyched up for my upcoming game," Lynn stated. Lisa rolled her eyes at her sister's rude behavior, "So, how are we going to be talking to this Professor guy anyhow?"
"We'll be using this Videophone," Lisa replied, motioning towards the aforementioned device, "And before you ask, no, I did not build this, nor do I have any intention of building another one. This was a gift that Pop-Pop delivered on behalf of Professor Oak."
"Like any of us would want something so clunky in our rooms," Lori grumbled, just as their parents arrived.
"Alright, we're here," Lynn Sr. said.
"Have you managed to contact Professor Oak yet, Lisa?" Rita asked.
"Not yet. I was waiting for you both to come in before I made the call," Lisa replied, as she went ahead and made the call. It took a few minutes before the other end picked up, and the image of Professor Oak appeared on screen, "Hello, Professor. I've brought my family, just as I said I would earlier," she said, greeting the Professor.
"Hello again, Ms. Loud. And it's nice to see you both again, Mr. and Mrs. Loud," Professor Oak said, returning the greeting. He then noticed the large number of other girls among them, "My word, Lincoln certainly wasn't joking when he said his family was a large one."
"Yeah, we get that a lot. So anyhow, how's Lincoln doing over there?" Lynn Sr. asked.
"Well, I got a call from him last night, and so far, even the night before he became a Pokemon Trainer went much more smoothly for him than it would for any other beginning trainer," Professor Oak replied. A look of confusion worked it's way onto each of the Loud Sister's faces.
'Pokemon Trainer?' they all thought.
"I have a hard time believing that rotten jinx is having any sort of a good time," Lynn muttered, only to get elbowed by Lori.
"Quiet," the eldest sister ordered.
"Well, before we begin, shall we introduce our daughters to you?" Lynn Sr. suggested.
"Hmm, that would make conversing much easier," Professor Oak replied.
"I'll go first. My name is Lori. I'm the oldest sister of the family," Lori said, introducing herself.
"My name is Leni. Nice to meet you, Professor," Leni said.
"Name's Luna Loud," Luna said.
"I'm Luan," Luan said.
"Lynn Loud Jr. Calling me Lynn or Junior would be easier," Lynn said.
"Lucy," Lucy said.
"My name's…" Lana was cut off when Lola pulled her back by the overalls.
"Nuh-uh! I'm going first since I'm the prettiest!" Lola declared.
"But I'm the older of the two of us!" Lana argued, as the two of them started bickering.
"I'm guessing they're always like that?" Professor Oak asked.
"Yeah. Comes with the territory of being twins and polar opposites. The one in the red cap is Lana, and the one in pink is Lola," Luan quickly said, introducing the two on their behalf.
"You seem to have already met Lisa, so here's our youngest daughter, Lily," Rita said, holding Lily in her arms.
"Eh oh!" Lily said, trying to say "hello".
"So, about this Progress Report, what does that have to do with this 'Pokemon' thing?" Lori asked. The other sisters were also curious. Lana and Lola even stopped fighting in anticipation for an answer.
"Ah yes. I'll give a brief explanation. Pokemon are mysterious creatures that inhabit various parts of the world. They can be found just about anywhere within any of the known regions, be it forests, plains, rivers, lakes, mountains, caves, the sky, even the vast ocean. Positively fascinating creatures," Professor Oak briefly explained, as he tossed a Pokeball, releasing the Dragonite he used to fly him and Lincoln back to Kanto with.
"Whoa, is that an actual dragon?!" Lana exclaimed.
"In a way, yes. This Dragonite is one of many Pokemon that Lincoln is bound to encounter on his journey," Professor Oak replied.
"Wait, 'journey'?" Luan asked.
"Yes. You see, while most people catch and befriend Pokemon to be pets, trainers compete against other trainers in battle to help make their Pokemon stronger. Your brother, as of the other day, is one such trainer. As for me, I am one of many researchers in the world who study Pokemon and their behavioral patterns," Professor Oak replied.
"And when you mentioned a journey, I'm guessing our bro's not at your lab right now?" Luna asked, kind of sounding disappointed.
"I'm afraid not. He set out yesterday morning," Professor Oak replied.
"Aww, I was hoping to talk to him," Leni commented.
"Leni, we're supposed to be mad at Lincoln for all the trouble's he's caused us, remember?" Lynn Jr. questioned harshly. Lana, however, didn't seem to hear her.
"So, has Lincoln caught any Pokemon while there?" the little grease monkey asked.
"Yes, as a matter fact, he has," Professor Oak said, looking somewhere off screen, "According to the signal his Pokedex has been sending, he's managed to catch 3 different Pokemon, which I suppose is a good a time as any to begin the report."
"Ok, then please, report away," Rita urged.
"Will do. Ok, so the first Pokemon Lincoln caught was his starter Pokemon, a rather mischievous Pikachu who was chewing up the electrical wires on the circuit breaker at my lab," Professor Oak began, as he displayed a picture of Pikachu.
"A mouse?" Lucy questioned.
"Yes. To be more precise, Pikachu is known as the 'Mouse Pokemon'. It's an Electric Type, capable of firing off bolts of electricity from the red pouches on it's cheeks," Professor Oak explained.
"Really? So, has it managed to zap Lincoln yet?" Lola asked hopefully. Professor Oak looked a little unnerved by the pageant princess's question. Thankfully, Rita spoke up.
"Now Lola, that's not a very nice thing to wish on your brother. You wouldn't want to be zapped by that little mouse, or by anything yourself, would you?" she asked sternly. Lola merely scoffed.
"As if I would ever allow something like that mouse a chance to do something like that to me," she retorted.
"You never know. Your words could come back to haunt you," Luna warned.
"She's right, you know. Karma works in mysterious ways," Lucy added.
"We would need to have actually done something bad to warrant karma," Lynn bluntly stated.
"Ahem, we're getting off topic here. Anyhow, moving on," Professor Oak said, getting the conversation back on track, "The morning after he captured his Pikachu, he, along with three other new trainers, including my grandson, Gary, set out on their journey. Lincoln is most likely planning on entering the Pokemon League competition, based on how our last conversation went."
"'Pokemon League'? What's that?" Leni asked.
"Well, you see, Leni, was it?" the professor asked, getting a nod in response, "Trainers from around the region travel around, challenging the various Gyms scattered throughout the land. Those trainers who manage to earn at least 8 Badges from the Gym Leaders will have the right to enter the Pokemon League, held every year," he explained.
"I think I get it. So, where would Lincoln go for his first Gym battle?" Leni asked.
"From where he called last night, most likely he's headed to Pewter City, but we'll discuss that at a later time. For now, I'd like to deliver this report, if you all will listen," Professor Oak requested.
"Ah yes, please continue," Lynn Sr. requested.
"Gladly. While on Route 1, he managed to successfully capture a Pokemon that beginning trainers wouldn't normally catch on their first day out," Professor Oak said, displaying a picture of Fearow.
"What's that Pokemon?" Lana asked excitedly.
"This Pokemon's name is 'Fearow'. They tend to be a rather vicious species of Flying Type Pokemon, but Lincoln was able to catch the one he encountered," Professor Oak explained.
"It's beak looks something like a spear, and those wings look rather large," Lisa commented.
"That's one way of putting it. Anyhow, after catching Fearow, Lincoln made it to Viridian City, where he received help from Officer Jenny in reaching the Pokemon Center, which is where he called from last night," Professor Oak continued.
"I'm assuming this Pokemon Center thing is a necessity for Trainers?" Lisa asked.
"Indeed. The Pokemon Center has many functions, such as being a place where trainers can heal and rest their tired Pokemon, as well as a Pokemart for shopping for the road ahead, as well as lodging," Professor Oak explained.
"Sounds like being a trainer has all kinds of perks," Luan commented.
"Indeed. But some trouble arose when a duo from Team Rocket, an organization that you would classify as 'the mafia', attacked the Center with the hopes of stealing the Pokemon from the storage facility," Professor Oak continued.
"Sounds like this 'Team Rocket' gang is some kind of bad news," Lynn Sr. commented.
"That's putting it very mildly. There's no crime too heinous, no deed too cruel that they would do to accomplish their goals. Lincoln, along with the Cerulean City Gym Leader and a trainer from the Hoenn Region, managed to chase off the Team Rocket members before they could raid the Pokemon Center," Professor Oak explained.
"If that's the case, even with help from two other trainers, I don't feel safe with him exploring Kanto with a criminal organization running amuck. Maybe it's best that we have him sent back here. We can send him to Aunt Ruth's like we originally planned," Lynn Sr. voiced his opinion, only to be shot down by Rita.
"No, Lynn. If Lincoln's coming back, then it's to stay HERE, in THIS house!" she stated.
"But Rita, what about his…."
"I SAID WE'RE NOT SENDING HIM ANYWHERE ELSE, AND THAT'S FINAL!" Rita snapped, causing her husband, and her daughters, Lynn Jr. included, to reel back in shock. It was rare for the Loud matriarch to loose her temper that severely that quickly, but the family knew that when it does happen, there's no convincing her otherwise.
"I'm sorry to say, Mr. and Mrs. Loud, but sending Lincoln back isn't up to me. It's up to him, and only him," Professor Oak replied.
"W-What do you mean?" Rita asked, calming down.
"You see, before one can be licensed as a trainer, they must first pass a qualification test. Lincoln managed to do so, which, as a result, makes him an emancipated minor, meaning he can make big decisions, such as moving to Kanto, getting married, or getting a driver's license," Professor Oak explained. The Loud Family's jaws all dropped, 'Oh dear, looks like I broke them.'
"WHAT?!" the Louds all yelled.
"My baby is emancipated?! How could you do something like that?!" Rita exclaimed.
"What does emanci… eman… that word mean?" Leni asked.
"It means Lincoln is legally viewed as an adult in the eyes of the Kanto government," Lisa replied.
"You said that Lincoln can learn to drive a car?" Lori was ready to revoke her blessings to sending Lincoln to Kanto, on account of feeling her Vanzilla Monopoly was in jeopardy.
"Technically, he can, but once he finds the Hidden Move Fly, he would have no need for such a thing. Of course, his emancipation is only limited to the Kanto Region and the other regions where Pokemon exist," Professor Oak explained. Lori breathed a sigh of relief.
"Aww man, he gets to ride on that big bird?" Lana whined, sounding jealous.
"Of course, being legally viewed as an adult means he's also able to be punished as an adult should he break any laws. If that were to ever happen, then I would be forced to revoke his certification, and have him deported back to America," Professor Oak explained.
"Wait, so does that also mean he can… score with girls too?" Luna asked.
"Although crudely stated, he can, if he so chooses. This includes getting married," Professor Oak replied.
"And you said he can choose to stay in Kanto if he wants?" Lynn Jr. asked.
"Indeed," the professor replied. A feeling of dread washed over every member of the Loud House, apart from Lynn, who looked ecstatic at the news.
"Well, if that's the case, he can stay in Kanto forever! The less of his bad luck ruining our lives, the better," the sporty sister declared.
"Lynn, what did I say about bringing 'that' up?!" Lori yelled.
"She's got a point, dude. There's a time and place for that sort of thing," Luna commented.
"And by 'that', I assume you mean the fact that you all considered him to be bad luck?" Professor Oak asked. The Louds looked surprised, "I admit, this is another reason I wanted to talk to you all. He and I had a most interesting conversation his first right here." Lynn only rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"Oh, here we go! Let me guess – Stinkcoln went crying to you because he couldn't man up, and accept reality?" Lynn rudely questioned.
"Junior, that's strike one! Two more, and you won't be participating in your softball game. So I suggest you NEVER call your brother that awful nickname again!" Rita scolded.
"Judging by your words, not only are you aware of your actions, but am I to assume you feel no amount of remorse for your actions?" Professor Oak asked.
"Of course not! Why should I feel guilty about anything when Stin—Lincoln is clearly the one in the wrong for ruining my game?" Lynn questioned, before making for the door.
"Where are you going?" Lisa questioned.
"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm calling bullcrap on this whole report thing! I bet this whole thing was just another one of Lincoln's stupid plans to convince us that he's not bad luck. Well it ain't going to work! You hear me, Lincoln?! I know you're there, so you can quit with the charade!" Lynn yelled.
"Young lady, as a Pokemon Professor, I can personally assure you that I have not once made any sort of fallacy in my career. Everything I said is complete fact," Professor Oak stated, sounding quite irritated with Lynn's bad behavior.
"Yeah right, like that nerd could do anything you said," Lynn retorted. The majority of the sisters took a moment to think about it, and Lola was the first to move.
"You know, she's right! There's no possible way these 'Pokemon' things are even real!" she stated, as she made for the door, dragging Lana away.
"That's right! I can't believe I wasted the majority of MY morning that I could've been spending doing more important things than listening to some geezer ramble on about stuff that'll never happen!" Lori exclaimed in annoyance.
"Wait, aren't we going to hear about Lincoln's time in Kanto?" Leni asked.
"Leni, try and think about this for once! That cooky old man probably cooked up this dumb rouse with Lincoln to get us to feel guilty about what we did!" Lori stated.
"You mean he lied to us?" Leni asked.
"I'm saying that I don't believe a word he said, and I suggest you do the same. Now come on!" Lori ordered.
"O-Ok," Leni quietly replied, following Lori.
"Sorry Professor, but I'm having a hard time believing any of this myself. Though I might be able to come up with new material with what I just heard," Luan commented, as she went to leave to.
"Sorry old dude, but unless we see some physical evidence, I gotta side with my sisters on this one," Luna said apologetically.
"Girls, stay right where you are! We are going to hear this progress report!" Rita stated, blocking the door way.
"Mom, this is a family matter! That old cook is NOT part of the family!" Lori stated.
"Yeah! Both he and Lincoln should just butt out of OUR affairs!" Lola proclaimed.
"Girls, we are staying in this room to hear the progress report to the end, and that's final! Try to test my patience, and each of your events will be cancelled!" Rita warned.
"Ugh, fine!" Lori groaned, as the sisters returned to their spots. However, she, Lynn, and Lola all had disinterested looks on their faces, like they weren't going to try and pay attention.
"Alright, continuing off from where I left off, after spending a night at the Viridian City Pokemon Center, Lincoln continued northward to Pewter City, where he managed to catch a Poliwag on Route 2," Professor Oak said, displaying a picture of the Poliwag Pokemon.
"Whoa, that kind of looks like a tadpole," Lana commented, receiving an elbow to the side by Lola.
"We're not supposed to be believing this quack, remember?" Lola quietly chastised.
"YOU might not want to believe him, but leave me out it," Lana retorted.
"Well, to answer your comment, Lana was it?" Professor Oak asked, getting a nod in response, "Poliwag is classified as the 'Tadpole Pokemon'. And with that, the Progress Report is completed. Now, onto the matter of this bad luck nonsense," Professor Oak said, only to be stopped by Lori.
"Hold it right there, 'Professor'. As we just said, this is a family matter, and has nothing to do with you or even Lincoln for that matter," Lori stated.
"Even though your brother is at the center of it all?" Rita questioned, giving her eldest daughter a disapproving look.
"That has nothing to do with it," Lori replied.
"When we're done here, I expect an explanation to that logic, and it had better be a good one," Rita declared.
"Ahem, if you're all done, I would like to ask how this all got started from your perspective," Professor Oak requested.
"Gladly, Professor, for I have video evidence to exactly how it all started," Lisa said, typing some keys on her computer, feeding a security camera feed into the Video Phone. It was the exact moment when Lynn threatened Lincoln with her bat.
"Junior, did you threaten your brother with your bat?!" Rita demanded. Lynn's negative attitude almost completely disappeared under the angry glare of her mother.
"W-Well, maybe I did, but it was only because I wanted him to come to my game. But that had nothing to do with my loss that day! Lincoln jinxed my game out of spite for not letting him read his stupid comics! He even admitted he was bad luck!" Lynn replied, trying to make Lincoln into the bad guy.
"So you're saying himself said he was bad luck?" Professor Oak asked.
"That's right. He even proved it by smashing up my golf clubs, which I am literally going to make him buy me a new set," Lori commented.
"Lori, it was just your 9 Iron that was destroyed," Luna bluntly stated.
"It's not what club he ruined that's important. It's the principle of the matter. He ruined someone else's property, so he has to buy a complete new set to be taught a lesson in respect," Lori stated.
"I see. So, what exactly happened after that?" Professor Oak asked.
"Well, we stopped inviting him to all of our events out of worry of his bad luck causing some kind of trouble for us. Then we took a little bit further by sealing up his room, and making him sleep outside," Luna replied.
"Didn't we also sell his furniture?" Leni asked innocently. The other older siblings, save for Lynn, and the parents looked at her in horror, "What? What did I say?"
"Leni, why did you say that?! That was something the Professor didn't need to know about! Are you that dense?!" Lori chewed out the ditzy sister.
"Oh, I wasn't supposed to say that," Leni replied in realization.
"You… sold his furniture?" Professor Oak asked, sounding like he was getting close to losing his temper.
"Well, to be fair, we never had any sort of bad intentions. You see, our family isn't exactly in a good place financially speaking. We just needed the money," Lynn Sr. replied.
"It was bad enough that you locked him out of your house, but you just had to add insult to injury by selling his furniture? Where's the money now? Did you already spend it all?" Professor Oak asked, having difficulty keeping his temper in check.
"Well, at the urging of my father, Albert, we gave Lincoln the money," Rita replied, nervous at the sound of the Professor's tone.
"And we were planning to use that money for something WE wanted, like going to the beach!" Lola pointed out.
"God dammit, Lola!" Lynn Sr. cursed at his daughter's outburst.
"Well, what happened then? Did you eventually let him back into the house?" Professor Oak asked.
"No. There was a time when Lincoln tried to convince us that he was just pretending to be bad luck to get out of our activities. Of course, whether he was lying or not, we never bought a word he said, so we just ignored him," Luan explained.
"Then, a few days later, Lynn lost another softball game, and felt she just had to blame Lincoln for it, even though he was no where to be seen," Luna pointed out.
"He had to be there, cursing my team with his bad luck! I wouldn't have lost that game either way!" Lynn snapped.
"Bad luck this, bad luck that, your excuses are becoming rather tiresome. The only reason you accused our brother of ruining both games is because you, Lynn, are little more than a sore looser!" Lisa declared. Lynn was really starting to loose her temper.
"Call me a sore looser one more time, and I will not be held responsible for what I'll do!" Lynn snarled, cracking her knuckles.
"Girls, please don't cause a scene in front of the professor," Rita pleaded, getting between the two of them.
"Fine, but don't think I'm letting that 'sore looser' crack slide!" Lynn warned.
"Ahem, I'm glad that we got that little family dispute out of the way. So, what exactly happened after the second game?" Professor Oak asked.
"Things… got a little out of hand between Lincoln and Lynn. She tried to smash his head in with her bat. And she would've done so if Pop-Pop hadn't stepped in. After that, he gave us all an earful about how we treated Lincoln. We then had a discussion on what to do, which eventually led to him being sent to Kanto," Lana explained.
"I see. Well, now that I understand the situation from both angles, I have just one question for you all. Just one," Professor Oak said.
"And what might that be?" Lynn Sr. cautiously asked. It was then that Professor Oak's temper finally erupted.
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!" his outburst caused the Louds to flinch.
"W-Well, we couldn't risk Lincoln's bad luck making more trouble for us," Lynn Sr. asked.
"And that's supposed to be an acceptable excuse for locking him out?! He's your own flesh and blood! Are you aware of the psychological trauma your actions could've caused him?!" Professor Oak yelled.
"W-Well, it was just that bad things seemed to follow Lincoln wherever he went," Rita replied.
"Still not good enough of an excuse! Besides, are you aware that what you and your daughters did is a punishable offense?!" Professor Oak questioned.
"Come again?" Rita asked, horrified at the thought that she and her family broke a major law.
"It's true, Mother Unit. Child abandonment, such as purposely locking a minor, like Lincoln, outside of a home is a pretty heinous crime, punishable by jail time," Lisa explained.
"Don't think you're off the hook either, Lisa. You seem like a remarkably intelligent young lady. So why, might I ask, possessed you to go along with something so idiotic when you knew it was illegal?" Professor Oak questioned.
"W-Well, I was immersed in my own research at the time. Plus, I figured that if Lincoln got himself into this mess, he was to be the one to get himself out of it. Stupidest decision of my life," Lisa replied.
"Well, you all should count your lucky stars that neither Lincoln nor I have contacted the authorities to have you placed under arrest!" Professor Oak proclaimed.
"Wait, you're saying that you…." Lynn Sr. was really worried now.
"No, Mr. Loud. I haven't called the Royal Woods Police department, but I might find myself tempted to do so, unless," Professor Oak began.
"Unless…?" Rita asked.
"Unless you all try to earn Lincoln's forgiveness, and quit acting like such self-entitled fools!" Professor Oak stated.
"Yeah right! We don't have to apologize to Lincoln for anything! In fact, he's the one who should be apologizing to us!" Lori countered.
"Not that we would ever even consider forgiving him!" Lynn said, turning to their mother, "We did as you asked, and stuck around for the end of the Progress Report. We're leaving now!" she said, as she, and some of the others left Lisa's room, including Lynn Sr.
"I am so sorry about our daughter's rudeness, Professor. But if I may ask a favor regarding Lincoln?" Rita asked. Professor Oak looked intrigued.
"Oh? And what might that be?" Professor Oak asked, sounding like was calmed down finally.
"The next time he calls, could you ask him to call us so at least some of us can try asking for his forgiveness?" Rita asked.
"I wish to apologize to him myself too," Lucy added.
"I acted like a fool for going along with this thing, and now I want to make things right with him," Lisa added. Professor Oak smiled.
"Sure thing. I will see what I can do about convincing Lincoln to call you back. And I must say, you've already impressed me with how quickly you're willing to talk things out with him," Professor Oak replied.
"Thank you, Professor. We have no intention of letting you or Lincoln down," Lisa said.
"You're quite welcome. Now then, is there anything else you wish to discuss?" Professor Oak asked.
"Actually, yes. Just two more things. First, is there a way for Lincoln to transfer data on the Pokemon he sees and catches over to our end?" Lisa asked.
"As a matter of fact, there is. Lincoln just needs to insert his Pokedex into one of the slots at a Pokemon Center Videophone to have any and all data transferred over to you. Though I would recommend you have a computer hooked up to house the data," Professor Oak explained.
"Sounds reasonable. And as for my second question, is it possible for Lincoln to send his Pokemon over here so we can view them in person?" Lisa asked. Professor Oak, along with Rita and Lucy were very surprised by this last question.
"Well, you would need an actual Pokemon Transporter Mechanism. Though they are quite expensive," Professor Oak replied.
"Dang it. I was hoping to disprove Lynn's accusations on your Progress Report," Lisa commented in annoyance.
"Well, I do have a schematic somewhere in my lab that details how to build one. Once I find it, I'll send it over via email," Professor Oak offered.
"Really? That would work out great!" Lisa exclaimed.
"Thank you for keeping us updated on Lincoln's progress, for taking care of him, and for delivering our message to him, Professor," Rita said.
"You're most welcome, Mrs. Loud. But keep what I said about the police in mind. One wrong misstep, and I will get them involved," Professor Oak warned.
"Duly noted," Rita gulped.
"Good. Now then, I would bid you good night, but our time zones are at different spectrums, so, I bid each of you good day," Professor Oak said, hanging up. The three remaining Louds all slumped down.
"Apart from Lynn's outburst and her trying to convince the others that Professor Oak's report was a bunch of hooey, not to mention the Professor chewing us out, I would say it went by pretty smoothly," Lisa commented.
"Yeah, but remember what he said; We need to really think about our actions and how we're going to make it up to Lincoln," Lucy reminded.
"True. Lincoln, while a somewhat selfish individual, is also an understanding one at that. I'm sure if we deliver our apologies in a most sincere way, he may be willing to forgive us. We can gain back his trust and respect at a later time. Right now, his forgiveness is our top priority," Lisa replied.
"I need to go and think things over. I want to be able to be a part of your brother's life every bit as you both want to," Rita said, as she took her leave.
"So, what now?" Lucy asked.
"Hmm, for now, we should try to go over what we should say, and figure out a proper way of delivering our message," Lisa suggested.
"Good plan. I'll see about contacting Great Grandma Harriet and ask for her advice," Lucy said, taking her leave as well, leaving Lisa to begin mulling things over.