Kanto Gets Loud
Chapter 51: Pokemon Shipwreck! (Part 1)
At the Professor Oak Research Lab,
To say that Professor Oak was horrified to hear the news report about the St. Anne would be an understatement, "With the fact that his family has Kanto Cable, Lincoln's family must be worried sick about him," Professor Oak replied, just as the Video Phone started ringing. He grimaced upon seeing the caller ID, "Loud Residence." He got up from his seat, and made his way over, "Didn't take too long for them to call," he commented, as he picked up the receiver. Answering the call, he was met with the sight of a worried Lisa, "Miss Loud. I assume based on how worried you are, you must've seen the news report?"
"We all did, Professor. Do you have any idea if Lincoln is alright?" Lisa asked.
"So far, neither he nor Miss Rose have contacted me. But if it'll set your mind at ease, as soon as he does make contact with me, I'll be sure to let you know," Professor Oak replied.
"Thank you, Professor. Things have been going from bad to worse over on our end, and I think hearing from Lincoln again might help get things under control," Lisa replied.
"I'm very sorry to hear that, Lisa. But perhaps you should try taking the same approach your brother normally does to try and get things in order," Professor Oak advised.
"Hmm, it could help. We'll at least give it a try," Lisa replied, just as the sounds of wood getting ripped from the walls was heard from outside her room.
"What was that?!" Professor Oak questioned.
"I don't know, but I'm going to find out. I hope to hear from you soon, Professor," Lisa replied, hanging up the call. Professor Oak could only sigh.
"Lincoln, Leaf, I hope the two of you are alright," Professor Oak said to himself.
Back at the Loud House,
Lisa ran out of the room to see Lana using a crowbar to rip out off all of the planks sealing Lincoln's room, "Lana, what is going on here?"
"What does it look like, Lisa? I'm unsealing Lincoln's room! Permission or not, I won't give up the hope that he's still alive! He'll need somewhere to sleep when he comes home!" Lana replied, tears flowing from her eyes. Lisa could clearly see just how distraught Lana was from hearing the news about Lincoln's disappearance. Just about everyone was on edge about the whole thing. The only ones who seemed to care less about Lincoln's fate was Lori and Lynn. Lisa could say that their father was on both sister's side as well, but that was only because he didn't want either of them to think he was playing favorites, "He is ok, right Lisa?" Lana had a begging look in her eyes as she tore off the last board.
"Relax. Like Lori said, knowing that geekwad, he was probably the first one to the lifeboats just to save he own skin," Lynn said unsympathetically, as she walked up the stairs, holding her rear end, no doubt from the paddling she had received from Rita. This caused both younger sisters to glare venomously at the sporty sister.
"Haven't you caused enough trouble with that big fat mouth of yours?" Lisa questioned.
"Like I care. As I said, this world is going to be a much better place now that that jinx is gone," Lynn retorted.
"But we don't know if Lincoln was actually… lost in the sinking of the St. Anne. Remember, the news report said, how Lincoln and the others were only unaccounted for, which means they're all probably on one of the surrounding islands in that area," Lisa countered.
"Well, it doesn't matter to me. As long as I never see that jinx again, I'll be a much happier person!" Lynn yelled.
"You sure about that?" all three sisters turned to see Charlie standing before them, along side Vaggie, Moxxie and Millie, "You never know, someday you're going to wind up missing your brother, and end up regretting wishing you'd never see him again," the Monster Realm Princess said, glaring disapprovingly down at the sporty sister.
"And what would you know? I bet you don't even have any siblings! So you don't know how embarrassing it is for the rest of us to have someone like Stinkcoln share OUR blood. Lori agrees with me, and Lola does deep down, right Lola?" Lynn questioned, only to get no response. She and the others then saw Lola inside Lincoln's room, cradling Bun-Bun in her arms, tears flowing from her eyes.
"You and Lori practically wished for Lincoln to die on that boat… That is NOT alright!" Lola tearfully said, glaring at Lynn.
"Lola, aren't you embarrassed like Lori and I are to have that nerd as a brother?!" Lynn yelled.
"I used to be, but after hearing all those mean, hate filled words you said towards him, and reflecting on all the times he's been there for me, I actually appreciate everything he's ever done for us!" Lola said. Charlie then approached Lola, kneeling down to her level.
"That's a very noble thing of you to say, Lola, was it?" Charlie asked. Lola nodded, "I may only know what kind of a person your brother is based on all the things that I and the others have heard, but it's clear that he is someone truly worth appreciating if he means that much to you."
"Thanks Charlie," Lola sniffled.
"Just like our Princess to comfort those in need," Moxxie commented, turning to Lynn, "You and that other loudmouth can learn a thing or two from her," he said.
"Like what, how to look like a total clown? How to be totally sappy for someone we've never met before?" Lynn questioned rudely.
"I was thinking more about being compassionate. Because based on what we've heard, your brother does have bouts of selfishness, but it's clear he's had people to negatively influence him like you," Moxxie then blocked a sucker punch from Lynn, "Really? Is violence really your answer for everything?"
"No one talks to me like that! I was once one the greatest athletes in Royal Woods, until Stinkcoln's bad luck ruined my career and my life!" Lynn then geared up for a roundhouse kick, which Moxxie effortlessly blocked as well.
"These weak attacks of yours won't work. I've been trained in 24 styles of kung fu, 16 styles of judo, 10 styles of jiujitsu, 3 forms of interpretive dance, and 2 forms of reggae impressionism," Moxxie said. Everyone there looked at him weirdly.
"Did you really just say 'reggae impressionism'?" Lisa asked.
"Yep. The second form was a bit trickier to master than I expected, to tell you the truth," Moxxie admitted, as he was able to push Lynn back.
"C'mon, hon, let's not associate with this one any more than we need to," Millie said, as she took Moxxie away.
"We should head downstairs too, Charlie," Vaggie suggested.
"Ok," Charlie replied, as she went to join her girlfriend.
"Pfft, I don't need to take this!" Lynn said, as she stormed into her room, and slammed the door shut.
"Lisa, do you really think Linkey is ok?" Lola asked.
"I wish I could give you a straight answer, Lola, but we're just going to have to wait and hope for the best," Lisa replied. That response was NOT what the twins were hoping for, but it was the only one they could get at the moment.
Meanwhile, on Five Island, Team Rocket Secret Base,
Proton and Midori were walking through the secret base Team Rocket had stationed there. Their destination: A video conference with Giovanni, "So, what do you think the boss wants to talk to us about?" Midori asked.
"How the hell would I know? Knowing my luck, he'll probably chew me out for the failure of the St. Anne heist. Though I don't know why he's wasting time with the likes of you," Proton grumbled, as they neared the conference room. There, they saw a blonde woman in a Team Rocket uniform, leaning up against the wall, "Domino. What is Giovanni's number one suck up doing here?"
"Well, if it isn't Proton and Midori. Nice to see you both too," Domino greeted.
"What is it that you want? We're kind of busy now," Proton asked.
"I'm here to watch you and Miltank Jugs here get chewed out for screwing up majorly," Domino replied smugly.
"At least I something to be proud of," Midori teased. Domino glared venomously at her.
"You won't be acting so high and mighty. Giovanni personally asked me to keep an eye on things on this end," Domino stated.
"Well, it doesn't matter what the reason you're here for. All I want to do is get this meeting done and over with so that I can get on with more important things befitting my rank as an Admin," Proton replied.
"Assuming you'll be an Admin after this," Domino murmured, as both Proton and Midori entered the conference room. Domino turned on the screen, which displayed the image of Giovanni.
"Giovanni, sir! Admin Proton, reporting in!"
"Special Agent Midori, checking in also!"
"Good. You're both here as I requested. Now, I assume you know why I called for this meeting?" Giovanni asked.
"Sir, I assume that it has to do with the failure of the St. Anne. Apologies, sir, but we hit a snag that caused us to leave empty handed," Proton said.
"And just what kind of 'snag' did you hit?" Giovannie asked.
"Lorelei of the Elite Four, sir! Somehow, she found out about the operation and had a sting operation in place for us," Proton replied.
"So, rather than cut your losses and abandon the mission, you chose to go through with it?"
"Yes sir! There's nothing I wouldn't do for the glory of Team Rocket!" Proton replied.
"Hmm, would that also include going against my orders and using explosive devices to sink the St. Anne?" Giovanni's tone was starting to sound more and more like he was about to lose his temper in the worst possible way.
"Well, I figured if we did that, then Lorelei and the G-Men wouldn't come after us, as they'd be too preoccupied with evacuating the passengers," Proton replied, sounding nervous from Giovanni's tone.
"I see. Well, in that case, let me ask one additional question," Giovanni's tone then turned from mildly irritated to full force furious, "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING WITH SINKING THE ST. ANNE?!" Both Proton and Midori flinched at the outburst.
"S-sir? I don't understand. The St. Anne is just a cruise ship," Proton asked.
"Proton, are you aware that Pokemon Trafficking is NOT the only business Team Rocket operates in?" Giovanni asked.
"It isn't?" Proton asked.
"No. While the poaching and trafficking of Pokemon is one of our main sources of income, it is NOT the only way we make money. I happen to have quite a large number of smaller businesses on the side to help rake in extra cash, some of them even being much more profitable than trafficking Pokemon. The St. Anne was one such source of legal income," Proton paled at that fact being hurled in his face, while Midori listened intently.
'So, the St. Anne was really a Team Rocket owned vessel?' she thought.
"In fact, Giovanni had quite a large sum of money invested in the St. Anne," Domino added.
"H-how much are we talking? One million? Two? Three?" Proton nervously asked.
"Try five-hundred million. It was because of the St. Anne that Team Rocket has most of the profits it has today, and because of YOUR reckless actions, it's now at the bottom of the ocean!" Giovanni yelled. Proton felt his heart drop into his stomach, while Midori winced upon hearing the amount Giovanni had invested, "I not only would've overlooked you abandoning the operation after hearing it was compromised, but I would've commended you for it as well, but no, you just had to see it through. Are you really THAT much more incompetent a leader than those three bumblers I told you to get rid of that you can't even follow the simplest of instructions?!"
"W-Well, speaking of those three, I did do as you told me and managed to get rid of them," Proton nervously replied, hoping that could calm Giovanni down even the tiniest bit.
"Well, at least you managed to follow THAT order. But back to the original topic, what the hell were you thinking, using explosives to sink MY ship?! I don't remember ever giving you those orders!" Giovanni then turned to Midori, "And as for you, Midori… lately you've had nothing but failure after failure in each mission I gave you, which normally would be grounds for me to kick you out of Team Rocket…"
'No! I still need to learn more about Team Rocket's operations!' Midori thought.
"However, seeing as how I'm in a generous mood, I'll allow you one more chance to prove yourself. You'll be reassigned to the Game Corner in Celadon City, where you will work under Petrel. Petrel?" a sleazy looking, purple haired man in a Team Rocket Uniform then emerged from the shadows, "I want you to make it so that Midori can help pay off the damages done to the St. Anne."
"B-but sir, I had nothing to do with…"
"You'll both be splitting the total bill to cover the costs. 25% for you, and the other 75% for Proton. That means you'll need to pay back 125,000,000 Pokedollars, while Proton will need to pay 375,000,000," both Proton and Midori had shocked looks on their faces as to how much they needed to pay off, "Petrel, make certain that Midori interacts with the customers at the Game Corner as much as possible. Don't hesitate to put her in the most revealing outfit you have."
"Yes sir. With a fine bod like hers, she'll make an excellent hostess," Petrel said, eyeing up Midori, much to the young woman's displeasure.
"Excellent. You two are dismissed. I still have some more things to discuss with Proton," Giovanni replied.
"Roger that!" Petrel said, as she took Midori away, "I think one of the first things we got to do is make your walk all the more enticing. After all, we need an incentive to keep the customers coming back," he said, as they exited the room.
"N-Now, Giovanni, sir, I know what I did may have been a major blow to Team Rocket financially, but you have my assurance that…"
"Your 'assurance' doesn't mean shit to me at this point. Especially with the fact that I clearly can't trust you with the simplest of tasks! And thanks to you, Team Rocket is now being classified as a 'terrorist organization' by the Pokemon League! What makes you think I'll have you put in charge of another major operation after you screwed up this one as badly as you did?" Giovanni questioned, making Proton flinch at his harsh tone, "That being said, I have a new assignment for you that I think I can still trust you with. So you'd better get used to Five Island, because until I can trust you again, you are to remain on Five Island while overseeing the operations in the Sevii Islands to prove that you are of leader quality."
"With all due respect, sir, you can't do this! I'm an Admin!"
"Not anymore. Consider this your demotion. In the meantime, Petrel will be overseeing operations in Kanto," Giovanni said.
"Petrel!? But he doesn't take his position seriously enough!"
"And yet, he's proven to be a far more competent leader than you've shown to be! The Celadon Game Corner is flourishing quite nicely under his command. Now, while Ariana and Archer are heading operations in Johto, you are to make sure nothing happens to the Five Island warehouse. Consider this your last chance to prove your worth to me, otherwise you can not only forget about getting your old position back, but you'll be OUT of Team Rocket for good! Do I make myself clear?"
"A-As crystal, sir," Proton shakily replied. While he knew the Five Island Warehouse was an important asset to Team Rocket, he hated the thought of being exempted from any big time operations in Kanto.
"Good. That is all," Giovanni said, as the transmission cut out.
"Well, that was fun to watch!" Domino said, as she left the now groveling Proton in the conference room.
"Damn you, Lorelei! Mark my words, you will pay for this!" he said to himself, as he went to check his new position.
Meanwhile, down in the St. Anne,
With a pain fueled groan, Lincoln roused himself from his abrupt nap, "Oh man, my head!" Lincoln said, rubbing his head. He then noticed the others nearby, who were also beginning to come to, "Hey, are you guys alright?" Lincoln asked.
"Ugh, I hurt, but I'll live," Brock replied.
"Man, that was awful!" Misty added.
"I definitely DON'T want to do that again," Leaf commented.
"What exactly happened?" Raigo asked, before he and the others noticed something about the room they were in; the furniture was on the ceiling, and overhead lights were on the floor, "Hey, what the…?"
"Lincoln! You may want to see this!" Pikachu called out, looking out a nearby window. The others went to see what Pikachu was looking at, and they were shocked to see that they were underwater.
"This… this… can't be happening!" Leaf exclaimed.
"Whatever rocked the ship must've caused it to sink," Raigo theorized.
"Well, at least we have air in here," Misty commented.
"That may be, but we shouldn't waste any time in escaping," Brock advised.
"Lucky for us, we crashed into our room," Lincoln said, as he and the others retrieved their bags.
"Ok, let's get going," Misty said, as she opened the door, allowing them to step out into the hall.
"I hope Rito, Lala and the others got out safely," Lincoln commented.
"I'm sure they're safe and sound. But we can't afford to waste any time," Leaf replied. No sooner than she said that, they saw Rito and the others exiting several different rooms.
"Ow, my head!" Rito groaned.
"That's one ride I don't want to take again," Kotegawa commented, as she noticed the five trainers.
"You guys are still on board the ship?" Lincoln questioned.
"We can say the same to you. What is going on? Rito asked.
"That Proton guy must've done something to sink the ship, and now we're at the bottom of the sea. We've got a pocket of air right now, but there's no telling where any breaches in the ship are at," Lincoln explained.
"It's true! The entire ship is submerged under water," Aya said, as she was the last to join up with the others.
"Right! So, what's the game plan?" Raigo asked, as they arrived at a flooded stairwell.
"Well, it appears the ship is upside down, which means the deck is below us, and the hull of the ship is up top," Misty explained.
"In that case, we need to dive down to the deck," Saruyama declared.
"You sure about that?" Mikado asked.
"She's right. If we dive down to the deck and come across a dead end, it'll be game over for us," Brock replied, as images of all of them coming across a locked door while swimming under water and loosing their breath popped into their heads.
"Ok, so diving down is out of the question," Run commented.
"Not necessarily. I have some Pokemon that just might be able to help out with any underwater searching," Misty replied, as she sent out Starmie, Poliwhirl, Dewpider, and Piplup, "Starmie, Poliwhirl, Dewpider, Piplup, go and try to find a way out underwater!" all of her Pokemon dove underwater.
"I'll help out too. Chinchou and Clauncher, go help out!" Leaf said, as she sent out her two Pokemon. All six Pokemon search every nook and cranny of the underwater passage ways, but ultimately found nothing.
"Well, this sucks," Dewpider commented.
"I hate to disappoint Misty, but we'd better go up top and tell them the bad news," Poliwhirl replied. They were ready to head back, only to find themselves in the presence of Jessie, James, Meowth, and the Weezing that Proton had sicced on them. All six Pokemon got flustered upon seeing them.
Meanwhile, back at the stairwell, the group was anxiously waiting, "They've all been gone a long time," Lincoln commented.
"Maybe they weren't able to find a way out?" Mikan guessed. Some bubbling came from the water, as the three former Rockets were tossed up top, along with Weezing.
"What the…?! These three?!" Brock exclaimed.
"And a… who's that Pokemon?" Lincoln wondered, scanning Weezing.
"Weezing, the Poison Gas Pokemon, a Poison Type, and the evolved form of Koffing. It grows by feeding on gases released from garbage. Though very rare, triplets have been found. This Male Weezing is Level 39, and knows the moves Explosion, Poison Gas, Sludge Bomb, Clear Smog, Haze, Double Hit, and Sludge Wave," Dexter explained.
"What's a wild Weezing doing on board a sunken ship?" Brock wondered, as the Rockets regained consciousness.
"Ugh, damn that Proton," James cursed, looking up to see the large group, "YOU GUYS?!" his outburst was enough to get his cohorts to come to rather quickly.
"Well, isn't this convenient?" Jessie mused, as she readied her Pokeball.
"Hold it, this isn't the time for battling!" Kotegawa exclaimed.
"She's right! We can't afford to make this ship sink any further than it already is," Misty added.
"But they could end up winning," Raigo commented.
"Raigo, I understand you want to stand up to them, but getting out of this ship takes priority," Lincoln replied.
"I… guess you have a point," Raigo replied.
"The same goes for you three. What's more important, one victory or your lives?" Misty asked the Rockets.
"F-Fair point," Jessie relented, putting away her Pokeball.
"But make no mistake, I won't trust them any further than I can throw them," Mikan commented.
"We can all distrust these three as much as we want, but we all need to escape from here before it's too late," Rito replied.
"So, what's our game plan?" Raigo asked.
"That's right!" Misty exclaimed, turning to her Pokemon, "Were any of you able to find a way out?" all of them shook their heads, "Yeah, I thought so. Well, thanks anyway," she and Leaf then recalled their Pokemon.
"Ok, so diving down to the deck is out, which means our best bet is to climb up to the hull," Lincoln commented.
"What good would that do?!" Meowth yelled.
"Because the hull of the ship is where it's thinnest. Once there, we can weld through and swim out," Misty explained.
"That's a good idea and all, but do we know if there are any search parties up there?" Saruyama asked. Looking at the unconscious Weezing, Lincoln then came up with a great idea.
"If there isn't any, then we'll just have to send for one," everyone looked at the white haired boy.
"How are you planning to do that?" Nana asked.
"Simple. First, we need to help that Weezing recover," Lincoln replied. Then, it hit his trainer friends.
"Of course! When Lincoln scanned Weezing, it came up as a wild Pokemon!" Brock commented.
"Ok, but what does that have to do with it?" Ren asked.
"A Pokemon Trainer is only allowed to carry six Pokemon at a time. Any more than that gets sent away to storage. So, if we send Weezing back to Professor Oak's lab, it'll let him know that we're still alive," Leaf replied.
"And the plan would be more effective if we give it a note to hold on to, explaining our predicament," Lincoln replied.
"If that's the case, then let's get to work!" Raigo said, digging through his bag, pulling out a small, yellow crystal and a pink spray bottle that looked like Super Potion.
"What's that?" Lincoln asked, looking at the crystal.
"It's a Revive. If you have a Pokemon take it, it'll be restored to half it's full strength. And with this Hyper Potion, we can heal up Weezing even faster," Raigo explained, as he placed the Revive on Weezing's forehead, causing it to be absorbed into the Poison Gas Pokemon, who regained consciousness, but was still pretty weak, "Take it easy, Weezing, we're here to help," Raigo said, as he then sprayed the Hyper Potion, healing the rest of Weezing's injuries.
"How did it wind up down here?" Kotegawa wondered.
"It was a Pokemon belonging to Proton. He sicced it on us to not only keep us from following him and the others, but also in an attempt to off us," James replied.
"Is that so?" Lincoln asked, looking at the Poison Gas Pokemon, "Weezing, we're not like the trainer you had. If you want, you can come with one of us and have a fresh start," he offered.
"As long as you promise not to make me use Explosion every single time, then sure," Weezing replied. Lincoln then got out a Pokeball.
"Ok, now I'll just…"
"Wait, Lincoln!" Brock said, causing Lincoln to stop, "We need to go through with what you said and write a note to Professor Oak."
"Oh, yeah, that's right! Anyone got a pen and paper?" Lincoln asked.
"Here's some," Mikado replied, handing him a sheet of paper and a pen.
"Ok then," Lincoln said, as he began writing.
"Professor Oak,
If you get this letter, then I want you to know that I, along with all the others, are still alive, but we're still inside the St. Anne. We're making an attempt to escape, so if you can please have a search party come and find us at the last known location of the ship, that would be greatly appreciated. Furthermore, could you let our families know we're alive too? I'm sure they must've heard the news report and are worried sick. In addition, the Weezing I just sent you used to be a Team Rocket Pokemon, but is having a fresh start. We'll contact you as soon as we're at the closest Pokemon Center.
Thanks for helping us out,
Lincoln Loud."
Once the letter had been written, Lincoln gave it to Weezing, "Please make sure that this gets to Professor Oak."
"I'll do my best," Weezing replied. With that, Lincoln tossed his Pokeball at Weezing, sucking it inside. The ball rocked three times before finally snapping shut.
"Weezing has been registered to your Pokedex. Would you like to switch Weezing out for another member of your party?" Dexter asked.
"No thanks. It's important that the Professor gets that note," Lincoln replied, as Weezing's Pokeball warped away.
"Alright, now that that's settled, we can start our ascent," Misty commented.
"I found a stairwell that looks clear!" Momo called from the hall they were just in.
"Well, we've got a route to take now, but first, we should check to see what we've got on hand to use," Lincoln commented.
"Let's see, between the five of us, and those two and Meowth, we have a total of 43 Pokemon," Brock calculated.
"My sisters and I also have our D-Dials," Lala said, holding up her D-Dial.
"What's a cellphone going to do to help?" Meowth asked.
"You want the long version or the short version? Lala and her sisters are really aliens, and their phones contain a plethora of various things," Risa stated.
"Wait, you mean actual aliens?!" James exclaimed in shock. Jessie and Meowth were just as shocked too.
"Yep, and my D-Dial contains all of my inventions," Lala said, holding up her D-Dial.
"Mine has various plants I've collected across the universe," Momo said.
"Mine has all the animals I've befriended as well," Nana added.
"Ok, so between 43 Pokemon, and 3 D-Dials, I'd say we're pretty much golden in escaping," Saruyama said.
"First order of business, getting up to that stairwell," Saki said, pointing to the stairwell Momo had found.
"Fortunately, I have Mister Portable Staircase handy just in case," Lala said, punching in a few keys, which materialized a cubical machine, which extended into a staircase.
"Ok, let's get going!" Rito said, as they all made their way up, only to find themselves in a dark hallway.
"Ok, I got things here. Charley, come on out!" Leaf said, releasing her Charmeleon, who lit the way for them.
"At least now we're getting somewhere," Mio commented.
"Haruna, how are you holding up?" Rito asked, as he held onto his girlfriend's hand.
"I'm scared, but I think I can manage," Haruna replied. Just then, they felt something odd.
"Does it feel warmer or is just me?" Lincoln asked. They soon got their answer, as they arrived to a room that was completely on fire.
"Ack! What do we do now!?" Nana exclaimed.
"The door is over there!" Misty pointed out the next door they needed to get to, just on the other side of the room.
"I'd rather not put any pressure on my animal friends to carry us across this room," Nana commented.
"None of my working inventions can extend that far either," Lala added.
"Nor any of my plants," Momo added.
"But there is something only the three of you can do," Lincoln said.
"Like what?" Nana asked. Lincoln then pointed to her back, "Oh! Our anti-gravity wings! Duh!" she said, sounding somewhat embarrassed, as she and her sisters deployed their wings.
"And I'll help out too with this guy," Lincoln said, sending out Heracross, "Heracross, I want you to help Lala, Nana, and Momo with carrying us over to that doorway," he said.
"Just leave it to me!" Heracross replied, as he, along with the three sisters, began bringing each person over, one at a time. Lincoln was the last one, as Nana came and collected him.
"Hold on tight, ok?" Nana said, as she picked up Lincoln bridal style, and flew back over to the others.
"Thanks Nana, I really appreciate it," Lincoln said.
"Think nothing of it," Nana replied in a somewhat haughty manner, but on the inside, her heart was racing.
"You too, Heracross," Lincoln said, recalling the Single Horn Pokemon.
"We should be real close to the hull of the ship," Misty said, as they made their way through one last corridor.
"Ok, now what?" Run asked.
"We need to weld through the hull," Brock replied.
"Just leave that part to me!" Lala declared, as she used her D-Dial to summon forth a device that looked similar to a spider, and what appeared to be a wand of some kind, "Just give me a minute to make some adjustments to Mister Welding Spider Buddy," she said, as she went straight to work. It was then that Meowth noticed something.
"Oh no! There's water coming in from those doors!" he exclaimed, as he saw several nearby doors leaking with water.
"That must be where whatever sunk the ship is at," Ren commented.
"And it's coming in rather quickly," Kotegawa added, sounding a bit nervous. It didn't help that the entire ship began to shake and creak.
"And done!" Lala said, as she held up the device. She then flew up to the hull, and attached Mister Welding Spider Buddy to the hull, and pulled each leg to a certain distance apart. It then began welding through the metal hull, and turning.
"Listen up, once it's done, use a Water Pokemon to swim up and out," Misty replied.
"If anyone needs to bum a ride, Skipper and I can help out," Raigo said, as he released Skipper. Lala then used her D-Dial to materialize what appeared to be an escape pod shaped like a dolphin.
"Mikan, you take Celine and use Mister Dolphin Escape Pod Buddy, and swim up to the surface," she instructed.
"Ok. Come on, Celine," Mikan said, as she got into the device.
"Hey, what about us!?" Jessie exclaimed.
"Just use a Water Pokemon," Misty stated, just as the welding device finished, and the large hunk of the hull it was attached to broke off, causing water to start flooding through.
"Magikarp, you're up!" Lincoln exclaimed, releasing Magikarp.
"Chinchou and Clauncher, I need your help!" Leaf said, releasing her Water Pokemon.
"Poliwhirl, Starmie, Piplup, you're all needed too!" Misty said, releasing her Pokemon as well. Everyone wasted no time tying ropes to their Pokemon.
"Magikarp, the first task I have for you is a pretty big one, but I know you can do it," Lincoln said to the Fish Pokemon.
"I heard everything from inside my Pokeball. You can count on me to get you out of here!" Magikarp replied, sounding determined to help his new trainer. One by one, Lincoln and friends rode up through the gushing water, leaving Team Rocket the only ones left.
"Oh man, I hate water, especially wet water!" Meowth complained.
"Nice of them to escape, but what about us!?" Jessie questioned. The two of them then heard James chuckling a bit, "I fail to see the joke, James."
"He must've lost it, finally!" Meowth deduced.
"You two mocked me for this, but now, that's come back to haunt you! For I have our salvation, right here!" James said, holding a Pokeball.
"Our salvation?" Jessie parroted, before it dawned on her and Meowth, "Wait, do you mean…?"
"FEEBAS?!" both she and Meowth exclaimed, falling to their knees, "We're not worthy!"
"Yes, well, I originally caught it with the idea of having a Milotic, but now we have our way out of here!" James declared.
"Ok, fine, you got your last laugh, now get us out of here!" Jessie demanded.
"Of course. Now, Feebas, you're up!" James declared, sending out his Feebas, who splashed pitifully in the water. James then tied ropes around himself, Jessie, and Meowth, "Alright Feebas, onward to freedom!" James declared, only for Feebas to keep splashing, "Uh, Feebas?"
"Forget swimming, it can barely splash," Meowth commented, as more water came in and flooded the room, which caused the St. Anne to lose it's balance, and plunge even deeper into the ocean.
Meanwhile, at the Professor Oak Research Lab,
Professor Oak was finishing up the last of his work for the night, before retiring to his bedroom for the night, "I hope I hear from Lincoln and Leaf tomorrow," he said quietly. He was getting ready to leave, when the transporter activated, "Hmm? Who could be sending a Pokemon this late at night?" he wondered, as he went to check it out. Upon seeing the date from the Pokeball, his eyes lit up a bit, "Why, it's from Lincoln! That means he's still out there!" he said, as he took the Pokeball and released it's contents, which was the Weezing Lincoln had caught, "A Weezing?" he questioned, but then saw a note attached to it. Taking the note to read, he felt somewhat better, "Oh thank Arceus! It is bad that he and the others were still on the ship when it went down, but at least they're making an attempt to escape. I need to contact Lincoln's and the other's families!" and with that, he got onto his Video Phone, and typed in a few phone numbers.
Cerulean City Gym,
Misty's sisters and Mother sat at a table, their heads propped up with their hands with solemn looks on their faces. It had only been a few hours since they had heard the news about the St. Anne, and the disappearances, which unfortunately included Misty. They were all holding onto the hope that Misty did make it out alive and was just on one of the surrounding islands, but until they heard back from her, they couldn't bring themselves to even go to sleep. Just then, a phone call came in on their Video Phone, "I got it," Daisy said, as she got up and went to answer it. She looked puzzled upon seeing the caller ID, "Professor Oak? What does he want?" she wondered as she answered the call.
Pewter City, Brock's House,
Flint and Lola sat on the couch, looking absolutely miserable. They had seen the news report saying that Brock was one of the many passengers who were missing from the St. Anne disaster. The two of them felt absolutely terrible. And it wasn't just them who were miserable from the news. All of Brock's brothers and sisters were all just as worried, so much so that they couldn't bear to go to bed.
"Is Brock really alright?" one of the sisters asked Forrest.
"All we can do is hope that he and the others are just stranded on one of the nearby islands. That may not be ideal, but it's better than being in a sunken ship," Forrest replied. Just then, the Video Phone began ringing. Lola went to answer it.
"Professor Oak? What could he be calling so late at night for?" Lola wondered, as she answered the call.
Loud House, dining room,
Lilianna, Rasha, and Elanor were doing their best to console a grieving Rita, who hadn't stopped crying upon hearing the news about Lincoln's disappearance, "Rita, the report only said that Lincoln was missing. That means there's no definitive proof that he is… you know," Lilianna gingerly said.
"B-B-But the very thought of him being… lost like that, so far from me and the others, it's too much to bear!" Rita blubbered.
"The best you can do is hope that he was able to make it out in time and is just on a nearby island," Rasha replied, trying to calm her down. The wristwatch Rita was wearing began to ping. Looking at it, she saw "Professor Oak Laboratory."
"Mom, we need to go see this! It could be new information about him!" Luna said, as she was quick to get up.
"I'm going too!" Luan said, joining her roommate.
"R-Right. Let's get going," Rita said, as Lilianna and the others helped her to her feet. All the while, Lucius and the rest of the parents watched the majority of the Louds head upstairs.
"Isn't there some way to see if he's still kicking?" Blitzo asked.
"There is, but unfortunately, since we've never met Lincoln, we don't know what his soul looks like, so we aren't able to track him," Stolas replied.
"But if he is still kicking, then we can go and finally meet our daughter's fiancé to-be," Akuma added.
"Well, I'm sure that's the least of everyone's worries right now, Akuma. They just want to make sure the boy is still alive," Minister Taur replied.
"Well, shall we go listen in to their conversation?" Lucius asked.
"You mean eavesdrop?" Wolfgang asked. Lucius only gave him a look.
"I didn't say that, Wolfgang. We're simply going to see what's going on," Lucius replied.
"Which by definition is eavesdropping," Octavia snarked.
"Whatever! Just come on!" Lucius said, as he and the others ascended the staircase.
Meanwhile, back in Lily and Lisa's room,
With the exception of both Lynn's and Lori, every Loud was now present in the room of the two, youngest members of the family. Nearby, Charlie and the other princesses were standing off to the side, along with Lincoln's Pokemon. While they weren't happy about being forced into an arranged marriage, they didn't want anything bad to befall the Loud Family's only son, "Does the Professor have good news?!" Lola asked hysterically.
"I don't know, Lola. Just give me a moment to answer," Lisa replied, as she answered the call. The screen turned on to display not only Professor Oak's visage, but also Flint and Lola, Daisy, and Professor Cerise.
"Hello everyone. I'm glad you answered at such a late hour," Professor Oak greeted.
"Not at all, Professor. We were awake anyway," Flint replied.
"Professor, I assume that since you're calling, you have news to share with us?" Lisa asked.
"Indeed, I do. It's in regards to the disappearance of Lincoln, Misty, Brock, and the others," Professor Oak replied. Looks of hope and worry worked their way onto the faces of everyone there.
"Well, don't keep us waiting! What did you find out?" Daisy asked desperately, as her mother and sisters came into view.
"Well, first of all, I have confirmed that the missing people are still in fact, alive," Professor Oak replied. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, "But that's only one bit of the good news. The bad news is that they're still trapped down in the sunken St. Anne, but are trying to escape."
"Well, at least now we know Lincoln's alright, for the most part," Luan commented.
"How did you find out about this information?" Misty's Mother asked.
"Because of this Pokemon that Lincoln had sent," Professor Oak said, as Weezing came into view.
"Whoa, what kind of Pokemon is that?" Luna asked.
"It's called 'Weezing', and it's a Pokemon Lincoln caught while down in the St. Anne to have transported to me with this note, explaining his situation," Professor Oak replied.
"Wait, how did Lincoln catch that Pokemon in a sunken ship? It doesn't look aquatic in the slightest," Lisa commented.
"More than likely, it's a Pokemon that was abandoned by Team Rocket," Professor Oak replied.
"Wait, 'abandoned'?" Lana asked.
"Yes. In the Pokemon World, there are some bad trainers that abandon their Pokemon, either because they think they're too weak, aren't good enough, or just for the sake of getting away. Lincoln probably caught Weezing not only to deliver this message, but also to help give Weezing a fresh start," Professor Oak explained.
"Pokemon can't be held responsible for their trainer's actions. They're just following orders that were given to them," Violet added.
"Well, that's good to hear that Lincoln's helping Weezing with having a second chance," Lisa commented.
"And you said that they're trying to escape to ship?" Rita asked.
"Yes. In fact, in the letter, he had instructed me to not only inform all of you that they're still alive, but also to get a search party out and ready to comb the waters," Professor Oak replied.
"In that case, I'll make an emergency deployment of the Cerise Lab Research Fellows," Professor Cerise said.
"You do that, and I'll get in touch with the authorities here, as well as the Kanto News Network to spread the word. As soon as we do, we can bring them to the closest island port where they can call and check in with us," Professor Oak replied.
"That'll be something to look forward to," Lola Loud commented.
"So, what island was closest to where the St. Anne went down?" Lucy asked.
"Based on the maps, I would say Porta Vista. It a tropical resort island where people can go to have fun and relax, complete with all manner of luxury hotels and condos," Professor Oak replied.
"Well, at least we know they're close to somewhere they can call home to," Rita commented.
"Indeed. We'll be in touch at a later time," Professor Oak said, as he and the others hung up.
"I can't tell you how relieved I am to hear Lincoln's alright," Lana commented.
"But don't forget, he and the others still need to successfully escape, and make it to the nearest port," Lola replied.
"But knowing Lincoln, he's bound to have some kind of elaborate plan to make the escape as efficient as possible. He's good at coming up with plans in tight situations," Luan pointed out.
"But when he does call home… I… I don't know what I should do," Rita said, as she sat on Lisa's bed.
"Are you referring to having Lincoln come home?" Lisa asked.
"Yes, but that's where I'm torn. On one hand, he'd be safe from villains like Team Rocket, but on the other hand, I'd also be pulling him away from something he's found a real passion for," Rita replied.
"It might actually be wise to let Lincoln continue travelling Kanto," Octavia suggested, causing all eyes to fall to her, "I've seen types of organizations like this 'Team Rocket' bunch plenty of times, either in real life, or in TV, anime or manga. They're usually headed by some mastermind who will stop at nothing to get what they want, and I mean 'nothing'," she explained.
"You mean… they could come and try to take us hostage to force Lincoln to stay out of their way?" Luna asked.
"More than likely. So, making him come home may actually be more dangerous than letting him stay there," Octavia replied.
"And if you remember that news report, Team Rocket was officially declared a 'terrorist organization' by this 'Lorelei' lady," Miu added.
Charlie then approached Rita, "Look, Mrs. Loud, I know you're really worried about your son, but if he is as good at making plans as your daughters say he is, then I'm sure he'll find a way to not only steer clear of Team Rocket, but also potentially bring them down once and for all."
"And remember; He has friends over there, so he isn't alone in this fight," Vaggie added.
"Thank you, girls. You're all very nice to say all that," Rita praised.
"Well, we were raised rather well by our parents," Miu replied, sounding a little embarrassed.
"But do you think there's a way to actually go and meet up with Lincoln in person? Like how your Dad opened those portals?" Lola asked.
"It's possible, but we're no doubt going to need an open space, where we won't cause too much of a panic," Charlie mulled over the question.
"Actually, sweetie, that may not be necessary," Lucius said, as he appeared in the doorway with Lilianna.
"What do you mean, Dad? And were you eavesdropping?" Charlie asked suspiciously.
"Never mind that last question. But as for what I mean is something I've been planning with the rest of the Monster Realm Leaders for quite some time, as well as in secret meetings with what the humans call the 'United Nations'," Lucius replied.
"And that would be?" Charlie asked.
"A little plan I'd like to call the 'Interspecies Cultural Exchange Bill'. This would allow denizens of the Monster realm to come over to the Human Realm to try to integrate into human society, and vice versa," Lucius explained.
"Well, if you say the U.N. is in cahoots with this, then it would keep the human populus from panicking upon seeing all of you, which would make meeting with Lincoln over in Kanto all the more manageable," Lisa contemplated.
"Precisely my point! Now, here's what we've got so far," Lucius replied, as he began explaining the details of the proposed bill.
Team Updates:
Lincoln:
Weezing (New Pokemon)