Pokemon Loud Version - Kanto Ch. 30 - School of Hard Knocks

-Somewhere On Route 6 (11:55 PM)-

"Man, I can't wait until we get to Vermilion City. The sooner we do, the better." said Lincoln as he, Misty, Brock and Pikachu continued through Route 6, intent on reaching the location of his next badge. "So how much longer until we reach Vermilion City, Brock? We're almost there, right?"

"Yeah, we're getting close to the city's entrance. Should probably be there within the next ten minutes or so." replied Brock before he gave the white-haired boy a knowing smile. "You must be really eager to challenge the Vermilion City gym leader, huh?"

"Definitely. I've gotta catch up with Red and the others - I'm already behind as it is and I can't afford to lag behind them any longer." said Lincoln, nodding his head. "So...can either one of you tell me anything about the guy?"

Taking on a thoughtful look as she tried to recall what she knew about the owner of the Vermilion City gym, Misty said "Well, from what I do know about him, the guy goes by the name of Lieutenant Surge. As you can guess by his name, he specializes in Electric-Type Pokemon."

"An Electric-Type gym leader? Sounds like an interesting opponent." remarked Pikachu, slightly interested. "Lincoln, I wanna take a crack at his Pokemon and see how I fare against them."

"We'll see about it when we take him on, buddy." answered Lincoln before turning his attention back to Misty. "So...Lieutenant Surge, huh? I'm guessing that the 'lieutenant' part of his name means he's a military guy or something?"

"Apparently so - I've heard that he had served in the military prior to becoming a gym leader." answered Misty with a nod. "There's also something else about him that you should know."

"And that is?" asked Lincoln, wanting to know what else she knew about the gym leader.

"He's from the United States, just like you."

"Surge is an American, too?"

"Yep. He even calls himself the 'Lightning American'." said Misty with a nod. "Maybe I should look into a nickname like that for myself...I think the 'Jewel Of Cerulean' sounds nice, don't you?"

"I dunno...considering how you act at times, 'Tomboyish Mermaid' sounds more fitting, if you ask me." remarked Brock, causing the redhead to give him a glare.

"Shut up, Brock."

Deciding to change the subject, Lincoln asks "So...are there any other notable Trainers I should know about that come from the States? Anyone at all?"

"Not really. Trainers from the United States are actually pretty scarce when it comes to the Kanto region." stated Brock, shaking his head. "Most Americans that do end up becoming Trainers usually head over to the Unova region because of how close it is."

Clearly surprised at this particular fact, Lincoln asked "Wait...there's a Pokemon region close to the United States?"

"There's three of them, actually - Unova, Alola and Orre." said Misty as she held up three fingers. "The first one's got an official League set up - gyms, badges, the Elite Four, a League Champion - the usual stuff. I don't know much about Alola, but I do know that they don't have a League or gym system set up over there. And as for the last one...well, I'd avoid that place like the plague if I were you."

"Definitely. I've heard nothing but bad things about it." chimed in Brock, nodding in agreement.

"So how many regions are there altogether?"

"There's not telling how many actually exist in the world, Lincoln." replied Misty, shrugging. "The only ones that I know of are Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola and Orre. Aside from that, I don't know about any others."

Adding further to Misty's statement, Brock says "The ones that Misty listed off after Kanto - Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh - are all located near Japan while Kalos is somewhere near the country of France. The others are located near the United States."

"I see..." mused Lincoln, making a mental note to check with Lisa about setting him up with a trip to one of those particular regions in the near future. "Anyway, we shouldn't be much further away from Vermilion City, right?"

"That's right. As a matter of fact, we should be there right about..."

As if on cue, the three come to a stop upon seeing a massive, comely-looking port town with a sizable harbor just a few feet away. In front of them was an arch-like gateway with a sign that had the words ' Welcome to Vermilion City - The Port of Exquisite Sunsets' displayed proudly on it.

"...Now."

-=O=-

As he and the others stared at the town before them, Lincoln says "Wow...this place is gorgeous. Royal Woods has nothing on a place like this.", clearly awestruck at what he was seeing.

"Yeah, it is pretty nice-looking, isn't it? Granted, I'll always prefer Cerulean City over anything else, but this place is still a sight to behold, even to this day." remarked Misty with a smile. "And if you ask me, it's about time we reached this place. I've been looking forward to coming here ever since we left Cerulean Cape."

"Well, that particular wait is finally over, so let's head on in and check things out." said Brock before heading through the archway with Misty and Lincoln following after him a few seconds later.

As Lincoln continued to follow Brock through the town, his eyes caught on what looked like a large green-colored building with yellow lightning bolts painted on it just a few feet away.

Interestingly enough, there were two people clad in military fatigues standing guard at the entrance.

Pointing at the building, he asks "Hey Brock, that building over there with the lightning bolts on it...that's the Vermilion City gym, right?"

Nodding, Brock answers "Yeah, that's it. Before we go there however, I think we should stop by the Pokemon Center first - we're running low on supplies."

"Sounds good to me. I need to talk to Professor Oak about sending over a couple of my Pokemon anyway."

"And after that, we should see what else this town has to offer." said Misty, causing Lincoln to give her a bewildered look.

"What? No! We're going straight to the gym after we're done at the Pokemon Center! I can't afford to fall behind again!" protested Lincoln as he pointed at the gym.

"Aw, come on! We've only just gotten here and will most likely be leaving once you get your badge - why not take some time to check things out? There's more to this place than just the gym, you know."

"I have to go with Misty on this one, Lincoln." said Brock, arms crossed. "We spent a lot of time trying to get here, so we might as well take the time to enjoy it. The gym isn't going to be going anywhere."

"Now that I think about it, I'd like to see what kind of stuff this town has to offer, too." added Pikachu thoughtfully before raising one of his paws. "I vote for checking the town out before hitting the gym. That makes three-to-one, Lincoln."

"...You guys suck, you know that?"

Giving the white-haired boy a firm pat on the back, Misty says "Aw, ease up, will ya? There might be something here that'll interest you...well, aside from the gym, that is."

"...Fine, we'll hit the Pokemon Center, then we'll check things out for an hour or two before meeting up at the gym. Happy now?" grumbled Lincoln, clearly annoyed at the idea of having to wait to challenge the gym.

"That'll work. Now come on - the sooner we're done with our business at the Pokemon Center, the sooner we can see what this place has to offer."

-=O=-

-Professor Oak's Laboratory - Oak's Office (12:15 PM)-

While Lincoln and company were heading to the Vermilion Pokemon Center, Professor Oak was sitting at his desk, getting ready to handle the one part of his job that he genuinely disliked - paperwork.

Sure, he knew that handling it was absolutely vital to his job as a Pokemon Professor, but it didn't mean he had to like doing it.

Giving the large stack of papers an exasperated look, Oak groans "Ugh...I'll never understand why my job requires me to handle so much paperwork. It's times like this that make me regret giving up the Trainer's life to become a Pokemon Professor."

As he grabbed one of the papers to start on his work, he inwardly hoped for any kind of distraction that would take him away from his paperwork, even if it was for a moment or two.

Almost as if to answer his prayers, the sound of someone knocking at his door could be heard, causing him to let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness..." muttered Oak before turning his attention to the door and saying "Come on in - it's open.", causing the door to open as a man dressed like a scientist stepped into the office.

"Greetings, Professor Oak. Sorry to bother you, but I have something to report regarding the progress of one of your sponsors." said the man, causing Oak to give him a nod that he took as his cue to continue speaking. "I just came to inform you that your grandson Gary had called just a few moments ago from the Pokemon Center in Celadon City. He has managed to win the Rainbow Badge from the gym leader there."

"So that would bring him up to four badges now. Impressive. Anything else?"

"He had also sent over some Pokemon he has recently captured. I'm not certain on the correct number, but I believe this would raise his current total capture amount to around 50 or so."

"He's already managed to capture that many Pokemon in such a short time?" asked Oak, eyebrows raised in surprise. When the other man nodded his head, he sighs and mutters "That boy really needs to slow down. If he keeps this up, I'm not sure if we'll have enough space or food to accommodate any of the Pokemon he's sending here."

Over the past week or so, Gary had been sending captured Pokemon to him at an alarmingly fast rate, making it difficult to keep track of everything he had sent over - it almost seemed like anytime he ran into a new Pokemon, he captured it.

It was times like this that made him incredibly thankful for the grant that the Pokemon League committee had given him. He didn't know how he would've been able to feed the Pokemon staying here otherwise.

'At least the others aren't overdoing it when it comes to captures. I doubt my Aides, much less myself, would be able to handle so many Pokemon at once.' thought Oak as his mind thought about the other three Trainers he was sponsoring at the moment.

Red, from what he managed to gather during his last conversation with him, had called from the Pokemon Center near the Rock Tunnel, mentioning that he had already won the Thunder Badge and was on his way to Celadon City to challenge the gym waiting for him there.

Leaf, meanwhile, was still in Vermilion City despite having won her Thunder Badge, intent on taking a few days off away from travelling in order to check out the St. Anne when it docked at Vermilion's port.

As for Lincoln, he didn't know where he was at the moment. The last time they had spoken was at Cerulean City and even then it was only for a few moments - just long enough to send his Beedrill and Zubat to him.

'I really hope that boy calls the lab soon - while I'm certain that he's doing alright, it wouldn't hurt to check in and see if everything's okay.' thought Oak, letting out a sigh. 'That and I could use a break from taking care of the Pokemon Gary's been sending over.'

Suddenly, his office door opens up again as the same Aide from before entered the room, saying "Professor Oak, your presence is required in the VideoPhone room."

"Let me guess...Gary sent over some more Pokemon and wants to tell me about them?"

"No, Professor. It's someone else that's calling here - a 'Professor Tree', I believe."

Recognizing the name right away, Oak sighed again before muttering "Just when I thought my day couldn't get any more complicated. I'll be there in a moment.", causing the Aide to nod before leaving the office.

After giving the stack of papers on his desk a glance, he says "...Well, at least I'll be away from my paperwork for a few moments." before getting up to leave the office as well.

-=O=-

-Pokemon Tech - VideoPhone Room (12:20 PM)-

"Anytime now, Lemuel. Sammy'll pick up any minute." said Professor Tree as he patiently stood by one of the school's VideoPhones, waiting for someone to answer his call. "...Any second now."

After spending five more minutes waiting with nothing happening, he says "...Maybe I should call him again, just to be sure. He might've missed the first one." before moving his hand over to the number pad to dial in the number to Professor Oak's laboratory.

Before he could do so, he heard the VideoPhone beeping, causing a smile to appear on his face.

"There he is. About time, too." said Tree before answering the call, causing the visage of Professor Oak to appear on the screen. "Heya, Sammy! Been a while since we've last spoken, huh? You got me at a good time - I was about to dial you up again."

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Lemuel. And yes, it has been a while." said Oak with a tentative nod. "Are those...er, Pidgeys you told me about still flying around your office?"

"No...uh, wait a minute." replied Tree before taking a few moments to think over Oak's question. After a few minutes, he shrugs and turns his attention back to Professor Oak. "I'm sure they're probably around somewhere. Maybe."

"Uh-huh..." said Oak, eyebrow raised. "So why are you calling me? I don't want to sound rude, but I'm very busy right now."

In response, Professor Tree simply holds up the package he had received the day before up to the screen.

"This is why, Sammy. Some Delibird got the two of us mixed up and handed this over to me instead of delivering it to you."

After staring at the package on the screen for a moment, Oak mused "...So that explains why I haven't gotten it yet. Can you send it over to me using one of your school's transfer machines, please?"

"Wish I could, but the headmistress won't let me use 'em anymore after she caught me trying to use one to send a 'care package' to a friend of mine living in Johto."

"What about the one in the Pokemon Center? That one is free for the public to use, isn't it?"

"Same thing. Both Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy really chewed my ear off when they found out what I was trying to send off. I was lucky to get off with just a fine and a lifetime ban from using the Center's transfer machine."

"Of course..." muttered Oak, having an idea on what Tree was talking about. "Well, this is a conundrum we're both in right now - my Aides and I are very busy with the recent influx of Pokemon that had arrived at the lab."

"And I'm not able to send it to ya through the mail until Tuesday. Yeah, I think we're both in a..." started Tree, only to stop upon hearing the sound of a VideoPhone going off in Professor Oak's lab. "...You expecting another call, Sammy?"

Shaking his head, Oak says "Not that I know of. Let's see where it's coming from..." before pressing a few buttons nearby, causing the call's location to appear on the screen. "...It's coming from the Vermilion City Pokemon Center. If I had to take a guess, it's probably Mr. Loud calling in to let me know he and his friends finally managed to arrive there."

"Whoa...how'd you know that?"

"Three of my other sponsors called in a few days ago to tell me the same thing - Lincoln's the only one who hasn't contacted me yet. Sorry to do this, but I'm going to have to cut this call short between us for now, Lemuel. I'll contact you again when Lincoln and I are finished speaking with each other."

Instead of going along with the idea and hanging up, Professor Tree says "Whoa, hold on a bit there, Sammy. I'd actually like to meet the kid myself. Can you go ahead and get him on the line so I can chat him up for a bit?"

"I don't know, Lemuel...a call between a Pokemon Professor and their sponsor is somewhat of a private matter..." replied Oak, unsure about the suggestion.

"Aw c'mon Sammy, just lemme talk to the kid. At the very least, let me introduce myself to him before I hang up."

"Well...I suppose it couldn't hurt to allow the two of you to talk for a bit. Just promise me that you won't try to market your 'crops' to him and I'll patch him through."

"You have my word, Sammy."

"I'll be holding you to it." said Oak before pressing a button as he picked up the receiver, causing Lincoln's visage to appear on the screen alongside Professor Tree's, creating a two-way split-screen effect on the monitor. With a wide smile, he adds "Lincoln, my boy! It's so good to see you again - how are you?"

"I'm doing great, Profess..." started Lincoln before immediately stopping upon seeing what was on his own screen. After spending a few seconds staring at it in confusion, Lincoln says "...Professor Oak, I'm not sure, but I think the VideoPhone here is busted - I'm seeing two of you on the screen."

"Your VideoPhone is just fine, Mr. Loud - you happened to call right when I was contacting an...'acquaintance' of mine." said Oak before gesturing over towards where Tree's visage was positioned. "Allow me to introduce you to Professor Lemuel Tree."

"Aw man, I'm just an acquaintance? I thought we were buddies, Sammy?" asked Tree with a mock hurt expression on his face before turning to give Lincoln a small grin. "But seriously though, it's nice to meet you...Lincoln, right?"

"Yeah, that's me." replied Lincoln with a nod. "So...Professor Tree, huh? Are you a Pokemon Professor, too?"

"Yep. Sure, I'm nowhere as good as Sammy, but I'm definitely certified for the job." replied Tree, grin widening. "But enough about me. You must be the American that folks have been goin' on about, right? The one from the Cerulean gym battle?"

"People are still going on about that?"

"To be fair, it's not often you see a novice Trainer create and successfully use a hybrid attack, even if it was purely by accident." said Oak simply. "But enough about that - how are you doing, my boy? We didn't get the chance to talk much when you called me back in Cerulean City. Did you enjoy your trip to the Cerulean Cape?"

"Yeah, I enjoyed it...well, until Team Rocket showed up to cause trouble, anyway." grumbled Lincoln before his attitude changed to something more upbeat. "But aside from that, I had a lot of fun there. Really helped out with getting over what happened with my family."

While Professor Oak nodded in understanding, Professor Tree asked "Uh...is there something I'm missing here?" with a confused look on his face.

Giving the sunglasses-wearing man a stern look, Oak says "It's a personal matter for Mr. Loud, Lemuel. Let's just leave it at that."

"Ah, I gotcha. Won't bring it up again."

"Thank you." replied Oak before turning his attention back to Lincoln. "By the way, I noticed that you're calling me from the Vermilion Pokemon Center. Have you challenged the gym leader there yet?"

"No, I haven't gotten the chance to challenge him yet."

"I see. Well then, I would suggest that while you still have the time, you should see about catching a couple of Ground-Types - they're strong against Electric-Type Pokemon - to help with defeating the Vermilion City gym leader. If I recall correctly, there's a tunnel on Route 11 just east of Vermilion that have wild Diglett living inside of it."

"That'd be the Diglett Tunnel, kiddo. You'll find plenty of the little guys in there." added Tree before snapping his fingers as an idea formed in his normally drug-addled mind. "That's it! I think I've got an idea that can help us out with both of our problems, Sammy!"

-=O=-

"Problems?" asked Lincoln, eyebrow raised. "Is there something you're having trouble with, Professor?"

"Now Lemuel, there's no need to get Lincoln involved with our little problem." warned Oak scoldingly.

"Hey, I'm just saying if my idea works out, the kid will be able to help us both out with our little problem." said Tree with a shrug. "Whaddya say, kid? Feel like lending us a hand?"

"Depends on what you want me to deal with." replied Lincoln simply. "Tell me about this problem first - I want to know what's going on before I make any decisions."

"Fair enough." answered Tree with a nod. "Our little problem is this: some kid named 'Lisa Loud' - I'm guessing that'd be a sister of yours since you share the same last name - sent a package to Sammy, but the Pokemon who delivered it accidentally gave it to me by mistake. Probably mistook me for him."

"You two do look alike." admitted Lincoln with a nod. "And yeah, Lisa's a sister of mine. Like myself, she's a good friend of Professor Oak's, too."

"Good to know. Anyway, I got the package by mistake and can't send it over to Sammy's lab until Tuesday..."

"...And I can't stop by in order to pick it up myself. As I told Professor Tree earlier before you called, things have been incredibly busy recently with the recent influx of Pokemon that have been coming to the lab."

"Influx of Pokemon, huh? Let me guess...Red, Leaf and Gary?"

"Gary, mostly. Believe it or not, he's already captured around 50 Pokemon." replied Oak with a nod. "Though I do have to say that the other two aren't slackers when it comes to catching Pokemon, either. Out of all four of you however, your collection of Pokemon is the smallest."

Letting out a groan, Lincoln mutters "So I'm not only falling behind when it comes to badges, but with captures, too? That sucks..."

"There's nothing wrong with having a smaller number of Pokemon, Lincoln - it just means that you have fewer problems to deal with when it comes to deciding which ones you want to utilize when you need them." replied Oak reassuringly. "Not to mention it's easier on us here at us here at the lab, too. There's no need to overdo it."

"Yeah, I can agree with Sammy here. Things are a lot easier to handle when you have a lighter workload to deal with." agreed Tree with a nod. "But that's the dealio, kiddo - we need you to help us out with this package problem of ours. And hey, you'll get something out of it too - you'll get to see what the premier Trainer's school in Kanto is like. It'll be a...what's that thing called..."

"Learning experience?" suggested Oak, causing Tree to nod his head.

"Yeah, that. Besides, there's a couple of earpiece things for your friends in the package and I'm pretty sure you'll want to make sure they get 'em."

"...And how would you know that, Lemuel?" asked Oak, eyebrow raised. "You didn't open the package, did you?"

"Er...one of my students might've opened the envelope attached to the package, Sammy. But the package is still in one piece...mostly." replied Tree sheepishly. "The letter said that there's an earpiece thing in it for you, too."

"Mostly?" parroted Oak before shaking his head. "...Never mind, that's not important right now."

Turning his attention back to Lincoln, he says "Lincoln, I hate to bother you with an errand like this, but can you go to Viridian City and collect this package for me? You're one of the few people I can..."

Before he could finish, Lincoln raises a hand, cutting him off.

"Something wrong, Mr. Loud?"

"Hold on a tick. Let me see if I've got this right - you want me to run an errand for you. One that's all the way in Viridian City." said Lincoln flatly, causing Oak to give him a nod.

"If you wouldn't mind. As I was saying before you cut me off, you're one of the few people I can trust with something like this."

"Professor, I don't know if we can afford to make a trip like that right now. You see, we just arrived in Vermilion City this morning and it'd take us around a week or more to head all the way back to Viridian. And you already know that I haven't even gotten the chance to challenge the gym leader here yet."

"That's where the Diglett Tunnel comes in, little dude - if you use that, it'll take you to Route 2. From there, it's just a short walk to Viridian City." said Tree as a smile appeared on his face, catching the white-haired boy's attention almost immediately. "Shouldn't take you more than a few hours if you don't stop for anything."

"He's right, you know. It shouldn't take you long to head there, get the package, send the contents to me using the Pokemon Center's transfer machine and still make it back to Vermilion before the day is over." agreed Oak, nodding his head. "Not to mention you'll have a chance to catch a Diglett to use in the gym battle against the Vermilion City gym leader."

"Mm-hmm. Useful little guys, those Diglett. Really come in handy when it comes to tilling the ground for my 'crops'."

Letting out a sigh of relief, Lincoln says "Thank goodness for that. I don't know if I could've handled heading back to Viridian City the long way. In that case, I'll help you two out with this errand."

"Thank you, my boy. I appreciate the fact you're willing to handle this for me." said Oak with a grateful smile. "Of course, I still feel somewhat bad about having you handle an errand like this, so I'll offer you something I've got laying around the lab as compensation. Give me a moment to find something suitable, please."

"Okay, Professor. Do you want me to keep Professor Tree company while you're gone?"

"If you wouldn't mind. I'm sure the two of you will find something to talk about with each other." answered Oak before giving Tree a stern look. "And Lemuel, remember the promise that you made to me earlier."

"I know, I know - don't try to market my 'plants' to the kid. Doesn't seem like the kinda guy to be interested in 'em anyway." replied Tree, rolling his eyes behind his sunglasses before turning his attention over to Lincoln. "I don't have anythin' to offer you, but I'll see about givin' you and your buds a tour of Pokemon Tech someday. Maybe you might see somethin' you'll like."

"I'll be looking forward to it." replied the white-haired boy before turning his attention back to Professor Oak. "As for you, if you're going to be offering something as an incentive, I'm certainly not going to say no. Can you send whatever it is along with a couple of my Pokemon, please?"

"Certainly. Which ones do you want?"

"Andrea and Poliwag. I'll be sending over Azami and Bruce." answered Lincoln, only to get a strange look from the two professors in response. Deciding to explain further, he adds "My Pokemon have been clamoring for me to come up with names for them, so I decided to go ahead and give them one. Azami's the name of my Bulbasaur, Bruce is the name of my Zubat and my Sandshrew goes by the name Andrea."

"A nicknamer, huh? Nothing wrong with that." commented Tree, nodding in understanding. "Both of my favorite students do the same thing with their Weepinbell and Kakuna."

"I agree with Professor Tree, Lincoln - if you want to give your Pokemon names, that's fine with me. If anything, I actually find the idea to be rather endearing." replied Oak with a smile. "Although I would appreciate it if you would inform me of any new names you decide to give your Pokemon in the future."

"I will, Professor." replied Lincoln with a nod.

"Thank you, my boy. Now then, I'll be back in a few moments - hopefully I'll find something worthwhile to use as compensation for your time."

With that said, Oak walks off and exits the room, leaving Lincoln and Professor Tree alone.

-=O=-

"So Professor Tree...what exactly do you study? Is there a particular aspect about Pokemon you specialize in?" asked Lincoln curiously, causing the sunglasses-wearing man to shake his head.

"Not really, little man - I mainly just count Pidgeys here in my office. Not exactly the most exciting task to do, but it's fairly easy and the Pokemon League do pay me for my work." replied Tree with a shrug. "But enough about me - tell me a bit about yourself."

"Not much to say, really - I'm a Trainer from the United States who's aiming to become the Kanto region's Champion." said Lincoln, shrugging. "So what can you tell me about your workplaces...Pokemon Tech, right?"

Nodding his head, Tree answered "Yep. It's the most prestigious Trainer's school in the entire Kanto region - only the most promising of students...or the ones living with well-off families get to attend there. If you graduate, you get a pass directly to the Pokemon League."

"...So it's essentially a school for the rich snobby kids who don't want to travel?"

"Yeah, pretty much. To be honest, I prefer to do things the way you're doin' em now - challengin' gyms, catching Pokemon, bonding with 'em and all that other stuff. Much more enjoyable than sitting in a classroom all day."

As Lincoln nodded his head in agreement with Tree's statement, Professor Oak comes back into view with a smile on his face.

"Sorry about taking so long to return, Mr. Loud. I had to check through the lab's storage room to find something suitable for you and I believe I may have found something you'll like."

"It's alright, Professor. So what'd you find?"

In response, Professor Oak holds up what looked like a white-colored TM with a smile on his face.

"Lincoln, this is a TM for the move Flash. I don't know if you'll get any use out of it or not, but I would like to give it to you nonetheless."

Shrugging, Lincoln says "Hey, I'm not gonna turn down a free TM, Professor. Now then, can you send it along with my Pokemon, please?"

"Of course. You should already know how things work by now, so go ahead and send your Pokemon over."

"I'm on it." said Lincoln before placing the two Pokeballs into the transfer machine and sending them over. "By the way, Professor...is there any way of increasing the number of Pokemon I'm allowed to carry at a time?"

"That's a peculiar question, Mr. Loud. I sincerely hope you're not showing any doubts about whether we're taking good care of your Pokemon here at the lab."

"It's not that, Professor. I just find the 'six-at-a-time' limit to be kind of a pain to deal with." replied Lincoln, shaking his head. "Besides, I'd like to have as many Pokemon with me as possible in case I ever need them for something. After all, there's going to be times where I won't be able to access a Pokemon Center to have you transfer my Pokemon over to me."

Nodding his head in understanding, Tree comments "Now that I think about it, that would be pretty problematic if you got into a jam like that." before giving Lincoln a smirk. "You're the kinda person that likes planning for any kind of situation, arentcha?"

"You have no idea." muttered Lincoln in response with a roll of his eyes, thinking back on all of the times he had to plan ahead to be a step ahead of his sisters in the past.

Scratching his chin, Oak says "Well, I'm not sure about whether it's possible to extend the carrying limit or not, but I believe that I can look into the transferring issue. I'll need some time to talk to Bill about his transfer system and see how it fully functions first before I do anything, though."

"I can wait, Professor." said Lincoln as he removed the two Pokeballs and the Flash TM from the transfer machine. "Thanks for sending these over."

"Anytime. Now then, is that everything?"

"Just two more questions before you hang up, Professor - is my Squirtle giving you any trouble and is there a gym in Viridian City? Because if there is, I might pay that place a visit while I'm there."

"Yeah, there's a gym in Viridian, but it's not open to any challenging Trainers right now." replied Tree, crossing his arms. "Don't know why, but the place has been inactive for about three months now."

Grinning, he adds "Gotta say I didn't expect ya to have all three Kanto starters, though. Nice going."

"Dang it. So much for that idea." grumbled Lincoln with a look of disappointment on his face, unhappy that his hopes of winning two badges in the same day had been dashed.

Seeing this, Oak suggests "If you like, I can keep tabs on the place for you and let you know when they're taking challengers again. Red, Gary and Leaf have already asked me to do the same for them when they inquired about the gym a few weeks ago."

"That'd be greatly appreciated, Professor. Thanks."

"Not a problem, my boy. As for your Squirtle, he's been well-behaved so far, but he doesn't like socializing with the other Pokemon here. Why are you asking about him?"

"He's...er, kinda disobedient, Professor. Has a bit of a bad temper, too." said Lincoln, scratching the back of his head. "Is there any advice you can give me to help out with something like that?"

"The only thing I can suggest is to keep working with him and you'll eventually earn his trust. Some Pokemon require a bit of effort to get them to cooperate." suggested Oak as he crossed his arms. "Having your Pokemon battle against him again might help as well - there are a few Pokemon that respect strength above all else and your Squirtle may be one of them."

"Thanks for the suggestions, Professor. I'll be sure to keep them in mind."

"You're welcome, my boy." replied Oak simply. "So is that everything or do you need something else?"

"For right now, yeah. Thanks again." answered Lincoln before giving Professor Tree a nod. "I'll try to be over as soon as I can sometime today, Professor Tree."

Nodding, Tree says "I can wait, little dude. I'll see you then." before hanging up, leaving Lincoln and Professor Oak alone.

"I should be hanging up as well, Lincoln. Make sure to call me again once you have the earpieces and I'll see about having them synced to your Pokedex."

"I will, Professor. Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now then, I must be going - it's getting close to feeding time for the Pokemon and they get rather cranky when they're hungry. Goodbye and good luck on your gym challenge, Lincoln." said Oak before hanging up as well.

-=O=-

-Vermilion City Pokemon Center - VideoPhone Booths (12:40 PM)-

After seeing the screen to his VideoPhone cut off, Lincoln sighs and says "...Misty and Brock aren't going to be happy when I tell them about this." before hanging up the receiver. Afterwards, he gets up in order to go rejoin the others, who appeared to be finishing up with their business at the PokeMart. "Alright you two, there's going to be a slight change of plans."

"Change of plans? What are you talking about?" asked Brock, eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, what he said. I didn't hear about any change of plans." remarked Pikachu, wondering what Lincoln was talking about as well.

Deciding to just get it out of the way instead of postponing it, Lincoln answers "During my call to Professor Oak's lab, he asked me if I could run an errand for him in Viridian City and I agreed.", causing the two gym leaders and Pikachu to look at him with disbelief. "Now then, before you start raising protests..."

He never got the chance to finish as Misty quickly grabbed his jacket and started shaking him about wildly.

"Viridian City?! We have to go all the way back there?!" exclaimed Misty as she continued to shake Lincoln around. "No way! Not happening, mister! We just arrived here this morning and there's absolutely no way in Hell we're backtracking all the way to Viridian just so you can run an errand! And there's no way I'm going through that bug-ridden hellhole called the Viridian Forest ever again!"

"I have to agree with Misty on this one, Lincoln. I'm not too keen on the idea of heading all the way to Viridian City either." said Brock, shaking his head. "Besides, wasn't it you that said that you didn't want to fall behind Red and the others?"

"Yeah, he did." remarked Pikachu before giving Lincoln an annoyed look. "It took us almost two weeks to get here, Lincoln - if we head back to Viridian City, you're going to be falling so far behind that it'll be difficult, if not near impossible to catch back up with the others. How do you expect to make this work out?"

"Well if Misty would quit shaking me around like a wet rag, I can finish what I was going to say!" retorted Lincoln before roughly pulling himself free from Misty's grip. "Knock it off!"

After taking a few seconds to calm down, he adds "Now then, as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted...we're going to run this errand for Professor Oak.", only to stop long enough to hold up one of his hands when the others looked like they were going to start protesting again. "Let me finish what I have to say first before you say anything."

Hearing this, the three settle down for the moment, waiting to hear the rest of Lincoln's explanation before saying anything.

"Now then, I did bring up that we wouldn't exactly be keen on the idea of backtracking all the way back to Viridian. Thankfully, an associate of his told me that there's an easier and much faster way of getting there without having to take the long way."

"And that is?" asked Pikachu, wanting to know where this was going.

"From what I understand, there's a tunnel on Route 11 - that's just east of here - that'll take us directly to Route 2. If we use that, we can finish this errand for him and still make it back to Vermilion before the day is over. That's what I was trying to tell you before I was interrupted earlier."

While the looks of irritation faded from Brock and Pikachu's faces, Misty said "Please tell me you're being truthful about this. I really don't want to have to take the long way back to Viridian, especially after how long it took for us to get here. And I especially don't want to go through the Viridian Forest again..." in an almost pleading voice.

"I trust Professor Oak's word completely. Besides, would I lie to you about something like that?"

"He's telling the truth, you know." commented a familiar-sounding female voice from nearby, catching their attention. Turning to face where it was coming from, they saw Leaf standing nearby with a grin on her face. "Been a while since I've seen you last, Lincoln."

-=O=-

While Misty, Brock and Pikachu eyed Leaf with looks of curiosity on their faces, Lincoln gave her a smile, saying "Hey, it's good to see you too, Leaf. Heard you won your Thunder Badge from Red the other day - congratulations."

Her grin widening, Leaf replied "Thanks! So how are you coming along?"

Hearing this, Lincoln's good mood diminishes slightly as he holds up two fingers and answers "Still at two badges. We just arrived in Vermilion this morning, so I haven't gotten the chance to win my Thunder Badge yet."

"That sucks. Well, don't worry - you'll catch up to the rest of us. Just keep working hard and you'll be on level with me, Red and Gary before you know it."

"Lincoln, who is this?" asked Misty, walking over to get a better look at Leaf. "Is she one of the Trainers from Pallet Town?"

"Mm-hmm. Name's Leaf - nice to meetcha." replied the other female, offering Misty a handshake. As the redhead accepted the gesture, she points at Brock and adds "Hey, I know you - you're the Pewter City gym leader, right? I remember battling you for the Boulder Badge a few weeks ago. What're you doing here all the way in Vermilion City?"

"I remember facing off against you - you really showed a lot of promise with the Nidoran and Charmander you used during our battle." said Brock, nodding his head. "As for why I'm here, well...I'm travelling with Misty and Lincoln while my father tends to the gym."

"Wanted to take a break from your duties in order to go out and see the world, huh? Nothing wrong with that - I would've done the same thing in your position." answered Leaf before turning her attention back to Lincoln. "So how's your journey going so far, Lincoln? Are you enjoying what the Kanto region has to offer?"

"Definitely. I'm having a blast." replied Lincoln before giving her a questioning look. "So... why are you still hanging around here in Vermilion City if you've already won the Thunder Badge?"

"Figured that I'd spend a few days here in Vermilion before hitting the road again. Gotta take some time off from travelling to unwind, y'know?" answered Leaf with a shrug. "Besides, I heard that the St. Anne will be docking here within the next couple of days and I'm thinking about checking it out when it arrives."

"The St. Anne's going to be docking here?" asked Misty, eyes widened in surprise. Upon seeing Leaf nod her head, she turns to Lincoln and says "We're not leaving until I get to see it as well, Lincoln. This isn't up for negotiation." in a tone that clearly told the white-haired boy that she wasn't taking 'no' for an answer.

"I...guess we can take a few days away from travelling to see this St. Anne thing. I'm guessing it's some kind of ship?"

"It's not just any old ship, Lincoln - the St. Anne is one of the most luxurious cruise liners out there." replied Brock, arms crossed. "From what I know about it, it only comes to Kanto once a month before setting out to sea again."

"That's right. And it'll be coming here in a day or two." said Leaf, nodding her head. "So...what were you guys going on about earlier? I just managed to catch the tail end of your conversation when I stepped into the Pokemon Center."

"Professor Oak asked me to run an errand for him in Viridian City, so we're going to be heading to the Diglett Tunnel on Route 11 in order to get there."

"I know where that is - that's where I caught my Diglett for the battle against the Vermilion gym leader." remarked Leaf with another nod. "If you want, I can show you guys where to find it."

"That'd be greatly appreciated, Leaf. Thank you."

"No problem. Besides, I've got nothing better to do while I wait for the St. Anne, so I might tag along with you guys for a bit. You don't mind, do you?"

"I don't have a problem with it if the others don't." replied Lincoln before giving Misty and Brock a glance. "Whaddya say, you two? Feel like having Leaf hang around with us for a little while?"

While Brock nodded his head in agreement, Misty stated "As long as she can pull her weight in battle, I don't have any problems with it. After all, don't forget what A.J. told us yesterday."

"That's right...he told us that there's been sightings of Team Rocket around here lately." mused Lincoln, recalling what the green-haired teen had warned them about the day before. "Leaf, I don't know if you're aware of this or not, but we might end up running into some of Team Rocket's goons - do you think you can hold your own against them?"

"Hey, don't worry about me - I'm pretty sure that I'll be able to do my part if we run into any trouble. After all, I wouldn't have three badges to my name if I couldn't handle myself, right?" answered Leaf confidently. "And I already know about the rumors going around about Team Rocket hanging around here - Red gave me the rundown on what's going on when I ran into him a few days ago."

"Well, at least you know what to expect and seem confident enough that you'll be able to handle it. In that case, welcome aboard." conceded Lincoln with a nod. "So about leading us to the Diglett Tunnel..."

"Yeah, I'll lead you guys to where it is. Follow me." said Leaf before leading the three Trainers and Pikachu out of the Pokemon Center, completely unaware of the three figures that were sitting on a nearby couch, reading similar-looking newspapers.

As soon as the five were gone, one of the three threw their newspaper down onto the floor in frustration, revealing himself to be James, who was wearing a rather thin-looking disguise.

"I don't believe it - we spend all morning waiting for the brat and his friends to come here and they decide to go off and leave again! We're going to end up getting fired if this keeps up!"

"Settle down, James. We know exactly where they'll be going now, so it'll be easier to track the down this time." said Jessie firmly. "And even if we do end up losing them again, we know that they'll be coming back here. Either way, we won't be losing them again anytime soon."

"Jess is right, Jim - we'll be able ta find dat brat no matta how tings end up goin'." remarked Meowth, nodding his head. "Although, I honestly tink dat we should stay here in Vermilion and start settin' up an ambush for 'em when dey come back. One of da warehouses down at da port should work - we can lure 'em down dere and get da drop on 'em. Not ta mention it'd be a great place fer us ta hide from da cops."

"Good thinking, Meowth." said Jessie, nodding in satisfaction at the Scratch Cat Pokemon's suggestion. "We'll wait until nightfall to find a good one to use - the harbor should be a lot less populated then."

Crossing her arms, she mutters "Now then, we just need to find a way to pass the time until those brats come back..."

"How about we catch some more Pokemon? We've bolstered our ranks a bit, but there's nothing wrong with adding a few more Pokemon, right?" suggested James, causing Jessie to think over the idea for a moment before nodding.

"I suppose that would be a good idea. Four Pokemon may not be enough to take down that brat and his friends."

"Five. Yer forgettin' about me too, ya know."

"Whatever. The point is that James is right - we'll need a few more Pokemon to even the odds back into our favor. Let's go check out some of the nearby routes and see if there's anything worth catching."

(AN: Like with Lincoln's Paras and Geodude, the Pokemon the Rockets catch (2 for both Jessie and James) will be used for Wonder Trading. Any suggestions you guys may have on what they'll receive for trading them away are welcome.)

-=O=-

-Pokemon Tech - Outside The School (2:00 PM)-

While Jessie, James and Meowth set off to go catch some Pokemon to boost their numbers, the numerous students and teachers of Pokemon Tech were heading towards the school's cafeteria for lunch, intent on enjoying the meals that the institute's chefs had to offer them that day.

Joe and Rusty, on the other hand, were heading to a much different spot to eat their meal - a small series of benches that were positioned outside of the school itself.

The reason they were going there to eat? Well, ever since Joe and Rusty had won the Battle Trophy during the previous week, things had become much more rockier than usual for the two boys. Not only were the teachers expecting to see them put more effort into their schoolwork, but they were getting even more grief than usual from other students like Cardin and Leanne outside of class.

The harassment that the two faced had gotten bad enough to the point where they had started spending more and more time outside of the school simply just to get away from them, even going so far as to skip their classes when they had the opportunity to do so.

Oddly enough, Giselle didn't join them in their hazing. They honestly didn't know whether it was because she thought herself above the idea or simply because she was still bothered by the fact she didn't win the Battle Trophy, but they weren't going to complain about it - it just meant one less person they would have to deal with.

"Man, I can't believe I'm saying this, but that Battle Trophy we won is more trouble than it's worth." grumbled Joe before he took a seat on a nearby bench and removed a sandwich out of the paper bag he was holding. "I tell you what, Rusty - if I had known that it was going to make our school lives even more difficult, I wouldn't have bothered trying to win it."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. It just seems like no matter what we do, we're always going to end up catching flak from someone in school. Almost makes me want to just pack my things and leave this town." said Rusty, nodding his head.

"Something you've been thinking about, I'm guessing?" assumed Joe as he took a bite out of his sandwich.

"Yeah. I've been wondering about what it'd be like to just leave this place and see what the rest of the region has to offer instead of sticking around in this craphole of a city for the rest of my life. That definitely sounds like the kind of life I want to live." answered Rusty as he fed Ralph a bit of his lunch. "I wouldn't have to hear everyone else in the school calling me 'retard' or deal with my dad trying to force me to work at his deli. I want to be a Pokemon Master, not a...what do they call those guys who works in one of those?"

"A deli worker?" replied Joe in a deadpan tone.

"Yeah, that." said Rusty, nodding his head. "But anyway, I've been thinking about just getting up and leaving this place in order to see what else is out there for me."

After taking a few moments to think about it, Joe had to admit that Rusty had a point - aside from their friendship with each other and Professor Tree, neither he or Rusty had any real reasons to stick around. Sure, it meant that he would actually have to work for his badges instead of earning a pass directly to the Pokemon League by graduating from Pokemon Tech, but at least he wouldn't have to deal with sneers and insults from people like Giselle, Leanne, Cardin or the headmistress anymore.

"...You know what? Now that you mention it, that's not a bad idea - aside from you and Professor Tree, there's not much for a guy like me either. Maybe I should see about leaving this dump too."

"Yeah, that's the way to see it. Just imagine it, Joe - both of us leaving this place and hitting the road, winning badges and kicking all kinds of ass." said Rusty, grinning as he thought about challenging the numerous gyms Kanto had to offer. "Sounds a heck of a lot better than what we have to go through here, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it does." conceded Joe with a nod. "A lot better. Bet we'd run into some cute girls along the way, too."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's just get our things and go - this place isn't going to miss a pair of guys like us!" exclaimed Rusty excitedly.

Before Joe could give him a reply, a familiar female voice nearby said "I can't imagine why either one of you would want to leave. This is the best Trainer's school in the entire Kanto region - despite the fact both of you are the lowest ranked students in the school, you should be honored...no, privileged to even be allowed to attend this place.", catching their attention.

Turning to see who it was, Rusty and Joe saw Giselle standing there, crossing her arms with a look of disapproval on her face.

"What do you want, Giselle? Here to tell us you're coming for our Battle Trophy?" asked Joe, eyebrows furrowed. "Better yet, why do you care about the fact we're considering the idea of leaving? I'd think that you'd be happy about us no longer being here."

"Believe me, nothing would please me more than to see you two gone." replied the brunette girl with a shrug before giving the two a disappointed look. "But if you must know, it's because I still have pride in this institution, unlike you two slackers. Choosing to leave our school in favor of travelling like some commonplace Trainer is practically spitting in the face of the school's reputation."

"Pride schmide." replied Rusty dismissively. "This place hasn't done a lick of good for either me or Joe."

"And who's the one to blame for that?" countered Giselle, eyebrow raised. "It's not the institution's fault that you two don't feel like putting any effort into your schoolwork. That's your own doing, not ours."

"Well, you and everyone else aren't exactly encouraging us to do better either." retorted Joe with a frown. "It's always 'loser' this or 'slacker' that with you jerks."

"And you never thought of using that as motivation to improve yourself? To prove us wrong?"

"Why bother? Even if we did get better, you and everyone else in this place would still pick on both of us nonetheless. We'd be better off on the road."

Before Giselle could give Joe a reply, Professor Tree's voice asked "So you guys are thinkin' about leaving Pokemon Tech and strikin' out on your own, huh? About time, if you ask me."

"Professor Tree, surely you're not encouraging these two slackers to just discard our school like that, right? The idea of abandoning the most prestigious school in Kanto - preposterous!" exclaimed Giselle, clearly scandalized by Tree's earlier words.

"I don't see why I shouldn't. Those two seem more like the kinda guys that would rather experience things instead of getting lectured about 'em in a classroom, just like that Lincoln kid they keep telling me about." replied Tree, shrugging. "Besides, travelling through the region's probably a lot more enjoyable than being in a school full of people that treat 'em like crap. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

Turning to face the two boys in question, he adds "But before you two leave, you two might wanna hold off long enough to meet that American you two keep tellin' me about - I'm expectin' a visit from him sometime today."

As both his and Joe's eyes lit up, Rusty asked "He's coming here? Really?"

"Yep. He's comin' here on Professor Oak's behalf to pick up the package I got the other day." answered Tree with a nod. "Learned a couple of things about the kid from Sammy when I spoke to him earlier this morning, too."

"Really? Like what?"

"Well, he told me that he's sponsoring the kid, for one." replied Tree before taking off his sunglasses in order to wipe them down. "And if I know Sammy the way I do, that probably means that he gave the kid a Pokedex as well."

"The American is being sponsored by Professor Oak of all people!? THAT Professor Oak!?" asked Giselle, clearly shocked at what she had just heard.

"And he has a Pokedex, too?" questioned Joe, looking just as stunned.

All three students knew that Pokedexes weren't given to just any regular Trainer - only the most promising of Trainers that were sponsored by a certified Pokemon Professor were given one to use at the start of their journey, which made them especially rare.

Some people even considered them to be symbols of power and skill, showing that their owners weren't ordinary, run-of-the-mill Trainers.

"Mm-hmm. Spoke pretty highly of him, too." answered Tree with a nod as he puts his sunglasses back on. "Even got the chance to talk to the kid himself. Pretty nice guy, actually - if it wasn't for the fact Sammy had already gotten hold of him, I woulda sponsored him myself."

While Joe and Rusty started to chatter excitedly with each other over what Professor Tree had told them, Giselle thought 'First the hybrid attack and now I discover that the gaijin is not only sponsored by an esteemed authority like Professor Oak, but he's in possession of a Pokedex as well. This American is starting to become more interesting by the minute.' before a confident smirk formed on her face. 'There's no way I'm passing up the chance to defeat someone like that in a battle.'

"Wow...to think that Lincoln's being sponsored by Professor Oak himself..." commented Joe before a grin appeared on his face. "Now I really want to battle against him and see how my skills measure up to his."

"Now you just wait a darn Dewgong minute there, Joe - you're not the only one wanting to battle him. Ralph and I wanna take a shot at him, too." said Rusty before giving the yellow Bug-Type in his arms a smile. "Isn't that right, buddy?"

In response, the Cocoon Pokemon simply vibrated, seemingly interested in the idea.

"Well, maybe you two will get a chance to take a crack at him when he stops by." said Tree with a shrug. "In any case, you three know about him comin' to our school now. Make sure he feels welcome when he arrives, will ya?"

While Joe and Rusty nodded, Giselle thought 'Oh, he'll be feeling something when I'm done with him...' before giving Tree a nod. "We'll make sure to give him an appropriate welcome when he arrives, Professor Tree."

"Cool." replied Tree simply before checking his watch. "...Guess I better get going - the kid'll probably be showing up any time now. See ya three later."

"See ya, Professor." said Joe, causing Tree to nod before walking off. As soon as the sunglasses-wearing man was gone, he turned to face Giselle, his smile replaced with a look of suspicion. "...You seem awfully eager to meet Lincoln, Giselle. I thought you said that you didn't care about someone like him."

"Just a mild bit of curiosity, that's all. It's perfectly normal to be curious about a Pokedex holder, especially one that's sponsored by someone as important as Professor Oak, isn't it?" replied Giselle with a shrug before a smirk appeared on her face. "In any case, since we're going to be having visiting Trainers coming to our school, you do know what this means, right?"

"Uh...we get the chance to battle Lincoln?" answered Rusty in a perplexed tone while Joe was trying to figure out what Giselle was referring to.

"Yes, but there's something else you two are forgetting. Do you remember our school's tradition regarding outsiders?"

At this, Joe's eyes widened in realization as he slowly shook his head, saying "No. You're not making us do it, Giselle."

"You have no choice in the matter. After all, it IS tradition and you two are the lowest-ranking students in the school."

"Joe, what is she talking about?" asked Rusty, sounding both incredibly confused and worried at the same time.

"The school's got this thing where they use weak students to bait outsiders into coming here and challenging us." answered Joe, grimacing. "And since we're considered 'low-rankers'..."

Finally understanding what was going on now, Rusty curses ."...Aw, son of a Bisharp. That means..."

"...That you two are going to be the bait that lures our American guest here, yes. If it helps, think of it as a chance to get to meet him sooner."

"We'd rather meet him under different circumstances instead of...that."

"Well, too bad. It's your responsibility...no, duty as a student of Pokemon Tech to do your part in upholding our school's tradition regarding outsiders." answered Giselle, crossing her arms. "Do you really want to blemish the school's reputation any further than you already have by refusing?"

"At this point, I don't give a damn about the school or it's rep, Giselle." said Joe, giving the brunette a sour look. "And it's stuff like this that's only making us more and more adamant about leaving this dump."

"Well, before you decide to leave our school for good, at least have the decency to do the right thing before you go."

"And how is 'that' supposed to be doing the right thing, Giselle? It's humiliating!"

"A small price to pay in order to be able to say that you were able to remove some of the shame you've brought among yourselves and the school with your poor overall performance." replied Giselle dismissively with a shrug. "In any case, I'll leave you two to your lunches now. We can't exactly have you out there baiting the American on an empty stomach, now can we?"

Joe didn't even bother to give her a reply this time, instead choosing to flip her the bird before returning back to his lunch. After giving him a disdainful scoff for the rude gesture he had given her, Giselle walks away, leaving the two boys alone once more.

Watching as the brunette tromped off, Joe mutters "Bitch. I can't wait until we finally get the chance to leave this place - the sooner we're away from that uptight snob and her 'friends', the better off we'll be."

"Yeah, I gotta agree with you there, buddy." said Rusty as he started to feed Ralph some of his lunch once more. "...Joe?"

After taking another bite from his sandwich, Joe replied "Yeah?"

"This thing that the others are going to make us do...it's gonna suck, isn't it?"

"Oh yeah, it's gonna suck big time."

-=O=-

-Pokemon Tech - Computer Lab (2:20 PM)-

"Professor Tree was actually telling the truth..." muttered Giselle as she stared at the monitor in front of her, which had Lincoln's official League records displayed on its screen. After she had spoken to Joe and Rusty during lunch, she had immediately made her way to the school's computer lab in order to look into Lincoln's official records in order to verify whether Professor Tree's earlier claims about him were true or not.

While she didn't completely doubt what he had to say, she still wanted to make sure that his claims were valid ones, just in case. Needless to say, everything Tree claimed about the American turned out to be completely true.

After taking a few minutes to print out Lincoln's records and placing them into a manila folder for her to go over later, Giselle starts to make her way out of the computer lab, only to stop upon hearing Leanne's voice calling out "Giselle! Giselle!" from nearby.

With an exasperated sigh, Giselle turns around and asks "...What is it, Leanne?", wondering what the mousy-looking girl wanted with her.

"Can we talk? I really need to speak with you about what happened last week after my battle against those two losers..." asked Leanne meekly as she shuffled her feet nervously.

Inwardly however, she was trying her hardest not to retch at how pathetic she had to make herself sound when near the other girl.

Contrary to what everyone else in the school believed about her, Leanne genuinely hated Giselle with a passion. She hated how perfect she seemed to be, how she had to suck up to her in order to rise up the ranks and she especially hated how she kept going on about her position as 'top student' of Pokemon Tech - a position that Leanne secretly desired to claim for herself.

Of course, considering Giselle's popularity with the other students in the school, trying to make a play for the position would be foolish. Hence why Leanne had appointed herself to play the role of Giselle's 'lap dog' in hopes of learning something damning about the brunette that she could use to tarnish her good name and eventually erode any support she could get from the rest of the school.

"I don't feel like hearing any excuses you may have about your loss, Leanne. You lost and ended up costing me last week's Battle Trophy - I don't want to waste any time on a disappointment like you." replied Giselle with a look of disdain on her face, though it was quickly changed to a look of inspiration a few seconds later - almost as if an idea had popped into her mind. "But I do know of a way for you to remove some of the shame your loss had caused. Are you interested?"

"Definitely! Just tell me what you need me to do and I'll do it!"

"Very well, then. I presume you've heard about the American that those two slackers seem to idolize? The one from the Cerulean gym battle?"

"I've heard of him, yes. Unorthodox brute." answered Leanne with a nod before giving the brunette a questioning look. "But why do you care about some gaijin? Aside from that thing that his Pikachu did in Cerulean City, there's nothing special or remarkable about him."

Before Giselle could give her an answer, an older woman's voice remarked "I believe I have to agree with you on the matter, Miss Yamato - considering how brutish and unorthodox his tactics are in battle, it's safe to say that he's absolutely lacking in actual talent. A disgraceful excuse of a Trainer if there ever was one." in a snobbish-sounding tone, causing the two to quickly whip around to face it's owner - a sharply-dressed woman in her mid thirties with short forest green-colored hair that was parted to one side, slate grey eyes and a look of utter disdain on her face.

"Headmistress." greeted both Giselle and Leanne with curt nods, knowing well enough who the woman was - Allison Verdant, the current headmistress of Pokemon Tech Institute and a talented Trainer in her own right who was even said to have held the title of 'Top Student' at one point in her youth. Of course, this didn't change the fact that she was also an uptight, pretentious pain-in-the-ass with an insane perfectionist complex and a tendency to draw out her battles against other Trainers purely to make them and their Pokemon suffer.

"You know about him, Headmistress?" asked Leanne, surprised.

"I've already been informed about his upcoming visit from Professor Tree earlier this morning, Miss Yamato. Now then, what were you two talking about? Speak."

"We were about to talk about what to do about the American today, Headmistress."

Letting out a disgusted huff, Verdant said "Hmph..I don't know why you would want to bother with him. A no-talent brute like him shouldn't even be coming here, much less even being an official Trainer."

"So why is he even coming here in the first place? Is he going to buy those disgusting plants Professor Tree likes so much?" asked Leanne, only for Giselle to shake her head in response.

"That's not why he's coming here, Leanne. Rather, he's having the American come over to pick up something for him - a package specifically meant for Professor Oak."

Sighing upon hearing this, Verdant pinches the bridge of her nose and asks "Let me guess...some dimwitted Pokemon mistook Professor Tree for him again?"

"Again? This has happened before?" asked Leanne, eyebrows raised in confusion.

"Several times, Miss Yamato. Too many times to count." grumbled Verdant before gesturing for Giselle to continue her explanation. "Proceed."

"Of course, Headmistress. As I was saying, Professor Tree is having the American come over to pick up a package meant for Professor Oak. However, I learned something rather interesting about this particular American from him that may interest you."

"And that is? What could ever interest me about some insignificant gaijin?" asked Verdant, eyebrow arched.

"Well, you might change your mind after hearing this, Headmistress - from what I heard coming from Professor Tree himself, the American is in possession of a Pokedex."

At this, both Verdant and Leanne stared at Giselle like she had grown a second head for what felt like several minutes before both of them shrieked "A Pokedex holder? Him!?" in unison.

Trying not to wince from the volume the other two had used, Giselle nodded her head and replied "From what Professor Tree claims, yes."

After taking a moment or two to calm down, Verdant crosses her arms and says "Miss Seiyo, while I'm not saying this claim of yours is false, I'm finding it somewhat hard to believe. How can you be certain that this isn't just more of Professor Tree's usual drug-induced rambling?"

"I can answer that for you. Like yourself, I doubted Professor Tree's claim at first and decided to take the time to look into this American personally through the League's official records." said Giselle before handing the folder she was holding over to Verdant. "After some searching, I managed to find these - proof that Professor Tree was telling the truth. See for yourself."

After opening up the folder and looking over the papers for a moment, the look of skepticism disappeared from Verdant's face as her eyebrows raised slightly, intrigued at what she was reading.

Leanne, on the other hand, wordlessly gaped at the papers in disbelief.

"I...see. And you said that this is the same American who created that...unorthodox hybrid attack during the Cerulean gym battle?"

"The very same." confirmed Giselle with a nod as she pointed at the image of Lincoln on one of the papers. "To be honest, I've been interested in the idea of challenging this one to a battle for a while now."

"So that's why you're so interested in someone like him..." said Leanne, causing Giselle to give her a smirk before nodding.

"That's right. Defeating him will not only bring even more credibility to my status as the top student of Pokemon Tech, but it'll give our school's claim of being the best even more weight."

"That it will, Miss Seiyo - a victory over an actual Pokedex holder would definitely improve our school's standing even further." mused Verdant, clearly interested in the idea. "Yet at the same time, I'm not exactly keen on having a foreigner of all things mucking around in my school."

"Neither am I, but we can't exactly take advantage of the situation that's just been given to us if he doesn't come here." replied Giselle, arms crossed. "You know as well as I do that battling out in the middle of the street isn't exactly smiled upon by the local authorities, so the only place that I can actually take a crack at him without any complications would be here in the school."

After mulling over Giselle's argument for a few moments, Verdant nods and answers "A fair point. Very well, I'll allow this American to step into our institution this one and only time, but I hope you understand that I'll be expecting you to succeed on defeating him, Miss Seiyo."

"Easily. He won't know what'll hit him." said Giselle with a smirk before giving Leanne a stern look. "Now then, as for you being able to get back in my good books, all I need you to do is one simple task - one I believe even someone like you can do with little to no problem."

"Certainly. Just tell me what I need to do."

"If I'm going to be crushing the American into the dirt, we'll need to find a way to lure him here." answered Giselle before pointing a finger at Leanne. "That's where you come in - do you remember our school's tradition regarding outsider Trainers?"

"How could I forget something like that? But if you're asking me about this, then..." started Leanne before she paled slightly. "Wait, you don't expect me to serve as the bait to lure that gaijin here, do you?"

"Of course not - I've already appointed those two slackers Rogers and Beige to fulfill that role. What I want you to do is make sure that everything goes according to plan."

"...So you're offering me the chance to not only make up for costing you the Battle Trophy, but I get a shot at getting some well-deserved payback on those two losers, too?" asked Leanne, causing Giselle to nod her head. With a wicked, vindictive smile forming on her face, she adds "In that case, I'll gladly do my part to ensure our school's tradition is upheld."

"Excellent. Make sure to bring Cardin and a few of his boys with you - they'll help out with making sure things go smoothly." replied Giselle, nodding in satisfaction. "And there's just one more thing, Leanne - one final issue I want to discuss with you."

"Certainly. What is it?"

"If, and I mean 'if', you end up running into the American before I do, you are not to challenge him to a battle. Understood?"

Confused, Leanne asks "What are you saying, Giselle?"

"What I'm saying is that there's no point to my eventual victory over this gaijin if I'm not the one to defeat him first. What point is there of proving my superiority as the top student of Pokemon Tech when someone else from the school has already beaten him first? The American is off-limits, Leanne - are we clear?"

"...Alright, Giselle. I won't get involved."

"Good to know." said Giselle before giving Verdant a glance. "Headmistress, may I take my leave? While I'm certain I won't need it, I would like to get myself ready for my battle today."

"You may. Dismissed." said Verdant, causing Giselle to nod before walking off, intent on get prepared for her upcoming battle with Lincoln. Turning her attention to Leanne next, she adds "Miss Yamato, you stay behind. I need to discuss something with you."

Standing at attention, Leanne asked "You need something from me, Headmistress Verdant?", causing the older female to nod her head.

"I do, as a matter of fact. I have a small task for you to handle - one that I believe you should have no trouble in completing."

"Of course, Headmistress. What do you need me to do?"

"Find this American before Miss Seiyo does and get an assessment on his battling skill."

Keeping up her act, Leanne stammered "B-But Giselle said that she wanted to face him on even footing..."

"I don't care about what she wants. What's more important, Miss Yamato - one girl's ego or the reputation of our school?" countered Verdant, only to see a confused look on Leanne's face in response. After letting out a groan, she adds "While I'm certain that Miss Seiyo will be able to trounce this American and put him in his place, I'm not going to risk taking any chances on the possibility of him winning the battle. Can you imagine what kind of damage something like that would do to the school's reputation?"

After thinking about it for a moment, Leanne shuddered and nodded her head.

"Absolutely dreadful. Our school's reputation as the best in Kanto would take a major hit if the top student in the school was defeated by some loser that came out of nowhere."

"Exactly. And that's something I'm not going to allow to happen." replied Verdant with a nod of her own. "Which is why I want you to battle against him and determine how much of a threat he is. By having a proper assessment of what he's capable of, Miss Seiyo will have an idea on what to do to counter any tactics he's developed."

"I don't know, Headmistress...Giselle's already upset enough with me as it is and I don't want to push things any further." replied Leanne, causing Verdant to let out a sigh.

"Very well. If encouragement to do the right thing for our school isn't enough motivation, then perhaps a reward for completing this task for me will work. Name your price."

Her faux unsure expression starting to waver, Leanne asks "...Any price? Anything at all?"

"Anything. Whether it's financial or even a favor to ask of me when it comes to this school, I can pay whatever price you desire as long as its a reasonable one."

"...Can you expel anyone in the school for any given reason? Any at all?"

Hearing this and having an idea on what Leanne was wanting, Verdant rolled her eyes and answered "Yes, Miss Yamato - if there's anything that can be done in this institution, I have the power to do it. I presume you're asking me this because you would like a certain pair of slackers removed from the school?"

In actuality, Leanne was hoping to have Giselle booted out instead, but considering her standing as the best student in the entire institute, she doubted that Verdant would ever agree to the request. However, she could work with Rogers and Beige getting the boot - despite the fact she hated Giselle more, she was still bitter about the fact two of the worst students in the school managed to get a fluke win over her.

"Those two didn't deserve their victory - a pair of low-rankers like them shouldn't be able to beat upper class students like Cardin and I." seethed Leanne, thinking back on what happened that day. "If you want me to do this assessment for you, that's my price - I want them gone."

After taking a minute or two to mull over the request, Verdant nods and says "Very well, Miss Yamato - in exchange for you doing this for me, I will see what I can do about expelling Mr. Beige and Mr. Rogers. Their grades are low enough to warrant it anyway, so there shouldn't be any questions asked when it happens."

Hearing this, a malevolent gleam started to form in Leanne's eyes at the possibility of Joe and Rusty getting expelled from the school. She honestly hoped that the two would break down afterwards just so she could take pleasure in seeing the destroyed looks on their faces.

"You have yourself a deal, Headmistress. Do you care about what kind of information I'm able to get for you?"

"Anything involving his battling style or what kind of Pokemon he uses, for a start. If you're able to learn more about him than that, I want you to add it to the report you'll be giving to me later. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Headmistress. You can count on me to get the job done." replied Leanne with a nod.

"Glad to hear it. Once you fulfill your part of our deal, I'll do everything in my power to hold up my end." said Verdant with a satisfied nod. "Now then, you should be on your way to lure the American here - he should be on his way as we speak. Dismissed."

With that said, Leanne nods before running off, intent on gathering people to help her out with her upcoming task. As she walked away, a malicious-looking smile appeared on her face as she thought 'A chance to face off against and possibly defeat an actual Pokedex holder...this will be the first step towards taking my rightful spot in this school instead of the one Giselle allows me to have and I'll get to be rid of those two losers, too! And once those two are gone, I'll start working on discrediting Giselle and taking her place at the top where I rightfully belong. It's only a matter of time.'

-=O=-

-The Loud Residence - Front Porch (2:30 AM)-

"Another day gone without Lincoln givin' us a call. It's gettin' harder and harder to me to wait for my chance to speak to him." mused Luna as she sat on the front porch of her house, looking up at the full moon that was glowing brightly in the night sky.

Though it had only been a single day since she had spoken to Lisa, Lucy and her mother about the possibility of getting to talk things out with her wayward brother, she had a hard time trying to keep herself preoccupied while waiting for any news to come up. It had eventually gotten to the point where Lisa had cobbled together something to help put her mind at ease, if only for a little while before her anxiety and impatience kicked up again.

The item in question? A specially made watch that was connected wirelessly to Lisa's VideoPhone - when someone called it, the watch vibrated soundlessly to signal her that there was someone on the line. By reading the face of the watch, she could see where the call was coming from, allowing her to get an idea on who was calling at that moment in time.

The fact it looked like your everyday wristwatch was a nice bonus - nobody, save for those who knew about the watch's secret, would ever suspect that she was using it to keep tabs on when Lincoln would be calling again.

As she continued to gaze at the watch, the fifteen year-old thought about how she had gotten it from Lisa in the first place...

-Flashback-

-The Loud Residence - Lisa & Lily's Room (3:00 PM)-

"So why'd you call us here, Lise?" asked Luna, wondering why the little genius had asked for her, Lucy and Rita to come to her room. "Didja hear anything about when Lincoln'll be callin' us again?"

Upon hearing Luna's question, Lisa lets out a sigh and says "No, Luna - there hasn't been any word of Lincoln calling us yet. I actually called you here because I'd like to speak with you about something else."

"And that is?"

"I've got something that I want to give to you three - something that will help us out with Lincoln."

"Something that can help us with Lincoln?" parroted the Loud matriarch, wondering what her daughter was talking about. "Will it make it easier for us to contact him?"

"In a way. It'll also make it easier to prevent the others from getting involved next time he does call us." replied the four year-old before giving the three a knowing look. "After all, we don't need a repeat of what happened during the last time he contacted us, now do we?"

As she, Luna and Rita grimaced as the memory of what happened that day ran through their minds, Lucy nods and says "We don't need to go through something like that again."

"Agreed - what happened that day was absolutely low, even for someone like Lynn." growled Luna as she clenched her fists.

"Speaking of that day, how in the world did you find out that we were speaking with Lincoln? I know that we didn't mention anything about it to you..." asked Rita, wondering how the others knew about what was going on.

"From what I managed to gather based on the footage collected from my security cameras, it was Lola who had informed the others about our call, Mother." replied Lisa, adjusting her glasses. "While you were speaking to Lincoln by yourself, the rest of us were waiting for you two to finish talking to each other in the hallway. While we waited, the four of us spoke to each other about the call."

After saying that, Lisa walks over to a computer and presses a key, causing a video recording to play on the screen - one that showed herself, Lucy, Clyde and Ronnie Anne talking to each other while Lola hid near the stairwell, fidgeting around with something on her tiara. "As you can see, based on the footage my cameras had caught, Lola had been using the microphone that she has hidden in her tiara to eavesdrop on us."

As if to confirm Lisa's statement, Luna adds "Yeah, it was Lola who told us about Lincoln calling you that day, although I didn't know that she used that microphone of hers to overhear you guys. I thought she stopped using it after we let her into our secrets club."

Turning to face her mother, she adds "Mom, when you get the time, make sure to get rid of it. We don't need her tryin' to use it and end up causing something like this to happen again."

"I'll see what I can do."

"Well, what about when they eavesdropped on us the first time?" Lucy questioned. "How did they find out about that?"

"Contrary to my personal beliefs about her, Lynn does have a brain in that thick skull of hers and managed to put two and two together to come to the conclusion that he was calling us." replied Lisa before scratching her chin thoughtfully. "...Although there is the possibility she figured it out when I came to speak to you in your room that day. But that's beside the point - we need to get back to the matter at hand."

"Which is a way to inform us when Lincoln's calling you without alerting the others." concluded Lucy, nodding her head. "So do you have something for us or are you just fishing for ideas?"

"Please. I wouldn't call you here simply for a mere brainstorming session." said Lisa, rolling her eyes. "I've already come up with a workable way of informing you three on when Lincoln is on the line."

"Really? You've got something already?" asked Luna eagerly, causing the four year-old to nod before taking a box off of her desk and opening it up, revealing what looked like digital wristwatches inside of it.

"...Wristwatches? This is the big idea that you're talking about?" asked Lucy as she stared at the timepieces with a skeptical look on her face. "You must be losing your edge, Lisa. How are these supposed to help us know when Lincoln will be calling again?"

"They may look like commonplace wristwatches, but they're actually wireless devices that are connected to my VideoPhone." replied Lisa as she rolled up one of her sleeves to reveal that she was wearing a similar-looking watch. "When the VideoPhone receives a call from someone, the watches will vibrate soundlessly."

Understanding where the four year-old was going with this, Luna asks "And when we feel 'em vibrating, that's our cue to come up there to your room, right?"

"Very astute of you. But that's not all." said Lisa before taking one of the watches out of the box and handing it over to the purple-clad rocker. "Luna, your watch has a certain feature that I specifically created with you in mind - a specialized program set in your watch that will be able to tell you exactly where the call is coming from. With this, if we end up getting a call from Bill or Professor Oak, you'll know about it in advance and won't come to the hasty conclusion that Lincoln's calling us."

With a watery smile on her face, Luna says "...Thanks, Lise. I appreciate it." before slipping the watch on her wrist. "I might want to talk to Professor Oak again someday - let him know that I wanna apologize for all the things I said about his report in the past."

"I'm certain that he would appreciate something like that." replied Lisa before taking the watches out of the box and handing them over. "As for you two, your watches only have the vibrating feature, but if you'll give me a few days, I can have the same program that I've placed in Luna's watch installed in yours."

"That won't be necessary, Lisa. I'll manage with the vibrating feature." answered Rita as she took one of the watches and slipped it on. After looking it over for a bit, she asks "...You didn't put anything that'll emit alpha radiation or utilize mind control technology like the last couple of watches you made, did you?"

Rolling her eyes, Lisa simply answered "No, I didn't - these watches are purely meant to serve as a way to silently contact you three without alerting the others. Nothing more than that."

"Thank goodness. We don't need a repeat of what happened on Mother's day two years ago."

"So now that we've got these, all we need to do is wait for him to call, right?"

"That's correct. And as soon as he does, your watches will let you know." confirmed Lisa with a nod before giving Luna an annoyed look. "Maybe now this'll mean a certain someone will stop pestering me throughout the day on whether he's called me or not."

"I can't help it. I just really wanna talk to him..." muttered the older brunette under her breath.

Giving her daughter a reassuring pat on the shoulder, Rita says "I know you do, sweetie. But just be patient - I'm sure that he'll be calling us sooner or later."

"...Yeah, I guess so." replied Luna before giving her second-youngest sister a warm smile. "Thanks for making these for us, Lise."

"Anytime, Luna."

-Flashback End-

Raising her arm up to catch the moonlight on the watch's surface, Luna said "Gotta give mad props to Lisa for making this thing for me. Would've ended up driving myself mad waiting for Linc to call us otherwise."

"So you're the one out here." stated Lucy's voice from behind, causing the purple-clad girl to let out a yelp before falling down facefirst onto the lawn. "Shame. I was genuinely hoping that we had a spirit haunting our front lawn there for a moment."

After spitting out a bit of dirt and grass that had gotten into her mouth, Luna says "You seriously need to stop doing that, Lucy - one of these days, you're going to give us a heart attack or something." before pulling herself to her feet and dusting herself off. "And while I'm at it, what're you doing out here? Don't you know what time it is?"

"I could say the same of you. You're usually not up at this time of night." countered the black-haired girl before her expression softened somewhat. "...Are your dreams bothering you again?"

"Nah, it's not that - I just can't get to sleep. Kinda hard bein' able to when you're constant worrying and wondering about when your brother's gonna call you, y'know?"

"I know the feeling. Before he forgave me for what happened, I was in the same position you're in now - constantly thinking about when he was going to call. What I wanted...no, needed to say to him. How I wanted to mend things with him more than anything and hopefully earn his forgiveness. So believe me, I know exactly how you're feeling now."

"...Speaking of that...do you think he'll actually forgive me for what I've done to him? I haven't exactly been the best older sister to him over the years."

"If he's managed to forgive me, Lisa and Mom over what happened, then I think he'll forgive you, Luna. I'm certain of it." replied Lucy, nodding her head. "And I'm pretty sure he'll be able to put those thoughts of yours about our family holding him back out of your mind, too."

"I dunno, Luce - part of me still feels like that's the case, whether we want to believe it or not." sighed Luna, arms crossed as she gazed at the night sky. "After all, think about all the things he's wanted to do that we ended up screwing somehow - there was that thing with the supermarket where we ran around like we was going Through the Fire and Flames while he was doing all the work. You remember how that ended, right?"

"I do - Mom got onto him about what happened despite the fact we were the ones causing trouble."

"It's not just that. He promised to do the shopping for her in exchange for getting some cereal that he really wanted. And what did we do? Not only did we go around causing trouble and causing Mom to give him flak over the ban, but we even tried to put the Zombie Bran he rightfully earned back simply because we thought we were the ones that deserved a treat and not him. And that's just one of several instances I can think of where we fucked things up for him." said Luna before starting to tick off each instance with her fingers as she listed them off. "Let's see...there was that thing where we essentially manipulated him into convincing Mom and Dad into giving us money while he was tryin' to go to that SMOOCH concert, that moment where he practically took the time to plan out everything in advance regarding the 'sweet spot' and we go and ruin it all in a single night, that thing where you guys were tryin' to teach Leni to drive and Lori sabotaged it simply so she could continue her monopoly on Vanzilla, not goin' over the 'Sister-Fight Protocol' with him in advance so he'll know to keep out of the way...I could name more, but we'd be here all night going over them."

With another sigh, she adds "And that's our problem, Luce - we may love our brother, but we're not exactly good sisters to him."

"...You know, when I spoke to Lisa after Lincoln finished calling us from Pewter City, I said to her that we had a lot to answer for. Hearing everything you've said here tonight only reaffirms that fact."

"Now do you see what I mean? We always end up screwin' things up for him when he tries to do something for himself. Add in the fact that we're not there to support him when he needs us, but when it comes to you, me and everyone else, we expect him to drop everything and be there for us...well, that just proves my point even further, now doesn't it?"

Letting out a heavy sigh, Lucy replies "...In hindsight, I think we could've been a bit more supportive of him in the past."

"Now compare that to how he's doing now without us meddling in his life. He's out there in the Kanto region, actually making something of himself and finding his own success in life - something that, aside from Lisa setting him up with the trip in the first place, we have absolutely no hand in. And to be honest...it's got me scared, Luce."

"Scared? Of what?"

"The idea of him deciding it's not worth it to come back home and choosing to abandon our family in favor of his new life as a Trainer. That's what I'm afraid of."

"Luna, I seriously doubt that he'd just abandon us like that." said Lucy, shaking her head. "Despite everything that's happened, you know as well as I do that he still loves us and wouldn't trade us for anything. And when we talk to Lincoln again, you'll see that for yourself."

"If you say so. I'm just hoping that he'll at least forgive me for how I treated him during that whole 'bad luck' mess." muttered Luna before glaring at where Lynn's bedroom window was. "Stupid Lynn and her stupid superstitions. This never would've happened if she wasn't such a sore loser."

"She isn't the only one to blame, Luna. We all let things get out of hand - you, me, Lynn, Mom and Dad...even Lincoln ended up taking things too far. We all played a part in this."

"I know, but she's the one that started this mess in the first place by blamin' Lincoln for her loss. And if things end up going the way I'm dreading they will and he ends up decidin' to stay in Kanto..." started Luna before she clenched her fists, causing her knuckles to crack loudly. "...'Bad luck' are going the last two words she'll ever want to hear after I get done with her. After that, I'm headin' off to Kanto to find him - I swore to myself that I was gonna support him from now on and if that means I have to go overseas to do it, then that's how things're gonna be."

'Scary...I'd hate to be Lynn right now...' thought the younger of the two sisters, feeling a slight twinge of pity for her roommate/sister if Luna's fears about Lincoln ended up coming true. "I doubt it'll come to that, Luna. He'll come back home - you'll see."

"I hope so, Luce. I truly do."

-=O=-

-Viridian City - Northern Entrance (3:30 PM)-

As he and the rest of his group stepped into Viridian City, Lincoln smiles as he said "Wow...Professor Tree wasn't kidding about it only taking us a few hours to get here. I can't imagine how long it would've taken us to arrive here if we had used the long way."

"Probably a week or two, considering all the stops you'd have to make along the way. So we should really be thankful that the Diglett had created that tunnel for Trainers like us to use." replied Leaf simply before giving Lincoln a curious look. "Speaking of which, did you manage to catch one? I know we helped out Brock with capturing his, but did you manage to snag one as well?"

"Yeah I did - she's at Professor Oak's lab right now." answered Lincoln with a nod. "By the way..."

"Yeah?"

"Before I captured her, she mentioned something to me that I want to ask you about. It's something I haven't heard of before, so I'm hoping you'll know something about it."

Nodding as if to accept Lincoln's request, Leaf replied "Sure, I'll do my best to answer anything you want to ask me."

"Well...have you ever heard of 'Wonder Trading' before?"

While Brock and Misty stared at Lincoln in surprise, Leaf asked "Wonder Trading? Why're you asking about something like that?", eyebrow raised questioningly.

"Well..."

-Flashback-

-Diglett Tunnel - Interior (1:20 PM)-

Inside of the Diglett Tunnel, Lincoln and his companions continued on their way, intent on reaching their destination of Viridian City. Throughout their trip into the tunnel, the three Trainers had taken the time to tell Leaf about all of the things they've seen so far while the brunette listened on, clearly interested in what they had to say.

After the three had finished telling her about the events of Cerulean Cape, Leaf chuckles and says "Wow...you guys must've seen and been through some pretty wild stuff, huh? Almost makes me wish I had stuck around in Viridian City - could've had a blast travelling with all of you if I did."

"Yeah, things are never boring when it comes to hanging around with Lincoln here." replied Misty before draping an arm around Lincoln's neck with a grin on her face. "He's practically a living magnet when it comes to excitement."

After shrugging off the redhead's arm, Lincoln asks "So these Diglett things...what do they look like? I've never seen one before."

"Well, why don't you look around the tunnel and see what they look like for yourself?" replied Leaf in amusement, causing the white-haired boy to immediately follow her suggestion. Sure enough, he saw what appeared to be hundreds of small brown-colored Pokemon with round bald heads, beady black eyes and round pink noses digging through the ground, wandering around the entirety of the tunnel.

What really caught Lincoln's interest however was the fact that the lower half of their bodies appeared to half-submerged in the ground, revealing just their heads.

"Wow...there's so many of them..." said Misty, clearly astounded at the large number of Diglett happily meandering about.

As he eyed the numerous Ground-Types with interest, Brock replies "Well, this is the Diglett Tunnel, Misty - it's to be expected that there'd be lots of them in a place like this." before tapping his chin thoughtfully with a smile on his face. "You know, I might see about catching one for myself - Rock-Types are nice, but I'd like to have a variety of Pokemon to work with."

"Go for it, Brock - just because I want to catch one doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to as well." commented Lincoln as he takes his Pokedex out of his pocket and points it at a Diglett that was passing by. "So those little guys are Diglett, huh? Let's see what Dexter has to say..."

'Diglett, the Mole Pokemon. Diglett are raised in most farms. The reason is simple—wherever this Pokémon burrows, the soil is left perfectly tilled for planting crops. This soil is made ideal for growing delicious vegetables. This Female Diglett is Level 24 and knows the moves Dig, Magnitude, Sucker Punch, Astonish and Uproar.'

While Brock, Misty and Leaf were looking over the other Diglett in order to help the Rock-Type gym leader choose which one he wanted to capture, Lincoln says "Two Ground-Type moves - sounds like the perfect Pokemon to have around when I face off against Lieutenant Surge. I'm gonna catch that one." as he takes a Pokeball off of his belt.

With the Pokeball in hand, Lincoln quickly steps in front of the Diglett he had scanned earlier, causing it to stop in her tracks.

After staring at the white-haired boy curiously, the Mole Pokemon asked "Yes? Can I help you?"

"I'm challenging you to a battle - right here, right now!" replied Lincoln as he activated the Pokeball he was holding. "Let's go!"

"...Hmm...nah, I'm not in the mood to fight. Go find another Diglett to bother."

Hearing this, Lincoln lowered the Pokeball with a slightly perplexed look on his face.

"What? Why not?"

"Just don't feel like it. Besides, I'm not interested in becoming one of your Pokemon."

"But why not? You sound like you'd be a great Pokemon to have around - why would you want to turn down the idea of joining up with us?" asked Lincoln, eyebrow raised.

"Don't get me wrong - this has nothing to do with you personally. I'm just not interested in the idea of becoming a member of your team." stated the Mole Pokemon, shaking her head and causing Lincoln to let out a sigh.

"Well...if that's how you feel, I'm not gonna try to force the matter on you." grumbled the white-haired boy, putting the Pokeball back onto his belt. "C'mon Pikachu, let's go find another Diglett to catch. I'm sure there's one around here that'll be just as good."

"Hold on now, I never said you couldn't catch me. I just said that I wasn't going to join your team." answered Diglett, causing both Lincoln and Pikachu to give her an odd look before the Electric-Type hopped off of his shoulder to confront her.

"And just what do you mean by that? If you're not gonna join the team, what's the point of catching you then?"

"I'll get to that in a moment. Before I do, I would like for the two of you to hear me out before you come to a decision. Is that alright with you?"

After giving each other a perplexed look, Pikachu and Lincoln both shrug before giving her a nod.

"Sure, go on ahead. We'll make a decision once you're finished."

"Thank you." replied the Diglett before clearing her throat. "To start, I would like to once again clarify that if you do catch me, I will NOT be joining your team. Instead, I've got a goal in mind and I think you two can help me out with it."

"And that goal is...?" asked Lincoln, eyebrow raised.

"To see the world outside of this boring old tunnel. It's been a dream of mine to see what else the world has to offer someone like me - new lands to explore, new Pokemon to meet, new tunnels to burrow through! It's all out there, just waiting for me!" chimed the Diglett excitedly as her eyes started to sparkle. After a few seconds, she settles down long enough to add "But I can't do that if I'm stuck here. You get where I'm going with this?"

"I think so." answered Pikachu, nodding his head. "So what do we get out of helping you out? We can't exactly just do this for free, you know."

"Well...I can't offer you much except for my gratitude." replied the Mole Pokemon carefully.

"Then we've got ourselves a problem." said Pikachu with a frown. "Gratitude's nice, but it's not the kinda thing we're looking for. You got anything else you can offer? Anything at all?"

"Um...let's see..." muttered the Ground-Type thoughtfully as she tried to come up with a solution to her current dilemma. After a few seconds, her eyes lit up as an idea popped into her mind. "I've got it! Tell me, what do you know about Wonder Trading?"

"Wonder Trading? What's that?" asked Lincoln, eyebrow raised.

"It's something I've heard other humans that pass through the tunnel talking about lately. From what I understand, you send a Pokemon to another Trainer far away and they send you one in return."

"So it's essentially a long-distance trade?"

"Apparently so. And if you use Wonder Trade, you'll not only help me out with my goal, but you'll be getting a new Pokemon out of the deal, too. It's a win-win situation for both of us."

"Unless he gets something like a Magikarp or a Caterpie." countered Pikachu, arms crossed as he eyed the Ground-Type carefully. "Besides, this whole thing sounds like a load of baloney to me. It sounds almost too good to be true."

"Look, I know that this whole thing seems like a gamble that could go horribly wrong, but I'm asking...no, begging you to help me out with this. Please." said the Diglett as she gave the pair a pleading look. "Please help me with making my dream come true."

While Lincoln tapped his chin thoughtfully, mulling over the Mole Pokemon's request, Pikachu says "It's your call on the matter, Lincoln. What're you going to do?"

"Hmm...well, you do have a point about this sounding too good to be true. And we could end up getting something pretty crummy in return for sending our little friend here to another Trainer." replied Lincoln, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "On the other hand, the idea of getting a Pokemon from another region does sound pretty tempting, too..."

After taking a few minutes to think about it, he kneels down and asks "...Does it matter what region you end up going to?"

"As long as it's not Kanto, I don't care where you send me." said the Diglett, shaking her head. "But if there's one region I'd like to see, it'd be Alola - from what I've heard, the Digletts and Dugtrios living there actually have hair on their heads. That's something I'd love to see for myself."

As he tried to keep the thought of a Diglett with a full head of hair out of his mind, Lincoln replied "...Well, I can't promise that you'll get to go to this Alola place, but I'll try to see what I can do about helping you out."

"You're willing to do something like this for me? Truly?" asked the Ground-Type, eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"Sure, why not? I don't see any harm in helping you out with this." said Lincoln with a shrug. "Besides, even if I end up getting something unremarkable, I'll still take care of it nonetheless. One Pokemon's just as good as another."

"Thank you. I truly appreciate this."

"Not a problem. So, do you wanna do this now?"

"If you wouldn't mind." replied the Diglett with a nod, prompting Lincoln to give her one in return before taking a Pokeball out of his bag and throwing it at the Diglett, causing the red and white ball to pull her inside.

After the ball flashes to signify a successful capture, he nods in satisfaction before heading back to catch up with the others, who were congratulating Brock as he held up a Pokeball with a smile on his face.

-Flashback End-

"I see. So the Diglett you caught..." started Leaf before realizing what she was just about to say. Giving Lincoln a questioning look, she asks "...Wait, how'd you know what it was talking about?"

In response, Lincoln simply taps his earpiece and answers "Translator. Now answer my question, please."

"Right, sorry about that." replied Leaf, scratching the back of her head sheepishly before taking on a thoughtful expression on her face. "Well, from what I do know about Wonder Trading, it's a type of trading system that was introduced about a year or two ago. From what I've heard, you trade Pokemon with a completely random Trainer somewhere else in the world."

"So it's completely random? You don't get to choose who you trade with?"

"That's right. There's no telling who you'll end up trading with - there's even a chance that you could end up trading with someone else in the Kanto region." replied Leaf with a nod. "But I don't think you'll have to worry about that happening. If anything, I'd say your chances of getting a foreign Pokemon are much more likely."

'Hmm...maybe I should see about Wonder Trading Paras and Geodude to someone else, too. They don't seem to like me very much and might be happier with another Trainer.' thought Lincoln, remembering the two Pokemon he had caught in Mt. Moon. 'Might see about doing the same for the Pokemon I caught while I was searching for Damian, too.'

"So that Diglett wasn't having us on about that Wonder Trade thing..." mused Pikachu thoughtfully. "Still not sure about our chances of getting a completely new Pokemon, though."

"We'll just have to take a chance on it and see what happens, Pikachu." said Lincoln, rubbing the Electric-Type's head. "Thanks for the explanation, Leaf. Just had to make sure something like that existed."

"Glad I could help. So where do we need to be going? I'd like to get back to Vermilion City as soon as possible."

"Right...almost forgot about that. Let's see...we need to find a place called..." answered the white-haired boy before taking a few seconds to recall exactly where they needed to go. Snapping his fingers in realization a moment later, he adds "Pokemon Tech. That's our destination."

Much to his and everyone else's confusion, Leaf simply lets out a disgusted groan in response.

"Ugh. Do we have to go to a place like that?"

"Well, yeah. That's where Professor Oak's package is." replied Lincoln, nodding his head. "Is there something wrong?"

Shaking her head, Leaf answered "Not with the errand. But Pokemon Tech...that's a different matter altogether." before crossing her arms. "That place may be the best Trainer's school in Kanto, but the people who attend it are nothing but trouble."

"They can't be all that bad, can they?" asked Brock, only for Leaf to give him a look that said otherwise.

"Believe me, if you knew what kind of people went to that place, you'd be agreeing with me on the matter." said Leaf, frowning. "Sure, most of the lower class students aren't that bad, but the ones in the upper class...those guys are nothing more than a bunch of insufferable jerks who think that just because they come from money and rank high in the school, it means they can pick on whoever they like."

"That bad, huh?" asked Brock, causing the hat-wearing girl to give him a nod.

As he prepared to ask Leaf another question about what she knew about Pokemon Tech, Lincoln's eyes caught on what appeared to be a large number of people nearby, all looking like they were gathering around to catch a glimpse at whatever it was they were surrounding.

"...What in the world is going on over there?"

"It's those kids from that Pokemon Tech place - they're doing their 'luring' thing again." replied a familiar-sounding female voice from nearby, catching the attention of everyone nearby. "While it's not exactly against the law, I really wish that they didn't do it in the middle of the street where everyone can see them. I can practically feel the embarrassment coming off of the two boys they're using as the 'bait'."

Upon seeing that it was Officer Jenny who had made the remark, Lincoln smiles and says "Officer Jenny, it's good to see you again. You're doing well."

"Thanks. You're looking pretty well yourself, Mr. Loud - I never expected to see you back here in Viridian City so soon."

"We're here to run an errand for Professor Oak." said Misty before turning her attention back to the crowd. "So what's this 'luring' thing you were talking about, Officer? Based on how you sounded when you spoke about it, it must be pretty bad."

"It's one of the traditions that Pokemon Tech follows when it comes to outsiders. From what I've heard, they use the weaker students to lure them to their school." replied Leaf, causing the others to give her surprised looks. "And once they have someone lured in, they have their higher-ranked students battle and defeat them. They do this to assert their self-believed superiority as the top Trainer's school in Kanto."

"And how exactly would you know about something like that?" asked Misty, eyebrow raised suspiciously.

"Because I used to be a student at Pokemon Tech before I saw what kind of rotten, vile people attended it."

"...You were a student there once?"

"Mm-hmm. One of the best the school had to offer, too." replied Leaf with a nod. "But after I saw how some of the students, the staff and even the headmistress herself treated some of the lesser-ranked kids going there...I just didn't want to be part of it anymore. So I quit and decided to attend the regular Trainer's school like everyone else."

"So that's why you're not too keen on the idea of heading there..." mused Lincoln thoughtfully. "Well, if you don't want to go, we're not going to force you to. You're more than welcome to head back to Vermilion City without us."

"Nah, I'll stay with you guys for now." said Leaf, shaking her head. "I said that I was gonna stick around to help you guys out with this errand of yours and I never go back on my word."

"Alright, if you say so." replied Misty before eyeing the group of people once more. "So, this bait...who are they trying to lure in? Is it a certain person in particular or just anyone that happens to stumble by?"

"I heard that they're trying to catch the attention of a certain Trainer that's caught the interest of the school's top student - an American with a Pokedex, if I'm recalling correctly." said Jenny before her eyes lit up in realization. Turning to face Lincoln, she says "I think that they're referring to you, Mr. Loud."

"Me? Why would a school for rich kids be interested in me?"

Pointing at the crowd, Brock says "Well, you did mention that there was a package we had to pick up from there. Maybe they're trying to get your attention so they can ensure that you come to their school to collect it?"

"Maybe. If that's the case, we should at least go and meet whoever's doing this. They might be able to help us out with finishing our errand faster." said Lincoln before starting towards the gathering of people. "C'mon, let's go."

-=O=-

-Viridian City - Within The Crowd (3:40 PM)-

As Lincoln and company started heading towards the crowd, the people within it continued to murmur and whisper about what was going on in front of them - two blindfold-clad boys that were running constantly on treadmills while a mousy-looking girl, a rough-looking boy with burnt orange hair and several other students - both male and female - watched on with cruel smirks of satisfaction on their faces.

"C'mon, enough is enough, you guys! We really need to take a break!" whined Rusty, feeling the strength in his legs starting to give out on him. "Please?"

Turning to face Rusty, Joe says "Stop, Rusty! Don't give them any satisfaction!"

With a smirk on her face like she wasn't apologetic in the slightest, Leanne replied "Sorry, but you know the rules - if you two don't get the questions right, you have to keep running." before her smirk became more pronounced as she placed a hand on a knob attached to the remote she was holding. "And that little plea wasn't the answer we were looking for, so you know that that means."

"No, wait! Don't!" protested Rusty, only for Leanne's smirk to change to a wicked grin as she eagerly turned the knob, causing the treadmills' belts to start moving faster. Caught off-guard by the sudden change in speed, the two boys quickly lose their balance and fall.

"Pathetic. Can't even keep your footing long enough for someone to take our bait." sneered Leanne before turning off the treadmills with a flick of a switch. Pointing at the two boys as they continued to gasp for breath, she orders "Put them back on. Don't let them get any rest.", causing four burly-looking boys to walk over and grab them by the arms before forcing them back over to the treadmills.

As Joe and Rusty tried and failed to break free, Cardin adds "Strap their arms behind them. Consider it giving them a punishment for failing to keep on the treadmills.."

"You got it, Cardin." replied one of the boys before he and his companions removed their belts in order to use them to bind Joe and Rusty's wrists behind their backs. "Hey Cardin?"

"What is it?"

Deciding to answer the question, Leanne asks "Do you know about the American who was on the television a few weeks ago? The one with the Pikachu?", causing the boy to nod his head. "That's who our target is."

With a look of disgust, a girl with purple hair sneered "Ugh...a gaijin? Can't they just stay in their own country where they belong or something? Or go to Unova instead of stinking things up here?"

"Believe me, I feel the same way about this, but orders are orders. If Headmistress Verdant and Giselle want this American to come to our school, then that's what they're going to get." replied Leanne before giving the four boys from before an expectant look. "Are you two finished with those two losers?"

"Yep. Arms are nice and bound - they're not going anywhere."

"Good. Now then, where were we..." mused the mousy-looking girl in mock thought before giving Joe and Rusty a malicious smile. "Ah yes, now I remember - you two had gotten a question wrong and now you must be punished for it."

With that said, she turns the knob on the remote, causing the belts on the treadmills to start going again, forcing the two boys to start running once more as the whispers and comments from the crowd grew louder.

"Now...I know what you meant...when you said this was gonna suck, Joe." wheezed Rusty as he tried to keep himself on his feet despite how fast the belt was running beneath them. "Please...can we take...a break? Even if it's just...for a few minutes...?"

"Nope. In fact, you two better get this next question right, losers. If you don't, well...you two are gonna have to deal with it making you run faster." taunted Cardin while the others nearby chuckled at the remark. "We might even bind your legs next time."

"You're making it faster regardless of whether we answer your questions correctly or not!" protested Joe tiredly as he desperately tried to keep running. "This is just nothing more than petty revenge - you just can't stand the fact that we managed to beat you!"

"It's not petty, it's justified." retorted Leanne as she idly toyed with a remote she was holding. "You two made fools out of Cardin and I last week, so now we're returning the favor. Now then, let's see if you can answer this one..."

While Leanne started to recite the next question she had for the pair, she and the others remained unaware that their sadistic 'fun' was about to come to an abrupt end...

-=O=-

As she, Lincoln and Brock stared at the sight in disgust, Misty asked "This is horrible...who kind of sick freak would get a kick out of doing that to a couple of kids?!" as she watched the group of students continue to heckle the two blindfolded boys while trying to resist the urge to run over to get herself involved. "This is just wrong on so many levels..."

Giving Leanne, Cardin and their cronies a disgusted look, Leaf says "This is what I was referring to - the upper class picking on and abusing the ones who're ranked lower than they are. This is why I left Pokemon Tech."

"After seeing this for myself, I don't blame you. I wouldn't want to go to a place that has this kinda stuff going on within it." commented Lincoln while Pikachu's cheeks started to spark angrily.

"Lincoln, you have no idea on how badly I wanna zap these guys. Give me the word and I'll let 'em have it. They'll never see it coming..."

"As much as I would love to, we can't afford to start any trouble, Pikachu. Let's just see how things play out first before we do anything."

"Well, loser? Do you have an answer for my question or not? Because if you don't, I'm just going to assume that you're wrong again and increase the speed again." asked Leanne impatiently as she waited for the two boys to reply.

"W-what was the question again...?" asked Rusty weakly, hardly having the strength to keep standing after everything the group had put him through.

"What level does Pidgeotto evolve into Pidgeot? It's a simple question that any low-ranker can answer with no problem, so you two should know the answer."

'Pidgeotto's evolution level...what was it again? I seem to remember hearing something about it during one of Mr. Matsuda's classes...' thought Joe as he tried to think about that particular class and what he learned from it. '...Damn it, I can't remember. I'll just have to wing it and see what happens.'

"Um...is it Level 28?" asked Rusty, causing grins to form on the group's faces while Cardin shook his head.

"Nope, wrong answer. What about you, slacker? You have an answer for us?"

After taking a few seconds to gather his nerves, Joe answered "...38. Pidgeotto evolves at Level 38."

"Well, how about that? Looks like the slacker managed to get one right after all. Guess it goes to show that even a mutt like him can learn something with the right motivation." remarked Cardin mockingly as he clapped his hands sarcastically while the others chortled at the comment. "I think that's deserving of a reward, Leanne. Don't you?"

"I agree." said Leanne with a nod before giving Joe and Rusty a wicked-looking smile. "Here's your reward, boys - I hope you enjoy it as much as we're going to."

With that said, she grabs the speed regulation knob once more and prepared to turn it to it's maximum setting order to make the treadmills almost impossible for the two boys to keep their footing on.

-=O=-

Pointing at Leanne as she prepared to turn the dial on the remote, Misty exclaimed "He gets her stupid question right and she's going to increase the speed on those treadmills anyway?! What the hell is her problem?!"

Finally having enough of what was going on, Lincoln snarls "Pikachu, change of plans - we're going to help those two after all." before pointing at the remote Leanne was holding. "Shut those treadmills down - use Thundershock!"

"With pleasure." replied the Electric-Type as his cheeks started sparking wildly with electricity. After taking a few seconds to charge up enough voltage in his electrical sacs, Pikachu discharges a bolt of electricity at the remote Leanne was holding, assuming that destroying it would stop the treadmills. His assumption would prove correct - as soon as the bolt had hit the remote, the treadmills gradually slowed to a stop, allowing Joe and Rusty to fall to the ground in exhaustion.

Interestingly enough, shocking the remote also had the effect of electrocuting Leanne as well, causing her to let out a loud scream as electricity coursed through her body.

A few seconds later, the attack peters out and Leanne collapses to the ground in a slightly charred heap with the melted, mangled remains of the remote laying on the ground beside her.

As the people within the crowd started to let out alarmed cries and comments about the sudden attack, Cardin snarls "What the hell?! Who did that?!" in a demanding tone, wanting to know who had launched the blast of electricity at Leanne. "Show yourself!"

"That would be my Pikachu's doing." remarked Lincoln as he stepped into the circle of people with Leaf, Misty and Brock behind him. "Misty, Brock...go help those two out."

After giving him a nod, the two gym leaders hurried over to free Joe and Rusty from their bindings.

"Are you two alright? Can you stand?" asked Misty as she tried to help Rusty to his feet while Brock did the same with Joe.

"Yeah...we'll...be fine after...a few minutes." wheezed Rusty as he slowly took off his blindfold. After taking a few moments to get control of his breathing, he turned to Misty and added "Thanks for the help. We really needed it." with a grateful, yet weak smile.

"Anytime. Now let's get you two outta this place." said Brock before draping Joe's arm over his shoulder and leading him out of the clearing.

"That goes for you too, kid. Let's go."

In response, the cap-wearing boy nods before draping his arm over Misty's shoulder, allowing her to lead him away.

After managing to get over the sudden shock she had suffered just a few moments ago, Leanne saw Lincoln and Leaf standing in front of Misty and Brock as they led Joe and Rusty out of the circle of people, blocking any attempts to prevent their escape.

Recognizing Lincoln's appearance from the papers that Giselle had showed Verdant earlier that day, she thought 'White hair...chipped tooth...orange...that's definitely the American Giselle mentioned before.' before turning her attention to Leaf next. '...And her...I don't know where, but I think I've seen her before during one of my old classes. Who is that?'

"Hey, I don't know who the hell you think you are, but nobody messes with students of Pokemon Tech and gets away with it!" snarled Cardin as he took a Pokeball off of his belt and activated it. Nearby, several of the other students did the same, clearly unhappy that their sources of entertainment had been taken away. "Who are you losers?

"Name's Lincoln Loud - the guy who's gonna stomp you and you jerk friends flat into the dirt."

"And I'm Leaf Rose. You may not remember me, but I certainly remember all of you and what kind of awful people you all are."

Upon hearing the latter introduce herself by name, Leanne's eyes widened as she recalled that there had been a girl by that name who had attended Pokemon Tech at one point before deciding to abandon it in favor of the local Trainer's school - something that her pride as a student of Pokemon Tech saw as an insult towards the school.

After all, who would willingly want to leave the best school in Kanto in favor of an average at best education?

"...Wait a minute...Leaf Rose?" asked another student, eyebrows raised slightly. "The Leaf Rose? The same one who was the #2 top student in the school for the better part of a year before deciding to leave?"

"The very same." replied Leaf coolly. "And before you ask, no - I don't regret the decision I made to leave that place one bit."

"Then you're a fool. Pokemon Tech is the best school the Kanto region has to offer and you chose to forsake it in favor of learning from a substandard school that any run-of-the-mill Trainer can graduate from within a single semester." said Leanne with disgust evident on her face. Turning to face Lincoln, she adds "I'm Leanne Yamato, by the way."

"Cardin Winchester." introduced Cardin next before giving the white-haired boy a condescending sneer. "And as for your challenge for a battle, we're gonna have to decline - while I'd like nothing more than to squash you two like bugs for interfering with our business, we would only end up making ourselves and Pokemon Tech look bad if we wasted time on scrubs like you."

"Now hold on a moment, Cardin - I think that since they were willing to take our 'entertainment' away, we should at least give them an appropriate punishment." remarked Leanne with a nod before giving Lincoln a predatory grin. "Maybe they could even serve as suitable replacements."

"We're not here to amuse you - we're here to kick your sorry butts." retorted Lincoln, narrowing his eyes while the crowd surrounding them started to back away, feeling that a fight was about to unfold.

"Well if your that fired up to get your ass handed to you, who am I to decline?" said Cardin before giving Leanne a smirk. "What do you say, Leanne - up for a doubles battle so we can show these two the might of Pokemon Tech's elite?"

"Agreed. Just try not to lose the battle for us like you did last time."

As he took Poliwag's Pokeball off of his belt and activated it, Lincoln asks "Looks like it's gonna be two-on-two, Leaf. You ready?"

"Depends. Are you?" replied Leaf with a smirk as she took a Pokeball from her belt as well.

"Whenever you are." said Lincoln before turning to face the crowd surrounding them. "You guys might want to back away a bit more - things are going to end up getting ugly."

Hearing this, the crowd starts backing away even more, creating a large, wide open space for the four Trainers to use.

Satisfied that the people nearby were out of the way, Lincoln gives Leaf a nod and says "Let's do this."

"Alright, then let's get this show on the road!" chimed Leaf before throwing the Pokeball into the air. "Come on out, Nidorina!"

"You too, Poliwag!"

-=O=-

As Lincoln's Poliwag and what appeared to be a teal-colored quadruped with blue spots and spikes all over its body appeared in front of their respective Trainers, Cardin smirks and says "A Poliwag and a Nidorina? Should be a cakewalk." before tossing the Pokeball he had been holding into the air. "You're up, Fearow!"

"Get out here and crush them, Raticate!" shouted Leanne as she threw out a Pokeball as well, causing a rat-like Pokemon with large teeth, six thin whiskers, a thin worm-like tail and golden brown-colored fur to appear alongside Cardin's Fearow.

Giving Lincoln and Leaf a malicious smile, she adds "I hope you're ready to lose - you're facing against two of Pokemon Tech's elite. Neither of you stand a chance of victory."

"We'll see how much of an 'elite' you two are after we're done with you." retorted Leaf, arms crossed. "Lincoln, you ready?"

"Just a moment. I wanna get the data on that rat-like thing first." replied the white-haired boy before taking out his Pokedex to get more information about Leanne's Pokemon.

As he did however, Cardin's eyes widened in shock as he screamed "A POKEDEX?! HOW DID A GAIJIN LIKE YOU GET A POKEDEX?!" while the other students behind him gaped at the red-colored device, jaws dropped in complete disbelief.

Even Leanne looked startled despite the fact she had already known about it beforehand, muttering "It's true...he actually has one..." under her breath.

Nearby, the crowd started to chatter excitedly, clearly not expecting to see an actual Pokedex holder taking part in the fight.

After glancing at the Pokedex for a moment, Lincoln turns to Leaf and asks "Is something like this really that big of a deal? Those guys over there seem to think so."

"Some folks see 'em as symbols of power and skill." replied Leaf with a shrug before taking out her own Pokedex and holding it up, causing the jaws in the nearby vicinity to drop once more while the chattering from the crowd grew louder and more excitable. "I just see mine as an really annoying red machine that doesn't know when to shut up."

'Very funny, Master. I'll make sure to remember that when you ask me again for advice on moves to teach your Pokemon.' chimed a electronic female voice from the red-colored device in Leaf's hand.

"Aw c'mon, Dee! It was just a joke!"

'You seem to have forgotten that while I am programmed with several impressive features, a sense of humor is not one of them.'

Now it was Leanne's turn to look shocked as she pointed at Leaf and screamed "YOU HAVE ONE TOO?!"

"Yep. Given to me by Professor Oak himself." replied Leaf before she put her Pokedex away. "Same goes for Lincoln, too - he's being sponsored by the Professor just like I am."

'Two Oak-sponsored Pokedex holders?! This is even better than I expected!' cheered Leanne in her mind - not only would she be able to fulfill her arrangement with Verdant and get the shame of losing to Joe and Rusty removed from her record, but her own self-professed reputation as one of the best Trainers in Pokemon Tech would be further solidified.

Cardin, meanwhile, looked less than thrilled.

"Leanne, why the hell didn't you tell me about this kind of stuff before?! You said that there wasn't anything special about that white-haired gaijin aside from the fact he was an American!"

"It slipped my mind when I told you about him, okay?" replied Leanne before jabbing a finger in his chest. "Besides, why are you so worried about facing off against these losers? Pokedex holders or not, we're among the top students of Pokemon Tech - the cream of the crop when it comes to our school. Do you really think they have a chance of beating us?"

"Yeah...yeah, you're right. Guess I lost myself for a moment there." said Cardin before giving his opponents a smirk. "Alright losers, let's do this. You wanna make the first move, Leanne?"

"With pleasure. Raticate, Hyper Fang! Take that Nidorina down!"

As the Mouse Pokemon charged at Leaf's Nidorina, Leaf grins and says "Let's show these two that being 'elite' students of Pokemon Tech doesn't mean they can't get their asses kicked by us, Lincoln."

"Agreed." said Lincoln before pointing at Leanne's Raticate and saying "Poliwag, stop that overgrown rat in its tracks! Water Gun!"

"You got it, Mr. Lincoln!" chirped the Tadpole Pokemon before he fires a jet of water at the Normal-Type.

"Hmph...you're using a novice attack like that in a battle against us? How pathetic." scoffed Leanne as she looked at Poliwag's attempted attack with disdain, arms crossed. "Raticate, dodge it."

"You're not dodging anything. Nidorina, use it now - Double Kick!"

Before Leanne or her Raticate could get the chance to react, the Poison Pin Pokemon leaped into the air and kicked Raticate twice in the back of the head, sending it flying directly into the path of Poliwag's attack.

As he watched Leanne's Pokemon skid across the ground before coming to a stop, Cardin says "Huh...looks like these two have got some bite to them, Leanne."

"Excellent. It'll make crushing them all the more satisfying." replied Leanne, smirking. "Raticate, change of tactics. Use Scary Face now on that worthless little tadpole."

After giving her an affirmative nod, the Mouse Pokemon turns its attention back to Poliwag and Nidorina. After puffing up its fur slightly, it plastered dark, almost menacing-looking expression on its face as it glowered at the Tadpole Pokemon, causing a fearful look to appear on his face.

"S-Scary..." mumbled the Water-Type with a shudder, only for Leaf's Nidorina to give him a reassuring look.

"Relax. It may try to make itself look scary, but don't forget that it's nothing more than an overgrown rat trying to act tough. We can beat it and that overgrown chicken it's teaming with."

"A-alright...if you say so..."

"Looks like that Poliwag of yours knows to be frightened of us, gaijin." mocked Cardin with a grin. "Fearow, let's put it down already. Aerial Ace."

"Poliwag, Water Gun!"

"Okay..." replied Poliwag before preparing to fire a Water Gun attack, only for Fearow to outspeed him, hitting him hard with its wing. "Ow!"

Eyebrow raised, Lincoln asks "What in the world? Poliwag was able to attack a lot faster earlier..."

Deciding to provide him with an explanation, Leaf replies "Remember when that Raticate was ordered to use Scary Face earlier?", causing him to give her a nod. "That move heavily slows the targeted Pokemon down. That's why your Poliwag's not as fast as it was before."

"Great...so Poliwag's pretty much helpless until we find a way around this. Just wonderful."

"Not exactly. If we can find a way to slow those guys down to the point where your Poliwag can outspeed them, I think we can win this." said Leaf as she scratched her chin thoughtfully. After a few seconds, she asks "...What level is that Poliwag of yours, by the way?"

As if to answer her question, Dexter's voice replied 'Poliwag is currently at Level 23 and knows the moves Water Gun, Body Slam, Double Slap, Water Sport and Hypnosis.'

Grinning, Leaf remarked "Excellent - it knows the move that I was hoping it would have." before giving Lincoln a glance. "Lincoln, focus on having your Poliwag use Body Slam instead of Water Gun. Just trust me on this."

"Okay, but what about you? What're you going to do?" asked Lincoln, wondering what she had in mind.

"I'll be trying to slow those two down enough for you to hit 'em with Body Slam. You just worry about handling your part." said Leaf before giving the two opposing Pokemon a narrow-eyed look. "Here's hoping at least one of those two are male...Nidorina, use Attract!"

Accepting the command, the teal-colored Pokemon lets out a whistle to get Fearow's attention. When the Flying-Type turned to see what had caused the noise, she gave it a wink as heart-shaped waves of energy emitted from her body.

Upon coming into contact with Fearow, it stared at Nidorina for a moment before swooning about in midair with a lovesick expression on its face.

Grimacing, Cardin mutters "Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me..." before giving the Flying-Type a commanding look. "Fearow, snap out of it already! That's your enemy, not someone for you to swoon over, damn it!"

Seeing that the large avian Pokemon stopped moving in order to stare at Nidorina lovingly, Leaf points at it and say "Now! Go for it now!"

"Got it! Poliwag, use Body Slam on that Fearow!"

"Oh no you don't! Raticate, Bite that little pest!" snarled Leanne, causing Raticate to pounce at Poliwag, fangs bared.

Pointing at the Mouse Pokemon, Leaf orders "Nidorina, hit that Raticate with Take Down!"

In an instant, Nidorina charges headling into Raticate before it could bite down on Poliwag, hitting it hard with a full-body tackle that sent both herself and the Normal-Type crashing into the ground.

Seeing this as his chance to strike, Poliwag starts waddling back towards Fearow, intent on going through with the order Lincoln had given him. With a single leap, he throws himself directly into Fearow's body, causing it to let out a loud squawk as it joined its partner on the ground.

"Yes! Direct hit! Way to go, Poliwag!" cheered Lincoln, only to notice something about Cardin's Fearow a few seconds later that caused his eyebrows to raise - it was having a hard time getting back up. "Leaf? What did Poliwag do?"

"You didn't know? Body Slam has a small chance of inflicting paralysis on an opponent." replied Leaf with a grin before pointing at the struggling Flying-Type on the ground. "That's what I was referring to earlier - when a Pokemon gets paralyzed, it's speed gets drastically cut. Your Poliwag's probably faster than it right now."

"...Mister Lincoln? I'm not sure, but I think I might have just learned a new attack...or remembered an old one that I forgot I even had."

"Really? What is it?"

"I'm not sure. It's a move that I'm pretty sure I've never used before...and yet I feel like I've known how to use it for a long time."

'A move that he's never used before, but it's still familiar to him? Could it be an Egg Move?' thought Lincoln as he stared at the little Water-Type. "Can you tell me it's name?"

"...It's called Ice Ball. That's what my memory's telling me." replied Poliwag, mulling over the name. "...Do you want me to see about giving it a try?"

Nodding, Lincoln answers "Might as well. It might even help us win this battle."

"Alright, here goes nothing...I hope I do this right..." muttered the Tadpole Pokemon before opening his mouth and firing what appeared to be a mixture of water and ice from it. As soon as the icy slush had left his mouth, it started to surround Poliwag's body, gradually encasing him in what appeared to be a ball of frost.

Once the icy sphere was completed, it started to roll towards Cardin's Fearow, causing it to let out a panicked squawk before it tried to get back up to avoid the oncoming attack.

Unfortunately for it, the paralysis running through its body wasn't going to have any of it.

"Oh for fuck's sake! Fucking paralysis!" snarled Cardin before glaring at Leanne. "Do something, will you?! That little squirt's going to end up smashing my Fearow if it gets to build up Ice Ball's power!"

"Right! Raticate, stop that ball of ice with..."

"Nidorina, Double Kick!"

Before Leanne could finish her order, Nidorina kicks Raticate twice once again, sending it flying through the air before landing directly in front of the rolling Ice Ball, which was gradually gathering speed as it continued on its way towards Fearow.

Upon reaching the Mouse Pokemon, the ball of ice slammed hard into its face, sending both itself and the Normal-Type flying through the air.

Smiling in satisfaction, Leaf comments "Looks like a successful hit to me. You know what that means, right Lincoln?"

"...No, not really. What does it mean?"

"Ice Ball's one of those attacks that keeps getting stronger when it successfully hits an opponent. And since your Poliwag hit that Raticate on the way to that Fearow..."

Understanding where she was going, Lincoln finishes "...The next hit Poliwag lands with it is going to be stronger, right?"

"Yep. Wanna see how far we can take this?"

"Definitely."

"Alright then, let's get to it!" said Leaf before giving Nidorina her next order. "Nidorina, hit that Raticate with Take Down again - make sure it gets knocked in the way of that big ice ball, will ya?"

"I'm on it." replied the Poison-Type before charging at Raticate again, hitting it with another full-body tackle and knocking it directly in the path of Poliwag's Ice Ball attack, which looked to be speeding towards Fearow once again.

As the Ice-Type attack slams into her Raticate again, Leanne protests "That's not how Ice Ball is supposed to work! You can't use it to target two different Pokemon!", only for Lincoln to give her a nonchalant shrug.

"Hey, I just gave him the order to try and hit that guy's Fearow. Your Raticate's just an obstacle that keeps getting in the way." remarked the white-haired boy before noticing that the ball of ice was now five times its original size. "Think it's strong enough to take one of 'em out, Leaf?"

Nodding, Leaf replies "Definitely. Go for it."

"Then don't mind if I do." said Lincoln before pointing at the large ball of ice. "Poliwag, one more time should just about do it - Ice Ball!"

As if accepting the order, the ball rolls towards Fearow one final time and hits it hard, causing the Flying-Type to let out a loud, shrill cry as the sheer weight of the ice ball rolls over it, crushing it into the ground

A few seconds later, the ball quickly melts, revealing a very dizzy Poliwag as he stood on top of Fearow's partially flattened (and clearly unconscious) body.

"I don't believe it...Cardin lost to the gaijin..." muttered a boy with olive green hair as he stared at the defeated Beak Pokemon in disbelief.

The orange-haired Trainer himself looked just as stunned, not expecting his Fearow to lose that badly to Lincoln's Poliwag.

"D-don't get a big head just because you beat that fool's Fearow! My Raticate is more than enough to handle both of you!" stammered Leanne, trying to hide the fact that she wasn't feeling as confident about her chances of winning as she was before.

"That's where you're wrong. You see, my Nidorina's got the Ability Poison Point, which poisons anyone who comes into contact with her." replied Leaf before pointing at Raticate, who was breathing heavily while its face was a sickly purple color. "I've managed to train my Nidorina to the point where even if she attacks an opponent, Poison Point will still work. Your Raticate's been poisoned ever since she hit it with her first Take Down attack."

After recalling all the blows the Poison-Type had dealt to her Raticate, Leanne pales and stammers "Th-then that would mean..."

"Your Raticate's close to dropping - all those Ice Ball attacks, the two Take Downs, the Double Kicks...if you add in the fact it's been poisoned for the past five minutes or so, I'd say that it's going to end up dropping right about..."

Almost as if on cue, Raticate starts coughing violently as the purple coloration on its face grows darker. After letting out several pained-sounding coughs and wheezes, it finally succumbs to the toxins running through its body and passes out.

"...Now." stated Leaf before nodding in satisfaction. "Well, looks like we win. So much for your claims of being elite students, huh?"

As the crowd started to let out cheers at seeing the battle come to a conclusion, Leanne and Cardin simply stood there with dumbfounded look on their faces - this had been the second time in a row that the pair had lost a battle in a decisive fashion. The same went for the other students that were with them, all of them wearing matching expressions of disbelief.

"Guess they're at a loss for words, Leaf. You wanna go catch up with the others?"

"Yeah. The sooner we do, the sooner we can get this errand out of the way and return back to Vermilion City." replied Leaf with a nod before walking away.

As Lincoln follows after her, Cardin mutters "Another loss against another pair of nobodies...this is unbelievable." before recalling his KO'ed Fearow. "Who the hell do those two think they are, mocking us like that and implying that we're not elites? They have some nerve!"

"We'll make sure to make them pay for this, Cardin. Don't worry." said Leanne, seething in anger as she watched the pair disappear from sight, inwardly cursing up a storm about the fact she had missed her chance to defeat Lincoln in battle.

(AN: The battle was short, but those two are bit characters at the very most - you can't expect them to put up much of a fight. Also, I know that Ice Ball is an egg move that can only be learned by having a member of the Poliwag line breeding with the Spheal line, but it just seemed too promising of an idea to pass up.)

-=O=-

"Gotta say that we make a pretty good team, Leaf. Nice work covering me out there." commented Lincoln as he and Leaf walked through one of the many streets of Viridian City, intent on finding the rest of their group. "I'm a bit worried about those guys we helped out earlier, though - do you think that they're doing okay?"

"I'm sure that they're just fine, Lincoln." replied Leaf reassuringly. Upon seeing the two boys in question and a sunglasses-wearing man that looked like Professor Oak talking with Misty and Brock nearby, she adds "See? They're just fine."

After taking notice of the man again and staring at him for a few seconds with confusion etched on her face, she asks "...Is that Professor Oak? What's he doing out here?"

"That's Professor Tree - he's the guy who accidentally received Professor Oak's package by mistake." answered Lincoln before running over to greet him. "Professor Tree! I'm here!"

Upon noticing the white-haired boy coming his way, Tree says "Well, would you look at that? It's about time he showed up." with a wry grin on his face. As Lincoln came to a stop, he adds "What kept ya, kiddo? You certainly took your sweet time getting here."

"We got caught up with some unpleasantness nearby, Professor. Sorry to keep you waiting." answered Lincoln, causing the grin on Tree's face to immediately disappear.

"Yeah, I heard about that from Joe and Rusty. Never thought that Winchester and Yamato would do somethin' that nasty to 'em. You have my thanks for helping 'em out."

"Anytime. So I'm guessing those two are the students you were referring to earlier?"

"Yep, that's them. And they have somethin' they wanna say to you." replied Tree as both Joe and Rusty walked over and stood beside him. "Go ahead and introduce yourselves, boys - he isn't gonna bite."

"By Arceus, Joe...he's actually here..." squeed Rusty in a whispered voice, causing the other boy to roll his eyes good-naturedly in response before stepping forward to greet Lincoln with a handshake - while he eager to meet Lincoln in person, he was nowhere as excitable as Rusty was about it.

"The name's Joe. Joe Rogers - it's nice to finally meet you. Thanks for helping us out, by the way."

As he stepped up to shake Lincoln's hand next, Rusty added "And I'm Rusty Beige. It's nice to finally get the chance to meetcha, Lincoln - Joe and I are big fans of yours."

"I wouldn't exactly say that I'm a 'fan', but I'll admit that you've certainly caught my interest after watching the Cerulean gym battle online." said Joe before giving Misty an aside glance with a perverted smile forming on his face. "Your...er, friend over there caught my interest during that battle, too. She looked really good in that outfit she was wearing."

"Well, don't expect to see me wearing something like that ever again. That was a one-time thing only." replied Misty, arms crossed.

"Right. Well in any case, it's nice to meet both of you, too." said Lincoln before giving the pair a concerned look. "So...are you two alright? Those jerks didn't hurt you or anything, did they?"

"We've been through worse in the past." replied Joe before giving the thicket of trees a nasty glare. "But what happened today strengthened our belief that we'd be better off ditching this place outright and travelling around like you guys are doing."

"Considering that I chose to do the same after seeing what kind of place it really is, I don't blame you." remarked Leaf, nodding in understanding. "It's been a while since we've seen each other, huh Joe?"

After taking a few seconds to identify the brunette, Joe asked "...Leaf? Is that you? What're you doing back here?"

"Decided to tag along with Lincoln and his group for a while. Gotta have something to do while waiting for the St. Anne to dock in Vermilion Port, y'know?" replied Leaf with a shrug. "But enough about me. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing alright despite that my legs feel like they're on fire. Did you and Lincoln deal with Cardin and Leanne?"

"Yep. They didn't even last two minutes."

"Nice. Rusty and I beat 'em within a minute when we fought." said Joe with a grin. "That's why they were doing that stuff to us earlier - they were still salty about the fact that they lost to two of the lowest-ranked students in the school."

"Less than a minute, huh? If you were that good, why did you do so poorly in class?"

"Didn't feel like applying myself, to be honest. If I did well, people would start to expect more and more effort from me regarding my schoolwork."

Upon hearing Joe's excuse, Leaf sighs and mutters "Still just as much of a lazyass as I remember you being. You haven't changed a bit." before giving him a smile. "Though considering you were one of the few people I could actually tolerate during my time in Pokemon Tech, I guess that's a good thing. So this battle you won...how'd you do it?"

"Well..."

-=O=-

While Joe told Leaf about his battle against Leanne and Cardin, Lincoln asked "So did you bring the package that I need to collect with you? I'd like to be back in Vermilion City as soon as possible.", inwardly hoping that the sunglasses-wearing Professor had brought it with him.

Shrugging apologetically, Tree replied "Sorry, kiddo - I must've forgotten to bring it with me when I went out to find the boys. It's probably still in my office. If you want, I can bring you to the school and you can pick it up then. Maybe I can even give ya the tour of the school that I promised during our call."

"We're gonna have to take a rain check on the tour, Professor. As much as we would like for you to show us around your school, we really need to get this errand finished as soon as possible."

"Shame. Maybe next time."

"What about a quick battle?" asked Rusty hopefully, running over with Ralph in his arms. "It won't take long, I promise! Just a few minutes at the most!"

Eyebrows raised, Lincoln asked "A battle? You want to battle against me?"

"Yep. Ever since Joe and I saw your battle that day, both of us wanted to see how our Pokemon would stack up against yours." replied Rusty with a nod. "So what do ya say? You up for a quick match?"

"I dunno...I'm really only here to handle Professor Oak's errand and that's it. I don't know if I'll have time for another battle."

"Aw, c'mon! Please? Just one?" begged the glasses-wearing boy in a pleading tone. "We can even make it a doubles battle if you're really in that much of a hurry."

As Lincoln contemplated on whether to agree to the challenge or not, Professor Tree says "You might as well go ahead and get it out of the way, kiddo. Besides, those two really wanted to face off against you and I'm pretty sure that some part of you doesn't wanna let them down."

"Yeah, but...we're really in a rush to get this errand done..." replied Lincoln as he continued to mull over what to do. After taking a few seconds to come to a decision, he asks "Misty, Brock...are you guys alright with me doing this? A couple of quick battles shouldn't hurt, right?"

"I don't mind as long as they're just that - quick." replied Misty with a shrug while Leaf and Brock nodded in agreement.

"Go on ahead, Lincoln. Remember what I told you back in Vermilion City - the gym isn't going anywhere."

Upon hearing what the two gym leaders had to say, Lincoln nods and says "Well, if you guys are alright with it, then I guess I am, too." before turning back to Rusty, who had an excited grin on his face. "Alright, go get Joe and we'll..."

"So this is the gaijin that you've been going on about, huh?" interrupted a female voice from nearby, catching everyone's attention. "You don't look as impressive as those two clowns Rogers and Beige make you out to be, you know that?"

Upon seeing the familiar form of Giselle Seiyo leaning against a nearby building with her arms crossed, both Joe and Rusty let out a frustrated groan.

"Great...of all the times for her to show up..."

"Oh wow, what a knockout...I'd love to study anatomy with that one in a classroom any day..." said Brock, cheeks turning crimson as he stared at the brunette before him.

WHAP!

In an instant, the Rock-Type Trainer was embedded face-first into the ground while Misty stood above him with a clenched (and slightly smoking) fist.

"How's that for a knockout, you idiot?"

"Yeah? Well, you're not too impressive-looking yourself, lady." snarked Lincoln before giving Giselle a strange look. "And while I'm at it, who are you?"

"That's Giselle Seiyo, the top student of Pokemon Tech and a member of the prestigious Seiyo family living in Viridian City." stated Leaf with a serious look on her face, causing the others to turn to face her. "She's one of the highest-grading students in the entire Kanto region and one of the few non-Pokedex holders I know of that can easily match up against either one of us. Unlike those two jokers we beat earlier, she's the real deal."

"She's also the one that put those two assholes up to making us run on those treadmills earlier." remarked Joe, causing Lincoln's group to give the brunette a heated glare.

"Glad to see that my reputation as the best this school has to offer precedes me." replied Giselle confidently before a frown formed on her face as the last part of Leaf's statement hits her. "...Wait, you got into a battle with someone earlier?"

"Yeah, we did - some mousy-looking girl and that orange-haired jerk that was with her." replied Leaf before she crossed her arms "So you're the one that put those two up to picking on Joe and the other kid, right?"

'...I tell Leanne not to battle against the American and she goes and does it anyway. Fool.' thought Giselle before giving Leaf a reply. "Maybe I am. Why do you ask?"

"Just wanted to make sure I know who's ass I need to kick, that's all." growled the hat-wearing girl as she took a Pokeball off of her belt. "You and me, Seiyo. Right now."

"Well now, you're certainly eager to get thrashed, aren't you?" replied Giselle in an amused tone before a look of familiarity appeared on her face. "Hmm...have we met before? I recall seeing a girl resembling you in one of my classes a year ago."

"We've met." said Leaf, nodding. "And you're still the uptight snob I remember you being."

After taking a few seconds to look over Leaf in order to jog her memory, Giselle snaps her fingers and says "Leaf Rose - former student of Pokemon Tech and one of the top scorers of the yearly Trainer's exam." before giving her a taunting smile. "So why did you leave? Was it because our classes were too much for someone like you to handle?"

"It's because of people like you picking on guys like those two that made me think your school wasn't worth the trouble. Now are we going to battle or what?"

Shrugging off Leaf's challenge like it was nothing, Giselle answered "Sorry, but if you want to take a crack at me, you're going to have to wait - there's only one person here that I'm interested in challenging right now and it's not you."

"Is that right? And who exactly do you want to face?" asked Lincoln, only for a smirk to appear on the brunette's face as she pointed directly at him.

"You, Lincoln Loud. I, Giselle Seiyo of Pokemon Tech, hereby challenge you to a Pokemon battle."

-=O=-

Upon hearing Giselle's proclamation, Lincoln asks "First those two jerks, then Joe and Rusty and now you're challenging me to a battle, too?"

"I am. The top student of Pokemon Tech versus an American Pokedex holder sponsored by Professor Oak himself...that's a battle worthy of a Trainer of my status. So how about you leave these two losers alone and face off against someone who'll give you a much better fight than those two could ever hope to offer you?"

"I'm a Pokedex holder as well, Seiyo." said Leaf, taking the red device out of her pocket. "If you want one to face off against, I'm right here."

"Yes, but you're not the one I want to face. I'll be more than willing to crush you afterwards if you like - having victories over two different holders will do wonders for my reputation."

After storming over and jabbing a finger in the brunette's face, Rusty shouts "Back off, Giselle! We challenged him first!"

"Well, looks like you're just going to have to wait until I crush him first, Beige. The first battle against him is mine." sneered Giselle, causing Joe to stomp over towards her, anger etched on his face.

"You never would've bothered with challenging him if it wasn't for us finding out about him in the first place!"

"I don't care! The first battle is mine, you talentless loser!"

"You take that back, you uptight cunt!"

As the two students continued to argue with each other, Misty says "Geez...and I thought our arguments were bad, huh Lincoln?"

"Tell me about it. This almost reminds me of when Lori and Leni were fighting over that stupid dress." muttered Lincoln, shaking his head. After watching the quarreling pair for a few more seconds, he walks over and separates them from each other, causing them to give him a perplexed look.

After placing himself between them, he adds "Alright, let's get this mess straightened out first before I decide to accept anyone's challenge.", prompting the two to settle down, if only long enough to hear what he had to say.

"You...uh, got anything in mind so all three of us get what we want?" asked Rusty, giving the white-haired boy a curious look.

"I do. Before I mention what it is, I want to get something straight here - it's just the three of you that want to challenge me? Just you three? " inquired Lincoln, causing the three Trainers in question to nod. "Well, since all three of you seem eager to take me on in a battle, this is what we'll do - Misty and I will take on Joe and Rusty in a doubles battle. Whether you like it or not, Rusty did challenge me first and I did agree to take him and Joe on."

"And what about me? Surely you're not going to refuse my challenge while accepting the one those two issued, are you?" asked Giselle, slightly peeved at being left out.

Shaking his head, Lincoln answers "Of course not. We'll battle with each other after I pick up Professor Oak's package from Professor Tree's office. Is that acceptable?"

Looking much more satisfied, Giselle nods and says "That'll do. I'll be looking forward to crushing you into the dirt then." before walking back over to the tree she was leaning against before.

"What're you doing, Giselle?" asked Rusty, confused. "You're going to be battling him later on today, aren't you? Why are you still sticking around?"

Shrugging, the brunette replied "I could use a good laugh before my battle today, so I might as well get it by watching you two get stomped like the losers you are."

As Rusty growled at the insult, Joe says "Ignore her, Rusty. We've got a battle to start.", keeping his eyes on Lincoln and Misty, who had taken a Pokeball each off of their belts. "One apiece sound alright to you guys?"

"That's fine by me - I did say that I wanted this battle to be a quick one." replied Lincoln with a nod before looking down at the Pokeball he was holding. "I guess now's as good of a time as any to see how well you do - get out here, Meowth!"

"You too, Krabby! Let's go!" chimed Misty as she threw her Pokeball into the air alongside the one Lincoln had thrown.

"You're using that irritating furball to battle these two? Seriously?" asked Pikachu in annoyance as the two Pokemon materialized in front of their respective Trainers.

"I just wanna see how she does under a Trainer's command, Pikachu. Nothing wrong with that, right?"

"I guess not, though I pity whoever's going to be facing off against her."

-=O=-

"A Krabby and a Meowth, huh? At least we're not facing off against that Pikachu of his..." muttered Joe as he eyed the two Pokemon cautiously. "Still, we better be careful, Rusty. There's no telling how strong these two are."

Nodding, Rusty answered "You got it, Joe. So...you ready?"

"Yep. You?"

"You know it!"

"Then let's get this started! Come on out, Edgar!" exclaimed Joe as he threw Edgar's Pokeball into the air while Rusty quickly ran over and placed Ralph down on the battlefield, causing Misty to shudder slightly in disgust at the sight.

"...You're using that Kakuna of yours?"

"It's the only Pokemon I've got on me at the moment." replied Rusty before pointing at her while his eyes blazed with determination. "But don't think that just because Ralph can't move doesn't mean she can't fight back!"

Trying to repress another shudder, Misty muttered "Great...of all the Pokemon I have to face off against today, it just had to be a Bug-Type..."

Meanwhile, Lincoln was eyeing Edgar with interest, having never seen a Pokemon like him before.

'This is a new one...what is it?' thought the white-haired boy as he took out his Pokedex and pointed it at the Grass-Type Pokemon before him.

'Weepinbell, the Flycatcher Pokemon. The evolved form of Bellsprout, Weepinbell has a large hook on its rear end. At night, the Pokémon hooks on to a tree branch and goes to sleep. If it moves around in its sleep, it may wake up to find itself on the ground.'

As she looked around curiously, Lincoln's Meowth asked "Nya? Where am I? This isn't my usual spot..." before noticing her new Trainer standing nearby with a Pokeball in hand. Assuming it to be hers, she adds "...Huh. Guess you actually managed to catch me after all."

Noticing that she was talking to him, Lincoln nodded and replied "Yep. And since you're with me now, I wanna see how well you battle while under my command. Are you up for it?"

"Hmm...depends. What's in it for me?"

After he and Pikachu blinked owlishly in surprise at the answer, Lincoln asks "'What's in it for you'? You're my Pokemon and I'm your Trainer. Aren't you supposed to...you know, follow orders?"

Shaking her head, the Normal-Type answered "That might work for most Pokemon, but it's not gonna work that way for me, nya. You want me to battle? I want payment first."

"Payment!?" exclaimed Lincoln, clearly unhappy with the Scratch Cat Pokemon's demand. After seeing that she wasn't going to budge on the matter, he sighs and grumbles "...Alright, what's your price?"

"100 PokeDollars. Per battle. Nya."

"A hundred PokeDollars per battle!? Are you freaking kidding me?!"

"Nope. It's either that or I'm not battling, nya." answered Meowth before holding out her paw. "So either pony up the cash or you might as well go ahead and recall me back right now."

Scratching the back of his head, Lincoln asks "Can't we just...I don't know...renegotiate this? Having to pay out a hundred Pokedollars for you to battle is a bit much..."

After taking a second or two to think about his request, Meowth replied "Well...I guess I can also accept if you give me something shiny. That'll work just as well as cash."

"Something shiny, huh?" mused Lincoln before nodding his head. "Beats paying a hundred bucks per battle. Gimme a moment to find something for you."

As Lincoln started to search through his bag, an annoyed look appeared on Misty's face as she snapped "Lincoln, what the hell are you doing? We're supposed to be battling, not rummaging through your bag!"

"My Meowth won't battle without me giving her something as payment first." replied Lincoln as he continued to rummage through his belongings. "I'll be ready in a moment or two, alright?"

"...Fine, just make it quick."

While Lincoln started to search through his bag, Rusty pointed at him and said "You see that, Joe? He just spoke to his Meowth like it was nothing! I bet that he's probably got one of those translator things that letter mentioned!"

"Looks like it. I can see something in his left ear." remarked Joe, nodding his head. Upon seeing Lincoln taking something out of his bag and handing it over to the Scratch Cat Pokemon, he adds "But let's focus on our battle first, alright? We'll ask him about how it works later."

"Right! Battle first, ask about translator later!"

As Meowth looked over the item Lincoln had given her, the white-haired boy said "There's your shiny thing, as promised. Now will you battle for me? Please?"

After looking over the object in question for a moment, the Normal-Type says "Hmm...I guess that this will have to do for now." before giving him a nod. "Alright then, I'll cooperate with you for the time being. But if you want me to battle again after this..."

"...I'll need to get you another shiny thing. I know. So are you ready to fight?"

"Of course I am. Let's do this."

Giving Misty a nod, Lincoln says "Everything's all set on my end. Now we just need someone to referee the match."

As he made his way over to the side of the impromptu battlefield, Professor Tree comments "I'll handle it. It's been a while since I've reffed a battle anyway." before raising his arm to officially start the battle. "This two-on-two battle is between Rusty Beige and Joe Rogers of Pokemon Tech vs Lincoln Loud of...er..."

"Royal Woods, Michigan." answered Lincoln, causing Tree to give him a thankful nod before continuing.

"...And Misty Waterflower of Cerulean City! Each Trainer is allowed only one Pokemon apiece and nothing more than that - no substitutes or anythin' like that are allowed. Now begin!"

"Let's start things off by crushing that bug with a Vicegrip attack, Krabby!" ordered Misty as she points at Ralph.

After giving her a nod, Krabby quickly scurries over to Ralph with his pincers poised to strike.

Seeing Krabby coming for Ralph, Rusty shouts "Get ready to tank it with Iron Defense, Ralph!", causing the Cocoon Pokemon to start shimmering for a moment before her body took on a metallic-looking appearance.

Almost immediately after that, Krabby lashes out and seizes the Bug-Type with both pincers with a vice-like grip.

"Good job, Krabby - now start squeezing!" cheered Misty with a grin, only for it to fall quickly upon noticing that Krabby was having trouble trying to apply pressure to Ralph's body. "C'mon Krabby, put a little more muscle into it!"

"I'm trying to, damn it!" snapped Krabby irritably as he tried to apply more and more pressure to his Vicegrip attack, only to find that nothing was happening. "C'mon, you stupid...by Arceus, how hard is this thing?!"

"That crab's right where we want him now, buddy! Use String Shot!" commanded Rusty, prompting Ralph to spit out a thick wad of webbing out of her mouth, hitting Krabby directly in the face. As the Water-Type tried to remove the gunky silk from his face, Rusty points at him and says "Now use it again to bind those pincers together!"

As she watched the Bug-Type spit out more silk to completely

"Clever. Very clever." mused Misty as Krabby tried and failed to pull his pincers free from the sticky silk. "But I think you're forgetting about one thing, kid."

"Oh yeah? And what's that?"

"There's always more than one way to use an attack." replied the redhead with a smirk. "Krabby, use Slam!"

"Slam? But that's..." started Rusty, only to see the Water-Type using the silk binding his claws together to deal a hard double axe handle-type blow to Ralph's head. "How? I had his pincers bound with String Shot! There's no way he could've used them!"

"Like I said, there's always more than one way to use an attack. It just comes down to whether you can actually pull it off or not." answered Misty with a shrug before noticing something that caused her smirk to widen. "And it looks like another way of using it just opened up to me. Take a look."

Looking to see what the Water-Type specialist was referring to, the glasses-wearing boy saw that Ralph was now stuck to the gooey silk wrapped around Krabby's claws.

"Aw, son of a Bisharp...this can't be good..."

"Looks like we're the one who have you right where we want you. Krabby, keep using Slam until I tell you to stop."

After giving her a nod, the River Crab Pokemon starts using the silk keeping Ralph attached to his pincers to repeatedly slam Ralph against the ground.

"Okay, this is bad! Really bad!" said Rusty in a panicked tone before giving Joe a pleading look. "Joe, help me out, will ya?"

"I'm on it! Edgar, Razor Leaf!"

"Oh no, you don't - not while I'm still here!" said Lincoln before pointing at the Flycatcher Pokemon. "Meowth, Fake Out!"

Before either Joe or Edgar could get the chance to react, Meowth was already in front of the Grass-Type with a smirk on her face.

"Gotcha, nya."

With a single clap of her paws, she created a shockwave that sent Edgar skidding back several inches with a noticeable wince on his face.

"Damn it. I forgot that the Meowth species knew how to use that move..." muttered Joe under his breath as he glared at the Normal-Type. "...Okay, gotta find a way to deal with that Meowth first - it's just gonna keep getting in the way if I don't. Now then, what would Lincoln do in a situation like this..."

After taking a second or two to think of an idea, Joe's eyes lit up as one came to mind. Pointing at Lincoln's Meowth, he orders "Edgar, use Stun Spore directly in front of you!"

Wondering why his Trainer had given him such a strange order, Edgar complies and fires a stream of yellow pollen from his mouth in front of him, creating an incredibly thick cloud that was difficult to see through.

"Don't touch that stuff, Meowth. There's no telling what it'll do to you." warned Lincoln before turning his attention back to the cloud. "What is he planning here...?"

"Now use Magical Leaf!"

In an instant, several leaves coated in green-colored energy shot through the pollen cloud directly towards Meowth, causing the Normal-Type's eyes to widen in surprise before she moved out of the way of the leaves' path.

Much to her surprise and disbelief, the leaves immediately curved and started heading towards her once more - almost as if they were homing in on her.

"Nya?! What the hell is this?!" screeched Meowth as she tried to dodge the leaves as they kept coming at her. After a few seconds, one of them managed to get lucky and nicked her.

Almost immediately, Meowth's body started to stiffen up, almost as if she was paralyzed.

"Damn it, not again! I hate it when this happens, nya!"

"Paralyzation...? But how did it..." muttered Lincoln before noticing that the leaves from Edgar's attack were coated in a thin layer of the same yellow dust that the pollen cloud was made of. "...He used the cloud from the Stun Spore attack to cover those leaves with pollen! That's brilliant!"

As she watched the battle unfold from nearby, Giselle looked just as surprised as Lincoln did, clearly not expecting Joe to have come up with a tactic like that.

'Astounding...I never knew that Joe how to battle like this. Was he intentionally holding back his skill during all of the classes we took together? And if so...why?' thought the brunette before turning her attention to Rusty next. 'I must also admit that the dimwit's lasting longer than I thought he would. Almost makes me wonder if he was holding back, too.'

"Now to help Rusty and Ralph out - Edgar, use Magical Leaf again, this time on that Krabby!" ordered Joe, causing Edgar to once again fire a volley of leaves with Krabby being his target.

Upon coming into contact with the leaves, Krabby lets out a screech of pain as the Grass-Type attack hits him hard, sending him flying through the air for a few seconds before coming crashing down onto the ground.

Unfortunately for the River Crab Pokemon, the inertia from his landing had caused Ralph to be launched into the air as well - something that didn't escape Rusty's notice.

"Ralph, that Krabby's wide open! Use Poison Sting!"

Acting quickly, the River Crab Pokemon used Harden, then put up his pincers to try and block most of the volley.

"These two are starting to become a pain." grumbled the Water-Type as he kept blocking the Poison Sting attack while Meowth struggled to regain her mobility.

"Tell me about it, nya...this is the second time this week I've been paralyzed by my opponent. Really makes me wish I had Limber as my ability." muttered the Scratch Cat Pokemon as she tried to fight through the numb feeling in her body. "That or a Cheri Berry. I could really use one of those right now."

'Note to self - ask Brock about berries later.' thought Lincoln before giving Meowth a concerned look. 'Now then, what to do...Meowth's paralyzed and Krabby's on the defensive - how are we going to turn this around? Think, Lincoln! Think!'

"Hey Rusty, I think we've shown off enough, don't you?" asked Joe knowingly, causing Rusty to grin.

"Yeah, I think so. We're going to use 'it' to finish them?"

"Definitely. Edgar, get ready - you already know what's coming up!" said Joe, causing the Flycatcher Pokemon to nod before using a vine to pick up Ralph's body.

"You too, Ralph! Iron Defense - full power!" added Rusty, causing Ralph to start using the defense-boosting Steel-Type attack once more, unaware of the grin forming on Meowth's face.

Before anyone could even react, the Normal-Type pushed through her paralysis and rushed over to Edgar, hitting him in the face with her paw while snatching Ralph away from him at the same time. After distancing herself away from the Grass-Type while he tried to recover from the sudden blow, she gives Ralph a menacing leer as a dark grey aura starts flows from the Bug-Type's body to Meowth's own, causing Ralph to let out a loud, pained cry.

"Ralph?! What is that cat doing to you?!"

"She...she's taking my attack away and using it herself!" replied Ralph as the aura fades away from Meowth's body, only for it to be replaced by a shimmering white one a few seconds later.

"Nope. Not gonna let you have that one, nya. Sorry." stated Meowth with a smug grin on her face before she tossed the Bug-Type aside, making sure to flip it off as she went skidding across the ground. "And while I'm at it...Metapod's the better Cocoon Pokemon. Your species sucks."

"A Meowth that knows both Thief and Snatch...that's one heck of a Pokemon you've got there, Lincoln." remarked Leaf with a smile.

"Meowth...when did you know how to learn a move like that?" asked Lincoln, eyebrow raised.

"Egg move from my father's side, nya. Somehow managed to learn how to use it sometime after you caught me."

Eyebrows raised, Lincoln thought 'Pokemon can have more than a single egg move?'

As if to answer his mental question, Dexter comments 'It is theoretically possible for a Pokemon to inherit a move from both of its parents. If you like, I can go over the possible ones your other Pokemon can potentially learn.'

"Maybe later, Dexter. I need to worry about the battle right now."

"Professor Tree, there's no way that what that Meowth did can be legal, can it? It..." protested Rusty, only for Lincoln to interrupt him.

"She. My Meowth's a female."

"Right, sorry." apologized Rusty before pointing at the Normal-Type once more. "She just stole Ralph's move! That can't be legal!" protested Rusty, pointing at the Normal-Type accusingly.

"Since it's clear that you don't pay attention to our classes, allow me to enlighten you on about what that Meowth did to your Kakuna." asked Giselle, causing the four battling Trainers to turn to face her. After clearing her throat, she says "That Meowth used Snatch - a Dark-Type move that allows the user to steal a stat-boosting move when an opponent uses one. Afterwards, the one who used Snatch will gain the boosts attached to the stolen move. And contrary to your earlier protests, it's perfectly legal to use in battle."

Pointing at Ralph, she adds "And based on the...rude gesture she had given your Kakuna as well, it's safe to say that she used Taunt in order to prevent you from using Iron Defense again."

"Then we'll just have to make do without the defense boost, then." replied Joe before giving Rusty a knowing look. "Fastball Special?"

"Fastball Special. Let's do this."

Eyebrow raised at the name of the move, Lincoln mutters "Fastball Special? Where have I heard that before..." before his eyes widened in realization. "...Crap."

Noticing the look on his face, Misty asked "Lincoln? What's wrong?"

Lowering his voice to a whisper, Lincoln answers "I think that Joe's going to have his Weepinbell use that Kakuna as a living projectile - with the Iron Defense that they managed to get off earlier, it's going to really hurt if they end up hitting one of our Pokemon. Do you have any ideas on what we can do to counter it?"

"Gimme a moment to think of something. I don't exactly have any counters in mind to deal with something like that."

As Edgar rears back his vine to get ready to send Ralph hurtling towards their opponents, Giselle scoffs in disgust before saying "Ugh...they started off so well earlier and now they're going to resort to use that stupid attack of theirs again. Why must they resort to using such a brutish and unorthodox tactic?", causing both Leaf and Brock to turn to face her. "It goes against the proper and correct way to battle against another Trainer!"

"Every Trainer has their own way of battling - there's no 'proper' or 'correct' way of doing it." countered Leaf before giving Giselle a smug smirk. "I think you're just jealous because you didn't think of doing it first."

With an indignant look on her face, Giselle snaps "I would never consider the idea of battling like some kind of crude barbarian!"

"Uh-huh. Sure..."

"Alright, Edgar - let it rip! Fastball Special!" said Joe as he pointed at Meowth and Krabby. Taking that as his cue, Edgar hurls Ralph directly at his opponents with incredible force.

"Misty, please tell me that you have anything to counter this." asked Lincoln in a frantic tone, staring at the Bug-Type as it sped towards his and Misty's Pokemon.

"I think I might have something. Don't know if it'll work, but we might as well give it a go." replied the redhead before ordering "Slow that bug down, Krabby! Use Bubblebeam!"

"On it!" replied the Water-Type before opening up his mouth and firing a steady stream of bubbles from it at Ralph, hitting her directly.

Just as Misty had planned, the bubbles gradually started to slow the Bug-Type's momentum until she came to a complete stop and fell out of the air.

"What?! Someone actually managed to develop a counter for our move this soon?" asked Rusty in disbelief as Meowth ran over and scooped Ralph off of the ground. "Joe, we need to find a way to come up with something to counter something like that as soon as we can."

"We'll go over ideas later. Right now, let's just focus on the battle."

As Meowth looked over Ralph while trying to decide what to do with her, Lincoln eyes Joe and Rusty for a moment before an idea hits him.

"...Hey Meowth, feel like using our own version of the Fastball Special?"

After running over and catching Ralph in her arms, Meowth asked "Lemme guess - you want me to use my Fling attack to throw this thing back at that overgrown weed, nya?"

"Tempting, but I've got a better idea in mind." answered Lincoln before a wicked grin appeared on his face. "Use Swagger, then Foul Play after that! And make sure to aim directly for Edgar when you do it!"

Eyes lighting up as she understood exactly what Lincoln had in mind, Meowth comments "Ooh...that's really good. I like it." before holding up Ralph and glaring directly into her eyes as the familiar-looking red aura of her Swagger attack started to form around her body.

As he stared at the sight in confusion, Rusty asked "Joe? Mind filling me in on what that cat's doing? She's just staring at Ralph with that weird energy surrounding her."

"She's using Swagger - a move that boosts the opponent's attack, but ends up confusing them as well." said Joe, eyeing the Normal-Type suspiciously. "Foul Play, on the other hand, is a move that...oh fuck."

"What?"

"...It's a move that grows stronger when the opponent has their Attack stat raised. And since Swagger's going to boost Ralph's attack..."

Realizing where this was going, Rusty gulps before saying "...That means that Foul Play's gonna hurt a lot, doesn't it?"

"Uh-huh. Definitely."

As she reared back her arm to throw Ralph, Meowth narrowed her eyes at Edgar and says "Here, you can have this back, nya!" before hurling the Cocoon Pokemon with twice the force that the Grass-Type had used, causing both Joe and Rusty's eyes to widen in shock. "Eat this! Foul Play!"

After watching Meowth hurl Ralph directly at Edgar, Misty points at the yellow Bug-Type and commands "Krabby, use Bubblebeam on that bug again!", once again prompting Krabby to fire another stream of bubbles at Ralph.

Instead of slowing her down this time, the Water-Type attack worked with Ralph's current momentum, propelling her towards Edgar's face at an even faster rate than before.

"Hey, that's our move! You can't do that!" whined Rusty as he pointed at the Scratch Cat Pokemon accusingly.

"We've got bigger problems to worry about other than plagiarism issues right now!" said Joe before he pointed at Ralph, who was sailing towards Edgar's face at high speed. "Edgar, get out of the way! Hurry!"

Unfortunately for Joe, Ralph's body was moving at a much faster speed than Edgar could ever hope to avoid, allowing the Bug-Type to unintentionally hit him hard in the face with a dull 'whack'. After the Cocoon Pokemon had slid off and landed onto the ground, Edgar swayed in place for a moment before falling backwards, clearly unconscious.

Based on the fact she wasn't moving much either, it was safe to say that Ralph had been knocked out as well.

"Looks like that's that, nya. We win." remarked Meowth smugly as Professor Tree went over to check on the two Pokemon.

After he finishes his evaluation, Tree raises an arm and says "Ralph and Edgar are unable to continue! The winners of this battle are Lincoln Loud and Misty Waterflower!"

-=O=-

As the two winning Trainers started to celebrate their hard-fought win with each other, Rusty walks over and picks up Ralph, muttering "Ugh...we lost. This sucks, Joe."

"At least we can say that we put up a good fight against an actual Pokedex holder and a gym leader, Rusty." replied Joe as he recalled Edgar back into his Pokeball. Walking over to congratulate the winners, he adds "Good match, you two. Thanks for the battle."

Grinning as she recalled Krabby while Lincoln did the same with Meowth, Misty answered "Same here. You two certainly made us work for our win."

"And they probably would've beaten you two if they had stuck with the tactics they were using at the beginning of the battle." said Giselle, arms crossed. "If you two had kept pushing the advantage you had instead of trying to set up that stupid attack of yours, you would've won."

As an annoyed look formed on her face, she adds "And speaking of your battle, what in Arceus' name was that all about? You never showed that kind of promise in our classes!"

"Wasn't any point in it - even if we did stop holding ourselves back and showed others what we could do, things for us still wouldn't change." replied Rusty with a shrug. "We'd still be at the bottom of the social totem pole while people like you picked on us."

"But that could change if you two actually did stop holding back." retorted Giselle, her look of annoyance fading away. "With enough effort, you two could get out of the lower ranks and into the upper classes with the rest of us."

"It's not just that, Giselle - you're forgetting that while you may want us to do better so we won't be among the lower class students anymore, the others wouldn't be happy about the idea of us trying to rise up the ranks."

Understanding what Joe was referring to, Tree comments "Yeah, I don't think that your suggestion would work out too well, Miss Seiyo. If anythin', your 'friends' in the upper classes would only pick on 'em more, thinking that they're tryin' to outdo them."

"I see..." mused Giselle thoughtfully as she mulled over what Professor Tree had to say. Despite the fact that she didn't want to admit it, he was right about one thing regarding the other upperclassmen - they didn't like competition, especially from those in the lower classes. And when they didn't like someone, they definitely let the unfortunate person that they were targeting know it.

Deciding to dismiss the thought for now, she adds "Well anyway, you two got your chance to battle against the American, so it'll be my turn to face off against him next."

"Which will be after I finish with my errand. No sooner than that." reminded Lincoln, arms crossed.

"Of course." replied Giselle before a predatory smile formed on her face. "Try not to keep me waiting too long, gaijin - the sooner I get to crush you, the better."

"We'll see who'll be the one getting crushed when we face off."

After giving the white-haired boy a curt nod, Giselle turns around and walks away, intent on returning back to Pokemon Tech.

"Ugh...how can anyone stand someone like her?" asked Leaf with a frown as she watched the brunette saunter off.

"After seeing what kind of person she is, I'm wondering that myself." agreed Misty before giving Joe and Rusty pitying looks. "I honestly feel bad for you two for having to constantly deal with people like her on a daily basis."

"She's not all that bad, honestly." replied Rusty with a shrug, causing the two girls to give him a strange look. "Sure, she's a jerk who puts Cardin and Leanne up to giving us grief, but unlike those two, she's never done anything really bad to us. Not to mention that as you saw before, she actually wants us to do better in class instead of trying to put us down like everyone else does."

Nodding in agreement, Joe says "Yeah, I gotta agree with Rusty here - Giselle's not that bad compared to everyone else in the upper class. Besides..."

"Besides...?" repeated Lincoln, eyebrow raised.

"While it's true that her attitude is terrible, the rest of her certainly isn't, if you catch my drift." finished Joe, waggling his eyebrows with a grin on his face.

"Oh definitely. Other than the fact she's a total snob, I'd say that she's a perfect ten out of ten. Two thumbs up." said Brock, grinning as he made the aforementioned gesture. "And that gorgeous figure of hers..."

"I know, right? I'd give up my left nut just to get a chance to..." replied Joe before wiggling his eyebrows again. "You know what I'm saying?"

"Oh yeah."

As Brock and Joe continued to eagerly talk to each other (with the occasional lewd gesture thrown in, much to Misty's disgust and Leaf's bemusement), Lincoln turns to Professor Tree and asks "Professor, can you take us to where you're keeping the package, please? Based on the way those two are gushing over Giselle, we're gonna be here all day if we don't get moving."

"Of course, little dude. Just follow me and I'll lead ya there."

-=O=-

-Pokemon Tech - Hallway (4:20 PM)-

"Twice! That's twice we've come up against someone and ended up getting stomped into the dirt!" snarled Cardin as he paced around the hallway like an enraged beast. "How the hell does this keep happening to us?"

To say that he was still angry about the humiliating loss Leaf and Lincoln had dealt to him and Leanne would be an understatement - 'furious beyond belief' would be much more appropriate.

"Those two just got lucky, Cardin." said a red-headed boy as he placed a hand on Cardin's shoulder to calm him down. "You'll get 'em next time."

"Next time!? There shouldn't be a next time!" snarled Cardin as he swatted the hand away. "We shouldn't have lost at all!"

"Cardin, calm down, man! You're losing it!"

"Don't tell me to calm down! I'm one of the best students in this place and I get my ass stomped not once, but twice! This is insulting!"

While Cardin continued on his rant, Leanne was making her way to Verdant's office, intent on sharing what information she managed to gather about Lincoln's battling style with her.

As she prepared to knock on the door leading to the aforementioned office, Giselle's voice said "Hello, Leanne." from nearby, causing her to let out a squeak of surprise.

"G-Giselle? Wh-what are you doing here?" stammered Leanne, clearly not expecting to see the brunette waiting for her outside Verdant's office.

"Waiting for you. I had a feeling you'd be coming this way." replied Giselle simply, arms crossed. "We need to talk."

"About what?"

"The fact you went against my request and battled against the American. That's what."

As an alarmed look appeared in her eyes, Leanne sputters "I-I...I didn't...", only for the other girl to shake her head.

"Don't lie to me, Leanne. We both know that you have a hard time lying to me about anything, so let's just cut the nonsense already." said Giselle, causing Leanne to whimper before deciding to come clean.

"...Please, you have to understand, Giselle - this was my chance to remove the stain of shame from my reputation! I couldn't refuse!"

"So you were promised something by Headmistress Verdant in return for disobeying my orders. What was it?"

"Th-the headmistress promised to erase my loss to those...those losers from the school records if I battled him to get an idea on wh-what kind of tactics he used..." stammered Leanne, causing the brunette to shake her head in response. "I was going to stick with your request, honest! But she made such a tempting offer and...and I just couldn't pass it up!"

"And you honestly think that this would make the shame of your loss go away, you idiot? Even if Headmistress Verdant did remove the battle from the records, it's not going to make everyone else forget the fact that you and Cardin still lost to those slackers."

With a look on her face that clearly showed she hadn't taken that into consideration, Leanne could only sputter"I...I..."

"And furthermore, it definitely wouldn't improve your standing with me. In fact, you've only disappointed me that much more by going against what I told you to do." finished Giselle, causing the other girl to start tearing up.

"That's enough, Miss Seiyo. Whether you like it or not, Miss Yamato did what's best for the school." said Verdant from nearby, causing Leanne to turn to face her while Giselle remained unmoved. "Our school's reputation is much more important than the fact your ego demands a 'fair' fight against some American."

"And you don't think that it'd look bad on our part if I faced off against a weakened opponent?"

"We would've healed his Pokemon well before your battle with him." said Verdant before crossing her arms. "Besides, why are you complaining about Miss Yamato battling against the American when those two failures Rogers and Beige faced off against him as well?"

"Those two battled him, too?" asked Leanne, surprised.

"And how exactly would you know this, Headmistress?" asked Giselle, eyebrow raised. "You weren't there when it happened."

"I have my sources." replied Verdant simply, causing Giselle to sigh before speaking once more.

"While it's true that Rogers and Beige battled against him and the girl he was partnered up with, I honestly expected the battle to be a complete squash - something that wouldn't slow the American down at all." said Giselle before a perplexed look appeared on her face as she thought 'But instead, those two put up a far better fight than I had expected to see from them...'

Crossing her arms, she adds "Leanne and Cardin, despite the fact that their standings have taken a major hit over the last two weeks, are still talented Trainers in the school's upper class, so they would theoretically have a better chance of beating the American than those two slackers would. And I've already made it clear to Leanne that I want to be the one to beat him."

"And you will, provided you make use of the information she spent the last couple hours obtaining for you."

"I don't need any help from either of you to defeat this gaijin in a battle. I'm the best student in Pokemon Tech - if I'm going to win against him, I'm doing with my own skill."

After a few moments, Verdant shrugs and replies "...Very well, if you really want to face the American on your own that badly, fine. But don't forget that I'll be expecting you to win. If, and I mean 'if', you end up losing however...disappointment is going to be too tame of a word to describe how I'll be feeling."

"I won't lose. You'll see."

With that said, Giselle walks off, leaving Leanne and Verdant alone.

"Disrespectful little whelp." grumbled Verdant, sneering at the brunette before heading back to her office, only for Leanne to grab her arm. "...What do you want, Miss Yamato?"

"Erm...what about our deal? I did what you wanted me to do..."

"Hmm...I suppose I should at least compensate you for your efforts, despite the fact that they went to waste. What did you want again?"

As a wicked smile formed on her face, Leanne replied "...When I accepted the deal you offered me, I originally wanted you to remove those losers Beige and Rogers from our school."

Eyebrow raised, Verdant asked "And now? I presume you've changed your mind about what you want?"

"Yes. In actuality, there's something else I wanted more than that. Something that's well within your power to do." replied Leanne before her smile turned into a full-fledged grin. "...I want Giselle Seiyo expelled and blacklisted from this school."

"I beg your pardon?" questioned Verdant, clearly caught off-guard by Leanne's request. "Why would you want Miss Seiyo to be kicked out? I thought you two were close."

Much to her surprise, the mousy-looking girl simply chuckled before bursting into a fit of hysterical laughter.

"Me? Close with her? Absolutely not - I can't stand the bitch!" asked Leanne in between cackles. After calming down a few seconds later, her sinister smile returns as she adds "Words cannot express how much I absolutely loathe Giselle Seiyo - I hate having to suck up to her in order to get anywhere in this place, I hate having to play the meek little lapdog that she thinks I am and I especially hate the fact that she's the top student of the school. A position that should be mine."

"And what about Rogers and Beige? I thought you wanted them gone after what happened last week?"

"Don't get me wrong, I still do. But I want Giselle booted out even more."

"Miss Yamato, this is a very heavy price to ask for - one that I'm not certain I can afford to pay. This is, after all, the top student of our institute you're talking about here." replied Verdant, arms crossed. "Surely you would be content with just Rogers and Beige getting the boot, yes?"

Shaking her head, Leanne answered "You agreed to pay any price I asked for. This is what I want."

"We agreed to have those failures Rogers and Beige expelled, Miss Yamato. Our agreement had nothing to do with Miss Seiyo getting kicked out." countered Verdant with a frown.

"Then how about a different arrangement between us then - we both know about her upcoming battle with the American, correct?" asked Leanne, causing Verdant to give her a cautious nod. "If she wins, I'll comply with the original arrangement we agreed on and those losers Beige and Rogers will be the ones getting expelled."

"Well then, I suppose I'll be seeing the last of those two when the battle is over. The school's grade point average will certainly improve with them removed from our school." stated Verdant confidently. "And in the incredibly slim chance that the American wins?"

"If the gaijin wins, Giselle's gets the boot along with them."

"And why should I agree to something like that, especially considering the fact you've lost to this American before?"

"True, but I'm not the top student of the school at the moment - she is." replied Leanne, smiling. "And you did say before that having her lose would make the school look bad. Now imagine the scrutiny our school would face if word got out about the top student of the school losing to some random gaijin in a battle. I can practically hear it now - 'The best school in the Kanto region? What a joke. Their number one student couldn't beat an American who's only been a Trainer for a few weeks - how can they claim to be the best with a loss like that?'"

As her smile turned to a grin once more, she adds "Our school would be the laughingstock of the entire region. And let's not start on how badly your reputation as Pokemon Tech's headmistress will suffer if she loses..."

"I...I suppose you have a point there..." muttered Verdant, clearly bothered by the idea of having both her and her school's reputation - two of the things she valued above all else in this world - becoming tarnished if Giselle lost her battle.

"So what do you say, Headmistress? Do we have a deal?"

"...Very well. However, because you managed to badger me into accepting this absurd arrangement of yours, I'm going to be adding a condition of my own as well - if Miss Seiyo wins against the American, you won't need to worry about her outshining you or having to suck up to her to get ahead."

Feeling a heavy sensation starting to form in her stomach, Leanne asks "...And why is that?"

"Because if she wins, you're going to be getting the boot alongside Rogers and Beige. Nobody, especially some upstart like you, gets the better of me and walks away. Nobody."

"Y-You can't do that!"

"Have you forgotten? I'm the headmistress of the school - if there's anything that can be done within this institute..." started Verdant as a predatory smile formed on her face.

"...You have the power to do it." finished Leanne, her face rapidly losing its color.

"Indeed. Now then, I believe you should be on your way, Miss Yamato. Today may...no, will be your last day with us and you should go enjoy it while you still can."

With that said, Verdant heads into her office, leaving a clearly shell-shocked Leanne behind.

-=O=-

-Pokemon Tech - Professor Tree's Office (7:10 PM)-

As he led Lincoln and company into a dimly-lit office with numerous objects strewn around the place, Professor Tree says "Here we are, guys - my office. Pretty nice place, isn't it?"

"It's certainly...unique." remarked Misty before noticing several plants in the corner of the room. Eyeing the plants a quirked eyebrow, she asks "Nice plants. You...uh, grow them yourself?"

"Mm-hmm. If you want, I can give ya a good deal on some of the stuff that comes from them." said Tree, gesturing towards the plants. "Five hundred Pokedollars for an ounce sound good to you?"

Now realizing what the plants were, the redhead quickly shook her head and answered "No thanks. I'll...er, pass."

"Suit yourself. Now why did I bring you guys here again...?"

"Professor Oak's package? Remember?"

Snapping his fingers in realization, Tree replies "Right. Gimme a moment to find it for you - I'm pretty sure it's somewhere in my desk." before walking over to a cluttered-looking desk and searching through its drawers.

While they waited for Professor Tree to finish searching for the package, Lincoln glanced at a clock that was attached to a wall within the room, noting that it was already past seven.

'Seven already? Guess that tour must've taken a lot longer than we thought it did.' mused the white-haired boy before he started thinking about the tour of the school that Professor Tree had given them. While they had no intentions of accepting the tour at first, their curiosity eventually drove them to accept Tree's earlier offer of taking them on a tour of the institute, prompting him to show them around the place and let them see what it had to offer.

Needless to say, Lincoln, Misty and Brock were impressed with what Tree had to show them - the simulation machines that allowed them to try out theoretical scenarios for Pokemon Battles, the expansive library filled to the brim with books on Pokemon battling and strategy and even a specialized battlefield that could utilize every possible condition one could face during a battle, allowing for the students to get some hands-on experience with dealing with them.

Even the cafeteria made a good impression on the three due to the fact that the school had numerous five-star chefs preparing meals for the students and staff every single day. The fact that they got to try some of the school's cuisine thanks to Professor Tree certainly helped with impressing them.

During this meal, Lincoln had also decided to see about putting one of his TMs to use in order to teach Pikachu a new move, feeling that it would come in handy for his battle later today.

After searching through another one of his desk's drawers, Tree says "Ah, there it is. I knew I put it in here somewhere." before walking back over with a box-like package with a messily taped envelope attached to it. Handing it over, he adds "There you go, kiddo - the package meant for Sammy. You take care of it and make sure he gets it in one piece, alright?"

"Hey, our earpieces are inside of it, right?" asked Misty, causing Lincoln to give her a nod. "Then why aren't you taking them out of the package so we can use them already? I've been waiting to get my hands on one of those."

"They need to be synced to my Pokedex first, Misty. And the only person I can think of that knows how to do that is Professor Oak." replied Lincoln before putting the package into his bag. "In any case, we've got the package, so now we just need to get the battle with Giselle out of the way and we can leave. Do any of you have a way of contacting her?"

"I can help you guys out with that." stated Joe before taking out a cellphone from his pocket. "I've got Giselle's number saved here on my phone, so if you'll give me a minute or two, I'll have her on the line."

As she and the others stared at him oddly, Leaf asked "...Why do you have her number?"

"She gave it to me in case we ever wanted to start taking our grades seriously and ask her for tutoring. Like Rusty said before - while she does pick on us on occasion, she does try to get us to do better in class." replied Joe as he waited for Giselle to pick up.

After a few seconds, Giselle's voice spoke, asking "Hello? Who is this?"

"It's Joe. Gotta talk to you for a bit."

"Is that so? Have you reconsidered the idea of accepting my offer of tutoring you and the dimwit? Or this foolish idea of yours regarding leaving the school?"

"That's still a 'no' on both of those, Giselle - there's no point in accepting your tutoring when we're still planning on leaving this place for good." answered Joe, leaning against a nearby wall. "Instead, I'm calling to let you know that Lincoln's got the package he came for, so he's ready to take you on whenever you're ready for him."

After a second or two, Giselle replied "Excellent. Inform him that I'll be waiting for him at the school's main battlefield."

"I'll be sure to let him know. Later." said Joe before ending the call. Turning to face Lincoln, he says "She'll be waiting for you at the main battlefield - that's the one Professor Tree showed you earlier."

"Alright, thanks." replied the white-haired boy before giving the others a glance. "Well, shall we go? The sooner we finish this, the better - I wanna get to earning my next badge, already."

After he receives nods from the others in the room, he leaves the office in order to head to the location Giselle had specified during the call.

-=O=-

-Pokemon Tech - Main Battlefield (7:20 PM)-

Upon arriving at the school's main battlefield, Lincoln saw Giselle standing on one end of the field with a Pokeball in hand and a cocky smirk on her face.

"It's about time you showed up, gaijin. Don't you know that you're not supposed to keep a lady waiting?"

Dismissively waving the comment off before heading to the other side of the field, Lincoln replies "Yeah, whatever - so are we going to do this or what? The sooner we finish up here, the sooner I can head back to Vermilion City. I've got a Thunder Badge to win!"

"I agree - the sooner I crush you, the sooner I can celebrate the fact I managed to beat a Pokedex holder." replied Giselle with a nod. "Two apiece with no substitutions allowed seem fair to you?"

"That's more than fine." said Lincoln, taking a Pokeball off of his belt. "On three?"

"Of course. One..."

"Two..."

Before either one could finish the countdown, a voice said "And just what do you think you're doing, participating in an official Pokemon battle without someone one to referee it, Miss Seiyo? I thought you knew better than that.", causing the two Trainer to lower the Pokeballs they were holding in order to see who had spoken to them.

Upon seeing a well-dressed stoic-looking woman with short green hair and slate-colored eyes with a large number of students behind her, Lincoln asks "And you are...?" with a raised eyebrow.

"Headmistress Allison Verdant. I'll be officiating this battle between the two of you." said Verdant, causing both Lincoln and Giselle to give her wary looks. "Worry not, you two - I want a clear and decisive battle as much as you do, so do not worry about any favoritism on my part."

Despite the fact that Verdant did want Giselle to win, she wouldn't allow the brunette's victory to be a tainted one.

Giving Lincoln a condescending look, she adds "Though I believe your chances of winning are slim to none, boy. You're facing the best Pokemon Tech has to offer."

"Don't be so sure, lady. I don't plan on losing here."

"If you say so. Have you two decided on the rules you will be using?"

Nodding her head, Giselle replied "The rules we've agreed on are two Pokemon each with no substitutions - is that acceptable?"

"It is." replied Verdant with a nod before taking her spot on the side of the field while the students all started to surround the battlefield to watch the fight prepare to unfold. Raising an arm, she proclaims "This battle is between Lincoln Loud of Royal Woods, Michigan and Giselle Seiyo of Viridian City! Each Trainer are allowed only two Pokemon each with no substitutions allowed! Begin!"

"I'll start things off with this one. Let's see how well you fare against her, gaijin." said Giselle before throwing her Pokeball into the air, causing it to open up and release a burst of light. "Come on out, Graveler!"

A few seconds later, there was a large gray boulder-like Pokemon with four arms standing in front of Giselle, ready for battle.

Upon seeing Giselle's first selection, Brock grins and says "A Graveler, huh? I'm starting to like this Giselle girl more and more already if she's using a Rock-Type like that.", only for Misty to punch the back of his head. "Ow! What the hell was that for?!"

"Have you forgotten that we're supposed to be on Lincoln's side?"

'Graveler, huh? Looks like something Geodude would evolve into.' thought Lincoln before taking out his Pokedex, causing the numerous students to start chattering excitedly with each other while Verdant's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Do you see that? An actual Pokedex! I never thought I'd get to see one in person!"

"I see it, alright. But why would a gaijin of all people have one?"

"Who cares? We're actually getting to see a real Pokedex holder battle!"

Ignoring the comments coming for the nearby students, Lincoln points the Pokedex at Giselle's Graveler, causing it to let out a few beeps before speaking.

'Graveler, the Rock Pokemon. The evolved form of Geodude, Graveler grows by feeding on rocks. Apparently, it prefers to eat rocks that are covered in moss. This Pokémon eats its way through a ton of rocks on a daily basis.'

'Looks like I was right. Well, if she's going to be using a Rock-Type to fight, then I have the perfect Pokemon to use in order to take it on.' thought Lincoln before throwing the Pokeball he was holding "You're up, Poliwag!"

"Lincoln's made a good call with his first pick." remarked Joe as the Tadpole Pokemon materialized on the battlefield. "But I don't know if it's going to be enough - Giselle may be an arrogant, cocky snob, but she's got the talent to back up her attitude. I'm pretty sure she's got ways to counter the type disadvantage."

"He'll be fine." said Misty confidently. "You'll see."

"So do you want to make the first move or should I do it?" asked Lincoln, causing a smirk to form on his opponent's face.

"I'll let you have the first attack. Make it count because it'll be your last one."

"We'll see about that. Poliwag, Water Gun!"

"Okay!" chirped the Water-Type before opening his mouth and firing a burst of water at Graveler, who calmly eyed the attack as it came towards her.

"Graveler, let's show this gaijin the difference in skill between us - aim a Rock Tomb attack at the ground in front of you!" commanded Giselle, causing Graveler to nod before slamming a fist on the ground, causing several stalagmites to jab out of the battlefield's surface in front of her, blocking the Water Gun attack. "Now use Rock Polish!"

Nodding, the Graveler rips one of the stalagmites out of the ground and starts using it to file down her body, gradually smoothing the ruggedness of it out.

"What is she planning...?" muttered Lincoln, wondering what the brunette had in mind.

"Now follow it up with Defense Curl, then Rollout after that!" commanded Giselle, causing the Rock-Type to toss the stalagmite aside before curling up into a ball and rolling towards Poliwag at an alarming high speed, managing to hit him before he could get the chance to move out of the way.

Eyeing the Rock Pokemon as Poliwag goes flying through the air before crashing hard onto the ground, Leaf remarks "That's pretty smart of Giselle, I have to admit - using Rock Polish to smooth out Graveler's body, then using the Defense Curl/Rollout combo after that. Very clever."

"Note to self - see about having Geodude utilize Rock Polish in later battles." muttered Brock, mentally jotting down the idea. After giving Giselle another glance, he adds "...And see about getting her phone number, while I'm at it."

"Slow it down, Poliwag! Water Gun!" commanded Lincoln, prompting the Water-Type to spray the still-rolling Graveler with water, only for her to easily push through the attack like it was nothing. "What?!"

Smirking, Giselle replied "It's going to take more than a bit of water to slow my Pokemon down. Hit it again, Graveler."

Accepting the command, the Rock Pokemon rolls towards Poliwag, hitting him again and sending him crashing into the ground once more.

As the nearby students start laughing and jeering, Poliwag pulls himself off of the ground and groans "Ugh...this isn't going so well, Mister Lincoln. You have any ideas on what to do next?"

"Um...gimme a second..." replied Lincoln as he glanced at Graveler cautiously, trying to find a weakness in the strategy Giselle had used. "Let's see...it filed down its body with Rock Polish to make itself move faster when using Rollout. There's gotta be a downside to that somewhere..."

Upon seeing Graveler starting to turn around in order to head towards Poliwag again, he noticed that her body seemed to skid slightly, almost as if it wasn't able to get a solid grip on the ground below it.

"...I think I might have something. It may sound kinda stupid, but I think it'll work. Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do! What do you have in mind?" asked Poliwag, wondering what the white-haired boy had in mind.

"I want you to try using Water Gun on the ground in front of it." answered Lincoln, causing the Water-Type to give him a peculiar look.

"But...um, wouldn't that make it go faster?"

"You'll see what I'm doing in a moment. Just go along with it for now."

After giving his Trainer another odd look, Poliwag replies "...Alright, if you say so." before complying with Lincoln's order and spraying the ground in front of Graveler with water just as the Rock-Type started heading toward him to attack once again.

Upon coming into contact with the wet surface of the battlefield, the Rock Pokemon started to lose traction almost immediately, sliding into a completely different direction that was nowhere near her intended target.

"Ugh...I should've taken something like this into consideration when I came up with that idea..." muttered Giselle as Graveler slid out of the battlefield and directly into a nearby group of students, knocking them over like they were bowling pins.

"There. That should give us a little breathing room for a few seconds." said Lincoln, wiping his brow. "Now then, what to do about taking that Graveler down..."

"Mister Lincoln? How about we give my Ice Ball move a try? Or maybe the other move I learned after I knocked out that Fearow earlier?"

"You learned another move? What is it?"

"It's called Bubblebeam. I don't remember what she said about it, but Mom said that there was something very special about this move." replied Poliwag, watching Graveler as she started rolling back towards the battlefield. "Do you want me to give it a try?"

Recalling that Misty's Krabby had used a move going by the same name during his fight with Joe and Rusty, Lincoln nods and replies "Let's go for it. Are you ready?"

"Whenever you are, Mister Lincoln."

"Then let's go for it - Poliwag, use Bubblebeam!"

After taking a deep breath, Poliwag opens his mouth and releases a stream of bubbles that sped towards Graveler, hitting it dead-on and causing her to uncurl her body.

With a grin on his face as the Rock-Type lets out a pained groan from taking the Water-Type attack, Lincoln says "Looks like we've got it with that one, Poli...", only to stop speaking upon seeing the Tadpole Pokemon's body glowing brightly. "...Poliwag?"

As he gave his now glowing body a strange look, Poliwag asked "Mister Lincoln, I feel kinda weird...what's going on?"

"I think you're about to evolve, short stuff. You're practically glowing like a light bulb." commented Pikachu, causing the Water-Type's eyes to light up in both excitement and realization.

"...So that's why Mom said Bubblebeam was special - Poliwags learn it right before they're about to evolve..." mused Poliwag as his body started to glow even brighter, eventually becoming engulfed in a brilliant white light.

When it cleared away a few seconds later, there was a Poliwhirl standing in Poliwag's place, admiring his newly-acquired arms with a look of awe.

"Arms...I actually have arms now..." muttered the newly evolved Pokemon before flexing his fingers, getting a feeling of how they worked. "And I've got hands too! This is...this is...AWESOME! I finally managed to evolve! Yes!"

As the Tadpole Pokemon excitedly went on about his new body, Lincoln turns to Misty and asks "Was your Poliwhirl this excitable when it finally evolved from a Poliwag?"

"I wouldn't know. I caught mine as a Poliwhirl." replied the redhead with a shrug. "Yours seems to be really happy about it, I must say."

"He told me that he wanted to grow up to be just like his Mom when we first met. I can see why he'd be happy about evolving."

"And now I can pick up and grab things and..." rambled the newly evolved Water-Type before stopping to check out his new appendages once again. "...Wow...having actual arms feels kinda weird now that I think about it. I've been so long without having any that getting to finally own a pair of my own just feels...weird."

"We'll worry about getting you used to how they work later. Right now, we've got a battle to win." said Lincoln before pointing at the weakened Graveler. "Hit it with another Bubblebeam!"

"You got it!" replied Poliwhirl with a thumbs-up before firing another rapid stream of bubbles - one that was much stronger-looking than the one before - at the Rock Pokemon, causing her to let out a loud cry as the Water-Type attack bombarded her body. After a few seconds of taking the onslaught of bubbles, Graveler's strength finally gives out. With a loud thud, she fell face-forward onto the battlefield, completely unconscious.

While the nearby students started whispering to each other about the fact one of the top student's Pokemon had been defeated, Giselle simply stared at the defeated Graveler on the ground before recalling her, unable to bring herself to speak.

This was the first time that one of her Pokemon had ever suffered a loss in battle. Ever.

Nearby, Leanne was inwardly jumping for joy, thinking 'One down and one to go - your time at the top's starting to run out, Giselle.' with a sly grin on her face, knowing that Giselle's possible expulsion was only just a single round away from happening.

Though she didn't look happy about having to announce it, Verdant proclaimed "Graveler is unable to battle! The winner of the first round is Lincoln Loud and his Poliwhirl!"

-=O=-

"How about that? He managed to knock one of 'em out." commented Professor Tree, scratching his chin thoughtfully for a moment before a grin appeared on his face. "Looks like Seiyo might have her hands full with this one."

"See, what'd I tell you? He's got this." said Misty before pumping a fist into the air. "C'mon Lincoln, kick her ass!"

"Did you see that, Joe? He managed to beat one of 'em!" asked Rusty, eyes lighting up in excitement.

"I saw it and I'm still having a hard time believing it happened." replied Joe, nodding his head. "I can't think of a single person who managed to pull off what Lincoln was able to do."

Arms crossed, Leaf comments "Don't get too excited yet, guys - Giselle's still got one more Pokemon left and I think it's not going to be as easy to defeat as her Graveler was."

"Nice work out there Poliwa...sorry, Poliwhirl. I'm sure that your mom would be proud of you for finally managing to evolve." complimented Lincoln as he gently rubbed the Water-Type's head, eliciting a content sigh from him in return.

"Thanks, Mister Lincoln...ooh, that feels nice. I can see why Mister Pikachu likes this so much..."

Giving Giselle a smirk, Lincoln says "Looks like I'm up by one - guess this wasn't going to be the curbstomp you thought it'd be, huh?"

"Gaijin...no, Lincoln. I must admit that you definitely surprised me by managing to defeat my Graveler. I honestly didn't think you had a chance against her, despite the type disadvantage she had." commended Giselle, giving the white-haired boy a respectful glance. "And believe it or not, you're the first person I've ever faced that was able to knock out one of my Pokemon."

"Then I guess I better be ready to make history for the second time today by beating you."

"Don't start getting cocky just because you won the first round. Compared to my strongest Pokemon, Graveler was just the opening appetizer." said Giselle with a humorless chuckle before taking another Pokeball out of her pocket and activating it. As she threw the red and white ball into the air, she adds "Now it's time for the main course - you're up, Cubone!"

As soon as Giselle's final Pokemon had materialized onto the field, Lincoln's eyebrows raised in interest at what he had to face next - a small orange-colored biped with a cream-colored underside, short stubby limbs and a small lizard-like tail. The most noticeable features however were the skull it was wearing on its head and the bone it was clutching in its right hand.

'First the Raticate, then Joe's Weepinbell and Giselle's Graveler and now this - I'm just running into all kinds of new Pokemon today.' thought Lincoln as he took out his Pokedex once more to find out more about Poliwhirl's new opponent.

'Cubone, the Lonely Pokemon. Cubone pines for the mother it will never see again. Seeing a likeness of its mother in the full moon, it cries. The stains on the skull the Pokémon wears are made by the tears it sheds.'

'This one doesn't seem to be the case with this one. It looks like it wants to pick a fight more than anything.' thought Lincoln as he watched the skull-wearing Pokemon narrow its eyes at Poliwhirl while tightening its grip on the bone it was holding. 'Well if it wants one so badly, we'll give it one.'

Pointing at the skull-wearing Pokemon, he orders "Let's mop this one up quickly, Poliwhirl - Bubblebeam!"

Smirking at the sight of the stream of bubbles heading towards her Cubone, Giselle said "That's not going to work this time." in a taunting voice before pointing at the oncoming attack. "Cubone, Bonemerang on those bubbles!"

After giving her a nod, Cubone rears back its arm before flinging the bone it was holding at the oncoming swarm of bubbles, easily popping them and negating the attack.

As the bone returned back to its owner, Giselle says "Now it's my turn to deal you a loss, Lincoln Loud." before giving Cubone a knowing look. "Cubone, we're going to put the new TM move I taught you today to use - Earthquake!"

Eyes widening in horror, Lincoln screamed "WHAT!?" as the little Ground-Type raised its bone into the air for a moment before slamming it down hard onto the ground. A few seconds later, the ground starts trembling violently, causing everyone else in the vicinity to lose their footing and fall while Giselle remained standing, arms crossed with a smirk on her face.

As the ground continued to rumble, the earth starts shifting around for a moment or two before bursting through the surface, hitting Poliwhirl with incredible force and sending him high into the air.

From his spot on the ground, Lincoln thought 'This can't be good' as Giselle pointed at the airborne Water-Type.

"Cubone, finish it off - Bonemerang!"

Letting out a fierce-sounding cry, Cubone threw its bone at Poliwhirl with all of its might, hitting him directly in the head and sending him crashing into a large rugged chunk of earth that had been pushed above the surface.

After managing to peel himself off of it, the Water-Type lets out a pained groan before losing consciousness.

-=O=-

As the bone returned back to Cubone's hand, Verdant raises an arm and says "Poliwhirl is unable to battle! The winner of this round is Giselle Seiyo and her Cubone!"

"And that evens us out now. This last round will decide which one of us will be the winner." remarked Giselle before a smirk played across her face. "And of course, we all know that's going to be me."

"Don't be so sure. I'm not going to let you win that easily or at all, for that matter." retorted Lincoln before running a hand over his belt, thinking about which Pokemon he wanted to use next. "Let's see...who should I go with..."

"I want this one." said Pikachu from his spot on Lincoln's shoulder, causing the white-haired boy himself to give him an odd look. "What? You want to win this battle, right? Then let me fight for you."

"Are you sure about this? That thing's a Ground-Type and we still haven't gotten the hang of Iron Tail yet..."

"Don't worry. We've got the move you taught me during lunch up our sleeve, right?"

"True. I just hope it'll be enough to help you take that thing down..."

As the two continued to talk to each other, Verdant asked "...Miss Seiyo, what in the world is going on with those two?" with a perplexed look on her face.

"They're speaking to each other, Headmistress. I'm not sure about what it is they're talking about, though."

"He's able to understand what it's saying?"

"Apparently so. In any case, do you mind letting him know that if he doesn't send someone out soon, it'll count as a forfeiture?"

"Of course." replied Verdant before clearing her throat loudly to get Lincoln and Pikachu's attention. Once she had it, she says "You'll need to send out a Pokemon within the next ten seconds, challenger. If you do not, you will forfeit the round and the battle."

"Right. Sorry." apologized Lincoln before giving Pikachu a nod. "Alright, if you think you can take that Cubone on, go ahead. Just be careful."

"I will."

As the Electric-Type took his place on the battlefield, Giselle stared at it for a moment before laughing uproariously and asking "This is who you're going to be sending out - a Pikachu? You must really want me to win that badly if you're sending something like that out."

"I must agree with Miss Seiyo on the matter, challenger. You have just guaranteed your loss by sending out an Electric-Type Pokemon to face off against her Cubone." added Verdant with a smirk.

"Type advantage or not, we're going to win this. You'll see."

"If you say so. Miss Seiyo, please finish this one quickly if you wouldn't mind - the sooner this battle ends, the sooner we can have them out of my school. And no more earthquakes - it's already going to take weeks to fix the damage you've done to our battlefield."

"Certainly, Headmistress." replied Giselle before pointing at the Mouse Pokemon. "Cubone, Bone Rush! Knock that Pikachu out!"

As Cubone charged towards Pikachu with its bone raised, Lincoln shouts "Deflect it with Iron Tail!", causing the Electric-Type's tail to take on a metallic sheen just as Cubone takes a swing at him, only for the bone to bounce off harmlessly. "Now go for a Quick Attack!"

"Meet it head-on, Cubone - Iron Head!" ordered Giselle, prompting the Lonely Pokemon to start charging towards Pikachu once more as the skull on its head takes on a metallic appearance.

Upon reaching each other, the two Pokemon slam into each other headfirst with a loud metallic 'clang', causing everyone nearby to wince at the sound.

While Cubone looked relatively unscathed by the collision, Pikachu swayed and stumbled about, holding his head with a dizzied look on his face.

"Oog...my brain's ringing...I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to do that."

"Nicely done, Cubone - now use Bone Rush!"

Letting out a cry, Cubone rushes towards the still dizzied Pikachu and clubs him hard across the face with its bone, sending the Electric-Type crashing into a nearby chunk of earth, destroying it upon impact.

"Pikachu! Are you alright?!"

"I'm fine...I think. Head's killing me, though." muttered the Electric-Type as he slowly pulled himself to his feet. "Remind me never to run headlong into another Iron Head user again."

"I'll make sure to keep that in mind. Do you think you'll be able to continue?"

"Yeah, but I don't know if I'll be able to take another super-effective hit like that one. If we're gonna win this thing, we need to do it soon."

"While I enjoyed our little battle with each other, I think it's time we brought it to an end, Lincoln Loud." stated Giselle smugly before pointing at Pikachu. "Cubone, finish it off! Bone Rush!"

Watching as Cubone started to run towards his Pokemon once more, Lincoln says "...Pikachu?"

"Yeah?"

"Let's see about giving your new move a try. What do you say?"

"Let's. I wanna see how well it does."

Nodding his head, Lincoln says "Alright, here's hoping this works...Pikachu, use Grass Knot!", causing the Mouse Pokemon, who now had a shimmering green aura surrounding him, to rear back one of his fists and slam it into the ground, creating a large thicket of knotted grass directly in front of him - a mess of grass that Cubone was about to run into.

Upon coming into contact with the grass, the Lonely Pokemon lost its footing and fell onto its face, cancelling the attack it was going to use.

As it started to get back to its feet, Giselle ordered "Don't let up, Cubone! Keep going after that Pikachu until you hit it!", prompting it to start going after Pikachu again.

"There's no way we're gonna let that happen, Giselle! Pikachu, into the grass - use it as cover!" commanded Lincoln, causing Pikachu to dive into the grassy thicket.

"After it, Cubone! Don't let it get away!"

While Cubone started to run towards the grass in order to go after Pikachu, Lincoln smirks and says "Never thought I'd be taking a page out of Team Rocket's playbook..." before shouting "Use Quick Attack, then back into the grass!"

Just as Cubone was about to step into the grassy thicket, Pikachu suddenly pops out of it and slams himself into its body, knocking it down onto its back. Before it could get the chance to recover and issue an attack of its own, the yellow-colored Pokemon disappears back into the thick grass, once again completely out of sight.

"This...this isn't fair!" protested Giselle, clearly unhappy with the unorthodox tactic Lincoln was using. "Headmistress, surely this can't be allowed, can it? This is blatant cheating, plain and simple!"

"I...I'm not sure, Miss Seiyo. Despite the fact I disapprove of hit-and-run tactics, what he's doing isn't against the rules."

"Yeah, Giselle. It's not against the rules." parroted Lincoln in a mocking tone, causing the brunette to seethe in anger for a few moment before pointing angrily at the thicket.

"That Pikachu's hiding in there somewhere, Cubone! Find it!"

"Go for another Quick Attack, Pikachu!" ordered Lincoln, causing the Electric-Type to once again pop out of the grass and hit Cubone with another tackle. "Now back into the grass! I think we might've found our way of turning this thing around!"

-=O=-

"...Hit-and-run tactics?" muttered Leaf, eyebrow raised as she watched the process repeat over the next minute or two - Lincoln ordering Pikachu to attack Cubone, then retreat back into the thick grass for cover once more. "It's certainly unconventional, but it's definitely effective."

Nodding in agreement, Misty replied "That's my Lincoln for you - you stick him in a situation and he'll find a way out of it.", not realizing her slip-up.

"'Your' Lincoln?" replied the other girl with an amused smirk, causing the redhead to start blushing in embarrassment. "Hey, ease up - you picked a great one to go after. If it wasn't for the fact I've already got someone in mind, I'd consider the idea of taking a crack at him myself."

Nearby, Brock starts sulking, muttering "How is it that Lincoln has better luck with the girls than I do? What is it he has that I don't?"

Meanwhile, Rusty says "Gotta say that I'm surprised Lincoln's lasted this long, Joe. This just proves he's just as awesome as I always thought he was." before adjusting the cap on his head. "Of course, Red's still cooler than he is, but Lincoln's a close second."

"I'm more surprised at the fact that Lincoln managed to make a move like Grass Knot work like this. I'm seriously considering the idea of trying this out for myself when I use Edgar in my next battle." remarked Joe before cracking a smile at the look of frustration on Giselle's face. "Certainly looks like it's pissing Giselle off, that's for sure."

Arms crossed as he watched Pikachu pop out of the grass and smack Cubone in the face with an Iron Tail attack, Rusty said "Well, didn't Mr. Matsuda say that she'd have trouble facing off against Trainers who used creative ways of battling? Maybe this is what he was talking about."

"Could be." replied Joe with a shrug. "What do you think, Professor Tree?"

As he eyed the thicket of grass, the sunglasses-wearing man muttered "...Man, I wish my 'grass' grew as quickly as that stuff did."

"...Professor Tree?" asked Rusty, causing Tree to snap out of his thoughtful state.

"Oh...uh, yeah...it's pretty smart of the kid to be usin' the grass as cover for hit-and-run attacks. Great way to make up for his Pikachu's type disadvantage."

-=O=-

"You are by far the most annoying opponent I've ever faced..." groaned Cubone as it glared at the thicket of grass where, once again, Pikachu was hiding. "When I find you, I'm going to beat you down, then shove every single blade of that grass up your..."

"Pikachu, go for another Quick Attack!" ordered Lincoln, causing the Electric-Type to pop out of the grass once again.

Seeing this, Giselle points at him and shouts "There it is, Cubone! Bone Rush!", causing the Lonely Pokemon to charge towards Pikachu in order to strike him down before he could go into hiding again.

"Change it to another Grass Knot, Pikachu!"

With another slam of his fist into the ground, Pikachu creates a second, much smaller thicket of knotted grass in front of Cubone, causing it to trip and fall once again.

As the Ground-Type slowly started to get back to its feet, Lincoln points at it and orders "This is our chance! Use Quick Attack to get in close, then go with an Iron Tail - uppercut style!"

"You got it!" replied Pikachu before running towards Cubone and swinging his metal-coated tail directly into Cubone's jaw, sending it flying through the air with a resounding 'crack' that caused everyone in the vicinity to wince.

"Cubone, no!" cried out Giselle as the little bone-wielding Pokemon finally stopped gaining altitude and started falling back down towards the battlefield.

"Spike it, Pikachu - one more Iron Tail should just about do it!" commanded Lincoln, pointing at the falling Cubone.

With a nod, the Mouse Pokemon jumps into the air and uses his tail to dunk his opponent directly into the ground, embedding it face-first into the earth below.

After a few seconds passed by without any sign of movement coming from the Ground-Type, a worried look appeared on Giselle's face as she ran onto the battlefield and gently picked the battered Pokemon up.

"...Cubone, are you okay?"

"Mommy...my everything hurts..." mumbled the Lonely Pokemon in a dazed voice before finally losing consciousness.

While Giselle started checking over the knocked-out Cubone to see if it was alright, Lincoln turned to Verdant and said "Hey ref, can you call the battle already?", causing the green-haired woman to simply stare at him for a moment before shakily nodding her head and raising an arm into the air.

"...C-cubone is unable to continue! Th-the winner of the battle is Lincoln Loud of Royal Woods, Michigan!"

-=O=-

As soon as Verdant had finished her announcement, a horrified look appeared on Giselle's face as she stared at Verdant, unable to believe what she had just heard.

Leanne, on the other hand, looked like Christmas had just come early for her.

"C-could you repeat that, please...?"

"...The winner of the battle is Lincoln Loud of Royal Woods, Michigan."

"I...lost...?" murmured Giselle as she fell to her knees, a dismayed look on her face. "...I can't believe it...I lost. I actually lost..."

Having heard Verdant's proclamation, the whispering coming from the other students grew into full-volumed chattering as they spoke with each other about what had just happened.

"That Pikachu just took Giselle's strongest Pokemon down!"

"How?! Her Cubone has a type advantage over it - that Pikachu shouldn't have won so easily!"

"Did you hear that hit? I hope that poor Cubone's going to be okay..."

"Who cares about the Cubone?! Giselle just lost to a gaijin!"

After spending a few minutes sulking over her loss, Giselle finally gets to her feet and recalls her Cubone back into its Pokeball. Afterwards, she walks over to Lincoln and says "...Lincoln?"

"Yes?" replied the white-haired boy, only for Giselle to offer him a handshake.

"I just wanted to offer my congratulations to the winner, that's all." answered the brunette before a smile formed on her face. "Despite my loss and the...unusual tactics you used, that was one of the most enjoyable battles I've had in a long time."

Accepting the gesture with a grin, Lincoln says "Thanks. I had fun, too."

"I have to say that your unexpected battling style really suits you. Now I understand what Mr. Matsuda said about me having difficulties with facing off someone who uses tactics like that and why Joe and Rusty seem to like using them so much."

"Thanks. Your battling style is pretty solid, too. Sure, it's a little straight-forward, but with some work put into it, I'm sure that you'll be a fearsome Trainer to face off against in the future."

"Oho...is that a challenge for a rematch I'm hearing?" answered Giselle with a smirk, causing one to form on Lincoln's face as well.

"You better believe it is. I'll be looking forward to facing off against you again someday."

"Count on it. I'll be avenging my loss when we battle next time."

As the two prepared to break off the handshake, the sound of someone slowly clapping came from nearby, catching their attention. Turning to see who was doing it, Lincoln and Giselle saw Leanne standing next to Verdant, her face twisted into a cruel-looking smile as she clapped her hands together in a sarcastic manner.

"Impressive battle, both of you. Very impressive. Definitely one of the best our school's seen in a long time. Wouldn't you agree, Headmistress?"

"...Indeed. A fine battle indeed. It's a shame that had to end the way it did." replied Verdant stonily.

"Yes...it is a shame." replied Leanne before sauntering over, smile still on her face. "You know, I have to say that it's a bit strange seeing you taking your loss so well - after all, when I lose a single battle, you have the nerve to chastise me for it. But when you lose? Everything's just dandy - I'll make sure to beat you next time."

As her eyes narrowed while her smile widened, she adds "I never took the soon-to-be former top student to be such a hypocrite."

Looking rather uncomfortable, Giselle says "Leanne, that was just..." only to stop upon recalling the last part of her statement. "...Wait, what do you mean by former? I'm still the number one student in this school despite my loss."

"Oh, if only you knew how badly you've lost today, Giselle. Take a look around you."

Deciding to see what Leanne was referring to, the brunette saw that every single student in the area were staring at her with looks of disgust on their faces. There was no sign of the former admiration they once showed her to be seen anywhere.

"You've lost their respect, Giselle. Everyone here looked up to you as a role model to follow...and you let them down by losing to some American that came out of nowhere. But that's not the only thing you've lost today. Headmistress?"

"Miss Yamato is right, Miss...no, you don't deserve to be addressed by name now. Not after losing to a complete outsider." said Verdant, her eyes as cold as ice. "Do you have any idea on what a loss like this is going to do to the school's reputation?! To MY reputation?!"

"I...I.."

"Don't bother trying to come up with any excuses - I don't want to hear them. Your loss today has shamed both me and Pokemon Tech's reputation as the best school in Kanto and I will not tolerate the presence of a failure like you stinking up MY school." answered the green-haired headmistress, causing Giselle's eyes to widen in horror. "So with that said, you can consider yourself officially expelled and blacklisted from ever attending Pokemon Tech ever again."

Turning to Joe and Rusty next, she adds "That goes for you two failures as well. Your grades are among the worst I've ever seen in the history of this institute and I strongly believe we'll be better off without the stench of you two lingering about. I never want to see either one of you here ever again.", causing Joe to glare hatefully at her while Rusty tried his hardest to stay composed despite the tears starting to form in his eyes - even though he had wanted to leave Pokemon Tech, it still hurt having to hear that you were being kicked out.

"You know what? Fine - me and Rusty don't need your dump of a school and we don't need you. We'll do just fine out there on our own." snarled Joe as he flipped Verdant off before walking away, motioning for Rusty to follow him. "C'mon Rusty, let's go pack our things - the sooner we leave, the better."

"A-alright..."

As the two boys walked off, Verdant turned back to Giselle and said "What are you still doing here, trash? Get out of my school!"

"W-wait a minute, you can't just boot me out like this! You don't have the right!" protested Giselle stubbornly, only for a cruel smirk to form on the headmistress' face.

"Have you forgotten who I am, trash? I'm the headmistress of this institute - if I want to do something, I can and I will do it. And seeing as you're not going to leave willingly, I'll make you leave." retorted Verdant before taking a Pokeball out of her pocket and tossing it, causing a muscular, four-armed bipedal Pokemon with bluish-grey colored skin to appear. As it waited for for Verdant to give it an order, she points at Giselle and says "See to it that this piece of trash is escorted from the premises. I don't want her staining my school anymore."

With a nod, the Pokemon grabs the back of Giselle's shirt and easily lifts her off the ground before heading towards the front entrance of the school.

As she tried to break free, Giselle pleaded "W-wait! You can't do this! Give me one more chance, please!", only for Verdant to turn away in disgust. Nearby, the other students all jeered and slung insults at her, looking at her as if she were trash.

It was the same kind of treatment that she and the other upper class students had given the lower-ranked ones in the past. Now she was getting to experience what she had put them through firsthand.

The only one who wasn't glaring at her was Leanne, who just gave her a mocking 'bye-bye' gesture before walking off with a self-satisfied smile on her face.

While Misty, Lincoln and Brock stared at the sight with looks of disgusted disbelief, Leaf stormed over and asked "You're kicking her out just because she lost a battle? How the hell is that fair?"

After giving the girl a narrow-eyed look of disgust, Verdant replied "...Leaf Rose, it's been some time since you've set foot in the hallowed grounds of our institute. A shame you decided to leave for a...less-than-adequate place of learning - you could've been great if you had stayed here instead of leaving us."

"After seeing how you, the upper class and everyone else treated the lesser students like dirt, I decided that I'd rather accept a basic education from the local school instead of hanging around with people like you."

"Indeed. In any case, I believe I told you when you left to never return here again. Why are you here?"

"Believe me, coming back to your hellhole of a school was the last thing I wanted to do." retorted Leaf with a sneer. "But this isn't about me, this is about your decision to kick Giselle out simply because she lost. What kind of headmistress does that to their own students simply because they lose a battle!?"

"Failures like her are not welcome here in Pokemon Tech - in this school, you either succeed or you're left to rot with the rest of the trash." replied Verdant simply before giving Lincoln a scowl. "And speaking of people who aren't welcome here, the same applies to you and your friends as well. Consider yourself permanently banned from this institution. Now get out."

"Gladly." retorted Lincoln before he motioned for Brock and Misty to follow him. "C'mon, we've got the package Professor Oak wanted me to get. We're done here."

After giving Verdant, who simply scoffed before walking away, a glare, Leaf followed after them.

(AN: Don't think that this is going to be the last you see of Leanne, Cardin and Verdant. They will appear again in the near future.)

-=O=-

-Viridian City - Outside Pokemon Tech (8:00 PM)-

"Well, that's one place I'm not coming back to anytime soon..." muttered Lincoln before noticing Joe, Rusty and Professor Tree checking on Giselle, who was sitting on the ground with a thoughtful, yet sad look on her face. After walking over and giving her a concerned look, he asks "...Is she going to be alright?"

"She'll be fine after a little while. I think she's still shaken about the fact that green-haired bitch expelled her just for losing." replied Joe, giving the brunette a pitying look. "I may not like Giselle's snotty attitude, but even I think that what Verdant did to her was complete bullshit."

"I bet that Leanne girl had something to do with it. Did you see how pleased she looked when Cubone went down?" remarked Misty, arms crossed.

"Probably so, but what's done is done - there's no point in dwelling on it anymore." said Lincoln before turning to Joe and Rusty. "Are you two still going to try your hand at travelling and collecting badges to enter the Pokemon League?"

"Yeah. May not be the fastest way of doing things, but it's the only one we've got now since our expulsion." answered Joe with a nod. "So...I'm guessing you guys are gonna be leaving soon?"

"We'll probably set out again tomorrow morning - it's too late in the evening for us to start making our way back to Vermilion City."

"You guys need a place to crash for the night? Because I've got a spare room or two if you need 'em." asked Tree, jabbing a thumb behind him.

"We're good, Professor. Thanks for the offer, though." replied Lincoln before giving the former Pokemon Tech students a smile. "Despite everything that happened today, it was nice finally getting to meet you guys."

With a smile on his face as well, Joe answers "Same here. Here's hoping we run into each other again someday."

"Yeah! And you better be ready for us next time, Lincoln - when we challenge you again, we're the ones who're going to walk away as the winners." chimed Rusty, nodding eagerly.

"...Lincoln." muttered Giselle's voice from nearby, causing the others to face her with surprised looks on their faces as the girl herself slowly rose to her feet and walked over to confront the white-haired boy.

"Yes...?"

"I...I wanted to say...thank you."

"'Thank you'? For what? I beat you and you ended up getting kicked out of your school - shouldn't you be, I dunno...pissed at me or something?"

"For showing me that despite all the studying I've done and all the high grades I've managed to obtain prior to my expulsion, there's still a lot about Pokemon battling that I need to learn - things that no class could ever hope to teach me." replied Giselle, keeping her head low as she spoke. "That and through my loss today, I experienced firsthand what kind of treatment Joe, Rusty and the other lesser students had faced from the higher-ranked students. Now I understand on why they're so resentful towards us."

Turning to face Joe and Rusty, she says "You two...words cannot express how sorry I am for how I treated you two over the years. I...I let my position as the best student, as well as the words of my former peers, affect my judgment." before dropping down and giving the two a bow, causing their eyes to widen in shock. "I'm sorry. I truly am."

"...Giselle, you were one of the main reasons we wanted to leave Pokemon Tech - the constant insults, making us act like 'bait' earlier today, putting the others up to picking on me and Rusty even when we did nothing to you to warrant it...while you may say that you're sorry about what happened, it's going to be some time before we actually take your word for it." said Joe, arms crossed while Rusty nodded in agreement.

'Almost reminds me of my current relationship with Lucy, Lisa and Mom. I should see about giving them another call one of these days.' thought Lincoln, watching the scene unfold.

"I know, but I will do everything I can to make amends for what I've done to you two. You have my word on it." said Giselle before standing back up and facing Lincoln once more. "As for you, Lincoln Loud..."

In an instant, Giselle raises her head and gives him a competitive-looking glare, her eyes blazing fiercely.

...Don't think that I'm going to let this blow to my pride stand - from now on, I'm considering you as my number one rival for the Pokemon League championship. One way or another, I will avenge my loss against you - that's a promise."

"Same goes for us too, Lincoln. We're not about to let our earlier loss to you and Misty go either." remarked Joe while Rusty nodded his head eagerly.

"Yeah! And you better be ready for us next time, Lincoln - when we challenge you again, we're the ones who're going to walk away as the winners!"

'Leaf, Samurai, Gary, Red, A.J. and now these three...never thought that I'd be collecting rivals alongside Pokemon and badges.' thought Lincoln in amusement before replying "Alright then, consider ourselves rivals from this moment on. But just know that I'm not gonna make it easy for you three to beat me."

"We wouldn't have it any other way." replied Giselle with a smile on her face before rummaging through her bag. "By the way, there's something I want to give you..."

After spending a few seconds going through it, she finds the item she was looking for - a small photograph of herself that was the size of a Pokedex. As she took a pen out of the same bag and wrote what appeared to a phone number on it, she adds "Consider this to be a memento of our battle with each other and a reminder of our promise to face off again someday." before handing it over to her newfound rival.

While Misty grumbled something rude about the brunette under her breath while Brock eyed the photograph with an envious look on his face, Lincoln replies "...I will. Thank you." before glancing at the number she had scribbled on the photo. "...What's with the number, though?"

"Consider it a way for us to keep in touch. We may be rivals, but that doesn't mean we can't be amicable towards each other, yes?"

"True. Thanks again for this - I'll make sure to take good care of it."

"You're welcome. Now if you'll excuse me, there's some unfinished business between Leaf and I that needs to be settled. I believe you wanted to challenge me to a battle earlier today?"

"Yeah, but do you really think you're up for it after what happened to you today?" asked Leaf, causing the brunette to scoff before taking Cubone's Pokeball out of her pocket.

"Even after my fall from grace as the top student of Pokemon Tech, I'm still just as capable now as I was then. Besides, I never turn down a challenge."

"You did when I asked you before."

"I desired to challenge Lincoln to a battle first. Had you asked before then, I would've accepted without hesitation."

As the two girls continued to banter with each other, Lincoln takes out his Pokedex and checks the time, saying "Almost eight-thirty. We should getting to the Pokemon Center, guys."

"Agreed. After everything that's happened today, I could use the rest." replied Misty with a nod. "I call dibs on one of the beds."

"Ditto." added Brock, causing Lincoln to glare at both of them for a moment before a wily grin formed on his face.

"Not if I get to them first!"

With that said, the white-haired boy starts running towards the Pokemon Center with both gym leaders right behind him a second later.

"Damn it, Lincoln - get back here! I called dibs!"

"Dibs doesn't mean diddly-squat! It's first come, first serve that applies in this case and I'm going to get to one of those beds first!"

As the three continued to race towards the Pokemon Center, Joe comments "There goes some of the strangest Trainers we've ever met, Rusty."

"Definitely some of the coolest, though. It's too bad we can't go along with 'em." replied Rusty, nodding his head.

"They've got they're own way of doing things and we're going to have ours." said Joe, arms crossed. "But I think we'll run into them again someday."

Turning to face Professor Tree, he asks "D'ya still have those spare rooms available? Since we don't have a dorm room to stay in anymore, we'll need a place for the night."

"Yeah, I do - they might smell a bit like Pidgey with a hint of weed thrown in, but they're perfectly usable. You guys know where my place is, right?" replied Tree, causing the two boys to nod. "Then you guys can go on ahead and wait for me there if you want. I've got a call to make."

"We'll go there after we finish watching Leaf and Giselle's battle with each other. Thanks, Professor."

After giving the two boys a nod, Tree walks off while taking what appeared to be an advanced-looking cell phone from his pocket. Once he was certain that he was alone, he dialed in a number and waited for the other end to pick up.

A few seconds later, the sound of Professor Oak's voice came from the phone, asking "Hello? Who is this?"

"Sammy, it's Lemuel. We need to talk..."

-=O=-

-Vermilion City - Docks (8:00 PM)-

"Ugh...today didn't go our way at all. The Pokemon we caught today are nowhere near good enough to compete with that brat." grumbled Jessie as she scowled at the two Pokeballs she was holding - aside from a few commonplace Pokemon that any ordinary Trainer could obtain with ease, the two Rockets had very little luck with catching anything worth adding to their team.

"We can always see about tradin' em fer somethin' useful. Dat's always an option." suggested Meowth as he, James and Jessie continued on their way through the harbor. "...Say, ain't dere somethin' called Wonda Trade dat can allow youse two ta get Pokemon from anotha region?"

Nodding thoughtfully at the suggestion, James comments "That's an idea. We can use whatever we end up getting to catch that brat off-guard." before tapping his chin thoughtfully. "Now if only I knew where we could find a Wonder Trade machine for us to use..."

After taking a few seconds to think about it, Jessie snaps her fingers and says "Well, I've read from some of the reports back at HQ that the St. Anne has something like that on board. How about we use that?"

"Good tinkin', Jess - dose brats ain't leavin' till they see da St. Anne, so dat'll give us plenty of time ta get youse two outfitted with some betta Pokemon." replied Meowth, nodding in approval at the idea. "And once we have some betta Pokemon ta use..."

"We can put that brat and his friends in their place, once and for all!" finished Jessie and James in unison, wicked smirks on their faces. After all three spend several minutes laughing evilly at their newfound plan, they settle down long enough to realize that they were standing in front of a large, isolated-looking warehouse.

After taking a few seconds to look over the building, Jessie nods and says "Quiet...isolated...large enough for us to use in order to ambush the brat...it's perfect. We'll use this one." before snapping her fingers. "James, Meowth - open up the door."

"Roger!" chimed the two male Rockets before hurrying over and opening up the entrance to the warehouse. As the three prepared to step inside, they stopped upon seeing a peculiar sight before them - numerous men and women clad in black Rocket uniforms were inside the warehouse, talking to each other and occasionally tinkering with what appeared to be complex-looking machinery.

While James and Meowth stared at the sight with confused looks on their faces, Jessie asked "...What's going on? Why are these guys here?"

"I should be asking you three idiots the same question." stated a familiar-sounding voice, causing the trio's faces to pale considerably upon hearing it. Slowly turning to face the owner of the voice, the three Rockets saw a man clad in a black uniform with dark teal-colored hair standing nearby with his arms crossed.

And by the look on his face, he didn't seem to see happy to see them.

"M-Mr. Proton, sir! We...we didn't know you were stationed here!" stammered James, clearly terrified.

"I'm here to oversee the St. Anne operation that will be taking place here in a few days. But that's not important right now - what I want to know is why you three aren't going after that white-haired brat like the boss ordered you to do?" said Proton, scowl deepening. "In case you dolts had forgotten already, you're already on your last chance with him - do you really want to throw that away?"

"B-but Mr. Proton, we are doing our jobs, honest!"

"Oh? And how is stammering out excuses to me like this supposed to be 'doing your job'? Do you three even know where your target currently is right now?"

"Of course we do, sir - he's heading to Viridian City by way of the Diglett Tunnel on Route 11." replied Jessie, trying to keep herself composed. "We overheard him and his friends talking about heading there a few hours ago."

"Then what are you waiting for? Go after him, you idiots!" snapped Proton, pointing at the warehouse's entrance.

"But sir, there's more - they'll be coming back here to Vermilion once they're done with their business in Viridian City. When they return, that's when we'll make our move." said James, catching the other man's attention. "Not only that, but they're planning on staying here in Vermilion City in order to see the St. Anne."

His scowl fading away slightly, Proton asks "...And you're certain that he'll be here when the St. Anne docks at the Vermilion City harbor?"

"Yes, sir. We overheard him while doing recon in the Vermilion Pokemon Center - they're staying long enough to see the St. Anne before they set out again." replied Jessie nodding her head.

"Hey, I got an idea fer ya, Mista Proton, sir!" chimed in Meowth, causing the green-haired man to give him a raised eyebrow. "How's about we get 'em during da ambush on da St. Anne? We'll not only get ta face off against da brat, but we can steal every Pokemon he and his little friends have got on 'em, too. I betcha da boss would be happy about dat."

"Luring the boy and his friends onto the St. Anne and into our trap...that's an idea worth taking into consideration." mused Proton, scratching his chin. After a few moments, he nods and says "You three wait here. I'll contact the boss and let him know about your suggestion."

"Yes, sir." replied the three Rockets, causing Proton to nod before walking off in order to go make a phone call. While they waited for him to return, James whispered "Good thinking, Meowth. You may have just saved our jobs with that one."

"Like I said before, I'm da brains when it comes to da three of us." replied the Scratch Cat Pokemon smugly. "Now shush, Mista Proton's comin' back."

As if on cue, Proton returns with a somewhat satisfied look on his face.

"I just spoke with the boss about your idea - he finds your suggestion to be a surprisingly smart one, but he expects you three morons to get the job done this time. To put it simply, if you three screw up, you're gone. Is that understood?"

Upon seeing the three nod, he adds "Good. Now then, your new orders for now are to stay here and assist the other grunts with preparations for the ambush. With the St. Anne arriving soon, we'll need all the hands we can get in order to prepare our operation in time for the St. Anne's arrival."

"You don't want us to go after the brat, sir?"

"If he's coming back here to Vermilion, there's no point in chasing after him. Let him come to us."