Pokemon Loud Version - Kanto Ch. 28 - The Undefeated Trainer

-Somewhere On Route 5 (11:00 AM)-

"Trees, trees, grass, more trees...there's hardly anything to do on this route." muttered Lincoln with a dull expression as he, Misty and Brock continued on their way towards Vermillion City. "Never thought that being a Pokemon Trainer would have boring moments like this."

"Well that's something you're going to have to learn to expect, Lincoln - excitement isn't going to be found in every place we go through." said Misty, giving the white-haired boy a glance. "Besides, there's nothing wrong with nice, quiet moments like this every now and then."

"Have to agree with Misty on this one, Lincoln." commented Brock with a nod. "After all, there's no telling when we'll run into something like Team Rocket again, so we should take the time to enjoy how peaceful things are right now."

"Yeah, I guess so." replied Lincoln, still looking somewhat bored as he glanced around the area, hands in his pockets.

While he had to admit that the two gym leaders had a point about enjoying how peaceful things were while he still could, he also had to admit that he was eager to see what kind of interesting sights and Pokemon he would end up meeting next.

'Can't believe I'm actually bored with how quiet and peaceful things are right now. If I was back home, I would've killed to have things go this way.' thought the white-haired boy as he continued to survey the area for something interesting to stave off his boredom.

At this point, anything would do - an encounter with a wild Pokemon, a Trainer challenging him to a battle, anything!

Suddenly, his eyes caught on a bright-colored, mid-sized sign on the side of the road with the numbers '98' and '0' boldly displayed on it.

Eyeing the sign curiously, the eleven year-old asked "A sign out here in the middle of nowhere?"

Noticing the sign herself, Misty comments "Looks like it might be an advertisement for something." before the three walked over to take a closer look at the sign. As she started to read what the sign had to say, she adds "Let's see what it says here...'Think you have what it takes to break the streak? Come to AJ's gym on Route 5 and find out!'"

Eyes lighting up eagerly, Lincoln asks "Really? There's a gym around here?"

He was hoping for something to do to ease off his boredom and this gym seemed like the perfect thing to keep him occupied. If he managed to win a badge from whoever owned it, that would be the proverbial icing on the cake.

"Well before you start thinking about challenging it, you should take a closer look here." said Brock as he pointed at a small notice at the bottom of the sign that said 'NOTE: GYM NOT SANCTIONED BY POKEMON LEAGUE'. "Looks like that gym's not an official one. If you beat him, you won't be winning any badges from it...well, ones recognized by the Pokemon League, anyway."

As he glanced at the sign, Lincoln asks "An unofficial gym...something like this actually exists?"

"Yeah, there's a few in the Kanto region." answered Brock, arms crossed. "Most of them are owned by Trainers who aspired to be Gym Leaders like myself and Misty, but failed to pass the required exam."

"There's an exam for something like that?"

"Yep. It requires using rental Pokemon of your specialized type against a member of the Elite Four and putting up a good showing against them. I took on Bruno when I tried out for the exam."

"It was Lorelei for me." added Misty with a nod. "She's one of the main reasons I wanted to become a Trainer in the first place."

"I seem to remember seeing you fangirling over her when you met her in person, Misty." commented Brock with a grin, causing the redhead to scowl at him.

"Shut up, Brock."

"So what does it take to be an Elite Four?" asked Lincoln curiously.

"Not sure. They tend to keep that kind of stuff quiet, but I can guess that it probably requires something that's beyond the skill level of a Gym Leader." said Brock before turning his attention back to the sign. "Still, an unofficial gym here on Route 5...never thought I'd see one here. They're usually confined to small towns."

"Maybe the owner is someone that wasn't able to run a gym in a nearby town, so they built one here." commented Misty before taking a look at the numbers displayed on the sign. "The guy's got a pretty impressive record, though - ninety-eight wins and no losses."

Eyeing the numbers with interest, Lincoln replies "Very. I wonder how I'd fare against him. As a matter of fact..." before giving Pikachu a glance. "...Whaddya say, buddy? Feel like seeing how we'd do in a battle against this AJ guy?"

"Might as well. I've been wanting to see how well the training I went through back at Cerulean Cape does for me." said the Electric-Type with a shrug.

"What about you two? Wanna go check out this gym?" asked Lincoln, turning to face Brock and Misty.

As she nodded her head, Misty answers "Sure. I always wanted to see what an unofficial gym looks like. You interested, Brock?"

"Why not? I've always been kinda curious about unofficial gyms too, to be honest."

"Alright then, since we're all in agreement, let's..." started Lincoln as he started to walk away from the sign, only to suddenly stop as something...or someone leaped out of a nearby tree towards them.

"HIIII-YAAAAA!"

Upon hearing the owner of the voice approaching the group, Pikachu jumps off of Lincoln's shoulder and uses Iron Tail to deflect what he perceived to be an attack, causing a loud 'clang' to reverbrate through the air.

A few seconds later, the unknown attacker lands nearby on the ground feet-first and immediately drops the weapon he was holding in order to shake off the dull pain running through his hands.

"Okay, note to self - no more surprise attacks while that Pikachu is around..."

Recognizing the attacker right away, Lincoln raises an eyebrow and asks "...Samurai? Is that you?"

-=O=-

Upon realizing who he had almost attacked, the armor-clad boy quickly replies "Oh, it's you two! My apologies for the attempted show of aggression - it has been quite some time since I have last encountered you and your fiery-haired companion." before picking up his sword and sheathing it. As he does, he notices Brock and adds "And I see that you're travelling with another companion as well. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." replied Brock with a grin. "Name's Brock."

"You may call me Samurai." said the younger male as he sheathed his sword back into it's scabbard. "So how are your travels faring so far?"

"Aside from a few bumps here and there, they've been alright." replied Lincoln, shrugging. "So what brings you here? Did you decide to leave the Viridian Forest to start travelling too?"

"Yes. While I will always consider the Viridian Forest to be my home, I know that one cannot become stronger simply by staying in one place." said Samurai with a nod. "And my travels have proven to be fruitful ones so far - take a look."

After rummaging through his bag, he takes out a badge case and opens it up to show off a gleaming Boulder Badge inside of it. "I won this Boulder Badge a week ago from the gym in Pewter City. Impressive, no?"

"Considering that it's a Rock-Type gym and you specialize in Bug-Types, it is. But...uh, why'd you skip Cerulean City?" asked Misty before she pointed at Lincoln. "Lincoln's already gotten two badges to his name - the Boulder Badge and the Cascade Badge."

"Ah yes...well, I was going to challenge the gym when I reached Cerulean City, but the gym leaders there said that they weren't accepting challengers that day due to a show they had to perform." replied Samurai curtly. "I intend to return back there at a later point to try challenging them again."

"Figures..." muttered Misty in an annoyed tone before giving the armor-clad boy a nervous look. "By the way, you...uh, didn't catch any new Bug-Types by any chance, did you?"

"Of course I have. I wouldn't be a Bug-Type specialist if I didn't." answered Samurai simply, causing the redhead to let out a disgusted groan.

"Well, I'm happy that you managed to get your first badge. Congratulations." said Lincoln with a smile before a thoughtful look appeared on his face as he took a small glance at the nearby sign. "Say...since you've been in the area recently, I have to ask - do you know about a Trainer by the name of AJ?"

"Hmm...I may have met with someone going by that name at one point and I am willing to share some information regarding him in exchange for something in return."

"Well, what do you want? I don't have much I can spare at the moment."

"I don't want money or anything you have on you at the moment." started Samurai before he gave Lincoln a challenging look. "Instead, what I want is for you to uphold the promise we made to each other before we parted in the Viridian Forest."

Upon hearing this, a grin formed on Lincoln's face as he answered "That's right...we never did finish our battle with each other back in the Viridian Forest, did we? And since Team Rocket isn't around to ruin things..."

"...There's no better time than now for us to conclude our duel." finished Samurai with a grin of his own as he took a Pokeball off of his belt. "And if you win, I will tell you what you want to know. Sound fair?"

"If you can agree that we follow the same rules as before, I can agree to that." said Lincoln as he took a Pokeball off of his belt in response. When Samurai gives him a nod, he asks "Would one of you two mind officiating this for us?"

"I'm on it." replied Brock before getting into position to referee the battle, only to stop halfway. "Erm...what were the rules you followed last time? I wasn't around then."

"No substitutions allowed until a knockout is scored." answerd Samurai and Lincoln in unison.

"Right. Thank you." said Brock before getting into position to oversee the battle. Raising an arm, he adds "This battle is between Lincoln Loud of Royal Woods, Michigan and Samurai of the Viridian Forest. This will be a two-on-two battle with substitutions only permitted after a knockout. Begin!"

As he activates the Pokeball he was holding, Samurai answers "Don't expect things to go the same way this time around, Lincoln Loud - my team has improved drastically from the last time we battled and my first Pokemon will prove it!" before throwing it into the air, causing it to open and release a burst of light. "Come on out, Butterfree!"

Once the light finishes materializing into a solid form, it clears away to reveal a purple-colored butterfly-like Pokemon with red eyes, teal hands and feet and a pair of white wings with black patterns on them.

Eyebrows raised at the sight of the new Pokemon, Lincoln mutters "A Butterfree, huh? Let's see here..." before taking out his Pokedex and pointing it at the Butterfree, who watched him carefully as he fiddled with the red-colored device.

'Butterfree, the Butterfly Pokemon. The evolved form of Metapod, Butterfree has a superior ability to search for delicious honey from flowers. It can even search out, extract, and carry honey from flowers that are blooming over six miles from its nest.'

'Looks like he finally managed to get that Metapod of his to evolve. Well if that's the case, then I think I have the perfect Pokemon to take it down.' thought Lincoln as he activates one of the Pokeballs he was holding and threw it. "Here's hoping you're ready for round two - come on out, Beedrill!"

-=O=-

(AN: Before I start with this section, I would like to note that I will occasionally have members of Lincoln's team sent to and retrieved from Professor Oak's lab off-screen. In this case, he swapped out some of his Pokemon in Cerulean City while heading to Route 5.)

Upon seeing Lincoln's Beedrill materialize on the other side of the makeshift battlefield, a sour look appears on the Butterfree's face as it says "...You. I remember you. There's no way I could ever forget someone like you."

After staring at the other Bug-Type in confusion for a few seconds, Beedrill asks "...Have we met before?", causing the Butterfly Pokemon to facefault before shooting back into the air, its eyes flashing furiously.

"How could you forget who I am?! You defeated me in battle back in the Viridian Forest, remember?!" snapped the Butterfree irritably.

"Viridian Forest...?" muttered Beedrill thoughtfully before his eyes glowed slightly in realization. "Oh yeah, now I remember. You're that Metapod I defeated, aren't you?"

"That's right. That was my first battle and you had to go and ruin it! I didn't even get the chance to get a hit in!" replied the Butterfree before it pointed one of its stubby arms at Beedrill. "But now that I'm able to move freely and have a few more attacks in my arsenal, I'm going to pay you back for my defeat."

"Hey, it's not my fault you only knew String Shot and Harden when we fought last time." stated Beedrill with a shrug, which only seemed to piss the other Bug-Type off even more.

"That's beside the point! You humiliated me and now I'm going to make you pay!"

'Geez...never thought a Pokemon based on a butterfly of all things could be this angry at someone.' thought Lincoln with a raised eyebrow. 'Still, it's our opponent and we have to take it down nonetheless.'

Pointing at the Butterfly Pokemon, he orders "Let's start things off with something simple, Beedrill - use Fury Attack!"

"On it!" replied Beedrill before flying towards Butterfree, fore-stingers poised to strike.

"Let's match them with an attack of our own, Butterfree - use Tackle!" commanded Samurai, prompting the purple Bug-Type to give him a nod before charging towards Beedrill.

With a thud, the two attacks collide with each other, sending both Beedrill and Butterfree back several feet.

"Well you've certainly gotten better from the last time we fought." said Beedrill simply as he eyed his opponent speculatively. "At least you're putting up a fight this time instead of just using Harden over and over again."

"That was the only attack I could use aside from String Shot!" snapped Butterfree irritably, incensed by the comment. "But if you think that's the only improvement I've made, then you're dead wrong - there's still more where that came from!"

"Then stop yapping and show me what else you can do."

"Oh, I intend to." retorted Butterfree as Samurai pointed at the Poison Bee Pokemon.

"Use your special attack, Butterfree! Confusion!"

Hearing what Samurai had said, Beedrill only had enough time to say "...Oh hell." before Butterfree's eyes started to glow ominously, causing a strange blue aura to surround Beedrill's body and lift him into the air with ease. After holding him in place for a few seconds, Butterfree points its arm down at the ground, causing Beedrill's body to slam into the dirt with surprisingly strong force.

After managing to peel himself off of the ground, Beedrill mutters "...Great. I'm facing someone who can use a Psychic-Type move. Just wonderful."

"And that's not the only new trick I picked up." replied Butterfree smugly before pointing one of its stubby arms at Beedrill. "Do you recall what happened during our last fight where you kept using Poison Sting against me when I was a Metapod?"

"I do. What of it?"

"Well, you ended up poisoning me that day, so I think it's time you got a taste of your own medicine. Let's see how you deal with this!" said Butterfree before taking to the air and flapping its wings violently, creating a thick cloud of purple pollen-like dust that starts to engulf the area. "Poisonpowder!"

Seeing the toxic cloud getting larger, Lincoln shouts "Get out of there, Beedrill!", only for his words to do no good as the Poison Bee Pokemon's form disappears within the thick cloud of poison.

"Back away from that stuff, Lincoln! You don't want to get that on you!" said Misty, causing Lincoln to give her a look before moving away from the Poisonpowder.

As worried as he was about Beedrill, he couldn't afford to let that poison come into contact with him. He was just going to have to wait and see if everything was alright.

As everyone else follows suit and starts to back away as well, Butterfree eagerly watched on within the poisonous haze to see if his attack worked or not. Beedrill, on the other hand, simply looked around for a few seconds, looking unfazed by the poison.

"Yeah, I bet you're regretting humiliating me now, aren't you? That poison's gotta be hurting you something fierce."

"...Was that supposed to do something? Because I don't feel any different."

Realizing that Beedrill didn't sound sick or even effected by his attack, Butterfree's temper suddenly flares up once again.

"You don't feel any different?! What kind of bullshit is that?! I know that Poisonpowder managed to come into contact with you, so why didn't it work?!"

"Maybe it's because I'm part Poison-Type, dipshit. That gives me a natural immunity to anything that's poisonous." replied Beedrill in a matter-of-fact tone as he crossed his fore-stingers. "However, I don't think the same can be said for you."

"What do you you..." started Butterfree before it started feeling violently ill all of a sudden. Groaning in discomfort at the horrible feeling going through its body, it asks "W-what...did you do to me...?"

"You mean 'what did you do to yourself'." said the Poison Bee Pokemon. "Everyone else knew to back away when you used Poisonpowder earlier. But you? You actually had to be dumb enough to stick around just to see if it'd effect me or not. You're an idiot."

As his fore-stingers start to take on a purplish hue, he adds "And speaking of idiocy, you do realize that you just practically handed me the win with that mistake of yours, right?"

"Wh-what do you mean...?" wheezed Butterfree, finding it hard to remain conscious due to the toxins wreaking havoc in its body.

"During my time at Professor Oak's lab, I trained with a few of the more experienced Pokemon there and managed to learn a new move that supposedly works wonders on poisoned opponents. And now thanks to that error of yours you made earlier, I finally get to try it out." replied Beedrill before flying towards the Butterfree at a speed that had caught the other Bug-Type off-guard.

Before the Butterfly Pokemon could reach, Beedrill jabs one of his fore-stingers into its stomach. In an instant, a sharp, strong burning pain runs through Butterfree's body, causing it to let out a shrill cry of pain that caused everyone else nearby to wince in discomfort.

"Beedrill, what the heck did you just do?" asked Lincoln as he eyes the shadowy form of the writhing Butterfree with a look of concern on his face.

"I used my new move on him. It's called Venoshock - I don't know all the specifics on how it works, but if I use it on a poisoned opponent...well, let's just say that it's going to hurt them. A lot."

While Lincoln winced at Beedrill's description of his new move, Butterfree mutters "D-damn you..." as he tried to keep upright.

After managing to shake the unpleasant feeling from Beedrill's earlier description from his body, Lincoln commands "Beedrill, let's finish that Butterfree off - use whatever you like!"

"Got it!" replied the Poison Bee Pokemon before zooming towards Butterfree and jabbing it in the stomach with his fore-stingers, causing it to let out a pained screech as it was sent crashing to the ground. "Twineedle!"

"D-damn it...not again..."

Once the toxic cloud thins and fades away a few minutes later, Brock goes over to check on Butterfree. After verifying that it wasn't able to keep fighting, he says "Butterfree is unable to continue! The winner of the first round is Lincoln Loud and his Beedrill!"

As Samurai recalls Beedrill back into his Pokeball, Lincoln asks "Think you can keep fighting, Beedrill? I've got a strong feeling he's going to send out that Pinsir of his next."

"Well, I did get pretty banged up during my fight with that Butterfree, but I think I can keep going." replied Beedrill with a nod.

"Good to know, because he's sending out that Pinsir I spoke of right now." said Lincoln just as Samurai sent out the Stag Beetle Pokemon to take Butterfree's place.

(AN: Pretty much just couldn't think of any other way for Venoshock to be introduced. So...yeah.)

-=O=-

As Pinsir stood by, ready for Samurai to give him an order, Lincoln comments "Almost seems like deja vu, doesn't it Samurai?" before a confident smile appeared on his face. "Only difference between our last battle and this one will be that I'm going to win this one instead of it ending in a draw."

"We'll see about that. Pinsir, take that Beedrill down! Use Tackle!" ordered Samurai, causing Pinsir to start charging towards Beedrill, horns opened widely.

Pointing at the oncoming Bug-Type, Lincoln says "Let's match it with an attack of our own, Beedrill - U-Turn!", prompting Beedrill to start charging toward Pinsir as well as a cloak of yellowish-green aura surrounded him.

As soon as Beedrill was close enough to hit Pinsir, Samurai grins and says "It's right where we want it, Pinsir - catch it in midair with Vicegrip!", causing the Stag Beetle Pokemon to quickly change from charging towards Beedrill to using his horns to quickly snag the other Bug-Type out of the air. Once he had his opponent held in place between his horns, Pinsir squeezes tightly, causing Beedrill to let out a pain-filled buzz of discomfort as the yellowish-green aura faded away.

With a look of clear distress on his face, Lincoln calls out "Hang on, Beedrill! I'll try to figure something out!" as the Poison Bee Pokemon feebly tried to wiggle free from Pinsir's grip, only for the two massive horns to hold fast, keeping him in place.

"...Ugh...well, whatever it is you're going to do, make sure you do it quick before..."

"Finish it off, Pinsir! Seismic Toss!"

Hearing this, Pinsir jumps into the air with Beedrill still held tight in his horns. After taking a few seconds to sling the other Bug-Type around to add insult to injury, Pinsir hurls Beedrill with all of his might towards the ground, sending him crashing into the dirt with a sickening thud.

"Beedrill! Are you alright?!" asked Lincoln in concern as Beedrill laid on the ground, clearly out of it.

In a slightly slurred voice, Beedrill murmurs "...That happens. I knew I should've switched out when I had the chance..." before losing consciousness, causing Brock to go over to check on him.

After a few seconds, he raises an arm and says "Beedrill is unable to continue! The winner of the second round is Samurai and his Pinsir!"

"A fine showing, Pinsir. Well done!" congratulated Samurai with a grin, prompting the Stag Beetle Pokemon to click his horns together happily in response.

As he recalled Beedrill back into his Pokeball, Lincoln says "Good job out there, Beedrill. Return." before turning to face Samurai and adding "You weren't kidding when you said that your Pokemon have gotten a lot stronger. I didn't expect you to just change attacks out of the blue like that."

"I can say the same for yours as well, Lincoln Loud." answered Samurai with a respectful nod. "Now then, send out your next Pokemon so I can win our duel."

"Don't be so sure about that. If there's going to be one winner here, it's going to be me." replied Lincoln with a grin as he took another Pokeball off of his belt and threw it. "You're up, Firestorm!"

-=O=-

"So...our next opponent is a Charmander. Never thought we'd be facing one of those again." commented Samurai as he eyed the Fire-Type as it took form in front of Lincoln. As a grin formed on his face, he says "Pinsir, this may not be the same one that defeated us back in the Viridian Forest, but we'll take what we can get. Let's avenge our loss against that particular species, shall we?"

In response, Pinsir nods and says "Gladly." before glaring at Firestorm and clicking his horns together menacingly, causing the smaller Pokemon to back away slightly. "I'm going to enjoy this."

"Lincoln Loud, the time for our duel to come to an end is at hand! Prepare yourself!" proclaimed Samurai before pointing at Firestorm. "Take that lizard down, Pinsir! Use Tackle!"

'Oh, there's no way in hell I'm falling for that again...' thought Lincoln as he narrowed his eyes at Pinsir. Pointing at the Stag Beetle Pokemon, he orders "Firestorm, stop that overgrown beetle in its tracks! Use Ember!", prompting Firestorm to open his mouth wide before spewing out a small burst of embers in front of him.

Unfortunately for him, the weak Fire-Type attack wasn't enough to stop Pinsir from easily charging through and slamming his body into Firestorm's, knocking him back a couple of feet.

As he watched Pinsir connect with his Tackle attack, Lincoln noticed something peculiar - the attack did nowhere as much damage at he thought it would do. To confuse him even further, he noticed that the Bug-Type was covered in numerous burns that seemed to be causing it no small amount of discomfort.

Concerned, Samurai asks "What's the matter, Pinsir?", only for Pinsir to click his horns irritably as he tried to ignore the stinging pain on his body.

"I don't know what that little lizard did to me, but it burns and I don't like it."

'That Pinsir's covered in burns...did Firestorm's Ember attack cause that?' thought Lincoln, perplexed.

Upon noticing that Lincoln was eyeing the scorch marks on Pinsir's body, Misty says "Lincoln, I think your Charmander managed to inflict a burn on Pinsir!"

"So Pinsir's suffering from a burn...what did that do again...?" asked Lincoln to himself before taking out his Pokedex and opening it. "Uh...Dexter, can I get some information on 'Burn' status, please?"

'Certainly. One moment.' replied Dexter before searching for the information Lincoln wanted. After a few seconds, he adds 'Burn status. When a Pokemon is inflicted with a burn, their attack power is decreased significantly. Alongside this, they will take damage from the burns inflicted on their body.'

"So that's why Tackle didn't seem to hurt Firestorm that badly. I see." mused Lincoln thoughtfully before a grin forms on his face. "Well now, looks like things have turned back into our favor, Firestorm - let's hit that Pinsir where it'll hurt."

"You got it! I'll even use the new move I picked up back at Cerulean Cape to do it!" replied Firestorm before turning to face his opponent. After taking a few seconds to aim his attack, the Lizard Pokemon fires a small burst of purple-colored energy from his mouth at Pinsir, hitting it and creating a small shockwave that sends the Bug-Type crashing to the ground in a battered, burnt heap.

"Whoa...I've never seen that attack before. What was that?" asked Lincoln, clearly intrigued by Firestorm's new move.

As if to answer his question, Dexter states 'That would be Dragon Rage, a Special-based Dragon-Type attack. The user hits the target with a shock wave of pure rage. I should also mention that this attack always deals a set amount of damage.'

'A move that uses rage of all things to attack? That's weird.' thought Lincoln as Brock went over to check on the fallen Bug-Type. 'But it looks like it was enough to take that Pinsir down. Thank goodness for that.'

After verifying that the Stage Beetle Pokemon was unable to keep fighting, Brock points at Lincoln and says "Pinsir is unable to continue! The winner of the battle is Lincoln Loud and Firestorm!"

"I...I did it? I won?" asked Firestorm, blinking in surprise.

With a smile as he rubbed the Lizard Pokemon's head, Lincoln answered "You certainly did, buddy. Great job out there." before recalling him back into his Pokeball. "Go ahead and take a rest. You earned it."

After recalling his Pinsir back into its Pokeball, Samurai walks over and says "That was a fine duel, Lincoln Loud. You and your Pokemon fought well." before offering the white-haired boy a handshake.

"Thanks. Same goes for you too." replied Lincoln as he accepted the offered gesture. "So now that I won, what can you tell me about this A.J. guy? Is he strong?"

"Ah yes, I did agree to tell you what I know." said Samurai thoughtfully, as if recalling a memory. "...I had challenged his gym exactly two days ago while searching for more Bug-Types to add to my team. I lost. He only used a single Pokemon to wipe my team out."

Looking intrigued at the idea of facing off against someone that strong, Lincoln asks "Wow...that powerful, huh?"

"Yes. To be honest, I don't know if you'll be able to beat him at your current level of skill."

"Well, there's only one way I'm going to find out and it's not by standing around here. Can you lead us to where he's staying?"

Nodding his head, Samurai answers "Certainly. But...erm, are you certain that you want to challenge him, Lincoln? He will not be an easy opponent to beat."

"I'm sure." said Lincoln simply, causing the other boy to give him a small shrug.

"Well, alright - just don't say that I didn't warn you. Follow me and I'll take you there."

(AN: I know the battle was a little short, but I was having difficulty trying to come up with other ways to make it work. Sorry.)

-=O=-

-The Santiago Residence - Ronnie's Room (12:30 AM)-

"No, that's not it either..." muttered Ronnie under her breath as she erased what she had been typing for what felt like the hundredth time that night. "Never thought it'd be this difficult to come up with an e-mail to send to Lame-O."

Over the past hour or so, she had spent time trying to type out an e-mail to send to Lincoln, only to find herself encountering difficulties with coming up with what she wanted to say to him.

As she prepared to start rewriting her message once more, the sound of her mother saying "Ronalda, what are you doing up at this hour? You should be asleep right now." startles her, causing her to fall off of her bed and land on the floor with a 'thump'.

"Ouch...that looked like it hurt. Are you alright?"

"Oww...couldn't you have at least knocked before coming into my room?"

"I didn't mean to startle you like that, Ronalda." said Maria with an apologetic tone as she helps her daughter back onto her feet. After both Santiagos take a seat on the bed, she asks "So why are you still up? It's past midnight."

"I'm trying to finish up this e-mail I'm sending to a friend of mine. Once I finish with it, then I'll go to bed."

"An e-mail for a friend, huh? Is it that boy you like?"

Trying to keep a blush from forming on her face, Ronnie nods and replies "Yeah, it's for him. I'm just having a hard time finding the right words to use, y'know?"

"I know that feeling all too well. Why, when I first met your father, I had a lot of difficulty finding the right words to tell him how I felt too." said Maria as she wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders. "It's better to speak from the heart than it is trying to come up with something to say in your mind. That's what I believe."

"I'll take that idea into consideration, Mom. Thanks." replied Ronnie, giving her mother a grateful nod for the suggestion. As she and Maria sat together, the Hispanic girl realized that there was no better time than now to bring up the subject of going to Kanto to her. "...Mom? Can I ask you something?"

"Certainly. What is it?"

"Well...it's about the boy I want to send that e-mail to - he's currently going on a trip outside of the United States and..."

"And...?"

"...And I'd like to join him over there. I've already spoken with someone that can help me get over there, but I need your approval before I can go."

After staring at her daughter with a bewildered look on her face, Maria asks "...You want to leave the country in order to go travel with that boy?", causing Ronnie to blush before nodding her head. "I don't know, Ronalda...going on a trip out of the States isn't going to be easy to afford. Not to mention that school will be starting up again next week and I'm worried about your education - how do you expect to get a good job in the future if you don't go to school?"

"I know that something like that is important, Mom. Really, I do." said Ronnie with a sigh. "But I can't leave him out there all alone. It just doesn't seem right, especially considering why he's out there in the first place."

Eyebrow raised at the unusual choice of words, Maria asks "...'Why he's out there in the first place'?"

Realizing that she slipped up, Ronnie quickly says "He's...er, helping out a professor over there with his research, Mom. I'd like to go over there and lend him a hand."

She couldn't tell her the truth about what really happened to Lincoln. Not yet.

"And what exactly does this professor research? It's nothing illegal, is it?"

"Not at all. He's studying the wildlife that reside on the island he lives on."

"So this professor studies zoology. I see." replied Maria with a thoughtful look. "And you say that your friend is helping him with this research?"

"Uh-huh. We spoke a few days ago through video chat about it - he's having the time of his life over there." said Ronnie, nodding her head. "And I want to go there to help out, too."

"...And you're sure that this is something that's really happening? This isn't some cock-and-bull story you're telling me just so you can skip school, is it?" inquired the older female, giving her daughter a suspicious look.

"I'm being completely serious about this, Mom." replied Ronnie, crossing her arms. "In fact, when I'm able to get into contact with Professor Oak again, I'll see about bringing you along so you can talk to him yourself."

After taking a few moments to mull over Ronnie's words, Maria sighs and answers "...Give me a few days to think about it, Ronalda. Is that alright with you?"

"That's more than fine, Mom - at least you're willing to think it over first." replied Ronnie with a nod, prompting her mother to ruffle her hair playfully.

"Glad to hear it. Now then, get that e-mail of yours finished up so you can get some sleep. It's late."

Once her mother had left the room to head back off to bed, Ronnie started once more on drafting up an e-mail to send to Lincoln. Unlike her previous attempts however, she found it a lot easier to do this time around.

'Wow...Mom really knew what she was talking about when she gave me that advice earlier. I'm having a much easier time with this.' thought the Hispanic girl with a smile as she finished off her message. 'And done. Now to send it to Lame-O's e-mail address.'

With a click, Ronnie sends off her message with a look of satisfaction on her face.

"And that handles that. Now to get some shuteye..."

-=O=-

-Somewhere On Route 5 (1:25 PM)-

"It's not too much farther now." stated Samurai as he continued to lead the three Trainers to their destination. After pushing aside a few branches, he points at what appeared to a large tent-like structure that was surrounded by a tall fence made out of logs.

Above the entrance was a large sign that stated 'A.J.'S GYM - UNDEFEATED!' in bold red letters with a LED display showing off the same numbers as before: '98' and '0'. At the bottom of the sign was the same notice about the gym being an unofficial one.

As he pointed at the tent, Samurai comments "This is the place - A.J.'s gym.", prompting the others to step closer to get a better look.

"So this is it, huh? It certainly looks impressive for an unofficial gym." commented Misty as she looked at the sign above the fence for a moment before giving Lincoln a sly look. "You might have your hands full with this one, Lincoln - ninety-eight wins in a row isn't something to take lightly."

Crossing his arms, Lincoln replies "We'll see about that, Misty. I haven't lost a battle either and I don't plan to start losing now."

"Misty's got a point, Lincoln - a Trainer with this kind of record isn't going to be easy to beat." stated Brock, causing Lincoln to give him an annoyed look.

"You don't think I can beat this A.J. guy either? Seriously?"

"I'm not saying that you can't. I'm just stating that he isn't going to be an easy opponent to face off against - with a record like this, A.J. probably has months, if not years, of battling experience, which is a definite advantage he would have over you."

Before Lincoln could give Brock a reply, a drawling voice asked "Who're you guys? You challengers or somethin'?", catching the attention of everyone nearby.

Turning to face the source of the voice, the four Trainers and Pikachu saw a burly-looking teenager with dark green hair, a red and black-colored t-shirt, a blue-colored backpack, red boots and a pair of dark blue denim shorts staring at them, as if sizing them up.

As he glanced at the unknown Trainer, Lincoln noticed something peculiar about him - there was just a single Pokeball, along with what appeared to be a curled-up whip, attached to his belt.

Eyeing the red and white sphere speculatively, the white-haired boy thought 'Must be holding his favorite Pokemon inside of it.'

Upon noticing that Samurai was among the group, the green-haired teen smirks and says "Well, well, well...looks who's come back. You lookin' for another whuppin', sword-boy?"

Quickly shaking his head, Samurai answers "No. Rather, I've brought someone here who would like to challenge you to a battle." before gesturing towards Lincoln, who gazed at the teenager curiously. "This is Lincoln Loud - a Trainer from the United States. He's interested in challenging you and your win streak."

"You must be A.J., right? The owner of this gym?" asked Lincoln, causing the green-haired teen to nod.

"That's me. And based on what sword-boy just said, you must be my next victim. Good - I've been lookin' for someone to be my ninety-ninth win." replied A.J. confidently, causing the white-haired boy's eyes to narrow. "You'll do just fine."

"Don't start celebrating just yet. I'm gonna break that streak of yours."

"Pretty tough talk for a half-pint. Well, we'll see on whether you can back it up or not - follow me and I'll take ya to our battlefield."

With that said, A.J. motions for the group to follow him through the gate leading to the gym. After sharing a glance with each other, the four Trainers comply.

As the green-haired teen led her and the others through the gym's grounds, Misty comments "Gotta admit that this is a pretty nice setup you've got here. You must've put a lot of work into this place."

"Yep. A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into building this place - it, along with my win streak, is my pride and joy." replied A.J. with a nod before coming to a stop in front of a raised platform that appeared to be the gym's battling field. "Here we are. You ready to lose, half-pint?"

"I should be asking you that." retorted Lincoln, arms crossed. "So what's the rules for our battle?"

"Use whatever Pokemon you like. Same rule goes for me, but I'll just need one to kick your sorry ass and get my ninety-ninth win." said the older male confidently as he placed his backpack on the ground before placing his fingers to his mouth and letting out a whistle.

As if on cue, a lone Butterfree - one that looked to be much larger than the one Samurai used earlier - flies out of the tent and over to A.J.'s side.

"You called, chief?"

Pointing at his backpack, A.J. says "Got some freshly caught newbies in the bag. Take 'em into the gym and get 'em started on learnin' how we do things around here."

With a nod, the Butterfree grabs the backpack and flies back into the gym. As it does, Lincoln points at the backpack and asks "What's in the bag?"

"Just a bunch of Pokemon I caught before I ran into you guys." replied A.J. nonchalantly with a shrug as he walked over to one of the ends of the battlefield. "Got a bunch more in the gym, if you wanna check 'em out after our match."

"Which I intend on winning. You're gonna have to change that sign of yours by the time I'm done with you." stated Lincoln as he took his place on the other end of the field.

As he detached his whip from his belt and uncurled it, A.J. replies "Ain't the first time I've heard that one, kid. You don't know who you're messin' with here!" before cracking it on the ground in front of Lincoln, causing him to jump back with a yelp. "After I get done with you, I'll be one win away from reachin' my goal of one-hundred victories in a row. Once I've done that, I'm gonna start gunnin' for badges."

Trying to regain some of his former bravado, Lincoln asks "Ninety-eight wins and you still don't have any badges? Well, you're facing off against someone with two of 'em and you better believe that I'm not going to make this a cakewalk for you."

"Spunky, arentcha? Good. Makes my victory all the more satisfyin' when it's all over." said A.J. with a smirk before taking the lone Pokeball off his belt and activating it. "Well, let's get started then. Go ahead and send out whoever you want."

"Alright then, you asked for it." replied Lincoln as he took a Pokeball off of his belt and activated it as well. As he throws it into the air, he adds "Come on out, Azami!"

As the Grass-Type materializes on the other side of the field, A.J. smirks and says "You're gonna use a Bulbasaur, huh? Well, let's see how it does against my Pokemon." before throwing his own Pokeball. "Get out here, Sandshrew!"

Surprised at A.J.'s choice of Pokemon as it takes form on the green-haired teen's side of the field, Lincoln asks "You have a Sandshrew, too?"

"Yep. He's been my partner ever since I started off as a Trainer." replied A.J. with a nod before a predatory smirk appears on his face. "And he'll make short work of that Bulbasaur of yours, type advantage or not."

"We'll see about that." retorts Lincoln before pointing at the Ground-Type in front of him. "Go get 'im, Azami! Let's win this and smash that streak!"

-=O=-

-The McBride Residence - Clyde's Room (12:45 AM)-

While Lincoln and Azami took on A.J.'s Sandshrew, Clyde was in his room, laying on his bed while thinking about the conversation he had earlier with his parents...

-Flashback-

-The McBride Residence - Dining Room (7:00 PM)-

As the three McBrides sat together and enjoyed some freshly delivered pizza, Harold noticed that Clyde wasn't exactly focused on eating his meal. Instead, he seemed like something was bothering him.

"Son? Are you alright?"

"Oh...uh, I'm fine, Dad. What makes you ask something like that?"

"Maybe the fact you've hardly taken a bite from your pizza ever since the deliveryman brought it here? It's going to get cold if you just leave it there." replied Harold as he pointed at the slice of pizza on Clyde's plate, causing the boy to blush slightly in embarrassment.

"Oh..."

"So what's bothering you, Clyde?" asked Howard, eyebrow raised. "Whatever it is, you can tell us. Is one of the kids in the neighborhood bothering you?"

"No, it's not that. It's..." answered Clyde before taking a few moments to consider whether he wanted to speak about the subject of going to Kanto or not, Once he finally decides to bite the bullet and get it over with, he sighs and adds "It's about Lincoln. I visited his house a few days ago, only to find out that he's on a trip outside of the United States."

"He's out of the country right now?" asked Harold, receiving a nod from his son in return. "Well don't worry about him, son - I'm sure he'll be back soon."

"It's not that, Dad. I...I actually want to go over there and join him."

"You want to do what?"

"I want to go out there and join him, Dad. His sister Lisa told me that he's helping a professor over there with his research on the wildlife living in the area." answered Clyde before he picked up the slice of pizza on his plate and took a bite from it. "And I wanna go over there and help him out. I feel like I could learn a lot from something like this."

After the two McBride parents spend a few minutes speaking to each other in whispered voices, Howard turns back to Clyde and answers "...We'll think about it, son. We can't make any promises that we'll go along with this idea of yours, but we'll think it over."

"Thanks, Dad." said Clyde, a smile gracing his face.

Ruffling his son's hair, Howard replies "Anytime, son. Now then, let's finish eating before the pizza goes cold."

-Flashback End-

'At least they're willing to think about the idea instead of just outright telling me no. That's more than what I was expecting them to say.' thought Clyde before he turned his attention to a calendar hanging on a nearby wall. 'Just hang on a bit longer, buddy. We'll hopefully be over there to join you soon.'

With that final thought in mind, he falls asleep, dreaming of the many adventures he would possibly be having in the near future.

-=O=-

-A.J.'s Gym - Battlefield (1:28 PM)-

When Lincoln started the battle against A.J., he thought that despite the fact it would be a difficult battle, he would be able to find a way to overcome whatever he threw at him and win.

That all changed when the older boy's Sandshrew took out Azami in a single hit. And now, two minutes and fifty three seconds later, he was down to just his Pikachu, who was trying to remain conscious from the beatdown the Ground-Type had given him.

After eyeing the weakened Electric-Type for a bit, A.J. cracks his whip on the ground and orders "Finish it!", causing Sandshrew to slash at Pikachu with a pair of shimmering claws, sending him skidding across the battlefield before coming to a stop in front of Lincoln, clearly unconscious from the powerful blow.

As Lincoln starts checking over Pikachu to see if he was alright, A.J. recoils his whip and says "Looks like I win. So much for all that tough talk you were spoutin' earlier."

"I didn't even last five minutes..." muttered Lincoln in both disappointment and disbelief at how easily A.J.'s Sandshrew had destroyed his team. It only took that one Pokemon to wipe out everything he could throw at it. The only one that he didn't try was Raph, which he knew wouldn't be of any help considering the fact he still held a grudge against the white-haired boy.

And to make things even more humiliating for him, A.J. never gave his Sandshrew a single vocal command. Instead, he used the sound of his whip cracking on the field to communicate with the Ground-Type - something that Lincoln didn't think was possible.

Walking over, Brock asks "...Lincoln? You alright?"

"I'm fine, Brock. I'm just...a little disappointed in myself at how easily I lost." said Lincoln before giving A.J., who was congratulating his Sandshrew on a job well done, a glance. "He completely trashed my team with just one Pokemon..."

"Well, I did say that you were probably going to have your hands full with facing off against A.J." replied Misty, arms crossed.

Nodding in agreement, Samurai adds "I told you that he wasn't going to be an easy opponent to face. But at least you lasted longer than I did."

"How long did it take for him to beat you?" asked Misty, causing a slightly dejected look to appear on Samurai's face.

"Two minutes. That Sandshrew of his completely decimated anything and everything I could throw at it."

"Ouch..." replied the redhead with a wince before turning to face Lincoln. "At least you lasted a bit longer than that."

"That doesn't make me feel any better, Misty. I still got completely stomped." muttered Lincoln as he sat on the edge of the platform with Pikachu in his arms.

Taking a seat beside Lincoln, Brock asks "Lincoln, can I give you a piece of advice?"

"...What is it?"

"It's something my father told me after I faced my first loss." said Brock before crossing his arms. "Instead of letting this loss get to you, you should take it as a learning experience - something to motivate you to become stronger."

When Lincoln didn't give him a reply, he adds "Look, I know that you're bothered about losing to A.J. and that's fine. It's completely understandable. But you have to understand that there's going to be times like this where you'll have to take a loss."

"And losing, despite how bad it may feel at times, is nothing to be ashamed of - it happens to everyone." says Misty, nodding her head. "Think of this as a reminder to train harder and improve yourself even further."

With a frown, she adds "Besides, do you really want to be like that awful sister of yours and act like a complete brat just because you can't win all of the time?"

Grimacing at the idea of acting just like Lynn, Lincoln shakes his head and says "...No, I don't want to become anything like her. Not at all." before letting out a sigh. "But losing so easily to A.J. like that...it really does damage to a guy's confidence. Almost makes me feel like I'm not cut out for this Pokemon Trainer stuff."

"Lincoln, nobody starts off as an exceptional Trainer when they begin their career." said Brock reassuringly. "Even Misty and myself were just as inexperienced as yourself at one point."

"That's true. And look at us now - both of us are gym leaders. So imagine what kind of Trainer you'll become with enough experience under your belt." stated Misty, nodding her head. "We both know that you've got a lot of potential to be a great Pokemon Trainer, but you lack the experience needed to show it."

With a nod of his own, Samurai remarks "I have to agree - experience goes a long way towards improving both your Pokemon and yourself."

"...Yeah, I guess you guys are right. I shouldn't let this get to me." said Lincoln, feeling a bit better. Giving A.J. a glance, he adds "Guess I should be the better man and congratulate him on his win." before getting up and walking over to speak to him.

Upon seeing Lincoln approaching him, A.J. asks "You want somethin' from me?", only for the white-haired boy to extend his arm out for a handshake.

"Just thought I'd offer my congratulations, that's all." answered Lincoln with a small smile.

After a moment, A.J. grins and says "Well, at least you're bein' a good sport about your loss. I can respect that." before accepting the gesture. "Had a couple of Trainers I defeated in the past tell me that were less than friendly with me after I beat 'em. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's when people can't face the fact that they've lost."

"Sounds like you've run into plenty of sore losers in the past, huh?"

"You have no idea. Accusations of cheating, demands for rematches...I've dealt with a lot of shit from other Trainers, but you're one of the few that actually has the decency to admit that you know when you've been beaten."

"I'll take that as a good thing, then." said Lincoln, crossing his arms. "I have to ask, though - how long have you been a Pokemon Trainer? Based on what I saw during our battle, you really seemed to know what you were doing."

"I've been one for about five years now." answered A.J., scratching his chin. "Started when I was about your age, I'd wager."

"Wow...five years of battling experience. It's no wonder I got stomped so badly." said Lincoln with a slight wince. "I've only been a Trainer for a couple of weeks."

"A greenhorn, huh? Well...how about I show you around the gym for a while? You might learn somethin' from how we do things around here."

"You're offering a tour of your gym?"

Nodding, A.J. answers "Sure, why not? I'm in a pretty good mood right now, so if you're alright with the idea, then so am I. Just don't start any trouble and we're good."

Walking over, Samurai asks "If it's not too much of a bother, could you offer the same opportunity to me? There is so much I can learn from a place like this."

"Same goes for us, too. We'd like to take a look around your gym, if that's alright." chimed in Misty while Brock nodded his head in agreement.

Shrugging, A.J. replies "If ya want, that's fine by me." before heading over to his tent and going inside. After a few seconds, the others follow after him. Upon entering the massive tent, the four Trainers were greeted with the sight of what looked like dozens of Pokemon hard at work, training with each other and the assorted pieces of equipment scattered about the area.

"Whoa...I've never seen so many Pokemon in one place like this before..." said Lincoln, awestruck. "Are these all yours?"

"Yep. Caught every single one of 'em on my own." replied A.J. as he sent out his Sandshrew once more, who awaited orders from his Trainer. Pointing at a large pool nearby, he says "Get to the pool and start workin' on your water resistance, Sandshrew."

"Got it, chief."

As the Ground-Type walked off, A.J. says "As you can see, I make sure that all of my Pokemon work hard on improvin' themselves so they can perform to their fullest in battle." before pointing at his Sandshrew, who was now standing on a diving board positioned next to the pool. "We even work on adapting to weaknesses so we can resist 'em better. Sandshrew, dive!"

"Got it!" squeaked the Ground-Type before diving off of the board and into the water.

"Hey, not that I'm criticizing your training methods or anything, but isn't water bad for a Ground-Type Pokemon?" asked Misty as the Mouse Pokemon lands in the water with a splash.

"If they aren't trained to handle themselves water, it is. But I've been workin' with Sandshrew on buildin' up a resistance for years now." replied the green-haired teen as he watched Sandshrew break the surface of the water and start swimming around in the pool. "See? Perfectly fine."

"So you train your Pokemon specifically to overcome their weaknesses. Interesting." commented Samurai, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"Yep. Works wonders when it comes to opponents who think type advantage is everything." said A.J. with a nod. "But that's not all we work with. See those devices that all of my Pokemon are wearin'?"

As he watched a Beedrill and Butterfree that were wearing said devices spar with each other, Brock replies "Yeah, I see them. What are they? I've never seen anything like those before."

"Macho Braces. They restrict the Pokemon and make it harder for 'em to move, so they have to build up their strength in order to be able to regain their mobility." said A.J. as he walked over to a small crate and took one of the braces out to show it off. "Here, take a look for yourself."

While the others looked at the brace with interest, Lincoln asks "But doesn't it hurt them to wear something like that?" with a concerned look on his face.

"It doesn't hurt 'em, but it's definitely not easy to move around in when ya first put it on." replied A.J. as he pointed at Sandshrew, who was easily doing reps with a pair of dumbbells while Pikachu, who ran over to give it a try himself, struggled to do the same with just one. "But you better believe that they'll make your Pokemon a lot tougher once they get used to wearin' 'em."

As he continued to struggle to lift the weight, Pikachu grunts "C'mon, you stupid..." before turning to face Sandshrew, who was still doing reps with relative ease. "By Arceus, how heavy is this thing?"

"A lot more than what you can lift, apparently." replied the Ground-Type as he continued exercising.

While Lincoln tried not to snicker at the sight, Samurai comments "Intriguing. I may have to see about acquiring a few for my Pokemon if they can make them stronger."

"Well, if you want to buy one from me, it's not gonna be cheap. After all, Macho Braces aren't easy to come by." answered A.J., arms crossed. "Hell, I'm lucky to have acquired the amount I've got right now."

"I'll have to look into that before we go." said Lincoln before he turned his attention to watch the Butterfree and Beedrill spar with each other again. "Man, you really push your Pokemon to their limits, huh?"

"Yeah, I'm tough on 'em, but I have to be if they're gonna be strong enough to play a role on my team." replied A.J., arms crossed as he watched the two Bug-Types as well. "Doesn't mean I don't treat 'em with the proper respect, though. I may be tough, but I'm not a monster."

"So you tend to be strict with your Pokemon, but you aren't abusive towards them. You just want to make sure they're the strongest they can possibly be." commented Misty thoughtfully as she eyed a trio of Rattatas passing a ball to each other. "That's something I can respect."

With an amused snort, the green-haired teen answers "If only some of the other Trainers I've met before saw things that way. Had a Trainer challenge me a few weeks ago that said my training methods were 'barbaric' and tried to get my Pokemon to abandon me to go with him. Needless to say, I kicked his sorry ass outta here and told him not to come back."

"Everyone has their own opinions on how Pokemon should be trained, I suppose." remarked Lincoln as he turned his attention to watch another spar nearby involving a Fearow and a Pidgeotto. "So what else do you use to help you Pokemon grow stronger aside from those braces?"

"I'd like to know, too. Your Pokemon all appear to be in exceptional shape." added Brock, nodding his head. "What kind of dietary arrangements do you have for your Pokemon? Do you make your own Pokemon food?"

"I certainly do. Follow me and I'll show ya what I've got." replied A.J. with a grin before leading the group over to a massive pantry nearby. Opening it up, he adds "Whaddya think? Pretty impressive, huh?"

As he and the others gaped at the large collection of jars full of Pokemon food inside the pantry, Lincoln said "...Wow. That's gotta be around a year or two's supply worth of food in here..." before noticing that each jar had a label with an image of a different Pokemon on them. "I'm guessing that each jar contains food meant for a specific Pokemon species?"

"Yep. And because each one is meant for a particular type of Pokemon, you aren't gonna find two serving types that're the same." replied A.J. with a nod before a proud look appeared on his face. "Everything you see here is completely homemade - none of that store-bought corporate crap you find in most Pokemarts."

With a thoughtful look on his face, Brock asks "So you create specific recipes for every single one of your Pokemon? That's interesting."

"Yep. There's certain vitamins and nutrients that work better for certain Pokemon than they do for others, so I try to create food that's based on what's best for 'em to get the best possible results." replied A.J., nodding his head. "Of course, the recipes aren't something I'm too keen on sharing with just anyone."

"Understandable. If I was in your position, I wouldn't be too keen on sharing something like that, either." said Brock with a nod of his own. "I'm interested in learning how to be a Pokemon Breeder, so while I won't ask you for your recipes, any tips you can share with me on how to make food like this would be welcome."

"I'll think about it." replied A.J. simply before the sound of a bell ringing caught his attention. Giving his Pokemon a stern look, he states "Alright, you wimps get a fifteen-minute break. You better make the most of it." in a commanding tone, prompting every single Pokemon in the gym to collapse to the ground, exhausted.

Eyeing the tired Pokemon with concern, Misty asks "Wow...they look beat. How many breaks do you allow them every day?"

"Five breaks, all fifteen minutes each. Two of 'em are for eating." replied A.J. as he holds up five fingers. "Other than that, we train almost all day. Gotta keep working on gettin' strong enough to challenge the Pokemon League."

"So you don't let your Pokemon have time to enjoy themselves?" asked Lincoln, eyebrows furrowed slightly - while he didn't exactly object to how A.J. trained his Pokemon, he didn't like the idea of not allowing them to have any time off every once and a while.

"I'm not that strict." answered the green-haired teen with a frown. "We take the weekends off from training. On those days, I let my Pokemon take it easy and allow them to spend their free time however they like."

"And how do your Pokemon spend that time?"

"By training and growing stronger. What else?"

While Misty, Brock and Lincoln sweatdrop at the reply, Samurai nods and says "There is nothing wrong with wanting to improve yourself, no matter what the circumstances."

"Exactly. And if my Pokemon want to spend their free time training, who am I to say no?" replied A.J. with a grin. "In any case, let's move on - there's still more around here for me to show you."

-=O=-

-Five Island - Professor Ivy's Laboratory (2:00 PM)-

"Where are those girls? They should've been back here half an hour ago..." muttered Professor Ivy to herself as she sat on a bench positioned near the entrance to her laboratory.

She had sent her assistants out to look for Pokemon to serve as starters for the two Americans that would be coming to her laboratory to take their Trainer's exam. It should've been simple - just go out, catch something and bring it back for her to look over. Easy.

She didn't even care about what they captured, just as long as it was something that was suitable to be a starter Pokemon. It shouldn't be taking them this long to get back.

"Probably should've handled something like this myself. At least I wouldn't have to worry about being late." said Ivy with a sigh before continuing to keep watch for her wayward assistants.

A few minutes later, her eyes caught sight of three brunette teenagers clad in wide-lensed glasses, bright floral shirts and equally colorful shorts as they ran over towards her, waving eagerly.

"Professor, we're back!" chimed the tallest of the three girls as she and the other two continued on their way over towards the plum-haired professor.

Once the three come to a stop in front of her, Ivy crosses her arms and asks "You're thirty minutes late. What kept you three, Charity?" with an impatient look on her face.

"Sorry about being late, Professor - we would've been back sooner if it wasn't for those awful bikers we ran into on the way back on Three Island. They wouldn't leave us alone until we gave them some of our money." replied one of the three girls before a disgusted look appeared on her face. "Savages."

At this, Ivy's look of impatience disappears almost immediately. She had to admit that there had been reports over the past week or so about rogue bikers causing trouble for the inhabitants of Three Island. And considering that her assistants were below-average at best when it came to battling, it wouldn't be much of a surprise if they were able to hold the three girls up so easily.

"I see. Well, you're here now and that's all that matters." replied Ivy, nodding in understanding. "So, did you three catch anything good for our guests? Or did those hooligans take those from you, too?"

With wide grins on their faces, the three girls take what appeared to be several Pokeballs out of their bags and show them off, causing the older female's eyebrows to raise in surprise.

"We may be a few Pokedollars shorter, but the Pokemon we caught are all safe and sound, Professor."

"...Well, you three certainly were busy over the past hour. Let's see here..." muttered Ivy before taking a device out of her coat pocket to scan the contents inside of the Pokeballs. After a few moments, she nods in approval and adds "Good work, you three. Aside from the two that we will reserve for our guests, everything you've managed to capture today will assist us greatly with our research."

"Speaking of which, you never really told us much about them, Professor. All you've told us was that a couple of potential Trainers would be coming to the lab to take the Trainer's exam." said Charity while the other two nodded their heads.

"I suppose I can tell you three a couple of things I know about them, since you did such a good job with catching those Pokemon earlier." replied Ivy, nodding while crossing her arms. "There's two of them - a boy and a girl. Both of them were recommended to me by Professor Oak a few days ago during a VideoPhone call."

"Professor Oak vouched for them, huh?" asked one of the girls, eyebrow raised.

"Yes. As he is currently too busy with other affairs at the moment, he asked if I could handle their Trainer's exam personally." answered Ivy. "There is one interesting thing to note about these two children - both of them come from the same hometown as the American we saw on the television a few weeks ago."

"They're Americans?" asked Charity, interested. "Kinda like that white-haired boy on the television? The cute one?"

"Yes, exactly. In fact, I believe Professor Oak informed me that these two are good friends of that particular boy." said Ivy with a nod, causing the three teens to start chattering excitedly with each other. "Now calm down, you three - they may not be able to come visit us at the lab. Don't get your hopes up about meeting them just yet."

Once the three calm down, she adds "Now then, I don't know about you three, but I'm famished. Who's hungry?"

"I can try cooking again to save us a few Pokedollars, Professor. I'm sure that I'll get it right this time." suggested one of the three girls, only for everyone else to give her a bewildered look.

"Faith, remember what happened last time during my VideoPhone call with Professor Oak?" asked Ivy, eyebrow raised. "Do you really want that to happen again?"

As she and Charity nodded in agreement, the other girl answers "Professor Ivy's got a point, Faith. The last thing we need is for you to blow up the stove again."

"My cooking's just fine, Hope!" snapped Faith as she prods Hope's nose with one of her index fingers. "Besides, I'm not the only one that blows stuff up around here. Remember what happened last week with the dishwasher?"

"That wasn't my fault! It was just...defective, that's all!"

"Defective, my foot! You blew it up, plain and simple!"

As the two started to argue with each other, Charity sighs and says "Looks like they're at it again, Professor. You want me to go ahead and order take-out again?"

"Please do. I'm in the mood for pizza today." replied Ivy with a nod. As Charity takes out a cell phone to call the local pizzeria, she sighs and mutters "We really need to learn how to cook food around here..." while the other two assistants continue to argue with each other.

-=O=-

-A.J.'s Gym - Outside The Tent (4:00 PM)-

"Thanks for giving us a tour of the place, A.J." said Lincoln with a grin as he, Misty, Brock and A.J. stood outside of the tent. "Gotta admit that I learned a lot from what I've seen here."

"Anytime. Gotta admit that I enjoyed having you guys around, to be honest - you three and that Samurai kid were probably the most pleasant company I've had around in a long time." replied A.J. with a smile.

"Speaking of which, where is Samurai? I don't see him anywhere..." asked Misty as she tried to find any sign of the armor-clad Trainer.

"He left about an hour ago - said somethin' about heading back to Cerulean City to challenge the gym there." answered A.J. with a shrug. "So where are you three heading next?"

"We're heading to Vermillion City. There's supposed to be a gym there and I intend to challenge the leader there for his badge." replied Lincoln, recalling that Misty had told him about the gym leader there a few days ago.

"Well, here's hoping you manage to win it. Maybe then you'll be good enough to take me on in a rematch and actually make me sweat next time."

"I'll do more than that, A.J. - next time we battle each other, I'll be the winner. You can count on that."

"Looks like he's got another rival to compete against." commented Brock with a smile as the two shook hands with each other. "How many does that make for him now?"

Chuckling slightly in amusement, Misty replies "Four of them, I think. And I doubt that A.J.'s going to be the last one he acquires."

Suddenly, a loud chime sounds through the area, catching everyone's attention.

As he tries to find the cause of the strange noise, Lincoln asks "A.J., what's going on?"

"Sounds like a challenger's here. Looks like I'll be setting out sooner than I thought." stated A.J. as a grin appeared on his face. "You three feel like watchin' me win my one-hundredth battle before you go?"

"Might as well." replied Lincoln with a shrug. "So who's your opponent going to be?"

"We'll find out in a bit." said A.J. before turning to face the gate. "Come on in, whoever you are!"

In response, the challenger in question starts coming in through the gate. Upon seeing who it was, Lincoln's eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"It's him..." muttered the white-haired boy under his breath, watching as a familiar-looking Trainer with black hair and a red cap looked around with a curious expression on his face. "...Red."

-=O=-

As Red continued to look around the gym's grounds, Misty gives Lincoln an odd look and asks "You know that guy, Lincoln?"

"Not personally, but I do know who he is. Like myself, Leaf and Gary, he's a Trainer that's sponsored by Professor Oak. I saw him on the day I left Pallet Town."

"I seem to remember facing him back in Pewter City." stated Brock, arms crossed. "The kid's good, Misty. Really good."

"Really?" asked Misty, receiving a nod from Brock in return. "Damn. Wish I could've faced off against him instead of having my sisters do it."

As Red walks over to talk to the four Trainers, he comes to a stop upon seeing Lincoln. After eyeing him for a moment, he says "Huh...white hair, chipped tooth, clad in orange...you must be Lincoln Loud, right? The American who managed to pass the exam without going to Trainer's School?"

While A.J. stared at Lincoln in bewilderment upon hearing what Red had just said, Lincoln replies "Um...yes, that's me." before a strange look appeared on his face. "...Wait, how'd you know my name, anyway?"

"Heard about you from Professor Oak. Gotta say that it's impressive you managed to pass the exam on your first go." answered the black-haired Trainer before scratching the back of his head. "I also heard about your most recent battle with Gary when we ran into each other back at Route 6. He...er, didn't have very nice things to say about you or the Pidgeotto."

"Considering how big of a jerk the guy is, I'm not surprised." remarked Lincoln, arms crossed.

"He's not that bad once you really get to know him." replied Red before offering Lincoln a handshake. "Name's Red, by the way. Nice to meetcha."

"Likewise. So you're here to challenge A.J., I take it?" inquired Lincoln as he pointed at the Trainer in question.

"Yep. Figured that after I finished up in Vermillion City, I'd stop by here and see if the rumors I heard about this place were true or not." replied Red with a nod.

Eyebrows raised in surprise, Lincoln asks "You came here from Vermillion City? Did you...?"

"Manage to win the Thunder Badge there? Yep." said Red with a grin before taking his badge case out of his pocket. After opening it up to show off an orange octagon-shaped badge with eight yellow-colored points surrounding it, he adds "Check it out. Pretty cool, huh?"

"You've got three badges already?" asked Lincoln as he continued to look at the Thunder Badge.

"Yep. In fact, if I'm remembering correctly, Gary and Leaf's got the same number of badges, too."

"Aw man...I'm still at two badges." muttered Lincoln, feeling slightly disappointed in himself. "I've got a lot of catching up to do."

"You'll get there. Just keep working at it and you'll catch up to the three of us in no time." said Red reassuringly before turning his attention to A.J. "As I was saying said before, I'm here to challenge the one running this place. Based on what Lincoln just told me, I'm guessing that's you?"

Nodding, A.J. answers "Got that right. So are you ready to give me my one-hundredth win?"

Before Red could give him an answer, the sound of a ruckus came from within the tent, catching everyone's attention. A few seconds later, one of A.J.s' Rattata runs out of the tent and over to its Trainer with a distressed look on its face.

"Chief, we've got a problem in the gym! That crazy Meowth's back again!"

Eyebrow raised at what the Rattata had said, Lincoln asks "There's a Meowth causing trouble around here?"

"Aw, for crying out...that damn thing's back again?!" asked A.J., a look of annoyance forming on his face. "Damn thing's been sneaking into the gym ever since we set up shop here - this is the third time this week it's gotten into our gym. Guess I better go and..."

As if on cue, a Meowth sprints out of the tent a few seconds later with several of A.J.'s Pokemon chasing after it. In its arms were several colored CDs that vaguely reminded the white-haired boy of TMs for some reason.

"After it! Don't let it get away with the chief's TMs!"

"Catch it! Catch it!"

After a brief chase around the grounds of the gym, the Meowth manages to give the other Pokemon the slip long enough to rush through the gate and into a nearby forest, disappearing within the trees. A few seconds later, A.J.'s Pokemon ran into the forest after it, intent on capturing the thieving Normal-Type.

"Damn it, that cat just ran off with my TMs! I spent years collecting all of those!" bellowed A.J. angrily before giving Red an apologetic look. "Kid, I'm sorry about having to say this, but I'm gonna have to take a rain check on that battle for now. I need to..."

Before he could finish, Lincoln grabbed his shoulder and said "A.J., this is your chance to reach your goal of winning a hundred battles in a row. You worry about taking on Red - we'll help your Pokemon out with getting your stuff back."

"...You'll really do that for me?" asked the green-haired teen, eyebrow raised.

Nodding his head, Lincoln answered "Yep. In fact, we'll even make sure it'll never bother you or your gym again. Is that Meowth a wild one, by any chance?"

"It is. Why do you..." questioned A.J. before realizing what Lincoln was saying. "You're gonna catch it, aren't you?"

When Lincoln nodded his head again, he adds "Well, do whatever you want with that little troublemaker - just try to get my TMs back, will ya? I paid a lot for 'em."

"Will do. You just focus on your battle - we'll be back with your stuff before you know it."

"...Alright, I'm counting on you. Thanks, kid."

"Anytime, A.J." replied Lincoln with a nod before turning to face the two gym leaders beside him. "Let's go, you two. We've got a Meowth to catch."

After receiving a nod from Misty and Brock, the white-haired boy rushes through the gate and into the forest with the two gym leaders right behind him.