Pokemon Loud Version - Kanto Ch. 29 - Scratch Cat Fever

-A.J.'s Gym - Battlefield (4:10 PM)-

"Let's go, you two. We've got a Meowth to catch." said Lincoln, causing both Brock and Misty to give him a nod in response. Seconds later, he rushes through the gate and into the nearby forest, intent on finding A.J.'s Pokemon to help them with finding the wayward Normal-Type Pokemon.

As he watched Misty and Brock run off after the white-haired boy, Red points at them and asks "Hey, are those three going to be alright running off like that? Do they even know their way around this place?"

"They'll be fine. The white-haired kid and those friends of his may not be the toughest-looking guys around, but I think they'll get the job done and get my TMs back." said A.J. before activating Sandshrew's Pokeball. "But enough about them, this is about me, you and my one-hundredth victory. You ready to give it to me?"

"Pretty confident, aren't ya? Well, we'll see if that confidence holds after we're done here." replied Red with a grin as he took a Pokeball off of his belt and activated it. "On three?"

"Fine by me. One..."

"Two..."

As the two Trainers threw their Pokeballs at the same time, both shouted "Three!", with A.J. sending out Sandshrew while Red sent out what appeared to be a larger Bulbasaur but with a budding flower growing out of its back instead of its usual bulb.

"An Ivysaur, huh? Should be interesting." remarked A.J. with a smirk. "It your starter?"

"If you're referring to the one I got from Professor Oak, then yeah. My actual starter, however..." said Red before tapping another Pokeball on his belt. "...is right here. But I think that Saur is more than enough to take down that Sandshrew of yours."

Trying to stifle a chuckle, A.J. asks "...Saur? You named your Ivysaur 'Saur'? Kinda unimaginative, arentcha?"

"Well, he seems to like it." answered Red as he pointed at the Grass-Type, who nodded his head in agreement. "Enough about nicknames, though - what're the rules for this battle?"

"Since I'm wantin' to get this over with so I can go help the others out...let's say one Pokemon each. Sound fair?"

"One apiece, huh? I'm fine with that." said Red before giving Saur a grin. "And I've got my 'one' right here."

"Same goes for me and Sandshrew. So...you ready to do this or what?"

Uncurling his whip, A.J. smirks and says "I couldn't agree more." before cracking it on the ground. "Let's go, Sandshrew! Get 'im!"

Taking that as his cue to attack, Sandshrew curls up into a ball before rolling towards Saur at high speed.

Recognizing the attack right away, Red mused "Rollout. Not a bad way to start." before pointing at the rolling Ground-Type. "Saur, set up some Grass Knots to slow that thing down."

"Got it." replied the Seed Pokemon, his body glowing with a green aura as he rears back before stomping his forelegs onto the ground, causing what appeared to be thick, knotted heath-like grass to suddenly start growing on the battlefield.

Just as Red had assumed, the tall grass was starting to slow Sandshrew down. Not enough to make him stop completely, but enough to be noticeable.

"You really think a buncha grass is gonna stop us? Please." said A.J. before cracking his whip onto the ground again, causing the still rolled-up Sandshrew to suddenly pop out of the grass before barreling towards Saur, hitting him hard with a Rollout attack.

Smirking as Saur pulled himself back to his feet, he adds "Is that all you've got?"

With a smirk of his own, Red answers "We're just getting started. You haven't seen everything we've got to throw at you yet."

-=O=-

-The Loud Residence - Lynn & Lucy's Room (3:10 AM)-

While Red and A.J. continued their battle with each other, Lynn was laying in her bed, clearly exhausted but trying her hardest to keep awake.

She hadn't been able to sleep despite how exhausted she felt, though her inability to sleep wasn't because of insomnia or anxiety. Rather, it was because she was waiting for the right time to make a move on what she was planning to do that night.

'Just a bit longer, Lynn. Gotta make sure nobody's gonna be awake when you finally go through with it - you can't afford to blow your chance to finally put an end to this...' thought the brunette as she tiredly eyed the clock in her room, watching as the hands ticked on. After taking a few more minutes to listen for anyone to be roaming the hallway, she nods and whispers "Alright, sounds like the coast is clear." before quietly getting out of her bed and kneeling down to reach underneath it.

A few seconds later, she found what she was looking for - several planks of wood, a hammer and a small bucket of nails.

"I don't care what Mom, Dad or anyone else says - this has to be done." muttered the jersey-wearing girl as she picked up the items and slowly crept towards her bedroom door, opening it.

As she did however, the hammer she was holding in her arms slipped out of her grip and landed on her foot, causing her to bite down on her hand to stifle the yell that was about to escape from her mouth.

After taking a few seconds to make sure that Lucy was still asleep, Lynn picks up the hammer and sneaks out of the room, trying to ignore the pain running through her foot.

Once she was finally in the hallway, she creeps over towards Lincoln's room, only to stop upon seeing the sight of her father and a majority of her sisters were in front of Lincoln's bedroom door, all carrying the same things she was - planks, nails and a hammer. The only ones that weren't there were Lucy, Lily, Lisa, her mother and oddly enough, Luna.

"Uh...hey Junior. You're...err...up early this morning." remarked Lynn Sr. sheepishly, only for his similarly-named daughter to continue to stare at him. "...You're here to seal off the room too, huh?"

"...Yeah. I'm guessing it's the same thing goes for you guys, too?"

"Mm-hmm. Things have gotten pretty bad, Junior - we all know that. That's why I came here to see about fixing this problem." replied Lynn Sr. with a nod. "Imagine my surprise upon seeing the other girls here for the same reason."

"Hey, this bad luck of Lincoln's cost me my hair and my chance of telling Bobby my side of what happened between us and Ronnie Anne. I want to put an end to this as soon as possible." said Lori before glaring down at Lana, who flinched slightly. "Though I think that someone else was also to blame for that..."

"I said I was sorry..." mumbled Lana as she shuffled her feet.

Tugging at her golden locks in frustration, Lola adds "I can't keep going on wearing Lana's filthy clothes like this! I want to feel like a princess again, not some kind of...pig farmer!" before glaring at Lincoln's bedroom door. "So if sealing that room off is the only way to get things to return back to normal, then so be it!"

"I haven't been able to feel my comedy mojo because of this unlucky run we've been going through and I've got a big routine down at the Chuckle Hut sometime this month. I don't know if I'll be able to pull it off without having any good jokes to work with." remarked Luan, sighing. "I can't let Lincoln's bad luck, as much as I love the little dork, ruin that for me."

"I can't get any of my fashion work done with this bad luck either. If we don't do something about this, I'll never get the chance to realize my dream of becoming a professional designer." whined Leni before looking at all the sting welts still on her body as tears started to form in her eyes. "That and those mean bees in Lola's room won't leave me alone. Why do they keep picking on me?!"

"How the heck are they getting out, anyway? I thought you said they were living in your closet?" asked Luan, glancing at Lola with a raised eyebrow.

Grimacing, Lola grumbles "They've found a hole in the door that allows them to get out. Don't know why they keep targeting Leni, though."

"Well, I'm getting sick of constantly getting clocked in the face. I've lost plenty of teeth already this month - If this keeps up, I don't know many I'll have left before this run of bad luck ends!" concluded Lynn before opening her mouth to show off what remained of her teeth, causing the others to wince. "Not to mention that I wanna play sports again - just sitting around and watching them on that crappy black and white TV just doesn't beat the feeling of actually playing them."

"Well, maybe things will start working out for us once we're finished up here." said Lynn Sr. reassuringly before turning his attention to the door. "Now how do we go about this without waking the others up? We won't be able to do this quietly..."

"Well, I know Lisa's room is soundproofed, so we won't need to worry about her or Lily." mused Lori thoughtfully. "Only problems I can see bothering us would be Lucy and Mom."

"Um...wait, where's Luna? I don't see her here..." stated Leni, finally noticing that the rocker of the family was nowhere in sight.

"Still asleep or moping about what happened during that progress report." replied Luan with a sigh. "She still thinks we're holding Lincoln back and it's really bumming her out."

"Oh for... she's still bothered by that?!" asked Lynn in disbelief. "She should be helping us with this, not moping over Stinkcoln or his bad luck!"

"Junior, watch it. Your brother may be bad luck, but I'm not going to tolerate that 'Stinkcoln' crack any longer. Got that?" warned Lynn Sr. with a frown, causing the younger Lynn to grimace before nodding her head. "Now then, will Luna be a problem?"

"Not that I can think of. She's been affected by this run of bad luck too and would probably want it ended as well." replied Luan, shaking her head. "No, I think the main problems will be Mom and Lucy."

"Well, I'm certain that we can keep Lucy quiet if she finds out about this." said Lola, grinning evilly. "We might have to rough her up a little bit, but I think we'll manage to pull it off."

"Well, what about Mom? You know as well as I do that if she catches us doing this, we're dead meat. Are you going to do something about her, too?" asked Luan, eyebrow raised.

At this, Lola's grin quickly falls as a look of dread took its place. She may have been able to push her siblings around, but her mother was an entirely different matter altogether, especially with how irritable she's been as of late.

After a few minutes, Lynn Sr. says "...Well, if you hear your mother coming up to see what's going on, you girls return back to your rooms and stay there while I finish up with the door. Got that?"

"But that would mean..." said Lori, realizing what her father was implying.

"Yeah, I'll take the fall for this one - I think I can manage a few weeks sleeping inside of Vanzilla. Besides, once things start improving, I think your mother will come around and see that something like this needed to be done."

"Well alright then, we've got that settled. Now then, let's get to work." said Lynn as she placed down her planks on the floor. As the others started to do the same, she adds "With all of us working together, this shouldn't take long for us to finish."

-=O=-

-The Loud Residence - Luna & Luan's Room (3:20 AM)-

As her father and sisters prepared to seal Lincoln's room off, Luna was in her bed, still awake and staring at the ceiling while thoughts of her brother ran through her mind.

They weren't thoughts of joy, anger, sadness or any other emotion. Rather, she was thinking about how she was going to come up with a way to make things up to Lincoln after what she's done to him - both regarding the 'bad luck' incident and everything else she did in the past.

Not only that, but after taking some time to really think about it, she realized that what she said to Luan a few days ago was true - she, along with the rest of the Loud family, did little to nothing when it came to supporting him and his goals while he was there when they needed him.

It was also clear to her that she, along with her other siblings, were definitely holding him back. However, she knew that it wasn't through malicious means, but because he was so busy supporting them that he didn't get the chance to taste success himself.

It still didn't ease the feeling of guilt she felt from knowing she did nothing to help him reach that success, though.

'Some loving big sister I am. He was always there when I needed him to support me, but when he needs me to return the favor, I can't even be bothered to be there for him.' thought the fifteen year-old bitterly. 'Throw in the fact I went along with this whole luck mess and I can't even call myself that.'

In an instant though, her bitter look changed to one of determination as she mentally added 'But that's gonna change. I don't know when or how I'm gonna do it, but I'm gonna do my best to make things right, Lincoln. And maybe, just maybe...I can finally put those awful thoughts I've been havin' to rest.'

Returning her focus back to the ceiling, Luna mused 'I really gotta thank Sam for talkin' some sense into me. Don't know what I would've done otherwise...'

-Flashback-

-Somewhere In Royal Woods (2:00 PM)-

As the afternoon sun shone brightly in the cloudless blue sky, Luna was heading through the streets of Royal Woods with a singular destination in mind.

It wasn't to a friend's house or to the local music store - rather, she was heading to her usual relaxation spot.

Usually when she felt bummed or stressed out, Luna usually went to a specific spot on the outskirts of town that only she and her closest friends knew about - a nice, quiet place where they could just unwind and forget about their troubles.

'And with all the troubles I've got goin' on, I'm gonna be there for a while...' thought Luna as she continued towards her destination.

After another thirty minutes, she finally managed to arrive at what appeared to be a small hill with a lone tree overlooking it.

It was nice, quiet and incredibly relaxing - three things that Luna was definitely looking for when it came to a place to get her mind off the thoughts constantly haunting her.

"Well, here we are, Luna. Now let's..." muttered the brunette, only to stop upon hearing the sound of someone playing what sounded like an acoustic guitar. "What in the bloody hell...?"

After taking a few seconds to scale the hill, Luna saw a familiar sight that caused her heart to start racing - the familiar form of her close friend (and secret crush) Sam Sharp sitting beneath the tree, playing a guitar with a relaxed smile on her face.

"...Sam..."

Normally, she would've be happy to see Sam sitting there as not only would she have someone to talk to, but she would be able to spend time with the girl she loved. But as she was right now, she couldn't even bring herself to express even the slightest bit of joy - not when her mind was still troubled with the many thoughts running through it.

Noticing Luna standing nearby, Sam stops playing and waves her over, saying "Hey Lunes. C'mon over and take a seat."

Having no intentions of leaving after going through the trouble of coming here, Luna wordlessly complied and sat down beside the two-toned blonde, who's eyes widened slightly at the fifteen year-old's haggard appearance.

"Jeez, Lunes...you look like shit. What happened to you?"

Giving Sam a tired look, Luna answered "...Had a hard time sleepin' last night. Just couldn't doze off, y'know?"

"Looks like it's more than just a lack of sleep that's botherin' you." said Sam, eyebrow raised. "Talk to me, Luna. I'm here for you."

"...It's about my brother. You know him, right?"

"White hair, chipped tooth, kinda cute-looking?"

"Yeah, that's him. Well...there's something about him that's been bothering me - something that's been making it hard for me to sleep at night."

"Aw Lunes, don't tell me you've got a thing for your own little brother. Because if that's the problem, I don't know if I can help you with that."

Eyes widening in disbelief, Luna replied "No, that's not the case at all! Why would you say something like that?!"

"Chill out, will ya? I was just kidding." said Sam, chuckling at the brunette's reaction. "For reals, though - what's bothering you about your bro?"

"...Before I tell you, I want you to promise not to mention this to anyone else. This stays between us."

"You've got my word on that, Lunes. So what's up?"

And so Luna told Sam everything - what happened during the 'bad luck' incident, Lincoln's departure to Kanto and his newfound career as a Pokemon Trainer, her recent thoughts about her family holding him back from succeeding...everything.

Once the purple-clad girl was finished, Sam, now wide-eyed, said "Dude...that's heavy. I don't know what to say about all of that. How could you do something like that to your little bro, Lunes?"

"I don't know!" replied Luna, choking back a sob. "I just...I just went along with everyone else when they started going on about this whole mess...and I really want to make things right with him, Sam. I really do."

"Then you need to show him that you want to do just that, Lunes. You need to talk things out and clear the air with him. That's the only thing I can think of that would help out with something like this."

"...I'll try, but I don't know if he'll be willing to listen to what I have to say."

"There's only one way you're gonna find out."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." mumbled Luna before asking "So what about my other problem - the one about my family holding Lincoln back?"

Leaning back in her seat with her arms crossed, Sam asks "Hmm...well, what makes you think that?"

"Well, from what I managed to understand from the reports on Lincoln's progress as a Trainer, he's doing incredibly well for himself out there." answered Luna before lowering her head. "He never managed to find any form of success when he was around me or any of my sisters."

"Things are really that bad?" inquired Sam, eyebrows raised.

"We've got a family trophy case at home - his spot only has a single trophy on display and it's a pity prize at best. Aside from that, it's completely barren save for a few cobwebs."

"Jeez...that's rough."

"It is." said Luna with a nod. "But when he gets to Kanto - boom! All of a sudden, he's doing great, winning those badge things, kicking all kinds of ass with those Pokemon things he's captured and even hanging out with some girl who's clearly got the hots for him. You see where I'm going with this?"

Lowering her head again, she adds "He's always been there for us when we needed support from him, but none of us bothered to return the favor when he needed us. If anything, I feel like the only thing we've done is harm his chances of making something of himself."

"Damn, that's pretty heavy, Lunes. You're really bothered by this, huh?"

"You have no idea. Having that going through my mind along with the guilt over what I've done to Lincoln during this whole 'bad luck' mess...I don't know how much longer I can deal with this."

"Well, you already know what I had to say about what you did during the luck thing, Lunes." said Sam before scratching her chin. "As for this other problem of yours, I can think of one thing that could possibly work."

"...And what's that?"

"This Trainer thing he's doing - does he have a goal in mind?"

"Yeah. He wants to win the league championship over there." replied Luna with a nod.

"Then here's what I think you should do - support him and this goal of his, just like he did for you." answered Sam, causing Luna to give her a peculiar look. "You said it yourself - he's been there for you. Now it's your turn to be there for him. You get me?"

After mulling over the suggestion for a few minutes, Luna weakly smiles and says "...Yeah, I got ya. Thanks, Sam - I needed that."

"Anytime, Lunes."

"...Y'know, I'm surprised you took everything I told you about so easily. For a moment there, I was worried that you'd think I was some kind of loon for tellin' you about all this."

"Lunes, this is your family you're talking about here." replied Sam with a laugh. "Weirdness like that is kinda expected when it comes to you guys."

"And just what do you mean by that?" asked Luna, eyebrow raised.

"Weren't you the one that told me about the fusion reactor your four year-old sister had installed in her room? Or how another one practically slept with actual animals in her bed? And let's not forget how your sister Luan acts on April Fools Day." retorted Sam, grinning. "Stuff like that definitely counts as weird, if you ask me."

After staring at the other girl for a moment, Luna shrugged and replied "...Alright, fair enough."

-Flashback End-

Turning to face her window, Luna thought 'You were always there for me to support my dream, so now I'm gonna return the favor, bro. Even if I can't join you over there in Kanto, I'll be right here with Mom, Lisa and Lucy, supporting your dream of becomin' the champion over there. That's a promise.', only to let out a yawn a few seconds later that broke her from her thoughts.

Taking a look at a nearby clock, she mutters "Two in the morning...guess I better get some sleep." before pulling her blanket over her body. As she started to close her eyes, she thought 'Guess I'll talk with Lisa tomorrow morning about getting the chance to talk to Lincoln. I just hope she's willin' to hear me out.' before exhaustion finally overtook her.

A few seconds later, she was sound asleep.

-=O=-

-Back Out In The Hallway-

As Lola and her father walked off to serve as lookouts in case the other members of the family show up, Lori points at the pile of planks and orders "Alright, Leni. Go get us a plank to use - the sooner we get this done, the better."

"Okay, Lori." replied the other blonde before walking over to the pile of planks the seven had set aside earlier, not noticing that Lynn Sr. was standing near the pile, keeping an eye on the other doors in the hallway.

Unfortunately for him, he didn't notice that one of the planks was positioned in a seesaw-like way underneath him, directly between his legs.

As Leni stepped forward to grab one of the planks, she steps on the plank that was set beneath her father's groin, causing the other end to shoot upwards at high speed, coming to a stop as a meaty 'thump' sounded through the hallway.

A few seconds later, Lynn Sr. fell to his knees, letting out a pained squeak as he clutched his now-aching testicles.

Luckily for him, he wouldn't have to suffer from it much longer as Leni turned around and walked off with another plank, unknowingly hitting him in the face with it and knocking him out.

Sighing as she glanced at the unconscious man lying on the floor, Luan says "Well, looks like Dad's out of it. Guess we better do this quickly before Mom finds out." before taking the plank from Leni and holding it in place in front of Lincoln's door. "Plank's ready for nailing, girls."

"Alright then. Leni, you handle the hammering. I'll hold the nails in place." said Lori as she grabbed a nail from a nearby bucket.

Eyebrow raised, Lynn asked "You sure that's a good idea, Lori? This is Leni we're talking about here."

"Hey, I can handle a hammer just fine! I'm not an imbe...imbec...I'm not stupid!" retorted Leni, waving the hammer towards Lynn, only for it to suddenly slip free from her grasp. "Oopsie."

Upon seeing the hammer coming her way, Lynn screamed "No, not again!" before dropping to the floor just right before the hammer flew past where her head had been before, causing it to just barely miss her.

Lana, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky as the hammer connects dead-on with the six year-old's forehead, knocking her out cold.

"Leni, what the heck are you doing?! You're supposed to be helping us out, not knocking us out!" snapped Lola irritably.

"Oops..." said Leni with a wince as Luan went over to check on the unconscious child. "Is she gonna be okay?"

After doing a quick check, Luan nods and says "She's still breathing, so I think she'll be alright. Keep a better grip on the hammer from now on."

"Okay..."

After Luan holds the plank in position once more, Lori says "Alright, Leni. All you need to do is hit the nail and drive it in. Don't hit me, don't hit Luan...you need to hit the nail. Got that?"

"I think so..." replied Leni with a nod of her head...before giving Lori a questioning look. "You did say hit the nail, right?"

Rolling her eyes as she positioned the nail she was holding on the plank, Lori answers "Yes, Leni. Hit the nail." before pointing at the aforementioned nail. "This thing. You need to hit it with the hammer."

"Okay, I think I've got it now." said Leni with a smile as she ran over and picked up the hammer she had accidentally thrown earlier. After returning back to the door, she takes aim at the nail Lori was holding and swings, only to end up hitting Lori's hand by accident.

Shaking her hand about to ease the pain running through it, Lori snaps "Ow! Damn it, Leni! You're supposed to hit the nail, not my hand!"

"Sorry, Lori! I didn't mean to, honest!" whimpered the other blonde, causing Lori to let out a groan of irritation.

"It's alright. Just...make sure to hit the nail this time and not my hand, okay?"

"Okay!" replied Leni before taking aim at the nail Lori was keeping in place and swinging the hammer...only to end up hitting her older sister's hand again, causing her to drop the nail she was holding.

"Ow! Damn it!" growled Lori as she once again pulled her hand away from the nail to ease the pain that was coursing through it once more. "Are you trying to break my hand with that thing, you idiot?!"

Shaking her head, Leni answered "I'm sorry, Lori! It won't happen again!"

"It better not, for your sake!" said Lori with a snarl as she went over to grab another nail from a nearby bucket, completely forgetting that the one she was holding earlier was still on the floor, now pointed upwards.

As she stepped back towards the door to hold it in place, she felt a piercing sensation rushing through her foot, followed by a pain that was far more intense than the one in her hand.

Lifting her foot up to see what had caused it, Lori saw the aforementioned nail sticking partially out of it. After staring at it with shock and horror on her face, a loud shriek erupts from her mouth as she falls to the floor, clutching the injured foot tightly.

Unknown to her, she had also landed back-first on Lynn, pinning her down.

"Dang it, get offa me, Lori!" grunted the thirteen year-old as she tried to push her older sister off, only to fail.

As Lori kept screaming her head off about the nail in her foot with Luan and Lola trying to calm her down, Leni saw the nail sticking out of her sister's foot. Remembering what her sister had said earlier, the ditzy blonde walks over and grabs Lori's foot, keeping it still.

After sticking her tongue out in concentration, Leni rears back the hammer and swings - she was going to make sure to hit the nail this time!

There was a dull thud, followed by a shrill scream that sounded much louder than the ones before it.

As Lori continues screaming while holding her injured foot even tighter than before, a bright smile forms on Leni's face as she holds up the hammer, saying "I did it! I hit the nail this time, Lori!", unaware of the horrified looks her sisters were giving her.

However, that smile on her face wouldn't be there for much longer as a familiar buzzing sound started to come from Lola and Lana's room, causing her blood to chill upon hearing it. A few seconds later, a familiar-looking swarm of wasps flew out of the room, clearly angry with all the noise going on.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me..." whimpered Luan, seeing the swarm coming out of the twins' room. "This isn't right..."

Letting out a shriek of terror, Leni starts cowering in a nearby corner with Lola joining her a few seconds later, clearly just as terrified as her older sister.

As the swarm flew over to exact revenge for their rude awakening, the last thought Lynn had going through her mind was 'Maybe this isn't going to be as easy as I thought it would be...' before the wasps set themselves upon her and her family.

Their screaming would join Lori's a few seconds later.

-=O=-

-Elsewhere In Royal Woods (3:45 AM)-

(AN: This will have the first-ever 'double flashback'. Also, I wanted to add Rusty to this scene, but couldn't think of any good dialogue for him. Don't worry though - he'll appear in the story eventually.)

While the seven Louds were getting 'reacquainted' with their bad luck once more, Polly Pain, one of Lynn's best friends and the #2 player for the Royal Woods girls' rolley derby team (as Lynn held the top spot), was laying in her own bed, unable to sleep due to the thoughts running through her mind. They weren't ones of the upcoming game or any other sports for that matter, but rather of the discussion she shared earlier that day with Margo Jones, Lynn's other best friend and a fellow member of her roller derby team.

Interestingly enough, the topic had been about the only son of the Loud family and his current whereabouts, which took place sometime after the owner of Flip's Food & Fuel was arrested earlier that afternoon...

-Flashback-

-Outside Flip's Food & Fuel (12:00 PM)-

"I'm telling you, you've got the wrong guy!" protested Flip as a pair of police officers led him out of his convenience store, hands cuffed behind his back while several people watched on with looks of vindication and disgust. "Whatever you've heard about my store is nothing but a pack of lies!"

"Is that right? Well, once we get back to the station, we'll take a look at the security tapes from last night and see if that's the case or not." remarked one of the two officers, causing the older man's face to pale at the response.

As she watched the larger of the two officers shove the mustachioed man into the backseat of the nearby squad car, Margo muttered "Serves that old creep right. You hear about all the disgusting stuff people's been finding out about his store, right?"

"The re-dated expired milk and the sock someone found in the nacho cheese dispenser? Yeah, I heard about that." replied Polly, shuddering in disgust. "Seriously, who does stuff like that? That's just nasty."

As the squad car drove off and everyone else started to leave to return to what they were doing prior to the arrest, Margo nods and says "Yeah, it is...can we change the subject, please? I'm starting to feel queasy just thinkin' about it..."

"Right, sorry. So...you looking forward to the roller derby game this Friday?"

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it too. Gonna be kinda hard to play without Lynnsanity on the team with us, though."

Shrugging, Polly answered "Yeah, I heard about that. Got herself in trouble or something like that, didn't she?"

"Yep. Don't know all the details, but Lynn's mom had her taken off every single team she played for, including our roller derby team." said Margo before letting out a sigh. "Things just won't be the same without her out there on the rink with us."

"I know what you mean, Mar." commented Polly, nodding her head. "Say, speaking of her folks, you haven't seen any sign of Lynn's brother anywhere, have you? White hair, chipped tooth, likes wearing orange?"

"Nope, I haven't seen any sign of the guy anywhere over the past week or so." replied Margo with a shrug before giving the helmet-wearing girl a peculiar look. "Why the sudden interest in him anyway?"

"You remember what happened back at the Sadie Hawkins school dance, right? Where he ended up having to take four dates at the same time?" asked Polly, causing the long-nosed girl to give her a nod. "Well, I was one of those dates. And even though things didn't work out between us, I think think he'd be a pretty cool guy to get to know, even if it's as a friend."

"...Right, whatever you say." replied Margo with a knowing look on her face. "Well...I don't know if it'll help, but I did talk to Lynn a few days ago during softball practice. She didn't say much about her brother, but she did tell me where he's at."

Eyes lighting up slightly as she leaned forward, Polly asked "Really now? Well, where is he?"

"Well..."

-Flashback-

-Royal Woods Softball Park (1:00 PM)-

As the sun shined brightly in the blue skies above the Royal Woods Softball Park, the Royal Woods Squirrels were hard at work, practicing for their first game of the upcoming season.

However, things weren't so sunny for one Lynn Loud as she sulked while sitting on the bench - all within her first (and only) hour of practice with her team, she had not only broken her spare bat during batting practice, but she had also lost another tooth after getting clocked in the mouth by the door leading to the Squirrels' changing room.

'This just doesn't make sense...I'm nowhere near Lincoln or his room, so his bad luck shouldn't be affecting me like this. Why are these things still happening?" muttered Lynn under her breath, unaware that Margo was taking a seat beside her, having been struck out by the team's substitute pitcher.

"Man, today just isn't your day, Lynn - first you end up losing a tooth after getting hit by the changing room door and then you break your spare bat. Someone must really have it out for you, huh?" asked Margo before she noticed several of the welts and bruises on Lynn's face. "And where'd those come from? I'm pretty sure you didn't get those today."

"Got into a fight with my siblings. You know how they can be at times." answered Lynn, not wanting Margo to know the real (and embarrassing) reason behind her facial injuries.

"Yeah, I guess so. No offense intended, but with siblings like yours, it makes me glad that I'm an only child." said Margo with a chuckle before a thought popped into her mind. "Speaking of your siblings, I haven't seen your brother around lately...Landon, was it?"

"Lincoln."

"Right, Lincoln. I haven't seen him anywhere in town over the past week or so. Did he go somewhere?"

At this, the ponytailed brunette tried to fish through her mind for an excuse to use, not wanting her friend to know the truth behind Lincoln's disappearance. It wasn't because she didn't trust her, but rather because she knew that it would be bad news for her family if the truth got out about what happened to him.

Margo was definitely a great friend to have around, but she wasn't a very good secret keeper.

"He's...er, out of town for a while. Don't wanna go into details, but he's gotten himself in trouble, so Mom sent him away for a little while until things cool down." said Lynn before a scowl appeared on her face. "Good riddance, if you ask me. Stinkin' jinx was already ruining everything for the rest of us with his bad luck."

"Again with this bad luck thing, Lynn? Don't you think you're overdoing it?" asked Margo, eyebrow raised.

Pointing at Margo, Lynn retorts "I'm not overdoing it! His luck cost me...us our win streak! You saw for yourself what it did during our game against the Tigers a few weeks ago!"

"I dunno about that, Lynn. Maybe luck had nothing to do with why we lost." replied the long-nosed girl, shaking her head. "If anything, I think the way you play might be what's wrong."

"Hey, what do you mean by that? My playing is just fine!" exclaimed Lynn, unable to believe that Margo would say something like that.

"That's just it. Don't get me wrong here - you're good, but you always play the same way, Lynn. Even I've noticed something like that." replied Margo pointedly. "It's possible that the Tigers, along with the Lions, noticed it as well and specifically trained to counter whatever you throw at 'em. I know I would if I was playing against you."

After taking a few seconds to think over what Margo had said, Lynn shook her head and said "Nah, that can't be it - I'm the star player of the Squirrels. I've done more to lead this team to victory than anyone else, so if there is something causing us to lose, it's definitely not me."

Rolling her eyes in annoyance at the unintentional insult, Margo answered "If you say so. I still think that's the case and you're blowing this whole luck thing out of proportion."

"More like relying on it too heavily to cover for the fact she's a mediocre at best player." remarked someone from nearby, causing the two girls to face the owner of the voice - the same girl who had insulted Lynn after the game with the Beavers.

"Shut your mouth, Williams! We all know that if it wasn't for my brother and his bad luck, we would have beaten the Beavers that day!" snarled Lynn, getting off of the bench to confront the other girl.

"Excuses, excuses." replied the girl - now known as Williams - dismissively with a scoff. "The fact of the matter is that you screwed up that game for us, Lynn. Not me, not Margo, not even your brother and this supposed bad luck he's got. You're the reason we lost and nothing, not even your stupid superstitions, is going to change that."

Before Lynn could give a retort, the sound of a bat cracking against a ball caught her attention, followed by the sound of someone shouting "Head's up, Lynn! Watch out!", causing her to turn around to see what was the matter.

Upon seeing a softball speeding towards her face like a cannonball, Lynn only had enough time to whimper before it collided with her nose, causing a sickening crack to sound through the air.

After looking around the field for a bit, Williams chuckles and comments "Huh...no sign of that brother of yours anywhere. Guess that load of baloney about his bad luck was just that, huh Loudmouth?"

Lynn didn't give her a response. Then again, it was hard for anyone to give a response when they were out like a light.

As the other Squirrels ran over to see if the unconscious brunette was okay, Margo sat there, deep in thought about everything she spoke about just a few minutes ago...and why she felt that something was off about what Lynn had said to her.

-Flashback End-

"Okay, so he's away for a little while. Got it." replied Polly, nodding her head. "Any idea on when he'll be back?"

"Dunno." said Margo with a shrug before a frown crossed her face. "But now that I think about it, something didn't seem right to me. Don't know what it is, but I don't think Lynn was being honest with me."

"You think she might've lied to you?"

"Maybe. It's just a feeling I've got."

"It could be because there's something else about the truth regarding Lincoln's whereabouts - something that she didn't want you to know." said a droll-sounding voice from nearby, causing the two girls to yelp in surprise. Quickly turning around, the two saw the dour form of Haiku leaning against a nearby wall.

Glaring at the black-haired girl, Polly snaps "Damn it, Haiku! We get enough of that from that creepy friend of yours - we don't need you doin' it too!" before giving her a strange look. "Hold on, what do you mean by something she didn't want Margo to know about?"

"Who knows? It's clear that Lynn didn't want your friend to know about what happened to Lincoln, so it's possible that she and her family had done something terrible to him." replied Haiku with a shrug before her voice took on a much darker tone. "...Maybe they just decided to make him 'disappear'."

Trying to ignore the chill running down her spine at the implication, Margo says "C'mon, Lynn and her folks wouldn't do anything to harm the kid, would they?"

"Harm him? No." answered Haiku, shaking her head. "But the reason they sent him away, along with where he is right now? That seems suspicious to me. After all, from what I understand based on your conversation, Lynn never specified exactly 'what' Lincoln did to warrant being sent away.'

Walking over, she adds "Not only that, but she didn't specify where he is, either - just that he's 'out of town'. Doesn't that seem odd to you?"

"...It does, now that you mention it..." replied Margo, scratching the side of her head. "So...if Lynn's lying about this, then what is she really trying to hide?"

"I'm not sure, but I believe that it involves the truth behind Lincoln's disappearance - there's something about it that she doesn't want revealed." answered Haiku thoughtfully. "And if I had to take a guess, she's not the only one trying to make sure this particular secret remains as one."

"Oh man...you really think the rest of her family's involved, too?"

"As much as I hate to say it, it's a possibility." said another female voice nearby, one with a slightly British accent to it. "I tried askin' Luna about 'im a week ago and she practically dodged the question. Seemed like she didn't wanna talk about 'im."

Recognizing the voice right away, Haiku asks "So you're looking for Lincoln as well, Tabby?", causing the girl in question to shrug as she stepped closer to join the conversation.

"Why wouldn't I? Despite what happened at that stupid dance, I actually kinda liked the little snowball." said Tabby before giving Haiku a hopeful look. "You have any luck in gettin' anything out of that spooky friend of yours?

"I haven't spoken to Lucy yet, but I doubt she'll be forthcoming with anything regarding him either." said Haiku, shaking her head.

"Then we need to find someone else that might have an idea on what's going on and grill 'em for some info." said Polly, pounding a fist into one of her palms. "Any suggestions on a good place to start?"

"Well...how about that dorky friend of his? Considerin' how close he is with Lincoln and his folks, he's gotta know something, right?" suggested Tabby before giving Haiku a glance. "His name was Clyde, wasn't it?"

Nodding, Haiku answered "Yes, that's his name. I'm not sure if he knows about what's going on regarding Lincoln's disappearance, though."

"It can't hurt to try. We'll try talking to him and see if he knows anything." said Polly, arms crossed. "Better than doing nothing, at any rate."

"While you guys are doing that, do you want me to try and see if I can get anything else out of Lynn?"

"Don't bother, Margo - after what she told you, I doubt you'll be able to get any more information from her." remarked Polly as she shook her head. "We're going to try talking to McBride first. If we don't find out anything from him, then we'll see about trying to another idea. One way or another, we're going to find out where Lincoln's disappeared to."

-Flashback End-

'There's just one thing about this whole thing that's bothering me...just exactly what does Lynn have to hide?' thought Polly as she mulled over the question thoughtfully. 'Usually, she's pretty straight-forward with me and Margo, so whatever it is that she's trying to keep secret, it's gotta be something big.'

(AN: This particular part wasn't just to introduce Polly, Tabby and Haiku to the story - it was also to show that the Loud family aren't the only ones affected by the Karmic Misfortune curse. And no, they won't be going to Kanto unlike Ronnie and Clyde. Instead, I've got something else in mind for them.)

-=O=-

-A.J.'s Gym - Battlefield (5:00 PM)-

To say that A.J. was impressed with the fight that Red and Saur were putting up would be an understatement - if anything, he was having the time of his life facing off against them.

"Gotta say that you're really makin' me work for that one-hundredth win, kid. I haven't had a fight like this in a long time." remarked the green-haired teen with a grin.

"Thanks. You've definitely proven why you've got the record you do now." answered Red with a grin of his own. "But all good things have to come to an end and your streak's about to be one of 'em."

"We'll see about that." countered A.J. before giving his Sandshrew a knowing look. "Sandshrew, we're using 'it' to finish this fight. No more playing around."

"It? You're letting me use 'it'?" asked the Ground-Type, staring at his Trainer with a questioning look on his face. Upon seeing A.J. nod his head, he adds "Alright! I've been waiting forever for a chance to finally use 'that' move!"

'Sounds like they've got something planned. I better keep an eye out...' thought Red as he and Saur watched their opponents carefully. In a low voice, he adds "Saur, they've got something planned. Be ready for anything."

"Got it. You have any ideas to counter whatever it is?"

Understanding what the Grass-Type was asking him based on the look on its face, Red whispers "I might have something, but you'll have to wait until I give you the signal to counterattack. Whatever it is they're planning, I've got a feeling that we can't afford to let it hit us."

"Let's finish that overgrown weed now, Sandshrew!" snapped A.J. as he cracked his whip once more, causing Sandshrew to jump high into the air before he starts diving back towards the battlefield headfirst, spinning wildly while a shimmering orangeish-brown aura started to emanate from one of his paws. "Fissure!"

"Fissure?! They're using Fissure?!" asked Saur, eyes widening in shock - he definitely knew what the move was capable of and did NOT want to get hit by it.

"Just keep calm and wait for my signal, Saur." muttered Red as he watched the Mouse Pokemon get closer. Once he felt that Sandshrew had gotten close enough, he grins and orders "Alright, now! Use Flash!"

In an instant, the bud on Saur's back opened up and released a blast of bright light from within it, blasting Sandshrew directly in the face and causing him let out a squeal of discomfort as he canceled the Fissure attack to tend to his eyes.

As the brick-patterned Pokemon started to rub his eyes to clear away the effects of Flash from them, Red points at him and commands "Now use Stun Spore, Saur! Lock it down!", causing the Grass-Type to open his bud up once more, this time releasing a burst of yellow-colored pollen that hit Sandshrew's body.

A few seconds later, the pollen took effect on the Ground-Type, causing his body to stiffen up as an unpleasant tingling sensation went through his body.

"Agh! Whatever this shit is, get it off of me!" squealed Sandshrew as he tried to move his body, only to feel it stiffening up on him. "I...I can't move!"

"What the hell?!" exclaimed A.J., clearly caught off-guard by the sudden counterattacks the Seed Pokemon had used. "What'd your Ivysaur do to my Sandshrew?!"

"Stun Spore - inflicts paralysis and, by the look of things, really irritates the skin of whoever gets hit by it." replied Red as he glanced at the Ground-Type, who was clearly not happy with the pollen sticking to his hide. "But enough about that, I've got a battle to finish. Saur, we're gonna finish this now. You ready?"

"Ready as ever, Red. Just give me the order." replied the Grass-Type with a nod.

"Let's go with something hard-hitting this time...Vine Whip and Skull Bash - what do you think?" asked Red, causing Saur to give him another nod. "Then let's get to it, Saur - you know what to do."

"I'm on it." said Saur before sending out his vines again, snagging Sandshrew by the arms and pulling him in close at high speed. As Sandshrew starts speeding towards Saur, the Seed Pokemon lowers his head slightly, narrowing his eyes in concentration.

Once he felt that Sandshrew was close enough, Saur runs full-speed towards him and smashes his head into the Ground-Type's stomach, hitting him hard enough to free him from the vines and sending him flying through the air before landing on the ground with a dull thud.

"Sandshrew, are you alright?!" asked A.J. in concern as the clearly weakened Sandshrew started to struggle back to his feet...before falling back down onto the battlefield, swirls in his eyes.

"Looks like I win." remarked Red before giving Saur, who had returned to his side, a gentle pat on the head. "Guess you better change that sign of yours soon. Can't exactly call yourself undefeated anymore, can you?"

As he stared at the unconscious Sandshrew, A.J. mumbled "...I...I lost...my win streak's finished..." in a shaky voice.

"If it's any consolation, that Sandshrew of yours gave me one heck of a fight. Hadn't had a battle like that one in a while."

After a few minutes, A.J. sighs and says "...Thanks, I guess." before recalling Sandshrew into his Pokeball. Afterwards, he walks over and offering the cap-wearing Trainer a handshake. "Congratulations on your win. You managed to pull off what I thought wasn't possible."

"Thanks." replied Red as he accepted the gesture with a smile. "Kinda surprised that you're not mad at me about breaking your streak, to be honest."

"Oh, you better believe I'm not happy about the loss, but I'm not gonna whine about it like some brat." said A.J. before staring at Red, determination burning in his eyes. "Instead, I'm gonna take this loss, use it as motivation to grow stronger and then I'm gonna challenge you again. And when I do, I plan on winning."

With a grin, Red answered "Looking forward to it." as the two break off the handshake. "Since we're on the subject, you find out anything interesting about him?"

"Aside from the fact he passed the Trainer's exam without goin' to Trainer's School and that I kicked his ass to get my 99th win, no. Kid must've been real lucky to pull something like that off." replied A.J., arms crossed. "You know anything?"

"Not really. All I have to go by is what I heard about him from the broadcast of the Cerulean gym battle on TV, Professor Oak and my friends Leaf and Gary." said Red before scratching his chin thoughtfully. "Aside from that, the kid's practically an enigma to me. I don't know a thing about him."

"The Cerulean gym battle...you're referring to the one with that Pikachu knockin' out that Gyarados with that weird hybrid move, right?" asked A.J., causing Red to give him a nod. "Huh. Never thought the same kid that managed to pull that off had challenged me just a few hours ago."

"Things have a pretty funny way of happening sometimes." remarked Red with a shrug before checking the time on his Pokedex. "Well, it's getting pretty late, so I guess I better get going. See ya."

"Alright, you take care now." replied A.J. with a wave.

"You too." said Red before moving to walk away, only to stop midstep. "By the way, do me a favor, will ya?"

"Depends. What is it?"

"Those three are heading to Vermilion City next, right?" asked Red, receiving a nod in return. "Well, make sure to let 'em know that there's been some strange activity going on over there. I'm pretty sure that Team Rocket might be involved."

"Team Rocket? Ya mean those criminals that the news has been yammering about lately?" asked A.J., eyebrow raised.

"Yep. Don't know what they're up to over there, but it can't be anything good if a group like that is involved."

"I'll be sure to warn 'em." said A.J. with a nod.

"Thanks." replied Red before turning around to walk away again. As he went through the gates, he gave A.J. a wave and added "See you later, A.J. - remember your promise, alright?"

Grinning, A.J. answers "I will. And once I'm done here, you better believe I'll be gunnin' for ya.", causing a similar grin to appear on Red's face before he walks away. Once the cap-wearing Trainer was gone, the green-haired teen sighed before walking over to the main gate and looking up at the sign displayed above it. "Guess I better get to work on changin' the sign. Red's right about one thing - I can't exactly call myself undefeated anymore..."

-=O=-

-Somewhere In A Forest On Route 5 (5:05 PM)-

If there was a single word that could describe Lincoln's group right now, it would be 'lost'. When the white-haired took on the task of finding and catching the Meowth (along with getting A.J.'s TMs back), there was one thing he didn't take into consideration beforehand - unlike A.J. and his Pokemon, he was completely unfamiliar with the forests on the route, leading to him, Misty and Brock roaming through the forest with no set direction in mind.

To put it in simpler terms, the group was lost in the forest with no idea on where to start searching for the Meowth in question, putting Misty and Lincoln in a bad mood and leading to the argument that they were having at the moment.

"'We'll be back with your stuff before you know it'...this is probably the stupidest idea you've come up with yet, squirt! How the hell are we supposed to find that Meowth when we don't even know where we are right now?!" asked Misty, eyes blazing with anger as she glared at the white-haired boy in front of her.

"Hey, that was the last thing on my mind when I offered to help A.J. out!" retorted Lincoln, looking just as irritated as she did. "And don't call me squirt! Use my name, dang it!"

"His Pokemon know this place better than we do! You should've let them handle it instead of getting us stuck in this mess!"

"Well, excuse me for trying to be nice to the guy!"

Finally having enough of the two arguing with each other, Brock steps between them and shouts "Guys, knock it off! We're not going to be finding anything at this rate if you keep going like this!", only to go ignored as Lincoln and Misty continued to yell at each other. Letting out a sigh, he mutters "Damn it...of all the times for those two to argue, it had to be now."

"Tell me about it. I thought they were finally past that." remarked Pikachu with a look of annoyance on his face as he watched the argument continue. After a few seconds however, he heard another sound coming from nearby, immediately taking his attention away from the fight between Lincoln and Misty.

Unfortunately for him, he couldn't make it out very well due to the argument nearby.

"Hey, can you two shut up for a minute? I think I heard something nearby." asked the Electric-Type, hoping that the fight would cease long enough for him to hear the other sound better.

It didn't. If anything, the argument had gotten louder and by the sound of things, more volatile.

Glaring at the two with his cheeks crackling with electricity, Pikachu grumbles "Alright, that's it. If they aren't going to stop long enough for me to hear what that other sound is, then I'll make them stop."

Being the only one to notice what Pikachu was planning to do, Brock starts to back away. That would end up being a wise decision on his part as a few seconds later, the Mouse Pokemon blasts both Misty and Brock with Thundershock, electrocuting them both.

After holding the attack for a few more moments, Pikachu cuts it off, causing the two Trainers to collapse to the ground, charred and smoking slightly.

Glaring at the Electric-Type as he shakily started to pull himself off the ground a few seconds later, Lincoln asks "What the heck was that for?!"

"It was the only way I could think of to get you two to stop." replied Pikachu with a shrug. "Besides, I heard something nearby, but couldn't tell what it was because you two wouldn't shut up."

"You heard something nearby?"

"Yeah, I did. And if you'll be quiet long enough for me to listen better, I might be able to find out what it is."

While Pikachu perked up his ears to listen in on what the other sound was, Misty asks "Any idea on why Pikachu thought it was a good idea to zap us like that?"

"He wanted us to stop fighting. Granted, he could've done that without zapping both of us, but at least we're not standing around and arguing with each other anymore." answered Lincoln as he pulled himself to his feet with some difficulty. As Misty slowly got back to her feet as well, he adds "He said he also heard something nearby. Could be that Meowth we're looking for."

"Here's hoping it is. I've only been in this forest for a few hours and I'm already sick of it." replied Misty with a groan. "...Lincoln?"

"Yeah?"

"Sorry about getting on your case like that earlier. It's just that this place reminds me of the Viridian Forest and well...you know how I felt about that place."

"Eh, it's alright. I'm used to getting into arguments by now - comes with the territory of having several self-important sisters." said Lincoln with a shrug. "I'm sorry, too. You were right about me getting us into this mess. I should've thought things through before offering to help A.J. out."

"Hey, it just means you're willing to do what it takes to help others out. That's not exactly a bad trait to have." said Brock, walking over. "And it's good to see that you two are finally finished with your little fight. We were making little to no progress with you two shouting at each other."

"You can thank Pikachu for that." replied Lincoln before turning to face the Electric-Type. "By the way, what's the word, Pikachu? You hear anything?"

"I can hear it a little bit. Hold on a moment." replied Pikachu before perking up his ears again. As he listened in to the distant sound, he adds "...Sounds like there's several voices talking to each other just a few yards away from here - probably the Pokemon belonging to A.J., if I had to take a guess."

"Alright. Anything else?"

"One of them sounds mad. Really mad."

"Sounds like they're probably still looking for that Meowth, too. Perfect - we'll help 'em out and track down that cat much quicker." said Lincoln with a nod. "Alright Pikachu, lead the way."

"On it. Follow me and keep close - the last thing we need is for you guys to get lost again."

-=O=-

-Somewhere Near Lincoln's Location (5:15 PM)-

In a small clearing nearby, a small group of Pokemon were experiencing frustrations of their own. Like Lincoln and his companions, they were also searching for the wild Meowth in order to retrieve A.J.'s stolen TMs...and maybe get a little payback on the thieving feline that had troubled them and their owner for the past year or so.

And much like Lincoln's group, they weren't having the best of luck in finding the Scratch Cat Pokemon either and were growing more and more frustrated by the minute. Out of all the Pokemon there, the most furious one seemed to be the lone Beedrill among the group as it hovered about, ranting angrily.

"It's only been a couple of hours and we haven't seen any sign of that little shit anywhere! How in Arceus' name could we have lost it this quickly?!" buzzed the furious Poison Bee Pokemon as its eyes shone with rage.

"We may know this place well, but I'm certain that it knows the area better than we do." commented one of the Rattata among the group. "It may not even be in this forest at all."

Pointing at the purple-colored Pokemon, the Beedrill snapped "That can't be right! We saw the blasted thing run into this forest before we went after it! It has to be here!"

"Well, it's certainly not around this area. We've already..." commented a Pidgeotto before it had caught the sound of something approaching the area. "...Hey, did you guys hear something?"

"Yeah, I did. Sounds like it's coming here, whatever it is." stated the lone Butterfree in the group.

"Is it that pesky, thieving little bastard?" asked the Beedrill, flying over. "Please tell me it is. I've got two hours of frustration I want to vent out on it..."

Perking its ears up, one of the Rattata answers "No, whatever is coming our way isn't that Meowth, I'm certain of it. Besides, why would it want to come back knowing we're looking for it?"

Crossing its forelegs, the Beedrill asks "Well, if it's not that Meowth, then who is it?"

After taking a few more seconds to listen in, the Mouse Pokemon answers "...Humans. Three of them. And they've got a Pikachu with 'em." before taking a small sniff of the air. "...And they smell familiar, oddly enough."

As if on cue, Lincoln, Misty, Brock and Pikachu step into the clearing, catching the group's attention almost immediately.

Recognizing the three Trainers right away, the Butterfree asks "Hey...aren't those the Trainers that the chief was talking to earlier today? What are they doing here?"

"Dunno. Maybe they're looking for something." replied the Pidgeotto as it eyed the three carefully.

"Well, there's only one way we're going to find out what it is." muttered a Geodude, arms crossed as the group of Trainers stepped closer. "What do you want, outsider?"

Realizing that the Rock-Type was talking to him, Lincoln answers "We came here from A.J.'s gym to lend you guys a hand with catching that Meowth. Based on what I heard just a few moments ago, you guys seem to be having trouble with finding it."

Flying over, the Beedrill buzzed "We don't need the help of any outsiders to catch that thieving little shit. We've got this under control, so you can just buzz off, got it?"

"Right, because you're making such excellent progress in finding it at the moment." snarked Pikachu, rolling his eyes. "Look, if it helps, Lincoln spoke to your Trainer about helping you guys out and he's cool with it. So chill out and let us help you."

"The chief's alright with you guys helping us, huh?" asked the Pidgeotto thoughtfully. When Lincoln and Pikachu nodded their heads, it added "Well, if they wanna help us, I say we let 'em."

"Yeah, might as well. The worst that could happen is that we aren't able to find that Meowth, which isn't that much different from how we were doing before they showed up." remarked the Geodude with a shrug.

As the other Pokemon started to agree with the suggestion, Beedrill glared at them for a few seconds before flying over to Lincoln and saying "...Fine, you guys can help out. Just make sure to stay out of our way when we find that Meowth - it stole from our Trainer, so we should have the right to deal with it ourselves."

Crossing his arms, Lincoln asks "And by that you're saying that you want the first crack at taking it down?"

"You're damn right that's what I'm saying. So do we have an understanding or what?"

"That's fine by me, just as long as I get to catch it afterwards. So...you guys have any leads about where it might be?"

"Not a one. We're just as stuck as you three are." replied one of the Rattata, shaking its head. "We've looked all over the place, but haven't found any sign of it anywhere."

"Well...what about a hiding spot? That would explain on why none of you have found it yet." suggested Lincoln, causing the Pokemon to give him thoughtful looks.

Scratching its chin, the Geodude replies "It's possible. That's one thing we didn't take into consideration earlier."

"Not to mention that as I said before, it probably knows the area better than we do. That probably means it knows where it can hide." remarked one of the Rattata thoughtfully.

"Which means that we're at a disadvantage when it comes to finding it. Damn it." grumbled Butterfree as it let out an annoyed huff.

After taking a minute or two to come up with an idea, Lincoln says "Alright, I know you're not my Pokemon and you don't have to listen to what I have to say if you don't want to, but I would like to make our task a little easier with a suggestion I just thought of. Would you be willing to hear me out?"

"If it'll make things easier for us, I'm all for it. Whatcha got for us?"

"Well...how about having the fliers in your group take to the air and scope things out from up there? We might be able to catch sight of that Meowth from a higher altitude." suggested Lincoln, causing A.J.'s Pokemon to stare at him for a moment before turning to face each other.

"...Why the hell didn't we think of that? That could've made things so much simpler!" asked Beedrill, clearly annoyed at the fact it hadn't thought of the idea sooner.

"Maybe because you were too busy throwing a fit like a Mankey to actually come up with any ideas." remarked the Geodude, causing a tan-colored monkey-like Pokemon with a pig-like snout to glare at him.

"Hey, I take offense to that!"

"A Primeape, then."

"Better."

"Alright, now that we've got a plan in mind, let's get our fliers in the air to scope things out." said Lincoln before taking two Pokeballs off of his belt and throwing them into the air. "Alright, c'mon out, you two!"

-=O=-

In a burst of light, both Pokeballs open up, releasing Lincoln's own Beedrill and Bruce from within them.

"Listen up, guys - we're looking for a Meowth carrying a bunch of CDs around with it. We need you two to join the others we've got here and scout the area out for it. Can you do that for us?" asked Lincoln, causing the two Pokemon to nod in response.

"You got it, boss. Might not be able to see very well, but I'll do my best to help you out." replied Bruce before taking off.

"I'll do what I can to help. If I see anything, I'll let you know." added Lincoln's Beedrill before flying away as well.

As the two Pokemon went into the air, A.J.'s Beedrill looks at the rest of its group and says "Alright, for whoever's able to fly, get up there and scope things out. If you see anything, come back and tell us."

While the Butterfree and Pidgeotto fly off to go scouting, the Geodude points at the Poison Bee Pokemon and says "In case you've forgotten, you're able to fly too, idiot. You need to be up there scouting as well."

"I know that! I was just making sure everyone else got the gist of what we needed to do, that's all!" retorted the Bug-Type before flying off as well to join the others.

Watching as the Beedrill flew off, Lincoln asks "What's the deal with that guy?"

"He's always acting like that." replied one of the Rattatas with a sigh. "Don't get me wrong, Bee's a good guy, but he can have a bit of a hot temper at times. Eager to prove himself to the chief, too - that's why he wanted the first crack at that Meowth."

"Eager to prove himself, huh?"

"Yeah. He's always been jealous of the fact Sandshrew is the chief's favorite Pokemon, so Bee's wanting to show him up and take his place as the chief's 'right-hand 'mon', as he calls it." replied another Rattata, nodding its head. "Pretty stupid, if you ask me - the chief, despite the fact he works with Sandshrew the most, likes us all. If he didn't, he wouldn't bother with training the rest of us."

"Well, at least he's ambitious. You gotta give him that." said Lincoln before noticing that his Beedrill and Bruce were flying back towards him. "Did you two manage to find anything?"

"Yeah, there's a Meowth heading into some underground passage not too far from here. Looks like the one you told us about." replied Lincoln's Beedrill, nodding his head.

"You said it was carrying a bunch of CDs around, right boss?" asked Bruce, causing Lincoln to give him a nod of confirmation. "Then that's the one Beedrill saw. Looks like we found it."

"Looks like it. Good work, you two - return." said Lincoln before recalling both of them back. Turning to face A.J.'s Geodude, he asks "While we wait for the others to come back, can you tell me anything about this 'underground passage'?"

"That'd be the Underground Path. Not sure when it was built, but it's the only way to get to Route 6 after the lockdown in Saffron City." answered the Rock-Type before it snapped its fingers in realization. "Of course...that's why it led us through this forest - to distract us from it's real hiding spot."

"So it wanted us to assume that we'd find it here...that's pretty smart." mused Lincoln thoughtfully.

"Exactly. But now that we know where it's hiding, that little ploy isn't going to work anymore." said the Rock Pokemon with a nod. "Now then, let those friends of yours know where we'll be going. I'll go find the others and let them know we found where that little thief is hiding."

As the Geodude heads off to go find Beedrill, Butterfree and Pidgeotto, Misty asks "Based on that smile on your face, I'm guessing you've got some good news for us?" in a hopeful tone.

"Yep. Remember how you mentioned the Underground Path back on Route 4?" replied Lincoln, causing the Water-Type specialist to nod. "That's where it's hiding right now. And once we get there and find it..."

"You can catch it and we can finally move on to Vermilion City." finished Misty with a relieved smile on her face. "Thank Arceus for that."

"We might have to wait until tomorrow to set out again. It's starting to get late." remarked Brock, taking notice of the gradually darkening sky above him. "We better find that Meowth and fast before it gets too dark to find our way back to the gym."

"Agreed." said Lincoln before noticing that Geodude had returned with Beedrill, Butterfree and Pidgeotto. "There you are. You tell 'em about where the Meowth's hiding?"

"Yep. Now all we need to do is find it, get the TMs back and then we can go home." said the Rock-Type with a nod. "You guys ready to get going?"

"Whenever you are." replied the white-haired boy, only for Beedrill to fly in front of Geodude before pointing a fore-stinger at itself.

"Then follow me and stay close - we don't wanna waste time we could've used on getting the chief's stuff back on finding you just because you decided to stray off. Got it?"

"Alright, whatever. Just lead us there already, will ya? It's getting late."

-=O=-

-Viridian City - Skies Above Pokemon Tech (6:20 PM)-

While Lincoln and company were heading off to the Underground Path, a red-colored penguin-like Pokemon with tufts of white on it's body was lazily flying through the skies over Viridian City. This Pokemon was a Delibird, a Johto-native species that specialized in delivery services, no matter where the destination may be.

However, this particular Delibird was rather lazy and disgruntled with its job compared to the rest of its kind, making it...well, not as efficient at delivering things. If anything, calling this particular Delibird 'inefficient' would be a compliment.

"Ugh...why'd the boss have me fly here to an entirely different region just to deliver one stupid package? Couldn't he get someone else to do it instead of me?" grumbled the red-colored Pokemon under its breath as it glared at its tail, which held the aforementioned package inside. "Whatever, I'll just get this over with, then I can stop and get some well-deserved rest."

After stopping on a nearby roof, the Delibird reached into its tail and took out a small box-shaped package with an envelope tied to it. Looking it over, it mutters "Alright, this thing's addressed to some human named 'Professor Oak'. Don't know or care who he is, but this is meant for him. Now then, where does this Oak guy live...?"

Before it could take a closer look at the address on the envelope, the Delibird hears a door opening up nearby, followed by the sound of footsteps. Turning around, it saw Professor Tree leaning against a nearby wall, a blunt sticking out of his mouth as he fished through his pockets for a lighter.

After staring at the sunglasses-wearing man for a few seconds, the Delibird shrugs and says "...Eh. Don't know who he is, but he looks 'professor-ish' enough for me." before walking over and tapping on the man's leg to get his attention.

Looking down, Tree spots the Delibird looking at him, holding out the package with its flipper-like wings. Taking the blunt out of his mouth and pocketing it, he asks "Oh, hey there. You got some mail for me, little dude?"

"Yeah sure, whatever. Are you going to take it or what?"

Shrugging, Tree takes the package and looks it over, only to take off his sunglasses upon seeing who it was actually meant for. Turning to give the package back, he says "Uh, little dude? I think you've got the wrong...", only to stop upon seeing the red and white-colored Pokemon flying off into the evening sky. "...guy."

After watching the Delivery Pokemon disappear into the horizon, he sighs and mutters "Looks like someone's mistaken me as Sammy...again. Guess I better drop by the post office and..."

Before he could finish, the sound of Joe's voice calling out to him caught his attention. Turning around, he spots both Joe and Rusty walking over towards him.

"There you are, Professor Tree. We've been looking for you all evening."

Grinning, Tree asks "Hey, you two. What's up? You need somethin'?"

Taking out several bills from his pocket and waving them about, Rusty asked "We've still got a bit of money from winning the Battle Trophy and figured we'd go out to eat again for dinner this evening. You wanna join us?"

"'Fraid I can't, guys. Gotta get to the post office and send this package over to Sammy before he starts wonderin' on where it is." replied Tree as he handed over the package in question to Joe, who looked it over.

Upon seeing who the intended recipient was, Joe exclaimed "This is addressed to Professor Oak! How'd you end up receiving this?"

"Hey, ask the Delibird who delivered it, not me. Musta mistaken me for him or somethin'." said Tree with a shrug before a thoughtful look appeared on his face. "Then again, some folks say I look just like the guy and could easily pass as his twin."

"Yeah, I can kinda see it. Just remove the sunglasses and you'd look just like him." remarked Rusty, nodding his head before taking the package from Joe to look at it himself. "...Looks like the sender's goin' by the name 'Lisa Loud'. Where have I heard that last name before...?"

"Don't tell me you've forgotten already, Rusty." replied Joe, taking the package back. "That's the American's last name, remember? So I'm guessing this is probably someone related to him - probably a sister or something."

"Kinda weird that someone from the States is sending a package to Professor Oak of all people, though. Wonder what's in it."

"Well, we're not gonna find out - this isn't ours to open."

Nodding his head, Tree adds "You got that right, Joe. Guess I better see about having that mailed off to Sammy in the morning."

"Professor Tree? Tomorrow's Sunday." replied Rusty as he took the package back from Joe, causing Tree to look at him for a few seconds before shrugging.

"Alright, Monday then."

"Monday's not a good day either - it's a holiday." answered Joe, causing the sunglasses-wearing man to let out a groan of irritation.

"Oh for crying out...Tuesday! I'll send it off on Tuesday."

"That'll work. Now then..." started Joe before noticing that Rusty had opened up the envelope and was already starting on opening up the package. "Rusty, what the hell are you doing?!"

Wincing slightly at the tone his friend had used, Rusty replied "I just wanted to see what was in it...y'know, just to make sure it wasn't anything dangerous." with a meek look on his face.

"Well, you've already opened up the envelope. Might as well take a look at it - maybe we can get a hint on what's inside the package." remarked Tree as he reached into the envelope and took out what appeared to be a letter. After unfolding it, he adds "Man, whoever this Lisa person is really likes using a lot of complex words."

"Can you read it out to us?" asked Rusty hopefully while Joe rolled his eyes before crossing his arms, waiting to hear what it had to say as well.

"Yeah, gimme a moment..." answered Tree before starting to read what the letter had to say.

To Professor Oak,

First of all, I would like to say that as this is the first time I've contacted you aside from using my VideoPhone, I hope that this letter and package reach you safely. Hopefully, this will lead to further contact between us in the near future through this method along with a few packages thrown in every now and then. I know I certainly wouldn't mind receiving a few things from the Kanto region through the mail.

Anyway, since I want to keep things brief, I'll just move on to the contents of the package attached to this letter. Inside are three of my patented translation earpieces - two of them are meant for Lincoln's companions while the third one is for you to utilize however you see fit. Hopefully it will prove useful with your research. I should also mention that if you're interested in making this technology available to the public, I would appreciate it if you contacted me beforehand so we can arrange something with each other.

After all, the earpieces were created by me and I should be allowed to have my say on the matter.

Finally, I would like to ask if you can convince Lincoln to start contacting us again. While I'm sure that he wouldn't be exactly keen on the idea of talking to me or my family after what happened during our previous conversation with each other, I feel that clearing the air with him would go a long way towards mending any damage Lynn's idiocy had caused.

With Regards,
Lisa M. Loud

"Pokemon Translators, huh?" remarked Tree, eyebrow raised as he read over the letter again. "This Lisa kid must be pretty smart to cook up somethin' like that."

"Yeah, I gotta say that something like that does sound pretty cool." added Joe, clearly interested.

"Aw man...actual Pokemon translators? That's so cool! I want one!" commented Rusty with a grin on his face as he eyed the package, only for Professor Tree to quickly pluck it up.

"Nope. We've already done enough by reading Sammy's mail - we're not gonna be messin' with his packages, too." replied Tree, shaking his head as he put the letter back into its envelope. "

"Aww...c'mon Professor Tree...can't I just try one of them out? Please?"

"Nope."

"Dang it..."

"Give it a rest, Rusty. You heard what the letter said - there's a small chance they'll be able to make those translator things available to the public. We'll be able to get one then." replied Joe, patting the cap-wearing boy on the shoulder. "Now c'mon, let's get going. I'm starving."

As his stomach growled slightly, Tree chuckled and said "Yeah, I could eat. That offer still available?"

"It is if you're still interested."

"Then count me in, you two. Same place as before?"

"Mm-hmm. The place is expensive, but you can't deny that the food's good."

-=O=-

-Inside The Underground Path (6:45 PM)-

"Man, it's pretty dim in here..." mused Lincoln as he and the rest of the group with him looked around the interior of the Underground Path for any sign of the thieving Meowth. "Is it usually this dark, Misty?"

"Not sure. It's been a while since I've been around here." remarked Misty with a shrug. As she stepped forward, her foot stepped on something small and round, causing her to lose her balance.

Noticing this, Lincoln runs over to catch her, only for both of them to land on the floor with the redhead on top of him in a most...compromising position.

"Oh, this is priceless..." chuckled Pikachu as the two stared at each other, blushing slightly at their current predicament.

The others, save for A.J.'s Beedrill, looked just as amused.

"Hey, stop loafing around and get up! We need to find that Meowth!"

"Yeah yeah, we're on it..." muttered Lincoln as he and Misty slowly got back to their feet. After looking around for a bit, Lincoln finds the object that had caused Misty to fall - a Pokeball. What caught his interest about it was the fact that instead of having it's usual red coloration on the top half, it was a shade of teal with two red vertical lines on it.

Picking it up and looking it over, he asks "Never seen a Pokeball like this before. What is it?"

"That's a Great Ball. It's better at capturing Pokemon than a normal Pokeball, but it's not the strongest Pokeball that's available to the public." replied Brock, pointing at the teal, red and white-colored ball. "I actually think that particular distinction goes to the Ultra Ball, although I've heard rumors that the Silph Company's working on a Pokeball with a 100% capture rate."

"Doesn't look like it's used, either. You want it, Misty?" asked Lincoln, offering the Great Ball to the redhead. "After all, you...er, kinda found it first."

"...Nah, you keep it. Consider it thanks for catching me when you did." replied Misty, shaking her head. "Thanks for that, by the way."

"Anytime. Now then, where's that Meowth..." mused Lincoln as he looked around the area a bit more before noticing what appeared to be a pile of junk in a far-off corner with a Meowth laying on top of it, sound asleep. "Look! Over there!"

"Looks like you found it. Nice work." replied A.J.'s Geodude with a nod. "Now we just need to deal with it, get the TMs back and go home."

Hearing the Rock Pokemon speaking, the Meowth's ears perked up slightly as she woke up with a yawn. Upon seeing the group of Pokemon and Trainers nearby, the Scratch Cat Pokemon blinked in surprise before asking "Nya? You found me already?", her head tilted slightly. "Thought I actually managed to lose you guys, nya. Guess I was wrong."

"We were going to find you eventually." replied Lincoln before pointing at her. "Now then, where are A.J.'s TMs?"

"Yeah, where are they, you no-good thief?!" buzzed Beedrill, eyes flashing in anger.

"TMs?" questioned the Meowth before looking at the small pile of colored discs laying beside here. "Oh, you mean these shiny disc things I took earlier."

"Yeah, those. Why'd you take them, anyway? I'm not certain, but I'm pretty sure Pokemon aren't able to use TMs on their own."

Shrugging, the Meowth answered "To be fair, they are very shiny-looking. I like the sight of shiny things, nya."

"Well, shiny or not, they're not yours and we're going to take them back. And then I'm gonna catch you after that." stated Lincoln, causing a grin to form on the Normal-Type's face.

"You're more than welcome to try. I could use the entertainment."

"Pikachu, you want this one?"

"Sure, I'm game. Something tells me that this Meowth will be more of a challenge than the one hanging out with Team Rocket."

In an instant, A.J.'s Beedrill flies in front of Pikachu, buzzing "I don't think so, buster! If anyone's going to be getting the first crack at that thieving cat, it's going to be me - not you! You just stay right here and out of my way!"

"Fine, whatever." replied Pikachu, rolling his eyes. "Dick."

While Pikachu was grumbling about not getting a chance to fight the Meowth, Lincoln took out his Pokedex and pointed it at the wild Meowth, causing the red-colored device to let out a few beeps before Dexter spoke to him.

'Pokedex data on Meowth has already been collected. Would you like to review this data?'

"Just the information on what this Meowth knows, please."

'Certainly. One moment.' stated Dexter before the Pokedex started to scan the wild Meowth once more. After a moment, he adds 'This Level 22 Meowth is Female and knows the moves Fake Out, Feint Attack, Swagger, Taunt, Thief and the Egg Move Foul Play.'

"So this thing knows a few attacks I've never heard of before. Interesting..." mused Lincoln thoughtfully as the Normal-Type eyed A.J.'s Beedrill with a clearly bored look on her face.

"Why'd you have to get in the way of that Pikachu, nya? I wanted to fight him."

"No. You're going to be fighting me instead, you filthy little thief." retorted A.J.'s Beedrill, buzzing furiously.

Slightly affronted by the insult, the Normal-Type asks "Filthy? I'll have you know that I bathe every day, thank you." before walking over to the pile of objects nearby. "But since you wanna fight so badly, I guess I can play with you for a while, nya."

"Play? This is a fight, not some game! But since you're not gonna take this seriously, I will!" said Beedrill before forming what appeared to be a spherical glob of dark purple-colored venom between the tips of his fore-stingers. "Sludge Bo..."

Before he could prepare to launch the glob of poison, a purple-colored bottle suddenly hit him in the side, causing him to cancel the attack. After staring at it for a few seconds, the Bug-Type asked "...Did you just throw a Potion bottle at me?"

"It's my Fling technique, nya. Anything I can get my paws on, I can throw at you." replied the Meowth before rummaging through the pile again to find something else to throw. "Works wonders for Pokemon who scoops up anything they find, like me."

"Fling?" asked Lincoln, eyebrow raised. After taking out his Pokedex once again, he asks "Dexter, is Fling a legitimate move to use in battle? The Meowth in front of me says that she knows a move going by that name."

'It is. Fling is a physical Dark-Type attack that allows the user to fling whatever it's holding at the target to attack.' replied Dexter before his voice took on a indignant-sounding tone. 'I should also mention that the Meowth species is not compatible with the move, which means that the one before you shouldn't be able to use it in battle.'

"It's just picking something up and throwing it at an opponent, nya. Anyone can do that." countered the Scratch Cat Pokemon as she tossed another Potion bottle into the air a few times before chucking it at A.J.'s Beedrill, hitting him in the head.

"Ow! Stop throwing that shit at me, damn it!"

"No."

'Inconceivable! A Pokemon cannot learn an incompatible attack!'

"Pokemon can learn a lot of things they're not supposed to. In fact, I've heard stories of a Meowth that can speak the language of humans, nya."

"She's got you there, Dexter - I've seen the Meowth she's talking about before." commented Lincoln with a shrug before giving the Pokedex a strange look. "...Wait, how do you know what she's saying?"

'I'm synced to your translator, remember? That means whatever you can hear through it goes through me as well.' answered Dexter before his indignant tone returned. 'And that means I also heard the feeble excuse that Meowth gave you earlier. I don't care what you say - Fling is NOT compatible with your species!'

"Then explain how I'm able to use it then, smartass. I'm waiting." retorted the Meowth with a cheeky smirk as she tossed a Water Stone she had taken out of the pile into the air.

'You are just picking things up and throwing them like some kind of spoiled child! That's not using Fling!' argued Dexter, his voice sounding more and more irritated by the second.

"But didn't you say earlier that using Fling requires hurling what I'm holding at the moment at my opponent?"

'Well, yes...'

"Then by your own admission, I'm using Fling."

'That's not using Fling! You're just throwing things at your opponent!'

"Which is, by your own words, using Fling. So there." replied the Meowth before hurling the Water Stone at Beedrill, once again hitting it in the side.

Shuffling over to the Water Stone, Misty comments "...I'll just be taking that." before quickly picking up the blue-colored rock and looking it over, only to drop it in disappointment a few seconds later. "Damn it. Used already."

'That's not...ugh! Forget it!' snapped Dexter irritably. 'Lincoln, please deal with this annoyance as soon as possible. She's making a mockery of the very purpose I was created!'

"I'll...er, get right on that, Dexter." said Lincoln before turning his attention to Beedrill, who surprisingly looked fairly beat up from the onslaught of thrown objects. "You wanna tag out there, pal? Pikachu and I can take over for you if you want."

"No! I said I'll handle this myself!" snarled A.J.'s Beedrill before charging towards Meowth again. As he got closer, the Poison Bee Pokemon extended both of his fore-stingers in front of him and began to spin wildly as a cone of energy started to form around him, causing it to take on a drill-like appearance. "I'm finishing you off here and now, cat! Drill Run!"

"Definitely something I've got to teach my own Beedrill." remarked Lincoln, impressed with the Bug-Type's attack. However, his impressed look didn't last long as the Meowth once again fished through her pile and pulled out what appeared to be a ball made of iron from it.

"You're starting to bore me, nya. I wanna fight that Pikachu now." said the Scratch Cat Pokemon before hurling the iron ball at the still-spinning Beedrill, hitting him in the head and causing him to crash into a nearby wall with a thud, cancelling the Drill Run attack. "There. That ought to keep you down for the count."

After checking on the downed Beedrill, A.J.'s Geodude nods its head and says "He's out of it. Kid, if you're gonna take a crack at that cat, now's the time."

Shrugging, Lincoln says "Guess that's our cue, buddy. You ready?"

"Whenever you are." replied Pikachu before stepping forward to challenge the Meowth, who now had a look of interest on her face.

"Nya...you look like a tough one. This'll be fun."

"It's not gonna be fun for you when I'm finished."

"We'll see, mouse. We'll see." replied the Meowth before speeding towards Pikachu, surprising the Electric-Type.

As he pointed at the Scratch Cat Pokemon, Lincoln ordered "Let's face it head-on, Pikachu - Quick Attack!", causing Pikachu to start speeding towards Meowth as well.

Just as the two were about to collide with each other, the Meowth grins before clapping her paws together in front of Pikachu's face, creating a small shockwave that knocked the Mouse Pokemon back a few inches.

"Pikachu, you okay?" asked Lincoln, slightly concerned.

"I'm fine. Just...caught off-guard by that move she used." answered Pikachu, eyeing the Meowth as she smirked at him.

"Made you flinch, nya." remarked the Meowth teasingly, causing Pikachu to narrow his eyes at her. "Faked you out."

"Well, I'm gonna knock you out." retorted Pikachu, keeping up his narrow-eyed glare.

'Hmm...maybe the direct route isn't a good way to start...maybe I should try slowing it down first.' thought Lincoln as he eyed the Meowth carefully. "Pikachu, do you have something that can stop that cat in her tracks easily?"

"Thunder Wave should do the trick. Just gotta make sure to hit her with it and..."

Hearing this, the Meowth shook her head and said "Thunder Wave? Nope, not gonna let you use something like that. Not happening, nya." before suddenly taking on a thinking posture. "Let's see here...what's a good one to use..."

Eyebrow quirked in confusion while Pikachu eyes the Normal-Type warily, Lincoln tentatively asks "...A good one to use?"

"For my Taunt attack, nya. Can't use it properly unless you have a good enough insult to use." replied the Meowth simply before her eyes lit up in inspiration. "Aha! Got one!"

After clearing her throat, the Scratch Cat Pokemon flipped Pikachu off with both paws and said "Hey, rodent! Your fur's the color of piss and I've seen newly-hatched Pichu that looked tougher than you do right now!"

Scoffing at the insult, Lincoln asks "Really? That's the best you can...", only to notice that Pikachu was gritting his teeth as his cheeks sparked wildly with electricity. "...How in heaven's name did that work?!"

"Don't bother trying to figure out how Pokemon attacks work, nya. They just do." said the Meowth simply. "In any case, I used Taunt on that Pikachu of yours, so that means no Thunder Wave for you."

"Then I'll just have to make do with kicking your ass instead. I don't need Thunder Wave to beat you." snarled Pikachu in response.

"Is that right? Then show me what you can do."

"Gladly." replied Pikachu before suddenly blasting her with a full-power Thundershock, catching her off-guard.

"Oof...okay, you're definitely tougher than that Beedrill..." groaned the Meowth as she held her stomach from where Iron Tail had hit her earlier. Reaching into her pile, she adds "Good thing I've got my pile here, nya. All kinds of good things in it."

After rummaging through it for a second or two, she takes out what appeared to be an unused Potion bottle and points it at herself, spraying its contents on her body.

As the Normal-Type used the Potion on herself, Lincoln points at her accusingly and shouts "Hey, that's cheating!"

"All's fair in love, war and Pokemon battles, nya." replied the Meowth before hurling the empty Potion bottle at Pikachu, only for the Mouse Pokemon to swat it back at her with Iron Tail. "Dodged that one, huh? Well, let's see you dodge these!"

With that said, the Meowth starts grabbing several objects out of her pile and throwing them at Pikachu, leading to the Electric-Type using Iron Tail to bat away whatever she could throw at him.

As the Meowth prepared to throw what appeared to be a yellow and black-colored Pokeball at him, Pikachu snarls "Enough with throwing your junk at me, damn it! Fight fair!"

"Fight fair? You actually expect me to do that, nya?" asked the Meowth, her non-existant eyebrows furrowing. "This isn't some spar with a set of rules - this is a fight between you and me and it's one I'm going to win, no matter what. So with that said..."

As the Scratch Cat Pokemon prepared to throw the Pokeball she held, Lincoln points at her and orders "Use Quick Attack to get in close, Pikachu!", causing the Electric-Type to once again speed towards the Meowth. Once he felt that Pikachu was close enough, the white-haired boy added "Now use Iron Tail - knock her away from that pile of hers!"

"Nya?!" asked the Meowth in surprise, only for Pikachu to hit her hard in the stomace with his metal-coated tail, sending her skidding several feet away from her pile of junk. "Ngh...that really hurt..."

"And now you can't use that stupid 'Fling' attack anymore. You ready to give up yet?" inquired Pikachu, ready to continue the fight.

"I'm just getting started. Hope you're ready to get a taste of my 'special combination'." retorted the Meowth before crossing her arms and giving Pikachu a narrow-eyed glare as a red aura formed behind her.

"What's that supposed to do, huh? Are you..." mocked Pikachu upon seeing what the Normal-Type was doing, only to stop as he felt red-hot anger running through him. "...Oh, that's it. You're dead, cat."

Eyebrows raised in confusion, Lincoln thought 'What's going on? She just crosses her arms and all of a sudden, Pikachu's suddenly out for blood. What did she do?'

"Lincoln." said Pikachu in a furious tone of voice, breaking the white-haired boy from his thoughts. "Give me an order. Now."

"Erm...alright. How about Thundershock?"

"That'll do." replied Pikachu before preparing to launch the Electric-Type attack. Before he could however, a strange look formed on his face, followed by him looking around the area in a frenzied manner.

Eyeing the Mouse Pokemon worriedly, Lincoln asks "Pikachu, you alright? Is something wrong?"

Instead of giving him an answer, Pikachu looked around the area for a few more seconds before suddenly flinging himself in a random direction, crashing facefirst into a nearby wall.

Recalling that the same thing happened to the wild Onix back in Mt. Moon when Bruce used Supersonic on it, Lincoln mutters "Great...he's confused. Just wonderful."

"That's right, nya. Like my wonderful Fling attack, Swagger's a great move to have around, especially for a Pokemon like me." remarked the Meowth before a wily grin formed on her face. "But there's another reason I like it and you're about to see what it is in just a few seconds."

As the feline-like Pokemon's grin widened, Lincoln muttered "I don't like where this is going..."

"You're going to like this even less - time for part two of my special combination!" shouted the Scratch Cat Pokemon before dashing towards Pikachu as a dark grey aura started to surround her body. Before the Electric-Type had any idea on what she was trying to do, the Meowth grabbed Pikachu by the tail.

With a shout of "Foul Play!", she threw him hard into a nearby wall with a thud, causing the entire Underground Path to shake slightly from the collision.

As everyone else gaped in shock at the power of the attack, Lincoln gasped "Holy cow...that was just..." before pointing at the Meowth. "What the heck was that?!"

As she glanced at Lincoln with a smirk on her face, Meowth replied "That's my special combo, nya - Swagger and Foul Play. You like it?"

"I don't..." muttered Pikachu from his spot on the floor as he tried to pull himself back to his feet. "Ugh...I feel like I just got ran over by a Rhydon..."

"Swagger and Foul Play..." muttered Lincoln, repeating the names of the two moves the Normal-Type had mentioned. Taking out his Pokedex, he added "Dexter, give me the lowdown on the moves Swagger and Foul Play, please."

After a few seconds, Dexter says 'Search completed - two results found. Swagger, a Normal-Type status-inducing move. The user enrages and confuses the target. However, this also sharply raises the target's attack power.' before starting on to the description for Foul Play. 'Next, Foul Play - it is a physical Dark-Type move where the user turns the target's power against it. The higher the target's attack power, the greater the damage.'

'So by using Swagger to boost Pikachu's attack power, that Meowth is making Foul Play even stronger when she uses it. Add in the confusion Swagger causes and she's got a pretty nasty combo on her hands.' thought Lincoln before giving the Scratch Cat Pokemon a clearly interested look. 'I'm definitely going to catch that thing now - a Pokemon this skilled is too good to pass up. Just need to figure out a way to get past the effects of Taunt to be able to use Thunder Wave and I think I'll have her...'

With this in mind, Lincoln asks "Pikachu, can you hear me?" in a low voice. When the Electric-Type nodded his head despite the dazed look on his face, he adds "How's your mood right now? Are you still mad about that insult from earlier?"

"Not really. Then again, since I'm hurting pretty badly and my brain's a scrambled mess right now, it's hard to be mad at anything at this point." mumbled Pikachu as he grabbed his head, trying to clear away the cloudiness within it. "Ugh...my head..."

Hearing this, Lincoln thought 'Guess that means that Taunt's not affecting him anymore. And if that's the case...' before a grin appeared on his face. "...Pikachu, I think it's time to turn the tables back into our favor, don't you?"

"Well, if you have any suggestions on how to do that, I'm all ears."

"Two words, buddy. Thunder Wave."

Stifling a few chuckles, the Meowth asked "You really can't be serious, can you? I made sure that you can't use...", only to be cut off as Pikachu manages to break through his confused state long enough to discharge several ring-shaped bursts of electricity at her, catching her off-guard. Upon coming into contact with the rings of electricity, the Normal-Type felt her body starting to stiffen up as paralysis took effect on her.

As she tried to regain her mobility, the Meowth asked "...How? You shouldn't have been able to...use that because of Taunt..."

"I guess you pissed me off enough to make me forget about it after a while." replied Pikachu with a shrug before a grin appeared on his face. "Now then, before I get some well-deserved payback...Lincoln?"

"Yeah?"

"See if there's anything in that junk pile that'll help out with my little confusion problem, will ya?"

As Lincoln nodded before walking over to search the pile, the Meowth shouted "Hey, that's cheating, nya! Not fair!" as she tried to break through her paralyzed state, only for it to hold fast, keeping her held in place.

"Didn't stop you from doing the same thing earlier, did it?" retorted Pikachu with a grin. "You find anything, Lincoln?"

"Yeah, I think I found something. Something called..." said Lincoln as he pulled a bottle out of the pile and looked over the label. "...Full Restore? The heck is that?"

"From what I heard from the chief once, that's the best medicine money can buy." replied one of A.J.'s Rattata as Lincoln looked over the bottle with interest. "Fully recovers whoever it's used on and cures any statuses they're stuck with, if I'm remembering right."

As the Meowth paled at the purple-colored Pokemon's description and what it possibly meant for her, Pikachu's grin widened as he remarked "Yeah, I definitely want that, then. Throw it over here."

Tossing the bottle over, Lincoln replied "Sure thing. You do know how to use that, right?"

"I've seen you and several others do it plenty of times. I think I can manage." answered the Electric-Type before aiming the bottle at himself, only for Lincoln to start snickering, causing him to look at the white-haired boy.

"What?"

"Pikachu, you've got it pointing the wrong way. I think the last thing you want is to accidentally use it on that Meowth."

"I knew that!" replied Pikachu before turning the bottle around and pressing the trigger, causing a spray of medicine to hit him, causing a tingling sensation to run through his body.. As he felt the pain from his body subsiding and the cloudiness in his mind starting to clear up, he adds "Ahh...much better. I needed that."

"Glad to hear it, buddy. Feel like finishing this fight now?"

"Oh yeah. And I think I know just how I want to do it." replied Pikachu before turning to face the still-paralyzed Meowth. "I know that I said I would be only be using this for when I really need it..."

As he said this, Pikachu started to charge an Electroball at the tip of his tail, then suddenly changing over to using Iron Tail mid-charge, causing the familiar form of Volt Tail to make its appearance once again. "...But since you pissed me off this much, I think I'll make an exception when it comes to you."

Eyeing the hybrid attack fearfully, the Meowth could do nothing but whimper as Pikachu jumped into the air towards her.

A few seconds later, a crackling 'boom' sounded through the area, followed by the entirety of the Underground Path lighting up with electricity.

-=O=-

"...Was that really necessary, Pikachu?" asked Lincoln as he knelt down and gently poked the blackened and clearly unconscious Meowth with one of his fingers. "You could've just used Electroball or Iron Tail to get the job done."

"Blame...that Meowth...for being such an asshole...during our fight." wheezed Pikachu in between breaths as he tried to recover from the recoil damage Volt Tail had dealt to his body. "She should...consider herself lucky...I didn't use it at full power..."

"Certainly looks like you did, if you ask me. Then again, since Swagger boosted your attack power, I guess that's just as good as using it at full strength."

"Just shut up and catch the damn thing already."

"Alright then, if you insist." replied Lincoln before taking the Great Ball he had found earlier out of his bag and looking it over. "No better time than now to give this thing a try, I guess. Let's see if you're as 'great' as your name states."

With that said, the white-haired boy activated the Great Ball and threw it at Meowth, hitting the coin on her head and causing it to pull her inside.

Due to the fact that she was not only still paralyzed, but had been rendered fully unconscious from Pikachu's Volt Tail attack, she didn't put up much of a struggle. Or any at all, for that matter.

As the Pokeball flashes and goes still, Lincoln smirks and says "Gotcha. Welcome to the team, Meowth." before taking out his Pokedex. "Dexter, you ready to send another Pokemon to Professor Oak's lab?"

'Of course. Which Pokemon would you like for me to send back to Professor Oak's laboratory?'

Taking Raph's Pokeball off of his belt and replacing it with the Great Ball, Lincoln answers "Let's go with Raph. I think some time away from us might help with that attitude of his."

Inwardly, he added 'That and Professor Oak might be able to help me out with dealing with getting him to listen to me...'

'You want to send your Squirtle to Professor Oak? But that would mean...' asked Dexter before his tone suddenly took on one of disbelief. 'You're keeping that infernal cat with you?!'

"...Yes?"

'...Can you please reconsider the idea of sending your Squirtle back to Professor Oak? Wouldn't you rather send someone else? Your newly caught Meowth, for example?'

Shaking his head, Lincoln replied "Nah, I'm good. Send Raph to the lab, please."

'...Very well, if I must.' said Dexter in an exasperated tone before activating the transfer system, sending the Water-Type's Pokeball to Professor Oak's laboratory. 'And done. Do you require anything else?'

"That'll be all, Dex. Thanks." said Lincoln before putting the red-colored device away. As he glanced at the Great Ball attached to his belt, he adds "Man, this limit of six Pokemon at a time can a real pain. It's becoming harder and harder to decide who I want to bring along with me."

Giving Misty and Brock a hopeful look, he asks "Is there any way I can increase the number I'm allowed to hold?"

"I'm not sure if there is or not. You might have to talk to Professor Oak about that." replied Misty with a shrug. "In any case, you've caught that Meowth, so now we just need to get the TMs back and we can head on back to A.J.'s gym."

"That's your cue, guys." said Lincoln, turning to face A.J.'s Pokemon, only to notice that they were staring at Pikachu with looks of shock and horror on their faces. "Guys? You alright?"

After finally managing to find it's voice, the Pidgeotto among the group asked "What in Arceus' name was that?! I've never seen an attack like that before!"

"Volt Tail...created it by accidentally combining Iron Tail and Electroball during my fight with a Gyarados." answered Pikachu, finally starting to get his breathing back under control. "Hurts like a bitch to use and messes with my ability to use electricity for a while, but the punch it packs is worth it."

"So you created a hybrid attack...interesting." mused Butterfree as it tapped its chin thoughtfully. "We should bring up the idea with the chief about doing the same for us when we get back."

"Sounds good to me." replied Beedrill before buzzing in contentment as an idea popped into its mind. "Maybe with a hybrid attack or two in my arsenal, I can finally put that dirtball Sandshrew in his place and take his spot as the chief's right-hand 'mon."

As it and the other Pokemon in the group snorted in amusement, the Geodude says "Please. You know as well as I do that he's going to help Sandshrew with creating an attack first before doing the same with the rest of us."

"Just shut up and go see if the chief's TMs are all still there and fully intact." grumbled the Beedrill, its good mood ruined by the Geodude's remark. "That damn cat better not have used any of them..."

As A.J.'s Pokemon went over to the pile and started to gather their Trainer's TMs from it, Lincoln asks "Hey Brock, those disc TMs...are they the older models you mentioned back in Pewter City? I've never seen any like those before."

"Yep. And like I told you before, you can only use those once and that's it. That's why they started making TMs in the form of USB sticks." stated Brock as A.J.'s Pokemon started to place the TMs into a small bag they had found sitting within the pile. "The only exceptions to the 'one use only' rule would be HMs, but I don't know very much about those."

"I've heard that there's even a few TMs among the older ones that you can't find in USB form nowadays." commented Misty, nodding her head. "They're probably worth a small fortune."

"Huh...maybe I'll see about getting some of those one day." replied Lincoln before noticing that A.J.'s Pokemon looked to be finished with their task. "Everything all good?"

"Yep. Everything's all set on our end. We're ready to head back." replied the Geodude with a thumbs-up. "Thanks for the help, you three. We wouldn't have gotten this far without your help."

"Yeah yeah yeah, congrats and all that." snapped Beedrill waspishly. "Let's just get back to the gym already."

"Yeah, we should get going - the chief's probably wondering what's keeping us." commented one of the Rattata as it nodded in agreement. "That and it's almost dinnertime. Mmm..."

"Yeah, I think we better get back to the gym and..." started Lincoln before his eyes caught onto the large pile of objects that his Meowth was looking over earlier. Recalling all of the items she took out of it to use during her fights with A.J.'s Beedrill and Pikachu, he asks "...Hey, do you guys think that we should check out that pile before we go? We all saw what kinda stuff she pulled out of it earlier - there might be something useful in it."

"Looks like a pile of junk, if you ask me. But if you wanna rummage through it, be my guest." replied Misty with a shrug. "Just don't expect us to wait up on you."

"You guys go on ahead and head back to the gym. I'll stay here with the kid and help him get back once he's done with searching through that Meowth's junk. Even though I could've handled that cat myself, I owe him that much at least for making sure that little troublemaker will never bother us or the chief again." stated A.J.'s Beedrill before giving the pile a vindictive glance. "Besides, I wanna take some of that furball's stuff as payback for that bullshit she pulled during our fight."

"If that's what you wanna do, go ahead. You want us to let the chief know that you're going to be late?" asked the Butterfree as it secured the bag around its neck.

"If you wouldn't mind." replied the Poison Bee Pokemon before flying over to the pile and rummaging through it. "Now then, let's see here...junk, junk...ooh, a TM for Return! And is that an unused Hyper Potion?"

"Hey, don't hog all the good stuff for yourself! Wait for us!" exclaimed Lincoln as he and Pikachu ran over to the pile to search through it as well.

Watching on with amusement on her face as the three continued to scavenge through the pile, Misty says "You think they'll find anything good, Brock?"

"Who knows? Let's just get back to the gym already - I'm tired and hungry from all the running we did today." replied the Rock-Type specialist with a shrug before heading off to the stairs leading out of the tunnel.

Seconds later, the others, save for Lincoln, Pikachu and Beedrill, followed after him.

-=O=-

-Route 5 - Near Entrance To A.J.'s Gym (8:00 PM)-

It had taken Lincoln, Pikachu and A.J's Beedrill around half an hour to finish searching through the Meowth's pile of objects, but they could definitely agree on one thing - taking the time to check it out was definitely worth the trouble, even if they had to hurry to catch up with the rest of the group.

Thankfully, they had managed to do just that when the others were only a mile or two away from the gym's location.

As the group started to head back to the gym together, Misty asks "So...you find anything good in that junk pile, Lincoln?", causing a sly look to appear on Lincoln's face.

"Maybe. Maybe not." replied the white-haired boy evasively.

"You did, didn't you? You wouldn't have that look on your face otherwise." said Misty as she pointed at him. "Out with it. What'd you find?"

"Nothing much, really. Some unused Pokeballs, a few unused Potions that're still good, some disc and USB TMs, a bunch of rocks that looked like evolution stones..." answered Lincoln as he started to tick off each listing with his fingers.

Eyes lighting up slightly, Misty eagerly asks "Evolution stones, huh? Any Water Stones? Unused ones, preferably?"

"Nope." replied Lincoln before opening his bag and taking out five rocks with varying designs and colors - two of them were a dull shade of green with a leaf design on them, one was an orange-colored stone with a flame-like fleck within it, another was an orange-colored stone shaped like a sun while the last one was a sparkling white stone that gleamed brightly. "Don't know what these are, but I know that none of 'em's a Water Stone."

"Damn it." grumbled the redhead before looking over the five stones curiously. "Still, not a bad haul, I'd say. Are they unused?"

"Yep, I made sure to have Dexter scan 'em beforehand. So what are they?"

"Well, the two with the leaves are Leaf Stones while the orange one's a Fire Stone. The sun-shaped one's a Sun Stone." answered Misty before she stared at the last stone in confusion. "Don't know what that one is, but it's definitely a evolution stone. No doubt about it."

'That would be the Shiny Stone I scanned earlier.' remarked Dexter's voice from within Lincoln's pocket, causing the white-haired boy to take the red-colored device out. 'And yes, as your redheaded girlfriend had stated before, it is an evolution stone.'

While Misty blushed slightly at the last part of Dexter's comment, Lincoln asks "Okay, so are any of 'em compatible with the Pokemon I've got right now? Or with any of the ones I've got at Professor Oak's lab?"

'Unfortunately not.'

"Thought so." muttered Lincoln as he put both his Pokedex and the stones away. Turning back to face Misty, he adds "Aside from all of that, I didn't find much else. Just a bunch of shiny garbage and stuff like that."

Having heard what Lincoln had said earlier, Brock comments "That's still a pretty good haul, Lincoln. It looks like that crazy luck of yours is working in your favor again if you managed to find stuff like that so easily."

"I'll take your word for it, I guess." replied Lincoln before noticing that the group had finally managed to arrive at the gym. "Looks like we're back. I wonder how A.J. managed to do against Red..."

"Well, he's sitting over there. Go ask him." said Brock, pointing at the green-haired teen himself as he sat on a bench outside of the gates leading to the gym with a clearly distraught look on his face.

Walking over, Lincoln asked "Hey A.J., we're back." only to notice the expression the older Trainer was wearing. "...Something wrong?"

"Yeah. Take a look for yourself." replied A.J. with a frown as he pointed at the sign above the entrance. Taking a look, Lincoln saw the numbers '99' and '1' displayed on it with the word 'UNDEFEATED' crossed out with red paint.

As the other Pokemons' eyes widened in shock at the sight, A.J.'s Butterfree asked "The chief finally lost?!", clearly unable to believe what he was seeing.

"Looks like it. Never thought I'd see the day when it'd finally happen." said the Geodude among the group, still staring at the sign in shock.

Buzzing irritably, Beedrill adds "I knew that dirtball wouldn't be able to handle taking on whatever that cap-wearing brat threw at him! Now the chief's record is shot because he couldn't get the job done!"

As the other Pokemon started to converse about what happened, Lincoln, knowing what the numbers and crossed-out word meant, asked "You lost against Red, I take it?"

"Yeah. Don't get me wrong - it was a great fight and one worthy of being my first loss, but..."

"You're upset that you couldn't reach your goal of a hundred wins in a row."

"Yeah. We were so close to finally reaching it..." replied A.J., sighing. After a few minutes, the green-haired teen asks "...Did you manage get my TMs back, at least?"

In response, A.J.'s Butterfree breaks away from the rest of the group and flies over with the small bag containing the TMs within it. After taking it from the Bug-Type , A.J. opens it up, finding the numerous colored CDs inside, all perfectly intact.

"Well, at least I've gotten these back...that's something." muttered A.J. before giving his Pokemon a small smile along with a grateful nod, causing them to start chattering happily, their dismay at the earlier news forgotten. Turning to face Lincoln, Misty and Brock, he adds "Thanks for helping my Pokemon get my TMs back, you three. I appreciate it." before searching through the bag he was holding.

After a few seconds, he takes out three TMs of varying colors - green, blue and brown respectively - and holds them out.

"Here, these are for you - just my way of sayin' 'thanks'. Don't worry about givin' them back because I've got plenty of spares."

"We'll put them to good use. Thanks." replied Lincoln before taking the green-colored TM and looking at the label on its case. "...Grass Knot?"

"Works wonders against heavier Pokemon. Should be useful on that Pikachu or Bulbasaur of yours if they ever run into somethin' like an Onix or a Rhydon." answered A.J. simply, causing a wicked smile to appear on Pikachu's face.

"Sounds like my kind of move. I wanna learn it."

"Let's work on Iron Tail first before we have you learn how to use anything else, alright?" said Lincoln before turning his attention back to the green-colored disc in his hands. "Can you use something like this with the Move Tutor device?"

"Yep. There's a slot on it meant for the older model TMs. You insert it in there and it'll do the rest." replied A.J. with a nod. "Most folks used to just plunk 'em on their Pokemon's head and use 'em that way, but you can use the Move Tutor with them, too."

"Awesome." said Lincoln before noticing that Pikachu was trying to tap the TM with his head. "Hey, I said wait until we get Iron Tail down first before we see about teaching you this!"

"But I wanna learn it!"

"No! We're going to wait until you master Iron Tail first!"

After glaring at Lincoln for a second or two, Pikachu starts going for the green-colored disc again, saying "Damn it Lincoln, give me that disc right now! I need something I can use to beat Ground-Types!"

"I said not yet!" retorts Lincoln, holding the TM away from the Mouse Pokemon.

As Lincoln and Pikachu started to struggle with each other over the Grass Knot TM, Misty looks at the blue-colored disc in her hands and comments "Scald, huh? Nice. Thanks, A.J." before turning to face Brock, who was looking at the brown-colored disc. "What'd you get, Brock?"

"I got Bulldoze." stated Brock as he glanced at the TM, interested. "I'll probably end up teaching it to Onix - he could use a more accurate way to deal with faster attackers aside from using Rock Tomb. Thanks."

"Anytime. So did you catch that little troublemaker, kid?"

After finally managing to keep Pikachu away long enough to put the Grass Knot TM in his bag, Lincoln replied "Yep. She won't be bothering you anymore."

"Glad to hear it." replied A.J., nodding in approval. "So...is she any good?"

"She's a pain in the ass." grumbled Pikachu from his spot on Lincoln's shoulder as A.J.'s Beedrill nodded in agreement.

"Well, she gave your Beedrill and my Pikachu a lot of trouble during their fights with her." answered Lincoln as he started ticking off with his fingers. "Fake Out, Swagger, Taunt, Foul Play, some weird variant of Fling...she's really unconventional in battle and fights kinda dirty, but I think I can make what she has to offer work out for me."

Eyebrows raised at the answer, A.J. asked "Really? Well damn, wish I had known she knew how to fight like that earlier. Could've made a real contender outta her with the right training." before giving Lincoln a grateful nod. "Still, thanks for making sure she won't bother us anymore."

"You're welcome. So...uh, any chance of letting us stay for the night?" asked Lincoln hopefully. "It is getting kinda late.."

"Yeah, I think I can manage having you guys stay here until morning." said A.J. as he nodded his head. "Besides, I doubt it's safe for ya to be goin' out at this hour, especially with those Rocket guys prowling around out there."

"Team Rocket's been causing trouble around here?" questioned Misty curiously.

"That's what Red told me after our battle, anyway. Don't know why, but he said that those crooks have been really active as of late, especially near the Vermilion City area." said A.J. before crossing his arms. "He actually asked me to warn you guys about that, by the way."

"Knowing Team Rocket, it's probably nothing good." remarked Brock, arms crossed as well. "We'll keep an eye out. Thanks for the warning, A.J."

"Anytime. In any case, let's get back inside before it starts gettin' too late." said A.J. before heading into the tent.

As he and the others started to follow after him, Lincoln thought 'So Team Rocket's causing trouble around Vermilion City, huh? Great...of all the places for them to be doing it, it just had to be where I needed to go to win my next badge...'

-=O=-

As the group went back into the tent for the night, the familiar shape of Jessie and James' Meowth balloon floated through the air once again as the three Rockets continued on their search for Lincoln and his companions.

"This is infuriating! We can't have lost them this quickly!" snarled Jessie as she scoured the area with a pair of binoculars, trying to find any sign of the white-haired Trainer or his friends below. "We need to find those brats and quickly before the boss decides to can our asses!"

"We're trying, Jessie! It's not our fault the brat's being hard to find!" complained James as he did the same, only to find nothing. "This is bad...this is really bad..."

Meowth, meanwhile, was sitting in the basket, deep in thought.

Noticing this, Jessie asked "Meowth, what're you doing just loafing about? Get off your ass and help us out!"

"Why bother?" remarked the Normal-Type, catching the redhead's attention. "Ain't much point in searchin' fer the kid 'round here when there's an easier way ta find him."

Turning to face the Scratch Cat Pokemon, James asks "What are you talking about, Meowth?"

"Well, tink about it fer a moment - the kid's collectin' badges, right?" asked Meowth, causing the two Rockets to nod. "Well, since Saffron's still locked down tight, he'll be headin' to Vermilion City next. So instead of lookin' fer the brat himself, we go there ahead of him and wait for him to come to us."

After she and James looked at each other, Jessie turned back to Meowth and said "That's...actually pretty smart. Good thinking, Meowth."

"Yeah, great idea. Why didn't we think of that sooner?" added James, nodding his head.

"Maybe because unlike you two nimrods, I'm da brains of dis operation." replied Meowth smugly, only to let out a yelp when Jessie threw her binoculars at him, hitting him in the face. "Ow!"

"The only thing you are is an annoyance, Meowth." snapped the redhead before turning to face James. "Set a course for Vermilion City, James. We'll need to get there quickly if we want to arrive before the boy does."

"On it, Jessie."

-=O=-

-The Loud Residence - Hallway (7:35 AM)-

As she headed up to the bathroom to get a shower in before heading off to work that morning, Rita saw an unusual sight nearby that quickly caught her attention - Luna, Lisa and Lucy were staring at the rest of her family, who were laying on the floor among what appeared to be numerous planks, nails and hammers scattered about the vicinity of Lincoln's bedroom door, with the latter two having amused looks on their faces.

Luna, on the other hand, was staring at her father and siblings with a baffled expression on her face.

Running over, Rita asked "What in the world happened here?"

"Based on the items scattered on the floor, it looks like they were trying to seal Lincoln's room back off." remarked Lisa, eyebrow raised. "And by the look of things, they failed. Miserably."

"Seems that they still think that there's still some...you know, 'it' in there." commented Lucy with a shrug.

"...I tell them that they're not allowed to do it and they try it anyway." growled Rita as she glared at the seven Louds, only to feel her anger subside upon seeing the terrible shape they were in - numerous bruises and welts, bee stings and small spatters of blood coming from Lori's foot that stained the hallway carpet. "...Jeez, this looks less like an attempt at sealing off Lincoln's room and more like they were trying to get into a fight with each other and a swarm of bees at the same time."

"Looks like 'it' struck 'em again..." commented Luna, finally speaking for the first time that morning, causing Rita to look at her questionably.

"What in the world are you talking about, Luna?"

"...Don't wanna say, dude. I remember what you said to Lynn a few days ago about...well, you know."

"...Does this have to deal with 'bad luck'?" asked Rita, causing the fifteen year-old to reluctantly nod. "I'll allow you to bring it up just this once. Now what's going on?"

Realizing that she now had the freedom to talk about what was going on, Luna answered "Don't know if you've been noticing it or not, but bad luck's been hitting the rest of us hard over the past week. Really hard." before pointing at Lynn, who was sound asleep while still beneath Lori's body. "Since then, Lynn's been thinkin' that Lincoln's room is the reason it's happening and started goin' on about getting it sealed back off. Based on the fact everyone else is here, they seem to agree with her."

Giving her mother a look, she quickly adds "I'd like to mention that I had nothin' to do with anything that happened last night, by the way. I was in my room the entire time."

"Based on the fact you're not covered in bee stings, I believe you." replied Rita, nodding her head before turning her attention back to her husband and children. "So they're experiencing a run of bad luck themselves, huh? Fitting."

Keeping her gaze on them, she adds "After seeing this and hearing what Luna had to say, I'm starting to wonder if it's worth the effort to actually punish them when stuff like this is happening to them."

"It is fitting when you think about it." remarked Lucy, walking over. "They go on and on about Lincoln being bad luck when he was faking it, then they get a taste of the real deal themselves when he's gone."

"Irony has a funny way of working out sometimes." added Lisa, nodding her head.

Having heard what Lucy and Lisa had to say, Luna asks "...So he was faking it all along, huh? Kinda figured that'd be the case after Leni mentioned what happened on the morning of her fashion show.", causing the two and Rita to face her. "Mom...do you...?"

"Know about this? Yes." replied the blonde with a nod. "Lincoln told me himself when I spoke to him. I'm guessing you finally realized it, too?"

"Yeah, though that's not the only thing that's botherin' me..."

"I'm presuming that this has to do with your concerns about our siblings, yourself included, holding Lincoln back from succeeding?" inquired Lisa, causing the others to look at her.

"You actually feel this way, Luna?" asked Rita, startled.

"...Yeah." replied Luna, nodding her head. "It all started on the day you guys got that report from Professor Oak. Since then, I just can't get that thought outta my head. Add in how I'm feelin' about what I did to Lincoln and...well, I've been having trouble getting to sleep at night."

"That would explain your haggard appearance over the past day or so." remarked Lisa with a nod. "In any case, it sounds like you're regretting what you've done to him."

"I do. And not just because this whole luck thing - I regret not bein' there for him when he was there to support me. He's always had my back when I needed it, but when the goin' gets tough for him, I'm not there when he needs me the most." replied Luna with a nod of her own. "And I wanna change that. Even if he never forgives me for what happened between us, I still want to try to make things right with him...and I need your help to do it, Lise."

Dropping to her knees with a pleading look on her face, she adds "Please Lisa...let me talk to him. Please."

As she eyed the fifteen year-old curiously, Lisa turned to face Lucy and Rita, asking "...What do you think? Should I let her in on our arrangement regarding the subject of speaking to Lincoln?"

"She seems like she's being genuine about this." replied Lucy with a nod. "I say we give her a chance."

Nodding her head as well, Rita said "Agreed. I'm pretty sure she truly regrets what she's done."

"Very well then." answered Lisa before walking over and placing a hand on Luna's shoulder. "Luna, if you're willing to make amends with our brother, I suppose I can let you know on when - or if - he'll be calling again so you can do just that. Is that alright with you?"

"...Y-you're being serious about this, dudette? You'd let me talk to Lincoln just like that?"

"Yes. Just don't make me regret this decision, please."

In an instant, Luna pulls Lisa into a tight hug and replies "Thank you, thank you, thank you!", unaware of the fact that the four year-old was wiggling about in her grip, trying to get free. "You won't regret this, I promise!"

"Cease this affectionate gesture at once, Luna! I can't breathe!"

After watching the scene for a few seconds with a look of amusement on her face, Lucy asks "It's nice to see sisters bonding like that, isn't it?" in a joking tone - one that she rarely, if at all, used.

"That it is, Lucy. Now come on, I'll make us some breakfast since your father isn't able to do it himself." replied Rita with a chuckle before heading towards the stairs.