Disclaimer: "Pokémon" is property of Nintendo, The Pokémon Company International, Satoshi Tajiri, etc.
The Team Rocket motto translation is from "Bulbapedia."

A little blue and white penguin pokémon rummaged through its trainer's yellow backpack. From within Pochama produced a contest ribbon and held it gingerly in its wings. Pochama was glad this was one of the few times when Hikari left the token her mother had given her in her bag. Though it had grown grubby over the years, it shone of inspiration for Hikari and her pokémon.

The sudden sound of Hikari's electric-type pokémon caused Pochama to jump, followed by a reproachful look sent the intruding pokémon's way. Pachirisu was curious as to what Pochama was holding, so the water-type explained the connection to Hikari's mother and the value it held for their young trainer.

Pachirisu was intrigued and eagerly asked to see the ribbon as well. Pochama however thought it would be best to put the ribbon back, lest something happened to it.

Pochama jumped upon hearing the voice of Hikari's electric pokémon. After giving Pachirisu a reproachful look Pochama explained, "It's the first contest ribbon Hikari's mother won. She gave it to her as a good luck charm."

Pachirisu bounced around Pochama, trying to get a good look at the ribbon while Pochama tried to fend off the overenthusiastic pokémon. In the excitement, Pochama leant back too far and the ribbon slipped from its wing, falling from the balcony.

Horrified, Pochama pressed against the balcony bars to watch the ribbon tumble in the air. The moonlight reflected off the ribbon as it spun, catching the attention of a passing Yamikarasu. It soon swooped down and snatched it in its beak, carrying the ribbon off toward the forest.

Pochama and Pachirisu gaped at the Yamikarasu's retreat, both feeling a deep sense of foreboding.

- - -

"Hikari, are you coming for breakfast? Hm?" When Satoshi and Takeshi came to check on their female companion, they found their quarters littered with her belongings.

Satoshi stepped in and glanced around the room. "Hikari, what's the matter?"

"Ahh, I can't find the ribbon!" she answered while scanning through the upturned contents of her bag.

"You lost one of your ribbons?" Takeshi asked.

"Not my ribbon, my mother's! The one she gave me when I left for my journey." Hikari fell forward to lean on her hands. "I put it in my bag before bed but it's not there anymore…" Panic and fear were quickly taking root in her spirits.

Beside her Satoshi knelt on one knee and placed a hand on her shoulder. With a comforting smile he said, "Hikari, don't worry. If it's around here we'll find it."

She turned to face him, some of her grief dissipating in the face of friendship. Managing a smile Hikari nodded. "Okay."

In the background a guilty Pochama squirmed, fretting over what to do.

- - -

It was one of those times when they were strapped for nourishment. No canned food, no junk food… nothing. There wasn't even anyone to steal from because they were still in the middle of the forest. The only thing left to do was scavenge.

"I was weak from the lack of food. Now I'm weak because of that and exhaustion." Kojiro collapsed to sit on the ground, rubbing his empty stomach.

"Come on, we're not starving yet," snapped Musashi. "If we can't find anything here then we just have to keep moving forward."

Up in a tree Nyarth was poking around for any fruit. What he found was a nest filled with various nick-knacks, including: "Eh? A contest ribbon?"

Musashi caught what he said and Nyarth brought it down for her to look at. "Ohh, it really is a contest ribbon!"

Kojiro rose to take a look for himself. "That's strange. Who would be careless enough to lose a contest ribbon?"

"It looks pretty beaten up too," Nyarth added.

Gazing upon the ribbon, a sly smirk spread across Musashi's lips. "Hmm… lucky! This means I'm one step closer to being a top coordinator!"

Kojiro was a bit skeptical. "Eh? Are you sure? That ribbon could be old. It might not qualify you for the Grand Festival."

"Whatever, we won't know until later. In the meantime I'll keep trying to get more ribbons while I have this one in reserve. Now let's find those brats!" Musashi self-assuredly strode down the path, her 'new' ribbon clasped in her hand.

"It seems she's forgotten about finding something to eat," mumbled Nyarth.

"I sure haven't," Kojiro sighed.

- - -

They had checked the Pokémon Centre from top to bottom, asking other trainers and Nurse Joy if they had seen the ribbon. Nothing they did brought results, and Hikari was sinking back into worry and gloom. Her friends could see it, but they didn't know what else to do.

Finally Pochama came up to her, gathering courage and resolve. After getting her attention Pochama began speaking the way it usually did, waving its wings about to try and explain what had happened. It wasn't a simple matter however, and Hikari couldn't tell what Pochama was trying to convey. She did notice though that Pochama kept pointing outside.

"Pochama, you… you think we should look outside?"

Pochama froze and blinked, wondering whether or not to let Hikari believe this.

"Okay!" Hikari ran toward the door of the Pokémon Centre, ready to renew her search.

"H-Hey! Hikari, wait!" Satoshi called, but either she didn't hear him or ignored it.

Even if it was a farfetched idea, Hikari wanted to keep looking. She didn't want to stop, didn't want to feel like she had given up. She had barely taken a few steps out from the centre when she had to pause before she ran into the person before her.

"Hey, Pi-kari!" A teasing grin crossed the boy's features.

Hikari stared at him for a second, and then remembered what she was supposed to be doing. "Kengo!" she suddenly cried. "I lost it, it's gone!"

Her reaction was both startling and confusing to Kengo, who had been expecting Hikari's usual burst of irritation. Instead he was faced with a distressed ten-year-old girl. "Uh… lost what?"

"The contest ribbon my mom gave me for good luck! The first ribbon she ever won in a contest!" The anguish in her voice nearly seemed tangible.

For the first time in his life Kengo felt compelled to put aside his reservations over Hikari. His expression softened and he told her, "Well, come on then. Let's look for that ribbon."

"Kengo…"

- - -

"Sooooo huuungryyy…"

"Will you two be quiet back there!? We'll eat eventually, we always do!"

"That thought doesn't keep the hunger pains away," Kojiro moaned.

Nyarth wearily nodded in agreement. "Only food does."

Musashi was preparing to yell at them again when she heard some far-off voices. She quickly signaled for Nyarth and Kojiro to be quiet as they hid themselves amongst the bushes.

"Look, it's those brats!" she said as the sources of the voices came into view. "Okay, it's time to capture Pikachu!"

Her teammates groaned. "Riiight…"

- - -

"Hikari, I don't think we're going to find it here." Satoshi knew she might find it hard to accept, but even if the ribbon was in the forest the area was massive.

"You had with you at the Pokémon Centre, right? I think we should go back and check again," suggested Takeshi.

Even as her friends said this, Hikari continued to wander around the forest, peeking into bushes and weaving between the trees. "You guys go; I want to stay here a little longer."

Kengo recognized this stubborn side to Hikari's temper. It usually came when she was upset, so he tried to cheer her up. "I wouldn't worry about it, Hikari. After all, your mom must have known the risks when she gave it to you."

For a moment Hikari stilled, then turned to Kengo. Never before had he seen such a torn and angry expression on her face."Kengo, you're horrible!" She spun around and dashed through the bushes she had been examining, not minding if she happened to crush a few branches on her way.

"Ah – Hikari! Wait, I –" Kengo began to follow her, but Takeshi restrained him by the shoulder.

"Let her calm down for now."

Kengo looked from Takeshi to the place where Hikari had disappeared to. Of all people, the person whose feelings Kengo didn't want to hurt was Hikari's.

- - -

She didn't know where she was going. She just kept running, only wanting to get away. 'Why is this happening? How could I have lost Mama's ribbon? I… I…' Hikari stumbled out into a pathway, colliding with the person who was walking along it.

"Oh, uh, I'm sorry!" Hikari distractedly apologized as she turned her face away.

"… Hikari?"

The blue-haired girl inwardly gasped. Slowly, she raised her head and gazed back into clear, auburn eyes. "N… Nozomi…" Suddenly aware of herself, Hikari lifted her hands to brush away the tears that had managed to form in her eyes. She felt a pair of warm hands gently wrap around her wrists, pulling her hands away from her face. Hikari looked up at Nozomi.

Her friend and rival was studying her with an unreadable expression, still holding Hikari at the wrists. A moment later she released her and reached into her bag, coming up with a handkerchief. Softly, she brought it to Hikari's face and dabbed at the tears which lingered.

Hikari closed her eyes and waited until Nozomi was done to open them again. Other than her name, Nozomi hadn't said anything to Hikari up to this point. She was looking again at Nozomi, who was now smiling kindly for her. She felt Nozomi's hand slip into her own, and she followed as she led her off the path.

- - -

Hikari's disappearance was getting a bit too lengthy for Kengo's liking. Though he would never say this to her, he was getting worried, and after what they deemed a suitable amount of time Kengo said he would find her first to apologize. Pochama was adamant about coming along, so both went in the direction Hikari took off to.

They were making their way along what appeared to be Hikari's impromptu path, judging by the way the forest was trampled upon in certain areas. As they approached a clearing the pair heard what seemed to be Hikari's voice, but accompanied by another. Curious, Kengo slowed their pace as they closed in.

Under the shade of a tree, Hikari had just finished recounting her dilemma to Nozomi.

The other girl leant back and gazed up thoughtfully to the sky. "I see… but you know, I'm sure Kengo didn't mean anything spiteful by what he said."

"I know…" Hikari rested her head on her arms, over her knees. "It's just with the commotion over my mom's ribbon, what he said pushed me over the edge. I'm worried about how my mom will react."

Nozomi looked at the girl beside her. "Hikari, you're her daughter. You're most important to her, not a ribbon. Sure, she might be a little upset because of sentimental reasons, but that would be nothing compared to how she would feel if something happened to you."

Hikari lifted her head from her knees, thinking over Nozomi's words. If she put it that way… things weren't as bad as she thought it was. It lifted her spirits, at least a little bit. "Nozomi…"

The redhead slightly leaned forward. "Feel better?"

She turned to her and smiled. "Daijoubu."

Nozomi smiled as well, swiftly rising before Hikari and holding a hand out to her. Hikari only blinked, nonplussed.

"Will you take my hand?" Nozomi courteously prompted.

Hikari continued to stare at her a moment longer before accepting the gesture. She placed her hand in Nozomi's, utilizing her leverage to stand. She stumbled somewhat as she got up, but Nozomi held her steady.

Meanwhile Kengo was hiding from sight along with Pochama, watching over the two girls. Pochama kept questioningly glancing up at Kengo. It wasn't that Kengo meant to spy on them. He simply hadn't found a good chance to approach them yet. There was a nagging sound in his head that kept wondering why Nozomi was there, which seemed to grow stranger and spread to his heart after she helped Hikari up. Kengo made a show of sprinting into the clearing to announce his presence.

The girls turned when they heard the noise in the bushes and awkward footfalls. Kengo and Pochama came stumbling out into the clearing.

"K-Kengo? Pochama?" Hikari took her hand from Nozomi, her attention now focused on her childhood friend and starter pokémon.

Kengo's steady gaze shifted between Hikari and Nozomi.

The latter raised a hand to greet him. "Hi, Kengo. It's been a while."

A while indeed; the two hadn't seen each other since the contest they both entered with Nozomi coming up the winner. It was a point which became more evident to Kengo as he recalled it. He calmly replied, "You won that time, but it won't happen again."

Nozomi raised an inquiring eyebrow. "Oh?"

Hikari wasn't sure what was going on, but the last thing she needed was some weird squabble between rival coordinators. "Hey, um…"

Her voice brought Kengo's train of thought back to what he originally came here to do. Feeling self-conscious, he began, "Listen, Hikari… about before, I'm…"

"I know." Hikari quietly stopped him before he could finish. "I know, Kengo. You don't have to say it."

Kengo swallowed, believing his pride was at stake. "But –"

BOOM! An explosion nearby interrupted him. The three coordinators looked to the sky, seeing a cloud of dirt and dust rising into the air.

- - -

"Pikachu!"

"Pika-pii!"

A cage housed Satoshi and Takeshi's pokémon, having been released to help look for Hikari's ribbon. In a separate cage the boys looked on as a Nyarth-shaped hot air balloon loomed, helmed by two humans and a talking Nyarth.

"Team Rocket!" shouted Satoshi.

"We hear a voice saying, Team Rocket!"

"We come along in a swift current of light…"

"The wind!"

"The land!"

"The sky!"

"The danger we will deliver to the world!"

"The crisis we will convey to the universe!"

"Whether angels or demons, if you call that name,"

"The captiviting echo that shakes everyone…"

"Musashi!"

"Kojiro!"

"And Nyarth!"

"The stars of the era are us!"

"We are the invincible…"

"Team Rocket!"

"Sounansu!"

"Mime, mime, mime!"

"Well, the brat-girl isn't here but at least we got their pokémon including Pikachu," Musashi remarked with a satisfied grin.

"I can't wait for the celebratory feast!" exclaimed Kojiro. "Let's go, Nyarth!"

"Roger!" Nyarth hit the button on the remote to extend a couple of magic hands to grab the cage containing the pokémon.

It was an unsuccessful maneuver as a Pottaishi charged forth to demolish the extensions with Drill Peck. Kengo, Hikari, Pochama, and Nozomi soon ran in to join the fray.

Hikari sprinted with Pochama to Satoshi and Takeshi. "Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Satoshi answered. "Just get us out of here."

"Ahh, these are more brats than we expected!" Nyarth whined, watching as Kengo's Pottaishi proceeded to use Metal Claw on the bars of the captured pokémon's cage.

"Never mind that! We can get through this with my lucky ribbon!" Musashi confidently held up the contest ribbon Nyarth had found earlier.

It caught the sunlight, and Nozomi saw it, pinched between Musashi's fingertips. "Muma!" She whipped out a pokéball, releasing her ghost-type pokémon. "Use Shock Wave on that balloon!"

Kojiro reached for his own pokéball. "Muskippa! Come out and use Bullet Seed!" As to be expected, following its release Muskippa chose to glomp Kojiro before anything else. "No, don't attack me, attack them!"

"Okay Habunake, it's time to – wah!" Musashi had just pulled out her pokéball when it slipped between her fingers and fell on the basket floor. She was about to pick it up when Muma's Shock Wave struck the balloon and caused a rip in the material.

Team Rocket braced themselves as the Nyarth balloon jostled. "Whoaa! Noo!"

Aiming for a finishing blow, Kengo hollered, "Pottaishi, BubbleBeam!" The attack rammed into Team Rocket, producing a blast strong enough to shoot them into the sky.

"No pokémon and no food," Kojiro grumbled dolefully.

"I'm not a black cat but this is pretty unlucky," Nyarth mused.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Musashi frisked her person. "Where's – !"

The trio declared in unison, "This feels bad!" as they spun off into the atmosphere.

Satoshi and Takeshi were reunited with their pokémon, thanks to the efforts of Pochama and Pottaishi.

"It's a good thing you guys came along when you did," Satoshi said with Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Yeah, thanks a lot."

Kengo walked up to them with Pottaishi by his side. "It was no problem."

"Team Rocket wasn't very subtle this time around," Hikari observed.

"Maybe it's because they had this."

The group turned around, revealing Nozomi's presence to a surprised Satoshi and Takeshi. Hikari however was looking at her outstretched hand, which was cradling something gold, orange, and white. Her eyes widened and she ran up to her to give the item a closer look. It was there… and it looked the same. She lifted it from Nozomi's palm and gazed upon the ribbon, warm feelings and relief washing over her.

Nozomi faltered when Hikari suddenly flung her arms around her neck. "Hikari?"

"Nozomi… thanks."

Feeling something unpleasant bubbling inside, Kengo retorted, "I helped get rid of those guys!"

Hikari pulled away from Nozomi and looked at Kengo. It wasn't strange for him to brag once in a while, but his tone just now sounded odd. Hikari didn't think too much of it, instead replying with a kind, "Yes… thank you, Kengo."

He flustered and averted his eyes. "Um, yeah… you're welcome."

Takeshi tilted his head. "Hm…"

Satoshi waltzed up and grinned. "I'm glad you found your mom's ribbon."

Pochama jumped into Hikari's arms, giving her an apologetic hug. Hikari returned the favour, smiling as she looked round at her group of friends. 'Mama… even without your ribbon, I think I'm pretty lucky after all.'