Since I can finally update this story again, I'll make up for my lack of updating. Here's the tenth chapter.

When Johanna answered the door that night, the last thing she expected to see was the sheepish but smiling face of her daughter beaming at her. "Hi, Mom." Dawn greeted casually.

Johanna swept her daughter up in a hug, and then gratefully looked over Dawn's shoulder at the party. "Thank you." she mouthed. They nodded.

"Down to business. Dawn, can you tell us about what you heard and saw?" Ash asked.

"Sure. Come on in." Dawn said.

"Shall I make dinner for everyone?" Johanna asked.

"Sure, but I'm not that hungry, so forgive me if I don't eat much." Ash said.

"Ash not wanting to eat? There's a surprise." Dawn teased.

"We've changed a lot over the years, Dawn. No one knows that batter than me." Paul answered.

Later…

"I may have been bound and gagged, but that doesn't mean I couldn't listen. I overheard the Galactic Grunts discussing something about an alliance. They didn't really seem to like the idea of it, though." Dawn recalled.

"Were you able to find out who the alliance was between?" Anabel asked.

"Yeah. Apparently, Team Galactic has allied itself with Team Rocket. They also mentioned something about allying themselves with some other teams called Team Aqua and Team Magma." Dawn answered.

"What? There's no way! Team Rocket has always been out to stop the goals of the other crime teams. And an alliance between Team Magma and Team Aqua is unthinkable! They're just too different, with different goals that completely contradict one another!" Ash protested.

"Wow. That was the most complicated speech I have ever heard Ash say." Misty joked. Ash glared at her.

"If that's true, then there may be someone pulling the strings." Sarah speculated.

"There is. I heard from the Galactic Grunts that someone convinced the four leaders, Giovanni, Maxie, Archie, and Cyrus, to work together in exchange for land. Team Rocket would keep Kanto and the Orange Islands, Team Aqua would get Johto, Team Magma would get Hoenn, and Team Galactic would get Sinnoh." Dawn explained.

"Did you find out who it was?" Max asked.

Dawn shook her head. "But I did hear the immense fear in their voices when they spoke of him. I think that he's a lot more powerful than all the teams combined. How else could he have gotten four teams that hate each other to work together?"

This put Ash, Paul, and Leon into deep thought. They knew there were only six types of aura, and over the years, the three boys learned they meant. Red meant power, blue meant good, green meant protection, black and white meant balance, yellow meant loyalty, and purple meant evil. And right before they left the Galactic Building, they could all sense a faint yet unmistakably powerful purple aura. Whoever it belonged to was pure evil.

"Ash? Paul? Leon? Are you still with us?" Drew's voice brought them all back to reality. Everyone was staring at them.

"Sorry. I kind of spaced out a little. I think we all did." Leon said. Then he shook his head. "Anyway, what were you saying?"

"You were all staring off into space." May said.

"Is there something wrong?" Brock asked.

The three boys glanced knowingly at each other. Then Ash began speaking. "Well, before we left the Galactic Building, I felt a purple aura. A purple aura means…"

Paul finished. "…pure evil."

After seeing the weird looks that everyone else was giving them, Leon said, "Look, we're not kidding. Remember, we can feel aura and detect its colors. Ordinary Aura Guardians have equal chance of getting one out of all types except for purple. Dark Aura Guardians have that color, and they are pure evil and very rare, but very dangerous. If one is pulling the strings behind this alliance, then we might be in trouble."

This brought the listeners into a tense silence. After a few seconds, Ash broke it. "Sorry. Dark Aura Guardians are still very rare. The chances that the alliance was caused by one are remote."

"Good. You had us worried there for a minute." Drew said.

"In any case, you should rest up here for the night before going back home." Johanna offered.

"Thanks, but I'll turn that offer down." Paul said, standing up.

"Where are you going?" Brock asked.

"Where else? I'm going home. I'm not planning to go back to Kanto. Someone's going to have to make sure that Team Galactic won't take over Sinnoh. Besides, I know my way around the region." Paul said. Then he shouldered his pack and walked towards the door.

"Later, Paul." Leon said.

"Contact me if you want my help." Paul replied right before leaving.

Leon looked pensive. "Paul's got the right idea." he muttered.

The others faced him. "What are you talking about?" Ash asked.

Leon got up, leaned against a wall, and folded his arms. "I'm saying that if we want to protect Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh, we're going to have to separate for a while." Leon said. He then looked at them. "I don't think I'll be going back to Kanto either. Someone's going to have to look after Johto. It's not that far away from Kanto, so I'll probably get there quickly if you need my help. First thing in the morning, I'm taking a boat to Johto."

"Leon… I'm going with you, then." Sarah said. He looked at her in surprise, then she smiled. "Johto was the first region that we traveled together. If you're going there, then I'm coming with you."

Leon smirked. "So be it. I know that mood of yours, and I don't think I can convince you otherwise."

"All right, it looks like your minds are made up." Ash sighed. "However, we're going to need people protecting Hoenn, Kanto and the Orange Islands. Brock, Misty, can you two go to the Orange Islands? I figured that with Misty's Water Pokémon and Brock's Ludicolo, you shouldn't have much trouble getting around."

"No problem." Brock answered.

"You can count on us!" Misty added.

"Max, May, Drew, can you look after Hoenn? With only Team Magma there, you should be able to protect it." Ash said.

"You got it." Drew said.

"Okay." May answered.

"Sure." Max replied.

"Anabel and I will look after Kanto." Ash said, with a glance at his girlfriend. Anabel blushed and nodded, while Leon grinned.

"Dawn, stay in Sinnoh and help Paul out." Ash said.

"All right." Dawn accepted.

"OK, we leave first thing in the morning. For now, we better get some sleep." Ash said. Pikachu yawned and jumped back onto Ash's shoulder as he walked upstairs to the guest rooms, everyone else following.

The next morning…

Ash and Anabel were riding on a ship to Vermillion City in Kanto. Once there, they would return to Ash's house to get Delia, Professor Oak, Gary, and Tracey updated on things, then Anabel would return to the Battle Tower and contact Scott asking him for a leave of absence for herself and Sarah, giving him the excuse, "To permanently stop Team Rocket, Team Magma, Team Aqua, and Team Galactic."

Leon and Sarah were on their way to Olivine City in Johto, moving around the region to probe for Team Aqua scouts. Then, the scouts would be attacked and defeated on sight.

May, Max, and Drew were headed to Slateport City in Hoenn, where May and Max would return to Petalburg City while Drew would head back to Verdanturf Town, getting their parents to give them permission to fight Team Magma.

Brock and Misty took a boat out to the Orange Islands after contacting their families, reassuring them of their safety and assisting in the purging of Team Rocket from the Orange Islands.

Paul and Dawn stayed behind in Sinnoh, where they would stop the efforts of Team Galactic until something big happened.

All teams were given specific orders from Ash to contact the others if something big came up. Then they chose the meeting spot: the Battle Tower in Kanto. With these orders, the four boats set out with Paul, Dawn, Reggie, and Johanna to see them off.

What was in store for the party, none could ever guess.

OK, I had to end there, despite the fact that I rarely type chapters as short as this nowadays. Please review!