I want to thank everyone who took the time to leave a review; I really appreciate your comments.

If any of the readers of the original version of this story have questions about future events please PM them to me. If you leave them in reviews, you could spoil the story for new readers.

I am sorry for the delay but I have had a lot on my mind recently and it has taken some time to deal with it. That is sort of, why this is a short chapter, I wanted to get something up for you guys to read.

Anyway, without further ado here's chapter 5, I hope you enjoy it.

In conversations:

'- Translation of Poké Speech – No human unless otherwise stated can understand it. Ash can understand it due to his Aura.

"- Human speech

"- Telepathy/Aura

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, if I did then Ash would have won a league by now.

Flashback – 15 months after the betrayal

It had been three months since Ash had decided to leave Sinnoh and head to Hoenn to start his quest to take down Team Rocket. He had at first thought about starting his hunt in Kanto but quickly decided against that, as he knew that Team Rocket's most powerful forces would be in Kanto and he was certain that he was not ready to take on their strongest forces. Hoenn on the other hand was not flooded with Team Rocket like Kanto although if something wasn't done soon that would quickly change.

Ash was walking away from the Team Rocket lab he had infiltrated and after taking out a few grunts, he had succeeded in taking the base down. Suddenly several loud explosions boomed from the west, Ash was immediately concerned about what could have caused the explosion so he went to investigate. After a few minutes, Ash came to a clearing and saw Hunter J attacking a Flygon with her Salamence, Drapion and Ariados. He then spotted two motionless bodies behind the Flygon, the first was another Flygon and the second was a small Trapinch.

The Flygon crashed to the ground after being hit by Salamence's Dragon Claw, Flygon quickly got back up just in time for a Cross Poison to hit him sending him crashing into the tree behind him. Flygon slumped to the ground feeling exhausted, he cracked an eye open and saw Ariados fire a Sticky Web at him. The webbing wrapped around Flygon and stuck him to the tree, Flygon tried to break out of the web but he was unable to get free.

Hunter J saw that Flygon was trapped so she walked over to him and crouched down so she was at eye level with the dragon. Flygon met Hunter J's gaze and growled angrily while he glared at his captor.

"You put up a much better fight than I expected, it's a shame the other two were so weak but I know you'll fetch a pretty penny when I take you to a buyer."

Ash decided that now was the best time to make his appearance so he stepped into sigh.

"You're not taking that Flygon anywhere." Ash declared.

Everyone turned so they were facing the person who had spoken, Hunter J and her Pokémon smirked at the figure while Flygon watched in confusion wondering why this hooded figure was helping him.

"This is none of your business; I recommend that you get out of here before you get hurt."

"You don't frighten me J. Everyone come on out."

Ash threw the Pokéballs he was holding into the air, the Pokéballs burst open moments later and in a flash of light, all of Ash's Pokémon were standing in front of him. The Pokémon glared angrily at Hunter J and her Pokémon, Hunter J knew that she was outmatched so she pulled out one of her smoke bombs and threw it at the ground causing it to explode and shroud the area in smoke. Everyone coughed violently due to the smoke, they then heard an evil cackle above them, they looked up and saw Hunter J standing on Salamence's back.

"Get back here!" Ash yelled.

"I don't think so boy. You'd better watch your back boy, next time we meet the outcome shall be different." Hunter J replied.

Hunter J then sat down and Salamence shot off, Ash considered chasing after her but decided against it when he saw the damage Flygon had sustained. He walked over to the dragon and yanked at the webs but couldn't break them.

"Charizard can you burn those webs please."

Charizard nodded and fired a weak Flamethrower at the webs, which disintegrated them. As soon as Flygon was free he tried to fly away but a sharp pain in his right wing grounded him, he then started to walk in the direction Hunter J had flew away until he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Flygon looked back and glared at Ash.

'Let go of me.' Flygon growled.

"Wait Flygon, you're in no condition to chase after J."

'You expect me to just let that bitch get away after she murdered my family?!'

"No I don't expect that, but with your injuries you would just throw your life away. If you just stay here for a day or so we can heal you up and then we can chase after Hunter J."

'You're going to help me? Why?'

"Because I can't let her get away with killing innocent Pokémon."

Flygon looked into Ash's eyes and could see the honesty in the boy's eyes; he thought about his options for a moment and then nodded.

'Alright, I'll stay but only for a day. After that I'm going with or without you."

"That's fair enough, right let's start fixing you up."

Flygon nodded again and took a laid down giving Ash a perfect view of his multiple injuries. Ash immediately got to work on healing the dragon's injuries so that they would be ready to chase after Hunter J as soon as possible.

Flashback over

"What happened after that?" Anabel asked.

"The next day we left to track her down and we found her a couple of weeks later. She tried to escape again but we stopped her and took her to the police station where Officer Jenny arrested her. After that Flygon asked to join us so he could repay us for helping him."

Anabel looked sadly at Flygon who sensed her gaze and turned towards her, he gave Anabel a sad smile before turning his attention back to Gardevoir. Anabel tore her gaze away from Flygon and looked at Ash.

"Shall we move on to the next Pokémon?" Ash asked.

"Yeah so who joined you next?" Anabel replied.

"Gardevoir was the next one to join me…"

Flashback – 17 months after the betrayal

Ash was heading towards the next Team Rocket base he had discovered, it was the last one he knew of in Hoenn so he was determined to destroy it and then move on to the next region. He had decided that he would head to Sinnoh next, then Unova and Kalos. He was leaving Johto and Kanto for last since he knew that they were the two regions that had the strongest Team Rocket forces.

Ash was pulled from his thoughts when he heard the faint sound of crying coming from the forest to his right, he couldn't ignore that so he started weaving his way through the trees. As Ash got deeper into the forest the crying got louder, he eventually came to a clearing that looked like a war had happened there. Trees had been broken, boulder turned into rubbed and there was blood splattered everywhere.

Ash's eyes then fell upon two motionless bodies with a smaller one kneeling next to them crying. Ash approached the bodies and saw that it was a Ralts crying over the bodies of a Gardevoir and a Gallade. He felt his heart sink for the young Ralts; he instantly knew who would be best suited to console the orphaned Ralts.

"Flygon come on out."

The dragon appeared in front of Ash and looked at his trainer in bemusement, he was about to question Ash about why he had been sent out when he heard crying behind him. Flygon turned around and saw the little Ralts crying next to a Gardevoir and a Gallade. He immediately knew why Ash had called upon him; he landed next to the Ralts and picked her up. The young psychic Pokémon looked up at Flygon through tear-filled eyes.

'Don't worry little one, I'll take care of you and I promise that the ones who did this will pay.' Flygon whispered.

Ralts simply buried her head into Flygon's chest and sobbed while the dragon just held the young Pokémon tighter to him.

Flashback over

"That's horrible, seeing her parents killed in front of her must have haunted her."

"Yes it did, she had nightmares of the pack of Mightyena that attacked her parents for a long time and had it not been for Flygon she wouldn't be who she is today. Those two are inseparable now, Gardevoir sees Flygon as a father and he sees her as his daughter."

"Well I'm glad that she has gotten through her troubles and that she and Flygon are so close."

Ash and Anabel turned their sights to Gardevoir who was chatting with Flygon with smiles on their faces. Anabel could feel the joy radiating from the two and could tell that those two shared an incredible bond. Anabel then turned her sight back to Ash who was staring at lovingly.

"So who was the next Pokémon to join you?"

"Rotom and Porygon-Z were the next Pokémon I caught before defeating Giovanni…"

Flashback – 2 years after the betrayal

Ash raised a hand in front of his face to block the intense sandstorm that was plaguing the deserts of Kalos. Although he was glad that he'd come to Kalos to cut off Team Rocket's attempt to gain a stranglehold on the region he was getting increasingly pissed off due to where Team Rocket had decided to make their base.

"Why the fuck did Team Rocket have to set up their only base in Kalos in the fucking desert." Ash yelled.

Ash sighed and just pushed on through the sandstorm. Eventually the base he was looking for cam into sight, Ash quickly found a rock to hide behind to avoid being seen by the grunt who was patrolling the front entrance.

"There must be another way in." Ash murmured.

He waited for the grunt to pass by again before quickly moving to the left side of the base. He scanned the exterior of the base until he spotted a small vent.

"That's my way in. Wartortle and Croconaw come on out."

The water Pokémon burst out of their Pokéballs and stared at Ash.

"Hey guys can you bust through this vent and see if there is a secret entrance you can open for me?"

'Sure Ash.' Wartortle replied.

Croconaw and Wartortle nodded at one another and then turned their attention to the vent. Their tails turned metallic and they swung them at the vent, destroying it and opening their way into the base. They rushed into the opening leaving Ash outside to wait for them.

A few minutes later Ash heard a hissing noise coming from the wall to the left of where he stood. He shifted around the corner to avoid detection; he glanced around the corner to see who or what had made the noise and saw a panel slide open. Moments later Croconaw and Wartortle walked out of the door with triumphant smirks on their faces. Ash walked back around the corner and approached Wartortle and Croconaw.

"Nice job you guys."

Both Pokémon nodded and gave Ash thumbs up, they then followed Ash as he walked into the base. The first thing Ash noticed was a pair of grunts as well as a pair of Golbat's that had were frozen to the wall. He looked down at Wartortle and Croconaw and saw that they were grinning proudly.

"I see you two had fun while I waited outside in the sandstorm. We'd better get moving before someone starts to wonder where these two are."

The water Pokémon nodded and then leapt on to Ash's shoulders, they held onto their trainer tightly as he started sneaking through the base making sure to avoid any cameras. While he stealthily moved through the base, Ash glanced into the various rooms he passed checking to see if there was anyone inside but to his surprise, every single room had been empty. As he got closer to the centre of the base he finally found a room with a trio of scientists tapping away on a few computers, one of which was linked up to a glass container.

"Okay you guys take out the two furthest away from us with Aqua Jet and I'll deal with the one near that glass container." Ash whispered.

Wartortle and Croconaw nodded and jumped off Ash's shoulders, water immediately surrounded them and they shot towards their targets. Moments later, they slammed into the scientists sending both of them crashing into the wall; the noise gained the attention of the final scientists who turned around and saw his two comrades slumped against the wall unconscious. He was about to yell for help but was stopped by Ash landing a punch to his gut, the scientist fell to his knees and lost consciousness as well.

"Well that was easy. Come on guys let's go before someone finds us." Ash said.

'Wait Ash there's a Pokéball in that container.' Wartortle stated.

Ash walked over to the glass container and formed an orb of Aura in his hand; he launched the orb at the container, which shattered it. Ash carefully picked up the Pokéball, which immediately burst open revealing a Rotom, which was uncontrollably changing through its various forms, which Ash knew, should be impossible. He tried to approach the Rotom but it quickly flew away from Ash and sparks shooting off him.

'Stay back!' Rotom yelled.

"I'm not going to hurt you Rotom. What did Team Rocket do to you?" Ash asked.

'They have done experiments on me; they wanted to make me be able to change to my various forms at will. As you can see they were partially successful, I can change forms but I have no control over it.'

"Well how about you come with me and I'll help you master this ability."

'How can I trust you?'

"You're just going to have to believe that I want to help you. Surely the three unconscious Team Rocket Scientists in this room prove that I am no friend of Team Rocket."

Rotom looked around at his unconscious tormentors and after a moments thought he nodded.

'Okay, I'll go with you.'

"Great, I need you to go back into the Pokéball until I finish dealing with this base."

Rotom once again nodded and allowed himself to be returned to the Pokéball, Ash placed Rotom's Pokéball in one of his spare pockets and then turned to Wartortle and Croconaw who had finished tying up the trio of scientists. Both of the water types climb onto Ash's shoulders and he walks out of the room, carefully walking down the hallways making sure to stick to the shadows. They passed a few patrols of grunts and finally came to the main office; Ash quietly stepped into the room, which was to Ash's surprise empty.

"Be careful guys, there's no telling what security Team Rocket may have in place."

Croconaw and Wartortle nodded and then stood either side of the doorframe just in case anyone came into the room. Ash took a seat at the desk and turned on the pc sitting on it, he was hoping that the data was as easy to access as it was in the last base. He tapped away on the keys but despite his best efforts, he couldn't break through the safeguards.

"Dammit, this data has an insane amount of encryption, far more than I'm capable of decoding. Guess we're just going to have to destroy this entire room."

Ash stood up and walked around the desk towards the machine the pc was connected to, he was about to fire an Aura Sphere at it when he saw a button saying open hatch. Ash's curiosity got the better of him and he pressed the button, two panels at the front of the machine separated revealing a sight which Ash's eyes widen in shock. Before him was a Porygon-Z, which had several cables that attached to it many of the cables, looked very painful. Ash couldn't leave the Porygon-Z like this so he reached inside and stared gently removing the cables, each time he removed one he was shocked but he grit his teeth and ignored the pain. Eventually he removed the last wire and he pulled the unconscious Pokémon out of the machine, he cradled it in his arms and looked sadly at it.

"What kind of sick fuckers would do this?" Ash murmured.

"Warning there has been a security breach, to protect all information this base will self-destruct in two minutes." A robotic voice announced.

"Oh shit we need to get the hell out of here, Kirlia come on out."

Kirlia appeared in front of Ash, looked around curiously wondering why there were red lights flashing, and alarm sounds booming.

'Hello Ash, do you need my help?'

"Yes I do can you Teleport us back to the cabin please?"

Kirlia nodded and grabbed Ash's hand; she then closed her eyes and focused on the cabin. Seconds later they vanished from the base and appeared at the cabin they had stayed in the night before, Ash immediately stormed into the cabin and placed the Porygon-Z on the bed so he could start healing his injuries.

Flashback over

"When Porygon-Z woke up and saw me he panicked, he only calmed down once I left the room. It took a week for Porygon-Z to let me get close to him due to his bad treatment at the hands of Team Rocket. I gave him the choice of being free or coming with me and I was overjoyed when he chose the latter."

"Was there any permanent damage?" Anabel whispered not wanting Porygon-Z to overhear them.

"Not physically, he still has a very big trust issue with humans though. I am the only human he fully trusts however, there are a few people he is beginning to trust. So don't be offended if at first he keeps his distance." He replied.

"It's okay I completely understand. What about Rotom, does he have a problem with humans?"

"At first he did but after a while Rotom accepted that not all humans were like Team Rocket. He was only with Team Rocket for a couple of months whereas Porygon-Z had been trapped in there for years which is why Rotom recovered from the time with Team Rocket."

There was a slight pause as they both thought of the horrid experiences the two Pokémon had suffered at the hands of Team Rocket. Anabel looked at the pair of Pokémon and wondered whether Ash had helped Rotom control his powers.

"Hey has Rotom managed to master his various forms or can he only stay in one form like he is now?" Anabel asked.

"Yes he can change form whenever he wants however every time he changes form it drains some energy from him so he can't change frequently."

"That makes sense, so was that your last capture before you took down Team Rocket?"

"Well actually there was one more but she's not here right now, Charizard left just after I started telling you everyone's backstories to go pick up her and three of my other Pokémon."

"How long until they get here?"

Suddenly Charizard landed in front of them and a quartet of Pokémon leapt off the dragon and stood in front of Ash and Anabel.

"Right about now."

Anabel playfully swatted Ash and then looked at the four new Pokémon; the first was a Gengar, which Anabel assumed, was Ash's old Haunter. The second was a Froslass who had Gengar's arms wrapped around her, Anabel smiled at the scene as she could sense the love between the two of them. The third one was a Cinccino who was snuggling its scarf like fur while she looked at Ash. Anabel then turned her attention to the final Pokémon, as soon as she realised what it was Anabel's eyes widened in shock.

"Hey did you four have fun?" Ash asked not noticing Anabel's shocked expression.

'Me and Froslass certainly did.' Gengar said with a mischievous grin.

A bright red blush appeared on Froslass' cheeks, she knew that Gengar had only said that to garner such a reaction and she knew the perfect way to get back at him.

'Well after that comment I don't think we're going to be having any fun for a long time.' Froslass declared.

A triumphant grin found its way onto Froslass' face, she then floated away from Gengar leaving him stunned, Ash and the two remaining Pokémon laughed at the expression on Gengar's face. Their laughter turned hysterical when they saw the ghost type quickly chase after Froslass and start apologising repeatedly. The trio quickly calmed down and Ash looked at Cinccino.

"So Cinccino did you enjoy your trip back to Unova?"

'Yep I did, by the way Professor Juniper sends her regards and hopes that you'll visit Unova sometime in the future.'

"I intend to, there are a few things I would like to discuss with her. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."

Cinccino nodded and then ran over to the tree that Meowth was resting under; she sat down next to him and cuddled up to him. Meowth responded by wrapping an arm around Cinccino and pulling her close to him. Ash smiled at the scene and turned his attention to the final Pokémon that had arrived.

"What about you?"

'Yes I enjoyed seeing my family again.'

"Good, how are they by the way?"

'They're thriving now thanks to you and the others.'

"We were happy to help them."

Ash picked up the Pokémon and hugged her tightly, the Pokémon sighed happily and then turned her gaze to the girl sat next to Ash and was confused by the strange way the girl was staring at her.

'Hey Ash what is wrong with your friend?'

Ash turned his gaze from the Pokémon in his arms to Anabel and saw that she was staring at the two of them with a shocked expression on her face.

"What's wrong Anabel?"

"That Pokémon, is that what I think it is?"

"Yes Anabel she is."

"But she's a…"

Notes

Oh, did I just leave you with a cliffhanger after so many months away? I am so evil.

So who is the mystery Pokémon and why is Anabel so shocked?

I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Please give a review telling me what you liked/didn't like, it really helps me improve.

If you have any questions, I am more than happy to answer them.