We Are back my guys!

I would also like to make an apology about my grammar. It appears that my time away from writing has made me rusty, and I've missed stuff. My apologies. However, I would like to say that The Crew, is Ash and co's title, and it is capitalized on purpose.

And, as well, I would like to apologize for the lack of writing. This chapter left me stumped for quite some time.

But, hey! It's double the length of a normal chapter!

Chapter ~ Forgiveness

"Thank you for shopping with us, and come again!" Jessie, James, and Meowth thanked the customers, their hands together with giddy smiles. The snow had caused a great need in Hot Cocoa and Coffee for travelers, and no one was faster at getting supplies than Rocket Emporium. Jessie, James, and Meowth had seen an insane amount of success over the past two days since the snow began falling. And from the looks of things, it didn't plan to stop soon.

"Looks like you three are on top of things." Ash said from within the booth, a cup of cocoa in his hands. He had come over for a visit, mainly to catch up.

"Things couldn't be better, twerp!" James laughed giddily. "At this rate, we'll be the number one shop in the market! If we aren't already!" He laughed. Jessie walked up behind James and hugged him from behind.

"That's right! I just wish Jessica could stay with us." Jessie said with a smile. Ash looked at the two in confusion.

"Jessica?" Ash quizzed, the two looking at him with a smile. Meowth jumped up on the table to speak.

"Jessica is their daughter!" Meowth stated. Ash nearly choked on his cocoa, before looking at the duo in shock.

"You two have a daughter!?" Ash asked in bewilderment,

"Yep, she's five years old now! We had her only a year after we got married." Jessie explained, walking away to tend to more customers.

Ash smirked. "I bet Jessibelle wasn't happy about that."

James smirked back. "She wasn't, but there wasn't too much she could do, with an evolved Growlie staring her down. Here, I should be able to call my grandparents. She's staying with them right now." He told Ash, grabbing his computer.

After a few minutes of messing with the computer, he got into a call with his grandparents. "Grandpapa, Grandmama! How are you guys!"

James was answered by two very old, but very friendly faces. "Oh! James, dear it's good to see you! How have you been? Jessica has behaved very well, and she's been enjoying her time here! And that Bewear Jessie lent us has been such a big help! We promise as soon as we find more help around the mansion, we'll give her him back!" His grandma said sweetly; his grandfather nodding in agreement.

James smiled at his family. "Oh, don't worry about it. Our booth is much too small to hold the likes of Bewear for the time being! I'm just glad he's been of help! We've been doing great! Meowth predicts, pretty soon, that we'll be able to buy one of the bigger buildings in Rementano! It will definitely be a nice expansion to have in Genzu!" James told them. "Oh, that reminds me, could you get Jessica? I'd like to see her face!" James asked them, to which they gladly nodded.

Within just a few short seconds, a little girl, wearing a muddy red shirt, and shorts, holding a stick, plopped herself down next to the computer. Her red hair stretched all the way down her short body. "Daddy!" Jessica screamed, then hugging the computer, or, at least trying to.

James sighed at the little girl. "Jessica, you were out in the mud again, weren't you?" He quizzed.

The little girl frowned. "I was until Bewear saw me.." She sighed. As if called upon, a giant squeal was heard, as a giant, pink, Bear made itself known. It looked at James over the computer screen and smiled, waving.

"It's good to see you too, Bewear." James told the giant bear with a smile. He looked back at Jessica. "Jessica, I'd like you to meet Ash. He's the boy I told you all those stories about.

The little girl giggled, looking at Ash. "So you're the kid who beat Mommy and Daddy into the sky?" She asked. Ash smirked

"Guess my reputation stands." He said with a cocky grin.

"Oh, and the one who they tricked into dressing like a little girl!" Jessica continued. It was Jame's turn to grin, as Ash quickly deadpanned.

"That will never live me down, will it?" He asked himself with a frown, James laughing in the process.

Jessie walked up to the computer and waved at her daughter, "Hello, Jessica!" Jessie said with a cheery smile. Jessica grinned, before trying to hug the computer, only to be stopped by Bewear.

Once Jessica had calmed down, Bewear put her down, only for her to look at Jessie and James with sad eyes.

"Mommy, Daddy, when do I get to see you again?" She asked. Jessie and James looked towards each other, and back to her.

"Soon, sweetheart. We promise as soon as we can get a bigger shop to live in, we'll pick you up right away." Jessie told the little girl; who smiled in return.

"Yay!" She screamed, before a sound caught her attention. "Oh! There's a big pokemon outside! I'm gonna go say high to it!" She said, running off.

"Jessica, wait, don't-!" James started, only to sigh in defeat. "Bewear, could you go watch her for us?" He asked. The bear nodded it's answer, before squealing, and taking off.

James and Jessie both sighed, before closing the computer screen. "Well, that's her. When we have the money to afford that pub a few blocks down, we'll probably be gone for a few days to go get Jessica, and maybe Bewear." James told Ash, who nodded in understanding.

A ring from the front signaled a new customer. Jessie, James, and Meowth turned around to greet said customers, before their eyes widened, seeing who it was. Said customers' eyes widened too. Ash, thinking quickly, ducked into hiding.

X.x.X

Brock and Dawn stared at Team Rocket with great concern. They had been hoping to get some sleeping bags and hot cocoa, not run into old enemies. Jessie, James, and Meowth, slowly taking deep breaths, walked over to the duo.

"Welcome to Rocket Emporium! How may we serve you?" James asked the two, remembering what Ash had told him when they first met back up.

Brock looked at the two with suspicion. "Uh.. you do know who we are, right?" Brock quizzed, to which James kept his forced smile in answering.

"Yes.. yes we remember you. However, we've worked to right our wrongs, we're mainly debating if we should serve you or not." He mumbled that last part.

"Well.. what would you like? We wouldn't want to turn down people who can get Oak to ruin us, like he's done to some people." Jessie said with a sharp tongue. Brock and Dawn hung their heads in shame.

"You don't have to worry about that." Dawn said. "We're not exactly on Oak's good side." She explained, the three looking cross.

"Good, some good old fashioned Karma is what you deserve." Meowth told them. The guilt inside the two only continued to grow, with their old enemies going so far as to shame them, something that used to be the other way around.

Brock and Dawn made their orders, to which Team Rocket scornfully complied. Brock and Dawn took the sleeping bags and hot cocoa, before leaving back to their camp site.

"Well, I never thought we'd be scolded by Team Rocket, of all people." Brock said to Dawn, the two walking with regret.

"Yea, and it only made me feel worse." Dawn told the twenty five year old, as they continued to walk.

After a certain amount of time, Brock noticed they were being followed. The figure in question stayed within the crowds, only being seen when jumping from crowd to crowd. They went fast enough that Brock couldn't tell who they were. As they continued to walk, Brock nudged Dawn, signaling that they were being followed. Dawn grimaced, before regaining her composure, and continuing to walk.

Eventually, they turned an alleyway, and began running, turning every corner that they could. The figure remained in hot pursuit, only letting them out of his sight for a few seconds if that.

"Steelix, use Rock Slide!" Brock yelled. Steelix, coming out of his pokeball, slammed his tail on the ground. Rocks flew into the air, before slamming his tail against them, and blocking off the alley.

"Now, Togekiss, fly us out of here!" Dawn ordered, her white-winged pokemon appearing, and catching the two as they jumped. Brock returned Steelix as fled, not knowing that they were still being followed.

X.x.X

Brock and Dawn arrived at the beach, with Brock immediately beginning to pack what little they had.

"That had to be someone from Oak. We need to leave Genzu. Now." Brock asserted, grabbing a slip of paper and writing on it.

Dawn looked at Brock in confusion. "What are you doing with that paper?" She quizzed.

"I'm sending a letter to my family. I'm telling them to start packing, and watch the Genzu world tournament, and when something happens, to get out as soon as possible. Go into hiding, whatever can be done." Brock told her. "You should write to your mom too." Dawn nodded, before grabbing her own slip of paper, and writing on it.

After a few short minutes, everything was packed, in backpacks, as Brock took Dawn's letter. "Crobat, take these to our families, please!" Brock pleaded, sending the purple bat out. It nodded, grabbing the papers in it's mouth, before flying off.

"When you've done that, stay with my family! I'll be there as soon as I can!" Brock yelled towards Crobat.

"Alright, now let's go, quickly!" Brock told Dawn, who nodded. The two turned to leave, before coming face to face with Ash. They froze in place, not daring to move. The wind blew across the landscape, with Brock and Dawn now feeling shame again.

"So... why'd you do it?" Ash asked them. Brock looked up, Dawn still looking towards the ground.

"What?" Brock asked, pretending he didn't hear him.

"You heard me." Ash told the older trainer, his eyes glowing from aura. "Now spill."

Brock and Dawn looked towards each other, before looking back. "Well, alright, but you won't believe us." Dawn explained.

Ash's eyes flared with aura. "I'll decide what I believe and what I don't."

Brock sighed, before putting his hand on his chin. "Well, where to begin? It had to have been not long before the Kalos League ended."

X.x.X

*Eight Years Earlier*

Brock walked along the old dirt road of Pallet Town, smiling as he breathed in the fresh, natural air, that only Pallet town had. It felt like it had been forever since he was here, despite having come to visit Ash after the Unova league three months ago. He was in town from an invite from Oak, who was throwing a party for Ash. Naturally, he went, not knowing that there was no actual party.

As Brock walked up the steps to Oak's lab, he ran into a familiar face, smiling as he called out to them. "Dawn! Hey!"

Said coordinator turned around, smiling at the fifteen year old as he approached her. "Brock! How have you been!" Dawn squealed, happy to see her old friend again.

Brock gave her a thumbs up. "I've been doing great! I've gotten far in my studies, these past two years, I'll be graduating in no time!" Brock bragged to the coordinator, who was in awe.

"That's amazing!" Dawn cheered for her friend, who nodded in thanks.

"How about you? I heard on TV that you won the Kanto Contests this season." Brock pointed out, having recalled watching it on the news.

Dawn gave off a bright smile, "Yep! You're looking at the Coordinator champion!" She stated with pride. Brock smiled at the young girl, seeing that she had reached her first goal.

"Well, let's talk as we prepare this party for Ash. I heard he got on the flight this morning, so we better hurry!" Brock asserted. Dawn nodded in agreement, before the two opened the door to Oak's lab.

Once having entered, the first people they saw were the siblings, May and Max.

"Brock! Brock, hey! It's me, Max!" Max exclaimed, running up to the older trainer, and giving him a high five, to which Brock happily received.

May walked up to the two trainers. "Hey, Brock! It's been a while, hasn't it? Oh! And you're Dawn, right?" May welcomed the two.

"Yep, that's me! I got an invite from Professor Oak to celebrate Ash doing so well in the league! Are you excited to see him again?" Dawn quizzed May, who frowned.

"I guess, but we haven't really spoken since that one time in Sinnoh. It will be nice to catch up." May explained.

Max, having completely ignored what May said, looked at her. "Hey, Professor Oak said I could go play with Ash's pokemon here, can I?" Max asked.
May sighed, "Yea, I guess so."

Max jumped into the air, before running outside. May led Brock and Dawn to the main room where Misty, Cilan, Tracy, and Iris were sitting. Oak seemed to be busy in another room.

Misty jumped up from her seat, waving to Brock. "Brock! It's great to see you!" She squealed, to which Brock smiled.

"It's great to see you too, Misty."

Cilan got up to shake hands with Brock. "I knew I recognized that name! We met in Johto a few months back, yes?" Cilan asked, shaking Brock's hand.

Brock looked a little closer at the face, realizing it was the green-haired connoisseur he met in the Gyarados incident. "Oh, yea, I remember you! You know Ash?" \

Cilan got up and smiled. "Yep, I met him about a Half a year ago, and he was pretty good for a beginning Trainer.

Both Brock and Dawn sweat dropped at this.

Dawn looked over, seeing Iris feeding a Fraxure, who looked like it was smiling? She walked over to the girl, before extending her hand.

"Hi, Iris! It's been a while, hasn't it?" Dawn quizzed the Dragon Trainer, who looked up and smiled.

"Oh! You're Dawn, aren't you! It's great to see you again!" Iris proclaimed, hugging the coordinator.

After a few minutes of chatting, Oak appeared. He looked tired, and somewhat anxious. "Greetings, everyone! Thank you for coming on such short notice." He said with as much excitement as he could muster.

Brock looked at him in confusion. "Well, luckily we were all free to make it, plus it's not every day your friend does so well in a Pokemon league." He stated, Oak nodding.

"Yes, yes, it is... So, um, I know that you were invited here with the idea this would be a party, but, I actually have a proposal, that I think all of you would rather like." Oak said, his anxiousness growing.

May looked at the Professor with a raised eyebrow. "What are you talking about, Professor?"

Oak wiped some sweat from his brow, before looking at them again. "Well, recently, I've met with someone of.. great power, and they offered me, and a few other people, you lot, a lot of money, as well as fame, and power. They have the power to let us achieve our goals, anything we want! You name it, it's possible. I've actually been cooperating with a professor from the Laneno region on this. The only thing they want, in return, is loyalty, and uh.." Oak trailed off.

By this point, he had everyone's attention. "Well, what else do they want?" Misty quizzed. Oak looked back at them.

"Ash, they want him to stop his progress, by any means necessary. They want him without pokemon, and stuck here in Pallet Town. No matter what the cost-" SMACK.

Before Oak could finish, he was quickly slapped by Misty, who had gotten up.

"How DARE you even think of accepting an offer like that! Ash is your sponsored trainer! And he's our friend! And you KNOW how I feel about him!" Misty trailed off.

Oak growled. "Oh, yes, I know about how you feel about him, but you should know by this point that he doesn't feel that way about you." Oak responded with bitterness in his words.

Misty's anger disappeared from her face, into one of confusion. "What..?" She inquired, now confused.

Oak pulled out some photos that Ash had sent during is Kalos travels. In some of them, Ash had his arm around Serena. Misty took the photos, and looked at them, her eyes widening, with her mouth hanging open just a little.

"That girl is from Kalos, and the bond between them is quite strong. If Ash doesn't stay in Kalos, there won't be much change he'll notice YOU." Oak said, with a faint grin. Misty's hand formed a fist, the pictures crumbling in her hand.

She tossed them down, with fire in her eyes. "Fine, just tell me what you need me to do."

May got up from her seat. "Misty, what are you talking about? Ash is our friend, even if we don't see him much!" She shouted. Oak looked at her.

"Oh, he's your 'friend' is he? You said the last time you even saw him was in Sinnoh, correct?" May nodded. "How about a phone call? Maybe a letter? Did you hear anything from him?" May looked down. "No, you haven't. He doesn't care about you. He only cares about furthering himself. He couldn't care less if you died tomorrow. He probably wouldn't even go to your funeral."

May looked back up, with a more serious expression. "You.. you're probably right.." Oak grinned. Two down.

Iris snorted from her seat. "Oh, please. Ash is just a child! You can't expect him to make casual calls! I doubt he even knows what a letter is."

Oak sat down with a cup of tea. "Tell me, Iris, do you know why Ash made it to the Finals?" He quizzed.

Iris looked at him, her eyes narrowing. "No, I didn't get a chance to see the match."

Oak took a sip of his tea, before looking at Iris. "A friend of his, named Clemont. He's an inventor. A few years back he made a Power-Up machine. It could enhance the strength of any pokemon. He was trying to get a grant that would allow him to keep working on it. At the time, the enhancements hurt the pokemon."

Iris just stared at him. "And?"

Oak looked her dead in the eye. "He didn't get the grant. The machine wasn't ever fixed, nor was it dismantled."

Iris sat there in confusion, before her eyes widened. "You.. you can't be saying that Ash would possibly.." She trailed off. Oak, once again, sipping his tea.

"He did, Ash did indeed use that machine. The power of his pokemon improved, but at the cost of their happiness."

Iris looked down to the floor, silenced.

Brock finally stepped up. "Ok, that's enough, Professor!" Brock yelled, gaining everyone's attention. "This is Ash we're talking about! Twelve year old, dense, pokemon loving Ash! He's never cared if he won a league or not! Not to the extent that he would act upon what you're accusing! He hated Paul's strategy, which was just rigorous training, do you think he'd dare hurt his pokemon?"

"Brock is right!" Dawn said, sitting up. "Ash would never do something like that! He loves his pokemon, and everyone here! The fact that you guys are even considering this - it's unfathomable!" She stated, glaring at Oak, who simply sighed.

"You really think you know that child? He's dead set on his dream to become a Pokemon Master. Before he left for Kalos, he and I had a conversation. He told me he was tired of losing. This time, he'd do anything to win. That Ash is not the same Ash that you traveled with in Sinnoh." He set down his tea, staring at the children.

Neither Brock nor Dawn flinched. "I don't believe you." Brock said, standing his ground.

"Same here!" Dawn stated.

Oak was starting to lose his patience. You really don't want to choose Ash's side in this. I'm warning you right now." Oak told them with an icy stare.

Brock didn't budge. "What are you gonna do? Take away my gym license that I don't even have anymore?" Brock sassed the professor back. It was then that Oak skipped to his last resort.

"Tell me, you two-" Oak got up, giving the two a burning glare. "Which do you value more? Ash, or your family?" He asked. Both Brock and Dawn looked at him, half in confusion, half in fear.

"The Person I'm working for, has more power in this world than you could imagine." Oak told them, slowly walking towards them.

"And you already know too much.. He wants you on his side, and he'll do anything to get you on his side." Oak continued, pressing the two against a wall.

"Even if it means killing your family. One. By. One." Oak finished. Brock and Dawn looked at each other. The terror they saw in each other's eyes really left them with no back up. Without saying a word, the two walked back over to the couch, and sat down.

Oak grinned. "Great, now that everyone finally is on the same terms. Here's what is going to happen..."

X.x.X

"And then everything he said after that was what you saw when you and everyone else arrived." Brock finished.

Ash looked at the two. His aura still glowing in his eyes. The two had been telling the truth, the entire time. Ash had a hard time believing it. Oak had gone so far to threaten their families? Why? Who had so much power that wanted Ash gone? It couldn't have been Giovanni, because he was dead, as was the same for the likes of Lysandre, who was the only organization leader that knew his name.

Ash looked at his friends with softer eyes. They had never wanted to be apart of this. They were just protecting their families. But at some point, they simply snapped. Oak had tricked them. Oak had tricked all of them. But, still.. they had certainly changed. Misty, May, Tracy, and Cilan, they were so quick to work with Oak, instead of even coming to Ash and explaining things.. Had it been the money and power that had persuaded them? Maybe it was the fear that their families would be killed if they didn't comply.

Ash shook his head. It didn't matter now. What did matter, was the two in front of him.

"Come on, you two." Ash told them, getting up.

Brock looked back at Ash, as did Dawn. "What?"

Ash began moving, before looking back at them. "I'm not gonna let my friends sleep in the cold." He told them with his signature smile.

Brock and Dawn looked at each other, with Dawn even tearing up a little. Brock nodded to her, before the two got up, and walked with their friend, as the clouds opening up, showing some of the blue skies.

Chapter End~

Break Arc:

Chapter ~ Genzu Pokemon Show!

Chapter ~ Abel pt 1

Chapter ~ Abel pt 2

Chapter ~ Abel and Minun pt 3

J/M Arc:

Chapter ~ Dark Past.

Chapter ~ Jungle Escapades! Pull through, Aubree!

Chapter ~ Calm Before the Storm.

Chapter ~ The Perfect Team?!

Chapter ~ Mew Plays Match Maker?!

Chapter ~ Ash and Abel vs The Legendary Duo!

Chapter ~ A Battle Interrupted

Rainbows Arc:

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