Alright, you guys have waited long enough. Here comes the exciting conclusion of the Team Rocket arc!
LAST TIME: Cathy and Yvette detain Kira after she goes back into the ship with Lance. A raging battle ensues, and Magnus then reveals himself after getting into a scuffle with Lance. After using his own Pokémon as a shield, horrifying everyone else, Jake appears and joins the fight against Team Rocket. In the middle of the chas, however, reinforcements arrive, and Team Rocket begins to try and escape.
Chapter 62: Over and Out
"Charizard, flamethrower!"
Ash was still locked in his fierce battle with Magnus' Zoroark. He was trying separately to get past the Pokémon and right to the boy controlling it. Magnus, however, was a rather skilled battler, and he was actually fending Ash off pretty well. If anything, this only ticked Ash off even more.
"Lance!"
"Over here!"
The battle came to a standstill. Those voices caused Magnus to arch an eyebrow. Ash too looked away, his eyes widening when he saw a familiar blonde approaching the dragon master.
"Cynthia…" Ash muttered.
With Ash distracted, Magnus quickly recalled Zoroark and pressed a button on his shoulder, causing two jet packs to appear on his back and lift him into the air. It was as he was lifted into the air, however, that Ash turned his head back that way. Snarling, Ash narrowed his eyes at Magnus and cried, "Oh no you don't! Charizard, after him!"
The flame Pokémon let out a vicious roar and took off after Magnus. The boy looked over his shoulder and glared at the determined dual type. He pressed another button, and within seconds, he was moving so fast that not even Charizard could keep up. Magnus disappeared in a flash, and Ash ground his teeth together in frustration.
"Ash!"
The Pokémon Master sighed and turned around. "Cynthia…how'd you know to come here?"
"Me, that's how."
Ash looked over his shoulder and gasped. "Misty! You…you called Cynthia?"
The gym leader, who had deemed it safe to come out of hiding, smirked as she walked towards her husband. "Of course I did. I saw my opportunity and I took it."
Michelle smiled and ran towards her father, throwing herself at him with a small giggle. Ash grinned down at his daughter and returned the favor, wrapping his arms around her.
"I'm so glad you're safe," Ash breathed, squeezing her more tightly.
"Yeah," Michelle giggled. "Mom would've never let Team Rocket get their hands on me!"
"It was Misty's quick thinking that enabled us to get here when we did," Cynthia continued. "Lance was able to apprehend those two operatives over there, and now we'll be able to get into the ship and take care of the rest of Team Rocket."
"I'm starting to think maybe I should be a part of the G-Men too," Misty teased, winking at her husband.
"Yeah, but Magnus got away," Ash seethed, looking towards the sky. Misty's smile disappeared, and she looked towards the sky as well.
"I wouldn't worry too much about him," Cynthia assured the couple. "Without the rest of his organization, there isn't much that boy can do."
Ash looked back over at Cynthia and grimaced. "Even if he's connected to Giovanni? Who may very well not be in that ship?"
"Yes," Cynthia replied. "Of course we'll keep looking for them; alert all of the local authorities to keep an eye out for them. But without ranks, those two won't be able to do very much."
Ash slowly nodded his head. He knew Cynthia had a point and knew what she was talking about; she'd been doing this for a long time. But still, after everything Team Rocket had done to his family, Ash couldn't help but to have his concerns.
And then a certain word Cynthia had used resonated in Ash's head.
"Wait a sec…" He breathed, glancing up at the former Sinnoh champion. "Cynthia, what do you mean by 'we'?"
Cynthia smiled but said nothing in response; just motioned with her head. Walking towards them was someone Ash was very familiar with; a build similar to his own, shaggy purple hair, black eyes…
"Paul?" Ash croaked, his eyes wide. Michelle gasped softly and loosened her grip on her father, casting the purple haired male a curious glance.
The current Sinnoh champion shot Ash a look before turning his attention onto Cynthia. "Lance is transferring those operatives onto the helicopter and sending them for questioning. He said we'll start scouring the ship once he's finished."
"Excellent," Cynthia replied, smiling at her successor.
"Paul," Ash repeated, "what are you doing here?"
Paul scoffed and lowered his eyes. "I came with Cynthia after Lance called. She may be the G-Men's special advisor, but I am the champion."
"Paul and I have been stationed in Kanto for the past couple of days," Cynthia better explained. "When Lance informed us that Team Rocket was about to make a move in Cerulean, we wanted to make sure we were close by when the time came to apprehend them. I'm certainly glad we were."
Ash blinked and looked over at his wife. "You knew they were here?"
"Well…no," Misty admitted, reaching up to brush her bangs out of her face. "I just called Cynthia because she's one of the only other G-Men I trust. I knew that even if she wasn't in Kanto, she'd be able to do something. I was actually expecting her to send some agents or something, not show up herself. But that's what makes her so amazing!"
The second Misty raised her hand to move her hair out of her face, Ash caught sight of something that nearly made his heart stop. "Misty, what happened to your arm?"
The gym leader hummed and looked at her arm. There were several red slashes running up and down her flesh. "Oh, that. One of those grunts sent an air cutter after us, and I was afraid it would hit Michelle or Brandon. So I put my arm out to protect them."
"You got hit with an air cutter?!" Ash cried, running forward and gently grabbing his wife's arm.
"I'll be fine," Misty replied, though she was wincing. "Just quit squeezing it like that."
Ash sighed and turned his eyes up onto his wife. "You are so stubborn, you know that?"
"So are you," Misty shot back.
Ash smirked. "See?" He lowered his eyes to examine her arm once again. "It's okay. We can fix this."
Paul let out a noisy sigh and turned away from the couple, causing Ash to scowl and Misty to raise an eyebrow.
"He's still moody, huh?" Misty questioned.
"He never stopped," Ash grumbled.
Michelle, on the other hand, just watched as Paul approached Jake, who was busy patting Electabuzz atop the head.
"It was foolish of you to get yourself involved in this."
Jake looked away from Electabuzz. Realizing his father was standing there scowling out him, the young boy stood up straight and held his hands down by his sides. "I know. I'm sorry. It's just…"
He trailed off as his silver eyes glanced at Michelle. The young redhead squeaked softly, staring back at him for a short moment. Ultimately, Jake sighed and looked back at his father, narrowing his silver eyes.
"I wanted to battle the Cerulean gym leader, and I was told that she was involved in something with Team Rocket," Jake said. "So I went out to look for her. I wanted my last gym badge."
Michelle twisted her mouth as she continued staring at Jake.
"Looking for your last gym badge wouldn't have done you any good if you had gotten killed," Paul replied sternly.
Jake raised his eyebrows. He knew that this was his father's way of showing concern for him, even if it seemed a little odd.
"You're right," Jake conceded, giving his father a small nod. "I'm sorry."
Paul returned his son's nod. "Good." After that, he looked over his shoulder. "The agents are going into the ship soon."
Jake raised his eyebrows. "To arrest the rest of Team Rocket?"
"Right."
"Are you going in with them?"
"Probably."
Jake nodded and glanced over at his Electabuzz, who was staring at Paul. "Oh yeah! I never got to thank you for Elekid."
At this, Paul arched an eyebrow. "What?"
"The Elekid you gave me," Jake elucidated. "See? We trained really hard together and he evolved into Electabuzz! He's one of my most powerful Pokémon now."
"I didn't give you an Elekid."
Jake's face fell. "But Reggie sent me Elekid and told me it was a gift from you."
"I had nothing to do with that," Paul replied, his voice remaining staid.
"Oh…"
After a moment of silence, Paul continued, "it does looks strong. You did well raising it."
"Thanks," Jake muttered, looking away from his father.
"Paul, Lance has those two operatives detained and is ready to infiltrate the ship. The agents are starting to head in, if you want to join them."
Paul closed his eyes and nodded. "Sure."
He walked away from his son, leaving behind a frustrated boy. Cynthia glanced over at the younger boy and smiled sweetly at him.
"Hello, Jake."
The young trainer looked over at the former Sinnoh champion, letting out a puff of air. "Hi."
Cynthia gave the boy a look of sympathy before following after Paul. From the same spot as before, Misty watched the entire exchange, holding her arm out for one of the G-Men agents to fix. She winced when he sprayed the open cuts with antiseptic, but otherwise watched the tense scene several feet away with a somewhat stunned expression.
"Oh," Misty breathed, her eyes slightly widened. "That's Paul's son."
"Jake," Michelle breathed.
Misty turned towards her daughter and raised an eyebrow. "You've met him before, haven't you?"
"Just once," Michelle replied quickly. "He's…he's something."
Ash looked over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes. "He seems to take after his father."
"I don't think so."
Ash turned his attention onto Michelle, who was still staring at Jake.
"I think he's got it rough," Michelle continued, not even glancing at her father. "And that confuses him a bit. But I think he's different than Paul. Different than the way you described him, at least."
"Well, the way I described him is the way he is," Ash gruffly replied, much to Michelle's surprise. It was those words that finally drew her attention to him. "I'd like to believe you, Shelly, but I think Paul's influence on his son is a lot greater than you think."
Michelle didn't say anything. She pressed her tongue against the roof of her mouth, carefully thinking over her father's words. He was usually so warm and open-minded, but about this…he seemed so sure of it, and so set in his ways.
"Look, guys!"
Her pensive stupor was quickly broken, however, when Aiden came rushing towards the group, a worn but softly smiling Kira being pulled along by him.
"Lance got Kira out of those handcuffs Team Rocket put her in!" Aiden chuckled joyfully. "She's safe now."
No one could respond before Misty bolted towards her son, the G-Men agent just barely finished fixing up her arm with a bandage. She wrapped Aiden in her arms, causing Kira to free herself from the boy's hold as she let out an impish laugh.
"M-Mom!" Aiden choked. "C-can't…breathe!"
Misty released the boy from her hug, and instead held his face by her hands, causing him to scowl. "What were you thinking, following your father and Lance into a battle against Team Rocket?!"
"Mom, I didn't really have a-"
"And how did that ship crash?!" Misty demanded, not bothering to let her son finish his answer of the first question.
"Well, that was all-"
"Don't ever scare me like that again!" Misty scolded, once again cutting her son off. "When that ship went down…I thought…I thought you…"
Aiden's scowl melted into a sympathetic smile. "But I didn't! See? I'm right here!"
Misty blinked away her tears as she let out a weak laugh, once again hugging her son to the point of constriction.
"But I might not be for long if you keep this up!" Aiden gasped, trying to squirm out of his mother's arms.
Michelle turned away from her mother and brother and instead looked over at the ship. G-Men agents were flooding in and out, many of them dragging out grunts and operatives in handcuffs. One agent came out with a baby in his arms, and that's when Michelle let out a terrified gasp. Misty let go of Aiden and turned around, shooting Michelle a worried glance.
"Michelle, is everything alright?" Misty asked.
"I…I have to do something," Michelle breathed, charging in the direction of the ship.
"Michelle!" Ash called once he realized where she was going. "You can't go in there!"
Michelle didn't listen. She just kept running, causing Ash to grumble and slump his shoulders. "Great."
"Why are you mad?" Misty teased, though her voice was a bit on the tense side. "She gets that lack of listening from you."
Ash slowly turned towards his wife and held her face in his hands, causing her to raise a bewildered eyebrow. "You're lucky I love you so much."
Michelle managed to dart past the G-Men agents, although they were yelling at her to halt. On her way up the ramp, Michelle ran past Cynthia and Paul, who were both surprised to see the girl onboard, though the surprise was more evident on Cynthia's face than Paul's.
"Michelle, what are you doing here?" Cynthia asked.
She had asked the question in her usual soft tone, but it was enough to get Michelle to stop. Michelle had always respected Cynthia and found her to be an amazing trainer.
"I have to find something," Michelle replied. "It's really important to me."
Paul huffed and glanced over at Cynthia, who smiled at the girl. "Very well. Be careful."
Michelle returned Cynthia's smile and nodded her head, turning around to continue running into the ship.
"Letting children into a G-Men controlled crime scene," Paul stated flatly, shaking his head. "Ridiculous."
"I could see in her eyes that whatever it is she's looking for, it's truly important to her," Cynthia replied, her tone unchanging.
"I wasn't talking about you," Paul replied curtly, looking out the entrance of the airship. "I was talking about her father."
XXX
Jewel let out a shuttered breath from beneath the cot. She had been spending her day taking a long nap, but was harshly awoken when the airship crashed. That was all the girl knew. As soon as it had gone down, her mother and father had come running into the room, urging Jewel and Jason, who had been working on a laptop at the corner desk, to hide beneath the bed.
So there she was, pressed up against the wall with Jason on her right and Sneasel on their backs. Underneath the bed on the other side of the room were Jessie and James, with Meowth in a similar position to Sneasel.
"Jess, this is bad," James whispered urgently to his partner.
"Yeah, I'm aware of that!" Jessie hissed.
"The G-Men-"
"Forget about the G-Men," Jessie cut him off. "I'm worried about those two over there."
James frowned and glanced over at Jason and Jewel. The two hadn't said anything since being ordered to hide. This surprised James quite a bit; usually they'd be demanding an explanation, Jewel especially. But they must have sensed something was very wrong, and had remained silent.
His train of thought was interrupted, however, as the door to the room was kicked open. Jewel nearly shrieked, and had to cover her mouth to stop the sound. Jason's eyes widened, and he leaned in closer to his sister.
A pair of black boots came walking through the room, a second pair joining them just a few seconds later. They walked up the length of the room, looking around.
"See anything?" One of the agents asked.
"No," the second replied.
"Alright. We'd better go help extract the kids. Lance said there were lots of them."
Then the two left together, the sound of their boots clicking against the floor quickly becoming less and less audible. Once they were sure the agents were gone, Jason and Jewel pulled themselves out from underneath the bed, Sneasel still hanging onto their backs. Jessie, James, and Meowth followed suit, though their eyes were still locked on the kicked open door.
"Mom? Dad?" Jason began, sounding almost breathless. "What do they mean by extracting kids?"
Jessie and James finally looked at one another, while Meowth frowned and glanced down at the floor. Their lack of an answer started to concern the children across the room from them.
"What's going on?" Jewel asked shakily.
"James," Jessie began, her voice weak. "We can't keep it from them any longer."
James' eyes flooded with pain. "Jess…"
Closing her eyes, Jessie let out a sigh and continued, "Jason, Jewel, there's something we have to tell you."
XXX
When Michelle returned to the rest of the group, everyone's eyes nearly fell out of her heads.
Cradled in her arms was a baby with dark brown hair and pink eyes. The infant wore a black set of footed pajamas, emblemized with a large red 'R' on the front.
"Michelle, is that one of the kidnapped babies?" Aiden gawked.
"Yeah," Michelle replied, nodding her head.
Misty cooed and gently took the baby from her daughter, smiling down at the child. "Hello there, little one. Aren't you just adorable?" She gently poked the baby's nose, causing the infant to let out a soft, off-kilter giggle.
Ash, on the other hand, was not as enamored as his wife. "Michelle, you shouldn't be getting in the agents' way."
"Dad, you don't understand!" Michelle cried. "When Lance, Brandon, and I were walking through the ship before, we stumbled across one of Team Rocket's nurseries. They monitor the babies like they're Pokémon, trying to figure out their strength. And that little boy, for whatever reason, was deemed 'unfit.' I don't know why, but…I felt so bad for him. I know we don't have to worry about what Team Rocket would do to him anymore, but I was still really worried about him."
Kira let out a sad sigh, catching everyone's attention.
"Kira?" Ash murmured.
"Ash, don't you remember?" Misty whispered to her husband. "Kira was deemed unfit when she was first taken. That's why she was made an engineer."
"Oh, right," Ash sighed.
"Do you know what's wrong with that baby, Kira?" Aiden asked the girl.
"No," Kira was quick to reply. "But my problem was that I wouldn't talk to them. Considering he's just a baby, it's probably something health related. But I don't know much about the babies they kidnap. That was very classified information."
Misty frowned and softly rubbed her finger against the baby's cheek, causing him to coo. "He seems healthy to me…poor baby. He's probably never had anyone to snuggle him or soothe him."
She moved the baby so he was held against her chest. He squeaked in surprise before showing a tiny smile and burying his face there, bringing an adoring smile to Misty's face.
"I kind of realized that if Team Rocket had ever gotten their hands on me when I was a baby, I would've been deemed unfit too," Michelle continued sadly. "And who knows what they would've done to me. That's why I had to go back for him. I know there are so many babies and little kids on that ship, but I couldn't just leave him behind for the agents."
Misty blinked hard and looked up from the baby, who was still happily snuggled against her. "Michelle, what are you implying?"
"…nothing?" Michelle replied lamely.
Misty sighed and turned her attention onto her husband. "Ash."
"I don't get it," Ash muttered, eyes shifting over. "What does she want?"
Misty groaned, obviously irritated by his density. "I'm pretty sure she wants us to take this baby in."
Ash's eyes widened. "What?!"
"Would that be so bad?" Michelle piped up, figuring there was no use being coy about it since her parents had figured her out. "I mean, he needs to go somewhere, and you guys are the best parents in the whole world! And…we have the most loving family ever. We'd all take really good care of him."
"That's very sweet, Michelle," Misty replied softly. "But your father and I can't just commit ourselves to another baby."
"He's going to get adopted by a family who loves him," Ash assured his distraught daughter.
"But what if he doesn't?" Michelle whispered dreadfully.
"He will, I'm sure of it," Ash said. "Everyone knows what Team Rocket did with these kids. I guarantee you people will be lining up to take them in and give them a loving home and family. That little boy is no exception."
"But what if there's something really wrong with him? And no one wants him because of it?" Michelle fretted. "I was really weak, but you guys never gave up on me."
Ash and Misty continued to exchange uneasy glances. They understood where their daughter was coming from, and why she was so passionate about protecting the little boy. But they still could not commit themselves to raising another child.
As this conversation had carried on, Jake had moved closer and heard all of it. He stared at the baby in Misty's arms, snuggling up close to her and looking safe and comfortable. Then his mind started to wander, and he felt the wheels in his brain beginning to turn.
"Hey."
His single word had stopped whatever argument Michelle was about to make next. She glanced over at Jake with slightly narrowed eyes, while Ash and Misty turned their attention onto him as well, looking slightly suspicious.
"I heard you talking about that baby," Jake continued, nodding towards the infant. "I think I know some people who would be able to give him what you're talking about."
"Hope it's not his dad," Aiden grumbled, earning an elbow in the side from Michelle. "Ow!"
Misty thought about this for a moment, holding just a bit more tightly onto the baby. "I'd like to speak to those people, if possible."
"Sure," Jake replied, nodding his head. "I can call them."
Before Jake and Misty walked away, Kira ran up to the boy, gently grabbing onto his shoulder. "Wait!"
Jake slowly turned and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"
Kira suddenly became more timid. She took a slight step back, removing her hand from Jake's shoulder as she wrung her hands together. "I was just wondering if…maybe…these people you're talking about…if they'd be interested in taking in an older girl too?"
Jake looked the girl up and down, sending a shiver up her spine. She cursed herself inwardly, wishing she had just kept her mouth shut.
But then, Jake threw her a little smile.
"I'm sure they would," he replied, giving her a small nod. "Come on."
XXX
"So…we're not actually your kids?"
"And we're not actually brother and sister?"
"Not biologically," James corrected. "But we very much consider you two our children, and all of us a family! Even if it's not through blood."
Jason and Jewel both seemed a little disturbed by what had just been revealed to them. They had gone through their entire lives knowing this was their family. They had never speculated it wasn't, or even thought about that. It was all they knew, and neither had ever felt a need to question it.
"I…I don't get it," Jewel stammered after a tense moment of silence. "So…we were both orphans? And…and we were kidnapped…just like all of the others?"
"Yes," Jessie replied quietly.
"But then that means you're supposed to be our mentors," Jason breathed, looking between Jessie and James. "Not our parents."
"In Team Rocket's mind, yes," James said. "But we viewed you as much more than just a pair of operatives to train."
"Neither of us really agreed with the way they were being raised," Jessie jumped in. "We may be members of Team Rocket, but we're not heartless. You two were among the first babies taken. When you were assigned to us, we made a decision that we wanted to raise you as a family."
"And we never let anyone tell us otherwise," James concluded.
Jason and Jewel finally worked up the nerve to look at one another; something they hadn't done since being told the truth. As strange as this information was to hear, and as odd as it felt to look at one another and know you weren't related…neither one felt very different about one another. And the more they thought about the situation, the less they cared that none of it was actually real.
"We never would've known," Jason cleared his thought, glancing down at the floor.
"We understand if you two are upset," James sighed. "This was a charade that was carried on for so long."
"But if it makes you both feel any better, we still love you like parents," Jessie added. "And just because all of this happened today…with Team Rocket being caught…we'd never want to abandon you. We still think of you both as our children. And we want to continue loving you and teaching you."
Jewel sucked in a deep breath and began, "well, I don't know about Jason, but you guys are all I've never known. Obviously I don't remember…my 'real' family, or where I actually came from. All I've ever known is Mom, Dad, and Jason. Oh, and Meowth and Sneasel, of course."
The two talking Pokémon, who had been too afraid to say anything, smiled encouragingly at the girl.
"This doesn't change anything for me," she declared, shaking her head. "You guys are still my mom and dad, and Jason is still my brother. I'm lucky that I got what other operatives didn't. I'm not going to throw that all away."
Jason thought over Jewel's words before nodding his head. "I agree with Jewel. You guys are my parents, and she's my sister. Even though now I know it's not through blood, it still feels just as real to me. I don't want to change a thing."
Jessie and James looked at one another and exchanged joyous smiles.
"It feels good to tell the truth!" James crowed.
Yes, how un-Rocket like of us," Jessie laughed.
Before either of the older Rockets could process it, Jason and Jewel jumped at them, laughing as they wrapped their arms around their parents. Jessie and James were taken off guard at first, but soon they began laughing as well, the four of them falling to the floor as Meowth and Sneasel joined in on the pile.
XXX
Just as Ash had figured, Giovanni was not in the ship.
The G-Men agents had managed to arrest all of the grunts and operatives they'd found on board, in addition to rescuing all of the kidnapped orphans. Cynthia, who was in charge of directing the agents to which police stations they would be bringing the members to, assured both Ash and Lance that the younger operatives would be picked out and dealt with separately.
Paul hadn't paid Ash much mind while on the scene. The only thing he'd really done was shoot the Pokémon Master a dirty look when he saw her daughter standing beside him. Ash had no idea what that was for, and returned the nasty glare. After that, Paul indignantly turned his head away and stalked back over to the helicopter that had brought him and Cynthia to the scene.
He didn't see Jake before he went. He'd looked for his son, but couldn't find him. As it would turn out, Jake had already left; headed to the Cerulean City Pokémon Center along with Kira and the baby.
With everything back in order, Ash was finally able to head home with his family. As soon as he'd gotten that clearance from Lance, Misty had grabbed onto his hand, and now, halfway to home, she still hadn't let go.
"How did that phone call go?" Michelle asked nervously.
"Very well," Misty replied with a smile. "Those two will be very well taken care of, I'm sure of it."
"Did Jake do anything jerky while you were with him?" Aiden grumbled.
"No, he did not," Misty replied, her tone somewhat warning. "He did ask me for a gym battle, though. I asked him if he could come back in around two days so I could have some time with all of you. He agreed."
"Well, that was nice of him," Michelle stressed, glaring at her brother.
"Whatever, it's not like he's gonna beat her," Aiden scoffed.
"You won't know," Misty teased. "I'm not letting you watch."
"What?!" Aiden cried.
"You should be training for the Indigo Conference anyway," Ash chuckled. "Worry about yourself, Aiden."
Michelle giggled to herself as her brother turned his head back around, grumbling incoherently to himself. Brandon laughed as well, but stopped as soon as they hit a specific fork in the road.
"Oh…" he breathed to himself. "Guys, if it's alright with you, I think I'm going to head home for a few days."
The four members of the Ketchum family stopped in their tracks, gawking at Brandon.
"What?" Aiden gasped. "How come?"
"I haven't seen my family in a really long time," Brandon replied. "And after all of this…I'm sure I'm going to have some explaining to do."
"Are you sure you don't want to stay over for the night and head there in the morning?" Misty asked. "We've had a very long day, after all."
"It's alright, thank you, Mrs. Ketchum," Brandon refuted with a smile. "The sooner I head out, the sooner I'll make it home."
"Well…alright," Misty sighed. "Call us when you get there, okay?"
"You got it!" Brandon replied. "Bye, guys!"
"Brandon, wait!" Aiden called, stopping the aspiring breeder before he could take another step. "You're going to come back, right? For the Grand Festival and the Indigo Conference?"
The slightly older boy chuckled and winked at his best friend. "I wouldn't miss them for the world!"
XXX
"DADDY!"
Delia and Professor Oak had no hope of getting to Ash before his daughter did. As soon as the Pokémon Master came into view, Elizabeth charged for him, attaching herself to his legs as she squeezed tight.
"Hi, baby girl," Ash breathed, lifting the young girl into his arms and holding her tight. He pressed one hand against the back of her head, kissing her temple as she buried her face in his chest. "I missed you so much."
"Ash!" Delia gasped, running up to her son and engulfing him in a hug, trapping Elizabeth between them. "You're okay!"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Ash chuckled softly before teasing, "I knew you would've killed me if I wasn't!"
Misty and the twins came strolling into the house, and Delia quickly moved onto them. "And you three! Are you all okay?"
None of them had time to answer before Delia caught them all in a tight, sweeping hug.
"See?" Aiden choked out to his mother. "Not so fun, is it?"
Misty smirked at her son before assuring her mother-in-law, "we're just fine, Delia. Tired, but fine."
"Thank goodness," Delia sighed, letting go of the three and holding a hand over her heart. "I was sick with worry! After seeing all of that on TV…"
"It was even crazier in person!" Aiden exclaimed, his eyes widening. "Seriously, Grammy, you should've seen Team Rocket's giant airship! When it crashed-"
Michelle scowled and slapped a hand over her brother's mouth. "I would stop talking right now if I were you."
Delia's mouth twisted in concern, but after a moment, they straightened themselves out as she bent over to hold her grandson's face in her hands. "You know, I wish you weren't quite as adventurous as your father. Now I just worry even more than I already did."
At this, Aiden smirked sheepishly. "Sorry, Grammy. I can't help it!"
"I can't believe what Team Rocket was up to," Professor Oak remarked, his voice laced with disgust. "Their Pokémon conquests were well known, but abducting orphaned children? Who would have ever known?"
Misty walked up to her husband, stroking their youngest child's hair. Elizabeth pulled away from her father's chest and beamed at her mother, her eyes lighting up as she reached towards her. "Mommy!"
Misty smiled and took the girl from Ash, kissing her forehead and holding her close before stating, "Ash, I think you need to tell them."
"Tell us what?" Delia broke in, looking between Ash and Misty.
The Pokémon Master let out a staggered breath before admitting, "my G-Men mission…it was bout Team Rocket."
"What?!" Delia gasped.
"So you've been after them this whole time," Professor Oak murmured.
"Yeah," Ash replied, nodding just once. "We didn't know exactly what Team Rocket was up to. Yes, we knew they were kidnapping children, but we didn't know why. Once we finally caught them, we figured it out."
"What was it?" Delia breathed. "They haven't said anything on the news yet. It was all speculation."
"They were using the kids as operatives," Ash sighed darkly. "Raising them to be the 'perfect' members of Team Rocket."
"Oh my!" Delia wheezed.
"Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse," Professor Oak grumbled.
"I've never seen anything like it," Misty murmured, shaking her head. "It broke my heart. And to think they were after our children for the same exact thing…"
Misty held Elizabeth more tightly, burying her nose in her hair.
"Even though I didn't know what Team Rocket was up to in the beginning, I knew I had to get myself involved in the mission because whatever it was they were attempting, they had tried it with our kids," Ash explained to a stunned Delia and Professor Oak. "And now I'm really glad that I did. We were able to stop them…and stop those poor kids from suffering."
"I'm glad you were able to accomplish that," Delia agreed softly. "But that didn't stop us from worrying about you all."
Ash smiled at this. "Well, you don't have to worry anymore. Now that we stopped them…the mission is complete."
Delia's eyes lit up, and Misty's widened. While she knew they had stopped Team Rocket, she never knew what else the G-Men had up their sleeves, or what other intel they had.
"Ash…you're serious?" Misty breathed.
Ash grinned and nodded his head. "I did what I felt I had to do. I helped make the world a little better for our kids. We were able to stop Team Rocket, and now I get to go back to my normal life. Well…as normal as it gets, at least."
"So no more of that training?" Misty continued. "No more being gone for days on end?"
"No more," Ash confirmed.
Misty tried to stop her eyes from watering, but it was no use. With one shrill wail, Misty attached herself to Ash's side, wrapping one arm around his waist while she continued to hold Elizabeth with the other. Aiden and Michelle, who had been exchanging equally thrilled glances with one another, jumped at their father and hugged his other side, throwing in a few giggles for good measure.
"Well, what do you know," Professor Oak commented softly. "The family is finally back together."
"Yes," Delia laughed just once, wiping a tear away. "Finally."
The mission is officially over! Ash is back safe and sound with his family for good. Now we can focus on the championships! What will happen as we inch closer? Stay tuned to find out!