Welcome back, everybody, to The Power of Us! This one's going to be a big doozy, because I have some events to go over that will help make interactions later in the story easier to deal with. Also, unlike most of the stories out there, I want to go for a more small-world vibe, so many of the main cast are being introduced to each other this chapter.

Also, for this AU story, I'm making the deliberate assumption that since you can safely capture and store as energy Pokemon in Pokeballs and you can get almost any bit of information on said Pokemon with a single point of a Pokedex, and that most of the world has been industrialized, that the basic cellphone/smartphone exists. And yes, it will be an actual handheld, standalone device instead of being built-in with the Pokegears and X-Transceivers present in most other stories.

Lastly, for those of you who read my Naruto/MLP crossover A New World, A New Chance, several timeskips will be present in this chapter, though not to an anime degree, more like the small jumps present in that story, at least for the first half of the chapter.

Either way, enjoy Chapter 1, and let me know what you think!

Chapter 1: One Step Forward

June 17, 1997

All black. Rain and umbrellas everywhere. A very somber mood. One might say this was a common tragedy movie trope, and so it may have been, but such was a fitting mood for the funeral of Justin and Theresa Stonewood and Fitch and Rachel Pratt, four of Professor Oak's long-time assistants and beloved members of the Pallet Town community. All four had tragically been killed in what the authorities were calling a freak accident at Professor Oak's lab on May 24, around midnight.

Alex held Delia as she cried into his shoulder while the priest imparted the blessings of the two couples for their journey to the afterlife. Rachel and Theresa had been Delia's best friends and fellow researchers under the Professor, and the three had been working in the same field for the last ten years, so to say Delia was heartbroken because of their loss was not an understatement in the slightest. Alex himself was in a foul mood because he'd known Fitch and Justin for several years and knew they were good members of the community and didn't deserve this. Though the main reason he was in a foul mood was because the authorities, he was certain, were wrong.

The official report that had come back on June 4, nearly two weeks earlier, stated that the tragedy was a freak accident as a result of a weakened foundation and violations of health code, which Alex knew was total horseshit. He'd been there last year when the inspector from the World Government had paid a house call to Oak's laboratory/home and cleared it for continued operation, no alteration needed. What was also suspicious was that he'd looked at the autopsy report that had come back the day before - even though he was no longer Champion, being a former government official granted him clearance to access sensitive documents should the need ever arise - and come to the conclusion it'd been altered in some way, as if to hide something from the authorities. He'd promptly sent it off to the Database research division to have tests run on the document.

He looked over at Jason Yvonne, one of Justin's best friends from when they'd made their own journey together in the far-off region of Unova. A resident of Kalos as a child, he'd moved to Unova at age eight, where the two had met. At ten, as per normal standards, the two had made their journey. For a few years, they'd run circuits in Unova, Kalos, Sinnoh, and Hoenn, but the farthest reached between the two of them in a League was when Jason had come runner-up in the Lily of the Valley 1979 conference, against a Trainer who had been hired by the World Government to look into illicit dealings in the Sinnoh region, using the Pokemon League circuit that year as cover for their operations.

As expected, the man was devastated, with several handkerchiefs in his pockets as he cried for the loss of his best friend. Alex had heard his wife, Grace, was nearly at the end of her final trimester and had been admitted into the hospital, and so couldn't make it.

He also looked over to Professor Oak and his son and daughter-in-law, Graham and Alicia. The three were also emotional wrecks, considering they'd known the four assistants ever since they'd moved to Pallet Town. Samuel, in particular, was heartbroken. Alex knew how the older man thought, and he was likely blaming himself for not having been there to stop the fire from killing the two couples. Though there was nothing that could be done on his part; Oak had been called to a researchers' convention in Hoenn the week before and had found out about their deaths on the boat back from Hoenn.

To compound Alex's suspicions, he'd heard Team Rocket was moving out of said area and back into Kanto. Rocket had been forced out of Kanto by himself and Daniel right before their second League competition in Sinnoh, and the group had fled to Hoenn, where the political and economic climate was extremely unstable and prone to manipulation. Giovanni had been causing havoc in the Hoenn region for the last ten years, most likely to plant agents in the area.

Finally, after what felt like both forever and an instant, the priest closed the caskets and gently pushed them into the prepared ground. As was a part of Pallet Town's tradition, the attending members, Alex and Delia included, each grabbed a shovel and began to fill the holes and the caskets with dirt, many of them still crying all the while.

Delia was very concerned that Alex wasn't showing much emotion, and she approached him once the tradition had been completed. "Honey, what's wrong? You've been completely stiff the whole time we were here."

"This can't have been an accident." Delia's eyes widened. "Think about it. I just retired as Champion last month, and suddenly, you hear news of numerous people being murdered in Hoenn. And from what my sources have told me, every single one of them was a Rocket plant. That makes it almost certain Giovanni's cleaning house and coming back. Since I'm no longer a significant obstacle, he's going to try and re-establish his rule here. And what's worse, I ordered a copy of the autopsy reports sent to me once the coroner had completed them, and it wasn't hard to tell they'd been tampered with. Though what wasn't tampered with was the coroner's name. I'm going to head to the Database tomorrow morning, and you're coming with me."

"What? But I have to take care of our little baby!"

"You can bring little Ash along, but if my concerns are valid, I have little doubt Giovanni will be coming after you to get to me. And if that's the case, I'm not going to give him the chance."

Delia clicked her jaw shut as she thought about it for a solid minute. Finally, she sighed and hugged her husband. "Yeah, you're right. I won't forget when Archer tried to kidnap me. We're lucky Riley was there to stop him. If given the chance, Giovanni would definitely send another one after me." After a moment, she spoke again. "Do you think it's time for me to get back into the Pokemon scene? Because as strong as you and the others are, you won't always be around, and I have to be able to protect myself."

Alex pretended to think about it, when in reality he already had his answer. "That sounds like a splendid idea. Because though I hate to admit it, you're right. I might not be Champion anymore, but I'll still have to go away on business, and I can't just take you with me wherever I go. That wouldn't be fair to you or Ash. I'll talk to Samuel once we get back from Fuchsia."

"The hell do you mean the coroner was one of the ones killed?! DAMMIT!" Alex threw a chair at the wall of the Database room he and Delia were standing in, startling the receptionist and the man he'd been talking to, a Database executive named Jacob Duran. Ash started crying at the sudden noise, and Delia glared at her husband while she tried to comfort her son. "I knew Giovanni had something to do with this, but I didn't think his claws would be in this deep! Delia, we have to leave, now. Jacob, I recommend you tell old man Hornet to secure the entire Database. If Giovanni is able to falsify records on a federal level, no doubt some of your information has already been compromised." He stormed out of the room, Delia quickly following behind.

He collapsed into a couch in the waiting area, holding his head in his hands for a few moments, before pulling out his cellphone. I hope Riley isn't off in some remote area again... He dialed Riley's number and pressed the call button. After five rings, right before the call would have gone to voicemail, Riley picked up from the other end. "Hey, Alex. I hope nothing's wrong; you usually don't call unless something's going on."

"Team Rocket's back in Kanto."

"...shit. I'm in Sinnoh right now, but I'll be there as quickly as I can. Where are you going to be?"

"Don't know, have to run around to keep Giovanni from getting a hold of Delia and little Ash. Call me once you get into Kanto, and we'll set something up."

"Got it. You keep yourselves safe out there, alright?"

"I'm not the former Champion for nothing, brother."

"Fine, fine. I'll see you when I get into Kanto. Good luck." The line cut to signal Riley's ending the call, and Alex slowly stood up, breathing in and out slowly. Delia, having finally calmed Ash down, hugged him with one arm.

"Like Riley said, we can't worry. We just have to keep on the move."

"I know, but that's easier said than done. I'll have to start entering Ace Tournaments again to keep a steady stream of income going. We need to head back to the lab and see how Samuel reacts to the news. Then we need to start traveling around the regions, other than Hoenn for now until it settles down. We need to get in touch with our old friends and warn them of Rocket's return." Delia nodded.

"Norman and Caroline just called back. They said they would try to get down from Sinnoh as quickly as they could to make a visit, but they have little May to worry about." Alex said as he prepared dinner for the evening. He and Delia had returned to Pallet that evening.

"When did they move to Sinnoh? I didn't know about that."

"About three years ago, when Rocket's operations in Hoenn came to a head. Norman was forced to step down as Gym Leader of Petalburg City or risk Giovanni sending goons after Caroline. After that, he got himself and Caroline out of Hoenn as quickly as he could." Delia nodded. That made perfect sense. It was the same reason Alex and herself had now come to the conclusion they needed to be on the move now that Rocket was setting up shop in Kanto again. "Have you heard from Johanna yet?"

"Not yet. She's still settling into her role as Top Coordinator of Sinnoh. Not only that, I heard she just gave birth to her daughter, Dawn."

Alex hmm'ed in thought. "Then we probably won't hear from her until she gets out of the hospital. You're the strongest out of our original traveling group and it took you three whole weeks to get out, so Johanna will probably be out this time next month or a little later. In the meantime, I'm going to call Daniel and see what his take on this whole situation is." He quickly washed his hands under the faucet of the sink, handed his apron to Delia so she could cook in his place, then took his cellphone out of his pocket and dialed Daniel's number.

The line rang three times before Daniel picked up on the other end. "Hey, old man, how are you?"

"Will you stop calling me that? Being two months older does not make me grizzled."

"Oh, you know I'm just joking." It wasn't hard for Alex to picture the smile on Daniel's face. "So what's this call for? You haven't called for quite a bit."

"Rocket."

Alex could hear Daniel sigh from the other end of the line. "So you know too?"

"Yeah, I was watching the news last week and found out a whole bunch of people in Hoenn got killed, and I looked into it; all of them were current or former Rocket plants. Worst thing, though, is he's got his sights set on Kanto again."

"How did you come to that conclusion?"

"The coroner who did Justin, Theresa, Fitch and Rachel's autopsies was one of the ones who was killed."

"...shit. You have to be kidding me. I only just found out about Hoenn after Destiny got back from the League Leaders' meeting."

"Yeah, it's not looking good. I already let Riley know, and he's on his way from Sinnoh to help us out. Delia and I decided we need to be on the move too, and I thought it'd be a good idea to let you know as well. I think Giovanni's trying to get to me, and he'll take every chance he gets to do that. If that means getting to one of you, I have no doubt he'd do it without a second thought."

"Easier said than done, man. Though I'll let Destiny know. I'm sure you already know she won't be happy."

"Don't worry, I already know that. I know she won't like having to force Daisy, Lily, and Violet to move with us. They're barely preschool age."

"Since you haven't called in a while, I don't think you found out, but we just had another daughter."

"Really?! What's her name?"

"We agreed her name would be Misty."

"That sounds nice! Congratulations! But now that you've brought that up, you know that's all the more reason for you guys to start moving too. I have to let Samuel know about this. I don't think Giovanni will try going after him, though, because if he does, and Oak goes missing, the League would be on it like butter on toast."

"You're definitely not wrong there. Oak is probably the most respected professor the League has ever seen. It would more than likely get blown up into an interregional incident. Hell, I don't even doubt the World Government would get involved. I'll... Hold up a second, Destiny needs something." Alex waited for about five minutes, before Daniel came back to the line on the other end. "Destiny heard our whole conversation. She agrees with us, even though it won't be easy for the kids... Here, she wants to talk to you, so I'm putting her on."

A couple seconds later, he heard Destiny's voice on the other end. "Is it true? Are my best friends actually...?" It wasn't hard for Alex to tell her voice was cracking.

"Unfortunately, yes. Delia was devastated at the news."

"Oh...Oh, Arceus!" Alex was very sad to hear Destiny's loud cries from the other end of the phone, and at that point, Daniel took the phone back.

"I'll have to talk to you later, Alex. Once I've calmed her down, we'll have a talk about what we need to do. I'll have a response within the week."

"Thank you, Daniel. Talk to you then. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry you had to find out about our friends like this." The line shortly cut on the other end. Alex sighed wearily as he slumped into a dining room chair, resting his forehead on his fist. Right after he sat down, Delia came out with two large bowls of chicken stew. She sat down in the other chair and passed on of the bowls to Alex. "Thanks, sweetie." He promptly dug in, partly because of his own hunger and partly to help forget all of the last week.

As he ate, Delia's phone rang. She answered it promptly, as was her habit of never letting the phone get past the second ring, though it also meant she never checked caller ID. "Hello, Ketchum residence, Delia speaking."

"Why... did you try to call me earlier?" It wasn't hard to tell the weak voice on the other end was Johanna's.

"Oh, Johanna! I... honestly don't want to worry you right now since you just had a baby girl. Congratulations on that, by the way! But we'll fly up once you get out of the hospital and tell you in person, okay?"

"I... don't like how you're talking to me right now, but you're right. If it's any kind of news that isn't good, then it probably won't help me at all right now. I'll see you next month, then. Don't forget to pack some cold-weather clothes, because this year's been record lows throughout."

"Don't worry, Johanna, we'll do that. You have a good rest, alright?"

"Will do, Delia. Talk to you later." Delia pressed the end button to hang up the phone, then turned to Alex. Right before she went to say something, she heard Ash crying from his new crib in his upstairs bedroom. She quickly took off her apron, throwing it on the chair she had just been sitting in and running upstairs to tend to him.

Alex slowly got up from his chair and walked up the stairs after her, and found her slowly rocking Ash back and forth in her arms, though he was still crying. Alex chuckled as he went into the room. "If he's anything like me, little Ash is probably hungry."

"Yeah, you're probably right. If there's anything he got from you, it's definitely that." Delia chuckled as the two moved down to the kitchen and fed Ash some liquid food they'd picked up at the supermarket in Viridian yesterday. Once being fed, Ash promptly fell quiet, other than the occasional bubbly-sounding giggle.

"I'm going to go ahead and see Samuel now. Do you want to come with? You can bring Ash if you want, or you can stay here and look after him." Alex said as he put the jar of liquid food back in the cupboard and went to grab his Indigo League hat, a red and white snapback cap with the Indigo League's one-letter logo, a red diagonal L.

"Yeah, I'll come with you. Let me wrap Ash in his blankee." Alex nodded and stood under the overhang of the foyer while Delia went upstairs. He pulled out his phone and found he'd been sent a message from Charlie.

The League will need to see you to formally crown Lance as Champion on July 9. Be prepared for that. Also, my condolences to the Stonewood and Pratt families. From what I'm told, they were good assistants to Oak and even better people. Sorry for your loss. - Charlie Goodshow

Alex quickly typed out a reply thanking Charlie for the notification and the condolences, then put his phone away as Delia came down the stairs with Ash wrapped in his small yellow and green blanket. "Alright, we're good to go."

"Alright then, let's head out." The two walked out of the house and Alex took out his keyring, locking up the front door before the two walked out the entrance that was the open part of the white picket fence and toward the lab.

Once they arrived, they found Samuel standing in the Pokemon ranch he'd consolidated for his research, observing the few Pokemon that hadn't escaped the ranch due to the lab's almost total destruction. Construction crews from Fuchsia, Vermilion, Cerulean and Viridian City were already hard at work doing whatever they could to repair the damage the lab had sustained, and replace what they couldn't repair outright, though Silph Co. and the Database would need to replace the completely destroyed electronic equipment lost in the fire.

Samuel saw them coming about a hundred yards away and turned to them as they walked up. "Ah, Alexander and Delia. I'm afraid I can't do much for you right now, seeing as my lab is in such a disheveled and destroyed state. What wasn't lost outright in the fire was irreparably damaged and has to be replaced, so I can't be of much use to you at the moment."

"We didn't come here to talk about what you do and don't have, unfortunately."

Samuel saw the stony look in Alex's eyes and immediately knew something was wrong. "What is going on, Alexander? I haven't seen that look since 1987."

"You need to be on the lookout for Rocket."

Oak's eyes narrowed. "And why should I do that? They've taken residence in Hoenn since the day you became Champion."

"Play that sentence back in your head and tell me if there's something wrong with it." Oak stopped to think for a moment before his eyes imperceptibly widened in realization.

"You're not the Champion anymore."

"Rocket is definitely returning now that Giovanni doesn't have me to worry about. He knows I can't call an interregional muster since I no longer have the authority to do so. That was the main reason he fucked out of Kanto in the first place. It isn't just that, though."

"Then why else should I be more vigilant?" Alex turned around to glare pointedly at the under-construction laboratory. Oak's eyes widened. "No... you're not implying.."

"There is no implying. I'm certain Rocket caused this. An entire section of the Database's Pokemon registry, gone. All of your thirty years of backed-up research, gone. Two families who were beloved to Pallet Town, but most of all you and I, whose lives were cut short. Giovanni might as well have taken a boat back and personally declared war on us. Not only that, but the autopsies were tampered with, and the coroner in Hoenn who did them was a fake planted by Team Rocket.

Alex had to tuck his arms under Samuel's shoulders to keep him up. "No... it can't be..."

"Focus, old man. You have to listen to me." Alex forced Samuel to stare him in the eye, and Samuel, renewed as his grief was, focused on Alex. "Giovanni may have been responsible for this, but he doesn't have the balls or the manpower to attack you directly. If he tried to hurt you in any way, he would have a giant target painted on his back. Hoenn especially would have blood for what he's done to the region the last ten years. He would be hunted for the rest of his then-short life. I don't even think the World Government would be above stepping in themselves. So the most important thing you can do is continue as you always have. Just keep on doing what you're best at, alright?"

Samuel hesitantly nodded. "Thank you for informing me of this... situation, Alexander. Now if you please, I would like to be alone."

Alex wordlessly led Delia back to their house, leaving Samuel to ponder this new development and grieve once more, not for a tragic accident, but for a deliberate murder.

July 17

"And that's the whole situation," Alex told Riley. The two were in a cafe in Vermilion City, Delia feeding Ash from a small bottle next to them.

"Damn. I can't believe Giovanni would have the stones to kill assistants of Professor Oak. And on top of that, destroying legal records for two separate corporations. If that rat bastard didn't have half of Hoenn in his pocket, he'd already have the entire country on his ass."

"Hey, honey, Daniel and the others are here." Delia spoke up as she finished feeding Ash, who quickly fell asleep in his mother's arms.

Daniel and Destiny Waterflower, along with their three children Daisy, Lily, and Violet, walked into the cafe and quickly took seats at the large table. Destiny carried their newborn daughter Misty in her arms. "Hello again, Alex. Wish we'd met under better circumstances."

"Well, you know anything involving Giovanni automatically has the word 'good' removed from the equation." Alex responded as the waiter, now having counted the full capacity of the reservation, came over and set down eight menus for the group to look over.

"I found out about the murder and a whole bunch of people being killed in Hoenn while I was at the League Leaders' meeting in Saffron at the start of the month. That was where they talked about setting a press conference date for the news. I knew exactly what you were going to do, and after doing a little sniffing around msyelf, it didn't take long for me to put the pieces together and come out with a puzzle with Giovanni's name written all over it.

"I knew then that Giovanni was coming back, and I wasn't surprised if he was going to come after us because of our involvement in driving him away when we were younger, so I immediately handed in my resignation letter and left. The reserve Gym Leader has already taken over at the Cerulean Gym. Hopefully, we'll be able to come back one day, but for now, Giovanni's shadow looms too large for us to have any safety in Kanto." Alex and Delia nodded. Destiny's logic, as always, was on point, no filler needed.

"Agreed. You and Daniel of all people know I don't like forcing people into situations they don't want to be in, but this is for our safety and the futures of our children, so drastic steps have to be taken. If there's one thing I learned to keep close to my chest as a Champion, it was that." Destiny and Daniel nodded. They didn't like the situation either, but they had to get the hell out of Kanto as quickly as possible. "Samuel already talked to the League and got authorization for me to take one Pokemon with roots in Kanto of each of the eighteen types to use as starters for the kids once they are ready to become Trainers. Also, he told me he managed, with a lot of string-pulling, to lower the official Trainer age for our kids to seven, though they still won't be allowed to go out on their own until they're ten. Though that put him in debt with the League for the rest of his life."

"That was very insightful of the old man." Norman Maple said as he took a seat at a nearby table. "Hello again, everyone. Caroline won't be joining us today. She's in her last week of recovery before she's allowed to leave the hospital with May."

"I see you managed to make it out of Sinnoh, and in good time too." Alex responded as a waiter brought Norman a menu to look over. By that time, the other seven had already ordered their own meals, and were waiting for their food. A waitress brought over glasses of water for all of them.

"Considering Giovanni's back, I had no other choice. I know there's a crime syndicate with old ties to Rocket back in its infancy in Sinnoh, and I wouldn't be surprised if Giovanni's making calls right now, so I called Vermilion and got authorization for a transfer-and-release on supervision. Then I hired some traveling doctors and got on board the first boat here I could. Landed in Cerulean last week, and the rest has just been us getting here."

Alex hmm'ed in thought. "Well, now that we're all here, we need to head to Sinnoh and get Johanna. She called me last week and said she's packed up her things and it ready to leave once we get there, unless she's changed her mind or something comes up before we get there. From here, it'll be a week and a half to Cerulean, then we take a two-day boat ride to Sinnoh, and once we land in Sunyshore City, it'll take about a week and a half for us to get to Twinleaf Town. Johanna won't be able to meet us on the way because she's dealing with personal issues. Norman, about how long is it going to take for Caroline to get out of the hospital?"

"She'll be leaving either later today or sometime tomorrow. The doctors still aren't entirely sure whether she's fully recovered, but I've already explained the situation to them and gotten permission for early leave. They're really salty about it, but it's necessary."

Delia chuckled at that. "It probably would have been the same here, but Alex insisted I stay in the hospital so he knew I'd be good when I got out."

"Well, either way, I rented us a few rooms at the Pokemon Center here in Vermilion while we wait for Caroline to get out. I could have forked over extra for a hotel, but we need to make sure to save as much money as we can, not just to make sure we can live decently for the month - about - we'll be on the road, we also need to make sure to pick up some new clothes. I have no doubt Giovanni's already got our pictures up wherever his hideout is, and based on what happened back in May, he won't hesitate to jump at the first opportunity to come after us." The others nodded to Alex as the waiter brought two trays out with everyone's food, and the group quickly dug in.

While they were eating, Delia excused herself to go to the bathroom, cautiously leaving little Ash in the care of Daisy, Lily, and Violet. Though everyone was paying most of their attention toward their meals or their children, Alex didn't fail to notice two figures with striking red and blue hair, who looked to be about teens, get out of their own seats and follow Delia. He wordlessly put down his fork and looked at Daniel.

When he looked back at him, he blew a breath through his open hand, an old code from their government work that told the recipient there was danger and to keep the others calm and prevent interference. Daniel's eyes widened in shock, before he quickly regained his composure and nodded. Alex then made a gesture to get the rest of their group out of the restaurant. Daniel instictively knew he needed to take the group to the Pokemon Center.

As Daniel silently flagged down a waiter and used his national dex to pay for the group's meals, escorting them out of the restaurant in short order, Alex approached the door to the women's restroom. This cafe had an open-roof design, with cross-sections exposed to the open air. He quickly maneuvered onto one made from the crossing of two wooden beams, grabbing onto the top and using the wall to launch himself into a perched position above the door.

A moment later, the two people from before came out, holding Delia hostage, as he'd expected. "Alright, Alexand... wait, what? Where did that group go?" The young man with the blue hair exclaimed before it rapidly dovetailed into confusion at the group's disappearance.

The girl with the red hair sharply turned to the man. "Were we found out?" At this point, the entire cafe was watching the two, a lot of them with fear in their eyes. Alex chose this moment to act.

He silently jumped from his perch and onto the ground, though his heavy boots did not do him any favors. The two heard him land on the ground, but by the time they'd turned around, it was already too late. Right as they found themselves facing the man they'd been sent to observe, two knives were placed against their throats. "If you know what's good for you, you'll let my wife go, right now." Alex moved from his slightly crouched position and rose to his full height in an act of intimidation.

While the two hadn't flinched much at having knives pointed to their throats, they were now reminded just who the former Champion of Kanto was. Thinking on it, their boss might have world domination in mind, but he had to have been halfway insane to try to force the man into any beneficial position. Before the knives and Alex's fiery glare, the two released Delia, before trying to run. The knives were promptly dropped to the ground and Alex's long arms lashed out, grabbing the two by the collars of their shirts and dragging them right back. "You're not leaving. Face the music with some shred of dignity."

Alex turned to Delia, who was still sweating profusely from the sudden intrusion. "Sweetie, dial Daniel and put the phone to my ear." Delia did so promptly once she saw the look in Alex's eyes. When he was this serious, he had a plan, and he was going to execute. Once Daniel picked up, she put the phone to his ear. "Daniel, are you there?"

"Yeah, Alex. I'm assuming you took care of whatever held you up?"

"Not quite. Have Norman and Destiny escort the others the rest of the way to the Pokemon Center. I need you to go to the nearby Pokemart and buy a hundred feet of Escape Rope. I'll pay you back out of my account later. Once you're done, bring it back to the cafe."

"Got it, I'll be there ASAP." Daniel quickly hung up the phone, and Alex nodded to Delia, whose hands shook in shock as she put the phone in her pocket, nearly dropping it in the process.

"Go sit down, sweetie. Try to calm your nerves. Don't worry, I've got this." She did so quickly, and a lone man who was sitting at the table next to them quickly made room for her to sit down. Alex gave a grateful nod and a sad smile to the man, before returning his gaze to the two teens he had a hold of. Neither could be more than fifteen or sixteen years old, from what he could tell. Both were lean and looked like they'd been malnourished, almost to the point he could see their cheek and jawbones, which led him to believe these were Rocket grunts that had joined Giovanni's evil organization out of desperation rather than any actual interest to cause harm.

After a few minutes, Daniel ran in, holding a large bundle of Escape Rope in his arms. He looked at the two people Alex had a hold of and immediately knew what to do, tying their arms to their body and fashioning loops to hold the rope so they couldn't escape. The whole time, the two teens remained silent, mostly out of shock and a little fear.

"Thank you, Daniel. I'll deal with these two myself. Take Delia back to the Pokemon Center and make sure she gets a shower and a nice bed to rest in. After what just happened, she's going to need it." Daniel nodded without saying a word and quickly escorted Delia out of the cafe. Alex pushed the two teens out the door after them, but instead of following Daniel, he stopped in the street.

"Alright, here's what's going to happen. I will take the rope off of you, because air travel requires you have use of your arms so you can hold on to something. You will not run away, or I will only make it worse for you. Is that understood?" The two hesitantly nodded. "Good. Charizard, Clefable, come on out!" The two Pokemon emerged from their Pokeballs on his belt, Charizard in front of the three and Clefable next to them. "Clefable, use Protect to create a barrier so they can't escape."

The various people in the street quickly moved to the opposite end upon seeing Alex's famous Charizard come out of its Pokeball, knowing something serious was going down. Once Clefable finished casting the barrier, Alex untied and took off the ropes restraining the two, allowing them breathing room while he observed them. "Alright, get on Charizard."

The two quickly did so, and Charizard took off, hovering above a hundred feet in the air while he waited for Alex, who recalled Clefable before bringing out his Pidgeot.

"Let's get going, Pidgeot," Alex said as he climbed onto Pidgeot's back. Pidgeot gave a loud caw before taking off, Charizard following behind.

A few minutes later, the two Pokemon touched down in a clearing two miles into the forest north of Vermilion. Alex and the two teens hopped off before Alex recalled Charizard and Pidgeot. "Thanks, you two. I'll make sure you get a good meal at the Center once we get back to Vermilion." He turned to the two teens, who were still somewhat scared. "Walk with me."

The two teens, whose names he still hadn't gotten, quickly fell into step beside him. "I'd warn you not to try anything. I'm always on guard. Just because I've let you out of the ropes doesn't mean I can't restrain you myself if I have to." The two flinched, as if they were going to do just that, though Alex had already disarmed them of the only weapon they'd had back at the cafe. Alex internally smiled. Good to know I've still got my old touch. "So, what are your names?" The two were still scared and hadn't seemed to fully pick up his question, so he asked again. "Please, tell me your names." Alex had a suspicion about the blue-haired boy, who looked like a younger, lighter-haired version of one of Norman's old friends before his tenure as a Gym Leader.

"Um... my name's Jessie." The red-haired girl spoke up first.

"M-my name's James, sir."

"No need to be so formal, though respect will certainly do nothing but help your situation, so I have to give you credit for that." Alex even thought the voices were similar, so he decided to ask a question to confirm it. "By chance, James, is your father's name Eugene?"

James looked at Alex in shock. He didn't need to say anything for Alex to know he'd hit the nail right on the head. "I... y-yes, sir."

Alex sighed and put his palm in his hand. "So can you explain why you're in Vermilion City, working with Jessie here under Team Rocket - and don't deny it, I know these kinds of things - instead of living with him and your mother Lucinda on your estate?"

Jessie's head snapped to James in shock. "What? You never told me you-"

"Jessie, wait your turn. I asked James a question. Let him answer it. I have questions for you, too, so in the meantime, try to hold your tongue, please." Alex cut in, not giving the girl a chance to finish her sentence. Jessie promptly clicked her jaw shut and huffed in annoyance before shuffling a little further away from the two of them.

James looked down sullenly, and Alex knew he had a problem on his hands. "You ran away, didn't you." It wasn't a question. James just nodded his head, still looking toward the ground and hiding his face. Alex promptly stopped, turned, and roundhouse kicked a tree, cracking the bark as his eyes filled with rage. "That pretentious prick! I'm going to have words with him when I see him next!" After having let out some of his anger on the poor tree, he forced himself to calm down, and he moved back beside James as the two started walking again. "This is going to hurt, but I need to know what led to that." Dammit, I thought I'd straightened his ass out when I saw him in Fuchsia!

James hesitated, and Alex put a hand on his shoulder. "I won't be able to help if I don't know what led to the problem. You seem like a bright kid, so I'm sure you already know that."

James nodded before telling Alex of his experiences with his parents, about how he was constantly being forced to do things that he wasn't interested in, such as being forced to learn how to act and live like a noble, to the point he wasn't even allowed privacy when he woke up in the mornings. That alone already greatly angered Alex, but hearing the news about an arranged marriage that only aligned with Eugene and Lucinda's own interests made his blood boil.

"That's all I need to hear. Jessie, now it's time for you to answer some questions."

"O... okay." Jessie was more reluctant than James, but eventually Alex had gotten when he needed out of her as well. While he could tell James had likely entered Team Rocket out of desperation, it had been in Jessie's legacy. Her own mother had been a high-ranking official in the organization who was sent to a far-off region uncharted by any to hunt down evidence of Mew's existence and never returned. She had been placed in an orphanage soon after and was forced to doing things as dirty and unbecoming as eating snow off the ground as food. He also learned of her attempts to become a Pokemon Nurse which ultimately failed, as well as failed attempts to become a pop star and Kanto Pokemon Tech graduate, before she fell in with a biker gang, visited Hoenn briefly and ended up in Team Rocket alongside James. What was interesting was that in said biker gang, Jessie and James met one another, so they had more history than just Rocket.

More than any of that, though, it was obvious Jessie was the type of person to rush into things without thinking about it and not bother with much planning, which was what he could tell as the main reason she had fallen in with Team Rocket.

Alex quickly came to the conclusion these two kids still had a lot of good in them, but had been victims of circumstance, of things outside their control. They could be set back on the right path before it was too late. He called James over to himself, before asking a key question. "Do you want to be a part of Rocket?"

It didn't take long for them to answer in the affirmative, but he could tell they didn't really mean it. "Really? Okay, then let me tell you a bit about the head of the organization, Giovanni. You're going to want to take a seat for this."

After Jessie and James found a place to sit, Alex recounted his and Daniel's efforts against the man, specifically a stint he'd done inside the man's organization as an undercover agent before he'd become Giovanni's worst enemy. Jessie and James were shocked with how the man ruled with an iron fist and sought to control everything he could possibly get his greedy hands on. From events as early as his and Daniel's stopping him from taking Silph Co. over to the most recent move where he'd killed numerous figures in Hoenn right after the deaths of four of Oak's assistants and then their own presence to take Delia hostage.

"W-we only did it for the money, and because we had no place to go! I-I-I swear!" James was horrified to the point he felt like throwing up. He'd never thought anyone would have a heart black enough to mercilessly kill people and Pokemon for their own benefit. It'd shattered every perception he'd had of the boss of Team Rocket. Jessie was just as shocked. Her own mother had the desire to serve a man like Giovanni? And she'd looked up to her? What kind of monster did it take to willingly inflict pain and suffering on the masses for their own gain?

"And that's why I didn't immediately turn you in to the local Officer Jenny and the police department. I can see you two are good people that just ended up in tough situations. And it drove you to do things you'd otherwise never consider. I'm giving you a chance. Come with me and my group. Forget Team Rocket exists. We can show you that life is worth living. You can go on a Pokemon journey and discover a life of your own. You don't have to be shackled to a man who would only see the world burn."

The two didn't hesitate to accept Alex's offer, after having heard how horrible their boss - former boss, now - was. Being able to actually sleep at night and live with themselves and what they'd done wasn't something they'd had since they'd joined the organization.

Alex got up from his seat. "Now, do you have any Pokemon on you? Your own or given to you by Rocket?"

Jessie and James nodded. They only had one Pokemon each, both given to them by Rocket. A Koffing and an Ekans, and both looked malnourished and only just old enough to battle. "We need to take these Pokemon to the Pokemon Center as soon as we can. They're both severely underfed, and that won't do at all. Not to mention these Pokemon are barely old enough to even be used in battle. Typical of Rocket. Just like the dictatorships that ruled in legend before Pokemon existed. We have to go now. Put them back in their Pokeballs, and climb on."

Alex took out Charizard and Pidgeot's Pokeballs out again, sending the two out. "Charizard, would you please carry Jessie and James here?" Charizard nodded and lowered itself to the ground slightly to allow the two to get on, which they quickly did, and Alex hopped on Pidgeot's back, before the two Pokemon took off toward the Pokemon Center back in the city.

"Reports from the orphanage in Viridian City indicate that two children already in the child protection system have been orphaned as a result of the fire that killed Fitch and Rachel Pratt and Justin and Theresa Stonewood on May 24 in Pallet Town. When asked about the two infants, the orphanage declined to comment."

"WHAT?!" Alex shot off the couch next to one of the TVs in the Pokemon Center. Daniel, who was busy helping Nurse Joy with the records, snapped his head over to Alex.

"Alex, what's wrong? I've never seen you startle like that!" Daniel jumped over the counter using his arm and ran over to Alex, but he was already running out of the Center before Daniel could do anything to stop him. "Alex, wait up! Where are you going?!"

"Look after the others! I have to go to Viridian!" Not even a minute later, Alex had hopped on his Charizard and flown away, in the direction of Viridian City, along the rising sun.

Daniel sighed, slapping his hand against his forehead. "Dammit, Alex. I see some things still haven't changed." He walked back into the Pokemon Center, now having to deal with watching over everyone as well as buying advance tickets for the boat to Sinnoh.

Eleven hours later, just as the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, Alex walked in carrying two babies, one who looked newborn. The rest of the group, who'd been worried about Alex and had sat in the lobby of the Center for the last hour and a half, bounded over to him, shocked to see him carrying two babies.

Delia took one of the babies out of Alex's hands, while Destiny took the other. "Why do you have two babies with you?"

Daniel was the first one to put the pieces together. He'd seen a rerun of the newscast after Alex left. "Are those the babies that were talked about on the news?"

"They are. Let me introduce seven-month-old James Stonewood," he said as he pointed to the one with dark blonde hair, "and two-month-old Maxwell Pratt," he said as he pointed to the baby with the brown hair. The entire group's jaws dropped.

"What? Alex, dear, please tell me you're kidding."

Alex shook his head at Delia's inquiry. "It's the truth. I was just as shocked as you. I stormed into that orphanage and wrung out every answer I could, found out they were the result of accidental pregnancies. So when they were born, our friends gave them up for adoption because they didn't think they were ready to be parents."

Daniel shook his head as he looked at James. "It doesn't matter. Our friends' legacy lives on in their children, and that's what matters. Delia, it would be a good idea to let Jason know about the fact that Justin had a child. Even if he doesn't want or can't take James, he deserves to know."

Delia nodded. "You're right; I'll do it now. Can you take James, then, so I can call him?"

Daniel nodded and wordlessly, though a little nervously, took James in his arms and slowly rocked him to keep him asleep, while Delia got on the phone.

After four rings, Jason's voice was heard on the other end of the line. "Delia? You don't usually call here, it's always either Alex or Daniel. Was there something you needed?"

"Before I say anything, you're going to want to sit down, otherwise you might fall over."

"Okay, now I'm intrigued. You're usually not a source of gossip." A few seconds passed, then, "Okay, go ahead now."

"Alex just found out Justin had a son. He picked him up from Viridian's orphanage when he found out, and he's with us in Vermilion's Pokemon Center right now."

Several seconds of silence followed, then the line cut. Delia thrust the phone away from her ear and looked at it, stunned. Alex noticed the look on her face. "Delia, is something wrong? What did he say?"

"He didn't say anything. He just hung up." Alex raised an eyebrow in surprise. From what he knew, Jason wasn't usually like that. This might warrant a call to the man himself.

Daniel frowned as he gave little James back to Delia. "Now that I think about it, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to tell him right off the bat. I mean, the man has to deal with his own daughter's birth as well, so dropping this on him might have been a little bit much."

"Understatement, that. You might have just given him shock." Norman said as Daniel turned around and answered his phone, having received a call.

A few minutes and a lot of thought later, the rest of the group decided they'd need to take Maxwell with them, and James until they received an answer from Jason, right as Daniel hung up the phone and stuck it in his pocket. "The ferry service just called. We leave for Sinnoh tomorrow afternoon."

"I'll head back to Pallet Town to watch over Jason and Grace. You guys have enough members in your group now that I don't think I have to worry about Giovanni's grunts getting in your way. Just be safe, alright?" Riley said, standing up from his stool near the group and donning his blue rimmed hat.

Alex stood up and hugged him. "You know we will, brother. There are three Gym Leaders and a former Champion in this group. Giovanni would be stupid to try something now, especially after I obliterated his last attempt. He's probably grumbling about how Jessie and James haven't returned and how they're crap to have been 'captured' anyway, or what have you. You make sure that he doesn't try anything with Jason and Grace." Alex said, making finger quotes when he said captured.

"Will do. You guys take care, I have to leave now if I want to get back to Pallet Town in decent time." Riley waved as he walked out the sliding automatic door of the Pokemon Center, turning his back to the group right as the door closed.

"Well, with all that out of the way, I say it's about time for supper and bed. We'll need to be up early to make sure we catch the boat on time." Alex walked over to the table and started cleaning his miscellaneous items off of it as the others did the same, preparing for supper.

The whole time, Jessie and James watched on with curious but restrained expressions, having been the only ones to not have moved in the confusion.

August 11

"So you're sure you're not coming with us?" Daniel asked his old crush.

Johanna chuckled. "Giovanni doesn't have the balls to come after me. The new Champion and probably the youngest in a hundred years, Cynthia, has the same philosophy and mindset as our own former Champion here. If Giovanni tried to make a move on me - heck, anyone in Sinnoh, for that matter - Cynthia wouldn't hesitate to call a muster and hunt him down. I heard she actually knows all about Team Rocket because she has a deceased sibling who at one point was with them, so she's probably his biggest threat now that Lance is Champion of Kanto. I'll be fine staying here. Though why don't you think about staying here? Sinnoh has a nice climate and a very prosperous economy as long as you don't go too far north, and I doubt all this traveling will be good for the little ones in the long run. And I heard Alex and Delia here needed to do some Ace Tournaments and research from Caroline, and the region's got the most of those in the whole province."

Destiny nodded. "You're right. On the heels of what happened in May, we can't just go around forever. Even when Daniel and I agreed we'd leave Kanto and come with Alex and Delia, we knew this nomadic shtick wasn't going to be permanent. We literally can't afford it to be."

Norman relaxed slightly in his chair at the table. "I just have to wonder, what does Giovanni gain by going back to Kanto? We drove him out and the whole region knows who he is, so he'd be painting a giant target on his back, if anything."

Delia shrugged her shoulders as she supervised Jessie and James feeding Misty and Ash, being careful not to make much noise or do anything stupid. "Knowing the snake, he's already got some kind of plan. For all we know, he might already have several League officials in his pocket like he did when we thwarted him fifteen years ago."

Alex nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right. If there's anything Giovanni can't be beat at, it's his silver tongue. He could talk the wings off an angel if he really wanted to, and that's most of why he's so dangerous. So it wouldn't surprise me in the least if he's already on his way to getting control of Kanto again. We'll have to go back eventually to dethrone him again, and hopefully the next time we do, we can put him away for good instead of letting him escape like he did on Mt. Silver. I should have known as a kid that he wouldn't change, but I was too naive. I still remember how it sounded like a dream come true that he'd disband Rocket after I defeated him in Viridian."

"Men like him are too greedy for their own good. One day, he's going to get kicked down a hole and left to starve like all the worst people have." Johanna flippantly commented as she moved to the kitchen counter to prepare some formula for her daughter, Dawn, as well as Norman and Caroline's daughter, May. "But on the topic we were at earlier, there are several houses open here in Twinleaf Town that you can buy. Upfront, fully furnished, no down payment. A rare thing these days, and I'm surprised someone hasn't snatched them up already."

"I think we should try that option out. But if it doesn't work, do you have any other suggestions?" Caroline asked as she rocked May back and forth, waiting for the formula.

"The only other properties and houses that are on the market right now are in Veilstone City, or you always have the option of building from the ground up, but that one's going to cost more in the long run because you have to get a permit from the League and the Government first and you have to pay ownership and property fees for the first five years."

Caroline hmm'ed. "Then I guess our best bet is to stay here in Twinleaf Town."

"In that case, I'll start looking for properties that we can get at a decent price. Where's town hall?" Alex asked as he stood up.

"There isn't one. Professor Rowan handles all of the goings-on in the town, so you'll have to speak with him in his laboratory a half-mile up the road."

"Thanks. I'll go do that now. Jessie, James, you make sure to be careful with our children, okay?"

"Yes, Mr. Alex," both of the two sounded off almost immediately. It hadn't taken long for the group to warm up to Jessie and James. Both seemed to love taking care of little children, and sought to help Destiny, Delia, and Caroline out as often as they could. On top of that, both had very active imaginations and an insane level of attention to detail for teens their age, picking up on details that only Alex would usually find. Jessie was only sixteen and James fifteen, and they might have only been with the group a month, but it already felt like they'd been there for a whole year.

"Does anyone want to come with me? Maybe you could look at the houses or something, get an idea of the space. I know you'll need to worry about space, Daniel. You've got four daughters now, so you may need as much as you can get."

Daniel chuckled and got out of his seat, cautiously handing little James to Lily. "Now you be careful with little James, okay, sweetie?"

"Don't worry, papa! I'll take good care of him!" Lily said in a quiet voice.

"That's my baby girl. I'll be back in a little bit." Daniel took the gray jacket from off of the seat he'd been using and threw it on.

"I'll go ahead and come with. I have to see what kinds of properties are available here too." Norman got out of his own seat. "Hey, Johanna, not to impose, but while we're gone, could you look after Maxwell?"

"It won't be a problem, Norman. Blake is upstairs looking after Dawn, so I don't mind. Here." Johanna reached out and gingerly took little Maxwell from Norman's arms, allowing the man to grab his own jacket and head over to where Alex and Daniel were waiting.

"Alright, let's go find somewhere to live." The three chuckled before heading out the door.

Arceus was broken from its meditation by a presence in the Hall of Origin. It looked and found, hovering in front of it, Mew. Ah, Mew, my charge. Do you bring forth updates from the human world? Mew nodded, then telepathically displayed an image of the awakening of Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, the three legendary birds of Kanto. Hmm, this is quite peculiar. The human world must be at a turning point in its existence. Keep a close eye on the goings-on of the world. Balance between people and Pokemon, and both of them with their environment, must be maintained for there to be peace. Was there any other information you needed to impart?

Mew closed its eyes and projected another image, this time of a young boy with black hair that had a blue sheen to it, sleeping peacefully in a human teenager's arms. I believe this child is the one you have been searching for, Arceus.

I shall be the judge of that, Mew. Arceus used his Hidden Ability, Piercing Gaze, to observe the soul of this child, and it took five minutes before he returned to his consciousness. Yes, this is the one I am searching for. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Mew. You have done a great service to myself and the people and Pokemon of the human world. When you return to the world, if they have not already awakened, please find Dialga and Palkia. I would speak with them.

Mew nodded, then used its psychic powers to open a portal back to its hideout in the human world. Arceus watched until the portal closed. The pieces have fallen into place. It is time for my children to become known in the world once more.

And after three weeks and a lot of writing, we finally come to the end of Chapter 1! Let me know how I did by dropping a review or PM! In the meantime, I need to get started on Chapter 13 of A New World, A New Chance, so I'll see you all later!