We were flying towards Pallet Town. Michelle and I were on Pidgeot and Jason was on Charizard. I couldn't believe it. We were finally heading back home, but just for a short time. Still, I couldn't wait to see mom again and I knew that Jason wanted to see his parents, too. I also guessed that Michelle would probably love to see my mom.

I looked down and smiled. Pallet Town was coming into view. "There it is!" I cried.

I could see the whole town from up in the air. I saw the lab off to the side with the huge field where all of the Pokemon lived behind it, the Oak household, and my house right next to it. I could also see the other houses that were in Pallet Town. I looked over and Jason had a smile on his face.

"It's really small compared to Cerulean City." Michelle said, looking at Pallet Town with a small smile. "It looks so peaceful, like it's the perfect place to be."

"Pidgeot, land there." I said, pointing to my house. We landed and I faced Pidgeot.

"Thanks, now take a well-deserved rest." I said, returning him.

"Thanks. Rest for now." Jason said, returning Charizard.

I opened the door and walked inside with Jason and Michelle following me.

"Mom? I'm home!" I called. I heard footsteps and my mom appeared from the living room.

"Adam!" she cried happily. She hurried over and hugged me. I hugged back because I knew she had missed me. I hadn't seen her in months, so I missed her, too.

"I didn't know that you three were stopping here." she said, releasing me from the hug.

"It was a surprise." I said.

She smiled and hugged Jason and then Michelle, too. My mom was always a very kind person to everybody that she met, and it showed. (But if you got on her bad side...well, that's a different story.)

"Grandma? Why aren't you home in Twinleaf Town?" I asked, seeing my grandma walk up behind my mom.

"That's no way to say hi." my grandma said.

"Sorry, grandma. But what are you doing here?" I asked in a confused voice as I hugged her.

"Your grandma came over to stay with me until you finished your journey. When I thought that you had died when the S.S. Ketchum sank...it didn't really help me, coupled with the fact that your father is missing. So she came to live with me so that I could talk to her if I needed some emotional support." my mom explained.

Piplup and Buneary came into the room and Pikachu hopped down from my shoulder.

"Pika!" he cried.

"Bun! Buneary!" Buneary cried.

"Pip Pip Piplup!" Piplup cried.

I knew that they were all happy to see one another after all this time. When I looked away from the three Pokemon catching up, I found my mom looking at me with a small smile, but it looked like a sad smile was hidden beneath it. I then realized she was looking at Pichu.

"This is Pichu. I have my very own Electric Pokemon now." I said, rubbing Pichu's head.

"Chu..." he said happily.

"You're becoming more like your father every day." my mom said. Now I knew why she had looked at me like that.

"Well, how about I fix some drinks and snacks and you can tell me about your journey?" my mom asked.

"We want to show Michelle around Pallet Town first." I said.

"I also haven't seen my parents yet." Jason added.

"Okay, we'll talk later." said my mom.

We dropped our backpacks off and left the house.

"I know that I only just got here, but I love it here already!" Michelle cried as we walked to Jason's house. "It's just so quiet and calm. Cerulean City isn't like this. It may be a small city compared to the other ones in Kanto, but with a gym in the city, it's busy and noisy."

Jason opened the door and saw his mom lying on the couch, reading a book. Her Bellossom was there beside her. Bellossom was one of the few Pokemon that she let stay out of their Pokeball. I think it's because of how Bellossom got her together with Gary.

Leaf smiled at us and ran over, hugging Jason. "Why didn't you tell me that you were coming home?" she asked, pulling away.

"I wanted it to be a surprise." Jason replied.

"Is that Bellossom yours?" Michelle asked.

Leaf looked over at Bellossom. "Yes, it is. It was the Pokemon that my husband gave me as a gift when he first asked me to be his girlfriend. He knew how much I liked Grass Pokemon. What he didn't know was that I had secretly loved him ever since we were little kids, and I had been waiting for the day that he would ask me to be with him."

"Even though dad will never admit it, I think he had a secret crush on you, too." Jason added.

"That's so sweet. Bellossom is a beautiful Pokemon. I love the dances that they do." said Michelle.

Suddenly, Bellossom used Sweet Scent and a sweet, soothing aroma hit Michelle and she smiled as she inhaled the scent.

"What was that for?" Michelle asked.

"Bellossom uses Sweet Scent when she meets someone new and senses that they're friendly. I also think that she likes the fact that you called her beautiful." Leaf replied.

"Where's dad?" Jason asked.

"He's at the lab, still working. We can go and see him, though. I know he'll be happy to see you."

We left the Oak house and headed to the lab. We pointed out some things in Pallet Town to Michelle as we walked. As we entered the lab, a few of the scientists and assistants greeted Leaf and Jason and myself. We introduced Michelle to them, too.

We walked to where Gary's office was and Leaf opened the door. Gary was sitting at the desk, typing something. He looked up and saw Leaf and a smile came over his face. When he saw Jason and myself, along with Michelle, he smiled even more. He got up and walked over, hugging Leaf and kissing her forehead. He then hugged Jason and myself.

"Great to see you again, boys. And you're Michelle, right?" he said, looking at Michelle.

"Yes, Professor."

He had only seen Michelle once in person and that was when we all nearly died when the S.S. Ketchum sank. Oh wait, we had been said to be dead, but we weren't.

"How's the journey going?" Gary asked.

"It's going great. We're heading to Viridian City for our last gym badge." Jason said to his dad.

"Good luck,"

"Do you want to see all of the Pokemon outside?" I asked, facing Michelle.

She smiled and said, "Yeah!"

Jason, Michelle, and I walked out of the lab and into the field where all of the Pokemon were.

"Wow..." Michelle said in amazement, looking at all of the Pokemon that were in the field behind the lab. "I've never seen so many different Pokemon all at once before."

"The Pokemon all belong to my parents and Jason's parents." I said.

I removed my Pokeballs and tossed them. "Go and have some fun." I said.

"Good idea." Jason said as he released his Pokemon. "Take a break and relax."

"Time for some fun!" Michelle said, tossing her Pokeballs.

"War! Wartortle!"

I looked over to see a Wartortle wearing sunglasses running up to me. It took me a moment to realize that this was my Squirtle. I had sent Squirtle over to the lab after I caught Haunter in Lavender Town because I was already carrying six Pokemon.

"Squirtle has been training here with your dad's Blastoise ever since you sent him here so his moves wouldn't get rusty. After a while, Squirtle evolved and Blastoise gave his Squirtle Squad sunglasses to him." Gary said from behind us.

I removed my Pokedex and scanned Wartortle. "Wartortle, the Turtle Pokemon. The evolved form of Squirtle. Its long furry tail is a symbol of its age and wisdom."

We walked around the field, showing Michelle our parents' Pokemon. I had never seen Michelle this amazed before. As we walked, we saw that my mom's Togekiss and Michelle's Togetic were talking and my Charmeleon was with my dad's Charizard, being that my Charmeleon was one of Charizard's offspring.

After showing Michelle the Pokemon at the lab and showing her the other places around Pallet Town, it was supper time. My mom decided to make a big supper which had a lot of my favorite foods. My other grandma, Delia, had come over for supper, too. So it was me, my mom, Michelle, and both of my grandmas.

"Wow, this is great!" Michelle cried as she ate. She had never tasted my mom's cooking before, but I had told her how great it was.

After traveling for so long and only having limited kinds of food, it was great to have my mom's home-cooked food again.

After supper, Jason and his family came over so we could share our stories of our journey. We knew not to tell our parents about our dangerous encounters with Team Rocket, though. We all sat in the living room as we talked. I showed off my badges and Jason did the same and Michelle showed off her ribbons.

"We're going to stay here tonight and then head to Viridian City tomorrow. We're going for our last badge and ribbon." I said.

"I've had four ribbons for a while. I've lost back-to-back contests recently. Viridian City is my last chance to get my fifth ribbon so that I can enter the Grand Festival." Michelle said, looking at her ribbons. She seemed unsure of herself.

"Michelle, I've seen all of your performances on TV and you're an amazing coordinator. You win some and you lose some, but in the end, things will be okay as long as you never give up." my mom said.

"I once went through the same thing that you're going through now. When I was traveling through Sinnoh, I had been on a losing streak. It was thanks to a battle with Maylene, the gym leader, that I finally got some confidence back. I also had my friends to encourage me, too. I finally won again in the Wallace Cup against my friend May."

"Thanks, Dawn." Michelle said, smiling.

"You'll do great in that contest, I know you will."

Then I remembered Darien and what he had said to me when we met. He said that he was my uncle and Dawn's twin brother. I didn't want to believe it, but something inside me made me think it was true. I had to ask my mom about it.

"Mom, are you really an only child?" I asked.

My mom looked at me with a confused look and said, "Why would you ask a question like that?"

"We met someone on our journey and he claimed to be your brother. Is it true?"

"Don't listen to those kinds of things. It was probably just someone who was looking for attention."

I looked at my mom's face. I couldn't see any doubt in her eyes, so she had to have been telling the truth, which meant that Darien was lying to me...so why couldn't I ignore that feeling in the pit of my stomach that told me he was right?

Then, in the corner of my eye, I saw a guilty look on my grandma Johanna's face. But the look was only there for an instant before her face went back to normal. Was there something that she wasn't telling my mom and I?

My mom looked at my badge case, which was on the table. She smiled at me and looked at the badges and then back to me. "Your dad would be so proud of you." she said softly. She looked down at her hands sadly.

"Has there been any news about him?" I asked.

"No..."

I frowned. Only four more months until the tournament would be held where a new Pokemon Master would be named. Four more months until Paul could possibly take my dad's title.

"Oh...we've encountered someone you and dad met when you were traveling through Sinnoh." I said.

"Who?"

"Paul," Jason answered.

"Paul..."

"He's planning on winning the upcoming tournament and taking dad's title as Pokemon Master. He's called dad weak and pathetic."

"He hasn't changed a bit after all these years." my mom muttered.

"He also caught a Latias so that he can beat dad if he does come back." I added.

"What?!"

"He doesn't have what it takes to be a Pokemon Master. For one, you have to beat the current holder of the position unless the league says otherwise, and two, he doesn't have the right attitude. You have to have the right attitude to be a Pokemon Master...that was a lesson that I learned too late when I was on my Pokemon journey." Gary said.

"He's always been trying to be better than your father, even when we were traveling. He was always beating Ash, but then in the Pokemon League, their biggest match ever, Ash won. Paul...I thought that Ash had earned a little respect from him, but it seems that it's disappeared." my mom said.

"Maybe that's because he's gone missing." said Leaf.

"Most likely. Paul...he was very focused on things that revolved around him."

"So he was always mean?" Michelle asked.

"Yes. Well, I never saw him being nice. When he first met Ash, he called him weak and pathetic because Pikachu was missing and he only had a Starly."

"He treats his Pokemon cruelly. He shows them no appreciation." said Michelle.

"That's just how he is."

"How he captured Latias is what I want to know." Leaf asked.

"He heard the legend of Latias and Latios in Altomare and captured Latias since Latios wasn't around." Jason said.

We continued to share stories when the phone started ringing.

"Excuse me," my mom said, getting up and going into the other room.

I looked around and everyone was talking amongst each other about different things. I wanted to know who was calling...maybe it was some news on my dad.

So I sneaked away and walked to the room where my mom was and stopped, listening through the door, which was slightly open.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Dee Dee. It's been a while."

"What do you want, Kenny?"

"The same thing that I wanted last time. Another chance with you."

"No!"

"Ash has been missing for eight months now! He's as good as dead!"

"He's not dead and don't you dare say that he is, Kenny! Do you hear me?"

"I hear you, and you sound broken. You look broken, too. I can help you, Dawn."

"Shut up!"

"Dawn...I love you. Please give me another chance. We can be a family together. You, me, and Adam."

"No! I don't want a family with you, Kenny! I'll never want a family with anyone but Ash! I don't love you and I never will. I only love you as a brother, if that, since you keep bugging me! Ash is alive and I know it! I love him, not you. Get it through your head, Kenny...I'm Dawn Ketchum and it's not going to change. Ever."

There was a silent pause.

"It was worth a shot, but you're a fool in love with a dead man. There's no reason to try and convince you to love someone else, since you're too stubborn to see the truth. I'll always love you...and maybe I can move on since this is the third time you've rejected me."

"Goodbye."

There was no movement from inside the room. I pushed the door open and closed it, making my mom look up.

"Did you-" she started.

"Yes. I heard all of it. What's going on?" I asked. Kenny said that he had called my mom once before for the same reason that he called this time. Kenny was trying to break up our family and convince mom that dad was dead? As if she didn't have enough to worry about already! I had no idea that this was happening to my mom while I was away!

My mom sighed and motioned for me to come over. I walked over to her and waited.

"Kenny called me once before while you were away. It was when your dad had been missing for three months. He was asking me for another chance with him. You see, in Sinnoh, he had a battle with your dad and after the battle, Kenny told me that he had feelings for me. He got turned down then and when he called me a few months ago, he got turned down again."

"What did he say?"

"He told me that I wouldn't be able to take care of you by myself. He also told me that you shouldn't grow up without a father."

"Dad grew up without his father and he turned out fine. And he's a great dad to me."

"I know, sweetie. But Kenny thinks differently."

"Mom...you wouldn't ever...?" I trailed, unable to finish my sentence.

My mom made me face her and she looked at me.

"Adam, I could never love anyone else but your dad. I don't care if something was to happen, I love your father and only him. No one could replace him, no one. I don't care if I was told that I had to marry someone else or I would be killed, I still wouldn't do it. Your father is the only one for me and will always be the only one for me."

Mom paused and then softly said, "No one could even come close to replacing him. I promise you, Adam, I could never give my heart to anyone else. When we got married, I told him to keep my heart. I said that I'll give my heart to him and I'll never take it back. Never."

I smiled and hugged my mom. "I miss him, mom." I said softly.

"I do too, sweetie. More than anyone could ever know. He's out there somewhere. I can't explain how I know that, it's just a feeling that I have." she said, kissing my head.

I had to find my dad. After finding out about this incident with Kenny, I just had to. I needed people to stop trying to break my family up. Finding my dad was the only way to stop Kenny and Paul.

Normal POV

In Team Rocket's base, grunts were loading up helicopters and ships with Pokemon and supplies. Since the discovery of the Temple of Legends, they had begun preparing the final phase of their plan: activate the temple to summon the Legendary Pokemon and capture them using the Hunters' arm cannons.

The boss was in his office and had just called for the Pokemon Hunters.

"Darien, Mya, Oliver, you are to assemble crews for your ships and head to the Temple of Legends with the grunts." he instructed.

"Yes, sir."

"Michael, you will use your ship to fly to Pallet Town and remain hidden and in position. In case our "prisoner" doesn't cooperate, you will be our insurance so that he'll change his mind. But don't make a move unless I give you the signal."

"Understood."

"I will personally escort our prisoner to the temple in my own helicopter. You all know what part he plays in this. Tomorrow, we will control all of Kanto. Dismissed."

The four Hunters turned and left. Little did the boss know that Darien was a changed man and was planning on sabotaging the mission. And little did anyone know that another person had secretly listened to the conversation and was sneaking away from the base, heading towards Pallet Town.

"Officer Jenny, based on the data you sent us, if we're going to have any chance of stopping Team Rocket when they have this many Pokemon and troops, we're going to need help from every cop in Kanto!" Lance said over the phone.

"Understood, Lance. We should have the force assembled by tomorrow. We'll meet you at the temple. Let's just hope we get there before Team Rocket does."

"And if we find Team Rocket, then we'll probably find Ash, too."

Adam's POV

I gave my mom one final hug and she kissed my forehead. We waved goodbye to our families and walked out of Pallet Town. After a little while, Pallet Town was behind us in the distance.

After seeing Wartortle for the first time since he evolved, I decided to bring him with me on our journey once again and leave Machoke and Haunter at the lab.

Pichu had officially been captured by me, too. Ever since he started following me from the Pikachu Forest, I hadn't captured him with a Pokeball because I already had six Pokemon and he would be trapped inside until I sent back another Pokemon and I knew that Pichu wouldn't like to be stuck inside a Pokeball for that long. So I had captured him yesterday, meaning that he was no longer a wild Pokemon and I kept him out of his Pokeball so that he could hang out on my shoulder with Pikachu.

The three of us had secretly agreed that since the tournament wasn't for another four months, after we got our badges and ribbon, we would keep searching for my dad, focusing solely on that. We wouldn't be heading home until we found him.

Little did we know that something was about to happen. A Pokemon cried from the sky and I looked up to see an Aerodactyl swooping down towards us. Pikachu's cheeks sparked with electricity and Jason and Michelle were ready to throw a Pokeball if needed.

The Aerodactyl landed and a man in a black cloak with a hood hiding his face was on its back. This person looked familiar. Who was he?

"You saved us from Hunter Mya's ship." Michelle realized.

"Yeah...you teleported us out." Jason added.

I couldn't recall who it was that got us out since I was barely alive, let alone conscious at that time.

"Yes, I am the one that teleported you three from Mya's ship. I am also the man with the Fire Pokemon that saved you two boys in Mt. Moon. I also rescued you three from the S.S. Ketchum when it sank." he said. "You must come with me."

"Why?" I asked.

He paused and turned his head so that he was looking right at me even though I couldn't see his face. "Because...I know where your father is."

Author's Note: After stopping in Pallet Town and meeting their families again, Adam learns about Kenny and realizes the only way to stop both Kenny and Paul is to find his dad. His quest is now more important than ever! But Johanna seems to be hiding something from everybody, as Adam saw when he asked about Darien.

But as our heroes are on their way to Viridian City, they are stopped by the mysterious man who has been protecting them throughout their journey. Not only that, but he claims to know where Ash is!

Meanwhile, Team Rocket and the Elite Four are racing against time and against each other to get to the Temple of Legends.

The next chapter will feature the big showdown with Team Rocket to decide the fate of Kanto! Enemies will become friends, secrets will be revealed, characters' pasts will be uncovered, legends will come true, and help will come from an unlikely person!

Will this be the end? Or just the beginning? Will the world be saved? Or will there be no world left to save? Who will live? Who will die?

Find out the answers to all of these questions in the next exciting chapter of Pokemon NG!