Normal POV

In the Hayden household, Ash had just told Dawn and May that Adam was in danger.

"How do you know, Ash?" Dawn asked.

"I could feel Adam's Aura through his Aura Bond. I have to inform the police and get to Adam. He needs my help! I've failed to protect Adam from Team Rocket in the past, leading to him and his friends being captured, so I won't let it happen this time!" Ash responded.

"Well, I'm coming, too! If Adam is in danger, then Megan is likely in danger as well." May said, already standing up.

"May, you shouldn't go. It could be dangerous and you have to think of your baby." Dawn reasoned.

May became emotional. "I don't care! Megan is my daughter and what kind of parent would I be if I let my daughter get hurt?! I'd never forgive myself if that happened!"

"I understand you wanting to help, May, I do. But think of your unborn baby. How would April and Megan feel if their new brother or sister died because you did something reckless? Besides, we've both traveled with Ash and we know him well. We know how brave and resourceful he is and as the most powerful trainer in the whole world, he is our best bet to save the kids."

May took a breath and nodded her head. "You're right. I trust you, Ash. I always have."

"I promise you both, I won't let you down. I'll find Adam, Jason, and Megan and make sure they're safe." Ash said, before he hurried out May's front door.

As the two women heard the door close, May sighed and sat back down.

"How can you live like this, Dawn? You're always having to wait and worry about Ash's safety every time he has to put his life on the line to save people." May asked.

Dawn sat down and folded her hands in her lap. "It isn't easy to live like this, that's for sure. Every time he leaves to do something dangerous, there's a part of me that knows it may be the last time that I ever see him. But at the same time, I know that Ash is the only one with the power to protect everyone from big threats. He's doing it because he cares about his family, friends, and everyone else in the world."

"Yeah, I've always seen that in Ash. It's just who he is. I remember one time when I was traveling with him, he put Pikachu, Manaphy, and I in a sealed container to keep us safe from the undersea temple that was flooding. He's always putting everyone before himself. I can't imagine it, but it must be hard to live with that fear, but you also know he's doing it to protect anyone and everyone."

"Exactly. He may be reckless, but his heart is always in the right place. And that's why I never lose hope that he'll pull through and come back to me." said Dawn.

Megan's POV

Adam, Jason, and I were continuing on our way to Rustboro City. We were currently in a forest, walking in a comfortable silence, when it was interrupted by voices.

We quickly crouched behind some bushes and peered out to see three people in white uniforms with a red R on the top.

"Team Rocket..." Adam muttered.

Beside the three Team Rocket members were three Mightyenas. A Kirlia was pinned up against a tree, badly hurt from the super-effective Dark attacks. In a clearing of downed trees was a six-wheel transport.

"There's a Pokemon hunter nearby." Jason said, his eyes on the transport.

I didn't know what to feel or think, since I was seeing Team Rocket for the first time in my life. From what the boys had told me, this Team Rocket wasn't the same as the one that my mom had encountered when she was traveling. This new Team Rocket was seeking far worse things than the old one ever did.

"They have to be planning something in Hoenn. That's the only explanation for them being here." Adam said.

"But how can they be back so quickly? You guys mentioned they were defeated in Johto." I said.

"There's no telling. But it's clear that they're capturing Pokemon to rebuild their strength and forces. Looks like that Kirlia is their latest Pokemon victim." Jason muttered.

"We have to do something! We can't let that Kirlia get captured!" I insisted.

Adam and Jason nodded their heads and we all leaped out from behind the bushes.

"STOP!" I yelled.

The three grunts looked amused as they saw us. Jason released Machamp while I released Torchic and Adam was going to use Pikachu.

"We won't let you harm this Kirlia anymore!" I declared.

"Use Thunderbolt, Pikachu!" Adam cried.

"Ember, Torchic!" I cried.

"Low Kick, Machamp!" Jason cried.

Thanks to Machamp's super-effective Fighting moves, we were able to defeat the three grunts and their Pokemon. They quickly fled and sped off in their transport and I hurried over to the injured Kirlia.

"I don't have enough Potions to fully heal Kirlia. We'll need to find a Pokemon Center later." I said, spraying her wounds.

"We need to find the ship that the grunts came in on, which is where Team Rocket is most likely holding more of the Pokemon that they captured. We need to find them and set them free." Adam said.

So we followed the path that the transport had taken, which was easy to find from all of the fallen trees that they had crashed through. We eventually reached a large clearing where we saw a large ship with a large red 'R' on the side of it.

"That's the hunter's ship." said Adam.

"So how are we going to get inside?" Jason asked, seeing that grunts were patrolling and the doors were closed to the ship itself.

"Kirlia's a Psychic Pokemon, so she could teleport us inside. Kirlia, do you have enough strength left to help us?" I asked.

Kirlia cried out its name quietly and nodded her head. Soon enough, we appeared inside the ship, in a large room with a dozen Pokemon that were in domes as statues.

"What? This...this is what they do to the Pokemon?" I asked in shock.

"They turn the Pokemon into statues and then move them to either sell them or force them to join their army." Jason said.

It was horrible to see in person! Those poor Pokemon were defenseless and just minding their own business and then those monsters did this to them! I felt sadness fill me as I looked at all of the Pokemon within the domes.

"This is horrible..." I muttered.

"Kirlia, can you get us and the other Pokemon out of here?" Jason asked.

Kirlia nodded and we were all teleported outside of the ship, back to where we had been hiding. Adam and Jason began sliding the levers down on the domes and I began to do the same.

"You're free. Get as far away from this area as you can." we told the Pokemon, and they all hurried off in multiple directions.

"I wish that we could go back and take down all the grunts and that hunter for good, but I know that we're outnumbered and would just get captured ourselves." Adam said.

"Thanks for thinking and not acting immediately on your feelings." said Jason.

"Yeah, we did what we could." I said.

Adam nodded his head. "I'm trying to control my emotions better and not be reckless like my dad was at my age. But still, I feel angry that we can't do more to help."

"We saved all of the Pokemon and that's what matters for now." Jason said.

"Yeah, the Pokemon are free now and we can alert proper authorities of Team Rocket's return and what they did. For now, we need to stay free so that we can help any more Pokemon that might be in danger. So we should leave now." I added.

Suddenly, two grunts in black uniforms appeared and released two Crobats.

"We know about how you three are responsible for defeating the other grunts." one said.

"You won't be so lucky this time!" the other cried.

"Pikachu, get ready." Adam said.

Jason reached for his Pokeball, but I stopped him.

"Let me do it. I want to battle this time." I said.

This would be my moment to prove to both of them that I was capable of handling myself in tough situations, just like they could!

"Eevee, let's go." I said.

As we began battling, the Crobats were proving to be just too fast and were easily flying upwards to avoid our attacks. They were even able to avoid Pikachu's Thunderbolts!

"Dodge, Pikachu!" Adam cried as Air Cutter headed towards his Pokemon.

"Eevee, use Headbutt!" I cried.

As I commanded Eevee to do that, a glow surrounded her and she flew into the air as the Crobat tried to dodge, but it proved useless as my attack connected!

"What?! What just happened?" I blurted out.

We looked behind us to see Kirlia behind us, her eyes glowing with Psychic power.

"Kirlia used her abilities to lift Eevee into the air to help us." I said, realizing what had happened to Eevee.

As Eevee was set back onto the ground, I spoke to Kirlia. "Could you help us? Help Eevee and Pikachu land their attacks?"

"Kir!" Kirlia said, nodding her head.

"Alright, we can do this!" Adam cried.

"Eevee, use Headbutt once more!"

"Pikachu, use Volt Tackle!"

As our Pokemon leaped into the air towards Team Rocket's Crobats, they commanded their Pokemon to use Air Cutter to stop our Pokemon. But Kirlia used her power to maneuver Eevee and Pikachu through the air, avoiding the attacks, and they landed direct hits on the Crobats! The two Crobats fainted and fell to the ground.

"Yes!" Adam and I cheered.

"Attention all members, the police are on their way to the ship. We must retreat immediately! Return to the ship!" a voice spoke from over the grunt's radio.

I noticed that Adam seemed to focus directly on the grunts once he heard the voice. It was clear that he knew that voice.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt to paralyze them. We can't have them escaping."

As the grunts fell to the ground, unable to move, we ran back through forest to the clearing where the ship was. We arrived just in time to see the ship take off and zoom away into the sky. A few moments later, we heard police sirens and the cops showed up. Officer Jenny and her men were there, along with Master Ketchum!

"Dad? What are you doing here?" Adam asked.

"I could sense that you were in danger through our Aura Bond and I wanted to make sure that you were all safe. I'm glad you're all okay. What happened?"

We launched into a retelling of how we ran into Team Rocket trying to capture Kirlia and how we battled them and set the Pokemon free.

"It's good that you all saved countless Pokemon, but you need to be careful. There's no telling what Team Rocket is planning now. They must have had a backup plan and forces in case they were stopped. I don't understand how they're back so quickly, but it can't be good. It isn't good that they're back in numbers so quickly, either."

"Dad, I think that the Pokemon hunter that was here was...Paul. I heard a voice over a grunt's radio and it sounded like him."

"Well, if it is Paul, then I know it isn't going to be good for me or anyone close to me. I know he's going to be out for blood. He isn't going to let anything be easy after what happened between us in Johto."

"We need to get Kirlia help!" I cried, remembering that she was still hurt.

I looked at my Pokenav and saw that the nearest Pokemon Center was two hour walk away.

"It'll take us two hours to walk to the closest Pokemon Center. That's too far and too long. She needs help now!"

"Kirlia can teleport, so we could get there instantly." Jason said.

I knelt down and showed Kirlia the location of the Pokemon Center from my Pokenav.

"Do you have enough power to teleport us here?" I asked her.

Kirlia nodded weakly and we vanished quickly, with Adam yelling a goodbye to his dad.

As we reappeared in front of the Pokemon Center, Kirlia collapsed to the ground. She had used up the last of her energy. I picked her up and we hurried inside and found Nurse Joy at the counter.

"Could you heal Kirlia?" I asked.

We also passed along our Pokemon that had battled Team Rocket earlier.

We found some chairs to sit in while we waited for our Pokemon to be healed. Adam looked deep in thought, almost troubled.

"Adam, you okay?" I asked.

"Yes. It's just that...you two know that Team Rocket still has a vendetta against my family. After we stopped their plans in Kanto and Johto before, I knew I'd likely run into them again during my Hoenn journey. Now I more sure than ever, since I know they're here operating in Hoenn.

"Look, I don't want to put you guys in that kind of danger if I can help it. So if you want to leave and travel alone for your own safety, then I understand. I won't hold anything against you if you think traveling with me is going to be too dangerous. What kind of friend would I be if I willingly put my friends in harm's way?"

"I'm not going anywhere, Adam. I didn't leave the last time Team Rocket struck and I won't leave this time. You're like my brother and my best friend. I'm not leaving you to face Team Rocket alone. We're in this together. We've always been in this together. Ever since we were little kids, you've always had my back and I'll always have yours." Jason said.

"My mom faced many challenges when traveling with your dad. I'm not going to abandon you, Adam. Yes, you're looking out for us, but I'm not going to run and leave you alone to face the dangers yourself."

... ...

After a couple of hours, Nurse Joy walked over to us with our Pokeballs in a tray and Kirlia walking beside her, while Eevee and Pikachu were content with sitting in the tray. Kirlia was looking healthy now.

I scanned Kirlia with my Pokedex.

"Kirlia, the Emotion Pokemon and the evolved form of Ralts. It is said that a Kirlia that is exposed to the positive emotions of its trainer grows to be beautiful. It also spins and dances when it is happy. Kirlia has a highly developed brain and uses the horns on its head to amplify its Psychic powers. When this occurs, reality becomes warped and future events can be seen." said my Pokedex.

"Thank you for helping us in the battle today and teleporting us everywhere, even though you were hurt. You never gave up and proved yourself to be brave and strong." I told Kirlia.

Kirlia smiled and blushed at my compliments to her.

"The way that you levitated Eevee during battle was very creative and I could put that to good use in my contests. Would you like to be my new Pokemon partner and join me on my journey?" I asked.

Eevee spoke happily, most likely encouraging Kirlia to join.

Kirlia responded by levitating herself into my arms and hugging me. I laughed at Kirlia's enthusiasm, knowing that I had just gotten a new Pokemon. I held up an empty Pokeball and Kirlia touched it with her hand, disappearing inside the ball.

"I just caught a new Pokemon!" I cried, smiling happily at Adam and Jason.

"Now you have a Pokemon that can stand up against Christian's Seviper, since Psychic Pokemon are strong against Poison Pokemon." Jason commented.

I looked at the boys with determination. "If I ever battle her again, it won't end up like it did the last time!"

"Like with Eevee, you gained a new Pokemon after saving it when it was in trouble." Adam said.

I looked at them with worry. "Do I really deserve them as my Pokemon, then? I mean, I didn't battle and capture them like trainers normally do."

"It's fine. My dad and the people he traveled with didn't always have to battle a Pokemon to convince them to join them on their journeys. Some trainers use their strength, some use their minds, but some use their hearts. Sometimes, to gain a new Pokemon, you just have to prove that you love them and care about them, so the Pokemon can entrust their power to you, knowing that it's in good, safe hands." Adam explained.

"And Megan, you remind me of my mom. Like my mom, you've proven, by how you obtained Kirlia, that you possess a kind heart. And that's what I love about you the most." he said, putting his hand on my cheek.

I felt my cheeks heating up from his compliment.

"Thank you. I try to live my life as a kind person and help those in need. My mom taught me to be that way." I said, looking at him with a shy smile.

"You do have a kind heart like Dawn does. I've noticed it in you, too." Jason added.

Author's Note: Team Rocket returns and makes their first appearance in Hoenn, with Paul leading the way. Luckily, our heroes are able to free all of the captured Pokemon and escape.

Megan is even able to gain a new Pokemon friend by catching Kirlia, who helped them save those Pokemon! With a Psychic Pokemon on her side, she's confident that she'll be able to win her next contest!

Stay tuned to find out what happens next as the kids reach Rustboro City in the next chapter of Pokemon NG!