As we walked through a forest, I thought back to everything that we had seen since we'd left Mauville City. For instance, we'd visited the kingdom where Misty's Togepi had evolved into Togetic before she had released her longtime friend, and we had seen the place where May had caught her Skitty. Megan had enjoyed seeing the places that her mom had been while traveling.

I frowned as I also remembered that before we had left Mauville City, Megan and I had had a brief disagreement on where to go next. Her next contest and my next gym battle were in different towns, so we each wanted to go to a different place. In the end, I'd given in and chose to go to where her next contest would be: Fallabor Town.

We had both been told by our parents about the time when my dad and her mom had had a huge argument about the same thing when they were our age. Thankfully, we had resolved it a lot smoother than our parents had done.

I broke out of my thoughts as I heard Jason speak.

"It's almost sunset, so we should make camp." he said.

"Yeah, I agree. Adam?" Megan asked.

I hadn't heard her, as I sniffed the air.

"Do you smell that?" I asked.

"Yeah, smells like someone cooking." said Jason.

"Let's see what's going on." said Megan.

So we followed the scent and came across another campsite with two familiar faces sitting by a campfire with some meat cooking in a pot. It was Laura and Chris, whom we hadn't seen since Rustboro City.

"Hey, guys!" we greeted, causing the two to look up.

"Megan!" Laura cried, running over and hugging her.

"What's happened since we last saw you guys?" Jason asked.

Once we filled each other in with what had been happening, we were invited to camp out with Chris and Laura for the night.

"We'll finish dinner and you guys can set up your tent." Laura said, stirring whatever was in the pot.

Megan's POV

As the sun finished setting, we all sat around the campfire, eating and talking. Pikachu and Eevee sat, happily eating as well. But as it got later in the night, we decided to turn in, so we put out the fire. We then all changed into our pajamas and went into our tents. Chris and Laura had their own separate tents while Adam, Jason, and I slept in ours together.

As I settled into my sleeping bag, I looked over at Adam, who was laying beside me.

"Thanks again for letting me go to compete in my next contest before you and Jason have your next gym battles. But I have to ask...why did you choose me over yourself? From what you told me, your dad wasn't so quick to agree with my mom when they made that choice." I whispered.

"Well, I learned a lot from my dad and I try to not make the same mistakes that he did. I also see that you have high confidence from your recent win, so I want to help it stick by keeping this contest train rolling. Besides, I know that the gym isn't going anywhere and I can challenge the gym leader as many times as I need to win my badge. But you only have a certain number of contests to win your ribbons and can only compete in each contest once, so your needs take priority over mine in this case." he whispered back.

"Yeah, but...why? Why do you care so much about me and my dreams, even more than your own in some ways?" I was grateful, but also confused by his motivations.

"I want to see you succeed and I care about you, so I'm going to support you in any way that I can. You support me, Megan, so I do the same. You're an amazing friend."

As the word 'friend' left his lips, I felt a strange feeling in my chest, something that I had never felt before. I then remembered what April had said about Adam and I being together, so I decided that now was the chance to find out what I really meant to him.

"JUST a friend?" I inquired.

But before Adam could answer me, Jason interrupted, "Will you guys stop whispering? I'm trying to sleep."

Pikachu and Eevee also piped up. Now the conversation was over and I wouldn't get to hear his reply.

Adam turned over on his side and I did the same facing away from him. The conversation was over and it was time to sleep.

Later that night, I was awoken as Adam yelled for us to wake up.

"Huh? What?" Jason muttered.

"Come out here!"

Walking out of the tent, I saw Adam bent down with the flashlight shining on a white and red Pokemon laying on the ground, covered in bruises, and a scar above its right eye. It was a Zangoose.

Jason followed me outside and Chris and Laura exited their tents and joined us.

Jason sprayed some potions on the wounds as I removed some bandages and Adam scanned Zangoose with his Pokedex.

"Zangoose, the Cat Ferret Pokemon. Zangoose usually stays on all fours, but when battling, it gets up on its hind legs and extends its sharp claws, which are its main weapon. This Pokemon shares a bitter rivalry with Seviper that dates back over generations and it can dodge attacks with its great agility." said the Pokedex. It also showed that this was a male Zangoose.

We quickly bandaged his wounds and wondered what could've caused so much damage.

"What happened to you?" Adam asked the Pokemon.

Zangoose stood up and pointed to the trees before he limped off, motioning for us to follow. We quickly grabbed our Pokeballs, put on our shoes, and followed after Zangoose into the dark forest, not having time to change out of our pajamas.

"I'm amazed that Zangoose still has the strength to move in this condition and that he wants our help. Most of the time, they're fiercely independent. So whatever it is that he wants our help with must be really important." Adam commented.

After a short time walking, we stopped as we heard voices. We hid behind some bushes and looked through to see headlights on a familiar-looking vehicle. It was one of Team Rocket's transport vehicles, and used by their Pokemon hunters. There were a bunch of Pokemon being guarded by Team Rocket's Pokemon. They were clearly being captured against their will.

"I thought...they were finally finished in Kanto and then again in Johto." Chris said.

"They just keep showing up!" Laura said in a loud whisper. "They never stay down forever!"

Until now, Chris and Laura didn't know that Team Rocket was active in Hoenn.

Looking at the imprisoned Pokemon, I saw another Zangoose.

"That has to be why this Zangoose wanted our help so badly. He must know that other Zangoose." Adam whispered.

"A grunt has a Seviper, so that explains the injuries Zangoose sustained. I'm shocked that Zangoose escaped, since a Seviper never stops until a Zangoose is dead!" Jason noticed.

"It was smart of Hunter Mya to send us out during the night to capture these new Pokemon. With the cover of darkness, the Pokemon won't see us coming, and most of them will be asleep, too." one grunt said.

"We need to hurry and get these Pokemon back to the ship, though. The sun will be coming up any minute and we need to be gone by then." another grunt stated.

"We have the element of surprise, so we can ambush them. Five of us and five of them." Chris said to us.

"Okay!" we all agreed.

We all jumped out from the bushes, surprising the grunts.

"Let those Pokemon go!" we cried.

"Weavile, go!" Jason cried.

"Hitmonlee, let's go!" Chris cried.

"Go, Mawile!" Laura cried.

"Eevee, let's do this!" I cried.

"Pikachu, you ready?" Adam asked.

"Pika!"

Zangoose ran out to Pikachu's side as he came face to face with Seviper.

"Okay, Zangoose. Back Pikachu up!" Adam commanded, since he could see that Zangoose was determined to get another go at the Seviper, despite his bandaged wounds.

"Poison Tail, Seviper!"

"Block it!" Adam cried.

Pikachu leaped into the air and blocked the attack with Iron Tail. Zangoose leaped into the air and used Slash across its face, knocking it out. Adam was amazed at Zangoose's raw power!

... ...

Eevee and I were at a major disadvantage against a Nidoking. Nidoking was much bigger and stronger than Eevee, who was completely outmatched!

Eevee landed with a thud against the ground and skidded to a stop in front of me.

"Come on, Eevee! We've faced tough opponents like this in contests and you never gave up!" I cried.

Then at that moment, the sun began to rise and I looked to the horizon. As the sun rays peeked over the trees, the first rays of light for the day landed on Eevee. She then stood up and with a glare of determination, she began to glow!

I watched as Eevee's legs became longer, her fur became short and smooth, her tail became thinner and split into two at the end, her eyes grew narrow, a red jewel was on her forehead, and her fur was now lavender instead of brown. As the glow faded, Eevee was no more. She had evolved into an Espeon!

"Alright, Espeon! Let's do this! Psybeam!" Espeon launched Psybeam and avoided Nidoking's attacks and we soon won the battle, due to her now having a type advantage over Nidoking!

Eventually, all the grunts were defeated.

"Let's get out of here. It's morning and the ship is ready to take off."

"What about those captured Pokemon?"

"Forget about them. The other groups have captured plenty of others in this forest."

The grunts ran and retreated to their vehicle and sped away.

Adam and Chris were about to chase them.

"No, they know about us now." Jason said.

"We can't risk it now. We don't have the advantage anymore. They would capture us because they know that we'd be coming." I added.

"The ship would probably be gone too, by time we reached them." Laura added.

"Well, we at least freed some of the Pokemon. It's better than none." said Chris.

"We can let the police know, too." said Adam.

We looked at the scared Pokemon, who were eyeing us.

"You're safe now. You can all go home." I said in a soft tone.

All the Pokemon then ran off, except for the injured Zangoose. He ran over and embraced the other Zangoose and they rubbed their heads together affectionately.

"They're mates. That explains why Zangoose was so desperate for help. His...well, wife, for lack of a better word, had been captured." Jason said, noticing how the two of them were acting.

The Zangoose couple then walked over, looked at Adam and I, and spoke to us in their language.

"I think that they want us to catch them." Adam realized.

I nodded my head and we removed our Pokeballs. But the Zangooses cried out and took a fighting stance.

"They want you to battle them first. You know how these kinds of Pokemon are." Jason explained.

"Okay, a battle it is! Ready, Espeon?"

"Ready, Pikachu?"

They both nodded and took their positions.

"Thunderbolt!"

"Psybeam!"

Both Zangooses dodged the attacks. It was clear that they were very quick!

... ...

"Dodge it, Espeon. Use Confusion!" I cried, as a Slash headed towards her. Espeon dodged and successfully landed the attack.

"Now use Swift!"

"Pikachu, chase him down with Quick Attack!" Adam yelled.

... ...

We eventually wore both Pokemon out and we removed our Pokeballs to make the catch. Adam had his Friend Ball in his hand. That was smart, since it would make Zangoose more friendly towards him, and because of Zangoose's natural temperament. I used a regular Pokeball.

After catching them, I picked up my Pokeball and I noticed that as Adam picked up his, it was locked, since he already had six Pokemon.

"I've been carrying this Friend Ball since my journey through Johto last year. I'm glad that I finally got the chance to use it. If Zangoose gets along with me more easily by catching him with it, our training will go much more smoothly." Adam explained.

I then turned my attention to my new Espeon. I picked her up and hugged her.

"I'm so proud of you for evolving! You did it for me and defeated one of our toughest opponents yet." I congratulated her.

Having two Psychic Pokemon now would be an advantage and make for some amazing appeals.

"Wait...how did Eevee evolve into Espeon?" Laura asked. "You didn't use any stones on her."

"Sometimes a Pokemon evolves when the level of trust and love is strong enough between Pokemon and trainer." I said.

"Sometimes it's day, sometimes it's night. That's how Eevee can evolve into Espeon or Umbreon, even without a stone." Jason added.

I then removed my Pokedex and pointed it at Espeon.

"Espeon, the Sun Pokemon. Espeon is able to sense minute shifts in air currents with the very fine, sensitive fur covering its body, allowing it to predict the weather, as well as its opponents' next moves. Its fur has the look and feel of velvet and the orb on its forehead glows when it uses its Psychic powers. Espeon is extremely loyal to any trainer that it considers to be worthy. It is said to have also developed precognitive powers to protect its trainer from harm."

Wow, those abilities to sense danger will come in handy during contest battles, and if we run into Team Rocket again. I thought to myself.

Since it was now morning, we walked back to the camp, got dressed, and ate breakfast together.

"Chris, Laura, Team Rocket saw you two, so you're now at risk. They know about you." Adam said.

"Yeah, traveling would be dangerous and we'd be safer if we had someone else. Laura, would you like to travel with me?" Chris offered.

"Yeah! It'll be nice to have someone to travel with. I've never had anyone to travel with since I began my journey last year."

"I've traveled alone, too. It's going to be nice to have someone to talk to."

"I agree, and I enjoy your company."

I smiled, happy for them to have found a new friend in each other. Plus, they would grow to become better friends as they traveled together.

My thoughts then wandered to how Adam and I had just caught two Pokemon that were mates. Was this a sign that we were meant to be together? Like how Ash's Pikachu was loved by Dawn's Buneary and now Ash and Dawn were married?

Author's Note: Our heroes run into two old friends and save a few Pokemon from being captured by Team Rocket. In doing so, Adam and Megan each gain a new Zangoose, who happen to be loving mates!

Plus, Megan's Eevee has finally evolved...into an Espeon! With her help, Megan is sure to become a force to be reckoned with in the next contest, having two Psychic Pokemon now!

Chris and Laura also agree to travel together for their own safety, since they're now involved with the whole Team Rocket affair.

Were you able to correctly guess what Eevee would evolve into?

How will Megan fare in her next contest with her new Espeon?

And because Megan's Zangoose and Adam's Zangoose are loving mates, is it a sign that she and Adam will be together? (Like how Ash's Pikachu and Dawn's Buneary were a sign of their future together?)

Let us know your guesses and stay tuned for the next chapter of Pokemon NG!