Dawn's POV

I couldn't help but feel mildly nervous as I sat on my bed. It had been a couple of days since Delia and I had first watched the news about Team Rocket being in the midst of enacting their latest major scheme. Due to how the footage broadcasting it had mysteriously cut off, not to mention how there had been no clear word since about what had happened, I was worried about how everything had unfolded. But still, I held onto hope that Ash and Adam were okay.

Then, hearing the sound of familiar Pokemon voices, I turned my head to see a concerned-looking Piplup and Buneary standing on the floor, looking up at me. With a small smile of reassurance coming onto my face, I reached down and patted Piplup on the head.

"It's alright." I said to my Pokemon. "I'll be okay. I'm just hoping that Ash and Adam are safe."

Piplup chirped, a concerned look on his face, as if he were still not entirely certain about whether or not I was okay. Buneary looked the same way. But then...

"Dawn!"

"We're home, Mom!"

My eyes widened in shock, as did Buneary and Piplup's!

As if the universe itself was going out of its way to further confirm what we'd heard, we then heard Delia's voice say, "Oh, Ash! Adam! Thank Arceus you've made it back home safely!"

"Good to see you too, Mom." I heard Ash reply.

And in that instant, I no longer had any need to wait. I jumped off the bed and hurried out of the bedroom and down the stairs, with Piplup and Buneary following close behind. And sure enough, we came sliding to a stop in the foyer just in time to see Ash and Adam, safe and sound, with Michelle standing beside them.

But of course, in that moment, my son and husband took full priority over Michelle. The instant that Delia finished hugging her son and welcomed him home, I hurried over and snapped my arms around Ash in a tight embrace, which he immediately reciprocated.

"Thank Arceus you're back." I said with joy and relief, my eyes closed and struggling not to leak out tears of joy.

"Team Rocket can try as hard as they want, but you're not getting rid of me that easily." he joked.

Ash and I then shared a loving kiss, and ended our embrace. I then turned to face Adam and I hugged him just as tightly as I had hugged Ash.

At the same time that I was welcoming Ash and Adam back home, both of their Pikachus jumped off of their shoulders and onto the floor, where they were promptly greeted by Piplup and Buneary. Buneary gave a particularly warm greeting to Ash's Pikachu, as she usually did.

I ended my hug for Adam and looked back to Ash with concern on my face as I remembered the important details that I needed to ask about.

"I was scared when you broke the news to me about Brittany's disappearance." I stated in a brisk, matter-of-fact tone. "And I also saw Team Rocket summoning Kyogre and Groudon."

Ash placed his hands on my shoulders, as if to reassure me, and said, "Don't worry, Dawn. Everything worked out for the best. Granted, we lost Trevor, and your father managed to get away. But we were able to get Groudon and Kyogre freed from Team Rocket's control, and I used my power to dismiss them peacefully. Team Rocket's also been driven out of Hoenn, no damage was done, no civilian casualties occurred, Paul's out of the picture for good, and we rescued Brittany safely. Darien is also alright, and he and Brittany should be back in Sinnoh with your mother by now."

"Thank goodness." I said, breathing a sigh of relief. The world had been saved once again, and all of my family members had come out of the ordeal unscathed.

"Mom? I should probably mention this before Dad does." Adam spoke up. "I, uh...kinda pulled off an unnecessarily reckless stunt, trying to get Trevor to safety after having already gotten Brittany out of the base. I also rather selfishly threw an offer dad made to try to help back in his face and possibly unwittingly ensured Trevor's loss as a result. So before you get angry, just know that I'm so sorry."

"Well, if your moment of turning down your father's offer to help was truly done in as selfish a fashion as you claim, then I'll definitely admit that I'm not happy to hear about such." I stated. But then I nodded my head, my earlier smile returning to my face. "But other than that, there's no need to worry. I'm not angry at you, Adam. I'm not angry at your father, either. After all, your father's selflessness and bravery were among the reasons why I fell in love with him in the first place, so it only makes sense that I'd be proud of you having those same qualities."

"Glad you've had time since the Whirl Islands incident last year to remember that." Ash said to me.

"That was different, Ash. That happened only a few months after you'd finally been freed from Team Rocket, so coming so close to losing you again affected me a lot more. And for what it's worth, I've made peace once more with those tendencies of yours. So I can more easily accept Adam having inherited those same tendencies." I explained.

I then turned my head to where Michelle was patiently standing. It seemed like I'd completely forgotten that she was there, over the course of my talk with Ash and Adam.

"I'm very happy to see you too, Michelle." I said. "Sorry that I forgot about you for a minute. As you probably saw, I was more than a little preoccupied with my family."

"Don't worry, I understand. I'd do the same thing if I were you." Michelle said. "And before you ask why I'm here, it's because I've got something important to tell you. And by important, I mean important enough that it needed to be said to you in person."

"I trust that Misty's okay with this little visit?" I asked.

"My mom's well aware of this and gave me full permission for this visit. I'll just be spending the night here before heading straight back to Cerulean City tomorrow."

"Why such a short visit? We don't mind having you here."

"Well, my mom's officially engaged to Ross now. And since the wedding planning is already set to be put into full swing right away, it's important that I be with my family during this time, once I've told you what I've come here to tell you."

"Engaged to Ross, huh?" I said, a wide grin of approval coming onto my face. "That's fantastic! Here's hoping that I'm high up on the guest list, alongside Ash."

"Do you mind if I have a private talk with my wife before you talk with her, Michelle? Believe me, I wouldn't be asking this of you if what I currently need to talk about wasn't of especially high importance." Ash asked.

"I understand. I'll wait until you're done." she stated.

I nodded and looked at Adam and Michelle and told them, "Make yourselves at home while Ash and I talk."

Adam and Michelle nodded in understanding, with Delia deciding to stay there with them. They headed to the living room with Piplup, Buneary, and the two Pikachus while Ash and I heading upstairs to our bedroom. Ash closed the door and we sat on the bed together.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" I asked.

Ash took a deep breath, seemingly preparing himself for something potentially unpleasant. Then he looked directly at me.

"In your most recent interactions with May, or in any of your interactions with her over the past few years, has she ever seemed...'off'? Or mentioned anything unusual to you and the rest of your friends?" Ash asked.

"Well, she did seem to be feeling pretty down during the time where she was led to believe that Drew was having an affair, but that's not really surprising. And of course, she had plenty of distaste for Team Rocket whenever we happened to talk about that subject, but I can't really blame her for that, either."

"Fair point. I understand her acting the way that she did during her dilemma with Drew, but what about in the year or two before that? Did she seem 'off' then? And what about your conversations that didn't involve Team Rocket? Did she say or mention anything in them that she normally wouldn't?"

"Not that I can currently remember." I then directed a concerned look towards Ash. This was a strange thing for him to be asking me. "Is something wrong?"

Ash sighed and explained, "Your father had some words to say to me when I was confronting him. One thing that he said that I find especially concerning is that I apparently have reason to suspect that my friends who traveled with me back in the day are hiding dark secrets from me, possibly even being in league with Team Rocket in some capacity or other."

My eyes widened with shock. That definitely sounded like reason for concern.

Ash then lifted his head to direct a reassuring smile towards me as he said in a loving tone, "Frankly, the only person who traveled with me that I can be one hundred percent certain of being innocent in this regard...is you, Dawn."

I blushed, a warm smile forming on my face as my earlier shock and wariness was replaced by me feeling touched and grateful.

"Ever since we first fell in love many years ago, my Aura Bond with you constantly grew stronger and stronger. So I'd know without question if you were trying to hide something bad from me, no matter how hard you tried to hide it." Ash continued.

"That's certainly good to know." I admitted, nodding my head. "Well, I have good reason to believe that May can be trusted. She cares far too much about her family to willingly work with Team Rocket, especially since she's well aware that Team Rocket has endangered her and her family more than once before and will only continue to do so for as long as they exist. And since she only ever viewed you as a big brother, Team Rocket doesn't even have anything in her mind that they could use to manipulate her so that she'd go against her character for the sake of helping them."

"That's certainly true. So you believe that May is clear. But what about Misty? From what I've seen, she's raised Michelle very well on her own, and now has a new, adopted daughter, as well as being engaged to Ross, and they clearly love each other dearly. But maybe you've picked up on another side of her that I didn't see over the last few years?"

I briefly chuckled at the memory of Robyn, whom Ash had been sweet enough to inform me about during a call that he'd made to me sometime after arriving at Sootopolis City. Then I thought to myself, carefully considering what Ash had now asked me about Misty.

"There's nothing suspicious that I can immediately remember at the moment. I mean, I've detected the small embers that remained of the torch that she once carried for you. But we both knew about that already. And besides, even those are starting to become a fair amount weaker since she reconnected with Ross. Considering everything that happened with Paul, having her working for them, even if under duress, would probably complicate things a little too much, even for them. And you know what? Considering how she had who knows how many chances to try to claim you or get rid of Adam and I while you were Team Rocket's prisoner, I think that we can find it within reason to cross her off the list of friends to suspect."

Ash nodded, evidently having not suspected Misty too strongly before asking me if I had any reason to suspect her.

"I agree, Dawn. Even though she's always slightly regretted not telling me her feelings sooner, Misty clearly moved on from me a long time ago, and she told us so on multiple occasions over the years. Besides, she had Michelle there, so Misty must have decided to focus on what she DID have in her life, rather than dwell on what she could've had. And it was obvious that Paul was acting alone, without her help."

Ash thought to himself some more before asking, "What about Iris? You met her briefly on my Unova journey, remember? What was your opinion of her?"

"Well, I'll freely admit, she certainly wasn't boring to be around. And judging by how you've told me about her constantly calling you a little kid, despite she herself often swinging through trees like an Aipom, she clearly lacked a sense of self-awareness back then. But considering how she's since taken over as the Opelucid City gym leader after Drayden's death, I honestly figured that she'd matured since you last saw her."

"Yeah, she always got on my nerves with her constantly calling me a little kid. Looking back, it was really hypocritical, considering the kind of antics that she herself was getting up to, not to mention how she was even younger than I was at the time! And sure, the way that I was tending to behave during my time in Unova wasn't exactly what I'd consider to be proud of remembering. But even with that in mind, her own behavior was still not anything to really give her a leg to stand on when she called me a kid.

"Look, don't get me wrong, I'm still happy that her dream of becoming one of the world's best Dragon trainers came true. And her time under Drayden's tutelage that allowed her to successfully inherit his position as the Opelucid City gym leader is definitely something to be proud of. But out of all of my friends that I traveled with, Iris is definitely the one that I have the weakest connection with. But you're right about her maturing. From what I've heard from the Unova Elite Four, she's taken her gym leader duties very seriously. So...?"

"Well, at the very least, she's maintained a close relationship with your other Unova companion Cilan, from what I've heard. And at any rate, my best guess on how she could hypothetically be working with Team Rocket is that she could be secretly jealous of your battle success like Paul was, despite her taking her gym leader duties seriously. If so, it probably wouldn't be hard for Team Rocket to get her to work with them willingly or through trickery." I said, giving my final opinion on her.

"I'll keep that in mind." Ash stated with a nod of his head. "And what about Serena? I've told you all about our history together, when she and I were little kids, and how she and Miette constantly acted towards me on our Kalos journey. I also know about your...'distaste' for her behavior."

I chuckled, a half nervous and half irritated grin forming on my face at the reminder of the blonde Kalos girl who'd come even closer than Misty in being my rival for Ash's affections.

"You can say that again. Granted, I've been able to keep things civil and respectful in the few times that you and I have met and interacted with her since you became the Pokemon Master, and I know that her neighbor Calem had a pretty strong crush on her for a while. But considering how Serena's continued to hold a much stronger torch for you than Misty's, even after all these years, I wouldn't hold my breath on him having gotten anywhere with her."

"What about Miette? She'd be suspicious for the same reasons that Serena would be. Or maybe there's something more to her that you could add?"

"Honestly, I've never really known for sure what to think of her. I mean, she always seemingly attempted to make moves on you when Serena herself was there alongside you. But considering how she's never really made any effort at getting her hooks into you since then, I honestly wonder at times if she was only putting on a show in an attempt to motivate Serena into making a proper move of her own. And with how little either of us have interacted with her since, I honestly don't know if I can confidently say whether she's working with Team Rocket or not."

I thought to myself some more as I took note of a rather curious detail, and asked, "Why are we only discussing your female companions? What about Brock? Tracey? Max? Barry? Cilan? Or even Clemont and Bonnie?"

"I'm getting to them, Dawn. I just wanted to get the most obvious suspects out of the way first."

Ash then took a deep breath and continued, "I really don't want to assume this...but what about Brock? He traveled with me more than anyone else, and was like a big brother to both you and me. Out of all of my friends that I traveled with, he's the one that I'd trust the most, after you. Could he really...?

"Well why don't you tell me what reasons you have to suspect him at all?" I asked. "Knowing that information might help me determine his likelihood."

"That's the thing, Dawn. I really don't want to believe that he could potentially be a traitor that's thrown his lot in with your father and Team Rocket behind my back. But at this point, there's a couple of details that have rather unfortunately given me reason to potentially consider him a viable suspect. But regardless, I'd still like to know if have anything to say on the matter before I make a final decision."

"Sadly, I can completely see why you might find reason to consider him a viable suspect. I mean, you're definitely not wrong about how he was like a big brother to you and I, and technically to Misty as well. But even so, we can hardly ignore how he didn't make any effort to personally welcome you back home from your time in Team Rocket's custody like Misty did, not to mention how he seemingly didn't even acknowledge your return until he finally welcomed you back via a phone call almost a week later. And that's without considering how he's barely maintained any contact with you over the last few years, or how he so suddenly canceled his plans to join you and the others in Sootopolis City only a week or so before my father captured Brittany."

Ash winced. Clearly, I'd hit the nail on the head.

"I always assumed that his current extended absence in my life since becoming the Pokemon Master had to do with his job, combined with his large family responsibilities. Brock is always busy, so I never paid his absence any mind. Granted, it would have been nice if he'd been around to personally welcome me home two years ago, but I was willing to believe that he had good reason to be absent. And like you said, he still eventually managed to welcome me back home a decent while or so later, even if via telephone. And I'll freely admit, the excuse that he gave about an unexpected increase in cases of Pokemon in need of healing and other medical treatments when he first informed me about the sudden need to cancel his plans to join us in Sootopolis City seemed perfectly reasonable at the time. But with the timing between him canceling his visit to Sootopolis City with us, and the moment your father abducted Brittany and subsequently set his Hoenn endgame in motion? That IS concerning."

I nodded my head in agreement and added, "And let's not forget, considering his usual behavior, it probably might not necessarily be hard for him to get...tempted by covert 'offerings' from Team Rocket."

Ash let out a brief chuckle at the reminder of Brock's almost hilariously doomed-to-failure constant efforts at getting himself a girlfriend through various over-the-top grand romantic gestures.

"I won't deny that that would certainly make sense on paper. But we can't forget that Croagunk's still around to reign him in. And with that in mind, even if Team Rocket have somehow managed to sway him over to their side, doing so by tempting him with a beautiful woman would probably have too high of a risk of backfiring against them with Croagunk around and potentially catch sight of any Team Rocket members that would presumably be watching him from in hiding."

"True enough." I admitted with a nod of my head. "Nonetheless, we should definitely see if we can look further into what he's been up to lately, in case his suspicious last-minute cancelation of his plan to join you and Misty in Sootopolis City for the Wallace Cup does, in fact, have any relation to him potentially throwing his lot in with my father."

Ash let out a deep sigh, and I patted him on the shoulder in reassurance before continuing.

"What about Cilan?" I asked. "I mean, I know he's maintained close contact and relations with Iris and hasn't seemingly done anything to warrant suspicion that I'm aware of. And it certainly helps that you seemed to get along with him a lot better than with Iris, from what I saw during my visit to Unova. But is there anything suspicions that you know about him that I don't?"

"According to what I've heard from the Unova League, he's performed his duties as a gym leader just as well as Iris has. Nothing suspicious from him."

"Well, it's a good thing that we're fully up-to-date and in agreement on him." I stated, nodding my head in relief. "And what about Max and Barry?

"You grew up with Barry in Twinleaf Town." said Ash. "You'd know him better than I would."

"True." I admitted, thinking the matter over further. "Well, I didn't play with him as often as I did with Kenny and Leona when I was young, and I know that he always seemed to like following Paul around, back when I was traveling with you on your journey through Sinnoh. But he always seemed more like a harmless doofus than someone who could cause any real trouble, and I know that Leona trusts him...for obvious reasons."

At this point, I couldn't help but let a brief smirk of amusement come onto my face as I remembered the fact that Barry just so happened to be Leona's husband. Ash couldn't help but let a brief chuckle escape him, thinking of that as well.

"But then again, I didn't think that Kenny would ever associate himself with my father and Team Rocket. And we all know how correct THAT thought turned out to be." I added.

"Yeah, but Kenny only did so because he was in love with you and you didn't return those feelings, even after how much time passed between the moment Team Rocket captured me and the day that I returned. Barry, on the other hand, never had any feelings for you, and he and Leona have been married for as long as we have. And you're right, his rivalry with me was more comical than anything else. So I highly doubt that he'd go down the same route that Paul did."

"True enough." I agreed. "What about Max?"

"Max is the Sinnoh region's Pokemon professor." Ash explained. "Throughout my Hoenn journey, he was always super intelligent when it came to Pokemon, so that seems like the ideal job for him, doesn't it? Still, I was never as close with him as I was with May. She thought of me as a brother, but I never got a vibe like that from Max. But that's just my take on him. What about you? Has May told you anything about her brother recently? Do they still stay in touch?"

"They sure do stay in touch, or so May tells me. She also says that he's been doing well for himself as Professor Rowan's successor. Crazily enough, she also claims that he's recently formed quite the strong pen-pal dynamic with Bonnie. Granted, May's also told me about how the lessons that Brock taught him about Pokemon battles during your time together in Hoenn were enough to get Max to start strongly considering trying to follow in Norman's footsteps as Petalburg City's gym leader, and he was actually serving as an assistant at the gym when May and I first met at the Wallace Cup during my travels with you in Sinnoh. I should note that she still thinks that he's trustworthy, despite him ultimately becoming a professor in Sinnoh instead."

"Well, the fact that he's apparently befriended Bonnie certainly doesn't surprise me. After all, Bonnie's always been able to make friends with people just as easily as you do. Out of all of my friends, she was definitely the most fun one to be around. I don't think that she has a mean bone in her body, do you?"

"No, certainly not. Bonnie always did strike me as too nice to associate herself with Team Rocket." I admitted.

"And while I will admit that I'd forgotten about the time that Max was considering following in Norman's footsteps as a gym leader, I'd still say that he seems to have taken to his current job like a Magikarp to water, despite having ultimately ended up becoming Professor Rowan's successor instead." Ash said. "Having said that, I guess both he and Bonnie are out as suspects, too."

"Certainly can't argue with you there." I admitted. "So now that we've fully established that Bonnie's trustworthy, we should probably do a similar in-depth talk on Clemont's likelihood of being a traitor."

"I agree, Dawn."

"Now that I'm thinking about it, all that I remember for certain is that he's been doing seemingly well for himself as a gym leader and inventor, and that he's been maintaining close relations with Serena and Calem, not to mention with Trevor, Tierno, and Shauna. And I did hear rumors that Bonnie was trying to set him up with Shauna for a while, but I don't if those rumors were true."

"Bonnie did try to set him and Shauna up for a month or two." Ash admitted with a chuckle. "But for what it's worth, those efforts ultimately didn't go anywhere."

After a brief pause, Ash concluded, "Well, I guess that's everybody. None of them have done anything noticeably evil, so we need to take their minor discrepancies into account. And the only ones who fit that are Brock, Serena, and by extension, maybe Miette."

"Plus Iris." I stated, to remind him about how she was technically also still potentially a viable suspect. "Even if on a technicality."

"Well, none of the reasons for them potentially having thrown their lot in with Team Rocket are really grounds for their respective regions' Leagues or authorities to get involved or investigate. And even if we did have them make investigations, the authorities could just claim that Jacob was lying. So...there's honestly not really anything that we CAN do, other than just keep our eyes and ears open."

"Better than doing nothing." I agreed.

"Well, I suppose that now that we've had this talk, it probably wouldn't hurt for me to let Michelle come on up here to tell you what she wants to tell you." Ash suggested.

"Sounds fine with me." I said, a joyful smile rapidly coming onto my face at the reminder of how Michelle had something important she wanted to tell me.

So Ash left the room and five minutes later, Michelle entered the room. I motioned for her to sit with me on the bed, and she did so.

"May I ask what was so important that you had to come all the way here to Pallet Town to tell me in person?" I asked.

Michelle took a deep breath and explained, "Remember last year, after the Grand Festival ended? You asked me why I decided that I wanted to become a Top Coordinator. I said that it was because of you. I admired you and your achievements and I loved the way that you made your Pokemon look and perform with their attacks. That's why I longed to be like you. You then said that that was originally why you wanted to become a Top Coordinator too, Dawn. You wanted to be like your mom, who inspired you."

I nodded my head, remaining silent to allow Michelle to continue speaking.

"But then you asked me what my reason is now." Michelle continued. "You asked if I'd learned anything on my two journeys with the boys that gave me a new reason, a new purpose for achieving my goal. You also said that there was only one correct answer and the answer does not come down to personal opinion. And all that I could say was...that I didn't know. What other answer was there? You said that you couldn't tell me, that every coordinator has to find the answer for themselves. You also said that until I found that answer, I would never achieve my dream of becoming a Top Coordinator."

She then took another deep breath and announced, "Well, I came here to Pallet Town to tell you face-to-face that after nearly a year since you said those words to me...I finally have my answer!"

"Well, I'm very happy to hear that. Let's hear your answer, Michelle." I said, smiling in anticipation.

"I found my answer while I was competing in the Wallace Cup tournament in Sootopolis City. It was the first time that my sister and Ross had ever seen me compete in person. And after my performances and battles in the tournament, I would look out at the audience and see them cheering louder and prouder than anyone...and that's when my answer finally came to me. My new reason for becoming a Top Coordinator isn't to please myself or you, Dawn, who I was aspiring to live up to. It's to please everyone else who watches me. They love my performances because those performances fill them all with happiness, joy, and excitement, which is exactly what I feel every time I go onstage. But when I saw my family show all of those emotions firsthand, only then did I realize that. In other words, a true coordinator has to make everyone who watches feel just as happy to see their performances as they feel while performing them. That's my reason!"

A look of pride and happiness came onto my face. This was exactly what I'd been hoping for her to have learned!

"I couldn't be prouder to hear that you finally found this out." I said to Michelle. "With this knowledge gained, you now have the chance to truly become a Top Coordinator like myself."

I then shared a warm hug with Michelle, who eagerly returned it with a joyful smile of relief. And considering how I, her idol, had verified her answer as being the correct one, I couldn't blame her. I was proud and relieved that she was now firmly on the right path to someday joining me in the ranks of the world's Top Coordinators.

Author's Note: Ash and Adam return home to Dawn, safe and sound. They also deliver the good news about Brittany's rescue.

However, after delivering the news of what Jacob said about Ash's friends, he and Dawn conclude that there ARE some suspects, even though said suspects are only slightly suspicious.

As for Michelle, she finally realizes what Dawn was asking her in the previous story, and has given her the correct answer. Michelle now has a renewed sense of purpose in her goal to becoming a Top Coordinator!

And speaking of contests, the Grand Festival is coming up next! Who do you think will emerge victorious as a new Top Coordinator?

Keep reading to find out as the journey continues in the next chapter of Pokemon NG!