A/N: Hey, everyone! It's been a while since I last updated this story, so I might as well take this time to wrap up the whole thing. Yep, you heard it correctly. This is the final chapter of the original version of "The Way We Will Be". This is the point where I got dissatisfied with where the project was going and how it was turning out. And what I used to do when I reached those points is to delete the entire story and pretend it never happened. Well, in more recent times, I've come to realize that there's always a diamond in the rough in the most unsatisfying of stories, and by deleting the entire project, you're getting rid of the good as well as the bad. For the sake of preservation, I wanted to undo that, so here we are, at long last.

Anyway, I could've sworn there was one or two more chapters to this. Regardless of whether there were any additional chapters, this was the best that could be salvaged by my contact who was responsible for the resurrection of some of my older stories like "Evil Phineas". They once told me so when I inquired about digging up more content. Therefore, this'll have to do. Thus, we've come to the end of the road for this fic! Next up, I'll do what I couldn't do for this story and finish up the current version of "The Way We Will Be"!

Alright, enough of this unnecessary rambling! Let's get on with the final chapter. ENJOY!

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The Pokémon Center
Galope Town

"You're our-" began a confused Ash.

"-Daughter?" completed Serena, who was completely shocked by the sudden revelation.

Sarah nodded reluctantly. "Yes. You two are my mommy and daddy..." She then chuckled nervously as her cheeks turned slightly pink. "Hi, I guess?..."

"That's not right!" exclaimed Bonnie suddenly. The yellow-haired girl walked up to Sarah's bedside and looked back and forth between her and the pair of Serena and Ash, Dedenne mimicking its unofficial Trainer's movements as she did so. "Ash and Serena are way, way too young to be your mommy and daddy!" She then leaned close to Sarah's face to examine her closely, as if she were a professional doctor. "Are you alright? You probably hit your head on something-"

"BONNIE!" Clemont shouted sternly as he ran up to his younger sister and pulled her back slightly. "Don't be rude and leaning in towards others like that!"

"But she's saying something pretty ridiculous-"

"It's not ridiculous, Auntie Bonnie," interrupted Sarah, who was now looking at her. "I am their daughter." She pointed at Serena and Ash.

"Can you prove it?"

Everyone looked at Grace's direction. She was looking at Sarah with an unknown emotion, with her arms crossed.

"Well..." Sarah looked down at her hands nervously. "I...I don't know how to show I'm not lying... But I know you're my mommy and daddy...Mommy and Daddy..." Then, she instantly remembered something. "Oh yeah, Celebi! Celebi took me here from the future! I come from the future, everyone! I'm not lying, believe me!"

"We know you had a Celebi with you when we found you. But that could mean a lot of things. Do you know what happened before we found you?"

"Okay." Sarah cleared her throat and began her explanation. "I went with you-" She pointed at Serena, causing her to blink in shock. "-to see Jenna at her Rhyhorn Race and cheer her on. But then, you kept yelling at each other like you always did and it made me really sad, so I ran away. But I got lost in the big building, and I saw this big, mean-looking guy holding a cage with a very big Zigzagoon in it! But it wasn't a Zigzagoon at all! It was Celebi in disguise! And-And Celebi spotted me and got out of its cage and went to me, and the bad guy came after me with his Pokémon. Jenna and Alex and his friends tried to help me, but there was this huge, huge battle and Celebi used its powers to take me to the past, probably to keep me safe! And then I met Lane and then you guys, and now, I'm here!"

Everyone was silent for a moment. Then, Serena replied, "Can you repeat that again? This time, a bit slower?..."

However, Grace said, "No, hold on. Kids, let's go outside the room for a bit. We need to talk-"

Sarah's eyes widened upon hearing Grace's comment. "No, please don't leave me in here!"

"It's okay, Sarah. We're just gonna be outside the door. Kids, come on."

The group left the room, one by one. As they did, they could easily hear Sarah whimpering in fear and shifting uncomfortably on the bed. Overhearing it, Serena could not help but feel very bad for the young girl. As soon as everyone left the room and Grace closed the door behind her, Ash looked at the mother.

"What's going on, Grace?" he asked.

"Have any of you met this girl before?" replied Grace, her eyebrow raised.

"Definitely not. Can't even imagine why she'd call me her dad..."

"No, not before today, no," Clemont said.

"Nope," added Bonnie.

However, Serena remained silent as she thought about the words of the young girl who introduced herself as Sarah Ketchum. The way she spoke to them, it sounded like she had known them all for her entire life. ...She sounded so truthful. Remembering her Pokédex entry of Celebi, she knew that Sarah's story had to make sense if the strange girl was so adamant in labeling her and Ash as her own parents, let alone resemble her in so many ways.

"Serena?" Grace asked, catching her daughter's attention.

"Huh?"

"Have you met this girl before?"

"No...but I think I believe her story." She then frowned at her mother. "And you don't?"

Grace exhaled and looked at the door leading into the room. "There are a lot of scenarios, more reasonable scenarios, that could perfectly explain what happened-"

"Celebi, the Time Travel Pokémon," recited Serena, remembering all of the words spoken by her Pokédex perfectly. "As its name suggests, it has the ability to travel across time. Plant life flourishes in the very forests in which it has appeared." She crossed her arms. "Sarah sounded so sure of herself when she called me and Ash her parents. She was found with an injured Celebi. She looks just like me. None of us have ever met her anywhere before. How do you explain that?"

"She probably saw you guys on TV or something. You know, there was a whole paparazzi report on Diantha and I saw you guys in it."

"You did?!" all four shouted simultaneously. The memory of their meeting with the Pokémon Champion Diantha returned to their minds.

"Yeah. That paparazzi crew was following Diantha around so sneakily, even when she was in disguise, and they recorded you four meeting up with her and talking to her in the distance. I've had that kind of thing before. She might've seen that and spotted you and Ash, Serena, and she decided to make you two her parents."

"Why would she wanna do that?" Bonnie asked curiously.

"I don't know. Maybe she's unhappy with her real parents, or she doesn't have any."

"Aw, that's sad!" exclaimed Bonnie, her eyes shimmering in pity.

"Dedenne!" added Dedenne sadly.

"But that doesn't explain the Celebi, Mom," Serena replied, crossing her arms. "Or why she was even out in the forest in the first place, alone and without an adult."

"She probably ran away from her home or orphanage, came across Celebi, and accidentally did something to hurt it."

"And how about her resembling me?"

"She probably changed her appearance so she could look like you. When you were younger, people kept thinking Aunt Layla was your mother since you looked more like her." The former jockey shrugged. "People wouldn't have believed her claims if she looked so different from you or Ash."

"Or it could've been some random coincidence that she looked a lot like you, Serena," added Clemont.

"I had a rival who looked a lot like me and even had the same Pokémon" Ash remarked. "It does make a whole lot of sense." Serena instantly whipped her head in the direction of her crush. The honey-haired Trainer was extremely shocked that he would agree with her mother's side of the argument.

"Yeah, that does."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute!" shouted Serena loudly, startling the others. "How about you, Mom? Why'd she call you 'Grandma'? You were not there when we met Diantha, so there's no way she could've seen you and decided to call you her grandma." She couldn't help but smirk smugly. "How do you explain that, Mom?"

Grace frowned with irritation and replied, "She saw me, noticed that I seemed to be associated with the four of you, decided to sell her part even further, and called me her grandmother." Her blue eyes narrowed suddenly and coldly. "Oh no, please don't tell me that you, of all people, believe that little girl's story, Serena."

"And I'm wrong to?"

Before Grace could respond, the group heard a voice call to them down the hallway.

"Hey, guys! What's going on?"

Heading towards them were Layla and Moose; the former approached Grace immediately.

"Yusif told us you would be here," she said. "He said you found a little girl with a Celebi?..."

"Yeah, she's in that room right now. Get this, she's calling Serena her mom and Ash her dad. I think she's a runaway in search for actual parents or something."

Upon hearing that comment, Serena frowned angrily. She didn't know why, but despite the evidence presented to her, she still wanted to believe Sarah...

She turned towards the door to Sarah's room, wondering what to do about the situation...

Inside her room, Sarah overheard the conversation between her mother and the rest of the group that took place outside. She felt relieved, not only because Serena apparently seemed to be the only one who found some credibility in her story, but because no one else actually believed in it. If anything, this meant that the future most likely would not be disrupted by her actions, and everyone that she knew and loved dearly from that time period was safe. She did feel a little heartbroken that she wouldn't get to interact with her parents and other family in this time, but it was better off that way. At least she was still safe with them.

Sarah slid further underneath the covers the bed offered her, hoping that Celebi would recover quickly from its wounds so she would be able to go back home and to the arms of her loving mother... Just remembering the soft embrace her mother always gave her made the seven-year-old drowsy...

The last thing she thought of before falling asleep was her mother smiling at her and giving her the pinkie-promise in the car on that fateful day...

Unknown location
Galope Mountain

"Ooooohhhhh... What happened?..."

"What else, Jess, but a classic blastoff?"

Jessie, James, and Meowth had just regained consciousness in the basket of their hot-air balloon, which was now in tatters and dangling over some unknown object.

"This has to be the ten-thousandth time we've been blasted off like this..." James remarked in a deadpan tone.

"Where are we?..." Meowth asked.

"Does it look like I know?" replied Jessie.

"Well, why don't you find out for yourself, Jess?" asked James.

"W-What?! Why me?!"

"I believe it was your turn to check our surroundings every time we're blasted off into a new environment..."

Jessie blinked, then sighed in defeat and nodded reluctantly. The woman moved over towards the side of the basket and cautiously looked out from it. Once she did, however, she immediately let out a terrified yelp and scrambled back to the center of the basket, her skin almost pale. "Oh, Rattata!" she exclaimed.

"Why, Jessie?" James asked.

"What is it?" added Meowth curiously.

"Um...uh...um-um..."

"Come on, spit it out already, Jess!"

"Um...who's the one that had a fear of heights again?"

"I believe it was you, Jess," James replied honestly, pointing at his teammate in emphasis. "Why do you ask?"

"Well then, you're gonna have the same fear as I do once you realize where we are right now..."

"Huh?"

"What in da world is dat woman talking 'bout?..." asked Meowth in irritation.

James and Meowth moved towards the same side of the basket with Jessie and looked out. Then, the two of them screamed loudly.

They were dangling on the side of a mountain and overlooking the forest down below. There were thousands of trees, all of them spread out across the horizon, their lush and fresh leaves forming an essential sea of green. There was also a river that seemed to originate from the mountain and heading towards Galope Town, which was in plain viewing distance. Realizing the gravity of the situation, the trio held onto each other, letting out one collective conclusion.

"TEAM ROCKET IS SO DOOMED!"

A second afterward, Wobbuffet appeared from its Poké Ball and saluted. "Wobbuffet!" it exclaimed.

As soon as the Patient Pokémon appeared, an ominous tearing noise was heard, and the basket abruptly lurched downward. The trio's grips on each other tightened; moans of fear emerged from their mouths as the tearing continued and the basket continued to slowly inch downward dangerously.

"Oh no, Wobbuffet's one too many for the balloon to handle!" James exclaimed.

"Agh, you idiot!" snapped Jessie as she pulled out her Poké Ball. "Return, and stay returned for once, will ya?!"

"Wob-" began Wobbuffet, but before it could complete its chant, the Poké Ball already recalled it back into its sanctuary.

As soon as the Patient Pokémon disappeared, the tearing stopped after a couple of seconds, but the trio remained still, fearing that even the slightest of movements could spell their dooms. After a few minutes of remaining still and silent, the three Team Rocket members slowly began to calm down and formulate a strategy.

"Okay, okay, that isn't all that bad," James said, trying to stay positive. "This is just like all of the times we've been blasted off and landed in a tree. Only higher..."

"Well, this is definitely not a tree, James," snapped Jessie angrily. "This is a mountain. It's a 180-degree turn from the usual predicaments we have."

"Well then, how exactly do you reckon we're supposed to get outta here? Because I don't have any ideas."

"Are you serious, James?! I thought you were a master at getting us out of these kinds of predicaments!"

"Ya tink we could climb up to da rock?" interjected Meowth nervously, pointing a clawed finger at a nearby rock that seemed stable.

"It might take us hours to get to the top," Jessie replied.

Then, the trio instinctively peered out of the basket and directly down below. They noticed a mountain trail hundreds of feet below them.

"We could try ta go to da bottom," Meowth suggested, trying to sound as calm and matter-of-fact as possible.

"That's where we usually wind up anyway..." moaned James sadly.

"Wonder how long it would take..." Jessie remarked nervously.

"About three seconds if we jump," replied Meowth, waving his paws in emphasis.

The trio was silent for a moment. Then...

"Déjà vu?" Meowth asked.

"Whatever, Meowth. Let's try and strategize our way out of this lil'-" began Jessie.

However, she was suddenly cut off when the tearing of the balloon's fabric resumed, quickly followed by an even more ominous rumbling sound. Looking towards the face of the mountain, they noticed that a piece of it seemed to be slowly breaking off and it was taking the balloon along with it. The trio immediately held onto each other again and screamed as the rock eventually broke off, plunging down towards the mountain trail and taking the balloon (and Team Rocket) them.

"TEAM ROCKET'S BLAST-" began the panicked trio, but their trademark chant was cut off when their wrecked balloon crash-landed prematurely along with the large rock. Fortunately for them, they managed to survive the crash, albeit with several cuts and bruises sustained in the process.

"Ow..." James moaned as he staggered out of the balloon basket. "They don't pay us enough for this kind of stuff..."

"Yeah..." replied Meowth, nodding in agreement. "We should patition for a raise or someting..."

"WATER!" Jessie suddenly shouted.

"What?" James and Meowth asked, not paying attention.

"WATER!" The magenta-haired woman pointed upward, and her colleagues followed the direction of her fingertip. Then, their eyes widened.

A torrent of water was falling towards them from the mountain.

"THIS KIND OF BLASTING OFF-" Meowth screamed.

"WE DON'T NEED!" completed Jessie and James as all three began sprinting up the trail.

"Déjà vu?"

"SHUT UP, MEOWTH!"

The trio ran far enough for them to avoid the torrent of water as it violently splashed down the trail, including the rock and their balloon. Looking up to see where it was coming from, they realized that it was all gushing and spraying out of the crevice left behind by the collapsed boulder. After several seconds of this, yet another couple of boulders eventually dislodged themselves and collapsed onto the crevice, filling it up and effectively stopping the water flow. However, it seemed as if that entire rock structure was in danger of collapsing on itself at any moment, now that one of its vital pieces was missing.

"Whoa...what was dat?" asked Meowth in wonder.

"Never mind that," Jessie replied. "What is that?!"

She pointed towards the boulder, which was now drenched in water. However, the trio was surprised to realize that it was flickering, like a malfunctioning television. Whenever it flickered, Team Rocket could see, for a split-second, the outline of some sort of outlandish mechanical structure.

"T-Th-That is supposed to be a boulder...right?..." James asked in fear.

"Does it look like it, James?!" exclaimed Jessie in frustration.

"Well, whatever dat is," Meowth said, "it looks bad..."

Wobbuffet immediately emerged from its Poké Ball and saluted. "Wobbuffet!"

Then, the quartet watched as the ground beneath the strange object, completely saturated by the water, gave in from said object's weight. Minutes later, the object was now collapsing further down the mountain, taking Team Rocket's balloon with it. James groaned and sulked as he watched both of them disappear out of sight.

"Aw man, all of our supplies were in there. What a waste..."

"So...we're back ta square one..." remarked Meowth. "Again..."

"We honestly need to rearrange our priorities."

"Rearrange our priorities?" Jessie repeated in shock. "What do you mean rearrange our priorities?"

"Well...isn't it always like this whenever we try to capture the twerp's Pikachu or other Pokémon or even pull off some con? There is always a pattern for these kinds of things. First, we come up with a plan, a marvelous, ingenious plan! Then, we put it into action and dupe lots of clueless folk into giving their money and Pokémon. Everything's going all fine and dandy until, all of a sudden, the twerps show up and somehow see through our plans! Then, we try to make off with our reward, and it seems like we're still gonna triumph! But then, the twerps get the better of us in a battle, and before we know it, we lose our reward and are blasted off with some powerful attack, mostly the twerp's Pikachu's Thunderbolt! After thousands of times of this, it makes you wonder, doesn't it? It's like we are the main villains of some Japanese cartoon show that's been going on for over fifteen years and relies on basic formulas in its episodes. But we're not cartoon villains! We're real people, see!"

Jessie and Meowth had been watching with deadpan faces as James poured out his soul. Finally, after the blue-haired man finally finished, Jessie responded.

"Um...what?"

"Look, what I'm saying is that we should probably retire. From catching the twerp's Pikachu, at least. Avoid the twerps altogether. Remember Unova?"

Meowth nodded, remembering the brief glory they re-experienced in that region. "Ah yes, I remember dat very well. A true moment of our time."

"We need more of those times. Not this repetitive stuff."

"But..." Jessie said in protest, "what about Pikachu? The boss would love to have something that powerful-"

"Forget about Pikachu! What about our success in carrying out plans?!"

"Well, what're we supposed to do about it?! Especially since we don't have our supplies to begin with?!"

Before James could respond, a sudden loud, clanking noise filled the air, silencing the trio. Shivering, they looked back down the trail.

Their eyes widened in utmost terror.

The Pokémon Center
Galope Town

"She's claiming to be the daughter of your daughter?" Summer asked, an eyebrow raised as Grace explained the entire situation to her and Nurse Joy in the waiting room for a matter of minutes. Nearby were Serena, Ash, Clemont, Bonnie, and the others, who were sitting on the sofas.

"Yes," replied Grace. "Personally, I don't really believe it, even if Celebi, the so-called Time Travel Pokémon, is involved."

"As much as I respect your opinion, we must consider all possible scenarios, Ms. Yates. Something definitely happened to Celebi that is causing this mess..."

"Well, I just finished my examination of Celebi," Nurse Joy explained. "It has suffered some serious injuries and had a great amount of fatigue, but after a couple of days of treatment here, it's gonna be okay. I am gonna assume the fatigue was brought from it using its powers under a lot of stress, and while it was injured."

"What about Sarah?"

The three women glanced at Serena's direction. "What?" Nurse Joy asked, confused.

"What about Sarah?" repeated Serena. "Did you find anything from her examination?"

"I am so sorry, my dear, but this is a Pokémon Center. While we have the capacity to treat both humans and Pokémon, we are only equipped to assess the conditions of the latter. If you were expecting me to find something on Sarah, I wouldn't have found it, no matter how thorough my treatment on her was."

"Oh..." Serena looked down at the floor with disappointment.

"Serena, are you okay?"

The Trainer blinked and looked up to see Ash looking at her. There was a glint of concern in his auburn eyes, something that made her blush slightly.

"Oh, nothing's wrong, Ash," she replied, looking away. "Thanks for asking, though..."

"Well, it definitely looks like something's wrong, Serena. You've been looking down ever since we talked with Sarah. You can tell me what's wrong. I won't judge."

Serena couldn't help but crack a smile. "Oh, Ash. I know you're not the judgmental type of person. I know you will never be one too..."

"Then I don't see the harm in telling me what's wrong. Is it about your Pokémon? Your training? The Pokémon Showcases?"

"No, it's none of them, Ash." Serena sighed softly and continued, "You know...when Sarah said we were her parents, I was... I was..."

She paused, allowing Ash to respond, "You were thinking about being a mom?"

Serena blinked in shock. It wasn't exactly what she was planning on saying, but it honestly would have to do. After all, this was Ash she was dealing with here...

"Yeah..." she replied, her voice so quiet it was almost inaudible.

"You know you're too young to even be a mom, Serena. And even if you were to become a mom, it would be extremely hard for you. I was born when my mom was still young, and especially without a dad, she had to raise me all by herself. I could imagine how hard it must've been for her. She always said I was too adventurous as a child, too adventurous for my own good." He then chuckled. "Guess that's one of the reasons why I wanted to become a Pokémon Trainer in the first place. The thrill of the adventure. But for you, Serena, you still have Pokémon Showcases. If you get yourself a child now, imagine what that'd do to your goal?"

Once again, Serena was in shock. She didn't expect Ash to be this knowledgeable about the subject. Nevertheless, he had a really good point. So, she nodded.

"Yeah, you're right," she said, her voice soft. "I guess...I guess I just got ahead of myself a little back there. Yeah, I guess so..." She looked up at Ash, her blue eyes shimmering with emotion. "Thank you, Ash, for talking to me. You have no idea how much it means to me when you're there for comfort..."

Ash chuckled and gave her a thumbs-up. "Hey, anything for a friend like you, Serena!"

"Hey, anything for a friend like you, Serena!"

The Trainer sighed heavily, but fortunately, Ash didn't hear it. Instead, he continued, "Speaking of which, can you imagine us being parents?"

Serena blinked, her cheeks rapidly turning red. "No, not really," she replied quickly.

"Yeah, I honestly cannot imagine both of us being the parents of a girl like her, no matter how sweet she is. I mean, we're just friends, after all."

Serena's eye twitched upon hearing Ash's latest statement. However, she managed to hold back her agitation and flashed an innocent smile at him. Then, she looked at the hallway, where Sarah's room was located. Whether she was truly her daughter from the future or not, she still felt a strong maternal instinct towards the little girl. Besides, there was something that happened to Celebi, and whatever it was, Sarah might've witnessed it and could be endangered as a result...

For some reason, she could imagine herself sitting in a car with Sarah, smiling down on her...

"Serena?"

The honey-haired Trainer shook her head and found herself looking up at Clemont.

"Oh, yes Clemont?" she asked.

"We should probably get to the lodge," he replied. "It's almost nighttime."

Serena blinked and looked out of the window. She had been so caught up in the recent events that she never noticed it was sundown. She looked back at her friend.

"But what about Sarah?"

"Nurse Joy said that she'll be staying in the Pokémon Center for the night, along with Celebi. She'll call any nearby orphanages tomorrow, see if any of their children have gone missing recently." Clemont then noticed the concerned expression on Serena's face. "It's okay, Serena, she's gonna be fine over here."

"Okay Clemont, if...if you say so..."

"Alright, let's get going, then!" announced Ash. Then, he began looking around. "Wait a minute, where's-?"

"You're a keeper!" Bonnie squealed as she knelt before Summer. "The way you care for Pokémon and rescue them from bad guys? Please, take care of my brother!"

"Dedenne!" added Dedenne happily.

Clemont's face turned red within seconds as he activated his Aipom Arm, which grabbed Bonnie.

"We're leaving," he said in a trembling voice as he walked away, Bonnie being dragged right behind him.

"Think about it, Summer!" the little girl called towards the Pokémon Ranger. "Okay? Okay! I'll see you later!"

"Dedenne!"

Serena and Ash merely chuckled at the two siblings before following them out of the Pokémon Center and towards the lodge they reserved. As they did, Serena still continued to think about Sarah. If her mother was indeed telling the truth, that Sarah just didn't have any parents in her life (or at least parents who didn't care for her) and wanted someone to love her and take care of her, then this could mean she could still be like a mother to the little girl, and Ash the father...

She shook her head. As much as she wanted to seize the chance to have some nice moments with Ash, she wasn't so willing to take advantage of a little girl's wants and needs as a means for her own satisfaction. She wasn't that selfish! No, she would just have to find her own way in winning Ash's heart.

...

Nevertheless, she still wanted to stay with Sarah and protect her from whatever seemed to be troubling her...

Unknown location

"Welcome back, sir."

Parker groaned as his eyes slowly fluttered open in response to the voice. The first thing he saw was the holographic computer system that he'd personally designed. The feeling of his leather luxury seat was returning to him. Groaning, he looked around to see if all of the systems were still functional. After confirming the complete functionality of his overall system, he gazed back at the central screen in front of him, his eyes emotionless, almost hollow shells of themselves.

"H-Ho-How long?..." he asked, his voice extremely hoarse, as if he hadn't used it in a long while.

"99 years, 11 months, 28 days, 15 hours, and 54 minutes," the computerized voice responded.

Parker grunted almost inaudibly, and he placed a hand over his face. He couldn't believe he had been out for that long...

"W-Why?... W-WHY was I in s-s-stasis...for s-so LONG?"

"We were unable to move from our previous position. It only took a miracle to dislodge us, a miracle in the form of a crashing hot-air balloon."

The Poacher growled, gripping his pant leg tightly. "Accursed kids...interfering with my...precious affairs..."

"Fortunately for you, sir," the voice continued, "you were transported to a period in the past by Celebi. Unless you wish to see any historical events unfold for yourself, then you have not missed anything of significance. There is no need to indulge in any distress."

"Wha..." The Pokémon Poacher's memory was slowly but steadily returning to him. "...What about...Celebi?..."

"It is located approximately 128 miles away, somewhere within a nearby settlement called Galope Town." The screens began showing Parker pictures of the town. "And yes, indeed it is the past version of Galope City. At this point in time, it is relatively small, small enough that it does not have its own Officer Jenny and relies on those stationed in nearby Shalour City and Coumarine City. Greatly isolated in the forest encompassing Route 12. There's no need to worry about any real interference if you simply decide to reclaim Celebi there and then."

Parker closed his eyes as he removed his hand from his face. Exhaling softly, he opened his eyes.

"What is our current power level?" he asked, his voice recovering.

"Below fifty percent. With our power source beginning to run out, I attempted to replenish it, but the power acquired was still not enough."

Parker grunted again, this time more loudly. "We're gonna need more power before we can commence with the mission."

"Galope Town seems to be recovering with its power-"

"No. We cannot attract any suspicion. ...Send out the Horde. Tell them to find Celebi and bring it back to me. Covertly."

"As you wish, sir. Oh, and sir?"

"What?"

"It appears that the camouflage device was exposed to water."

"I don't need to give you an order for this. Reactivate the camouflage."

"As you wish, sir."

With that, Parker let out a long groan. He couldn't believe he had traveled through time, to the past. He didn't really think the legend about Celebi was actually true. And the more he thought about it, the more he realized how valuable Celebi was. It was no wonder why his employer had decided to hire him, of all the Poachers in the business, to carry out this specific job. If he had been thinking about it any better, he could just take Celebi for himself...

Unknown location
Galope Mountain

At that point, Team Rocket had concealed themselves behind a large slab of rock, still shivering from what they had just seen.

"What in da woyld was dat ting?!" Meowth exclaimed.

"Does it look like I know, Meowth?!" replied Jessie angrily. "Why should I wanna know what it is?! I'd rather know Arceus's rage!"

"Whatever it is," said James, "it's obvious we shouldn't be sticking our noses into its business."

"Like dey all say," said Meowth, "whenever da going gets tough, Team Rocket gets going!"

"Yeah, on the double..." James replied in an unenthusiastic, deadpan tone.

"Go Team Rocket..." said Jessie fearfully.

They prepared to leave their shelter but paused for a moment.

"Déjà vu?" Meowth asked.

Just then, the trio heard another mechanical noise. Intrigued, they cautiously peeked out from their rock's shelter. Then, their eyes widened again, this time in awe.

Route 12
Near Galope Town

As darkness fell and stars began to appear in the nighttime sky, the forest that surrounded Route 12 was silent, save for the chirping of some Bug-type Pokémon. At the clearing located near the place where Sarah first regained consciousness, it was as empty as any other location in the forest.

Then, a flash of light appeared for a split-second, and seconds later, shards of green crystals appeared in midair, revolving around what appeared to be a portal...

Original A/N: So, what do you guys think 'The Horde' is supposed to be? And it looks like Sarah managed to get herself out of a potentially awkward and sticky situation. Do not worry y'all, Serena and Ash will still learn Sarah is their daughter WITHOUT any consequences to the timeline. And we have an actual AmourShipping moment at long last! YAY! :D Sorry such a moment had to take so long; I was trying to coax us into the new universe first and foremost.

Well, I'd like to thank those who reviewed:

Klay (guest reviewer): Can you please be more specific?

ShugoYuuki123: No, it's all gonna be set in the present until a certain point.

theHuntress101: Fortunately, Celebi is safe for now. And no, there will be no consequences to the timeline if Sarah tells Ash and Serena the truth; she's just being cautious at the moment since she doesn't know that exactly. As for Celebi not being able to take Sarah back to the future, you'll learn that in the next chapter or so.

Plasma57: Can you please be more specific?

Aipom4: I'm glad you liked that flashback! And don't worry, we'll see Ash and the other children in the future.

Guest reviewer: Well, looks like you've got yourself a compromise: Ash and Serena don't know Sarah's their daughter, but they're still obviously gonna have a close friendship in the meantime. Sorry if this chapter was late in your standards.

thegirlwholived (guest reviewer): Sorry if you had to deal with the last chapter's cliffhanger.

masterofthez: Oh yes, I'm hoping to build up to something involving the future Ash. I'm not gonna reveal what, though. However, you're gonna learn what he does in the future at some point in the story, so stay tuned for that! As for Sarah's characterization, she's uncomfortable around people unless they're strangers. She only reacted positively to the younger Ash and Serena because she clearly recognizes them. However, I am indeed planning on developing her into being more confident and positive around strangers in the story. How exactly I'll do that, though, is something I will not disclose to you. You're gonna have to read the story if you want to see for yourself! Oh, and I'm glad to hear you love the flashback! :D

iCards: Can you please be more specific?

Red (guest reviewer): Can you please be more specific.

Ashmn142 (guest reviewer): Sorry if you had to deal with the last chapter's cliffhanger.

Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: Wow, thanks for reviewing every single chapter this story has to date! I'm very glad to hear you are really, REALLY liking this story even better than my "Separation" story! :D Now, Parker is supposed to be an OC of mine, and I honestly do not recall any characters named Parker appearing in the anime who fit my OC's characterization. I am also glad to hear that you like the rival of Charlotte for Serena to win Ash's heart! You will definitely see more of their rivalry soon. Oh, and you shall also learn about why Grace doesn't approve of Pokémon Performing as a goal. I never knew you were a fan of Summer, but I'm glad to know I managed to appeal to that side of you! :D

WiiFan2009: Unfortunately, that's obviously gonna be delayed for a bit while longer. But don't worry, we'll see interesting developments and scenarios nonetheless!

Aprotny: Just like I said with WiiFan2009, that's gonna be delayed, but we'll see some nice scenes. :D

Well, hope you enjoyed this interesting chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!

New A/N: Well, that's it. That marks the end of this chapter, and this story overall. You can now guess the origin of the plotline of Kay being trapped in her machine and in stasis for several years. However, it looks like I was running with the subplot of Ash and his friends doubting Sarah's claim that she was from the future. Everyone except Serena, that is.

Anyway, I'm psyched for the newest Pokémon Presents event that's scheduled to be held this Thursday, Pacific Standard Time. There's no doubt that they'll talk more about "Pokémon Legends: Z-A" and reveal crucial plot details and game mechanics during that event. I'd love to see what they plan on doing with this revisit of Generation VI. Who knows? Maybe they'll reveal stuff that I can implement in the current version of "The Way We Will Be"! Or maybe it'll be enough information that'll inspire me to write another "Pokémon" fic revolving around the "Legends: Z-A" concept! Keep your fingers crossed for this Thursday, everyone!

TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. UNTIL NEXT TIME!