The day was almost over. In the Alola region, Ash Ketchum is currently now heading home after a last-minute planned late-afternoon hangout session with his 5 classmates, who should currently be at their respective homes. It had taken him a little more time than Ash would've liked to get to Professor Kukui's home, specifically because of a certain owl-like pokémon noticing the sweet fragrances emanating from the nearby market and deciding to seek after it.

After having Rowlet calm down, Ash continued on his journey home. At Professor Kukui's humble abode, he and Professor Burnet had already cooked up dinner, and were now waiting for Ash to get home. Once all were present, Ash let his pokémon out to eat while he and his makeshift Alolan family dug into their plates. After all stomachs were satisfied and dishes were put up, everyone climbed into their beds, ready to drift into their dreams, while wondering what tomorrow would hold for them.

"Sir, the reinforcements from the Johto base have just arrived and are now waiting on your orders."

"Have they now? Okay, thank you for informing me. Dismissed"

"Yes, sir."

"Hmm, well let's not keep them waiting, Persian. I'm sure they're anxious to get back out there."

The two professors were already up and about, cooking breakfast when Ash had woken from his sleep. He saw that his most of his pokémon had just gotten up as well, sans Torracat and, as usual, Rowlet. While the professors' were busy fixing up breakfast, Ash decided to watch a bit of TV to kill some time. He flipped mindlessly through the channels before something caught his eye. Ash's eyes were now fixed onto the TV screen, which was currently on the international news channel. The tagline near the bottom of the screen read,'TEAM ROCKET SPOTTED MULTIPLE TIMES IN PALLET', in big, bold, italicized letters. The reporter was standing in front of a local grocery store that Ash seemed to recognize. According to eye witnesses, the evil syndicate was seen throughout Pallet, not in just one place, throughout the night. Some claiming to have seen them near the grocery store, some claiming to have seen them perched on rooftops looking for something across the town, while others claimed to have seen them downright walk the streets of Pallet. I t was at this point that not only had the professors' joined Ash on the couch, but that they had also finished their food, with Ash having not even touched his food. Soon, Ash scarfed down his plate, and they all headed out, Ash and Kukui going to the Pokémon School, and Burnet going to the Aether Paradise.

The school day went along pretty normal for Ash. They didn't do much compared to other days, and Ash was a bit grateful for that. His mind had been wandering to the news report that morning every so often. He couldn't help but be worried for not only his pokémon residing at Professor Oak's lab, but also for the old coot himself, and his mother. Ash was very aware of the grudge Team Rocket holds against him, and he knew that only grew from him stopping their latest plans in Unova a couple years back. His classmates had noticed him looking off into space, but Ash would just wave them off and claim that he's thinking of training methods for his pokémon. He decided to travel back to Kanto for a bit, just for a little bit to check up on them and make sure everything was all right. He'd have some explaining to do later, that's for sure.

"Report."

"Sir, the aerial forces have identified the target's home. The ground troops are now currently receiving the coordinates and will begin to move in on your orders."

"Hmph, good. Have them on standby for now. Dismissed"

"Yes, sir."

It had been a couple of days since the announcement of Team Rocket reportedly being in Pallet Town. Ash had booked the earliest flight from Alola to Kanto, however it would still be two days before the plane comes in, not to mention the fact that the ride itself will take roughly three days, since it has to go from Alola to Hoenn, to Kalos, to Sinnoh, and finally land in Kanto, before going back to Alola to start the cycle anew. However, that is for later. Right now, Ash is currently lounging on a couch in Kukui's home. It's the start of the weekend, Saturday, and he and his pokémon just came in from evening training. He figured he might as well call his mother to check up on her, as well as get his daily call to her out of the way.

It was currently 8:27 p.m. The call with his mother went surprisingly smoother than he expected. Ash first questioned his mother if she herself had seen Team Rocket, obviously referring to the news announcement a few days ago. His mother claimed that she hadn't seen anyone strange lurking at the time she had gone out to the local market. Satisfied with her answer, Ash than gave her the usual report of how his day had gone by, and asked her about her day. Eventually, they finished up the call with Ash stating that he's going to be visiting for a few days, then return to Alola. Delia was thrilled at having her son back home with her, even if for a limited time. She was so thrilled in fact, that she forgot to question him on why, especially in the middle of the school year.

Although his mother hadn't seen anything, Ash had a gut feeling that something big was brewing. If his past adventures through the other 6 regions was anything to go by, he thought he had a great source of concern, and his gut feelings always hit the nail on the head, always. The next day, Ash informed his friends of how he's going off-region for a couple of days, and his friends responded with their thoughts and questions about the situation. Ash tried to avoid answering why he would be leaving as best as he can and made up a couple of excuses when necessary. However, that fell apart when Lillie remembered seeing an online article of a certain organization popping up near Pallet Town. Obviously, Ash was forced to tell the truth. His friends insisted that they go with him and aid him if necessary, but Ash held them back with the thought that if Team Rocket wasn't there, they would have gone for no reason and that Ash would have wasted their time for nothing. His friends argued that they wouldn't mind going back to Kanto again at all, even if there was no reason to. This continued on for awhile, with one party throwing valid points at each other, until Ash had said that the flight was full and the next plane to Kanto wouldn't be landing in Alola for the next two weeks, which was actually true as Ash had booked the very last seat on the plane. In the end, they agreed to stay in Alola and wait for Ash to return.

"Report."

"Sir, it appears that some ground troops were spotted a few days ago, during the recon mission you had assigned."

"What?! Are you serious?! Ugh, damn fools. Tell them to fall back a little bit, but not too much."

"Yes, sir."

"And remind them to stay hidden, whether it be to blend in with the townspeople or to dig a damn hole! Anyone found by the townspeople will be given the helmet! Dismissed."

"Yes, sir."

Ash was currently on his plane en route to Kanto, specifically, Pallet Town. Ash was starting to wonder what could possibly happen in Pallet. This was the first time he ever actually sought after Team Rocket, instead of it being vice-versa, now that he thought about it. Ash inwardly laughed at that. He has no doubt in his mind something big is happening, and that he's going to be a crucial part in all of it. If he was supposed to be indirectly involved, he's now making himself involved in the situation. Ash's thoughts then shifted over to his brief farewells with his classmates. Ash would only be gone for a few days, but he couldn't help but think that he would be gone longer than he initially thought. His classmates somewhat solemn faces didn't help either. It looked like they knew he would be gone for more than just a couple of days. They looked like they already missed him, especially Lillie. She looked like she was actually afraid for him. Ash thought little about this however, and just decided to sleep. It would be a little longer until he reached Pallet after all.

"Report."

"Sir, it appears the media has concluded that our forces have moved from the area. We are now in the clear."

"Ah. Finally, that boy will get his comeuppance. Hopefully, he will no longer be a threat to us any longer after today. Now then...do it."

Ash had just gotten off the plane, when he felt something odd. Something didn't feel right about Pallet. He decided to shake it off for now and visit his mother before visiting Professor Oak and his pokémon in the ranch behind the lab. As Ash made his way home, the worrying feeling only grew to a point to where Ash was now fully running as fast as he can to his home. He came to a screeching halt when he passed by the electronics store. It seemed something was going on, evident by the large crowd in front of the store, and Ash's own worries made him pay attention to one of the various TVs on display, showing the latest news. Apparently, a fire had started somewhere in town by an unknown cause. Ash looked closely to the surroundings of the burning building. Soon enough, he recognized what building that was, and sped off towards the fire, desperately hoping Delia would be all right.

No, please God, no. Please, please, please, no! I heard Pikachu yell at me and pointed upwards towards the sky. Very clearly, I saw the massive cloud of smoke just up ahead. It wasn't very long until I saw it. My house, burning right in front of my eyes. I sprinted forward as fast as my legs cared to carry me. As I neared the front door I braced myself to ram it with my right shoulder, and crashed into the house.

"Mom! Mom, where are you?! Mom!" I couldn't see two feet in me because of all the ashes, and me and Pikachu were starting to cough violently. As best as I could, I searched the whole first floor of the house, trying to find Mom. Suddenly, I heard a very loud, spine-chilling, continuous scream. Me and Pikachu bolted up the stairs as fast as we could.

"Hold on Mom, we're coming!" As soon as we got of the stairs, wooden, burning beams from the ceiling rained down onto them, blocking it. It was at that point did the screaming stop.

"Mom? Mom, answer me!" Me and Pikachu split up to find Mom. We checked the rooms as best as we could, and only did we get the room at the end of the hall, the bathroom, did we finally find her, her being on the floor.

"Mom! Don't worry Mom, we're gonna get you outta here!" I grabbed her arms to lift her up, but I pulled back my hand in recoil to the searing sensation I experienced for a split second. I grabbed a nearby towel, wrapped her around it, and lifted her up, putting one of her arms around me to help balance her up. It was at this moment that I remembered about the blocked stairwell. I would have Pikachu use Iron Tail on the beams, but I didn't want to risk him getting burned in the process by the nearby fire, and I didn't have enough time to call out Torracat.

I looked around, desperately trying to find some way to get us out of this situation. I spotted a window in one of the rooms.

"Pikachu, hold on tight!" "Pika!" I grabbed Mom and picked her up with both hands this time and ran towards the window. I jumped and quickly maneuvered my body so that my back would take the blunt of the force from the glass. I kept us this way until finally, our bodies hit the ground, me taking most of the pain. I then remembered the situation we're in, and I lied Mom down carefully onto the ground.

"Mom?" I leaned my face down to her chest to listen to her heart beat. I heard nothing.

"Mom! Mom, no! Please, no! No!" I cried as hard as I could. What was only a minute or two felt like an entire lifetime for me. I sat there, holding Mom's hand close despite how burning it was to keep my hand there. Once I drained out my tears, I finally remembered someone. Someone who me and Mom hold dear to us, moreso Mom. Mimey.

"Well now. Isn't this just tragic?"

I looked up to see who was talking. I recognized the man as the one who wanted Meloetta a few years back. Next to him was a grunt who had Mimey inside a strange cage. Seeing how Mimey would have teleported by now, with him being a psychic pokémon, I assumed it nullififed his abilities. Unfortunately, the man in front of me saw how my attention was towards Mimey.

"Oh. He's family too, huh?"

*POW*

All of a sudden, here was a ringing in my ear that wouldn't stop, however I paid little notice to that. What I had my eyes on was a sight that I'd never see. The man was holding a gun, revolver to be exact, and it was pointed directly towards Mimey. However, Mimey was no longer standing. Instead, he was slouched over on the ground, a hole in the side of his head, and blood coming out the other side. I stared at the sight, not believing any of this to be real.

"Hmph. I honestly don't know why in God's name it took me this long to finally have my revenge for the events back in Unova, but oh well. Results are my main concern, so if I had to wait 50 years to finally get revenge, I'd gladly wait." It was at this point that Pikachu decided to intervene with an Iron Tail heading towards the man when all of a sudden, a cage came from the grunt's hands and trapped Pikachu in it.

"Ah, ah, ah. We can't have any distractions, now can we?" Pikachu snarled at the man, but he only smirked in response.

"Go ahead, try to escape. This cage is specifically designed to drain the strength from whatever is inside. You'll only be tiring yourself out. Now as for you." He looked at me and smirked even more.

"Heh, look at you. A broken person with nothing and no one to go to. Oh well, you're only a kid, I don't know why I'm surprised, honestly. The terror and fear in your eyes is the best thing I've had the pleasure to look at in years. Consider yourself lucky. I'll leave you be now that I've broken you. Ta ta." He started walking away, the grunt following closely behind him, with Pikachu screaming to me. As I listened to Pikachu's yells and seeing the fear in his eyes, looking at them walking away, and looking back over the lifeless bodies of Mom and Mimey, I felt something. Something break. I looked back up, anger evident by the look in my eyes.

"Y-you...You bastard! You'll pay! I'll kill you myself! Do you hear me? I swear it! I'm going to kill you myself!" He turned back to look at me.

"Hmph, whatever kid. Just come and try." With that, a helicopter flew overhead and dropped a rope. The man climbed up with the grunt following suit. It was only once they left had I just processed the events that took place just now. Mom and Mimey, dead. Pikachu, taken away. I let it all out and cried for I don't know how long. I had a couple of major burns on me, as well as many minor burns scattered throughout my body, but I didn't care. Not anymore. The two beings who were with me since the beginning, now gone. Pikachu, my best friend, taken from me to who knows where. Sooner or later, I slowly started showing signs of fatigue. The last thing I heard were sirens, before I blacked out.

I need criticism. This is just a very small sample of the story I have written out. Point out things I should do more or less of, and any errors within this excerpt. I'll leave this up for a week or so to let more ideas and suggestions come in. Just a heads up, the full version will not be a full-fledged story. This story will only be a oneshot, unless popular demands convince me to. Again- I need criticism. Also, it won't let me indent paragraphs, which fucking sucks.