"Oh no!" Ash cried, realising his error. Pikachus Thunderbolt attack was going to his Nikki and she wasnt even moving. Ash jerked his head to where her Bulbasaur had landed. The small Pokemon didnt look a bit worried.

"NIKKI!!!!" Ash heard Misty scream beside him. Turning back, he saw the electric attack hit her at full force. Her body arched and her teeth gritted firmly together. Her hands were balled into tight fists but she didnt cry out in pain.

Then, as suddenly as it had hit her, the attack finished. Nikki stood firm, breathing heavily from the encounter.

"Saur?" Her Bulbasaur approached her with a concerned look in its eyes.

"Im ok Dark Shade," Nikki smiled painfully. "Ive been through worse."

"Hey," Brock said, stepping forwards. "Are you ok?"

"Of course I am," Nikki snapped, regaining her posture. As she did, the black piece of cloth fell from her arm as its knot had been weakened from Pikachus attack.

"WOAH!!!" Ash, Misty, and Brock gasped in union as Pikachus angry growls got even louder.

They had seen the mark on Nikkis arm. A deep scarred burn in the shape of a large R was uncovered. It looked like it had been done a long time ago but burnt deep into her flesh.

Nikki frowned, knowing that her secret was uncovered.

"What...what happened?" Ash gasped, gaping at her arm. Something didnt seem right to him. He had seen that R symbol somewhere before, he knew, but he just couldnt think where.

"Whats it to you?" Nikki snapped, letting the black cloth blow away as the wind picked up. "I doubt that youd care."

"Nikki, if someones been abusing you, we want to help," Brock said, his voice reflecting his concern when his eyes could not.

"Im doing just fine," Nikki frowned. "What happens to me is none of your concern. Now go!"

"But Nikki," Ash began to plead.

"Dark Shade!" Nikki called to her Bulbasaur. "Gather a Solar Beam attack for them now!"

"What!" Misty cried. "Now youre attacking us! What kind of person are you?"

"You wont be attacked," Nikki said, her voice dangerously calm. "But only if you leave now."

Ash stood firm, staring at the building attack within the Bulbasaur. He was about to reply when a loud buzzing sound rang through the air and a large black helicopter appeared over the clearing and began to descend.

"Oh no," Nikki muttered through gritted teeth. "Dark Shade! Forget gathering more energy! Attack them now!"

"OK!" Misty screamed, grabbing Ash, Brock and Pikachu and running for dear life. Nikki smirked as she watched them disappear into the bushes but her attention was quickly diverted as the helicopter landed, kicking up strong winds that she and her Bulbasaur could easily withstand. Two men dressed in black came out of the opened doors and stood at the bottom of the stairway that lead upwards into the helicopter. Nikki motioned to her Bulbasaur to follow and walked up the stairs into the helicopter.

"Whats going on?" Ash whispered to his friends who crouched next to him hidden by the thick bushes.

"I dunno," Brock whispered back.

"Let me guess," Misty whimpered back. "Were about to go and check it out."

"Bingo." Ash and Brock said together.

"Pika pika," Pikachu growled.

The group crept around the clearing hidden in the bushes, the movements they made looking like a mere Rattata moving around. They came around to the other side where no black guards stood and sneaked up to peer into the window. They saw Nikki and her Bulbasaur kneeling down in front of a large man wearing a red business suit with an elegant looking Persian sitting beside him.

"Who is that?" Ash whispered over to his friends, even though he wasnt expecting them to know.

"THE BOSS!"

Ash and co. turned sharply when they heard an alarmed cry beside them. Crouching beside them were Jessie, James and Meowth staring in horror at the helicopter window. Most likely they had come with another scheme to capture Pikachu that was destined to fail but now they seemed to have forgotten as they stared in disbelief into the window.

"The Boss?" Ash repeated after them. "Thats your boss?"

"Yeah," Meowth squeaked in answer. "And thats his daughter."

"Nikki is his daughter!" Brock only just managed to break his yell down to a sharp whisper.

"Yes," James said. "As I remember, he and his wife divorced when she was about five. Apparently, she didnt agree to his ideas for Team Rocket."

"No surprise," Misty muttered.

"Hush up!" Jessie snapped. "Anyway, her mother won custody over her but, six months later, she was found dead."

"Thats awful," Brock whispered in sadness. "Did he kill her?"

"No one could prove that he had," Jessie continued. "After examining the body they had to come to the conclusion that she had killed herself."

"Why would she do that?" Ash asked.

"No one knows," James answered. "Nikki went to live with her father and was raised to be a strong Pokemon trainer. When she was ten, she went to Pallet to get a Pokemon of her own. Weve never heard from her since then."

"Ill bet her father killed her mum," Ash said quietly but with anger quivering in his voice.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu growled beside him.

"And Ill bet hes got plans for her as well," Ash nodded to the yellow Pokemon. "Something bad."

Ash, Brock, Misty and Team Rocket turned back to look through the window. They could see the head of Team Rocket petting his Persian and talking to Nikki, looking angry. She stood straight with a determined scowl on her face, her Bulbasaur beginning to grit his teeth by her side.

"I wish I knew what was going on," Ash said in frustration, not taking care to lower his voice.

Then it happened, Team Rockets boss snapped his head upwards and stared straight at them.

In the next chapter: Will Giovanni catch the inquisitive trainers and their Pokemon? And what mission does Nikki need more time for?