Author's Note:

Here it is the chapter where Serena catches her last Pokémon in Johto. That doesn't mean she won't get evolutions or anything in Johto, just she won't capture any more Pokémon in this arc. Brock has a couple more captures, and Ash has another, but Misty already caught her last Pokémon with Mantyke. It's weird thinking that Johto is close to finishing. Sure it may only be chapter fifty-seven out of one-hundred but a lot of late Johto will be multi-part stories and the league itself takes up about ten chapters so it's closer to the finishing then you might expect. After all, Serena only needs one ribbon and Ash only needs two badges. But enough of that, let's get to the chapter. And provided this chapter gets done on time, it will be updated on the third year anniversary of me starting this series (10th of December). It's amazing that I got here so fast, but I still have a long way to go with this series and a lot of twists and turns to go with it. Thank you all for the support, it really does help. Don't forget to vote in the poll, it will change with chapter 61 and with that, let's begin...

Chapter 57: Spinning Top

He was not having a good day; it's been a few weeks since he evolved, and it's been horrible ever since then. He has always been the youngest of the fighting types around here, and that has come along with him being the punching bag. His brother's Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee were always horrible but then there's the local Machamp who was the absolute worst. Machamp use to have a trainer but when his trainer past, he chose to live in the mountains instead of with his old trainers family.

Who was he? Well that is very simple, he is Hitmontop. He never really cared which evolution he took but both his brothers tried to persuade him into their evolutionary form and quite honestly, he would've been happy staying a Tyrouge. Life was so much simpler before he evolved.

Why was he so bothered about those fighting types anyway? Well they are family, at least the Hitmon-brothers are but then again, they have been nothing but mean to him, it wasn't always that way, he can remember a time when his brothers spent time with him, helping him train. They were really close, even if they had that rivalry over which evolution he should've took.

As he continued his adventure through the forest, he came across a large rock next to a cave. He remembered the night that it all changed, it was a thunderous night and he took shelter in this cave along with his Hitmon brothers-

"Chill out, Tyrogue, now isn't the time for training," Hitmonlee spoke up, "we don't know how long this storm will last so it's best to conserve your energy for as long as possible."

While not happy about having to stop his training, Tyrogue did as his brother said and stopped punching and kicking the wall. It might just be the nature of fighting types in general, but he was also big on getting stronger and training. He reluctantly took a seat across from his two brothers. Not sure what to do if he can't train.

"So Tyrogue, have you decided on which evolution path you want to take?" Hitmonchan asked, "I can't imagine it would be long before you evolve."

"Huh?" Tyrogue replied, "I dunno... whichever, I guess."

"What do you mean, whichever, you can't let something as important as your evolution just pass by like nothing," Hitmonchan replied, "how will you find a mate without the right evolution. I mean, how do you hope to find someone if your just focused on kicking everything."

"Oh please, remember that Lopunny," Hitmonlee replied, "now she was a Pokémon."

"Nah man, the Medicham was so much better," Hitmonchan replied, "did I ever tell you what happened after that double date."

"Lopunny?" Tyrogue asked, "Medicham?"

"Oh yeah, brother, they were before your time," Hitmonchan replied, "so get this. This trainer from another region was passing through and had these two babes. They totally dug the Chan, but we only had the one night before they left so I let Lee take the seconds."

"That's not how I remember it," Hitmonlee sighed, "but anyway Tyrogue, he does bring up a good point for once. What sort of gal would you pick?"

"Huh? I dunno, never thought about," Tyrogue shrugged.

"Come on brother," Hitmonchan replied, "you've met females before. Which one tickled your fancy, made you want to take her to the day-care? Who did you want to use your TM on?"

Tyrogue, looked down bright red as he let his brother go on with his innuendos. He never really cared about romance or anything like that but recently he has started to get weird feelings... but no, they don't mean anything. They can't mean anything; he is meant to be a tough fighting type. His brothers would never understand.

"Ignore him, Tyrogue, even if you aren't ready for that step, you should've at least had a crush," Hitmonlee replied, "tell us who first caught your eye."

"Well I, I dunno," Tyrouge replied, "I guess I saw this Mankey who looked pretty cute."

"When did you ever see a Manky? There aren't any that live near here," Hitmonchan replied, "hang on, wait, Lee, remember about a month ago."

"You mean when that trainer came through with a bunch of fighting types and challenged us all?" Hitmonlee replied, "sure I remember, Machamp was grumpy after his fight with that Poliwrath."

"Yeah but I mean, the Pokémon we faced," Hitmonchan replied, "his Primeape took us both down. It was a good fight but that was probably the closest any sort of Manky has been to our mountain."

"Wait," Hitmonlee replied, turning slowly back to Tyrogue who became very self-conscious, "Brother, you do like girls right?"

"Well I-" Tyrogue hesitated.

"Brother, you can't be serious!" Hitmonchan erupted, "you're a fighting type, not some prissy fairy type!"

Hitmontop felt tears sting his eyes as he remembered the beat down his brother delivered that night. Ever since then, everyone has been against him. Machamp took pleasure in beating him to a pulp and his brothers always joined in. He doesn't like males! He isn't gay! He isn't!

As the anger built up in him, he began to unleash it on nearby boulder. Spinning on his head, he unleashed three powerful kicks, each on chipping of bits of the boulder before he jumped back onto his feet. Not missing a beat, he clenched his fists as they were coated in metal before he began mercilessly punching the large rock. Punch by punch, he widdled it down until it was nothing more than a pile of rubble by his feet.

But it wasn't enough, he has had it with his brothers and the other fighting types around here! Just because he never really cared about females, that makes him gay! He isn't gay! What would matter if he was?! No! He isn't! He doesn't even need to ask that last question because he isn't!

With his anger at a breaking point, he looked around for something else to hit. As he did, he looked off into the trail at the base of the mountain. It looked like a group of Pokémon and trainers were setting up camp. They would make a perfect opponent. He may not be the strongest Pokémon around here, but he is surely stronger than any of these losers and punching something that moves will feel a lot better than some object he just found lying around.

As he made his way down the hill, he remembered what his brother said that night - 'You're a fighting type, not some prissy fairy type'. He really hopes on of these trainers has a fairy type. If the way his brother spoke was any indication, they need to be set straight. He isn't gay and they are to blame for the others misconception of him! HE! IS! NOT! GAY!

Ash smiled as he looked at the tent he pitched up. It's been a couple of days since Serena won her fourth ribbon and since then they have been on the move towards Mahogany Town and his next gym battle, although before that, they are making a small detour to a place called the Lake of Rage. It is meant to be home of many Gyarados and is a historic landmark for Johto. Of course, being a place for many water types, it was Misty who wanted to visit it.

Plus it would give Ash a reason to call his own Gyarados over. Not only that but by the time they get there, Brock thinks it'll be his birthday. Of course, there isn't a way that he could spend it with his brother due to their different paths at the moment, but he will have his friends to surround him, and he will finally be a teenager. After Serena's loss at the Wallace cup, then Alto Mare and everything else, he will just be happy to spend some time together with his friends in a nice peaceful atmosphere, followed by his gym battle.

Realising that he still has two more tents to put up, he moved over towards the next one. As he began to set it up, he took a look around to see what all his Pokémon were doing. Pikachu was talking with Phanpy and Togepi, clearly telling them what to do for today's training session. Next he saw Bayleaf launching Razor Leaves at Croconaw, who was dodging with his dancing ability. It was nice to see her working well with more Pokémon. Although he finally noticed Noctowl, perched in a stray tree, roosting. While this isn't unnatural for the shiny Pokémon, but they haven't been on great terms... ever since the owl learnt that Ash has been actively rejecting his aura.

As he began to nail the stake into the ground, he turned back to his shiny normal flying type. While his eyes were closed, Ash knew him better than that. Noctowl is always aware of his surroundings. Realising now would be a good time to talk, since they'd be alone with him, he made his mind up.

"Hey Noctowl, can you come over here for a second!" Ash called out.

The normal flying type opened his eyes and looked down at Ash for what felt like forever before it cautiously floated back down towards him, Ash could've also been mistaken but he thought he saw Noctowl roll his eyes before soaring down. He landed a few feet away and seemed to be waiting for him to speak. He always had a calculating expression but for Ash, after their disagreement about his choice to reject his aura, it was very unsettling.

"So..." Ash started, "how you been?"

"Small talk does not suit," Noctowl cut him off, "what did you want?"

Ash sighed as he knew his owl was anything but stupid, he could've easily guessed what he wanted. Noctowl was probably just letting him take the imitative since he doesn't see it as a problem, so he has no reason to discuss it. The shiny owl is very logical in his thinking, which isn't the easiest thing to get used to, but he does take after Alakazam in a sense... even Houndoom can be very logical, with his whole being the alpha thing.

"Well I wanted to talk about us... and aura,"

"Go figures," Noctowl sighed, before locking his eyes back onto Ash's, "I thought I already made my stance clear on that subject. You have a great power, but refuse to use it, so it goes to waste."

"It's not that I'm refusing to use it, okay maybe it is," Ash replied, "but look. Every time I've used it, bad stuff has happened-"

"Wrong," Noctowl cut him off, "your using it right now. And nothing bad is happening. Or did you forget that it's your aura that allows you to understand us Pokémon? Or do you mean that being able to understand us is a bad thing?"

"I... no wait, erm, I mean," Ash stuttered, "look, I love being able to understand Pokémon and I wouldn't trade it for anything."

"Nice speech, and who do you want to thank for winning this award?" Noctowl asked.

"Serious Noctowl, please just hear me out," Ash replied.

"Fine," Noctowl replied, with a noticeable roll of the eyes.

"Okay well, I mean, other than understanding Pokémon, every time the aura has unleashed its power bad stuff has happened," Ash explained, "I loose complete control and it goes well over the top in delivering a very harsh form of justice. Honestly, it was activated way too early for my age. I won't get my trainer until I'm about sixteen, give or take. So I don't want to unleash it until that time, when I can completely control it."

Noctowl just continued to stare at Ash as he held his breath. He really could've heard a pin drop as he waited for some sort of reaction. Unfortunately, his stoic expression never changed. Should Ash continue to speak, ask for what he thought.

"Finished?" Noctowl asked, but he didn't actually wait for Ash to answer, "good. I still don't agree with your stance. I never had a teacher for my psychic abilities, not until I met Alakazam. I had to grow and use them myself; did it also go well? No. But I knew they would be useful, so I kept at it. By suppressing your abilities, your letting them pass on by. When they take over again, and they will, you'll be just as useless. Whereas if you tried to control them, even before this teacher arrives, then you'll at least have a footing to try and control it."

"So... you still feel the same?" Ash sighed.

He hates that one of his Pokémon feels this differently about a decision this important. It is a completely different set of ideals. Sure, all his Pokémon have well established personalities and have a right to their own opinions but could they even work together or battle together when having such different views?

"What did you expect?" Noctowl asked, "I'm not a politician, my mind is not for sale."

"So... do you want me to release you?" Ash asked, "since we have such differing views on aura."

"No," Noctowl replied, "like I said, Alakazam was my first mentor and I know he still has more I could learn. And we may have a differing opinion but when in battles, I'll still listen. I'm not barbaric and so I won't just ignore you. Besides, when this teacher shows up, I want the chance to see your aura abilities first-hand."

"So... friends?" Ash asked, with a nervous chuckle. The weak smile on his face fading as he saw the same serious expression on his normal flying types face. As his chuckle faded as well, it became clear that it wasn't the case.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Noctowl replied, "I'm just sticking around because I have nothing better to do... and maybe when you finally unleash your aura, we could reach that step. But don't worry, I'll still partake in battles with you, I need some way to put Alakazam's training into action."

It was clear the conversation was over, as Ash didn't get a chance to reply, since Noctowl turned around and soared back to his tree. While he knew that could've gone a lot better, it was also a massive weight off his chest since it could've gone a lot worst. While not happen that they still completely disagree on this topic, Ash wouldn't want to force one of his Pokémon to change their opinion because he thought differently.

Even if Noctowl doesn't see it, Ash still considers all his Pokémon friends and they are all entitled to have their own opinions. At least Noctowl doesn't want to leave and is still willing to battle. Although would their differing opinions cause issues in battle? Only way to find out is to have a battle.

Deciding it was best to get his job done, Ash turned back to the half prepared tent before getting to work on the second tent. While he would've preferred to get another cooking lesson in from Brock, he knew it was only fair to take turns doing each task when setting up camp. It didn't take long before the second tent was prepared. He stood up and took in the sight, proud of his work before a smell caught his nose.

It was a familiar smell, the smell of Brock's famous curry. Turning his attention towards the source, he saw Misty and Brock over the cooking pot, which Serena's Cyndaquil was controlling the flame off. While it was a surprise to learn Misty also wanted to take cooking lessons after the Whirl Cup, Ash couldn't really blame her even if it meant he received less lessons himself.

Despite knowing he still had one more tent left to set up, Ash's eye wandered over towards the final member of their little group. Serena. She was kneeled down with a few of her Pokémon. Surprisingly her hat wasn't on her head, but placed neatly to her side. A sudden gust of wind blew through her short hair, which while he did like her long hair, he also loves the new style. A tightening around his chest was felt on his heart. He always thought she was pretty but as of recently... it's hard to explain, it's like she got even prettier.

Knowing he didn't want to get caught watching her from afar, he forced his attention back to the final tent he had to set up. While she is his girlfriend, he knew it would be weird if he was just watching her from afar. Besides, the last tent he has to set up is Misty's and she wouldn't let him eat until its set up.

Serena smiled as she watched her Skiploom finish off her practise performance. They just finished going over it by making notes on the floor. This isn't uncommon as they don't tend to carry around much paper to do stuff like this. Her grass flying type lowered down towards the honey-blonde girl.

"That was great Skiploom," Serena praised, "still a little rough around the edges but you was able to get our adjustments added in pretty good."

"Thank you Serena," Skiploom's mental message replied, "with your guidance, I am sure we'll have it completed in time for the Blackthorn contest."

Serena smiled as she felt a small hand around her ankle, looking down she found Larvitar who had a big bright smile on his face with wide eyes filled with wonder. It was nice to see him more open and actually stand on his own. It only feels like yesterday that he was the shy little one who would harden when not in her arms. Smiling down at him, she kneeled down, so they were more at an even level.

"What did you think, Larvitar?" Serena asked through her psychic powers.

"It was really pretty," Larvitar replied, "um... do you think, I could get a to have a pretty performance?"

She loved how much he was growing up, while not as much as a baby as Togepi was for Ash, Larvitar has really grown up since he first hatched. He has took part in basic battling along with Togepi but nothing extensive. For him to actively want a performance of his own is just great.

"Of course we can get you some sort of performance," Serena smiled, as she imagined what would happen when Larvitar evolves. She can remember looking it up and it appeared to be a large green monster of sorts, but the idea of one being gentle and performing on a stage amuses her. Before continuing, she reached down and grabbed her rock ground type and tried to lift him up, "oof, you're getting heavy Larvitar."

Serena shouldn't be surprised as she saw through his actions that he has been growing up. When checking her Pokedex, it also happens to give off a weight and height, which while not her Larvitar's statistics directly, were the average statistics for a fully grown Larvitar. Weighing in over seventy kilograms and while not at that amount yet, it is easy to feel the difference from when he first hatched. So instead, she didn't try to pick him up and instead leaned down to give him a hug.

It seems she won't be able to lift him up like she could before but that doesn't mean she just won't give him hugs. He has always been a sweet Pokémon who loves to have affection, probably because she knew him from the point he hatched.

"I'm sorry, Larvitar, but I don't think I can easily lift you anymore," Serena replied.

She couldn't help but feel sorry for him as she felt his sadness from this news as she could sense his thought waves. It's not his fault that he is that heavy but just a sad fact. Maybe she could support him with his psychic powers, but she wouldn't want to test it on him in case it did hurt. She would just need to work on that so she could better support him. He may be growing up, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't get hugs.

"Hey Serena, could you come over here for a moment," Sylveon's voice echoed in her head.

Ending the embrace with Larvitar, she stood back up and turned towards her fairy type. Only to find Sylveon looking at something, as she made her way closer, she found her staring a new Pokémon down. She instantly reconsigned the species as Ash faced one in his gym battle against Chuck. It was a Hitmontop, one who was staring daggers at Sylveon and clearly looked very angry. Base on the looks, one might think Sylveon insulted his mother or something.

"Hello, can we help you?" Serena greeted, in a friendly tone.

Help? Help? Why should he need help? He is independent, he doesn't need help. All he needs to do is punch that stupid fairy type in the face. Sure, he may not have seen one before but it's obviously one of those prissy fairy types. Its pink and he saw it using moves he knew are fairy type moves. Not to mention the way it was dancing around whilst using them.

"You want to battle Sylveon?" Serena questioned.

Despite not liking reading others thoughts unless she knows them, it was hard to ignore the fighting types mental voice which was seething in anger. It wasn't the easiest to make out, but she could definitely make out anger and it was directed at Sylveon but for what reason? It sounded like he hates her because she is a fairy type, but would anyone really hold that against a Pokémon, especially another Pokémon?

She realised quickly that she wouldn't get a response and the battle had started, since Hitmontop charged across the ground, with tremendous speed before punching her fairy type in the face causing her to flinch. It seems they will have a battle whether they want to or not.

Hitmontop verses Serena:

Unable to do anything while her fairy type recovered from the flinch, Serena clenched her fist as the fighting type began to unleash a flurry of punches and kicks on her eeveelution. Despite not doing much to Sylveon thanks to her type advantage, they were clearly hitting hard, much harder than one might expect.

Luckily, it didn't take long for the flinch to ware off as Sylveon re-opened her eyes. Knowing her fairy type wouldn't need assistance to handle a wild Pokémon, Serena just watched as she used her feelers to wrap around Hitmontop and pushed him away.

Before they could celebrate, however, Hitmontop charged forward, making her feelers grip useless. It was with impressive speed and slammed into Sylveon like a freight-train, actually knocking her over. With what seemed to be a literal second, Hitmontop was stood over her body, unleashing his fists down on her, which were covered in metal, clearly a steel type move. Although that wasn't the biggest concern.

Serena knew it would take more than a single super effective move to take down her Sylveon, instead her biggest concern was the thought waves Hitmontop was emitting as he unleashed this brutal assault. He was thinking very nasty things and derogatory names all directed at Sylveon, focusing primarily on her typing. It was clear as day that he had some sort of deep seated emotions linked to the fairy typing, and while she was sure Sylveon could handle it still, she was less confident about how one sided it would be.

"Be careful Sylveon!" Serena called out.

Despite not getting a verbal result, a powerful wind blew past, knocking Hitmontop over as Sylveon stood up. She was panting, she had some bruise marks and scratches across her body. Despite not doing a lot in terms of damage thanks to her defences, it clearly wouldn't have tickled either.

A bright pink ball of fairy type energy formed at her mouth and she launched it at the downed Hitmontop who was growling in annoyance. Before launching a second Moon-Blast, then a third. Now that she didn't have to make her moves pretty for the contest points, Sylveon could test out her true new strength since evolving.

Powering up a forth Moon Blast, Sylveon waited for the cloud of smoke covering the fighting type. After what felt like forever, the smoke cleared to reveal Hitmontop stood up, looking a lot more angry than hurt... and he was covered in even more scratches, panting heavily while slumped forward slightly. There was even a trickle of blood dripping out of his nose.

Serena could only gasp as he did a leap into the air before landing on his head, spinning around. In a panic, Sylveon launched her forth Moon Blast, despite knowing she wouldn't want to seriously hurt another Pokémon, Serena also knew her eeveelution wouldn't just take another beating like before.

The Moon Blast looked on course to hit the fighting type, but it effortlessly bounced off the spinning top. It seems like it is effective in deflecting attacks. Hitmontop continued to spinning forward and while not as fast before, it still had decent speed.

Unable to use her feelers to grab him and hold him out of reach do to his spinning speed, Sylveon dodged in the only way she knew how, by jumping in a sort of fluid dance although that didn't deter Hitmontop, who continued to flow her. Hitmontop stopped spinning and just stood still watching as Sylveon continue to gain distance, he seemed to be heaving with anger before shouting something at Sylveon. Despite not understanding a Pokémon's native tongue, it was clearly something offensive and based on her fairy types facial expression, it supported her theory.

Hitmontop clenched his fists before shooting forward fist first. Sylveon had to react first, using her feelers to block his path. Although it quickly became clear that it wasn't enough. Every time a feeler would block his path, Hitmontop would punch it and clear the path, getting ever closer before the next feeler blocked his path. Once he was close enough, he began just punching Sylveon in the face with his metal coated fists... not even pretending to hold back.

Sylveon took the brunt of those attacks, wrapping her feelers around him before lifting him high into the air. The fairy type eeveelution was panting heavily, as her legs were wobbly. Clearly the constant beat downs have taken a toll on her. Hitmontop was thrashing around in an attempt to escape and Serena knew Sylveon couldn't hold him back for long.

Although she also knew that anger like this isn't just forged from nothing. Every Pokémon she has known to have issues with anger has had a good reason behind it. First, her Beedrill came to mind, who was overwhelmed by his new power from evolving. Then the more obvious one being Ash's Sandslash. For a long time, she hated the ground type for how he slashed Ash up but to know he has a reason behind it, even if he won't let anyone but Ash know, she has to admit that he has slightly grown on her since his commitment to working with Ash. So this anger that Hitmontop has, even if she doesn't know why, must come from somewhere... probably something concerning fairy types as a whole.

Not only that, but she knew that if this continued, Hitmontop would also do himself some serious harm. He clearly wants to hurt Sylveon, even if it means he gets hurt in the process. Knowing that Sylveon was the one that his anger was directed towards, Serena quickly came up with a plan.

"Sylveon!" Serena called out, as she reached for her Pokeball, "we can't let this continue on or Hitmontop will do itself some serious damage! And your only making him even angrier, sorry but I have to return you and end this as quickly and as painlessly as possible!"

The moment she felt a mental message agreeing, Serena recalled her Sylveon. While she knew her fairy type would agree, she felt it was only curious to get said agreement instead of just assuming. As she quickly went over her team, she knew Cyndaquil and definitely Larvitar couldn't handle it and Murkrow likely couldn't either. If she was to use Ampharos, it would just become another power battle like what Sylveon had, which is how she made her decision.

"Let's go, Skiploom!" Serena yelled as her chosen Pokémon flew fast across into the makeshift battlefield.

Her grass flying type appeared with a battle cry, despite being more of a performer, she was clearly ready for the battle. She always was close to Sylveon, so she likely wants to avenge her good friend. Luckily, Skiploom's more defensive move set and battle style should make catching Hitmontop much easier. Even if Hitmontop doesn't want to, she has to end it before the handstand Pokémon does some serious damage to them self.

"Alright, start off with Mega Drain!" Serena called out.

The cotton-weed Pokémon closed her eyes as she attempted to drain health from her opponent but before she could fulfil that move, she was sent flying as the fighting type knocked her away with what was obviously a Quick Attack due to the speed Hitmontop used.

Serena gasped as she watched Skiploom land on the ground with a heavy thud before it began unleashing a series of punches on Skiploom. While Serena knew Skiploom could take it due to resisting fighting types and being more defensive but that doesn't mean anything as even when resisted, it still hurts her cotton-weed Pokémon.

"Synthesis!" Serena shouted.

Seeing a glow from underneath the angry fighting type, Serena knew that Skiploom was healing up the damage being dealt. While not idea, it was much better than before although it was clear Hitmontop was still angry from that first battle. Even if tiring down, he wasn't about to get stopped and while Skiploom wasn't making him angrier like how Sylveon was, she also wasn't calming him down any.

Hitmontop jumped up and began spinning on his head before spinning around, sending Skiploom flying as she struggled to regain his flight. Despite being a wild Pokémon, this fighting type was showing a very diverse move set, just proving how much he trained and also explaining his strength.

"Acrobatics and save your flight path!" Serena shouted.

Serena's grass flying type did a U-turn in the air before shooting back towards the fighting type who crossed his arms in front of his chest. Crashing into the handstand Pokémon Skiploom pushed him back, while unleashing the most devastating assault she could but physical strength was never her expertise. While she pushed her opponent back, it clearly wasn't having nearly as much impact that Hitmontop's moves had.

As the cotton-weed Pokémon began to slow down, Hitmontop reached forward as a read outline surrounded his body. Doing a roll forward, Skiploom in hand before sending Serena's grass flying type flying with a lot more momentum. It was like he used Skiploom's power against herself.

Skiploom grunted as she slammed into a tree, falling on her face. Despite having a type advantage and him already battling Sylveon, Hitmontop was still going tough. Of course, Skiploom doesn't have the most battle but has a lot of neat tricks which would make catching a Pokémon easier but that hasn't been the case so far.

Luckily, her grass flying type looked up and began to slowly raise as the fighting type was taunting her. Before Serena could even formulate a plan of any kind, her cotton-weed Pokémon began to glow white. It didn't take long before she let out a loud cry as she burst out in her new evolved form. Her once green skin was now a deep sea blue, her two arms were covered by large white balls of some sort, with a third one sticking out of her head. Unable to completely comprehend what just happened, she pulled out her Pokedex to scan her newly evolved Pokémon:

Jumpluff, The cotton-weed Pokémon. The final evolved form of Hoppip. Jumpluff rides warm southern winds to cross the sea and fly to foreign lands. The Pokémon descends to the ground when it encounters cold air while it is floating. They are known to have travelled great distances with little effort.

Type: Grass / Flying

Ability: Chlorophyll

Hidden Ability: Infiltrator (Note: The hidden Ability is locked)

Gender: Female

Nature: Mild (Note: This nature is unlikely to change because its fully evolved)

Move(s): Absorb, Tackle, Splash, Synthesis, Tail Whip, Fairy Wind, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, Bullet Seed, Leech Seed, Mega Drain, Acrobatics, Rage Powder, Cotton Spore, U-Turn, Worry Seed, Giga Drain, Bounce, Energy Ball, Double Edge

"Awesome Jumpluff, let's get back into the battle!" Serena cheered, "Fairy Wind!"

She saw Hitmontop coat his fists in metal before leaping towards Jumpluff once more with great speed. That Bullet Punch seems to be his go to attack. Not surprising since that would be the best counter to fairy types, which appears to be his target.

However her newly evolved Jumpluff, let out a loud cry before a powerful wind filled with sparkling fairy type energy which blew the fighting type back down into the ground with a heavy thud. Serena noticed how his anger spiked at having being made to look like a wimp with a fairy type move... why does he hate all things fairy type.

"Worry Seed!" Serena shouted.

Jumpluff did a spin as the fairy wind ended before a few seeds shot out from her top ball. One landed on Hitmontop's head and a bright red light engulfed him, as he returned to his feet. It clearly wasn't sapping health like what Leech Seed does.

Hitmontop did a small jump before landing on his head, spinning around on the ground, seeming to pick up speed. Before he shot off towards Jumpluff, quickly striking Jumpluff, knocking her back into the sky, with what appeared to be a powerful hit. Possibly something like Aerial Ace or another super effective move. Following this, the grass flying type was tackled back into the ground as Hitmontop began unleashing a brutal assault... but he seemed to have lost a lot of impact.

"Escape and then Stun Spore!" Serena called out.

She crossed her fingers before she watched Hitmontop go flying as a barrage of Bullet Seeds shot up, clearly that was her move of choice to break free. Not that it didn't work, even if not powerful, it was more than enough to split them up since Hitmontop isn't exactly a heavy weight fighter.

The fighting type slammed into the ground and before he could get up, Jumpluff floated over towards the handstand Pokémon before unleashing a cloud of yellow pollen over her opponent. As Hitmontop attempted to stand up, static appeared over his body bringing him to a complete stop. Not waiting, Jumpluff charged down and struck the fighting type with a powerful Acrobatics' attack.

Serena smiled as she saw her chance, whistling, Jumpluff ended her super effective move before moving back towards the honey-blonde girl. As her cotton-weed Pokémon did this, she took out an empty Pokeball and threw it. It struck Hitmontop and sucked him inside before landing on the ground. It violently shook back and forth as it was clear the fighting type was trying to escape with everything he had but eventually it stopped and dinged.

Taking a deep breath, Serena knew she could finally relax. Despite it being a wild Pokémon, Hitmontop proved to be one of her toughest opponents in recent memory. As her heartbeat returned to normal, she pulled out her Pokedex and scanned her latest capture:

Hitmontop, The Handstand Pokémon. A final evolved form of Tyrogue. Hitmontop spins on its head at high speed, all the while delivering kicks. This technique is a remarkable mix of both offence and defence at the same time. The Pokémon travels faster spinning than it does walking.

Type: Fighting

Ability: Technician

Hidden Ability: Steadfast (Note: The hidden ability is locked)

Gender: Male

Nature: Adamant (Note: This nature is unlikely to change because this Pokémon is fully evolved)

Move(s): Rolling Kick, Endeavour, Close Combat, Detect, Revenge, Focus Energy, Pursuit, Quick Attack, Rapid Spin, Feint, Counter, Triple Kick, Agility, Gyro Ball, Wide Guard, Quick Guard, Frustration, Aerial Ace, Rockslide, Bullet Punch, Fake Out

"Please select which Pokémon you wish to send back." The device requested.

The screen lite up with the images of Serena's current team of seven Pokémon: Sylveon, Larvitar, Ampharos, Cyndaquil, Jumpluff, Murkrow and Hitmontop but all the images except for Sylveon and Hitmontop were blacked out. While she could've easily returned whoever she wanted to return, it didn't make it an easy decision.

To start with, she wouldn't want to send Hitmontop away straight away as she would like to get to know him. She also doesn't want to send Murkrow away as her newest team member other than Hitmontop. Jumpluff should also stay so she can continue to work in preparation for the Blackthorn contest and similarly, Larvitar should stay since he has finally started taking his training seriously as well. While she would prefer for to not part Sylveon from Pikachu, she does have to be fair and Sylveon has been on her team for much longer than anyone else so with a heavy heart, she hit Sylveon's picture.

As she felt her fairy types Pokeball transport away off her belt, she walked over towards the Pokeball containing her new Pokémon. Picking up the Pokeball, she could sense his great anger towards Sylveon imparticular and while not able to find out why exactly. Before releasing him though, she decided to go over to her bag to get a paralysis heal from her bag, along with a potion or two. After all, it would just be cruel not to help him heal.

Sylveon shook herself as she stepped out of the lab onto the second floor corridor. As customary when visiting the lab, she went through a check-up when her Pokeball arrived and considering the battle she had against Hitmontop, it didn't take long for Daisy to appear and give some proper treatment.

She likes Daisy, the professor's granddaughter is very smart in her own right and is also very kind, although that is far from her concern. She doesn't mind that Serena choose her to go to the lab as its well past her time to visit. What does bother her, is the fact that Serena caught that spinning top. He clearly has issues; anyone could see that, and she would hate for him to hurt one of her friends or even Serena herself. Then again, he seemed to have it out for fairy types, so only Togepi would be in danger if that's the case, and Pikachu wouldn't let him get close to the little Spikeball.

As she let her thoughts about that run wild, she cautiously made her way down the stairs. It will be nice to visit her old friends, like Tangela, Delphox and Kangashkan, along with the others... and she'll get to show them her evolved form as well. So much has changed, it'll be nice to have a catch up.

Before she reached the bottom of the stairs, however, she watched as what could've easily been mistaken as a new Pokémon walked by. It resembled Farfetch'd but if he was going through an emo phase... and needed some glasses for his eyes. Not to mention his stick, instead of being an agile weapon, it was more like a log being dragged along behind him. She looked a little longer before it clicked, this was Farfetch'd. She had to raise a hand up to her mouth to stop from laughing out loud.

Said duck turned around and she was sure, if his eyes weren't already narrowed, he would've narrowed them. He seemed to growl something before turning back around and making his way over to a bathroom door. He stopped in the restroom, one wing on the door.

"Blame!" Farfetch'd yelled, "the ghost!"

He slammed the door shut, leaving Sylveon to just stare with bewilderment. So Gengar is up to her usual tricks, that's good to know. Not wanting to find out what that's been about, she finished her journey down the stairs before making her way to the backdoor that leads to the ranch. Using one of her feelers, she opened the door before stepping out, carefully closing the door behind her.

As she walked on the crisp grassy meadow, a cool breeze blew over her body. Despite being neighbouring regions, Johto is a couple hours earlier than Kanto so it's weird already having the moon high in the sky. While they share a similar climate, being near a mountain meant they were also in the sunlight so the cold night wind, while typical for the time of night, was a big shock for the fairy type.

Not being one to give up so easily, though, she continued her trek across the field. It looked mostly the same, just how she remembered it. Sandslash was still present on top of his rock, Pidgeot was in some sort of aerial battle with Charizard. Turning her attention towards the lake, she saw Kingdra and Dragonair air. As she continued her journey, she signed as some bright golden rings appeared. Despite not needing them to light the place, due to it not being completely dark out. It didn't a genius to work out who the source was gonna be. Sure enough, Gary's Umbreon soon appeared as the source of those lights.

"Hey babe," Umbreon greeted, "nice to see you've finally evolved. Guess you ditched that mouse who refuses to do the same. How about we get to know each other a little better."

Sylveon rolled her eyes, he tried this flirting back when they were both Eevee's but then when he evolved, he claimed she was too little for him. Not that she was ever interested in the self-obsessed eeveelution. Sure, Pikachu can be lacking in humble-ness but that is usually in a joking manner. Not like Umbreon.

"Get lost," Sylveon muttered, as she tried to walk away but he was persistent.

"Okay, so your still with that little mouse. Doesn't mean he has to know," Umbreon replied, as he walked up to her side, "haven't you ever danced with the devil under the pale moonlight?"

"You want to dance in the moonlight?" Sylveon asked, receiving a smirk from the dark type in response.

She smirked back before quickly powering up a Moonblast and launching it into Umbreon's face. Not waiting for the result, Sylveon just walked off, if Gary's Umbreon knows what's good for him, he'll leave her alone. She already had enough with Hitmontop earlier and is not in the mood to deal with him.

It didn't take long before Sylveon noticed her friends of Delphox, Tangela and Kangashkan stood around chatting. They seemed to stop in their tracks as the fairy type approached them. While this did make her a little self-conscious, she knew it was likely just them being surprised at seeing her and her evolution. Soon those surprised faces turned to smiles as they greeted her.

Hitmontop was not happy.

He had just been defeated by that girl, and she even had the nerve to recall that prissy fairy type before he could truly deliver her a justified punishment. While he was never against the idea of having a trainer, why did it have to be some silly female who will probably want him to dress up, gossip and do all that annoying stuff. He is male, he punches stuff, he isn't gay and has no interest in doing those sorts of things.

"Don't be like that, Hitmontop," the blonde female spoke, as she kneeled next to him, "I wouldn't want you to do anything you're not interested in. I have plenty of male Pokémon and I've never had any of them dress up."

Wait, did she just read his mind or something? The way she spoke, it was like she knew exactly what he was thinking. Either way, as long as he doesn't have to dress up like she said and as long as he gets to punch that prissy fairy in the face a few times.

"Hitmontop, I don't want you to go causing trouble. A lot of my Pokémon, Sylveon included, will be happy to train with you," Serena replied, "but I don't want you to cause her trouble or start anything. We don't pick on each other, we work together. I don't understand your hatred towards fairy types, but I am sure you will like her when you get to know her."

"I know your my trainer now and everything, but I only just met you and its none of your business," Hitmontop sent a direct mental message.

"That's completely fine, we can get to know each other from here on out and if you want to tell me then I will listen," Serena replied, "but as I said, despite that, I don't want you causing trouble for your fellow team members and I'm sure you'll be friends as well."

"Fine," Hitmontop grumbled, "but are you actually understanding me or just getting really lucky guesses?"

"Well yes, Hitmontop," Serena replied, "you see, I'm what you would call a psychic. I have all different abilities but the one I seem to be using the most is mental conversations with my Pokémon."

"So you have powers?" Hitmontop questioned.

"Well, I guess you could say that," Serena replied.

Hitmontop smirked at this piece of information, like before he considered getting a trainer but never gave it much thought. While it's true that he would leave his brothers, he can only see it as a positive. Since that night in the cave, they have hated him so they wouldn't care if he went off. Maybe leaving will actually help him grow up and finally start seeing females as the way he is meant to see them... he has a female trainer and while he would never partake in a human relationship like that, maybe it will help him get his head in order.

"You have brothers, Hitmontop?" Serena replied, "if you'd prefer to stay with them then I'll glad let you go. I only caught you so you wouldn't hurt yourself and we could end the battle. I'd happily let you back if that's what you want."

"Nah, its fine. We aren't the best terms anyway," Hitmontop replied, "just stay out of my head unless I give you permission otherwise... I've got important stuff in there."

"That's fine, Hitmontop," Serena smiled, kneeling down to rub his head, "and I won't force you to do anything you don't want to. Just tell me, and I am sure we will make great friends."

Hitmontop rolled his eyes at the sentiment, he hasn't had friends for a long time, and he doesn't want them now. He has survived this long on his own, especially since his brothers basically outcasted him for something that he isn't. He is only here as a way to escape and start over. A way to get stronger and since his new trainer has powers herself, he is sure she will be able to help him with getting stronger and finally growing up.

"Well it's time to eat, so while I help the others finish setting it up, why don't you meet my other Pokémon who are here," Serena suggested before standing up and walking back over to the other humans.

Not paying much attention to his new trainer once she was out of sight, he turned his attention towards a rather large yellow Pokémon who was approaching with a big bright smile on its face. He thinks it's an Ampharos, but he isn't completely sure on that. Behind it was that floaty thing from earlier who evolved in their battle earlier. Down by the yellow things feet was a dark blue thing, much smaller, with a flame on its back.

Are these meant his new training partners? Sure, the yellow one is big so it could probably make a strong opponent, but that fire thing is hiding behind the yellow one, not battle material and the floaty one didn't stand a chance against him earlier. She was only able to use status conditions and stuff because of that prissy fairy type who also didn't stand a chance, proven by how she was retreated. Sure, his new trainer might've claimed it was to stop him from over doing the battle but that was just an excuse.

"Hello!" the yellow one greeted, "it's nice to meet our new team member! I'm Ampharos, this is Cyndaquil and I believe you already met Jumpluff."

"Heh yeah," Hitmontop growled, "so which of you wants to battle?"

"Now isn't the time for training or practise," the fire thing, identified as Cyndaquil replied, "they have almost finished dinner. We just came to get introduce ourselves."

"The best way to get to know someone is by seeing how they take a punch," Hitmontop snarled, "so are you the only other Pokémon she has? and what happened to that prissy fairy type I faced?"

"Do you mean Sylveon?" the floaty thing, identified as Jumpluff, asked, "it's not nice to call others names like Prissy. She is really nice once you get to know her. And I also wouldn't let Pikachu hear you call her that."

"Sylveon was sent to the place where Serena started her journey, since she can only have six Pokémon on hand at a time," Ampharos replied, "you see, our trainer has many Pokémon and when we aren't on her hand she leaves us there, so we are well taken care off. But as for right now, she still has Larvitar and Murkrow on hand. Larvitar is probably sticking to her side since he is still quite young. And I believe Murkrow was roosting in a tree."

"Are they tough?" Hitmontop asked.

"Well Larvitar hasn't had a battle yet, and only recently started training," Jumpluff replied, "and Murkrow tends to keep herself to herself. But if you want a tough opponent, when you get to the lab you'll not only have many of Serena's team like Beedrill, Kabutops and Gengar but most of Ash's Pokémon would also battle and a few their other friends Pokémon who also use the lab."

"Guess I'll need to wait for that then," Hitmontop grumbled, kicking a small rock.

"Now why don't you tell us a little about yourself," Ampharos replied.

"Well. I'm a dude, I fight, I train, I get stronger," Hitmontop replied, "and I like chicks."

"So what sort of partner would you be interested in?" Ampharos asked.

"A female," Hitmontop replied, quickly.

"Well yes, you already made that perfectly clear," Jumpluff replied, with a sweat drop on her forehead, "but I was asking more in terms of personality. Someone funny, tough, a helper?"

"I dunno," Hitmontop shrugged, "just a chick."

"Female is not a personality trait," Ampharos muttered.

While he was happy as that annoying electric type walked away, along with those other Pokémon, they are all too uptight. Or in case of that fire one, Cyndaquil, she was too silent and timid. None of them would make a good training partner... maybe a good punching bag.

"What do you want?" Hitmontop growled.

"Just thought I'd introduce myself," the owl replied, "Noctowl."

"Your shiny," Hitmontop replied, "you're not a puff, are you?"

"No, I'm not gay," Noctowl replied, "and yourself?"

"I am not gay!" Hitmontop growled, punching the floor for emphasis.

"You really want to believe that," Noctowl replied, "don't you."

"I'm not!" Hitmontop roared.

"Very well, I believe you," Noctowl replied, "but let me give you some advice. I am not gay, but I don't feel the need to establish it every few minutes to everyone within ear shot... those who shout the longest and hardest about something, are usually the ones with the greatest interest in it."

"I'm-" Hitmontop went to replied, on instinct but he stopped himself. Maybe this owl has a point, if he keeps saying that he isn't gay then they might be more likely to think that he is. He has had to be on red alert since that night in the cave with his brother.

"I'll leave you to ponder that for a while," Noctowl replied, "but don't be a stranger... I'm sure we could work well together."

Hitmontop noticed that the shiny owl flew off. Despite not being sure about his actual team members, that owl isn't too bad. He gave some nice advice, actually believes that he doesn't like males. He may not have much in terms of physical strength, but Noctowl seems like the sort of mon he could rely on.

Doctor Namba growled in frustration, slamming the papers down on his desk. How could this be happening; reverse engineering should be simple. Back when they took control over the Silph co, they found designs for a machine that helps Pokémon with evolution. Something about preparing for when stuff like evolutionary stones or other evolutionary items run out but that isn't his concern.

Instead, he has been trying to reverse engineer it so he could do the reverse. While forcing their Pokémon to evolve would be useful, and they have already used it to ensure the base just outside of Mahogany Town is ready for battle, he wants to be able to do the reverse, to turn an evolved Pokémon back into its pre-evolved form. Imagine when the police show up with a heard of Arcanine, only for them to become a litter of Growlithe. It would ensure their victory in any battle.

While the part received from Olivine docks has been useful, he hasn't had time or chance to properly test his device. All the information says it should be ready for use but the Gyarados he tested it on from the lake of rage didn't seem affected. He would love to re-run the test and figure out what happened but that hasn't been possible. The police have been all over the place since that first test and they can't afford to alert them about the current on goings. They are based in an abandoned warehouse and don't have the resources or funding like what they had when the boss was around.

Before he could ponder anything else, the door flew open and in walked Petrel who looked angry. Not surprising, this has been one of the lowest outlets and Archer has been on their tails for shutting it down. He only recently recalled Biff, Cassidy, Jessie and James from this factory.

"Tell me you've got that little project working!" Petrel yelled, "Archer just gave us two weeks to close up shop! He thinks this weapon your after is a waste of money, and he has already mentioned giving up this location to lure that serial killer out into the open!"

"It's almost ready," the doctor replied, "I just need to run another test."

"And how do you plan on doing that?!" Petrel yelled, "even the slight thing out of place and the Grumpig's will swarm on us like a Venomoth to a flame!"

Not a moment later, Petrel stormed back out, yelling some more but Doctor Namba wasn't paying attention. Just as before, Archer gives it to Petrel in the neck and so he gets it just the same. Giovanni never let his opinion on one outlet affect how he handled another. He also had his own lab and practically unlimited funding.

Realising that his passion project, the thing he has dedicated himself too for the last few months is on the verge of being shut down, Doctor Namba grabbed his stack of papers before running out of the room. Petrel was right, he can't do anything with the cops swarming around. So he will need to get rid of them.

It didn't take him long to reach his device where his two assistance scientists were waiting. They only joined after the move to Johto but have proven to be useful with both the brains to help in making adjustments and were just as ruthless in execution. That is what he needs them for now.

"Attila! Hun!" he shouted.

Both of the men stopped in their tracks, they were clearly doing some sort of tinkering with the device they brought. Some sort of crystal prison device. They originally joined so that when Team Rocket returned to their former glory, they would have the funding to complete this project of theirs.

"Sir!" they replied.

"I've got a job for you two," Doctor Namba replied, "tell me, what was that none sense you uttered about Raikou?"

"It's been reported to frequent Mount Mortar and when its believed to pass there, thunderstorms have been present," Hun explained, "there are actually those same storms present right now. We thought you'd be interested since its power could be useful in Team Rocket's rise to power."

"Well we don't want to deal with containing that thing, at least until the boss has returned," Doctor Namba replied, "but it would make a nice distraction. Pack your things, I am sending you after Raikou. Don't catch it, just cause enough noise to drag those police away so I can finish the tests... understand?"

"Yes sir," the two replied.

Doctor Namba watched as his two underlings marched away. While he hates to use other scientists for field work like this, work which'll likely result in them being arrest or worst, desperate times call for desperate measures. When Giovanni returns, they will be able to return to their former glory but until then, this will have to do.

Thanks for reading... Please Favourite, Follow and Review. Also, feel free to ask any questions through PM, I will answer them all, although don't expect too big of spoilers. Don't forget to vote in the polls. I really appreciate the support. Thank you and see ya next time...