Disclaimer: I own Pokémon. Yup, that's right. I was mastermind behind Pikachu and its legion of money-sucking, brainwashing monsters all along. And all this time you thought it was Nintendo. Ha! I really had you fooled. Ha ha ha ha !.... *raises pinkie up to mouth Dr Evil-style*

*Everyone stares darkly at Glitcher*

o.O ; Okay, maybe I don't own all the characters in this story. Just Cody and co. are mine. That's it. No, really, that's it. Hey, quit starin', buddy! I said get outta here!..... *snip*

Setting: A quarter of the way through the Johto League. Ash has just earned the Hive Badge from Bugsy in Azalea Town (which is, as a matter of fact, the last episode I saw before I started writing this) and is on his way to Goldenrod City. Thus, our story begins..........

"Chikorita! Tackle attack!" Ash commanded.

"Chiko!"

The animal-seed leaped forwards, and with one mighty head charge, it struck the final blow square between the eyes of the Sweet Scent-entranced Wooper. The dazed fish wobbled back and forth for a moment, then ultimately toppled to the ground, unconscious. Gasping at her defeat, the rival trainer called back her pokémon into its pokéball and comforted it with a heartening, "Never mind. You did great," for its effort. As always, Ash was enthralled by his victory and gave Chikorita a big bear hug, which the stumpy off-yellow pokémon adored. Then, in a gross display of bad sports-'mon-ship, it stuck its tongue out at Pikachu, standing at its master's feet. The little, yellow mouse didn't mind that much. It knew that Chikorita was always a little over-reactive when it came to its relationship with Ash.

"That was great, Chikorita!" Ash chuckled. "You're really improving on your aim."

"Chiko Chiko!" it cried happily, snuggling into Ash's chest.

Brock and Misty, who had been watching the whole fight from a nearby tree, stood up and congratulated Ash. Misty was amazed at the winning streak Ash had been on lately. This was his third consecutive victory this week. And it was only Tuesday morning! Actually, it was technically four wins, but Ash didn't like to include the bout he and his friends had with Team Rocket. They were more of a nuisance than a challenge, and Ash made sure that he and Pikachu sent them "blasting off again" clear across the horizon. He won't be seeing them again anytime soon.

The rival trainer stepped forwards and formally offered her hand to Ash, who accepted and shook it. "That was quite a fight," the girl said admirably. "And that's a really strong pokémon you have."

"Yeah, I guess Chikorita is pretty good at using its head," Ash replied with a cool air, recalling his pokémon back into its pokéball.

"That's something you can take after," teased Misty.

Ash fired her a look of disdain, but didn't raise his voice to her - not in front of someone whom he was trying to impress with his immense skills as a pokémon trainer.

The girl sighed, "I wish my Wooper was that strong."

At those words, Brock immediately sprang to the girl's distress and clasped her hands. "Don't worry about it, my fair lady. Where Wooper lacks in physical strength, it sure is strong of heart," he said passionately. "Just like the strength of my heart for -"

He was cut off by an all-too-familiar stinging pain in his ear, and he found himself being dragged away by an annoyed-looking Misty.

"The only thing strong around here is my will to keep you under control!" she quipped.

Just as Ash was about to bid farewell to the trainer, a dull rumbling could be heard from the clouds and the sky quickly darkened.

"Uh oh," he said worriedly, "it looks like it's going to......" Suddenly an apocalyptic monsoon came pouring down, drenching everyone in their clothes. "...... rain," he finished on a duller note.

Pikachu dived up Ash's jacket to take shelter and Togepi closed its quills in fear. The boom of a thunderclap chilled everyone to the bone, and the mist rolled in just as fast as the rain, blanketing the surroundings in a cold dampness.

"Ah! I'm soaking wet!" cried the trainer in a shrill voice. "I'm outta here!"

The girl took off into the mist before Ash had a chance to put in another word, because what he really wanted was to ask her for directions to a pokémon centre of some sort. But it was too late. The trainer had vanished and it would be impossible to find her again in this storm.

"C'mon," Misty raised her voice above the rain, "we have to see if we can find shelter!"

The trio of trainers took out their flashlights and wandered aimlessly through the mist in search of a place to stay. It seemed hopeless. This fog was like pea soup, and the beams from their flashlights almost seemed to stop dead just a few feet in front of them. They often tried calling out for help, but the loud splatter of rain was all they got in reply.

Misty, who was in the lead, continued forwards a few paces, then her heart stopped as she felt the ground suddenly give way from underneath her. She screamed and went sliding along with Togepi down a muddy hillside.

"Misty!" Ash cried.

"Pikachupi!"

Ash, Brock and Pikachu blindly darted forwards into the murkiness, and they too went tumbling down the hillside behind their companion. Further ahead, Misty was spinning around in circles as she slid down the wet slope. She tried as best as she could to cover Togepi and herself from the mud and rain spraying in their eyes. It was a nightmare. The slope went on for ages, and it was impossible to tell when it was going to end. Suddenly Misty felt herself careening through some thick bushes, and she landed heavily on the other side, dizzy and shaking. But thankfully she was in one piece, and her horrifying journey had finally come to a halt. She tried to stand up, but a sharp pain in her upper right arm caused her to wince and fall back down again. It was just then that she realised Togepi wasn't with her anymore! She glanced around frantically and spotted, despite her blurred vision, the baby egg crying its eyes out in the mud a few feet away.

"T-Togepi!" Misty cried weakly.

She attempted to reach out for it, but paused as a shadowy figure emerged from the rain and approached Togepi from behind. It stopped and just stood there for a moment, staring down at Misty - its face cloaked by a hood.

"A-Ash? Brock?"

Misty blacked out......

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When Misty opened her eyes, she found herself lying in bed. She was still feeling slightly dizzy and her vision was a bit blurry, but that cleared up quickly, and the figures of Ash and Brock leaning over her came into view, with Pikachu sitting on Ash's shoulder.

Misty sat up with a jerk. "Ash! Brock! What's going on? Where am I?"

"Take it easy, Misty," Brock said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "You took quite a fall and you injured your arm."

Misty noticed the bandage around her right arm and rubbed it gingerly. She was also completely clean of the mud that covered her when she fell. (Who cleaned her?) Misty looked at them, confused. "B-but, where am I?" she asked again.

Before either of them could answer, a door in the corner of the room creaked open, and in stepped a striking young man holding a pot of soup. Misty's heart skipped a beat. He was quite an attractive teenager - about fourteen or fifteen years old. He had blue eyes; short, light brown hair combed evenly to each side of his head; and the cutest looks that would have put the baby-faced James to shame.

"Good morning, Misty. How did you sleep?" he said with a soft smile, placing the soup on her bedside table.

Misty found herself unable to speak at first. "I-I slept fine, thank you," she stammered slightly. "Who are you?"

The boy sat down on the side of the bed. "My name's Cody, Cody Fawnheart. And you and your friends are on the old Motherwell farm."

"Motherwell farm?" Misty iterated.

"Mmm-hmm. You, Ash and Brock fell down the side of the hill on the North section and landed in our farmland. It's a good thing the rain softened up the ground a bit. That hill's really steep and you could have ended up injuring more than just your arm."

Brock continued, "Cody found you and brought you back here where he treated your injuries. He's a really nice guy."

Misty looked at him, perplexed. "And you two came out without a scratch?"

Ash laughed, "Well maybe it's because we're not a scrawny as you!"

"Scrawny?!" Misty shrieked, threatening to whack him with her pillow. But the pain in her arm returned, forcing her to control herself.

"You're still weak, Misty," warned Cody. "Here, eat this soup. It'll make you feel better."

Misty accepted the soup he handed her and cautiously took a sip. It tasted surprisingly good. She took a heartier spoonful and soon she couldn't stop herself.

Cody chuckled, "It's nice to meet a girl with an appetite. Oh by the way, I have something here that I think belongs to you." He reached into a basket beside the bed, which Misty hadn't noticed earlier, and pulled out a perky little egg, reaching for its mother.

"Togepi!" Misty squealed joyfully, plucking her baby pokémon from Cody's hands. She embraced it tightly. "Oh, are you alright?"

"Toge-frrrrriiiiiii!" chirped Togepi happily.

Ash, Brock and Pikachu exchanged smiles, content that their friend was safe and happy.

Cody stood up. "Come on, I want to introduce you to the rest of the family. Then maybe I can offer you all some real grub."

The thought of a freshly made farm feast had Ash veritably drooling. When it came to food, no force on Earth could stop him from hoovering it into his stomach. Pikachu showed the same eagerness to stuff itself, and was practically bouncing up and down on Ash's shoulder with excitement.

Cody laughed and tickled Pikachu's chin (whom Misty found to be surprisingly friendly and acquiescent towards him), then turned and faced Misty. "Can you stand?"

Misty knew she had to show some signs of strength in front of such a charming and handsome host. Despite still feeling a little weak, she made an attempt to rise to her feet. "Yeah, I'm okay," she said confidently. "Lead the way."

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"I have to say, this is the best meal I've had in a long time," said Misty with genuine amazement. "Thank you very much, Mrs Fawnheart."

"Please, Misty, call me Grace," the old lady smiled at her.

They had a feast of steaks, potatoes, coleslaw salads, various breads, gravy.... If you could name it, you could eat it. Pikachu and Togepi were there too at the foot of the table along with several other pokémon, happily munching down a mixture of food scraps and pokémon chow Brock had prepared. The trio of trainers had been formally introduced to Cody's family - his parents, Mr and Mrs Fawnheart, and his big brother, Simon. Simon was quite a bulky character with a dark brown crew cut, and wore trademark farmer overalls. He wasn't quite as attractive as Cody, or at least Misty thought not. (Why was she thinking about that anyway?) But he had an unusual interest in Ash's Pikachu.

"That's a right fine Pikachu you got there, Ash," he said in a voice much deeper than Cody's. "Where'd you get it from?"

"Oh, it was Professor Oak who gave Pikachu to me in Pallet Town. That was when I was first starting out as a pokémon trainer. Pikachu was my first pokémon, and since then we've stuck to each other like superglue," he chuckled. "Pikachu's one of a kind."

The parents seemed surprisingly old for Simon and Cody. They could easily have been mistaken for their grandparents. But Mr and Mrs Fawnheart were nonetheless very nice people, and the latter had gladly cooked up a wonderful late lunch for their group of guests.

"So tell me," said Mr Fawnheart, addressing no particular trainer, "what're you youngin's doing on our territory?"

"George!" gasped Mrs Fawnheart, appalled.

"I'm just asking," the other said defensively.

"That's all right," said Ash calmly. "I'm travelling the Johto League with my friends here, but then we got caught in the storm this morning. We walked around for quite a while and, well, we fell down this slope and ended up on your farm."

"Ah, so you're one of those earn-as-many-badges-as-you-can pokémon trainers, right?" Mr Fawnheart crowed slyly, pointing his fork at Ash.

"That's right. And soon I'm going to be the world's greatest pokémon master!"

"Pi-Pikachu!" cheered Pikachu from below.

Misty rolled her eyes. She'd heard the same line a million times like a broken recording. Still, she had to admire Ash's determination. And his bragging always had a way of raising her spirits during bad times.

Mr Fawnheart looked up at his wife, who was busy serving another helping of peas. "Say Grace, d'you think you can prepare dinner a little later tonight? I have to make preparations for the next shipment for Mr Giovanni."

Brock and Misty froze at that name and Ash spluttered on the milk he was drinking. After the bout of choking coughs, Ash stared at Mr Fawnheart, wide-eyed. "Giovanni?! You mean the boss of Team Rocket?"

"Aye, that's right," replied Mr Fawnheart. "He's our boss too."

"You mean you work for Team Rocket?!"

Mr Fawnheart laughed out loud, "Work for Team Rocket? I like that. I always thought slave labour was the better term for it."

Brock raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Mr Fawnheart swallowed a very large chunk of meat. "Ach, we're Giovanni's slaves. We make food for his agriculture division - one of the many sections in his vast moneymaking empire. Simon, go long with the roast."

"S-Slaves?" uttered Misty.

Ash looked at Cody and said in a rather aggressive tone, "But I thought the whole purpose of Team Rocket was to get their filthy hands on as many pokémon as they can."

"That's true," admitted Cody, "and in a way that applies to us as well. This is mainly a Miltank farm, you see, and we breed them for Giovanni's stock, along with milking them and growing all kinds of crops. Money doesn't come from just capturing rare pokémon, you know."

The three trainers exchanged glances of mixed perplexity and surprise. This was a side of Giovanni they had never seen before. Was this humble family part of the same Team Rocket that's been hounding them all these years? It was hard to believe.

"But why'd you say you guys are slaves?" Ash asked Mr Fawnheart.

The old farmer's wrinkled looks were soiled by an uncomfortable frown and he fell silent, staring down at his food absently. Nobody spoke for a moment, and in the silence Ash suddenly became aware of a faint growling coming from the foot of the table. He looked down and realised that Pikachu and Chikorita were arguing over who gets the last morsel of food, with Bulbasaur acting as referee. Chikorita tried to sway Bulbasaur in its favour with the fact that they were both animal-plants, but Pikachu insisted that it should have the last bite, since Bulbasaur and Pikachu were closest friends. In the end, Bulbasaur resolved the matter by eating the morsel itself, consequently causing Pikachu and Chikorita to collapse in disbelief.

Cody cleared his throat and nodded towards Misty's bandage. "That wound will take a few days to heal. You and your friends are welcome to stay with us as long as you want until you feel better," he offered amicably. "I'm sure all this travelling around and battling must be exhausting."

Ash intervened, "Oh no, we don't want to be any trouble. We were just -"

Misty quickly stamped on his foot under the table, getting him to shut up with only a painful squeak. "Oh, thank you very much, Cody," she grinned. "We'd love to get to know you... I mean, your farm a lot more."

Cody smiled. "That's great. I'd love to show you guys around. There's a lot of cool stuff around here I think you might like." He swallowed the last piece of his steak and wiped his mouth. "Speaking of which, why don't I give you a tour of the farm?"

Before Ash could speak again, Misty cut him off and stood up. "Thanks, I'd really like that. We're all done eating anyway," she said, ignoring the half-slice of steak still left on Ash's plate.

But Mr Fawnheart shook his head disapprovingly. "I dunno, Cody. Are you sure you want to do that?"

"George, be nice!" scolded Mrs Fawnheart, then turned to the guests with a soft smile. "You kids run along, we'll clean up here. Dinner's at eight o' clock. Don't forget."

"We won't, mom," Cody said as he got up. He turned on his heel and started towards the hall, but glanced back and beckoned towards Togepi and Pikachu. "Bring your pokémon too. I'm sure they'd like to come along." He led the trainers into the hall and picked a green, oil-stained cap off a hat rack beside the door. "Grab a cap that fits. We may not be in for a drink for a while. It helps to keep you cool."

Ash grinned. "But I already am cool."

Misty jabbed him in the side.

Cody stepped outside into the sunlight (which came as a surprise to the trainers considering the storm this morning) and onto the white wooden porch. He slipped on a pair of olive green rubber boots that were propped up beside the door. "If you don't want to get your shoes dirty," he said, sticking his head back inside, "grab a pair of rubber boots. I'm not letting you go barefoot. That's how you get ringworm."

Ash shuddered at the thought.

As soon as everyone was ready and they were about to set off, Simon came running out onto the porch and glanced around until he found Cody. "Oh, y'er still here," he said in relief. "I was afraid you guys had already left. I think I'll come along too. I still have - uh - chores to do in the barn."

Cody gave him a queer look at first, then just shrugged and nodded in agreement. But Pikachu sensed an odd uneasiness in the air; and as everyone made tracks into the field, the yellow mouse followed along behind them, having the strangest feeling.

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The farmland was something the trainers couldn't help but gasp at. It was huge! The farm was a semicircle of grassy fields and golden wheat pastures at the base of a high slope (the same one Misty fell down). The farmhouse itself was a little higher up than the rest of the area, placed on an elevated portion of land at the centre of the semi-circle's diametre, allowing for an ideal view of the whole farm. The farmland looked like it reached up to a mile in radius, where the trainers could barely make out the metallic glitter of a fence on the periphery. A short distance in front of them, a huge structure, which they guessed was the barn, arose near a large pond that stretched all the way back to the house. They noticed a trio of Politoeds sitting upon lilies on the water's surface, staring idly out into space and each croaking in turn.

"Bud..."

"...Wei..."

"...Ser."

And so on.

"You'll have to excuse my father back there, Misty," said Cody as he walked alongside her down the dirt path. "We don't usually get a lot of visitors around here."

Misty cocked her head to one side inquisitively. "Oh? Why's that?"

"Well," he said shortly, "we're not allowed."

"You're not allowed to have visitors?"

"Giovanni's rules. No one except members of Team Rocket are allowed inside this farm. In fact, outsiders aren't even supposed to know about this place. But enough about that for now. Tell me a little about yourself, Misty."

Misty blushed a bit. "Oh, there's not much to tell. I used to be a trainer in the Cerulean City gym in Kanto, but I've been doing some travelling around lately ever since someone trashed my bike," she said scornfully, giving Ash the evil eye. "So I'm following him around until he pays me back for it."

Ash frowned, annoyed. "When are you going to get over that dumb bike? I told you I'd pay you back for it someday."

"You're the dumb one!" snapped Misty. "It's been two years since you wrecked my bike and you still haven't done anything about it! If you'd have just paid me back, I wouldn't have to follow you around." Misty didn't know why, but she winced at the sound of her own voice when she said that. She brushed the feeling aside in frustration and focused on Cody again. "Anyway, I still train with pokémon regularly. My favourite type is water pokémon. They're just so cute! I use them all the time."

"Water pokémon?" said Cody, a broad smile appearing on his face. "Hey, that reminds me....." He stopped and turned towards the pond, pursing his lips. He must have whistled, because almost instantly a jet of water shot up from the pond, and a sleek blue figure landed at arm's length away from him. Its shiny, wet body glistened in the sunlight, and it flicked its mermaid tail around elegantly to brush off the trickles of water. It immediately had Pikachu's attention.

Misty's eyes lit up. "Ooh! A Vaporeon!" she squealed in delight.

"Vaporeon?" Ash pulled out Dexter, his pokédex, to inquire on this rare and unusual pokémon, such as he did with almost every other pokémon he encountered. The screen of the bright red encyclopaedia flickered to life, displaying an exact replica of the ruff-wearing water fox grooming itself before him.

"Vaporeon, the bubble jet pokémon," Dexter narrated in its distorted nasal voice. "When its fins begin to vibrate, it is a sign that rain will come in a few hours." (A/N: This information is taken from Pokémon Gold.)

Cody knelt down and scratched the Vaporeon behind the ears. "Misty, I'd like you to meet Trixie, my pet Vaporeon."

The blue fox trotted up to Misty and rubbed its silky head against her leg. Misty was almost uncontrollably giddy inside. She'd never seen anything so adorable since Togepi. Water pokémon always had a way of getting her excited. She knelt down as well and stroked Trixie's head. It purred at her touch.

"I-It's a girl!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah," smiled Cody, "I like girls."

This made Misty blush again.

Brock stepped up and inspected Trixie with admiration. He had great interest in the arts of pokémon care. "Wow! You've raised this Vaporeon really well. Just look at how shiny its skin is! And check out that gorgeous tail! You must feed it a lot of vitamins," he harped on.

"Trixie's a great help around the farm," the farmer said proudly. "She can tell whenever its going to rain better than any weather report, so we can make preparations in advance. Countless crops have been saved thanks to her."

"She's beautiful," said Misty dreamily. "I've never met another guy who likes water pokémon before."

"Thanks," Cody replied gently. "I've never met another girl like you before."

They didn't seem to realise it, but they were gazing into each other's eyes for a long time, until Ash coughed loudly and snapped them back to reality.

Cody got serious. "Anyway, what are we hanging around here for? Let's go check out the barn."

"Yes... let's," Misty agreed, her voice flushed and distant.

As they walked off together with Brock, Simon and Trixie following close by, Ash just stood there for a moment, watching Cody with a dark feeling of contempt. Sure he was kind and accepting, but Ash didn't like the way he was muscling in on his friends. Especially Misty....

Ash shook his head vigorously. What was he so afraid of? If Misty wants to get to know this guy, that's her choice, he thought.

But Ash couldn't help but feel 'redundant', like he was a third wheel all of a sudden. He sighed and supposed that what he was really afraid of was being... forgotten.

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The door of the barn creaked open on its rusty hinges and rattled loudly as it hit the doorstop on the beams, spilling daylight into the stuffy darkness inside. The golden dust visibly drifted aimlessly across the room, carrying a foul, musty odour, which the trainers believed to have spawned from the bales of hay and blackened dung scattered around the gigantic interior. They stepped inside and gazed around in silent awe at the towers of pitchfork-stabbed hay bales and rows upon rows of thin storage planks on the walls, stretching all the way up to the high ceiling.

Trixie strode ahead of then, gracefully waving her silky tail back and forth like a fur stole. She stopped a few metres ahead in a large alcove and sat down beside a dusty power box. Cody walked up to it, flipped a few switches, and suddenly a huge and noisy machine lit up, startling the trainers and their pokémon.

Cody motioned to the large machine and patted it proudly. "Actually, today is pretty special. We've just finished remodelling this, and you guys showed up just in time to witness its first test run."

Everyone stared in wonder at the large system of pipes and hoses all wrapped around a fair-sized milk tank. It resembled one of those Daleks from Dr Who (even the twin counters on the tank could be pictured as its eyes), but it looked bigger and mechanically ominous.

"The Milk Master v. 2.0, provided by Fawnhearts Enterprises, limited," Cody stated jokingly.

"That's great. Uh... what does it do?" Brock asked, giving the thing a quick once over on foot.

Simon filled in the details. "It's an automated milking machine. This baby will do in five minutes what it takes us two hours. All y'have to do is hook up a Miltank's udder to the suction cup down there, then this machine does the milking by itself and store what it collects in the tank."

Brock and Misty were still admiring the huge contraption. But Ash just gave it passing glance and turned away.

Simon stepped outside the barn via the side door and walked along the thin area of metallic fencing connecting the barn to the corral. He reached the opposite end and opened the gate. "Sixty! Eighty! C'meer!"

"Now what are you yelling at, Simon?" Ash shouted outside.

"I've got to call 'em somehow," he answered, shrugging.

"Who's 'them'?" came the obvious question.

But Simon was too busy scanning the corral to answer. He moved around the gate, took a few more steps and yelled, "Y'er gonna make me come after you in this soup, aren't you, yah bitches?"

Misty frowned. Vulgar language was also sternly frowned upon in her hometown gym, but you had to tolerate the locals. After a moment, two Miltanks walked in from the corral, closely followed by Simon. They were five feet at the shoulder - one was pink with white spots and the other was creamy white with pink spots. Both of them were wearing some sort of strange, black hood around their heads.

Ash whipped out Dexter again, and it displayed a picture of a standard Miltank pokémon, almost identical to the pair standing in front of him.

Dexter recited, "Miltank, the cow pokémon. It's milk is packed with nutrition, making it the ultimate beverage for the sick or weary."

They moved like dinosaurs, slowly lumbering along, swinging their tails and moving their snouts. Pikachu instantly fell in love with these giant cuddly toys. Even Togepi was clapping its hands (paws? flippers?) with joy.

"Pi, Pikapi! Pi-Pi-Pikachu! Pika-Pi! Pikachu!" It was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. The cows stopped at the doorway, raising and ducking their heads in fear.

"Will whoever is scaring them settle down?" Simon called loudly over the Miltanks' backs. "These pokémon freak mighty easily."

Pikachu stopped moving and crossed its paws, standing there sulking. Cody lent a hand and helped Simon lead the Miltanks onto a platform at the base of the Milk Master. Trixie was there to help keep the cows calm, whom they had developed an affection and respect for. She was, after all, the pet of 'the boss'. Cody followed the pokémon up, then locked their necks in place.

"That looks uncomfortable," Misty commented, a little concerned.

"Nah, they're fine," said Cody casually. "This is a manger. It's just to keep them propped up for the surprise."

Misty felt like asking, "What do you mean, 'surprise'?", but decided to wait and see instead.

Simon walked up to the front of the cows and ordered, "Sixty! Eighty! Freeze!"

The two cows stopped dead. Simon grabbed a pair of suction cups hanging on the tank, each of which had six little tubes sticking out of it, and handed it to his little brother. Cody knelt down and attached the cups to the Miltanks' udders, then stepped off the platform and dusted his hands. He walked over to the Milk Master tank and put his hand on a button, but kept an eye on Misty to watch her reaction.

"Surprise! Surprise!" Cody sang. "This one's for all the marbles." He hit the button, and the Miltanks suddenly began screaming in pain as the machine hummed to action.

"What are you doing to them?" Misty cried, moving to help the animals. She hadn't gone two feet before they stopped. "What happened?"

Cody chuckled, "The Hypnodrone kicked in - gave them some painkillers straight into the heart." The Miltanks just stood there, looking dumbly at each other. "It's running at thirty pounds per square inch - enough to milk a cow dry in five minutes."

"Hypnodrone?" Brock asked. He popped his head out from behind the Milk Master, from where he had been checking some of its specs.

A long silence ensued. Simon mouthed, "No," to his brother, but Cody ignored him and decided to show them anyway. He brushed away the hair on the back of his head slightly, showing the trainers a small implant bearing two tiny lights, one glowing green and the other a dull yellow.

"This is Giovanni's new pokénetic control measures. Everyone and every pokémon on this farm has to have one of these Hypnodrones implanted in them. We all get signals from the periphery fence when necessary. If they register, the yellow light flicks on and it controls your actions. You're forced to do whatever Giovanni or his subordinates tell you to do, whether you like it or not. That's why pop said we were slaves. The only thing you can still control is your speech. But when the green light's on, you're as free as a bird. I really hate the idea, but my parents think it's better than having our farm overrun by Team Rocket officials and having our lives and pokémon stolen from us. I think it's worse. You have no control, and you still get to lead a normal life."

Misty was shocked. "You're kidding, right?"

Cody shook his head sincerely.

"That's horrible!" she exclaimed. "Can't you do anything about it?"

"Sadly, no. We've all had these things for years and we've never found a way of getting around them," he sighed.

Ash turned, giving Cody the evil eye. "Whatever. Why hasn't Giovanni got you puppets after our pokémon?" he said aggressively, expecting to have to flee.

"He could either not know, not care, or think you're stuck with us since you haven't left yet." He said it in such a way that Ash wasn't sure whether he was lying or not.

"Does it hurt?" Misty asked meekly, unsure if it was a fit question.

"No, it doesn't. The way it went in though, it sure hurt. Hurt like hell."

On the other side of the Milk Master, Brock was observing the milking process with some concern. "Hey guys, what's up with the Milk Master?" he asked. The machine had given a soft groan.

Simon looked at it worriedly. "Hmmm, the release valve should have kicked in by now...."

Suddenly the ends punched out!

"Look out!" Cody yelled, raising his arms. He pushed Misty out of the way before the pressure hose went flying wildly over their heads, blasting milk into the wall. It splattered everything, then Simon quickly hit the switch and the Milk Master powered down, gradually reducing the creamy-white geyser to a mere trickle. Everyone was partially soaked in milk.

After the ruckus had died, Misty dizzily opened her eyes and realised that Cody was lying on top of her, squishing Togepi in between them, but not hurting the egg in any way. His hands were still around her waist from where he pushed her, and their faces were only inches apart. She must have accidentally mussed his hair, or it was dishevelled by the fall, because he had a lock of light brown strands tumbling over his deep blue eyes.

"Are you all right?" he asked softly.

Misty was momentarily stunned. "You... you saved me."

Ash immediately charged in before he let the conversation go any further. He pushed Cody aside and helped Misty to her feet, but unable to do it without being a little rough.

"Ow! Ash, watch it!" She clutched her wounded arm from where he pulled her and glared at him scornfully.

Ash was about to retort, but he didn't know what to say. He could only turn and fire an icy stare at the so-called friendly farmer boy who pinned Misty to the floor. Who did he think he was advancing on her like that? He had no right to. If anyone should have saved her, it should have been Ash himself, not Cody. Never Cody.

Pikachu was completely drenched in milk. It had been closer to the blast area, and had received multiple showers from the out-of-control pressure hose. Trixie shakily lurched over to where Pikachu was, her beautiful looks ruined by the blast of milk, and shook herself off, splattering the mouse even more. Pikachu shook itself off too, spreading the milk back over to Trixie. The blue fox got feisty and flicked the milk back to Pikachu, and soon it turned out to be a contest between who could soak the other most in milk. It ended with both pokémon collapsing to the floor in laughter.

Elsewhere in the room, Simon wiped the milk off his face and stepped closer to the Milk Master, inspecting the gaping hole where the ends blew off. He punched at the tank with his left, making a deep dent in the side. He hardly noticed contact.

"Son of a bitch! Damn pressure valve stuck! I knew this hunk'a scrap would never hold together," he snarled angrily.

"Take it easy, Simon," Cody said. "We can have it fixed in a few hours. I'm sure pop wouldn't mind taking a break from the harvest to help us out."

"Ah, leave it!" Simon dismissed him with a wave of the hand. He was very frustrated for such a small mechanical failure. "I'll fix it up. You'd better get down to the corral and take care of the you-know-what."

Cody fell silent, then just nodded gravely.

Brock stepped up, dripping wet. "Uh... Cody, do you think you can give us a hand here? We're kinda soaked."

Cody's attention snapped. "Oh yeah, right. I think we should go and rinse off in the sprinklers up at the house."

Brock chuckled, "Okay. Fancy a race, Ash?"

"Huh? Er... sure, why not?" he replied, but not without giving Cody one last look of distrust.

They faced the barn door and knelt down into starting position. Then on the count of three, they raced outside in a mad dash up the hill towards the farmhouse. Pikachu looked at Trixie and asked if she was up for it too. Never one to back down without a fight, Trixie accepted the challenge. They crouched down at the door, and Pikachu counted to three.

"Pi... ka... CHU!"

And they were off! In hot pursuit of the two trainers who were already halfway up to the house. Cody led Misty out of the barn, leaving Simon to take care of the Milk Master.

"Think you can beat me in a race?" he smirked.

Misty grinned. Given the proper motivation, her long legs made her faster than Ash or Brock. "I don't know, only if.... I get a head start!" she laughed, taking off to the house.

Cody walked on, giving her a big head start. She had just reached halfway when Cody raced after her. He ran like an Olympic sprinter, moving swiftly and fluidly. He ripped passed her like Speedy Gonzales and tagged the house beside Ash, Brock and Pikachu, who were standing there gaping at this human cheetah. He stood there triumphantly, waving his hands over his head, and wiped away a fake tear. "I'd like to thank my coach, my parents for their undying support, and my brother for something to run away from."

Misty eventually reached the house with Togepi, puffing and panting. "Where on Earth did you ever learn to run like that?"

"Oh, when you have to catch a Miltank here on your feet, it's takes a real fast athlete to do it," he bragged casually. He placed his green cap by the door, which the others did too, and leaned down to turn on a tap. Water shot up from several corners of the luscious green grass. "Sprinklers, Misty. Misty, meet the sprinklers," he jokingly introduced the two. Brock, Pikachu and Trixie immediately jumped in with childlike vigour, and Ash eventually followed after them.

"Watch out for the Southernmost ones!" Cody called. "I wouldn't be surprised if they broke down too."

Misty sighed to herself. Days like these never ended. Togepi was getting restless at all this excitement, but she stroked it tenderly and it gradually started to doze off. She thought it would be best to leave it in its basket inside the house to rest for a while. When she returned outside, she sat on the porch fence beside Cody and watched her companions dance in the jets of water. It was a beautiful afternoon. The sun felt warm against her skin, and she had never stopped enjoying herself on this old Motherwell farm. The distant chugging sound of a tractor faded in and out as Mr Fawnheart drove up and down the wheat fields behind the barn. She was kind of glad she got caught by the storm this morning and fell down that steep hill, otherwise she might never have known about this place. Or Cody.

Cody. She turned her head enough to catch him out of the corner of her eye and saw him staring at the horizon. He had a passive smile on the corner of his mouth, one that Misty supposed came from his good-humoured nature. His brown hair swayed lightly in the faint breeze, brushing the skin on his cheeks and occasionally flicking in front of his eyes.

Misty gulped. Suddenly the silence felt so awkward to her. She needed a conversation fast. It was then that she remembered the implant on the back of Cody's head when he showed her in the barn. He called it a Hypnodrone, and told her it reduced him and his family to slaves. It sounded awful, but she just had to know more about it. Maybe she could help console him on the matter. Besides, the silence was killing her.

"So..." she began, trying as hard as she could not to sound nervous, "when did you get that implant on your head?"

Cody's smile fell and he stared down at the ground. Misty panicked and realised that maybe this wasn't such a great idea.

"I-If you don't want to talk about it..." she quickly followed up.

"No, no, it's a fair question," Cody interrupted her. "I guess I owe you the whole story." He shuffled into a more comfortable position on the wooden fence and Misty hunched her shoulders forwards. "I've had this Hypnodrone ever since I was a little kid. That was back when Giovanni started going megalomaniac and dedicated himself to becoming the world's most powerful man. He ordered his scientists to come up with a device that would grant him unconditional control over whoever he had to force into his organisation. They worked on the project for years, and eventually they managed to create an implant that would control the host to obey Giovanni's orders. They used an army of Hypnos to help build the motor-controlling circuits, hence the name Hypnodrone.

"Once the device was complete, Giovanni ordered his Team Rocket members to go out and capture remote and inconspicuous, but relatively profitable industries. Our lowly farm was a prime target. They broke into our house, captured my family, and seized out cattle. I wanted to fight back, but Simon and I were too little to do anything about it, and my parents were afraid they'd lose us if they tried anything funny. They rounded us up like animals and we were each submitted to the torturous process of having a Hypnodrone drill itself into our skull, then the same procedure was operated on the Miltanks. It was called Hypnodronisation.

"After that, we were forced to remain on this farm, and Team Rocket placed a ring of sensors under the farm's periphery to hold us here. We were never once allowed to leave, since we would be able to seek help, and we were ordered to regularly donate our stock to Giovanni. From that day forth, I never saw the outside world again. I can't even remember what it looks like beyond the horizon. It was impossible to escape from our own farm because the sensors underneath the fence and the top of the hill you fell down ordered our Hypnodrones to guide us back into the farmland if ever we stepped outside. And whenever we tried to tamper with the sensors, the security system at the nearest Team Rocket base issued an automatic shut down, freezing everyone and every pokémon in place until an investigation team could come and resolve the matter. We were trapped.

"Visitors obviously weren't allowed here, since they might try to seek help for us once they left. But sometimes a few people accidentally wind up here in much the same way as you did. Most of the time they just come and go, but those who stay here for a while and learn about the Hypnodrone project often want to help us. It's always a bad idea. Whenever someone tries to interfere in the affairs of Team Rocket, Giovanni steps in and deals with these people before they can help. They're often taken in as slaves like us after that, or worse...." he trailed off.

Cody remained silent for a long time after that, letting the words sink in to Misty. She listened to the whole story with a piteous heart, and at the end could only murmur, "That is so sad."

"Yeah," Cody grimaced, feeling a swell of anger growing inside him, "but the worst part is that those damn Hypnodrones have a weird side-effect on their hosts. It speeds up their metabolism a few years after maturity kicks in, causing them to age rapidly. You saw how old my parents looked during lunch."

Misty was stunned. Was that elderly couple she met the result of the Hypnodrones' 'weird side-effect'? How could Giovanni do such a thing? "H-How long has it been?"

"Ten years, two months and sixteen days," he sighed. "I thought I was going to go crazy."

"Yeah, I get that a lot too with Ash." She winced at the inferior comparison.

Cody loosened up a bit. "Oh yeah? He doesn't seem so bad."

"Are you kidding me?" Misty started to get worked up. "He has an ego the size of a blimp, he's always showing off at how great a trainer he thinks he is, and - uhn! - he can never get enough to eat!"

"Sounds like you really like him." The ice was breaking.

"I do not!" she gasped half-playfully. "I've never felt that way about him!"

"Oh, so it's he who likes you, eh?" he teased.

"No! Stop saying that!" she giggled, giving him a shove on the arm. But Cody was ready and grabbed her by the hand, pulling her off the fence. However, Misty managed to trip him as he stepped back, and he went tumbling into the sprinklers, falling flat on his rear. Misty laughed out loud.

"Ha ha! I got you! I got you!" she trilled. "You thought you could.... No. Cody, NO!" It was too late. Cody grabbed her again and pulled her into the sprinklers. She stood there for a second, her slim figure being thoroughly soaked. Then she saw Cody making fun of her, and went after him again.

A little further down the path, Ash and the others were drying off from their shower, when Brock spotted something happening over by the house.

"Hey Ash, check it out!" he pointed.

Ash turned towards the house, and when he saw what was going on, his jaw almost hit the ground. Pikachu and Trixie followed their look and were both equally surprised.

"Oh, so you want to do it the hard way?" Cody laughed.

He wrapped his arms around Misty's waist and lifted her over by the pond. She was giggling hysterically, kicking out to free herself. Cody was about to toss her into the water, but Misty managed to catch him by the collar as she fell, and they both went toppling in together with a big splash. They were still laughing when they emerged on the surface. It slowly died down, and they stared at each other awkwardly with hair dripping in front of their eyes.

"All right, break it up! Break it up!" Ash yelled as he came running up to the pond. He helped Misty out of the water, and Brock did the same for Cody. "Are you okay?" Ash asked her anxiously.

"Sure. We were just messing about," Misty chuckled, brushing her wet hair aside.

Ash faced Cody, who had turned off the sprinklers and was busy wringing his shirt, and gave him a violent shove on the shoulder. "Hey! Just who do you think you are, farmer boy? I saw you throw Misty into that pond!"

Misty pulled Ash back on the elbow. "Ash! Don't be so rude! I told you we were just playing."

But Ash pulled away from her and released all his anger on Cody. "You think you're so great? Well, I betcha can't beat me in a pokémon battle! C'mon, let's have it all out! Just you and me in a one-on-one! 'Mon-o y 'mon-o!"

Before Misty could try and stop him again, Cody smiled enigmatically and said, "Okay, Ash. You want a pokémon battle? You're on."

Ash looked at him disdainfully, then turned and marched towards an open area with Pikachu where he could hold the battle. Cody was about to follow, but first he faced Misty with a grateful smile.

"Thanks, Misty. I needed that."

Misty felt all warm inside. "Anytime, Cody."

Ash called to them impatiently from the field, once again spoiling the moment, "C'mon! Pick up the pace! I want my battle!"

Misty sighed and walked down with Cody, Brock and Trixie towards the field. This was going to be a battle to remember.

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