Author's Note: What's up guys. Time for a new story I have been thinking of for a while. It is going to be a bit short, but I plan to have longer chapters. I hope you guys like it. Enjoy

Chapter 1: Return of an old enemy

Ash and Goh are working with Professor Cerise and Ash continues to his goal to have a battle with the undefeated Champion Leon and Goh's dream of capturing Mew. One day, as Ash and Goh are taking care of their Pokemon, Ash is told he has received a video call from someone.

"I wonder who that can be?" Ash think. He goes instead and answers the call. He is surprised to see the call is from someone from his past. It is the Sinnoh Champion Cynthia

"Cynthia. Long time so see. How are you?" Ash responds cheerfully

"I am good. Great to see to you again. So Ash. I am contacting you because we have a situation" Cynthia responds

"What is it?" Ash asks. Cynthia gets a look of concern

"Hunter J is back" She says. Ash gets a shocked look on his face

"J is still alive? How? I thought her ship blew up with her inside it" Ash says

"We are not sure. But that is not important. Right now we need to apprehend her. I have contacted Dawn, Brock, Iris, and Cilan as well. They have all agreed to come to Sinnoh and help arrest her. I asked them because Dawn and Brock have dealt with J before and Iris and Cilan helped in the battle with Team Rocket. We would like you to join us. You and J also have a past. You know her better than most. Plus you are the Alola champion. It would help us a lot if you came to help" Cynthia says. Ash is seen shaking a bit but then gets a serious look on his face

"I'm in" Ash responds. Cythnia

"Can't expect anything less from you. We are in Veilstone City. J has been located. Get here as soon as you can" She says. Ash nods. He then hangs up and tells Goh what the call was about.

"This sounds dangerous. I'm going with you. You need all the help you can get" Goh says. Ash nods and the two of them set out for Sinnoh.

The two arrive and meet up with Cythnia, Brock, Dawn, Iris, and Cilan. After catching up a bit and introducing Goh, the group go out to capture Cythnia. They find her a few miles from Veilstone City

"Freeze Hunter J. We are here to arrest you for stealing Pokemon" Cythnia says. J looks at them

"Well if it isn't the Sinnoh champion. Haven't seen you in a long time. And what do you know, you brought backup. While someone I don't recognize, I do recognize a few. Hello Ash" J says

"It's been a while. Now it is time for you to pay for your crimes. It is over J. We are here to capture you" Ash says. J laughs

"Oh please. Do you honestly think you would have found me so easily unless I let you" J responds. The others look confused

"What do you mean?" Dawn says

"Well little lady. I knew Cythnia would ask Ash to join in the mission to capture you. So I allowed you all to find me so I can personally give the Alola champion a little message" J says

"Oh yeah. And what is this little message?" Ash asks

"Well Ash" Hunter J says as she takes something out from her pocket "Does this look familiar?" She asks as she throws something to the ground. Ash looks skeptical but picks it up. It is a ribbon

"Huh? Why did J just throw a ribbon at us?" Dawn asks. The others look confused as well. Ash looks at the item for a bit but then realizes its significance. It was Serena's ribbon. The same ribbon he gave her. The realization in Ash's eyes is seen by everyone

"Ash what is it? Why do you look shocked?" Brock asks but Ash does not answer. Ash's realization then turns into pure anger. He quickly jumps at J and pins her to her ship

"Ash. What are you doing? Stop!" His friends call out, but Ash ignores them. He only has one concern right now

"Where…is…Serena?" Ash asks J with pure hatred in his eyes. The others looks shocked and confused

"Who's Serena?" Iris says. The other shrug

"TELL ME WHERE IS SHE J? IF YOU DON'T TELL ME RIGHT NOW I WILL…." Ash screams but J stops him

"You will what? Kill me? Go ahead. I don't care. But if you kill me, you will never find out where your friend is. If I go down, your friend goes with me. So, if you want to guarantee she remains alive, I suggest you let go of me" J says. Ash looks shocked. He is hesitant but then let's go of J and backs away

"You lose Ash. You can't lay a finger on me or you lose your friend" J says with a sinister look on his face. Ash is visibly furious. J starts to laugh

"The poor girl. She kept screaming how you would save her. She waited so long for you. At this point she probably has given up hope. And who can blame her? She bragged to her friends about how much of an incredible trainer you are and yet you can't do a single thing to save her. You can't do anything about the pain and suffering I have been giving her. Her screams for help as we tortured her were like music to my ears" J says. Everyone is shocked. Ash gets even more mad but remains silent

"Hurts doesn't it? To have someone you care about taken away from you. Well this is payback. You were the reason I nearly died. You metaled with my plans so much in Sinnoh. You brought this on yourself. Now if you don't mind, I have Pokemon to capture. Goodbye Ash. Have fun trying to find me and save your friend because after today, you will never be able to find me" J says. Smoke then suddenly appears which cloaks everything. Just as the smoke clears, J and her ship are gone

"Dang it she got away" Cythnia says. Everyone is discouraged. They then hearing a sobbing sound and see Ash standing looking at the ribbon while sobbing

"I'm sorry Serena. I'm sorry" Ash says with tears in his eyes

"Ash who is Serena?" Dawn asks. Ash looks at his friends and then looks down

"She's a friend from Kalos. This is her ribbon" Ash responds

"J has taken this too far. She has someone kidnapped just to get to Ash. We have to rescue her" Cilan says

"You're right. Don't worry Ash. As the Sinnoh Champion, I give you my word; we will rescue your friend" Cythnia tells Ash. Ash still looks very depressed and concerns

Everyone heads back to the Pokemon center and start coming up with a plan to locate J and save Serena. A few hours pass and they have not been able to locate J

"J couldn't have gotten far. It has only been a few hours. She must be still in the region. We will have to keep looking" Cynthia says. Everyone agrees. Ash remains silent the whole time. The others start to get worried

"Ash you haven't said anything this entire time. Are you okay?" Goh says. Ash looks at his friends

"Okay? How can I be okay? J has put my friend's life in danger, and I couldn't do anything about it. I just stood there powerless and let her get away. Now J is gone, and we have not been able to locate her. Tell me how I can be okay" Ash says with anger. The others look concerned

"Ash we know you are worried for your friend, but you can't do anything if you are so angry. You need to remain calm" Brock says. Ash then slams his hands on the table

"CALM? HOW CAN I BE CALM? I AM THE ALOLA CHAMPION AND I CAN'T EVEN PROTECT MY FRIEND. MY FRIEND'S LIFE IS AT STAKE AND I AM HERE POWERLESS SO DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME TO CALM DOWN" Ash screams. The others looked shocked

"We are trying to help you Ash" Dawn says

"REALLY BECAUSE IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE IT. YOU ALL HAVE NO IDEA THE PAIN I AM GOING THROUGH RIGHT NOW. YOU GUYS AREN'T THE ONES WITH A FRIEND WHO'S LIFE IS ON THE LINE. A FRIEND YOU CARE ABOUT. A FRIEND YOU…." Ash screams again but then stops himself. He then start to walk out. Pikachu goes to follow him but Ash stops him.

"Don't follow me Pikachu. I want to be alone" Ash says. Pikachu stop as Ash walks out of the room

"I have never seen Ash this concerned before" Goh says

"I know. It scares me. Why is he acting this way?" Dawn says

"I think I know why he is so concerned" Brock says. The others looks confused

"I've known Ash longer than anyone. I have never seen him this concerned about anyone besides his mom. It seems to me that he has feelings for this Serena girl" Brock says

"Ash having feelings for a girl? That doesn't seem likely Brock. No offense to Ash but Ash in the past hasn't had a good track record in understandings emotions like that. He doesn't even understand what it means for two Pokemon to like each other. He thinks they are just good friends" Iris says

"Think about it. He said "A friend you care about. A friend you…" and then he stopped himself. Why would he say something like that unless he loved this girl? Besides, he said she is from Kalos. Kalos is known as the region of love. Maybe when Ash went there, he learned of this feeling of love" Brock says

"You sure? You might be overthinking this" Cilan says

"One way to find out. Pikachu. Were Ash and Serena close?" Brock say. Pikachu thinks for a bit and then nods

"Did they seem to be closer than just friends?" Brock asks. Pikachu thinks again and nods again

"See. Pikachu says that they were super close. If they were so close, Ash might have caught feelings for her" Brock says

"You may be right Brock. Maybe Ash has grown up. But that isn't important. If someone Ash loves has been captured by J, we need to do everything to rescue her" Dawn says

"I agree. J has taken this too far. She has put lives in danger. If this Serena girl is someone Ash is in love with, then she must be saved. Ash has saved multiple regions. It is the least we can do to pay him back for all he has done to help us" Cynthia says

"That's right. I may not be good with battles, but I will do whatever I can to help out. Ash is our friend. We will help him anyway we can" Goh says. The others agree

"Alright. I will check up with my sources and see if we have any clue where J is. I think one of you guys should go talk to Ash" Cythnia says

"I'll go talk to him" Brock volunteers. Everyone agrees. Cythnia goes to check with her sources while Brock goes to check up on Ash. The other stay and talk strategy

Meanwhile with Ash, the Kanto trainer sits by himself thinking about the situation he has been put in. He then goes into his bag and takes out a picture. It is a picture of Serena along with Clemont, Bonnie, and himself. He then thinks back and remembers that last time he saw Serena; when she gave him his first kiss. He smiles but then that smiles fades as he remembers J's words.

"Is that Serena?" Ash looks back and sees his old friend Brock

"Yeah. That is her. That is Clemont and Bonnie. We traveled together in Kalos" Ash says

"You guys look close" Brock says

"Yeah we were" Ash says. Ash then sighs "I'm sorry I yelled at you guys and walked out. I needed to be by myself for a bit and think. I know you guys are trying to help"

"It's okay. I understand you are in a lot of pain right now. I forgive you and I know the others will too. So, tell me about Serena" Brock says. Ash looks up and closes his eyes

"She was one of the sweetest people I knew. We met when we were kids. It was during Professor Oak's summer camp. I had helped her after she injured her leg. Years later, she came looking for me. When we reunited, I kind of forgot about her. However, she didn't get mad and she continued to support me. She always motivated me to do the best I could. When I faced a very embarrassing defeat and started questioning myself, she helped snap me out of it. She reminded me to never give up until it was over If it weren't for her, I don't think I would have made it so far. I may have not become the Alola champion" Ash says

"You probably don't know how to answer this, but I should still ask. What is Serena to you?" Brock asks. Ash looks at Brock for a second and then looks away

"If you are asking if I love her, I don't know. I don't know how I feel about her. I haven't known since she left for Hoenn. Not since she…" Ash starts but then stops himself

"She what?" Brock asks

"She kissed me" Ash says. Brock looks shocked

"She kissed you? Are you serious?" Brock says

"Dead serious. Before she left for her flight, she kissed me as she went down the elevator. That kiss made me realize that she isn't the same as the other girls I've traveled with. She isn't like Misty or May or Dawn or Iris. She was special. I mentally kick myself every day for not realizing it until she left. I don't know how I feel towards her, but I do know that she is special to me and because of me. Because of my rivalry with J, her life is in danger" Ash says sadly. Brock puts a hand on Ash's shoulder

"It is not your fault Ash. It is J's fault. She took this too far. We will save her Ash. We promise you" He says. Brock then gets up to leave but before he does

"By the way Ash, you may not know how you feel about this girl, but based off of what you have told me, you love her, and she loves you. After we save her, you should tell her" Brock says as he walks away. Ash has a confused look on his face

"I love Serena?" He asks himself. He closes his eyes again and remembers the time Serena threw snowballs at his face to snap him out of his depression. He mentally laughs at this moment

"Serena, I promise you. No matter where you are, I will find you and save you from J" Ash tells himself

And so Serena has been captured by Hunter J. Will Ash and his friends be able to save her?

Meanwhile with Hunter J, we see her visiting Serena's prison cell on her ship; Serena is unconscious

"Silly boy. The girl was so close and yet you let me escape so easily. To think you were rendered so helpless because of this girl. Pathetic. Well Ash, I have won. You will not be able to find me and even if you do, you won't be able to do anything as long as I have your friend" J says to herself

To be continued…

Next chapter preview

"J. You took it too far. You kidnapped Serena and hurt her. For that I can never forgive you" Ash says

"We are here to help Ash" Goh says

"Ash" Serena says quietly

"Serena? Don't worry. I am coming to save you. Next time on Pokemon. Saving a loved one. Everyone go Pokemon" Ash says

Author's notes: What you guys think? Let me know. Next chapter I am not sure when it will be. I plan to finish my Battle of the Lovers story first but do not worry. I won't be disappearing again. I plan to finish this. See you guys next time