It was late in the afternoon, close to the evening even when he finally arrived back in Pacifidilog. He crawled up onto the boardwalk near the house and let out a sigh. "You know Juan, I think I'm seriously gonna consider getting a large enough Pokemon to serve as a flier. I know there is Pitch but he really doesn't like to haul people around. Plus he isn't very big either."
Juan let out a tired quack and he pat him on the head. "Yea sorry about that buddy. I'll let you get some well deserved rest," he said as he summoned him to his Pokeball. He got to his feet and walked over to the door. He opened the door and to his surprise, Jasmine and Homika weren't home. He smiled, perfect luck. Now he could get a nice hot shower and get that dumb perfume smell off him. He set down the Pokeballs he had on a nearby dresser and heard a door open. He turned around in time to see Homika step out, wearing just a towel around her waist. So much for that idea. "Oh so you're finally back? Was wondering what took you so long."
"I ran into a little trouble at the hideout as usual. And it was a pretty long swim over there so that's—"
"But you left a bit before we did…and you were gone all night and most of the day?"
"Well I had to sleep of course."
Homika frowned and walked over to him, while he opted to act as cool as possible. She leaned forward and began to sniff him. "Ethan…why do I smell that same familiar perfume on you…again?!"
"Did I even wash it off the first—"
She grabbed him by the arm and sat him on the couch. "Didn't we just go through this? N-now…could you please explain to me what happened? In detail…"
"Well I found the hideout like I planned to do and while I was there, I was able to find out about their next plan. It seemed while I was there, Kasumi had found the hideout too and was busy stealing a few things while everyone else was distracted. They caught her and brought her to Matt, the guy in charge of the hideout. He began to beat her up and I decided to step in—"
"Why didn't you just let him continue?"
"Stop being silly. I don't like her but I thought that was going a bit too far. I was able to chase them off and I left her after that. She caught up to me while I was lying around, wondering what to do next."
Homika grumbled. "I like how the two of you just keep bumping into each other—"
"I wouldn't be shocked if she's following me around or something. So anyway, it was pretty late in the night and she insisted I get some sleep at her hideout."
"At. Her. Hideout. She invited to her place to get some sleep. Did you maybe just stop and think about that one for a second?"
"Nothing happened."
"Nothing."
"At all. Kasumi had some ideas but I wasn't gonna have them."
Homika let out a sigh, looking like she wanted to blow up at him but another part of her restraining herself. She looked down at the ground and then at the ceiling. "S-so…why do you have her perfume all over you? I take it the two of you were getting up close and personal?"
"Well the truth is…this is gonna sound pretty bad so you'll have to trust me on it…we did sleep together."
Her mouth fell open and he saw her ball her hands into fists. She closed her eyes and it sounded as if she counted quietly to herself. "Okay…please explain what you mean by that."
"I slept atop the covers and she slept underneath. That was it."
"Ethan…why the f*** do you keep getting yourself into these situations?"
"Hey, I try to avoid it! They just…seem to happen."
"You need to stop acting like some shy, innocent guy. I swear your temperament is like a kid who never got any hormones. Find your hormones and act like a typical guy, d*****!"
"B-but, what if I like how I am? Do you think you would even like me if I were to change so much?"
"Ahh…well—"
"But enough about me getting into these weird situations, how did that presentation go?"
Homika sighed. "Ahh well, it was boring as f*** if you ask me. It lasted for too long and all they talking about were water Pokemon. Well first they talked about the impact humans had on water Pokemon, and then they talked about water Pokemon and then they went on and on about the beauty of the ocean and how we should treasure it and…bleh! F*** it all! I hate stuff like that. I swear though, people were really buying into what they were saying. And they were biting hard…I mean it was f****** boring but the guy has a real way with words and how he can connect with people."
"Really? One of those charismatic types?"
"Yea and let me tell you, I think Jasmine was really getting caught up in the message, she was almost entranced. I had to kick her a** to get her attention but man…I think she would have up and joined Team Aqua if I wasn't around!"
His eyes grew wide. "R-really? Where is she now?"
"F*** if I know. I thought she was here but I guess she left. I guess you'll have to call her up."
"Hmm, I will. I—"
"I've got to admit, the guy doing the presentation…he wasn't bad looking either."
"I suppose a pirate captain wouldn't be horrible looking—"
"You don't mind? F*** at least act jealous! It would be nice if you like actually care."
"Huh? But I just thought it was only fair considering the many times you had to deal with some girl getting a bit close to me—"
"F*** you just don't get it, do you?"
"No, I think I'm missing something."
She stomped her foot. "Don't you ever get jealous? If some other guys showed interest in me or Jasmine, would you care?"
"Of course I would care but…this is silly. I know I'm not the affectionate type but I don't see how that means I don't appreciate you two. Trying to make me jealous just seems dumb anyway. Don't we have more important things to worry about?"
"Well you seem pretty concerned about that stupid thief!"
"Concerned enough that I hope she takes a hike! What's bugging you?"
She stomped her foot. "You and your indecisiveness!"
Did she miss the part where he had turned down Kasumi's offer? Or the times he had resisted her charms before? "Roxie…can't we just discuss this another time? Now is kind of a bad time for it, especially since we have Team Aqua on the move and Jasmine is nowhere to be found."
She didn't answer him but he was done arguing about it. He found his phone lying nearby and dialed Jasmine's number. To his annoyance, she didn't answer. He checked the phone to see if she left a message but again no dice. He tapped the phone on the side of the wall and frowned. "I wonder what's gotten into her. Hmmm…"
He dialed her number again and this time she answered. "Umm, hello?"
"Ahh Jasmine, where are you?"
"Oh…I'm still in Slateport. I was just talking with some members of the presentation some more—"
"You went back?"
"Y-yes. It was a really interesting presentation, really informative. I never thought about water Pokemon so much until I—"
"Hope you know these are the same people who are trying to wreck with the ecosystem here, all in the name of preserving water Pokemon."
"What are you talking about?"
"They plan to stop Mount Chimney from erupting."
"Why is that so bad? They keep telling me of all the destruction and trouble it causes. I think that—"
"If it was such a problem, how is Hoehn thrived for so long with it around? And what about the people and Pokemon who depend on it?"
"Ahhh…well I don't know. They'll be able to manage, right?"
"Would you…come back to Pacifidilog? We can talk some more!"
"Ahhh I'm sorry Ethan but I have to let you go—"
"No no no no, wait Jasmine-drat, she hung up," he said. He stared at the phone and frowned. He could get over there and drag her away but poor Juan was too tired to be going out for another long swim so that was out of the question. He could fish up a Pokemon but that would be a waste of time too. "Hey Homika, do you have a Pokemon that I could use to get over to Slateport?"
She didn't answer but he had a feeling no would be the answer anyway. It would drive him batty but he would have to wait.
Juan didn't recover until well in the evening but he still shuttled him over to Slateport. The usually crowded beach was much emptier as he ran across the still warm sand. He dialed her number again but he saw her sat on a bench near the beach and put his phone away. He ran up to her before bending over to catch his breath. "Whoo man…I need to stop sitting around all day fishing. Uh, how are you Jasmine?"
She looked up at him and nodded. "Oh, I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes Ethan, I'm fine. Why do you smell like—"
"We can worry about that later. Umm…so how was the presentation?"
"I really loved it. I sort of passed it off at first but it really showed how we take water Pokemon for granted. There are so many of them that we often treat them like your garden variety trash but after listening to them today…I came away with a new understanding."
"Ahh well…I suppose it's good to come away with a new way of looking at things…I guess," he said, wishing she could be learning from a different group.
"Yes. I'm thinking…of maybe trying to learn more about them and what they're about—"
"I hate to be mean but these are the same guys plunder the seas? They're planning to stop the volcano from erupting!"
"Why is that bad?"
"What about all the people and Pokemon that depend on that volcano?"
"There can't be many—"
"I bet there are plenty. Are we supposed to ignore them too just because of the water Pokemon? We have to be fair to them too."
"Ethan…I hear what you're saying but…do you think maybe we were wrong—"
"Jasmine, I don't think you were listening to what I was saying. They are willing to screw up the ecosystem here just to prove their point!"
"How do you know the two groups are one in the same?"
"Because I overheard them talking about preparing for this little presentation, while in the same breath—"
"Are you sure you heard right? I know you were a bit distracted—"
"Distracted?"
She slammed her fist on the bench. "Don't play dumb with me Ethan! I could smell it even when you were still running around on the beach."
"Huh? But she hasn't been a distraction. Why do you two keep thinking that? I'm not the one who keeps bumping into her, I honestly think she's keeping tabs on me."
"Let me see your phone."
"Huh?"
She held out her hand and he shrugged as he handed it over. As he did, it dawned on him that it might not be the best idea to do that. On the other hand, what had gotten into her? And Homika for that matter? Just what had gone on at that presentation that caused the two of them to act so strange? "Well now I see how she's been able to keep track of you, you have a bunch of calls from her!"
"But I didn't give her my number!"
"Then how did she call you so many times?"
"I don't know…she's Kasumi, she's resourceful…and smart. She got it someway or another. She said she used to be a gym leader in Kanto, she probably used her connections there—"
"Resourceful and smart? Why don't you just keep going then?"
"Huh but…what are you—"
"If you're so impressed with her, why don't the two of you run Team Rocket together?"
"Wait…what? Hold on…what? Weren't we discussing Team Aqua—"
"We're through discussing them—"
"No. I'm telling you Jasmine; they might sound like they mean well and all but they are not what they seem. I know they—"
"I said we're done discussing it!" She yelled. She sighed. "Listen, I'm sorry but I have to go. I have a few more questions for them I hope they can answer."
"Ahh but you can't…go. We can't be a team if we're split up like this. Especially you…I mean, you're known as a murder—"
"And whose fault is that?"
"Ahh well mine of course—"
"And you somehow think that I'm stuck with you forever because of that?"
"Ahh but I feel responsible for what happened and I knew I owed—"
"So I'm only stuck with you out of a sense of obligation?"
"I didn't say that…hey wait a minute—"
"Go away Ethan! Just go away!"
Okay so now what? He felt like he was in some sort of fog, unsure what was going on and around him. He could sort of understand their complaints about the Kasumi situation but it wasn't like this had happened before. That he knew he could deal with but…he was totally in the dark about everything else. Jasmine already knew what the other arm of Team Aqua was up to and yet, now she all of a sudden believed their lies? And now Homika was back to her mean and cruel self…not to mention that she had left somewhere too. He hunched over and groaned. "Please tell me this is some sort of cruel dream? That I can just pinch my skin and it'll all be over?"
Wiggler let out a squeak as he did so and winced. "No, it's just like I feared. What do I do?"
He lay down on the couch and sighed. "This is the worst. Not only am I in exile but also now I'm alone. Well maybe it's what I deserve after all…ahh…I guess I don't need to worry about Team Aqua. I can just let the gym leaders know, they can take care of it. I can just sit around here and live in—in…" he began to say and then he thought about their plot to stop the volcano. There wouldn't be enough time to track down the gym leaders and explain the situation to them.
He sat up in an instant, surprising the others. "Did I fake my own death, to get out from underneath Giovanni's thumb for this?" He grabbed an empty Pokeball that lay nearby and flung it as hard as he could at the wall. "If they think they can be rid of me that easily…until those two come around…if they ever do, I'll just have to make do. I can find more help if need be…I always do,"
Meteor Falls was a large series of connected tunnels and caves but it seemed to get its name from the waterfalls that lay within. There were several ways to get in and he opted to come in from the east. As he did, he noticed quite a few of Team Aqua grunts hanging about. He could let Bolt out and get some much-needed practice but decided the regular approach would work best. Thanks to Chase, he walked right by some of the Team Aqua members and into the caves. The inside of Meteor Falls wasn't anything worth writing home about; looking like the inside of many caves he had been in. He didn't see any Team Aqua members walking about but they were probably in the floors below.
He crossed the small wooden bridge spanning the river that ran through the cave but as he turned the corner, suddenly something shot past him. He jumped backwards, looking around for what had almost smacked him. Chase let out a cry as he made the two of them visible. "Hey, what are you doing? What—huh, whatever attacked us could see us even when we were invisible? What kind of—whoa!" He said as a Beldum flew past him. The only thing he could think was how much it would hurt if it smacked him. Wait a minute, Beldum? "Chase, I'm gonna need you to lend a hand this time."
As he looked up, he saw a few more Beldum fly in their direction. Chase floated forward and began to unleash Flame Burst whenever they got close. Except the Beldum never got close enough. Anytime it looked like they would, they suddenly dove out of the way, calling off whatever attack they were gonna use. Chase began to get a bit annoyed at this and tried using Ember instead but again, the Beldum were smart enough to egg him into attacking, before moving out of the way of the attack. What they really needed was a fire attack equivalent to Swift. He felt some cold claws grab his arms and pin them behind his back. "H-hey, what's going on?"
Chase turned to face him, just as a Metang floated from behind a large rock, with a large rock in hand. It flung it at Chase, knocking the poor candle to the ground. "Ahh, drat!" He said. He tried to get free but whatever had him was much stronger and lifted him up into the air. Down below, he could see the other Metang grab Chase and follow after him; whatever had him under control and the many Beldum. It brought him over to a tall ledge that lay near the waterfall and dropped him at the feet of a familiar figure. Well familiar to him at least.
"Team Rocket huh? I thought you guys bit the dust in Unova," Steven said.
"Team Rocket did bite the dust, in a way. I'm just bringing them back—"
"Then it's very fortunate I caught you—"
"At least let me finish. I didn't bring Team Rocket back to continue with the status quo. That's how they would operate if Giovanni were still in control. I'm more interested in having Team Rocket become a force for good."
"And you expect me to believe that?"
"Yea yea, I know it sounds crazy but I'm serious. Now could you let me go, Team Aqua is here, trying to steal the Meteorite here."
"Team Aqua, that gang of pirates? What use would they have with the meteorite?"
He tried to free his arms but to no avail. "They want to use it to stop Mount Chimney from erupting. That way the crater can fill with rainwater so water Pokemon have another place to live. And they're concerned that the erupting volcano will expand the continent, preventing water Pokemon from having more places to live."
"That's a pretty heavy claim. They've done nothing but piracy but now you're claiming they care enough about something to be into eco-terrorism as well? That's a bit of a stretch."
Ethan sighed. "Look, I know it is but I'm telling the truth. They're up to no good and you're gonna let them get away if you keep interrogating me like this!"
Steven chuckled. "Fortunately I'm formidable enough to keep you under custody and go after Team Aqua too—"
"Not if you waste time like this. Look Team Aqua is already here; I passed them when I entered the cave. The more time you waste here, the more time they'll have to get away. I can be of more help to you if you let me go, than if you keep me like this."
Steven folded his arms, just as a loud explosion rocked the cave. The ground shook a few times before the tremors subsided and he turned to look over the ledge. He saw Team Aqua running out with some large rock in hands but another group, dressed in red, followed them and bearing logos that resembled a volcano. "Team Magma too? So many criminal gangs in one place."
"Only two Steven—"
"Whatever, I'm not sure I should be listening to the leader of Team Rocket on stuff like this I—"
"Look Steven…I didn't join Team Rocket because I wanted to. I joined because I had no choice. It was either join or allow Giovanni harm my loved ones. I did all those terrible things in Unova because I had that threat hanging over my head. I'm the same guy who took them on before when they invaded Johto. Well me and the current Champion Crystal. We even took on the entire city of Goldenrod when they took over and kicked them out."
"Aren't you supposed to be dead?"
He chuckled. "I thought of a loophole that would get me out of that deal. If I killed myself, then Giovanni wouldn't have any reason to harm them now. I was just fortunate enough to follow one of his leaders to where he was hiding and apprehend them. I'm stuck here because everyone still makes me out to be the bad guy and I thought the best revenge would be turning the organization he founded and using it for good instead. Maybe it'll help to clearing my name as well. Now are you going to keep me under custody or can you let me go so we can work together?"
Steven sighed and whatever had been holding his arms let him go. He turned to see it was another Metang. "I'm going to keep a close eye on you."
"Do what you want—"
"But I want to make sure that they actually made off with the Meteorite. I'm aware of its strange powers and I left it with some similar looking rocks so it'd be harder to steal."
He thought about telling him that it'd be good if he went off ahead to Mount Chimney but he doubted Steven would agree and he had been able to track him down even when he was invisible. "All right, you lead the way."
Steven led him through several maze like cave systems, going deeper and deeper until they came to what was the bottom level of Meteor Falls. He led him to a small inlet in the middle of a large pool of water and as they approached the group of large rocks, he saw an orange haired beauty standing amongst them. Really, again?! Actually this was the first time he saw her in something other than a bikini as she was adorned in a yellow tank top that exposed most of her midsection, a pair of red suspenders and a pair of very short jean shorts. "Kasumi?"
"Huh? Oh well, it seems like we do like to run into one another."
"Yea whatever."
"So the two of you are familiar with each other. Now I'm not so sure I can trust you."
She laughed. "Ethan? He'd make a terrible pirate but let me tell you, he's a great distraction! I tell you, the bad guys are so worried about him that they forget about lil' ol' me and I just take that opportunity to take what I need!"
Ethan shot him a look. "So then what are you looking for, the meteorite?"
She winked at him. "You betcha! I thought something like that would make a nice addition to my collection. It's not everyday you get a piece of space junk."
"That space junk is a national treasure. I'd appreciate it if you left it alone."
"No can do Stone! And lucky for me, those Team Aqua clowns didn't check to make sure they had the right one!"
Steven stepped forward but Ethan held out his hand to stop him. He looked over and smiled. "Let me handle it," he said as he walked forward. "You know Kasumi, you don't strike me as the type to be into random space junk."
She laughed. "There are a lot of things you don't know about me Hibiki."
He shrugged. "Yea but space junk? There are a lot of other things you could be going after? Much more valuable things."
She put her hands on her hips. "Oh really love? Well how about you tell me a few of those treasures and maybe, just maybe I'll think about them."
He walked closer to her and tapped his chin. "Really? Well I've heard of a few things…you'd be surprised what you hear from passerby sailors," he said. He leaned forward and caressed her cheek. "Perhaps the two of us can check them out."
She blushed just a tad. "Oh so you've decided to take me up on my offer? What took so long?"
He reached behind her back while he still kept his gaze focused on her. "Oh well…I think I just came to my senses."
"Oh really love? Then how about we—"
Before she could finish, he grabbed one of her suspenders and yanked her away, pushing her behind him. While she was out of the way, he grabbed the one rock she had been so eager to guard. He turned and looked over at her with a smug look. "I think we're done here. What say you Steven?"
He heard something from above and looked up at the ceiling above, just as a large hole opened up. He jumped out of the way of some of the rocks and dirt that fell from above but ending up losing his balance, dropping the meteorite and falling over the edge. He fell into the water nearby but as he felt his limbs sink in, he felt what seemed like a very strong current underneath, trying to pull him away. He quickly tried to find something to grab hold of to prevent himself from slipping away but she fell to the ground and grabbed hold of his arm. "Not so fast love!"
"Thanks for letting us know which one was the right stone. It would have taken us a little time otherwise," a familiar voice said. He looked up and saw Matt rappel down from above. He snatched the meteorite and was quickly pulled back up into the hole as well. As she pulled him onto dry land, Matt poked out his head again. "Here, have fun!" He said as flung some dynamite toward the entrance to the room. It exploded, causing a large amount of rocks and dirty to fall down and cover up their only escape route. He got to his feet and tried to squeeze out his wet clothes.
"Well…I got to admit, that was pretty slick. Now do you believe me Steven?"
Steven dusted himself off. "I think I'm beginning to see that now. Too bad I figured that out before they stole the meteorite right under our noses."
He sighed. "Yea…that sucks. Well is there any easy way out?"
"Actually I train here at Meteor Falls quite a bit so I know many ways of getting out. Even in this room," he said as he summoned his massive Metagross. "There's a secret passage over there on that ledge over there. We can use it to get out and hopefully we can catch up to them at Mount Chimney."
"Sounds good!" He said. He felt Kasumi slip her hand onto his hip. "You know love, you don't tease a girl like that and leave her hanging."
"I do but thanks for saving me back there. I really appreciate it."
She frowned as he pulled away. "Oh really?"
"Yes, really."
"I think you've got some real trouble on your hands. And I'm sorry but I can't help you," Steven said.
"Ahhh…drat."
"But…shouldn't we be going? Mount Chimney awaits!" Kasumi said. She took his hat off and put it on her head. "You think you got one of those Team Rocket outfits for me?"
He snatched the hat away. "No because you'll just go around, committing a bunch of robberies while wearing it."
She gave him a coy look. "Now why would I do that?"
He ignored her and joined Steven on the Metagross. She joined them and the Pokemon floated over the water and over to the ledge on the other side of the room. He hopped off and walked over to a few rocks and knelt next to one and tapped it, causing a door to slide open. "Shall we be going?"
By the time they made it out of the caves, Team Aqua and Team Magma were long gone. He looked off in the direction of Mount Chimney and grumbled. "Drat, I hope it's not too late."
"Well…Team Magma is around so I'm not sure their plan will go without a hitch."
"Team Magma? Now you'll tell me there is a Team Ice, a Team Dragon, a Team Ghoul—"
"No, just those two," Steven said, interrupting her. Kasumi folded her arms but he had more questions.
"So if Team Aqua is concerned about water Pokemon, I guess Team Magma cares about fire—"
"I'm not really sure what their goals are. I just passed them off as a bunch of harmless little gangs, troublemakers who weren't really worth the time but…"
"Well can we debate that another time? We need to get over to Mount Chimney anyway."
"Hehe, yea you're right."
"Don't even think about ditching me yet. Matt will be getting quite the pounding from me. Twice now he's got the better of me. There won't be a third!" Kasumi said. She put her hands on her hips before looking back at them and winking. On one hand he really didn't want her around but…with Jasmine and Homika no longer interested in being with him…did he really have a place to be complaining about what help he got? Especially since trying to do it alone is what got him into trouble in the first place.
"Okay, I'll leave Matt to you then."
Mount Chimney was a sight to behold. As soon as they arrived at the base of the volcano, he could see members of Team Aqua and Team Magma battling it out with their Pokemon. They battled over spots up the volcano and even battled over who had control of the trolley that led up to the crater. "What a bunch of babies."
"Well we won't get very far with them around—"
"Hey, how will you be of any help to us? Your Pokemon are weak to fire types!" Kasumi yelled. Steven chuckled.
"I didn't use to be the Champion for nothing."
Ethan took out the Pokeballs holding Juan and Dodger. "Hey enough fighting. Let's chase off these costumed clowns—"
"Haha love, look who's talking."
"Okay you got me there," he said as he summoned the two. "Hey, would the two of you help us chase off these two gangs?"
Juan jumped forward and pulled out a pair of long pear like fruits. He shook them and began to jump and dance around. "What…is he doing?" Kasumi asked as Steven hurried off to deal with some other grunts.
"Dancing of course."
"Love, I'm not an idiot. I can see he's dancing but—"
"He's performing the ancient Johto Politoedian Rain Dance. In Johto, Politoed like to gather together and summon massive rainstorms so they can enjoy themselves. Other water Pokemon like to be nearby because it increases their chance for finding food—"
"Are you f****** s******* me?"
He laughed. "What do you think?"
She slapped him on the butt and he winced from it. "I like it though, you had me going there for a second!" She said as she walked off.
"Ugh, that hurt. Why does she have to be so touchy feely?"
He heard thunder rumble overhead and saw large storm clouds above. None of this had caught the attention of the two gangs though. He summoned Bolt as well, who was never the biggest fan of rain but he knew an opportunity when he saw one. He called down a large lightning bolt, zapping a nearby Poliwag. He followed that up with more Thunder attacks, which soon had Team Aqua on their heels but it wasn't like Juan was about to let Team Magma get away either. He turned and shot a powerful stream of water from his mouth, nailing a nearby Charmander. He saw Kasumi's Starmie contribute with a few powerful Hydro Pump attacks while they were at it. Very soon, they had the two gang of grunts running for cover and Steven didn't even have to lend a hand.
Ethan watched them run off and chuckled as they fled. "I forgot how easily the grunts are at times."
"So if they're so easy to beat, why do they get away with everything?"
"Because no one cares to intervene?"
Steven chuckled. "That seems to be how it is. People just expect some hotshot young trainer to take care of it so they just go about their lives instead. I've seen it before."
"Don't remind me. Crystal and me were furious that none of the citizens in Goldenrod bothered to help us—"
"Hey, why are the two of you b*******? We've got Magma and Aqua to worry about still! Matt and me will have our reckoning!"
"Yea, you're right but what about—"
"You two go on ahead, I'll guard the base of the volcano and make sure your backs are covered," Steven said. Ethan nodded at him and they made their way for the trolley. He poked his head into the booth and found the trolley operator cowering in the corner.
"Hey…uh…"
The guy looked up at him and turned even whiter in the face, "T-T-Team Rocket?!"
"Wait! Well I am a part of Team Rocket but—"
He felt Kasumi tap him on the shoulder and she pulled him away. She leaned over the booth. "Hey, forget this costumed clown. Could you get this trolley running for little ol' me? I would really appreciate it," she said, putting a bit of emphasis on the really. He felt like slapping his forehead but he heard the trolley work speak up with a sudden burst of confidence.
"Ahh yes of course! No problem at all miss! This trolley will be up in a jiffy. Leave it to me!" he said. She stepped away from the booth and flashed him a sly smile. A few minutes later, he could hear the machines power up and the worker yell at her. "Okay you should be good now!"
After he summoned back his trio, he joined her in the trolley and it began to move up the slope. He leaned out his head and whistled in amazement as he got a better view of the Hoehn landscape. It really was a sight to behold, he wasn't used to a tropical area like this. He walked over to the other side and could see even more of Hoehn, some of the cities scattered around it and beyond that, more ocean. It wouldn't be Hoehn without a shot of the ocean, or two or even three. He nodded his head and heard Kasumi clear her throat. He didn't bother looking at her, too interested in the view but he did speak up. "Yea?"
"Hibiki…could you stop staring out there like that?"
"Why? I've never seen Hoehn before."
"Hibiki…why did you save me back there at the hideout?"
"Huh? Because I felt obligated to. I wanted to get back at you for what you did at the hideout and I thought Matt giving you a verbal smack down would do the trick but when he decided to get really vicious, I decided maybe another time."
She chuckled. "You had me pretty good at Meteor Falls. I didn't expect you had it in you. You should have continued."
No thanks. He stared out at the landscape and wondered just how Homika and Jasmine were doing. Ugh, he could only hope they were doing fine. He really wished he knew what had gotten into them though. He let out a sigh and she laughed.
"You need to stop being all down on yourself. Live a little."
"I'm in exile you know."
"So? That doesn't mean you have to stop living. You really want to sit around all day in self-exile and fish? Or stop a pair of eco terrorist gangs just because?"
That was a good question though. He had somehow promised himself to stop getting involved in major conflicts like tangling with large Pokemon gangs. That was what had gotten him in trouble in the first place and yet here he was again, tangling with large Pokemon gangs. "Hmmm."
"So you do pay attention to me. Glad to hear it."
"You know…Ethan—"
"My name isn't Ethan—"
"Yes it is because I asked Erika about you. I've got my connections ya know?"
He frowned. "Okay?"
"Well, I was thinking we should go on a couple adventures of our own. I can show you there is more to Hoehn than just a bunch of water—"
"Exile."
"Think of it as your way of paying me back for saving your life. You know after getting toyed like that, I could have just let you go."
"Now you're blackmailing me?"
"I'm joking but are you really gonna be all mopey and down because some things didn't go your way?"
"Not exactly—"
"Then let's go. Besides after we kick the collective a**** of Aqua and Magma, I wouldn't be shocked if they go quiet for a bit to recover their bruised egos. I mean if your army of grunts can be beat by a of trainers at most, you better go back to the drawing board for a bit."
If that happened, he would want to try and find Homika and Jasmine first but what if they didn't want to have anything to do with him anymore? Then what? Ugh, he didn't even want to think about that one. "I still have some unfinished business to take care of…but. I may have to just take you up on your offer if things don't go my way."
"Don't take long. Kasumi isn't one to settle down in one place for long ya know love?"
