"Toots, is this the guy you keep talking so highly about?" A guy asked. Jasmine released Ethan from her embrace and shook a fist at a blue haired guy who had appeared.

"Ryan, how many times have I told you? Stop calling me Toots!"

He laughed as he ran a comb through his wild looking blue hair. He waved at Ethan. "Yo, I'm Ryan Hoshi, or you can just—"

"Ryan, could you just leave us alone?"

He shrugged. "Sure, fine. I'll leave the two lovers alone."

She must have shot him a really dirty look because he turned and left in a hurry. When did she become so fiery? She looked back at him. "It's been too long. How are you?"

"Well…I'm fine but what's with this new look?"

She laughed. "Well, after you two left, I was overwhelmed by Team Rocket. I had the stronger team but they had the numbers. I was able to get away but I knew they were hot on my tail so I thought if I opted to go for a new look and a different personality, they would be thrown off my trail. It seemed to have worked because you hardly recognized me."

"You got that right. I thought I was going crazy for a moment, hearing your voice and then seeing someone completely different. So…how are you?"

"Oh I've been fine. Just hard at work trying to find out more about Team Rocket. It's not easy though, they're so sneaky."

He rubbed his head. "Yea I know what you mean. We haven't had much luck either. Some luck here and there but trying to catch them is like trying to grasp a Magikarp."

She raised an eyebrow. "That…actually makes a bit of sense."

He put his hands in his pockets and turned away. "I kind of feel a bit bad. It seems like you two have learned quite a few things about them."

"But we haven't learned much either! What have you learned?"

"Well…we know that they're trying to create the ultimate Pokemon—"

"Oh that again? I thought people would have learned from the Mewtwo experiment," she said, rolling her eyes while she was at it.

"Exactly, that's what I was saying but Homika said she found a Pokemon that had been forced to evolve again, into a totally new evolution. And it had three types."

"3 types?"

He nodded. "Yea and the thinking is that Giovanni would create a Pokemon with the strongest 3 types. Something powerful and strong, that could demolish any Pokemon that went up against it."

"There are some really powerful Pokemon out there though. It's just…ugh; it bugs me that they are up to this! Experimenting on Pokemon just to further their own twisted means!"

"We discovered their base in the jungle but had to leave before we could learn anymore. They packed up and left in this underground road."

She frowned. "So that is what it was for. We heard something about a bunch of trucks and stuff coming out of an unknown road so we decided to check it out—"

"Where did you guys come from?"

She pursed her lips. "It was near a city called Undella Town."

"Undella Town?"

"So where did you guys come from?"

"Near Tachikawi City."

Her eyes grew wide. "Wow, really? That's like, really, really far away. Hundreds of miles in fact."

"What? Then how long have you two been walking down this road?"

She shrugged. "We actually found a way in near Castelia City. It was pretty far underground and we only discovered it based off a rumor that had been floating about. Something about a tunnel being used by some criminals or something. Super vague but we thought it was worth looking into."

"Wow, you guys have been busy."

She winked at him. "Of course silly! I've been fed up with their actions before and now that I know what they're trying to do, I really want to take them down now. What's wrong, you look bothered."

He chuckled. "Well I just feel kind of bad. While you guys have been running around, doing everything you can while I haven't."

"I…am afraid to ask but just what is your relationship with that rock star?"

"Huh, you mean Homika? We were just pretending to be a couple. I forgot why we did it but that's the gist of it."

"Oh."

"You don't believe me?"

Before she could respond, they heard a rumbling sound coming from the wall of rocks and dirt that blocked the tunnel. It sounded like something was hitting the other side of the wall and hitting it with force. "Is that…is someone trying to get through?"

"Sounds like it to me but who is it?" Jasmine asked.

At the moment, he could think of only one person that determined enough to get through. Considering her temper, he wouldn't be shocked if she had done so by her bare hands. Pitch chirped. "Yea, I think I know."

Part of the wall gave way and they backed up as rocks and dirt fell forward. Through the wall, he could see what looked like a large purple fist, pounding away at the barrier that separated them and as it opened up further, he saw it was a large Muk, hard at work. Homika climbed up through the hold and slid down the pile of dirt. She dusted herself off before looking around. "Where is she?"

"Huh, who are you talking about?" Jasmine asked. Homika ignored her and looked straight at him. He held up his hands.

"Hey, I don't know. We were talking and then that cave in happened and she disappeared since then."

"How suspicious! Lure you away from me and then a mysterious cave in occurs and then she mysteriously disappears after that. You know what that means?"

"Well—"

"It means I'm gonna pulverize her once we find her again! I told you she was a lying, no good, dirty, rotten, foul, no good, smug, evil, sinister, no good…I said no good already, didn't I?"

He nodded and she shook her fist. She slammed it against the wall. "I told you not to trust her! She tried to get you killed!"

"I don't think she was behind it though. She was pretty surprised by it as well."

Homika laughed. "Ah ha, that's what she wants you to believe. She plays the sugar and spice routine, trying to lure you in and get you to believe what she's saying and then…BAM! I know how these type operate."

He laughed and noticed she had a pretty serious look on her face. "Well…"

"You have to be careful Ethan! You're just the kind of person that would fall for that kind of scheme."

"What kind of scheme? And what do you mean by what kind of person?"

She tapped her chin with a finger. "What I mean is that you're too nice! You believe everyone is a good person and can be easily fooled when someone tries to take advantage of that. That's why you need me around!" She said with a smug look on her face. She noticed Jasmine and frowned. "Who is this broad?"

"Broad?" Jasmine asked.

"Oh this is my friend, Jas—"

"Maple," she said. He looked at her confused and Homika shrugged.

"Friend, huh? So is that why you weren't trying to help break down the wall? Were you trying to ditch me or something?"

He shook his head. "Huh, no way! Why would I try ditching you? Besides, what Pokemon do I have that could break down that wall? Remember they were all stolen."

"Yea well—"

"And why should I have been worried about you? You're a gym leader, right? You know how to handle yourself and you have the Pokemon to back you up as well."

Her mouth fell open before she suddenly turned away from both of them. "Yea well…whatever!"

Jasmine laughed. "I'm…sorry for dragging him away from you. I was just telling him what we had learned about Team Rocket."

Wait, why was she apologizing? Homika spun around to look at her. "So what do you know? So you've been hot on their tails too? Glad to hear someone is doing something!"

"Well we know that they've got some sort of plan to keep the gym leaders and even the Pokemon League occupied so they can continue with their plan."

"I hate to admit it but they can be pretty devious and smart at times. And just after he convinced me to get them involved too!"

"And we heard about this tunnel in Castelia City but it actually ends near Undella Town."

Homika's eyes grew wide. "What? Undella Town? That's like hundreds of miles away! We would have been in there for weeks otherwise!" She said. She folded her arms. "All right Ethan, you were right. At least we know where it leads! We need to head there next!"

"We do?"

"Of course! They might have set up shop around there. It would certainly throw us off the trail, appearing hundreds of miles away in another town entirely. But since we know where this tunnel leads, we can get the drop on them!"

"Well, I can't argue with that. We still don't know if they're actually up there but it's worth a look."

"Exactly so what are we waiting for?"

He looked over at Jasmine, as if expecting her to speak up but she looked at him with a puzzled look on her face. "Well I just need to—"

"Huh…is there something between you two?"

"N-no, he's just a friend. Please keep him out of trouble, he has such a wonderful way of finding it."

"H-huh?" He asked. So now she didn't want to work together? He was about to suggest Ryan and Homika work together for a little while he and Jasmine catch up but now she didn't want to work together? What was going on?

"Huh, leave it to me. If he gets into any trouble, he's gonna feel my wrath!"

Homika sat atop a pile of rocks as he finished telling her about his talk with Lyra. She didn't speak up during any of it, only nodding or using some other gesture to show she wasn't falling asleep through it. Once he finished, she hopped down and slammed her fist against the wall. "She's lying!"

"I think we went over that."

"I know but I think she's still lying. Lying through her teeth."

He shrugged. "I guess. So on another note, how do we get out to Undella Town? You said it was hundreds of miles away, are we gonna need a flying Pokemon?"

She nodded. "Yea, we'll need a flier but my Crobat won't be able to take both of us. We'll need something a bit bigger."

"Well I'm new to Unova but you know any flying Pokemon that would be able to help us out? If this were back in Kanto or Johto, I would know where to go—"

"I can't think when you keep talking," she said.

"Oh, right."

She looked down at him with almost an apologetic look, even though it lasted for the blink of an eye. "Don't get all down. I just find it hard to think when people are talking. It's like they talk and I can hear their voices echoing in my head, ping ponging around, interrupting my thoughts. It makes me want to—"

"But I stopped talking…"

She stomped her foot and he jumped backwards. "Quiet you!" She yelled. She grabbed a rock and tossed it at him, missing with ease. He didn't even have to move to avoid it. She stood up and laughed. "Hah, why worry about getting a flying Pokemon? We'll just use my private plane!"

Pitch let out a chirp and he glanced over at him. "Wait, what was that Pitch?"

"Did that little squirt insult me or something?"

He shook his head. "No, nope! He didn't say anything insulting. I was just gonna ask, you have a private plane?"

She looked at him for a few minutes without saying anything. He wondered why she did it at first before it dawned on him what kind of question he had asked. "Uh, forget I asked that."

"So let's get out of this stupid tunnel and get back to town. We'll just get in my plane and we'll be there in no time! Team Rocket has to be pretty stupid if they think they can just get away like that!"

"I agree. We can't them get comfortable for one bit."

She smiled, puffing out her chest. "Good, glad we're on the same page! I just can't wait to find that Lyra. I'm gonna bash her skull into the ground!"

"I don't think you have to go that far…"

"Stop having sympathy for her."

"I'm not! I just don't think she's done anything to warrant death by getting her head smashed in with a guitar," he said, sharing a look with Pitch. He walked toward the hole in the wall. "Well, no use sticking around here then. We should get back to the city."

"Heh, it's a good think we'll be in Undella Town anyways. That's where my next concert is!"

"Really? You think there is a connection?"

"They're obviously trying to take back that Pokemon we stole. And what better way to get it than crashing my concerts. They're due to crash another one—"

"Or they could be big fans of your music."

"They wouldn't be able to tell what good music is if I slapped them across the forehead with one of my CD's. Besides, I would feel dirty knowing that those goons enjoy my music. It'd make me…want to write some different music, like crummy rap songs or super sappy romance songs."

He laughed at the thought of Homika trying to write a sappy romance song and notice her glare at him. "What? I just thought it would be funny to see you write a romance song."

She smirked. "You got that right! I'd die before I be caught writing one of them."

Undella Town was pretty much a summer resort town by the looks of it. Many of the buildings were summer villas, with a few hotels and restaurants lying about. The beach was stunning and wasn't even occupied by that many people. If it weren't for the fact that they had work to do, he would have loved to run down there and have some fun. She grabbed him by the sleeve. "What, you haven't seen a beach before?"

"Not one as pretty as this. Man, it's like one of those fancy pictures you see in the stores or in a book."

"Yea well this is the real thing. I hear some of the gym leaders like to vacation here from time to time so…no staring!"

He looked back at her. "Huh but why would I stare?"

Before she could respond, they heard a cheery sounding girl speak up. "Yo Homika girl, what are you doing way out here? Don't see you come out here very often!"

He began to turn around but Homika jabbed him in the side. So he decided against turning around. "Hi Skyla, we're just in town to do a little investigating."

"You mean about Team Rocket? Stellar, so was I! Although I haven't had much luck. Who is this with you?"

"Ethan, he's working with me—"

"Actually, she's working with me. We're trying to stop Team Rocket's scheme, whatever that is. Not having much luck but we're slowly learning bits about it," he said as he turned around, thinking how rude it was trying to talk to someone with your back turned to them. He was greeted by the site of a petite red head girl, dressed in nothing more than a sky blue bikini with more curves than…he mentally jabbed himself and smiled at her. "Nice to meet you…Skyla, is it?"

She smiled back and held out her hand. "Pleased to meet ya! I swear, I've seen you before…"

"He was with me on stage at my last concert," Homika said.

Skyla shook her head. "No, I mean before that—"

"Maybe you mean at the Pokemon League Championships for Kanto and Johto. I finished third behind the Champion Crystal and the runner up, Lance."

She snapped her fingers. "Yea, that's it! Wow, what brought you way out here to Unova? Kanto and Johto aren't exactly a hop, a skip and a surf away."

"Well—"

Homika cleared her throat. "He came out to see one of my concerts but that's beside the point. Have you heard anything about any trucks or abundance of them in the area?"

Skyla looked confused for a bit. "Trucks? Now that you mention it, I remember hearing some of the resort employees talking about it. Saying they thought they heard the sound of a bunch of trucks in the forests north of here. I didn't really think much about it since it seemed like one of those rumors."

"Well we think there is more to it than just rumors so we're gonna check it out."

Skyla looked toward the sky. "Well, you might want to hold your horses. Looks like a storm is coming in."

Homika laughed. "I'm not afraid of a little rain."

"Little rain? When it rains here, it pours. It's like a mega monsoon! If you get stuck out in it, you'll regret it. You better wait until it passes."

Homika grumbled to herself and he laughed. "That's okay. I don't really want to get caught in a monsoon either. If Team Rocket is out there, they'll probably still be there if we have to wait a few hours or so."

"Yea, just peachy. Well let's go then Ethan!" Homika said. She began to drag him away.

"Go? But the beach is pretty much empty! Why don't you two join me for a little surfing?"

A little beach action sounded like a welcome respite before they had to go back to hunting for Team Rocket again but Homika didn't sound near as interested. Too bad, he was really itching to go out there. "I haven't surfed before, how is it?"

"Oh it's awesome! It's rough at first but once you get out there and catch a great wave, it's the best feeling in the world! It's much better than trying to ride a Pokemon in the water, that's for sure!"

He looked at Homika, who still looked a bit annoyed but it seemed like her anger had subsided a tad. "I'm not much for swimming to be honest."

Skyla laughed. "There's a first for everything! Come on, trust me! You won't regret it, one bit!"

"I'll pass, you guys can have fun."

Pitch, who had been on his shoulder but had taken the skies, came flying back down, chirping up a storm. He looked up at the little bird and laughed. "Whoa whoa whoa Pitch! Could you slow down a bit and explain it to me further?"

Skyla laughed. "Oh is that your Rufflet? I was wondering whose little bird it was. Pitch is a cute little name for it!"

"Thanks," he said. Pitch chirped his response and Ethan nodded. "Pitch said he saw a ship with cargo stamped with the Team Rocket logo on it. It was headed toward a shoreline to the northeast of here."

Homika laughed. "How arrogant can they get? In broad daylight even! This is our chance!"

"I got a speedboat. We could use it to get over there in like a minute! Or two," Skyla said. "Come on, we can't let them get away!"

"But I wonder…you know how they said Team Rocket had a plan to distract the gym leaders and the Elite Four if need be? You think this could be part of it?" Homika asked. Ethan and Skyla shared a look.

"What makes you think that? We know that secret road leads out here and that people said they heard a bunch of trucks to the north of here. And now we have a ship with Team Rocket cargo on it. Seems pretty cut and dry if you ask me."

"Yea but they could also be doing this to distract us. Perhaps their actual location is further inland and they're just doing this to throw others off."

He rubbed his chin. "Yea, I could see them doing that too but—"

"We should split up. One of us checks out where that ship is headed and then the rest go off in a different direction."

"That makes sense but if we do that, we should still wait until after the storm passes."

They never really got the chance to go out to the beach as the storms rolled in a bit quicker than expected. They took shelter in a nearby hotel, where autograph seekers, much to her dismay, hounded Homika. He sat in the corner of the lobby, sipping lemonade with Skyla while watching. Skyla downed her cocktail in one gulp and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Whoo, I think I'm ready to go back out there!"

He looked over at the several tall glasses she had down already. "D-d-don't you think that's enough?"

She shook her head as she motioned to a waiter for another. "Nope. Besides, it takes quite a few to get me even a little buzzed. Want to try one?"

He shook his head. "No, I think I'll pass."

"Suit yourself. So tell me, do the two of you get along pretty well?"

He looked over at Homika. "We do. She can be a bit difficult at times to get along with—"

"That's just her though. I don't think she'll just be a friend with anybody. She doesn't seem like a very sociable person, even though she is a mega popular rock star."

He leaned back in his chair and let out a happy sigh. "I couldn't do that, dealing with all that media, all the attention of the fans and stuff! I wouldn't be able to just go out and walk one of the routes with my Pokemon, just enjoying being out there and meeting new trainers or seeing new Pokemon."

She laughed. "Ha, don't we all! I have that experience when I'm out flying by myself. Just me, the plane, the clouds and the Pokemon around me. I just don't get to meet any trainers up there! Well unless they're riding one of their Pokemon."

A loud thunderbolt sounded off in the near distance and Pitch let out a terrified chirp before diving underneath his chair. He reached down to pet the bird and Skyla laughed again. "Sorry about that Pitch."

"You have a kind heart, just the kind of person for her."

"Huh?"

Skyla tapped her chin. "Homika seems like a pretty lonely person, even with all that fame and talent. And she's a rock star so she's probably hard to approach for people anyway. I'm sure she appreciates having someone like you around."

"She seems to have mellowed out just a tad."

"A tad?" Skyla said, laughing as a waiter delivered another cocktail to her. "The Homika I know would have already lashed out at all the autograph seekers, chasing them out of the hotel even. She's made almost a living off of a mean and nasty side, balanced out by a somewhat kinder side. I remember when you heard more about her antics on stage or in general instead of her music but now you just hear about her music, especially how great her concert was last time."

"You're pulling my leg."

She smiled. "I'm serious! If this next concert is just as good as the last, people are going to start talking."

"Talking? Talking about what?"

Skyla grabbed her glass and drank some of her drink. She looked like she was about to speak up when Homika walked over to them. She sat down on his lap and let out a sigh. "Man, I'm bushed."

"You didn't feel like chasing them off?"

She grabbed his glass of lemonade and drank the rest of it in one gulp. "I decided I could tolerate them this time. Goobers can be annoying but they are my fans so I gotta throw them a bone once in a while."

Pitch let out a weak chirp and he reached down to pet his head. "That poor bird."

"Poor bird? Why is he sounding so pathetic? He's supposed to evolve into a fearsome Pokemon. The least he could do is have some courage!"

He sighed. "He is a Flying Pokemon though, electricity is a major weakness for them. Imagine him trying to fly in a big thunderstorm and getting zapped by lightning. If you think getting hit with an attack from an Electric Pokemon would—"

"I was joking Ethan."

Sure didn't sound like it. She slammed the glass down on the side table and motioned to the waiter for another. "Want to try some of my cocktail? It's pretty good. I offered some to Ethan but he won't budge."

She laughed. "I'll pass but you got to forgive Ethan, he's a bit of a lightweight. I gave him some wine and he pretty much passed out after a sip!"

"He does seem like a bit of a lightweight."

"Hey that's a bit—"

"Ugh, it's so humid out here, I'm going to order a room so I can take a shower," she said as she got up.

"Order a room even if we're only—"

"Remember my next concert is here, I might as well get a room here."

Even though he was terrified beyond belief, Pitch still had it in him to fire off a chirp. One Ethan could only agree with. "Okay but have you seen the prices for a room here? It's like, as much as my house! How am I going to afford it? Are there any cheaper hotels around?"

"In Undella? Not really," Skyla said. "Nothing is cheap here. I only come out here to have fun on the beach, I'd never consider staying here."

He looked over at her. "No discounts for being a gym leader?"

She laughed. "That would be like stellar but no! You don't get a lot of perks being a gym leader in all honesty. There's the title and recognition but you always have upstart trainers coming to challenge you everyday. Not only that but you also have to help out with the authorities when things are going on and—"

"So then why are you a gym leader?"

She looked off in the distance. "Well, that's a good question. Despite the problems, you get to see new trainers everyday, what kind of team they have and how well they work together. It's an everyday challenge trying to figure out how to defeat them. They already know what Pokemon you're going to use but it's up to you to come up with enough plans to cover for that. Plus, it's kinda fun helping stop criminals who are up to no good using Pokemon and such, feels you with a sense of pride and purpose!"

"I can feel you on that last one. I do often feel good that I helped take down a villainous plan, even if I earned myself some enemies."

She held up a finger. "Yea but with all the people you've helped in the past, that means more people looking out for you or willing to help. Plus all the awesome friends you make along the way."

He smiled, thinking about all the people he had befriended along the way, from the many gym leaders, countless trainers, some of the Elite Four and even the jerkish Silver. Of course then it had him thinking back to Jasmine and how she seemed to have pushed him away. He was for sure that she would be eager to work together after being apart for a while. Instead she had described him as nothing more than a friend and shoved him off toward Homika. Then again, she didn't seem to be the first trying to push him toward her.

"Hey, wake up. You got all spacey on me there for a minute," Skyla said, causing him to snap back to attention.

"Ahh sorry, just thinking! I was wondering, I could use a water Pokemon. Do you know of any good ones? I mean since you're out in the water surfing, I know you see them out there."

She smiled. "Why not just get another flying Pokemon?"

"I think Pitch will become really jealous if I do that."

She tapped her chin. "Well let me think…a good water Pokemon. There are just so many out there! Wait a minute, I think I have one! It's another flying Pokemon but it's such a beautiful Pokemon when it evolves that I just can't help but—"

"Ethan!" He turned to see Homika standing off toward the elevators. She waved at him and he waved back before turning back to Skyla.

"So what is the Pokemon?"

She laughed. "I think she wants you to join her."

"Huh, but why?" He said before getting up and walking over to Homika. She put her hands on her hips.

"Here, take this. I'm going to cool off until this stupid rainstorm ends but if you need to drop your stuff off, here's a key."

"I thought you didn't want me around because of—"

"Just keep that little...spider in its ball and we'll be okay. If you let it out, I will kill you."

She shoved the keys into his hand and walked off. He scratched his head. "I really wish she'd get comfortable with him. He's pretty harmless."

A few hours later, the monsoon still raged on outside. He stood at the entrance of the hotel, his face almost pressed against the glass as he watched the rain pound everything outside with a fury that he hadn't seen…ever to be honest. The thunder had stopped for the most part but the rain hadn't. He let out another sigh. "This is pretty strange. Usually they pass after a few hours but it's already been a few hours and it shows no sign of moving," Skyla said, a concerned look growing on her face. He looked over at her and nodded. "I guess we were due for a really strong one."

"You've got to be kidding me! It's still going on? I thought you said they last only a few hours!"

Skyla looked over at Homika. "They do. That's why I'm so surprised too. I guess we were—"

"This sucks. I thought once I got out the pool, that the stupid storm would be over so we can go after Team Rocket. But nooo, we're stuck here."

She stomped over to a table and sat down. Skyla joined her but he and Pitch continued to stare out the glass door at the pounding rain. He saw a few small birds out in the rain, including what looked like a sky blue colored duck let. "Hey Skyla, Homika. I see this little bird outside and it looks like a duck—"

"Oh that's the Pokemon I was going to suggest. It's actually called Ducklett and it's part water."

"Wow, it looks kinda cool. I want to catch it!"

"In this pounding rain? Are you crazy?" Homika asked. He looked at her with a big smile on his face. She let out a sigh and tossed a Pokeball to him. "Never mind, go do what you want."

He stepped outside and after only a few seconds, was about as wet as if he had jumped into a full pool but he would worry about that later. Several of the Ducklett flew off but one of them stayed back, staring straight at Pitch, who stood in front of him, ready to fight. The Ducklett let out an annoyed quack and waddled toward Pitch, as fast as the little duck could waddle. Pitch took to the skies and the Ducklett followed. He was about to tell Pitch what to do but shrugged. "I let the others figure out how best to fight, might as well let him too."

Off the bat, even in the rain, he could see that Pitch was a bit more comfortable in the air than the duck. He flew around it several times before coming in close with an attack of his own. Each time the Ducklett would try to get out of the way but Pitch was too fast and agile for him. Soon the duck fluttered to the ground, no longer in the mood to play Pitch's game. Pitch refused to go to the ground but it seemed Ducklett had something in store. It sucked in some air before unleashing a blast of icy, cool air. It crossed directly with Pitch's flight path and that caused him to land in a hurry. Pitch ruffled his feathers in an attempt to warm up but that just gave Ducklett time to charge in and head butt him.

Pitch rolled over backwards a few times while Ducklett followed after him, spraying him with water. Though he had to wonder how much that hurt considering they were both soaking wet already. Pitch got back to his feet and let out an angry chirp, sounding real tired of this. He took to the skies again but made a super quick dive at Ducklett, a move that shocked the both of them. He smacked straight into him, knocking the little duck over. He took to the air again and dove at him again but Ethan yelled out at him. "Hey, I think that's enough Pitch!"

Pitch dove away from the little duck as he flung the Pokeball forward. It captured the Ducklett and rolled around a few times before clicking shut. Pitch landed next to the Pokeball and chirped at it a few times. "Hey calm down Pitch, he's going to be your partner. Better get along."

Pitch gave him an annoyed look but he waved him off. Just like Wiggler, he seemed to really hate losing. Though from the looks of it, Pitch had a bit more of a quick temper than Wiggler now that he thought about it.

He stepped back into the hotel and had a towel thrown straight in his face. He took it off and saw Homika was the one who had tossed it. "So was it worth it?"

"Well it was cool seeing Pitch fight out there. I don't think he cares much for Ducklett but he'll have to get used to it."

Pitch shook himself off and he winced. "Hey, get off my shoulder if you're going to do that!"

Skyla laughed. "Homika said you looked so much like a cute kid with a new toy on Christmas—"

"I didn't say that! Don't even think about it! I said he looked like a stupid idiot, chasing after a little duck in the pouring rain. I mean, who goes out in the pouring rain for just one common Pokemon? You see them all the time in Unova."

Skyla chuckled. "Yea but we're Unova gym leaders, he's a trainer from Johto—"

"You know, it just dawned on me. You two were saying that these storms usually last like a few hours and so?"

Skyla nodded. "Yea, they do."

He walked over to the table and pulled up a chair. He kept it a few inches from the table since he was still soaking wet. "Well, I remember in Hoehn there was a Pokemon that could cause incredible storms. It was a legendary Pokemon by the name of Kyogere and whenever it appeared on a route, the area would be covered with big storms and continuous rain. Is there a Pokemon like that in Unova?"

Skyla and Homika looked at each other for a few before Homika let out a string of curses. She slammed her hands on the table, causing a drink to fly up into his face and splash him. Then again he was already pretty wet so it didn't matter by now. "Those bas****s! Those freakin'—"

"Okay okay, can I at least get a yes or no?"

"There are several Pokemon like that, the Kami trio. Every time they appear somewhere, storms follow them. Unfortunately, they're all legendary Pokemon so they would be difficult to deal with," Skyla said. "If that's true, it's a pretty good way of delaying us. I would have never thought about that angle."

He beamed with pride and looked over at Homika, half expecting her to poke a hole in that but she only shot a glare at him. Better than nothing he supposed. "So now what do we do?"

"I'll send out some of my Pokemon to scout the area. If one of the Kami trio is nearby, they'll spot them."

Pitch let out a chirp and he looked at him. "You want to help too? You aren't tired from your fight with the Ducklett?"

Pitch shook his head and he smiled. "All right, well let me get my Pokemon and we can go from there!" Skyla said as she got up from the table and hurried off. He began to get up as well but heard Homika clear her throat. He looked over at her.

"Huh, what is it?"

"Umm…I guess I should be thankful I have you around. Even if that Kami angle isn't true, I think that was…pretty smart that you thought of it."

Pitch let out a surprised chirp and her mood turned sour in a flash. "What did he just say?"

He laughed. "He was shocked you decided to compliment me but that it was nice to hear."

"Oh…well, fine."