More of the spotlights switched on again and he saw he was dealing with a duo. The girl was dressed in the traditional Team Rocket outfit for women but had a large puffy white hat with two curved brown ponytails poking out from under it. The guy's only trait was his head full of messy blue hair. That and he was short. "Man, Team Rocket's standards have dropped off a cliff, don't you think Wiggler?"

"You're funny. Not so funny once I show your Pokemon a thing or two!" Lyra said. She tossed a Pokeball forward and summoned a Heracross. It landed with a thud and fluxed its muscles as it did. He smiled.

"Wow, I'm impressed but Wiggler knows how to deal with these kind of Pokemon. Wiggler, you know what to do!"

Before Wiggler could actually do what he wanted, the bug Pokemon charged forward, at a speed that surprised him and Wiggler both. It leapt into the air and swung its arm down with a karate chop but Wiggler rolled out of the way before it hit. Wiggler got back to its feet and pointed its small limbs toward its head, ready to unleash a psychic attack. The Heracross grabbed a nearby speaker, even though it had to be twice its size and flung it at Wiggler. The speaker stopped a few inches from its head and floated in place.

Wiggler let out a squeak as he pointed his arm toward the bug and the speaker flew back at the bug. The Heracross knocked the speaker aside with its huge horn. "Oh wow, impressive," Ethan said. Lyra laughed.

"Of course he's tough! The Rocket bosses were very specific about dealing with you. You've caused us quite a bit of trouble. We aren't going to have that happen again! Heracross show them your secret technique!"

"Secret technique? If you think that's going to help you, think again!"

The Heracross crossed its arms and a bright aura glowed around its body. Ethan frowned, unsure of what was going on and looked over at Wiggler, motioning him to take a defensive stance. Two other image of the bug appeared but it didn't look like it was Double Team. Soon even more images of Heracross appeared, a small army of extra images. It was becoming tough to keep track of the original and he realized that is what she was counting on. "Don't do anything Wiggler. She wants us to get distracted!"

Suddenly one of the images charged at Wiggler but before it got any closer, it vanished into thin air with a puff of smoke. Soon every other afterimage of the Heracross was charging at Wiggler and disappearing. He had been trying to keep track of the original but had soon lost track as the afterimages piled up. Wiggler had pretty good vision so perhaps he had been able to keep track.

Out of nowhere, the Heracross dropped out of the sky and smacked Wiggler in the back with a powerful karate chop. Ethan jumped in surprise. "H-hey!"

He noticed his back felt a bit lighter and realized his backpack was gone. "I thought you were paying attention!" Lyra said. He looked over at her and saw a Haunter floating next to her, his backpack, which also had some of his remaining Pokemon.

"Well...I thought I was."

Lyra took the backpack. "So now what are you going to do?"

Suddenly. Jasmine's huge Steelix landed on the stage, separating him and Lyra. Lyra jumped back in surprise at this new entrant to the ring. He looked over and saw her hurry onto the stage. "Ethan, you get Homika out of here."

"What but why? I still have a few Pokemon on me, we've taken them on before and we can do it again!"

"Not with all of them all at once! Between me and some of my team, we can handle them!"

"I don't think that's such a-"

Wiggler interrupted him with a squeak. He looked down at the Pokemon, who seemed to have recovered somewhat from the attack. He let out a few more squeaks and Ethan grumbled.

"Fine! I'll get her to safety but I'm coming right back!"

He and Wiggler turned and head over to where Homika was. She was in the middle of a large battle of nothing but poisonous Pokemon. He knew Team Rocket was known for using Poison Pokemon but why was she using them? Wasn't she supposed to be an electric type user? Or was he just mistaken? From what he could see, the battle was kind of a draw since she chose to fight Team Rocket with similar Pokemon. "Homika?"

"Can't you see I'm a bit busy here?"

He and Wiggler exchanged a look, before coughing a bit as each Wheezing tried to outdo the other in filling the area with gas clouds. "Yes, busy making a stink! Let's get out of here!"

She looked at him with wide eyes. "Get out of here? Right after they decided to crash my concert? You're nuts!"

"I know it sounds nuts but this place is going to be crawling with even more Team Rocket goons and we can't take them all on! Best to cut bait and get out of here!"

"No way! I'm gonna show them up for trying to crash my concert!" She yelled before turning her attention back to the various members of Team Rocket she was fighting. He took off his hat and grabbed the Pokeball he had hiding there.

"All right Wiggler, I'll summon Crunk and separate her and her Pokemon from the others and then you can teleport us away, all right?"

Wiggler let out a squeak of agreement and he flicked his Pokeball forward, summoning another massive Steelix to the fray. It landed in between Homika and Team Rocket, causing her to shriek in surprise. The other Poison Pokemon tried in vain to spray the Steelix but Crunk's steel hide ensured nothing worked. Homika shot him a dirty look, just as Wiggler sprang forward. Within a flash, they were soon away from the stage and had landed in a forest by the looks of it.

Homika stood up and looked around. "Huh, a forest? Hey, what's the big idea?"

"Hey, it wasn't my idea. I wanted to stay back there and fight too!"

"Then why are we here and instead of being back at the stage? I was just ready to get the upper hand!"

Wiggler let out a squeak and she looked at him. "I don't think Wiggler agrees."

Homika folded her arms and looked away. "What does she know?"

Wiggler, who had been lying on the ground trying to catch his breath, sprang to his feet and let out a flurry of angry squeaks at her. Thought it was kind of tough for a Wigglytuff to look threatening to anyone. Homika leveled her eyes at him. "That's he."

"He? Aren't all Wigglytuff supposed to be girls?"

He laughed. "One in four will be a male. He just happens to be one of the rare male ones."

"Cute. Now how about we get back? I've got to show those Team Rocket goons not to mess with the Queen of Rock!"

"You aren't going anywhere! If something were to happen you, everyone would want my head! I only did that to get you to safety."

"I'm a gym leader. If anyone should be whisked to safety, it would be you!"

He shot a glare at her. "Me? Me? I've beaten every gym leader in Johto and Kanto! I finished third in the Pokemon League Championship behind Crystal and Lance! I can handle myself pretty well."

She sneered at him. "Oh, then why haven't I heard of you before?"

"Well...that's because..."

"Anyways take me back! I'm a gym leader and I'm not supposed to run from a fight, even if I am an international star!"

He looked over at Wiggler, who looked exhausted. After enduring that massive blow from the bug and having to teleport them all away, he could see why he'd need a break. "Well, I was planning to go back but it looks like that won't be happening soon."

"Huh, why?"

"Because Wiggler is exhausted. He's in no shape to be whisking us away here and there. Maybe once he reco-"

"The fight might be over by then! Maybe if you were smart and had some good Pokemon, you wouldn't have this problem."

"H-hey! My team does just fine!"

She grinned. "Fine enough that you were only able to get third?"

He ignored that little barb and sat down next to Wiggler. Wiggler sat up but he still looked pretty ragged. He put his hand on his head. "Yo, it's okay. Just relax for now. I'm sure Jasmine can handle herself...I hope."

"What's your business with her anyways?"

"Huh? Oh she's my friend."

Homika laughed. "So is that what you do, try to make friends with gym leaders to make-"

"How about you tell me why Team Rocket would crash your concert?"

She folded her arms. "They obviously have poor taste in music, that's for sure! I mean they could have picked any other concert to crash but-"

"That isn't telling me anything," he said with a sigh. He crossed his legs Indian style and smiled. "I think you're hiding something. Team Rocket wouldn't have any reason to crash this party unless they were after something."

"You sure know a lot about them."

He shrugged. "Hey, I already said I've tangled with them in the past. I know how they work. They aren't stupid."

She put her hands in her pockets. "Well...there might be something," she said, a nervous look forming on her face. He and Wiggler shared a knowing look and he snapped his fingers.

"I knew it! There had to be something! So what is it?"

She scratched her cheek before pulling a Pokeball out of her pocket. "I stole this when I broke into one of their labs. I was kind of bored after a concert and took a walk when I came across this strange looking lab."

"A lab? Where was this?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I was kind of drunk."

Wiggler let out a squeak and Ethan couldn't help but share his sentiment. "Kind of drunk? What's that supposed to mean?"

Homika laughed. "I wasn't buzzed good enough yet. What do you expect from a rock star?"

He and Wiggler exchanged a look. "I don't know, what am I supposed to expect?"

She let out a sigh and shook her head. "You're hopeless."

"Well anyways, so you don't remember much of anything from this lab? Like what else was in it or if they were working on something?"

She shrugged. "Nope. Why do you care though? Do you plan to go and stop them or something? Only really good trainers can do something like that."

"Do you remember where the lab was at?"

She yawned. "Somewhere in south Unova I believe. I really can't remember much though."

"Well maybe once we meet up with Jasmine again, we can go check it out. If they're up to no good, then-"

"You really are dead set on screwing up their plans, aren't you?"

He nodded. "Of course. Me, Jasmine and Wiggler have tangled with them several times and they've always been up to no good, whether it was causing the Magikarp in the Lake of Rage to forcibly evolve or trying to take over the radio tower in Goldenrod."

Homika laughed. "Well perhaps you do know a little something about Team Rocket," she said. She summoned her Pokemon back. "Fine, let's go check out that lab."

"Huh but what about Jasmine?"

She rolled her eyes. "You sure are concerned about a gym leader. She's a gym leader for a reason, she can handle herself. You on the other hand, will need the help of a gym leader if you hope to get anything done."

He and Wiggler again shared a look. Perhaps overwhelming self-confidence was a trait for becoming a gym leader, or maybe it was because she was such a big star. "Well I guess I see your point. We can go look for this lab. Once Wiggler recovers, we can-"

"Again why are we depending on your weak Pokemon? My Crobat can get us there in a jiffy. And that's a pretty long trip anyways."

Wiggler let out a squeak of protest but Ethan just put his hand on his head and winked at him. "Fine, I'll let you lead since you are the gym leader and all."

That earned other curious squeak from Wiggler but he pulled the balloon like Pokemon close. "Don't worry, we'll just prove to her how good we can be. That shouldn't be too hard, right? Just ignore her little barbs, she wants a reaction."

"Do you even have a Pokemon that can fly? How do you get around?"

"My bike usually but I have a flying Pokemon too. He's not a part of my main team so I don't always have him around."

She rolled her eyes. "A bike? That's just great. It's a miracle you accomplished anything!"

They landed in the outskirts of a large port city by the name of Driftveil. In a way, it reminded him of Vermillion except while Vermillion was more of a sea port for large cruisers and the like, Driftveil was more of a blue collar town, where many of the ships were ones used to ship supplies in and out of town. Staring out across the sea, he could see what looked like a small army of sailboats and small fishing ships. "Wow, this is awesome! I can't believe I'm in Unova! I've heard so much about it!"

Wiggler let out a squeak and pointed to one of the sailboats. "Huh, what are they for? They're for fishing!"

His eyes grew wide at the sound of that and he let out another squeak. "What, they aren't fishing for things like Magikarp, just regular fish."

Wiggler seemed satisfied with the answer and he took a deep breath in, the cool and salty air tickling his nose.

"Is this your first time to the sea? You're acting like a kid," Homika said.

Wiggler began to fire back an angry response but he put his hand on his head instead. "It's just been a while. And this is my first time to Unova. All of the other regions are kind of close to each other but not Unova. It's all off away from everywhere else so you don't get a chance to visit like you would everywhere else."

She rolled her eyes. "I guess. Whatever so this city is called Driftveil City. We're only here because we can grab a boat to take us to southern Unova."

"Southern Unova?"

"Yes, you know like...Southern Unova. It's the southern part of Unova."

He and Wiggler exchanged a look. He looked up at the sky and saw a small bird flying above. It reminded him of an eaglet though this one was light blue and had a single plume in the middle of its bushy head. It floated down to a nearby tree, landing to rest. "Wow, that's the first time I've seen a Pokemon like that. What is it called Homika?"

She rolled her eyes. "It's a Rufflet, just a baby Pokemon. You see them around quite a bit in the mountains and areas near water."

He searched his pockets in vain for a spare Pokeball and grumbled when he remembered they were all in the backpack. He looked at her. "Do you have an extra Pokeball?"

"What, you're going to catch it?"

"Yea, since my other Pokemon are captured, I'm gonna need some more in the meantime. Unless you want to-"

She reached into her pocket and tossed him on. "Glad to see you're trying to pull your weight around here. Maybe in time you will carry your weight around for once."

He ignored her and looked over at Wiggler. "Okay Wiggler, how about we send it to dreamland?"

Wiggler stepped forward but what came from his lungs wasn't the soothing melody he hoped for but a loud screeching sound akin to nails on a chalkboard. He winced in pain while Homika yelled at him. "What is going on? Why is your tranny bunny so awful at singing? I thought it was the one thing they had going for them? He's awful!"

The Rufflet let out a screech of its own and suddenly dove at Wiggler, probably in protest of its terrible singing. Wiggler must have expected it because he tossed his head forward and delivered a head butt straight to the small bird. The Rufflet bounced off Wiggler like a pinball and fluttered backward, stunned by the hit. Wiggler let out a squeak and waddled after the bird. The Rufflet fluttered down to the ground, just as Wiggler rolled toward it like a bowling ball. He smacked into the small bird, knocking it flat on its back.

He kept rolling for a few feet before coming to a stop but it did the trick, as the little bird was nowhere near as energetic as it once was. Ethan smiled as he tossed the Pokeball toward it, capturing it inside. It moved around a bit before the light on the button flashed and he snapped his fingers. "Hah, got it! That was great Wiggler!"

Wiggler let out a happy squeak of his own and Ethan smiled. "You mean you meant to sing a bad tune so it'd get it angry and attack you in anger? And it worked? Well I got to say, that's some great thinking."

"Wait, wait...you just let your Pokemon fight? Without giving it any instructions?" Homika asked. He nodded.

"Sure, don't you? They've been doing this for long enough, I figure they know what to do by now. I don't need to tell them what to do unless there is something specific we need to do."

She pursed her lips. "I see."

That was it? He half expected another smart aleck remark from her. He picked up the Pokeball and tapped it against his cheek. "So now what do we call him? It's a he, right?" He asked, looking at her. She shrugged.

"The entire Rufflet line is male."

"Oh cool. So now what do we call him? Maybe we can call him...Swoop!"

"Swoop? What kind of stupid name is that? Who names a Rufflet, Swoop?" Homika said, the mean spirited side coming out again. Wiggler let out a suggestion of his own.

"Pitch? Did you get that name from that one videogame? Huh, now that I think about it, it seems like it work. Both are small birds and pretty quick-"

"You know that little bird will grow up, right?"

"I kind of figured it would. Most small Pokemon usually evolve into something bigger and much more fearsome looking. It's practically traditional...well except cases like Wiggler here."

She sighed, just as they heard someone scream. At first he thought it was a girl but actually a man came running up to them. He looked to be in his late twenties or maybe early thirties, hard to tell. He was decked in nothing but gear with either Homika's image or her icon on it. He looked more like a walking advertisement than an actual person and as he ran up to them, he let out another one of those girly screams. "Wow Wiggler, he sounds worse than you when you're off key," Ethan said. Wiggler let out a squeak, suggesting this guy was far worse. Perhaps he was right, he was pretty used to Wiggler's off key singing by now.

"Homika, Homika...I can't believe it's you! It's really you! I'm like your biggest fan; I've been following you ever since you started at Starmie Records and then after you left there and started your own studio! I have all your CD's, including the limited releases and the solo tracks as well. I even started the local chapter of the Homika fan club...uhhh...ahhh who is this guy?" He asked, his expression turning from pure joy and to a seething rage. Looks like he had found himself in a bad situation.

"I'm just traveling around Unova and I ran into her-"

"Actually he's my new boyfriend," she said as she scooted closer to him and hooked her arm under his. Wiggler let out a squeak of surprise. "I just try to keep him under wraps because of the problems it would cause."

Problems, what problems? He looked to Wiggler for help but the balloon seemed just as confused as him. The man frowned.

"Boyfriend? Well I guess that makes sense but...I thought you just had groupies that you went through every night. You're the most beautiful, most sexiest rock star around, why do you need to commit to one guy?"

Suddenly he realized he didn't want to be a part of this conversation. And that he'd rather be out hunting for new Pokemon. She laughed. "Of course, I still have my groupies I can go through each night but I do get tired of them. Of course being my biggest fan and all, can I trust you to keep this a secret? I mean if word got out, I fear for this guy's poor life."

The guy saluted her. "Yes, of course! Your secret is safe with me. I won't let it get out to anyone! Could I ask you to sign some of my stuff? I'd really appreciate it!"

She sneered. "Well only because you're doing this favor for me! Otherwise I wouldn't bother!"

He laughed. "Haha, I knew the tsundere side of you would come out eventually! I mean-"

"Hey, stop slobbering and hand the stuff over! I don't got all day and if the word gets out that I'm in town, I won't be able to go anywhere without people mobbing me!"

Considering she stood out like a sore thumb, he kind of found that hard to believe someone hadn't noticed them already. After she chased the over eager fan away, she looked at him and laughed. "What?"

"Nothing."

"And what was he talking about when he mentioned groupies?"

"Wow, you really are a country boy, how many times do you get out of your farm?"

Wiggler let out a squeak and he looked over at him. "Did you just say I don't want to know?"

Wiggler nodded and Homika grumbled. "Oh he's just being a spoilsport. Maybe if you can carry your weight for once, I'll let you get to play the part one night."

"I don't know what you're getting at but something tells me I should pass. Besides, shouldn't we be trying to find Team Rocket? That's what we came here to do, right?"

"Yea-"

"Could I see that Pokemon you stole?"

She brushed aside her hair and looked around. "After we get away from here. I don't want the word to get out I'm in town."

They finally left the port town and traveled west along the tree-lined path of Route 6. Off in the distance he could see an entrance to a cave, something that piqued his interest right away. "Hey, what's that cave?"

"Chargestone Cave. The inside contains a lot of magnets and is occupied by the electric spider Pokemon known as Joltik," she said. His eyes grew wide.

"An electric spider Pokemon? That sounds awesome!"

"Awesome? It's a spider!"

He and Wiggler shared a look. "So? Why do you mind? Aren't you a Poison type gym leader? A lot of bug Pokemon are also Poison-"

"Spiders are a special kind of evil," she said, folding her arms. He raised an eyebrow.

"A special kind of-"

"We aren't going to that cave, and that's final!"

"Oh, okay. A cave full of magnets, huh? Jasmine would probably love to come visit this place," he said, looking at Wiggler. Wiggler nodded in agreement and he heard Homika grumble.

"You sure do worry a lot about her. Isn't she a gym leader? She can take care of herself."

"Yea but-"

"But nothing. There's a reason she's a gym leader and you aren't."

He winced at that. "Well, I guess I can't argue there."

Wiggler let out a squeak of surprise and Homika smiled. She poked her finger into his chest. "And we're getting sidetracked, again. You wanted to see the Pokemon I stole, here it is," she said as she produced the Pokeball. He took it and looked at it before he summoned the Pokemon inside. It was a small Pokemon but resembled a Japanese shogun. It's armor was mainly red and black but there were quite a few gold pieces including a large crescent moon symbol attached to the front of what appeared to be its helmet. It had two blades on its arms, which were as long as its arms. It looked up at them with its beady red eyes and he whistled.

"Wow, now this is a cool looking Pokemon. What do you call it?"

"I don't know, I just stole him from the lab. He kind of resembles Bisharp-"

"What's a Bisharp?" Ethan asked. She began to look annoyed, complete with the rolling eyes motion but she must have remembered he was new to the region because she took out a Pokedex and handed it to him. On the screen was the entry and a picture of Bisharp. He looked it over for a few before Wiggler let out a squeak. "Oh here, ya go."

He handed it to Wiggler who looked it over as well before flipping it back to him. "Hey, don't just toss it around? I paid good money for that! It's not a toy!" She said, directing her ire towards Wiggler. Ethan handed it to her.

"Sorry about that."

She snatched it back. "Just watch your puffball. He doesn't want to see my bad side."

He nodded. "So that's a Bisharp? So many of the Unova Pokemon looks so cool! I can't wait to see more of them!"

"I hope you're kidding."

He and Wiggler shared a look. "Should I?"

"A lot of the Pokemon here are horrible looking. I have to wonder who was the genius behind Pokemon like Garbodor, Ferrothorn or Vanillish."

He smiled. "I think you're just being a bit-"

"Harsh? Oh please get off your high horse. I bet there are Pokemon you hate the look of. You can't possibly tell me you like every Pokemon. If you are, you're a liar!" She said, jabbing a finger into his face.

"Well there-"

"Liar!"

"I meant to say-"

"Liar!"

"What I'm trying to-"

"Liar!"

He let out a sigh. "Well...okay, there might be a few I don't care for but we're getting off the subject!"

She laughed and licked her lips. "Oh so when you want to get off topic and go on a tangent, it's okay but when I want to do it, it's wrong? Hehe, I see how it is."

Wiggler let out a squeak. "Now you're just screwing with me."

She gave him an innocent look. "Am I?"

He looked at the Pokemon again. "So what's so special about him? Other than the fact he looks cool."

She nodded. "Well there has not been a recorded evolution of Bisharp. He's supposed to be the final evolution in the line."

Wiggler let out a loud squeak. "Wait, are you saying that Team Rocket is trying to create new species of Pokemon?"

"They want to rule the world, right? Why not try to make some super powerful Pokemon to accomplish it? That might do the trick, wouldn't it?"

He nodded. "That probably would. I'm just stunned they would try and do it. The last time someone tried to do that, it didn't work out too well."

"Huh?"

He folded his arms. "You didn't hear about Mewtwo? It was created to be the strongest Pokemon but eventually went mad, broke out of the underground lab and killed most of the researchers."

"Oh wow...well maybe they figured a way to ensure that doesn't happen? Who cares? They're Team Rocket!"

He rubbed his chin. "Wow, if this is what they're up to, we can't let them get away with this. Experimenting on Pokemon and forcing them to evolve further...that's awful!"

"Yea so now we just got to find them. And if they don't want to be found...well you know."

Ethan laughed. "I'm not too worried about that. Wiggler and me have a way of...running into Team Rocket. Even when we aren't looking for them, we'll somehow bump into them or one of their plots."

"Heh, well I'll have to see it happen before I believe you," she said as she summoned the Pokemon back to its ball. "So let's get going then, if we keep wasting time, they would have moved on!"

"So how do we get there? You said it's in South Unova so I'm guessing it's a bit of a ways from here."

"We can catch a boat like I said earlier or we can just surf there on a Pokemon."

He looked over at Wiggler. "I don't think Wiggler would care much for being a surfboard."

Wiggler let out a squeak and she grumbled. "I said surf not float. If we relied on her, it'd take us a year to get there!"

"Him."

She poked her finger into his chest. "You know, we're gonna catch you some real Pokemon, not some freaking' mascots. And you're gonna thank me."

"Real Pokemon? What do you mean by that?"

"You'll see. Let's just get going."

From what he had seen of Unova, Southern Unova didn't seem much different. They landed on a white sandy beach and she hopped off the back of the Lapras and stretched out her arms. "Ahhh, finally back."

He patted the Lapras on the head and could hear her grumble. "What now?"

"You're wasting time!"

"Still, we should thank this Lapras for ferrying-"

"It's their job to do that. And you're hindering its job by being all sappy."

Nonetheless, he wished the Pokemon farewell and hopped onto the sand. He walked over to her and looked over at the line of tropical trees that lay before them. "So is this a jungle in front of us?"

"Yea, it stretches for quite a while. I haven't bothered exploring it."

He folded his arms. "Well, that's not good but I think I have an idea," he said. He took out the Pokeball holding Pitch and summoned the bird. He looked to Wiggler. "Yo Wiggler, can you tell him to go fly up above the trees and see if he can see anything interesting?"

Wiggler nodded and began to converse with the little bird. Soon the Rufflet had taken the skies and disappeared behind the treetops. "That reminds me, just how do you understand that puffball's squeaks? It sounds like gibberish to me but you seem like you can interpret it just fine."

He turned to look at her and shrugged. "I don't really know, I just do. I seem to understand what all of my Pokemon say but only after I get to know them. Me and Wiggler have been partners forever so that's why."

She frowned. "You don't know?"

"I don't!"

"Whatever. So what other Pokemon do you have? Maybe we can find you some real Pokemon in the meantime."

He glared at her. "Real Pokemon? All of my Pokemon are great; I almost got to the Pokemon League Finals with them! I just ran into Crystal and she was familiar with me team-"

Homika laughed. "Excuses. No one cares who got third place, or second for that matter. Only first matters."

"Ahhh oh...well other than Wiggler and Pitch, some of the other Pokemon I have or had were Aries the Tauros, Rai the Raichu, Juan the Ludicolo, Crunk the Steelix and... That's about it. There was also Vile the Vileplume but I released him so he could protect the Oddish in the Ilex Forest."

She rubbed her chin. "You need a Poison Pokemon then."

"No I don't!"

"Of course you do! You know the benefits of having a Poison Pokemon? You can inflict a bunch of status ailments on your opponent and then take advantage! And considering the Pokemon you have, they could use every advantage they can get."

"My Pokemon do just-"

"You know, just because I live in Unova, far away from the other regions doesn't mean I'm blind to what goes on over there. I was at that Pokemon League Tournament you entered. I was one of the opening acts for it."

His eyes grew wide. "You were? I don't remember-"

Wiggler let out a squeak and he looked over at him. "You remember her being there? Wow, I guess I was too nervous about the tournament to remember."

"Anyways!" She said, getting his attention again. "I was there at the tournament. I was planning to just leave after I was finished but I heard something about a trainer using an unorthodox team and decided to stick around."

"You saw me compete?"

She nodded. "Yes, I did. I thought your team was stupid and didn't know how you were going to compete with it but you ripped through that bracket with ease. You pretty much handled every gym leader you ran into and I was real shocked that you almost beat Crystal to get to the finals but we all know how that turned out."

"Oh well, thanks."

She folded her arms. "I just think that with your unorthodox style, if you added a Poison Pokemon to your team, you could go even farther. It would sort of fit in how you do things. For crying out loud, you rely on your puffball trying to either put opponents to sleep or giving them a splitting migraine! Your pineapple needed to mesmerize opponents with its singing and dancing until it powered up. And we won't even talk about your electric rat and its-"

"Wow, you know quite a bit of my strategy," he said, sharing a surprised look with Wiggler.

"Didn't I tell you I watched? Anyways, that's how I see it."

"I'll think about it," he said as Pitch returned. The little bird flew down to the ground next to Wiggler and chirped something to him. Wiggler looked at him and squeaked his response. "So he thought he saw something that looked like a trailer with a Team Rocket logo several miles in. If there's a truck, a base might not be too far away."

"Maybe."

He did a double take. "Maybe? Why maybe?"

"It could be just a diversion. Make people think there is a base here when there actually isn't. That way they waste time combing the area, looking for a base while Team Rocket conducts business elsewhere."

"But you came across a base around here," he said. Homika looked at the sky.

"Well...yes but like I said, I was sloppy drunk so maybe it was around here..."

"You've got to be kidding me," he said. He shook his head and shared an annoyed look with Wiggler. Glad to know he wasn't the only one feeling frustrated. "So now we're not sure if there's anything even here or not. Why were you sloppy drunk anyway?"

"Duh, I'm a rock star! We go on drunken binges like that all the time, especially after concerts!"

"Still doesn't answer my question."

She laughed. "What's it matter to you? Are you concerned about me?"

"What, am I supposed to not be?"

"H-huh, what?" She said, looking a bit stunned. "Considering all the times I've made fun of you, poked fun at your Pokemon or just...what I'm saying is why would you be so nice to me after all of that? Are you stupid or something?"

"Do you want me to be mean to you?"

"No! I mean...augh, you country folk are just too hard to figure out," she said, throwing her arms up in frustration. He and Wiggler shrugged.

"Well, let's get going. I want to see if what Pitch saw, leads to something."

As they neared closer to the spot where Pitch said he saw the truck, he could hear the sound of trucks, multiple ones at that. In the near distance he could make out several trucks entering and exiting the jungle. "So there's a road back here. Huh, that's surprising."

"Because there isn't a road leading out?" He asked. She nodded.

"Yea, exactly! I mean like where is it? There aren't any roads leading in and out of this jungle so where does it go?"

"Underground maybe?"

Homika chuckled. "Underground tunnels? Hah, you're making this seem like one of those underground bases you see in those spy movies."

He and Wiggler shared a look. "Well, we've been in places like those already."

"You...what? Are you trying to pull a fast one on me or something?"

"Do I look like I would?"

She shrugged. "Whatever, let's just get closer. I want to see what they're up to!"

Wiggler let out a loud squeak and he shot a glare at him. "Hey, not so loud! We can't be sure if they got cameras in here or...yahhh!"

Buzzing behind them was a large bee like Pokemon, resembling a Roman soldier of sorts with two candy cane striped drills on its arms. It dove at them, stinger first but he and Wiggler ducked out of the way. He watched it fly off and turn back around in a wide arc. "Wow, an Escavalier, don't see those around often."

"Why is it attacking? What did I do?"

She laughed. "Oh you disturbed its territory. They're real protective of their territory and any intruders will get stabbed until they leave. Or it's knocked out. One of the two!"

He ducked another one of its dives and he adjusted his cap. "Oh, so it's a bug at least."

"Yea but you aren't carrying any Fire Pokemon on you so how do you-"

"Wiggler, give it a taste of its own medicine!"

Wiggler looked at him with a confused look and he spurted out a nervous laugh. "Um, I mean do your thing!"

"Watch out!"

He and Wiggler dove out of the way as the armored bug made another attempt at them. He was anything if persistent. Just looking at the stingers gave him chills. Wiggler sucked in some air before letting out a stream of fire that flew right into the path of the incoming Escavalier. The bug flew right through the stream but when it came out the other side, its flight was erratic and not as sharp as before. He still had to duck out of the way but Wiggler followed it and continued to blow more fire on it. It turned around and in an act of desperation, fired off its large red stinger at Wiggler like a gun fired by a drunk. Wiggler stopped its fire-eater impression and puffed himself up instead, causing the needle to bounce off harmlessly.

The Escavalier hovered close to the ground, its body red from being sprayed with fire. He reached for a Pokeball before realizing the terrible truth. "Oh...hahaha-"

"Again? I thought you picked up some of your own!" She said as she tossed him one. She folded her arms. "First thing we steal is some Pokeballs."

He tossed it at the Escavalier. "Knowing my luck, all those Pokeballs we see lying around will be occupied with stolen Pokemon. It's Team Rocket's specialty."

"Then it'll be our specialty to mess their plans up! I hope you're ready because we're gonna-"

"You simply expect us to walk in? We're gonna need disguises."

She gave him a fat lip. "Disguises? I'm a gym leader, one of the last ones at that, meaning I'm tougher than most of them. Sneaking around in disguises is for like rookie trainers or detectives!"

He picked up the Pokeball holding the armored insect and held it to his mouth. "You think? Lance used to be the Champion and he disguised himself when him and me snuck into the Team Rocket base in Johto. I figure if it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me!"

"You make it sound so simple."

He put away the Pokeball. "Well all we have to do is grab two Team Rocket goons close to our size and take their uniforms. We tie the others up and keep them somewhere safe."

"Yea but finding two Team Rocket who are about our size-"

Wiggler interrupted her with a squeak and he looked over at him. "Huh? You thought you heard something nearby? Let's check it out!"

Their search led them closer to the trucks as the sound of the vehicles grew louder and louder. Soon he could make out a large dirt road that cut through the jungle. Standing next to a glass guard booth were two Team Rocket goons, a guy and a young woman. To his pleasant surprise, the guy looked around his size while the woman didn't look much bigger than Homika. The man had short black hair and a small scar under his right eye, even though the eye mask was covering part of his face. He waved a truck in and looked over at the blonde haired woman. "What a drag, all these trucks to process. We've been at this all day."

"Well they did say this was the big week. They just didn't tell us why."

He chuckled. "It's still pretty amazing how long we've been running this place and no one in Unova has suspected us."

"Yea, that city to the south of us even has a gym leader! Imagine how stupid she must be-"

"Hey, I like her music!" She said, the man taken aback by this outburst. He laughed nervously.

"Hey, I didn't say anything bad about her music! She's a great singer! I bought all of her CD's! I even have a poster of her in my room!"

"You do? Which one? There are several I've been looking for but haven't been able to find them."

He and Wiggler looked over at Homika, who wore an amused look on her face. "The things I have to live with. Those stupid goobers."

"G-g-goobers?"

She shrugged. "It's what I call all my rabid fans...and there are a lot of them."

"Then why are you insulting them?"

"It's not insulting. They know I call them that and they don't mind. They've even taken a liking to it. The official fan club endorsed by me is even called a gathering of Goobers."

He shook his head. "It still sounds kind of mean."

The woman suddenly looked in their direction, even though they were hiding behind some foliage. "Huh, did you hear something? I thought I heard something."

"Not a thing really. It's probably just a Pokemon out there. The jungle is full of them you know."

She shook her head. "No, it kind of sounded like voices. Human voices. I'm going to check it out."

He shrugged. "It's probably nothing but if you insist."

They ducked lower behind the bushes and he looked over at Wiggler. "You know what to do."

"Ugh, I wish we could find some unused uniforms. I bet hers will be all sweaty and smelly."

He smiled. "It probably will be but it's only for a short time. Once we're done poking around, we can ditch them."

"Wouldn't it be smarter to grab the uniforms of some members who aren't patrolling the guard shack? If we nab their uniforms, we'll just be stuck out here."

"Well it's almost six in the evening."

"Yea, so?"

"Hey, who's there? I hear you talking all right!"

Wiggler suddenly let out a soothing and calming melody, the kind a mother might sing to a baby or young child at bedtime. In a matter of a minute, the young woman slumped over the bushes they were hiding behind, sleeping like a baby. Homika yawned. "That...works too well."

"You're lucky you didn't fall asleep too. It's a pretty potent weapon. Now all we need you to do is get the other one over here and I can swipe his uniform."

"You still haven't explained why we're taking the uniforms of some people on guard patrol."

He laughed. "Oh yea, well it's almost 6 and a lot of guards work on a twelve hour schedule. Either they would come in at 6 in the morning or the evening. I remember that's how it was when I snuck into some of their hideouts."

Her mouth fell open. "I'm...amazed you would even remember a stupid little detail like that."

"Yea well, I remember all kinds of wacky stuff."

She nodded. "Well time to get dressed."

Soon she was decked out in full Team Rocket gear. Using some of the vines nearby, he had tied the young woman and hid her behind a large tree. Homika looked it over and groaned. "Ugly, why do they go around in these things? Especially in a hot jungle, it doesn't make any sense!"

"Nothing Team Rocket does make sense."

"Fine, fine. Well let's just get this over with," she said. She turned and motioned to the man at the guard shack. "Hey, hey. I think I found something interesting!"

"What...but I can't leave the guard shack...this better be quick! This will look bad. I know we're almost through with our shift but still!"

He hurried over but as he did, Ethan and Wiggler scurried away from their hideout and moved around him in a wide circle, hoping to get him surrounded. They used the thick foliage around as cover and it was a good thing too because he began to slow when he got closer. "Hey, you aren't Louri! Who are you and what did you do with her?"

Homika took off her mask. "Stupid goober. You didn't recognize the voice of your queen?"

"H-H-H-Homika? What are you doing out here?" He said, stuttering like a dumbstruck fool. Then again, if he were a huge Homika fan, it'd have to be pretty shocking to see your favorite singer out here in the hot jungle.

"What am I doing here? What do you think I'm doing here, dressed in a Team Rocket uniform and walking around in this hot jungle for?"

"W-w-well..."

"And why do you guys wear black anyways? Don't you know that wearing black in the heat will hinder your performance?"

"Well, it is the official color of Team Rocket, we're expected to wear it."

She shook her head. "Terrible. You see what happens when you wear it in the jungle? You become slow and you make terrible decisions!"

"T-t-terrible deci-" He didn't get to finish as Ethan and Wiggler smacked him in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground. He looked down at him and then at her.

"That was too easy. Are they all that stupid?" She said as she put her hat back on.

"No, I think this is why they're stuck doing guard duty. In my experience, the dumbest ones get stuck with the easiest, most simple jobs," he said.

She chuckled. "You sure do know a lot about how they operate."

"Like I said, we've tangled quite a bit in the past."

They returned to the guard post and just in time too because another large truck had shown up. The back of it was tied down with a large olive tarp but he could see what looked like large crates under it. What they were filled with was anyone's guess. The man poked his head out the window. "Hey, can you make this quick? I'm running a bit late here."

Ethan nodded. "Of course, no problem," he said. He walked over and grabbed the man's paperwork from him, pretending to really look it over.

"So are you guys excited?"

"Excited?" Homika asked.

"You know, about the address today. The leader of Team Rocket is visiting here today and speaking about our goals and plans. It's gonna be great!"

Ethan handed the papers back to him. "Of course! We wouldn't miss it for the world! This is the first time I'll get to see him."

"It'll be the first time anyone has seen him, since he went into hiding."

"Why did he go into hiding? It seems real odd someone like him would have to do that," Homika asked. The man frowned.

"Well...you didn't hear it from me but I heard he suffered a crushing defeat from a trainer that has given them a lot of trouble in the past."

"I've heard about him."

"Ha, yea, who hasn't? Some trainer like that, causing trouble for us in the past?"

Homika laughed. "Maybe he should put a bounty on this trainer's head."

The man laughed as well. "I don't think they have but I've heard the bosses have made it very clear that anyone who can either capture or deal with Ethan, will earn themselves a nice little reward and promotion. He's that big of a problem."

After the guy left, Ethan looked over at her and she smirked. "I didn't realize you had such a reputation."

"Yea well...it's kind of strange to hear your name mentioned with such disgust. Maybe I was wrong about you."

He looked away. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I thought you were just some big headed trainer with no accomplishments to his name but you're turning out to be quite the trainer."

He sighed. "You said you already knew about my performance in the Pokemon League."

"Of course! But being able to compete in Pokemon League championships is one thing. Being a little troublemaker and being enemy number one for a notorious gang? That's pretty cool."

"Are you trying to pull my leg or something?"

She shot a glare at him. "No, why should I be?"

"Well is just seems odd for you to be complimenting me when you usually just poke fun at me," he said. He noticed a couple of men approach the guard shack, also dressed in Team Rocket uniforms. Perhaps they were taking over the next shift?

"Well yes but that was before-"

"Hey you two! They need some help unloading crates inside the base pronto!"

"Huh, but our shift just ended! Don't we get a break?" Homika asked. The two men looked at each other and laughed. "Or...maybe not."

"Break? Not when we're supposed to have an address from Giovanni himself! There will be time for rest later. Besides, if he sees you two resting, he'll have your heads!"

Ethan nodded. "Of course! We're right on it!"

One of the men leaned forward and looked into his eyes. "Wait, who are you? You don't look like the usual two who are on guard duty at this time."

"Huh? Oh, those two had to help with something else for the address so they asked us to cover for them."

The man rubbed his chin. "I see...what are your names?"

Ethan sighed. "We're wasting time here but my name is Dennis."

"And I'm Holly."

"Holly? You know...has anyone told you this but you really look a lot like Homika?"

She giggled, causing him to do a double take. If Wiggler were outside his ball, he'd probably have the same expression. "Yes, yes. She's my favorite singer in the whole wide world so I just had to do my hair like hers! I'm glad you think I look like her!"

"You even have the freckles and everything. You did a great job!"

The other man cleared his throat. "You two should really get going. The bosses will get angry if you hold them up."

Ethan saluted them before and pulled her away. As they got away from the guard shack and closer to the entrance to the underground base, he could hear her gag. "Ugh! I can't believe I had to act like that! Like, like one of them!"

"Goobers you mean?"

"Yes! I mean I know I'm like super awesome and the great rock star the world has ever seen but sometimes it gets silly the attention I get!" She said. She rolled her eyes. "Goobers all over the world practically cream themselves anytime they see me."

"I thought that's what you want. Why you act the way you do."

She laughed. "Of course I do but sometimes I get tired of it. Why do you treat me just like a regular person?"

He shrugged. "I don't know...I guess I've dealt with crime bosses, Pokemon gym leaders, Champions...the god Pokemon...I guess I've just seen it all already."

"Well you'll have to tell me more one of these days."

They walked through the large doors of the base, the first area filled with large trucks. There were countless Team Rocket members helping unload the trucks, which seem to consist of nothing but unmarked wooden crates and taking them into the back of the base. Over the loudspeakers he could hear a man barking out orders to everyone else. Despite that, everyone looked to be in good spirits, perhaps in anticipation of Giovanni's address.

"Why are they so darn cheery?"

He laughed. "Giovanni is the boss of Team Rocket. He's been gone for a while but the fact that he's returning is probably a big boon to everyone's confidence. The other leaders did their best but there is no one tougher than him."

She frowned. "I guess."

He approached one of the trucks. A white haired man stood at the back of the truck and scowled at him. "Why does Team Rocket keep hiring these scrawny recruits? Pathetic."

"I'm not that weak! It's not my fault I got banished to guard duty. I'd prefer to be out there, stealing Pokemon from trainers."

He laughed. "Hah, you don't look like the stealing type. Too green."

Ethan shrugged. "We all have to start somewhere."

The man pushed one of the crates forward with his boot. "Try not to drop that. Maybe your little lady friend can help you if it's too heavy, hahaha!"

Ethan grabbed the crate and lifted it off the back of the truck. It was heavy but not too bad for him. "So where am I taking this?"

"Heh, not bad. Take it to the back of the base where everyone else is unloading the stuff, and then get your tail back here. We don't have a lot of time."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Homika asked. He took one look at her and laughed.

"You? Hahaha, maybe give your friend some water because he's gonna need it after unloading all these crates!"

Ethan waddled toward the back with Homika close in tow. "You know, if I can, I'd love to pop him a good one!"

"Try to control yourself. We're a bit outnumbered here. I'd love to show him up too but ugh...why do they have to wear all black in such a hot area?"

"There's a nice breeze in here actually."

He sighed. "Wish I could feel it."

She chuckled. "You want to know how I can feel it?"

Something told him he didn't want to, at least not yet. "I'll pass for now."

Toward the back, a large pyramid of crates had begun to materialize. He set it down on the ground and wiped the sweat off his head. "That was a bit tougher than I thought."

He turned and almost bumped into another Team Rocket member. He jumped to the side at the last moment to avoid him and the guy grumbled at him. "Hey watch where you're going! These crates are heavy!" He said as he gasped for air. That voice sure sounded familiar though. As he got another look, he realized it was Carr.

"Stop being such a big baby Carr! I told you to lay off the cinnamon bun flavored ice cream! You go through almost a pint a day! Your fat butt can't get any bigger...and then you surprise me and become fatter!" Lyra chirped. He began to pull down the bill of his cap, just as Lyra noticed him. "Hmm, I swear I've seen you before."

"Sorry, I don't think we've met. I'm a green recruit."

She leaned forward. "You are? Because I swear I've seen you somewhere before, I'd never forget a cute face like that!"

"Lyra, do you have to hit on every guy you see?"

She shot a glare in his direction. "Quiet Carr! You aren't any better when you get all tongue tied around older women!"

Homika tugged his arm. "We better get going, you don't want to get in trouble, right?"

For once, he agreed with her. Lyra giggled. "Oh, are we getting a bit jealous? Afraid I'm going to steal your partner away?"

Homika brushed back her hair. "I'm more worried about Giovanni seeing us waste time arguing over boys when we should be helping finish unload the crates. I'm a bit interested in hearing him speak but I don't want to get on his bad side just yet."

Again, he couldn't disagree with her. Lyra laughed and slapped Homika on the back, a bit harder than she expected. "Ha-ha, I can't argue with that one bit! All right, let's get back to work then! Don't want to get the big boss annoyed."

They left the two and walked back toward the truck. "Well, you handled that pretty well."

Homika faked a gag. "I wanted to smack her a good one."

"Well I'm just glad she didn't recognize me. That would've been bad for us."

She groaned. "You sound like such a wimp-"

"Well if I had my full team of Pokemon, I'd feel a lot better. Kind of tough when you're down to just two, and you just caught one of them recently."

"You forgot I'm with you, the queen of Poison Pokemon!"

He laughed. "And Team Rocket has nothing but Poisonous Pokemon so it'd end up being a stalemate!"

"Oh shut up."

A couple of hours later, they had finished unloading the truck and it was a good thing too because the PA system cracked to life again, ordering everyone to the main hall. They followed the throngs of Team Rocket members into the main hall, basically a huge open room with large flags of Team Rocket dangling from the ceiling and a large stage before them. The room didn't have a chair to sit in, except for the ones on the stage, occupied by various Team Rocket leaders, some he had tangled with before like Archer and Ariana. He could only imagine the looks on their faces if they knew he was here. "So they're all here again."

"Huh, you know some of them?"

Ethan laughed. "Yea, we've met several times before. They wouldn't be happy to see me again, that's for sure."

Suddenly several spotlights appeared onstage and Giovanni walked across the stage and to the large wooden stand that lay in the middle of the stage. Everyone erupted into thunderous praise, cheers and applause as he took it all in. Ethan could only muster a slow clap while Homika didn't even bother with that. He soon raised his hand for silence and it went dead silent.

To be honest, Ethan didn't remember much from the address. Giovanni didn't go into any specifics about their plan, instead talking about Team Rocket, the ideals they stood for and the general plan they had for world domination. The standard kind of thing he expected. Perhaps he didn't go into specifics for fear that there might be a spy in the midst? If he was as smart as Ethan figured, that was probably it. However, the address soon took a turn for the interesting.

"And now before I conclude this, I would like to talk about those that would hinder our plan and how we can deal with them," he said. The lights on the stage dimmed as a large projection screen rolled down. He folded his arms and smirked. He could hear whispers amongst the crowd as they set it up and could hear his own name tossed out quite a bit. Homika leaned in. "I didn't know Ethan was such a popular name around here."

"Are you kidding?" Lyra said. They looked over at her. "He's a cute guy but he's a royal pest. He's defeated almost all of the major Team Rocket bosses and helped foil several of our big plans including the plan to control Pokemon using the Radio Tower in Goldenrod. It's almost crazy how one guy can do so much damage."

"Oh wow, I didn't know he was that bad."

She nodded and let out a sigh. "It's too bad, he would make a great addition to Team Rocket."

Just the thought of it made him want to gag. Homika laughed. "If you could get him to join, that would be quite the coup."

"Of course! I got a plan, you watch me!"

"Again and again you keep talking about this grand plan to turn one of Team Rocket's greatest enemies into an ally. And that's all it ends up being, talk. I haven't seen you try to put it into play at anytime, you just keep talking about it," Carr said. Lyra gave him a mischievous look.

"That's because it's a complicated plan. I've almost have the finishing touches on it. Just you watch."

Even though she was talking about her plan to turn him evil, to his own face in fact, it still made him a bit wary. What had her so confidant that she would turn him into a member of Team Rocket? For they're multiple failures, Team Rocket was imaginative. He was often shocked at just how many plans their leaders could come up with and how fortunate they had been to stop them.

After Giovanni finished his speech, he stood in front of the stage where each and every Team Rocket member got to walk up to him and shake his hand. Most of the members were able to compose themselves before the crime lord but a few got emotional, even tearing up at the very thought of being in the same room as him. It all made him feel like gagging but he didn't dare do that here. As of now, he was a bit worried when he'd meet Giovanni. Would he be able to recognize him under the mask or would he just see him as another random member? It made him appreciate the fact they had to wear the masks. Otherwise he would have been found out in an instant.

"Hey, why is Giovanni having some people taking off their masks? We're never supposed to remove them?"

"I think he wants it to be personal. I mean if he's willing to see our real faces that must mean he really believes in us. I haven't even met him but I already know I'd die for the guy!"

"And now we have the crazies. How much longer do we have to be here?" Homika whispered.

"Hopefully once we're done with this meet and greet here. I don't think we're going to find out much here…I wish I had a ghost Pokemon with us. It would've been able to cloak us so we could sneak around."

"We need a distraction."

Tell him about it. He was going to need a distraction soon; he couldn't have Giovanni see him without his mask on. Yet he was only five people behind and nothing was coming up. Hopefully he'd be one of the people Giovanni didn't ask to see with their mask on but he doubted it.

Suddenly an alarm began to go off and everyone begun looking around, hoping to see what was the cause of the alarm. A couple of Team Rocket members ran into the hall, waving their arms. "Giovanni sir, we believe there are a couple of intruders in the base!"

Giovanni grumbled and folded his arms. "And what makes you say that?"

"We discovered a couple of people tied in the jungle near the guard shack. They identified themselves as members of Team Rocket and said a couple of people had attacked them and knocked them out, stealing their uniforms in the process!"

Ethan and Homika shared a look. "I see. Did you check with the guards at the guard shack?"

"They check out fine as well but they did identify the two who they took over for, a teenage boy with short black hair and a girl with white hair. They said she kind of resembled Homika, the famous rock and roll star."

So much for getting out quietly. He grabbed the Pokeball holding Wiggler just as he noticed some people looking at them. "Hey, doesn't she look like—"

"Shut up you stupid goobers!" Homika yelled. She tossed a Pokeball forward, summoning Weezing to the fight. Ethan flicked his upward, causing Wiggler to appear. He let out an angry squeak at him and Ethan rolled his eyes.

"Sorry about that Wiggler but I couldn't have you outside the ball."

"Well well, if it isn't Ethan himself. The first member who can stop them will be rewarded handsomely!"

Wiggler took in a deep breath and let out an awful sounding song from his lungs. The kind of song that would break glass, make babies cry and cause plants to die. Many of the Team Rocket members around them fell to the ground as they covered their ears. Wiggler looked back at him and let out a squeak. "Run away, okay. Wait, did you just say to run away?" Ethan asked, unsure he heard his pal just right.

"He's crazy, he thinks he can hold off all these clowns? Come on, let's go! I've been itching for a fight for awhile!"

Wiggler let out another squeak, urging to get out. "Are you sure you'll be alright Wiggler?"

"You're not thinking of running away, are you?"

Wiggler let out another squeak and Ethan grumbled. "Oh, fine! We'll get out of here but you better come back! Don't get yourself captured."

"Wait, what? You're just gonna run away?"

"Yes, let's go."

"What? Are you nuts?" She asked before Wiggler unleashed another earth shattering song. He ignored her protests and dragged her out.

By the time they stopped running, they were quite a ways from the base. In fact they looked to be on the edges of the jungle as he could see a city skyline off in the distance. "Huh…what city is that?"

Homika kicked him in the shin and he winced in pain. "You idiot! Why did we have to run away? We could have stayed back and fought them! And you even left your only good remaining Pokemon behind!"

He leaned against a tree and folded his arms, ignoring her for a bit. That must have not sat well with her because she walked over to him and got into his face. "Hey, didn't you hear me? Why did we just—"

He looked up at her with a look that would kill and she jumped back in surprise. He really felt like yelling at her but he forced himself to not act out and keep his cool. "I didn't want to leave. I would never want to abandon my best pal like that but think about it. I don't have my other Pokemon with me and we were outnumbered big time."

"Yes but—"

"You have nothing but Poison Pokemon and I'm sure I don't need to remind you that a lot of Team Rocket uses those same kind of Pokemon. And then there's Giovanni, do you even know what kind of Pokemon he uses?"

She shrugged. "Not really. He probably—"

"He uses Rock and Ground Pokemon. The kind that would destroy your team with ease. Hee used to be a Pokemon gym leader you know?"

Her mouth fell open. "He…what?"

"Yea, he used to be the leader of the Viridian gym. I never got to face him in a gym battle but he was. So he knows how to fight, especially against a type weak to his."

"I..I think I still would have—"

"So our options were to get captured or escape while he held them off."

She frowned. "How could you just leave him—"

"I didn't want to leave him. I'm trying not to go back for him right now but it was better that some of us got away then all of us get captured. And there's no telling what they do to us. Remember my reputation with them?"

Homika turned away. "So now you're down to just the two Pokemon you caught recently."

"This is gonna be even tougher than I thought."

She laughed. "Stop acting like that! No self respecting boyfriend of mine is gonna grovel like that!"

"I'm not your—"

"You were able to assemble a team of Pokemon that almost got you the Championship right? You can do it again! There are plenty of Pokemon that will fit your unorthodox strategy."

"You think so?"

She shot a glare at him. "I'm from Unova, I think I know a little bit about the Pokemon here."

"We still have Team Rocket to worry about though."

She laughed. "Of course you goofball! We can still investigate them. We'll just find you a new team while we're doing that."

He nodded. "Yea, I guess that works. You know, I think we could use a little more help. Why not alerting the gym leaders of Unova about Team Rocket?"

She rolled her eyes. "Get those slackers involved? I hope you're joking."

"We're gonna need the help. Unless you think we can just walk back to the base and still find them there. They know that we know about the base so Giovanni is gonna relocate it elsewhere."

"I don't know…"

"If you don't contact them, I will."

"Okay, okay! I'll get in contact with them but…you're gonna owe me for this!" She said as she pointed a finger in his face.

"Owe you? Oh, whatever."

She turned toward the city. "Lucky for you, we're just by my city, where my gym is located. We can contact the Unova gym leaders and I can also get in touch with my manager. They haven't heard from me in days and we probably need to start scheduling my next concert."

"You're next concert?"

"Of course! I can't just ignore my musical career you know! I've got goobers all over the world who would kiss the ground I walk on! Besides, I'm a music artist. I can't be away from my guitar for too long or I start to get in a bad mood!"

"Huh?"

She rubbed her arm. "I'm not a star just because I want to be. I really like being out there, playing the guitar and showing off. It makes me feel good, it feels me with a sense of power."

"It does all that?"

"Yes. I've been playing the guitar since I was a little girl, it's been my life. I mean sure I'm a gym leader but I've always seen myself as a guitar player first and foremost."

He folded his arms. "So then why do you act out like that on stage?"

"What do you think? If I was just playing the guitar up there, do you think I'd be as popular?"

He would have to think about that one. She took in his silence and nodded. "You see? No one would care about me otherwise. I'd just be a guitar playing girl who was also a gym leader."

"You sound kind of sad about that. Do you need all the attention from those people?"

She let out a sigh. "Because…I never got that kind of attention when I was young."

"You didn't have any friends?"

"No…I think people just didn't like me because I was so obsessed with being a guitar player. Who wants to hang out with a girl who does nothing but play the guitar?"

"It doesn't seem that crazy—"

"You're just being nice."

He laughed. "I'm used to people being really driven and ambitious. Crystal, the Champion of the Johto and Kanto leagues was my childhood friend and she was obsessed with becoming the best trainer possible. She kind of got me interested in Pokemon because before that, I was just…doing nothing really. Seeing her drive got me interested in it so…"

"Then well, the people around me were jerks. I never got any kind of attention like that, only jeers."

"So you're afraid if you just try and be yourself, no one will pay attention to you?"

She laughed. "Be myself? Ha, I don't even know how to do that. I can only act like the mega rock idol, Homika!"

He shook his head. "That's pretty sad. I'm sure me and the others would love to be your friend if—"

"Others?"

"My other friends. I'm sure they would accept you—"

She laughed and waved him off. "I'd prefer we keep this just between you and me. I don't need a bunch of people trying to be in my business."

"Well okay," he said. He leaned against the tree again and his thoughts began to drift toward Jasmine. He had last left her battling Team Rocket back at the concert and that was the last he had seen or heard from her. Made it worse by the fact that his cell phone was in that backpack too, ensuring he had now way of contacting her out here. "If she had been captured, I'm sure Giovanni would have taunted me about that but he didn't so that means she's safe…"

"What are you talking about?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing."

"Then stop wasting time, we need to contact those jokers called the Unova gym leaders! Then it'll be time for a concert! And it's gonna be big! Really big! And if they try and crash it, we'll be ready for them!"

"Can we at least get out of these uniforms before we go into town? We're gonna get some funny looks otherwise."