Homika's gym was located on the edges of a city called Tachikawi City. The layout of the city reminded him a bit of Goldenrod, although it was nowhere near as big as Goldenrod and the city was in a more tropical area. Her gym resembled a recording studio on the outside and a concert hall in the inside. While she got in contact with the gym leaders of Unova, he did his part to get in contact with Jasmine. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to get in contact with her.

He hung up the phone after his last dial and let out a sigh. Pitch let out a chirp as he let out a sigh and he smiled. "Yea…I wish I could get in contact with her. I guess I could try Erica."

He picked up the phone again and dialed her number. He only had to wait a few rings before she answered. "Hello, this is Erica."

"Oh hey Erica, this is Ethan!"

"Ethan? Well this is a surprise, how are you? What happened to you? Last I heard, you vanished from a concert with Homika because Team Rocket crashed the party."

"Oh it's a long story, a real long one but it seems Team Rocket is up to no good, again. We've been trying to find out what they're up to but no luck so far."

"I see. That's unfortunate to hear, I wonder when they'll just give it up. You'd think after all these repeated failures, they'd do something else with their time."

"What's worse is that Giovanni is back."

Erica didn't answer for a minute. "Didn't you say he jumped into the ocean after you beat him?"

He gave a nervous laugh. "Well I saw him walk out and I heard a splash but I didn't get to see if he actually jumped in or not. I just figured he did. I guess he didn't if he's back in charge."

"That would certainly embolden them, having their leader back again."

"Yea and it looks like they're trying to create the ultimate Pokemon, just like how those scientists tried to do with Mewtwo those years back."

She sighed. "That's not good. We don't need another mad Pokemon raging about."

"Have you heard from Jasmine? I haven't seen her since we got separated back at the concert and I was worried about her. I tried calling her but—"

"She has reached me and was in the same boat. She lost her phone in that fight with Team Rocket so that's why you haven't been able to get in contact with her."

He let out a sigh of relief and Pitch chirped. "That's a relief. I'm just glad she's okay."

"Did I just hear a chirp?"

"Oh yea, that's Pitch, my new Pokemon. So what is she up to?"

"She told me that she's been investigating Team Rocket as well. She asked me to relay you some of the info she skimmed with the help of a guy named Ryan Hoshi. From what she said, Team Rocket has been trying to create a Pokemon with three types, Water, Dragon and Steel. They believe it would be the strongest Pokemon possible."

"That would be a pretty formidable Pokemon."

"Yes. She also explained that they had a plan in place that would distract all the Unova gym leaders so they could continue their work in peace."

He raised an eyebrow. "A plan? What kind of plan?"

Erica sighed. "She didn't say. I think they are still trying to figure that one out."

He rubbed his chin. "Well it would be a smart plan. We were planning to get in contact with the Unova gym leaders and have them keep an eye out for Team Rocket but I guess Giovanni planned for that."

"We?"

He laughed. "Oh, Homika and me."

Erica didn't say anything for another minute and that made him a bit nervous. "You know, I heard a rumor that you were involved with that mega rock star."

Pitch let out a chirp of surprise. How did he know? "Ugh, let's hope it stays that way. It isn't true."

"Heh, I thought so but still you should be careful."

"Careful? She's not dangerous or anyt—"

Erica sighed. "I mean how you act."

"I don't understand."

She let out another sigh. "I mean…try not to be so nice or else the rumor might turn into fact."

"What? I mean, I can't be mean to her."

"You have a way of charming girls, even though you aren't trying to."

"Well okay but I'm not sure how I will do that."

Erica chuckled. "You could just say you have a girlfriend already."

"But I'm not sure if Jasmine likes me like—"

"Oh you two are hopeless! Whenever I can, I'm going to sit you two down and explain it in detail!"

"Yo Ethan, are you done yet? We got business to talk about!" Homika asked. He looked over and held up a finger.

"Looks like I got to go Erica but send my regards to Jasmine—"

"Should I tell her you send your love?"

He hung up the phone, pretty much slamming it down. He heard Homika chuckle. "Ha-ha, why are you so red in the face?"

He looked down at the ground. "Its just Erica being Erica."

"Whatever that means."

He looked over at her after he regained his composure. "So what's up? Did you get in contact with the gym leaders."?

She winked. "Of course! I explained the situation to them and they all said they'd be looking out for Team Rocket. That's good because I don't think we have the strength to scour this entire region for those clowns! I think I would have lost all my energy if we did that."

"Great, hopefully with them helping, Team Rocket won't be able to so much as sneeze without us catching them," he said, pumping his fist.

"Those guys seem so slippery that they'll probably still be able to do things if they want. We can't let them get comfortable for a minute!"

"So what else did you want to tell me."?

She slammed her fist on the table. "It's time for a concert! It's been a while since I've had one and I can't keep the people waiting!"

"I thought it's only been a few days though."

"Whatever! We're gonna have it tomorrow, that's when it was originally planned so everyone will be stoked that it's still on."

He and Pitch shared a look. "But what about Team Rocket?"

She held up a Pokeball with a mischievous look on her face. "Remember that we still have that Pokemon that I stole from them awhile back. You don't think they'd be interested in getting it back?"

"You think they'd crash your concert again? They had the element of surprise before but I don't think that would work a second time."

She set the ball down and paced around. "Of course but they wouldn't be stupid enough to try the same stunt again. I still think they'd come after it though but instead of crashing the party with a bunch of members, they'll just send a few who will try and sneak in and grab it. And we'll be ready for them this time."

"So you think we can capture them and learn more about their plans."

"That's exactly what I'm thinking! I don't really expect them to send just anyone so there's a good chance we could get some real dirt."

He smiled. "Well that sounds like a good plan. Hopefully they will come out to the concert. What do you want Pitch and me to do? Hang out in the crowd and scan it for them? Or maybe hang out back?"

"Actually I got some people to hang out back and check for them. And I also got some people who will keep an eye on the crowd. No, you're gonna be on stage with me!"

Pitch let out a loud chirp and his jaw fell open. "But-but I can't play an instrument. And you really don't want to hear me sing either."

She shrugged. "I'm not planning to have you sing or play an instrument. You'll just be up there for support."

"Support? I don't know how I'll do that but okay. Do I just hang out back?"

She smirked. "You get to introduce me! And then you can like hang out on the back of the stage and pretend you're playing a guitar. I'll give you one."

He laughed. "Well, I'll do my best to pretend like I'm rocking out on the guitar."

"Of course you can! I think every guy has tried to pretend like they're a rock star, strumming the guitar and singing their heart out to all of those screaming fans. Except unlike those poor saps who dream about it, you get to experience it!"

Last time he had been before this many people was at the Pokemon League Championships but as he peeked through the curtain, there had to be at least double the amount of people than were at the League Championships. Pitch let out a worried chirp and he shook his head. "Th-that is a lot of people out there. How did so many show up for a concert that was just confirmed—"

"Are you worried?" Homika said. He looked back at her.

"Nervous. I haven't been up in front of so many people before."

"Hah, you were just like me when I was about to do my first concert! Just take a deep breath and be yourself!"

"That's it?"

She put her hand on his shoulder. "Yep, that's it. Now go out there and give it your all!"

He took the mic and walked out onto the stage, to the screaming cheers of the people out in the stands. As he began to speak, everyone around him began to chant in unision for her. It looked like everyone had one of those glowsticks in their hand, swinging in a giant chop motion. He smiled and put the mic to his mouth. "Yo Tachikawi City, how are you? Are you ready to rock?"

The fans screamed out in agreement but it didn't seem loud enough. "Oh come on now! I couldn't even hear you? Are you ready to rock?"

That was enough because the fans responded with such a thunderous cheer that it shook the stage, causing him to stumble. He steadied himself as the thunderous cheer continued for several minutes. Wow, were they looking forward to this. "Now that's more like! Welcome Tachikawi City, to the next stop in the Extra Toxic Tour. We're here to show that Team Rocket can't keep a good rock star down, are you with me!"

"Yea!" The crowd yelled but not as loud. They were obviously playing along this time.

"I can't hear you…are you with me?"

This time they responded with another thunderous cheer that rocked the stage. People began to jump up and down, overwhelmed with euphoria. She had decided against an opening act and it seemed that had been the right decision. "Then Tachikawi City, I'm proud to present to you, the Mistress of the Guitar, the Toxic Princess and the Queen of Rock herself, Homika!"

He stepped aside as Homika strode forward. Now the real concert could begin. As she walked by him, she gave him a quick wink before addressing the fans.

The concert was a huge success. Homika seemed less concerned about strange antics and just playing her heart out on the guitar. The crowd didn't seem bothered at all by this, cheering louder than he had ever heard a crowd before. Team Rocket didn't even bother to show but somehow he was a bit happy they didn't because he was already a bit sick of seeing them. After she came out for an encore after the last song, she suddenly turned and found him in the back of the stage, dragging him away from his hiding spot and out to the front of the stage with her. He was a bit worried of the response but instead the crowd let out a thunderous cheer as she grabbed his hand and raised it into the air.

"Haha, that was the most fun I've had in…months!" She said as she stood in front of the fan in her trailer. She grabbed a glass of ice water and dumped in on her face. "Did you hear that crowd?"

He smacked his ear. "My ears are still ringing."

"Good, they should be! That was the most electric crowd I've seen in like…ever! I'm glad Team Rocket didn't show, if they had interrupted that, I would've had to kill them with my guitar!"

He nodded. "I gotta admit, I'm kind of glad they didn't show this time around either. They're probably too busy finding another hiding place."

She waved him off. "Bah, who cares about them? We'll find those rats again."

He could hear the fans cheering outside and he sighed. "Are you gonna go out there?"

"Ahhh, I guess I can give them a little wave and send them off for the night," she said. She got up and stepped outside. The cheers grew louder in an instant as she spoke to them for a few. She returned a minute later and lay back down in front of the fan. "Haha, those goobers are something else."

"No after party?"

She looked at him and laughed. "Ha, no way! I'm bushed! I don't feel like partying, drinking or any of that. I just want to rest."

He whistled. "It's too hot in here. I'm gonna step outside."

"Too hot? You weren't even performing out there!"

"I know but I come from a region that isn't as warm. You got to bear with me."

She looked at him and smirked. "Alright but don't go to any crazy parties. If anyone gets any funny ideas, they get whacked with my guitar!"

By the time he left the trailer, the crowds had disappeared. He walked by one of the Machamp bodyguards and one of them handed him a Pokeball. "Huh, for me?"

It nodded at him and he took it. "Strange, I wonder who would give me this."

Pitch chirped and he laughed. "I don't think Team Rocket would have done it…I hope. I guess we should be careful anyway."

As he walked out to the stage, he tossed the Pokeball a few feet in front of him, just to be safe. Inside the Pokeball was a familiar face. "Whoa Rai! I didn't expect to see you again so soon!"

The Raichu scrambled over toward him before suddenly stopping short as a pained expression grew on its face. Once again, he had stored just a little too much electricity and had to let it out somehow. He and Pitch dove out of the way as Rai let forth with a powerful bolt of lightning that lit up the entire stage. "Hey, what are you trying to do?" Homika yelled. Ethan turned to see her standing behind him, arms on her hips.

He laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Don't mind Rai. He often stores electricity in his body like many other Raichu but he can store just a bit more than usual. And sometimes it causes him pain and he has to release it somehow. Sometimes you just have to get out of the way when he gets released."

"Is this one of those crazy strategies you use in battles?"

He laughed. "You know? I have! Right Rai?"

Rai looked at him and let out a squeak. She sat down on the stage next to him. "I've won several Gym battles by just unleashing him at the right time. He took out several Pokemon all by himself thanks to all the electricity he had stored up."

"Y-y-you're kidding, right?"

Rai let out another pleased squeak. "No. He defeated Faulkner, Louri and several other gym leaders just by hopping out of his ball and unleashing all that stored up electricity. Usually I'd have another Pokemon out like Wiggler to keep them distracted and then I'd let him out."

She shook her head. "That's pretty wild now that I think about it."

Rai let out a squeak and darted off toward the back of the stage. He watched him go and frowned. "Huh, he said he sensed something back there."

"You think it's Team Rocket? Haha, perhaps they did try to show up!"

He got to his feet and followed after the chubby mouse. "I don't think it's a person. When he acts like that, it's usually another electric Pokemon. One that's giving off a strong charge."

Homika grumbled. "Another electric Pokemon? Then what could it be?"

Rai disappeared behind one of the speakers. He stopped a few feet in front as he could hear Rai searching around for whatever he had detected. Homika bent over and gasped for air. "This better be good. And if it turns out to be a—spider!" She yelled in shock as Rai came out with a yellow mite like Pokemon on its head. Ethan bent down to get a closer look at it since it was pretty small. It had thick yellow fur and two beady blue eyes and two smaller ones above them, along with four blue tipped feet. Pitch let out a chirp and the little mite shook itself. "Wow, it looks kind of cool—"

"Cool? Cool? You call that thing cool? It's a freakin' spider!"

"Looks like a mite to me. Spiders have—"

"Let's not get into a freaking biology debate here! And it's going to evolve into an even bigger spider!"

He, Pitch and Rai all shared a look. "So what is it called?"

"Joltik."

He nodded and began to reach out toward it, then thought better of it. "So then why do you think it was back there?"

"They like to absorb static electricity from other creatures. I'm guessing it figured the equipment was a nice alternative. I can't believe I was on stage while this thing was—"

"I'd like to keep him. Do you have an extra Pokeball?"

"No. And even if I did, I wouldn't give it to you. Besides, you have an electric Pokemon right there, why do you need another one?"

He sighed. "I was just thinking…that my team has been through a lot, battles with Team Rocket and all those gym battles and tournaments…that they would like it if they didn't have to do that anymore."

Her mouth fell open. "You're thinking of training a new team entirely?"

He nodded. "Yea, I think it would be kind of cool. I have Pitch and now this little guy, though he's gonna need a name."

"I'm going back to my trailer and if you bring that with you, don't even think about staying in the trailer!"

When did he agree to stay in the trailer? "So since I'm guessing we have time before you next concert, perhaps we should go back to that base and see if they left anything."

"We'll be lucky to find a thing but I guess we can check it out."

By the time they got out to where the base was the next day, the area was pretty empty. Homika laughed. "Look at all these tire tracks, they got hella out of dodge! They weren't gonna stick around once they knew we had discovered its location!"

He folded his arms. "Yea but how did they move all of that out without anyone noticing? There's got to be a secret road or something."

He glanced at Pitch. "Hey Pitch, see if you can see anything interesting," he said. The little bird chirped and took to the skies. Homika sighed.

"This is a waste of time. What are we gonna find out here?"

He frowned and then took out the Pokeball holding Joltik. "I think I'll call him…Bolt," he said as he summoned the little mite. It crawled along the ground before jumping up in the air a bit. "Huh, did you find something?"

The mite began to scurry along a somewhat straight path for several meters before it came to a stop at the edge of the clearing and where the jungle sprang up. He rubbed his chin. "I wonder what it means?"

"Perhaps that's where the trucks were headed."

"A secret road then!"

Homika sighed. "Where?"

He bent down to the ground. "Perhaps it's an underground road. Maybe there's a door that opens up to a ramp that leads into it. And then the road leads somewhere far away where they can get out undetected."

"That sounds like something out of a spy movie or—"

"It's worth checking out, right?" He asked. He began to claw at the dirt with his bare hands. Times like this is when he wished he had Crunk around but he'd have to make do. The little mite noticed and joined in, even though it could barely make any progress compared to him.

"Ethan…Ethan stop. Let's go back and maybe find a shovel or—"

"Hey, I think I feel something!" He said. He dug his fingers into the cool dirt and could feel something metal. He pressed down on it and noticed how strong it seemed. "I can feel something metal down here and it's pretty strong."

"What?"

"I bet it's a door of sorts! If it's underneath all this dirt, it'd have to be, especially if you don't want anyone to notice it."

He looked up at her with a pleased look on his face and she shook her head. "Okay so it looks like there was something. You surprise me sometimes."

"Yea well, we still need to uncover the rest of it. We can't sit here all day with me digging with my bare hands."

"I'll take care of that," she said. She took out her phone. "Hey, I need you guys out here! We're at an abandoned base in the jungle to the north of the city and we need some help digging! Yes I said digging! I'm not going to waste my time here doing that, that's why I got you guys around, to do the dirty work! No whining either, it will probably be a quick and easy job," she said before hanging up.

"Thanks Homika. With some more people helping, we can uncover what this is in a jiffy," he said as he went back to digging. She grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him away.

"Stop it. My guys can take care of that. I'm not going to let you get yourself hurt trying to dig a stupid hole."

He laughed. "You don't have to worry about me. I've been through a lot!"

"I never said I was worried about you."

Pitch returned from his patrol. "So did you see anything Pitch?"

The little bird chirped his report and Ethan let out a sigh. "Drat, so no sign of Wiggler? I hope the guy is all right."

He let out a sigh and looked up at the sky. "Hey…uh…didn't you finish pretty far in the Pokemon League with him? If you can get that far with something like him, I think he could take care of himself."

"Huh, yea I guess you're right. He can handle himself pretty well. It just sucks not having him around. He was the only Pokemon I had around for awhile. It just doesn't feel right without him around," he said. He laughed. "This probably sounds kind of pat—"

"Shut up you idiot! You must think I'm some cold and heartless b**ch, don't you!"

He, Pitch and Bolt shared a look. "Well—"

"Well I am. You don't get to become the queen of the rock and roll world by being all nice and cuddly."

"You don't?"

She shook her fist. "Of course not! Rock n' roll isn't about cute puppy dogs and rainbows! It's about anger, rage, bile and hate! The world hates so you give the world the finger and you turn you back on in. It's about telling it to the man, telling the police they got no control over you and showing up all the haters!"

He got to his feet. "So…if you're happy and content with life, you can't be a rock star?"

"Well…I guess? I don't know. I think I'm losing my edge and it's because of you!"

"Me? What did I do? You don't want to work with me anymore or something?"

She grumbled. "It's not that! Oh just forget about it!"

Once her guys showed up, they made short work of the area, uncovering a large metal door, about the size of four garage doors, or at least large enough for a semi to get through. Getting it to open proved to be a bit more of a challenge. Even with all of them together, they couldn't budge it one bit. "It's gotta be controlled electronically," Ethan said.

Homika grumbled. "That's all well and good but where is the device that would control it? It's gotta be around here."

He shook his head. "Maybe or maybe not."

She shot a glare at him and he gave her a nervous smile. "Well like I've said, I've tangled with them in the past and for something this important, the controls wouldn't be anywhere close by. I think they have them far away. Or perhaps it can be controlled remotely."

"So then what?"

"We just see if we can fry the system."

"Come again?"

He took out the Pokeball holding Rai. As soon as he summoned the Raichu, it unleashed a bolt of electricity that hit the steel door. It didn't do the trick but he expected that. "Okay Rai, I'm gonna need you to zap this—"

"What?"

He looked over at her. "Well I was thinking that if it was controlled remotely, there's probably a little computer attached to the motor that opens it. Maybe if we fry it, it'll malfunction and open."

"I…well I guess that could work."

He nodded and looked over at Rai. He explained the situation to him and soon the Raichu was running toward the large metal door. It let out a cry as it began to charge up. Ethan began to back away and Homika gave him a curious look. "Well sometimes he can be a little out of control when he unleashes his Thunder attack so it's best to give him some space."

"I take it you've learned this the hard way?"

He laughed. "Well…I haven't but Wiggler did. He was not happy about it, let me tell you!"

Soon you couldn't even see Rai anymore, just a large ball of yellow energy with lightning sparking all about. With one final cry, he unleashed a massive bolt of electricity on the door, enveloping it all. For a moment or two after the attack subsided, nothing happened but then they heard a loud groaning sound. The ground shook a bit as the large metal door slid open, revealing a ramp leading into a large underground road. "So that's how they were able to escape without detection. Those sneaky—"

"Thanks a lot Rai, you were a great help!"

"So what do you want us to do boss? Should we—"

She waved them off. "Just go back to the studio. Remember in a few days, we got another concert to prepare for! We'll just check this tunnel out and see where it leads."

Ethan's eyes grew wide. "Huh, that's a pretty big tunnel. You think we can cover it?"

"Do I look like some sort of weakling to you?" She yelled, cursing in his face. He backed away, holding his hands in front of him.

"I mean you did just take part in an awesome concert last night so I was thinking—"

She grabbed him by the collar. "Don't you dare pity me."

Guided by the large lights that lined each side of the road, they made their way through the large underground road. The air still smelled like exhaust, a good sign that it had been used recently. The further in they went, the staler the air got but at least it was nice and cool inside. "We could be walking for a long time."

"So what? Exercise is good for you."

"What? I'm in pretty good shape! I bike and skateboard all the time. I rarely use a Pokemon to fly around."

She folded her arms. "Why not? It's just gonna take you forever to get from place to place. You'll never get anything done! That seems pretty stupid to me."

He shrugged as he watched Pitch fly a few feet in front of them. "Well yea but that's the fun of it. If I have to be somewhere in a hurry, then I'll use a flyer but for me, it's more about getting out there and seeing the world, meeting new trainers and running into Pokemon along the way. If you just use a Pokemon to fly around all the time, all I get to see is the clouds and that's pretty boring if you ask me!"

"I guess," she said, looking a bit distant.

"What is it?"

"Well, I was just thinking of how it'd be to do that. I'm usually too busy in the studio or battling people at my gym to go out and smell the freaking roses."

"That's kinda sad. I would go mad if I had to be stuck inside all day."

"Yea well, I'm the Queen of Rock n' Roll. I don't have time to walk around and interact with those rabid goobers!"

He shrugged. "I guess but don't you ever get tired of it and just want to get outside and—"

"Even if I did, how can I? I got responsibilities to take care of."

He smiled. "I guess you're right. I don't think I could handle it honestly. Guess I'm glad I don't have to worry about stuff like that."

An hour passed and it seemed like the road would go on forever. He folded his arms as Pitch returned to him after flying ahead. He chirped a response and Ethan frowned. "Man, how long does this road go? I'm not sure I want to see where it leads today. We know this is what they used, maybe we should just let the authorities know about it and let them handle it. What do you think Homika?"

She didn't answer him and he looked around for her before noticing she was lagging several feet behind him. Pitch landed on his shoulder and chirped a response. He shot a glare at the little bird. "You're about as bad as Wiggler sometimes," he said. "Homika, you okay?"

"Would you stop running so much?"

"Running? I've just been walking."

"Well you walk too darn fast."

"If you need to rest, we can stop. I'm getting a bit tired of this tunnel, seems like it goes on for quite awhile."

She caught up to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "I told you not to pity me you—"

"You look exhausted. You think I'm gonna be responsible for the queen of rock n' roll to work herself into exhaustion? Everyone would have my head!"

She glared at him. "So now you only care about the opinions of a bunch of goobers?"

He laughed at her. "I was kidding but I don't want you to exhaust yourself."

"Why are you so concerned about me?"

He laughed. "I'm always worried about my friends. Even if I know they can take care of themselves, I'll worry about them and do my part to make sure they're all right. Why else would I keep worrying about Wiggler?"

She blushed a bit and then looked away. "Who said we're friends? I'm just cooperating with you to get back at those stupid Team Rocket idiots who crashed my concert! Once we get back at them, we're done!"

Pitch let out a chirp and she looked at him. "What did that little twit say?"

Ethan tried to play dumb but the look she gave him caused him to reconsider. "He says you're a horrible liar."

He expected her to respond with some fire but she gave him a smug look on her face. "So I am. Fine, fine, I'll take a rest. This stupid tunnel is long."

"That's what I'm saying! I don't know if I want to even see where it leads."

"Well, we're here, why not see where it leads?"

"Because we could just leave this to the authorities. Isn't that why we contacted the other gym leaders?"

She pointed a finger at him. "Remember whose gym is close to this jungle."

"I see what you're saying but—"

"How touching, the cute little couple, slaving away in the underground tunnel, hot on the tails of that evil Team Rocket."

He looked up to see Lyra walking toward them, a big smile plastered on her face. Well she looked happy to see him at least. She looked over at Homika and stuck out her tongue. Homika jumped to her feet. "What are you doing here you stupid b—"

"How about you shut up and let me talk? Unless you want to be stuck walking around in this tunnel for another few days."

"It goes on that long?"

Lyra giggled. "Of course silly. I know because I traveled down it but that's besides the point."

"Then what is the point? Are you just trying to poke fun at us? We don't have time for this garbage!" Homika snapped. Lyra looked to be taken aback and shook her head.

"Temper temper, you need to calm down. Besides I didn't come to speak with you but to Ethan."

"Anything you have to say to him, you can say to me as well."

"Ummm, I don't think so."

Homika took a few steps toward Lyra before Ethan held her back. "What was that?"

"Homika."

"Listen to cutie over there. We aren't going to get anywhere if you refuse to act like a responsible adult."

Homika folded her arms. "So what is it?"

Lyra laughed. "I only want to talk with Ethan. If you agree, maybe I could tell you just where this road leads to but only if you listen to my request."

He and Homika looked at each other. She was probably lying through her teeth and only leading them to a trap but they had also been walking down the road for a long time and they could still be walking for a long time. Any idea where it'd end up would help quite a bit. Homika pulled him in closer to whisper into his ear. "Can we really trust this broad? I mean it seems like she's got some hidden agendas going on and I don't like it one bit."

"I see your point but we could also be wandering around in this road for a long while. If we had an idea where it ended up, it would help us with finding Team Rocket."

"I know but I really don't think we can trust her."

"Are you saying that because you really believe that or because you just hate her?"

"Well I do hate her but I don't think we can trust her at all."

He nodded. "Yea but our only other choice is to keep wandering down this road. And who knows how long that would take? I think we have to take our chances."

Homika rolled her eyes. "Yea, whatever but if this backfires on us, I'm bashing her head in with my guitar."

He laughed before walking over to Lyra. "Okay, I'll listen to what you have to say."

She hooked her arm under his. "Great, come on, let's talk!"

He couldn't see it but he could feel Homika staring daggers in their direction. For her sake, Lyra better not be lying because he feared what Homika would do otherwise.

They walked for a bit down the road until Lyra released his arm and looked at him. "This is far enough I think."

"So what did you want to talk to me about?"

Lyra pursed her lips. "Well I had an offer for you to be exact."

He and Pitch shared a look. "What kind of offer?"

"Well, I know you aren't a big fan of Team Rocket and all…but what do you think about joining a team that opposes Team Rocket?"

"W-w-what? Are you some sort of mole in Team Rocket?"

She winked at him. "You could say that. I've been undercover, trying to discover what they're up to. It's kind of tough though since it seems only the top level people are in the know. That's why I could use your help?"

"My help?"

"Yea! You're a pretty competent trainer and you've dealt with them plenty times before. If there was anyone that could help us out, it would be you."

He frowned. "Yea, I see your point there. What is the name of this Team? Is it a gang like Team Rocket?"

"Hmm, I guess you could call it that but it's a good gang since we're out to stop Team Rocket!"

"Well it sounds cool and all but why just me? I know others who would be happy to join an organization who is trying to stop Team Rocket."

She smiled. "Oh, who do you have in mind? We're not interested in having any loose cannons, if you know what I mean."

Well that meant Homika was out. He really doubted she'd be okay with that though. Jasmine definitely didn't fit the definition of loose cannon though. "Well I do but she isn't the one person I was thinking of."

She smiled at him. "Then tell me more, I'd love to hear your input."

Before he could answer, he could hear a low rumble. Pitch let out a worried chirp and he looked around. "Hey, what's that sound?"

"That rumbling sound? I-I don't know. Perhaps Team Rocket had a trap…look out!" She yelled. She pulled him away as the roof of the tunnel began to cave in. She shoved him out of the way as dirt and large rocks rained down. He rolled forward as dust filled the tunnel, blotting out the lights as well.

By the time the cave in had stopped, he found himself looking at a huge wall of large rocks and dirt, blocking him from Homika. He looked around for Lyra but she was nowhere to be found either. "Lyra? Homika?"

Pitch let out a chirp and he sighed. "Yea, this is just peachy. I hope both of them are okay. Even if I'm still not sure we can trust Lyra or not."

He stared at the blocked tunnel again and put his hands on his hips. "So now what?"

"H-huh, Ethan? What are you doing down here?"

He shook his head, he had to be losing it. Now he was imagining Jasmine talking to him. Pitch let out a chirp, snapping him back to reality. "Huh, what? There is someone down here?"

He turned around to see a girl walking towards him, except it didn't look like Jasmine at all. She had darker brown hair, which she wore in two circular buns on the side of her head with two long ponytails hanging from each side. She had a red sportscap with a Pokeball symbol on the front, he really needed a hat like that. She wore a sporty outfit consisting of a white shirt with blue sleeves, a beige miniskirt and a pair of light blue tennis shoes and red socks. She carried a large bag on her shoulders with a few different colored Pokeballs poking out of the top, including what looked like a Masterball. So it wasn't Jasmine, what a drag. "Hi!"

"Oh hey, sorry I thought you were someone else."

She cocked her head to the side. "Huh, you don't recognize me?"

She walked a bit closer and he looked at her a bit more. She did look pretty familiar in the face but…"Well you look like a close friend of mine but…who are you?"

She smiled. "Maple!"

He nodded. "It's nice to meet you Mapl—hey, wait a minute. Jasmine's middle name is Maple—"

Before he could finish, she rushed forward and embraced him. Pitch let out a chirp. "Huh, but—"

"But you can still call me Jasmine."