They opted to meet in Skyla's gym, after she shut down all the machinery inside. They hadn't been able to get in contact with the water gym leader but left a message for him just in case. Jasmine and the Champion of Unova, Iris had been able to make it safely. To his surprise, she was only a kid. A kid with a huge amount of purple hair, so much he was sure you could hide a Wailord in it.

"So what is this big plan that you have?"

Pitch let out an annoyed chirp. "Could we at least introduce ourselves?"

Iris shrugged. "I already know everyone here but who are you? You look like some everyday trainer I run into everyday."

He and Pitch exchanged a look. "Uhh, well I'm Ethan and I'm a trainer from—"

"He's stopped Team Rocket before and is the third most powerful trainer in the Kanto and Johto regions. I can vouch for him and I know several others including Lance could vouch for him as well," Jasmine said.

Iris shrugged. "Well I guess if Lance can vouch for him, I guess I'll listen."

You guess? "All right well I guess we know what the situation is. Team Rocket—"

"Has won."

"They haven't won! Sure they control the Pokemon League and most of the gyms but they didn't capture the Elite Four or the Champ. And three gym leaders are still around so we still have a chance."

"Are you always this sickening optimistic?" Iris asked.

"Yes," Homika and Jasmine said together.

"So that aside, we're gonna have to do something about all those gyms first. I don't think a lot of the other trainers will be of much help to us. It seems everyone is discouraged after what they did. Discouraged and scared."

"So you mean we should try to kick Team Rocket out of the gyms first? Wouldn't it be smarter just to go after Giovanni? We know where he is," Skyla asked.

"Well…but its not just Giovanni. He's set up his own Dark Elite Four of sorts. We'd have to beat them before we could even get to Giovanni. And I really doubt he'll be interested in facing anyone yet," Jasmine said.

"What?" Iris asked and Jasmine sighed.

"Don't you see? He wants revenge for his last defeat and the only way he does that is by crushing Ethan. I think that's why he just toyed with us for the longest before blowing us away with a simple attack. He even said it himself."

Iris laughed. "Revenge? That sounds so stupid! Doesn't he have better things to do than waste his time on a trainer from Johto? What does he have to prove?"

"That he's the best? He can't really do that when his last loss was to a guy still running around."

Sklya laughed. "Yea but wasn't they defeated before? What happened to the guy that defeated him first, before Ethan?"

"Disappeared. No one really knows. At least he knows where Ethan is at."

Iris shrugged. "So if he wants revenge, he could crush him pretty easily now, right?"

Ethan folded his arms. "Wouldn't satisfy him. I am running with a new team, it wouldn't be a fair fight. Maybe if I had my old team but I don't and he knows that. Maybe that's why he's also taken over all the gyms—"

"Let me get this straight! He wants to allow his foe, to get stronger and train up his party so they can fight on a level playing field? The same guy who has defeated him before? Why would he give someone like that…that kind of opportunity? It's almost like he's asking to lose again," Iris said.

"Well hey, that's what it looks like. I think we should split up and kick them out of the gyms."

"How will we split up the groups?"

"Well once the water gym leader returns, there will be six of us. The party of two could probably go after some of the latter gyms while my group starts with the earlier ones."

Jasmine smiled. "Then me and Skyla—"

"What? Wouldn't it be better if me and Skyla teamed up while you three—"

"No," Homika said. Iris looked at her, Jasmine and then at him. He could only offer her a nervous smile.

"Huh, did I miss something here?"

Jasmine laughed. "No, I think me and Skyla will work well together. Besides it helps to have someone else around who knows first hand about Team Rocket and how they work. That won't be the case if me and Ethan are together."

Iris shrugged. "Well okay. I guess I'll get to see why everyone seems to think so highly of this guy but why don't you and Homika want to work together?"

Well it really wasn't a case of Jasmine having an issue but Mika. Seems she still needed some time to get used to Jasmine being around. "Iris, I can explain it in due time."

She looked at him with a curious look. "Well…okay."

"Stellar! Jasmine and me will go first to Opelucid City while you guys head over to Aspertia."

"So Ethan, I've got to ask…why is Homika and Jasmine not cool with each other?" Iris asked as they were on their way to Aspertia City. Homika was walking a few feet in front of them and didn't seem eager to join in on the conversation.

"Oh…well it's pretty simple. Or maybe not. Homika is my girlfriend but she doesn't like Jasmine very much."

"I don't get it. Jasmine seems like the kind of girl who wouldn't hurt a fly, even if it was bugging her!"

Pitch let out an amused chirp. "Yea well Homika doesn't like me being close with another girl. Even if we've been friends for a while. She doesn't like the idea of someone being more important to me than her."

Iris laughed. "That's dumb. Relationships are dumb—"

"What are you two talking about behind my back?" Homika yelled. He looked up at her. "I hate it when people do that."

"Nothing important. I'm just telling Iris how much you hate Jasmine—"

"I don't hate her. I just…tolerate her. Big difference."

"Whatever. So what kind of Pokemon do you have anyways?"

He motioned to Pitch. "Well this is Pitch. I also have a Joltik named Bolt. A Ducklett named Dodger. An Escavalier. A Litwick who I need a name for and a Deino named Sam."

"A dragon? You actually have a dragon on your team?"

He smiled. "Yep. I actually didn't capture him; he just wanted to tag along. I doubt I would have a dragon otherwise."

Iris puffed out her chest. "Well I know all about dragon Pokemon because they're the best Pokemon around—"

"No they aren't," Homika, said. "As far as I'm concerned, Poison is the best type. You're lucky I'm more interested in being a rock star. Or else I would take your spot as Champion."

Iris stomped her foot. "What? You wouldn't even get past the Elite Four before you got to me! Caitlin would make mincemeat of your smelly Pokemon! Marshal would carve them up. Anything I do would be overkill!"

Homika turned to face her. "That's what I hate about all of you Dragon type leaders. You got this high and mighty attitude since you use a bunch of scaly reptiles who are sooo rare—"

"It's a real privilege to have Dragon Pokemon! Perhaps you—"

"Homika, Iris, please cool it. Last thing we need is infighting when there is Team Rocket to deal with," Ethan said. He shook his head. "And Homika please stop. You don't need to make enemies out of everyone you meet. You're better than that."

"Why are you treating me like a child?"

He let out a sigh. Pitch gave him a sympathetic look. Even Pitch had pity for him, how sad was that? "Homika, please give it a rest."

"No, why do you always take everyone else's side and not mine? You're supposed to be my boyfriend and yet anytime there is an argument, you always side with them!"

"Because you are so stubborn. And usually anyone you argues with is more level headed."

"I'm not stubborn!"

He rolled his eyes. "Yea right, okay."

She turned away and walked further ahead. Pitch let out an annoyed chirp and he could only agree. "Do you two always argue?"

"Yes and it's getting dumb."

"Get a new girlfriend. I don't see why you would be around someone so…obnoxious. She's like a little kid!"

"Get a new girlfriend? You make it sounds like it's as simple as—"

"Well isn't it?" Iris asked. She put her hands behind her head. "I mean I don't see many couples but usually they get along with each other. Maybe they argue here and there but they aren't at each other's throats. See, you should have just teamed up with Jasmine."

"Well it would certainly be more peaceful. Well so long as they weren't together."

"She could have joined the Elite Four and kept an eye on Team Rocket."

He laughed. "She's not the sitting still type. She would go nuts at the thought even."

"So basically you let her walk all over you."

"No. Of course not. I stand up to her all the time."

Iris laughed and rolled her eyes.

Aspertia City lay in the middle of a forest in the southwestern area of Unova. It was nowhere near as big as any of the other towns they had passed and it only looked a bit bigger than New Bark. Instead of a Pokemon lab, it had it's own gym. When they approached the building, he could see a large Team Rocket flag flying atop the roof. "Well, they claimed their territory already."

"I can't wait to take that flag, beat them senseless with it and them shove it right up their—"

"I'm gonna take a look inside and see who is inside real quick. If it's a pushover, I'll just beat them real quick so we can be on our way," Iris said. She went inside and he looked over at her. She folded her arms and sighed.

"E."

"E? Is that my new nickname?"

She brushed back her hair. "You call me Mika, I can call you E. It's only fair, right?"

He looked over at Pitch. "Well, sure. I guess—"

"But I…wanted to apologize. About what happened back there. I was overreacting and just being childish. I don't blame you for siding with others over me, I guess I am just a b****."

"Oh well, that's okay. I just didn't expect you to apologize so soon."

"Well…better now than later. Besides, I don't want you getting fed up with me and dumping me for someone else."

He laughed nervously. "So you were listening in."

"I have sharp hearing. Were you actually thinking about her crazy suggestion?"

"That I dump you and get a girlfriend who doesn't argue with me so much?"

She nodded. "Yea!"

He rubbed the back of his head. "Well…uh, I guess I was shocked that she would suggest that at first."

Homika put her hands on her hips. "And then what?"

"Well I guess I had to think about it, for just a little."

"And I already know if you dumped me, you would run into the arms of Jasmine, wouldn't you?"

He folded his arms. "I don't know. Why are we even talking about this? If you're feeling guilty about how you treat me, why not try being super nice for a bit," he said. The idea of her trying to act like that made him and Pitch chuckle a little but she grasped his arm and he was surprised to see she looked pretty serious. "H-huh?"

"You don't think I can do it, can you?"

"What do you think?"

She let go of his arm and smiled. "Basically act like Jasmine? Hah, I bet I can be even better at it than she can! Just watch me E!"

Pitch gave him a look of amusement. Obviously they both were really interested in seeing in how this would go. If she snapped after having to be nice for so long, the fallout would probably be hilarious to see.

The door to the gym burst open and Iris walked out, looking a bit annoyed. She kicked the door as it closed and looked over at them. "Man the guy in there is a real jerk! He kept talking me like I was some sort of little kid and wouldn't give me the time of day! He didn't even think I was the Champion!"

"Who was he?"

Iris folded her arms and looked to the side. "He said his name was Petrel I think. He looked like an old creep! He had purple hair and—"

"Yea I know him. We've tangled before. Though he seemed kind of decent, decent for a Team Rocket executive that is!"

"Yea, well when he heard you were here, he said he was only interested in battling you. What gives?"

He smiled. "Remember, Giovanni wants his revenge but he wants it when we're on equal terms. Only way that happens is if I take on the gym leaders and gain experience with my new team. Besides, you're the Champion."

She smiled at the mention of that. "Yea…well I guess you can take him on. You better use your dragon Pokemon!"

Pitch let out an annoyed chirp and he tapped him on the beak. "First we'll see what Pokemon he has. Then I'll decide who gets their shot first."

"Well, what are we waiting around here for? I want to see how some of your new Pokemon do!"

Iris and him shot her a look. "Even if it happens to be Chase or Bolt?"

"Who is Chase?"

"That's what I'll call Litwick."

"That's a weird name," Iris said. "It's a ghost, it needs something mysterious and—"

"Actually I think it works. Though don't you like to use names you pick from videogames?" Homika asked.

"Ahh…well I do but I couldn't think of one that would fit so it's Chase."

She shrugged. "Well, as long as he likes it, I'm sure it'll work," she said with a smile.

"Why are you acting like this? You were all mean and jerkish before and now you're…being nice."

Homika shrugged. "I just thought I should treat you all better."

"You're a weirdo," Irish said. Homika blinked several times but let the insult slip by. She just had to be seething and it looked like she was getting just a bit annoyed but she just let out a sigh and shook her head.

They stepped inside the gym and found Petrel sat atop what looked like a throne of sorts. He was slouched over it, eating some food from a bowl that lay nearby but sat up when he saw Ethan walk in. "Well well well, if it isn't my good friend Ethan! Sit down, enjoy some food with me!"

He chuckled. "Not interested. What happened Petrel, I thought you were out of the whole villain business. What made you come back?"

"Oh dear boy, you know…I did try to get out of the whole evil villain business. It's tough on the ol' heart and you got all these sassy kid trainers trying to prove their strength. It's enough to cause an old man to lose heart."

"Sassy kid—"

He covered her mouth and returned his attention to Petrel. "I take it that Giovanni—"

"He is…what can we say, a very convincing man. I was convinced I was out of the whole Team Rocket business but let me tell you, once he starts talking and sharing his vision, why it would cause even you—"

"Ethan would never join Team Rocket. He can see through their lies," Homika said.

"Oh what makes you so sure?"

"I trust him—"

"Ahh yes, trust, love friendship. Those are all decent qualities…I suppose but when such a charismatic man comes to you personally and explains it all in detail, even men with the strongest of convictions can be swayed."

She shook her head. "Then you don't know him very well."

"Gag me," Iris said.

"For once we agree but we aren't here to discuss warm and fuzzy feelings. You're here for one thing and one thing only. To kick me out."

Ethan smiled. "That's the gist of it."

"Well I'm sorry to say but you'll have to earn that right," he said as he took out a Pokeball. He summoned Raticate to the arena and laughed. "I heard you have a new team. I hope we don't beat you too badly."

He rubbed his chin. He didn't have a Fighting type but he did have Chase. He reached for the Pokeball but felt another one rattle around. He glanced down and realized it was Sam. "Well…maybe just this one time."

He grabbed Sam's ball instead and summoned the little dragon. It let out a roar at the rat but Raticate wasn't all that impressed. It just flashed its large front teeth at Sam, who bared his own teeth, small as they were. They circled around, staring the other down before Petrel yelled out a command to the rat. It lunged at Sam and smacked its head into Sam's side, causing him to roll back. Sam picked himself up but the Raticate followed after him, eager to keep up on the attack.

Sam turned and swatted the rat straight in the face with its short but strong tail. It left Raticate dazed while Sam back up a bit. He opened his mouth and fire began to appear in his jaws. He charged forward and bit on Raticate's back. He tossed him to the side and Ethan's eyes grew wide. "How is he that strong already?"

"Don't you know anything about Deino?"

"Well I'm not from this region."

"Oh…well I guess you got a point there," Iris said. "Well while they grow up into a killer, they're really strong. Don't let their small size fool you. That's why they can be a handful for a new trainer. They might not listen to them or underestimate their strength."

He looked back over at the fight and by the looks of it, Sam was having his way. Raticate was fast but anytime Sam got his jaws anywhere, it let the poor rat bruising. "Well this is the first time I've had a Pokemon known for its strength. Well there was Aries but I don't think a bull compares to a dragon."

Petrel laughed. "Well it looks like he could use some help!" He said as he summoned a Crobat. The bat nosedived at Sam, who was busy with Raticate but Pitch suddenly took off his shoulder and flew straight at the bat. The two collided head on, sending both sprawling backwards, a bit stunned.

"Pitch, darn it! I was gonna let Bolt join in."

"It's okay Ethan! That's how Rufflet are, especially Pitch. They're reckless but that's how they get stronger," Homika said.

"Yea but Pitch isn't the kind to come to anyone's aid but mine. Maybe he's mellowing out."

"I think he just hates Dodger."

"He knows what Sam grows into and wants to be on good terms when he grows up. Any Pokemon would be smart to do that," Iris said with a smug look on her face.

He turned his attention back to the fight and noticed Petrel had recalled Raticate back and now Sam had to contend with a Koffing. Who seemed interested in hovering just out of his reach and pelting him with blasts of poisonous gas. Each time poor Sam tried to bite at it, the Koffing would float out of the way and continue the attack. In the meantime, Pitch and Crobat were taking turns smacking each other in the air. He needed some way to take the fight out of his two Pokemon but how. He grabbed the ball holding Chase. "I think I have an idea."

He summoned Chase to the field, who looked at him, wondering what to do. "You have that? I'm not sure what to think about that," Iris said.

"Okay Chase, do you think you could give those two a nice little burn? I'm sure that will help Sam and Pitch out."

The little ghost nodded and floated over. "Man seeing that thing reminds me of all those Litwick and how creepy they can be," Homika said. "But I guess I'm cool with Chase."

It really was almost unsettling how she was acting. No rage, no anger, not even a sarcastic remark. Meanwhile Chase had summoned two bright blue fireballs, one that floated over to the Koffing and the other that hit the Crobat. Once it was satisfied, it turned transparent and began waving its arms in the air, only its flame visible.

"What in the world is it doing? The tango?"

"I think it's trying to drain the life energy of Petrel's Pokemon."

"W-w-what? Man I really hate that line of Pokemon!"

"But, it's not their fault Iris. It's just how they are. I guess from our viewpoint, it is pretty evil to just drain the life force of others but that's how they feed and live."

He and Iris shared a look. "Did you hit your head or something? You're like a different person!"

Homika smiled and when he looked over at her, she blushed just a tad. "W-w-well, I think Ethan deserves someone better than someone who just wants to argue and fuss all the time."

"What."

He turned away. At this point he decided to just concentrate on the match. It seemed pretty weird that they were too busy talking about Homika rather than about the match but maybe he was just too used to his Pokemon being able to handle themselves. When he did, he saw Pitch perched atop a knocked out Koffing while Sam and Chase were trying in vain to hit the Crobat, who used his speed to avoid anything they threw at it. He saw what it wanted to do and shouted an order out to them. "Hey stop trying to hit the Crobat and just let him fly around! Avoid his attacks for now!"

"So you finally decided to pay attention to the match."

He smiled. "Sorry but I'm so used to my Pokemon doing so well on their own, I forget to pay attention."

"Well it may work here but I'm just the first gym leader—"

"You aren't a gym leader! You just think you are!"

"Giovanni is in control of the Pokemon League and he gets to decide who is a gym leader and who isn't."

"Well he's just taking up temporary residence. We'll kick him out soon enough and that'll be that," Ethan said. Chase and Sam had taken a seat in the arena, watching his Crobat fly around at high speed. It didn't even seem like it was even trying to attack, just fly around a bunch. Did they really have time for this? He looked over at Pitch.

"Pitch, could you do something?"

Pitch looked at him and then turned his attention to the Crobat. As it passed, he suddenly flashed him a terrifying look, or what he guess would be considered a terrifying look. Tough to be all that scary looking when you're a Rufflet but the Crobat let out a shriek of terror and became a lot slower in the air. Pitch shot him another look and he got even slower. His mouth hung open, a bit dumbfounded that it worked. "What is he doing exactly?"

"I think he's using Scary Face. It causes other Pokemon to slow down a bit," Iris said.

"Oh…I just didn't expect Pitch to know it."

Noticing the bat had slowed down a bit, Chase summoned another blue flame and launched it at the bat. This time it hit and the bat cried out in pain again as it was left with a pretty bad burn. That must have been enough for Petrel as he recalled it back to its ball. "Well sonny boy, looks like I'm all out. You've beaten me yet again."

Ethan smiled. "Petrel, why don't you just get out of this villain business."

"Maybe I will. Maybe I won't. I have to see who comes out in the end."

"Of course that's gonna be me."

He chuckled as he took something out of his pocket. "Yes well Giovanni has quite a few powerful Pokemon with him. And you don't even have any evolved Pokemon. You have your work cut out for you."

He tossed him a badge and he caught it. He looked it over and noticed it was a Team Rocket pin. "Hey, is this some sort of joke?"

Petrel shrugged. "What did you expect? We just took over the gyms. It'll be a little time before we get official badges."

"What, you think we're letting you stay here? As far as we're concerned, this gym doesn't belong to Team Rocket anymore!"

"You would force a poor, old man out of here?" He asked, looking as pitiful as he possibly could, even bending over and grabbing at his back. Ethan shook his head, almost expecting a sarcastic remark from Homika but when it didn't come, he chuckled.

"Oh stop it. You're not that old. And you can get around just fine."

Petrel laughed. "So be it. Have a good day old boy. I'm sure we'll meet again."

"So…I was thinking. What's stopping him from taking over the gym again? Now that we left?" Homika asked. He looked over at her as they headed for the next town. "I mean, that's what he's gonna do."

"We told the authorities to keep an eye out. And the place is locked up now."

"Still."

"We just kick that Giovanni guy out of the Pokemon League and then they all leave, simple as that. It's not that complicated," Iris said.

"Y-yes…I suppose you're right."

Pitch let out a surprised chirp but he tapped him on the beak. "So what's next?"

"Technically Tachikawi but since the gym leader there wasn't captured, I guess we could move onto the next one. And that would be—"

Before Iris could finish, a phone rang. The ring tone sounded like one of Homika's songs and she answered it. "Hello?"

Iris glanced at him. "Anyway, the next city would be Castelia City."

"Well that's cool. I've been there before but never to the gym."

"It was a gym dedicated to Bug Pokemon. Not sure what it is now. Probably dedicated to stupid Team Rocket."

He laughed. "Yea, I'm not sure if they'll even stick to that gym format. They'll probably do—"

"What?" Homika yelled into her phone, startling both of them. "Yea yea, we'll be over," she said before hanging up. She gripped it so tight it looked like she would crush it. "Someone…someone took over my gym!"

"Team Rocket?"

She shook her head and he began to relax. "Oh so then what's the issue? I mean if it isn't Team Rocket, we can worry about it later."

Her eyes grew wide. "W-w-w-what? Don't you get it? This is my gym! I can't have someone taking over my gym while I'm still the gym leader, it wouldn't be right! We have to go over there and check it out."

"You're still a gym leader? That's news to me. You're never even at it!" Iris said. Homika closed her eyes and let out a sigh.

"I know I'm not usually there. I'm a rock star; I have all my fans to please! Ethan, we have to go over there and kick that person out!"

"Do we really need to do that? They already said it isn't Team Rocket. Why are we worrying about anyone but Team Rocket? They're the ones who took over the Pokemon League!"

Homika glanced at her. "Yes but it's my gym—"

"But Team Rocket isn't even there!"

"But it's…my gym. If you heard someone took over your gym, wouldn't you hurry over to kick them out?"

Iris frowned. "Well yea but—"

"I just want to go over to my gym, find out who is in there and kick them out. That's all I want to do. Then we can continue on with our journey."

Iris grumbled. "Oh Ethan, you're the big leader here, you decide! I still think we should pass on it."

"Yea…but I guess we could go over there, if only for a quick minute. We can't really stay there for long."

Homika smiled. "Thanks Ethan!"

"How did I know you were going to take her side?" Iris said with a groan. "This better not take very long! Such a big waste of time!"

"You're such a child, you'll understand it soon enough."

"I'm not a child! I'm the Pokemon Champion!"

Who is a kid. Homika only smiled at her. "Of course you are."

Iris shot her a dirty look. So now instead of foul words and violence, she went with this instead. " Why you…oh forget it. This better be quick!"

To be honest, this was the first time he had actually seen her gym. Like Iris pointed out, he had never seen her do any official gym business and wondered why she even cared about the gym. She had barely said a peep about it before, not even thought about it but as soon as she heard someone had taken over, suddenly it was so important? The gym even resembled more of a recording studio than an actual gym, just to point out where her priorities lay. "Okay, you two stay out here and I'll go in real quick. This shouldn't take long, especially when I flash the old Homika at them. They'll be scared straight!"

"Old Homika would have already tossed them out instead of talk about it—"

"C'mon Iris."

"I'm just saying!"

Homika went inside while they stayed outside. Pitch took to the skies to stretch out his wings while he sat down on a nearby bench. After some time, Iris joined him. "No really, why did we come here?"

He chuckled. "You're still on that? She's my girlfriend; I owe her just this little favor. Besides, she's a capable trainer. Whoever is in there can be dealt with quick enough, right?"

Iris grumbled. "Still a waste of time! Team Rocket is the bigger problem out there."

"I know, I know. Actually I'm curious why she's so outraged about it too. She hasn't said barely one thing about it. She's so caught up in being a rock star that I wonder when she had time to be a gym leader. Why not just give it up to someone who will really take care of it?"

"Why not you?"

He jumped. "What? Me? Be a gym leader! I don't think I'm cut out for that; I'd get so bored. Bored of being stuck in a building, waiting for trainers to come over and beat me so I can give them a little badge," he said, shaking his head. "Nope, I'm just not cut out for it! I don't even have a type I like the best. I'd be terrible."

"Well if you don't have a favorite type, I guess that makes things difficult."

"And I'd miss home. I'm not even from here, remember? Johto is my home."

Iris shrugged. "Well yea, I didn't forget but don't you think you'd want to be closer to your girlfriend? Why would you go back to Johto when she lives all the way out here? If that is the case, you should dump her and stick with that one gym leader from Johto…Jasmine isn't it?"

"You really don't like Homika, do you?"

"Huh, what? I'm just saying if you want to stay in Johto—"

She didn't get to finish, interrupted by a door slamming. They turned around to see Homika standing in the doorway, her face red with anger. She slammed her fist against the other door, cracking it a bit. "That…b****! That stupid f***ing b****! I'm gonna grab her by the suspenders, wrap them around her neck and—"

"Wow, so much for the nice Homika! That didn't last very long! I told you."

He ignored Iris and walked over to Homika. He put his hand on her shoulder but she pulled away. "So what's up?"

She turned slowly and glared at him. "I'm gonna kill her."

"You still haven't said who was in there."

"Doesn't matter! Once I go back in there—"

"Hold up! I think I'll go in! You'll end up doing something we'll regret," he said as he pushed her away from the entrance, though she resisted quite a bit.

"Ethan…don't you dare go in there. Don't you f***ing dare go in there."

Pitch flew over to his shoulder and he turned her back to her. "And you aren't thinking straight. Just calm down and let me handle it."

He closed the door behind him and entered the gym. The inside of the gym resembled a large stage, just like the ones she had performed on, with the title of her backup band, Dogars, in the back with large purple and teal neon lights. The walls were lined with lights that matched the color of her dress and in each corner were huge speakers that went up to the ceiling. He looked up at the ceiling and saw huge paintings of Koffing and Weezing. Suddenly all the lights turned on and he covered his eyes. "Hey Ethan! Good to see you!"

"Wait…that voice. You've got to be kidding me," he said as he uncovered his eyes. Standing in the middle of the stage was Lyra, dressed a bit differently. She had a large white poofy hat with a red bow tied around it, looking like she had stuck a balloon inside of it. She wore a red shirt and a pair of overalls except as shorts, though one of the suspenders was unattached. She bent down to pull up her socks up to her thighs while Pitch let out an annoyed chirp. "What are you doing here?"

"Huh? Aren't you going to say hi? She asked as she stood up.

"Well, I'm surprised to see you here. I thought you got crushed by that cave in."

She giggled. "Oh come on, you thought a little cave in would be the end of me! I'm a tough girl!"

He shrugged. "Well thanks for shoving me out of the way at least. I guess I owe you for that but can I ask, why did you take over Homika's gym?"

She looked wounded. "T-take it over? Who said I took it over?"

"Well that's what Homika told us. That someone not from Team Rocket had taken over her gym. She basically begged us to come here so we could kick the person out."

"Well I never took it over. I just decided to camp out here. I was gonna let her have it back as soon as she came back but she blew up at me and threatened to bash me with her guitar and all kinds of nasty things! She wouldn't even let me explain myself!"

Well she was trying to turn over a new leaf but Lyra seemed to be a touchy subject for her. Should he have been shocked that she reverted to her old ways when she showed up? "Well I don't think she trusts you very much."

"B-b-but I haven't even done anything to betray her trust!"

"It's Homika."

Lyra sighed and folded her arms. "That's too bad, because I needed your help with something. I need to steal something from Team Rocket."

"Something?"

She winked at him. "Yep, something! Well actually it's a Pokemon they have!"

"That's nice and all but why should we help you out?"

She put her hands behind her back and gave him an innocent look. She walked over to him. "Well actually, I think that stealing it from them will hurt them. Quite a bit in fact. I know you are trying to kick them out of Unova so I thought that if you help me out with this little favor, it'll go a long way to getting them out of here! What do you say?"

He and Pitch shared a look. "Well I know I owe you one but I'm not sure we can really waste time on this little side trip. With Team Rocket running the Pokemon League, we can't really waste a bunch of time—"

She walked up closer to him and rested her arms on his shoulders, looking up at him with a smile. "Please? I know you're really busy. I feel bad about you taking time out to do this but I would really appreciate it. And anything to hurt Team Rocket is good, right?" She asked as she dragged her finger across his chest.

"Uhh…well—"

"And it's not even that far away. In fact…it's in Castelia City. If you're taking out the Team Rocket gym leaders, that's the next stop in your travels, right? So we would be helping both out."

Well when she put it that way, it didn't seem like a bad idea. Especially if it was in the next city. They could help her out, hurt Team Rocket and boot the next gym leader out, all in one shot. "Well we…were headed to Castelia City next. If it's at the gym, I guess we could help you out."

She grasped him by the shoulders and winked at him. "That's great! Really awesome, I'm glad you understand! I tried to explain it to Homika but…" she said as she looked down. "…She wouldn't listen to me. I wish I could have got her to understand."

"Oh that's okay. If she doesn't like you, she can be pretty unreasonable. Don't let it worry you."

"That's why I like you Ethan, you're so understandable. Maybe we could help each other out more often. I think we would really work well together," she said. She suddenly leaned forward, pulling him in closer before she locked lips with him. He froze up like a popsicle, shocked but she didn't seem to notice. She pulled away from him and held a finger to his lips. "Oh, s-s-sorry about that. I was just so grateful that I couldn't help myself. Just…keep this a secret between us."

Pitch let out a surprised chirp but he was a bit too stunned to understand what he said. "Uh, yea."

"Oh, I guess you better let your friends know. I know Homika doesn't like me very much so I'll just stay out of the way until you calm her down."

Pitch pecked him in the side and that cleared his head in an instant, wondering just what happened. "Huh? Oh yea! I'll try to explain it to her but I don't think she'll like it very much."

He stepped outside and looked at Pitch. "Pitch, what just happened?"

"Ethan! Did you tell her to get lost? I hope you did because the sight of her just makes me…"

"Calm down! You're so annoying! What has she even done?" Iris asked.

"Everything!"

"Well that's quite a lot!"

He held out his hand and chuckled. "Iris, Iris you're making things worse. Well I did go in and talk with her. She hasn't taken over the gym at all. She wants to take back a Pokemon from Team Rocket and since it's in the next gym, wondered if she could tag along and help out, in return for getting that Pokemon."

"That's it? That's all she wanted?" Iris asked.

He nodded. "That's what she said—"

"And you believed her? You actually…believed her? With your own ears?" Homika asked. She leaned in closer and glared at him. "What's that smell? Why do you have a silly smile on your face? Why you—"

She grabbed him by the collar and pulled back her fist, face twisted with rage. "You f***ing idiot! Now I see how it is! Now I see why you agreed with her so quickly! Why you have that stupid look on your face! How could you! You, you…you!" She yelled, or rather screamed. She suddenly swung her fist forward and he winced in anticipation. For a punch that never came. Her fist had stopped a few inches short of his nose. He noticed Lyra standing to the side, holding onto Homika's arm but he wasn't sure if she had stopped her from punching him or if Homika had stopped herself and then Lyra came in. No, if she had wanted to punch him, she would have. Lyra wouldn't have been able to stop her even if she tried. She let go of his collar and pulled away, helped along further by Lyra who had pushed her away.

"Hey, what's your problem? He was only trying to explain the situation. He didn't do anything wrong, I was the one who suggested that we work together! I insisted that if you had an issue with it, I would gladly do it by myself! Why are you trying to harm the only friend you have?"

Homika looked down at her hands. "I…I…" she said, stuttering before looking up at him. "Ethan, I…I—"

"Well now that you've decided to be quiet, I can explain—"

"Don't bother E. If she hates me that much, I can just take care of it myself. If it's going to cause that much trouble," she said while glaring in Homika's direction. Homika continued to stutter as her eyes welled up.

"I really…I really am a…"

"Homika?"

"Just…leave me alone. D-don't even talk to me! Just…" she said before running off.

"I told you that you need a new girlfriend but does anyone listen to me? Nope!" Iris said.