"So tell me, why should I work with you again, after you betrayed me once before? You didn't deliver the gym leaders or the Champion to me. And he is still running around free and clear."

She giggled. "I told you already, that jerk Homika prevented your boys from delivering those three gym leaders to you. I didn't have any part of that…she's so paranoid, she must have eavesdropped on me. She surprised me by going out there to save them though."

"Still…"

She held up a finger and smiled. "You would want to work with me because this time, I won't bother with capturing those stupid gym leaders and the Champion. I'll just kill them all and save ourselves both the trouble."

"How do you even plan to do that?"

"I have my ways."

"Yes and what about Ethan? We both know you have no interest in turning him over to me."

"Oh I will but I doubt you'll have much use for him. You see, he cares very much for his friends and if he were somehow…being forced to watch all his friends get killed, imagine what that would do to his psyche! He'd be mentally crushed! I doubt he'd be much of a threat to you then. I mean you could still crush him in a Pokemon battle if you want but I think you're beginning to lose patience. All your people are in your ear, telling you to stop with the charade and just crush him already. This way we both get what we want. I know I'm sure that you would like to go forward with conquering the rest of the world."

"So you kill all the gym leaders and the Champion and deliver the mentally broken Ethan to me? If he does turn out to be as mentally broken as you said, he wouldn't be of any use to me."

"Exactly."

Ethan shoved aside a large trashcan and walked up to the back door of one of the larger buildings in Castelia. A couple of Purrloin jumped out, causing him to jump as well. He replaced the top and heard Iris groan. "So why are we sneaking around?"

"The same reason we snuck around in Nimbasa, we're outnumbered twenty to one."

"I just got done wearing a stupid Team Rocket uniform and now I have to do it again?"

"Oh stop whining Iris. This is only your first time dealing with them. I've been sneaking around in Team Rocket uniforms so much…I still have a few unused ones in my closet back home, just in case."

Her eyes grew wide. "Are you just screwing with me?"

Wiggler let out a squeak and he smirked. "Wiggs knows what's up. Besides, we have plenty of help. When me and Crystal took on Team Rocket, it was just the two of us in Goldenrod."

"Ummm, Ethan? I'm just wondering why I'm with you two," Skyla asked. They looked back at her and Iris cleared her throat.

"Because Jasmine and Homika are being dumb and we need a distraction."

"Huh? A distraction? What are you talking about?"

"I mean—"

"Iris is correct on the first part but that's it. We don't need to worry about distractions, we're sneaking around as is."

Iris looked at him and put her hands on her hips. "So how do we sneak around when you have this…balloon thing of evil bouncing around?"

Wiggler let out an angry squeak. "He'll go back into his ball eventually. I know I can't keep him out because if I do, everyone will know who I am. I mean do you know anyone else with a mouthy Wigglytuff?"

"Why do you have a Wigglytuff anyways? They suck!"

He opened the door, choosing to ignore her instead. He stepped inside what looked like the kitchen area and could hear pots and pans banging. He poked his head around and saw a Machamp, furiously washing a bunch of dishes, one set of hands washing while anther set dried them. He looked over at Wiggler who nodded and bounced in. He let forth a soothing and calm tune, which put the Machamp to sleep at once. Ethan smiled as he summoned him back to his ball and motioned for the others to enter. "Now do you see why I have one?"

"Yea…well…maybe I guess."

He walked past the kitchen area and noticed the cafeteria was filled with Team Rocket members. "Isn't it pretty late for dinner?"

"I didn't even know Team Rocket…ate. I guess they need to get their din din in as well," Skyla said. Ethan and Iris looked at her with blank expressions for a few minutes before looking away.

"So…well I guess we could just walk on by but I'm worried that if we cause some trouble, they could come up from behind and cause us more trouble."

Iris sighed. "So what do you suggest? Have you balloon—"

"His name is Wiggler, get it right. And he's defeated a lot more formidable opponents then you have in your lifetime. So have a little respect."

"…fine," she said. He took out the Pokeball holding Wiggler and Chase.

"I know of a way, Wiggler can sing them to sleep while Chase drains away their energy. Even when they wake up, they'll be too tired and lethargic to do a thing, or be any sort of threat to us."

"You know Ethan, it's kind of creepy how willing you are to use that ghost candle to suck away the life energy of people. You're gonna get him used to that and he'll start doing that without being asked to."

"I make sure he minds."

"Still…"

"I won't let him get out of hand. I already know what they can be like," he said. He summoned the two of them and explained the situation. As soon as they left, he could hear a bunch of talking and hushed whispers as everyone seem to recognize Wiggler right away. Wiggler soon began to serenade them with another soothing tune which had everyone knocked out in an instant, while Chase drained away all the life energy he needed. By the time they entered the cafeteria, everyone looked half dead while sleeping like babies.

"They look horrible."

"They'll be fine. They'll recover after a bit, they just won't be a threat to us."

His phone rang and he sighed. He answered it. "Hello?"

"Ethan, where are you guys?"

"We're in the cafeteria right now. Wiggler and Chase just dealt with a cafeteria full of—"

"Oh okay. So why am I working with Jasmine and Marlon again?"

"You and Jasmine are being silly, that's why."

"Fine, whatever. Well we haven't found much. All the Team Rocket people sound pretty nervous though. They seem to know we're in town, somewhere and they aren't looking forward to dealing with us."

"You'd think they'd be more confident. They outnumber us."

"Yea well I don't think they care much for this idea of Giovanni's to wait for you to get strong enough so he can crush you. I don't get it…we're gym leaders, shouldn't they be talking about us in hushed whispers?"

"You remember they crushed the Elite Four and the Champion. I don't think they are that scared of the gym leaders."

"Ugh, just once I'd like for them to speak about my name in hushed tones."

"Well if you're me, I'm sure they will soon enough."

"All right well…hey, what the f***? What are you doing here?" Homika yelled and he had to hold the phone away from his ear as she let out a string of obscenities. Skyla and Iris looked at him confused and he could only share in their confusion. He pressed the phone against his ear again.

"Mika?"

"Ahhh sorry E, I have to hang up. That stupid b**** Lyra just showed up."

"Lyra? She's here?"

"Yes, she's here! She won't be long for this world though, I can tell you that much. And don't even tell me to go gentle on her!"

"Well…just try not to get arrested for murder."

"Yea…fine," she said as she hung up. He sighed.

"Well looks like Lyra's around."

"Lyra?" Skyla asked.

Iris shrugged. "Just some childish dressed chick that has a huge crush on Ethan. You should have seen the two of them; they were all over each other! They were always touching each other, hugging—"

"Uh that was Lyra. I tried to get her to give me some space—"

"Really? You weren't doing a good enough job then. I swear, every time I turned around, her tongue was halfway down your throat—"

"Now wait just a minute…"

"If you hated it so much, you could have been more forceful."

"She's clingy! There was nothing I could do!"

"Well you two could have stopped kissing for a minute and breath."

"Like I said before, she is very clingy. There was nothing I could do."

They explored the rest of the bottom floor but there wasn't much to discover. There were a lot of Team Rocket members but thanks to Wiggler and Chase, there were a lot of dozing Team Rocket members. They stood in the middle of a library, filled with sleeping Team Rocket members and Skyla sighed. "So are we just gonna put everyone to sleep?"

"I don't know, you want to defeat them all in battles?"

Skyla frowned. "What about you Ethan? I thought you wanted to get some training so you can take on Giovanni?"

He shrugged. "Maybe but I don't think I need to try and fight fair if he doesn't want to. He wants to use hacked Pokemon, then I can use whatever means I need to beat him."

"Ahh well…I guess that works!"

"These floozies aren't even worth the time Skyla! I mean I would love to crush them too but…why bother?" Iris asked.

She shrugged. "I guess…so are we just gonna explore every floor?"

"Not if I can help it. Let's just find a way to get to the top, from what I heard, one of the executives is up at the top—"

"Actually while you two were busy, I overheard one guy talking about how they had a gym leader on the fourteenth floor."

"Oh really? Well let's go check that out—"

The phone rang again and he sighed. "Man, you really are whipped. Homika has to keep checking on you," Iris said.

"I am not whipped—"

"Yea you are! She has her way with you all the time. You're her little boy toy and there's…nothing you can do about it."

"Yea well…uh hello?"

"Ummm E? We've got a problem."

"Huh, what kind of problem? Did Lyra get away or something?"

"Yea…"

"How? She was outnumbered, right?"

"She was outnumbered! Yet…well…that little f***er crushed us all in a battle. Took on all three of us at once and won."

"Oh."

"She looked harmless but then she just rolled over us. I haven't been beaten that bad since…well you I guess. Jasmine said the same thing…have you secretly been training her or something?"

He laughed. "That aside…"

"Ugh, she's dangerous. And she laughed and said that she was coming after the three of you next. You better be careful!"

"Don't worry, we'll be on guard—"

"She said…she was gonna kill all of us eventually and turn you over to Giovanni. I guess she's given up on trying to get with you."

"Yea right. This is Lyra we're talking about—"

"Well don't get with her!"

"Why would I do that?"

"I was kidding. Just…uh take care. And don't get captured."

After he hung up, he noticed Iris and Skyla looking at him. "So?"

"That was Mika. She told me Lyra…just defeated all three of them."

"At once?"

"In a game of chess?" Iris asked. He shook his head.

"Not at chess but at a Pokemon battle. All at once. As in one on three. And she steamrolled them."

"Her? Really? What did she do? Put them to sleep?"

He sighed. "No, it sounds like Lyra just beat them all fair and square. And she's coming after us next."

"Well that won't happen with me around! I'm the Champion!"

Skyla folded her arms. "Have you taken on three gym leaders at one time before?"

Iris frowned. "Well…not at once. What about you Ethan?"

"Well…I once took on Jasmine and Erika in a battle once…but that's about it."

"How did that go?"

"I won."

They got up to the fourteenth floor, which was crawling with even more Team Rocket members. One of them stopped Ethan in his tracks with a stern look on his face. "Hey…what are you doing on this floor?"

"Is there a problem?"

"We have a pretty important prisoner on this floor and low ranking grunts aren't allowed here. I'm gonna have to ask you to leave."

"Well there is a problem downstairs…Ethan and some of the gym leaders are crawling downstairs."

His eyes grew wide. "What? Ethan is here? He's actually here?"

"Yes…and if he's here, I think you should be less concerned about your prisoner and helping us deal with him! The guy already defeated an entire cafeteria full of people, by himself. If he can do that…"

"If he's actually here…" the guy said before hurrying off. Ethan looked at them and smirked.

"What an idiot."

"But what kind of prisoner could they have? A CEO? The mayor—"

"Maybe a gym leader, let's go check it out," he said. The other Team Rocket grunts walking around didn't take any notice of them as they walked around the floor. Most of the floor consisted of cubicles, many of which were occupied by grunts, using the computers for whatever. Some were playing games, others were browsing the Team Rocket website and a few others were looking up…other stuff. He poked his head into one cubicle and a guy looked up at him. "Oh hey, get a look at this!" He said as he turned the monitor toward him, giving him a view of a very unflattering photo of Homika. He turned red as the guy laughed and turned the monitor away. "Isn't that wild? She's freakin' hot and a super slut. I love girls like that."

He made a fist and felt Skyla put her hand on his shoulder. All he had to see was someone ogling Jasmine and he would destroy everyone on this floor. He stepped away and looked at the two of them. "Did I see what I—"

"You two will have to hold me back if I catch someone leering at pictures of Jasmine or else no one will survive."

Skyla smiled. "I don't think I will stop you."

"Me neither. I'm just gonna watch and laugh," Iris added. "Hey, what if you saw someone looking at pictures of me, or Skyla even?"

"Of you? I wouldn't care."

"You…what?"

He ignored her and kept walking around. It seemed like no one was getting any actual work done and he wondered how Giovanni would react if he knew they were doing this, especially with him running around. He would probably blow his top. They turned the corner and saw two large and burly Team Rocket grunts guarding a door. They looked down at him and he waved at them. "Oh hey—"

"What do you want?"

"I was hoping you two could leave, we need to talk with that person inside," he said. Skyla and Iris glanced at him with shocked looks but he ignored them. At this point, was there a big need for stealth? By just appearing unannounced, that would throw everything into chaos.

"Is this some sort of joke?"

He took out his Pokeball and let out Wiggler. "Nope."

"A…a Wigglytuff? Then that means…how did you get in here?"

"I'm an honorary member of Team Rocket you know. So can we step inside or does Wiggler have to get you to move?"

The two guards looked at each other and moved away from the door. He smiled at them as they walked inside. "What happened to everyone in Team Rocket chomping at the bit to stop you?"

"Scared off I guess."

"Or maybe they're just retreating to get backup," Skyla said.

"Well if that's true, we better not waste time."

Inside the conference room, sat atop a table was from the looks of it Elesa, dressed in her regular outfit but as they got closer, something didn't seem right. "Huh, Elesa?" Iris asked.

"Haha, it is Elesa! Hiya girl! I hope they've been treating you right here!"

Iris looked over at her. "Huh, you know Elesa?"

"Of course! She gives me fashion tips."

Iris began to speak up but Ethan shot her a look and she seemed to forget whatever smart aleck remark she had. As he got a closer look…he realized Elesa was a guy, dressed up as her. She turned around and smiled at them. "Why are you dressed up liked a girl?"

"Huh?"

Elesa laughed. "Hehe, how did you guess? I had Skyla and Iris pretty fooled and they know me pretty well. It's me, Cilan!"

"Ethan…how do you even know what a boy looks like?"

"Huh, what do you mean by that? Of course I know what a guy looks like, I'm a guy!"

Iris shrugged. "But you're always around girls!"

"She's right. I'm surprised you haven't turned into a girl, being around all that estrogen 24/7!"

"Maybe he really is—"

"Oh quiet you two," he said with a grumble. Cilan crossed his legs and he sighed. "So would you tell me why you're getting in touch with your feminine side?"

"Actually I did it to help Elesa escape. I managed to escape capture and made my way over here. I came across her here and it was decided that she should try to free the other gym leaders so…we switched places so to speak. No one was the wiser."

"Team Rocket is full of idiots."

Cilan smiled. "And you must be the infamous Johto trainer I hear so much about, Ethan isn't it?"

Iris chuckled. "So you've finally gotten past the label of Homika's boy toy?"

"Huh? I knew about him before he and Homika got together. How he helped defeat Team Rocket in Johto and how he's regarded as the third—"

"Ugh, stop sucking up to him. He's just a trainer—"

"Iris, if you don't mind, I'm gonna leave you here."

Iris folded her arms and stuck out her tongue. "I'd like to see you try."

Wiggler let out a squeak and he nodded. "Anyways Cilan, if you don't mind, we're gonna go to the top and see if we can talk with the Team Rocket executive in charge here."

"Of course!"

"Could you change at least?" Iris asked.

"Let him stay in it. Has charm—"

"Aren't you just saying that because you don't want another guy around? You never have a problem with more girls being around but—"

"What are you talking about? I didn't have a problem with Marlon helping…just stop spreading rumors Iris."

"What? I'm generally curious—"

"Quiet."

"So Cilan, do you know where some of the other gym leaders are being held?"

He winked. "Oh sure love! It seems they got them captured near the Giant Chasm."

"Oh…really?"

Ethan looked at the three of them, who all wore worried looks. "I don't get it, what's the problem? Is it a dangerous place or something?"

Cilan folded his arms. Well not…necessarily. It's just…how do I explain it?"

Skyla laughed. "Well the place has a reputation for being a place that brings bad luck to people who enter it. It sounds really silly I know but a lot of strange things have happened there. And you hardly know what Pokemon will show up to attack, it seems."

"Yea, that place is just bad news."

"Who cares? We need to rescue them, right?"

The three of them looked at him with shocked looks. "Yea but this is—"

"Eh, who cares? Between the four of us, we should be able to handle anything that comes our way. And if we have the other three, I really think we should be fine."

Cilan chuckled. "Well…I can't really argue with someone who has probably faced far worse than a forest cursed with bad luck."

"I have to agree," Skyla said with a laugh. "I guess that's why you're the leader of this ragtag bunch."

By the time they got to the top floor, there were very few Team Rocket grunts around. Actually the top floor looked as if there had been a great battle. The walls had various marks, holes and even burn marks, potted plants were overturned, couches destroyed and debris lay all over the floor. He stepped over a lamp and pushed it aside. "Wow…looks like someone got to the exec before we did."

"Who? I don't know of any trainer who would be tough enough to do that. The toughest Pokemon trainers around are us, Marlon's group and the Elite Four," Iris said.

Cilan walked over to one of the walls and examined the mark. "You know…this looks like the kind of mark a whip would leave. Maybe…Vine Whip?"

"How would you know that?"

"He uses grass Pokemon Iris, remember?"

"How am I supposed to remember something like that? There are too many gym leaders anyway!"

Ethan folded his arms. "Hey Wiggler, think you could use Vine Whip for us?"

"Huh?" The three said in unison while he and Wiggler glanced at them.

"Well he knows Metronome but Wiggler is smart enough to remember every move he's used via Metronome. It takes a little time for him to remember all the details but once he does, he can do it again. Some moves have come up enough that it's second nature to him."

Cilan tapped his chin. "You know, I'm beginning to see why this Pokemon is so legendary."

"It's still just a balloon."

Wiggler pointed his little arms toward his head as he tried to remember. A minute or two passed before he summoned a small vine and snapped it at the wall, leaving a mark similar to the old one. "Great job!"

"Looks like I was right, it was Vine Whip. So whoever came through here had a grass Pokemon."

"That still doesn't help us."

Ethan frowned before it dawned on him. He tapped his head. "I think I know who our culprit is. And it isn't what I would call an ally."

"Who?"

"Lyra. She has a Meganium. They can learn Vine Whip, somehow. Usually if the parents knew the move."

"Well…didn't they say she was lurking around?"

"She beat Homika, Jasmine and Marlon by herself. If she did that, then I'm sure she could come up here and chase off all of Team Rocket."

"Ethan…what's with you and girls?"

"She's just a little…off."

"Well you sure weren't saying that when she was all over you!"

He shot a glare at her. "Fine fine…I did think she was cute. And maybe I was a bit bummed after what Homika tried to do and then Lyra came around and was all warm and accommodating…oh forget it!"

"Oh. S-sorry."

That was one of the few nice things he had heard from her mouth. "Well if it is her, we better be on our guard."

"She really defeated three gym leaders by herself? If you weren't around, I wouldn't be so sure of our chances."

"You forgot that I'm here. You know, the Champion?"

"Who also lost to Team Rocket," Ethan said.

"Yea about the only person around here who can claim to having an edge as far as Team Rocket is concerned is Ethan. Now Lyra is another story."

"I think I can deal with her."

"She kidnapped you and held you captive. Leaving you alone with her seems like the worst idea around. Watch her use her words and influence to wrap you around her little finger. You already admitted in part that when you were emotionally vulnerable and she was very friendly and warm to you in a time of need, don't you think she could use that against you?" Skyla asked. They all looked at her and she laughed. "All well you know, that's just a silly theory of mine!"

"We should go in together," Cilan said. Ethan shrugged and then nodded.

He pushed open the doors to the main office and found Lyra, decked out in Team Rocket gear, sat atop the desk, legs folded and her Meganium sitting nearby. Her face lit up when she saw him. "Ethan! Oh…I suppose I should apologize first."

"Apologize?"

"Hey, why did you attack Marlon and the others?" Skyla asked. Lyra hopped down and sighed.

"I had to."

"That's not a good enough reason!"

She clasped her hands in front of her body and blushed. "Ethan, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for kidnapping you; I didn't mean to do it. You don't…you just don't understand how it is!"

"What are you talking about?"

"To be friends with someone, to laugh with them, to have them encourage you to follow your dreams…for people to tell you that all the memories you have of a person are false. That they didn't happen. Have you ever had that happen to you? Where you…know something happened to you, it was real but because of just one thing you did, almost no one will remember what you did?"

Wiggler let out a worried squeak and he felt a lump in his chest. That really hit a bit close to home. "Ethan, what is this loon going on about? It's like she's lost it again."

"Ethan…when you were on Mount Coronet, about to convince Arceus to change the world back to normal…tell me you remember our meeting? Perhaps you didn't because I never got to tell you my real identity but you mistaked me for Crystal. You encouraged me to enter contests."

Wiggler let out another alarmed squeak. "Oh umm…hmm…"

"Ethan? Is she crazy?"

"I'm not crazy! I know what I'm talking about! Ethan knows!"

"What is she talking about?" Cilan asked.

"She's talking about…uh…when Team Galactic…or mainly Charon ended up convincing Arceus to change the world completely. Team Rocket was an entity of good…but not really. They were at least respected. Pokemon training had gone out of style and everyone was into gambling at the Game Corner—"

"What?"

"It really happened but only a few seem to remember the world before it was changed."

"Team Rocket a respectable company? Sounds like a dream come true," a familiar voice said. Lyra gasped as she jumped away and the large chair behind her spun around.

"Giovanni? What are you—"

"You really expected me to trust a lunatic like you? Though hearing the same craziness from him, perhaps you aren't as crazy as I thought."

"Giovanni, I've got a lot of questions for you! Well not before we defeat you first!"

He stood up and chuckled as Lyra backed away. She joined the rest of their group but that was the least of his worries. He had been expecting someone like Archer or Ariana or maybe even Petrel but the big boss himself? He walked to the front of the desk and leaned against it. "You better mind yourself Ethan. If you don't, all I have to do is send a text message to one of my people and you can say goodbye to Marlon, Jasmine and Homika. I don't think you really want to lose those last two."

"Ahhh…"

"Now, can we speak alone or do I have to follow through with my threat?"

"No…we can talk alone," he said.

"That's a really bad idea but if he has Homika and the others…don't worry Ethan! Be careful!" Skyla said before dragging everyone else out. The doors slammed shut and he returned his attention to Giovanni.

"So what do you want?"

"I'll keep this short, you will surrender to me. I'm no longer interested in trying to fight you on an even level. I am on the verge of realizing my life long dream but the only way I can do that, is if you're out of the way."

"Surrender?"

"Surrender. Not before I punish all of your friends and loved ones for getting in the way of my plans time and time again."

"What?"

He walked back over behind the desk and picked up his cell phone. "I'll let you choose who goes first. New Bark Town or perhaps the Day Care Center?"

"I don't want to choose! Leave them alone!"

He shook his head. "That's not the answer I was looking for. Now choose or I will choose for you. And then you get to choose who dies first between Homika and Jasmine. And once I'm done, you'll be stuck in a dark room, alone. Now either you choose or else—"

"W-w-w-wait!" Ethan yelled. He looked over at Wiggler and gathered himself. "Don't kill them. Don't kill any of them."

"Interesting answer. Not the one I'm looking for."

Ethan looked up at him. "I think…I have something that would cause you to reconsider."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Are you willing to let me tell you or—"

Giovanni put down the phone. "I'm legitimately curious. Spell it out but make it quick. Then I will decide if it's worth considering."

"I think you'll like it," Ethan said, as he smiled.