The large spotlights flooded the stage with light and a thick fog began to pour out. Everyone around them began to scream at the top of their lungs. It was like the worst noise he had ever heard, made worse since most of the concertgoers were young kids. Normally he never had a problem with youngsters, in fact he usually loved hanging out with them but now? Ugh. The only thing that made it worse was the group of singing Loudred who consisted of the opening act. Each one let forth a loud and terrible sounding bellow, something like Wiggler on a bad day. A real bad day. He looked over at his trusted Pokemon for his reaction but Wiggler wore only a surly look. "What do you think Wiggler?"

Wiggler didn't look at him and Ethan cleared his throat and spoke up again, a bit louder this time. "What do you think Wiggler?"

This time the Wigglytuff looked over at him with its huge glassy eyes and let out a squeak of protest. It flailed its arms around and let out a series of squeaks, mainly to let him know that this musical group was awful, horrible and just no good. He nodded in agreement, which earned him only a question...well it came out more like a demand. "Why are we here? Come on, I already told you several times."

Wiggler let out a squeak that sounded more like a grumble. Or a gripe. He looked over at his other traveling companion but she had disappeared into the crowd somewhere. He looked around for her, or tried to but soon the terrible singing from the Loudred began to pound his head and he stopped looking for her at the moment. He reached into his backpack and took out some earplugs. Before he could put them in his ears, Wiggler snatched them away and put them in his instead. "Hey, give me those back!"

Wiggler let out an angry squeak and Ethan shook his fist at him. "Hey I bought those with my hard earned money! You just can't take them from me! Get your own!"

He grabbed for them but Wiggler scurried away, disappearing into the throngs of kids. Ethan grumbled. "Darn you, using your smaller size to get away. I'll get you for that!"

He pushed his way through the crowds of kids, following after Wigglers tall ears. He may have been small but those ears were a dead giveaway. As he followed after Wiggler, the bellowing Loudred had given way to a Jigglypuff, A Jigglypuff with the most shrill sounding voice he had heard, like nails on a chalkboard bad and yet this earned even more cheers and applause from the crowd. He stopped in his tracks and watched as the kids around him jumped up and down as the Jigglypuff, adorned in more studded leather than a motorcycle gang, let out a terrible tune. Just how did they enjoy this stuff? He then remembered what he was supposed to be doing and he looked around for Wiggler again. He soon spotted him, making his way toward the back where a lot of the loud speakers had been set up. At least the crowd had begun to thin in the back, it'd make it easier to nab him.

Wiggler just got to one of the speakers when Ethan ran over. He noticed him coming right away and took off in another direction. Ethan did his best to make the sharp turn but tripped on something and fell to the ground. He looked up in time to see Wiggler scurry off into the crowds again. "Oh, I'm gonna fix you. You're not going to make a mockery of me!"

"Ethan."

He turned and saw Jasmine sat atop a speaker. Floating nearby were a couple of her Magnemite, who seemed to be enjoying the concert, bobbing in the air and emitting a sort of happy hum. She hopped down and took out the ear plugs in her ears. "Oh hey Jasmine, I was wondering where you had went."

"The Magnemite were attracted to this area and since I had come here for them, I decided to come over. Why were you hanging out so close to the stage?"

"I thought the concert would get interesting but so far all I've gotten is a headache. I was going to put some ear plugs in but Wiggler took them and I've been chasing him ever since."

She covered her mouth and laughed. "So that is why I saw him running past."

"Yea and I'm gonna have to catch him unless I want to go deaf! This music is awful!"

"Why do you think I brought earplugs? Though I hear the main singer for the concert is pretty good."

He folded his arms. "You mean that gym leader from Unova, Homika? I haven't heard her sing yet so I'll take your word for it. It can't get any worse, that's for sure!"

She smiled. "Oh it's not that bad-"

"You've had ear plugs in your ears all this time. You don't know how bad it is. It's more than bad, it's awful! Why do the Magnemite like this concert anyways? They could just hang around a power plant-"

"I think it is mainly for the main event. She is apparently an electric gym leader and her concert uses alot of lights, pyrotechnics and...well I hear they can be pretty explosive. I bet that's what they'll be attracted to more than anything else."

"So...when does that actually start? I don't think I can take any more of this-"

Suddenly the lights darkened and the kids screamed increased. He turned toward the stage as purple and teal lights flooded it and more fog began to pour out. Bolts of lightning flashed all around them, causing the Magnemite to bounce around in the air, energized by the performance. And the singer hadn't even appeared yet. He could hear a young woman's voice and all the lights focused on one spot on the stage, causing the crowd to go even more nuts. He looked at Jasmine. "Maybe we should go check it out!"

"Okay, I really want to see how she sounds like. I hear she's pretty good."

"Well, she can't get any worse than the opening act, that's for sure!"

As they got closer to the stage, the main act of the concert finally appeared. She had white hair, which she wore in a style akin to a pineapple, at least that's how he could best describe it. She wore a strapless minidress with teal and purple horizontal stripes, a studded bracelet on one wrist and some tall black boots line with teal lighting along the bottom. She raised her guitar to the crowd, causing an even greater frenzy. "Are you ready to rock?"

The crowd yelled an emphatic yes but it must have not been to her approval as she shook her head. "I said, are you guys ready to rock?" She yelled again, a big grin forming on her face. The crowd answered a bit louder and she nodded. "Then let's get ready to rock," she said. She grabbed the guitar and slashed her fingers across the strings, causing a huge fountain of sparks to erupt behind her and shower the stage and some of the people close to the stage. She soon began to sing one of her songs, an energetic song whose lyrics he couldn't make out if he tried.

Thankfully she sounded much easier on his ears compared to the last act. Each time she strummed her guitar with force, another fountain of sparks would shower the crowd. "Now this is more like it! What do you think Jasmine?"

He looked over at her but she wore a worried look. "Well..."

"Huh? Well? You don't like it? What's wrong with it?"

Jasmine pursed her lips. "I don't think...these lyrics are appropriate for kids."

He heard a familiar squeak and turned to see Wiggler sitting close by. "Oh there you are! You can keep the ear plugs now, I don't mind this music."

"Ethan."

He turned to Jasmine again. "You can understand the lyrics? I can't really understand a word she's saying. I don't know how you can. Can you Wiggler?"

Wiggler shook his head. "Then maybe I'm just hearing things," she said. He shrugged and turned his attention back to the stage. Homika had ended her first song and the music went from energetic and electric to more of a slower beat. One of the backup singers stepped forward and began to perform while she stepped back. Instead of providing some sort of backup in the form of her guitar, she began to pace the stage, egging the rest of the band on and gesturing to the crowd. She must have really been enjoying because she began to strum the guitar without touching the stringers and banging her head as if she was listening to a rock song, even though the song was more of a slow jam. "Is she listening to the same song we are?"

He shook his head. "I don't think so," he said. She got down on her knees and straddle the guitar between her legs. She licked it it like it was some sort of lollipop and he felt his heart jump a few paces.

"Ethan."

Wiggler let out a squeak. "I agree...I don't really think this is for kids."

"Ethan."

"I mean does this have anything to do with the song? I mean, really."

Wiggler let out another squeak. "Huh? I don't think she's looking straight at me. You're crazy."

"Ethan," Jasmine said for the third time, coming as close to yelling as she could. He looked over at her and noticed Jasmine glaring at him. "You're staring."

"Huh, I wasn't staring! I was just remarking about how dumb it looks!"

"While staring."

He rubbed the back of his head and laughed. "Well I didn't expect her to-"

"Hey you, hey I'm talking to you!"

He turned around to see Homika staring at him from the edge of the stage. "Huh, me?"

"Yea, you. Get up here on stage, I need someone to rock with. Come on!"

"Huh, what," he said but he soon found himself pushed onto the stage. Exactly what was he supposed to do? He had never been on a rock stage, that's for sure. Homika thrust the guitar in his hands as she walked to the mike. She grabbed it and screamed into it, almost causing him to drop the guitar in surprise.

"Now are you guys ready to rock?"

The crowd roared in approval but she shook her head. "No, I said are you guys ready to rock?"

Again the crowd roared louder, this time roaring their approval for a whole few minutes. She raised her hands to the sky as she took it all in. She looked down at the crowd again and nodded. "That's right. And I hope you're ready because I'm about to tear the roof off this-"

Before she could finish, the lights changed color, from purple and lime to a dark crimson. He heard a cracking sound and looked back at the large screen behind them, the Team Rocket symbol appearing. "What, Team Rocket?"

"Team what?" Homika asked, the microphone still close to her mouth. She looked up at the screen again. "Oh...those guys."

"Those guys? You know them?"

She nodded and began to speak again when a large spotlight appeared overhead. He looked up to see a large blimp with the Team Rocket logo flying overhead. Several ropes fell to the stage and he saw several Team Rocket members sliding down the ropes. He turned and saw Wiggler scurrying up the stage, even before he had to whistle for him. "Yo Wiggler, think you could send these goons off with a song to remember?"

Wiggler grabbed a nearby mike and Homika laughed. "A Wigglytuff? You really think she can do something against Team Rocket? Is this the junior leagues? Step aside before you get hurt!"

He laughed. "Hurt? I'm not just your everyday trainer!"

"Well you look like it to me. I'm a gym leader-"

"And I've beaten all the gym leaders in Johto and Kanto!"

Homika laughed again. "Yea, so what-"

"Look out you two!" Jasmine said. Ethan looked up and saw several Koffing appear, the Pokemon of choice for any good Team Rocket member. The Pokemon emit large clouds of gas onto the stage, a thick gas that had them both gasping for air. Wiggler let out a cry and then used his powerful lungs to blow away some of the gas, allowing him a chance to breathe and get a clear head. As it did, the lights went off and he could hear a familiar jingle.

"Prepare for trouble-"

"Why make it double!"

"To protect the world from devestation-"

"To unite people within all our nations."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love-"

"To extend our reach to-"

"Okay cut the music!" Ethan yelled. "Really, how many times do I have to put you guys away? Isn't it time to cut your losses and consider another job?"

"He interrupted our theme song. Are we just going to take that lying down?" A young guy said.

"Not if I can help it! Let's continue!" A young girl said.

"To extend our reach to the stars above-"

"Lyra!"

"And Carr-"

"I said cut the music! I'm not listening to your cheesy speech! Now come out so I can send you guys packing...again!"

One of the spotlights suddenly flashed a bright light in his face. He threw his hands up to cover his face and stumbled back. "Wrong, this time, we're gonna be sending you packing...Ethan!"

By now, he had recovered, maybe just a little. His vision was still pretty blurry but it wouldn't be long. "Ugh, I'm glad you remember me! Well I shouldn't be surprised since I helped stopped your plans so many times."

"Yea well, this time will be different! Carr, you get Ms Pineapple head while I handle Mr. Big Shot here. The big wigs were pretty specific about this guy."