Pokémon 1. Chapter One

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Chapter One

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"Is it time to go yet?" Ryan demanded impatiently as he and the rest of his family sat in the waiting room at Olivine City's large ferry terminal. As nine-year-old boys often do, he rolled his eyes impatiently and began kicking his feet against the chair he was sitting on. It seemed they had been there for years, even though it couldn't have been more than a few hours, and he was starting to get bored and restless - he wanted to get up and explore, but his mother had told him to stay put as the boat that would take them where they were going was due at any time.

"Stop that!" his sister snapped beside him, putting out her hand in a bid to restrain his legs. Candida Benson was fourteen years old, a willowy blonde in a pink t-shirt and denim cut-offs, a duffle bag slung over her shoulder. The latter contained three paperback novels and the Poke Ball that housed her Pokemon, a Togetic and a Lapras. She and the Water/Ice Pokemon had been together for as long as she could remember, since she was two in fact. Since the day her parents, who were marine biologists, had found a Lapras beached at Cherrygrove City . . .

The Lapras was a female and an examination had revealed that she had been attempting to lay an egg but had got into difficulties. As a result, the egg had to be surgically removed before it burst inside her and caused even more damage than she had suffered already. Luckily, she recovered after several weeks spent in the convalescent pool at Cherrygrove's Pokemon Centre, but she had been unable to care for her egg herself so the Bensons had taken care of it for her. When it hatched, they had adopted the baby Lapras - officially as a family pet, but it soon became clear that she had formed a strong bond with their toddler daughter.

Twelve years on, the Benson family - parents Jack and Lydia; their two children, Candida and Ryan and the respective Pokemon of each youngster - were about to embark on an adventure of a lifetime. They had been among sixty families chosen for one of the most ambitious projects ever attempted, living deep under the ocean in a specially designed city of watertight domes. Once installed, they would remain there for twelve months with no contact with the outside world aside from a weekly delivery of supplies from the mainland.

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Ryan left off kicking the chair long enough to give his sister a long hard look. "I'm bored, Candy," he complained peevishly. "Can I let Elekid out for a while?" he asked, reaching into his pack and groping round for his one Poke Ball. But his mother quickly checked him before he could find what he was searching for.

"No, Ryan!" Lydia Benson said firmly. "I've already told both of you there's to be no letting your Pokemon out until we reach Aquarius."

Ryan scowled and muttered something under his breath as Lydia reached into her own bag and produced a dog-eared comic, one of those they'd bought in the convenience store back in Cherrygrove to keep Ryan occupied until the arrival of the boat that would take them out to Aquarius, the name of the undersea city. "Look," Lydia said in her oh-so-reasonable voice. "Why don't you read some of your comics for a while? It'll pass the time . . ."

"Already done it," Ryan muttered. Spending a year in an underwater city had sounded like an adventure when his parents first told him about it and he had spent many hours fantasising about it, but he hadn't known then that it would involve waiting around for so long. "Mum, do we have to sit here?" he asked at length.

"Yes we do. We'll be going in a very special boat that's been made especially for us and it should be along at any . . ."

She was cut off abruptly as an announcement came over the tannoy system. "Your attention please! This is a call for all those selected for the Aquarius Underwater Living Project. Please make your way down to the harbour and prepare to board the Aquaship." On hearing these words, the entire Benson family exchanged glances, knowing that this was the moment they had been preparing for, the moment when they would begin their last few minutes on dry land for a year. Jack Benson quickly gathered up his bags and walked towards the exit with his wife and children following in his wake.

The Bensons slowly made their way out towards Olivine Harbour, as always lined with ships of all shapes and sizes. Most looked fairly ordinary, basic sea-going vessels with names like Pride Of Olivine or Silver Staryu that served to ferry passengers across the sea, but there was one whose design stood out in stark contrast to all the rest. It was completely flat on top, with no sign of funnels and, if anything, looked more like a wheel-less bus that a boat. "that's it - over there," Jack said as he checked a picture of the strange-looking boat against the craft standing in the harbour. He pointed towards the craft in question and the family quickly headed towards it. As they got closer, they saw that a queue was already snaking its way round the harbour . . .

"Not MORE queues!" Ryan muttered. He had spent most of that morning standing in line with the rest of the family, waiting around while Jack got the family's paperwork cleared with the people running Aquarius. And, if there was one thing Ryan Benson hated more than anything, it was standing in queues.

"This shouldn't take too long," Lydia said consolingly as the family attached themselves to the end of the line. "It took so long at check-in because they had to check we were who we said we were - so no could get into Aquarius who wasn't supposed to be there . . .

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Sure enough, it did not take long before the Bensons were safely seated in the craft and the door was sliding shut to seal the passengers inside. As a sign with the words "doors locked" pinged on above their heads, they knew there was now no going back. From here on, their immediate future lay beneath the ocean in Aquarius. Slowly, the craft began to move, at first travelling across the sea as if it was an ordinary boat, but it gradually dipped forward until the entire vessel was under the water.

Shouts of excitement issued from the passengers as they beheld for the first time the wonders of the deep - watching nature shows on tv and even visiting aquariums could do little to prepared anyone for the sheer spectacle they were seeing now. It was as if they had entered an alien world, one filled with new places to explore and new things to discover.

"Look!" shouted a voice just across from where Candida was sitting. "A whole colony of Octilleries!" The speaker was a dark-haired girl of around Candida's own age, who wore black trousers and a white top and had a Pikachu perched on her shoulder and spoke with an accent that suggested she had not originally come from Johto. She pointed out of the window towards several of the red octopus-like Pokemon and turned towards two people who could only be her parents.

"There's a Corsola!" someone else called as one of the pretty Water/Rock Pokemon swam past the vessel taking the people selected for Aquarius to what would be their home for the next twelve months.

"Look, Timmy," said the young woman sitting immediately behind the Bensons with her three-year-old son, the youngest family on board. "Look at those two Seadras." She pointed to the two Water Pokemon bobbing along on the current, looking for all the world like miniture dragons. In fact, that was what had earned the entire Horsea line the name Dragon Pokemon, even though Kingdra was the only member of that line to be classed as even a part-Dragon Type.

"Cool! A Gyarados - I've never seen a wild one this close before!"

"If half the things they say about wild Gyarados are true, I'm glad we're in this Aquaboat . . ."

Candida gazed out of the window, staring awestruck at the exciting underwater world she and the other passengers had entered and would be calling home for the next year. At length, she turned to her mother. "Is this everyone?" she asked. "All the people who'll be in Aquarius?"

"No, just the ones from Johto," Lydia replied, turning away from the window for a moment. "There are some from Kanto as well - I believe they're sailing from Vermilion."

Candida looked down at her two Poke Balls, wondering if she should let Togetic out for a moment - Lapras was too large to be released in a confined space, besides which she needed to be in water. But, before she could decide, a shout from up at the front of the Aquaboat dragged her attention away from her Poke Balls and towards something looming in the distance . . .

"There it is!" someone shouted. "That's Aquarius!"

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Everyone in the Aquaboat crowded round to get a first look at the undersea city. This consisted of several dome-shaped modules built on the sea floor and connected to each other by glass tubes, giving the effect of a vast network. The whole thing was built around a giant central hub, which appeared to be the powerhouse of the operation, the place containing Aquarius' electricity generators and food storage areas. And, since the Aquaboat was heading straight towards it, it clearly also contained the city's docking facilities.

Slowly, a door slid open to allow the Aquaboat passage into the interior of Aquarius. As it did so, a buzz of conversation broke out among the passengers as they speculated among themselves about what the next twelve months would be like. The idea of living at the bottom of the ocean was still a relatively new concept, one which had been tried before but never on this scale. With the contingents from Kanto and Johto combined, there would be something in the region of three- to four-hundred men, women and children living in Aquarius. And, needless to say, many of the passengers had brought at least one Pokemon along . . .

As the Aquaboat slowed to a halt inside the docking bay and the doors slid shut behind it, two men in grey uniforms boarded the vessel, the latter carrying a clipboard and pen. "Good afternoon, everyone," he said in a curt voice. "I am Professor Wilson and I am the director of the Aquarius project. Shortly, you will be leaving this Aquaboat for your living quarters so please pay attention as my colleague calls your names and module numbers."

The other man took the clipboard from Wilson and began to call out the names of the passengers in alphabetical order.

"Allwood, Curtis and Allwood, Estella - Module 36."

"Andrews, Ron; Andrews, Vickie; Andrews, Jason and Andrews, Lisa - Module 50."

"Arrowsmith, Bill; Arrowsmith, Diane and Arrowsmith, David - Module 12."

"Austin, Terence; Austin, Lorna; Austin, John; Austin; Mollie and Austin, Craig - Module 46"

As he started on the B's, Candida and her family made sure to listen carefully until they heard him say: "Benson, Jack; Benson, Lydia; Benson, Candida and Benson, Ryan - Module 55." Hearing this, Jack Benson picked up his bags and beckoned to his wife and children.

"That's us - let's go," he said as he led them down the aisle and out through the door at the front of the Aquaboat. As she stepped down, Candida clutched her Poke Balls and gazed round at her surroundings, mentally absorbing her first sight of the interior of Aquarius. The area they were in at present appeared to serve as the main entrance to the whole complex, consisting of plain creamy-white walls with corridors leading off into the heart of the undersea city. A digital clock directly overhead showed that the time was 1430 on May 19 2031.

"Module 55?" muttered Jack as he studied the map Wilson had handed him.

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Finally, the Bensons reached the dome-shaped structure that would be their home during their time in Aquarius. Lydia slid the keycard they had been given into the slot and they all trooped inside to inspect their new quarters. These consisted of an open-plan living and dining area with a kitchenette in the far corner - the latter came complete with a microwave oven and a fridge-freezer stocked in preparation for their arrival. The bedrooms were located round the edges of the module, a large master bedroom for Jack and Lydia and two smaller rooms for their children. Ryan promptly bagged the nearest of these and flung himself onto his bed, letting his Elekid out of his Poke Ball as he did so.

"I hope you'll keep it tidier than your room at home," Candida remarked as she peered in with her Togetic perched on her shoulder. Then, she quickly withdrew and made her way to her own room; like most teenage girls, she had little time to sit talking to her younger brother, besides which she still had a lot of unpacking to do herself. There were CDs to be sorted and posters to be pinned up . . .

It was while Candida was placing her favourite Jigglypuff doll - one she had had since she was seven and had become something of a mascot - on a shelf that she heard the intercom ringing. Switching on the computer on her desk, she saw the girl with the Pikachu standing in the glass tunnel that connected Modules 54 and 55. And, since it looked as though she and the girl would be seeing a lot of each other, she decided to introduce herself.

"Hey!" she said, smiling.

"Hey yourself!" replied the girl, her unusual accent somehow even more obvious than it had been on the Aquaboat. "How's it going?"

"Fine - I'm just getting my room sorted . . . I'm Candida Benson, by the way."

"Autumn Lane. Look, all the kids and their Pokemon are having a get together in the main Recreation Area - why don't you come along?"

"Sure," Candida replied. "I'll be along shortly. Mum!" she called to Lydia, who was arranging her make-up on her dressing table. "Is it OK if I go with some of the other kids?"

Of course," Lydia called back. "Just take the map with you until you know your way around." 


	2. Chapter Two

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Chapter Two

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As Autumn and Candida made their way through the network of tubes that connected Aquarius together, they swapped life stories. The two girls were near the same age, Autumn being the elder by five months, and it was already clear that they were going to be close friends even though their hometowns were miles apart - Autumn and her family had lived in a town called Whitebeam City before coming to Aquarius - and it was unlikely they would have met under normal circumstances. They had Pokemon, Autumn's Pikachu and Candida's Lapras and Togetic, but the idea of going on Badge-collecting journeys had never occurred to either of them.

"Actually, I've only lived in Johto for the last two years," Autumn was saying as she patted the Pikachu in her arms. "I was born in Petalburg City, see?" Candida nodded her understanding, recalling that Petalburg City was in Hoenn - which, she reasoned, would explain Autumn's accent. She had never left Johto in her life, apart from a weekend trip to Viridian City with her school, and certainly hadn't ventured as far afield as Hoenn . . .

"What was it like?" she asked at length.

"What was what like?"

"Petalburg City," Candida replied. "Did you have many friends there? Was there a Pokemon Gym?"

"It was . . ." Autumn paused for a second. "It was a great place to live - I had loads of friends there. But I had to leave them all when Dad got a new job in Johto - mind you, I've been keeping in touch, letting them know how things are going. As for Pokemon Gyms, the one at Petalburg uses Normal Types . . ."

"Same as the Gym in Goldenrod," Candida observed as she and Autumn continued their trek through the undersea complex. By now, the two girls were in the communal area of Aquarius, the place where all the families chosen to live in the underwater city could meet and get to know each other. It was pretty much empty right now, presumably because most people were still getting settled, but a small crowd of teenagers had congregated in what seemed to be a recreation area . . .

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One of the youngsters, a tall brown-haired boy in jeans and a basketball shirt, spotted Candida and Autumn and called them over. "Hey, you two!" he shouted. "Come join us!" Candida studied him closely; she didn't recall seeing him in the Aquaboat, so he had to be one of the Kanto contingent, one of those who had sailed to Aquarius from the port in Vermilion City.

"Hey yourself!" she called back as she and Autumn made their way towards the group he was part of. This consisted of the boy who had hailed them; another, slightly younger, boy; two girls of around sixteen and a third boy who bore a strong resemblance to one of the girls. All five youngsters nodded towards the newcomers as they took up position in the group and the air was soon filled with introductions.

"I'm Autumn from Whitebeam City," Autumn volunteered, patting her Pikachu as she spoke. "And this is Candida from . . ." She paused as she tried to recall where Candida had said she came from.

"Cherrygrove City," Candida supplied. "And you lot are?"

"I'm Kevin," said the boy who had called them over. "I train Dark Type Pokemon. I think they're real cool - wanna see?" Without waiting for a reply, he pulled out four Poke Balls and released the Pokemon housed within. With brief flashes of light, the forms of a Houndour, a Sneasel and a Murkrow materialised and gathered around their trainer. Kevin patted the Houndour and Sneasel on their heads and allowed the Murkrow to fly up onto his shoulder.

"My name's Kelly," said one of the two girls, the one with red hair who wore a grey skirt and navy blue crop-top with the words Cool Chick emblazoned on it in silver thread. She was the one who resembled one of the boys, whom she now introduced as "my brother, Jeremy - he's a pain in the butt at times."

"I know what you mean," Candida laughed, her mind straying to Ryan. "I've got a brother too."

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"So, what Pokemon do you guys have?" Kevin asked at length, gazing round at his companions. His own Pokemon had settled around the table the youngsters were sitting around, the Houndour reclining at Kevin's feet while the Murkrow perched on the back of Kevin's chair and the Sneasel sat on the table. Like Pokemon trainers everywhere, the youngsters enjoyed nothing better than comparing Pokemon and that was what had prompted Kevin's question.

"I've just got this Pikachu," Autumn replied as the small yellow Electric Type scampered off her shoulder and went to speak to Kevin's Sneasel. A brief pause followed as everyone listened to the two Pokemon going "pika pikachu" and "sneasel sneasel" and speculated about what they might be saying. There were few who had managed to interpret the mysteries of Pokemon speech, although many trainers did learn to understand their Pokemon's wishes and desires.

Next, Kelly pulled out four Poke Balls and released a Skiploom, an Aipom, a Delibird and a Clefable, all of whom were female except for the Aipom. "This is Drifter," Kelly explained, indicating the Skiploom hovering in mid-air. "Skiplooms drift on the breeze, you see. And that's Cheeky - the Aipom; the Clefable is called Pinky . . ." She paused to extract Cheeky, who had tangled himself in her hair while she was speaking.

"And the Delibird?" Candida asked.

"Just Delibird - I couldn't think of a suitable nickname. Mind you, I don't think Delibird minds too much." As if to confirm Kelly's words, Delibird got to her feet and performed a little dance on the tabletop as Jeremy pulled out his one Poke Ball and prepared to release its contents.

Before he could do so, Kelly grabbed his arm and forced it down. "Oh no, Jeremy!" she said sternly. "Not when I've got Drifter out . . ."

Jeremy muttered something in which the others could just make out the words "bossy-boots", but he put his Poke Ball away all the same. "My Charmeleon," he told the others. "Trouble is it doesn't get along with Kelly's Skiploom so I can't let it out when Drifter's around."

Next, the other girl - her name was Sandra - pulled out two Poke Balls and pressed the button on one of them to release a Wooper; The small Water/Ground Pokemon promptly hopped onto the table beside Autumn's Pikachu, Kelly's Delibird and Kevin's Sneasel as Sandra prepared to let out her other Pokemon. This proved to be one of the rarest of all non-Legendary Pokemon, a Dratini, a blue Dragon Pokemon that had once been classed as Legendary until an actual colony was found. "W - where did you get that?" asked Autumn, indicating the Dratini. Few trainers had even seen a Dratini, Dragonair or Dragonite, much less managed to catch one . . .

"At the Dragon's Den," Sandra replied. "I live in Blackthorn City and they're famous for their Dragon Pokemon - they even have this festival every year where they choose a local girl to be the Dragon Queen . . ."

At length, Kelly turned to Candida and the third boy to ask why neither of them had let out their Pokemon yet . . .

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Candida flushed; she had been so wrapped up in admiring the Pokemon belonging to Kelly and the others that she had forgotten about her own Pokemon. She took out her Togetic's Poke Ball and prepared to activate it. "This is Togetic," she explained as the graceful Flying Pokemon emerged and perched herself on her trainer's shoulder. "I've got a Lapras as well, but that needs to be in water so I can't let it out here . . ." Candida examined Lapras' Poke Ball for a few seconds before slipping it back into her pocket.

"No problem," said the third boy, who hadn't spoken until then. "You can let your Lapras out In the swimming pool. There's one just round the corner, well two really - one's for Water Pokemon."

"How do you know that?" asked Autumn.

"Because I train Water Pokemon, so the first thing I did when I got here was find out if there was somewhere they could exercise," the boy replied. He had short light-brown hair and wore blue jeans and a t-shirt in a darker shade of blue. Round his waist he wore what appeared to be a belt-purse with two round bulges in the money compartment; evidentally, this was where he kept his Poke Balls. Many trainers liked to have their Poke Balls somewhere they could be easily reached at short notice. "Sorry," he added as he realised he hadn't introduced himself, "my name's Marc - Marc Turner."

"Well, let's get down to the pool," said Sandra. "I think Wooper and Dratini would like a swim too, wouldn't you?" She directed the last two words at her Pokemon, who nodded vigorously. "Then . . . return!" she commanded as she pointed the Poke Balls at Wooper and Dratini, who vanished into the Balls in a flash of light. The others - with the exception of Autumn, whose Pikachu didn't travel in a Poke Ball, and Marc and Jeremy, who hadn't let their Pokemon out at all - followed her lead and they headed in the direction Marc had indicated . . .

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Marc led the others towards the swimming pool nearest the door. This was filled with just about every Water Pokemon imaginable, all of whom were splashing about under the watchful eyes of several humans who could only be their trainers. Among other Pokemon, there was a graceful Goldeen whose fins flowed behind her like a skirt, a Psyduck lazily swimming a backstroke, a Totodile showing off for the benefit of a nearby Quagsire, an Octillery propelling itself along on jets of water and even a Sharpedo. Candida gazed at the shark-like Pokemon; she had heard of Sharpedos from wildlife documentaries on tv, but this was the first time she had seen one in the flesh.

"What are you waiting for, Candida?" Sandra demanded as she released her Wooper and Dratini. "Let out your Lapras!"

Candida then remembered why they had come down to the pool and pulled out Lapras' Poke Ball. She held it out over the water and opened it, causing her Lapras to appear in a blaze of light as Marc summoned his own Pokemon nearby. These proved to be a Seadra and a Squirtle. The former promptly drew back her head and gave her trainer a playful squirt of water from the end of her snout.

"Oh, Seadra!" Marc said with mock exasperation as his t-shirt was quickly soaked. "Seadra's always doing that," he explained to the others. "That's its way of showing affection."

Candida knelt beside the pool and allowed her Lapras to swim right up to her so she could scratch the Water Pokemon under the chin the way she liked. Lapras closed her eyes and made a soft musical sound of the sort a contented Lapras makes. Then, as she had often done while exercising Lapras around Cherrygrove Bay, Candida grabbed one of the bony projections on Lapras' shell and hauled herself onto her back. She had ridden on Lapras many times, although Lydia had forbidden her from doing so unaccompanied until she had learned to swim reasonably well, and always found doing so extremely relaxing. There was something about just sitting back and letting your Pokemon take you across any stretch of water . . .

"You and that Lapras seem real close," Kelly observed as Candida steered Lapras to the water's edge for a moment. "You had it long?"

"Since I was two," Candida answered, before explaining about how her parents had helped a mother Lapras who was egg-bound and reared the baby themselves while her mother was recovering. "My earliest memory is of riding it with my mum - I must have been about five or six then."

She climbed off Lapras and walked over to the others - Autumn, Jeremy, Kelly, Marc, Sandra and Kevin, kids she had only recently met but who already felt like old friends. Clearly, life in Aquarius wasn't going to be too bad; at least there would be plenty of other Pokemon trainers for her to hone Togetic's and Lapras' battle techniques against . . .

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At first, life in the underwater city passed by uneventfully - unless you counted the day an inquisitive Igglybuff belonging to one of the younger children in the complex wandered into the room that housed the generators which converted the energy from the waves into electricity and got locked in. But all that changed the day Marc and Kevin, who had become close friends during the last few weeks, decided that it might be fun to take a look "behind the scenes". What this meant was going into those areas that Wilson and the other Aquarius staff had placed strictly off-limits to unauthorised personnel.

It was Kevin, who already had a reputation for being a rebel, who came up with the idea while the teenaged population of Aquarius were having Pokemon battles one afternoon. He had just been defeated by a boy who trained Fire Pokemon and used his Quilava, Magmar and Combusken to devastating effect and was sitting at a table with Marc - who was waiting for his turn - sipping Cokes and watching out of the corner of his eye as Autumn's Pikachu battled another girl's Delcatty. The beautiful cat-like Pokemon with cream fur and purple ears looked somewhat like an Eevee evolution, but the Pokedex stated that it had no relationship to Eevee and its evolved forms and instead evolved from a tiny red and cream Pokemon called Skitty . . .

"Hey, Marc," Kevin said after a while. "I've just had an idea! You know those areas we're not allowed in? The ones with NO ENTRY signs plastered all over the doors?"

"Well, what about them?" asked Marc, who had his Squirtle's Poke Ball out ready for when his name was called. Seadra would not be much use here since the battle wasn't taking place around the pool, so her Poke Ball was stashed in Marc's belt-purse.

Kevin grinned mischieviously and leaned across the table to whisper in his friend's ear. "Well I've been thinking we should take a look inside, see what goes on behind the scenes at this place . . ."

"Are you serious?!" Marc demanded. "We could get in trouble for doing . . ."

He was cut off by an announcement over the speakers set up around the arena; while he and Kevin had been talking, the battle had been decided when Autumn's Pikachu used a Thunderbolt Attack on the Delcatty. "And that's victory to Autumn and her Pikachu!" announced the man who had been appointed as referee as the Delcatty's trainer recalled her Pokemon. "Next up we have Kelly O'Hare and Candida Benson!"

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"Er . . . great battle, Autumn," Kevin stammered as Autumn and her Pikachu sat down beside him and Marc. He hoped she wouldn't realise the two boys had not been watching the battle at all. "Listen," he went on, "there's something I'd like to discuss . . ."

But Autumn cut him short. "Can't it wait until after Candida and Kelly have had their battle?" she asked as the two girls entered the arena and stood facing each other. There was no question that Candida would use her Togetic since Lapras could only battle in water, but which of Kelly's Pokemon would be chosen to oppose her?

The answer came when Kelly picked out a Poke Ball and sent it spinning through the air with a shout of "Go, Delibird!" A brief flash of light followed and Kelly's Delibird stood in the arena looking prepped for battle.

Candida had Togetic's Poke Ball ready in an instant. "Togetic, I choose you!" she called as she threw the Ball and it burst open with a flash of light that faded to reveal a Togetic hovering in mid-air. Then, she nodded to Kelly from across the arena to give the other girl permission to make the opening move.

Kelly did not need telling twice - when it came to Pokemon battles, it often helped to be able to strike first. "OK, Delibird," she said, "let's kick off with a Swift Attack!" In response, Delibird clapped her wings together and a volley of golden stars appeared as if from nowhere and began shooting directly towards Candida's Togetic.

Candida thought fast, trying to decide on the best strategy for fighting a Delibird with a Togetic. She had never battled against one of the quirky-looking Ice/Flying Pokemon before so all she had to go on was theory. Swift, she recalled, was a deadly accurate Attack and could hit Pokemon even if they tried to take evasive action . . .

"Togetic, let's play 'em at their own game!" she told her Pokemon. "Use your Swift Attack!"

Now stars were flying from Togetic as well and colliding with those Delibird had already released. The two Pokemon were fairly evenly matched in terms of battle experience, but Togetic had the advantage of being a Normal/Flying Pokemon using a Normal Type Attack and attack power tended to be greater if the Pokemon was the same Type as the move it used. Consequently, it did not take long for Togetic's barrage of stars to start pushing Delibird's back . . .

"Don't give up, Delibird!" Kelly urged when she saw her Pokemon was in trouble. "Try your Icy Wind!"

The temperature of the air suddenly seemed to drop and Candida felt herself shivering as a gust of cold wind blew from Delibird to Togetic. She had to think fast - Flying Type Pokemon like Togetic had a weakness against Ice Type moves so she had to do something to make sure Togetic wouldn't take too much damage. "Togetic, Protect!" she ordered as Togetic struggled to stay airborne in the face of the onslaught from Delibird.

Togetic's body glowed and an invisible barrier formed around her, shielding her from Delibird's Attack. But Kelly wasn't about to give up and quickly called on Delibird to switch strategies and use Fly. In response, Delibird flew up to the ceiling with every neck in the room craned to watch as Togetic followed hot on her heels. Both Pokemon collided in mid-air but shook themselves and resumed battling.

As Delibird and Togetic circled each other, an idea occurred to Candida. It was a risky move, one that could cost her the match if it failed, but it might also be what finally decided things. "Togetic, try your Metronome!" she called, noticing that Delibird seemed to be bracing herself for another Swift Attack. No-one knew quite how Metronome worked, only that it allowed any Pokemon who could use it to use any known Pokemon Attack regardless of whether or not it could actually learn that move. The only drawback was that the trainer had no control over which Attack was used . . .

Togetic waved her tiny arms and everyone waited to see what would happen next. As it turned out, they didn't have long to wait before Togetic opened her mouth and a hot stream of fire blasted towards Delibird, striking her full on the flank before Kelly had chance to tell her to counter-attack or at least dodge out of the way. It was all over. As Delibird plummetted to the ground, Kelly quickly readied her Poke Ball.

"Delibird, return!" she ordered, drawing the Ice/Flying Pokemon into the Ball as the referee announced the result.

"And Togetic Metronomes a Flamethrower to knock Delibird out of the air. Victory to Togetic's trainer, Candida Benson!"

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At the table she, Marc and Kevin were sitting around, Autumn patted her Pikachu and turned to the two boys. "So what was it you wanted to talk about?" she asked.


	3. Chapter Three

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Chapter Three

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"So let me get this straight, you want to go snooping round areas that are out of bounds to us?"

This question came from Autumn, who sat with her Pikachu in her lap gazing at Kevin and Marc as if they had just suggested trying to rob a bank. Candida, Kelly and Jeremy stood nearby - Sandra was currently in the arena pitting her Wooper against a boy's Teddiursa - and all of them appeared to be wondering the same thing. What could Kevin and Marc hope to gain by pulling such a stunt?

"Well, at least it'll give us a look at what goes on around this place," Kevin said, gesturing at the vast window nearby. This provided a panoramic view of the underwater world and the various Water Pokemon that ranged the deep - right now, a large shoal of Goldeen led by a Seaking was swimming past. "Think about it," he went on. "Have they told us anything about why we're here?"

"To find out if people can live under the ocean?" supplied Candida, who failed to see what Kevin was getting at and had accepted the fact that certain area of Aquarius were out of bounds as a matter of course.

"True," Kevin acknowledged. "But, I've been checking the maps we were issued when we got here - and around 50% of this place is marked in red, meaning it's off limits to us. So why would anyone go to the trouble of building this place and then place half of it out of bounds?" He paused and fingered his Poke Balls as the others looked askance at him, each of them clearly wondering where all this was leading.

"Unless Wilson and the other staff are plotting something," he went on, ignoring Autumn as she rolled her eyes and muttered "Boys!" under her breath. "Maybe they've got a secret machine room somewhere around here and . . ."

"It houses some device they plan to use to take over the world," filled in Jeremy.

"You watch too many spy movies, Jeremy O'Hare," Kelly said with a sigh. Her brother's fondness - nay, obsession - with action thrillers had often caused friction between the two siblings and they had had countless disagreements over the issue. Kelly considered such movies to be far-fetched, all special effects and no plot, and the last thing she wanted was to pander to Jeremy's fantasies. And, if Kevin was going to start encouraging him, she was going to leave Aquarius early and return to dry land to stay with relatives. There was no way she would put up with . . .

Her thoughts were distracted by what was going on in the arena. The boy's Teddiursa had just felled Sandra's Wooper with a Dynamic Punch and the two trainers were preparing to send out their next Pokemon. Sandra, of course, sent out her Dratini since she was her only Pokemon apart from Wooper and her opponent opened his next Poke Ball to reveal a Piloswine, a shaggy pig-like Pokemon with tusks only inches off the ground. Dratini slithered across the floor, ready to face her opponent . . .

"Who do you fancy this round?" Autumn asked the others, grateful to have an excuse to divert the subject in another direction.

Kelly frowned, trying to recall what she knew of Piloswine and Dratini and their respective Attacks. "A Piloswine is Ground/Ice - so it can have an advantage in battle against a Dragon Type," she observed. "On the other hand, Dragon Attacks can do some serious damage . . ."

Candida knew what she meant. Once, during a battle at Cherrygrove Bay, her Lapras had been hit full on the flank with a Kingdra's Twister - the Water/Dragon Pokemon had exhaled a small tornado out of its snout and blasted Lapras out of the water, depositing her on the beach. She had been out of action for a week afterwards and Candida had since made a point of teaching both her Pokemon how to block various Attacks . . .

--------------------------------------

Eventually, the battle ended with Sandra calling on Dratini to use Dragon Rage at exactly the same instant the Piloswine's trainer called for a Hyperbeam. Every neck in the room craned to watch as the two Pokemon launched into the powerful Attacks. Dratini opened her mouth to send a hot blast of breath in the Piloswine's direction, but he moved a fraction of a second faster and a powerful blast of energy sent Dratini careering across the floor to land at Sandra's feet. She looked down at her Pokemon with a concerned expression on her face.

"Dratini, are you OK? Can you get up?" she asked.

"Tini," Dratini said as she forced herself upright and turned to face her opponent. Piloswine, meanwhile, was breathing heavily, exhausted by the physical effort involved in firing his Hyperbeam - if that move had one disadvantage, it was that it often left any Pokemon who used it too tired to launch a follow-up Attack immediately afterwards . . .

"Quick, before Piloswine gets its breath back!" Sandra ordered. "Use your Toxic!"

In response, Dratini again opened her mouth and proceeded to spray Piloswine with a poisonous purple goo; unable to move aside in time, the pig-like Pokemon took the attack full in the face and was momentarily blinded. His trainer, knowing there was no way to win now - even if he called for time-out to wipe Piloswine's eyes, the effects of the poison wouldn't go away without treatment at Aquarius' Pokemon Centre or at least a dose of Antidote - did the only thing he could. He pulled out a Poke Ball and recalled Piloswine.

"Piloswine is in no condition to fight!" the referee called from the sidelines. "Dratini is the winner!"

Sandra ran to Dratini and hugged the blue Dragon Pokemon round the neck. "You did it, Dratini!" she exclaimed happily. "And against a part-Ice Type as well!" She pulled out Dratini's Poke Ball and pressed the button to activate. "You've done me proud," she said as Dratini disappeared into the Ball's core.

---------------------------------------

Over the next two days, Kevin, Jeremy and Marc talked of little other than what was in the areas of Aquarius that had been placed out of bounds. All three boys were totally convinced there was something untoward going on and no amount of arguing from the girls could convince them otherwise. Finally, Kelly could stand it no longer . . .

"Look, Jeremy!" she snapped one evening after he brought the subject up once too often. "There's nothing odd going on around here and, if you still don't believe me, I dare you to go snooping round and see what happens when they catch you breaking bounds!"

Jeremy looked his sister full in the face, scarcely able to believe what he was hearing; usually Kelly tried to order him about at every opportunity. "Cool!" he said, not noticing - or pretending not to notice - the sarcastic tone in her voice. "I'll go get Marc and Kevin - after all, it was their idea in the first place!" With that, he grabbed his Charmeleon's Poke Ball from his bedside locker and dashed out of his family's module without bothering to close the door behind him.

"Jeremy!" Kelly called as she dashed into the glass corridor after him. "Wait! I didn't mean . . ." But Jeremy had already disappeared round the corner and was out of earshot. Kelly sighed and rested her back against the transparent wall, folding her arms as she thought ruefully about how tiresome Jeremy could be. He could be extremely stubborn when it suited him, responding to attempts at reasoning with him by stuffing his fingers in his ears and singing loudly or, worse, doing what he wanted to anyway . . .

Kelly knew immediately what she had to do - find Autumn, Sandra and Candida and get them to help her find the boys before they got themselves into trouble by snooping around. Why, she asked herself, did boys have to let their imaginations run away with them all the time? What was it about being male that made them refuse point blank to listen to reason? She didn't know, but what she did know was that she had to try and keep Jeremy, Marc and Kevin out of trouble . . .

Since Sandra's family lived in the module nearest to her own, she elected to go there first and ask her to fetch Autumn and Candida with her. As she approached the front door of the Pitt family's module and rang the intercom, she hoped she and the other girls would be able to find the boys and convince them there was nothing going on.

----------------------------------

Sandra emerged from her module wearing a pink bathrobe and towelling her collar-length strawberry blonde hair. "Kelly?" she asked, draping the towel over her arm and looking at her friend out of puzzled grey eyes. "What's going on? I was just in the shower . . ."

"Get yourself dressed and come on," Kelly ordered, an urgent tone in her voice. "We've got to get over to Autumn's and Candida's as soon as we can - I'll explain on the way over."

Sandra rolled her eyes impatiently, guessing what was coming next; she had heard about Kevin's plan to break bounds and, like Autumn, Kelly and Candida, did not think it was a good idea. "It's those boys, isn't it?" she sighed as Kelly nodded reluctantly. With that, she turned to go inside, only for Kelly to grab her arm and hold her back.

"No, hear me out - I need the three of you to come with me and try to make them see sense."

"I suppose you're right," Sandra said, although she wished fervently that Kevin, Marc and Jeremy hadn't decided to be so nosy. In her experience, no good ever came out of breaking bounds - once, a group of students at her school had been caught loitering in the boiler room and wound up getting detention for a week. She did not know what would happen if the three boys were caught, but some instinct told her they would be in serious trouble. They had to be convinced the staff at Aquarius had nothing to hide, but first . . .

"Wait there while I get dressed," she told Kelly as she disappeared into the module.

Five minutes later, Sandra emerged wearing a red mini-skirt and black t-shirt and clasping the bag she used to carry her Poke Balls in her hand. She looked at Kelly and nodded decisively. "Let's go get Candida and Autumn and find the boys," she said.

----------------------------------------

It did not take long to find Candida and Autumn - they were both in the Bensons' module playing card games on the computer in Candida's room. When they heard that the boys had done what they had been threatening to do and gone snooping round private areas of Aquarius, they reacted much as Sandra had done with a mixture of concern and annoyance. "Why do boys never listen to reason?" Candida asked as she and the others headed in the direction Marc, Kevin and Jeremy were most likely to have taken. This was a long winding corridor that led deep into the bowels of the undersea city, to the real powerhouse of the operation.

"Why don't you tell me," Kelly replied as the four of them rounded a corner, their movements tracked by the closed-circuit camera on the wall. But they paid it no heed; the need to find the boys and get them out of trouble was uppermost in all their minds and they would worry about what the staff might have to say later. Even though Jeremy annoyed her like hell at times, he was still her brother and there was no way she was going to let him do something as foolish as what he and the other two boys were doing now . . .

Eventually, they saw the boys at the far end of the corridor, outside a grey door which had the words NO UNAUTHORISED PERSONNEL BEYOND THIS POINT painted on the front in vivid red. And, just in case that wasn't enough to get the message across, the door was security locked with a keypad on the wall beside it for those who did have a right to be there to enter their PIN numbers and swipe their cards.

Needless to say, neither Kevin, Jeremy nor Marc had such authorisation, but they were not about to let that stop them - not when they were so close to uncovering what was going on. They had tried entering various combinations of numbers, only for the words "insert card" to be flashed each time, and knew time was running out fast. They had to get through that door before someone came along and caught them.

"Any ideas?" asked Marc as he leaned against the wall and exchanged glances with Kevin and Jeremy.

Jeremy nodded and smiled to himself as a plan occurred to him and he pulled out his Charmeleon's Poke Ball. "We'll have to blast that door down," he told the others, pressing the button on the front of the Ball as he spoke. "Charmeleon, I choose you!" he added as his Charmeleon emerged in a flash of light. "Use your Flamethrower on that lock!"

"Meleon!" Charmeleon snarled as he opened his mouth and sent a jet of flame in the direction of the keypad, which slowly began to melt in the heat as the three boys stood back out of range of Charmeleon's flames. Even then, it became hot enough to cause them to sweat and Marc eventually had to take his t-shirt off and drape it over his arm. If there was one problem with using Fire Pokemon in confined spaces, it had to be the heat their Fire Attacks generated . . .

All the while, Kevin kept his hand on his Houndour's Poke Ball, ready to call on the Dark/Fire Pokemon if Jeremy's Charmeleon showed any sign of tiring. But it turned out that wasn't necessary as the keypad finally melted and the door sprang open. Without realising it, Jeremy had been exploiting the one weakness in the undersea city's security system - all the doors with keypads had been designed so they would open automatically should the keypad fail for any reason. The desingers of the system - widely used in banks - had been thinking along the lines of electronic failure or, possibly, an errant Porygon, and hadn't considered the possibility of a Fire Pokemon melting the keypads.

Nonetheless, Jeremy wasn't about to question their good luck. He recalled Chameleon and turned to Kevin and Marc. "Let's get in there before . . ." he began, only to find himself cut off in mid-sentence.

"Someone spots you?" Kelly asked archly as she appeared on the scene, followed closely by Sandra, Candida and Autumn. The latter's Pikachu was perched on his trainer's shoulder and the other three girls all had their Poke Balls with them.

------------------------------------------

"Oh . . . Kelly," Jeremy said, trying his best to look innocent as his sister strode over to the three would-be trespassers. "This . . . this isn't what it looks like, honest."

"It looks like three immature boys who couldn't mind their own business," Kelly said, folding her arms and giving the boys a penetrating stare. "Look, if I've said it once, I've said it a million times - there is NOTHING odd going on here. And just you wait till Mum and Dad hear about this. When they find out you've sabotaged a security system . . ."

She was cut off abruptly by the sound of footsteps pounding down the corridor and voices that sounded distorted as if the speakers were talking into communication devices. It was impossible to hear what was being siad clearly, but the youngsters managed to catch enough to know that the speakers were Aquarius staff and were heading in their direction. And, since the corridor they were in was so long, there was no way they could get clear of it before they were caught.

Kevin ducked through the door. "In here - it's our only chance!" he told the others as Marc and Jeremy followed him and the girls hung back. "Look," Kevin said when he saw their hesitation, their reluctance to follow his lead, "those staff members will be here any second so, if you'd rather get caught . . ."

Hearing this, Kelly knew she and the other three girls had no choice in the matter - pandering to the boys' fantasies seemed to be the lesser of two evils right now. She sighed and, as the oldest of the girls, gave her decision. "All right, but on one condition," she said in a firm tone, her eyes fixed on Jeremy as she spoke. "If we don't find anything odd, will the three of you give it a rest?"

"Just get in here!" Marc said impatiently as the footsteps pounding along the corridor grew louder and louder . . .


	4. Chapter Four

**

Chapter Four

**

There was no choice but to do as Marc said and enter the room he, Jeremy and Kevin had just broken into; the security alarm was blaring and several staff members - alerted by the noise - were hurrying to see what was wrong. Fortunately for the seven young would-be spies, the room happened to be lined with packing crates conveniently large enough for all of them to hide behind. So that was what they did, dropping to the floor behind one of these crates seconds before two Aquarius staff came in accompanied by a Growlithe and a Mightyena.

"Who's in here?" demanded one of the men as he had the Mightyena sniff round and his companion told the Growlithe to do likewise. "I know there's someone in hee who shouldn't be - that keypad didn't melt itself. So come out before I get the whole staff to look for you!"

Crouching behind the crate, Kelly shot Jeremy a look of fury when she heard those words - it was all because of his crazy idea that there was something untoward going on that they were in this mess. Why, she asked herself for the umpteenth time, had he refused to take any notice when she and the other three girls tried to reason with him? What was it that made him think everything was one long spy movie?

"I hope you're happy now!" she hissed at her brother. "I told you this would happen if you went snooping around."

"Yeah, well no-one forced you to come after us," Jeremy shot back, gesturing round at Kevin and Marc. "So why don't you go back to your modules and play with your Poke dolls like good little girls? If you can get past the big bad staff of course . . ."

The only response this got him was a frosty glare, one that would have frozen even the strongest Fire Pokemon, from all four girls and an angry "pika pika" from Autumn's Pikachu. The small Pokemon had barely caught the drift of what Jeremy had said, but instinct told him that it had been something very patronising. So, perched on his trainer's shoulder, he flattened his ears against his head and stiffened his zigzag tail.

"Oh, put a sock in it!" Kelly shot back. "We went after you because we wanted to keep you out of trouble and . . ."

She was cut off abruptly as Pikachu, tiring of all the arguing and deciding he would rather go and explore their surroundings, leapt off Autumn's shoulder and scampered across the floor before any of them could stop him. This was a very worrying development - if the Pikachu was seen, he could unwittingly betray their presence. And the man with the Mightyena was drawing worryingly close to their hiding place . . .

--------------------------------------

Diversionary tactics were called for and it was Kelly who came up with the plan they would use. It was risky - one wrong move could land them all in trouble - but there was no alternative except letting Autumn's Pikachu be caught and, possibly, themselves as well.

"OK, here's what we'll do," she whispered as she readied the Poke Ball containing her Skiploom, Drifter. "When that Mightyena gets close enough, I'll have Drifter use Stun Spore to paralyse it for a while - then, while its handler is busy, Autumn, you go grab your Pikachu. And, just in case the Growlithe shows up, one of you others had better have a Pokemon on standby . . ."

"What about my Squirtle?" suggested Marc. "It should be able to handle a Fire Type."

Tension pervaded all around as the seven youngsters braced themselves to launch into the plan they hoped desperately would get rid of the Aquarius staff long enough to allow them to get out of the forbidden area before they were caught. Autumn could see her Pikachu capering merrily across some crates as if he was on the jungle gym she had set up for him back in Whitebeam City and longed to rush out and grab him. But she knew it was safer to wait until the men had gone and forced herself to sit tight between Sandra and Candida, both of whom were clutching their Poke Balls even though they hoped their Pokemon wouldn't be needed.

Suddenly, the Mightyena gave a yelp and sat down on the floor - directly below the crate which Autumn's Pikachu was now dancing on top of. This also happened to be the crate the youngsters were hiding behind and they could clearly hear what the Pokemon's handler said next.

"What is it, boy? Have you found the intruders?"

Kelly tensed - it was now or never. She had to release Drifter without being seen and get the Skiploom to use her Stun Spore on the Mightyena. She also had to make sure neither she nor any of her friends accidentally inhaled any of Drifter's pollen while she was carrying out the move; it was rare for trainers to become paralysed from the effects of Stun Spore, but it had been known to happen, usually when a Pokemon used the move in a confined space such as this. Candida already had her hands clamped over her mouth and nose - she had once been knocked out when a Butterfree used Sleep Powder on Togetic and she accidentally inhaled some of it while trying to recall her Pokemon and did not want to repeat the experience. The others followed her lead as Kelly pressed the button on the front of Drifter's Poke Ball . . .

"Drifter, we need a Stun Spore to knock out that Mightyena ASAP," Kelly whispered as the Grass/Flying Pokemon with a yellow flower on her head emerged and hovered a few feet in the air.

"Skiploom!" Drifter replied as she floated up and slowly tilted her head in the direction of the Mightyena. Before the wolf-like Pokemon had chance to react, the Skiploom's body contracted and a quantity of golden powder shot out of the centre of her flower and drifted downwards . . .

-------------------------------------------

As soon as the two men had gone, taking the paralysed Mightyena to the Pokemon Centre that had been set up in Aquarius complete with the obligatory Nurse Joy and a staff of Chanseys, the youngsters crept from behind the crate and went to retrieve Autumn's Pikachu. But the small yellow Pokemon moved a fraction of a second faster, darting across the crate and through a nearby ventilation shaft before they could get near enough to stop him.

"Pikachu! Get back here!" Autumn ordered as she saw his tail disappear into the shaft. They were really stuck now - there was no way she would leave without Pikachu, but would the shaft be able to accomodate seven teenagers? Kevin craned his neck to inspect the opening before making his decision.

"Someone will have to go in there," he told the others as he inspected each of them in turn. "I think Marc, Candida and Jeremy would be best - and Autumn too, of course, since it's her Pokemon in there. The rest of us will try and get back to our modules before anyone realises we're here."

"What's the betting they already know after Drifter paralysed that Mightyena," Kelly remarked with a sidelong glance at her brother. It was his crazy ideas that had led to this and she wanted no further part in it.

"Hopefully, they won't realise you were in here as well," Kevin said as he gave her a nudge forward. "Remember that Igglybuff that got into the engine room?" At seventeen, he was the eldest of the three boys - Jeremy was fourteen, the same age as Autumn and Candida, and Marc was thirteen - and, as a result, was slightly more mature than either Marc or Jeremy. "That just wandered away from its trainer, so there's a chance they'll think the same thing happened again."

Kelly and Sandra still had misgivings - they would much rather have gone into the vent where they might at least be able to keep Marc and Jeremy out of trouble - but had to agree that it was best if some of the group removed themselves from the scene. The vent would be cramped enough with just four humans and a Pikachu in there, but seven humans would only make matters worse. "You're probably right," Kelly conceded as she raised Drifter's Poke Ball to recall the Skiploom, who was still hovering around at head height. "Come on back, Drifter," she added as Drifter disappeared into the ball's core . . .

------------------------------------------

The vent was covered by a fine mesh grill and, while one corner had become slightly detached to allow a small Pokemon like a Pikachu to slip inside, there was no way a human could get through. Luckily, Kevin always carried a set of basic tools round with him (he said one never knew what would be needed on a Pokemon journey) and, with Marc standing on his shoulders and wielding a screw-driver, it took only a few seconds to remove the grill. Even so, they had to work quietly, lest the cover fall to the floor and the noise alert someone.

Finally, after what felt like hours, the last screw came undone and Marc was able to life the grill aside and peer into the vent. "It'll be a little cramped," he informed the others. "And we'll have to move in single file."

"How much light is there?" asked Candida, craning her neck to look up at the opening through which she, Autumn, Jeremy and Marc must shortly enter. Small dark spaces had never been her thing - not since the time, at the age of five, when she accidentally got shut in her parents' wardrobe while playing a dressing-up game. Fortunately, she was quickly rescued, but, ever since that day, the very thought of entering a confined dark space was enough to start her shaking uncontrollably . . .

"I . . . don't know," Marc replied. "It looks quite dark, but a Pokemon with Flash should be able to fix that." Then, since neither Squirtle nor Seadra could learn Flash (and the latter couldn't move very well on land anyway), he turned to the others and asked if any of their Pokemon could use that move.

"My Pikachu can . . ." Autumn said before tailing off as she realised her Pikachu was the reason they had to go into this vent in the first place. "But it won't do us much good if it's in there . . ." She gestured towards the opening. " . . . and we're out here."

"Well, hurry up and think of something before we get caught!" snapped Jeremy. He too would have liked to help, but his Charmeleon wasn't compatible with Flash either - which left only Candida who could possibly help them. He turned to her quickly. "Candida, do either of your Pokemon know Flash?" he asked her.

Candida nodded and reached for her Poke Balls before pulling out the one that housed Togetic. "Here," she said as she handed the Ball to Marc. "It'll have to be Togetic - Lapras can't learn Flash and it needs to be in water . . . plus, it's too big anyway."

Wasting no time, Marc pointed the Poke Ball in the direction of the opening and prepared to release Candida's Togetic. He wasn't sure if this would work, how the Togetic in the Ball would take to being summoned by someone other than her rightful trainer. Pokemon could be fiercely loyal to their trainers and might refuse to listen if anyone else tried to command them to do anything. But all he could do right now was call on Togetic and hope for the best . . .

Togetic emerged in the customary burst of light and looked around bewildered when she saw that it had been Marc and not Candida who summoned her. Candida, seeing her Pokemon's confusion, spoke to her reassuringly. "I'm right here, Togetic," she said, "and I need you to use your Flash to light up that ventilation shaft . . ."

---------------------------------

Togetic's small body flashed once before starting to glow steadily, enabling the four teenagers to see where they were going as they entered the shaft on their hands and knees. The Normal/Flying Pokemon took the lead, darting through the shaft since the space was too confined for her to fly, while Candida crawled immediately behind her. Next came Marc, closely followed by Autumn who was praying fervently that they would find her Pikachu safe and they would manage to get back to their modules without being caught. Jeremy brought up the rear.

"I hope Pikachu hasn't gone too far," Autumn commented as she crawled stolidly along. She adored the Electric Pokemon, having raised him from a Pichu she found in Petalburg City and adopted as a pet, and did not want to see anything bad happen to him.

"Well, I just hope we don't get caught," Jeremy said behind her. On hearing his voice, Autumn briefly forgot about her Pikachu and whipped round, fully prepared to give him what for - if he and the other boys hadn't wanted to be nosy . . .

"If we get caught, it'll be your fault!" she snapped. "You boys were the ones who wanted to go snooping around!"

"Still . . ." Jeremy paused for a moment. "No-one forced you girls to come after us and besides . . ."

He was cut off abruptly as a small yellow object hurtled towards them - Autumn's Pikachu had heard his trainer's voice and promptly made a beeline for her. "Pika pikapi!" he called happily as he leapt into her arms, relieved to have found her after spending several minutes lost in the ventilation shaft. He had tried to light his way with a Flash, but that was starting to wear out by now and he was glad to be back with those he trusted.

"Pikachu!" Autumn exclaimed as she hugged her Pokemon. "Are you all right?" By the light of Togetic's Flash, she examined him closely and was relieved to see there weren't any serious injuries. She turned to the others.

"I guess we'd better be getting back - providing we can find our way," she informed them. The others agreed and were just about to turn and head back the way they had come when voices issued from the room below, prompting the four youngsters to press their ears against the metal floor of the shaft in order to listen properly.

"Is all going according to plan?" asked a male voice.

"Everything is." The speaker was another male and his voice carried the confident tone of someone very sure of himself. "Wilson doesn't suspect a thing - he still thinks this is an underwater living project. Just wait until Team Midnight make their presence in Aquarius known . . ."


	5. Chapter Five

**

Chapter Five

**

A shocked mutter swept through the four youngsters hiding in the vent as they heard the men talking. Team Midnight, they knew from tv news reports, were a notorious criminal gang said to be even worse than the Team Rocket which had plagued Johto and Kanto in the late twentieth century. So-called because they tended to operate under cover of darkness, Team Midnight members wore black t-shirts and combat pants that enabled them to blend into the dark alleys of various cities. But what were they doing here in Aquarius? What on Earth could they want with an undersea city?

Marc and Jeremy shot the girls a look that clearly said "told you there was something going on", an expression which Autumn and Candida chose to ignore. But there still remained the problem of how to get out of the vent without being seen and, assuming they could manage that, they would then have to live with the knowledge that Team Midnight was abroad in Aquarius and may be planning some fiendish scheme. "We'll have to let Wilson . . ." Marc started to say, but Autumn cut him short.

"We're not supposed to be in this area," she reminded him. "And, if anyone finds out . . ."

" . . . we'll be in trouble," added Candida, who did not like the idea of having Team Midnight around any more than the others did. But she also knew that, as things currently stood, they had little chance of exposing Team Midnight without anyone finding out they had broken bounds - or rather, the boys had broken bounds and the girls had gone to stop them before they landed themselves in trouble. Now, thanks to the curiousity of Autumn's Pikachu, they were stuck in this vent and dared not leave until they could be certain the coast was clear . . .

"Guess all we can do is wait," Autumn sighed, stroking her Pikachu on his head as she spoke. The Team Midnight members had left a few moments earlier, but there was always the risk they could return and catch the four youngsters as they tried to escape.

"And hope Kelly, Sandra and Kevin got back OK," added Marc, leaning against the metal wall of the shaft. Then, as his stomach gave a sudden grumble, he asked: "I don't suppose anyone has some food on them - I'm getting famished." Autumn frowned, thinking it was just typical for boys to think of food at a time like this, but she checked her pockets all the same before shaking her head. Candida didn't have anything either, but Jeremy managed to find a bar of chocolate in the pocket of his jeans.

It had melted slightly and was sticking to the wrapper like a brown adhesive, but he managed to break it into six pieces so there was enough for the four humans, Autumn's Pikachu and Candida's Togetic. It wasn't the most filling meal in the world, but it should tide them over until they could make their way back through the shaft and, hopefully, get to their modules without being seen. But it was only a matter of moments before the grill they were near was thrust open and a man crawled into the long and slanting shaft . . . 

--------------------------------------------

"We were told there were voices coming from this shaft," he said as he closed in on the four youngsters. Autumn's Pikachu braced himself to Thunderbolt the man, but Autumn restrained him; an Electric Attack in such a confined space was too risky. Not that they were without Pokemon protection, for Marc's Squirtle had broken out of his Poke Ball the second he sensed impending danger and soaked the man with his Water Gun. "And it seems our information was right - looks like you kids couldn't keep your nose out of things that don't concern you . . ."

Marc quickly recalled his Squirtle and Candida did likewise with Togetic - this was exactly what the girls had tried to warn Kevin, Jeremy and Marc about, the reason they had tried to put a stop to the boys' crazy ideas. But that wasn't all . . .

"Look!" Autumn whispered as she pointed at the man. The others looked at him more closely and saw that he was wearing a black t-shirt and combat pants, garments which they all knew could mean only one thing - and a glimpse of the letters TM tattooed on the man's upper arm confirmed it. A shocked silence fell, a silence that was finally broken by Candida.

"You - you're from Team Midnight!" she shouted. She had only seen Team Midnight members once in her life - a band of them had tried to rob a bank in Cherrygrove City when she was in there with Lydia - but there was no mistaking that mode of dress . . . or that tattoo. She made as if to throw Togetic's Poke Ball, but the man's only response was to laugh mirthlessly.

"What if we are?" he shot back. "It seems we'll have to teach you brats not to go snooping. Reeves and Tanner," he called to the floor below, "help me with this lot."

Whoever Reeves and Tanner were - more Team Midnight members, the youngsters supposed - Autumn and the others were not about to wait and find out. They made to crawl away down the vent in the hope of outrunning the Team Midnight member, but he moved a fraction of a second faster and seized hold of Autumn as she attempted to escaped, hauling her forcibly out of the vent and into the room below. Finding herself surrounded by Team Midnight agents, all of them armed, she gulped and prayed that her Pikachu would get away safely.

"Want me to go get those other brats?" asked a dark-haired female Team Midnight agent, addressing the man who had seized Autumn. The latter was struggling to get away, but his only response was to tighten his hold on her arm and lean close to her, whispering that she was "for it now".

"No, Reeves," he said to the woman who had spoken. "They'll have scattered by now and we can't draw attention to ourselves until the signal comes from HQ. We'll just take this one - if anyone asks, we caught her breaking bounds."

"Accurate enough," Reeves said with an expression on her face that made it look as if she was eating a lemon. "In the meantime, we'd better try and find out what those kids were doing in that vent."

---------------------------------------

Only Autumn's Pikachu had noticed his trainer's capture and was now trying desperately to get attention from Marc, Jeremy and Candida. "Pika pikachu!" he called urgently, pointing to the vent with frantic gestures. "Pika! Pika!"

"Shh, Pikachu - they'll hear you," Candida whispered, pressing her finger against her lips. If there were Team Midnight agents in Aquarius - and, after seeing that man's uniform and tattoo, she had no doubt there were - the last thing they would want was to have kids overhear their plans, whatever they were. The appearence of the Team Midnight agent exposed a major flaw in the vent as a hiding place - sound carried far too easily and this meant they would have to get out as fast as possible . . .

But there was no silencing the frantic Pokemon, who continued to shout and point, trying to tell the three youngsters that Autumn had been taken and might be in serious trouble. "Pika pikachu pi pika pika!" he insisted. And, even as Candida clamped her hand over his mouth in a bid to keep him quiet, she began to realise something wasn't quite right; she had only known Autumn's Pikachu for a short time, but she already knew he would never shout like this unless something was wrong. Looking round at her companions, she realised what that something was . . .

"Marc, Jeremy," she whispered to the two boys, "have either of you seen Autumn?"

They shook their heads. "Not since that Team Midnight agent showed up," Marc replied. "You don't think . . .?" He paused, unable to bring himself to say the words he had been about to utter. Not that it mattered because Jeremy and Candida had both realised the same thing . . .

"That Team Midnight has her?" prompted Candida, keeping a tight hold of Autumn's Pikachu for fear the Pokemon might run off again. She did not dare squeeze too hard in case the Pikachu did what she had been warned Electric Pokemon often did when held too tightly and gave her a Thundershock. "I was just thinking that myself and, as soon as we're out of here, we're going to find her."

"We don't even know where they've got her," Marc reminded her. "And besides . . ."

"It was you nosy boys who landed us in this mess," Candida reminded him. "And, if you stop to think about it, she must be somewhere in Aquarius and we have to figure out where . . ."

------------------------------------

Fortunately, the three of them managed to get back to where they had first entered the vent without being detected and all they had to do now was get clear of the restricted area they were in and alert Kevin, Kelly and Sandra. Assuming, that is, that they could make it past any guards that might have been stationed nearby . . . But they knew they had to do something about whatever fiendish plans Team Midnight were devising and their capture of Autumn made this all the more urgent.

Candida was cursing under her breath, still furious with Marc and Jeremy for landing them in this mess. She had taken charge of Autumn's Pikachu and was struggling to keep the Pokemon from running off to look for his trainer; instinct told her that Team Midnight's plans would be too much for a single Pikachu to handle and, besides, they still had to figure out where Autumn was being held. Only then, would they be able to make any rescue plans.

It was rather ironic that one of the reasons Autumn had been caught was because she and the other girls had been trying to prevent it from happening to Kevin, Jeremy and Marc. At the time, it had seemed like a straightforward case of breaking bounds, but the discovery of Team Midnight agents in the underwater city seemed to indicate that there was something going on, something that could only mean trouble . . .

"Told you there was something strange going on," Jeremy whispered triumphantly as they made their way towards the corridor that led into the room where Autumn's Pikachu had first escaped into the vents. But Candida's only response was to nudge him in the ribs; the last thing she wanted was to be reminded of that and besides . . .

"There are guards up ahead!" she whispered, pointing towards the two men standing further down the corridor with their hands on their Poke Balls. Clearly the guards whose Mightyena had been knocked out by Kelly's Skiploom, Drifter, had sent for reinforcements.

"Are they from Team Midnight?" asked Marc, keeping a tight hold of his Squirtle's Poke Ball.

"If they are, they must be working undercover," Candida replied. "They aren't wearing Team Midnight gear for one thing. Still, we can't take any chances," she added as she turned to the Pikachu standing beside her and tightened her grip on Togetic's Poke Ball. Lapras would, of course, be of little use in their current environment. "Pikachu, I know I'm not your usual trainer, but could you stun those guards with your Thundershock?"

Pikachu did not need telling twice. He leapt into the air, charging up as he did so, and let fly with a powerful jolt of electricity which got both guards dead on and put them temporarily out of action. Candida, Marc and Jeremy promptly hurried over to check they would pose no further threat for the moment. A quick examination of the unconscious men assured the three youngsters they would not be waking up any time soon - nonetheless, they did not like leaving them there to be found by someone who could be part of Team Midnight . . .

Seeing a nearby room, Marc nodded to the others; cottoning on to his idea, Jeremy and Candida knelt down behind the men's heads and, gripping them under their armpits, managed to drag them over to the room and deposit them inside. (Judging by the tables arranged in a U shape, this room was intended to be used for meetings or something similar). Then, Marc slammed the door shut and it bolted automatically.

"Let's get back to our modules!" suggested Jeremy.

"But what about . . .?" Candida started, thinking of Autumn, at the mercy of the Team Midnight agents somewhere in Aquarius.

"I'm worried about Autumn too," said Jeremy, guessing what Candida was about to say. "But we'll need to get the others before we try anything."

------------------------------------

Autumn, meanwhile, found herself being led deeper and deeper into the bowels of the undersea complex, to an area so far under the ocean floor that there were no windows through which wild Water Pokemon could be seen swimming. She was shaking with apprehension, wondering what the Team Midnight agents were planning to do to her. And what about Candida, Jeremy and Marc? Had they managed to get back to their modules safely and was her Pikachu still with them? Moreover, would her Pikachu . . .?

Her thoughts were cut off abruptly as Reeves hustled her into a room in which a plump man sat at a desk with the self-satisfied expression of a company director about to dismiss an incompetent employee. "Ah, Reeves," he said to the female Team Midnight agent as the latter prodded Autumn sharply in the small of her back. "I see you got one. How many were involved altogether?"

"We saw at least four - two males and two females," Reeves replied. "All kids, but three managed to get away. Luckily, we got . . ."

She was cut off abruptly as the man - the brass plaque on his desk declared that his name was Gordon Rich - picked up a notepad and hurled it at her head. "You incompetent fool!" Rich raged as Reeves ducked her head while keeping a tight hold on Autumn's arm. "You know how important this plan is for the future glory of Team Midnight - and three snooping teenagers could ruin everything!" He sat back down and drummed his fingers on the desk as he pondered what to say next; it was tempting to have Reeves finish the job she was supposed to do and round up whoever else had overheard his agents, but exposing their presence before the time was right would undo months of planning. This required another approach . . .

"You, girl!" he barked at Autumn, who was trying to look as detached from the proceedings as she possibly could. "Who were the kids with you? What are their names?"

Desperately, Autumn told herself that there was no way she would betray the others and land them in the situation she instinctively knew she would find herself in once Rich was through with her. For one thing, whatever Team Midnight were planning, the people in Aquarius would have more chance of resisting if someone knew roughly what was going on. "I don't know," she replied, keeping her voice as level as possible. "Just some . . . kids . . ."

"Liar!" barked Rich, searching his desk for something else to throw. "Do not lie to a Team Midnight director! I'll ask you again - what are the names of the children you were with?"

"I don't know and, even if I did, I wouldn't tell you!" Autumn shot back. Part of her wished she had her Pikachu with her to back her up, but the rest of her hoped fervently that he had made it safely back with Marc, Jeremy and Candida. "You have no authority here, you . . . you Team Midnight scum!"

"I have no authority? My dear girl, I fear you are mistaken. That fool Wilson will only be in charge for as long as my agents are waiting for the signal from HQ - and, when it comes, Team Midnight will take control. So, I suggest you co-operate like a good little girl and tell me who else was breaking bounds with you."

"Never!" Autumn shot back, incensed at being referred to as a "little girl" when she was already 5'3". This pattern of Rich demanding answers and Autumn refusing to give them continued for five more minutes until Rich lost patience and decided it was time to resort to desperate measures if he was to loosen Autumn's tongue . . .

"Very well, my dear," he said in a deceptively calm voice as he got up from behind his desk and walked over to Autumn, who gagged at the smell of stale tobacco on his breath. "Maybe you'll feel differently once you've had a taste of . . ." He paused for dramatic effect. " . . . the Tank!"

------------------------------------------------

The Tank proved to be a room lined with white tiles that had what looked like shower heads ranged along the walls. As soon as Reeves and Rich got close enough, they roughly shoved Autumn inside and slammed the transparent door shut, locking it before the girl could stagger to her feet and escape. Not that this didn't stop her from leaping up and banging on the door, calling the two Team Midnight members every insulting name she could think of (she actually referred to Reeves in a way that implied she was a female Growlithe), but it made no difference. The only response she got from the Team Midnight members was a gloating smile.

"Here's the deal," Rich told her, leaning close to the keyhole so Autumn could hear him through the locked door. "Reeves and I have some business to attend to and we'll probably be gone a few hours - hopefully that will give you time to reconsider what you said earlier. By the way," he added as he and Reeves turned to walk away, "I hope you can swim . . ."

Even as he spoke, the shower heads all seemed to switch on of their own accord . . .


	6. Chapter Six

**

Chapter Six

**

Candida, Marc and Jeremy wasted no time in finding the others; they knew Autumn was in serious trouble and, unless they could stop Team Midnight, the whole of Aquarius would be as well. Fortunately, Kelly, Sandra and Kevin had all made it back safely and were in Kevin's family's module when the other three tracked them down.

"Kelly!" Jeremy shouted the second he saw his sister. "Team Midnight . . . they're in Aquarius!"

Kelly rolled her eyes, convinced this was another of his tall tales, and went back to grooming her Delibird. "Haven't you caused enough trouble today?" she asked witheringly as the red Ice/Flying Pokemon hopped off her lap. "You'll only make matters worse if you go round saying stuff like that. Besides . . ."

"It's true," Candida assured her, picking up Autumn's Pikachu and holding him close to her chest. "We overheard some of them talking. Then, we tried to get away so we could warn you, but one of them got Autumn . . ." She trailed off, unsure how to express the uncertainties she felt at not knowing what Team Midnight had done to Autumn or even where they were holding her.

"Got Autumn?" Sandra echoed. "Where?"

"I don't know - and we don't have any way of finding out," Candida informed her. The severity of the situation was beginning to hit home to her; even though she still had no idea what all this was about, she knew it had to be something really big or Team Midnight wouldn't have captured Autumn. The others had to find her and help her, but how could they do that without any idea where to look? Aquarius was a big place, covering a vast area of ocean floor . . .

Kelly pulled out the Poke Ball that housed her Clefable, Pinky, and examined it briefly. "Maybe, we do," she said enigmatically. "Maybe, Pinky can help us . . ."

"How could a Clefable help?" Kevin asked, his hands instinctively straying to the Poke Balls that housed his Murkrow, Sneasel and Houndour. "They're not Psychic Pokemon for one thing and . . ."

"But they can learn Psychic," Kelly reminded him. She had made a point of teaching all her Pokemon as wide a range of moves as possible. When it came to Pokemon battles, using moves not of a Pokemon's particular Type often provided an element of surprise and many a Fighting Pokemon trainer had gone into battle against Pinky confident of an easy win against the Normal Type Clefable, only for a well-aimed Psychic Attack to scupper their strategy.

Kelly quickly released Pinky and told the Clefable to use Psychic to try and pinpoint where Autumn was. In response, Pinky closed her eyes and slowly began to glow with a blue light that, had she been using Psychic in battle, would have concentrated itself into a blast of mental energy powerful enough to knock most opponents off their feet. In a non-combat situation, however, the light remained diffused and gentle, almost as if the Clefable was meditating . . .

------------------------------------

Inside the Tank, the water had reached Autumn's waist and she was repeatedly telling herself that, no matter what Team Midnight did to her, she would not betray her friends. Even as her trousers were soaked through and began to cling uncomfortably to her skin, she remained determined not to give in and allow those - she searched for the right word - swine the satisfaction of seeing her grovel. Since the water had nowhere to drain, this small room would continue to fill up until the description of it as a "Tank" proved chillingly accurate, but Autumn wasn't worried about that for the time being. She was a good swimmer so she should be able to tread water at least for a while . . .

Suddenly, as she floundered about now chest-deep in water, she felt something in her mind. Thoughts that weren't her own seemed to have entered her head and something told her that these weren't even human thoughts. They were the thoughts of a Pokemon, a Clefable, who seemed to be trying to find out where she was. It was then that she remembered that Kelly had a Clefable and, even though they were not Psychic Types, Clefables could learn Psychic. Kelly must have told Pinky - which, Autumn remembered, was the name of her Clefable - to try and find her by using Psychic.

Desperately, she tried to reply to the Clefable-thoughts that had penetrated her mind. Having never attempted to communicate telepathically before, she wasn't entirely sure how to go about it, but, from what she remembered of how the subject was dealt with in fiction, concentration seemed to be the key. So she tried to empty her mind of all thoughts not essential to her immediate situation - not an easy task when impressions of her parents and her Pikachu kept flittering into her head. Would she ever see them again?

Not unless she could tell Pinky where she was . . . So she thought as hard as she could, hoping against hope that the Clefable would be able to convey the message to the others. "I'm in a . . . thing called a Tank," she finally managed. "This Team Midnight Exec called Rich put me here . . . It's filling with water! Hurry!"

* * *

"Well?" Kelly asked as the Psychic connection between Pinky and Autumn broke and the light surrounding the Clefable faded. "Did you manage to make contact?"

Pinky nodded resolutely. "Fable," she said in her enchantingly musical voice. Then, realising the urgency of the situation, she grabbed Kelly by the hand and attempted to pull her to her feet. "Fable fable clefableable!" she said urgently, trying to tell her trainer that Autumn was trapped in a room that was filling with water. Kelly and the others had to hurry and find their friend before it was too late.

"What's up, Pinky?" asked Kelly, stroking the Clefable gently. Pinky had been Kelly's first Pokemon; she found her as a lost Cleffa near Mount Moon and took the small Pokemon under her wing, carefully raising her until she evolved into a Clefairy. A Pokemon journey followed, during which Kelly acquired her other three Pokemon and evolved Pinky into a Clefable using a Moon Stone she was fortunate enough to find on her travels. Pinky did not know human language - few Pokemon ever learnt to speak and most of those that did never mastered more than a few words - but, like all good trainers, Kelly was able to interpret what her Pokemon was trying to say.

"Clefable fable!" Pinky said urgently. "Fable clef!" It was hard to translate Pokemon speech exactly, but what she was basically saying was: "C'mon - Autumn needs us! Hurry or she'll drown!"

"Drown?" echoed Kelly as if Pinky had spoken to her in English. Autumn's Pikachu clung to Candida and whimpered as he heard the danger his trainer was in. "Where is she?" Kelly asked next, an urgent tone in her voice.

"Clefable!" Pinky responded.

"In a tank?" asked Kelly. "You mean like an aquarium?"

Pinky nodded again and the youngsters exchanged uneasy glances. They had to find this "tank" fast, but they did not know where to begin looking. Not that Kevin was about to let that stop him - he quickly grabbed his Poke Balls and dashed off, intent on acting the hero. But he didn't get far before Sandra grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back.

"Where do you think you're going?" she demanded.

"To rescue Autumn," Kevin replied.

"Without stopping to work out where they've got her?" Sandra countered. "Think about it, damn it! Team Midnight aren't likely to have her in any public areas - it's more likely she'll be in some place we're not allowed in . . ."

"Changed your tune, haven't you?" Jeremy said sarcastically as he stood tossing his Charmeleon's Poke Ball into the air and catching it again. "Before, you girls were trying to stop us from breaking . . ."

"This is different," Candida reminded him. "Team Midnight has one of us and we've got to get her out before it's too late. But we can't do that if we keep arguing. Now," she added when the others had fallen silent, "let's try and figure out how we're going to get in there."

"Well, if my guess is right, Team Midnight are bound to be looking out for anyone snooping round out of bounds," Sandra said. "So that leaves the route we took this morning out . . ." She paused and tried to think of alternate routes into the core of Aquarius, but only one seemed feasible. "Run back to your modules and grab your Aquagear," she said at last. "Looks like we'll have to go for a swim."

* * *

Everyone in Aquarius had been issued with an Aquagear, underwater breathing apparatus to be used if it was ever necessary to leave Aquarius via one of the underwater emergency exits. As she took the perspex mask, rubber tube and oxygen cylinder out of her cupboard, Candida recalled the classes that had been given at the beginning of this project to teach people how to use the equipment. "Never thought I'd be using this for real so soon," she said out loud.

As she hurried out of the room, she made sure she had her Lapras' Poke Ball with her. It never hurt to have a Pokemon on standby and this was a situation that called for Water Pokemon. She took stock of all the Water Pokemon she and her friends had - she had Lapras, Marc had Seadra and Squirtle and Sandra had Wooper and Dratini; the latter wasn't a Water Pokemon, but she did know a couple of Water Attacks.

Just as she was hurrying out into the corridor, she ran into Ryan who immediately began to bombard her with questions about what she was doing and why she needed her Aquagear. "I can't explain now," she said, trying to push him out of the way. "I'm in kind of a rush . . ."

"Can I help you?" Ryan asked hopefully, gazing up at his older sister. He had no idea of the seriousness of the situation, of the danger that Autumn was now in - and nor was he aware that Team Midnight had infiltrated Aquarius. So far, the only people who knew were Candida and her friends and they had to find out exactly what was going on. But they first had a more pressing problem to deal with . . .

"Yes," Candida said at last. "You can help by staying in the module and not getting unfer my feet - this is something that's not for kids." She bent down to look at Autumn's Pikachu, who was clinging to her leg, and picked the small Electric Pokemon up in her arms. "And you can also keep an eye on this Pikachu while I'm gone - let it play with Elekid or something."

Ryan muttered something, but Candida didn't hear what he said since she was already racing down the corridor.

* * *

When the friends met up at the nearest emergency exit, Sandra outlined what they were going to do. "OK, remember what they taught us in our safety drills?" she said. "Strap on your Aquagear, open the hatch and swim out." The others all nodded and Sandra smiled before continuing with her pep talk. "Once we're out, we'll let out our Water Pokemon and have them keep an eye on things while we get to Autumn. Was Pinky able to work out where she's likely to be?" she asked Kelly.

"Yes - somewhere in the West Section," said Kelly. "That's where most of the out-of-bounds areas are . . ."

"Then west is where we'll have to go," Kevin said resolutely as he donned his Aquagear and stood looking rather bizarre with a rubber tube in his mouth and a perspex mask over his eyes. He tried to say something with the tube in his mouth, but all the others heard was a muffled "Mm-ay m-mn" that could have meant any number of things.

"Pardon?" said Marc, who had the Poke Balls containing his Seadra and Squirtle ready for when they would shortly be needed. Kevin blushed with embarrassment and pulled the tube out of his mouth before repeating himself.

"OK, come on!" he urged the others, who had no difficulty understanding him this time. Without wasting any more time, they fastened on their Aquagears and, once Jeremy had opened the emergency exit, swam out into a bizarre underwater world. It was like nothing they had experienced before - even seeing the world of the ocean through the windows in Aquarius had done little to prepare them for the reality of swimming deep in the ocean.

They adjusted their Aquagears to allow them to talk, albeit in a slightly echoey way, and swam off in single file, skirting the outside of the undersea complex. All they had to do now was work out which direction was west, not an easy task when they didn't have the sun to guide them - luckily, Kevin had a compass with him so they used that to guide them. "OK," he said, holding the compass up. "The needle's pointing to the left and a compass always points north - so that means west must be that way." He indicated the direction with a wave of his hand.

As she swam, Candida observed many wild Water Pokemon swimming around outside Aquarius. Two Starmies span through the water, their jewels shining brightly, while a Dewgong and a Sealeo played together, riding an underwater current and a shoal of Magikarp bunched together and swam in perfect harmony as if they were a team of synchronised swimmers . . . In short, there were sea-dwelling Pokemon everywhere she looked, although most of them didn't seem too bothered by the intrusion of a group of humans into their world. For a split second, she thought she caught a glimpse of Lugia, the Legendary Pokemon said to range the oceans, but she only saw a shadow and that disappeared within seconds.

"Hurry up, Candida!" Marc ordered when he saw her staring at a Seel and its pup. "We've got to get to Autumn! We can't waste time Pokemon-watching!"

Candida muttered a hasty apology and swam off after the others. He was right, of course - this was hardly the time to be watching Pokemon, not while Autumn was in danger. Hopefully, once all this was over, she would be able to come down here and watch undersea Pokemon at her leisure.

---------------------------------------

In the Tank, the water was now nearly as high as the ceiling and the relentless deluge still showed no sign of abating. Autumn clung to a pipe on the ceiling in a desperate bid to keep her head above water, but her fingers had become numb and she was beginning to lose her grip. It was only a matter of time . . .

Should she give in and agree to Rich's terms? That thought briefly entered her mind, but she dismissed it almost immediately; there was no way she would betray her friends by selling them out to Team Midnight. Even if doing so was the only way to save herself . . .

Then, just when she was beginning to think all was lost, Marc's head broke the surface, swiftly followed by Sandra's. The latter swam over to Autumn and gently eased her away from the pipe she had been clinging to. "It's OK, Autumn - I got you," Sandra whispered as she supported her exhausted Friend's head.

"H - how did you . . .?" Autumn tried to say.

"Get in here? We figured out where you'd be with a little help from Kelly's Clefable. Then, we all swam out of Aquarius and, when we guessed we were in the right place, Wooper and Marc's Squirtle dug a tunnel on the ocean floor and we all swam up it - lucky it came out here, eh?" While Sandra spoke, Kelly, Jeremy, Candida and Kevin all broke the surface until all seven of the companions were reunited. But that still left one pressing problem.

"Er . . . how are we going to get out of here?" asked Jeremy. "Autumn doesn't have an Aquagear with her for one thing . . ."

Candida had the answer - or at least a temporary solution. She pulled out her Lapras' Poke Ball and summoned the large blue Water Pokemon. "Get on Lapras' back!" she ordered as she hauled herself onto the Pokemon's shell. "And hurry!" she added as she glanced at the door and noticed it was beginning to buckle under the pressure of the water flooding the room. "That door can't hold out much longer!"

Sure enough, almost as soon as they were all on Lapras' back, the water pressure grew too great for the door to withstand and it burst open, sending seven humans and a Lapras cascading out into the corridor.

--------------------------------

Nearby, two Team Midnight agents looked up with a start when they heard the collective yell of seven teenagers caught on a wild and unexpected water ride. "What was that?" asked one of them, his hand instinctively reaching for the Poke Ball that housed his Gengar.

"It came from the corridor where Rich stashed that kid in the Tank," his companion said as he looked up from grooming his Shiftry. With that, he hurried off to investigate with the Shiftry following hot on his heels, but all he found when he got to the corridor in question was a flooded floor and a door forced open by an excess of water pressure behind it. Candida and her companions had had the presence of mind to get clear of the scene before anyone unwelcome showed up. There was no sign of the girl who had been caught earlier in the day, so she had to still be alive - had she drowned, her body would surely have been somewhere nearby . . .

"What?!" the man cursed. "How dare that brat escape?! And on my shift too! If Rich hears about this . . ."

Before he could continue, the communicator he carried in his pocket began bleeping. He switched it on and immediately heard Rich's voice giving instructions to all Team Midnight members in Aquarius. "Word has come through from HQ - the Plan will commence tonight," he informed his underlings. "By morning, all these fools will be our slaves."

* * *

A quick check-up at the medical facility did not reveal any serious injuries to Autumn, although she was chilled as a result of being in the water for so long. The medics told Candida, who had been the one who brought Autumn in, to take her back to her Module so she could rest up.

As she and Autumn, clad in white bathrobes since their wet clothes were being aired out in the laundry, hurried down the corridor, Candida felt a sense of relief that none of the others had wanted to come to the medical facility with her and Autumn, instead choosing to head back to their modules. It made her story that Autumn had slipped and fallen into the swimming pool - which was closed at this hour - seem less like to be disbelieved. All they could do now was hope no-one would start asking questions.

Little did she know what lay in store that night . . .


	7. Chapter Seven

**

Chapter Seven

**

Candida sat up with a start when she heard the tummalt of voices issuing from the corridor. She fumbled for her lightswitch and flicked it on, wondering as she did so what could be happening at this time of night - the Marill-shaped clock on her beside cabinet showed 2.30AM in red digits flashing on the model Pokemon's belly. Everything looked normal - her posters were still on the wall and her Jigglypuff doll was still on the shelf - but there was obviously something untoward happening in Aquarius.

She was just about to get dressed and go investigate when Ryan burst in with his Elekid close behind. "What's going on, Candy?" he asked. "What's all that noise?"

"I don't know," Candida told him truthfully. "But I'm going to take a look . . ." With that, she grabbed Lapras and Togetic's Poke Balls and, stopping only to pull on her slippers, she made her way out into the transparent tube that linked the Bensons' module with the rest of Aquarius. A shocking sight met her eyes.

Men and women in Team Midnight uniforms were swarming all over the place, breaking into modules and hauling the bewildered occupants and their Pokemon out. Fortunately, they hadn't reached the area where Candida and her family lived, but it was only a question of time before they did. This must be the plan she and her friends had overheard some Team Midnight agents discussing. She had no idea what that plan might be, but she knew it had to be bad and she had to warn the others.

--------------------------------

Racing over to the neighbouring module, she pressed down hard on the intercom, praying all the while that Autumn or one of her parents would hear it and answer. "C'mon!" she muttered to herself. "Answer! This is . . ."

Before she could get a reply, she was suddenly grabbed hold of by her wrist. "Don't even think about it, you little witch!" hissed a menacing voice as Candida turned to find herself staring into the cold grey eyes of a female Team Midnight agent. The latter roughly pulled the girl away from the Lanes' module and dragged her out into the corridor, keeping a tight hold of her arm the whole time. Candida would have released Togetic, but the woman was prepared for such a move and snatched both of Candida's Poke Balls.

"You won't be needing those," she said with a wicked sneer.

That was it. Candida wanted answers and she meant to get them. "Would you mind telling me what's going on here?!" she demanded, forcing herself to keep her voice level. "Why have we all been woken up like this?"

"You'll find out soon enough," the woman informed her bluntly. "Right now, you are coming with me." With that, she turned and marched away, dragging the dumbstruck Candida along with her. With her free hand, she toyed with the Poke Balls she had "liberated", wondering as she did so what Pokemon were inside. She hoped at least one would be a Dark or a Poison Type since these were her speciality - her own Pokemon team consisted of a Golbat, a Cacturne, a Nidoking and a Houndoom. Not only that, Team Midnight had plans for such Pokemon . . .

But Candida had no knowledge of this. "At least tell me why you've taken my Pokemon," she said, trying her best to sound casual. She was sure the woman wanted her to beg and she wasn't going to give her the satisfaction. Lydia had said long ago that Team Midnight were just a bunch of low-life bullies - and bullies thrived on causing fear. Often cowards themselves, they boosted their self-confidence by picking on those they knew couldn't retaliate.

The woman responded to Candida's question by elbowing her sharply in the back. "That's classified Team Midnight information!" she snarled. "And maybe you'd like to explain how that kid some of our agents caught managed to get out of the Tank."

"What kid? What Tank?" Candida responded, hoping against hope that she looked sufficiently puzzled. Then she recoiled as the woman struck her viciously across the face.

"Don't act innocent with me, miss! A girl fitting your description was seen with three other teenagers in an area that was out of bounds. One of the youngsters, another girl, was caught and placed in the Tank, but . . ."

She was cut short by the male Team Midnight agent called Tanner. "Crozier, interogate her later!" he ordered from where he and three other agents had the bewildered Bensons surrounded. "Right now, we've got to get our new "workforce" assembled. If the plan is to work, we can't waste time on a bunch of brats."

Something about the way he said "workforce" made Candida uneasy, as if he was using it as a euphemism for something far more sinister . . .

------------------------------------------

Less than half-an-hour later, the entire population of Aquarius had been roused and unceremoniously herded deep into the underwater complex. Children, bewildered and frightened by what was happening, clung to their mothers who, even though they were themselves afraid, tried to put up a brave front. Several of them were whispering reassuringly to the youngsters, all the while wishing they could be sure that everything would be all right. Outside, sea-dwelling Pokemon such as Gyarados and Wailmer swam past, unaware of the turmoil within Aquarius.

As she and the rest of her family were shoved into the room where she, Autumn, Jeremy and Marc had first overheard the Team Midnight agents, Candida saw Sandra standing with her parents and wearing a nightshirt with a Skitty print on the front. The eyes of the two girls briefly met as Candida winked and made a quick OK sign with her thumb and forefinger. A nearby Team Midnight agent saw this and gave the girl a sharp prop with his rifle butt.

"No communicating!" he barked. "No speech, sign language - nothing! Just stand there until the Supreme Ruler of Aquarius arrives!" With that, he turned and stalked off, whistling nonchallently as he did so. There were few things he liked better than throwing his weight around.

Lydia waited until he was out of earshot before whispering to her husband. "What in the name of Johto is going on here?" she asked. "Why would Wilson want anything to do with scum like Team Midnight?"

Candida kept silent. She knew Wilson had nothing to do with this, that he must now be a prisoner himself, held elsewhere in the underwater complex. But that did not answer the question of what Team Midnight wanted or how their plans could be thwarted - and she still didn't know if she would be allowed to have Togetic and Lapras back. Kevin, Jeremy and Marc had been right - there was something untoward going on in Aquarius.

Presently, the door on the opposite side of the room swung open and Rich swaggered in with a self-satisfied expression like that of a conquering general on his face. This had gone better than he had hoped. There had been no serious violence and it was clear that no-one had escaped. There was much to be said for the element of surprise and for the Team Midnight executives who had waited until the early hours of the morning before sending the order to procede with the plan. Bewildered half-awake prisoners were far less likely to cause trouble.

"All right, listen up!" he commanded in an imperious tone. "Team Midnight are running things here now and you will all do as we say or else . . ."

"Or else what?" called a voice from among the assembled throng.

"You'll soon find out if you don't do as you're told," Rich said shortly after trying in vain to find the culprit. He paused and paced up and down, smug with satisfaction that the plans Team Midnight had for Aquarius would shortly come to fruition. All it required was a few hours of slave labour . . .

"Meanwhile," he went on, "you will all be taken deep under the ocean floor to await further instructions. I expect full co-operation from all of you. Any dissent, any rioting will be dealt with swiftly and harshly."

Candida knew the last thing she should do was call out, but she couldn't help herself - she had to know what would happen to Lapras and Togetic. "What about our Pokemon?" she demanded.

"They are being held for . . . safe keeping - you'll get them back shortly."

---------------------------------------

A shocked mutter swept through the throng of people, most of whom were still in their nightclothes. Team Midnight in Aquarius? Surely not - hadn't there been checks to make sure only those chosen for the project were admitted? But there was no mistaking those uniforms and the arrogant way in which the agents were behaving. Had they been here from the first day and, if so, how had they managed to sneak in?

Candida and her friends were silent, each of them wishing they had told someone about Team Midnight before it was too late. Doing so would have meant admitting they had broken bounds, but at least none of this would have happened. At least they wouldn't have been woken in the early hours and dragged out of their modules to face whatever Team Midnight had in store for them. As it was . . .

Their thoughts were interupted by the sound of Rich's voice barking out orders. "All men and adolescent boys this side with Agent Tanner!" he ordered, pointing to the right. "Women, girls and younger boys must assemble over there." He pointed to the left. "They will be escorted by Agent Reeves. You will do this in an orderly fashion or suffer the consequences." With that, he marched off the way he had come, a satisfied smirk on his face. It had been almost too easy. All it had taken was a few late-night raids and Team Midnight was now running things.

There was a shocked silence following Rich's words. Many families did not want to be separated, mothers divided from their sons, wives from their husbands, children from their fathers, sisters from their brothers. Lydia Benson, like many other wives, was clinging desperately to her husband, not knowing when they would see each other again. Jack stroked her hair in an effort to reassure her, while both their children hovered around uncertainly.

Presently, Reeves appeared on the scene and pulled Lydia out of her husband's arms. "Time to break up this happy family," she said grimly. "You and your brats are coming with me."

Lydia, Candida and Ryan looked at Jack, the same bewildered expression etched on all their faces. He sighed wearily - he didn't like what Team Midnight were doing any more than they did, but there seemed to be little option other than doing as they were told. His children had had their Pokemon confiscated (Ryan had refused to let go of his Elekid's Poke Ball until a burly agent kicked him to the floor) and Rich had warned of "serious consequences" if anyone refused to co-operated.

"I'll be all right," he told them, wishing he could be as certain as he sounded. "You three go on now."

---------------------------------

Lydia Benson and her children were led deeper and deeper under the ocean floor. The clear perspex that gave the people of Aquarius a panoramic view of the oceans was replaced with blank white walls with no hint of decoration except a large portrait dominating the corridor. It showed a stern-looking white-haired man in a grey suit, an Absol curled on his lap. A small label at the bottom identified him as:

**Sergio Lenoir  
Founder and President of the glorious Team Midnight**

Neither the Bensons nor any of the other prisoners had time to examine the portrait in detail before Crozier, the agent who had caught Candida, stepped forward and pressed down on an almost invisible notch in the wall. Slowly, the portrait slid sideways to reveal another corridor, this one long, narrow and lit with bare electric lightbulbs. Everyone hung back uncertainly, instinctively knowing that whatever lay at the end of that corridor could only be bad news . . .

"Move it, you worthless scum!" Crozier spat. "We haven't got all day!" And, to show what would happen to anyone who didn't do as they were told, she grabbed a small girl (who couldn't have been much more than eight years old) and slammed her fist into the child's stomach. The girl doubled over with tears in her eyes as a woman who seemed to be her mother looked on helplessly.

Candida's lips narrowed in disgust. That was just typical of Team Midnight to pick on the most defenceless person they could find. She longed to go and comfort the sobbing child, but fear that doing so could result in her getting hit herself held her back. Some day, she vowed to herself, Crozier would have to be taught a lesson . . .

--------------------------

The hidden corridor seemed to go on forever and everyone was footsore and weary by the time the Team Midnight agents called a halt in a vast undersea cavern with many side tunnels branching off from it. "This," Reeves announced as she stood resting her hand on the rocky wall, "is your new workplace. You will labour here for the glory of Team Midnight and . . ."

"What exactly is this place?" demanded Kelly from where she stood with her mother. Jeremy, of course, had been separated from them and was with his father and the rest of the men and older boys.

"It's a treasure cave," Reeves said shortly. "Haven't you heard of a treasure cave before? Well, now you're in one and your job will be to get the treasure. If you work hard, you'll be suitably rewarded. However, if you don't . . ."

She deliberately left the last sentence unfinished so the prisoners could draw the inference themselves. But they all knew that whatever Team Midnight had in store for anyone they caught slacking was bound to be bad. Then she continued issuing her orders. "You will all receive a plastic tag with a number on it," she said as other agents moved among the crowd, handing out black plastic squares as they did so. "That number tells you which Shift you'll be working so don't lose it . . . Oh, yeah, and those of you on Shift One will be starting work right away. The rest of you will remain in your dormitory until your Shift begins."

Candida turned her tag over and saw a number 3 printed on it. "I'm on Shift Three," she said to her mother and brother. "What about you?"

I'm on Shift Three too," said Lydia, showing Candida her tag. "But Ryan's on Shift Two and I don't know what Shift your father will be on . . ." She paused as she wondered how it could all have gone so wrong. Everything had started so well, people achieving what even the inhabitants of Pacifidlog in Hoenn had never managed and building a city underwater. Now that Team Midnight were running things, she had no idea what was going to happen.

Putting on a brave face for the sake of the children - even though Candida was old enough to realise the severity of the situation - she suggested that, since they didn't have to start work straight away, they should head for the dormitory and catch up on their sleep.

------------------------------------

The dormitory proved to be a large cell lined with bunk beds with washroom facilities at the far end. Reeves and Crozier halted the prisoners inside the room and pointed to an A4-sized notice on the wall.

"These are the rules you will be following while you're in the service of Team Midnight," Crozier told them. "I suggest you read them through carefully as disobedience will be . . ."

" . . . punished severely," Autumn muttered from somewhere nearby. She felt strange without her Pikachu perched on her shoulder, but she had had to tell him to hide for his own safety. As soon as the Team Midnight agents broke into her family's module, she stuffed her Pikachu into the air-conditioning vent in her room and told him not to come out no matter what happen. She only hoped he would be all right . . .

"And the most important rule is this," Crozier went on, ignoring the interuption. "No escaping - you'll find getting out of here easier said than done anyway. And now," she added as she and Reeves moved towards the door, "we will be supervising those on Shift One." And, without another word, the two Team Midnight agents were gone.

Candida sat down on the nearest bunk, which only had a thin mattress, and sighed.


	8. Chapter Eight

**

Chapter Eight

**

"You! Girl!" a Team Midnight agent barked to Candida. "I've got something for you!"

Warily, Candida got up off her bunk and made her way across the dormitory towards the door. In the week that had passed since Team Midnight's takeover, life in Aquarius had become, to put it bluntly, unbearable. The entire population was forced to work for hours on end in what she could only describe as an undersea mine, its purpose still not entirely clear. The worst thing had been being without her Pokemon and she had often lain awake, wondering how Lapras and Togetic were faring.

Now, however, she could scarcely believe her eyes as she saw what the agent was holding - two Poke Balls. And these weren't just any Poke Balls; they were the ones that held her Pokemon, whom she hadn't seen since Crozier confiscated them. The agent gave a sly grin as he held out the Balls, keeping them just out of her reach. "If you want these back, you'll have to do something in return," he informed her.

"And what would that be?" Candida asked coldly. She did not care for the look on his face and her mind was racing through the various degrading things he might make her do. Like most trainers, she had thought she would do anything for her Pokemon, but, now that it came down to it . . .

"I want you to say "Team Midnight rule"," the agent informed her.

Candida looked at him coldly; there was no way she was going to utter those words and she let the agent know as much by stamping on his foot. "The only thing you rule is a pile of trash!" she retorted. She immediately regretted those hasty words as the agent pushed her to the floor and held her there with his foot.

"I think you need to be taught some respect," he informed her as everyone else in the dormitory looked on nervously. Autumn was at the far end of the room and, having tried in vain to warn her friend against crossing the agent, was now shaking at the thought of what the man could do. Candida was a fourteen-year-old kid and wouldn't stand much chance against the powerful agent of Team Midnight . . . There was a sudden gasp as the agent aimed a vicious kick at the girl he had pinned to the floor.

"Never - insult - Team - Midnight!" he barked, punctuating his words with more kicks as Candida curled up in a bid to make as small a target as possible. Her head was ringing, tears of pain and humiliation pricking at her eyes as she struggled to avoid shedding them, determined not to give the agent that satisfaction. In the end, Autumn could stand it no longer. She ran forward just as the agent was about to deliver another kick.

"Candida, please - just do as he says," she pleaded. Dimly, Candida looked up into Autumn's face, noting as she did so the expression that clearly said it was probably better to obey this outlandish command lest her refusal to do so lead to even more trouble.

So, with a sigh of immense reluctance, Candida said the words she had been commanded to utter, forcing them out with such distaste that they felt almost like swear words. "Team . . . Midnight . . . rule!" she said through gritted teeth. The agent looked down at her, pleased that he had forced her to grovel, and thrust her Poke Balls at her.

"There! Take your wretched Pokemon!" With that, he turned and left, slamming the door behind him.

-----------------------------------

Candida went and sat on her bed, clutching her Poke Balls as she shook with anger and humiliation. She hated Team Midnight more than ever. Some day, she vowed to herself, she would get back at that self-satisfied agent who had kicked her. Some day, she would make him sorry he had ever come near Aquarius . . .

"Candida, are you all right?" It was Sandra who had spoken. She was still wearing her Skitty nightshirt, now covered in dirt from hours of working in the undersea cave. She got up and knelt beside her friend, clasping Wooper and Dratini's Poke Balls which she had had returned to her earlier in the day, although, in her case, she hadn't been forced to do anything degrading in return. Nonetheless, she knew how Candida must feel; she had been bullied at school when she was eleven and had once been beaten up so badly that her parents had reported the matter to the principal and the culprits had been expelled.

"I'm . . . OK," Candida lied. "I was just wondering what we could do against Team Midnight . . ."

"Me too," Sandra admitted. "We still don't know what all this is about, but I'm pretty sure whatever it is will be bad news for us . . ." A pause followed, during which the two girls looked each other in the face, both feeling helpless in the face of the organisation which had seized control in Aquarius. After a few moments, Candida stood up and held her Lapras' Poke Ball as if she was preparing to throw it.

"Then we shall fight!" she declared. "We shall band together and drive Team Midnight out of here!" Everyone in the room turned in her direction, noting as they did so that a change seemed to have come over her. She spoke with an assurance beyond her years, as if she was a politician at a pep rally, and many couldn't help agreeing with her.

"Yeah!" someone shouted. "Squash Team Midnight!"

"Let's give 'em what for!" added someone else.

For several moments, there was so much shouting going on that Candida was worried the noise might attract a guard. "Shh!" she said, pressing her finger to her lips. "We won't get anywhere if we alert anyone. So let's discuss this and decide what we should do."

"Candida's right," seconded Autumn. "We need to get properly organised if we're going to try a rebellion . . ." She paused and leaned against the wall with her arms folded. "If only there was some way to get word to the men."

But, for the life of her, she couldn't think of any means of doing so without being detected. The women and children in Aquarius never saw the men except in the mine these days and the constant vigilence of the Team Midnight guards made passing secret messages under those circumstances easier said than done. But there had to be a way. There had to be some means of contacting the men . . .

Her thoughts were distracted by a frantic call of "Pikachu!" from somewhere nearby. She held her breath, scarcely able to believe what she was hearing. That sounded like her own Pikachu's voice and it seemed to be coming from the vent set high on the wall. Had he come all this way just to be with her again?

-------------------------------

"Help me, Candida," Autumn whispered as she pushed a chair towards the grill and stood on it. Between them, the two girls managed to get the wire mesh off the vent and Autumn reached inside. Moments later, she emerged holding a very bedraggled Pikachu.

"Pika!" the yellow Electric Type said in a tone that conveyed a mixture of relief at seeing his trainer again and annoyance that she had gone away and left him to fend for himself. For the last seven days, he had kept himself alive by raiding the now unattended larders of Aquarius, but all he ever wanted was to be with Autumn and, while he was exploring one day, he found a shaft he had never been down before . . .

That was how Autumn's Pikachu had found his trainer again and it also provided a possible solution to the question of communicating with the men. Autumn stroked the Pokemon gently, rubbing the red electric sacs on his cheeks in the way he liked as he squealed with delight. Then she put him down and looked at him gravely. "Feel like helping the ARM?" she asked, pronouncing each letter separately.

"ARM?" echoed Candida. "What does that mean?"

"Aquarius Resistance Movement - ARM for short. I just made it up off the top of my head. It's what I think we should call ourselves."

"Anyway," Autumn went on, addressing her Pikachu once again, "we need some way of communicating with the men without Team Midnight knowing. Would you like to be our messenger?"

"Pikachu," the Pikachu replied, nodding vigorously. Like most of his kind, he was fiercely loyal to his trainer and was willing to do anything she asked. Autumn patted him on the head again and turned to the others.

"Do any of you have a notepad and pen - something we could use to write a message?" she asked. A brief silence followed as everyone in the room exchanged glances and shook their heads; Team Midnight's night-time raid had given the people of Aquarius little time to gather together any personal belongings. "Anyone?" Autumn asked, a look of desperation etched on her face.

Candida sat down on her bunk, her head in her hands. As she stared straight ahead, her eyes chanced to glance at the list of rules Team Midnight had pinned to the wall and an idea occurred to her. It was risky and could land everyone in trouble, but it seemed to be their only option. She stood up and walked over to the list.

"We'll tear a scrap of paper from this," she said. "It's risky, but it'll be worth it if we can get a message to the men . . ." With that, she pulled down the sheet of unlaminated A4 paper and tore a square off the corner. She had just rested it against the wall when she remembered that she didn't have a pen with her.

"I could use some help here!" she called to the others.

In response, Kelly rummaged in her pocket and produced a Biro. "I swiped this from Crozier's pocket yesterday," she said with a grin as she handed it over to Autumn. Autumn took the pen, rested it and the scrap of paper against the wall and scribbled the words:

_ARM  
We aim to fight a common enemy and need to discuss plans. Send reply to AL_

on it. She kept it as ambiguous as possible to guard against the note falling into the wrong hands; hopefully, Kevin, Jeremy, Marc or one of the other males would be able to work out what it meant, whereas Team Midnight would be none the wiser. Satisfied, she called her Pikachu over and handed him the note.

"Pikachu, take this to Kevin, Jeremy or Marc," she whispered. "But stay out of Team Midnight's way."

As the Pikachu turned to go with the hastily written note folded up and tucked inside his cheek, Autumn hoped this plan would work. If it didn't, if her Pikachu was caught . . . She did not want to think about it.

------------------------------------

Things were little better in the men's quarters and the uncertainty wasn't helped by the fact that, while Jeremy's Charmeleon and Marc's Seadra and Squirtle had been returned to their respective trainers, Kevin had not seen Houndour, Murkrow and Sneasel since a burly Team Midnight agent confiscated his Poke Balls. Something told him that the three Dark Type Pokemon were in serious trouble and he had no way of determining what was happening to them, what unspeakable purposes Team Midnight wanted them for. He was leaning against the wall, wishing he had some means of contacting the girls when he heard a "Pika!" from somewhere near his feet.

Kevin bent down to see a Pikachu standing in front of him. "Hey, aren't you Autumn's Pikachu?" he said as he knelt down and stroked the small Pokemon. "What are you doing here?"

"Pikachu," the Pikachu replied, reaching into his mouth and pulling out a rather soggy piece of paper. "Pika pi pika!" he said urgently as he handed it to Kevin.

Kevin took the note and unfolded it. The ink had run, but it was still fairly legible. He read it through a couple of times, wondering as he did so who or what ARM was. He knew AL had to be Autumn Lane since it was her handwriting and her Pikachu had delivered the note. As for who the "common enemy" was . . .

Kevin's train of thought was interupted by Marc and Jeremy coming off duty after another shift spent searching an undersea cavern for some unknown treasure. Both boys hated their conquerors with a vengeance and longed to be able to teach them a lesson, but Kevin had vetoed any idea of rebellion for the time being. Acting rashly would only land them in worse trouble, he said. He chose to forget that, not too long ago, he had been more than willing to take what was on reflection a rather foolish risk.

Marc and Jeremy both spoke at once.

"What's going on, Kev?"

"What's that Pikachu doing . . .?"

"It's Autumn's Pikachu - don't you recognise it?" Kevin filled in. "And it brought me this." He held out the note so they could read what Autumn had written.

"Arm?" said Jeremy, assuming it was all one word. "What arm? Whose arm?"

"I don't know," Kevin pointed out. "But Autumn says we've got to get a reply to the girls somehow . . ." He paused and stared round the dormitory, which was identical to the one which housed the women, girls and younger boys, right down to the long lists of rules. Looking closely, he saw that the note had been scrawled on paper torn from such a list; a few fragments of sentences could still be seen on the reverse. "I don't suppose either of you has a pen," he added at length.

Marc and Jeremy shook their heads. "But maybe we can let them know another way," Jeremy added, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small keychain shaped like a Lunatone. "I bought this on holiday in Hoenn once - if Kelly sees it, she'll know we got the message."

"All well and good," agreed Marc. "But how do we arrange a meeting?"

Jeremy ignored that. "What's important right now is that we _can_ communicate with the girls - it doesn't matter what we say." With that, he handed the keychain to Autumn's Pikachu.

---------------------------------

With the keychain clasped in his mouth, the Pikachu darted nimbly through the shadows. He instinctively knew that what he had been asked to do was important and was careful to stay out of the way of any Team Midnight guards he saw. Autumn had told him Team Midnight were trouble and, more than anything, he longed to Thundershock the guards or, at the very least, sink his teeth into their hands. But he resisted the urge - he had to get back to Autumn and let her know he had made contact with the boys.

Finally, after much ducking and weaving, he made it back to where he had started from. He located Autumn and darted over to her, looking up at her with Jeremy's keychain still in his mouth. "Pika!" he said.

Autumn looked down at her Pokemon. "Pikachu? Did you see the boys? Where did you get that?" she asked, taking the keychain out of his mouth and examining it. It was a perfect miniture of a Lunatone, moulded out of modelling clay and with a metal ring to hold the keys attached to the top. She turned it over and over in her hands, remembering having seen such keychains on sale in Hoenn. But, as far as she knew, this design was not available in Johto so where had Pikachu found it?

"Pika pikachu pikachu chu!" Pikachu piped up impatiently. Autumn glanced down at him and realised she had been so busy examining the keychain that she had forgotten he was there.

"Sorry, Pikachu," she laughed. "I was just wondering . . ."

Before Autumn could complete her sentence, Kelly chanced to glance in her direction and noticed what she was holding. "Hey! Isn't that Jeremy's keychain?" Kelly asked, walking over to her friend and looking at the miniture Lunatone in her hand. She turned to Autumn's Pikachu. "Did Jeremy give that to you?"

"Pi!" The Pikachu nodded vigorously and leapt up to touch the keychain. Autumn picked him up and hugged him close as she pondered their next move. If the keychain did belong to Jeremy, it meant Pikachu had made contact with the boys. The next order of business was finding a means of keeping that line of communication open without arousing Team Midnight's suspicions.

---------------------------------------

A klaxon sounded nearby, followed almost immediately by the sound of clumping feet and a harsh female voice shouting. "Up! Move it, you scum!" she barked. Candida's eyes narrowed as she recognised it as Crozier's voice and restrained herself as the woman who had taken Lapras and Togetic marched in. Crozier stood with her arms folded, a willow cane tucked under one of them, and addressed the assembled women as if she was a Sergeant Major. "Next Shift in ten minutes! If you're part of it, move your lazy butts!"

Candida and Autumn were part of the next shift so they joined those moving silently towards the workings. Before she did so, however, Autumn hurriedly hid the keychain inside a slit in her mattress lest a Team Midnight agent find it. Then she addressed Kelly in a hurried whisper. "I'll speak to Jeremy if I can," she said. "Don't worry."

Kelly nodded and sat down on her bunk, while Autumn's Pikachu perched on a nearby chair. She looked down at the Poke Balls containing Drifter, Pinky, Cheeky and Delibird and sighed - it was going to be a long few hours.


	9. Chapter Nine

**

Chapter Nine

**

"Some adventure this is!" Candida muttered as she toiled endlessly at the monotonous job of digging in the undersea cave. Her hands were chapped and aching from handling the rocks and her back was stiff from the constant bending and lifting. But she dared not stop work for a second; if she was caught slacking, the nearest Team Midnight member was sure to punish her. The only hope for the people of Aquarius seemed to lie in the ARM, but setting up such a group was always a risky venture as you never knew how long it would take for the organisation you were trying to rebel against to cotton on to your plans.

Team Midnight certainly had a few bases covered. Their returning Pokemon to their rightful trainers had, she realised, been a "morale-boosting" exercise designed to keep their workers happy and lessen the chances of rebellion. But it was clear that any sign of trouble would lead to the Pokemon being confiscated again - and she didn't want to think about what they might to do Lapras and Togetic in that eventuality . . .

Candida winced as a burly Team Midnight agent prodded her with the stick he carried under one arm like a big game hunter with a gun. "Quit dreaming, girl!" he barked. "We ain't got all day and you're falling behind!" He swung his stick threateningly to show her what happened to slackers.

"All right! Sorry!" She forced herself to get back to work, her mind focussed on only one thing - a way to make these Team Midnight bigshots pay. From what she had seen of them so far, they liked nothing better than ordering people about, forcing them to work against their will for a cause she still didn't understand. If only there was some means of spying on them . . .

"I hope they don't find that keychain Autumn hid," she thought to herself. If they did, if they found out they had been in touch with the men, the consequences would be severe. And things had been bad enough already since Team Midnight took over; the entire population was forced to work for hours on ending, searching the undersea caves for some unknown artifact or artifacts. Candida sighed heavily and promised herself that, no matter what happened, Team Midnight could not be allowed to get away with this.

------------------------------------

Nearby, Kevin was also making silent vows of vengeance. He had not seen Murkrow, Sneasel or Houndour for some time; in fact, none of the Dark or Poison Type Pokemon in Aquarius had been returned to their rightful owners. And that gave him cause for concern - why would they return all the other Pokemon but keep the Dark and Poison Types? Did they have some plan that involved those Pokemon?

Somehow, he had to find out. But, like Candida, he was worried about what would happen if they were caught spying. They had already had one narrow escape and could ill-afford to take any unnecessary risks right now . . .

Glancing up, he saw Candida labouring nearby, her fair hair tangled and unkempt from the hardships she had endured. Briefly, he wondered if he should risk it. What if a Team Midnight agent caught them? With his Pokemon confiscated, he had nothing to lose, but, judging by the fact that Marc and Jeremy had had their Pokemon returned, Candida's Lapras and Togetic were probably back in her possession. Even so . . .

Casually, so it appeared he was simply looking for a fresh area to search, he made his way over to her and tapped her on the shoulder. "Candida?" he ventured.

She turned round with a start. "What?"

"Just wanted to let you know I hate these Team Midnight bozos too. And I've been wondering . . ."

He got no further before a nearby Team Midnight agent landed him a vicious blow with his stick, putting the full weight of his arm behind the blow. "Quit your yapping!" he snarled as he moved in for another stroke, watching in satisfaction as Kevin tried to squirm out of the way. Candida watched helplessly as he continued to rain blows down on her friend - she wanted to intervene but did not dare to for fear of being beaten herself. "You worthless little grub!" the agent taunted. "If I catch you talking again, you're dead meat!" With that, he spat on the ground to express his contempt and marched off.

Candida waited until the bullying guard was gone before cautiously creeping across to where Kevin lay sprawled on the ground. He coughed to get rid of a mouthful of dust he'd received when the guard knocked him to the ground and staggered to his feet, painfully aware of the welts left in the cane's wake. "Are you OK?" Candida asked him as he clung to her for support.

"Yes, I - I think so." He brushed as much dirt off his clothes as he could. "Candida, we got that note Autumn sent," he went on as she nodded approvingly. "And I agree that we need to sort these . . ." He rejected the word he had originally planned to say in favour of something milder. " . . . jerks out."

"But how? Team Midnight have us guarded like priceless jewels - too bad they don't treat us like them!" Candida was getting anxious; if another Team Midnight agent came along . . .

"Didn't stop Autumn's Pikachu."

"Kevin, please!" Candida said, shaking her head. "It's too risky right now - what if we got caught and they took our Pokemon again?" She wrung her hands as she thought of the Lapras she had had for as long as she could remember being seized by the tyrants who had taken control of the underwater complex. Like many trainers, she had developed a close bond with both her Pokemon and was not about to risk them until the ARM was better organised and had devised a Team Midnight-proof means of communicating.

"At times like this, you have to take risks," Kevin told her. He looked at her gravely. "Candida, my Pokemon weren't returned - none of the Dark and Poison Types were . . ."

"So?"

"So my guess is that our "friends" have something planned and it has to do with Dark and Poison Pokemon. Listen . . ."

He got no further before the Team Midnight agent called Tanner appeared on the scene and gave him a brutal kick in the backside. Then, before Kevin could stop him, he shoved Candida to the ground and aimed a kick at her. She just managed to dodge it, but Tanner made no move to try again. Instead, he looked at the pair coldly.

"Think you're clever, don't you?" he smirked, folding his arms across his chest. "Well, let me tell you something - kids who think they're clever get punished. You're both on half-rations for a week."

------------------------------------

Half-rations meant just that - half the amount of food that was normally dished out. And, under Team Midnight, that was meagre enough, a plate of some unidentifiable stew dished out twice a day along with a slice of bread and a cup of water.

When two Team Midnight agents brought food to the women and children on Candida's shift, they forced Candida to wait until everyone else had received their rations before serving her. Then, they thrust the bread and water into her hands and placed what little stew was left on her plate. It looked thin and watery with only a few scraps of solid food visible and she wondered how she would endure a week of such awful fare.

"Tanner's orders," one of the two agents said shortly. "Maybe a little hunger will teach you some respect."

Candida was about to say something but decided it would be wiser to keep quiet for fear of being denied even these meagre rations. She sat down on the floor, tore up her bread to make the stew go further and was about to start eating her "meal" when a sudden noise from overhead made her look up. A Squirtle, Marc's Squirtle, was peering out of the ventilation shaft.

"Squirtle!" he called. Candida knew he was asking her to get him down so she got up, dragged a nearby chair over to the shaft and climbed on it so she could reach the Squirtle. It was as she lifted him down that she noticed something was written on his shell:

_Meeting tonight_

She read those two words in silence, wondering as she did so where they were to meet. She knew it had to be Kevin, Marc and Jeremy who had organised this meeting, but where could they hold it without being caught by Team Midnight? She and Kevin were on half-rations already; they could not afford to risk further punishment.

---------------------------

"I don't know what we should do either," Autumn said as Candida explained the problem over their frugal meal. The former's Pikachu was perched on his trainer's shoulder, his once bright black eyes dull after several days of living on Team Midnight rations. Autumn lifted him down and looked at him sadly. "Team Midnight have us trapped - anyone who rebels risks losing their Pokemon . . ."

Candida gazed down at Lapras and Togetic's Poke Balls, thinking of the day she and her family first arrived in Aquarius to spend a year living under the ocean. She had thought then that it would be an adventure, but now . . . Now everyone was a prisoner, forced to dig their way through the undersea cave in search of some unknown treasure. She sighed heavily; things were beginning to look grim.

"I couldn't stand it if anything happened to Lapras and Togetic," she said at length. "But we may not have much choice, not if we want to stop Team Midnight. Listen, I got talking to Kevin earlier and he says . . ."

"What does he say?" Autumn cut in, patting her Pikachu's head as she spoke.

"He says Team Midnight have retained all the Dark and Poison Types. And that makes me wonder - could whatever they're planning have to do with those Types?"

"That's something we can add to our list of things to find out," suggested Autumn. She had been mentally making a list of things they needed to know about Team Midnight's plans and, if at all possible, how to scupper them and Candida's news gave her added cause for concern. Why had Team Midnight kept all the Dark and Poison Type Pokemon? For the agents to train? Somehow she doubted that, even though members of Team Midnight seemed to specialise in these Types.

"First, we need to find somewhere to meet without being seen," Candida reminded her. "And . . ."

She was cut off by an impatient "Squirtle squirt!" from nearby and looked down to find Marc's Squirtle standing beside her. She and Autumn had forgotten he was there until he reminded them. Glancing at the ventilation shaft, she noted that the grill was large enough for a small or medium-sized Pokemon, but, unlike the shaft she and the others had been in earlier, there was no way a human could fit. Still, it might be a useful means of communicating with the boys . . .

"You'd better get out of sight, Squirtle," she told the Pokemon. She picked him up and carried him over to the vent. "If a Team Midnight agent catches you . . ." She shuddered at the thought as she climbed onto the chair and place the Squirtle back in the vent.

Nearby, Sandra clasped her Dratini's Poke Ball tightly. She had overheard what Candida said and it alarmed her greatly. If Team Midnight found out Dratini knew Toxic, they would take the Dragon Pokemon away from her . . .

-----------------------------------------

Candida was dozing fitfully when she began to dream that she was on Lapras' back a fair distance from the shore. Suddenly, Lapras disappeared into her Poke Ball with a flash, leaving Candida struggling in the water. Too far from shore to swim, she tried to call Lapras back out of her Poke Ball - unfortunately, she dropped it just as she was about to press the button to activate it. Instinctively, she dived down after it, but it seemed that, no matter how deep she swam, the Poke Ball was always just out of reach. Her head was beginning to throb from lack of oxygen and she wanted desperately to take a breath of air. And, when she tried to swim to the surface, she found that she couldn't - something seemed to be drawing her inexorably downwards. Then she felt her nose being pinched by invisible fingers and vaguely heard someone calling her name.

"Candida!"

She opened her eyes to find Jeremy standing over her with his Charmeleon's Poke Ball in his hand. "Hey! What's the big idea?!" she demanded as she realised he must have been the one who grabbed her nose. "How did you get past the guards?"

"Charmeleon Smokescreened the corridor," Jeremy told her. "It'll take them at least a couple of hours to get it cleared. Anyway, are you coming to the meeting or not?"

"You've found a place to meet?" It was Autumn, who had woken to the sound of Jeremy's voice. "Where?"

Jeremy tapped his nose mysteriously. "You'll find out when you get there. Now, wake Kelly and Sandra and come on."

----------------------------------

Within moments, the little group of youngsters was slipping through the corridor on their way to their secret meeting place. A shiver of excitement went up Candida's spine as she thought of what a big risk they were taking. Team Midnight were not to be trifled with, as she had recently learned only too well, and if they found out about the ARM . . . She gripped Lapras and Togetic's Poke Balls and silently vowed that, no matter what happened, she would not lose her Pokemon a second time.

"Well?" Kelly asked at length, noting that the air in the corridor seemed suspiciously clear. "Where's all this smoke you promised?"

Jeremy grinned at his sister. "Well away from where we'll be meeting," he told her. "I don't know about you, but I like to be able to breathe."

"You still haven't said where we'll meet," Sandra said as Jeremy led them down another corridor. It was lit by light fittings in the ceiling, but most of the bulbs seemed to have gone, leaving several areas in semi-darkness. "Whoever the janitor is round here," she added, "they're not doing a very good job." She pointed ahead to where a bulb flashed and crackled, trying with its failing energy to stay lit.

"Pika!" Autumn's Pikachu leapt off her shoulder and looked as though he was about to use Flash to light the dingy corridor. But, before he coud do so, Autumn picked him up and held him close to her chest.

"No, Pikachu," she whispered. "No Flashing - we can't afford to attract attention." All the same, she wished they could be somewhere with proper lighting, not in this semi-dark place. Since Team Midnight's coup, even the sight of the sun through the perspex tunnels that linked Aquarius together had been denied to everyone and she wondered if she would ever see it again . . .

"Autumn! Come on!" It was Jeremy calling from further up. Kelly, Sandra and Candida were with him, as were Kevin and Marc. All six youngsters were crammed into a tiny broom cupboard, the only source of light being the dimly lit corridor. Hurrying over to them, Autumn saw that Jeremy was standing just inside the corridor while the others stood or sat in the narrow space. Sandra and Marc sat on upturned buckets, Candida, Kevin and Kelly on the floor.

Kelly shifted her position to make room and Autumn sat down. Her Pikachu took up his favourite position on her shoulder as she glanced round at everyone anxiously. "Er . . . shouldn't we close the door?" she asked. "If anyone comes . . ."

"I'm way ahead of you," said Kevin. He got up and shut the door slightly, allowing a large enough gap to let in the meagre amount of light available. Then, to make sure the door couldn't close on them completely, he wedged it with a broom. "So," he added as he sat back down, "what's first on the agenda?"

----------------------------------

Sitting in almost total darkness made Candida feel like she was part of a criminal gang. She smiled at the irony - skulking around in places like this was just the sort of thing Team Midnight agents would do. And now, in order to plan their campaign of resistance, she and her friends had been forced to conceal their activities from the ever-watchful guards. Clandestine meetings were the only way they could find out anything.

"I think the first thing we need to do is find out exactly what Team Midnight are forcing us to look for," she volunteered. It wasn't much, but it was all she could think of to contribute. She sighed, wishing she had more to offer, and waited to hear what the others had to say.

"That could be easier said than done," said Sandra. "Team Midnight aren't exactly gonna come right out and tell us." She thought grimly of the times someone had demanded to know why Team Midnight was forcing everyone to work so hard, only to be answered with gruff orders to "mind their own business".

"Well, there's still the question of the Dark and Poison Pokemon," Kevin said. "If we can find out where they're being kept . . ." He paused as he thought of his own Pokemon - the Houndour he had raised from a puppy, the Murkrow given to him by a girl in Goldenrod in trade for an Illumise and the Sneasel he had caught only weeks before coming to Aquarius. " . . . we might be able to find out what Team Midnight have planned for them."

Sandra sighed. "If you boys want to go snooping again, you can leave me out of it," she told him. She still hadn't forgotten the trouble the three boys had caused when they decided to sneak behind the scenes at the undersea complex and, even though she hated Team Midnight as much as the others, she wanted no further part in such things. The others could do what they liked, but she would find another way to resist Team Midnight.

"This is different," Marc pointed out. "And . . ." He broke off suddenly as footsteps echoed outside.

"What?" the others demanded in unison.

"Someone's coming . . ."


	10. Chapter Ten

**

Chapter Ten

**

They did not stop to ask Marc who was coming - they simply got out of the broom cupboard as quickly as possible and sprinted down the corridor as Team Midnight agents shouted after them. As she ran, Candida kept a tight grip on Togetic's Poke Ball, ready to battle if she had to. Lapras' Poke Ball stayed in Candida's pocket; while the Water/Ice Pokemon was strong, she couldn't move easily out of water. Glancing sideways, she noticed that Kelly and Sandra had their Poke Balls readied as well, as did Jeremy and Marc. Autumn was carrying her Pikachu.

Only Kevin had no Pokemon with him and he was becoming increasingly worried about Sneasel, Houndour and Murkrow. What were Team Midnight planning to do with them? He had to find out - it was just a matter of working out how.

First, however, they would have to get past the guards and that would be easier said than done if this lot started an alert. They had already seen for themselves what Team Midnight were capable of; the "Tank" Autumn had been imprisoned in was just one of the traps they had at their disposal. That was why they had to avoid capture at all costs, but finding out what was going on would involve going right into enemy territory.

"Anyone got any ideas?" asked Kevin as they darted into a side corridor seconds before two agents appeared on the scene. Crozier was one of the two, her Golbat flying alongside her, and Candida cursed under her breath at the sight of them. If that Golbat used its radar, she and the others would surely be discovered. It was time for drastic action.

"Kelly," she whispered urgently, "get Drifter to use Sleep Powder."

Kelly looked at the Poke Ball containing her Skiploom, an uncertain expression on her face. It was a risky thing to do, partly because Drifter was weak against a Golbat and partly because there was every risk of someone coming to reinforce the two agents. But there didn't seem to be any alternatives and using Drifter's Attacks had worked before . . .

"Drifter! Give them your Sleep Powder!" Kelly ordered as the Skiploom burst out of her Poke Ball and hovered around at head height.

"Skiploom!" Drifter said as she floated towards the Team Midnight agents and the Golbat. She shifted position so the bright yellow flower on top of her head was pointed directly at the enemy trio. Then, with a quick shake of her body, she sent a cloud of Sleep Powder drifting downwards. Crozier scowled and was about to order her Golbat to counterattack with a Swift Attack, but it was too late. The bat Pokemon had already inhaled some of the powder and was about to crash to the floor.

"Golbat, return!" Crozier ordered, pointing a Poke Ball at Golbat. Seconds later, she and her fellow agent slumped to the floor, overcome by Drifter's Sleep Powder. Candida and the others watched with smug satisfaction - at least these Team Midnight agents would be out of their way for a while and, hopefully, that would allow them enough time to get back to the dormitories undetected. Kevin, however, had other plans.

"Sandra, help me get their uniforms off," he said, ignoring Autumn when she begged him not to do anything reckless. "I have an idea . . ."

----------------------------------------

"Whatever you have in mind had better be good," said Sandra as she struggled out of her Skitty nightshirt and into Crozier's Team Midnight uniform. The t-shirt was a size too large, but the pants fit all right and she soon looked every inch the Team Midnight agent.

Kevin had stolen the male Team Midnight agent's uniform and was just pulling the t-shirt over his head. "We're going incognito," he told her as he smoothed down his messy hair. "And . . ." He paused to glance down at his waist, which was where he normally kept his Poke Balls. " . . . I mean to find out what Team Midnight are up to if it's the last thing I do. Which means going into enemy territory . . ."

Sandra toyed with her Poke Balls, wondering if she should keep them or hand them over to one of the others. From what she had seen of Team Midnight, a Wooper and a Dratini were not the kind of Pokemon their agents usually chose; they seemed to specialise in Dark and Poison Types - such as Crozier's Golbat. The latter was still out cold on the floor, as were the two underwear-clad Team Midnight agents, but they would not stay out for long. Sooner or later, Drifter's Sleep Powder would wear off.

"What are we gonna do with . . .?" Candida asked, nodding towards the agents. Evidently, the same thought had occured to her.

Autumn's Pikachu answered that question - by swiping the keys on Crozier's belt and handing them to his trainer. "Pika pika!" he said excitedly, pointing in the direction of a store-room. "Pika!" The small Electric Pokemon shot a venomous glare at the Team Midnight agents; from what he had seen while hiding in the vents, he knew they were up to something bad, something that could put the whole of Aquarius in danger.

Autumn patted his head. "Lock them up?" she asked, interpreting his "words".

"Well, hurry up - that Sleep Powder will wear off soon!" cut in Kelly, picking Crozier's Golbat up as she spoke. Normally, she gave the Zubat line a wide berth, her excuse being that they gave her the "creeps". It had started when she was about six or seven, on the day a boy at her school shut her in a darkened cupboard with his Zubat lurking inside. The shock of feeling the bat Pokemon's wings flapping against her face had scared her into hysterics and, even though she was quickly rescued and the boy who shut in the cupboard wound up writing _I will not scare younger children_ 100 times in detention, the damage had been done. From then on, even though Kelly was willing to battle a Zubat, Golbat or Crobat, she could not bring herself to touch one - unless she had to . . .

"Yeah - right." Kevin crouched down by the male agent and gripped him under his arms, preparing to drag him the few feet to the cupboard. "You grab the other one," he said to Jeremy.

---------------------------

"That's them out of the way!" Candida said as she locked the cupboard and pulled the key out of the door. "Now what?"

"Sandra and I will go join Team Midnight," Kevin replied. "We're the oldest of us, so we've got the best chance of passing ourselves off as agents. The rest of you had better find somewhere to hide, preferably somewhere Team Midnight won't think of looking."

Somewhere Team Midnight wouldn't think of looking . . . Candida had a feeling that, right now, such places were in pretty short supply and there were only so many places they could hide in an undersea city. Sooner or later, no matter where they chose to hole up, they were sure to be discovered. And when that happened, they would be in serious trouble; the fact they were out of their dormitories was bad enough, but, if Team Midnight found out about ARM . . . She gripped Lapras and Togetic's Poke Balls tightly, determined not to let them be taken from her a second time.

"Any ideas?" she asked, turning to Kelly and Autumn.

Autumn pointed. "If we can make it back to the modules, we might be safe there - Team Midnight think they have everyone "safely" in their clutches so they might not be watching that area too closely." Her Pikachu jumped into her arms and she hugged the Electric Pokemon close to her chest.

"We hope," said Kelly. "But what if they are?"

Jeremy grinned as he released his Charmeleon. "Then we'll give them a fight!" he declared with an air of bravado. Charmeleon echoed his trainer's words by leaping into the air and demonstrating a Slash Attack on an imaginary opponent. Like most Charmeleons, Jeremy's was always spoiling for a fight, never happier than when he was in the arena awaiting a command to "use Fire Spin" or any of his other Attacks. And, since Team Midnight's coup, there had been no opportunity for battles; consequently, Charmeleon had spent many boring hours brooding in his Poke Ball.

"Meleon!" Charmeleon snorted. In his eagerness to fight, he accidentally used his Ember Attack on Candida, who squealed and dodged out of the way. Jeremy grinned sheepishly.

"Save it for Team Midnight, OK," he laughed as he returned Charmeleon. "Are you all right, Candida?"

"Yes - the Ember just missed me." Candida looked down at the scorched floor. The occasionally wilful natures of Charmander's evolved forms meant training one required skill and she was relieved Jeremy knew how to handle his Charmeleon. "And at least it proves Charmeleon's ready for anything," she added.

"You'd better get going then," Kevin cut in. "Sandra and I will find out what we can from Team Midnight."

As the little group of friends prepared to split up, Candida couldn't help feeling uneasy. What Kevin and Sandra were doing was extremely risky; if someone found out they were not Team Midnight agents but ARM spies . . . She did not know what would happen to them beyond the fact that it would be something bad. She longed to say something, but what could she say?

"Good luck," she whispered at last, her voice barely audible. They were going to need it.

"You too," said Sandra, squeezing the younger girl's hand.

---------------------------

Kevin and Sandra steeled themselves, smoothed down their stolen uniforms and prepared to enter enemy territory. Team Midnight agents milled around, some with guns in their belts and others with Dark or Poison Type Pokemon beside them. And all of them looked like they were ready for a fight - one agent had a very tough-looking Seviper at his side, the black snake Pokemon's long fangs gleaming viciously. If this didn't work . . .

"Oi! You two!" the agent with the Seviper called before Kevin and Sandra had time to think. "Any sign of those kids?"

"Which kids do you mean?" Kevin asked, stalling for time. He was relieved no-one seemed to have noticed he and Sandra had no business being here - clearly, the uniforms gave the agents a degree of anonymity - but he knew it could not last.

"The kids who were seen out of their dormitories." The agent spoke as if explaining to a five-year-old that one plus one made two. "There were seven of them and they need to be caught!" He slammed his fist into his palm, causing his Seviper to look up with a startle hiss.

"Sorry," Sandra said casually, her hand moving to Dratini's Poke Ball in case she needed to fight. "We don't know anything about that."

"Pah!" the agent spat in disgust. "You call yourselves Team Midnight agents?! Those kids could ruin everything if it was left to you!" He stroked his Seviper fondly, his thoughts focussed on the plan Team Midnight had devised, a plan that was not going to be scuppered by a bunch of meddlesome kids.

"Oh yeah?" Kevin said with more bravado than he felt without his loyal squad of Dark Type Pokemon. "We've only just come on duty - this is the first we've heard about any kids." The agent contemplated Kevin and Sandra for a moment, apparently looking for signs that they might be lying, waiting for one of them to crack under his intense glare. There was something about these two "agents" he didn't like; their body language seemed to suggest they were hiding something. And when he figured out what it was . . .

But that could wait. Right now, he needed all the help he could get finding the fugitives. He called his Seviper back into his Poke Ball and turned to face Kevin and Sandra. "Well, now you know," he told them. "And I can make it well worth your while to help us catch them. In fact . . ." He turned to the nearby portrait of Lenoir. " . . . I might even see about getting you promoted."

Kevin and Sandra gazed at each other in helpless disbelief. This agent had them over the proverbial barrel; if they refused to betray their friends, he would know straight away that they were not from Team Midnight. They had to do something fast, but what could they do? It was while they were pondering their options that Kevin glanced at the paper on a nearby table. It was folded in half and sealed shut, the words:

**TOP SECRET!  
FOR AGENT RICH'S EYES ONLY**

stamped on it in bright red letters. Kevin didn't know why, but he was sure whatever was in that message had to be important, else they wouldn't have made it confidential. He had to see what it said - maybe it was the answer to everything that had been going on lately. Painfully aware of the agent's eyes boring into him, he quickly nodded in Sandra's direction.

She took the hint at once and hurriedly let her Wooper out of his Poke Ball. The small Water/Ground Pokemon promptly darted across the room, tripping agents in his wake, before jumping onto the cabinet and blowing a loud raspberry at the dumbstruck agents. While they were all looking the other way, Kevin snatched up the paper and stuffed it under his shirt. "C'mon!" he whispered urgently to Sandra.

------------------------------

Candida and the others managed to reach the Bensons' apartment without incident. All they had to do now was get inside, something that looked like it might be easier said than done. The door was locked tight and none of the five youngsters had a key. "Oh great!" muttered Autumn, folding her arms as her Pikachu jumped onto her shoulder. "I guess we just wait here for Team Midnight to catch us!"

"Not necessarily," Candida replied as she examined the lock. "Jeremy, your Charmeleon's Flamethrower worked last time . . ."

Jeremy frowned, remembering the day he, Kevin and Marc had gone to look round those areas of Aquarius that were off limits to the general population. At the time, playing covert ops had seemed like an adventure and he had little idea what was lurking behind the scenes. Now, everyone in Aquarius knew only too well, but was it too late to do anything about it? In any case, Candida's words had reminded him of how Charmeleon had used his Flamethrower to help them then. Maybe it would work again . . .

He pulled out Charmeleon's Poke Ball. "Charmeleon, Flamethrower!" he called as he activated the Ball and Charmeleon emerged in a flash of light. The red Fire lizard did not need telling twice; as soon as he was out, he threw back his head and breathed a powerful jet of fire at the lock on the Bensons' door. The five young fugitives watched anxiously, praying desperately that Charmeleon would finish the job before someone came and caught them. There were no Team Midnight agents up this end - yet, but after tonight's commotion there was no telling what they might do.

Candida thought fast; there was no sense in letting Team Midnight blindside them. "Togetic, take a look round!" she called as she summoned her dainty Flying Type Pokemon. "Warn us if you see any Team Midnight agents!"

"You too, Drifter and Delibird," Kelly added. She called out her Skiploom and Delibird and the three Pokemon flew (or drifted in Drifter's case) off to patrol the corridor. As they disappeared down the corridor, Kelly felt a knot of anxiety in her throat - would they be able to get back to their trainers if they were seen by someone from Team Midnight? She was very fond of all her Pokemon and wouldn't have sent them on a potentially dangerous mission by choice. "I hope they'll be OK," she said anxiously.

"They'll be fine," Marc assured her. "If they get in any trouble, they can use their Attacks."

----------------------------

After what felt like hours but was probably minutes at the most, Charmeleon succeeded in burning open the lock. As the door to the Bensons' apartment sprang open, Jeremy patted Charmeleon on the head. "Good work, Charmeleon," he said approvingly. He pulled out Charmeleon's Poke Ball. "Take a rest - I'll call you if we need you."

It was not long after Jeremy recalled Charmeleon before Drifter, Delibird and Togetic appeared on the scene with Kevin and Sandra following in their wake. They were still in their stolen Team Midnight uniforms, prompting Autumn's Pikachu to squeal and cling to his trainer; he thought they were real Team Midnight agents and he had seen enough of those lately to know they were bad news. Autumn laughed and patted him reassuringly.

"Oh, Pikachu! It's only Kevin and Sandra." She held him level with her two friends' faces so he could see she was telling the truth. Pikachu's cheeks sparked slightly, but he relaxed as he recognised Kevin and Sandra and stopped just short of Thundershocking everyone. That would have been disasterous for all of them as the noise would have alerted any Team Midnight agents who happened to be nearby. As it was, Kevin and Sandra still weren't entirely sure they hadn't been followed.

Jeremy pushed open the door to the Bensons' apartment and the seven of them filed in, Kevin patting the paper he had pocketed. Autumn, noticing this, asked him what he had concealed under his shirt. He grinned mysteriously, excited by the prospect of shortly finding out exactly what Team Midnight were up to, but did not take out the paper. It was too risky to open it until they were all safely inside.

"Let's just say it could be very useful," he told the others.

"Useful? For what?" asked Candida as she closed the door and wedged a chair underneath the handle to keep it shut. They were effectively under seige.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**

Chapter Eleven

**

His hands trembling, Kevin slit the envelope and pulled out the piece of paper it contained. It looked disappointingly ordinary, not at all like he had expected a top secret communique marked "for so-and-so's eyes only" to look. In fact, if it hadn't been for the Team Midnight logo printed at the top of the page, he might have assumed it was a simple business memo. But it wasn't and, as he read it through carefully, Kevin slowly realised just how serious this was.

**ATTENTION!**

proclaimed the message's headline. The rest of it was printed in a smaller font and this was what Kevin now read out to the others.

"Lab tests on early samples brought up from Aquarius confirm our theories. The Rock of Darkness was indeed buried in the area where the underwater city has been built - much of the sea bed contains traces of elements unknown on this planet . . ." He paused as he read the next paragraph, realising as he did so that the answer, part of the answer at least, to everything that had happened lately lay on this page.

"The Rock of Darkness?" Candida said out loud as it occurred to her that such a thing would be just what Team Midnight would be interested in. "I wonder what that is . . ." She gazed round at what had, until recently, been her family's module and thought of her parents and Ryan, enslaved by Team Midnight. A tear pricked at her eye, but she moved to brush it away. She had to be strong for her family's sake.

But none of the others had heard of the Rock of Darkness either, none of them except Kevin. And the only reason he knew about it was because of his interest in Dark Type Pokemon. "According to legend it fell from the sky thousands of years ago," he told them. "So I guess it must have been a meteorite of some kind. Anyway, it's said it had a strange effect on all the Dark Pokemon, made them vicious and blood-thirsty. Then, this guy got his Blastoise to tow it out to sea and bury it deep in the sea bed . . ."

He paused as the others digested this piece of information. How did knowing what Team Midnight were after help them? If all this was because of the Rock of Darkness, what could a group of teenaged fugitives do to stop whatever they had planned? And could Team Midnight be stopped before the Rock was found?

"That's all very well, but how can we do anything?" Autumn asked, voicing what they were all thinking. Her Pikachu burrowed into her arms and whimpered softly.

"I don't know, but we have to do something." Kevin's tone was resolute, his fists clenched as he thought of how he had read the legend about the Rock of Darkness in a library book. At first, many scientists thought it was just a fable, possibly one created by a society which feared Dark Types, but there was just too much evidence to dismiss offhand. Accounts dating from the time the Rock fell told of Murkrow pecking people's eyes out, Houndours, Absols and Poochyenas turning on their trainers - and various other instances of Dark Type Pokemon turning on humans. And the attacks seemed to have ended as abruptly as they began, right at the time when the Blastoise had buried the Rock in the ocean floor.

"If we don't, disaster lies in wait," Kevin added.

----------------------------------

But dealing with Team Midnight would have to wait. The seven of them were all exhausted following their ordeal in the mine and subsequent escape. So they elected to bed down in the Bensons' module and decide what to do in a few hours' time. The four girls decided to sleep in Candida's room, while the boys would sleep in Ryan's.

Candida hauled several blankets out of the linen cupboard and handed them to her friends. "There," she told them. "Make yourselves comfortable - we'll need all the rest we can get if we're to get through this . . ." She paused in the doorway to her room, noticing as she did so the Jigglypuff doll still where she had left it when Team Midnight seized control. The sight of the plush Pokemon set her to thinking; they needed someone to stay awake to alert them to any trouble, possibly one of the Pokemon.

"Pikachu, what about . . .?" Autumn started when Candida suggested the idea. But a quick glance at her Pikachu, whose head was nodding on his shoulders, discouraged her from continuing.

"In that case," said Kelly, "let's try one of mine." She pulled out one her Poke Balls and pressed the button to activate it. "Come on out, Pinky!"

In a flash of light, Kelly's Clefable materialised. Kelly spoke to her quickly, telling her to listen out for anyone approaching. If she heard anything, she was to wake everyone up immediately. "I don't care how you do it," Kelly added. "But NO Metronoming Water Guns."

Pinky nodded, remembering a time when she had used Metronome to wake Kelly and ended up using Water Gun. Kelly, none too pleased at being soaked, had confined the Clefable to her Poke Ball for a week. But, as often happens with Pokemon and their trainers, they soon forgave each other and Kelly could even laugh about the incident now, although she had firmly told Pinky she wasn't to make a habit of it. "Clefable," Pinky said now, acknowledging her trainer's words. She walked out of the room and perched herself on the chair Candida had used to barricade the door.

Candida flopped down on her bed as Kelly, Sandra and Autumn made up their beds on the floor. She let a sigh escape her lips; it was going to be a long night.

-----------------------------------

In Ryan's room, Kevin was lying awake, his mind dwelling on what Team Midnight could do to his Murkrow, Sneasel and Houndour. Whatever it was could hardly be anything but bad and, now that he knew the Rock of Darkness was involved, there was no telling how far things would go. He planned to become a Pokelogist specialising in the study of Dark Types when he was older and, at seventeen years old, had already written an essay on the subject. His theory was that ancient human society, fearful of the unseen forces that might be lurking on a dark night, had turned on anything associated with the night, vilifying it and call it "evil". And, since Dark Pokemon were at their most active then, many had had their reputations sullied. The same thing had, to a lesser extent, happened with Ghost Types; even now, there were those who wouldn't venture near known Ghost habitats such as the Tower in Lavender Town unless they absolutely had to.

He stared at the ceiling as he thought over everything he had learned about Dark Types. Like all Pokemon, they were all right once you got to know them, but their nocturnal habits and often secretive ways had caused ancient peoples to regard them with dread, a dread which some people still held today. Could that be what Team Midnight were planning? To exploit ancient superstition for their own ends?

It certainly seemed that way. And, if the Rock of Darkness was as powerful as the legends said, there could be big trouble ahead. Who would dare stand up to a pack of vicious Dark Pokemon? Who would stop Team Midnight from taking over the whole world? If their plans succeeded . . .

Kevin sat up with a start as he realised the enormity of what would happen. If Team Midnight had his Pokemon and the other Dark Types in Aquarius and managed to get hold of the Rock of Darkness on top of that, there was no limit to what evil they could do. There was only one thing left to do - find out where Team Midnight had been keeping the confiscated Pokemon and get them out before it was too late.

But, as he got up and made to leave the room, he accidentally kicked the door. "W - what?" Marc mumbled, woken by the resulting expletive. "Kevin, what's going on?"

"I'm going to try and get my Pokemon back," Kevin replied, looking the younger boy full in the face.

"We don't even know where they are!"

Kevin sighed. Marc might have been the youngest member of their little clique, but he had a knack for being spot-on a lot of the time. Aquarius was a vast underwater complex and there were any number of places the stolen Pokemon could be. The odds of one teenaged boy finding the location in time and being able to hold Team Midnight off until the rest of the people in Aquarius rose up against their captors were not exactly favourable . . .

"That's what I mean to find out," was all Kevin said in reply.

------------------------

But, as he made his way to the door, he found Candida standing with her arms folded, blocking his way. She too had been woken by his shout and had promptly gone to head him off before he could do anything reckless. Correction, she thought to herself, anything more reckless than what he had done already since coming to Aquarius. So far they had been lucky, but there was always the possibility that the next time they got into trouble might not be so fortunate.

"Where exactly are you going?" she demanded now, fixing him with a penetrating stare. Her Togetic was hovering near her shoulder, her normally gentle face echoing the hard stare Candida was giving Kevin.

"To get my Pokemon - if you'll get out of my way." Kevin tried to push past the girl blocking his passage, but she refused to budge; it was as if she had sprouted roots and planted them firmly in the floor. He glared at her impatiently. Couldn't she see this was an emergency? And how would she like it if her Lapras and Togetic were the ones who might become part of Team Midnight's evil plans?

"And I suppose you know where they are." Candida's tone was heavily sarcastic. "I suppose Team Midnight have put up a neon sign - Stolen Dark Types, this way!" She snorted with derisive laughter. "Kevin," she added, "I thought we agreed not to . . ."

"Damn that!" Kevin shot back, cutting her off in mid-sentence. "Do you realise what Team Midnight could do if we let them get away with this?"

"It's too risky. Even if you could find your Pokemon, you'd still have Team Midnight to deal with. One kid against all of them - I wouldn't fancy my chances if I were you."

"Chances schmances! I'm not gonna sit here and do nothing, even if you are!"

That was the final insult. Candida was as worried about the situation as Kevin, especially after what he had said about the Rock of Darkness, but she knew the risks of rushing headlong into these things. That was why she had said they needed to rest up and discuss things in the morning. Now, however, she had practically been accused of cowardice. Before she could stop herself, she turned to her Togetic and yelled out the words: "Shadow Ball Attack - now!"

For a second, Togetic continued to hover in mid-air, her body glowing. Then she focussed her energy and brought her hands together, forming a shadowy grey ball as if out out thin air. With a practiced air, she threw the ball at Kevin, striking him full on the chest. He staggered against the wall, stunned by the Togetic's sudden move, before regaining his balance. Candida looked at him sheepishly.

"Sorry," she said. "It was the only way I could stop you doing something stupid."

"Like going after Team Midnight alone?" Kevin countered. "And what if it was your Pokemon they had?"

"Don't think I haven't thought about it - because I have! But . . ." She broke off as Sandra came to see what the shouting was about. "Oh, Sandra, how long have you been there?"

"Long enough." Sandra's tone was neutral. "And, Kevin, I agree with Candida - if you get caught because you did something foolish, you won't do anyone any good. Your Pokemon least of all . . ."

-----------------------------

In a locked cupboard, the Team Midnight agents Drifter had knocked out began to stir.

Crozier groaned and tried to sit up, wondering as she did so how she came to be there and why she was lying under a fellow agent in a rather "compromising" position. What was even more embarrassing was the fact that both of them seemed to be clad in nothing but their underwear. For a moment, she feared the worst, that she and the other agent had got drunk the previous night and ended up having a bit of "private entertainment" in the cupboard. But the absence of an alcohol smell on the man's breath soon disproved that idea - so what was going on?

She had to find out. So, after her head had cleared somewhat, she crawled out from under her fellow agent and knelt to shake him awake. "Hey, you!" she shouted. "Get up, now!"

The man (Crozier knew his face but not his name) groaned and opened his eyes. "W - what happened?" he mumbled as he sat up. "How'd we get here? Where are our clothes?"

"I was about to ask you the same question. We were after some kids last thing I remember and . . ." Crozier broke off as she recalled what had happened, how she and her fellow agent had been looking for the youngsters who had escaped their dormitories when a Skiploom appeared as if out of nowhere and used its Sleep Powder on them. "That damn Skiploom!" she cursed. "It must belong to one of those kids."

"What Skiploom? What are you talking about?"

Crozier rolled her eyes even though the two Team Midnight agents could hardly see each other in the darkened cupboard; the only light was coming through under the crack in the door. "The Skiploom that Sleep-powdered us, dunderhead! One of those kids must have had it knock us out so they could steal our clothes. I'll find them if it's the last thing I do!" She pulled out a Poke Ball and pressed the button to activate it. "Nidoking!" she ordered. "Tackle Attack this door!"

Her Nidoking emerged in flash of light and charged the door as hard as he could given the confined space in the cupboard. The door splintered and began to hang off its hinges as he threw all his weight into breaking it down. Then, with a grunt of exertion, he pulled the door free and stepped into the corridor. The two agents were about to follow when a high-pitched sound caught their attention.

Crozier's Golbat was up, hovering in mid-air. He too had been knocked out by the Sleep Powder (Crozier had not been able to get him into his Poke Ball in time) and was still feeling slightly drowsy. The last thing the Golbat remembered was that they had been after a bunch of kids and he had been using Supersonic to try and track them down. So he tried again, emitting sounds so high-pitched that they were barely audible to human ears. Crozier looked at him impatiently. "Save your energy - those brats'll be long gone," she said shortly as she called him back into his Poke Ball. "What do we do now?" she asked her fellow agent.

"Report this to Agent Rich, I guess."

Crozier looked at him, standing in his underwear, and pictured how it would look if they reported to Rich in this state. At the very least, they would be laughed at for turning up in a state of near undress; at worst, they would be carpeted for "gross misconduct". If that happened, they could be demoted, transferred out of Aquarius just as things were coming to fruition or even kicked out of Team Midnight altogether. "Let's get some clothes on first," she said out loud. Scowling bitterly, she recalled her Nidoking, vowing as she did so not to let this rest. Those punk kids would pay for this insult.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**

Chapter Twelve

**

"Who's up for breakfast?" Candida asked. "I found some waffles in the fridge." She and the others had spent an uncomfortable night, made worse by the knowledge that, unless they did something about Team Midnight fast, the evil plans they had discovered would surely come to fruition. So she was keen to keep things as normal as possible (hard when you're under siege) and the first thing she had done was look for something she and the others could have for breakfast.

"Count me in," said Autumn, joining her friend.

"Pika!" piped up her Pikachu from his usual perch on Autumn's shoulder. Waffles were his favourite food; indeed, Autumn had once joked that he ate so many he would be fatter than a Snorlax before long. He leapt down and scurried across the floor and into the Bensons' living room.

Candida looked round at the other three girls, then down at herself. Sandra was wearing Crozier's Team Midnight uniform, but Candida, Autumn and Kelly were still in the night things they had been wearing when Team Midnight seized control of Aquarius and marched everyone off to their mine in the ocean floor. Not surprisingly, these garments were looking slightly the worse for wear. "First, let's get into some decent clothes," Candida said, pulling open her cupboard and grabbing an outfit at random. This consisted of a red vest top and a black skirt and she nipped into the bathroom to change. Then, peering round her bedroom door, she looked at her three friends.

"Autumn and Kelly, you can borrow something of mine," she said.

--------------------------------

So, ten minutes later, the seven friends were assembled in the Bensons' kitchen. Candida stood at the stove frying waffles, while Autumn, Sandra and Marc sat round the breakfast bar and Kelly, Jeremy and Kevin stood nearby. Autumn's Pikachu was sitting on the worktop watching the goings on with close interest. Seeing him reminded Candida of something.

"Oh, yeah," she said. "We'd better feed the Pokemon as well . . ."

"Pikachu likes waffles," offered Autumn as her Pokemon got up, tried to sniff at the pan - and was rewarded with a splash of hot fat in his face.

"Pika!" he yelled, leaping down and rubbing his nose angrily as Marc released his Squirtle and told him to use Water Gun to cool the Pikachu down. As the Squirtle sprayed Pikachu with a jet of water from his mouth, Candida struggled not to laugh. There had been far too few reasons to laugh since Team Midnight took over . . .

"OK," she said as she took the now cooked waffles off the heat and scooped them onto plates, "there's ketchup and brown sauce in the middle cupboard if anyone wants it. Now for the Pokemon . . ." She hummed to herself as she opened up the cupboard containing the Bensons' supply of Poke-chow. This contained a large bag of Water Pokemon food for her Lapras, a box of Ryan's Elekid's favourite Electroflakes and some packets of her Togetic's food. "Hope there's enough here for all of them," she muttered, recalling that, even without Kevin's Dark Types, she and her friends still had twelve Pokemon between them.

Sandra glanced down at her Poke Balls - and looked up with a start. "Er, guys," she said, "I don't want to bother you, but . . ."

"But? But what, Sandra?" Candida asked as she placed the plates of waffles on the breakfast bar. It was clear from the expression on Sandra's face that something must be wrong, but what could it be? Had something happened to one of Sandra's Pokemon during her brief period posing as a Team Midnight agent? But Sandra didn't have any Dark or Poison Types, the Pokemon Team Midnight were most interested in, and, even though her Dratini knew Toxic . . .

"Wooper's gone." Sandra's voice was barely audible, but it was enough to make the others look up with a start.

"Gone?" echoed Jeremy, his hand straying to the Poke Ball containing his Charmeleon.

"I let it out to distract Team Midnight - and forgot to recall it."

----------------------------------

After this revelation, the breakfast of waffles was eaten in silence; even Autumn's Pikachu was unusually quiet. Could Sandra's Wooper have been captured by Team Midnight? Or was he still at large somewhere in the underwater city? Either way, the friends now had four Pokemon on the list of the missing, three of which had definitely been taken. The question now was, what had happened to the fourth?

"How could you forget to recall a Pokemon?" Kevin demanded hotly. He didn't mean to sound harsh - he knew how Sandra must be feeling right now - but the stress of recent events was beginning to get to him.

"I was in a hurry," Sandra pointed out, her hand resting on her Dratini's Poke Ball. "You were there, remember? There were Team Midnight goons everywhere."

Candida digested this news in silence. It was one more crisis they had to deal with, in addition to everything else that had happened lately. And she had seen enough of Team Midnight agents lately to know what they were capable of; they would stop at nothing to get the Rock of Darkness and to hell with any people and Pokemon who fell along the way. In that case . . . She stood up and placed her hand over her heart as if she was making a pledge. "Then we'll stop at nothing to make sure they don't!" she blurted out, causing everyone to look up with a start.

"W - what?" stammered Sandra, still preoccupied with her Wooper's possible fate.

"Team Midnight," Candida replied simply. "We have to stop them, no matter what it takes!"

"I know that, but how?" Marc glanced at his Squirtle, currently munching on a plate of Pokemon food. He had no doubt that Squirtle - and Seadra if it came to that - would fight valiantly if it came to a battle, but would that be enough? Could seven youngsters with eleven Pokemon (not counting the missing ones) between them do anything against such an organisation? He didn't know, but what he did know was that they had to try. Otherwise, from what the memo Kevin had stolen said, the world was in serious trouble. Unable to come up with any plans, he looked desperately at the others.

"I'm with Candida," said Autumn, picking up her Pikachu and moving towards the chair barricading the door. "We can't just do nothing. First things first, let's get our Pokemon trained up." With that, she pushed the chair aside and stepped out of the Bensons' module before anyone could stop her . . .

-----------------------------------

Candida had been about to suggest that they used the computer in her room to check the layout of Aquarius for any patrolling Team Midnight agents. But Autumn's action had forced them to venture out without having time to check first and they were all on edge. Her Togetic was flying on ahead with Drifter and Delibird, while Marc's Squirtle and Jeremy's Charmeleon flanked the group like bodyguards. It was a tense few minutes, but they had to catch up with Autumn before Team Midnight did.

Eventually, they spotted her heading in the direction of the room where they had battled their Pokemon shortly after coming to Aquarius. In a few short strides, they caught up with her and Jeremy grabbed her by the shoulder. "What the hell do you think you're playing at?" he demanded. "You could have gotten us caught!"

Autumn blushed with embarrassment, remembering a time when she (or was it one of the other girls?) had asked the boys much the same question. Back then, they had been worried about getting caught out of bounds, but this was different. They wouldn't achieve anything against Team Midnight unless they took a few risks. "Sorry," she said, trying to hide her discomfort with a nervous laugh. "I just thought we'd better get our Pokemon trained if we're gonna beat Team Midnight."

"So?" Jeremy asked, relaxing his grip on Autumn but not quite sure what she was getting at.

"So . . . the Bensons' module is too small. Why do you think I came this way?" She paused and pushed open the door that led into the room, before stepping inside with her Pikachu close behind her. "Remember that day we had all those Pokemon battles in here?" she added, clicking the switch she could feel on the nearby wall and turning on the lights. "I thought we could do our training here . . ."

Candida peered into the room. It was deserted, totally devoid of life, the only sign it had ever been used being the litter bins that were still unemptied from the night before Team Midnight seized control. The tables around which the young people of Aquarius normally gathered were empty. The jukebox which usually blasted out the latest tunes as the youngsters snacked, battled their Pokemon, chatted or just hung out stood silent. The whole scene had an abandoned, even melancholy, air. She thought of the people she had seen in here and what they must be suffering now. It stiffened her resolve and she stepped into the room.

"Let's do it," she told the others.

-------------------------------------

The plans for the training session were quickly drawn up - six of the friends would battle while Kevin acted as referee. First up was Kelly versus her brother, Jeremy, and the two siblings now stood facing each other, Poke Balls at the ready. The others sat round a nearby table to watch and wait for their turn to fight.

"One Pokemon each!" Kevin called, reminding them of the rules they had set for this practice battle. "Begin!"

Jeremy responded immediately, hurling his one Poke Ball with all his strength and releasing the Charmeleon inside. The Fire Pokemon flexed his muscles as Kelly pondered which of her Pokemon she should use against him. With Charmeleon strong against both Grass and Ice Types, neither Drifter nor Delibird would last long unless they could somehow outmanouvere the fire lizard. And she knew from past experience (mainly the Metronomed Flamethrower Candida's Togetic had used to down Delibird) that Fire Attacks had a pretty long range. So she decided not to risk it and picked one of her other two Pokemon.

"Go . . . Pinky!" she called, throwing her Clefable's Poke Ball. Pinky emerged looking so dainty and feminine it was hard to believe she would stand much of a chance against a Charmeleon. But Kelly wasn't worried; the Clefable had taken out Fire Types before. However, just to make sure, she decided to make the opening move. "Pinky! Start things off with your Thunderpunch!" she ordered.

In response, Pinky began whirled her right arm round in circles, building up energy until it was positively crackling with electricity. Then, she clenched her fist and charged towards Charmeleon, ready to aim a powerful punch at the Fire Pokemon. Thunderpunch was a powerful Electric Type Attack which focussed all the Pokemon's energy into its hand, effectively turning it into a battery. All such Attacks had the power to jar the opponent, but the momentum built up in a Thunderpunch (combined with the close quarters from which it was delivered) meant it was capable doing some serious damage. Jeremy had to think fast and, in the few seconds before Pinky attacked, he acted.

"Charmeleon! Smokescreen!" he called, watching as Charmeleon snorted a thick cloud of smoke in Pinky's direction. She coughed, unable to see where to aim her Thunderpunch, as Jeremy quickly followed through. "Now," he added as Pinky struggled to see past the smoke, "Rage and Slash!"

Now it was Kelly's turn to counter her opponent's move. Slash was a powerful move in itself and, when Rage was used to increase Attack power, it could do some serious damage. Drifter had once lost a battle against a Totodile that knew this move combo; the small Water Pokemon had built up energy and leapt straight at the Skiploom, scratching her on the underside of her body with its sharp claws and causing her to "bleed" sap. Drifter had crashed out in the most literal sense possible - and Kelly was not about to let another trainer pull the same trick. Even her own brother . . .

"Pinky, don't let Charmeleon beat you! Endure!"

In response to Kelly's command, Pinky braced herself as Jeremy's Charmeleon came charging towards her, swiping at the air with his sharp claws. Then, just as Charmeleon got within slashing distance, she waved her arms and summoned a Lightscreen. The nearly invisible barrier caught Charmeleon by surprise as he collided with it. "Quick, Pinky!" Kelly called as Charmeleon shook himself and stood up. "Psychic Attack!"

"Charmeleon! Flamethrower!" Jeremy countered, seeing the purple light that was forming around the Clefable as she prepared to let fly with a blast of mental energy. Psychic Attacks were very powerful. They were capable of giving a Pokemon such a severe headache that it could no longer battle effectively and some Pokemon could even take control of an opponent's body using this Attack. Therefore, he wanted to get in an Attack before Pinky's Psychic did too much damage . . .

Charmeleon snorted and smoke began to issue from his nostrils as he prepared to let fly with a jet of flames. But Pinky moved a fraction of a second faster and, before Charmeleon had chance to react, she pointed at him and a purple light shot out from her fingers. She pointed upwards and Charmeleon rose into the air as if suspended on fine wires. Jeremy began to think desperately, his mind flitting through all the skills a Charmeleon had. There had to be something that could counter this. Maybe Attract would do it; after all, Charmeleon was male and Pinky was female.

"Charmeleon, Att . . .!" But, before Jeremy could finish speaking, Kelly butted in. She knew there was only one Pokemon move whose name began with "Att", a move that could cause Pinky to stop attacking Charmeleon and lose her the battle. Not if she could help it . . .

"Pinky, let's end this!" she shouted, cutting Jeremy off mid-word. In response, Pinky used the telekinetic powers Psychic gave her to send Charmeleon flying across the room. Then, with a wave of her hand, she dropped the fire lizard against a vending machine. He struck it head-on, struggled to get up and slumped down, defeated. Kelly was the winner.

----------------------------------

A little later, with most of their Pokemon having gained at least some experience - Sandra's Dratini had even learned a new move, Outrage - the friends decided to head back to the Bensons' module. As they had done before, they moved cautiously, constantly checking for signs of any lurking Team Midnight agents. They knew they had to do something to keep Team Midnight from finding the Rock of Darkness, but they didn't know what. Beyond what was in the memo Kevin stole, they knew nothing about the evil plans Lenoir had devised.

Somehow, Kevin knew, they had to stop this. He had no ideas, aside from finding his Pokemon and all the other Dark Types in Aquarius and setting them free before Team Midnight did something unspeakable to them, but he knew they had to act fast. If they didn't, if the Rock of Darkness was found and used, every Dark Type Pokemon would become evil. Somehow, he and his friends had to prevent that from happening . . .

Without any warning, the Team Midnight agents were upon them. Crozier, her Cacturne at her side, stood barking out orders to her fellows and caressing a length of electrical flex in one hand as she imagined what she would like to do to these young upstarts. She had rounded up every off-duty agent she could find and, with some difficulty since some were reluctant to do anything without a direct order from Rich at the very least, talked them into helping her avenge the slight the youngsters had caused to her. Her eyes narrowed as she caught sight of Sandra; the impudent brat was wearing _her_ uniform. She would pay for that. They would all pay.

"Any ideas?" Candida whispered from where she, Marc and Autumn had been forced back-to-back by three Team Midnight agents, all of whom were armed with rifles. She shook with fear, knowing that any attempt to move could be the worst (and last) mistake they ever made. Her mind flashed through the events of her life in Aquarius, the underwater city that had seemed so exciting when she first arrived, but which had now become little more than a prison. Would she ever get out of here and return to the surface? Would she ever ride her Lapras in the waters of Cherrygrove Bay again?

"Right now, I'm just worried about staying alive," Marc whispered back. He had considered sending Squirtle out to fight the agents, but thought better of it. One Squirtle would not stand a chance against several armed humans . . .

Autumn, not trusting herself to speak, swallowed hard as she recalled how she had been put in the Tank the last time Team Midnight captured her. She wondered if they had the same fate planned this time and, if they did . . . Not wanting to dwell on the thought, she turned to the trembling Pikachu that was clinging to her. "Pikachu, run for it!" she whispered urgently.

"Pika!" Pikachu's only response was to cling even harder. Like most of his kind, he was fiercely loyal to his trainer and would sooner die than let anything bad happen to her.

Autumn prised him loose. "Don't argue - just get going." She gave the Pikachu a little kick in the rear to send him on his way. "And keep an eye out for Sandra's Wooper," she added as Pikachu reluctantly turned and raced down the corridor.

-----------------------------------

"Shall we get that Pikachu?" one of the agents who had Kelly in a headlock asked.

"No," Crozier said levelly. "We need to get these brats dealt with. Besides, what can one little Pikachu do?"

"Quite a lot," Autumn thought to herself. A Pikachu might be small, but its Electric Attacks could do a lot of damage. She herself had received a few jarring shocks in the past, especially when her Pikachu was still a Pichu and hadn't learnt to control his electricity. But she refrained from saying anything out loud and waited to see what the agents would do next.

Crozier turned to her fellow agents. "Get them back into Team Midnight territory," she ordered. "I'll go inform Rich that they've been caught." She pulled out a Poke Ball and pointed it at her Cacturne. "Cacturne, return!" Then, as Cacturne disappeared into the Ball, she pocketed it and strode off with a imperious swagger. Candida and her friends watched her go with a sense of numb dismay.

A male Team Midnight agent with a long scar down his left cheek (the result of getting too close to an enraged Tyranitar) turned to the youngsters. "Move it!" he barked.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**

Chapter Thirteen

**

"Oh, great!" Candida thought bitterly. "Now what are we gonna do?!"

Team Midnight had them cornered, outnumbering the group of youngsters by around six to one. Things looked desperate; the agents were all armed and she knew that any attempt by herself or her friends to use their Pokemon could provoke them into opening fire. In any case, she wasn't about to risk it. In order to take on armed opponents, Pokemon needed special training and that could take several months at least.

"Got any ideas?" she whispered to Autumn.

Autumn shook her head. "Apart from not taking any stupid risks, no." She sighed, hoping desperately that her Pikachu managed to get safely away. It had been a wrench for her to tell him to flee, especially when they had only recently been reunited, but she had little choice. Team Midnight were dangerous and there was every possibility the youngsters would have their love for their Pokemon used against them.

The agent with the scarred face clouted her with his rifle butt and knocked her to the floor. "Silence!" he bellowed as he moved in to kick her. "Learn respect for Team Midnight, you little . . .!"

"Maybe you should learn how to treat a lady," Sandra muttered as, unseen by her captors, she pulled out Dratini's Poke Ball and activated it. "Dratini! Teach him a lesson with your Dragon Rage!"

Dratini burst out of the Ball in a flash of light. She took one look at the thug attacking Autumn and her eyes blazed with anger. Then, she reared up on her tail and opened her mouth in the way a Fire Pokemon does when it's about to use a Fire Attack. But what came out of her mouth was not fire; it was . . . Perhaps, the best way to describe it is as a tornado of pure, raw energy. It blasted towards the Team Midnight agent and, before he could react, sent him flying into the wall. Sandra quickly recalled Dratini and pocketed the Poke Ball.

Kevin hurried across and helped Autumn up. "Are you OK?" he asked, taking hold of her hand.

She nodded. "Yes . . . I think so. Or I will be as soon as you get your hand off my butt!" she added, slapping the offending hand away.

Kevin blushed; he had not intended to touch that particular part of her anatomy. "All right - sorry!" he told her. "Anyway . . ." He broke off as Crozier seized him by his collar and dragged him to one side.

"Very touching," she said grimly. "But I have uses for you, my dear boy! You train Dark Type Pokemon, don't you?"

"Yes - Sneasel, Murkrow and Houndour," Kevin replied, wondering where this question was leading. All he knew for certain was that it wouldn't be good . . .

"Good, we need your sort to help us rule." Crozier unclipped a communication device at her waist and spoke into it. "Agent Rich, this is Agent Crozier. I need to know how the search for the Rock of Darkness is progressing."

* * *

The friends could not hear what was being said at the other end; all they heard was Crozier saying things like "Yes, that's right . . . Yes, I have the insubordinates here." Then, she switched the device off and turned back to Kevin. "You," she said grimly, "are about to feel the full wrath of Team Midnight!" With that, she pulled a mask over her face and nodded to her comrades, who did likewise. Then, they raised their guns - except, these weren't ordinary bullet-firing guns . . .

Before any of the youngsters could move, the Team Midnight agents opened fire. Green gas wafted out of the guns, creating a thick choking cloud that soon filled the entire corridor. Candida coughed on the gas filling her lungs, holding onto the wall for support and wondering if having a Pokemon use Whirlwind might do any good. But none of the Pokemon the youngsters had knew that move; they weren't even compatible with it. In any case, it was too late. Autumn, Kelly and Marc had already blacked out and the rest of the group were only semi-conscious.

She sank to her knees, feeling weak and dizzy as lack of oxygen made her light-headed. She was vaguely aware of the Team Midnight agents grouped silently around her friends but was powerless to do anything. As she slumped forward and lost consciousness, all she could think was that they had failed.

* * *

A small yellow figure ran through the deserted corridors of Aquarius, listening for the sound of pursuers. It was, of course, Autumn's Pikachu and he was desperately worried about his trainer. Where was she? And had those bad humans from Team Midnight done anything horrible to her? If they had, he was going to give them a Thundershock they would never forget.

Sparks began to fly from the yellow rodent's cheeks, as if the mere thought of using Thundershock had caused his energy levels to build. Before he could stop himself, he let fly with a powerful Electric Attack. Twin bolts of lightning struck a nearby wall, leaving two scorch marks in the previously spotless paint. And the noise of crashing thunder that accompanies most Electric Type Attacks caught the attention of two patrolling guards.

"Hey! What was that?!" asked one, tightening his fingers on one of his Poke Balls.

"What was what?" His companion puffed on the cigarette he had lit in defiance of the **Thank you for not smoking** notice directly above his head. Team Midnight made the rules here now; they could do what they liked where they liked - and no-one was going to stop them. The man clasped his cigarette between his teeth and leaned against the wall.

"That sound - it sounded like a Thundershock or something."

The second Team Midnight agent shrugged. "You're hearing things. There are no Electric Pokemon loose in here - and, if there were any, we'd know about it." He pulled his cigarette out of his mouth and stubbed it out against the wall. "C'mon, let's get back. Maybe they've caught those troublesome kids . . ."

The two agents left, unaware of the Pikachu staring after them, struggling to resist the urge to run up to one of them and bite a hole in the seat of his trousers. But Pikachu knew a foolish action like that would only get him capture and that wouldn't do anyone much good, Autumn least of all. He had to do something about Team Midnight, but what use was a Pikachu against such an organisation?

Then, he saw a small figure in the distance. It was a Wooper, Sandra's Wooper. But what was he doing out of his Poke Ball? Pikachu had to know, so he ran over to the small Water/Ground Pokemon and asked him. "Pika pikachu?" he said, looking at Wooper urgently. Time was of the essence; the two Pokemon had to find their trainers before . . . He did not even want to think about it.

"Wooper wooper woop," replied Wooper. "Wooper wooper! Wooper!" Pokemon language is a strange thing. With only a few syllables in their "vocabularies", Pokemon (aside from the few who learn human speech) rely heavily on intonation to convey a message, often, if they are bipeds and have arms, supplementing it with a form of sign language. But all Pokemon species share a mutual understanding of each other's languages so Pikachu was able to tell more or less exactly what Wooper was saying. Using only two syllables in various combinations, he was explaining how he came to be separated from his trainer.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed when Wooper was through speaking. This was serious indeed. They had to find their trainers, no matter what Autumn had said.

* * *

Agent Rich was sitting at his desk when there was a knock on his office door. He quickly smoothed down his shirt and adopted what he fancied to be a classic "criminal syndicate boss" pose. This involved resting one arm on the desk and keeping the other ready to clench his hand into a fist and slam it down should the need arise. "Enter!" he barked in a voice full of ominous menace.

The door opened and several Team Midnight agents filed in, each of them keeping their eyes carefully averted from Rich. He was one of the most important people in Team Midnight, with only Lenoir and his inner circle senior to him. No-one looked him directly in the eye if they wanted to avoid trouble and he didn't tend to make eye contact with his underlings if he could help it. Only if an agent was in serious trouble did he fix them with what many called his "Arbok stare", a look so full of menace that cracking under it was all too easy.

For now, he did not look at any of the agents as he asked for their report. It was the agent called Tanner who elected to speak for the group, looking down at the floor as he tried to explain the events of the last few hours. "Agent Rich, we caught some workers out of their dormitories."

"Good. How many were involved?" Rich kept his voice level, hoping that it would not prove to be the youngsters who had caused such an annoyance. No-one was going to thwart Team Midnight, least of all a band of teenaged upstarts.

"Seven, all under twenty," replied Tanner.

"And where are they now?" Rich's voice adopted a menacing tone.

"In a holding cell. And I assume you'll be interested in these . . ." Tanner opened the small bag he was carrying and emptied out ten Poke Balls. Rich gave the Balls a cursory glance before he spoke again.

"And what Pokemon are these?"

Tanner blanched; Rich had adopted the "Arbok stare". "I - I don't know," he stammered. "I ain't looked at all of them. But one of those kids has a Dratini and another has a . . ."

He got no further before Rich sent his fist crashing down on the desk. "You fool! If there's not a Dark or Poison Type among them, they're of no use to us!" The agents exchanged glances as Rich shoved the Poke Balls at Tanner in a gesture of contempt. "Here!" he barked. "Take these away and dispose of them!"

"Yes, Sir!" Tanner pocketed the Poke Balls, saluted and marched out.

Rich watched him go and turned back to the rest of his agents. "Right, let's get down to business," he told them. "Has the Rock of Darkness been found?"

"Not yet," replied Crozier. "But it won't be long now . . ."

* * *

Little did Tanner suspect, as he carried the confiscated Poke Balls to the waste disposal chute, that he was being followed by a Pikachu and a Wooper. The two Pokemon had been running past Rich's office right at the moment when he gave the order for the youngsters' Pokemon to be disposed of. They had to do something. With Kevin's Sneasel, Murkrow and Houndour already firmly in Team Midnight's clutches, the group could not afford to lose any more Pokemon.

Pikachu and Wooper exchanged winks. Then, Wooper stepped forward and used Water Gun on Tanner, spraying a jet of water out of his mouth and soaking the Team Midnight agent from head to toe. Then, Pikachu tense his body for a split second before letting rip with a Thundershock, targetted at Tanner. The water soaking the Team Midnight agent conducted the electricity, resulting in a more powerful attack than normal. With a flash and a bang, Tanner was on the floor - out cold. Pikachu sniffed him cautious and recoiled in disgust; this human stunk in more ways than one.

In any case, now that they had saved the Poke Balls, Pikachu and Wooper faced the problem of how they were going to get them to the youngsters. Pikachu couldn't possibly carry all ten Balls by himself and Wooper had no arms or hands so he couldn't help. Finally, after a conversation that, to the uninitiated seemed completely meaningless, they decided to let out all the other Pokemon except Candida's Lapras and Marc's Seadra. Moving swiftly lest Tanner wake up, the two small Pokemon rolled the Poke Balls out from under him and pressed the buttons on eight of them in quick succession.

Flash! Kelly's four Pokemon appeared, Drifter hovering at ceiling level while Pinky and Delibird milled about in confusion and Cheeky chattered to himself. The Aipom was treating the whole thing as a joke - until Pikachu spoke to him sternly. "Pika pikachu!" The Electric Pokemon was telling Cheeky that this was serious.

"Aipom," Cheeky murmured apologetically as another flash of light heralded the appearance of Candida's Togetic, Sandra's Dratini, Jeremy's Charmeleon and Marc's Squirtle. The Pokemon looked down at the unconscious human, then at each other.

"Squirtle squirtle?" Squirtle was asking what they were going to do now.

"Skiploom!" cried Drifter as she floated away, the flower on top of her head spinning rapidly. With the universal understanding of Pokemon, the others understood that she was saying: "Let's go find our trainers!" So, with Charmeleon carrying the Poke Balls that housed Lapras and Seadra and the empty Poke Balls carried by Pinky, Squirtle and Cheeky, the Pokemon began their search . . .

* * *

The first thing Candida was aware of was a pounding headache as she groaned and opened her eyes. She waited for the effects of the sleep-gas to wear off before attempting to sit up and take stock of her surroundings. She was in a small room that was completely bare except for two folding benches attached to the walls; she was on one of these benches with Kelly and Autumn beside her, both also just waking up. Opposite them sat Sandra, Jeremy and Marc, who were already awake. But something - someone - was missing . . .

She soon realised who it was. "Guys, where's Kevin?" she asked, struggling to raise her voice above a whisper.

Sandra, Jeremy and Marc exchanged glances, the same grim expression etched on all their faces. Then, Sandra spoke. "I haven't seen him since I woke up. Team Midnight must have him somewhere else . . ."

"Yeah, but where?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," said Marc, looking down at his hands. "And, without our Pokemon, we can't get out of here and find out."

It took a moment for his words to register. "What do you mean?" Candida asked, hoping against hope that nothing had happened to Lapras and Togetic. She would hate it if anything had. She and Lapras had been together nearly all their lives and Togetic had been her loyal friend for nearly three years, ever since a neighbour back in Cherrygrove City gave her a spare Togepi egg to hatch. She could still remember playing with the cute little Togepi and her joy when Togepi's happiness peaked and she evolved into Togetic. If Team Midnight had done anything to either Pokemon . . .

"Take a look," replied Marc.

Candida did so, checking both her pockets only to find them completely empty of Poke Balls. "NOOOOOOOOO!" she cried in a voice full of anguish. "Lapras! Togetic!" She sank down in despair, tears for her lost Pokemon welling up in her eyes.

"Team Midnight must have taken them," Kelly explained. "And that worries me . . ." She broke off as she thought of how hopeless everything seemed now. They were captured, one of their number had been separated from the rest for reasons she did not want to speculate about and, now, all their Pokemon were gone. Would she ever see Drifter, Delibird, Cheeky and Pinky again?


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**

Chapter Fourteen

**

"Someone's coming!"

Marc was pressing his ear against the door, trying to listen for the sound of approaching footsteps. Nearby, the others sat listlessly, overwhelmed by the seeming hopelessness of their situation. They had been locked in this cell for goodness only knew how long, bereft of their Pokemon and with no contact with the outside. This was the worst situation they had been in yet, made worse by the fact they still had no knowledge of Kevin's fate.

"Are . . . are you sure?" Autumn stammered fearfully, wishing desperately that she still had Pikachu with her.

"Yeah, sounds like at least two people . . . Wait! I think they're unlocking the door."

This news triggered mixed feelings among the group. Part of each youngster was hoping it might be an ARM sympathiser, possibly even Kevin, come to rescue them. But what if that wasn't the case? What if Team Midnight had come to inflict some unspeakable punishment for their attempted escaped? Autumn shuddered as she remembered her ordeal in the Tank, the cold water cascading into the enclosed room, her frantic struggle to keep her head above the surface . . . What if Team Midnight did the same thing again? How could they survive?

Candida noticed her friend shivering with fear and patted her reassuringly. "Don't worry - we've beaten Team Midnight before and we can do it again."

"Yeah, you're right," Autumn brightened momentarily as she recalled previous encounters.

"Er . . . I hate to spoil the party," Jeremy cut in. "But we had our Pokemon then . . ."

"So?" Candida shot back. "Listen, we've got to at least try to fight back! We can't let . . ."

She was cut off as the lock clicked and the door's handle began to move . . .

* * *

The six of them exchanged glances. It was now or never - they had to charge the approaching Team Midnight agents and try to take them out themselves. It would not be easy; six untrained teenagers against the highly skilled agents did not carry very favourable odds. But they had to try. They had to stop the agents before they could call out any Pokemon.

"OK," Kelly whispered as she exchanged glances with the others. "Three . . . two . . . one . . . charge!"

Yelling loudly, they charged towards the agents, determined to put up a fight no matter what the outcome. But, as they drew closer, something caused them to stop in their tracks. There, in the midst of the enemy, stood Kevin and his Sneasel and Houndour; Murkrow was perched on Kevin's shoulder. The friends exchanged puzzled glances. What was going on here? Why was Kevin with Team Midnight?

"K - Kevin?" stammered Sandra, who was rendered almost speechless by this sudden turn of events. "But why . . .?"

"Silence!" Kevin's voice sounded oddly stilted, as if it was not his own. "From now on Team Midnight shall reign triumphant!"

"No way!" shouted Jeremy. Instinctively, he reached for Charmeleon's Poke Ball, blushing with embarrassment as he recalled that the Poke Ball was not in his possession. He gulped - this did not look good. Not only did Team Midnight have the upper hand, it also looked as though one of his friends had turned traitor. He did not want to believe it, but the evidence was right there in front of his eyes. And what was that pendant Kevin was wearing? He had never been one of those boys who openly wore jewelery so why had he started now?

The pendant - it resembled a piece of jet - glowed an angry red, a glow echoed in the eyes of Kevin and his Pokemon. In the next instant, Kevin grabbed Jeremy by the throat and lifted him off his feet as if he was nothing more than a feather.

"Yes," Kevin said in the same flat voice. "Team Midnight have won. Soon, they and their mighty Dark Pokemon shall rule the world. But first . . ." He tightened his grip and Jeremy began struggling to breathe. " . . . you meddling brats must die!"

* * *

Candida could only look on helplessly. A Team Midnight agent was restraining her, but, even if she had been able to move, there was little she could do. Tears pricked her eyes as she saw Kevin fling Jeremy to the floor and brutally kick him in the stomach. Jeremy struggled to avoid another kick as his friends all winced in unison, wanting to help him but unable to do so because of their captors. Then, Kevin's Houndour used his Flamethrower, breathing a hot jet of flames at the prone Jeremy. Fortunately, Jeremy managed to roll out of range, but Sneasel was hot on his heels . . .

"Sneasel sneasel!" Sneasel cried as he launched into his Slash Attack. The small Dark Type Pokemon's razor sharp claws moved like lightning, slicing violently at the air as Jeremy struggled to keep clear. It wasn't just Sneasel's physical Attacks he had to worry about; the little creature could use some pretty nifty Ice Type moves as well. Not only that, Kevin had taught him to use Faint Attack so he could make himself invisible and zip in for a close-range ambush. A Sneasel could be a deadly opponent, quicky and agile like a ninja.

"Kevin!" Autumn shouted desperately. "What are you doing?! Why are you using your Pokemon against us?!" Next moment, she cried out as Kevin's Murkrow swooped down and pecked her sharply.

"Merely dealing with you bothersome brats," was all Kevin said. "Now, my loyal Dark Pokemon, des . . ."

Before he could complete his sentence, a powerful jet of water suddenly knocked him off balance. He tried to stagger to his feet, only to be knocked back down by a plump pink form, which ran at him from the side in what the friends instantly recognised as a Body Slam Attack. This was swiftly followed by Cotton Spore, wafts of white fluff which drifted down and caught Kevin full in the face as he struggled to throw off his pink assailent.

"Squirtle!" shouted Marc as he turned to see his turtle Pokemon and realised he must have been behind the water.

"Pinky! Drifter!" cried Kelly, seeing her Clefable sitting on Kevin's chest and her Skiploom hovering overhead, surrounded by drifting Cotton Spores.

"All our Pokemon are here!" said Candida.

And indeed they were, all those that could move on land at least. Marc's Squirtle, Autumn's Pikachu, Jeremy's Charmeleon and the other walking Pokemon stood side-by-side. Candida's Togetic and Kelly's Delibird were flying at ceiling level and Sandra's Dratini was slithering along the floor. The latter's eyes were glowing as if she was about to launch into one of her powerful Dragon Type Attacks.

And she did. She reared up and let fly with a Twister, blowing a small tornado out of her mouth and sending the nearest Team Midnight agent flying through the air. He hit the floor with a thud and got up, panting as he reached for a Poke Ball. "Grimer! Get that Dratini!" he called, throwing the Ball. A purplish blob materialised, but Sandra was ready for it.

Dratini! Don't let it touch you!" she shouted, remembering how Dratini had once been poisoned in a battle with a Tentacruel. "Use Protect!"

As the agent's Grimer prepared to launch a Sludge Bomb, Dratini began to glow as an invisible barrier surrounded her. Seconds later, Grimer belched loudly and a ball of foul-smelling ooze blasted towards Dratini. But, with Protect in effect, the Sludge Bomb couldn't hit the Dragon Pokemon and, instead, exploded in mid-air, spraying everyone with ooze.

"YEEEEEEUCK!" cried Marc as he received a faceful of the stuff.

"Squirt!" shouted his Squirtle, looking around for the culprit.

* * *

The appearence of their Pokemon gave the friends fresh fighting spirit and they began to wriggle free from their captors' arms. It was plain that none of the Team Midnight agents had been expecting this; they appeared totally unprepared for the assault the Pokemon had launched. Indeed, only the agent with the Grimer had any Pokemon of his own with him - and that wouldn't do much good against so many other Pokemon.

"Looks like the shoe's on the other foot!" Candida said as she broke free from her captor, catching Lapras' Poke Ball as Charmeleon tossed it to her. "Togetic!" she called to her dainty Flying Pokemon. "Use Shadow Ball!"

Togetic's body glowed as she brought her hands together. Then, she sighted on the Grimer and let fly with a ball of shadowy energy; the Poison Pokemon had no time to react before it was sent flying across the room. Next, Pikachu leapt into the air, his cheeks sparking with electricity, and zapped the Grimer as it landed. Its trainer hurriedly raised its Poke Ball.

"Grimer, return!" he ordered, drawing the Grimer into the Ball. "Curse you brats!" he snarled at the youngsters. "That was the only Pokemon we had between us!"

The agents stalked off, their faces resembling thunderclouds. "We ain't finished yet," one of them warned. "Oh no! This battle is only just starting!"

As soon as the agents were gone, the friends called their Pokemon together and returned them to their Poke Balls, which Cheeky, Pinky and Squirtle had been holding the whole time. As she recalled Togetic, Candida couldn't help feeling puzzled. What exactly did the agent mean by the battle having only just begun? And why had Kevin and his Pokemon been acting so strangely? Could it have something to do with why he had been separated from the others?

"Quick," said Marc, wiping the ooze from Grimer's Sludge Bomb off his face. Luckily, the Attack's poison hadn't affected him. "We'd better get out of here before . . ."

"Before when, kid?"

* * *

Everyone looked up with a start. It was Kevin's voice, but it sounded very different from how it usually sounded, cold and emotionless. Any hopes that the ambush by Pinky, Drifter and Squirtle might have brought Kevin to his senses were immediately dispelled. He was standing there impassively, his Houndour, Murkrow and Sneasel at his side, an eerie red glow in all their eyes. "If you want to get out of here," Kevin said flatly, "you'll have to battle me."

His Pokemon all snarled or squawked as one. Houndour's hackles were raised, his pearly white teeth bared ready to attack. And it plainly wouldn't be an ordinary Pokemon battle; the very future of Aquarius could depend on the outcome of this. But which of the friends should battle first?

"I'm waiting!" Kevin glared at the little group of youngsters as if he had never been their friend. A decision had to be made soon.

"I'll do it," Kelly said at last, stepping forward and beckoning to her Pokemon. Pinky, Drifter, Delibird and Cheeky stopped what they were doing and assembled obediently at their trainer's side. "Three against three?"

"As you wish," Kevin replied in the same flat tone. "But, if you lose, you will all be turned over to Team Midnight!"

"I'm not going to lose!" Kelly retorted, trying to hide her disbelief at his last words. "And I'll start with . . . Drifter!" She pointed to the Skiploom, who promptly leapt into the air and hovered there, ready for battle. Drifter might appear to be a lightweight, but Kelly knew she could hold her own in battle; her array of Grass Attacks, with the odd Flying Attack thrown in, had taken out many opponents in the past. "The rest of you, keep back," Kelly told her other Pokemon. "This is between Drifter and Kevin's Pokemon."

"Then I'll roast your Skiploom!" Kevin responded, the red light glowing in his eyes. "Houndour - go! Ember Attack!"

With a fierce snarl, Houndour leapt into battle, his mouth slightly open as a small ball of fire formed in his throat. Kelly shuddered; maybe using Drifter hadn't been such a good idea. But it was too late to back out now. Switching Pokemon once you had selected the one that was going to fight counted as a knockout and she didn't wanted to end up down one Pokemon . . .

"Drifter! Dodge it!" In response, Drifter nipped to one side just as Houndour unleashed his Ember. The small flame scorched the Skiploom's flank, but she was otherwise unhurt and whirled the petals on top of her head as she waited for Kelly's next order. "Now! Aerial Ace!"

"Houndour! Double Team!" countered Kevin.

In the same instant Drifter sped into the air and prepared to dive down at high speed, Houndour was suddenly joined by two exact copies of himself. These copies were essentially mirages, designed to confuse the opposing Pokemon and trick it into wasting Attacks, but Kelly was familiar with this trick. She had used it with Cheeky on more than one occassion. She also knew the best way to deal with it was to take out the fake Houndour as fast as possible, before launching her coup de grace on the real one. "Wait for it . . . wait for it . . . now!" she called, watching as Drifter launched herself at one of the Houndour standing opposite her. Time seemed to slow down as the Skiploom sped towards her quarry and, then . . .

. . . Drifter's body glowed white and began to change shape. She grew larger. Her once slightly flattened body turned into a ball as her wide mouth grew steadily smaller. The yellow flower on her head shrunk to nothing and was replaced with a large white powder puff, with two smaller powder puffs appearing on the ends on her hands. And her once green body turned blue.

"Drifter . . ." Candida whispered from the sidelines.

". . . evolved into Jumpluff!" finished Autumn. "Let's just hope it'll be enough to take out Houndour."

* * *

"Hah!" Kevin gloated. "A Jumpluff is still a Grass Type! Houndour! Flamethrower!"

In response, Houndour leapt into the air and breathed a hot jet of flames at the newly evolved Drifter. The Jumpluff had no time to react, no time to launch any Sleep Powder, before the flames caught her full in the face and she was knocked out of the air, the powder puff on top of her head on fire. Marc quickly turned to his Squirtle and told him to use Water Gun to put the flames out. Squirtle did so, but, as Kelly caught hold of Drifter, she could see that the damage had been done. Where, moments before, there had been a white powder puff there was now a singed mess.

"What do we do now?" asked Candida, watching as Kelly put Drifter back in her Poke Ball. Given time, Drifter's powder puff would grow back, but she would not be able to battle effectively until it did.

"Not give up," Kelly replied, turning to Pinky. "Pinky, go!"

The Clefable stepped forward, a steely gaze fixed on her face as she faced down the furiously snarling Houndour. Instinctively, she knew there was something strange going on, that Kevin and Houndour were not behaving like their usual selves, but . . . Before Pinky had time to think of anything, Houndour sprang at her, his teeth bared in a Crunch Attack.

"Pinky! Minimize!" Kelly shouted as the lethal teeth homed in on her Clefable. In response, Pinky's body glowed and she shrank to the size of a pea, far too small for Houndour's Crunch to be effective. Indeed, the black dog-like Pokemon's face bore an expression of stunned surprise as his teeth clamped shut on empty air. "Now," Kelly added as Pinky resumed her usual size, "try a Mega Punch!"

Pinky raised her fist and prepared to ram it into the Houndour's flank, but before she could do so, Houndour caught her with a close-range Flamethrower. The force of the flames knocked the Clefable to the ground, where she lay in a crumpled heap. Kelly ran over to her. "Pinky, don't give in!" she whispered urgently, well aware that, if Pinky couldn't fight, she would have only one Pokemon to take out all three of Kevin's. "Try to get up!"

"Clef," Pinky grunted, attempting to pull herself up on her arms.

Kevin scoffed at the struggling Pokemon. "Pathetic!" he sneered. "Houndour, finish it off!"

Before Houndour could move, however, Pinky was back in her Poke Ball. "Stop it, Kevin!" Kelly pleaded. "Why are you doing this? You know this isn't the way Pokemon are supposed to battle!"

Kevin rested his hand on Houndour's back. "Yes, I used to think like that. But, then, Team Midnight taught me that the only way to battle Pokemon is to win at all costs. And that's exactly what I'm going to do, no matter how much your Pokemon get hurt! Go on, I dare you to send out another one of your pathetic wimps!"


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**

Chapter Fifteen

**

Kelly wrestled with her conscience. What should she do? Two of her Pokemon had already been defeated and she was apprehensive about sending Delibird or Cheeky out to face Kevin's Houndour. For this was no ordinary Pokemon battle; Kevin and his Pokemon were, she realised with a grim certainty, being controlled somehow. But by what? The Rock of Darkness? Could it have been unearthed already?

"We've got to do something!" Candida cried from the sidelines. She watched as Houndour snarled menacingly, baring his sharp white teeth as if to tell everyone in sight that he was going to make mincemeat out of any human or Pokemon who tried to take him on.

"I know, but what?" was Autumn's reply as her Pikachu leapt onto her shoulder, his cheeks sparking. "I don't think anything can stop those Pokemon!"

"You're right there, Autumn," Kevin said flatly. "And I suggest you surrender before my loyal Dark Pokemon make life extremely difficult for you. Murkrow, Peck her eyes out!"

In response, his Murkrow flew towards Autumn and, before she had chance to react, aimed his sharp beak at her face and delivered a vicious Peck Attack. She cried out and fell to her knees, clutching her bleeding face. Her friends immediately made to help her, only to be forced back by Kevin's snarling Houndour; the black dog bared his brilliant white teeth and looked at the youngsters, defying them to take him on. And, all the while, the eerie red glow was present in the eyes of Kevin and his Pokemon.

"Pikachu! Help!" Autumn yelled, struggling to avoid the attacking Murkrow. Bird Pokemon, she realised ruefully, came armed at all quarters; their talons were sharp and their beaks could inflict serious damage. As the cuts and scratches which now marked her face clearly testified . . . She did not know if Pikachu would be able to take on the Murkrow (who was clearly affected by the Rock of Darkness) but there seemed to be no other choice. If the bird kept on attacking her, she would be in big trouble . . .

Suddenly, a powerful Thunderbolt blasted through the air, catching Murkrow full in the flank and knocking him out of the air before he could counterattack or even take evasive action. At the same instant, another Thunderbolt came from a different direction; it got Kevin in the chest and he fell to the floor, knocked out. At the same instant, Houndour and Sneasel made to attack the speechless youngsters, only to be felled by another double Thunderbolt.

* * *

"Did you see that?" Marc asked as he and the others knelt beside Kevin and his Pokemon.

"Yes," Autumn said from where Sandra was cleaning up her cuts as best she could. "But where did that other Thunderbolt come from?" she added, glancing down at her Pikachu.

"Good question," said Candida. "I mean, Pikachu's the only Pokemon we've got that knows Thunderbolt and . . ." She broke off as she glanced round and saw the Pokemon that had fired the other Thunderbolt. It was an Elekid - Ryan's Elekid. And that meant . . .

"Ryan Benson!" she called, peering round the corner and spotting her younger brother. "What are you doing here?" She marched forward and grabbed the boy by the arm; he struggled a bit, clearly under the impression that she was a Team Midnight guard, but soon calmed down when he realised she was his sister. Candida, meanwhile, did not know whether to be relieved to see Ryan again or angry that he had put himself in such danger. It was all very well for teenagers like herself and her friends to try and take on Team Midnight, but Ryan was only nine. If something happened to him . . .

"Helping you," Ryan replied in a slightly surly tone.

"That's not what I meant. What I want to know is how did you get past the guards?"

"Easy! I took Elekid and slipped out when you did." Ryan puffed up his chest, clearly under the impression that this made him some sort of hero. "I've been looking for you ever since," he added, looking his sister full in the face.

Candida sighed; the last thing she wanted was to have her younger brother tagging along. It wasn't just the fact that Ryan could be annoying at times - they were still in danger and would remain so as long as Team Midnight had the upper hand. "Well, you're here now," she said reluctantly. "So stay with us and we'll try to sort this mess out."

* * *

The first order of business was bringing Kevin to his senses. Sandra knelt down beside him and examined the pendant round his neck. It was no longer emitting that sinister glow and was, instead, murky and opaque, almost as if whatever hold it had was broken the second Kevin was knocked out. "Guys," she whispered, "you don't suppose . . ."

" . . . it's part of the Rock of Darkness," filled in Candida. "If it is, we'll have to get rid of it." The only question was how would they go about doing that? Aquarius had been built right over where the Rock had been buried many centuries earlier, in the area that was now Team Midnight's mine. So, even if they could find the exact same spot, there was no way they could bury the pendant there. On the other hand, they could not leave it round Kevin's neck for fear that, once he came round, he might attempt to betray them again.

"I'll have Squirtle take it outside," said Marc. "Then, it can throw that thing away, where it can't cause any more trouble."

The friends exchanged glances. Maybe that would help, at least where Kevin and his Pokemon were concerned, but would it be too little too late? Even if this plan did succeed, even if Marc's Squirtle did manage to slip out of Aquarius, dispose of the pendant and get back inside undetected, it was only a small fragment of the Rock. To stop Team Midnight once and for all, they would have find out where the Rock itself . . .

Kelly sighed. "Still, it's the best plan we've got." She reached forward and removed the pendant from around Kevin's neck. "Marc, call out your Squirtle."

Marc did not need telling twice. He pulled out Squirtle's Poke Ball and pressed the button to activate it. Then, in a flash of light, his Squirtle emerged and stood blinking up at his trainer and his friends. "Squirtle squirt?" the small Water Pokemon said, asking his trainer what he wanted him to do.

Kelly handed the pendant to Squirtle. "Squirt?" Squirtle didn't know what he was supposed to do with it, so Marc quickly explained.

"Squirtle, I need you to get rid of that. Take it out of Aquarius and . . . well, do something with it! Bury it or something!"

"Squirtle!" replied Squirtle, saluting as he turned to go, the pendant clutched in his hand. Since he was not a Dark Type, the power emanating from the pendant did not affect him and he was able to keep a clear head. "Squirtle squirt," he added before darting off down the corridor. Marc and the others watched until he was out of sight.

"Hey, Squirtle!" Sandra called after him. "Good luck!"

* * *

Good luck was exactly what they would need, Candida thought grimly. Not only did they have to get rid of that fragment of the Rock of Darkness, they also had to find the Rock itself. Once that was done, they would have to get rid of it before Team Midnight's plans could come to fruition. They also had to find a way of freeing everyone in Aquarius, of restoring the underwater city to its proper order, and that would require them to come up with an unbeatable plan. Could a small group of youngsters and their Pokemon pull off such a thing?

The first order of business, however, was finding out if removing the pendant from Kevin had had any effect. They held their breath as they gathered around him, all hoping he was on their side again but, at the same time, fearing he was not. "Kevin?" whispered Jeremy as he shook his friend's shoulders. "Kevin, can you hear me?"

Kevin groaned slightly, before opening his eyes and looking up at his friends. He could see Jeremy and Candida kneeling to his left, with Autumn and Sandra opposite them. Nearby were Kelly, Marc and another, much younger, boy he only vaguely recalled seeing before. He was confused. The last thing he remembered was Team Midnight releasing their sleep-gas; the time since then was a vague blur, as if he had been doing things without being fully aware of it. What had been happening? How had he come to be lying on the floor with a pounding headache? And who was that kid with his friends?

"W - what's happening?" he mumbled groggily as Jeremy helped him to his feet.

"Take it easy," urged Sandra. "You were being controlled by Team Midnight, but . . ."

Kevin didn't hear the rest of her sentence. His mind was filling with hazy images. He saw himself waking up surrounded by Team Midnight agents, all of them talking excitedly about the Rock of Darkness. He remembered struggling to get away as one of the agents looped something around his neck. Then, seconds before he lost the power of conscious thought, he glimpsed something, a shiny black rock in a glass display case . . . After that, everything was a blur.

And, yet, some things still stuck in his memory. Somehow, he knew he had been doing something bad, something that could have hurt his friends. "D - did I . . .?" he began to ask. But Candida cut him short.

"It wasn't your fault - it was the Rock of Darkness. Team Midnight were using it to control you and your Pokemon."

"But you're going to be all right," Sandra added. "Marc's Squirtle took the fragment you were wearing and it's going to try and get rid of it."

Kevin smiled in spite of the seriousness of the situation. "Thanks - just what I needed."

* * *

With an expression of grim determination on his face, Marc's Squirtle scouted the underwater city, searching for a way out. In his hand, he held the pendant Team Midnight had been using to control Kevin and his Pokemon; since he was not a Dark Type, there was no risk of it affecting him. But he knew he had to hurry. He had to get outside, dispose of the pendant and get back inside before Team Midnight . . .

As if just thinking about them had tempted fate, Squirtle ran into a group of Team Midnight agents. There were five of them, all armed, and the small Water Pokemon gulped at the sight of them. What chance did he have against armed humans, especially when he was outnumbered by five to one? Nonetheless, he had to at least try. He had to keep the pendant out of their hands. Before any of the agents realised what he was doing, he slipped the pendant into a gap in his shell and drew himself up to his full height.

"Squirtle squirtle squirtle!" he declared, puffing his chest up and trying to look as big and intimidating as he could. This was normally an easy task, but, then again, he was normally facing a fellow Pokemon, not a group of armed humans. And he knew from past experience that these particular humans were bad news, more than capable of killing him if the whim took them. He faltered as one of the agents trained his gun on him. "Squirtle!"

"Well now," the agent said out loud. "Are you afraid of Team Midnight, my little pipsqueak?"

At the sound of the word "pipsqueak", Squirtle's temper snapped. There were few things he hated more than being belittled just because he was still in his first evolutionary stage. And calling him a pipsqueak was the biggest insult of all; it reminded him of a time when he and Marc had faced another trainer's Medicham - and lost badly. Then, as Marc ran to pick Squirtle up, the Medicham's trainer had made a cutting remark about "wasting time battling pipsqueaks". No, Squirtle did not like being called a pipsqueak and, guns or no guns, he was going to teach these humans a lesson.

"Squirtle!" he shouted defiantly as he leapt into the air and pulled his head and limbs back into his shell. Then, water gushed out through every opening in the solid shell, soaking the agents from head-to-toe and giving the floor a good drenching as well. This was Hydro Pump, a particularly powerful Water Type Attack; it involved the Pokemon spraying high-pressure jets of water at its opponent, jets powerful enough to knock most enemies flying . . .

That done, Squirtle retrieved the pendant (which had shot out of his shell during the Hydro Pump) and ran off down the corridor. He would have prefered to have Autumn's Pikachu with him so they could take advantage of water's electricity-conducting properties, but at least he had, hopefully, slowed the agents down. He risked a quick glance back and saw the agents getting ready to chase after him.

"Get after it!" one of them yelled. "There'll be a new Squirtle-shell on the wall tonight!"

But, as the agents tried to chase after Squirtle, they slipped on the wet floor and went crashing into each other to land in an undignified heap. Squirtle chuckled to himself as they began to quarrel, each of them blaming the others for the collision. Then, he turned and disappeared down the corridor before any of them could find their feet. Now, all he had to do was find a way out of this place. He thought for a moment, trying to recall everything he had seen in Aquarius, looking for a route to the open ocean.

He instinctively dismissed the main docking bay; Team Midnight probably had it under guard to prevent his trainer and his friends from escaping. An emergency exit, then? There were plenty dotted around Aquarius and he didn't recall seeing a Team Midnight agent near any of them. That was probably his best bet, to find one of these exits and hope there were no agents nearby . . . And, as luck would have it, there was one right next to him, its purpose clearly marked by the stylised picture of an Aquagear on the wall beside it. Above the picture, there was a notice listing the emergency evacuation procedure, but that didn't concern Squirtle; he couldn't read anyway.

He leapt onto the hatch and began struggling to open it. Doing so was tough work for a small Squirtle and he grunted with exertion as he heaved and pulled on the handle which held it closed. Finally, however, he had managed to open the exit just wide enough for him to squeeze through. Grasping the pendant firmly, he squeezed through into an airlock designed to keep Aquarius from flooding whenever the emergency exits were opened. Up ahead was the outer door, which was operated via a button on the wall; the only trouble was it was placed at human height . . .

Still, a quick running jump, followed by a Mega Punch ought to fix that. So he charged at the door, jumped and slammed his fist against the button. The door slid open instantly, causing the chamber to flood with water as Squirtle took a deep breath and prepared to swim out.

* * *

Meanwhile, Candida and her friends - now with Ryan in tow - were looking for a new hiding place. The only problem was that they were beginning to run out of options. Team Midnight seemed to be everywhere; no matter where the group tried to hide, the agents always forced them out in the end. Escaping from Aquarius altogether was out of the question; they all had family enslaved under the ocean and were not about to abandon them. Even so . . .

"I think our first priority should be to find the Rock of Darkness," said Sandra, electing to speak for everyone. "Until we do, Kevin's Pokemon are a danger to us."

"Yes, but where is it?" replied Autumn, who sat on the floor with her arms around her Pikachu.

"In Aquarius - duh!" was Jeremy's contribution to the discussion.

"I know that. The question is, _where_ in Aquarius?"

Candida sighed, realising this was going to take a long time, time they could ill afford to waste. She turned to Kevin, who sat looking down at his Poke Balls, a troubled expression on his face. Was he thinking about what had happened recently? And did he remember anything of what he had seen before Team Midnight put him under her control? There was only one way to find out.

"Kevin?" she ventured.

He looked up. "What?"

"Kevin, did . . . do you remember seeing anything after you were caught? Anything that could have been the Rock of Darkness?"

"I - I think so - at least I saw a rock. It was in some sort of display case . . ." Kevin broke off as he stuggled to remember. "It was . . . black and I saw a painting on the wall next to it."

"A painting?" echoed Kelly. "Of what?"

"A Pokemon," replied Kevin. "A Dark Type, but I can't remember if it was a Houndour or a Poochyena. And . . . and . . . Sorry, but that's all I can remember."

The group exchanged glances. Kevin's information wasn't much to go on, but it was as much as could be expected considering what had happened to him recently. In fact, he had revealed more than he knew, as Autumn suddenly realised. "Guys," she said, "we need to get to Rich's office." Seeing the puzzled looks from her friends, she hurried on. "Remember that time Team Midnight put me in the Tank? Well, before they did, they took me into Rich's office and I saw what looked like a display case in there. And it had a painting of a Mightyena next to it . . ."

"So you're saying we've got to break into Rich's office?" asked Sandra.

Autumn nodded. "That's about the size of it. Look," she added, when Sandra opened her mouth to object, "I know it's risky, but we don't exactly have a choice."

"Maybe we could arrange a diversion," suggested Marc. "You know? Do something to keep Team Midnight busy?"

"Let's have the Pokemon break something!" piped up Ryan.

Candida looked at her brother, who had been remarkably quiet throughout the discussion. Normally, he would have been interupting every five seconds. It was almost as if he sensed how serious this was, that a small group of youngsters were all that stood between Team Midnight and the realisation of the criminal group's plans. And she had just been thinking along much the same lines as his suggestion. "OK, she said. "Jeremy, we'll have your Charmeleon start a fire in the corridor. Then, when the alarm goes off, we'll head up to the office. Autumn's Pikachu and Ryan's Elekid can shock any agents we run into. Agreed?"

The friends nodded in unison. "Agreed!"


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**

Chapter Sixteen

**

Fire alarms began to blare, a piercing sound echoing through the undersea complex. Jeremy watched with satisfaction; his Charmeleon had done a fine job and, judging by the way the fire lizard was posing, he knew it. With a bit of luck, this should keep Team Midnight busy long enough for the group of friends to do what they had to do.

"C'mon, Jeremy!" called Kelly, who was watching from a short distance away. "We need to get going!"

Jeremy looked at his sister and nodded his agreement. He pulled out Charmeleon's Poke Ball and pointed it at the Pokemon. "Charmeleon, return!" he ordered, watching as Charmeleon disappeared in a flash of red light. Then, he pocketed the Ball and hurried to join the others. "Let's go!"

"OK," said Autumn, turning to her Pikachu. "Now, you know what to do if we run into any Team Midnight agents, don't you?"

"Pika!" replied Pikachu, his cheeks sparking in anticipation.

"You too, Elekid," added Ryan. The nine-year-old boy was extremely proud to be part of this; it seemed like an adventure to him. On many occassions, he had daydreamed about fighting bad guys like in his comics, striking a blow for justice with his trusty Elekid at his side. In these fantasies, he had called himself the Elekid Kid and, back in Cherrygrove City, had even gone as far as writing a story about his exploits. Unfortunately, he used Candida's computer to write it and, less than pleased at finding it cluttered with his "rubbish", she deleted the offending files. Then, she set up a password to keep him from using her computer without permission again.

In any case, Ryan was ready for adventure. And so was Elekid, who jumped up as electricity crackled between the horns on his head. "Elekid kid kid!" he cried, clapping his hands.

Kevin looked at the two Electric Pokemon, his hand briefly straying to his Poke Balls. He thought of Sneasel, Houndour and Murkrow, his loyal Dark Pokemon, and prayed this plan would work. If it didn't, he would never again be able to release his Pokemon without fear of them turning on himself and his friends. "OK, let's do it!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Marc's Squirtle was swimming around in the ocean outside Aquarius. His mission was, he knew, of supreme importance - he had to get rid of the object tucked inside his shell. That object was a fragment of the Rock of Darkness, the thing which Team Midnight sought and which had been used to control Kevin. The only problem was Squirtle didn't know Dig; Marc had never taught him that move. So how was he supposed to bury the fragment?

He thought for a moment - maybe he could still dig a hole, even if he didn't know the Dig Attack. So he set to work, scraping at the ocean floor with his claws in an attempt to gouge out a hole. But the job seemed to take a long time and his arms soon began to ache as he struggled to keep going, telling himself that he was doing this for his trainer and his friends. Soon, however, he found that he could not continue. He had done his best, but, lacking the Dig Attack, he could not pull this off.

Squirtle sat down on the ocean floor and sighed, dreading the thought of returning to Aquarius with the news that his mission had failed. If only there was a Pokemon who could help . . . What he needed was a Water Type that could learn Dig, but there were precious few species that met those criteria and not many of those that did were deep ocean-dwellers.

Just then, a pretty pink Corsola swam up to him. "Corsola corsola?" she asked him in her singsong voice. It was unusual to find a Squirtle at the bottom of the ocean; they usually preferred fresh water, although a few members of their evolutionary line did live in the ocean. But there were none in the Olivine Sea and she was curious to know what this one was doing here.

"Squirtle," replied Squirtle, retrieving the fragment from inside his shell. "Squirtle squirtle squirtle. Squirtle squirtle squirtle squirt?" He was telling the Corsola about the mission Marc had sent him on, before asking her if she knew Dig. The fragment had to be buried as quickly as possible and only a Pokemon that knew Dig could do it.

"Corsola!" Corsola jumped up and down, her way of saying "yes."

"Squirtle!" Squirtle sighed, relieved. He walked over to Corsola and placed the fragment of the Rock of Darkness on her body, balancing it between the two horns. "Squirtle squirtle!" he urged.

"Corsola!" Corsola smiled at Squirtle and began to rapidly burrow under the sea bed, digging so fast that she had disappeared from sight within seconds. And, seconds after that, she broke through a short distance from where she had started her undersea tunnel, a triumphant grin on her face. This time, there was nothing balanced between her horns. "Corsola corsola," she told Squirtle, letting him know that she had done what he wanted her to.

"Squirtle," said Squirtle. "Squirtle squirt. Squirtle." He was thanking her, then telling her that he had to go; his human friends needed him. With that, he turned round and began to swim away, heading back to Aquarius.

"Corsola!" Corsola called after him. In response, he turned to see her standing on the seabed, her front "limbs" raised. It was her kind's way of acknowledging a departure, the equivelent of waving goodbye, but it was rarely used for other Pokemon species. To be shown this gesture was a special privilege, a sign that the Pokemon concerned had done something to earn the Corsola's favour. And this particular Corsola had heard many rumours about the Rock of Darkness and how it could turn Dark Type Pokemon into evil monsters bent on destruction. In the last couple of days, many a Carvanha, Sharpedo and Crawdaunt had been sighted with glowing red eyes, a sure sign that the Rock of Darkness was controlling them. Carvanhas and Sharpedos could be quite vicious anyway, but the Rock seemed to enhance their natural tendencies and even the normally mild-mannered Crawdaunts could do some serious damage with their pincers. The Water/Dark Pokemon had to be brought under control before it was too late . . .

* * *

As she and her friends ran in the direction of Rich's office, Candida suddenly heard something. But what could it be? She paused to listen; it sounded like . . . human voices. Were there Team Midnight agents lurking nearby? Probably, she thought, since no-one else was around. But how many were there? She pulled out her Togetic's Poke Ball and made ready to activate it if necessary.

"Who's there?" she called with more confidence than she felt. "I'm warning you - I've got a Pokemon that knows Hyper Beam! And I'm not afraid to use it!"

"What's wrong, Candy?" asked Ryan as he drew level with his sister. His Elekid was directly behind him, with Autumn alongside, her Pikachu on her shoulder. Marc, Jeremy and Sandra were in front, while Kevin and Kelly were bringing up the rear. So far, they had been lucky and hadn't run into trouble, but how long could that last?

"Did you guys just hear something?" Candida addressed the whole group.

"Now that you mention it," replied Autumn, "I did."

"So did I," added Sandra. "It was coming from one of the locked rooms down this corridor."

"Team Midnight agents?" was Candida's next question. She had meant what she said when she threatened to have Togetic use Hyper Beam on the unknown speakers. The Flying Pokemon might look small and dainty, but she could be an extremely brave fighter; Candida knew this from personal experience. She would have preferred to have her big powerful Lapras, but Lapras weren't much good at battling on dry land. Besides, Togetic was . . .

"I doubt it," said Kevin, his words cutting into Candida's thoughts. "I mean, Team Midnight are a bunch of crackpots, but even they don't go round locking up their own agents."

"Well, then who?" This question came from Autumn, who was as puzzled as everyone regarding this latest mystery. Since Team Midnight took over Aquarius, they had been able to roam the facility with impunity, while the bona fide residents slaved in the undersea mine. As far as the youngsters were aware, they were the only ones who had managed to escape.

"That's what I aim to find out." With that, Kevin hurried back down the corridor, with his friends following in his wake.

* * *

They found him standing by one of the locked doors, his hand on one of his Poke Balls. "Kevin!" Kelly shouted the second she saw him. "What are you doing!"

"What's it look like? I'm gonna have Houndour burn through that door."

"No!" Kelly jumped at him and snatched the Poke Ball out of his hand. "I can't let you, not with the Rock of Darkness still around!"

"She's right," agreed Jeremy, backing his sister up without realising it. Usually, the two siblings argued about the slightest thing, but that hadn't happened lately. In fact, it was as if this crisis with Team Midnight and the Rock of Darkness had brought them closer together. "There's no telling what will happen. Besides, I've got a Charmeleon. Remember?"

Kevin looked at his friends, an apologetic expression on his face. He had briefly forgotten about the Rock of Darkness. Marc's Squirtle was outside disposing of the fragment he, Kevin, had been forced to where round his neck, but the Rock itself was still in Aquarius. And the others had warned him not to let any of his Pokemon out until this was over and the Rock was removed. He wished he could help, but, as a trainer of Dark Type Pokemon, there was little he could do here.

He sighed reluctantly. "OK. Jeremy, call Charmeleon."

Jeremy did so and his red fire lizard soon stood in the corridor, the flame on the tip of his tail burning brightly. "Charmeleon, Flamethrower!" called Jeremy. "Burn through the lock on this door - and hurry!" His heart was pounding madly (as were those of his friends). At any second, Team Midnight would find out that the fire alarm had been a diversion and the agents would come hurrying back. And, if the youngsters were still here when that happened . . .

"Char!" Charmeleon threw back his head, cranked his fire power up a notch and breathed a hot jet of fire at the door, aiming at the lock. It was a similar trick to the one the boys had tried before, when they wanted to see what was in those areas of Aquarius that had been placed off limits. Back then, it had seemed like a game, but now it felt as if the very future of the world lay in their hands. Jeremy and the others kept close watch on Charmeleon. He was doing his best, but the lock had hardly melted at all and there was no Houndour to help him out. Still Charmeleon used his Flamethrower on the lock, confident that it would only take a few more seconds to burn through. But, then, Candida spotted something.

"Jeremy!" she called, pointing to Charmeleon.

Everyone turned in Charmeleon's direction. He was breathing heavily, with puffs of smoke coming out of his nostrils. And the flame on his tail had gone down considerably, almost to a faint flicker.

* * *

"It must have used up too much energy," said Sandra, looking at the Charmeleon. Every few seconds, he would try to produce at least some fire, but he was only succeeding in producing a lot of smoke. And Sandra, although she wasn't an expert on Fire Pokemon, knew a Charmeleon's tail flame going out was extremely serious. For members of the Charmander line, the flame on their tails was their source of energy, their lifeforce. And, if the flame started to go down, it was important to rekindle it as soon as possible - before it went out altogether. If that happened, the Charmander, Charmeleon or Charizard was doomed.

"Quick, Jeremy!" urged Candida. "Call it back before its flame goes out!" She had just thought the same thing as Sandra.

Reluctantly, Jeremy raised his Poke Ball. "Charmeleon, return!" he called, watching as Charmeleon disappeared in a flash of red light. "Now what do we do?" he demanded, looking first at his friends, then at the scorched door. Charmeleon had done at least some damage, but it didn't look as though it had been enough to open the door.

"Don't look at me," said Autumn. "I don't have the answer either." She sighed deeply. They were in a fix and no mistake. Charmeleon had been unable to burn through the door and the only other Fire Pokemon they had was Houndour, who would surely turn on them the second he was released. And, yet, she knew there had to be some way to get that door open. But how? Autumn sat down and buried her face in her hands, feeling extremely frustrated.

Then she felt a tap on her back and turned to see who it was. Her Pikachu was standing there, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Pika pika!" he told her, pointing to the door.

Autumn guessed what he was trying to say. "You want to try an Electric Attack?"

"Pika pikachu!" Pikachu cried, pointing at Ryan's Elekid.

And you want Elekid to try too?"

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded vigorously, sparks already flying from his cheeks.

The friends all saw the sense in this; having two Pokemon team up to try and break the door down was much better than one Pokemon trying to do it alone. Hopefully, with their combined power, Elekid and Pikachu would be able to produce a Thunderbolt powerful enough to take that door out. Candida turned to her brother. "OK, Ryan," she said. "Go right ahead."

* * *

Pikachu and Elekid stood side by side. Sparks were flying from Pikachu's cheeks and the tips of Elekid's ears as both Pokemon charged up ready to unleash their Electric powers. Most of the youngsters stood well back, out of range of any stray sparks, as Autumn and Ryan prepared to give the command to "use Thunderbolt."

"Pikachu!" called Autumn.

"Elekid!" Ryan called a fraction of a second later.

"Thunderbolt!" both youngsters said in the same instant.

And Pikachu and Elekid let fly with a double blast of electricity, striking the lock dead on and frying it in an instant. Clearly, Charmeleon's Flamethrower had done some good, even though he hadn't actually succeeded in getting the door open - Pikachu and Elekid had simply finished what he started. And, thanks to the way all doors within Aquarius had been designed to spring open if the locks failed, the door was open immediately and the youngsters were soon peering at what lay beyond . . .

Cells. An entire corridor of cells, all of which were apparently unguarded, had been hidden behind the door. "Looks like Team Midnight slipped up on their security arrangements," remarked Sandra as she peered down the corridor.

"But we'd best be prepared," said Kelly. She let Pinky, Cheeky and Delibird out and nodded to her friends. "Those of you who can, let out a Pokemon."

In response, Candida let out Togetic, while Sandra let out Wooper and Dratini. Autumn's Pikachu and Ryan's Elekid stood proudly beside their trainers. Kevin, Jeremy and Marc did not release any Pokemon. Kevin's Dark Types were still at risk from the Rock of Darkness, Jeremy's Charmeleon was weakened and Marc only had his Seadra with him. Squirtle was still outside Aquarius, but was hopefully on his way back.

Stealing themselves and keeping constantly on the alert for approaching Team Midnight agents, the youngsters and their Pokemon entered the corridor, breathing a collective sigh of relief when they didn't trigger any booby traps. Then, they glanced at the nearest cell and saw who Team Midnight's prisoners were.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**

Chapter Seventeen

**

The entire staff of Aquarius were crammed into four small cells, each of which was secured by what seemed to be an ordinary metal grill. There was no need for any of the youngsters to ask who had done this; it was obvious that the culprits were Team Midnight. The first priority was getting the cells open and Jeremy was walking towards the nearest grill, intent on forcing it open, when a voice called out to him.

"Don't be a fool, kid!"

The youngsters turned round at the sound of the voice. It was Wilson who had spoken. The legitimate director of Aquarius looked thin and careworn, a stark contrast with the strong persona he had presented when they first arrived, but there was no mistaking the tone in his voice. "Those grills are electrified," he went on, looking at the small group of youngsters. "Put one hand on that metal and . . ."

" . . . you'll get a pretty nasty shock," added a female voice from the next cell. Her pink nurse's uniform, perky voice and red hair in two looped pigtails marked her as a Nurse Joy.

"Well, how are we supposed to open it then?" asked Jeremy. Time was of the essence; they not only had to free the staff, they still had Team Midnight to deal with. He looked desperately at his friends, hoping they had some ideas, then back at the staff members in the cell. At length, the Nurse Joy spoke up.

"There's a control panel in the wall. I've seen Team Midnight use it - it controls all these cells . . ." Her voice seemed slightly less perky than usual; clearly the strain of the situation was getting to her. The youngsters looked in the direction she was pointing and saw a small switch set on the wall at head height. It was almost the same colour as the rest of the wall.

That's probably why we overlooked it," remarked Candida as she walked over to the switch and pressed it. For a moment, everyone tensed, fearing Team Midnight had set it up so that an alarm was triggered if anyone pressed it without authorisation. But the only thing that happened was the collective opening of all the cells. Candida turned to the others, a look of triumph on her face. "That was easy!"

"A little too easy," added Kelly.

"Whatever," said Candida. "Let's just get out of here . . ."

"Going somewhere?"

* * *

It was Agent Crozier who had spoken. The female Team Midnight agent was standing in the corridor, at the head of a phalanx of agents. Her Houndoom and Cacturne stood at her side, their eyes glowing with the same evil light that had been present in Kevin's Pokemon. "So?" she said, smiling evilly. "You kids thought you could outwit us, did you? Well, I've got news for you - Team Midnight rule now! Houndoom and Cacturne - attack!" 

In response, her two Dark Pokemon launched themselves forward. Cacturne sprayed the area with Pin Missiles, forcing everyone to duck as Houndoom followed with a Flamethrower. As she felt the hot flames pass over her, Candida wished there was some way to fight back. But she knew it would be easier said than done; the battle she and her friends had had with Kevin's Pokemon revealed just how powerful the Rock of Darkness made a Dark Type . . .

Autumn's Pikachu, however, had no compunctions. He jumped into the air, his cheeks crackling with electricity as he prepared to blast the two Dark Types with a Thunderbolt.

But Crozier saw him. "Houndoom!" she shouted at her black dog-like Pokemon. "Leer at that Pikachu! Cacturne, use your Giga Drain!"

Houndoom's eyes glowed more intensely as he stared at Pikachu, a menacing expression etched on his face. Pikachu abruptly stopped charging electricity and stood rooted to the spot as Cacturne reached towards him. The latter's body was glowing as he prepared to siphon off the Pikachu's energy. "Pikachu!" cried Autumn, closing her eyes so she wouldn't have to watch her Pokemon get hurt.

"Two against one isn't fair!" shouted Jeremy. Had his Charmeleon been fit, he would have called him out and had him roast Crozier's Pokemon. But, as it was . . .

"Cacturne, do it now!" ordered Crozier, her face contorted with rage. These kids had caused Team Midnight no end of trouble: escaping, setting their Pokemon on agents, stealing uniforms . . . But she meant to get even with them. She would defeat their Pokemon one by one if need be.

But neither Cacturne nor Houndoom had chance to launch any Attacks. Suddenly, the floor of the facility shook violently in an undersea tremor, which caused both Pokemon to lose their balance and collapse in a heap. The humans too struggled to maintain their balance, instinctively grabbing hold of the nearest solid object in a bid to stay upright. Candida braced herself against the wall, with Ryan and his Elekid clinging to her, and closed her eyes, waiting for the tremor to pass.

* * *

It seemed to take forever, but it was actually no more than a few seconds before the shaking ceased. Candida opened her eyes slowly and looked around, taking stock of her surroundings. She could see the Team Midnight agents milling about, unsure what was happening or what they should do next. And, looking at the expressions on her friends faces, she knew they were thinking the same thing - what had caused the tremor? 

"What the hell was that!" demanded Jeremy.

"I don't know," replied Sandra. "But . . ." She was cut off abruptly as another tremor shook the undersea facility.

Panic ensued. Forgetting the youngsters for a moment, the Team Midnight agents turned tail and disappeared down the corridor, Crozier recalling her Pokemon as she ran. The woman scowled furiously and told herself that, whatever had caused the facility to shake would not be allowed to stop her from making these brats pay. She would alert Rich and have him crush these young upstarts; no-one had a Pokemon use Sleep Powder on her, no-one stole her uniform and got away with it.

Marc watched the agents go. "That's them out of the way," he said, once the last one had disappeared.

"Which still leaves us with one problem," Kelly reminded him. "The Rock of Darkness . . ."

"What about it?" Marc remembered sending his Squirtle out to dispose of the fragment Kevin had been forced to wear around his neck. But surely Squirtle must have done that by now . . .

"We still haven't disposed of it - not the whole thing." Kelly was growing concerned; every second the Rock of Darkness remained above the sea bed, its power over the Dark Type Pokemon grew stronger. Soon, stopping it would be about as easy as battling an Onix with a Pichu. And then there were the earthquakes - who knew what structural damage they had done to Aquarius?

Wilson heard the two youngsters talking. "Maybe you kids had better explain what's going on," he said. "For one thing, what is this Rock of Darkness?"

* * *

As the friends told their story, Wilson looked at them seriously. "That seems to explain what's been happening," he said when they had finished. "The question is, what do we do about it?" 

"We could get everyone out of the mine," suggested Sandra.

"Yes, but we also need to stop Team Midnight's plans." Wilson heaved a sigh, wondering where and how his dreams of an underwater city had turned so sour. Why had he not been more thorough about checking applicants' backgrounds at the start of the Aquarius project? If he had done so, Team Midnight would never have been able to sneak in and . . . But it was no use dwelling on the past. The most important task right now was saving the people who had been dragged into this mess. "Here's what I think we should do," he added. "Candida and Autumn, you two get the Rock and dispose of it somehow. The rest of us will take care of Team Midnight."

There were some shouts of agreement and cries of "Down with Team Midnight!" from the assembled crowd. But, then, Kevin spoke up. "Wait a second - what am I supposed to do?" he asked. "You know what'll happen if I let my Pokemon out."

"You can wait with me at the Pokemon Centre," said Nurse Joy, briskly straightening her apron.

"Talking of the Pokemon Centre," Kelly said, holding up Drifter's Poke Ball, "I've got a Jumpluff here that needs healing."

"And you'd better heal my Charmeleon as well," added Jeremy.

"I'll get right to it." Nurse Joy pocketed the three Poke Balls and turned to go. Kelly and Jeremy followed her, both hoping that this wouldn't take too long as neither of them wanted to miss the action. Charmeleon's loss of energy should be easy to deal with, just a matter of rekindling his tail flame. But Drifter had taken extensive damage from Houndour's Flamethrower; there was no telling how long it would take for her powder puff to grow back.

Kevin sighed and followed them, wishing his Pokemon could be cured as easily. But he knew from what he had read that Sneasel, Houndour and Murkrow were not suffering from any condition that could be cured at a Pokemon Centre. Their only hope of regaining their true personalities lay in the disposal of the Rock of Darkness. He could imagine what it must be like for them; all the while he was being controlled, forced to do terrible things in the name of Team Midnight, a faint voice had kept telling him to stop, that this was wrong. But the influence of the Rock was stronger, too strong for him to resist.

"Good luck, guys," he said, turning to face his friends.

"You too, Kevin," said Autumn as her Pikachu hopped onto her shoulder.

* * *

Moving cautiously, Candida and Autumn slipped into Rich's office, keeping their eyes open for anything that might be the Rock of Darkness. Autumn shuddered, remembering her previous visit to this office, but shrugged it off and turned to her friend. "Any idea where it's likely to be?" 

"Pika!" her Pikachu cried suddenly. He hopped off her shoulder and onto a nearby plinth. On the plinth, under a dome of glass, was a large black rock. This had to be it. This had to be the Rock of Darkness, the thing that had caused so much trouble.

Moving quickly lest a Team Midnight agent should come in and catch them, Candida slowly lifted the glass dome. But, just as she was reaching for the Rock, an alarm pierced the air, causing Autumn's Pikachu to scream and jump towards his trainer. "Oh no!" Candida cried above the wailing alarm, a single high-pitched note repeated over and over, the sound penetrating her very soul. She should have known this was too easy; Team Midnight would never leave something this important unguarded . . .

"Come on!" Autumn urged her from where she stood with her Pikachu.

Candida quickly tucked the Rock under her arm and ran, letting Togetic out as she did so. "Togetic," she called to the Flying Pokemon, "if you see any Team Midnight goons, give 'em your best Attacks. OK?"

Togetic nodded.

"You too, Pikachu," Autumn added. And, with that, they began to run with Togetic flying beside them and Pikachu riding on Autumn's shoulder, trying to ignore the piercing alarm and hoping that they would be able to get rid of the Rock of Darkness before they ran into any Team Midnight agents. They knew only too well what that group was capable of . . .

* * *

Against the odds, they managed to get to the nearest emergency exit without incident. But now they faced the problem of getting outside. They could open the airlock easily enough, but Candida's Lapras was too big to fit through the opening so they would have to get outside and then let her out. That, however, still left them with one problem - how were they going to breathe underwater? Lapras could - it was part of her nature, the way flying comes naturally to a Pidgey, Hoothoot or Taillow - but the two humans and the Pikachu would need Aquagears. And neither Candida nor Autumn had one. 

"OK," Autumn sighed. "Now what do we do?"

"I don't know - turn into a couple of Water Types?"

Autumn shot Candida a stern look.

"OK! OK! Bad joke! But we've . . ." At that moment, Candida was cut off as another tremor shook the undersea complex. Both girls instinctively tried to brace themselves against the vibrating floor, struggling to stay on their feet as the ocean floor shook beneath their feet. Pikachu huddled in Autumn's arms and squealed.

"What the hell is going on!" Autumn demanded.

"I don't know. But whatever it is, we've got to get rid of this thing!" Candida held up the Rock of Darkness.

"How? Neither of us has a Blastoise," Autumn said, reminding her of the story Kevin had told them.

Candida sighed deeply - they could be here for ages discussing this and every second they did so wasted precious time. "Then we'll just have to find another way," she said, running off with the Rock of Darkness under her arm and Togetic flying behind her.

"Candida! Wait!"

Candida barely heard Autumn's warning, but she wouldn't have heeded it anyway. All that mattered to her was putting the thing that had caused so much trouble out of commission . . .

* * *

She was so caught up in getting rid of the Rock that she failed to notice the three Team Midnight agents waiting round the next corner - until she ran straight into them. One of the agents caught hold of her by her wrist and pulled her towards himself, tightening his grip when she struggled to break free. 

"Well now," he said menacingly. "What do we have here?"

Candida glanced up at her captor, whom she immediately recognised as Agent Tanner. His cold grey eyes bore into her as another of the agents reached forward to pluck the Rock out of her hands. "Candice, isn't it?" he asked her, looking her up and down disdainfully. "Leader of a band of rebels?"

"Candida," she corrected him, resisting the urge to spit in his face.

"Whatever . . ." Tanner shrugged his shoulders. "Soon, it won't matter what your name is." He shook her roughly. "You, my dear, are going into the Tank - and don't even think about escaping! We had it reinforced after your friend . . ."

Before Tanner could complete his sentence, another tremor shook the sea bed, sending everyone sprawling on the floor. Seizing her chance, Candida leapt to her feet and, grabbing the Rock of Darkness from a nearby agent, bolted down the corridor with Togetic flying after her. "Don't just sit there!" Tanner snarled at his fellow agents. "Stop her!"

Candida heard him and realised it was time to fight back. "Togetic!" she called to her Pokemon. "Give them your Hyperbeam!"

In response, Togetic turned to face the Team Midnight agents, her head glowing. Then, before any of them could stop her, she sent forth a blast of raw energy, a golden beam which exploded on contact with the nearest agent. Candida flung herself to the floor as she felt the explosion pass over her, then opened her eyes and sat up to see the agents lying unconscious. All but one . . .

"Foolish brat!" Tanner shouted defiantly as he staggered to his feet. "No-one can defeat Team . . ."

A sudden spinning jet of water silenced him. Marc's Squirtle had returned to Aquarius just in time to see the agents capture Candida and, having watched Togetic blast most of them with Hyperbeam, had finished the job with a Hydro Pump. That done, he popped out of his shell and winked at Candida. "Squirtle!" he cried triumphantly.

"Don't celebrate yet, Squirtle," Candida warned him. "We've still got a job to do." She held up the Rock of Darkness for him to see.

* * *

She remembered that there were maps of Aquarius at various points in the undersea complex - maybe they would help her find a way of disposing of the Rock. So, telling Squirtle to get back to Marc as quickly as possible, she headed off in the direction of the nearest map. 

The tremors continued at intervals and she wondered what could be causing it. Something told her that this was not a natural phenomenon - could Team Midnight have caused it somehow? She did not know, but what she did know was that . . .

Suddenly, the undersea complex was rocked by the strongest tremor yet. Candida fell to the floor, feeling it shaking underneath her as she vainly struggled to stand. Then, as she crouched there waiting for the shaking to subside, a crack opened up in the perspex wall as it succumbed to the pressure caused by the tremors. Water flooded in, sweeping her several feet down the corridor.

"Lapras! Save me!" she called as she activated the Poke Ball containing her Water/Ice Pokemon.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**

Chapter Eighteen

**

Lapras burst out of the Poke Ball in a flash of light. Candida quickly grasped the Water/Ice Pokemon's neck and hauled herself onto her solid shell, breathing heavily and still clutching the Rock of Darkness.

The water was coming in rapidly, turning the corridors of Aquarius into rivers. Candida was horrified. Were her friends all right? Had they been caught in any flooded areas? She felt her heart hammering violently at the thought. Then, her mind turned to her own situation - how was she to get out? She knew Lapras could swim underwater, but she would need her Aquagear . . .

"Oh great!" she thought to herself. "What else can go wrong?"

Still, she reasoned, at least she could try to find out where the others were. She turned to the Togetic hovering nearby. "Togetic," she said, "fly off and look for the others. And don't argue!" she added as Togetic gave her a look as if to say she wouldn't abandon her trainer. "Me and Lapras will be all right!"

As Togetic flew off on her mission, Candida turned back to the situation at hand. The whole corridor was flooded and the water was rising rapidly; she would have to get out of here before it was too late. And she still had to find a way of getting rid of the Rock. That, however, would have to wait.

"Lapras, get us out of here!" she urged, giving her Pokemon a gentle prod in the back of her neck. Maybe there were some areas that weren't yet flooded - if there were, she would have Lapras drop her off on the nearest stretch of dry land and continue searching for a way out on foot. Then, a thought occured to her. Togetic might bring the others (assuming she did find them) back to the place where she saw Candida last. And, when she found her trainer gone . . . Somehow, Candida would have to let her know what was happening.

But how? Togetic was probably out of earshot by now and Candida didn't have a loudhailer with her. All she had was the Rock of Darkness and the Poke Balls which housed her two Pokemon. Her Pokemon . . . Lapras and Togetic could, she recalled use Psychic; maybe that would be useful here. There was only one way to find out.

"Quick, Lapras!" she whispered. "Use Psychic to tell Togetic where we're going!"

"Laaaaaaaaa!" Lapras began to glow with blue light as she launched into her Psychic ability . . .

* * *

Elsewhere in Aquarius, a battle was raging. Candida's friends and the staff of the undersea complex had freed the people enslaved in the caves and were now fighting to get out before it was too late. All they had to do was get past the Team Midnight guards.

"Pikachu, Thundershock!" Autumn called, watching with satisfaction as Pikachu zapped two guards at once, putting both of them temporarily out of action. "How's it going, Sandra?" she called across to her friend.

Sandra's Wooper and Dratini were fighting like a true team. Wooper was spraying Team Midnight agents with water and Dratini was following through with her Thunderbolt. Lightning surrounded the Dragon Pokemon as she built up energy, releasing it seconds later in a powerful blast of electricity. A Team Midnight agent fell to the floor, stunned.

"Fine so far," Sandra called back. "I just hope what we're doing's enough to . . ."

The whole scene was a chaos of Pokemon Attacks. Water Pokemon were spraying powerful jets, while Fire Types breathed hot flames, Electric Types fired off bolts of lightning powerful enough to stun and all the other Pokemon gave Team Midnight a taste of their own Attacks. Indeed, so much was happening at once that it was hard for anyone to keep track of it all. Not that they cared; they just wanted to be able to say that they had been here, that they and their Pokemon had had a hand in stopping Team Midnight's plans.

Team Midnight, meanwhile, fought with the tenacity of those who have to win at all costs. Wave after wave of Dark Type Pokemon (some belonging to agents, others stolen from their original trainers) was sent out and ordered to attack. And attack they did - the Rock of Darkness was still controlling them, still turning them into ruthless fighting machines. Autumn's Pikachu leapt at an Umbreon and prepared to zap it with Thundershock. But, before he could attack, the Umbreon fired off a Shadowball. Pikachu was too close for it to miss.

"Pikachu!" Autumn cried. She ran forward and picked up her small yellow Pokemon. This was getting serious. Her only Pokemon was down and that meant she wouldn't be able to counterattack. "Sandra, we've got to get out of here!" she added.

"I know, but how!" Sandra was getting desperate. It seemed that, no matter how hard she and the others fought, Team Midnight would not be beaten. Her Wooper and Dratini were fighting valiantly, but there was no way they could keep it up indefinitely. There were simply too many Dark Type Pokemon, all of them still powered up by the Rock. The battle was going Team Midnight's way and, judging by the smirk on her face as she stood behind her Nidoking, Cacturne, Houndoom and Golbat, Crozier knew it.

"So?" she said with feigned calm. "You kids thought you'd take on Team Midnight, did you? I think you need to be taught a lesson. Nidoking, Houndoom, Cacturne and Golbat - attack!"

In response the four Pokemon launched themselves at Wooper and Dratini. Nidoking's horn whirred menacingly as he prepared to launch into his Horn Attack. Houndoom began powering up a Fire Blast, while Cacturne spun round, generating a powerful Sandstorm and Golbat started to emit a loud Screech. They closed in around Sandra's Pokemon . . .

Sandra knew she had to think fast; otherwise, her Pokemon would be finished. "Wooper!" she cried. "Waterfall! Dratini, use your Blizzard!"

Wooper jumped high into the air, above the heads of Crozier's Pokemon. Then, before they could react, he sent a cascade of water down on them. In the same instant, he dived clear seconds before Dratini opened her mouth and launched into her Blizzard. A freezing cold blast of snow struck Crozier's Pokemon, sending them flying across the room.

* * *

"Grrrrr!" Crozier made a sound reminiscent of an angry Growlithe as her Pokemon were knocked out. "You just made a big mistake, girlie!" She turned to her fellow agents. "All of you with Pokemon in fighting condition, teach her a lesson!"

"Uh-oh!" Sandra said as several Team Midnight agents surrounded her, all of them holding Poke Balls.

"Now what do we do!" Autumn cried from where she was tending to her Pikachu. This was the worst thing that could have happened right now. They were surrounded, outnumbered by around ten to one, and there was no way their Pokemon could take on so many opponents at once. Could this be the end?

Just when it seemed the answer was yes, Candida's Togetic appeared on the scene, her body glowing as Lapras communicated with her. And seeing the white Flying Pokemon gave Autumn an idea. It was a long shot, but it might be their only chance. "Togetic," she said, "can you Metronome Teleport?"

Togetic looked doubtful. Pokemon using Metronome had no real control over which Attack was used. You might get something really powerful such as Aeroblast (normally a preserve of the Legendary Pokemon Lugia) or you might get the most useless move in existence - Splash.

"It's our only chance!" Sandra shouted desperately.

Togetic nodded to tell them that she would try, then started waving her arms back and forth. Seconds later, a jet of bubbles shot out of her mouth, catching the nearest agent full in the face. "Oh no!" groaned Autumn. "Togetic, we don't need a Bubblebeam! Please . . . try to generate a Teleport! And hurry!" Already, several of the agents were pressing the buttons on their Poke Balls . . .

Togetic waved her arms again and, this time, a flash of light enveloped Sandra, Autumn and their Pokemon, causing them to disappear.

* * *

They materialised seconds later in the flooded area. Candida was nearby with her Lapras and saw them appear - she was relieved to see that Togetic was with them, but what had happened to bring them here so fast? Had Togetic Metronomed Teleport? That, however, would have to wait; right now, she had to get herself and her friends out of here before it was too late.

She urged Lapras to swim towards the small group of humans and Pokemon. "Get on!" she called to Sandra and Autumn as Lapras halted alongside them. The two of them, Autumn holding her Pikachu, did as she said and climbed up onto Lapras' large shell. Lapras were a useful form of transport for anyone travelling across the sea; their large bodies and gentle natures meant offered anyone who rode on the back of one a very comfortable ride. Many other large Water Pokemon could also be trained to ferry humans across stretches of water, but few took to it like a Lapras. Indeed, this trait was what had earned Lapras its classification as the "transport Pokemon".

In any case, Candida's Lapras picked up Autumn, Sandra and Pikachu, while Wooper, Dratini and Marc's Squirtle remained in the water and Togetic hovered alongside them. The three girls exchanged glances, each of them hoping the same thing: that they would get out of here safely. First, however, they had things to attend to.

"Have you seen the others?" Candida asked her two friends.

"Marc and Ryan were in the battle," replied Sandra. "The others should still be at the Pokemon Centre." She glanced down the flooded corridor. "I hope it isn't underwater . . ."

"Only one way to find out," said Candida. "Lapras, take us there!"

As Lapras turned in the direction of the Pokemon Centre, Candida realised the enormity of the situation. Aquarius was being engulfed with water, the defences installed to protect the underwater city broken, and the little group of friends was separated, scattered throughout the complex. She hope that she, Autumn, Sandra, Kelly, Kevin and Jeremy would be able to get out, but what about Marc and Ryan? What would happen to them and all the other people in Aquarius? And, then, they still had the Rock of Darkness to deal with.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Pokemon Centre, Kevin, Jeremy, Kelly and Nurse Joy were doing their best to keep the water out. They had sealed the door and blocked up the cracks as best they could, but it wasn't enough. Already, they could see water seeping in . . .

"Now what do we do?" asked Kelly as she and the others stood on Nurse Joy's desk, hoping to keep clear of the water that way.

"It would help if we had a Water Pokemon," replied Kevin. He looked down at his Poke Balls and thought of the Pokemon housed inside - Sneasel, Houndour and Murkrow. More than anything, he longed to see them freed from the Rock's influence, restored to their usual personalities.

"Don't any of you have one?" This question came from Nurse Joy.

Kelly, Jeremy and Kevin shook their heads. "Some of our friends do," added Kelly. "Too bad they're not . . ."

But she spoke too soon. Seconds later, the door burst open and a cascade of water flooded into the Pokemon Centre. And, riding on the crest of the wave was Lapras with Candida, Autumn and Pikachu on her back. Squirtle, Wooper and Dratini swam alongside Lapras and Togetic flew behind them. "Quick!" Candida urged the four people standing on the desk. "Get on! We've gotta get out of here!"

Hearing the urgency in her tone, they did as she instructed and climbed onto Lapras' back. Now, there were six humans and a Pokemon riding on the blue sea creature, who had never before transported more than three passengers. But Candida was sure she was up to the task; Lapras were large and powerful Pokemon, capable of carrying as many as ten humans at one time. As Lapras' trainer, she sat at the front where she would be able to control her and direct her to attack if necessary. "OK, Lapras," she said, patting the Pokemon's neck. "Get us out of here!"

* * *

"Now what do we do?" asked Kelly as Lapras swam down the flooded corridor.

"Find a way to get rid of this," replied Candida. She looked down at the Rock of Darkness and, for a moment, marvelled at how one lump of rock could cause so much trouble. She didn't know how, but something told her that it was the Rock that had triggered the tremors which had weakened the defences in the undersea city and caused the flood. And maybe it was too late to save Aquarius now, but at least they could do something about Team Midnight's plans. The question was - what?

And, even if they did manage to rebury the Rock of Darkness, what was to stop some other criminal gang from trying the same thing as Team Midnight? Somehow, the Rock must be destroyed before it did any more damage and ensnared every Dark Type Pokemon in the world. Somehow, they had to put an end to this madness once and for all. She only hoped it was not already too late for the people of Aquarius . . .

"Well, we can't do that in here," Sandra added in response to Candida's statement. "So we'd better . . ."

Before she could complete her sentence, something rammed into Lapras' flank. Lapras bellowed with surprise as she was knocked back several feet and her human passengers had to cling on tightly to avoid being knocked into the water. "What was that!" gasped Jeremy, catching his Charmeleon's Poke Ball as it fell out of his pocket.

He received his answer almost at once. A short distance away, Crozier's Nidoking was swimming in the water; he had just used Body Slam in a bid to unseat Lapras' passengers.

"I guess that Nidoking knows Surf," Autumn remarked.

"Right you are!"

The companions and their Pokemon turned with a start. There, sitting on a raft improvised from an upturned table, was Crozier, who had healed her Pokemon after Togetic Teleported Sandra, Autumn and their Pokemon to safety. Marc and Ryan were with her; both boys had their hands tied in front of them and duct tape plastered over their mouths. "Hand over the Rock of Darkness!" ordered Crozier. "Or your friends will pay!"

A shocked silence followed her words. The friends knew what Crozier meant to do if they did not do as she ordered, but they had also seen for themselves what the Rock of Darkness was capable of. But how could they refuse Crozier's demands with the lives of two young boys at stake? In that moment, Candida realised that, no matter how much of a pain Ryan was, he was her little brother and it was her job to protect him. She looked at Kelly and Sandra as an idea occurred to her . . .

* * *

With a flash, Kelly's Delibird emerged from her Poke Ball and perched herself on Lapras' head. Crozier laughed coldly. "I don't know what you're planning to do, but it won't work," she said flatly. "Now, hand over that Rock!"

You want it?" Candida taunted, brandishing the Rock in her hand. "Come and get it!" With that, she threw the Rock high into the air. "Now!" she cried as it neared its zenith. "Lapras!"

"Wooper and Dratini!" shouted Sandra.

"Delibird!" cried Kelly.

"Ice Beam Attack!" all three girls yelled together.

The four Pokemon opened their mouths (or beak in Delibird's case) and four brilliant white beams of light shot out, converging on the Rock of Darkness as it started to fall. Seconds later, it was frozen solid. Crozier snarled furiously and made a mad grab for the lump of frozen rock as it plunged into the water and sank to the bottom. "GRRR!" she growled, reaching for one of the Poke Balls at her waist. "Golbat, teach them a lesson! Secret Power!"

"Oh crap!" Kevin muttered as Crozier's Golbat emerged from his Poke Ball and hovered above the group. "Do you guys know what happens if a Pokemon uses Secret Power in water?"

None of the others had time to reply before the waters flooding the undersea complex suddenly surged, forcing those riding on Lapras to cling on tight to avoid being thrown off. And, on the makeshift raft, Crozier clung onto one of the table legs, smirking triumphantly. Marc and Ryan, their hands still tied, were unable to hold on and ended up pitching into the water. "Lapras, quick!" Candida ordered. "Get over there and save them!"

"Golbat, Confuse Ray!" countered Crozier, hoping this move would confuse Lapras and prevent her from following Candida's orders.

But Kelly was too quick for the bat Pokemon. Even as he started glowing, she turned to Delibird, who had left her perch on Lapras' head and was now hovering in mid-air. "Delibird, Present!" she shouted, taking a wild gamble. Present was the only Attack a Delibird learned naturally (all other moves had to be taught) and, while it could cause serious damage to your opponent, it sometimes healed them instead. There was no way of telling . . .

Seconds later, the room was lit up by a powerful explosion. This time, Kelly had struck lucky; Delibird's Present had turned out to be a really strong one, strong enough to knock out both of Crozier's Pokemon at one go. But, in that confined space, it was impossible for anyone (human or Pokemon) to avoid such an unleash of energy. The sheer force of Delibird's Attack sent Lapras and her passengers careering into the far wall, swiftly followed by the rest of the Pokemon, then Crozier, Marc and Ryan. The last thing Candida thought of before she blacked out was her parents - would she ever see them again?

* * *

The next thing she remembered was waking up to find herself lying in a bed with crisp white sheets, her parents and brother at her side. "W - where am I?" she stammered, wondering just how long it had been. "And where are the others?"

Jack Benson took his daughter's hand in his. "You're at the hospital in Cianwood City," he told her. "As for your friends, they're all safe - Wilson found you all while Aquarius was being evacuated."

"Evacuated?"

Lydia nodded. "Yes," she said. "Team Midnight was winning - it seemed there was no stopping them or their Pokemon. But, then, things suddenly turned in our favour . . ." Candida digested this news in silence, wondering if the change in fortune had coincided with the Rock of Darkness being frozen. Lydia continued her explanation. "Anyway, a lot of us managed to get round the agents, only to find the corridors flooded with water. That was when Wilson said we all had to get out, before it was too late. It's a good thing he found you all."

"Can I see them?" was Candida's next question. After everything she had just been through, she felt she could not believe her friends were safe until she saw them for herself.

"I'll check with the nurse," Lydia replied as she got up to go. "But it should be OK . . ."

Moments later, she was back, followed by Candida's friends. Autumn, her Pikachu perched on her shoulder, was in the lead, followed by Jeremy, Kelly, Marc, Sandra and Kevin. The youngsters rushed towards their friend and gave her a group hug as Pikachu hopped off Autumn's shoulder and onto Candida's chest. "Pika!" he cried happily.

"I'm glad to see you too," Candida said, smiling at everyone and patting the Pikachu on the head. "For a moment back there, I thought we wouldn't make it."

"Luckily, we did," Kelly told her. "Everyone who was in Aquarius legally did."

"And Team Midnight?" Candida did not address anyone in particular, but it was Lydia who answered her.

"Most of them got out too - and found the police waiting for them. They're in custody right now; it's been all over the news. There's even been talk of shutting them down for good . . ." Lydia sighed deeply. "Still, I doubt even Lenoir will try another scheme like this. He lost too many agents on this one and . . ."

"What about the Rock of Darkness?" Autumn cut in, recalling that it had been the cause of all this trouble.

"In cold storage, awaiting high security transportation to Mossdeep City," replied Wilson, appearing in the doorway. "They're going to send it into space where it can't corrupt any more Pokemon. This young man . . ." He gestured towards Kevin " . . . and I talked it over. And we both agreed it was best for something that powerful to be removed from Earth altogether."

In that moment, Candida and her friends knew their nightmare was finally over. Team Midnight had been defeated and the Rock of Darkness was neutralised, soon to be sent well out of the reach of any who might try to exploit its powers. The adventure was at an end.

"You know what?" Marc said at length.

"What?" they all asked at once.

"I think we should keep in touch after we all go home."

The others nodded their agreement - after all, they had been friends almost from the moment they arrived in Aquarius - and they began swapping home addresses. "And maybe we'll get together again some time," Autumn added as she scribbled down her address in Whitebeam City. "Meanwhile, let's all agree to be friends forever."

The youngsters piled their hands on top of each other and, speaking with one voice, echoed Autumn's last two words:

"Friends forever!"


End file.

Pokémon, Sci-Fi