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 . . .

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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 . . .

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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 . . .

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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 . . ."

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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 . . ."