"Ursula, I don't know how much more I can take!"

Bjorn was pacing the floor in Natasha's living room, endlessly retracing his steps as he struggled against the inevitable consequences of being confined to the same building for five months. In all the time since they arrived at Goldenrod Gym, he and Ursula had not spoken to another human being apart from Natasha - and fear of being spotted by someone who might betray them to the OCIB meant they hardly dared to so much as glance out of the window.

"It's all right for HER!" he went on, nodding towards the door that led to the arena. "At least she gets to see the trainers who challenge her. But . . ."

"I know," Ursula said as she stuffed the remains of the pizza Natasha had ordered the previous night into a bin already overflowing with fast food packaging. "If I so much as have to LOOK at another takeaway . . ."

"There's a circus in town this week," Bjorn said as he flipped through a pile of newspapers in a bid to find something to do. Lately, he and Ursula had done little except watch telvision and play seemingly endless games of cards with Natasha, the only time they left the rooms behind the Gym being late at night when they trained their Pokemon in the deserted arena. But Bjorn knew that, to train properly, they had to be in an environment which enhanced each Pokemon's abilities - his Yanma was unable to practise her Supersonic Attack for fear that the noise could alert someone.

Ursula, reading over her brother's shoulder, smiled as she read the heading "Riley's Famous Circus" in ornate lettering. "Wow!" she gasped, eyes wide with excitement. "Remember when Mrs Mather took us to see that with the other Greenview kids?"

Despite himself, Bjorn couldn't completely ignore the stab of nostalgia he felt as he recalled his and Ursula's only visit to a circus. It had been before they knew they were hybrids, an innocent time when they had no need to fear the OCIB. Nearly two years on, the situation looked very different . . .

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As it turned out, Natasha had also seen the ad and, feeling Bjorn and Ursula had been cooped up for long enough, purchased three ringside seats via her connections at the Johto League. Overhearing the conversation the Chimera Children were having, she casually suggested that there was no reason why the three of them shouldn't enjoy an evening out - after all, Bjorn and Ursula might be on the run from an organisation with rather dubious methods, but they were still only twelve years old. And no twelve-year-old should have to endure what they had.

"But - but how can we go?" Ursula asked as she stared at the slip of dusky pink paper with the words "Admit One" printed on it. "Our faces have been plastered everywhere and . . ."

"It's only a matter of time before the OCIB finds us," Bjorn added, wishing fervently that he knew which person had both found out what he and Ursula were and divulged that information to their enemies.

But Natasha had the solution. "You'll have to wear hooded tracksuit tops," she said. "I've got a couple I've outgrown - they're unisex, so you can both wear them. And we'll bring our Pokemon along . . . just in case there's any trouble."

Bjorn and Ursula nodded, both seeing the logic behind Natash'a reasoning. "But what about you?" Ursula asked at length. "Won't you . . . ?"

"If no-one realises who you are there's no need to worry," Natasha cut in as if reading Ursula's mind. "In any case, I'm not on the OCIB's wanted list."

A wanted list. That made it sound as though Bjorn and Ursula had committed some heinous crime. But both knew that neither of them had done anything illegal in their lives - apart from being born as a result of an experiment into a field which had been taboo in many circles for years. Since the disasterous Mewtwo project of the late 1990s, hastily drafted legislation had made it a criminal offence to create new breeds of Pokemon or Pokemon hybrids - the OCIB had been set up to ensure that no being created from such an experiment was allowed to live.

Then, someone had dared to rebel - and it was Bjorn and Ursula who would pay the price.

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A sense of expectation hung in the air as several hundred pairs of eyes were rivetted on the sawdust-covered circle at the centre of the ringed seats. Riley's Circus always drew a crowd where-ever it went and this performance had sold out within days so that all the available seats - which consisted of red benches - were occupied by people eagerly awaiting what the fliers which had blanketed Goldenrod City lately promised would be "the most spectacular show ever."

Sitting on either side of Natasha, Bjorn and Ursula found it hard to believe that they were fugitives on the run from the OCIB; only the grey tracksuit tops which they wore with the hoods pulled up over their hair served to remind them of the importance of avoiding detection. For all they knew, Ursula thought to herself as she checked her hood was secure, the OCIB had already tracked them down and . . .

Her thoughts were distracted when a spotlight was trained on the centre of the ring as a drumroll announced the arrival of ringmaster Danny Riley, a balding man of about fifty who wore the traditional ringmaster's costume of red tailcoat and smart black trousers. A hush descended upon the crowd as a glamorous female performer handed him a microphone and he began to introduce the first act with the words:

"Good evening, everybody!"

"Good evening!" called back a handful of spectators. Riley shook his head with exagerated disbelief.

"Is that the best you can do?" he asked with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "You'll never beat the crowd from Cerulean City at this rate!" It was his way of warming up the crowd - since Riley's circus was based in Cerulean City, he had developed a routine where he would joke that the crowds there outdid every other town or city when it came to cheering.

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The opening act consisted of a young woman in a pink spangled leotard who directed three Ponyta in an elegant dance routine. To a soundtrack of classical music, the horse-like Pokemon cantered round each other in complex figure-of-eight patterns while their trainer directed their movements with light flicks of the whip she carried in her hands. Then, without any hesitation at all, she mounted the lead Ponyta and proceded to ride bareback round the ring as the audience "oohed!" in amazement.

"How come she doesn't get burned by her Ponyta's flames?" Ursula wondered out loud as she watched the young woman with an increasing sense of awe.

"No use asking me - Fire Pokemon aren't my speciality," Natasha replied without looking round. "But I have heard that Ponyta and Rapidash can somehow make their flames harmless while they're with those they trust."

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Presently, the young woman and her Ponyta took their bows and left the ring to be replaced by a troupe of Pikachu and Raichu, with a solitary Pichu straggling at the end. All of them wore colourful clown's hats and one Raichu also wore a red-and-yellow tie which span round comically when he pressed the middle.

"And now, let's welcome the Electric Clowns!" called Riley as the troupe took up their positions in the ring.

A loud cheer erupted at his words. The Electric Clowns were always a big hit and were one of Riley's Circus's most famous acts. There were few in the big top who had not seen them perform on television, if not live, and everyone craned their necks in an attempt to get the best view possible . . .

"Remember them?" Ursula whispered to Bjorn. "Weren't you one of the kids pulled from the audience when they came to Violet City?"

Bjorn nodded, remembering his last encounter with the Electric Clowns when he and four other children were plucked from the audience and asked to help out with one of the troupe's stunt. This turned out to involve holding out a series of balloons for the Clowns to burst with their Thundershock Attacks - and it had taken him several weeks to live it down.

"Don't remind me!" he whispered back. "I felt such a . . ."

But, before the act could start, there was a sudden commotion at the public entrance.

Five men, all in OCIB uniforms, entered and began pushing their way through the crowd, ignoring protests of "what do you think you're doing?!" and "you're scaring my kids!". with a sinking feeling, Natasha realised what they were there for - and her fears were confirmed moments later.

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One of the men had a megaphone out and was using it to address the audience. "Your attention please!" he announced as all eyes turned to look at him and the Electric Clowns milled about in confusion. "We have reason to believe there are illegal hybrids in the vicinity - so, if Bjorn and Ursula Olsson, both of Violet City, give themselves up immediately . . ."

Neither Natasha nor the Chimera Children stayed to hear the rest - trying to attract as little attention as possible, they left their seats and tried to make a break for the exit before they were discovered. But, just as she was only inches from escaping, Ursula saw something that made her so angry that forgot all about the need for secrecy.

One of the OCIB agents had hold of a young girl and was trying to drag her out of her seat, clearly under the impression that SHE might be Ursula Olsson. Obviously, she wasn't - but with her long medium-brown hair and hazel eyes (currently brimming with frightened tears) it was not hard to see the resemblence. And the real Ursula Olsson was only a few feet away and could see the girl fighting a losing battle. . .

Ursula could feel her rage, rage at the heavy-handed tactics the OCIB were using, building up inside her - until i exploded from her forehead as a powerful beam of energy. It struck the OCIB agent full in the chest and sent him sprawling on the ground. No-one, least of all the OCIB, needed telling that this was a Hyperbeam - and no-one who did not carry the DNA of a Pokemon capable of learning that Attack could possibly fire one.

"It's them!" shouted the agent as he staggered to his feet and pointed towards Bjorn, Ursula and Natasha - now standing dumbstruck by what Ursula had just done.

"I'm afraid you've done it now, Sula," Bjorn said grimly.