"Unh . . . !" I groaned. My head was spinning as if I'd just been propelled in circles by the vine-whip of an Ivysaur. Scratch that-- from the way things kept on going in and out of focus it had to have been a Venusaur.

"Hiroshi?"

Hmm. The orange blur on my left was speaking to me. "Oh . . . uh . . . Kasumi?"

Now that her face was back in focus I could see she had a considerable number of cuts on her face and she seemed to be covered in some sort of sludge . . . I looked at my robes and sighed. I was in no position to comment.

"Are you all right?"

"I think I will be." She helped me sit. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure. I was fighting and then . . . Shigeru's over there with Arcanine and Takeshi . . ." Kasumi gulped and for a split second she sounded like a normal vulnerable human being. "They're not waking up. I can't find Starmie . . . Akeiko's just gone! And there's a whole lot of poison clan soldier's tied up over there . . ."

"Rrrrrrr," a worried voice said in my ear.

"Oh Onix," I patted his side. "Of course I'll try and help Takeshi. I just don't know if my herb lore will work against the type of wounds the poison clan inflict."

"Sssh. Someone's coming," Kasumi tugged me to my feet.

"Easy . . .!"

"We have to hide!" She pulled me into the bushes behind her. After a moment Onix curled down, doing his best to look like a pile of rocks. And it's amazing, but Onix really looked like a pile of rocks. I don't know how he did it but . . . uh, I guess I wasn't quite over the effects of whatever the poison clan had hit us with.

"You sure da Starmie is all right? I'm not sure putting it in the stream was sure a great idea . . . "

Now I knew I wasn't all right. No way could that be a talking Meowth.

"Squirt. Squirtle."

"Okay, okay, you're da water Pokémon! Geez. You'd think a guy'd haf da right to his own opinion."

"Squirt."

"Now don't get cheeky! I'm da one who talks human talk and--"

"Meowth! Is everything okay?"

Akeiko's voice. I gasped as a moment later she came into sight on the back of a . . . a. . Charizard? Those things only obey fire-masters! "Hell!" I muttered.

"Just squeaky clean," Meowth grumbled. "You?"

"Pikachu!" The lightning Pokémon chirped happily from it's place in Akeiko's arms. I frowned. Something . . .

"And da poison-clan trainers?"

Charizard snorted smugly. Akeiko laughed as she reached up to pat him. "Let's just say they won't be sitting down for a while . . ."

"Pi-KA-chu!" Laughed the Pikachu.

"How are the other's doing? Will they be all right?"

"Bulba!"

"Well As you can see Bulbasaur's quite confident we won't have anything to worry about from the poison clan members for a while. But your friends ain't so hot."

"How . . . serious . . .?" Akeiko has knelt by Shigeru.

"Aw, nothing too bad. But you won't be travelling hard today."

"Where's Hiroshi and Kasumi?" Akeiko stood suddenly, "And Onix?"

"Uh . . "

"Meowth, we have to find them! They could be hurt or lost or . . ."

"Rrrrrr." To my surprise Onix has uncurled and winds itself gently around Akeiko.

"Oh, stop that you big pile of stones," she pats him affectionately. "I'm glad to see you're okay. But where are . . . ?"

"We're here." I step out of the bush. After a moment Kasumi follows me.

"Uh . . . meow meow, meow--"

"We heard you talking before," Kasumi says. "So don't think you can fool us!"

"Or you either," I smile and hold out my hand. "Akeiko . . . or should I say, Satoshi?"

He pauses a moment. "I prefer Satoshi," he says with a smile, taking my hand. "So you guessed huh?"

"I'd been kind of suspicious for a while," I said.

"I didn't believe you from the start," Kasumi says self righteously although I'd bet a wagon of Pokémon food she didn't expect this . . .

"I could tell," the Pikachu chatters at us all and he bends down and picks it up. "Before we go any further I'd like to make it perfectly clear that this was all Geru-chan's idea . . ."

Geru-chan makes a groaning noise and Akeiko--Satoshi I should say now, goes to investigate.

"What happened?" Kasumi asks.

"Oh . . . I guess you two got knocked out in the battle. Kosaburo used me to make Shigeru and Takeshi put their weapons down and get Pikachu and then Yamato and he sent Wheezing's poison-cloud attack and then Stunspore on you. If Meowth and the others hadn't decided to show up then I don't think you would have woken up ever. Any of you."

"You mean . . . we owe our life to a masterless Meowth?" Kasumi's distress sounds comical.

"Squirtle. Squirt."

"Bulba-saur."

"Among other's," Satoshi laughs and gathers the Squirtle into his arms for a hug. It seems surprised but lets him.

"And you'd better pay up, too!" the Meowth tells us. "Saving people's lives doesn't come free, y'know."

"You'll have to short Meowth and the Squirtle a meal," Satoshi explains.

"Let's see, dat would make three meals, you owe us?"

"Three?"

"Pika-pikachu!"

"Hey! I can to count! I saved your lives as well as theirs, that makes it three, ne?"

"But you had help from Charizard and Bulbasaur," Satoshi says. "Two."

"Oh fine. But make sure you pay up."

"Squirt. Squirt."

One of the Squirtle has returned to announce that Kasumi's Starmie has recovered. As she hurried off to check on it, Satoshi calls me.

"Um, I don't suppose I could ask you a favour . . . "

"Go ahead," I assure him.

"It's kind of . . . I was wondering, do you have any clothes I could borrow? I mean, guy's clothes . . . "

I laugh. "I'm sure I'll find some that would fit you. I mean we are about the same size . . . "

When Kasumi returns with Starmie she finds me and Satoshi, now recognisably Satoshi, talking while we bandage our still sleeping friends.

"You look a lot different," she says eyeing him critically. "With your hair cut short like that you look like a member of the grass-clan or something."

"Hai," I murmur, fingering my own short hair. Each clan has it's own peculiar distinctions of dress, hair cuts, ornamentation. Although I train with the Insect clan, my short hair remains evidence of my close link to my family and my home among the grass trainers--that and the fact it would drive me nuts to have to spend the time Shigeru does on his own long hair. "I'd have thought you'd have kept it long in keeping with the fire clan customs. I know it's none of my business," I say suddenly blushing and fearing I might have presumed. "But Shigeru seemed to say you were pretty close and I thought . . . "

Luckily he doesn't seem to have taken offence. Luckily . . . We barely know him. It's nuts. We've been through a battle together, he's probably saved our lives and yet . . . we don't know him.

"I used to have it in a ponytail. Down to here. That was okay. Then when Matisse-san took me in he decided to get rid of it. Said he wouldn't have any pupil of his looking like a fancy-schmancy aristocrat who was too good to actually work," Satoshi laughed. "I kind of got the impression that he didn't like the fire-clan."

"Matisse-san?" Kasumi asks, kneeling by Arcanine and feeling the dog's pulse. "Shigeru never mentioned him. Is he your master?"

"Not . . . exactly," Satoshi looks down.

"A teacher? You did say he called you pupil." I prompt.

"Hai . . . its awkward. I don't really know what he is. He's been teaching me to fight, he's a ronin. I don't know . . . I haven't told Shigeru yet. I don't know what he'd say . . . you won't mention this to him, right?"

"Well, you should be the one to tell him. After all he is your friend," I pat him on the shoulder. Somehow it doesn't seem too weird to be doing this . . . he feels like a younger brother or something. "And you know . . . he told us he regrets things he'd said to you . . . that you weren't meant to be a samurai. I think if you told him, he'd be pleased at the idea of you . . . "

"But that's the problem!" Satoshi says.

Kasumi sighs pointedly. "Guys."

Meowth sighs. "Humans."

I'm not sure whether to be offended or not . . . but Pikachu and Satoshi look at each other and begin laughing. After a moment I join in. It's just, I don't know so . . . there? I'm probably not making much sense but I suppose you have to make allowances for a guy who has been doused by stunspore and Poison-cloud, right?

"Rrrrrrr?" Onix wants to know what the joke is. As explaining it is beyond any of us we revert to our more serious problem-- the fact that Arcanine, Takeshi, Shigeru and Happy are all unconscious in a forest filled with a lot of unconscious poison-clan soldiers who are bound to have friends somewhere . . .

"We need a plan."

"First we need to move these Snorlax's out of here," Satoshi says, dragging a prone Shigeru over to Charizard. The fire lizard allows him to drape the young master-to-be across his back. "Onix can take Takeshi, can't you?"

"Rrrrrrr.'

"Kasumi and I can manage Arcanine."

"Good. I'll see if I can find us a place to camp. I'll send back Pikachu when I find somewhere." Satoshi vanishes into the trees. I notice that Kasumi doesn't have any qualms about trusting him.

When I mention this she goes faintly pink. "Well Shigeru obviously trusts him . . . " she muttered.

I decide not to comment. I do value being able to walk upright after all.

The Meowth finds a wagon that the poison-clan must have been using to transport the Tentacruel in and with Bulbasaur's help we lever Arcanine into it. Just as we're ready to go Pikachu returns . . . riding on a Pidgey.

"Pika-pika! Pika-pi, pikachu, pika-Chu."

"I suppose that means we follow . . . " Kasumi says dubiously.

"Hai . . . " We pull the wagon between us through the forest and follow Pikachu who leads us on foot, the Pidgey . About forty-five minutes later we reach the site Satoshi has chosen for us . . . apparently the middle of flock of Pidgey's nesting grounds. "Oh . . . "

"Isn't this a good site?" Satoshi asks us enthusiastically. "There's a stream nearby and the Pidgey will tell us if anything approaches . . ."

"Mmhmm," I murmured. Actually my thoughts were more along the lines of guano but I didn't want to say anything.

"Let's get these four comfortable," Kasumi said suddenly coming over all motherly. "I bet those bushes over there would make great beds."

"Squawk!" The Pidgey in the trees begin flapping frantically. Kasumi and I reach for our hatana-blades, stopping as four nests are dislodged from the trees to fall into the clearing.

"Amazing . . . "

"Thank-you!" Satoshi calls. The Pidgey squirm in embarrassed pleasure. "Now Geru-chan, let's get you cosy . . . "

"Char." Charizard assists him in getting Shigeru into one of the nests. I pause to make sure Butterfree is as well as he can be before helping Onix with Takeshi, and Kasumi settles Arcanine.

That done we look at each other. "Now what . . . ?" I ask. We need Shigeru or Takeshi to tell us what to do.

"Squawk! Squ-awk! Awk!" The Pidgey that had carried Pikachu earlier has returned.

"The Pidgey says there are people gathering just outside the forest . . . " Satoshi frowns. "I'll go take a look."

"Be careful," Kasumi calls.

I bend to check Shigeru's pulse. I think it's getting stronger.

"Is there anything we can do for them?" Kasumi asks.

"Not much . . . they inhaled a lot of that stun spore. We just have to keep them warm and see if we can't get them fed." I set Kasumi to work making this sort of berry mash that we can just slip down their throats . . . I'd rather have used soup but with people, probably hostile on the edge of the forest I wasn't going to chance a fire.

"Hiroshi . . . why weren't we affected like these four?" Kasumi says. "I mean, we were there and everything . . . "

"Possibly because we were already unconscious. We weren't breathing as much and so didn't inhale as much of the venom as the others."

"They will get better right?"

"Right. It'll just take time, that's all."

"What . . . if we don't have the time?"

"Then . . . " I paused. I didn't know what would happen. "I guess we'll just have to hope that things will work out."

"Unh . . . "

"Shigeru! Shigeru's waking up!" Kasumi did a little excited dance.

"Take it easy," I said, kneeling by his side. "You've breathed in an awful lot of . . . "

"Where's . . . ?"

"Arcanine? Right beside you. Don't worry, the two of you will be up and about in no time."

"Sato-chan?"

"Here," Satoshi had returned . . . and not alone.

Shigeru blearily blinked at the Pokémon in his arms. "What . . . is . . . that . . . thing?"

"Isn't it cool? It's a Caterpie. I think it likes you Geru-chan."

"Oh gods . . . " Shigeru muttered and lost consciousness again.

"He'll wake in a few more hours," I told Satoshi.

"Takeshi?"

"I don't know. He doesn't seem to be reacting to the venom very well. We may have to carry him to the fire-clan stronghold."

"That's not going to be easy," Satoshi said. "The people blocking the road? They're poison-clan warriors."

"Hell," I whispered.

"Maybe we can . . . aargh! Get it away from me!" Kasumi had met Caterpie. Satoshi and I stared in astonishment as she frantically tried to climb into one of the Pidgey's trees to get away from the harmless little bug Pokémon.

"Preee?" The Caterpie chirped in confusion.

"What's the matter Kasumi?" I asked, patting the Caterpie so it wouldn't feel offended. I'd always had a soft spot for the little creatures, since finding one in my family's herb garden one morning . . . that had been the start of the trail of events that had brought me here.

"You're not scared of a cute widdle thing like this, are you?" Satoshi asked, scratching Caterpie under it's chin.

"Preee! Preee!"

Kasumi shuddered. "I'm not coming out of this tree until you get rid of that . . . thing!"

"You're a samurai!" I protested, echoing a former complaint of Shigeru's.

"Must be a girl thing," Satoshi whispered to me. Unfortunately he didn't whisper it quite softly enough . . .

Thwack!

"Ow!"

"I may be in a tree," Kasumi muttered. "But if you're going to insult me you'd be wise to move out of my throwing range."

"Good idea," Satoshi muttered. "Come on, Caterpie, I want you to meet your new friend, Pikachu."

"Wait," I said. "We need to make plans. Kasumi will you get out of that tree?"

"I can discuss plans quite happily from here, thank-you very much," she said with as much dignity as she could muster. I didn't want to get hit by a branch or something so I fought laughter.

"Okay then . . . first things first. How are we going to get past the Poison-clan? At the very least they'll have our descriptions . . . "

"I think so. While I was watching them a couple of groups of people passed. They checked them against a piece of paper then let them through." Satoshi smiled. "I guess that means we'll have to try disguise."

"The wagon was certainly a lucky find," Kasumi murmured. "Without it we wouldn't be able to do this."

We'd disguised ourselves as a pair of wandering healers. I wore my robes simply without the insect clan regalia and Kasumi had let her hair down and produced a nice long kimono from her travelling gear. Satoshi and his new friend had found more Caterpie and convinced them to join together and spin a cover for the wagon. We'd just finished setting up the frames over it so that we were left with a nice cosy caravan, inside which rested Takeshi and Arcanine, the worst affected by the poison-clan's attacks.

"Mmhmm," I nodded as I finished painting the grass clan logo, the recognised symbol of healing on to the ides of our wagon. Long since having given up battle training, the grass-clan devoted themselves to healing, saving lives as opposed to taking them. My birth clan was protected by all the clan laws and the penalties of harming a neutral grass-clan member were severe. I hoped that the poison clan would respect that neutrality . . .

"Bulbasaur!"

The little grass Pokémon wandered up to me happily, with another bundle of herbs. I'd quickly recognised him as the Bulbasaur stolen from my birth kin the same year I'd set out to find Lord Erika and beg training . . . "Thank-you," I said, taking the herbs. We were stocking the cart as if it was a healers. Takeshi and Arcanine were hidden by the herbs we'd gathered.

"Almost finished."

"But how are we going to draw it?" Kasumi said. "I mean, we can't ask Onix, he's a rock type. And Bulbasaur is too little . . . "

"Tauros! Taur! Taur!"

"Sssh! Shoo!" Satoshi looked a little embarrassed as we turned to stare at him. "Um, it, uh, followed me?"

"What did you do, bathe in some sort of scent-love-scent?" Kasumi asked. "I swear, it's not natural. Trainer's don't get on well with Pokémon of more than one element."

"Sorry."

"Don't apologise, Satoshi. You've just solved our transport problem." I indicate the cart. "Do you think that you can get the Tauros to pull the cart for us?"

"I'll ask him," Satoshi said.

"Taur! Taur!" Tauros is only too happy to help.

"Me and da team are ready to go," Meowth saunters up to us. "Just say da word."

"Your team will wait until the poison clan is occupied with Kasumi and Hiroshi. Then Onix will dig a tunnel for you below the clan members and out to behind that hill," Satoshi told him and the Squirtle. "Then it's me and Shigeru's turn."

"How is Shigeru coming along?" I ask and see Satoshi smile again.

"Oh, quite nicely. In fact I think . . . here he comes now."

Shigeru stomped into the clearing with one of his fiercest scowls on his face. That scowl was the only thing that kept the rest of from falling over and howling with laughter. "Couldn't we have just have done the good old suicide charge thing?"

"Aw but Shigeru . . . you look so cute in that dress . . . "

The red-haired samurai gave Satoshi a look of such pure dislike I bet even a Charizard would have been chilled. "Remind me again why I agreed to this . . . this idiocy!"

"Shigeru-san, you know your red-hair is rather distinctive. There's no hiding the fact you are of the fire-clan," I say helpfully, giving him one of my most innocent 'helpful' grins. "And since those poison clan soldiers down there are looking for a fire-clan warrior . . . "

"We have to make sure that's what you least look like!" Kasumi finished. "Now come on Shigeru-san and stop pouting."

"We're going to have to do something with your hair," Satoshi said.

Kasumi screeched. "Eeeee! Makeover!" I blinked. What was this--another personality? "Come on Geru-chan, let's get you fixed up . . . "

"Don't call me Geru-chan . . . " as he was hauled away by an eager Kasumi, Shigeru shot one last bitter look at Satoshi. "If the poison-clan don't kill you, I will."

We laughed until our sides hurt.

"Oh dear," I said eventually. "Poor Shigeru-san."

"Poor Shigeru-san," Satoshi agrees with a happy smile. "He'll live." He suddenly frowned. "I haven't seen Muk since the Poison-clan battle. Do you think he's . . . ?"

"I don't think he'd be hurt," I say. "Muk are pretty strong against all attacks. But you have to remember that until yesterday Muk fought with the poison clan . . . he's probably still got strong ties to his former trainer . . . "

"But that guy was cruel to it! He was a complete and utter jerk!"

I sigh. "Muk's probably feeling confused right now. I'd give it time to think and then trust it to make the right decision. If it wants to it'll come back to you . . . or maybe it'll decide it prefers the forest and freedom to living with a trainer."

"I guess," Satoshi sighs.

I watch him a moment. "You know, most people wouldn't even be bothered with a poison Pokémon."

"He's . . . like a friend," Satoshi explains simply. A friend . . . I like that.

"You're da weirdest human I ever met," Meowth says. He shrugs. "Not dat dat's a bad thing . . . dat creepy dame on the other hand . . . "

"But Natsume's cool," Satoshi protests.

"Ya wouldn't say dat if you'd been wiv us last night. Came outta nowhere and near scared my whiskers off. All she said was "Satoshi needs help" den she went. Just like that."

"I wondered how you'd known when to turn up," Satoshi says. "Thanks for coming to our aid, guys."

"Squirtle, squirt!"

"Charrr."

"Bulba."

"Squirt! Squirt!"

"Yeah, well . . . you haf t'be alive when we get to the fire-clan. How else can we prove we saved your lives?"

Shigeru and Kasumi joined us. With his long hair done up like that, Shigeru looks every bit the aristocratic woman. Amazing . . . he's lost none of his . . . authority.

"So are we ready to see this . . . . madness through?"

"Pikachu!" Satoshi's lightning Pokémon speaks for all of us, jumping into his trainer's arms for one last hug before he goes to join Meowth and the Squirtle in travelling through the tunnel. Charizard snorts. Well there was no way he could fit through the tunnel and he is very distinctive. However he is not happy that he has to leave last. He will take off, flying as high as possible and staying in the cloud make his way to the fire-clan fortress alone.

"Satoshi, are you ready?"

"Hai." He's still wearing my robes but he's swapped the outer cloak for Takeshi's distinctive rock-clan one. A rock trainer was the best disguise for him . . . with his hair cut so short he really doesn't have much choice.

"You'll have t do something to hide your cheek," I remind him, as Kasumi and I prepare to leave. Bulbasaur climbs onto the roof of our cart, and Caterpie and Butterfree climb inside.

"Your cheek?" Shigeru catches Satoshi's face in his hand. "I didn't see this . . . does it hurt, Sato-chan?"

"Aw . . . it's nothing," Satoshi squirms. "Sakaki-san's Persian took a swipe at me, that's all."

"That's ALL? You could have lost an eye!" It looks like Satoshi is going to get a lecture on how to behave in front of the pets of despotic clan leaders. Kasumi and I share a glance and mutually decide that now would be a good time to leave.

"See you at the fire-clan fortress!" I say, as we wave goodbye to Shigeru and the others.

"I hope," Kasumi whispers. I can't help but share her feeling.

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