Friend or Foe?

The next day, as planned, Kaumi met Dark and Cass in front of their hotel.

"So, where�s the map?" Kaumi looked ready for anything. He carried a large brown backpack and a black sleeping bag.

Cass fished in her bag and withdrew a rolled-up piece of paper. She held it out and let it unroll. "We bought it from a pokemon junk store," she explained. "It�s a map to Clefable�s secret den. We should start at Lake Kefka," Cass pointed it out, "and go from there. The thing is, we don�t know what kind of bodies Zozo and Narshe and all those are."

Kaumi cracked a wise grin. "Those are mountains."

The girls sweatdropped. Cass took another look. "How can you tell?"

He raised an informative finger and spoke boldly, "I�ve had special classes for orienteering and the reading of maps. Those are simple elevation marks for mountains."

Cass appeared a bit jealous at his knowledge. Dark, however, reached out a hand. Kaumi, surprised, shook it. "Welcome in. You helped us with the map, so you can come on with us to Lake Kefka and beyond. Perhaps we might really find Clefable."

They began on their journey. After about two hours of walking, they approached a large lake in a valley.

Cass double-checked the map. "Wow, that wasn�t long at all." She waved a hand over the scenery. "Lake Kefka."

The large blue lake shone magnificently in the sunlight. A sparkling Goldeen leaped out of the water and splashed silver drops as it dove back in. It was breathtaking and beautiful. No wonder why Clefable would live around the area.

They headed west, toward the large Mount Narshe. The map marked the peak as the location of the Clefable. At the foot of the mountain dwelled a patch of lovely plants and trees. They sat down and ate lunch.

Dark was just putting her leftovers away when something scurried by her. Seeing it as a pokemon opportunity, she turned to find it. Starring right at her was indeed a pokemon, but unlike any she had seen. It was a spider; it had a saffron body, a dull-looking horn on its head, and six little legs.

"Don�t spiders have eight legs?"

Cass turned to see Dark and the odd pokemon. "It�s a pokemon, it doesn�t need to abide by the laws of nature. Aw, it�s a cute one! What is it though?"

As soon as the words were spoken, the little creature scurried of into the bushes. Kaumi grew serious. "Dark, Cass. If we just saw an unidentified pokemon, we may be beyond where any trainer has gone."

Dark raised an eyebrow. "How do you guess that?"

"Look around you. It�s a beautiful place. The lake, the mountains, the vegetation." Indeed it was; enclosed by mountains the lake and valley made a sweet pokemon paradise. "Pokemon are taking refuge here. Perhaps pokemon who are endangered. Let�s just be careful, and don�t catch any pokemon other than what we came here for." The others nodded.

"Wait!" Cass exclaimed as they stood up. "I know now, where I�ve heard of Lake Kefka! I remember a story about the infamous leader of the formally known Team Rocket. Giovanni...a wicked trainer and gym leader. It was said that once his HQ was destroyed by an �experiment gone wrong�, he moved the HQ out here. Something went terribly wrong, however. All the pokemon that Team Rocket had kidnapped suddenly went bezerk and ran off into the mountains. The base was torn down, bit for bit, as the wild pokemon constantly attacked it. No one asked questions. Oddly enough, new pokemon began appearing here. It was said to be a Lost Lake, meaning that no one to come here�would ever go back�"

Dark narrowed her eyes. "That�s how the sales man knew about this place. He was in Team Rocket."

Kaumi was a little more afraid. "But how can we be caught here? Can�t we leave? What if that spider told the other pokemon we�re here!"

Cass laughed. "When we first met you, weren�t you cool like Dark?"

"Oh yeah�" Dark frowned and shook her head. "But really you two, the Spinark could�ve-"

"WHAT?" Cass gasped. Dark grew somewhat angry and approached Kaumi.

"What did you say?"

"Me? Nothing, nothing."

"WHAT did you SAY?"

"Um�"

"How did you know that that creature is called �Spinark�?"

"I-I�"

Cass sighed. "Dark," she said placidly, "let it go. We have bigger fish to fry."

"Huh?" She looked it the direction Cass was facing. In a tree, two people sat. It was Myuka and Kain. Myuka leaned forward and grinned.

"Well well. If it isn�t little Kaumi."

Kain smiled as well. "You can drop the act. No one else is around for miles to see you."

The girls turned to Kaumi, shocked.