Sheryl sat gazing at her Poke Balls as she thought back over the events of the last few weeks, events which had seen her acquire a new Pokemon, lose it, then regain possession of it. But something told her that this was not over yet, that Jack Sandford would be back. She didn't know where and when it would happen, only that it would happen.

"Destiny's the one he wants," she thought to herself, examining the Kirlia's Poke Ball. "And I have to make sure he doesn't get her." She did not care what she had to do - Jack was not going to get hold of her Kirlia, not while she was in a position to do anything about it. Whatever it took, even if she had to leave Kanto altogether, she was going to keep Destiny out of Jack's greedy hands.

But, in her heart, she knew it would not be as easy as that. Jack had already shown that he was willing to do whatever it took to get his hands on Destiny, so, no matter where she and the Kirlia went, he was sure to follow them. If only there was a way he could be persuaded to leave them alone, to acknowledge and accept the fact that Destiny was Sheryl's Pokemon . . . Sheryl sighed and placed her Poke Balls back in her pocket, promising herself that she would find a way.

In the meantime, however, she had to find a place to stay in Cerulean, somewhere Jack was less likely to bother her. And the only place which suggested itself was the Pokemon Centre; anyone could spend the night there for free and, after the scolding Jack had received from Nurse Joy, she hoped he wouldn't dare show his face there for a while. The next morning, she, Destiny and Lilac would head back to Saffron City and the Gym from which Jack was banned for life.

Unfortunately, things rarely work out in quite the way you had hoped.

Sheryl returned to the Pokemon Centre without running into either Jack or the two Rockets who had accosted her earlier. But one person she did run into was a man who waylaid her on the road to the Pokemon Centre and thrust a Magikarp into her hands before she could resist. "Hey, kid!" he said, grinning stupidly. "You're holding a Pokemon goldmine! That Magikarp could make you rich - just hand over $500 and you'll . . ."

But Sheryl cut him off before he could finish speaking. The Magikarp scam was one which had been going on for years, unscrupulous salesmen trying to sell a Pokemon which was not only of little use in battle but could also be caught easily in any body of water. Some conmen had even been known to paint Magikarp to try and pass them off as the similarly shaped but much rarer Feebas. And Sheryl was having none of it. "Sorry, no," she said, handing the wriggling Magikarp back to the man.

"Are you sure? You'll be passing up the chance of a lifetime."

"I said "no"! N - O!"

"This is a golden opportunity . . ."

Sheryl's only response to this was to pull Destiny's Poke Ball out of her pocket and release the Kirlia, who stood beside her trainer as the latter continued to try and stare down the man. "What part of "no" don't you understand?!" she demanded angrily. This man was really beginning to try her patience . . .

And, now, he was looking at Destiny with a hungry glint in his eye, the glint of someone who knows they are on the verge of pulling off the biggest scam of their lives. "Tell you what," he said, leaning closer to Sheryl as she backed away in disgust, "you trade me your Kirlia for my Magikarp - can't say fairer than that, can we?"

At this, Sheryl got angry; there was no way she was going to trade Destiny for any Pokemon, certainly not a Magikarp she didn't want anyway. "No deal!" she shouted. "Destiny! Psychic Attack!"

In response, Destiny pointed to the man, who was instantly surrounded by a blue glow as the Kirlia levitated him into the air. He swore and tried to break free, only for Destiny to lift him higher. "Kirlia!" she called, making him turn a somersault in mid-air, imagining as she did so that this man was Jack Sandford, the boy who had caused so much trouble lately. Then, seeing a nearby tree, she smiled to herself as an idea occured to her. She lifted the man higher, then deposited him in the tree's topmost branches.

"Hey!" he yelled. "Get me down from here!"

"Only if you promise to stop bothering people!" Sheryl shot back, trying hard to suppress a smile.

"Look, kid, I'm only trying to earn a bit of cash here. Magikarp are Pokemon, right? So I figured, why not save trainers the trouble of buying a rod and fishing for one?"

"I'll take that as a "no", then," Sheryl said. "Come on, Destiny, let's go." She recalled the Kirlia and walked away without looking back.

Returning to the Pokemon Centre, Sheryl walked up to the counter and asked Nurse Joy if she could stay there overnight.

Nurse Joy nodded. "Sure," she said, handing Sheryl a key. "Your room is upstairs, second door on the left." She pointed in the direction of a staircase leading upwards. Then, she looked at Sheryl more closely. "Aren't you that girl who came to claim the Kirlia?" she asked.

Sheryl nodded, then told Nurse Joy of her encounter with the Rockets, which had prompted her decision to stay in Cerulean overnight. "I didn't want to risk running into them again," she explained. "Or Jack Sandford." She frowned as she recalled how insistent Jack had been that Destiny was his Kirlia and headed off to the room where she would be spending the night.

The room was basic, just a bed covered by a duvet decorated with Poke Balls, plus a locker for each trainer's things, but it looked comfortable and at least Sheryl would have it to herself. At some Pokemon Centres, trainers had to share dormitories and a few of the smaller ones didn't offer beds at all; any trainers who had to stay at one of those Centres overnight had to crash in the waiting room. Sheryl kicked off her shoes and sat down on the bed, looking down at her Poke Balls. "Destiny, Lilac," she said, "we'll go home in the morning, OK? And . . ."

She was cut off abruptly as someone knocked on the door. Thinking it might be Jack, she held a Poke Ball in readiness, but relaxed as a girl's voice called: "Hey! Need any company?"

Sheryl relaxed instantly. "Sure. Come in."

The door opened and a girl with blonde pigtails entered the room. She was wearing a pink skirt and pale grey t-shirt, a backpack slung over her shoulder and six Poke Balls on a belt round her waist. "Kerrie North, Pokemon trainer," she said, extending her hand towards Sheryl. "I'm in the room next to yours."

Sheryl and Kerrie spent the rest of the evening talking and telling each other about themselves. Kerrie, who was nearly eleven, had been on a Pokemon journey for several months; she had started with a Nidoran Female (which had since evolved into a Nidorina) and she also had a Flaaffy, a Breloom, a Ninetales, a Swablu and a Scyther. She also had several Badges, earned for defeating various Gym Leaders, which she kept in a wallet in her backpack.

"I've got four so far," she explained, emptying them out onto the bed. Sheryl, looking at the Badges, recognised two of them as the Rainbow Badge from Celadon City and the Thunder Badge from Vermilion City, but the other two were unfamiliar to her; they must have been earned at two of Kanto's less well-known Gyms. "I came here to rest up - then I'm gonna challenge Misty in the morning," Kerrie went on, packing the Badges back into her wallet as she spoke.

"Trying for the Cascade Badge?" asked Sheryl, recalling that that was the name of the Badge awarded to trainers who defeated the Cerulean Gym Leader.

Kerrie closed her eyes and adopted a wistful look. "Oh, yes! It's one of the prettiest Badges of them all! It looks like a drop of water and it's a beautiful blue colour. But first," she added, snapping out of her reverie about beautiful blue Badges, "tell me about yourself."

Sheryl began to tell the whole story, from the day she found Destiny in an alleyway in Saffron City to the clue from Ruby which had led her here. She spoke of the bond she had formed with the Kirlia and her determination to keep her safe no matter what. "If I can avoid Jack and those Rockets," she added, with a slight frown on her face. "Not to mention that Magikarp salesman . . ."

"Magikarp salesman?"

"Some guy who tried to sell me a Magikarp. He wouldn't take "no" for an answer, so I had Destiny - that's my Kirlia - levitate him into a tree and left him there!"

"Yeah, I've heard of that scam. Too bad they can't seem to catch those behind it. Anyway," Kerrie said, changing the subject, "you wanna come cheer me on tomorrow?"

Sheryl paused for a moment. "If I have time," she said finally. "I was hoping to get back to Saffron City tomorrow - Saffron Gym's the only place I can keep Destiny safe from Jack. He got kicked out of there, remember?"

Kerrie nodded. "He sure sounds like a jerk, getting thrown out of a Pokemon Gym!" She giggled, then looked Sheryl in the eye. "Speaking of Pokemon Gyms, I'm thinking of trying for the Marsh Badge after I get my Cascade Badge. Could you give me a few tips?"

"Sure," replied Sheryl. She paused as she tried to recall what she had been taught about Psychic Pokemon and what their strengths and weaknesses were. "Now," she went on, "Saffron Gym uses Psychic Pokemon. They can be hard to beat, but they are weak against Ghost, Dark and Bug Pokemon . . ." With that, she launched into an impromptu lecture on how best to approach battles against Psychic Type Pokemon, drawing on what she had learned in Saffron City.

"Hey!" Kerrie said when Sheryl had finished speaking. "If you're from Saffron City, could I come with you when you go back there? I mean, we'll be going the same way and all . . ."

Sheryl nodded. "And I'll be at Cerulean Gym tomorrow, cheering you on."

But neither Sheryl nor Kerrie realised that someone was listening at the door. That someone was Jack Sandford, who grinned to himself when he heard Sheryl say she was going to cheer Kerrie on at Cerulean Gym. Wherever Sheryl went, she was sure to take that Kirlia he wanted so badly, so Cerulean Gym would be the perfect place to ambush her. All he had to do was sneak into the Gym and find a way to get Destiny's Poke Ball away from her trainer . . .

The fact that he had already failed on more than one occasion to get that Kirlia didn't faze him any, not now that he had Team Rocket issue equipment. He recalled how he had seen two Rockets (the same Rockets Sheryl had encountered earlier) skulking in an alley and approached them, offering his services to their team. "I'd make a great Rocket," he had said. But they had laughed at him, telling him Team Rocket didn't recruit kids and that he should "go play with his toys".

"Just give me a chance to prove myself," he had begged, sensing his best chance to get that Kirlia slipping away. "There's this Kirlia I'm after; it's with this girl and I've been trying to get it away from her . . ."

"And why should Team Rocket help you?" asked one of the Rockets, whose name was Dan.

"Because . . ." Jack paused. "Because you guys are the best at swiping Pokemon from other people!"

Dan paused and turned to his partner, Ross. "What do you think?"

"I think the kid's got spunk," replied Ross. "I say we give him a trial and, if he gets that Kirlia, we'll recommend him to Giovanni." He turned to Jack. "It's a deal, kid - swipe that Kirlia and you'll be on the first rung of the Team Rocket ladder." As he spoke, he thought of his sister, Jade, who had joined Team Rocket at the same time as him but was a few rungs higher on the ladder, meaning she was trusted with solo missions. Dan and Ross, by contrast, had barely enchanged their white uniforms for black.

Recalling this meeting, Jack smiled to himself as he examined the equipment Dan and Ross had given him. There was a net, a two-way radio and, most important of all, a set of Psychic-inhibiting bands; the latter would be essential when he came to take Destiny, as they would keep her from fighting back with her Psychic powers.

"You're mine, Kirlia!" he vowed.

The next morning, Sheryl and Kerrie arrived at Cerulean Gym, a brightly coloured building with a carved wooden Dewgong over the entrance. A young blonde woman sat at the reception desk, filing her nails, and looked up as the two girls entered. "Can I, like, help you?" she asked in a slightly airheaded voice.

"Yes," said Kerrie, flashing her wallet of Gym Badges. "I'm here to challenge Misty for the Cascade Badge."

"One moment." The young woman, who was, of course, Misty's sister, Daisy, got up and walked over to the door which led to the arena. "Misty! You got a challenger!" she called, opening the door and peering inside. Sheryl, peering round her, saw that the arena in this Gym consisted of a large swimming pool, with a diving board at the far end. A young red-haired girl sat by the pool, dabbling her bare feet in the water, but got up at the sound of Daisy's voice.

"Hey! Are you here to challenge me?" she asked, her voice full of eagerness.

"I am," replied Kerrie, stepping forward with a Poke Ball in her hand. Beside her, Sheryl looked down at her own Poke Balls, then at the girl with the red hair. So this was Misty? Sheryl had never met her before, but she had heard that she had only recently taken over as Cerulean's Gym Leader; before that, she had travelled all over Kanto, Johto and the Orange Islands.

In any case, Misty was soon nodding eagerly. "Sure," she replied. "We'll use two Pokemon each, no time limit. Daisy, you're the referee."

So Kerrie and Misty took up their positions on either end of the pool, as Sheryl and Daisy stood on the sidelines. Daisy held a pair of flags in her hands, which she raised then lowered to indicate that the match could get under way. "Like, let the match begin!" she called as Kerrie and Misty readied their Poke Balls.

Misty threw her Poke Ball first. "Staryu, go!" The Ball burst open with a flash of light and a beige starfish with a red jewel in the centre of its body materialised, diving gracefully into the water. Misty had had this Staryu for a long time; it was one of her best Pokemon and Sheryl, watching from the side, hoped the match wouldn't take too long. She wanted to get Destiny home to Saffron City as quickly as possible.

In the meantime, Kerrie too threw a Poke Ball. "I choose . . . Swablu!" she called, as the blue bird with cloud-like wings emerged from the Ball and hovered above the crystal clear water of the pool. "Use your Peck Attack, Swablu!" she added, pointing out towards the water where Misty's Staryu was balancing on its points.

In response, Swablu flew straight at the Staryu, her beak aimed at the jewel in the Water Pokemon's centre. But Misty knew from experience that the jewel was one of the weak spots in a Staryu or Starmie; if it was damaged in any way, the Staryu or Starmie would be defeated. And letting her Pokemon be defeated too easily was not her style. In the few seconds before Swablu hit home, she acted. "Staryu! Dive under the water!" Staryu did so, but, from her position, Swablu could easily see its shadow moving around below the surface. So she began circling over the pool, waiting for her chance.

Kerrie was good; Sheryl could see that. And her Swablu was clearly well-trained. But Sheryl also knew from her experience of Sabrina that Gym Leaders did not give their opponents an easy match. It was their job to both defend their Gym's honour and test the skills of every challenger who entered the arena. And Misty clearly meant to give Kerrie a demonstration of her Water Pokemon skills. Then, Sheryl sensed something, some form of premonition telling her that Misty's Staryu was about to surface. Sure enough . . .

"Staryu! Surface and use Swift Attack!" called Misty as soon as Kerrie's Swablu was directly overhead.

"Swablu! Aerial Ace!" Kerrie countered, as Staryu shot out of the water and began shooting star-shaped beams of light in Swablu's direction. In response, Swablu took off into the air, then went zooming in, heading directly for Staryu. Then, before Misty could do anything to counter, the two Pokemon collided. Their bodies locked together, they began tumbling down, Swablu gripping Staryu with her talons, as Staryu struggled to break free. But would they land in the water or on the solid ground bordering the pool? Everyone - Sheryl, Kerrie, Daisy and Misty - held their breath, waiting for the outcome. For a moment, it looked as though they would land in the water and Sheryl was briefly tempted to send out Destiny and have her Teleport Swablu to dry land. But she checked herself; a Gym Match was meant to be between the Gym Leader and the challenger. No interference was allowed.

But it turned out that Destiny's Teleport would have been unnecessary anyway because, when Swablu and Staryu were only inches from the water, Kerrie acted. "Swablu, pull out of that dive!" she ordered. Swablu quickly did so, but not before dropping Staryu into the water.

For the next few rounds, the battle continued, with Kerrie and Misty launching attack and counterattack on each other. In the end, however, the match was decided when Swablu used her Take Down Attack, flying directly at Staryu and knocking it out of the water before Misty could counter. Staryu ended up lying on the side of the pool, its jewel flashing, a sign that it was losing energy.

"Staryu is unable to battle!" called Daisy. "Round one to the challenger!"

As Kerrie and Misty sent out their next Pokemon (Kerrie chose Flaaffy, while Misty selected Corsola) Sheryl thought about what she had just seen. Misty might have been young, but she was clearly an expert at handling Water Pokemon. Maybe, Sheryl would battle Misty herself one day, not as a Gym match but for a little fun. In the meantime, she prepared to watch the next round of Kerrie's match with Misty.

But neither she nor any of the others realised that someone was watching furtively. That someone was, of course, Jack Sandford, who had sneaked into the Gym through the back door and was now waiting for his chance to ambush Sheryl and relieve her of her Kirlia. But, so far, no opportunities had presented themselves and he was forced to wait impatiently while Sheryl continued to watch Kerrie and Misty. Hopefully, he told himself, she would be so distracted by the battle that she wouldn't notice when he slipped his hand into her pocket and took her Poke Balls.

Elementary pick-pocketing was one of the first skills a Team Rocket agent learned.