Destiny was on the brink of despair.

Right now, she was sitting in the back seat of a car, sandwiched between Jack Sandford and the Rocket called Ross; Dan, who was driving, had turned the stereo up full blast and rock music was pounding in the Kirlia's ears, adding to her discomfort. She glanced at the cage which held Lilac, wishing desperately that there was some way she could free herself and the Espeon. But the bands which had been fastened around both Pokemon made it impossible for either of them to use their Psychic abilities. They were, to put it bluntly, trapped.

She had no idea where they were or how long they had been driving, but she knew they had to be well clear of Cerulean City by now. And every second she was in this car brought her further and further away from Sheryl, the girl she looked to for protection, the girl she trusted with her life. If only there was some way she could tell Sheryl where she was . . . But there wasn't; the band which inhibited her Psychic powers saw to that. She had tried many times to break through the band's control, but had only succeeded in giving herself a headache that, had she been a Psyduck, would have enabled her to do what she had been trying to do and use her Psychic abilities to break the band. But, since she was a Kirlia and not a Psyduck, her efforts had been in vain. Now, exhausted, she could only sit there listlessly.

But, had she looked out of the window at that moment, she would have seen a Swablu flying alongside the car. That Swablu was the one which belonged to Kerrie and she had been sent to look for Sheryl's missing Pokemon. Watching from the air, she had seen Ross, Dan and Jack leave their hideout, dragging the two captive Pokemon with them, and leave by car. Swablu had never actually met Destiny and Lilac, but she guessed from what Kerrie had told her that these were the Pokemon Sheryl had lost. So she had elected to follow the Rockets but was careful to stay out of sight; she had nearly been caught by Team Rocket herself once and did not want to repeat the experience.

"How much further?" Ross asked.

"What?!" Dan was unable to hear his partner above the noise of the stereo. So, even though his favourite track was currently playing, he turned it off.

"I said: "How much further"?" repeated Ross, glancing at the caged Lilac. The Espeon was pacing restlessly, wanting desperately to escape but unable to do so. Ross gloated at her, telling himself that, once they brought this Pokemon to Giovanni, they were sure to get a nice fat bonus. An Espeon was a valuable Pokemon and this one looked like a fine specimen, her eyes shining, her fur in excellent condition. It was plain that her trainer had taken good care of her - all the better for Team Rocket.

"We're there now," Dan replied as he drew up outside a huge building. There were no signs to indicate what the building was used for, but he and Ross already knew its purpose. For this was the Headquarters of the notorious Team Rocket, the base of operations for the most notorious gang in Kanto and Johto. This was the place where their skills and the skills of countless other Pokemon thieves had been honed.

Dan, Ross and Jack climbed out of the car and made their way to the front door, Ross carrying the cage which held Lilac, Jack dragging Destiny by a cord attached to the band around her waist. She wished more than ever that she could Teleport away from here, but she could not; the band saw to that. All she could do was stumble miserably after the humans, wondering if she would ever see Sheryl again.

Destiny was led down a seemingly endless corridor, towards a closed door which gave her a feeling of uneasiness as soon as she saw it. It was one of those doors that make one afraid, or at least nervous, as if what lies beyond is something which is unpleasent but cannot be avoided. She glanced over at Lilac, currently crouching in her cage, and knew, even without the ability to communicate telepathically, that the Espeon was feeling the same way.

Dan marched up to the door and knocked on it three times.

"Enter!" barked a voice from within.

In response, Dan pushed open the door and the group entered the room to come face to face with a dark-haired man in a business suit, who sat at his desk as if he controlled the whole world from here - or had a strong desire to. A Persian was curled up on the floor next to the desk, apparently asleep, although it had one eye slightly open. Seeing it reminded Destiny of the Persian she had encountered when she first Teleported to Saffron City the day Jack tried to capture her. She recalled how that Persian had attacked her, zapping her with an Electric Attack, how she had tried in vain to fight back . . . That was the last thing she remembered until she woke up to find herself face-to-face with Sheryl, the girl with whom she had formed a special bond.

Sheryl, the girl who had sworn to protect her. But where was she now? Did she . . .?

Destiny's thoughts were interupted by a harsh human voice. "Well? What have you brought this time?" It was the man behind the desk.

"This Kirlia," replied Dan, as Jack thrust Destiny forward, still keeping a tight hold on the cord which he was using as a lead. "And an Espeon. Both valuable Psychic Pokemon."

"And the boy?"

"A potential new recruit," Ross told the man behind the desk, who was, of course, none other than Giovanni himself. "He was the one who . . . acquired these Pokemon."

Destiny's mind blanked out the rest of the conversation between the Rockets and, the next thing she knew, she and Lilac were being thrust into a windowless room lined with cages from floor to ceiling. This was the room where Team Rocket stored the Pokemon its agents had successfully stolen, until they could be used in some sinister project or sold off to the highest bidder. Right now, it was empty, but it could hold more than one hundred Pokemon; with a little squeezing, as many as two hundred could be stored in here. The Rockets and Jack dragged Destiny and Lilac to the far end of the room, where two cages stood open.

Lilac was thrust into one of the empty cages, followed seconds later by Destiny being thrown into the cage next to her. Then, metal bars slammed across the front of both cages, imprisoning both Pokemon. Jack crouched down in front of Destiny's cage and began to taunt her. "Well, Kirlia, I'm off to train at Rocket Academy now. And Giovanni says that, if I make the grade, you'll be my Pokemon. If not, he'll sell you to the highest bidder - either way, you won't see your self-styled trainer again!" And, laughing, Jack Sandford walked away.

Moments later, the Rockets left the room, closing the door behind them. Destiny and Lilac were trapped in Team Rocket's holding area.

Meanwhile, Sheryl and Kerrie were heading west from Cerulean City, following a small blue bird with clouds for wings. Right now, they were passing through Mount Moon; several Clefairy were dancing around and singing in their sweet voices, but Sheryl paid them no heed. Her mind was on following Kerrie's Swablu to wherever her Pokemon had been taken. The more time passed without her sensing Destiny's thoughts, the more concerned she grew, knowing that anything could have happened to the Kirlia. Did Jack Sandford have her? Probably, but that didn't explain why the mindlink had been shut down.

She turned to Kerrie. "Did Swablu find anything?"

Kerrie repeated the question, substituting "Swablu" with "you". In reply, Swablu pointed to the west, then flew down to the ground and laboriously scratched a rough R in the soil. "Er . . . I taught Swablu to read a little," Kerrie explained when she saw Sheryl looking at her questioningly.

"Yes," replied Sheryl. "But R for what? Raichu? Raticate?"

"Relicanth? Roserade?" supplied Kerrie.

"Rocket?" Sheryl did not know what prompted her to say it, but it did not take long for her to figure out the rest. "Team Rocket?" She knelt down next to the Swablu. "Swablu, did you see Team Rocket?"

Swablu nodded and took off into the air, still flying west. Down below, two human girls, one dressed in pink and grey, the other dressed in the purple and black uniform of Saffron Gym, followed her, trying desperately not to let her out of their sight, knowing that the fate of two Pokemon depended on her being able to lead them to the Rockets. Running to keep up with Swablu, Sheryl asked Kerrie what they were going to do when they caught up with the thieves who had stolen Destiny and Lilac.

Kerrie shrugged. "Battle them, I guess."

"Er . . . in case you've forgotten, I only had Destiny and Lilac. But . . ." Sheryl paused as an idea occured to her. " . . . I lived near here, before I joined Saffron Gym. In a place called Cerise Town - maybe my parents could help us."

"Against Team Rocket?"

Sheryl nodded. "Why not? When I was a baby, some Rockets tried to steal my mum's Smoochum, but she saw them off with a Confusion Attack. And that Smoochum's evolved into a Jynx now . . ." Sheryl paused, thinking of the quirky Ice/Psychic Pokemon which belonged to her mother. Her family had been training Psychic Pokemon for many generations and it had been through a distant relative that she had acquired Lilac. "And Dad's a police superintendent, so he's been involved in a few raids on Rocket Headquarters. So he might be able to help us there."

And so Sheryl and Kerrie headed towards Cerise Town, a modest settlement located just south-east of Pewter City. It was not on most Pokemon trainers' itineraries, lacking its own Pokemon Gym; instead, like Lavender Town to the east, it was the sort of place which trainers passed through on their way to places which did have Gyms. It was one of those places which tourist brochures call "picturesque", the most prominent landmarks being the two white windmills in the north of the town. There was a Pokemon Centre and Poke Mart, but both had a slightly old-fashioned charm lacking in those establishments found in cities.

This was the place Sheryl and Kerrie arrived at after a short journey on a Kanto Bus Company bus which they caught in the foothills of Mount Moon. The entire journey had been spent sitting across the aisle from two boys who appeared to be heading for Pewter City and spent most of the journey debating the relative merits of using Water or Grass Pokemon against the Rock Types used in Pewter Gym. From what Sheryl and Kerrie overheard, they gathered that one of the boys had a Gloom and a Carnivine, while his friend had a Marshtomp and an Octillery. In any case, when the bus stopped in Cerise Town, the two girls got off, leaving the boy with the Grass Pokemon extolling the virtues of his Carnivine's Vine Whip.

"Where to now?" asked Kerrie as she and Sheryl made their way through the town square, passing a marble fountain with a statue of a Gyarados at its centre. Water was spurting out of the stone Gyarados's mouth and splashing into the bowl below, while, all around it, statues of various smaller Water Pokemon were also spraying jets of water.

"This way," Sheryl replied, pointing in the direction she remembered led to her parents' home. Looking around, she found it hard to believe how quiet Cerise Town was; after spending so long in Saffron City, she had grown used to the hustle and bustle. Not that it had been easy - at first, she had thought Saffron was far too crowded for her liking - but she wanted to be a Psychic Pokemon trainer and everyone said Saffron City was the best place in Kanto for training such Pokemon. At the same time, she had also honed her own abilities, her talent for sensing the feelings of Psychic Pokemon. Several of the women in Sheryl's family had some latent Psychic abilities, but only rarely did they develop into anything more substantial; Sheryl was one of those few.

Ten minutes later, Sheryl and Kerrie arrived outside a small house clad in white weatherboarding. A narrow path led to a blue front door, which had a potted conifer on either side, and a plume of smoke issued from the chimney as the two girls walked up to the door. Arriving, Sheryl lifted the knocker - which consisted of a brass Growlithe's head with a ring in its mouth - and rapped it against the wood three times. Then, she and Kerrie stood back and waited.

The sound of footsteps came from inside the house, followed by the rattle of the safety chain, then the door opening. A woman, dressed in slate blue jeans and a black t-shirt, stood before the two girls, her dark hair hanging loose around her shoulders. Two small figures followed in her wake; one was Sheryl's little sister, Alison, the other the Jynx Sheryl had mentioned earlier. Sheryl was the first to speak. "Mum?"

The woman looked at her for a moment. "Sheryl? I wasn't expecting anyone - what are you doing here?" she asked, studying her daughter closely. It was Sheryl all right; her special talent lay in seeing the auras around people and Pokemon and this girl's aura matched Sheryl's exactly. But there seemed to be an underlying sense of uncertainty, uncertainty about the fate of two Pokemon. "You've lost something," the woman went on. "Your Espeon and a Kirlia you befriended recently." Sheryl nodded to confirm this statement; she had meant to call her parents to tell them about Destiny, but had not had chance to do so before Jack Sandford intervened. "A boy believes the Kirlia is rightfully his and . . ."

"Let's discuss it inside," Sheryl cut in, before her mother could tell Kerrie a potted history of Sheryl's adventures over the last few days. Kerrie knew most of it anyway; their current priority was trying to work out a way to get Destiny and Lilac out of Team Rocket Headquarters.

The woman nodded and turned to go back inside, beckoning Sheryl and Kerrie to follow her. They did so and, for the first time since she left to join Saffron Gym, Sheryl entered her childhood home; she had stayed in regular contact with her family, but the distance between here and Saffron City meant she had not been able to visit until now. The house looked almost exactly the same as she remembered it, the only difference being the wallpaper in the kitchen, which had changed from a blue gingham pattern to one with poppies and the odd Butterfree or Beautifly. A small blue mouse-like Pokemon with no arms and a balloon nearly as big as its body on the end of its tail was perched on the worktop; seeing Alison, who was trailing after her mother and sister, it jumped down and bounced towards her on its tail.

"Hi, Azurill!" Alison said, hugging the Pokemon.

"That's my sister's Azurill," Sheryl explained for the benefit of Kerrie. "She's not old enough to be a trainer yet, so it's just a pet at the moment."

Before long, Sheryl had filled her mother in on everything that had happened over the last few days, including the discovery that Team Rocket were mixed up in it; she explained how Kerrie's Swablu had scratched an R on the ground and she had guessed the R stood for "Rocket". "And that's what I'm worried about," she concluded. "Jack was persistant, but Destiny always managed to get away from him before. But, if Team Rocket are helping him or he's helping Team Rocket . . ."

"I understand," replied her mother, sipping tea from a cup with a Bellossom print. "So you came here hoping I could help you get your Pokemon back?"

Sheryl nodded. "I thought that since you and Jynx . . ." She glanced at the humanoid Pokemon with long blonde hair. " . . . beat Team Rocket before . . ."

" . . . we could do it again," finished her mother. "But it won't be easy, even though Jynx has evolved since then."

"Don't worry," Kerrie said. "I've got my Pokemon for back up." With that, she opened all her Poke Balls, releasing her Nidorina, Swablu, Ninetales, Flaaffy, Breloom and Scyther. "You're gonna help us, aren't you?" she asked them.

A chorus of six Pokemon cries answered.

"I'll take that as a "yes"," said Sheryl's mother. "And I think I'd better give your father a call," she said to Sheryl. "Let him know what's happening - the police have been after the Rockets for years." With that, she walked over to a nearby videophone and dialled in a number. A pause follow, before the screen flickered and the image of a man in the blue uniform worn by Kanto's police force appeared.

"Hi, Jill," he said, smiling. "Why are you calling me at work?"

"Because I had to, Don. Listen, Sheryl's here and we really need your help on something." And Jill, as Sheryl's mother was called, told her husband everything Sheryl had told her about the two stolen Pokemon and Sheryl's suspicions of Rocket involvement. "Anyway," she went on, "I need you to get some of your officers together and organise a raid on Rocket HQ. We'll meet you at the station."

"Sure thing, Jill. I'll see you there."