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"We heard yelling and came to see what’s up!" Misty exclaimed excitedly. "What’s going…on…?" Her voice trailed off as she caught sight of a young woman standing there in a pair of flannel pajamas, with a mass of white-blonde hair streaming down her back, almost to her knees. Misty’s jaw dropped in shock. "Who are you?"

Jael rolled her eyes. "Three guesses," she muttered, "and the first two don’t count."

"JOHNNY?!"

"The one and only."

"B-but you’re a girl!" Ash exclaimed in horror.

Jael snorted. "And you have a gift for stating the obvious."

Ash frowned. "Well, there’s no need to be rude!" he sniffed.

Jael sighed and bent over to rummage beneath the cot for her pack. "Well, it’s been a blast, but it’s high time I took off. Thanks for your help…maybe we’ll run into each other again…yadda yadda yadda…"

"Wait! You can’t leave now!" Misty protested. "We have questions!"

"Yeah, well, don’t expect answers," Jael replied shortly as her head appeared over the edge of the cot again.

Brock frowned. "Who are you running from?" he asked, a bright suspicion dawning in his mind.

Startled, Jael turned her gaze to him, her eyes shadowed. "What are you talking about? Who said I’m running from anyone?" she replied innocently.

"Then why are you so anxious to leave?" he challenged, not about to give up.

She sighed. "I don’t accept charity any longer than I have to. Besides, now that my cover’s blown there’s no point in sticking around. I gotta find food and a way to pay for it."

"We’ve got plenty of food," Misty exclaimed, "and Brock’s a great cook! Why don’t you just come along with us?"

But Jael was already shaking her head. "No, I don’t want charity," she insisted. "I travel alone. It’s just…safer."

"For a pretty girl to travel alone than with friends? Just how is that safer?" Brock asked skeptically.

Jael smirked. "I didn’t say it was safer for me," she replied snidely.

The trio exchanged glances, wondering what she was talking about. Brock was certain that his earlier observation was right; the girl was running from someone, and she was bound and determined not to get caught. Luckily for him, Misty was just as stubborn as Jael was, and she didn’t appear inclined to let Jael go without a fight, either.

"Please come with us!" the red-head pleaded, clasping her hands together. "I’d like to have another girl in the group. Ash and Brock are okay and all, but it just isn’t the same as talking to a girl, ya know?"

"Gee, thanks," Brock muttered.

Jael hesitated, opened her mouth to protest, but suddenly Shocker—who had unto that point remained silent—spoke up. <<Go with them>>

Brock frowned as Jael’s eyes suddenly blanked out, much in the way that they had earlier. She stood in a trance-like state, various thoughts and emotions flickering across her face and behind those eerie eyes. "Hey! Are you alive in there?" he asked in concern. Maybe there was something wrong with her? Was she having a seizure of some sort?

Jael blinked, abruptly coming to her senses. "I’m fine," she muttered, upon becoming aware of the odd stares she was receiving. She was going to have to learn to be more careful when talking with Shocker, if she was gonna be hanging around other people. "Um…I changed my mind. I’ll stay with you…for a little while, anyway. Just ‘till we reach the next town or something." Then, as an afterthought, "But I’m not staying in this room!"

"Of course not! You’ll sleep in Misty’s room," Brock assured her, blushing profusely. "At least you two aren’t liable to kill each other like she and Ash are!"

Misty sniffed and stuck her nose into the air, and Ash just sulked.

<<Great. We’re stuck with a bunch of kids>> Jael told Shocker wryly. <<The skirt-chaser is the most level-headed one of the bunch! Are you sure you know what you’re doing?>>

And so, with a bit more shifting around, Jael found herself settled in with the hot-tempered Misty (although she did seem nice enough when she wasn’t biting Ash’s head off). But Misty was also very curious and didn’t seem to mind asking a bunch of nosy questions, most of which Jael avoided by pretending to go to sleep. Once Misty got the message that Jael didn’t feel like talking, she, too, fell asleep.

Morning found Jael and her new traveling companions already awake and sitting at a table downstairs at the Pokemon Center, devouring a quick breakfast that was served to them by an overzealous Chancey. Jael ate quietly, listening with amusement as Ash and Misty "discussed"—or more like argued over—which type of Pokemon was better. Ash was all for electric, of course, since his favorite happened to be the little Pikachu, while Misty argued in favor of the water types. Jael had her own opinion, although she didn’t share it. There was no one better than her Shocker Blue.

As she ate, she felt someone watching her, and raised her eyes to meet the narrow-eyed gaze of Brock. He immediately looked away and began eating again, his face flushing a dull red at having been caught staring. Jael decided to take some pity on the guy and pretend nothing had happened.

"Hey, Jael, help me out here," Ash pleaded, turning to her suddenly. Jael bristled; she’d made it abundantly clear that while they were within city limits she was to be called Johnny (although she refused to say why), but apparently Ash needed to be reminded constantly. "Which type of Pokemon is better?" he continued, unaware of his blunder or of Jael’s rock-melting glare.

The girl shrugged and pulled her hat on a little tighter. "My Shocker is the best of them all," she replied proudly.

"So you like fire types best," Brock stated, nodding.

Jael shrugged again. "I never said that," she replied, taking a delicate sip of her tea.

The trio facefaulted.

"Why do you always talk in riddles?!" an irate Misty yelled.

Jael merely smiled.

In another hour, Jael found herself walking through the city to its limits with her new companions (two of which were still arguing over Pokemon types). She could feel Shocker Blue’s impatience to be out of his Pokeball, but they weren’t out of the city yet and not only that, but she had the oddest feeling that they were being followed.

She turned around, frowning, several times before Brock took notice. "What’s wrong?" he asked. "Did you forget something? I could go back and get it for you," he offered eagerly.

Taken by surprise at his offer, she blinked at him for a moment before shaking her head. "Oh…uh…it’s nothing like that," she stammered. "Just a feeling I had, is all."

"A feeling?"

She shook her head, giving him a small smile that made his heart flutter. "Never mind. Let’s just keep walking."

<<Are we anywhere outside the city yet?>> an anxious Shocker questioned impatiently. It was clear that he was more than ready to leave the confined space of his Pokeball by the way he nearly snapped the question at his trainer.

<<Excuse me, but whose idea was it to get traveling companions?>> Jael replied snidely. <<Don’t go snorting at me, furball!>>

There was an indignant snort in her mind before the Rapidash fell silent.

Soon enough, though, the well-traveled path that lead into the forest came into view. The four trainers picked up the pace, eager to get a move on through the woods before night fell. Especially Jael, who was becoming more and more uneasy. It felt like every hair was standing on end, and every tree and bush had a hundred pairs of eyes glaring out at her. Her nervousness was starting to affect Shocker, as well; she could feel his unease in her mind.

So it wasn’t any wonder that, when something suddenly grabbed her shoulder from behind, her first instinct was to yell bloody murder, grab the offender by the arm, and hurl him to the ground.

"Whoooooffff!" Brock’s breath left him in a rush as he landed spread-eagle on his back, feeling like his entire spine had just cracked. He moaned, little swirls dancing in his eyes as a horrified Jael dropped to her knees beside him.

"Oh my gosh, Brock!" she gasped, hands over her mouth. "I am so sorry! You scared the living daylights out of me!"

"S’okay," he grunted, wincing as he attempted to sit up again, rubbing his head. He nearly asphyxiated when he felt her arm slip under him to help support him, and felt his face burn when he realized how close her own was to it. When had a beautiful girl ever been this close to him before? "What’s wrong with you, anyhow?" he asked, for once trying to ignore the way his heart was pounding in his ears.

She scratched her head under the hat. "I…I don’t know, really. I think I’m being followed, only I don’t see anything," she admitted sheepishly.

"Followed?" Misty, who had been watching the whole scene with sly amusement, now turned around to scan the area behind them. "Who would be following you?" she asked in surprise.

"So you are running from someone, aren’t you?" Brock’s voice sounded satisfied and, abruptly realizing that she still had her arm around him—a fact that he didn’t seem to mind at all—she removed it and sat back, her cheeks turning pink.

"Maybe," she admitted, wondering how much to tell them.

<<You might as well tell them everything>> Shocker said in her mind.

<<You’re too suspicious, Jael. They’re trustworthy. I don’t sense any deceit from them. Besides…>> and now the Rapidash’s voice turned slightly playful, <<I do believe that Brock rather likes you. He’s rather handsome for a human, isn’t he? Not that I’m any judge of such things…>>

<<Oh, stuff a sock in it, Shocker>> Jael muttered, thoroughly embarrassed, although she couldn’t begin to think why. <<You just want out of that Pokeball, is all>>

Jael laughed out loud at her friend’s smart retort, causing the trio to again look at her strangely. She sighed, and decided that she’d better ‘fess up. Besides, if she didn’t explain some things to them soon, they’d be liable to think she was a certifiable lunatic! "Oh, all right," she conceded. "If you wanna know everything, I’ll tell you. But if you tell anyone, you’re dead, got it?"

They nodded eagerly, and she nodded back and pulled the silver chain from around her neck, cupping the small Pokeball in her hand. "The first thing you ought to know about is Shocker Blue," she stated seriously, and right on cue the top of the little ball clicked open. Blue light shot out of the small confines, and the Rapidash appeared in the midst of it, rearing to his full height with a loud whinny, sparks flying from his flowing, blue-flamed mane and tail, gleaming off his coal-black coat. His eyes sparked with energy, and he looked, as always, utterly magnificent, like some mystical beast straight out of a fairy tale. Three awe-struck gasps echoed clearly in the silent forest, and Jael could not hold back her answering grin, even as she rolled her eyes at the Pokemon’s dramatics.

Shocker always did like to make an impressive entrance.