Things weren't any better the next morning.

"Ready to get started, Gary?" Professor Oak said cheerfully as he entered the lab, completely ignoring Tracey. "Excited?"

"Yeah, Gramps. I can't wait," Gary said enthusiastically. "What do I get to do first?"

Before Professor Oak could answer, Tracey, feeling resentful at his boss's slight, picked up a shovel and handed it to Gary.

"Huh? What's this for?" Gary asked curiously.

"It's for picking up Pokémon manure," Tracey explained with a smile, all the while visualizing Gary covered with Pokémon dung from head to toe. "All lab assistants have to start out scooping up manure so they can get used to being around the Pokémon and the Pokémon get used to having them around. Right, Professor?"

"Well, I…actually, I was going to let Gary start out in the lab assisting me with the Kakuna and Metapod experiment," Professor Oak explained.

"But…I was helping you with that, Professor!" Tracey stammered in disbelief.

"I know. But there's plenty of other work around the lab for both of you." Professor Oak handed the shovel back to Tracey. "Why don't you go clean up after the Pokémon? Gary, why don't you come with me and I'll show you around the lab?"

Tracey, fuming with anger, stormed out of the lab.

An hour later, Tracey was covered in sweat. He normally didn't mind cleaning up after the Pokémon, but today he completely resented it. And today he was taking out his frustrations with Gary by throwing himself into his work.

"Just because he's Professor Oak's grandson, he thinks he's too good to be shoveling manure," Tracey grumbled as he flung another forkful of Ponyta manure aside.

"Hey! Watch it, Tracey!" squealed a female voice.

Tracey looked up and saw a red-haired teenage girl peering over the door of the stable.

"Hi, Misty," Tracey greeted his visitor. "What're you doing here?"

"I came over to see Bayleef," the girl explained. "When I called earlier to ask Professor Oak a question about Politoed, he mentioned that Bayleef wasn't feeling well. I decided to take the morning off from the Cerulean City Gym and come over."

"How is life as a Gym Leader again?" Tracey asked as the two headed down to the grass Pokémon section of the preserve.

"Well, even though my sisters are normally a bunch of airheads, they did do a pretty good job of running the gym while I was gone. It's just that it's going to be hard running it all by myself," the girl sighed.

Tracey noticed the girl's sad expression. "You didn't really want to come back to the Cerulean City Gym, did you?"

Misty shook her head. "No. I'd rather be with Ash in Houen, but since I'm one of the Four Sensational Sisters of Cerulean City and the other three Sensational Sisters are currently on a trip around the world…" She handed Tracey a postcard with a picture of three smiling teenage girls in sunglasses and bikinis. "It's my responsibility to take over the duties of Gym Leader of the Cerulean City Gym. Don't get me wrong, Tracey…I like being a Gym Leader again, and Corsola and Politoed love the gym. It's just that…"

"…you miss Ash." Tracey finished.

"Yeah," the girl replied sadly.

"That makes two of you," Tracey said, pointing at the Pokémon curled up under the maple tree in the far corner of the grass Pokémon preserve.

"Oh, Tracey," gasped Misty at the sight of the Pokémon, who was much thinner than Misty had remembered. "I didn't realize that Bayleef was in that bad a shape." The girl hurried to Bayleef's side.

"Bay?" The Pokémon raised its head and made a slight attempt at a smile at the sight of Misty.

"Oh Bayleef," Misty said, giving the Pokémon a big hug. "You poor thing." The girl reached inside her backpack and brought out a sandwich. "Here. You need to eat something. You're getting too thin."

Bayleef sniffed at the sandwich and turned away.

"Oh Bayleef, I know how you feel," the girl said, stroking the Pokémon's head. "I miss Ash too. I miss him a lot."

"Bay," the Pokémon agreed, resting its head on Misty's arm.

"This morning when I woke up, I was expecting to see Ash and Brock just like always," Misty said sadly. "And when I realized that I was back in Cerulean City, I felt so sad."

"Bay," the Pokémon nuzzled Misty's arm comfortingly.

"Aw, thanks, Bayleef." Misty gave the Pokémon a kiss on its forehead. "Yeah, I know how you're feeling. Ash may be a big mouthed show-off most of the time, but he's a pretty unforgettable guy, isn't he?"

"Bay."

"But I have to live my life, and he has to live his. Even though I'd rather be in Houen with him, I have responsibilities here. I can't keep missing Ash forever. I have to move on with my life…just like you do, Bayleef."

"Bay," the Pokémon sighed morosely.

"But you'll always have the good memories to fall back on, even during the bad times," Misty smiled.

"Bay," the Pokémon replied, unconvinced.

"I'll come back and visit you again, Bayleef," Misty said, standing up. "In the meantime, try to eat." The girl put the uneaten sandwich on the ground next to Bayleef, then reached inside her backpack, pulled forth a red and white baseball cap, and put it on her head.

Tracey had seen that baseball cap before. "Hey, isn't that Ash's hat?"

"Yeah," Misty smiled, adjusting her ponytail. "He gave it to me when we said goodbye."

"You love him, don't you, Misty?" Tracey said, noticing the wistful look in the girl's eyes.

"Yeah, Tracey. I do," Misty replied softly. "But I talked to Brock the other day, and he said he was going to try to catch up with Ash in Houen. He promised me that he'd keep the girls away from Ash."

"Probably because he wants all the girls for himself," Tracey chuckled, playfully nudging Misty's arm.

"Yeah, good ol' girl-crazy Brock," Misty grinned as the two headed down the path leading out of the preserve. "So how are things here? Professor Oak told me that Gary's back. Back to stay, apparently."

Tracey's smile disappeared. "Yeah, looks that way."

"What's wrong, Tracey? You don't seem happy about Gary's news."

"Because I'm not," Tracey replied, sinking down on a nearby rock.

Misty sat down next to her friend. "I don't understand."

"Oh, it's just that everyone loves Gary. Good ol' perfect Gary," Tracey replied, sarcasm evident in his voice.

"Gosh, Tracey. I don't think I've ever seen you this bitter before."

"Well, why shouldn't I be, Misty? Ever since Gary came back, I'm practically invisible to everyone else. Especially to Professor Oak." Tracey picked up a stick and hurled it into a patch of shrubbery, flushing out a Spearow in the process.

"Oh, I think you're overreacting, Tracey. Professor Oak is just excited to have his grandson back, that's all. He hasn't seen Gary for a long time, and I'm sure they have a lot of catching up to do. After he's been back here for a few days, things will go back to normal again."

Tracey shook his head. "No they won't, Misty. Things are never going to be the same again."

"What are you talking about, Tracey?"

"I'm talking about the fact that Gary has decided to give up on training and become the next Professor Oak. He's going to quit being a trainer and be a researcher instead."

Misty was stunned by her friend's announcement. "Wow. That's pretty amazing news."

"And Professor Oak is thrilled, of course," Tracey continued. "So thrilled that he's letting Gary work on the research project that I had been helping him with until now."

"Tracey, have you talked to Professor Oak about this? Have you told him how you feel?"

Tracey stared at Misty in disbelief. "Are you kidding, Misty? Telling your boss that you hate having his grandson around isn't a good career move."

"Tracey, Professor Oak isn't the type of person who would fire you just because you're jealous of Gary."

"I'm not jealous of Gary!" Tracey shot back. "It's just that…ever since I was a little kid, my dream was to work with the great Professor Oak and eventually become his successor."

"Well, you're here at Professor Oak's lab, aren't you? What's the problem?"

"The problem, Misty, is that Gary just waltzes in here announcing that he's going to be a researcher and the next thing I know, he's taking over my job."

"Oh, Tracey, I think you're over-exaggerating. Gary's been out on the road training for the last couple of years, while you've been here working at the lab. There's no way that Gary can learn how to do what you do in just a couple of days."

"But Professor Oak is making sure that Gary learns how to do my job," Tracey sighed, standing up. "Speaking of which, I'd better get back to the stables. I'll see you later, Misty."

Misty watched in silence as Tracey headed down the path and disappeared on the other side of the hill.

To be continued…