After a long blimp ride, the next day, our heroes finally arrived on Valencia Island.
"Aww, do we have to walk much further? I have high heel shoes, this isn't comfortable!" Daisy asked, while walking behind Misty and Tracey.
"No, we're almost there, I can already see Professor Ivy's laboratory," Misty said.
"I can't wait until I know what she discovered, I'm curious! I never heard anything about the GS Ball again from Professor Oak, so I'd love to find out more," Tracey shouted enthusiastically.
"Yeah," Misty said. "Hey, Tracey, do you remember that day we came back from the Orange Islands and saw Brock in Pallet Town? He freaked out every time we mentioned Professor Ivy's name, I wonder what happened. She must've dumped him, but he never responded this extreme to rejection..."
"Yeah, well, we can ask her today..." Tracey suggested. "But I don't want it to get in the way of why we came here in the first place!"
"Makes sense, but I wonder what happened... Did she cheat on him? Was she bad in bed? Did she just not live up to Brock's expectations? I don't know..." Misty thought, while finally having reached the laboratory.
After Tracey rang the doorbell, a purple-haired woman wearing a white lab coat and a red top opened the door. "Hi, guys! Professor Oak told me you'd visit me today, it's so nice to see you!"
"Hi, Professor Ivy," Misty said.
"Where are your three assistants? My boyfriend said you have three annoying assistants," Daisy said bluntly.
"They're currently at a summer camp, so I can finally do some research without getting distracted. They got into puberty and started annoying the hell out of me, I wasn't able to calmly work on my research!" Professor Ivy explained, while leading our heroes to her study room.
"That sucks... Daisy might be a bit too old for it, but she still acts like she's still into puberty!" Misty joked, causing her big sister to grit her teeth from anger and blush out of embarrassment.
"Ehh... I see... Anyways, this is my study room, and this is why I asked you to come over," the professor said, while showing an ancient book with an inscription of the GS Ball on it. "A week ago, the mayor of this city found this book and gave it to me, hoping I could figure things out. Anyways, do you have the GS Ball with you? Kurt sent it to Professor Oak, who told me he gave it to Tracey, so he could bring it to me."
"Here it is!" Tracey said, while handing over the golden object. "What does the ancient book say?"
"Well, it seems like it's a manual about how to use the GS Ball, it could solve some mysteries about it. I haven't read it yet, I wanted to wait until I had the GS Ball to try out some things. I'll need some time for this," the professor explained.
"Well, we'll be travelling throughout the Orange Islands for the time being, so whenever you're ready, you can try to contact us by calling the Pokemon Center you think we're close to, or calling Professor Oak so he can contact us," Tracey suggested.
"Okay then, sounds fine to me. I hope I'll discover something, and that all the hard work will pay off... If it does, it might be a breakthrough in Poke Ball history!" Professor Ivy said.
"Professor, can I ask you something?" Misty asked.
"Oh no, is she going to start about the Brock thing now? Please, Misty, shut up!" Tracey thought.
"Sure, Misty, what is it?" the professor replied.
"Well, last time I was here, I saw your Water Pokemon, you have an amazing Gyarados. What I wanted to ask you... Do you think you could teach me anything about Water Pokemon that might be useful for my dream of becoming a Water Pokemon Master?"
"Misty, just forget about it, you're going back to the Gym soon anyways!" Daisy snapped.
"Well, if I could teach her anything related to battling, she could use that at the Gym as well, so I don't think that's a problem," Professor Ivy said. "But I'm afraid I can't teach you much... If you want, I can teach you all sorts of scientific things, but I don't think that's going to be useful for you."
"Aww, that's a letdown..." Misty sighed.
"Hey, I know something you could do for Misty!" Tracey suggested. "How about a little battle against her?"
"Hey, that's a good idea! Would you be willing to battle?" Misty asked.
"Sounds fine to me," Professor Ivy said. "Come on, let's go to the water area next to my laboratory," Professor Ivy said.
And so, a few minutes later, Tracey was ready to be the referee. "This is a one on one Pokemon battle between Misty and Professor Ivy! There is no time limit! The battle is over when either or both Pokemon are defeated! Trainers, choose your Pokemon!"
"Cloyster, I choose you!" Brock's purple-haired ex shouted, while hurling a Poke Ball, from which a Pokemon with a giant shell emerged.
"Gyarados, I choose you!" Misty screamed, while the blue, Dragon-like Pokemon went into the water.
After Tracey told the trainers to start the battle, Cloyster fired a colourful, icy beam at Gyarados. Fortunately for Misty, the part-Flying type was able to avoid the Aurora Beam by doing some quick swimming.
"Gyarados, use your Headbutt!" Misty commanded, causing her Pokemon to hurl himself at the bivalve.
"Cloyster, Wirthdraw!" the Professor shouted, causing Gyarados to crash into the shell protecting the Ice-type, with Gyarados damaging himself as the result.
"Gyarados, try a Hyper Beam!" Misty tried. Unfortunately for her, Cloyster's shell was strong enough to resist even this when using Hyper Beam!
"Cloyster, finish it with Double-Edge!" Professor Ivy said. The spiky, sharp, pointy Pokemon gave Gyarados a harsh blow, smashing him against the shore of the battlefield.
"Gyarados, can you go on?" Misty asked, while looking anxious.
"GYAHHH!" the Pokemon shouted, while nodding and getting up.
"That's great," Misty said. "We can't win with pure strength, we need strategy..." she thought. "I got it! Gyarados, trap Cloyster with your Whirlpool and then damp the water with your Flamethrower!" And so, the blue Pokemon caused the water around the slow bivalve to spin into a whirlpool, leaving Cloyster unable to move or attack. Meanwhile, Gyarados made the water fade away with the Fire-type attack, leaving the slow bivalve immobile on the ground, even after the Whirlpool faded away.
"Cloyster, Wirthdraw and survive what you can survive!" Professor Ivy shouted desperately. "I don't know what to do anymore, Cloyster can't move, this match is done for..."
"We got him!" Misty said. "Now finish it with Hydro Pump!" And so, Gyarados spit water at the opponent, smashing Cloyster against a tree near the water.
"Cloyster is unable to battle, Misty and Gyarados are the winners!" Tracey announced, while Gyarados came closer to the shore to accept his trainer's hug.
"Wow, Misty sure did well!" Daisy thought. "She was able to overcome trouble by adapting Gyarados's brute strength approach to a more strategic style! She's too good for a Gym where most challengers are rookies, but oh well, it allows me to do what I want."
Meanwhile, the Professor returned her defeated Pokemon to his Poke Ball and walked up to Misty. "Hey, that was great! You were like water there, going with the flow of the battle, I have no doubt that you'll become a great Water Pokemon Master someday if you keep battling like this and if you ever get the chance to leave the Gym."
"Thanks," Misty said, while blushing a bit about the compliment. "I also hope I get to leave someday, but I'm not counting on it..."
"You're welcome! It was nice to battle again, it's been a while since the last time I did that, and it was cool to see how you turned things around," Professor Ivy responded.
"Well, I suppose it's time to leave this laboratory now, isn't it?" Tracey asked, while Misty returned her Gyarados to his Poke Ball.
"Yeah, I suppose. I'll call you if I discover anything useful," Professor Ivy answered.
"Wait! Misty wanted to ask you something before we go!" Daisy shouted, referring to the professor's issues with Brock.
"What is it, Misty?" the purple-haired woman asked.
"No, it's nothing," Misty said. She was afraid to bring up the topic, she didn't want to offend the professor who has just been so kind to her.
"No, Misty, you wanted to bring up that thing about that pervert friend of yours!" Daisy mentioned.
"Daisy, shut up!" Misty snapped.
"What pervert friend?" Professor Ivy asked, while guiding our heroes to the exit of her laboratory.
"Oh well, I'll tell you. Anyways, when Tracey, Ash and I arrived in Pallet Town after going to the Orange Islands almost a year ago, we saw Brock there, and he felt horrible when someone even mentioned your name... So I wondered what happened, Brock never wanted to talk about it, so could you please tell me what happened there?" Misty asked. Then, she saw how the professor's face looked odd. She seemed uncomfortable and stood still, almost like a statue.
"Professor? Hello?" Daisy tried.
"Don't mention that name!" Professor Ivy muttered.
"What name? Brock?" Tracey asked.
"Please... Don't mention that name!" she moaned again.
"Could you please tell us what happened between you two? Brock never told me, and like this, it's always going to remain a mystery..." Misty asked.
"No, it's too painful..." the professor moaned, shredding a tear. "I... I... No, I can't do it," she said.
"Look, this really messed Brock up! We want to know what you did to him! And if you tell us what happened, it could be a huge relief for you too! When you have a problem, talking can sometimes ease the stress and heal the pain if you have a listening ear," Misty tried.
"I don't know... It's painful..." Professor Ivy cried.
"Misty, how could you?" Daisy snapped. "Thanks to you, she's crying! Why did you have to do this to an innocent woman?" Her sister was in a teasy mood, and because she didn't want her boyfriend to be the victim, she knew Misty was the perfect victim for her teasing.
"Daisy, you're the one who brought it up, I wasn't going to talk about this if you would've kept your mouth shut!" Misty snapped, ready to beat up her big sister. Fortunately, Tracey was able to prevent Misty's right first from hitting its target.
"Professor, don't feel guilty about that fight, Daisy is in a bad mood today, and she loves to tease others to ease the stress when she has a bad day," Tracey explained, much to his girlfriend's dismay.
"I understand, I don't blame Misty for that. It's perfectly normal that she thinks about this. And I think she's right. I'll tell you all about this whenever we see each other again, whether it's on the phone or in this lab, I promise," Professor Ivy said. "I need to mentally prepare myself for this..."
"I understand, sorry for bothering you, I wasn't going to bring it up anymore if Daisy would've kept her mouth shut..." Misty apologised.
"It's okay, I understand," Professor Ivy said. "Bye!"
"Bye!" our heroes said simultaneously, while walking out of the laboratory.
"Daisy, was that really necessary?" Tracey asked. "I know you like teasing others when you're in a bad mood, but this was just mean!"
"That's what you said when you found out Misty doesn't want to be a Gym Leader," Daisy countered.
"That wasn't teasing, that's ruining someone's dreams!" Tracey snapped.
"She can battle at the Gym, she shouldn't complain. Battling is what she wants, right?" Daisy asked.
"That's not the same! An aspiring Water Pokemon Master needs to travel, catch new Pokemon, see new Pokemon in new regions, participate in tournaments and learn more from those things," Tracey explained. "And besides, most trainers coming to the Cerulean Gym are weaklings who only have one Boulder Badge. And I heard the Gym Leader in Pewter City is an inexperienced younger brother of Brock who is easy to beat, so getting that Badge is easy, even for rookies. And then, those rookies come to Cerulean. Misty isn't going to improve her battling or make her Pokemon stronger if there are so few serious challenges."
"If Forrest is that weak, why is he a Gym Leader?" Daisy asked.
"Because he, Brock and his parents wanted that," Tracey answered. "I've seen some of his Gym battles, and most rookies from Pallet Town beat him if they started with either Squirtle or Bulbasaur, only ones who started with Charmander have some trouble if they didn't catch enough other Pokemon."
"If they have a Bulbasaur, why don't most of them pose a challenge to Misty?" Daisy asked.
"Because there's more than types in Pokemon battles," Tracey said. "If Misty uses Pokemon that are way more experienced than theirs, types won't matter much."
"I don't get it, she can battle, is she really that unhappy? I bet she's a drama queen," Daisy complained.
"She's depressed, I wouldn't underestimate that," Tracey countered.
"I don't see it," Daisy said.
"Well, if you don't see it, you don't see it," Tracey ended the conversation. "Sometimes, I don't know why I fell for such a shallow girl like Daisy..." he thought. "But then I look at her rear, her chest and her blonde hair, and then I remember why I love her so much! And it's not just her looks, she's nice to me as well, she truly loves me. I wish she'd be that nice to others than me, Violet and Lily... Misty deserves better than this... I wish there was something I could do to get her out of that Gym!"
And so, hours later, after dinner and an evening at the beach, in a forest near the island's shore, our heroes found themselves in the tents they pitched to put their sleeping bags in. Even though it was late, Misty wasn't able to fall asleep. She heard some naughty things out of the tent next to her. "Oh, Tracey, give it to me!" she heard, it couldn't be anyone else than Daisy. Then, she heard Tracey's voice. "Oh yeah, Daisy, that's nice!" She tried to ignore it and fall asleep, but the dirty lines were too loud to ignore. She felt creeped out. She knew it was normal for a couple to have sex, but she didn't want to hear anything like an erotic audio book, especially not with her sister and one of her best friends starring in it. Despite not hearing any actual sex sounds, the things her sister and her friend were saying made it obvious to her that there was some intercourse going on.
Then, she decided to stand up, walk out of her tent and enter the tent of the intimate couple. "Stop it! It's night! I want to sleep!" She kept her eyes closed, not wanting to see her sister doing intimate stuff, and not wanting to see her good friend naked. However, when she opened her eyes, she saw that Tracey and Daisy were wearing their pyjamas like normally, and there was nothing indicating even the slightest bit of sexual activity.
Then, Daisy and Tracey bursted out in laughter. "Got you!" Daisy screamed, not being able to control her laughing.
"Daisy, that was an awesome idea, fooling Misty like that, brilliant! Did you see the look on her face when she walked in?" Tracey asked.
"Yeah, I wish I would've taken an embarrassing picture of that!" Daisy laughed.
"Daisy, I'd expect this kind of behaviour from you, but Tracey, this is completely inappropriate!" Misty snapped.
"Sorry Misty, when Daisy came up with this, it was so funny, how could I say no to this prank?" Tracey asked.
"Because it's late? And because we need to sleep? We're going to Tangelo Island and visit your parents tomorrow, I don't think you want to be sleepy on that special day!" Misty snapped.
"Oh, you're right. We'll just go one hour later, I didn't tell them what time I was coming, and then I'll put the alarm clock one hour later," Tracey suggested. "This prank was totally worth it!"
"Alright then, but could we please all go to sleep now? I'm tired!" Misty begged.
"Oh, alright then," Tracey moaned, while Daisy was still laughing too hard to say anything. "Good night."
"Good night," Misty said, while walking out of the couple's tent.
She went back to her own tent and went back in her sleeping bag. She thought about her experiences from today. "It's so cool that I was able to battle Professor Ivy today! She said she rarely battles anymore, but she's much stronger than any of the Gym challengers I've seen during the past months... Opponents like this are exactly what I need! It's so sad that I have to go back to the Gym again after this trip... I wish there was some way to convince my sisters to let me go... But why would they do that? They don't have any work to do now, and they won't let me go... If I escape secretly, the Gym might get closed, and they might come after me to catch me and take me back to the Gym... And they won't just appoint someone else permanently, they know I do anything they tell me to... No! It's time to not do anything they tell me to! I have to stand up against them, it's time to stop being an easy, submissive victim! They might take me back to the Gym and force me to do things, but it's time to refuse! Oh... Who am I kidding? I know I lack the guts to do this... Why did I have no problem beating up Ash and Brock all the time, while I'm too nervous to refuse to follow the commands of my sisters?"
Then, after thirty minutes of deep thought, Misty Waterflower finally fell asleep.