A week after the start of their journey, our heroes finally saw Mikan Island, the island in the west of the Orange Archipelago.

"GYAAAH!" a happy transport Pokemon shouted. "This is so cool! A week ago, I was stuck in some small pool, and now I can swim in the sea and carry my awesome Trainer," Gyarados thought. "I just wish her sister would shut up for a while..." the Water Pokemon thought.

"Look, I can see the Pokemon Center," Tracey said, while eating the last bit of his sandwich.

"What are we gonna do there? This vacation is lame anyways... Professor Ivy was boring, your parents suck... The most fun thing I did was that sex prank..." Daisy mumbled, just after eating the last bit of her lunch.

"Well, I want to give Professor Oak a call, I didn't have time for that in Tangelo Island, so we're going to the Pokemon Center first," Tracey said.

"Could we please pay Cissy a visit?" Misty asked.

"Why would we do that? You're not participating in the Orange League," Daisy asked.

"No, but it could still be nice to challenge her," Misty said.

"And is there anything we can do aside from those two things? Something that's actually fun?" Daisy asked.

"Yeah, there's a beach, but your birthday is in two days from now. Unless you want to spend your birthday on Gyarados's back, we need to get going here later today, so we can reach Mandarin Island North on the morning of your birthday, so you can celebrate your birthday there," Tracey explained.

"And what can we do there?" Daisy asked.

"We can go to the beach there," Tracey said. "And there's a shopping mall, so you can choose what you wanna do there."

"Mandarin Island North, here we come!" Daisy said, while Misty thanked her Gyarados for the ride, returning him into his Poke Ball.

"Not so fast! Do you see the Pokemon Center?" Tracey asked, while pointing at the building near the shore. "We're going to call Professor Oak first, and then, we're going to visit Cissy."

Then, the group entered the building. "Hi, visitors! Do I need to check your Pokemon?" Nurse Joy asked.

"No, thanks. We're here to use the phone," Misty said.

"Okay, have a nice day!" Nurse Joy said.

Then, Tracey dialled the right phone number and saw a video screen turning on, showing Professor Oak and Ash's Bayleef doing some research. "Hi Professor Oak," Tracey said.

"Hello Tracey, it's nice of you to call! Unfortunately, I just suffered a Headbutt from Bayleef... She still can't settle here, she really misses Ash," the professor said.

"That sucks... I wish Ash would take Bayleef with him, he really has a hard time understanding how Bayleef feels," Tracey groaned.

"But enough about that, why did you call me? Did Professor Ivy discover anything?" Professor Oak asked.

"Well, not yet, but she's working on it. We brought her the GS Ball like you asked, she's doing research on it now," Tracey said.

"She promised to call us if she discovers anything," Misty said.

"Aww, I understand. Will you call me if she calls you?" the professor asked.

"Sure," Misty said. "But if it's really important, I think she'll just call you first."

"Hey, Daisy, Lily and Violet wanted me to ask you something," the professor said.

"What is it?" Daisy asked.

"Well, you left your Luvdisc and your Goldeen at the Gym. And before you went on this journey, you never did anything with them, while Lily is using Luvdisc for her shows often, and Violet often has Goldeen involved in her fashion photoshoots. They wanted to know if they could just have those Pokemon, so they're theirs instead of yours now. Would you be okay with that?" the professor asked.

"Sure, whatever, I didn't spend time with those Pokemon for months," Daisy said. "Those Pokemon were already practically theirs and not mine, so why not make that official?"

"Um... Okay, I'll inform them about that. Thanks," Professor Oak said.

"Professor, do you know how Ash is doing?" Misty asked. "I hope he's doing well..."

"He's doing fine, he's still travelling in Kalos," Professor Oak answered.

"That's great to hear, thanks!" Misty replied.

"You're welcome. Bye!" Professor Oak said.

"Bye, Professor Oak!" Misty, Tracey and Daisy responded simultaneously. Then, the phone was turned off.

"Now let's go to the Gym!" Misty said.

"If Tracey wouldn't be here, the only Gym you'd ever see from now on is the one in Cerulean City!" Daisy snapped.

"Why are you so lazy? Instead of doing what you're responsible for, you shift all the work to an innocent ten year old who can't defend herself against you!" Misty snapped. Fortunately, Tracey was able to prevent Misty's right fist from smashing in Daisy's face.

"Daisy, why can't you accept that we're also doing things related to Misty's dream? Because you're keeping her at the Gym for as long as you want, this might be the last time in her life she's getting this chance!" Tracey asked, while walking past some palm trees.

"Because it's boring to watch!" Daisy complained. "We could also just go shopping, or go to the beach, or do something else that's fun!"

"Look, taking Misty with us here just to make her do all the work while she can't do anything she wants wouldn't be fair! Is it really that hard to accept?" Tracey asked.

"What would be so unfair about it? If we can have more fun that way, why not?" Daisy asked.

"I don't think you're going to get it anytime soon..." Tracey mumbled. "Oh well, my birthday present for her might help her to change..." he thought.

And so, the group reached the desired destination: the Mikan Island Gym. "Hello, is anybody here?" Misty asked, while walking in the building with the open door.

"Where's Cissy?" Tracey asked.

"I don't see anyone here," Daisy said. "Let's look outside, around the Gym."

And so, the group left the building. Then, they heard someone scream. "HELP! HELP!" They saw a hot air balloon shaped like a Meowth. A big cage was attached to it, in which a blue Water Pokemon and a brown-haired woman were locked up.

"Hey, it's that Water Pokemon twerp, with her big sister and that twerp who works for Professor Oak!" the red-haired criminal girl in the balloon said. Then, the evil trio started their anthem.

Then, the red-haired lady, the purple-haired man and the cat-like Pokemon stood on their submarine. "Prepare for trouble!" Jessie shouted.

"And make it double!" James added to that.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth! That's right!" the Pokemon ended the anthem.

"Team Rocket? What are you three doing here? I thought you three were following Ash around in Kalos!" Misty asked.

"We need a Seadra for our new plan to catch Pikachu, so the boss bought us plane tickets to Mikan Island to get Cissy's Seadra. Because she was hugging it when we threw a net, we had to take Cissy as well," James said.

"I'll handle this," Tracey said. "Jumpluff and Scyther, I choose you!" he said, while throwing a Poke Ball, from which the blue Grass-type emerged. A few seconds later, Scyther stood next to Jumpluff.

"Jumpluff!" the Pokemon squealed.

"Scyther, fly up and open the cage with your Slash and take Cissy and Seadra safely back to the ground! Jumpluff, once Scyther, Cissy and Seadra are safe, shoot that balloon with your Solarbeam!" Tracey commanded. While charging up the strong attack, the Grass-type hovered upwards. Meanwhile, he saw Scyther coming down, carrying both Cissy and Seadra safely down to the ground.

Then, the Grass-type fired the attack. "JUMPLUFF!" he squealed, while putting an end to Team Rocket's new scheme. After hearing the balloon pop "Team Rocket's blastin' off again!" he heard Jessie and James scream, while Meowth added "Meowth" to it.

"Is everything alright?" Tracey asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Cissy said. "They wanted to take Seadra, but I held Seadra to protect him, and then they took me as well. But Seadra won't be able to battle."

"How did you know we're here for a challenge?" Misty asked.

"Why else would you come here?" Cissy asked.

"Are you ready for such a challenge?" Tracey asked.

"I can't do the target shooting. Seadra isn't ready for it," Cissy answered. "Misty, are you participating in the Orange League?"

"No, but as an aspiring Water Pokemon Master, I really want to challenge you anyways," Misty explained.

"Well, we can still do the water race," Cissy said, while feeling a slight Headbutt from Jumpluff. The Grass-type didn't like the lack of attention for his heroic behaviour. Meanwhile, Scyther stood calmly next to Tracey's Grass Pokemon.

"Oh, sorry, Jumpluff and Scyther! Thanks for saving me from Team Rocket," Cissy said, much to Jumpluff's enjoyment. "Jumpluff!" he squealed, while Tracey complimented his Pokemon. Then, he took them back into their Poke Balls.

"Can you start that stupid race now? I wanna leave here and reach the next island soon!" Daisy said impatiently, while the group walked up to the beach, very close to the Mikan Island Gym.

"Sure, as soon as possible," Cissy said. "My Blastoise is ready to go!"

"Hey, where's that annoying little brother of yours?" Tracey asked, while looking at Mikan Island's beautiful palm trees.

"He's on his own journey to become a Pokemon Trainer," Cissy explained. "I couldn't make him assist me at the Gym forever, and he wanted to get better."

"Daisy, now do you see how you should handle it when your little sibling has a dream, but is stuck at her bigger siblings's Gym against her will?" Misty asked.

"Yeah, but I don't care about what's ethical," Daisy said, while the group reached the beautiful beach. "I benefit from your work, what's so unethical about that?"

"That's very unethical!" Cissy snapped. "If she wants to travel, you should let her!"

"Why would I? I don't wanna do stupid chores..." Daisy countered.

"But she's your little sister! She's a person, not a worker!" Cissy snapped.

"She's a person, and my worker," Daisy nitpicked.

"What? I'm calling the Pokemon Inspection Agency!" Cissy shouted. Meanwhile, Tracey was tired of how his girlfriend was causing more and more people to hate her for her selfishness, while Misty was sick and tired of being the subject of another argument her sister had with people on the Orange Islands. She was happy to have support, but knew that even people like Professor Ivy, Terry Sketchit and Cissy wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

"Save yourself the trouble," Daisy said. "There's no rule forbidding this!"

"Tracey, Misty, is that true?" Cissy asked.

"I once looked through the rules to see if those would offer me a way out of my position, but there's no rule I can use for that..." Misty sighed.

"And I had to help Daisy looking through the rules, and she's right," Tracey moaned.

"Oh, that sucks..." Cissy moaned.

"Can you just start that Arceus damn race so we can get out of here?" Daisy snapped. "I don't want to spend my entire birthday on Gyarados's back!"

"Gyarados? Misty, are you going to use Gyarados?" Cissy asked.

"Yes," Misty said, while calling the Pokemon out of his Poke Ball. Then, Cissy sent out her Blastoise and stood on her Pokemon's back. Meanwhile, Misty tried to position herself right for the race, and eventually did so after some clumsy struggles. "I've never stood on my Pokemon like a surfer before!"

"Ah, you'll get used to it if you do this more often," Cissy said.

"No, I'd rather just ride on Gyarados's back, this is a one time thing," Misty replied, backed by her Pokemon. "Gyaah!"

Meanwhile, at the beach, Tracey sent out his Jumpluff. "Come on, let's cheer for Misty!" he said.

"Jumpluff Pluff!" the Grass-type squealed.

"On your marks, get set, GO!" Tracey shouted, giving Misty and Cissy the signal to make their Pokemon start. The goal was surfing around the flag up ahead and then returning at the beach before the opponent would. The trainer was supposed to stand on the Pokemon like a surfer, and not sit. While Gyarados was naturally faster than the opponent, Blastoise and Cissy were used to it. Gyarados had to slow down to prevent Misty from collapsing.

"Go Misty!" Tracey shouted, while Gyarados seemed to be a little behind Blastoise, as a result of the speed loss.

"Jumpluff!" his Grass Pokemon squealed.

"Why are you so enthusiastic? This is boring!" Daisy complained.

"Because this is cool! Gyarados is catching up!" Tracey said, while watching how Gyarados was able to make the gap smaller and smaller, coming closer to the opponent, just after passing the red flag in the water.

And so, while coming closer to the beach, Gyarados was still a little bit behind. "What do I do?" Misty thought. Then, she got it. "Gyarados, Bounce!" The Water Pokemon suddenly leaped up, went in the air and landed just before Blastoise, and that without dropping his trainer!

"That was awesome, she's gonna win!" Tracey said.

"Jumpluff! Jumpluff!" Tracey's Pokemon squealed.

"So Misty is actually good at something after all..." Daisy thought, while seeing how Gyarados and Misty passed the finish line just before Blastoise and Cissy.

"She did it!" Tracey shouted. Meanwhile, he saw how Misty was hugging her Pokemon to celebrate the win. Then, Tracey, Cissy and even Daisy congratulated her.

"You did well too, your Blastoise was awesome!" Misty said to Cissy.

"Thanks, and your Gyarados is awesome too!" Cissy said. Then, she held up a Coral-Eye Badge and handed it to her opponent. "Even though we didn't do a full challenge, and even though you're not participating in the Orange League, this might still be cool!"

"Thanks, it's so beautiful!" Misty said, while Tracey was happy for his best friend. "I guess we'll have to go now," he suggested.

"Bye, it was nice to see you!" Cissy said, while seeing Tracey, Daisy and Misty wave back. Then, Gyarados departed, on to Mandarin Island North. "Gyaaahhh!"

Meanwhile, at Valencia Island's blimp airport, three criminals were waiting for their flight. "We'll head back to Kalos without a Seadra, and now we have to think up another plan to steal those twerps's Pikachu..." Meowth complained.

"Don't worry, there'll be revenge," James said with a grin.

"What are you talking about?" Jessie asked.

"Well, we'll be off to Kalos again, but meanwhile, some Team Rocket members have a plan somewhere on the Orange Islands, I've heard," James said.

"What kind of plan?" Meowth asked.

"I'm not sure, but I know it's related to a very rare Pokemon, and to something that Water twerp, her sister and that assistant from Professor Oak did," James said. "I heard it when we were at the headquarters the last time, they're going to attack once there are new developments."

"I don't know what all this is, but it's good if they teach those three Gyarados-riding twerps a lesson they'll never forget!" Jessie smirked, while hopping on the blimp that finally arrived. "Snowbelle City, here we come!"

Two days later, only a short distance away from Mandarin Island North, on Gyarados's back, Misty and Tracey were already awake, while Daisy was still asleep. "This is such a peaceful swim... Finally Daisy shuts up for a few hours!" Gyarados thought.

However, then, Tracey kissed Daisy on her lips. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" he shouted.

"Thanks! And now hand over those presents!" Daisy joked, while pointing her finger at Tracey like a gun.

"I didn't really know what to buy for you, but after my race with Cissy, I realized that this might be nice. Hopefully, you'll understand why I gave this to you later," Misty said, while handing over her Coral-Eye Badge. "Hopefully, it might make you understand that you shouldn't be giving away Badges for free so easily. I always work so hard when I need to get new Badges, but those Cascade Badges look like they're made in a factory. This Coral-Eye Badge looks handmade, maybe that makes you realize how hard it is to make a Badge."

"What the f*ck am I supposed to do with this?" Daisy asked. "I know making Badges is tough, but is it any tougher than all your other chores?"

"Oh well then, here's some money if you really want something else too," Misty said, giving her sister the last bit of money she saved from her lackluster salary. Even though her wage wasn't even that bad, she had to give most of that to her sisters, who were the official owners of the Gym. Her sisters added that to their modelling and acting money in order to buy fancy clothes and undergo beauty treatments.

"Awesome!" Daisy said. "500 Poke Dollar, sweet! Now I can buy that new summer dress I wanted!"

"I also have a very special gift for you!" Tracey said, while releasing Jumpluff from his Poke Ball. "Jumpluff Pluff!"

Then, Tracey handed Jumpluff the item he was keeping in his bag for so long. "Jumpluff, could you hand Daisy her gift?" And so, the Pokemon gave Daisy the oval, green item.

"What the f*ck is that?" Daisy asked.

"It's an egg. There's a baby Pokemon in it," Tracey said.

"What am I supposed to do with an egg?" Daisy asked.

"Raise the Pokemon inside of it! You never spent time with your Luvdisc and Goldeen, Lily and Violet took them over now, and Tracey and I thought it would be good if you'd raise your own baby Pokemon," Misty explained. "I've learned a lot when raising Togepi."

"Where did you even get this egg?" Daisy asked.

"Jumpluff!" Tracey's Pokemon squealed from embarrassment, hoping his trainer wouldn't answer the question. However, he didn't get lucky...

"Well, my male Jumpluff has a girlfriend, Professor Oak's female Vileplume. Once, I caught them having intercourse behind the bushes. And so, they got this egg. Then, I knew giving it to you would be the right thing to do," Tracey explained.

"What Pokemon will I get?" Daisy asked.

"Well, if a male Jumpluff has sex with a female Vileplume, the baby will be an Oddish," Tracey answered. "I thought it would be good for you to raise this baby instead of a Water Pokemon, otherwise you'd end up using it as a show Pokemon anyways."

"Why do I have to raise a Pokemon? I don't even like battling!" Daisy snapped.

"Didn't you notice how everyone we've met so far hates you?" Tracey asked. "Sorry, but Professor Ivy and Cissy were furious at you, while my parents even told me that I shouldn't be with you!"

"What does that have to do with it?" Daisy asked, while the egg started shaking.

"Well, they're mad about how you treat me. Instead of taking your responsibility or taking an interest into Pokemon, you just keep saying you don't care. Tracey and I both thought that taking care of this baby would help you to become more responsible and unselfish," Misty sneered.

"Oh, thank you!" Daisy shouted sarcastically. Then, the egg started to hatch! While it started with a few bursts, eventually, a baby Pokemon with leaves on her head was in Daisy's arms!

"That Oddish is so cute!" Misty said.

"And seeing his birth is the miracle of life!" Tracey added. "I'm glad Jumpluff saw this, he's the father."

"And, what do you think?" Misty asked, while Daisy gave her new Pokemon a hug.

"It's so cute!" Daisy squealed. Then, she looked at her new Pokemon's innocent eyes "I'm going to take care of you, treat you well and make you the best Oddish in the whole world!"

"First, you didn't seem to want a Pokemon, and now you love it!" Tracey said, while handing his girlfriend an empty Poke Ball for her new Pokemon. "I knew this was the right thing to do!"

"Tracey, I think it's working!" Misty said happily. "I think this was just what Daisy needed!"

"Don't think you're going to travel when we get home!" Daisy snapped, while tickling her Oddish.

"We'll just see about that!" Misty thought.

"Hmm, Daisy's suddenly less annoying with that baby Oddish around. And hey, that baby is pretty cute!" Gyarados thought, while almost having reached Mandarin Island North.

Then, daddy Jumpluff walked up to Daisy, putting his arms around the baby Oddish, while squealing happily. "Jumpluff!"