Theme Song

We're on the road, far from home (Gray's Pokemon and her mother are shown working at the Adoption Center, and then the camera switches to show Gray sweat dropping as Furcifer and Potens try to prank Unicus and another Pokemon while Bellator trains by himself)
A brand new region we will rome (The five Team Flare scientists smirk at Gray and White)
New rivals here, and evil there (Bianca and Snivy, Cheren and Tepig, and Hugh and Frogadier smile at Gray, then the scene switches to Lysandre staring out at Castelia City)
Time to breathe in some fresh air (White and Snivy battle a Magikarp but end up getting attacked by a Gyarados while Tympole hides)
All right (2x)! Another tale (Gray punches her fist in the air with White)
Walk down (2x)! An unknown trail (Gray and Alain reach out to each other and touch a mirror splitting the screen in half, and then the screen transitions to Ferus and Charizard Mega Evolving)
Reach out (2x)! For the holy grail... (Unicus, Bellator, Furcifer, Potens, Ferus, and two other Pokemon stand by Gray's side)
Pokemon!

What's up, people? Time for the start of the Castelia Arc (my personal favorite out of all of them) which will be setting up huge things to come right off the bat, which I'll get to in a second. Last chapter, Gray defeated Lenora with the help of Furcifer, and it ended with Celosia (purple hair) and Mable (blue hair) appearing in Pinwheel Forest, where they saw really high power levels. This chapter will be about Gray having a double battle against them, so there's some Flare action! Now let's get going!

Guest: But wait, there's more! Lol. Seriously, though, she's going to start redeeming herself eventually, but it's going to be a while. Also I like the idea, and the plan was for something like that to happen, except it'd be her getting her ass kicked

MysticBeatz21: I read your last review too literally XD Bellator with that back-to-back MVP tho. And Flare is looking for the Swords of Justice for that reason, but whether they'll find them is the real question

Warrior of Hope: Wooh! Bellator might go down as the single greatest member of any of the teams (between Owen and Gray), especially if things keep going his way like they are right now. Flare is searching for them, though it's not Virizion that they found

Defender31415: Thanks! I thought Furcifer was the MVP too, but others made a pretty solid case for Bellator. As for Potens, yes and no. I'm going to try elaborating on it in future chapters (within this arc, of course) to give you a better understanding of her reactions. I will hint by saying she won't act that way when everyone battles

GuessWhoThisIs (guest): I'll give it a look, though I wouldn't want to rip-off the plot, no matter how good it is. And if I actually do end up writing another one, it'll be something I had planned to have Owen do after Unova (until Kalos became a thing)

ShadowDragon9000: I love that we can all use that reasoning even though only two badges have been claimed. "Bellator did/earned this because he's Bellator" will rule throughout this entire story XD Potens is a stinky scrub, but she's going to show off her potential really soon

FinLay Real: Recap hype! Haha. Don't feel bad about not having time (unless you don't. Don't pay any attention to what I say). I like writing Furcifer's battles the most, though having to come up with something new each time is going to be the death of me. Thanks, btw!

JustinThePokemonMaster: Seriously? My god. I never actually used one of them, so I'm going to stop talking to keep the very slim amount of self-esteem that I still have T-T Basic Badge, lol. As for Flare, they are searching for the Swords of Justice

davidtheman23: I already said levels weren't going to be indicative of when they'd evolve, so just because Bellator's at 17 doesn't mean he's close to evolving. He will soon, yeah, but please try to read what I say in A/N's and responses. I also never said anything about the Driftveil Bridge, so I have no idea where you're getting that from. It's in an interesting idea, but that's not happening

Gray's Team

Unicus, (f), level 18, Crush Claw, Magnitude, Swift, Rollout, Rapid Spin*, Fury Cutter* - (Sandshrew)
Bellator, (m), level 20, Tackle, Tail Whip, Water Gun, Razor Shell, Water Sport* - (Oshawott)
Furcifer, (f), level 19, Fury Swipes, Quick Attack, Icy Wind, Feint Attack - (Sneasel)
Potens, (f), level 16, Tackle, Gust, Bite, Wing Attack, Agility* - (Noibat)
Ferus, (m), level 60, Flamethrower, Feint Attack, Iron Tail, Foul Play, Bite*, Fire Fang* - (Houndoom)

"Gray, why do we have to keep traveling through here?" White whined, stomping on the ground repeatedly like a child.

The older girl rolled her eyes at her companion's reaction and remained silent, smiling at Unicus and Ferus as they walked by her sides. Despite getting up in the late afternoon and heading out even later, White, obviously, was frustrated with the lack of sleep. Gray, on the other hand, was able to get over it, given the fact that she had been traveling for nearly three years and had far too much experience with sleep deprivation.

"Would you please just answer me? I promise I won't ask another question! I swear on Snivy's life!"

"Wow wow wow, slow down there. I'm too young to die," the grass snake announced, making White fume while Gray and her two Pokemon laughed.

As they continued walking down the paved road - which was odd, considering they were in the middle of a forest - Gray and White looked around, eyeing all of the wild creatures passing by. A group of strange caterpillars wearing leaf headdresses swung from tree to tree while using String Shot, and Unicus began rolling after them, amazed with the unfamiliar Pokemon.

"Hey, maybe you should catch one of those things!" the ground type exclaimed, rolling back to Gray's side with an eager grin. Her trainer didn't share the enthusiasm, however. "Come on! I don't like Furcifer, Potens is a jerk, and Bellator doesn't talk! You NEED to catch another Pokemon!" Unicus exclaimed, stomping as she did so, which made Gray laugh along with Ferus and Snivy.

White, however, continued looking around uneasily, grinding her teeth. Looking at all of the Sewaddle swinging around the trees with String Shot attacks, she screamed at the top of her lungs when one of them landed on the ground in front of her, making Gray jump in shock while Ferus sprung forward and looked ready to kill the Pokemon, until he realized the petrified expression on the wild bug type's face.

"White, relax. This thing's harmless," Ferus stated, turning his translator off to tell the bug type that it could leave.

The sixteen year old, who was panting wildly, shook her head and glared at Ferus until she noticed everyone else, including all of the wild Pokemon, was staring at her. Sweat dropping, White hung her head and sighed.

"Sorry. It's just… I hate bugs," she muttered, making Gray crack a smile along with Unicus and Snivy. "Don't you dare laugh, Gray!" she shouted angrily, wiping the smile off her mentor's face.

"So how much longer do you think we're going to be in Pinwheel?" Snivy quizzed as she looked at both of the girls, who shrugged before Gray took out her Pokedex and opened the GPS app. "To be honest, I don't want to spend a lot of time in here, either," she announced, prompting White to rub her head as a means of comforting the grass type.

"According to the Pokedex, about another four hours," Gray replied, cursing under her breath afterwards while Ferus and Unicus began talking to one another without their translators, laughing together. They suddenly stopped and began looking around, drawing the attention of not only their trainer, but White and Snivy, too.

"What's wrong, guys?" Gray inquired.

As if on cue, all of the Sewaddle and Veinpede began traveling back towards Nacrene City at the speed of light, confusing the two brunettes as they looked at their Pokemon. Ferus immediately stepped forwards and started to growl lowly while Bellator, Furcifer, and Potens' Pokeballs cracked open. Each of the three looked around and Furcifer seemed intimidated while Potens and Bellator looked ready to fight.

"Snivy, why are all of the Pokemon running away?" White whispered to her starter, who began growling slightly.

"Something's coming this way," Ferus announced, snarling as he did so.

White froze up immediately and began backing away while Gray smirked and stepped forwards, standing right next to Ferus while Unicus, Bellator, and Potens prepared to fight. Furcifer, on the other hand, joined White and Snivy.

Once they settled down, the girl watched as two women appeared further down the road in obnoxious red suits with goggles on, making Ferus snarl much more aggressively than he had earlier, remembering Aliana had worn a very similar suit. The two women had very different expressions, the one with blue hair keeping a straight face while the one with purple hair began psychotically licking her lips.

"They look a lot like Aliana," White said to Gray, who nodded and sensed something was off, making her Pokemon step forwards defensively, including Potens while Bellator tactically moved so that he was standing behind Ferus, readying himself to deliver a sneak-attack.

"That's the one the power monitor was reading," the blue haired woman said to her counterpart, pointing at Ferus, who continued snarling. "You're the girl Aliana told us about - the one with the Mega Houndoom."

Gray didn't reply to the blue haired woman's announcement, instead eyeing the purple haired woman who continued licking her lips.

"We're going to make sure you don't interfere with any of our plans again. Manectric, go!" the purple haired woman screamed, hurling a Pokeball.

"And don't think you're the only one with a Houndoom. Come on out!" the blue haired woman boomed.

In two bursts of light, a Manectric and Houndoom appeared in front of the two women and eyed Gray's Pokemon intently. Ferus stepped forwards right away, knowing full well there was no chance the others had a chance at competing with the women's Pokemon. Surprisingly, Potens flew forwards and looked ready to combat the stronger creatures, catching Gray off guard before she grinned and nodded at the dragon type.

"I may not know who you are, or what you want, but you're not going to beat me," the Kantonian stated cooly. "Ferus, use Flamethrower! Potens, help him out with Gust!"

The two Pokemon obeyed their commands, and Ferus reared his head back before unleashing a wicked wave of flames that closed in on the purple haired woman's Manectric within nanoseconds. Potens, meanwhile, shot into the air and began whipping her wings as fast as she could, speeding up Ferus' Flamethrower while also cutting the blue woman's Houndoom, who grunted in pain. Because of the increased velocity of the Flamethrower attack, Manectric was unable to get out of the way in time, and he was blasted through the air before landing on his feet, smirking at his foes.

"Well, she certainly didn't understate that one," the purple haired woman said, smirking at Ferus, who continued snarling.

"Celosia, would you please just focus and stick to the plan?" the blue haired woman asked rhetorically.

"Sorry, Mable. Or should I say Mom?" Celosia shot back, glaring at Mable while Gray turned to White and sweat dropped at the interaction between the two women. "Now, Manectric, use Shock Wave!"

"And use Flamethrower, Houndoom!"

Manectric let out a powerful roar before unleashing a neon blue jolt of electricity that was headed right at Ferus, who lowered himself to the ground and prepared to jump out of the way. Meanwhile, Mable's Houndoom shot a wave of red fire at Potens, who narrowed her eyes and stuck her wings out to her sides.

"Potens, dodge it and use Agility! Ferus, get out of the way and use Iron Tail on Manectric!"

The usually disobedient Noibat flapped her wings as hard as she could and shot into the air, just barely dodging the Flamethrower attack while Ferus bounded to his right and evaded the Shock Wave attack. However, the blue bolt of lightning followed him even as he jumped in the air and began spinning like a wheel. Seeing that Ferus was unaware of the incoming attack, Potens zipped towards him and acted as a shield taking the brunt of the attack as she cried out in pain, making Gray and the others gasp in shock. Celosia and Mable smirked maniacally as Potens fell to the ground lifelessly, but they stopped when Ferus smashed his tail over Manectric's head.

All of a sudden, Bellator dashed forwards and caught Potens before she could fall, displaying incredible speed before he ran back to Gray's side and handed the downed Noibat over to her.

"Thank you, Bellator. Potens, you were amazing. Thank you so much," the brunette whispered to the unconscious Pokemon, zapping her back into her Pokeball.

"Ferus, let's do this thing," Bellator said to his fire type friend, who nodded in response before looking back at Potens' Pokeball and smiling.

"Right. Let's do it for Potens!"

000

"Do you really think she already left for Castelia City?" Arcanine asked Noah as they reached the entrance to Pinwheel Forest. "Why don't you just call her? That'd make this whole Gray hunt so much easier."

Noah laughed at his Pokemon's comments and rubbed the fire type's head before turning to look around the beautiful forest. The trees overhead blocked most of the sunlight, though there were some beams that managed to pierce through and shine down on the paved road the teen and his Pokemon were walking along.

"Unova sure is nice and peaceful for such an urban place," Noah said aloud, drawing a nod from Arcanine as the two smiled at the beauty of the forest.

They stopped, however, when waves of Sewaddle flew through the trees and hid right near the entrance of the forest while even more Venipede slithered towards Noah and Arcanine.

"What's going on? Why are all of these Pokemon so scared?" Noah inquired, only to be answered by an explosion appearing in the distance, creating a colossal cloud of smoke. "Arcanine, let's go check it out."

000

"Now use another Thunderbolt on that Oshawott, Manectric!"

"Not a chance! Ferus, get in front of it and use Flamethrower! Bellator, hop onto his back and then use Water Gun on Houndoom!"

The incredible teamwork of Ferus and Bellator, which confused Gray to no end, easily trumped the sheer strength of Mable and Celosia's Pokemon. As soon as Manectric unleashed a zigzagging bolt of electricity, Ferus sprinted and stood in front of Bellator, shooting a wave of fire out of his mouth. The attacks collided and exploded instantly, and Bellator hopped onto Ferus' back, using it as a launching pad, and he shot a blast of water at Houndoom, striking the fire type and pushing him back.

Both Mable and Celosia looked at one another before flipping a switch on their goggles to examine the power levels of their opponents, and they gasped in shock immediately, which stunned Gray, Ferus, and Bellator.

"This is unreal," Mable whispered in awe as she saw an enormous body of blue aura surrounding Bellator, who eyed his foes intently. The same exact aura surrounding Gray, too, while a much smaller - though still significant - wave of red surrounded Ferus.

"Yeah, I want that one for myself," Celosia replied, licking her lips once again. "Houndoom, use Dark Pulse on Oshawott!"

"Help out by using Quick Attack on that Houndoom, Manectric!"

Both Pokemon obeyed their evil trainers, as Houndoom fired a spiraling ray of black and purple energy while Manectric bolted forwards and slammed into Ferus, sending him rolling along the ground. Bellator turned around to check on Ferus, ignoring the Dark Pulse attack that was about to crush him. Gray, however, acted without thinking and ran forwards.

"Bellator, look out!" she screamed, diving to protect her Pokemon.

Everyone watched as Gray grabbed Bellator and turned so that she took the full force of Houndoom's Dark Pulse, which exploded on contact and launched her several yards back while she still held on to Bellator.

"Gray! Gray!" White hollered, sprinting over to the injured girl's side.

"Gray, are you okay!?" Unicus shrieked, shaking her trainer by grabbing her shoulders.

Slowly opening her eyes, Gray smiled at Unicus and nodded before turning her attention to Bellator, who was staring at her in concern along with Snivy, White, and Furcifer.

"Bellator, did you get hurt?" Gray quizzed, taking the Oshawott back before he shook his head and turned to face Celosia and Mable, who were battling Ferus, who was overwhelmed by having to deal with two opponents.

A sudden wave of rage swept over the water type's body and he growled lowly, catching the attention of his teammates and Snivy while White tended to Gray, who was clearly injured.

"You'll both pay," Bellator proclaimed, pointing his scalchop at the two women right after Ferus was knocked back by another Quick Attack from Manectric. "You're not getting away with this!"

Shocked by the rage in his voice, everyone, including Gray, stared as Bellator threw his head towards the sky and began screaming as he was engulfed in a blinding coat of white light. Slowly, the otter began to transform, and once the light faded, a different Pokemon stood in his place.

All of his fur was sky blue and there was a strange, dark blue set of fur beneath his stomach, and there were two scalchops on his thighs. Two white whiskers on both sides of his face stuck out, and there was also a tip of blew hair at the very top of his head.

White immediately took out her Pokedex and scanned the transformed Pokemon, who continued standing still, glaring daggers at both of the Flare admins.

"Dewott, the Discipline Pokemon, and the evolved form of Oshawott. As a result of strict training, each Dewott learns different forms for using the scalchops."

"Bellator… evolved?" Gray whispered to herself, shocked by the transformation. "Heh," she chuckled, rising to her feet with the help of white. "Bellator," Gray called, making the starter Pokemon turn around. "Let's do this together," the girl said with a smile as she extended her fist.

Staring his trainer in the eye for a few seconds, Bellator slowly cracked a grin and nodded, extending his hand and fist bumping Gray.

"Oh, well isn't that sweet. Too bad we have to kill you," Celosia said to Gray, licking her lips. "Houndoom, use Flamethrower!"

"Manectric, Thunderbolt!"

"Ferus, cancel those out with Flamethrower! Bellator, use a full power Water Gun!"

While Houndoom and Manectric fired their attacks, which combined and closed in on Ferus and Bellator, the latter two nodded at one another before charging their attacks. Ferus threw his head forwards and shot a blast of red and orange flames at the combined attacks while Bellator formed a massive ball of water in-between his hands with a confident smirk, confusing Gray and White.

"That's Water Pulse! Bellator can use Water Pulse now!" Snivy shouted in excitement, making Gray smile softly as she stared at the newly evolved creature.

Hurling the ball of water, Bellator watched as Ferus' Flamethrower wrapped around his attack and crashed through the Flamethrower and Thunderbolt combination.

The wicked move then struck Mable's Houndoom and knocked it out cold, leaving Celosia and her Manectric.

"Return, Houndoom," Mable muttered, disappointed by the fact that she had lost. "Be careful, Celosia. We don't want to overdo things."

The purple haired woman nodded and nodded at her Manectric, who stepped back and seemed to be signaling to Gray and her Pokemon that he wasn't going to continue battling. Despite waving the white flag, Bellator charged and grabbed both of his scalchops and sprung into the air as everything went into slow-motion.

"You're not going to get away with hurting her. I won't let that happen, no matter who you are, or how strong you may be. I will kill you!" Bellator thought to himself in a blind fit of rage, spinning wildly as he prepared to slash Manectric.

"Thunderbolt!"

Before he could do anything, Bellator was zapped into oblivion and launched through the air, making Gray gasp while Ferus began sprinting after his friend to catch him. Much to his dismay, Ferus realized there was no chance of catching the Dewott, but that didn't matter.

A large, orange blur soared through the air and caught Bellator before bolting back to Gray. After taking her injured Pokemon off the creature's back, Gray flinched, worrying White, Snivy, Unicus, and Furcifer.

"What's wrong? Should I freeze this guy?" Furcifer inquired as she stood in front of her trainer defensively.

"No, why don't you just contaminate their food?" Unicus hissed, making Furcifer hang her head, knowing there was no point in arguing her innocence.

"Don't worry, we're friends," Gray said, petting the Pokemon standing before her while Ferus continued to keep an eye on the two women in red.

Unicus, Snivy, Furcifer, and White gave each other looks of confusion before watching Gray turn around as the unfamiliar Pokemon ran past her.

The large dog stopped when he saw a boy who was running with a huge smile plastered on his face.

"Long time no see," Gray said with a grin as soon as the boy stood by his Pokemon's side, drawing a nod from the duo.

"We'd love to stick around for this little reunion, but I'd rather eat some vomit," Celosia joked, withdrawing her Manectric before throwing a smoke bomb along with Mable, disappearing immediately.

"Damn! How the hell did they get away!?" Ferus screamed, turning to look at Gray until he noticed none other than Noah and Arcanine standing by her side. "When did you two get here?" he questioned, eyeing the four legged creature he had lost to back in Lumiose City.

"You watched me save Dewott," Arcanine shot back with a slick grin. "Man, you're already going blind."

The two fire types laughed and began conversing until White and Gray's Pokemon cleared their throats, waiting to be introduced to the duo they had never met.

Sweat dropping in embarrassment, Gray turned so that she was facing everyone and looked at all of them before pointing.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Noah and Arcanine. We were actually in the same grade school class," Gray announced. "Plus, he competed in the Kalos League last year. And guys, that's Unicus, Bellator and, Furcifer. I have another Pokemon, but she fainted battling those two women."

"Oh, nice to meet you all!" Noah greeted, drawing excited responses from Unicus and Furcifer while Bellator nodded at him, shifting his attention to Arcanine, who he bowed to thankfully.

"And that's White and Snivy, who's her first Pokemon. I met them when I got here and we've been traveling together."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Noah," White said, shaking the boy's hand. "So what brings you here to Unova?" she inquired, making the boy freeze up for a second before laughing.

"Uh, I figured I'd take a break from training and see the world. Right, Arcanine?" Noah asked, drawing a nod from his starter. "Where are you guys headed to?"

Gray and White looked at one another before nodding to confirm that they were, in fact, thinking of the same response.

"Castelia City. You can tag along if you want," Gray proposed, making Noah blush slightly as he nodded. "Great! While you two talk, I'm going to make a call really quickly. Sound good?" the Kantonian quizzed while looking at both Noah and White, who nodded and began talking to one another.

Walking away from her friends and Pokemon, Gray dialed a number she was incredible familiar with, though one scarcely used, and she brought her Pokedex up to her face. After a few seconds of waiting, the person on the other end picked up, and her face appeared on the screen.

"Hey, Tara, I was just checking in to let you know we're on our way," the brunette announced. "We just got out of Pinwheel Forest and are supposed to get to Castelia by tonight, so I'll call you tomorrow. See ya!"

With that, she ended the call as quickly as she had started it, not wanting her friend to be able to ask about how she managed to get to Unova and why she was coming. However, while putting her Pokedex in her backpack, a strange feeling settled in Gray's stomach, and she looked over at Ferus.

"I feel like something big's about to happen. But what is it?"

000

"What do you mean? How did you lose to her when there were two of you?" a harsh voice interrogated on the other end of the call. "Jesus, you two and Aliana can't do anything, can you?"

Celosia and Mable glanced at one another and sighed in depression.

"No. No we can't," they muttered in unison, almost as if they had rehearsed the response.

The person on the other hand laughed and began clapping at the answer, making the two women smile before they turned the call into a video chat. The person they were talking to was a woman who had a very similar outfit, and her hair was green. A pair of green goggles were on her face and she also had green lipstick on.

"Alright, that was good. What do you need me to do?" the green haired woman asked, making Celosia and Mable look at each other before turning back to the screen.

"Well, we need to give you some insight before we tell you about what you have to do," Mable said, drawing a nod from the woman. "First, she has a Houndoom that can Mega Evolve. Even when it doesn't, it's still really strong. Strong enough to hold its own against Houndoom and Manectric at the same time."

The woman on the other end recoiled in response to the information.

"That's not all, Bryony. She has a Pokemon that, we know for a fact, is going to be stronger than that Houndoom, so we need you to get rid of her," Celosia said, licking her lips with a wicked smile after finished her sentence.

"It's a Dewott. We've never seen power levels like it, and the girl had the same aura surrounding her. That thing is special," Mable informed her ally.

Bryony chuckled at the statement and turned to her Bisharp, who began cracking its knuckles confidently.

"No matter. We'll get rid of her and that Dewott before they can become anything."

Dayum! Lots of stuff happened, so here we go. Potens actually listened to Gray when she battled against Mable and Celosia, but that won't be carrying over. It will be explained later in this arc, or sometime in the next. Then, Bellator evolved when Gray shielded him from a Dark Pulse attack, and he's going to be even more of a beast. After that, Noah and Arcanine appeared and they'll be sticking around! Lastly, it was revealed that BELLATOR was the one with the insane power levels, and not Ferus (or Gigalith)! However, Bryony's going to try and kill Gray before she can unlock Bellator's potential, which is going to be epic. Next chapter will be the return of Chase and Tara, and that's really it. Till then, peace out.

Next Chapter: "Mega Evolution Escapades"

Now in Castelia City, the gang runs into a pair of familiar faces in Chase and Tara! After catching up, a double battle consisting of Mega Evolution, and Arcanine, ensues! How will Gray's new traveling partners mesh with the originals? Will Gray and Noah be able to defeat Chase and Tara despite lacking Mega Evolution?

Castelia City Arc

Chapter 23: Mega Battle 3: Charizard vs Ferus!
Chapter 24: Sandstorm Showdown: Unicus vs Boldore!
Chapter 25: Earning Respect
Chapter 26: It Takes Two to Tango
Chapter 27: Protect the Pokemon Shelter
Chapter 28: Heart of the Hive
Chapter 29: A Dual Wield Duel
Chapter 30: Testing the Subject