Theme Song
Oh oh, it's time to grow (Comis flies towards the screen and uses X-Scissor)
Let's let everybody know (Nikki throws two Pokeballs and Eevee and Skitty appear, Cole throws one and Slakoth appears, Gray throws four and her Pokemon appear. Then, a fifth appears and covers the screen in poison before its frozen by another Pokemon)
How strong we've become (Skitty swoons over Ferus while Comis looks on jealously)
And that we fight as one (Comis, Acer, Ferus, and Pertinax appear and fade one after another before two Pokemon appear side by side)
No no, we won't back down (Splitscreen showing all six of Gray's Pokemon getting off the ground and charging at the camera)
We'll fight (2x) another round! (The screen splits in half and shows Ferus, with a figure covered in fire, and Silver's Totodile, with two figures covered in water, glaring at each other)
No matter your strength or size (A teen stares at a picture of himself and a girl when they were kids)
Our eyes are on the prize... (Gray takes a deep breath before stepping out of a dark room and into the light of a stadium)
Pokemon!
Time for the first round of the tournament, and it'll be a very short battle (two versus two), so don't expect it to be that long. Anyways, Gray signed up for the tournament last chapter and found out all four of her rivals were also registered and competing. Now, let's get going!
MerlockVonBaron: Yup
Defender31415: I guess you'll just have to find out :P And I really thought about not putting Gray as a one, but she's only lost two battles to this point, and got off to the best start (I think she was 4-0) out of any of the other stories
jail251: The seeding for the rivals isn't too big on my mind, though it may be different for others. They (the seeds) will be revealed later on in the tournament, but that's about all I can say
ShadowDragon9000: She most certainly will do well, and I think she'll handle the pressure pretty well. If she were to lose, it wouldn't be her performing poorly in any way; rather, her opponent would be doing incredibly. And Joey isn't ranked higher than Silver, but you wouldn't have known that because I didn't put in any other rankings, just because I'm an idiot and forgot
Blaze Falcon: Yeah, James will be the guy that likes to make fun of Silver, so that will be a constant. As for Quilava, she's going to be a huge thorn in Gray's side in the future, and will have a rivalry with Ferus similar to the one Fortis and Garchomp had in Kanto. And it's crazy to see how far Gray's progressed since starting. Not as crazy as Owen from Kanto to Kalos, but still crazy
Dr. Kitten Von Fangtoven: Stunky are pretty annoying, but they kind of grew on me when I had Owen get one in Sinnoh. You're right that they stink, though. And that's a good question. I guess since it's a top percentage Rattata, depending on how strong Raticate are, it could or couldn't be top percentage, haha
Gray's team
Comis, (m), level 27, Night Slash, Acrobatics, Sand Attack, X-Scissor, Quick Attack*, Feint Attack* - (Gliscor)
Acer, (f), level 23, Mach Punch, Headbutt, Bullet Seed, Stun Spore, Leech Seed*, Poison Powder* - (Breloom)
Ferus, (m), level 24, Ember, Leer, Howl, Smog, Bite*, Fire Fang* - (Houndoom)
Pertinax, (m), level 28, Vice Grip, Seismic Toss, Counter, Vital Throw, Double Hit*, Brick Break* - (Pinsir)
Egg, (N/A): The egg is not close to hatching. There's no guessing how long it will take
"Here we go, guys," Gray started as she looked at her four Pokemon intensely. "We're actually the number two overall seed, and we're going to prove to everyone just how deserving we are. Ferus and Acer, you two are going to battle in this round, and I want you both to give it everything you've got. Okay?"
"Absolutely!" Acer responded as she unleashed a barrage of punches with a smile.
"No problem. Leave it to us," Ferus answered calmly.
"Alright! Return," Gray said, zapping Ferus, Pertinax, and Acer inside their Pokeballs, leaving Comis by himself. "You ready?" the brunette quizzed while standing in a hallway that led to the battlefield.
"Even though I'm not battling this round, I'm pumped! The league thinks we're the second strongest team, results wise, and I can't wait to show 'em just how right they are!" Comis exclaimed while bouncing up and down on his tail with a bright smile.
"Now let's welcome our first trainer! She's the second overall seed, and finished in the top 4 at the Indigo League last year! Please welcome, Gray Plain!" the announcer screamed, prompting Gray and Comis to walk out of the tunnel. When they appeared on the battlefield, they waved to the crowd and were met with a deafening response of cheers.
"And our second trainer hails from Cherrygrove City and has navigated their way through quite the gauntlet of type disadvantages against each Gym Leader! Please welcome, Nate Mendez!"
Gray and Comis watched as a tall boy with a shaved head walked out onto the battlefield and bowed to them respectfully, prompting the girl and her starter to do the same.
"Trainers, this will be a two versus two battle where both sides may substitute their Pokemon once! The battle will be over when both Pokemon on one side are unable to continue, and the winner will move on to face the winner of Joey and Casey! Now, choose your first Pokemon!"
"Acer, come on out!" Gray shouted as she hurled the grass type's Pokeball.
In a burst of light, the Breloom appeared in front of Gray and Comis, and her picture was displayed on all four of the scoreboards hanging over the battlefield. Slowly, Acer looked around at the enormous crowd and stared in shock.
"Take a deep breath, Acer. Just focus on the battle and me, and you'll do fine," Gray advised, using her experience from the Indigo League to her advantage.
"Let's win this battle, Mienfoo!"
Suddenly, a small Pokemon appeared in front of Nate and it began kicking the air. Its body was yellow while its limbs were red, and it was also, bipedal. The creature looked like a mouse, and it continued performing karate moves.
"This battle will be between Acer and Mienfoo! Begin!"
"Acer, use Mach Punch!" Gray shouted, wanting to be as aggressive as possible.
Grinning, Acer sprinted towards Mienfoo while her right fist began to glow light blue. Once she reached the middle of the battlefield, Acer disappeared, making everyone in the crowd gasp in shock.
Meanwhile, in the trainer room, Joey hopped off his seat and began throwing his arms around wildly.
"How is Acer that fast!? Holy crap!"
"That's why she's a one seed," James said while shaking his head in disbelief. "She and her Pokemon already look a lot stronger than when I battled her back in Azalea Town."
"Yeah, I wouldn't have thought that her Pokemon would be this strong already," Savannah opined. "Her making it to the semifinals at the Indigo League was no joke," the redhead concluded with a smile.
"Wait, Gray made it to the top four?" Nikki inquired, which Savannah answered with a nod. "Wow, she's a really talented trainer.
Back on the battlefield, Acer reappeared right in front of Mienfoo and punched the smaller Pokemon in the stomach so hard he was sent flying into Nate, who was knocked over as a result. The two slowly got back on their feet and stared at Acer in shock as she bounced back and forth on her feet while punching the air like a boxer.
"Mienfoo, get in close and use Force Palm repeatedly!"
"Dodge them all and then use Leech Seed!" Gray countered, throwing her arm out to her side quickly.
Mienfoo did as he was told and sprinted across the battlefield while both of his hands were glowing orange, and he attempted to hit Acer, who acrobatically evaded each attack. Once she saw an opening, Acer opened her mouth and shot a sapling at Mienfoo, which hit the fighting type in the head. Several vines shot out of the seed and wrapped around Mienfoo before he was engulfed in a red light.
"Hang in there, Mienfoo! Use High Jump Kick!"
"Lure him in and then dodge!"
Springing into the air, Mienfoo's knee began to glow bright red, and he crashed down towards Acer, who waited patiently until she felt as if she had to dodge. Performing a backflip, Acer was able to evade Mienfoo's devastating attack, causing the smaller Pokemon to roll around on the ground while holding its knee in pain, worrying Nate.
"Mienfoo!" the teen shouted to his injured Pokemon, who continued to roll around in pain, allowing Gray and Acer to attack.
"Fire a Mega Drain!"
Acer stomped on the ground and grunted loudly as three green spikes shot out of her head. The spikes then crashed down on Mienfoo and exploded, launching the fighting type through the air and across the battlefield while also restoring some of Acer's health. Once he stopped rolling, Mienfoo's eyes were shut tight, and the referee raised his arms in the air.
"Mienfoo is unable to battle! Nate, choose your last Pokemon!" the man shouted as Mienfoo's picture turned black, leaving Nate with one Pokemon.
"Return, Mienfoo," Gray's opponent called before grabbing his second Pokeball. "Herdier, go!"
When Herdier materialized from his Pokeball, he began growling at Acer, who responded with several punches to the air. Gray, however, didn't want the grass type to continue battling, so she took out her Pokeball.
"Acer, come back for a little and take a quick rest," Gray told her Pokemon, who obeyed and was returned to the spherical device. "Ferus, I choose you!"
As soon as the thrown Pokeball reached its apex, it opened and flames blasted out of it and Ferus landed on the ground gracefully as his picture appeared on the scoreboard. The two dogs began snarling at one another, but Ferus stopped, controlling his emotions. Seeing this, Gray smiled at her Pokemon while Comis glared at the fire type.
"This battle will be between Ferus and Herdier! Begin!"
"Start off with Howl, Ferus!" Gray demanded.
The dark type immediately pointed his head towards the roof of the arena and let out a menacing howl, causing a red ring of energy to appear and spin around his body. Once it disappeared, Ferus let out a deep breath and began swiping at the ground as if he were going to run at Herdier. As soon as he noticed that, Nate looked down at Herdier and punched his fist forwards.
"Charge and hit him with Take Down!"
Herdier nodded before sprinting across the battlefield, enveloped in yellow light. While the normal type continued running, Gray began to think of possible ways to counter before settling on one she thought was guaranteed to work.
"Use Smog and dodge it!"
Ferus exhaled dramatically and covered his entire half of the battlefield in a thick cloud of black smoke, which Herdier dove in to. The normal type completely missed his target, however, and Nate was left waiting to see what happened.
"Fire Fang!"
Suddenly, the smoke turned bright red, and Nate heard his Pokemon yelp in pain before he was thrown across the battlefield, bouncing on it until landing on his feet. Once the smoke settled, Ferus was revealed and he sat patiently in front of Gray while eyeing his downed opponent.
"Herdier, are you okay?" Nate asked sincerely as the dog struggled to get to his feet.
"Now use Ember, Ferus!"
Nate and Herdier gasped in shock when Ferus unleashed a wave of fire bullets, and the crowd stared as Herdier was pelted by the scorching hot attack. After falling on his face, Herdier pushed himself to his feet once again, and began growling weakly as he eyed Ferus, who sat back down and waited for Gray to issue another attack.
"Don't give in! Use Take Down again!"
"Let's finish this with Fire Fang!"
The dogs obeyed their commands and bolted towards one another, with Ferus being the faster of the two. Once they were within inches of each other, Herdier lunged forward to crush Ferus, but the fire type allowed his instincts to take over, and he jumped slightly as fire began to build in his mouth. Everyone watched in awe as Ferus barely avoided being struck, and then he whipped his neck down and bit Herdier's back. A sudden explosion occurred due to the sudden force from Fire Fang, and Herdier was smushed against the ground, his eyes closed while Ferus walked back to Gray's side victoriously.
"Herdier is unable to battle! Gray, Acer, and Ferus are the winners!" the referee shouted while pointing at Gray, who pumped her fist in the air before running over to Ferus and hugging him.
"That wasn't even close," Slakoth muttered as he stared at the TV in the trainer room. "I guess that's why Gray's the second seed, and that guy's the second to last."
"Ferus was so incredible," Skitty said, drooling over the sight of the fire type, who proudly walked off the battlefield, acting as if his dominant win was a normal occurrence.
"So was Acer," Eevee stated while staring at her teammate, who shook her head and repeated her previous statement, making Eevee sweat drop along with Wigglytuff, Rattata, and Slakoth.
Once she arrived in the trainer room, Gray made her way over to her friends and smiled before sitting down next to Cole, who patted her on the back with a cheeky grin.
"Gray, that was so cool! How'd you get so strong?" Joey inquired as he ran over to the girl and leaned in so close he was only a centimeter away from the girl's face.
"Uh... training?"
"Oh man, we need to do some more of that! Rattata, let's go!" Joey screamed before attempting to run out of the arena. He stopped, however, once he realized the rodent wasn't following him, and everyone stared at Joey as if he were an idiot.
"Joey, you're up next," Savannah informed the rookie, who face palmed in response.
"What a doofus," James whispered, making everyone laugh while Joey and Rattata headed down the same hallway Gray had earlier.
"I'm going to head back to the Pokemon Center and heal Acer and Ferus," Gray announced as she rose to her feet along with Comis. "Savannah, James, good luck with your battles! I'll be rooting for you guys!" the brunette exclaimed before walking away with Cole and Nikki in tow.
000
"I still can't get over how easily you won that battle!" Skitty shrieked while staring at Ferus, who rolled his eyes at his number one fan.
The group of trainers and their Pokemon were walking back to the arena where the tournament was being held, and there were thousands of people in the streets, making it difficult to get there.
"Yeah, you guys looked incredible out there," Cole praised, making Ferus and Acer nod thankfully in response.
"Really. That Nate guy didn't stand a chance," Nikki added, which made Gray giggle before she pushed her hair out of her gray eyes. "Hey, what's going on over there?" the blonde inquired while pointing to the block to their right.
It was sealed off with yellow tape, the one usually used for crime scenes, and the group walked over to it in confusion. With one look, they saw a group of adults in full suits with masks covering their faces, and a disgusting scent filled the air.
"Excuse me?" Comis shouted, grabbing the attention of one of the adult's, who walked over to the group. "What happened? Did someone get hurt?"
"No. We're having a huge problem with a Pokemon that's contaminating the water supply, and it's also leaving a rancid smell in the area, so we're trying to get rid of it," the man explained calmly. "It's not much of a threat or anything, we're trying to let the Pokemon no we're not going to harm it."
"We can help, if you want," Gray offered while pointing at herself and her four Pokemon. "I bet it'd listen to us."
"I guess it couldn't hurt. Here, you're gonna want this," the man said while handing Gray five gas masks, which she put on herself and her Pokemon before walking with the man, who led her towards a pothole, which he lifted and jumped down.
Gray reluctantly followed, and so did her Pokemon. Once they landed in the sewer, the five looked around at the brightly lit area before settling their eyes on a strange creature that was trembling. There were dozens of people in hazard suits surrounding it, trying to grab the Pokemon, but it kept its distance and continued trembling in fear.
"Guys, back off! This girl's gonna try getting rid of it," the man Gray had talked to shouted.
The dozens of people backed away from the Pokemon, and Gray walked down the sidewalk area, and made her way towards the trembling creature. Slowly, she stuck her hand out, but the Pokemon jumped back and opened its mouth, firing a Sludge attack. Lucky for Gray, Ferus intercepted it with Ember, which made her thank the fire type as she took out her Pokedex and scanned the strange creature.
"Trubbish, the Trash Bag Pokemon. Inhaling the gas they belch will make you sleep for a week. They prefer unsanitary places."
"That's repulsive," Pertinax muttered under his breath.
"Hey, Trubbish," Gray started, ignoring her Pokemon's comments. "It's okay. We're not here to hurt you," the girl continued, slowly stepping towards the poison type.
Once again, Trubbish shot another Sludge attack at Gray, who avoided it and smiled at the Pokemon, who looked back at the girl in confusion.
"That was a pretty strong attack, Trubbish. I know you like unsanitary places and all, but you're really causing problems for the people living around here, and I could always use another strong Pokemon like you. How about you join us? It's a win-win," Gray offered, trying to get the Pokemon out of the sewers.
"Trubb," Trubbish replied while pointing at Gray's Pokemon, talking to them. Each of the Pokemon exchanged glances with one another before looking at Gray, who had a confused expression on her face until Comis spoke up.
"Gray's the best! No one could ask for a better trainer," the winged scorpion replied, making Gray and Trubbish smile.
"Agreed. She stuck with me even when I was a jerk," Ferus added.
"Trubb!" Trubbish cheered before extending her arm, which was made of garbage. Gray nearly threw up at the sight of the limb, but she reluctantly extended her hand and shook it, which made Trubbish cheer before she started walking towards the group. As she did, she fell on her face, making everyone laugh.
"Haha. It's great to have you aboard, Trubbish! Go, Pokeball!" Gray cried while tossing a Pokeball at the poison type.
1...
2...
3...
Ping!
Gray carefully picked the device off the ground and clipped it onto her belt, smiling as she left the sewers with the group of people who had tried to get rid of Trubbish. Once she made her way back to Nikki and Cole, Gray took off her mask, and those of her Pokemon, and she showed the two Trubbish's Pokeball.
"Wow, you caught a new Pokemon?" Cole asked rhetorically. "What is it?"
"I'd like you to meet..." Gray started as she released the Pokemon. "Trubbish!" she screamed while pointing at the bag of trash standing in front of her.
"That's a great addition," Slakoth said, ignoring the putrid odor the poison type emitted. "Nice to meet you, Trubbish," Slakoth continued, extending his hand. As he did so, Trubbish walked forward to shake his hand, but she tripped over a pebble and landed on her face, making everyone laugh while she got up and chuckled.
"She seems pretty clumsy," Nikki told Gray, who nodded.
"And smelly," Eevee added before being smacked by Skitty.
"Well, I guess I have to give you a nickname now," Gray said to Trubbish while pulling out her latin book, searching for clumsy. "Here it is! How does Agrestis sound to you?" the girl quizzed, putting a translator around Trubbish's neck.
"Sounds good to me!" the trash bag replied with a smile that stretched across her face.
"Alright! Now let's go win our second round battle!"
And there's the end of the first round! Gray managed to win thanks to the efforts of Ferus and Acer, and she'll be facing off with a rival in her next battle. Also, she caught a Trubbish! That means the last spot on the team is reserved for a Kalos Pokemon (kinda like Kanto with Decorus). Anyways, Agrestis will be a bit of a goofball, similar to Leviculus in the early portion of PKA:ANG, and she'll add some much needed defense to the team. Till next time, peace out.
1) Thoughts on Agrestis?
Next Chapter: "Rattata's Revenge!"
Now in the second round, Gray squares off with Joey and his strange group of Pokemon! Will Gray be able to defeat her rival and advance to the third round?
Goldenrod City Arc
Chapter 28: Pseudo-Confidence
Chapter 29: ?
Chapter 30: ?
Chapter 31: ?