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 Unicus, Potens, and Furcifer battling a Malamar and Bellator using Razor Shell to battle a Bisharp)
A brand new region we will rome (The five Team Flare scientists smirk at Gray, White, and Noah)
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, Snivy, and Boldore battle a Magikarp but end up getting attacked by a Gyarados while Tympole hides and Noah and Arcanine watch from afar and shake their heads)
All right (2x)! Another tale (Gray punches her fist in the air with White and Noah)
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 Charizard staring at Bellator and another figure behind him)
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, party people? Last chapter was pretty long (I think?), and a decent amount happened. Basically, Alder reappeared, Potens talked smack and got destroyed as a result, Potens was put in intensive care and Gray and Bellator felt awful, Potens heard Unicus and Furcifer talking about how they hated her, and then Potens left despite Bellator's attempted persuasions. This chapter will focus on Gray and Bellator searching for Potens, and Flare grunts will be appearing. Now let's get going!

Trentavious Phoenix: Wow, thanks for the high praise! That's exactly how I see Potens, too, and I agree with you about her not deserving to get smacked around by someone that much stronger than her. As for Unicus and Furcifer, in their defense, Potens was nothing but an ass to them, and her prank on Unicus made her miss a few days of practice. And Bellator being Bellator XD

dragonplayer18: Really? Huh, I guess I was blind to her earlier actions just because I felt bad writing that chapter XD In regards to your question, that will be answered wayyyyyyy later on (maybe? It could come up sooner)

Warrior of Hope: Lol, that's a great way to put it XD The month and a half will happen, don't worry. I'm probably going to take a week or two off at some point or another

MysticBeatz21: Potens release hype! And Unicus and Furcifer caused what? Her leaving? If that's what you're getting at, then yeah, I can agree with that. And if anyone were to try and make a case for Potens being the cause of her departure, that's fine too

Defender31415: Hahaha, that's a hilarious comparison, and hopefully she can rebound from the comments

Gray's Team

Unicus, (f), level 22, Crush Claw, Magnitude, Swift, Rollout, Gyro Ball*, Fury Cutter* - (Sandslash)
Bellator, (m), level 23, Tackle, Tail Whip, Water Gun, Razor Shell, Water Sport*, Water Pulse* - (Dewott)
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)

Bounding down the halls, heart racing, adrenaline pumping, Bellator attempted to turn a corner, but slid and crashed due to his legs giving out. Popping back up, he broke into a dead sprint in order to reach Gray's room as quickly as possible, and when he did, he slammed on the door as hard as he could. He waited for the door to open. Turning both ways to keep his sanity, tapping his foot at the speed of light, panting wildly as a means of gathering enough oxygen to speak, Bellator brought his hands up to his face. It was his fault. He couldn't do anything. He couldn't stop her.

The door eked open and Gray slowly revealed her face only to see Bellator staring up at her in a state of panic, confusing her.

"Bellator? What's wrong?" the girl asked while yawning, clearly unaware of the situation.

The Dewott attempted to speak, but a lump formed in his throat and he was overwhelmed. Making violent gestures with his arms, Bellator took a huge breath when he saw the perplexed look on Gray's face, and he spoke as fast as he could.

"I talked to Potens and tried to convince her to stay but she wouldn't and said that no one liked her and she decided to leave and we need to find her!" the Unova starter screamed, inhaling deeply after somehow finishing his summary.

Without saying a word, Gray disappeared into her room and ran into the hallway within thirty seconds, sprinting alongside Bellator as they exited the Pokemon Center and made their way into the packed streets of Castelia City, where finding someone was like a needle in a haystack. Actually, like finding a needles in four million haystacks.

"How are we going to find her?" Gray inquired, turning to Bellator as an expression of contemplation was plastered on his face.

Snapping his fingers once he thought of an idea, Bellator turned to Gray and began pointing at the tops of all the nearby buildings with a grin, confusing the eighteen year old.

"Potens always sat on roofs or the tops of trees, so she has to be near one of those," Bellator announced, making Gray nod as she took off, searching for a building tall enough to be suitable for her Noibat.

"Please, Potens, let us find you."

000

Resting atop one of the larger buildings near the center of the city, where two colossal structures stood next to each other, identical in design. Looking around with her incredible vision, Potens eased up when she was confident Bellator hadn't followed her. As soon as she leaned back against the ventilation system, Potens stared up at the sky and looked at all of the stars, smiling to herself while thinking about her new life as a free Pokemon.

"Now that I'm not around to bug anyone, I can finally do what I want without having to hear anything about it!" she thought to herself, beaming at the idea of not having to spend time with either Unicus or Furcifer. "Those two are such idiots. How do you not realize there's an entire bottle of hot sauce covering your food? Better yet, why would you put hot sauce on your friend's food in the first place? They're such idiots."

Potens' thoughts drifted off and she smiled while remembering the first few days she spent with Gray and the others in Nacrene City. Even though she knew she wreaked havoc on the harmony of the group, Potens smiled at the fond memories, only to stop when she realized the expression of happiness shining through like the sun on a cloudy day.

"I can't keep thinking about them. I need to stir up some trouble," the dragon type muttered to herself as she stood up and looked around, spotting a sketchy alley a few meters away "Perfect!" Potens exclaimed as she took a running start and began gliding through the air and headed towards the alleyway. As she closed in on the it, Potens frowned when she saw four people dressed in the same color attacking a trainer. Without thinking, the winged creature performed a nosedive, hellbent on stopping the thugs.

000

Two hours had passed since Gray and Bellator had set out to search for Potens, and the two were beginning to grow tired. The lack of sleep coupled with extreme levels of stress was a recipe for disaster, and the fact that Gray could see the sun beginning to rise made her even more agitated than she would've been. However, she kept silent and continued hoping to stumble upon her runaway Pokemon.

"Have you seen anything, Bellator?" Gray yelled, walking over to a large tree in the heart of the city, which made her look like a lunatic to all of those passing by. "She wasn't anywhere on the streets!"

The Dewott's head popped out of the leaves and he frowned, making Gray sigh in frustration. She slowly stretched her arms over her head and yawned for what had been the sixth time in the past minute, prompting Bellator to hop out of the tree and land by his trainer's side, bags under his eyes just like Gray's.

"I know this is going to sound awful, but we have to get some sleep. Potens is more than capable of fending for herself for a night, and I bet she's nice and cozy right now. Let's head back to the Pokemon Center, take a three hour nap, and we'll get back at it," the girl instructed, drawing a shocking nod from Bellator, who put up no resistance as he was on the brink of exhaustion. "I bet we could cut through that alley and get to the Pokemon Center a lot faster."

Nodding, Bellator followed Gray down a dark, sketchy alleyway. Purrloin hopped out of the trash and Woobat hung upside down from the roofs of buildings, screeching whenever something loud enough to reach them passed by, which, unluckily for them, was Bellator and Gray.

"We can't keep looking by ourselves either. We need to tell everyone, and they can look while we get some sleep in," he said while yawning, drawing a nod from his trainer.

As they continued walking down the alleyway, Bellator began to grow suspicious, as he heard rattling and the sound of footsteps, along with several shushes. Grabbing both of his scalchops, the water type prepared to attack anyone that came his way, and he slipped past Gray in order to protect her.

Just like Bellator's senses had predicted, a man walked out from behind a dumpster with a smug grin and began punching one hand into the other in an attempt to intimidate Bellator. It didn't work, though, and the water starter responded by channeling aquatic energy into his scalchops, forming blades.

"Hand over the Dewott, and no one gets hurt," the man ordered.

Bellator began bending his knees, preparing to charge at the man until he and Gray heard a second pair of footsteps from behind. A man in the exact same outfit appeared, and his red goggles, coupled with his red hair and red suit, made him look like a walking bottle of ketchup.

"You're outnumbered, kid. Just give us your Dewott, and we'll be on our way," the second man said as a Houndour stood by his side, snarling at Bellator.

Both Gray and her powerhouse glanced back and forth between the first man and his Croagunk, and the second man and his Houndour before they squared up, preparing to combat the Pokemon.

"I guess we'll take that as a no. Well, don't say we didn't warn you. Croagunk, use Poison Jab!"

Bolting down the narrow alley, the enemy Croagunk reared its arm back while its fingers began to glow a strange shade of purple and white. As that happened, the second man joined in on the attack, throwing his right hand forwards.

"Houndour, burn 'em with Flamethrower!"

Rearing its head back, Houndour unleashed a massive amount of fire from his mouth, and it engulfed the entire alley, which forced Gray into thinking as quickly as she could while taking cover. As soon as she did, an idea popped into the eighteen year old's head.

"Bellator, grab Croagunk and throw it into the Flamethrower! Then follow it up with Water Pulse!" she shouted.

Doing just as he was told, Bellator spun out of the way of several Poison Jab attacks, acrobatically dodging each one of them before jumping off the wall to his right, which froze Croagunk. Then, Bellator grabbed his poison type foe by the arms and hurled him into the fire type attack before forming two balls of water in his hands and chucking them too. The first ball exploded on contact with Croagunk while the other obliterated Houndour, nearly knocking it unconscious.

"Damn, they weren't kidding when they said that thing was strong," the second man said to the first, who nodded in agreement before pointing at Bellator. Or, at least that's what Gray thought he was doing.

Suddenly, sets of footsteps rang in her ears and she turned to see two more people, this time two women, in red suits with red glasses on. Of course, there was a Houndour with one and a Croagunk with the other, and Bellator began to look around in confusion, unsure of who to attack and how he could protect Gray at the same time.

"Charge!" all four of the grunts screamed while pointing straight ahead, prompting the two Houndour to bound down the alleyway while the Croagunk hopped from the walls on the left to right and back and forth, making it impossible for Bellator to escape.

Despite the predicament he was in, the Dewott kept his composure and took a deep breath, making Gray smile before she rose to her feet excitedly.

"Use Water Pulse on the ground to sweep away the Houndour, and then use Razor Shell on the Croagunk!"

Chucking separate spheres of water against the ground, and in opposite directions, Bellator grinned when the entire alleyway was filled with water and both of the Houndour cried out in pain as they were sent rolling back to their trainers, who cursed under their breath. Much to Gray's dismay, the Croagunk arrived much faster than either she or Bellator expected, and they lunged at him.

Bellator closed his eyes and braced himself, but was shocked when he felt a wicked wind slam against his face. While he opened his eyes, Gray gasped in shock as both Croagunk were sent barreling down the alley in the same direction. All four of the people obsessed with red looked around in confusion, as did Bellator and Gray, but they all stopped and stared when a familiar figure swooped down and landed next to Bellator.

"Potens!" Gray exclaimed, kneeling to hug the Pokemon. She stopped, however, when she remembered there were four people trying to steal Bellator.

"Gray," the dragon started, hanging her head while keeping both ears out just in case the strange enemies tried attacking. "I'm sorry for running away. Do you think, maybe, you could forgive me?" Potens inquired, bringing a grin to Gray's face while Bellator continued staring down his opponents, watching carefully as one of the Croagunk hopped its way back to the other side and its trainer.

"Of course. But first, we need to beat some sense into these guys. Are you ready?" Gray asked, drawing nods from both of her Pokemon. "Okay! Bellator, use Water Gun! Potens, Gust!"

Obeying their commands and standing back-to-back, Bellator reared his head back before unleashing a wicked blast of high-pressured water from his mouth, which slammed into the Houndour standing in front. As a result, the Croagunk behind him barely dodged, though the two trainers weren't as lucky. Meanwhile, Potens began flapping her wings as violently as she could, creating gale force winds that actually launched the two trainers several dozen feet back along with their Pokemon.

Bellator quickly turned and nodded at Potens, but the dragon type caught a glimpse of the Croagunk Bellator had failed to hit flying towards him. With its arm reared back and ready to strike, Potens launched herself towards the fighting type while her wings began to glow white, and she close lined her enemy, knocking it unconscious immediately.

All four of the red enthusiasts stared in horror as their Pokemon were all unconscious while Bellator cracked his knuckles and prepared to beat the crap out of one of the men. Potens, meanwhile, opened her mouth and prepared to let out a deafening scream, though she held back when Gray stepped forwards and spoke up.

"So who are you people? And what do you want with me?" the brunette asked, drawing laughs from the older trainers.

They were soon silenced, however, by Potens screaming at the top of her lungs, making the thugs holler in pain before finally giving in to Gray's questions.

"We're Team Flare, and don't think you're so special. It's that Dewott we're after!" one of the women retorted, drawing Gray and Potens' attention to Bellator, which allowed the four Flare grunts to escape.

Once the grunts were gone and Gray, Potens, and Bellator made their way out of the alley, they all took a deep breath and smiled at each other, surprisingly. As soon as she saw the happy look on Potens' face, Gray walked over to the powerful Pokemon and squatted to talk to her at eye level.

"Potens, thank you so much for protecting us," the Kantonian commended, placing her hand on top of Potens' head. "You were so amazing! I never knew you were that strong!"

The dragon type beamed in response and attempted to speak, but she was cut off when a group of familiar voices rang in the air.

"Gray!" they all screamed, making Potens scowl, as she knew exactly who the voice belonged to.

Together, the girl and her Pokemon turned to see White, Noah, and all of their Pokemon running with worried looks on their faces, but by the time they stopped, they were just confused.

"What happened? Nurse Joy told us you and Bellator ran out in a rush at like, two in the morning!" Noah shouted, drawing attention from people walking by.

As Gray, Bellator, and Potens exchanged glances, they all shrugged, confusing everyone even more.

"Nothing much. We just decided to do some sightseeing and training," Gray replied, speaking for the two creatures that normally never did, drawing nods from White, Noah, the rest of her Pokemon, and their Pokemon. "You guys head back to the Pokemon Center, Potens and I will catch up with you in a second," the brunette announced, motioning for everyone except her and the aforementioned Pokemon to leave, which they did. However, Bellator turned and nodded at his teammate, who nodded back before watching him disappear into the crowd with the others.

Once she turned back around to face Gray, Potens locked eyes with her and the two stayed silent before Gray finally spoke up.

"You know, I saw a whole new side of you today," Gray said, making the dragon type tilt her head in confusion. "I want to ask you something really important, okay? Think of it almost as a new leaf, of sorts."

"Okay, what is it?" Potens replied, curious as to what Gray's question was, which brought a smile to the young women's face.

"I know we're capable of doing great things together, Potens. What do you say? Want to help me become Champion?" Gray asked the powerful Pokemon, who stared her right in the eyes before cracking a sly grin.

"We've got this in the bag," Potens remarked, putting a smile on Gray's face before the powerful creature flew forwards and landed on her shoulder.

"That's right. Let's become the strongest we can be, Potens!" Gray shouted, throwing her fist in the air while Potens let out a victorious cry.

With that, Gray ran after her friends and Pokemon while Potens sat on her shoulder. However, N and Zoroark stepped out of the shadows and stared at Gray until she disappeared into the sea of people.

"Let's keep a close watch on her," N stated, drawing a nod from the dark type before they disappeared in the blink of an eye.

000

Diving into an abandoned warehouse, the four Flare grunts that had been defeated by Bellator and Potens panted wildly before looking at one another in fear, knowing something was going to be done about their atrocious performance. Before any of them could say a word, two humanoid figures emerged from the shadows and eyed them intently, sending chills down the spines of the grunts.

"So, did you get it?" Bryony asked, looking at all four of the grunts, who trembled and shook their heads, making her raise her eyebrows. "Would anyone like to give me an explanation?" she quizzed, prompting one of the women to step forwards.

"The girl and Dewott were alone when we got there, but then some Noibat came in and completely changed everything!" the grunt explained, resulting in Bryony rubbing her chin with her green rubber gloves.

"I see. And is there any reason for you four to lose to one trainer with two Pokemon?"

The admin looked around at her four allies, who remained silent, and shook her head in disgust.

"Bisharp, you know what to do."

In the blink of an eye, the dark and steel type slashed through each one of the grunts, leaving decapitated bodies, organs, and blood all over the floor. Bryony, unfazed by the gore, handed her Bisharp a handkerchief to clean his arms with, which he graciously accepted before handing it back to his trainer, who smiled and clicked a button on her Xtransceiver.

One red dot appeared on the map of Castelia City, and it was moving ever so slightly, bringing a smirk to the Flare admin's face, along with that of her Bisharp.

"It's only a matter of time, Bisharp. We'll put an end to this girl very soon."

It looks like Gray's team is really coming into its own now that Potens will be listening. I know I said it'd be a while before she started obeying, but I felt like this was the right time to do it, plus, she won't get along with Unicus or Furcifer because of what she heard them saying, so there's still going to be the patented hostility we've come to love (or hate) from Potens. N and Zoroark also appeared at the very end, and they're going to be popping up eventually. Next chapter will feature the introduction of a new character, and a bit more of Bellator's past could be revealed. I'm not sure if it will, to be honest. Till then, peace out.

1) How do you think Potens will perform in battles now that she's listening to Gray?

Next Chapter: "Protect the Pokemon Shelter"

With Potens back on board, and Gray still training for her Gym Battle, a familiar friend appears and tells them about Flare going into a rundown building, which, for whatever reason, Bellator has an emotional connection to. During their bout with the criminals, Gray, White, and Noah find themselves aided by many powerful allies. Who exactly are these allies, and why is Flare attacking this building?

Castelia City Arc

Chapter 28: Heart of the Hive
Chapter 29: A Dual Wield Duel
Chapter 30: Testing the Subject