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 three Pokeballs and Eevee, Skitty, and another Pokemon appear, Cole throws one and Slakoth appears, Gray throws five and her Pokemon appear. Then, a sixth pops up in front of Gray's five Pokemon and covers the screen in ice)
How strong we've become (Skitty swoons over Ferus while Comis looks on jealously)
And that we fight as one (Comis, Acer, Ferus, Pertinax, and Agrestis appear and fade one after another with a new Pokemon being last)
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!


Well, it's time for the fourth (of ten) arcs, and Gray's looking to reach the halfway point of her badge hunt. Last chapter, Gray lost to Joey in the second round of the Goldenrod City Tournament, and this chapter will focus on Agrestis and Nikki's Eevee fighting Sudowoodo! Now, let's get going!

MerlockVonBaron: That's right! The ice type will be really strong, though it won't get the spotlight until later on (last two badges). And, at this point, I really don't know if I'm going to make another story. The entire thing is contingent on when I finish this story, so if I'm not done by late October to early November, there won't be another story

Defender31415: Yay! I'm glad I was able to throw you off with how Gray placed in the tournament :3 And I wouldn't say that it was Gray's fault that she lost. Piloswine had type advantages against all three of Gray's Pokemon, and Agrestis is pretty weak. Had she been replaced with Acer of Pertinax, Gray wins. And thanks for the compliment (even if it wasn't intended to be one)! Joey's going to become a force to be reckoned with, so I think Gray's loss to him will be justified once you see how powerful his team becomes

ShadowDragon9000: That hurt to read :I Lol, the title was really revealing, but with the arc preview I had, I'd figure some/most people would be expecting Gray to advance. Joey's Piloswine really was a beast, but Quilava (soon to be Typhlosion) will steal that role and give Gray some major trouble the next time they battle

StbR (guest): Sorry about that! I realized Pertinax's move listings had Revenge instead of Counter, and I accidentally replaced chapter 24 with 20. Also, sorry about the choices, haha. Great minds think alike. Thank you for the kind words!

Hotrod198: Oh, lol. And the egg is one of those two, I just haven't decided yet. I mean, unless I do another story, the identity of the egg isn't all that important, so I don't know what I'm going to do with it :/ And her sixth will be one of Bergmite or Amaura. For the purpose of not spoiling, I won't tell you who it is, but I think you'll guess right ;) In regards to how Gray did, it does suck for her to be out so early, but the way the levels are going to go with the outline I have, I couldn't have her go far

Cats n' Raptors: What's up with the name change, man? Sudowoodo is one of my least favorite Pokemon, so I wouldn't know how hard they are to use in battles

Blaze Falcon: Rattata's going to be so top percentage throughout the entire story, it's only going to get worse from Gray. Plus, Joey's team is going to be really well balanced, so this is just scratching the surface (similar to Silver's team)

Flamecharger (guest): I don't see why you wouldn't, but okay. And no, it's not a psychic type. It really does suck that Gray lost, though

Gray's team

Comis, (m), level 30, Night Slash, Acrobatics, Slash, X-Scissor, Quick Attack*, Feint Attack* - (Gliscor)

Acer, (f), level 26, Mach Punch, Headbutt, Bullet Seed, Stun Spore, Leech Seed*, Poison Powder* - (Breloom)

Ferus, (m), level 30, Flamethrower, Leer, Howl, Smog, Bite*, Fire Fang* - (Houndoom)

Pertinax, (m), level 28, Vice Grip, Seismic Toss, Counter, Vital Throw, Double Hit*, Brick Break* - (Pinsir)

Agrestis, (f), level 20, Pound, Toxic Spikes, Double Slap, Sludge - (Trubbish)

Egg, (N/A): The egg is not close to hatching. There's no guessing how long it will take


"I feel right at home!" Pertinax exclaimed as he sat on a tree branch above the rest of the group. "Who knew there was a National Park in Johto?" the bug inquired rhetorically before leaning against the tree and closing his eyes peacefully.

A slight breeze picked up and hit everyone, cooling them down. The grass began to dance in the direction of the wind, and the Pokemon were playing together, excluding Ferus, Pertinax, and Slakoth, who were sleeping. Gray, Nikki, and Cole all sighed calmly, relaxing in the park because of the beautiful weather.

"How far away is Ecruteak?" Cole quizzed while looking at Nikki and Gray, who sat up and looked at their Pokedexes.

"About four hours," the blonde answered before laying back down comfortably.

Gray, on the other hand, continued to sit and checked on the egg in her backpack. She would check it every day to see if it looked remotely close to hatching, but it never did. The girl sighed and put the yellow object in her backpack and eyed the playing Pokemon, noticing Agrestis and Eevee had hit it off pretty well. The two were a few feet away from Acer, Comis, and Skitty and looked to be talking about something funny, as they constantly laughed at Skitty while pointing at Ferus.

"I don't get why they keep doing that," Ferus muttered as he walked over to Gray and sat down next to her, shaking his head. "They're a bunch of idiots," he stated, rather ironically, as he was the only one unaware of Skitty crush.

"Yeah, they're the idiots," Gray mumbled sarcastically as she petted Ferus. "So how are you feeling about battling against the Ecruteak City Gym Leader?" Gray quizzed, waiting for Ferus to respond.

"Meh," he answered with a sly grin. "I'll take 'em out if you need me to."

"Don't forget about me," Pertinax chimed in, still laying against the tree with his eyes closed.

"You don't have any moves that can hit his Pokemon, Pertinax. They're ghost types," the brunette explained, making her Pinsir frown before he hopped off the tree and landed next to Gray and Ferus. "The problem is, Acer can't do anything either; Mach Punch replaced Mega Drain. And then Agrestis is too low of a level to really do much."

"Well, you still have Ferus and Comis. I'm sure they can take out a few ghosts," Nikki told Gray while sitting up. "Ferus is a dark type, after all, and Comis is pretty strong, too."

"While that may be true, Gray still needs a third Pokemon, just incase the Gym Leader has some kind of trick up their sleeve," Slakoth interjected intelligently. "It's better to have several strong Pokemon than one that's incredibly powerful."

Meanwhile, over by the playing Pokemon, Acer sat down and wiped the sweat off her brow. Comis sat down next to her along with Skitty, and Eevee and Agrestis walked over.

"How're you guys feeling about the upcoming Gym Battle?" Eevee inquired, looking at Agrestis, Acer, and Comis. "I overheard Nikki saying that the Gym Leader specialized in ghost types."

"Great," Acer muttered, shaking her head while frowning. "I can't do anything against those things. Stupid ol' Mach Punch just had to replace Mega Drain," the grass type spat in frustration.

"I guess that means it's you two and Ferus battling, because Pertinax can't do anything, either," Skitty announced.

"Sounds good to me," Comis voiced. "We're gonna do awesome, right, Agrestis?"

"Aren't ghost types usually part poison?"

"Yeah, why?" Acer asked.

"Then I don't have any moves that are useful," the poison type concurred. "You and Ferus are the only ones that can actually do anything in this battle," Agrestis continued before sitting down and frowning. As she did so, she felt a hand fall on her head, and she turned to see Gray smiling at her.

"Agrestis, I want you to battle in the Ecruteak Gym. Are you up for it?" the girl asked, making the other Pokemon sweat drop while Agrestis deadpanned.

"Sure. Whatever you need, I'll do it," the poison type responded.

"Good! Now let's train so we can get you ready!" Gray exclaimed, prompting Agrestis to rise to her feet and follow her trainer. The two were stopped, however, when Eevee ran in front of them, wagging her tail excitedly.

"Nikki and I can battle you guys, if you want," the normal type offered before making her trainer get off the ground. "We may not be really strong, but we can definitely help."

"Thanks, Eevee!" Agrestis stated with a smile, bowing to her friend before the group tried to search for a place where Agrestis could train.

000

After thirty minutes of searching the National Park, the group found a spot just outside the park. Once both trainers took ten steps away from each other, they pointed at their Pokemon, who ran forwards and squared off while Cole acted as the referee.

"This battle will be between Agrestis and Eevee! Begin!"

"Agrestis, use Sludge to start!" Gray commanded.

Doing as she was told, Agrestis opened her mouth and spat a ball of poison at Eevee and Nikki. The two waited patiently as the attack slowly traveled through the air, and Nikki countered once she knew exactly what to do.

"Jump away and use Headbutt!" the blonde shouted to her Pokemon.

Eevee sprung to her right and managed to avoid the poison type attack before sprinting across the grass and lowering her head. Agrestis took the attack head-on and was pushed back slightly, but Gray's quick thinking allowed her Pokemon to take control of the battle.

"Grab Eevee and then use Double Slap!"

Agrestis' right arm shot forwards and wrapped around Eevee's neck, trapping the normal type, and then she began slapping the normal type with her left arm. After several hits, Agrestis wound back and delivered a powerful smack across the face, sending Eevee tumbling through the grass before she hopped back on her feet and waited for Nikki to speak.

"Fire a Shadow Ball!"

Eevee lifted her head and stared at the sky while opening her mouth. Suddenly, particles of purple light began to form in front of the brown dog's mouth, and she fired the ghost type attack at her friend, who waited for Gray to issue a counterattack, which she did.

"Dodge it, Agrestis!"

The Trubbish quickly dove to her left and dodged the powerful attack, and everyone watched as the Shadow Ball struck a small tree, exploding on contact. Surprisingly, the tree didn't seem to take any damage from the attack, making everyone stare at it in confusion.

"What the hell? Why didn't that tree fall?" Skitty asked in shock while staring at the strange tree that had been struck by Eevee's Shadow Ball.

"I guess it's just really sturdy," Comis responded while scratching the back of his head, trying to think of another possible explanation. "Why don't you use another Shadow Ball?"

"Sudo!"

Before Nikki could order Eevee to do anything, the tree began to walk forwards, and it opened its eyes, freaking everyone out. They calmed down, however, when they realized it was a Pokemon, prompting Gray to take out her Pokedex and scan the creature.

"It disguises itself as a tree to avoid attack. It hates water, so it will disappear if it starts raining."

"Hmm... that looks really strong," Cole muttered while scratching his chin. "Maybe you should catch it, Gray," he suggested.

"I don't know, Cole," the girl started, watching Sudowoodo scream at her Pokemon angrily. "I don't think it'd be a good fit."

"Woodo!" Sudowoodo shouted before charging at Eevee, who was caught off guard by the sudden act of aggression.

Thankfully for her, Agrestis shot a Sludge attack at the rock type, knocking him over and grabbing his attention. The fake tree began to stomp on the ground angrily while Gray's Pokemon looked ready to intervene, but they stopped when Slakoth stuck his arms out.

"Wait. Let Agrestis and Eevee handle this," he ordered, making them back down.

"Eevee, use Shadow Ball!" Nikki shouted to her Pokemon, who stuck her head up.

After charging the attack, Eevee fired it. Sudowoodo, however, was able to destroy the purple sphere of energy with a mighty kick, making Eevee and Agrestis gasp in shock while Gray ran over to Nikki's side and stood behind her Pokemon.

"Use another Sludge attack, Agrestis!" Gray shouted while pointing at Sudowoodo.

Agrestis opened her mouth and spat a large ball of purple poison towards her opponent, and the attack hit Sudowoodo in the eyes, making the rock type scream in pain before he fell on his back, allowing Savannah and Eevee to attack.

"Let's finish this off with Trump Card!"

Eevee nodded before being engulfed in a silver light, and she fired a blast of gold energy at the downed rock type. The attack exploded upon impact and launched Sudowoodo into the woods, making Agrestis and Eevee cheer over their victory while Nikki and Gray high fived.

"Huh, I guess Sudowoodo wasn't that strong," Pertinax said while he and his teammates walked over to Gray and Agrestis, who continued to celebrate the victory. "Nice job, Agrestis!"

"Thanks!" the bag of trash replied with a smile before turning to Gray. "I'm ready to take down that Gym Leader!"

"That's what I like to hear! Come on, everyone. Let's go get our fourth badge!"


There we go! Agrestis and Eevee managed to take down Sudowoodo, and the group will arrive in Ecruteak City next chapter, which will be a rival battle for Gray in, you guessed it, Ecruteak City! Till next time, peace out.


Next Chapter: "Ecruteak Brawl"

After arriving in Ecruteak City, Gray, Nikki, and Cole head for the Gym only to run into Silver, who challenges Gray to a battle! Will Gray be able to defeat her rival?


Ecruteak City Arc

Chapter 30: Frost Bite!
Chapter 31: Graveyard Shift