Theme Song
Come on, come out, we don't have all day (Gray and Fortis try getting Durus, Leviculus, Fidens, and Magna out of bed with an annoyed look on their faces while Decorus keeps to herself)
Let's do this adventure the right way (Gray runs down a road with Chase, Durus, Audino, Tara, Scyther, and her other Pokemon following)
We will look back on what we were (Fortis is pictured on a black canvas before a faded image of a Flygon appears behind him in flames)
Even now, we're still unsure... (Team Purity's logo flashes on the screen, and Deus' masked faces appear)
What the future holds! (Durus, Leviculus, Fidens, Magna, Fortis, and Decorus appear alongside each other while smiling)
Be fast, grab your dreams and run (Trentavious, Savannah, and Marcus appear with their starters, and they smirk at Gray while Trent glares)
Look back, make sure to have fun (Gray, Chase, and Tara sit underneath a tree with their Pokemon while laughing)
Remember now, don't look back, Stay calm and give it a crack... (Gray and her Pokemon stand on a hill with Chase, Audino, Tara, and Scyther)
Pokemon!
Wow, last chapter was pretty action packed! To sum it up, a Florges attacked Celadon City because it was enraged after being mistaken for a flower (I'm looking at you, Chase), but Gray stepped in and stopped her with the help of Fortis, who somehow managed to defeat the fairy type. Gray then decided to add Florges because of her power, but she has quite the attitude, which will be a problem. This chapter will be about Gray trying to address that ego, so hopefully she'll turn Decorus around. Now, let's get going!
Trentavious Phoenix: When you put it that way, it's not all that surprising to hear fairy types have prominent roles in the competitive scene, and (assuming this isn't a joke) there won't be any pairing involving Gray in this story. The idea of Florges being a diva just feels right, considering that it has a pretentious look on its face, at least in the anime
ShadowDragon9000: Thanks, and I'm trying to pace the updates so that every time I finish writing a chapter (I'm stuck at 51 or 52, at the moment) I'll post one here. And don't mention it, I'll do anything to help out a fellow writer because I remember getting little to no support during Kanto... but that story sucked so it didn't deserve any recognition, lol. Decorus will definitely be a prominent member of Gray's team, being the second or third strongest, and she'll soften up really quickly, but there will still be some traces of her not wanting to communicate with the others
Defender31415: Haha, out of anyone in the story, Chase would be the one to unintentionally and indirectly destroy a city. At least now I can relax about not spoiling who Gray's last Pokemon would be, though I'm thinking she could actually get a seventh, depending on how I want the story to play out
Blaze Falcon: Depending on who you talk to, Decorus will be either Gray's second or third strongest on this team, and in my opinion will be the second. She will be squaring off with not only Durus, but everyone. Of course, it'll mainly be Durus, based on both of their personalities, but Decorus will respect Gray's commands from the start
SlimyGoodra (guest): No, Decorus will be listening to Gray from the start, thanks to one of her Pokemon in this chapter. I did think about her being really rebellious, but I just didn't want to go through with it because it would take too long for her to finally listen to Gray
MCMXCV: She will be a monster for Gray, and may take the role as Gray's strongest Pokemon for a little while, so she will be a very useful Pokemon throughout the rest of the story
Xenoblade (guest): I can imagine that, but I'm not going to do those. I don't know if I will be writing another story, and if I do, I don't plan on having Gray be the main character
Gray's team
Durus, (f), level 33, Power Gem, Feint Attack, Bite, Metal Claw, Pay Day*, Screech* - (Persian)
Leviculus, (m), level 30, Water Gun, Hypnosis, Rain Dance, Body Slam, Mega Kick*, Ice Punch* - (Politoed)
Fidens, (m), level 30, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Ancient Power, Double Team, Dragon Breath*, Acrobatics* - (Archen)
Magna, (f), level 28, Confusion, Yawn, Astonish, Uproar, Last Resort*, Protect* - (Chingling)
Fortis, (m), level 39, Bite, Feint Attack, Dragon Breath, Earth Power, Bide*, Earthquake* - (Vibrava)
Decorus, (f), level 36, Vine Whip, Dazzling Gleam, Psychic, Magical Leaf, Grassy Terrain*, Petal Blizzard* - (Florges)
"Leviculus, use Ice Punch on the ground to freeze it!" Gray commanded while throwing her arm out to her side. Leviculus' fist was covered in a light blue cloud of icy energy and he punched the battlefield. The entire thing was suddenly covered in a thick layer of ice, but Fortis didn't seem worried about the terrain change. "Charge and use Water Gun!" The Politoed then charged at his opponent and reared back before shooting a powerful blast of water.
"Counter it with Dragon Rage, Fortis!" Gray commanded. Fortis hurriedly released a powerful wave of green flames in response, and they collided with the water. The two attacks exploded and a brief cloud of steam lifted into the air before revealing the ice covering the battlefield had melted. Fidens then rushed forward and threw his wings in the air, stopping the battle.
"You guys are looking stronger than ever. Especially you, Fortis!" Magna complimented while walking over to her teammates, who bowed thankfully in response. "So, Gray, have you decided who's going to be in the Gym Battle?" the tiny bell asked while hopping up and down. Durus strolled over to the four Pokemon before glancing back to see Decorus wandering around by herself, clearly uninterested in battling.
"Uhm... I think I have two spots that are filled, but there's still one that isn't a lock." Durus' ears perked up at the mentioning of another spot being open, and she looked around the group before figuring it had to be her. Leviculus was the only one with a weakness to grass types while Fortis was too high leveled, so the others needed to catch up. Decorus, meanwhile, was so egotistical, there was no chance she'd get picked.
"Who do you plan on using?" Chase quizzed, wanting to find out.
"Yeah, are you gonna throw us another surprise like you did with Leviculus in Vermilion City?" Tara asked with a smile before laughing at the memory. Leviculus proudly puffed his chest out and made Gray smile, but the girl shrugged.
"I don't know yet. If I end up picking who I think I'm going to, then I don't think there'll be much of a surprise, if at all." The two teens nodded and looked at their friend's team before gazing at her newest Pokemon. The shiny Florges continued to stay to herself, and she refused to talk to any of the Pokemon the day before.
"I know it's only been a day, but when is Decorus going to talk to us?" Fidens asked aloud, making everyone turn to look at him. "I mean, if she's going to be a part of the team, she has to talk to us at some point."
"True. I bet she's just trying to get used to being with us all the time. After all, it wasn't easy for Fortis," Leviculus replied while pointing at the Vibrava, who was still staring at Decorus. "But look at 'em now! She'll be fine." As the discussion continued, Gray walked away and over to Decorus, who slowly turned around and gave her trainer an expressionless look.
"Hey, Decorus, I was just checking in on you. How's everything going?" the brunette quizzed sincerely. Decorus, however, turned her back to Gray and began focusing on the trees around her before using Vine Whip to pluck some of the dead leaves. After doing so, the fairy type put the dead leaves into the trash and moved on to the next tree, which made Gray giggle. "If anything's ever bothering you, feel free to come to me, or your teammates. We're always ready to listen."
"Thanks," the fairy type replied sarcastically, making Gray frown slightly. Before she could continue her conversation with the fairy type, Durus walked over and turned Decorus around angrily. "What do you want?" The tone behind Decorus' question was so blatantly obvious, even a Psyduck could understand how angry Decorus was. Durus lowered herself and began to hiss, which made the others run over and step in-between the two Pokemon.
"I want you to stop being such a pretentious jerk! That's what I want!" Durus roared as Leviculus held her back, which made Decorus laugh. The fairy type quickly shot two vines out of her neck and she landed on a tree branch to get away from the group of misfits standing near her.
"Sorry, honey, but you're just going to have to put up with it. Get over yourself and move along," Decorus replied with a grin before she adjusted the flowers around her neck. Durus, overwhelmed by rage, blew past Leviculus and attempted to climb the tree Decorus was sitting in, but she couldn't. Despite her best efforts, Durus didn't even come close to reaching Decorus, who cackled at the sight, which only fueled the fire burning in Durus.
"Durus, relax," Fidens advised. "She's just trying to get to you, because she's so pathetic the only way she gets amusement is pushing buttons." Decorus grinned at the assumption and began clapping in response, making Fidens glare at her.
"Just because you think you're smart doesn't mean you're right, feather brains. Now why don't you go back to the stone age with your extinct family?" the fairy type catechized rhetorically. This time, Fidens nearly went berserk, but he was held back by Leviculus, who seemed to be the peacekeeper. Fortis, meanwhile, stood off to the side and decided to not get involved, while Magna came to Fidens' defense. As she opened her mouth, Decorus snickered as she thought the tiny Pokemon was going to speak. She was shocked, however, when a wicked blast of sound knocked her off the branch she was resting on.
"So you want to fight, you little piece of dirt?" Decorus quickly placed her hands together and an orb of pink energy began to form. Magna then opened her mouth and prepared to use Uproar once again, but Fortis stepped in the middle of the two and began flapping his wings as hard as he could. Both Pokemon were disarmed by the deafening noise, and the dragon type looked at both sides before shaking his head in disgust.
"You all make me sick, especially you!" Fortis shouted while pointing at the group of four, namely Durus, Fidens, and Magna. "All you three do is fight, and a week can't go by without some sort of thing blowing up! I'm sick of it! Sure, Decorus is being annoying, but you know what? She didn't want to talk to any of you in the first place! You instigated this!"
"Fortis, calm down," Gray said while stepping towards the dragon type.
"No! I've had it!" The girl stepped back immediately and put her hands up, shocked at the ferocity behind her Pokemon's voice. "I can't be here." With that, the Vibrava took off and flew away from the sight of the argument in a hurry, leaving everyone in silence. It was broken, however, when Durus spoke up while glaring at Decorus.
"This is your fault."
000
"Those idiots," Fortis muttered to himself while sitting in a tree near the Pokemon Center. He had decided to stay close to the area and watch how everything played out, and to say it went terribly would be an understatement. Durus and Decorus got into several physical altercations, Magna and Fidens initiated screaming matches with the fairy type, and Leviculus just sat around and did nothing to stop the altercations. Gray, meanwhile, was doing her best to keep the Pokemon from fighting, and looked lost without Fortis.
"They're too narrow-minded to realize we're fighting for the same thing. We're all supposed to be helping Gray become the Indigo League Champion, but how can we do that if we can't even help each other?" Suddenly, the leaves began rustling to Fortis' right, and the dragon type turned to see Decorus sitting to his right. The fairy type looked over and nearly fell out of the tree in shock, but Fortis managed to catch her just in time.
"I didn't know you were up here. We all thought you ran away," the fairy type informed the dragon type, who shook his head in response. "Your name's Fortis, right?" Decorus inquired. Fortis nodded, and the fairy type nodded to herself. "It's nice to meet you, I guess."
"Yeah, I guess," the dragon type replied before laughing slightly. "It's good to have you on the team. At least now I don't have to battle you." A small smile crept across Decorus' face and she bowed to Fortis thankfully.
"I appreciate that. I'm happy I don't have to battle you, either. You probably get this a lot, but you're really strong," the fairy type complimented before leaning against the tree. She continued to watch her trainer and teammates practice as if nothing had ever happened, and she scowled at the group of Pokemon, excluding Leviculus.
"So, I'm guessing you don't really like the others?"
"How'd you know?" Decorus replied sarcastically.
"It was just a hunch," Fortis answered with a grin. "They're not that bad when you get to know them. Sure, they'll get on your nerves some times, but all of them are really nice deep down. Even Durus."
"I'll believe it when I see it," the fully evolved Pokemon informed her teammate, who nodded understandingly. "So, what's Gray like?" she asked abruptly, slightly catching Fortis off guard.
"Well... she's really nice, passionate, and will do whatever it takes to help you. I know from personal experience. Oh, and she always tries to do stuff you like to do." Decorus nodded in response, shocked by the passion with which Fortis spoke. As the dragon type rambled on about his trainer, Decorus listened intently, not wanting to miss any bit of what he was saying. As she watched the dragon speak, she was suddenly fixated on his eyes, but she snapped out of her gaze when Fortis waved at her.
"Are you okay, Decorus? You look really lost." The fairy type blushed at the comment in embarrassment before nodding, making Fortis laugh. "Ya know, I think this talk has really helped me get over that whole explosion I had earlier. What do you say we go back down there?"
"I don't think I'm ready, but you can if you want to." Fortis nodded in response before leaping out of the tree and flying towards the group, who looked ecstatic to see him. Decorus then scowled and glared at them as a sudden wave of anger swept over her. Would they have the same reaction if she returned? Probably not. The fairy type then leaned against the tree again and looked up at the stars. There was only one thing that could possibly help her through this, yet it didn't even know it could.
Well, I think it's safe to say everyone hates Decorus, except Fortis, oddly enough. She's definitely going to have a volatile relationship with Durus for a little while, but they'll get over it by the end of next arc, so it won't drag on. Next chapter will be Gray's Gym Battle with Erika, so till next time, peace out.
1) Predictions for next arc's chapters?
Next Chapter: "Fidens Takes Flight!": Gray's gym battle with Erika arrives, but it's far from a walk in the park. Gray's unfamiliarity with the battlefield quickly puts her in a hole, but she leans on Fidens in hopes of turning things around. Will Fidens be able to defeat Erika and her crafty grass types?
Fuchsia City Arc
Chapter 39: Trying a Triple Battle!
Chapter 40: Round Two: Flygon vs Garchomp!
Chapter 41: Flashback and Fire
Chapter 42: Overcoming a Toxic Situation
Chapter 43: Goodbye, Old Friend