Theme Song
One door has closed, another swings (Owen stares into the camera and fades out along with Brooklyn, Molly, and Charizard)
You must grow accustomed to new things (Gray, Durus, Chase, Leviculus, and Fidens replace the others)
It might feel strange, there might be hate (A person in black armor looks at Cerulean Cave, followed by a split screen of them wearing a laughing mask and crying mask)
But you do not want to tempt fate (Gray stares at the sky and eight badges pass by)
Fight back(2x)! Let it go! (Durus, Leviculus, and Fidens charge towards the camera at the same time)
Be strong(2x), put on a show! (Chase and Audino sprint away from a herd of Tauros)
Keep training, you'll be put to the test (Gray has a flashback of losing to Trentavious)
Now is not the time to rest... Pokemon! (Gray, smiles at the camera with Leviculus and Fidens by her side and Durus resting on her head)
What's going on, people? Last chapter, Leviculus evolved after defeating a Kingler, which was ruining a flower shop's business, and it also destroyed the houses of a bunch of Poliwag. This chapter will feature two very short battles between Gray and some trainers from Nugget Bridge while she searches for Misty, and then she'll ruin Misty's date. Now, let's get going!
Blaze Falcon: I actually had something like that in mind, but Gray also knows Owen has a kid (chapter 3 with Sammy hitting on Owen), so she won't flirt with him. Will they talk? Definitely, and Chase will get pretty pissed off about some of the stuff Gray says, but you'll just have to wait for that
Defender31415: Hazzah (for Leviculus evolving)! And Gray won't really have a serious crush on Owen, given the fact that he has a family, but she'll still like him. And while there is Chase, he might get the short end of the stick... or maybe not :P
MCMXCV: He definitely will be a lot more useful, but his personality's going to change a lot. And thank you! I'll try making sure his body being slimy is used during a battle at some point, but I think he'll only be in two battles before evolving again :/ In Misty's defense, Gray will kind of ruin a moment she will almost have, so I can kind of (even if I'm a guy) understand her being that mad, and you're right; poor Savannah!
guest: Yeah, I see the similarity between the two now that you mention it. And they're definitely a lot more organized than Team Grim, because now I actually know how to write about the evil organizations. It's a good thing it only took two and a half years XD And Misty will definitely be using her Gyarados (I actually finished writing the battle yesterday), and two oddball Pokemon
FlameStriker123: Thanks, and it's good to hear from you again! Misty won't be going on a date with Ash, instead it'll just be a random guy who'll go unnamed because he's not important
Shion Rasenka: It'll be explained when he evolves, so keep your eyes peeled (but not really, that'd be gross). And Gray won't intentionally get Misty to accept her challenge, some stuff will happen that'll lead into it
Elodus: Haha, I didn't even realize Leviculus was the first to evolve. And he won't have to be traded to evolve into Politoed, it'll just be when he wears the Kings Rock
Gray's team
Durus, (f), level 19, Scratch, Pay Day, Bite, Metal Claw, Fury Swipes*, Screech* - (Meowth)
Leviculus, (m), level 25, Water Gun, Hypnosis, Bubble, Rain Dance, Body Slam*, Mega Kick* - (Poliwhirl)
Fidens, (m), level 20, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Rock Throw, Double Team, Scary Face*, Pluck* - (Archen)
As she made her way down the hallway with her Pokemon in tow, Gray smiled while looking down at her badge case. At the moment, she still needed to win seven more, but after today, she'd only need six. After walking into the dining hall, Gray sat down at a table along with her Pokemon, and she ordered dinner for herself, her Pokemon, Chase, and Audino.
"Are you three ready for our gym battle tonight?" Gray asked while looking at her Meowth, Poliwhirl, and Archen. The three Pokemon cheered excitedly before digging into their PokeChow, while Gray continued to wait for her food. Suddenly, Chase and Audino walked into the room and sat down at the table with grins as the food was served shortly after.
"How goes the gym prep?" Chase quizzed after swallowing a piece of his steak. Gray shook her head while she chewed on her burger before swallowing to answer.
"We aren't going over anything. This past week has been pretty action packed and stressful. Between Leviculus evolving and all of our training, I don't think it'd be good to overwhelm them with strategies," Gray answered nonchalantly before taking another bite out of her dinner. Her three Pokemon let out sighs of relief as they didn't have to think about discussing a potential plan for their gym battle, and they finished their food. After Gray, Chase, and Audino finished their dinner, they rose from their chairs and walked out of the Pokemon Center before heading towards the Cerulean City Gym.
"Man, I don't want to fight any water types," Fidens whispered to Leviculus, who patted him on the back in response.
"Don't worry, me and Durus can take care of it. Right, Durus?"
"Sure, whatever," Durus answered, trying to get into a zone, which could only be reached by remaining silent and taking several deep breaths. Gray, meanwhile, scrolled through the profile of the gym leader, whose name was Misty. All of her Pokemon seemed to be incredibly strong, and their secondary typing was going to present a bit of an issue, though Gray didn't seem worried. After arriving at the gym, Gray and the others walked inside only to see three young women with blonde, blue, and pink hair talking about their performance. Gray looked back down at her Pokedex and was confused because the gym leader didn't look like any of the women, so she walked over to them.
"Excuse me, it Misty here for a gym battle?" Gray inquired, making the older girls turn around before they laughed in harmony.
"Sorry, she's out for the night. I think she said she was going to Cerulean Cape with some boy," the blonde informed Gray, who bowed thankfully before walking out of the gym. Once the doors closed behind her, Gray headed off for the cape at the eastern edge of Route 25. "It looks like we have to go to Cerulean Cape if we want to challenge Misty," Gray announced as she started walking along Nugget Bridge, not remembering what Nicholas had said to her the day before.
"Maybe you should wait until tomorrow morning to challenge her," Audino suggested. "It sounded like she was trying to have some personal time." Gray waved off the normal type's suggestion and continued walking along the bridge until she was stopped about halfway by a boy in a camping outfit.
"Hey, you have to beat me in a battle if you want to cross the bridge," the boy told Gray, who rolled her eyes and face palmed, now remembering what Nicholas had said. "It'll only be a one on one battle, and there's only one other person, so you have it easy. Mankey, let's go!" the boy shouted while releasing his Mankey from its Pokeball. Gray and Durus flinched after hearing the name of the Pokemon, and the girl turned to Fidens with a cheesy smile.
"Fidens, let's win this!" Fidens grinned and walked forward confidently as he locked eyes with the Mankey, and Chase stood behind Gray, who had the first move of the battle. "Okay, let's start this off with Pluck!" Gray commanded while pointing at the fighting type. Fidens sprinted forward at a speed that caught the opponents off guard, and the flying type jabbed Mankey in the chest with his glowing white beak. The Mankey was sent rolling back to his trainer's side, but the bipedal pig hopped back up and started punching the air angrily.
"Use Karate Chop, Mankey!" The fighting type sprinted forward while his fist turned white, and he reared his arm back before throwing it forward at Fidens. Despite the speed of the attack, Gray and her Pokemon weren't fazed, and they maintained their composure before countering.
"Block it with Wing Attack, Fidens!" Gray demanded as the enemy Mankey's fist closed in on Fidens' beak. The flying type smacked his opponent's arm away with one wing while the other turned white, and Fidens delivered a devastating Wing Attack that knocked the Mankey onto its back. The prehistoric Pokemon squawked confidently while the camper's Mankey struggled to get back on its feet, and Durus rolled her eyes when the Pokemon got back up.
"We're never gonna give in! Use Fury Swipes, Mankey!" Suddenly, long claws shot out of Mankey's fingers, and the Pokemon lunged forward and attempted to slash Fidens repeatedly. Due to the length of the makeshift battlefield, Gray and Fidens had more than enough time to react to their charging opponent, and the trainer smirked when she decided how she'd counter.
"Rush at them with Quick Attack!" Fidens bolted towards Mankey while a white streak of light trailed his body, and the flying type crashed into Mankey's chest, sending the fighting type rolling across the bridge before stopping in front of his trainer, who was clearly frustrated about the battle and how overmatched he and his Pokemon were.
"Can you keep going, Mankey?" the concerned and angered trainer asked as his Pokemon struggled to get up. The Mankey didn't respond and continued to try and stand, prompting Gray to issue the final command of the battle.
"Fidens, use Ancient Power!" The opposing trainer looked up when he heard Gray's voice, and he gasped when five boulders started revolving around Fidens' body. The bird then threw his arms forward and the boulders flew towards Mankey. Each of them struck their target, and the boy fell to his knees in disbelief while Gray thanked Fidens for his effort.
"No! Mankey!" the boy shouted as Gray and her Pokemon walked past him without care. As they continued walking, Gray patted Fidens on the head for his wonderful effort, and she rock type beamed at the attention until another person stopped the group.
"Not so fast! I'm the other trainer on duty, and you'll have to beat me if you want to get across the bridge!" a schoolgirl informed Gray. "Pidgey, come on out!" A tiny bird appeared from the girl's Pokeball, and it flew over her head while squawking at Gray and her Pokemon.
"Durus, would you do the honors?" Gray asked her starter, who happily walked forward while her claws shot out of her paws. The normal type then grinned as she knew she'd be attacking first, and Gray didn't waste any time in attacking. "Durus, start with Metal Claw!" The feline sprinted across the bridge while her claws turned to metal, and she jumped in the air before slashing the Pidgey into the ground.
"Hang in there, Pidgey! Use Gust to blow Meowth back!" The Pidgey nodded and began flapping her wings together while they began to glow light blue, and a powerful burst of wind stuck Durus and began to cut her body.
"It's Durus!" Durus screamed through the wind. The cat then dropped to all fours and sprinted through the painful blast of wind, and she opened her mouth, flashing her sharp teeth. Before the girl or her Pidgey could react, Durus chomped down on the flying type's wing, making the Pidgey cry in pain while Durus continued to chomp down on her wing.
"Use Peck to get it off, Pidgey!" While Pidgey attempted to jab Durus with her beak, the normal type caught the attack with her right paw and glared at her opponent angrily while her hat fell off her head. Seeing this, Gray knew exactly how to end the battle.
"Finish this off with Pay Day, Durus!" The charm on Durus' head started to glow bright gold, and the Meowth snickered before a large blast of golden energy exploded when it hit Pidgey in the face. A cloud of smoke surrounded the bird while Durus walked back to Gray confidently, and they didn't move until they saw that their foe's Pidgey had fainted.
"How did we lose? I'm the strongest trainer in the challenge!" the girl screamed in shock as she withdrew her Pidgey. Again, Gray didn't pay any attention to the trainer she defeated, and she continued her voyage to Cerulean Cape, where Misty was possibly waiting. After navigating through a maze-like path, Gray let out a sigh of relief when she saw Cerulean Cape in the distance.
"Wow, those trainers back there really sucked," Durus spat as she followed Gray. "I bet Chase could've beaten those Pokemon with both his hands tied behind his back." Gray laughed at the idea and looked back to see Chase and Audino laughing along with Fidens and Leviculus. As they continued to walk forward, Gray stopped when she saw two people sitting on a bench that was facing the cape, and she slowly made her way towards the people.
"I'm having such a good time," the girl said to the boy while glancing at him. Taking the hint, the boy put his arm around his date and smile sheepishly. "You know what would make this night even more special?" the girl asked while turning to face her date. Once again taking the hint, the boy grinned and the two leaned towards each other.
"A gym battle?" The couple suddenly jumped in shock and saw Gray was only a foot away from them with an energetic smile, which seemed creepy at the time. "That's what would make this night special," Durus continued as she hopped on Gray's shoulder and looked at the girl who had been sitting on the bench. She matched the profile on the league website, so it was obvious she was the gym leader.
"Uh, Misty, I think I'm going to get going," the boy said as he started to walk away at the speed of light.
"No, wait!" the teenage girl screamed as she tried chasing after her now sprinting date. Once she realized there was no way she could catch her date, Misty turned around and glared at Gray and Durus. The latter of the duo didn't seem to understand why Misty was angry while Gray knew exactly what had gone wrong.
"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" Gray shouted while bowing repeatedly. Misty, however, wasn't having any of it, and she got right in Gray's face, making Durus flinch in shock.
"You idiot! Do you have any idea how long I waited for this!?" the gym leader asked rhetorically. Gray simply looked at the ground in sorrow, but Durus wasn't about to let some snotty teenager walk all over her trainer, so she extended her claws and hissed at the gym leader, who jumped back in shock. She then turned to see Chase, Audino, Leviculus, and Fidens watching from afar, and Misty shivered.
"We didn't mean to ruin your date, we just wanted to ask for a gym battle," Gray explained quietly. Misty, still enraged, stomped on the ground.
"I don't care what you were trying to do! I'm never accepting your challenge for as long as I live! And you're all creeps!" Misty screamed while pointing at the group that was standing several feet away. With that, the girl stormed off and left Gray with her Pokemon and Chase. The girl stared in disbelief as Chase, Audino, and her other Pokemon walked over, and her friend placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Don't take her seriously, she's just mad that her date left. I'm sure she'll accept your challenge tomorrow," Chase reassured Gray before looking at the bench and imagining himself and Gray sitting there. The brunette nodded and sighed before walking back to the Pokemon Center dejectedly while her Pokemon, Chase, and Audino trailed behind, not believing what Chase had said was true.
Well, that's not good. It looks like Gray will have to go on to Vermilion City and skip the Cerulean Gym because she ruined Misty's date. Could she change Misty's mind? Of course, but let's wait to see if that'll happen. Next chapter will feature a new addition to Gray's team which, had I not accidentally spoiled it, would've been the most unexpected addition out of all her Pokemon. Till next time, peace out.
Next Chapter: "Jingle Bell": Gray begins preparing for her battle against Misty, even though she rejected Gray's initial challenge, and she soon comes across a tiny Pokemon that packs quite a punch. The Pokemon has issues, however, with containing her power and asks Gray to help her. Will the two be able to push through the Pokemon's issues?
Cerulean City Arc
Chapter 18: Double Do-Over
Chapter 19: Screeching Serenity