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)
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 faded images of a Vibrava and Flygon appear 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! (Gray's final team flashes by)
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, Fortis is the highest leveled member of the team at the moment, and that'll end up being a pretty common theme for quite some time. Going back to last chapter, Gray battled Marcus and they tied, with Fortis knocking out both Marcus' Pidgeotto and Gible. Owen also made an appearance, and now the group will be heading towards Celadon City! Before you read, I'd like to let you know this chapter and the next aren't very good :/ Now, let's get going!

Defender31415: Fortis really did battle well, and that'll be the norm pretty soon. And the potential relationship won't be directly stated, more so hidden in the subtext in one of the arc's chapters

ShadowDragon9000: Thanks, and I'm glad you liked the chapter! It would've been great to see Fortis win, but he'll get a bunch of those, plus Marcus' Gible will be his rival of sorts, so I figured that'd be a good way to spice things up. Also, Vibrava confirmed and Fidens getting over Defeatist! And I didn't realize I had put an s on the end, so it's only one capture, but an important one nonetheless. And you know me, I'm a sap for romance XD

MCMXCV: Their battles will all be very close just like that one, so I'd say Marcus will most certainly be her equal, which makes him pretty different from Savannah and Trent. Trent's the guy that's always ten steps ahead of Gray, and Savannah's going to be someone that Gray strives to be greater than. And the winner will be some random trainer, who will make their presence known at the league. As for your predictions, all are right, though the new Pokemon's diva-like attitude will be crushed pretty quickly

Blaze Falcon: Thanks, and it's great to finally have Gray not lose a rival battle! This chapter will be more of Fidens learning about Defeatist, and some team bonding, but I guess that is a step in the right direction. As for the predictions, they're close but not all correct. The Florges incident won't mirror the anime episode (which was awesome, btw), but it will wreak some havoc, and Chase may finally tell Gray how he feels ;)

Trentavious Phoenix: Thank you! I can guarantee Defeatist won't plague Fidens when he evolves (which will happen because he pushes through), so he'll be really strong when that happens. An Archeops Mega Evolution would be insane! And I'm probably the furthest thing from a competitive player, so I'm not sure how OP it would be if it had Tough Claws or Speed Boost :/

Gray's team

Durus, (f), level 29, Scratch, 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 26, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Ancient Power, Double Team, Scary Face*, Pluck* - (Archen)

Magna, (f), level 28, Confusion, Yawn, Astonish, Uproar, Last Resort*, Protect* - (Chingling)

Fortis, (m), level 32, Bite, Feint Attack, Sand Tomb, Earth Power, Bide*, Bulldoze* - (Trapinch)

The group lazily sat by a tree just in front of Rock Tunnel, and they decided to rest for a while before trekking through the vaunted landmark. All of the Pokemon were out of their Pokeballs, and the teens conversed about their plans while visiting Celadon City.

"Maybe we should check out the Celadon Department Store. I heard they have everything in there," Tara suggested while looking at Chase and Gray, who seemed interested in the idea. "Or we could visit the Game Corner and make some serious coin."

"Not a chance. I don't feel like being cheated out of my money," Chase informed the sixteen year old, who laughed in response. "I think I might try and find some medicinal plants in the gym, though," he continued before laying on his back and yawning in exhaustion.

"I'm up for anything, really. As long as we win our gym battle, I'm happy," Gray informed the others while looking at her Pokemon, who were talking with Scyther and Audino. "Wait, don't we have to go through Lavender Town first?" Gray inquired, not remembering the geography. Both Chase and Tara nodded in response, and the girl's eyes lit up with excitement. "Great! A new gym was put in there, so maybe we could challenge that on the way."

"That'd be your fourth badge, right?" Tara quizzed, to which Gray nodded. "Wow, and the Celadon is only a day or two away, so you could have five badges by the end of next week." Gray grinned at the thought and looked down at her badge case as she opened it. There were still five empty spots, but they would be filled in time.

"So the next gym's grass, right?" Leviculus asked, hoping he was wrong. Durus nodded, and the water type scowled in response, along with Fortis. "I hate grass types, almost as much as I hate losing." Leviculus then crossed his arms over his chest and sighed before looking around at his teammates. "Well, I guess you three are guaranteed to battle."

"Don't say that," Magna told the Politoed. "You got to battle in the last gym, even though you were weak to electric types. Who knows? Maybe you or Fortis can take one of our spots if we don't work hard enough." Leviculus nodded at the statement but stopped when he saw Durus glaring at Fidens.

"We're working hard all the time, and we don't give up during battles," Durus started while pointing at herself, Leviculus, Magna, and Fortis, "but the same can't be said for a certain someone." The attention turned to Fidens, and the rock type looked around in shock before glaring at Durus hatefully, and he began to walk over to the normal type.

"Hey, I give every battle 100% effort!"

"Yeah right. Remember when you gave up against Brock? How about the first round of the Vermilion Tournament? Or against Marcus? Face it, Fidens, you give up faster than a Snorlax eats!" the Persian shouted, which grabbed Gray, Tara, and Chase's attention.

"Hey, let's not try and start a fight here," Scyther said as he stepped in-between the feuding Pokemon. "Why don't we sit back and take a deep breath?"

"Good idea, Scyther," Audino commented, trying to sway Durus and Fidens in favor of following the bug type's advice. "In... and out..." The normal type exhaled deeply before smiling, but she stopped when Gray's Pokemon didn't pay any attention to her.

"You know what? You're more obnoxious than a horde of Zubat in a dark cave!" Fidens shouted at Durus, which enraged the normal type. With little effort, Durus shoved Scyther out of the way and lunged at Fidens, who stared in shock. She was stopped, however, when a blast of sound launched her towards Gray and the others, who had started walking over. Magna stood in front of Fidens and took a deep breath before turning around and nodding at the rock type, who bowed thankfully.

"Durus, are you okay?" Fortis asked as he scurried over to his teammate's side. The normal type rose to her feet and snarled at Magna and Fidens, who looked back angrily. Before the situation could escalate any further, Gray ran forwards and stuck her arms out at the feuding sides, glancing back and forth at them before shaking her head in disappointment.

"You guys just can't stop fighting, can you?" the trainer asked rhetorically, which made all of her Pokemon hang their heads in shame, except Durus, who continued snarling at Fidens and Magna. "Now what's going on!?" Fortis and Leviculus looked at each other before stepping away from their teammates, and they ran away with Scyther and Audino.

"Do you want the short version or the long one?" Leviculus shouted from afar, which made Tara and Chase laugh. Gray opted for the first option, and the water type began walking towards his trainer with Fortis, Audino, and Scyther. "Basically, we were talking about the Celadon Gym Battle, I said there was no way I'd get to be in it, Magna said I could if she, Fidens, or Durus didn't work hard, and then Durus called Fidens out for giving up."

Gray's neck slowly turned so that she was looking at Durus, and the normal type nodded, not showing any signs of guilt.

"It's true, and I've told you about this before," the normal type started. "I can give examples, too!" Durus turned around and hissed at Fidens, who was held back by Audino. "Against Brock, Beth, and Marcus! He gave up every time, and I'm sick of it! I don't want him on the team if he's not giving it his all!" Fidens opened his mouth and prepared to defend himself, but he didn't have to. Gray knelt down next to Durus and locked eyes with the feline before responding.

"You don't get to call the shots, got it?" the girl snapped, making Durus' ears move back in fear. "I don't care if you're sick of anything, and that goes for all of you! If you don't like each other, get over it." The five Pokemon, who were all looking on in fear, nodded in unison, prompting Gray to take a deep breath while Tara and Chase watched the scene as if it was a movie. "However, I do agree with you in that Fidens has given up on more than one occasion."

"Wh-what!?" Fidens shouted in shock. "I haven't! Sure, I've told you I didn't want to battle someone, but that's it!" Fidens fibbed before turning his head away from Gray as if he were being picked on. The strategy didn't work, however, and the four other Pokemon began to walk over to Gray. "You can't honestly think I've given up!" Fidens looked at Fortis and Leviculus, who looked at the ground in response, and then at Magna, who seemed pained to side with Durus.

"Sorry, Fidens, but she has a point. We all watched it happen against Marcus," Magna muttered, which broke Fidens' heart. "You may not have meant to do it, but you did." Fidens angrily shook his head in denial, but he stopped when Gray walked forward and placed her hand on top of his head.

"Magna's kind of right, Fidens. I was talking to Owen after the battle, and apparently you have an ability called Defeatist, which lowers your stats drastically when your health drops below half. It's not like you mean to do it, it just happens some times," the sixteen year old informed her Pokemon, who stared in shock before hanging his head in shame.

"I... I'm sorry." Silence fell over the area, but Fidens was comforted by Fortis, who walked over and smiled at him.

"Hey, don't worry about it. You had my back when I didn't know if I could be in a Gym Battle, so it's my turn to help you out. We'll get through this together. I promise!" Fidens slowly looked up at his teammate and hugged Fortis thankfully, prompting the others to walk over.

"I agree with Fortis. I'll help out, no matter what it takes," Leviculus informed the rock type before giving a thumbs up.

"Me too! We're best friends, so I can't just sit around and watch you go through this," Magna said before smiling and hugging Fortis, who hugged her back. The Pokemon and Gray then turned and waited for Durus to speak, which she had trouble doing. The normal type let out an annoyed sigh before scratching her ear, but she soon looked up with a fire burning in her eyes.

"Sorry about being a jerk, Fidens. It's just... I've seen how strong you can be, and it was annoying to see that happen some times. I'll do my part, too, and you'll grow out of this in no time." The two quickly embraced before pulling away, making Gray smile proudly as Chase and Tara walked over.

"Are you ready to get going?" Chase inquired, to which Gray nodded.

"Everyone, return," the girl said while zapping her four Pokemon, excluding Durus, back into their capsules. "Now, let's go so I can win my next badge!"

Well, it looks like Fidens is going to put his best foot forwards in an attempt to become stronger, and the team will be trying to help him out. Next chapter will focus on Team Purity and their plan will be put to action (I know it's soon and all, but I don't want to drag this story out for too long) before shifting back to Gray and her badge hunt. Till next time, peace out.

Next Chapter: "Problem at the Power Plant!": Team Purity's plan is finally in action, and they start their hunt with Zapdos! Manned with Pokemon Purifying and tons of ground types, will Deus be able to capture Zapdos, or will the legendary escape and warn the others?

Celadon City Arc

Chapter 34: Fortis Fights for Glory
Chapter 35: Determining Relationships
Chapter 36: Fortis vs Florges: Save Celadon!
Chapter 37: Dealing with a Diva
Chapter 38: Fidens Takes Flight!