Theme Song

It is time for the home stretch (Gray shows her badge case with eight badges)
For it is the final catch (Magna appears, smiles, and fades, which is repeated by Fidens, Leviculus, Decorus, Fortis, and Durus)
Your goal's right there, it is your fate (Owen and Red stare down at the championship battle of the Indigo League)
Go ahead and become great! (Gray looks down at her badge case and smiles after seeing all eight badges)
No way! (2x) We won't back down! (Durus lunges at the camera and slashes it)
We will! (2x) Win that crown (Montage of Gray defeating Trentavious, Savannah, and Marcus before she looks across a battlefield and sees Owen)
This is it, the final quest (Gray looks off into the sunset with Chase, Tara, and their Pokemon)
You must do your very best... Pokemon!

How's it going, people? Last chapter, Gray battled Marcus and used Leviculus, Durus, and Fortis, who took on Marcus' Politoed, Lucario, and Gabite. The final battle between Fortis and Gabite resulted in both Pokemon evolving, but Garchomp ended up winning by a thread. This chapter will be a change of pace with the focus shifting to Deus, and it's also an insanely short flashback, so I'll post the next chapter later today. Some really big news will be dropped at the beginning of the chapter, and Deus' identity will be revealed, along with some of their childhood. Now, let's get going!

Blaze Falcon: Thanks! Any time I have two Pokemon of the same type (especially when they're dragons), I try to make their battles as badass as possible! And Deus' past has nothing to do with the intro and Fortis being covered in flames, that's just a coincidence I wouldn't have even noticed, haha.

Defender31415: Yeah, I did a really crappy job with handling Janine's death, but I'd just like to forget about it :P And thanks for the compliment!

ShadowDragon9000: Haha, I'm happy to have followed through with that, and I REALLY wanted to have Fortis either tie or win, but I figured it'd add some intensity to his rivalry with Garchomp if he lost. And Gray will be in for a tough challenge with this Gym Battle (especially with the team she picks), and Magna's gonna be the one to get the boot, since I've always wanted to put this one Pokemon on Owen's team, but never got the chance because Ash had it

MCMXCV: Thank you! I'd agree with you in the sense that his character is the most fleshed out at this point, and Garchomp having a rivalry with Fortis seems to make him more prominent than Savannah and Trent, but they'll get their shots at Gray pretty soon

CaptainPrice: Thanks for the awesome review! I don't really know what to say since there was so much stuff you talked about, and I don't want to ramble :P In short, thanks for the compliments with Gray, and I really do need to read over the chapters to pick up on any blatant spelling mistakes

WatDoesTheFoxSay (guest): Well, Dragonite can't Mega Evolve, but I gave him a Mega Evolution (in Kalos Adventure) anyway, so don't count out that possibility. Then again, I don't want Gray to have the ability to use Mega Evolution, because I think it should only be reserved for very specific trainers

guest: You must be able to predict the future with how much you get right, lol (Gabite was obvious because of the title, though). And I'm not really sure whether or not Gray will face Marcus in the Indigo League. I'd love for her to face all three of her rivals, but I'm not sold on the idea

Trentavious Phoenix: Yeah, I realized it was a joke after I posted it, so sorry for the angry response. I was in a bad mood when I posted the chapter, and that kept me from seeing the sarcasm. And thanks for pointing out the attacks (I always do that)! I can also guarantee that Trent will have a battle with Gray in Saffron City, and he'll be making another appearance before the league, so he'll have the most chapters out of Gray's rivals

Gray's team

Durus, (f), level 36, Power Gem, Feint Attack, Bite, Metal Claw, Pay Day*, Screech* - (Persian)

Leviculus, (m), level 35, Water Gun, Dig, Rain Dance, Body Slam, Mega Kick*, Ice Punch* - (Politoed)

Fidens, (m), level 37, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Ancient Power, Dragon Breath, Crunch*, Acrobatics* - (Archeops)

Magna, (f), level 33, Confusion, Yawn, Astonish, Uproar, Last Resort*, Protect* - (Chingling)

Fortis, (m), level 45, Dragon Claw, Feint Attack, Dragon Breath, Earth Power, Hyper Beam*, Earthquake* - (Flygon)

Decorus, (f), level 36, Vine Whip, Dazzling Gleam, Psychic, Magical Leaf, Grassy Terrain*, Petal Blizzard* - (Florges)

"Deus, how much longer until we find Moltres?" a grunt asked his leader, who shrugged in response.

"I don't know, but at least we've capture both Zapdos and Articuno. That stupid bird thought it could hide in the Seafoam Islands," Deus mocked before walking away from his follower. The masked person slowly walked back into their chambers and looked around the empty room before focusing on a bed. After laying down, Deus closed his eyes and began to drift off to sleep, which didn't take much time, as he had used so much energy in capturing Articuno. The legendary put up one helluva fight, but it was no match for Zypher and his Bisharp.

Deus opened his eyes to see he was now in a much smaller room, which looked more like the bedroom of a child. The leader of Team Purity slowly raised his arms over his head and yawned before walking towards the door and turning the knob. After walking down the stairs and sitting in the kitchen, Deus looked out the window and saw the moon was still out, bringing a smirk to the masked person's face.

Once he finished eating the sandwich he made himself, Deus looked over at a lighter that was resting on the cabinet next to a pack of cigarettes. The masked person walked over to the lighter and ignited the flame, staring at in awe, as if he had never seen fire before.

"No wonder Mom always smokes. This thing's pretty cool," Deus said to himself before waving the lighter around like a sword. Suddenly, a paper caught on fire as Deus whipped the lighter past it, and the child stared at the burning object wide-eyed before smirking maniacally. "Let's see what else this works on." Deus slowly crept back up the stairs and walked in the opposite direction of where his room was, and he peered into a door to his right. An older boy was comfortably sleeping, and Deus smiled warmly before making his way to the end of the hall. He smiled before opening a door as quietly as possible, popping his head inside to see a woman passed out on the bed without any blankets on. An empty bottle rested on the ground near her right hand, and the child stared at the object hatefully.

"You love to give me pain, Mom, so let's see how you like it," Deus whispered to himself while looking down at the scars covering his arms. The child began walking over to the bed and placed the lighter next to it without a second thought. Slowly, a tiny fire latched onto the bed and quickly spread. The child stared in shock as the whole bed, including his mother was suddenly engulfed in flames. The woman shot up immediately and began running around in unthinkable pain, hitting the fire on her body in an attempt to put it out. She only fanned the flames, and the woman began shrieking at a horrifying pitch, which made Deus' ears ring. The woman then fell on the ground and flailed like a fish out of water before going limp, and the child smirked at the sight. The fire then spread from the bed to the walls, and before he knew it, the entire house was engulfed in flames.

"Oh shit! I have to check on Gordon!" Deus sprinted out of the room and walked into the room where the older boy had been sleeping. Much to the child's shock, the older boy wasn't there, which made Deus sprint out of the room. The child continued to run around the house searching for Gordon before Deus finally stepped back into his room. Gordon was standing in the far right corner from the door and had been pinned against the wall by a wall of fire.

"Gordon! Gordon!" Deus screamed to the older boy, who attempted to back away from the fire even though he knew there was a wall preventing him from doing so. The older boy looked up and saw Deus standing in the hallways, and a sudden rush of hatred filled his body when he saw the lighter in the younger child's hands.

"You!? You did this!?" the teen hollered while glaring at the younger kid. Deus stared at the older kid angrily, knowing that starting the fire was justifiable.

"That's right. Mom had it coming, with all of the beatings, abuse, and neglect!" Deus yelled in rage, which made Gordon's mouth drop. "I couldn't take it anymore, and I waited for this night for so long! When I saw I had the chance, I couldn't pass it up, even if that means killing you in the process."

Gordon's stature changed once he heard his younger sibling's words, as he stood straight up and glared at the twisted child, who was smirking maniacally.

"You're sick, and no one will miss you when you're caught. Mom was wrong, you are a mistake, Grace."

Ah, so Deus is a girl, and a lunatic. So, she managed to capture Articuno, and it was also revealed that Deus (or Grace) lit her house on fire in an attempt to kill her abusive mother, which killed her brother in the process. There will be some more chapters of her past coming after the Saffron City Arc, most notably how she joined Team Grim and met Frank. Till next time, peace out.

1) Should I finish the arc today? (I'll definitely be posting Chapter 42 later)

Next Chapter: "Overcoming a Toxic Situation": After waiting her turn, Gray finally challenges Ketsu! Will she be able to overcome Ketsu's cunning strategy, or will Gray fall right into his traps?

Fuchsia City Arc

Chapter 43: Goodbye, Old Friend