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, Durus, and Fortis)
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 throws a Pokeball forwards and it opens)
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 everyone doing this fine day? Last chapter, Gray and Owen had a one versus battle, and Owen won with ease. Fortis put up a bit of a fight against Charizard before ultimately being clobbered, and now the group will spend a very short amount of time in Lavender Town! This chapter will be about Chase taking another crack at asking Gray out, and we'll see where it goes from there. Now let's get going!
Defender31415: Thanks, and he really is! I keep thinking about how I want to write another story with him, but there's no way I can (it'd be a Champion League type thing), so Gray'll end up being the star of the next story, and maybe another depending on when I finish writing the sequel. And at this point, who knows if Gray will say yes or no?
Blaze Falcon: Yeah, Feraligatr and Swampert are really undervalued Pokemon Owen had, probably because his Johto team was really bad, and Sceptile, Zangoose, Swellow, and Aggron had bigger personalities than Swampert. I guess you'll just have to find out what happens to Chase, Tara, and Gray this chapter, too ;)
ShadowDragon9000: Dude, I love flaming Seismic Toss ever since I saw it in the anime! As for this chapter, I'd be surprised if Gray says yes, too, but she won't say no. And hopefully Gray's in the smaller percentage with her upcoming battle
CaptainPrice: Haha, I'd say I'd have a combined reaction of applauding Durus and also rolling my eyes at her, given how stupid her decision was. In regards to Chase seeing Tara as the right girl, I think there'll be a pretty solid indicator of what there relationship will hold at the end of this chapter
guest: Some of the Pokemon he used definitely weren't his strongest for their respective regions (Lopunny, Muk, and Hawlucha), but Feraligatr was one of the two strongest, in my opinion, and so was Swampert, again, in my opinion. In fact, the only reason I didn't have Swampert battle against Red was because of his being part ground, which he shared with Garchomp. And dark would've been a good type for Lavender Town, but Pokemon Tower and all of the lore with it made me lean towards ghosts. Also, you're right on with Fortis being similar to Cynthia's Garchomp with them being recognizable, and I want Fortis to be seen as Gray's number one Pokemon
Gray's team
Durus, (f), level 44, Power Gem, Feint Attack, Bite, Metal Claw, Pay Day*, Slash* - (Persian)
Leviculus, (m), level 40, Water Gun, Dig, Rain Dance, Body Slam, Mega Kick*, Ice Punch* - (Politoed)
Fidens, (m), level 42, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Ancient Power, Dragon Breath, Crunch*, Acrobatics* - (Archeops)
Magna, (f), level 42, Confusion, Yawn, Astonish, Uproar, Last Resort*, Protect* - (Chingling)
Decorus, (f), level 45, Vine Whip, Moonblast, Psychic, Magical Leaf, Grassy Terrain*, Petal Blizzard* - (Florges)
Fortis, (m), level 51, Dragon Claw, Flamethrower, Dragon Breath, Earthquake, Hyper Beam*, Boomburst* - (Flygon)
"This place gives me the creeps," Durus muttered while laying in Gray's room with her five teammates, who nodded in agreement before turning to face their trainer, who was busy watching film on the Gym Leader. "How much longer until we get to challenge the Gym, Gray?" the feline quizzed as she walked over to the brunette, who was focusing intently on the screen of her laptop.
"Not now, Durus. I need to learn everything I can about her."
Durus rolled her eyes at Gray's response before turning to the five other Pokemon sitting around the room. Fidens and Magna were sitting against the wall next to the TV stand, Fortis and Decorus were laying against each other on the sofa, and the two couples were watching Leviculus dance like a buffoon.
"I don't get what's so bad about Lavender Town. Ever since they moved Pokemon Tower to Vermilion City, it's been a pretty popular place to be," Fidens said to Durus, who laid down on the bed next to Gray's. "Come to think of it, why aren't we checking this place out? Gray?" the prehistoric Pokemon yelled to his trainer, who waved him off, making everyone sweat drop in response.
"Why are you guys so set on going out and doing stuff? We've been running around the past, I don't know, almost two months? We've only had two days off since Gray caught me, and one of those was a training day the Saffron City Tournament gave us," Decorus stated. "There's still four months until the Indigo League starts, so we have a decent amount of time to get these last two badges," the shiny Pokemon pointed out.
"Yeah, it's good to have some down time," Fortis said, agreeing with his girlfriend. "And the league doesn't start in four months, that's from the old schedule. We only have two months, but that's still more than enough time to get two badges and train."
"Wait, since when was badge collecting only ten months?" Magna inquired. "I thought the whole thing was a year, and then the league was two weeks long!"
"Nope. Each of the regions decided to change it so that trainers had a few months to decide whether or not they wanted to travel to another region and compete there. The other schedule didn't allow that to happen," Leviculus explained as he stopped dancing. "I just can't believe it's already been eight months since we first started traveling. It feels like just yesterday I joined, and it's almost like I've known you guys for my whole life."
Fortis, Fidens, and Magna laughed at Leviculus' comment while Decorus smiled quietly. Durus, meanwhile, scowled at her teammates' lack of desire to claim the final two badges.
"We can talk about being a family later, Leviculus. For now, we need to focus on winning this Gym Battle, and then there's only one more after this!" Durus hissed, trying to fire up her teammates.
She wasn't able to, however, and instead got them talking about something else. The feline deadpanned at the five other Pokemon before admitting defeat and hopping onto the other bed and curling up next to Gray.
000
"Seriously?" Audino asked Chase as the teen looked in the mirror and fixed his hair with a confident smile. "I don't think Gray's interested in dating right now, Chase. With having to qualify for the league, all the training to do before it, and then actually competing, she won't have much time to deal with another thing."
Chase simply shook his head and turned to look at his two Pokemon, who were looking at him worriedly.
"Yeah, Audino's right. Maybe you should just stay in and help me study all of these different kinds of remedies my Dream Smoke can have," Musharna suggested.
Audino had told him all about Chase's talk with Gray, and how he didn't understand that Gray was trying to be nice and say no delicately.
"We can study tomorrow, Musharna. Love doesn't wait!" Chase replied excitedly, making Audino face palm. "I'll be back in a minute to tell you what she said."
With that, Chase walked out of his room and headed down the hallway. Each step he took made his heart beat faster, and he began to sweat slightly. After arriving at Gray's door, he knocked and waited anxiously, twiddling his thumbs. Slowly, the door opened and Leviculus looked up at Chase with a smile.
"Hey, Chase. What's up?"
"Uhm... is Gray there?"
"Yeah, but she's being really weird right now. I think she's trying to come up with a strategy for our Gym Battle tomorrow, or something like that," the water type explained. "If it's really important, I can get her."
"No, it's fine. Thanks, though," Chase replied with a fake smile.
Leviculus nodded and closed the door while waving to the intelligent boy, who turned around dejectedly as soon as the door clicked. Slowly, Chase walked down the hallway before leaning against a wall and slumping down to the floor, and she sighed before running a hand through his short hair.
"I guess I'll just ask her tomorrow."
"Ask who what tomorrow?"
Chase looked up to see Tara walking down the hallway with Scyther, and the pair stared at Chase. The boy shook his head in response, and the two suddenly understood what Chase was talking about.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Chase. Is there anything we can do to cheer you up?" Tara asked sincerely, making Chase crack a smile.
Before he could say anything, Chase was pulled to his feet and Tara dragged him outside the Pokemon Center. Scyther lagged behind the two and rolled his eyes at Tara's actions, but he grinned when she and Chase stopped walking.
"What're you doing, Tara?" Chase quizzed, making the girl turn around with fire burning in her eyes.
"We're going to do something fun to cheer you up!" the blonde answered emphatically as she attempted to drag Chase along.
She couldn't, however, as he yanked his arm away and smiled at her thankfully.
"Look, I appreciate what you're trying to do for me, but I need to sit down and rethink where I stand with Gray. I'm up to hang out with you some other time, if that's okay," the boy informed Tara, who frowned in response before forcing a nod.
Chase smiled and walked forwards before hugging the girl, which made her blush like crazy. After pulling away, Chase turned and walked back to the Pokemon Center, leaving Tara and Scyther outside.
"Wow, the kid that got shot down shot you down," Scyther joked, making his trainer glare at him angrily.
Seeing her reaction, Scyther realized Tara was genuinely hurt by the comment, and he walked over to her while resting one of his arms on her shoulder. "Oh come on, you know I was kidding."
"I know, it's just..." Tara trailed off, not wanting to finish what she was about to say.
Scyther didn't push on, as he could tell his trainer wasn't in the mood to talk, so they headed back to the Pokemon Center in silence. Once the duo walked back into their room, Tara flopped down on her bed and stared at the ceiling with a crushed look on her face.
"If only you knew how I felt about you, Chase."
So, Chase failed to ask Gray out again, but Tara's starting to develop some feelings for him! Next chapter will be Gray's seventh Gym Battle, and that's all I can really say other than another chapter will be coming out very soon (about a day or two). Also, I'm going to be starting a new project sometime soon, and it'll be called "The Pac 12 League" which will be about a college kid becoming a trainer at a west coast college, and the idea was presented by CaptainPrice, who has a similar story called "The Big Ten League". My story will closely resemble his, and depending on the amount of writers we get, there is potential for crossovers, so check out the forum I have posted on my profile if you're interested, though you do have to be a college sports fan.
Till next time, peace out.
Next Chapter "Dancing with Demons": Gray challenges the Gym Leader of the Lavender Town Gym, but soon finds herself battling to the tune of her opponent. Facing such an imposing and sinister team, will Gray be able to earn her seventh badge?
Pre-League Arc
Chapter 55: Victory in Viridian!
Chapter 56: The Great Gligar
Chapter 57: Pre-League Festivities