Theme Song
It is time for the home stretch (The Indigo League stadiums are shown)
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! (Comis practices with Durus and gets crushed)
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 and Durus succeeded in defeating their first round opponent, and now they're taking on the six seed in their bracket (also, I didn't want to add Play Rough to Durus' moveset, so she won't use it again). This battle will focus heavily on Gray's more underused Pokemon, so hopefully they do well and earn themselves some more battling time. Now, let's get going!
Blaze Falcon: Yeah, the crowd would love to see an upset, but thankfully for Gray, Durus was able to pull of the win and now she's in the top 32. Hopefully she can shut everyone up, but you never know
MCMXCV: It's all good, hopefully things are better. And there's no way I'd have Gray lose in the first round, at least... never mind
Defender31415: Thanks! I like to give the first round people really weird names just as a means of fun (look back at most of the leagues and you'll see that's the case), but the rest of the tournament will have serious names (just like the other leagues)
Gray's team
Durus, (f), level 47, 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 54, Dragon Claw, Flamethrower, Dragon Breath, Earthquake, Hyper Beam*, Boomburst* - (Flygon)
Comis, (m), level 10, Poison Sting, Sand Attack, Harden, X-Scissor - (Gligar)
"Both Marcus and Trentavious have won their battles for the day, and tomorrow will feature the other number one seed. Surprisingly, a sixteen seed won two days ago, so only three ones remain!" the lead anchor on the PBN exclaimed before the TV went black.
Gray, Comis, Durus, Chase, and Tara were relaxing in the trainer room before Gray's battle, while Marcus was busy scouting out other matches, and Savannah was getting ready for her own battle. Sighing, Gray threw her arms back and leaned against the wall nearest the walkway she had to go down in order to reach the battlefield.
"What's wrong?" Chase inquired, making Gray slowly turn her head to face him and Tara.
"Not much, I guess. I'm just nervous, that's all," Gray replied, not wanting to tell either of her friends that she was afraid of losing. Ever since the scare she had in the first round, Gray's nerves had been making themselves known.
"Don't worry about the outcome of the battle. Just go out there and do your best!" Tara said cheerily while Scyther nodded in agreement before flapping his wings and yawning.
"Would Gray Plain please report to the battlefield?" a robotic voice requested over the intercom in the trainer room. With that, Gray waved to Chase and Tara while walking down the hall with Durus and Comis by her sides.
Neither Pokemon seemed to be nervous about the battle, as Comis sang to himself with a stupid grin while Durus remained silent and looked forwards stoically. Gray, on the other hand, was trembling and playing with her hair as a means of coping with her nerves, and her stomach dropped when she walked out of the tunnel to a roar of applause.
Standing on the other end of the battlefield was a boy with dark green hair and a unibrow. He looked more like an ape than he did a human, and Gray's Pokemon laughed at him until they stopped inside the trainer box.
"This will be a three versus three battle between David Henry of Lumiose City and Gray Plain of Saffron City! Neither trainer may substitute their Pokemon, and the battle will be over when all Pokemon on one side are unable to continue! Trainers, choose your first Pokemon!" the referee shouted while looking at both sides as the scoreboard turned on and showed both of their pictures alongside three smaller boxes for pictures of their Pokemon.
"Hawlucha, time to fight our hearts out!" David yelled as he hurled his first Pokeball forwards. In a flash of light, an eagle standing straight up appeared, and he glared at Gray, who had chills run down her spine as she prepared to throw out a Pokeball of her own.
"Fidens, I choose you!" In an explosion of light, Fidens flew out of his Pokeball and landed on the ground just in front of Gray, Durus, and Comis, where he squawked at his flying type opponent.
"This battle will be between Hawlucha and Fidens! Begin!"
"Use Karate Chop, Hawlucha!" David commanded while punching his fist forwards emphatically.
Hawlucha bolted across the battlefield while his fists began to glow white, and he unleashed a barrage of punches at the speed of bullets, causing Fidens to grunt in pain as the onslaught continued. After a few seconds passed, Fidens launched his foot forwards and kicked Hawlucha across the battlefield, though the fighting type landed on his feet acrobatically.
"Fidens, get in close with Quick Attack and then use Wing Attack repeatedly!" Gray yelled.
Doing what he was told to, Fidens ran towards Hawlucha at the speed of light, catching David and his Pokemon off guard. Suddenly, Fidens' wings began to glow white with energy, and he started to slap Hawlucha repeatedly. After each hit, Fidens grinned and wound up, repeating the process dozens of times before finishing his assault off with an uppercut.
"Flying Press, Hawlucha!"
Using his aerial positioning to his advantage, Hawlucha opened his wings and descended as a light sheen of white coating covered his body. After spinning like a drill, Hawlucha crashed into Fidens and close lined him into the ground, making a cloud of dust shoot up. Gray cursed under her breath as Hawlucha began to glide back to David's side of the battlefield, though she was elated to see Fidens get back on his feet and glare at the Kalosian Pokemon who had just clobbered him.
"I'm surprised Fidens took that head-on and still managed to get back up," Chase said aloud while looking at Audino and Musharna, both of whom nodded in agreement. The teen and his two Pokemon continued to stare at the battlefield until turning to Scyther once they heard him speak up.
"Yeah, but he's gassed. Look at 'em, slumping his shoulders and panting like he doesn't have any oxygen left inside 'em. If you ask me, it looks like he's just about done," the bug type said to Chase, who frowned in response, seeing that Scyther's assessment was spot-on.
"Way to hang in there, Fidens!" Comis cheered while looking at his teammate, who turned, grinned, and nodded before glancing over at Gray, waiting for a command. Once she noticed the prehistoric Pokemon's gaze, Gray shook her head and punched her fist forwards.
"Fire away with Dragon Breath!"
Fidens leaped into the air and began flapping his inefficient wings, which barely managed to keep him in the air. Suddenly, Fidens flew over to Hawlucha and opened his mouth, releasing a wave of green fire that engulfed the fighting type. David cursed as his Pokemon cried out in pain, but he stopped when Hawlucha successfully got away from the powerful attack and prepared to counter.
"Hawlucha, dish out a High Jump Kick!" David shouted while kneeing the air.
Obeying his trainer's commands, Hawlucha sprung into the air while his knee was glowing red, and he slammed it into Fidens' chin, sending the rock and flying type spiraling through the air. Once he crashed, Fidens let out a weak cry while struggling back to his feet in exhaustion, which everyone in the audience could see rather easily.
"Hang in there just a little longer, Fidens! Use Acrobatics!" Gray commanded.
"Counter it with Close Combat!" David countered immediately.
Both Pokemon sprinted towards each other and met in the middle of the battlefield, where they began to rapidly exchange blows. The audience looked on in awe as the two Pokemon continued to punch and kick each other at a furious pace before Fidens finally found an opening and capitalized on the opportunity presented. After a devastating kick to Hawlucha's ribs, Fidens squawked and watched as the referee ruled the fighting type unconscious.
"Hawlucha is unable to battle! David, choose your next Pokemon!"
"Return, Hawlucha. Medicham, time to fight our hearts out!" David shouted as he hurled his second Pokeball in the air.
As soon as she materialized from the light, Medicham locked eyes with Fidens and took a fighting stance while the prehistoric Pokemon simply squawked and began to stomp.
"This battle will be between Medicham and Fidens! Begin!"
"Fidens, use Ancient Power!" Gray ordered loudly, her words reaching Fidens' ears as soon as they left her mouth, which was a bit surprising due to Gray's usual lack of volume.
Five large boulders appeared from the ground as Fidens lifted his wings, and they began to revolve around his body. After throwing his weak wings forwards, Fidens watched as all five boulders were flung at Medicham, who was bouncing around like a boxer.
"Stop the rocks in their tracks with Psychic!"
Medicham quickly lifted her hand as her eyes turned light blue, and each of the rocks were stopped in midair while thin blue lines of energy appeared around them. With a flick of her wrist, Medicham hurled the rocks right back at Fidens, who was crushed by the super effective counterattack. For what seemed to be the millionth time, Fidens got back on his feet and squawked, showing his resilient attitude, which made Gray and Durus smile, while Comis cheered obnoxiously.
"Get in close with Acrobatics, Fidens!"
Fidens took inhaled deeply in order to catch his breath before bolting towards Medicham and David, both of whom were smiling. Durus stopped her cheering as soon as she saw the opponents' reactions, and she turned to Gray nervously. Of course, the brunette didn't pay any attention to Durus, as she was too focused on the battle at hand.
"Dodge and counter with Ice Punch!" David screamed, which was followed by Medicham rolling to the right and evading Fidens' first kick.
Gray and the rest of the stadium gasped at the surprising agility of Medicham, and she popped off the ground while her left fist was shrouded in a light blue coat of icy energy. Without hesitation, Medicham hurled her arm forwards and struck Fidens in the beak, knocking the prehistoric Pokemon unconscious immediately. The referee ran over to Fidens' side and raised his arms in the air to confirm the downed Pokemon's state, and Gray cursed under her breath shortly afterwards as she grabbed a Pokeball off her belt.
"Fidens is unable to battle! Gray, choose your next Pokemon!" the referee shouted as Fidens' picture on the scoreboard turned black.
"Thanks for the great battles, Fidens. Magna, come on out!" Gray cried while throwing her second Pokeball in the air, which opened and released Magna. The psychic type began to jump up and down excitedly before locking eyes with Medicham, who was cracking her knuckles.
"This battle will be between Medicham and Magna! Begin!"
"Magna, let's show 'em how strong you are! Charge and use Astonish!" Gray commanded aggressively, wanting to stick to her battling style.
Knowing this, Magna nodded before running across the battlefield at a shocking speed, which threw everyone off guard, including Gray. The most notable reaction was from Comis, who fell on his face, though nobody noticed, as they were all focused on Magna closing in on Medicham while her tiny yellow body was encapsulated in black energy.
"Medicham, use Detect and unleash a Shadow Ball!" David countered without hesitation.
Before Magna could even lunge at Medicham, the fighting type created a ball of black and purple energy in her hands and chucked it forwards. The result was an explosion, and Magna was sent flying back to Gray's half of the battlefield. Gray held her breath as Magna fell towards the ground, but her worries subsided when Magna flipped and landed on her feet.
"Try to get Medicham to fall asleep with Yawn!"
Magna opened her mouth and let out an exhausted, and contagious, yawn. The entire crowd began to yawn at the sight of the Chingling, and a cloud of pink bubbles floated across the battlefield. Due to the low speed of the sleep inducing attack, David and his Medicham were provided ample time to collect their thoughts and devise a strategy.
"Medicham, punch straight through it with Ice Punch, and then jump and use Shadow Ball again!"
Much to Gray's and Magna's dismay, Medicham ran forwards and punched at the cloud of bubbles, popping them all simultaneously. Medicham then performed the latter half of her instructions and leaped in the air while placing her hands together. A large orb of purple light was formed and she threw it down towards Magna, who glanced back at Gray for a command.
"Shield yourself with Protect!" Gray demanded, prompting Magna to cover herself in a green bubble of energy. "Once it's safe, use Uproar!"
Magna nodded at her trainer's words and began to jump up and down in an attempt to psyche herself up. The Shadow Ball attack then struck Protect and exploded, creating a cloud of smoke that blinded Magna and Gray, the latter of whom cursed. Despite not being able to see, Magna opened her mouth and let out an explosion of sound, which blew through the smoke and launched Medicham into David.
After his Pokemon helped him up, David brushed the dirt off his clothes and pointed at Magna. "Medicham, use Ice Punch!"
The fighting type obeyed and charged towards Magna while both of her hands were covered in light blue energy. Before Gray could say anything, Magna was crushed by a flurry of punches, and Magna began to cry out in pain, making Gray's nerves act up once again. The doubts from the audience began to flood the air, and Gray began to look around before blindly shouting an attack.
"Use Last Resort, Magna!"
Magna reluctantly attempted to use the devastating attack, but a cloud of smoke escaped her mouth, making Medicham smirk while Comis covered his eyes. Durus, meanwhile, glanced up at Gray and began shaking her head in disgust.
"Shadow Ball!" David screamed, not wanting to waste any more time on the battle.
Medicham seemed to be on the same thought frequency, as she had already place her hands together in order to generate the ghost type attack. In the blink of an eye, a sphere of purple light was formed in-between Medicham's hands, and she threw it at Magna, whose eyes went wide before she was struck by the super effective attack. After being thrown backwards by the attack, Magna landed on the ground face first with her eyes shut. Seeing this, the referee raised his arms in the air to signal the end of the battle.
"Magna is unable to battle! Gray, choose your last Pokemon!" the referee yelled as Magna's picture turned black, leaving Gray with just one Pokemon.
"You were great out there, Magna. Take a long rest," Gray whispered as the stadium began to cheer for David and Medicham, both of whom appeared to prematurely bask in their unearned glory.
"Rrgh. I'm gonna tear those two apart if they keep acting like they won!" Durus shouted, nearly leaping onto the battlefield. Lucky for Gray, Comis ran over and pinched her tail, making Durus screech before slashing the ground type in rage
"Leviculus, it's all up to you!" Gray shouted, ignoring her fighting Pokemon, who stopped attacking each other once they realized the battle was about to begin.
In a bright flash of light, Leviculus fell out of his Pokeball and landed on his face, making everyone in attendance laugh. Sheepishly, the water type began to rub the back of his head while he blushed, but he snapped out of his lackadaisical state when he saw the scoreboard, which displayed both of his previous teammates being ruled ineligible. As soon as he saw that, Leviculus turned his attention to the Medicham standing across the battlefield, and he began to stretch in preparation for the difficult battle.
"This battle will be between Medicham and Leviculus! Begin!"
"Medicham, let's use Shadow Ball on the ground!"
In the blink of an eye, Medicham leaped into the air and put her hands together. A ball of purple energy formed and was outlined with black energy swirling around it before Medicham hurled the ghost type attack at Leviculus. The water type bent his knees in preparation of a counterattack, and Gray followed up shortly afterwards.
"Leviculus, dodge and use Rain Dance to cover the ground!"
With a quick dive to the right, Leviculus avoided the powerful attack, and he threw his arms towards the air while opening his mouth to scream. Suddenly, a ball of water shot out of his mouth and exploded in the air, creating a sudden downpour of rain. As the drops of water continued to splatter on contact with the ground, Leviculus began to clap his hands together and dance like he was at a party instead of a battle, which eased Gray's nerves.
"Use Ice Punch, Medicham!"
The brunette snapped out of her mental lapse and watched as Medicham's fist began to glow light blue with icy energy. As the fighting and psychic type began to charge forwards, Leviculus did the same and stuck both of his arms behind his back like a ninja.
"Duck and do the same, Leviculus!" Gray countered while throwing her right arm out to her side.
As soon as Medicham threw her fist forwards, Leviculus ducked to his right, barely dodging the attack. His fist was instantly shrouded in freezing energy, and Leviculus hurled his right arm forwards. The crowd exploded with cheers after watching the Politoed right hook Medicham, but the latter of the two held her ground and glared at Leviculus angrily.
"Retaliate with High Jump Kick!" David yelled in frustration.
Medicham seemed to be feeling the same frustration, and she obeyed her trainer's command gleefully, as her knee suddenly flashed light red. With a powerful thrust upwards, Medicham's knee slammed into Leviculus' chin, launching him into the air and back to Gray's half of the battlefield, where he landed headfirst before rolling around in agony.
"Come on, Leviculus! You've got this!" Durus shouted to the ailing Pokemon, who suddenly snapped out of the pain and nodded at his teammate before turning his attention to Gray, who was smiling.
"Go underground with Dig and then use Ice Punch!" the girl instructed confidently.
Leviculus nodded in response before burrowing underground and disappearing from eyesight, making David curse under his breath while Medicham looked around anxiously. Before she could react, Leviculus shot out of the ground right underneath her and delivered a wicked uppercut while his fist was glowing light blue. Medicham was knocked onto her back as a result and held her face in pain, making David bite his lower lip. Leviculus, meanwhile, was dancing once again in the rain.
"Hang in there and answer back with Shadow Ball!"
Fighting the pain surging through her body, Medicham rose to her feet and formed a ball of purple and black energy in-between her hands. With a powerful thrust of her arms, Medicham threw the Shadow Ball attack at Leviculus, who hopped onto his stomach and began sliding right towards the powerful attack fearlessly, which made Durus cover her eyes while Comis watched intently.
"Dodge it and counter with Water Gun!" Gray screamed.
Leviculus quickly slammed both of his hands on the ground and popped into the air, clearing the Shadow Ball attack by a foot or so. The water type then did a front flip before rearing his head back and shooting a blast of water at Medicham, who's eyes went wide. The force of impact sent the fighting type spiraling into the wall behind David, and the strange looking teen turned to see his Pokemon was out cold.
"Medicham is unable to battle! David, choose your last Pokemon!" the referee shouted while Medicham's picture turned black.
"Return, Medicham," David called as he zapped his second Pokemon back into her Pokeball while letting out a frustrated sigh. Without hesitation, the teen grabbed his third and final Pokeball, and chucked it forwards. "Sawk, it's time to fight our hearts out!"
Once the Pokeball opened, a bipedal Pokemon appeared. It was wearing a robe and had blue skin, and it was staring blankly at Leviculus, who continued to dance in the rain before locking eyes with his fighting type opponent.
"This isn't looking good for Leviculus. Sawk specializes in close range fighting!" Chase shouted while looking over at Tara, who shrugged in response before looking down at the battlefield.
"At least Rain Dance is set up. That should give Leviculus an advantage in the speed department," the blonde retorted, making Chase and his two Pokemon nod in response.
"This battle will be between Sawk and Leviculus! Begin!" the referee shouted while pointing at Gray, indicating that she had the first move.
"Let's use Water Gun to start, Leviculus!" the girl commanded, not wasting any time in issuing an attack.
Leviculus nodded before rearing his head back and inhaling a great amount of air. Before he knew it, Leviculus shot out a high-pressured blast of dark blue water, which looked significantly stronger than a Water Gun attack, making Gray's face light up while the crowd began applauding Leviculus for learning a new move. David and his Sawk, meanwhile, weren't going to cheer for their opponent, and instead opted to counter.
"Dodge it and use Bulk Up, Sawk!"
Doing as he was told, Sawk rolled away from the Hydro Pump attack and began to flex once he stood on his feet. The fighting type's muscles grew exponentially while being surrounded in red aura, which quickly faded after Sawk's muscles returned to their normal size. David smirked along with his Pokemon, and Gray looked on in confusion before being nudged by Durus, prompting her to issue an attack.
"Jump in the air and land a Mega Kick attack!"
Leviculus hurriedly sprung off the ground and began to spin violently as his right foot started to glow light blue. As he began to fall towards Sawk, Leviculus reared his foot back. Sawk, meanwhile, unfolded his arms and prepared to strike Leviculus.
"Sawk, block it and use Brick Break on Leviculus' knee!"
As Leviculus threw his foot forwards, Sawk stuck both of his arms out and opened his hands. The Mega Kick was blocked, and Leviculus gasped in shock along with Gray, Durus, and Comis. Chase and Tara, on the other hand, remained silent and looked on nervously. Before Gray could react, Sawk's left fist began to glow white and he slammed it against Leviculus's knee, making the Politoed scream in pain before he was thrown across the battlefield like a rag doll.
Seeing her Pokemon rolling around while gripping his knee, Gray remained silent and began to look around the stadium, almost as if she were searching for an answer. Of course, she didn't find one, but she snapped out of her funk when Comis lightly tapped her on the back.
"Hold on just a little longer, Leviculus!" Gray cried out to her Pokemon, who was writhing in pain. "Please get up and slide around the battlefield!" the girl begged her Pokemon, who recognized the desperation in her voice, giving him the willpower to stand.
Shortly afterwards, Leviculus gripped his knee in pain before jogging forwards and sliding around on his stomach as the rain continued to fall. As Leviculus began to speed around Sawk, the calm demeanor on the fighting type's vanished and was replaced by one of nervousness, which his trainer noticed immediately.
"Lock your eyes on him and use Focus Punch once he gets in close," David whispered to his final Pokemon, who bowed in response before closing his eyes and channeling all of his energy into his fist.
"Now jump and use Body Slam, Leviculus!" Gray commanded, hoping she'd be able to throw Sawk off by having Leviculus attack from above.
Leviculus suddenly shot off the ground and soared into the air before sticking his arms and legs out as far as they could. The water type then began to fall like a missile, and David smirked before snapping his fingers, which made Sawk's eyes shoot open.
"Do it, Sawk!" the green haired teen roared.
Sawk's fist, which was radiating energy, was rocketed towards Leviculus, who smirked almost as soon he heard David speak up, and Gray shared her Pokemon's reaction.
"Spin!" the girl demanded, prompting Leviculus to spin like a drill, which allowed him to barely dodge the finishing attack. "Finish this off with Ice Punch!" Once he skidded past Sawk, Leviculus' fist was shrouded in light blue energy, and he punched Sawk in the back, knocking him to the ground.
The referee bolted over to the fighting type's side and threw his arms in the air, ruling Sawk unconscious.
"Sawk is unable to battle! Gray and Leviculus are the winners and will move on to the top 16!"
As soon as the ruling was official, Leviculus slid across the battlefield and tackled Gray excitedly, making the girl laugh alongside her three Pokemon.
"That was a great job, Leviculus! Thank you so much!" Gray shouted while embracing the slimy Pokemon, who laughed in response before gripping his knee in pain, which caught Gray's attention. "I guess we're going to have to have that checked out. What do you think?"
"Probably. I can't put any weight on it now that the battle's over," Leviculus admitted, making Gray nod before zapping him back into his Pokeball. "Now let's go, Comis and Durus. We need to check out who we're battling!"
So, Gray won her second battle and is now heading into the top 16. Leviculus' injury is a bit of an uncertainty, though, and I'm not entirely sure if it'll come back to bite Gray. I could end up having him sit out a round or two, but I'll cross that bridge when I have to. Till next time, peace out.
Next Chapter "Pushing Onwards": As the Indigo League reaches its latter stages, the competition becomes even tougher. Now leaning on her three strongest Pokemon, Gray is looking to advance to the full rounds. Will she be able to pull off the victory?
Indigo League Arc (Titles to be revealed)
Chapter 62: Fighting to the Fullest
Chapter 63: ?
Chapter 64: ?
Chapter 65: ?